Unlimited Courage

by Nasha Rei-Kun

He stood out and Satellizer realized that she was fine with that. Kazuya always found motivation in his words, not a replacement for his sister but Kazuya was fine with that. Chiffon found this boy weird, he did way too many odd things to say otherwise... but she was fine with that. And Rana Linchen grinned, laughed, talked, and enjoyed every moment together with Naruto Uzumaki.

14. Tests and New Allies II

~NRK~

When Naruto Uzumaki awoke the next morning, his face went neon red as he was surrounded, squished, between the bodies of Chiffon, Lucy, and Rana along with his little brother.

'How the hell did this happen?!' He didn't know, had he been that tired last night? 'Oh, God, L-Lucy,' he was dealing with the most notable problem of man.

He had morning wood and Lucy was barely not touching it but was all on his stomach, making things urgent.

'Damn you, Tired Naruto!' He wouldn't be in this mess if he had just had a little more energy. 'Okay, okay, calm down, there's a way out of any situation,' Naruto thought with determination.

Then Lucy hummed in her sleep and shifted over him, taking all his conviction and throwing it in the garbage as smooth linen on an athletic body 'smoothed him over'.

'Oh, God,' what a perfect time for her to do THAT! 'I'm so dead.'

No, well, he'd be dead metaphorically because he had a feeling Lucy would say nothing and simply… 'observe him' until she awoke her sibling and Rana by accident.

He could see Chiffon's teasing on full display while Rana would blush and do something to help him before causing a bigger mess, somehow!

'It's a Rom-com nightmare,' he realized as Chiffon adjusted herself next to him, her snores in his ears?! 'Stop, stop, stop!' This was literally the WORST situation to be in, hormonally! 'Someone, help me!'

'Hmm?' Came a voice and Naruto's eyes widened as he heard a mental yawn. 'I believe this is Uzumaki Naruto?'

Ignoring the fact that this felt like a phone call, Naruto grimaced.

'Yes, it's me, and right now your daughters put me into a… weird position.'

'Hmm? I thought you didn't care, last night.'

Damn you, Tired Naruto! 'I-I may have said that but I was too tired, I wasn't thinking, and now they're all on me and I have morning wood!' This was no time for embarrassment, maybe Maria would know what to do.

'... One moment.'

Naruto's face shifted into confusion as he felt like… was she waking up Gengo?!

'He's awake, I'll connect him.'

'W-Wait, you can't-'

'What's this I'm hearing about morning wood?' The man, the authority, the 'legend', Gengo Aoi spoke up groggily. 'What the hell are you on about, boy?'

Fuck it. 'Your daughters have trapped me to my bed and Lucy's over my stomach for some damn reason.'

'... Man, that sounds like a you problem.'

'Gengo-jiji, you son of a bitch! You know that Lucy will do something to throw all this out of wack!'

'I might but, once again, I fail to see how this is my problem. Besides, three beautiful women in your bed who may 'tease' you? You're a weird one, that's for sure.'

'What is this imagery you just put into my head?' Naruto felt some sort of sick satisfaction as Gengo stuttered. 'Is this a thing that human males find attractive?'

'W-Wait, Maria, this can be but only for deviants like this young man.'

'The actual hell?!'

'Shush, trying to corrupt Maria with your insanity.'

'What did I do to deserve this?' Naruto considered in mute horror. '... Dammit, I'll live with the consequences, this isn't the worst thing to happen… I-I guess.'

'There ya go. Hey, you never know, you might get a legendary-'

'Old man, do NOT finish that sentence,' Naruto said before mentally hanging up.

---

"He can do that?" Maria wondered, naked as the sheets fell off her body, while Gengo cupped his chin, as naked as the day he was born. "Either he's done this before, he's growing, or this works more like a phone than I remember."

"Perhaps it's because of Freezing?"

"Perhaps."

---

"..." Naruto breathed out before just… letting it happen. "Y-Yo, Lucy," he called out to her, only trying to awaken her and not Rana, Menma, nor Chiffon.

The older hybrid hummed awake, eyes blinking thrice before she was looking up at him.

He guessed the sandman didn't visit Nova-hybrids like it did normal humans. "L-Look, this is kind of embarrassing but could you… get off me? I want to get up," he asked her, face bright red.

"... Very well," Lucy nodded, shifting off him… "Hm?" She looked down at his pants in confusion.

A pitched tent inside his pants confused her as Naruto burned bright red as she did as he worriedly expected.

"What is… this?" She wondered curiously, looking at him for answers.

"... M-Mm, that's called… morning tree, it happens to guys sometimes when they wake up," he lied about the name. "I-It's very private, so, don't say anything, please?" Naruto pleaded and Lucy nodded.

As she got off him, he smiled, embarrassed but victorious.

"Hmm?" Naruto's victory froze on his face as his head mechanically turned to see Rana rubbing her eyes, waking up. "Naruto-kun?" Rana said groggily and the blonde swallowed as she began to get up. "Good Mmmorning," she said.

Naruto's pupils shrunk.

Lucy laid back down on his stomach, eyes closed and breathing still.

'Thank you, Lucy-nee!' Naruto cheered mentally as Rana's eyes landed on the still hybrid, eyebrow twitching. 'Take the bait, take the bait!'

Rana grumbled before sighing. "There's a big process-de arimasu," she uttered, confusing the blonde as she got up before yawning. "I'm borrowing some of your clothes, Naruto-kun," Rana said as she rifled through his things before leaving with some of his clothes.

"... Wait, what?" What had just happened?

Why the hell did Rana seem so… okay with this?!

"... I really don't understand women," he uttered to himself before freezing at the sound of a giggle next to him.

"Hm, hm, you really don't," Chiffon said as she got up, stretched, and then moved to the bathroom. "Rana-chan~ Do we have extra toothbrushes?" She asked with a smile, leaving the bed.

"... We do-de arimasu!"

"Grand."

Watching Chiffon enter the bathroom with little care, Naruto balked.

Lucy opened her eyes, looked around, got up, and looked down at him.

Naruto was more lost than she ever was at that moment.

Fascinating.

~NRK~

The group of Naruto, Rana, Chiffon, Menma, and Lucy sat at a table in the cafeteria, eating breakfast.

Naruto, though, had his head down as Chiffon sat in front of him with a big grin and slight blush.

Wearing Naruto's pajamas, green for Lucy and Chiffon while Rana wore one of his light blue ones.

The blonde was wearing that same color as well as he ate with horror while his younger sibling wore black pajamas, looking at his elder sibling in confusion.

"Yo, Naruto-onii-chan, what's going on?" Menma asked as he ate his bacon. "You looked like you just watched a ghost movie."

"Oh? Does Naruto hate those?" Chiffon asked with a grin as Menma nodded. "Wow, we should watch one of those!"

"No, we will not!" Naruto shot back, face bearing grim determination. "We won't do that like we don't be talking about this morning."

"Hmm?" Rana blinked, swallowing before asking her question. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Rana-chan."

"Oh, I think it was something far different, Naruto-kun," Chiffon asked, cheeks rosy but grin vicious. "Why, I might even say scandalous."

"... Ah, you mean how we all woke up," Rana said with a slight blush but a shrug. "It is what it is-de arimasu."

"..."

"..."

"No, seriously, Rana-chan, you're way to-"

"Good morning, tree group," came Gengo's voice from behind them, a smirk on his face that Naruto hated with the heat of a thousand suns.

"Hm? Tree group?" Rana said in confusion, much like Minato and Kushina who shot Gengo a look.

Naruto stuffed his head beneath his hands.

"Ignore him, let's talk about how things are gonna go today," the blonde grunted as he stuffed some eggs into his mouth. "Mm."

"Hmm," Gengo considered him for a moment before smirking. "Did your… issue, this morning, get solved well?"

"No, and Chiffon's terrorizing me."

"Guilty as charged," Chiffon said with not a hint of apology. "Oh, hush, you're a big boy, isn't that right, Menma-kun? He's being awfully pouty."

"... She's kind of right, nii-san."

"Menma, don't listen to her, that way lies madness in the form of a young woman."

"... I thought you didn't understand women."

"Don't worry, this part's easy."

"Snrt," Kushina snickered. "Goodness, they grow up so fast, it's honestly impressive."

Minato chuckled as they sat down and signaled a waiter for their food. "That said, Naruto's right, we should remember that we're demonstrating more later today. Today's going to be the matches with some of the Pandora from the Chevalier… Radox offered," the man said with a shaky grin towards his son who hummed before shrugging.

"It's no skin off my back, I told him everything I wanted to say. I just hope he takes it to heart and, you know, not have these random Pandora hiding around the corners, looking at me," Naruto said as he looked at the women by the doors to the lunchroom.

Their eyes met and she simply turned her gaze elsewhere.

"It's getting old fast."

"Hmm, when did you notice?" Gengo asked.

"The moment I stepped out of the room, two of the Pandora went to the ends of the halls while one patrolled our floor and the one beneath us, she spent way more time up here instead of down there, though."

"Hmm, I seriously wonder what's going to change the moment he leaves," Chiffon said with a huff. "He can't just have you monitored forever."

"He seems to want to try," Naruto uttered and Rana frowned.

"Isn't this illegal-de arimasu?" She asked and Gengo shrugged.

"Not necessarily, he's got the right alibi to frame it as a good thing and having Naruto 'protected'," Gengo twitched his fingers as Naruto and Kushina snorted. "Isn't a bad goal."

"Still, what about the Pandora from Germany?" Minato asked as Obito and Su-Na came into the lunchroom. "Are they going to fight?"

"I don't think so," Gengo said as he looked at that table which was looking at Naruto, the blonde waving nonchalantly at them before they turned back around to their hushed whispers. "At least, most likely not."

"What's planned?" Lucy asked. "Protocols can be assumed, not all variables."

"Not untrue," Obito said as he and Su-Na sat down, in long-sleeved black shirts and shorts. "What's going on?"

"Demonstration stuff," Kushina said. "Hmm, I guess we should also bring food back to the rooms, yes?"

"We will," Gengo said. "I sent Eugene on ahead, he can clear up some of the space. How was she this morning?"

Su-Na's eyebrows twitched.

---

She moaned into his chest, sighing at Obito's warmth.

Her hands came around his sides and she felt her mouth set into a smile before it became flat and confused as her fingers trailed over others.

"..." Her eyebrow twitched as she pushed up to look over Obito's shoulder. 'How the hell did she even get there?!'

Kazuha Aoi was going to be the death of her.

