A/N: Hello everyone, not a lot to say here this time, except thank you for all the support from chapter five! It really got my spirits up and I just couldn't wait to start writing another chapter. So here we go! There's going to be a lot more action in this one and storytelling, as we'll get to a big reason why Naruto's here in this world. This'll also be the first time Akame and Naruto will meet so super excited for that. I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you so much!
So without further ado. On with the fanfiction! Remember to review if you enjoyed this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or Akame ga kill
Inheriting the Will of Fire
Chapter 5: Crimson Red meets Ocean Blue
Esdeath's grand Military camp was ever bustling, battalions of soldiers marching out into the countryside. Auxiliary officers barked out orders as they carted off the dead and dying to mass graves. Logistic personnel stood over slaves as they cleaned the soldiers rifles and various pieces of their armor. And at the center of all this stood the Grand Imperial Generals tent, the entrance flanked by two absolutely massive guards. Not that the General needed it.
Inside one of her most trusted officers stood at attention. The leader of the Three Beasts, Liver. He nervously looked down at his left arm, which was currently wrapped in a cast. A gift he had received from his very brief battle with the strange man, who had seemed to wipe out himself and his two subordinates within a matter of seconds, "L-Lady Esdeath?" He asked, clearing his throat, his eyes darting up to the Imperial General; who in the meantime was looking over various reports. A travel bag slung over her shoulder.
She lazily looked up, acknowledging the man. Giving him permission to talk.
"Lady Esdeath, are you sure this is a wise decision? The Prime Minister's orders were very clear." He informed her.
Esdeath was genuinely surprised. It wasn't like Liver to question her decisions. She placed the reports back on her desk before approaching the man. Placing a hand on his shoulder, "It'll be alright Liver. I trust the northern front to you three. But I must make my way back to the Capital, there's something I need to find there."
Seemingly not convinced by her answer, Liver looked her dead in the eye, "Is it that blonde? If so then we- Ahhgh!" He was silenced, as a powerful knee came up into his broken arm, shattering the cast, and rebreaking it in a split second. Liver barely had any time to react, before the Ice Queen slammed his head down onto the floor. Her boot now placed firmly on the side of his skull.
"Are you questioning my decision, Liver?" She asked, slowly leaning down to him with an incredibly powerful killing aura. Even the seasoned fighter showed fear in his eyes, as the demonic crest on her chest began to glow. An ice blade forming over her arm.
"No! N-No! I was only- Ahhg!" He stammered out, as Esdeath grinned, the pressure on his skull increasing, his broken arm now the least of his worries.
Happy with the end result Esdeath quickly lifted her boot of the man, the ice blade quickly melting down into water, as she stepped back. Crossing her arms, "Good, I was worried there for a moment. I didn't want to have to find another replacement for you. You are my prized second in command after all." She smiled, the killing intent still very much there.
Liver grunted in pain, as he remained on the floor, not wanting to anger the woman anymore then he already had, "O-Of course General. We w….will do anything you command, I-I will not fail you in this task, the North shall be yours."
"Good, now see to it you crush the Northern Armies. Make an example out of their prince, and once you're done….make your way back to the Capital as quickly as possible. I'll have use for you three back there once I've found what I'm looking for." Esdeath instructed, leaning against her desk and grabbing another report. Paying the wounded man no mind.
Liver was seething with pain and shame, as he slowly began to stand back on his own two feet. Holding his arm tightening. He stood back at attention to his commanding officer, "I-I shall take my leave and inform the others." The older man bowed before stepping back out of Esdeaths camp & back into the bustling camp.
Esdeath simply rolled her eyes at the old man, he may have been an excellent General & a masterful fighter…but he really was odd. No matter what, she had more important things to do. So soon enough she was back to looking over report after report, mindlessly flipping through the papers until she finally reached one of the most important to her. "Finally, here we are~" Esdeath giggled, reading over the report in fine detail, about her encounter with the blonde man, Naruto Uzumaki. Her eyes widened, as a small smile appeared across her face, the Ice Queen's finger tracing across his name until she gently flipped the page. Her smile only got larger as there was a decently well drawn image of the man on the last page of said report.
When she had returned from her small skirmish with the blonde, she had commanded the reports officers to immediately write up a report and draw up a sketch of Naruto based off of her accounts. She was pleased with their hard work. Holding the drawing up to her face she quickly ripped the paper out of the report. The only one of its kind, she didn't want anyone else to have it or his image to be widely known. No this man was all hers & she wouldn't let anyone else get between them.
Alerted to the sound of someone coming through the tent flaps, the Grand General swiftly pocketed the drawing. Her eyes darting to the small slave woman approaching her with a bow, before dropping to a knee, "General Esdeath." She began.
"Yes, what is it?" The woman responded, giving the slave permission to speak.
The woman, shakily looked up at the General, "Your mount is prepared, when will we expect you to be leaving?"
The blue haired beauty smirked at the news, before walking past the slave and towards the exit of her tent, "Immediately~" She spoke throwing the flaps open into the sunlight of the North. Her entire personal guard had gathered around to see her off. All of them were cheering and smiling at their great General. Hoping for her great glory on the journey back.
"Good luck General Esdeath!"
"Bring yourself glory in the Imperial Capital!"
"Tell the Emperor that the North shall soon be his!"
They all rallied around her as she boarded her dragon mount with a small wave, before taking off going at a high rate of speed. Soon leaving her base in the distant smiling. Getting ever closer to finding the man that stole her heart, "Now, too, find Naruto and make him mine." She giggled once more, taking out the sketch and holding it up to her chest. Things were about to get interesting.
"Hey Kid! Kid! Wake up!" Kurama suddenly roared in the blondes' ears.
Naruto immediately shot up in the bed, his eyes going wide before reality suddenly settled into his mind once more. Relaxing for a moment he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stretched his arms up high, "H-Huh? Oh Kurama, what's going on?" He asked lazily, looking around the nicely furnished room.
The Uzumaki could mentally hear the Great Fox groan before continuing the current conversation, "You've been sleeping for 12 hours, child. It's time to wake up!" He reveled.
Naruto instantly jumped out of bed, and clumsily put his shoes on. Remember where they were & his current situation. "E-Ehhhhh! W-Why did no one wake me up? Wait Where's Tatsumi? Where's Yukari and Doya!" He stammered out, looking around the room almost fading into a panic.
Kurama poofed in front of Naruto, his tails wrapping around his legs causing him to trip over himself, "Relax Kid, Tatsumi ran off with that stuck up little blonde girl a little while ago, and as for the other two I assume they're still in their rooms. I haven't heard anything coming from there all morning." The Fox chuckled as he plopped down in front of the blonde.
Naruto quickly picked himself up before quietly grumbling at the fox before realization quickly settled in, "Can't you just sense them?"
Kurama shook his head, sighing, "No….No I can't. Why do you think I've been going out and searching everywhere? I can't even sense emotions right now. It feels very hazy, like something is actively blocking it in this city…"
Naruto leaned back on his hands as he looked up towards the chandelier, "I didn't even know that was possible."
The 9-tails grumbled once more, before making his way to the nearest window sill, "Neither did I kid…"
The Uzumaki did the same, leaning his hands against the wood looking down at the Fox, "I should probably go check on Yukari and Doya in that case. What will you do?"
