Disclaimer: First Chapter
Story Start!

2 Holy Grails.
9 Servants.
2 Golden Chunks.

What started as 1 Holy Grail and 8 Servants had, over the course of several weeks, turned into some serious progress. He had 2 of the 7 Holy Grails, and had collected one of the Rogue Servants to add to his crew. He had also obtained a Golden Chunk from the Siren, and once they started the repairs on his ship, wedged into one of the scratches on the ship caused by Charybdis was another Golden Chunk. Since they never stopped to repair the ship before, he just never even noticed the golden chunk of metal lodged in the side of the ship until now.

"Heheheh... Master, my Master... heheheheh."

On the downside, while he had 9 servants, one of his servants was in a state of severe mental instability. Van Gogh, his Foreigner, had been mentally stressed to the point that she was no longer reliable. Then, in the battle against Kiba and his servants, Beni-Enma had taken serious damage that would take time to recover from completely. He had 9 servants, but 2 of them weren't reliable for battle, and Shuten just wasn't reliable. In reality, he currently had 6 usable servants to call his own.

He also had 12 hostages to take care of.

The Chaldean Master, Ritsuka Fujimaru and her Servants Shielder Mash and Archer Atalanta.
Then an Ocean Master like himself and her 8 servants.

"It's okay Goghie... I'll stay right here as long as you need me to." Naruto was cradling Van Gogh in his lap. She was curled up and holding her head to his chest. She was in the middle of a mental break, and her skin was starting to turn blue from it. As he held onto her though, her skin slowly reverted back to the pale color it was before.

Not even Melusine could be jealous... and angry about what he was doing, but she was jealous. The repairs on the ship were taking more time than expected, since he didn't have his full crew's support. He also didn't trust that Hinata's servants would be much help in this situation, and his faith in the Chaldean master and her servants was lower than that.

"Master..."

"What's up Beni?" Naruto asked his Saber, she spoke up from his bed. She was currently stripped down naked and her entire torso was wrapped up tightly, his blanket covering her bottom half. The damage had been more severe than just broken ribs. She had taken a hit strong enough to put stress on her Spirit Origin, which was what was taking so long to heal. It wasn't damaged, but it was stressed, which slowed her healing down considerably.

"Who is cooking while I'm out of commission?"

"Tamamo and Atalanta are watching Circe, but Circe is cooking... she isn't as good as you are, but she is making do. Do you think you can stomach..." Naruto stopped talking to Beni when Van Gogh started to turn more blue. He silently wrapped his arms around her, and he looked towards the Holy Grails on the table, right atop the map of the ocean. They were right next to each other, and the two golden chunks of metal next to it.

Naruto glanced at Beni, and she understood silence was needed. She laid her head back down and rolled onto her side, staring at him as he looked at the grails.

'The Siren, one of the 7 Ocean Beasts gave me one Golden Chunk... and in the damage on my ship, caused by Charybdis... was another Golden Chunk. I obtained 2 chunks, 1 from each of the beasts I encountered.' Naruto didn't know the purpose of them, but now he had the sneaking suspicion that they were more important than they seemed. It seemed like surviving an encounter with an Ocean Beast was what rewarded you them.

There might be value in obtaining 7 Golden Chunks.

The 7 Rogue Servants seemed to have been summoned with information about the 7 Ocean Beasts. Just like how Chloe was summoned on an island right next to Charybdis' path, there was a chance that the Rogue Servants were meant to guide masters towards the Ocean Beasts as a test of skill, or a test of something.

Van Gogh grabbed his face.

"Ahahahahah..." Van Gogh pulled herself up to his face and started to laugh into his ear.

Her sanity had been strained from the Siren, and had yet to recover.

'... Sanity... The Siren was a test of Sanity. To keep your sanity while dealing with her mist, the stress she causes your crew as your resources dwindle... Those conditions, the lack of sunlight, the scary mist, the alluring singing... it was a test of sanity.' Naruto hummed for Van Gogh to soothe her. Van Gogh losing her grip on her sanity was an important clue, though it was only a guess that he had. 'If you keep your sanity, and show the Siren you can maintain your head... she rewards you... and if you fail, she attacks you... maybe.' Naruto guessed that was the case at least.

It was hard, he had so little information to go on.

"I've got your ear Master."

"Charybdis though..." Naruto muttered to himself.

The golden chunk was lodged into his ship when the ship scraped by one of the fangs that stuck out of the monster's mouth. The clues he had to go on where that Chloe was the servant that was summoned with the biggest clues about Charybdis.

'Chloe... Chloe... she's difficult, sneaky, and she's perverted... no... none of that is important. Complex... no, Chloe is honest about herself and her desires... she is skilled, but most servants are in some way...' Naruto tried to think about what connection Chloe could have to the Test of Charybdis. '... I got the Golden Chunk when my ship scraped against the fang, and the chunk...'

