Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Street Fighter. Only in my dreams. But my dreams are awesome though, so I can't really complain too much on that front. I've dreamed I was actually in Super Mario World, with Donut Plains and Koopas and all of that shit. It was nuts.

Chapter 60: Yet To Come

One would expect gym class to be the most enjoyable of Naruto's school day, and granted, there was some truth to that. After all, instead of sitting around in one place, listening and writing, there was no shortage of activity and movement. Just the thing that he would have enjoyed. However, on the days when they would prepare for the upcoming physical student fitness standard tests, it was soul-crushingly boring.

A full hour of rudimentary exercises that Naruto had mastered when he was eight years old. The whole affair was entirely pedestrian. At least during the actual tests he could show off. The prep days were just torture.

Diligent student that she was, Sakura of course took the whole thing seriously. Karin did as well, seeing it as a perfect opportunity to compete with Sakura, one of her favorite pastimes in the world. That made them perfect partners for the situation, which suited Naruto just fine. While Sakura was normally his primary gym partner, that left him with Ibuki to work with, who was much more his speed during fitness test time.

She was just fun to work with. She was also more than willing to join him in the casual mockery of having to take part in the entire affair. Seriously, did they really need to prove that they were in adequate shape for high school students in Japan? They were the very last people who should have had to.

"Feeling the burn?" Naruto joked, holding Ibuki's feet as she did sit-ups in front of him.

"Oh God," Ibuki droned sarcastically as she steadily sat up and set herself back down, "I'm so exhausted. I can't do another-, oh wait, yes I can," She said as she continued to exercise, "Ugh. This is so lame."

"I know," Naruto told her, feeling her sense of boredom. He'd already finished with his three minute set before she started, and the two had been carrying on a casual conversation the entire time, "So where were we?"

"You have another job," Ibuki reminded him of their topic as she continued, "A bodyguard thing, right? Is Karin jealous? She's your normal protection client, after all," She joked.

"It's not that simple, but even if it was, I can bodyguard more people than Rin-Rin. My work flow never ends," Naruto said to Ibuki, getting a big, wide grin from the ninja girl in return, "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Totally," Ibuki chirped, "I was going to ask you guys for help with something I'm supposed to be doing. But if you're already doing your own mission, I guess I can't bother you and take you away from that. This is a slow-burn job anyway. At least it looks that way. It'll probably take some time for me to even figure out what I need from you."

Naruto always enjoyed helping Ibuki with her ninja work. It made him feel nostalgic for Konoha, even though it had been years and years since he'd been there, "Well, whenever you get something together, I'm your man, 'Bu."

"Yes, you are," She said, leaning up and giving Naruto a quick peck on the lips that went unseen by everyone else in the gym. She seemed very pleased with herself as she continued on as though she hadn't done anything.

It took Naruto a moment to realize just what had happened, it had been so quick, "Really? Here?"

"Why not?" Ibuki ventured to question, "It makes this a lot more fun. How many times do you think I can do it without getting caught by a teacher, huh?" Before he could answer, she kissed him again, lingering for a moment this time to tease him.

Naruto shut his eyes and let out a hum, having felt the plucky girl's tongue slip into his mouth that time around. She was wearing down his very minuscule moral defenses very easily, "...There's a minute left. Bet you can't get twelve."

"Now that's the spirit," Ibuki's moment of triumph was ruined before she could enjoy it. Before she leaned up for the next kiss, a shoe flew through the air and hit Naruto in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Naruto hissed, wincing and holding the affected area. The entire class stopped to look at him, all except for two people.

Ibuki looked past his shoulder and saw Karin innocently continuing to assist Sakura with her sit-ups… while missing one of her sneakers, "Oh, you little-."

Jealousy. Pure and simple. And while Ibuki couldn't blame her too much, rest assured, the girl had plans to get her back for that later.

XxX

(Later That Day – Karin's Manor)

Karin was in full-on lecture mode after school. Ignoring her was an option, but it was difficult. She was a very good public speaker, and once she was on a roll, there was next to nothing that could stop her.

Ibuki sat back in the chair that she had taken at Karin's home, staring at the well-manicured finger that was being pointed at her, just outside of what could be considered her personal space, "School is a place for learning and bettering one's self. It is not the place for your immature trysts," She heard Karin say, admonishing her.

"We were talking about missions. We both have work!" Ibuki chirped happily, trying to play up the innocence factor. Both Karin and Sakura knew far better than to fall for it, "I don't see what the big deal is. We had to get in close. This is very hush-hush, big conspiracy stuff."

"You never had any trouble sharing anything about your missions with us before," Sakura pointed out. And true enough, since Ibuki had become a ninja for her outfit, she had been forthcoming with anything she could tell them about her exciting new responsibilities... and when she had started to get bored of them, "What's so special about this one?"

Ibuki liked sharing things with her friends. The fact that they could all somewhat relate, despite not living the life that she did made her more eager to do so. But in this case, she bit her tongue, "I really shouldn't talk about it. Guys, when I got this, Master Enjo told me it was really sensitive."

Karin raised an eyebrow skeptically, "And yet, you were more than willing to share the particulars with my beloved," She said, edging her head to Naruto, who was busy doing something on his phone.

Ibuki shrugged and let out a casual laugh, "Naruto's a ninja like me. He knows how to keep important information secret," She said, as though it went without saying.

"Such as your measurements?" Karin shot back, remembering a certain vengeful, quite public prank enacted by Naruto on the kunoichi.

Color came to Ibuki's cheeks for a moment before she waved it off, "That was an isolated incident. Besides, it was only up for a few weeks, and those numbers aren't even accurate anymore," She said, puffing out her chest for all to see.

Karin didn't miss a beat in her response, "Perhaps a diet is in order then? It wouldn't do for you to lose your lovely figure, dear."

Ibuki didn't rise to the attempt to rile her up. Even if she was spunky by nature, she was a disciplined martial artist. That aside, she also knew she was gorgeous. She simply raised an eyebrow at the silver-tongued heiress, "Perhaps you shouldn't make fat jokes to a trained assassin that's had full access to this entire compound fifty times over?"

While Karin was extremely competitive, and usually manifested this trait through fighting, Ibuki was much more laid-back. She didn't particularly enjoy combat as much as the other girls did. For her to so much as suggest the use of violence to solve such a mundane issue, it was a foreign result.

"Girls, girls... you're both pretty," Naruto suddenly chimed in, getting a giggle out of Sakura. Just like that, the tension between the two other girls drifted right out of the room. Sakura's eyes followed Naruto paced around the room, focused intently on what he was typing.

He had been on the device since they had been in Karin's limousine after school let out. It had made him markedly less talkative than he normally was, "What's up, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked up and back down to his phone, realizing just how much time he had spent paying attention to something other than his present company, "Aw, just work stuff, Sakura-chan," He said, flipping screen around to show a long list of messages, "Cam's with our new clients right now. We're just trying to figure out a way to handle their situation."

