Chapter - 14
The next day, Naruto's Office
Naruto smiled at Shion as he sat patted her shoulders, "See Shion, you're better suited here than in the kitchen. There's nothing wrong with you really, it's just that you can't be great at everything." he said as he looked Kijin with a kind smile. "Look, I'm the chancellor of this forest and I never thought too much about how big this is. Heck, I'm still a screw up at a lot of things. I almost burned down my house a year ago." he said.
Shion still looked at her leader with pleading eyes as she nudged in the chair.
Naruto sighed, "Look at this way, your new position is actually going to help me very much." he said. Shion now had curious eyes, "Yes, you really brighten up the room. Don't worry about Wendy, you're still her bodyguard and secretary. She'll call on you when necessary." he said.
Feeling naive, Shion tried her best to adjust to her new duty given to her by Naruto. That duty is to be decoration or something to help with the office's aesthetics. Similar to having a nice desk made from a special carved wood or having a statue or painting moved in. Shion was sitting in a corner with various chains made by Kaijin and his fellow dwarves and enhanced by Arahnia to seal away Shion's skills.
"Lord Naruto, this feels really tight." Shion said as she broke silence for the first time. "Especially around the chest. I can't breathe." she said as the chains were squeezing her bosom.
Naruto put a cloth over her chest, "Don't worry about it Shion. Besides, big boobs are not everything." he said surprising her. That's when Albedo came in with a clipboard, "In fact, Shuna is probably the prettiest girl I know and she doesn't need big boobs to be attractive." he said before hearing both girls gasp.
Shion was the first to recover, "L-Lord N-Naruto, such a… such an opinion is strong. S-Surely you jest." she said.
"I'm being really honest." Naruto said.
"Warning: Dangerous levels of jealousy detected from the Kijin and Succubus." Great Sage warned.
'Okay since you can detect that. Any advice on how to calm down the situation?' Naruto mentally asked.
"The answer to your situation… does not exist." Great Sage replied.
Naruto mentally screamed, 'Why do my words shatter people like glass!?' he mentally asked himself.
It seems that Naruto is capable of teaching blood thirsty killers like Zabuza the meaning of appreciating loyal subordinates. Yet when he's honest to girls, they become dangerously jealous.
"Lord Naruto, if that's how you feel. Perhaps I should ask Shuna for some advice." Albedo said as she turned around.
Only for Naruto to tackle her down, "Oh no you don't!" he shouted.
A few minutes later
Gobta wiped the sweat off of his forehead, "Lord Naruto, I didn't know you had this much problem with women." he said as he helped chain Albedo to a chair.
"It seems to be a common occurrence now." Naruto replied.
"What did you say? Normally I'm the guy saying getting heated for saying what's on my mind." Gobta asked.
Naruto sighed, "I said Shuna is pretty with or without boobs." he answered.
"Lord Naruto, you can't be serious. Someone as uptight as Shuna, you at least have to consider behavior as a factor of beauty!" Shion exclaimed.
"I do." Naruto said in a deadpan voice.
"Yeah, Miss Shuna is Naruto's wife. Only a real jerk wouldn't say his wife isn't the prettiest." Gobta said.
"What!?" both women asked.
Naruto looked at Gobta with wide eyes, "Who said that?" he asked.
Gobta thought it over, "I mean, if you're married to a woman. You obviously wouldn't say she's not the prettiest without taking a frying pan to the head." he explained.
"Not that, the part about Shuna being my wife. We aren't even married." Naruto said.
"You're not? Someone spread a rumor after hearing that Miss Shuna always visits your house." Gobta said as Naruto's eye twitched. "It kind of made sense, a lot of us thought you two were secretly married, but weren't living together since Benimaru can't live on his own." He continued explaining.
"Okay, only that last part is accurate." Naruto said.
If Benimaru leaves his underwear lying around, it does say a lot about his independent living skills. Even if Shuna never gets married and has kids, she will never have nieces and nephews from Benimaru.
"Go home Gobta." Naruto said as the goblin shrugged and left. "Now, which made do I have on standby today?" he asked as one of them jumped out of the shadows.
"Lupusregina Beta, reporting for duty!" she said as she saluted.
"Oh good, my favorite made and fifth drinking buddy." Naruto said as the wolf girl grinned. "Can you bring Captain Nichiya in here for me?" he asked.
"Right away!" Lupusregina said as she went to retrieve the Exceed captain.
"Lord Naruto, I think I would like to be released now." Albedo said as Naruto grabbed her clipboard.
"Also, how come I'm not your drinking buddy!?" Shion whined as she kicked her legs in the air.
"I think this will be a good time for you to cool down and reflect." Naruto said as he read the clipboard. "Okay, this works out well." he said just as Nichiya arrived.
"You called my lord?" Nichiya asked while making a pose.
"Yes, now stay still." Naruto said as he kept reading without looking away.
"Certainly." Nichiya said as he loved posing.
At least until Naruto proceeded to kick him through a window. Nichiya let out a scream as he went flying out of the building across town.
"What was that for?" Lupusregina asked.
"Because I expected Gobta to say something stupid while he was here." Naruto answered.
Across town
Rigurd was trying to deal with several armored strangers who walked into town and were making a scene. From the sounds of things, more crap related to the demon lords was resurfacing.
"I am Phobio the Black Fang, one of Lord Carrion's Three Beastketeers. I'm also the strongest of the three." Phobio said to the Goblin Lord. He also looked quite arrogant, "Nice town you have here. Fit to be ruled by the Beast King don't you think? How does that sound grandpa?" he asked as if Rigurd was ready to submit to him.
"Surely you jest." Rigurd said with no interest of having a new ruler.
Phobio was not kidding and whether or not he really is the strongest. It appeared that he was not the most intelligent or patient. As he was about to punch Rigurd with a fire coated fist. When Nichiya suddenly crashed into his face, with enough impact to send Phobio crashing across the road. The soldiers working for Carrion looked at Phobio with wide eyes as they saw Nichiya standing over him.
"Oh heavens, I wonder what possessed my lord to kick me so hard." Nichiya said before looking at Phobio.
Phobio quickly stood up and grabbed Nichiya by the head, "You little! You dare attack me!? When I offered you a chance to be a part of Lord Carrion's rule!?" he asked angrily.
Nichiya merely narrowed his eyes and posed again, "An invasion then? Then you should know, that the denizens of this kingdom will not cower before a brute." he said. "Now I see why Lord Naruto sent me! He predicted your threats, but would rather send a trusty soldier such as myself to deal with you rather than waste his own power!" he said proudly.
Despite how eccentric the yellow exceed spoke, every citizen actually believed Nichiya's nonsense. They all genuinely thought Naruto had some kind of precognitive ability and threw Nichiya at Phobio before violence could erupt.
"Then maybe I'll destroy your cowardly lord and this town…" was all Phobio could sense bloodlust from Milim who was closeby.
"Are you threatening my best friend and his home?" Milim asked with eyes full of murderous intent.
"Demon Lord Milim!?" Phobio asked with clear fear in his voice.
Clearly, for all the strength that Phobio boasted about. It sounds like he's nowhere near the level of a demon lord. Though sound was not necessary, because Milim proceeded to beat the crap out of him while destroying as little of the road as possible. It also seemed that she was quite charitable considering how she doesn't want to deal with any political crap on Carrion's part if she killed a Beastketeer.
