The Shinobi Celestial Lord 2
Disclaimers I don't own Naruto or Valkyrie Crusade, please support any to all official releases.
It didn't take long for news that Naruto was selected to be a Celestial Lord that the entire ninja council and ninja civilian side of Konoha were in the loop and clamoring about this new hot gossip.
While many would choose to spy and relay intel from a distance, the genin that all grew up together didn't think twice to pay him a visit at the hospital, all desperately wanting to seek the maidens, including those that were part of the failed rescue mission.
Otherwise while there were plans to keep this all hidden to the civilian populace, that plan went out the window no thanks to Naruto when he thought it be a good idea to send his maidens out to get him ramen since he was under strict supervision that day and couldn't escape.
To make a long story short, Cutthroat (Old) nearly killed a bunch of civilians when they started harassing and insulting Little Fox, all under the accusation that she was the bastard child of Naruto who managed to inherit a bit of power from the 9-tailed fox.
While no one was killed, people did sustain injury and property was destroyed, however they got away with a slap on the wrist because those who were present and inquired Cutthroats (old) wrath were calling Naruto the demon fox, a secret that was still in decree.
So for the time being, Naruto was restrained to his bed and was ordered to dismiss most of his maidens away.
"Geez, you should really think before acting Naruto" sighed Shizune as she was jotting down the last bit of notes on the boys well being and condition.
"Oh come on Shizune, it's not my fault, besides my maidens were just defending themselves was all" said Naruto as he struggled to break free from his bondage.
"Be that as it may, we can't have your maidens walking around terrorizing the villagers. Even if they had it coming" said Shizune as she had mumbled the last bit under her breath.
"I'm sorry, what was that" asked Naruto, "Nothing, though you should really quit struggling, that rope we have tied to your wrists was made out of pure virgin hair and tied in a double reverse butterfly knot" explained Shizune.
"Master, maybe you should listen to what Shizune has to say" said Tino as she was the only one allowed to stay by Naruto's side, since she and Little Fox are the most well behaved ones.
"Sigh, fine" said Naruto as he hated feeling trapped like a damn rat, plus Tino had him covered the moment Shizune left the room.
"Now, I've got to leave early, Lady Tsunade wanted to talk to me about something important" said Shizune as she made her way out the door.
"Finally! Tino help me out of these restraints" said Naruto, "But master, what about getting some bedrest" asked Tino.
"I'll do that after I get some ramen in my belly. Now help me untangle this knot, if you can't I should still have some kunai tucked away in my clothes over there" said Naruto as he nudged his head towards the hospital dresser where his stuff was stored away.
Before Tino could help, the door to Naruto's room opened once more, this time it was revealed to be Sakura.
"Oh hey Sakura, it's been a minute right" Naruto said casually, "Yeah it is" said Sakura as her gaze fell onto Tino as she let out a startled yelp.
"Tino you don't have to worry, Sakura is my friend and so you can feel comfortable around her" said Naruto, "Hello there, I've heard about you from some of my friends" said Sakura.
The mere mention of their friends reminded Naruto of how each one of them reacted.
Granted Choji and Neji were still under intensive care and have yet to met them, but Shikamaru and Kiba were the first ones to meet his maidens, and while Shikamaru found them all to be troublesome and indifferent, Kiba thought Devil Hunter was pretty badass, Little Fox was adorable, Cutthroat (Old) he found intimidating, and that he should introduce Tino to Hinata.
True to his word when his team came to see him during a visit, Hinata and Tino met, but hardly said a word as Little Fox nuzzled up to her, while Cutthroat (Old) and Shino found each other creeped by one another.
Eventually word spread to Lee as he came over one day with Tenten, to which she became quick friends with Cutthroat (Old) and Devil Hunter, while Lee introduced himself to Little Fox and Tino with mixed results.
Then finally came Ino after she was denied access to check on Choji, and found all the maidens, sans Tino, to be meh, while she called Tino cute and how she loved her outfit.
"So mind telling me your name, mine is Sakura" greeted Sakura, "I-It's Tino" said Tino as her face began to turn crimson.
"Well don't she remind me of someone" said Sakura with a friendly giggle, "Really? Who?" asked Naruto naively.
"If you don't know who at this point, I'm not telling, but there was something I wanted to tell you" said Sakura as this piqued Naruto's attention.
