Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! Here we'll be seeing the Cait Shelter team beginning their search for Zoro, only for things to become very difficult very quickly. Along with introducing some new characters as well. So, without further ado.

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"Anyone else thinking that any job we go on that seems simple, really isn't?" Naruto asked with a deadpan expression, as he, Wendy, Flare, and Carla stood outside a massive dark forest, with the girls also having matching deadpan looks.

"Yep." Replied Wendy.

"Ditto." Flare said.

"I blame you." Stated Carla, with Naruto giving her a side glare, before looking back at the forest.

After leaving Shimotsuki, the Cait Shelter team had gone to where Zoro was originally going, and miraculously, they managed to find the path he took. Which involved several "shortcuts", that had them backtracking a few times to take the actual path. Eventually reaching the town, that the swordsman had been heading to. Where they asked around to see if anyone had seen him in, or around, the town.

Luckily, it seemed like Zoro had made it to the town, unluckily for them, they learned he had already left two days ago to head back to Shimotsuki Village. Even more unlucky, was they learned he had gone through a place called the Forest of Death, much to the team's shock and chagrin. Given what they heard about the forest, it was filled with massive creatures that could give even S-Class Mages trouble.

And while it likely wasn't anything he couldn't handle on his own, given what they've heard about Zoro, but they still had a Job to complete. So, the group had set out for the forest to locate where Zoro was and bring him home.

Though when they had reached the forest, they saw numerous signs and a gate at the entrance, all of them warning anyone about entering at their own peril. With the Cait Shelter team starting to wish they could just get a simple Job, with no surprise encounters or learning it's more dangerous than expected.

"Choke on a hairball, cat. And let's get going." Said Naruto as they entered the forest, all of them hoping that they'll be able to find Zoro quickly, before encountering anything too dangerous.

Unknown to the team, while they had been searching for Zoro in town, they had caught the attention of a girl that's a few years older than them. The girl being interested in the fact they were searching for the same person that she was, leading to her following them.

'Zoro is in there? Good, hopefully I'll be able to find him before he gets too far away.' Thought the girl, while gripping her sword tightly and brushing some strands of her purple hair out of her face, before entering the forest.

Not long after, two boys walked up to the gates, one with blonde hair and one with black hair, while being followed by two anthropomorphic cats. One had red fur and wore a blue vest, while the other was green and wore a pink frog suit.

"This is that forest place, we heard about! Awesome, let's go! We're sure to encounter a lot of creatures to fight here." Said the blonde boy, eager at the chance to face creatures that could give S-Class Mages trouble.

"Are you sure about this Sting?" The black haired boy asked, while looking at his companion before regarding the forest warily.

While he knew they were strong, they definitely weren't on the level of S-Class Mages. Maybe they could fight some of the creatures, but they could still be overwhelmed.

"You worry too much Rogue; we can handle anything in this forest. After all, what are a couple animals compared to two Dragon Slayers." Said Sting smirking, fully confident that they can take out anything in the forest.

"Yeah! Sting and Rogue will take down anything in there!" The red cat said.

"Frosch agrees with Lector, Rogue can fight anything!" Said Frosch, while smiling up at Rogue, with the Dragon Slayer sighing, before nodding.

"Alright, but I'm reserving the right to say I told you so." Rogue stated as they entered the forest.

"And I reserve the right to laugh, when we walk out of here completely fine." Retorted Sting, not knowing just how badly that was going to come back to bite him.

*With the Cait Shelter Team*

Meanwhile, the Cait Shelter team had continued their trek through the forest, while thankfully not having encountered any creatures yet. But they also haven't found any sign for which way Zoro could have gone, either.

"This is impossible! Zoro could be anywhere in this damn forest and we wouldn't have any idea where, because of how big this place is!" Naruto shouted in frustration, doubting they'll be able to find Zoro before he finds his own way out of the forest.

"As much as it pains me to admit, he's right. It might be best if we were to split up into teams, that way we can cover more ground." Suggested Carla, hating that she just agreed with Naruto, but knew he was right, they wouldn't find Zoro by searching together.

The best thing they could do is split up to search for the direction challenged swordsman. With Wendy and Flare thinking it over for a few moments before, both girls nodded.

"Yeah, that might be best. If any of us encounter trouble, we can launch a spell into the air as a signal." Flare said, with the others nodding in agreement.

"Okay. I'll go with Naruto-kun." Said Wendy, with Flare's head immediately snapping towards her with narrow eyes.

"What? I think I'll go with Naruto-kun instead, since our magics would complement each other better." Flare stated, while smirking, with the bluenette narrowing her eyes at her.

"If you want to talk about compatibility, then I'm better suited to go with Naruto-kun." Retorted Wendy, as the two girls looked at each other with narrowed eyes.

"Well I believe Wendy and I should be paired together, since we've known each other the longest." Carla said, with Flare smirking.

"Agreed. And since Naruto-kun and I have known each other the longest, that'll make us the perfect team." Said Flare, with Wendy scowling slightly at this.

"Alright, Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide. Whoever wins will go with Naruto-kun and the two that lose will be paired together." Wendy said, with Flare nodding, while Carla rolled her eyes but nodded.

The three girls held their fists out before chanting "Rock-Paper-Scissors" then throwing their hands out, only to be shocked at the results.

With Wendy and Flare having thrown at scissors, while Carla threw out rock.

"Best two out of three!" The girls said quickly, with Flare and Wendy wanting to try again to be paired with Naruto, while Carla refused to be paired with him.

"No! No more games! We're already wasting enough time arguing about who's paired with who! Wendy and Flare are paired together, and I'm stuck with the damn cat! We may not like it, but we can't waste any more time when we just found Zoro's trail." Said Naruto, not liking being paired with Carla either, but knew they didn't have time to argue or decide on teams.

They needed to keep moving now, or else they'll risk losing Zoro's trail more than they probably already have with this delay.

