It's a sex scene, we've been through this song and dance before and you knew it was coming. There will be one more due to, ya know, sisters.
For now, Luci's been feeling something and Naruto's gotta provide the vitamin 'D'.
~XXX~
All Naruto did was hold her for a time, considering his current situation.
His awakening, his Awakening, his wives-to-be, and the mounting lust that was emanating off of Luciela.
'Oh, shit, if she lets that out it'll be chaos,' but Naruto, despite how embarrassing it was to think, wanted her to.
He wanted to make up for missed time by fully and truly uniting with Luciela on a primal level… but he also knew they were ONE opened door away from being caught with their metaphorical, and most likely literal, pants down.
So, one could imagine that the self-control for such a feat was downright godly.
"H-Hey, hon?" Naruto tried.
"Hmm~?" Luciela nuzzled into him before the blonde's hips bucked a bit at the feeling of warmth grinding into his crotch. "MMMM."
"L-Luci, please, I know, I know, I-I want to… too," he said quickly, face bright red as she lifted her head off his chest. "But, w-we gotta think about what'll happen if we… do that now."
The look on her face told him that she was very close to not caring.
'Oh no,' if she didn't care, he wouldn't care and they'd likely make a big mess. "... O-Only a bit, alright?" Naruto begged his fiance with a bright red face.
And a gleam returned to her hazy eyes, her flushed skin darkening some more as she nodded.
"H-Hehe," Luciela giggled in embarrassment but each shift of her chest attracted his attention.
One, to the pendants on it, a fact that warmed his heart.
Two, to how they… bounced.
And, three, to how perky the nubs within were.
Naruto burned like a lantern and Luciela's eyes glowed in excitement as she stood up from the bed and smiled.
Her clothing fell to the ground along with two hairbands, leaving Naruto staring at… bare naked Luciela, oh, sweet God.
Naruto swallowed before shakily standing up and found a slightly distracting change had taken place in his sleep. "... Oh," he whispered with a bit of a chuckle as she looked up at him. "... I got taller," he realized almost hesitantly as his eyes went to Luciela's own. "... whelp."
She tackled him back onto the bed, straddling his waist like a succubus, before 'crawling' her hands up from his stomach to his chest to the sides of his neck.
Naruto blushed the entire time but was transfixed by Luciela's… everything.
And maybe the decently big, slightly waving, knockers were a BIG part of that.
By the time her hands slid up his neck, Luciela had closed the distance between them and kissed him.
The former shinobi reciprocated instantly, hands wrapping around her waist and pressing his body against hers.
Their hormones reacted as expected.
"O-Oh!" Luciela jumped a bit in his lap and Naruto's entire soul hitched as she did, the feeling of the 'man downstairs' pressing between bare buttocks sending all kinds of perverted signals to his brain. "I-I guess you're ready," she said smugly as they separated a bit, bringing her lover's bright red face into view.
Oh, she was sure she was no better but this was amazing and she'd be damned if she didn't want to look at him every second.
Naruto pressed his fingers into her lower back and she grinned.
She moaned a bit at the massaging digits while Naruto tried to focus on her… body because man those breasts were hard to look away from.
'Come on, y-you can do this!' He'd edited Jiraiya's books before, dammit! 'Just… go with the flow?' Well, he didn't want this to go ALL the way so Naruto wanted to get Luciela off and calmed down so they could actually leave the room. '... A-And, I guess, since there aren't any signatures near us…' He swallowed.
And Luciela covered her mouth as he sucked on one of her breasts. "?!" Her hips ground down accidentally and she moaned behind her fingers as she rubbed his crotch with her lower half, Naruto's small bucks sending a jolt through her spine. "T-That was?!" She blushed as much as he did at that moment.
Naruto, though, was now focused, blush be damned, he was into this now!
So, he shot her a look as she covered her mouth and suckled some more, sending her back into an arch that had him growing more eager.
He let go of it before wrapping his arms around Luciela's back, the woman's stifled moans sending a jolt through his lower half.
"..." Crap, wait, he didn't know how this went! 'D-Do I keep doing that or…' Now, the blonde was in hot water.
And as he considered what he would do next, he bucked without a thought and with a hiss as Luciela's crotch rubbed against his.
"?!" His breath hitched as she flinched before he groaned as her shaky hands came around to his shoulders, pulling face in front of his.
She led with her tongue, gripping his cheeks and basically slamming her tongue into his mouth in a fight that he lost almost immediately.
He groaned into it as she kept grinding her hips against his, lips sucking on his tongue as they separated.
They gasped constantly before those gasps turned into moans as Luciela's hips pressed down deeply, the feeling of Naruto's member pressing against his pants and her bare sex.
Luciela pressed her forehead to her dazed lover's and took one of her hands from his face before grabbing one of his wrists.
In his current state, Naruto's grip was both firm but weak, the Awakened Woman pulling his limb off with ease, gaining his attention.
"H-Huh?!" He said with a red face, Luciela's grin coming into view. "... T-That was… w-whoa."
"Y-Yeah, I…" She blushed brighter as she adjusted her grip and held the back of his hand. "I need your touch right now, Naru… Really b-badly," Luciela declared as she 'pushed the envelope'.
Pushing his hand right onto her crotch.
Naruto's eyes shrunk as he mechanically looked down to see his digits on her bare hot, wet, pussy, the feeling of his fingers barely glancing over her lower lips sending his mind into oblivion.
But he forced his sensibilities back on track, Luciela, and Rafaela by full proxy, were missing him heavily. His time away likely had some effect on them despite the women having their group, their family, around.
So while he hit neon-red levels of embarrassment, Naruto nodded seriously as she covered her mouth with both hands.
'Whelp, this is it,' he knew, from the rare adult magazines in the village, what it looked like in a drawing. This time, he was seeing it on one of the two people he loved rather dearly and it was currently pressing against the bulge in his pants. "... Huh, ya know? I thought I'd be more embarrassed," Naruto told her with a bit of a chuckle, red on his face dying down only a bit.
"Y-Yeah?"
"Y-Yeah, I mean, we kinda got past the more embarrassing parts of… just deciding to do this," he told her and Luciela, despite her similarly red features, nodded. "A-And, uh, Luci? Honey? You're half-Awakened," Naruto snickered as she blinked, eyes wide, before they shot down and saw the sides of her hips and legs.
Familiar red coloration greeted her and if she touched it, she felt the slightest feeling of fur while her feet now saw clawed and bigger.
"I-I guess, um, s-sex kinda hits a nerve?" She tried as Naruto blushed but laughed. "Meanie."
Naruto grinned before pecking her on the lips.
She grabbed the back of his head and stopped him from receding, her mouth set into a feral grin full of teeth.
"... Oh-"
She filled his mouth with her tongue and saliva, his 'weaker' jaws molested and abused by her 'more powerful' ones.
Naruto's hands decided to be more daring and, moments into the abuse on his lips, they came around and gripped firmly.
"E-Eeee!" Luciela jumped, heart thumping like a war drum as she looked at Naruto's grinning expression before his hands flexed around her rear end, causing her to jump again. "Y-You're certainly obsessed," she burned pleasantly as Naruto blushed in… curiosity. "?"
"... Ya know?" He began as he massaged her rear end, getting a bit of a moan out of Luciela. "I-I think I am," Naruto said in awe as she blushed but snickered.
"You like an Awakened Ass."
"... Yes," he said after some thought, Luciela laughing without remorse.
"Oh. My. Goddess, Naru! You're an ass man!"
"It's weird that we're figuring this out right now."
"A bit," she grinned cheekily at him. "But, now, you can make your dreams REALITIES," she whispered huskily into his ears, likely her half-transformed state gave her voice a sort of rough gravelly tone when she was using this voice.
And his 'reaction' was immediate, the twitching rod in his pants jolting her as it did so right against her sex.
"?!" She covered her mouth again as he groaned into her chest. "O-Oh," Luciela felt so sensitive that it nearly made her laugh.