Karin smiled and felt a surge of pride run through her. A beautific smile graced her face, as there were very few things she loved to see out of Naruto than when he was serious about his business. She would never go as far as to call it a turn-on. That was for women more vulgar and uncouth than herself. Still, it left her feeling some kind of way whenever she caught him speaking with clients, dealing with budget issues, or working on payroll for himself and Cammy.

It made her fantasize about how he would look dressed in a suit, dealing with figures in the millions for her family's corporation. Sure, he would never sit still long enough to take such a career path, but that was why it was called a daydream.

Sakura furrowed her brow in thought, "You guys don't double up on missions very often, do you?" From what she knew, Cammy split off from Naruto to do a good portion of work during the day while he was at school. For other things, Naruto would dispatch clones. The point was, they both operated separately to maximize time and profit.

Naruto shook his head, stashing away his phone for the time being. The messages between him and his partner had subsided some time ago. All he had been doing was writing in a mission log he kept for assignments, "We don't have to, usually. Cam's got a bad feeling about this one though," The girl had instincts like a wild animal, "I don't know why this time around, but she usually knows what she's talking about," Therefore, it was likely in his best interest to be wary.

Ibuki bit her lip, feeling a bit of guilt at charming Naruto into agreeing to help her with her assignment from the Glade of Ninjas, "Your thing won't be too much trouble, will it?" If he was already busy with something major, there was no need to pile on more, "I don't want to ask for help with the Illuminati thing if you're already swamped."

To hell with that, in Naruto's mind. He had already said he would give her a hand. He wasn't backing out of that, even if added on to the rest of his responsibilities it would eat up all of his free time, "I think it'll be fine," He reassured her before noticing something off about Karin, "Hm? What's the matter, Rin-Rin?"

Karin had broken from her satisfying thoughts of a civilized, high-class future with Naruto at the mention of a particular name. Once she had heard the word 'Illuminati', she froze on the spot, eyes widened in a combination of intrigue and terror.

Intrigue, in that there were people outside of the loop who knew enough about the organization to speak of them as though they were real. Terror, in that her friend Ibuki had somehow stumbled across something so dangerous. Nothing good would come from digging around, because she knew Ibuki was talented enough to find something to get their attention.

Karin realized that her reaction had been noticed by everyone there, and quickly schooled her expression into her normal dignified, curt manner, "Were I you, Ibuki-san," She said, taking a breath to quietly clear her throat, "I would ask you to advise whomever deigned to give you such an assignment to strongly reconsider. I say this not out of any sort of jest, nor do I mean to slight your abilities. I am merely... concerned."

Ibuki paused in thought. Karin was warning her away from danger. That by itself was notable, as the wealthy lass was next to fearless. Even in the face of opposition in the past that would have been considered superior, she had never backed down, "Wait, you know about the Illuminati? And they scare you?"

Instead of denying anything, Karin took a seat in the parlor's large, ornate chair, meant only for her, "You should be careful where you say that name," She warned, "For all I know, the privacy of my home may or may not be compromised."

Sakura peeked out the window and took note of the armed men strolling about the premises. It was a familiar sight at Karin's manor, "You have a security team. Don't they check out your entire property every day?"

Karin nodded to her rival and closest friend, "Three times, in fact. But the Illuminati are not the caliber of normal riffraff that would seek to infiltrate my abode. They are that much greater," A dark frown overtook her at that point, "I would not be surprised if they had managed to purchase the loyalty of a small number of my detail."

The thought of being betrayed by people employed by her family made her blood boil. But it wasn't as though the Kanzuki Zaibatsu had a security branch. They had to outsource to a proper private military company.

Hm. Perhaps she should think of beginning a security branch and getting Naruto involved near the top one day. It would be a way to get him to be a tad more corporate, which she liked, but still doing something that she knew he would love. And she would get to see him in that suit...

The thought of an all-knowing, far-reaching group with the implied power that came with a name as notorious as Illuminati didn't sit well with Sakura, "So you do know them," A curt nod was her response. Karin had been grave about this entire affair, "They're that bad?"

Curse you, Kasugano Sakura, to make her think of unpleasant things. Nevertheless, Karin answered, in her own way, "I assume you have heard rumblings in the past of secret societies that control all major matters from behind the scenes?" Everyone confirmed this to be true with a chorus of yeses and yeahs, "That is in fact, as you would say, 'a thing'. They have been watching me for a good number of years."

Ibuki tried to wrap her head around it, but she couldn't. It was absurd. She was a part of a society that was technically a secret, but this was something else altogether, "They can't be the real deal."

Karin shook her head. Now was not the time to be skeptical, "I assure you, they are the genuine article. The true Illuminati. Any group fool enough to use their name to cover up their paltry illicit affairs does not last long. They see to that themselves. At least they provide that much of a service to the world."

Ibuki's eyes went owlishly wide. When she was told about the Illuminati mission from Enjo, it had been given to her with the idea in mind that they were a group of rich crackpots taking on a famous name that simply hadn't been exposed yet, "You're kidding?" She said, starting to get delirious, "Hah... that's crazy. That's... that's just crazy. Can you name events? People involved? How much do you know?"

Sakura walked over and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders before she could get out of control. On contact, Sakura could feel just how tense she was, "Ibuki-chan, calm down. I'm pretty sure she'll tell us."

Karin wished she had information to share, but was also rather happy that she didn't. Information was dangerous when it came to the Illuminati. They did not disclose anything easily, "I am not a member. Only those indoctrinated in the organization know of other members, or have definite confirmation of their goings on."

Ibuki took a deep breath, counted to ten and stood to stride over to Karin, a steely gaze in her eyes. She met Karin's gaze with full intensity, "Will you help me?" She asked, as heartfelt as she could, "Please, I know I'm probably asking a lot."

Karin waved her request off. She hardly had to think about it. Ibuki had come to her aid when she had needed it most. There was no question that she would lend her aid in return, "Of course I will. But you must be very careful, as must we all," She said, directing a pointed look to both Naruto and Sakura as well, "All of us, even those who do not believe they are involved. Even receiving confirmation from a reputable source that they truly exist is enough to have you marked as a target."

Naruto wanted to say that they could handle it; that they had been through serious trouble time and time again. But Karin was rattled. Something like that never happened. Even after her ordeal with Seth and S.I.N, she became more cautious, but she still kept the attitude that had him dub her 'boss-lady' in the first place.

This was the first time that she had ever tried to ward him or any of their friends away from anyone before.

"These are truly terrifying people," Karin said, "To know of them, and not be on their side, is as close to a death sentence as one can manage without being incarcerated."

XxX

(United States of America – Upstate New York)

Crimson Viper had turned Chun-Li onto a new conspiracy, but had done little more to assist her than that. It was one reason why she had always hated dealing with intelligence agency operatives like her. Yes, she had set her on the trail of something that could have been huge, but had only done so to keep from getting her own hands dirty. The worst part was that Chun-Li knew she wouldn't leave it alone, and she knew that Viper had been counting on that the entire time.