With Yami
Chopper smiled as Yami and some exceeds were helping him move homes. After a long talk and some deals, Chopper decided to become a citizen of the town.
"I really hope everyone is nice and understanding." Chopper said.
"Most of them are, the rest are not very educated." Yami replied.
Chopper chuckled, "I'm sure that's not true. Besides, the city over there looks nice." he said before watching a giant explosion occur. "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!?" he asked.
Yami sighed, "Possibly the 10th invasion in the span of 2-3 years." he said before leaving to see what has happened.
Back at the office
As Naruto looked at the clipboard Albedo was going to present him with. He immediately felt the explosion that Milim caused when she heard Phobio's death threats. Though without knowledge of the Beastketeer's arrival, Naruto assumed he accidentally kicked Nichiya too hard. He dropped his clipboard and looked out of the window and sighed.
"I brought this upon myself. Naruko!" Naruto screamed.
"Reporting for duty!" Naruko said as she came running in where she saluted her brother.
"Watch the office while I'm gone and also, don't release those two." Naruto said while pointing at the office "decoration".
Naruko nodded, "Okay big brother!" she said as Naruto jumped out the window. Naruko giggled as she sat behind the desk and put on a captain's hat, "Now Naruko is in charge. My first agenda, ban all art that looks food. It annoys me because it makes me hungry when there's no food around." she said as she pulled out a stamp.
"Naruko-chan! If you want, I can cook you something!" Shion said.
Naruko gave the woman a dead stare. Shion was still oblivious that Naruko really hated her cooking and thinks her murderous attempts were just games.
"Just untie the chains. You can still leave the succubus here." Shion said making Albedo angry.
"I have a name, lousy cook." Albedo said.
"How dare you? I am talented artist of the culinary arts that provides for my lord and his sisters!" Shion argued.
"You call poisoning our rulers, servitude and yet I see it as treachery." Albedo said.
"I would like to see you make a better dish!" Shion challenged.
"It wouldn't be that much of a challenge." Albedo said.
As the two argued, Naruko looked emotionless as her temper started to rise. Before she considered doing something wild and dangerous. She heard Shaltear's voice coming from the back of her neck.
"Psst, does your brother have any tape in his desk?" Shaltear whispered. Naruko dug through the desk and found random tools including duct tape, "Good, now follow my instructions precisely." she said.
Naruko grabbed the duct tape and walked up to the arguing pair.
"At least I'm not a literal sex monster!" Shion yelled.
"Take that back!" Albedo yelled back.
The two were cut off by the loud noise of Naruko pulling on the tape. Both women saw Naruko's dead stare as she started taking off strips of tape.
With Naruto
Naruto sighed as he met up with Milim explained the situation. Luckily the explosion was… actually that was hard to explain. The town looked perfectly fine and Phobio was just foaming out of the mouth. If anything, Naruto thought Phobio passed out from fear of Milim's power and from her rage, the explosion was likely just her flaring her power. That was the theory he was making up anyways.
"So this guy works for another demon lord and you beat him up?" Naruto asked.
"Yup, Nichiya said you even predicted his arrival and threw him just put him in place. Nice job bestie!" Milim said while giving him the thumbs up.
Naruto sighed as he held his forehead, "Okay, since I did technically assault him. This issue is on me." he said as Milim giggled. "So, did he even say why he is here?" he asked.
"He was demanding that your land become a part of Carrion's domain. He's a demon lord too by the way. A really dumb one that broke our deal!" Milim said before glaring at Phobio. "Now wake up and apologize to my bestie!" she yelled as she kicked Phobio across the ground.
Naruto groaned, "Can you wake him without killing him. I can only assume this Carrion guy is also tough. So can we avoid a war?" he asked.
Milim laughed, "Jokes on you Naruto, I'm way stronger than Carrion." she said. "Then again, I don't want to put up with the boring politics." she said knowing the fallout if she tried picking a fight with him.
While Milim did enjoy ordering majin around and getting into fights. It seems that she deliberately left out the boring politics of being a demon lord.
"Just drag him to the meeting room." Naruto said. "Alive." he added.
"Fine." Milim said as she grabbed Phobio by the leg and dragged him away. "That means you too!" she yelled at Phobio's underlings.
Luckily the other beasts were actually reasonable to some extent. They knew better than to disobey another demon lord and get into conflict.
A few minutes later, meeting room
Luckily Phobio was just in shock, nowhere near the line between life and death. However even though he was now conscious and Naruto was able to try and communicate with the man. Though it was safe to say that Phobio is quite arrogant and unlikely to see reason. From what Naruto was told, Phobio had tried to punch Rigurd for not wanting to submit to the rule of Demon Lord Carrion.
Sure, it helped Nichiya's surprise appearance stopped the violent act. However that only made things worse since everyone now thinks Naruto has some form of clairvoyance.
"So, let's try this again." Naruto began to say. "Can you please explain the reason for your visit?" he asked in a civil tone.
"No, I refuse to answer." Phobio said stubbornly.
Naruto sighed, "Okay, let me rephrase that. Which one of you is the smart one?" he asked.
Phobio looked angry and it didn't help that his three subordinates looked between each other. It was unknown if they were feeling awkward or if they were questioning which one of them had the most intelligence. Whatever the reason, Phobio was not very pleased with what he considered to be an insult.
"Are you mocking me!?" Phobio asked angrily.
"I'm not the stubborn guy picking fights and being unreasonable." Naruto answered. 'Seriously, was I like this as a child?' Naruto wondered.
Phobio is clearly older than him, but wondered if this guy really is that important or just too arrogant about his title.
"Would it help if you talked to Milim? You two seem somewhat acquainted." Naruto said as Milim enjoyed her food in the background.
Phobio recoiled as the pink haired demon lord fed him a scary glare. Thus forcing the Beastketeer to explain his mission.
"Fine, Lord Carrion wants every majin in this region to obey his reign." Phobio admitted.
Now Milim was made again, "That jerk! Carrion went behind my back!" she said angrily.
Naruto sighed as he ignored Phobio's scared face, "Okay, that's probably a whole other can of worms that I need to worry about." he said before turning back to Phobio. "Look, you're not gonna like this but we're not interested." he said.
Phobio was ready to stand up and verbally threaten Naruto. However, he was afraid that Milim would run loose and tear him apart along with his subordinates and just dump what's left onto Carrion's doorstep. So he choose to stay silent until Naruto finished speaking.
"If Demon Lord Carrion wants to talk, let him pick a date and time and we can meet him there. You're free to go and tell him that now." Naruto said.
"You're just letting them leave Lord Naruto?" Benimaru asked with a surprised face.
"We're not going to kill the messenger or start a conflict." Naruto said as Phobio got up and started leaving.
But not without glaring at Milim who was happily enjoying her lunch. As Phobio and the rest of his group left, Naruto realized that Phobio would very likely not give his message to Carrion. The man was likely too angry at having his pride damaged and angry at Milim.
"I do not think your message will reach Carrion's ears my lord." Sebas said, also realizing this.
Naruto sighed, "You're right on that much. I suppose I'll have to personally send the message to Demon Lord Carrion myself." he said as he heard Sebas click a pen. "Okay, so try saying this…" he said as Sebas started writing for him.
All the while Benimaru felt disappointed, he expected a fight from the looks of it. He even looked around for a moment and expected Shion to back him up and suggest preparing for any conflict on Carrion's end. However, he realized that the busty kijin was not in this room.
