Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy with work and moving. Just know I won't be dropping this story, I just get caught up from time to time.

Naruto was unpleasantly surprised by Shinobu's sheer speed, her sword strike was more of a thrust aimed for his shoulder, a non lethal attack. He managed to deflect it but nevertheless, she had gotten much closer to actually hitting him than he was comfortable with. Considering his opponent was said to be proficient in poisons, he put in extra force in his deflection, breaking her stance.

While his passive healing was still better than most medical ninjutsu, that was when he was at full strength, which he wasn't. Losing Kurama's own healing boost had also been a huge detriment. If she managed to poison him with a toxin more powerful than what his body could naturally filter, the woman could potentially kill him.

Naruto struck before she could recover her stance, using his kunai to rip her katana out of her hands painfully, her weapon becoming lodged deep into the side of a nearby tree. Before Shinobu could attempt to distance herself from her aggressor to retrieve it, she found her world turning sideways and then she felt pain. His hand was wrapped tightly around her neck, cutting off her access to her breathing techniques.

"Stay down," Naruto warned. "I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to."

Shinobu glared at the masked man above her, feeling hatred course through her for his physicality and superior speed to her own. She now regretted having avoided taking his life. It was a mistake she would not make twice. If he'd allied himself with the demons, then the blood of their victims also stained his hands.

Seeing the appearance of absolute distaste on her glaring face, Naruto sighed. "I know it may not seem like — "

Shinobu manipulated a pill from out beneath her tongue and positioned it between her right canines. She ruptured it and spit it through pursed lips, expelling the poison in a fine mist using what little air remained in her mouth.

Naruto's vision immediately blurred and he was forced to shut his eyes, feeling as though he had crushed glass beneath his lids. The same painful sensation immediately filled his nose and mouth, traveling down to his lungs, choking him up.

"Fuck!" He growled as he picked Shinobu up, striking her midsection hard. She gasped in pain as she was launched into the forest, disappearing into the darkness.

"Bring him to me!" Tamayo commanded.

Yushiro knew when to take her words as absolute and without any argument, he leapt forward to pull Naruto back. He struggled but not against him, instead finding it difficult to breathe, and then to move. His arms and legs were becoming numb despite the mounting pain. He laid at him at his master's feet.

"My clone!" Naruto gasped out with what little breath remained in his lungs. "Get… my… "

But neither master nor student were aware of what he was referring to, sharing between them a troubled look.

To Naruto's panic, the immense pain he found himself in made it difficult to manipulate his chakra beyond wildly flaring it. He could no longer move his hands to manually create a clone and it was likely neither Tamayo nor Yushiro would know what he was referring to.

His only hope was that his clone was actively trying to sense his surroundings, his previous shadow clone having dispelled itself upon killing the demon Shiho.

Tamayo kneeled next to Naruto and pressed her mouth to his neck, biting down on it harder than what she first anticipated, tasting his blood.

"Tamayo-sama?" Yushiro looked aghast at her actions.

Tamayo spit his blood out, her mouth steaming as it burned. "Wisteria poison combined with an incredibly powerful paralytic," her words came out muffled due to the loss of half her tongue to the wisteria, but Yushiro seemed to understand just as well. "It's what's affecting him! Quickly, retrieve the steroids and bring them here!"

"But Tamayo-sama, the Demon Slayer!" Yushiro tried argue.

"Now, Yushiro!" Tamayo growled, her fangs growing more pronounced, the minor illusion she placed on herself falling away to reveal her true demonic features.

Yushiro had very rarely witnessed the demon coming out of his master and there was no mistaking it, Tamayo was angry.

"Y-Yes, Tamayo-sama!" Yushiro bounded away, running as fast as he could.

Tamayo struggled to remove Naruto's mask despite there being no straps to hold it to his head and in her desperation to save the young man, she didn't realize she was cutting into his chin until she finally managed to rip it off. His very blood seemed to burn her finger tips and despite the pain, she regretted having hurt him further, leaving three deep gashes on the underside of his chin.

