Chapter 3: At the First Crossroads

The whole trial of the throne room was broadcasted throughout Castle Town, this is so the people can see how much of a scoundrel the Shield Hero is, but unfortunately for the conspirators they did not take in the account of the Hero's mother Kushina Uzumaki to fully defend her son's innocence and they definitely made a mistake in guessing Naruto's age to be around fifteen or sixteen, it also didn't help that the accuser Malty S Melromarc is a well-known liar who lost her status as Crown Princess due to her many mischiefs and obvious corruption. The Church of the Three Heroes lost one third of its member as many absolutely refuse to believe that a child is capable of such a heinous crimes and fully believes Kushina's testimony, customs and culture clash with religion with over half the people in the capital taking the shinobi's side while the other choose to either remain neutral or fully believe the church's teachings.

No matter how hard the agents of the church try to spread the false rumors of the Shield Hero's heinous crime and potential evil deeds many simply dismiss these as raving of fanatics, Biscas T Balmus is currently in damage control trying to sway many people from leaving the faith all the while thinking of another way to convince the populace that their scriptures of Shield Demon is correct, then he comes up of a simple solution telling his followers and subordinates to spread the word that the Shield Demon will eventually do evil deeds once he reaches maturity, it's the best he can do as the failed trial just exposed that the king and the church having bias against the Shield, it'll take some time but he fully believes that people will see through the demon's façade and surely flocks back to his church.

The image and reputation of the king and first princess are reduce to mockery, the attempt to convict a twelve year old child is a massive scandal that spread like wildfire, the whole city knows in a day and no doubt the rest of the world will know within a week, the Spear Hero too receives some negative feedback when he firmly believes Malty's accusation despite the alibi and testimony that prove otherwise, soon people will starting to call him the "Gullible Spear".

Hearing how conflicted the populace is Kushina decides to stay for a while and do some more research regarding Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden, finding out if these particular demi-human nations practice slavery on humans is true, and if it was then they must be very wary if they were to go there especially that her group and later reinforcements from her world are all humans. While Melromarc have some downsides such as the religion and the king having a grudge against Naruto for just being the Shield it is at least tolerable thanks to its matrilineal customs were women are important and children are sacred something that Kushina will exploit and take advantage of, though there is some hypocrisy or maybe exceptions as they don't extend this view to the female or young demi-humans, this nation is a human supremacist through and through.

Testing out the people's reaction she summons three Shadow Clones and have the two performs transformation to disguise as Naruto and Hinata and then walk through the streets, for the most part the people merely just look and gossip Kushina can hear that their conversations, most of them took one glance and either went back to their own business or talk about him, and most of these conversations lead to how disgraceful and pathetic the attempt by the king to convict a child of rape.

"To think the princess would accuse a child of a terrible crime."

"The king is no better, letting his grudge against the previous Shield Hero get the better of him and conspired to find him guilty."

"What's worst is he's trying to imprison the Shield's mother who just proved her son's innocence."

Seeing that most of the people condemn the king and princess' action Kushina can relax but still on guard in case the king, the princess, or the church try something. Plus there's the fact that she sense at least a dozen spies to watch the clones, these stealthy operatives seem to come from different factions and is aware of each other, but they fail to sense or spot the real trio, their disguise work remarkably, Naruto's disguise is that of a seventeen year old teen with red hair, Hinata's appearance is seventeen year old teen with brown hair and with hair reaching her waist, and Kushina's look is more of an older version of herself with darker red hair that is shorten. As the clones lead them away they take a different route, they stop at Erhard's shop once inside they drop their disguise surprising the blacksmith.

"Oh hey, you're back," Erhard puts down the armor he's polishing on the counter and greets the trio. "What can I help you with?"

"We're here to buy a map, I'm very curious what the other countries looks like, in fact we might even go there right now" Naruto in his usual jovial tone, like the sham trial didn't bother him that much, Hinata on the other hand is cautiously looking around with her Byakugan is active on a lookout against prying eyes.

When the man looks at Kushina she said. "We might linger around Melromarc for a while; we need to know more about the other nations before we move."

"Can't blame why you all want to leave this kingdom, I just want to tell that you all that not all the people living here are bad and vast majority does not condone the princess and the king's action, many decent citizens supports you even after you kill a handful of knights and threatens him." Erhard shook his head and smiles. "He just lost a huge amount of respect from populace I can tell you that."

