Fox of Many Masks

by HaretaSora

Naruto's life has never been easy, from being orphaned shortly after birth to being taken in for stopping a man from sexually assaulting a woman & sued for it is clear that things haven't been easy. After being put on probation, Naruto now finds himself in a new environment hoping to wait for the year to be over so he can return home only to get swept up in things - Naruto x Harem

12. Chapter 12

Fox of Many Masks

Chapter 12

-5/19 - Thursday-

-Art Exhibit-

School was barely noticeable to all of them as the calling card and its reaction was much more important right now.

Thankfully they were all able to sneak into the art exhibit easily enough and the fact that Kitagawa was stuck at Madarame's side meant they didn't have any worry about being spotted by either of them so long as they kept an eye out while at the exhibit.

While risky they needed to be here to see Madarame's reaction to the calling card they had Morgana scatter all around out front the exhibit.

And as someone who worked at the exhibit was walking up to Madarame it seemed they were about to see the reaction to it from their hiding spot nearby that Naruto was able to overheard them from

"Pardon me, sir. There's a matter we need to notify you about" an exhibit staff member nervously told Madarame as the man was talking to visitors, confusing him but getting a nod.

"Please excuse me for a moment" Madarame told the visitors as the two of them stepped to the side a bit. "What is it?" he asked once they were a bit away from the others.

"We found this outside…" the staff member said as he handed Madarame the calling card.

"A letter?" Madarame asked, confused before the staff member frowned.

"Well, it's uh" the staff member started to say before Madarame took the letter from him to look it over.

"'Sir Ichiryusai Madarame, a great sinner of vanity whose talent has been exhausted'" the staff member started to read outloud for Madarame as they both looked over the card. "'You are an artist who uses his authority to shamelessly steal the ideas of his pupils. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From, the Phantom Thieves'" he finished before Madarame quickly ripped and crumpled up the letter.

"Whose doing is this!?" Madarame hissed out with a glare as the staff member shook his head.

"We don't know! The same letter has been posted everywhere" the staff member quickly told him to ensure the man's anger wasn't directed his way.

"What about the security cameras!?" Madarame asked, getting more and more frustrated at the seeming incompetence.

"There were no signs of the culprit, all we saw was a cat in the recordings!" he told him, all of the staff and security just as dumbfounded and confused as the artist seemed to be.

After all, how do you explain a cat scattering around the letters?

"Remove these at once!" Madarame yelled at him, no longer caring about attempting to stay calm as he just wanted these to be done with.

"Of course!" the staff member assured him before Madarame noticed he still wanted to say something.

"What now!?" Madarame barked out, beyond annoyed before the staff member looked a bit nervous.

"It's about this affecting the exhibit….We believe it's just a prank but what of the mass media?" he asked which only got a glare from the artist.

"Are you insinuating that this slander is true?" Madarame asked in a calm whisper that had an obvious threatening undertone which got the staff member quick to shake their head.

"Of course not!" they assured him before the world turned completely black like it did back with Kamoshida with only the Shadow Madarame visible in front of them

"It's those damn brats' doing, isn't it?" the Shadow asked as it looked around with an intense glare before it rubbed its chin in thought. "Well, it means nothing….They'll only be able to do as they please until the exhibit is over" the shadow said in thought before the world turned back to normal.

"And with that we're good to go" Naruto said with a smile as he turned back to the others.

"I'm still so impressed by how the composition and logo turned out!" Ann said excitedly as everyone was thankful that Naruto got involved with the design of things.

"The Treasure should appear right about now" Morgana told them as Ryuji chuckled with a smirk.

"He better enjoy the air of freedom while he still can" Ryuji said before looking over at them. "People are already talkin' about the callin' card online so when he finally confesses it'll definitely have a big impact" he told them, his smirk growing to show he was really excited about this change of heart.

"We only get one shot at this, I got us all prepared yesterday but don't be too relaxed. Madarame will be tougher than Kamoshida" Naruto reminded them, getting nods from everyone with serious looks in their eyes before he smiled.

"Then it's showtime!" Naruto told them as they headed off towards the atelier and directly into the Palace.

-Madarame's Palace-

"So what's the plan?" Ryuji asked as Naruto pointed at him and Ann.

"We're dropping you two off at the safe room near the security booth first while Spartan, Mona, and I go to the safe room up on the top floor" Naruto started as they stood out in the parking lot of the museum. "Panther is going to work the controls while you play decoy for the guards that come her way after she presses the button. There might be a guard protecting things so be careful and don't rush in. Immediately after I want you two to meet us up at the top floor before guards swarm us up there" Naruto told them, getting nods from them both as Shiho started to look a bit nervous.

"Don't worry Spartan, I'll help you across the gap we have to grapple across" Naruto assured her with a smile as he rubbed her back, getting her to quickly relax before they headed in.

-Ann & Ryuji-

"There's an enemy inside, just as Joker expected…." Ann muttered with a frown as she and Ryuji were crouched on either side of the door to hide in cover.

"I mean, we've done a ton in here and we sent the callin' card. It ain't surprisin'" Ryuji told her with a shrug. "I'm gonna try and draw it out and that should help with whatever shadows come your way when you press the button" he said, getting a worried look from her.

"Will you be okay? What if it catches up to you?" Ann asked as Ryuji chuckled a bit.

"Don't underestimate an ex-runner. I'm definitely gonna shake it off so don't you worry!" Ryuji told her before she went off to hide in cover, allowing him to stand up and start banging on the security door.

"Hey! There's some weird people over here! Hey! I need some help!" Ryuji said with a fake voice as he started to run off mid sentence.

Ann watched as it seemed to work, the Shadow running out of the room after him to see what was going on before she slipped inside while worrying about Ryuji.

-Naruto, Shiho, & Morgana-

Naruto smiled as he saw Ann enter the booth just as he finished tying Morgana to the hook so he could snatch the Treasure. As his eyes met Ann's she showed him she was ready for the signal whenever he was ready to give it.

"You should be good, right? Do I need to tighten anything?" he asked before Morgana shook his head.

"It's perfect! I'm more than ready to go as its moments like these that really make us feel like phantom thieves! I mean, we're robbing a museum, how more 'phantom thief' can we get?" Morgana said as Naruto chuckled and rolled his eyes with a bit of a smirk.

"Well as long as you're ready" Naruto said as he waved his hand, signalling Ann to turn off the lights which was also the signal for Shiho to pull the lever to lower Morgana.

Shiho thankfully waited until the lights were back on before she lifted the lever to reel Morgana in, Naruto watching as everyone else came out onto the wooden scaffolding to check on them.

"Did Mona get it?" Ryuji asked as Naruto smirked before pointing back to show Morgana who was holding onto what seemed to be a painting covered in a purple cloth.

"Lord Madarame! Th-The piece is gone!" a guard yelled from below them.

"Lock all the doors at once! We'll give them nowhere to run!" Madarame yelled out, Naruto having expected that as Ryuji helped him untie Morgana and bring him and the Treasure onto the scaffolding.

"Don't worry, I'll carry the Treasure, let's just focus on getting out of here" Morgana told them as they leaped over to a few other pieces of nearby scaffolding that led to a nearby blue glowing window.

"A window? Any idea where it goes?" Shiho asked before Naruto shook his head.

"No but it's the only way out of here so we have to use it" Naruto told her, them all carefully going through it to realize it led them out on top of the museum.

"Whoa! This shit's real high up" Ryuji said in shock as Shiho slightly held onto Ann for support.

"There has to be a way down so just follow me" Naruto told them, already using his 'Third Eye' to look around and quickly find a large blocky staircase structure for them to drop down.

From there it was just more and more spots for them to drop down until they reached a large open doorway, the same kind seen back in that trippy golden area only this time it was red.

"Another portal that'll take us somewhere weird?" Ann asked before Morgana nodded.

"Yes but we don't have time to lose. Just go through it! Now's our chance!" Morgana told them as Naruto sighed.

"There is no other way so leap of faith it!" Naruto told them as he walked up to it, the red turning green as they were sent through it only to find themselves out in the courtyard.

"I knew it! There was no way that portal was about to lead us back inside" Morgana said while Shiho sighed, thankful to be down on the ground again.

"It also seems we managed to escape them" Shiho said with a smile only for Morgana to start meowing and yowling a bit.

"Dude, why's Mona gettin' excited now of all times?" Ryuji asked, Naruto merely shaking his head with a sigh before Morgana turned around to face them.

"I just can't take it anymore! Let's take a look at this Treasure!" Morgana told them as he quickly took it off his back and unveiled it, Morgana getting all excited only for it to be a painting of a 'henohenomoheji'.

"THIS is the Treasure!?" Ryuji asked in shock as Naruto shook his head only to widen his eyes as some security poles rose up around them.

"Everyone get back!" Naruto yelled, alerting them all in time to avoid being trapped in the triangle shaped electric cage of sorts that was trapping the fake Treasure.

"Meddlesome vermin" a familiar voice sneered out, getting them to turn to see Madarame with two guards beside him. "Is this what you're looking for?" he asked with a smirk as he looked over to the guard that was holding a painting under its arm.

"How dare you try and trap me like some kind of mouse!" Morgana yelled out, as if insulted at the attempt.

"I should have realized you might have prepped a fake with the obvious setup and the sheet covering the Treasure from the start" Naruto admitted with a glare, his eyes more focused on Madarame in case he tried anything.

"Counterfeits are accepted in the world of Japanese art" Madarame told them with a smug smirk on his face.

"I seriously have to ask what the hell made you turn into this smug arrogant asshole? Was it the fame that corrupted you? The wealth? The power? Cause I know people who have those things and they are the furthest thing from you that I can possibly imagine" Naruto asked him with a confused and pitying look on his face. "Think of Yusuke, the guy sees you as a father and you're just using him as a cash cow!" he added, yelling as he was getting frustrated by the unchanging smirk on the Shadow's face.

"The only reason I took him in was due to my ties to his mother" Madarame started, seemingly only responding to the second half of his statement. "That woman never lost her passion for painting even after her husband died. Her skills and talents were quite astonishing….hence why I decided to look after her. His mother and the artworks she created - they're all MY works of art!" Madarame declared with a disgusting greed filled smirk.

"Cashing in on mother and son, two generations of shittyness it seems" Naruto said with a glare as Ann nodded.

"Yeah, just how low can you sink!?" Ann yelled out while Madarame seemingly ignored their comments and just continued to smugly smirk at them.

"I suppose I can grant you a gift before you die - a glimpse of the genuine 'Sayuri'!" he declared, confusing them at the mention of 'genuine' before the guard held up the painting to show Sayuri only instead of a misty cloud beneath her it was her holding a small baby in her arms.

"This was painted by Yusuke's mother, a portrait of herself. A woman who knew her death was coming painted her last wishes for the son she would leave behind. That is the truth behind the mystery of Sayuri's expression!" Madarame revealed as Naruto could feel his anger quickly rising as Ryuji stomped his foot in anger.

"You stole something THAT personal!?" Ryuji yelled out, almost not believing he'd do something that shitty.

"I knew at first glance that it'd be a huge success if I added a touch to the painting and announced it under my name!" Madarame announced with a proud smile on his face. "Painting over the baby to stage it, making the expression a mystery would only increase the interest and wonder for the painting! That's what the general public is drawn to after all! Each of those parasitic critics wrote the same thing!" he continued, as if he should be praised for his genius idea and plan, showing how nothing but money and fame mattered to him….not that they hadn't figured that out already by now.

"I always felt something was off about all this...Now I know what it is" Ann muttered with a frown. "If you really treasured that painting you wouldn't even think about replicating it for profit! You don't love art at all!" she yelled out in anger as Morgana nodded along.

"Though you have a real Treasure your true skills are nothing more than those scribbles on that fake!" Morgana added on to Ann's point, glaring at Madarame as Naruto chuckled a bit.

"It seriously makes me laugh as even you know that you'd be nowhere and a no one if it wasn't for the works you steal off your students. Makes me wonder if you have any skill at all, though given everything in this museum, my answer is going to have to be no" Naruto told Madarame with a smirk of his own, getting a furious look on Madarame's face as he glared back.

