Mothballz: Well here it is people! The long awaited 8th chapter to this story, which is something I know a lot of you were eagerly awaiting.

To address some reviews/pms: Issei WILL be gettin his own harem. Kyram came up with a rather hilarious situation for that so he will "get some" as it were.

Rezovious….you gave me a brilliant idea sir and or madame!

Naruto being a doormat, well that won't always be the case as I do agree it's somewhat cliche and all but it may pop-up because of how funny it can be sometimes.

Also to solidify the harem so everyone knows. Here is the FOR SURE END ALL BE ALL harem list for this story. None shall be removed and none shall be added.

Fem. Kyuubi (Akemi)

Rias

Ophis

Serafall

Gabriel

Grayfia

Koneko

I know a few people have reviewed and demanded Akeno to be in the Harem. I agree with many that she is probably one of the best fits for Naruto as a pairing, but she is one of the most used and Kyram and I pride ourselves on doing things that aren't as...cliche. Which is why Gabriel, Ophis, and Grayfia are in the harem. All three are great characters to work with, and each has many possibilities, many of which deal with what some might view as "problems".

On another subject. Some still have an issue with Naruto beating Great Red. A few things on that topic

A) Great Red has not fought for centuries therefore his body has somewhat atrophied. The energy to obliterate Naruto is still there, but his body just can not handle it.

B) Great Red was unprepared for the way Naruto fought and his jutsu, having never seen anything like them before.

C) It wasn't an all out fight, merely a fisticuffs, brawl kind of deal...to them at least.

So to make it clear, Naruto is NOT stronger than Red. Did he win? Sure, but because he was battle ready, more prepared, had the element of surprise on his side, and was underestimated.

Where does Naruto stand in the DxD universe? Somewhere above the Satans (yes even Sirzechs) and approaching the level of Ophis and Red, Akemi (Fem. Kyuubi) states as much. In fact the above info is all here in this story. Don't know why some people are bitching and moaning about stuff I've already logically explained as best I can.

Kyram: Honestly, we should have gotten this chapter out earlier, but a combination of its length (counting ANs, something like 14,500 words) and real life (for example, my graduation and the ensuing all night party were on Sunday, and it took me a couple days before I felt up to finishing up with the chapter). In any case, it's here now and hopefully the next won't take nearly as long (it also will probably be considerably shorter, but them's the breaks). Read, (hopefully) enjoy, and please don't hunt us down with stakes and torches… it's not at all conducive to rapid updates (or updates at all, for that matter).

"So… do you think there's any other way for us to do this without having to resort to…that?" a nervous Rias asked.

She and Naruto had been looking over every Devil law that had anything at all to do with marriage. While they had found a plethora of fun facts about said topic there was little else, and even less that could help them solve Rias's problem.

The only concrete way they had found to make the contract null and void was if Rias willingly had sex with another man and became pregnant with his child. The prospect of doing so was something both Rias and Naruto had mixed feelings about.

Rias was more than willing to do it if it meant she could get out of the contract, the fact that the man who would father the child and whom she would be giving her virginity to was Naruto made the choice all the more appealing.

She may not know absolutely everything about Naruto, but she did know enough about the Sage to be sure that if she had to choose anyone to have a child with it was Naruto. The thought had entered her mind before, but she had believed that it would be after they had fallen in love with each other and were married and ready to settle down. Not to get her out of a marriage contract she was forced into.

Naruto was having similar thoughts. Rias was pretty much immortal and would remain young for hundreds or even thousands of years to come. The fact that she could also give him the one thing he had always wanted, a family, was all the more tantalizing. He would be lying if he said that he didn't find Rias extremely attractive as well as interesting. Of course she was drop dead gorgeous, but she was also intelligent, strong willed, not afraid to put his ass in line, and kind. The fact that she had the crimson hair he so loved was just icing on the cake.

He of course wanted to take the time to get to know her better and maybe even fall for her. The Sage also wanted to make sure that she knew what she was getting into with him. She may know about his being a former Jinchuuriki and a Sage but there was a lot he still hadn't told her, a lot that could make or break a relationship. On top of that was his own paranoia over the whole scarred earth issue. Naruto as of yet hadn't figured out just what that mysterious dark energy was, or why he felt portions of what seemed to be the Christian God's energy with it.

A world where a beast birthed by the Shinju was waking up was not exactly the greatest of environments to raise a child in. He knew that from first-hand experience after all.

However, as the two of them kept looking over the various laws, it began to seem more and more likely that they'd have to take that option.

Naruto sighed as he closed the book in his hands, "We have three options available to us."

Rias perked up upon hearing that Naruto had found possibly another way.

"The obvious route we both know about is a for sure way. However there is another method that could possibly work; it all depends on your family going along with it though."

"What is it?"

"Someone of a higher standing or able to give your family more would have to challenge the contract by offering them something of equal or greater value. The downside is that even though you would be free of the current contract, you would be forced into another with someone else," Naruto finished.

Rias sat on the floor with Naruto and tiredly let her head drop against his shoulder. Any other time Naruto may have said something about it, but at that point he was too exhausted to care so he just wrapped his arm around the equally drained Rias and began to comb through her long tresses with his fingers.

"I don't think that's even plausible considering that the Phenex clan is one of the strongest and wealthiest families of the 72 Pillars, and my clan is the only real competition to that claim," Rias spoke quietly.

The whole affair had drained her, not physically but mentally and emotionally. For the past few days her mind had been cluttered with thoughts of how to get out of the contract and fear over what would happen if she couldn't.

"The last option is even less likely to work. You would have to challenge your….'fiancé' to a Rating Game and, no offense, your peerage is nowhere near strong enough to do so. The only ones who could even pose a threat are yourself, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko. Both Liza and Issei are way too inexperienced with their individual Sacred Gears to do much of anything, no matter how powerful those gifts are. Not to mention the difference in numbers."

"Then that leaves only one option…" Rias said, blushing and looking at her hands.

Suddenly Naruto grinned his signature foxy grin, something everyone who were even slightly familiar with him knew meant that he had just come up with some scheme. That or he had thought of a prank to pull. Either way, it wasn't a good sign for whoever his victim was.

"There's one more option Rias-chan."

Rias snapped her head up, hope shining in her eyes.

Naruto turned his own eyes to Rias, sapphire staring into aqua.

"But you would have to ok it first."

Rias only nodded, "Well, what is it Naruto-kun?"

"Our second option. There may not be a Devil who could contest with whatever the Phenex clan is offering your family, but who said it had to be a Devil?" Naruto asked, his grin threatening to split his face.

Rias instantly caught on to what Naruto was saying and she had to admit that it was ingenious. Riser Phenex was strong, no doubt about that, but he was nowhere even close to being able to compete with Naruto. While she still didn't know the height of the Sage's power, from the brief glimpses she had seen she could safely say that Naruto would have little trouble dealing with Riser, even with the unique immortality the Phenex clan was known for.

On top of that, from what Naruto had told her both of his parents were among the strongest people from their dimension, and his mother's clan was infamous for its unique traits that had been passed to Naruto himself. The Gremory/Bael clan's Powers of Destruction combined with the fuuinjutsu and longevity of the Uzumaki clan would be something to be feared.

Besides all that was the fact that Naruto had hinted that his own healing ability was better than the Phenex clan's, a claim she couldn't help but believe, regardless of her not having seeing it herself.

That was something she had found out about Naruto. He just had this presence and conviction to his words that made you want to put all your faith in him. From the brief stories he and Akemi had shared, that faith was never misplaced.

However that meant that instead of being betrothed to said Phenex, she would instead have to marry her fellow redhead. When that thought registered she didn't even have to think about what her response would be.

"Let's do it," Rias said resolutely.

Naruto being Naruto had to ask again though, "Are you sure you want to go through with this Rias-chan? If your family agrees you'd be engaging yourself to-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Rias did something that stunned Naruto into silence.

She kissed him.

The kiss was quick, nothing but a simple peck on the lips, but both had felt something in that brief contact that could not be translated into words. It had sent tingles, pleasant ones, throughout their bodies and left them craving for more.

When Rias removed her lips, she didn't pull away completely, leaving their foreheads to touch and their breath to mingle in the small space between their mouths.

"Naruto-kun, if I had to choose anyone to be engaged with it would be you. I may not know everything there is to know about you, but one thing I know for a fact is that you would never intentionally hurt me. I know that you would sooner storm the gates of heaven and hell before you let anybody cause me or anyone close to you harm. And ultimately I know that you are great man, someone I would be proud to someday call my husband. Someone I wouldn't mind spending the next few centuries with."