This made the girls nod reluctantly, knowing they had to focus on the Job, rather than their own personal desires.

"Hmph, Fine. But try not to slow me down, delinquent." Carla stated as she and Naruto went down one path.

"Just try not to get distracted by chasing your own tail." Retorted Naruto.

"Let's get going Flare." Wendy muttered as they went down their own path, both disappointed at not getting their preferred partner, but accepted the chosen teams.

Not long after, the purple haired girl arrived and looked down the paths with narrowed eyes.

'Which one could Zoro have gone down?' She wondered, before eventually deciding to take the same path Naruto and Carla went down.

With it not being long before Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch arrived as well.

"Which path should we take Sting?" Lector asked, as the Dragon Slayer crossed his arms and looked at the paths.

"Hmm, well that one has more light, which I could use. But that one has more shadows, which Rogue could use. So I say…the one with more shadows! That way I'll get a better challenge from anything we encounter." Sting said, while smirking, with Rogue sighing, but nodded as they went down the same path that Wendy and Flare had gone down.

*With Naruto and Carla*

Walking down the path, Naruto and Carla both frowned, since neither of them were happy at the fact they were stuck being paired up together.

Scratch that, they absolutely hated it!

Glancing at each other, the two immediately looked away with matching scowls on their faces, knowing if they tried interacting with each other, a fight will break out between them. And without Flare and Wendy around to act as the mediators, there wouldn't be anything to hold them back from actually breaking out into a fight, this time around.

And while they wouldn't mind it at all, to finally get the chance to throw down and put the other in their place. They were on a Job at the moment and knew now wasn't the time or place to be fighting each other.

Naruto then stopped when he caught sight of some cut branches off to the side. Looking, he saw even more going down a straight path through the forest.

"Hey, I think Zoro went this way. There's a lot of branches that look to have been cut with a sword." Naruto said, while pointing to the branch's, with Carla scoffing.

"I highly doubt that Zoro did that, it was probably just some animal with claws that are long, like a sword. We should just keep following the path and we'll find him, soon enough." Said Carla, refusing to trust Naruto's judgement and end up getting them killed.

"What animal would bother cutting branches, when it could probably knock the trees down?" Naruto demanded, annoyed that she's just brushing off his suggestion.

"Well what swordsman would bother using their sword to cut branches, when there's a clear path?!" Retorted Carla.

"Probably the kind that has a terrible sense of direction! Just like you, ya damn fleabag!" Shouted Naruto, while glaring at the transformed cat.

"What?! Fleabag?! How dare you, I am not some mangy mutt that rolls around in the dirt, like you!" Carla yelled, while glaring at Naruto.

"Could have fooled me!" Growled Naruto as flames began wafting off his fists, while Carla hissed and began glowing with light.

Before either of them could do anything else, they froze when they felt something dripping down onto them. Looking, the two saw what looked like saliva had dripped onto them. Before the two slowly looked up, only to pale when they saw several gigantic, adult-sized bats hanging from the trees. And they all seemed to be glaring at them for having woken them up with their shouting.

"B-ba-ba-ba-" Carla stuttered, freaking out at the size of the bats and how many there were.

"BATS!" Shouted Naruto, just as the bats all screeched, before dropping down from the trees and flying towards Naruto and Carla.

Not wanting to risk fighting such creatures, Naruto and Carla took off running away from the bats, which flew after them.

"Hell Flame Dragon's Claw!" Naruto said, while coating his hands in hellfire before slashing at the trees they ran past, knocking them down to hopefully stall the bats.

"Light Powder!" Said Carla, while blowing out a cloud of powder towards the bats, which then came in contact with the light shining through the trees, causing it to shine brightly and make the bats screech in pain as they were blinded by the bright light.

The two continued running, before coughing when they ran past some trees that was releasing clouds of pollen. With Naruto and Carla shaking their heads, when they felt their minds become a little fuzzy, before blinking a few times when their vision started becoming clouded as well.

"Hey! I think I see an exit up ahead! That must be the way Zoro went!" Said Naruto when his vision cleared up and saw an opening through the trees.

"HA! See, I told you we'd be able to find him by following the path!" Carla taunted, with Naruto rolling his eyes in annoyance, knowing he wouldn't ever hear the end of this.

"Whatever let's just-wait, what's that sound?" Said Naruto, while frowning when he heard something strange.

"What? Are you hearing things now, as well?" Said Carla mockingly, only to go quiet when she started hearing something as well.

"No I'm not! It actually sounds like…running water?" Naruto said, confused as to why he was hearing water, when they weren't near a river or any body of water.

Only for it to become clear as when they reached the "exit", the two cried out in surprise when rather than come out of the forest, they ended up falling into a river.

"What was that about following the path?!" Naruto asked mockingly, as they fought to stay above the rushing water.

"Is now really the time?!" Carla demanded, while glaring at him, not believing he'd bring that up now.

"Yes!" Naruto stated, knowing if they drowned, he's making sure to have one over on the cat.

Thankfully, the two had managed to swim close enough to shore and grab a tree branch hanging over the river. Much to their relief, as they saw that not too far ahead of them was a waterfall. Unfortunately, while they were now safe from drowning or going over a waterfall, they were now completely lost.

"Oh yes, let's follow the path straight to a river, brilliant idea! What's next? Are we gonna go jump into a volcano, or maybe go swimming in frozen water?!" Naruto asked sarcastically as he wringed out his wet clothes, while Carla growled as she wrung out her hair.

"Go stick your head in a furnace!" Retorted Carla as they moved away from the river and back into the forest, soon arriving in a small clearing between the trees.

Knowing they likely wouldn't be able to find Zoro any time soon now, and needing to dry off, the two set out gathering wood for a fire. Eventually having enough, with Naruto lighting it with his magic, before the two stripped out of their wet clothes and hung them up near the fire to dry. Knowing it wouldn't do them any good, if they ended up getting sick, before sitting close to the fire to get warm.