"I know, the people aren't really hiding their disdain for the trial, in case things get a little too hot we'll definitely leave, which is why we must know more about the other nation, what do you know about Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden?"

As Erhard went on to explain each of the nation including others such as Faubrey, Q'ten Lo, and Zeltoble, Kushina send out Shadow Clones to dispatch the spies who are following them.

With clone Kushina

The disguised clones who are trailing the spies are able to conceal their presence; she has to admit that these people are good at stealth, she'll first ask questions and will either spare or eliminate depending on their answer.

Appearing behind a hooded man she puts her arm around his neck and a concealed kunai is press against his abdomen. "You've been following us for hours now, mind telling me who are you working for?"

The spy stood silent for a moment then decides to answer truthfully. "My master is the King of Faubrey, I've been dispatched here to see if Melromarc indeed summoned all the Legendary Heroes, I can promise you this: we have no intention of harming the Heroes and their party members and we are only here to do surveillance."

"And yet the king decided and failed to imprison me and convict my son of a crime he didn't do? I already killed at least three spies belonging to the king and the Church of Three Heroes, all planning in eliminating me so there won't be an obstacle to their nefarious plans regarding my son."

"Is that so?" The man chuckles as he answers back. "The king of Melromarc made a terrible mistake on his part along with summoning all the Heroes, this fiasco of a trial will spread far and wide, and many people will not live this down. If you want I can take you and the Shield Hero to Faubrey where all of your needs will be met."

"I'll think about it." Kushina disappears in a blink of an eye.


Kushina approaches another spy and raises her kunai near the cloaked figure's neck. "Who's your employer? Be warned that any attempt in escape or fighting back will result in your immediate death."

"You have proven quite elusive, Lady Kushina, I know something's off with those three currently walking on the street," The masked woman compliments, to show that she means no harm she didn't resist and tells her what she's allowed to say. "My loyalties lie with the Queen Mirellia, not the cult that called themselves Church of the Three Heroes or Aultcray who is just the proxy king, she wanted to show you that she fully supports you and your son, already she's sent several reprimands to curb the king's unsavory actions."

"Are you saying we should just trust her? It's really hard thanks to her husband's conviction to harm and shame my son and her daughter's attempt to paint my son as a criminal." She tightens her grip on her kunai now touching the neck of the Shadow. "Prove that you're a friend of ours, let's start with the first step, tell me the political situation and if Mirellia have prior knowledge of her husband's deeds."

The Shadow just sighs, she don't want to reveal too much, she talks but not revealing sensitive information and vital intelligence. "Most of the problems are caused by the Church of the Three Heroes, after the first Wave struck the Queen and other world leaders traveled to Faubrey to discuss the Summoning of the Legendary Heroes, it was decided that Melromarc will be the fourth in line with the strongest nation Faubrey being first, unfortunately her most trusted right hand man Lord Seaetto died during the last Wave leaving just her husband to rule the kingdom in her stead and during her absence the church used this opportunity to convince him to authorize the summoning, right now the Queen is busy appeasing the other world leaders for this treachery. I can assure you that once Queen Mirellia returns from her diplomatic she will punish the king and princess for defamation and miscarriage of justice; you can send a clone to her and straighten things out if you want."

Kushina narrows her eyes; it seems that this spy is aware about the Shadow Clone Jutsu, either way she decides to give the Queen a chance. "Alright then, I'll talk to her, wait for me outside the gate at nightfall."

The Shadow gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lady Kushina, but be warned that there are some Shadows who are loyal to the Church, they will not let you out of the kingdom that easily."

"Noted" is all Kushina says before disappearing in a puff of smoke.


It's one thing that Kushina didn't expect is the spy in front of her bows down to her, this Shadow have a long cat tail protruding from her back, she can already guess that this demi-human is a spy either from Siltvelt or Shieldfreeden. "Let me guess, are you from Siltvelt?"

"I'm actually from Shieldfreeden, Lady Kushina." The Shadow confirms her thought. "We are glad that Lord Shield is safe and sound, we applaud your actions against the disgraceful trial set up by king and the cult, then again it is expected that for a mother to protect her child from harm especially a false accusation."

"I assume that you're here to watch the events?"