Instead of his usual mischievous grin Naruto's face instead held a small smile. In that smile however was a level of happiness that Naruto had felt only a few times in his life. A smile so very few had ever seen, and would proudly say that they had been given the rare chance to see a true Naruto smile, not out of excitement but out of true happiness.

"I've never been good with words, I'm more of a man of action; always have been and I probably always will be – this is no different," Naruto spoke softly before claiming Rias' lips with his own.

This kiss started off innocently enough as an expression of not love, but something that could become love. However soon enough, when the two couldn't get enough of the feeling the kiss gave them, it became a lot less innocent. Rias eventually pushed Naruto to the floor, before she grabbed his coat in her hands, straddled him with her long creamy legs, and hungrily began to kiss the Sage.

The Uzumaki's hands weren't idle either, busy as they were massaging Rias' curvaceous hips causing the girl to moan into the kiss slightly.

Before anything more could happen a sound, several sounds at that, interrupted the moment.

"RIAS-SENPAI IS BEING DEFILED BY THAT DAMN SAGE!"

"Ara ara, I didn't think Buchou would be skipping class to do something so…naughty with Uzumaki-kun ufufufu."

"…Rias-senpai isn't being fair."

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing with MY Naru-kun!?"

The last three members; Kiba, Asia, and Liza, were looking elsewhere with dark blushes staining their faces.

Rias was torn between embarrassment at being caught playing tonsil hockey with the resident Sage and anger that they were interrupted. Being a pure-blooded Devil meant that she didn't have as many boundaries as most people so she settled on being angry.

Naruto's thoughts were a little different.

Hmm I wonder if Akemi and Rias don't mind sharing…wait…DAMN YOU KAKASHI-SENSEI, ERO-SENNIN!

(Back in Konoha)

A busy Kakashi (read as: busy reading Icha Icha) sneezed quite violently.

Hmmm I feel as though a certain student of mine is cursing my name…could it mean…?

Immediately Kakashi's mask strained as the silver haired Kage's face broke into a large grin.

"SAKURA! WE ARE DECLARING TODAY A HOLIDAY!"

From just outside the door the aforementioned woman's voice came, "I TOLD YOU ALREADY THAT YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TOPELESS TUESDAY KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

Kakashi lamented at that before regaining his previous bravado, "WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT SOME OTHER TIME! TODAY IS THE DAY NARUTO-KUN WAS WELCOMED INTO THE RANKS OF HIS PREDECESSORS…THE RANKS OF THE PERVERT!"

Almost instantly the door to his office exploded into splinters, an angry busty blonde at the door with murder in her eyes.

"I swear to god Kakashi if you corrupted my little Naru-kun I will make sure that you can't give Shizune anymore kids."

Kakashi was of course cowering in a corner, in the fetal position.

"It was Jiraiya-sama's fault I swear! SPARE ME OH MERCIFUL ONE!"

Before anyone else could say or do anything a familiar set of runes bearing the Gremory clan mark appeared on the floor of the clubroom.

Seeing the mark Rias already knew exactly who was coming through and unconsciously gripped Naruto's cloak tighter.

"I do hope you weren't trying to do what I think you were Rias-sama," came the monotone voice of the woman walking out of the teleportation circle.

Naruto had to hold in a whistle as he beheld the beauty of the woman. Though her monotone voice made him sweatdrop, what is with the women here and being impassive? Even Samui-chan showed a little more emotion than Ophis and this woman.

Rias sighed before gracefully rising to her feet and straightening out her clothing, Naruto doing the same.

"No I was not, I was just thanking the man who had helped me find an even better way out of my predicament…Grayfia."

Hmm so this woman is the famed Grayfia Lucifuge, the supposed unofficial fifth Maou. From what Azazel told me she's one of the few Devils able to give her "husband", Rias' elder brother, a good fight and even competed with one of the current Maou for the title, Naruto thought as he gazed at the silver haired beauty.

Grayfia however didn't even acknowledge his presence, or any of the others for that matter, instead focusing solely on the heiress of the Gremory family.

"I do not think your fiancé would appreciate your way of thanking another man. Nonetheless, it is time for you to fulfill said contract," Grayfia said, her voice not once wavering in tone.

Naruto decided that now was as good a time as any for him to intervene and he did so by smoothly stepping in front of Rias. He bowed to Grayfia which garnered the slight raising of one of her eyebrows as a reaction.

"Unfortunately I must disagree with you Lucifuge-san. You see, I wish to challenge the current marriage contract between the Gremory and Phenex clans."

"And who would you be to declare such a thing?" Grayfia asked, a hint of doubt entering her voice.

Naruto grinned so wide his eyes closed, before replying, "No one but a wandering sage. However, I detest when people force others into doing something they would rather not and Rias is my friend. So I will not just stand aside as she is forcibly wed to a man that she, in every sense of the word, loathes."

Naruto knew that people like Grayfia would never take him seriously at first; the only thing they respected was power, so he would show her why it had taken the combined might of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri to destroy Uzushio and even then they had failed, the Uzumaki clan merely becoming scattered.

When Naruto next opened his eyes he stared straight into Grayfia's own silver orbs and began to channel his chakra around him. Everyone in the room instantly felt it, an invisible weight that began to grow heavier with each passing second. Soon the weight was too much and Issei began to pant and broke out into a sweat.

Grayfia narrowed her eyes as she began to call on her own power, combating the mighty aura that this wandering sage was putting out.

Only two people realized what was happening, Akemi and Rias. Both knew full well what Naruto was doing, he was challenging Grayfia to a battle of not only wills but of pure power. It was an act that came from their more animalistic sides. Naruto's knowledge of this came from Akemi while every Devil was well versed in this art, being much more in tune with their baser instincts than their human or Angel counterparts.

Being an heiress to a powerful clan meant that Rias also knew that this was often how politics among high ranking Devils was handled.

With the appearance of Grayfia's own massive reserves in the room the others soon began to feel it as well. Kiba was visibly straining to stay standing, Koneko was breathing heavily, Akeno's ever present smile was strained and beads of sweat could be seen on her forehead, and Issei had all but collapsed to the floor under the combined weight of such powerful beings clashing.

Naruto just grinned wider allowing more of the chakra that he consciously held back to rise to the surface. At the same time he sent an unseen signal to Akemi, who gave an almost imperceptible nod before doing as Naruto asked and covering the members of Rias' peerage with her own chakra. They all looked gratefully towards Akemi who was essentially protecting them with a shield of her own massive reserves.

Naruto noticed that the others were protected, and with Rias behind him he didn't have to worry about holding back enough to avoid hurting anyone. Normal shinobi, even those of the Sandaime Hokage and A's caliber, didn't have to worry about such things but thanks to the Uzumaki blood flowing through his veins his chakra was naturally many times more dense and potent than a normal shinobi's could ever be. That combined with constantly having Bijuu chakra filtered through his body since his conception and the later introduction of Nature chakra resulted in his chakra becoming far more potent than even that of the most powerful Uzumaki clan members.

No one else knew this though, and were surprised when they could literally hear the floors and the furniture begin to creak and groan under the amount of pressure being exerted by Naruto as he loosed even more of his chakra.

Grayfia's eyes narrowed even further as she realized that the supposed sage was now putting out enough energy to equal that of a high class pure blood Devil. Of course, she was still able to easily match it with her own power - there was a reason she was a feared combatant in the Underworld after all.

Naruto just grinned even wider as his chakra began to become visible; a translucent blue shroud forming and encasing him.

The maid of the Gremory clan was surprised as before long the redhead's power output was nearing Maou level, something only five Devils were capable of, herself being one of those five.

What no one noticed was Akemi biting her lip and grinding her thighs together as she was engulfed in the aura of her former vessel. She had of course shielded the others but had left herself unprotected knowing that her body could more than handle Naruto's oppressive aura, unless he went full Sage Mode.

The reason for her doing this?

Simple. She loved the feeling Naruto's aura had; the power, the warmth that easily matched the heat of any Katon jutsu, it excited her to no end.

Being the strongest of the split Bijuu there were few, if any, beings who could match her in terms of raw power. Oh sure that damned Uchiha and Senju had controlled her, but that had been thanks to their respective kekkai genkai. Had they not used their abilities to control her, but instead tried to go toe to toe with her they would have fallen easily.