"I'll go investigate the city some more, try and see what's blocking everything around the area." He announced gently lifting the window open, as he prepared to jump out, venturing back into the streets of the vast Imperial Capital.
"Good luck then Kurama, just be careful."
The Fox chuckled, "I'm a mystical chakra fox, I think I'll be okay." And with that part of him left Naruto and into the bright lunch-time streets of the capital. Leaving the Uzumaki alone with his thoughts. He exhaled once again thinking about everything that had transpired since he got here. The battle with Sasuke, Yukari's grandfather, Esdeath….Doya….and what seemed to already be a close friend Tatsumi. He had gone through so much already and yet…He still had no idea what he was doing. He was literally making up things as he went along. But hey isn't that what he was best at?
However he didn't have enough time to think too deeply on this. He had people he needed to take care of.
Naruto gently shut the window before moving back over to the bed, where he quickly began to slide on his worn sandals, and throwing on his tattered jacket. Making his way to the door he made his way outside and into the hallway. His footsteps echoed across the marble floor as he lightly knocked on the girl's door, "Yukari? Doya?" He asked….No response. Again he knocked louder this time and waited….once again no response.
His instincts quickly getting the better of him he barged himself into their room. His eyes went wide as their bed laid empty. Reaching for his kunai, he spun around just as the Mother of the estate turned the corner. She was holding the hand of a rather excited Yukari, who instantly sprang up as she saw Naruto.
Sighing in relief, the blonde quickly pushed the kunai back into his pouch making sure the woman didn't see it. Meanwhile Aria's mother gasped in surprise, "Oh my, finally awake I see?" She asked, Yukari letting go of her hand and running to hug Naruto.
The Uzumaki, still a bit on edge, held Yukari close, "Uh yeah, how'd you end up with her lady?"
The mother put her hands on her hips, almost pouting, "The woman with her insisted on running after that young man & my daughter. I protested but she ran off. This little one has been with me most of the morning." She smiled, gesturing too little Yukari
Who quickly tugged at Naruto's jacket with a smile, "She showed me all her pretty pictures and fed me some yummy food."
Naruto, clearly thinking his overactive imagination was getting the better of him, mentally sighed, deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt. Dropping to one knee he gently rustled Yukari's hair, giving her a small smile, "Well as long as you're safe then."
Yukari happily hugged Naruto, while Aria's mother watched the twos interaction, quickly thinking up something for the trio to do. Since they were the only three home and the mansion would be rather boring for a few hours, "Say if you two aren't doing anything today, would you mind running some errands with me today? My son is one of the officers at the local garrison up the street. I was going to bring him some of my homemade sweet bread." She suggested to the two.
Naruto stood back up, instantly disliking the idea. He didn't like being separated from his group. He'd rather wait for them to return, but at the same time it was a good idea to get out and observe the Capital a bit more. But still it didn't seem good at-
His train of thought was interrupted as Yukari once again began to tug at his jacket, "Can we please Naruto? I promise I'll be on my best behavior." She pleaded looking up at him with her big blue eyes.
The blonde tried to resist for a moment, trying to look away from those big blue eyes, but he felt his resolve slipping and soon he caved, "Ah….I don't see why not." He smiled, wanting to make the little girl as happy as she could be in the moment.
Happy that they agreed to come, the Mother quickly instructed the blonde to get the two ready and meet her outside as soon as they were ready.
It took them both a few minutes to get ready, but soon enough they met Aria's Mother at the grand front doors. Yukari happily took Naruto's hand, as they all began to walk the streets of the upper class ring of the Imperial Capital. The Uzumaki peered all around at the people, looking for anything that seemed out of place. But he could sense nothing, just like Kurama said something definitely seemed out of place here. However soon enough they had found themselves standing in front of a rather unassuming building between two absolutely massive mansions.
"See? Already here, that was fast wasn't it?" Aria's mother smiled, as she walked up to the wooden door.
The Uzumaki raised an eyebrow, "This is an Imperial Garrison?" He asked, not very impressed by its size or state. Wasn't this supposed to be an important building? It housed the guards of the Capital and yet it looked like some run down shack that the Pervy Sage would have had them sleep in while they were traveling.
She nodded, "Mhm, you see there's not alot of crime up here in the upper ring. Being so close to the Imperial palace and all. There's almost no need for personal guards, less they have to deal with the Royal guard or the Generals personally." She explained, pushing the door open and walking inside.
"I see." Naruto replied, taking Yukari in after the Mother.
Aria's mother walked up to the front desk, where a rather young looking soldier sat, manning the desk, "Is Stone here? Can you get him for me?" She asked, causing the man to perk up with what seemed like an annoyed snort, but once his eyes laid on her. He sprang up immediately and gave her a bow before quickly walking out of the room. Seemingly getting the crap scared out of him just by the mere sight of her.
After a few more seconds a lone figure stepped out from the other room, a rather young handsome looking bushy blonde haired man. He seemed to even rival Naruto in height, and began walking over to the trio. He had gentle looking eyes that were all too overlooked by the prominent scar going over his left one. This man had certainly seen battles of sorts, "Mother!" He blurted out giving the woman a rather formal hug, "I didn't expect to ever see you come visit me here, last I heard father forbade any contact with each other."
His mother giggled, "Oh well you know me dear, I just can't stay away from my favorite son."
The man released her from the hug before a rather sour expression filled his face, "Mother….I'm your only son."
She seemed to look away, as her eyes landed on the basket of cookies. Remembering why she came here now, "Anywho, I brought you some homemade sweet bread. I thought with the recent news of your deployment soon you'd like some memories of home." She smiled, handing him the basket of bread.
The mere mention of home seemed to cause the man to freeze up for a moment. After another second he took the basket hesitantly, before his eyes landed on the two others behind her, "Who's with you Mother?"
She perked up once more, gesturing to the two behind her, "Oh these two? Allow me to introduce you to Naruto Uzumaki & his little friend Yukari."
The Imperial Officer walked up to Shinobi and seemed to size him up for a moment. While Naruto did the same to him. After a few tense seconds the man stuck his hand out towards the Uzumaki, "It's a pleasure, my name's Stone. Second Lieutenant of the 5th defensive garrison."
"Yeah, you as well." Naruto awkwardly took his hand, as Yukari hid behind his legs.
A worried thought seemed to cross Stone's mind as he looked back towards his mother, a hand landing on the handle of his sword, "How'd you come into my Mothers care? If I may ask, they're not usually so welcoming to strangers."
"Now Stone dear." His mother protested.
Seeing that Stone wasn't directing his actions towards them but his mother. Naruto thought there may be some bad blood against the two, so he quickly tried to defuse the situation, "One of my friends ended up losing all our money trying to get into the military. He was unsurprisingly scammed and our Inn kicked us out….and then Aria found us."
Stone stared back at her for a moment, before taking his hand away from the hilt of his sword, "I see…"
Before they could even continue the conversation though, a rather small looking female Soldier walked out of the back with a paper in hand, "Lieutenant Stone. The Colonel is asking for an update on those reports." She announced, seemingly in an urgent manner.
