Naruto: Shinobi Hunters

Digi-Destined saga

Dahngrest arc

Kurama no Kyubi: In this chapter, Naruto and the others will finally leave Keiv Moc and things will pick up concerning what Yuri wanted to talk to the Don about.

merry1995: i started reading the story and i would lie if i said i didn't read it in just two days considering i'm in college hahaha. i really liked it and i hope that you keep up with it. but i have one request if it's possible. though i recognized most of the characters you include, could you add a list or something saying from where they are? like for example

-Patty Fleur - Tales of Vesperia

It would be really helpful considering all the characters you are including. well thanks and bye bye _

Kurama no Kyubi: A good idea, actually, but I can't have there be such a long list after each chapter, so I'll just add what series they are from in the character status section.

"Digivolution." Normal speech

'Digivolution.' Normal thought

"Digivolution." Biju, Digital God, Legendary, transformed Laguz, Perfect speech

'Digivolution.' Biju, Digital God, Legendary, transformed Laguz, Perfect thought

Don: Kurama no Kyubi doesn't own any of the characters except for his OCs.

Chapter 33: Stopping a War

"A white flag with a blue bird on it…?" Karol said in surprise.

"But that's…" Estelle said.

"The flag of the… Marines…!" Yuri said.

"But aren't the Marines supposed to be good?" Naruto asked.

"They are. But a lot of Marines let their position go to their heads." Karol said before assuming a thinking pose as he added "But I don't get why they would attack and destroy a town."

"It's because of me." Patty said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Estelle asked.

"The first ever King of the Pirates, Aifreed Fleur. He's my great-grandfather. I carry the blood of one of the so-called most evil men to have ever lived. The World Government would do anything to eradicate my family. I was only lucky to survive, and then Seifer found me and brought me to Dahngrest where I was raised by Jiji." Patty said.

"But I don't get why they would destroy a town, just to kill Patty's family." Estelle said.

"That's the World Government for you. They're even more screwed in the heads than the Empire is." Yuri stated, causing everyone else except for Rita (as she wasn't paying attention) to nod in agreement.

"And that they would even kill a child in cold blood makes it even worse." Naruto said.

"You said it, kid." Raven said as he continued walking, causing the others to start walking as well.

As they walked further they eventually came back down from the roots and back onto the ground, though Naruto noticed that Rita and Raven were dragging a little behind, so he, Yuri, Repede, Estelle, Karol, and Patty had to wait for a bit on them.

As Rita walked down with Raven following just behind her, she was mumbling something out loud as she said "Anomalous Aer conditions result in Blastia going out of control. Which in turn leads to Monsters turning vicious." As they reached the others, the Mage assumed her thinking pose as she continued "If this is related to the "distortion" he was talking about, then it might not be only this forest that's affected."

"You sure mumble to yourself a lot, don't you?" Raven said before the ground suddenly started shaking as the sounds of stampeding Monsters could be heard.

"Ack, what? Another Monster attack?" Karol said as they turned towards where the Monsters were coming from.

They then quickly hid in the bushes next to the root as various Monsters of both the plant and insect variety either ran or flew past them over the roots.

"Karol, keep your head down." Yuri said as everyone was crouching except for Karol who was standing with his knees slightly bent. As the shaking stopped and the Monsters got further away from them, they all rose to their feet before turning towards where the stampeding Monsters had come from to see the Don approaching with several other Guild members.

"It's… it's them." Estelle said.

"The Don." Karol said.

Yuri, Naruto, Patty, Estelle, Repede, Karol, and Rita then walked out of the bushes and approached the Don as he was currently crouched on the ground while using his sword to support himself.

"Jiji." Patty said, catching the man's attention.

"… You all do something?" He asked as he looked towards them.

"Do something? What do you mean?" Yuri asked before the Don rose to his feet.

"Those savage Monsters turned docile as pups and ran off. What did you do?" He asked.

"Yuri, it must be because we stopped the flow of Aer." Estelle said.

"Yeah, that must be it." Naruto said before turning to the Don "The Monsters turned tame because we stopped the runaway Aer."

"Runaway Aer? Hmm…" The Don said in thought.

"Hey, old man. Do you know something?" Rita asked.

"Well, my old friend, Belius, used to say something about it." The Don said.

"… So it's true that Don and Belius are friends…" Karol said, mostly to himself.

"Who is Belius?" Rita asked.

Karol then looked over his shoulder at her as he said "The Duce who rules the Coliseum of Nordopolica."

"Nordopolica…" Rita said in thought.

"And what's with that runaway Aer?" The Don asked and Karol ran over to him.

"It was really amazing! More and more really strong Monsters kept on coming, but we–" But he was cut off by the Don.

"Boy, those are the sort of things you keep to yourself." The Don said.

"Eh…?" Karol said as in the background, Rita reassumed her thinking pose.

"You don't do deeds like that so other people will notice. You do them so that you can protect your town and your friends." The Don said as Estelle walked over to the other Guild members present.

"Go-gomen nasai…" Karol said as he looked down.

"Excuse me, could I see him for a moment?" Estelle asked as she kneeled next to an injured Guild member.

"What?" The Don asked as he looked towards her over his shoulder just in time to see her perform First Aid on one of his men.

"Ohh… you can use Healing Artes… Arigatou…" The man said.

As the Don then turned back to the others, he noticed something, or rather, someone in the bushes "…Hmm? Ain't that Raven over there? Quit hidin', you!"

"Damn." Raven silently cursed before walking over to the others.

"Our man ain't givin' you trouble, is he?" The Don asked.

"Whaddya mean, "trouble"? The reason the Monsters got tame was my doing, mine especially!" Raven said.

"Huh? Raven's a member of Altosk?" Karol asked.

"You didn't know?" Naruto asked as he looked at Karol.

"We didn't even know he was part of a Guild. Though I suppose this explains a lot." Yuri said before the Don suddenly hit Raven with his sword's hilt, causing the raven-head to run back a little before turning around.

"Ouch, gramps, cut that out!" He said.

"Shut up, you!" The Don yelled as he lowered his sword again before Yuri stepped forward.

"Don Whitehorse." He said as Rita stopped thinking.

"What is it?" The Don asked.

"I know we only just met, but I have something I need to talk to you about." Yuri said.

"And what's your name, young man?" The Don asked.

"It's Yuri. Yuri Lowell." Yuri said.

"Yuri, huh? I'm guessing you're the leader of these guys, right?" The Don asked.

"Uhh… Gramps. Hello?" Raven said nervously.

"And I was looking forward to relieving a little boredom in this place like back in the day." The Don said. I'd like to listen to ya. But I'm looking for a quick substitute." The Don said and Raven moved closer towards Karol.

"Oh, man. Gramps bein' like this is a pretty bad habit of his." Raven said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rita asked as Karol, and Naruto looked over their shoulders.

"When his bones find something, I don't want to see the "test"." Raven said.

"Huh? What test?" Naruto asked.

"His own skills, of course." Raven said.

"That's how it is. Help an old man get some exercise, will ya?" The Don asked as Naruto, Karol, and Raven looked back towards him.

"Nonononononono way, not me! I'm not doin' this!" Raven said before running off and Rita, Karol, Naruto, and Patty looked after him.

"Hey, he ran away." Rita said as she put her hands on her hips.

"Well I'm fine with it. It's not every day you get the chance to take the leader of the Guilds." Yuri said as he threw aside the sheathe his sword was in before resting said sword on his shoulder.

"Ha ha. You're more than welcome. Come on!" The Don said.

Patty then held her arm in front of Naruto as she said "We wanna move a bit away. Nanojiya!" She then backed away, causing Naruto to do the same as Karol, Repede, and Rita stepped back as well.

Looking at the Don, Naruto's eyes started letting off a soft blue glow as he saw the man's Soul, causing him to sweat as he nervously and quietly said "I don't think Yuri would've been as confident if he could see Souls like I can."

The Don then raised his sword into the air before thrusting it down into the ground, causing a shockwave to go through the ground as it cracked. Yuri jumped backwards before noticing that the Don was holding his sword in the air again before swinging it downwards, causing a black and purple crescent-shaped wave of energy to shoot out. Yuri attempted to block it with his sword, however, it went straight through his guard, and made a cut down his chest and stomach as blood spilled out.

Yuri was then about to move to attack the Don, but the leader of Altosk suddenly disappeared from his vision before appearing next to him, causing Yuri's eyes to widened as he looked up at the man.

'He's fast…!' He thought before quickly leaping away as the Don swung his sword at him.

As he then landed on the ground again, he entered the first level of Over-Limit before charging at the old man, successfully managing to dodge two of his crescent-shaped waves of energy before approaching him. Yuri then punched the ground before delivering a flurry of attacks with his sword for his Divine Wolf attack, but all of the sword strikes were expertly blocked by the Don.