Naruto though, he had power in spades and the ability to fight her to a standstill. This was despite his youth, even by human standards. The fact that at the age of 17 he had surpassed legends like Hashirama Senju, Uchiha Madara, and even his own parents was astounding. It was safe to say that he was very much nearing the level of her father, the famed creator of ninjutsu.

And he was still growing stronger by the day. Where many would have contented themselves with such a height of power Naruto did not, he still thirsted to know more, to become even stronger and strive to reach levels many would consider unattainable.

Akemi had no doubt that by the time he reached the age of his predecessors, their mid-thirties, that he would be able to easily fight on equal ground with the Juubi, the Shinju incarnate. That didn't even take into account that Naruto was damn near immortal and eternally young thanks to all that had happened in his life.

In a few hundred years Naruto would have no equal. Not even the gods themselves would be able to fight against the Sage. And Akemi could not wait to see that. To see the day the very heavens themselves bowed to her Naruto, to see Naruto make the realms naught but his playthings, to make the very fabric of reality bend to his whims.

Of course such a thing would never happen unless someone very stupid did something to harm one of Naruto's precious people. He was just like that, which was another reason she had fallen so hard for the Uzumaki. He would never wish to do such a thing as sit upon a throne in the heavens. That was nowhere even close to why Naruto wanted to grow stronger. All he wanted was to be able to keep those precious to him safe, and as long as that happened then he would be happy.

Right now though Akemi was content to watch Naruto show this Devil why his very name was worshipped by hundreds in the Elemental Nations, why no one would dare to even think of scratching one of his precious people for fear of bringing the wrath of the current Kami no Shinobi down upon them. Oh yes, Akemi was going to enjoy watching her Naruto put this woman in her place.

Grayfia actually began to look a little worried as she realized that this…being in front of her was far stronger than what she would have ever thought. He had easily kept pace with her and was now suffocating the room with his power. The floors had begun to crack and splinter under the pressure minutes ago, although the furniture was somehow still standing, if barely.

And still that grin, that grin taunted her, telling the female Devil that he was enjoying this, that he enjoyed surprising her with his power. There was no ill intent in the grin, no it was just the satisfaction of proving a point.

Though Naruto didn't show it he was beginning to get nervous. There was a reason he usually kept all of his power restrained, a very good reason.

He still wasn't able to control all of it.

Sure he could control a good chunk of it, but that was the amount that he had worked with when he fought Obito, Kabuto, and their army of Zetsu clones with before being captured. When he had left his body in Akemi's hands her mere presence, no longer restrained by the Shiki Fujin, was allowed to modify his body and one of those modifications was his reserves taking a massive leap in size to accommodate having the power of the Kyuubi running rampant in his body and firing off Bijuudama like they were going out of style.

When he had reclaimed his body not only did he have his own already gargantuan reserves, on a level with those of the Gobi, he was also given enough room to allow for another four tails of chakra. Had he not been an Uzumaki, a Sage, and Jinchuuriki he had no doubt that his body would have torn itself asunder from the amount of chakra circulating through it. As it was it was still a painful experience for his body and chakra pathways to adjust to having such a massive amount of energy.

Luckily for him before he reached the point where he would no longer be able to regulate just how much chakra was being let loose Grayfia seemed to admit defeat in their little battle.

Outwardly Naruto grinned, inwardly however he heaved a sigh of relief.

The two powerhouses began to reign in their strength, allowing Akemi to release the barrier she had placed over the others.

Grayfia's face returned to her normally expressionless visage and her posture assumed its formal stance as she finally regained control over her power.

"Well, Sage, I think you will have to take this up with both Rias' parents and her elder brother as they were the ones to set the terms of the contract," Grayfia spoke in her ever even toned voice.

While Grayfia would never admit it aloud, everyone present knew what that sentence was really saying, Naruto had bested Grayfia and so she was stepping out of the way to allow Naruto to do what he would.

Naruto just smiled, "Thank you for understanding Lucifuge-san."

The silver haired Devil turned to the Gremory Heiress who was still hiding behind Naruto and spoke, "May I assume that your peerage will be coming with us to the Gremory house as well?"

Rias didn't say anything at first, a blank look that had been on her face since the start of Grayfia and Naruto's little battle had started still on her face. She was snapped out of it when she felt Naruto's hand on her shoulder and was surprised to see that everyone's eyes were on her.

"Sorry I must have spaced out there. What's happening?"

Grayfia said nothing and didn't even seem like she was bothered by having to repeat herself, "I asked if your peerage would be joining us Rias-sama."

Rias only nodded, "Yes of course."

Issei was surprisingly the one to speak next shocking all of them, "Wait! What about Asia-chan and Liza?"

Rias answered, "Liza will be coming of course, it would do her good to see her new sensei in action. As for Asia…well I'll leave that up to Naruto-kun since she is under his care."

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought before glancing at Akemi who, knowing that he was asking for her advice, just shrugged. Naruto did the same, "Well I guess she's coming too seeing as Akemi wants to join us and I don't feel like leaving her alone."

They all nodded in agreement knowing that whoever wanted the nun's Sacred Gear was still out there and wouldn't miss the opportunity to capture her with them all away in the Underworld.

With a flash of crimson Naruto was gone, before reappearing with a very confused looking nun in an apron and a furiously blushing Liza.

"Ano, what happened Naruto-nii?"

Everyone chuckled at the poor girl's expense.

"Nothing; we're just going on a bit of a field trip to see Rias-chan's family is all," Naruto said warmly to the young girl.

Asia just smiled brightly in return at her pseudo-brother and nodded her head accepting his words.

Off to the side a certain perv wailed at the cuteness of it all.

Before anything else could happen to distract them, Rias and Grayfia both formed the runes that would take them to Gremory family home.

In a bright flash of light everyone was gone.

Naruto whistled appreciatively at the sight of Rias' home.

Jeez, not even Koyuki-hime or Shion-chan's homes have anything on this place!

The central structure was a huge construct of obsidian stone, in a similar style to the castles of the European Victorian era with its sharp points and various bastions sticking out from the main building itself. A gate of black metal stood as the only entrance way, with a wall of similarly colored stone several tens of feet high and several feet thick wrapped around the castle itself. At intervals of a hundred feet or so small lookout towers jutted out, looking as if they would have served as good points for surveillance and such.

Overall the Gremory house looked like an extremely well fortified place meant for a small village rather than for one family.

Before anyone could do anything other than observe the place Akemi let out a rather satisfied sigh. Everyone turned to her and saw that she had let loose her tail and ears, allowing them to be seen.

Noticing the questioning gazes Akemi shrugged, "What? I figured that since we're here I didn't have to hide these. Gets rather irritating to do so."

Everybody shrugged and Koneko mirrored her actions by letting her own tails and ears come unfurled.

Naruto instantly picked up the Nekoshou and began rubbing his cheek against Koneko's, causing her to blush, "My cute little student just got even cuter!"

Everyone could only sweatdrop at the oddity that was Naruto, while Akemi grumbled about not getting the same attention

As the group began to move forward towards the gates Rias pulled Naruto aside.

"I have to warn you, my brother can be…a little…-" was as far as she got before everyone heard a yell coming from the front door.

"RIAS!"

Naruto was surprised when someone came rushing out of the Gremory home, nothing but a crimson bullet not unlike himself when he used his speed.

The bullet stopped only feet in front of Rias and Naruto and revealed the form of the infamous Maou, Sirzechs Lucifer.

Of course none would really know that this man was the strongest Devil in the Underworld as he was currently on his knees and shaking his hands at the sight before him.

Rias was clinging tightly to Naruto with his right arm buried in her bountiful cleavage and her head all but leaning on his shoulder. To most everyone there they looked like a couple, which was the cause of Sirzechs' current attitude.

"Oh no, my sweet little Rias has gotten herself a boyfriend! Now she won't need me!" the Maou cried to the skies.

Everyone present sweatdropped at the Devil's antics.

What is with powerful people being so…weird. I mean Jiraiya was a self-proclaimed Super Perv, Kaa-san had a short fuse, Kirabi was a wannabe rapper, and even the Bijuu have their quirks. Though I guess I'm not one to talk either hehe.

Before anymore could be said an irritated looking Grayfia grabbed Sirzechs' ear and pulled, "This is not how a Satan is supposed to act in front of company Master Sirzechs."

