Joe hands over a large wad of money. "You are pretty good at picking the winners, kid. If you were anyone else I would think you are cheating."

"I have no need to cheat," replies Naruto. He takes the cash and begins to count it. Once he knows that the money is all there, he hands a hundred back to Joe. Joe smirks. "I will call it a night."

"I am starting to like the kid," smirks Joe.

Naruto leaves the underground arena. Checking the time, he can still get an hour of training done before going to sleep. He leaps onto the nearest window sill and continues to make large jumps until reaching the roof. The former ninja begins to leap from roof to roof. No one is around to see the superhuman feats.

School

"What is this?!"

Nijiima smiles like it is the most obvious thing in the world. "It is a flag."

Kenichi gains a tick. "You know what I mean." He continues to point at the flag. "What is the Shinpaku Alliance? Why do people think I am part of it?"

An evil smirk lights up Nijiima's face. He leans back in the chair with an air of self-importance. "The Shinpaku Alliance is the new empire I am building to take over the school and one day the world." Kenichi gives a deadpan look. "I will be the brains and you along with Naruto will be the muscle. There will be no stopping our rise to power!"

"I refuse," replies Kenichi instantly.

Nijiima watches as Kenichi leaves the room. Shirahama Kenichi and Uzumaki Naruto will become the main powers of the Shinpaku Alliance. Ragnarok will soon fall to the greatness that will be the Shinpaku Alliance! Evil laughter erupts from the alien.

Warehouse

Kisara unleashes a flurry of kicks. She jumps up spinning around kicking the heavy bag with such force that it explodes spraying sand everywhere. Sweat pours down her face. A heavy panting comes from the girl. The past week she has been training nonstop. She no longer goes to school in order to train and grow stronger. Getting back into her stance, she begins to push her body past its limits.

All that time and effort she put into becoming strong. She grew strong enough that the First Fist, Odin, recognized her strength and made her into the Eighth Fist of Ragnarok. It is with great pride that she wears her glove that signifies her as the Eighth Fist. Such a title commands fear and respect. Kisara launches a high kick in anger. This entire time she thought she had become one of the strongest fighters in the city, but than some kid comes around and beats her with ease.

'He was so fast and strong. I could barely follow his movements at all,' grits Kisara. 'I didn't expect him to be so strong. I thought he was supposed to be a weapon specialist. Why the hell didn't I know about his hand-to-hand skills?!'

Kisara twists on her heel. 'Uzumaki Naruto, I'll defeat you for sure next time I see you!'

Break

"Naruto-kun, can I speak with you a moment?"

Naruto bows respectfully. "Yes Hanzo-sempai?"

Hanzo gestures for the others to walk away. The other members bow respectively before leaving the two alone. A hard expression comes on the always happy face of the leader of the Kendo Club. "I have heard the rumors about you being part of a gang and getting into constant fights with delinquents. Is this true?"

"Yes….but I am not in a gang," answers Naruto honestly. "I have been asked multiple times to join a couple groups….I have turned them all down."

A wide smile splits Hanzo's face. He reaches over placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Yosh! I am pleased to hear that. Kendo is an honorable martial arts. If you were part of a gang I would have to ask you to leave."

"I understand."

The former ninja doesn't hold it against Hanzo-sempai for wanting to keep the Kendo Club pure of delinquents. The club has a good reputation. Hanzo-sempai works hard to follow the principals of Kendo as do most of the other members of the club. It is one of the reason Naruto enjoys the club so much. Being around ninja almost his entire life, he is used to being deceived or manipulated, it is nice to be around honest people for a change. He doesn't need to worry about someone stabbing him in the back or trying to use him for the demon inside him. Not that they could anymore since the demon is gone, but that is another story. "I will make sure to stay away from all delinquent groups," promises Naruto.

Tears stream down Hanzo's face. "Yosh! You are an honorable man!" Naruto sweat drops. Hanzo-sempai is a strange man. Then again, he did have a sensei that constantly read porn and showed up late for missions so he had seen worse.

Break

Kenichi strikes out with a punch hitting a delinquent in the face. The delinquent drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Why can't they leave me alone?"

"It isn't so bad," smiles Miu. "Beside, you managed to take them all down without my help this time." She looks around to see five delinquents lying on the ground knocked out cold.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," sighs Kenichi.

In the shadows, a certain boy watched the entire fight. He is the one that told those idiots to go fight Shirahama in the first place. A heavy cloak hides the boy's physical features and casts a shadow over his face. But it is the outfit that makes him highly recognizable to anyone that knows anything about Ragnarok. He is the Sixth Fist of Ragnarok, Hermit.