Those wounds she could heal, Tamayo reminded herself, but she wouldn't be able to bring him back if he died. The poison afflicting him was killing him by starving him of oxygen as the wisteria itself was harmless to humans; it was the paralytic that was restricting his breathing, slowing his heart.

She had to save him.

Being a demon had been nothing but a curse; a waking nightmare that never seemed to end, but her affliction also had advantages speaking strictly as a healer. She could hear his racing heart now begin to slow, indicating he would soon enter cardiac arrest.

"Stay with me, Naruto-san!" Tamayo whispered to herself before beginning her resuscitation efforts. She pressed her lips to his own and forced air into his lungs, three times. After thirty chest compressions, she breathed more life into him, repeating the process.

Bruised and bleeding, Shinobu limped her way out of the forest to a most interesting sight; one that gave her pause.

In the clearing, fretting over Naruto in a very human way, the demon Tamayo was trying to save his life instead of devouring it. This in and of itself was not all too surprising given they seemed to be allied, but it was the way in which the demon tried to help him which confused her.

There was a manic desperation as she performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the human, to her own detriment. Her lips were burning, blackened and steaming from her poison and yet, she persisted.

"You're much too young!" Tamayo urged through her chest compressions, acutely aware of the approaching Demon Slayer but she couldn't stop. "Not for me, please not for me!"

He was in fact young, Shinobu observed from where she stood; a handsome young man likely no older than she. This was surprising considering how powerful he was, managing to best her without any real effort. It was sheer luck and his own reluctance to end her which tipped the scales in her own favor, allowing her to get the upper hand.

Shinobu shook her head, knowing what she was seeing was in fact an anomaly, because demons were incapable of caring for anything beyond stating their bloodlust, but she couldn't allow that to distract her from what she needed to do. Though fighting one of Muzan's top demons may now prove difficult as Naruto had broken multiple of her ribs and quite possibly collapsed her left lung, with a single punch, meaning her faster more jarring breathing techniques were out of the question.

She steadied herself knowing the battle wasn't over. If she wanted to finish what she'd started then she needed to push past the pain to slay Tamayo and her pet. They would not escape her blade's judgment a second time.

But first she needed to retrieve it.

Shinobu had a rather difficult time extricating her katana from the tree but once she did, she readied herself for what came next. Once she killed the demon Tamayo, Naruto would die. It was a shame because he was powerful and if he'd only chosen correctly, he could have been a valuable asset to the Demon Slayer Corps. But he'd made his choice and she would at least see to it he was buried properly.

"Stay back!" Tamayo bared her fangs as the Demon Slayer neared them. She currently found herself in a difficult place knowing that if she were to use her demonic arts, Naruto would be affected negatively as well, likely killing him in the process. However, if she were to leave him to fight her elsewhere, he would ultimately face the same fate as she was currently acting as his heart and lungs. "He's innocent in this! Give him the antidote and I'll let you kill me!"

"Oh my, you speak as if you have a choice in the matter," Shinobu said with a smile that was not forced, but neither was it kind. "He sealed his fate the moment he chose to aid you."

"He's only trying to help me find a cure!" Tamayo ultimately decided on trying to reason with the Slayer. "To turn Demons back into humans! He should't have to die because he tried to help me, to protect me!"

Her words did give Shinobu a brief pause.

"You're still on about that, I see. And you even managed to seduce this poor young man into believing you," her smile fell away. "That only makes me want to kill you even more."

Shinobu brought her blade up just in time to block a clawed strike from Yushiro.

"I'll hold her off!" Yushiro shouted as he tossed a grouping of three needles to Tamayo. "It's all we have!"

Shinobu deftly caught the needles, finding another sense of concern seeing her precious apprentice face off with a Hashira when he wasn't remotely ready to do so. "Be careful, Yushiro! She's hurt but she is still incredibly dangerous! Either keep your distance or don't allow her to get hers because her sword tip is filled with wisteria poison! Whatever you do, you must not allow it to pierce you!"

She immediately pressed all three of the needles into Naruto's chest, right above his heart for efficacy and continued her efforts to keep oxygen flowing to his brain. Hoping dearly he would wake soon knowing he was their only hope against Shinobu.

