A/N: Took slightly longer than I thought it would take, but the update is here~ Some proper interactions with Sekirei will finally begin! Yeah...Naruto still isn't quite mature yet - I think it'll take a while longer to get there.

The story is dragging on longer than I thought on the Kamikura Island, but oh well. It's needed for the basic development of the characters, so deal with me, kay?

Also, the many reviewers seemed to take a liking towards Miya for a member of the harem, so I'll probably include her unless a whole bunch of people say otherwise. So currently, Naruto will pair with: Kazehana, Matsu, and Miya. One spot is still open, so keep voting~

Oh, and you all know that I don't own either Naruto or Sekirei.

Now onwards to the story!

A blond boy was taking in the structure of his new dwelling. It didn't look like much, but it sure was better than the previous room he was 'confined' in. There was a single queen sized bed by the wall, and a small white desk on the other side of it. It had two drawers just underneath it, though he doubted that he would be using those any time soon.

On the left of him was a door that led to a rather luxurious bathroom with a large western tub, or so he heard from the assistant that led him here. Interesting looking bottles were placed near the tub, which he guessed were used for washing himself with. He would have to ask Takehito later. It was amazing how much changed in the three thousand years – water could be accessed with a single flick of a finger, without having to get it all the way from a river. Apparently its temperature could be controlled, too, without the use of any jutsu.

As his amazement at the advancement of technology dissipated, he noticed a small window slightly left to the white desk. Though it didn't have a spectacular view, considering the empty environment of the island, it was comforting to have a small window that allowed him a breeze of fresh air. The room he stayed in just prior to coming here was a place he never wanted to be in again.

When he turned his head to the bed, he noticed that there was a silky nightgown on it, neatly folded. It seemed comfortable to wear, so he immediately changed into it. It wasn't orange, but it was better than nothing, he compromised himself. He didn't like sleeping in nude, anyways. It made him feel too vulnerable.

The teen slumped on the bed, the day's exhaustion finally catching up to him. But whether it was because the day was too exciting or because he had many things to think about, he simply could not fall asleep. Sitting back up again, he decided to tinker with the game mechanics some more.

"Stats"

Stats:

Naruto: Lv.18 (exp: 135/180)

(0) stat points remaining

Intelligence: 15
Speed: 56 (+3)
Strength: 60
Dexterity: 24 (+15)
Charisma / Attractiveness: 26

Nothing majorly changed except for the exp points and the numbers previously in the parenthesis, he mused.

'Maybe I really should get a different clothing. I may not know how much these points affect me, but I know for a fact that having a simple nightgown that is more attractive than my normal clothes is a serious problem. (A/N: Not really, if you're sexy in bed :P)

'Getting back on track, I should probably do some missions or some sort and level up quickly. Though how I could get any does pose a problem.' Naruto hung his head in defeat. 'Gah! I don't care anymore! I wasn't one to plan beforehand in the first place!'

Huffing in annoyance, Naruto called up the 'skills' screen.

Skills:

Observation (lv.1)
Shadow clone jutsu (lv.5)
Sexy jutsu (lv.2)
Rasengan (lv.4)
Henge (lv.3)
Kawarimi (lv.2)
Surface/water walking (lv.3)

'How do these things even work?! What's the levels for?' Naruto pulled on his hair. 'Stupid game. Should have given me some kind of manual before throwing me into this mess.'

"Observation…What's this supposed to be?"

Suddenly, a few windows popped up beside him.

A soft bed: It is a comfortable bed that heals 5% of HP and 5% of fatigue for every hour of sleep.

Naruto blinked. "Okay, so that's what observation does… But this doesn't tell me anything. How the hell do I know what my HP and fatigue is?!"

With a ding, another screen popped out.

Basic status such as HP and fatigue can be selected from the 'Setting' menu.

"Now you tell me? Jeez, thanks for the heads up, game master-san." Naruto fumed.

"Settings."

Settings

HP bar: off
Fatigue bar: off
Clock: off
Alarm: off

"…That's it? No explanations or anything?" A tick mark grew on his head.

"Maybe if I press on it…woah!"

When he pressed 'HP bar', a small blue screen emerged in front of it.

Health Points. Shows the damage you can take. When it reaches 0, you will die.

The shinobi cringed. "Well, I'm not going to be doing that any time soon."

He pressed the next one.

Fatigue points. Shows the amount of work you can endure.
If it fills up completely, you will faint. 1% decreases for every hour of rest.

"Okaayy…What's up with all this dying and fainting? Sheesh, the guy who made this must be a creep."

