Chapter 46

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Ninja Gaiden or DOA

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well, I'm running out of vacation time and updating what I can. Here is chapter 46. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs

Last time:

Umeda Sky Building, Osaka

Hanran Kensuke had connections with the Toshiba Corporation who owned 35% of the massive Umeda Sky building which stood forty stories tall. It was here he intended to mount a defense with the two hundred or so remaining fiends under his command. He suspected old man Teiji might attempt to attack him but he knew the old Captain wasn't the type to come at Kensuke openly. Hence hiding in a very open, public place was preferable. 'I have no intention of dying anytime soon.' thought Kensuke to himself. 'Hōritsu Teiji doesn't have the courage to attack me openly in a place like this. He can't call in the military either without martial law being declared.'

Hanran laughed. "I'm as safe here as in an underground bunker…."

….

Umeda Railway Station Corporate Headquarters

Chikara Chiyo looked at various photos of the Umeda Sky Building. "It's a shame to wreck such a lovely piece of human architecture." she thought aloud. 'Kensuke thinks that hiding in plain sight is going to protect him. I outnumber his forces by over two to one. We're not holding back either. After I snap Kensuke's neck Captain Teiji is next. Then I will be the new Captain for Lady Ishtaros.'

Chiyo looked towards the Umeda Sky Building. "Tonight I will crush you Hanran Kensuke…."

….

PSIA Building

Director Sumiyoshi was speaking to his agents he'd pulled from the outlying regions. "Tonight we will eliminate Quatrain and the remaining fiends from our fair city. This will be the last time a fiend sets foot in Osaka." The first fiends were spotted at the Umeda Sky Building just after sunset. After that all the forces including the local police converged on the forty story structure and Kensuke was about to find out just how close he was to his end….

….

Umeda Sky Building, Osaka, Japan

On the streets below the forty stories tall building the police had set up a line to keep civilians back. In the East Tower lights flashed and several windows had already blown out from minor explosions. There were small fires here and there but the sprinkler system was holding the flames at bay as far as the spectators on the ground could tell. The staccato sound of gunfire rattled from within the building as well.

This had started just after the sun set and the obvious violence within the building had only escalated since then. Director Sumiyoshi had set up a command and control center on the 1st floor of the East Tower and the PSIA Agents swarmed in both towers armed with automatic rifles. They had already run into the flanks of Chikara Chiyo's fiends that were working their way up the structure to engage Hanran Kensuke's own fiends that spanned the 20th to 30th floors. Unfortunately the PSIA was at a severe disadvantage not knowing one group of fiends from the other….

….

Kensuke was caught completely unprepared but quickly marshaled his forces to face Chiyo's invading army. He knew it was Chikara's group but didn't know if she was present. 'She tends to command from a remote location.' He thought. As it was the two fiend armies were fighting tooth and claw to annihilate each other. In the forefront of this battle on the twentieth floor the carnage was the worst and Chikara Chiyo was right in the middle of it slaying as many as she could. She had a huge beetle-like form and her armored shell rendered her fairly invulnerable the low level grunts she was exterminating. It was then she received reports that the PSIA was there and killing her weaker followers in the lower floors.

Chiyo sent two of her lieutenants to deal with the pesky humans. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THE HUMANS." She chattered in her insectoid form. "EXTERMINATE THEM. THE SOONER WE KILL KENSUKE THE SOONER WE CAN WITHDRAW."

….

A small black JSDF helicopter buzzed over the West Tower of the Umeda Sky Building carrying Agent Surō Kobe and the three Uzumaki ninjas. Naruto, Hinata and Maya were waiting by the doors ready to skydive out. Surō yelled, "Remember my intelligence reports show there are two groups of fiends. GO!" and the three Uzumakis dropped out of the helicopter into the darkness below. They landed on the roof in silence.

"Looks like the party has already started." said Naruto as the three scanned about for an entry hatch.

They all three saw the door to the stairway down and Hinata activated her byakugan. "It's clear on the other side." The building shook. "There may not be a building left when the night is over." she added as she picked the lock.