"Y-Yeah, that felt…" Amazing? Downright euphoric. "Way too good, I-I don't think it's supposed to be so… early before, um, ya know? T-The…" Naruto blushed as she grinned slyly.
"The what?"
"... T-The my thing in your thing part?"
She laughed again as he pouted.
And then she nearly caved in his face with her chest as he bit a nipple, blanking her mind for a mere moment of revenge.
"Y-You bastard!"
"Hmm, hmm, hmm!" Naruto chuckled, suffocated by a glorious chest.
So, basically, he was victorious on ALL fronts right now.
~NRK~
Rafaela blinked as she and Irene sat in the tree of the Training Ground.
"H-Huh?" She blinked in shock, looking hopeful, while Irene tilted her head.
"Is something wrong, Mistress?" The taller, but younger, woman asked as her mentor grinned.
"No, in fact, if I'm sensing them right, this is the complete opposite-" Rafaela began to say, grin remaining for all of a few seconds, before she froze and blushed so hard her skin color had nearly become 'tomato'. "?!" She clenched her legs together without a thought, not looking the frowning Irene in the eyes. "I-It's good! J-Just, uh…" Rafaela failed to explain.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yep!" She said in a higher octave as eye trembled in horror. 'Luciela! Please, don't!'
If the woman were to obviously transform due to sexual liberation, Rafaela feared for her dignity if she just came in front of Irene out of nowhere.
Irene looked unsure but accepted her mentor's words.
It's not like she looked pained. No, the younger woman felt like Rafaela was feeling 'pleasant' but wasn't fully sure due to her master's ability to control her yoki so perfectly.
Curious.
~NRK~
Sistina facepalmed from atop the Northern Lab Base. "You two couldn't wait. FOR. ONE. DAY?" She asked the air, looking completely embarrassed, red face shining through the white lands of Alphonse. "Thank the goddesses, I'm alone up here," she muttered in pure embarrassment, tucking legs in and reaching her hands, and fingers by proxy, down her abdomen.
Quick relief from the madness of horny Awakened Beings was never something she imagined would happen in her line of work.
Talk about 'miracles', huh?
~NRK~
Luciela's pout came into view as Naruto removed his head from her chest.
He chuckled a bit before cupping her cheek and bringing her in for a kiss she didn't immediately make into a contest he wasn't prepared for.
Pulling back, he found a barely-controlling-her-smile Luciela's face in view once more. "Better?"
"You're so hard to be mad at," she whined as Naruto smiled.
"I'm somewhere else, too," he said slowly, looking more embarrassed as the joke hung in the air.
Luciela burned while looking at him expectantly.
"... Dammit," he said half-heartedly before taking in several controlling breaths. "Alright," Naruto began as she covered her mouth in anticipation.
His hand flexed before it moved back around her sensitive sex, the redhead's breaths, heartbeat, and chest jumping more the further he got.
Once he had his fingers over it, he blinked as powerful arms crossed around him, a mix between a feline's and a woman's, Naruto's eyes widened before he took energy-controlling breaths.
His hand on Luciela's bigger Awakened ass gripped intently, getting a coo out of the Awakening Luciela before she moaned in a way that almost sounded like a purr.
'Focus on it,' he felt the flow of energy around Luciela and 'saw' the 'leaks' coming off it… notably from the place where his hand was. 'Wow, like, that's kinda…' He wasn't even embarrassed.
Naruto was just in disbelief at the fact that her pussy was releasing the lust-filled intent of her energy like she was an actual cat in heat!
Still, he had to make sure this never got out, literally, metaphorically, and euphem… erotically.
So, with one hand on her back near the base of her tails, and the other by her sex, Naruto 'sealed' the energy flow to her current size… oh, that might have been a bad idea, he realized.
Naruto looked up at what had to be the eight-foot-tall Luciela in a sort of hybrid-like state between her human form and her Awakened form.
She had all the markings of her Awakened form, the colors, and the like, while also bearing her tails, sharp claws and talons, whisker-like grooves on her cheeks, and the two 'horn-ears' atop her forehead… but that was it, really.
Outside of her bigger size, she just looked like a cat woman.
Her eyes, one gleaming silver and the other gold, stared at him in surprise. "What did you do?" She asked him before touching her throat in surprise. "My voice is so… deep," she whispered and Naruto flinched with a shaky grin, the Hybrid Awakened perking up at the feeling below her. "... Hm, hm, hm," she giggled a bit.
It was scarily hot and cute so Naruto was left realizing he might be more of a pervert than he ever was before.
"H-How ya feeling?" He asked his older lover as his hands… whoa. "A-And uh, you're certainly getting… God, it's so warm," Naruto whispered in shock as she purred, actually purred, in delight at the feeling of his hand on her sex. "... W-Well, I mean, it's easier to… try?" He tried and her amused expression told him he should get on with it.
So, he did.
Naruto minded his left hand on her powerful rear while his normal-looking one slowly dipped down a bit more before shifting her folds apart.
Then, he was hit with a powerful 'scent' of energy. "..." His eyes dilated vertically before his middle finger circled her lower lips' boundaries.
The grip on his shoulders and the breasts in his face sent his mind into an erotic panic as he 'gripped' her sex a bit more while touching a bit deeper.
"Hmmm~," the way Luciela purred in his ears had his member twitching. "More~."
He went a bit deeper with his middle finger, prodding a slowly tightening cavern.
Her increased purring had his eyes laser-focused on her energy and body, the feeling of her depths, her rear, and chest left the former shinobi with a sort of control of her form that he never wished to force on her.
But she allowed him to and he felt how much trust and love she had to give him.
So, he pushed his finger in as deeply as he could, coating the tip in energy to blunt the end.
She flinched.
He pulled it out, fighting against tightening lips, as Luciela put the entirety of her weight on him, arms wrapped around him completely as her face found itself into the crux of his neck.
"!" She growled into his neck and Naruto shivered.
He repeated the action as many times as it 'took', time and time again, relentless as her hips kept rocking against his.
By the time he was on the fifthteenth, he felt her tight walls nearly rip off his finger as he plunged in.
A muffled growl rocked his body as he felt a moist 'squish' hit his crotch, finger, hand, and sense of smell.
It was intoxicating to smell Luciela in her 'entirety', her scent, weirdly in this form, smell like… grapes.
"... Grapes?" He tried on her but only got a slight shuffle of her face at his neck. "Mmmm," Naruto let out a soft moan at the feeling of her sex's moistness, warmth, and the feeling of her lips around his covered shaft. "Fuck…" He was nearly there.
The blonde was pretty sure that the moment his pants came off, he wasn't gonna stop. Hell no, he was gonna pound Luciela for all he and she were worth.
The fact emboldened him and his foggy eyes focused for a mere moment of intense concentration.
Meaning, one clawed finger to his pants later, his dick was free of its confines. All of them.
His pants, his underwear, his hesitation, all of it.
"Luci," he whispered into the large woman's ears and her tails waved back and forth, coming into view at his side. "I'm gonna put it inside," Naruto told her.
Her form flinched before he felt a thunderous heartbeat slamming into his chest as she adjusted on his bed, straddling him on her very weak-looking knees.
"D-Do it," she purred at him, shaky fingers coming down to barely part moist lips.
Lining up as best he could from their current position, Naruto braced their energies together, a coiling silvery blue vapor leaving his right side to form over them like a film.
He placed it a bit at her entrance as her knees sank a bit, slipping him in and getting a heavy growl out of the Awakened Man.
His hands came out and gripped her ass with a sort of gentle strength, slapping both her rear mounds and finally breaking her legs' strength.
Luciela came down and plunged him into warmth the blonde male hadn't known ever existed.
He moaned into her shoulder fur as another one of her growls rocked his chest, their heartbeats slamming into one another as they pressed against one another fully, completely.
The feeling of being connected was almost indescribable. Naruto could only platonically compare this to being fully in-sync with Kurama, this connection feeling almost as good due to knowing it was with one of his two beloveds, one of the most precious people in the world to him.