The only lead she had was the warning that Viper had given her. The Illuminati were reaching out to certain people for a competition of sorts. The calling sign was crystal clear apparently, which wasn't the method that she would have expected from such an old, illustrious, secretive organization. When she put out a message in as many law enforcement and information gathering circles as she could, she expected it to take longer to finally get a hit. It didn't.

She was on the earliest flight she could get that would take her to the United States. Her quest led her to a maximum security prison facility, and yet this bit of investigating was not something that she was looking forward to.

As Chun-Li was ushered through the prison, she couldn't help but grimace. Her life was spent putting people there that deserved it. It was extremely uncomfortable for her to be inside of one herself, even though she knew she had done nothing wrong, 'Like Dante entering through the gates of hell,' she thought to herself as she passed through the massive metal doors that had to be buzzed open, 'Maybe an exaggeration, but that's what it feels like to me.'

Eventually, she was led to the cell block where her perp was situated. Three guards stood by the cell, armed in full riot gear, though not because of her, because of the man inside. Chun-Li walked to the iron door and peered through the peep hole inside. There she found a man dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit. The top was down with the sleeves wrapped around his waist, leaving his undershirt visible. Both his arms and his legs were shackled, despite being inside his cell. The man was muscular, with scruffy blonde hair and stubble. He looked like a dangerous customer, but unlike many others in the prison, Chun-Li couldn't feel any real sense of malice from him.

"Cody Travers," She said, apparently waking him up from a nap. He stirred in the bottom bunk of the half-empty cell and opened his blue eyes to peer at the woman looking his way through the peep hole, "I need to talk to you."

Cody let out a yawn, his chains jangling when he threw his arms above his head to stretch, "Really now? That's timely. I was starting to get bored in here," He said, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and onto the ground, "I'm not up for that kind of entertainment, though. I have a girlfriend, I'm afraid."

Chun-Li wasn't offended by the man's cheeky suggestion, "No you don't," She replied bluntly.

Cody stared at her for several seconds before he burst out laughing, "No, I don't. Good on you," He said between chuckles, "You must have done some research before coming here. I'm flattered."

"Something like that," Chun-Li told him before turning to the prison guard who seemed to be in-charge, "I need to go in there," She told him, "This isn't the kind of thing that I can let too many people hear about."

One of the other guards shook his head, the riot shield in his hand shook at the thought of Cody somehow getting loose, "We can't do that. It's not safe to go in there ma'am," He tried to explain to her, "That guy is-," He was stopped by the man Chun-Li had spoken to setting a hand on his shoulder, "Captain?"

The captain shook his head, letting the younger, more inexperienced guard know that it didn't really matter what they did, "Let her go. If he really wanted to do something, this door wouldn't be able to stop him. None of us could either."

Instead of being afraid of that point, Chun-Li was simply glad that the issue was resolved so easily, "I'll be fine," She said, smiling as reassuringly as she could, "I don't think he'll do anything, and even if he does, I'm much tougher than I look, I promise."

The guard laughed, but it wasn't at her. His humor was not a slight against her skills, but at the belief that Cody could be dealt with so casually, "Honey, you could be the strongest woman in the world. It really doesn't matter. We're just all lucky that this guy doesn't give a shit," He said before looking to his co-workers, "Let her in. Give them some space. Knock on the door when you're ready to leave."

Chun-Li nodded and waited for the door to open with a buzz before she walked inside. Guards couldn't believe that she did so with no hesitation, entirely unarmed. Cody didn't budge from where he sat on his bed, simply watching her as she entered. The door closed behind them, along with the peephole, leaving the two alone.

"Mr. Travers, my name is Chun-Li," She said to begin, pulling out her badge, "I work for Interpol."

"Prettiest cop I ever saw," Cody interjected, his hands folded into each other, "So what does a big, important Interpol agent want with poor ol' Cody?"

Chun-Li held up a tablet with the Illuminati insignia on the front, "This came for you in the mail two weeks ago," Cody groaned and waved off taking it when she tried to hold it out to him,"You don't want to take a look at it? It's yours."

Cody shook his head, "I don't get real mail. That would mean that someone actually cared I was in here."

Depressing, and yet it didn't matter. Chun-Li had come there for a reason, and feeling sorry for the subject of her interrogation wasn't one of them, "A very dangerous group of people want to get a hold of you. I don't know why, but I think it's because of some kind of competition they want to put together."

Cody's face lit up in recognition after he actually paid attention to what she had with her, "Ah, Illuminati."

Chun-Li raised an eyebrow in interest, "You know about them?"

Cody got up from his bunk and took the tablet from her to check it over, "Other than the all-seeing eye being a dead giveaway, they wanted to recruit me," He tapped on the screen and brought up a world map with many red dots spread out across it, "A long time ago."

"You turned them down?" Chun-Li asked, digging for more information.

Cody tossed the device over onto his bed and faced the woman in front of him directly, "They only want me because they think I'm strong. No thanks. I don't fight for anyone else's reasons, especially for something as stupid as what I think they're after."

"World domination?"

"It would fit, wouldn't it?" Cody replied, being intentionally cryptic. It was really for the sake of being difficult. He had no idea what they were all about, and he didn't care. It didn't involve him, "Anyway, I told 'em to hit the bricks, only not so nice, and they didn't like that. They sent guys to kill me every now and then."

"Did?" Chun-Li asked curiously, wondering why they would have stopped. This didn't seem like the kind of group that would just give up after a setback or two.

"They tried everything short of getting me put on death row. They couldn't pull that off," Cody revealed, recalling the various situations he found himself in, fighting for his life. They were a slimy bunch, and had no qualms with trying to get at him while he was trapped like a rat. At times, they could march their chosen assassin right in through the front door to take a shot at him, "Shame. It was the most fun I had in this place. Anyway, you said something about a competition."

Chun-Li wondered just how powerful this man really was. He didn't seem to care about much of anything. How apathy of that sort could breed true strength, she didn't know, "They're gathering skilled fighters. At least that's what my source believes," She said, "I don't know what purpose a tournament will serve if they're looking to recruit. Anyone good enough to get their attention I'm betting will react like you."

Cody didn't say anything at first. No smart remarks. Instead, he took a moment to gather what he could about the woman before him. She disliked something about him, something beyond his being a prisoner. When she looked at him, when she spoke to him, it seemed to be with no small amount of disappointment, "You seem like you have a problem with me. What's the deal? I'm being a model inmate here."

Well it must have been a pretty big elephant in the room for Cody to point it out. Though admittedly, Chun-Li could say that she had done a very poor job of hiding her intrigue, "I know who you are, Cody," She said "The savior of Metro City. Your face was on every newscast in America. You got into every paper around the world at one point."