The Don then delivered his knee into Yuri's stomach before throwing him into a tree so hard that it caused a small shockwave, and just as the raven-head regained his bearings, he found the Don's sword pointed at his throat.

"Oops… This is where we stop." The Don said as he removed his blade from Yuri's throat "I think I got a little too serious back there. Been a while since I had that much fun. Well then, let's listen to what you have ta' say." Yuri then relaxed his muscles as a Guild member came up to the Don.

"Don, sorry to interrupt." He said and the Don turned towards him before the man said something too low for anyone else to hear before stepping back a little.

"Ah, I see. All right, you dogs! Time to head out!" The Don said before looking over his shoulder at Yuri "Sorry 'bout this, but something's come up. We've gotta return to Dahngrest. I ya come by the Union you'll have my ear first chance I get. Hope that's okay."

"If I have your word, that's fine by me." Yuri said.

"Hmph, you're not nervous at all to talk to me. You all would make a good addition to our Guild." The Don said before turning around and walking away.

"Man, I knew he'd be strong, but still…" Yuri said as Karol came up to him "Guild, huh?"

"We're going to make one, right?" Karol asked as he looked up at Yuri.

"We'll see." The raven-head replied as Naruto and Patty came over to them as well.

"When Robin-san said he was one of the 10 strongest people in the world, I knew he'd be strong, but man, he seems to be just as strong as Zorro." Naruto said.

"Huh? You've fought the Samurai Emperor?" Karol asked as he turned to Naruto.

"Uh-huh." The blond nodded before closing his eyes and scratching the back of his head as he said "I got my ass handed to me though."

"Well, it's true that the Don's strong, but I wouldn't say he's quite as strong as Zorro." Karol said.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. Even amongst the 10 strongest people in world, there are four who stand far above the others. Zorro is one of them." Patty explained, and Karol nodded in confirmation.

"And who are the other three?" Naruto asked.

"Well, there's my fellow Yonko, Whitebeard and… umm" Patty said as she was starting to thinking hard before scratching the back of her head as she let out a nervous laugh "Actually, I'm not sure who the other two are, Nanojiya!" Causing Naruto, Karol, and Yuri to sweatdrop.

"So, what do you think? Y'all finally get a taste of how awesome I am?" Raven asked as he approached them, catching everyone's attention.

"I sure didn't notice you being too awesome out there." Karol said.

"Always so quick to criticize." Raven said as he shook his head in bewilderment.

"All right, I'd like to go back to Dahngrest to meet with the Don and keep looking for Barbos." Yuri said.

"Rita, once Yuri's done with his business, we should go back to report to Alexei…" Estelle said as she was now standing next to the brunette, but after not getting a reply, she looked over her shoulder to see the genius Mage back in her thinking pose "Rita?"

"… Oh, what was that?" Rita asked as she was knocked out of her thoughts, before entering said thoughts again.

"Once Yuri's done, we should go back to report…" Estelle said, but Rita wasn't listening this time either, causing her to turn around and step up to the Mage "Is something the matter?"

"N-no, it's nothing. Come on, let's go back." Rita said.

Lopmon, Mikemon, MarineAngemon vs. Celsius

"LOPMON!" Mikemon and MarineAngemon yelled as they watched their fellow Digimon being slowly covered in ice as Celsius was holding her in the air by her neck.

'Is this… the end? Am I going to die…?' Lopmon thought before her eyes snapped open 'NO!' As her eyes snapped open, she suddenly found herself in a black and empty void.

"Where… am I?" She asked out loud.

"You're in a place deep in your subconscious mind." A female voice said, catching Lopmon's attention as she didn't recognize the voice. Lopmon looked around, trying to find the source of the voice as it came from every direction.

"Who's there? Show yourself." She asked.

"I'm here." The voice said, still coming from every direction, but as if on instinct, Lopmon turned around and saw a person standing there. All she could see however was the top of the person's chest, her neck, jaw, and mouth, everything else was covered in the blackness.

"Who… are you?" Lopmon asked with a very curious look on her face as she took a step forward.

"Who I am is of no importance. What matters is who you are." The woman said.

"Who? Me?" Lopmon asked confused.

"Look deep inside yourself, and you will find a power even greater than that of a Great Spirit." The woman said as her right arm below the elbow became visible and she held it out towards Lopmon with her palm out as a small white ball of energy formed in front of said palm "Now show them the power of a Celestial Digimon." The ball of energy then shot forward and went straight into Lopmon's chest.

Back in the real world, Lopmon's body suddenly emitted a blinding white light as the ice covering her body suddenly shattered along with Celsius' arm up to the elbow. Lopmon then hovered up into the air as her fur suddenly turned white and her eyes turned crystal blue. The light coming from her was so bright in fact that it shone out from the mouth of the Acnologia statue and illuminated the entire cave.

The ones fighting below all looked up at the light, obviously wondering what was causing it.

"Hey, what's that?" Kuroneko asked.

'This feeling… Lopmon?' Kanali thought.

Back inside the statue, Lopmon hovered before Celsius as she held out her right arm, and all of a sudden, Celsius' entire body shattered into trillions of ice shards. Lopmon then lowered to the ground as her fur returned to its original brown color, and staggered a little.

"Hey, you all right?" Mikemon asked as he caught her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lopmon said as righted herself before walking towards the statue's throat.

'What just happened back there?' Mikemon thought worriedly.

As they came to an edge they saw that it was just a ten meter drop down to the ground again, and they were kind of relieved that whoever built this statue hadn't remade Acnologia's entire anatomy.

They jumped down and walked over to the middle of the round room where three Type orbs lay. Lopmon picked up one, noticing that it had an ice crystal in it, revealing it to be the Ice-Type orb. Mikemon picked up another one which had a glowing ball of energy in it, and he also noted that it was rather warm to the touch, though he couldn't tell which Type it belonged to. And finally, MarineAngemon picked up one which had an insect cocoon in it which connected to the top, it was obvious that it was the Bug-Type orb.

"Doesn't look like they have the Fairy-Type orb." Mikemon stated.

"Well, I guess that one's likely hidden somewhere beneath the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, so it's obvious that Acnologia wouldn't find it at Tenroujima." Lopmon said.

"But why would they send us to see if Acnologia found the Fairy-Type orb or not if it was under the Guild Hall? Wouldn't Mavis-sama know its location?" Mikemon asked.

"Yes, but she wouldn't know what came of the orb after she left the Guild. For all she knew, the Second Master could've placed it at her grave or something." MarineAngemon said.

"But wouldn't she have known if he did? It's her grave, after all." Mikemon said with a deadpanned expression.

"Anyway, now that we've got what we came here for, we should hurry back to the others and leave this place." Lopmon said, catching the two's attention.

Independent Digi-Destined vs. Acnologia

Acnologia launched his Dragon Breath attack towards Brendan and the now unconscious Latias as the Pokémon Trainer could only watch on as the beam of destruction came closer as if in slow-motion. Brendan then closed his eyes as he held his right left arm before his head and turned his head slightly to the right as he simply waited for the inevitable, but it never came.

As he opened his eyes they widened at what he saw. Puppetmon had jumped in front of the attack, taking it head on.

"Ah! Puppetmon!" The Pokémon Trainer yelled as the puppet-like Digimon fell to the ground, unconscious. Brendan then recalled Latias into her Great-Ball before crawling over to Puppetmon and lifting him up in his arms "Puppetmon, are you all right? Talk to me!" He then looked around frantically as he said "WarGreymon!" However, his eyes widened when he saw the Greymon lying unconscious in the middle of a crater "No…!" He then looked up towards Acnologia with eyes filled with despair.

Gildarts looked towards Brendan with a sad look on his face before turning his head to look at Acnologia "It would seem we can no longer afford to hold back anymore against him. We should bring out all of our Digimon."

Rayleigh nodded before saying "It would seem that you're right." He then held out his X-Loader as Gildarts and Merlin did the same.

"Reload: Etemon, BanchoStingmon, Archelomon!" Rayleigh said and in a flash of light, an ape that stood upright like a Human, a red humanoid insect that's wearing a trench coat like a cape, and a large water turtle which had blades for his fore-fins appeared.

"Reload: Andromon, Meramon, Breakdramon!" Gildarts called out as in a flash of light Andromon – who had been recalled earlier for whatever reason, a walking humanoid fireball, and a Dragon-like Digimon that looked like a mix of various construction machines appeared.