Stone sighed, turning to the soldier, "Thank you Lily." He quickly gestured her away, before looking back at the brief visitors, "Well it was a pleasure meeting you both…..stop by here on your way back, I'd love to talk more with the both of you." He recommended looking right at Naruto as his words echoed out, who saw this more as an order than a suggestion. Once he thought the blonde got the message he nodded towards the other member of the trio,"… Mother."
And with that he walked towards the back, Lily following him close behind.
"Be safe, Stone." His mother sighed, holding her chest close. Seemingly out in a bad mood by the interaction. But she seemed to shake it off, grasping the door handle & making their way back out onto the street.
As they stepped back outside, Yukari smiled at her, striking up a conversation, "Your son looks really strong."
Aria's mother giggled slightly, rubbing the girl's hair, "That's because he is dear, one of the toughest Soldiers I've ever met in my life." She reassured Yukari before looking up to Naruto, "Now come on, we need to go to the shops otherwise they'll be closed."
Naruto Nodded and slightly took Yukari's hand. The interaction with her son certainly set off red flags in his mind, but he needed to observe this situation further & most of all meet back up with Tatsumi and Doya. After all, he just needed to help this woman run a couple of errands. How bad could it really be….?
7 Hours later…
Naruto groaned, the bags under his eyes heavier than the bags he currently carried. Yukari now on his shoulders as Aria's Mother walked happily in front of her. Her eyes peered out to the now setting sun as they made their way back to the home, 'Just how much tools, and food does she need.' The blonde thought to himself as he comically groaned out, his knees buckling under the weight.
"You okay Naruto?" Yukari asked, leaning down so she could look him in the eye, even if she was upside down to him.
A bead of sweat ran down his forehead. She had gone to at least 30 different shops and spent a god awful amount of time just looking. She didn't even buy anything most of the time. But at least it was almost over now and he could get back and be reunited with his friends, "Y-Yeah, just….come on Lady when you need to get back to your estate already…." He said quietly as Yukari just gave him a wholesome smile before going back to looking around at the city.
Suddenly Aria's mother stopped, seemingly thinking for a moment. Naruto mentally screamed before she turned back to them with a pleasant smile, "Alright, that seemed like everything. Now let's head home."
Naruto sighed in relief before the thought of stone reared back into his head, "Um, er. Didn't your son want us to stop by before we head back?" He asked. Aria's mother frowned at the mention of him. It was clear she didn't want to go back for another interaction with the man. But why was the real question here?
So seemingly deflecting Naruto's question she began to walk back to the housing district of the upper ring, "Oh if it was that important, he'll meet us at the mansion, right?"
Naruto got a strange feeling from the woman, but seeing as it was getting late, and Tatsumi & Doya were back at the mansion by themselves, Naruto didn't want to arouse any suspicions, "Right…" He groaned, following the Mother. But not before performing a single hand sign as a copy of himself appeared in the alleyway next to them. Giving his copy a slight nod, before he jumped off into the rooftops, Naruto didn't make a peep the rest of the way back. Except to tell Yukari to be quiet about what she just saw.
Soon they had made it back to the Mansion, at this point though the sun had completely gone down and they were bathed in the surreal red moonlight. Walking up the steps Aria's mother stopped for a moment and turned back for a moment to the two, "I do apologize for my son's abrasiveness, he's never really gotten along with the family ever since he was little. I only hope that one day that he can come back home with a-"
She was suddenly cut off as the front doors to the Estate were busted open as a Guardsmen sprinted up to the trio. Sweat rolled down his cheek, as he reloaded the rifle in his hands, "M'Lady!" He started, looking back behind him. More guards could be seen sprinting to various parts of the mansion.
"Oh my, what's the matter?" Aria's Mother asked, quickly approaching the man with great concern.
Quickly waving her off, he composed himself before trying to explain the situation, "I-It's the estate, it being-"
Before he could finish though a bright flash of light appeared behind the mansion followed by a powerful explosion that shook the group violently. Yukari held onto Naruto's side as the Guard covered the Mother with care. All while the blonde stood his ground, peering towards the now erupting fireball.
As the Shockwave passed, it seemed like Aria's Mother went into a frantic like stake as she gripped the soldier's collar tightly, "Aria! The Shed! Get the rest of the guards to that area immediately. Do not let whoever it is breach those doors!" She ordered.
The man hesitantly nodded before looking back towards Naruto with a rather concerned expression, "Y-Yes Ma'am, now please we have to get you to the safe room immediately." He instructed, beginning to pull her towards the Mansion doors. Gunfire now erupting in the distant
"Wait a minute, where's Aria and my husband?" She asked, looking over his shoulder, into their home.
"Lady Aria arrived back home a few hours ago with that boy, and your husband is nowhere to be seen. But we must get you to safety before these attackers reach the actual mansion itself." He informed her. Naruto quickly picked up on how Tatsumi had only returned and not Doya.
The mother quickly turned around, looking back to the blonde, "Naruto please, you have to find them for me. Please! Those attackers won't leave anything left of them if they find out who they are! Please!" She pleaded, her eyes welling with tears as the guard continued to try and get her inside.
Naruto in the meantime was in deep thought. From what he had figured out something was not okay with this family and this was most likely a justified attack. But on the other hand, he needed to find Tatsumi & Doya so he could get the two to safety.
After another moment of thought, Naruto made up his mind. He wasn't going to look for them, but it would be a good excuse to get inside the mansion without raising much suspicion from the guards, "Alright, I'll find them….how go. Get out of here and get to safety."
The woman's eyes filled with joy, as she gave him a tight hug, but finally the guard managed to get her away, and the two disappeared inside the mansion. Trying to get away from the ever approaching danger.
The Uzumaki sighed, not liking the fact he had to lie but these people didn't seem right at all. There was more to the story and he absolutely had to investigate it further, slowly closing his eyes he calmed his mind for a moment, "Kurama, can you hear me?" Naruto asked in his mindscape. Hoping to hear from his trusted companion.
A moment of silence passed, until the blonde felt four tiny paws land on his shoulder. Opening his eyes he looked over to see the tiny Fox grinning down at him, "I could hear the explosion from a few blocks away. Finally some fun right?" He growled looking up towards the rising smoke before snickering at the Uzumaki, "More Imperial Guard are on their way here and this place will be surrounded in about twenty minutes."
The blonde nodded, as he grabbed hold of Kurama and placed him on the stone pathway below, "I need to find Tatsumi and Doya. Can you pick up their scent at all? Anything?"
The Kitsune shook his head, "Nothing kid, I told you I can't sense or smell anything right now. I'm not like your normal animal. Something is actively blocking my abilities and frankly it's annoying me." He grumbled.
Naruto looked down to the Fox and then to Yukari before making up his mind, "Alright then, if they're both in there somewhere it's my job to find them…" He announced tightening his headband.
"W-Where are you going, Naruto? You're not going to get hurt are you?" Yukari suddenly asked, tugging on his jacket once more. She looked up at him once more with her big blue eyes, pleading with the man to answer her question.
Naruto grinned before dropping to one knee, "Listen, I need to go find our friends. Doya and Tastumi remember?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder to try and reassure her.
She brightened up at the mention of the two, "Oh yeah! The really funny boy and the nice lady."
"Well it's my job to go and rescue them if they're in any danger, so I need to make sure there aren't any bad guys in the building hurting them. Is that alright?" He asked, his ocean blue eyes meeting her sky blue eyes. If it wasn't for the darker hair Yukari could really look like his younger sister couldn't she?