A handful of years ago, the story of the three men who fought to rid their city of the cancerous Mad Gear element reached far and wide. It was inspirational. When she was working to become a detective, it was done with the motivation that one day she could take it upon herself to make a difference like that.

And yet there she stood. From what she knew about one of the other 'heroes' from that incident, Guy, he was a bitter man. Naruto didn't have the highest opinion of his personality, and while Ibuki respected his talent as a ninja, she didn't have much to say positive about his outlook on the world around him either.

Cody seemed that much worse. Here he stood, completely forgotten about. Discarded. Locked away behind dozens of walls, with nary a ray of sunlight capable of reaching him. It was sad.

Cody couldn't have been that much older than her, yet he carried himself with the apathy of a jaded 40-something that had given up on making a change for the better, "You're talking about the good old days. Fighting the good fight. And what did that get me? An 8-by-10 cell. But hey, it's not all bad. Look, I get my own bunk!"

Chun-Li just stood back against the wall and watched Cody pace. There was a fire in his eyes, and just like that, she could feel the power radiating off of him. There was no mistaking it. This was an extremely powerful man, 'Even stronger than I thought he was. Unbelievable...'

Just like that though, the fire died out, and Cody calmed down, returning to his previous apathetic state, "I did everything I could for that place. Fought for my girl, to make sure she could be safe... made her old man look good, made the city look like a place where decent people could walk tall again," With a scoff, he plopped down on his bed and leaned back, "This is my punishment for trying to do the right thing," He scoffed.

He hated his circumstances, but he had also accepted them. His glory days were impossible to re-manufacture. It couldn't be done. His reputation was dragged through the dirt, and everyone he used to hold in the highest regard had moved on.

"I looked up to you, you know?" Chun-Li said quietly, "I thought you were amazing. The man that cleaned up an entire city riddled with crime. A hero."

A part of Cody felt flattered. The rest of him thought that she had been naive and idealistic, "The thing about heroes, is that most of the time, they're a product of someone else's expectations. Someone else's imagination," He said tapping himself on the temple before pointing to her, "None of them are ever quite as great as you think they are."

"You might be right, but I refuse to believe that," Chun-Li said. She knew heroes, had dealt with them, worked with them, fought alongside them. People who put themselves at great risk to protect others. Some who had even sacrificed themselves to do so, "I've seen real heroes. They exist. And thank God they do, because in the world we have right now, we need them."

Every time some sort of evil was vanquished, there was always another more than willing to fill in the gap. It never ended. And if that was the case, she hoped there would always be someone with enough heart to stand up and do something about it.

If nothing, Cody could at least give her that much rope to work with, "Agreed. I just hope these... heroes of yours, that they don't disappoint you in the end."

Chun-Li pursed her lips and knocked on the door behind her loud enough to attract attention from the guards, "You'd better hope so too. Because if they do this time around, don't ask me why, but I have a feeling we'll all be screwed."

Cody waved off her concerns, "You're screwed. I'll be fine," He told her, "If and when the world goes to shit, the last place that will be affected is right here in this hole. Hell, I might not even find out. Wouldn't that be a shame?"

"No. I'm looking at the shame," Chun-Li said as the door opened. She bid the prisoner farewell with a bow out of respect. He had been an amazing man once. That was worth keeping alive somehow, even if it was just in press clippings and her own memories, "Have a good day, Cody. I wish I could say it was pleasure to meet you."

"Sorry about that," He said as he watched her leave. The door closed behind her with a loud metal clang, "If it's any consolation, it's definitely a pleasure to see you walk away!"

No response. Damn, that woman was hard to get a rise out of. It was annoying that she held him up on the pedestal of the past, but at least someone remembered that he used to be worth something to the world out there. It was nice, even if it was just for a second. Reality always had to set back in.

Cody's gaze drifted to the tablet he had thrown on his bed before. The red dots were still flashing on the map, with a tiny Illuminati insignia representing where he would have been.

"Hmm..." He hummed to himself thoughtfully.

XxX

(Hokkaido, Japan, - Miles Offshore – Formerly Rishiri Island)

Standing in a wooden rowboat, Oro clicked his tongue pitifully at the sight of the floating memorial in-place on the water. What had formerly been an island with towns and people now served as a source of mystery for the world, wondering how men could achieve such inhuman levels of strength.

He had traveled thousands of miles to try and find the source of the disturbance that had reached him all the way in Brazil.

The site of the battle between Akuma, Ryu, and Naruto had been truly terrible. The land itself did not have the fortitude to stand up to the onslaught of the three powerful fighters. Even nearly six months after the battle, there were traces of power from all three that the experienced combat hermit could feel in the air.

In fact, there was still a signature around so potent that he swore he could nearly taste it. Too potent, in fact, to be the leftovers from any past conflict, no matter how intense or destructive it was. It reminded him of the power of a volcano, at peace for the time being, and yet a moment's notice away from erupting.

There was a walking force of nature attached to this ki signature, this much was certain. Oro knew for a fact that of the three parties involved in the fight that had happened there, only one was unaccounted for by his senses that it could have belonged to. And now it was even worse.

"Oh..." Oro moaned to himself, "This is not good."

XxX

It was dark and quiet. The crushing pressure of the water pushed down on his head, filling his lungs before he expelled it with his deep focus and intense control. Under the sea was an excellent place to refine his dark powers in earnest.

The whelp. The yellow one. He had stricken down his previous self. So consumed in his own ego was he, comfortable in the reality that he was truly the unmatched master of the fist, that he allowed himself to be overcome by two lesser warriors. Impressive though they were, his defeat should have never come at their hands.

It ate at him inside. The last dregs of humanity that he had held onto despite believing himself beyond such things had been his undoing.

The man named Akuma had been too weak. It was a weakness. The thought of finding competition was a weakness. It was unnecessary. The arrogance of wishing to prove oneself, to validate one's existence in their own mind, it was a waste of the Satsui no Hadou, and of no use to true strength incarnate.

The being that took Akuma's place after his mind that had been fractured by the merciless fist of the dark surge's cub, Ryu, had none of these weaknesses. None of these distractions were present in his mind. The only thing that mattered was the instinctual reaction that came with being one – perfectly synchronized – with the Satsui no Hadou. Once all of these things were cast aside, and the intoxicating power seeped into every corner of his mind, there was nothing more than comfort. Comfort in the calamity that drove the power within him.

A disturbance garnered the being's notice. An intruder, this far down? Even the animals had enough sense to know better than to disturb something so dangerous.

A submarine containing a search team investigating the scene of the Rishiri Island incident had been dispatched to study the scene. Despite the news coverage during the evacuation and the loose bits of information about a titantic battle taking place on its soil, there were few facts surrounding the island's destruction.

Their aim was to study the sunken remnants of rock and man-made material, in order to learn more about what had taken place.

They were sticking their noses into something that was none of their business, trying to uncover secrets that they were too weak to learn of. There was only one being that would judge them, and its verdict had already been decided.

Death.