"Reload: Aegiomon, Damemon, Baromon, Buraimon, MagnaAngemon!" Merlin called out as in a flash of light a Digimon who appeared to have the lower half of a goat and the upper body of a Human, a small metallic Digimon, a Digimon with an ogre-like face with a third eye on the forehead, a humanoid bird-like Digimon with a straw-hat on his head and a pair of katanas, and an Angel Digimon with a total of eight wings appeared. (Kurama no Kyubi: Sorry, but I don't wanna go into detail.)

"And for good measure." Gildarts said before entering the 5th level of Over-Limit as powerful winds started blowing around him, even carving up the ground around him. Rayleigh also entered the 5th level of Over-Limit as bolts of lightning came down around him and coursed through the air around him.

*You've increased your numbers and powered up. But do you really think that that's enough?* Acnologia said as he looked down at them before adding *Let me tell you a little something about this thing you call "Over-Limit". It was originally developed by an ancient tribe of Humans some thousand years ago so that they may be closer to their Gods. However, these Gods of theirs were none other than the Spirits, hence the elemental attributes of the technique. However, we Perfect happen to have a similar technique, one born from a similar motive.*

"What?!" Gildarts said surprised before they suddenly heard the loud boom of thunder and they looked up to see a bunch of thunder clouds gathering over-head and as they approached the airborne form of Acnologia, they started circling around him as there was a hole in the clouds above him. Lightning then came down from the clouds, striking the ground as some of the bolts formed a ball of lightning around Acnologia.

*And the Gods whose power we're trying to reach are far from anything that you could ever imagine.* Acnologia said.

Acnologia's cave

Tom skidded backwards before charging forward towards Murakami before swinging his sword diagonally upwards, parrying Murakami's sword upwards before bringing his own sword back down as he went for a second diagonal attack. Murakami took a couple steps backwards however to avoid it before swinging his sword at Tom, but the blue-haired Nekomimi blocked it before parrying Murakami's sword and thrusting his own blade towards the Samurai's head. Murakami stepped to the side to avoid it, however, before he blocked it with his sword as the two blades scraped against each other.

Murakami then jumped backwards as he flipped in mid-air to land on his hands and he pushed off again before landing on his feet as he carefully studied his opponent's movements.

Not far from where the two swordfighters were, was Hanabi sent skidding backwards into a crouching position before she looked up to see Kalina appear before her with her right foot high in the air and she then slammed it downwards. Hanabi barely managed to shunshin away in time before Kalina's heel impacted with the ground, causing a dust cloud to form as the ground around her cracked.

As Hanabi landed, she assumed the Juken stance as the dust cloud around Kalina faded, but then they suddenly heard a big booming sound as the ground suddenly shook so violently that Hanabi lost her balance.

"What was that…?" She asked.

"Sounds like Acnologia-sama is finally getting serious out there." Kalina said with a smirk.

"Then I guess it's our turn." Murakami said as he closed his eyes before they snapped open again and Tom's eyes widened as the Samurai suddenly vanished before he felt the cut of a sword across his stomach and blood spilled out as he looked over his shoulder to see Murakami standing there with his back to him 'Im-impossible…! I didn't even see him move…'

"It's over." Murakami said as he was about to deal the finishing blow to Tom.

Lopmon, Mikemon, MarineAngemon

"Oh, no. It looks like they're in trouble." Lopmon said as she and her two fellow Digimon were standing on the tip of one of the statue's fingers "Come on. We better help them." The three of them then jumped down.

As they came down through the air, they didn't notice that the orbs started letting off soft glows in the color of their respective Type.

"Blazing Ice!" Lopmon called out, but instead of shooting out bullets of air, she blew out freezing cold wind, encasing Kuroneko in ice before landing on the ground.

"Lopmon!" Kanali exclaimed.

"We get them! Now let's get outta here!" The rabbit Digimon said.

As Mikemon went down through the air, he reared back his right fist to prepare for his Nikukyu Punch, however, his fist was then engulfed by a yellow light before he thrusted it down, straight onto Murakami's head, sending him into the ground.

"Ah, Mikemon." Tom said as he turned around to fully face his partner Digimon.

"C'mon. We need to go!" Mikemon said before running past his Nekomimi partner.

"Right!" Tom said before following after the Digimon.

"Heh. I think this level would be more than enough to kill you." Kalina said with an evil smirk, however, MarineAngemon then came down and held out the arm which wasn't holding the orb.

"Kahuna Waves!" She called out as she sent forth the heart-shaped bubble, but to their surprise, the bubble was in the form of cobwebs and as Kalina got trapped inside it, she attempted to punch and kick her way out, but it didn't work as the webs just stretched.

"Let's go." MarineAngemon said and flew in the direction of the entrance as Hanabi ran after her.

As the six of them approached the cave's entrance, however, their eyes widened when Acnologia suddenly landed on the ground on the other side of the entrance.

"A-A-A-Acnologia…!" Mikemon said before gulping audibly.

"Heh. Looks like your friends failed you." They then looked over their shoulders to see Kuroneko, Murakami, and Kalina coming towards them. And upon hearing a "crick" sound, she noticed the ground behind Kuroneko and the others as well as the water molecules in the air turn to ice, said ice coming closer towards them.

"What now?" Tom asked as the six of them now stood back-to-back before adding "There's Acnologia ahead of us and his servants behind us, not to mention the air also turning to ice. How is it turning to ice, anyway?"

"That'd be the work of Celsius." Lopmon said.

"Celsius? You mean the Summon Spirit?" Kanali asked.

"I'll fill you in later." Lopmon said before looking up at Acnologia as she added "If we survive this that is."

The Black Dragon then rose his left arm before slamming his hand down towards them in an attempt to crush them, but just then, all of the ice in the room shattered, Kuroneko, Murakami, and Kalina were sent skidding back, and Acnologia's hand was stopped by something.

"Who…?" Kanali asked as she, Tom, and Hanabi turned towards the one who had saved them to see a man with blue shoulder-length hair, and wearing a blue cape, though he had his back to them, so they couldn't see what he wore under it. The sword, however, was a double-edged blade with a golden hilt. Looking up, they were also surprised to see that the man was stopping the Semi-Perfect's attack with just the sword's tip.

"You all right?" He asked, though the three Independent Digi-Destined and three Digimon were too in shock to speak so without waiting for a reply, the man said "Good. And don't worry about your friends, they're all safe and well." The man then pushed Acnologia's hand off his sword before turning half-way around and Kanali's eyes widened as she saw his face.

"You're…!" She started, though she got cut off by Acnologia.

*Kh. I didn't expect you to show up.* He said before the man turned to face him and spoke in the same language as the Semi-Perfect.

*I am here 'cause I was asked to come by a friend.* The man said before looking over his shoulder at Kanali and the others "As soon as you spot your chance, make a break for it. I'll cover for you."

"Heh. As if I'd let you do that!" Kalina said as she ran forward, the ground cracking as she ran over it.

*No Kalina, wait!* Acnologia yelled, but it was too late as the young woman appeared above the Independent Digi-Destined and their partner Digimon only for the man to suddenly appear before her and simply swatted her away with his sword.

As his feet then touched ground, he vanished before reappearing before Acnologia and swinging his sword at the Dragon's head, he forced it upwards and Kanali saw their chance to get out of there.

"Here's our chance!" She said, and they ran off out of the cave and underneath Acnologia's stomach before hurrying off towards the river in the distance.

*Oh, no you don't!* Acnologia roared as he turned around only for the man to appear in front of him.

"Sorry, but I'm your opponent here." He said.

"Hey, Kanali. Do you know that man?" Tom asked as they kept running.

"Only through stories. He's one of the legendary people who lived through the Void Century and are somehow still alive. One of the 100 Gods; the Hero King, Marth." Kanali said as Marth jumped at Acnologia as he swung his sword.

North Blue, Tolbyccia, Dahngrest, Union HQ

As Naruto and the others walked into the room in the back of the Union HQ where the Don was, they saw the Don sitting on his large chair with a boy who looked like a much younger version of him stood behind him. The boy had blond shoulder-length hair and wore similar clothes to the Don. There were also three other members of Altosk present, two standing to the right of the Don and one standing far to the left. In front of the Don with his back to Naruto and the others was Flynn standing.

"So you've come back, have ya?" The Don asked, causing Flynn to turn half-way around as he looked towards the new arrivals.

"… Yuri." Flynn said.

"What, you two know each other?" The Don asked as Raven walked to stand next to him.

Flynn turned towards the Don as he said "Hai, we're old friends…"

"Ya don't say." The Don said.

"I see you know Yuri as well." Flynn noted.

"We crossed paths during the assault on the city. Now then, what business did ya have?" The Don asked.

"Uh…" Flynn said as he was thinking of where to start.

"We came to ask about a man named Barbos of the Blood Alliance." Yuri said as he stepped forward "It looks like he's the one behind the recent string of stolen Blastia cores."