Maya said, "I guess since the alarms are all blaring we don't have to worry about setting off security."

Naruto nodded and said, "It's one less thing to worry about. Remember Sumiyoshi's PSIA Agents are going to shoot at us too Maya-chan. From the looks of it there are two groups of fiends as well so it's a three way war."

The door clicked open and Hinata said with a smile under her mask, "Welcome to hell."

The three ninjas slipped into the rooftop observatory and headed down. Naruto and Maya quickly made their way across to the East Tower and Hinata took the emergency stairs down in the West Tower….

….

East Tower

Kensuke was making his way upstairs to get away from the battle downstairs. He decided to hide in the security room by the German Consulate on the 35th floor. His right arm hadn't regenerated yet and he didn't feel he was fit for battle. Worse still his fiend form was dragonfly like and he couldn't fly with his two right wings missing. 'Damn that ninja bitch for taking my arm. I'm at a huge disadvantage!' he thought worriedly. The rogue fiend looked on the security cameras monitors and saw one of his worst fears. "Chikara is here?!" he practically screeched as he saw her huge beetle like form on the 23rd floor.

The rebel fiend was quickly thinking about his options. 'There's no negotiating with Chikara. I could make my way up and across The Floating Garden Observatory to the West tower and then go down. That seems to be the best route to escape.' He quickly looked at the monitors showing the West Tower. Humans and Chikara's lesser fiends were battling it out. It seemed that the humans weren't regular Police or Ground Defense Forces. 'That only leaves the PSIA in the area. I can easily swat them aside and escape. It looks like I'd better get moving.'

….

Down on the 23rd floor Chikara was getting angry at the lack of progress. She focused her energy and shot a beam out of her mouth straight up through several floors enabling her to send her troops up through the new path. Unfortunately it meant Chikara would have to wait several minutes to recover from the strain. She could only do it once a day without completely draining herself. "GO MY MINIONS. GO UP THROUGH THE NEW PASSAGE QUICKLY!" Her fiends poured into the new passage and the ferocity got even worse….

The East Tower shook as Chikakara's beam of death and destruction blew a ten foot wide hole from the 23rd up to the 32nd floor. The shockwave was such that the windows blew out of nine floors in between and rained shards of glass on the ground below. People panicked and started running from the glass rain of death.

….

Maya and Naruto were on the 34th floor battling Kensuke's fiends when Chikara's energy beam cut its swath of destruction that shook the building. The remaining fiends ran. Naruto changed into his sage mode and sensed the energy signature of Chikara deeper inside the building. He also sensed Kensuke going upwards. The Toad Sage turned to his wife and said, "Maya-chan, one is going up and the other that emitted that blast is down below. Can you sense them?"

Maya closed her eyes and reached out with her holy power. "The one downstairs is weakened….the one going up is Quatrain. I'll finish Quatrain off before he escapes."

Naruto nodded. "Be careful my love. A cornered animal is the most dangerous kind."

She smiled under her mask and said. "I will be. You stay safe too Naruto-kun." With that she vanished in a body flicker.

The Uzumaki Clan head grinned. "I guess there is no need to hold back now, eh Kurama?"

'I was thinking the same thing.' said Kurama as Naruto gained two tails worth of energy. 'Let it rip!'

….

Chikara shivered as she felt a massive source of power emerge above her. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? IT'S NOT A FIEND…."

….

Kensuke sensed the power as well. "I have to run. I don't know what that is but it's more powerful than I am."

Trailing Kensuke was Maya who knew that her power was masked from others by Naruto's. 'I'm coming for you Quatrain; just you wait.' thought Shion's descendant.

….

West Tower

Hinata met little resistance travelling down the West Tower. She'd slain dozens of lesser fiends when the sprinkler system came on. 'There must be a fire nearby.'