Though this left Naruto in his boxers and Carla in her matching black bra and panties. With Naruto being unable keep himself from glancing at her a few times, while hating the fact that he actually found her a little…attractive.

With it not helping, that her ears and tails only added to her appeal.

"Quit staring at me, you perv!" Carla said, while glaring at Naruto and crossing her arms over her bra-clad chest, with the Dragon Slayer scoffing.

"Please, like I'd ever look at you. You may have forgotten, but I still know you're just little kitty cat." Taunted Naruto, but despite himself, he still couldn't help but stare.

The whiskered blonde then seeing how Carla's own eyes seemed to turn to him a couple times as well.

"Ah-ha! Look who's talking about staring! You say I'm staring, but you're doing the same to me!" Naruto said, while pointing accusingly at Carla, with the transformed cat scoffing this time.

"As if! If I'm staring, it's only because I can't believe I'm stuck out here with the likes of you! Nothing more, nothing less!" Retorted Carla, but like with Naruto, she still found herself staring.

While the two didn't like each other, they also couldn't deny that they were starting to feel a measure of attraction for one another.

"We should probably go find something to eat." Carla said as she began standing up, and wanting a distraction, with Naruto following.

"Oh yes, what brilliant plan do you have this time?" Naruto asked sarcastically, as Carla gave him a glare.

"And what, pray tell, would you have us do?" Carla retorted, while putting her hands on her hips.

"We could try going back to the river and catch some fish." Naruto suggested.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?! What, just because I'm a cat, you think I'm obsessed with eating fish?!" Demanded Carla, thinking he was making a jab at her.

"No, but you know what they say, if the shoe fits!" Naruto said as the two glared at each other.

"Well we're going hunting and that's final!" Stated Carla, while stomping her foot in emphasis.

"Fine! I'll enjoy watching you fail!" Retorted Naruto as they went off into the forest.

"Hmph, we'll see who fails and just for that, you won't be getting anything that I catch." Carla said, confident that she'll be able to catch something to eat.

Naruto rolled his eyes but followed Carla, believing she'll fail at being able to catch anything to eat. But would at least get some entertainment out of watching her failed attempts.

The two soon coming across a decent sized boar, with Carla immediately setting her sights on it.

"See, we've already found something." Said Carla, while smirking, with Naruto shrugging before jumping up into a tree and laying on the branch.

"Have fun catching it." Naruto said, with the transformed cat frowning in annoyance at him.

"You aren't going to help?!" Demanded Carla.

"Nope. You wanted to go hunting, then you can catch the boar." Answered Naruto, with Carla scowling, but nodded.

"Fine, but don't expect to get any of my meal." Carla stated as she moved through the trees getting closer to the boar, waiting for the moment to grab it.

Once Carla was close enough, she crouched down as her claws came out, with the girl smirking before jumping out towards the boar. Grunting as she managed to pin it down, before grabbing it, with the animal squealing and fighting the entire time. Before finally, Carla managed to grab hold of it, while smiling victoriously.

"HA! In your face, I caught it all on my own! Enjoy trying to find your own because I…have…" Carla said smugly before she slowed down as her eyes widened feeling several puffs of air hitting her.

Slowly, Carla turned around, only to pale when she saw a much larger boar glaring at her, obviously the mother of the one she had captured. Laughing nervously, Carla set the boar down, which quickly ran behind its mother and oinked angrily at her.

"Ehehehe…uh, would it help if I said I was sorry?" Carla asked, only for the boar to squeal angrily and charge towards her, with the girl running away with a scream.

"Help me you idiot! For the love of Kami, help me!" Carla screamed as she tried to escape the angry boar.

"You got this cat!" Said Naruto, while smirking from his spot as he listened to Carla be chased.

Only for his eyes to snap open, when he was knocked out of the tree by the boar crashing into it, hitting the ground with a grunt. Looking, Naruto paled when he saw the boar now glaring at him, before seeing Carla running away, the Dragon Slayer immediately ran after her, with the boar in hot pursuit.

"What the hell is your problem?! You just left me back there!" Naruto shouted.

"Me?! You're the one who didn't try helping me in the first place!" Retorted Carla.

"This was your stupid idea! I was just letting you do it!" Said Naruto as the two glared at each other, before they continued running to escape the angry boar.

Thankfully, they soon escaped the boar, before stopping as they panted tiredly from how long they've been running, both from the bats from earlier, and now the boar. But once they caught their breath, the two immediately glared angrily at each other.

"That's it! I have had enough of you and your attitude!" Carla yelled as she began glowing with light.

"I've had enough of you entirely! Ever since we entered this damn forest, everything you've wanted to do has led to us being chased and falling into a river! If we had gone my way, we probably would have found Zoro by now!" Shouted Naruto with flames wafting off his body.

"If we had gone your way, we probably would have been in a worse situation! We're only in this situation because you chose to argue more than listen to me!" Retorted Carla.

"I could say the same about you, but fine! You wanna be the leader so bad, then let's settle it here and now! The winner gets to be the leader and the loser keeps their mouth shut!" Naruto said.

"Happily!" Replied Carla, while nodding in agreement, glad for the chance to finally put him in his place.

The two walked away from each other, before turning around to face the other. Both of them eager to kick the other's ass. Especially now that they didn't have to worry about anyone trying to stop them, this time around.

"Hell Flame Dragon's Blazing Inferno!" Naruto shouted, while throwing his hands forward and unleashing a wave of hellfire at Carla.

Though he held back from using all his strength, since he didn't wanting to actually hurt Carla. He just wanted to knock her down a couple pegs.

With Carla jumping into the air, avoiding the flames.

"Light Disc!" Said Carla, while holding her hands out and forming two discs of light.

Which she threw at Naruto, before forming more discs and throwing them at him as well.

