Rider watched as her Master tossed and turned moaning and weeping at what he was seeing in his dreams. Rider figured that it was probably about herself and her end.

It had been a horrible end to say the least. She had rampaged all along the Isle destroying her temple. A few foolish heroes and thieves had attempted to land upon her Isle, but they barely walked upon the Isle before she turned her terrible gaze upon the intruders. They were instantly turned to stone where they would then be smashed to bits. Soon, nothing dared to come to her island, all save one. Only Pegasus, her best friend, and her worst reminder of Poseidon tried time and time again to be with her. Only Pegasus, granted protection by the power of Poseidon and it's own natural defenses against her eyes tried to be with the original gorgon. Yet, in her rage and grief, she kept chasing her precious steed away. Not that it kept Pegasus away from her for long, he was just that loyal.

In the end, the gods felt like they had endured enough smear from Rider's rampage and the killing of her sisters. They went into discussion on who would be sent to kill Rider. Athena was adamant that she herself was more than enough to kill the fallen mortal. Besides, she had a chip on her shoulder ever since Rider and Poseidon had sex in her temple, even if the sex was rape by the god of the Ocean. Surprisingly, Zeus put his daughter down saying that she needed to cool her head lest she make Ares look calm. If there was anyone that Athena did not want to look good, it was her opposite Ares, the god of mindless and brutal war. Athena was the goddess of war dealing with strategies and tactics while Ares dealt with the brutality and carnage of war.

The gods then began to bicker who's children would have the honor of killing Rider. For, whoever killed her would gain favor in the ever changing hierarchy of the pantheon of the gods. Yet, again Zeus overrode their choice of champions and selected his son Perseus who was attending a banquet of his king Polydectes. Zeus ordered the other gods to intervene and made Polydectes demand to know why Perseus had not brought a gift to the banquet like the other gifts. Perseus, though he was as egotistical as Shinji, was not so foolish to contradict his king who had told him before the banquet to not bring anything. Polydectes had wanted to appease the boy so that he could marry his mother. While the other guests had brought horses, Perseus had none to give and was forced to ask the king to tell him what he wanted. Influenced by the gods, Polydectes demanded the head of Medusa as a gift and so Perseus left.

Of course, the gods would not let their precious champion face her alone. Oh no, they sent him to the nymph Hesperides who gave him five Noble Phantasms. Harpe, the sword that would cut her head off, The Sandals of Hermes to allow him to fly at incredible speeds and dodge her massive coils, Athena's shield that would one day be adorned with her face after it was ripped from her head, the helm of Hades to grant him invisibility that allowed him to close in on her without her noticing, and worst of all, the Kibisis, the magic sack that forced her to experience the nightmares of her heart. In the end, the last nightmare before her head was cut off was one of her being tormented by her own sisters. Of all the nightmares, that one hadn't been too bad as she was able to see the two of them one last time.

So, Perseus was able to go home, kill the king who forced him to take such a useless task and ruled a kingdom like a tyrant. He went on to brag about gaining the aid of three women, the Graeae, who never actually existed, by taking their one eyeball and forcing them to tell him how to defeat her. Of course, he then told how brave he was going to the temple and killing Medusa and running from the two sister gorgons who could not be killed. Lying bastard, using her dead sisters to further his reputation. He never mentioned what he did to her body, who would want to admit that he got great pleasure raping a headless body.

Rider drew back from her memories and the Tales that were spawned from folklore and lies and gazed upon her Master who was suddenly a lot quieter. It seems that he had finished her story and was now watching Saber's. Curiosity overwhelmed her, she wanted to see what the past of Saber looked like. She wanted to see the end of the Holy Grail War. Perhaps, Saber had not told her the complete truth about the end and what the grail truly was.

"Breaker Gorgon." She said, causing her blindfold to break. Without her blindfold, she could enter his dreams and see what Naruto was watching. Honestly, she thought that she should have done this earlier, but she did not want to see her life relived in front of her. Now that her life was finished, she could see Saber's without qualms or fears.

As soon as she looked in, she was astonished by what she was seeing. She was standing in a sewer. She looked around and felt for her Master's presence. The inside of his mind was disturbing to her. In the distance, she could hear a roar and scraping of something against metal. She dashed in that direction passing many rooms containing various tihngs. Just as she was about to leave the corridor for an open space, she stopped. She could hear the sound of weapons clashing. She looked to her right and saw a room that was different than the others. It looked like a vast plains with statues popping all over the place and a hill at the center. On top of the hill was the blond Saber of the past and the Saber of the present. Beside the two statues, Naruto was laying on the ground looking up at the sky. Instead of gears filling the air, a battle was unfolding in the sky. It was Naruto's dream. Rider walked into the room and looked up to watch the dream unfold.

She watched as the Sabers of past and present face off Kirei. The fallen priest offered both of them the Grail, yet both rejected the offer. Their only wishes could not be fulfilled by the evil and diseased chalice. Kirie was disappointed by this. He wanted his entertainment to be finished, but these two would not go according to his plans. Shirou's ideals would not let him accept such a cursed ideal to undo the past and make everything that occurred into a lie. He would go forward and make their sacrifices mean something. His words, his will pierces her heart and she remembers. She made an oath as a girl pulling out the sword from the stone. She would fulfill her oath as King and lead her country to prosperity. She had thought Shirou was the fool, but it was she who was the fool. She had lived her life the best she could up till her country betrayed her. Yet, she had done everything that she could and had no regrets for it. She had fulfilled her oath, so what was the need for the Grail?She refused and said that she would rather have Shirou safe over obtaining the grail. It was there that Gilgamesh appeared. The mad demigod found the whole thing boring.

Yet, it seemed that the others had forgotten about Lancer. The look on the hero of Ireland was furious. He had been used as a scout because Kirei had this-this monster as a Second Servant. His pride had been trampled upon too much. All he wanted in this war was a good fight, yet he had been denied. No longer.

