A Sage's Mission

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"Speaking"

"Thinking/ conversation with Tailed beast/Sacred Gear within the mind, Scape."

"Tailed Beast/Sacred gear Dragon speaking."

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Chapter 9: Holy Swords and Devils.

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The thunder clouds were overhead, the moon completely blocked from sight. It won't be long until the storm truly starts. Naruto and his team made it to the church. They took a little bit longer to get there in order to get a look at the layout of the town. From the rooftops of the houses they travelled across, they got a good look at the surrounding locations, such as a park and a big school.

When the team reached the church, they now see what Hinata saw. The large front doors were both kicked in, and vines grew along the walls and the roof tiles. The glass above the door frame has been shattered. While Hinata said that it was empty, the team remained on guard. Naruto took point and entered the church. Raphtalia took the left flank, and Konohamaru took the right flank. Hinata took up the rear, scanning the entire church for anything and everything.

"Abandoned...looks more like a ruin." Said Naruto, thinking Hinata may have downplayed the state of the building.

"It definitely feels like the church has long abandoned this place of worship." Raphtalia could smell the wood rot on the church pew seats.

"Take a look around, make sure this place is secure and look for anything important." Naruto would not sleep here until this place has been thoroughly checked over.

Hinata called out to Naruto, informing him of a particular location. "Naruto, there is a large room underground. I can see bodies and another cross down there. The entrance is next to that, but the passage is sealed up." She pointed towards a half-destroyed cross at the back of the main hall. A table was in front of the cross.

"Guess that's what people pray too, or used to anyway." Naruto wondered how this church ended up abandoned. Did the Devils and Angels fight here and the Devils win?

"You're with me Konohamaru, we're going down there. Hinata, Raphtalia, secure this room." Naruto's student rushed to his side, and they searched the area around the cross. They pushed the table aside and found a sealed entrance, cracks and rocks filled a hole. Naruto used earth style to remove the rubble, and they saw a stone staircase leading underground. The path was in complete darkness, they were unable to see what's down there.

Naruto put his arm in front of his student, preventing him from moving. Naruto intended to make it a little brighter before they proceed. He took a couple of steps forward and weaved the hand signs. "Hiden: Rinpungakure Jutsu" A Jutsu Fū used, Chōmei's past Jinchūriki. Because Naruto now has Chakra from all the other Bijuu, he can use a few of their Jutsus as well now. Naruto opened his mouth and exhaled a small amount of fine white powder. The powder quickly activates and illuminates the room below them in a bright white light. This Jutsu is meant to blind people, but if you only exhale a small amount of powder, it can be used as a handy light source.

The path before them was clear, so they descended down the steps. Blown out torches decorated the walls around them, the burnt wood could help indicate how long ago this place was inhabited. The two reached the bottom of the stairs. Before them was a large room, rivalling the size of the church's main hall. Naruto did the Jutsu again to light up the room. But this time he exhaled a more substantial amount of powder, but with low Chakra. This will extend the time the room remains lit, while also preventing the Jutsu from blinding them.

They saw the remains of what seems like around ten to twenty people. It was hard to tell with their conditions. They were all wearing black robes of some kind. They also wore masks that covered their faces.

While Konohamaru went to check the bodies, Naruto was drawn to what was at the far back of the room. Another cross, the one that Hinata mentioned, but this one was different. It wasn't destroyed like the one above. It was thicker and covered in strange markings. But what bothered Naruto so much about it were the chains that hanged off of it.

"Did the church string people up here? From what Yasaka and Raphtalia have said about them it doesn't seem like their style." Maybe they didn't know them that well, or this was the work of someone else, not like Naruto was going to get any answers.

Naruto approached the cross but remained cautious. It was atop a set of stairs which made it feel similar to that of a shrine. Blown out candles covered the wall behind it. Naruto reached the cross and gave it a look over; grabbing the chains as he contemplated this cross's purpose.

"It's vastly different to the one above us; the size and shape, these markings and chains. What was this used for?"

"It doesn't look like a place of worship. Naruto, touch the cross and get a feel for any power that may have lingered here." If there was even a sliver left, they could find out what this cross's purpose was.

Naruto placed his hand on the cross, pouring his Chakra into it to find any trace of power left. They found something.

"There it is."

"What did you find?"

"It's minuscule...but it almost feels like..."

"Holy energy/Holy energy."

"This is a cross of the church so it would make sense...but this..."

"It's not true Holy energy."

Naruto and Kurama could feel energy that was similar to Holy energy, but it had a bit of darkness to it...no, it was more like corruption. Something new to the list of questions they have.

"Can you tell what this was used for?" To Naruto, this cross's energy felt restrictive. As if the chains were not the only thing that would restrain whoever would be unlucky enough to be attached to this thing.

"From what I can gather, it feels as if the energy would...drain...no, extract something from the victim." Kurama has been on the receiving end of such a technique that he of all people would know what it feels like.

"Yeah, I feel it too. But what would they be extracting from the unlucky guy that gets chained up here?" It didn't make any attempt at taking Naruto's Chakra or trying to pull Kurama out of him. So it must be something specific.

"The interesting thing is that this cross would not absorb it in any way, there's no type of storage within it. If it was pure energy, then it would be lost to the wind. But if it was something physical..."

"It would fall at their feet and be ripe for the taking."The two now know what this was used for, it was used to steel. Someone would be chained up to it and would have what's theirs taken. The questions remains, what would be taken?

Naruto turned to his left and saw Konohamaru approach; he too gave the giant cross a cautious look. "What is that thing boss?" Naruto's student had no intention of touching it.

Naruto shook his head. "Nothing good." Naruto was teetering on either destroying the cross or sealing it up to take it back to Konoha for examination. "How'd you fair?" Did the bodies yield anything useful?

"They've been dead for a while. They all had crosses around their necks, so I guess they were people of the church. But the weird thing is they were all human." Konohamaru could tell that at least.

"Human huh...then I guess they must have been those...what were they called again...Oh right, exorcist or priests of the church." A faction of humans that are part of the church, they serve the Angels in their fight against the Devils and Fallen Angels. "How did they die?"

"I'm no medical ninja, but it kinda looks like some were beaten to death and the others got killed by a sword." The bashed in faces and broken bones from what looks like physical impacts, the chopped off limbs or the slashed clothing. "I also found this; they all seemed to be carrying one." Konohamaru showed Naruto a sword. It's a short sword that was simple in design.

Naruto took it from his student's hands and inspected it. "Hmm...I feel some lingering energy. It's Holy energy."

"So humans can use Holy energy?" Konohamaru now wondered if they could use Holy energy.

"From what me and Hinata read about, these swords are cheap and mass-produced. They were meant for humans that had little Holy energy. They're gimmicks compared to the so-called 'True Holy Swords'."

"And what are they like?"

"No idea." Naruto never got round to the specific abilities of the blades or what they were individually called. All he knew was that they were so much more powerful than the mass-produced blades. It's like comparing the Rasengan with only the first two steps of the training mastered, to a fully mastered Rasengan. "Just know that the 'True Holy Swords' or whatever they are, makes this blade look like a toy." There was no comparing the two types of blades; they were in two different classes of strength.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, staring at the sword in his hands. "This is weird." What they found here brought Naruto questions.

"What is?" Everything has been weird to them, what made this any different.

"This sword has pure Holy energy in it. But that cross has some kind of corrupted version. A bit weird, don't ya think?" Naruto asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Konohamaru just shrugged. Yeah, it's weird, but he doesn't have any answers.

Deciding to finish up down there, the due jumped down from the steps. "We'll decide what to do with that cross later. For now, let's seal up these swords to be taken to Konoha." They both gathered up the blades, and Naruto sealed them away. He also picked up one of the dead exorcists for Hinata to inspect. She would have the best chance to determine how long ago they died.

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A few minutes earlier:

Naruto and Konohamaru have just cleared the way and walked down the stone staircase, Hinata could see a small flash of white light erupt from the entrance. She'll trust them to figure out what's down there, while she and Raphtalia thoroughly inspect the main church building.

Hinata directed Raphtalia to check the other rooms of the church, there are only two for her to search; a central office, and a large stone room with what looks like a pool, or a bath.

While Raphtalia inspected those rooms, Hinata inspected the main hall. She had two aims. First, secure the room. Second, figure out what happened here. There were clear signs of battle, using her eyes Hinata could see how the decay of the building has been here much, much longer than that of the damages.

The destroyed church pew seats and the damage done to the stone walls and cross suggested that this all happened a few weeks ago. The shattered glass looks to have been caused by someone going through it from within the church. Hinata knew it was a person because of the small amount of dry blood at the edges of the destroyed glass.

But the most important thing for figuring out when this all occurred was the dust, the dust marks that covered the hall. Because this place was abandoned for months, years, it doesn't matter. What matters is that dust has been left to cover it from top to bottom, so when something is moved, you see patches with no dust.

Seeing these patches, along with the damages, helped Hinata figure out that this all happened within less than a month ago. The bodies down in that hidden room will help her work out an exact time frame.

She was able to get a working theory on what happened here. This church had residents and was attacked. This place is in Devil territory, so they must have been the attackers. Devils don't like churches, so it's unlikely they took up residents here when they have a whole town to work with.

Hinata walked back to the front of the main hall, near the destroyed front door. She saw something strange. While all the other signs of activity had precise observations, broken wood, shattered glass and more. This spot on the ground had no such indication, but it looked like that in one moment, nearly a month ago, almost all the dust was...removed...destroyed.

"...Erased" It's as if something or someone was here, and they and whatever was nearby got destroyed until there was nothing left. But the fact that it didn't affect the floor or the carpet spoke of its accuracy and control.