As Grayfia further reprimanded the Satan everyone could only watch in awkward silence.

Naruto turned to Rias who was still holding on to his arm, "Were you going to say odd?"

Chuckling nervously the Gremory Heiress nodded, "Something along those lines, yes."

The group was then told to follow Grayfia, who still held Sirzechs by his ear, as they entered the massive home. Naruto could see why they had to follow Grayfia as the interior of the place was so massive that it looked to be relatively easy to get lost in.

Naruto took note of the looks the now walking Maou was sending his way. They were nothing like the childish demeanor he previously held and spoke volumes of not only his power but his intelligence as well. They were the looks that Naruto had seen on the faces of Tsunade and Hiruzen when they were sizing someone up, even someone who was a potential ally. It was a look any general that had served in a war had, it was the look of a leader. Naruto also knew that he himself had the same look occasionally, having both lead his own personal unit in Anbu for several months during and after the war as well as several large platoons during the war itself. He had also been drilled by Tsunade when she had first begun to consider him a candidate for Rokudaime, and as a Kage he had to know how to command his forces in the heat of battle, not to mention be able to run the village effectively.

Knowing what he did Naruto took no offense at it. To Sirzechs he was a variable, an unknown and that was not something any experienced war veteran liked. Variables could mean the death of hundreds, or even the loss of a major battle. Even as strong as Sirzechs was Naruto could see the wariness in his eyes as well as the tenseness of his muscles that spoke of his readiness to annihilate Naruto if need be. Just because his little sister trusted him didn't mean that the Lucifer himself did.

Regardless of all this and the size of the Gremory home itself the group was quickly escorted to the main area of the house where they were introduced to Rias and Sirzechs' parents, and yet again Naruto had to hold in a whistle. These two were hundreds, maybe even thousands of years old yet didn't look a day over thirty.

Damn, guess it really does pay to be Devil! I mean even Mito began to show her age in the later years of her life but these two don't look that much older than their own son! If it all does work out who's to say Rias won't be the one to outlive me, Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto really didn't know how long he would live, if he was truly immortal or just really freaking hard to kill. Sure he had something of an idea thanks to learning about several other Uzumaki who were said to live well into their hundreds and survive near fatal wounds, but no other Uzumaki had both had Akemi sealed in them and gone on to become a Sage. Sure, his mother was something of a measuring bar due to her also having Akemi in her before him but she had given her life for his when she was only 20 years old, so he had no idea how long she might have lived.

He, Akemi, and Tsunade had only speculated that with how fast his cells were able to multiply, his incredibly effective immune system, and the insane rate of his metabolism that he was biologically speaking as near immortal as it got. With him using Senjutsu to essentially power him up every so often his life and youth could be extended for as long as he liked.

Even without taking in Nature Chakra for great periods of time his own chakra along with the chakra he had gained from Akemi and then made into his own could keep him going for the next two or three centuries if he continued his style of tossing around S-rank techniques like they were going out of fashion. If he was conservative with his use of chakra then that length could double to anywhere from four hundred to six hundred years.

Again though, this was all speculation.

Naruto was torn from his thoughts of immortality and his becoming a veritable Fountain of Youth by Rias happily running to hug her parents in greeting.

Naruto gave a small smile at the sight, thoughts of how he met his own parents entering his mind. Meeting his mother was probably the happiest moment of his life thus far, meeting his father and punching him in the gut for what he did to him was a close second though.

"Well, we've already met most of your peerage, but I didn't know you had gained almost a full set," Rias' father spoke in his gruff voice.

"Oh well actually they're not all a part of my peerage. The only new member is my Pawn the brown haired one. His name is Issei Hyodou and he holds the Sacred Gear, Boosted Gear," Rias told her parents.

Unlike her rather casual attitude when it came to Issei's Sacred Gear her parents were much more shocked at hearing that their daughter now had one of the Longinus, and one of the strongest of the Longinus at that, in her peerage.

Rias would admit that having Issei was a rather great boon to her and his potential was near limitless thanks to Boosted Gear's ability of doubling the holder's power at intervals. Despite that however, the fact remaned that Issei just did not have the endurance or drive to use said power to its fullest potential. After all what good was a nuke in the hands of a child?

Especially when she had Naruto as an ally. It was true she still really didn't know the height of Naruto's power, but from what she had seen he was leagues above what Issei was capable of and would be capable of for the next few decades. On top of that Naruto knew how to wield said power and was a great guy. Yeah, in her mind Issei really couldn't compare.

"And what of the others?" Venelana, Rias' mother asked.

Naruto stepped forward first and bowed, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. The blonde girl is my little sister Asia and the vixen is my friend Akemi."

Grayfia chose that time to step in, "He has something he would like to discuss with you concerning Mistress Rias and her engagement to Riser of the Phenex clan."

Both Lord Gremory and Venelana raised an eyebrow at that, curious to know what this young teen could possibly do to break the contract, which is what they assumed he was here for with the way Rias looked at him.

"I would like to contest the current marriage contract you have with the Phenex clan and replace it with one to my own two clans," Naruto said calmly.

He knew that by bringing up the subject Grayfia had essentially turned this into a political matter, and in such a case he could show no weakness when talking to such a high ranking family; especially considering the topic at hand.

"I do not recall ever hearing of an Uzumaki or Namikaze clan or their accomplishments," Lord Gremory said evenly.

While some might have taken it as a thinly veiled insult Naruto knew that the man was merely stating his knowledge, as well as asking what Naruto could possibly offer that would cause them to reconsider their contract with the Phenex clan.

"I am not at all surprised as my clan has never done anything that would catch your eye. However, the powers and abilities that I inherited from my clans are nothing to scoff at."

"Oh? And what would these powers and abilities be?"

"From my mother's clan, the Uzumaki, I received a healing factor that I am sure is on par with that of the Phenex clan, knowledge of the art of Fuuinjutsu, several distinct fighting styles, a unique style of… magic, and these," here Naruto paused to call forth the Chakra Chains his mother had been famous (or infamous, depending who you asked) for.

Those who hadn't seen them before looked at the glowing chains with an observant eye.

"My mother was able to use these as well and was capable of holding down an enraged… youkai with them."

"How strong was the youkai?" Sirzechs asked, uncharacteristically seriously.

"It was a full grown and mature Kyuubi in its youkai form," was Naruto's response.

This seemed to interest even Grayfia as they all knew that even though most youkai were much weaker than their Devil counterparts, a matured Kyuubi could easily go toe to toe with a high class Devil and win. Such a feat was indeed nothing to sneeze at.

"However, the clan's true strength is adaptability. For example, myself and my mother have been capable of creating these chains from our energy. I also had several cousins who had various abilities: one was a sensor like no other, being able to track someone halfway across the continent; another was able to control the elements of Lava and Steam; a third cousin had precision control of her power and was able to use it to enhance her strength to the point that she could easily demolish entire city blocks with a single punch in her prime; and a fourth was one of the most powerful people ever to live in my homeland, possessing extremely large amounts of power even for an Uzumaki and extreme levels of natural skill."

"So this…mutation ability varies from clan member to clan member correct? If that is so then may I ask what your mutation became?" Venelana asked softly.

"Mine is unique in that I developed several powers. Every Uzumaki has had extreme levels of durability and longevity, but my mutation has caused me to gain a healing factor that allowed me to survive being stabbed through the chest with a powerful lightning technique when I was only 14. My stamina is also ridiculous by any standards, allowing me to train or fight at full strength non-stop for several days at a time. My energy reserves are also gargantuan. By the time I was ten I had the reserves of a mid-class Devil. It has since only kept growing larger. I also inherited my mother's ability, as I mentioned earlier."

As Naruto and Rias' parents kept talking, Rias and her peerage could only listen in wonder to everything that Naruto was telling them. Naruto had never before revealed so many things about himself, let alone his own family.

"My father's side gifted me with a natural affinity to wind…magic, a contract with Toads who act as my familiars, several unique techniques that involve the use of space-time manipulation, and the knowledge of Senjutsu."

While it was true that the Namikaze clan didn't exactly have any of those things, with Minato being an orphan himself, Jiraiya always said that he saw Minato as the son he never had and likewise Minato saw the old perv as the father he never had. In the same way Jiraiya was and always would be a part of his family, blood or not.

Eyebrows rose at the declaration of knowing about Senjutsu. While most Devils thought that the art was anything but good, the Gremory clan members knew better than to discredit the ability to harness the power of nature. And then there were the supposed space/time techniques Naruto had mentioned.

