Naruto: Journey to Lyonesse Remastered

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It has been several years since I worked on this story. I've lost all my original notes, so this is pretty much all new. A shout out to Power of Magic for reminding me of this story. Here is Chapter 8. Enjoy!

Last time:

Naruto was jarred out of his meditations by the Turing Security Police. A rather large pair of officers was there in blue and white bodysuits. "I'm afraid you'll need to come with us regarding the abduction of the Tesla Heiress Mister Uzumaki. We have a number of questions for you."

The blonde ninja showed his Whorl Enforcer identification and said, "Once my Mistress Lady Benibara Steelside and Lady Ariel Tesla are safe and secure inside the Tesla Mansion I will be happy to accompany you. Until then I am not leaving their sides. If you have a problem I'm sure Lord Magnus Steelside of Whorl Arcology would be more than happy to intervene on my behalf."

One of the officers looked irritated and the other said, "We will address our superiors on this matter. We're keeping an eye on you Mister Uzumaki."

Naruto looked bored and said, "You do that."

After the officers stepped away Kraven whispered, "I can keep an eye on the Ladies if you need to talk to the Security Police Naruto. There is no need to antagonize them."

The blonde replied, "Until they are completely safe I'm not leaving the Ladies' sides. It's bad enough that they got abducted on my watch. Those Security Police could keep me for hours playing twenty questions and I'm not about to let that happen…"

…

Whorl Arcology

Magnus Steelside was reading Naruto's preliminary report regarding the abduction of his daughter and niece. He sighed. "Naruto eliminated fifty-seven people in the process of rescuing Benibara and Ariel from a Clynes Arcology gang. I have no doubt the media in Turing Arcology is going to be all over this like flies on a stink."

"At least our baby and Ariel are safe." said Rosalie. "That's all that matters to me."

The Steelside Patriarch nodded. "I'd better brief our lawyers on the situation. I don't know how this will pan out but Naruto is going to walk away scot-free. That's a promise…"

…

Chapter 8

Turing Arcology

It had been two days since Naruto rescued Benibara Steelside and Ariel Tesla from the street gang of Gearheads and he'd quietly stayed out of sight of the paparazzi while the girls soaked up the attention. The blonde concluded that a datajack was a bad idea due to his healing factor and the fact that there was a non-surgical alternative called an immersion helmet*① for people that had problems with datajack rejection for one reason or other. That put Naruto in a small minority in Lyonesse called naturals*② which were the polar opposites of the Gearheads.

At any rate, Ariel and Benibbara were a bit disappointed that Naruto didn't want a 'tricked out datajack' so Ariel decided to set about creating a 'black-ops immersion helmet' instead.

The blonde was being watched closely by the Turing Arcology Police as they were concerned about Naruto's combat abilities. The Police didn't buy Naruto's story of slaying fifty-seven gang members (not to mention an enforcer) with just kunai knives, but they couldn't prove otherwise.

Aside from that, the Steelside family legal team of lawyers warded off too many questions as he was a licensed enforcer for them. The Tesla family lawyers also came to his defense since he had saved Lady Ariel's life when her enforcer Anya turned out to be a traitor.

The Gearhead leader Rainer revealed that her gang of Gearheads were acting independently of Clyne Arcology and that they intended to ransom Lady Ariel Tesla out for a fortune. It wasn't a deep or well thought out plot, but Rainer had almost pulled it off with Anya's help.

In Naruto's humble opinion it was simply a matter of loose security at Turing Arcology. The guards at the Plastic Casket club where the girls had been partying were too busy getting blasted to be of much help as far as the orange loving ninja was concerned.

As for Benibara and Ariel, they were both released from the hospital after a day of observation. After returning to the Tesla mansion, Naruto was introduced to Ariel's parents, Abigail and Thomas Tesla. Abigail immediately started fussing over her daughter and niece while Thomas came over and shook hands with Naruto and Wilhelm Kraven.