So, as they sat there, absorbed in the warmth and scent of their sex, Naruto growled a bit into the surprised Luciela's shoulder.
"N-Naru-" She tried to say, her climax leaving her a bit more sensible.
And all that sense of control went right out the window as Naruto's powerful grip lifted her rear a bit, the feeling of each pleasurable inch of his member sliding out sending her mind into a gurgling mess.
Only for her mind to blank as he slammed his cock back in, sending a spike of euphoria into her core.
Naruto held her there for an intense three seconds, the gurgling purrs that left Luciela's mouth like music to his ears.
Then he slid out again, leaving her clamping around him as her pussy quaked around his shaft, getting barely-controlled moans out of the blonde.
He plunged back in and was rewarded with a jolt of pleasure and a growling cat woman.
The next time, her arms went weak on him.
Naruto slid out of her and felt the twitching mess that Luciela had become.
He kept going with a rhythm, each slam getting a smack out of her ass and a purr and gurgle of pleasure.
Each time, he felt his adrenaline spike and his muscle bulge, strength that hadn't been within him 20 years ago now coming to the forefront.
So, since she was clearly in need of a more 'relaxed' position…
His tail came off the bed and pressed into the floor before pushing up.
Luciela was too far gone in her euphoric pleasure stupor to notice being lifted, Naruto sliding back into 'that spot' causing another climax that had her blanking out again.
Soon, Naruto was on his feet with this beauty giant woman in his arms, and on his dick, before he placed her gently on the bed, her legs still wrapped powerfully around his waist and back but her arms coming down onto the depressed sheets and mattress.
'I'll need to get a new bed,' but that thought was fleeting and ignored moments later as he shifted his hips and got a moaning Luciela, and a tightening sex around his cock, for his troubles.
He pressed back in, his new leaning position giving him leverage to place his hands down around Luciela's neck. The Man-In-Black kissed her, his Awakened Woman responding in kind, hands cradling his face.
And then Luciela blinked, realizing what had happened.
Her pupils thinned, skin and fur reddened, and her nipples perked up.
Naruto grinned in a way that emphasized his animal-like traits before suckling on an enlarged teat.
She screamed bloody murder as he did, hands clenching into his sheets and ripping up fabric and linen.
'S-Stop scream-' she tried to tell herself but Naruto's rocking hips sent another scream rippling through the 'air'. 'Oh, goddess, I don't think I care anymore,' but, in her last few moments of non-sex-focused consciousness, she noted the film of energy around them with interest.
And that interest, common sense, and thought was pounded out of her almost instantly, leaving the warrior to scream Naruto's name as his hips slammed into her own again.
And again.
And AGAIN.
At some point, she felt like the weaker dominated individual and 'threw' herself into the role, the feeling of Naruto's control over her pleasure sending more of the chemical into her mind.
At some point, she felt the thrusts slow down but felt more full than before, the indescribable feeling coming to a climax as Naruto came off her breasts and kissed her again.
Their tongues fought for dominance and he won out on this third attempt, pressing into her with all his might.
And then he came.
For the last time of that hour, she was hit with a feeling nearly indescribable even by Awakening itself.
The rush of fluids, his child-bearing seed, left her maternal side filled to the brim.
Feeling her pussy bustling with, and leaking some of, his cum perfectly ravaged her sensual needs.
And finishing their kiss with a forehead-touch fulfilled every emotional need she'd had in that very moment.
"I love you," they both said in unison, laughing a bit at the fact afterward. "... DAMN, that's a lot."
Naruto had truly filled her up, every inch, nook, and cranny had been covered, conquered, and dominated by his seed all the way up into her womb.
If it was possible now… Luciela giggled at the idea of being pregnant.
Then she remembered a lot of the screaming she'd done. "H-Hehe, s-sorry about basically outing us," Luciela admitted, still capable of looking bashful after everything they'd just done, especially in her current state.
Naruto chuckled before holding up a half-ram handsign.
The film around them, that vapor of silvery blue, vanished, leaving her confused.
"I dampened the sounds," he told her before kissing her forehead. "And let me undo this."
Moments later, Luciela squeaked as she shrunk back to human form, Naruto's new height towering over her by a good half a foot and allowing him to nuzzle her with his body.
Needless to say, she loved being Little Spoon.
Of course, as they laid there, Naruto finding the power and finesse in him to roll them over onto his bed properly so he could sit up with her in his arms, Luciela considered something… embarrassing.
"..." She stared at 'it' for the longest time, slowly looking more and more red in the face and horrified.
Naruto noticed. "Hmm? What's up?" He asked her as he looked at what she was looking at.
And was greeted by the sight of Teresa looking in from the crack in the door?!
The woman looked very embarrassed, breaking that normally easygoing facade of hers' streak of ten years and leaving a flustered woman there.
She coughed into her fist and slowly slipped out of the doorway. "I-I only came in at the end so…" Teresa wheezed out as she slowly closed the door.
Naruto choked-
"And so did, Naruto," she said quickly before slamming the door shut, leaving the man to gawk in pale horror while Luciela, despite herself, laughed like an idiot.
"I-I-I," the man looked so white that you could have made chalk out of his skin. "Oh no."
"Yyep," Luciela snickered, droning out the word a bit. "Hmmm… well, nothing to it but to do it, come on, let's get… Snff, snff," she sniffed herself. "Time for a shower."
Naruto considered her easy recovery and just shook his head. "I'll never understand women."
"Exactly."
He rolled his eyes.
Thirty minutes later, after a purely platonic shower together, Naruto looked at himself in their full-body mirror.
Wearing a pair of black pants with a hole for his tail, his ninja sandals that had been gratefully customized by Dae and Luciela for his new size, a sleeveless black tunic with bicep-length detachable sleeves that came down to his palms, a black turban for his head, and a similar black cloak that came down to his knees, he chuckled at his reflection, a giant nine-bronze bar-fused pendant around his neck.
On each one, a familiar Warrior Number sat with their previous ones going down from the ones in the middle. At the center of it all, a bigger-than-the-other bars sat with the 'Eight' symbol carved into it.
"I'm about to get into a whole lot of trouble, ain't I?" He asked the fully-dressed Luciela. "And, might I say, my kimono looks great on you in the real world, too," Naruto said cheekily as she guffawed a bit.
"Hmph! Your jokes are better out here as well," she smirked as he looked fake-offended. "Now, come on, hubby," Luciela giggled as he blushed a bit while looking accomplished. "You have a whole new base to get used to," she told him before hooking their elbows together and leading him to the door. "... Y-You don't think Teresa would-"
"N-Nope, I hope not," Naruto said instantly, fearing for the worst. "Teresa's a good girl, she's not a gossip… now if Sis or Ura found us that'd be… different," he added with emphasis.
"We'd never live it down."
"Nope, not at all."
They shrugged before she opened the door and they walked out.
Minding their surroundings, as in for anyone who looked like they heard them having rough animalistic sex, they simply found shocked if not downright curious gazes thrown their way.
'Thank God/dess,' they thought in unison. 'The door wasn't fully open,' just unlocked.
Still, Naruto hummed as he looked around, heterochromatic eyes gaining more attention than just his presence.
"You know, I know you said things were a bit rough but they're all scared," he whispered to his beloved who nodded with a bit of a sigh. "That bad?"
"Well, I won't say 'yes', we do have our little proteges, after all," she smirked as he snickered.
"Irene, Noel, Teresa, I'm surprised Uranus didn't find one yet considering she seemed the most eager-" Naruto began before noting Luciela's grin. "Oh, snap, who is it?"
"A girl by the name of 'Sophia', h-hehe, despite her looking like a flower, she's ridiculously strong for some reason," Luciela sweatdropped as he smirked.
"Hey now, we're all weird cases, maybe we'll just keep on attracting new ones?"
"Then, maybe you'll find one."