"You brats still are going to try and go against me no matter what. No matter, once I'm done I'll continue to profit off Yusuke….though it is a shame he dared talk back to me, I might have to ditch him soon if he doesn't fall fully back in line" Madarame growled out with a glare and, while Naruto wasn't too fond of Kitagawa, the thought of him being tossed aside due to speaking up against Madarame only pissed him off more.

"I can't believe you're treating both mother and son like they're objects! You're inhuman!" Ann yelled out, shocked and beyond disgusted at Madarame's words.

"Tell me, since you destroy your 'art' once they outlive their usefulness did that include Kitagawa's mother as well?" Naruto asked as the subject matter of the painting itself felt like something Kitagawa's mother wouldn't have allowed Madarame to have.

Plus there was the matter of how Madarame talked about acquiring the painting that raised some worrying suspicions….

"She just so happened to have a seizure in front of me and that's when a thought crossed my mind where if I don't call for help and leave her be I could obtain her painting without any strings attached" Madarame said without any shame, the smug smile on his face showing how proud he was of his actions.

"You let her die!?" Ann asked as Naruto clenched his fists hard, knowing if it wasn't for his gloves his nails would be making his palms bleed and his knuckles would be pure white.

"She was physically weak, no one would doubt if she just dropped dead because of a seizure. I'm surprised that boy never found it odd that I discovered his talent when he was only three….what an idiot" Madarame said with a shake of his head and an exasperated sigh.

"The only reason I kept him around was to keep him from realizing the truth behind 'Sayuri'. The artistic talents he inherited from his mother were a delightful miscalculation though. If I'm to steal ideas it's much easier robbing the future of brats who won't talk back than adults

"You aren't human, you don't deserve to be called the same species as us….You're a monster! A heartless bastard of a creature!" Naruto yelled out, his mask having flames flickering around it as he fiercely and furiously glared down at Madarame. "Enough talking! All I want to do now is kick your ass and make you confess to everything!" Naruto declared as Arséne came to life behind him to show he was ready to fight.

"All you good-for-nothings! Barging into my museum and doing whatever the hell you want!" Madarame yelled in frustration and anger as a black and red pool formed beneath him. "Those who have connections make the rules; those who don't, follow them. Not to mention that the value of art is subjective! I make the rules in the art scene! I am the supreme being! I am the god of the art world! And those who challenge gods die!" Madarame declared as he started to melt and stretch, them all leaping back a bit as he transformed into four paintings - one for each eye, a nose, and his mouth which included a mustache all of which were protruding out of the frames.

"I'll paint all over you!" the paintings yelled out as they got ready.

"Everyone be on your toes! Try out your elements and see what sticks!" Naruto told them as he summoned Arséne. "Arséne! Maeiha!" Naruto yelled out as he launched the first attack, blasting all four parts with curse, nothing hitting exceptionally hard to knock a piece out but he did notice how the nose absorbed the attack.

Ann was only moderately affected as a painting attacked her with a blast of fire while another painting seemed to boost the power of the mouth.

"Got it! Captain Kidd! Zio!" Ryuji yelled out as he aimed for the right eye only for it to absorb his lightning only for the mouth to bite at him which stung a bit.

"Don't worry if it ends up absorbing things, we're testing things out!" Naruto assured them before Morgana summoned Zorro.

"Witness my resolve! Zorro! Magaru!" he yelled, noticing how the eyes once again absorbed his attack and Ann's fire which showed that the eyes were most likely immune to conventional elements.

"I'll handle things! Chilonis! Agilao the nose!" Shiho ordered, blasting and defeating the nose only for a massive blob of black goo to cover it and seemingly revive it.

"They regenerated!? Those things can come back if we don't take them down all at once!?" Morgana asked as Naruto shook it off.

"Then we'll just have to be smarter!" Naruto said as he took aim at one of the eyes, unloading all his bullets into it to take it out with Ryuji attempting the same with the other eye.

Thankfully Naruto was able to dodge a wind blast while Ann gracefully dodged another bite.

"Zorro! This time aim for the nose! Garu!" Morgana yelled, the attack connecting and taking out the nose.

"I'll get you for that!" Madarame yelled out as a splotch of black paint hit Ann, coating her completely in black paint which made her hunch over as if it physically affected her.

"Panther! Are you okay!?" Naruto asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye as she weakly nodded.

"I-I'm fine but I feel really weak all of a sudden" Ann muttered as Morgana frowned.

"There has to be more than just her color changing so be careful!" Morgana advised as Ryuji nodded.

"If elements don't work how about good old fashioned beating! Captain Kidd! Headbutt!" Ryuji yelled as Captain Kidd bashed the painting with his ship, nearly killing it.

"I'll take it from here!" Morgana yelled as he pulled out his slingshot and emptied out all his shots into the eye to take it out.

Madarame seemed incredibly angry as the mouth went to bite Ann, them finding out about the black paint as a simple bite was able to knock her down and allow him to try and bite Morgana only for him to dodge it.

"Black paint makes you weak to everything!? Be extra careful for now Panther!" Naruto told her, getting a nod as she summoned Carmen.

"But for now let's take this last painting down!" Ann yelled as both she and Shiho quickly blasted it with an Agi to finish it off.

With all the paintings taken out they watched, unsure what was happening as they turned into a pool of black goo where Madarame rose up out of.

"Madarame's out!" Morgana yelled as they surrounded him with their guns drawn.

"Dammit! I'm the great Madarame! The Madarame who gathers a full crowd every time he opens an exhibit! I'm not someone that worthless brats like you are allowed to defy!" Madarame roared out as he panted a bit, showing he was clearly affected by having the paintings destroyed.

"You're STILL saying that?" Naruto asked as he shook his head. "Let's get him guys!" he quickly added as they attacked him with an All-Out Attack which definitely stung.

"I'm the great artist Madarame! If you brats can't fathom that then you'll witness it for yourselves! Behold my master craft!" Madarame declared as four pools of black liquid rose up beside him - two on each side - revealing copies of himself, one with each of the four basic elements: electricity, fire, ice, and wind both in color and the elements active around them.

"Of course the counterfeiter makes copies of himself. Let's just hit them with their weakness and then we can focus on the real him!" Naruto advised as he summoned Jack Frost.

From there it was a simple chain of baton passes where Naruto knocked down the fire one, Morgana knocking down the electric, Ryuji knocking down the wind, and then Shiho knocking down the ice since the paint stopped Ann from being able to join in.

They were able to finish off the fire and wind one but the clones didn't seem to be useless as the Ice one blasted Morgana with the electric one hitting him as well which knocked him down before hitting Shiho who withstood it.

The real one also still had some fight left in him as he summoned two clones to take the place of the ones they defeated but this time they were both ice.

This made things easy as Ann, who had the paint off of her now, was able to knock down all the ice clones, passing the baton to Naruto who hit them again to take them out completely. From there it was merely a Headbutt from Ryuji to take out the lightning one that seemed to deflect all the fire attacks - once again leaving Madarame alone.

"S-Stop this! This is not how you treat a man of my standing!" Madarame yelled out as Morgana got up from being knocked down.

"We'll see about that! Zorro! Garu!" the 'not-cat' yelled out, blasting the real Madarame with wind before Ann, being low on health from being weakened, had to heal herself with Carmen's Dia skill.

This gave Madarame a window to summon more clones, these ones being three fires and one wind.

"Sorry guys" Ann apologized as Naruto smiled and shook his head.

"Don't apologize for healing as you being knocked out would be really bad" Naruto said as he summoned Jack Frost again. "Plus I've got this! Mabufu!" he yelled out, blasting all of them with ice, knocking down the three fire clones while dealing with the reflection from the wind.

"You're up Skull!" Naruto said, passing the baton over to Ryuji who smiled as he knew what to do.

"Let's go Captain Kidd! Zio!" Ryuji yelled out as he blasted the wind clone before passing the baton to Shiho.

"While the real isn't weak to fire this'll still hurt!" Shiho yelled out as she blasted the real Madarame with an Agi.

From there they continued on with their assault, Ryuji taking out the wind clone completely while Ann, Morgana, and Shiho focused on the real Madarame since they didn't have ice to take out the fire clones.

This sadly gave the fire clones a chance to get up, hitting Ann who was resistant to it and Naruto who sadly was weak to it due to having Jack Frost out.

This being the first time he was knocked down Naruto could definitely say he didn't like it as it left him on the ground and completely dazed. The fact that the last clone hit him again definitely made him like it even less as it really stung, plus that fact that he was partially on fire as he got up didn't make him feel better.

"You bastards just love kicking a man when he's down" Naruto growled out as he summoned Jack Frost again, noticing that Madarame seemingly summoned another wind clone while he was down. "Ice won't knock me down so let's go Jack Frost! Mabufu!" Naruto yelled, blasting them all with ice before doing it again to kill the fire clones since he couldn't pass a baton while burned.

"Don't worry Joker! I got this!" Ryuji yelled as he blasted the wind clone twice since he was the only one with electricity.

"If this hits me in the face I'll be fine since wind is my element!" Morgana yelled out as he ran out to slash at the wind clone, showing that even with them being resistant to physical attacks Morgana was enough to take it out.

This just left Ann and Shiho once again to blast the real Madarame with fire before Madarame summoned more clones this batch having three electric ones and a wind one….only something was off about two of them.

"Wait...are two of them asleep?" Naruto asked as Madarame looked around in shock and confusion.

"W-What?! I, the great Madarame, made an error!?" Madarame yelled out before Morgana chuckled with a smirk.

"Seems like you've reached your limit. Failing to even make a counterfeit? You're really looking like a joke now!" Morgana mocked with a laugh before Naruto was thankfully able to shake off the fire.

"Okay, now I can get back at you for hitting me so much. How about we go smart" Naruto said with a smirk as he summoned Phoenix. "Phoenix! Garu the non-sleeping one!" Naruto yelled out as he blasted it and knocked it down.

"Hit the sleeping ones with your weapons or attack skills since hitting a sleeping person should hit harder I feel" Naruto said with a smirk, getting a nod from Ann as she rushed out to hit one of the sleeping electric clones which was easily enough to kill it.

"Captain Kidd! Knock them down! Zio!" Ryuji yelled as he blasted down the wind clone, allowing him to pass the baton to Morgana to take down the last sleeping electric clone.

With Madarame running out of steam things were incredibly easy as with each wave of clones they took out the next were all sleeping, allowing them to continue baton passes and chip away more and more at Madarame's health until he got to the point that he was visibly almost finished.

A few blasts of their elements and Ann unloading her new gun into him was the last bit needed to finally take Madarame down, him starting to fall down with a groan before he collapsed on his back.

They were all panting as in exhaustion as they were finally done, Naruto seeing three blue lights in front of him. Thankfully they didn't show up as they knew right now probably wasn't the best time to introduce themselves before they flew back into him.

Naruto stepped forward towards Madarame as the man scurried back in fear, snatching the Sayuri and holding it close to him as if to hide behind it all while 'eek-ing' in fear.

"No one cares for true art….All they want are easily recognizable brands! I'm a victim in this too! Wouldn't you agree!?" Madarame yelled out, trying to paint himself as the victim which was ironic since it was probably the only thing he actually could paint.

"I don't want to hear any of your damn excuses" Naruto growled out as Madarame started to look frantic.

"T-The art world revolves around money! You can't rise up without any money!" Madarame squeaked out as Naruto crouched down to his level.

"Yes and you did so much to try and change that with your greedy money obsessed ways" Naruto hissed out as Madarame shook his head as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I just didn't want to return to that life!" he cried out before Naruto grabbed him by the collar, causing Sayuri to drop beside them.

"Think about the lives you've ruined, whether in terms of art careers or literally. One suicide and one homocide! You have no right to talk about life!" Naruto yelled out as he shook him a bit. "You are going to return to yourself in reality and confess to everything, to your crimes of plagiarism and abuse as well as how you let a woman die right in front of you to steal her artwork for yourself! You will say everything and you will accept whatever punishment they give you!" Naruto demanded before he shoved him back as he stood up.

"Y-You're not going to kill me?" Madarame asked as Naruto shook his head.

"What use would a dead man be?" Naruto asked before he took a step forward to glare down at him. "After all, they can't confess to crimes so swear to do everything I told you and return! Now!" Naruto barked out as Madarame cowered and almost went into the fetal position.