"I see, so Barbos is tied up in your problems as well." Flynn said.

"… You have a problem with him, too?" Yuri asked as Flynn turned back to the Don.

"We came to ask that the Union relinquish all ties with the Blood Alliance. Other Guilds have begun to follow Barbos' example – abusing Blastia in other areas and disrupting the order of society. If we can count on your assistance, I feel that together we should move to put an end to the Blood Alliance." He said.

"… Barbos. He's been testing the limits of my patience lately. Looks like it's time to remind that brute how a proper Guild behaves." The Don said.

"A clash between the Guilds and the Empire was avoided the other day, largely due to your intervention. However, if Barbos is left unattended, the relations between our two states may yet again be torn apart." Flynn said.

"That's not gonna be fun for anybody." The Don said.

"The time to stop Barbos is now." Flynn said.

"Since we'd be cooperatin' with ya, I assume we'd be on equal standing with the Empire on this." The Don asked.

"Hai." Flynn confirmed.

"Hmph. If that's the case, a united front with the Empire might not be such a bad idea." The Don said.

"Then…" Flynn said in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah, we'll deal with this together." The Don said before turning to the man standing just to his right "Hey, send a message to Belius. Tell Belius that Nordopolica's gonna help us." The man then nodded before running off.

"Man, this is serious…" Karol said as he looked at Rita, Naruto, and Patty.

"Well, it's the first time a member of the Union has ever betrayed the rest. Nanojiya!" Patty said.

Flynn then walked over to the Don before kneeling down and holding out a letter "I've brought a letter from his Highness, Ioder-sama." The Don then took the letter as Flynn stood up and walked back to where he was standing before.

"A secret note from the Imperial candidate, huh?" The Don asked before handing it to Raven "Read it aloud."

""If Don Whitehorse is taken out of the picture, we are willing to overlook the Union's responsibility in the Barbos affair."" Raven read.

"What…?!" Flynn asked.

"Hah hah hah! Don't make me laugh!" The Don said as Raven walked over to Flynn and handed him the letter.

"… What… what is this?" He asked.

"Looks like you and the young master sees things a bit differently." The Don said.

"There has to be some mistake! Ioder-sama would never say such a thing." Flynn said.

"Show our guest here to his own private suite." The Don said.

"Don Whitehorse, please listen to me! This is some sort of trap!" Flynn said as the other two unnamed members of Altosk walked over to him before the older one of them looked over his shoulder at the Don who then nodded. The two of them then took Flynn with them out of the room.

"Flynn!" Estelle exclaimed as she was about to step forward, but Yuri stopped her, causing her to turn to him "Why?"

"Hang on. If we screw up, it'll only make things worse for Flynn." He said.

The Don then rose to his feet as he said "All-out war with the Empire! We'll take everything we've got and march on the Imperial Capital! Try and make a fool out of me? I'll tear these little messengers limb from limb!" He then proceeded to walk past Yuri and the others and out of the room followed by Raven and the blond.

"Th-this is bad." Karol said.

"You said it, Karol. And I just came out of a war too, and now I'm almost being thrusted into another one." Naruto said.

"And it looks like he's forgotten all about talking with us." Rita said.

"I don't think the Don's in much of a talking mood right now." Yuri said.

"I have to return to the Empire and find out what's really going on." Estelle said.

"I said, "hang on". We should sit still for now and see what happens." Yuri said.

"I-I suppose you're right." Estelle said.

Skit – The conspiracy and Flynn's trouble

Yuri, Estelle, Karol, and Rita are present.

Estelle "I cannot believe that Ioder would give a letter like that to Flynn. There must be some mistake!"

Rita "We've met His Highness, too, and he certainly didn't seem like that kind of person."

Karol "But you heard the letter – it said to take Don Whitehorse out of the picture."

Yuri "So maybe it was sent by someone who wants to throw a wrench into what Ioder and Flynn are doing."

Rita "But that's nothing more than a hunch right now."

Yuri "Yeah, you're right. The only thing we know for sure right now is that Flynn is in trouble."

Skit end

The group of six Humans and one dog walked out of the Union headquarters and down the street until they reached the small plaza where Yuri then stopped walking, causing the others to stop as well.

"Huh…? That's strange." He said.

"What's strange?" Naruto asked.

"… It looks like I dropped my wallet somewhere." Yuri said.

"At a time like this?!" Karol yelled.

"Maybe it fell out of my pocket at the Don's place? I'm going to go look for it. You wait here." Yuri said.

"O-okay. Don't take too long." Karol said before he and the others continued further down.

Once he was sure they were out of hearing range, Yuri looked over his shoulder in the direction of the Union HQ as he said "All righty. Now to go and see how Flynn's holding up…" However, he didn't count on Naruto's good hearing as the blond had heard what he said.

Union HQ, prison cells

Yuri walked down the stairs towards the prison cells in the Union headquarters.

"Yuri…" Flynn said when he heard Yuri come down the stairs and the raven-head walked over to the blond's cell.

"Thought I was being quiet, but I guess you heard me." Yuri said as he stopped before the cell to see Flynn sitting on his knees with his back to the bars.

"So, you've come to have a laugh at me in this sorry state?" Flynn asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to see what kind of expression being locked up put on your face." Yuri said as he placed his right hand on his hip.

"It doesn't hurt to be forced to view things from behind bars every now and then." Flynn said.

"What the hell you think you were doing, coming here with a letter like that?" Yuri asked as he stood with his back to the cell.

"That was the Red Eyes' doing. They attacked after you left." Flynn said.

"You don't screw up like that. Was it one of your people?" Yuri asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"Even if it was, the responsibility is mine." Flynn said.

"I see. If the Red Eyes are involved, then Ragou's gotta be behind it all." Yuri said.

"Hmm? But how do you know…?" Flynn asked.

"At the harbor, we saw Ragou giving orders to one of their assassins." Yuri said.

"I hadn't heard about that." Flynn said.

"Do you know what they're trying to do?" Yuri asked.

"… Most likely they want to force a clash between the Guilds and the Knights." Flynn said.

"That'd be bad. You think another of these false letters went to the Knights?" Yuri asked.

"Yes, to put them in a fighting mood." Flynn said.

"If you know that much, then get out there and get the real letters back." Yuri said before breaking open the door with his sword and Flynn rose to his feet before turning around and walking out of the cell.

"I was wondering how long it'd take you to get rid of that damn lock." The blond Knight said before stopping as he added "You've got to stay here."

"What, and be your scapegoat? You're just itching to get rid of me, aren't you?" Yuri asked.

"Yuri, if I don't make it back, you'll have to die in my place." Flynn said.

"Yeah…" Yuri said before Flynn ran off.

Later

Sometime later, Yuri sat in the cell with his back to the bars as he started hearing footsteps that got louder and louder.

"Taking your friend's place in a jail cell? You lost your mind, son?" The Don asked as he came to a stop outside the cell.

"This coming from an old man who gets rid of his own guards on purpose." Yuri said as he remembered that when he came down there, there wasn't a single guard anywhere.

"Humph. I had a special favor ta ask that rookie Knight." The Don said.

"You mean Flynn?" Yuri asked.

"The rats that plan these sorta stunts usually like ta enjoy their handiwork from somewhere nearby." The Don said.

"If you knew the letter was fake, why'd you fire everybody up like that?" Yuri asked.

"If you didn't make a good show of things, whoever's behind all this wouldn't bother ta come watch. Besides, we've got a lot of hotheads around here who'd never let me hear the end of it if I didn't raise hell." The Don said as he folded his arms over his chest and added "So that's where it stands. Of course if our friend the Knight doesn't show up again, your life is mine."

"I know." Yuri said before the Don started walking, however, he stopped when Yuri said "Tell me one thing, though. What made you want to start a Guild in the first place?"

"I realized I couldn't protect the things that were important ta me, playin' by the rules handed down by the Empire, and in extension, the World Government." The Don replied.

"There have to be some things that were easier to protect when you were on the other side, though. Even in the Lower Quarter where I'm from, we still had the Barrier to protect us." Yuri said.

"Sure, but were ya happy with just puttin' up with all the things ya didn't like?" The Don asked.

"Well, I…" Yuri started, but the Don cut him off.

"So if the rules the World Government sets don't suit ya, you've got two choices: You can do like your friend is, and put everything you've got into changin' the system. Or ya can turn yer back on the Government and live by the rules ya set fer yerself." The Don said.

"That's pretty clear cut…" Yuri summarized.

"… Yep. I think yer going to have ta take responsibility for lettin' my prisoner go." The Don said.

"You want me to do something besides rotting in this cell?" Yuri asked.