Yukari gave pause for a moment, seemingly playing out what he had just said in her head for a moment, before making up her mind. She gave him a look of determination and approval, "Y-Yeah, just come back please.."
Naruto smiled, standing back up with a smile, "Of course I will, but just to make sure you're not lonely, here!" He exclaimed, forming a sign with one of his hands, as a puff of smoke appeared around them & an identical copy of himself soon appeared beside him.
Yukari's eyes widened in amazement as an exact copy of Naruto now stood in front of her, "Woah! You can make clones of yourself?" She asked, smiling and inspecting the copy.
The Uzumaki gently rubbed her head before looking over to the clone, "Take care of her." He commanded with a nod.
The clone inturn nodded back, "You got it boss." He waved before scooping up Yukari & jumping away into the rooftops of the vast Imperial City. Soon just leaving Naruto by himself with his trusty tailed beast, "Alright Kurama, let's see what's going on in there." He said to the Kitsune, who in turn nodded before turning back into a ray of orange chakra. Flowing back into Naruto's seal. After the return was complete, the blonde took off in a sprint into the main hall of the mansion and up the stairs towards where their rooms had lied.
Naruto sprinted down the halls of the now eerily quiet estate. As Kurama had explained earlier, whatever was blocking even his sage mode would have some difficulty in locating his friends, but even still he was not one to listen. Slowly closing his eyes and calming his mind. The familiar feeling of natural energy filled his chakra paths and soon enough orange pigment appeared above his eyes as he entered the enhanced mode.
The blonde suddenly came to a stop right before a corner, effortlessly missing a panting Tatsumi. Who stumbled back with surprise, he quickly raised his sword up defensively before realizing it was Naruto, getting ready to take a swing at him, "Hey relax! It's just me!" Naruto shouted out, grabbing the edge of the sword and easily ripping it from his hands.
Tatsumi's eyes went wide and then filled with relief once it registered in his head that it was just Naruto, "C-Crap Naruto? I thought you bailed on me, where have you been?" He frantically asked.
"Yukari and I have been with Aria's mother all day, where's Doya at?" He demanded, handing the blade back to the worried and panicked boy. He seemed to feel lost without.
Once it was securely back in his hands he fully realized his question. Tilting his head, "What do you mean? I thought she was with you?" He shot back, sheathing the blade back into its proper position on his back.
Naruto cupped his hand on his chin, trying to piece the clues together. Who would take Doya? Could it have been the parents? Even so where would they have taken her?, "Aria's Mother said she was with you….that could only mean." He started, the large windows bathing them both in red.
But before he could continue Tatsumi pointed up into the air, "Look!" He gasped, drawing the blonde's attention. He slowly followed the boys' fingers until his eyes laid on what had drawn his friends' gaze. Five figures stood in front of the large moon, on what appeared to be suspension wires. They all menacingly looked down at the estate. To Naruto's eyes they all appeared to be of various height and stature. Seemingly giving off an aura of seriousness, strangely reminding him of the Akatsuki in a way. But that was never good.
The guards of the Estate seemed to think so too as they all ran out in droves towards the group of five. Immediately opening fire at them. In response the group all dispersed at lighting speed. Effortlessly dodging their bullets,
"Those must be the people Aria's parents were talking about." Tatsumi said, gripping his sword with determination. Naruto looked over to the boy, he could see it in his eyes. He was determined to make sure these people didn't hurt the girl. He seemed to have the spirit, but Naruto thought it was in the wrong place.
"Yeah they must be….Night Raid." He said aloud, watching the group move with excellent coordination against the droves of guards. Easily dispatching them with ease, 'So this is them.' He thought to himself.
"I'm going to go find Aria! You find Doya!" Tatsumi suddenly shouted out, before turning on his heels and bolting towards the open window at the end of the long hallway they sat in.
"Tatsumi wait!" Naruto called out for him, but it was already too late. The would-be warrior had already jumped out the window, and went sprinting out in the darkness of the Estate on his own. Meanwhile, leaving the blonde to deal with the situation at hand, knowing there wasn't enough time to chase after him. Naruto resolved in finding Doya, if she even was here. Using Sage mode he tried his best to locate the girl, but like Kurama had stated it was getting extremely difficult. Like trying to find Pervy Sage in a Topless bar. But jokes aside it felt all hazy to him even with his enhanced abilities it was taking too long to locate her, as the sounds of battle only increased. But after about another minute of searching he was finally able to locate her heartbeat…..but it wasn't good, he could tell it was fading and fading fast…Luckily for him she still seemed to be on the estate.
Not knowing how strong this Night Raid truly was, he called out to Kurama, his eyes filling with urgency and a bit of anger. Why wasn't he more careful? Whoever harmed Doya would truly pay for this. Bright Orange chakra began to flicker around his body as the fox quickly supplied the blonde with his energy. Kurama was also quite annoyed with this whole matter, he may have still been new to the whole friends thing, but Doya had come off as a pretty likable person, he too would make sure that whoever did this would truly not enjoy the rest of their lives. No matter how short it may be….
"Kurama, you ready?" Naruto asked confidently as the orange chakra of the nine tails now swirled around him violently.
"Let's go be Heroes brat, I was a bit bored anyway." He snickered in response, giving Naruto the last bit of Chakra he needed. The blonde's body, and uniform started to glow a bright yellow, as black lines appeared all over, extending to his hands. A long orange, and black haori materialized over his already glowing body. A pair of chakra horns appeared in his hair. While his eyes turned to a dark orange, beautiful chakra flames formed all around him. Multiple unknown symbols also appeared all over his body. Giving him an almost Holy Like appearance.
"Let's go!" He commanded as he now entered his nine-tails Chakra mode. Bashing the window open he jumped out with ease to the ensuing battle below.
Meanwhile, down below the blonde, Bulat had been busy killing or maiming various guardsmen, effortlessly dodging one their attacks, before slicing a man in half without an ounce of remorse. He paused for a moment as an overwhelming amount of energy could be felt, stopping him in his tracks as well as the last guard fell to the ground dead before him.
"W-What the hell is this?" Bulat stuttered out in his armor. Feeling the amount of energy surge through the area, in all his years he had never felt this much power from a single person, Incursio even began to get uneasy at so much power. And soon enough Sheele jumped down next to him and raised her Extase in defense. A pair of oversized scissors with a panda on the handles.
"I can feel it too. This doesn't feel right." She narrowed in to the Estate, getting ready for anything.
"Mine see anything!" Bulat called out overhead, looking up to the duo who had remained on the wires. A rather short girl with twin ponytails sat above the Estate with Lubbock, a green haired boy who looked to be around the same age as her. She leveled her extravagant looking rifle, staring through the sight, "No nothing." She announced, continuously scanning the Estate until saw a brief flash over orange light from inside, "Wait! What is that!?" She panicked, preparing to fire her rifle. Whatever the thing was, it was coming right at them, bursting the window of the Estate in an instant.
Both Sheele and Bulat looked up in confusion, "What are-" He stopped cold as an Orange blur flew from the window, landing on the ground in front of them at lightning speeds
"Coming through Night Raid!" Naruto shouted out as he sprinted straight towards a shell shocked Bulat. Who in the turn shook away his shock, raising his spear up in defense.
