The World Is Truly An Ugly Place (TWITAUP)

by Opa-sensei

One strange message later and Izuku's life is completely turned upside-down. There's a certified whiskered blonde haired villain going the same school as him!. Izuku tries to make sense of this strange new world he unsuspectingly walked into and finds it is rapidly changing everyday. Background music for some scenes. It's purely optional though, you can decide not to use it

8. Combat Animal

Chapter 8

Combat Animal

Wednesday 8AM

Aizawa stood outside his class with a phone pressed against the side of his face. The man had a sour look on his face as he listened to the words of the caller. "You skipped your school duties for the third time this week and now you expect me to do the same?." Aizawa asked the caller in annoyance.

The caller gave an embarrassed chuckle then sighed. 'It's not like that... I was helpless you know.'

Aizawa clicked his tongue. "Helpless?. That's week coming from you, Allmight. You're avoiding something, I'm just not sure what." Aizawa said.

The person he was speaking to was naturally the top hero of Japan and his supposed co homeroom teacher. The man had proved to be only one in name and nothing else. He was absent for a better part of the school days this week, and hadn't even offered up a worthwhile excuse for it. Aizawa didn't like to nag him like an old wife, but a substantial level of responsibility was required even for a man of his status.

'I apologize.' Was Allmight's weak response.

Aizawa sighed. "You know one of our students had a run-in with Uzumaki in class on Monday." He decided to stray the topic off course a bit and brought up the incident in class that Ida had reported to him. The boy was reluctant to speak about it, however caved in as expected when he pressured him with his 'duties as the class rep'.

'Which one?.' Allmight asked. There was a spike in his tone.

Aizawa acted as though he hadn't noticed and responded. "Midoriya. It was a strange encounter. According to the other students, Midoriya seemed to be very wary of Uzumaki. So much so that he ordered a classmate to get you in person to 'stop' his senpai."

'Me...?' Allmight said. He went silent for a brief interval. 'Did you find out why he reacted that way to Naruto-shounen?.' Allmight asked.

Aizawa suppressed a snort. "Apparently he thought Uzumaki was some villain. Even called him Ultima too." Aizawa said. His voice got lower and more stern. "Look it's fine if you wanna pretend it has nothing to do with you, and you might feel that you're somehow better than people who willing chose to be a part of that world. But you can't pretend as though it doesn't exist Allmight." Aizawa said in a sharp whisper.

"I noticed right from the first week that you had some sort of relationship with Midoriya. I did a little digging up on his school records and by no means did he merit a shot at getting into the UA. Somebody must've recommended him to the UA...

"Calm down, I'm not gonna get on your case over that. All I'm saying is if you have a connection with the kid it's better if you educate him about the 'real world'. If you aren't the one to do it then you'll surely regret it." Aizawa said.

His eyes flashed in a strange light. "Because whatever answers he gets first will end up influencing the kind of person he will be in this new world he's stepping into."

'...' Allmight stayed silent for a moment. '...I know.'

Aizawa groaned. Yet another weak response. The man was so stuck in his ways, and even though he ended up being in the right side of things on most occasions, Aizawa wished he could be a little open-minded at times. Not everybody needed to be shielded by him, and sometimes people had to accept their losses and move on with what they had.

He wasn't able to stop a student from getting involved with things he shouldn't have. Now he instead of taking the next course of action he was feeling sorry for himself instead. Blaming himself for not being there in time again, while he could be making sure it didn't happen to another student. At least that was how Aizawa saw it.

"If it helps, Midoriya claimed it was a misunderstanding yesterday. Whether or not you believe him is up to you." Aizawa said.

Nobody who knew about the 'real world' would believe Izuku's words. It was obvious the boy said that for the benefit of his classmates. After the encounter with Naruto, Izuku understood that some things were better left unsaid.

This could mean he was either going along with what [Notes] had told him and maintained secrecy on the matter. Or perhaps someone else had advised him to keep shut. Either way, it was imperative that someone close to the boy gave him an explanation before he was led down the wrong path.

'I suspect Naruto-shounen has spoken to him.' Allmight said.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. Now he got it. So that was why the man seemed so calm finding out a student had gotten involved with the true JHA.

'So you've already decided to let Uzumaki handle it for you. You're actually leaning on someone else for support, how unlike you.' Aizawa thought. He decided not to say anything about his recent discovery and just hummed in response to Allmight's words. It was good that Allmight wanted to depend on somebody for a change. 'I just hope you understand what it means to depend on Uzumaki.'

'While we're still on the topic of Naruto-shounen. I understand that you want to be there for the rest of the students, but I have to ask again. Will you come?.' Allmight asked.

Aizawa frowned slightly. "You talk like I have a choice. If I tell you no, principal Nezu will just order me to go." Aizawa said.

'We wouldn't ask if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Elder told me that they're going to send in nine silver squads and Tenzou.' Allmight said. The worry was evident in his voice.

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "You're underestimating the boy."

'Aizawa, Tenzou is a peak gold agent!. Even you wouldn't be able to deal with him easily.' Allmight argued.

"Uzumaki isn't me. Our fighting styles are a lot different." Aizawa argued.

'That's exactly what concerns me. Tenzou's quirk is tailor made to counter Naruto-shounen's own. Without his quirk as a factor sixty three silver agents and one peak gold would be too much for him to handle.'

Aizawa rubbed under his nose as he listened. He could understand where Allmight was coming from. With Tenzo as a factor Naruto's combat ability would go down several levels, it wouldn't be a stretch to say he wouldn't be able to draw out near twenty percent of his strength.

Those kind of odds, even for an anomaly like Naruto were too unfavorable. Logically looking at it, most people would agree Naruto's chances were very slim.

However, Aizawa was not of that opinion. Logic didn't apply to some people, and he was surprised Allmight couldn't see it when he was one of those people.

Considering Naruto's feats and estimated combat power, with Tenzou suppressing him he wouldn't be able to fight off the man and sixty plus silver agents. It was just unreasonable to think otherwise. Still that was exactly what Aizawa thought.

Why wouldn't he?. Naruto was an unreasonable existence to start with. He was the type to always rise over adversities, the type that you truly could never completely prepare for.

If the JHA thought that just sending a force based on Naruto's estimated battle prowess was enough preparation to capture him then they were in for an epic disappointment.

"I too believe that he'll be fine." a voice reverberated not very far from Aizawa's position.

The man instantly recognized the voice. "I'll be there Allmight." He said before ending the call. He put his phone away and turned to the speaker.

It was a tall man, standing about 6'2. He had long spiky gravity defying grey hair, with spiky bangs that covered his forehead and part of his eyebrows and eyes. The man had droopy raven colored eyes, which was quite fitting for him considering his laid-back personality.

A jagged vertical scar ran from above his left eyebrow down to his cheekbone area. Miraculously his left eye appeared to be fine. His frame was sturdy, not too large nor too skinny. He was dressed in a black traditional silk made tai chi fu (martial arts uniform).

The top had a high collar with woven white cotton knots running from the neck area to the bottom. There were more white knots around the hem to the sleeves that gathered them to his wrists. The man did not follow tradition and made his fu (uniform) fitted instead.

The legs of the pants were held to his ankles by an elastic band. Three Six knots ran crisscrossed around the elastic band. The man wore an equally elastic black mask that covered his lower face and his neck.

This was Aizawa's co-teacher and Naruto's homeroom teacher. Hatake Kakashi, the resident perv and bum of the UA.

Kakashi carried an orange book in one hand and had the other in his pocket as he walked. The book was on his face level, indicating that he had a habit of reading as he walked. He shut the book and looked up to address his fellow teacher.

"Ohayo Aizawa-sensei, how was your night?." Kakashi asked in a friendly yet drawled out voice.

"Would have been a whole lot better if you pin Gai on me yesterday, Hatake." Aizawa replied with a frown.

Kakashi gave a lighthearted laugh. "Don't be mad at me. I really thought you wanted to compete with him."

Aizawa gave the man a dry stare. "Who can compete with Gai's stamina?."

"Ah you shouldn't say that Aizawa-sensei. What will the female section of our staff think of you if you declare yourself inferior to another man like that." Kakashi said with a giggle.

Ah... Innuendos. They were his second best thing in his life after his 'darling'. What could he do without the two?. Where would he be without their influence?. Kakashi was scared to ever find out.

Aizawa didn't have a notable reaction to Kakashi's joke. His expression didn't shift, he crossed his arms across his chest. "I'd appreciate if you keep it down with the dirty jokes."

"I'll see what I can do." Kakashi said with a light wave. "I take it that Aizawa-sensei will be part of the search for our rebellious student as well?." Kakashi shifted to more serious matters.

Aizawa cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "You too?." he asked. When Allmight called requesting him to join in, he thought the principal had lumped the responsibility on the man's shoulder once again.

He was only concerned that if he turned Allmight down the man would take it to the principal and get the intelligent rodent to force him to tag along. Aizawa was under the impression that this was Allmight's idea and the man was being his usual overprotective and worrywart self.

It turned out it was actually the principal's idea. Allmight himself would never ask him and Kakashi for a favour that would take them out of the school at the same time.

This was principal Nezu's doing.

"Yup." Kakashi nodded. He then pointed outside a window with his thumb. "Gai too. He's waiting for us outside."

Aizawa's lowered eyebrow joined the other raised one after Kakashi made the revelation. "All four of us?." Aizawa asked incredulously. Not two, not three but all four of them?. Wasn't that a bit too much?.

"Principal Nezu might be taking it too far this time." Aizawa sighed.

When Allmight joined this year he felt a little relieved. That meant another powerful hero would be added to their ranks. A great aid to help them shield the students.

Before Allmight joined, principal Nezu still made sure not to sent more that two of their 'tops' out of school at once. At least one of them had to remain back. When Allmight announced that he would officially become a teacher in the UA henceforth, though Aizawa didn't like him much he sighed in relief.

He thought; 'Thank goodness. This way we can have at least two back at all times.' Aizawa never imagined principal Nezu would break his own code and send out more than two. Worse, he was sending out all four. He left not one of the tops back in the UA.

If they followed this order then the moment they stepped out the UA would be left more vulnerable than it had ever been over the last decades.

Aizawa began to wonder. Was Naruto truly in that much danger, or was the principal seeing something that they could not?.

"It seems too risky, but over the years I've learnt that it's better to put my faith in principal Nezu." Kakashi said. He shared Aizawa's doubts and had directly questioned the principal when he found out all four of them were assigned to find Naruto.

The white rodent didn't give a straight answer and reaffirmed that he was sure about his decision. After that there was nothing else Kakashi could do but put his faith in the principal.

It wouldn't be the first time.

Aizawa nodded. He still felt reluctant but there was little he could do. He couldn't go against the principal, nor could he claim to know better than the man. He couldn't do anything but shut his eyes and do as he was told.

"I need to find someone to watch my class while I'm away." Aizawa muttered to himself. He looked up at Kakashi who had taken advantage of the brief pause in their conversation to read his book. The man was obsessed with that thing. "Oi Hatake. Are Ectoplasm, Smoker and Yuhi having classes today?." He asked.

