A/N: Revised as of 3/24/2024

"Wiz-san! You cannot let this keep going on!"

Yunyun snapped and slammed her hands onto the table.

Wiz flinched, but simply lowered her head as she didn't want to further anger the younger girl.

Wait. Why was she being scolded by a girl younger than her? Why was she sitting seiza-style in front of said girl? What happened to the sweet and shy little mage that Naruto had introduced her to!?

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Wiz-san!"

"Eep! I'm sorry!"

Wiz begged for forgiveness, prompting Yunyun to sigh.

"It's okay… Because that's why I'm here! Don't worry, Wiz-san! I'll help you confess your love!"

Yunyun exclaimed while gesturing to herself with stars in her eyes. She always wanted to say that to a friend, and now that dream was finally a reality!

"…Huh?"

Wiz's head tilted in a comical fashion.

'What's this girl talking about? Love? Was I in love with someone? I can't think of anyone… Well, I guess I can just explain this to Yunyun and she'll-'

The shop owner started thinking when Yunyun suddenly grabbed onto her hand and started pulling on her.

"Come on! Let's go to Naruto-san right now! If we leave right now, we might make it!"

"E-ehhh!?"

"Guess who's back, ladies and gentlemen! The one, the only… Jiraiya-sama! Gahahaha!"

Jiraiya bellowed with laughter as he walked through the newly built gates of Axel, but the only response he got was a couple chuckles from the gate guards. In fact, there was hardly any people walking around the usually busy streets.

That was strange. Normally a mob of fans would swarm him after he declared his arrival. After all, he was quite famous among the people of Axel. Particularly the men who adored his novels.

Oh well. None of that mattered right now anyway, because his schedule was the following:

1. Go to the Succubus Shop.

2. Go to the local bar to pick up women.

3. Rent a room at the inn and sober up with awesome secret ninja arts.

4. Pass out and enjoy the Succubus service~!

"Hm… I feel like I'm forgetting something."

The sage mumbled to himself before he snapped his fingers.

That's right, he had to check up on Naruto!

"Guess I'll go looking for the brat after I visit those sweet little devils… Huh? What's this?"

While he was reorganizing his schedule, Jiraiya noticed a rather large crowd in the town's main plaza.

Was there some sort of event going on? Why wasn't he informed about it!?

Hang on. There was a familiar looking person standing in the middle of the crowd…

"Okay, TODAY we are going on a quest! I'm tired of waking up in the morning to the reality of being in debt!"

Kazuma declared while pointing to the sky as though he were making it a promise. After the… unpleasant events of last night, it was clear as day that he needed to take matters into his own hands. Otherwise, nothing was going to change.

So, Kazuma and his party were headed straight for the Adventurers guild.

"It's nice to see you acting so eager to go adventuring this often, Kazuma. Although, I wish we could have left for the guild earlier to get a head start on the quest…"

Darkness said, her gaze falling to Aqua.

"Yeah, and she didn't even let me have a try of that crab wine she saved for this morning either…"

Megumin added, her gaze also falling to Aqua.

The water goddess blinked when she found that all eyes were on her.

"Huh? What are you all looking at? Is there something in my hair? I could have sworn I brushed it correctly this morning…"

While Aqua was picking at her hair to make sure is was tidy, Kazuma let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Why did I end up with useless thing-Ah, sorry about that."

Kazuma apologized when he bumped into an adventurer, but the man simply grunted and went back to whatever he was doing.

'Is that how you should treat the man whose party is responsible for… What the-Why is there so many people in the plaza?'

To Kazuma's surprise, there was an extremely large crowd in front of them. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that there was twice the amount of people that had showed up to Naruto's little attraction the previous day. There was even a handful of the guild's staff roaming around, each making sure that the crowd didn't become too excited.

How did he just notice this!? Also, why didn't anyone tell him this was happening!?

"Oh! Is Naruto hosting another Nido-Rabbit challenge? I must find the line at once!"

Darkness squealed and disappeared into the right side of the crowd.

"Naruto's up to something again, isn't he!? I won't let him get away with hogging all the profits!"