Naruto mentally sighed, 'Why couldn't people just listen to him for once?' He thought to himself, as a ball of Yellow Chakra formed in one of his hands. Meanwhile Sheele began to charge at the man with her signature weapon, ready to slice him in half & end this fight in a second. But the Uzuamki had other plans.
Seemingly like the girl would get her kill she cleared her mind, readying herself mentally, "I'm sorry." Sheele whispered out, as Extase's blades made contact with his stomach. She waited for the familiar feeling of the blades slicing through flesh but all she could feel was as if they had been brutally stopped. "Huh?" She asked herself looking up at her current opponent…
Her eyes widened in shock when she saw what happened to her blades. They harmlessly got stuck around the blonde, who looked down at her with a smirk, "Impossible.…." She gasped, just before a glowing fist made contact with her cheek.
She was sent flying away from the Uzumaki, her Extase dropping to the ground, as Naruto looked after her with a bit of concern, "Sorry about that!" He announced seeing her land unceremoniously on the ground. But he was quickly brought out of it as he narrowly dodged the Red Spear of Incursio, jumping up into the sky Naruto shouted down at the man in the armored suit, "I'll give you one chance to move!"
"No can do." Bulat announced throwing back his spear into the sky like a missile. Naruto clenched his teeth together, shooting back down towards his next opponent. Effortlessly dodging the spear Naruto put forward his Rasengan, light orange chakra burning off of it. The air sizzled as it approached the armored man, who tried to brace for the attack.
RASENGAN!
Naruto roared out as the swirling mass of chakra smashed into Bulat with enough force to crack the earth beneath him. His armored gauntlets quickly cracked and burst away before Naruto's attack forced the man to the ground. His armor cracked as the Rasengan detonated, resulting in a massive explosion followed by a violent shockwave. Blinding the other members of Night Raid.
Naruto slowly stood triumphantly atop the man looking down at him. Bulats armor was chipped and gone in several places, but he was still alive, "Stay down." Naruto announced before jumping off of him, looking up at the last two remaining members of Night Raid in the area.
Mine's eyes widened as the scene finally came into view, ""Bulat! Sheele" She shouted out, clearly angered at the easy defeat of her two fellow members, "Alright you piece of trash prepare to die!" She added aiming her pumpkin down at the Uzumaki, and relentlessly laying on the trigger.
Naruto disappeared in a blink of orange light as the bullets harmlessly dug themselves into the ground.
Mine's eyes widened as his ability, as Lubbock raised his Cross Tails ready to defend the team's signature sniper, "Where'd he go? This is what we get when you screw up the mission scheduling Lubbock! We were supposed to be here yesterday!" She stammered as a crackle of orange chakra appeared between the two.
The green haired boy's eyes widened in disbelief at what he had just heard, "Me! It was your job to-"
"I'm right here!" Naruto shouted out, appearing between them, shocking them both. But even still they raised both of their Teigu in defense. But it wouldn't do them any good, even for well trained assassins they just weren't faster than Naruto. Who in turn grabbed both of their heads and almost comically smacked them against each other. Effectively knocking them both out and eliminating them as threats.
Naruto grabbed them both by their collars and gently floated them down to the ground where he laid them both, just as Sheele began to regain consciousness. She groggily watched it happen, before seeing the glowing man jump away back into the forest.
Naruto crashed through the woods at top speed, closing in on Doya's life force, "Please be okay." He said aloud, before catching sight of the warehouse above the treeline. Guessing that's where Doya was, Naruto leaped into the air and into the clearing in front of the building's massive metal doors. Just in time to see Tatsumi standing defensively in front of Aria, as another person rapidly approached them. A young woman with long black hair that reached down to her knees, raised a sword at his friend, her blood red irises staring right through Tatsumi, towards Aria. She got into a striking stance in her dark sleeveless mini dress. Cleary ready to cut his friend to reach the girl. Naruto had to intervene.
"Tatsumi!" The blonde shouted out, as he entered the clearing. Sprinting as fast as he could to the boy, but suddenly he picked up Doya's heartbeat as it went haywire. Rapidly picking up in beats and then almost to none at all.
"Huh? Naruto?" Tatsumi asked as he lowered his guard, looking past the woman.
"Naruto?" Akame asked, turning around to see the flaming figure sprinting towards her. She gasped at the sight, before raising Murasame in an attempt to stop him, but as Akame would soon learn nothing could stop Naruto once he made up his mind. Dodging her incoming swing with ease the blonde jumped over the blade. Coming mere inches away from her face. Ocean blue meeting crimson. Time seemed to stop for her. This was the boy that the woman seemed to mention in her dream? ''What the hell's going on?' She thought to herself, as Naruto passed by her a Rasengan instantly appearing in his hand.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" He roared, as Akame watched, his eyes full of determination as he slammed his Rasengan straight into the large metal doors. They tried to hold, but were almost instantly blown off their hinges. Slamming on the ground Naruto slid to a stop inside, his eyes searching.
"DOYA!" Naruto yelled out, as he began to scan the warehouse. But soon he wished he hadn't. First the smell hit him and then what awaited his eyes almost made him lose his lunch. Human bodies, and remains were scattered throughout the room. More bodies were laid out in cages along the edge of the warehouse. It looked like something out of a horror film. This place was a torture room. Once Naruto realized this, he flared his chakra in anger. How could he be so stupid? The signs were all there! But no matter what, he needed to find Doya.
"Doya! Are you here!" Naruto yelled out, trying to find her. He couldn't sense her anymore, 'Dammit this must've been the source of the jamming.' He thought to himself, not wanting to even think about what had happened to his friend while he was gone.
"S-Stay away from her!" A feminine voice suddenly shouted out through the dimly lit warehouse.
"I know that voice! It's Sayo!" Tatsumi suddenly shouted out running in behind the blonde,
With Aria, who seemed to look away at the sight of the gruesome scene. Meanwhile the boy didn't even question why flames seemed to be enveloping his body. Walking past Naruto Tatsumi shouted out her name once more, "Sayo!"
"Tatsumi?" A voice called back a moment later.
Jumping at the response, Tatsumi jumped the railing, "Where are you?" He called back, as he prepared to sprint farther into the warehouse.
"Over-" Her voice was cut off as a loud crash was heard in the warehouse.
"Sayo!" Tatsumi called out back into the darkness once again, but no response. Beginning to panic he looked back up at Naruto, almost pleading. The Uzumaki cleared his mind, listening for the tiniest of noises….after a few moments he jerked his head over to the far left corner of the large warehouse. The sound of a chair being moved ever so slightly could be made out, "Over there!" He shouted, jumping the railing alongside Tatsumi and sprinting into the darkness, Aria trying her best to keep up with them. They all passed the horrors the family had left behind, but they paid that no mind, reaching the women in distress was their only goal. But little did they know that Akame gently walked into the warehouse, she raised Murasame once more and began to follow them from the shadows.