"Where's Shion?" Benimaru asked as everyone shrugged.
"And done." Naruto said as Sebas finished writing.
"Now all we need is a way to send this message." Sebas said before looking at the only present Demon Lord in the room. "Lady Milim, if you could so kindly assist us." he said respectfully.
Milim gave him a blank stare, "New suggestion, how about we don't try to talk to Carrion. Better yet, let's not talk about anyone else and have fun!" she said.
"Milim, tell me what we need to know." Naruto said.
"Nope, we made a pact to not say anything." Milim replied.
"Milim, can I assume that all of the demon lords are powerful people like you?" Naruto asked.
"More or less, I'm pretty tough." Milim said with pride.
"So they are not a group of rich pompous assholes with power in money, but power in strength and lots of followers. Some with very hostile followers like Phobio. Which could lead to conflict and likely burning this city down if we don't know how to handle these things properly." Naruto explained making Milim look tentative.
"Well, if you put it like that." Milim said looking unsure.
"It's not like I'm asking for their secrets. If I was planning to kill them, I would have sent Shion to cater for them." Naruto said.
Milim snorted, "Okay, maybe that food could kill a demon lord. Still, everyone's so sensitive, I can't mention this stuff to anyone." she said.
"Not even to your friend?" Naruto asked as he turned symbiote and wrapped himself around her shoulder. "We're friends right? I let you live here and you don't have to pay rent or for fine dining. If not, then I guess I could cancel the order for your gift." he said.
Milim shivered, "A gift?" she asked.
"Only for my bestie! A nice weapon to fit your style." Naruto said as he leaned close. "Though that might not be possible if we don't handle certain situations in the future." He said as he started to slither away.
Milim gave in, "Fine, but only because I want my gift and because I don't want that stupid jerk Carrion to take over or someone else to raze this place to the ground." she said.
"Goooooood." Naruto whispered.
"And no more black slime thingy!" Milim said as she grabbed Naruto's symbiote form and placed him on the ground.
"No, this is too much fun." Naruto said he slithered under the doorway cracks. He then poked his head back inside, "Catch up with me later about those details and so we can make you a weapon." he said before leaving again.
"You know, I never asked. What kind of monster is he again?" Milim asked.
"He says he's a spider, but he's so slimy. Not like Lady Wendy though." Benimaru answered.
In the office
Naruto sighed as he went into his office, "Oh man, that was stupid." he said before remembering the state of his office.
Only now, Naruko appeared to be playing golf and used a random mug as a golf course hole. That wasn't his concern though, it was the fact that Shion and Albedo were bound and gagged in the corner of his office. Naruto sighed again as he made his way to his desk.
"So, any issues Naruko?" Naruto asked.
Naruko briefly glanced at the horned girls, "Nope." she said before continuing her golf game.
"Okay, anyways back to business. I think Yami said he was introducing a new doctor." Naruto said before Yami jumped through the window.
"I've been waiting for your meeting to end. What happened?" Yami asked.
"Mmm! Mmm!" Yami turned his head to see Shion and Albedo's predicament.
"I see you added aesthetics to the office." Yami commented. "Anyways, the explosion?" he asked.
Naruto groaned, "It started with me kicking Nichiya, some pompous asshole working for another Demon Lord and us trying to see if we can talk to that Demon Lord and hope he's as reasonable as Milim." he explained.
Yami shook his head, "How bad are things going to get?" he asked.
"Depends on whether that pompous idiot actually does try to give our original message." Naruto answered.
"So code yellow then." Yami said.
Green means good! Red means near dead!
"So how's the new doctor? I want to meet him." Naruto asked.
"I'll bring Chopper over later when he's settled into his new home and office." Yami answered as he heard the girls beg in the background. "Are you really going to keep them there?" he asked.
"It's there or the basement." Naruto answered.
"I get the Kijin, but the succubus?" Yami asked.
"I said Shuna was the prettiest and didn't need big breasts to prove it." Naruto whispered.
Yami narrowed his eyes, "Arahnia is going to give you a lecture on tact." he said knowing Naruto screwed up.
"Don't remind me." Naruto replied. "Anyways, since my meetings got pushed back. You want to hit the bar?" he asked.
Yami quietly jumped through the window and left. Naruto frowned as he saw his "brother" leave so that left him and a couple of other girls left.
"Hey Naruko, you want to go to the bar?" Naruto asked.
"I told Wendy I would spend time with her and the kids." Naruko answered without looking at her brother.
Naruto then looked at his ceiling, "Beta?" he asked.
"Sorry Lord Naruto, I want to hang out but Yuri wants an emergency staff meeting with Sebas and she's going to hit me if I skip out." Lupusregina said from her hiding spot.
"That's fine, maybe Logan or Arahnia will want to hang out." Naruto said.
"What about your goblin friends?" Naruko asked.
Naruto sighed, "Those two said they would be busy for the week." he said.
Hearing that, Shion eventually knocked her chair over and shook off the tape on her mouth. Naruko glanced at Shion and discreetly pulled out the duct tape. Before she could get the chance to silence her least favorite person, Shion voiced her opinion.
"I can go to the bar with you!" Shion said volunteering himself.
"I guess I'll go another night." Naruto said making the kijin pout.
"Then could I please be released? I need to pee!" Shion whined as she tried shaking around.
"I'll get a bucket." Naruko said.
"She needs a toilet." Naruto responded.
"Shion deserves a bucket." Naruko said as she left the office.
Naruto facepalmed, "Shion, I think Naruko doesn't like you." he said.
Shion looked at him in disbelief, "That is not true! In fact, I think I'm Naruko-chan's favorite. Do you know how often she likes to play with me whenever I offer to feed her?" she asked.
Naruto didn't bother to explain that Naruko was actually trying to kill her each time. Naruto really needed to speed up the learning process for Naruko. How is it that Yami was slowly forcing Naruto to become intelligent, but Naruko somehow became dimwitted?
The next day
Naruto was finishing up with the new doctor of his town. While there was the fact that Wendy practically heals anyone with her potions. This nation needed a real doctor since Great Sage mentioned that potions don't always provide the necessary healing effects. Besides, the whole alliance is a whole lot bigger now and needed many roles to be filled. So its not the same tiny village composed of a couple dozen exceeds and goblins anymore.
"So Dr. Chopper, how well educated are you in medicine?" Naruto asked, just needing a clear visual of his healer.
Chopper stifled a laugh, "Doctor, I'm not easily swayed over a nice title." he said while blushing.
"I wasn't swaying you." Naruto responded.
Chopper went back to looking slightly serious, "I worked as an apprentice under a couple of doctors. One of which adopted me and the other took me in after my foster parent passed away." he explained. "Both had their own methods, but that only motivated me to learn a lot. Since I learned a lot about poisons and diseases, so it helps me when I create medicines to combat them." he explained.
"That's good to hear, I always slacked off in school and that sometimes bit me in the butt." Naruto said, looking a bit sheepish.
"Well I always like to be prepared. I won't ask for too much, other than what's necessary." Chopper said.
"Good, because I don't think we're ready to provide universal healthcare yet." Naruto answered.
"As long as the funding and resources are about the medical care. I won't feel worried." Chopper said, with his mindset being about healing instead of profit.
"I think at our current rate, we'll be able to handle building a hospital or at least a bigger clinic. I wouldn't mind helping out everyone now that the population is bigger." Naruto explained.
