A sense of dread and sorrow filled Naruto as he solemnly rocked back and forth on the playground swing. He had been doing that for the past week, quietly swinging as he pondered his next move. But just as his train of thought started to up, he was forced off the swing by a sharp, tiny rock. A dark, warm liquid trickled down his face and he heard, "What are you going to destroy today, Demon Fox!?"

Looking up, Naruto found a couple of adults standing next to the entrance to the playground, their faces holding nothing but contempt for the boy. In response, Naruto glared at his attackers. In no time at all, their contempt turned into fear and the moment Naruto stood on his feet, they wasted no time in running away. As he watched them run, the child's expression changed to a mix of annoyance and regret. He then returned to the swing and continued to rock back and forth until darkness blanketed the area.

Light slowly returned allowing Naruto to find himself now in a bed. A yawn broke through his lips as he sat up.

"Stupid…" he mumbled under his breath as he jumped out of bed.

The young fox walked downstairs and found Smok in the middle of reading one of her many books

"Hey, Smok…" Naruto called.

Naruto's eyes widened as Smok launched out of her seat and landed behind him. Her disturbed face made it clear that she was…

"Y-You startled me, Naruto," Smok stammered.

"What doesn't startle you?"

"The burning smell of the Flaming Mountains."

Naruto blankly stared at the girl in front of him. "…"Did you find the other things yet?"

"Yeah, about that…" Smok swept the dust off her cloak and sat back down at her desk. "Remember what I told you about shards when we first met?"

"Yeah. You said that if we gather them together, they could grant any wish," Naruto recalled.

"Yeah, but what I didn't tell you is why they're separate in the first place."

"Isn't it because things are never that easy?"

"True. But that's not the only reason. You see, a long time ago, during the reign of Alipheese Fateburn VIII, who was also known as Black Alice, there was this mystical object called "The Phantom Ruby".

"'Phantom Ruby'?"

"Yep."

"The shard I found yesterday is part of something called the Phantom Ruby?"

"Uh-huh."

Naruto reached for the shard on Smok's desk and presented it to her. "This shard? This red shard is part of something called the Phantom Ruby?"

"Yep," Smok confirmed with a smile.

Naruto wordlessly stared at Smok then at the shard in his hand. After capturing another look at Smok, he placed the shard back on her desk. "So… What else do you know about it?"

"Well, it's an object of great power that can grant its user any wish they want. But once upon a time a certain someone tried to use its power to conquer the world. Unfortunately for them, they tried to conquer the world when there was already a wannabe world conqueror around and a powerful hero around."

"What happened to them?"

"They lost and the Phantom Ruby was eventually shattered into seven pieces and separated by Black Alice's little sister: Alipheese IX."

"How many Alipheeses are there?"

"I think we're on XV or XVI. Anyway, this is where things get tough. After Alipheese IX separated the ruby, she assigned five people to guard over five of the shards while the sixth was hidden in the Monster Lord's castle."

"Huh? But I got one of them from bandits."

"Yeah. I think something happened to them overtime. At first I thought the bandits got a lucky break and maybe pilfered it from the guards or the Monster Lord's castle. But I used the shard you found to get a rough estimate of the locations of the remaining shards and they don't seem to be in guardian like locations the castle.

"But this is probably for the best. You're strong for your age, but I don't think you can take on monsters that you would consider ancient. On that note…" Smok reached for her desk and presented Naruto with a map. "I already dotted out the locations for you."

"Alright!" an excited grin formed on Naruto's lips and he accepted the map.

"And don't forget this," Smok reached behind her back and presented a backup. "All the essentials and the shard."

Naruto accepted the backpack and quickly strapped it over his shoulder.

"So, it's finally time to get started for real…" Naruto happily chuckled as thought about his upcoming journey. "Just you wait, Smok, I'll find the rest in a flash."

"I'll hold you to that," Smok happily nodded her head.

Naruto nodded his head in return before an awkward silent penetrated their conversation. His whisker-marked cheeks faintly grew red as he struggled to maintain eye contact.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Smok asked.

"Nothing, it's just… Thanks for taking me in and helping me, Smok," Naruto thanked.

"Huh?" the girl in front of him wordlessly examined him from head to toe. "I never expected you to say that. But, no problem."

"Time to go wild!" Naruto excitedly declared.

"By the way, you still have to take the train out of town," Smok informed him.

"Dang it!" Naruto complained.

"And it's going to leave soon."

A rage-filled scream leaped out of Naruto's mouth before darting out of the house.

"I didn't have the heart to add that rubies are red too," Smok thought aloud.

Even if he was told, Naruto's mind was too obsessed with trying to make the boring train ride to care. He ran and ran until he was eventually brought to a screeching halt by some unknown force.

"Ow! Who put a brick wall in the middle of the road?" Naruto thought aloud.

"Excuse me," he heard someone say.

Despite the pain, the young fox was able to recognize that meek, gentle voice.