Aqua shouted and ran into the left side of the crowd, opposite of Darkness.

"Darkness! Aqua! Hang on a second! What about the…?"

Kazuma fruitlessly tried to call back his party members, but they were already too far into the crowd to even hear him. He turned to Megumin and the little girl merely shrugged.

"…Oh, forget it. Let's just see what this is all about."

At the center of the crowd stood one Naruto Uzumaki, clad in his green tactical vest and black undershirt. Standing in front of him was the blue armored Mitsurugi Kyouya, the Sword Master who was famous for wielding the cursed magic sword Gram.

Three days had passed since their challenge had been issued, and in just a few minutes it would be noon.

"I'm glad you actually showed up, Naruto Uzumaki. My comrades warned me that you might flee, but I had a feeling that you wouldn't do such a thing. Because if you didn't, it would be an insult to Aqua-sama. Ah, and to all the other girls you've sunk your teeth into as well."

Mitsurugi insinuated and drew his sword from its large sheath, earning a collected share of 'oos' and 'ahs' from the crowd.

'Sheesh… This guy sure talks a lot.'

Naruto thought with a twitching eyebrow, but he refrained from making any unnecessary comments. He could ignore all of that, because Mitsurugi was unknowingly going to help him clear his name.

Although, the magic sword might prove to be an issue. Even from the distance that they were, Naruto could tell that it wasn't called a divine relic for nothing. The blade had a malicious aura to it and would most likely have enough cutting power to cut his dagger in two.

But a sword's cutting power meant nothing if it couldn't reach its target.

"It's noon, Mitsurugi. But before we start our match, I'd like to make a confession."

Naruto said and raised his hand to get the crowd to quiet down. As soon as he had the floor, he began to pace.

"I'm sure most of you know who I am, for better or worse. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm an adventurer. I'm well aware of the rumors that have been going around about me. Which is why I stand here today with my fellow adventurer, Mitsurugi!"

Naruto shouted and the sword master referred to himself in confusion, as he was puzzled as to where this was all coming from.

"As you may know, Mitsurugi is a hero candidate. So I'm sure you all would put your trust in this man, correct? Well then, shall we let Mitsurugi be the judge for my supposed misdoings!? Whether all these rumors are true, or false… Would you agree with Mitsurugi's judgement should he come to understand who I really am? If so, then watch this fight closely!"

Naruto declared before he took a deep breath and shouted as loud as he could.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am NOT delinquent, a womanizer, or a devil! I am an adventurer of Axel, and the one who will defeat the Demon King! You better believe it!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the crowd that was a mix of adventurers and townspeople roared. Some were booing, while others that knew Naruto from the guild cheered him on. It was nice to see those ruffians had come to trust him.

Mitsurugi on the other hand, was surprised. He had not expected such an inspiring speech from the person he assumed to be a lowlife. Did he misjudge this man?

"Kazuma! Kazuma! Naruto's speech has yet again lit a flame in my passion to defeat the Demon King! After we watch this duel, let us take on the most difficult quest on the board! I'll even fight an army of toads if I have to!"

Megumin chimed while pulling on Kazuma's adventuring cloak.

"Declined. But that speech really was something else. It was almost like something that was straight out of a…"

Kazuma's words trailed off when he realized something. That guy just ripped off a famous line from a manga! He was sure he read something like that in the past! That goddamn plagiarist!

"Give me back my respect, you fake ninja! Kick his ass Mizukage!"

"I'm not a fake ninja!"

"It's Mitsurugi! Oh, Kazuma-san is here? Then does that mean Aqua-sama is here as well? Has she come to wish me luck on my match?"

Somehow, both blondes heard Kazuma's words over the crowd. Naruto heatedly denied Kazuma's claims while Mitsurugi looked around for Aqua like school boy searching for his crush at the playground.

'Wait, if Kazuma's here… Oh no…'

If Aqua showed up, it would more than likely hinder his plans of redeeming his public image. Which is why he never told Kazuma and the others about the fight. He had been hoping the news of the fight would never reached their ears, and since they hadn't been going to the guild all that much, his plan nearly succeeded.