The being pressed its hands together in a posture it had taken hundreds of thousands of times during its existence on earth and gathered energy.

The currents themselves were altered by the sheer force of the ki being gathered to one place. The fools within the submarine had no clue that their fate had been sealed the moment they had disturbed his preparations. He now needed a new, more secluded area to further perfect his abilities. This one had become too noisy.

With great malice and practiced ease, the powerful blast of raw destructive power was unleashed.

There were no screams. There was no time. The being called Oni had spoken.

There was only fire, and then nothing.

XxX

(Meanwhile – Mt. Mikagura, Japan – Gouken's Dojo)

Gouken had taken the disappearance of his dearest protege Ryu hard. Ever since the battle at Rishiri Island, there had been no sign of him. No one had been able to find him or had received any sign of him, but there wasn't a single person who knew him that believed he was dead.

Everyone wanted to know that their friend was still alive and well. Gouken just wanted his son to come home.

During long treks from the dojo building to the mountain stream, he had plenty of time to think of these things and very few distractions to keep his mind away from such negative thoughts, 'All I can do is have faith that he will resurface. And when he does, I will find him.'

Ryu would return when he was ready. This, Gouken knew.

In the midst of his daily chores, the prayer beads around Gouken's neck cracked. The sound was loud and obvious. His attention taken away from his journey to gather water for the day, he set his buckets down and removed the adornments.

They crumbled in his hands.

His eyes locked onto the broken accessories, they quickly snapped to the north when a bone-chilling wind rolled past him from miles away.

The feeling was unmistakable, and yet he had never sensed anything so powerful in his entire life.

His heart dropped into his stomach, "No..." He whispered to himself, "Brother... you couldn't have."

The possibility had always existed, of Akuma being fully consumed by the Satsui no Hadou, but Gouken had thought him dead. His skull had been smashed by Ryu in battle. To survive such a thing...

Truly, the worst was yet to come.

XxX

(Aohura City – Central Library)

The library was supposed to be a peaceful place. While it wasn't a place Cammy particularly enjoyed, she respected it. There was a good use for it. Knowledge was power, as the old saying went.

"What are we doing here?"

It was a shame that some didn't appreciate that adage the way that others did. Namely, Necro and the girl who followed him around everywhere. The mutated Russian man had an attention span comparable to a younger Naruto.

Cammy looked away from the computer screen containing dozens of open windows with old archived news reports, "Research," Anything she could find. Any old news clippings about odd disappearances similar to Necro's. Any times that people with similar abilities to Necro had appeared, "I need to know more about our enemy, seeing as how Necro doesn't have much to tell me. Even if I don't find anything here, this is a place to start."

"But it's so boring," Effie complained, kicking her feet as she sat on a nearby table, "There's nothing you're going to find about them here."

"Then I won't find anything. It won't be the end of the world, we'll just try something different," Cammy reasoned, not letting them distract her from her reading, "If you want us to help you, it has to be done this way. We cannot simply attack the enemy, especially when we know nothing about them. And defending ourselves will be easier if we have more of an idea of what we're dealing with."

"Well, let us know when you're done," Necro said, getting up from his seat, taking his girlfriend by the hand, "Come on, Effie, let's find something more fun to do," She followed with a giggle.

Cammy let them go, breathing a sigh of relief as Necro's bootsteps got farther away. Smoothing out the skirt of the casual clothes she had chosen to wear on this day. She was actually grateful when they finally left her alone. Patient though the little soldier was, that would only hold up for so long.

They were difficult clients. Working with and apart from Naruto on so many jobs had given her plenty of experience dealing with those types before, but they usually couldn't stand up to her if she chose to use intimidation to get them. Necro was powerful in his own right. She knew this from personal experience. His abilities were unique and his body was strong. If there was someone that could deal with him to the extent that he came paying others for assistance, this would be extremely dangerous.

This wasn't a time for fun and games, nor was it the place. Of course, Cammy was also a bit miffed at being left alone with the pair all day long while Naruto was at school. He didn't even leave her a clone for company. He would have to make that up to her later if Cammy had any say. Not that she needed to bring it up. Naruto was always extra nice to her whenever he gave her a heavier workload.

A small smile came to her lips at the thought of what she could convince him to do. It was something to look forward to.

A buzz from her phone alerted her to a message from Naruto. So engrossed in her work had she been that she didn't notice it had been sent two hours earlier.

In the message, Naruto told her about a symbol to keep an eye out for. She waited for the attached picture he sent to download before a soft gasp left her lips at the sight of it.

She quickly punched up a text to return to him before the situation abruptly changed.

*CRASH!*

Cammy jumped up from her seat at the horrendous sound of shelf after shelf being knocked down and smashed elsewhere in the library.

She rushed to the site of the commotion and saw Necro half pinned underneath one of the shelves. Standing on top of the heavy object was a large, heavily muscled creature, milky white and featureless, its right arm transformed into a blade, set to end his life.

The creature was distracted from delivering the killing blow by a small black knife that was thrown at its head. Instead of piercing it on impact, it bounced off of its head as though the knife were blunt. The creature turned to glare at Cammy with glowing, slit red eyes. He took a swing at her upon her approach, but missed as Cammy spun elusively over his head, tucked into a ball. She landed on the other side of the creature in a slide and placed her hands underneath the shelf.

"I'm sorry," She said, drawing as much strength from her tiny body as she could in order to flip the object. With Necro also pushing up from underneath, she was able to do so, freeing Necro and sending the odd white creature away, "I cannot let you kill this man."

The creature let out a gurgling laugh, transforming its arms into a myriad of deadly weaponry. It seemed to be capable of transforming any part of itself at will. What a unique foe.

Necro sat up, a hole in his shoulder sitting as an obvious wound from the opening moments of the battle, "Ugh. This is the thing. The thing that's been after us since we left Russia."

Cammy simply nodded wordlessly, having gathered that much. It looked very similar to the image she had sketched out from Necro and Effie's description not too long ago. Her focus was more directed at how to handle the adversary before them. She had to protect Necro, yet she doubted that he would simply stand aside. Even with his wound, he seemed set on fighting alongside her. That would not do. If he died, the mission would fail.

"Where is Effie?" Cammy asked, thinking of a way to distract her client and direct him away from the dangerous situation.

Immediately, Necro's solid white eyes went wide. Without a second thought, he rushed off to see if his girlfriend was alright. Though the creature had attacked him and only him ferociously upon finding him, Effie had been very close to him when the assault had begun. She could have been hurt.

The creature lunged at Necro, as Cammy expected, and she moved to intercept it, "Spiral Arrow!" She flew along the ground at her target, spinning like a corkscrew and cutting off the creature at the pass. She didn't make contact as it stopped short before she would have hit it. Transforming an arm into an ax, it swung down at Cammy as she came out of her crouch.

