Riser couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was impossible to believe, especially when he had made sure that everything was going according to the plan. He was sure that he was not going to fail this time but yet again, Rias had outsmarted him. For weeks he had been following her from the shadows, convinced that she was unaware of his presence and was walking right into his trap.

"But I was wrong."

The girl had known all along. Rias was aware that he was following her. She knew about him being there and that was making him angry. He'd been hiding in the shadows for weeks, waiting to strike her and her lover when they were most vulnerable. But it turned out that the girl was smarter than he gave her credit for. She had an excellent ability to sense people and unfortunately for him, he was her latest victim.

"She probably left this hotel a few days ago."

Riser's gaze wandered over to the bed that was located in the room. It was the only bed that he could see in the room which meant Rias was sharing the bed with that boy. She was sharing her bed with someone who wasn't her husband, someone who wasn't him, someone who wasn't Riser Phenex. When he noticed a few strands of blonde and red hair scattered around the bin, the lump in his throat grew larger. They must have been left there by room service, but why? Were they also attempting to mock him? He hoped not, or else they would perish at his hands first.

"I believe so, Riser." Damien Phenex, who was completely unaware of what was going on inside his friend's mind, murmured as he made himself comfortable on the bed, not knowing that he was being followed by the sharp eyes of his friend. "They must have spent a few hours having fun here-" The poor boy had to leap away quickly to avoid being pierced by a fire spear thrown at him by none other than Riser. "What are you up to-" He had to move quickly once more as another spear was thrown at him. "Stop!" His heart was pounding erratically now, and he was terrified that he was about to be hurt by someone he called his best friend.

"If you say another word, Damien, I'll kill you."

Riser's voice was harsh and cold, devoid of any emotions whatsoever. It was like he was a robot at that moment, created for the sole purpose of finding that girl and executing her right at that moment.

"O-okay."

The Phenex heir inhaled hard and clenched his hands in frustration. If there was one thing that Riser hated the most, it was the mention of his wife and that boy in the same sentence by someone else. It made him feel helpless as there was nothing he could do to change that reality. Deep inside his heart, he knew those two were already beyond salvation and would bring nothing but more shame to his house if he left them alive, especially that boy who took away one of his most precious things.

"If that human had asked for something else then I might have even given him that without a second thought but he went for her." Swallowing the lump in his throat, Riser grabbed the strands of hair that were lying around the bin. "He went for the pride of our house, Damien. Rias was my wife, the partner of the Phenex Heir, and he took her away from us." He whispered as small strings of flame began to engulf the red and yellow strands of hair resting between his fingers.

"Before I kill him, I'll torture that boy so much that he will beg for the sweet release of death." A menacing smile began to form on Riser's lips, one so vile that even Damien began to step away from him in fear.

"R-Riser…"

"Sshh, no need to panic, Damien," the smile became even more wretched. It was like, in place of Riser, Lucifer himself was smiling at Damien.

"That boy will face the true wrath of Riser Phenex's anger."

Soon, the menacing sound of Riser's laughter flooded the room with its hatred.


-oOo-


Tears.

Blood.

Bodies.

His eyes could see them all spread throughout the ground, lying askew on the battlefield. Some were his friends, some were his adversaries, but one was someone who adored him, even more than she adored herself, her own existence.

Hinata.

When he saw her lifeless figure lying in the sea of dead bodies, his wounded hands and dry blue eyes froze in disbelief. She was gone; the one person who had ever shown him affection was gone.

"Hinata…"

Naruto's parched lips trembled as cascades of pain and grief deluged his body, leaving nothing but misery and his hollow self behind. His feet tried to move forward but his heart refused to cooperate with them. It was scared, worried about what he might see in those vacant eyes of hers.

Will they blame him?

Will they call him a coward for letting her die like this?

Or will they say nothing and remain silent?

The last thought scared Naruto to his core. He was ready to face every blame and accusation but he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from crying if he did not see anything in those beautiful eyes of Hinata Hyuga. In the past they have been the source of his courage, his will to fight for these people who had done nothing but blame him for everything bad that had occurred in their lives. He was still alive and fighting that monster because he knew that if he could save this world, who knows how many Naruto would be able to meet their Hinata because of him.

