So hey guys! It's time for another chapter. I hope you see that Sasuke won't go unpunished; I won't stoop as low as to let that happen when it wouldn't happen in real life.

Also, I have a question I'll put at the end Author's Note.

Anyways…let's start the chapter!

Noctus Of The Thousand Blades: Your wish is granted. Eiyu no Kage has a separate fic for the 5th Grail war happenings. But this chapter will have some extra make scenes of the first chapter to show to people if they haven't seen the second fic.

Aidan Kennedy: Everyone will know of the harem members in due time.

Disclaimer: first chapter

Chapter 6: The Day of Departure

In the modest, and small restaurant of Ichiraku Ramen stand, a council of sorts assembled to do one thing in particular. The topic at hand directed itself to the restaurant's main patron, Naruto Uzumaki himself. The members of this hastily made council are friends of Naruto's, and they assembled to create a farewell party for their fellow Shinobi after hearing that the hyperactive Shinobi will be leaving for a training trip. As such, they panicked. They needed to find farewell gifts fast! One such member looked at the scene with a blank stare –he certainly didn't think that it was that big of a deal to get the guy presents. He lazily went out of the restaurant because he knew what to give his colleague.

The others however…they trampled over each other as they tried finding solutions to their own problems. Three of them already found their answer easily, and went to the kitchen to work their magic. One already left to finish forging her present, which was made days before. Three followed her to ask for help with their present for the boy. Another went to his home go get him a book on insects in the Elemental Nations. A boy and his dog wondered what to give the guy, but could not find a proper gift at the moment. One left to go to her master to ask for help, while her friend looked for a flower that resembles his color scheme. Another girl left to look for a book that could help the boy incapacitate his opponents.

A boy and his sensei agree on a gift, and hastily run to follow the forging girl to buy their gift there. A Jounin woman and her best friend –who was dragged into this- found their respective gifts, which correlate with their expertise. A smoking Jounin wondered what the boy's elemental nature is, so he'd get the boy Chakra paper. His colleague, the masked Jounin, already had his prepared, and boy would it be a treat to see his student read it.

Hours later, Jiraiya and Tsunade, both in her office, conversed on the hot topic of Konoha, Naruto, once more. Tsunade leisurely sat back into her chair while her teammate held a stern face she had not seen in quite a long time. Curious, she took a chance and asked, "What gotten you down in the dumps, Jiraiya?"

"Ahhh…me and the kid got in a fight."

"Really?" Tsunade asked, "What happened?"

Jiraiya started explaining, "I was walking around town to find the kid, but I saw the Yamanaka heir running then halting to catch her breath. I was curious about why she was running, so I asked her. Turns out she saw Naruto upset, and quite worried for him. She pointed me to the monuments, where I overheard Naruto crying his heart out about is it bad to save his friend." Tsunade obediently listened to this exposition; moreover, she looked quite surprised that the Yamanaka was worried for the boy. Jiraiya continued, "The reason he was upset was because Saber took the liberty to telling the kid to grow up."

"Grow up?" Tsunade repeated, "Really?"

"That's the summary. She actually meant that there is little to no chance that Sasuke will come back, and the kid must face the fact that he might need to kill the Uchiha. If Sasuke does return, I told Naruto that most likely Sasuke'll get a death sentence. Obviously he took it negatively. I told him what happened with Orochimaru and I, and Kakashi, who was with me when I arrived, told his story about how he killed his last teammate to save Konoha. I only got worse when Kakashi told the truth about Doto Kazahana."

"You mean the previous, tyrannical ruler of the newly named Spring country?"

"Yes. Finally Ino, who'd been hiding throughout the conversation, spilled the beans about our training trip. That was the last straw before he left." The Hokage was left silent about the story. True to Jiraiya's summary of Saber's words, Naruto needed to grow up. That childish naivety would get him killed one day. Despite the harsh words, it's quite necessary for him to clearly see the harsh reality they live in.

Sighing, she said, "So I'm guessing you're the reason Sakura asked me to find a scroll on medical techniques of all things?"

"What?"

"Nevermind…"

Haven't you heard, Baa-chan? The -! I can even the balance of power. Why are you so afraid of me joining the inevitable bloodshed? When bad becomes the worst, -. And frankly, I'd like to die in the heat of battle -!

No! You will go - for your safety. – I'll be damned if I let you die to that monster!

Be as it may, Hokage-sama! I want to protect this world and its people. So either you knock me out, or - . You hear me, Hokage-sama?!

Naruto woke up with a startle. What was that dream? His voice sounded deeper, and he sounded a lot more confident too. A dream of the future, perhaps? It certainly wasn't nightmarish in origin, but what other type of dream could it be? Looking at his surroundings, the young Master recognized he's in his moderately sized apartment. He scratched his head, and his already unkempt, spiky hair looked even more ridiculous with bedhead.

"What's wrong, Master?" Saber asked from Naruto's mindscape.

"I don't know, Saber… What was that dream?"

"A vision?" Saber guessed.

"Probably… but nevermind that. I leave today… for that training trip."

"I think it's better this way, Master. With this training trip, you'll see the outside world more, learn things without interference, and adopt some techniques from other foes you meet."

"I guess… still it's saddening to leave my friends behind." His somber voice sounded like a breeze, quiet as if a whisper. He got out of bed and gathered his necessities such as scrolls, ramen, clothes, and ramen. After that, he stuffed them neatly in a bag before he freshened up with a shower.

"I'm sure they understand." Saber said, trying to console her Master, "They do know you're trying to get stronger after all…"

"Hey…what's that smell?" Naruto asked Saber. The young Master sniffed the air. The oily aroma snaked around his apartment. Tiny, rapid claps echoed as well; could someone be frying something? It smelled like chicken. He could also smell that ramen, and something sweet along with it. Having enough, Naruto walked to his kitchen to see Archer in a pink, frilled apron that bore the words, "Real men wear PINK!" while cooking breakfast. Naruto looked quite surprised Archer had the gall to wear a feminine color on an apron -it even has frills!

"Morning, Master!" Archer greeted gleefully while flipping a round, brown…thing in a pan… Naruto looked quite interested at his Servant's unique food. It looked edible; the smell supported that thought.

Naruto greeted his Servant with an equally happy "Morning! What's that?"

"Oh this?" Archer pointed to the food, "This is a pancake. You put maple syrup on it and boom! Instant sweetness invades your flavor." His Master looked skeptical, but took a seat at the table, where Archer placed the food on a platter. Before Naruto could take a bite, the food disappeared in a flash of silverware. Archer sighed. He already predicted that happening. He even grabbed that bowl right by his head, and filled the bowl with rice and eggs and chicken because the food on the table disappeared into someone's stomach, "Can you not eat all of Master's breakfast?" Archer scolded the perpetrator.

The perpetrator, Saber, stopped in mid chew and looked embarrassed at her gluttonous tendency with Archer's cooking. But as that embarrassed look settled in, she eradicated it from her face to replace it with a more stoic expression.

"I'm terribly sorry, Master. It's just that Archer's cooking is quite divine." Even with that stoic expression on her face, Naruto heard the hint of satisfaction in her voice; he might have even heard her stomach purring at the mere taste of Archer's cooking of all things possible! The Master awkwardly nodded and smiled at the Knight before he looked on his plate. Fried Chicken on the top left corner, rice at the bottom, Spring rolls at the right side on the plate. On the left side of the plate, a steaming hot ramen bowl simmered, while the platter on the right had three stacks of that…Pancake dripped in Maple syrup. Deciding to try the foreign food, he grabbed his chopsticks and grabbed a Pancake at its side. Obviously, it led to a mess, a sticky, manageable one.

"Ah. Master. Don't use chopsticks for that." Archer said to his Master, he grabbed a pair of silver utensils. The blonde Master eyed the pair of silver suspiciously. They were a four-pronged utensil (?) and a deliberately dull knife. Was he supposed to cut a piece and then stab the cut piece and bite that? "Of course, Master. That's exactly how you use them!"

"Huh…" Naruto croaked out while still looking at the utensils strangely. Judging by the mere shape, this pronged utensil, which Naruto still doesn't understand is a fork, could probably be used as a weapon; however, not a truly deadly weapon. If anything, he could use this thing to just mess with Jiraiya if he's going to just ignore him to ogle at women.

If only it would be more aerodynamic…

Little did he know, that he'd make that desire come true in the future when he learns a very important skill that makes him unique from the rest. But that's a story for a later time. Let the young Master eat his breakfast.

Ten minutes later…

"Archer! More seconds please!"

"Of course, Master."

"Archer, I'd like some more too."

"Of course, Saber."

The eaters at the table stuffed themselves to the brim with Archer's divine cooking skills. It's a good thing that he used all the ingredients he could to make it; they'd be leaving soon, and it'd be a shame to waste. His Master and Saber seemed to agree with their mewls of satisfaction making the blonde pair purr at his cooking. As soon as their plate was devoid of any sign of food, they slammed it onto the table to signal for more food. The man smiled at their reaction. They're becoming like brother and sister through the simple task of eating breakfast.

When the two were done, Archer took the dishes to clean them. All the while, the young Master wondered if Archer could teach him to cook like that. It'd be a great skill to have in general. As Saber said, the food was indeed divine, but the ramen Archer made –it's a very close alternative- could never beat Ichiraku's ramen.

Minutes later, someone knocked on Naruto's door. Naruto opened the door while wondering who in the world could it be. It surprised the blonde to see the familiar shade of pink and the shine of gold in front of him.

"Morning, Naruto!" Sakura greeted.

"M-morning, Sakura-chan…, Ino." Naruto stammered out. He didn't expect Sakura to be the one at his door in this hour, nor Ino. It was only six in the morning for crying out loud. Then again, he is Sakura's teammate, and she probably heard from Kakashi about him leaving to train. Ino could be here for the sole reason of trying to make amends with him for hiding the secret. He didn't know how to feel about the Yamanaka right now. As for his teammate, it really saddened him to leave at such short notice, but Naruto needed to get stronger if only to confidently stare at Sakura's eyes later on; he'd failed to fulfill his promise.

Steeling himself, Naruto asked, "What are you doing here?" It was a simple question, and a good way to start the conversation; Sakura, or Ino for that matter, rarely knocked on his door –ever.

Sakura smiled and replied, "To get you out of your apartment, silly. We have quite a while before you leave, right?" Naruto kept silent. It's best to think that every single one of his friends know about him leaving, "C'mon. Let's get you some Ichiraku for the road." Naruto perked up at the moment Sakura pulled out that card, yet slightly averted his gaze from the girl. He nodded, turned around and gathered his belongings. Ino noticed the boy's lack of verbal response, but a nod is better than nothing.