That's when the byakugan princess heard a terrified male voice "It's a fucking demon! It blows fire out of its mouth!" There was random gunfire and roaring amidst the cacophony. Hinata listened and found the noise was coming from a nearby elevator shaft. Using a kunai Hinata pried the doors open and chakra walked down the elevator shaft. As Hinata walked down the byakugan wielder saw through the wall. A lizard like fiend was spewing flames everywhere. Hinata saw two PSIA agents die in the flames and a woman agent slip and fall onto her stomach on the wet floor….

….

The young PSIA Agent saw the fire breathing fiend coming towards her and unloaded a full clip into it with no effect at all. The fiend stepped on the smoldering remains of one of her teammates and crushed him into dust with a crunching sound. Then the beast's eyes locked with hers and she saw it open it's alligator like mouth with a spark of flame in its throat. "Please gods help me!" she screamed.

"Water encampment wall!" yelled a female voice. The young woman agent saw the water from the floor and the sprinklers move in slow motion and form a wall of water that defied the laws of physics. She could see the flames through the water as well as the outline of the flame throwing fiend. Then the voice said, "That should hold a few moments. Why don't you get back Miss?"

The agent looked up and saw Hinata standing there in her sopping wet ninja uniform. In the low light the kunoichi's pale lavender eyes seemed to glow. "W-who are you?" squeaked out the frightened agent.

Hinata smiled under her mask and said, "An ally." Hearing the fiend bashing against the wall of water Hinata said, "I'll take care of this walking flamethrower."

The agent said, "But bullets don't hurt it!"

The byakugan wielder asked, "Who said anything about bullets?" as she pulled her chakra blade. The agent watched in wonder as the kodachi lengthened into a Zanbato made of ice and pierced the wall of water. The water wall fell with a huge splash and the fiend was standing there with the zanbato rammed into its open mouth and throat. The creature had a look of horror and disbelief etched in its eyes as the ice froze its nose and worked its way back until the entire head was frozen. Hinata gave the blade a twist and the fiend's head shattered as if it was made of crystal. Then the body turned into mystic ash.

The young agent stared in awe as the ice melted off the huge sword back into a kodachi. Hinata said, "You PSIA Agents get into all kinds of trouble." as she sheathed her blade.

A male voice called, "Tashimoto! Are you alright?! We came to – Where's the monster?" He saw Hinata's beautiful form and asked forcefully, "Who are you?!" His gun was already drawn.

The now named Tashimoto said, "Don't shoot! This lady saved me! She…? Where is she?"

Hinata had already vanished in a body flicker….

….

The Floating Garden Observatory

High above on the 40th floor Maya was engaged in battle with Hanran Kensuke who instinctively turned into his massive dragonfly-like form. He was stumbling about with his body imbalanced from missing his right wings. Kensuke was doing his best to spit acid on the infernal Uzumaki kunoichi that had previously crippled him. Alas, Maya was creating normal clones and every time he 'killed' her she would appear from somewhere else and take another slice out of his massive form. He screamed, "Aaauugh! Damn you bitch! If I can't melt you I'll just crush you!"

Kensuke started spinning wildly to try to use his wings to bludgeon Maya. After several minutes of thrashing about wildly he searched in vain for her with his multi faceted eyes and saw nothing. He then noticed that his body was entangled in wires with ofuda like pieces of paper strung upon them. "What the hell are these things? I can't shake them off." That's when a massive multiple explosion blew Hanran Kensuke and half the Observatory into a million bits. Quatrain was history….

….

Maya sweat dropped. "Guess I used too many exploding tags…." The Uzumaki kunoichi was on the West Tower side now and decided to head down and see if Hinata needed any assistance….

….

East Tower

Naruto had savagely cut through the weaker fiends in his path and was looking for Chikara. He felt the explosion that killed Kensuke and sensed the fiend Quatrain's death. 'Good job Maya-chan.' thought the Uzumaki Clan head. "And then there was one…." he whispered.

Chikara came crashing through the wall and attempted to trample Naruto but the blonde haired ninja body flickered across the room and out of her way. "So you're the one that fired that beam." he said to the beetle like fiend. "Not very subtle are you fiend?"

"YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK ABOUT SUBTLETY HUMAN….OR WHATEVER YOU ARE." growled Chikara. "I'VE ACHIEVED MY GOALS TODAY; I HAVE NO FURTHER QUARREL WITH YOU. I SHALL TAKE MY LEAVE."

"Too bad I'm a fiend hunter." hissed Naruto. "You aren't going anywhere."

"THEN DIE FIEND HUNTER!" roared Chikara in her chattering voice. She charged him at full speed.

Naruto dived out of the way and thought, 'Damn! For all that bulk it's incredibly fast.' Chikara crashed through an outside wall and awkwardly fluttered down to the ground causing yet another panic. Naruto slid down the side of the building like a comet and landed in front of her. She charged him again and Naruto leaped over her massive form as she crashed back into the 1st floor past Sumiyoshi's men and skidded to a halt. She saw Naruto in the distance and then he appeared beside her in a body flicker. He had the Kusanagi drawn and slashed her armored shell deeply.

She screeched in her chattering voice and thought 'HE CAN PIERCE MY ARMOR. I MUST WITHDRAW!' She did her best to lash out at him with a wing but ended up with a hole blown in her appendage from an oodama rasengan.

PSIA Director Sumiyoshi and his men had already seen bullets bounce off Chikara before and were awed at the spectacle in front of them. One of his subordinates was shakily filming the battle with his phone. Saying the battle was vicious was an understatement. Sumiyoshi saw both combatants gave no quarter and expected none in return. The PSIA Director couldn't even keep up visually. Naruto seemed to blur in and out of existence and though Sumiyoshi could follow the huge beetle he couldn't track what it was doing. That's when he realized that he and his men didn't stand a chance….

By this time Chikara was injured and bleeding in multiple places. Naruto was roughed up as well because even her glancing blows were bone crushing. Naruto couldn't blow her away with a massive jutsu because Sumiyoshi and his men were in too close of proximity. 'Don't these idiots know when to run?!' roared Naruto mentally.

The blonde ninja took off one of Chikara's six legs with the Kusanagi as she charged by which made her screech again and spin out into a support beam that barely held against the impact. Chikara was stunned and motionless for a few seconds which is a lifetime in a ninja battle. In a split second Naruto beheaded the giant beetle with a wind enhanced slash from the Kusanagi. Seconds later Chikara's remains exploded into mystic ash….

Sumiyoshi looked at Naruto as the ninja sheathed the kusanagi. The blonde looked over his shoulders with his now blue eyes glaring angrily at the PSIA Director. Then he disappeared in a body flicker.

The shaken Sumiyoshi ordered his people to make a quick and orderly withdrawal. As it turned out the ninjas were responsible for saving many PSIA Agents that night. They were in way over their heads and considered the ninjas heroes.

The lesser fiends scattered to the four winds with their leaders gone. They'd suffered horrendous loses to each other and the Uzumaki Ninja Clan….

….

Kenta Entertainment Offices, Osaka

The next morning Hōritsu Teiji was in his office having a conference call with his fellow Captain Asuka in Tokyo. Asuka said, "Well Teiji; it seems that everything worked out for you after all in Osaka. I'm impressed and fully support you. In spite of the horrific losses incurred by your former subordinates you managed to keep your power base in Osaka intact."

Teiji smiled softly. "I thank you Asuka. It was a closer thing than I care to admit. I have to say the thing I'm most grateful for is I don't owe Eclissia any favors. Keeping her in Hong Kong is best for everyone."

Asuka nodded. "Eclissia has already overstepped her bounds more than once. Unfortunately both you and I are suffering from a lack of manpower due to different reasons so there is little we can do at this point. Speaking of losses; what do you think of the Uzumaki Ninja Clan?"

"I have to give credit where it's due." admitted Teiji. "Even if they are our enemies they are truly superb warriors." He chuckled. "Considering they took care of my problems for me I'm inclined to send them an anonymous check for their good work. On a more serious note; how do you think Lady Ishtaros will react to all this Asuka?" asked Teiji.