Kakashi looked up from the book with a confused face. It took a little while for his mind to register what Aizawa had said. "I'm not sure." Kakashi shrugged. "I didn't see anybody in the staff room, so they might be all busy."

Aizawa clicked his tongue. "...do I have to settle for Present Mic?." He asked Kakashi and partly himself.

"Make sure to get them hearing aids tomorrow." The grey haired man said with a chuckle.

Aizawa groaned. Clearly he didn't want to have to depend on his old friend for this favour.

"I wish my class were seniors. Uzumaki's the only one you have to worry about." Aizawa said in envy.

He couldn't trust his class to remain a conducive place for learning if he wasn't there to direct them. With an embodiment of disaster like Bakugo, a problem magnet like Izuku, a god of lust like Mineta and other troublemakers and loudmouths in Kaminari, Ashido, Kirishima and Hagakure, leaving his class to their own devices was a sure recipe for disaster.

Ida was an outstanding class rep, however he wasn't nearly charismatic nor respected enough to control or herd the class. That was more of Yaoyorozu Momo's thing. Unfortunately, the girl was unavailable today.

Aizawa sighed in his misfortune. The great god of troublemakers in Kakashi's class was missing, so he could leave without any second thoughts. He on the other hand was missing a very much needed peacemaker and was left with various deities of trouble making.

"There there..." Kakashi patted the shaggy looking man on the shoulder. He honestly felt for him... Not!. 'That's what you get for expelling an entire class last year. Evil guy, do you think karma doesn't exist?. If you hadn't been so harsh on those cute little newcomers you would only have mid-class students to worry about and not hyperactive juniors.' Kakashi thought with a giggle.

The words were funny coming from him, an equally strict teacher. A perfect case of kettle calling pot black. Spoken like a true hypocrite.

"Aside from Uzumaki and two others all of your students are matured, I'm really jealous." Aizawa exhaled.

'Hahaha jealous are you?. Well you can't have them!. I was blessed with a spectacular class and I spent two over years bitterly cultivating them. Now they're 'mature' you're jealous?.' Kakashi boasted in his mind.

'Why didn't you build up a class when I did?. Instead you expelled them!. You couldn't be bothered to raise them, you were too lazy, too proud!. You thought it beneath you. Right?. Now it's too late to regret Aizawa-chan!. My class is at the top and yours is at the bottom!.' Kakashi grabbed his stomach and comically laughed into a horizon of mountains and blue skies that had appeared out of nowhere. This feeling was spectacular!.

He paused and thought to himself in shock. 'This feeling... have I achieved plus ultra?.'

"I know. Why don't you lend me one of your students. UA students hardly learn anything in class in the final class so it should be fine. On second thought, make it a student council member, they're hardly in class and are much more reliable." Aizawa said.

Aizawa's voice was like acid splashing on Kakashi's back. The grey haired man almost tumbled over and had to use a wall for support.

'No no no no no. No you don't, you bastard!. You can't just take advantage of my precious creations like that!. They're not yours to command!.' Kakashi glared at the obliviously speaking man with bloodshot eyes. Damn the no-violence code amongst teachers. He wanted to punch this piece of shit right in the nose.

"I won't be too greedy and ask for the student council prez." Aizawa said with a 'benevolent' wave of his hand.

"How thoughtful of you..." Kakashi gasped out between heavy breaths. He held his heart like he was having a heart attack.

"Don't mention it." Aizawa said. Kakashi almost bit his tongue in rage. "My kids are really wild so it has to be someone strict. But Bakugo doesn't respond well to force, so it has to be a person who knows how to compromise."

Kakashi clenched his fist in hatred. "By all means have your pick." He said through gnashed teeth.

"Hmm... My first choice would be Shiho–"

"She's has detention." Kakashi quickly said.

Aizawa gave him a look. That didn't sound like Shiho. Why would a girl as obedient and good as her be in detention?. What had she done to warrant it?.

Aizawa shrugged. He could ask the girl later. It was best to make sure one of the school's brightest stayed on the right path.

Kakashi laughed victoriously in his heart. 'Heeheeheehee. Bastard!. You thought you could just have your first pick?. Sorry no can do. She has detention!. What can you do about it?. Bring her out of it?. You don't have the authority!. Ask me to let her off?. That's too irresponsible, how could you ask?. There's nothing you can do. Shiho... you can't touch her. You can't have her heeheeheehee. You can't have any of them.'

Kakashi roared in laughter in his mind. 'Matter of fact, they're all having detention. Eat that you half bred zombie!.'

"I was going to say, Shiho would be my first choice, but she's too soft spoken to handle the characters in my class. The more ideal candidate would be Yamanaka." Aizawa said with a thin smile.

Kakashi's celebration was cut short. His droopy eyes comically bulged out of their sockets. 'I was tricked!.' Kakashi lamented. "Another blonde?!."

"You know what they say. Blondes are the best." Aizawa said with a wide grin. "Thank you for your help Hatake. Don't bother, I'll get Yamanaka myself." Aizawa whispered to the grey haired man, who was barely holding himself up with the aid of a wall.

Aizawa walked away from the 'defeated' man with a victorious smirk. That's what he got for posturing without shame like that. If he tried to hide it, which he didn't, Aizawa would still see the condescension in his eyes.

He was clearly looking down on him because he was still teaching a junior class, and while Aizawa knew he was mainly to blame for it, it still didn't mean Kakashi could boast about accomplishments to him.

The man was fortunate to have a class of stellar students. His class had Uzumaki Naruto. If that didn't set an unnatural standard for their accomplishments, then Aizawa wasn't sure what would.

Kakashi boasted like he brought them up from nothing while most of his class were already ready-made before they enrolled. He hardly had to move a finger, yet he strutted about like a peacock and boasted the loudest. What a fraud.

Aizawa along with other members of the UA staff were sick of the man's never ending posturing, and today's events was just a small bit of revenge. They were forced to endure his smug responses, his pompous replies and jabs at their own student record. Shamelessly taking credit for their collective efforts like he did something special.

He deserved this and more.

Kakashi watched Aizawa leave in a daze. While he fiercely tried to protect what he thought was the best student for Aizawa's job, the true 'best' had been conned out of his hands.

He could only–barely–standby and watch as his prized students were surveyed by another man and picked up to be used like hookers taken off the streets. How revolting!. This feeling was just awful.

'This feeling... have I achieved rock bottom?.' Kakashi asked himself in a daze.

Today he had been bested by a mere junior class teacher. It was the greatest disgrace of his life.

Where was justice?.

---

Light shone on a single empty bed in a small tidy room. The room was tidy but hardly decorated. There was a lone bed in it, a single window, a small dresser with varieties of makeup kits and skin products on it. The amount of the products were more than what a dresser of this size could carry. They were stacked on top each other, so high that they covered half of the mirror.

There was an open wardrobe at one side of the room. It appeared overstocked as well, holding too many luggages, clothes on hangers, shoes in boxes and more. A hamper lay at the opposite side of the wardrobe. There was a bundle of what would be worn clothes inside then hamper.

On first glance anyone would say the room was quite cramped. They would also note that it had a feminine side to it, with all the makeup products and heels lying around. It was clear the resident of this place had far too much luggage for an apartment this size.

Riiiiingggggggg

The sound of a telephone ringing resounded from the another side of the small apartment.

The sound came from the living room of the apartment. This was one of those low budget apartments that had the kitchen and living room sharing the same area to conserve space. Half of the room was a lightly furnished kitchen with a few pans, pots, plates and cups. There was a microwave that was still in its box, a small brand-new fridge and a stove that looked like it hadn't been used in ages.

The other side of the room had a single person couch, a tall stool and a table that were together by one side. The ringing phone was on said table. There was a old model box television placed atop a pile of beer crates and a four bladed fan on the ceiling.

A blonde woman was seated on a stool by the small round table. She had her long hair in a bun, and was dressed in a loose half cup sleeveless top and tight hot pants. The woman's figure was notably alluring, the skin on her exposed legs to glisten in the sunlight. The woman had her legs crossed as she sat, with a small steaming mug in hand.

She quietly sipped her coffee and ignored the ringing telephone near her. At least that was what she wanted to do. After the first three calls, the woman could barely concentrate on her drink with the incessant ringing of the phone. The ringing went on for multiple minutes until the woman could not take it anymore. She grabbed the phone roughly and put it by her ear.

"What?!." The woman snapped at the caller.

The person on the other side didn't seem to notice the anger in her voice and laughed happily in response. 'You finally answered Mt Lady!.' the voice of the speaker was masculine.

The blonde woman in the apartment was Yū Takeyama, known to the world as the heroine Mt Lady.

The blonde haired woman wasn't feeling anything like a heroine at the moment and scowled at the man's words. "I told you to stop calling me that." She growled out.

Yū didn't know whether the man was deaf or spoke a different language from her. She had told him time and time again not to call her that again, yet he always did.

The man calling her was her handler. He was an agent of the hero agency she had joined earlier this year. After years of hero training and a spell with her mentor, Yū had decided she was finally ready for pro hero work.

Yū got her things and moved in to the big city. After settling in a lavish apartment she could barely afford, Yū went off to the state embassy to pick a hero agency.

Yū wasn't like the other girls from the academy. She didn't share their obsession for joining the JHA like a majority of the big guns. Yū believed in small establishments and building oneself up.

She looked up to the heroes that had taken themselves and their agencies to the top with nothing but their willpower, blood, sweat and tears. A story like that was one she wanted for herself.

After being rejected by the UA, Yū was made to understand that not every princess story started in a castle. Some princesses were born in tiny small cottages and had to work their way from the stables and up the ranks of the kingdom until they could make their own and call themselves queen. A queen.

That was the image Yū had learned to see herself in. That was her goal. To become a queen like heroine, one that lorded over other pro heroes.

It was admittedly an egocentric ideal, but that was what Yū wanted for herself. Thus, she decided she could never be a part of the JHA's agency.

No matter her much more far ahead of the other agencies they were. Their hero management was second to none, their technology far more advanced and even their costume making was on another level. The quality difference between a hero costume made by the JHA and any other agency was astronomic. It was like comparing heaven and earth.

JHA's agency had far more staff, offered better packages, got first dibs on the missions and had more media exposure by a landslide. Top heroes in the JHA not only got paid more, they had a far better support and insurance.

Yū heard that the JHA gave every key member their own team and would screen thousands of top academy graduates to be their sidekick if they so asked for one.

Some heroes had multiple people for the JHA working with them in groups. Relief teams, rescue teams, field teams, evacuation units, fire and bomb squad, you name it. They could have many as two hundred people under their wing if they were valued enough.

Yū didn't doubt for a second that she could become valued enough. And with how big of an impact she had on her debut she had surpassed her own expectations. If she was a part of the JHA, asking for a team of three hundred wouldn't be close to asking too much. They would probably grant the request in a heartbeat.