The two kept sprinting through the warehouse until they came across a dimly lit area. One candle hung above the cell like areas. The duo looked under the candle to see two figures strapped in chairs. Naruto narrowed his eyes, beginning to walk forward. Doya, and another woman that he could only assume was Sayo were both strapped down, and bleeding heavily in the chairs. Doya weakly looked up towards Naruto, with a bloody smirk, "T-Took you long enough blondie….I-I almost had to break out of here by myself." She coughed, trying to pull against her strengths but to avail. The sight made Uzumaki's blood boil with rage, his chakra cloak flared, as he walked into the candle light fully. Tatsumi readied his blade for anything "Don't come any closer!" A voice shouted out of the shadows, as the two were forced to stop as Aria's Mother stepped out from the darkness, holding a detonator in her left hand and one of Doya's pistols in her right, "I thought I could've trusted you two, but I guess you don't want in on our little plan here. Aria NOW!" She shouted, firing a shot at Naruto.
Naruto pushed a Kurama fist towards the round, as Aria injected a vile of liquid into Tatsumi's neck, before she effortlessly jumped over the duo and joined her mother. The effects were almost instant on the boy, he fell over writhing in pain, Naruto wrapped him in chakra and pushed him back into the darkness. Letting Kurama's chakra work on whatever had just been injected into the poor boy.
Aria's mother perked up at the sight and abilities of Naruto's chakra cloak, "Oh? We have a chakra user do we?" She asked, lowering the gun slightly.
Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of chakra, as he lowered his guard for only a second. Even if she did know, it didn't mean she was an ally by any means, "How do you?" He began, as Aria began to snicker next to her.
Her Mothers eyes narrowed, raising the gun again, "Tell me boy, do you believe in the almighty Ōtsutsuki Goddess like we do?"
"You mean Kaguya?" He asked, with a slight gasp.
She chuckled, dropping the gun as she rustled in her pocket for something, "Don't make me laugh….A lower class like her? She can't even compare to our Goddess."
Naruto began to move forward to her, but she quickly raised the detonator up to his face, shaking her head. He was sure the building was rigged to blow and even he didn't know if he was fast enough to get Doya, Tatsumi and his friend to safety, "What do you know Lady? Why was I brought here!" He growled, his chakra flaring.
Aria's mother chuckled, pulling a small pearl out of her dress, "So you're not an Ōtsutsuki then, but you possess Chakra and know of the disgraced sister….interesting."
"Who are you!" Naruto growled once more. Sick and tired of dancing around the answer. He needed answers and he needed them now!
She outstretched her arms, the pearl sticking to her palm beginning to glow, "I'm one of the followers of Uzume Ōtsutsuki! The true ruler of this world! A creature who will bring order back to our lands! I just hope I've gathered enough sacrifices for her to be pleased!" She announced, a certain ton of insanity filling her voice.
"Naruto! That's it! That's the source of the disturbance!" Kurama blared in his ears, causing the Uzumaki to jump at the opportunity. Creating several clones, he got to work. The original rushed the woman tackling her to the floor as two of his copies ripped both the girls out of their chairs making a mad dash for the main entrance. One of them grabbing the now unconscious Tatsumi along the way. Aria tried her best to stop Naruto, but the Uzumaki effortlessly kicked her away, sending her flying into the darkness.
"You're too late, boy!" Aria's mother screamed out, the fist that contained the pearl reached out and socked the blonde in his cheek sending him flying away just like he had done to her daughter. Naruto smashed through the railing of the upper catwalk, right into an unsuspecting figure.
Meanwhile Aria stumbled back into her mothers view, as the pearl vibrated and began to spark in her hand. Burning her skin intensely, "M-Mother? This wasn't the plan….its not ready….you'll die!"
She looked down towards her child, as the power of the pearl began to overpower her, she was running out of time, "A-Aria! You need to get out of here! I know this wasn't part of the plan…but with your father dead we have no choice! The Prime Minister must know about the appearance of a new vessel! Y-You're the only one who can do it! I'll give you enough time to make it out of here! Avenge our family! For the G-Goddess!" She explained her entire arm turning bubbly red as the energy from the pearl ate away at her body.
Aria stood in silence for a moment, before coming to her own resolve, she nodded to her mother before taking off into the darkness of the warehouse, no doubt towards one of its various secret entrances. Her mother clenched her teeth together, the skin around her eyes flaking away, the pearl now sinking into her body.
Meanwhile back on the top of the railing, Naruto found himself on top of the girl from earlier, her eyes wide with shock as she shook his shoulder, "H-Hey! A-Are you alright?" She called out.
Naruto groaned for a moment before opening his eyes. Ocean blue meeting crimson red once more. He was taken back for a moment until reality set in once again, "Y-Yeah are you?" He asked, pushing off of her and offering her a hand.
Akame took it hesitantly, "I-I think so." She panted, trying to control herself. She had seen a lot of things in her time of being an assassin for the Empire & as a member of Night Raid. But this certainly took the cake. Here he was. The man who the strange woman in her dreams had told her to find…..well she had found him, now what? But sadly she didn't get the chance to ask him as the entire area became bathed in a bright red light, "What's going on?" She asked, before suddenly feeling the warm arms of the blonde wrap around her protectively.
Ahhhhnnnnnghhhh!
A loud scream could be heard from down below, as Kurama's chakra began to roll over his body as Naruto took off running, picking Akame up in the process, "Dammit, no time!" He shouted out holding the woman tightly as the entire building went up in a violent explosion…
Akame felt like she was floating as the explosion rocked her body and his. As the shockwave and heat suddenly began to die down, she slowly opened her eyes, and to her amazement she was completely unarmed. She looked up towards the man known as Naruto with astonishment as they soared through the air. Just who was this man? How could someone be so powerful?
Soon enough the two skidded on the ground before coming to a stop in the clearing where they had first met, "Are you alright?" Naruto asked, as he placed her on the ground. Kurama's chakra slowly returned back to his body.
Akame made sure Murasame was still on her side as she brushed off the dust from her skirt rather hastily, "I'm alright, thank you?" She asked, hoping the man would pick up on formally introducing himself.
Naruto stood there for a second before finally picking up on it, "Oh, Naruto, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He announced, standing proudly in his chakra cloak.
Akame gave him a rather blank expression in return. But on the inside she was going nuts, so many questions and not enough time to answer them. He had to come back to headquarters with her. She needed to know more about Naruto.
Akame slowly looked back towards the now smoldering rubble of the warehouse, still amazed they got out of it unharmed, "W-What happened, what did the mother do?" She asked.
Naruto shook his head, before crossing his arms, "I don't know but she knew what-" Naruto was cut off as the sound of footsteps appeared from two different directions. Both him and Akame got into a defensive stance. Pressing their backs together, they waited for the arrival of…..their respective group of companions?
"Naruto!" Tatsumi shouted out, as he burst through some bushes carrying Doya on his back. His friend Sayo followed close behind him. All seemed to be in a much better condition now, Naruto had instructed to heal the three, getting rid of any ailments with the Sage of Six Paths chakra he had now possessed.
"Akame!" Leone shouted jumping down from the trees as the remaining members of Night Raid all grouped around her, keeping their distance at the sight of Naruto, the man who only a few minutes ago had given each of them the biggest defeat of their lives.
Mine pushed past the Lioness with an overconfident grin as she raised Pumpkin at the blonde, "Akame get away from him he's-"
KABOOOOOOOOM!
It seemed this had to wait for another time as the rubble from the building suddenly imploded in a violent wave of chakra, sending debris everywhere. Each group shielded themselves as it rained over the clearing.