Lancer dashed forward and began attacking Gilgamesh, though every attack was blocked by a weapon from Gilgamesh's treasury. Both Sabers were confused, but they took the chance and ran out of the crypt and church and back to the house. Behind them, Lancer and Gilgamesh faced off ending with Lancer held by Enkidu, the chains that held down the Bull of Heaven, and was killed.

Back at the house, Shirou and Saber found Rin against a wall bleeding heavily and a large streak of blood was on the wall. Were it not for the fact that both of them had seen Rin alive and well in the present, they would have both sword that Rin was going to die. Stubborn girl, too tough to die. Kirei had attacked the house already and stolen Illya, the vessel that would be used to summon the Holy Grail. Rin gave Shirou a familiar looking dagger. It was exactly the same as the one Illya had trying to kill Naruto, and Azoth dagger. The dagger was given to young Magi when they came of age. Kotomine had given it to Rin as a present.

Before they left, Shirou gave Saber Avalon back. It would be her last trump card and would allow her to fight Gilgamesh on even terms. The ritual is simple and painless. She reaches forth and her hand sinks into Shirou's flesh. There was not pain, no blood. It was as if she had slid her hand into water. She grabs something and pulls. Yet, the sheath has been diffused throughout his body. While Saber can hold the power, it takes Shirou's imagination to give it shape. He pulls forth as much power as he can and concentrates. He remembers the shape, the history, and the forging methods of the sheath and bring it forth.

Perfect.

That is the only word that can describe the copy. All others were pale comparisons, but this one is a perfect fit. He had copied the image down to the last scratch, the last dent, the last gleam of gold. With the power of Avalon placed into the sheath, Avalon is reborn into its original form. There is no question, this will be his masterpiece. No other projection, no other copy will compare to this one. No matter how long he will practice, no matter how hard he tries, he has created his Magnum Opus this night.

The two headed for the temple for a final confrontation. The moon looks down upon them in it's crescent form nearing the end of the lunar cycle. It seems almost poetic. The War has been going on for almost two weeks. On the day that Saber was summoned, it was a full moon. Now, it is becoming a new moon.

The climb up the stairs is silent. The two make no noises other than those of their feet upon the stone. There is no need for words. The two know what they have to do. Though they know that this may be the last time the two will be together, they do not hesitate. Countless lives count upon them, so they climb. As he walks up, Shirou thinks back on the time he has spent with her. Though they have been through many horrifying situations that would have broken lesser men, he is still grateful for the time he has been given with Saber. He would not trade it for anything. He will remember his time with her till he dies and beyond. He wants to talk to her, he wants to day goodbye, but he can't. The next time they talk will definitely be their last conversation, their last time to bond. No, he won't say good bye. He'll wait until this war is over and they have won. Until then, he won't talk to her, only move forward.

Once they reach the top of the stairs, they are greeted with the mad King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.. Shirou heads for Kotomine, while Saber went to face off against Gilgamesh. What happens between Saber and Gilgamesh is unknown, but the results will be seen soon enough. Though Rider knew the outcome would be in the girl's favor, she could not help but feel the tension in the air as Shirou ran for the fallen priest.

What awaited Shirou was beyond Rider's worst fears. What she saw was a hole in space oozing black mud. Just below the opening, a naked Illya hung in the air crucifixion style with Kotomine looking amused on the ground below her. After a brief conversation of how Kotomine was unimpressed of Shirou's attitude in ruining his entertainment and explaining how the grail had been flawed since the end of the Third Grail war, Shirou charged Kotomine.

Kotomine merely held his hands behind his back as the black mud covered Shirou. It burned, like throwing yourself into a pit of molten lava. The pain was beyond words. Rider couldn't help but flinch from the realism the dream was giving. Even though this was but a dream, both her and Naruto were experiencing the whole thing like they were right beside Shirou. They felt what he felt, they experienced his pains, his loves, his hates, and his fears. In the mud, Shirou was assaulted by voices accusing him of every crime humanity ever commuted, murder, rape, pillage, fraud, lies, revenge, war, disease, death. All that Shirou felt, Naruto and Rider experienced, though on a much lesser note than what truly happened.

Rider was horrified at the thought of her young Master watching every one of the dreams like this. Oh Zeus, how scarred was Naruto? Any one of these dreams should have broken his spirit. Yet, he was still smiling and laughing. How bad had his own life been to take this kind of punishment and shrug it off?

Above, Shirou fought the madness and rage inside of the mud. His ideal will not let him rest. He cannot afford to die, he hasn't saved anyone yet. At the same time, he cannot give up while Saber is fighting for her life.

No, he will not fail.

"Trace on."

Those two words, the words that initiate his magic. Within his mind, he begins to trace Avalon. Though it is far inferior to what he gave to Saber, it is more than enough for him to activate the ability. His body is covered in gold, as his essence is brought into the realm of the Faeries. He cannot be harmed, and he cannot die. Not even the Five True Magics can harm him inside of that place. It is truly the most powerful defensive Noble Phantasm, hence why it was named after the distant Utopia where King Arthur supposedly lays. He bursts from the mud roaring his rage.

He charges Kotomine once more, Kirie is too stunned to move. The mud tries to attack him, but Shirou is too fast. One moment he is before Kirie, and the next, he slams the dagger into Kirei. As he does so, he uses his other hand to smash his fist into the hilt and activates the dagger.

Though Azoth is supposed to be a ceremonial dagger, it is far from harmless. Rin had been putting any extra magic she had into the dagger for years. It was filled with more magic than her jewels.

Once it was activated, all the power stored within exploded within Kirei. The rest ended up blowing the priest's back off. Kirie looked down in belief recognizing what it was.

"To think, I gave that dagger away on a lark. I truly have become weak." the Priest said falling. The mud ceases to flow and dries up.

The battle is over...no, the War is over. Shirou heads over to Illya who no lays crumpled on the ground. H takes off his over shirt and covers her up. It appears that her life is in no danger. Shirou turns as he hears the sound of feet on the ground.

It's Saber.

She has won.

Though her armor is gone and the bottom of her dress has tears in it, she walks as regally as if she was wearing royal vestments and a crown.