Hinata's mind thought back to the Rating Game they saw, and Rias Gremory's Power of Destruction. For what it does and how it's used, along with the fact that she lives in this town...

"Rias Gremory and her Peerage must have been responsible. So who were they attacking?" Maybe the Angels...but Yasaka said the Angels of the Heaven faction have been a no-show for a while. Why would they come to Devil territory if that's how they've been acting for the past few years?

Hinata looked around the area a bit more, hoping to find any more clues to the attack. She saw something, under a church pew seat...a crow feather? A single feather, it's lost a bit of its barbs and colour. But Hinata could still make it out to be a black crow feather. As she picked it up, she noticed something off about it. It was a little bigger than what a typical crow feather should be, but most importantly, it had a feeling of lingering energy. Hinata used her eyes to a higher degree, to see if there were any more crow feathers to find.

Instead of finding more feathers, she saw the same kind of energy that was in the feather, was also in the cross that Naruto was now inspecting.

"This feather and that cross are linked, or belong to the same group." Maybe those bodies down there are the same, but they didn't have any energy within them...none left anyway.

However, she did see some kind of energy within the sword Konohamaru is now carrying...it looked just like the same energy that's within Raphtalia's cross. When Lord Fukasaku and Sun talked about it, Hinata used her eyes to thoroughly inspect it. She couldn't see what was sealed within it, but she now knows what Holy energy looks like.

"Holy energy...Then the defenders of the church must have been the Heaven faction...but why is this feather and that cross different from the sword." The energy within the sword and Raphtalia's cross is definitely Holy energy. But the feather and cross had something different, although whatever it was; was similar to Holy energy.

If they are going to figure this out, then they need to regroup and compare findings. The first to come back was Raphtalia, she seemed pretty neutral.

"Didn't find anything?"

"Nothing, the office hasn't been open for years, I started coughing the moment I opened that door and breathed it in. The other room is large and has a bath, but no hot water." They have a place to clean themselves at least, but Raphtalia would much prefer a warm bath. "Did you find anything Hinata?"

"I think I did." Hinata showed her friend the crow feather. "Do you know what this is?"

Raphtalia narrowed her eyes with suspicion. She has a good idea of what that feather is. "...Fallen Angels."

"The ones that fell from grace?"

"Yes, when they fell and were cast out of Heaven, their feathers turned from white as snow, to black as night." It was meant as both a sign of banishment and an insult to them. "But this answers a few things."

"Such as?"

"Some of the statutes, symbols, signs, and marks towards the Biblical God have been damaged or destroyed. Fallen Angels were known to do that when they took over places that belong to Heaven or the church." It was payback.

"They continued to bear their grudge and hatred against the Biblical God." Not a good sign, if hatred is festered within the core of their being.

"What about Naruto and Konohamaru, have they found anything?" Raphtalia and Hinata have found useful clues to what happened here, what about them?

"Over here!" The girls turned around to see Naruto and his student coming out of the passageway, Naruto was carrying a body.

"Did you find anything Naruto-Kun?"

"A bit, have you?"

Hinata nodded, they have some information to compile.

The four got back together and compared findings, and it painted an interesting picture. A church taken over by Fallen Angels, a cross that must belong to them, Rias and her Peerage wiping out all residents; and human exorcists somehow involved...they weren't sure on that last part.

"Maybe it was a three-way fight. Devils vs Fallen Angels vs exorcists of the church?" But Konohamaru didn't even think that was right.

Raphtalia shared his doubt. "Devils fighting Fallen Angels makes sense, but for the church to also get involved...that can't be right. This place is pretty unimportant for such a convergence."

"There is that cross?" Said Naruto, it was the only thing that stood out.

Raphtalia was still unsure. "We don't even know what it does," Naruto said it might extract things from its victim, but it didn't do anything to him. So what does it even take?

Naruto just shrugged, he had nothing. "Guess all that's left is the body." They all turned to the dead exorcist on the floor. They gave Hinata some space while she checked him over. Hinata used her Chakra, like she would when she was healing someone, to give him a physical inspection; and she used her eyes to give him an internal inspection.

The results supported her earlier assumptions. "Based on the decay...I'd say he's been dead for about three to four weeks, which fits in with the time frame of these damages." Hinata also found sword related injuries, just like Konohamaru said.

The Devils came here within a month's time frame, too recently for Raphtalia's liking. "Should we change locations?"

Naruto thought the opposite "No, this works for us."

"It does?"

Konohamaru caught on. "Oh I get it; they recently and fully checked this place out. They've got no reason to come back here." They sealed the passageway and washed their hands of it.

Naruto smirked. "And as long as they don't have a reason to, they won't come back."

With the church secure and evidence that supports some theories, Naruto moved on to the next important thing, setting up the Detection Barrier. He moved into the centre of the hall, he sat down and started weaving signs. His hands moved in rapid motion, looking like nothing but a blur to the others.

"Is this how a Ninjutsu Barrier is created?" Raphtalia whispered to Hinata.

"There are many ways to do it; this is just one of them. We needed to secure this building because Naruto is going to use it as the central hub for his Detection Barrier." Some Barriers that are intended to remain in place for an extended period needs a place of origin. Some use Summoned Animals, others use the Jutsu casters as the hub, or you can use a structure as the hub; like what Naruto is doing now.

Naruto finished his preparations and placed his hand on the floor. A black formal, writing in kanji, shot across the floor and spread out to cover the walls and roof of the church. The interior of the church was covered from top to bottom. The outlines of the words shined in blue light until they died down, and the formal vanished from sight.

The only one amazed from the display was Raphtalia. "Is it done?" It all happened so fast.

Naruto stood up and stretched. "Yep, the Detection Barrier is in place. Once someone who has Senjutsu walks in or out of this town, it will alert me. But the Barrier will only remain in place so long as this church stays standing up." But this means they need to do something.

Naruto then held out his hand to his team, he was holding something. "So give me a hand with this..."

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15 minutes later:

Thunder and rain, that's all the team could hear, the storm came in full swing a few minutes ago. The flashes of lightning lit up the church, as its light pierced through the windows. Outside, the torrential rain drowned out any and all sounds of the town and forest. Water made its way into the church through the many openings the covered the building.

Naruto and his team finished what they were doing. Now they were trying their best to close up some of the holes, to avoid the flooding of their new home base. But they couldn't use any Jutsus to fix the church up; this place needs to keep the look of 'abandoned' from an outside view. So they stuck with pieces of wood boarding up holes, tables pushed up against openings, and wraps of cloth covering the holes in the windows. It wasn't pretty, but it worked, wasn't like they planned on living here.

With the make-shift patches now done, the team regrouped in the main hall for some discussion. "We're all tired I know, so let's hurry this up. We'll sleep in the room with the bath, it's spacious and pretty well kept when compared to the rest of this dump." They won't have to worry about water getting in there. "We'll sleep in shifts; I'll take first watch, then Hinata, then Konohamaru, then Raphtalia. The swap will happen every 2 hours." They need to keep someone on watch just in case.

"What do we do about him, then?" Raphtalia pointed towards the dead exorcist.

"I'll put him downstairs with the rest of them. Tomorrow, we'll bury them." Shouldn't leave corpses here to rot anyway.

"Ok, so after we do that, what then?"

Naruto hummed at that question. "Until Kuroka makes her move we should sit tight...but..." Before Naruto could finish, Hinata got everyone's attention.

"We've got incoming." Hinata looked at the front door. She could see two people heading towards the church.

"I can smell them, they smell like humans...but I also feel Holy energy from them."

"I can too, but it's not just them..." Naruto and Kurama could sense Holy energy within these two humans, but they both had something on them that had way more.

"What's the plan?" Konohamaru readied himself for whatever Naruto suggests.

"Hide the body and get up in the rafters." The team moved fast.

Naruto and his team jumped up into the rafters, the body was up there with them. Each one of them had their own beam to perch on; looking down at the main hall for those that will soon arrive.

Not long later, two individuals entered the church. They were wearing white hooded robes, and they were definitely human. Naruto could feel the Holy energy within them, but the other two energy signatures were more important to check out. They were strong but different. The one that was wrapped in white cloth, and was strapped on one of the person's back, had more power. The other one that seemed to be around the other person's arm was less powerful but felt more fluid or malleable.

They walked through the main hall rather calmly...as if..."They don't even know we're here." They weren't found out, that's a good sign. But then why are they here?

The two hooded humans walked towards the half-destroyed cross at the end of the hall. They then stopped.

"I'd say that utter ruins describe it." A women's voice, one that sounded calm and serious.

"Rumour has it that there was a disturbance here recently, caused by a Fallen Angel and a Devil." The other one was also a woman, she sounded a bit more upbeat

"So we were right, Devils and Fallen Angels had it out here. Then what about those humans downstairs then?"

"It's getting late." She took off her hood and revealed her face. She had chin-length blue hair, with a small amount of her fringe hair being dyed green. She had dark yellow eyes. "And you're certain this is it. We're supposed to be meeting him here correct."

The other one took off her hood as well. Revealing twin-tailed chestnut hair and violet eyes. "Oh, please, like I would be wrong."

While Naruto got a good look at their faces, both being quite beautiful; what Naruto took from this is that they're meeting someone here. "Oh, come on. This place worked because Devils wouldn't have a reason to come here. Instead, we get these random girls." It frustrated Naruto that they wasted all that time getting this place ready for nothing. Never the less, Naruto and his team remained where they are, and continued to listen in on these two.

"How long until he arrives, Irina?"

"Hmm, not sure, he should have beaten us here, yet we beat him here."

"We'll wait for an hour, if he doesn't show up then we will take measures." These two are going to stick around.

"Don't be so serious Xenovia. He'll be here so just sit tight." The girl called Irina waved her friend off.