"W-What the hell is going on now!" Lubbock asked, shielding his face with his forearms. As the rest of Night Raid did the same.
"Naruto?" Tatsumi called out, trying to get his bearings on his blonde companion.
Both Akame and Naruto quickly jumped apart as a rather large figure came crashing down between the two, leaving a small crater where it struck. Naruto's eyes widened as he got a good look at their new opponent. A large grotesque creature, looking almost like the Ten-Tails minions he had fought during the 4th Great Shinobi World War, except this one seemed different. It was more feminine in appearance and its usual brown skin was replaced by a shade of pale white, with green lines, pulsating all over its body. And at the very center of its forehead, laid the pearl from earlier.
"T-The Mother…." Naruto gasped, as the creature aimed its sights towards him. His own eyes widened as it lunged at him, impacting with such force that the ground cracked underneath him.
Blocking the move with ease, Naruto narrowed his eyes before laying a fury of punches against the creature, who tried its best to dodge. It growled, grabbing hold of the blonde, slamming him to the ground with a sickening crack. It shrunk down to the same size as him before getting on top of the blonde, laying punch after punch against him.
Although the blonde it was punching quickly disappeared in a thick puff of smoke, replaced by a thick piece of wood. The creature looked around, before Naruto suddenly slammed the back of his heel on the thing, flattened its head in one go, as it reached up grasping hold of him before he doubled it down with a micro Rasengan with his left hand, sending the creature flying back into the rubble. He smirked, looking over to Akame, who couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. All of this had just escalated from a simple assassination job.
Her disbelief could also be said for both groups. Seeing the new and dangerous creature, but also the Uzumaki's raw strength. He had manhandled the thing for nothing. Whatever either of these beings were, it had certainly changed how things were going to go around here.
"Kurama…What is that thing?" Naruto asked, watching the creature slowly get back up from its rather rough landing inside the rubble.
The 9-Tails grumbled in his mind, "It's some sort of Ōtsutsuki creature….created from that pearl no doubt. It must have needed the energy from all those dead bodies and the woman to form…." He explained Naruto sighed, as he took a step forward, making sure the creature still saw him as the primary target, "Well how tough is that thing?" He asked, starting to form chakra in his hand, staring the thing down.
"Not very, from what I can sense it gathers most of its energy from the pearl….which seems to be the cause of all our troubles. Best bet, if you destroy it, you take it out too…" Naruto's trusted Kitsune informed him, as the creature took a step out of the rubble, and violently roared at him once more.
"Alright then….We know what to do…." He grinned, taking off toward the creature at such speeds that would make his own father jealous. The Ōtsutsuki abomination took off towards him as well, although at a much slower speed, it raised its claws at the blonde, ready to end it all with a single strike. Certainly confident of its own abilities.
Meanwhile Naruto passed by the creature at a lightning sprint. The creature didn't even register him, until after the fact. ALthough it did pick up on the violent swirling disk that was now embedded into its forehead.
It screeched in horror, trying to grasp at the disk but it was already too late, as the area was bathed in a bright orange light. Kyuubi chakra bouncing all around the ground.
Rasenshuriken!
Naruto shouted out, as one of his signature abilities did its job. Effortlessly cutting the Ōtsutsuki pearl in two. Effectively shattering it, before a violent explosion rocked the creature's body. The shockwave passing over the blonde as he gave a confident smirk once more. Bits of the creature soon falling all around the area.
"Incredible…" Akame gasped in amazement, having watched his entire feat. Just who was this Naruto? She could tell why he was important though. His abilities and strength were off the charts, even compared to the various Imperial Generals. His willingness to put others before himself, was certainly a strange trait to have in this world. Where was he raised? Was he really the key to her strange dream? But also just what in the hell did he just fight?
She continued to stare at him, her eyes glued to his glowing figure.
Meanwhile Naruto quietly walked over to the corpse of the creature. Making sure it was in fact dead. He reached down, trying to grasp the two pieces of the pearl, but it only faded away into dust. Thus taking out his only lead to what was going on in this world, "Dammit.." He cursed, as his cloak slowly deactivated, revealing his usual appearance to Akame. Now sensing her prying eyes Naruto looked up to her with a small smile, beginning to approach her, "Hey are you alright?" He asked, walking up to her. His bright ocean blue eyes meet her dark crimson once more.
"Y-Yes, thank you. What was that thing?" She asked, trying to avoid eye contact for the moment. This guy…..it didn't make her head feel right. She was a trained Assassin for Pete's sake, she knew how to deal with awkward moments. But this….this was something completely different.
Naruto sighed, looking back towards the corpse, "A Chakra abomination… That the family had created now doubt…"
"What's chakra?" Akame asked, her eyes perking up again at the strange word.
Naruto laughed to himself, before placing his hands on his hips, "Ah…If you don't know what that is I'm also assuming you don't know the name Ōtsutsuki either?" Akame shook her head, as an overwhelming feeling of defeat seemed to appear on the blonde's face, "The old geezer really did send me here with nothing, damn you!" He cursed aloud, as Akame tilted her face. A bit confused at his mannerisms, but not at all bothered by them. Once he calmed himself down the Shinobi looked back over to the Assassin, "Damn, and I was hoping Night Raid may have some leads as well…..You are Night Raid I'm assuming?" He asked, hoping he had in fact managed to stumble upon the group Kurama had mentioned earlier.
Akame gave him a slight nod, about to ask him some more question that had been burning in her mind all day, but like always she was cut off by her team, "Akame! Get away from him!" Mine shouted out, as she ran across the clearing her rifle loaded and ready to fire at the Uzumaki. The rest of Night Raid, ready to strike out against the blonde.
Naruto's eyes widened as he put his hands up in protest, W-Wait come on now! Don't shoot me! I'm sorry about earlier but you all gave me no choice!" He shouted, acting like his goofy self once more. Causing a small smile to appear across Akame's face.
Mine growled, clearly angered at his antics, "Tch, your stupid excuses won't save you! Pumpkin!" She screamed, once again trying to lay down on the trigger of her teigu.
But once again she was stopped dead in her tracks as a fluffy Lion's paw smacked the weapon out of her hands, shocking the girl, "I think that's quite enough there Mine." Leone said, grasping her friend by the collar of her shirt.
"Eh?!" Mine quickly protested, before Leone placed her on the ground, as she looked away clearly embarrassed of the situation at hand. Meanwhile Leone had walked up to the Uzumaki, putting up a confident stance, clearly trying to seem assertive over the blonde.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms, not slightly affected by her stance or demeanor.
"I've been trailing you guys, ever since you entered the Capital. Word spread fast in the Empire's military about someone who could single handedly defeat the three beasts and the powerful General Esdeath in combat." Leone chuckled, giving the Uzumaki a playful smirk, "The name's Leone, it's a pleasure to meet you, and I presume you are…?"
"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He announced, outstretching his arm to her.
Leone was taken back for a moment, as she looked hesitantly over to Akame, who gave her a truthful nod. This had to be the same Naruto she had mentioned in her dream the day before. There was no doubt about that. "W-Well it's a pleasure to meet you then Naruto. Sorry about my friends over there, they're just a bit sore from the beating you gave them." She nervously chuckled.
"HEY!" Both Lubbock and Mine shouted out in protest.