He entered his room, a single bed with a dresser beside it, and a closet opposite of the bed. He grabbed his backpack by the bed. The hard wood floor, clean and pristine as those from a dojo, squeaked under Naruto's somber footsteps; It would be his last steps into his home before leaving. Looking at his bed, he saw the sheets folded, pillows arranged properly, and not a single speck of wrinkles to be seen. The closet behind him was stripped clean of clothing, which were his jumpsuits, sleepwear, and underwear. The only thing left to inspect was the picture frame holding the naïve days of Team Seven, when Naruto hated Sasuke for being too good, Sakura fawning over Sasuke, Kakashi being late, and him being reckless. He inspected the photo more, staring at it with reminiscent eyes. Ah, the days where all Naruto needed to worry about was Sasuke…

'Where did those days go?' Naruto asked himself while lowering his gaze to the floor. In a sudden spike of anger, he punched his dresser, shaking the picture frame on top of it and the alarm clock beside it. He looked to the photo one last time 'Sasuke…' He didn't dare finish the thought. It would hinder his resolve right now, and it would be detrimental to his training. He mustn't have these distractions lest he wants wield Caliburn again.

Speaking of Caliburn, how will he use it if it disappeared? He thought of a possible way by focusing on the weapon's appearance. He outstretched his right hand, and resumed his focus. Summoning Caliburn into his right hand, he noticed the golden glow erupt from his palm, where it took the blade's shape. As soon as it was done materializing, he gripped the royal blade embroidered in gold and royal blue. The weight, still present, did not hinder the boy from gripping it with one hand despite the difficulty.

'Test my resolve, Caliburn.' He thought to himself as he tried to transmit those very same thoughts to the blade, 'If I can't handle the weight you've placed on me, then it means I was never meant to hold you.' He dematerialized the regal blade, disappearing into the same golden glow in which it was created from. He closed the palm that held the sword, and held it like it was still there. He left the room, leaving behind his old self, but kept with him his doubts and wavering resolve. Truly, that sword would test his resolve if he can already feel the burden without the need to summon it. With each step the blonde boy felt the burden, the idea of killing a friend, become heavier.

He shook his head; it wasn't the time to think about those things. He'd be leaving in six hours, and he should spend every last moment enjoying it. With renewed vigor, the boy closed the door to his room with his backpack in tow, and headed towards the front door, where the girls patiently waited for the boy's return.

"Everything done?" Sakura asked her teammate.

With a restrained smile compared to his usual foxy one, Naruto answered, "Yeah. Got everything I need, and the rooms are clean. Sakura-chan…" He handed over a key to the girl, "Take care of the house, will ya?"

"Of course. Can't have your house be a dust-filled dump, can we?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Hmm…" The boy stared the his teammate suspiciously, "Something tells me you already think of my house as a "Dust-filled dump.""

Sakura stiffened at the very true accusation, "N-not at all!" she stammered out in a very weak reply. Naruto narrowed his eyes at that; he knew Sakura thought his place would be a dump. But no matter; hell be away from his home anyway. Why should he care if it's a dump? Sakura will take care of it.

"So! Where are you ladies taking me for the next six hours before I leave?"

In a forge somewhere in the east side of the village, a Kunoichi just finished her gift. Technically, it wasn't originally supposed to be a farewell gift, but still a gift. She planned on giving it to Naruto as a way to be more inclined to use weapons. He was starting to learn how to use swords so why not other weapons while he's at it? She inspected her craft, smooth, polished, and hopefully, fits like a glove. Well…it is a glove, more specifically, a gauntlet for his left hand. Well at least if it's loose, the seal imprinted on it will make it so that it fits to his size, and as he grows, the gauntlet will grow with him. As for the other gift, the one the little Academy students requested she create in short notice, should be done in about six hours or less. She looked over the oddly specific design.

A visor. Why of all things did the kids want her to make a visor? Moreover, its shape resembles that of a Knight, one of the types of warriors from recorded past. And while it looks like a Knight visor, it also looks like half an ANBU mask that resembles a fox-like appearance… Two eye slits and two tiny protrusions like fangs help solidify that idea. The fact that the kids also want it painted in orange also helps.

"Aww…what's with all the racket, Tenten?" The girl snapped away from her thought to look at her father at the door behind her, "You've been hacking away at the forge for days now. Did someone make a custom order?" The father yawned out his sentence because of Tenten's laborious determination to finish Naruto's gift, which kept him awake till late at night.

"That's right, Dad. I'm making a custom order for a friend of mine."

The father scratched the back of his head, messing up his already unkempt brown hair. He tried to recollect the friend his daughter mentions… "Is it Naruto?"

"Yes, Dad. Didn't I tell you this before? He's leaving today, and I'm trying to get him a farewell present. And a custom order came in yesterday for a Knight visor, also for Naruto." Tenten's father's blue orbs stare out to space. The name strikes a memory, but he can't for the life of him to remember what it is. "Uh…Dad? You still there?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. My bad. Just trying to remember something. By the way, why don't you go upstairs for some breakfast? I'll take over from here; relax a bit." Tenten didn't argue; her stomach rumbled like an earthquake, and her eyes looked like they needed a good amount of shut eye. She left the forge, leaving her father to inspect her work, "Ohoh…so she got the Refitting seal on eh? Useful. But why only one hand?" He flipped the gauntlet to its clothed palm, and noticed another seal etched onto the armor. But before that, he noticed a particular mechanism on the wrist. He wore the gauntlet, and it seemed the refitting seal worked well; it wrapped his left arm in a snug fit. Once again, he examined the mechanism. It looked to work by through the use of a certain muscle in the wrist; he surmised that the muscle hits a button above it that achieves something. He did the action, and the mechanism sprouted a blade that emerged from the mechanism that ran the length of the forearm. A sheath. He continued to examine the work; a weapon worthy of the shadows. Tenten had created such a weapon? "Wondrous," he exclaimed. Her daughter designed her first weapon, and it's a tool many Shinobi would die to get their hands on. This hidden blade…she planned on giving this prototype weapon to Naruto? Seems the boy has developed, even if slightly. He returned his hand to a relaxing angle, and the blade returned to its home. "I have got to find out what Tenten did. Maybe if I ask nicely, I could see blueprints!" He whispered ecstatically. No one reveals the designs of original work in the household; it was an old, family rule that still worked.

He had fun with that toy, so he chose to return his gaze to the seal. Curious, he flared his Chakra onto the seal. All of a sudden, metal expanded at the back of his hand, where it formed an elongated hexagonal shape, a shield. He raised his eyebrows at that. A shield was something rarely seen in the Elemental Nations. Not even Samurai use shields often, if at all. However, he felt yet another mechanism take hold, and this time, it came from inside the shield. It felt top heavy, and the distribution of the weight was somewhat rectangular. If the previous tool was something to go by, this mechanism might be another hidden blade, but much larger and not quite made for assassination kills. He tested that theory, yet did not think of a way to activate the weapon hidden away.

"Hmm…maybe…" He jerked his left arm forward, then immediately retracted it, letting inertia take its hold on the mechanism. And sure enough, Tenten's father hypothesized correctly. A blade similar in shape of the previous work, but much larger, erupted from the top of the shield. "Sheesh! Just pulling out all the stops, huh?" Though he can't blame his daughter; she's a born natural! He moved on to the next product, the visor, the blueprint of it, and noticed how oddly specific the shape is. Like his daughter, he too thought the visor is a mix of a Knight visor and an ANBU mask of a fox.

'Fox…' He lingered at the thought… before his head snapped at an epiphany, 'Kushina's Kodachis!' He ran out of the forge, directing himself to the storage room, where weapons of high-value are kept safe. He rushed to the room, ignoring the fact that he toppled some living room decor as he hurried to the room. Tenten, in the middle of eating, stopped to look at what her father was panicking about. He's never one to panic.

With a sandwich firmly placed in her mouth, she followed her father to investigate what's wrong. And why was he going to the storage room of all places? As she got closer to the room, she could hear, "Not there! Maybe…no. It should be here! What? Where is it?" She peeked inside, her head only visible if one were to look at her from inside the room. It almost seems comical for a blacksmith Kunoichi to keep a sandwich in her mouth and not bother chewing the food.

"What's wrong, Dad?" She asked, taking the sandwich away from her mouth.

"I'm looking for a pair of Kodachi's, Tenten. Spiral guards, white leather wrapping a red handle. white sheathes. Do you recognize anything with a description like that?"

Tenten answered, "Yep! I know just what you're looking for." She walked right next to her father, and slammed her left foot on a loose floorboard with the force of an elephant, and broke the board upon impact, launching a pair of Kodachis her father described. Tenten's father caught the pair of blades, and placed it on an empty shelf next to him. He picked up a note, addressed to the child of Kushina Uzumaki. Tenten looked at the note in slight shock, but mostly awe. Her family held one of the most famous Kunoichi's swords? She felt giddy on the inside; next to Tsunade, Kushina, one of the most renowned Kenjutsu practitioners in the Elemental Nations, inspired her to be a Kunoichi worthy to be placed on the history books.

But wait…Kushina Uzumaki's child…Uzumaki…Naruto…

"N-NARUTO'S KUSHINA-SAMA'S CHIL-MMPH!" Her father silenced her with his hand on her mouth, and his head shaking in disagreement. She understood; this is meant to be secret. But why? Why was Naruto left in the dark about his mother? Who's Naruto's father? Her questions stack on each other like a tower, and her father could see it in her hyperactive eye movement.

"Kushina…asked me to make her a pair of Kodachi's for her child. She asked me a week before she died. She asked me before she died on the night of the Kyuubi attack." A growing silence wrapped around the room, "I finished it the day of the attack; the day Kushina died. I was too wrapped up in my despair; I lost a dear friend. If she died, then surely her child faced the same fate. But then I remembered…Naruto was given the name Uzumaki. No one gives the Uzumaki clan name to a nameless orphan."

"Are you sure that it's him?"

"I told you, no one just places the Uzumaki name on an orphan."

"So…how did we go from taking a gentle stroll in the park to chasing after Tora?" Naruto asked nonchalantly. Sakura and Ino, who instigated the chase of the rampaging Demon cat, ignored the blonde, male genin. The two had personal vendettas against the cat…petty girls. Describing such pettiness could take all night, and even then, we'd barely scratch the surface. But never mind that. Back in the action, Tora, the brown cat with carnation stripes, swerved to the right, evading the charging Kunoichi pair by hiding under a market stand. The girls' forward momentum caused them to trip the moment they turned. At that moment, Tora jumped out of her hiding place, and pounced on the fallen Kunoichis.