She could have been a part of it, and would get pampered by all their packages and would be making enough money to buy the entire building the lavish apartment she was initially staying in was situated in.

Yū would have had it all had she joined the JHA. But she didn't. Yū believed in making it as a queen in her own kingdom and so the JHA could never fit into her plans.

Yū instead signed up to an upstart agency called Bishop. The name wasn't a particularly good one. It was the assertive nature of the agent of the agent she had met in the embassy that drew her to the agency.

Yū came in looking for a young agency she could build up from the ground, so she wasn't too picky. After a brief chat with the agent Yū followed him back to their head office. She met the leader and founder of the agency and signed a three year deal to them on the very same day.

Yū envisioned that her first months as a pro would be riddled with struggles and difficulties. She had toughened her heart for any adversities that would come her way. Only, Yū had underestimated the hidden power she possessed.

The power of the booty.

Yū didn't have to spend all those long nights and days of struggles and pain she thought she would. After her debut it was basically smooth sailing from there.

It turned out most of Japan were simps, and the appearance of a super cute heroine with a banging body was all reason they needed to hype train her all the way to the top 30s in a span of months.

It wasn't as though Yū wasn't powerful enough for the rank, in truth she could even be placed further up. However, it was a popularity rank so in the end, her rapidly growing fan base put her there and not her merits.

In the blink of an eye, Yū's dream to slowly build up a legacy was instantly achieved. It felt a little rushed and unreal, but that was the reality. Her stocks had suddenly spiked and her formerly unknown agency was now top hundred in the country.

The Bishop agency treated her like a goddess, and made sure to provide her with whatever she wanted. She was their golden goose. They could not afford to make her unhappy.

Yū experienced one of the most enjoyable moments of her life after her debut. Her rank in the charts was fast rising, people allover Japan begun to know her name. Other heroes regarded her with respect, and her former classmates who had mocked her for not wanting to join the JHA were forced to eat their words.

She ran into them from time to time. Most of them were part of relief group sent in by the JHA after she and top heroes from various agencies were done with a job.

The way they looked at her changed, it wasn't the way the same way they looked at her before. Before they looked at her with condescending eyes, mocking the teenage putz who still couldn't control her own quirk.

Now they looked at her in disbelief, shock, awe and reverence. Despite not being a part of the mighty JHA she still made it to the top.

She still made the hero name that they had laughed at unforgettable to the citizens of Japan.

The giantess heroine. Mt Lady.

Yū had grown so proud of that name in the previous months she even addressed herself as Mt Lady in the mirror every morning before going to work.

'Go get 'em Mt Lady.' 'Another day another dollar Mt Lady.' 'Looking good Mt Lady.' 'It's your day... like every other day is, Mt fucking Lady.' She said all sorts of things to herself, and always referred to herself as 'Mt Lady'.

Yū Takeyama had become a distant memory. Until she met him. The monster from her nightmares. The shadow that always never seemed to stop following her. The terror of the virtual world she had stepped into with Kamui Woods. Ultima.

His appearance and the revelations that followed after it turned Yū's paradise into a hell in an instant. The world was nothing like she thought it was. An academy student, the same age she had been on her final year humbled her in combat. A person she looked up to and idolized was crushed before her very eyes.

She was battered and bruised physically and psychologically. She was forced to ask herself questions that she had never thought about before in her life and was left with no answers for them.

She looked over her shoulders in fear everyday. Fear that Ultima would show up to finish the job.

Then she saw him again. On the day after he had ripped both her and Kamui Woods' worlds apart. It was the scariest experience of her life after the time he walked up to her after tanking a direct blow from her like it was nothing.

Yū remembered feeling like her heart was going to explode in her chest. Fortunately for her, the psychotic blonde hadn't seen her. He walked past her. He was so close, yet he didn't see her. It was as though she was invisible to him.

He went on his way, boarded a bus and left. Yū didn't bother track down the bus to see where Ultima was going or if he tried something crazy on another bus. She thanked her lucky stars and ran straight home. She took a long shower, cried tears of joy and then sorrow until she sunk into the depths of sleep.

Perhaps it was at that moment that Yū had lost herself.

No. Even before then, she made a subconscious decision to not look at herself as Mt Lady again. After watching one of her idols breaking down in front of her. Just watching and doing nothing. He looked so fragile and in need of saving and yet she was unable to lift a single finger to help him.

It was then Yū lost her heart.

She lost what made her a hero and kept her up all those days training in the mountains. Kept her steady despite the words and opinions of her classmates and teachers. What made her the heroine she always wanted to be.

The heart of a warrior. Of a saviour. Of a heroine. It was robbed from her by a single experience. A single young man. One that she could not dare face.

She feared him more than anything. And as long as she was terrified of him, Yū Takeyama could not call herself a hero. She could not be Mt Lady. Neither should anybody else call her that name.

Yū returned to reality.

'Mt Lady–' The speaker raised his voice to respond.

However, Yū gave him no opportunity to finish. "I SAID DON'T CALL ME THAT!." Yu roared in anger.

Why was he so stubborn?. Hadn't she told him not to call her that again?. She couldn't go by that name again. Not when she was like this. With the way she was now, it would be a mockery to herself and all the pro heroes in the world to accept the hero name; Mt Lady. Any hero name at that was too good for her as far as she was concerned.

She had lost the right to call herself a hero.

'Sorry it's... I just don't know what else to call you.' The caller responded. Yū's words had finally gotten to him.

The first few times he was lucky enough. He understood his luck would prove insufficient should he continue to annoy the woman.

No matter how nice and girly she was, this was a pro hero. A person who had trained to be a hero for a better part of her life. A woman who was not scared to put her life on the line for others.

What it took to do the things heroes did on a daily basis could not be looked down on. They had a great deal of guts, willpower and were incomparably noble.

Getting on the bad side of people like that would not only be stupid, it would make him very ungrateful.

"Just call me Yū." Yū replied with a sigh. She didn't mean to snap at the man but she really wasn't in a good place at the moment.

'Is it really alright to call you that?.' He asked.

Though Yū was an idol heroine and had a reputation in other fields other than heroics such as; modelling, advertising, and more, she should still value the secrecy of her real identity, right?.

It wasn't compulsory for heroes to have secret identities in this era of heroism. Actually most well-known heroes didn't bother hiding their identities, and with the way the system was set up it was quite difficult to maintain the privacy heroes had during the early 2000s.

With the current level the media had reached, heroes would be hardpressed to keep their secret identities secret. Only heroes who seemed to have popped out of nowhere like Allmight stood a chance.

A majority of the heroes with secret identities were self educated, school dropouts or unremarkable during their school days.

The media had their eyes on everything, and since the inter-school activities were made an national affair it was nigh impossible to hide ones identity after going pro.

"I'm sure." Yū waved it off.

She never particularly said she wanted to hide her identity. She hadn't made a decision on it, and it hadn't come up. Her hero career was as such.

People were more interested in her appearance and instagram photos than anything. She wasn't like Allmight who had achieved so many feats that he got people genuinely idolizing him and wanting to know everything about him.

The world was happy with the image of 'Mt Lady' Yū had portrayed to them, and so they didn't complain or ask for any of her personal details. Fanaticism and idolization were two different things.

'Okay...' The caller said reluctantly. 'I'm calling to ask when you'll be coming back in Mt– I mean Yū-san. The whole team's worried about you!.'

Yū scoffed. This guy really only heard what he wanted to. Thinking about it, that was how he got here to sign for Bishop. "I'm won't. I told you I'm turning in my hero license, so obviously I won't have any business in a hero agency. I quit."

'Quit?!. Y-you can't do that Mt La– Yū-san!.'

"I'm pretty sure I already did. If that's all, then have a good day." Yū said impatiently and moved to end the call.

'Hold on!. Please wait, I-I don't understand?. Why are you leaving our agency?. Is there something we did?. If there's something that's not up to your taste with the contract or anything please tell me. I promise to correct it!.'

Yū put touched her forehead and groaned. "For crying out loud, this is not about your agency, handler-san."

'It's not?. Then why are you leaving us?. I don't understand.'

Yū sighed. How many times would she have you tell this guy one thing?. "I'm not leaving the agency, I'm leaving heroics as a whole. I'm saying I'm no longer going to continue as Mt Lady!. I'm not a heroine anymore. I'm done."

The caller took a pause, perhaps to drink in what Yū had just said. After a few seconds the man's voice reverberated again. Much to Yū's surprise he was laughing.

'You can't quit being a hero Ms Yū. I know it's weird coming from a guy who literally monetises heroes for a living, but heroism isn't a job. It's a state of mind. You can't just quit from it Ms Yū. It's who you are.' He said.

Yū's eyes went wide. Words like that weren't what she expected from a man in this line of business. Like he said, he was a hero agent. Most of the time people like him were thinking about how to take advantage of a conflict to make a profit. It sounded dark, but that was what they were about in essence. It didn't take a good person to do the job.

That didn't mean all hero agents were bad people. What laid in their hearts were their secrets to keep, however, a good hero agent would never give anybody the impression he wasn't a decent person.

They were masters at convincing people, heroes especially, that they were doing everything for their good. They made the feel like they were the centre of their universe, the most important thing in the world.

Yū had witnessed it first hand. In fact, coming into this city she made sure to prepare herself for the deceiving words and the false friendships of these so called hero agents. People who made a living off other people's sacrifices were never to be trusted.

Yū never thought that her handler would say something like that to her. Though his intentions may have been selfish, they were still worlds she badly needed to hear.

Now, especially since she was battling within herself. She was lost. Unsure whether she deserved to call herself a hero, or was ever meant to be one.

Yū had never doubted herself this much before. Even after she was rejected by the UA, she still maintained a level of confidence in herself through her mentor. This time she had no such support available.

If there was ever a time Yū needed someone to tell her 'You can do it', it was now.

A smile adorned Yū's beautiful face. The words of one of the people pro heroes considered the greatest manipulators found a way to her confused heart. "Goodbye."

'Wai–'

Clack!

Despite the words of the man, Yū still dropped the call. Even though she was relieved to hear someone tell her she could still be a hero, it didn't mean that she could just jump right back into it. No matter what, she still needed time.

His words would help her to clear some of her doubts, but it couldn't erase her experience. The things that led her to this state were still there. That was why she shuttled herself in this small apartment, to hide from them. From him.

Yū knew that she would never go back to her former self until she could face Ultima without the fear in her heart. Right now, she was still very far from reaching that level of self confidence.

Yū sighed. Whether she liked it or not, this had to be a process. Step by step.

Yū glanced at the door of her apartment. Speaking of steps, that would be the first one. She couldn't even hope to recover if she remained holed up in this place.

The first step to coming out of her shell started with walking out of that door. The only question was could she do it knowing she could have another unlucky encounter with Ultima?.

Could she escape from the prison she had created for herself or not?.

---

"Silver what the hell are you doing there?." A black haired, average height man with a long scar on his cheek yelled.