"Hinata…"

Slowly, his feet began to move towards her lifeless body, his heart steeling itself for what was about to come next.

"N-No…"

Naruto gulped, his eyes glistening with fresh tears as he noticed the small smile on her pale face. It was still as beautiful as it had been when she was alive. Filled with happiness and love, the smile on her face was horrifying to watch. It was the remainder of what he had failed to achieve and protect.

Love.

He failed to save what was supposed to be the most precious part of a person's life. People had waged and fought wars for people and things that they had held close to themselves and he had failed to protect that person.

"Hinata…"

His hands trembled in grief as he anchored them close to her body, hoping to hold her in his arms for one last time.

"I'm sorry."

xXx–

"Hinata!"

Brimming with grief to the fullest, Naruto's wet blue eyes snapped open in shock.

"H-Hinata…"

Naruto looked around the room, surprised by the sudden and intense dream, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Rias sleeping peacefully on the other side of their room. He was relieved that she was not awake to see the tears streaming down his cheeks like an uncontrollable torrent. It would have been too humiliating if she had seen him in his current state, all vulnerable and weak.

"This dream," he glanced at the girl for one last time before raising his hand to grab the jug of water that was resting on the small table beside his bed. "It felt too real," his lips parted a little to allow the water to soothe his dry mouth. "I was sure it was real," Naruto whispered to himself, looking visibly upset with what he had witnessed in the dream. For a moment, he felt like he was there, reliving that infamous moment of his life, one that he had been trying to forget for a while now.

Naruto wasn't someone who liked to dwell in the past but horrible moments like the one that he had witnessed a while ago made it incredibly hard for him to do so. No matter what he did, these moments refused to leave his mind. It was like they were trying their best to ruin his life, or at least what was left of it. "It's fine," a small smile flickered on his lips, looking odd on his sweaty face. "I'm going to die soon so these dreams don't scare me anymore." In fact, on the contrary, they were making him happy because soon he was going to meet all those people that he had been seeing in his dreams.

His friends.

His family.

And Her.

"I'll meet them soon."

His eyes which had been staring blankly at the wall drifted away from it and gazed at the Moon that was shining brightly in the dark sky. "Soon…" The smile on his face widened as he realized how close he was to finally achieving his last wish. In a few weeks, he was going to reach Fukuoka and then he would be able to eat those ramen.

After that,

"I will vanish."

The smile on his lips flickered for a moment.

"Just like them…"

-oOo-

It was still dark outside and the atmosphere around their inn was peaceful and cool. Dew-covered green leaves and flowers of beautiful plants were dancing in the sweet melodies of birds and the gentle breeze that was ushering across the village.

As soon as Naruto opened the window of their room, his eyes were greeted by one of the most stunning sights they had ever seen. The endless blue skies above him were painted in hues of pink, orange, and purple, blending seamlessly together like a mesmerizing piece of art. While the clouds that adorned the skies were soft and white, scattered across like uncountable pieces of cotton candy.

If that wasn't enough to soothe his wounded heart and mind, in the distance, Naruto could see the enormous yet gorgeous mountains, their peaks covered in snow and the green color of grass. It was a sight that took his breath away in an instant, reminding him of the beauty and magnificence of this new world.

"It's beautiful," he whispered, his eyes still staring at the mesmerizing art in front of him.

During his travels, Naruto hadn't failed to remind himself of the beauty of his home at every moment he got, but maybe while doing that, he had failed to admire the beauty of the world he was currently in.

"Not only the world but also the people of this world." His eyes drifted away from the scenery and landed on the beautiful face of her companion, who was sleeping peacefully in her blanket.

"Rias…" A small smile blossomed on his lips as he stared at her face for a while more.

In his senseless quest for death and his last wish, he had failed to fully acknowledge the presence of the person who had been walking beside him for weeks now.

Rias.

A girl who had no connection to him yet still decided to leave her home so that she could travel to the unexplored lands of her world with him.