Naruto intercepted the animal, and he kept the cat close to his chest, "Gotcha!" He announced. But it was a fruitless victory because the feline retaliated as quick as lightning; she scratched her captor's face, and forced Naruto to release her. "Gah! That stings!" He exclaimed as his arms loosened to caress his face. Oh how he remembered the feeling. It irritated him to no end. Why can't he stop reminiscing?

The cat landed softly; it sprinted off, leaving a dust trail and screaming Shinobi and Kunoichi in its path of destruction (caused by the Shinobi corps). "Darn it! Sakura! Ino! We'll split up. We're going to corner the cat…" He growled. Now's not the time for a trip down memory lane! That cat is causing tons of trouble, and he had to do something about it! He sprinted in the direction Tora took, and he only got faster as the annoying memories of Sasuke in the early days of Team Seven resurfaced. "Get back here, you damn TIGER!" He yelled at a volume even Sakura's level could not achieve; to many senior Shinobi and Kunoichi, the volume sparked off a memory that shook their spines.

With vigor in his step, Naruto chased after the cat as an orange blur. He jumped at a wall with his feet sticking on it. Running sideways from a right-side-up perspective, Naruto followed the cat, his annoyance building up like a dam holding water. The runaway cat could be seen scurrying in the distance, disturbing the peace.

Inside Naruto's mind, Archer, Rider, and Lancer were amused by the chase. It seems their Master could be petty. They ignored the fact that Naruto is venting out a tad bit of frustration on an animal, but, in the words of Lancer, "Better that the cat gets it than me." The blue spearman had no qualms at all. Why should he care about a cat with the mystical nine lives -not the Noble Phantasm- when he himself doesn't have the semblance of multiple lives? He reminded himself of his Luck rank…

"What? Afraid you'd die with your rank E Luck, Lancer?" Archer joked.

"Don't even start with that, Archer. I think I'm more cat than dog with all the times I've 'died' in Carnival Phantasm." Then Lancer realized what he said, and before he could deny any accusation, Archer sneered.

"So you are a dog!"

"I-I didn't mean it like that, Archer!"

"But you are beastly." Rider commented, inspecting the spearman's appearance, "You have to admit that at least, right 'Culann's Savage Dog?'" The Irish Child of Light let out a 'tch' in annoyance. "But going back to that cat comment about yourself… that Battle Continuation skill of yours is quite fearsome. Have fair maidens experienced it?" Rider's sultry voice seemed to mock Lancer, and he knew what the pirate meant with that last sentence.

"Of course-"

"Not." Archer finished for Lancer.

"Hey! Don't put words in my mouth!"

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Naruto was on the warpath. The Shinobi aiding in giving chase saw that. While to many civilians, this is yet another routine chase for the cat, none of them saw how increasingly irritated Naruto became. It seemed like he was on the verge of unleashing the Kyuubi to smite the destructive feline. But more than that, the level of irritation and anger Naruto displayed almost seemed parallel to one other Uzumaki that once inhabited the village. Almost instantly, it clicked!

Take out the blonde hair and replace it with red, add in the pranking tendencies, and liveliness of Kushina, many saw the boy's mother in him. It did help the fact that the same deathly aura Kushina used to exude when pissed off radiated the same way when Naruto uses it during the chase. Many swear they saw the signature silhouette of nine, thick strands of hair flowing wildly along with the wild temper Naruto showed as he chased after the cat like the Shinigami wants the animal's soul in its collection. Though there were a few nonbelievers in the group. To cement the idea that Naruto is Kushina's son, the idiots tempted fate. And to tempt fate, they cheered, "You almost got her, Tomato!"

Something inside Naruto forced him to stop. This divine will made the genin stop in his tracks, shown with the evidence of plate-sized, webbed craters. However, one does not simply stop instantly. Due to physics, forward momentum made the boy trip, launching himself into a can of red paint. His hair, acting like a paintbrush, soaked up the paint in the can, turning his sun-kissed hair a familiar hue. Chunins, Jounins, and some roaming ANBU shivered at the sight of red paint dripping from Naruto's once blonde hair. Naruto's body shook, his eyes twitched madly, and he visibly released steam. This annoyance from the mere name-calling of "Tomato" irked him more so than the cat and the reminiscing. Something inside his very existence just commanded him to do something about the insult! To show his anger, Kyuubi aided him in changing his eyes to red. He turned to the offending Shinobi and yelled, "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

"You done fucked up now, Fuko! You and Meiwakuna!" Yelled out by one of the Chunins.

"Master!" Saber yelled in his head, "You must not waste time on these idiots." Naruto momentarily halted, his anger subsiding slightly. It must sound weird for the regal and just Knight, Saber to call Shinobi such a derogatory word like 'Idiot.' He turned around, but not before giving the offending Shinobi one heated glare. He continued his chase like many of the other Shinobi have done. The Chunins, Fuko and Meiwakuna, stared dumbfounded; they saw the Shinigami in the boy's eyes, and the boy did nothing but glare at the two as a passing moment. The gesture itself was almost enough to make them piss their pants with the amount of anger he exuded.

Inside Naruto's head, Archer examined the new hair color his Master sported. It doesn't match his jumpsuit, but with a slight haircut and makeup, he actually thought that the boy could look like the way he was in the past. He could do without the "Tomato" insult though. It irritated him too, seeing as he was a redhead in the past. He might just give his Master ideas on ways to get back at the Chunins.

"Ohoh…our Master has a bit of fire in him." Rider stated; she seemed amused by the reaction, "With the emotions and reactions I keep seeing, I might just ask Master to pay my services with his entertaining expressions!" Archer sweatdropped at the avaricious Rider, but she can't help it; a pirate cannot be called a pirate without the staple loot. Caster walked by, stopping next to Rider.

"Hmm…what's this? Trying to monopolize Master's cute expressions?! UNACCEPTABLE!" The sheer volume was enough to turn any person deaf; however, the killer intent she unleashed along with that yell was enough to terrorize the gods. Even Inari cowered -says a lot about the god, doesn't it? Besides the god, Archer, Lancer, and Berserker stiffened. They tried to run, but they were plastered in place. The female's wrath made the men stick to the floor they stood on like industrial Gorilla glue. Archer tried to calm down the angered Caster, but the experience brought about some…frightening memories about…Alter Saber. That was one cold night in hell.

"Eh? You trying to pick a fight, Trophy Wife?"

"I won't be just some trophy wife! I will be the best wife in the world!"

In the background, Saber asked herself, 'Wait…wasn't the topic about monopolizing Naruto's facial expressions? Why did it become about being a wife all of a sudden?' Her confused expression held a small hint of hypocrisy for she too experienced this type of 'rivalry' when it came to Shirou's heart. She forgot the details, but she's sure that she let Alter take over for a bit to let her handle the dispute against Rin and Sakura. After that, she surmised everything had gone well. Rin and Sakura became more…tame, if she remembered correctly. Despite that, her confusion, settled in as the more important detail. The transition from 'monopolizing facial expressions' to 'wife' is hard to ignore. Kyuubi shared the feeling Saber had, but prioritized trying to get rid of the loud annoyance in its domain; it failed, causing the Chakra beast to cry silently and bitterly.

Assassin sighed. The girls could be quite rowdy when they want to be. Thankfully, their Master isn't hearing this petty squabble, or it would be quite the headache placed upon their Master. It doesn't take a genius to understand that this argument would not go well if it did reach their Master's consciousness.

Alter Ego laughed at the childishness Caster displayed. True to Rider's words, it's entertaining to see their Master's various expressions, both positive and negative ones. It's nice to see some rage rather than that naive smile he continues to flare. It could get quite annoying and overbearing at times, but it did have its innocent charm to it that Alter Ego could not ignore. She's tempted to say that she likes the red hair her Master sported.

Ruler sighed. What could she express about the scene? She agreed with Caster -barely- but even so, she really couldn't describe the scene without coming off as just as childish as the arguing women. The regal woman sighed once more, not wanting to see the scene further develop; she jumped in saying, "That's enough, ladies. Thou must keep thy tongues in check, lest I rip it out to quell such immature behavior." Caster stared at Ruler, analyzing the woman's threat. Caster reluctantly stops the argument, if only to not be on the receiving end of Ruler's iron fist of discipline.

"Must you do that, Ruler? The fun was about to start!" Alter Ego yelled at the French Knight.

"It was necessary, Alter Ego. We mustn't encourage these acts; we're Heroic Spirits. What would Master think about us if we're like this?"

"Hm…fair enough."

"Get back here ya stupid cat!" Naruto yelled. Tora just jumped yet another market stand, causing food to fly all over the place. Some had opted to place traps in front of the cat while the main force led the feline into those traps. However, the animal somehow knew that there would be traps, and she evaded them as if nothing was there. The same can't be said for some of the Shinobi chasing after the cat too. They're not mad though; they have an excuse as to why they aren't chasing after the demon cat. And besides, it's kind of spices up life to see themselves springing their own trap for once.

Ino and Sakura went ahead, planting traps on the ground. They were furious at the cat, but it seems the animal's owner still hasn't learned to properly pet a cat. Either that, or the owner wants the Shinobi corps to suffer and experience the deepest of despair. Sakura planted tripwires that fire off four kunai into the ground, and on each handle, a rope connecting to the net would capture the terrorizing feline.

"Are you ready with that trap, Sakura?" Ino asked her friend. Giving a thumbs up, Sakura jumped away from the trap. In the distance, the screams of terror signaled Tora's approach. It would be only moments until the troublesome animal would caught.

Or so did Sakura thought. The cat simply skipped over the wire. Not once did it acknowledge the fact that there was a trap right there. And to make things worse, Tora jumped towards Sakura's hiding place. "Ahhhhhhh!" The cat scratched the medical trainee Kunoichi on the face, causing her cover her face and to stumble forwards from a loose foothold. As consequence, she lands on top of her trap instead. The mechanism springs, sending four kunai at Sakura's sides with her caught in the net. If it was any other day, Ino would've laughed at the sight of her best friend captured in her own trap. That wasn't today.

"The cat didn't hurt you too bad, right Forehead?" Into said as she jumped and landed next to her friend. She removed the throwable weapons and grabbed her friend's hands to pull her up. Sakura would have retaliated with a snarky remark of her own, however, her fury for the cat was more important than the snide insult her friend usually gave.

"Sakura-chan, Ino, did the cat pass by here?" Naruto asked the two Kunoichi.

The girls nodded, and Ino pointed behind her as she said, "The cat went that way." The blonde Master nodded and sprinted off once more. She turned to Sakura, "C'mon, Forehead, we can't have Naruto have all the fun."

In the distance, Akamaru, a small, white dog, and a companion of the Inuzuka clan, barked repeatedly. Kiba Inuzuka, Akamaru's master, looked worried that his partner. The hooded genin kneeled on one knee, petting his dog while asking, "What's the matter Akamaru?" The dog barked some more, not showing signs of stopping. Hinata kept her hands together keeping them close to her chin. She looked afraid to say something, yet she suggested a possible reason why Akamaru kept barking.