Naruto got it.

The Test of the Siren was to be able to keep yourself and your crew as sane and ready to fight as possible. If you managed to keep your sanity, then the Siren rewarded you with a Golden Chunk for your passing of her test.

The Test of Charybdis was Skill.

It was the ability to do the impossible, and sail into the mouth of Charybdis herself and steal a Golden Chunk from one of her fangs. By scraping her fang and escaping with his life, he passed the Skill test needed. By doing that, he managed to pass the test and escape with not only his life, but Golden Chunk.

2 of the Ocean Beasts giving him Golden Chunks couldn't be a coincidence.

"7 Rogue Servants... and 7 Ocean Beasts... 7 Golden Chunks." Naruto looked over at the table. His voice was barely more than a whisper. Van Gogh was fully calmed down, and had returned back to her sanity for the moment. He leaned up and looked Beni in the eye, before he looked at the Holy Grails he had obtained.

He gently put Van Gogh on the bed next to Beni.

Naruto went over to his table.

He grabbed a Golden Chunk and lifted a piece of it up, and he quickly found... that it was the exact same color as the Holy Grail. Naruto started to genuinely compare the chunks he had, holden both of them next to the grail itself for a direct comparison. He traced the curves of the chunks, and then traced his finger against the grail.

"Heh."

They were the same.

"Master?" Beni asked in a whisper.

"8... There aren't 7 Holy Grails... there are 8 of them. We were just told about there being 7... each Master was given a Holy Grail to summon their servants with... but the 8th Holy Grail summoned the Rogue servants." Naruto was starting to piece it together.

It fit.

The 8th Holy Grail was broken, and split into chunks that were each held by a differen Ocean Beast. Each Beast summoned a servant using a chunk of the grails, and those servants with no masters became Rogue Servants.

"The Insane Black Knight... he was summoned by the Siren, because he's already insane... he would never pass her test. The Ocean Beasts summoned... Charybdis... Charybdis summoned Chloe, who was stuck on the island... Chloe who doesn't have the skill needed to escape the whirlpool." Naruto was starting to grin. "She would never pass the test... Chloe isn't connected to Charybdis... Charybdis summoned a servant who could never pass her test. That's the connection... if you figure out which servant was summoned by which monster, and see what trait they lack... you can figure out how to pass their test!" Naruto placed his hands on the side of his head.

There wasn't Seven Grails.

If you met the challenges posed by each of the Ocean Beasts, then you could collect the 7 Golden Chunks of the Holy Grail that summoned the Rogue Servants. You could gain a Holy Grail that was completely hidden from the other masters.

"What are you..."

"That's it... that's the play. We shouldn't be avoiding the Ocean Beasts... we need to be looking for them. We need to find them, and obtain the Golden Chu... no... The Holy Grail Fragments. That's it!" Naruto started to rush his way out of the Captain's Quarters. He closed the door behind him. "ISHTAR!"

"Hmmm?" Ishtar flew down to him.

"Ishtar, I have an important job for you. I need you to fly to Amazon Island, we'll be meeting you there as soon as the ship is ready. You're a Goddess of Venus, there isn't anyone else better suited to this than you... talk to the Amazon women and see if they have a Rogue Servant living with them... and if they know anything about an Ocean Beast that lives on, or near, their island." Naruto gave his orders to Ishtar.

"By myself!?"

"You're the only one I can count on for this. I'll explain everything to you when we meet up again, but it is important that that you go to that island ASAP." Naruto told her, and he showed a command spell on his arm. "If you are in danger, I'm giving you full permission to use one of my Command Spells to summon yourself to me." Naruto would allow Ishtar to make use of one of his command spells for him, in order to teleport herself back to him if the situation got too much for her.

"Master, what is going on?" Melusine asked as she aproached them.

"Tonight, after the prisoners are back in their cells, I'll explain everything. I can't give exact details right now though. I've discovered something super important, something that might just give us an even greater edge." Naruto was giddy with excitement.

The other clue.

People killed by the Ocean Beasts came back as Skeleton Crews, when an Ocean Beast killed people they would make use of the power of the Holy Grail Fragment to animate the corpses of the slain to wander the ocean. The power to animate corpses was a big clue, since Sirens and Charybdis didn't have those powers naturally. Now that Naruto had obtained the Holy Grail Fragment from both Charybdis and the Siren, that meant that less Skeleton Crews would be appearing on the ocean.

"Okay then... well... I guess I'm off then." Ishtar nodded her head in acceptance of the order. "I expect a satisfying explanation when we meet again though."

"You'll have one, I promise." Naruto stated with a widened smile.

Naruto was satisfied with himself.

He had discovered it.

The Secret 8th Holy Grail, and the True Purpose that the Ocean Beasts served.

Chapter End!
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