サキュバス ファンタジ (Succubus Fantasy)

by LukeAnderwield

The war is over and the world is finally at peace, but Naruto Uzumaki, hero and savior of the Elemental Nations, can't help but feel extremely bored at the lack of excitement that such peace entails. All that changes when he's called out of nowhere for a very strange mission in a land far away from his own... Naruto x Kyonyuu Fantasy. Two-shot for now. Rated M for adult themes.

2. Boan's Hero

It is here. Yes, I've done it. Today marks the day this 'little' two-shot will be complete. To my knowledge, this is the first crossover between Kyonyuu Fantasy and Naruto that's set in Edeland (Lute's world), so I'm pretty excited to share this with you guys. This particular installment took me around two weeks of continuous work and research to write, not because it was particularly challenging, but rather because I wanted to take my time with it and add as many things as I could. I had tons of ideas I wanted to see portrayed here, so I hope you enjoy them.

Now before we move onto today's installment, let me give you a heads-up for what is to come. This chapter is the longest I've ever done (30000 words), so it'll probably take a while to read. I could have easily split this into three or four chapters, but for the sake of keeping this a two-shot, I decided to try and fit all in here. The pace is also a bit slow, just in case you were expecting to see Naruto and Shamsiel meeting each other right at the start.

Also, I don't think I really need to say this (just by looking at which eroge I'm using for this story should let be an indication of what to expect), but just in case, be warned, for there's a lemon near the mid-section of this chapter. Technically, there are two sections which contain mature themes, but one of them is shorter than the other. That being said, this is my first time writing lemons, so I hope you like it!

---

~ Chapter 2 : Boan's Hero ~

Naruto dragged Shinji and placed him against a wall in a dark alley. He hid in the shadows as a couple of armed soldiers went by, their heavy armor clanking with every step they took, and only came out when he was sure they were gone. He then knelt over the unconscious figure of the older man, brought his hands together in a hand seal, and whispered:

"Kai!"

No sooner had that word left his mouth, Shinji's eyelids slowly parted, revealing a pair of dark blue, tired eyes that glanced at Naruto groggily. It took Shinji a few moments to come back to his senses, haze still clouding his mind. "Naruto?", he inquired softly, looking confused as he'd just woken from a long slumber. "W-What's happened?", he felt the cold, rugged wall against his back and he grunted in discomfort. "Did I pass out?"

Naruto merely shook his head, helping the older man to his feet. "Yeah, something like that", he didn't feel like telling him exactly what he had done to keep him unconscious for the rest of the trip, and instead settled for dodging the question. "Don't worry about it, though. We've made it."

"Made it?", Shinji repeated and tried rubbing the sleep out off his eyes. "Made it where?"

"To Edeland", Naruto stated, a bright grin reaching his lips.

"To Edeland? No no, that's not possible. We are not supposed to be arriving there for at least three weeks", Shinji quickly scanned his surroundings, not really seeing much due to how dark it was - the moon hidden behind the clouds in the black sky did not provide with any light that could have assisted him in his efforts.

A chuckle made it past the Uzumaki's mouth at that. "You sure about that? Why don't you take a look around and see for yourself?", as if to prove he was being completely serious, Naruto gestured towards the same way he'd dragged Shinji from, his grin never faltering. The latter stared at the Uzumaki as if he'd gone insane, before deciding to humor the jounin and headed towards the end of the alley, only then noticing the dim light coming from just around the corner.

The moment Shinji made it out the alley and swiveled his eyes around the avenue he now found himself in, a silent yet shocked gasp escaped his lips as all remnants of sleepiness left him in an instant. Right before his eyes stood a medium-sized town that not only looked familiar, but also one he was already acquainted with. It was a town he'd briefly visited in his journey to find a ship willing to make a trip across the globe and take him where the fabled shinobi were said to reside.

His nose then caught a whiff of a salty smell that reminded Shinji of the ocean, a realization that had him even more incredulous.

"See?", Naruto gave the older man a firm pat in the back, making him jolt out of his stupor. "I told you we'd made it."

"It's... It's the port town of Tyre", Shinji mumbled, gape with perplexity. "B-But how...? How did we get here so soon?"

There was an urgency in his tone that didn't go unnoticed by the 17 year old, but all the latter did was shrug his shoulders. "A shinobi never reveals his secrets", he grinned good-heartedly at the astonished state of his companion and placed his arms behind his neck. "Ah, but let's just say we used a less... orthodox means of transportation. One that got us here in a couple of hours, rather than weeks."

Shinji could not shake the look of incredulity off his visage as he stared agape at the shinobi before him, his mind churning out possible explanations that could attest to this act of magic, for a lack of a better word. "I-Incredible..."

"Hah, I get that a lot", a sarcastic chuckle escaped his mouth at his own remark, before Naruto shook his head. "Anyway, Shinji, mind telling me how we can get to that place of yours? Botan, or whatever its name was."

"Yes, yes, of course", Shinji let out a calming sigh, taking a moment to compose himself as he was fully aware there were more pressing matters to attend to. "I'll try to find us some transportation. Hopefully, we'll run into a travelling merchant by the town's outskirts", a sudden realization had Shinji looking grim for a second as he added, "it'd be best to avoid any unwanted attention. If any soldier sees you... well, at the very least, you'd be taken in for questioning."

"Huh, why?"

"Your... attire", the peasant pointed out, gesturing towards his choice of outfit. "It is different. And with all the issues the kingdom is having with all those Inland rebels roaming around the land and causing trouble, it is most likely the soldiers will mistake you for one of them", Shinji shook his head as Naruto immediately started inquiring about those rebels. "That's a matter for another time, Naruto. As for your clothes, we will try to sort that out when we get to Boan, but for now just try not to be seen."

Apart from being curious at the mention of rebel forces acting against the king, Naruto felt slightly offended at Shinji's remark, a frown etched on his features at the thought of having to change clothes. He didn't really get what was wrong with his outfit; it looked perfectly normal to him! Besides, these were his favorite garments, a present from Kakashi to replace his old shinobi attire which had been irreparably damaged in his fight against Kaguya and later Sasuke. It was mostly the standard, dark-blue jounin outfit except for his olive vest which did not contain any of the pockets the normal one did. He also sported his hitai-ate around his prosthetic arm and fingerless globes on both hands, which matched his headband in color.

Despite that train of thought, which the Uzumaki believed to be valid and rational, he did have to admit Shinji had a point. Naruto was a foreigner to everyone else on that land, a bearer of powers only spoken of in fairy tales according to his guide. Even if he didn't use his abilities to his advantage, his mere appearance was sure to attract quite a few looks. And attention was just what he was hoping to avoid.

After all, Tsunade herself had made it very clear he was to remain inconspicuous for the entirety of his mission, at least until he'd got a good assessment of the situation and of things around Edeland.

He briefly wondered whether it'd be a good idea to just disguise as somebody else, but quickly realized there was nobody around to copy their appearance, nor was it a good idea to transform into Shinji. It'd just look suspicious, walking like two identical people.

"Don't worry Shinji! I'll stick to the shadows. Nobody'll see me coming."

"It pleases me to hear that, young warrior... I mean, Naruto", a sheepish smile found its way to the older man's face at a look from said blond, but he quickly schooled his features into a serious look. "Follow me."

His companion checked Naruto over one last time before he gestured in the opposite direction the alley was, turning around and heading down a rather narrow street that twisted away from the avenue they were currently standing on. The jounin waited a bit before following Shinji from a safe distance, keeping his senses sharp and his attention focused all around them as they traversed the path to their destination in deliberate silence.

---

Naruto was in total awe of Tyre.

He knew he should be focused on the task at hand and watch over Shinji, but more often than not he'd find himself allowing his eyes to roam around everything the town had to offer. Even being as late at night as it was and the fact the streets were pretty much devoid of life, the sights were nothing short of astonishing.

The port town of Tyre looked straight out of a story book. Compared to Konoha and other places he'd been to back in the Elemental Nations, walking through the jagged arteries of the town felt like a trip to a distant past. A time where there was no electricity or any of the technology Naruto had grown accustomed to seeing back home.

Instead of lampposts lining the streets, there were small lanterns placed on the walls of the many buildings around town, providing a dim, warm orange-yellowish light thanks to the flame burning brightly inside each one. It didn't allow for much illumination, but the shadows each lantern created were numerous, granting plenty of cover for Naruto to move safely while staying out of sight.

All streets and avenues he'd seen so far were made of cobblestone, with overhanging buildings wherever he went. Most houses and stores were built of wood or stone in some cases, and their peaked roofs ornamented with a gable. Now, Naruto was by no means an expert on architecture, but even to his untrained eye the style of all the buildings looked nothing like the one back in Konoha.

'Have you ever seen anything like this, Kurama?'

'Can't say I have. But it is certainly different. Even the ships at the docks looked ancient.'

Naruto inclined his head in agreement, reminded of the very first sight that'd awaited them the moment they got close to the mainland. He'd been running across the ocean on his own for quite a while after Kurama had exhausted his chakra, and when he least expected it, his eyes spotted land in the horizon. Reinvigorated at knowing his destination was within sight, Naruto'd picked up the pace until he was able to see a port in the distance, with some huge ships in the vicinity.

He still thanked the heavens the moon was hidden behind clouds, as it had allowed him to run all the way to the port from the sea under the cloak of night. While there was little to no activity in the area, remaining undetected had proven much easier to achieve rather than if they'd arrived with a full moon, or with the light of day.

If anyone had spotted him carrying an unconscious man around like he had... he could only imagine how difficult it'd have been for him to escape the situation without having to resort to chakra, something Tsunade had practically forbidden him from using.

The image of an enraged Godaime Hokage was enough to send multiple shivers down his spine. Yeah, best to avoid that.

As Naruto followed Shinji past what looked like a market area of some sort, given all the closed stores around, his eyes caught sight of a particular sign that read 'Blacksmith' and his curiosity was greatly piqued. He looked around for any indication of people or guards in the vicinity, but when he saw neither, the jounin stepped out from the shadows and cautiously walked up to the side of the store, where he marveled at the sight that awaited him.

'Whoa. Look at all this stuff', he mused to himself, trying to take in as much as he could before turning around, knowing Shinji was on the move. 'I wonder what kind of weapons they make there. Think they know how to make shinobi stuff?'

'Doubtful', his tenant's voice boomed in his mind. 'Given everything we've seen so far, I'm willing to believe blacksmithing is one of the things they're far behind in contrast with your kind.'

'Yeah, probably', Naruto inwardly nodded his head, making a mental note to find out more about said topic when he had the time. He fell silent as he caught up with Shinji, who glanced over his shoulder and gestured for Naruto to stick close as they headed down a narrow path, leading to where the Uzumaki believed was further away from the city's main districts and onto the exit.

As they walked, the Uzumaki suddenly realized they were now in a much less sophisticated part of Tyre, as the designs of the buildings were far less intricate than those he'd seen before. His ears then perked up at the sudden sound of nearby laughter and shouting, and he made sure to remain concealed from sight as they passed by a bar of some sort. The sign above the rather large establishment read 'Tyre's inn', which gave the shinobi an idea of what exactly that place was.

He had the sudden desire to disregard all caution and push the closed door open just to see what lied on the other side, his curiosity once again piqued by the music coming from within. Someone was playing an instrument and singing a cheerful tune, but he couldn't make out the lyrics from outside.

"Good eve' milord~ Fancy someone to keep you company tonight?"

Naruto was broken out of his daze at a disembodied voice coming from straight ahead, and he quickly leaned against a nearby wall to avoid being seen. The voice, he quickly realized, belonged to a young woman in her late twenties, who had seemingly walked up to Shinji while he wasn't looking. She wore modest clothes overall, except for her silken shirt which allowed for a sizeable amount of her huge breasts to be exposed.

"Afraid not", he heard his companion say, brushing her off without a second glance. "I am a married man and in a bit of a hurry at the moment."

"I'll... I'll take... ya up on that offer, lass!"

A disheveled fellow coming right from the opposite direction Shinji was heading on to stumbled his way up to the previous woman, almost tripping in the process - his body lurched unpredictably as he tried to retain balance. His cheeks and nose were crimson red, and even from his position Naruto picked up the stench of alcohol emanating from his body. He was obviously drunk, so much so he almost fell over Shinji but ultimately missed his target as the latter merely side-stepped and avoided the drunkard.

Naruto shook his head in amusement as the woman let out a sigh and helped the man to his feet, allowing him to lean over her body so that she could take him somewhere else. 'Heh, that guy was toast', he chuckled to himself. 'He looked just like ero-sennin when he came back from doing his 'research'.'

If his old master had still been alive, he'd have probably felt offended at being compared to an old drunk and then call Naruto 'disrespectful gaki'. The blond smiled at the thought. He still missed the old pervert dearly, even when all those times of being left alone to train by himself while Jiraiya went to local brothels to chug down on alcohol and get surrounded by women came back to mind. His sensei would've rushed for the inn and mingled with the locals if he'd accompanied him that day, which was a fact that surprisingly didn't bother him like it could have many years ago.

Emptying his mind of all those thoughts of Jiraiya, Naruto focused back on the task at hand and kept on following Shinji, this time down a wide avenue that led to a less populated area of the town. The avenue continued all the way to an enormous set of wooden gates that were part of a sturdy palisade stretching from left to right and acting as the only means of protection for the town.

From the shadows, the Uzumaki spotted two soldiers at the gates and many more along the palisade. They were all patrolling different areas, and some of them carried torches on their hands, which told him he'd have to be careful so as not to get spotted.

"Naruto."

Right then, Shinji turned around at an intersection, gesturing to a dark corner where they could talk without alerting the guards. Naruto crouched down and quietly headed that way.

His companion waited until he was right in front of him before saying, "this is it. Once we make it past those gates, we can be on our way to Boan."

"Gotcha, Shinji", Naruto nodded. "What's the plan?"

"See that wagon over there?", the older man pointed a finger at a wooden wagon just outside a small residence not too far away from the gates. "I believe its driver might be willing to give us transportation if I can strike a deal with him."

The Uzumaki surreptitiously eyed the wagon and the two horses hitched to it, an unconvinced look crossing his features. "Eh, no offense Shinji, but that thing looks slower than Kosuke-jiji, and man was he slow!", despite having no idea who Naruto was talking about, something in his words gave him the impression the jounin was referring to an old man he was acquainted with. "I bet I could make it to Boan in a jiffy if I tried! What's more, you just hop on to my back and I'll jump over that wall. Nobody will notice!"

"A-Ah, I don't doubt that", Shinji scratched his head, growing slightly nervous at the prospect of attracting attention. "But as I recall, Tsunade-sama said something about... not using your powers while in Edeland, did she not?"

"Uh... Yeah, I forgot about that, haha."

'Touché', the blond heard Kurama mumbling, inwardly getting the idea his tenant had been thinking something along the same lines as he had. It was very difficult not to rely on chakra for things like moving around, but he was a jounin, and his mission parameters were clear.

So there was really no other choice but to keep doing things Shinji's way.

"All right", Naruto let out a sigh of resignation and ran a hand through his golden locks. "Let's go meet this guy."

"Actually, I think it'd be best if you waited here and let me do the talking", Shinji said, making Naruto frown. "After all, we don't want other people seeing you, at least not until we can do something about those shinobi clothes of yours."

"Tch. Fine", the blond shrugged before leaning against a nearby wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll wait here."

"Thank you", he flashed the jounin an appreciative smile. "I won't be long."

Naruto did nothing but stand his ground as Shinji left him behind. Inwardly, he was beginning to wonder whether it would be a good idea to just head over to Boan himself first and let his companion get there on his own. That way, he could make sure nobody else died that night... if the succubus hadn't taken the life of another victim already.

'If you did that, you wouldn't even know where to go from here'.

Of course, Kurama was right. No matter how eager he was, Naruto knew he couldn't just abandon his client, not only because he was the only one who knew his identity as a shinobi and could lead him to their destination, but also due to the fact Naruto was supposed to guard him. It was the most basic of principles for any respectable ninja, a principle they were expected to uphold no matter what.

Besides, failing to protect his client in a S-rank mission wouldn't look good on his resume. Especially not on his first real assignment as a jounin.

So it was with that train of thought that Naruto contented himself with sitting down and waiting. He hated not doing anything, but tried to find solace in the fact it wouldn't be for long. Plus, this provided a good, yet short respite from all the effort it'd taken both him and Kurama to get to Edeland in such a short amount of time. He had not slept in almost a day, and he was beginning to feel exhaustion tugging at the corner of his mind.

Naruto rested his head against the wall, heaving a sigh. Even if he wasn't actually sleeping, just taking a moment to sit down and relax would suffice, as he needed all the rest he could get. After all, a very difficult task awaited him at the end of his journey, one he was a bit anxious about. Not scared, no, but slightly worried. His enemy was unlike anything he'd ever faced before, and Naruto didn't like going in blindly. He had an idea of what this alleged 'demon' was capable of, but that wasn't enough.