"Energy-Make: Shield!" Naruto said, before forming a dome shield of energy around him, protecting himself from the Light Discs.

Dropping his shield once the discs stopped coming. Naruto frowned, when he didn't see Carla anywhere.

"Woah." Naruto said, stumbling slightly when the ground under him began tilting, before stumbling back, when it promptly tilted the other way.

Shaking his head, Naruto saw his vision growing distorted, the boy soon realizing she was using illusions to mess with him and hide herself. This being proven true, when he grunted as he was hit with a beam of light in the back, as Carla reappeared, smirking.

"Light Beam." Said Carla, while firing another beam of light at Naruto, with the Dragon Slayer now being able to dodge the attack by rolling to the side to avoid it.

"Energy-Make: Arrows!" Naruto said, while spreading his arms out as several energy arrows formed around him, which he promptly launched at Carla.

Who's eyes widened, as she jumped out of the way of the arrows, grunting when a few managed to graze her

"Light Barrage!" Said Carla, while launching out several balls of light, which Naruto dodged and ducked through.

"Missed me!" Naruto taunted, only to see Carla smirking, before his eyes widened at seeing the light orbs were still around, suspended in the air.

"Light Impact!" Carla said, while throwing her arms down, as the orbs to home in on Naruto before detonating upon impact.

The boy immediately threw up his Energy-Make: Shield at the last second, grunting as the orbs exploded around him. Cracking his shield slightly, but it still held strong.

Once the explosions faded, Naruto dropped his shield and slammed his hands on the ground.

"Hell Flame Dragon's Fire Wall!" Naruto said, as a circle of flames shot up around Carla, surprising her.

"Energy-Make: Chains!" Said Naruto, while shooting a chain out of his palm towards Carla, which wrapped around the girl, before he grabbed the chain and yanked Carla into the air

The girl crying out, before grunting in pain when she was slammed into the ground, with the chain fading around her. Though before she could get up, she was pinned to the ground by Naruto, who held a flaming fist over her.

"Give up." Naruto ordered, with Carla glaring at him and grunted as she tried to throw him off of her, only to stop when he moved his fist closer.

"The only reason you aren't hurt more, is because Wendy cares about you and we're still teammates. Now either give up or get knocked out." Said Naruto, with the transformed cat scowling in anger and chagrin.

"Fine! I…give up." Carla muttered, hating that she was taken down and that Naruto was holding back, with him now the leader.

Nodding, Naruto extinguished his flames and stood up, before offering Carla a hand, which she reluctantly took.

"You were pretty good and have a good handle on your Illusion and Light Magic. Give it some time and more experience, and you'll be a powerful mage." Said Naruto, admitting that Carla has made some good progress, despite having just started training and using her magic, with his words surprising the girl since she didn't expecting the compliments.

"…Thanks." Muttered Carla as they headed back to camp.

*Later*

After reaching their camp, the two had gone and caught some fish, before cooking them and putting their now dry clothes back on. With the two putting out the fire, before going out to resume their search for Zoro now that they've rested and eaten.

With the two actually managing to make some headway in their search, with Naruto in charge and Carla following his lead. Since they now had an established leader, they weren't constantly butting heads and wrestling for control from each other, anymore. With Naruto soon catching sight of more slash marks on trees and cut branches, like he had seen earlier. Though he also saw that some looked rougher and less straight, as well.

"Carla, what do you think made those marks?" Naruto asked, with Carla glancing at the slashes and cut branches, now really looking at them rather than just dismissing them, like before.

"They're straight and refined, unlike if they were made by the claws of an animal. If it they were made by claws, they'd be more jagged and rough. But these are precise and done swiftly, so they very well likely were made by a sword. But those ones, those were definitely done by claws." Said Carla, while pointing to the more rough cuts, with Naruto nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, so it's possible Zoro came through here and fought some of the creatures here. Which way do you think he went?" Naruto asked as they looked around, before Carla pointed in a specific direction.

"That way, I can smell faint traces of a human scent. It's likely he ended up going in a different direction, after fighting whatever he did." Said Carla, with Naruto nodding again.

"Then let's get going, hopefully he came through here recently, and is still nearby." Naruto said as they began following the trail, with Carla glancing at the Dragon Slayer curiously.

This wasn't the first time he's asked for her input on something, after they set out again. Carla had expected that he'd just take enjoyment in ordering her around and end up leading them around in circles. But instead, they were actually making progress in their search. And he surprisingly asked her opinion on things they've encountered and listened to her advice as well.

With Carla not expecting to see this side of Naruto, one she usually has never seen before. But she supposed that was due to her always butting heads with him and calling him out for being a delinquent in her eyes.

While Naruto was also seeing another side of Carla, as well. Having believed that she was just a stuck up cat, that believed she was superior to everyone else and knew everything. Along with always being on his case and nagging him. But now he's seeing that she was pretty knowledgeable and did know stuff, while seeing how she was keeping her end of the deal to let him take the lead.

Eventually, they saw it was getting dark, so they decided to stop and set up camp for the night and made another fire.

"You know, I was wrong. You actually do know where you're going." Carla stated, giving him a backhanded compliment.

"Thanks and you aren't as stuck up and annoying as I originally believed." Replied Naruto, while giving his own backhanded compliment.

"Hmph. Out of curiosity, where did you learn to navigate the forest?" Carla asked.

"My dad, Atlas Flame. He taught me to observe my surroundings and be aware of the tiniest details, so I can always know where I am and which way I'm going. I also picked up some other navigation skills after Flare and I left Sun Village. Along with some other skills, like learning how to fish." Answered Naruto.

"And yet you never could learn any manners." Taunted Carla, without any actual bite.

"And you never learned how to pull that mile long stick out of your ass." Naruto replied, with the cat girl gaping at him.

"I'll claw out your eyes in your sleep!" Hissed Carla.

