"So to sum it all up - you, Naruto, were attacked by a Crocodile Lizardman whilst traveling on one of the commercial pathways. You wounded it and then followed it based on your intuition and stumbled upon two dark mages patrolling the area - how did you know they were dark mages?" Remus asked after listening to the pairs' versions of the event that unfolded. In front of him laid several sheets of paper, filled with notes.

They were currently seated at a small table, situated in the center of the Captain's tent. Sitting across from Remus were Naruto and Lucy, the latter trying to stop herself from fidgeting as she'd already given her statements. She examined the space around her. It was nearly as sparse as the log cabin, she noted, however there were a few personable furniture pieces scattered around such as a coat and weapon's rack. Her eyes continued to wander until they eventually settled upon the form of the blond seated besides her.

The first thing that really stood out to her were the markings displayed prominently on his face, and as she looked closer, she realized they looked like…birth marks? She wasn't entirely sure but thankfully there didn't seem to be any scar marks to indicate anything more sinister had happened.

As she mapped his face, Naruto took a peek at Lucy, wanting to check and make sure she was doing okay. Their visions caught each other in a brief exchange and a feeling of warmth spread to her face as she quickly averted her eyes, nearly missing the small, comforting grin on Naruto's face before he looked away as well.

"Oh, that? I have a record of some dark guilds here," Naruto responded as he pulled out a leather-bound journal from within his cloak and opened it, searching for a particular page before sliding it across the table.

"I recognized the guild symbol," Remus heard the nonchalant response as he picked up the notebook, his eyes scanning the contents of the page. He noticed the aforementioned symbol which was a wilted rose and colored black, matched the symbols found on the dark mages. However there wasn't much to read through with only a few pieces of information written down.

Dark Thorn: Recent dark guild, medium-sized, focuses mainly on trafficking with the occasional assassination jobs.

9.12.x783

Update 1: Apparently joined the Balam Alliance - not sure under which guild.

Update 2: In custody of Rune Knights.

"So it seems," the captain mumbled, peeling his eyes from the journal before sliding it back to its owner. Lucy tried to sneak a peak but failed and was caught by Naruto's amused gaze before he handed his journal to her. Silently thanking him, she opened the book to explore its contents.

Watching the scene in front of him with some interest, Remus resumed his summary, "continuing on; you apprehended the patrol and based on what they told you, their orders were to create a base of operations, here in this forest, near the base of the mountains, and to amass a sizeable labor force - which explains the lizardmen - and then to standby for further instructions."

At Naruto's nod, Remus continued on as he jotted down more notes occasionally. "Then you created a perimeter and gathered additional information from the camp, such as their newly formed relation with one corner of the Balam Alliance. After that, you rescued the captives and contained the dark guild."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. They were yapping a lot but that was basically all the new information I could get." Naruto responded before he was struck with a sudden realization, "by the way, am I gonna get paid for this?"

"That will be determined by the Magic Council at a later time," the loyal captain said. "After I submit my report," he finished provocatively with a smug smile and the shinobi gaped in astonishment.

"What, you would submit a falsified report? You?" Naruto guffawed in disbelief. He saw through Remus' intentions easily, and the middle-aged captain, loyal and straight-laced to a fault, could not believe his bluff had been so easily seen through. He had wanted to make the blond sweat a little but was too inexperienced to face off against Naruto. His discontent was clearly visible as he heard sniggers coming from across the table.

Hearing the haughty laughter, Lucy's attention was torn from the surprisingly interesting read. There was a lot of information on various dark guilds, with some names scratched off but the most fascinating part was what was written down in what seemed be a different language, one that she had never come across. She glanced at both men, one seemed to be trying his best to refrain himself from hurling profanity laden vitriol while the other was just jeering at the poor captain.

Damn it! This…this…"get out of here, you damn brat!" Embarrassed, he could not hold back his ire and ended up shouting, which only further amused the blond even more.

With the conclusion of the meeting, Naruto joyfully exited the tent, leaving Lucy to wonder what the hell just happened.

"Tsk, anyways," the captain said more amicably as his features relaxed the moment the other blond had disappeared from the room. "Thank you for your cooperation, Lucy-san. We will contact you if have we any further questions."

He stood tall with an outstretched hand to which she took before following after her new companion.

