Chapter 4 – Welcome

Young women, old women, and some who thought they were women.

The highly inconsistent population of Sucker's casino was a sight to behold for people who never experienced people at their worst. It was a hub for those who arrived at an obstacle. No, it was a place for those who had money and arrived at an obstacle. Cause you could be anything you wanted when you walked into the amoral den, except being poor.

Roulette tables were scattered around the main hall of the underground establishment, private rooms for those who had more money than they cared to admit. All kinds of fetishes were satisfied, and it wasn't rare for someone to walk in only to leave in a green plastic trash bag. This place was more of a hell than hell itself.

Who would have known?

"Granny Tsunade, you haven't changed at all," Naruto said with a frown. A drunk lady sat on one of the couches. There were men on the floor underneath her feet. Half naked and probably very, very high. The table in front of her was low and on top of it sat a mirror that covered the entirety. Empty bottles of sake and cocaine scattered on top of it. Behind the couch stood an elaborate wooden statue of Hachiman, the god of warriors.

"Eh, Naruto?" she squinted her eyes slightly trying to see him through the smoke that permeated the air like a cloud. "Naruto! How are you doing boy 'ya? Haven't seen you in a while."

'She totally didn't hear me' he thought as he continued to watch her in disappointment. With strength that he didn't know she possessed, she quickly threw a couple of men away from the couch and patted it, signaling him to sit next to her.

'Remain respectful Naruto'. He thought to himself as he observed the suited Yakuza members gather around her. They formed a circle, guns clear on display. Now that he was a devil he didn't particularly feel intimidated. Three months of magic training under Grayfia and Serafall left hardly any reason to fear anything.

Tsunade had always treated him and his, like her own. She was family, although he detested her occupation and the way she would abuse alcohol. He met her a couple of months before his first job. Fifteen years old and out of cash he needed a way to fund their 'project'. His juvenile mind decided that gambling was the only option.

He smiled fondly at the memory.

He sat there on the roulette table. The table had changed three dealers already and a smiling Naruto sat alone with stacks upon stacks of chips. It was then that she walked in, he thought her elegant back then, her green kimono with elaborate markings. She sat in the dealer's seat and introduced herself.

He didn't know back then that Yakuza was more than Hollywood myths, it was a world too far away from his own. Yet, here he was in Chicago, on a roulette table that was being dealt by a female Yakuza boss. Men in suits surrounded his table.

"In your place, I'd bet on sixteen." She said back then. She seemed so sure that sixteen was the right choice. Naruto never lost when it came to games of luck. His well-developed mind started iterating along the lines of how to use that lady. She seemed to have quite the pull with these men and Yakuza had a big chunk of Chicago under their thumb.

"How about we bet then?" he asked.

Tsunade's eyes lit in excitement and she cockily grinned at him. "Bring it on brat! What are we betting?"

It was at that moment that a young woman walked into the private area. She carried a pet pig with her. Leaning to Tsunade she whispered. Back then he couldn't hear what was being said but Tsunade's reaction was still etched in his mind. The same lady that exuded authority flinched and looked like a scolded child under the woman's gaze. For a moment Naruto worried that he had misread the situation and that the young girl was the actual boss.

"Don't worry Shizune, I'll clean this brat and then we can go ok?"

"Please take care Tsunade-sama" the girl whimpered but Tsunade wouldn't budge.

"So what are we betting boy 'ya?" she sultrily asked.

"We play a game of blackjack, one round. If I win you owe me a favor, if you win you get all the money I won today and I'll pay double interest on the loan I took from your pet there." He nodded toward the loaner who stood in the entrance. The poor guy started sweating and shaking while the fat bouncer merrily laughed at his predicament.

Tsunade cocked her head back and laughed heartily. "I like your guts brat! Let's do this! But I want to add something more…" she looked expectantly at one of her underlings. The man pulled a marble box and kneeled in front of her as he opened it. A luxurious looking deck of cards sat neatly stacked inside. She took it out and started shuffling. "If I win I don't want your money. You will work for me for the rest of your life, or you'll wake up in the bottom of the ocean with cemented feet. Make your choice."