Still, pressing the Kyuubi for more information about Succubi hadn't produced the results he was looking for. It was clear Kurama knew little beyond what he'd already told him, and he doubted anyone else in that world would be willing to tell him about it if he asked nicely. Not even Shinji seemed to know much about it, if what he'd discussed with the fox earlier that day was of any indication.

'Hey Kurama.'

'What is it?'

'I was thinking about what you said earlier, about Shinji', Naruto told his tenant, growing serious. 'You said his chakra felt weird. Different. Like the one that's on every living being and all around us, but not exactly the same', he took a moment to collect his thoughts, trying to find the right words to express what was on his mind. 'I remember Shinji saying people in Edeland don't even know what chakra is, or that shinobi exist and are not just a myth. Baachan went as far as claiming people here do not have chakra like we do, so I guess what I want to know is if that's actually the case or Shinji was lying about that too.'

His tenant did not respond to his question right away, and Naruto interpreted his silence as a sign of the fox pondering over his words. He waited patiently for a full minute, entertaining himself with watching around some more, before the deep voice of the Kyuubi brought him back to the matter at hand. 'You raise an interesting point, kit. I have to give it to you, you actually managed to impress me.'

'Huh? I did?', outwardly, Naruto blinked his azure eyes. 'What for?'

'For actually proving you have a small modicum of intelligence in that empty head of yours!'

'What!?' B-Bite me, furball!'

A loud, resounding laughter echoed within his mind, making the Uzumaki scowl and grumble in annoyance. 'Bwahahaha! I'd apologize, but honestly, kit, you're far easier to trick than a child!', as Kurama all but cackled at Naruto's expense, the latter huffed and mumbled something about 'stupid foxes' under his breath. It took a couple of moments for the Kyuubi to come out of his laughing fit, but when he did, he dutifully schooled his features into a serious look, deciding he'd had enough fun out of teasing his host. 'Now, as regards your hypothesis... I do not believe that man, Shinji, was being dishonest, but he's definitely not telling the whole truth either. Of all the people we've passed on the way here, I've only been able to distinguish a faint trace of life force which feels nothing like chakra as we know it.'

'Nothing like chakra...?'

'Picture it as the heartbeat of a small animal. It is there and you can feel it if you press your hand to its heart, but it's weak and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Chakra, however, is like a torrent of energy running through our bodies. It burns with the intensity of the Sun and can shape the course of history if it so desires to. And it is something Shinji possesses. Of that, I'm certain."

The Kyuubi allowed Naruto to process the information he'd just given him, knowing this was something they'd both benefit from discussing over. 'But if that's the case...', the blond pursed his lips, his previous state now forgotten, 'why would Shinji have chakra in the first place if nobody else around here does?'

If he had been before Kurama in the sewer-like world his mind had created to host the nine-tails, Naruto would have been able to see the wide smile the bijuu now sported on his lips. 'Precisely. It seems our little friend's secret might revolve around what you just pointed out', Kurama could feel the myriad of emotions filling his host's mind, confusion being the strongest of them all. 'What's more, him having two energy signatures mixed together into a single chakra network should be impossible for any normal human being. Unless they happened to have a bijuu or similar entity sealed within them or...'

'Or...?'

'Or they were something else entirely', the fox concluded, his tone grave. 'A half-breed.'

What Kurama said left the young jounin frowning in a perplexed manner. 'I don't get it', he shrugged. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'That this alleged peasant is not human. At least, not fully so.'

There was a short, deafening silence that ensued their exchange, with Naruto's eyes widening in complete and utter shock. His first reaction was to muster a nervous smile, thinking the Kyuubi was just messing around. 'Y-You're kidding, right?'

But he wasn't. At least, not in the way Naruto was hoping. 'It's just a theory. Perhaps I am wrong. Doesn't happen quite often but when it comes to energies, there's no way to be certain.'

'B-But... Shinji looks pretty human to me...'

'Like I said, we cannot know for sure. I may be completely mistaken, and if so, you have nothing to worry about', the Kyuubi let out a loud yawn and rested its furry head atop his paws, deciding that a nap was in order. 'Besides, even if that was true, we've faced far worse before... Good night, kit.'

Naruto was left agape as Kurama abruptly cut their link, leaving him with more questions than answers. The darkness engulfing him prevented anyone from seeing the look on his face, which was a mixture between shock and incredulity. 'Kurama? Kurama!', no matter how much he called out to him and tried reestablishing the link between them, it was severed irrevocably. At least for the time being. Naruto shook his head, completely dumbfounded. He could not believe his friend would leave him hanging like that, especially when he needed his wisdom and ancient knowledge the most.

The blond shook his head incredulously as he leaned his back against the wall. He rose his eyes to the dark, starless sky above, musing over everything he'd just learned. That Shinji was hiding something from him was a fact the Kyuubi had planted in his mind, but him being not human? What was that even supposed to mean?

Naruto felt confused beyond words, and all he could come up with was that in that side of the world there were other humanoid creatures co-existing with humans. Maybe living beings that looked just like a normal person would, but different in other ways. He was already aware Succubae were a thing, so it did sound plausible to think there were more like them around.

Then again, there was also the chance of Kurama being wrong. It wouldn't be the first time that happened, despite the fox being too proud to admit said fact.

The blond let out a sigh, lowering his eyes until he was staring at his own hands. He focused solely on his bandaged arm, the one that had been artificially created for him from Senju's cells, and couldn't help but wonder what exactly was the right course of action from then on. Plus, with all he now suspected of Shinji, how could he look him straight in the eye and feign ignorance?

"Naruto, are you still there?"

Despite being caught in a daze, the latter wasn't even startled at Shinji's hushed voice, and Naruto was on his feet a mere moment later, putting all those previous thoughts in the back of his mind for some other time. "Yeah", he knew he'd have to either confront Shinji and demand an answer, or try to find the truth on his own. But now they had other matters to attend to. "Did you get us a ride?"

"I did", Naruto saw the blond man nodding his head cautiously, a ghost of a smile reaching his lips. "The driver is willing to get us to Boan, and free of charge, too."

"Free?", the jounin raised an eyebrow. "Aren't people supposed to pay here in exchange for stuff? That's the way it was back at Konoha."

Shinji let out a short, nervous chuckle that had Naruto growing suspicious for some reason. "Oh, of course! But this man was kind enough to let us ride his wagon without any sort of payment. I just informed him of the situation and he basically refused to accept coin in return."

"..."

For the first time since he'd met him, Naruto felt the older man was not being entirely honest with him. There was something in Shinji's words that didn't sit well with the Uzumaki, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. And with Kurama fast asleep, there was no point looking too deeply into it.

"...Alright, if you say so."

"Trust me, Naruto, there's nothing to worry about. Now let's make haste. Our driver's waiting for us, and I'd like to get back home as soon as possible", Shinji was about to turn around and lead Naruto to the wagon, when he stopped midway. "Ah, almost forgot. Here, I got this for you."

Naruto's hand instinctively reached out and grabbed a long, light-brown cape Shinji had thrown his way. "What's this?", he couldn't help but wonder, bringing it closer to his face. At first glance, it looked big enough to probably hide his whole body from view.

"Something that'll help you pass off as a mere traveler", Shinji briefly explained, before making a circular motion with his hands around his shoulders. "Try it on."

His azure eyes inspected the piece of cloth in his hands one final time, but eventually the blond shrugged and decided to humor his companion. He threw the cape around his shoulders and shifted it a bit so that it was covering his entire figure. "There", he then said, giving himself a once-over. "Do I look like someone from Edeland now, Shinji?"

"You sure do", the older man smiled, evidently more relieved at having solved Naruto's little problem. "Let's go."

The aforementioned shinobi did nothing but follow Shinji out in the open, with both of them walking side by side down the avenue that led to the main gates. Now that his shinobi clothes were out of sight, the Uzumaki knew there was no point sticking to the shadows anymore. It was a good thing he'd chosen to wear his hitai-ate around his arm, as he was sure it was bound to attract some unwanted attention if anyone caught sight of it. He didn't know whether people wore headbands in Edeland too, but he wasn't about to risk finding that out by walking around, showing the Leaf symbol to everybody else.

As they approached the wagon, the jounin surreptitiously glanced at the guards by the gates, and saw some of them now looking in their direction. It was difficult to tell in the dark, but he could swear he saw the looks of scrutiny in their faces, not suspicion as of yet, but they were definitely attentive to their movements.

When the pair made it to their current destination, their eyes were met with the sight of a man in his late fifties, who was checking over the horses. The animals nickered softly as the driver petted their heads, a wrinkled smile drawn on his lips. "There there, lads", his dark eyes then took notice of the approaching blond duo and his smile all but vanished. "Hey", he nodded his head curtly. "That the boy?"

"Indeed."

"Heh, he doesn't look that impressive to me."

Shinji glanced at the young man by his side, who was raising an eyebrow in disdain at the driver, before shrugging. "Well, I can assure you, he is a formidable warrior."

"Ya sure? Hmm, if ya say so, milord", the driver gave Naruto another scrutinizing look and spitted at the ground. "Now, ya two want to get goin' now or what?"

"If you'd be so kind, milord", Naruto said mockingly, eliciting a worried look from his companion.

The driver, however, seemingly took no offence from his sarcasm and merely grinned a half-toothless grin. "Hop in, then, and we'll be off!"

Naruto and Shinji headed for the back of the wagon, climbing atop almost effortlessly. Naruto had never been inside a cart like that, but he instantly noticed it provided plenty of space for him to sit and stretch his legs, which he did gratefully. On the opposite end, not far from him, Shinji did the same, but in a cross-legged position.

The cart shook slightly as the driver climbed at the front, grabbing the reins that served to guide the horses. "Alright, lads! Yah!", he gave the animals a gentle, yet firm tap on their backs, making them move forward on command. Naruto moved his eyes to the front and saw they were slowly making their way to the gates.

"Just a little bit further and we'll be in open land", he heard Shinji mumbling to himself, one quick look revealing the worried expression on his face. "From there, it's a couple of hours 'till we make it to Boan. Oh Kami, please keep everyone safe. Just one more night. Just one..."

The Uzumaki was forced to divert his attention back to the front as he suddenly noticed they were pulling to a stop, catching sight of the two guards clad in what looked like some sort of metallic, heavy armor standing before the carriage. "Halt", one of the soldiers raised a hand, evidently intent on interrogating the travelers.

"Woooo", the driver pulled on the reins to bring themselves to a standstill, and when he did, he inclined forward. "Eve' my good sirs."

The second soldier, a shorter man than his companion holding a lance in his right hand, circled around the cart, while the first one approached the driver. "Greetings, Rocford. It's rare seeing you awake well past your bed time. Where are you off to, old man?", he inquired, sounding oddly curious.

"To Boan, sir."

"Boan? Not a very good place to head on to these days, unless you're planning to spend some time in misery and decay", what the solder said caught Naruto's attention, especially the condescending tone with which he spoke of Shinji's hometown. He frowned at that, but opted to keep his mouth shut, knowing it wouldn't do to antagonize the guard. "Those your passengers, back there?"

"Aye", the man replied, chuckling dryly. "A rowdy bunch, they are. Talked my ears off about all the stuff them were going to do when they made it back home. Aye, they did."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as the other soldier walked up to the back of the wagon and lifted a lantern in his hand, illuminating both his' and Shinji's faces. The sharp face of the armor-wearing man seemed to twist into a frown for a few moments, boring his eyes into Naruto's azure ones with such intensity that the latter's hand inadvertently inched closer to his kunai holster, ready to act at any moments notice. But after what seemed like an eternity, the soldier shook his head. "Let them pass."

"Very well. Open the gates!"

Right then, the massive doors ahead creaked loudly as they were pushed open by two other soldiers. A long, open road was then revealed to the trio, which had been carved on the ground to act as a path to be followed.

"A word of caution, old man. Beware of Inland rebel attacks. I heard they were quite active at this time of night."

"Mah mah, try they might, but if any of those dimwitted ruffians get close to my wagon I'll cut their fingers off!", the old man laughed heartily at the look of faint surprise in the soldier's face and commanded his horses to pull the carriage forward, saluting the men with a wave. "You have a good night, now, sirs!"

As the wagon rolled past the wooden gates, Naruto failed to notice the sigh of relief coming out of Shinji's mouth, and instead whistled in appreciation at what he then saw. Even in the dark of night, he could see a deep, seemingly never-ending valley extending for as far as his eyes could see, and the road leading out of town reaching a point where it split into multiple directions.

In the distance, the Uzumaki saw a long mountain range and a dense forest leading to only Kami knew where. There were no other people around, but said fact allowed him to appreciate the breathtaking sight of the world beyond the town of Tyre even more.

"Hey Shinji", he spoke up, never tearing his eyes away from the land before him, "is everything in Edeland quite like this?"

"Like this?", the older man blinked his azure eyes, broken out of his stupor. He turned his sight in the direction Naruto was gazing, and a look of realization crossed his features. "Ah, yes. I may be a bit biased here, but our land is quite beautiful, albeit a plethora of locations have yet to be explored."

Naruto's interest grew at the last bit, his excitement growing exponentially. He sat with his face against the wall of the wagon and smiled to himself, focusing his gaze on the dark sky above. 'I wonder if baachan'd let me stay here a bit longer after Shinji's demon has been dealt with', his azure orbs started shutting almost on their own, exhaustion now setting in. 'It'd be... cool... to see... more.'

He was fast asleep as soon as his mind finished mustering those thoughts, allowing Morpheus to pull him into his embrace.

---

Naruto was jolted awake by the rattling sound of the wagon, as the ground beneath the cart's wheels was now irregular and not often looked after. Quickly coming to his senses, the young jounin rubbed his eyes and let out a loud yawn, only then noticing the pain in his neck.

"Good morning, Naruto."

The aforementioned paid Shinji no more than an acknowledging nod, too focused as he now was on rubbing his aching neck.

"Not the most comfortable place to sleep, is it?"

"It's fine. My old bed is worse", chuckling dryly at his own comment, Naruto rolled his head in a circular manner before tilting it to the left, and then to the right. A soft 'pop' indicated the joints in his neck had been rearranged, with the pain subsiding almost immediately much to the young's man relief. "Hah... Much better. Are we there yet?"

Shinji smiled, and it was a smile Naruto had not seen before in his companion. "Almost there. We're half an hour away, at most", the man indicated, gesturing back to the bridge they'd just crossed. "That river behind us... This is where we get most our drinking water from, apart from the wells in town. Nowadays, however, it's mostly used for watering our crops."

Naruto nodded absently, watching the landscape before him. It certainly was a beautiful and peaceful sight, with grass covered fields wherever he looked and multiple mountain ranges in the distance. The sound of the nearby river filled him with a strange sense of tranquility, one he'd not been expecting to find after learning of the existence of that sex demon that terrorized the people of Boan.

As he looked around some more, it soon became clear to him even then that most of the land was barren, and there were no farms around. At least, not in the area they were transiting at the moment. He recalled both Shinji and the soldier saying Boan was an impoverished and decaying territory, so that may be why large parts of the land remained uninhabited or even untouched by man.

The wagon rode past an old, cracked archway that seemed to have withstood the test of time, and began a descent down a hillside pasture leading straight towards a town in the distance. Even from his position, Naruto caught sight of the almost dilapidated state of the buildings and how badly things were around the place. It all seemed like ready to fall apart at any moment's notice, and the closer they got to Boan, the more Naruto was convinced that was a ghost town of some sort.

Houses had holes and cracks on the walls, missing doors, broken windows or poorly mended sections, and all stores were closed. Also, what caught Naruto's attention was the lack of people around, which made him grow worried for a moment. But a quick look in Shinji's way revealed the man was focused on another entirely different thing other than failing to spot any familiar face; probably on getting off the cart and finding his family first and foremost which was only logical, Naruto supposed.

"Oi, I'll drop ya two off at the castle. Seems like your friends are already there!"

At the mention of a castle, Naruto turned his eyes back to the front and immediately spotted a huge-sized building made out of stone, with multiple towers, thick walls and a set of wooden gates, standing proudly just outside the small town. But its size and shape were the only things that impressed the shinobi; its state was pathetic, like its inhabitants had stopped taking care or maintaining it a long time ago. As a result, it looked as dull as the town did, even more so, if that was even possible.

Right by the gates, both Shinji and his companion spotted a multitude of villagers, gathered around a pair of shady-looking men that couldn't make their voices heard over the ruckus all the peasants were making. Two soldiers holding huge shields with what looked like a golden eye drawn in the center flanked the two men, seemingly ready to intervene if things got out of hand.

Nobody around seemed to acknowledge the wagon's getting closer, too focused as they were pleading the two mean for something, something that had all the people looking tense and worried.

"Master Irboyne! Please, we beg you, do something!"

"You said it wouldn't come back this time, that the guards had taken care of it at long last. But last night it was here, in town!"

As more and more people joined the others and expressed their concerns to what Naruto guessed was the man in charge, he never noticed Shinji balling his hands into fists.