"Ahah! I knew this crowd was your doing! What are you up to, Naruto?"

Aqua appeared from the crowd and stormed over to the shinobi when he chose to ignore her.

"A-Aqua-sama? I'm over here…"

Mitsurugi squeaked when Aqua walked right past him, and by some stroke of luck she actually responded to him.

"Hm? Oh, it's the guy that broke my cage that one time. What are you doing here? Actually, what's with all of this anyways?"

"Please don't tell me you forgot my name again… No, I won't waste your time with such matters. For you see, Lady Aqua, I will be fighting for your freedom today!"

Kyouya stated while gesturing to himself proudly, and half expected his beloved goddess to praise him for doing such a heroic deed.

His expectations were immediately shot down.

"Oh? What's this? You two are fighting over me? I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised… But what nonsense are you talking about!? I'm free to do whatever I please! If I wanted to collect the coins in the local fountain for pocket change, I could! If I wanted to play with the children at the park and teach them to say: 'Eris pads her chest!', I could!"

Aqua roared while sticking out her chest with pride.

"Please don't do such things. B-but, is it not true that Naruto forces you to do his bidding? That he takes advantage of your maiden heart and toys with you?"

. . .

"Of course! This man hasn't left me alone since the day we met! He likes to sneak into my room at night for a night raid! He plays with my hair while I'm sleeping, then takes my panties to his room and dances with them! Just this morning, I found my morning wine bottle was filled with soap!"

Aqua claimed while sinking to her knees dramatically, earning collective gasps from the crowd.

"W-what are you saying at a time like this!? I promise to treat you to your favorite wine if you take back those lies!"

Naruto silently pleaded to the water goddess who was now crying crocodile tears, but it was too late. The damage had already been done.

"Y-your panties… And now he is trying to silence you with bribes!? I will defeat you once and for all, enemy of women!"

Mitsurugi shouted in rage and with his sword drawn.

"That's right! But Naruto is a crafty one, so I, being the loving and caring goddess that I am, will grant you wonderful blessings for your success~! Powered! Blessing!"

Aqua chimed before she casted various buffing spells on Mitsurugi, and the boy's form now bathed in a heavenly glow.

"A blessing from Lady Aqua herself…! I feel like I could take on the Demon King himself!"

Mitsurugi awed at his newfound strength and swung his sword around to test his enhanced power. He felt stronger than a Rookie Killer, and faster than Lizard Runner!

"H-hey, Aqua! This is supposed to be a dual between Naruto and Mitsurugi! Isn't buffing one of them and not the other cheating? Or rather, why don't you use those useful spells on me while we're on a quest!?"

Kazuma shouted and gnashed his teeth in anger when the bluenette adverted her gaze.

"That's okay, Kazuma… Things will be more interesting this way."

Naruto reassured his friend, a wild expression on his face.

"…Hey. Why do you suddenly look more eager to fight? You didn't catch some weird disease from Darkness, did you?"

Kazuma asked with his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, and a distant moan could be heard somewhere within the crowd.

But just as Kyouya was about to charge forward and engage Naruto to start their fight, a small cry could be heard from within the crowd.

"WAIT!"

This time, all eyes fell on Yunyun who, upon popping her head into the center of the crowd, beamed bright red and fumbled with her words.

"N-Naruto-san… i-isn't… Those rumors a-aren't… T-t-tell them W-Wiz-san! N-now's your chance!"

Yunyun stammered before turning to Wiz and whispering the last part, who was pushed to the center moments after.

Wiz seemed to be in a dazed state, as she was still trying to piece together just what was going on. From what she could gather, Yunyun seemed to be under the impression that she was in love with Naruto.

Truth be told, even Wiz was unsure of her feelings towards the whiskered teen.

'But one thing I do understand, is that Naruto-san seems to need help right now! Don't worry, let me handle everything!'

Wiz thought and gave the blonde a knowing look and thumbs up.

'Oh no…'

Naruto thought, a bad feeling growing in his gut.

"People of Axel! My name is Wiz, owner of Wiz's Magic Items! The shop is located in the south-eastern part of town!"