"The sap who's been puttin' together this little show's gotta be somewhere in this city. I'd been plannin' on askin' yer armor-clad friend ta hunt 'em down for me, but…" The Don said.

"So what, you want me to find them?" Yuri asked.

"Your job is at pay this debt back ta me. How ya go about it is up ta you. That young woman ya brought with ya is runnin' around all over the place, helpin' with the injured folks. Yer not the type ta be the only one sitting around twiddlin' his thumbs, right?" The Don said.

"… Estelle. Huh, that sounds like her." Yuri said.

Soon after as Yuri came down from the Union HQ and approached the plaza, he found Naruto and Patty at the side of the street as Naruto was leaning with his back against the wall and Patty was sitting on the ground.

"Hey. Done checking up on Flynn?" Naruto asked.

"You knew?" Yuri asked and Naruto shrugged.

"I've got pretty good ears." He said before a member of Altosk came from the direction of the Union headquarters.

"Out of the way! The Don is passing through!" He said as he ran past them.

"Is he really planning on going to war just to lure those rats out of hiding?" Yuri thought out loud.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked as he stepped away from the wall and Patty rose up.

"Oh, right, you don't know yet." Yuri said as he looked at the blond, who tilted his head in confusion. Their attention was then brought to the plaza where the Don was standing with Raven next to him and the various Guild members in front of him as he spoke up.

"We'll teach those Imperial bastards to look down on us!" He said.

"Oh, Yuri!" Karol – who stood off to the side along with Estelle – called out to him as he noticed him and Yuri along with Naruto and Patty walked over to them.

"Have you finished healing the injured yet?" Yuri asked as he looked at Estelle.

"How did you know that?" The pinkette asked.

"The Don told me." Yuri replied.

"Yuri, things have gotten really bad!" Karol said.

"Yeah, I noticed." Yuri said.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Karol said.

"What else?" Yuri asked.

"I saw them!" Karol said.

"You saw… who?" Yuri asked.

"The Blood Alliance! Barbos wasn't with them, but…" Estelle said.

"Rita and Repede are shadowing them right now." Karol said.

"Just what the Don wanted…" Yuri thought out loud.

"Let's catch up with Rita." Karol said.

"Yeah." Yuri said.

Skit – What the Don and Flynn are thinking

Naruto, Yuri, and Estelle are present.

Estelle "Where were you talking with the Don, Yuri? You were gone for a long time."

Naruto "They were probably talking while Yuri was in jail."

Estelle (overreacts) "Jail?" (turns to Yuri) "What were you doing in jail, Yuri? Wait, don't tell me that you got Flynn out of prison by trading places with him."

Yuri "No, it's nothing like that. Flynn would've been released even if I hadn't gotten involved."

Estelle "What do you mean?"

Yuri "The Don planned all along to capture Flynn, and use him to find out who's behind this whole mess."

Estelle "So both the Don and Flynn know that there's someone else manipulating things?"

Naruto "It would seem that way."

Yuri "And now the Don's making me do his dirty work… What a pain."

Estelle (tilts her head) "I… see." 'I wonder if that's what he wanted from the start.'

Estelle leaves and Yuri moves closer to Naruto.

Yuri "Hey, how'd you know I was in a cell?"

Naruto "A Ninja'll never tell."

Skit end

Rita and Repede hid in an alley as the brunette picked out towards the entrance to a bar to see a group of Blood Alliance members guarding the door.

"Rita..!" Karol called out as he and the others came.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down." Rita said as the others went into the alley as well.

"Huh… So it looks like we're gonna have trouble forcing our way in…" Yuri said as he peaked out of the alley before turning to the others.

"But if it turns out Barbos is in there…" Estelle started.

"Then let's just break in there and kick his butt!" Naruto exclaimed before he was about to charge at the bar, but just then, someone grabbed the back of his collar to stop him.

"Whoa, easy there, kiddo." A familiar voice said.

"Hey, what're you…?" Naruto asked as he looked over his shoulders and he saw who it was "Raven?!"

"… It's you again." Rita said as Raven let go of Naruto's collar before hitting him on the head for being so loud.

"Hey, shouldn't you be over there right now?" Yuri asked.

"Not really, the Don said ya might be in a bit of a pickle, so…" Raven said as he stepped over to them "Will ya come to the tavern and listen to what I've got ta say?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. We need to get to that jerk, Barbos." Naruto said as he rubbed his head where Raven had hit him.

"Besides, some of us aren't even old enough to drink. Nanojiya!" Patty said.

"Come one, trust me. What, you think I'm gonna pull a fast one on you?" Raven asked.

Rita then put her hands on her hips as she said "Now that you mention it, you are the kind of guy we'd think to pull a fast one…"

"The second time is the same as the third time." Yuri said before turning to Raven "But even the old man knows about the "Hotoke no Kao" saying, right?" (Kurama no Kyubi: It's a proverb which I think translates into: Stroke even the face of Buddha three times, and his anger will be roused.)

"You don't have to put on such a scary-serious face. I know, I know." Raven said before turning around "Come on, put on a smile, and let's go." He then started walking in the opposite direction from the bar and the others looked at each other before following him.

Soon after, they came to a bar and as they entered, Raven walked over to a door with a guard by it.

"Let them through as well." He said to the guard before opening the door and walking in, soon followed by the others.

They entered an office-like room a table with a couch on either side of it in the middle and at the end of the room was a desk with a chair behind it and a red banner with the Altosk insignia on it hanging from the wall.

"So, what is this place?" Yuri asked as he stopped walking in front of the table.

"This is where jiji talks about top-secret information with some of his guests. Nanojiya!" Patty said as she looked around before turning to Raven "Why'd you take us here?"

"Right, you don't know yet, do ya?" Raven said as he looked at the blond Pirate.

"Hmm? Know what?" Yuri asked.

Raven then walked over to behind the desk as he said "This room holds a secret."

"A secret?" Naruto asked and Raven walked over to the wall before pushing it a little, revealing it to be a secret door. Yuri walked over to the door and opened it fully, revealing a dark staircase going down into the blackness.

"What's this?" He asked as the others walked up to the desk.

"Under this town lies a complex underground water-way that runs throughout the city." Raven replied before saying "A long time ago – when this city was still part of the Empire – the Guilds used the water-way to bide their time ta strike back."

"No way… You're not saying these stairs leads to that water-way?" Karol asked.

"The very same." Raven said before turning to the staircase "You should be able ta sneak in where ya want ta go by goin' through here."

Yuri then turned around as he said "If we want to get them without them noticing us, this certainly sounds like a good detour." And Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Yep. Aren't ya glad you trusted me?" Raven asked.

"I think it's a bit early to be saying that without taking a look first." Yuri said as he stared at Raven from the corner of his eyes.

"So ya still don't trust me?" Raven asked.

"Naturally, you're coming with us, right?" Yuri asked as he turned slightly to look at the Altosk member.

"Oh yeah… I'd love to help, but…" Raven said, obviously as an excuse not to come with them.

Yuri then turned fully towards him as he said "Didn't you want a chance to prove yourself to us? Come on, let's go." Yuri said and Raven sighed in defeat before walking through the door and down the staircase as the others followed.

"Whoa… It's pitch black." Estelle said as they walked down the stairs.

"Seems like it would be a piece of cake to get yourself lost in here forever." Yuri said.

"Hey, genius Mage. Can't you use your Fire Magic to get some light in here?" Raven asked.

"How about I make you a substitute for a lamp? That sounds like it'll solve our problem for sure." Rita said threatingly.

'Scary…' Naruto thought before asking "Can't you just do it, Rita-chan?"

"No, not with my Fire Magic. It's only as an attack. To be able to generate light from an Aer supply, we'd need something like a Rukes Blastia." Rita explained.

"Really? That's how it is?" Raven asked.

"I don't think you get it at all, old man." Yuri said as they reached the bottom of the staircase and continued forward a little.

"Woof!" Repede barked as he noticed something lying on the ground.

"Huh…? Is this a Blastia?" Rita wondered as she picked it up and examined it "It's considerably damaged, but maybe we can still use it." As she activated it, it suddenly let off a bright light which lit up the area around them, also revealing some kind of machine standing by the wall with a hole on the front of it which seemed to be leaking Aer.

"Wait… It's not gonna explode or anything like that… right?" Karol asked as he backed away a little.

"Of course not. Seems like it is a Rukes Blastia." Rita said before turning to the machine "By using this, we replenish the Aer that's needed to generate this light."

"Way to go, Rita!" Estelle exclaimed.

Rita then turned to Yuri as she said "Though, considering how it is, the light won't last very long."

"Well then, I guess we'd better hurry and use the light while we can." Yuri said.