"You'll be burned before you can get close." Retorted Naruto, with the two glaring at each other for a moment, though they didn't move to actually attack each other.

Their fight from earlier had helped them burn off some of their pent up aggression for one another, since they never really had a good outlet for it, until now. Along with helping them develop a mutual respect for each other. But that didn't mean they liked each other, just that they were more willing to get along, and work together, than constantly argue.

Though they soon turned their to the sound of rustling leaves, before they saw a girl walk out of the bushes.

She looked to be sixteen-years-old with hazel eyes and long purple hair in a hime-cut hairstyle, that reached her mid-back, while having a white headband in it. Which had a white ribbon that was tied to the middle of her headband, in a bow that pointed straight up. She also wore a red short-sleeved shirt under a white open-front layered jacket, along with long blue pants and brown boots, while carrying a sword.

With the sword being a nodachi, with its hilt being wrapped in a dark red color wrapping, which featured a gold pommel and studs along the hilt. There were bandages on the tsuba section of the sword, wrapping it tightly to the sword, with a white talisman that has the kanji for the word "seal" on it. Hanging underneath the tsuba, by a metal chain that was composed of two links. Additionally, the scabbard is white with a golden protector at the end, while decorated with a small golden design and a red colored rope tied on the lower section of the scabbard.

The three looking at each other in surprise. With Naruto and Carla not expecting to find someone else here, while the girl had hoped that the fire she saw was Zoro.

"Uh…hi." Naruto said, while waving at the girl.

"…Hello." Replied the girl.

"Who are you?" Questioned Carla, wary that the girl might prove to be an enemy.

"Kagura Mikazuchi." Kagura introduced with a slight bow.

"It's nice to meet you Kagura. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and the annoying one is Carla. We're members of Cait Shelter." Replied Naruto, while smiling at the older girl.

"What are you doing out here?" Carla questioned.

"I'm searching for Roronoa Zoro." Kagura answered, making the two tense at hearing what she was doing.

"For what purpose?" Asked Naruto, now wary as well, as Kagura held up her sword.

"I wish to challenge him and test myself against one of the greatest swordsmen in Fiore." Kagura said, wanting to see where her skill measured up to someone as renowned as Roronoa Zoro.

"Oh, well we're searching for Zoro too. His wife put up a Job Request to bring him home, since he has a terrible sense of direction and gets lost easily. If you want, you can join us in searching for him." Offered Naruto, upon seeing that the girls didn't have any ill intentions for Zoro.

"What?! We just met her and you're offering to let her join us?!" Carla demanded, not believing he'd let a potential enemy join them.

"Yeah, why not? She's searching for Zoro, like we are, and she doesn't mean him any harm. Since she only wants to challenge him to test her skill as a swordswoman. Besides, it'll be good to have an extra set of eyes in the search." Naruto said, not seeing a problem in letting Kagura join them.

"Tsk, fine, do whatever you want." Said Carla, while crossing her arms, but silently admitted that an extra set of eyes would be good.

"Great. What do you say Kagura, do you wanna join us?" Naruto asked, while looking at the swordswoman, with Kagura looking unsure at the idea of joining them.

Given she's more of a lone wolf and prefers working alone. Especially if she, for whatever reason, needed to draw Archenemy and didn't want anyone caught in the resulting destruction. Though she would admit that it would be good to have some help in her search, with it being even better that their goals align with each other.

"Very well." Kagura replied, while sitting down beside the fire, with Naruto and Carla nodding.

It wasn't long, until the newly formed trio called it a night. Though before they went to sleep, Naruto and Carla wondered how Wendy and Flare were doing in their own search.

*Earlier-With Wendy and Flare*

After splitting off from Naruto and Carla, Wendy and Flare journeyed through the forest, with them making better progress than their teammates currently were, at the moment. Though they also had to deal with the local fauna attacking them, though managing to deal with them or escape, if they were outmatched.

Eventually, it began getting late, with the two being able to find a place to set up camp, with Wendy and Flare looking at each other once everything was set up. Both knowing, that while they would have preferred to have been partnered with Naruto, also knew that they both had to talk.

"You like Naruto-kun." Flare stated, with Wendy nodding since she wasn't going to deny her feelings.

"Yes, and so do you." Replied Wendy, with Flare nodding as well.

"Of course I do, who wouldn't? He's just…he's always known the right things to say to make someone feel better or feel like they can do anything. He's loyal to a fault and would do anything for the sake of the people he loves." Said Flare as a small smile formed on her face, with the Dragon Slayer smiling as well, knowing that's exactly what Naruto was like.

"Yeah, Naruto-kun is certainly one of a kind. How exactly did you two meet?" Wendy asked, curious of how Naruto and Flare first met.

"Well, you know we grew up in Sun Village. Naruto-kun has been there ever since he was a baby, but I was found and brought there when I was a child and raised by the giants. It wasn't long after that I met Naruto-kun." Flare said as she began remembering when she first met Naruto.

*Flashback*

Flare walked through Sun Village, looking at everything with an awed expression, seeing how big everything was. The buildings, the animals, and the giants themselves were all so much bigger than her.

'I hope I'll grow to be big like everyone else.' Flare thought, believing she'll eventually grow to be as big as the giants

"Who are you?" Someone asked, making Flare jump slightly at the sudden voice

Looking, Flare was surprised when she saw a boy the same size as her, with spiky blonde hair, ocean blue eyes with slit pupils, lightly tanned skin, and three unique whisker marks on his cheeks.

"You're like me!" Flare said surprised to see someone the same size her, while the boy tilted his head in confusion

"Like you?" He questioned, Flare nodding her head

"Yeah! You're really small just like me!" Said Flare smiling, while the boy gained an annoyed look

"OI! I'm not short, I'm the perfect size for someone my age!" He shouted, surprising Flare at his outburst before she began to giggle.