'She's promoting the shop!?'

Naruto thought before falling to his knees in dismay. He was doomed...

"I don't know anything about these rumors, but what I can tell you is that Naruto-san is a very kind person! He visits my shop and helps even though I can't pay him… He praises me when I do something right, scolds me when I do something wrong, and feeds me twice a day…"

'She sounds like a pet dog!'

Kazuma thought with bulging eyes and looked around to see that the crowd seemed to be having similar thoughts.

"But most of all, he is my friend… and I don't know where I would be right now without him."

Wiz finished and gave Naruto a genuine smile. She didn't know where that came from, but hopefully it would help the people of Axel see Naruto the way she did.

"Wiz…"

Naruto whispered, his eyes wide with surprise. Wiz's speech really hit him hard… Despite the weird way she phrased it, he could tell that she really meant it from the bottom of her heart.

It felt… Weird.

"…You fiend! What kind of sick play is that even supposed to be!?"

A new person arrived at the scene, and this time it was Darkness, who had a deep blush on her face.

'Ugh… Not again…'

Naruto groaned when he realized the direction things were going. Was it too late to back out of this and go home?

"This is supposed to be one of those 'master and pet' type of plays, isn't it!? Is that why you said those things to me last night? Are you trying to turn me into one of your pets!? You… *Huff!* *Huff* You glorious bastard!"

Darkness inquired while pointing at Naruto accusingly, all the while panting like she just ran a mile.

'What is that perverted idiot doing!?'

Kazuma thought as he pushed his way through the crowd. He was curious as to what Darkness and Naruto were doing last night, but first he had to get her out of there. She was completely ruining Naruto's hopes of clearing his image.

Hey, he knew painfully well what it was like to have people dislike you for ridiculous reasons.

"What do you plan to make me do first? Force me to call you master? Oh, or make me get on my knees and beg for-Hey, wait Kazuma! I need to get to the bottom his this! As a female knight, I cannot let that man go…!"

As Darkness was dragged into the crowd by Kazuma, Naruto sent his fellow adventurer a grateful nod.

"Now then, Naruto Uzumaki! In the name of all that is good-"

Mitsurugi seized the opportunity to get the battle started, but he was interrupted when a certain blonde Axis Cultist appeared in the center of the crowd.

"Aqua-sama! Your most faithful follower Cecily has arrived at the scene!"

Cecily cheered when she noticed Mitsurugi, frozen mid-stance with his mouth agape.

"Oh, if it isn't the handsome young man with the magic sword! Is it that time already? Be sure save me properly, alright? Oh, by the way. Do you have any spare change on you? I wanted to buy Aqua-sama an offering, but I didn't have enough money…"

"Oh, sure. Here you go. Now, as I was saying… In the name of all the women that you have tricked-"

"Boss! I need your help! There's something fishy about the temporary member that my other party hired!"

This time it was Dust that interrupted Mitsurugi, to which the delinquent adventurer instantly noticed and reacted accordingly.

"Oh yeah, that's right! Today's the day you defended your harem from that Mitsurugi bastard! He really did a number on me that one time, so kick his ass Boss!"

"…That's it! No more interruptions! Naruto Uzumaki! In the name of all that is good and the women that you tricked, let us duel!"

Mitsurugi rushed to complete his sentence before taking heavy gasps to regain his breath.

'…My condolences.'

Naruto thought with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek, knowing all too well what it was like to deal with his two troublesome party members the first couple times. Wait, that's not right. They were still hard to deal with. Even now, he didn't even have the energy to retort against the ridiculous things Cecily and Dust were saying.

…Hang on. Why did he even keep those two troublemakers in his party in the first place?

"The fight between the adventurers Naruto and Mitsurugi is about to begin, so please, everyone who is not involved please stand back!"

One of the guild employees announced through a magic item that enhanced their volume and continued to repeat the same line as the rest of the guild members present backed the crowd up to give Naruto and Mitsurugi some more space.

"…I know it's hard to believe, given all this nonsense, but I'm not a bad person. You and I share the same goal. We both want to defeat the Demon King to save people."