"Everything is under control, my friends", Naruto heard a flat voice shouting back, a voice that he quickly realized belonged to Irboyne, the prefect. He was a languid, unimpressive man who wore long robes and a weird-looking hat atop his head and a bored expression on his visage. To make matters worse, that was the same guy Shinji had told him about back at Konoha, and Naruto recalled how easily he tended to wash his hands off matters around the town. Something he was likely trying to do right at the moment. "Just go back to your homes, and all will be fine..."

"So you say!", a rather energetic, auburn haired woman retorted, looking seriously unconvinced. A beautiful teenage girl stood by her side, her chestnut hair were tied into long twin tails and her eyes were of a light shade of purple; she was bobbing her head up and down in agreement, holding onto who was obviously her mother. "This morning, we found Glynn dead in the fields. His spirit completely sucked dry", she used her arm and gestured around the other people gathered there that day. "What are we supposed to do? Just wait 'till more of us die? Many women have lost their husbands already without you bothering to lift a finger! My husband might be away, but others weren't so lucky!"

"Yeah! I don't want to live in a demon town!"

"I c-can't even sleep calmly at night! What if the demon is waiting under my bed to ambush me!?"

"I refuse to let my dear husband die!"

"Will you save us if it comes back, master!?"

"QUIET! ALL OF YOU!", a rather small, long haired young man stepped up in front of Irboyne, this one boring a scowl on his expression as he silenced the crowd with a wave of his arm. What stood out the most of his appearance was not his unimpressive height, but rather his buck-teeth and the goatee beard hanging down from his butt-shaped chin. "The prefect has made himself clear, already! We will look into this matter at our utmost convenience, so for now, return to your homes and-"

"Hah! Utmost convenience my ass!"

A sepulchral silence took over the whole area as the loud, rash voice of Naruto Uzumaki was heard by everyone in the vicinity. All the villagers, the soldiers, Irboyne and the shorter man turned the way they'd heard those words uttered only to see two blond men standing at the edge of the crowd. One looking confident, the other anxious for some reason unknown to them.

Not too far away from them, an old driver holding the reins to a wagon cackled maniacally as he commanded the horses to turn around and get him out of there, not wanting to be around if those two weird fellows got in trouble.

"What? Who dares address me in such a rude manner?", the short man shouted, looking seriously offended. "I'll have you know, you're in the presence of prefect Irboyne and me, his loyal aide, Madoise! As such, you're expected to-"

"Yeah yeah, you could be the Daimyo and I still wouldn't give a damn!"

Naruto watched with a barely concealed smirk as the aide's cheeks flared to life at that remark, his brow furrowing in evident anger. The latter was about to open his mouth to retort, when someone else beat him to it.

"Shinji? No... It cannot be...", a disembodied voice was heard coming from somewhere amidst the crowd, followed by a loud gasp. That voice belonged to a certain woman, one that Shinji visibly reacted to by allowing his lips to part in surprise. "Oh, Kami-sama, it is you! You're back!"

Now running and pushing aside the people in her way, she ran up to Shinji, tears welling up in her eyes. Her slightly shorter daughter followed suit, and Naruto had to step aside to allow his companion to embrace them both the moment they were within arms' reach.

"Father! Is it really you?"

"Yes, my child, it is me", Shinji breathed out, and Naruto could see as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Oh, you don't know how good it is to see you two again."

As he embraced them, the whole group of villagers seemed to break out of their stupor and finally recognized him as one of their own. They all but ignored a gaping Madoise and their scowling prefect and rushed straight to Shinji.

"I can't believe this, Shinji made it back!"

"You have returned to us! We'd almost given up hope!"

"Ahh, what a relief, we thought something bad had happened to ya!"

One by one, the people of Boan thanked the heavens the man was safe and sound, and that he'd made it back from a trip none of them would have ever imagined of embarking on in the first place. As Shinji allowed himself to be surrounded by the multitude, Naruto stood to the side, unsure of what to do or say while he rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"We are so glad to see you back in one piece, my love", Shinji's wife said, pulling away from him so as to look him in the eye. There was tint of hope mixed with fear in her amethyst orbs, and she held onto his arm as she formulated the question that no doubt was in everybody's mind at the moment. "Did you... Did you find them? The... shinobi?"

At the mention of that, everyone else quieted down in anticipation, hopeful looks crossing their features as they awaited for his inevitable answer. The smile Shinji sent everyone's way, however, had his wife and child widening their eyes. "I found them", he announced softly, placing his hand atop his daughter's head. "They sent someone with me to aide us. It's this young man, right here."

For the first time ever since they'd arrived there, all eyes turned to Naruto, who was now grinning from ear to ear. "That's right!", he claimed, loud and clear so that even that old-fart, Irboyne and bunny-teeth guy by the gates could hear him too. "I am Naruto Uzumaki! Jounin shinobi and future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. And I'm here to help you get rid of that demon of yours!"

'So much for remaining incognito... Hah... What an idiot.'

Kurama let out a frustrated sigh from within the confines of Naruto's mind, annoyed at his host. He'd been awake for quite a while now and merely limited himself to spectate the events unfolding before them in silence. He had been hoping his jinchuuriki would be able to handle things on his own, but even that was too much to hope for.

Naruto's confident statement was met with silent staring from everyone present (save Shinji, who was looking at him like he was a big hero of sorts) at first, but as soon as the people got the meaning behind his words, their faces twisted into equal looks of confusion, doubt and even disdain.

"Did he just say he was a shinobi?"

"Uh-huh. Doesn't look like one if ya ask me."

"I don't know... I mean, look at him, he's just a kid. Weren't the warriors of legend supposed to look huge and imposing?"

"Yeah. You're right. Besides, if he's really the guy who's going to save us, where are his weapons? His shining armor?"

As the townsfolk continued debating whether or not Naruto was actually a ninja, the latter felt a bead of sweat rolling down his head. 'Oookaaay, not exactly the reaction I was looking for here', in all honesty, the Uzumaki had been expecting people to at least feel happy he was there, willing to solve their little problem. He wasn't hoping for a hero's welcome or to be cheered on for something he'd yet to do, but still...

"Hear me out, my friends!", Shinji stepped towards Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, before facing the now silent crowd. "You may have your doubts, but I promise you, this young warrior right here is the answer to all our prayers", there was such convincement in his visage and voice, that even Naruto was a bit taken aback by it. "I have been where shinobi live, and seen what they can do. That monster will not stand a chance against his might!"

Shinji's wife and daughter rose their arms in support and cheered loudly in agreement, none of them showing an iota of uncertainty at where, or on whom for that matter, the former placed his faith. However, those two were the only cries of support Shinji and Naruto got, the villagers around exchanging wordless looks of incredulity.

"That's it. I'm going home."

"Hopefully the monster will go after one of the soldiers in the castle tonight, rather than one of one of us."

"Ahh! Our town is doomed! This is our end!"

"Maybe we should pack our things and leave, honey. If the demon comes after me..."

"And go where, William? This is our home! There's nothing out there for us!"

One by one, the villagers started walking away from the scene, thinning their numbers amidst the crowd until only Naruto, Shinji, his wife and daughter remained. Out of the four, Shinji was the one most visibly shaken "I... I don't get it, why would no one believe in my words?", the blond asked, lowering his gaze.

His wife stepped up to him and clasped her hand around his'. "Don't hold it against them, Shinji. Things have been difficult since you left", there was a grave tone in her voice, one that spoke volumes of how dire the situation truly was. "We have lost many of our folk in the weeks you were gone. Last night, it was Glynn..."

"Glynn... That poor bastard", Shinji let out a long, tired sigh at the news. It was clear things had only worsened in his absence, which only made his decision to leave in search of help all the more rational. "Hopefully with Naruto here, things will finally start looking up", shaking his head, Shinji tried mustering a smile as he turned to the aforementioned. "Naruto, let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife, Lydia", the auburn haired woman from earlier gave the blond a curtsy bow, one that was quickly imitated by her daughter. "And this is Irina, my only daughter."

Naruto placed both hands behind his neck, flashing the pair his trademark grin. "Nice to meet ya two!", he exclaimed, tilting his head left and right in childish cheerfulness.

"Likewise, young warrior", Lydia graced him with a kind smile. "Forgive the others for their lack of manners. We are all a bit on edge around here."

The jounin waved his hand dismissively, assuring the woman he didn't have a problem with that. "Mah mah, I've had much worse welcoming parties than this one."

"I can only imagine...", Shinji chuckled dryly.

"Mother, father, this young sir must be tired after such a long trip", the lovely daughter of the pair placed her arms behind her back and flashed a coquettish smile in Naruto's way, one that the latter mistook by mere courtesy. "Shouldn't we take him home and let him rest a bit? Oh! And something to eat. You shouldn't go around with an empty stomach, sir Naruto."

"Ah, I don't want to impose...", the aforementioned began, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Truth be told, he didn't really have a place to stay, though he had no issue sleeping on the ground or making a temporary home somewhere nearby. His time as a gennin had made him grow accustomed to sleeping outdoors, so it was fine.

"Nonsense! As long as you stay in Boan, you'll do so as my guest. It is only fair after you've travelled so long to get here."

Seeing no room for argument, Naruto merely nodded his head in appreciation. "Thanks, Shinji."

The group then started making their way towards the decrepit town, with Irina walking up to Naruto's side so as to bombard him with a series of consecutive questions about himself. Questions that Naruto found himself unable to respond in detail given how quickly they were thrown his way, making Shinji and his wife laugh at the expense of the blond shinobi.

As they walked away from the castle, none of them ever realized they were forgetting something. Something important...

---

Despite practically been ignored, Irboyne had steeled his rising temper by settling for just standing back and gaze at the villagers from afar. He barely recognized the villager who had made it back to the town that morning, a man that supposedly went by the name of 'Shinji' and that had somehow left the province under his very nose. Now, it wasn't the fact that he'd slipped away without him finding out that bothered him, but rather that he'd not been aware of said fact and had only learned about it just now.

Even in a place as decadent and depressing as that, no one did so much as breathing without the prefect knowing. It was the way it'd been ever since he was put in charge of the province and the way it was supposed to keep on being until he finally left.

"Madoise", the prefect spoke, without as much as a glance at his aide. "Why wasn't I informed one of those insufferable locals had left the town?"

Even without looking at him, Irboyne could practically hear the nervousness in his aide's voice as he began stuttering an answer. "A-Ah, well, you see my liege", the one named Madoise mustered up a pitiable smile, which was a very poor attempt at trying to appease his liege. "I did not believe it necessary to bother you with a matter as insignificant as this..."

The prefect seemed to take offense at his words, as his features hardened into an annoyed expression. "Under different circumstances, I would be thoroughly uninterested to learn what occurs to each one of my pathetic subjects, but that... man, right there", his eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned them back in the direction of the newcomer, "has not only left my domain, but returned with an outsider of all things!"

Madoise gulped at the tone with which his liege spoke. It was one he didn't like hearing, as it indicated how displeased his master was. And that wasn't good. If his liege was angry at him, then he'd stop favoring him, and if he did that, then Madoise's position would be in jeopardy. So the only way to get back on his liege's good graces, was to put his brain to use.

"I-I sincerely apologize, my liege", the buck-toothed man bowed his head slightly, both in an effort to show his repentance, and to avoid the glare he was being flashed with. "But... isn't this something that could work in our favor?"

"Whatever do you mean with that?"

Knowing he had managed to pique his prefect's curiosity, Madoise allowed his lips to curl into a conniving grin. "Well, you heard them, sir. They claimed that young boy with the messy hair was someone brought especially to deal with that. How did they call him, a... shinobi, was it? Sounds nothing but a fancy term given to a mercenary, a warrior of some kind."

"I do recall that sequence, yes", Irboyne folded his arms over his chest, a bored look crossing his features. "Your point being...?"

Madoise rubbed his hands excitedly. "Whether that boy really is a warrior or not, I have no doubt he's bound to attract its attention. And when it does, he will likely succumb to it like all the others", his explanation was slowly but surely being processed by his liege, who now seemed to see where Madoise was coming from.

"And when he is dead...", Irboyne proceeded, "the village vermin may finally begin to give up all hope!"

"Then, we can claim he was the real perpretator and crucify his body in the town square!"

A devilish smile found its way to the prefect's mouth, and Madoise squeaked like a rodent, both pleased with himself for his grand idea and for being able to escape punishment. "By the time those imbeciles realize they were just being deceived, we'll be long gone from this backwater town", Irboyne schooled his features into a more collected and composed look, intent on asking his aide about a matter of equal importance. "Is our contact still on board?"

"Yes, my liege. Everything is proceeding as planned."

"Good. Very good", the prefect retorted, knowing it was only a matter of time before he got his wish granted. "Hopefully, we'll be able to take 'it' along with us."

Madoise smiled connivingly. "By 'it' you don't mean your wife, do you, sir?"

Despite the insinuation his steward made, Irboyne found himself grinning. "Humph! You little devil."

"I'm more of a scoundrel myself."

Evil and sonorous laughter ensued their exchange, but only the two remaining soldiers by the gates were witness to it, as they shared a knowing look. Those two were also in on their superiors' little plan, which was the reason why the prefect had allowed himself to openly discuss these matters with them around.

Their mirth lasted for a few seconds, until all that was left were identical smirks of satisfaction.

"Ah, perhaps I could ask for that lovely young lady in exchange for protection", Irboyne had a perverted expression on his visage as he thought of the blond peasant's daughter. "Yes.. She is like a rose amid the filth and decay..."

"Certainly, my liege. I doubt her mother would refuse handing her over if it means receiving our aid in return."

"Hmm", Irboyne nodded, calming his rising excitement for the time being. He moved his eyes back to the front, in the direction where he'd last seen that so called 'shinobi' heading to, and grew pensive for a moment. "Madoise."

"Yes, sir?"

"That boy...", his tone grew cautious at the mention of the one named Naruto Uzumaki, "keep an eye on him, just in case. There's something more to him that meets the eye."

"At once, my liege!"

---

Naruto had difficulty munching on the bread he'd been offered. His teeth seemed about to shatter into pieces every time he took a bite out of the dark, old rye bread, but he still did his best to eat it all. He wasn't only starving, but also knew it'd be ungrateful for him to outright reject Shinji's family's food. Yet as Naruto sipped on the tasteless soup everyone else was enjoying, he couldn't help but realize how much he missed ramen at Ichiraku's. Granted, he had some instant ramen he'd packed for the ride, but he was saving those for a latter time. It was his special reserve, after all.

As the family ate in silence, the young shinobi took a moment to look around the place. The house had definitely seen better days. Most of the furniture around, although dustless, looked like it'd been there for more than a century. The floor and ceiling were made of old wood, whereas the walls consisted of stones and sported some holes here and there. An old, small fireplace stood to the side, facing the dinning table, yet there were no logs or coal that they could have used to light up a fire.

Fortunately, that was one of the warmer seasons at Edeland, a fact that Shinji had pointed out earlier when Naruto had inquired about the kind of weather they usually had round those parts.

Turning his head back to his food, Naruto ate the last of his bread and pushed the plate slightly away from him.

"Thanks for the meal", he said once he'd made sure to finish all up, an act that seemed to make the hostess happy at seeing he'd eaten all the food on his plate.

"Ah, I wish we could offer you some more, Naruto. Alas, our crops are barely yielding enough to live by."

Naruto saw the previous joy in Lydia's face giving way to a preoccupied look, one that Shinji also seemed to notice as he reached for his wife's hand and gave it a squeeze. "And now there are only a couple of us left", his tone sounded almost melancholic as he spoke, though it quickly gave way to conviction. "But this is our home, even if we end up perishing and our efforts were in vain, we'll keep pushing through. That's all there is to it, isn't it?"

"You're right father!", Irina perked up, her long twin tails swaying slightly as she rose her head to gaze directly at Naruto, who was sitting opposite her. "And now that sir Naruto will be taking care of that... that monster, things will finally start looking up. Won't they?"

The Uzumaki couldn't help but notice the amount of hope they were all placing upon his shoulders. But that just served to pump him up even more than he already was. "Ya know, I think the same thing", Naruto flashed his hosts one of his trademark grins, before standing up from his chair. "And speaking of which, I should get going."

"Uhm, where to? May I accompany you?"

"Irina! Don't be nosy", her mother chided her, barely managing to conceal a smile of her own. "Forgive her, Naruto. Irina has quite the adventurous spirit."

"Haha, I don't mind. It kind of reminds of myself, to be honest!", Naruto energetically commented, an act that earned him a bright smile from the chestnut-haired teen.

"Will you be going after the demon, Naruto?", Shinji couldn't help but inquire, his curiosity getting the best off him. "It's said to only appear at nighttime, so I doubt you'll have any more luck than we did trying to track it down."

The shinobi grinned at that. "You'd be surprised at how many things people overlook, Shinji", he placed both arms behind his neck, and added, "I was just hoping to explore the land a bit. I didn't get the chance to do so when we arrived this morning, and it'd give me a good idea of the terrain surrounding the town."

What he didn't tell them, was that Naruto also hoped either to run into some clues or anything that could eventually lead to the Succubus, or see if he could find it hidden somewhere nearby. If it continuously attacked the town and the castle in the outskirts, the most logical conclusion was to believe that its lair was somewhere close by. Closer than everybody else thought.