"Oh quiet the both of you, the adults are talking…" Leone teased, before looking back over to Naruto with a slight bit of hesitation, "But listen, thanks for dealing with whatever the hell that thing was." She added.
Naruto gave her a wide smile in return just as his group approached cautiously. Tatsumi let a now conscious Doya down, while the other girl known as Sayo gave the boy a rather tight hug. The Uzumaki opened his mouth to his friends, but the sudden sound of footsteps and shouting in the distance drew everyone's attention. "We should get out of here as quickly as we can. The mission is complete." Bulat started, looking around his armor slowly reforming around the exposed parts of his body.
"Now wait a moment." Leone protested, before looking back over to Akame with a snicker, "This is the boy you were talking about right?" She asked her best friend, gesturing back to the blonde, who looked back to Tatsumi and the rest of his group as they approached them.
Akame gave her another reassuring nod, "I think so." She said softly, looking at the Uzumaki with eyes full of curiosity. She absolutely needed to know more about him.
A mischievous idea crossed Leone's mind as she brought her best friend in close, pressing Akames face in between her rather large breasts, "We should take them with us." She snickered.
Akame looked up between her friend's large mounds of flesh, "Why would we do that?"
Leone rolled her eyes, "To find out if he knows anything, and-"
"And to recruit them." She said, cutting her off, already knowing her friend had some master plan for all this, Like she always did.
"Yes, exactly. We're always shorthanded." Leone said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Annoyed at Akame's thick headedness sometimes. But no matter what, she would initiate her plan and make sure it worked. After all this was the first time Akame honestly seemed to be interested in a boy. She gently let her friend go, shrugging her shoulders.
"I guess." Akame said, finally admitting defeat, and looking away. At Least now she could find out more about this strange boy.
Leone giggled, her mischievous smile returning as she turned back towards Naruto, "Perfect. Hey you two!" She shouted, with a grin only to raise an eyebrow at the sight before her. An exact copy of the blonde now stood next to him, a small girl hugging tightly on the copies back. Leone decided to dismiss all the questions she had for later, and moved on with her offer to them….Well she called it an offer. "You'll be coming with us!" She exclaimed. Naruto's clone looked at her oddly, and then to the original.
"And Why would we do that?" Naruto asked, crossing his arm.
Leone giggled again, "Well, do you have anywhere else to go?"
Naruto thought for a moment, before looking over to Yukari and then towards his growing group. He knew staying in the capital wasn't a very good option, with all the violence and death that seemed to be associated with this place, "Well….no." Not liking the fact that he had to admit their current situation.
Leone smiled, "And I doubt you want to be carrying around the little girl all night? Even if you can make copies of yourself." She added with a grin.
"We'll find our-" Naruto began, but was stopped as Tatsumi gripped onto his shoulder.
"Think of Doya, she's just been through alot. Even with your healing energy she still needs a good night's rest." He said with a small smile. Naruto thought it over for another moment. He really didn't have any other choice. Soon this place would be swarming with guards, and to top it all off it was getting terribly cold out, he didn't want Yukari, or the others to freeze. If it was just him, and Tatsumi it would've been much easier. But that just wasn't the case here…
"Dammit. Fine we'll go with you, but if you end up trying the same stuff that these people did on us, then I can assure you, you're going to regret it." He said with a glare. He may have wanted to meet up with this Night Raid, but he wasn't too keen on joining up with them. His first real experience of hospitality in this world had already left a bad taste in his mouth.
The glare seemed to be pretty effective on Leone who quickly put her hands up in defense. "No worries. I promise we won't do anything."
"Alright. I'm sorry, I just have a lot of people to worry about here now. Especially that little one over there." He explained, looking back over to Yukari, with a heart warming smile, that seemed to catch Akame's attention.
'His smile.' She thought to herself, with a soft grin.
"No worries, I understand what that's like." Leone grinned before turning back over to the rest of her team, giving them a reassuring nod. They all quickly made their way up to the rest of them, weapons still at the ready, as Leone began her spiel to the rest of them, "Alright everyone! I'd like for you to all meet the newest recruits of Night Raid! Naruto and…..well…..I didn't get the rest of their names, but they're joining us too!" She cheered out.
Everyone's eyes widened at the sudden news, as both Tatsumi & Mine butted their way to the front of each of their respective groups, "RECRUITS!" They both shouted out, staring each other in the eye.
But unfortunately the group's shock was short lived as a voice shouted out from the treeline, "Lieutenant! I heard someone over here!"
"Time to go" Bulat announced, scooping both Lubbock & Mine up, taking them up towards the trees. The rest of the members of Night Raid beginning to follow close behind. Akame and Leone being the last to leave.
"Follow us!" The Lioness exclaimed, grabbing Akame by the collar as she took off to the trees. Naruto nodded looking back towards his newly acquired group of friends, who were ready to go. To brave the unknown with the blonde again. He grinned, looked up to Akame one more time. Blue meeting Crimson once more. Taking off in a sprint, Naruto jumped into the trees Yukari now having been moved to his back while the clone had scooped up Doya. While Tatsumi carried his friend off. And soon enough everyone had cleared the area. Leaving just the corpse of the creature and the rubble as an aftermath.
Akame knew deep down inside, that things were about to change forever….
As soon as Night Raid & Naruto's group had dispersed from the area, a fury of Imperial Soldiers flooded the area. All of them quickly went in and secured the clearing. All of them gasped at the sight of the creature before them, as their commanding officer walked into the clearing after it was marked as secure.
He strolled up to the creature with a disgusted look. Kicking it a few times before a small female guard came up to him, giving him a quick salute, "Lieutenant Stone, there's no sign of the attackers…But we did find the body of your father in the estate sir." She informed him. Looking at him with a bit of concern, it was his family after all.
Stone seemed unphased by the news, "And my Mother? Little sister?" He asked
The guard shook her head, "No sign of them sir, but I can only assume the worst."
The Imperial Officer sighed, looking over to the smoldering ruins and then to the creature once more, "Keep searching…."
"And your father sir?" She asked, getting slightly worried with his stoic take on the entire situation.
"Burn the body….." He instructed, quickly dismissing the guardsmen. As he made sure she was out of earshot he growled under his breath, "Bastard doesn't even deserve that…."
Meanwhile above the Imperial Officer, the clone Naruto had sent out earlier simply shook his head before dispelling himself. Hearing everything he needed to, Stone would need to be questioned soon enough.
A/N: Phew! Now that was a long chapter! I hope you all loved the action and story building aspects of this one. I tried my best to get this one out as quickly as possible. I suffered from a bit of fatigue towards the end and I do apologize for that. But if you have any questions please do not hesitate to shoot me a pm. I'll be happy to answer any you might have. Also a lot of it will be answered in the next chapter which will be more story building and downtime for the characters as they are now being introduced to the members of Night Raid. So please be patient for the next one.
Also if anyone was wondering, Naruto was merely doing a show of force towards Night Raid. He easily handled the Chakra abomination, but it was more about sending a message to everyone there, if he used anything stronger he might have destroyed the entire Estate. Now then please remember to enjoy and review! I couldn't do this without you all!
Author Question: What do you think the Ōtsutsuki pearl is? How would you all like too see Akame progress as a character? Falling in love with Naruto is a given, but how she falls in love and so forth?