---

"... Some entanglement," Su-Na noted as Obito flagged down their breakfast. "I take it that we're going to go and get the home fixed, yes?"

"That seems like the best thing to do. Though, I've been sending cleaners over there every now and then, for whenever Kazuya might have returned," Gengo said with an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Su-Na, I know she can be kind of… difficult but you're doing good work. I'm sure I can find a way to give you two a gift of some sort."

"Hmph…" Su-Na considered something as her cheeks reddened a bit. "... I'll consider it."

Gengo had a feeling he was going to be amused.

"Still, do you want me to fight Naruto-kun?" She asked and the group hummed.

"The previous number one, huh?" Naruto considered before grinning as Rana giggled. "That sounds like a crazy cool idea! Hell, you two are going to be up there, why not fight Suna-nee-san?" He suggested to Chiffon and Rana who blinked at the idea.

Su-Na didn't look perturbed in the slightest. "It would do well to show off the Uzumaki-brand Pandora Suits, I don't mind."

"Hehe~ Sounds like we've got a good set-up."

"Outside of fighting, there's more, yes?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Minato answered. "We've got a strength test, a durability test, an obstacle course, and a race."

"Race?" Lucy said in interest, getting a chuckle out of Obito and Gengo. "That sounds… very productive."

"I know you want to join, Lucy, but you know why you can't," Gengo said with an apologetic smile as the hybrid did her form of a pout.

The slightest dips of her lip formed and she placed her hands on her thighs.

"... Oh, that's how she pouts," Naruto realized as Chiffon snorted. "Gotcha. I mean, it's not like we can't race another time, Lucy-nee."

Lucy perked up at that and the adults chuckled.

"Well, since we've got some time before all that," Chiffon said with a smile. "How about, after we go to the house, we do a little sparring, Naruto-kun?" She asked with a widening grin.

"Sounds like an awesome idea!"

~NRK~

"Alright, come on, come on," Naruto whispered as he pulled Lucy out of his window, the last one out. "Gotcha," he said with her in a princess carry.

Then they simply slid down the wall with a quick application of his Freezing.

"You're like an elevator," Chiffon said with a pleased smile.

Wearing a light blue shirt dress, she donned her white heels and had on her white sunhat.

Naruto, meanwhile, wore an orange and black hood, reminiscent of his old tracksuit's style, while wearing some black cargo shorts and blue ninja sandals.

Lucy wore a simple white dress shirt and black slacks combo with some black sandals.

Minato chuckled as he and Kushina wore the outfits they'd first worn to the event but in black and red, respectively.

Gengo wore what he had the day before but without his lab coat, Obito doing the same, while Su-Na wore an unassuming black shirt and yoga pants, black flats on her feet, while Menma wore a red hoodie and black shorts into his ninja sandals.

Maria donned a light pink sundress with a wide-brimmed sun hat and some tennis shoes, oddly enough. Kazuha, meanwhile, had on a pair of blue jeans, a long-sleeved dark blue top, and a skullcap on as she adjusted her boots.

Rana finished off their entourage in a pair of black yoga pants, black ninja sandals, and a light blue tunic.

"Let's do this-de arimasu," Rana whispered as they looked back up at their room windows. "Let's make haste."

"Alright, come on, we'll head to one of the barracks," Obito said as the group did as such, powerwalking towards the unused barrack by the dormitory.

Getting in, he turned to the group before his Sharingan sprung to life.

A portal of slowly churning Freezing particles formed before them, letting out slow pulses as Obito's eyes glowed.

"... So, this is interesting," Minato said even if he had an idea of what this technique was named. "What is it?"

"Obito-kun has the magnificent ability to be able to transport to places he's been there, with his eyes' power," Su-Na said with a nod towards. "Come, we shouldn't leave Eugene to wait so long."

She walked through, vanishing into it.

"... Whelp, let's do this," Naruto said as he walked through, vanishing into the portal.

"He's one of a kind," Chiffon said before walking in.

Rana ran in place for a moment before rushing through. "Coming through!"

The others chuckled, following after the first group.

~NRK~

Eugene hummed as he waited for the group, Obito's text letting him know they were coming.

Wearing a black polo shirt, tan slacks, and brown loafers, he adjusted his white jacket as he sat inside the home.

"Those cleaners do good work," he remarked as he sipped some coffee. "This place is almost spotless."

"I'm glad," came the voice of Su-Na as she came through Obito's portal, looking around with a nod. "It's awfully nice."

"Whoa, it is!" Naruto said as he came through, eyes blinking. "I've never done that before."

"It's a spectacle every time, honestly," Chiffon said as the others began coming through, Rana being caught by Naruto before she slammed into Eugene. "Well done."

"Ooff… Sorry, Eugene-senpai," Rana apologized as the young man chuckled nervously.

"N-No problem."

The others came through in quick order, Kazuha coming through last with Obito.

When the young woman did, she just took in her surroundings, breathing in the clean air before nearly choking on her tongue.

Obito rested a hand on her shoulder before taking off his mask, grinning for her.

"Welcome home."

---

The group was soon sat around the dinner table and the chairs in the living room, Obito cooking with Kazuha and Su-Na at his sides.

"So, how's it feel being back, Kazuha-nee-chan?" Naruto asked with a grin as Kazuha giggled.

"It feels great!" She cheered as Obito and Su-Na chuckled. "Thank you, really, I don't know how I can repay you."

"Just be there for Kazu when I bring him here," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Oh, the look on his face when he sees you, he's gonna pop."

~NRK~

Kazuya's eyes narrowed as he sat in front of her, perfect seiza.

Satella was doing the same but Kazuya had been noticing that she wasn't looking him in the eye as of yesterday.

"Did something happen, senpai?" He asked her softly and Satella looked down.

"N-No, I'm just… It's weird, being back here, with my siblings," she said, the full truth staying off her lips. 'Why am I like this?!'

Everything had been going so well!

She had friends, comrades, inspiration in the form of a blonde, an almost sister in a blue-haired girl a year her senior… And something that could be amazingly special in the boy across from her.

Yet, here she was, giving up on all of them by letting this nonsense take place and not fighting back!

Kazuya's eyes lowered before he reached out and placed a hand on one of Satella's, shocking the Pandora.

"It's fine to be scared… it's fine to be worried, it's fine to be weak," he said before looking her directly in the eyes, surprising her with the sight of slight pupils. "But, remember, no matter what, I'm here for you, so is Elizabeth-senpai and Andre, so is Creo-senpai and Garou. We're your friends if it's too horrible for you to hold onto then let me help you carry that load."

She wondered… How long had it been?

How long had she been crying in front of him? How long since she gripped his hand like it was the only lifeline in her life?

How long had those smiling figures been behind him, each one stronger than the last and it all came to the back of one.

A powerful young man whose gaze could give all support, whose power was to use for protection and tutelage, and he'd passed a piece of that on to the boy… no…

To her partner before her who was seeming stronger and stronger as the days went on.

Kazuya held her close and embraced her.

From afar, a female frown, her grip on a door hinge denting the metal beneath her palm.

~NRK~

"Isn't it going to be weird if I come and go from here?" Kazuha asked as Gengo hummed.

"Well, Maria will be here as well… So, I think the best thing to do would be to hide your hair color and eyes. In that vein… Eugene," Gengo said before turning to the boy in question who slipped a decently large suitcase out from beneath the couch.

Coming over with it in hand, he opened it to reveal several wigs, contact cases, fake glasses, and nails.

"We had the idea from this morning, I went ahead to do all this first and foremost," Eugene explained with a blush. "T-Though, the looks the ladies were giving me made it more embarrassing than I would have liked."

"Hm, hm, hm," Rana giggled at his expense. "It's still good that you did it, Eugene-senpai, thanks."

"Yeah, well," Eugene rubbed the back of his head as Maria came over and looked at the items. "You don't happen to know how to use all this, do you?" He asked her and the woman smiled at him. "... I'm going to take that as a 'no' and just leave this to anyone who does know how to do this?" He asked the room and Kushina chuckled before getting up and coming over. "Oh, thank, God."

"Hehe~ I used to do this for a lot of the girls in my dorms, not everyone can have long hair like me-dattebane," Kushina said with a smirk as she sat both out-of-coma 'Pandora' down. "Now, which color do you two want?"

An hour later saw the group exiting the home.

Along with them was a blonde woman with blue eyes and a younger redhead whose amber eyes peered around in wonder. Su-Na even wore a light yellow wig while Gengo wore a cap.

"It's still the same," the disguised Kazuha noted with a form of joy that Su-Na hummed at.

"It's only been four years," she said, softly, as Kazuha turned to her with a grin. "Come, I'm sure you want to see everything."

They left the home, Gengo with a hum before he grinned, leading the way down the street with Kazuha at his side.

They went to the one place they needed to be, a familiar place to the Uzumaki.

"It's that same mall that we first went to," Naruto said.

"This is where we met-de arimasu," Rana said with a grin as Kushina smirked.

"Hmph, sadly, I and Minato didn't get such an amazing place for our meeting," the real redhead said with a teasing grin as Minato chuckled. "It was just a classroom, talk about generic."

"Hehe~" Naruto snickered.

Going into a familiar clothing section, Naruto chuckled as he, Gengo, Obito, Minato, Menma, and Eugene sat in the dressing area, the audience to the women.

"Hmm, yes, this is valuable research material," Gengo said as he focused on the curtains, trying to peer into his depths. "That's the excuse."

"And none of us believe it."

~NRK~

Radox frowned as he received the report.

"No noise? They're not around the campus so they have to be in their rooms… Did they sneak out? Why?!" Radox frowned, sitting in a recliner, elbows on its armrests, and his hands steepled in front of his face. 'Did they figure out he was being followed?'

He'd spoken to the Pandora he had stationed in the cafeteria, she'd said that the boy had his head on a swivel at some point and saw her before she turned away.

'... Sensory abilities,' Radox realized with a grimace. 'He can tell when they're around? Can he catch signatures and remember them?' What an amazing ability.

So why did it end up in the worst person?!

'Calm down, calm down,' he told himself, leaning back in his seat. 'The fact of the matter is, he just knows they're monitoring him… I need to have another, unknown, set of Pandora trailing him, though,' Radox didn't think monitoring a brat could be so difficult.

That aside, he had to consider some things-

His phone rang and he sighed, already knowing where this was going.

"Hello… Yes, committee member, I did give her the go-ahead," he said with a frown, getting up and moving to his window. "... I'll be back as soon as possible but, know this, this isn't made rashly, this is what we need to fend them off."