Clock. You can see the time and date.

Alarm. You can set an alarm to go off in your head.

Naruto sweat dropped. "I don't even know why I even pressed that. Oh well. I guess I should turn all these on?"

The boy pressed all the 'off's in quick succession, turning them into 'on's. Three new screens came into view. On the top right corner of his vision, a round antique clock told him of the time. On the bottom left of his vision, two long bars – the red HP bar half empty and the blue fatigue bar nearly full – showed him that he needed to sleep quickly.

He ignored the revelation as his curiosity peaked. "I wonder if this bar is really accurate…Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A solid clone appeared.

"Hey clone, hit me!"

"Roger that, boss!" And without a moment of hesitation, the clone grinned sinisterly and punched the original in the stomach, hard. The red bar was shaved off slightly. Not enough to call it an obvious change, but just enough to be seen.

"Uughh… *cough* I guess the bar's pretty accurate." Taking the original's disarrayed form as a chance, the clone tried to punch him again, though it was hastily dispelled by Naruto's will.

"Damn clone…has no respect for the original…" Naruto coughed some more.

Deciding that he had enough for the day, the boy set his 'alarm' to 8 am and crawled into his new bed and fell into a deep slumber.

It was a peaceful morning to all the inhabitants of the Kamikura Island. Well, to be exact, all but a certain blond teen.

"Aaarghhh! Make it stop make it stop MAKE IT STOPP!" An alarm that was louder than the screech of Sasuke's fan girls was ringing in his mind. In other words, the loudest and the most annoying thing he has ever heard.

A small screen materialized.

Hint: To turn off the alarm, open your eyes and slap your cheek.

Desperate and willing to do anything, he slapped his face with great ferocity. And the world instantly became quiet.

"Why meeee…" The blond cried anime tears, banging the floor with his fists. The fates or whatever deity up there must have loved watching him suffer, as they intruded in his life in even the most minuscule moments like this.

After sulking for a while, Naruto stood back up to change back into his clothes, only to see it in tatters. Though he didn't notice it the previous day due to his exhaustion, the jumpsuit was ripped and shredded in so many areas that it was near impossible to put it back on. In fact, it wasn't even in one piece, he noted, seeing a piece of his sleeve on the floor.

'And I don't have any spares left, either.' Naruto thought dejectedly. Not having any other garments to wear, the boy trudged outside without changing out of his nightgown. He truly hoped that this wouldn't cause him too much embarrassment.

"I'm not lost. I am definitely not lost. I'm a shinobi, and shinobi don't do lost." He muttered to himself.

It was quite obvious that the blond knucklehead was lost. He was so pitifully trying to deny his lack of aptitude in being a ninja that he couldn't even form grammatically correct sentences.

"Enjoy your stay, she said. They'll provide anything I need, she said. Well, I don't see no map or guide around here, and I am certainly in need of it!" Naruto seethed, thinking back to the words an assistant told him as she led him to his room.

It was then when he noticed a figure walking towards him.

"Hey, lady!" He yelled as he ran over to her. "Do you happen to know where I can grab a bite?"

"My, my. Did you want to see me again that badly, foxy-kun?" The lady clad in purple giggled.

Now that Naruto got a good look at her, his eyes widened in recognition. "You're that- um...Sekirei that I fought yesterday!" His eyebrows furrowed as he racked his memory. "Kaze…hana, was it?"

"Hoh~? I don't remember introducing myself." She playfully replied, though her eyes were inspecting his every movement.

"Umm, I must have caught it when you were talking to others. Such a pretty name isn't easy to forget, after all." Naruto smiled sheepishly, reflexively rubbing the back of his neck. Kazehana simply giggled in reply. The blond looked over at the older woman to say something, and widened his eyes when he noticed her arm wrapped in a sling.

"Kami, did I do that to you? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you of all people! The others I don't really have qualm hurting, not that I could, but you were the nicest to me even in the battle. It's just that you were so strong and I needed to one-up you and I…" The wind user was somewhat shocked seeing him ramble on. It was a battle after all, and it was expected for someone to get hurt. She just got the short end of the stick because she heavily underestimated the boy. 'A fair trade for my bad habits.' She mused.

A soft smile took place on her sultry lips. The boy was more interesting than she thought he would be. "Hey, foxy-kun. It's alright. It'll heal soon enough and I'll be able to move around just fine. When I'm in a good condition, we can even spar together if you would like." She purred. "Though you seem to be ready for sparring just fine in your current attire. Too bad I can't move around so freely, hm?"