This boy just keeps on getting more interesting the more he talks, Lord Gremory thought to himself.

"Can we see one of these space/time techniques?" Sirzechs asked.

Naruto only nodded before he was gone in a familiar flash of crimson. Shocked at the seeming disappearance of the redhead, the Gremory family began scanning the room for him. It wasn't until Akemi grinned at them and pointed up that they saw an interesting sight.

There Naruto was, hands in his pockets, STANDING on the ceiling. Before anyone could fully register that he was gone again in that same flash. Naruto repeated the technique several more times before reappearing in the spot he had occupied at the start of the conversation.

"The technique is called Hiraishin. My father's version had him using specifically marked kunai to tell him where to 'teleport' to. With it he was able to slaughter whole battalions of soldiers in the blink of an eye. I improved on it and eliminated the need for markers altogether."

For a long moment no one said anything, before Lord Gremory suddenly burst into laughter.

"I like you boy! You are sure to keep things interesting, and if the way my daughter has been looking at you is anything to go by she trusts and cares for you deeply. With all that you have to offer I really have no choice but to cancel the contract with the Phenex clan."

Rias turned to her father with a smile on her face, "Really?"

Lord Gremory chuckled before nodding, "Yes, really. The kid makes a damn good argument. Besides, I have a feeling there's even more he has yet to show us. The fact that he makes you happy is all the better."

Rias frowned at that, "If that was the case then why didn't you call off the engagement when I asked?"

Venelana stepped in at this point, "You have to understand dear that we made that contract before you or Riser were born. Had we known how he would turn out we would have turned down the offer. However the need to repopulate with stronger pure blood Devils was too much and so we accepted it."

Sirzechs sighed and joined in, "Yeah, the war took a real toll on us, and a lot of the remaining pure bloods saw the rise of reincarnated Devils and began to feel threatened by them. Normally that wouldn't matter, but we didn't need to put down yet another rebellion so we acquiesced to their demands, and as one of the 72 Pillars we had to lead by example."

Lord Gremory happily interjected by slapping Naruto on the back, "But none of that matters now! With this young Devil here we can make that contract with the Phenex null and void and make one with him and his clan! Would love to meet the man who came up with that Hiraishin!"

Naruto sighed at the fact that he had to be the one to reveal the big news, "Sadly both my parents are dead. Also I'm…not a Devil."

"...Well that complicates things," Venelana sighed.

Lord Gremory's face grew grim, "Indeed had you been a pure blood Devil we could have simply voided the contract. However since you're not, that gives the Phenex clan the grounds to challenge you and knowing Riser he won't just let Rias go without a fight."

"Then let him. If he wants to fight me for the right to marry Rias-chan then so be it, I will accept the challenge 'tebayo," Naruto spoke, a cocky grin on his face.

Sirzechs nodded, "Very well then. A duel between Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki and Riser Phenex will decide who is to marry Rias Gremory."

Rias, along with her peerage and Asia, were looking for Naruto to inform him that the day had finally come, the day that he would be fighting Riser.

None of them were worried about the outcome of the fight, Rias and Koneko especially having the utmost confidence in the Sage, however he had been gone for the better part of the day for most of the past week, having left early in the morning before anyone, even Grayfia, was awake.

No one knew what he was up to, and when asked about it Naruto would simply shrug and say, "Getting warmed up."

As they were searching the massive grounds of the main Gremory estate Koneko's cat ears suddenly perked up and began to twitch slightly. Without even waiting for them to question it Koneko said, "Naruto-sensei is using Senjutsu."

With that said, Koneko was off in a dead sprint, Rias and the others following closely behind with Issei bringing up the rear. Even Asia was running faster than the teen which was cause for some wonder, though most would assume that having Naruto as a "Nii-chan" would inevitably mean she had at least some training.

Turning a corner Koneko slammed face first into the chest of the person they had spent the better part of the morning looking for. Everyone else was running slowly enough to be able to stop in time, though Asia still somehow managed to trip not herself but Issei, sending the brunette to the floor painfully.

"Hey, woah, is someone making ramen and they didn't tell me?" Naruto chuckled as he pried his Senjutsu student's blushing face from his chest.

"Ufufu, Koneko seems eager to see Uzumaki-kun," Akeno said referring to the way the Neko's tail had wrapped around Naruto's wrist.

Koneko's blush intensified at everyone's eyes being drawn to said appendage, before she sent a glare at the sadist who only continued to chuckle.

Rias grabbed Naruto's unoccupied wrist with her hand and began to drag the Sage along with her, showing a surprising amount of strength.

"Are you taking me to get some ramen Rias-chan?" Naruto asked whilst laughing as he allowed himself to be pulled along by his fellow red-head, a certain Nekoshou already happily occupying his back.

"No Naruto-kun I'm not taking you to get ramen, you addict. Today is the day you fight Riser and they've already set up the area for you. We have to be there soon so they don't call it a forfeit on your side," Rias said, not once turning to look back at her companion.

Why are all the women in my life so bossy? Taking note of the happily napping Koneko Naruto continued, well with the exception of Koneko. She's just too cute.

Only minutes later, Naruto was appreciating just how fast Devil craftsman worked. In the span of a few days they had built a rather large arena that looked to be straight out of ancient Rome. The whole reason for this was that to override any objections to Naruto and Rias getting together they were going to be broadcasting the duel across the Underworld as well as welcoming in some other high ranking Devils, such as the rest of the Four Satans, to watch in person.

This way there would be irrefutable proof that Naruto was the better candidate, and the former Jinchuuriki was more than happy to provide said proof.

He had met Riser the day after coming to the Underworld and the two had hit it off instantly and become the best of friends…keeping in mind that Naruto's last best friend tried to murder him on several occasions. In other words, Naruto had to restrain himself from "beating the pompous blonde ass nugget so hard his dead ancestors would feel it".

Said blonde ass nugget was like having Neji (pre-Naruto ass whooping) and Sasuke (also pre-Naruto ass whooping) combined into one arrogant and womanizing person, which meant that Naruto hated everything about the guy. Naruto could see why Rias was so opposed to marrying the guy, hell he was surprised the Gremory clan hadn't cancelled the contract before due to how much of an annoyance the Phenex was.

Lord Gremory and Sirzechs had both asked Naruto what his plan was regarding Riser, and the Sage had just replied, "Give him my patented 'beat the arrogance out of you' Uzumaki style beatdown."

Even if they hadn't liked Rias' somewhat boyfriend before, they certainly did after that statement. Even the normally reserved Venelana had to hide a chuckle at hearing Naruto say that. Sirzechs had even said that the eternally stone faced Grayfia had cracked a smile. He was of course told that was not proper behavior for a Satan and given a Grayfia patented scolding.

And now here he was walking out onto the battlefield to make good the promise he had made to Rias, and as many back in Konoha knew, when Naruto gave you a promise he was going to keep it, come hell or high water. A Naruto Uzumaki promise was as reliable as death these days.

Grayfia had been elected to referee the battle as she was both powerful enough to cow Riser and Naruto (or so most thought) as well as being able to remain impartial to the whole affair.

"Today we have the duel between Riser of the Phenex clan and the challenger Naruto of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans. The victor shall have his marriage contract to Rias of the Gremory clan signed and instated by the Gremory clan while the loser shall have his made null and void. I will stop the match if I feel it has been made clear who the winner is. Do both combatants agree to these terms?"

Riser answered, "Yeah whatever."

Naruto nodded his head a cocky smirk on his face, "Hai."

"Then let the duel commence," Grayfia called while leaping away to join the spectators.

"Show me what a Sage is capable of, Maelstrom."

"Michael, look! Naruto's on and he's fighting that Phenex kid!"

"Coming Gabriel!"

"So this is the kid that put a wrench in your plans Kokabiel? Let's see how he fares against a high class Devil like a Phenex…"

"Hurry Azazel! Master Naruto is on right now!"

"I'm coming I'm coming! Hold your horses you three! This popcorn took awhile to make ok?"

"So let me get this straight, Naruto sent you with this tv so we could watch him fight some random pompous idiot?"

"You got it Tsunade-sama!"

"Tch, leave it to the dobe to get into something like this."

"Shush Sasuke! Look there's that Rias girl! Wow…like father like son I guess haha."

Riser mirrored Naruto's cocky smirk and spoke in a voice full of arrogance, "I'll let you have the first shot."