"Yo, Lucy!" Naruto called out, catching her attention. He was leaning against a tree, casually twirling the same kunai he'd used to cut her chains. As she made her way towards him, book in hand, he pocketed the blade in one smooth motion before carefully observing her for the first time. She looked fairly young with a pretty face, he wasn't sure her exact age but he could say with confidence that she was younger than him and he was only eighteen - well, almost nineteen years old. Though, he doubted the age gap to be any more than one to two years.

He briefly entertained the idea of just asking Lucy but the memories of his youth resurfaced, images of angry women yelling at him for asking their age and dismissed the idea altogether.

Naruto took a moment to observe Lucy; she was dressed in a brown turtleneck sweater that hugged her body, a checkered skirt that was way too short in his opinion, and black leggings underneath, tucked into a pair of black knee-high boots. It didn't seem to be the most practical outfit to wander through a forest in but who was he to judge?

"Hey, Naruto! Here's your book, thanks for letting me take a look at it, it was really interesting." Lucy said, returning his item full of useful anecdotal information, allowing her a glimpse into the person that was Naruto.

"No problem," he grinned good-naturedly, pocketing the book. "Say, aren't you cold?"

"Ugh, yeah but I lost my coat and my luggage when we got ambushed." All the cute clothes she'd carefully curated, gone! Disappeared into the wind, just like that.

Naruto let out a thoughtful hum as she lamented over the loss of her belongings. "Ah!" He exclaimed suddenly, "I just remembered, those guys sometimes look over the battlefields to clean it and stuff. Maybe we can ask if they found any of your things, since you told them the location of the ambush site."

"Oh my gosh!" Lucy gasped, a dash of hope bursting forward before she grabbed Naruto by the arm and started dragging him; towards where? He had no clue. "Let's go find my stuff!"

He found it somewhat endearing, seeing her enthusiastic attitude, seemingly shrugging off the harrowing experience from just a few hours ago. She was a lot stronger than he initially thought and if he had to guess, she probably didn't give herself enough credit. Though, he wasn't sure how well she could fight as he'd never seen her do so.

He stopped his train of thoughts from wandering as he knew Lucy was going the opposite direction. He tugged the arm she was holding, catching her attention. "Hey, wait, why don't we ask the guys behind us? I'm sure they'll know."

Lucy paused mid-step, her cheeks turning rosy as she realized that she'd been so fixated on searching for her belongings that she didn't even consider that. As she put her foot down, she came to another realization: she was still holding onto Naruto's arm. Awkwardness settled upon her and she decided that she absolutely could not face him right now. In a snap decision, she turned about, hand still clamped around Naruto's arm, and started to quickly walk towards the guards she'd missed earlier, avoiding the taller blonde's amused face all the while.

And just like that, Naruto was dragged all over the Rune Knight's camp before Lucy eventually found her belongings, or whatever was left of it. Her suitcase had been destroyed during the skirmish with the lizardmen but somehow her fur jacket had survived.

The pair exited the the tent and walked aimlessly through the camp as Lucy bemoaned her misfortune.

Her entire wardrobe was gone! She'd have to buy all new clothes again, damn it! Cute clothing was expensive and she hadn't worked in a while since she had been traveling with another group for the past week.

But wait, buy new clothes?

That wasn't so bad, now that she thought about it. Realizing she could go shopping again, she let out a quiet giggle. Thankfully, she still had some savings in the bank but she didn't want to touch it unless it was truly an emergency. And as much as she loved buying cute clothes, she knew she couldn't just spend that lifeline so recklessly. Ugh, damn it, that meant she'd have to go back to server gigs.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, Naruto had been eying her warily, wondering all the while just what she could be thinking about. "Say, Lucy, what do you plan on doing now? Aren't you traveling with that group or something?" He asked curiously, looking around for the other mages he'd rescued. They hadn't been able to talk much earlier, busy as it was, but now that things had settled, he wondered how she'd gotten into such a situation.

"Well, I'm on my way to join Fairy Tail!" She said with stars in her eyes. "I'm a mage you see but you know what they say, you aren't officially considered a mage until you're accepted into a guild. And Fairy Tail is my favorite guild, they're all really strong!"

Lucy, in her excitement descended into a lecture about the history, intricacies, and nuances on the relationship between mages, guilds, and even the Magic Council, and how they operated.

Seeing the taller blond beginning to lose interest, she coughed into her hand, grabbing his attention again and decided to get back onto the topic at hand. "Anyways, I met them while traveling and we bonded pretty quickly but we just so happened to be going in the same direction. They took on a job and I decided to go with them, since we were going the same way, anyway."