"Xenovia and Irina...never heard those names before...they're not leaving, what to do?" Should they bail on this base and look for a new one. He already set up the Barrier here, and looking for a new base in this weather was not an appealing choice.

Naruto then heard a crack sound, the sound of wood splitting and breaking. He looked over to where his student was, Konohamaru's rafter was about to give way.

The wood came undone and the rafter, along with Konohamaru, fell. The broken rafter smashed onto a church pew seat, destroying it. The impact sent pieces of wood and dust in all directions. Luckily, Konohamaru stuck the landing, but the sound alerted the two girls, and he was spotted by them.

"Who are you?!" The one called Xenovia shouted out to Naruto's student, rushing over to him with her friend in tow. Xenovia grabbed whatever she held on her back and aimed it at Konohamaru, while Irina brought her hand to her upper arm, near some kind of strap.

"Answer me!" Xenovia narrowed her eyes at Konohamaru, ready to strike him at a moment's notice.

Konohamaru attempted to placate them. "Wait wait wait I don't want to fight you!" He raised his hands in an effort to calm them down.

It didn't work. "How long have you been here?" They were meant to meet someone here, is this boy the reason he's a no show?

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There was a brief standoff between Xenovia and Irina, and this young boy, he had spiky brown hair.

Xenovia and Irina approached him, ready to either capture him or strike him.

"Calm down, let's not do something we'll regret." A new voice behind Xenovia froze her in place, a male voice. She would have turned around to face him if she didn't feel something sharp by her throat. She looked down slightly to see a bandaged hand, holding some kind of tri bladed kunai.

Xenovia's eyes then looked to her right, and saw her friend Irina was in the same position; a sword by her neck and a kunai by her hand.

Xenovia spoke calmly. "Who are you?" Even with a blade on her throat, she was able to talk.

"Before we get to that, can we all just calm down. There is no need for a fight here, ok." Was this guy trying to make her drop her guard?

"How do we know you won't kill us the moment I lower my weapon?" If that's his game, then she won't fall for it.

All Xenovia got was a heavy sigh from him. "Look, if we wanted to hurt you, why are we even talking?" He said in a rather lazy tone.

Those words rang in Xenovia's mind because he was right. If he wanted to kill her, then he would have slit her throat right there and then. She didn't even know he was here or sensed his approach.

"How about this, we both lower our weapons. Let's stop this before it gets out of hand. Do you agree?" Wait, he's overwhelmingly got the upper hand, yet he suggests mutual cooperation?

Still, Xenovia didn't have much choice. "Very well." Slowly, both Xenovia and Irina started lowering their hands and weapons. At the same time, the people behind them moved their hands away from them. With blades no longer at their throats, they could now breathe and talk properly.

"See, we're all friends here." He walked past Xenovia to see how the boy was doing, and Xenovia got a good look at him. Spiky blond hair, blue sapphire like eyes...and whisker marks on his cheeks, how bizarre, he feels human.

"You good?" The whiskered blond asked the boy.

"Yeah...sorry about...that." The boy point upwards towards the destroyed rafter.

"Accidents happen ya'know. This place is falling apart anyway." The whiskered blond was acting very carefree about the whole situation, both stunning and confusion Xenovia and Irina. Weren't they a hairs breath away from killing each other seconds ago?

The other two behind them also walked past her and joined him. Another human with pale skin and long dark blue hair, with eyes Xenovia, has never seen before. The last one was...a Youkai, a half-Tanuki and half-Raccoon Youkai to be specific. This confused Xenovia even more, why would a Youkai be away from Kyoto? Almost all Youkai never leave that area.

Irina joined up with Xenovia, and the two decided to confront these four. "Who are you?"

The whiskered blond raised an eye brown. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking for someone else's name?" Even though these four must have already heard their names.

Xenovia tried a different question. "Why are you here?"

He pointed at the door. "Because it's stormy outside, seemed like a good place to hold up." He's casual nature unnerved Xenovia, did he not see them as threats, or did he just not care. "And how about you two, why'd you come here?" He sounded genuinely curious like he didn't know they were coming.

No, that can't be right, so Xenovia ignored his question and pressed with her own. "You four come to this location, in Devil territory, the same day we came here." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.

"Hey we feel the same way, the same day we came here, you two show up."

Xenovia asked again. "Why did you come here?"

The whiskered blond replayed in kind. "Why did you come here?"

The two were dangerously close to squabbling with each other. So their two companies stepped in.

Irina held back Xenovia. "This isn't working."

The dark blue-haired girl put her hand on the blond's shoulder. "We should start from the beginning."

The two calmed themselves down a little, and the whiskered blond started scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Well, this is going well. Ok, my name's Naruto."

Naruto...that name was unknown to her. "As you must already know." On account of the eavesdropping. "My name is Xenovia, this is my partner Irina."

"Hi, so nice to meet you guys." Irina was pretty chill about the whole situation.

"It's nice to meet you two, and these are my friends." Naruto gestured to his team, so they could introduce themselves.

"My name's Hinata."

"Raphtalia."

"Konohamaru, sorry for scaring ya." He smirked at the situation he created.

They now knew each other's names, but there was still tension in the air. One side is outnumbered; the other side's stealth plan just went up in flames.

"So...you said you were meeting someone here?" Naruto asked, remembering what they were talking about before this confrontation started.

"Yes, and it's no business of yours." Xenovia didn't take kindly to his question.

"We're both staying under the same roof, feels like it's going to become our business."

Xenovia ignored him and looked at the front door, her mind continued to wonder. "Where is he?" He should have been here before them, even if he was late; he should be here by now.

Xenovia then looked back at Naruto, maybe they know something. "Have you seen someone like us arrive here recently?"

"No."

"How long have you been here?"

Even though Xenovia asked Naruto a lot of questions, and has yet to answer Naruto's last one, he continued to humour her. "Around half an hour at best, the only people we've bumped into are you two."

"Half an hour, on top of the time since we got here..." Has something happened to him?

Xenovia turned and headed for the front door, but Naruto called out to her. "Are you going to look for him?"

"Yes"

"Then we'd like to help." He approached her, with Hinata in tow.

Xenovia grew suspicious. "It's our business, and why would you want to help us anyway?"

Naruto shook his head. "Like I said before, we're all staying under the same roof. Wouldn't it be better if we got along? Besides, staying out in this weather won't be good for anyone, and this is Devil territory to boot. If they did something to him, then I would like to know if we're dealing with Devils that shoot first, ask questions later. And if not, then the guy out there just needs some help."

"You don't even know who we are looking for?"

"A priest, an exorcist, someone with a cross around their neck." It wouldn't be hard to narrow down.

"He's got a point their Xenovia." Irina seemed ok with it, or maybe this is how she always acts.

Xenovia was still wary of them, but if the one they're meant to meet here is in trouble, then more eyes could help. This is also a chance for her to learn more about them. "Fine, but how will you help search?" Will they split up and go street to street.

"Hinata will be out in front, she's...good at finding things. Konohamaru, Raphtalia, hold down the fort until we get back." Xenovia has quickly found out that this Naruto is the leader of these four.

"You got it, boss."

"We'll be fine."

Naruto nodded at his two teammates, full confidence that they will be fine without him for a moment. Naruto and Hinata then joined up with Xenovia and Irina to find this missing ally of theirs.

.

The two Shinobi and exorcists headed out into the storm. Before leaving, the two Shinobi equipped some hooded cloaks to deal with the rain. Xenovia and Irina asked where they even kept them. The only answer they got was 'places' and not a Sealing Scroll. The downpour was immense, the sound of rain battered against their hoods, making it hard to hear.

"How will you find him?" Xenovia asked Hinata. Against her judgment, she allowed Hinata to take point on this, even when she still believes that this is not their business.

"Please give me a moment." Hinata turned away so they couldn't see her activated her Byakugan. Her eyes scanned over the city, the Devils were where she last saw them, still in their homes. Actually, that Kiba was now inside, no longer wandering the streets. His demonic power was acting strangely like some leaked out of him. Hinata continued her search and found something disturbing. A human lying on the ground; motionless, wearing a cross around his neck.

"I think I've found him. He's not moving, we need to hurry." Hinata quickly dashed off, and Naruto joined her. Xenovia and Irina were slow on the get-go, still wondering how Hinata found him, and how she did it so fast too. But they quickly ran after them.

Before the exorcists joined them, Hinata whispered something to Naruto. "Naruto, his heart's not beating."

Naruto whispered back. "I see." Something did happen to him.

After a short run, the four came across the missing priest, lying in a pool of his own blood. The continued rain carried his blood to a nearby drain, as the cold temperatures quickly turned his skin pale.

Xenovia and Irina looked at him with sadness, losing an ally and a priest of the church was hard on them. Xenovia tried to hide it behind her stoic expression, but Naruto felt the sadness within her, as well as anger.

Hinata looked at the walls around them and noticed. "Look here." She rubbed her hand along the wall, along a slash mark. "There was a fight here, very recent, it must have happened within the last hour."

"Did the Devils do this?" Xenovia was already considering them the ones responsible. It was either them or the...other group.

Naruto remembered what Hinata said when they first got to this town. "Hinata saw Kiba walking around the streets. Did those two bump into each other and duke it out?"

"Naruto-Kun, we should take him back to the church, we might find something that can help."

"Like what?" Irina didn't get it.

"A body has a wealth of information," Hinata remembers that teaching.

"Alright, I'll carry him back." Naruto carefully picked up the deceased priest. "Let's get back before we're spotted by someone, or before we catch a cold."

.

They all got back to the church safely and with no new incidents occurring. While the two different groups kept an eye on each other, they didn't show any hostility. So it's so far, so good.