"A-All right I swear….but wh-what about the other one though? The one with the black mask?" Madarame asked, confusing Naruto as he looked back to the others a bit.

"Black Mask?" Naruto asked them, not sure what he meant as none of them had black masks since Morgana didn't count as his was made of fur and also sort of attached.

After all he's never seen it disappear when the 'not-cat' summoned Zorro.

"Who is he talking about?" Shiho asked, just as confused as he was about who Madarame was talking about.

"It can't be….There was another intruder besides us within this Palace!?" Morgana asked out in shock before Naruto turned back to Madarame only for the Palace to start to violently shake and crack around them.

"There's no time to ask more! Hurry!" Ryuji yelled out as Morgana transformed into a van.

"Everyone, hurry! Get in!" Morgana ordered as Naruto picked up Sayuri and hurried into the van, ignoring Madarame's cries and only looking back once to see Madarame turn to light like Kamoshida before they sped off and out of the Palace.

-Real World-

"The destination has been deleted" the Meta-Nav announced before Naruto put his phone away into his pocket, once again feeling a crystal in his pocket, only to turn his attention back to the painting he was holding onto in his other hand.

The real Sayuri, baby Kitagawa and all.

"It would be bad if people started getting suspicious of us. We should leave at once" Morgana told them as Naruto nodded and they headed back to their 'hideout'.

"I guess the mission was a success. All that's left is to wait for the change of heart" Ryuji told them while Naruto and the others were looking over the Sayuri.

"This belongs to Kitagawa, we need to find a way to give it to him" Ann brought up as Naruto nodded since he was thinking the exact same thing.

"It'll have to wait until the change of heart or during it. I want to leave it at the atelier with a calling card that says a specific thing" Naruto said before he looked over to Ryuji who gave him a two finger salute.

"You just tell me what you want on it and I'll make one. I still have the template hidden safely in my room so I can copy and make more whenever" Ryuji told him, showing he was ready whenever.

"I'll message you about it tomorrow so I can have it and be ready for whenever the change of heart happens" Naruto said while looking back at the painting. "This being the source of his distorted desires makes sense though, given all of his students, I'm guessing that it merely was the ignition needed to create the Palace atop the gasoline soaked wood that was the plagiarism and abuse" he guessed as to him it made the most sense.

"I think you're right and soon it'll be in the hands of its rightful owner" Shiho said with a smile as while she may not entirely like Kitagawa due to how he treated them and tried to force Ann into modeling nude she still had to admit something like this could only be in Kitagawa's hands.

"Sorry to pull the attention away and change the subject but I'm still worried about another intruder in his Palace besides us…" Morgana brought back up, Naruto tucking the painting under his arm as they remembered Madarame's words.

"Our only clue is a black mask which really isn't anything to go off of sadly…." Shiho muttered a bit as Ryuji shrugged his shoulders.

"There's no way to check anymore either since the Palace is gone" Ryuji brought up while Naruto sighed and nodded.

"Plus, even if we were able to, asking the real Madarame wouldn't do us any good since the real Madarame has no knowledge about what goes on in his Palace" Naruto reminded them as that had been the case for Kamoshida as well.

"For now, I think it's best if we head home. I'll keep the painting safe in my room until it's time to leave it for Kitagawa" Naruto told them, getting nods from everyone as they were all incredibly tired after a long day. "Stay safe getting home guys" he added as they split up, Naruto wanting nothing more than to collapse on his bed as he rode the train.

-Yongen-Jaya-

He was thankful that Sojiro didn't seem to be the kind to pester him with questions as he got home with a painting in tow, allowing him to head right upstairs and set the painting down on the couch facing towards the wall so no one saw it before plopping down on his bed with a long and tired sigh.

"Today was a productive day as we dealt with our second big target!" Morgana said with a proud tinge to his voice as Naruto chuckled.

"We're on a roll but can't get too full of ourselves" Naruto reminded him as the 'not-cat' waved him off a bit.

"It'll be fine as I feel the day our name becomes common knowledge is potentially nigh!" Morgana declared before he settled down a bit. "Getting another Treasure didn't help with my memories but I'm certain the more we get the more things will become clearer….what kind of person do you think I was?" he suddenly asked, things getting serious as he could hear some worry in his voice.

"There's no way I'd turn out to be some bad guy in the end though, right? I mean….I get so engrossed with the embodiment of human desires and that's not all. When it comes to the Metaverse I'm the only one that can transform into a car….I'm special but it's still odd. Who could I actually be?" he admitted before asking while Naruto nodded along as Morgana did have some good points.

"I'm not sure but I agree that you don't seem the evil type" Naruto told him, getting a nod and a smile from Morgana.

"Yeah, there's no way a dashing, honorable rouge like me could be evil. A man who saves those in trouble in the west while punishing evildoers who may lurk in the east! A man who chastises people who smoke inside in the south while saving bullied cats in the north! A man who has a sturdy body and vows to always do one good deed a day, be it rain or shine! I'm that kind of ideal person….or so I hope" Morgana prattled on, Naruto losing him at smoking indoors but still nodding along as the 'not-cat' listed off traits.

"So if I turn back to being human surely she'll take notice of me, won't she?" he asked, looking at Naruto with sparkling hopeful eyes while Naruto quickly gave a 'who knows' kind of shrug as when it came to Morgana's crush on Ann he was a bit….uncomfortable about it given how….intense he was with it.

"Where should we go when I become human? I wonder where she'd like to go? An amusement park, a movie theater, a fancy cafe, shopping…." Morgana asked out loud to himself, Naruto thankful he accepted his shrug as an answer. "What do you think?" he asked directly, making Naruto inwardly groan while he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a pulse inside him despite the awkwardness.

Thankfully Morgana dropped the topic, wandering off while muttering his fantasies and ideas to himself as he did so.

Naruto though quickly got ready for bed, feeling nothing but exhaustion as he collapsed on the bed. He didn't even have the energy to check his compendium for his new Personas.

"Don't worry Master, we all understand that you've had a busy day. Your new Persona can be met tomorrow. Rest and recharge after a good day's work" Angel told him, getting a smile from him as he nodded, already feeling his eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

'Thanks and thanks everyone for doing well today in battle. Literally couldn't have done it without you' he told them, feeling warmth from all of them to show they were thankful for his words before sleep finally took hold of him.

-Velvet Room-

His sleep though wasn't to be for now as he once again felt himself arrive in the Velvet Room, deciding to get up and go to his cell door to hear what Igor had to say.

"You have expelled one who was stained in vanity. You are now one step closer to your rehabilitation. It's a delightful thing indeed" Igor said, his permanent smile curling up a little bit more as he looked his way.

"Our master is pleased. You should be honored, Inmate" Justine told him, Naruto merely nodding along as to him some praise wasn't really 'rewarding' like Justine thought it was.

"However, that man's remarks are concerning. It seems another has made their way into the Metaverse" Igor brought up while Naruto frowned.

"Do you know who it is? I mean unless there is another way to access the Metaverse they'd have to have the Meta-Nav, wouldn't they?" Naruto asked as Igor was the one who granted the app to him and the others.

"That is beyond my knowledge" Igor admitted, confusing Naruto given how knowledgeable he seemed to be as well as how the twins painted him as wise. "But I will say that your rehabilitation is progressing smoothly, that is for certain. May the devotion to your rehabilitation grow even deeper. I have high hopes for you" he continued on before Naruto felt a pulse inside him, telling him that his bond between him and Igor had grown stronger.

"Best that you get some rest, the coming days will get more and more important as things go on" Igor advised as the alarm blared out and his vision started to fade again, sleep pulling him back once more.

-5/20 - Friday-

He couldn't help but yawn a bit and stretch as class began, Kawakami asking for them to settle down before he sat up a bit.

"First I have an announcement about an upcoming school event" Kawakami started off as the class finally settled down. "As part of a city beautification project the entire school will be participating in a public cleanup campaign which means we're going to Inokashira Park to pick up trash" she told them which got a lot of grumbling from the students before she told them to settle down again.

"The cleanup will take place next week on the 23rd. All students are to wear their gym uniforms during the cleanup so don't forget to dress the part" Kawakami told them before Naruto felt his phone buzz to show Ryuji had started a group chat.

Ryuji: You guys hear about this cleanup bullshit at Inokashira Park?

Ryuji: I guess it's the Principal's idea. Damage control after the Kamoshida scandal up the school's rep

Shiho: Probably also an attempt to look good in the courtroom

Ann: I definitely get what you mean….though I'm pretty sure 'scandal' isn't a verb. Even the counselling stuff seems like a desperate move

Naruto: Definitely feels like their scrambling though I will admit Maruki seems to be focused on the students and not the school so he isn't that bad

Ryuji: All the girls in my class have been freaking out over Maruki though. I've been hearing about how hot, kind, and sensitive he is….Basically everyone thinks he's their type

Ann: Whoa, I guess he's pretty popular then

Ann: Oh yeah, did you guys go to his counseling yet?

Ryuji: Oh shit, I forgot

Ryuji: But I dunno….I don't really feel like going . You know what I mean, right, Naruto?

Naruto: Not really as I already went and think he's actually a really good counselor

Ryuji: Whoa, really?

Ann: You should just go already before you get yelled at by the school. If your slacking draws attention to us we're the ones who'll have to pay for it

Ryuji: Fiiiine…

Naruto: Oh yeah, and about the card for Kitagawa. I'll message you what I want it to say later tonight

Ryuji: Leave it to me! I'll have it done by tomorrow to give to you

School from there went rather well, going on as usual until the bell finally rang to end the day.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention but I was almost kidnapped the other day!" Morgana told him as the 'not-cat' hopped into his bag.

"Seriously? I'm glad you're safe but why didn't you mention it before?" Naruto asked while Morgana merely shrugged.

"It was during the Madarame stuff so we were busy but don't worry, no one would ever be able to catch me so it's fine…..despite it being a close call" Morgana assured him a bit since while he was quite evasive he was still just a cat.

"Some girl had this crazy look in her eyes and she was chasing me around, calling me a 'Snowball' or something….I wonder if she's been going after other cats and snatching them up like she tried with me" Morgana said as Naruto rubbed his chin.

"Guess we can try asking around Yongen a bit and see if anyone knows the lady you're talking about" Naruto suggested since, with the victims being cats, he doubted there would be a Phan-Site post about it.

"Sounds good!" Morgana agreed before they headed off.

-Yongen-Jaya-

Naruto groaned as he walked up the main street of the section Yongen-Jaya he lived in and so far had found nothing. He seriously didn't know where to really start asking since this was an odd case.

"That lady looks really happy now! Is it cause she got a bunch of cats?" a little girl asked, catching Naruto's interest as he looked over towards the path leading to Sojiro's house.

"I suppose...I personally think it's a bit too much. With that many it gets so loud that I can't sleep at night" her mom said as Naruto walked up to them.

"Um, excuse me?" Naruto called out carefully, getting the mother's attention in hopes that he didn't seem odd.

"C-Can I help you?" the mother asked, more seemingly nervous in general than due to him.

"I heard you talking about the cats and I'm a bit concerned as well" Naruto told her, getting her to visibly relax a bit.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one as she suddenly brought home a massive number of cats….I honestly wasn't sure if she was all right…." she muttered with a frown, that alone sounding quite worrying. "It's terribly noisy at night and they shed everywhere! I'm worried that it's not the healthiest environment to raise those cats" she admitted while Naruto nodded along.

"I agree as that doesn't sound good for the cats at all" he agreed, hoping they were safe and okay but silently feeling they probably weren't….

"I even asked the landlord about the situation at Aino-san's home but it looks like nothing's changed…." she told him as the mention of the woman's last name caught his attention.

"You wouldn't happen to know her full name, would you?" Naruto asked with a frown, getting a matching frown from her as she shook her head.

"I'm not sure, I only say hello to her every now and then so I don't know her that well" she told him as he nodded.

"Thank you anyways, I'll try and ask around elsewhere" Naruto said as she smiled and nodded before he headed back down the main street.

Seeing as there were no other side streets to check out he figured heading down the street LeBlanc was on was probably the last place to check.

Though, as he walked down it, things seemed to be a deadend as he could only overhear two old men talking about their grandchildren before he noticed an old man sitting nearby.