"Ah! May I act as your guide, sir Naruto? I know the area like the back of my hand, and I can get you wherever you want to go."

"Huh?", the Uzumaki blinked his azure eyes, slightly taken aback. "Oh, well, actually..."

"Now now, I'm sure Naruto here works better when he's alone..."

"But father!", Irina insisted, her tone almost pleading. "What if he gets lost and can't find the way back? Or worse! What if the demon goes after him when he's all alone?"

'Hah... But isn't that exactly why they brought me here in the first place?', Naruto thought to himself, finding her insistence to tag along a bit weird. He didn't understand why she was so eager to join him in his endeavors, but guessed she just wanted to get out the house for a while. Maybe even see him in action.

'...Hah! You're waaaay off base, kit.'

'...? What's that supposed to mean?'

"Very well, my child. As long as you promise not to be a bother to Naruto here, we'll let you go. That is, if Naruto is okay with this...?"

All eyes fell on a silent Uzumaki, who'd just been forced back to the present as the Kyuubi turned silent, refusing to elaborate. And as his mind finished analyzing the implication behind Shinji's words, his very first thought was to outright refuse. "Uhm, how do I put this...", he was trying to come up with the right words to say she would only slow him down without hurting Irina's feelings, but a quick glance her way made him end up stating the whole opposite thing. "S-Sure, you can tag along. At least for a while..."

The last part had been muttered under his breath, so only a chuckling Kurama heard it. The girl, however, brightened up considerably at being permitted to take part, looking genuinely happy.

It was an expression that only her parents noticed, both exchanging a wordless, worried look.

---

"Sir Naruto, do you happen to have horses back in your homeland?"

The aforementioned shinobi let out a silent sigh as he followed Irina to the stables, where they'd be getting a ride. Naruto was already starting to regret agreeing to let Irina join him, as it meant he couldn't just leave her behind and move around at the speed he used whenever he needed to travel long distances. Still, he supposed having someone from the area to give him a tour would prove useful. Especially if he wanted to have a basic idea of how much land did the province of Boan, and its town with the same name, encompassed.

Besides, he was only planning to have her stick with him for a short while. An hour at most. Then, he'd be on his own.

"Naruto?"

"Huh?", the aforementioned blinked, only then coming to his senses. He saw Irina tilting her head curiously in his direction and was reminded of the previous question she'd just asked. "Oh, yeah, we do."

"So you must be an expert in riding one, then."

Her statement sounded more like an inquiry than anything else, and Naruto was soon scratching his cheek. "Ah, no. Not really", he shrugged. "Never really saw the point in learning to ride horses, to be frank. I move faster myself."

"I see, I see... Ufufufu~"

"Uh, what's so funny?"

"Oh nothing", Irina grinned mysteriously, "just that, if you don't really know how to ride, we'll have to share a horse."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, not seeing where the problem was. "So?", he couldn't help but ask, following the girl round a corner and towards the nearly empty stables. At the moment, there were only two horses, and both of them didn't look as if they were in top conditions.

Instead of replying, Irina giggled and pulled a dark horse by the reins, guiding it out the stables. She caressed its back lovingly, before turning to her blond companion. "This is Lucius, he will take us wherever you want to go", Irina didn't allow Naruto time to react and climbed on the animal effortlessly, an act that told him she was really used to it. "Welp, don't be shy now, get behind me so that we can get going."

"Right."

There was a barely concealed smile on her lips as Naruto shrugged and did as he was told, climbing behind her. He tried sitting in a way that would put some space between them so as not to cause the girl any discomfort, and she quickly took notice of it. "If you don't sit close to me there's a slight chance of you falling off, sir Naruto. And I'd hate if that happened to you...", her tone was laced with a suggestive tint that the Uzumaki didn't seem to register.

He hesitated for a brief moment, before he inched closer to her, his body almost in contact with hers. They were so close in fact, that he could smell the fragrance of lavender emanating from her hair and feel her warmth through her shirt. Said garment hugged her figure rather nicely, highlighting her natural curves. It was a sight that had him staring for a few moments without him realizing it.

"Put your arms around my waist."

"H-Huh? Why?"

"So that you don't fall off Lucius, of course", she explained, trying to hide her nervous smile from him. "You'll be fine, don't worry. I don't bite."

Naruto sensed his cheeks growing a bit hot at her sassy remark, but had also the feeling he needed to prove himself for some reason. And he did just that, gingerly circling her waist with his strong arms. A small, almost imperceptible blush adorned her cheeks as she felt him getting even closer, but did her best to steel herself.

"T-There", he mumbled, looking away. "Can we go now?"

"That wasn't so bad, now, was it? Hehe~", letting out a short laugh, Irina bridged her rains and gave the horse a firm kick in the gut. "Let's go, Lucius!"

---

What Naruto had initially expected to be a short stroll around town and possibly its outskirts, ended up being a nice tour a bit beyond these two areas.

Irina'd actually made it easier for Naruto to get a good grasp of the story of the land and the most important places in town and around the province. She not only gave him an idea of how many people were still inhabiting Boan, which would prove useful later when he'd get down to watching over the peasants at night, but also where exactly he was bound to find empty locations where the monster could be hiding during the day.

So far, Naruto had learned the province of Boan was actually bigger than he'd initially thought. There were several towns and six other castles apart from the one he'd seen that morning, but only the latter was inhabited. Over the years, more and more people had started abandoning other areas of the province mostly due to crops having a harder time yielding any produce, bandits raiding the unprotected villages or merely because they sought to escape a monotonous life at the countryside.

And now with a demon devouring the lives of innocents, some in Boan had chosen the same path and left to try out their luck elsewhere like the capital, despite knowing they'd probably live the rest of their days as beggars if they headed that way.

Still, anything was better than losing their lives, Naruto guessed.

Right then, it was around 4 in the afternoon. Irina had taken the blond to a hill overlooking the fields, where several townsfolk, including Shinji, worked hard. Even from his position far away from said place, the Uzumaki winced at the absurdly small amount of healthy crops. Where once were many sprouts, only a few had grown into full plants. It was a sight that pained him, knowing that they all worked themselves to the bone and barely managed to survive each year.

"Hey, Irina, is it life really that bad out here?"

Sitting by his side on the grass, the beautiful girl round his age snapped out of her peaceful daze and turned her head to glance at him, blinking her violet eyes innocently. "Our life as farmers, you mean?", Naruto didn't exactly mean that, but he nodded his head all the same. She frowned cutely to think about her answer, before saying. "I would say it's not terrible, but not good either. You get used to it", Irina casually commented, placing her hands on her legs. "Still... I wouldn't mind getting out of this place. See the world with my own eyes. It's been my dream ever since I was a little girl."

Naruto listened intently, and when she was done, he said, "well, what's stopping you?"

"Hah... I don't think I'd make it very far out there on my own", Irina rubbed her elbow with an absent look in her expression. "Not unless I had someone to teach me how to protect myself."

"Yeah, you're probably right", the blond couldn't help but admit, shrugging. "I don't know about here, but back home it's dangerous to venture alone without knowing a thing or two about self-defense. Things are way safer than they used to, but there're still lots of bandits out there."

Irina nodded her head in agreement at that, falling silent as her eyes turned back to the field before her, inwardly thinking about what Naruto'd said. There was an idea forming itself within her mind that she didn't know how or whether she should convey it to the shinobi beside her, but it was one she thought worth considering at the very least.

Meanwhile, Naruto took the opportunity this newly gained moment of silence gave him to plan his next course of action for the rest of the day. Now that he had an idea of the layout of the town and its surroundings, he needed to start looking for the demon's lair and, if possible, find some good spots to distribute some shadow clones around Boan to help him stand guard during the night.

All musings of what his next movement should be were abruptly interrupted by the inner voice of the Kyuubi, which growled in a tense manner.

'I don't want to alarm you kit, but it is here.'

'Eh!?'

Despite his warning, the Uzumaki tensed in his position, something that Irina didn't seem to notice, too caught up as she was in her own thoughts. Naruto proceeded to hurriedly look around, focusing his eyes as much as he could on the land surrounding him. Though no matter where he looked, he did not spot the demon.

'Where? Where is it Kurama? Why can't I see it?'

'Just like the stories jiji used to tell us...', Kurama thought to himself, almost feeling like grinning despite what this new revelation implied for his host. 'The succubus is there, among the trees to your left.'

Naruto followed the Kyuubi's instructions and swiveled his eyes in the direction his tenant was indicating, only to see nothing there. 'Are you sure? There's nobody there!', the blond insisted, growing desperate. He didn't want to alert Irina, but if things continued the way they were... there would be no other choice for him but to adopt a less passive stance.

'I'm telling you, it is standing next to that tree. The one with the hole in the middle', and just like Kurama said, Naruto did spot the tree he was talking about, but still no trace of the succubus. 'Focus, kit. Spread your chakra in that direction like you would a gust of wind. You'll feel it.'

'I... I will try.'

The Uzumaki took a silent breath and gathered his chakra. He imagined it was engulfing his body and slowly, very slowly, started spreading in a fan-like manner towards the tree with the hole. Naruto didn't think this would work, he wasn't a sensory shinobi and the only means for him to actually feel other people's chakra was to get into his bijuu mode.

He was astonished when he felt a rather distinct energy colliding with his own, making his eyes widen and focus back in the direction he'd felt the chakra coming from. 'I can feel it Kurama!', Naruto exclaimed, a bit astonished at realizing he could actually push his chakra forward like some sort of wave.

'Just like the Yondaime...'

Ignoring that last bit, as it had been a thought within the Kyuubi's mind, the jounin gathered his energy once again and emitted it in the form of a pulse. This time, there was no doubt. Someone or something was standing by that tree in the distance, hiding out in plain sight. It shocked him to realize the demon could apparently turn itself invisible, a fact that sent shivers down his spine.

'You're not wrong, kit', Kurama hummed to himself, having read Naruto's thoughts. 'I once believed Jiji was just exaggerating things when he told us that story, but succubi can actually conceal themselves and become invisible to the eye.'

'And now you're telling me!?', the blond inwardly shouted back, an exasperated look crossing his features. 'How am I supposed to fight an opponent that I can't see?'

'You can't see it, but you can sense it', Kurama's previous grin grew even wider both at the expression on Naruto's face, and at this turn of events. He hadn't felt this excited in years, not since they'd managed to defeat Kaguya and save the world from getting trapped into an eternal genjutsu. 'This is a foe unlike anything we've ever faced before. It's kind of exhilarating, don't you agree?'

Despite the situation he now found himself in, despite the fact his task had just become ten times more difficult, the blond emulated his tenant and mustered a shit-eating grin, never taking his eyes off the invisible succubus. 'You know, I think you're right', he told Kurama, hearing the fox chuckling in agreement. 'Time to see if all the training we did really paid off...'

Neither Kurama nor Naruto noticed the way in which the invisible Succubus's amber eyes met the shinobi's azure ones, giggling connivingly to herself.

"Coohoo~ This human looks different to all the others I ate", she then gave the air a sniff, and her lips curled into a hungry smile. "Smells good~! I wonder if he will shoot a lot... Coohooho~ Can't wait to suck him dry~"

Licking her rosy lips, the succubus gave the handsome teenager a last, lustful once-over before turning around and flying away. Her thoughts filled with all the different ways she'd make him scream in ecstasy later that night...

---

The time for the Sun to occupy the skies above had long passed, and night had fallen over the town of Boan a while ago. Naruto'd escorted Irina back home despite her protests to keep showing him around a bit longer, and had spent the rest of the afternoon touring the rest of the province. As the land was pretty much devoid of life other than the fauna and flora that inhabited it, he'd finally allowed himself to resort to chakra to travel round the land at immense speeds, which helped him go to all the places he wanted to visit.

Many villages, towns and castles were scattered across Boan in a way that made the Uzumaki wonder just how lively and prosperous the land had once been. Now every single one of them was abandoned, and no matter where Naruto went, he did not find any trace of human settlers or of the succubus for that matter. He'd been relying on Kurama to track its chakra down, but the fox had not been able to detect it around. And the more time they wasted running from place to place, the more certain Naruto grew that he'd not be able to find the demon in time before nightfall.

So he'd had no choice but to head back to the town as the Sun began its slow descent into the horizon, already planning his evening out. He'd then made it back to Shinji's house, where he was received by the family. All with anxious looks in their faces.

After explaining his discoveries -or rather, the lack of any- to the trio, Naruto had instructed them to remain at home and not go out no matter what. At the same time, his kage bunshin were carrying out their boss' orders, which was to inform all the other townsfolk in his place. Many of the latter showed open distrust and uncertainty at first, but eventually agreed that going outside at night was suicide, and thus promised to do as Naruto said.

When he'd made sure Shinji and his family had understood, he gave them a confident grin and a nod, assuring them everything would be okay.

Irina, however, could not hold herself back from putting her arms around him in an act that managed to catch him off guard. The look of worry and anxiety was clear in her face as she held tightly onto Naruto, 'please, take care of yourself! I don't wish anything bad happening to you!'

'I'll be fine. I'm a shinobi, remember? I was trained for this kind of things!', his determination shone through his eyes, calming the girl down somewhat. 'I'll be back tomorrow morning. And hopefully by then, that demon will not be a problem anymore.'

His words had been met with dubitative nods on behalf of the three, but it was Lydia who wished him good luck first and assured she had faith in him, like the rest of her family. Shinji, however, had a seriously troubled look on his visage as he met Naruto's azure eyes. 'Me, my family and this town are indebted to you, Naruto. No matter what happens, we'll always remember your bravery and your willingness to aid us in our time of need', and as he finished saying this, his face grew serious. 'When you come back... There's something I'd like us to talk about. Something I need to tell you.'

Those words had an immediate impact on Naruto, who even back then couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise before eagerly nodding his head. He thought about pressing for an answer right at the moment, but just one quick look into Shinji's orbs revealed this would probably be something that was better put off for a later time. At least when Naruto had finally managed to accomplish his mission and best the succubus that had been terrorizing the town.

Now, at present time, Naruto was currently crouching down by the edge of the upper floor of a tall two-story house that had long been unoccupied. The building was probably in a worse state than the others around Boan, as the floor was one of the few things remaining in the second level. All the walls and even the ceiling had somehow disappeared, which meant it was open from all sides to the outside world. There was some old furniture around, like a spartan bed, a broken table and some empty shelves scattered across the level, but Naruto had merely paid them a quick glance before losing interest.

What did catch his attention when he'd first came across the building, was its strategic position near the edge of town and the castle. Being taller than the other houses, it overlooked almost the entire area, and Naruto was sure he would be able to react in a heartbeat if he needed to move out to intercept the demon, should it try and go after one of the other peasants.

'Which will probably not happen, as it seems this succubus has targeted you, kit.'

Naruto did not respond right away, feeling a bit annoyed that Kurama could practically read his every thought.

'...I heard that too, gaki. If I were you, I'd feel very grateful to have a wise being such as myself sharing its experience and knowledge with an idiot like you.'

'Yeah yeah, whatever furball, just leave me alone for a while, will ya?', he retorted, rolling his eyes. 'I'll call you up if I need you or something.'

'Don't you dare...!'

Naruto had to hold himself back from chuckling as he abruptly cut their link, effectively silencing the fox. Instant peace and quiet flooded his mind, and when he spotted a certain clone he'd been waiting for quite a while now coming back with a big pot full of clean water, his face lit up in something akin to joy.

The clone jumped from roof to roof, spilling some of the water due to his rapid movements, before landing silently next to the original. "Boss! I brought you the water you wanted."

"Ah, great", Naruto grinned excitedly at the news, and hurriedly took the pot from the clone's hands. "I'm itching for some instant ramen!"

He hummed happily to himself as he stood up and headed to the middle of the dilapidated room, where some logs had been arranged within a circle made of stones. Naruto then placed the pot carefully atop the small mound of wood, made some simple hand-seals, and pointed his index finger at the base. A small, yet powerful flame was shot straight out of his finger, and slowly but surely, a fire started burning brightly.

"All right!", he celebrated, pumping his fist forward. He felt elated at the fact he'd heeded Kakashi-sensei's advice and learned that basic fire jutsu just for times like those. "Gotta wait now, but eh, as long as I get to eat some tasty ramen, I'm all in!"

"Haha, yeah!", as his boss nodded his head excitedly, a sudden thought crossed his mind and he brought his hands together, inching closer towards the original with a hopeful look on his visage. "Hey, uhm, boss? Can I have someone later?"

"Huh?", Naruto blinked incredulously, seeming almost offended at such a ridiculous request. "Don't you have a job to do?"

"Ah, you're right! Almost forgot. See ya boss!"

The original Naruto definitely noticed the disappointed tone in his clone's voice and almost felt bad. Almost, being the keyword here. A quick look at his miso-ramen's sealed cup was all he needed to forget all about it.