But they both had the same question for each other, why are they here?

Funny thing is neither of them could really tell the other: secret missions and all that.

Naruto, Raphtalia and Konohamaru stood at the left side of the church, while Xenovia and Irina stood at the right side. Between them was Hinata, examining the deceased priest. She didn't use her Chakra, the two exorcists would see. So she only used her eyes.

Hinata could tell that he's been dead for less than an hour, and was covered in cuts, slashes and more. Whoever did this to him, made it last, made it hurt. The killing blow was a deep stab wound through his chest. But the shape of the wound was strange. It curved slightly at the top, only to suddenly extend out and puncture several other organs. He's wasn't killed by a typical designed blade.

Hinata told them her findings and used a kunai to carve out a rough drawing of the type of sword she thinks did this. It was far from perfect, it was a guess based on the observations of a wound, not the sword itself.

But it painted an interesting carving of what kind of sword they're dealing with. It was curved, but rather than curving towards the wielder like a katana would. This blade curved away from the wielder. The centre of the sword had some kind of expansion, with additional small blades sticking out.

All in all, a bizarre design for a sword, and it was unlikely that everyone was swinging around a sword like that. They see the sword, they'll see the killer.

Then Naruto felt it, the two exorcist's emotions swelled. It was a mixture of resolve and concern, and the two shared glances at each other. Naruto looked at them dead in the eye. "You know what this sword is don'tcha?"

Xenovia responded calmly. "It's our business to deal with."

"I get that, but if a psychopath is going around killing people, I'd like to know what we're dealing with." What kind of sword is it, and what kind of guy is swinging it.

"We will deal with it shortly, so you don't have to worry about it." Xenovia had no intention of telling Naruto anything.

"Sorry but we can't. No hard feelings right." Irina felt the same, but she said it in a much lighter tone.

"We're not going to get anything out of them with just talking." They'll need to try something else.

"We'll see about that tomorrow."

"What happens now?" Ask Xenovia, both groups came to the church. Who stays, who leaves.

It was obvious to Naruto. "I guess we share the place." What else would happen?

Xenovia agreed. "We've already proven to each other that we don't have any intentions of hurting one another." And it's a bit late for relocation.

"There is a large stone room through that door. It's safe from the weather and has plenty of room for all of us." Raphtalia pointed towards the door, which leads to said room.

"We will need someone on watch." Said Irina.

Naruto waved her off. "We've already sorted that out."

"Cool." Irina smiled at that answer. Happy that she could get some sleep.

"I'll switch with you in two hours Naruto-Kun." Hinata then leads the others to the room where they all will sleep, except Xenovia stayed behind.

She just stared at Naruto, and he couldn't tell why. Then she finally spoke. "...May I speak with you Naruto?"

"...Sure." They then both walked near to the main door, both keeping a lookout while having a conversation.

"So how can I help you?" Why did Xenovia wait until it was just them?

"I wish to apologies for pointing my blade at your friend Konohamaru." She said it very plainly, but Naruto could tell she was sincere.

"It's fine, no one got hurt."

"Is it truly coincidence that we chose the same location?" Xenovia and Irina are here for a reason, seemed odd that they would encounter anyone who wasn't a Devil.

Naruto chuckled a little. "With the life I've lived, you'd be surprised how often 'coincidences' happen." Like when Naruto went to the hot springs for training, only to encounter Jiraiya.

"What makes you say that?"

"At times things just happen...and they sometimes lead to other things 'just happening'."

Xenovia thought over Naruto's perspective. Yet she had her own. "Or maybe it's God's Will."

Naruto shook his head with a smile. "I'm not sure about that, I'm not religious ya'know." That and he isn't even from here. Don't think the Biblical God's will applies to him.

"God looks over all of Humanity, and we must carry on his Will." There was no question in Xenovia's mind.

"What about the Devils then?"

"They are abominations that spite God." There was no hesitation in her words

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "...And the Fallen Angels?"

Xenovia turned to look at Naruto. "You know about Fallen Angels as well?"

"Yeah, when we checked over this place, we found some Fallen Angel feathers."

"Then, the rumour was true. Fallen Angels took root in this church, and they came into confrontation with the Devils of this town."

"So again, what about the Fallen Angels?" How does Xenovia see them?

"Nothing more than traitors, who turned against Heaven and God's teachings for their own selfish ends."

"I wouldn't call falling in love and sleeping with someone selfish." And you don't deserve to be called a traitor for that. "Maybe they just had the word traitor thrust upon them?" Then again, pretty sure there were Fallen Angels that did do something evil, which caused them to fall. "They can't be all bad."

Xenovia eyed Naruto. "Why do you defend them?"

"I've never talked to someone of the church before. I'm just trying to understand how you see them. The rest of the world won't touch the three factions with a ten-foot pole. Yet you guys want to kill each other until only one is left standing." Naruto knows a bit of the history, the factions, but what about the people of those factions. Those that weren't born in that period of war.

"It's simply what I believe."

"That so huh."

"Yes."

.

Naruto and Xenovia stayed on watch for the next two hours, making sure no one...well, no one else shows up at the church. The rain and thunder didn't let up, they had a feeling it would go on until morning.

The two talked a little bit, and then had moments of silence between them. Sometimes it was idle talk that didn't amount to anything. Other times it was attempts at figuring out the other side's reason for being here.

Through these talks, and with what happened before, Naruto only knows that these two were meeting up with that dead priest. Why they were meeting him, and why the hell they would come to Devil territory of all places, is still an unknown.

Xenovia still doesn't know anything about Naruto and his team. She didn't feel any power from them. Yet they were able to hide themselves from her and Irina and got the drop on them. The only key thing she knows is that they have a Youkai in their group. So the only thing she can think of is that these humans are somehow friends with that faction. Or at least people of that faction.

If that was the case, then she didn't really have any issue with them. The Youkai and Heaven aren't holding hands, but they have never been in conflict with each other. When Xenovia and Irina get back to the church after their mission, they'll ask about humans working for the Youkai. Is there some kind of group for that within the Youkai faction?

Hinata soon came over to relive them, Xenovia wanted to stay on watch, but the two were able to convince her to let up. Whatever reason the exorcists are here for, they're going to need their full strength.

But before they went to sleep, Naruto asked Xenovia something. "Xenovia, before you hit the sack, can you follow me for just a minute. I need to speak with you?"

"Why, what's this about?" Xenovia was going to anyway since he did the same for her.

Naruto walked up to the destroyed cross and started pushing the table to one side. "Because I need your input on something." Naruto finished moving the table, revealing the hidden stone staircase.

"What is this?" Xenovia was surprised by the hidden staircase. She was never told about this church having a secret passageway.

Naruto picked up a piece of wood and got to manually lighting it with a couple of stones. "When we checked out this place, we found this secret room. It was filled with dead exorcists that have been down there for weeks. But what's weirder is the cross down there." Naruto finished and had a make-shift torch in his hand.

Naruto walked down the steps and Xenovia stayed with him, she was interested in seeing these dead exorcists. They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Naruto was back in the hidden room. He walked forward and showed Xenovia the dead exorcists.

"They've been dead for less than a month. We think they got involved with that rumoured fight between the Devils and Fallen Angels" Naruto explained, but Xenovia didn't answer him. She crouched down and inspected the dead, and she went from curious, to fuming. But she was able to hide it behind a stoic expression. "Stray exorcists." She nearly spat out the name.

"Stray? They're not with the church."

Xenovia shook her head. "No, these of those who were banished from the church for horrendous acts; instead of atoning for their sins, they joined up with the Fallen Angels to continue their cruelty." Xenovia felt deep shame that these people used to be like her.

"The missing-nin of the church faction." Devils have stray Devils, and Heaven have stray exorcists.

"So the Heaven faction wasn't involved in this fight. It was just between the Devils and Fallen Angels." Naruto could see that the robes Xenovia and Irina have on are different from these guys. Xenovia's is white, while these exorcists are black, something to keep in mind. "Then what about this cross?" Naruto lead Xenovia up the steps to the unique cross.

Xenovia knew what this cross was. "To think this was placed underneath a house of God." Behind her eyes lied only outrage.

"What is it?"

"It's used for a ritual."

Naruto already didn't like the sound of this. "What kind of ritual?"

"The removal of a person's Sacred Gear."

"They can be removed from people?"

"Yes...this cross is Fallen Angel design. A Human is chained up against the cross, and after the ritual is complete, the Human's Sacred Gear is removed and taken."

"I thought only humans could have Sacred Gears?" Only humans are born with them.

"Only humans were blessed by God to acquire Sacred Gears at birth. But they can be taken and then used by those of other races."

"What happens to a human if their Sacred Gear is taken?" Naruto's hair covered his eyes. The next answer will determine what he does with this cross.

Xenovia turned around and started walking back to the stairs. As she passed him, she answered. "They lose the will to live." Xenovia left the room and Naruto alone. She headed off to get some rest.

Naruto looked at the cross with anger, which soon turned into rage. Memories of what happened to Gaara, when Naruto didn't make it in time. Not just him, but what happened to the other Jinchūriki.

Naruto needed to vent his anger, and he needed to do what he felt he should have done since he first got here.

Destroy the cross.

.

Xenovia reached the top of the stairs and was back in the main hall. She was just about to head off to the other room to rest, and then she heard something get destroyed. The sound of rock and stone imploding, and a large amount of dirt flew up from the hidden passageway, nearly pushing her off her feet.

The winds stopped, and Xenovia heard only deathly silence. Then she heard footsteps, they got louder and louder; until Naruto came into view. He just walked past Xenovia, not even sparing her a glance.

He spoke only once. "Let's get some rest." And then he left Xenovia to her thoughts.