~NRK~

She swung out with her Volt Weapon, crashing it into her opponent's staff before stepping in.

"W-Whoa-Oof!" The purple-haired young woman grunted as she was thrown off her feet and onto her back. "Ooowww, damn, Amelia, you weren't playing today," she said before Amelia reached down and she gripped her hand, being pulled up.

Fair skin bearing a few bruises showed in their uniforms but her pink eyes showed no fire.

After all, this was just training.

"Sorry, it's just-" Amelia tried to say but her fellow E-Pandora chuckled, waving her words off with a joking tone.

"I know, I know, we're about to be put on the main stage… in this get-up," she said with slightly red cheeks and an annoyed brow twitching. "No, seriously, who decided these outfits were a good idea?"

"Hm, h-hm, I don't know, Jina," Amelia said with a nervous giggle.

Jina Purpleton, among the E-Pandoras, was the second-strongest to Amelia herself, the two at the top of their group.

"It's what it is," the grape head said, placing her weapon on her shoulder. "That said… D-Do you think we're going to be strong enough?" Jina asked nervously with a grimace that Amelia sighed at.

"We have to," she said succinctly and Jina nodded to that, looking at the others. "The sad thing is, we've only got one year's worth of 'experience' in us," Amelia said with twitching fingers as Scarlett entered the training room. "And with Mark III's… results."

"It's going to be a long road," the doctor finished for her, getting a jump out of the two. "Stand down, I'm not exactly as proud of what happened with that drug as you think," Ohara said with a grimace.

"Doctor, afternoon," Jina said with a hand rubbing the back of her head. "And, well… Yeah, I'm sorry but that thing was just too much," she said with a grimace, looking at Amelia's hair, the E-Pandora running her hand through it. "You're not going to have us do that… again, are you?"

Scarlett wanted to shout to the universe 'NO!' but knew otherwise… That said, they didn't need to know that.

"As far as I know, they're trying to review the next level and give it as few side effects as possible," the doctor said as the two grimaced. "No, listen… that boy, Naruto Uzumaki, they want to see if he can't lower the effects."

"Naruto?" Amelia perked up, getting a raised brow from her friend. "O-Oh, right, me and him used to be penpals back in middle school."

"Really? What the hell, you know a big shot!?"

"W-Well, we didn't really keep in touch but we spoke last night," Amelia admitted with red cheeks. "We're going to talk again, today, and he thought about giving us ideas!"

"No foolin'?" Jina cupped her chin in thought. "So, he's a big shot… you tryin' ta get in on that?" She asked with wiggling eyebrows, causing Amelia to go bright red. "Hehehehe! Girls, check this out!"

"Jina, no!"

Watching the two run off towards the curious others, Scarlett sighed, hoping things went well.

'I want to see his body diagnostics,' she considered, mind going to her real project. 'Could he improve it? Would getting his cells… Could I put his cells into the girls?' That was typically crazy talk.

Most of the time it was notable Pandora up for consideration… but then he was a very odd case, his cells may very well be an astounding set, especially if they were full of this Natural Energy she'd seen the files of from Radox.

'... the moment she can make the next call, I'll ask,' she told herself, determined.

Things could get better with this or just not do anything, nothing to really lose.

~NRK~

"Alright," Naruto said as he stretched in the Simulation Room. "This is gonna be fun, Chiffon-nee."

The Smiling Monster of the West grinned as she followed his example along with Rana.

Naruto was wearing the familiar outfit from his demonstration with Chiffon wearing the same along with Rana.

The blonde nodded as they stopped, the others sitting off to the side atop a large, flat, rock in the desert-like simulation they were in.

Joining Rana's referee position were Ms. Kim and Dr. Elize, the two in their normal clothes, as Kushina hummed next to Gengo.

---

"So, you do plan on leaving them at the house, yes?" She asked as Chiffon separated from the blonde and his Pandora.

"Our little disguises should work for now," Eugene said as Obito chuckled. "It's not a masterful change but no one even thinks they're alive, so their faces coming to mind wouldn't really be a high chance."

"It's true and with a little make-up, they can look even more distinguished," Kushina said. "Honestly, I think things for them will get better once Kazuya gets to see them, yes?" She asked softly, patting Menma's head of hair.

"I know things will," Gengo said with a chuckle before he looked far away, in a time that wasn't then and there. "... The chances are high that their identities will be revealed in the coming year."

"That's so soon," Minato said in some shock. "... I take it that Maria-san's connection to the Will lets you know things, doesn't it?"

"It does," Gengo said before his eyes shined with curiosity. "But it was only that way before Naruto came into the picture," the group looked confused. "When Maria tried to show me the future again, this time… it was all one blur," he explained.

"... She did say that Naruto was interacting with the Will," Obito considered as Lucy nodded. "If we take that into consideration, the Will is literally hit with a variable it can't safely assume the notions and place of."

"If it's so confused," Su-Na said. "That means that things have changed and it might be trying to change for that."

"So, the future may become more uncertain," Gengo said with a hot sigh as Kushina chuckled. "Well, can't plan for everything."

---

Rana stood between the two as Naruto slammed his fists together, body glowing with his Bijuu Cloak Version 1.

Chiffon, meanwhile, grinned as she crouched with her arms raised.

'That familiar position,' just like she'd used against her, Rana realized. 'Well, knowing everything I do now, this fits her claws-de arimasu.'

"Are both combatants ready?!"

"Damn right, let's get wild!"

"Hm, hm, I couldn't agree more!"

"Then let this fight between Naruto Uzumaki and Chiffon Fairchild… BEGIN!" Rana declared, jumping back.

The air ruptured as the two's fists cracked against one another.

'Real-'

'-Strong!'

Naruto grabbed her wrist, rotated into her guard, and slammed his elbow into her stomach.

A hand caught it before she flipped over him, arms still locked but with hers doing the grabbing, and tossed him.

Flying back, Naruto recovered into a flip, skidding back, before raising his hand and expelling a pulse of Freezing, blocking Chiffon's dropkick.

He grabbed her legs before spinning once and throwing her into the wall behind him.

She chuckled as she pushed out of it before lunging at the blonde once more.

---

"Chiffon really does enjoy fighting them, doesn't she?" Obito asked and the group nodded as Naruto and her rolled on the floor before the hybrid kicked him off and gave chase. "She's more open with her emotions about them, too."

"Ah, yes, father," Lucy spoke up, getting a snort out of Gengo as the others hummed at the confirmation of their relationship. "I did not speak in front of the three, tact is important," now Gengo really raised an eyebrow at that. "But I believe that Chiffon may hold several magnitudes more affection for Naruto Uzumaki."

The group snorted, chortled, or choked, Gengo doing the first while Minato and Kushina did the last.

"W-What?!" Kushina squeaked quietly. "E-Excuse me?!"

"Ah, well," Minato considered her words. "... I don't know how to process this. This is a whole new sector of my life I never thought I'd have to deal with."

Within two lifetimes, this rang too true.

"... Gengo, you don't seem the slightest bit surprised by this," Obito said with a chortle as Su-Na's eyes turned to their employer. "Something tells me you had a feeling."

"Oh, well, Maria made it clear to me that Chiffon's intentions were a bit more than platonic," Gengo said with a shrug before facing his second-youngest. "Tell me, does it confuse you?" He asked with a chuckle.

"... Yes… and yet," Lucy turned her gaze back to the sparring two. "... No, Naruto Uzumaki has shown to have attributes that most would favor but, to Chiffon, he embodies everything that she believes a human should be outside of cowardice which I believe adds to her attraction."

At that moment, Naruto's cloak's tail wrapped around the hybrid's midsection before raising his arms back, the rings around his wrists glowing.

"Spiral Emperor-Mini!"

The floor exploded into clouds of dust and ruptures before he jumped back out of the cloud.

"H-Hm, hm," Chiffon's giggle came out of the cloud, the smoke clearing to reveal a large crater with her kneeling in it. "Now, now, that hurt," she lunged at him.

"Get her, honey!" Kushina cheered, much to Minato's amusement. "Now… I… She likes him?" She asked Lucy who nodded.

"Chiffon is so at ease around Naruto Uzumaki, she even slipped in, to sleep with all of us."

"Excuse me?!" Su-Na choked while Obito started laughing. "W-What do you mean?"

"?" Lucy blinked. "We all slept on the same bed. Rana Linchen, I, Menma Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki, and my sibling."

"Snrt," Gengo snorted. "I can tell you have your own conclusions drawn and, yes, Chiffon's interest is clear. Now, what she deems to do with them is all her own."

---

She brought her fist to his block and he held his ground.

"It's always you!" She said with a grin as they shot back before lunging into another exchange. "Time and time again! I'm left considering where… all this insanity… ends!" Chiffon said as they locked their hands together before their heads leaned back.

The group, even the Chevalier Pandora stationed by the door, winced at the loud crack that followed the two's heads colliding, the ait exploding as they pushed.

"You ready to take this to the next level, Chiffon-nee?" Naruto asked as gold shot up his form in an instant, his Maelstrom Circuit shooting on all cylinders.

Her arms filled with more Volt Textures before clawed gauntlets formed, gripping his grasping hands back.

"Yes!"

They shot apart before she vanished in a fade-away of hexagons.

Naruto's arm swung back into her raised forearms before she tackled him into a roll that ended with him thrown into a large rock, destroying the big stone in a cloud of dust.

She crossed her arms and several large bursts of Freezing slammed into them time and time again before she vanished from her spot.

Naruto slapped his hands together, dispelling the faux dust cloud before raising his hand to his side, to the face of a shocked Chiffon.

She was sent flipping back before she righted herself in time to allow one of Naruto's punches to glance off one of her gauntlets.

'Strong!' She grinned at the thought, fixing the large dent in her gauntlet with a flare of Volt Textures.

He was upon her once more and she knocked aside as many of the furious blows he'd thrown to the best of her ability.

Yet he was too fast, his punches rained down on her soon-crossed arms, battering the gauntlets with ease before she peeked through her block to see him rearing back with his fist, the ring around it glowing brightly-

He vanished from in front of her and Chiffon's only saving grace was that her Illusion Turn was far more than one might think.

Naruto's attack hit the air before the ring expanded.

An explosion of compressed air blew apart a part of the field as his eyes snapped to a smiling Chiffon waving at him from his side.

A loud 'THWACK!' sent the blonde into the ground a bit away, cratering it in a tower of dust, debris, and shouts.

"You sneaky fox!"