"What's that" asked Naruto, "I'm no longer going to depend on you, in fact I'm going to handle things for myself and by myself from now on" said Sakura as she began to leave the room as quickly as she came inside.
"Sakura…" said Naruto as he felt concerned for her and the way she said those words made him felt sick in the stomach.
"Well, good for her, I think it's a good thing for girls like her to be strong and independent like that" said Jiraiya as he was perched outside Naruto's hospital window eating the fruit from his get well basket.
"Pervy Sage, what are you- Hey now, that's my fruit!" yelled Naruto as Tino had long since vaulted over and hid behind this mysterious man.
"Ignoring you for a second, I've got to say you are a sight for sore eyes kid, I mean look at you, you're like one blow away from us having to embalm you" said Jiraiya in a joking manner.
Really it broke his heart how his pupil and godson was in such a banged up state like how he is, but he knew that even if he were there to have intervened, he knew he wouldn't be satisfied until he himself brought back Sasuke.
Granted if he were successful at his attempts, he'd be less fussy and live a content filled life.
And yet if not for failing, Naruto wouldn't have found the ambition needed to probably ignite the fire under his feet and push himself to be stronger, and maybe, just maybe he'd find success in saving that ingrate friend of his.
"Yeah, well excuse me for not being ready to face off against Sasuke like how I thought I was" said Naruto with a pout as he was still very sore on the matter.
"Anyways Pervy Sage, I'd like to introduce you to a new friend of mine" said Naruto as he turned to Tino.
"This is Tino, she's my maiden after I became a Celestial Lord" said Naruto as Tino stood from her hiding spot.
"Well hello there cutie pie, isn't Naruto just the luckiest guy around to have you by his side" said Jiraiya, "Please stop and stay 10 feet away from her" said an unamused Naruto.
"Why what's wrong" asked Jiraiya naively as Naruto stared at him for a minute before the gears in his head clicked in.
"Oh wait, you don't think!?" asked Jiraiya, "Well duh" said Naruto as he turned his head away in disgust.
"Hang on a second kid, even I've got standards, so please don't be looking at me like that, I'm not into jailbait" said Jiraiya defensively as Naruto was still sticking to his guns on this for the time being.
"Anyways, you're a Celestial Lord now" asked Jiraiya, "Yeah, it's a long story" said Naruto.
"Don't worry kid, Lady Tsunade had filled me in on the details already, and just between you and me kid, she's very worried for your well being" said Jiraiya.
"What's got granny so worried about me" asked Naruto, "Kid, just think about it, you were randomly selected to be a Celestial Lord, a term and responsibility that's complete alien and new to us, and that's before considering the fact you've already got men after you because you now carry the power of the 9 tails inside of you" said Jiraiya.
"More so, we have reason to believe from the little bit of evidence we've gather after you mentioning being 9 others that now share your title that the other Celestial Lords are also carriers of the tailed beast like you, and frankly that worries us all" continued Jiraiya.
"What's there to worry about" asked Naruto, "You know how the secret and knowledge that you're the carrier of the 9 tailed fox is a secret, while your friend Gaara's isn't only to public knowledge, but he's treated like a weapon, well that level of treatment is the same to all the other tailed beast users, some of whom are part of Shinobi nations that consider us as sworn enemies" said Jiraiya.
"That's not good" said Naruto, "No it's not, for all we know they could all be on the move colleting maidens and potentially preparing for another Great Shinobi War, meanwhile you're stuck here refusing to recover properly after your last mission, which not only slows down your progress of collecting maidens, but also from me training you" said Jiraiya.
"Wait, you were planning to training me" asked Naruto, "Yeah, once you've fully recovered kid, so please do something for god and country and just sit there and heal, cause we're gonna have a long journey from here" said Jiraiya.
"Actually, can we hold off on my training, even after I'm done recovering" asked Naruto, "Why, what's wrong" asked Jiraiya.
"Let's just say I've got some unfinished business I need to take care of" said Naruto, "I'll allow it so long as you're quick about it, cause like I said we don't have a lot of time now" said Jiraiya.
"Got it, was that all" asked Naruto, "Yeah, now just sit there and recover already kid" said Jiraiya as he finally left Naruto's hospital with his fruit basket at hand.
"Hey Tino, listen when nightfall comes, that's when I need you to cut me lose" said Naruto, "But master…" said Tino.