He considered the idea as she giggled a bit. "Ya know?" Naruto began, tail waving behind him casually and shocking the nearby Claymore. "I kinda like it, maybe I'll even find a little kid who might take after this old man."
"You're not… I mean, we're all a bit old, it's kinda hard to believe that Sistina is damn-near 70," she said with a hum. "I know we won't age like that but I'd like to look that graceful into my 70s."
Naruto snickered. "Let's not have her hear you say that," he said as she paled. "Exactly."
"Y-Yo, Luciel-he's awake?!" Came the familiar voice of Europa as the two turned around to look at the in-awed younger warrior. "Y-You're… Goddesses, you are TALL," Europa said as Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his black hand. "Hm?"
"You're Europa, right?" He asked with a nod as she blushed while shooting Luciela a look the Awakened Woman snickered at. "Oh, don't worry about her, she's a bit of a troublemaker but she's good at picking out good people," Naruto smirked as Luciela looked completely innocent.
Actually, looking at the Awakened Woman, Europa noted something… pleasant about her?
She looked so filled with energy, happy even, that the short warrior felt embarrassment at being in the presence of it.
Luciela looked damn near radiant, what the hell?
"Right, well, glad to finally meet you when you're awake… That joke isn't in bad taste, right?" Europa sweatdropped as Naruto chuckled.
"I thought it was in good taste and, well," he looked down at his black arm. "I'm not fully sure on this yet but it's about alright?" Naruto shrugged as the short woman made a curious sound. "I'm sure I'm gonna go and meet up with Dae about it, he is the scientist, after all."
"Sounds like a plan," Europa hummed before they all walked towards the cafeteria. "Still, uh," she looked a bit embarrassed. "You realize he's in for it, right?"
Luciela considered the question before huffing. "If it's one of our old generation-mates, it'll be different, but no one else here," she declared with narrowed eyes as Naruto looked confused.
"Huh?" He asked and was rewarded with two shakes of the head. "Oh man, not women-only communication, I hate when that happens," Naruto whined, tail going limp.
"It's fine, you'll just need to assert your stoicism," Luciela snickered.
"Luci."
"You'll get it eventually."
~NRK~
Navigating through the Northern Labs base had been… curious, to say the least.
Especially because of the attention he'd gotten all the way from his, Luciela's, and Rafaela's room up til they reached the Training Ground.
And the signature of his other beloved came into view the closer they got near a specific tree covered in pockmarks with a pair of swords by it.
"Hmm," Naruto smiled at that vanishing from his spot next to Luciela and Europa.
And he reappeared next to a surprised but grinning Rafaela.
"You're back from your… ahem," she cleared her throat as he grinned very nervously. "I knew you were awake but… BUSY," the younger of his fiances said with a red face as he nodded rapidly.
"This is gonna be weird for a bit but I'm sure we'll work through it!" He said quickly as Luciela snickered from down below.
Europa and Irene, along with many of the other snooping Warriors, were still left a bit stunned.
'That speed wasn't…' Europa, as the Number 5, had seen some of her greater comrades work.
She knew Teresa was a monster in and of herself but she was a WARRIOR and THE Number 1, it wasn't wrong to say she expected that… but this man was far too fast.
He was… faster than she was and Europa, while a bit lazy, was no slouch.
'How strong is he?' From what Luciela & Rafaela had been completely fine with divulging and from what she learned from her handler and their Elders, Naruto Uzumaki was originally supposed to be as strong as a mid-30s Warrior, maybe lower 20s if he was going 'all out' whatever that meant. 'So, in 20 years, he acquired a speed that is greater than a single digit,' sure, in that kind of a vacuum, it wasn't as ridiculous as it sounded.
Twenty years was a LONG time but, still, all from sleeping?
Goddesses, she WISH she had such a power!
Irene, meanwhile, was of a different mind.
'This is him,' and he was FAST. 'I don't know if I could beat his speed,' which was kind of inspiring if not a bit self-disappointing. 'Teresa said that he gave her specialized tips on her yoki and enhancement skills, perhaps he and Mistress can do the same for me?' It was certainly a thought.
Though, considering the situation at hand, Irene felt embarrassed as Rafaela hugged the Awakened Man with a grin on her face and 'Naruto Uzumaki' was of a similar mind and joy.
Was this the lucky happiness that her mentor had said she'd attained? Because it seemed like it.
And Irene felt happy for her while a bit envious. 'Mistress has been one of the best things to come into my life,' she reminded herself.
It was true, she'd been like… A-As much as Irene never said it.
Like a mother to her. So, seeing her 'mother' happy made her happy on a primal level and Irene chose to envelope herself in it instead of her envy.
Then the two kissed and she was just embarrassed, hunching in on herself while the two showered one another in affection that she hid her face from like an embarrassed child.
Revolutionary.
Rafaela just bathed in Naruto's love like no tomorrow before he set her back down on the branch and she sweatdropped again at someone's height.
"Why is everyone getting taller than me?" She asked nervously. "Teresa, sis, Irene, soon I'll learn that Noel and Sophia have become taller than me!"
"... Genetics?" Naruto offered as she pouted. "Yeah, I know, trust me, you girls knew how short I was as a kid."
"Hmm, true," Luciela grinned as she landed on their branch. "So," she leaned in, tail bringing Rafaela into a huddle with the man in the middle.
Irene raised a brow at how the average-height woman burned like a candle along with Naruto but the man nodded before shooting her an embarrassed grin.
Irene could feel the excitement and anxiety coming from her mentor.
"A-Alright, fine, I'll, uhh… I-I guess we'll pick a time and day?" Rafaela said with a bright red face. 'Oh, sweet goddesses, I-I'm gonna be christened as a woman!'
B-But she had to do so much first!
"Hehe, well, I'm here with you the whole way," Naruto grinned as she blushed but smiled all the same. "Hmm… Oh, Ura, Eliza, and Otie are back," he said after perking up.
"... Wait, hold on, you can feel them?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Secret," Luciela whispered to him with a couple pats on his shoulder. "Right now, though, they're, what? A couple miles away?"
"Yep," Naruto said before grinning nervously. "A-And I think Sis wants to talk about us… projecting," he whispered as Luciela and Rafaela blushed. "Y-Yeah, I can tell, she's kinda pissed."
"Well… I mean, when you think about it," Rafaela burned some more. "Look, just know, we sensory-types are very sensitive."
"Don't I know it," Naruto muttered as Luciela grinned proudly. "Hmm, I guess the first thing to do, now," he appended. "Is to meet up with the others before meeting the Old Guys… they're good, right?"
"Yes," Rafaela nodded. "I haven't seen Rubel in a long time, he became Teresa's handler," she told him as Naruto frowned. "?"
"... Nothing, I just felt like I almost remembered something. Where is Lil 'Resa?"
Irene stared at him in disbelief as Luciela giggled. 'L-Lil 'RESA?!"
"And if nothin' else, I might as well meet all you guys and your proteges," he turned to Irene with a smile. "You're Irene right?" Naruto asked the tall elf-eared woman who flinched but her head fell and she nodded. "Heh, I know Rafa's been doing you a solid, she's dependable like that… hmm, you're a sensory- and offensive-type, right?"
Irene's eyes widened as her head snapped up to see a grinning slyly man before she huffed a bit, looking embarrassed as Rafaela chuckled.
"Yep, I guess energy-sensing for you got increased to a level I can't imagine," Rafaela said to Naruto who hummed before focusing on her with a raised brow. "... Seeing anything different?"
"Yep, think of it like this, the yoki flow in your body is downright perfect," he said as she crossed her arms while tilting her head. "Your control's second-only to me and I have, like, way more years on ya. Though, that might mean you can help with my yoki arm," Naruto grinned as she perked up.
"Oh, so that's how that's gonna work?" Luciela asked as Naruto nodded.
"I have far better control of it than anyone who just got yoki, possibly even better than most double-digits, but it's still not the same. I'm just glad I've got no extra influences in it."
"Hm?" Europa asked as she landed. "Hmph, there, now, what are you talking about?"