As they walked through the water-way, they noticed how no Monsters attacked despite there being a lot of them in the water as well as there being many large bats flying around. However, they realized that the Monsters down there likely didn't like the light, meaning that they'd attack them if the light went out. Luckily, there were more of those Aer refilling machines throughout the water-way, so there were plenty of places to refill the Rukes Blastia.

After much walking, they eventually came to a wall which had some writings on it.

Yuri and Estelle walked over to the wall as the former said "Hmm? Something's engraved on the wall. … Letters. What does it say?"

""… Our ancestors threw away the country that forgot its duty to protect the people in order to more freely protect those in need of it. Namely, the Guilds who rose up against our enemies. But once again, the iron chains of tyrants have come to bind us. We had forgotten the oath of our ancestors, and had spent all our time fighting with each other – only concerned with ourselves. Therefore, we had to return again to the principles set by our ancestors, and come to possess the power which those principles is associated with. Our swords fight for freedom. Our shields protect those important to us. Our lives are for the sake of everyone. With this, we renew the promise of old."" Estelle read.

Karol walked forward before saying "Hey, isn't this the Union Oath?"

"What's that?" Rita asked as she came up next to him and folded her arms as Raven walked past them.

"When Jiji formed the Union, it's the oath he made that expressed the Union's core principles." Patty replied in Karol's steed.

""Being able to protect ourselves without relying on the Empire."" Raven said as he looked at the wall before turning to Yuri and Estelle as he continued ""Our lives are for the sake of everyone" is what looks like got everyone united, huh?"

"But why would something like that be written in a place like this?" Naruto asked.

"The Union was a source of morale and strength for the Guilds that were members of the Resistance when the Empire used to occupy this city." Raven said before turning his head to look at the wall "The Guilds were always spread out, only getting together when a huge problem showed up. Then after all's said and done, they dispersed again. And when the Empire showed up at their doorstep… they finally realized that their usual methods weren't going to work."

"Was the person who led the Guilds in the Resistance Don Whitehorse?" Karol asked.

"Yep. And at the time, this water-way was very useful to the Guilds." Raven said.

"So, that's probably why they wrote it here, right?" Karol asked.

"Yep, that's what it looks like." Raven said before looking back at the wall and saying "I actually heard about the real thing being written somewhere, but I didn't think it would be scribbles on a wall in a place like this."

Estelle then stepped closer to the wall as she said "Even if they are scribbles on a wall, there's something about it that's still pretty amazing." She then noticed something else written on the wall and she leaned in to take a closer look ""Aifreed" is written right here." This immediately got Patty's attention.

"Step aside!" She said as she forced her way past Estelle and she got up on het tip-toes as she looked at the kanji of her great-grandfather's name before saying "This is his handwriting, all right."

"Hmm, looks like he was once a trusted friend of the Don's… But – if I remember correctly – even at one point they were partners, I imagine they had some fair share of troubles." Raven said.

"Even then, you said "trusted friend". The Don's really something…" Yuri said.

""Our lives are for the sake of everyone"… huh?" Karol said.

Yuri then turned back to the others as he said "That was pretty interesting… but we gotta focus on Barbos right now. Let's get going." Yuri said and everyone but Patty started walking further.

'Trusted friend"? I've never heard anything of that…' Patty thought as her eyes narrowed at Aifreed's name.

"Hey, Patty-chan, something wrong?" Naruto asked as he noticed she wasn't coming with them.

"No, I'm coming." Patty said as she turned around before following after them and as Naruto continued on further, she stopped before looking over her shoulder at the wall 'Jiji, why didn't you ever tell me?' She then continued walking after the others.

Eventually they reached some stairs going up and came up to what appeared to be some kind of storage room and continuing further, they entered through a door and found themselves in a bar – the bar that the Blood Alliance people were guarding.

"And this place is?" Yuri asked as they stood in the bar.

"To put it simply, it's the eastern tavern that Barbos uses as his base of operations. The place where they plan all their sneaky things that they do, and such." Raven explained.

"Then, where is he?" Karol asked before Naruto noticed a flight of stairs that went up to a second level.

"Don't know, but if I'd have to guess I'd say up there." Naruto said.

Plains outside Dahngrest

On the plains outside Dahngrest were an army of Imperial Knights and an army of Union Guilds staring off against each other as they were all ready to fight.

Blood Alliance's tavern, Barbos' office

In Barbos' office there was an open view over the river running along the city as well as the plains on the other side of the river where the Guilds and Knights were about to go head-to-head.

Sitting at one of the three desks in room, looking out towards the soon-to-be battlefield was a big man with spiky grey hair at the sides of his head and white hair at the top of his head with the spikes leaning backwards. He had a scar over his right eye and in place of a left hand, he had a golden metallic ball with protruding spikes on it. He also wore an open red captain's coat with a black buttoned shirt underneath.

Standing behind him was an elderly man with shoulder-length grey hair and a pointy moustache and was wearing glasses. He wore a black robe with orange outlines and a matching hat, and form these clothes and from the way he was standing, one could tell that he seemed to be part of the nobility.

At the wall there were also a pair of guards standing. Behind the elderly man there was also a table which there was some kind of cannon-like weapon on.

"Barbos! What is the meaning of this?" The elderly man asked as he looked at the big man, who was obviously the leader of the Blood Alliance, Barbos the Storm-Blast.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." Barbos said.

"The tower and the Blastia, of course. I have yet to receive any reports about them." The man said.

"Why should I have to report to you about something like that?" Barbos asked.

"Wh-what? Building that lousy tower fortress of yours without speaking a word of it to your own employer. You even went so far as to use Leviathan's Claw for help!" The man said.

"I'm not your lapdog, Ragou." Barbos said before looking over his shoulder at the man – now identified as Ragou – as he said "I just gathered the Cores together, like you requested. It's thanks to my efforts that you were able to make that weather-controlling Blastia."

"And just what made you think it was okay to carry off the extra Cores?" Ragou asked.

"Our mutual non-interference was a condition of our agreement, was it not?" Barbos asked.

"Na-nani…?" Ragou said.

"And did I ever interfere with what you were doing?" Barbos said.

"Barbos, how dare you!" Ragou said.

"You will leave now, Magistrate." Barbos said as he closed his eyes.

"Remember this, Barbos! Black-hearted filth like you always get what they deserve in the end!" Ragou said before putting his hands behind his back. (Kurama no Kyubi: Says the guy who throws 8-year old children down into a dungeon filled with Monsters because he's bored.)

"You're one to talk." Barbos said.

Just then, the good guys showed up as they came up from a flight of stairs.

"Y-you guys!" Rita said.

"It's the world series of villains and you had to take the best seat in the house?" Yuri asked as he looked at Barbos. (Kurama no Kyubi: Hmm… If it was the world series of villains, wouldn't Orochimaru have needed to be there as well?)

"That him?" Naruto asked as he pointed at Barbos and looked at Patty.

"Yeah. That's Barbos, all right." Patty said.

"What fool would dare to heckle my exquisite performance?" Barbos asked before turning his head to look at them "Oh ho, If it isn't the little runts I met on the ship."

Estelle then stepped forward as she said "You're the one who's been causing all of the recent chaos." She then stopped walking and pointed an accusing finger at Barbos.

"And what of it? You fools will never manage to capture me." Barbos said.

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" Naruto asked.

"A villain is someone who never considers losing, a possibility. That's why he thinks the way he does." Yuri said.

"Really? But I've never considered losing, a possibility either." Naruto said.

"If so, then that makes you quite the villain, Naruto. You too, Yuri." Karol said.

"Yep. We're nefarious." Yuri said.

"Geez, so it was him who started this whole thing. Coulda seen it comin' if we paid attention to the details." Raven muttered.

"You've got a big mouth, brat." Barbos said and several Blood Alliance members came in and surrounded the group "You would dare to oppose me? I thought I told you before that next time you wouldn't get off so easy."

"All the better for us to tear things up." Yuri said.

"Take them down!" Barbos ordered and Naruto, Yuri, and the others got ready to fight before they suddenly heard a couple of loud booming sounds "Haha. The fools have started to march!" Barbos then rose up as he said "Now that meddlesome Don and the Knights will destroy each other!"

"He did this to destroy the Union and to eliminate the Don…!" Karol realized.

"If the Knights are destroyed, who will protect the Empire?" Estelle asked before looking towards the Magistrate "Ragou, why would you… Oh!" She realized what his intentions must've been.

"Of course… He's going to weaken the Imperial Knights so that the Council can step in and control the Empire." Rita said.

"And on the Guild's end, the Blood Alliance would take down Altosk, and there goes the Union control." Raven said.

"Those fiends…!" Naruto said angrily through gritted teeth as his eyes turned red with black slits.