It was Naruto's turn to laugh and accept the raise. "I like you. Old lady, let's do this!" the men surrounding them gaped and faint murmurs of 'idiot' and 'balls of steel' resounded around him, he didn't pay any attention to them, though. She didn't speak opting to deal him a card, it was a seven spades, she dealt a card to herself letting it face open showing a seven hearts. Another card came his way faced up, another seven. Lightly tapping the table, he signaled for another hit, this time, the card came faced down. Tsunade loved suspense above all.

"Your turn," he said without looking at his last card.

"You sure you don't want to see your cards? It's not too late you know." She said.

"No, I'm good." He said surely.

Tsunade shrugged and threw another card on top of her seven, it was an ace. Without thinking, she threw another one, another ace and then came a third ace. "It's a twenty brat. I win." She smiled. Her luck wasn't giving up on her again.

Naruto didn't react choosing instead to uncover the third card. Everybody screamed and pandemonium broke out when the third seven landed on top of his previous two. "Twenty-one, blackjack lady. I win right?"

The rest came along later, Tsunade almost adopted Naruto after that. She supplied a couple of men, a car, and guns for their heist. It was the start of a beautiful relationship.

His trip down memory lane ended abruptly when she smacked the couch louder again. "I need to speak in private," He said cordially.

Half an hour later Naruto sat across Tsunade on a traditional Japanese floor. He was sipping sake and Tsunade looked sober, as unusual as it was. "So that Cao boy betrayed you huh?" she asked taking another sip from her cup. He nodded once not trusting himself to speak.

"But to think you would turn into a devil… I'm disappointed Naruto." She said abruptly. Thinking back on it, he shouldn't have been so surprised that she knew about the paranormal. Tsunade was high up there on the important people ladder.

"How did you know?" he asked.

Tsunade scoffed, "Who do you think I am Naruto? 'Shadow Syndicate captured' stood on the first page of my newspaper one day. Next week? No one even remembers what the Shadow Syndicate was. Only devils have this kind of pull on our world. Well, the angels too but they would have gone differently about it." She shrugged.

"I didn't have a choice!" he pleaded, "What should I have done? You should have seen that spear granny! It was beyond anything I had imagined. When I took the job I expected some stick of wood with metal attached on the end of it ya know?. Instead, I saw light beams like I was in some fucking J.J Abrams movie. A week later a guy comes in and introduces himself as the leader of all devils." He said sulkily. Cao Cao's betrayal still fresh in his mind.

"Stupid brat…" she said bitterly. "…I could have gotten you extradited to japan, a couple of years in jail with some good behavior and you would have been out and about on the streets again…"

"Yeah well. I have gotten stronger now. Way stronger than anything I could imagine back then. And it isn't all that bad, Serafall is nice." He muttered but paused when Tsunade dropped her cup and gawped at him.

"Serafall? As in the fucking Leviathan Serafall? You got into the current Leviathan's peerage?" she yelled flabbergasted at the blonde's predicament.

"Yeah what's the big deal?" he asked.

Tsunade broke in laughter. "Could you imagine the queen of England adopting some street urchin and giving him the throne?" she asked.

Without thinking, Naruto answered. "What the hell does the queen of England have anything to do with this? And no, why would she adopt a street urchin?" he asked back annoyed.

"Exactly." She said as if she had won the argument.

"What?" he asked again.

"Brat. She is one of the four leaders of the underworld. Like, if she wanted it, hell would freeze over. She is also the head of foreign affairs and regulates anything that has to do with contact between humans and devils. Why do you think that Yakuza lost so much territory during the last couple of decades? I had to move to fucking America to have some leeway with what I do."

"Yeah so?"

"Gah, you are unbearable!" she yelled. "How come you are always surrounded by influential people? At least you now literally have the devil's luck. Oblivious little shit." She scoffed. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at her.

"I need to find someone, without my 'king' knowing of course," He said seriously.

Tsunade regarded him in silence for a couple of moments. "You are playing a dangerous game Naruto. Good luck only takes you so far in the world that we live in."

"Ah, I'll keep that in mind…" he stood up and laid a piece of paper on the table. "…Same contact routes, I'll keep in touch granny." She picked it up and nodded.