It took a while for the knucklehead to understand the implication, but his face burned up like a chili when he did. "Um…uhh…that is…"

'Aww, look at his face. His innocence is so cute that I can just eat him up~' She giggled. 'I'll be enjoying these next few years.'

"Well, the dining room is that way." She pointed to the direction he came from. "It's the third room to the right. Can't miss it." She winked at him. "See you soon, foxy-kun~" And with a swirl of sakura petals, she left.

Naruto stood there dumbfounded for a moment. "Damn, I should really up the ante in this area, too, unless I want to become her personal chew toy." He muttered. "I mean, I am the student of the self proclaimed super pervert – can't be flustered by every little thing, can I?" He shook his head sideways and headed for the dining room.

"Ah- We finally meet in person, Naruto Uzumaki-kun. Though it has been slightly delayed, I welcome you to the Kamikura Island!" The white haired man opened his arms wide and laughed rather lengthily, as a villain would do in an anime for kindergarteners.

Naruto stared at the man incredulously. "…Is he always like this?"

"I'm afraid so." The woman next to him sighed. "Takami Sahashi, nice to meet you."

"Naruto Uzumaki, though you probably know that already, if his all knowing smile is anything to go by." The boy replied gruffly. It was rather unnerving to know that people who he has practically no information on already knew quite a bit about him. 'I really didn't think things through when I blabbed, didn't I…' He regretted his thoughtlessness not for the first time. He could only hope that Takehito kept his part of the promise regarding the gaming device.

"Good to see you again, Uzumaki-kun. Did you enjoy your breakfast?" Takehito asked, his seemingly ever-present smile on his face.

The blond's eye twitched in annoyance. "I would have if I weren't eating while wearing a bathrobe in public. It also would have helped if people didn't stare at me the entire time I was eating."

"Ah, I was wondering about that. Why aren't you wearing proper clothing, Uzumaki-kun?" He smiled as the hannya mask appeared. "I believe that even ninjas had etiquettes three thousand years ago." The other two in the room didn't show any surprise to this bit of information, as they were already debriefed just a while ago.

Naruto started sweating bullets. "I-It's not my fault! If anything, blame the assistants, or that glasses bastard! All I could wear was my original clothes, which was barely in one piece, or this!" The boy pointed at Minaka. "Shove your mask on him, not me!" The said man only smiled and waved lightly in return, not minding the spotlight.

"Uzumaki-kun. What did I tell you about the crude language?" The man's eyes glinted even though they were closed.

"I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!" He cowered.

The female researcher instinctively took a step back. "I don't think I can get used to that no matter how many times I see it."

Not reading the atmosphere, the president butted in. "Oh, how all of you seem so close to each other. Why do you not include me in the conversation? I am so greatly saddened." The man cried anime tears and raised his arm to partially hide his face for the dramatic effect.

"Are you sure this guy is sane?" Naruto's eye twitched again.

"Sadly, no." The woman replied. "But he is a hell of a genius."

"Indeed he is. MBI exists because of him, you know." Takehito added.

"Takami-chan~ I knew you cared for me~!" The man with glasses jumped at her, lips puckered out for a kiss, only to be brought down with a swift whack.

Naruto choked at a sudden revelation. 'I wasn't like that when I was chasing Sakura-chan, was I?' He paled. 'Kami-sama, I think I was…No wonder she hated me when we were young!'

Takehito glanced at the shinobi. "You okay, Uzumaki-kun? You seem pale."

"I…I'm fine. Yeah. Nothing's the matter." He decided right then that he would become strong as quickly as possible, and invest his stat points on attractiveness. He really might never get a girl if he's as bad as he thought he was.

"I really should go train…as soon as possible. Can you quickly say what you called me in for?" Naruto looked at the president.

"Weelll..." He drawled out. "I just called you in to say hi." The blond grew a tick mark. "You can go now. Tah-tah~"

Naruto growled as he stomped out the room. The man's attitude drove him crazy; the only thing that kept him at bay was the fact that the genius would be able to kill him nearly instantly with only a few words to the Sekirei.

The boy may be hotheaded and impulsive, but he wasn't so foolish to think that he could defeat the Disciplinary Squad. He could tell that even yesterday, each member was holding back - even the lady with the enormous battle lust. Naruto sighed. There were just too many people in the world that he was inferior to. He would have to train like crazy to even hold a candle to them.

Too engrossed in his self-ranting, he didn't notice that both Takehito and Takami had followed him out the office.