Yushiro was well aware of his enemies' fighting style. He had to be considering the Demon Slayers were constantly hunting his master and himself, so he grabbed what he could to help prepare him for the battle to come.

He quickly tossed a talisman into the air, the paper fizzled for all of an instance before a blinding brightness encompassed the area. He quickly placed another talisman on himself, an experimental one meant to obscure his presence.

Shinobu felt the light painfully permeate behind even her closed eyes, forcing her to bring up an arm to obscure the blinding light, focusing instead on her sense of hearing, revealing the demon was charging her. She performed a more broad sweeping motion as opposed to her usual technique to drive him away as a more direct thrust would have a higher chance of missing.

And she did in fact miss, but her attack did have the intended effect of driving the demon back. Shinobu turned in place and opened here eyes as much as she could, using the shadow she cast to determine the location of whatever was emitting such a light.

As her movements were currently limited because of her injuries, Shinobu was forced to throw her katana, her sword successfully piercing the talisman, tearing it in half to render it useless. In the process, however, she found herself without her sword for a second time. She paid for this when she felt something crash into her chest painfully, sending her sliding back with a gasp.

Her slayer robes protected her against being pierced but the subsequent impact extenuated her injuries, making even more difficult to breathe. A more pressing concern to Shinobu, however, was the fact she hand't actually seen her attacker and it wasn't due to the blinding light.

Likely a demon art, Shinobu realized but her focus was on steadying her breathing. She was without sword again and with no visual on her opponent.

Yushiro silently glared at the Demon Slayer. He quickly realized she could hear him coming so in stead of a running charge he leapt at her, hoping to tear her heart out with his bare hands, but only discovered his own physical limitations when he couldn't even tear through her clothing.

Shinobu was a Hashira for a reason. She quickly composed herself, pushing past her pain to breathe deeply. She couldn't see the demon but she could hear and see his footsteps, small indents in the grass which quickly approached her, taking long strides to avoid making as much noise as possible. With this in mind, she presented to be unaware of this until he was within her reach.

Using what she remembered of the boy demon's stature along with the positioning of his feet, Shinobu was able to successfully parry the demon's strike, using his own momentum against him to direct him into a nearby tree. His cloak fell away as his neck snapped against the bark, his head bending so far back it touched his upper back.

Shinobu moved, continuing to use the momentum of her parry to launch herself towards her sword. She retrieved it and turned back to the demon, who appeared momentarily paralyzed from breaking his neck.

Pushing past the pain once more, Shinobu took in a deep breath to ready her next technique, likely the only one she could do in her condition, the Dance of the Bee Sting; True Flutter.

Naruto felt nature chakra course through him, soothing him as well as flooding him with the memories of his blood clone, who sensed his panicked chakra flared and began to gather nature chakra. A preparation he would later lament not having taken earlier.

All this information, however, fell into the obscuration of afterthought as he focused in on the incredibly soft and warm lips pressed to his own. He opened his eyes to find Shinobu's frantic and slitted eyes boring into his own, their beautiful violet hues encompassing the entirety of his field of view for how their faces touched.

Tamayo herself was taken aback when he abruptly opened his eyes, revealing not the entrancing blue set he displayed earlier. In their place a pair of soft yellow eyes with horizontal bar shaped irises which currently regarded her curiously.

She preferred their original color, but Tamayo didn't acknowledge this fact feeling his warm calloused hand press gently against her cheek, holding it there for a brief moment before gently pushing her away.

He sat up, taking in her appearance and just how damaged her lips seemed to be. Naruto frowned and turned to see Shinobu preparing to kill Yushiro.

He stood to his feet.

"Don't kill her, Naruto-san," Tamayo whispered from where she remained seated. "Most do not become Demon Slayers without reason, so please try not to judge her too harshly."

"She poisoned and almost killed me," Naruto offered in return. "And she's trying to kill you and Yushiro."

"Will killing her make you feel better?" Tamayo asked.

Naruto hated that she asked him that.