Explaining the concept of yoki and its rules, she nodded before freezing.
"H-Hold on, what the hell are you implying?" She whispered hotly. "There's no way!" Right?
There was no way this man was telling her he solved the whole 'Awakening' problem.
"Well, me being revealed probably had only you and other single digits knowing, right? About me being special, right?" She nodded. "So, why did ya think I was?"
"..." Europa hesitated before swallowing. "I can't… there'd be a total uproar, we would have heard about it."
"Uh, yeah, I don't know what's up with that, sorry."
Well, that was two of them… still… "So, what? You can do it on command?"
Naruto considered that for a moment, crossing his arms and tilting his head with his eyes closed. 'Can I? I mean, I kinda controlled Luciela's energy e-earlier.' He focused on the presences of those around him.
His fiances, their pupils-Oh, Teresa was coming with another small signature. Neat.
Anyway, he focused on all of them, he felt Sistina, he felt the Elders and other people, he felt all of the Claymores, and the like… oh.
"Oh, I'll need to get that back," Naruto said as those around him looked confused before Rafaela gasped.
"Your spear, right?" She asked him and he nodded. "I've told you about it, Irene," the only-taller-than-Europa woman said as her student perked up.
"That odd weapon?" That one that her mentor spoke of as on-par with their claymores. "Is it not broken by this point? Trampled by Awakened Beings?"
Naruto considered that as he looked out into the distance. "... No, it's still fine," he grinned as she shot him a weird look. "My spiritual energy was in that weapon, Irie," she burned at the nickname as Rafaela snickered. "I can sense it, I've fought with, trained with, and imbued that thing with my spiritual power and Natural Energy… Oh, wait, does she know about that?"
"The hay are you talking about now?" Europa asked flatly as he and the sisters chuckled nervously.
They explained the concept quietly, Europa's jaw dropping while Irene looked hesitant to believe it.
"No, seriously, it's true," Naruto said as he raised his finger, on his black arm, to a branch. "Watch me hit that-"
A hole crushed the center of the finger-length-thick wood, allowing it to fall to the ground.
Naruto's face contorted in confusion as he looked down at his finger. "... Um, yeah, it's never done that before," he began to sweat. "I hope it's just this arm," he said nervously as he raised his other finger to a branch. "Second time's the charm."
And from the digit came a silvery-blue energy that surprised Rafaela, Europa, and Irene, Luciela observing the energy with interest since she was seeing it with normal, sex-sober, eyes.
"That's what you used to…" she muttered with a hum as the energy reached out and hit the branch. "... I wonder, is it because that arm has yoki and this one is using your spiritual energy?" Luciela asked him as Naruto considered her words.
"I think you're right," he said as the wisps of energy fell away. "The thing is, I could never see any of that energy. I didn't see my yoki but, then again, I can't control it that well. That said, my spiritual energy shouldn't be visible, it's never been."
Irene was still staring at the man like he didn't make sense while Europa blinked thrice before wiping her eyes.
"What the hell did you bring to our nice, calm, normal base?" She asked him as he chuckled nervously.
"Me?" He offered.
"That's a horrible response," he slumped. "What in the world? So, you're saying, there's energy all around us that we can't see, touch, or feel?"
"Basically? You can feel this," Naruto demonstrated by allowing his right hand to glow with his energy's color and she cupped her chin.
"... I-I do," she admitted.
"So, I usually mix in Natural Energy with my spiritual energy to be able to move it like that, I'm not supposed to be able to do it without it."
Curious.
"I-I don't understand, so you can fuse it with yoki?" Irene asked quickly.
Naruto opened his mouth before blinking. "... Noooo?" He said unsurely, raising his black arm to stare at it. "I think… maybe it copied how I did it when it got chomped off?"
"..."
"..."
"... What?" Irene asked as Luciela burned and Rafaela rubbed the back of her head. "I… Oh," she realized, looking at her teacher who nodded. "... If that's true, it follows the nature of your power with that odd energy mixed in?"
"I guess?" Naruto shrugged. "Once again, I don't know how this works," he reminded them before humming.
He hopped onto another branch before turning and placing his hand down on a space in front of him.
Teresa appeared there with a grin before blinking at the hand on her head, finding a 'sagely' grinning man there, smirking at her.
"You're not that fast," Naruto chuckled as the woman gasped before grinning.
"Done?" She asked him suggestively as he and Luciela flinched, burning bright red. "I'm never letting you live that down, you know that, right?" Teresa giggled before throwing one arm around his waist in a side-hug he reciprocated.
"Hmph, whippersnappers," her grin nearly split her face. "You gotta show this old man respect."
"Would you like me to call you 'old man'?"
"... Kinda?"
Teresa rolled her eyes before patting the head of a child that Naruto crouched down to look at.
The girl in question stared at him in shock, his small fox ears shifting and gaining her attention.
She was a small, thin, frail-looking girl with fair skin, brown eyes, and long light brown-hair set into a hime-cut around her forehead.
Wearing a dark salmon-colored dress with a light-brown leather belt with a pouch on the back, a comfy-looking collar, some knee-high black boots, and what looked like a shortsword in a black sheath on her lower back.
"H-Hmm?" The girl hid behind Teresa but her eyes were still on him and his ears before they snapped to his tail, Naruto's grinning form standing up much to her disbelief. "H-He's so big," the child said in surprise.
"Huh? Who's the girl?" Europa asked as said child hid more behind Teresa. "?"
"This is Clare, I picked her up from Teo Village due to a yoma attack," Teresa said with a sigh as she crossed her arms. "Honestly, ten yoma," she told them as 'Clare' flinched while Naruto frowned and the others gasped.
"T-That's a lot of yoma," Rafaela said. "In Teo Village, though?" Teresa nodded.
"I think this is more of Riful's bad leadership."
Over the years, Riful and Isley had made more attempts on 'land-grabbing'.
With the main Organization location compromised, along with their long 'slumber', the two's forces had grown somewhat and they released more onto the populace of the lands.
At present, the high yoma counts, the number of villages bearing yoma, and the numerous yoma on side roads had increased exponentially to a worrying point.
"You guys told me about this," Naruto frowned. "But would Isley go that far from his own territory? I get that it's, like, goons at best but what's he hoping to gain?"
"Likely, they're trying to find more locations of our bases," a voice said from behind the blonde man who grinned nervously before slowly turning to find Sistina standing there. "Hello, NARUTO."
"... I'm sorry."
"Yeah, that's barely cutting it," Sistina smiled as he paled some more. "Keep. It. DOWN."
"We will!" Naruto and Luciela flinched as she huffed with red cheeks.
'Honestly,' the former Number 1 rolled her eyes. "And, over the past five years, they've been searching for more of our bases and soldiers."
Naruto frowned. "How many?"
"Thankfully? Only one. Those same individuals we had to ferry elsewhere while leaving a similar 'bomb' compared to last time," Naruto blinked. "Oh, right."
Explaining the entire situation to him, Naruto cupped his chin with a frown, eyes closed.
'... Where are they?'
His senses expanded beyond their bases, their Warriors, people, and Elders to further beyond.
The group raised some eyebrows as the black marks over his eyes extended to connect to his fox ears' black color while thick black whisker-like marks formed on his cheeks over his birthmarks.
"... Found Isley," Naruto said with a deep frown. "He's somewhere to the far northwest," he declared, eyes opening to reveal pure silver eyes. "I think-what are you guys looking at?" He blinked twice as Teresa cupped her chin while looking at him.
"You've got smaller changes when you expand your senses," she told him as he blinked at her before she smiled. "Clare, dear, can you pass me your sword?"
Clare, looking up at her in confusion, did so with some difficulty.
"Oh, she's not used to it," Naruto said as Teresa nodded.
"We've been on the road for a few months, following the Safe Routes we made back to the Organization. Ah, thank you," Teresa smiled for the child who scuffed her feet nervously before latching onto her leg. "... Oh, right, we're in a tree," the woman realized like it was normal.