Hermit watches as Shirahama Kenichi and Furinji Miu leave the scene. A frown forms on his face. Shirahama is not as strong as he thought. Uzumaki Naruto is definitely much stronger, but Hermit has no interest in the blonde prodigy. He is much more interested in Shirahama. The way that Shirahama fights, he fights using several different styles of martial arts. Karate and Jujitsu seem to be the main styles that Shirahama employs, but there is one main style that catches Hermit's attention. Shirahama definitely uses Chinese Kempo. Not just any Chinese Kempo, but a certain style that resembles what Hermit's master taught to him. Is it possible that Ba Sougetsu is teaching that no talent fool? Hermit's eyes narrow in anger. He needs to find out more information. And he knows exactly how he is going to get it.

Next Day

"I found you!" Kisara smirks. "No more hiding."

Naruto blinks. He scratches the back of his head in confusion. "I was never hiding." Kisara sweat drops. It took her a week to find a person that was never hiding? A blush heats her cheeks. "Hmm…..what was your name again?"

Kisara yells angrily. "Don't act like you don't remember me!" Shiratori holds Kisara back as the red head begins to swing her arms wildly.

"I'll handle this," smirks Koga. Koga leaps forward, but a quick punch to the face sends him flying into a couple of garbage cans. The rest of Kisara's gang backs up in fear.

"Can we fight later? I have to get to school or I will miss my first period," says Naruto.

"No! We are going to fight now and I am going to kick your ass!"

"I see…can you kick my ass between classes?"

Kisara's face begins to turn red. "Bastard!" She charges forward. Naruto leans back to avoid a kick. A smirk appears on her face as she changes the motion of her kick and comes down with a downward kick towards his shoulder. "Axe Kick!" His hands come up catching the kick surprising the girl. Gripping her leg, he comes around with his right fist hitting her in the chest twice and a third blow to the face. Kisara skids backwards falling to a knee. Blood drips from her lip.

Naruto stands calmly. "You got faster, but it is not enough. Too eager to get in an attack lowers your defense." It is a lesson he learned the hard way. Always trying to charge forward instead of calculating his next move. The ANBU beat that out of him quick.

'I'll show him!' Kisara gets into her stance ready to continue the fight. Deciding on a plan of attack, she runs forward launching a barrage of kicks. He blocks and dodges all her kicks. She is unable to land a blow. Anger starts to get the better of her. Naruto finds an opening and steps inside her guard delivering a knee to her gut. Her eyes widen in pain. Coughing heavily, she falls down to all fours.

'I feel like a jerk,' frowns Naruto. It is like he is picking on her. He knows that she is a talented fighter from the way she is able to improve in such a short time, but she is not on his level. At least not yet. Not that he is trying to brag but he was trained since a very young age, he doubts that she had the same circumstances as him.

"Damn it," curses Kisara. Why can't she beat him? Is she really this weak? A hand reaches out to her. She raises her head in surprise to see him holding out his hand. "What are you doing?"

Naruto scratches the back of his head. "Well….you are a good fighter. Hanzo-sempai is always saying that one should respect those that they fight. I never really got that, but I can see what he means." A shrug comes from the former ninja. "You are a strong, maybe we can be…sparring partners?"

She looks at him as if he is crazy. "Sparring partners?"

"Yes…I need someone to practice my Kendo against. We can both improve together…right?"

A small smile appears on her face. She slaps away his hand. He looks at her curiously as she stands up. Kisara winces clutching her side in pain. Not wanting to appear weak, she turns around and stands up straight. "Alright fine," nods the girl. "But I don't want this getting out so just between us. Got it?" Her eyes narrow daring him to disagree.

"Ah…ok."

Kisara walks away while putting on a brave front for her gang. "Let's go. I'll finish this with him later." The delinquents don't argue and follow their leader.

'Girls are strange,' thinks Naruto. He begins to walk towards school.

Koga lies unconscious in the garbage.

Break

"Shinpaku!"

Nijiima walks with a wide smirk on his face. People move out of the way in fear as the small group walks down the street. It is great being the leader. The Shinpaku Alliance already has ten members and he knows in time that more will show up. All he has to do is keep using Uzumaki and Kenichi's name to get new followers. Soon enough the Shinpaku Alliance will have enough members to fight on even grounds with Ragnarok. "Who is that?"

A figure stands on the bridge up ahead blocking the path. Nijiima's eyes widen. Fear begins to fill them. He never expected Ragnarok to make a move against him so quickly. "Hermit," gulps the alien.

"The Sixth Fist of Ragnarok?!"