Amused by the young one's reaction in meeting the president for the first time, the grey haired man smiled. "Uzumaki-kun, remember the deal we made yesterday? I'd like to see you in lab C-5 in the third floor at 7pm. Can you make it?"

The boy looked at the older man, somewhat surprised to see him there. But he replied in a nonchalant tone. "I guess so. I don't really have anything planned yet, so why not." He shrugged.

"Then I'll be waiting, Uzumaki-kun." The researcher lifted his hand up for a small wave and left to do his own bidding.

Takami quietly sighed and walked ahead of the young shinobi.

"I'm sorry for that back there. He can be quite the handful at times…" She paused and rectified her words. "...Almost all the time."

"Nah, it's fine lady. I feel bad for you having to stick around him for so long." Naruto flashed her a cheesy grin.

"Well, I'll give you a tour around the building to make up for the previous inhospitality." She glanced back to his choice of attire. "Actually…we should get you some clothes first."

The whiskered boy sighed and tightened the gash of the gown. "Yeah, that would be nice."

"Sorry, but it seems like this is the only type of clothing we have left." She handed him the disciplinary squad's uniform. "All the other Sekirei that are being adjusted are only babies – toddlers at most – so…"

"Hey, it's fine. The quality is much better than what I was wearing to begin with. Thanks a bunch." He inspected the black and grey garments for a moment. "Is there a place where I can change into this?"

"A bathroom is just out the door." She answered. "Take your time." The boy gave a swift nod and headed straight to the toilet.

As soon as Naruto entered, he quietly muttered to himself. "Lets see how you fair against my awesome orange clothes. Observation"

A screen materialized above the garments.

Disciplinary Squad uniform: The uniform Sekirei in the Disciplinary Squad wear.
It is made of high quality material and is easy to move in. Str +5, Spd +5, Chr +5

"Oh. It is a lot better…" Naruto deflated. He wordlessly changed into the uniform, discarding the bathrobe in the toilet.

Takami greeted him as he exited the toilet. "Uzumaki-san, you clean up pretty nicely. Much better than the robe you were wearing just now or your previous attire." She snickered into her hand.

Though it was said in a joking manner, it was true that the blond looked much better in the uniform. The bulky orange jumpsuit was replaced with a tight black leather top with two horizontal white lines running down his chest, and the orange pants were replaced with black ones, with a grey belt loosely tied around his waist twice. A gray haori was lightly hanging off his shoulders, as he wasn't quite wearing them. (A/N: Basically a male version of the female Disciplinary Squad uniform)

"Why thank you, researcher lady. I'm very flattered." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Call me Takami."

"Sure, researcher lady." Naruto smiled, showing off all his teeth.

"It's Takami." Her teeth turned sharp as she grinned and her eyes glinted dangerously as she hovered over Naruto.

"Yes…Takami…" Naruto slumped. Why was every woman he came across extremely violent and scary?

The woman slapped the boy's back and chirped. "Let's get going then!"

As they finished the tour of the building, Naruto realized that something was amiss. The entire time they were walking and talking, not a single person passed them by.

"Hey researcher la-" She stared at him, a hard glint in her eyes. "…Takami…" The boy shrunk. How she was scarier than Tsunade despite being a mere civilian, he didn't know.

"I was wondering, why isn't there anyone walking around the halls?"

"Oh, it's because all the researchers are in labs. They are here for intensive research, you know. And the Disciplinary Squad usually stay in their preferred spot, so they don't move around much either." She mentioned.

A familiar ding was heard.

Mission: Find a martial arts trainer

Reward: a new skill, better relationship with the trainer

'Martial arts? There's someone who teaches that on this island?' Naruto grew silent, trying to comprehend the new mission.

"Uzumaki-san, is something the matter? You seem to be spacing out a little." The woman looked at the blond.

"Huh? Oh. I'm fine." He smiled. "Say, would you happen to know anyone that can help me train in…I don't know, martial arts?"

The researcher raised her delicate eyebrow. "Martial arts? Where'd that come from all of a sudden?"

Naruto flustered. "Um, well. I realized that I needed to work on my form a bit more from the last battle you see, so I was wondering if anyone trained those Sekirei to fight?"

"I'm sorry to say Uzumaki-san, but the Sekirei seemed to learn their respective forms instinctually. We still don't quite understand it, but they just find a liking to a certain style, and they train in it. Though that's only the case for offensive Sekirei."

Naruto sighed. 'Now how am I going to get a tutor? That means that the only choice I have left is…' He shivered. 'Kami, this is going to be a tiring day. Better get this over with.'