"I know I should sit here and recover, but what Sakura said and her timing just now has left me kind of bugged you know" said Naruto, "You really care this Sakura don't you" asked Tino.
"Yeah, well I love her, even if she doesn't love me you know" admitted Naruto sheepishly as upon hearing this Tino turned her head away with a pout.
"Everything alright Tino" asked Naruto, "No, I'm fine master" said Tino with her cheeks all puffed up.
"Ok then… anyways, mind being a pall and feed me some grapes or even an apple" asked Naruto, "But master, that pervy sensei of yours left with your fruit basket" said Tino as Naruto just realized he had been pilfered once again by his own instructor.
"Pervy Sage!" yelled Naruto at the top of lungs as we pan out to see the Toad Sage finishing a banana while hanging off a horizontal beam to a house.
"You snooze you lose kid" said Jiraiya as he back hand tossed the banana peel as he went for an orange, only to see Sakura walking past him.
You have no idea how lucky you are little lady, thought Jiraiya as he was more than positive that Naruto's unfinished business most likely involved her, and if he knew his student, he would have to act fast before the night ends.
"After I'm done with lunch here" said Jiraiya as he began to peel his orange.
Time Skip
After breaking free and breaking out the hospital, Naruto began to lead Tino along as they checked Sakura to see if she was home.
Assuming she got herself a part time job that requires her to work past midnight, Naruto was more than certain Sakura decided to act irrationally and skip out of the village.
Knowing what she was planning to do, Naruto and Tino pressed forward to leave the hidden leaf village to not only catch up with Sakura but also start on the secondary man hunt for Sasuke Uchiha.
However about a mile past the village walls Tino had stopped in midst of their chase.
"Tino what's wrong" asked Naruto, "Master, I can feel the presence of another maiden not that far from here" said Tino.
"Are you serious" asked Naruto, "Yes I'm certain if we were to change course and go over there, we'll be able to find her" said Tino.
Not wanting to deal with a rogue maiden so soon, especially since he had a much more important calling, Naruto couldn't ignore this since both Tsunade and Jiraiya are both stressing out on him to capture these maidens now that he was being pressured before the next great shinobi war.
"Damn it, ok let's do this quick, we still have to catch up with Sakura before she gets to far away from us" said Naruto, "Yes Master, follow me" said Tino as she began to lead Naruto towards the direction where the rogue maiden was at.
Spotting a small camp fire in the middle of the woods and a small tent, but nobody was around.
"Tino are you sure you felt a maiden was around" asked Naruto as he was gonna be miffed if this was a false alarm.
"I'm certain master, I know she's very close" said Tino as she heard some rustling from the tree's above her before someone hopped out with a very large axe being held above their heads.
"Look out!" shouted Naruto as he pushed Tino out of the way as the assailant came crashing to the ground.
"Feh, I missed" jeered a woman with long red hair going past her back as she had blue eyes, bandage that only covered the nipples and areola sections of her breast, fur lined booty shorts, and ankle high fur boots as she held the large 2 headed axe over her head with ease; This is Bandit (Old).
"Prepare to fight!" exclaimed Bandit (Old) as she pointed at the duo, "This isn't going to be easy" said Naruto as he ducked under the axe swing, before parrying in forward and delivered an uppercut to Bandit's (Old) chin.
"Ow! That hurt you jerk" said Bandit, "Says the crazy lady swinging that giant axe" said Naruto accusingly, "Master, please summon Devil Hunter or even Cutthroat (Old) to aid you" pleaded Tino as her main tactic was surprising someone before getting up and personal.
"Nah, I'm good. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto as 4 clones exploded to the scene.
"Wait, there's more of you now" said Bandit (Old) in disbelief, "You better believe it" said Naruto and his clones in unison as they all charged at Bandit (Old) as she raised her axe up in a defensive stance.
Merely the clones and Naruto himself were enough to take on Bandit as he had told Tino as she was unable to keep up with them, and before she knew it, she was down on one knee as her breathing was heavy.
"Why not save us the trouble and surrender now" said Naruto, "No! I can't fall to the likes of you, I must stand my ground and stand strong until I've been bested by my future master, a Celestial Lord" said Bandit in a determined defiance.
"Hey Bandit (Old), I really hate to break things to you like this, but this is my Master, and he's a Celestial Lord" shouted Tino on the sidelines, disrupting the maidens concentration.
