Chapter 7 – The wave and more…

In the last hour before the wave, Naruto and his party came together at Erhard's. "Alright, we will start with Charlie formation. Civilians are the priority. Keep an eye on both your mana and your chakra. Do not stray from your partner. Call for help if you need it. We should try to stay close to each other."

Jiraiya then said, "Make sure you have all the potions, salves, bandages, and equipment that you need."

Naruto then looked at his parties' status and saw: Naruto: Lvl 27, Raphtalia: Lvl 35, Sylvie: Lvl 35, Milly: Lvl 30, Jiraiya: Lvl 32, Rino: Lvl 28. He then checked his shields:

Small shield, Orange, Yellow, Red Balloon shields, Leaf shield, Fish Shield, Mush, Blush Mush, Green Mush shields, Egg, Blue Egg, Sky Egg shields, Small Medicine, Small Poison shields, Doctor shield, Energy, Potential Energy shields, UsaMeat, UsaLeather shields, Sharpening shield, Pickax shield, Rope shield, Pikyupikyu shield, Wood, Rock Shields, Butterfly shield, Pipe shield, Iron, Copper, Silver, Lead, Light Metal shields, Slave Trainer III shield, Novice mixing, Mortar, Beeker, Medical Research Shields, Animal Needle shield… it continued for a few more, but they were not very interesting.

He switched to the Light Metal shield. He then nodded to himself and felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Sylvie smile warmly at him. The rest of the group look at him and smiled. He then exclaimed, "Let's do this! I bet the other heroes go for the main monster and we will have to save civilians first. Erosenin, we're keeping clones secret unless we really need them."

Jiraiya nodded and replied, "Sounds good. We should also not use jutsu in front of guards or the other heroes."

Rino stood and she cleared her throat and said, "Naruto. I may only speak for myself, but I think I speak for all of your party when I say. We are all behind you and know that you're behind us. I will be your sword through thick and thin. I will follow anywhere."

Naruto smiled and blushed. The other girls nodded and replied, "We agree."

Naruto then said, "Then we figure out where the wave is and protect the innocents first and then deal with the 'boss'. I'm sure that the other heroes will want to be first to take care of it and leave the people to the mercy of the wave. Not realizing what they are doing. So, the first priority is to secure any village and then go after the 'boss'. If we have to, we will let them take care of the 'boss'. Agreed?"

Everyone in the group nodded and exclaimed, "Right."

Naruto looked at the timer and said, "We have about a minute. Check your equipment. Potions and bandages. Rino, Jiraiya will carry you if we need to travel to the location, and then we will take our formation."

Rino nodded and replied, "Yes sir."

Naruto then said, "Ten seconds."

The group waited for the time to tick off. All of them heard a loud gong when the timer hit zero. They were then surrounded by a light and teleported. All of them looked around and Raphtalia said, "The heroes are headed to the heart of the wave, like you predicted."

Naruto nodded and then said, "We're near Lute village. Let's go."

Jiraiya picked up Rino and the group as a whole jumped off towards the village. They made it there in very little time. Raphtalia and Sylvie were actually able to cleave a zombie each in two just before it hit the ground. Jiraiya set Rino down and the group looked at Naruto. He then said, "Charlie formation for now. Head down the streets and help the villagers. Herd them into a group and then we will get them to safety."

Naruto quickly ran with Sylvie behind him. He slid down in front of a zombie to block it from slashing down at a man who was sitting on the ground holding his arm up in defense. Naruto blocked the swing while Sylvie took the head of the zombie. Sylvie asked, "Are you, alright sir? If so, follow behind us and we will protect you."

The man nodded and got up and followed the pair. They then came upon a woman and her daughter who were set upon by some large bees or wasps. Naruto exclaimed, "Shield prison!" and a round barrier made of shields surrounded the pair. The bees bounced off the barrier and then charged Naruto and Sylvie. Naruto changed his shield to the 'Animal needle shield' and added speed to his own charge. Sylvie stayed behind and picked off the strays that weren't impaled on the shield. The barrier disappeared and the woman and child looked up to see Naruto and Sylvie kill the last bee. Naruto then said, "Follow us and we will lead you all to a rally point to get you out of here." Now having Three people following them they made their way back to the gate and Naruto said, "Rino and Raphtalia, you two take the civilians to safety. Come back for more. We will continue to clear out the village."

Naruto and Sylvie jumped up onto the top of a building and then saw a large zombie about to kill a villager. Naruto exclaimed, "Airstrike Shield! Go, Sylvie!" An ethereal shield appeared between the zombie and the man. The zombie lifted its ax and went for another attack, only for it to lose its head to Sylvie's sword. Naruto then said, "Sylvie! I'm going to protect them and you ferry them to the entrance."