"Is the cat not here today either? Maybe that woman really did take him..." he muttered before Naruto walked up with a frown.

"Are you talking about the woman Aino-san?" Naruto asked him as the man looked over and nodded.

"She's the woman who nabs all the cats around here and calls 'em 'snowball'. I know a few people who have been victims and the same thing probably happened to the cat I had been feeding here…." the man said with a frown as Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a frown of his own.

"Have you called the cops?" Naruto asked, already somewhat knowing the answer.

"Of course I have and they turned me away because I didn't have any proof. I did get her name though, it's Ryoko Aino. I made sure to ask while I was there so there's no mistake" the man told him, finally getting a full name for her before he sighed. "The police just treat cats like objects….Those little guys are family to me so I wish there was something I could do about this mess" the man solemnly said as he looked up and noticed Morgana.

"You ought to be careful too since you're toting a cat around" he warned him before Naruto felt Morgana put his paws on his shoulder.

"Not only are other cats suffering but she's also hurting people too….We have a name now for our target. We should discuss this with everyone at the hideout" Morgana told him as Naruto nodded while he sighed a bit.

"I'll tell them about it tomorrow as I want to give time for people to rest after the Palace, especially since we have two targets to go after in Mementos" Naruto reminded him as they walked off a bit before his phone chimed, his phone showing he had a message from Haru.

Haru: Hello, I hope I'm not bugging you

Haru: I have some free time and was wondering if you wanted to hang out a bit on the roof

Haru: I grew some tomatoes that I wanted to show you :)

Naruto: Don't worry about bugging me, you're my friend so you're allowed to message me

Naruto: And I'm definitely down for hanging out. I'll be right there as I had something to do in Yongen-Jaya

Haru: Okay! I'll see you soon

"Heading back to school?" Morgana asked as he had been peeking over his shoulder.

"Yeah, Haru wants to show me something and I haven't been able to hang out with her due to Palace stuff sadly" he said with a bit of a sigh since he felt bad about it.

"Well now you have time so use it well" Morgana said, smiling as he went back into the bag to let him continue on.

-Shujin-

"Need help?" Naruto asked as he saw Haru - dressed in her gym tracksuit - once again struggling to get some fertilizer up the stairs that led up to the roof.

"Oh, thank you. That'd be very helpful" Haru thanked him as she stepped to the side with a smile so he could lift up the two bags of fertilizer for her.

"It's really crappy that no one offered to help you. People seriously seem uncaring" Naruto grumbled a bit as he followed her up to the roof.

"It's alright, I don't expect people to have to help me since I knew someone would be here soon at least if I kept struggling" Haru said with warm smile, getting a chuckle from him as they both knew he would help her - after all, that's how they started talking in the first place.

"So, how are your flowers doing?" Naruto asked as he set down the fertilizer on the desks before walking over to check on them.

"They are doing really well but right now I really want to show you these!" Haru excitedly said as she held out a paper shopping bag towards him.

"Oh right, tomatoes. What did you want to show off about them?" Naruto asked as he took one from the bag and looked it over.

"Mainly their taste as I got their seeds from my family…." Haru told him, trailing off near the end as she almost looked worried to mention it.

"Is your family gardeners or something?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow she pulled out a cutting board, setting it on her lap before she stared down at the ground.

"Not really….you see, my father is the CEO of Okumura Foods" Haru said nervously, a bit afraid to tell him only to look up to see he hadn't changed.

"And you were worried I might treat you differently because of it?" he asked which got a soft nod from her and in turn finally helped him understand why she was acting weird all of a sudden. "Look Haru, heiress or not, you are you - nothing else" he assured her as he set the tomato down on her cutting board "So how about you tell me about these tomatoes" he said, getting a smile her as she nodded while wiping away the bit of tears that had started to form in the corners of her eyes.

He didn't know much about the struggles of being an heiress, only having heard about it a bit from someone close to him, but he knew enough to know that it was difficult - especially for a highschool girl or just girls in general.

Money, for the most part, made things more difficult growing up since it makes it hard to know if someone is your friend genuinely or due to your money and standing.

"Well, the tomato seeds I used were most likely an experimental breed created for use at Okumura Foods. I have whole ones and a little salad that I made with it" she said with a happy smile before pulling out a tupperware from the bag with some forks for them. "I will tell you ahead of time that they are a bit odd tasting but not in a bad way" she added with a bit of a nervous chuckle, getting a chuckle from Naruto as well before he sat down around the group of desks.

"Well, won't know unless I give it a taste" Naruto said as he ate a bit of the chopped veggies and was a bit surprised by the taste.

He wouldn't say it tasted bad necessarily but it definitely had an odd taste….but actually really refreshing.

"Whoa, I didn't expect that but I actually like it in an odd way. If anything it makes me feel good, like I have more energy after eating it. They're refreshing in an odd way" Naruto told her with a chuckle, eating another bite before offering some to her.

"I thought the same thing, I'm so glad you like it though as I was a bit worried. I think they were a project to help energize people….though the flavor leaves much to be desired" she said with a bit of a frown before he waved her off.

"The taste isn't bad honestly, it might be a bit bitter but if used the right way I can see them being really tasty" he assured her, smiling as he looked over one of the whole tomatoes that were in the bag. "If you don't mind can I maybe have the ones left over?" he asked, seemingly surprising her before she nodded with a happy smile.

"Of course! You'll have to tell me if you find good recipes with them" she told him with a serious look on her face that he couldn't help but chuckle at as he nodded. "Good! Now I'm planning to plant more seeds if you want to maybe help me?" she said, clearly a bit unsure if she was bothering him potentially before he took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves.

"I'm always happy to help, just tell me what to do" he told her with a smile, getting a happy smile from her as she fished out some seeds and they got to work.

"I have some carrots that I also want to try planting so we can try those out as well once they're done" Haru told him as they packed the soil. "Honestly I'm happy you like the tomatoes as growing vegetables is a hobby I just recently picked up. Beyond this I've been raising some coffee beans at my home" she told him as they kept at it.

"Really? Do you like coffee?" Naruto asked before she giggled a bit as she shook her head.

"Actually I'm more of a tea person. I always make sure to have at least ten varieties on hand for my morning and afternoon tea" she told him, Naruto nodding along as personally he really enjoyed tea more but - living in LeBlanc - coffee came with the room. "I only recently discovered the joy in the taste and aroma of coffee. I used to think it was purely bitter but now I understand the depth of its flavor. I wasn't even able to drink it before" she admitted with a bit of an embarrassed giggle.

"I know how you feel as I live above a cafe with some amazing coffee and curry. I'm more of a tea guy but the owner's coffee is amazing, maybe you can come try a cup one of these days" Naruto suggested, Haru nodding with a warm smile as they stood up now that they were done planting the seeds.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer one of these days…." she told him before trailing off a bit, looking worried once again. "Can I be honest with you about something?" she asked with worry clear in her eyes before he nodded, staying silent to allow her to work up the courage to say whatever she was struggling with.

"I feel I can be myself around you….I don't have to act like the 'perfect heiress' like I have to at home and around my father…." she confided in him as she nervously pulled at her gym jersey, her eyes locked on the floor before they slowly looked back up to him. "I guess I'm asking if we can continue doing things like this as it was really fun" she asked before he couldn't help but chuckle as he nodded.

"Of course Haru, I'm happy you can relax around me and I love gardening so I'd be more than happy to keep at it. You just message me and I'll do my best to be here" he told her, getting a bright and happy smile from her that he swore was blinding and definitely contagious.

"Oh good, I'm so happy" she giggled out, clapping happily a bit as Naruto felt a pulse inside him that showed the bond between them had grown.

"Though, as much as I enjoy hanging out, it is getting late" he pointed out, Haru checking her watch as she nodded.

"You're right and I still need to get changed. I'll talk to you later" Haru said with a smile as he nodded before she grabbed the tupperware and cutting board to take with her while leaving the leftover tomatoes for him.

Honestly, while he felt the tomatoes might help revitalize them in the Metaverse he sadly doubted they'd be able to last long enough to be of any help. He was a bit surprised as his phone dinged, distracting him from his thoughts as he pulled it out to see he had an alert on the Meta-Nav.

'Attention User: Any food or drinks stored in the Meta-verse will be preserved indefinitely. We hope you continue to enjoy our services' it read, silently making Naruto wonder if it somehow could read his thoughts.

But then again given everything that honestly wouldn't surprise him….

In the end he shook off those potentially scary thoughts and stored the tomatoes away, thankful for this skill before he too headed home.

-Yongen-

Once home he stretched and groaned a bit once he noticed Sojiro was already in the process of cleaning up. "Closing up early?" Naruto asked as Sojiro nodded while he continued cleaning.

"I have to go out early tomorrow to restock ingredients so I need to head to bed early as well" Sojiro told him as Naruto looked around with a frown.

"Want me to help?" he asked only for Sojiro to wave him off.

"I'm nearly done so don't worry about it, just head upstairs until I'm done" Sojiro assured him, getting a shrug from Naruto as he headed on up.

As he sat down on his bed he was distracted by his phone chiming, noticing it was Kawakami that messaged him - her icon being her with her 'Becky' pigtails and maid headdress.

Kawakami: I can do all kinds of housework, you know. If you have time request me by phone

Naruto: Give me a bit of time to clean up my room then I'll give you a call

Kawakami: What a kind master~! I'll wait for your call!

While he headed back downstairs to grab the broom he found it a bit odd for Kawakami to act like this; he figured this was just how she had to while on the clock. "You mind if I borrow this stuff to clean my room a bit?" Naruto asked Sojiro as he pulled out the broom, getting a smirk from him as he shook his head.

"By all means, it's good to see you keeping up on your room. Just be careful that the dust doesn't float down here" Sojiro reminded him, getting a nod before Naruto headed back up.

Thankfully, as always, he always kept his room rather clean which meant he really didn't have much to clean or dust.

"Okay I'm headed out! Don't forget to turn off the lights when you head to bed!" Sojiro called out as Naruto headed back down the stairs, having finished cleaning.

"Don't worry, I won't forget" Naruto assured him, putting away the broom while he headed out, allowing Naruto to use the public phone on the bar to call Kawakami.

"Hiiii, this is Becky~!" she sang out, getting a chuckle from him before she sighed. "Oh it's just you, meaning I can drop that" she said, relieved she could stop with the 'cutesy Becky' shtick.

"Yeah, I wanted to request you so you could get some time to relax" he told her as she hummed in thought.

"Thank you but you haven't been slacking off with your studying, have you? Just because exams are done doesn't mean you can slack off" she chided him, getting another chuckle out of him.

"Don't worry I'm still studying so don't worry" he assured her which merely got a sigh out of her.

"It'll cost you five thousand like last time to request me. If you are serious about this I'll be heading right over" she told him as he gave her his address and sat in a booth as he waited for her which didn't take that long at all.

If anything it gave him just the right amount of time to message Ryuji about what he wanted on Kitagawa's card.

"Whoa, so this is your room?" Kawakami asked once she walked up the stairs leading to it behind him. "Quite a lot of space, looks homey. Oh! And the cat you bring to school is here too" she said as she looked around, surprised by Morgana who was laying on the couch before she pet him a bit.

"Is he that well known?" Naruto asked with a frown before she shook her head.

"No, I think I'm the only one who's noticed him but, given how you live at a cafe, I looked the other way" she told him before she walked over to his bed and plopped down. "Sorry, I'm just really exhausted right now" she apologized, looking over at him only for him to wave her off.

"Hey, I'm the one who suggested you use the time that I request you to relax so nap or do whatever you need since I still have a bit of stuff I have to do" he assured her as he picked up his bag and sat down next to Morgana on the couch.

"It's just...I'm not allowed to work overtime during the weekdays so I rush to my part-time job after class ends. On my off days I have to prepare pop quizzes and homework assignments….and today I had to clean bathtubs and walk dogs before coming here. There's no time to rest so honestly, I'm really thankful and grateful you're letting me relax" she told him with a tired but thankful smile.

"Don't worry about it, you running yourself into the ground with no time to rest is one certain way to end up in a hospital so just relax and I'll brew some coffee later" Naruto told her, getting a smile from her as she laid back on his bed and very quickly drifted off to sleep.