At the start, when he saw her for the first time on that mountain, Naruto thought that she was strange, very strange. Otherwise, who in their right mind, let alone a girl, would sit beside a stranger and offer them their clothes for no reason? Sure he was sneezing a little but that was still not a good reason to sit beside a stranger.

"What if I had done something bad-" Naruto paused, cringing at his statement as he realized he had tried and done something even worse to her. "I robbed her," words refused to come out of his mouth as the weight of his past activities finally began to settle on his shoulder.

Although she was very accommodating to everything he did to her, Naruto still couldn't believe that he robbed a person, especially someone as innocent as her, just to satisfy his selfish desire.

"And she still doesn't think what I did was wrong," he finally stood up from the ground and began to walk toward her, all while making sure he didn't wake her up with the sound of his footsteps. "She thinks it was reasonable as it was all done for the sake of my last wish," his feet faltered for a moment before resuming the walk.

"But she is wrong."

Naruto halted his stroll as he finally reached his destination. "What I did was wrong," He whispered, gently folding his legs to sit beside her. "I took advantage of her innocence and loneliness," His eyes turned golden for a sliver of a second as he stared at her peaceful face which was glowing in the radiance of morning light.

"Rias,"

Naruto's hands trembled as torrents of guilt and despair filled his heart. His mouth tried to utter some words but his mind refused to cooperate with it. It was unhappy, disappointed with how he had behaved with her from the beginning.

From the start of their journey, Rias had been nothing but kind to him for no reason at all but the same couldn't be said about him.

"I used your innocence and loneliness to achieve my goals."

The feeling of shame inside him increased, making him realize just how bad he had been to an innocent person, who wanted nothing but a companion in her lonely life.

"I have become just like those people," he whispered, remembering those inhumane residents of his beloved village who used to despise his very existence, and only acknowledged him when they needed his help the most. Right now, Naruto was feeling like he was one of those people.

"I'm sorry."

Slowly, he lifted his hand and tucked a strand of hair away from her peaceful face as he smiled at her.


-oOo-


A pair of sharp blue eyes dilated in excitement as Riser finally arrived at the place where Rias' energy had been flickering just moments before. Surrounded by a dense green layer of big trees, it was a dark clearing that appeared to be rather motionless and silent for someone to be present.

"Where?"

Riser's lips were trembling in anticipation now. The mixture of adrenaline and rage that was scampering through his veins was making it hard for him to think straight.

"Where are they?!"

Right now, all he wanted was to annihilate that boy and bathe in his blood in front of his wife. Only then he knew his heart would quiet down and allow him to finally relax. Since the past few weeks, Riser had forgotten what rest and happiness felt like. That slut, whom he called his wife, and her fucktoy stole them away from him the minute she betrayed his trust and fled her apartment.

"Show yourself, you cowards!"

A terrible smile began to form on his parched lips, making his sweaty and angry visage even more terrifying.

"Rias!"

His voice was cracking, barely holding the hatred that he held for her inside it. Riser was sounding like he was on the verge of a breakdown, something that he had no problem with today. If this was what it took to viciously murder the youngster without fear of repercussions, Riser was willing to go through it again and again.

"Where are you, my darling?"

The amount of disgust he felt while calling her that was inconceivable. In the past, when he actually used to hold some interest in the girl, he would have had no problem calling her that. In fact, he used to call her that frequently but now, even while uttering that word for her, Riser felt like his heart and mind were failing from the inside.

"Come to me," his hands began to tremble. "And show me that boy," he said in hushed tones, struggling to keep his rage inside him.

"So that I can kill him right in front of you!"

In the end, Riser ultimately failed to do so, and all of his rage erupted in the shape of innumerable ruthless rivers of fire, instantly scorching everything that came into contact with them.

"RIAS!"

His voice slashed through the cluster of hot flames and befouled the entire clearing with its venom. It was getting hard for him to control his rage now, and he was well aware of this.

"RIAS!"

In the hope that she would finally give up and show herself to him due to fear, Riser shouted her name once again. Yet again, just like the last time, nothing happened and all he got in answer was unsettling silence and radiating warmth from his flames.

"RI-"

"Riser…"

When a feeble whisper from a familiar voice entered his ears, all the bitterness and hatred that were coursing through his veins vanished in an instant.