Naruto just shrugged, "Alright, let's see how good those flames I've heard so much about are."

Naruto sped through a series of handseals before calling out, "Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!"

To everyone's surprise Naruto breathed out a massive stream of fire the size of a bus, which proceeded to form the roaring head of a dragon. To everyone's further surprise, instead of the attack being aimed at Riser it was aimed towards the sky where it dispersed in a shower of sparks and heat.

"Ha! Can't even aim your technique right," Riser taunted.

"Not quite, just something I learned from a friend of mine. Now watch," Naruto replied, unperturbed.

Much to everyone's surprise, where once it was a clear and rather hot day in the Underworld it was now pouring rain, accompanied by the crash of Thunder and his brother Lightning.

In the stands, protected from the sudden downpour where he was sitting with the rest of the Satans, Ajuka Beelzebub chose to remark on Naruto's little maneuver, "Interesting. He essentially 'popped' a cloud and forced it to begin raining much sooner than it would have naturally. But I wonder what he's planning to do with it."

The devils around him who heard his words were equally interested in that question.

Eyes were on Naruto as he once more performed a rapid chain of handseals before naming his technique, "Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!"

Abruptly, the entirety of the downpour as well as the water that had soaked through the now muddied ground began to coalesce into one body. In the blink of an eye where there had been only rain drops and puddles was now a massive dragon made of the life giving liquid. It gave a watery growl before rushing Riser with surprising speed, intent on consuming him in its swirling maw.

Despite the ferocious appearance of the attack Riser only scoffed before moving to the side and dodging the head of the beast. He was about to taunt Naruto for missing a second time when he noticed that the dragon had made a sharp turn and begun to try and coil around him. With a muttered curse Riser jumped away into the air, the beast of water hot on his heels. Soon the seemingly sentient technique began a rather comedic game of cat and mouse with it as the proverbial cat and Riser as its prey.

"Naruto was right when he said he had some unique magic. I've never seen someone use such an odd fire attack, then seamlessly switch to displaying such control over its opposing element," Venelana commented from her spot next to her husband and daughter.

Others would have responded to her but were too focused on the sight of a still cursing Riser narrowly escaping the gaping muzzle of the water dragon.

After only a few minutes, Riser grew irritated with the dragon and its persistent attempts to crush him in its jaws and bellowed, "ENOUGH!" before unleashing a torrent of scorching orange flames that slammed into the dragon, the heat and intensity of the attack causing steam to rise and cloud the area.

Turning his angry gaze on a still grinning Naruto Riser shouted, "Now it's my turn!"

With a wave of his hand a veritable wall of fire rose and slammed into the spot Naruto occupied, turning the area into a white hot pyre.

"Tch, pathetic. Couldn't even dodge such a simple-" was as far as the conceited Phenex got before a sandaled foot slammed into the back of his head and sent him bouncing along the ground like a pebble across a lake.

Naruto, grinning wider than ever, continued his assault by once more disappearing and reappearing in front of the still tumbling Riser, where the Sage proceeded to grab his opponent by the back of his head before slamming him into the wall of the arena with enough force to shake the structure and create a cloud of debris.

Not done just yet, Naruto jumped back before going through yet another set of seals and exclaiming, "Futon: Kami Oroshi (Wind Release: Godly Wind from the Mountains)!"

To the surprise of many of the spectators, the air Naruto gathered in his hands became visibly blue before he unleashed the technique and the roaring winds slammed into the crater Riser occupied.

"Didn't miss this time, did I yarou?" Naruto said mockingly.

Naruto had to hastily dodge to the side as another burning wave came from the Riser-shaped hole in the wall. Said blonde wrenched himself free from the hole, revealing that his clothes were badly torn in most places and he himself looked to have a broken jaw and nose, with blood streaming down his face from an open wound on his forehead.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH PEASANT!"

Riser grabbed his crooked jaw before he tugged it back into place with a rather painful sounding snap and a grimace. The wound on his forehead began to close up, along with every other wound he had received from the chain of attacks. Despite that, his face held an obvious hatred toward the one responsible for wounding him in the first place.

Flames erupted from the devil's back, and as they took the shape of wings he took to the air and began peppering the ground below him with a barrage of burning orbs the size of volleyballs. Naruto was forced to dodge to avoid being scorched by the blazing spheres, displaying an incredible level of flexibility in the process, but despite seemingly being on the defensive his amused smile never left his face. In fact, to many observers he seemed to be enjoying himself.

This little dance went on for several minutes, with Riser's anger growing along with the size and temperature of his flame bullets. Eventually, Naruto began to grow bored, and saw fit to put an end to it by finishing off his last backflip and then just standing still on the spot where he landed, arms crossed.

Riser saw his opportunity and focused every single incandescent projectile on said spot. Soon, the dust kicked up by the repeated impacts began to mingle with the rippling waves of heat and fire rising from the blaze.

Everyone watched with bated breath, eager to see what Naruto was doing by letting himself be trapped in the veritable inferno that Riser had caused. Many were even questioning if the guy was at all sane.

Soon enough Riser halted his searing barrage and began to laugh aloud, "Finally! Now that peasant knows his place in the world: beneath the boots of his betters! I think you can call the match now Grayfia, not even a Satan would be able to survive that."

To the shock of a large portion of the audience, Grayfia simply shook her head in the negative before pointing at the same spot that Riser had just incinerated.

Everyone's gave followed her finger, before they stared in awe at what they saw. A crater of molten earth lay where a short time ago there had been solid ground, the heat of the Phenex clan's flames melting the very ground they had collided with. That however wasn't what was shocking to the observers. At the center of the magma filled depression lay a ball of metallic chains, glowing a vivid orange, all of them linked to each other without single opening. The chains had wrapped around each other in a series of loops to create several layers, forming a sturdy and downright impenetrable shell which was anchored by the spiked ends of four chains stabbed into the ground.

Said chain ends violently pulled themselves from the ground as the coils began to pull apart, slowly revealing the grinning visage of one Naruto Uzumaki. Finally, the mass of chains had all come undone, showing an unscathed red-head and the island of earth under him. After a moment the majority disappeared, leaving only four glowing cables projecting from his back, and Naruto spoke.

"Seems only fitting to pit one of my own families' bloodlines against yours. Meet my mother's signature technique, Chakra Chains."

Not a second later, all four chains turned toward Riser and blurred at him in a demonstration of blinding speed. Before the devil knew what was happening, he had two chains wrapped around his legs and two more wrapped around his arms, keeping them bound to his side.

"Now, let's see if we can't clip those wings of yours!" Naruto tauntingly mused, before the chains answered his unspoken command.

Everyone winced as they saw the chains undulate and shift rapidly before Riser was slammed into the ground, a cloud of dust being kicked up from the impact. This process was repeated after a brief pause, with the Phenex being slammed into the side of the arena once more with enough force to shatter it and even make a deep impression.

The chains proceeded to break even more of the wall by dragging him across and through it, punctuated by smacking him into it at random intervals. The whole time, Naruto remained calm and almost relaxed, not once showing any signs of having any sort of difficulty controlling the things.

After a while, Naruto changed his tactics, violently swinging the blonde through the air and bludgeoning him into every available surface, before hurling him into the wall yet again. It seemed to most everyone that Naruto was just playing with Riser.

"Those chains of his are really something. They can stretch as far as the kid needs them to, move in any manner, and seemingly even change their thickness, all without him having to put any real effort into it," Sirzechs said aloud.

"Indeed. Add to that the fact that they can also act as an equally impressive defensive measure and withstand the heat of even large amounts of Phenex fire. Those...Chakra Chains are really quite the powerful ability," Ajuka concurred.

"Yes, but the fact remains that the Phenex kid still has his regenerative ability, and it has probably already begun working on healing his body from this thrashing," Falbium chimed in.

Serafall was the last of the group to speak, her gaze remaining on the back of the grinning Uzumaki, "Yes, but the Uzumaki guy has shown that he's got a counter to almost every one of Riser's powers. He countered his flames with an impressive level of control over water, showed that he is far superior in terms of raw speed and strength, and even took away Riser's advantage of flight with those chains. I wouldn't be surprised if he has some measure to beat the Phenex clan's healing powers."

Those who knew the Satans would be surprised at the odd show of solemnity in their current situation, both Serafall and Sirzechs in particular being known for their odd quirks and antics. Though those same people would only nod in acceptance after the initial confusion – after all, there was a reason these four had fought the Old Satan Faction and come out the victors.