"Are you going to be okay?" Naruto asked, looking away, his voice dropping. "Didn't think I was that bad a kisser."

Unseen to Naruto, Tamayo flustered ever so slightly, the memory of his lips on hers stirring something inside her long thought to be dormant. Something she didn't want to think about in that moment, instead opting to focus on his concern, which in and of itself did nothing to cool the warmth on her cheeks.

"She poisoned you with a wisteria and paralytic concoction. As I attempted to keep your blood flowing, some of it affected me as well. Though it was not enough to do anything beyond sting," Tamayo explained. "But we can discuss this later. Please save Yushiro."

Naruto nodded and picked up his mask, placing it back over his face as Shinobu darted towards Yushiro. The ground beneath his feet exploded at the sheer speed, he landed between the two in time to grab hold of her blade, shattering it in half in his hand.

Before either demon or Slayer could finish widening their eyes, Naruto moved again, applying a feather light pressure to a point on Shinobu's neck, rendering her unconscious. He didn't attempt to catch her as she crumpled on the ground.

Yushiro looked shocked, his head snapping between him and the now unconscious Demon Slayer. He seemed to finally decide on glaring at him. "Why didn't you do that earlier?"

"When I heard she was the Poison Hashira, I didn't expect her to literally spit poising into my face," Naruto deadpanned.

"Yes well, that was quite humorous, if I do say so myself," Yushiro said casually.

"Yushiro!"

"Male bonding, Tamayo-sama," Yushiro quickly added, firing off an explanation as if he always had them ready. "Of course I find the fact he lives to be… expected considering you were the one helping him."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the demon's obsession with his master. He reached into one of his pouches to retrieve some ninja wire and propped Shinobu against the tree, tying her up with enough tension to draw blood in sections where the wire met her exposed skin.

Despite his Sage abilities boosting his natural healing, Naruto was still reeling from the affects of the poisoning in that his fingers and sections of his face were still numbed. Fortunately he was able to manipulate his chakra freely once more, creating a clone with orders to rejoin the children.

"What was that, Naruto-san?" Tamayo and Yushiro both looked incredibly surprised by the fact a replica of the blond appeared from behind a cloud of smoke.

"I've got my own abilities," Naruto answered vaguely. It wasn't that he distrusted Tamayo considering she risked her life to save his, but he simply didn't deem it necessary, nor did he particularly feel like explaining what a Shinobi was, or his previous life in the Elemental Nations.

Perhaps another time.

"I see," Tamayo realized that moment in time was not the best to press the blond anomaly for answers but her curiosity was more than peaked. She would be receiving an explanation from him one way or another.

Yushiro himself simply glared at Naruto, recalling in that very moment just how his master had to disgrace herself to save the cretin.

"What will you do with her?" Tamayo asked.

"Gonna ask her a few questions," Naruto said as he kneeled in front of the unconscious woman. He glanced at Tamayo from over his shoulder. "Since you also saved her life, I'll leave it up to you what you decide to do with her after I'm done."

"W-What're you doing now?" Tamayo asked, seeing Naruto open the woman's mouth, running his finger throughout it.

"Unless you've got a spit-guard, I need to make sure she doesn't spit poison at me again. Believe it or not, that wasn't fun and I'd rather not have it happen again. At least not so soon, that'd be embarrassing," Naruto finished sarcastically.

Tamayo flinched seeing Naruto callously slap the woman across the face to wake her. His attempt was successful upon his follow up backhand.

"Y-You're alive?" Shinobu was once more unpleasantly surprised by the mysterious man before her.

"Yeah, you see that demon over there?" Naruto grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look at Tamayo when she refused to do so. "She saved my life. You ever see a demon do that for a human before?"

"I see what you're trying to do, Naruto-kun, but I hope you know that means nothing to me," Shinobu said, becoming stoic. She was well aware that after what she'd done, she likely wouldn't live to see the rising sun.

She only hoped Kanao and her other little butterflies would be safe.

"Well maybe that doesn't mean anything to you, but it does to me," Naruto said, unaware of just how closely Tamayo was listening to what he was saying. "And if I'm being completely honest, I don't give a shit if you don't believe me when I say she's a good demon," he shook his head. "No; a good person. What I am interested in is this."

