A/N: Revised as of 3/25/2024.

"Hey, isn't the Destroyer getting a little too close? What are those guys doing?"

Dust questioned while looking up at the gate towers, and a few others shared his concern.

With the Destroyer's imminent approach, the adventurers holding the frontline began to grow weary.

They were fully aware of the plan, and the walking fortress should have been in range for the Arch Priest in Kazuma's party to dispel the magic barrier. So why haven't they?

"They didn't leave us behind, did they? How could you do this to me, Boss!? Take me with you-Gah!"

"Quiet, you. You're gonna cause the others to panic with your idiocy."

Lynn smacked Dust with her staff just as he started panicking, but she then looked up at the towers worriedly herself.

What was taking those guys so long?

"Aqua!? Hey, we kinda need you right now! Aqua-san!?"

Kazuma panicked as he shook the red-faced priestess by the shoulders.

"Fuehehe…"

Aqua giggled to herself with a glazed expression.

…It was no use. The girl was in a daze and completely out of it.

'How did this happen? She was fine just a moment ago…'

Kazuma pondered as he lay his party member onto the ground.

But then, Aqua mumbled something whilst in her delusional state.

Earlier…

"O-of course I will! Just who do you think I am?"

Aqua shouted back at Naruto while looking away with a huff.

What did that stupid ninja think of her anyway? Did he think that she was some useless bumkin of a goddess who couldn't even break a simple barrier?

Of course not!

She would do a good job and earn a nice reward, one befitting that of her status.

"Guehehe… He's counting on me…"

Aqua started giggling to herself when she realized Naruto was basically admitting that he couldn't live without her.

What an unreasonable fellow. Even after saying that, he was making her do all the work in this fight.

But knowing that man, he'll likely claim that he was the one who did all the work and say that she should be the one giving him a reward.

Reward...

Aqua's Imagination

"Aqua, I defeated the Destroyer."

Naruto, whose face was extremely exaggerated, said as he stood over a pile of rubble that was the Destroyer. He then hopped down and walked over to her until he was staring right into her eyes. Those dazzling eyes that were as blue as the ocean.

"But I didn't do it for the others, especially not for that lich-"

The blonde reached out and caressed her cheek before saying.

"-I did it for you, my beautiful goddess."

Will you give me a reward?

Present…

"N-no, you stupid… stalker ninja…! If you kiss me… you'll get me pregnant…!"

Aqua mumbled before she continued with her creepy giggling.

. . .

Kazuma stared at the first companion he gained in this godforsaken world, the person who he had come to learn was as stubborn and self-centered as they came. The very girl that looked down on her party members despite being the most useless one and spurned the man she obviously had a crush on, even going as far as to encourage him to getting a girlfriend that wasn't her.

That same prideful tsundere was currently having strange fantasies about that very man!

"Naruto! What did you do to Aqua!?"

"Hah!? What are you talking about?"

Naruto was still struggling with Megumin, who was trying her best to get her hands on his explosive tags. But he could tell the Destroyer was getting closer, as the noises the mechanical legs made were getting louder.

"Actually, the Destroyer is almost here! Tell Aqua to destroy the barrier so Megumin and I can-"

"She's completely out of it! I'll try to snap some sense into her, so use your hax abilities to buy me some time!"

Kazuma interrupted the shinobi before he proceeded to shake his loopy party member.

"My what…? Wait, what do I have to buy you time for!?"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion for second before his rage turned back on in full throttle.

"This is your fault, so think of something!"

Kazuma barked back and continued to shake Aqua's form in an attempt to snap her out of whatever delusions she was currently having.

Naruto grumbled to himself but understood that now wasn't the time to bicker with one another. First, he let go of his ninja pouch, causing Megumin to flop to the ground on her butt. He then created a couple shadow clones before closing his eyes.

'Hey, Kurama. I'm sorry about before, but we could really use your help right now…'

'…'

'Look, I promise I'll make it up to you. Just please help me out! I can't let this town be destroyed because I was stupid and forgot to reopen the seal!'

'…Fine.'

Kurama finally said. The brat could have used his chakra regardless, but he didn't. Naruto always chose to respect the fox's wishes, even if it meant making things harder for himself. They held a mutual understanding and respected one another.

For that reason, Kurama was willing to look past the boy's forgetfulness and help.

Naruto was about to jump for when the fox added.

'In one condition. You have to stall that hunk of metal with your own power for ten minutes. Do that, and I'll allow you to use my power.'

Although they had a mutual understanding, Kurama still wanted to see Naruto squirm. Just a little more… It was more interesting that way.

'W-what!? I can't… AH, fine! I'll do it!'

Naruto, not wanting to anger the fox again, agreed to the beast's unreasonable terms. But if he was going to stall the Destroyer for that long, he was going to need everyone's help.