"They finished their job and are heading back home now to rest and recover. We said our goodbyes earlier." She finished with a sad smile.

"Ah," Naruto said lamely, not really sure how to respond. A feeling of contention arose within him as he felt conflicted towards the matter at hand. On one side, he was sympathetic towards her plight. Of course he was, how could he not? He didn't need the ability to sense negative emotions to know the complicated feelings swirling within her, after having what she'd gone through. Thankfully, nothing more dangerous occurred so she was able to come out mostly physically unscathed.

On the other side, the side of him that had been trained to become a shinobi since a young age, wanted to focus on his current predicaments first. Though he wasn't unused to being thrown across dimensions, having no immediate way to go back home was a serious hassle.

'That fucking dragon…' Naruto cursed as he thought back to what happened that day with that damned oversized lizard. He seriously hoped Sasuke was out looking for him.

FLASHBACK

Uzumaki Naruto, newly minted Jōnin of the Hidden Leaf Village, stood with a straight face in front of the Sixth Hokage and his former teacher, Hatake Kakashi.

A year had passed since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World war, with the Shinobi Alliance emerging victorious at the sealing of the progenitor of Chakra, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. The Five Great Nations continued that alliance and from then on it became the Shinobi Union. It was an effort to recover the losses from the war as they shared resources with one another. And the better part was, smaller shinobi villages were able to join and stand on equal grounds with the larger Nations.

Of course, old wounds were hard to forget and there would be the occasional outburst every now and then but now, they would settle things diplomatically since they no longer needed to fight one another for resources, one of the bigger reasons for wars to start.

"You got a mission for me, sensei?" Naruto asked to which the silver-haired Hokage nodded.

"Yes, it's a solo B-rank mission. The pay's not bad and it'll likely last 1-2 weeks, depending on how quickly you want to wrap things up," the Hokage said as his eyes closed into half moons, his patented smile-without-a-smile. Sometimes, it was hard to tell if he was smiling with you or making fun of you, especially now that he had both eyes again. "I figured you could use a break from the usual S and A-rank missions."

"Wow, what a great break, thank you so much Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said sarcastically as he took the scroll and read through it's contents.

The mission itself was pretty standard, a wealthy merchant with way too much money on their hands requesting bodyguards from Shinobi Villages. It was a job that had existed for as long as Shinobi system and would likely continue to exist as long as the nations continued to fight against one another.

Although peace was established, it was tentative. It could be considered a trial run, actually. After all, there were decades of war and bloodshed between them, as shinobis fought to the death for their villages. These scars, forged by the machinations of the political landscape of the times could not be so easily forgotten.

But they had managed to come to an understanding, against all odds, realizing that continuing down their previous path would have only led to the end of the shinobi nations. Due to the war, the Five Nations came together and set aside their differences to prevent the end of the world and it was that crucial first step that led them down the path to this tentative peace now.

Of course, just because the Shinobi Union existed, did not mean everybody agreed with what it meant. Some saw it as a way for the Five Great Nations to ensnare the smaller nations, greedily gobbling up the power for themselves. Threats still existed all around such as the remnant cells of the Akatsuki, and terrorist groups seemed to be forming left and right nowadays.

They were still no match for the Shinobi Union though. Each time they popped up trying to bring trouble along with them, the allied nations would be there to snuff them out, with Naruto, the Savior Of The World, at the forefront.

"Wait a minute - 'requesting bodyguard to be Uzumaki Naruto, will pay a premium for the safe escort of the shipping magnate, Ishihara Yutaka and his daughter, Ishihara Harumi'," Naruto read aloud as realization struck him. "This ain't a damn break you bastard-sensei! You're selling me out!"

With the smile-without-a-smile still plastered on his face - the man was making fun of him! Naruto didn't doubt himself as Kakashi chuckled at his pupil's reactions. 'The Hero' and 'Savior of The World', at nearly 19 years old, and having grown into a fine young man, not to mention splendid shinobi, was still too easy to tease sometimes. And it brought a sense of comfort at the blonde's unrelenting determination.

"Now, now," the Hokage said placatingly, "before you get your undies in a bunch, the destination is the Land of Hot Water, a premium location. Why don't you take a week or two off after the mission and use that money to take a vacation?"

"After all, you could use it."

That was true, Naruto thought as he simmered down. He hadn't had a day off in months. There were threats that still lurked out there that needed to be taken care of and Naruto had made no small argument to be a part of the division that would be formed to combat such threats. Not to mention the endless string of missions personally requesting for him. Still, as much of a walking battery he was, he was still human. And humans needed to take a break from time to time.