"I will destroy the Holy Grail," she says softly, "It is my role." She walks up to the floating void hanging in the air. She gets within range and looks at Shirou. His hands are clenched, his teeth are on edge. He knows what he has to do, but he also knows what will happen. Once the grail is destroyed, she will not be able to maintain herself here. Once the grail is gone, she will vanish. She will not be a Servant again, once she destroys the Grail, she will not pursue the Grail again, thus she will never become a Heroic Spirit. To do so will cost him dearly.

"Master, please give me your order. I cannot destroy it without your order." She says softly. She is telling him to use his last Command seal. She too cannot stand to know that she will soon leave him. Yet, this task must be done. The Grail is evil and corrupted, it must be destroyed. "-Shirou, I want to hear you say it." He wants to tell her not to go, to not leave him here, yet, he will not trample upon her pride. He laves her too much to hold her here. She has one last duty to perform, and he will not keep her from it.

"Saber, fulfill your role. Destroy the Grail." he tells her using his last Command seal. Inside, a part of him dies, knowing he has condemned her to death. Up until this point, she has not been dead, only frozen in time. Once this is done, her time will move forward, and she will die. With a single slash, the deed is done. The void is cut in half and vanishes.

The sun is rising, a new day has begun.

"So, everything is over?" Saber asked.

"Yeah, there's nothing left now."

"I see, then our contract is over." She said softly, "I became your sword and defeated your enemies and protected you. I am glad to have fulfilled this promise."

He turns to her saying, "Yeah, you did well Saber."

She stands before him, looking so small, yet so proud. "In the end, there is one thing I have left to tell you." Her voice is filled with determination.

He waits, hoping to hear the words that he will remember forever.

Her body wavers, what she is going to say is so hard. Yet, she will regret it if she doesn't.

"Shirou. I love you."

A wind blows into Shirou's eyes, blinding him for a second. As he opens his eyes, the sun rises behind her, making it almost impossible to see her expression. But, he can still see the smile on her face as she vanishes.

Rider flees the dream. She cannot watch anymore, the love, the pain, it is too much. No one in her life had ever loved her as much as Shirou loved Saber. As she exits the room, she sees what lays in front of her. It is a room dedicated to her. As she enters, she can see the statues of her past. One of her when she was young and looked like her sisters. One was of her in her current form. One was of her turning into a monster. One was her monstrous form. Yet, the last, the last was almost too painful to see. It was her without her head laying on the ground. Perseus' triumphant self standing over her corpse holding her head in Kibisis. She is stunned at the realism of the statues, it's like she's seeing complete copies of herself save that the statues have no color. One look at the statues and she knows how deeply he has seen her past. Everything must have been burned into his mind, never to be forgotten.

A massive roar pulls her from her thoughts. Rider runs from the room dedicated to her and turns to her left. Before her stands a massive cage. She can feel the power emanating from the prison. There is no doubt in her mind that this is where her young Master's Demon resides.

"Who Enters My Domain?" The Kyuubi called.

Rider walked up to the cage and gazed upon it, her uncovered eyes meeting it's own red eyes. Though her eyes can kill most things, there are some beings that possess enough magical resistance to only be slowed down by the Mystic Eyes. The Kyuubi was one such being.

"Ah, Rider. What Brings My Servant Here? Come To Set Me Free?" The Kyuubi asked with a massive grin.

"Servant? Naruto is my only Master." Rider said.

The Kyuubi chuckled, but did not show the command seals, the demon would enjoy her expression soon enough. "As You Say, So...Why Are You Here?"

Rider didn't respond, she had no intention of telling this creature that she had merely been curious.

The Kyuubi growled slightly, "Answer Me Rider. Why Are You Here?"

"If you try to harm him," Rider warned, "I will devour you." She could do it, probably. In her Monstrous Form, she would be a match for this creature.

The Kyuubi glared at her, "You Dare To Threaten Me? The Mightiest of the Bijuu?"

"How could any creature at half strength be frightening?" Rider asked with a smirk. She could feel it. The creature's aura was missing something. It felt like it had been in half and left with half his being.

"Get Out!" The Kyuubi roared. "Get Out You Useless Servant. Bring Me Saber."

Rider closed her eyes and opened her eyes in the real world. She would be damned before she ever brought Saber inside there unless she intended on killing the Kyuubi. Though she would admit that Saber was far better at planning things than her, Rider began formulating a plan on killing the demon. It would rely upon the other demons being defeated, but she was sure that it would begin soon. It is the fate of Servants to fight eventually, even if they make alliances. Only her alliance with Saber would remain the same as they both had the same Master. All others, including Archer would eventually be forced to fight. It was inevitable. Rider intended on the Kyuubi being last, then finishing it off.

Yes, it was a good plan. Too bad plans never last long.

Nightfall

Saber was glad that Rider was with Naruto. He was going to be busy for the next several days. With Rin and the others at the house, he as going to need to gather several things. Naruto's house was a four bedroom building with two bathrooms. With Naruto sleeping in one room, he would have to bunch up the others in the spare rooms for the duration that they were here. Zelretch, thankfully used Kaleidoscope to return back to his world while the girls stayed over. Shiki and Arcuied were given their own room to stay as they were married. Putting Rin and Luvia in the same room would have equal total destruction of the house within five minutes. Instead, Rin and Illya slept in the same room as they were used to each other and Aoko and Luvia were given the last room to sleep. It had strained the budget, but he was able to gather enough food for the whole group while they stayed here. He had been less then thrilled to see that quite a bit of his hidden savings had been liberated by the group, but he accepted it and moved on.

He had made another trip to the Hyuga residence to find Hanabi attempting something that was counter to the norm for a Hyuga. She was trying to learn how to use weapons. To be more specific, blunt swords. The swords were made with a special metal that allowed one to channel chakra. Using this metal, Hanabi was attempting to create a new form of Juken. The form would, if she had it right, cause little damage to the body on the outside, but it would do massive damage to the inside of the body. Not only that, but this juken should, in theory, weaken opposing weapons when clashed as juken would allow her to aim for weak points in weapons. The problem was, her eyes did not allow her to see the weaknesses in weapons. She would have to learn how to gauge where the weaknesses were on her own without her Bloodline.