"Hm, hm, hm!"

They went at it again as Rana smiled, her arms crossed and her body filled with energy.

"I can't wait until it's my turn-de arimasu," she said to Kim and Elize who laughed.

"Of course, you can't," Kim said with a shake of the head before looking at Elize. "What's Chevalier been thinking of the information?"

"Well, it's rather positive across the board of directors and the committee," Elize said, gaining Rana's attention "Though, I noticed that the committee was kind of irritated, it was like Naruto's news was a breath of fresh air to them."

"So, something pissed them off?"

"Most likely," the doctor said as Rana hummed. "They've said that they wanted his internal diagnostics, tissue count, physical limitations, and more. I've given everything but the first one because I'm not sure what they'll think," Schmitz said with a grimace.

"What do you mean?" Rana asked as a burst of air shot their hair back. "Everyone seems to like these new skills."

"Well… How can I say this? Naruto's… There's no point to saying the otherwise, Naruto's just not human anymore," she said, getting a grimace out of Kim, the instructor rubbing the back of her head.

"His tissues, you mean."

"Yes, Naruto's tissues took over just about 80% of his body last time… And, in the time between then and now, tell me, how many times has Naruto been using Natural Energy?"

"... It's true," Rana said with a hand rubbing the back of her head, looking up at the grinning blonde. "He's gotten so powerful in a short time, it's kind of hard to remember he was barely able to beat up Arnette-senpai, barely."

"It's true though maybe that's not fair," Kim said with a shake of the head. "He had all his basics, he just needed something to cinch it together… quite frankly, Naruto might have always been this strong, he just didn't have the right part, if you will, to push his body to its limits."

"... That's not untrue," Elize said with a nervous giggle. "He assembled the Maelstrom Circuit in such a short time… and, now, he's capable of contending with the Godspeed of the East, even if only slightly. Things just seemed to progress like this was some sort of Shounen."

"... Ah, yes, manga-de arimasu," Rana said as the two women snorted. "Hmm… Well, what about asking Gengo-san?" The Tibetan realized, getting a nod from Elize.

"I think that's the best course of action," she explained. "If Gengo can either hide his documents," Elize whispered as she minded the Pandora at the doors. "Or simply sponsor his growth, this would be so much simpler."

"Well, when this is over, he's right there," Kim said simply. "Might as well."

"Not untrue," Elize said with a chuckle as several crashes in the air denoted the sparring two. "... Actually, shouldn't you be stopping them?" She asked Rana with a sweatdrop as the young woman blinked.

"... Ooohhhh, r-right," she blushed before rushing over. "That's enough! I totally forgot to stop you two!" Rana declared as Naruto and Chiffon chuckled.

The two looked like people who'd beaten the crap out of each, what with Chiffon's exposed stomach being bruised while Naruto's left arm looked oddly positioned.

The blonde chuckled more before raising his uninjured arm and forming a ring in front of his palm.

Aiming it downward, he expanded it outward around him and Chiffon before finishing the ring's 'field'.

The orange hexagons below them glowed before golden light spilled out from the lines between before slipping into the two's harmed spots.

Elize's eyebrows lowered before a clipboard was in hand and she sketched, jotted down, and documented the new alteration to the blonde's healing ability.

A minute later, the two were as good as new, Chiffon rotating her shoulder with a smile.

"Thank you," she said as the two came over to the other group along with Rana's group. "So, I'm feeling good about this," Chiffon declared as Gengo snorted while the others shot her odd looks. "?"

"... It's nothing," Su-Na said with a shrug but slightly red cheeks. "How do you think he fairs?"

"That depends on the idea of me having ever fought another powerful Pandora before," she said.
Amongst us, though… That's a hard thing to say, he's stronger than I am with just about everything," Chiffon admitted, getting a hum out of Naruto and a whistle from Gengo and Obito.

"That's impressive," Gengo said. "There aren't many Pandora who can, or have the potential to, come close."

"It's true, among all Pandora… I'd say only those with the highest in the world among all the Genetics, and the most powerful in Chevalier, other than those two categories, no one comes close," Obito explained, getting a chuckle out of Minato.

"That's some high praise," Yu-Mi said as Obito snorted.

"I'm glad he's getting up there," the father of two said as his youngest went over and observed Chiffon's gauntlets, much to the hybrid's giggles. "That said, it's almost time for the demonstrations," Minato said. "Naruto, you've fought one of the strongest in the schools, that's probably going to put into perspective those you fight today."

"I get it," Naruto said as he ruffled Menma's hair. "It's going to be interesting seeing how they compare, that said, I'm more curious about the event in the coming weeks."

"Yes, that's going to be handled, hopefully, it's nothing," Su-Na said. "The way things are going, you're role is to do as you always do."

"Gotcha, get weird," the blonde said as Rana, Chiffon, Kushina, Obito, and Elize snorted in unison. "Two hours to chill, sounds n-"

A ring from his phone on the large stone got his attention, causing him to chuckle.

"Oh, right, Amelia," he said like it was the simplest thing in the world.

Rana and Chiffon's eyebrows shot into their hairlines.

"Amelia?" They asked in unison. "Who's Amelia?"

"Oh, well, she's a friend," Naruto said with a chuckle before looking at the woman by the door. "..." He got an idea.

His field spread out around the group.

---

"So, she's an old penpal of mine who's involved with a big event called the E-Pandora Project. It's going to be told to us in time since a ton of people are going to be invited to it. Gengo-jiji knows something, you should ask him."

He explained everything that he knew before cutting their connection.

---

The two Pandora and females of the group blinked at him.

"Ah… that's what that feels like," Elize said before blinking. "W-Wait, E-"

"Yeah, Doc, that," Naruto said with intent, Elize clamming up with a nervous grin.

Kim cupped her chin in thought. 'E-Pandora Project? Using the populace as warriors?' The idea did not sit right with her. 'What's the point of protecting people if they're still going to end up in danger?'

She didn't know, the sheer magnitude of what had been revealed to her got a grimace out of the instructor.

"That's… Not what I expected," Chiffon said before frowning as Lucy frowned along with her. "That doesn't mean it's a really good idea. That seems so counterproductive, those kinds of concepts should have died back when wars were still being waged between countries."

"It's… I don't like it-de arimasu," Rana said with a grimace. "In the village, everyone had a place, if one doesn't want to fight, they have skills that can matter elsewhere."

"It's not safe," Gengo said with a grimace. "The sheer danger in what could happen is the issue. If these E-Pandora began to corrode at horrifying rates, there's no telling what could happen… I've looked at the cells of those who were infected by the Nova," he said, loud enough for that Pandora stationed by the door to hear. "It's corrosion, a forced corrosion, it's not safe."

The woman didn't budge save for leaving the room.

'Good, maybe Radox will see reason.'

"I should call her back," Naruto said as he moved off to the side, followed by his friend group and Menma. "... Alright then, time for a meet and greet, I guess."

~NRK~

He templed his hands over his mouth.

'Corrosion…' If what she'd overheard was true, that meant that the Mark IV was doomed to fail… unless. 'For now, we'll see if our neighborhood miracle can't solve that.'

If the blonde could, that meant his cells had more meaning than before!

~NRK~

-So, what's up, Amelia-chan?- Amelia listened with a smile as she sat in one of the communication booths.

Wearing that outfit again, she held the landline phone to her ear.

Seriously, though, who used these old things anymore?!

"Well… You said you could give us pointers, yeah?" She asked as Scarlett hummed behind her. "Any ideas?"

-Okay, so, I need to know what you guys can actually do before all that-

"Hmph, they can use Volt Textures though not to the same extent as a normal Pandora can," Scarlett said. "Amelia, currently, is the only one capable of using her Volt Textures, and Weapon, to a higher level."

-Hmm, they should meditate-de arimasu- Came a voice the two didn't know.

"A-And this is?" Amelia asked.

-Oh, that's Rana-chan-

-Hello!-

-Hm, hm, hm, and this is also Chiffon Fairchild of West Genetics, nice to meet you-

The two's eyes widened at that.

'... that's right, the Smiling Monster had been rather buddy-buddy with him,' this might prove to be interesting. "Interesting, a pleasure to meet you all."

-I'm Menma, Naruto-onii-chan's favorite brother- Came a squeakier voice that Amelia blinked at before her eyes went wide.

"Y-You did say you had a little brother!" She remembered as Naruto chuckled over the line. "Y-You have more?"

-No, this one's just a bit full of himself- Naruto said.

-Full of brains, nii-chan-

-Right, full of air-filled brains-

-Yeah… heyyy, that's not funny!-

Amelia giggled. "It's nice to meet you all, Naruto's surrounded by good people," as much as that pained her. "S-So, the ideas?"

-Hmm, well, like Rana-chan said, meditation is important- Naruto explained, confusing Scarlett. -I had them do it and they could tell how many of their stigmata were fully matured, it's crazy useful-

How many of their stigmata were fully matured? "Can you explain, young man?" Scarlett wondered with a frown. "How can they tell?"

-It's which ones are warm or not-de arimasu- Rana chipped in, getting blinks out of the two. -With stigmata, one can tell which ones are warm and cold-

"Really?" Amelia was shocked by that, looking at her palm. "... We'll try it out, I promise," she said with a hum. "Well, meditation is one, anything else?"

-Yea, how good at Volt Texture control are you guys?-

"Well… We only really use it to power up, right?" Amelia asked.

-Yeah but as my friend was told by one of our senpais, you could be wasting the Volt Textures- The two females balked. -For an Accel-Type, Arnette-senpai said you should focus on the key areas first-

-The legs, core, lungs, eyes, and brain- Chiffon listed off. -The fact remains that you need these areas focused on, already-

"I-I do that, already, though," Amelia explained.

-You do?- Chiffon blinked.

~NRK~

"That's impressive," she considered. "I guess you being capable of Double Accel makes more sense, now."

"Yup, you've got a good head for this, Amelia-chan," Naruto praised with a chuckle.

-T-Thanks!-

"Hmm," Rana observed this call with impunity, cupping her chin in thought.

-S-So, any more ideas?-

"Well, there's one I've been trying to get the girls to try out, Rana-chan and Chiffon-nee can do it, somewhat," Naruto said as Chiffon hummed. "It's to use Volt Textures and make them into a spiral around your attacks. That way, as I've seen, you can increase the attack power of your moves."

~NRK~

"R-Really?!" Amelia hadn't thought of that. "S-So, change the direction, sort of?" She said, writing it down.