She looked down the passageway and realised what Naruto just did. "He...but how did he?" She still didn't feel any power from him, so how did he destroy that cross?

.

The morning came, the sun shined bright as it finally broke through the storm clouds. The residents of the church were able to get some much-needed sleep. Raphtalia came and woke them all up; she was last on watch duty. Naruto woke up with a stretch and clicked his neck a few times. He looked to his left and saw Hinata, sleeping next to him. She must have joined him when Konohamaru took over watch duty.

They made use of the bath if only to wash their face and hair. Afterwards, Naruto and his team eat some of their provisions. Some rice balls and water, good enough for the day. They noticed that Irina and Xenovia didn't have anything and they offered them some. They accepted.

Irina did a grace to God before eating, Xenovia joined her. Naruto didn't get what they were doing or what 'amen' meant. Raphtalia explained to him that they were being thankful for the food before eating it and that 'amen' meant 'so be it'.

If there was anything Naruto got from all this, is that these people of the church take their religious beliefs seriously.

Kurama found it annoying. "They sound indoctrinated." Kurama came into existence by the hand of a God, the Sage of Sixth Paths Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. But old man Sixth Paths never wanted others worshipping him, and while Kurama had the highest respect for him. He never viewed him as perfect. He was unable to prevent his son from falling into darkness, which had deadly consequences for the Shinobi world centuries later.

But these two girls view their Biblical God as a perfect being that can do no wrong, had no faults, could never make a mistake. Kurama found that both annoying and stupid.

Naruto found it worrying. No one, absolutely no one is perfect. Yet these two, and probably all the other people of the church think this Biblical God is perfect. So when he stumbles, and that's a when, not if; their view of him will shatter. The results of their new perspective, well, who knows how they'll end up.

"We'll be going now." Xenovia and Irina have finished up and are about to head out.

"Where're you off to?" Ask Konohamaru, while he still had a half a rice ball in his mouth.

"To complete our business here, you have yours, we have ours. Thank you for the food." Xenovia thanked them and then left the church.

"See ya later." Irina waved goodbye and joined her friend.

The team gave it a minute...Ok, now's good. "We're not leaving them to their business are we?" Konohamaru smirked at Naruto.

"Nope." And Naruto smirked back.

"Should we really get involved Naruto?" In Raphtalia's mind, they only came here for Kuroka.

"Until Kuroka makes a move we're sitting here twiddling our thumbs. Now we know that the Devils and Heaven factions don't get along...like at all. Now two people of the church willing came here to Devil turf, and a sword-wielding maniac is out killing people. If Kuroka is coming here, and if something is about to go down in this town, then maybe we should find out what it is; if and when Kuroka runs straight into it to grab Shirone." Xenovia and Irina know what sword killed that priest, yet another reason why they need to find out what the hell is going on.

"What's the plan Naruto-Kun?"

"We're going to tail them."

.

Unlike how it was when they first arrived, Kuoh Town was bustling. Everyone was out and going about their day. The team was easily able to follow Xenovia and Irina without being seen, by them or anyone else.

The longer the journey took, the more the team started to realise something. Nearly all the humans they saw were wearing the same style of clothing. Not only that, but it was also what they saw Rias and her Peerage wearing during that Rating Game.

The exorcists stopped at the end of a bridge, which lead to some kind of institution. Raphtalia pointed out to them that it was a school. Very different from the schools in the Shinobi world. Doubt they were teaching kids how to fight there.

The team took cover underneath the bridge. Naruto, Hinata and Konohamaru used Chakra to stick to the ceiling of the bridge. While Raphtalia stayed on street level, using Youjutsu to turn the team invisible.

They stayed like that for a while, until two students approached the exorcist duo. Hinata has seen them before, they're Devils. The one with the short black hair with glasses had Evil Pieces connected to her; she's another 'King'. The one at her side had much longer black coloured hair, and was one of those Pieces connecting to her.

They listened in on the very, very short conversation they had. It boiled down to Xenovia asking...well more like demanding a meeting with Rias Gremory in order to discuss something important.

The Devil they were talking to, who introduced herself as Sona, agreed to this...demand. She seemed like the no-nonsense type, she didn't let Xenovia's way of speaking to her get under her skin. But Naruto felt slight fear in Sona. Maybe fear isn't the right word, more like she was aware of something very dangerous to her, something life-threatening. There was something about Xenovia and Irina that concerned her.

Sona told them that Rias can be found at someplace called the occult research club at the school behind them. They agreed to meet her there tomorrow, after school, around sunset.

This boggled Naruto. "Every single time Xenovia opened her mouth to talk about Devils. It was always, they're abominations, creatures of pure evil, and on and on it went. Why would she ever want to talk to one?"

"Perhaps this was their reason for coming here."

"...We haven't stumbled onto an assassination mission...have we?"

"Hmm...I don't believe so. I do feel hostility from Xenovia when it comes to Devils. But it never reached the level of hostile intent. Whatever reason they're here for, it's not to kill Devils."

"What other reason could there be?"

"That's what we need to find out."

Once the short meeting between the groups finished. Sona and her friend entered the school. Xenovia and Irina went off in a different direction. There may be more people those two need to meet.

"Hinata, Raphtalia, keep following Xenovia and Irina. See who else they came here to talk to. Me and Konohamaru will find this club that Rias seems to base herself at." Knowing where the Devil's HQ is in this town would be good to know. Hinata used her Byakugan to locate Rias. She, along with a couple of others, are at a building deep within the grounds of the school.

Before splitting up, Raphtalia used a Youjutsu spell. It appeared as four small yellow orbs in mid-air. They floated into their ears, one for each team member. It was a kind of communication Jutsu, this way they can remain in contact with each other.

Seems Yasaka's lessons for Raphtalia entailed more than just combat-related techniques.

The team paired off, the girls followed the church girls, and the boys entered the Devil's lair.

.

Naruto and Konohamaru sneaked into the school, moving from hiding spot to hiding spot, tree to tree. Too easy, not like when Naruto had to look out for Iruka sensei back at his academy days.

They came upon a building surrounded by trees. It had two floors, with a clock tower on the roof. Naruto could feel the presence of Devils in the building...but he also felt her.

"Is that Shirone?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"I feel someone who has both Youkai Spiritual energy and Demonic power. It must be her." Yet Naruto couldn't feel any Senjutsu from her...that's odd.

"If she's not using Senjutsu, then it will be easier to hide from her. But if she's anything like Kuroka she'll have a good sense of smell so be careful." Luckily they will just smell like normal humans to her if she did smell them. Kuroka may have smelt Kurama from Naruto, but she had to get in his face to do it.

The duo jumped up on to the second level of the clubhouse, sticking to the walls. The two turned themselves into birds to hide from sight. The two came across a window, to a room with Rias and a few members of her Peerage inside.

They peaked into the room and saw four people they recognised. Rias sitting on a sofa, Shirone was on the other one. Issei and Asia were standing up and talking with their 'king'.

Let's see what they're talking about.

Issei was the first one to speak. "So where's Kiba, have any of you guys seen him?"

"Kiba, the Devil who was wandering the streets last night." He's not with them?

Shirone then complained about it in a rather cold voice, at least it sounded like she was complaining. "She's not like Kuroka that's for sure." Shirone didn't seem like the playful type.

At first, the group was only talking about their worry for Kiba. But it lead to something darker.

Issei asked how Kiba was involved with the Holy swords.

Rias answered. "Do you remember me telling you before about how he was a survivor of the Holy Sword Project? What I didn't tell you was that there were several other children involved, they were all being raised to use an Excalibur.

Kiba is involved with the Holy Sword of Excalibur.

Rias went into detail about Kiba's past. He was once a member of the church. But he and his friends got forced into an experiment, the Holy Sword Project.

Excalibur was one of the four true Holy Swords, but during the Great War, it was destroyed. The church recovered its pieces and reforged them into seven other blades, each bearing the name Excalibur.

But the true Holy Swords all have one fundamental weakness. Very, very few people could use them. That's what this project was about, creating artificial Holy Sword wielders that could wield the real thing, not those cheap, mass-produced ones.

However, it seems Kiba and the others forced into the experiment were never able to use the sword. The project failed. To cover it all up, those leading it attempted to kill all the children, with Kiba being the only survivor.

Naruto was not happy, not one bit. "So the church has a fucked up side too, huh. I would very much like to talk to Xenovia about this." She painted the church and Heaven faction as a group for the good of all...unless you're a Devil or a Fallen Angel.

Then what the hell was this.

This was how Kiba came to become a Devil and be a member of Rias's Peerage. Rias found him on the verge of death and reincarnated him, though her reasoning for this was something.

Kiba's passion and his promise to get revenge impressed Rias; she believed such passion could be used in a meaningful way. Something Naruto didn't agree with.

"Passion for revenge...you have no idea what you're playing with Rias. That passion will be the death of him...and others too." Naruto also wondered what Rias thought was meaningful. If it was purely to fight for her house and her name then that was pitiful...Kiba deserves better than that.

Or does she want him to find a new home, a new family and friends? To help them achieve their dreams and his own...that would be better. But how would she handle his goal of revenge? Would Rias try to stop him, or help him?

Naruto and Konohamaru were hoping to hear a bit more about it, but then Sona and her friend entered the room. Someone else was also with them; it was Akeno, Rias's queen.

Seems Sona finally caught up. She asked Rias to come with her to discuss something important.

Naruto already knew what they were going to talk about.

Naruto and Konohamaru jumped away from the building and hid in the trees.

"From what we heard about, it didn't seem like the church would stoop to that level Naruto."

"No matter the group, there's always an ugly side." The Shinobi world has had its fair share of it.

Then the front doors to the clubhouse opened, and Issei, Asia and Shirone left together.