Sylvie nodded and replied, "Got it! Follow me, sir!" The man nodded and followed the bunny girl.

Naruto kept the animal needle shield and charged into a locust swarm. He decimated the swarm. He then saw a group of adventures backed against a wall. He continued his charge and created a Rasengan in his right hand. The Rasengan hit the zombie that was about to attack the adventurer, but its head was demolished by the jutsu. Naruto said, "I'll get their attention, but I want you to do a fighting retreat to the entrance of the village. Most of the villagers are almost evacuated."

The man Naruto had saved replied, "As you wish, Shield Hero. Guys, head back down the block."

Naruto then said, "Hey deadheads! Catch me if you can!" This seemed to get a lot of attention. Naruto was then massed and swarmed by the monsters. He smiled and made a Rasengan. He then enlarged it to be bigger than himself and spun around. It tore through the massing monsters. He did notice that he had lost some of his hit points, but that was minimal. He saw the last of the adventurers rounding the corner towards the entrance of the village. He then noticed Sylvie coming into view. She was cleaving monsters left and right as she progressed. Naruto smiled widely at this. He then jumped and landed behind her to block an ax from one of the large zombies. She flipped backward and took the head of the zombie with a deft swing of her sword. Naruto then did several hand signs and exclaims, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" He breaths out a large fireball that hits a large group of monsters.

Sylvie then exclaims, "As the source of my power, I order thee. First Fireblast." A fireball hits another group of monsters from her fire magic.

Naruto then exclaims, "Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!" He aimed it at a group of monsters, but also a burning building. This had the effect of hurting the monsters and putting out the fire in the building.

Elsewhere in the village, Jiraiya and Milly were running down the streets either using magic, in the case of Milly, or slicing down monsters, in the case of Jiraiya. The civilians saved were corralled and herded towards the entrance of the village. Jiraiya made sure to only use jutsu of fire and water on most of the monsters. He would use wind on the flying monsters though. The pair cleared about a quarter of the village. Raphtalia and Rino were able to clear a quarter of the village also. Naruto and Sylvie were in the final area trying to clear the village of monsters and were backing out when they noticed several flares.

Naruto changed his shield to the Light Metal Shield. They had cleared most of the monsters from the area, but not all. The flares were actually spells and appeared to be artillery-type spells that had an area effect. Naruto wrapped Sylvie in his cape and lifted his shield to the incoming spell. The area became a conflagration. Naruto used a long-lasting water bullet to extinguish the fires in the area.

An arrogant voice said, "The Shield Hero? You're a tough one. Oh well, guess we got all the monsters in one shot."

Naruto held Sylvie's arm and said, "If this is how you protect your populace, I would hate to see what will be left after the last wave. I'm guessing… nothing."

The man looked angrily at Naruto and said, "You will watch your mouth, you criminal."

Naruto asked, "Or what? You'll die like a valiant warrior to the monsters that came after your spell?"

The man growled and then said, "You might be hurt if we slip up."

Naruto chuckled and pointed behind the knights. He then said, "You guys might want to get better situational awareness. I'll protect you this once. If you claim you did more than you did, then I'll prank you as you've never been pranked before." He disappeared.

The leader of the knights asked, "Where is he?" He then heard a clang right behind him and saw an ax a foot from his head.

"You didn't defend the people and never claim that you did in this wave. Now either help me take care of this wave or get out of my way," Naruto exclaimed. Sylvie was already running up the arm of the large zombie. She cleaved the head in half of the zombie.

Naruto and Sylvie began to appear to dance with each other as they began to eliminate the enemies.

The leader of the knights said, "Leave the Shield Hero. We'll help the other Heroes."

Another man who appeared to be a captain shook his head and said, "Knights, phalanx formation."

Naruto chuckled and the leader and a few of his men shook their heads at the group that agreed to stay. He then said, "Leave them. Let's go where we're needed."

Naruto and Sylvie continued to weave in and out of the monsters and backed up the knights. Naruto would occasionally use a water jutsu to put out a fire. Raphtalia and Rino eventually joined them in keeping the village clear of monsters. About a half hour later the sky changed and the monsters stopped coming.

Naruto then exclaimed, "Girls, we're going to clear the village and have the others work on healing those that are safe. We will also look for those who are trapped."

