"I am afraid since you defeated Ogata's disciple, Yami is now interested in you." The Elder looks directly at Naruto. "Yami is a worldwide organization that believes the martial arts are dying in these peaceful times."

"The martial arts are a way to dominate and kill others in their eyes. Those who are weak perish while the strong survive. A might is right principle," elaborates Akisame.

"The reason we didn't warn you is because we knew that it wouldn't change anything." Naruto tilts his head curiously. Hayato chuckles. "Would you have run away upon learning that powerful enemies are trying to hunt you down?" The former ninja gains a look of understanding. It is true that even though he wants nothing to do with the war between Ryozanpaku and Yami, he is not the type of person to run away. He made a vow a long time ago to never run away or give up. The Elder and the other masters are amazing to get to know him so well in such a short amount of time. "Yami will continue to try to recruit you so be prepared."

Naruto is no stranger to those wanting to use his power for their own gain. His entire life people tried to use him. In the ninja world, ninja are tools to be used to better the village that they serve. Yami seems to be no different from Akatsuki. Just when he thought he escaped from an organization wanting to take over the world, another rears up and is targeting him all over again. He must have the worse luck in the world. Or in this case, worse luck in two worlds.

Kensei speaks up. "Yami and Ryozanpaku have been at each other for years. It is only a matter of time before they shift their attention from you to Kenichi."

"Why me!?" pales Kenichi. The boy is sitting next to Naruto.

"You are Ryozanpaku's number one disciple," smiles Akisame. "Old traditions state that the one with the strongest disciple will be considered the strongest. Naruto is merely someone that they are trying to recruit. To defeat us, they will seek to destroy you."

Kenichi pales even further. Naruto becomes pensive. Perhaps Kenichi possesses the worse luck in this world.

The masked disciple stands up. "I need to…get back to training."

"Naruto, aren't you worried?" asks Kenichi.

Naruto shrugs. "I am used to…such danger." He opens the sliding doors. "I will just get strong enough…to handle this Yami." The weapon disciple leaves a group of smiling masters behind.

Break

"Kenichi!"

A beautiful girl wearing a tight fitting red Chinese dress and two large bells in her hair comes bounding in the training grounds with tons of energy. She is about to pounce on the person training, but ends up grabbing air. "Huh?" Renka senses a strong presence and spins around launching a kick. It almost hit the person behind her. "Who are you?"

Naruto reverses his grip on the wakizashi. "You…attacked me first."

Renka's eyes narrow. Whoever this boy is, he is no amateur to dodge her attack like that. "I don't like your attitude. I, Ma Renka, will defeat you!" Naruto leans back avoiding a very fast punch. She steps inside his guard aiming a double palm at his chest, but an upward slash forcing her to back off. A swing of the arm sends several shuriken at the girl. Renka tracks all the shuriken with her eyes and dodges with ease that surprises him. "Shuriken? A stupid mask to hide your face? Do you think you are some type of ninja?!" He doesn't respond. "Fine, I'll kick your ass to find out!"

The two are about to attack, but a chain wraps around Naruto's body binding his limbs. Renka is tripped making her fall face forward. "Now, now Renka what have I told you about attacking people for no reason?" chastises Kensei.

"Papa!" Renka jumps to her feet waving her arms childishly. "I was only trying to protect Ryozanpaku from that ninja wannabe!" She points an angry finger at Naruto. "Look at him, that stupid mask is pissing me off!"

Shigure tilts her head. "I…like the mask…makes him look mysterious." Naruto's blush is hidden by the mask much to his gratitude. It is not every day that a woman as beautiful as Shigure compliments him in the appearance department. In fact, he doesn't remember anyone ever admitting to liking his looks. He does recall Matoko saying to a couple girls that he is hot, but he doesn't know what that means.

Kensei forces his daughter to bow. "This is my daughter, Renka. Please forgive her brash and foolish behavior."

Naruto bows respectfully. "I am…Uzumaki Naruto."

Renka eyes him suspiciously. "Why are you here at Ryozanpaku?"

"Shigure-sensei…took me on as a…disciple."

"I thought Kenichi was disciple to all the masters including her."

"That is true, Kenichi is Ryozanpaku's disciple," says Kensei. "However, Kenichi is not a martial artist that will ever use weapons. Shigure needs a disciple to pass down her techniques to so Naruto is her personal disciple."