"The Knights and the Union going down together… It's just as Flynn said." Yuri said.

"Hmph, so what if you know now? No matter what you do, you won't be able to stop this battle." Barbos said.

"Hmm, we'll see." Yuri said.

Barbos then turned around as he said "And your existence comes to an end here!"

However, then Estelle heard something and she ran over to the edge as the sound of some kind of horse could be heard.

"Heh, he's late." Yuri said as Flynn was riding across the plains outside of Dahngrest towards where the battle was about to take place.

"Flynn!" Estelle exclaimed.

Plains outside of Dahngrest

As Flynn rode towards the soon-to-be battlefield, he yelled "Stop! All of you, sheathe your blades! Sheathe them!" His horse then came to an abrupt stop in-between the two armies as he held up a letter "I am Flynn Scifo of the Imperial Knights. I have come bearing a letter from Ioder-sama. The letter you received from the Empire was false. It was the work of a rebel. Draw back your armies at once."

The Don then walked over to Flynn before saying "I thought you weren't coming back."

"And leave Yuri behind to take the fall for me? I wouldn't dream of it." Flynn said.

Blood Alliance's tavern, Barbos' office

"Ragou, you fool. You didn't keep up your end of the bargain." Barbos said as he turned to the Magistrate who was covering in the corner.

"Don't hurt me…!" He said.

"Damn…!" Barbos cursed before one of his men held up a Blastia that looked like some kind of sniper rifle, aiming it towards the would-be battlefield.

"Yuri! They're aiming at Flynn!" Estelle said before Naruto threw a kunai a the rifle with such force that it got knocked out of the guy's hand as Ragou was trying to crawl away in the background.

"You got 'im!" Karol exclaimed.

"Nice shot, Naruto!" Yuri said.

However, Barbos then picked up the cannon that lay on the table before aiming it at the group.

"You brats think you can stop me?!" He said, but just as he was about to fire the weapon, a swirl of sand suddenly appeared around him before he felt a hand on his head, a hand which then pushed him onto the floor.

"I'd stay down if I were you." A voice said as Crocodile suddenly materialized from the sand.

"Who… who're you?!" Barbos asked.

"Mr. 0, I presume." Raven said, having also noticed several arms coming out of the floor and holding Ragou down as well as the other limbs holding the Blood Alliance members in check.

"Argh…! Get off of me!" Barbos yelled before he kicked Crocodile off of him and he stood up, aiming the cannon at Yuri's head "Now die!"

"Oh, no!" Naruto yelled, but just then, some kind of flying whale-like creature flew in and over Barbos' head as the Blastia Aer Cannon was destroyed, causing the leader of the Blood Alliance to fall onto the floor.

"Wh-what the hell…?!" He said.

As the creature came to a stop outside, Naruto noticed that there was a person holding a spear and wearing white armor from top to bottom riding it.

"What is that?" Raven asked.

"Oh, so you're back for more, Dragon freak!" Rita yelled before she started charging up for Fire Ball.

"Rita, knock it off! Our enemy's over there…!" Yuri said.

"My enemy is this Dragon freak!" Rita yelled as she stopped charging her attack.

"Leave it alone for now." Yuri said as he looked back at her.

"Humph. I'm gonna make you wish you hadn't done that!" Barbos said as he was now pointing a chain-saw looking sword towards Yuri before holding it into the air and Aer suddenly gathered around the blade and lifted him into the air.

"The hell/What? He can fly?" Naruto and Karol said simultaneously.

"Ooh, so the boss is retreating by himself?" Raven said before Barbos flew off into the distance in the direction of the nearby desert.

"And there he goes." Crocodile said before noticing the whale-like creature staring to fly after him.

"Ah! Get back here you freak! Think I'm just gonna let you get away?" Rita yelled before running towards the "Dragon", but stopped at Barbos' desk as Yuri came up to the edge.

"If you're going after, let me come with you. We're a little short on wings around here." He said.

"What are you saying? This jerk's our enemy!" Rita yelled before Naruto suddenly ran past her and over to Yuri.

"If you're going, then I'm going too." He said before looking up at the person riding the creature.

"Not Naruto too…" Rita said in dejected tone of voice.

The whale-like creature then flew down so that Yuri and Naruto could climb on.

"Yes! Thanks." Yuri said.

"Arigato." Naruto said.

"Wait! What about us…?" Karol asked as he ran forward.

"This guy's overloaded enough as it is." Yuri said as he got himself seated before helping Naruto up.

"But, what should we…?" Karol started.

"You guys hold down the fort here." Yuri said.

"But…!" Estelle said.

"Stay out of trouble." Yuri said as the creature began moving away from the building.

"Dammit, Yuri!" Karol yelled.

"And let Flynn know I'm stepping out for a while." Yuri said.

"Naruto-kun…!" Patty said, and Naruto looked at her.

"Don't worry Patty-chan. We'll be just fine." Naruto said with a smile and Patty nodded her head slightly as the creature flew off after Barbos.

"There's no need for you to worry." Crocodile said, getting everyone's attention "Those three are all quite strong. If they can't do it, then no one can."

Ghasfarost

As night had fallen, the three of them (four if you count the "Dragon") approached a humongous cyclone of sand and dust, and as they flew over it, they noticed that there was some kind of structure inside of it, and a very tall one at that. They flew down towards the roof of the structure where there seemed to be a large Blastia which let out a green light, and it was also likely that that Blastia was what was forming the cyclone.

As they flew in closer, the "Dragon" opened his maw as he charged up an attack before firing a blast of fire form his mouth, hitting the side of the structure and causing the gears around the Blastia to stop and the cyclone vanished, revealing it to be a large tower.

As the "Dragon" then flew over the roof, Yuri and Naruto jumped off.

The roof only really consisted of a large round platform in the middle with the Blastia on it and six smaller platforms around it. Everywhere around the platforms, however, was just one big hole with a wall going around. On the outside of the wall there were four towers that went a little higher up, just past one of the three large ring-like gears, two of which were vertical and right next to each other, and the last one being horizontal. Though, due to the "Dragon's" earlier action, these gears had stopped moving.

"So that cyclone was his doing." Yuri said as he stood on the center platform before Barbos showed up.

"Here he comes." Naruto said.

"You… You've destroyed the Blastia!" Barbos said as Yuri got out his sword and Naruto pulled out a pair of kunai, one in each hand.

Just then, however, several fire balls shot up, causing the "Dragon freak" as Rita had called the person to fall off the "Dragon" and onto the platform.

"Hey, are you all right?" Yuri asked before looking off the side of the platform to see a couple of Blood Alliance members on one of the smaller platforms, one of them having an Aer Cannon.

"Bastards…!" Yuri said through gritted teeth before looking to Barbos and the "Dragon Rider" to see them staring at each other and he then ran over to the edge before jumping down to the Blood Alliance goons.

"Yuri…!" Naruto yelled before turning to Barbos and the "Dragon Rider" just in time to see Barbos knock the armor-clad person out and then heading down towards Yuri "Ah, Yuri, watch out!"

As he then started running towards the edge, however, he got stopped as several Blood Alliance goons surrounded him.

"Ku-kuso…!" He cursed under his breath before one of them charged at him and he side-stepped the guy's attack before kicking him in the back and he then jumped into the air as he formed a hand sign, creating three clones.

"U… zu… ma…ki…" The clones sent three of the Blood Alliance goons into the air before the real Naruto delivered a powerful heel-kick to them, sending them back down "… Naruto Rendan!"

As he then landed back on the ground, he weaved a series of hand signs before turning around launching off his Futon: Kamikaze no Jutsu, blowing all of the remaining Blood Alliance members off the platform. Turning around again, Naruto then continued running towards the edge of the platform before jumping down to the one Yuri was on to see a bunch of unconscious Blood Alliance members as Yuri and Barbos stared at each other.

"Yuri!" Naruto yelled as he landed, catching the raven-head's attention.

"Ah, Naruto." Yuri said as Naruto came over to him "You defeated the ones up there?"

"Mm-hmm." Naruto replied.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you your place." Barbos said, catching their attention as he pointed his chain-saw-looking sword at them and knocked Yuri's sword as well as Naruto's kunai out of their hands.

"Huh… That's a handy sword you've got." Yuri said.

"Think you lost because of this sword, huh?" Barbos said.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah, talk it up while you've got the chance. We've got a nice painful death all set up for you." Barbos said.

Chapter preview

Naruto "Huh? You're… a girl?"

Yuri "I thought I told you all to stay put for a while…"

Flynn (kills a Blood Alliance goon trying to ambush Yuri and the others) "Are you okay?"

Yuri "So, Mr. Temporary Lieutenant, what are you doing here by yourself?"