Naruto picked up the blade end of Shinobu's broken katana and pressed it to her neck. "You're gonna tell me where I can get one of these swords."

"I already told you how," Shinobu said with a smirk.

"Ya'know, there was a time when I wouldn't have minded monologging with you but you got really close to killing me, and I don't appreciate that," Naruto said, pulling the katana away from he neck to pierce it clean through her shoulder.

Shinobu shrieked in pain.

"Now let's try this again," Naruto said, roughly pulling the blade out. "Where can I find the swords-smiths that make the nichirin katana?"

"You'll never get anything out of me," Shinobu growled, glaring at him.

"You see, that's what they all say," Naruto said as he casually inspected the broken katana in his hand. "But in the end, they all talk."

"So what, you're going to torture me now, violate me perhaps?" Shinobu spat. "Is that how you aim to prove your intentions?"

"Considering our positions, I don't think I need to prove anything to you anymore," Naruto said, tilting his head. "And don't flatter yourself."

Shinobu felt a cold sense of dread wash over her seeing his eyes begin to glow an awful red from within his mask. He trailed the tip of her own blade against her cheek, cutting it. He then trailed it down her body, slowly between her breasts down to her left thigh, piercing it as well.

"What're you doing to her?" Tamayo asked nervously and with honest concern seeing the girl writhe in agony.

"Genjutsu," Naruto said, tossing the clean half blade aside without a care to cross his arms. "A technique of mine that lets me cast an illusion so powerful it's real to her."

"Like my own demon arts," Tamayo realized.

"Maybe," Naruto said with a shrug but didn't inquire as to exactly what she was referring to.

Shinobu let out another agonized screech.

"What is she seeing?" Tamayo asked cautiously.

"What she needs to see. I'm trying to find out where I can get my own sword," Naruto said, his attention on Shinobu.

"Are there any lasting effects to these illusions?" Tamayo asked.

Naruto recognized concern in her voice, as apposed to intrigue and sighed. "Why do you care what happens to her? She was going to kill all three of us."

"As I said before, I'm certain she has her reasons. It is not my place to judge," Tamayo said.

"Ya'know, you're entirely too kind to be a demon," Naruto said, looking to her with mild exasperation.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you, Naruto-san, for saving Yushiro and I," Tamayo said, offering him a bow.

Naruto didn't enjoy the brief embarrassment he felt at the gesture. "Yeah well, considering you saved me too, I say we're even."

"Actually — "

"Yushiro," Tamayo warned.

"Actually, I forgot what I wanted to say, Tamayo-sama," Yushiro muttered.

Naruto looked off into the distance, seeing the sun was on the cusp of rising. He didn't think he needed to remind the two demons of the this but he chose to do so to progress things.

As far as Shinobu was concerned, Tamayo's information checked out in that regard. She continued to refuse him the information he wanted indicating she herself likely didn't know where they were made and continuing to interrogate her was unnecessary.

"Sun's starting to rise," Naruto commented after having rendered Shinobu unconscious again. He unsealed paper and ink, setting the blank seal on her forehead.

"What are you doing now?" Yushiro asked, his tone indicating he was truly curious as apposed to his usual snark.

"Sealing arts," Naruto said as he worked on the seal, well aware the demon was standing over his shoulder, observing. "I'm no seal master but I do know enough to get me by. I'm placing a binding seal to keep her from moving. Unlike her poison, it won't stop her from breathing, just from moving."

"Very interesting," Tamayo voiced what her apprentice would not.

"It's got its uses," Naruto said as he placed the finishing touches on the seal and activated it. He cut Shinobu's restraints and picked her up by the hem of her robes, turning to the two demons.

"I'll leave her in your care then," Naruto said as he handed her over to a disturbed Yushiro. "Heal her or get rid of her, I don't care."

"What will you do?" Tamayo asked, getting the feeling he was leaving and it unsettled her strictly due to her curiosity. Or so she told herself because there was much she wanted to inquire about the mysterious young man of so many talents.