With a nod of his head, one clone jumped down from the tower as the others got to work on gathering nature energy.

"Ah! Yunyun!? What are you doing here!? Don't tell me you're trying to steal my spotlight! You sneaky girl… They always say to look out for the quiet ones."

Megumin suddenly shouted while hiding the ninja pouch behind her back, and Naruto turned to see Yunyun and Wiz climbing over the wall and onto the tower with them.

"Who's 'they'!? I'd really like you to introduce me… Wah! The Destroyer's almost here! N-N-N-Naruto-san! W-what are we going to do!?"

Yunyun started bickering with her rival only to gasp in surprise when she finally noticed the Destroyer in the now not so far distance.

"Naruto-san, we've come to help!"

Wiz said fiercely and rushed over to the blonde's side. She seemed to be carrying a bag, and Naruto grinned when she revealed its contents.

They may just be able to pull this off.

Jiraiya was about to run up the walls of the tower to find out what was going on when one of Naruto's Shadow Clones appeared next to him.

"Something's wrong with Aqua, she can't dispel the barrier… But Kurama will take care of the Destroyer if we can hold it off for ten minutes."

The clone whispered into the older sage's ear.

Jiraiya sighed. It seemed that bratty goddess hadn't changed a bit since back then.

"Alright, kid. I'll buy you as much time as I can. In exchange, I'd like you to show me that mastered Rasengan of yours."

He said with a smirk, to which Naruto's clone returned along with a nod before it dispersed itself.

'…So I say, but how the hell am I supposed to stop that thing?'

Jiraiya thought while scratching the back of his head. The Destroyer was roughly the same size as a Tailed Beast, and Jiraiya no longer had the toads to back him up.

Oh well. Time to wing it.

"Listen up, people! There's been a change of plans! Priests will apply buffs! Mages, archers! On my signal, hit the Destroyer with everything you've got! Vanguards! Hold the frontlines!"

The sage shouted, and the adventurers immediately fell in line. It was an unspoken rule to follow the orders of an elite adventurer in times of emergencies, so no questioned Jiraiya's orders and simply did as they were told.

The archers and mages gathered around Jiraiya, with the priests and priestesses behind them. The adventurers whose classes were close-quarters based formed a defensive line in front of everyone.

"Priests! Apply buffs!"

One of the other higher ranked adventurers shouted, and the surrounding priests started chanting their buffing spells.

When the buffs were applied to the ranged fighters and Jiraiya himself, he rushed forward, all the while weaving through a couple of hand seals.

Just as he passed the surprised female Crusader at the front, he placed his hands onto the ground and shouted.

"Earth Style: Bottomless Swamp!"

A large portion of the earth in front of the two sank as it turned into a lake of mud just as the Destroyer was just within fifty meters of them.

Rumble!

As the Destroyer stepped into the mud lake and fumbled in its stance, and the sound of metal crashing into the dirt could be heard as it fell.

Jiraiya smirked at his handywork as the ground shook. The buffs from the priests worked better than he anticipated. But even with the buffs, it still took a lot of his chakra to create a mud bath this big.

At that moment-

"Lightning!"

"Firebolt!"

"Snipe!"

The adventurers took the Destroyer's fumble as the signal and began to open fire. Hoards of spells and other ranged abilities flew across the sky towards the Destroyer.

When Jiraiya saw the projectiles headed their way, his eyes widened when he looked at Darkness. He was originally going to run back after using his jutsu, but he forgot the woman was here!

The beautiful knight whose armor did very little to hide her voluptuous figure! It was a shame she was a few years bellow his strike zone… But now wasn't the time for such matters, the adventurers's attacks were almost upon them!

"Hey, we're sitting ducks out here girl! Let's head back to the others before-"

"I refuse!"

"…Huh?"

Jiraiya fumbled in his steps when the Crusader flat out refused his proposal of finding shelter. Did she have a death wish or something?

"Danger from the front… Danger from the back... and a pervy old man ogling my figure all at once! I couldn't ask for a more thrilling battlefield!"

Darkness declared, her hands firmly remaining on the hilt of her great sword. Her demeaner was serious, but the wild look in her eyes…

'Ah. She's one of those.'

Jiraiya thought with a pitiful expression before weaving through a couple hand seals. Since the crazy woman wasn't going to move, he might as well give them some protection.

Placing his hands onto the ground again, a small rock shelter rose out of the ground just in time to protect them from the arrows and magic spells.

The older man sighed in relief and looked at the Crusader.

"There, we should be safe for the time being."

"…Thank you."

Was it just him or did she sound a little disappointed?

Shaking his head, Jiraiya looked back at the Destroyer and watched as it struggled to get out of the mud lake while its magical barrier was pelted by the adventurers's ranged attacks.

This wasn't going to be enough to stop the Destroyer for very long, that much was certain. But hopefully it would buy enough time for Naruto and the others.