-The idea is to rearrange it to provide different effects- Chiffon explained. -Of course, it's dangerous, I've already broken a finger doing that-

-I hurt my wrist- Rana provided.

-I shattered mine, hehe- Naruto added with a nervous chuckle as Amelia began to pale along with Dr. Ohara. -B-But, seriously, trust me, it's worth it! You just have to do it a bit lighter than we did, yeah?-

"... I-I guess," Amelia said before clearing her throat. "I take it this is also to do with increasing our control over Volt Textures?"

-Yup, it's important- Chiffon added. -With good control, you can try out different kinds of techniques, it's all a matter of wanting it enough-

Amelia's eyes narrowed as she circled 'control' on her notepad. "... I do, I want to make all of this worth it. To not fail all the people who believe in me," she said and she could feel Naruto grinning. "Hm, hm," she smiled.

-And you won't. The only time people truly give up on those who cared for them is when they give up on themselves. Anyone can be strong, Amelia, it's just a matter of hard work and finding what method works for you-

"I get you," she said as Scarlett looked at the wall behind them.

'Never giving up, huh?' How cliche, she almost felt embarrassed. 'I know, kid, I can't give up on my work… nor these girls.'

She'd find a way, with him or not, Scarlett had to find a way to give these kids something after everything they've been through and will go through.

"Thank you, everyone, I'm going to see what I can do," Amelia said.

-Alright, later, Amelia-chan!-

-Bye-de arimasu!-

-Take care-

-...-

-Oh, no, Lucy didn't get to give words of encouragement!-

-Quick, Lucy-nee, say 'you can do it!'-

-Ah, you can do it… hurrah-

-Nice improv-

Amelia started giggling as they said their goodbyes before ending the call with a grin.

~NRK~

"So, this Amelia-chan, she's an old friend?" Chiffon asked as the blonde closed his phone.

"Yup, we lost contact when she entered high school so it's nice to reconnect," Naruto said with a nod. "Now, I'm gonna go and chill on the couch for an hour."

"Coming," Chiffon and Rana said as they followed after him.

Menma and Lucy looked at the three's backs.

"My brother is so clueless-dattebune."

"Ah, you also have a verbal tic."

~NRK~

"Now, today's demonstrations will include more of the actual physical limits to the new Suits we've created," Minato said to his microphone, smiling for the crowd. "Today, we'll be stress-testing the Suits and their capabilities."s

Off to the side, a Type-F and Type-R dummy Nova stood while the teen team of Naruto, Rana, and Chiffon stretched across from them.

"It's clear that my son is different from most Limiters, that's not really questionable anymore, yet he's still only so durable, strong, and fast, and that's where the Limiter Suits come in to help mitigate damage and increase his physical abilities to help him survive should another Nova Clash take place. In that regard, along with the Pandora, they're going to test the Suits capabilities."

Nobuhiro pressed a button and the two dummies came to life.

"The Type-F is notable for its fast projectiles, capable of catching even an Accel-Type Pandora capable of Double Accel off guard while the Type-R, physically, is a designated bruiser that has quick and powerful fists. The goal of the kids is to fend off the Type-R's attacks for a dummy VIP for 60 seconds while, for the Type-F, they're going to do their best to transport precious cargo, personnel, or Limiters off the 'field' to a safe location. The goal is to not let the cargo be harmed, is that clear?"

"Gotcha!" Naruto answered as he and the others adjusted their masks on the sides of their heads. "I'm ready."

"Same!" Rana said as she adjusted her hair into a high ponytail. 'I really like this style, I might do it more,' she thought with a grin. "All set-de arimasu!"

"Hm, this will be a first for me," Chiffon said with a chuckle. "But I'm all the same!"

"Good, then we'll start with the Type-R," Nobuhiro decided. "Any other stipulations, Minato-san?"

"Hmm… Well, I believe that they should be allowed to use only their Volt Textures for the Pandora and Naruto can't use the highest levels of his techniques."

"Oh… Alright then, bring it!" The blonde declared as Rana looked at her hands and Chiffon chuckled, the two of them activating their Uzumaki Pandora Suits.

"This is going to be interesting," they said in unison.

~NRK~

"So we finally see him in the video," Jina said as the E-Pandora group settled into the training room, a large projector set up for them to watch the 'demonstrations'. "Ya know, I think you're right, Amelia, he is cute."

"... W-Wait!? I-I didn't say that!" Amelia quivered in embarrassment as the other laughed or giggled. "I-I! You guys!" She trembled with a red face as they kept egging her on.

Scarlett snorted from behind them, considering the first two parts of this demonstration.

"Remember to pay attention, girls," she announced, stopping the ribbing from going too long. "It'd also be a good idea to see what the best in West Genetics has to offer."

"So, we're just outright saying that," Jina said and Scarlett shrugged.

"He's not only beaten Arnette Mcmillan, Creo Brand, and Ingrid Berstein, he's also made peace with Chiffon Fairchild, the Number 1 Strongest Pandora in Genetics, as well as Elizabeth Mably, the next in line for the Mably company. Add on that he's had a hand in not only finding out how to fend off the recent Nova Clash, he's also dealt with the East's Godspeed. Quite frankly, anyone who doesn't recognize him has a long list of reasons to try and debunk," the doctor said as many of the E-Pandora balked.

'... I knew it, he's so strong,' Amelia thought with a smile before her eyes narrowed as the team of teens stepped in front of Type-R, masks on and a 150 lb person-shaped sack in between the two sides. 'Getting creative,' Naruto had been recorded saying that.

Getting creative was how new things were made, it wasn't wrong to say that. Perhaps she could think of something to push their chances in the coming weeks.

'Maybe Naruto's demonstrations will have some ideas.'

~NRK~

"Alright, the exercise will begin in thirty seconds," Minato announced as he and Nobuhiro moved as far back as possible. "Team Uzumaki, please prepare."

Naruto chuckled as they looked at the dummy. "So, we're basically going to play keep away?" He asked his teammates.

"It seems so," Chiffon said. "While kind of unusual, Chevalier does also handle inner-country issues like the police so this isn't a bad exercise."

"Hmm, protect the target for a minute?" Rana wondered. "Have you ever done something other than Pandora training, Chiffon-senpai?"

"Well… throughout my life, I learned a few different skills, this was never one of them," Chiffon said before smiling softly. "I did learn how to sing and play the piano."

"I can dance!" Rana said with a grin and a few steps. "It was almost traditional that women learned a recreational art in Nakartse. I can also play the flute and hand drums."

"Damn, we should try something sometime," Naruto said with a grin. "I can sing… worryingly and play guitar and drums."

"Really?" Rana asked in surprise along with Chiffon.

"I'm surprised as well! You can sing?!"

"K-Kind of?"

"Fifteen seconds!" Minato announced and the blonde cleared his throat.

"Later, how do you two wanna do this thing?" He asked and the Pandora grinned.

"We want to hear you sing!" Rana declared with a grin as the blonde began to blush.

"We could do a duet!" Chiffon said. "It'll be grand!"

"... Freaking, fine, we've gotta focus-"

"GO!" Minato announced.

The three blurred towards the 'VIP' as the Type-R raised its head along with its fist.

The limb crashed into the location of the VIP as the three skidded to a stop a bit away.

"Talk about curiosity!"

"Chiffon-nee, can you not?!"

They jumped in unison with Naruto holding their 'package'.

A timer appeared on the wall and ticked down from '60'.

The Type-R swung around its fist and the three dodged underneath.

---

He grunted as he watched.

"A simple but rather potent test," Kouichirou noted with a hum. "With the limitations, they only have their personal abilities and those given by their Suits."

"For the boy, that remains to see what can be considered 'low level'," Radox said with a hum, watching the group move about. "If he can provide a good divide, we could have him do something with them. It's not like the Pandora High-End Skills. His have levels to them," dangerous levels.

To be capable of what his 'tail' said the blonde could do, to match with the Smiling Monster of the West for a while, was more than many could hope to achieve… and yet he had.

'This damn kid,' the commander grunted with a frown. 'Why in the world does power fall into the hands of those who don't have the world's best intentions in mind?!'

Gengo, the first to interact with Maria Lancelot, the man who'd become not just her confidant but also the head of all things known to stigmata.

The man had done them good, Radox was not a fool, but he hid more than he helped. The man was full of foolish selfishness that drove Radox mad.

Gengo Aoi did not care for humanity, not in the least, this Radox had a good inkling of.

And now the power to change things fell into the hands of some idealistic boy and it was like the world had done this to screw with him all over again!

Well, not this time… If these two were to be given blessings, Radox would make his own.

'And it all starts with getting the committee to accept the E-Pandora Project.'

If the boy wanted to help people, he'd help Radox even if he didn't know it.

'You want to be a samaritan? Then I'll let you be one.'

~NRK~

"W-Whoa, he moves kind of… good," Jina said as Amelia nodded, the group watching the trio dodge with fluidity. "You think they could teach that kind of movement to us?" She asked Jina.

Just then the blonde threw up his 'cargo' to a jumping Rana as he bent back, dodging the dummy Nova's swing before kicking up at Rana's feet sending her away as Chiffon swiped him up.

"Damn… Talk about teamwork," Jina said with a dropped mouth. "I-Isn't he, like, a super-new case?! What happened?!"

"Naruto Uzumaki has informed many that he's trained almost his whole life," Scarlett explained. "The fact remains, he's had years to practice, train, and hone his skills, this is just the result we've gotten to see after he's become known. Don't try to compare yourself to people who've trained, at a minimum, almost four times you have. It's not worth it."

"... G-Gotcha, Doc," Jina said with a shaky grin that Scarlett sighed at.

"Didn't Amelia say he gave you all some ideas? How has that come along?"

"O-Oh, well," Amelia chuckled nervously. "All things considered, nothing's really worked yet," she explained as another of the girls, eating a small loaf of bread, nodded.

Having a dark complexion, long raven hair, and light gray eyes, her gaze went back to the projector with consideration.

"All of them are fitter than any one of us," she said quietly, getting nervous head-rubbing from the others. "Rana Linchen seems the most, though."

The group watched as the Tibetan's hands glowed before she and Naruto slammed their fists into the side of the Type-R dummy's fist, knocking it away from Chiffon.

"... Wait," Amelia looked at Rana's fists as she and Naruto dodged back, a camera looking at the Pandora's fists. "... Naruto had told us that his friends would try to use Volt Textures in patterns around their bodies… I guess this proves that works. Especially since they don't have their Volt Weapons."