Cammy's first instinct was to raise her arms to block with her gauntlets, nearly forgetting that she hadn't come to the library dressed for battle. She carried a few knives with her because going completely unarmed was not the mark of a prepared warrior. That did little to help her defend herself against a foe such as the one before her, however.

At the last moment, she dove desperately out of the way before she lost an arm to the attack, or worse. Still, it wasn't quick enough to escape harm entirely. Cammy felt her flesh tear as she fell to the floor, not in a position to evade smoothly when she decided upon her self-preserving course of action.

Cammy hit the ground and rolled back onto her feet, momentarily clutching her wound before setting down into her fighting stance. Such an annoying injury, and it could have been prevented if she had brought her normal mission equipment.

'I was careless,' Cammy thought to herself, trying to ignore the blood dripping from the wound on her arm onto the floor, 'The moment we undertook this mission, I should have realized that an attack could come anywhere at any time,' She had gotten too used to things being peaceful. She had relaxed, and now she was paying the price.

The creature's arms split into several tendrils on each side that lashed out, waving and whipping all about. It tore apart the ground and furniture all around as it approached Cammy in a straightforward dash. It was an intimidating attack, but as it came closer, Cammy took a calming deep breath and stepped away, twisting her body to avoid being struck until she adjusted to the pace of the tendrils and could retaliate.

No matter how fast it was moving, all she had to do was wait. Wait until she found a pattern or a sloppy opening to exploit. And so she did. With Psycho Power in her delicate fist she smashed clear through it. Her punch impacted off of what counted for a face on the creature.

It retreated, but only momentarily. As it tried to get around Cammy to reach its prey, it could only find a tiny blonde girl blocking its path, and she had no plans of moving aside.

"I don't know what you are," Cammy said, "But I will not allow you to pass. You'll have to do directly through me."

Something told her that the creature had no problems with that whatsoever.

XxX

(Meanwhile – With Naruto – Elsewhere In Aohura City)

Naruto's feet landed on the top of an apartment complex as he made his way to the library downtown. After leaving Karin's home he had planned to meet up with Cammy where she was doing research and head home with her as well as Necro and Effie. As the Russian couple were staying with them for the time being, space was a bit tight, but it wasn't anything particularly uncomfortable. It just meant that Cammy had to sleep with him while the others took her bed.

As he landed on the edge of a tall brick wall and ran along it, he thought about what they were all going to have for dinner that night. Necro and Effie hadn't taken well to most of what he had in his house to eat. The philistines didn't care for his extensive selection of ramen, and even when he had been willing to share. If that was the case, he could just take everyone out and chalk it up to expenses once it was time to get paid.

As Naruto grinned to himself about his sly plan for reimbursement from his clients, a large metallic projectile, ripping with electricity flew through the air. Naruto caught sight of it before it could hit him and jumped high into the air, landing safely on the top of a light post.

Naruto stared at the area of impact, catching full sight of the devastation wrought by what had been presumably thrown at him. There was a massive gaping hole in the wall, ten times the size of what had been launched at it, and it had only clipped near the top.

In the direction that the attack originated from, a tall, muscular man with ashen skin and short blond hair, and a jewel embedded in his forehead stood, hands shoved in the pockets of his suit. He glared up at Naruto from a nearby overpass hatefully.

Naruto glared right back and in a single bound, jumped from his perch up onto the overpass to confront his assailant.

"Okay," He said, trying to sound civil to the man that had attempted to kill him moments before. Nothing he wasn't used to, "You've got my attention. What do you want?"

Naruto didn't expect the man to speak Japanese, so it didn't surprise him when English came from his mouth moments later, "Naruto Uzumaki. I've come all this way just to crush you."

The man radiated raw killing intent. This was clearly not a good person, either from the vibes he got from him, or his actions thus far. However, Naruto had dealt with far worse before, "Yeah, I figured that much," He declared in return, still in Japanese. They could understand each other regardless, "Anything more articulate to say before I beat your dick into the dirt?"

"Worthless trash," The man spat, "If you're really worth the time, than perhaps staining my clothes with your filthy blood won't be as much trouble as I thought."

It had been a while since anyone had tried to belittle Naruto. There was very little left for one to insult about him. He made a more than respectable living, was a fairly decent student in school, and had a measure of world renown for his performance in the Second World Warrior Tournament. Back when he had something to prove, the words of the person in front of him may have set him off, but now they rang hollow.

Naruto just thumbed his nose in the man's direction and left it at that, "You gonna talk, or fight? I've got somewhere I need to be."

Veins appeared on the angry individual's head. In an instant, his skin turned bronze, his hair turned pale white, and he vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing directly in Naruto's face with his fist cocked, "DIE!" There was no warming up or feeling out process. The desire to end Naruto's life was there from the very first step taken.

However, there was a certain sense of clarity that came after one had spent time dancing with monsters.

Just as quickly as the man had been upon him, Naruto had disappeared to the other side of the overpass. He turned to see Naruto standing on the railing with his hands shoved into the pockets of his school uniform, open and billowing in the evening wind to show the mesh armor he wore underneath.

The man looked into Naruto's eyes, and what he saw left him very much displeased. There was no fear, as if he had faced forces of comparable or greater strength. No sense of awe at his presence, as if he had seen others of nobler, more influential lineages. In fact, Naruto looked upon him as though they were equals.

No, as though he were better. Unacceptable.

"You will learn, boy, to fear the true emperor; Urien," With a flex of every muscle in his body, the suit shredded into bits, leaving him in a loincloth, "I will not be satisfied with your disrespect until I am compensated with your death!" He roared before charging once more.

"Karin makes all of that fancy shit sound better than you do," Naruto replied before whipping a kunai that had been hidden up his sleeve Urien's way. He didn't bother losing, letting the weapon bounce off of his chest harmlessly with a metallic clang, "The hell?"

Urien threw a punch that Naruto jumped over. The resulting miss managed to take an entire chunk off of the overpass, sending it crashing down onto the road below. Naruto dropped down and twisted around to deliver a punch of his own to the base of Urien's skull. It was like hitting a metal statue. The man whipped around, swinging his arm at Naruto, who blocked but was knocked back several feet.

The impact left his forearms sore and his fingers tingling, 'What kind of funky defense is that?' He thought to himself. That had been a battle-ending blow he had landed, as hard as he could throw it, 'Guess I just have to hit that much harder then.'

Urien was relentless. The man was violent, nigh psychotic as he shouted "kill," "destroy," and "crush" with every offensive move he made. Naruto had to dodge. With Urien's metallic body, he had to pick and choose which attacks he blocked. The rest he had to make sure he avoided contact with, otherwise he would have to endure hits from the equivalent of a sledgehammer.

Even when Naruto hit him, punches that would send other people stumbling away at worst, flying head over heels at best, barely budged Urien back. The massive foreigner didn't seem that dense physically at first glance, but if his body was metal, it made sense that he would be significantly heavier and thus harder to knock off-balance, in addition to making him harder to damage.