"Take care of yourself brat." She paused for a couple of seconds, seemingly in thought. "Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time you come by I want to give you a gift."

The teleportation circle illuminated the room as the look of surprise colored his features. "Thanks for everything," He said.

Tsunade sat in silence inside the empty room. She sipped some sake but it didn't taste as good anymore. "Shitty brat, didn't even finish his drink."

Learning the mystical art of magic became surprisingly easy. Between physical exercises, Grayfia's 'queen' training and attending to stupid 'Serafall' whims such as 'French pudding fresh from France', he ended up spending most of his free time in Serafall's study. It was hard at first, learning runes and casting mechanisms was a tough thing to do. Most often than not he ended up harming himself by exploding seals, freezing experiments and once almost drowned himself.

A year passed quickly and the underworld became his home. The purple sky didn't bother him anymore; devils weren't that different to humans in the way they spent their life. Sure members of the 72 pillars enjoyed nobility status, but Lilith was like another metropolis in the human world. Some struggled financially, honest nine to five office workers, thugs in the alleyways, people trying to keep their families afloat. He wouldn't have batted an eyelash looking at them if he was back in Chicago. Normal people living normal lives, with normal problems and worries.

Naruto was enjoying the scenery. It had been a long time since he got any personal freedom to do whatever he wanted. Tsunade had no leads in her investigation and he couldn't do much from the underworld. Sirzechs had told him that Cao Cao had joined some shady organization called Khaos Brigade. Many devils of the old faction joined them and apparently a big chuck of the Grigori.

He sat in a cozy little café in the outskirts of Lilith, an old looking short granny owned it and her granddaughter Celia worked there as a waiter. He never thought about it but old people were damn hard to find here in the underworld. The aging rate was thousands of times slower than an average human and the average life expectancy of a devil- aside battles, was around three thousand years. So that granny must have been damn old. A walking relic.

"Can I bring you anything else Naruto-kun?" Celia asked as she set a cup of coffee and biscuits on his table.

"I'm good thanks. How is school going?" Silia was a student at Lilith's college of Liberal arts. Studying history and economics. As weird as it sounded she was only a year older than him, black hair, pale skin, and green eyes. She was tall- taller than him, slim legs and waist and a decent bust size if he said so himself. Coming from a person who knew people like Tsunade, Rias, and Akeno that was quite a compliment.

Celia blushed as he smiled at her. "It's going fine; I'm getting prepared for my finals for this semester."

"Too hard?" he asked.

"Nah, I just need to memorize a lot of things."

"That's good to hear…" he smiled. "…Hey, I wanted to ask, how come you didn't go to study in the human world? I heard the education is about as good, history is probably different, though."

"Ah, I never thought about it. Selionora-baasama, needs help here and I never traveled to the human realm, it's kind of dangerous for those who can't fight."

Naruto realized his blunder and thoughtlessness. "Eh, sorry I guess, that was kind of inconsiderate huh?" he sheepishly scratched his head.

Celia waved her hands negatively. "No, no. You told me you were a human just last year right? It's probably hard seeing normal civilians even if it's the underworld."

Naruto laughed awkwardly, "yeah, I guess. Humans have this idea that the underworld is filled with devils who punish the souls of human sinners. And 'good' humans go to heaven apparently." He scoffed.

Celia's eyes widened. "Really? That's kind of selfish isn't it?" she asked innocently.

"Selfish?"

She took a moment to formulate a proper response. "Yeah, I mean why would they think that they will go anywhere after death? People just die don't they? There's nothing after that."

Sasuke, Eli, and Johnny appeared in front of him, pierced and wounded, there was blood flowing from their respective wounds. His eyes darkened and Celia cringed when an unknown feeling started pulsing around the blond. The temperature in the café dropped considerably. The warmth came back as soon as it came, Naruto stood up threw a couple of coins- more than enough to pay for his coffee.

"Yeah, there's nothing after that…"

"I'm sorry!" she shouted."I didn't mean to-"

"It's ok. Think nothing of it. See you later Celia, Selionora-oba!" he said as he walked outside.