"It'd be interesting if you all could use this skill, it'd not only close the gap… but perhaps you could all find different patterns that'd give some advantages," Scarlett noted with interest. "Spirals, though, seem to be a hold-over from his family's emblem. I guess the design causes the energy to shoot out in that concentrated shape and physics take over from there, it's rather ingenious."

Amelia watched the group's effort come and go as they handled both Nova dummies, the group even applauded along with those on the other end of the Livestream.

"So, flexibility is key," Jina noted with some understanding. "All of them are also kind of speedy, too, and only Chiffon is an Accel-Type?" She asked nervously.

"... But they also have those Suits," the dark-skinned girl from earlier said, reminding the group. "They're probably not this fast… usually."

"Rattle, I think you're right!" Jina realized with wide eyes, looking at the two Pandora's white clothing. "Yeah, isn't a Pandora Suit supposed to up stats? They're probably slower than this… actually, Doc?"

"?" Scarlett raised her brow.

"W-Why don't we get Suits and stuff?" Jina asked hopefully and Ohara blinked before cupping her chin in thought. "I-It's a good idea, yeah?!"

'... It is,' Scarlett realized after some thought. 'They indeed want them to be as powerful as Pandora… but, in the meanwhile, couldn't we just have them use Pandora Suits?' The idea got her mind turning… but the issue became clear. "The thing is, we'd have to get the Uzumakis to give us them and that's not likely to happen so easily."

"What?! But Amelia's got an in and everything!"

"W-What?! No, I don't! N-Naruto's just my friend," Amelia countered with a grunt. "T-The point is, even if Naruto could get us some, we'd still have to get stronger on our own."

"Yea… but it'd probably be way better to have those Suits," Jina complained with a slump as Amelia smiled apologetically at her.

"I know, I know."

Scarlett cupped her chin in thought before walking off.

'You want this project to get off the floor, Radox? Then you better be able to give me everything I need,' she thought with narrow eyes and a frown.

~NRK~

The three stretched some more as the dummy Nova were 'cleaned up'.

"That was interesting," Chiffon said as they finished up, lifting a hand and a small hexagon floated above her palm. "It was an odd change of pace, I've never seen myself as the one who evacuates the masses."

"I know-de arimasu," Rana said, crossing her arms. "I had to try really hard to not go and hit it."

"It'll be valuable one day, maybe," Naruto said with a shrug. "The fact remains that we've got the spars and then the race to look forward to," he said as he saw his 'opponents' getting up and moving off to the side, chatting amongst themselves, as Su-Na said some words to Obito and Gengo before going over to the gathered Pandora. "So, how strong would you say a Chevalier Pandora is, Chiffon-nee?"

"Hmm, well, you both know I've never fought one before," Chiffon said as Kushina came over with Menma. "Hmm, Kushina-san, would you have any idea of how strong Pandora within Chevalier are?"

"Hmm? Chevalier? Well," Kushina cupped her chin, tapping it in thought. "Well, comparing them to fourth-years in West Genetics, they've grown past that level, on average, so I'd say about as strong as East's Godspeed but more generally. So, look at it as Cassie having a strong specialization with the good average stats and they're that without that specialization."

"Huh, I kind of get it," Naruto said.

"I'm still kind of lost-de arimasu," Rana said with fingers on her temple.

"Hm, hm, Rana-chan, it's like this," Chiffon began, raising her hands. "If the average Chevalier Pandora is ten fingers," she flashed her hands. "Then Cassie, at that same level, would have ten plus one super finger," she said, encasing one of her digits in a piece of her clawed gauntlet.

Rana's eyes widened. "I get that!" She responded with a tilt of the head. "So, they're all without super-known skills, basically."

"Sounds right," Kushina said. "The thing is, most of you odd ones are probably stronger than the average third-year/second-year. Cassie would fall under that category as well so it's kind of taking more guesses than not. For example, you all know that a Pandora's High-End Skills, even at the same number-slash-multiple, can be different, right?"

"... Wait, they can?" Naruto asked and Chiffon chuckled as Rana blinked. "Explain, please."

"Think of two steel bars, Naruto-kun," the hybrid said as Kushina nodded along with her son. "They're the same toughness, right, from just a normal point of view?"

"... I think I'm getting it."

"Right, you don't know it but one might have been a pipe folded or tempered numerous times and, as such, it could be sturdier just due to time and experience. For example, Attia's Accel may only be the normal version but it could, with time, contest with Double Accel, with intervals, in time. It's about experience, affinity, and just usage."

"Hmm, how would that affect Tempest Turn?" Rana asked.

"Oh, easy, you'd be capable of managing your copies easier," Kushina said with a grin. "I'm an All-Rounder, Rana-chan, I can do both the High-End Skills and, over time, I've learned that I can control my copies with barely a thought."

"Whoa."

"Not just that," Chiffon continued. "You could form them wherever you want, in a certain range, over time," she explained, Rana's mouth dropping at that.

"That's how Creo-senpai did it!" She realized.

"I never knew that about Tempest Turn," Naruto said before his father walked over to them. "Everything ready?" He asked as he looked at the Nova's return to their coma-like states.

"Yes, it's time for the spars," Minato said as the three nodded. "The goal here is to test your durability and reaction speed. With the latter being like the former exercise with the Type-F but this is with human opponents."

"I see," Chiffon nodded. "As we know, Clashes, before this year, were never so close together. So Pandora have been integrated into normal life. Police, military training, ambassadors, bodyguards, the Pandora Olympics, just pure martial arts fighting, and so on they're involved all over."

"Yup, so knowing how to handle other Pandora, other humans, is important," Kushina reinforced. "That said, this is still just a spar, not trying to seriously hurt them and I hope the other side has the same boundaries."

---

Su-Na simply crossed her arms as she listened to the mindless chatter about her.

"So, we're testing them?"

"More like testing the Suits but, then again, that is the Smiling Monster."

"Think she compares?"

"She's the literal #1 Pandora in the world. Something tells me that's a 'Yes'."

"What of the other two?"

"Rana Linchen's only fight, on record, is with Creo Brand. That white-haired girl who developed her Tempest Turn to an obscene degree. Otherwise, it's the training they've been doing."

"Whoa, seriously? These kids are getting scary good."

"Don't I know it… So, the boy's skills, limits, and physicality are documented up until his so-called final technique."

"It's still kind of weird. No offense to him, this whole thing is crazy good for us… but a Limiter?"

"It's how things go, we'll see how much damage he can take."

Su-Na considered that.

'They'll see soon enough,' it wasn't her place to rain on their parades.

"How hard do we go, then?" Another asked and the others considered it. "With the girls, we have a good idea but for the boy, we don't."

"... Go as hard as we can and see where it goes," another said with a shrug. "It's a demonstration and exercise, seeing his limits is the whole point."

"Then, I'll apologize later."

"Noted."

Su-Na raised a brow at that as the group of nine were called up.

Wearing their Chevalier uniforms, she adjusted her gloves as the first three were called up, Naruto, Chiffon, and Rana meeting their sparring partners.

Then the area around them shifted and, soon enough, the pairs were placed on several elevated platforms of steel, with thick walling around their perimeters, while everyone else was set into coliseum-styled seating around them in a large circle.

"The goal of the spars is either continuation to the 60 seconds time limit, one of the two getting the first hit in three times, or one of the two combatants being put into a position where they can't move! Am I clear?!" Kushina announced from the side.

"YES!" The group of twelve agreed, the six in the rings getting into position.

"Then the clock will countdown from 10!" She announced as a large virtual clock appeared on the wall, ticking down. "Get ready!"

---

Rana placed her fist in her palm before bowing to her opponent who chuckled and reciprocated the gesture, her trench knife Volt Weapon springing into existence.

"No hard feelings, kid."

"Likewise-de arimasu."

---

"This is going to be a first for me," Chiffon said with a chuckle as her opponent began to sweat.

'Right, the Number 1,' she'd activated her body to its limits, her bladed-bracers appearing in an instant. 'This is more of a case of me being tested.'

Chiffon smiled.

---

Naruto chuckled as he got into a loose boxing stance while his opponent donned some short twin axes.

"No hard feelings, kid, but I'm going to be going all-out against you," the Chevalier Pandora said as she got into a ready stance. "This is your test after all."

"No problem, I want to see what a Chevalier Pandora can do," Naruto said as the clock above counted down from '5'. "Give me everything you've got!" He said as his Bijuu Cloak Version 1 sprung to life around him.

---

"... Which one is this?" Radox looked through his files before landing on this version of the technique. "A lower level of his Bijuu cloak, was it? There's a zero version?"

"It seems so," Kouichirou said with a hum. "It's like… a fox is what I'm seeing. It is called Tailed Beast Cloak."

Radox looked up and, just as the clock hit '1', he noticed it as well.

"Yes-"

Three explosions rocked the three arenas.

---

Gengo hummed as Lucy's eyes glowed with her reinforcement.

"Chiffon is doing as expected," she noted as her younger sibling rained down blows on her opponent with her fists. "... Her moves are sharper than her usual style."

Obito smiled. "She's learning from them, it seems," he said and Gengo hummed before smiling.

"She's never had to before," he said softly before chuckling. "I guess this can not only be attributed to her affections but just their camaraderie. Chiffon's truly integrating with her fellow Pandora and growing alongside them."

---

The Pandora began sweating bullets as her knife broke again.

'W-Wasn't she known for having a rather basic style?!' She'd been hoping to, at the very least, capitalize on it but that'd gone right out the window! 'And they're so-'

A blow slammed against her forearms and the woman swallowed as the pain in that part of her body began flaring worse than before.

'Geez, kid, what did they feed you when you were young, fucking BATTERING RAMS?!'

---

She grunted as Rana's fist flashed out of her vision before nailing her in the side.

"Nn!" She grunted and swung around but the girl's flexibility, movement, and decent speed made her vanish from the Chevalier Pandora's sight. 'Where did she-'

A burning force exerted itself into her side and the woman was sent rolling before she skidded to a stop, struggling to get to her feet.

"W-What the-?" She tried to say only to hit her knees once more. "W-What?" She swallowed as Rana came over with a worried look.

"Are you alright?" She asked with concern and the woman grimaced before chuckling and hitting her rear.

"Nope, so this fight is over."

---

'He-ah!' She looked around only to be slammed into and thrown against the walls of their arena, Naruto reappearing in a burst of gold light. 'He just comes in and out! I can use No-Interval Double Accel… A-And yet, I can barely keep up?!'