Shigure swings her rice spoon, but Naruto manages to dodge at the last second. "Let me…see your face." Naruto crouches down low. A barrage of kunai and shuriken fly at Shigure.

Kensei and Renka sweat drop. Shigure and Naruto get into an intense spar over her wanting to see his face. "Whatever. I came to see Kenichi." Renka walks away without a second glance back. Kensei chuckles before revealing his camera and waiting for the perfect angle.

Yami

Ogata waits patiently with a smile is upon his face. Li Tenmon failed his mission. Uzumaki Naruto defeated the Yomi member Spark with little difficulty. That boy is turning into quite the diamond in the rough. Even with Yami's incredible resources a child with so much talent was able to escape their notice. It is like a slap in the face. He wonders what else Yami failed to notice.

"It's been awhile, Kensei."

"Phew, this place is high tech."

A smirk appears on Ogata's face. "God Hand Akira Hongo and his disciple Sho Kano, it is good that you two arrived. The other seven are waiting for us, we should get going to the meeting."

Hongo is a very tall man with a slim frame yet sports a well-defined and muscular build. He is light-skinned with long-straight black hair that frames both sides of his face with some bangs hanging over his face and also sports a small and scruffy mustache. His most noticeable trait is his long and pointy ears. A scar runs down the left side of his face under his eye. Hongo wears a tight black outfit with a flowing backside and gloves and a pair of shades with triangular lenses hides his eyes.

Sho Kano is a tall well-built man with long light-blue hair that is tied back in a ponytail down to his waist. His eyes are two different colors with the right eye being ice blue and left eye is blood red. He has various bird motifs on his clothing, from the caged bird earring on his ear to the mark on the left side of his face, and even his jacket and necklace. He wears what appears to be a blue jacket with a red dragon tattoo on the left sleeve and sports pants.

The three men head towards the main room. A large room with computers all aligned in a circle. Each computer contains a different member of the One Shadow Nine Fists. Hongo takes a seat between two of the computers. Sho stands obediently behind his sensei.

Ogata lowers his hood. "What a day when we can all communicate with each other despite being so far away."

"Haha, it is because you have been cooped up in the mountains that you haven't kept up to date with the technology."

Another member speaks from a different computer. "By the way Sho, it seems you have grown stronger since the last time I saw you. If you can get permission come see me again."

"Yes sensei. Thank you sensei!" smiles Sho.

"What are we going to do about Uzumaki Naruto?" Ogata ends all the small talk. He continues wanting to learn more about the strategy to deal with the prodigious disciple. "I warned you that the Chishouken disciple would not be enough."

A female voice answers. "It is no longer our concern. The Armed Division will be handling that disciple." Ogata continues to smile not revealing his true emotions. "Our focus is to be on Ryozanpaku's disciple."

"Our goal is to defeat history's strongest disciple with our own disciple. If we kill him before he becomes the strongest the world will not accept it."

'Shirahama Kenichi, I wonder how he will handle facing a true disciple not a delinquent off the street,' smirks Ogata. The member of the One Shadow Nine Fists thinks back on the other disciple. Uzumaki Naruto is the one that he is interested in. Perhaps he needs to pay a visit to the Armed Division.

City

A young man with long shaggy black hair walks down the sidewalk. Several people get out of his way in a hurry not wanting to be seen by the thug looking young man. He comes to a stop at the top of a set of stairs. Releasing a sigh, he gains a smirk as he looks over the city. "Phew, it's been awhile since I have been to the city." The young man lifts up his arm flexing it with a strong fist. "That training was long and painful, but I've come back! I am really back!"

Laughter erupts from the young man. "Shinnosuke Tsuji is reborn! I am back Ragnarok!" Shinnosuke smirks widely ready to take his position at the top. He begins to walk forward with many thoughts on his mind. "I wonder if everyone in Ragnarok is alright. Is Kisara doing well as the Eighth Fist?"

Shinnosuke erases all those thoughts from his mind. One person above all the rest comes to mind. It is the person that forced him to leave the city in order to train in the mountains. "Uzumaki Naruto how much stronger are you now!?"

Break

Naruto lies on the roof at school with eyes closed and enjoying the warmth of the sun. He is thinking on recent events in his life. Becoming Shigure-sensei's disciple, having an evil organization after his head, skipping classes, and avoiding a certain alien that is once again trying to recruit him into the Shinpaku Alliance. Many things are going on in his once peaceful life. It seems like the only time he ever gets a break from it all is when he comes to a school to take a nice nap on the roof.