Thomas was a short man with dark brown hair who looked rather frail to Naruto. He said, "It seems that I owe you my thanks Mister Uzumaki. It never occurred to me that a club like the Plastic Casket could possibly be dangerous. My wife Abigail and I were in a meeting with the Tesla Board of Directors when the news came that our baby Ariel had been abducted! You can't imagine how terrified we were."

Naruto was wondering where the hell Ariel's parents had been the whole time the two girls had been in the hospital. He was about to say something acidic when Wilhelm interjected, "You must have been in deep immersion*③ meetings Lord Tesla. I can't imagine you not being at the hospital with Lady Ariel and Lady Benibara were there."

The head of the Tesla family nodded. "Yes, it took us hours to get out of the meeting. Imagine our surprise that the situation was already resolved by the time we came out of deep immersion."

"What I can't believe is Anya betrayed us!" said Abigail as she entered the conversation. "I'd like to see her locked up for that, but it seems that you already dealt with her permanently Mister Uzumaki. Good riddance I say!"

Thomas turned to his wife and said, "It seems that we'll have to hire the services of a new enforcer for Ariel. Would you know of any promising candidates from your home Arcology's company Mister Uzumaki?"

"Naruto here is an independent contractor, Lord Tesla." explained Kraven. "He never worked for an Enforcement Agency."

"Is that so?" asked Abigail. "How unusual. I'm rather shocked that you were able to take on the likes of Anya. You must be quite skilled."

"He is." said Benibara. "I owe Naruto my life three times over." The green-eyed girl gripped Naruto's arm possessively. 'He's mine! You can't have him!' she thought.

Abigail smiled at her niece's jealous look. "You are very fortunate to have such a capable protector Benibara dear. We need to find someone to protect Ariel as well."

…

"Hippolyta and Menelaus Arcologies have the best enforcers as far as I know." said Thomas as they ate dinner together.

"Anya was from Hippolyta Arcology dear." said Abigail. "I doubt Ariel would want another enforcer from there."

Ariel's Father cringed at his faux pas. "Of course, I can't believe that slipped my mind."

Abilgail turned to Naruto who was on guard duty behind Benibara. "Tell me what you think about the gladiator enforcers from Menelaus Arcology Mister Uzumaki. Are they capable?"

Naruto looked thoughtful and said, "They seem like a bunch of bloated, musclebound, testosterone filled gorillas to me Lady Abigail."

She burst into laughter along with her husband. "I take it they left a bad impression upon you Mister Uzumaki?" she asked.

"I was less than impressed." replied the ninja.

Benibara laughed melodiously. "Naruto defeated four of their so-called gladiators without breaking a sweat. I wasn't too impressed either."

…

Whorl Arcology

Back at the Steelside Mansion in Whorl, Magnus and his wife Rosalie were going through Naruto's completed reports on the attempted abduction of Benibara and their niece Ariel. The only reference to the traitorous enforcer Anya was, disarmed, interrogated, and executed. Magnus knew there was more involved, but Naruto's report was very concise and precise. He only went into in-depth detail when it was relevant.

That was when Magnus received a call from his brother-in-law, Thomas Tesla. Magnus smiled and answered the call. "Good afternoon, Thomas. How is everybody?" asked the bearded man.

Thomas replied, "We are all fine thanks to your daughter's enforcer, Uzumaki Naruto. I have to say, he's a mysterious fellow though. He indicated that he is an independent contractor and hasn't revealed what Arcology he's from. I'd like to get an enforcer like him for Ariel, but I need to know where he came from to start looking."

Magnus said, "Naruto is one of a kind… he's from outside the barrier…"

"…"

The two talked for a couple of hours about Naruto's background and Thomas finally said, "So he has two friends that fell through the barrier with him and wants to find them. Amazing. Has he said anything about them?"

Magnus shook his head. "Other than their names and the fact both are women he hasn't said much besides he's very concerned for them both. The original goal in going to Turing Arcology was to use your network to search for them. Obviously, he got a bit sidetracked rescuing the girls from being abducted though. I'm surprised he didn't say anything to you."