The man glared at his subordinate, an orange haired woman with purple spot-like tattoos on her face.

The man's expression was a mixture of anger and helplessness. He had lost count of how many times he had told her not to play with her equipment.

'She's twenty nine years old for crying out loud, she should know better!.' The man facepalmed. Maybe he should be asking himself why he still bothered with her. She never listened, and he never seemed to understand that she wouldn't no matter what.

"Ah!." The orange haired woman called Silver shrieked in surprise and jumped away from her gear. She raised her hands to plea innocent but stopped midway when she realized she had been caught red handed.

She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. She giggled at the frowning faced man. "Sorry Grapes."

"Tch. How many times have I told you not to call me that?." The scarred man growled and swiped at Silver. The woman easily dodged the lazy swing.

"C'mon boss man, fruity names are waaaay better than the ones we have." Silver chirped. Her expression then turned somber. "

Grapes snorted. "Whatever." He gave the woman one last glance before turning away. "Let's go meet up with the others, our 'visitors' wishes to brief us on the mission."

Silver's expression turned sour at the mention of the 'visitor'. The orange haired woman wore a deep frown on her face and clenched her fists. "I trust you completely no matter what you want to do, and I'm sure the rest of the crew agrees!."

The scarred middle-aged man turned to Silver and gave her a warm smile. "That means a lot." He said then sighed.

"Unfortunately the top doesn't share that opinion. I can't say I blame them. It was my carelessness that got our boys killed on the last op." The man heaved a heavy sigh. They shouldn't have taken that mission. Now his friends were dead, and their bodies would rest heavily on his conscience.

Silver's face turned downcast. She too blamed herself for the deaths of their comrades. She wished she could have done more, or at least have been for their final moments.

In their line of business it was inevitable that there would be deaths, Silver just never expected those two to die on such a mission. Initially, when the mission request came Silver showed no interest. In her opinion it was an easy mission and not worth their time.

They were a group that took the most high profile assassination missions one could find. Assassinating a rich guy's daughter wasn't something Silver considered to be in Their pay grade, even though their employers offered them a generous reward. It was only after the captain explained that the family the girl was from wasn't an ordinary aristocratic family. The Yaoyorozu weren't simple.

After that, Silver was willing to acknowledge the difficulty of the mission, if just only. She treated it like any other mission, though she wasn't as enthusiastic as she normally was when they did the ground work for what she considered 'real missions'. Regardless, even the smallest of things were to be respected and that was the same for their missions.

She kept track on the girl's movement, her communication online and everything. For months the life of Yaoyorozu Momo became the most important thing in her own.

She knew the girl's schedule like the back of her hand, all her plans and even her aspirations were filled down on paper. Silver kept track of everything, kept record of everything, all in preparation for a single moment.

The moment to strike. And it came. When one of Silver's spies informed her that the girl was leaving the school before closing hours by herself she knew it was the perfect time to strike.

The girl was dropped off by a bulletproof limousine and picked up by it every single day. The driver was always on time and so was Momo, they never broke schedule. Silver had feared that they would never get an opportunity to strike at their target until she received that tip. She remembered she smiled widely and quickly rushed to report to her captain.

The man had teased her about being so excited about a mission she had looked down on so much months ago. Silver excused her slip-up with arguments that she just wanted to be done with the mission as quickly as possible.

A sentiment that many of her colleagues shared. They were tired of all the waiting and information gathering, they wanted to end it as quickly as possible so they could move on to something more challenging.

Silver recalled that her colleagues had fought over the field mission, and the captain had to intervene when it got really serious. Everybody was tired of sitting still, as well they all wanted to do the honours of officially putting this dull op behind them.

In the end it was decided that Maroon and Violet would be the ones to go. It was ironic since they weren't amongst the ones who had nominated themselves to do it.

Looking back now it made the current situation even more lamentable. Silver stared at the broad back of her captain. He tried to hide it but Silver was sure he was heartbroken at what had happened.

Naturally he wouldn't wished he had sent different agents. Regardless he didn't want any of his men to die. But knowing he had sent those two to an unfortunate death like that must be taking a toll on the man's heart.

Silver's suppressed a sigh. She wished more than anything to be able to take away that pain she was sure was gnawing at her captain's heart. And perhaps today she would be granted an opportunity to do so.

Silver's face turned serious. Compared to all the missions they had taken this one was the most important in all their hearts. Which was why the captain turned down the reward for completing it.

They didn't require any payment to. carry this out. Killing that brat was something they would do for free a million times over. They all knew it was quite fortunate to be given a chance at a quick revenge and would not miss out on such a golden opportunity. Uzumaki Naruto must die.

(AN: We'll refer to the captain as Grapes cuz I don't think I'll be using his real name in this chapter.)

Grapes led Silver to a large room. This was where they had all their mission briefings. There were about sixty people dressed in military like uniforms gathered around a podium in the middle of the room. There were rows of seats lined up, enough to accommodate hundred people. A majority of the sixty people were seated on the seats, while a few remained standing.

Those that sat mostly stayed in the regular sitting posture, however there were a few more eccentric ones taking odd postures. Some were relaxed while others were just sitting wrong.

Silver gave Grapes a nod and made her way to the first row of the seats. There were no free seats in the first row, however, upon seeing her the unlucky person in the seat she wanted immediately scurried away. Silver normally would have smirked in a moment like this, but today was just not one of those days. She took her seat and stared at the podium.

Aside from Grapes who was currently on the steps, there was a man standing in the middle of the podium. He had had short brown spiky hair, a rectangular shaped and particularly odd looking face. He could be said to have a plan face, but at the same time his features were out of the ordinary.

He had wide black eyes, with particularly large irises. His eyes were the same shape as rice seeds, and his eyelashes were quite sparse making his eyes look very odd. His eyebrows were thin and barely noticeable on his face. Aside from his eyes, the other features on his face didn't standout. The only other thing worth mentioning was the low placement of his lips.

His features were quite ordinary if individually dissected, however placed together they gave the man a strange yet plain looking face. All in all his appearance was a really weird one.

His lack of a humanly expression didn't help matters.

The man was about 5'10 in height, with a healthy frame somewhere between lean and bulky. His physique was quite standard, both in ratio and size.

The man was dressed in a navy green German like military uniform, which was quite similar to the one's the men in the seats were wearing. The main distinction being the color. The sixty over people's uniforms were dark grey. The man wore a large maroon colored belt around his waist and high brown boots.

He held his hands behind his back in a straight posture. His cold lifeless eyes stared down at the people, giving the more experience ones the creeps. Even the veterans made an effort to avoid his gaze.

Grapes stood at the top of the podium beside the man. He clear his throat and in a string of hush sounds reverberated and soon the room was completely quiet.

"Thank you all for gathering. I only have a few things to say, so won't take much of your time." Grapes started. "Firstly I would like us to hold a minute's silence for the brothers we lost in the last op." Grapes said.

The crowd's face made a series of expressions, ranging from sadness, grief, anger, solemness, wariness and guilt. A minute of pin dropping silence passed.

"Trust me when I say that I'll brothers will definitely be avenged." Grapes said in determination. "That's why I've called this meeting. I want to put together a team to assist me in bringing the person who murdered our brothers down." Grapes continued. "As you know, there is a certain way things are done here. Revenge is separate from business. Since we were unsuccessful in our last op, normally I would want us to buckle up and put our record back on track.

"Nothing comes before the reputation of our group. Our fallen brothers know this and would no doubt understand if we were unable to give them a swift justice." Grapes said with a solemn expression. He raised his fist into the air and carried on with passion. "However!. Kami is truly looking after the souls of our brothers. We have been granted an opportunity to avenge our brothers and wipe the stain from our reputation at the same time.

"I have here with me a retainer hero from the JHA." Grapes pointed his hand at the calmly standing man beside him. The man's expression hadn't changed since the speech begun. "Some of you may already recognize him, I will introduce him for those who do not. He is Tenzou Yamato, gold star retainer from the southern branch of the JHA." Grapes said.

The crowd naturally were in an uproar when they heard the name. Tenzou Yamato. Only upstarts wouldn't know that name. Perhaps they didn't all know what he looked like, but they definitely knew that name.

"Holy shit, it's the Boogeyman!."

"Damn he looks even more unnerving in person..."

"His eyes... man, they're so weird."

"Shh!. Bitch, if you're so hungry for death don't drag me into it!."

"Amazing, a gold ranker. I've never seen one before."

"Are we gonna be working with the Boogeyman?. I dunno if I should be honored or scared."

"Probably both."

"You guys are giving him too much credit. Hmmph. I bet boss can beat him!."

"Shut your ass. This guy makes other gold stars piss their pants."

Grapes gave the people a minute to get over their surprise before waving his hands for quiet. "Yamato-san has reached out to our group since our goals are one and the same. The JHA are gunning for the brat who killed our boys. They don't want him dead and just captured of course..."

The crowd broke into murmurs. The were obviously unhappy at the prospects of leaving the person who killed one of their own alive. Even if it was good money, they would be left with a bad taste in their mouths if they didn't drag that bastard down to hell.

"Calm down. I'm not done speaking." Grapes said. When the room quietened down he continued. "Aside from the JHA, there are others very interested in the brat, and these people don't particularly mind if he's brought in dead or alive." Grapes said, an evil smile crept onto his face. "Yamato-san here works for these people. He has been tasked with leading a group of JHA agents to retrieve the boy, however his employs want to enlist our help. So you see it's quite convenient heeheeheehee.

"Pretty much what I'm saying is, while Yamato and his team are 'searching' for the boy we'll be getting the real business done." Grapes said with a ferocious grin. The crowd burst into cheers and whoops. Knowing they had a shot to avenge their brethren left them feeling more relieved than they can explain. It was like a massive weight had been lifted from their chests. It was a fantastic feeling.

"YES!. VENGEANCE FOR OUR BROTHERS AWAITS. I AND A SELECT FEW OF YOU BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WILL RIDE OUT AND BRING OUR BROTHERS' KILLER TO JUSTICE!." Grapes roared with a clenched fist. "WE WE MAKE SURE HE FEELS TEN TIMES.. NO HUNDRED TIMES THE TERROR OUR BROTHERS ENDURED!. WE WILL MAKE HIM PAY!."

"Well will make him pay!."

"Yeah!."

"For our brothers!."

"Fuck yeah!."

"He must pay!."

"He must die!."

"Die!."

"Die!."

"Die!."

"Die!."

Silver listened to the furiously excited voices of her brothers and sisters with a stone like serious expression. Her heart was pounding in excitement too. She as well could wait to set off and kill that bastard. She couldn't wait. She definitely had to be on that team. She definitely had to. She couldn't bench this op. Not this time. Not again.

This time. It would surely be different.

Silver balled her fists with a determined expression. "Just you wait... Wait patiently, just for a bit in heaven... we'll surely avenge you guys. It's a promise." Silver whispered out.

The target had been marked X. Uzumaki Naruto must die.