"Hey."

Takeda comes out onto the roof. The boxer walks over to Naruto and takes a seat. "Kenichi-kun hasn't shown up to school in three days. What is going on with that?"

"He is…training."

"Must be intense."

"The masters are trying to prepare him…for the dangers that are coming." Naruto sits up. "Kenichi needs…to be stronger…to face Yomi."

The boxer clenches his fist. "He plans on taking them on alone huh?"

The weapon disciple shakes his head. "Miu and I…will help him."

"I guess I am not strong enough to help," frowns Takeda. Naruto tilts his head. "The fight that I had with Kenichi on the roof seems long ago compared to how strong he is now. Every day the gap between him and me gets wider and wider. It is not good."

Understanding is in Naruto's eyes. He knows that feeling well. Being helpless and too weak to do anything despite the desire to want to do something. The first eight years of his life he spent like that until he joined the ANBU and gained focus. "If you want to close that gap…train harder."

Takeda punches the roof. "I am training as hard as I can." He hangs his head in shame. "It doesn't seem to be helping at all." A sigh comes from the boxer. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Naruto wishes that he could say something to make Takeda regain his resolve. Unfortunately, when it comes to using words he has never been that good. It makes him feel bad that he isn't able to help. Takeda is a good guy and Naruto considers him to be a good friend. The two come up to the roof often to hang out. He watches as Takeda lies down to stare up at the clouds. Naruto lies back down to stare at the clouds with Takeda.

Shinpaku Alliance

"What the hell? Shinpaku Alliance?"

Shinnosuke stares at the banner in confusion. This has to be the right address. The building is exactly the same except for the banner. What happened to Kisara's hideout? It must be some new plan that Ragnarok is implementing. A smirk appears on his face because he is going to show Ragnarok who is back and belongs at the top.

Inside the building, Kisara watches as Takeda continues to punch the heavy bag. She is impressed with his dedication to training. Ukita comes up beside her. "Hey Takeda, it is time to take a break." Takeda ignores Ukita and continues to punch the heavy bag with a ferocious intensity. "Damn, how many hours has it been now?"

Takeda pushes his body. "I can't stop. I have to keep on training to reach their level." He thinks about Miu, Kenichi, Naruto, Odin, and Berserker. All of them are so strong and levels above him.

"I see you still talk like that Takeda." Takeda freezes recognizing that voice. Kisara and Ukita turn their heads. "If you are so serious about getting stronger…why don't you risk your life in the mountains?!" a power punch strikes the heavy bag causing it to be blown off the hook and explode blasting sand everywhere.

Ukita's eyes widen. "No way, it is him!"

Shinnosuke smirks widely. "Kisara!" He runs towards the girl. "Did you miss me?"

Kisara tilts her head. "Who are you?" Shinnosuke waves his arms childishly with crocodile tears. She laughs waving her hand. "I am just kidding, Hennosuke Tsuji."

"It's Shinnosuke!"

Takeda kneels down examining the heavy bag. 'It was destroyed from the inside.' When did Shinnosuke get this strong? Shinnosuke was never a weakling, but he was all muscle and no brains with sloppy technique. Even for a top member Shinnosuke wasn't all that tough.

"Ragnarok is gone! What the hell happened!?"

A chuckle comes from Kisara. "You can thank Naruto and Kenichi for that." Kisara grabs a towel to wipe her face. "Naruto managed to defeat Berserker and Odin."

Shinnosuke yells in outrage. The shaggy haired boy begins to kick the wall in anger. "No fucking way! All that time I spent in the mountains! What the hell was it all for?!" Rearing back his right arm, he takes a step forward. Takeda and Kisara immediately notice and sense the power behind the punch. It shocks both of them when Shinnosuke punches the wall creating a fist sized hole and a dozen cracks forming outward from that hole. "Damn it!"

"Where did you learn that?" demands Takeda.

"Huh?" Shinnosuke waves his hand. "Oh, after a week of punching a tree, this creepy old guy came up to me. Told me I was disturbing his sleep and that he would teach me his techniques if I left. The name of it…was…um…I can't remember. Either way, I went through all that hell in order to gain the strength needed to take on my eternal rival, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Takeda gains a hard look. 'Eternal rival huh?'