The head of the Tesla family said, "Considering he saved Ariel and Benibara's lives, the least we can do is help him look for his friends."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate your assistance." replied Magnus.

…

Rosumovi Arcology

In the home of the bioroids, it had been a few days since the Council meeting and the arrest of Councilor Tartaros. Hinata found herself in an odd situation. Many bioroids saw her as a savior from a potential military coup. They seemed to idolize her….and everyone wanted to be her friend. It went without saying that the beautiful indigo haired kunoichi was taken aback by the situation.

She'd also been asked to become a consort by two separate lovestruck males as well as a female. Hinata's healer friend Hygieia explained, "Bioroid children are created in laboratory test tubes through a specific combination of the genetic materials of chosen consorts and then modified to suit the tastes of those consorts."

"What do you mean by modified Hygieia?" asked Hinata uncertainly.

The young healer smiled. "Well, you could change the hair color, gender, height, and other features of the two consort's offspring within certain genetic limits. For instance, two consorts with dark hair could have a child with light hair with the proper modifications. A Y chromosome could be introduced if two female consorts wanted a son."

"So, you could make your offspring virtually anything you want?" questioned the byakugan princess in disbelief.

"The bioroid geneticist workers specialize in these things but I have a basic understanding of them given I am a healer type." explained Hygieia.

Hinata felt concerned. "So even the baby's occupation is defined at birth? It sounds like everything is predetermined by the parents."

The healer bioroid replied, "Well, if a healer type wanted to become a warrior type I suppose it wouldn't be impossible. It is simply a matter of difficulty. Not all bioroids are created equally on a genetic level but all bioroids are treated with equal rights under bioroid law."

'This is surreal.' thought the kunoichi. "Do bioroids actually conceive children and give birth?"

Hygieia nodded and said, "There are a few that wish to experience childbirth, but they are rare because it is so much simpler to grow your offspring in the labs where they are protected and won't be damaged." She grinned. "I heard you are already quite popular. Thinking about taking a consort?"

Hinata shook her head. "The only one I would ever want was sucked through that portal that brought me to Lyonesse. I love him."

"Love…how romantic…" said the healer in a faraway voice. Then Hygieia's eyes widened. "Wait! You mean there are other bioroids that came from the surface like you did?!"

Hinata nodded, "Uzumaki Naruto-kun and Nadeshiko Shizuka-sama fell through the portal with me. I hope they are both safe."

"We must find them!" said Hygieia in a panic. "What if they fell into the hands of those awful humans?! Come Sister Hinata, we must consult Councilor Valeria on how to find our lost brethren!"

…

Misogunia Arcology

Shizuka found herself in the unenviable position of ruling the Misogunia Arcology. More importantly to her though, the means to get back to the surface was there, at least on paper. The Head Scientist Zachariah and his staff were once again hard at work doing theoretical studies on how to reach the surface from Lyonesse.

It amazed Shizuka that a brilliant scientist like Zachariah had been under the command of a moron like Obadiah for several years. Zachariah informed her that the late, great, sexist pig wanted to get to the surface and didn't really care what it took to do so. The Head Scientist wasn't even from the Misogunia Arcology originally. He grew up in Kravchuk Arcology. Obadiah had given him free reign to experiment with the so-called heavy water tunnel, so he brought his research and his team to Misogunia.

The Nadeshiko kunoichi was also trying to figure out where Naruto and Hinata could possibly be. She knew Hinata had been in Misgunia Arcology briefly and had her people actively searching for the Konoha kunoichi in the wastelands surrounding the Arcology. Shizuka was positive that Hinata was too strong to have died in the swamps. Still, locating Hinata somewhere in the isolated Outskirts was a daunting task and she had no idea where Naruto could be…

…

Turing Arcology

Naruto was looking over the maps of Lyonesse and his eyes settled on the northern area called The Outskirts once again. He was reading the history of the area because he sensed chakra there.