She handed the weapon to her 'spiritual' mentor and Naruto balked at his new looks.
"Whoa!" He said in surprise, cupping his chin again. "Huh, ya know? I didn't even notice."
"I guess so, old man."
"... Yeah, I actually kinda-"
"Ruin my fun," Teresa huffed as Irene chuckled a bit. "Still, right now, the situation at large is just a mess."
"Alright, I think we should get out of the tree before something bad happens," Naruto said with a sweatdrop, the sound of cracking reaching their ears. "Probably quickly."
Those in the branches jumped down and landed without issue, Clare being helped down by Teresa.
"Hmm, well, the first thing I wanted to do was get my weapon back," Naruto told her and she hummed.
"That might be difficult," she told him as he raised a brow. "That area has officially been made into some kind of yoma stalking ground, they really don't want anyone coming back for anything useful."
Naruto considered that, looking up into the sky with interest.
"I'm gonna try something," he told the group as he sat down in a familiar meditative stance. "It's been a while since I've hit a sit like this," Naruto declared as his eyes closed and he breathed out.
The change in the area was immediate, as some kind of 'wave' shot out and, soon enough, those near the tree were staring at an unbothered surface of brilliant blue water.
"What?" Irene jumped, looking around in alarm, while Sistina wore a slightly serene expression. "M-Ms. Sistina?!"
Sistina smiled a bit. "You're probably in here because you have above average sensory skills," she told the younger woman who just looked lost. "Trust me, it's a conversation that'll be had after this."
"W-Where are we?" Europa asked as she looked down at the water's surface in shock and interest while Clare… jumped into Teresa's arms.
"AHHHH!" She screamed while the woman laughed.
"It's fine! Trust me, I've been here quite a few times," she grinned as Clare shot her a look of disbelief. "I mean, look at us, we're fine," Teresa gestured to the others standing on the water's surface without issue.
The human girl swallowed before slowly being put down and staring at the surface of the water.
"Sorry about this, I didn't think I could just drag you gals in here," Naruto told them as he stood up.
Gold sprouted out from his feet, energy shifting across the surface of the water like constellations that formed familiar, to him, animals and 'mythical' creatures.
"... curious," Rafaela said as she looked down at those images. "They're so unique," she blinked.
A giant racoon with an odd-looking texture to its body.
A two-tailed cat composed of flames.
A giant… turtle? She thinks? With three tails.
A big old monkey with the wickedest-looking set of eyebrows she'd ever seen with four tails.
A horse… fish? Something equine and aquatic mixed with five tails.
A giant slug being the most normal, yes it was weird, with six tails.
A bug… yeah, a bug, with seven extensions coming out from beneath it.
An ox-octopus thing with eight tentacles.
… and finally, beneath the very blonde himself, sitting opposite of him like a reflection in a familiar meditating stance, stood a giant fox with nine tails.
It stood out to her for some reason, perhaps it was because of Naruto's rather 'foxy' looks at times?
"Alright," the man himself declared as he looked up at the black space around them that was the 'sky'.
A single shining silvery light appeared in the distance.
"Don't freak when we get back, girls," Naruto told them as most of the group nodded.
"Yep, we're heading back," Teresa grinned as Irene blinked along with Europa.
"What?" They asked-
They blinked and the world had returned to normal, the group either still standing or sitting, in Naruto's case, where they'd been before they were… 'in there'.
"W-What the fuck-" Europa began as Naruto chuckled nervously.
"Easy, there are kids around," he told her before getting up and crossing his arms. 'I can't do it in front of everyone,' Naruto knew it'd cause an insane amount of panic and disbelief if he could do what he was thinking. "Alright, I guess we'll just wait for the others to get back but," his stomach growled and he chuckled. "I'm hungry and I've not eaten for over 20 years! Let's eat!"
~NRK~
They watched him eat like a madman.
Well, Naruto still retained some manners but with easily 'scarfable', his words not theirs, items, Naruto could just eat with reckless abandon.
Read: Like a barbarian.
By the end of half an hour, he finished fifteen trays of food while Luciela stared along with the others.
"H-He eats more than I do," she whispered in disbelief and awe as Sistina snorted.
"He seems to be making up for lost time," she said. "But I'm sure YOU know about that."
Luciela burned as Teresa did before the latter regained enough composure to snicker.
Naruto cleared his throat. "AHEM, yeah, let's not worry about that!" He said weakly. "I'm glad to be full."
"I'm glad I wasn't eating," Otie said nervously as Uranus ate without a care, her student next to her looking at the blonde man with such a look of disgust that she seemed ready to smack him.
"Hmph," Uranus swallowed. "Eh," she shrugged as the woman next to her groaned.
She was maybe a few inches shorter than her mentor with a heart-shaped face and short wavy hair that parted around the top of her forehead.
"Eat with some elegance!" She demanded of the man who rubbed the back of his head.
"To be fair, I haven't eaten in 20 years," he told her and her eyebrow twitched.
"That doesn't mean you just deny common portions!"
"To be fair," Luciela admitted bashfully, her own five trays gaining the younger female's ire. "I-It's different for us!" She said quickly as Rafaela snickered while Irene and Teresa smiled.
Clare was just left staring at the man next to her, the young girl looking at his stomach like it'd explode or do a funny trick.
"W-Where did it go?" She asked Teresa who smirked.
"Into his endless metabolism, in fact, did you know Naruto has no body fat? I'm jealous," she smiled as the woman next to Uranus choked.
"N-No, that's not fair," she said in horror as her mentor rolled her eyes.
"Haven't trained that part out of her, I think that's her personality," the 'Rough Attack Warrior' said. "But, this is Sophia, she's a beauty queen and will make sure you know that."
"Hmph," the so-called 'Sophia' pouted with crossed arms. "I'm simply minding the world around me, a beautiful world is one bereft of yoma and grime."
"Ya see what I mean?"
"Hmm, then, I'll introduce Noel," Elizabeth said with a smile as her student grinned next to her. "She's more free-spirited than Sophia," she smiled again as the woman at her side chuckled sheepishly.
"Hiya," she sent Naruto a curious wave.
Noel was around the same height as Sophia and held a more boyish charm to her expressions and eyes, her short razor-cut hair not helping in that regard.
"So, like, what is the dealio with you? I mean, I'm in on the 'secret' with Sophia over there," she whispered, surprising the man. "Hehe, you're looking at the most recent Ninth Warrior."
"Well, congrats, honestly. I've seen just how strong you have to be to even get into the single-digits," Naruto praised her, the woman grinning in embarrassment. "... Hmmm," he considered something with a growing grin, Rafaela nodding.
"I knew this was coming," she said as Luciela chuckled.
"So, what would you say to a spar?" Naruto offered with a big grin as Noel perked up.
"Sure!" She answered immediately as Sophia shook her head in her hands. "Oh, come on, Soph, this should be fun!"
"How did I allow her to get above me?" Sophia wondered in horror as Uranus sweatdropped.
"Once again, beauty queen," she said to the chuckling others.
~NRK~
Naruto hummed as he gave Rafaela his cloak, stretching out his arms, as Clare looked up at Teresa at his side.
"H-He's gonna fight them?" She asked and the woman nodded.
"It'll be good for Naruto, and us," Teresa grinned competitively as the girl giggled. "To know how he fares. From what I learned over the years from Luciela and Rafaela, Naruto was apparently quite a force to be reckoned with."
"S-So, um, was he always like you?"
"Nope, and those are all the times I know about. This is Naruto with an additional skill set… and more power than he could ever handle before."
Walking out into the middle of the Training Ground, Naruto hummed as he felt all the eyes on the three of them.
'This is them getting a read on me,' it was fair, Naruto wasn't even sure what he was capable of. "How should I start this?" He considered his options.
From the past hour and a half of consciousness, he'd learned some things about his powers.
One, the more human side of him had the ability to coat himself and other people in its power. It could muffle sounds and dampen blows.