"I'm coming at you again!" He said with a wide grin before vanishing in a 'pop' of gold. "Keep up!"

She barely could as she vanished in a burst of her High-End Skill.

They slammed into one another several times and, per exchange, she was creating new Volt Weapons.

'I can't keep this up,' the fact that that was the case was ridiculous! 'This kid…!' Her eyes blinked and his blurring form vanished. 'He's too-!'

Her movement was arrested in a second as a fist placed itself in her side.

"..."

"..." Dammit, this kid… "You're good," she admitted with raised hands.

---

"?" Radox balked at what had just been done. "All three of them in under twenty seconds?!" He couldn't believe it as Chiffon's, and Rana's, opponents were helped out of their arenas by their student opponents before Naruto brought the group together and healed them. 'What the hell is going on!?'

They shouldn't be this strong! How the hell was this the situation?!

"Outstanding," Kouichirou uttered in shock as he clapped along with many of the others viewing the spectacle. "I didn't… and he's only fifteen?"

"..." Radox wasn't a fool, he knew what was being insinuated.

If the boy's body grew, in time, he'd grow more accustomed to his skills, breaking his current limits.

'... He'll become-'

~NRK~

'-A monster,' Scarlett considered with a blink as she watched the group leave the stage before another three took their places. 'Where's all this strength coming from? This is more than just some mighty power.'

Power alone didn't make you strong, she'd learned, it was power and experience that did.

So the question remained, where was this experience coming from?

~NRK~

Amelia smiled brightly as the blonde fistpumped on the screen.

"Oh?" A suggestive vogue from her side spoke up, getting a frozen blush from the albino. "Someone's feeling awfully happy that their boy toy won~"

"He's not!"

"We don't believe you for a second!

"... Mm, Amelia's blushing pretty hard."

"Rattle, not helping!"

~NRK~

Their next opponents got the three to raise their senses further… well, Rana and Naruto did, Chiffon just smiled at the nervous-looking Pandora before her.

The three Pandora, this time, held polearms in comparison to their close-quarters comrades.

"... I see," Rana noted. "Close-range and mid-range… so, after that, we get long-range?"

"SSS-types aren't necessarily common," Chiffon said. "Though, that doesn't mean some can't exist within Chevalier. We'll just have to see… I mean, after all… Su-Na-san is in the last batch."

Naruto blinked and turned his head to see the patiently waiting former lieutenant.

Her arms were crossed and her eyes closed but they opened the moment his gaze landed on her.

"... I want to fight her, I'm calling dibs."

"H-Huh?"

"W-Wait, no, that's not fair!" Rana realized too late. "W-We can call dibs after our second matches, r-right, Naruto-kun?"

"Nope, I'm calling dibs!" Naruto declared with a fistpump as Rana deflated, Chiffon's hand patting her back as the hybrid chuckled. "Now, let's fight the obaa-sans so I can fight her!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD?!" The, rather Asian, opponents shouted at him as he coughed off to the side.

"Dammit, they heard that?"

"WE'RE KILLING YOU, YOU BRATS!"

"Oh, we've been dragged in," Chiffon realized with a sweatdrop. "There's that bad luck."

---

Radox held his face in his hands as Kouichirou chuckled.

"The boy's got a brash nature."

"He's an idiot."

---

Gengo chuckled as Obito smirked.

Lucy tilted her head behind him. "Ah, yes, age is not to be brought up around other women."

The two started laughing.

---

Minato smiled as he began the countdown once more.

"The matches will begin in ten seconds! Are the combatants ready?" He asked.

"We're killing your son!"

"O-Oh."

"Bring it, you old biddies!"

"That's it, it's a closed casket!"

"Nyeh!" Naruto's tongue came out and the polearm-users grew heated. "Hehehe~ They're so easy, they're lucky Nova don't talk or we'd have been defeated a long time ago."

Rana snickered while Chiffon grinned.

Separating into their desired arenas, Naruto sweatdropped at the angry woman that came into the arena with him, her long ax growing more ominous by the second.

He began to sweat. "N-Now, hold on, nee-chan, you don't want to use that mean thing on little ol' me… do you?"

"YES~" She hissed and he swallowed. "We've got healing centers, hell you're a healing center, a missing limb here or there won't kill you."

"I-I'm pretty sure it will."

"Time to experiment."

"Oh my God."

~NRK~

"Am I the only one who feels like he gets into these kinds of situations a lot?" Jina asked with a sweatdrop as the blonde ran away from the crazed swings of the Chevalier Pandora. "You'd almost think he likes riling people up."

Amelia sweatdropped at Naruto's yelps.

"You crazy woman is it that time of the month already?!"

"Get back here and die like a man!"

"Never!"

~NRK~

The last set came up when the matches ended, with a nervously chuckling Naruto healing their opponents.

"Don't rile up Su-Na-san, now, she's actually pretty powerful," Chiffon said with a finger on her chin. "She's easily capable of contending with me as I am, honestly, she could probably defeat me with a few of my limiters undone… yeah, probably a good idea to stay on her good side."

Naruto paled, mouth clamping shut, as Rana snickered.

"G-Gotcha," he said as the Pandora in question came over to the group. "Sup, Suna-nee-chan," Naruto said with a shaky grin as she shot him a raised brow.

"Did something happen that I should be aware of?" Su-Na asked and the blonde's head blurred to shake, getting a snort out of Chiffon. "... I see… Well, I will be fighting Naruto if you two don't mind."

"Hehe~ I called dibs," the blonde said as Rana rolled her eyes. "I'm coming at you with the best I can, Suna-nee-chan."

"Hmm, it will only be less than 100%, though," she reminded him and Naruto nodded. "... Hmm, we'll see. My Accel has been noted as being more impressive than it seems," Su-Na said simply.

Naruto blinked for three seconds before his mouth set in a large grin.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun."

---

"Even the former lieutenant?" Radox was surprised by this development. '... Is this more showing off? Just her curiosity? Or is Gengo having her test something about the boy?' He didn't know, this hadn't been something he'd expected to happen… but it'd be an interesting display if nothing else.

"Hmm, it's been some time since I've seen her in that get-up," Kouichirou said with a hum. "So, was she also intrigued by this young man? Or was Gengo the driving force?"

Radox would like it if Su-Na Lee simply felt curious.

He looked at the text he'd received from Ohara before sighing.

Damn everything, he was getting too old for this.

~NRK~

"This is gonna be rough," Scarlett said, already having rejoined the girls. "Do you all know who she is?" She asked.

"That's Su-Na Lee," Amelia said with focus. "... She was known as the most powerful Pandora in Chevalier before she left and became Gengo Aoi's bodyguard, right?"

You've been studying, haven't you, Amelia? "Yes, for the sake of clarity… If Su-Na Lee had still been counted under Chevalier's Pandora… She'd be the Number 1 Pandora in the world."

The group balked, Amelia choking on her tongue as her head snapped back to the screen which showed Naruto and Su-Na entering a single, large, arena.

'Naruto… please, be careful.'

~NRK~

"And so, it begins," Gengo said as Obito nodded. "Su-Na's beyond Chiffon with even just a few of her Limiters, this will be an interesting match."

"Sunali is well aware of how to manage her limits… That said," Obito hummed. "If she's given a sufficient challenge, she'll begin to 'loosen up', so to speak."

"Speaking from experience?" Gengo asked with a chuckle.

"Maybe, maybe not," Obito said with a chuckle.

---

Naruto observed her for a moment. 'So, Suna-nee-san really is a big shot… this is going to be way different,' he considered, settling into a low stance. 'Starting off light is important.'

He wanted to see just how far the former most powerful Pandora was above him.

Hexagons sprung to life around his body and Su-Na brought to bear one of her two Volt Weapons.

"Bijuu Cloak Version 0, yes?" Su-Na said curiously as she lowered herself. "You should probably look into neatly organizing your techniques."

"... Uh, yeah, I probably should-"

The clock above them hit ten.

The two exploded against one another, hexagon-covered forearm to blade.

The blonde's eyes widened before he broke that hexagon and sent the two of them shooting back.

He skidded to a stop and looked at his forearm in shock.

The limb was bare of any of his technique that was slowly forming itself back into place.

'She's good!' He considered as Su-Na stood across from him, waiting patiently. "... Hehe."

He blurred away and Su-Na nodded at that before turning and slamming her weapon into the blonde's leg.

The attacks sent them both back before he lunged once more, the Pandora's blade raising to slash down only for her to hit nothing as he blurred to the side of the blow.

'Right, rebounds-!' She'd reminded herself of the fact.

Naruto Uzumaki's entire skillset wasn't just an abuse of energy but rebounds.

A powerful blow slammed into her side and Su-Na's mouth widened a bit as she was sent flipping to the side.

She recovered, of course, by turning her out-of-control spin into a set of cartwheels and flips that ended with her crouched on the floor.

At the side of the midsection of her uniform, a slightly steaming mark stayed as the cloth recovered.

"I see, I'd forgotten that your rebounds are the basis for all of your moves," Su-Na admitted as the blonde folded his arms behind his head. "... That mistake won't be happening again."

Blue eyes locked onto red ones.

The two vanished and crashed together in the middle of the arena, forearms to blade, before the blonde's leg swung out.

Su-Na grabbed it with her off-hand before letting go of her weapon entirely and slamming him into the floor, hard enough to leave a dent.

She swung him around before sending him crashing into the walls around them.

~NRK~

"That doesn't seem… kind," Amelia found the words as she, along with the others, paled at the brutality on display. "D-Doctor?"

"... R-Right, Su-Na is… I don't…" Scarlett winced as the boy was let go with a final crash into the floor, the arena they were in rumbling as he formed a crater. "... For the sake of simplicity, this is a durability test."

"... Do you honestly believe that?"

"No, no, I don't."

~NRK~

Arnette and her father laughed like idiots as they watched the blonde get cratered.

"Hahahahah!"

"Oh my God!"

Morrison laughed nervously along with them.

~NRK~

"Hmph, the boy should be willing to take hits like these," Radox said with some satisfaction shining through as Naruto Uzumaki was thrashed on-stage. "Yes, just like that."

"... Radox, I'm starting to think you don't like the boy," Kouichirou suggested with a sweatdrop.

"What? Nooo, what'd make you think that?"

"..."

---

"She's going to be so hard to deal with tonight," Obito realized with a nervous chuckle as Lucy tilted her head.

"Why?" She asked curiously and he wore a nervous grin.

"Because, once she's let loose, she's all the way loose and that energy needs to go somewhere… productive."