"The Outskirts were once known as the Northern Block and were responsible for scientific advancements that led Lyonesse from the Dark Ages when the Empire sank into the sea. The five Arcologies that remain there are as follows:

"…Castor Archology- Victor of the seventeen-year Castor/Pollux Arcology War. It was largely devastated by the war and is slowly being rebuilt with the aid of the Southern Trade Alliance."

"…Kravchuk Arcology- Best known for their mathematical experiments with heavy water. Many consider them to be among the most brilliant in all of Lyonesse, but their secretive and isolationist policies have kept them out of any political alliances with other Arcologies for well over a century."

"…Misogunia Archology- A primitive and backwards society that is surrounded by waste and toxic swamps. They are banned from the Southern Trade Alliance due to unsafe energy practices and pollutants."

"…Pollux Archology- Defeated in the seventeen-year Castor/Pollux Arcology War. It is nothing but ruins now. Pollux is ruled by gangs and creatures of the streets. It's considered uninhabitable and damaged beyond repair."

"…Rosumovi Arcology- Destroyed and contaminated by a massive industrial spilled hundreds of years ago. It is considered forbidden by all Arcologies for fear of spreading contamination."

Naruto looked at the pictures of the Arcologies and wondered for the umpteenth time why the hell he was sensing chakra from up there….

…

Rosumovi Arcology

Hinata was patiently sitting in the office of Councilor Valeria along with Hygieia. The Councilor was very concerned about the fate of the two missing bioroids.

"What if they were discovered or abused or even experimented upon?!" ranted Hygieia. "We must find them!"

"Calm down Sister Hygieia." replied Valeria. "We will find these lost ones I assure you. Tell me Sister Hinata, what types are they? Healers, scholars…?"

Hinata looked amused. "I guess they would both be considered combat types by the standards here. Naruto-kun has so much power that other Kages referred to him as an army killer."

"…An army killer…?" asked Valeria in concern. "Are you saying he is stronger than you, Sister Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun is among the strongest, if not the most powerful shinobi in existence." said Hinata. "I don't know where he is, but I have no doubt he is capable of protecting himself."

The Councilor looked a bit frightened at the concept. "And the other?"

The byakugan princess replied, "As for Shizuka-sama, she was the leader of a small village, so she is very strong. I would guess she is at least my equal on paper. She and I fell through the portal together so she may have landed where I did."

"If she landed in Misogunia where you did then it can't be good." said Hygieia. "They treat females over there as little more than slaves. It's a patriarchy in the extreme."

"A kunoichi from the Nadeshiko Village would either escape or seek to destroy a patriarchy." said Hinata without a bit of doubt in her mind. "We should perform some reconnaissance at Misogunia Arcology. I was trained as a scout and tracker. I can find her if she is there."

"We keep surveillance on all of our neighboring Arcologies in the Northern Block Sister Hinata." said Valeria. "That is how we stumbled upon you to begin with. I cannot imagine a single bioroid being able to topple the long-standing regime over in Misogunia. It is simply not in our nature."

Hinata frowned. "You'd be surprised Councilor."

Valeria looked dubious at the idea but said to her secretary, "Have our observation teams reported anything unusual over at Misogunia Arcology of late?"

Her secretary (a young male named Christos) quickly brought up the observation data and said with wide eyes, "Misogunia Arcology is currently in a state of lockdown. Our observers have noted explosions and signs of other violence as well. By our estimates there may be a full-blown slave revolt going on!"

Valeria looked shocked and said, "Transmit the data to my screen Christos."

A holographic image of Misogunia Arcology appeared and showed events over the last several days including a rather large explosion outside at the hoverport platform by Obadiah's Offices.

Hinata looked rather vindicated and said, "It looks like Shizuka-sama got angry."

Christos stated, "Head Councilor Athene has called an emergency meeting regarding the situation in Misogunia Councilor Valaria. She requests your presence posthaste."

"Inform the Head Councilor that I am on my way." ordered Valeria. "Sister Hinata, I would ask that you join me. Perhaps you can make something of these circumstances."

The byakugan Princess nodded in assent. "I'd be interested in examining this situation and who is behind it."