"Are you really just going to let her just sleep?" Morgana asked in a whisper as Naruto nodded.

"She's exhausted, I'd be a jerk if I asked her to do stuff. Plus it's not like I actually need a maid service" he told Morgana as he got to work finishing what little homework he had leftover.

His two hours had rolled by rather quickly, nearly being done as he went downstairs to brew some coffee for Kawakami who - after a bit - headed downstairs.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Naruto asked as she nodded with a smile.

"The smell did actually. I didn't know you knew how to make coffee?" she asked, a bit surprised as she sat down at the bar while she watched him go about making it.

"My guardian makes some amazing coffee and he's teaching me how to. I may not be as good as him but I figured some coffee might help you" Naruto told her, noticing the even more surprised look on her face before he set down the cup in front of her.

"You really are an odd kid….Calling your teacher who is moonlighting a maid and instead of trying to see if you can do anything naughty - which I wouldn't dare allow - you let her nap and brew her coffee" Kawakami said with a stunned shake of her head.

"I like to help people that I can, what can I say? Plus this'll help you to not end up in the hospital as you try to help pay for your sister's medical bills " Naruto told her with a shrug of his shoulders, watching as Kawakami took a sip with the smile to show she enjoyed it before her phone rang a bit later.

"Hello!...Yes, I made the transfer…" she told the person on the other line only to widen her eyes in shock. "Not enough?! But it was the same amount as last week! I-" she started to say, clearly freaking out before she was cut off, instantly looking defeated as she solemnly nodded.

"N-No….Yes, I understand….Okay, goodbye…." she muttered before she hung up.

"Something to do with your sister?" Naruto asked as that was all he had to go off of as to what 'transfer' might refer to.

"Yeah….sister" she softly mumbled with a frown, not meeting his eyes before she looked up at him. "You wouldn't happen to have a hundred thousand yen that I could borrow?" she asked, sounding a bit defeated and desperate while clearly also not being actually serious despite most likely wishing she could actually ask him that.

"I'm really not being serious. You should honestly be more mindful how you spend it….you shouldn't be wasting it on services like this…." she told him, clearly at odds between being a teacher and her reason for needing the money.

"I get it but at the same time I want to help and five thousand really isn't a blow to the wallet - especially if it helps" Naruto admitted, getting a bit of a groan from her as she shook her head.

"I appreciate it but you're my student….if we were to get involved further things would get complicated" she said, starting to mutter a bit near the end before she sat up with a serious look in her eyes. "I did warn you though so the rest is your responsibility! You're a high schooler after all" she said, basically pushing blame onto him which he completely understood as she was the adult and otherwise she might feel guilt from him requesting her.

"I understand but that won't change anything" he told her with his trademark smile, making her shake her head with a soft smile of her own.

He couldn't help but smile a bit more as he felt a pulse inside him, showing the bond between them had grown stronger.

"Three more to go…" Kawakami muttered before Naruto motioned to her cup of coffee.

"That should help so finish up since last I checked, I still have about ten minutes left of my maid service" he told her, getting a smirk from her before she continued drinking her coffee, finishing it and having a bit of time leftover to relax before she left.

Once she was gone he focused on finishing up his homework all the way before getting ready for bed, his phone ringing just as he walked back upstairs after locking up and turning off all the lights.

"Oh, is this Master~? Thank you for using our service today!" Kawakami said, once again talking in her 'Becky' tone. "I really wanna do a lot more cleaning for you….Is that okay Master?" she asked as Naruto still wasn't quite used to her talking like this.

"This is something you have to do after every service, don't you?" Naruto asked, the pause afterwards silently telling him yes before she 'scoffed'.

"What!? Noooo! I just wanted to hear your voice Master~" she told him before sighing. "No, you've got the right idea. I have to do this so I hit my quotes for the week….Sorry, this is an annoying part of the job" she told him with another sigh.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine" he assured her since he figured this was something she had to do.

"Okay, this is driving me insane so I'm just going to drop the sales tal-Crap! My manager's coming! Um, well, I hope you'll request me again sometime! Bye byeeee~!" she sang off before quickly hanging up, Naruto only able to shake his head with a chuckle before he headed off to bed.

-5/21 - Saturday-

School was over before they knew it which, in turn, worked in their favor since Naruto had messaged them early this morning about heading into Mementos as they had two targets to go after school ended.

Everyone seemed all for it as the second school was done they headed over to the 'hideout'.

"So, who are we going after in Mementos?" Ryuji asked as he sat down against the bars with a soda in hand, handing Naruto the card for Kitagawa which he quickly put away in his bag.

"Well the first is a target we essentially agreed to, the bullying bully aka Yoshimori Sakoda who was controlling Takanashi. I figured out their name a while ago but then we kind of got caught up with Madarame" he told them, getting nods from everyone since if they went after Takanashi it made sense for them to go after the person who was controlling him.

"The other is someone I found out about yesterday. Her name is Ryoko Aino and she's been abducting an unhealthy number of cats who might be suffering from being shoved into a room together, she even tried to abduct Morgana" he said, getting shocked looks from the two girls.

"I'm glad he's safe but now I'm worried about those other poor cats" Ann said with a frown as Shiho nodded along.

"I think we're in agreement for the target so just let us know when you're ready to head in" Shiho said, Ryuji's nod showing he was good to go along with the target as well before Naruto pulled out his phone.

"No use waiting, let's head on in and get these done" Naruto told them, a nod from them all being all he needed before he began navigation to Mementos.

-Mementos-

"The targets should be deeper in so let's head off to the last rest area we visited" Morgana suggested only to stop suddenly and turn around to face them. "I should also mention something else….you see, in Mementos we need to be careful not to stay on one floor for too long or else an insanely strong Shadow shows up called the Reaper" he warned them before Ryuji stomped his foot.

"Shouldn't you have mentioned that before!?" Ryuji yelled as Morgana at least looked a bit ashamed about it.

"I-I forgot okay! But we shouldn't have to worry as long as we keep moving! Plus it comes with a sound warning of rattling chains so that would have reminded me if I didn't remember right now!" Morgana yelled back before Naruto got in the middle of them.

"It's fine, it doesn't change anything since we don't stay on one floor for too long and if we do we'll keep an ear out" he told them, getting involved to stop the yelling that was bound to come given how the two of them always tended to get.

"Fine" they both grumbled as they stepped apart and allowed them to continue preparing which allowed Naruto to finally look at the Persona he had gained - thankful that his compendium had pictures of them.

The first seemed to be Shiki-Ouji of the Chariot Arcana which looked like a massive creature made of paper, the next was a Black Ooze from the Moon Arcana which was essentially a black Slime, and the final being Leanan Sidhe of the Lovers Arcana who was a floating pointed eared woman with incredibly long blonde hair who wore a purple dress with a very deep 'v' down the front to stomach.

Leanan Sidhe had a Psi skill where the others just had physical but right now Orthrus had him set.

Though he was curious what they could fuse into.

"Okay, everyone ready?" he asked, putting his compendium away before everyone nodded and Morgana led them down the escalator to take them to the rest area they had found before.

"I think one of the targets is in the next area below us so let's go and find them" Morgana told them as they arrived in the rest area, none of them even going to sit down as they headed down the escalator at the other end and started their drive.

Exploring the floor was rather easy as - oddly enough - most of the Shadows they came across were sleeping.

"Well there is pollen spreading in the real world, stuff like that and other real world situations like heat waves or flu season are bound to have an effect on Mementos given its a construct of the human collective unconscious" Morgana said, suggesting that as the explanation for it while Naruto was just thankful as driving around much easier given all of them were essentially asleep.

It also made finding their target that much easier, all of them heading in the second they found the swirling vortex with Sakoda being inside it.

"So that's the guy who's really behind all the bullying, right?" Ann asked as Naruto nodded.

"Unless there is someone controlling him, in which case I'm so done" Naruto grumbled out with a roll of his eyes before he started walking off towards Sakoda.

"You think you can blame me for what I've done?" Sakoda asked once he noticed them. "It's a dog-eat-dog world moron. Didn't you hear? Might makes right" he declared as Ryuji glared heavily at the Shadow.

"No jerk's got the right to go around blackmailin' people!" Ryuji hissed out as Sakoda shook his head.

"The weak who can't survive in this world become prey for the strong. Nothing's wrong with that!" Sakoda yelled out as Naruto laughed and shook his head.

"With animals yes but overall that's pretty big talk coming from a coward who forces others to get their hands dirty for him" Naruto told him, getting a furious glare from Sakoda.

"And you're a stupid dog that's all bark and no bite! You're just trash! Now die!" Sakoda yelled out before he transformed into a pitch black colored Jack Frost.

"Let me help you understand what survival of the fittest truly means! I'll devour you!" he roared out as the fight began.

The fight was a bit difficult given there were two people who were weak to ice but they ended up turning things around when Ann caught it on fire despite it being resistant to fire. This allowed Naruto and Morgana to hit it with technical damage with Nuke and Wind respectively with Morgana's wind knocking it down so they could surround him.

The All-Out attack that followed was more than enough to take Sakoda down in the end.

"I'm not a loser...I'm strong, I'm strong….I'm strong, aren't I?" Sakoda asked as Naruto shook his head.

"What happened to it being a dog-eat-dog world? You loved to preach that but you're just a dog that likes to puff itself up to seem bigger" Naruto bluntly told him, getting Sakoda to cower and shield his head.

"N-No, p-please don't eat me…." he whimpered out as Ann sighed and shook her head.

"Just admit you lost, you're acting really pathetic right now" she said with a groan before he lowered his arms and slumped forward a bit.

"Yes….I know I am" Sakoda admitted as Naruto nodded.

"Good, now apologize to everyone you've targeted and change your ways" Naruto told him, Sakoda nodding as he turned into light and left behind his Treasure which seemed to be an 'Evil Snow Crystal' from the alert on his phone.

'Evil Snow Crystal - Allows for the fusion of Black Frost inside the Velvet Room' the description read, getting Naruto interested in checking that out later.

"So we have one more target? Think it's close?" Shiho asked as Morgana shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll just have to keep going to find out" Morgana suggested before he transformed back into a van for them to get back into.

As they drove and crashed into a shadow they were confused when the Shadow just exploded with nothing showing up afterwards.

"Wait, what happened to the Shadow? Shouldn't it have appeared for us to fight?" Ann asked as she looked around, confused before Morgana hummed a bit.

"Maybe it's because we are stronger than them so we can take them out without needing to actually fight them?" Morgana suggested, clearly not too sure but Naruto felt he was more or less correct as that was the only thing that potentially might make sense.

"Then we should try and get as much experience as we can from this set up" Naruto suggested as he continued driving until they found the way down to the next floor.

"Our target is on this floor so let's look around and figure out where they are" Morgana alerted them as he transformed back into a van.

As they searched the floor they tested out the theory by driving into a few more shadows, all of which instantly exploded with no battle each time. (*1)

With that it made travelling through this section of Mementos easy and allowed them to find the next target without any issue, once again heading inside the vortex.

"That's Ryoko Aino! Let's change her heart for the sake of all the cats in Yongen!" Morgana declared as they hurried after him towards the woman in the trenchcoat. "Ryoko Aino! You're going to let the cats in Yongen go!" he demanded before Aino adamantly shook her head.

"No! Without me Snowball and all the other kitties won't be happy and safe!" she yelled out with a frantic look in her eyes.

"Other kitties? What are you talking about?" Ryuji asked before Aino's eyes skimmed right over him and focused on Morgana.

"Snowball! C'mere kitty! You've gotta come over too!" she yelled before she dissolved into a Nekomata and lunged at them, causing them to leap back a bit. "I'll be the one to protect the Snowballs! I won't let anyone stand in my way!" she yelled as they started to hit her with their elements before Morgana knocked her down with his wind.

"Stop this! If I'm gone there won't be anyone protecting the snowballs!" she cried out as Naruto and Morgana shared a look.

"I think there's something going on with this one. Maybe we should just try talking to them" Morgana suggested with Naruto nodding along as he was thinking the same thing.

'Just think over what we know about her….she's calling cats 'Snowballs' and the cats are stressed out and thinks only she can protect them...Let's see what we can do' Naruto thought just as Shadow Aino looked up at him.