"R-Riser…"

Soon after, another feeble whisper followed the first, this one filled with much more anguish and fear.

'...'

Riser knew that voice. It was far too familiar for him not to identify it, which made the entire situation even more frightening and unsettling. 'No way it's him…' he thought to himself, still refusing to turn around and acknowledge the reality.

"Riser…"

All the thoughts vacated his mind as soon as another whisper reached his ears, this one belonging to someone else, someone cold and enraged.

"Do you not want to meet your best friend?"

Riser's heart skipped a beat as that individual mentioned his friend Damien in his chilly, loud voice. It was at that point that he chose to turn around and confront the reality that awaited him.

"D-Damien…"

In an instant, words perished from Riser Phenex's mouth as he got a glimpse at the torn and burned face of his best friend, Damien Phenex.

Pale and lifeless, his friend's face was scorched to the point where even Riser was finding it hard to recognize him. It was as if someone entirely different was hanging in the scarlet hands of his adversary.

"D-Dam-"

"Rasengan: Shunki" "Rasengan: Flash"

Before Riser could even utter the name of his friend again, the boy had to jump to his side in order to avoid the lightning-fast beam of pure blue energy that was launched towards him.

"W-what?" Riser, breathless and wide-eyed in amazement, slowly moved his head to gaze at the location where the energy beam had fallen. 'impossible!' He uttered to himself mentally, no doubt still in shock due to how things were unfolding. From what he had learned from his father, the boy Naruto was immensely powerful for a human, but neither his family nor Rias' family informed him that the boy could also utilize magic.

'This changes everything.' Riser thought to himself, still eyeing the destruction that a single attack of Naruto had brought to the land. It was amazing and scary at the same time, and Riser would go even as far as to say that had Naruto not been his enemy, he would have praised the odd human on his brilliant display of power.

'What else is he capable of- Shit!' Riser quickly focused the power within him and built a defensive shield to protect himself from the physical assaults of the human boy.

"Riser," The first hit on the shield hardly brought any wear to it, making Riser confident that he was on par or even more powerful than his opponent in terms of raw magical power.

"Look at me…" The boy's second attempt was just as fruitless as the first, leaving Riser standing comfortably on his feet, his back still facing his assailant.

For a while, the cycle of punches kept going on, with Naruto hitting firm punches back to back on the shield in an attempt to break through it and pull the Phenex heir out of it.

Riser, on the other hand, was finally beginning to enjoy the fight. The fact that Naruto's punches were having no effect on his shield had done wonders for his confidence, and with each passing second, his confidence only grew in size.

"It's useless, human," he finally opened his mouth, eyes still focused on the destruction that his adversary's attack had caused on the land beside him.

"Is it?"

Riser smiled when the question, or as he would rather say the subtle taunt, reached his ears. "Well yes." His eyes parted ways with the destruction and moved ever so little to acknowledge the shadow of his opponent that was lingering beside him.

"Regardless of what you believe, your punches are useless against this shield." Riser continued, his gaze still observing Naruto's shadow, waiting for him to make a move.

Contrary to the utterances that circulated in the underworld, Riser was neither a hot-headed prince nor an irrational individual by any means. Sure, he might have shown a few signs of being one but it was only when the matter of his house's pride or his wife was concerned. Otherwise, he thought of himself as more of a straightforward yet cautious individual.

Right now, he was being the latter. Riser knew what he was facing wasn't a normal human. He recognized this a long time ago when he first heard that the boy had single-handedly destroyed a band of foolish gangsters who strolled around the darkness of this world. No normal human could do that without sustaining a visible injury as a memento of the conflict.

"Hmm…"

The smile on Riser's face widened as he sensed a sliver of disappointment in the tone of his enemy. "You can go on like this all day and it still won't change anything, Naruto." Now, he needed to take advantage of it and hurt the boy when he was most vulnerable.

"I see…"

The Phenex heir stiffened, ready to react in case the boy tried to utilize his magic again.

"Then…"

It was fast, incredibly fast. Hell, Riser would even go so far as to say it was faster than anything he had ever seen. At one point, the human was standing far behind him, and the next, his dazzling golden eyes were boring directly into his soul, waiting for him to make a move.