…

In the meeting chambers of the Council of Twenty-Five, all the Councilors were present including Councilor Tartaros' replacement (and former Chief of Staff) Achilles. The air was tense and Athene nodded towards Achilles. She said, "Please proceed with your report Councilor Achilles. The Council is most concerned with the situation over at Misogunia Arcology."

Achilles was older and graying but had a quiet aura of command about him. He stood up and said, "As you wish Head Councilor. We have observed a violent and bloody coup that completely eliminated Director Obadiah's regime. We do not have a name of the person responsible yet, but we do have a holographic image."

Hinata was delighted to see the angry, burning light green eyes and beautiful face of Shizuka appear on the screen. "…And that would be Nadeshiko Shizuka-sama." she whispered to the shocked Councilor Valeria. "It sounds like this Director Obadiah must have rubbed her the wrong way…"

Councilor Achilles gave a brief description of what had happened and concluded by saying, "In summary, this female started at the lowest detention levels in the Misogunia Arcology and worked her way up to the top, gathering followers as she went. With the hoverport cut off, Obadiah was trapped there and had no way of escaping. He was eventually slain. That concludes my report Head Councilor Athene."

"Thank you, Councilor Achilles." said Athene. "We will now take questions and comments from the Council."

Valeria took the floor and said, "Honored Councilmembers, the mystery person's name is Shizuka, and she is a friend of Sister Hinata's. She is a fellow bioroid that obviously is an advanced combat model from the surface."

Everyone's eyes bulged comically, and the Hyūga heiress smirked. Athene asked, "Sister Hinata, would you be willing to take the floor and answer some questions?"

Hinata was practically giddy to have found Shizuka but kept her calm Hyūga demeanor on her face. "I will be pleased to answer what I can."

…

"…So, as you can see from the maps of Misogunia Arcology's floors, a well-trained and cunning kunoichi such as Shizuka could have taken the place over or destroyed it within a few days." stated Hinata. "The fact Shizuka is also well versed in leadership probably allowed her to recruit many followers in the process. If this Director Obadiah was even half as bad as you have described, then the dam was bound to burst anyway. Shizuka simply capitalized on this."

There was a pregnant pause in the room as the Councilmembers gaped in awe.

Finally, Councilor Achilles swallowed hard and said, "The way Sister Hinata has described things is completely feasible given Sister Shizuka apparently has the same shocking combat potential as our new sister does. Nevertheless, I openly admit that I am astounded."

…

Turing Arcology

It took nearly a week for Ariel to complete the immersion helmet for Naruto to her liking (The Tesla family's daughter was a perfectionist). The helmet was overall matte black (even the visor) and completely hid Naruto's identity. It had traditional ports in the back to plug directly into VR like all immersion helmets but unlike standard helms in production it was able to hack directly into an advanced mainframe network whether it was wired in or not.

…Now all Naruto had to do was learn how to use the damn thing! Given he was completely computer illiterate, the blonde was learning in baby steps. Once it was attuned to his thought patterns, Naruto could navigate VR by simple thought commands instead of saying things aloud like "on" and "off."

Truthfully, the orange loving ninja found the whole concept exciting, but he still saw it as a tool to be used rather than an addiction or a way of life the way they did at Turing Arcology. Deep immersion and remaining motionless for weeks at a time to live in the VR world seemed insane to Naruto. As far as he was concerned, deep immersion was bordering on living death.

What Naruto really wanted to do was hack into various Arcologies and search their immigration and missing person reports for signs of Hinata and Shizuka. It was a very difficult task and Naruto figured both kunoichi were keeping a low profile like he was trying to do. Unfortunately for the blonde, his charge Benibara Steelside was a trouble magnet…

…

Naruto was soon in his mindscape talking to Kurama. The ancient fox said, "If this area known as The Outskirts has chakra concentrations, I'd start in the Kravchuk Arcology because they are so secretive. If they were known for experimenting with this heavy water, then they may have caused the whirlpool tunnel in the Nadeshiko Village."