"What" asked a dumbfounded Bandit (Old), "That's right, so forgive me for having to know you out, but from what Tino told me, I have to beat you before you become my maiden" said Naruto with a cocksure smile.
"If what you claim to be true, then come get some" said Bandit (Old) with new found vigor.
"Ok" said Naruto as he and his clone grabbed one of the clones and started charging at her like a battering ram, but Bandit (Old) was ready as she cut them all in half causing the clones to poof in a smoke cloud, giving the real Naruto a chance to jump in and steal the finishing blow.
"Hello and goodbye" said Naruto as he booted Bandit (Old) in the face as she had finally been defeated as she lied flat on the ground.
Just like with Devil Hunter, she too began to disappear into a cyclone of ice and snow as she began to creep her way towards Naruto's smartphone, making her officially part of his roster of maidens.
"Another one bites the dust" cheered Naruto as Tino approached him, "You did a good job out there master" said Tino.
"Yeah, she was a lot more easier to beat compared to Devil Hunter, I mean she had to at least be a normal tier maiden" said Naruto, "What do you mean" asked Tino.
"I mean you remember yesterday when I was struggling against Devil Hunter, and we only beat her cause you snuck up behind her" said Naruto, "Master, you do know that Devil Hunter is classified as a Rare tier maiden right" asked Tino.
"No and the way you said it makes it sound very unimpressive" said Naruto as his enthusiasm was out the window.
"Tino, I'm new to this game so mind telling me the rarity levels to these maidens" asked Naruto, "Of course, so at the bottom you have Normal Tier Maidens and at the very top you have the Valkyrie Rare Maidens" said Tino.
"Valkyrie Rare Maidens? Just how tough are they" asked Naruto, "They'd wouldn't even flinch to my Starry Gaze attack and could easily defeat me and the other maidens with a mere flick of a finger" explained Tino as Naruto began to sweat drop.
"And what's you level then" asked Naruto, "I'm only a Super Rare Maiden" admitted Tino.
"That's good right" asked Naruto as he was being overly naïve with optimism, "I mean, I can beat all the other maidens in you arsenal no problem, however if we were to come across a much more powerful Super Rare Maiden, or worst an Ultra Rare or Legendary Rare Maiden, we'd be in big trouble" said Tino.
"Ok, just show me how I can check your girls' tier status on my phone, cause we should really be catching up with Sakura" said Naruto, "Sure Master, it's very easy" said Tino as she was right since all he needed to do was tap on the maidens cards and it shows everything from their elemental symbol, their own level and rarity, but also their own unique skills.
"Ok, thank you, I'm going to look more into this later, we should really get going like right now" said Naruto, "Yes Master" said Tino as she was ready to run behind, but was caught off guard when Naruto instead chose to give her a piggy back ride, causing the maiden to blush a little.
"Hang on tight, I'm gonna kick it up a gear or 2" said Naruto as he began to run like mad with Tino on his back.
Time Skip
Having made some great distance by now, it was only a matter of time before Sakura would finally cross the outer borders of Konoha, however she was starting to have a bit of doubt on her plan.
Come on Sakura don't back out now, you're doing this to not only bring back Sasuke, but also so you don't have to depend on Naruto, thought Sakura as her train of thought stopped when an orange blur zoomed past her.
"Whoa! Almost lost my footing" said Naruto as he finally came to a stop before gently removing Tino off his back.
"Naruto, what are you doing here, you're supposed to be back at the hospital recovering" said Sakura, "And I'm sure you should be back in bed at the village, but here we are going on a rogue mission to rescue Sasuke" said Naruto.
"Wait, you're not going to stop me" asked Sakura in disbelief, "Sasuke's my best friend who've I already let escape the village cause I was to weak to stop him, and I know no matter what I say or do is going to change your mind from trying to pursue him, so rather than stopping you or losing another friend, I figured I'd tag along, maybe we capture some maidens along the way" said Naruto with a smile.
"Thank you Naruto, I really appreciate the risk and effort your doing to track down Sasuke" said Sakura with a smile, "Hey, I did say I'm not gonna lose another friend did I" said Naruto.
"Yeah, but I do hope you know that you're also willing to go rogue, which means there'll be some dire consequences once we return back to the village right" said Sakura.
"She's right you know" said Jiraiya, "Pervy Sage, what are you doing here" asked Naruto.