"Maybe he senses a threat?"

"That would be a logical explanation for it." Shino answered, "Judging by the ruckus going on in the village, it must be that kind of threat." Kiba stared at his teammate, wondering what threat he's talking about. If it's big enough to warrant the mobilization of most of the Shinobi corps, then it must be quite the fearsome foe. Said 'fearsome foe' dashed past the group as a brown blur. Akamaru snapped his head towards the blur to bark at it, and chase after it.

Kiba looked shocked, "Woah! A-Akamaru! Wait up!" He saw his partner in crime follow the speedy object before they disappeared into the crowd. Seeing as he couldn't be an irresponsible partner, Kiba chased after Akamaru with the intent to know what that blur was. Hinata followed suit as did Shino to keep the Inuzuka team together and out of trouble.

Minutes later, Chouji, who was Shikamaru to run an errand for Asuma, ate snacks while brining a bucket of ice and two bags of popcorn. Chouji, being the hungry one in the group, wondered why Asuma wanted them to buy something so party related. Oh wait…it's for Naruto's farewell party. But why popcorn? That hardly seems to be a suitable menu for a party. Other than that, people kept giving the Akimichi strange looks ever since they got the stuff they needed. He turned to Shikamaru, and asked, "What's with people giving me strange looks today?"

"Well for starters, you have a bucket of ice firmly planted on your head. Second of all, you're moving your head with such ease that it looks like the bucket is stuck to your head, and lastly, you're eating chips like this is a common occurrence for you." Shikamaru replied while holding two large bags of popcorn, "Isn't your head cold at all?"

"Not in particular, no not really." Chouji admitted, "Why should it be?" Shikamaru sighed deeply. He didn't have time for this; they just need to get the stuff back to Asuma. Just as he was ready to move again, a brown blur tackled Chouji's bag of snacks. The Akimichi was left with empty hands where his snacks should be. Shikamaru prepared for the worst; no one must desecrate Chouji snacks, or they face his wrath. He tried to calm Chouji down, "C-Chouji…stay calm, okay?" The stout young man grabbed his bucket of ice from his head and planted it firmly on the ground. He gave a sickly, sweet smile towards his best friend while giving a massive amount of killer intent around the area.

"I'm calm, Shikamaru. I'm perfectly calm. I'm just going to go RIP OUT THAT CAT'S GUTS!" The Akimichi yelled. Shikamaru reeled back from the volume; he should've expected that, but he had a slight hope Chouji could be a bit more mature. A second later, Chouji ran after the cat he mentioned. Shikamaru contemplated whether or not he should follow Chouji, but he made up his mind when Akamaru, followed by Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Naruto, Sakura, Ino, and many more Shinobi chase after a…cat. He had a feeling he knew which cat the large group kept chasing.

"I better get paid for this…such a drag." He dropped his two large bags of popcorn to chase after the group, and aid in Tora's capture.

In a random rooftop, Asuma, Team Ten's Jounin instructor, sat drinking sake along with Kakashi and Jiraiya. The son of the late Third Hokage sat on a rail while being entertained by the spectacle of a village-scale mobilization to capture a cat. The last time such a scale occurred during the Kyuubi attack, but this once was more mischief than slaughter and mindless destruction. Kakashi thought the same as he lowered his mask to take a swig of his cup of sakē.

"We're running out of sakē, but I got us a twelve pack of beer." Jiraiya said to the Jounins. The entertained Jounins smirked, but realized Chouji and Shikamaru haven't brought the stuff Asuma asked for. They needed the beer cold; not lukewarm! Sensing distraught, Jiraiya calmed the Jounins down as he said, "Don't worry, they're fresh from the refrigerator, so its still cold. Now let's watch some mayhem unfold!" Kakashi and Asuma grabbed a bottle of beer and popped off the bottle cap to cheer at the spectacle.

After their first chug of their drinks, Asuma looked to Kakashi, "Aren't you going to show your face to your students soon?" Kakashi pondered the question, but only answered with a smirk, "You're sadistic, Kakashi…"

"I dunno about that. Naruto has got you beat with that death stare several minutes ago. Guess some idiot unknowingly brought out Kushina's hate of the nickname to manifest her soul through her kid." Jiraiya commented.

Kakashi groaned, still leaving his mask down, "Don't remind me. Kushina-sama's rage still lingers in my soul…"

Asuma sneered, "So there is something that scares you besides the destruction of your porn collection!" Kakashi sighed.

In the Hokage office, Tsunade wasn't having the time of her life compared to the drinking Sannin and Jounins. She called Madam Shijimi, Tora's owner, to an intervention; she needed to learn how to properly pet a cat! To say Tsunade is irritated would be an understatement of the year. She can't even take a swig of alcohol because she has to be professional in front of the woman that owns the problem, which wastes her Shinobi's precious time and talent and her break time! The woman must have a extremely good reason for giving her a constant headache because she's ready to bust her desk in half along with the floor.

"So…Madam Shijimi, can you tell me why your cat is on a rampage yet again?" Tsunade asked with her eyes twitching madly to contain her anger. Add on to the rapid tap of her index finger hitting the desk, she visibly furious. Madam Shijimi wanted to just hide in her home with the way Tsunade stared at her. After waiting for an answer for five minutes, Tsunade heard no excuse whatsoever; he rage boiled even more. "Learn to take care of your cat, woman!"

"What's with the disturbance in the village?" Lee asked. The green jumpsuit-wearing boy stared at the pillars of smoke and heard the screams of terror. It warranted his attention, seeing as there shouldn't be terrified screams in the village. Neji neglected the noise in the background because he prioritized his clan's katas on a tree. The noise continued on longer than it should, and the Hyuuga stopped and turned to Lee, who stopped training to listen to the background chaos.

"Pay no mind to it, Lee." Neji, who leaned on a tree to relax, told his teammate, "It must be a Tora chase."

Lee perked up at the hypothesis, "A Tora chase? Then I must aid in its capture! I can already feel it, my youthful energy is telling me that I must-"

"No, you don't, Lee. Have you heard of the phrase, 'Mind your own business'? If so, then let the people who've accepted the job in capturing Tora do their job without our aid." Lee looked somber; he wanted to help. His youthfulness won't allow him to stay by idly. He must help!

A figure lands next to Lee, the figure's appearance looking parallel to the boy's. His voice boomed, "Well done, Lee! Your eyes say everything; you want to help in capturing the destructive Tora. Your youthful blood boils for the challenge. As your Jounin instructor, I will allow you to go. Let your youthfulness SHINE in front of your peers!" The Jounin, Gai, bared his teeth in a blinding smile. Lee saluted enthusiastically; his face shone brighter than the sun.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei! I will do you proud in showing the power of youth!"

"Well said, Lee! Now go!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

"C'mon, Neji. Onward, we go!" Lee shouted while grabbing the collar of Neji's shirt. It took the Hyuuga several seconds to figure out what was happening while he stared at his relaxing area quickly blending into the background.

"Eh? Eh? EEEEEHHHHHHHH?! Lee! Put me down!"

"Hey, Tora! Get back here!" Naruto yelled with his hair still covered in red paint. He furiously chased the cat on every nook and cranny, every road and alley, and every room and hallway without remorse for the destruction left in his path. Many civilians saw his red hair, thinking Kushina had returned; his rage certainly seemed to befit that level. Word had already spread that the hair-trigger personality of Kushina was certainly there when it came to being called 'Tomato'.

The redhead summoned his clones, twenty of them to keep the cat cornered. He unconsciously strategized his clones' positions, preventing the feline's multiple possible escape routes. He was leading the cat to the Hokage mansion. It looked successful in the eyes of Naruto's Servants. Archer smiled at Naruto's use of the environment to lure his prey to the area he wants, and Archer, who already memorized the layout of the village during his roaming around at night, already had plans to teach his Mastery archery to maximize his Master's observation skills.

Kiba and Akamaru literally drilled past Naruto. Kiba sneered, "Nice hair, Tomato!" while he and his dog use their clan's juts to chase after the cat. Again, Naruto snapped, and again, Archer sighed; he needed to do something to those Shinobi insulting the hair. Seriously, what is wrong with red hair? It's not like they're…oh…right. Back in his timeline, there was that particularly false claim about redheads. Archer guessed this is how people here prefer to call redheads here. Though he wouldn't mind shooting an arrow at them.

Naruto's clones paid attention to Kiba. Instantly, the doppelgängers dog-piled on the dog lover. Though the moment before that, Lee, still dragging Neji around, sprinted at the dog-piling Narutos, and couldn't stop at all. In turn, Lee scored a strike, sending all the Naruto clones airborne as well as Kiba and Akamaru. Chouji's rollout didn't make things any better. Naruto, Lee, Kiba, Akamaru, and Neji couldn't even scream, "AAAAAHHHHH!" when Chouji bulldozed on them.

The Konoha rookies were stunned. While they've been trained for this, none of them actually expected chaos like this to happen on home turf. The more experienced Chunin and Jounin were wiser in that regard, and it became more prevalent when they remembered the infamous Uzumaki temper that many who bear or are related to the Uzumaki name have. Tsunade is a living testament to that -might as well add Naruto to the list too.

Anyways, The mentioned victims of Chouji's rampage laid rather comfortably in their personalized body imprints in the concrete. They didn't move at all. Not a single twitch rattled their battle-trained bodies. Hinata, Ino, Sakura, and several recent additions like Iruka and the Konohamaru corps stared blankly at the defeated bodies of the male rookies. Konohamaru and his friends however…paid more attention to the brightly-haired individual that once had blonde hair. Moegi, the girl of the group, found it fascinating to see hair just as bright as hers, if not more vibrant than hers in the intensity of the color. Udon, the brains, wiped his nose and adjust his glasses to take a closer look at the substance dripping off Naruto's hair. Konohamaru himself smirked; he had blackmail material he could use against his rival!

Archer noticed that condescending grin the little boy gave, and it unnerved him. He had half a mind that the smirk Konohamaru gave would be a familiar running gag for a while. And, with the hint of clairvoyance, Archer successfully guessed Konohamaru's next words.

"Nice hair you got there, To-" Before the Sarutobi child could finish his sentence, Naruto punched the kid on the chin, making the boy topple backwards. It wasn't a punch knockout worthy, but forceful enough to send the boy on his butt. Moegi and Udon rush to Konohamaru's side to check if he's okay. The Sarutobi sat up, his right hand on the ground to support his position and his left hand to rub the area he got hit on, "What was that fo-"Konohamaru didn't finish his sentence once again. He merely fainted upon seeing Naruto's heated glare. And again, Moegi and Udon check on their friend's status by shaking the boy.