"Fine, fine, I'll take it," the blond grumbled.

"Great, I'd knew you'd see it my way! Why don't you go meet the clients and then prepare for your vacation - I mean, mission." Kakashi winked playfully at his student.

Naruto couldn't help but cringe at the sight before him. "Still, couldn't you have at least added another person to this mission?"

His mentor's eyes twinkled in amusement, "oh-ho, does my dear pupil have somebody he fancies?"

"No, it's not like that, ya know!" Naruto vehemently denied the accusation. "It's just, I haven't seen some of them in months."

Kakashi's eyes softened at that. Of course, Naruto had had a lonely childhood and the bonds he'd forged through his blood, sweat, and tears were things he cherished greatly. But as people grew older, and their responsibilities expanded, friendships would sometimes fall to the backburner to make way for a new future. Sometimes those friendships never moved back to the way it was but that was just the unfortunate way of life.

That wasn't to say that those bonds he'd carefully cultivated over the years would disappear forever, it was necessary to put it aside for the time being and focus on making the world a better place first; everybody was busy with the peace efforts. Besides, nobody would forget the name Uzumaki Naruto ever again. It was a name that would be passed down in the history books as a legend.

Still, this was something that the blond would have to go through and navigate himself. He would need to prepare himself as the hero vying for the seat of Hokage. If he thought his responsibilities now were hard to manage, he definitely wouldn't be able to withstand the pressures of what it meant to lead an entire village.

Still, there was time yet, and he believed in his student. He knew the blond would always rise to the occasion for his beliefs, no matter how many times he fell. So, as he was Naruto's teacher once upon a time, he took it upon himself to help nudge the knucklehead towards the right direction.

"Listen, Naruto," Kakashi spoke seriously, in a voice that meant a lecture of some sort was coming and Naruto prepared himself accordingly, having been around the man for the better part of a decade. "Your friends will always be here for you, don't you forget that. And even if there's nobody else in the world, you'll still have me, Sakura, and Sasuke."

"The hell?" Naruto stammered in surprise as a feeling of warmth spread through his chest. Though, hearing it from his teacher felt somewhat out of place, flippant as he was, even as the Hokage.

"Anyways, you're dismissed," Kakashi said, not giving Naruto the chance to respond, who turned to leave with a dissatisfied grumble. He'd let his student stew on that, not like it was vague or anything. He should have been able to understand the message, right?

As Naruto was about to close the door, Kakashi shouted out, deciding to tease him one more time, "you can always take Harumi-san to the hot springs. I hear she fancies you!"

The door slammed shut, leaving the Hokage alone once more and he continued his work with a genuine smile.

The mission had gone by a lot quicker than he'd thought with some light scuffles along the way. It seemed like there would always be bandits preying on the weak.

Naruto let out a sigh of contentment as he soaked in the warmth of the famed hot springs located in the Land of Hot Water. Above him, the moon shone brightly in its full glory, casting an ethereal light that covered the springs. He watched the celestial body, entranced by its beauty and glory.

"Naruto! Be careful, something doesn't feel right."

He was snapped out of the trance at the urgent voice of his partner, as he felt the telltale signs of natural chakra, circulating and mingling with the existing energies within him.

But before he could finish gathering the necessary ingredients for Senjutsu Chakra, a voice interrupted him; it sounded smooth and melodic, as if it was carried by the wind. Shock colored his face, having been unable to sense her before her arrival.

After forming a partnership with Kurama, and thus becoming a perfect Jinchūriki, he had gained many additional and useful abilities. One was the ability to sense nearby Chakra without needing to use Sage Mode, as well as the ability to sense negative emotions. Not only that but through the countless trials he'd experienced over the years, Naruto was able to hone in and develop his own unique way of sensing for danger. It was a sixth sense that many veterans had forged through the fires of war.

And yet, none of those had triggered, leading to his current situation.

"My, what an abundance of energy you have there!" Naruto glanced to the source of the sound only to find a woman sitting near him, possessing an otherworldly beauty, with only a towel to keep her modesty. She was sitting casually in the hot springs with her head tilted back as she drank from a saucer filled with liquor, her eyes never leaving the celestial body. The sweet aroma of the liquor reached Naruto.