"I agree with you Kurama but every time I turn around Benibara gets into trouble." explained Naruto. "Now the Tesla family has asked Benibara and I to join them in finding a new enforcer to protect Ariel. Considering she made me this immersion helmet; I figure she could be a good ally down the line…not to mention she's Benibara Steelside's cousin…" he added with a frown.

Kurama chuckled. "That's part of your problem Naruto. You are just too nice of a guy. You just can't say no when people need help."

The blonde sweat dropped. "Sadly, you are right Kurama."

"Don't sweat it kid, you inherited it from Ashura." stated the nine tails. "It was one of his better traits."

…

The blonde ninja was soon talking with Abigail and Thomas Tesla about the possibilities of hiring an enforcer. "If you are planning to hire from an Enforcement Agency then test their combat abilities in person before you hire them instead of just looking at them online. It sounds like Hippolyta Arcology is as good as any but Anya was just a bad egg."

"Let's ask Ariel what she thinks." said Abigail. "She may be against Hippolyta Arcology just by principle alone."

Ariel and Benibara soon came in and were discussing enforcers with Naruto, Thomas and Abigail. "I would be more comfortable with a female enforcer." said Ariel. "I don't want another traitor like Anya though."

"How did you all pick out Anya to begin with?" asked Naruto dreading the answer.

"She looked tough and was available for a reasonable fee so we purchased her services." explained Thomas. "The crime rate isn't all that high here in Turing…or at least we thought it wasn't…" he mumbled.

Kraven chimed in and asked, "Why don't we travel over to Hippolyta Arcology and interview them in person? That way Naruto could give his best estimate regardless."

"I think that's an excellent idea!" squealed Ariel.

'Ooooh boooy…' groaned Naruto mentally. 'Just what I didn't want to hear.'

…

The next morning, Benibara and Ariel took the Steelside limo over to Hippolyta Arcology. Wilhelm was up front driving, and Naruto was riding in the rear section with the girls. Hippolyta Arcology looked like a very orderly series of concentric rings that rose into low towers. In the center, ringed by towers, was a depression that actually was a massive, well lit stadium divided into sections for different sports.

"It seems they like circles here…" mumbled Naruto with a sweat drop.

Benibara giggled. "Hippolyta Arcology takes their sports very seriously Naruto. Many of the best athletes in all Lyonesse come from here. They are in high demand and very popular as well."

Ariel was enthused, "I've never been here in person. Their athletes are selectively bred to be the best at whatever sport they specialize in. The whole Arcology is known to be very physically fit and active."

Kraven was half listening to the conversation and added, "Master Xian lost in the championship in Hippolyta Arcology many years ago from what he told me. He has great respect for the athletes here."

The Steelside party was welcomed by the immigration staff at Hippolyta as they were expected. Once the limo was parked, a representative came down to greet them. She was a gregarious type and introduced herself to the group. "Hello and welcome to Hippolyta Arcology." said a stout, black haired woman. "I am Ortrera and I represent the Enforcer's Guild here in Hippolyta. Which one of you is Ariel Tesla?"

Ariel took a step forward and said, "I'm Ariel. I'll be in your care while we're her Miss Ortrera." Then Ariel shook hands with the Guild representative and introduced the rest of her party.

Ortrera took an appraising look at Naruto as if to gauge Benibara's enforcer but the whiskered blonde was suppressing his aura, so the guildswoman didn't think much of him. Ortrera asked, "Perhaps you're looking at a new enforcer as well Miss Steelside?"

Benibara's eyes narrowed predatorily, and she said, "Naruto is more than capable Ortrera."

The representative smiled and stated. "You may change you mind after you see what we have to offer."

…

The next few hours were spent discussing different Enforcer types, combat styles and personalities. The subject of Anya was briefly discussed but Ortrera did her best to sidestep that topic as Anya's betrayal had resulted in immense compensation going into the Tesla family's coffers.