Ryozanpaku

Naruto leaps from wooden beam to wooden beam with graceful agility. Shuriken and kunai fly at him from all directions. The widths of the beams are about 2 to 3 inches forcing him to stand on his toes with a single foot in order to stay balanced. He is bare chested, torn pants that now resembled tattered shorts, and no shoes. Multiple cuts cover his body, but none of them are life threatening. It is a good thing he has inhuman regenerative abilities because he would have died from blood loss an hour ago. Leaping to the next beam, he twirls around a five long spear deflecting several shuriken. He doesn't have much experience with the spear, but he lost his katana two hours ago and wakizashi an hour ago. All that he has left in his arsenal in this spear and a couple kunai that he managed to grab. Stumbling, he channels chakra to his feet to steady his grip and leap to the next beam. A couple kunai cut him across the back, but he ignores the pain. Oh, did he mention that if he falls that he will land in dozens upon dozens of tetsubishi that litter the ground? Shigure-sensei is proving to be even more of a sadist than his trainers in the ANBU. Anko has nothing on Shigure-sensei.

Landing on the last beam, Naruto jumps high into the air landing in a crouch in a safe area. He collapses onto his back breathing heavily. That training was so hard that he needed to use chakra to keep from failing. He tosses away the spear. "I…don't think I will…be using a spear."

Shigure bops him on the forehead with her rice spoon. "You will learn…to use all weapons." Naruto is starting to hate himself for saying he wanted to learn to use all weapons. "Also…you failed. You were…supposed to make it three hours with all weapons." She pokes him. "Go…again."

"I believe that you will need to hold off on that training." Akisame walks towards the pair. Naruto sits up noticing Kisara and Takeda behind the jujutsu master. There is another person walking with Kisara and Takeda. "We have someone here that wishes to challenge Naruto to a match."

"Uzumaki! It is time we settle our duel!"

Naruto stands up. "Who…are you?"

Kisara bursts out laughing. Shinnosuke grits his teeth. "I am Shinnosuke Tsuji! How dare you forget your eternal rival!"

"You have an…eternal rival?" Shigure pokes Naruto.

"I guess…so," he shrugs.

Shinnosuke steps forward with a determined look. "Fight me Uzumaki!"

Naruto nods. "I accept…"

Ryozanpaku

"Go Naruto-kun! Apa!"

"Kill…him."

Shinnosuke sweat drops. "Hey! No killing!" He tosses away his coat and gets into a strange stance.

Naruto places his left arm behind his back and holds his right arm in front of him. He is going to fight this match without using weapons. His taijutsu training has been lacking lately and this is a good way to work on it. That reminds him that he never got to have that spar with Thor. He will have to check on Thor tonight.

Miu analyzes both martial artists. "Judging that other guy, I would have to say that Naruto is much stronger."

"So why did Naruto agree to the match than?" wonders Kenichi.

"Strength alone is no guarantee of victory," smiles Hayato. "Even a weaker opponent can find a way to achieve victory."

Kenichi frowns at that logic. The Elder must be messing with him. "That stance, I wonder," mutters Akisame.

"I heard that you managed to defeat Odin and Berserker. You have gotten stronger," smirks Shinnosuke.

Kisara smirks, 'idiot, you are about to be destroyed.' Takeda watches the fight intensely.

"Let's go!" Shinnosuke begins to move around at impressive speeds. Takeda, Kisara, and Kenichi are all shocked by the strange movements. Naruto watches as Shinnosuke moves around him in a circle. Shinnosuke is barely moving his legs so that it appears like the young man is sliding across the mats.

Akisame and Sakaki recognize the movements immediately. "This is Koppou," says the jujutsu master.

Shigure remains impassive, but she is impressed. "Koppou…it has the same origins as Sumou and Ninjutsu…so that's it?"

"Yes."

Kensei lowers his camera phone. "It's over 1,000 years old and it's been said that it's one of Japan's oldest kenpou, though that's just an opinion."

The philosophical jujutsu master continues the explanation to Kisara, Takeda, and Kenichi who are listening intently to the masters. "For Koppou, the kanji 'Kotsu' is used, as it follows that skill are the basis for everything. Now, the term 'Kotsu, means something like being able to understand a clever technique you've done for a little time, but 'Kotsu' meant 'core' in olden Japan. Carrying a statue or running with geta with long soles, there were a lot of techniques that came from the difference between people who knew their cores and those who didn't." Akisame strokes his mustache. "The aggregate of the skill has recently appeared in many different styles but his movements seem to be a bit different."