"All I want to do is protect the Snowballs! I have to protect them, I just HAVE TO PROTECT THEM!" she yelled out frantically as Naruto crouched down to her level and lowered his gun.

"Easy there, just calm down" he gently told her, the fear and franticness lessening as she slowly nodded.

"I am calm...Of course I'm calm...I need to stay calm for the Snowballs" she told them, choking up a bit near the end.

"Are all cats Snowballs to you?" he asked, feeling she might be a bit unsettled mentally.

"Snowballs are snowballs...They're all snowballs and I have to protect them. As long as I protect them, the Snowballs will be happy" she said before he shook his head with a frown.

"The cats are stressed out, Aino" Naruto told her, getting her to shake her head again.

"But if I don't keep an eye out for the Snowballs they'll die too…." Aino told him which proved his 'unsettled mentally' assumption to be correct and there seemed to be a cause behind it.

"So, the real Snowball is already gone?" Morgana asked, her silence answering his question on its own.

"Snowball is gone and the cats are hurting Aino, you need to let them go" he told her, getting a defeated sigh as she nodded.

"You're….right" she relented, giving up the fight as Naruto felt a ping inside him showing him he had grown stronger before three lights flew out of him.

The first one quickly made him look straight at her face as it was a busty topless woman who only wore a short red and white skirt and a golden horned headdress with purple skin whose hair was the only thing blocking him from seeing everything as she brandished two swords.

"Well aren't you just adorable Master" the woman said with a laugh as one of her swords disappeared and she ran a hand through her hair, quickly getting him to look away before she appeared behind him and hugged him. "My name is Yaksini of the Empress Arcana, I do hope you use me well" she whispered in his ear, getting a shiver up his spine before she disappeared and the next light materialized.

This one was a massive red demon with a mouth full of fangs and his white hair styled in a tall spike. "I'm Oni of the Strength Arcana. Now that you and me are buddies I'm gonna eat anyone who even tries to get in our way!" he declared as he banged his weapon before disappearing into him, allowing the last to appear which was a familiar face.

"Me Nue. Me mysterious. Now me new mask. Nice meet you" it curtly told him before turning back into light, showing it was a Persona of very few words, before the world started again for him and Aino turned back to normal.

"You see I found this white kitten and it took it home but it wandered outside while I wasn't looking and then….I saw it get run over by a car" she cried out, tears pouring down her face as she sobbed into her hands, Shiho frowning as she went over to rub Aino's back to help console her a bit.

"The car just kept driving! Even after it ran over the kitten" she sobbed before looking up from her hands and tried to get herself under control. "Since then I see that kitten in every cat and I always thought how I have to protect it this time" she told them as Naruto frowned but nodded, that sight understandably being painful and helped explain why she wanted to protect the cats.

"It really brought you a lot of suffering, didn't it?" Shiho asked before Aino shook her head.

"No...The people who really suffered are the owners and their cats" she admitted before she looked over to Morgana who was smiling at her.

"It's all right since you realized your mistake. Just don't do something like this again" he told her while Aino nodded with a soft smile.

"Yes, thank you Mr. Kitty" she said before she got a bit nervous. "Um….I have a lot of cat food at my place so please come over sometime?" she asked as Morgana frowned a bit.

"I am NOT a cat! But….that sounds nice" Morgana admitted, getting a happy smile from her.

"Thank you!" she said as she started to turn into light, leaving behind her treasure which turned out to be a 'Cat Brooch' which was quite fitting.

"So what do we do next? You wanna keep exploring Joker?" Ryuji asked, Naruto thinking it over before he nodded.

"I'd like to see how many more levels there are on this level as well as if we can find Jose since I got a crystal after Madarame and I want to see what it does when he makes it into a ring" Naruto told them while he didn't get any complaints with Morgana turning back into a van.

Their drive for the stairs down to the next floor was quick with only two Shadows in their way that they were easily able to 'instant-kill' but, as they went down the escalator they found themselves at the end of the floor.

"Hey, that wall…." Morgana muttered as this platform was the same as before.

"It's the same type of wall we opened up last time….Does this one open too?" Ann asked as they walked up to it only for nothing to happen once they got up to it.

"I guess it won't open until the public notices us more? Maybe after Madarame confesses it'll open up" Naruto suggested with a sigh. "With us at a literal dead end let's head on back" he told them before Morgana helped them head back to the entrance and leave.

He was a bit upset he couldn't find Jose but figured he would the next time they came in here once Madarame had his change of heart.

-Real World - LeBlanc-

"Hey, did you notice on the way home? The cats are back in Yongen!" Morgana pointed out once they walked back in the door with a smile. "Also I overheard the owners talking and it sounds like Aino turned herself in. They said that once she pays for her crimes she's apparently going to volunteer to take care of stray cats" Morgana said as Naruto nodded with a smile.

"Good for her, I hope she is able to overcome her past trauma" Naruto hoped while Morgana nodded along.

"I doubt she'll remember me but maybe I'll go visit her someday. I made a promise after all" Morgana told him before they headed upstairs, Naruto eager to get ready for bed only for his phone to chime.

Ann: Guys, I know we just got done with Mementos and are exhausted but Kitegawa just messaged me

Naruto: What did he say?

Ann: He told me that apparently Madarame is preparing for a media announcement although he didn't hear anything about pressing charges so he is confused

Ryuji: Sounds like it could be a change of heart?

Shiho: Kamoshida had his change of heart during the assembly so this could be it

Naruto: If that's the case I'll need to be ready with Sayuri and the card to leave it at the atelier

Ann: Let's meet up in Shibuya tomorrow so we can be ready and so we can watch whatever is about to happen together

Naruto: Sounds like a plan to me. See you guys then

With this little bit of info Naruto was a bit excited and worried for whatever might happen tomorrow. His exhaustion over the two fights in Mementos won out over worry and anticipation, allowing him to head off to bed without much trouble.

-5/22 – Sunday-

He wasted no time as he met up with everyone in Shibuya, them all pulling up the news channel that was apparently reporting on Madarame's press conference as they waited close to Kitagawa's house just as it started.

"I….I have committed crimes that are unbecoming of an artist" Madarame started off, already crying as he sat at a table in front of countless microphones. "Plainly put...I, um….plagiarized work. I-I...tainted this-this country's art world….and….even Sayuri!" he said, his voice choking up as he started to bawl.

"Sayuri was tainted from the start because of my….terrible actions! She….was originally a piece made by a sick student of mine….a s-sweet self portrait with her and her baby son" Madarame continued, still crying as he started to confess to his actions surrounding Sayuri. "I-I was so enamoured by it that….wh-when she started to have a seizure in front of me I….I just let her die so I could steal it from her! I even ruined the painting, painting over her son - who is now my lone remaining student Yusuke Kitagawa - just so I could profit even more off the painting! I-I'm a monster! M-My t-terrible actions led to a student of mine committing suicide…..a-and I have been a m-monster towards my students if they didn't continue to give their works to me! H-How could I….I possibly...apologize to-to everyone for….for what I've done!" he declared as he started to sob harder and harder until that was all he was doing as he was hunched over on the table before it then cut off to a newscaster.

Naruto decided this was the best time to leave the painting, rushing up to the atelier and leaving the wrapped up painting with the card before he rang the doorbell several times and ran off.

"We have been told at this time that Madarame is turning himself into the police under their request for crimes of plagiarism, abuse of his pupils, and recklessness that led to the death of a 'Sayuri Kitegawa'" the news anchor said as Naruto rejoined the others.

"Despite being taken to a police hospital due to his age, initial psych evaluations state that he is mentally sound and responsible for his actions. Also, a group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves posted a dubious note at Madarame's exhibit. The police will investigate their relation to this case but, for now, do not identify them as suspects" the anchor said as he concluded and moved onto another story just as Naruto - and the others - were able to spot Kitagawa open the door and take in the painting while noticing the card.

With that they quickly decided to stealthily leave and head back to the hideout given they felt this place might get a bit crowded with reporters soon.

Naruto though just hoped Kitagawa could find some peace with the Treasure they left behind for him.

-Kitagawa-

Yusuke was confused and a bit angered to be bothered so insistently after having just watched his Sensei - the man he saw as a foster father - confess to everything, including allowing his own mother to die just so he could steal her painting….the Sayuri.

He almost just wanted to chuck whatever was left for him in the trash but the red and black card along with the odd feeling he was getting from the painting shaped package made him decide to just pull it inside and see what it was.

'Dear Yusuke Kitagawa,

If you are reading this then Madarame has confessed to his crimes and admitted to the truth behind the Sayuri.

Thus, this belongs to you.

Do not question how it was put in our possession but just welcome that, while not the true Sayuri that is in Madarame's possession, this is the closest to the original Sayuri that is possible.

Cherish it as the portrait that your mother meant to leave to you and may you use it for strength in the coming turbulent days and keep it safe and hidden as best as you can.

Sincerely, the Phantom Thieves'

These words were enough to drive him to rip off the red cloth that covered the painting, revealing a 'Sayuri' only with no cloud near the bottom which allowed for the baby in her arms to be seen.

The baby that was supposed to be him….

He had absolutely no idea how they had such a thing or where they found it but seeing it and having it gave him some solace that surprised him. He didn't really have many memories of his mother but as he looked at the painting, knowing it was her, he finally understood why he had been so drawn to it.

And now it was home.

-Hideout-

"Guys, everyone is talking about Madarame online!" Ryuji told them excitedly as he had been looking around online and found that it had been a massive deal.

"Yeah and they even mentioned the Phantom Thieves!" Ann said as that was a big deal since it got their name out there.

"I heard people talking about it on the way over here. Seems people are curious about us given our calling card was mentioned with Kamoshida" Shiho brought up while Naruto nodded with a sigh.

"Personally I'm just glad he confessed everything about Kitagawa's mom and the Sayuri. It's good to know that we can get them to confess to certain things if they worded things just right.

"Man, this is startin' to get interesting….if we do it right we can change people's hearts. With this power….we might be able to do more than just gettin' back at society. It'll be a big deal!" Ryuji said as Naruto nodded.

"True, we really could do a lot by going after corrupted hearts" he agreed though in the back of his mind he was a bit worried.

"As for me, I hope we keep gettin' more and more famous!" Ryuji exclaimed, pinpointing the cause of his worries.

"We aren't doing this for fame, we're doing this to help people" Shiho reminded Ryuji as she seemed to be on the same boat as him, Ann being the same as she nodded along which made his worries lessen a bit.

"Overall something like this happening twice is massive too. It's too great a coincidence to occur normally" Morgana pointed out before Ann nodded with a bright smile.

"And if we continue doing this we'll definitely be able to give courage to everyone who needs it" Ann said, clearly eager to help more and more people before Naruto noticed a cop and a man in a suit stop beside them to talk.

"Might want to be quiet a bit" Naruto silently warned them, getting ever so subtle nods from them.

"Those are attendance officers" Ryuji whispered to them before the men turned their way.

"Hell there, may I speak with you for a moment?" the officer in sunglasses asked as he looked them over.

"Ah, yes! How can we help you?" Ann asked while the man continued to look around at them.

"What are you all doing here? Are you friends?" the officer asked before Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, we were just talking and figuring out where to go to get some food" Naruto told them, getting a nod from the man.

"All right then, just make sure you disperse before it gets too late, okay? There have been some odd happenings lately and the news about the artist has caused quite the stir" the officer told them with Naruto giving them a little salute.

"Promise we'll be careful" Naruto assured them before they walked off.

"It's still light out….Those guys must have way too much time on their hands" Ryuji muttered with a frown as Shiho nodded.

"Attendance officers on a Sunday, whatever these 'odd happenings' they mentioned are must be affecting students….I'll have to ask my mom about it" Shiho said, that line also having caught Naruto's attention while Morgana came back out of the bag now that the officers were gone.

"From now on we'll need to be even more cautious than before since more eyes are going to be on the Phantom Thieves. It's best we lay low and see how things play out" the 'not-cat' advised them with Ryuji nodding along.

"And it'll probably take some time findin' a target as big as Madarame" Ryuji also brought up which got Ann to nod at as well.