The Shinpaku Alliance pauses. Hermit stares at them not saying a word. "Cocky bastard!" Kamioka charges forward fist reared back. In a smooth motion, Hermit swings his arms like a whip striking Kamioka in the chest and sending him flying off the bridge. Kamioka splashes down into the sewer water below.

"Answer my question and I'll let you live," says Hermit coldly.

"What the hell was that? Kamioka was just swept away!"

Nijiima glances at his pawns. This is not good at all. A loss here will destroy the Shinpaku Alliance before it ever gets a chance to rise up. He needs to rectify this situation. No way is he going to lose everything when he worked so hard to come up with his plan.

The alien begins to tremble. Soon enough, laughter erupts from the alien. He throws back his head laughing loudly. Confusion spreads among the members of the Shinpaku Alliance. "Fool! Do you know who I am?!" shouts Nijiima. "I am the Viceroy of the Shinpaku Alliance! Haruo Nijiima!" Nijiima smirks widely. "Men, return to base at once!"

"But…"

"Silence! I alone am more than enough to deal with some low ranked punk!" The members of the Shinpaku Alliance start to walk away leaving Nijiima alone with Ragnarok. Nijiima smirks as his plan is starting to work.

Hermit folds his arms across his chest. "I have a question concerning Shirahama Kenichi."

"Oh?" Nijiima becomes curious. This is an interesting development.

"I want to know where Shirahama learns his martial arts!"

Nijiima remains calm. A smirk plays on his face. "Is that it?" He rushes towards Hermit. Hermit senses an attack and goes to strike, but freezes. Nijiima falls to his knees and lowers his head in submission. "I don't know! To be honest, me and Kenichi aren't that close! I am just using him. Please forgive me!"

A scowl forms on Hermit's face. "Pathetic. I hate weak people."

"Yes, I am weak."

"Die worm!"

Hermit strikes the ground. Surprise fills the Sixth Fist as Nijiima jumps over the railing diving into the river. "Later, you dumbass!" laughs Nijiima. Nijiima swims with great speed through the sewer water. He gets over to Kamioka and helps the boy up. "Underling recovered, mission a success."

Kamioka winces. "Nijiima-sama? Did you really come to save me? What about Hermit?"

Nijiima laughs, "I took care of him a bit."

"Wow, the Shinpaku Alliance is amazing," smiles Kamioka. Nijiima smirks. He can twist the story around to make it seem like he beat Hermit. The other members of Shinpaku Alliance will start to tell everyone how great he is getting even more members to join. Nijiima loves being a genius.

Annoyance soon fills the alien's eyes. How could he be so negligent on his information? He never once sough to find out where Kenichi is learning martial arts. That is unlike him. It is a mistake he is going to fix tomorrow. All he has to do is follow Kenichi home after school. Nijiima gains a dark gleam, no one can keep information from him.

Break

Matoko waves, "Izumi!" A cute girl with round circular glasses and her black hair tied in a braid comes walking towards Matoko. "It is about time, I was waiting forever."

"Sorry, I had to finish watering some plants," apologizes Izumi.

"I wanted to introduce you to Naruto-kun, but he had to go home." Matoko sighs in disappointment. The two begin to walk leaving the school grounds. "I wonder if he has a job. He says that he needs to get home, but who is that eager to go home?"

Izumi sweat drops. "I like to go home."

A dismissive wave comes from Matoko. "You are weird though." Izumi sulks with a dark cloud above her head. Matoko's gains a determined look. "I am going to find out about all Naruto-kun's secrets!"

"Naruto-san is a bit scary to me. That masks me him look like a bully…."

Matoko bops Izumi on the head. "Are you crazy?!" Izumi winces in pain. "He looks so cool!" Hearts appear in her eyes. "Not to mention he has the most gorgeous ocean blue eyes! Naruto-kun is definitely the hottest boy in school. Even Tanimoto doesn't compare to Naruto-kun!"

Izumi knows better to try to reason with her friend when she gets like this. It will only result in more bops to the head. She doesn't agree with Naruto being more attractive than Tanimoto Natsu. Tanimoto is definitely the most attractive boy at school. As much as she hates to admit it, Tanimoto is even better looking than Kenichi. She still likes Kenichi more! Tanimoto is just a little better looking. "Come on! I bet if we hurry we can catch up to Naruto-kun," smiles Matoko running ahead.

"Hey! You know I don't like to run!" Izumi chases after her friend.

City

Naruto double checks the address. He looks up at the small store. The store is in a shadier part of the city. Graffiti covers the walls, there is chipped paint, and the sign is crooked. A doubtful expression comes on his face. Next time he sees those guys, he is going to kick their asses. He decides to take a chance and enters Higurashi's Weapon Shop. Pushing open the door, a small ringing sound signals his entrance into the store.