"Gonna go check on the orphans to make sure they're okay," Naruto said, turning to Yushiro. "Actually, you mind coming with me? I want you to make sure they're all doing well physically."

"Absolutely not," Yushiro denied immediately.

"Yushiro," it was all Tamayo had to say.

"I suppose I can spare a few moments," Yushiro said, handing Shinobu off to his master.

"Thank you," Naruto said, regarding Tamayo more so. "I'll meet you back at the room later tonight."

Naruto returned back to where the children were and sent his clone out to patrol the area while he sat and watched as Yushiro inspected the still slumbering children. Other than suffering from whatever sleeping technique the demon Shiho placed them under, along with slight malnourishment for some, they were all healthy enough.

With that concerned settled, Yushiro returned to his master while Naruto remained in place, leaned up against a wall, he managed to get a couple of hours asleep. Their stirring also woke him up and he observed as Mira's frantic eyes searched the room, completing what appeared to be a quick mental headcount.

Relief and tears filled her eyes as she finally saw him. To Naruto's shock and surprise, the girl ran to him, pushing his hand aside to hug him.

"You did it, you really did it!"

Naruto tried a few times to gently push the girl away but she didn't relent, sobbing into his chest. He sighed in resignation, allowing her to cry; to grieve for those she'd lost before he arrived.

One by one, the other children also began to stir, also coming to the same realization Miya had.

Before Naruto could stop them, he found himself swarmed in a completely involuntary group hug.

He had to substitute himself with a nearby pillow, to the awe and adoration of the children. Their constant praises made him feel uncomfortable, bringing up memories he'd much rather leave buried in the past of the children of his own world in the waning days of the war.

"How'd do you know I actually fought a demon?" Naruto asked after their excitement subsided.

"Your mask," Miya supplied. "It's got scratches and some blood on the bottom. Are you sure you're okay?"

Naruto removed his mask, finding it had been scratched. He felt around his face and found the healing scratches on his chin, but Shiho hadn't actually landed a strike on him and neither had Shinobu outside of poisoning him. He quickly deduced that it must have been Tamayo when she removed his mask to help him.

There was still blood on his mask, so he sealed it away for later repairs.

"Yeah."

"I told ya he could do it!" Shin cheered, raising a small fist.

"I thought you said he was gonna get eaten?" A younger boy asked curiously.

"Don't know what you're talking 'bout!" Shin released a series of exaggerated and very nervous laughs, which prompted the others to laugh both with and at him.

"Thank you so much for helping us, Naruto-nii!" Riko added happily, perhaps in an attempt to help her sweating brother, but nevertheless genuine.

Naruto felt a warmth invade his chest as they continued to sing him their praises. As much as he wanted to keep them at an arms length, their joy was very much infectious. Though he'd returned for a reason.

"Tell me about the village leader," Naruto said to Miya specifically.

"His name is Izuki Kanto," Miya uttered, confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Don't worry about that," Naruto said as he stood. "I'll make sure you're all taken care of from now on, but I have to go now."

That earned him a wave of disappointed and saddened whines from the children, Riko at the forefront.

"Can't you stay with us?" Rika asked with teary eyes, rushing to hug his feet.

"Rika," Miya attempted to pull the girl back with emotion wetting her own eyes. "Please let Naruto-san go."

"But I don't want you to go," Rika said following a hiccup.

"Tell you what," Naruto kneeled down to her level. "I'll visit you all as often as I can just to make sure you're all doing well."

"P-Promise?" Rika held out her pinkie finger.

Naruto allowed himself to smile, accepting the gesture. "I promise."

Shinobu woke up, feeling dread flood her when she realized she could't move her body, only her eyes. Somehow she was still able to breathe and despite everything she remembered happening to her, she was not in any pain.

She found she was in a rather small room with beige walls and another bed opposite the one she was currently in. It smelled like antiseptic and medicinal alcohol, this, along with the common sounds of street traffic which filtered in from outside, all indicated she was in fact alive.

"I see you're awake."

She glared at the demon with as much expression as her eyes could broadcast.