"Yes, but I was also given another mission: and that is to provide as much assistance to the Shield Hero and his party." Kushina looks at her and sense no deceit, but just because this shadow is being truthful doesn't mean she should trust her employers. "Another thing, it is important for you to know this, a warning from the authorities Shieldfreeden to you: Don't trust Siltvelt."

Kushina did not expect that, did she say that just because there's some rivalry between Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden, or maybe there's something more to this. "I read that Siltvelt greatly revered the Shield Hero some even see him as their God, you act like they're our enemies."

"We would've been on good terms if it weren't for the fact that the previous Shield Hero died under mysterious circumstances after a month visiting the nation."

Now this really got Kushina's attention, and let the woman continues on with her explanation.

Back with the group

Erhard spend at least half an hour telling and explaining the other nations to the trio, such as Faubrey being the most strongest nation, Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden which is populated with beastmen and demi-humans, and Zeltoble which is considered a mercenary country which they took note of being similar with hidden shinobi villages in terms of systems and services. "Now I know Siltvelt looks like a good destination, but I suggest that you head to Shieldfreeden instead."

"Why, I thought I would be very welcome in Siltvelt?" Naruto asks not understanding he suggest this.

"It got to do with the death of the previous Shield Hero; you see it was Shieldfreeden who got the Shield Hero before and Siltvelt did not like that one bit but decided to play along, when the Shield Hero died just a month in Siltvelt it caused quite a buzz theories fly everywhere, now there's actually three claims that are most vocal: Melromarc stated that the Shield is murdered by fanatical zealots in Siltvelt who can't accept the fact that their beloved Hero is a human, Siltvelt claimed that the Shield Hero was assassinated by agents of king Aultcray and the Church of Three Heroes, and lastly though not very vocal most of denizens of Shieldfreeden believe that he was killed just because he's loyal to Shieldfreeden instead of Siltvelt."

Kushina is already aware that Siltvelt is the opposite of Melromarc, since the latter practice many extreme human supremacy policies then the former very likely have the same thing regarding demi-human supremacy that the title of Shield Hero is not guaranteed protection if you're a human.

"If Shieldfreeden and Siltvelt are populated by beastmen and demi-humans why are they separated, what's the difference?" Hinata asks.

"Don't know much of the details but it got something to do with Siltvelt's bloodline politics, there are many types of demi-humans: Hakuko, Genmu, Shusaku, Aotatsu, Tanuki, Kitsune,Harpy, and many more; it's more of the "Who's the better race" type of thing." Erhard shrugs.

This mentality is somewhat similar in her world, who's the better clan; she heard stories of how the Hyuga and Uchiha butt heads arguing who's the strongest now that the Senju clan is just down to one member Tsunade. These conspiracies make her plan of going to a different nation that is truly neutral.

"What about Faubrey, you said they're the strongest nation, is it safe for us to go there?" Hinata wonders if the said country is any better.

"My personal opinion: don't go there, because there's a very good chance that the king of Faubrey will try to marry you." He said pointing at Kushina surprising the trio. "The Faubrey royal family has a long history of marrying Heroes into their bloodline, and the current king is very notorious for his sadistic pastime with his harem, you don't want to become his one thousandth concubine."

If Kushina have a list of countries that she would avoid at all cost Faubrey just made it up to the top of that list, also add to the fact that she will not allow Naruto or Hinata to be married for political reasons. After an hour of talking about the other countries they bought their map and went their merry way, taking up their disguises again.

When night came they're looking for a good inn to stay in until they come across a large circus tent, at the side they saw a man in a traditional ringmaster tuxedo talking to his employee, it looks like it concerns about the girl in the cage right next to them.

"Boss, this girl was returned to us three times this week, she's simply too sick and weak to do any amount of work tasked for her."

"I see just how sick is she?"

"Very sick, that fat noble never gave his slaves proper sanitation or a simple meal, I guess she might only have a week to live, two if she's lucky. Should we cut loses?"

"Yes, yes, poison, drowning, cutting her throat, use the methods that are quick and don't prolong her suffering."

"Yes sir."

The man went to the cage and opens taking out a knife, the girl upon seeing the blade moves away back against the metal bars, praying for a miracle and crying silently, until the man is attack.

"Get away from her!"