As he waited impatiently for the water to boil, Naruto tried distracting himself by going over the plan once again. All his clones were in specific locations around town, watching over the immediate area of each house that had people inside, and even the castle. He didn't really like the idea of having to protect those selfish snobs who contented themselves with remaining inside their fortress, not caring what happened to the townsfolk in the slightest, but he guessed the soldiers within the walls of said place were probably following orders and did not really deserve to be left unprotected.

Naruto didn't know whether the succubus would show up that night or not, but he was ready for it. If either one of the civilians or a clone got attacked, he'd find out almost instantly when one of the latter dispelled and its memories returned to him. There was also the possibility of the demon choosing to go after him first... but eh, it was probably not going to be able to tell which one was the real Naruto to begin with.

That he had so many clones out there acting as himself gave him plenty of time to enjoy a steaming cup of delicious ramen.

"...And now we add some water into this cup and... done. Just 3 more minutes!", like a child getting exactly what he wanted for Christmas, Naruto chuckled to himself, placing the lid back on the cup to make sure the water would not cool down. "Fwahh~ It already smells pretty good!"

"Coohoo~ That sure looks tasty!"

"Yup! Instant ramen is nothing compared to the real deal, but it's still quite decent."

"Hmmm? Mind if I have some, then~?"

"Hah? I told you already, you are supposed to be watching..."

And then, it dawned upon Naruto that he wasn't talking to one of his clones like he'd initially believed. His voice was too feminine to be his', and there was a heavy tint of sultriness that reminded him of his sexy jutsu. His hair stood on end at the realization, and he jumped away from the fireplace in a heartbeat, trying to put some distance from him and the unknown being that had managed to catch him off guard.

As soon as his feet landed on the ground again, and briefly acknowledging the ramen cup he'd discarded in the process with a pained look, he moved his eyes forward, and his breath hitched at what he then saw.

Standing just by the fireplace was a very beautiful girl, probably around her early twenties, with medium-length light purple hair reaching just above her shoulders and a few strands tied into a side pigtail by her left cheek. Her big amber eyes sparkled with mischievousness and something else he couldn't quite identify as she stared him down, almost as if he was some sort of prey ready to be devoured.

Worse even, her attire was so skimpy it barely left room for the imagination, as it consisted of an one-piece that was tightly fitted to her voluptuous body and allowed her shoulders, thick legs and almost the entirety of her huge tits to be visible. Besides that, he noted, the demon wore a pair of dark bridal-gauntlets, knee-high boots and a choker necklace that had a cat bell attached to it by a metal chain.

Naruto didn't realize his eyes had been lingering longer than they should have on her breasts and especially on the hardened nipples against the fabric of her one-piece, but he eventually grabbed a hold of himself and tore his eyes away from the tantalizing sight.

Even then, what perhaps caught Naruto's attention the most were not only the pointy ears and ram-like horns protruding from both sides of her head, but also the demonic pair of purple wings extending from her lower back and the pointy tail that originated just above her bubble butt. It twitched and swayed occasionally, probably responding to its owner's current mood.

"Ya know... I wasn't really talking about food just now, coohooho~. Rather, I had something more succulent in mind..."

Despite this being the first time he saw a being like this, it was pretty clear who that girl really was.

"O-Oi!", Naruto shouted, dropping into a fighting stance. "Are you the succubus that's been killing all the men around here!?"

"That's right~", her nonchalant and cheerful response had Naruto widening his eyes both in incredulity and anticipation, the first at seeing her not remorseful in the slightest about the innocent men she had sucked their energy out of. The second, however, was brought about by the realization she'd decided to target him that night, instead of going after someone else. "My name's Shamsiel Shaharl~ Ah, but it's a bit long so you can call me Shamsiel."

Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously at that. "I don't care what your name is!", he spat angrily, boring his eyes into hers to convey his contempt for her. She just shrugged it off and let out a mischievous giggle, disregarding Naruto's feelings. "You killed all those people... Why? Why did you do it?"

A hearty laugh ensued the Uzumaki's question, one that caused a twang of uneasiness in his chest. "Why? Hmmm... Welp, I never really tried to kill them. I just sucked a little and they died. Couldn't help my little old self though, I was hungry~", she said simply, grinning a toothy grin that displayed her slightly longer than average canines. "Human semen is soooo tasty~ I can never get enough of it!"

"Y-You...! Hah!?"

Despite knowing he should have felt horrified and disgusted at her proclamation, Naruto sensed a stirring in his loins in response to both her words and her perverted gaze, which was now fixated on his crotch. "Coohooho~ And tonight...", her hand reached to her right breast, and she began cupping it lustfully, "you'll have the privilege of getting milked by a succubus... Isn't that great?"

A blush reached his face at that, but Naruto shook his head to get rid of those dangerous and stupid thoughts he was having at the moment. "You... You won't make me fall for that, you demon!", mustering his chakra, the jounin saw an opening and suddenly dashed forward, pulling out a kunai from his holster. With his chakra-enhanced legs, Naruto had reached Shamsiel in a fraction of a second, moving at a speed he foolishly believed no one, not even a demon, would be able to match.

He never saw the succubus lifting a finger and shooting something out of the tip at his kunai until he had raised it to her throat, when he shockingly discovered he was now holding a carrot instead of his trusty blade. "What the-!?"

"Ne ne, I really hope your sword is not as small as that one...", Shamsiel insinuated, giggling slyly as she squinted her eyes. "Then again, I don't really mind as long as you shoot lots of delicious semen for me~!"

Naruto's previous blush returned full force but he quickly got out of his state and jumped back, already bringing his hands together into a familiar sign. "Kage bunshin no-", the last word needed to complete his jutsu never made it past his mouth as he felt an unexpected sensation around his body, one he quickly realized was a pair of slender arms hugging him from behind. "Huh!?"

"Hehe~ Got you, cutie!"

A dumbfounded expression took over Naruto's face at realizing the succubus had vanished from her last known spot and somehow appeared right behind him, trapping him in a tight embrace.

However, right when Shamsiel was begging to feel victorious at being able to trap her prey, the blond teenager in her arms exploded in a puff of smoke and, instead, a wide log took its place. She blinked innocently at the wooden log pressed tightly against her, "ara?", only to quickly feel a cold, sharp blade now pressed against her neck right above her choker necklace.

"I gotta give it to you... You have some impressive tricks up your sleeve. You almost caught me off guard there", standing right behind her and wearing a triumphant look was Naruto, who was ready to act at the slightest bit of movement. "But it's over now. Don't try anything stupid, or else..."

The Kyuubi would have probably been raging by then and insisting he killed the busty succubus before him, but for some reason Naruto could not bring himself to do it. He knew this girl had taken the life of many townsfolk and soldiers alike in the past, and she would probably do it again if he didn't stop it, but he'd never planned on killing her, much less after actually seeing her. He felt oddly curious about Shamsiel, as if he had to learn more about her before he decided whether to end her life or locking her away where she'd not hurt anyone else, if such a thing was even possible.

"Hmmm, I guess that means I shouldn't really do this...", before Naruto could react, the beautiful succubus snapped her the fingers of her hand and the blond felt a cold breeze blowing past his crotch.

His eyes inadvertently turned down, and he now saw his penis sticking out his pants, completely exposed. "O-Oi! What did you just do!?", the shinobi pressed his blade tighter against her throat, trying not to let surprise get a hold of himself as he tried to keep the unpredictable succubus under control.

He wasn't ready for what she did next.

"A-Ah!"

"Oooo~ I knew it was big, but not this big!", Shamsiel laughed excitedly and rubbed her soft ass cheeks up and down his cock, feeling it quickly become erect under her ministrations. "Coohoo~ Someone is getting excited~"

"S-Stop that, d-don't-!"

Naruto had to bite down on his lip to hold himself from moaning at the feeling of her butt on his engorged dick. Pre-cum was already oozing from the tip, and some of it fell on her butt crack, acting as lube. "You don't have to be scared, ya know?", Shamsiel whispered with half-lidded eyes, gleefully aware of his excitement. All the while, she never stopped rubbing her ass against his penis. "I sealed the area with magic. Nobody will hear us, so let's have lots of fun, you and me~"

"Y-You're planning to k-kill me?", the blond whimpered at her relentless efforts at making him cum, but still he could not bring himself to make her stop.

"Oh, don't put it like that. I'm just taking you to heaven... and in return, you'll give me lots of semen. I'll squeeze it a~ll out."

"No, I w-won't let you... Ugh, j-just give up!"

It took a tremendous amount of willpower on Naruto's behalf to push the demon away from him, but the moment he did that, Shamsiel once again demonstrated a speed he didn't initially believe she possessed and turned around in a blur, pouncing on the shinobi. The kunai he was still holding flew off his hand, but he barely had time to follow its trayectory as a new, more pleasant sensation than before engulfed his dick, this time managing to elicit a moan out of him.

"Coohoo~ It's so hard already!"

Naruto watched in a mixture of surprise and pleasure as her huge tits trapped his erect cock in between them. They were so soft that the longer he allowed Shamsiel to trap him like this, the more he lost his will to fight back. He was barely allowed a second or two to fully take in the feeling of her mounds of flesh before she was rubbing them up and down his rod, sending waves of pleasure all over his body.

"A-Ah, w-wait, if you do that...!"

"Coohooho~ What's the matter?", the succubus giggled, picking up the pace, her tits jiggling with her motions. "Feels good, doesn't it? So good you could die, I bet!

"...!"

"Aha! That look on your face is so cute~ Then... I'll give you my special service. I don't usually do it, but I wanna make you feel even better before you die~"

Naruto wanted to say it didn't feel good, to demand her to let him go, but the moment he felt her tongue reaching for the tip of his shaft, he completely lost all desire to resist. Words got stuck in his throat as the succubus licked the area around his tip, slurping up the pre-cum still oozing from it, all the while without ever stopping massaging his shaft with her tits.

"U-Uuh, Shamsiel..."

The succubus took that as an indication to press his lips against the engorged head of his dick, giving it a wet kiss, before taking it into her mouth, sucking whatever was it her tits could not clench. This new feeling had Naruto moaning in ecstasy, and his cock began to twitch in the succubus' oral cavity. She then raised her amber eyes to stare into his azure orbs as she sucked him off while making lewd noises, an act that nearly sent the Uzumaki over the edge.

"S-Stop it, ahh, please stop it!"

His begs were met with an amused giggle from Shamsiel, but since her mouth was still full with his shaft, it merely served as further stimulation. The succubus felt the violent twitching of his dick and put even more energy in her ministrations, urging to make him cum as fast as possible. Naruto moaned loudly and unconsciously brought his hand to the back of her head, as if to keep it in place now that he was about to ejaculate.

Gritting his teeth to stop himself from crying out in pleasure, Naruto finally reached the climax he'd been trying to hold off all that time, shooting thick ropes of his seed into Shamsiel's inviting mouth. The beautiful demon was more than happy to be fed with his white cum and proceeded to greedily drink it. Despite her efforts, some cum leaked from her mouth and fell onto her breasts, but she was too focused on slurping on the delicious semen she didn't even seem to notice.

Naruto's orgasm was nothing like he'd ever felt before, and it was only a long couple of seconds that he stopped ejaculating, his breath ragged and his legs wobbling for some reason. It was then that his lust-hazed mind seemed to go through a brief moment of clarity, one in which he now realized what he'd allowed to happen.

He had just let the very same demon he'd been sent to get rid of to give him a paizuri. And not just any paizuri, but the best he'd ever gotten in his life. Not that he had gotten one before, mind you, but it still felt amazing.

The worst part was... he didn't feel more than just slightly regretful.

"Ah... hah... Shamsiel...", Naruto breathed out, still having a little difficulty at regaining his breath.

He only then noticed Shamsiel had grown unresponsive for some unknown reason, her hair shadowing her eyes from view. Naruto blinked at the sight of the girl, and couldn't help but grow slightly scared, more so because she still had his erect dick at her mercy.

"Your semen..."

"What...?"

Her expression was hidden from view, but Naruto thought she saw her licking her lips, before raising a hand to her cheek, the other still holding her breasts in place. "Ahh~ It was so good~! Delicious, the best one I've ever tasted~!", there was something different in her voice, Naruto quickly noticed with furrowed eyebrows. She sounded more energetic and cheerful than before, and then she rose her visage to face him, making him widen his eyes. "I gotta have more, more~"

On her face, there was now an overly joyful expression that grazed on the limits of silliness, and the Uzumaki thought he could see a lustful-clouded look in her amber eyes for a moment. Shamsiel scooped up the remnants of cum from her breasts and hungrily licked her hands clean, a sight that made his still rock-hard dick twitch in response. The succubus seemed to notice it as she centered her attention back on it and began pumping her breasts along his shaft, eliciting a pleasured gasp out of Naruto.

"W-Wait, it's s-still sensitive!", Naruto protested, but even then he did nothing to stop her, the pleasure being almost mind-numbing. To make matters worse, she looked like caught in a trance as she moved her breasts up and down his cock at blinding speeds, bringing Naruto dangerously close to his second orgasm.

"More, give me more~"

"Gah! S-Slow down a bit or I'll...!"

A moan interrupted his sentence midway, as she had once again seized the upper part of his shaft within her mouth. This time, she also moved her tongue around in a deadly combination with her breasts that almost drove the jounin insane with pleasure.

He couldn't take much more and cummed twice as fast as he had before, and twice as much even. But Shamsiel looked giddy as she gulped it all down her throat, moaning against his cock. Naruto held her head in place by her horns and groaned in ecstasy, unleashing rope after rope of cum into her awaiting cavity. Midway, Shamsiel inadvertently pulled back and a cascade of seed still pouring out his cock rained down on her huge tits, coating them white. The beautiful succubus watched it all with a big smile on her face and quickly proceeded to lick her tits clean with her own tongue, not wanting to let a single drop of semen go to waste.

When Naruto came out of his second orgasm, he felt a bit tired now, as though he'd just finished one of his less intense training sessions. He knew he was forgetting something, something important, but he didn't give a damn. Shamsiel's tits and mouth had felt too good, and he was almost happy with himself after letting her have her way with his.

He then focused his sight on said succubus, whose breath was ragged for some reason and her cheeks were tinted crimson as she stared at him. "Why... Why am I feeling like this?", she muttered, never tearing her eyes away from Naruto's, who tilted his head to the side in childlike curiosity.

"Shamsiel?"

"This feeling of excitement... A high-rank demon shouldn't be feeling like this but...", her amber orbs turned to his dick one again, and she graced it with a loving look. "I can't help it! I... need to have this semen inside me. It's too good to be human's!"

Naruto felt himself pushed to the cold, hard ground, yet managing to avoid hitting his head by some miracle. The moment he felt his back against the floor, the succubus climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. He quickly raised his head and saw Shamsiel pulling the thin strap of her one piece covering her slit to the side, making him gasp. "W-Wait... What are you gonna do...?"

"I want it... I want it so badly!", she muttered, almost as if in a trance, surprising Naruto. His previous curiosity turned into fear and then into a wave of renewed desire as she started rubbing his dick against her lower lips, her love juices flowing down his cock. Her actions not only elicited a moan out of him, but out of Shamsiel too. "Ahn~ It feels good even if I just rub it against my pussy. Then, it should feel even better if I stick it in, like this..."

"W-Wait a sec, let's just- Ahhh~"

Like the previous time before, Naruto was silenced before he could even finish formulating his protest. He barely even acknowledged the fact he'd just lost his virginity to a succubus he'd just met, his mind having shut down at this new feeling on his dick.

The pleasure he was experiencing now as Shamsiel slowly lowered herself onto his shaft, taking more and more of him as she went down, was almost too much to bear, and he had to do his best not to cum right there and then. She wasn't satisfied until she took all his length inside her, and when she did, she felt it reach all the way to her uterus. "Uhnnn~ I d-did it, it's in", she moaned, taking a moment to get herself used to the feeling of his huge dick inside her as she placed her hands on his chest for support. 'It's so big it could rip me in half!', the succubus thought to herself in a brief moment of clarity, feeling excited at the prospect of having this cock all for herself.

She then tried giving her hips a shake, but the moment she did that, a bit more pre-cum leaked out of Naruto's cock, and a jolt of pleasure made her arch her back in ecstasy. "...!", a gasp escaped her lips at that, and it was then that she abandoned all reasoning and started moving her hips up and down desperately.

Naruto's moans were practically constant now. If before he thought Shamsiel's breasts felt great, her pussy felt divine. It was warm, wet and so impossibly tight he felt as though it was trying to milk his dick so as to get his cum as fast as humanly possible. Her inner walls clasped and grinded on his skin, pumping his cock in a way her tits had not been able to.

Grunting, Naruto started meeting Shamsiel's hips by pumping his cock upwards every time she bounced down, making her widen her eyes and moan loudly in response. "Oohhh yes! Fuck me, human! Fuck me harder!", she all but commanded, her gaze unfocused and her movements now growing erratic. "Fuck me until you die of pleasure~!"