Barbos "I put 10 years into building Ghasfarost Spire, and while it stands, nothing can stop me!"

Naruto "Next time on Naruto: Shinobi Hunters: the Tower of Gears, Ghasfarost!"

Zagi "YURI LOWELL!"

Yuri "Oh, great, not him again."

Character status

Naruto: Level: 132

Chakra Level: Divine.

Techniques: Soul Perception, Henge, Kawarimi, Oiroke, Harem, Kage Bunshin, Taju Kage Bunshin, Uzumaki Naruto Rendan, Uzumaki Naruto Rendan: Rasengan Edition, Katon: Goukakyo, Futon: Kamikaze, Shakuton: Moesakaru-Rendan, Ranton: Kumori, Kuchiyose, Rasengan, Over-Limit.

Weapons: Kyukiri no Kiba, bo-staff, kunai, shuriken.

Kekkei Genkai: Ranton, Shakuton.

Pokémon: Celebi (lvl 70).

Digimon: Dorumon, Cutemon, Spadamon, ChibiKamemon, Dorulumon, Drimogemon, Leomon.

Series: Naruto.

Patty: Level: 498

Mana Level: Divine.

Techniques: Over-Limit, Clunky Bomb, Variable Trigger, Trick Trick, Random Fall, Falling Ice, Star of Dream, Risky Cast, Gamble Cast, Fatal Strike.

Weapons: knife, pistol, poker cards, binoculars, frying pan, bombs.

Mystic Arte: Summon Friends.

Devil Fruit: Gamble-Gamble Fruit.

Series: Tales of... (Vesperia PS3 exclusive).

Yuri: Level: 181

Chakra Level: Jonin.

Techniques: Azure Edge, Cerberus Strike, Destruction Field, Raging Blast, Ghost Wolf, Dragon Swarm, Shining Dragon Swarm.

Weapons: katana.

Series: Tales of... (Vesperia).

Estelle: Level: 122

Chakra Level: Divine.

Techniques: First Aid, Barrier, Sharpness, Photon.

Weapons: sword, shield.

Series: Tales of... (Vesperia).

Repede: Level: 138

Techniques: Sonic Dog, Crescent Fang, Punishing Fang.

Weapons: dagger.

Series: Tales of… (Vesperia).

Karol: Level: 106

Chakra Level: Genin.

Techniques: Dragon Upper, Punishing Smash, Destroying Rock.

Weapons: large axe, large hammer, large bag.

Series: Tales of… (Vesperia).

Rita: Level: 129

Chakra Level: Kage.

Techniques: Fire Ball, Spiral Flare, Eruption, Stalagmite, Tractor Beam, Negative Gate.

Weapons: sash, book.

Series: Tales of… (Vesperia).

Raven: Level: 219

Chakra Level: ?

Techniques: Rain, Serpent.

Weapons: bow & arrow, dagger.

Series: Tales of… (Vesperia).

Don: Level: 647

Chakra Level: Kage.

Techniques: Tachikage, Rose Ring.

Weapons: sword.

Series: Tales of… (Vesperia).

Character information

Name: Patty Fleur.

Age: 14

Affiliation: Dahngrest, Gambling Pirates, Uzushio.

Affinity: Gambling.

Likes: Naruto-kun, Jiji, Seifer, Treasure.

Dislikes: The Marines, The World Government, Barbos.

Info: At four years of age, Patty's hometown, Capua Torim or Torim Harbor was attacked and destroyed by the Marines because the town housed descendants of the Legendary "evil" Pirate, Aifreed, Patty herself being one of them. She somehow survived however and was found by former Altosk member, Seifer who brought her to Dahngrest where she was adopted by the leader of the Union, Don Whitehorse. When she was ten, she put together a small Pirate crew and set sail, despite the Don's efforts to make her stay in Dahngrest until she was older, though Seifer came with her to protect her as her First Mate. Sometime later, on a certain island, she found a strange fruit, and despite not knowing what it was, she took a bite of it, thereby gaining the abilities of the Gamble-Gamble Devil Fruit. Only two years after she first set sail, she had already made a big name for herself and finally decided on setting her sights on the Pirates' Graveyard, the Grand Line. This route eventually led her to a confrontation with the Yonko, Big Mam, which to everyone's surprise, Patty managed to win, seemingly without a scratch, though she herself would give the credit to her fruit, saying it was only because they had luck on their side.

Kurama no Kyubi: Phew, finally done. This chapter isn't really my longest one, but it's still quite longer than most of my chapters. Well then, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review, it may help the next chapter come out a little sooner.

SSBNS character trailer

Anime scene start

Naruto skids to a halt as he holds his arms in an x in front of himself before lowering them. Before him is his opponent, Monkey D. Luffy, who grins before charging forward. They are currently fighting on the roof of what looks like an old Japanese building in the middle of a large town filled with the same kind of buildings. Luffy rears back his right arm before shooting it off towards Naruto, who barely manages to side-step it before coming in close to Luffy and punching him in the gut. Luffy then lifts his right leg for a roundhouse kick, but Naruto ducks under it before delivering an upper-cut to Luffy's jaw, sending him into the air.

Luffy then flips in mid-air before launching his right leg high into the air, stretching it quite a bit before slamming it down on Naruto, causing him to go through the roof and crash into the room below. Naruto then rolls out of the way and onto his feet as Luffy comes crashing down with a powerful punch to where the blond just was. Naruto leaps out through the door and onto one of those traditional Japanese wooden walk-ways that were outside some houses. Luffy then comes out, destroying a portion of the wall in the process as he's now glowing slightly with steam coming out of his body.

Luffy then holds out his arm with the palm out towards Naruto before the blond is suddenly sent flying backwards and Luffy jumps after him. Naruto flips in mid-air and skids along the ground as he comes to the corner of the walk-way, and looking behind himself, he sees that it's a long way down to the streets below. Luffy then appears in front of him before sending his Jet Pistol attack down towards Naruto, but the blond grabs ahold of the fence before flipping over it and planting his feet on the wall. Pushing off the wall, he then jumps down towards the street beneath them.

As he then lands in a crouched position, he looks up to see Luffy coming down towards him with another Jet Pistol ready, but just then…

"Getsuga Tensho!" They look towards the source of the voice just in time to see a black crescent-shaped wave of energy coming towards them, and it hits them before hitting the wall of a building, causing a huge explosion.

Standing in the middle of the street is the man who attacked them. He has spiky orange hair and he wears a black robe. His sword – which he spins around before resting it on his right shoulder – is completely black with a guard in the shape of a Manji.

(Ichigo Kurosaki fights to protect his friends!)

Anime scene end

"Wha…? Who is that?" Naruto asks as Ichigo flies forward on the Seireitei Stage before cutting through Shulk as he flies past him.

"Sugoi! Those moves are so cool!" Luffy exclaims as Ichigo cuts through Marth with several repeated sword strikes in the Coliseum Stage before cutting through Natsu in the Bowser's Castle Stage, ending the attack with a powerful upwards strike.

"Heh. These moves aren't anything special. But as long as they can help me protect my friends, that's enough." Ichigo says as he stands on the Final Valley Stage.

"Protect your friends, huh? Can you really do that? Prove to this one that you can do it!" Kenshin says as he stands before the Soul Reaper.

"If you wish." Ichigo says before preparing his attack.

"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu:…" Kenshin says as his body starts emitting a colorful glow as he prepares to draw his sword.

"Getsuga…" Ichigo yells.

"Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki/Tensho!" Kenshin charges forward as he draws his sword and Ichigo sends forth a crescent-shaped wave of black energy which then hits Kenshin, disrupting his charge.

"Amazing. Such power." Kenshin says as Ichigo's hair has become long and black and he's covered in dark bandages.

Anime scene start

Naruto, Ichigo, and Luffy are in a rocky mountain area as they all look at each other before charging forward.

"Gomu-Gomu no…" Luffy says as both of his arms stretches backwards.

"Getsuga…" Ichigo yells as he prepares to swing his sword.

"Rasengan!" Naruto calls out as he thrusts forward the spiraling chakra sphere.

"… Jetto Bazooka!" Luffy calls out, shooting his arms forward at a tremendous speed.

"… Tensho!" Ichigo calls out and the three attacks hit each other, causing a massive explosion. As the dust-cloud from the explosion settles, the three combatants skids backwards before they suddenly hear someone clapping and they turn towards the sound to see a man standing on a cliff above them.

He has short brown hair with a single bang going down across his face and he wears white clothes.

"Ichigo Kurosaki… Uzumaki Naruto… Monkey D. Luffy. Up to this point, all of your individual battles took place in the palm of my hand." The man says.

(Sousuke Aizen reveals his master plan!)