The girls nodded and the group moved around the village. An hour later most of the knights had left and his team had assembled. The villagers had returned and Naruto had set up a medical station. Jiraiya acted like a solo adventurer. So as to not attract attention to himself from the knights. Raphtalia and Sylvie had collected the bodies of the monsters into a pile outside of the village. They also collected the weapons of the monsters too. Knight commander said, "These will be confiscated by the crown."

Naruto stood against the wall and said, "If you can prove that you collected them. Then I have no problem with you doing that. I would have less problem with the village taking a percentage, but the crown? You guys did more damage than the monsters did. Now either get lost or I'll find a monster to feed you to. The spoils of this battle belong to the town and me."

Knight commander angrily replied, "I don't think you understand who you're dealing with."

Naruto looked at the man and said, "Oh I do. You're the one who thinks that he is in control. Remember I saved your life. Now get out of my sight. Before I make you disappear and they don't find the body."

Knight commander growled and said, "The King also would like to invite you and the other heroes to a celebration for beating the wave."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and replied, "Sure, but let Kingy know that if he pulls anything I'm going to not be pleased and he will not like the consequences."

The knight commander gasped and asked, "Are you threatening the King?"

Naruto shook his head and replied, "As the prankster king of Konoha… It is a promise. Remind him not to mess with me. I am a hero and was brought here against my will to help him out. He will give me some consideration. I did rescue a town in his kingdom and I didn't see him out here and you guys arrived really late."

The commander turned and left while making a 'hmph' sound.

Naruto was feeding his shield from the defeated monsters when he noticed an assemblage of the townsfolk. He looked up and the governor of the town said, "Thank you Shield Hero. If it wasn't for you our town wouldn't have survived."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and replied, "It's okay. My team and I were glad to do it. Part of the job thing." He blushed.

The governor shook his head and said, "You went above and beyond. Thank you.

Naruto bowed and said, "I would like to negotiate on the salvage of the weapons from the wave."

The man looked surprised and asked, "What do you mean, Sir Hero?"

"I was going to sell them and give you a percentage of the take to help with rebuilding," Naruto replied.

The man smiled and said, "That is most gracious, Sir Hero. We would be happy with whatever you decide is fair."

Naruto sighed and said, "Then I guess we can go fifty, fifty on the weapons and other parts that I have salvaged."

Raphtalia and Sylvie finally came back with the mutilated corpse of the Chimera.

The governor bowed and said, "That is most gracious and we agree to your terms."

The rest of the town bowed and began to file back into town. Raphtalia said, "They looked like they were really grateful."

Naruto nodded and replied, "Yes they did. We need to get the best prices for this stuff we can, so that we can help this town rebuild. We also helped to make sure that as few as possible kids went through what you and Sylvie went through."

break

Naruto, the girls and Jiraiya were in the castle at the celebration party. Jiraiya kept his distance to keep an eye on the things happening on the court. Naruto was sitting on a windowsill going over some new information in his help menu. Sylvie brushed by Motoyasu, who reached to grab her, only to be intercepted by Myne. Sylvie happily came up to Naruto and said, "This food is great."

Naruto asked, "Really?"

Sylvie nodded and took a fork and fed it to Naruto. She then asked, "See?"

Naruto smiled and then frowned. He then asked, "What do you want, pretty boy?"

Motoyasu threw down a glove and said, "I challenge you to a fight."

Naruto chuckled and asked, "You litter to challenge me to fight? So, what is this really about?"

"Sylvie is your slave, right?" Motoyasu asked.

Naruto nodded and replied, "Yep. Just like the nobility, I have a slave or two. They help. I trea…"

Motoyasu interrupted, "We're heroes, we shouldn't do that! We come from worlds that don't have that!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really? Are you sure that there is NO slavery anywhere in your world? Sex slaves, or other types of slaves, or are you just blind?"

Ren said, "A hero having a slave. Will he stoop to no level of degradation?"

Itsuki replied, "He does have a point. There is still slavery in our worlds, but it is limited."

Ren sighed and agreed, "True, but it isn't the norm."

Naruto explained, "In this world slavery is the norm. It is also in my world. It is looked down upon, but so are masters who are not good to their slaves."

"It doesn't matter. I challenge you for Sylvie's freedom!" Motoyasu exclaimed.

Naruto stood and asked, "So you're challenging me? Then you have something that you're willing to give up and put on the table as collateral for this bet? Or are you just going to challenge me to a fight without anything if I win. That would be forcing me into a fight with nothing for me to accept the challenge."

Motoyasu gritted his teeth and said, "If you win things stay the same."