Naruto purged himself out of his crater, and picked up dust as he rose. He dusted himself off, using his hands to pat his jumpsuit, and then shook his body to remove any remaining dirt or dust on his person. Once done, he inspected himself and nodded at his somewhat presentable look. He turned around; didn't look at Konohamaru at all because he needed to catch that despicable cat.

Tenten sat at the kitchen table rethinking her views on Naruto. While it was on the verge of changing with how the boy changed interests in fighting style, her preferred style: weapons. He even showed a bit of Shinobi traits that time he spotted her Ino and Hinata.

'Must be a late bloomer…' She thought, 'If he's now only understanding the skills needed to be a Shinobi.' All the while, Tenten stared at the twin Kodachis on the table. Her father was on the other side, sharpening and polishing the unused blade. She crossed her arms, enraptured at the sight of such a fine blade. She hoped that she could forge one of such quality; her father was trained by one of the best blacksmiths of Iron Country, and his handiwork presents her father's skill in metalwork. The white wraps along with the red give stark contrast that befits Naruto's choice of color. Added with the gleaming metallic silver, it might make the boy a bit deadlier. Now if the Genin could learn how to properly use blades, then that 'might' can turn to 'will'.

With a keen eye as sharp as the blades' edge, Tenten's father commented on his daughter's increasing interest of Naruto's soon-to-be swords. "You sure are fixated on these huh, Teddy?" Caught in the act, Tenten slightly blushed for being too interested in the Kodachis and for being called 'Teddy' by her father. She silently fumed, whereas her father lightly chuckled at his angered daughter.

"How many times have I told you to not call me that?" Tenten asked in restrained anger.

"Hm…about ah for the 538th time, Teddy." Tenten's father could not hide his smirk, causing much more ire from his daughter. Though Tenten had to admit, her father was right on the money with the number of times she's given the exact same sentence.

Suddenly, the father and daughter heard footsteps coming down. When the person arrived, she rubbed her eyes. "Aw…What's with all the ruckus this morning?" She muttered exhaustedly. The woman had short, brown hair that stopped just at her neck. Her bangs, situated at the sides of her face stopped slightly lower than her chin. Her angular face and smooth skin shone along with her supple lips that showed hints of drool to cement the idea that she's exhausted. The disheveled nightgown also supported the claim.

"Ah…good morning, Asuka." Tenten's father greeted.

"Good morning, Tetsu."

"G'morning, Mom!"

"Good morning Tenten. Now can anyone tell me about the ruckus outside?"

"Ruckus? Like what?" Tenten asked.

"Oh I don't know…like a cat chase, a human bowling ball, screams of terror…" Tetsu, the father, sighed at how his wife became so accustomed to the occasional disturbance in the village, and to be honest, he can be on the same category. It has been far too long since he felt any true disturbances. He surmised that the ruckus outside is probably nothing to big to worry about, a thought his daughter did not share.

Tenten stormed out of the house, determined to find out what's happening at seven in the friggin' morning! She didn't even say a quick goodbye to say she'd go out. She even- "D-did our daughter just…?"

"Yep…she left in her pajamas." Asuka answered. Tetsu leaned on a hand, and groaned inwardly. He needed to fix his daughter's habit of rushing things without thinking when far too curious. He followed her with his daughter's usual clothes in hand. When he got there, Tenten stayed by the door, staring at quite a scene: Chouji's clan technique, which turns him into a human bowling ball, was halted by Tsunade with one hand. Needless to say, the father and daughter were stunned speechless. Asuka reached the door as well and reacted the same way as her husband and daughter did.

"Geez…" Tsunade sighed, "Couldn't you guys capture the cat normally? What warranted the use of such a destructive technique, Akimichi?"

"U-um…"

"TORA!" Yelled a familiar voice, "Where in the hell are ya?!" He landed next to the blonde Hokage, and momentarily stopped, "Baa-chan, did you spot that blasted cat go this way?" Tsunade nodded, but despite the response, she hardly knew the proper direction the feline went. Moreover, she sparked an interest in the boy's new hair color. It reminded her of Kushina a lot; the attitude…yeah, he's her son all right. Tetsu and Asuka thought the same. When they heard of the child's exploits, they knew that Naruto only needed red hair to really be considered as Kushina's child; the attitude, the pranks, the bottomless pit of energy, and severely optimistic smile were qualities he inherited from her mother. It almost made them wish the woman was still alive to see this child act just like her. Tenten wondered how the blonde Genin had his hair turn red. With that orange jumpsuit, it did not fit his general appearance.

"Um…Teddy? You really should change into some more appropriate clothes." Tenten looked down, and immediately blushed. She scurried to grab the clothes in her father's hands before returning inside.

After receiving general directions, Naruto leapt away in an attempt to once again reach the cat. Inside his mind, Saber had enough of the chase. She'd help her Master retrieve the domesticated brethren of the lion. "Master, go to an alley. I wish to help you catch Tora."

"Eh? Really, Saber? You'd do that?"

"I do all that I must to serve my Master." Saber replied, "Even if it means doing the most menial of tasks."

"The way you state 'menial tasks' suggest that you already experienced helping in such tasks." Naruto stated, hearing the tone of his Servant's voice, "Care to tell me what those menial tasks are?" Saber silenced and scolded herself. She did not want the Maid Uniform event come back to haunt her again. Why did she have to follow Illya's suggestion to get a job to buy Shirou a gift? Damn Gilgamesh... He made the humiliation worse with him constantly trying to court her. It was not a happy memory, seeing as she let Alter take control.

Though the takeaway from that experience is that she knew what Gilgamesh liked in a woman -not that she's into him at all. No! She does not like that man."Let's not talk about that, Master. It's a memory I'm not fond of reliving. Capturing a cat is far more gratifying than what I've experienced." Saber explained. Naruto looked skeptical, narrowing his eyes to see any deceit in Saber. Thankfully, he saw none, and smiled; he'd comply with Saber's request.

"Okay, Saber." Naruto answered. He stopped at an alley, and let Saber appear next to him in a golden glow with the intensity of the sun. Naruto had to cover his eyes from the blinding sight; maybe he could suggest a less brighter alternative than that.

Saber appeared from the golden glow in clothing in the same style as a old dojo master, which was a white kimono and a dark blue hakama. 'How did she even get those clothes?' Naruto finally wondered as his teacher always wore that whenever they sparred.

"Hm? Is there something wrong, Master?" Saber queried.

Naruto waved his hands and shook his head, "Not really. Though you could tone down the materialization a notch; the brightness of it anyway." Saber nodded, understanding the underlying meaning of her Master's words: She'll be spotted. "And where did you get those clothes?"

"It was given to me."

"I see. Well then, are you ready to capture Tora?" Saber smiled and nodded. This was honestly better than the maid uniform event or the bickering by the girls inside their Master's mindscape. Saber bowed, signaling her departure to retrieve the mischievous animal her Master struggled to catch.

"If I may, Master?"

Not even five minutes later, Saber returns with the cat purring in her arms. The swordswoman held the cat as if it was a mere child, and she petted it so naturally that many thought it was a genjutsu she conjured up to show a extremely domesticated Tora. The most interesting reaction came from Naruto himself, who had his mouth wide open so wide, the cat could fit in there.

"H-how?" Her Master stuttered. Saber raised an eyebrow at the reactions, but mostly at her Master's incredulous look. One boy with red fang cheek marks held a white dog back from trying to maul the cat to death. A stout young man with strange headgear was restrained by a ponytailed young man, who held his hands together to somehow restrain the stout young man.

"Is there something wrong, Naruto?" Saber wondered.

"Ah! N-nothing, Saber-sensei. But what did you do to catch Tora?" Shinobi corralling the woman looked shocked that the boy gained yet another teacher. Rumor has it that he's being trained by Jiraiya himself, and he has a woman like her to teach him.

Saber beamed a smile, "That is a secret," Saber stated. She looked giddy seeing her Master's reaction like that. She could now see what the girls were talking about. To add ire in her Master's face, she continued by ending the sentence by addressing her Master as, "Tomato!"

Without warning, Naruto charged at Saber with the intent on hurting her for insulting him with a derogatory name like that. Saber already expected a violent reaction like that, and proceeded to bring out the wooden sword, Torashinai, to slap her Master's right cheek as a means to parry him away from her.

"Dead." Saber smugly stated while Naruto lay unconscious.

Behind her, Saber felt an ominous feeling crawl into her spine. Judging from the reactions of bystanders, they felt that same feeling invading their systems as well. They cringed just as bad as if they ate something rotten. The woman wondered what caused his hate to be targeted towards her. She turned around, and saw a shadowy figure, larger than a full-grown lion, glare with malice. On the shadowy figure's head, nine strands of hair, tentacles, something swished wildly as she definitely saw the apparition roar at her. She didn't react at all; she merely stared at the sight, not even slightly shocked by the event -unlike the pansies behind her, squealing like babies.

"Okay, Saber-san." Tsunade interrupted, "As much as I'd like to talk some more outside my office, we must discuss some things in it. One, we need to return the pet to its owner, and two, talk about Naruto's apprenticeship." Saber nodded. She walked over Naruto's unconscious body, and dragged the boy by his collar all the way to the office.

"Hmph. Didn't think you had it in you to insult our Master, Saber." Archer said to the woman telepathically, "For you to insult our Master, and to even mock the hair color…I am frankly disappointed."

"Disappointed?"

"I thought as you once were a King, you'd be above insulting someone. The fact that you mocked a hair color -on our Master of all people- you…you just simply disappoint me, Saber."

"And a King can't learn to earn a tiny bit of amusement?" Saber countered.

"Entertainment is fine. Insulting the hair is another. It'd be wise to remember what my original hair color used to be. Calling Master 'Tomato' not only is an insult to our Master, but also strikes a tiny nerve with me. Do it again, and I might reconsider retrying to trace Excalibur as a means to smite you for doing so."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh I can be very stubborn if I want to be, Saber." Archer vaguely replied. He whispered, "How the mighty have fallen… I expected you to not stop so low. I guess even the most noble of Kings has to insult a person like a peasant at some point in their lives." He ended the conversation, letting his threat linger in Saber's thoughts like a sticky note.