"I don't have another option."

Naruto's soft yet cold words and distinctive golden eyes mesmerized Riser in a wicked way and rendered him still. No matter how much he tried to look away, his eyes refused to break the contract. They wanted to stare into his eyes for as long as they could.

"Let's fight, Riser."

Riser's heart froze for a beat when the boy pushed his hand towards him, most likely in an attempt to break the shield again. That, however, did not frighten him. What made a difference was that this time, instead of launching a punch towards the shield, Naruto was calmly propelling his hand. "W-what?" His eyes grew wide in shock when the hand easily penetrated his shield and broke the magical barrier in an instant.

'How?!'

The Phenex heir had little time to consider his options as Naruto swiftly seized his hand and launched him in the direction of a tree that was distant from them.

"Aaghh…" Riser grunted loudly when his back made contact with the thick bark of the tree. "You-"

"Rias…"

Still grunting in pain, Riser opened his eyes as Naruto's voice entered his ears again, only to come face to face with those cruel golden eyes of his.

"She is what you want, right?"

The devil wanted to reply, but before he could, he was again snatched and hurled in the direction of another enormous tree. "Aghh!" Just like before, a painful cry left his mouth when he made contact with the stationary log of wood.

"You have been following us for some time now."

Riser didn't even open his eyes this time because they were so full of fear and shame that he feared if he did, his opponent would bask in them even more. Sure, he could stand up and retaliate, but there was no point in that. It would be futile as the difference between their speed and reflex was too great. If the boy was overwhelming a devil in speed then only Lucifer knew what else he could do.

The most reasonable choice for Riser right now was to defend and wait for his opponent to get tired. He possessed amazing healing ability and devil stamina, so the only thing he lacked was an opportunity to attack the youngster, which he was certain he would obtain sooner or later.

"Rasenshuriken!"

The moment Naruto uttered that word, Riser's eyes snapped open in fear. He was familiar with that name and had witnessed the catastrophic aftermath of that assault. So, in order to save himself for later, he needed to dodge that attack once more.

"Gah!" Unfortunately for him, he had little time to respond as the menacing spiraling ball of bluish-white energy arrived before he could do anything. The small sphere of energy quickly became fierce and massive, as did the pain inside his body.

"S-Stop…" "S-Stop…" Riser tried to scream, but the words came out as nothing more than a whisper, a pitiful chain of words that couldn't even escape the whirling storm of energy. 'Agh!' He tried to conjure up another shield, but as expected, it resulted in yet another failure as the small needles that were flooding the sphere pierced the barrier. "Noooo!" A painful cry escaped his lips as the needles continued to pierce his partially healed flesh, leaving another set of small gashes on it.

"No… stop it… please!"

Naruto, who was standing a little away from the devil boy, was watching everything unfold with an impassive gaze. Previously, a moment like this would have softened his heart even toward the most despicable of foes, but today he felt nothing, save a touch of sorrow. In the end, whether good or evil, ordinary or unusual, the man he was torturing and the ones he had already tormented were still living beings.

All of them deserved some kindness, especially from him because who knows how things might have turned out differently if he had shown it to them.

"What if nothing had changed?"

Naruto asked himself, his eyes fixed on the orb of needles that was inflicting uninterrupted misery on his opponent. During the war, he had made the mistake of doing just that countless times and most of them came back to haunt him and resulted in the deaths of his friends.

"What if they didn't change?"

Despite how difficult it was to accept, Naruto discovered during that horrific war that individuals who had descended too far into the depths of evil and depravity were beyond the point of redemption, either via words or force. Unless they showed exceptional control over their mind, you could give them as many opportunities as you could to change their lives, but they would always revert to their previous state sooner or later.

Why?

"Because that's what being normal means to them." Naruto clenched his hands, remembering how normal and natural those goons behaved when they were ogling and groping Rias. When they were doing it, he had peered into their eyes and found absolutely no sign of morality or remorse. It was only when he knocked one of them out did they start to show some emotions, fear being the most evident one.