Two, his left arm and side, his yoki energy-powered limb, had a weird ability to shoot out energy.
Projection and protection of yoki, that's kinda what he got but he knew more than that, didn't he?
His human half was powerful and allowed the destruction of the 'urge to eat guts' while bringing his yoki under control. That and his ability to seal energy to a certain 'point' like he had, ahem, earlier with Luciela.
'Projection, extension, protection, senses, yoki control, and sealing, kinda,' he thought as Noel grinned in front of him. "I'm gonna be learning more about myself just as much as you two will be," Naruto chuckled sheepishly as Sophia raised a brow. "I'm not used to this body of mine, Sophi, I don't really know my limits."
She pouted at his nickname, getting another chuckle out of him. "You'll learn in due time that single digits are majestic beings who aren't measuring tools, SIR."
The man's nervous grin got a chuckle out of Noel.
"Come on! Let's see how strong the so-called Awakened Man is," she said with a bit of excitement, blade held aloft as Sophia grumbled before doing the same. "So, uh, will you be getting another spear or what?"
Naruto hummed, tail coming up and around his shoulder. "... No, like this, I think I'm good," he smiled. "Come on, youngsters, don't leave this old man waiting," he said in amusement as Noel laughed while Sophia rolled her eyes once more.
"Honestly. Mistress, would you be so kind?" She asked the amused Uranus who nodded before coming up to the point between the two sides. 'I shall show her how well my training has gone!' Sophia thought with only a slight apology to the man across from her. 'Sorry, Mr. Uzumaki, but I have to prove my worth to Uranus.'
No hard feelings.
"Alright then the fight will begin the moment my arm drops," Uranus said to both sides.
Sophia nodded seriously while Noel widened her stance and crouched low.
Naruto meanwhile, came to a realization. 'Oh, now I kind of get it,' he thought as Uranus hummed.
Uranus's arm fell.
And the two Warriors appeared at the man's sides, borrowed blunt blades swung at his chest and head respectively.
His right arm and knee lifted.
And Luciela blinked along with the others as the floor cracked, leaving Sophia and Noel's shocked forms jumping back from Naruto's curious gaze.
There were two 'flows' to yoki.
One of offensive, known in certain warriors and making them 'offensive-types', with the latter being true about the 'defensive flow' making some warriors 'defensive-types'.
It was a rule of yoki and it lived on even in the Awakened Beings and the Abyssal Ones beyond that level.
Riful had been an offensive-type but lucked out with having an Awakened body that could attack with a powerful defensive hint to it.
Isley was also of the same variant, being an offensive type that gained long-range in addition to increased physical prowess.
With offensive-types, they gained more powerful attacks and physically-'aligned' bodies. Even if they'd gotten tougher due to having stronger yoki and muscles, they were still easier to deal with in comparison to a defensive-type Awakened Being.
Looking at his glowing limbs, Naruto nodded. "That's how it is with me," he chuckled. "So," he looked at his left arm-
And vanished before the two single-digits' eyes. "What?" Noel looked around before jumping away from a feeling of intensive yoki with Sophia. 'That sheer amount of yoki is unreal!' She stared at the black arm of the oddest being to ever live in the Organization.
And its distorted-looking visage.
'... It's yoki,' Sophia realized in an instant. 'That's pure yoki coming from his arm but it's different,' less vile, less sickening to feel and look at.
What the hell had become of this human's body?
"Alright," Naruto crossed his arms with a nod. "So, I figured it's kinda like this," he held up a finger with a chuckle. "I'm both an offensive-type, in my left arm, and a defensive-type Warrior in my body," he explained with a nod as they looked at him in surprise.
"What? How?" Noel blinked while Sophia frowned. "I mean, I don't get it."
"Well, I've always been good at being able to separate the powers, when I sensed them, anyway," he began as she nodded attentively while Sophia shot her a flat look. "But, as Single Digits, you know more than that. You know how I came to be like this so if my senses understood the difference-"
"The sides separated inside of you based on your Awakening?" Noel asked in disbelief as he shrugged.
"Best bet I can come up with. So, my more defensive powers are able to use energy to enhance my limbs so I can block your blades while my offensive side is something I'm still figuring out."
Sistina cupped her chin at that. "Curious," but she felt like Naruto wasn't fully correct. "... Clare," she asked the girl softly.
Clare jumped before looking embarrassed, Sistina chuckling at her bashful head down. "Y-Yes?"
"Can I see your weapon for a moment?"
The girl and Teresa looked confused before the older female ushered her student forward.
Doing as she was asked, Clare blinked as Sistina nodded.
"Naruto!" She called out to the Awakened Man, throwing the blade at him. "Use your powers on this," Sistina told him as he caught the blade with his normal-skin-color hand. "I feel like your understanding needs a bit more experimentation," she explained as she got closer before widening her senses.
Naruto's eyes widened before he nodded. "I guess this makes sense," he said to his opponents who blinked.
He held out the blade by his chest with his black hand and held his more normal-looking hand over it.
Sophia's eyes widened as a bluish glow formed along the length of the blade before forming a haze-like energy around it.
"So, I was right," Sistina said, confusing Noel.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Naruto's explanation wasn't wrong but it's lacking," the man sweatdropped. "Due to previous experience with it, I know he can imbue certain qualities of yoki to things and people. So, right now, that blade's properties should be partially defensive."
"Well, you heard, sis," Naruto grinned. "I'm wizard~," he said with an ominous tone as Noel snickered.
Sophia huffed. "Can you please stop changing the meaning of things?"
"Sorry," Naruto smiled.
And her head barely tilted to the side as the energy on the blade shot past her cheek, cutting it a bit.
"?!"
"?!"
Noel and she jumped back in shock as the man's grin turned playful before he gave chase, disappearing before reappearing in front of Noel.
The younger warrior's eyes narrowed as she grinned before her form turned mid-air in an act of flexibility and core strength that brought her blade up towards his armpit from her now-upside-down position.
Naruto's form was above her before she swung, her eyes wide.
'Before I could swing?!' How?!
Sophia grit her teeth before thrusting her weapon at the airborne Naruto's midsection before he blocked the weapon with the side of his own.
He was flying for a moment, her strength much to her satisfaction, before he touched ground.
"Oh, no wonder you're Ura's student," the woman in question looked proud. "Yep," he shot her a thumbs-up.
His left arm then raised before his forearm caught the edge of Sophia's blade, the floor crushed beneath his feet.
Irene was simply too surprised by his energy blocking. 'It's like it clumps together at the point of contact,' and she wasn't too sure of this but…
It wasn't all voluntary effort, the man's energy itself reacted to danger like a crumpling rag, softening, absorbing, and/or nullifying the blow by using excess energy.
'But he's not feeling the strain at all,' the amount of energy was almost absurd. 'And… W-Wait!' Her eyes widened.
"You can feel it, can't you?" Rafaela asked her tall student who jumped before swallowing and nodding. "Naru's energy is damn near limitless from over here."
Teresa nodded to that. "It's so vast and deep that it almost seems unlimited," she told Irene, Elizabeth, Otie, and Cassandra.
The former Number 1 nodded to that. "And it's slowly becoming more controlled," she told them as Teresa grinned.
Naruto's arm flashed before Noel was sent flying.
Her feet touched ground before dragging through it, bracing her body as she came to a harsh stop by Sophia, the tens of meters between her and Naruto not small. "W-What the hell?"
"Spiritual energy," Naruto said with a smile. "My energy's pretty dense, ya know?" He told them before widening his stance, blade held back by his right hand while his black hand clawed over the blade's flat side. "!" His eyes narrowed, silver orbs glowing with an ethereal light.
The ground around him cracked as the air distorted, alarming Noel while Sophia felt some sweat drip down her brow.
'The amount of yoki is ridiculous,' it was nearly incomprehensible. 'And he's going to-'
"HAA!"
The attack tore between them, just fast enough to shock them before the two jumped apart.