Naruto backed off while making a series of hand-seals and jumped away with a deep breath, "Isseishageki Chakura Tanki-sha (Chakra Spitfire Volley)!" The small chakra projectiles bounced off of Urien like BBs, but did a fair amount to pester him, causing enough pain to prompt him to charge forward.

Urien dashed forward with the force of a mack truck and only seemed to gain speed with each step he took. In Naruto's mind, there was a time to defend, but there was such a thing as being too passive in a battle, especially with the style that he fought with. He couldn't completely alter his game plan, otherwise he would lose a good portion of his techniques. That meant it was time to take a chance in the hopes of learning more about his opponent.

Eyes bulged wide in Urien's socket, anticipating charging over the significantly smaller Naruto with his entire body and pulverizing him into the pavement, "Begone! Chariot Tackle!"

"Come on then!" Naruto bellowed, a blue orb of pure chakra spinning tightly in his right hand as he moved forward to meet him head-on. If he was going to present a prime target, making this a test of wills was right up Naruto's alley, "Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)!"

Naruto's jutsu met Urien's lowered right shoulder. As Urien's right arm gave out under the tearing jutsu, electrified ki clashed with the attack, moving over to Naruto and giving him a harsh jolt which weakened his base. As the Rasengan canceled out, both fighters flew apart to opposite sides of the overpass. Naruto contorted his body over the railing and landed on his feet on the street down below. Urien crashed through it with his body, then did the same as Naruto.

As he landed, Urien clutched at his right shoulder that he had used to charge into Naruto, "What kind of attack-?" He mused aloud, feeling fortunate that the limb hadn't been dislocated, 'Whatever that was, it ground into me, then propelled me away with a burst at the point of impact. Such a technique is a contradiction of itself,' He thought, touching at the angry red spiral mark on his shoulder that began to bleed.

He had been wounded. Injured significantly by an unworthy commoner.

One thing was for certain, Urien could not allow another attack of that nature to touch him. While it may or may not have defeated him, it absolutely would have handicapped him and led to his defeat. Losing, or failure of any type was not accepted by the Illuminati, and certainly not by the President.

In a rage, Urien powered up, conjuring a pillar of raw earth and electric-based energy around his body, "Your corpse will pave my road to the throne of the New World!" He lifted his hand and grabbed his wrist to help himself aim. In an instant, a gigantic metal ball formed in front of him, ripping with electricity, "Metallic Sphere!"

Naruto's eyes went wide before he was obliterated by the ball, exploding in a shower of deadly jolts of electricity and shrapnel. There was no small measure of joy he received from watching this happen. There was just one problem though. There was no blood, or any other signs that someone who had been standing there had been hurt. It was like there had never been anyone there at all.

Something told Urien to look back up at the overpass they had both been flung from. There hadn't even been a descending shadow to let him know that he had been in danger.

The Naruto that plummeted off of the bridge hadn't been the real Naruto at all. The real Naruto had remained behind and used a clone to take his place in order to catch him off-guard. He had also used another clone to quickly and quietly hep him come up with something effective enough to put a hurting on Urien.

Naruto and a copy of him plummeted from the sky with a Rasengan held between the two of them, "Odama Rasengan (Great Ball Spiraling Sphere)!" A panic set itself into Urien's heart as the glowing ball of pain came ever closer.

"Aegis Reflector!" Urien lifted his arms and waved them in front of his body as Naruto approached. As he and his clone shot their hands forward with the Odama Rasengan in their grasp, it clashed against a previously invisible force-field that was only seen once the jutsu came in contact with it.

One second, everything was going Naruto's way. It seemed to be a wrap. Even if Urien had a body like metal, if the regular Rasengan hurt him, the bigger, badder version would make sure he stayed down. Naruto had caught him in a situation that he could not escape from. And then there all was aching.

A purple, square translucent wall formed between Naruto and Urien. The force of the Odama Rasengan was reflected back on those that intended to use it on Urien. Naruto's clone was dispelled, and Naruto himself was knocked down the road.

Urien cackled at the sight of his opponent being sent away after such a powerful attack. It was part arrogance, part delirious relief at not being hit by a sure-fire fight-ending maneuver, "Hahahaha! My perfect guard! No one can break it!" He boasted, "So how do you like it?"

Naruto sat up and coughed, "So that's what it's like to get hit with a rebound move. I've got something that works sort of like that. Kinda jealous, actually," He had no idea what part of his body he wanted to hold onto and nurse. Everything hurt. Instead of taking damage at a focal point, the way the Rasengan was designed to work, it had been spread out. As uncomfortable as it was, it was a good thing. A better thing at least than if the impact of the Odama Rasengan had all hit in one particular spot. Pain was fine. It was nothing he wasn't equipped to deal with.

"You overestimate your own abilities," Urien declared, "You have no technique that compares to one of the arcane Sixty-Six Secret Arts."

This was the kind of man that freaked out when he wasn't in control of a fight and lashed out uncontrollably. There was a lot that Naruto could do with that, he just had to get back up and make it happen. He had overwhelmed Urien once, without even breaking out the heavy artillery. Not that he was going to do that in the middle of the city, but he doubted Urien cared about such a thing, which meant he was already going close to all out.

If Naruto turned it up a bit more, he could make Urien snap again, and that would be it. If it came to raw power, Urien would have to do much better to defeat Naruto, and from the way he nearly lost it from the idea of taking the Odama Rasengan, it was a sign that he didn't have what it took.

"So you came all this way just to get a piece of me?" Naruto said, standing up, even as he continued to feel the effects of the backlash from his reflected jutsu. He was fortunate, in that his clone had been there to take half of the damage in his place. Even then, he felt the chakra of the Kyuubi begin to mend the worst of the harm. But the more time he could buy, the better it would be for him, "Did I do something to piss you or any of your friends off? Or are you just one of those rich guys with weird hobbies to waste your time."

Urien sneered hatefully at his foe's attempt to work out his reasoning for challenging him, "Consider yourself honored to be an entrant in the Third World Warrior Tournament," He said, "Not that it will last long for you."

It explained things, but in the same vein, it didn't explain anything at all, "What are you talking about? I haven't heard anything about a new tournament," If there was one, Naruto would have heard about it. He made it to the finals of the last one, even if that had been staged as a trap by Bison.

Urien turned to the city proper and seemed to spit at the general population, "This isn't for the paltry entertainment of the masses. This tournament will decide the future. And you do not enter. You are not invited. You are chosen. You, Naruto Uzumaki, have been marked. You must have received your invitation informing you of this."

Naruto squinted his eyes and tried to remember where he had seen an all-seeing eye and a map of that nature before.

At that moment, a very annoying sound came from Naruto's pocket, prompting him to take a step back and hold up a finger, silently asking a seething Urien to wait while he checked his phone.

Cammy had sent him a message. It read that they had seen the all-seeing eye symbol before. Before he had seen it at Karin's house. And then it came back to him.