The whole family was surprised by Hanabi's genius in trying to cause internal damage with weapons. Normally, swords would to external damage, but with the blunt weapons, she would, in theory only do minor damage to the exterior of the body, but using Juken, she could deliver massive damage to the organs.

"Well, I'm impressed." Saber said interrupting her training.

"Onii-chan? Onii-chan!" she yelled as she dashed forward and gave him one of her flying tackles. Secretly, Saber was not looking forward to when Illya and Hanabi met. While Hanabi aimed for his chest, Illya always aimed for his neck. The two together were guaranteed to steal his breath away and possibly cause him to black out.

"Look, look, I've got an idea for a new kenjutsu." Hanabi said happily demonstrating her swordsmanship.

"So I see," Saber said amused, "Let's see what you've got." With that, he traced two wooden swords and went into his battle stance.

Hanabi and Saber bowed to each other, then Hanabi leaped forward. Saber easily blocked both of her weapons with one sword then lightly rapped her on the head. "One sword must always be ready for defense, no matter the style, that will not change."

"But you swing both swords all the time." Hanabi countered

"True, but I can pull at least one sword back at any time." Saber answered. From there, he slowly introduced her to swordsmanship critiquing every stance she made and the flaws within each one. Though it was slow work, Saber was proud of Hanabi. She was branching out from tradition and finding her own way in the world.

For several hours he sparred with her, but eventually Hanabi ran out of steam and had to go to bed. Bowing to his escorts, he left the compound and headed for home.

He had no idea of the repercussions his trip home would bring.

"I still can't believe that boy is so powerful." Kabuto said to Baki referring to Gaara.

"True, his youth makes other underestimate him, but he is barely useful." Baki commented, "Don't be fooled, he's perfect for this operation, chaos and carnage appeal to him greatly, but he is uncontrollable. It would be best to give Gaara a wide berth during the invasion."

"Is that so," Kabuto said adjusting his glasses, "The I will inform Lord Orochimaru. We'll be sure to let the little Tanuki have as much fun as he can."

"Fun was never an issue with Gaara, the boy lives to kill others. It is the only way he feels alive these days." Baki admonished. "Just keep your troops away from him and let Konoha die trying to harm him."

Kabuto snickered a bit, thinking about all the little pawns at his lord's disposal. Whether they lived or died was no matter to either him or Orochimaru as long as the Hokage was dead and the Leaf was burned to the ground.

"If it appears that you are failing," Baki warned, "We will withdraw. You came to us with this plan in the first place. The sand will stay in the background until the very end. That is the Kazekage's will."

Kabuto had to refrain from laughing at that. The Kazekage was long dead, Orochimaru was the Kazekage at the moment. This pawn didn't even realize how his village was being manipulated. When the battle was over, the leaf would be dead and the Wind would be far too weak to repel any invasion forces. With one battle, two of the five great villages would be doomed and Orochimaru would soon be known as the mastermind who did them in.

Kabuto pulled out a scroll, "Here are our plans for the invasion. Remember, the signal for the invasion will be Gaara against the Uchiha boy." Baki quietly tucked the scroll within his clothing.

"One more thing," Kabuto said, his voice turning cold and his eyes becoming bloodshot. "I'll clean up here." Both Baki and Kabuto looked over at the corner where a Konoha ninja was hiding. The man was good, but not that good to evade notice of the two.

"No, I'll do it." Baki said, "It's the least I can do. We are partners after all. Besides, there's only one rat." Baki dashed after the Konoha nin. The two landed on top of a shop that was closed for the night. Baki recognized the nin in front of him was the proctor for the chunin exams. "My, my...Mr. Examiner, why are you here all alone this late at night?"

Truth be told, Hayate had been visiting Yugao. They had been on a date to celebrate the end of the second exams and him being chosen as the proctor for the third. It was a prestigious position as only the best were chosen to proctor the last exam so that the proctor could protect any combatant at any time. It had been a good date, shopping, watching a movie, he had even planned on spending the rest of the night with her, but he had run out of condoms.

While he did love her, he wasn't ready for kids just yet. Hence why he was here after he had dashed to the nearest open store that sold them,only for him to find a conspiracy plot for an invasion. Truly life sucked royally tonight.

'Looks like I have no choice.' Hayate thought. He'd have to defeat Suna nin and head for the Hokage. Looks like he wouldn't get to see Yugao tonight. He made a hand sign as he pulled out his sword. "Ninpo. Leaf Style, Dance of the Crescent Moon." As he dashed forward, two copies of himself dashed at Baki. The Dance was a special sword technique that flawlessly used the shadow clones to bock any enemy attacks until he hit the target.

Slamming his sword into Baki was effortless. Wait...effortless? The bastard hadn't even tried to defend himself. Oh sure, Hayate was able to draw blood, but the wound was superficial. Not only that, but he couldn't even move his sword any further.

"The Dance of the Crescent Moon." Baki said with a bit of admiration. "To have mastered it at such a young age. This village has some impressive ninjas." Hayate tried to yank out his sword, but was unable to pull it out. "A brilliant swing," Baki complimented, "But an actual blade can be halted. Of course, no one can stop a blade of wind." Hayate recognized it as Suna secret jutsu, the wind blade. Supposedly, it was the only wind jutsu that didn't require the user to inhale air before being used.

With a single gesture, Hayate was cut across his chest. He could feel his intestines trying to escape his belly. A few more gestures and his body was covered in wounds. Hayate could only scream in pain as Baki kept on cutting him with the Wind Blade.

From above, Saber flinched. He knew that if he intervened, the Suna nin would know that the plan had been found out. Yet, if he didn't intervene, Hayate would die. It had been by pure accident that he had overheard Kabuto and Baki. He had shifted to Astral form to gain the best form of hiding his presence. He was no Assassin, but Astral Form made him all but invisible to the normal person. A magus or sensitive people would be able to detect him, but the people of this world were ignorant on Servants and would only see a blank area where he was standing.