"What's it look like, we have 2 young genin about to cross the outer borders of Konoha and turn rogue, and for what, for a friend who turned his back and betrayed his friends and village" said Jiraiya.
"So what, I'm not gonna stay in bed doing nothing while one of my friends are about to leave the village by themselves, and if it means I've got to go rogue to go along with Sakura so we can finally save Sasuke, so be it, I won't abandon my friends like that" said Naruto with utmost determination.
"No one's telling you to kid, but you should be smart about this" chided Jiraiya as Sakura looked down in shame while Naruto stood his ground, but behind the façade he knew the toad sage was right.
"Thankfully I had the foresight to know you kids would act on your own, so I decided to make a last minute request to the Hokage to allow us to continue this little manhunt for Sasuke" said Jiraiya.
"Wait, granny Tsunade gave us the ok to search for Sasuke" asked Naruto, "She did, under the condition that I join you kids as this'll be an official ninja mission, meaning I'm in charge, so what I say goes, meaning should I feel we've reached a dead end or we'd be going up against a force we're not ready for, we'll shall not engage and will promptly retreat, does that sound savvy" asked Jiraiya.
"Yeah, so lead the way already pervy sage" said Naruto in a cheerful tone, "Yes please lead us" said Sakura as Tino only nodded with them.
"Alright then, you kids follow me, I may have a potential lead as to where the village hidden in the sound might be located at" said Jiraiya as he began to lead the group to their destination.
"Also Naruto, if we should run into any pretty maidens along the way, please let me know so we can aid you" said Jiraiya, "Yeah, just be careful since I'm pretty sure some of them can obliterate the whole village in one blow" said Naruto.
"Please tell me your joking" asked Sakura as Jiraiya wouldn't put the idea past it since who knows what power these maidens carry.
"I'm not unfortunately, in fact I'll tell you guys what Tino told me a little bit ago" said Naruto.
Elsewhere
Approaching within the outer borders of Suna, we see Gaara and his siblings finished defeating a maiden as she turned into a cyclone of pure darkness as it made it's way into Gaara's phone.
"Wow, she was a bit of a challenge don't you think" said Kankuro, "Yeah, I mean seriously just who was that we were going up against" asked Temari.
"Azure Dragon, would you be so kind as to filling us in" asked Gaara as he turned to face his maiden.
The maiden in question was a more with a long figure wearing eastern Asian style garbs from the large silver one blue battle loin cloth and brazier, with the odd bits of scale plating armor, to the white forearmed sleeves, as she held a katana in her left hand, fair skin light brown eyes, and long violet hair kept in a ponytail with a silver hair band; This was Azure Dragon.
"That was a Super Rare Maiden by the name of Charlemagne, quite frankly master, I'm most impressed we were able to beat her considering the company you keep" said Azure Dragon.
"Rude much" said Temari with a glare, "I was referring to masters rosters of maidens, which by the way you should focus on sacrificing slime to either level either I or Charlemagne up at this point" said Azure Dragon.
"What I do and how I treat my maidens is up to me, now I think it's better I get well acquainted with Charlemagne" said Gaara as he summoned the new maiden.
Standing before the group was a woman wearing a black on red battle unitard and metal leggings, as she had a gold lined red cape drape behind her back and she carried a great sword made of silver and gold, she had fair skin, teal blue eyes, and platinum blonde hair that were in large twin tails, with the tips being stained red with the blood of her enemies; This was Charlemagne.
"You have bested me in combat master, I am humbly at your service for when you need me" said Charlemagne with a bow.
"All right then, I shall return you for now, but once we've returned to the village, we're all going to have a talk as to what comes next and what I need to know" said Gaara as Charlemagne gave a curt nod to Gaara before returning back to his phone.
"Come on, pretty sure the village elders have been waiting for us long enough" said Gaara as he, his siblings, and Azure Dragon rushed to Suna at break neck speed.
Well there you go guys, Gaara is in the lead in terms of collecting and adding his roster filled with powerful maidens for the time being, and that's before I even touched on the other tailed beast users across the other villages, but more on that later.
Otherwise want to thank you guys for your support as I continue to update, with next chapter being the last one I'll be focus solely on for this fic, before I have to go and juggle with my other works.
So until next time, be safe, be good people, and please support you local fandom communities.
This has been your Humble Narrator and official author Tobi Yaza. =3