"Let's follow them." Naruto wanted to get a better read on Shirone. She's a natural Senjutsu user, but he doesn't feel a drop of it in her.

They followed them for a bit. Naruto was hoping Kurama would found out anything new. He did. "The brat hasn't used Senjutsu in a long time, years even."

"Why would she intentionally weaken herself? Or is it because she can't handle the chaotic Nature energy of this world?"

"I would say the latter, but it feels like she hasn't even trained in Senjutsu for years. If she couldn't handle it, she should at least be trying to improve her control of it." But that's not the case here. Shirone has just cut herself off from Nature completely.

Why would she do that?

Trauma from the experiments.

But Shirone was never subjected to them.

Shirone then left the group and headed home on her own. Naruto wanted to continue observing her, but Kurama told him not to push his luck.

The cat may not be using Senjutsu, but she still has the senses of a cat. The city is full of humans; she won't be able to pick them out straight away. But if they hang around her for too long, she'll notice that the same human's smells have been around her for a while.

She might be able to sense their Chakra too. If she sees them and actively tries to sense them out. She will notice.

Naruto heeded Kurama's warning, and they instead followed Issei and Asia.

.

Hinata and Raphtalia continued to follow the church followers through the streets, Xenovia and Irina still had no idea they were being followed.

But Raphtalia was starting to question their actions. "We're well away from the Devils now, and this is in the opposite direction of the church. Where are they going?"

"This seems to be a housing area of town. Do they have family here?" Hinata could only see families in the buildings around them. No guard stations, big shops or any kind on institution in the local vicinity.

Xenovia and Irina stopped at one of the houses, and knocked on the door. Seeing this Hinata and Raphtalia jumped up to the roof of a house opposite them. They wanted to see who's going to open that door.

Soon enough someone did, a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes. Hinata and Raphtalia knew she was a normal human of this world. Why meet her?

"Is that one of their parents?" Ask Raphtalia.

"Can't be, there is no resemblance between the three of them." But it seems that Irina knows her, she was acting very nostalgic with the woman.

"We'll stay here and see what happens." Hinata made the call. But she also had something to ask Raphtalia. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

"About being in Devil territory I mean?"

Raphtalia looked down; she didn't find this conversation very comfortable. "I'm not stuck in a cell, and we're not trapped in the underworld, we can leave whenever we want with Naruto's teleportation Jutsu..."

"Are you ok?" Raphtalia's ramble started worrying Hinata.

"...Sorry I'm just trying to calm myself. This time I'm not trapped in any way so it's better I guess. I know these Devils are not part of the faction of Devils that took me and destroyed my home. But I still don't trust them." Raphtalia will always expect them to pull something.

"I understand, but please avoid fighting with them as best you can. Only draw your sword against them if they attack you first."

Raphtalia narrowed her eyes. "That all depends on them."

"What's that mean?"

"If they try to put me in chains, or bring an Evil Piece anywhere near me..." Attacking Raphtalia wasn't the only way to start something with her.

"If they try that then we'll stop them, without any bloodshed."

Raphtalia didn't say anything and stayed on watch. Hinata joined Raphtalia in silence and the both of them waited to see if anything would happen between the exorcists.

The Sun was starting to go down.

.

Nighttime descended on Kuoh town. Shockingly, following Issei and Asia lead the Shinobi duo right to Hinata and Raphtalia. They were on the roof of a house. Naruto and Konohamaru jumped up to them.

They were just as surprised to see them. "What are you two doing here?" Ask Hinata.

Naruto pointed to Issei and Asia, who have just entered a house opposite to them. The two Devils seemed shocked and rushed in, Naruto felt fear from them. "Where are Xenovia and Irina?"

"They're in the house those two just entered. They've been talking to the family there for a while now."

"Oh boy." This could end badly.

But surprisingly it didn't, soon enough Xenovia and Irina left the house. Xenovia kept giving the Devils the stink eye. Yet it seemed Irina knew Issei somehow.

"So they're his parents them." Hinata could see a resemblance between those three.

Naruto felt it. "Normal humans of this world, with a Devil son. The parents don't even know." How long will that last. Years pass by and as the parents get old, they notice that Issei stayed young.

That's going to be a difficult conversation.

"What have you two learned from the Devils?" Ask Raphtalia, they were the people she was most concerned about.

"The church has been up to something downright disgusting." Naruto filled the girls in on what he learned. They were both shocked by this; this wasn't the church they've read about.

Raphtalia was most affected by this. Her mother could be connected to the church, and they were capable of this. Then there was this Kiba, like her he too had a score to settle.

He wanted revenge on Excalibur.

She wanted revenge on a Super Devil.

"We should get back to the church before Xenovia and Irina return." Advised Hinata.

Naruto would have joined them, but he saw Issei rush out on his bike. "You guys go on ahead. I'm going to see what he's up to. I'll meet you at the church when I'm done." Naruto didn't really give them a chance to say anything, and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Hinata sighed. Naruto still has a habit of running off ahead sometimes. "Let's get back to the church, Naruto will be fine."

.

Naruto followed Issei to a large bridge, which goes over a local river. Issei seemed to be in a normal mood; it wasn't the first time he's come here.

Naruto hid behind one of the bridge's support pillars. From there, he could stay hidden and also see who Issei came to meet.

He looked to be around his mid-twenties, he wore some brown robes, a yukata maybe. His hair was short spiky black, but his bangs were coloured golden. He sported a goatee as well.

The two were just sitting together and enjoying a peaceful fishing trip.

But all of that got blindsided when Naruto felt the stranger's energy. It felt just like the energy in that cross Naruto destroyed.

"A Fallen Angel...here?" The amount of energy Naruto felt was at Kage level, but since the guy's not showing his wings, Naruto didn't know where he ranked. "I don't get it, they're just sitting together. I thought Devils and Fallen Angels always ended up killing each other."

"Ha, the brat doesn't even know he's fishing with an enemy, and the other guy doesn't care. Wonder how these two met." Kurama found it both amusing and odd. The fact that the Devil brat was fishing with someone who was his natural enemy, and could kill him with his eyes closed, while the other guy just made sport of all this.

But why would a Fallen Angel at this level want to meet a newly reincarnated Devil? Must be because he's the Red Dragon Emperor.

"None of this makes any sense, everything we've read and talked about all lead to the same answer. The three factions would kill each other the moment they made eye contact. Oh but in this town, we've got exorcists meeting with Devils, and now Devils fishing with Fallen Angels." What the hell is going on in this crazy town?

Kurama chuckled. "Here I thought you'd consider this progress, the three factions meeting with each other without incident."

"We both know it isn't that. Xenovia has no love for the Devils, she made that painstakingly clear. This kid doesn't even know he's fishing with a Fallen Angel, which must mean that Rias doesn't know about this." They're not killing each other, but they each have an angle.

"What do you want to do about it?"

"I...I don't know...this is getting out of hand. I'm not sure what our next move should be. Do we lay low and wait for Kuroka. Or do we figure out just what is going on in this town."

"Then get in contact with Yasaka or Gaara. You will need to update them on your progress, and Yasaka may know what the implications of these three factions meeting with each other could cause."

"Yeah...alright, let's get back to the church."

Before leaving Naruto created a Shadow Clone to keep an eye on this Fallen Angel; to found out where he lives, and if he's up to anything suspicious.

Naruto's gut is telling him this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

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Naruto made it back to the church. Only his team were there to greet him, Kurama could feel Xenovia and Irina approaching, but they were a few minutes out. Naruto has some time.

He rushed into the church, catching his friends off guard. Hinata rushed to his side. "Naruto is there something wrong?" she could tell that he was on edge.

"I don't know yet? Raphtalia, do you have a way of contacting Yasaka?" If she doesn't, he'll just teleport back.

Raphtalia nodded and created a magical circle, it was orange in colour. It then shrank down to a mini circle and flew to ground level. It then grew in size and shined bright, and Yasaka appeared before them. She was tinted orange and was transparent.

"It's good to see you all safe I was starting to get worried. Have you found Kuroka yet?" Yasaka looked around, trying to find the missing cat.

"No, she isn't here yet. We think Kuroka's playing it safe until she's confident that she can move in, grab her sister, and get out before anyone notices her. Be it your people or the Devils."

"Kuroka may be hoping to get her sister without getting her involved in any fighting." She wouldn't want to put Shirone in the firing line.

"Right now Kuroka isn't who we're worried about. We...may have walked into something big." Nothing ever goes to plan.

Yasaka's expression turned serious. "What's happened?"

"We got here safe and sound and found shelter in an abandoned church. Seemed like a good place to set up, Devils won't want to come here. We also found evidence of a battle between Devils and Fallen Angels, as well as stray exorcists. That battle happened less than a month ago."

"Then what is the problem?" If it was a month ago, then none of that would affect them now.

"We weren't the only ones coming to this town. Two exorcists came to this church just like we did."

Yasaka eyes widened. "What...why did they risk coming to Devil territory?"

"Their names are Xenovia and Irina, and we don't know what it's about, but they've arranged a meeting with Rias. They want to talk to her."

"What is it they're going to discuss?" Yasaka couldn't think of a single reason. It can't be an actual diplomatic meeting. Otherwise, they would have sent a high ranking priest or a Seraph, and they certainly wouldn't talk to an heiress.

"They spoke with a Devil called Sona and they intend to have a sit down with Rias tomorrow. But they never spilt the beans on what they're going to talk about."

Yasaka had one last question on that front. "And these exorcists never tried to inflict harm on the Devils?"

Naruto started rubbing the back of his head with a smile. "The only people they've pointed swords at were us. But we were able to calm the situation down. Right now we're sharing space in the church, and things have been ok so far. We've talked a bit here and there."