Naruto attempted to reason with Mitsurugi one last time, but as was expected, the teen didn't have any of it.

"Hmph! That's the line a villain from a manga would say! But no more words, have at you!"

Mitsuru retorted before he lunged forward with his sword with a horizontal swing aimed slightly upwards, and Naruto's eyes widened when he found that he actually needed to put effort into dodging.

Having fought monsters that moved slower than snails in his perspective since coming to this world, the sheer amount of speed and strength that Mitsurugi put into the attack had really caught him off guard.

Woosh!

The force of the swing created a gust of wind, causing the crowd to cry out in surprise.

Kazuma stared at the two superhuman blondes with wide eyes, then flinched when he heard a crashing sound behind him. Turning around, Kazuma's eyes nearly left their sockets when he saw that Mitsurugi's swing had chopped the top of a chimney clean off a nearby house.

This truly was a Shonen Showdown… Were they going to be safe at this distance!?

'This might actually be a good fight!'

Naruto thought and slipped a couple daggers into his wrist, then proceeded to throw them at the swordsman. He wasn't being cocky, because it was true. Aside from the Winter Shogun, not a single monster in this world had proved to be so much as a threat.

But this Mitsurugi guy was proving himself to be an interesting opponent!

The throwing knives made clinging sounds when they made contact with Mitsurugi's sword, as the boy blocked every projectile that came at him. But the pressure wasn't done yet, as Naruto was already upon him with a knife in hand.

"Gram!"

Kyouya shouted, and through the added power that came from his magic weapon and Aqua's buffs, he managed to bring his sword downward fast enough to cut through the iron knife and Naruto himself.

Poof!

As Naruto's form burst into smoke, Mitsurugi continued with his swing to spin around. This forced Naruto, who had snuck behind the swordsman in advance, to avoid the surprise swing by jumping back.

"During these past three days, my comrades and I did some research on you. Specifically, your skills. We learned that you had the ability to clone yourself at will. Couple that with your thief-like fighting style, I figured you would go for a sneak attack. If I didn't know any better, you might actually be the first ninja I've encountered in this world."

Kyouya revealed and sent a thankful smile to his two friends, who squealed upon noticing his gaze from within the crowd. He also knew Naruto had the Steal skill, but he was sure there wasn't a need to worry about that. If Naruto really was truly trying to clear his image, then trying to steal his opponent's weapon would look really bad.

"Hehe… Looks like you did your homework! That's right! I am a ninja, and this ninja is about to kick your ass! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto responded by creating three more clones, and together, they charged forward in yellow and green blurs.

Mitsurugi smirked. He was glad he practiced fighting against multiple enemies at once, as it seemed his training was about to pay off!

Ducking under a punch thrown by the fist clone, Mitsurugi wrapped his arm around its shoulder and proceeded to use it as a human weapon by throwing it into another clone. Moments after, Naruto and his remaining clone charged in from opposite sides.

Judging that they would be attacking simultaneously, Mitsurugi dug his heel into the ground and spun with his sword, successfully cutting both in the chest.

But to Mitsurugi's surprise, they both turned out to be clones as the real Naruto burst through the cloud of smoke with a blue sphere in his hands.

"Rasengan!"

'I can't stop my spin in time…!'

Kyouya thought as the ball of rotating energy rammed into his plated chest, and he was sent hurdling into the air in a spiraling fit.

"Guhah!"

Mitsurugi grunted when he finally hit the ground, his sword embedding itself into the pavement a few feet away from him. He tried to reach for his sword, but it was too far and he had taken too much damage from the fall. So, he let his fall to the ground. He was defeated.

After watching a nearly super-human fight, the crowd was dead silent as Naruto walked over to the fallen Sword Master. Even Mitsurugi's fangirls were at a loss for words, for they had yet to see their beloved lose a fight.

That "fight" with Kazutrash didn't count.

"You made sure I wouldn't hit the others… By sending me upwards… Thank you…"

Mitsurugi whispered as he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over his body.

"I noticed you did the same thing earlier with your first swing. That was a good attack, you nearly won before the battle even started."

Naruto admitted with a shrug, earning a chuckle from his fellow blonde.