"You're doing great everyone! Keep it up!"

Dust shouted cheerfully as a means of keeping the adventurer's morale high, but it only resulted in a handful of distasteful glances.

"Wow, tough crowd. They should be grateful that the great Dust-sama is cheering them on."

"Shut up! If you're not going to stand in the frontlines with Taylor, then start chucking rocks or something!"

Keith shouted as he loaded his bow for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, if you're not gonna be helpful like usual then just go home already!"

Lynn heatedly agreed and fired off her twelfth fireball.

They were both starting to run low on arrows/mana, and seeing Dust doing absolutely nothing was pissing them off.

'What an unreasonable bunch those two are. It's a good thing I'm was teamed up with Boss Naruto now. Although, I kind of miss their antics.'

Dust thought with a longing expression.

They weren't the strongest party, but at least he didn't have to worry about getting stepped on, eaten, or torn in half like he heard happened to Kazuma the other day.

…Hang on. Now that he thought about, teaming up with Naruto was actually kind of dangerous. The rewards were always nice, and Naruto and Yunyun usually did most of the work. But they faced strong monsters during every quest and unlike Kazuma's party who had a priestess who could bring people back to life, their priestess was completely useless!

Heck, she even charged you for heals!

While Dust was questioning his party situation, a high-pitched screeching sound could be heard from the towers.

"Dust-san! Tell the others to get down!"

"Huh? Oh, Yunyun! Did you come to cheer me on? I appreciate your enthusiasm, but it's gonna take a lot more than that to get me to lower my strike zone!"

Dust responded when he saw Yunyun running towards him with a strange looking ball in her hands. Was that manatite?

"What are you… This isn't the time for your nonsense! Naruto-san said that everyone needs to get down! Help me warn everyone!"

Yunyun snapped and ran off to do the job Naruto had given her.

Dust scratched his cheek, he wasn't expecting the younger girl to snap like that. But he did what he was told and ran off to tell the adventurers to stand down.

"Alright everyone… Let's give that giant metal spider thing all we've got!"

Naruto shouted and raised his arm in preparation to give the others the signal to fire.

Megumin, Wiz, and three of Naruto's clones who were in sage mode stood on each side of them as they began to chant.

Thanks to Jiraiya and the others, they had enough time to form a new plan, which was to blow the Destroyer to smithereens with twice as much Explosion magic as they originally planned!

Wiz had brought the high quality manatite crystals she had foolishly purchased for the store, so they would be able to cast the spell with half the effort!

Also, apparently Wiz knew Explosion magic too. Who would have thought?

Megumin was a little nervous, as she wasn't used to seeing so many Explosion spells being chanted at the same time. But her excitement far exceeded that, and she refused to be left behind Naruto and Wiz!

So, with her staff in one hand and the manatite crystal in the other, she poured all of her mana into her spell.

The manatite let her cast Explosion at half the cost? Hah! That left the other half to overcharge the power of her spell!

"-come from the abyss!"

Just as Megumin and Wiz both completed their chants, the clones raised their hands and formed a crimson colored Rasenshuriken.

"Fire!"

"Explosion!" x2

"Explosion Series: Rasenshuriken!" x2

The balls of condensed mana shot out of Megumin's staff and Wiz's hand, and at the same time the chakra/mana shurikens were thrown by Naruto and his clones. Like moons orbiting a planet, each Explosion spiraled around each of the massive shuriken shaped justus.

But as the projectiles made their way towards the Destroyer, a grave feeling washed over Naruto and it wasn't until he heard Kazuma's shouts that he realized what his gut was trying to tell him.

"Naruto! Darkness and Ero-Senin are too close to the Destroyer!"

Naruto ran over to the wall and looked where Kazuma was pointing, and he could see the small rock formation that Jiraiya had made.

That wasn't going to be enough to protect them from the Explosions.

Why didn't Jiraiya bring Darkness back to the gate!?

…No. He probably tried, but Darkness most likely didn't listen to him. Jiraiya also probably didn't know the power of Explosion magic, let alone two AND Naruto's Rasenshuriken variant!

'Ready when you are, brat.'

Kurama suddenly said, which was all Naruto needed to hear as his body started glowing.

"Come on, I said! I can sense a huge amount of mana coming from the gate! Naruto's planning something big, and that kid usually goes overboard! This little cover ain't gonna be enough!"

Jiraiya tried reasoning with the stubborn knight, but Darkness remained unmoved.

"As I said, my role as a knight is to remain at the frontlines! If Naruto is planning something big, then all the more reason I should remain here!"

Darkness responded, but the blush on her face was telling Jiraiya exactly what was going on in her head.

"You stubborn little…!"

"H-hey! Where do you think you're grabbing! Unhand me!"

Jiraiya had tried forcing the woman out of the rock formation and back to the gate, but Darkness was quick to retaliate and struggled immensely. She was surprisingly strong.