Naruto's attention shifted to her jiggling tits, which were bouncing about due to the strength of their thrusting. He raised both hands and grabbed the mounds of incredibly-soft flesh, pulling the two straps hiding her nipples aside and setting her tits free from their boundaries. They were so big they didn't fit the palm of his hands, something that only served to arouse him further.

He rubbed his thumbs around her puffy nipples, pinching and pulling on them with a mesmerized look. His ministrations were quickly met with an appreciative moan on behalf of Shamsiel, who bounced even harder on his cock, almost making him cum right then and there.

"A-Ahn~ Y-You like my boobs, don't ya...?"

"I love them, Shamsiel", Naruto breathed out, pounding mercilessly into her tight cunt. "They're beautiful."

"Suck on them, s-suck on my nipples~"

As if to entice him further, the sucubbus pressed her tits to his face, an opportunity that Naruto took advantage of to capture the mounds once again. He brought his mouth to her left nipple and started using his tongue to lick the protruding bud, before sucking on it like a baby. "Ahhhn~ Don't suck so hard~", her words had the opposite effect on the jounin, who now learned her breasts were her weak spot and put more energy into it. Nibbling the nipple in his mouth elicited a louder moan from Shamsiel and caused her pussy to clamp down on his dick almost painfully. "Ooooh this pleasure is... N-No way, there's no way a human can make me feel like this!"

"Ah, fuck... Shamsiel, I'm about to...!"

"Yes, yes!", she screamed, increasing her movements until she was but a blur jumping up and down on his cock. "Cum inside me, fill me with your hot semen~!"

Naruto groaned loudly and grabbed a hold of her full-hips, pushing her down against his pelvis just as an immensely powerful orgasm hit him, almost making him pass out.

"Kyaaa! No, no, no, I'm cumminggggg...!"

The feeling of hot, spurting cum inside her pussy seemed to push Shamsiel past the edge as well and she climaxed just a moment later, overwhelming waves of pleasure cursing through her demonic body. She quivered and cried out with shameless abandon, seemingly forgetting the fact she was a sex demon and this was a feeling no mere human should be able to induce in her.

The young shinobi's cum continued to fill her inviting womb for what felt like an eternity but was actually a couple of seconds, some of it already leaking down their combined groins. And when his orgasm finally died down, Naruto slumped back, this time visibly tired, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. Shamsiel was not in a better state however, and she couldn't help but fall on Naruto's strong chest, her breasts now pressed tightly against it.

She could still feel his massive cock buried deep inside her abused cunt as she rested her head in the crook of his neck, her mind still half-clouded with lust even after her orgasm had ended.

"Y-You... You made a demon cum...", she muttered, genuinely impressed despite what that truly meant for someone like her. "You're not a normal human... are you?"

Naruto swallowed, opening his mouth to try and take in some much needed air. "No... I'm... I'm a shinobi, from Konohagakure no Sato", despite the fact a demon was lying on top of him and his dick was still trapped in her tight and wet pussy, he could not help but smile in satisfaction.

"A shinobi, you say...?"

"Yeah", he licked his dry lips, before adding, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto...", forcing herself up a bit so that she could look him in the eye, Shamsiel bore her amber orbs into his and smiled back. It was a smile that didn't hold that previous mischievousness he'd seen on her before, but rather something else, a more genuine feeling. "I'll be sure to remember that name. After all, you're first guy to make me cum like that."

A bit of his sanity now restored, the Uzumaki felt slightly proud at that accomplishment for whatever reason. He knew next to nothing about Succubi but it wasn't too hard to tell they were creatures born for having sex. As such, no mere mortal could actually satisfy demons like those.

That he had, for whatever reason, left him grinning like a madman.

"Then again...", Shamsiel took Naruto by surprise as she began slowly and sensually grinding her hips down on his dick, making him moan. "I bet I wasn't the only one that felt good... was I?"

Naruto shut his eyes at her movements. "Wait Shamsiel... I..."

"You want me to stop? Coohoho~ I don't really think so", the succubus bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from breaking her current façade at the pleasure she was experiencing. Just grinding her cunt against his incredible cock was enough to make her feel insanely good, and even if she just kept doing that she didn't doubt she'd reach an orgasm just as fast if not faster than she had before. "A-Ahhhnnn~ If you want me to stop, say it, say my demon pussy feels like heaven!"

"...N-No, I don't want to stop now, Shamsiel."

"Hmm? W-What is it that you want, then, Na-ru-to?"

Instead of answering, Naruto caught the succubus by surprise by putting his arms around her figure and stand up from the ground, his cock still buried into her warm cunt. Shamsiel squealed in both surprise and delight as she was forced to place her arms round his neck to keep her balance. Naruto held her suspended in the air by the legs, a position that granted him free reign to mercilessly thrust his cock into her cunt over and over again.

"Oh! O-Oh f-fuck Naruto, you're going to split my pussy in half~!"

But Naruto was already lost in overwhelming pleasure as his hips thrusted forward with reckless abandon, making Shamsiel scream in ecstasy while a mixture of his leftover seed and her own juices flowed freely down her pussy. Soon enough, the succubus lost all ability to rationalize and surrendered herself to being ravaged by the shinobi, not caring about anything else in the world.

---

When Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes, he found himself lying down on a soft mattress by the middle of an empty and dilapidated house, a simple, old blanket covering his figure. As he sat up on the mattress and proceeded to rub his eyes, he felt strangely renovated, as though he'd had the best sleep of his life. A smile reached his lips as he stretched his arms, groaning in slight satisfaction.

The sun was on its way to the sky above, which meant it was already past his usual waking time. Normally, Naruto tended to wake up at dawn to begin his day with a training session, but now that he was on a mission in a distant land, he guessed it was okay to sleep in a bit more often. Especially after he'd resigned himself to keep guard at night in case the succubus ever tried...

At the mere thought of the demon, all the memories from the previous night came rushing back to the Uzumaki's mind, his expression growing more and more shocked the more he recalled doing with her.

'...Had fun last night, gaki?'

Startled by Kurama's voice, Naruto tensed comically, his eyes going as wide as balloons. 'K-Kurama!', if anyone would have been looking his way, they'd have realized he was now looking like a deer caught in the headlights. 'O-Ohayo! D-Did you sleep well last night?'

'You really are an imbecile Naruto, you know that?'

His tone of anger did not go unnoticed by the jounin, who winced visibly at his tenant's evident mood. 'A-Ahaha, wait, I can explain myself...'

'Explain? Explain what? That you went ahead and let that succubus have her way with you?', the Kyuubi clicked his tongue in disappointment, much to Naruto's shame. 'I expected more from you, boy. My Jinchuuriki should not fall prey to a mere demon's charm like a dog in heat. Do you know how degrading it was for me to see you in such a state?'

Naruto was about to open his mouth and apologize to the fox, but something he'd said made the Uzumaki forget all about the fact he was supposed to be feeling ashamed of his own actions. 'Wait, charm? What do you mean by that?', he couldn't help but ask, feeling that the way the Kyuubi had said it gave it a meaning that shouldn't be overlooked on his behalf.

'A succubus charm, you baka', Kurama groaned in annoyance while resisting the urge to face palm. 'Don't tell me you didn't notice how easy it was for her to make you submit? Honestly, her pheromones were all over you the moment you got close to her...'

Naruto widened his eyes at that, having difficulty recalling the exact moment that'd happened. All that he remembered was she taking advantage of his proximity to rub her ass against his crotch, a memory that brought a heavy blush to his cheeks.

'Oi, if you're going to have those kind of thoughts again just let me know and I'll cut the link between us.'

It was with a very embarrassed look that the Uzumaki shook his head violently to get rid of that particular image from the previous night. 'Sorry, Kurama', as he proceeded to rub the back of his head, Naruto looked around the room, inwardly hoping to see her somewhere nearby, but to no avail. Shamsiel was nowhere to be found, which made him slightly disappointed, before he tried focusing back on the matter at hand. 'Hey, so, did you really see all that last night?'

'I don't want to talk about it', the Kyuubi said, his tone leaving no room for argument. He almost sounded traumatized, which made Naruto wonder exactly just how much he'd witnessed. 'On a side note, I could have easily shared some of my chakra with you to nullify the effect of her pheromones if you had asked. But since you are so capable of handling yourself...'

Naruto knew what the fox was talking about, and he didn't fail to recognize the offended tone in his voice. 'I'm sorry, furball. I just wanted some time alone, is all', he heard the fox grumbling something under his breath, not really accepting his apology, but then something else the Kyuubi said earlier quickly diverted his train of thought to other matters. 'Wait, earlier when you said pheromones... Isn't that like what some animals emit when they are looking for a mate?'

At his assumption, the Kyuubi inclined his head, momentarily upset he could not get his host to beg for his forgiveness but deciding to let things slide this once. 'Hm. Something of the sort, yes. Only in this case, Succubi release it to sexually arouse the human male and lower their will to resist before ultimately consuming them', his explanation was met with a nod from Naruto, who was now beginning to understand why he'd given in to his desires so easily. 'Moreover, that you survived an encounter with one of those demons is no doubt thanks to your absurdly big chakra reserves, which she couldn't fully absorb no matter how many times you two mated throughout the night.'

Naruto's previous blush returned full force at the implication. Finding out that Kurama had actually seen the whole thing made him embarrassed, so much so he couldn't bring himself to utter a response. He and Shamsiel had been too into it that he'd never thought about the fact something else was watching them, much to his chagrin.

Next time he was about to have sex, he mused, he'd ask Kurama to give him some sort of privacy

'B-By the way!', the Uzumaki began in a feeble attempt at deviating the Kyuubi's attention from that topic, 'last night Shamsiel said something weird. Something like I was the first human to make her... well, ya know...'

'Yes, I do recall hearing that part', the fox rolled his elongated eyes in an annoyed manner, finding Naruto's shyness utterly stupid. Honestly, that he could get embarrassed over the silliest things was bothersome. 'I was really trying not to pay attention to you two going at it like two animals in heat, but I've got to admit, that did catch my attention. Especially because this kind of demon rarely ever experiences pleasure while engaging in intercourse with one of their prey.'

'A-And...? D'ya think it was because I am a shinobi?'

Kurama grew silent at that, making Naruto tilt his head in curiosity, but it was after a long couple of seconds that he parted his furry lips to speak what was on his mind. 'No', he said in a definite manner, hesitating for a moment longer before adding, 'I believe it was something else. Something that had to do with your... fluids.'

'My fluids...?', Naruto repeated as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, not really getting where the fox was getting at. He folded his arms over his chest and pondered about the word, until his mind quickly caught up with the implication behind it and he grew pale with shame. 'W-What!? You mean...!?'

'You know very well what I mean, foolish human! Don't make me say it!'

Despite not being face to face with the gigantic fox, the Uzumaki had the distinct feeling his friend was now blushing in embarrassment, which was a reaction he'd never expected to see on the all-mighty bijuu. Still, he couldn't believe his tenant would imply something like that. Even if he'd just had his first sexual experience the previous night and he was far from being an expert in the field, not even an initiate to sex as him would believe something as silly as...

'Don't be stupid, Naruto. Do you really think I would ever think of making something like this up?', Kurama protested, growling in a menacing way that sent a shiver down the Uzumaki's spine. 'You saw it with your own eyes! How she started acting all weird and unlike her usual persona after you first ejaculated.'

Naruto would have undoubtedly felt extremely weird at hearing the Kyuubi saying those things, but his words actually made him shut up and focus his mind on the exact same moment Kurama had mentioned. Just remembering the strange look on her face and all the events that transpired after the first paizuri Shamsiel had given him was enough to prove his tenant's point.

'...You may be right', Naruto admitted. 'But that still doesn't really explain anything, and I don't think succubus get off on feeding on men's... that.'

'Indeed they don't. Well, most of them don't, as far as I'm aware', the Kyuubi hummed thoughtfully to himself, visibly intrigued. He hadn't given this matter much thought before his host brought it up that morning, but it did sound like something they should not disregard. Still, he had no answers at the time being, only possible theories with which to speculate. 'As regards your... achievement, for the lack of a better word, we may have to be a bit more patient on the matter. It is something I do not have an answer to, yet I feel like it is only a matter of time before we come across the information you seek.'

'I see.'

The Uzumaki let out a sigh, pulling the covers off his figure. He was still in his shinobi garments and his 'sword' was back inside his pants, which meant he must have had rearranged his clothes before going to sleep. Or passing out from exhaustion. Or something else. Whatever the case was, he could not remember. Heck, he didn't even know why or where had that mattress and blanket come from.

He briefly wondered whether Shamsiel had settled that for him before leaving, and couldn't help but feel grateful she'd even bothered doing such a thing.

'So, what are you going to do next? You can't really count having intercourse with a demon as successfully getting rid of it...'

Naruto nodded his head, standing up on his feet. He didn't really know what had been of Shamsiel after their passionate night together, but hoped he would run into her later that day. Hopefully, she'd be willing to listen to him and promise not to hurt anyone else. It was probably foolish' thinking, but he felt like there was nothing to be lost just by trying.

'We should go see Shinji and his family. Let them know I'm okay. They're probably worried sick.'

And if everything failed... he could always resort to a bargaining chip he was sure Shamsiel would like getting in exchange.

---

The very first thing that Naruto felt as the door to Shinji's house was pushed open was a pair of arms trapping him in a tight, almost desperate embrace.

"Naruto! You're okay!"

The girl whom that voice belonged to buried her face against his jounin vest, making him blink at her reaction. She pulled slightly away so that she could look him in the eye and it was then that Naruto saw the tears welling up in her eyes, a sight that had him slightly taken aback. "Irina?"

"I was so worried! I prayed all night before going to bed that you'd return to me safe and sound", her words only served to fuel his confusion, and he almost failed to spot the beautiful smile she sent his way. "I'm so happy you came back unscathed!"

Just then, and before he could ask what she meant by that, two other adults rushed to the entrance and Naruto was met with the equally relieved expressions of both Shinji and Lydia. "Ah, you're back!", the former said, his tone laced with something akin to alleviation. "We were eagerly awaiting your return. One of your... clones, came by early in the morning, told us you were exhausted and had fallen asleep someplace else", the mention of the word 'clone' gave Naruto the impression Shinji was having difficulty to believe he could create copies of himself at will, but he put that thought aside for the moment, intrigued by something else he'd said.

"Wait, you said you saw one of my clones?", he couldn't help but ask, only now realizing he'd forgotten about all the kage bunshin he'd spread around the town the night before.

"Uh-huh", Lydia nodded her head, a weirdly apprehensive look taking over her features. "He told us the demon had gone after you but that you'd managed to 'take proper care of it'."

Naruto felt his cheeks growing hot at that, the memories of his clone only then surfacing to his mind. 'He must have dispelled some time before I woke up, hence why I didn't get his memories right away', the jounin wasn't surprised his kage bunshin had managed to survive as long as they had without dispelling, even if he was asleep. Thanks to his continuous efforts while in training, he'd managed to improve his favorite jutsu up to a point where he could practically trust his clones with doing things while he went to bed. The Kyuubi's help had been essential while trying to achieve what no other shinobi had ever achieved before.

"Is that true, Naruto?", Irina inquired in awe, hesitantly letting Naruto go at a look her father sent her way. "Did you really...?"

The aforementioned saw the looks of hope in everyone's faces and couldn't help but feel slightly bad at himself. He couldn't really lie and say the problem had been solved, because even if nobody had died the night before, Naruto wasn't sure Shamsiel would actually stop going after other men. Or at least he wouldn't be until he found her and spoke with her, or tried to, anyhow.

Then again, there was no way he'd be willing to tell them exactly what had transpired the night before. How on Earth was he supposed to just up and say 'actually, I had lots of steamy sex with the demon. But hey, I'm alive, so nothing to worry about!' without coming across as a madman? Nobody in their right mind would ever believe him unless Shamsiel came out and confirmed his story.

So it was for those reasons that he decided to go for an altered version of the truth.

"Uhm... Yeah, I ran into her... it", he quickly corrected himself, scratching his cheek embarrassedly as the family stared in silence at him. "It was a really tough opponent, but I think I was able to bring her- it, down."

"You... think?"

"Unfortunately, she... it ran away before I could... finish it off", Naruto mumbled in an embarrassed manner, but he quickly raised his hands to try and appease them as he saw the trio growing fearful at the news. "A-Ah but I don't think it's going to cause any more trouble. The demon was... well, let's just say our battle took a heavy toll on it. At the very least, it won't be coming back to bother you guys. Not on my watch, it won't!"

That last part had been uttered with as much conviction as he could possibly gather, but he actually believed, and hoped, that'd end up being the case.

"Besides... I'm planning to stay around for a couple of days at least", he reassured the family, noticing his efforts were starting to work as the trio visibly relaxed. "You know, to keep watching over things at night and to make sure the demon doesn't try to abduct somebody else."

Shinji exchanged silent looks with his wife and daughter, their eyes conveying how they felt to each other about the matter. Soon though, Irina turned back to Naruto with a confident grin, nodding her head. "Well, I trust in Naruto. If he says we'll be safe from now on, I'll believe it", placing her hands behind her back, she leaned forward, giving the blond a good look of her b-cup breasts pressing against her modest dress. "Plus, he's the only person to survive that foul monster, so I think we have nothing to be afraid of as long as he's here."