"You're funny. I'm Flare Corona." Introduced Flare, with the boy getting over his annoyance and grinned at her.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the son of Atlas Flame!" Naruto replied.

"Atlas Flame?" Flare asked, confused as to who that was.

"Oh yeah, not many people here know about his name. Come on, I'll introduce you to him." Said Naruto, before grabbing Flare's hand as he took off running, with Flare stumbling slightly but managed to keep pace with him.

Flare was surprised when he led her out of town and to a rocky mountain, one where Flare was told the Eternal Flame resided. With the girl being in awe, when they reached the top and saw the Eternal Flame for herself.

'It's…beautiful.' Flare thought, amazed at seeing the Eternal Flame up close.

"Hey dad, look! I brought a friend to meet you, she must have arrived not too long ago!" Said Naruto, with Flare looking around to see who he was talking to but didn't see anyone else.

"I can see that Naruto. It's a pleasure to meet you, child." Atlas Flame said, with Flare being shocked and amazed, when she saw the Eternal Flame began transforming until there was the image of a flaming dragon within.

With it taking a few second, before Flare realized what was happening and quickly bowed.

"Eternal Flame, please forgive my rudeness! Had I known Naruto was your son, I would have paid him the proper respect!" Flare said, worried she had upset the Eternal Flame with her disrespect.

"What are you doing?" Asked Naruto, confused at what Flare was doing.

"I am paying respect to both you and the Eternal Flame. Please forgive my words and disrespect from earlier." Answered Flare, only to be surprised when Naruto had her stand up and smiled at her.

"You don't have to bow; in fact, I don't want you to bow. You're my friend, Flare, and friends shouldn't bow to each other." Naruto stated, surprising her further.

"My son is correct. I am not your ruler, I am the Guardian Dragon of Sun Village, I do not wish for them to bow to me. I only wish for them to live and prosper under my light." Said Atlas Flame, with Flare being awed by his words and kindness.

"I-I…I don't know what to say." Flare said.

"Say nothing child. Now, why don't you two go off and play." Atlas Flame said, with Naruto nodding in agreement before grabbing Flare's hand.

"Yeah! Come on, Flare let's go!" Said Naruto, while smiling at the girl, with Flare slowly returning the smile, feeling happy that she not only got to meet the Eternal Flame, but also made a friend.

Flare being unable to help but think, that she's happier to meet the latter than the former.

*End Flashback*

"We've been together ever since then, with it being about a year later that I was blessed by Atlas Flame with my Crimson Hair Magic. And I've always loved my hair, not just for the reminder of the blessing I received. But having learned it's what brought Naruto-kun to me. It became my own red thread of fate. And I suppose, that's when I started loving him." Flare said, smiling softly, as Wendy looked at her with a smile.

"That sounds like something Naruto-kun would say. And that's the same for me, back when we first met, and he offered to train me." Said Wendy, remembering when Naruto offered to train her.

*Flashback*

Wendy hid behind a tree as she observed Naruto's training, still amazed at having met another Dragon Slayer, even more so with how Naruto was the same age as her and yet was already so strong.

'Already stronger than me.' Wendy thought, while looking down sadly at her own incomplete Dragon Slayer Training, having been unable to complete it due to Grandeeney's disappearance.

"Why are you hiding behind a tree Wendy?" Naruto asked, after stopping in his training when he sensed Wendy nearby and was confused when he saw her behind a tree.

"Eep!" Said Wendy, while jumping at being discovered, before stepping out from behind the tree.

"O-oh s-so-sorry Naruto, I-I didn't m-me-mean to interrupt. I-I was just…I wanted to see you training." Wendy said, having hoped that by watching Naruto's training, she might be able to improve her own Dragon Slayer Magic.

"Oh, well yeah, you can watch if you want. Maybe we can even spar once I'm done if you want." Offered Naruto, wanting to see how strong Wendy was with her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic.

"Wh-what?! S-sp-spar?! N-no th-that's fine, there's no need to spar!" Wendy said quickly, knowing she'd be crushed in a spar.

"Really? Are you sure? You don't have to hold back against me or anything, I can take it." Said Naruto, as he thought that Wendy must be really strong.

"N-no, it-it's not…it's not that…I…I never completed my Dragon Slayer Training." Wendy confessed, while looking down.

"What?" Naruto asked, surprised to hear this.

"I never completed my training. Grandeeney vanished before it was complete, so I only know a few spells and they aren't very strong." Wendy replied sadly.

"Oh. Well in the case, I can help you." Said Naruto, with the bluenette's head snapping up in surprise.

"Wh-what?" Wendy said, not sure she heard correctly.

"I'll help your training." Naruto answered.

"R-really?" Asked Wendy, with Naruto nodding in response and smiled at his fellow Dragon Slayer.

"Yeah. We're teammates and Dragon Slayers, Wendy. And more than that, we're friends, and I want to help you become as strong as you are." Naruto said, with the girl looking at him in surprise, before she began smiling and nodded.

"Yeah! Thank you, Naruto!" Said Wendy, happy at not only getting the chance to further her training, but that Naruto said they were friends.

*End Flashback*

"I guess that's when I started liking Naruto-kun, but only thought I was really happy we were friends, despite only just meeting. But over time, I began seeing that I felt more for Naruto-kun than friendship." Wendy said, with Flare nodding.

"Yeah, he always seems to know what to say to draw people to him. But can also be pretty reckless and rush into things without thinking." Said Flare, with Wendy laughing and nodding in agreement, knowing that's true.

"So, we both like Naruto-kun. What are we going to do about that?" Flare asked.

"I'm not sure. But no matter what, I'm not giving up on trying to be with him, Flare." Stated Wendy, with the redhead smirking.

"I didn't think so, but I'm not giving up either." Flare replied, with both girls nodding, knowing they were rivals for Naruto's affection, but that didn't mean they'd let it get in the way of their friendship.