Soon, Hayate stopped making a sound. Baki threw Hayate away and dashed off back to his hotel to change. 'Perfect.' Saber thought. True Hayate was almost dead, but that just meant that he was still slightly alive. "Trace On" In his mind he envisioned it, Avalon, the sheath of Excalibur. A golden sheath appeared before him with blue streaks running down its sides. Saber grasped the copy and plunged it into Hayate. The sheath flowed into the shinobi effortlessly. Saber breathed a sigh of relief, Hayate would live unless someone cut his head off. Though he had drained a great deal of prana to create Avalon, he knew that it was worth it. Saber picked up Hayate and dashed for the Hokage's office. True, a hospital would be a good thing to help the proctor recover, but stealth was essential to ensure that the enemy was unaware that Hayate survived and their plans were leaked.

Saber barely got a few hundred feet before several Senbon needles flew at him. Saber easily evaded the attacks and gazed upon his enemy.

Kabuto.

"Yare Yare," Kabuto said with a smirk. "Can't let you two live now."

Saber casually repositioned Hayate from both his arms to over his shoulders and traced Kansho. Kabuto was wary of the sword, he had heard the rumors of how Saber's weapons were not what they seemed. Saber was mildly irritated that the traitor had dared to interfere with him, but he would not underestimate the power of the boy. Those Senbon had been thrown with deadly accuracy at the points of his body that would have paralyzed him and kept him for calling for help, not that he needed any at this time. As far as Saber figured, if Kakashi was one of the best ninjas in the world, Saber had little to fear. He was easily three times faster than Kakashi if he pushed himself, many times better skilled in attacking, and his experiences had honed battle into his flesh. His body was made of swords.

Kabuto shouldn't take more than ten minutes to face. Honestly, it would be far shorter if Hayate wasn't unconscious. Kabuto threw several more senbon needles at Saber to distract the man from the sweeping kick from below. Saber casually batted the needles aside with a hand and hopped over the leg. Kabuto's eyes gleamed as he suddenly flipped forward. As he went head over heels, Kabuto's leg shot up in an attempt to smash into Saber face. Saber grabbed the leg with his one arm dropping his sword. Kabuto took that moment to impale one of Saber's legs with a needle as he was thrown to the side and smashed into a wall. Kabuto coughed up blood, but was smiling, that strike should have brought Saber to...his...knees? What the hell? The needle was on the ground with it's point bent. What happened, it didn't look like a sword cut it, rather it looked like he had smashed the needle against a metal wall. But that was impossible, Saber's clothing wasn't armored.

"My Body is made of Swords." Saber intoned with a smirk. He had Reinforced his body to the point where it was comparable to half an inch of steel without the weight armor would create. Hurts like hell though, as his own body is interlaced with microscopic swords holding his body together.

Kabuto winced at what he saw, but healed himself quickly. It was strange, but Saber wasn't charging forward like Kabuto figured. The man in red was waiting patiently, like he had all the time in the world. Kabuto pumped his hands with chakra intent on using his medical scalpel to cut through Saber's skin.

He barely advanced two feet.

Daggers appeared out of the air and began attacking him from all directions. Kabuto was suddenly reminded that Naruto's signature Orange Flash was planned out by Saber. It seemed that unlike Naruto, Saber didn't need to create clones to summon weapons from all directions.

Kabuto fell to the ground covered in weapons. There had been just too many to dodge. *pant* "What the hell are you?" Kabuto asked as he tried to heal himself again. He had underestimated Saber, always before the man had displayed rather normal abilities. Yet, his skin was suddenly hard enough to bend his needles and he could summon weapons without a hand sign or seal. Kabuto mentally raised Saber's danger level from jonin to elite jonin or jonin commander. Anyone who could summon hundreds of weapons without a seal or breaking a sweat was a real danger. He would have to modify the invasion plans after this encounter. "Well, it's been fun," Kabuto said with a smirk as he pulled out a smoke bomb.

Before he could even throw it to the ground, Saber pulled out the white sword from earlier and threw it at him. Kabuto was unable to completely remove his hand out of the way.

"Gah," Kabuto flinched. The bastard had taken half his hand off.

Saber waved his hand in a dismissive manner, "Quit manipulating the dead boy. I can tell rather easily that the body before me is long dead." He did not mention that the body before him had no form of soul, much like a puppet. As a Servant, souls would be easy to detect, as they were a source of energy he could feed upon if he were inclined.

Kabuto found himself smiling and giving a half bow. He was impressed by Saber's insight. The body crumpled to the ground released from the Dead Soul Technique, a forbidden jutsu where a person can temporarily reanimate a corpse, creating the illusion of a living person, and maneuver it at will with chakra. Kabuto was always proud of that technique as he could personally add to the jutsu by altering the corpse's face, and goes even further by erasing its bodily odor. Yet, even his own skills could not fool Saber.

"Yare, Yare," Kabuto mummer from a distance. "Looks like I'll have to inform Orochimaru-sama. The invasion would continue, but the timing would have to be different." Kabuto dashed off into the darkness.

Saber shook his head at the foul technique, but was rather used to people using forbidden arts, hell, Saber had lost count of the number of magi using dark arts he had faced. Without hesitation, he headed for the Hokage's office.

As soon as he landed on the Hokage's office, he was surrounded by four masked Anbu members. "what are you doing with Hayate?" The leader of the group asked.

"He was injured fighting a ninja from Suna. I was barely able to keep him alive." Saber answered. Looking down, he could see that much of the damage done to Hayate was repaired, though his clothes were still torn and heavily blood stained. The leader considered it a minute and agreed to take him to the Hokage.

Saber could taste it in the air, war. War was coming once more. Like the hellish sands in the middle east and the burning coasts around Gibraltar, there was a metallic taste to the air. Not quite iron, not quite blood, but it was still metallic in taste. A slight breeze bit into his body. Nature herself seemed tense, preparing for more scars to be etched upon her body.