"So… I lost, huh?"

Mitsurugi covered his eyes with his eyes with his arm in shame. He felt pathetic. Even with the blessing of a goddess, the very goddess he had sworn to protect, he still couldn't win. Maybe he wasn't cut out to be a hero after all…

"You may have lost this time, but don't give up. You're going to be the one to defeat the Demon King, aren't you?"

Naruto crouched next to the boy, and Mitsurugi looked up at the shinobi in surprise.

"But… I thought-"

"What, you thought I'd hold a grudge against you for all this? Come on, I already told you I'm not a bad guy. I know you were just trying to do what you thought was right."

"…It seems I got you all wrong, Naruto Uzumaki."

Kyouya admitted in an apologetic tone. Here he was, giving up on the task that he had sworn to complete, and his supposed enemy was trying to encourage him.

"Ah, but don't get me wrong! I'm going to be the one to defeat the Demon King! So that makes us rivals, you got that?"

Naruto declared with a fake pout and turned away.

"Heh… I guess that does. I apologize, Naruto Uzumaki. I'll believe you… But, can you promise me one thing?"

Mitsurugi suddenly asked, causing the whiskered teen to cock his head to the side.

"Uh… Sure?"

"Promise me that… You'll make Aqua-sama happy…"

"Eh!? Well, uh… S-sure. I promise."

Naruto stuttered and scratched at his whisker marks awkwardly. Where did that come from?

"Good…"

With peace of mind, Mitsurugi fell unconscious.

It was at that point the crowd couldn't contain their excitement anymore, and the town exploded with cheers.

"I knew Naruto wasn't that bad of a guy."

"Yeah, but for some reason I'm kinda jealous…"

"Free cheers for Naruto!"

The adventurers began to say amongst themselves before they starting chanting the shinobi's name.

Naruto stood up while rubbing his head sheepishly. Looks like his plan worked, his reputation in Axel was saved. But knowing that didn't help him in the moment. He never really knew how to react to cheering crowds of people.

Especially when they picked you up and tossed you around like some sort of trophy.

"I knew you had it in you, Boss! Also, it felt nice to see that Mitsurugi bastard get put in his place…"

Dust said and gave the fallen knight a light kick.

"Hey, don't do tha-"

"HEY! What do you think you're doing to Kyouya!?"

"Stay away from him, you degenerate!"

It seemed that Mitsurugi's groupies didn't like Dust's actions, so they proceeded to chase the guy out of town.

Naruto chuckled as he watched the delinquent run for his life.

Fangirls… You did not want to anger them.

"Hello, darling~!"

Cecily cooed into Naruto's ear, causing the shinobi to jump in surprise. He was so busy watching Dust that he failed to noticed Cecily sneak up behind him and blow in his ear.

"Wah! D-don't do that!"

"Fufufu… Normally I would tease you at a time like this, but it seems you have won a bigger prize than even me."

Cecily whispered, but before Naruto could even ask, the Axis Cultist disappeared into the crowd.

"Naruto! Naruto! I cannot contain my feelings any longer! Let us have a showdown of our own!"

"Me too! I want you to show me no mercy and send me hurdling into the air, just as you did Mitsurugi!"

Megumin and Darkness pestered Naruto to face them, but the shinobi simply waved his hand.

"No way."

"What!? Why not!?"

"Ahn! This rejection is similar to Kazuma… I can only imagine what it would be like to be scorned by both of them... Ah! What did I just think right now!? How shameless can I… *Huff!* *Huff!* …Be!?"

Naruto and Megumin shared a look while Darkness continued to hug herself while breathing heavily.

"Eroness." x2

"!"

As Darkness chased Naruto and Megumin through the crowd with teary eyes, Kazuma rolled his own.

'What a load of… Eh?'

Kazuma thought and was about to come up with some sort of retort for the situation when he saw Aqua, or rather, the state she was in. She was looking down at her feet and was… Blushing?

…Something was wrong. Something was VERY wrong with the way Aqua was acting.

This was definitely NOT normal!

A/N: I wonder what's up with Aqua?

Spirit out!