She had an otherwordly beauty, with long blonde hair that went down to her curvaceous hips and she sat with her long, smooth legs crossed; her towel barely clinging onto her impressive bust.

"Who are you?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, subtly preparing himself for battle. "What do you want?"

"Come now, my dear, there's no need to be so feisty," the woman answered nonchalantly, her eyes never leaving the moon above her. "I'm merely here to talk, drink, and enjoy this absolutely divine hot spring."

Hearing a growl in response, the mysterious woman continued speaking as she finally looked down from above, meeting his gaze. "Tell me, young one, are you strong?"

The hell? Confused by the strange and sudden question, Naruto asked with suspicion, "why the hell should I tell you?"

"I have traveled many a worlds and encountered many unique and powerful individuals but none have yet to meet my expectations." She sighed. "But then I found you, someone who has a bottomless well, filled with this strange and potent energy. It's similar to magic but just not quite the same and yet it feels all the more vicious."

It rivaled even her own massive reserves - her, one of the Five Dragon Gods of Earth Land. Now that was a prospect that seemed too tantalizing to let go of.

"Naruto, we should get out of here first," Kurama spoke up, gathering Natural Chakra. "This one…I can sense an immense and extraordinary strength within her."

The blond shinobi acknowledged his partner's words, he knew he needed to escape here first and foremost. If it really came down to blows, it would be better if the popular tourist destination wasn't caught up in the fight. The people here didn't deserved to be put in harms way because of him.

As she felt the rush at the sudden surge in energy, the blonde woman's eyes snapped open predatorily.

"Yes, this is it. I can feel the strength welling deep within you and it's not even everything, is it?!" Her demeanor changed, descending into depravity once she felt the potent energy surrounding them rushing into the blond man in front of her, mingling with the existing energies within before creating something entirely new - the combined might of all three energies co-existing as one.

Still, she knew she held the advantage with her unique ability and authority as a Dragon, one that allowed her to rise to top of the Dragon hierarchy - dimensional magic.

Gathering the necessary magic, she vanished from view, leaving the blond to watch in shock at her disappearance with nary a movement. It was different from the normal methods of travel utilized by the shinobi, which was the Body Flicker Technique. It allowed the user to seemingly disappear into thin air but in actuality, it was heavily based on speed, not teleportation.

This felt more like…Kaguya's ability to travel through dimensions. He quickly scanned his surroundings, pulling and tugging at the chakra of the world to help him locate her, the level of the threat having increased exponentially.

The seconds ticked on and he was still unable to locate her yet he never let his guard down.

"To your right!" Kurama warned but it was too late. By the time Naruto had reacted, a delicate hand, belying its strength clamped onto his arm. His eyes widened at the sight of an arm sticking out of thin air before the very fabric of reality tore apart and rapidly expanded, the mysterious woman appearing once more with a deranged look. She had seemingly switched from a towel to a loose kimono with splatters of flowers designed all over and a hood adorned with an upward crescent moon covered her blonde hair.

Before he could even attempt to wretch his arm away, the world around him began to spin as the murky darkness surrounded him before eventually overtaking his body entirely.

"Let's go somewhere more private, shall we?" Was the last thing Naruto heard before disappearing.

"Naruto-sama, your clothes have been washed and folded and placed into your storage cubicle," an attendant of the hot springs inn said, sliding open the doors but he soon stopped, taking in the empty springs in front of him. "Huh, where did he go?"

Naruto felt the impact of solid ground as he was thrown unceremoniously, his arm having absorbed the brunt of the force. He jumped to his feet quickly enough as the mystery woman laid on the ground with smoke rising off of her downed form. His Sage Mode had deactivated as soon as he entered this space, feeling not a drop of natural chakra in the environment. Alarmed, he wondered just where the hell he was.

"My, my, this power…this strength…yes, this is it!" She muttered. Standing up, she inspected the large spiral patterned wound that he'd managed to inflict in that split second of contact while she grabbed him, causing her to lose concentration while using her Aqua Aera spell. Initially, she had planned to transport them both to her home base in Guiltina before forcing him to do what she wanted.

The pair stood across from each other in a vast and expansive white space - her space, to be exact. While her spell had failed, she still managed to transport the both of them into her own pocket dimension. Sure, that split-second had allowed her opponent to land quite the blow on her body. But now that they were in her own pocket dimension with no way in or out without her say-so, it would only be a matter of time before he was cowed into submission.