---

Yamato left the airship the assassin organization he just brokered a deal with were staying in. As soon as he did he didn't make an detours and immediately went to his next destination.

Yamato stood in front of an abandoned restaurant. It was formerly one of the hottest spots in this district, that was before the calamity that befell this city. Most of the city had been rebuilt after the tragedy all those years ago. However, this district was left out.

It was on the outskirts of the city, and most importantly it was the 'crash point' of the disaster that wrought this city years ago. Scientist had declared the place inhabitable for the next fifty years since the disaster. Naturally, a person with a quirk like his needn't worry about a little bad living condition.

It had been over twenty years since the declaration was made, and the city was isolated from the rest of civilization with the aid of barrier type quirk users.

Yamato was a small fledgling struggling for scraps to get him by the day the South during those days. He knew nothing about this tragedy, nor the terror older agents born in the Central section spoke of. He had only heard stories about what it had been like. What seeing it had been like.

The veterans preferred not to speak about the mournful day. However, the few times theft did even the seemingly emotionless Tenzou Yamato felt a cold sensation go down his spine. Truly the people of Japan were lucky the JHA were able to contain the damage to a single city. If not for their decisiveness, then perhaps what happened to Taiwan would have happened to them...

Yamato shook his head. There was no sense in thinking about things like these. They had contained the situation, that was already fortunate enough. And it was a long long time ago since it had last happened. The JHA and Japan quirk using populace had only grown stronger since then. If such a thing occurred again, then things would definitely be different. Especially with people like him around... No matter what, he wouldn't let his home be taken away from him.

Yamato stepped into the building and went straight to an inner room. The room was unlike the rest of the abandoned establishment. It was tidy, though there wasn't any furniture it was still a long ways better than any other place in this forgotten district.

There was a phone in the middle of the room. Yamato sat down cross-legged in front of it and punched in a few numbers then picked up the handset. The person on the other end didn't take much time before picking up.

'How did it go?.' Came a masculine elderly sounding voice.

"They accepted." Yamato replied.

'Good. It's always useful to have canon fodder in any operation. Did they suspect anything?.' The man at the other end of the call asked.

"No. They seemed quite enthusiastic." Yamato said.

'Humans. We're all the same. They must want revenge on the boy.'

"I believe so."

'They'll have an opportunity. Whether or not they can make the most of it is up to them. Go through your next actions according to the plan.'

"Roger."

'When you're done stop by the hospital for a checkup. You've been coming to this place quite frequently this month, there might be an issue.'

"I'm fine." Yamato insisted.

'I know you have confidence in your quirk. It is a special one, but don't get too conceited.' The man warned.

The man sighed. 'Youngsters, you're all so stubborn. It's an order. Make sure you see the doctor after you complete your mission.' The man said firmly.

"Hai." Yamato responded.

'Tell him to check specifically for an trace of quirk poisoning. That place 'is' within the perimeter of the exact spot Amatsumikaboshi ascended from. We can't have that monster's quirk ruining your own before we've even put it to proper use.'

"I understand." Yamato replied. The call ended there.

Yamato dropped the receiver and stared at the phone in silence. The speaker was around the same age as him, and though he could be classified as a veteran he wasn't anything like those old fogies in the JHA. Yet, even he had an subconscious wariness for everything concerning that monster. Everybody in the Central section seemed to.

Amatsumikaboshi... Just what was it like?.

---

Yū waved the cabby as the taxi pulled away. The woman had made good on her plans to finally take the first step to coming back out of her shell and back into the world. Where better to start than to go shopping?.

Yū stared at the multiple bags hanging on both her arms, completely covering her body with a smile. She couldn't believe she had almost given up shopping. Yū had forgotten just how much she enjoyed the thrill of shopping like a hyper energetic girl in her sweet sixteen, while the rest of the boutique were oblivious to the fact that she was a professional hero in the top 50 national ranking.

Just a wig and contact lenses could go a long way for hero trying to keep her true identity a secret. It helped that the public were more interested in her body's features, rather than her face. Mt Lady was a super sexy hero who dressed in skin tight suits. Who would suspect a black haired and eyed woman dressed in an ordinary Luis Vuitton dress?.

Nobody, that was who.

Yū sighed in happiness before frowning. She stared at the flight of stairs she knew she would have to take. She was the one who made the decision to move into this crappy place, and she was already regretting it. The elevator didn't work so Yū had to take the stairs.

She was a fully trained a physically fit young woman, so a few flight of stairs wasn't worth mentioning to her. However, who didn't like convenience?. Also, Yū knew that most of her physical fitness was a byproduct of developing and training her quirk. If she were quirkless young woman she doubted climbing so many stairs would be so easily achieved.

Yū took a breath before setting off to it. The sooner she got to her apartment the sooner she could really try these babies on. Yū lightly squealed to herself and half ran towards the stairs.

Boom!

Out of nowhere a figure sped past Yū like a bullet slamming into a nearby car, squishing it like it was made of paper and creating deep cobweb like cracks in the asphalt. The surrounding windows burst in unison, from the shockwave created by the collision.

Yū froze. Everything happened so quickly, that her distracted mind could not keep up. Yū didn't even know whether what had just flown past her was living or inanimate.

Yū's head slowly turned to the direction of the totalled car and to her horror she found the broken up body of what was clearly a dead man. He appeared to be in his mid thirties. He had a bowl cut black hair that was completely dyed red in his own blood.

Blood oozed out of the man's bashed head, creating a pool of redness in the impression his head had made on the car. One of his arms and legs were bent up to an unnatural position, exposing bone and muscle fiber under what was left of his scorched uniform.

The man was missing a right arm and only how left leg looked to be in good condition. As good a condition as the leg of a dead man could be. There was a fist sized hole in his chest, the impression of his caved in ribs were easy to make out of his exposed charred skin.

It was a terrible sight. However, before Yū even had the opportunity to react something even more terrible assaulted her second best sense organ. The voice of the person Yū Takeyama had hoped to never run into again for the rest of a life.

The demon she was trying to overcome to get her life back.

"Fancy meeting you here, Yū."

Yū's head mechanically turned to face the speaker. He looked the same as ever. Wild, untamed and had the eyes of a ferocious beast that could devour her at any moment. His blonde hair didn't seem as glowy as before, and Yū knew this was because he hadn't activated his quirk yet.

Still... Even without it, this teenage boy had enough power to do 'that' to that man's body. It was both impressive and terrifying. As was everything about his existence. Ultima, the anomaly that Yū was unfortunate to discover.

Naruto stared at Yū with–in his opinion–a casual grin. He didn't know why the woman was looking at him like he was a serial rapist or something. Ah, who was he kidding... Of course he knew. Seeing her this way tickled something inside of Naruto. He so loved this feeling.

He stood not too far from the shell-shocked woman dressed as casually as ever with a brand new red hand glove on his right hand. Something he had procured from the kind gentleman he escorted into his car. Or was it even his car?. Naruto didn't know. All he knew was that the excursion was a success.

Naruto used his bloodied hand to support himself by the wall, leaning forward to speak to Yū with his other hand on his waist and his legs crossed. "I thought only bums and scum hung around these parts. What could you be doing here?." Naruto asked with a smile.

"..." Yū was unable to formulate an answer. Hell, she couldn't even get her mouth to follow the orders her mind was giving. She could only stare dead into to piercing blue eyes in total helplessness. How was he here?. Why was he here?.

"Don't tell me you're auditioning for Reality Kings?. Is that why you disguised yourself?. I heard they're in town, and I was planning on stopping by but... schedule." Naruto picked the fingernails of his clean hand casually as he said. The grin on how face suddenly expanded, up to the point that his eyes were squinting. "Gimme a sec." Naruto said, swiftly turning around.

His hair instantly stood up almost on ends and shone with a pulsing golden light. His blue eyes turned the same color as his eyes and even his body gave off an unnatural glow. This was the form Yū was familiar with. The form he took when he sent across the message of what he meant when he said he was Ultima.

There were two men speeding at the blonde at impressive speeds. Though their speed was just comparable to most run-of-the-mill pro heroes, Yū knew they were quite experience just from the way they moved.

The two men had water based quirks, and from what Yū observed one was better at manipulation while the other had more output. This made them quite the compatible duo. Yū knew well the power of a well jelled two man team. If just their quirks complimented each others, then their combat prowess would easily be three to four times higher. It only got better as their fighting styles lined up with each others, and they got more experienced fighting as a team.

Yū was certain these two weren't a fresh tag team, rather one that had experienced all manner of difficulties and tempering together. Though they wouldn't be able to defeat a top level professional hero, they were still nothing to snuff at. At the very least taking them down would be hard on most heroes.

"Let's go, Sorra!." The man on the left summoned four car sized globs of water from the atmosphere as he charged. His advance was a metre or so ahead of his partner.

"Aye, Hideseki!." The other man made a strange gesture with his hands. A thin cloak of water covered his hands as he followed behind his partner.

Sorra suddenly halted in his tracks, his eyes shone in ferocity as he willed the four globs of water to shoot forward. Their aim was the glowing haired blonde with an animalistic grin on his face.

"Now, Hideseki!." Sorra hollered.

Hideseki was already in position. He jumped over Sorra's head and was now just a few metres away from the stationary Naruto. Hideseki begun to spin like a turnip his wave covered body giving off a vibrant blue hue.

The globs of water around him responded to this movement as soon as it happened. The globs twirled and separated into a hundred small water cones each, totalling over four hundred projectiles.

"Sky Atlantic Fiesta!." Sorra and Hideseki roared in unison.

The hundreds of water cones fired off at Naruto like bullets from a gatling gun. The water cones were faster than any normal bullet, and super fast twirling motion granted each cone enough power to rival a handheld grenade gun. The Sky Atlantic Fiesta was comparable to small scale infantry attack.

The surrounding buildings stood no chance against it. The concrete was torn apart like wet paper, the asphalt was riddled with holes and even the sturdy metals could not withstand the consistent power behind the barrage of attacks. It was literally raining water bombs.

When the Sky Atlantic Fiesta had ended, the building Yū had been staying in had been practically torn to shreds. It was barely standing and the ones surrounding it were just as bad. The area was a mess and not a single thing in a fifty metres radius was left unscathed.

Well... All but the golden haired blonde and the blonde woman behind him. Yū was so put off by Naruto's sudden appearance that she couldn't even react to the joint attack of the two men attacking the blonde. Yū barely braced herself for what she knew with be a painful experience, however... the pain never came.

Instead, all that came was a summer like warmth brushing against her skin. Yū opened her eyes and found Naruto standing in front of her with a powerful mountain like stance. There were several holes visible in his clothes, even from Yū's POV. However, there was a trace of injury on his exposed skin.

An ethereal flame like energy cloaked his form. The heat had begun to rise, Yū was sure of this, because she could see the puddles of water surrounding them begin to boil and evaporate. Somehow that summer-like warmth was all her body was exposed to despite the surrounding area being turned into a furnace.