That man Rias' father dispatched after them was never going to harm Rias, so he left him in a position where he couldn't pursue them any longer. But those thugs, those people, were nasty, reeking of unbridled depravity. Naruto was well aware of what they were up to and what they had previously done to others. They didn't deserve to continue their journey, so he put a stop to it for them and the innocent people who lived nearby.

Some may consider what he did to be a good thing, something required for the betterment of innocent people, but Naruto didn't think that way. He was aware that what he did was identical to the advice his friend Sasuke had given him throughout his entire life. It was a type of retribution, with the only distinction being that he inflicted it rather than his friend.

"But it was necessary," he said quietly, remembering the words of his rival, teacher, and father. "Sometimes a few people must perish in order for innocents to thrive." his eyes dilated a little as the orb of his chakra began to diminish along with the painful cries of his foe.

"Tell me, Riser Phenex."

Naruto lifted his right foot and began to walk towards the worn-out yet partially healed body of the devil boy.

"What will you do if I let you go without causing you any further harm?"

His eyes, which had been fixed intently on Riser, somewhat narrowed as he saw the boy struggle to get back up, his body wounded and bruised from the numerous attacks of those needles. But even as Riser stumbled, Naruto could see that he was still healing himself, his wounds closing up at a very fast pace.

"What will I do?"

The Uzumaki nodded, eager to hear the response to his simple yet important question.

"I WILL COME BACK AND KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU JUST DID TO ME, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

A sense of dismay settled in Naruto's heart as he heard Riser's response. Even though he knew it was going to be like this to some level, it still managed to disappoint him. He was hoping it would be different, different from what he got as an answer from the leader of those thugs. Unfortunately, Riser managed to demonstrate that he was no different from that individual.

"I see." Naruto came to a halt in his stride and looked at the Phenex, his eyes burning with renewed rage and resentment, ready to put the man down once and for all.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that," he said, forming another Rasenshuriken in his hand, this one entirely different and small from the earlier. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of the devil, a red sphere of chakra swirling violently within his palm, ready to engulf anything that dared to come in its path.

Riser attempted to protect himself once more, but Naruto was too quick and powerful. The glowing sphere was blasted into his chest by Naruto before he could even prepare for the impact of the blow.

"Aaaahhhh!"

Riser shouted in agony as he felt his skin melt under the heat of the glowing sphere. Helpless, he attempted to boost his healing, but it was pointless because Naruto continued to pour more energy into his strike.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Riser collapsed to the ground, burned so badly to the point that it was impossible to identify him.

Riser had tried to dismiss it previously, but there was no denying it now. 'It's a nightmare…' he concluded as his eyes, which were struggling to stay open, glanced at his tormentor.

"You are still healing?"

When he saw Naruro examine his physique with his keen eyes, the Phenex heir screamed in terror on the inside. It appeared as though he was patiently waiting for him to heal again so that he could make him relive that nightmare.

"N-No... Phlezzz... "Leave me alone..." Riser tried to beg for mercy with all the strength he could summon at the time, hoping that the human boy would finally leave him alone.

"Did you leave her alone when she was crying daily?"

Riser didn't need any further explanations. At that very moment, he understood that all of his efforts—including his pleading and crying—would be in vain. His fate had already been decided by Naruto.

*Pooff!*

His tear-filled eyes dilated a little when the boy vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"D-Did he…"

As he peered around the area to find the boy, an overwhelming feeling of optimism began to fill his heart.

"H-he…"

"Missed me?"

Just like that, everything turned dreadful once more as Riser sensed someone standing behind him. Unfortunately for him, his nightmare not only came back to torment him, but it became even more vicious when he saw two more Naruto enter the area from the left side.

"W-what?" he mumbled, unable to believe what he was seeing. It was unthinkable.

"Get ready Riser."

As if to ridicule his existence and powerlessness even more, a group of Naruto began to swarm the region, each one looking at him as if he were their prey. Soon, the clearing was overrun with Naruto to the point where Riser couldn't count or sense them anymore.

"No!" He shouted.

"No!" His mind began to lose control of his body.

"No!" He attempted to stand up as he saw that Naruto was preparing that ball of power once more.

"RASENGAN!"


-END-


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