"I'll be going then. Thanks for the hospitality!" And without waiting for a reply, he ran off to the nearest exit.

"Kids these days." Takami huffed. "I sure hope that my Minato won't turn out so rude. I won't allow it to happen even if I have to beat the manners into him!"

Somewhere back in Shinto Teito, a small boy shivered as his life felt threatened somehow.

The blond shinobi now stood on the desolate grounds of the Kamikura Island, searching vehemently for a certain lavender haired woman.

'Now, how do I find the lady in such a large place?' A loud boom was accompanied by a large amount of smoke. 'I guess that answers my question…' He sweat-dropped and took off to the direction, fully taking advantage of his enhanced speed.

And as expected, a woman was practicing a kata with her weapon with fluid and elegant motions that made it look as if she were dancing. Entranced by her movements, Naruto watched her slice through the air multiple times. This soon came to a halt when the said woman finished off her kata by creating a shockwave slightly left to the boy's direction.

"What business do you have here?" Her voice rang loud and clear despite their distance. Naruto walked up to her, his eyes not once leaving hers, however intimidating they were.

"I'm here to ask you a favor." He calmly replied.

The Sekirei's eyes narrowed into slits. "Just because you are no longer an intruder does not mean that I have to show you any hospitality, nor grant you any favors."

"I know, I know." He backed off slightly, both hands facing towards her in front of his chest in an attempt to douse her anger. "It's just that, after the one sided battle yesterday, I realized how weak I was…again." He sighed. "I just don't want to feel that kind of helplessness again. So I was wondering…if you could teach me how to fight in hand-to-hand combat?" He smiled shakily, trying his best not to cower down from the obviously superior woman.

"No." She replied without even contemplating the thought. "I don't have time to waste on trivial things like you. I'm already wasting my time as it is, interacting with something that gains me no merit." The lavender haired woman turned on her heels and started to walk away.

"Wait!" The boy shouted to the woman. "I…I will show you that I'm not a waste of your time! I've done it countless of times before, and I'll do it again!"

Not showing any signs of having heard the blond speak, the leader of the Disciplinary Squad continued walking.

"A match!" Naruto cried. "I'll fight you and show you that I have potential!"

The woman stopped in her steps and spoke without turning to him. "You've already proven your worth yesterday, and I doubt anything will change right now. It is a complete waste of time. Train yourself if you have time to pursue such quixotic ideals." Deeming it as the end of the conversation, she resumed walking away from him.

Naruto gritted his teeth at the sudden reminder of an unpleasant memory.

"Come to think of it, isn't being hokage a dream of yours? If you had the time to go around looking for me, you would have been better off training. Don't you think, Naruto?"

"Damn it…!" He cursed. "I refuse to be weak any longer!" The shinobi put his enhanced speed to use once more, and sprinted towards the woman, chakra already charged at the sole of his feet. "Rasengan!"

Having felt the boy charge, Miya jumped into the air and flipped out of the range of attack. "Foolish boy, do you truly not understand the difference of our skills? Then allow me to demonstrate." She flicked her katana out of the sheath and swung it in a full arc. With a gigantic shockwave, deep crevices were created, redesigning the environment. Naruto shot out of the way, only for him to face another shockwave. Unable to parry this one, he summoned a Rasengan in hopes of softening the blow. The attack was too large and powerful, however, and he took the full brunt of the attack.

Naruto flew back quite a distance, and he was able to hold himself just barely as he skidded down on all fours. But before he was able to even stand, the woman swung her katana once again with more power and speed. Though it wasn't as strong as those that fell battleships in the invasion just a year ago, it was definitely a killing blow that would exterminate most Sekirei in one hit.

The bloodied boy fell to the ground, unmoving. Deep gashes marred his upper body diagonally, and more blood than thought humanely possible poured out to the cold floor. Though unnoticed by the blond, his HP bar was down to the red zone, and the continuous loss of blood only seemed to dwindle the remaining health points.

Miya silently turned away as her urge to mindlessly train only grew.

"W-wait…" A raspy voice pleaded. "I'm…" His arms moved to support his body. "Not…done yet" And he shakily stood back up, stumbling as he did so.

It truly was a gruesome sight to behold. His sun-kissed blond hair was now dyed red with blood, and his blood was dripping from his mouth down to his chin. His grey haori was nowhere to be seen, and his newly received uniform was torn into tatters, the remaining bits heavily soaked in blood. The gigantic diagonal gash on his torso was opened even further from moving just now.