As the two continued the interview and tried planning general ideas about medical facilities. Naruto heard the loud noises of people cheering. Looking out into the distance from his window, he can see a hunting party has returned with a large bounty.
"What is that?" Chopper curiously asked.
"It looks someone brought home dinner." Naruto answered.
A half hour later, meeting room
After the hunting party arrived and began to get cooking on the spider to feed the locals including Milim. Naruto ended up finding himself in yet another meeting with a guild master from Blumund named Fuze. Alongside him are his adventurers including Erin and her friends.
"This kid is the leader of this city of monsters?" asked a grey haired man. "I don't believe it." he said with doubt.
Naruto sighed, "I swear, it's like this every time." he muttered. He focused on Fuze, "Anyways, welcome to the city of Naruto. Capital of the Jura Forest Alliance, I am Chancellor Naruto Tempest." he said.
"And I am Fuze, guild master of Blumund's Free Guild." Fuze said greeting him back.
"Are you seriously taking this kid seriously?" the adventurer asked.
Naruto groaned, "Are you in charge?" he asked.
"No but…"
"Then shut up." Naruto said, briefly stunning the adventurer with his bluntness.
"Wha… why do you listen to this kid?" the adventurer asked.
"Because I'm not the one talking over everyone." Naruto answered. He then looked back to Fuze,, "Anyways, I want to establish friendly ties with everyone. Maybe even start a trade network with you all someday." He said, trying to be friendly again.
"Really?" Fuze asked with surprise in his voice.
"That's right, we already have a treaty with the Dwarven Kingdom." Naruto answered.
"With Dwargon?" Fuze asked.
"Yeah and this partnership can make passing through the land very easy for traveling merchants." Naruto explained.
Fuze looked unsure, "Hold up, you are telling me that the Kingdom of Dwargon has considered this monster town to be a legitimate nation?" He asked.
That's when Vesta arrived, "I can confirm that information if you want." he said.
"Minister Vesta!" Fuze cried out with surprise.
"Former minister." Vesta said, correcting Fuze.
"What are you doing here?" Fuze asked.
"Trying to put my talents to good use. Anyways, what Lord Naruto said is true. King Gazel has entered an official treaty with this town." Vesta explained before bowing his head slightly at Naruto.
Naruto nodded to Vesta, "Are we in good understanding now?" He asked.
"Well, we're not opposed. But we still need proof that you are an ally of humans." Fuze said. "We can't just take your word for it, you have to understand this." he said, as his kingdom has to play caution.
"That's fair, we can understand that." Naruto said. "You're free to stay as long as you wish in the meantime. Also, has the news spread about the death of the Orc Lord?" he asked.
"My kingdom heard of it, but only my king and a select group of people." Fuze confirmed.
"Well then, would you like to consider forming a contract with me?" Naruto asked.
"Why would we want a contract?" The same ruder adventurer asked, before being threatened by Shion's glare. "I mean, why wouldn't we want to?" he asked nervously.
Naruto nodded to no one in particular as if had entered a trance for a second. Then he spoke again and explained what he meant by contract.
"Basically, what I learned is you were paid to come here. All you would do is switch employers." Naruto explained. "What I'm trying to say is, I want you people to be the champions who defeated the orc lord." he finished.
It was silent, everyone was confused and there was no direct way to respond to Naruto's crazy idea. Even Naruto himself had his doubts and he felt like his pride had to be set aside. Especially since he didn't want his new home to be a prime target for humans and other kingdoms. By the time everyone did respond, Naruto had to explain himself again.
"Huh?"
"What I'm saying is, you can take the credit but mention that my people helped you. Basically turn it into a rumor and lead it spread." Naruto started to explain. "Instead of being seen in a negative light. We can be seen as trustworthy creatures and build relationships. You know, break down any negative barriers and all that." he finished.
"That makes sense. It would look less like two threats fighting for control." Fuze said.
Despite how offensive it sounds, if it appeared that humans destroyed a powerful and dangerous monsters while another force of monsters only worked to help them. Other kingdoms would be less worried about Tempest being another dangerous powerhouse like the Orc Lord.
"We might need time to think about it during our stay." Fuze said.
"Sure thing, like I already said, you're free to stay as long as you like. We have many places that can help you recline." Naruto said.
Then Kaval spoke up, "That one club, Felicia's, looks nice." he suggested.
Naruto slapped his forehead, "How that structure was built is still a mystery to me." he said. He then looked over to Albedo, "Seriously, did I approve of that?" he asked.
"I will double check the documents my lord." Albedo responded.
"I suggest having a full scale investigation of such a shady place." Shuna said while showing her scary smile.
Clearly, Shuna was not a fan of Felicia's. There's a good chance that it's like that one bar where full of elven hostesses. Naruto would make sure to never visit that place again. Not because he can hardly remember anything because he got drunk, but because he was afraid that Shuna or another girl would do bad things to him.
"I'll have one of Souei's teams investigate." Naruto confirmed.
Then Eren jabbed her elbow against Kaval's abdomen, "We're not here for you to look at cute girls!" she exclaimed.
Naruto then stood up, "If you need anything else, don't be afraid to contact me." he said as he bowed and adjourned the meeting.
That's when everyone heard a lot of knocking on the windows. Fuze and his adventurers looked startled as they saw a familiar skeleton with an orange scarf eagerly knocking on the window. Naruto turned around and cursed himself as he ran outside to meet the skeleton.
"What do you want Papyrus?" Naruto asked.
"MY LORD, THERE'S BEEN A BIT OF TROUBLE WITH THE TOMB. IT SEEMS THAT LORD YAMI'S EXPERIMENTS HAVE SOMEHOW GONE WELL AND BAD AT THE SAME TIME." Papyrus said.
Naruto sighed, "Okay, what did Yami screw up?" he asked.
Papyrus looked around before trying to whisper, "JUST FOLLOW ME, LORD NARUTO." he said before scurring away.
Naruto groaned as he followed the skeleton.
At Nazarick
Naruto's eye was twitching as he saw various Death Knights trying to contain several symbiotes. Yami on the other hand was holding one down and experimenting on it.
"What did you do!?" Naruto asked.
Yami calmly faced Naruto and gave a blank expression behind his mask, "Experimenting on with the ooze that makes the symbiote. I wanted to test it to see how it would effect the deceased." he explained.
"I can see that there's a lot of death knights. I'm guessing it was a partial success?" Naruto asked, his eye still twitching.
"I tested it on the preserved corpses of the mades. Though I had to gain permission with Sebas and the surviving maids." Yami further explained. "After all, the tomb was lead by a necromancer and was originally a haven for powerful anthropomorphic individuals." he finished.
Naruto sighed, "I guess that means "respect the dead" has a different meaning." he said.
"Quite so, I just need to contain the symbiotes. I'm not sure if the deceased maids are alive and out of control, or they're reacting like any of Ainz's other skeleton creation spells." Yami responded.
"You are way too relaxed when you're the one making a mess." Naruto said as he went full symbiote.
"WE CAN DEFEAT THEM TOGETHER MY LORD! I, PAPYRUS, WILL SMITE THEM IF I MUST!" Papyrus said as he started throwing bones into the crowd of symbiotes.
Naruto sighed as he turned his arms into bladed weapons, "Listen up you jackals! I don't know if you're pissed because Yami knows no boundaries and fed you all to parasites!" He said as Yami looked offended. "Or that maybe you're just angry little parasites that were only fed bones and rotten flesh! I don't know which one is going on but I'm putting an end to it!" he yelled as he charged in.