He would be ready.

It had been a long night. Saber and Hayate had informed the Hokage over what they both heard about the alliance between Suna and Oto. The good news was that they knew when the attack would come. The bad news was that the Hokage seemed to want to try negotiation at such a late stage.

"With all due respect Hokage-sama," Saber injected, "They are planning to attack you in less than one month. Their forces are already assembling and their plans are already being finalized. Negotiation will only tip them off. No, this is where you need to plan a counter attack. Your allies have turned against you and you will find no succor from any other nations." He knew this all too well from his own experience. Once the war was this close to completion, there would be no way to stop it save through the death of several leaders.

It looked like it would be up to him to protect his Master. The Hokage was unwilling to help him in this. Saber bowed his head and left the building. The Hokage waited a bit making sure that Saber was out of hearing range and turned to his subordinates. As much as he appreciated Saber saving Hayate, he could not let an outsider into the village's politics. Of course he wasn't going to ignore this threat. He had not lived through two of the three Great Shinobi wars and gained the title of God of Shinobi for being a pacifist. "Gather the jonin, gather the heads of the clans, and bring Danzo here. We must plan for this attack." While he regretted the alliance between Suna and Konoha, it appeared that the time of peace was ending. All the blood, all the deaths, had they been paid for only a little more than a decade of peace? He was getting too old for this.

"Yo, old man." a familiar face called to him outside his window. Sarutobi looked out and saw his disciple Jiraiya. Truly, he had failed his disciples. Orochimaru went mad for want of power and was planning to destroy the village and Tsunade had fled in grief over the loss of her brother and boyfriend. Only Jiraiya remained as a loyal ninja of Konoha. While the man's network of spyies were among the best of the village, the man stayed in Konoha as little as possible chasing after Orochimaru intending to kill him.

"I'm glad you're here Jiraiya, we're to be under attack in less than a month." Sarutobi warned. His disciple's eyebrows rose a bit at the news, then his eyes narrowed. This was news to him. To have missed such important news was a major blow to him as the spymaster of Konoha.

Sarutobi informed his student of all that Saber had said and told him to debrief Hayate for all pertinent information. It looked like Hayate was going to have to disappear for a while to throw off the trail making the enemy think he died. Maybe giving him and Yugao a vacation would be ideal. The two would be fresh and ready to go after a rest. Saber on the other hand had to be fooled to thinking that the village was ignoring his warning. His frustration would be obvious and throw off the enemy. Sarutobi would send a personal invitation to the Kazekage worded on improving relations throwing off the backstabber that Sarutobi truly believed that peace was possible through discussion.

The Anbu and jonin would be scattered and hidden with the excuse that they were going on long distance recon making the village look far more vulnerable than it really was. Now, how to protect the children and civilians? That would take a bit of thinking, but something would be done.

Elsewhere

"So, Konoha had been warned." Orochimaru responded. Kabuto could feel the killing intent leaking from his master. Though he was the favored lieutenant, Orochimaru did not tolerate failure.

"That is correct Orochimaru-sama. At first Baki dealt with the Konoha nin with ease, but Saber arrived after he left and picked up the body. If figured that he had some sort of incling on what transpired and used a Dead Soul to attack him, but he was too strong." Kabuto told him, a trickle of sweat traveled down his neck.

"Saber." Orochimaru muttered. This was the second time that the meddlesome outsider had interfered in his plans. The man was strong, there was no doubt about it. He had witnessed him sprout weapons from his body like hairs till his entire body was covered with blades. That Bloodline Limit was driving him to distraction. He had ripped through dozens of tomes listing all known forms of Bloodline Limits, yet, not one had described what he had seen before him. Only the Kaguya clan had anything like what Saber displayed, yet even they paled in comparison. While they could grow bones as hard as steel, Saber had bypassed that and grew weapons.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru ordered, "Keep an eye out on Konoha, the old man will probably try to negotiate for peace, but it would be foolish to walk into his trap."

Kabuto bowed and left.

Orochimaru thought back on Saber. With that form, that skill, and that body, he began to desire it for himself. With the Uchiha eyes and Saber's body, there would be no limit to what he could do. His dream of collecting all the ninjutsu in the world. Of course, that was only something to pass the time for his real dream. Sarutobi had told him, all life is born anew after death. As long as he continued to live, Orochimaru would get to see his parents again. It may take centuries or millennial, but he was certain that he had discovered the way to immortality, or at least to last long enough to see them again.

Orochimaru began plotting on how to place his mark upon Saber. With skin of steel and blades, it would be difficult to inject his cursed seal on the man. He needed leverage of some sort. Something to weaken the man and make him submit. Saber was clearly a fighter, his expression the one time they had met face to face showed that he was inured to combat. His gray eyes were like steel when Anko was threatened. His stance with a bow was professional and showed no openings even though he was wielding a bow. Orochimaru signaled and a henchman appeared.

"I want a squad of our best operatives to watch over Saber. Study him, find any weaknesses he possesses and whatever we can use as leverage. Do not be seen, do not be discovered. Give me all findings before the invasion."

The operative bowed his head and left to fulfill his lord's orders.

'Saber,' Orochimaru thought, 'you will be the key to my greatness. With Sasuke's eyes and your body, even Itachi will not be able to stop me.'

Morning was rather awkward for Naruto. While he woke up at his usual time, Rider seemed rather agitated, not that he blamed her. He had just seen her die, that wasn't something that could be taken easily. He found himself sitting up at the bged looking at her, unable to say anything. What can he say? 'I'm sorry.' Yeah, like that would help. Her entire life was miserable save for a few brief moments in her life. He tried to think of something to say, but he found himself unable to form anything that sounded good.

"Master?" Rider asked.

Naruto shook his head, "Naruto." he corrected automatically. He looked up at her, and suddenly found himself chuckling, after a second, Rider began to chuckle as well. It helped a lot. What was he worrying about? It wasn't like he could change the past. No, all he could do was focus on the future.