"We should just act like normal students while we look for our next target. After all we have that clean up thing going on tomorrow so that should help" Ann reminded them, only to get a groan from Ryuji.

"Whatever….at least it'll allow some more prep time 'til then" Ryuji grumbled before they decided to head off, actually deciding to get some food together before heading home.

As they walked off Naruto stopped and looked over his shoulder, noticing Makoto nearby before he smiled and gave her a wave which pulled her attention up from her phone. The worried look on her face as she waved back made him worry a bit but with her pointing to her phone he got the message that she'd contact him later.

He just hoped it wasn't anything bad before he caught back up with the others.

-District Prosecutors Building - SIU Director's Office-

"...The suspect has repeatedly testified that he does not have any recollection of his actions. A full psychiatric evaluation will be performed to further investigate the crime's details and motives" the anchor on TV announced before Sae Niijima turned away from it and turned back towards her boss.

"First Kamoshida at Shujin Academy and now Madarame. I've found a number of points of commonality between the two" she started off explaining as her boss looked away from the TV to listen. "Both, for example, were sent a 'calling card' before their unforeseen changes of heart" she told him before he nodded

"I see….but isn't tying their cases to the series of psychotic breakdowns jumping to conclusions? Furthermore the police will frown upon you stepping into this" he asked before warning her about overstepping her bounds.

"Now isn't the time to be worrying about things like jurisdiction and honor! We need to dig deeper and find a correlation among the incidents these past two to three years" she told him, adamant in her desire to uncover the truth but a bit worried as he went quiet on her before finally nodding.

"Very well. I leave it to you….However, you must not let this interfere with your regular duties" he told her, giving her the okay to continue her investigations.

"Thank you sir" Sae said with a bow before she left the room to get back to work, her boss shaking his head with a sigh once she left.

"That damn woman just had to stick her nose into this!" he groaned out, this being an annoying turn of events before he turned back to the TV.

"...And I understand that these abnormal incidents have caused some anxiety throughout our country" a voice belonging to a ruling party member as he was being interviewed outside the Diet Building started to say. "The situation must be approached with the utmost seriousness and I shall continue to put forth great effort so that every citizen can live with peace of mind" he assured, getting the SIU Director to sigh again as he leaned back in his chair.

"Not only are there these Phantom Thieves to worry about, but if that is exposed…." he started off before sighing, only hoping things didn't get messier.

-Naruto & Ryuji-

"Hey dude, you got some time?" Ryuji asked as they all started to head home once the girls headed off, Ann having a modeling job and Shiho saying how she had to do something with her mom which left him and Ryuji on their own.

"Yeah, what do you have in mind?" Naruto asked since it was still early in the day after their tea and relaxation.

"Well, the thing is, I got some free tickets to a darts lounge from this guy I know but I totally forgot that they expire today. So….you wanna go right now?" Ryuji asked before Naruto nodded with a shrug.

"Sure, sounds like it could be fun" Naruto said as some darts and relaxation after everything sounded like just the thing.

"The place is in Kichijoji so we gotta take the train first" Ryuji told him, getting a frown from Naruto a bit.

"I've never been there so I don't know where to go" Naruto said before Ryuji waved him off.

"It's easy to get there since it's one stop away from Shibuya so all we gotta do is head for the Inogami Line first. I think it's outside the school commuter pass so we'll have to pay the fare but it's just 200 yen so it's really not a hassle" he explained to him before leading him there and, with a simple fare, they headed off.

-Kichijoji-

"Whoa, this place feels much different than Shibuya. I like it, though it's a shame the girls couldn't come along but I'm sure they'll be down next time" Naruto said as Ryuji nodded along before he looked over at the path leading into Kichijoji.

"Yeah for sure, though for now I think the dart lounge is one block up from the main street but since we're here I won't say no to checkin' out a bunch of the other shops on the way" Ryuji said with a chuckle, Naruto figuring the same as looking around wouldn't hurt.

The amount of shops at just the start of things was intense along with the variety. Some places Naruto thought might be interesting to check out like the Taiyaki shop and the Japanese Confectionery while some just seemed normal like a shop for only hats and another for only socks.

"Dude, check out that sign. It says 'Bring your sooty clothing here!'" Ryuji pointed out a bit confused while Naruto figured that maybe the sooty clothing he kept getting from Palaces could work here.

It's not like they were of any use to him since he had tried washing them back when he was stuck at home after getting hurt saving Shiho and they just stayed sooty.(*2)

The man inside seemed to be really interested in the items when he pulled them out - thankfully not questioning how he had 23 stuffed inside one bag - before offering to buy them all for 32,200 yen which he eagerly accepted.

"W-Well, that was a kind of weird store" Ryuji said, a bit weirded out by it as Naruto just shrugged his shoulders.

"Dude, I got like 32,000 yen for all that weird stuff. This place is my favorite since that junk was useless to me" Naruto said with a chuckle before he held out his fist, getting a bump from Ryuji before they kept looking around.

Other interesting places he found as they made their way through was a temple - which surprised him - as well as more food places as well as a music store and Karaoke place that were close to what seemed to be a Jazz Club which seemed fitting.

"Oh! This is the road!" Ryuji pointed out once they reached a deeper part of Kichijoji. "The name of that shop matches what's on the free tickets" Ryuji said as he pulled out the tickets and looked back and forth between them and the store. "'Penguin Sniper'? Why'd you give one of those doofy birds a gun?" he asked as Morgana poked his head out of the bag with a sigh.

"It's not meant to be taken literally" he said with a flat tone before Ryuji shook it off.

"Whatever, let's check it out!" Ryuji said as they headed over while Naruto noticed more interesting shops like a cafe, a wine bar, and a steak shop that he had to pull Ryuji away from when he started drooling and trying to walk towards it as if he was in a trance.

Thankfully it wasn't hard and they were able to make it into Penguin Sniper safely.

They actually had a lot of fun as they played darts where they ended up playing '01' which was a game where you had to get your points down to 0 from 301 as a pair. They also were interested in the pool tables but couldn't really play any of that given the coupon was for darts and it was starting to get late.

It honestly made him want to bring the others here sometime to hang out and play darts or even pool, even if they had to pay out of pocket next time.

Though, with it getting late, they had to head home to get some rest - especially with the clean up event tomorrow that they had to look forward to.

-Yongen-

"You transfer lines as Shibuya, right?" Sojiro asked as he walked in the door, surprising Naruto a bit as he nodded. "It's just I heard some customers saying how it's gotten pretty dangerous over there so try not to let yourself be a target, okay?" Sojiro warned before he nodded again.

"Dangerous how?" Naruto asked as Sojiro shrugged his shoulders.

"They couldn't really say exactly other than high schoolers seem to be the ones being targeted. Just stay safe, last thing you need is to get caught up in a mess" he told him, worrying Naruto a bit since this was the second time he heard of 'dangerous stuff' in Shibuya.

"I'll be careful, thanks for the warning" Naruto said, getting a nod from the man before Naruto's phone chimed, showing a message from Mishima.

Mishima: Picked up some interesting info you might want to hear

Mishima: Apparently there's this old man who's been causing problems in Kichijoji

Mishima: If you make one wrong move or say the wrong thing he flies into a rage and it turns into a fight

Mishima: Even if you don't hit him he lies and says you did and then sues you for damages. He's a con artist! Or like….a conflict artist!

Naruto: What about the cops? I doubt they'd just let this mess continue on

Mishima: They've tried to give him warnings but when they do he acts senile and he gets away with it

Mishima: I don't have any info on his name but I hear he hangs out in Kichijoji's Harmony Alley a lot

Naruto couldn't help but sigh as he literally came from there….but he still headed back since he had the time to go look around before it was too late.

-Kichijoji-

Once back in Kichijoji it didn't take long for him to find the alleyway. He was a bit careful as he walked between the bars before he stopped as he overheard some people talking at the corner of what seemed to be a sake bar.

"That old man hasn't come here yet. No wonder I'm drinking in peace" a flushed face young looking man in a dress shirt and vest said as the aproned man beside him nodded.

"I don't like to bad-mouth my customers but he definitely makes so much trouble" the man in the apron agreed before Naruto walked up to them.

"Are you two talking about the old man I've heard who picks fights and then acts all senile?" Naruto asked them before the man in the apron merely nodded.

"Hoo boy, so even kids like you know about him" the aproned man said, a bit surprised that the man was that well known.

"That old man's outta control. He takes drinks from strangers, he starts fights, and when he gets into trouble he causes a ruckus and tries to mooch money off people" the flush faced man said before shivering a bit. "What's creepy is the more trouble he makes the wider his smile gets" he added, clearly creeped out at it.

"You have his name so I can maybe avoid him if I hear someone talking about him?" Naruto asked, trying to subtly cover things up before the flush faced man nodded.

"Oh yeah, the old man's always shoutin' his name over and over. Heiji Ono, right?" he asked, looking to the man in the apron to make sure he was correct as the man nodded.

"Yep, that's the name so try and be on the lookout if you hear it being yelled around here. Last you want is to get caught up with him targeting you out of random" he warned him before sighing a bit. "But you know….I can't be that hard on him. He's around my dad's age. When he complains about his joints hurting on rainy days I can't help but feel sorry for the old man. I just wish he'd stay warm with his family instead" the apron man said with the flush faced man shaking his head.

"You might sound awfully sympathetic but I know you really think he's a pain in the ass" the flush faced man said, getting a laugh from the man in the apron who nodded along before Naruto thanked them and walked off.

"So we have a name and what seems to be a weakness" Morgana pointed out as Naruto nodded along, having also caught that bit of info.

"We'll have to go in while it's raining as if his body is weak to it his Shadow might be as well" Naruto pointed out as they headed back towards the station only for his phone to ring with an unknown number.

"Hello?" he answered, unsure who was calling him before a familiar voice yelled a familiar word at him.

"Inmate!" Caroline yelled out, getting him to somewhat hold the phone away from his head. "We have an assignment for you so come to the Velvet Room door in Shibuya right now!" she barked out a bit quieter.

"Yes, come to us before we change our minds" Justine calmly warned him before they hung up on him and he quickly began to wonder how they called him as those two didn't seem the cellphone type.

"Hey, who were you talking to? They sounded really noisy. If you're being summoned somewhere you should probably get going and let me wander around while you do whatever you gotta do" Morgana suggested, getting a sigh from him before he headed towards Shibuya while he thought about how much moving around he was doing today.

-Shibuya-

Once there he let Morgana out before he went over to the door near Untouchable, seeing both twins were waiting for him.

"So you came Inmate" Justine said as Caroline glared at him from her seat atop the Velvet Room door.

"You're late! Next time we expect you in front of us within two seconds of our calling!" Caroline ordered out, getting an eye roll from him.

"It takes time. I was in Kichijoji so I had to take the subway to get here" he told her in a flat tone before Justine nodded and pulled out her clipboard.

"We have the first of the assignments ready for you. There are a number of places that we are interested in and you will prove the value of these places to us in person" Justine explained to him while he looked at them with a raised eyebrow as it felt a bit odd to him.

But then again everything about the Velvet Room and the people in it was odd….

"We have selected various locations and should you recognize the place we mention your role is to escort us there" Caroline said before Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as he nodded along.

"Ah okay, I got it. You two want to explore! Just say that next time instead of this confusing run around" Naruto told them with a roll of his eyes.

"Are those ears of yours just for decoration?" Justine asked with a flat look though the fact that she looked away the second their eyes met proved he had hit the nail on the head. "These are special assignments for the sake of your rehabilitation. Work just as hard at them as you do the rest of your duties" she continued before Caroline nodded along.

"Yeah! Don't slack off and our bond will grow stronger!" Caroline yelled out at him from her spot atop the tall Velvet Room door.

"Fine, what is the first place you want to 'check out'" Naruto asked with air quotes, putting his hands behind his back the second Justine looked his way.

"The first place we have chosen is one that has grown quite popular lately. It's purported foods that simulate the feeling of being in space" Justine started to explain with Caroline perking up a bit as she pulled out her baton to point at him.

"The food also is apparently massive enough to rival the size of the universe itself and resembles a mysterious spacecraft!" she chimed in as Justine nodded at her point.