"No doubt she will be stern as always given your errors but considering you took care of the problem quickly and efficiently I feel your position is safe." said Asuka.

As far as Hōritsu Teiji was concerned all was well in Osaka….

….

Surō Kobe's Office, PSIA Building

The exhausted Uzumakis reported in to see Surō Kobe the next morning to sign off that their job was completed. The three ninjas were all tired from last night's battle but some things had to be taken care of. Naruto said, "We'll be submitting our reports to the Defense Secretary. Your intelligence network was invaluable Surō."

The long haired, unshaven JSDF Agent said, "I'm sure old man Sumiyoshi was gnashing his teeth the whole time but he wrote a glowing report about your actions at the Umeda Sky Building for saving so many of his people….They say that the building will be renovated and fully repaired within a year." (Maya cringed slightly). "Anyway I've submitted my report as well as Sumiyoshi's to Defense Secretary Ishigami Ken. On a personal note I like working with you guys. If you ever need a contact here in Osaka I'll be happy to do what I can."

After that the Uzumaki's went to the hotel to get some well earned rest.

….

Hotel New Otani Osaka

That afternoon Momiji was sitting with Hinata and Maya discussing their mission at the Umeda Sky Building. "All the other girls and I have been stuck in the DOA Tournament fighting day in and day out. I miss the thrill of real combat."

"You sound so bloodthirsty Momiji-chan." said Maya with a giggle. "If our Dragon Priestess feels that way then I have to wonder how Aoi-chan and Ayane-chan feel."

Hinata laughed. "Don't count out Kasumi-chan. She has a vicious streak too. Anyway, as long as everyone keeps winning it's all good. Have we heard anything about Raidou's location?"

The Dragon Priestess's eyes narrowed. "No. He's not in Hong Kong and he's definitely not in Japan. Because of a lot of high stakes gambling they are keeping the countries separate as far as the news is concerned. It won't be until the final one hundred contestants that they open up the international rankings. Given as violent as he is I'm surprised Raidou isn't in the news regardless. Even though killing will get you disqualified that hasn't stopped some people. You have to sign a contract saying DOATEC won't be held responsible for life threatening injuries or accidental death."

Maya sighed. "Maybe it's just as well I didn't enter then. I'm sure there are a lot of people who just like intentionally hurting others. I know that from being a detective."

"There are a lot of people that just want to test their strength and push it to new limits." said Momiji. "Some people just enjoy the thrill of battle. Then you've got the ones in it for the money or the fame….and then you have people who just enjoy hurting others like Raidou."

Hinata said in a determined tone, "The Uzumaki Clan will eliminate Raidou one way or another. For their sake I hope it is Kasumi-chan or Ayane-chan because of what happened to Hayate."

….

The four Uzumaki's took it easy and caught up on their much needed sleep that night. The next morning the Uzumaki's took the Nozomi bullet train from Osaka back to Tokyo in about two and a half hours. They wrote their mission reports on the way. After that it was a simple trip in a taxi to JSDF Headquarters.

….

JSDF Headquarters, Ishigami Ken's Office, Tokyo

The Defense Secretary was watching a video that Surō Kobe included with his report. As Kobe had added in his report, 'This is a video of the ninjas at work. The quality isn't that great but it should give you an idea. By the way, you'd best slow it down when you watch or it will all be a blur.' The chain smoking agent had hacked the PSIA database (again) and found the video of Naruto fighting the giant beetle-like fiend that Sumiyoshi's subordinate sloppily filmed.

Ishigami also had Sumiyoshi's report forwarded to him by Surō:

To: Defense Secretary Ishigami Ken

From: Osaka PSIA Directot Sumiyoshi Abe

Re: Uzumaki Ninjas

Defense Secretary,

Your people did an outstanding job at the Umeda Sky Building Incident. I don't know that much about ninjas but they performed superhuman feats against foes we could not touch with conventional tactics and weaponry. They personally intervened several times to save 47 of my agent's lives. They also defeated fiends of such power that they easily could crash through reinforced walls and shrugged off bullets as if they were nothing.