'He wouldn't do such a thing, right?' Saber doubted herself, 'Surely he know's it's foolish to think of even trying to recreate my sword, the Sword of Promised Victory.' Even if Archer can produce a copy, his would only be marginally stronger than Caladbolg. What would be a beam of light would only be an aura of gold bathing that copy before exploding the area into a dome of radiant beams. If Master pours Mana into Archer, could it possibly be stronger, and produce a medium-ranged beam? She hoped not. Master would eventually gain her swords, recreate his own version of Archer's Reality Marble, earn Gae Bolg, commandeer Rider's fleet, learn to earn the goddess of the Sun's blessings, learn the Zabaniya techniques, master any and all weapons he touches, become a god-like force with brutal punches and kicks, and scar the land with a sword wreathed in flames. Truly, her Master would become a shadow that will eventually be bigger than his Servants' legends. The title would be lost in concept to the point she believed that only other Servants would understand the name. 'Eiyu no Kage…Shadow of Heroes.'

"Aww look at you making a title for our Master." Lancer cooed. "It brings tears to my eyes to see you spark a legend, Saber. It's like the opposite of Merlin; you are already planning his legend!"

"I am not, Lancer. If anything, Kyuubi is the spark. The beast is the holder of our catalysts, and the one who made our Master a Master. I'm simply finding a fitting title for the boy. After all, the criteria to master a Servant is for Master to use our Noble Phantasms. In simple terms, he's a shadow. And unlike Archer, he'll have genuine Noble Phantasms in his arsenal." Saber explained herself with a proper counterargument. With that thinking. Lancer submitted. The spearman had to admit that it was a sound rebuttal. On the plus side, he thought the title was catchy and fit their Master's situation quite well. The other Servants thought the same as well.

The blondes and one redhead were in Tsunade's office. Saber returned Tora to her owner with a few key tips on how to pet a cat properly. Madam Shijimi accepted the advice Saber gave, and tried to act upon them by caressing the cat in a way that the cat wouldn't be aggravated by the touch. Naruto hoped the cat won't misbehave again because he had half a mind to put

"Well Naruto, how are you doing?" Tsunade asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Fine."

"What's wrong? The hair?" Tsunade guessed. Naruto huffed angrily; the 'Tomato' moniker still pissed him off for some reason, and he doesn't know why. All the while, Tsunade looked amused at Naruto's frustrated look. No doubt the boy wondered why he's angry at being called 'Tomato.' "While it brings interesting old memories, I want to know what's bothering you." She answered honestly, and hoped that the Genin would respond to her naturally. Naruto heard this, yet did not answer to Tsunade's request, "Please?" She persistently pleaded.

"Pervy-Sage told me we wouldn't go on a training trip until three months, then told me he lied, and that we'd go today." Naruto answered, "If I remember correctly, he'd tell me if there were any change of plans. But he hid it this time. Why is that?" He wondered out loud, "The only guess I have is that you ordered him to take me out of the village. Since you're the one that can issue an order, a mission, or allow extended leave from the village."

"Where'd you get that idea?" Tsunade asked.

"You're the only one he talks to about these things. And besides, I have to learn at least some responsibilities a Hokage has." Naruto stated the obvious, earning a small snicker from the laid back Lancer because of his Master's ignorance to authority. The Hokage sighed. It seems Naruto had become more aware of details such as these. Whatever Saber taught the boy served to do wonders for Naruto's development.

Tsunade snickered, "You…t-talking about responsibilities? W-wow! Pfftahaha! That's the end of the world right there if you of all people are talking about 'responsibilities.' Hahahahah!" The Senju woman obviously thought Naruto's statement was a joke. She was slamming her desk quite loud. Her voice (laugh) echoed in the room, and the people not Tsunade, covered their ears to protect them. Saber didn't think the same as the Senju, but that's because she didn't know her Master unlike these people. She at least knew that her Master is quite immature -severely so upon summoning- but even he showed a tiny bit of maturity during the event.

Caster took a major offense from the laughing Senju. Her Master could be responsible anytime he wants to be! She continued to brag false accusations about how he can handle the politics, the economics, and so on, and so forth until Assassin, the soft-spoken Servant out of the group, pleaded for her incessant and aggravating bragging to cease all actions. Really now…she could be quite the handful sometimes, but she's too much today.

"Oh~ you remind me so much of your mother." Tsunade croaked out. Naruto certainly took interest in that because he's supposedly an orphan with no known parents as told by Jiji. Does this mean that the Third Hokage lied to him? Why? What's the reason to hide his parents' identity. The woman seemed to catch what she said, and looked absolutely shocked; she wasn't supposed to do that.

"Who's my mom, Baa-chan? I was told that my parents weren't important. But if you knew them, then they must be somewhat important."

Caught red-handed, Tsunade sighed, and revealed the identity of Naruto's mother. "Your mother is Kushina Uzumaki."

"Huh…so I have my mother's last name. Go figure."

"She was a Jounin ranked Kunoichi that was feared as one of the most terrifying Kunoichi of her generation. She had a nasty temper that only amplified her skills in a fight if she's called 'Tomato.'" Naruto sat on that thought, getting the picture about why he reacted so negatively at the name. It seems he did have his mother's DNA in him. Tsunade continued, "She was a master at fuinjutsu, or sealing techniques, and kenjutsu. Other than that, she was nicknamed as 'The Red Hot Blooded Habanero' for her red hair and temper." She snickered slightly as she still thought the name was absolutely ridiculous.

Naruto imagined his mother, and somehow gained an image that showed her appearance: long, red, flowing hair, an angular face and dazzling purple eyes that contrasted her hair. He didn't know how he got that image, but Kyuubi wasn't going to tell him. "What was she like?" Naruto asked.

"You act like her. The pranks, the happy-go-lucky attitude, the smile. You are really your mother's son."

"If I am, then why couldn't anyone recognize my mannerisms?! Why keep this away from me? I wanted to know who my parents were, but I was kept out of the dark for thirteen years. Thirteen! Why hide this from me? I had a right to know from the start!" Naruto's rage boiled over, and he could not quell it. He instinctively called Kyuubi's chakra, causing the boy to be enveloped in a red haze, his hair to become spikier, whisker marks darker, and eyes turn red at the irises. The Senju Hokage looked stunned as she stared at Naruto's anger steadily rose, and it caused the chakra level to spike higher. This alerted the Anbu squad positioned outside her office. They surrounded Naruto in a square shape, ninjatos drawn and poised at the blonde Genin.

Saber drew Caliburn from thin air, and took on a fighting stance. The other Servants appeared as well, taking defensive positions around their Master in order to keep Naruto safe from any sign of harm. The Anbu were unnerved by the sudden appearance of the Servants and their ferocious glare. One was particularly set off by Caster's appearance, and thought she was an underling of the Kyuubi.

"Tsunade-sama! What's going on?" Asked one of the members cornering Naruto. Her voice hid her expression in a cat mask.

"I revealed the identity of Naruto's mother to Naruto. And as you can see, he's not taking the reveal well."

"That's quite the understatement, Hime." Jiraiya commented while he sat at the window behind her. He examined his disciple eagerly; Naruto somehow still maintained control over his rage. It's quite amazing; he's become a bit analytic. Naruto knows that he can't just harm Tsunade because she knows something about his mother. "Kid." Jiraiya called to the Genin, "If you want to know why you weren't told about your parents is because you couldn't handle a secret. You're young, and the young tend to spout secrets unknowingly. Other than that, revealing your mother's identity alone could have spelled dire consequences like assassinations, kidnappings, or the worst alternative, invasion just to eliminate you from existence. We waited until you'd mature and understand the reasons we hid this from you." Naruto listened to the explanation very clearly. He waited a minute or so because he analyzed what he was told. After that, he nodded slowly; moreover, his anger subsided, and caused Kyuubi's chakra to recede into Naruto's body.

"Is that the same with dad?" Naruto asked seriously, "Is my dad's identity extremely important that you'd still hide it away from me?" Jiraiya hopped off his seat on the window to walk towards his disciple. The Servants sensed no ill will from the Toad Sannin, and slowly gave way to their Master. The white-haired man took his right hand and patted the boy's head.

He answered, "Sadly, your dad's more dangerous. If other's find out your dad had a kid, they'd stop at nothing to either kill you or brainwash you to be their pawn." The Uzumaki lowered his head to stare at the floor. His Servants looked at him with slight sadness, except for Alter and Ruler. Those two seemed rather indifferent, but they still cared slightly. "I'm sorry, Kid. If it's any consolation, when they found out you'd be coming to the world, they cheered. They couldn't wait for your birth."

"Don't be, Pervy-sage. I understand the situation. At least I got to know who my mom is and that my parents loved me. That's enough for me to know." Naruto said with a smile. Though deep inside, he still wanted to who his dad was just for the sake of knowing who he was. Deep inside, he still wanted to know what family felt like. He still wanted to know if he can find that feeling of family somewhere. The longer he thought about it, the more empty he felt, and Kyuubi sensed it. It can't do anything about that. "If I may?"

Too shocked at Naruto's suppressed action, Tsunade said, "You are dismissed, Naruto." The boy nodded, and all his Servants except Saber disappeared. He turned around, leaving Tsunade's office without a word. Looking at the two, the Anbu and Sannin honestly thought that the exiting blondes, one still with red hair, could pass off as brother and sister. Though the Anbu wondered who those random strangers were, and how they got passed their radar.

Naruto sat on a bench in the park for an hour. Why? He didn't know. He sat on the bench while staring at the pond, where the ducks would land and just swim on the clear water's surface. The sun shone brightly, making that water reflect like a white sheet of paper flowing on top. He still thought about his parents. How did he even conjure up that image of his mother? Did he subconsciously know what his mother looked like? He sighed, aggravated by today's events. And to end the day, he'd leave the village to train. Sure that hardly sounds bad, but he has to leave days after he woke up from his coma. He at least wanted two weeks before leaving. He grumbled to himself; he didn't like his situation. He didn't like it also when he gets smacked on the head with a force all too familiar to the blonde.

"Oww…!"

"We were looking for you for an hour! Why didn't you say you were here?" Sakura yelled from behind. Naruto grimaced from the hit and the volume. At least this way, he'll forget his troubles even for a little while. He turned to her as he rubbed the general area where Sakura hit him. He's pretty sure he sported a bump from that hit. He might have also lost the ability to think in the middle of battle. Which could be a terrible occurrence because he's a threat during battle because nobody knows what Naruto would do next.

"You said we'd go to the park. After all the hullabaloo, I went back here because I thought you'd be here, ya know!" Naruto answered. He turned around to see his friends just standing behind Sakura.

"O-oh!" Sakura stammered, "With that kind of answer, it does make sense that you'd be here." She chuckled nervously, and scratched the back of her head, "My bad. Sorry for hitting you." Naruto's eyes widened at that. Was this actually Sakura? Sakura never apologizes whenever she hit him before. He stared awkwardly at the girl while he sat of the ground with both hands behind him keeping his back from hitting the ground.