"Tch!" He'd had hoped the Rasengan would be enough to at least knock her unconscious but he knew that would be a too naïve, and a short trip to a quick death. Still, the attack had done some damage, though based on the superficial wound, it seemed like her durability was nothing to scoff at.

She was strong, damned strong. Of this, Naruto had no doubt, despite their brief exchange. Still, they were away from the populous town now and with such a wide area available to him, The Hero of the World decided to let loose for the first time since the war.

'Kurama!' Without delay, an oppressive aura descended onto the soon to be battlefield as a golden flame-like energy enshrouded the blond completely. It sprouted a pair of horns on his head with six magatama markings spread across around his neck and a prominent black swirl appeared over his stomach with various lines extending all along his body.

With the activation of his Chakra Cloak, he vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing before her with one of his legs raised high into air, ready to deliver a crushing blow. She raised both arms, redirecting her impressive reservoir of magic to reinforce herself, aiming to take the attack head on. She felt the heavy impact as the attack struck, leveling the ground she stood on. She marveled at his strength as he landed in front of her and with a pivot, he lashed out with a mighty high kick, aiming for her temple.

Unable to dodge the attack in time, she imbibed her arms with the strength necessary to stop the kick in time as potent magic continuously swirled within her, ready to be used at a moment's notice.

A loud crunch echoed within the empty space, her forearm cracked under the pressure of his foot and she was sent barreling away before she managed to right herself, landing nimbly on her feet, several meters away with her right arm dangling limply. However, it seemed to have only emboldened her as she smiled widely, showing off her sharp teeth.

He was strong, she admired. She already knew he was strong based on his massive reserves but she was caught completely by surprise at his ferocity and speed. He truly was the one she had been looking for all along. He was the only one who could distort the world.

She had to have him.

Her remaining, usable hand moved in an intricate fashion, "the moonlight shines the flames of the Gods - Moonlight Conflagration!" In the span of a second, her magic swelled in proportion as a towering spiral of roaring fire converged around him, threatening to overwhelm him.

He was startled by her attack but did not panic. Using the Body Flicker, he was able to dodge the blazing inferno that tore apart the space with a thunderous explosion. Landing some distance away from the epicenter of the blast, two clones appeared beside him, both taking off towards his opponent as soon as they were created.

The smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing the pair of clones attacking the strange woman in tandem as she expertly dodged or blocked each strike.

A loud screeching noise filled the area as she jumped back instinctively, hoping to create some distance from whatever was causing the sound. She was able to gain some separation but the pair of blonds were quick to follow, striking at her mercilessly and with expert precision, each one aiming for her vitals, trying to take advantage of her handicap.

But she hadn't been bestowed the title of 'Dragon God' for no reason.

She split her attention between the clones and the original, as she eyed the latter vigilantly. Within the original's bandaged hand sat a large orb with four large points rotating rapidly around the ball of massively condensed energy. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she considered the destructive capacity from the attack.

She knew she had to avoid the attack altogether as she was unsure if she could come out of it alive.

But that was okay. As long as he couldn't touch her with it, she would be fine. Based on their brief exchange from earlier, the fierce little orb could only work if he was holding it while he struck. Seeing the similarities between the two attacks, she assumed they worked the same way.

One of the clones she was fighting suddenly overextended on a punch; quickly taking advantage, she swiped her arm sideways as numerous crescent blades shot forth at near supersonic speeds.

"The moon wanes like the swift wind - Moonlight Blade!"

Too close to dodge the attack, the clone perished, dispersing in a puff of smoke. Seeing this, the remaining clone quickly backed off, narrowly avoiding being sliced apart. She quickly attacked again, deciding to press her advantage.

"Dance…Moonlight butterflies!" Thousands of ethereal butterflies appeared, swirling chaotically around the clone. With the copy ensnared and unable to escape, she waved her hand as the butterflies began to glow iridescently, each one surging with energy before detonating. The individual detonation of each butterfly was weak by itself but as each one exploded, it caused a ripple effect, resulting in a cacophony of explosions, threatening to tear the world asunder.

With a smug smirk, she turned her attention back to the blond only to stare at an empty space. An icy chill ran down her back, her periphery vision catching a glimpse of the violently rotating orb flying straight at her.

'He threw it?!'

Time seemed to slow down as the attack continually closed the gap between them and for the first time, in her long life, she felt fear - acutely aware that she would not be able to dodge in time.

She was left with no choice, it seemed.