I do not know how they trained but the PSIA would be glad to adopt their training regimen in the future if possible while training our Special Forces. They could be an indispensible part of our force.

-Sumiyoshi Abe

Ishigami shook his head. 'They won't even train my people. Good luck with that Sumiyoshi. What a mysterious group the Uzumaki's are….' "Agents Subaru and Surō both believe we should hire them on a permanent basis." he thought aloud. "When they come in to present their reports I'll make a written proposal for them."

….

The Uzumakis arrived at Ishigami's Office an hour later in their henged business attire. Naruto yawned and signed [I can't wait to go home.]

Hinata smiled and signed [We're in Tokyo; we need to stop in and see Ayane-chan.]

Naruto nodded and asked [Does she have a fight tonight?]

[It's this afternoon.] signed Maya as she looked at her tablet. [She'll be at the Tokyo Dome at three o'clock. Maybe we can go watch.]

About that time the receptionist called the Uzumaki's in to see Ishigami Ken. "The Defense Secretary will see you now." she said pleasantly.

Ishigami Ken was soon reading over the reports the three Uzumaki ninjas about their mission to Osaka. He looked up at the three after they were seated and said, "I read Agent Surō Kobe and PSIA Director Sumiyoshi Abe's reports on your performance in Osaka. They were both thoroughly impressed with your work. Given how much Sumiyoshi hates working with others outside of his command that's really saying something." Ishigami rearranged his papers and said, "Sumiyoshi also indicated he would be interested in having you teach some of your techniques to PSIA Agents."

"Not interested." said Naruto in a tone that would brook no opposition. "Uzumaki Clan secrets belong to us alone."

The Defense Secretary recoiled slightly at Naruto's forcefulness but then said, "I suspected as much but I'll inform Sumiyoshi anyway." 'I guess that still goes for JSDF Agents as well.' he thought in disappointment. "I wanted to tell you; the JSDF Agents who have worked with you have given stellar reports. Would you consider joining the JSDF as a Special Operations Unit? The contract proposal I've drawn up could be quite lucrative given your abilities would be in high demand. I have it here if you'd like to review it." He slid the contract forward across his desk.

Hinata mentally sighed and picked up the contract. She read it carefully in silence and then said, "This is very generous Defense Secretary but the Uzumaki Clan would prefer to remain trusted allies rather than members of the Japanese Self Defense Forces. I am afraid we will have to decline your offer."

Ishigami sighed and said, "You ninjas are a mysterious bunch."

"It is our way of life." said Hinata.

The Defense Secretary nodded and said, "The agreed price for your work in Osaka has already been deposited in your unmarked bank accounts. Remember that the offer will still be open for you to join the JSDF in the future should you change your minds. Stay in touch. I'm sure more work will be available for you soon."

….

Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

It was three o'clock in the afternoon and Uzumaki Ayane was prepared for yet another battle. Her opponent was a Jeet Kune Do practitioner who went by the name Hiryu-ken. 'I guess he thinks he's some kind of dragon.' thought Ayane to herself.

The board above said AYANE vs. HIRYU-KEN and people cheered wildly for their favorite.

Hiryu said, "Aren't you a sexy little thing? After I beat you I'll take you home with me to console you." His eyes to a walk all over her body and he licked his lips.

Her red eyes blazed at the lecher. "Go away." said Ayane coldly. She took her opening stance.

The overhead announcer yelled out; "READY? FIGHT!" and the crowd let out a roar and went wild….

Hiryu-ken immediately went on the offensive with a flying kick that he followed up with some sort of bird cry.

The Uzumaki kunoichi deflected his kick and hit him with a chakra enhanced fist that sent the Jeet Kune Do user flying across the ring and into the ropes. "Idiot." said Ayane as she closed the distance.

Hiryu-ken tried to lure Ayane in for a foot sweep that she avoided and then he tried a six hit combo that she blocked. The violet haired kunoichi flipped back and when he chased after her she flattened him with a brutal scissor kick that left him airborne before he crashed back on the mat. He stumbled to his feet only for Ayane to hit him with a spin kick which sent him back into the ropes again.