Naruto shook his head and said, "You see, that is what I mean. I'm the only one who has something to lose. You see, I can't kill you for making this challenge, since I need you to finish off these waves, but you would be taking someone special from me. You also haven't asked if she wants to be away from me. That is just as bad as forcing me to fight. Making me a kind of slave to you. Maybe she likes it how it is. There is a reason for the slave crest, but you wouldn't listen to reason. Also, you don't know who and what you're fighting."

Motoyasu laughed and said, "You're just a shielder. You have no attack."

Naruto laughed and replied, "So, since you feel you have an advantage. you're going to bully me into doing what you want me to do? Sounds like a real hero like you. In my world and more than likely in yours they call that a bully."

"Enough! You will accept the challenge Shield Hero!" Aultcray exclaimed.

Naruto turned to the king and glared at him. The king flinched at the glare. Naruto then said, "You stay out of this or you may not be a respected member of the community anymore. Also, there is no incentive for me to accept. If you are forcing me to do this then you are declaring war upon me. And you do not want to do that." His voice became deep and his eyes changed to violet.

"You will accept or I will take your party members away from you. Draw swords!" Aultcray exclaimed.

Naruto's eyes remained violet and he said, "Fine, but you will compensate me if I win or you will not like the consequences."

Aultcray smiled and said, "You will not threaten the king."

Naruto then said, "Sure I'll threaten you. I will tell your wife. I'm sure that she will want to know about this. She wears the pants in this family and you're just a concubine playing with power."

The king flinched and said, "Very well, if you win. I will compensate you."

The party was led to a colosseum-like building and Naruto put in a room with a bunch of weapons. Naruto sighed and looked at all the weapons. He heard, "The fight between the Shield Hero and the Spear Hero will be a contest. The contest will continue until one is either pinned, gives up, or is unconscious. The contest will begin when the contestants enter the arena."

Naruto smirked at the rules and chuckled. He knew what he had to do. The doors opened and he walked down a row of guards into the arena. He then heard, "This contest is official since it is being officiated by both the Pope and the King."

Naruto scowled at the officials.

Naruto looked around and saw Myne on the side of the arena. He then said, "She should move out of the line of fire or she could be hurt or killed. I will not take responsibility for your party member. I also don't want to fight against two combatants at once, but if I have too I can and I will destroy her. I hope she understands that I will make sure that a lot of this area is destroyed, I do know magic."

Motoyasu looked surprised and said, "Myne, you should leave the field of battle."

Naruto said, "Unless this is a battle between parties and then bring my party down."

Motoyasu shook his head and said, "This is a battle between you and me."

Naruto began to smile and it got wider and wider. He then said, "You fell into a trap. I'm not just a shielder, I'm a shinobi. You've already lost. I don't care what you think you can do. It won't be enough."

Motoyasu shook his head and moved his hair out of his eyes, not really listening to Naruto. He then said, "Have you ever heard of the story of the spear and the shield?"

Naruto changed his shield to the Light metal shield and chuckled. The Spear hero charged and jabbed at Naruto. Naruto sighed at the speed of the jabs. He blocked every one of them and then asked, "So, when the spear didn't penetrate the shield what happened? I would guess that the spearman lost."

Motoyasu jumped back and turned his spear. He then said, "I'll admit you've got some moves. Chaos Spear!" The speed of the spear increased, but not enough to worry Naruto.

Naruto shifted the shield to his left arm and blocked the spear. He grabbed the haft of the spear and kicked Motoyasu in the chin with his right leg. This stunned the man. Naruto then moved his leg to the right and then kicked Motoyasu across the face. This turned the man to the right. Naruto followed it up by jumping over the spear and kicking with his left leg to the face. He let the spear go and Motoyasu went sprawling. Naruto looked at Myne and did several hand signs, He then exclaimed," Water Release: Water Wall!" He spat out water that quickly formed a wall around Naruto. Suddenly something hit the wall from the direction of Myne, but didn't disrupt the wall. The wall then fell and Naruto had finished another set of hand signs and exclaimed, "I warned you bitch! Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" A huge fireball headed towards Myne. She dived away, as the wall exploded in fire. Naruto then turned to Motoyasu. Naruto then disappeared and appeared behind Motoyasu. He said, "Hey idiot! You've lost. First your teammate interfered and now you lose."

Motoyasu turned only to have his feet swept out from under him. Naruto then knelt down upon the chest of Motoyasu. The man shook his head and said, "Hey get off!"