The twos attention then turned to the trees, when they saw two boys their age come out of them, along with, surprisingly, two anthropomorphic cats, like Carla.

One of the boys had spikey blonde, with dark blue eyes. While his attire consists of a white long-sleeve shirt, orange vest, blue pants that went down to his shins and black shoes.

Whereas the other boy has messy black hair that reaches his shoulders, and red eyes. With his attire consisting of a grey long-sleeved shirt, that he wore under a black jacket, along with long black pants and brown shoes.

"HA! Told you I saw a fire Rogue!" Sting said, while smirking at Rogue, who merely sighed again.

"I never doubted you Sting, and I already said I saw the smoke from the fire." Said Rogue, while muttering the latter part to himself.

"Uh, hello there." Flare said, getting the fours attention as they saw the Dragon Slayer and God Slayer.

"Hello there. Sorry for the intrusion, but we saw the light of your fire and came to investigate who'd be here. My name is Rogue Cheney, this is Sting Eucliffe, and these are Lector and Frosch." Rogue introduced.

"Hello." Said Frosch as she waved at the two.

"Sup!" Lector said, while smirking at the girls.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Wendy Marvell and this is Flare Corona. We're members of the guild Cait Shelter." Replied Wendy, while realizing these were two of the Dragon Slayers that came through the Eclipse Gate with her, before seeing Sting sniff the air around her.

"Hey, you're a Dragon Slayer?!" Sting said, surprised at finding another Dragon Slayer, with Rogue also being surprised by this.

"Yeah, I'm a Dragon Slayer, a Third Generation Dragon Slayer. I was trained to use Sky Dragon Slayer Magic and had a Sea Dragon Lacrima implanted into me." Wendy answered, much to their amazement.

"That's truly incredible, having access to two forms of Dragon Slayer Magic. What about you, are you a Dragon Slayer as well?" Rogue asked, while looking at Flare, who shook her head.

"No, I'm a God Slayer, the Sun God Slayer precisely. But our teammate and friend Naruto is also a Dragon Slayer, the Hell Flame Dragon Slayer." Answered Flare.

"Awesome! Finding two more Dragon Slayers. I'm the White Dragon Slayer." Sting said, while smirking.

"I'm the Shadow Dragon Slayer." Said Rogue as the four sat around the fire, with Wendy and Flare.

"That's pretty cool. So, were you two trained by Dragons? I was trained by the Sky Dragon, Grandeeney." Wendy said, despite already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I was trained by the White Dragon, Weisslogia. Whereas Rogue was trained by the Shadow Dragon, Skiadrum." Answered Sting, smirking, while Rogue flinched at the mentioning of his foster father.

"Did they go missing too?" Asked Wendy, once again knowing the answer, but wanted to see what they knew.

"Nope, I killed Weisslogia." Sting revealed with a smirk, much to Wendy and Flare's shock and horror.

"I…I killed Skiadrum as well." Said Rogue, while looking away.

"You…you kill them?" Flare said, horrified at this.

Though it wasn't the fact that they killed Weisslogia and Skiadrum that horrified them, since they knew they were in fact still alive. It was the fact Sting seemed to take pride in the fact he believed he killed the Dragon, who raised him as his own son.

"Of course we did. We're Dragon Slayers, it's we're supposed to do. Didn't you kill Grandeeney?" Sting asked, while raising a brow.

"NO!" Shouted Wendy, knowing she'd never do such a thing.

"If you don't mind us asking, what are you doing in the Forest of Death?" Rogue asked, quickly wanting to change the current topic.

"We're out here on a Job. We're looking for Roronoa Zoro on the request from his wife to bring him home, since he has a terrible sense of direction." Answered Flare, getting sweatdrops from the four.

"Well, what other Jobs have you gone on?" Sting asked, wondering about the kind of Jobs guild mages go on, and if they could give him a challenge.

"We…we've only gone on one other Job." Said Wendy, while looking down, since that was still a sore spot for them.

"It was when we first formed our team, we had gone on a Wyvern Extermination Job. But when we got to the town the Wyverns were attacking, we learned that they weren't normal Wyverns, someone had been experimenting on them, allowing them to use magic and speak. We had also worked alongside Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer, and Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail, after they received another request from the mayor, when more Wyverns began showing up. The person doing this was a lunatic named Amachi, he was trying to create an Artificial Dragon and he succeeded, by creating the Evil Dragon, Fafnir." Flare said, shocking them.

"Well did you at least kill the fake?" Said Sting, figuring they'd at least be able to kill a fake Dragon, only for them to flinch.

"No, we didn't kill him. He got away, but not after killing our friend, Isaribi. She was the Sea Dragon Slayer, having been implanted with the Sea Dragon Lacrima after being tricked by Amachi. She gave her life so we could have a chance to take down Fafnir, but he escaped before we could finish him. With Isaribi eventually dying and passed on her Lacrima to me." Wendy said sadly, still hurt at the death of her friend.

"I…I'm sorry for your loss." Said Rogue, knowing it must have been hard to experience such a thing.

Wendy and Flare nodded in thanks, only to stiffen, when Sting scoffed.

"Figures none of you fakes could even take down an Artificial Dragon if you can't even kill the real deal. Which is a shame, since I actually looked up to Salamander, but I guess I made a mistake in choosing my idol. And that Isaribi girl wasn't even a real Dragon Slayer at all, let alone a true one, like me and Rogue." Sting said, while crossing his arms.

"…What did you say?" Said Wendy as she spoke in low tone.

"You heard me. If it had been me or Rogue, we would have killed this Fafnir in no time at all, with no pointless sacrifice being necessary." Sting stated with a smirk, while not seeing Wendy shaking in anger at how he called Isaribi's sacrifice "pointless" before her head snapped up with rage shining in her eyes.