"I see...do they know your reasoning for coming to Kuoh?" That would be bad, Kuroka is known by the other factions as well. Urakyoto is the only safe haven for her.

Naruto shook his head. "No, both sides spent a while trying to get the other to talk."

"Naruto, Xenovia and Irina are about ten minutes out." Hinata remained Naruto of his short time frame.

Naruto needed to speed this up. "Ok, the other reason I needed to talk to you is because the Devil Issei, ya'know the one with the red gauntlet."

"Yes, I remember." The Red Dragon Emperor isn't someone you forget.

"Well, he's been meeting up with a Fallen Angel. I don't know what rank he is, but he's pretty strong." It was a safe bet to Naruto. If all the Devils in this town attack him at once, it still won't make a difference.

Yasaka was now starting to get nervous. "A Devil has a contract with a Fallen Angel, and the rest of the Devils have no idea." That's a diplomatic incident waiting to happen. "Naruto, describe this Fallen Angel to me please." If he's as powerful as Naruto thinks, then he must be highly ranked. Yasaka knows all the high ranked Fallen Angels. She just hopes it's no one that would cause problems.

Naruto brought his hand to his chin and remembered what that Fallen Angel looked like. "I'd say he looked around mid-twenties, he had short spiky black hair...there was something else too..." Naruto then clicked his fingers. "He had bangs that were dyed golden. At least I think its dye."

When Yasaka heard that last bit, she froze in place. Naruto could have sworn he heard the sound of glass shattering, or maybe that was his imagination. Yasaka slowly looked up and breathed deeply, yet slowly. "That Idiot."

Wait...does Yasaka know this guy? "You want to fill us in here Yasaka?"

"The idiot who was fishing with the Red Dragon Emperor is none other than Azazel." Naruto didn't know if Yasaka was in pain, or if she was just that pissed.

But Naruto remember that name. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, back up. Azazel...as in the same Azazel that leads the Fallen Angel faction; the guy who is the strongest Fallen Angel...that Azazel?"

"...Sadly..."

"Do you know him personally Lady Yasaka?" Ask Raphtalia, it sounded like Yasaka has met him face to face."

"He's come to my city a few times, hoping to improve relations between our factions. I keep telling him to start taking his position as a leader more seriously and keep his people in line." They keep causing problems in her territory. "That and every time we talked...his eyes wandered." And it was getting on her last nerve.

"Why do I always have to deal with stupid perverts?" Never mind that, back to what's important.

"...Yasaka...I'm grasping at straws here, got any advice for me?" Naruto was hoping to deal with the three factions one at a time, not all three at once.

"Naruto...I know this may not sit well with your leaders. But consider this a personal request from me. No matter what, do whatever you can to get in that meeting." Yasaka almost sounded like she was pleading Naruto to do this.

Naruto...could feel...no, he could see her fear. "Is this situation that bad?"

"Since the end of the Great War and the beginning of this fragile cease-fire, while peace has been maintained, fights still happened between the factions. But they always involved low ranking individuals. So the leaders of each faction could write them off, or deny any involvement and say it was the act of a rogue element...They won't be able to do that this time." Yasaka spoke that last part with genuine fear edged in her voice. Concern for her people, and fear for her daughter.

"This time we have two Devil heiresses and younger sisters of two of the Four Great Satans. Add in representatives of the church, and the leader of the Fallen Angels...all converging in one location...Naruto...it...it could mean..." Yasaka grabbed onto her left arm, to stop it from shaking.

Naruto held his breath. "What could it mean?"

"...War..."

That word, the word that Naruto hates. The way of life that he despises, the kind of world he fears. That word shook him to his core.

"If these three factions come into conflict with each other, with the individuals that are here, the three factions will go to war with each other once again. The peace we have is that fragile...and that means..."

"I understand." Naruto interrupted Yasaka.

Yasaka looked at Naruto, and she saw something. Something within his eyes, was it resolve, determination...will...or some kind of fire? Whatever it was, it looked indomitable.

"If the three factions go to war with each other again it would mean the end of them." Those three groups are on the brink of extinction. "So it will bring other factions it to the war, whether it's because they wanted to or were forced to."...Which also meant..." The Youkai would be forced into the war, and as your allies, so would we." A war involving two worlds, it could mean the end of every one.

The Shinobi can just retreat to their world, and bring the Youkai with them. But there are people here who can follow...those stupid stones, and if that happens, then the war would follow them to their home, to their people.

They could run from the war but never escape it.

And Naruto couldn't stomach the idea of leaving a world to burn in the fires of war. Because three groups of idiots ruined it for everyone.

"Yasaka, we will get in that meeting, consequences be dammed." It's happing, get on board or get out of the way.

"Naruto...thank you." If he can stop it from escalating to war, then her daughter can still have a future. "I'll tell Gaara everything, and I will do whatever it takes to convince your Kage that this was the only option. Naruto, don't tell anyone that the Fallen Angel here is Azazel. You can say that a powerful Fallen Angel is here, but do not tell them that it's the leader of the Fallen Angels."

Naruto did his little saluted with a smile. "You got it. But ya'know, I'm also doing this for Kuroka."

"Oh, how so?"

"Even if we bring Kuroka back, she won't stop. She'll keep doing this over and over until she gets her sister back. If we keep stopping her like this, she'll come to resent us, until she only sees us as people in the way. I don't have any way to convince her to slow down. But if I talk to Shirone and see how she is right now, I might be able to." If he's right about how Shirone feels right now, Naruto knows he can do something for Kuroka.

"Think you can do it?"

Naruto smirked. "Watch me."

His confidence lifted Yasaka's spirits. "Keep the peace, and make sure to save that cat as well." Yasaka smiled at them and then cut the connection.

The church descended into silence, the realisation of the situation at hand reached each of them. They know what's at stake, the lives on the line.

One thing they all knew, they couldn't...no, they will not allow this war to come to past.

Naruto turned to face his team. "Are you with me?"

"Yes."

"Always."

"To the end."

Time to convince the exorcists.

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Xenovia and Irina returned to the church, the first step of their mission was done. But they still had much to do. As they entered the church, they saw their fellow roommates hanging around the main hall, they seemed tense about something.

Xenovia was just about to walk past Naruto, until he called out to her. "So how did your talk with the Devils go?" Naruto got straight to the point.

Xenovia stopped in her tracks. "What did you say?" He knows?

"You and Irina talked to that Sona girl. I never would have guessed exorcists would want to sit down with Devils. I mean with everything you said about them Xenovia, it's hard to believe ya'know." Naruto smirked, making light of the situation he's causing.

Xenovia spun around, giving Naruto a dangerous look. "You followed us. We agreed to keep our business separate!"

"First off no we didn't, you just said that and left. Second, yes, we followed you, and can you really blame us. Any other day you would sooner kill them than talk to them. Of course we would want to know what's going down." What Naruto did wasn't something exclusive.

Even if Xenovia somewhat agreed with his reasoning, it didn't change how she felt. "Was this your aim from the start, to prevent us from completing our mission?" Xenovia was this close to drawing her sword.

Naruto dropped his teasing act, he's done enough. "Of course not, when we came here we had no idea anyone else would show up. If our aim was to stop your mission then we would have stopped you the moment you walked through that door." They had the two exorcists dead to rights.

"Then what is this about?" Irina was also displeased about this, but she didn't show the same level of hostility that Xenovia did.

"We want to help you," Naruto said it as it is.

Xenovia didn't get him, she couldn't understand his aim. "We said this was our mission, why would you want to get involved. You don't even know what's happening."

"But I know what could happen." That stopped the girls from speaking. Naruto continued. "Whatever reason you've got to speak to Rias, we know what could happen if that meeting goes south."

"We didn't come here to hurt them," Irina said, believing that Naruto thinks their mission was to kill Rias.

"Oh we know that, but we also know that if you end up fighting Rias, and end up killing her...the Devils wouldn't leave it be." And it's not just that. "But what makes this worse if because we know something you don't."

Xenovia raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"Did you know that Issei is in contact with a Fallen Angel?"

The first one to react was Irina. "No, he would never do that, you're lying!"

"We're not, and don't worry about it Irina. Issei doesn't even know the guy he's talking with is a Fallen Angel." On another day, that would have been funny.

Xenovia lowered her guard, there was no lie in Naruto's eyes, she could just tell. She approached him, shocking her friend Irina by her change in attitude. "Please tell me what you know."

And so Naruto did. "After you two left his house he went down to the river to meet him. But they were only fishing together. Issei has no clue who he really is."

"How strong is he?"

"I didn't see a wing count, but I know for a fact that if the Devils of this town all tried to fight him at once, he'd kill them all pretty easily." It would be a one-sided stomp.

Xenovia then got right in Naruto's face. "Did he have long black hair, red eyes and long ears?" She got frantic with her questioning.

"No...his hair was short, and he looked normal to me." Where did that come from?

"She just gave a description of someone; someone who she thinks is around here." Kurama could feel her intent. This was of the utmost importance to Xenovia.

"You think this guy with red eyes is a part of their mission?"

"I do."

"Xenovia, are you looking for someone?"

Xenovia flinched, catching on to her slip up.

"So I'm right. Xenovia, I'll say it again, we want to help you."

Xenovia didn't ask why this time, instead she stayed silent, waiting for Naruto's answer.

"Right now all three factions are in this town. The worst possible outcome for that could be another war."

"..." Xenovia stayed quiet.

"If that happens then everyone pays for it. Innocent people from all sides will die. We don't have some ulterior motive to get one up over you. We want to make sure your mission ends with the best possible outcome, all of us going home." And the world staying at peace, however fragile it is.