(Flashback – Three Weeks Ago)

"You have mail," Cammy said, holding up a box from where she sat cross-legged on the kitchen table.

Naruto gave her an odd look as he undid the top buttons of his school uniform, "I have mail? Who mails me anything?" He asked, having just returned from school. Cammy shrugged and handed it over. Moments later after opening it up, his confusion had hardly subsided, "What the heck? A tablet?"

Cammy also had questions of her own as Naruto tried to turn it on, "Who sent it?" She asked, crawling on the table like a cat to try and get a closer peek, "Maybe it's a present from a client?" She had received more than a few since their business had expanded.

Naruto laughed and looked over his shoulder where Cammy was looking, "You get presents from clients, not me," Because those clients wanted to get into Cammy's pants, "Besides, if this was a present, it's really not great."

It was common knowledge that Naruto didn't care much for technology except for what he needed to do with it, but to simply cast away something that could be useful. It made no sense, "Why not?"

Naruto gave Cammy a dry look and gave her a better view of what was on the screen after he had fired up the device, "I can't make it do anything else. There aren't any apps on this thing, and I can't even get out of... whatever this is."

True enough, Cammy saw that no matter how he touched the screen, all he could do was zoom in and out of various places on the world view screen, "Looks like a map in one of those video games you like to play," She commented.

Naruto stared at the tablet as though he could will something to happen just by giving it a scary look. His patience lasted only a handful of seconds, "Gah! What would I want something like this for? Who would send this to me?" He lifted it above his head until he noticed that Cammy's eyes had never left the device. Her stare was intense. Even if she didn't say anything, he knew what that meant, "...D-Do you want it?" He offered.

Blinking for the first time in over thirty seconds, Cammy slowly reached her hand out as though Naruto would destroy the tablet if she moved too fast, "If you say I can have it, yes."

Naruto squinted his eyes as Cammy retreated over to the couch to try and get a handle on what was now HER possession. Even if he had wanted it to begin with, he wasn't getting it back now, "You know, Cam, when you ask me for stuff, I'll pretty much always give you whatever you want."

"I will keep that in mind."

(End Flashback)

It all came back to Naruto after he took a moment to think, "Oh! That. I let my roommate keep that," She had taken it to get the entire thing cleared out and had been using it as her own for the past month, "I told her if she could get it fixed she could have it."

Urien looked even more enraged, the veins in his neck visible as he wished to strangle the life from this fool's body, "What?"

Naruto didn't see what the big deal was, "Well it wasn't any good to me! The only app it would run was that stupid map program that it came with. What was I supposed to do with that!?"

Urien growled lowly, squeezing his hand against his own bicep hard enough to draw blood, "Brother... this method of yours... is foolish!" He exclaimed to no one in particular, "This cretin is not worthy of being measured by the standards of our society! He is vermin that needs to be culled before the New World can be allowed to take form!"

Uzumaki Naruto was a moron. And yet his brother Gill deemed him worthy of taking a place in what was to come, if only he could prove himself. That decided it. It was up to the leader to cull the unworthy, and if Gill was too busy basking in the idea of being emperor of the Illuminati, that just proved him unworthy of the position. This would be the first step to proving that.

"Enough talk! You've lingered for far too long in my presence!" Urien shouted, backflipping into the air before defying physics and diving at Naruto with a knee drop, "Violence Knee Drop!"

Naruto shut his eyes upon seeing Urien take to the skies. When he reopened them, he launched himself upwards with a roar and delivered a lightning-quick punch right to the bronze fighter's jaw. No finesse, nothing more than the desire to hit his enemy and deliver the first strike.

The punch knocked Urien down to the ground on his backside as Naruto landed gracefully. Urien scrambled back to his feet before Naruto could spend too long looking down at him with the disdain he had in his eyes. Eyes that were no longer blue. Odd.

"Is this what you came here for, tough guy?" Naruto said, his voice coloring over in a gravely tone as a side-effect from taking on the chakra of the beast residing within him, "I hope you like what you get!"

"I came here to make you suffer, and I demand satisfaction!" Not giving up easily, Urien leapt into the air at Naruto with his head drawn back before swinging it forward, crashing his forehead directly into Naruto's with horrendous force, a manic grin stuck on his face. He stared eye-to-eye with Naruto, just waiting for his eyes to roll into the back of his head.

This did not occur. Instead, Naruto's eyes turned a deeper, angry red, with vertical slits to his pupils. The boy didn't as much as blink, even as blood ran down his forehead underneath his headband.

Urien's entire body began to get oppressively hot as a thick red miasma of energy surrounded Naruto's body, "What... are you?"

His response was a hearty swat from three tails of chakra that sent him flying away from the powered-up teenager, "The best ninja in the world."

Character Profile

Name: Cody Travers
Nationality: United States
Gender: Male
Age: 25 (Birthday: April 18)
Height/Weight: 6'0/176 lbs.
Bloodtype: O
Likes: Starting fights, finding meat on the streets.
Dislikes: Lectures, boredom, gangs, Jessica (ex-girlfriend).
Hobbies: Breaking out of prison.
Rivals: Guy.
Fighting Style: Underworld Brawling
Current Techniques: Bad Spray, Bad Stone, Crack Kick, Jaw Crusher, Criminal Upper, Ruffian Kick, Zonk Knuckle, Final Combination, Mega Crash.
Hyper Techniques: Dead End Irony, Last Dread Dust, Final Destruction.
Background: Formerly one of three heroes (alongside Guy and Mayor Mike Haggar) that saved Metro City from the threat of the Mad Gear Gang at its peak, Cody's drive to find trouble to solve and his penchant for reckless street fighting ended with his eventual arrest for aggravated assault. While imprisoned, Cody felt that his world moved on without him. While he lacks any kind of formal training, Cody is legitimately one of the most powerful men in the world, relying on solid fundamentals and overwhelming strength, speed, tenacity, and instinct to easily overcome most true martial artists. He holds back against opponents and intentionally keeps his shackles on during combat in order to make battles more interesting. Now disenfranchised and uninterested in the world, the only thing that can attract Cody's interest is the prospect of a good fight.

And that's the chapter, peeps. Illuminati is in the house and danger is afoot on two separate fronts, but Urien is about to take a nine-tails smackdown. What's more, a storm is coming. One that some of the top of the top tiers of the universe seem to be frightened by. Whatever could it be? Who can deal with it? And how?

Eh, whatever. It's my job to at least make you feel something when I get to the reveals, so we'll see if I've got the chops to make an impact, even though I'm sure a lot of you can see where we're going.

Alright, I'm done. Fandom Flux Podcast on Youtube. Watch/listen to it, and hear the random ramblings of a bunch of know-it-all fanfiction writers. We are not well people. Seriously, our stream of consciousness is like rainbow stew. At least I have the excuse of getting hit in the head for the better part of eight years in my participation in a blood sport. I don't know what everyone else's excuse is.

I hope you enjoyed. Kenchi out.