The water evaporate in a few seconds creating a clouds of steam that were so hot they slowly melted the surrounding glass. The concrete under and surrounding Naruto literally begun to burn and the trees were turned to embers by the raging orange flames that flames that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Yū stared in utter awe and a tinge of fear. Naruto had done something very similar when he fought her and Kamui Woods in the virtual world. She could vividly recall how the ferocious flames almost melted away the upper layer of her sturdy skin and would have turned Kamui Woods to charcoal had be not protected himself.

Yū thought only the Flame hero Endeavor possessed such fire power. She learnt otherwise on that day, and today that reality was reaffirmed.

"Fire Fox." Naruto's words echoed across the area.

With those words the already ragious flames seemed to have come alive at Naruto words. Yū didn't know if he imagined it but she heard what sounded like the baleful roar of a beast. The flames accumulated and formed an enormous head of a fox.

The the fox's red eyes glared down at the devastated buildings in mockery and disdain. It seemed somewhat alive. Yet it's red eyes didn't focus on the struggling Sorra and Hideseki but ahead. It was the same for Naruto. He paid no heed to the men who were just about to to be consumed by the flames he had created. His eyes stared ahead, directly at the figure standing on a water tank on another building outside the flame devastation.

"Yū." Naruto suddenly started speaking. His eyes didn't move from the man. He couldn't recognize who it was, but the pressure that single person was giving him was the real deal. He was unlike the navy-like uniform dressed men he had been fighting for the past several minutes.

This guy was a threat.

Yū perked up and shivered a little. Ultima was talking to her, and this time he didn't sound like his usual uncaring and casual self. His voice dropped a couple tones to seriousness.

"W-what..." Yū replied.

"Things are about to get really crazy. You might not wanna stick around." Naruto said. "That guy is super strong. I don't know if I can beat him if I'll have to babysit you at the same time."

Yū frowned at Naruto's statement. When did she ask for this?. When did she say she wanted any of this?. Ever since that day he appeared everywhere she went to, to the point that she had to stop going out altogether. Now again, on her first day out, here he was again. With the same hateful sound in his voice.

She knew she was weaker than him, and she understood that her fear of him must make her look very pathetic from where he was standing. However, that didn't mean that Yū could stand for it. Yes, she was afraid of him. Yes, she didn't have the strength and he was probably right to say she had to leave this. Still... That didn't mean he could just look down on her however he wanted.

Babysitting her?. She was a full grown woman. A full-fledged pro hero. She didn't need protection, no matter how tough things were. Even when faced against him, her greatest fear she was still able to find the courage in the most trying moments. Yū Takeyama might not be the strongest heroine out there, but she was definitely not a scared little girl who would run away at a moment's notice when facing danger.

"Look after yourself!." Yū spat out at the blonde in anger.

Naruto turned his head to gaze at the young beautiful woman who was glaring at him. A smile adorned his features once again. This was an unexpected development. Very unexpected but not at all unwelcome. "Heh. Guess you ain't as cowardly as I th–"

Out of nowhere a wooden pillar emerged from the ground and slammed into Naruto, sending the blonde flying through several buildings. Yū stared at the direction the blonde teen had been sent to with wide eyes. Just how far that sudden attack had sent the teen, she didn't know. The wooden pillar extended so far out that even her heightened sight wasn't enough to see its end or the blonde behind it. His life or death was a mystery to Yū at the moment.

The giantess turned to the opposite direction and to her shock there was a man standing a few steps away from him. Yū didn't know why but she was positive that this man was the same person Ultima was referring to when he couldn't babysit her. This was the very strong person he was speaking about.

Yū instinctively felt unnerved by this man. It was like there was something off about him, and she just couldn't put her finger on it. His lifeless eyes stared in the direction Naruto had been sent it. It was as though she was invisible to him. Yū involuntarily trembled. 'What is this feeling...' She asked herself.

The man's expression was beyond disturbing. His whole presence made her feel... she didn't even have the words for it. Simply put, he made her skin crawl.

The man was dressed in a green German-like uniform, a large maroon colored belt and high brown boots. His black eyes stared up at the enormous head of the flaming fox with a blank expression. "Still in perfect condition." He said.

"Yeah." A voice suddenly reverberated from the wrecked building Yū's apartment used to be located in. Yū and Yamato turned to the direction of the voice and found Naruto standing inside one of the busted open apartments. His shirt had been discarded after the last attack. The blonde's chest was completely bare, revealing a spiral red tattoo on his stomach.

The flames like energy surrounding him had lost its stability and now flared like a beast out of control. Naruto's golden eyes appeared even more feral. The head band on Naruto's head with the numbers on it now displayed the number 90 instead of the usual hundred.

"You took some damage." Yamato pointed out.

"Just a scratch." Naruto shrugged. His eyes turned to stare at Yū, his lips tugging into a smile. "Stay right there, Yū-Yū." Naruto said jokingly, however as soon as the words left his mouth his expression turned serious once more. He made eye contact with the fiery fox head, their eyes resonated in the same light. "Exterminate."

Huuuuuuuuuu...

A ball of fiery energy swirled in the middle of the fox's giant maw. The fire across the devastated area rapidly gathered in the center of the fox's mouth, compressing and refining into a red ball of raw energy. Soon, aside from the fox head, there were no signs of the flames. The red ball shone in a hellish red light.

Yamato didn't waste a single second when he saw what Naruto was planning. He immediately made distance between himself and the large fox. He held his hands together as though he was praying, a solemn expression on his face. Large wooden pillars emerged from seemingly nothingness and formed a multiple layered barrier around him.

'Is it close enough?.' Was all Yamato could think before the hellish attack was unleashed on him and all that was unfortunate to stand behind him.

BOOOM!

Yū felt her legs go weak as the fiery fox which had enveloped her like a guardian angel, shielding her from the catastrophe that it had wrought on the this place.

A thick mushroom cloud erupted from the enormous crater that had been formed in an instant. Black sooth whisped out of the scorched ground. The earth had begun to bleed lava and a thunderstorm was slowly form in horizon. This was this world's reply to the unnatural cataclysm that had ravaged part of its territory. When there was fire there would be rain.

"Dear God..." Yū breathed out in disbelief. How could one living person possess so much raw power. That crater was so huge, Yū had never seen something like it artificially made before. It was like a meteor had landed in this place.

Yū didn't understand what was happening. Why those blue uniformed men were after Ultima, or who that man with a similar quirk to Kamui Woods was. Yū was sure of one thing though. They were strong. Starting from the water quirk duo–who had been eliminated by the emergence of the fire fox– to the brown haired creepy man and Ultima. They were all powerful.

Yū had confidence to say she could defeat the water duo in a fight with minimal difficulty. But as for Ultima and the creepy man?. No chance. Ultima was a different animal on his own. He just seemed to unfathomable, Yū couldn't believe there was anything in this world that could surpass his power.

The brown haired man may have not shown much of his ability, but the fact remained that he was able to hit and damage Ultima, albeit slightly. He did this with relatively no problems at all. Though his quirk was very similar to Kamui Woods, they were definitely not in the same league. Yū could see that Ultima truly had to be serious to deal with the man.

When she and Kamui Woods fought Ultima it didn't feel like he was taking them seriously. They did manage to hit him, but they could barely do any damage. Not even a scratch. Ultima definitely didn't have to resort to his fire fox extermination attack to get rid of them. Perhaps, a combination of Yū and Kamui Woods would not be enough to defeat that brown haired man.

Yū put her thoughts aside and turned to the shirtless teen who had jumped to her side without her even realizing. She unconsciously backed away from him. No matter what, she didn't know what his intentions for him were. And after he had damn near wiped out an entire district, Yū wasn't too comfortable standing close to him.

Naruto wasn't paying much attention to Yū at the moment. His enhanced vision allowed him to see further than most quirk users, and from what he could see at the centre of the devastation, though his attack had made its mark there was no body. Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance. "The jerk escaped." He said.

Yū's eyes widened. Escaped?. How could someone possibly escape something like that?. "Did he actually block your attack with that wooden dome?." Yū found herself asking unconsciously.

Naruto gave a single shoulder shrug. "He's the Boogeyman, Tenzou Yamato. There's no way someone like him would die so easily." He turned to Yū as he continued. "That wasn't just a simple wooden shield ya'know?." He said.

"Is his wood special?." Yū asked, suddenly very curious about the man that survived such a bombardment. Anybody who could one-up this Ultima bastard was a legend in her eyes.

Naruto made a disgusted face. "How would I know if his dick is special or not?." He asked in indignation.

Yū's face turned slightly red and she rolled her eyes at the blonde. In her heart she was cursing her for making her think of something so vile. Did a weird guy like that even have one?. Yū didn't think so. "Be serious." Yū said.

Naruto chuckled. "Kay-kay, I'll give you some information." Naruto clasped his hands and begun explaining. "Tenzou Yamato AKA the Boogeyman is a gold star retainer from the Southern branch of the JHA. His quirk is life type–"

"Like a healer?." Yū interrupted to ask. Her eyes shone in curiosity. It was really nice getting some answers for a change.

Naruto flicked her nose earning an earful of complaints and curses. "Don't interrupt me or I'll stop talking." Naruto said. Yū made a face but didn't say anything back. Naruto nodded in satisfaction. "To answer your question, yes and no. The Boogeyman can only heal himself to a certain degree and can't heal others at all. The main reason it's considered a life type and not an energy type quirk, is because the crux of his ability is turning any and all energy into life.

"Tenzou Yamato's quirk might seem similar to Kamui Woods' but trust me, aside from appearance they are nothing alike. From what I know the Arbor quirk basically creates wood from Kamui's mutated cells or from already existing vegetation.

"What Yamato's quirk does is turn use his mutated DNA which he releases into the air through sweat, breath, touch, which is basically literally existing. That DNA then clings to any speck of energy it can find and uses it as fuel to grow. Crazy huh?." Naruto said. Even he was quite impressed by this quirk. It was an amazing ability.

Yū could barely believe what she was hearing. Since when could quirks be so overpowered?. A quirk like that was practically good enough to dominate 99% of quirks in Asia in terms of quality at the very least. Yet it was just lying around inside a man she had never heard of until today.

Unbelievable.

"Naturally there's a limit to how much energy Yamato's quirk can harness. Also depending on the output or speed of the energy coming in contact with his quirk it might not be able to harness enough of it or it at all. In such a case he would be fucked." Naruto stared off at the direction he knew Yamato escaped from and clicked his tongue. So close but not enough in the end.

The blonde teen sighed and continued. "Still, his quirk is potentially unbeatable. And against small fry he's virtually unstoppable. You're lucky you had me here to protect you." Naruto said with a grin.

Yū scoffed. This guy was still going on about protecting her?. Where was all this jazz when he was beating on her and Kamui Woods days ago?.

"I have an advantage in the fact that my quirk isn't an energy type like yours, nor does it leave behind any residual energy." Yū pointed out.

Naruto smiled. "I guess you're right. Yamato would still whomp you though." Naruto laughed.