Naruto knew that with the healing ability of the Phenex clan, all he was really doing to Riser was pissing him off. However, he also knew that to those watching this was not only an excellent demonstration that he outclassed Riser at every turn, but also a systematic display that his clans' powers were far superior to those of the Phenex clan. He hated fighting like this as it was more of a showboating contest than the straight fights he had always favored, where the combatants traded blows and talked with their fists. No bullshit and no grandiose show of skill or power. Just two people fighting to feel alive, to decide an issue, or to prove who was the better one on that day.

So, with a sigh, Naruto finally decided to end his little exposé on the prowess of his Chakra Chains and in one final move tossed Riser into the sky, releasing him from the chain's hold. Before Riser could breathe a sigh of relief his foot was once more entrapped by one chain and he was violently thrown into the ground, a shockwave of compressed air coming from the point of impact due to the force of it.

It was not at all unexpected though when Riser walked out of the crater his body had made, one arm bent at the elbow in a way that looked distinctly unnatural, blood staining his normally blonde locks, and his knee all but shattered into dust. Still no one was surprised to see the wounds ignite in small wisps of flames and begin to heal over, open portions of flesh stitching themselves back together and bones snapping back into place and reforming themselves with echoing crunches and snaps.

Naruto just stood there, his arms crossed, and a wide smirk on his face, "That can't be healthy."

If looks could kill Naruto would have died several times over from the glare of pure hatred Riser was sending his way. This had nothing to do with losing to the crimson haired teen, no it had to do with the way in which he was losing. During the course of the fight, if you could call the one sided curbstomp that, not once had that grin come off of Naruto's face, not once did he show any signs of actually trying. In this way he was mocking Riser, telling him that he stood no chance, that the Sage was so far above him in every way that he, Riser Phenex, wasn't even worth the effort.

All of this was clear to everyone watching the match.

Akemi could only grin at seeing Naruto use one of his greatest assets, one that had won him various battles even when he had been only a wet behind the ears genin. Naruto had a strange talent for learning what made a person tick. In the course of even a short conversation, Naruto could learn someone's deepest hopes and dreams, their fears, their strengths, and their weaknesses. Even now, it wasn't something he did consciously, but an instinctive action.

This was a boon to him as a leader, as he could use that knowledge to bring out the best in his allies and push them to their absolute limits, enabling them achieve feats of strength and courage previously not thought possible. He had done it with Koyuki Kazahana, Shion, and even Tsunade and Jiraiya.

This was also his greatest weapon against his enemies, as he could push all the right buttons, causing them to make mistakes in battle that they normally wouldn't. He could exploit their weakness and fears and turn a battle in his favor all with a few words or simple gesture, and Riser was the latest to fall to this "power".

With murder and hatred burning in his eyes Riser was consumed in a conflagration that burned so hot the air around him became a visible vapor, the ground underneath him beginning to liquefy due to high temperatures the devils's flames were putting out. Even those in the stands could feel the heat being generated by the blonde.

"This is the true power of the Phenex clan! The winds and flames bow to us! And when I destroy you I'll make Rias and even that vixen who seems so fond of you mine! I'll make them my women!"

Akemi began to laugh aloud, drawing the eyes of the rest of the spectators. Noticing the questioning looks she was getting, Akemi wiped away the tears that had gathered due to her laughter and answered, "This idiot just signed his own death warrant. Naruto would've been happy with just wounding the dumbass' pride but now? Not even his ashes won't remain for you to put in an urn."

With a gesture, Riser called upon a literal wave of flames easily the size of a tsunami and sent it forth to crash upon the unmoving Naruto. As it was about to cascade down on Naruto and burn him to ashes, he acted.

An oppressive force so thick and heavy that many of the lesser Devils found it hard for them to even breathe suddenly appeared. Even Riser, who had been all but cackling, stopped and observed with wide eyes as Naruto's form was consumed by a translucent shroud of a blue so dark that it bordered on black.

With Naruto's long bangs shadowing his eyes, they were unable to tell just what was going in the mind of the Sage, though some could hazard a guess seeing his clenched fists and firmer posture that screamed battle ready.

When he did look up, all of the spectators were surprised to see the normally bright blue irises of the Uzumaki replaced by glacially cold chips that sent shivers down the spines of those who saw them. The grin that had been on his face was now gone, and in its place was a thin line of cold detachment.

Rias felt somewhat bad for Riser knowing that Naruto might well be about to maim the bastard… but then again said bastard deserved it as far as she was concerned.

Akemi's face was covered by her grin that told everyone just how happy and excited she was to see this side of Naruto come to the forefront.

Asia worriedly gazed at her elder brother figure, somewhat frightened that the normally warm and safe aura he seemed to perpetually project was gone and an aura of cold danger was in its place.

Koneko sat impassively, knowing that Riser had been practically begging for the beating he was about to receive by threatening those who Naruto held precious to him.

Akeno watched eagerly, finding herself thoroughly impressed by the display of power Naruto was putting on. She would freely admit that Riser would have defeated Rias' whole peerage quite easily, yet here was Naruto toying with the pompous ass in a manner eerily reminiscent of her own way of playing with her opponents. Though she doubted Naruto was getting any sort of sexual arousal from the battle.

Both Kiba and Issei sat in awe at the amount of power these two titans were unleashing. While it was true Riser was getting his ass handed to him, he was still very much a powerful Devil in his own right, having won his fair share of Rating Games.

Liza was equally awed by the sight. Naruto had confessed to her that once upon a time he had been considered the dead last, and looked at as the weakest in his home village, but through sheer force of will and hard work he had reached his current level of power. If this is what it looked like when someone actually train their hardest, and threw their all into getting stronger, then she couldn't wait to see what she would be capable of with help from Naruto.

The Four Satans watched in observant silence as this young teen was putting out enough power to be on equal footing with one of them. The fact that he was doing so and showed no signs of being stressed, and in fact looked relieved instead spoke of just how strong he actually was.

Akemi said something that caught all of their attention, "Say hello to the Kami no Shinobi, the Nidaime Rikudou Sennin and Hero of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki."

In the blink of an eye Naruto was gone with a flash of his signature red trailing behind him, the wave of flames collapsing in on itself as Naruto literally punched a hole straight through it. Riser was then suddenly projected into the air, courtesy of a donkey kick to the chin. Naruto then pulled out yet another surprise as the viewers saw four Naruto's appear, each one holding a swirling sphere of luminescent blue energy the size of a baseball in their hands.

The first clone leapt into the air, where it slammed the glowing sphere into Riser's back sending the blonde higher in the air whilst calling out, "U!"

A second clone leapt up as well, before being hurled higher into the air by the first clone where it copied its predecessor, however it instead yelled, "ZU!"

The third clone use the second as a springboard to reach Riser's current altitude, and thrust its attack into the Phenex as well, continuing with a, "MA!"

The fourth was catapulted still higher above the arena by the third, where it assaulted Riser and finished, "KI!"

Naruto himself flashed out of sight again and appeared above Riser, who was at this point several hundred feet in the air, with his own glowing sphere. His technique, however was much larger than the baseball sized ones the clones had used, being almost as large the Sage himself.

"Uzumaki Rendan: Rasenrengan (Uzumaki Combo: Spiralling Sphere Barrage)!"

Riser was sent plummeting back down towards the ground with such force that he was not more than a blur in many of the watching eyes. His impact into the unforgiving ground was strong enough that the very earth shook, and even those in the stands had to cover their faces to avoid getting covered in the debris of the collision.

Naruto used his mastery over his wind affinity to slow his descent, allowing him to land on his feet softly enough to be almost silent.

When the cloud of debris and dust finally cleared, shock at the power of such a move and by proxy the power the user had to have to pull it all off was evident on many of the watcher's faces.

Even Grayfia was openly gawking at the mass amount of destruction Riser's impact had caused, the ground of the arena cracked and uplifted in some places, creating what almost looked to be a small scale version of a mountainous region. Hell, she was ready to call the match then and there, regardless of Riser possibly being able to walk out of that due to Naruto not even looking winded in the slightest.

The Extra Devil restrained herself from doing so however upon catching sight of the somehow still moving Phenex clan member. Despite his wounds healing, everyone could clearly see the two marks the attack had left him with.

On his back was a baseball sized indentation where he had been struck, more shocking however was the fact that the indent had grooves dug into it, showing that even with the healing ability his family was famous for he had suffered some serious burns, internal damage, and possibly even scarring.