"If the food exemplifies both the unknown and the vast nothingness of space it is sure to stimulate the heart" Justine said as she looked up at him. "Does this description bring any locations to mind?" she asked before he nodded.

"Do you mean the Big Bang Burger? Cause if so I have to warn you its-" he started to say before Caroline hopped down.

"Big Bang Burger? The name is fitting I suppose" she said, cutting him off while Justine nodded with a smile, her eyes closed as she thought it over.

"We shall confirm our intel for ourselves. Lead the way" Justine told him, making him sigh as he thought over how things would go when their expectations were crushed.

'Well….at least this is only about a food place and not something like Santa' he thought, not even wanting to figure out the twin's thoughts on that before he led them off to the nearby Big Bang Burger and into one of the booths inside.

"Well, it is indeed shaped like a mysterious craft but it is much smaller than I had expected" Caroline grumbled a bit as she and Justine sat on the booth seats while Naruto sat in one of the seats across from them.

He had started them off simple with some regular burgers and drinks which explained their disappointment a bit.

"Is this the meal they boasted to be as immense as the cosmos? I'm quite disappointed" Justine complained while he nodded with a frown.

"I mean, I tried to warn you two but hey, experiencing human fast food will still be interesting and new. Especially with this Big Bang Challenge I've heard about and no, it's name is not literal" Naruto told them, quickly adding that once Justine perked up a bit.

"Enough of your smart remarks! Know your place, Inmate!" Caroline yelled before he held his hands up in defense.

"It's just the name of the challenge! It's supposed to be a really massive burger bigger than your head where you have to eat it in a short period of time" he explained, getting wide eyes from the two twins.

"Really? They can get THAT large?" Caroline asked in surprise and interest while Justine also looked interested.

"The Big Bang Challenge, what an intriguing concept. I do hope you are able to best the largest they offer" Justine said while Naruto smirked and cracked his neck.

"I have a few secrets up my sleeve to handle whatever they have but I don't think I can go to the largest one since you have to beat the first few stages beforehand" he told them before he went up to place his order, sitting back down to wait.

When they arrived not only was he surprised by how fast they were but also surprised by just how massive the burger was that the female employee had brought to him.

"Thank you for waiting and, as our 10,000th customer, we're treating you with the highest tier of the Big Bang Challenge: The Cosmic Tower Burger!" she announced, surprising even Naruto as he had signed up for the first stage of it.

"You'll have 30 minutes to finish it so….Get ready! Get set! Go!" she announced before she stepped away.

"The last burger was downright insignificant by comparison…." Justine muttered, almost stunned silent as she stared wide eyed at the tower in front of them while Naruto inspected it.

"It's bigger than the Inmate's entire stomach. No! His entire torso!" Caroline said in utter shock before gasping a bit. "Perhaps the moniker implies that any diner's stomach will suffer its own Big Bang if they attempt to eat this!?" she asked as Naruto chuckled a bit.

"I've seen people eat more and I've learned a thing or two from a friend of mine and his family. They are masters at eating more food than you'd think humanly possible" Naruto assured them as Justine smirked a bit.

"So you claim there is actually a chance of victory?" she asked while Naruto nodded and pushed up his sleeves.

"I feel pretty confident in my skills. I'm not at their level but I am pretty skilled due to going to buffets with my friend a good number of times" Naruto told them before he started on the burger as the twins watched.

"We'll see just how long that positivity lasts" Caroline said as they watched him start to go at the mammoth sized burger.

Their attempts at directing him and giving advice were appreciated but he somewhat drowned them out as he knew what he was doing.

It was a bit tough but, with everything he had learned from Choji, he was able to finish all of it off - although he definitely had to 'steel' his stomach to keep it from bursting.

"Oh god, I'm out of practice but I did it!" he rejoiced, raising his fist in victory as he was hunched over on the table.

"That was quite impressive as even if it's nothing compared to what the big bang generated it was still a great feat for a human" Justine told him as he forced himself to sit up with a groan. "I do have to ask, do humans have some sort of compulsion for exaggerating the size of things?" she asked which got Caroline to perk up a bit at.

"Good question! In fact, this challenge raises quite a few of them. You took the challenge for your rehabilitation but who in their right mind would willingly consume so much food? Why are humans always testing and pushing their limits?" Caroline asked, both twins looking at him for an answer before he sighed.

"Look, humans exaggerate the size of things to make them seem even more impressive or daunting. They also tend to push themselves to their limits to grow stronger or just for the victory" Naruto explained to them, getting them both to gain thoughtful looks.

"Hey, Justine. Maybe we should take the challenge ourselves" Caroline suggested, which got Naruto to grow a bit worried.

"I just had the very same thought. If we were to thrust ourselves into this ordeal then perhaps we would discover some answers" Justine agreed while Naruto just decided to watch and hold back on intervening unless it was absolutely necessary.

Thankfully it seemed that he didn't have to as there was a minimum age requirement and the twins looked like kids….although his gut told him that was only in terms of appearance.

In the end the employee gave them each a Lil Bang Meal which came with a toy spaceship.

They weren't too happy but he did see they liked their toys, both deciding to keep them as they left.

"Well, we didn't experience any of the wonders of space but at least the taste was passable" Caroline admitted while Justine smiled and chuckled a bit.

"You seemed much more excited by the toy than the taste, anyway" Justine revealed, getting a blush on Caroline's face as she glared at Justine.

"Sh-Shut up! I saw you eating around those 'pickle' things or whatever they are, Justine!" Caroline rebutted in an attempt to divert attention away from her.

"Th-That wasn't food from this earth. It was clearly….alien spawn of some sort" Justine tried to defend, that getting Caroline to widen her eye in shock.

"WHAT!? Is this true!?" Caroline asked, looking over to him as he shook his head.

"Not exactly but they are something that not everyone likes so it's fine that she ate around them" he explained which got an ever so thankful look from Justine while Caroline seemingly accepted the answer with a nod.

"I see. Well, they didn't taste bad but seriously what are they!? I ate all of mine you know!" she told him, getting Naruto to chuckle as he patted her head.

"They're just cucumbers that have been pickled but in the end good job for finishing them all" Naruto told her, smirking a bit as she blushed darkly and instantly grew quiet.

"Calm down Caroline, we're getting off track" Justine told her as Naruto took a step back.

"W-Well at any rate we've determined that hamburgers are incapable of conveying the majesty of space. While the toy spaceships helped to soften the blow, there's no denying the truth" Caroline told him, shaking off her blush as she went back into her serious 'warden' mode a bit.

"Well I'm sorry but hey, I had fun. Didn't you two?" he asked which got them both to think it over and nod a bit.

"I believe we did. It was a well completed task Inmate and we thank you for being a helpful guide for this task" Justine said with a smile, one that was matched by Caroline as he felt two pulses inside him, one for each bond.

"Yeah! I have to say you were actually pretty amazing when you ate that tower of a burger….but don't get cocky! You're still an inmate!" Caroline started to compliment him a bit before she quickly had to 'put him in his place'.

"I understand, in the end I'm just glad you two had fun" he told them before they nodded in unison.

"Be sure to work just as hard next time as we have all sorts of locations in mind to aid in your rehabilitation. Your final task for the day is to escort us back to the Velvet Room" Justine said while Naruto nodded and helped the twins return back to the Velvet Room despite it being essentially in their line of sight before he once again made his way back home once catching up with Morgana.

-Yongen-

Once home he had to unlock the door, Sojiro seemingly having headed home, before he locked back up again and headed up to his room so he could get ready for bed.

Though it seemed his luck was biting back at him as his phone chimed, this time it being Makoto which he didn't mind as much as Mishima.

Makoto: I know it is late and I apologize I just felt now might be the best time to message you when neither of us are busy. It's rather important

Naruto: Don't worry, what's up? Is it about that whole thing with Madarame?

Makoto: Yes, I'm worried the Principal might put more pressure due to current events. After all he's already put you on the same clean up team as me and Shirogane-san

Naruto: If he does just let me know and we'll figure it out. As for sticking me with you two it honestly that doesn't surprise me

Naruto: Though it's pretty funny since you two aren't actually investigating me

Makoto: That's correct. If anything it might help placate him a bit

Makoto: I'm sorry, it seems I've calmed myself down….

Naruto: Don't worry about it. I'm glad you've calmed down a bit and I guess I'll see you tomorrow

Makoto: Right, sleep well and don't forget your gym clothes

Naruto: Got it, night

Naruto couldn't help but sigh, not out of any emotions but more just in general as he thought everything over. He knew eventually the Principal would be something they'd have to go after but just couldn't right now due to the mess it'd make and the focus it'd put on Shujin.

"You okay?" Morgana asked as he hopped up on the bed beside him, having somewhat sensed what thoughts were potentially running through his head.

"Yeah I'm fine, just gotta be careful about things going forward. Shibuya is apparently becoming dangerous and the Principal is pressuring Makoto about us…." he said as he stared up at the ceiling with a slight frown. "Back at home I always had a place where I could go to be alone with my thoughts, somewhere that was my own. Call it childish but it was essentially a 'secret base'...what I wouldn't give for one now" he admitted with a chuckle, Morgana chuckling a bit as well before Naruto's phone chimed.

"Beginning Navigation….Thieves Den" the MetaNav spoke out, getting him to instantly sit up in shock before he and Morgana travelled to who-knows-where, hoping they didn't just get themselves sent into sudden danger.

-Chapter End-

Pairing: Naruto x Futaba, Ann, Shiho, Makoto, Haru, Kasumi, Kawakami, Tae, Caroline, Justine, Lavenza, Sae, Hifumi, Ohya, Chihaya, and Naoto

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*1 = I decided to make Ryuji's Instant Kill there from the start since it makes sense for them to be able to instantly defeat weaker ones due to how strong they are

*2 = I'm not doing armor so I kept the sooty clothes as is and instead will be useful for money though again - I tend not to keep track of that stuff. Plus its hard when I'm using a NG+ file with 3 million yen in my pocket lol

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Before I get to the story notes I would like to remind everyone I do have a pat reon which includes rewards like seeing progress updates, notifications to new stories I plan to do, voting polls, and early access to chapters before I post them on FF.

Simple go to pat reon and paste:

/user?u=4783680

At the end of pat reon's url and you'll find my page.

You don't get anything that everyone here won't get aka there will be no "pat reon exclusive stories" or things where I have to get a certain amount of money before I work on something as both of those are shitty practices.

It is solely "hey, you want to support me, a disabled unemployed writer who survives off my disability checks? Thanks, I appreciate it" and nothing more

So yeah, check it out if you want, now onto chapter notes!

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Lots of stuff happened in this chapter.

Personally I like how the boss battle went down as I'll be honest and say I cheesed the battles in my first playthrough using Kaguya's Shining Arrows to consistently deal with the copies of Madarame lol

The change of heart really went well I feel since the added aspect of him confessing to the actions surrounding Yusuke's mother really made his confession more impactful rather than him just sobbing about how he disgraced the art world.

This will also probably be the last time Yusuke is shown since he doesn't have any reason to show up with Madarame being done with. He might be spotted in Hawaii but thats bout it

Haru also got some attention alongside Kawakami with a set up for him to talk more with Naoto and Makoto with them being in his group for the clean up which is also when he gets Kasumi's confidant

I will admit that the prospect of writing Naoto's text language will be tricky and interesting lol

And yes, I am using the Thieves Den! BUT! It'll be a touch different than how it's used in the game. Wait and see until the next chapter to find out!

A lot of people have mentioned, in reviews, how Caroline and Justine don't fit with their Arcana and I agree but they weren't given those Arcana for that reason. I chose them due to them being two halves of Lavensa and the Arcana being a bit of a hint as Sun and Moon are a dual theme often paired together you know? Plus idk about you but Strength didn't suite them either

As for Lavenza she will be the Aeon Arcana but Naruto won't gain any Persona from it

Also - as a handy reference I'll list the Confidant changes I have made:

Shiho - Strength

Jose - Emperor

Naoto - Justice

Caroline - Sun

Justine - Moon

Lavenza - Aeon

Akechi - Tower (he hasn't been revealed yet but I might as well tell you all now so you guys don't get confused later

If people get confused in the future I'll refer them back to this chapter

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I hope you all liked it

Until Next Time

Rate and Review

Buh-Bye!