With an accusatory finger pointed at Sakura, Naruto shouted, "Who are you and what have you done with Sakura-chan?!" He would have gotten a verbal answer, but he knew better. He heard the distinct clunk that hit against his head, and his face met ground. With his hair still red, Naruto looked like a red patch of grass on the ground. Kiba couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Mentally, the dog-lover snickered about the 'Tomato' comment he gave to the blonde.

"U-um…I think he's had enough head injury, Sakura-san." Hinata shyly stammered.

The redhead lifted his head, and shook it to shake the pain away. As he finished, his gaze lingered to his left. And what he saw looked interesting. He saw a little girl in clothes befitting Saber's and Ruler's style of clothing. The girl had white hair tied in two separate braids. On top, she wore a beret and ribbons at the sides. A white ribbon sat comfortably at the girl's collar, and a white, frilly covering that blended in with the sky blue dress that had puffed sleeves and a looped skirt. Naruto seemed unnerved by her sudden appearance. She looked like a doll with that porcelain-toned skin. She almost looked dead. She turned his way, smiling eerily at him. She spoke, but with the distance the girl placed herself in, she mouthed it. Even with the distance, Naruto heard the girl's words clearly.

"Follow me, Onii-chan~"

He stared longer than he should, and the others caught on. They looked in the general direction the redhead looked and saw nothing. Naruto on the other hand debated whether he should follow the girl or not. On one hand, she could be a very poor assassin with the style of clothing she wears, or she could be a, he shivered a little as he thought that the girl could be a ghost. He shook his head; he didn't want to think about that. But he had to follow that strange girl to at least find out about her identity.

Caster stared at the girl; she felt familiar… but where, when had she seen the girl? Archer noticed the girl as well, and he also sensed the feeling of familiarity when looking at her. Both Servants looked in wonder; they had a pretty robust memory recollection, but just trying to remember the girl somehow hurt their head, and eat away at their identities.

"What are you looking at, Naruto?" Ino asked. The boy stood up, and still stared at the area where the girl was.

"You might not believe me, but I saw a strange girl in a type of clothing that does not fit the general style of clothing here." Ino blinked. Naruto talking about style? Hah. That deserved a laugh. She actually had to clutch her stomach and cover her mouth at the implication that Naruto knew an inkling about the word 'style'. The dead last is talking about style of clothes. Charming. She might need to write that down.

"Did I really hit you that hard?" Sakura asked the boy, "We didn't see anyone, Naruto."

"Yeah, I didn't smell anyone over there." Kiba added.

"My Kikaichu haven't seen anything." Shino stated.

"U-um…I didn't activate my Byakugan, but even so, I didn't see anyone either." Hinata answered truthfully.

"I can the same as Hinata-sama." Neji answered.

"I did not see anyone," Lee replied, "What about you Tenten?"

"Nope."

"I'm pretty sure no one else saw what you saw, Naruto" Shikamaru lazily said to the boy.

"Uhuh."

"What'd I tell you?" Naruto said in a disappointed tone, "It's okay. I'll just find that girl, and see what's up with her. Something tells me that she's someone not from here."

Ino snickered, "What gave you the idea? The style of her clothing?" Naruto promptly shut his mouth. He knew better than to talk about style around the gossip queen. Being dead last destroyed any credibility for him to look smart anymore. He frowned.

"Nevermind. I'll just go look for her myself." He sprinted away in hopes of catching the girl.

"W-woah! Naruto come back!" Sakura yelled at the redhead, "Argh! Always charging before thinking! Get back here, you idiot!" The girl ran after her teammate. Whether she wants to punch Naruto for acting to recklessly or for ignoring her, it didn't change the fact that the Uzumaki would get punched. Surprisingly, Shikamaru reacted first from the group.

"What a drag. Are you going to just gawk, or are you going to help us chase after Naruto?" He left, not waiting for a response from his friends. The more eager rookies followed seconds later, and the more hesitant others lagged behind the second group.

Naruto followed the girl easily. She just skipped around to whatever destination she had in mind. Though the strange thing to occur to the blonde was that whenever he tried to catch up to the girl, he couldn't! And when he substantially gained some distance to catch her, she turned a corner, and he'd have to restart his chase. It's as if she had him in a genjutsu all the time! Caster had to remind him every time that the girl wasn't casting an illusion at all despite how shockingly illusive she was. The woman had tried extremely hard to remember that girl, and so did Archer, yet try as they might, they couldn't, or rather wouldn't be able to remember the girl's identity. Alter Ego sat in wonder as well, trying to remember who the girl was. She, being a part of Moon Cell at one point, learned of previous Masters and their Servants; this girl did not fit with her surroundings, and it begged questioning because she resembled one of the Masters recorded in Moon Cell's database.

The rest of the rookies wondered where Naruto was following the strange girl to. If anything, they were running around the village with no rhyme or reason to show any possible theories of where this girl wanted to go. Either Naruto is stuck in a powerful genjutsu, or he seriously saw a girl not from here prancing around. Question was…how could Naruto only see the girl, but not them? Shikamaru already had ideas, and some of them were more of the spiritual than natural; he wanted to hope at least that this was a natural reason than the spiritual ones.

It took a while, but Naruto finally saw the girl slowing down. He sighed loudly, 'What a wild goose chase…' He stared at the girl, who finally stopped at a clearing. She smiled at the Genin; however, the desired effect was lost because of her mysteriousness. Oh, and the fact that she has a twin for some odd reason. Yeah! The twin appeared out of nowhere. The girl in white turned around, and voila! A girl with the exact same appearance as her somehow emerged from her back as strong as it sounds. The only prevalent difference was the color of their clothes. The first girl had white and sky blue clothes, while the new one wore black and…a darker shade of magenta?

"So you followed us, Onii-chan! Alice is happy. Are you happy, Alice?" The girl in white, apparently named Alice, called to her twin also named Alice. What a strange name…it doesn't sound like anything from their language at all; it sounded old-fashioned just like her clothing.

"Uhuh! Alice is happy Onii-chan came to play!" The black Alice cheered, "You did want to play with us, right Onii-chan?" The way she said those words held some sort of longing, and it hit Naruto right at the heart because he knew that tone of voice. He had that hint of longing back then.

"O-of course, Alice." He successfully hid his slight stutter, but felt slightly disappointed at actually playing with a possible spy. Before he could say more. the other rookies arrived.

"It seems you brought friends to add more players!" Players? Why players?

"Naruto? Who are those girls?" Sakura asked.

"You finally see them?" Naruto asked, mentally thanking Kami for not making him look like a fool or look crazy in front of his friends. "These, well at least this girl here-" He pointed to white Alice "-was the girl I talked about!" He turned to the Alices, "Alice, meet my friends. Friends, meet Alice."

"Uh…are both of them named Alice?" Ino wondered.

"Yes! Alice and Alice are both Alice!" The Alices answered together with eerie synchronization. The 3rd person usage didn't add to the charm these girls were releasing like mad. No they weren't trying to seduce the boys of the group -they're kids- but rather their unconscious childish charms activating to try and get what they want. Being Shinobi, the rookies didn't buy the cutesy act the two girls played. Either these spies were dutifully determined to finish their mission, or these are actually little girls. Many hoped the latter than the former because they really needed to talk to the Hokage about revamping security if these two obviously foreign girls are actually spies, and yet they haven't been apprehended out of suspicion.

"Okay, okay, Alice. Calm down." Naruto said to the girls. He lowered himself to get on eye level with the girls, "So you wanted to play? Then why did you go to this place? We could have played in the park." In the rookies' eyes, the question made a lot of sense. The park had a lot of room to play, but here, the forest surrounded them; this was no place to play a game of tag. Or it could be an ambush!

Nah… there's no way that'd happen, right?

Unknown to the rookies except Naruto, their memories were slowly being wiped. However, this did not just limit to just the rookies, everyone was slowly losing their identities. The Hokage, while under the influence, had no idea that she had no idea what contract she was signing. Three words: Icha Icha Movie, were the key words that were on top of the contract. Many male spouses had lost the ability to remember their loves' names, while their significant others smacked them, and forgot the reason why. As for Naruto himself hadn't been affected as of yet. His Servants were slowly losing their identities because this strange phenomena attacked the mind, where the Servants resided. Kyuubi was also affected as well, but it dissembled its lack of memories by not talking.

"Um…well this place holds a lot of importance to Alice, Onii-chan. And playing here makes me feel safe…" Alice answered somberly. She felt a pat on the head, and she looked up to see Naruto smiling at her.

"Well, that's understandable then. If this place hold meaning to you, then we'll at least acknowledge it. Are you happy with that, Alice?" Both white and black Alice nodded happily, their smiles beaming brighter than Naruto's grins. "What would you like to play first?" The girls stared at their mirrored other and contemplated what wondrous game they'd play. With a glint in their eyes, they happily cheered the name of the game they would play.

"Tag!" The two Alices cheered. Suddenly, the forest clearing turns into a plaza with a tall castle in the background. Around them, hedges several head taller than the group, surrounded them. Shikamaru guessed that the place might be a maze. But other than that, he and the rest of the others looked in awe at the important change in scenery. No doubt it was the work of a extremely strong genjutsu. Though they couldn't escape from it for some strange reason. Just as they tried to wonder more about this strange place, the Alices yelled, "You're all it! Catch Alice if you can!" The two retreated into the maze, and they disappeared from view.

"Oh great…" A voice muttered, "The kiddies brought another batch." The voice came from a teenager a couple of years older than the rookies. She had long, black hair flowing down. Her green eyes scanned over the 'victims' as she walked closer to the group. Her blue dress with a white front and blue trim and puffy, cuffed short sleeves looked somewhat similar to the style the other Alices had. Behind her dress, a white tie with a bow fluttered in the wind. Underneath, she wore striped stockings and a pair of black boots with five straps and buckles on each boot. She stopped once she came in full view.

"U-um-"

"My name is Alice," she said, "Yes, I know what you're thinking 'Another one?!' and I too feel the same way. I come with a warning. Finish this game, or you will lose your identity." Alice warned, "You are all under a spell that slowly eats away at your memories; so the faster you end this, the quicker your memories shall return. If you don't finish in time, you might as well be reduced to babies." The rookies were wary about the older teen, but her tone made the story believable.

Skeptical, Ino wanted to ask, "Is there-"

"No. There's no way to remedy this. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Ino questioned.

"Do you know your names?" Alice asked, not bothering to beat around the bush when it came to protecting the rookies' memories. "You must know your names, right?"

"O-of course! My name is… It's! I-It's…" Ino struggled to say her name. It was at the tip of her tongue, but it won't come out! The rookies were shocked, the mind walker lost her memories. Even worse, they don't even know her name anymore! Wait a sec, they don't even know their own names! Well all of them except Alice and Naruto.