"Is that the best you can do?" she asked derisively.

Hiryu-ken tried another aerial kick with a bird cry and Ayane simply sidestepped him and kicked him and the back as he flew by. The awkwardly flying Jeet Kun Do practitioner hit the corner pole head first and the impact knocked him out cold….

"Y'know, you're supposed to watch your opponent when you fight." said Ayane as the overhead declared her the winner. The audience roared in approval as the petite kunoichi left the ring….

….

Ayane entered her dressing room to wipe the sweat off and saw her husband Naruto was waiting for her. Her mood went from stone cold to joyous when Naruto opened his arms and said, "Ayane-chan!"

She immediately swept into his arms and they kissed each other passionately. Her red eyes were full of happiness when they came up for air. "Naruto-kun; I've missed you!" she said.

The blonde smiled and said, "Hinata-chan, Maya-chan and I are all here. We just got back from our trip to Osaka."

She hummed happily and asked, "Will you stay at the hotel with me tonight? It's been lonely without you."

Naruto nodded and said, "I love you Ayane-chan."

"And I love you Naruto-kun." she said smiling.

….

That evening the four Uzumaki ninjas went out to dinner to celebrate Ayane's latest victory and were talking about it as they ate. Hinata said, "Your opponent was fast but very imprecise. He didn't seem to be paying attention to where he was going."

Ayane nodded. "He was a sleazebag anyway. I couldn't believe he was hitting on me in the ring before the fight started."

"That was pretty crass." agreed Maya. "By the way; Momiji-chan said to send her greetings to you."

I'll have to call her and say hello later." said the violet haired kunoichi. 'Tonight I'll be spending time with Naruto-kun….'

….

The next morning Naruto woke up with his beautiful Ayane fast asleep in his arms. He was going to get up but decided instead to hold her just a little while longer….

….

Hayabusa Village

Naruto, Hinata and Maya were welcomed back home by the village and were thrilled to be at home with their own beds. Jô, Kureha and Genjiro came over and joined them for dinner to welcome them home. It seemed that all was peaceful in the Hayabusa Village and despite the fact Ryu was in Hong Kong in the DOA Tournament and half of the Uzumaki Clan was as well.

Jô said, "It's good to see you all in good health. It seems that the battle at the Umeda Sky Building there in Osaka was quite a mess."

Genjiro took a sip of his drink. "At least it was contained; the mess in Tokyo with the Lords of Alchemy changed the city's landscape."

Naruto nodded. "We had an advantage that the fiends were having some sort of civil war among themselves. It allowed us to take out the two leaders and after that the remaining fiends lost the will to fight."

"Do you think the fiends in the Osaka area are gone for now?" asked Kureha.

Hinata shook her head. "The only reason we knew about the faction war is someone tipped us off. The JSDF Agent we were working with figured it was a third faction in the shadows and I am inclined to agree."

"I think the fiend problem has been diminished but it isn't gone." said Maya. "Besides, our contract was to eliminate Quatrain and once that was done the PSIA was only too happy to see us leave town."

"Government Agencies are suspicious of ninjas regardless of whether we are helping them or not." said Jô somberly. "We operate outside of the law and they aren't very fond of that."

Maya grinned, "Yeah, when I was with the Toyko Police Department everyone was either scared or suspicious….Of course I was fascinated by ninjas."

Kureha smiled and said, "I believe it was your destiny all along to be a kunoichi Maya; you just didn't know it at the time."

Naruto stretched as he enjoyed the conversation. Then he thought, 'It's good to be home….'

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, I was originally going to blow up The Umeda Sky Building entirely but I found out Platinum Games is based out of there so I figured if we want a Bayonetta 3 game I'd best not level the place. The fiend civil war in Osaka is over and the crafty old Teiji managed to keep his job. That wraps up the Quatrain mini arc and the DOA1 arc continues. See you next time. Blue out. 12/8/17