Gengo thought it over for a literal second before laughing.

"You poor bastard."

---

"Ahh, ahh, where'd that come from?" He asked Su-Na who hummed, lips widening a bit more. "Ugh…"

The blonde kipped up and out of his, recently made, crater before rubbing the back of his head.

"At least my back isn't killing me," he remarked.

"This is also a durability test."

A flash of gold flew over him and Naruto cricked his neck, eyes locking onto his opponent.

Su-Na barely brought up her Volt Weapon as his feet slammed into its flat side, causing her feet to dig into the ground.

Su-Na swung out, trying to fend him off, only for the blonde's eyes to glow and he shot back from her weapon, sending the former Chevalier employee flying back into the wall behind her, denting it.

Red eyes glowed before she was encased in Volt Texture reinforcement.

The two blurred out of sight before numerous cracks rang out around the arena and Naruto was skidding back against a wall, coming back into view.

He yelped and dodged to the side as a large bladed implement slammed into his former spot, red eyes locking onto him before their owner gave chase.

'Is this Accel or a step above?' He didn't know but he had a feeling that was the case. 'Su-Na-nee-san is way too good.'

Doing things like this would only lead to his defeat.

Time to level up!

Su-Na came in for a swipe and he grabbed her offending arm before rotating into her guard, shoulder to her chest.

"Bīng mài." (Ice Pulse)

Su-Na's eyes widened before she found two layers of hexagons in her direction.

They shattered and she exploded across the arena's diameter before crushing the metal of one of the walls behind her body.

Naruto didn't waste time and slapped his hands together in a prayer-like motion.

His Bijuu Cloak Version 0 fell away for his next level,

The energy around him grew gold, he'd notice that his cloak had long since transformed into gold from its former blue color.

'Maria-baa-chan is right,' he only hoped his full changes were easy to ignore. 'Time to focus!'

He'd need a bit more than just a single tail to bring her down.

Two more two sprouted from the base of the first, the boy's body powering up.

Su-Na's eyebrows raised at the sight. "So, it's like an actual kitsune?" She asked him and Naruto grinned.

"Essentially," he said as he gained a fourth tail before letting out a sigh of relief and standing tall. "I'm coming at you with as much as I can muster like this, Suna-nee-san," Naruto said as he held an arm back.

Su-Na got into a low stance, prepared for a few of the things she knew of this form's capabilities… only to balk as his energy extended and gripped her in its claw-like grip.

"Never showed you this one, did I?!" Naruto grinned ferociously as her eyes went flat. "Revenge is swift."

"... Oh-"

The boy began spinning her around with the extended claw time and time again before he stomped down with his right foot, the floor cratering beneath it as he pulled her all the way down.

The explosion of metal and dust rumbled against the floor as the audience balked.

---

"Is this new?" Kouichirou considered as Radox went through the files. "I don't remember anything like this in the files."

"It's not," the commander of the Chevalier said with an annoyed grunt. "This extension move, though, is kind of seen from when he fought Arnette Mcmillan," he noted as he played said video.

When it'd first been used, the two had fought for a bit before the blonde pushed against her with his tails.

"I see, I'd not even considered it," Kouichirou said. "Still, to extend to this extent, that's interesting… why, imagine if he got a mechanical degree?"

"?" Radox blinked at the idea, considering it. "I mean, it's not the weirdest idea. If we could get such able-bodied individuals to help with machinery, things would be oddly efficient."

Perhaps this boy's skill set was more versatile than even he knew.

---

"That's… odd," Lucy said with a hum. "Extending… it's kind of like my shields… and Freezing fields. Is this technique also limited by his field size?"

"It's certainly possible," Gengo said as Obito considered the move.

'That's nostalgic,' and this time he was on the good guy side to see it in action. "You know, he could probably help with a lot of machinery construction… I wonder if I couldn't even use this for my medicines on a smaller scale?"

"It's certainly an idea," Gengo said.

~NRK~

"Whoa!" Jina jumped along with the others as the blonde brought the Pandora down into a large hole in the floor, the area's rumbling translated through the screen's shaking. "That's crazy!"

"It's… weirdly cool," Rattle noted as many of the others sweatdropped. "You could grab so much food with those… I'd be able to take some from the fridge back to my room."

"Please don't do that," Scarlett said with a twitching brow. "Thank God you, at least, clean up but I don't want to think about crumbs all over."

"Hmph," the dark-skinned girl pouted.

"It is cool, Rattle," Amelia agreed with a grin as the foodie nodded rapidly. "... I'm trying to think about everything else he's done, so far… a lot of it seems possible… but I want to know how he got behind Ms. Lee so quickly that one time."

It'd been like Accel but in a short burst… Wait, burst?

'Bursts… rebounds, wouldn't they be the same thing? In principle?' It'd be worth a shot.

A faux-rebound style, if you will!

~NRK~

She gripped her fists on her thighs as she sat across from the other Pandora.

Holly Rose, her little brother's Pandora.

Having grayish-white hair a similar length to her own, her skin was fair, and her eyes a sharp red that seemed to hate Satella's existence.

"What are you and Louis?" The other young woman's voice was curt and sharp, her mouth set in a frown. "I'm not ignorant Satellizer El. Bridgette, a woman's intuition is never wrong."

"... brother and sister… that's how I want it to be," she admitted, confusing the other Pandora. "... And yet, that's not… Louis doesn't see it that way… and it's been that way ever since we were so, terribly, young."

"... Why do you wag your tail the moment he calls?" Holly asked with a sneer. "You think being a little bitch is going to eternally have his favor? His love? I've known… for too long that he sees you in ways that shouldn't be."

"And I don't want that," Satella shot back, hands clenched and eyebrows narrowed onto the table. "Do you think I want this?"

"Then stop interfering."

"... Hm… hm, hm," Satella felt something snap in her mind as she began to chuckle, confusing the other Pandora. "You… for someone who was harping on about woman's intuition do you honestly think I want any part in this? You, who lives outside my life, do you honestly think that I'd want any part of this?" The blonde sneered and hissed at the offending Pandora.

Water from Holly's glass flew… before vanishing with a swipe of Satella's hand.

Her cup, empty moments earlier, stood there full of water.

Holly Rose's eyes widened in disbelief.

Then the blonde's eyes lost all their heat, all their strength as her head fell, getting a flinch out of Holly.

"It's never that simple…" she whispered and Holly swallowed. "... When I just came here… well, you probably don't know this, do you?" She asked with a pathetic smile. "But I'm blood to the El Bridgette family… but only because of an affair that brought me into it."

Holly choked.

From afar, Elizabeth Mably made to move but Kazuya and Andre's hands stopped her.

"No, please, senpai… I think Satella needs this."

~NRK~

The pain made her feel alive.

Su-Na and Naruto trailed around the hole in the floor, eyes locked.

'It's just like back then with him,' she thought as she skirted a bit on her steel-toed boots before her leg shot out into his side and she followed it up by rotation behind and with another kick that sent the blonde flying. 'This is fine! It's a test! He's not weak! He's not fragile.'

Naruto and he were similar in that regard. He was so much like him it drove her instincts to dominate.

Naruto ignited her body almost as much as Obito did!

They clashed several times and she upped the ante once more, her Accel pushed to its limits.

He kept up sloppily, tails falling away to three.

Energy falling away without his perpetual skill, huh?

Su-Na grinned as she lost herself to this feeling of on-the-edge dominance before blinking as Naruto came to a stop.

A buzzer rang and she blinked as she circled before slowing down to a slow walk.

'It's… over?' Was that it? 'It's… i-it's over, stop, slow down,' she told herself as Naruto's energy fell away, leaving him to fold his arms behind his head. '...' Su-Na knew she couldn't, her body felt like it was brimming with energy and she wanted to whine vocally about it all.

"Nice fight, Su-Na-nee… Hmm, yeah, you feeling cool?" Naruto began to say before paling slightly at her quickly growing annoyed stare. "H-Hey, I-I didn't do anything wrong, right?" He asked with a squeak as the Pandora let out a deep long sigh as her weapon fell away.

"N-No… You did fine… I need to… go," Su-Na said with a shake of the head but Naruto saw how predatory those eyes were as they trailed from him to the crowd… no, nervously enough.

To Obito.

"... Good luck with that?"

"I don't need luck," was all she said before she regained some composure, wounds starting to take their hold.

"I can heal t-"

"No," she said simply as the blonde began to sweat more as she walked off towards his fellow reincarnate. "No, this will make a good alibi."

'Alibi for what?' Was the question he wanted to ask but something within him told the blonde that he was better off not knowing. 'Women are so weird, what the hell?!'

He got off his arena to see Rana and Chiffon giggling at him.

"I have no idea what the hell just happened," he said simply as Chiffon giggled with slightly red cheeks.

"W-Well, I'm sure you'll learn in time."

~NRK~

They appeared in their shared room the moment the two of them could slip out of sight.

Obito barely had the chance to drop his lab coat before Su-Na's hands ripped off his top.

"... Oh," he realized as her clothing faded away into particles, leaving perky nipples and a wet sex to greet him. "I should get him a fruit basket-"

He was tackled into their bed.

~NRK~

An hour later, after their race and a few other live demonstrations of his techniques, Naruto and the others walked to their rooms before the blonde and a few of them sniffed the air.

Kushina and Minato blushed, Gengo let out a bark of laughter, Chiffon blushed a bit along with Eugene, and Lucy simply… nodded.

"Ah, she was," the older hybrid said cryptically as the group separated at Obito's room.

The door, to which, opened to reveal a pleased-looking Su-Na who smiled at them.

"Hm? Oh, you all are back," she said with a pleasant grin.

"... Women are weird," Naruto said and Gengo started chuckling.

"They're a hell of a species."

On that, they agreed.

~NRK~

So, things end with a metaphorical bang and we're seeing the middle-stage of Satella's and Kazuya's development. Not only is she more open with Kazuya, though she hasn't outright told him yet, but she's standing up for herself more due to everything she's been through.

It always bothered me that she never spat back Holly's bullshit, but I have to remember that she's emotionally and mentally broken a bit in that scene. Here, she's more trusting in Kazuya and has a more powerful support group.

Kazuya, meanwhile, is showing more understanding of his power and birthright, even if he doesn't know about the latter.

And we just get more fluff with Radox being obstinate while Scarlett is trying to find ways for the E-Pandora to thrive so as to give them chances.

I'll see y'all next time. I've got to get back to my main story, Kamui Candy this coming week.

Ciao.

Words: 17k

~NRK Out~