Ariel often asked Naruto's opinion concerning particular enforcers she'd picked out and Ortrera's eyebrow was starting to twitch that Ariel held Naruto's opinion in higher esteem than hers. Ortrera finally said, "Perhaps you should consider some physical demonstrations Miss Ariel. I'm sure you'd be surprised at the results."

Ariel looked at Naruto who shrugged. So far, the ninja hadn't been too impressed. "I'd be happy to see a demonstration." said the Tesla heir.

Ortrera smiled at the opportunity and said, "Summon Maxine. She helps train our other enforcers."

Maxine came in a few minutes later. She was a tall, hulking woman with a buzzcut and a wrestler's build. The wrestler had a staff as her weapon of choice. Ortrera grinned and said "Let's adjourn to a sparring ring so Maxine can put on a demonstration for you. As a former enforcer myself I can tell you she is excellent."

…

Naruto watched Maxine go through the motions with an appraising eye and decided that the wrestler was indeed formidable but lacked the necessary speed. There were a number of enforcers there but the only one the really stuck out to him as a truly balanced fighter was a young woman named Myrine.

Myrine was slim and fast. She reminded Naruto of Tenten and obviously (to a ninja at least) was a master at arms. He pointed Myrine out to Ariel. "That young lady there with orange hair. She's a weapon specialist if I'm not mistaken. Have her demonstrate."

Ortrera was surprised that Naruto picked out Myrine or her specialty. 'Maybe he actually knows something after all.' thought the guild representative.

Myrine went through her moves and described her basic skillset to Ariel who seemed enthused. Naruto felt the girl had great potential as an all-around fighter and could protect Ariel well. 'Perhaps Master Xian could teach her a few moves.' he thought absently.

Maxine bellowed, "What do you know about anything?!" at Naruto. "Myrine is good but she's not the strongest!"

Naruto sighed. "Raw physical strength isn't everything." he replied.

"Try taking me on then!" said Maxine.

Ortrera knew the wrestler would eventually blow her stack. She said, "It seems Maxine wants a match and won't take no for an answer. Are you up for it Mister Uzumaki?"

Benibara looked excited and nodded her head 'yes' several times.

The ninja just looked resigned. He glanced at Ortrera who looked smug and then at Maxine who looked angry enough to spit fire.

Ortrera walked to the center of the sparring ring and whispered to Maxine, "Try not to kill him." Then she motioned to Naruto to come out to the center opposite Maxine. The guild representative said mirthfully, "Let's keep this simple. The spar will go until I call it or knockout. We don't want anyone hurt too badly now do we?"

Otrera took a few steps back and said, "Are both fighters ready?" Getting a pair of nods, she said, "BEGIN!"

The big woman didn't see Naruto move. He blurred out of existence and appeared behind her. Maxine fell on her face like a puppet with its strings cut. Naruto simply chopped her neck and knocked the wrestler unconscious. It was over in a second.

Guild Representative Ortrera was silent for a few seconds before she said in a muted tone, "I can't believe Maxine was defeated so badly…Winner: Uzumaki!"

…

Later that day, Benibara was warding off Ortrera who stated, "The Hippolyta Enforcers Guild would be very interested in purchasing the services of Uzumaki Naruto on a short term basis."

The Steelside Heiress looked puzzled. "You want him to train others?"

Ortrera shook her head. "We want to breed him with others."

Benibara's face purpled up and she said, "Naruto isn't going to be breeding with anybody!"

…

POSTSCRIPT:

*①: Immersion helmet -An immersion helmet allows one to interact with the VR world without a datajack. Obviously, it is not as immersive as a direct brain datajack but it serves the purpose for someone without an implanted device. It essentially looks like a full-face covering motorcycle helmet.

*②: Naturals -As the name implies, these are people without any cybernetic implants.

*③: Deep immersion -This is being immersed in the VR world to the degree that the body is in a medically induced coma-like state.

This chapter took a long time to write despite its modest length. I guess it's because Lyonesse is completely my own worldbuilding instead of borrowing from an existing fictional/real world place. It's certainly not my most popular story, but I still enjoy dabbling in this from time to time. See you next time, Blue out. 2/18/24