"I WILL END THIS NEEDLESS BATTLE AS WELL!" Papyrus yelled as he jumped into the pile.
A few seconds later, Papyrus came flying back out in pieces. Sans kept his usual smirk plastered on his face as he picked up his brother's limbs. All the while he could hear the sounds of evisceration in the background.
"Sounds like the boss is having fun." Sans said.
"WHY CERTAINLY! VICTORY IS THE MOST EXQUISITE FEELING!" Papyrus said as he believed in his master.
"Venom Blast!" Naruto shouted as he released a powerful electrical discharge.
Yami then spoke up again, "Naruto! Doesn't your Ultimate Skill work on them? They're technically zombies now." he said.
"I command you all to seize your violent actions at once!" Naruto commanded like a true leader.
The symbiotes hissed at him as they proceeded to dog pile him. In response, Naruto released several spikes from his body to push them back. Naruto then proceeded to twist his body around as if it were rubber. When he finished, Naruto extended his arms and started spinning as his bladed hands started cutting down the symbiotes.
"I'm super sorry! This is only worse because I can remember all of Ainz's happy memories!" Naruto shouted.
Though there are some parts he wishes he could forget. Naruto can't blame the elder lich, he lost any and all sense of guilt. At the very least, it gave Ainz a heavy resistance against mental ailments.
"I guess literally being heartless has it's perks." Naruto said as he finished butchering the symbiotes. "Yami, you are writing an apology to everyone who was friends with these guys." he said.
Yami suddenly pulled out a magic wand, "I have a better idea. This was the next stage of my experiment." He said.
"Playing wizards?" Naruto asked.
"It's not a game, when those clones you left behind were doing their research. Their knowledge spread to me, therefore I was trying to see if I can resurrect any of the deceased." Yami explained.
"We've been over this, we spent all of that gold and magic to restore Aura and Mare." Naruto responded.
"It was worth a test." Yami said as he approached a dead symbiote.
"And here I thought I was the idiot." Naruto said, wondering what is going on in Yami's head.
Yami ignored his "brother's" jabs as he raised the Resurrection Wand over a corpse, 'It didn't work the first time, but maybe the symbiotes awakened them.' he thought. 'Then again, I could end up restoring the parasites themselves rather than this random maid.' he thoguht.
Yami decided to risk either failing or restoring the life of a symbiote. Either way, it seemed like Naruto was probably going to be annoyed either way.
Later that night, the baths
Naruto sighed as he soaked in the relaxing baths, "That science and magic crap really hurts my head." He said.
That's when Fuze joined him, "Being a guild master and acting as a liaison isn't easy either." he said.
"Are you still thinking about my proposition?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, it's all in good. I'll bring it up after we leave in a week." Fuze said.
Naruto caught onto his words, "You need a week for a decision you accepted?" he asked.
"This place is nice, it's good to relax with all I've been through lately." Fuze said as the bath water released some of his stress.
As everyone tried to relax after long days of work. Gobta decided to rear his ugly big nosed head. However, his appearance wasn't an issue as everyone could handle being around the short goblin. The issue his antics and of course, he had to say something really stupid.
"Lord Naruto, just for curiosity sake and nothing malicious involved. How thick is the divider between the women's side and men's side?" Gobta asked.
"Honestly, there's only a divider because I remembered the convenience of… Gobta I swear." Naruto stopped and glared at the goblin.
Naruto was going to mention that he wanted to build two separate baths to prevent Gobta's perverted nature. Only he thought it would be a pain in case one gender went to the wrong bath and spacing things out would be problematic. So Naruto decided to make sure that the men and women sides would be divided. So much so, that if it wasn't for the budget and lack of resources.
The only way to to even see so much as a toenail from the women's side, would require someone as strong as Milim to break through.
"Gobta, I will kick your ass if you think about looking at those girls. I'm looking at the rest of you too!" Naruto exclaimed as he looked at the goblins and exceeds.
Nichiya suddenly spawned from the water, "It would not be gentlemen like to spy on a woman as she bathes." he said while doing his pose. Then he shoved his head against the divider, "However, that does not stop some of us from smelling the parfume." he said.
"Screw parfume! I wanna see it! Not smell it!" Gobta yelled.
"You have some weird characters here." Fuze said.
"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a leader of a village." Naruto told him. "The respect is nice, but I get stuck with this." he said with a sigh.
Gobta started tapping on the divider, "You know, we could check the other side. Not to peep, just to make sure the girls aren't peeping." He said.
Naruto was about to say something when he heard some shaking. He turned his head to see that the lion statue that released water from it's mouth like a waterfall had come to life. The Chancellor of the Jura Tempest Alliance really liked the statue and knew what it's purpose and funciton was. Only now, he really hoped it would never come to life when he was bathing.
"Well, I wanted a good way to stop perverts. So this is what I get." Naruto said as the statue started moving.
"Lord Naruto! What is that!?" Gobta fearfully asked.
"People who lack proper manners in the bath must be stripped of their rights!" the lion golem roared.
"Get away!" Gobta yelled.
"You are unworthy to bathe in the sacred baths!" the lion golem shouts as it pounced on Gobta and Nichiya.
"AHHHH! MY SPLEEN!" Gobta screamed.
"I'm out." Fuze said as he quickly exits the bath.
Naruto sighed, "This is your punishment Gobta." he said.
With the ladies
Shuna was helping was Wendy's back when they heard the noise from the other side.
"What is that?" Shuna asked before hearing a crash.
"I think someone's in danger." Wendy said.
Albedo's eye twitched, "It sounds like Lord Naruto did install that stupid lion golem after all." she said.
"The what?" Wendy asked.
"There's this stupid security system set up by one of the Supreme Beings. It attacks anyone who decides to anything inappropriate in the baths." Albedo said, remembering the time she suggested breaking into the baths.
"That sounds nice. It will help motivate the boys." Shuna said.
"The punishment for a lack of etiquette is extermination!" the lion golem shouted.
"Should we help them?" Wendy asked.
Shuna looked contemplative, "I'm sure they will be okay." she said as she heard crashing. "It's just a statue right?" she asked
"A strong one." Albedo answered.
Eventually, the sounds of fighting had stopped a few minutes later. Followed by the sounds of some splashing and flesh hitting the floor. The girls remained quiet until they heard Naruto's voice.
"Well this only made me more stressed! Way to ruin it for me Gobta!" Naruto shouted. "Good job though golem." he said to the statue.
"Big brother sounds mad." Wendy said.
Then Naruko popped her out from the water, "Maybe he'll ask Treyni to make him a drink." she said.
Shuna sighed, "It better be alcohol free then." she said.
"Naruko-chan! Do you want me to wash your back?" Shion asked.
"No." Naruko said, giving Shion a dirty glare.
"It's okay, I really want to help." Shion said as she grabbed a brush.
Naruko proceeded to move out of the baths and run. Shion thought Naruko was being bashful and proceeded to run after her. Now the two were running around the bath much to Shuna's frustration.
"No running around the baths you two!" Shuna exclaimed.
Eren giggled nervously, "You all sure are lively as usual." she said.
That's when the two ran out of the baths, "Leave me alone!" Naruko shouted.
"Naruko, put your clothes on!" Naruto shouted as the girl ran into her brother.
"Shion is annoying me!" Naruko whined.
"I just want to wash her back!" Shion stated.