Naruto could only watch in morbid fascination at the scales that suddenly began covering her face, as his Rasenshuriken nearly reached its target. And just as it neared his opponent, a tremendous, sudden outburst of energy exploded from her lithe body, causing his attack to implode. The blond was standing some distance away with his arms crossed, bracing himself for the impact but it was stronger than he expected. He was ripped from the ground and sent flying back from the shockwaves of the eruption of power.

Twin puffs of smokes appeared behind him, his clones grabbing hold of him in order to stabilize him, allowing him to land safely back on the ground.

The strange energy took on a tangible form as it lashed out angrily, striking at everything and anything that stood in its path, leaving cracks and craters littered all around.

He dodged and weaved, narrowly avoiding it each time. He was forced to jump back as a large cluster of energy slammed down on the spot he was just standing at, pulverizing the floor. He had been surprised when the moon had suddenly appeared but when a large shadow engulfed him, he could not help the shock running through him.

"That was a close one. It has been some time since I've been forced to fight in my dragon form," he heard the woman's arrogant voice from high above. "Take pride in that. I will be coming at you with my full might from now on."

He had no idea what the creature towering over him was but he could feel just how much more powerful she had gotten due to her sudden transformation. She was dozens of meters tall and stood on all fours, sharp claws protruding from each foot, with scales all along her body. Her neck had lengthened greatly with tufts of fur covering it, reaching all the way to the base of her head and several long tails flailed menacingly behind her, although one looked more dangerous than the others.

"Now show me, how will you distort this world?"

With a temporary lull in the fight, the shinobi was able to catch his breath.

'God damn it, what the hell is up with this chick?' Naruto was pretty annoyed at her for ruining his supposed vacation time. And why the hell was she even attacking him in the first place? He'd never even met her! There was no way he was going to forget someone that could transform like a Jinchūriki.

He bit down on his lip in an attempt to calm himself as he struggled mightily to hold himself back. It took a moment but he was able to rein himself in and decided to attempt to talk with her instead, hoping she could still be reasoned with.

"Why are you attacking me?" He asked as diplomatically as he could.

Silence descended upon the torn battlefield as the dragon stared down at the now tiny human, watching him staring back defiantly. She hadn't expected a sudden conversation after she'd turned back into her dragon form but with no small amount of amusement, she decided to follow his flow.

"Why, you ask? Well, for fun of course!"

With herculean effort, Naruto managed to stop himself from just chucking a few Rasenshurikens at her. "Okay…but why me? You're ruining my vacation, if you hadn't noticed," he said through gritted teeth.

The dragon blinked owlishly as if she'd been unaware. Well she was, not that it mattered. "My apologies, I had no idea. In an effort to right my wrongs, what say I take you on a real vacation, to somewhere more magical?"

Naruto really disliked the way the dragon was smiling at him currently. "The hell? No thanks, I'm fine with the hot springs here."

"It was indeed quite lovely," the dragon said as she slowly transformed back into her human form, and Naruto was able to finally rest his neck. "And yet, such a quick refusal. Will you not at least hear what I have to say?"

"Lady, in case you hadn't noticed, you kidnapped me and brought me here just to try and kill me or whatever you were trying to do."

"Hmm, indeed that does seem to be the case. How unfortunate. No matter." The dragon turned human said as she raised her arm, magic quickly coalescing in her hand as a large orb made of a strange energy began to form.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto shouted, anticipating the attack. He had wanted to speak with her since she had remained sane after transforming but he was not foolish enough to lower his guard. As he was about to counterattack, nighttime suddenly descended, casting the previously white world into darkness and yet the appearance of the moon and stars illuminated the space once more. She had transformed back into her dragon form, hovering in the air with the large celestial body serving as her backdrop. The previous attack, having already been launched, rocketed towards him at terrifying speeds.

He cursed and jumped out of the way as the moon began to grow in proportion to its shine, momentarily taking away his vision.

But that was all the time she needed.

"Let's play a game, shall we? Your primary objective: enjoy your vacation!" He heard her teasing voice as the space around him began to distort and the familiar uncomfortable queasiness of being thrown across dimensions began to bubble up. "And your secondary objective: find me if you can!"

END FLASHBACK

That was the last thing he'd heard before he woke up nearly butt ass naked, the towel somehow still tied around his waist despite the titanic fight, in what he now knew as Earth Land. More specifically, Fiore.

Bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, he'd realized they walked a bit further than he expected, having wandered back into the clearing where she'd reunited with her friends. By now, the sun had descended dramatically from its initial high noon position, and with it, the temperature.