His whole chest was occupied by the same wound, though much shallower than the one on his back it was still grievous.

Everyone wondered just what Naruto's attack was to have created such a gruesome sight.

"The Rasengan is one of Naruto's father's original techniques. It was actually modeled after one of my own attacks that he had witnessed once. However, Instead of blunt damage or burning, the Rasengan grinds whatever it hits as it is a condensed ball of literal spirals that have become self-sustaining. Naruto has created several variants of the attack, one of them being his strongest attack in the entirety of his arsenal with the Odama Rasengan being the second weakest variant," Akemi lectured.

"Second WEAKEST!?" Issei called out of shock. Finding out that the attack that had devastated the battleground and dug out bloody grooves in Riser's chest was the second weakest of its forms was shocking to everyone.

Even the Gremorys were shocked to hear that, as the attack could compete with the Bael/Gremory Powers of Destruction easily.

Akemi just shrugged, "It's really only the basic Rasengan with more energy put into it to take on a bigger size and do more damage."

Back on the battlefield Naruto gazed at the limping and bloody form of Riser in seeming indifference, "Seems that healing factor of yours is just as good as they say it is, though from the look on your face it appears that it doesn't stop the pain from your injuries."

Riser only coughed up a glob of blood in response and began to weakly mutter, "I… *cough* will… kill you."

"Before that, why don't we put that healing factor of yours to the test even more, ne?"

Naruto then stretched out his right hand and began to gather the chakra he needed for one of the strongest attacks he had in his repertoire.

The spectators watched with bated breath as they saw the now infamous Rasengan begin to form in his hand. Slowly, the wind began around the technique began to swirl and pick up speed before becoming visible. Then they heard it, an almost inaudible buzzing that none could clearly identify. Soon enough however the buzz grew louder and even Koneko and Grayfia's jaws dropped as they realized what the sound was: the very air around the technique was screeching as if the technique was actually grinding against it.

Whereas the wind was only a somewhat transparent coloring before, it was now a very visible bluish white. With looks of absolute shock, the devils watching witnessed the winds begin to coalesce around the spiralling sphere into the shape of a very large and rapidly spinning shuriken, the screeching noise now almost at deafening levels even for the crowd, who were several hundreds of yards away.

Somehow heard over the howling winds, Naruto called out the technique's name, "Futon: Rasenshuriken (Wind Release: Spiralling Shuriken)!"

Without even a grunt, Naruto tossed the deadly attack at Riser, traveling at speeds far beyond what it should seemingly be capable of.

What happened next caused even the Satans to grimace as they saw the attack tear through Riser's left arm like it was wet paper, before shredding its way through the wall of the arena in the same manner. The detached limb had been sucked into the deadly vortex and had seemingly ceased to exist, with not even a spot of blood remaining.

Gazes were drawn to Riser as he looked with wide eyes at the bloody stump that was his left arm.

"ARGH!" came his scream as the pain of losing a limb finally registered in his brain.

In the stands Riser's family watched in mute horror as they saw him collapse to his knees in pure agony, clutching at his stump.

His mother covered her mouth as she choked back a sob at the sight of her youngest son now sans a left arm.

"W-why isn't it growing back?" She whispered.

Nonetheless everyone heard her and could only wonder the same as the Phenex matriarch.

Akemi was all too happy to answer, "The Rasenshuriken is the completed version of the Rasengan, being infused with Naruto's wind affinity. Combined with the cutting power of wind, the Rasenshuriken is comprised of millions upon millions of microscopic blades of wind that cut and rip through its victim at the cellular level. Riser can't heal his arm because there's nothing TO heal. Every single cell that made up his arm has been shredded into pieces."

And that sold it. Naruto's technique was easily on the same level as the Bael's Powers of Destruction, both leaving no traces of their target in the aftermath.

The screeching returned as everyone turned their eyes to see that Naruto had called upon the destructive force that was the Rasenshuriken and calmly began to walk towards the downed form of the still agonized Riser.

Naruto stood above Riser and held the howling shuriken above his head. Looking into the eyes of the weakened devil, Naruto spoke in a voice full of power and authority, "Yield or you will be losing much more than just an arm."

Primal fear coursed through Riser's body as he looked up at the imposing figure of Naruto with a veritable force of nature held above his head.

"I-I yield," Riser said slowly, his eyes wide and unmoving.

And just like that Naruto dispersed the technique, the wind ruffling his cloak and hair.

Feeling especially vindictive towards the person who dare threaten not only Rias but the one person who had been with him all his life Naruto bent down and whispered into Riser's ear, "Why don't you crawl back home, cry like a bitch, and see if those Phoenix tears of yours can grow back your arm, ne?"

Grayfia leapt back into the now destroyed stadium before calling out, "Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki is the winner of this duel!"

Many in the stands, and even those watching elsewhere, looked on in interest as Naruto calmly walked away from the now decimated battleground, it having taken a beating from both combatants techniques. The one thing that stuck out to most was how Naruto had beat Riser.

Not the logistics of the battle, but the way in which it was done. Naruto had all but destroyed Riser. Not only had he shown that he had a counter for anything Riser, and by extension his clan, could do but he had also done what many thought impossible; mortally wound a Phenex. Even more astonishing was that this random, as far as many were concerned, teen was now walking away from the battle unscathed. Not once had Riser managed to land a single hit on the redhead.

Questions began to quickly arise from this. Who was this Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki? Who were his parents? Where was his clan? Where did he come from? How had he managed to keep under the radar for so long? Why was he now making a "debut" so to speak?

"Hmm. Interesting. I wonder if he would be interested in joining us."

"Tch. Doubt it. Apparently the guy's been in contact with not only Azazel and Gabriel, but Ophis as well. According to intel she's taken to hanging around him quite often, which is probably why no one around here has seen her or received word from her."

"Shame. He would've made a valuable asset to our cause. Nonetheless, we move on with our own plans."

"Hahaha! Looks like I was right about you, Sage. You are quite the interesting character!"

Naruto and Rias are finally "together", Naruto has showed off even more of his power, he has caught the eyes of both Serafall and Grayfia, and Riser is now missing an arm...YAY!

Mothballz: Holy fuck nuggets! That is the longest chapter have written to date, clocking in at damn near 14000 words WITHOUT including the AN's. Now don't expect every chapter to be this long, but I will say this, it is a goal.

Yes I know longer doesn't necessarily mean better and this chapter didn't have as much plot progression as previous ones, but nonetheless this a start. The next few chapters will indeed follow this trend of being longer, and in fact the next chapter will be….epic to the say the least. The DxD canon timeline is about to get a boot to the face, in a way that you will all hopefully like as myself and Kyram have been gearing up for this moment.

Also has anybody else been reading the Naruto manga as of late? Masashi has gone full Oprah and everyone and their mother is getting the damn Rinnengan.

You get a Rinnengan!

You get a Rinnengan!

EVERYBODY GETS A RINNENGAN!

The only part I'm really liking right now is seeing the massive amount of destruction the Juubi is causing, like holy shit!

In turn though everyone else is getting stronger and shit and now it's like everybody has to have some "super saiyan" -esque BS just to be relevant when before there were really only a handful of people who held that much power which made sense.

Of course Naruto is still a fucking tard cause heaven forbid the main character wisens up now that he's facing down a literal fucking god. At least with Bleach Ichigo could fucking compete and curb stomped Aizen's pompous ass. Also as far as I'm concerned Bleach is over. It stopped after the Aizen arc was done. There is no Fullbring/Quincy BS in my mind.

Sorry for the rant and all. Just been bugging me is all.

Kyram: Honestly, that's the problem with shonen. If you drag it out too long, you have to start pulling things out of your ass to avoid curbstomps (especially since there's often plotholes large enough to drive trucks through). Admittedly, Naruto is getting a bit ridiculous - not only the Rinnegan, but the fact that it's getting to the point where all it'd take to destroy everything would be one person missing and hitting the ground… say, with a Multiple Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken. That thing is stupidly destructive. On the subject of the story, we do plan on having what we hope is a storyline that's never been done before (die, canon, die! Mwahahahahaha), and a generally original story. Or, well, as original as fanfiction can get anyway. Anyway, that's about all I have to say. As always, constructive criticism is welcomed (we don't mind flames either, since we can always use a good laugh), and we hope you enjoyed the rather overdue chapter.

Until next chapter!

Peace

Out!