"Both of you put on your clothes! If men see you naked, neither of you will ever be married!" Naruto shouted.
Shion lead out a loud gasp, "What? No! That cannot be possible! It doesn't make sense!" she said, hyperventilating at the thought of being a spinster. "Lord Naruto, please tell me it's a cruel joke! I already have my eyes set on someone!" she exclaimed.
"Put on a robe already!" Naruto shouted.
Shuna shook her head, "Did you hear that Wendy? You cannot run naked." she said.
"Okay." Wendy said. "I'll listen to you Shuna." she said.
"Good to hear." Shuna said, happy that Wendy understands her.
Then Wendy thought of something, "Shuna, can I ask you something?" she asked.
"What is it?" Shuna asked.
"Do you want to get married?" Shuna asked.
Shuna giggled, "If I can find the right man. Hopefully someone with more manners than Benimaru. I doubt a woman will stay with him if they see how much of a slob he is." she explained.
That's when Wendy turned around grabbed Shuna by the arms, "Then marry my big brother!" she exclaimed.
"EH!?" all the women in the baths asked.
"Big brother has lots of manners! He also likes to learn and doesn't drop his underwear like Benimaru!" Wendy said excitedly.
"Wendy, Lord Naruto is nice but…"
"And you always like to visit and cook! You can move in and live with us!" Wendy added.
Now Shuna had a bright red face, "Wendy don't say such things! I just see Lord Naruto as a friend!" she replied.
"But you make him lunch and always check up on him at work!" Wendy tried to say.
Eren giggled in the background while Albedo looked murderous for some reason.
The next day
Naruto was walking with the adventurers and spoke with Youm (the rude man) who learned to like Tempest. The reason being with how lively and happy everyone was in this peaceful city. Though he also still had a fear of Shion and some of the others as he didn't want to say something that would offend them. Unlike Gobta, Youm was not very durable to survive the dangerous attacks of everyone's combined might including an angry statue that fights for bathing etiquette.
"And you all agree with my proposal?" Naruto asked.
"It's crazy, but I'll take it. This place, it's so serene and unexpected for a bunch of monsters living together." Youm responded. "It's also not that bad of a place for humans to live in." he added.
Eren could be heard slapping Kaval, "Why were you at that club?" she asked.
"Research!" Kaval answered nervously.
Naruto snorted, "That reminds me of one of my old teachers." he said.
"Your teacher?" Youm asked.
"He's a strong, but old sage. I call him ero-sennin since he writes "adult" novels and uses baths as his inspiration." Naruto explained.
The adventurers did not like hearing that. If Jiraiya did somehow stumble into this land, he would no doubt be banned from many locations. That is unless some of the monarchs of the kingdoms are closet perverts who end up enjoying Icha Icha.
Their thoughts of perverted old men with no bounds had been broken by the appearance of a woman who looked like Treyni.
"Please, I need your help." the dryad said, looking weak and hurt.
"No way! A dryad!" Youm said with great surprise.
"This is another surprise." Fuze said with a surprised face.
"You're one of Treyni's sisters right?" Naruto asked, having met two other dryads before.
The dryad nodded, "Yes, I am the Dryad Trya. I came here to warn you and your city chancellor." Trya said. "You must prepare your air defenses for a calamity class monster known as Charybdis has appeared." she explained.
"Char-? What is it?" Naruto asked.
"The Charybdis is a monster that lives only for destruction. As of right now, Treyni and my sisters are attempting to slow it down, but's flight path is directed towards your city. Which why I ask you to prepare for defenses for your sky." Trya explained.
Naruto started pondering on this new information as everyone else felt shellshocked.
Meeting Room
At the meeting room, Trya went into greater detail of the monster with Vesta adding information he had researched before. From they learned, Charybdis is an ancient monster that can generate smaller monsters in the form of flying sharks called Megalodons. It's also believed that this creature is a descendant of Veldora the Storm Dragon, making him a child of sorts to the dragon.
Oh and Trya claims that this mindless monster that can't communicate is apparently as strong as a demon lord.
That's when Milim spoke up.
"I can handle that thing with one punch!" Milim said wholeheartedly to the point Naruto considered that idea.
"No, that's unnecessary." Shion interrupted.
"What?" Milim asked.
"That's not necessary Lady Milim, we can handle it." Shion said confidentially.
"Hey Shion, when did you get promoted to chancellor?" Naruto asked.
Now Shion was confused, "Never my lord." she answered.
"Are you chancellor?" Naruto asked.
"No." Shion answered.
"Are you a general in the military?" Naruto asked.
"No." Shion answered again.
"Do you have any title or temporary position?" Naruto asked.
"No, sir." Shion answered.
"Are you stronger than Milim or someone of around her level?" Naruto asked.
Shion looked at Milim, "Well…"
10 seconds later
Wendy proceeded to heal Shion while Yami was at the ready with the Resurrection Wand. Though there were others who agreed with Shion's idea.
"Look, I'm all about independence. Not only does it show weakness, but I understand that we have to grow on our own." Naruto explained. "However, don't be so full of yourselves. Trust me, I'm not trying to downplay our strength but we can't be that arrogant." he added.
Yami sighed, "Naruto is right, we can't just rely on Milm and use her as threats. We have to acknowledge our allies and sometimes come up with new plans if we don't have the strength to deal with a new threat." He explained.
"I agree!" Rigurd spoke up. "I'm all for doing things on our own, but we were once just a simple goblin village and it wasn't until Lord Naruto and Lady Wendy came that we had hope. Without them, this alliance would never exist." he explained.
Fuze decided to speak next, "Why don't you just runaway instead of taking this thing head on?" He asked.
"This is our home, not only is that rampaging monster targeting this town. No one is safe as long it's moving around." Naruto said before pulling out a helmet. "Milim, I'm putting you on standby." he said.
"Okay." Milim said, not as excited as she wanted to do all the work by herself.
Later, the fields
Naruto looked up at the sky and saw the megadolons fling by the side of the Charybdis. The massive thing was a sight to behold and beyond comprehension. Though that didn't deter anyone from fighting for their homes. By now, everyone from the town had already taken their positions and prepared to take this thing head on.
"Hell Flare!" Benimaru shouts as he engulfs one Megalodon with an orb of black flames.
With all of his power, the megalodon was defeated and came crashing down into the forest with a charred body. However, that did concern a few people as those flames were capable of annihilating foes in a clean sweep.
"My brother's attack wasn't enough to destroy it." Shuna said with worry.
"But why?" Wendy asked before Great Sage spoke.
"Notice: Charybdis has the Extra Skill: Magic Jamming. Thus disrupting the flow of magicules of anyone within 300 meters." Great Sage explained.
"This is going to be tough! Hopefully big brother and everyone else can figure something out!" Wendy exclaimed.
With Naruto
Naruto had received the same explanation from Great Sage. However, that was an interesting aspect to consider.
'It's resistant, but not immune. I guess with enough power, it can still be killed.' Naruto thought as he spread his wings.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto calls out as he makes several hundred clones. "Most of our forces are focusing on the megalodons, try aiming for Charbdis itself!" he ordered.
(Misfit of the Demon King Academy OST - Violent Demon King)
The clones all nodded and transformed into their symbiote forms. All around, Naruto could see several forces working to act as decoys for the megalodons while secondary teams would attack them once they were in range. Though it wasn't entirely successful as some teams like the ones lead by Gotba and Geld weren't entirely successful.