Naruto shook his head and replied, "No! You're pinned. He then pointed to where Myne was getting up and said, "If you interfere again. I will end you." He then looked down at Motoyasu and said, "Give up or I will make sure that you are hurting for a week at least. Even after a healer works on you." A blue swirling ball appeared in his right hand. Naruto then explained, "This technique is called the Rasengan and it is an assassination technique. I could kill you with it or just hurt you a LOT. Now give up or be hurt." Motoyasu tried to struggle but didn't understand that Naruto had affixed himself to the ground with chakra and would not be moved. He then used his left hand to do several hand signs and turned to Myne. His eyes purple. Myne flinched and pissed herself. She backed to the entranceway and hid in the hallway. Naruto then looked up at the King and then at the Pope. He then demanded, "Call this match or your Hero is going to be hurt! He has lost!"

Naruto felt a build-up of power and sighed. He jumped off of Motoyasu and landed ten meters away. Motoyasu exclaimed, "Lightning Spear!" He pointed the spear up and lightning came down and hit the spear. The man pointed the spear at Naruto and then lightning streaked at Naruto. Naruto dodged out of the way.

Naruto then exclaimed, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" A fireball headed towards Motoyasu and hit the man, but not directly on. Naruto walked over and looked down at the man. He then said, "You lost before this match started. You underestimated me. I may be only Level twenty-nine, while you're Level forty-three, but I have actual fighting experience. You don't. Give up and let the healers heal you. You have yet to even touch me and I have beaten you at every turn. Open your eyes."

Motoyasu was breathing hard and said, "I'll never surrender to you."

Naruto sighed and said, "You do realize that you fought a trained assassin, don't you?"

Naruto knelt down on Motoyasu's chest and the man began to cough. He said, "I… Won't… let Sylvie-chan… be your slave…"

Naruto whispered to Motoyasu, "You do realize that if she is released from her slave seal that someone else will try to capture her and re-enslave her. The slave crest is only there for her safety. She is free to do as she wishes. I have no real control over her. I have set it at minimum settings. She can't attack me or other party members. That is all. Hell, I even fixed her left hand that was broken by her noble half-brother that sold her into slavery. So, get off your high horse and get some reality. Surrender." Naruto then raised his voice, "Don't do it, bitch!"

The audience noticed Myne coming out of the hallway.

Naruto then asked loudly, "How long do I need to pin him for?"

Aultcray scowled and said, "I guess we can call it a win."

A voice announced, "Winner by pinning Shield Hero."

The murmurs in the crowd were disappointing.

Naruto got up and offered Motoyasu a hand, which was smacked away by the spear. Naruto scowled and began to walk away. He turned to see Motoyasu stab him in the chest with his spear.

Sylvie screamed, "Naruto! No!"

Naruto's eyes turned red and he grabbed the spear. Blood was coming out of his mouth and he coughed. Naruto then said, "Wrong move asshole." The green gem on the shield became red. Naruto pulled the spear out of his chest and said, "Sore loser. You don't know what you've done." Naruto watched as he pulled Motoyasu's spear out of his chest. A text appeared in his view: Curse series requirements met. Naruto stumbled backward as he knelt while coughing. Gritting his teeth.

Jiraiya appeared in front of Motoyasu and looked at the man and said, "You've just asked to be killed by me. His teacher." A Rasengan appeared in his hand and Motoyasu jumped back. Jiraiya was quicker and hit him in the chest with the jutsu. Motoyasu hit the wall. A round impression appeared around where he hit. Jiraiya turned to his student and picked him up. He turned the king, who had a smirk on his face, and said, "This isn't over. We will be back."

Sylvie disappeared, even though she was restrained, as did Raphtalia, Milly, and Rino. Jiraiya pulled out a potion and gave it to Naruto. The pair disappeared in front of the crowd. No one noticed the smile that was on the Pope's face. Also, the restraints were left in a nice, neat pile on the chair that Sylvie had been sitting on. There was also a note: To the guards. To those that groped me. Savor having hands for you shall reap what you have sewn.

A dark shadow in the castle library gritted its teeth and its eyes glowed red. It then said, "Damn him… Damn them all…"

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know that was a twist at the end or several. Sorry it took so long. I've been busy with drama at home. Thanks for the comments, yes even the bad ones. I'm trying to take this story on to its own path in a way, but follow some canon.

Here are the affinities of those in the party:

Naruto= Magic: Support and healing; Chakra: All basic except earth; Lvl: 29

Milly = Magic: fire + light + darkness (illusion); Chakra: fire; Lvl: 35

Raphtalia= Magic: light + darkness (illusion); Chakra: wind; Lvl: 37

Sylvie = Magic: fire + water; Chakra: water; Lvl: 37

Jiraiya = Magic: fire + wind; Chakra: all basic except lightning; Lvl: 33

Rino = Magic: lightning + fire; Chakra: none; Lvl: 32