Yū looked away from the blonde in irritation. It was like he was on a mission to remind her that she wasn't as strong as she thought she was. He was really annoying. "You did all this yet you still couldn't get Tenzou Yamato." Yū said waving at the devastation.

Naruto shrugged. "The only reason he could escape is because he set up this virtual world." Naruto said. If not for that fact he was sure he would have injured Yamato at least.

Yū blinked. "Virtual world?."

"Duh, the virtual world we're in." Naruto said to Yū with a raised eyebrow. He realized something from her dumbfounded expression and burst into laughter. "Did you actually think I would use such a destructive attack out in the real world?." Naruto said between laughs.

Yū blushed in embarrassment. "Stop laughing at me you bastard!." Yū yelled.

Naruto cleaned the tears from the corner of his eyes and shook his head at the woman. "You're a riot. Of course we're in a virtual world. Else, do you think a person from the JHA would be stupid enough to confront me in the streets?. Do you know how many citizens would die if heroes and villains just fought randomly in the streets?."

Yū folded her hands under her bust and looked away from the annoying teenager. "I still don't know much about this new 'world' I've stepped into, so you can't blame me. You basically dragged me an Kamui Woods into your mess and didn't explain anything to us!." Yū complained.

Naruto smirked and brazenly wrapped an arm around the woman's neck, pulling her close like they were close buddies. He stared into her eyes with a mischievous grin. "Are you telling me to take responsibility?."

Yū shook out of the whiskered teen's lazy hold and glared at him. "More or less." She admitted. She didn't really like this guy or his way of doing things, but he was her and Kamui Woods' only hope of getting answers.

They had stepped into a world that they knew next to nothing about. A world where powerful people like Ultima ran rampant. They were completely out of their depth and didn't know what direction shore was. It was only a matter of time before they were washed away by the waves created by one of the tyrants of this world.

Before that could happen they had to educate themselves and Ultima was their best bet. He have his flaws and was a murderer from what Yū had seen, but at least he wasn't openly hostile towards them... all the time. So far he was the only person willing to actually say something to them. The others that Yū had seen were either silent or about to die. Ultima was their best bet.

"Well, if you put it like that, then I guess I don't have a chance. But be advised, you'll have to share me. I'm a top tier commodity you know." Naruto said.

Yū rolled her eyes at the egocentric blonde. "Whatever." She muttered.

"Yosh. We'll meet at UA tomorrow. Come after classes. I'm pretty sure I'll have detention, you can be my excuse out of it." Naruto said rubbing his hands together with an evil smile. He had already made his plans.

The blonde teen begun stretching out. Yū wondered what the heck he was doing. When Naruto was done stretching out he patted Yū's shoulder as he spoke. "Alright, get going. I have some stuff to take care of real quick." Naruto said.

Yū looked at him as though he'd grown a second head. "I don't even know how I got here. I don't remember using a [Jump Gate], nor do I even understand how [Jump Gate]s work." Yū said flatly.

Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment. He sometimes forgot how little the public pro heroes really knew about the real world. "You didn't use a [Jump Gate]. Yamato generated a small virtual world was using a special technology developed by the JHA. With it heroes and other quirk users can fight without holding back no matter where they are. The only drawback is that the normal ones drags every registered hero or villain within the area the virtual world mimics into it indiscriminately." Naruto explained.

"This is a pretty isolated part of the city, and there should be hardly any pro heroes around here. Who would've guessed the number one sexiest heroine in Japan would be hanging around here." Naruto said with a wiggle of his brows and a grin.

Yū blushed slightly. She wasn't just known for her sexiness damn it!. Though she would agree there was no lie in that statement. She was a baddie through a through, in her factual opinion of course.

(AN: If you disagree unfollow this story immediately.)

"So, how do I leave?." Yū asked.

The were at least two exit ways in every virtual. The first was the exit way created by the one who generated/created the virtual world, while the others could be found using special means. Naruto didn't bother with the alternative exits for this virtual world. There was a viable exit right in front of them.

"The eye of the chaos." Naruto pointed at the direction of the massive tree that had emerged from the spot Yamato disappeared from. "Yamato appeared around that direction and ran towards it when I was about to smoke him. The main exit is definitely there." Naruto said with certainty.

Yū gave him a brief and then the tree look of contemplation before nodding her head. "I'll be leaving then." She said, about to run off but stopped herself just before and turned to Naruto with an awkward looking expression.

"What?." Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I never really got your name. I mean your real name." Yū pointed out. Naruto smiled happily at this. Yū rolled her eyes. The bastard was always looking to get an advantage. "I'm only asking so I don't make a fool of myself at UA. Your identity as Ultima is definitely a secret, so I'll need your real name." Yū explained, however that wasn't enough to wipe the smile off Naruto's face.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said.

Yū nodded and turned away from the whiskered teen. "It's nice to meet you Uzumaki, I'm Takeyama Yū." She said and with that she dashed away, aimed at the tree in the middle of the smoking crater.

Naruto watched Yū's departing form with an amused smile on his face. This smile stayed in place up til the woman had successfully left the virtual world, and in an instant it completely disappeared.

Pat... pat... pat

The first drops of rain begun to fall and the dark clouds in the cracked sky gave off bright flashes of light, illuminating the darkened world in different intervals.

"You all can come out now." Naruto suddenly spoke out loud. His blue eyes coldly stared forward at particular direction as though there was something hidden in the air that only he could see. Something that wanted to see destroyed.

After Naruto's words resounded, the sounds of swift movement followed. Blue blurs emerged out from seemingly nowhere. Figures dressed in navy blue took different spots on large pieces of ruble or what was left of the burnt trees, surrounding Naruto.

Two figures took the forefront standing on the single standing in very same spot Naruto was in when he unleashed the red fiery ball. It was a black haired middle aged man and an orange haired woman who was glaring at Naruto with enough intensity to make him spontaneously combust if possible. Aside from the two there were ten others. In total a dozen figures in navy blue surrounded Naruto.

"What a lineup." Naruto muttered. He wasn't clear on their identities but the signals his instincts were giving him was enough for him to know that this group of people were quite capable. Far more capable than the others he had hunted down.

The middle aged black haired man was no other than the leader of the assassination guild. Grapes took a step forward, standing at the very edge of the hole in the building. His black eyes stared down at the blonde teen, making direct eye contact with him.

"Uzumaki Naruto... The prized student of the JHA Children Program. Age: 18. Quirk: Inconclusive. Origin: Unknown. There's not a lot said about you in the files I've seen, but there are whispers that you are connected to the prime hero of the US." Grapes said.

"What if I am?." Naruto asked with a blank expression.

Grapes shook his head with a thin smile. "Then it means doing this is the same as committing suicide. However, your connection to that outlier of a human would save you today. Not from us." Grapes smile turned in a big grin and he pointed at Naruto with somewhat crazed eyes. "I just want you to know how far we are willing to go to avenge our fallen brothers!." Grapes yelled.

Silver clenched her fists at the mention of her late comrades. Their killer was right there, right in front of her. The opportunity for vengeance was right in front of her. Once she slit this bastard's throat then her brothers would finally be able to rest in peace. Silver's eyes were red from Impatience. She wanted to rush him. She wanted to get started already and tear him limb from limb. She wanted to kill.

Naruto matched Grapes' crazed expression with a calm one. He momentarily gazed at the antsy woman standing behind Grapes and had the urge to smirk. This people really wanted him dead. What a bunch of hypocrites.

Pat pat pat pat pat...

The rain was getting more intense by the seconds. Soon it would be pouring. Despite the rainfall, Naruto stared upwards into the clouds with a light smile.

"Quite the plan you lot and Yamato cooked up." Naruto started with a chuckle. "First he lures me to this lonely district and then he generates a virtual world and traps me in with a bunch of small fries, trying to tire me out and all that. Then he swoops in and forces me to overplay my hand then leaves when he's sure I'm juiced out. Leaving me in the care of you guys." Naruto said.

Grapes chuckled. "It was a good plan. You can't use that crazy attack again, and you're almost completely tapped out. What are you gonna do about it?." Grapes teased.

"Not much to do now." Naruto shrugged. "I've killed so many of you nobodies, I'm already sick of it. So, before we get started I want to ask you something."

"Are those your last words?." Silver mocked in anger.

"They will be among the last you'll hear." Naruto said back. He ignored the feisty woman and concentrated on her leader. Grapes was calm enough to listen to what he had to say. "Typically when a virtual world's main exit is closed off, it takes roughly twenty minutes for another one to generate. My question to you is..." Naruto lowered his head to stare at Grapes with a savage grin. "Can you survive me for twenty minutes?."

Grapes felt a cold sensation go down his spine. Not because of the boy's threats but because he had realized what this madman had done. "That woman... You... Are you insane?!." Grapes immediately blew his top and roared angrily at the maniacally laughing teen.

"You've already fucked this virtual world to the point it's falling apart!. What fucking twenty minutes, there's no guarantee any other exit will be formed!. What if we can't locate the alternative in time?. You've trapped us in a collapsing virtual world!. What the actual fuck is funny about that!." Grapes yelled, a large vein throbbing by the side of his head.

This crazy kid was trying to pull a kamikaze on them!.

"Did you really think you were ever leaving this place?." Naruto's voice suddenly resounded into Grapes' right ear. The black haired man's hairs stood on ends and he immediately turned to deliver a swift bladed attack at the blonde but was instead greeted by a wall of flames.

Grapes' arm was instantly set ablaze and was rapidly burning down to ashes. The black haired man screamed in anguish but decisively cut off the arm to stop the progress of the voracious flames. Grapes didn't waste a second to mourn his lost arm or even wonder how the kid had gotten so close to him so fast. All that was in his mind was a taking down the enemy.

"Take him!." Grapes roared in fury.

The dozen men and Silver charged Naruto in unison. Their quirks activated and caused all kinds of reactions as they closed in on him. The first to reach the blonde was naturally Silver. The woman's hands turned into a crystal lance and she sent a powerful thrust Naruto's way. The blonde emerged out of the cyclone of fire that had defended him from Grapes' attack like a beast set free. Head first with seemingly no regard for his life.

Criiesshhhhhh

Silver couldn't believe what she was seeing. She stared at her hand that had been reduced to stump as well in horror and disbelief. She stared at the grinning teen who was closing in on her like a crazed person.

Bitten off. Her crystal lance was literally bitten off.

'What is this th–'

Before Silver could even complete the words in her mind a strong fist slammed into her gut making a loud crunching noise. That would have been her ribs had she not put up a crystalline defense in the last second. Still, the wind was knocked out of her lungs and Silver coughed out a mouthful of blood. The force of the blow sent the orange haired woman crashing into a nearby wall.

Silver gasped for air. She had to protect her body from damage as the blow was powerful enough to imbed her into the wall. Silver was not spared a moment to take a breather, and the blonde teen was already upon her. This time with a flaming fist.