"What have you done to me?" Shinobu asked, finding she could also speak.

"Well, it's not so much what I did, as much as what Naruto-san did," Tamayo said following a contemplative hum.

"You mean torturing me?" Shinobu spat. "I assume you taught him that?"

"When he tortured you, what did he do to you, exactly?" Tamayo asked with a frown.

Shinobu glared even harder at the demon. "You ask as if you weren't watching when he cut my face and drove my own blade through me!"

"I see," the demon feigned a troubled expression. "Can you look down and tell me what you see?"

She followed the demon with her eyes as she pulled the sheets that covered her body to reveal she was bandaged around her midsection alone, pristine white bandages which obscured her breasts but not her belly. Aside from the wrappings on her chest all she wore beneath was her modest undergarments, exposing her legs.

"How did you… " Shinobu trailed, realizing that aside from a few scratches and bruises, she was uninjured. She looked back to Tamayo with an accusatory look. "How were you able to heal me so quickly?"

"All I've given you is a stimulant of my own creation meant to speed your own natural healing as you've a few broken ribs, so it wouldn't be accurate to say I've fully healed you," Tamayo said as she covered her again.

"But he stabbed me!" Shinobu finally lost what little of her composure remained to shout. "I felt every moment as he cut and pierced my skin! And his eyes, they were red and slitted, like a demon! He must be one, right? With the Demon Arts he's displayed!"

Shinobu absolutely abhorred the look of sympathy the demon was mocking her with.

"His eyes are a brilliant shade of blue, not… " Tamayo seemed to reconsider what she was going to say. "He's human, else he wouldn't have survived your wisteria poison, now would he?"

"He might if he was powerful enough, and he does seem powerful," Shinobu retorted, composing herself once more.

"That he is," Tamayo acknowledged with a small smile. "Just how powerful, even I do not know, I admit. I can't say to speak to what he did to you, or exactly how he did it, but what I do know is that it was merely an illusion."

"An illusion?" Shinobu looked down to her covered body again, realizing with every breath she could feel a dull pain spike in her chest, likely the broken ribs, but there was nothing from where she was stabbed. Or at least, where she thought to have been stabbed. "So he didn't… "

"I know it must be difficult for you to believe in our intentions, especially after this encounter, but please understand that we mean you and your organization no harm. At the end of the day, we are after the same thing," Tamayo said.

"Yes, and what may that be?" Shinobu questioned defiantly. It was an exaggerated emotion considering she found herself questioning her own resolve now. There had been ample opportunities for the demons and their powerful human ally to kill her and yet, they hadn't. Instead taking steps in helping heal her.

But her pride as a Hashira for the Demon Slayers would not allow her to be swayed so easily. At the end of the day, they were her enemies.

"We aim to stop Kibutsuji Muzan," Tamayo said.

Shinobu stared at the demon with both surprise and cautious anticipation, waiting for her to begin to destroy herself, as what was supposed to happen to those demons who spoke his name. A few heavy, silence filled moments passed before she realized the demand remained unharmed, returning her stare.

"I imagine you expected me to die just then?" Tamayo accurately surmised.

"You said his name," Shinobu muttered. "How are you still alive?"

"If you'll allow me to explain myself once more, really explain myself, I'll tell you," Tamayo said, her expression becoming troubled. "I do not mean to speak for Naruto-san, but if you'll hear me out, I'll tell you all I know of Muzan, and what I intend to do to stop him."

"I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Shinobu said, looking away as best she could without being able to move her head.

"I do apologize about that but you must understand why you must remain the way you are for the time being," Tamayo said, offering her an apologetic bow. Suddenly, she appeared surprisingly flustered. "And if I'm being truthful, I do not know how to free you as it was Naruto-san who's placed what he refers to as a binding seal on you. Believe me, I would remove it if I knew how to, but to attempt it without understanding how it works may prove dangerous to your health."

Shinobu would have shivered if she could. "Before you begin spouting your propaganda, I would like to know one thing."

"If I can answer it, I will," Tamayo said, smiling at her perceived progress.