"That's right!", Naruto grinned his trademark grin at her, grateful to count with her support.

"I suppose Irina is right", Shinji let out a shaky sigh, allowing his fears and worries to dissipate at last. He then mustered up a grin that reminded Naruto of himself for whatever reason and placed an arm around his wife's waist, looking younger that he'd ever had. "And I'd say this calls for a celebration! Our town is finally free from that demon, and is all thanks to this young warrior right here!"

He purposely raised his voice the more he spoke, attracting the attention of everyone else in the village who had yet to leave their homes. One by one, the villagers came out of their decrepit residences as Shinji shouted all kinds of praises aimed at Naruto who could do nothing but stand awkwardly to the side as Irina latched on his arm, not willing to let him go.

Soon, a massive crowd of curious peasants gathered at the front of Shinji's house, wondering what could be all the ruckus at that time of morning.

"What's with all the commotion?"

"Did someone else die last night!?"

"Oh Kami, please no!"

"If that's the case we might have to leave this town once and for all..."

"Hear me out, friends!", Shinji faced the multitude with the biggest smile he could muster, walking up to Naruto's other side. "The demon is finally gone!"

Multiple gasps and even cries of surprise echoed amidst the people, with some widening their eyes in shock at the news, while others, more cautious ones, shook their heads in incredulity. "Are my ears failing me or did I hear it right? Could it be true that the demon that has haunted us for so long been stopped?", an elder man exclaimed from somewhere at the back of the group, his hunched back preventing him from raising his wrinkled eyes above the heads of his fellow townsfolk.

"It is, old Isaiah, and we owe everything to this man, right here", Naruto felt Shinji's hand on his left shoulder, and also Irina tightening her hold on his other arm, the latter flashing a happy grin. "Yesterday, I told you all he'd come from a land far away from ours to save Boan. And where many others before him failed, Naruto here did not. We are safe now!"

The people of Boan did not know what to think about such proclamation. They glanced at Naruto, who was now rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly at the attention he was receiving from the people, and then began exchanging wordless looks, unsure of whether to believe what Shinji was saying or not.

"Ne, you really think that boy did it?"

"Well, he did tell us to stay home last night... And looking at everyone gathered around here, nobody else seems to have been taken by the demon."

"But he's just a kid!"

"Yeah! If he really did take care of it, where's the proof?"

"I agree. Unless I see its body or something similar, I will not believe it."

More and more villagers started asking for evidence to support Shinji's claims, which did serve to take the latter aback a bit. He inadvertently turned to Naruto, who kept his eyes focused ahead instead. The jounin gently motioned for Irina to let his arm go before stepping forward, facing the restless crowd.

He raised a hand to silence the murmurs, and when they all grew quiet, awaiting his word, he said, "about the proof... there isn't any."

"What? What do you mean there's no proof?"

"So that was just a lie!?"

Naruto shook his head, deciding to be as honest as possible with the townsfolk. He could see the anxiety, fear, worry and tiredness in their eyes, leading him to believe they'd been living in fear of Shamsiel for far too long. "There's no proof... because the demon still lives", just as he expected, the multitude's reaction to the truth was loud and unanimously disappointed.

'Nice going gaki.'

The blond ignored the chuckling fox within his mind and focused chakra to his vocal folds, amplifying his voice to overpower the cries of the crowd. "Oi! Hear me out first before you get mad!", his shout caused a few to cover their ears at the inhuman volume of his voice, including the trio flanking him, but it did serve to shut everyone up once again. He allowed his voice to return to a normal tone, before proceeding. "What Shinji said is true: last night, the succubus came after me. Her name was Shamsiel."

Multiple gasps of surprise were heard at the mention of her name. It was one they had never learned before, but it did sound like a name fitting for a demon. Shinji, in particular, looked like he'd been smacked across the face for some reason. Maybe because Naruto had failed to mention that fact earlier.

"She found me while I was guarding over the town. We... fought, sort of", there was a very slight lace of nervousness in his voice, but it was gone before anyone could notice it. "I managed to hold her off, though she escaped before I could make sure that... you know, she wouldn't kill anyone else."

Everyone was staring at him without batting an eye, which told Naruto he had their undivided attention.

"I can't guarantee it won't ever return, but rest assured", the jounin flashed the silent crowd a thumbs-up, "nobody else will be dying while I'm here. I'll find her and I'll stop her once and for all. That's a promise. And as a shinobi, I never go back on my words!"

A somewhat contemplative silence ensued his words, with the people around taking a moment to process his confident claim. Once again, everyone gathered in the area exchanged silent looks, trying to see what the rest thought about what the blond shinobi said. Could they really trust in him? Would the demon really stop threatening the town once and for all? They had been lied to multiple times before, but was it really so bad to believe in a boy Shinji had placed his faith on?

Nobody said anything or moved a muscle, unsure of how to react. But then, there was a loud cheer from a small child in the center of the crowd, then his mother followed suit by doing the same, and shortly after three more people began clapping their hands excitedly, until everyone in the multitude began cheering, shouting and laughing out of joy and relief.

Soon enough, the whole crowd began chanting his name and calling him a hero, an act that had him standing awkwardly even as Shinji patted his back proudly.

That day, the usually miserable town of Boan would celebrate all night long like it hadn't in what felt like forever.

---

"Hah... I can't believe I made it out in one piece", Naruto let out a long, deliberate sigh as he proceeded to undress himself. "Those guys surely wanted to make sure I couldn't leave without seeing how grateful they were!"

From his home in his host's mind, the Kyuubi chuckled at the recent memory of his jinchuuriki being surrounded by dozens of people who kept on chanting his name, insisting he married their daughters -some of which were way older than him-, or pretty much invading his personal space in an effort to be the first to befriend him. There were some, more desperate folk who would throw themselves at his feet, like he was some sort of savior or something.

'What amuses me is how how everyone in that town praised you for saving their lives while all you ever did was mate with the very same succubus that you were supposed to stop.'

'H-Haha, well, I did manage to stop her from killing anybody else, didn't I?', Naruto retorted cheekily, discarding his clothes to the side. A warm breeze flew by his naked figure, but the jounin did nothing to cover himself.

'Hmph!', the Kyuubi snorted. 'That you did. At least for one night. But it'd be foolish to believe she will not come back, especially after she found a snack she can keep feeding on.'

Despite the insinuation behind his words, the blond merely shrugged at that, opting not to comment on said comment. Instead, he ran to the river and dived right in, an action that splashed water all around. He came out a few seconds later, gasping for air. "Waaah~ That feels so good! Just what I needed", he ran a hand through his golden locks, which were combed backwards due to how moist they were after being underwater. It gave him a totally different, more refined look compared to the usual appearance his spiky hairstyle provided.

Naruto allowed himself a moment to fully relax in the cool, pleasant water now covering his athletic figure up to the waist, feeling the slow current against him. The last two days had been hectic and full of excitement, which hadn't really given him much time to relax. Just thinking about all the things he had gotten to see of this new land and all the people he'd met in the last two days made him feel a sense of enthusiasm that he had only been feeling ever since he was first told by Neko of a possible mission Tsunade had for him.

As he splashed water on his face and began washing his body, his thoughts shifted absently to Shinji, whom he still needed to talk to some time soon, his kind wife, Lydia, and ultimately to his beautiful daughter, Irina, a girl who seemed to have grown fond of him for some reason he had yet to discover. Naruto knew they were the reason he'd been sent on that mission, so he couldn't help but feel somewhat happy that things had taken place the way they had.

Slowly, his mind began giving him images of a certain busty succubus that'd been occupying his thoughts every now and then since the previous night. He tried not to think of all the sex he'd had with her and instead, focused on her as a... person, demon, or whatever was it he was supposed to think of her as. Just recalling her mischievous laughter and the way she looked at him had his heart racing for some reason.

He was well aware the Kyuubi could read his thoughts, but at that point he did not care. Whether it was to demand her to put an end to sucking people's life essences or just to get a chance to try and speak normally with her for once, Naruto wanted to see Shamsiel again. Any other person would no doubt begin questioning his sanity if they ever heard him say those things, but his mind was set.

"Man...", the blond breathed out, "I wish I could meet her again..."

And if that had been a wish made upon a shooting star, something suddenly covered his azure eyes, preventing him from seeing the green scenery before him. He tensed noticeably at that, but a very familiar voice ringing from somewhere very close nearby soon had him gasping in surprise. "Hehehe~ I wasn't expecting my new favorite human to miss me that much, but I guess I was wrong~"

"Shamsiel!", Naruto wasn't able to see the way his face lit up in something akin to joy at hearing the distinct voice of the succubus, but she did pick up on said fact. "You came!"

Feeling her hands leaving his eyes, the Uzumaki turned around and saw the beautiful Shamsiel floating slightly above the ground, her lips contorted into a wide smile. "Surprise~", she chirped, floating down until her legs made contact with the ground just beside the tranquil river. She then took a sit on the edge, pulling her legs to the side and leaning forward to purposely give Naruto a good view of her massive cleavage.

Which the young man did stare at for quite a long couple of seconds, making her giggle in response. He tore his eyes away from the sight just as he noticed his loins stirring in response, not really making it seem as though he was already thinking of having sex with her.

"What are you doing here? Ah, not that it's not okay for you to be here, I'm just a bit surprised, is all!"

A nervous chuckle escaped his lips as he proceeded to rub the back of his head in a rather shy way, one that Shamsiel found cute. "Why, I came to see you, darling~", she responded, giggling mysteriously. The succubus then motioned for him to get closer to her, which he did obediently, and when he was within arms-reach, Shamsiel brought her hands to his whiskered-cheeks, rubbing them in an almost affectionate manner.

"M-Me?", the blond felt his heart thumping wildly in his chest, his cheeks growing hot both at her proximity and at her gentle ministrations. "What for?"

"Welp, after how good you made me feel last night, I've decided to stay with you from now on", Naruto eyes immediately widened at the proclamation, his face showing the levels of incredulity he was experiencing at that moment.

Naruto was so taken aback he didn't even notice the succubus removing her gauntlets and boots before jumping straight into the water, squealing in delight. Only when she pressed her huge tits against his bare chest did he react, and it was to instinctively put his arms around her small waist. "A-Ah, Shamsiel!?"

"Aren't ya happy? You get your own succubus all for yourself. We can have all the sex we want, whenever we want to!", grinning mischeviously, the succubus saw the blush on his face and decided to entice the poor blond a bit more. "Ah~ It seems my outfit got wet. Maybe I should take it off, or else I'll catch a cold~ Wanna help me with that, Naruto?"

The aforementioned felt blood rushing to a different area in his body as Shamsiel all but squished her luscious tits against him, her fingers tracing his abs suggestively. Naruto gulped sonorously and inadvertently began raising a hand to the moist one-piece that still clung tightly to her figure, before a sudden thought made him stop in the process.

"W-Wait, before that...", he briefly remembered what the fox said about succubus' pheromones, which no doubt was the reason why he was now experiencing the urge to ravage the beautiful demon right there and then and fill her to the brim with his cum. "U-Uhm, what do you mean you're going to stay with me from now on? Don't you have a home to return to?"

His question was met with a melodious laugh on behalf of Shamsiel, who did nothing but lower her hands dangerously close to a certain thing that had risen above the water and was now poking her in the stomach. "Coohoho~ You really are cute, Naruto", slowly, she allowed her fingers to curl around his huge shaft, making Naruto tense in anticipation. "Does that matter, anyway? I like it here, with you."

Despite his ever rising arousal, her words sent a warm feeling to his belly. "W-What about the others...?", he mumbled, biting on his cheek as Shamsiel started pumping his cock, sending waves of pleasure all over his body. "D-Do y-you still plan to... to go after them too?"

Shamsiel's first reply was to increase the speed of her movements, which caught Naruto off guard and made him moan. A lustful smirk reached her face, and she inched closer to his face, her lips almost meeting his'. "I'll be a good demon, I promise", she told him huskily, watching in barely concealed delight how Naruto all but squirmed under her ministrations. "But in return... I want a kiss."

"A k-kiss?", Naruto breathed out, feeling his orgasm reaching ever closer.

"Coohoo~ Why, after all the things we did, a simple kiss should be no problem for ya!", Shamsiel suddenly stopped moving her hand along his shaft, and it was an action that elicited a disappointed groan from her cute human. "Coohoho~ If you wanna cum, you'll have to kiss me... Ri~ght here~"

Feeling his dick still in her grasp, Naruto moved his half-lidded eyes slightly downwards, seeing her parted lips. Her long canines were visible from his position, and her lips looked supple and succulent, making him wonder for a moment what their taste would be like. As he felt her warm breath against his mouth, Naruto stopped hesitating and quickly pressed his mouth to hers', an act she greedily reciprocated by instantly deepening the kiss.

Naruto allowed a more experienced Shamsiel to take the lead and push her tongue into his mouth, meeting his own tongue in a battle for dominance. His newly invigorated moans at having Shamsiel resume her ministrations on his cock were muffled by her mouth, as she kissed him with as much passion as she could muster.

As the Uzumaki brought his hands to her bubble butt and began massaging and fondling her cheeks, eliciting a contented moan from Shamsiel, neither of them saw the lonely figure, hiding amongst the trees in the distance as it watched the scene unfold before their very eyes.

---

To say Tsunade Senju was angry would be an understatement.

She was livid. Her forehead had a vein bulging against it in a clear sign she wasn't taking the news too well.

"That... that idiot!", she exclaimed, slamming his fist down on her desk, the force of her motion breaking it in half much to the sheer surprise of the two other women present in the room. "What the hell was he thinking!? I told him over and over again he'd need to be discreet at all times, and he decides to cross the damn Great Sea in his bijuu mode!?"

Her enraged tone sent multiple shivers of fear down Isabiri spine, who could not help but also feel ashamed at herself. "I'm... I'm r-really so-sorry, Tsunade-sama!", her voice was shaky as she bowed her head deeply at the woman she looked up to the most. "It's my fault Naruto-kun didn't board the ship as per your orders. I should have been more firm!"

Tsunade brought a hand to her temples, rubbing them in frustration. "No, there was probably nothing you could have done to stop him", the busty Hokage admitted, before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "When that baka makes up his mind about something, there's no way to dissuade him."

"Yes, Isabiri-san, Tsunade-sama is indeed right. I've known Naruto-kun since he was a child, and it is just the way he is", despite the tense atmosphere that reigned over the office, Shizune mustered a smile at the thought of her favorite hyperactive ninja. "You're not to blame for his actions."

The aforementioned girl did nothing but nod her head, still unconvinced about the fact she had failed the Hokage of the Leaf somehow.

"Still, the fact that Naruto-kun decided to travel to Edeland on his own to save time doesn't change the parameters of the mission", Shizune proceeded, diverting her dark eyes until they were looking at her unresponsive mentor. "If anything, I believe he's bound to arrive earlier than expected. He may be there already, for all we know."

Tsunade saw the truth in Shizune's words, and could not help but slump back on her chair, turning away from her broken desk. "Hn. Perhaps", she grumbled, but still refused to acknowledge the possibility that Naruto speeding things up could actually prove beneficial for Shinji and their people. "I just hope he is not going around, telling everyone he's a shinobi of Konoha like I ordered him not to do."

"Let's have a little faith in him, Tsunade-sama", Shizune said with the sweetest tone she could muster, in fears of angering her mentor once again. "Knowing Naruto-kun, he may have already dealt with that demon!"

Isabiri was about to ask what did she mean by that, when suddenly there was a puff of smoke right in the center of the room. Three sets of eyes turned in the direction of said smoke, and promptly saw a small toad wearing an eye-patch, looking around the office with a curious look.

"A toad?"

"Ah, are you one of Naruto-kun's summons, perhaps?"

The toad's only visible eye moved from the girl to the short haired woman by her side, before it curled its lips into a cool smile. "'Sup! I'm the new guy, here on senpai's orders", the toad raised its small head, inwardly calculating the distance between himself and the broken desk, and made a long jump, landing easily on the edge. It was a feat that silently impressed Isabiri, though not so much the others. "The name's Gamasaka. I brought a letter for someone named 'baachan'."

Tsunade felt another, thicker vein bulging on the side of her neck, and the wooden chair creaked under the pressure her fingers were exerting on it. The toad didn't seem to notice this or the looks of horror on the other two women as he reached for a small sack on his back, from where he retrieved a small parchment of rolled paper.

"I'll take that."

All Gamasaka could do was watch as the Hokage snatched the small roll from him, pouring a minuscule amount of chakra into it to break the seal Naruto had placed on it. As her anger subsided a bit, she allowed her eyes to roam around the rather short letter, inwardly very interested in learning what Naruto had to report.

Hey baachan!

I hope you're not too angry about... well, ya know... Time was of the essence so I decided to take a faster route.

On a side note, I've already taken care of Shinji's problem so mission accomplished!

I'm sending you some information I've gathered of Boan and those in charge of things round here.