"Silver-taichō!." Two masculine voices reverberated from Naruto's right and left. Two of the orange woman's comrades had gotten just in the nick of time, stopping Naruto from making the kill.

Naruto ducked under a windmill kick from a cheetah-like man dressed in the same navy blue uniforms but without an boots. The claws on his paw like feet grazed Naruto's hair, sending a few strands of his locks flying into the air. Naruto grinned. The cheetah man had over-committed with that kick. He was left completely exposed after missing it.

Naruto allowed his upper body to drop to the ground and caught himself with the back of his arms, at the same time his legs were already elevating to deliver a two footed fiery stomp to the chest of the defenseless midair cheetah man.

Hung!

Naruto's flaming feet shot forth a fiery attack explosion that somehow stopped just a few millimeters from the cheetah man's face. The cheetah man's paled face dripped with sweat as he stared at what would have been his end had one of his comrades not intervened.

"Hurry up and get out of there idiot!." An annoyed voice was aimed at the cheetah man. The speedster snapped out his daze and quickly springboarded himself with a near by wall, escaping the range of Naruto's attack. Almost as soon as he was out of harms way, the fiery bomb exploded forward completely decimating what was left of the ceiling and scorching the upper floors black.

The cheetah man gulped. That would have been him.

Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance and glared at the floating man a few metres away from the building. 'Telekinesis.' He thought. This guys were far more capable than he estimated.

Naruto quickly rolled to the side to avoid a hammer like punch aimed at his chest. He had to repeat this action multiple times as the relentless large attacker was hellbent on squashing him.

Naruto was soon driven into a corner, but he didn't panic. He slammed his fist into the floor, the solid surface easily caved under his strength. Naruto fell through the hole avoiding the powerful kick from his attacker. After missing the strike, the large man almost lost his footing and fell into the hole Naruto had created.

The man had to use the wall as support and was now hunched over. His eyes widened as he found the devilishly smiling face of the blonde who should've fallen to the lower floors floating in the air.

"Shit!." The herculean man forgot that the target could levitate!.

Naruto cocked his fist back, a football sized swirl of orange flames accumulated around his fist. "Bye bye amplifier!." Naruto said with a cackle and unleashed a flaming blast at the herculean man's face.

Booom!

The man's head, neck and a majority his chest was completely blown away by the fierce attack. Blood and guts exploded outwards and were instantly burnt down to ashes by the raging flames. What was left of the muscly man's body was lit ablaze, and just like Grapes arm it was only a matter of time before it was reduced to ashes.

"Bronze!." Silver yelled in rage and grief. Another one of them was killed by this bastard again. Another one of her brothers were dead. He was killed right before her eyes. Silver couldn't take it, she couldn't bare it anymore. That animal had to die. "I'll kill you!." Silver roared as she charged at Naruto in rage.

A figure appeared in front of Silver blocking her path and forcing her into a halt. It was Grapes. He gave Silver a brief glare before turning his attention back to the blonde whiskered teen. Naruto slowly levitated back to the floor his attacks were on. The flames that had consumed Bronze circled around him, forming a ring.

Naruto regarded Grapes with a eager expression. He couldn't wait to get this underway. He had forgotten how good it felt to be in intense battles like these. Not the one on one combat that mostly depended on the power level of the fighters, but these handicapped fights that really squeezed out his skill.

Naruto relished the fight. He loved the struggle. He couldn't believe he had gone so many years without this feeling. This sublime and incomparable feeling of power. Power over his opponents. The power to defeat them, crush them, break them. To consume them. The light in Naruto's eyes turned erratic.

"He's losing his rationality." Grapes said the words facing Naruto, but they were meant for Silver and the others. A total of eleven people had all gathered in the same location. All with one goal in mind. Killing Uzumaki Naruto.

"That bastard Boogeyman may have pulled a fast one on us by withdrawing his men before he generated this virtual world, but it doesn't matter." Grapes said.

A large axe appeared in his hand. He heaved it to point at the grinning teen. "He is unable to use his quirk to its full extent. The fact that he's losing his sanity proves it. Boogeyman may have tricked us, but his plan was effective. The output of energy for that crazy move he used was too much for him to handle." Grapes said in certainty.

"His body can barely handle the strain. Look!." Grapes yelled at his comrades.

Twenty-two eyes locked on Naruto's form. Now that Grapes had pointed it out they could begun to notice something was wrong with the blonde. His aura for one was anything but stable. Sometimes it flared, sometimes it stabilized and sometimes it looked like it was about to disappear. His entire body was twitching and trembling, most especially his limbs. The tattoo on his stomach was oddly moving about as though it was alive. His eyes were almost completely bloodshot.

Now they had seen it, they didn't know how that had missed such obvious giveaways. After he killed Bronze many of them had begun to lose their confidence. The cheetah man who had almost lost his life was just shy of despairing.

However, now things were completely different. Their eyes burned with determination and confidence as they stared at their target. The sacrifices of their brothers meant something. They hadn't just thrown their lives away while they waited for an opportunity. Their efforts made a difference. It meant something.

[Insert soundtrack: Aaryan Shah - Renegade. 00:00-03:54]

Badump... Badump...

Their hearts beat furiously. They were at the cusp of success. The enemy was on his last legs. They could do this. They could win.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. The raining had turned to pouring and the collapsing world had begun to mourn it's own end with a flood.

"Keep your heads!." Grapes said, calling for calmness in the decisive moment. His eyes stared at their weakened opponent in ruthlessness. It wouldn't be long now. "We'll all attack on my signal!." Grapes barked out an order. He glanced at Naruto's legs. His knees were beginning to bend a buckle like they were struggling with the weight of his body. 'Just a little more...' Grapes thought.

Finally... Naruto's knees bent forward. This was their chance.

"G–" Grapes opened his mouth to give the other, but...

Squelch.

"Hehehehe..." An eerie laughter reverberated in Grapes' ears.

Grapes face paled at the sight of the frenzied golden orbs staring into his eyes. He vomited a mouthful of blood on his attackers face, staining it red. Still, the deranged person grinned like there was no tomorrow. A burning sensation that was the flaming fist Naruto had shoved into his chest.

"H... How..." Grapes opened his mouth to speak. His voice was shaky and laboured, he had only barely managed to say something when the flames around Naruto's arm erupted, burning him from the inside out.

Silver and the remaining nine assassins stared at the scene in disbelief. Everything had happened so fast. They had even realized when the blonde kid had moved, and now their leader was dead. He was–

Naruto burst forward, brutally scattering the remains of Grapes into embers. The flames on the dead man returned back to him, fusing with the ring of fire. Naruto appeared beside the cheetah man who had escaped his hands before. Not again.

"Wait–"

Crunch!

The cheetah man tried to speak but was interrupted by munching sound. Naruto savagely ripped a chunk of the man's neck. The cheetah man wanted to scream but his windpipe was of no use. He desperately tried to cover his profusely bleeding neck, his fur covered hands were stained with blood.

His eyes quaked in fear as Naruto edged closer once more. Naruto roughly grabbed the cheetah man's shoulder and headbutted him with enough power to smash his head like a watermelon.

"Hehehehe..." Naruto's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he cackled like a madman. His mouth was left wide open, welcoming the blood and mushed bits of brain raining down on his bloody face and down his throat.

Gulp

"Ca-cannibalism..." One of the assassins whispered out. He was unconsciously backing away from the terrifying monster that was now breathing flames on the remnants of the cheetah man.

"Monster..." Another added.

"He... he isn't weakened at all!."

"Fuck fuck fuck!."

"Boogeyman tricked us!."

"FUCK!."

"RUN!."

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!."

"But... he's destroyed the exit!."

"Just run!."

One of the assassins ran to Silver's side and grabbed her hands. Naruto was still occupied with disfiguring the cheetah man's body. This was their opportunity to escape.

"Silver-taichō!. Silver-taichō!. We have to leave right now Silver-taichō!." The man yelled in urgency.

Silver woke up from her dazed and turned to face the man. But instead of a man she found only an arm holding unto hers. Silver's eyes shrunk at the sight of the man who had just been urging her to run face caving in under Naruto's feet.

The floor gave away and his body like the rest were consumed by the hungry flames. Naruto crouched down like an animal. The ring of fire slowly took the shape of a single tail behind his waist. His irise-less eyes widened in anticipation and madness.

He pounced forward, completely ignoring Silver who was just a few feet away. He attacked the eight fleeing men with an extreme prejudice. He slaughtered two before they could leave the building. Ripping them apart like they were made of cotton. The flames went about reducing everything to ash.

"Shit!."

"Go to the tree!. It'll give us a better chance at outmaneuvering him!."

"Fuck, faster!."

"Go to the tree!."

Five men sprinted at their full speed, while one turned to shield Naruto from the rest. It was the man who had saved the cheetah man. He swiftly created an invisible barrier around the opening of the floor and turned to join the rest.

'Sorry Silver-taichō...' A tear rolled down his cheek. He was sacrificing one loved one to save others. He prayed for Kami to forgive him.

Bang!

Kami did not.

The barrier that the man was so confident in had been shattered like fragile glass in one hit. A wave of heat along with the shockwaves from the powerful strike sent the man flying. His skin slowly burning from the unbearable high temperature.

'He... got stronger?.'

Those were the last words the telekinesis user said before he was reduced to ash.

The remaining five men didn't spare him so much as a glance. They had arrived at the massive tree Yamato had created, and were quickly jumping onto it. This way they could have an advantage over their pursuer. They could finally turn the tide.

"Fire... Fox."

The men's elated hearts turned to utter devastation. Their faces turned pale as they slowly turned to face the direction of the voice in unison. Their eyes widened in disbelief and despair.

Flames erupted from Naruto's body. The gargantuan head of the orange fiery fox was created for the second time. The cracks in the sky became deeper, the sky turned completely black and the roar of rain and thunder boomed on, as if to forewarn to the incoming calamity.

The fox's lifelike eyes glared disdainfully at the five men and its large maw snapped open. Fire energy gathered in its mouth and the fearsome red orb was formed once again. This time it was even larger than the first post compression.

"Rraaaah!." Naruto roared like a beast. The fox head mimicked his actions and unleashed the red fiery bomb in a roar.

"Owari da..."

Boooooooommm!

The tree was instantly burnt to ashes, along with those who sought to use it as a shelter. The reaction of the dimension to the first bomb reoccurred, but this time at an even crazier scale. The skies looked like they were about to fall. Only Kami knew what was keeping this virtual world together.

Naruto panted heavily and stumbled to the the exit way Yamato had created. An exit that he had never truly closed. He would be safe there.

The aura surrounding Naruto had disappeared, his eyes had reverted back to normal and the beastly grinning expression on his face was replaced by a lukewarm one.

He allowed himself to fall into the giant crater he had created. He rolled in the burnt ground, across the molten lava seeping out of the earth but was not burnt in the slightest. He came to a halt in the very middle of the hole. He lay with his back to the ground, admiring the sight of this dying world.

He sighed. His eyelids fluttered a bit before finally closing.

End.