"Naruto," Shinobu looked to the demon again. "Who is he, exactly? What are his motives for working with demons of all things?"

"I'm afraid I don't have those answers," Tamayo said, smiling again. "And even if I did, it would be unkind of me to tell you. So I suppose that is something you'd have to ask him yourself."

"Where is he, anyways?" Shinobu asked, glancing about the room again to find it was still only the female demon and herself.

"Visiting this village's orphans," Tamayo's smile became soft and her eyes half lidded, as if lost in thought. "Yushiro went with him earlier to conduct a check on them. Evidently he found them all living in the rundown home of their previous caretaker. Though it appears he gave them all of our money. A kind gesture, for certain, but an unfortunate one considering that really was all our funds. But I suppose that's on me for not clarifying."

"Orphans?" Shinobu repeated in confusion. "What orphans?"

"The same that have been disappearing as of late," Tamayo revealed. "Yushiro and I came here to look into the matter and that's when we met Naruto-san. He fought and killed the demon which terrorized them tonight, though I do wonder how he did that without a sword."

"I let him use mine," Shinobu muttered without considering what she was saying until she said it. She'd come to investigate sightings of Tamayo herself and was unaware of any other demons until encountering Naruto fighting one.

"Did you now?" Tamayo looked surprised.

But she wasn't really listening. Shinobu thought back to what the demon was saying as she died, along with Naruto's promise to protect her children. It wasn't something she put any consideration into until now.

"While Naruto-san may seem a little rough around the edges," Tamayo began, she herself seemingly lost in her own thoughts. "I do believe he's a good man at heart."

Shinobu considered what the demon said, wondering if it really was true.

Naruto held the fat man up by his robes, the fabric straining and tearing every time he kicked his stubby feet. He'd Casta minor genjutsu on the man much like he did on Shinobu, only this one was simply ascetic in nature.

"W-What are you?" The man squirmed. He man was on the verge of tears as the man in the fox mask glowered at him with glowing red eyes and a horrifying voice that carried with it the promise of pain and suffering.

The killing intent and the few strikes across his face were very much real. He'd come in, non lethally dispatching the guards before rushing the fat man to make his demands.

He turned to the young woman who had been under the village leader's desk. She was frozen in fear, holding herself in a ball beneath the desk.

"You should go."

The woman needed no further encouragement to run away.

Naruto returned his attention back to the sniveling man and head up the picture he had on his desk, studying it for a moment before turning it to show the man. "You have a lovely family, Izuki. A newborn baby boy and a little girl who just started school. And your wife; I imagine yours wasn't the classic story of boy meets girl. It would be a real shame if anything were to happen to them."

"What do you want from me?" The man was openly crying now. "I'll give you anything you want but please don't hurt me or my family!"

"I'm glad you asked," Naruto grinned.

The man began to cry even harder, seeing a horrifying row of razor sharp teeth break the mask, twisting the monster's face.

So I suppose I need to clarify a few things. People seem to be rather upset Naruto wasn't able to kill a demon but it's established they can heal from anything except for the sun and wisteria. It's one of the canon aspects I'm keeping. I hate to put it this way but either you deal with it or you don't because I'm not changing that.

Also, I wouldn't say Naruto's actually nerfed, he's just not in god mode. If he is caught unprepared, he can be hurt, as shown in this chapter.

As for the reason, well I never really liked the fact there's like a million different forms and power-ups, only for them to be used once or twice, and then pretty much forgotten after. Not to get too far into that whole rant, but I actually enjoyed early Naruto Shipuden more because the fights felt as grounded as they could for a world of ninja, with real stakes. The war ark added way too much crap in my opinion and that's where I dropped it.

Shit, I remember when Naruto showed up to fight Pain with Sage Mode, I was so hyped! Also, remember when Tailed Beasts were the most powerful creatures used to turn the tides of wars, and they were something to be feared, only to become a glorified character skins after?

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

Long rant short; Naruto's still going to kick ass but he won't be One Punch Man.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who's left reviews, positive or negative. This is the first story I've had with so much engagement and I'm going to do my best to post as often as I can.

Until next time!