"Wait…" Naruto glanced up to find the boy he helped yesterday in front of him. "Hey, you're the kid with the monkey tail!"

"Mm-hmm. I'm Son Gohan," the boy introduced himself.

"Gohan, huh? Well, I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. By the way, where were you off to in such a hurry?"

"I wasn't going anywhere. I was just standing here."

"Really? Felt like I ran into someone running into me… Wait, I don't have time to think about this! I have to catch the train before it's too late!"

"Hold it!" the two turned around to face the source of that sudden demand. Gohan's face immediately turned pale white upon finding himself face to face with the women Naruto saved him from the day before. "You two really gave us trouble yesterday."

"We? He didn't do anything. Besides you were the guys that were causing trouble," Naruto pointed out.

"Um, Naruto…" Gohan said.

"But if you three want me to take you down again, I'm all for it," Naruto boasted.

"Naruto…" Gohan said.

"Wait, you guys aren't succubusses are you?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto!" Gohan cried.

"What?" Naruto finally answered.

Gohan wordlessly spun Naruto around in a full 360 degree movement, allowing the young Uzumaki to realize that they were surrounded.

"Oh." Naruto glanced around, noting the various knives, swords and creepy faces. He also took note of the scales that permeate their body and lizard like tails. "Hey, Gohan, can you fight?"

"Not really," the monkey-tailed child answered as his whole body shook.

"Welp…" a confident grin spread across Naruto's face. "More fun for me. It's time to go wi-!"

"Didn't you say that you had to catch a train?" Gohan recalled.

30 seconds passed by until Naruto's brain fully processed his words. "Oh crap, that's right! I don't have time for this!"

"Maybe we could find some way to work out a compromise," Gohan suggested. "Maybe if we-"

Before he could finish that sentence, Gohan found himself lifted over Naruto's shoulder.

"Hang on," he instructed.

Naruto jumped up to a nearby rooftop and began jumping towards other ones as he raced to the train station.

"Naruto, they're following us!" Gohan cried.

Glancing over his shoulder, Naruto could see that they were indeed being chased.

"Yeesh, they're really stubborn, aren't they?" he noted. "Maybe they are succubuses."

"What's a succubus?" Gohan asked.

"You don't want to know…" Naruto assured him.

He continued to hop across rooftops as fast as he could but found himself unable to lose their pursuers. "Hey, Gohan?"

"Yeah?" Gohan responded.

"You sure you can't fight?"

"No, I can't fight. I'm just a kid."

"You know I'm a kid too, right? Not to mention your monkey tail kinda makes it obvious you're not exactly a normal kid like me. You sure you don't have some sort of hidden power?"

"I'm pretty sure I don't have anything like that."

"Hm. Fine…"

Naruto suddenly jumped at street level and continued his run to get out of Zero District. As he anticipated, their chasers followed them down there.

"Is this part of your plan, Naruto?" Gohan queried.

"Yep. Just watch th-" From the corner of his eyes, Naruto noticed a girl suddenly appear in front of him. "Whoa!"

Using his heels, Naruto brought his run to a screeching halt just in front of the girl. Something about her was mesmerizing to him. At first he thought it was the jet black tattoos that crawled down her bleach white skin from her eyes or maybe it were her horns that perfectly matched her gothic attire. But neither of those were the answer. He soon realized that it was actually her blood red eyes. It was like they were peering into her soul.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Son Gohan" she suddenly said.

"Huh?" Naruto couldn't hide his shock over what he just heard. "How'd you know my-?"

"There they are!" A sharp chill shot up Naruto and Gohan's spines as they heard that announcement.

"Dang it, they just won't quit!" Naruto complained.

Preparing to make another dash, Naruto suddenly found himself unable to move. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move an inch. "Wh-What the heck?"

Suddenly, the girl walked in front of the two and directed her gaze at their pursuers. In no time at all, all of them collapsed to the ground, foam pouring out of their mouths.

"Whoa…" the two couldn't hide their amazement at what they just saw.

But that amazement quickly turned to anxiety as her gaze returned to them.

"Gohan, tell me you didn't somehow tick this girl off too." Naruto desperately pleaded.

"I've never even met her…" Gohan fearfully muttered.

"Naruto Uzumaki… What you're seeking will lead you down a path of turmoil," the girl said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Seeking the shards could get you killed and even if you succeed, you won't get what you desire."

Deprived of his vocabulary, Naruto could only stare at the girl before anger seeped in. "What would you know about what I desire?"

Ignoring his question, the girl stretched her hand towards him. In the blink of an eye, a Phantom Ruby shard appeared in front of him.

"That's-!" Before he could finish his sentence, Naruto's hand reflexively reached out and grabbed the shard. "How'd you-?"

"What you decide to do from here on out… Whether you live or die… Think about the consequences that your journey will bring you," the girl said before fading away.

Naruto curiously looked down at the shard he was just given. A plethora of emotions swelled in him as he pondered what he was just told.

"Oh crap! The train!" remembering his original task, Naruto took off once again.