"Rider." Naruto said getting out of bed, "Fight by my side for as long as you can." He ordered. It was the best he could do.

"Ara? Is that a marriage proposal Master? Little tactless I think." Rider asked with a smirk.

"Gah, ah, uh, m-marriage? Ah, nonononono, I just meant stay by my side." Naruto stammered. He could feel his cheeks turning red. 'Gah, why is she always teasing me?'

Rider strutted forward giggling quietly. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "As you command Master."

"Naruto, Na-ru-to." Naruto corrected her as she strutted out the doorway. Naruto shook his head, it was hard to be serious with the fallen goddess. She seriously should have been born as the goddess of jests instead of a goddess of beauty. Ah well, time to get dressed. Naruto went to his closet and pulled out his favorite outfit which has freshly washed and ready to go. No matter what anyone else said, orange was the coolest color in the world.

Though, Saber's outfit was a close second.

Naruto held out his hand to Rider who smirked a bit and shook hands. Though this was a bit different than what Saber and Ria performed, the significance of the ritual was not lost to him. The two would fight to the best of their abilities to protect each other. They would be partners. While Saber was like a mentor, teacher, and even a big brother, Naruto found himself identifying with Rider more. The two had lived tragic lives. Now, they would work together to find better lives in the time they were given. Rider released her hand and left Naruto to change.

As she walked out of the room, she felt herself holding the hand that had touched hers. Her young master was one of the few people to ever treat her as a person. She found herself enjoying her time with the boy. Though he was young, and made mistakes, he was turning into a fine...

No, no. She would not think about that right now. She had to deal with the Kyuubi. She would have to figure out ways of provoking this war between Servants and begin the first stage of her plans. With that, she headed downstairs to see what Saber had cooked today.

Naruto romped downstairs happy that he wasn't worrying about the dream anymore. Yes, it had been a bad end to a bad life, but here, he could give her a better chance for as long as this war occurred. He knew that this was like the Grail war, he wasn't that dim. Saber, Rider, Archer, Berserker, they were all here. As soon as Lancer, Assassin, and Caster appeared, the war would be in full swing. As long as this war continued, Rider would be here. Like Saber to Ria, he would do his best to ensure that she has a good experience in this world. Did he love Rider like Saber loved Ria? Probably not, he was only twelve after all. The bond between Saber and Ria had been stronger, purer, and far more magnificent than what he felt for Rider. No, he admired and pitied Rider. He might lover her like a sister or a mother, but right now, there seemed to be no reason to change that...at least for now.

Naruto reached the bottom of the stairs and said, "Good Morning." He expected to hear Saber's standard respond of saying good morning before he settled down to eat.

"Good Morning," multiple responses called out.

Naruto froze.

Before him sat Luvia, Illya, Acrueid, Shiki, and Zelretch. Rin was staggering towards the refrigerator to grab the milk. She never was a morning person. Yet, the sight of Naruto woke her up instantly. Her glare promised a combination of death and divine retribution.

Naruto had a bad feeling crawl up his spine as they all focused on him.

"Um hi." Naruto said stunned. He could feel the killing intent cover him from the girls before him. Yet, there seemed to be one coming right behind him. Nervously he turned around to face the most terrifying thing on the planet. Compared to this horror, even the True Ancestor was nothing to the wrath of Aoko.

"Let him down please Aoko-san." Saber called from the kitchen. "His actions are for me to deal with, not you."

Aoko sniffed and dropped him before she walked up to Saber. "What'cha cookin' Shirou?"

"Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, hash browns, sausage, and eggs." Saber replied as he finished gathering the food. He calmly delivered the food to the table. It was there that Naruto noticed something, there was no room for him to eat. There were just too many people here, for that matter, how long had they been here? Judging by Rin's morning routine that he had seen before in the dreams, at least she had been here during the night. So, if she had stayed the night, then logically...they all had stayed the night. While the house was a four bedroom two bathroom building, there were not enough beds for everyone to sleep on. What ever he was going to say about the situation was drowned out by his survival instincts. He felt that asking the wrong questions was only going to get him killed.

Chaos

There was no other way to describe it.

Breakfast was Chaos incarnate. Naruto ate standing in a corner watching the madness before him.

Ilya was hanging on to Saber's neck like a tick or a leech never letting more than one arm release he hold as she ate. For someone who was a lot older than him, Illya seemed t enjoy being childish. Not the he would be able to think of her as a child after she had declared that she was going to kill him and came way too close for comfort. Rin and Luvia were all but destroying his house in their arguments over who got to be near Shirou. Shots of various magial attacks blew up against the walls, yet the walls remained, though they were scratched form some of the more powerful blows.

Acruied ignored the pecking order and continued to hug him at random intervals. Her husband, Shiki, for some reason was unaffected. There had to be some sort of history between the two, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. He knew he had seen the two of them in one of his dreams, but he couldn't recall where.

Aoko and Zelretch kept to their own company much to Naruto's relief. He could tell that Aoko was still upset at him, though why she was so upset was beyond him. She had never seen Ria. Never interacted with her. So why was she upset?

The truth was, all of them at the table knew what Ria meant to Shirou. She was his light in life. Whenever he faced the evils of the world, he would remember her in the moonlight. His whole life had been focuses on two things. Ria and his ideal, and in the end, he chose Ria over his own ideal; and that was what spared him from the fate of Archer.

As soon as the meal ended, Naruto noticed how the room went dead silent. What was going on? Why had they all been so cheerful and loud up to a minute ago suddenly go dead silent. A pin could have been heard if it had been dropped.

"Now then Shirou, what's going on?" Rin asked bluntly.

"So you noticed," Saber replied, "Should have firued you guys would pick up on it."

"What moronic move are you planning next Shirou? The last time I saw that look in your eyes was right before you ran off to fir the Battle of the Crimson Moon." Rin continued. The others all nodded. Shirou was like an open book when he began planning something that was both heroic and insane at the same time.