The inside of the store is very different from the outside. Naruto takes back his previous assessment. It is a good thing that he is not in the ANBU anymore or he would be punished for jumping to conclusions. He takes a step forward on the wooden tile and begins to look around the well-furnished store. In the middle of the room are long glass cases with a wide variety of weapons. Weapons that are made from steel and can be used in actual combat, not those ornamental blades sold in other stores. His eyes travel over to the walls where the large weapons are hanging. Axes, longswords, spears, staffs, and many other weapons are hanging on the wall. All of the weapons are in excellent condition.

"This is not a library. Only customers are allowed."

Naruto turns around to face a tall muscular man with bulging muscles. The man looks to be in his mid-forties wearing a black apron over a dirty white shirt and baggy grey jeans. A shaggy black beard covers most of his face with annoyed dark brown eyes. He puts off an aura that doesn't take shit from anyone. It is an aura that doesn't intimidate Naruto in the least. The former ninja picks up the faint smell of metal, sweat, and a hint of blood. "You are the blacksmith," states Naruto.

An impressed look is on the man's face. "Good eyes, but I still don't let people walk around. If you enter my store you better be prepared to buy something or get the hell out," grunts the man.

"I am hoping to purchase a stock of kunai, shuriken, and possible a Japanese sword."

"Kunai and shuriken? Not many people use those weapons."

Naruto reaches into his pouch on the back of his waist. He pulls out a kunai twirling it around before tossing it to the man. The man catches the kunai and begins to examine it. "Hmm, good quality though the weight is a bit off. Kunai and shuriken are easy to make, I'll make you a set of 50 each for 5,000 yen."

"3,000."

"4,500."

"3,750."

"4,000!"

"Ok," nods Naruto agreeing to 4,000. "I practice Kendo, any particular sword you recommend?"

The man smirks, "Can't go wrong with a katana."

"Hmm…I was hoping for something else…"

"Take a look around, as long as you have the money pick out whatever you want."

The man watches as Naruto starts to walk around the store. An interesting kid, the boy sure does dress in an interesting way. He scratches his beard. Could this brat be one of that group's disciples? No, he would have received word beforehand and the disciple would have been here to pick up not look around. The man decides to let it go. Like he said earlier, as long as the brat buys something everything else doesn't matter.

School

Nijiima smirks, "I had no idea you had such scary masters. I almost passed out twice while being around them." Kenichi ignores Nijiima and continues to read his book. "How about you let me borrow them so I can take over the school?!"

"Idiot, I have no control over them," deadpans Kenichi. "Are you going to keep on following me?"

"Don't be like that, we are best buds," smirks Nijiima. Kenichi feels like throwing up. When did he become best friends with this freak? Nijiima gains a thoughtful expression. "I actually came to deliver some new information. I was attacked by the Sixth Fist of Ragnarok, Hermit."

Kenichi's eyes widen in surprise. "Ragnarok attacked you?"

A dismissive wave comes from the alien. "I managed to deal with him." Nijiima peers closely at Kenichi. "The interesting thing is that he was asking about you. He wanted to know who was training you."

"Oh, ok."

The alien is thrown off guard. "Wait, that is it? Don't you care that Hermit is interested in you?"

"No." Kenichi brushes past Nijiima. "If I worry about every little thing, I will never have time to do anything including time to read a book. When I am not training or fighting, I am resting."

Surprise fills the alien. Nijiima pulls out his PDA and begins to write down this new information about Kenichi. "Ah!" Kenichi gasps in horror. "Who is that with Miu!?"

Nijiima peers into the classroom. A very handsome, tall boy with long blonde hair and baby blue eyes is standing next to Miu's desk. The boy has an amazing smile that lights up the entire room. "That is Tanimoto Natsu, the most popular boy at school. He has superb grades, plays sports, and is the captain of the school's Drama Club. Tanimoto is basically the school's teen idol." Kenichi pales.

Miu spots Kenichi and gives a pretty smile. "Hi Kenichi."

"Hello, my name is Natsu Tanimoto," smiles the boy. "It is nice to meet you. I thought you would be a scary person."

Kenichi feels the world crash around him. 'He is so handsome! It is my total loss!'

"Lend me your power and I will spread rumors to destroy this pretty boy," whispers Nijiima.

"Go away devil!"

A blush heats Miu's cheeks. "The Drama Club is lacking members so Tanimoto asked me to play the lead role of Juliet in the upcoming play."

"I know she will be great. I am going to play Romeo so I'll help you out," smiles Tanimoto.

Kenichi goes into a corner sulking. It is over. Now he will never get a chance to be with Miu. Nijiima smirks knowing that he can play this to his favor.