Xenovia looked up at him and was searching for something. Truth, deception, it could have been either of them.

Irina saw Xenovia's actions. "You're really considering it Xenovia?"

Xenovia didn't answer her. She stayed in place for what felt like a lifetime.

Then she finally spoke.

"Do you truly just want to help?"

"Yeah, I'd like to think we're friends."

"Friends...we're not friends."

"I disagree."

"You spied on us."

"It was purely innocent, and we even confessed our sins to you, in a church no less."

His aim or not, Naruto got a small chuckled out of Xenovia, but she quickly covered it up.

Irina's mouth unhinged. "Did you just laugh?"

"You're hearing things."

Naruto then raised his hand and offered Xenovia a handshake.

Xenovia just look at it, contemplating his meaning.

So he asked her again. "Friends?"

"You are a weird person."

"But not a bad person, right."

Xenovia finally showed a genuine smile. "No...I don't believe so."

"So, friends?"

Xenovia couldn't stop herself, as if some force compelled her to raise her own hand as well.

She shook his hand. "Friends."

"Will you let us join you in your meeting and back you up in your mission?"

"Can you guys fight?"

Naruto flashed a foxy grin. "We can."

Even though Xenovia couldn't feel any power from him or the other two humans, she still believed him. "Then...I thank you for your aid."

"Are you sure about this Xenovia?" Irina knows headquarters told them not to involve others in their mission.

"You know who we're up against, the odds of us completing our mission, or surviving it are low."

"Yeah I get that, but they're just normal humans and one Youkai, they can't help us."

"Not true."

"What do you mean Xenovia?"

"They were able to sneak into and get around Devil territory without them or us noticing. Not only that, but I see their spirit."

"Spirit?"

"The spirit of a warrior, I see it within them." As if she could feel their experiences. Naruto has seen some shit.

Irina was still unsure. "Are you guys ok with this?"

"We are. We have all got things we want to protect. We're in this together ya'know. So Xenovia, what's your mission."

"To recover the Excalibur fragments from Kokabiel."

Koka-who.

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Yasaka made the right call, telling Naruto to get in that meeting. With what Xenovia just told him, this situation can go to hell real fast. Kokabiel, a ten winged Cadre Fallen Angel stole several Excalibur swords from the church. They don't know why. But in this period of an uneasy cease-fire, such an act is unacceptable.

This is why the situation is so tricky for the church. Because they know Kokabiel fled to Kuoh Town, they couldn't send the 'right' people after him. If they sent a leader class, after another leader class, within a third faction's territory; it could be mistaken for a declaration of war. This is why Xenovia and Irina were sent, they could move around Devil territory much more easily than a Seraph.

They were even giving two of the swords of Excalibur to use in their mission. Xenovia had the one of destruction, and Irina had the one of mimicry. One that's all about destroying the enemy, the other is about changing shape and form. Powerful swords that Naruto would like to see in action.

But Naruto has seen and felt Azazel's power too. His is the strongest and only twelve winged Fallen Angel. This Kokabiel only had ten. So even if he's weaker, to send Xenovia and Irina, even with the swords, against him...it's suicide.

But those girls knew this, they were offered the mission, and they accepted, knowing the risks. They would fight for and even give their lives for their people.

There was a real Shinobi in them.

But now that Naruto and his team are involved, the mission is no longer a one-way trip. They just have to make sure this trip doesn't spark an even bigger conflict.

The group formulated a plan on how they're going to play this. Tomorrow at sunset, they'll head over to the Devil's club. Xenovia and Irina will do what they intended to do initially. Only this time, Naruto and his team will play the role of allies involved with their mission.

If everything goes well during the meeting, then Naruto will keep his mouth shut. But if it escalates, he'll step in.

But he is hoping to speak with Shirone, to see how she's doing with them.

After that, they'll search for this crow, kick his ass, and recover the fragments. Even if Xenovia rejected his offer of aid, they would still be involved. After those two meet the Devils, they will know that people of the church are in town. If they began searching for them, the most likely place would be the church. The Devils would have a reason to come back here.

Speaking about the Devils, Naruto asked Xenovia about the Holy Sword Project. Xenovia explained that it was despised by those of the church, and those involved with that project were kicked out, something called excommunicated. A man named Valper Galilei was in charge of the project...a name Naruto will remember.

During the final talk about the plan, Naruto and Raphtalia brought Xenovia to one side. They needed to talk to her.

"Xenovia I know this is a bit sudden, but I was wondering if you could help us out with a couple of things?" Said Naruto.

"What do you need help with, is it important?"

"Yes, after this mission is done, would you be able to help me get in contact with the higher-ups of your faction?"

Xenovia didn't see that coming. "Why would you need to talk to them?"

"I'm hoping to learn more about the church and the Angels. I would like to establish a positive relationship with them ya'know. So I was wondering if you can help with that."

"Yes I can do that for you, it would be the least I could do for you." When she gets back, Xenovia will try to help Naruto get in contact with her higher-ups. "Is there anything else?"

Naruto stepped aside so Raphtalia could talk to Xenovia. "Can you help me with this?" Raphtalia showed her cross to Xenovia.

"A cross of the church...do you believe in our God?" This is the first time Xenovia has seen a Youkai with a cross.

"Not really...this belonged to my mother. But she was killed, and it was passed onto me. Recently I learned that there is something sealed within it, but we can't open it, not without Holy power. Can you help me, it would mean a lot." Raphtalia was doing her best to stay composed, but this was something she sorely needed.

Xenovia shook her head. "I myself can't open it. While I have Holy power within me, I can't control it like an Angel can. But I promise that when I return to the church, I will see to it you get the help you need."

Raphtalia almost cried tears of joy, but she settled for bowing her head. "Thank you so much Xenovia."

Xenovia smiled and reassured Raphtalia that her cross will be opened. But now Xenovia needed to ask Naruto of something. "Tell me, who is it you work for?"

"Work with would be a better term for it, but do you know who Yasaka is?"

"The leader of the Youkai faction?" Xenovia then looked over at Raphtalia, now it made sense. "That explains why a Youkai is a member of your team, so are you a part of some human group within the Youkai faction?"

"She's so close yet so far from the truth." Kurama had a dark chuckle about it.

"No, but me, Raphtalia, Hinata and Konohamaru are friends with them. We help each other out."

"So did Yasaka send you here?" Naruto knows of her mission, but Xenovia didn't know his.

"We came here to find a missing Youkai."

"Who?"

Naruto's fingers twitched, this is a tricky position. But Xenovia told him her mission and showed a level of trust. If Naruto couldn't do the same thing, then this alliance between them won't work. He won't repeat the mistake he made with Yasaka. "Can you keep it a secret?"

Xenovia nodded, and Naruto put his trust in her. "We came here to find a Youkai called Kuroka."

Xenovia's eyes widened. "The SS class stray Devil...but she's under the Youkai faction's protection. Why is she here?"

"Kuroka is here on a personal mission, we came here to bring her home before she gets hurt or killed."

"Why would you want to help someone who went insane?"

"That's not how it went down."

"What do you mean?"

"It's Kuroka's secret to tell, I don't have the right. But I've met her and talked to her; trust me, she's not the monster the Devils made her out to be."

"Then, the story was a lie."

"Close...Kuroka did kill a Devil, but not because she went crazy with Senjutsu."

Xenovia didn't have a problem with Kuroka killing a Devil. But stray Devils have caused issues for many other factions. Yet Naruto said she's different...is he right?

"Then I'll put my trust in you Naruto unless this Kuroka proves you wrong." If she does then Xenovia won't hesitate to cut her down.

"That's fair, thank you." Naruto then swung his arm around Xenovia. "Tell you what, if you want, you can come visit us at Urakyoto when this is all over. I can put in a good word for you and Irina." Naruto smirked.

Xenovia shrugged but smiled. "I've never been to Kyoto, could be nice."

Xenovia, Raphtalia and Naruto returned to the group and made sure everyone gets an early night.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

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Chapter 9: Holy Swords and Devils. Complete.

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Shadow clone memory:

If Naruto is in a different world from his clones, then he won't get back the Chakra or the memories of his clones. If Naruto is in the same world as his clones, but is in a different dimension from them, then he will get the Chakra and memories. (Naruto and Kaguya fight.) But if the Chakra is fully lost then the memories of that clone are too.

When Naruto shared his Chakra with the Shinobi forces during the 4th Shinobi war, they got to see and feel his memories. Because of that, Chakra and memory must be closely linked if not interconnected. In short, the Chakra from the clone was lost entirely because it couldn't make it back to the original, and thus the memory of that clone was lost too.

Shirone/Koneko stopped using Senjutsu, so her sensory capabilities took a hit. She still has her cat senses, but because Naruto would smell human to her, she won't peg him as quickly. Unless Naruto spent a lot of time around her for her to memorise his scent. She would need to get close to Naruto and know he's there to spot his Chakra...and other things.

Kiba (From Naruto) said that he had to memorize the scents of all the new people he's working with during the 4th Ninja war. He knew what Naruto smelt like, but when Naruto got KCM, he smelt different. Kiba didn't know his new scent and didn't recognize him or give it any thought.

Shirone/Koneko hasn't even met Naruto. So she would have even less chance that Kiba.

Azazel is powerful, but he doesn't really have any specialised sensing abilities. So he didn't notice Naruto.

Devils, Angels and Fallen Angels all have this sense thing that only applies to the other two. Example: Issei went near a church and his Devils senses acted up, same when he gets near a Holy sword or when Fallen Angel that's revealed himself/herself. The Angels and Fallen Angels also have this thing going for them.

Since Naruto isn't either of them, the Devil's 'warning sense' won't apply to him.

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Next: Chapter 10: Holy Swords and Devils Part 2.

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