"Quit struggling or I might grab somewhere I want to!"

"D-don't think I'm okay with just any old man laying their hands on me!"

"O-old!?"

As the two continued to struggle against each other, the faint screeching sound that they heard a few moments ago suddenly grew very loud.

At this point, Jiraiya had managed to get Darkness out of their rock cover and the two looked up to see five streams of light headed in their direction. One of which, was headed straight for them.

"Holy-"

Jiraiya shouted and covered Darkness with his body in a last-ditch effort to protect her.

BOOM!

The two were helpless to the shockwave that followed the series of explosions and were easily lifted off the ground.

But they felt no pain. In fact, a familiar warmth washed over their bodies. Despite the horrific noise, they felt at peace.

When sounds of the Explosion magic settled, Jiraiya let go of Darkness and opened his eyes. What he saw shocked him to his very core.

"…Minato?"

"Heh… Not quite, Ero-Senin."

Naruto replied with a light chuckle as he looked back at his mentor. He was expecting a reaction like that, but it always felt nice to be compared to his father.

Jiraiya was in awe at his student's appearance. His body was shrouded in a yellow, almost golden aura. Black marking were littered across his body, and even his whisker marks seemed more defined. But when he saw his student's red-slit eyes, he realized what was going on.

"This is… The Kyuubi's chakra."

"Yup!"

Naruto chirped a simple response, then looked at Darkness who was now opening her eyes.

"…Naruto? Where are we, and why are you glowing?"

Darkness asked as she looked around the transparent room.

…Transparent?

"Wah!"

The female knight yelped and attached herself to Naruto's leg when she got a full view of Kurama's transparent avatar and saw that she was very high up in air.

"Amazing… I always knew you would master the Kyuubi's chakra, but this is…"

Jiraiya said as he looked down at the remains of the Destroyer. It seemed like the combined Explosion magic was just enough firepower to bypass the Destroyer's barrier, and Naruto shielded them from that blast at point blank range.

"Cheh! You haven't seen a fraction of my power, toad hermit! But be grateful this brat cherishes you! Don't think I've forgotten all those times you stopped me from escaping!"

Kurama barked, prompting the toad sage to yelp in surprise.

Naruto laughed at his mentor's reaction, but their moment of fun was cut short when a robotic voice came from the now crippled Destroyer.

"Alert! Alert! System Failure! Self-Destruct mode initiated!"

"Looks like it's not over yet… Ready, Kurama?"

Naruto asked his lifelong partner, and the Tailed Beast's response was a grunt.

Yunyun dropped to her hands and knees. It took her all to just keep the wind from that combined Explosion magic from blowing them all away.

The job Naruto had given her was not only to tell the adventurers to stand down, but also to shield them from the shockwave that would follow their attack.

The moment the Explosions hit the Destroyer, Yunyun had casted the most powerful wind spell in her arsenal using the high quality manatite Wiz had brought. It had been just enough to cancel out the incoming force.

"Alert! Alert! System Failure! Self-Destruct mode initiated!"

But even after that, it seemed the battle wasn't over yet.

"Y-Yunyun! Are you okay?"

Dust, after getting over his shock of seeing the Tailed Beast, ran over to the young mage when she collapsed due to mana exhaustion.

As Dust held her up, Yunyun looked at the Kurama avatar as it began to move.

'Naruto-san… You really are amazing… Please finish this.'

"That's… I can't even."

Kazuma said with his jaw dropped. Not only was Naruto able to outrun the Explosion magic, but he manifested the complete nine-tailed fox avatar in time to protect Darkness and Jiraiya.

That power was insane! What the hell was Naruto still doing in this town of beginners!?

Wiz had Megumin propped on her back so she could watch what would happen shortly.

"Huh? Hey, what's with all the noise? Is it over? Did we win?"

Aqua asked as she stood up next to Kazuma, who simply grabbed her head and pointed her towards the sight in front of them.

"…Ehhhhh!?"

It all happened in a flash.

The giant fox grabbed onto the remnants of the Destroyer, chucked it into the air, and proceeded to shoot what looked like Explosion magic at the air-suspended fortress out of its mouth.

Bu it wasn't Explosion magic. Not even close.

No, this was the technique Naruto had showed Kazuma and Megumin that one time. The skill that vaporized an entire mountain.

"Tailed Beast Ball!"

The explosion that followed lit up the sky for a couple seconds, and Kazuma thanked Goddess Eris that Naruto chose to use his technique in the air.

This concludes the first part of A Shinobi's Take on this Wonderful World.

A/N: I'd like to thank you all for joining me on this Wonderful journey. Your support via reviews and P.M.s are all such Blessings to me. ^^

Ah, before you all start thinking it's over, remember that I said "first part"! I was just trying to be dramatic~

See you all in the next one!

Spirit Out!