Rin rubbed her forehead. Honestly, how she hadn't noticed that look during the Grail War was beyond her. If she knew then what she knew now...well, probably wouldn't have done much good anyways. As always, Shirou was planning on shouldering the burden of the world on his shoulders regardless of what it would cost him. That idiot. Why did he have to push himself so hard, especially for people and places that held no meaning to him? Why couldn't he leave well enough alone. Had he waited a week, several counter guardians would have been brought forth to counter the White Beast. Thousands would have died, maybe even millions, but he made his choice.

That idiot. She just knew he was going to throw himself into someone's sword again.

Luvia echoed her rival's gestures. She too knew all too well the danger that Shirou willing went to as soon as he donned that face. True, it shaped his face into something beyond hansom to something like epic, but it was still a bad sign. She remembered how he wore that face just before he went off to face the Killer Golems of Mad Cain, a demented and megalomaniac magi who specialized in golems. His most powerful weapons were unleashed in northern Europe killing thousands. Shirou had donned that face before her and promptly stood up and chartered the nearest flight to Denmark. Right in the middle of his date with her of all things. Oh the things she had planned out, the exquisite meal at a five star restaurant, the shopping, the movie. She had it all planned out, and his damned ideal took it away form her.

That blockhead. He'd better have a good reason to prioritize over her glorious self.

Illya held onto Shirou even tighter. There was no way that she was going to let him go off on his own and leave her behind again. She was one of the most powerful magi in the world, even if she didn't actually have any magic, thanks to Einzbern research on homunculus and the Dress of Heaven. She knew that look when he faced against her grandfather and several homunculi, including Sella and Leysritt. To think, he not only challenged a person who had lived since the second Heaven's Feel, but actually cut his arm off and killed several of the homunculi. It had been the first time that he used his Reality Marble. Grandfather had been completely startled and thrown off by the forbidden magic and paid the price. At least Sella and Lysritt were spared, even if they had to return to the Einzbern main house. Still, Shirou should have never taken on the head of one of the oldest magi houses.

Baka Onii-chan

Shiki and Acrueid remembered how he wore that face right before he headed fro the Dark Pyramid. The legends had spoken of the elixir of immortality within, but none had ever come out of that death trap before. Heedless of the danger, he entered the darkness looking for the elixir from the Age of the Gods. He didn't have to go so far for the two of them, but he did it anyway. For that, they swore to help him the best that they could, they even had him as Best Man during the wedding. Still, once Shirou had that look, he would not stop to ask for help, he would do what he had to do alone, unless they forced him to take them along.

That fool, that sentimental fool.

Zelretch was mentally chuckling at Shirou's behavior. The boy was more entertaining than anything he had come across in over two centuries. The boy could have ruled countries if he tried, he could have pointed a finger and caused the world to dance to his rhythm. Instead of choosing power, the boy chose to struggle for something that most people threw away as soon as they became adults, his principle and ideal. Zelretch would not admit it, but he did have a small, very small, soft spot for the boy. The kid had a mind for tactics and turning a bad situation to a useable one. A rare talent that, one that belongs to generals and heroes of old. To find one such person in modern times was both astounding and exciting at the same time. Watching Shirou's antics made him feel five centuries younger. Not that he'd ever tell anyone, oh no, it would destroy his carefully built reputation.

Show me your thoughts boy, and do make it interesting.

Aoko kept her thoughts tightly locked away. She didn't want to think of the young man who went out of his way to deal with a family issue between herself and her sister. That little incident was tightly locked up in the deepest recesses of her mind and would never see the light of day again. Instead, she focused on the kindest, gentlest young man she ever met. No one else was as self sacrificing as him, no one else was willing to fight so hard for something so insubstantial without becoming a zealot. She would listen to his plans, she owed him that much.

Then she'd knock some sense into him.

So Saber told them of the impending war and what he planned on doing. They all, except for Zelretch, thought he was crazy, but they had to admit, it was a good plan. It would work all the better with their help. The collective magi, except Zelretch, put their heads together and began planning on a massive amount of spells and seals that would bring victory to Konoha with minimal loss of life.

Naruto could only watch on in amazement as they planned in exquisite detail so many things that were either impossible or required kage level ninja to perform. This invasion that he was overhearing would never stand a chance.

While they were in discussion, none had noticed how Rider was smirking. This worked perfectly with her plans. In the coming conflict, she could engineer the death of Berserker easily. Archer would be difficult, no, more than difficult. She would have to think of ways to provoke Saber's alter. That man was not to be underestimated.

At the same time, none noticed how Sasuke had not joined them for breakfast. The chaos had been too much for any of them to notice that the last Uchiha in Konoha was not at the table.

Inside his home he held a hand to his neck rubbing it as it continued to ache.

'LeT mE iN SAsUkE. I cAn giVe yOu pOwER.' it whispered.

'Shut up.' Sasuke yelled in his mind. He would be strong. He would be powerful. This was nothing.

'hOw StRoNg aRe yOu rEalLy UcHiHa? ItaCHi iS sTiLl yOuR bETteR.'

'He won't be for long. I will ask Saber for more power.' Sasuke thought

'he WiLl rEfUsE. AlL hE cAReS aBoUt iS tHat DeAd lASt NarUto.'

Sasuke was spared any more conversation with himself when he head a knock on the door. "Sasuke, you in?" Kakashi called out. Sasuke got up and walked to the door, his cursed seal hid itself within keeping itself from being seen.

"Kakashi." Sasuke said not putting out the honorifics. Kakashi ignored the lack of respect. He had come to make a proposal.

"Sasuke, how would you like to have my undivided attention training you for the finals?" Kakashi offered.

There was only one thing for Sasuke to say. "When do we Start?"

Author's note: Yeah, sorry it took so long to post. I've been busy. Work, college, clinicals, they all require large parts of my time. So, I finally got to this part, and I have to admit, this chapter was slow to write. It had to be revised a dozen times and I finally cut out great amounts of spam in the chapter. Seriously, most of it was ****. Anyway, here's what I came up with. Next chapter, a time skip to the finals and several unexpected events that will change the world.