"Eh, what did you just say the name of my style was?" demands Shinnosuke.

"Koppou."

"Hahaha! That's it! Koppou! I finally remembered the name of my martial arts!"

"What an idiot," sighs Kisara.

A front hand strikes come at Naruto. Naruto dodges to the left avoiding the strike. Takeda's eyes narrow when Shinnosuke launches several more front palm thrusts. 'It doesn't even look like he is moving his arm. And he is hiding his rear leg behind his front leg to disguise his movements.' Shinnosuke goes for a front leg kick, but Naruto spins around it going for a rear leg sweep.

"Same trick won't work twice!" Shinnosuke slides around in surprising speed to avoid the Leaf Gale that defeated him so long ago. The former brawler unleashes a flurry of punches and kicks. Naruto stays a step ahead of Shinnosuke's attacks before deflecting a punch to the side. A punch slams into Shinnosuke's chest sending him flying a couple feet. Shinnosuke hits the mats hard. 'Damn, he hits even harder than I remember.'

Naruto gets back into his stance. "You…are stronger…but so am I."

A wide smirk appears on Shinnosuke's face. "I expected no less from my eternal rival." Shinnosuke stands back up and gets into his stance. "But your puny punches won't harm me!"

Kisara starts to respect Shinnosuke. 'Not bad, he won't give up.'

'He was able to get so much stronger. Is this what having a master does?' thinks Takeda.

"He should give up, there is no way he can win," says Kenichi.

Miu looks at Kenichi with disappointed eyes. "You still don't get it huh?" Kenichi gains a confused look. "Shinnosuke is weaker in terms of skill, strength, and speed. There is no denying that Naruto is stronger, but if for a one second Naruto lets down his guard, Shinnosuke will win."

A nod comes from the red head. "It is true." Kisara never takes her eyes from the fight. "Naruto is not the type of person to ever let down his guard when in a fight. He could be fighting the strongest man alive or a small little child, to him a fight is a fight. Though he may not use his full strength in every fight, he doesn't let down his guard. The bastard is always telling that to me in our spars, Old habit, but I never let my guard down during a fight. He said that after knocking me flat to my ass when I tried to get his attention while he was sparring Freya-nee."

Kenichi begins to understand. "I see."

"I think I finally understand," smirks Takeda. "Even without a master, I can never give up on my training with boxing. I will find a master, but until that day comes I have to keep on pushing myself to my limits. Never lower my fists not even for a second."

Hayato strokes his beard with a smile. 'It looks like this spar was beneficial in many ways.'

Break

Miu shouts happily. "Dinner is ready!"

"Huh?!" Shinnosuke shoots awake and sits upright. "Where am I? What happened to my match against Uzumaki?"

A plate of food is placed down in front of him. Shinnosuke looks around to see that he is sitting at a dinner table surrounded by the masters from earlier. "You lost." Kenichi gives a knowing smile. "Naruto knocked you out cold. He left a couple hours ago."

Shinnosuke slams his fist down in anger. "Damn! I thought I had him!"

Hayato chuckles in amusement. "Where did you learn those techniques?"

"I met this strange old man in the woods that wore a bear skin. I never asked his name, but he was incredibly strong." A loud grumble comes from Shinnosuke's stomach. He begins to devour the food with gusto. "I trained so hard! The training in the mountains was hell! How could I lose again?!"

"To think there are masters we don't know about that aren't on Yami's side, this is good news indeed," smiles Hayato. "However, you never finished your training did you?" Shinnosuke looks away with a guilty expression. "Naruto is not the type of person to sit around and be happy with his current strength. His goal is to grow stronger and stronger. If you want to keep up with him, I suggest going back to your master to complete your training."

Miu gives a friendly smile. "Oh, there was a message that Naruto wanted us to give you." Shinnosuke leans forward taking a pause in eating. "He said if you want to challenge me again…I will be waiting, I think he had a lot of fun fighting you."

Kenichi sweat drops. "It is near impossible to tell how he felt. That mask covers his face and he speaks in that bored voice all the time."

"My disciple…enjoyed sparring with you." Shigure eats her bowl of rice slowly. "You are free…to come back to challenge him…any time."

Shinnosuke stands up with a fire burning in his eyes. "I won't rest until I defeat my eternal rival!"