Alice stared at Naruto; more specifically, she looked at his left hand. Either in shock or surprise, she asked, "A-Are you a Master?" The Servants' eye widened. How did she know that term?

"Master?" Naruto asked, wondering which definition she's asking for. The rookies were wondering what that meant as well. Though the thought was erased not a moment too soon. The existence of Servants must be kept hidden. Alice's Servant willingly erased that memory to keep that secret safe.

"That mark…Alice has that mark! She called herself a Master because she had a mark."

"You? Or the other Alices?"

"The Alice in white is a Master. Though her marks are faded, sometimes gone… Anyways, the other Alice is a Servant, but also disappears sometimes." Inside Naruto's head, Archer and Caster's eyes widened. Alice…they remembered! How? How does she still have control of her Caster? She…she should be dead, and Nursery Rhyme should be in the Throne of Heroes awaiting summons! Could there be such a thing as a ghost summoning a Servant? In the virtual Grail War it's possible, but in real life, she should not be able to summon a Servant!

Though there was a lingering thought: what did Alice want?

A friend.

Could it be possible that as a Master, her desire for a friend reached out for a remnant power of a Grail to summon her Servant?

Other than that particular bit of info, they needed to warn their Master. But the problem was, Alice's Servant's Noble Phantasm is preventing them from speaking about it by erasing the thought! Archer and Caster struggled; they needed to get the information that would save his friends from total memory loss! "Anyways, you have no time to waste, you must finish the game, or you could fight her and forcefully end the game then and there."

"…"

"Why are waiting? You have to hurry!" Naruto nodded, and ran after Alice. The rookies followed suit because they still remembered the severity of the memory loss. Alice stayed behind, hoping to figure out a way to help the rookies. She just needed a solution, but what could it be?

"Penny for your thoughts, Alice?"

Alice turned around to see a striped cat appear like a ghost. "Chesire…Is there not a way to help those children retain their memories?"

Chesire, the cat, smiled, "Ah there is way, but let me tell you this. The easiest solution may sometimes be the only solution. What that easy solution could be is up to your interpretation. Cheerio Alice, and I bid you good luck." The striped, talking cat disappeared like a chameleon, and left Alice to decipher the hint she was given.

"What can I do?" She asked herself. Time was running out, and who knows how long do those kids have? Worse, what of the other villagers inside the Noble Phantasm field?

A glimpse of the future…

The orange Knight looked at Lancer with critical eyes. He knew Lancer would be afraid of Kiritsugu. He counted on it, actually. He needed to have a bit of payback for lacing that ramen with the spiciest hot sauce, which made him spit flames like a dragon.

Speaking of dragons...he wondered how Kiryuin was doing. No doubt that dragon of his is just blowing off steam in the throne of heroes because his Master didn't summon him.

But back to Lancer. He had some payback to unleash. He cracked his knuckles, and his relaxed grin turned maliciously evil. His blue eyes sparkled before he disappeared in a burst of speed.

Saber was taken aback. No doubt this Servant is Caster. Summoning copies of weapons, summoning a lion, and now disappearing in a burst of speed; this is most likely through the means of magic, and it seems he is quite adept at that. She stood and She had kept count just like her father the area. Where could he have gone?

In a gust of wind, the orange knight appeared behind Lancer, with his hands intertwined with his middle and index fingers pointing up. Lancer, too scared of the lion to even look behind him, never saw the upcoming 'attack.' The Sneaky Servant sneered, "FOOL! You think you can get away from me?!" The pointed fingers created a small blue sphere of some sort of energy and he thrusted it into Lancer's behind.

"ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH: RASENGAN STYLE!" Lancer felt his behind grind in pain as the sphere dug into his butt and eventually spinning him out of the area as a sparkle in the starry night.

Kiritsugu looked at his Master with a blank stare. He realized it was one of those moments. Realizing it wont get any action, it settled in front of Shirou and sat there to protect him.

Shirou felt bad for the spearman. That attack certainly looked painful enough to actually make him cover his butt to protect its virginity. Rin looked appalled, yet at the same time intrigued, what is this Servant's class? Saber, however, lost all respect for the other knight. She realized that the 'attack' was nothing more than a glorified ass poke with a literal spin on the end. She gripped Caliburn tightly because this was not the way a knight should act, and by all means, she will discipline him to the fullest extent!

Meanwhile, in another area, a priest, Lancer's Master, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He too wondered what that mysterious Servant's class is. Archer is the only possible answer left, yet he refuses to use a bow! As insult to intelligence, he even constantly uses magic to pose himself as Caster, and by God he's making it look successful. That strange sphere certainly was Magic of sorts; he just wondered how a buffoon of a Knight is able to cast such powerful magic.

"Hah! Take that, Lancer! I beat you with a glorified poke in the ass! Hahahahaha!" The knight laughed up a storm, not paying attention to his surroundings. Saber willed her body to not stab this Servant in the back -she's the King erm...scratch that the Princess of Knights- she's not going to violate the code of Chivalry.

She yelled, "Hey!" The laughing Knight turned around to see Saber's furious face, "Are you Caster? Answer me!" Her voice demanded authority and respect from the mischievous knight. Said Knight lost his smile, and replaced it with an imperceptible frown. It's all questions with this girl… He threw his sword into the air. It glowed as it twirled majestically before transforming into a futuristic motorcycle. It still had the standard two wheels, one in the front and back, but the front itself is significantly longer than the motorcycles of the present, and is littered with armor plates resembling his armor. It had mounted guns on each side, large exhaust pipes on each side, which spouted flames from it whenever revved, and a large coffin-like structure on the back. As the final detail, the motorcycle was in orange as well. Saber did not react externally, but on the inside, she lacked a calm mind. He's Caster, but rides a motorcycle that was a sword?

Shirou looked confused now. His Servant -still getting used to that- did some form of strange magic and now his sword turned into a motorcycle! He looked awed, yet at the same time bewildered by the fact that a Knight holds a sword that can turn into a far more advanced motorcycle than ones the world has today. On the other hand, Rin started to doubt her Servant now. This rather strange Servant showcased various skills only other Servant classes can accomplish, yet neither she nor anyone has figured out what this Servant's class is. Just looking at that motorcycle gives her a bit of a strange tingle down her spine; that coffin didn't help the situation.

The orange Knight revved the motorcycle, and charged at Saber. On the right handle, the Knight's right thumb pressed a button, which caused the mounted guns to fire. Saber readied her sword; she slashed at the bullets, rendering the ranged attack useless. As the vehicle approached Saber, the orange Knight opened the coffin-like compartment at the back.

A sword, a simple, double-edged sword, launched itself forward and landed into his hand. Out of the coffin, two cannons emerged as well. In a burst of light, the motorcycle and its rider vanished.

Saber became irritated. This Knight did not follow the Swordsmen oath! He and his Knightly likeliness refuse to follow the unwritten law of swordplay. If he isn't a Knight, then what is he? The brightly colored Knight would be someone noticeable in history, yet she does not recognize him as one of her Knights, nor has she ever heard of a magic-inclined Knight. It irritated her even more that this Servant showcased the skills of an Assassin now, and with a loud motorcycle, he hid his presence so professionally!

Suddenly, she felt a slight breeze originate from her right. Narrowing her eyes at the flaw in the Knight's approach, Saber exploited it as she anticipated where the next breeze would come from. Her smooth skin felt the slight tinge of air pass her by, and suddenly, she dashed in the general direction the breeze came from. She slashed at the general area, and immediately she felt the familiar resistance and clang of sword meeting sword.

She expected a snarky remark from her opponent; she didn't hear one. All she received were a multitude of slashes she was near ill prepared for. Both Swords/wo/men clashed, and despite the orange Knight riding on a vehicle, he was forced to dismount his motorcycle due to Saber thrusting her sword right at the Servant's breastplate.

The mysterious Servant rolled on the ground, and the motorcycle reverted to its original form. He disappeared into wind and appeared immediately in front of Saber. He lunged forward, but Saber blocked. He swung the sword diagonally from the right; Saber parried, and started a counterattack of her own. She aimed her slash at his open midsection, yet she was far enough that she only slashed cloth.

Saber lowered her sword, and asked, "How do you know the length of my blade?"

"My gosh, Saber-san...enough with the questions! I've had it up to here with my identity!" The Servant emphasized 'Here' with his hand well above his hooded head, "Look back to the abilities I've shown. Which of the classes did I not show?" He didn't let her answer because he started to go on the offensive. He raised his sword for an overhead slash. Blocked. Crouching down, he positioned his blade at his side, and slashed for her legs. The white-clad King stabbed her sword just to her right to stop the attack, but the force of her opponent's slash dislodged the sword from its position. She noticed the orange Knight handle the sword in a reverse grip, and then on, she felt her opponent's relentless assault as he twirled his sword with no room of error with each strike she blocked or tried to parry.

All of a sudden, he lashed out, arm snapping like a whip, and slammed his sword for her head. Saber instinctively forced her blade to protect against the oncoming sword to block it. What she failed to realize was that the sword transformed into another form. When she blocked the sword, she saw her reflection for a moment; she realized she looked at a mirror. Her opponent's sword shattered into millions of pieces, yet the Knight did not seem fazed by the occurrence.

Her vision was blinded by morning light burning her retinas even with her eyes closed. When the pain and the light disperse, she opened her eyes to see millions of the same orange Knight surrounding her with bows and arrows drawn and aimed at her.

"Surely, you're furious because I do not follow the Swordsman oath." The Servant stated with confidence, "But I assure you, I am not a regular Knight, Arthuria, I am but a shadow of your and other heroes' former glory. I am capable of being. Every. Single. Class in this Grail War, yet I've only shown five of the seven: Saber, Lancer, Rider, Caster, and Assassin. As you can see, I do not have Madness Enhancement on my person right now, which leaves me to my actual Servant class." Saber looked baffled. How is this Servant THAT class? He didn't show any aptitude as Archer, so why? "You want to know my class, then here is your answer, Saber!"

Ah…finally done. What a taxing few weeks. Sorry for the delay. Life happened. So to do counteract that, I made this chapter 17K words; my longest chapter so far! I admit this is more filler than plot, but that's because plot was shoved at the end to accommodate for the Tora chase scene and other stuff. Oh and also Naruto knows who his mom is! Sorry if you expected a furious Naruto to go ballistic about this information being withheld from him.

Also, for those who are interested in the 5th Grail War omakes, I have made a new fic: Eiyu no Kage: 5th Grail War as a separate fic that shows how Naruto changes the 5th Grail War as Archer!

So for my question: Pick two Swords from the Seven Swordsmen's swords that Naruto will find. Executioner's blade is a given; just pick two more. You cannot pick Chōjūrō's sword, Hiramekarei, because it's his sword.

This is Azure signing off.