The slave girl saw a young man with red hair and blue eyes kick the man away from the cage, she eyes her savior without warning he explodes in a puff of smoke and when the smoke clears she sees the true form, it is a child who looks to be older than her by one or two years with blond hair, but what immediately caught her attention is the shield attached to his arm, she recognizes this as the Legendary Shield from the stories her parents told her. Her hope and joy rises as she realizes that her Hero has just saved her.

Naruto dropped his disguise after attacking the man; he stood with his back to the cage ready to protect the girl, he would've take out his kunai knife but because of the Shield he'll have to resort to using his fists and feet. Thankfully Hinata and his mother came to assist him were the Hyuga heiress went to check on the girl. "If I ever see you trying to harm this girl or any other kids I'm going to smash your head into a bloody pulp!" Kushina went besides Naruto and hold his shoulder to calm him down, it work as he looks up to her and relaxes but still in fight mode as he glare at the man.

"Yo-you're the Shield Hero, w-what are you do-" The man didn't finish his words when the plump businessman went pass him.

"Sir Shield Hero, fancy seeing you here, I see that you're not really helpless and can hold your own." He looks at Kushina then Hinata and the girl. "Where are my manners, my name is Beloukas, a humble merchant at your service."

"So your business deal with slavery, am I right?" Kushina grabs hold of her sword, ready to cut this man down if he thinks of trying to enslave her.

Beloukas can sense that she's ready to gut him if he said something that would displease her, he must be careful with his words and try to be pleasing and cooperative as possible. "Yes, among other things, surely you are aware that slavery is legal in Melromarc."

"It's sure is not allowed where we came from!" Naruto aggressively berates.

"Well, if you want you go to the Queen and talk about it, she is making peace with Siltvelt by slowly changing the views on nonhuman beings and working to dismantle slavery, but all of her work is overturned when the king took control who have a great dislike on any person with animal parts."

"You seem rather fine with Queen's stance on slavery despite the nature of your business." Kushina already knows that he's trying not to piss her off.

The man just chuckles. "I don't just deal in slavery, my Lady, I also sell many exotic animals and my business is slowly expanding into the spice trade, plus with my many connections both high and low I might be of a valuable ally for you."

"Knowledge is power" is what Jiraiya use to say when concerning his work in intelligence gathering and vast spy network throughout the Elemental Nations, she senses that he's being truthful here and if it's true then she'll let Jiraiya handle this. "Alright then, you've bought yourself some time, later on my friend will arrive and you two will discuss things from there. Also, I'm taking this girl with us."

Hinata helps the girl up and leads her out of the cage. "Miss Kushina, she's very ill, she needs proper medicine and plenty of rest and food if she were to recover."

Beloukas is thinking to asks her if she want to apply the Slave Seal on the girl but seeing her reaction to slavery he decides against and let her have the slave for free, that girl might even got herself a much better masters then her previous one. Before they go however he gave them one advice. "By the way, just a very helpful advice from me, keep a close eye on that girl, not saying that she's a trouble maker but rather because she's unbranded, free beastmen and demi-human don't stay free for long in the capital especially with the king who's promoting their enslavement, if someone saw her having no Slave Seal they might snatch her away while you're not looking, and I'm not the only one who sells slave in these parts."

"Noted, if they try something I'll personally deal with it." Kushina's states making Beloukas chuckles, she carries the girl in her arms as they walk to find place for her to rest.

"Are you okay? My name is Naruto Uzumaki, that's Hinata Hyuga, and this is my mom Kushina Uzumaki. What's your name?"

"N-Naruto, I don't think we should be bothering her that much." Hinata warns him, but saw the girl gaining her strength.

"I-I'm Raphtalia," She introduces then asks. "Are you truly the Shield Hero?"

"Indeed I am." Naruto proudly proclaims as they walk to the distance.

Chapter ends

AN: Okay, hope you like this addition, the next chapter is the one when their reinforcements from Konoha arrive, and here's the list:

Jiraiya

Kakashi Hatake

Sasuke Uchiha

Sakura Haruno

Kurenai Yuhi

Kiba Inuzuka

Shino Aburame

There are some others I think of but not quite sure if I should include them.

Tsunade

Shizune

Neji Hyuga

Hiashi Hyuga

Shikamaru Nara

Anko Mitarashi

Yugai Uzuki

Sai

I'm still deciding which of them will join the group, I'm just going to pick two, who else would you guys suggests?