"Sea Dragon Vortex Tempest!" Wendy shouted, while launching a vortex of water right at Sting, with the White Dragon Slayer being shocked at the sudden attack and had no time to dodge, as he was thrown back into a tree.

"Sting!" Lector said in worry for his friend, and was about to go to him, only for Rogue to hold him back, since the Shadow Dragon Slayer knew that things were about to get messy.

"Don't. Ever. Call Isaribi's sacrifice. Pointless!" Screamed Wendy, before jumping towards Sting, who smirked at the chance to fight.

"Alright, let me show you what a true Dragon Slayer can do. White Dragon's Iron Fist!" Said Sting, engulfing his fist and light and jumping towards Wendy.

"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" Wendy said, while swinging her hand at Sting, unleashing claws of wind at the boy.

With the attacks colliding together, launching them both back.

"Armor!" Said Wendy as she was surrounded by blue aura, increasing her defensive power, and allowing her to get right back up, after crashing through a tree.

"Sea Dragon's Flash Tsunami!" Wendy said, while creating a magic circle that unleashed a massive amount of water towards Sting, who had recovered from his own crash.

"White Dragon's Roar!" Sting roared, while unleashing a roar of light that cut through the water and slammed into Wendy, launching her back.

The girl grunting at the hit, before using her Heal spell to recover from the damage.

"Sky Dragons' Tornado!" Said Wendy, unleashing a giant tornado towards Sting, throwing him back and carving a path through the forest.

Sting groaning from the hit, before growling and standing up.

"Okay, let me show you the power I gained from killing Weisslogia! White Drive!" Sting said as he was engulfed in a shining aura of light as his power increased, before cupping his hand together.

"Holy Ray!" Said Sting, before unleashing multiple homing beams of light, that all sped towards Wendy.

"O swift wind that dashes through the heavens...VERNIER!" Wendy chanted as she was engulfed in a magical aura, before vanishing in a burst of speed, shocking Sting that she managed to avoid his Holy Ray.

Only to be further shocked, when Wendy reappeared right in front of him, in a crouched position.

"…Crapbaskets." Muttered Sting.

"Sea Dragon's Roar!" Roared Wendy, before blasting Sting at point-blank range with her roar, with Sting crying as he was hit with a high-powered pressurized water and was launched back.

Crashing through a tree, then another tree, then another, and another, until he finally hit the ground, groaning in pain. Before looking up, when Wendy appeared in front of him again, glaring down at the White Dragon Slayer.

"I can eat the air to restore my magic power, I can heal myself from any damage you inflict, I can enchant myself to be stronger, I can even enter Dragon Force at will, thanks to being a Third Generation Dragon Slayer. While also having the offensive power of my Sea Dragon Magic and Sky Dragon Slayer Magic. But most of all, I'm fighting to protect the honor and dignity of my friends. Now tell me Sting, who's the fake Dragon Slayer now? Me standing over you, or you lying on the ground?" Wendy asked, before walking back to camp, leaving a shellshocked Sting lying on the ground.

"Sting! Are you alright?!" Lector asked as he flew over to his friend, while shocked at what he just saw, having never thought he'd see Sting be beaten.

With Rogue and Frosch going over as well, with the former facepalming and glaring down at Sting

"You've always had such a way with words, don't you Sting?!" Rogue rhetorically asked in a sarcastic tone, knowing that even with his pride in being a "true Dragon Slayer", which was likely in question now, he should have known better than to mock someone's deceased friend.

With Rogue knowing that if he had been in Wendy's position, he would have done the same thing to protect his friends' honor, especially if they were dead.

"Let's go to sleep." Wendy muttered to Flare, who nodded as the two laid down, neither having an interest to talk anymore or see Sting, after what he said.

*Mindscape*

"Thank you for not revealing the truth to them, Wendy. I know it must have been hard after what Sting said." Grandeeney said to her foster daughter.

"I wanted to, I really wanted to. Just to see the look on his face at learning the one thing he's most proud of, is nothing but a lie." Said Wendy, having wanted to tell Sting that Weisslogia was still alive, but already had a foot in the grave, something that he wasn't even the cause of.

"Then why didn't you?" Asked Grandeeney.

"Because I wasn't going to break my promise to you, or stoop down to his level. I let my actions speak for me and show him what a real Dragon Slayer can do." Said Wendy, knowing even if she never killed a Dragon, she's a Dragon Slayer no matter what, just like Naruto, Natsu, and Isaribi.

"And that was mature of you, my child. But still, thank you for not saying anything." Grandeeney replied, with Wendy nodding at her foster mother, before soon drifting off to sleep.

So, what did you think, good. Yep Naruto, Flare, Wendy, and Carla have headed into the Forest of Death to locate Zoro, with them unknowingly being followed by Kagura who's also searching for Zoro to challenge, with Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch soon entering the forest as well to fight the creatures within. We then see the team split up to cover more ground, with Naruto and Carla being paired up leading to the two butting heads and getting into a lot of trouble, eventually leading to them fighting to decide the leader with Naruto winning. Leading to the two finally being able to work together and gain some common ground and respect, though still not getting along. With Kagura then showing up and the three joining together to locate Zoro.

Meanwhile with Wendy and Flare, the two confront each other on their feelings for Naruto, getting some flashbacks as well, and the two agreeing they won't let the other win but also won't let their rivalry interfere with their friendship. With the two soon being joined by Sting and Rogue, and their own cat companions, where they get to know each other as well. Unfortunately, things quickly deteriorate when Sting mocks Wendy, Isaribi, Naruto, and Natsu for not being "true Dragon Slayers" and referring to Isaribi's sacrifice as pointless, leading to a fight between him and Wendy, with Wendy coming out on top due to her more versatile fighting style. Ending with Sting's belief in what it means to be a Dragon Slayer being shaken and Wendy speaking with Grandeeney. So, review if you liked go away if you didn't.

Storm out