Those two are a pair of pricks, I'm telling you! They are even shadier than Danzo, and boy was he creepy.

Anyhow, I'll send you another report as soon as I have more things to share with you. Give my regards to everyone back there, already missing all of you!

Jounin Naruto Uzumaki

"Huh... Would you believe that..."

"What? What does the letter say, Tsunade-sama?"

"It seems the gaki proved you right, Shizune", for the first time that afternoon, the mighty Godaime Hokage mustered a wide smile. "He got the job done after all."

Her smile was immediately matched by everyone present in the room, even Gamasaka, who didn't really know why they were all smiling for, but figured it was the right thing to do. Tsunade was about to say something else when she noticed she had yet to finish reading Naruto's rather enthusiastic letter.

P.D: You don't mind if I stay here a bit longer than we planned, don't you baachan? Something... unexpected happened and I would like to remain in Boan. At least for a while. It's important.

The last bit immediately piqued Tsunade's interest, and after re-reading it one more time to make sure she wasn't just imagining things, she finally tore her eyes away from the piece of paper in her hands and faced the obviously intrigued trio.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Is everything okay with Naruto-kun?"

Instead of replying, the old Hokage slowly stood up from her chair and headed for the window in her office, placing her hands behind her back. She watched over the village for a couple of seconds, pondering over something in particular, before her shoulders dropped. "Shizune, bring me some paper and a bottle of sake. I'll need to write a response for the kid", from her position, nobody in the room could see the nostalgic smile that had taken over her lips. 'I wonder if Naruto finally learned the truth about Minato...'

---

Naruto sat down on the chair by the fireplace, facing Shinji. The older man's blue eyes looked weirdly vacant as if he was lost in his own thoughts, his stare fixated on the fire burning to the side. They were currently alone in the house, as Lydia and Irina were currently assisting the townsfolk with their preparations for that night's feast. From what the young shinobi had heard, it seemed like there was going to be a big celebration on his behalf, and even some soldiers from the castle would be attending after hearing of his heroic deed.

He'd tried to dissuade the villagers from arranging that little event in his honor, assuring them he didn't need to be praised like some sort of hero and that they would be better off saving what little food they had until harvest season - but his efforts were to no avail. Apparently, some of the stronger men had tried going hunting for the occasion and had returned with plenty of game, which would help to feed the people.

"It sure is a relief knowing we can all rest easy at night once again. So many died because of the demon... but now, thanks to you, that's all in the past."

The Uzumaki moved his eyes until he met the sapphire ones of Shinji, a look of utter peace written all over his face. "Nah, I just did what I had to", he waved his hand dismissively. "By the way, I spoke with Shamsiel... the succubus, I mean. She promised not to hurt anybody else."

Despite what he was expecting as a reaction from Shinji, him remaining calm was not amongst them. He merely stared at Naruto for a couple of seconds before he let out a dry chuckle. "Haha, I see... If you are really able to speak to a succubus, a high rank demon of all beings, and convince her to stop doing what she was born to do without killing her or dying in the process, then it means you two have become intimate."

Naruto's eyes nearly bulged out his skull at that assumption, which was indeed as true as the fact the Sun set in the horizon every day. "W-What? How do you know that...?"

"I may have met you two days ago, Naruto, but you had the same look on your face when you spoke of this Shamsiel that your father had when he spoke of his wife, Kushina."

An abrupt and heavy silence settled around the house, with the young shinobi staring at Shinji with a level of incredulity and disbelief that surpassed all the times he'd been shocked in the past. Not even learning his father was the Yondaime Hokage or his mother the previous Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi had him look this taken aback.

"...What are you...?", an agape Naruto could not help but ask, standing up from his chair. "My father? How do you know the name of my kaachan? What's going on here, Shinji?"

His questions were met with a patient look on the man's behalf, who merely waited until Naruto grew quiet before he spoke up. "I know this will probably be a lot to take in, but I beg for you to listen to all I have to say. There's much I want to tell you", Shinji motioned for the jounin to take a seat, which the latter did, albeit a bit hesitantly. "Now, where should I even begin... Ah, perhaps by answering your first two questions. Yes, I did know your mother, Kushina Uzumaki. I saw her once, but she was as beautiful as she was fiery. Her hair was even redder than my Lydia's, which explains why your father was so smitten with her, like I am with my lovely wife."

Naruto could not believe what he was hearing, but he did not open his mouth to retort, opting to hear Shinji out. This was it, he guessed, the secrets his client had been hiding from him.

"As to Minato... Well, he came to visit me many, many years ago, when you were still in your mother's womb and Irina was yet to be conceived", as Shinji allowed his mind to wander back to that time in particular, a small smile reached his lips. "Your parents were so excited about you coming to their lives... It was honestly one of the few times I ever saw Minato so joyful about something."

"But why would they come all this way to see you?", Naruto couldn't help but ask, allowing confusion to take over the warmth he was feeling at learning how their parents felt at him arriving in their lives. He already knew they loved him, but it was always nice to hear from people that knew them. "Wasn't Edeland a place no shinobi had ever been to?"

Shinji's eyes turned away from his' at that, a somber look occupying his visage for a moment. "I don't know much about that myself, but what I do know is that such is a secret that's been zealously guarded by your people. Those that once knew the existence of Edeland are either hiding away somewhere in the kingdom or have passed away while taking the secret with them to the grave. Amid these people, was Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and the previous Kages of Konoha, to mention a few."

Naruto had to take a moment to process all he was hearing, and when he did, he realized what Shinji was saying made a lot of sense. Even if there was a huge ocean separating both continents, it was practically impossible to think nobody else had ever reached either land ever since humankind found the means to travel by water.

He didn't even need to ask why had nobody else shared this knowledge with the rest of the shinobi or the people living in Edeland, as it was pretty clear to him that if that knowledge fell on the wrong hands, the people of Edeland would suffer in return. There had been and still were lots of evil shinobi who would not care whether their victims had no actual means to defend themselves against their superior skills and power. The thought of a crazed Madara unleashing chaos and wreaking havoc upon Boan and the other lands of Edeland sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine.

"As to why your parents came to visit me, of all people, in a land not their own...", Shinji proceeded, breaking the Uzumaki out of his daze, "well, let's just say it is nice for family to stick together, even if they are miles and miles apart from each other, wouldn't you agree?"

"F-Family...?"

"Let me introduce myself once more, my boy", Shinji faced Naruto again and flashed him the most fatherly smile he could muster, "my name is Shinji. Shinji Namikaze. And I'm Minato's younger brother. In other words, your uncle."

"...!"

A loud gasp escaped Naruto's mouth the moment those words were uttered by Shinji, who was now claiming to be his missing family. The family he thought had died when his parents sacrificed themselves to save Konoha. The family he'd longed for all those years of loneliness and of being pushed aside by pretty much everyone in the village.

And yet, there was a part of him that told him Shinji was telling the truth. That he wasn't just saying those things to deceive him for some twisted reason. Naruto didn't understand why he hadn't been able to see it before. Shinji had the same hair and eyes his father and he did, plus he had been to Konoha of all places for help. He could have been to any other Hidden Village after docking in the Land of the Sea, but he'd been there in particular. After all, that wasn't any village, but the village where Shinji's alleged brother exerted his role as the Yondaime Hokage.

Naruto could not conceive why he was learning all this just now, and how exactly was he supposed to feel about these news.

"Why...", his tone was soft, yet laced with incredulity. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I beg you forgive me for having kept quiet all this time. To be honest, I was waiting for the right time to talk in private. My first thought was to have this discussion on our way to Edeland, but you saw how that went", an apologetic look reached Shinji's face as he spoke, inwardly hoping Naruto would find it in his heart to understand. "I briefly entertained the idea of speaking about it while on Rocford's wagon, but when I saw how exhausted you were I couldn't bring myself to bother you while you rested."

"Does baachan know?"

"Baachan...? Ah, you mean, Tsunade-sama", Shinji lowered his head a bit shamefully. "I did have a private meeting with her before you were summoned, and I had the chance to tell her about it. She didn't mention it to you simply because I asked her not to. It was something I wanted to discuss with you myself."

Naruto tried to see things from Shinji's point of view, but it was a bit difficult. He was now coming out of his shock and disbelief and beginning to feel upset. "I can't believe this was kept a secret from me all these years", the blond frowned. "Do you know how lonely I was while growing up with nobody to call a family? Most people hated my guts and avoided me like I was the plague! If I'd had an uncle around, at least things would have been more tolerable than they were."

He knew he was being a bit unfair, but he couldn't help himself. All those years of suffering had long passed, but they'd left a scar in his heart that'd probably never heal.

"I am sorry you had to go through that, Naruto", Shinji's features dropped in accordance with his words, as he really did mean them. "And I am sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me most. I know this is no excuse for my lack of action, but back then Lydia, your aunt, was pregnant with Irina and I chose to believe you'd be better off in Konoha rather than here, in this impoverished land of ours. Plus, Sarutobi's letter assured you'd be well looked after and then trained as a shinobi when you came of age."

The mention of his grandfatherly figure had the Uzumaki looking down in surprise, now aware the Sandaime also knew of Shinji's existence and the land of Edeland. Maybe his father had instructed the old Hokage to contact his brother in case anything ever happened to him. Wouldn't be a surprise, considering how trustworthy Sarutobi really was in life.

"I see", Naruto mumbled, still refusing to meet Shinji's eyes. His previous anger began subsiding as he tried to take all of this in, attempting to come to terms with the fact he actually had living relatives. "That kinda explains why you decided to leave Boan and head for Konoha in the first place. Touchan must have left you some directions or something, huh?"

At that, Shinji inclined his head in agreement. "Yes. Minato gave me specific instructions on where to go once I reached the Land of the Sea in the Elemental Nations, and whom should I ask for when I got to Konoha", he smiled sheepishly, before adding, "never really thought I'd get help by my nephew, of all people. But I guess that was for the best. I was planning to meet you before heading back to Boan, anyway."

For the first time that afternoon, Naruto allowed himself to smile, albeit it was a ghost of a smile. And one that quickly left his lips at a sudden thought that crossed his mind. "There are things that still don't make sense to me, though", the blond began, leaning forward in his chair. "If you really are my uncle... does that mean you were originally born in the Elemental Nations?"

"No", the older man retorted almost immediately. "Me and Minato, we were born in the capital. A place unlike anything you've seen here in Boan, my boy."

"Huh? But if you two were born here, in a land where people do not have chakra...", Naruto began, looking perplexed, "how is it possible that touchan became one of the greatest shinobi to ever live in the Elemental Nations?"

His question was met with a cautious look from his uncle, who gestured for him to wait before standing up and heading to the windows in a clear attempt to make sure nobody was around to hear what he was about to say. Naruto watched it all in silence, wondering why Shinji hadn't bothered to do this earlier, when the latter finally returned to his seat by the fireplace and grew serious. "What I am about to tell you must not exit this room, Naruto."

"Okay... Now you're creeping me out a bit, Shinji."

"This is serious, son", the man insisted, boring his eyes into his' in hopes his nephew would see how important this was. "You have to promise you'll not tell anyone what you're about to hear."

"All right. I promise."

"Very well", Shinji took a deep breath and steadied himself for what he knew was about to come, being this a secret he had not told anyone, not even his wife or daughter. It was a secret only he and Minato knew, which spoke volumes of how big it really was. "Your... great-grandmother, Mai Namikaze, was once a shinobi that served under the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju."

"...!"

Surprise once again took a hold of Naruto, who couldn't help but feel his eyebrows shooting up at the revelation.

"My mother used to tell many stories of Mai Namikaze", nostalgia filling his face, Shinji began reminiscing aloud. "Your grandmother, well, she was said to be a little bit of genius when it came to inventing new jutsus to be used for the sake of the newly formed Konohagakure no Sato. So much so, that the first Hokage assigned her under his direct command and provided her with everything she required for her experiments."

"One day, grandma was attempting to discover a way to distort space and time so as to move from one place to another by just using chakra to open a path, so she used Tobirama Senju's space-time ninjutsu as a base and started working her way around it in hopes of perfecting it."

"After many days of unsuccessful trials, she had a breakthrough while trying to continuously pump chakra instead of using a fixed quantity, and she managed to open a rift in space-time."

Naruto was so enthralled by the story, he could not help but say, "leading here...?"

"To Edeland, yes", Shinji told him. "It led straight to the capital. Of course, grandmother couldn't really tell what this new place was back at the time, but she decided to risk it and cross the portal herself to make sure nobody else would have to."

"Whoa... So touchan and Tobirama-jiji were not the only ones that used that jutsu...", Naruto muttered, obviously referring to the Flying Thunder God jutsu his father was so adept at using in life. What his great-grandmother was seemingly able to do, though, surpassed all he'd ever heard of such an impressive technique.

"And that's not all there is to this story", the man assured Naruto, making the latter tense in anticipation. "When your great-grandmother crossed the portal, it took her to a lush garden, so ample and lavish she could not believe her eyes. She quickly realized she was not alone there, as a young man round her age had seen the events unfolding with his very own eyes. It was a discovery which, as you can imagine, caused her to panic."

"The man reassured her, however, and promised to keep her secret in exchange for her to tell him more about herself and the kind of 'magic' she'd used to appear in his garden. Mai managed to open a portal back home but came back the next day, and the next, and then every day for weeks, trying to keep their meetings a secret from others in the capital. Until one day, those friendly meetings gave way to something stronger, and the man asked her to marry him."

Naruto blinked his azure eyes at the sudden pause that ensued those last words, with Shinji growing mysterious all of a sudden. "And? Did she say yes?", he couldn't help but ask, too impatient to even wait for his uncle to continue.

"...She did, at the cost of abandoning her village, her responsibilities as a shinobi and her friends behind", he explained. "Even when she knew what this marriage would entail, Mai never hesitated to follow her heart."

"What the marriage would entail?", Naruto felt a bit idiotic repeating bits in an interrogative manner, but he couldn't avoid it. Shinji was being purposely cryptic for some reason, and it was only adding to his impatience. "You mean, apart from turning her back on Konoha?"

Shinji gave his nephew a cautious nod. "By marrying to the only child of king Halen and heir to the throne of Edeland, prince Hayes, she'd automatically become the queen of our Kingdom, even when her origins, known only her husband, were a reason for mistrust and unrest amongst some of the nobility."

Naruto was left shocked as the news hit his brain. Eyes unfocused and mouth slightly agape, he could do nothing but remain still for a good while, unable to believe what he'd just heard. His great grandmother, a shinobi and queen of Edeland?

"They had two children, a boy, and a girl", Shinji pointed out, in an act that managed to attract an agape's Naruto attention back on himself. "The girl was my and Minato's mother, Sena, and the boy the current king of Edeland, Hagel."

"...B-But if that's true...", the young jounin began, his orbs widening the moment a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Wouldn't that make me...?"

A serious look took over Shinji's face as he leaned forward in his chair. "Lord Hagel's grandnephew", Shinji stated solemnly, fully aware of the implications this could have for his nephew. "And since I have no interest whatsoever in sitting on that throne, that also makes you the next rightful heir to Edeland's kingdom. Prince Naruto Namikaze."

---

The end...?

---

Phew! This took longer to write than I expected. Still, working on this story was lots of fun. I got to try out new things and let my imagination run wild, which translated into this absurdly long installment. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

Some important things to note:

1°: For the wagon, I based it off the medieval designs circulating around the internet. Specifically, those that are open at the back and partially at the front too, providing a view of what's on the rear and what's ahead.

2°: Irina is basically the same character from Highschool dxd. The reason why I chose her, of all girls, was simply because she was the first one that came to mind while looking for someone to act as Shinji's daughter. She may be acting a little ooc in this chap, and if that's the case I apologize. I haven't watched dxd in a long time, so it may not be an accurate depiction pf her personality.

3°: Shinji's character was created by me. An OC of sorts that does not appear at any time in Kyonyuu Fantasy. At least, not that I'm aware of. If there really is a character named Shinji in any of the sequels to the original game, then it's purely a coincidence.

4°: That lemon scene ended up being a bit longer than I initially intended, but I couldn't help myself. After all, if any of you have played the game already, you know how much they focus on smut, so I had to add a somewhat lengthy scene.

5°: I guess some of you already figured out how was it that Naruto managed to overcome the infamous Shamsiel, but I will not confirm nor deny any theories. If I ever come back to this story, I'll explain things in detail, but until then, I'll leave it to your imagination.

6°: The cape Naruto is given by Shinji is the one depicted in the cover of this story. Just mentioning it if you wanted to have a look.

7°: The reason why this story is around 30000 words is because I didn't want to rush things by focusing on the most important parts. I always like to develop the plot as much as possible. My motto is, if we're doing it, then let's go all in. That being said, it really was a blast writing all this.

By the way, sorry I'm leaving you guys with that massive cliffhanger. It wasn't really my plan originally, but it ended up happening that way. Some day, I'd like to continue exactly where I left things off, but for now what follows next will be left to debate.

As always, thanks for reading and please take care, everyone. Luke, out!