"Big brother! I got one!" Naruko yelled.
Naruto turned his head to see that Naruko entered partial symbiote form. From the looks of it, she was using her webbing to drag a megalodon like a chariot.
"Good job Naruko! Now go make a mess!" Naruto commanded.
"Okay!" Naruko said before ramming her megalodon into another one.
"I wonder if we could try absorbing one of those things." Naruto said his small army approached Charybdis. "No time to dwell on that. Open fire boys!" he yelled at the clones that survived the flight.
"Black Lightning!"
"Tornado Blade!"
"Chain Dragon Lightning!"
"Napalm!"
"Explosion!"
"Odama Rasengan!"
Naruto flew over the Charybdis as he saw his army clones doing their best to damage the monster. Only showing very little result despite signs of explosions as they landed.
"Maybe there's an exposed area or something this thing can't withstand." Naruto said as he scouted.
Then he felt his spider sense going off. Naruto immediately turned around and found himself in the jaws of a megalodon. Naruto growled in frustration releasing several spikes from his body that repeatedly stabbed the inside of the beast's mouth. The inside of the flying shark was clearly not as durable as the exterior hide, but it wasn't enough to kill it just yet.
"Grega!" Naruto shouts as he points at the megalodon and unleashes a large blast of fire that staggers the beast. "Venom Blast Rasengan!" He yells as he slams his variation of the Rasengan into the beast.
"Lord Naruto!" Ranga cries out.
The Tempest wolf came in flying with Shion standing on his back. As Naruto attempted to finish off the shark. Ranga fired a streak of black lightning at the megalodon before Shion jumped onto the back of the creature and started stabbing into it's back.
"We have this under control." Shion said confidentally..
"Good, I'm glad to see you two are finally getting along." Naruto said before focusing back on Charybdis.
"He's happy I saved him." Shion said.
"Lord Naruto did not need saving. He's happy someone else is handling the grunt work." Ranga said, making Shion feel annoyed and slightly saddened about Naruto not needing them. "Someone of his stature shouldn't focus on flying fish!" He growled before helping to finish off the megalodon.
"That's right! Die you stupid fish!" Shion yelled as she kept stabbing the megalodon she was riding on.
With Yami
Yami was looking at the Charybdis from a distance. Like his "brother", he had made an army of Shadow Clones and split them into various companies that took different positions. With Yami preparing them to open fire on the massive monster.
"That thing is quite strong. The hide on that thing must be very thick." Yami said as he pondered on this. That's when he saw the scales of Charybdis come flying out, "What's this?" he asked as he kept watching.
The aerial forces as well as some of the ground forces were being destroyed by the scales. By this point, Yami gave the signal for his clones to open fire on Charybdis as he thought the monster was now exposed. His logic being that the scales functioned like armor and now had one less layer to protect itself with. However, that's when he noticed something a few minutes later.
"The scales grow back? That must be frustrating." Yami said before noticing a giant explosion on the creature's back. Yami shook his head, "That's not going to work. That thing is regenerating, isn't it?" He asked.
"Answer: Charybdis possibly has the Extra Skill: Ultraspeed Regeneration. It is most likely that the scales will regenerate in a span of three minutes." Great Sage explained.
Yami slapped his forehead, "I see our efforts are meaningless." he said before turning his head back. Where he saw Milim stumbling around in a helmet and padded suit, "Your time to shine might be coming Milim." he said as the demon lord grinned.
Yami watched the fight continue as everyone present had unleashed every bit of power they could muster. Throwing every weapon on hand and striking it with all of their might. At least the megalodons were gone, but now Yami was worried about those flying sharks coming back through some form of summoning or creation magic.
That's when he saw Naruto fly high into the air and fire a brightly colored flare into the sky. Yami nodded as he grabbed Milim by the waist.
"Is it my turn already?" Milim asked.
"Yes, now grab onto your knees and curve yourself towards the big cyclops." Yami answered as he puts her onto the ground.
Now curved, Milim looked like a soccer ball ready to be kicked. Which Yami did right after generating more mass into one of his legs and kicking Milim with all his might. Milim normally would have gotten angry, but it looked like the rush was too fun for her to hate.
"WOOOOOOOO!" Milim yells as she prepared to make impact with Charybdis.
With Naruto
Naruto quietly floated above Charybdis with his arms crossed and his face filled with disappointment.
"Milim." Charybdis growled out.
"I know, you hate Milim." Naruto said with a sigh. "Then that means Shion literally had no reason to tell Milim what to do. Since this is technically her business." he said.
Sure a part of Naruto is glad that he has Milim to help him deal with this, but it was a wake up call for him to get stronger. That and he feels peeved by how tough Charybdis is and can't help but blame Shion. She was the one who said that all matters regarding Tempest should be handled by Tempest. Yet this was not a matter of Tempest at all.
Then again, neither was the Orc Lord but Naruto still felt annoyed. It feels like those memories Ainz had of everyone but Demiurge and Sebas saying they should just destroy Re-Estize.
"Speaking of old countries, is Rigurd the descendant of those goblins that Enri summoned? I wonder if Gabiru's tribe is related to those other lizardmen like Zaryusu." Naruto muttered as he saw Milim flying by and crashing into Charybdis.
"Drago Buster!" Milim yelled, destroying Charybdis as a result.
"Nah, there aren't any albino lizards. Then again, albinoism is rare so…" Naruto said, ignoring the destruction until he noticed a charred looking body fall down. "Uh oh." he said as he went to catch.
Later
After using Appraisal on the charred body, Naruto recognized that the individual is Phobio and needed to be separated from the magic aura that summoned Charybdis. Using his own skills, Naruto slowly worked on removing the little parasitic blob on Phobio's chest with Yami's help.
"It should be disconnected, I'll isolate it." Yami said.
"Good." Naruto said.
"Lord Naruto." one of the Pegasus knights called out.
Earlier during the battle, Pegasus Knights from Dwargon appeared and assisted during the battle. It appeared that Gazel wanted to show loyalty to his alliance as well as help with the impending issue that was Charybdis.
"Hey Dorf, thanks for helping out back there. We really appreciate you coming all the way out here." Naruto said gratefully.
"No, we didn't do anything to Charybdis." Dorf said before facing Milim. "Can you explain what is going on here?" he asked.
"That's a demon lord and her name is Milim." Naruto said bluntly.
"Demon Lord Milim? I don't buy it." Dorf said. He then burst out laughing, "You are quite fond of jokes, haha!" he said.
"Sure, the girl capable of destroying a monster that's said to be at the level of a demon lord is not a demon lord." Naruto said sarcastically.
"While I'm okay with a prank, you should really use your secret weapons at the beginning of the battle and not at the end." Dorf said, not sounding convinced.
Naruto slapped his forehead, "I'm not gonna bother. Yami you deal with this guy. I'm not dealing with another Phobio or Youm." he said as he backed up.
"Lord Naruto, you seem irritable." Shuna pointed out.
"I blame Yami. He tried making me smart, now I feel grumpy." Naruto responded.
Dorf ignored the comments, "Anyways, the defeat of Charybidid, regardless of how it was killed, will benefit us all." he said.
"Don't ignore me!" Milim yelled.
"I suppose we should take our leave and get back to his majesty." Dorf said as he bowed his head.
"Yeah, give King Gazel my regards." Naruto said.
As the Pegasus Knights left, everyone could hear Phobio beginning to wake up. As everyone took defensive stances around the Beastketeer. Phobio showed signs of memory loss and disorientation.