Hands in his pockets he lazily started walking back home. It was weird how a sheltered and unassuming girl understood the world better than him. Her words rang true as much as he wanted to discredit them. When he entered this world; where devils served coffee in cozy little shops, angels probably sand around god throne and fallen angels lived scattered around the underworld like gypsies, he thought that maybe just maybe he could see them again. Whenever his death came he would be able to set everything aside and relax. He could tease Eli with Johnny, Sasuke would sit somewhere in a corner brooding like usual.

'How stupid am I?' he thought, mentally berating himself. A brooding aura surrounded him and civilians avoided stepping in front of him. 'They are gone. And that bastard is still out there! And I'm leisurely drinking coffee like some aged old man!'

He walked and walked, seemingly lost in his thoughts, at some point his head hurt and he stopped to recollect himself. Great he was lost now, standing in the middle of a forest, he could easily tell that he was in Sitri territory. It was the only area that had trees as healthy as those.

With a sigh, Naruto cast the teleportation spell. He needed to lay down and gather his thoughts. He needed a plan. The spell was half way done when his cell phone rang. Curiously he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Naruto boy 'ya?" the familiar voice on the other end of the line brought a smile on his face.

"Granny! Any news?" he asked eagerly.

"'line isn't safe, come over and we'll talk." She hurriedly said.

"Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can. *click*"

This wasn't a good idea he tried to convince himself but his lack of patience took the better of him. Putting a big chunk of energy into the spell he teleported away to the human realm. Which inadvertently resulted in Naruto landing outside the Sucker's casino feeling like he spared with Serafall while carrying an overweight elephant on his back.

Normal devils could maybe teleport from one side of a decent sized city to the other. High-class devils could probably skip a continent. But skipping an entire dimension often took an Ultra class being. Not because of complexity but of sheer energy requirements. Which was a reason that there was a perfectly easy fifteen-minute train ride that one could take from Lilith's central station. Alas Naruto's brain often deactivated itself in the face of excitement.

Gasping like a sprint runner on drugs he knocked on the entrance using the familiar pattern. Kotetsu, a big fat bold bouncer opened the door as usual.

"Ruto-boy" he tried to mimic English accent which only resulted in a hilarious failure. "Tetsu-aniki..." he mouthed in between gasps of air. "Is granny here?"

"Don't let boss hear you…" he chuckled. "…Backroom VIP 3 she's waiting."

Trying to ignore the smoke and scent of alcohol and drugs he pushed through the crowd which was either dancing or crying or both. With a bit more struggle than he thought possible, he arrived at his destination.

Tsunade sat kneeling in front of the Japanese table. "When you said that you'd come as fast as you could I was expecting tomorrow brat."

Naruto had regained his breath by now. "Yeah well, I took the highway."

Tsunade smacked her forehead as Naruto merrily laughed at his own pun. "You haven't gotten any better with those. Sit down."

Acquiescing the request Naruto sat across the table. "What do you have?"

"Geez, calm down brat, I haven't seen you in what? A year? And all you do is requesting shit again. Have a drink." There were three cups on the table, she poured sake into the one in front of him and then in her own cup.

"We getting company?" he asked eyeing the third one.

Shizune walked in, he hadn't seen her in ages and time only did her good. She looked grown up now but her eyes were as kind as ever. "Haven't seen you in a long time 'Ruto."

He blushed and smiled a bit while scratching his head. "I've been busy."

"Excuses!" yelled Tsunade. "…You could have at least come over for a drink or something."

"Ok, ok geez. I'll make sure to visit often ok?"

Tsunade nodded approvingly and Shizune smiled. A couple of moments were spent in silence before Tsunade started talking. "The leader of the Yokai faction has been abducted. Her name is Yasaka and she is a Kyuubi."

A look of realization flashed in his eyes. "You mean those with the seven tails?"

"…" Shizune fell over and Tsunade smacked her head again in irritation. "Naruto, possibly. Don't tell me?"

"Huh, what?"

With utter seriousness, she asked. "Are you retarded?"

Naruto eyes twitched as he looked at Tsunade. Her brows were furrowed in consideration. 'Is she expecting an answer? She is!"