When the young shinobi opened his eyes, he couldn't really see much. The woman was barely visible as his vision was blurry and had patches of black and white due to the lack of blood. Then he noticed the health bar blinking repeatedly. He smiled bitterly. 'Well, I'm in some deep shit now, aren't I…but…'

"Mi…ya" He took a tentative step towards her. "I'm…really going to get…stronger…so I…can protect my…precious people…" He took a step forward. 'Even if they're no longer here…' And another. "And…I will never…give up…cuz that's my nindo…it's my ninja way!" The shinobi mustered up all his strength and focus, and called up a Rasengan. Miya looked at him in disbelief. He started to trudge toward in the woman's direction, slowly picking up speed.

However, it was not meant to be as the ball of energy started to falter and dissipate. And with that, the boy's world darkened.

The first thing Naruto noticed when he opened his eyes was the white and unfamiliar ceiling.

'Huh, I guess that even in the future, the hospitals have white ceilings…' He mused. 'It's nice…just the way I hate it.' The boy smiled. 'It's rather nostalgic as well. Too bad I don't have the strength to escape and wreck havoc from this one…' He silently chuckled to himself.

He was out for twelve hours it seemed, as his clock pointed to 11pm. His health bar was slightly more than half full now, though he could still feel the incessant throbbing on his torso. It only got better with the bitter reminder of his abject failure. 'Well, at least I'm alive, right? Another miraculous return from the dead, it seems…'

The blond sat up on the bed, ignoring his protesting body. The moon was beaming brightly tonight, as though it was trying to console him for his defeat.

'Bah! What am I thinking, all poetic and icky. I'm Naruto fucking Uzumaki dammit! I don't do mushy! I'm the man who rules with his fist!' He huffed. '…Kami, the damage really must have done a number on me.' The boy shook his head in an attempt to clear his head.

'I should quickly find a mentor and get this mission over with. This battle only proves that I need to train more than ever. Seeing that it's unlikely that Miya will help me train, and Kazehana is out of commission for a while, the only options I have left would be the male, the red head and…' He paled. '…The bloodthirsty lady…' He gulped as he started to recount the possible candidates for his trainer.

He was pretty sure that the male was a good fighter, if the sword on his belt was anything to go by. The man probably dislikes him as much as Miya though, because the boy used him as a shield for the maniacal woman's attack. 'Or maybe I could pretend that I didn't do anything and ask him for assistance? He didn't seem to know what a kawarimi is…though if anyone told him of what I did, I'd be royally screwed.' The boy took a deep, shuddering breath as he thought of the possible consequences of getting caught. He would stay away from the man for a while, he decided.

'Perhaps I could go to the redhead?' He mused. The glasses wearing woman was the most mysterious one of the whole squad, to him at least. She hadn't moved much during the battles, and she didn't seem to have a single weapon on her. 'Maybe she attacks with elements?' Naruto sighed. Element users wouldn't help him much at this point, unless they were good at hand-to-hand combat, which was pretty doubtful considering that they are likely to just spam mid to long range attacks without moving much.

Then the only one left in the list was… 'Oh hell no. She would definitely butcher me before I get a single tip from her. I'd rather learn things myself if it comes to that! I barely escaped death just now, and I have no intention of doing that again for a good while.' Naruto slumped back on the bed.

'I thought the game was supposed to make me stronger. How is it going to do that if all it gives me is nearly impossible missions and multiple chances to knock on death's door?' The blond seethed in frustration. Then he took in deep breaths, calming his inner turmoil. His facial expression softened into a slight look of defeat. 'Well, no point raging about it now, I guess.' He sighed for the umpteenth time that day. 'Maybe I'll go meet the glasses wearing girl, and see how it plays from there. It's not like I have any other choice, for that matter.' The boy closed his eyes in trying to sleep, but it was a while before he was able to do so.

On the Next Chapter:

"How about this, Uzumaki-kun. I have the information you need, and you have…the resources I want to look into." Two eyes glinted at the boy. "This is quite the fair trade, don't you think?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the person standing in front of him. He was cornered. He had nowhere else to run, no one to turn to. He had to do this, even if it meant shaking hands with the devil himself.

"I'll do it."

A/N: The pairings polls are still up, so just pick who you want for Naruto's harem.

Also, I'm still only a beginner in writing fanfiction, so any criticism - no matter how harsh - is appreciated.
I was already able to catch a few glaring flaws thanks to the previous comments, so please help me out. Thanks!

Yuna out-!