"What happened? Where am I?" Phobio asked. He bowed his head against the ground as he started to remember, "Please forgive me! I've done something terrible to Lady Milim and worse, I've involved all of you as well!" he exclaimed.
"Why did you do all of this?" Naruto asked. "I doubt you can just suddenly spawn this power up." he added.
"It started some time ago where I met these people with clown masks named Footman and Tear." Phobio answered.
Treyni started drawing on the ground, "Did one of them have a mask like this?" she asked while pointing at the ground.
"No, the ones I met were a girl with a tear on her mask and a big man with an angry face." Phobio answered.
"Hold on, it could be Laplace." Gabiru said.
"Who?" Naruto asked.
"Another clown, Laplace said he was a servant of Lord Gelmud and he wore a mask like the one that Treyni Drew on the dirt. Apparently, he's a part of a strange group called the Moderate Harlequin Alliance." Gabiru explained.
Yami started keeping track of this information, "Gelmud wanted a puppet demon lord, "Laplace" claimed to work under Gelmud but these clowns appear to have their own group." he said.
"Then it all connects." Naruto said. "I doubt this far from over." he said.
"Regardless of whoever is in control, all of this was because of me. Therefore, I take the blame for this incident." Phobio said as he bowed his head down again.
Naruto sighed, "Look, it's definitely your fault and I'm really annoyed." he said.
"Me too! This really is your fault!" Milim exclaimed.
"So if you're really sorry, go home and repent in your own way." Naruto said.
"But, I did something that is unforgivable." Phobio said.
"Forget it already, we're good… for now. Right Milim?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah that's right." Milim happily replied. "Maybe I went too far with that one punch, but he did deserve it." she added.
"There's no use in being mad the whole time. So we might as well move on." Naruto said.
"Is that okay with you, Carrion?" Milim asked as a man came out of the forrest.
The man was large, muscular and looking entertained as he made his way over to the group.
"So you knew I was here, Milim?" Carrion asked.
"Naturally." Milim answered.
'So this is Demon Lord Carrion.' Naruto thought.
Carrion then looked down at Naruto, "Thank you for being so understanding and sparring my foolish servant's life." he said gratefully. "So you must be the majin that defeated Gelmud." he said.
"That's me." Naruto answered as he looked up at the demon lord. "You want to avenge him?" he asked, making everyone look on edge.
"No, I'm good." Carrion said before facing Phobio. "Though I do take responsibility for not keeping a closer eye. This is my fault." he said before bashing Phobio on the head.
"At least you're disciplining him. That's a good aspect of being a leader." Naruto points out.
Carrion smiled, "So you forgive him?" he asked.
"I don't!" Naruko spoke up.
"I can." Naruto said as Naruko whined in the background.
"Thank you, I owe you one. If there is anything you want at all, just name it." Carrion said graciously.
"Does the possibility of a none aggression pact with our nation sound fair?" Naruto bravely asked.
Carrion looked unsure, "Is that all? Then sure." he said in agreement.
"I also want to add to maybe train your best soldiers to act with more tact." Naruto said.
Carrion laughed at that suggestion, "I think a good beating might help. I treat my servants equally so they will get the message." he said.
Meanwhile in Eurazania, a feline and serpent both sneezed and shivered. Wondering why they feel that their overconfidence will lead them to possibly having bruises on their heads in the future.
"We can sort this out now. In the name of Eurazania, in the name of the Beast Master Carrion, I swear that I'll never raise a blade against your nation." Carrion said, swearing before everyone present.
"Thanks." Naruto responded.
"You're welcome, now it's time for me to go." Carrion said as he carries Phobio's bloody injured body over his shoulder.
"That man is clearly injured and likely close to death." Yami spoke up.
"Farewell." Carrion said, ignoring Yami's concerns.
Naruto sighed, "Well, we're good for today." he said.
Suddenly Shion pulled out a ladle, "I'll cook us a special victory dinner!" she announced.
"Pleiades! Restrain!" Naruto shouted as the six maids appeared and held Shion down.
"Hey! I need to prepare the special dinner!" Shion yelled.
"No way! You almost killed Yagura the other day!" Lupusregina shouted.
"There is no hazard more dangerous than your cooking style." Narberal said.
The six maids proceeded to drag Shion away as she kept trying to plead her case. Naruto unconsciously placed a hand on Shuna's shoulder.
"Shion's never going to get better at cooking will she?" Naruto asked.
Shuna giggled, "I thought someone as wise as you would know the answer to that, Lord Naruto." she said.
As the pair laughed, neither noticed Albedo looking jealous as she removed her helmet.
A few days later, with the girl
The dark haired girl swung her feet on Tenchi Bridge, "So boring, to think that dad had to deal with so much craziness every couple weeks. Yet I'm the one feeling bored." she said with a sigh. "I swear, that puppet guy gave me information. I don't know why he gave it to me, but it might be worth checking out." she said.
As the girl continued to swing her legs, her mind drifted off to her home.
"It's a good thing mom isn't here. She probably would have slaughtered the place for having so many humans." the girl said. "I love mom, but sometimes she can't be chill as Shuna. Then again, Shuna is super strict when she wants to be." she said.
The girl picked up several energy signatures converging around her. She could feel the Konoha ninja hiding in the woods as well as someone else coming from the other side. The girl just shrugged it off as she kept thinking about home.
"I guess that's the thing about oni. They can be nice people and sometimes be overbearing." She tells herself. "I wonder how my aunts are doing. I hardly see them anymore." she said.
Back home
As everyone got back home and were welcomed by all. Rem noticed Albedo looking quite annoyed.
"Are you okay Miss Albedo?" Rem asked.
"Yes Rem, just slightly disappointed." Albedo said. "How is your sister?" she asked.
"Ram is feeling well, I think she's really liking this place. Though she's having a hard time making friends." Rem explained.
Albedo smiled, "I'm sure she will be fine. Your sister is just stubborn is all." she said. She immediately frowned as something came across her mind, "Just remember that you are your sister's first friend." she said.
"Are you okay Miss Albedo?" Rem asked.
"Um… just feeling nostalgic." Albedo lied.
Rem looked confused, "Okay, I will see you around." she said.
"I miss you Rubedo… and maybe, just maybe I was a bit harsh on you Nigredo. But it was your fault for disobeying our lord's orders." Albedo said as if her sisters were still here.
The girl yawned, "Maybe I should catch up with my aunts. They ended up treating mom like their older sister." she said before feeling Kabuto's presence.
"And who might you be? I was expecting someone else." Kabuto said.
The girl grinned as she stood up, "You can call me Ariel-tan!" She said while making a peace sign.
"Okay." Kabuto said as he sweat dropped.
"I wanted to see what the hype from my dad's homeland is all about. So far, I've seen nothing impressive." Ariel said mockingly.
"You came here seeking a fight?" Kabuto asked.
Ariel shrugged, "Literally anything, my vacation has been so slow lately." she complained.
"You confuse me, however if you wish for a slow death. You've come to the right place. I'm afraid I can't let you walk free now that you know of this location." Kabuto said as he prepared his chakra scalpels.
"Hopefully you're better than that puppet guy and bomb guy." Arie said further confusing Kabuto. 'Besides, this guy sounds like one of the people dad mentioned.' she thought as she remembered her father's stories of the ninja lands.
TO BE CONTINUED…