After a long-winded explanation of why nine tailed foxes had nine tails, Naruto felt like an idiot. He would make sure to pay Sirzechs a visit one of these days.

"So anyway, my blunder aside…" he coughed while Tsunade's eyes started twitching at the fresh memory of his idiocy. "… what does this Yasaka woman have anything to do with Cao Cao?"

"He was the one who abducted her. The Yokai are quite troubled and will probably try to get help, she is the one who keeps the energy flow from exploding underneath the city. So they need her back like yesterday."

His eyes lit on fire with determination. "I finally have my clue." He was almost relieved now that he could grab one end of the string, slowly he could start pulling the clew together and Cao Cao was on the other side of it.

"Wait. You shitty brat!" Tsunade yelled as she pulled him back down. "We aren't finished…" tactfully she eyed Shizune and nodded.

"Extend your right palm and set it on the table opened, face up," She ordered.

Not seeing anything weird with her request he did as asked. With speed he didn't expect from a human she pulled a sword from underneath and stabbed it right into his palm. He flinched at first and yelled a bit but soon realized that he didn't feel any pain.

"What the hell, old hag?!" he screamed at her. Sword still stabbed into his flesh. There was no wound it was like it fazed right through him.

"This sword is called the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, it is a relic that the Senju family has carried for generations and passed down to the heir or heiress through the ages. Alas, I am not getting any younger and Shizune will be taking over; plus, she doesn't have any use for a sword this heavy."

Naruto gulped as he observed Tsunade's sword. It was a Jian, double-edged and straight, all the way to its sharp pointy tip, it had a handle made of bronze with ornaments on its rim. "When you won that blackjack game that day, and the times you and your group came over I sometimes wondered if that was what it felt to have a son. Dan died early, god- he winced- bless his soul." She added somberly. "Will you accept this gift Naruto of the Uzumaki?"

He bowed his head in respect. He didn't know much about Yakuza traditions but the movement seemed natural. "I accept…" a few seconds passed before he added. "…but did YOU have to FUCKING STAB ME?"

"Geez, calm your panties. It doesn't hurt does it?"

"No…"

Tsunade put her left palm on the handle and her right in front of her face. Pointing and middle fingers straight up while the rest where clutched. "Kai," She mumbled.

Even for Naruto who had seen plenty of unbelievable things, the event that took place took the cake. Only because of how absurd it was. The sword shifted and a snake took its place. The creature's fangs were piercing his skin at the stabbing point while the rest of its body fell down due to the gravity. He didn't flinch, fully trusting Tsunade's words. Like ink on an empty white canvas, the snake slithered upwards and merged with his arm, leaving a huge imprint that pretty much took the whole sleeve area like a tattoo.

Arcane writings appeared surrounding it. "Now drink a Sakazuki with me Naruto; you and yours will always have a place in the Senju family if you need it!" she said joyfully while raising her cup.

Naruto's cup shook in his arm as he raised it, tears falling. Sniffling he said his part. "Then, I drink with you this Sake, Tsunade of the Senju, you and yours will always have a place in the Uzumaki family if you need it."

A.N I have no clue about Sakazuki and Yakuza traditions. If any of you is part of a Yakuza family and found it offensive, then please PM me back with the right protocols. It'd be pretty dope if any of you were lol.

Anyway, when I first started this story I didn't have a plan. Now that the plot solidified more or less I realize that I didn't even pay proper respect to where it's due.

The onomatopoeia for Naruto and his group came from a fic called: "My precious people" by Serious Sam. fanfiction s / 9374119 / 1 / My-Precious-People (remove spaces). It's a fun read for anyone interested.

The phrase: "We are thieves, we take what we want" (in case you haven't noticed yet) comes from Hunter x Hunter, originally said by Feitan from the Phantom Troupe. If you haven't seen Hunter x Hunter (2011) then abandon whatever it is that you are doing at the moment and go watch it. You can thank me later.

Jiraya's training and subsequent abandonment was heavily influenced by actual Naruto cannon (Nagato, Conan, Yahiko) and Van Hohenheim from FMA Brotherhood.

If I missed anything, then just mentione it and I'll add it on the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!