And then they stared along with their fellow Warriors at the trough that carved through the ground all the way from the man to the space behind them.
"The yoki arm can project energy," Naruto chuckled as he stood up properly and walked towards the two, flipping the blade-end of his weapon in between his fingers. "Sis."
Sistina caught the thrown blade with a nod. "Is that as far as you can reach?" She asked him as Naruto hummed.
"I mean, I'm only kinda good at controlling my yoki side so probably not."
"I figured," Sistina said as Naruto smacked his fist into his palm. "That said, Sophia and Noel might be disheartened."
"I-I'm kinda all for this," Noel admitted with an embarrassed grin as the much older Warrior raised her brow. "I-It's like fighting a friendly Awakened Being! I could totally get stronger like this… ma'am," she said quickly as Sistina rolled her eyes.
"I'll accept the 'ma'am' comment, youngin'," Noel grinned cheekily as the old woman huffed. "Honestly, still, what of you, Young Sophia?" Sistina kinda saw what Naruto did about this.
It was kind of fun being the oldest there.
Sophia frowned before observing the damage again and making her decision. "I won't stand down, not until I'm beaten and bloodied," she declared to Naruto who smiled.
"We don't need to go that far but I accept your resolve," the blonde man said as he crossed his arms. "Then, I'll hit you with everything I've got. If we're gonna use this session to the fullest, let's not hold back. Come at me with 30%, I'll ensure it doesn't do any actual damage to you while giving it my all."
Sophia looked surprised while Noel nodded eagerly.
"I'm hitting 30%, teach," she said to Elizabeth who nodded.
"Very well, don't go beyond but fight to your heart's extent," the religious Warrior smiled.
"... T-Then, Mistress, I…" Sophia began but Uranus's smile said it all. "... 30%, at your leisure."
"Go a bit crazy," the gruff woman grinned.
And the air around the two distorted, cracking the ground around their feet while veins popped up around their faces.
Golden eyes with slit pupils burned with power as their owners prepared to attack.
Naruto closed his eyes. 'I can feel it,' he thought as he felt 'that point' between his body's two energies. 'I'm gonna run into it with all my heart!'
That point created by feeding his two sides together expanded.
Luciela's eyes widened at the sight of burning red while Rafaela felt nothing.
What was that energy?
"Um, is this how he 'Awakens'?" Teresa wondered as the sisters' eyes widened while she nodded. "There, at the point where both his energies would meet, there's been something building for all these years," she told the others who stared at her.
"R-Really?" Otie asked as her eyes went back to the glowing blonde. "Does it really do all of this?"
The man's form glowed with a vibrant red power that came from his left arm and tail, the normally black flesh now a powerful red as his eye and cheek marks returned in full force while with his hair glowing bright yellow.
"It seems almost impossible," Elizabeth said with her eyes closed. "I… I don't feel his energy, even with how obvious it is, I don't feel that form's signature."
"It's true," Luciela said, eyes alight with her lover's red glow. "Whatever this form does, it's… it's not using yoki, spiritual strength, or Natural Energy mixing in with both, it's something different."
'What does it do?' Rafaela wondered with her senses pushed to their utmost limits. '... No, wait, I do feel something,' it was faint, she almost couldn't feel it.
But as the Warrior toted to hold the greatest of sensory skills, she felt it.
The energy was like being in a vat of heat, it coiled in the body and released so much within him.
Limits. That power wasn't sense-able because it wasn't energy.
"It's his limits," she realized as the others looked at her. "That red form, it's dangerous," Rafaela said as Naruto's eyes opened.
Brilliant, clear, red orbs stared back at the two Warriors across from him.
"The power of yoki that unleashes one's full bodily abilities and his heightened spiritual strength's power to keep his yoki's powers under control, it's a fusion of the two. Likely, right now, Naruto's entire body and soul is at his disposal to fight with."
The feeling within him was indescribable. Naruto wasn't even sure of his own power, at first.
But he realized what this feeling was moments later. 'Freedom,' in one word, that's what he could call it.
His body wasn't limited, his energy wasn't limited, and his mind was clear.
This Power of True Awakening had brought him up to his true potential.
He grinned.
Noel hadn't been able to react, not consciously, the man's speed had become something she couldn't follow, something her body only reacted to on instinct.
The fist to the side of her sword had crushed to the ground beneath her before she saw his true, reared-back, threat.
Sophia's blade swung around, slamming into the side of the man's red limb but was rewarded with no movement, not even a shake.
Like trying to cut a brick wall with a butterknife, the toughness of his skin had become something she couldn't get through, not like this.
Her eyes narrowed and her arm throbbed.
The man was sent flying… for a second, form flipping through the air and landing without a hint of effort, the smile on his face nearly euphoric but it was barely controlled and likely was hard to.
Then Naruto reared back his red arm again.
Sophia's first instinct had been to grab Noel.
The second was to run.
The two of them were already out of the way before 'it' struck.
An enormous amount of wind pressure that still beat against their backs but wasn't a direct hit.
By the time they were a fair distance away to look, she found her heart dropping as they turned around.
Naruto shook his fist as a path of destruction shot away from him and seemed to stop unnaturally several meters away from any onlookers.
Sistina was left blinking in surprise as she landed a bit away, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank the goddess, I thought we'd have to wake you up," she told him even as she surveyed the damage. 'That technique would likely cow most regular Awakened Beings,' good, very good, still… "How are you feeling?"
"..." Naruto considered his left arm with a controlled breath, the red fading away before he groaned and hit his rear end. "Hot as hell," he told her with a huff. "Yeah, okay, that doesn't last long enough to be useful," he whined as she blinked before jogging over to him, Luciela and the others following suit.
Uranus walked towards her protege who dropped her raised yoki levels, looking embarrassed and defeated.
Uranus chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You did well, it's good to know when you're up against stupid-looking odds and retreat," she chuckled nervously as they surveyed the damage again. "Wow, he's gonna be a beast when he actually gets all his power under control."
"T-That man is obscene!" Sophia pouted as her mentor chuckled some more while Elizabeth made it over.
"Noel? Are you well?" The religious woman asked her student who sighed.
"I literally got saved by Sophia way too many times," Noel whined as her teammate rubbed the back of her head.
"I'd barely call it saving if we still felt it," she mumbled before Uranus threw an arm around her shoulder.
"Ya did well, at least, this master of yours thinks so," she told her as Elizabeth smiled.
"And, remember, Naruto's fought for far longer, has similar energy control and sensing ability to Rafaela," the two choked. "And, clearly, has strength and energy reserves that overtook even Sophia's once he had that form, it's not wrong for you to feel defeated but it wasn't a fair fight in the first place."
"M-Ma'am, we're single digits," Sophia said weakly as Uranus nodded.
"Yep."
"..." So, she was just going to say that.
That Naruto Uzumaki could handle the two of them on his own without any explanation?
Yes? Okay then, Sophia felt like she needed to sit down.
"You know some ridiculous people, Mistress," Noel chuckled bashfully as her master smiled.
"I do, I wouldn't trade them for the world," Elizabeth stated.
~NRK~
Yeah, um, I know what I said in the chapter of Atlas Wilds but this just sort of jumped out at me and I needed to write it.
So, I hope you enjoyed Naruto and Luciela's 'reunion' in as much platonic sense as I can muster via words. Anything beyond that kind of 'enjoyment' is for you and you alone to think on.
So, Naruto's skill set has officially been solidified.
Energy Projection, only from his right arm unless his limits are released.
Energy-Enhanced Defenses from his left side.
Enhanced Strength, Speed, and Durability on par with a single digit before his limits are released.
His sensory skills are upgraded but that's not quantifiable. Though, he's got the offensive and defensive abilities of Warriors and can 'Imbue' his energies into things but we knew that already from last chapter.
Now, all he's lacking is his actual weapon which will come with fun improvements to his skills.
So, I hope this was a fun read, it was fun for me to write so I wish for that to translate well.
Ciao. God knows what I'll be working on next.
~NRK Out~