Looking back at Lucy, he'd notice she'd gotten more somber and realized they'd been walking around in silence for the most part, lost in thought as he was. Still, could he even afford to help somebody else right now?

Well, if nothing else, he could walk her to the nearest town if the were going the same way. It just so happened that the nearest town was also where he was currently living. If she happened to be traveling in the opposite direction, then he'd asked the Rune Knights to accompany her at least.

"Why don't you just ask her instead of worrying like an imbecile?" Kurama spoke up as it felt its partners conflicted emotions. Even now, stuck here in this new world with no ties to his own, Naruto, ever the helpful idiot was still willing to go to great lengths just to help a complete stranger. At the very least, it seemed like he would consider things first before taking action, a far cry from his younger self.

Before he could answer his partner, he heard Lucy ask in a soft voice, "by the way, Naruto, where are you headed to next?"

"I'm going to Olearia Town, it's not too far from here." He said, deciding to speak with Kurama later.

"What a coincidence, I was also heading towards there!" Lucy exclaimed.

Naruto let out a low whistle, similarly as surprised as her, though he was also glad. Unbeknownst to him was that Lucy faked hers. Truth be told, she didn't have any idea where to go after what happened today and she felt safe beside him so she wanted to stay with him just a little bit longer.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto said as he began walking with enthusiasm. "I know this great ramen spot! They'll probably still be open."

Lucy, who had been nearly swept along by the positive atmosphere, suddenly remembered how far that town actually was from here.

"Wait a minute. Naruto, Olearia Town is like four hours from here by SE carriage!"

"Oh don't worry about that, I can get us there in like thirty minutes." He said as he lowered himself with her back facing her, until they stood about even in height.

Unsure of what was happening, she asked, "what are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for you to get on," Naruto responded flatly.

"No! Why am I getting on in the first place?!" Lucy screamed in a fluster.

"So we can get back to Olearia Town before the Ramen bar closes," he replied, ignoring Lucy's cries of indignation and urged her. "Come on Lucy, I don't know how long they'll stay open for."

That was a lie, of course. Naruto knew the daily operating hours of the Ramen store like the back of his hand but it had been a long day and he was eager to go back and enjoy some soupy noodles.

She bit back a groan as she hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Naruto seemed like a trustworthy guy, he did save her after all but still, to just climb onto some guy's back for a piggy back ride didn't sound too appealing to the younger blonde. Her active imagination as an aspiring writer did not help either as it ran rampant with delusions of the two becoming a couple. To her inexperienced mind, it was something only couples did, after all.

The sound of her stomach growling prompted her to make a snap decision and she begrudgingly climbed aboard Naruto's surprisingly broad back, her arms hanging loosely around his neck.

He scooped her legs up and stood back to his full height. "Alright! Hold tight, Lucy."

Without giving her the time to react, he leapt into the trees before landing on a sturdy branch and then taking off again at breakneck speeds, heading towards his home. The frightened yells that escaped from a bewildered Lucy echoed around them as they disappeared into the forest.

GUILTINA - SELENE'S TEMPLE

Atop a large mountain stood a luxurious three-storied pagoda with eaves hanging between each floor.

On the highest floor, there was a room that had been purposely designed without an exterior wall on one side, allowing the moon's mystical light to shine through, illuminating the dark room, casting long shadows. Sitting by the opening with her back against a large and intricately designed pillar was a woman with long blonde hair wearing a revealing kimono with fur trimmings lining the collar.

She was Selene, the Moon Dragon God, revered as one of the Five Dragon Gods and she currently lived on the northern continent of Guiltina. She had fled along with the other Dragon Gods from Ishgar many years ago, escaping from the overwhelming might of the Dragon King, Acnologia.

She held a saucer filled with liquor as she stared longingly into the moon hanging beautifully in the night sky, memories of a past long forgotten resurfacing.

"Now then, my dear. I do hope you'll be able to entertain me," she mumbled with an alluring smile as she took a sip of the sweet liquor.

And maybe kill a dragon or two along the way.

End Chapter two. Thank you for the feedback on the first chapter.

My first written fight scene. Hopefully I did it justice, please let me know your thoughts.

The story starts a year before canon (x784) where Lucy is 17 years old. So she is 16 here.

Note: SE Carriage is a magical vehicle that is powered by a Self-energy plug, where a mage can power the vehicle using their magic power. I don't think they're officially called an SE Carriage though.