Someone wanted to see Naruto being cared for by SG? Granted.
Someone wanted to see Kyuubi on leash? Granted.
Cid looked around in joy.
Why not? He has finally finished the prototype of Ice Biome! Of course, it will still take some time for Ice Mana to appear properly, but the foundation has been made, and that's all that matters. Now, for the good parts…
Energy manipulation has proven very useful even outside of combat fields (and why didn't he think about it sooner?), spirits are… well, they have always been useful but he kinda forgot about them, too. Anyway, he has now remembered them and cleaned the dust (and the dust, remember, has been collected and placed in special containers for another occasion like this one), which is very nice.
He had a lot of plans on how to use the biomes he may create in the future… Yeah, the Protagonist, or Alexia, would go into them to find super-cool stuff that would help her to become stronger… He-he-he…
And after he gets knowledge of chakra Elements he will be able to do even more stuff! Remember the deadly forest? Yes-yes-yes…
Oh, but he will need to go to shinobi world first, and he already planned to spend some time here…
Eh, it's fine, he will take his sweet time to relax. How much has he been there, anyways?
You know, let's see what are these guys doing…
"Ho-o? You are approaching me?" little girl with black hair and violet eyes raised her hands with arrogant smirk, "Instead of running away you are coming right to me?"
"I can't pull stuff on you without getting closer," a shorter blonde boy with blue eyes started walking carefully towards her.
"Ara~" she giggled, "Please, come as you close as you like…"
Both observed each other carefully. He was sure he would win against her. She knew for a fact that he would lose.
The stare showdown pressured the air between them, making it hard to breathe. It was as if the reality itself stopped having any worth in front of their might…
"…Aren't they the cutest?" a mature woman with black hair and violet eyes giggled and cupped her cheeks, watching the kids having fun with each other with a blissful smile on her face.
"Lord Shadow has placed the holy task of making sure his son, even adopted one, has everything he needs and wants…"pink-haired elf whispered, automatically making a prayer sign, "Let us hope that we have not failed in this…"
She was stopped by the sudden feeling of warm palm on her head. Dumbfounded, she stared at the human woman who decided that the elf needed some headpats.
"Ara~" the 'offender' giggled, "Victoria, you are so serious sometimes~"
"Hmph," the elf blushed slightly, "I do everything in my power to please my Lord, Miss Aurora."
"Fu-fu-fu~" the giggle was all she got as an answer as the Demon of Destruction, Witch of Calamity, Diablos, or, if going by her true name, Aurora continued caressing elf's head.
Well, if Lord Shadow's words about Diablos technically being some kind of ancestor are true, then… If that's what Lord Shadow wills…
Beta continued writing down the chronicles of their Lord.
'Once, there was a child. A child, just like other; but he carried a burden, burden of being cursed by a mark outside of his control. And once people saw it, they grew furious; the child has then been left out, with no one caring about them; and those who did, only cared about how much pain can they inflict. However, evil cannot prevail forever; and the fate opens its eyes to see those who have been dealt the cruel hand…'
"Is it right to write 'the cruel hand'? It sounds good, though… Hmm…" Beta squinted, trying to find any problem with her writing, "No, it sounds great. Let's go with that."
'…And then he appeared and questioned sinners: "Is it just to judge a child for what they cannot control?" And the people hung their heads in shame, eaten by endless guilt; and child looked at the savior with shining eyes, taking the strong hand of fate that has finally turned to him with a smile hidden in darkness, yet brighter than thousand suns; the one who is hiding in shadows has brought child to light, to salvation…'
She stopped for a moment and placed the plushie depicting the Lord Shadow on her knees with a slight blush.
'…And like each time, he has brought the new child into the family, under the care of ones who have now grown up; soon, this child shall become the guiding beacon for the ones who once were like him, cast away and forgotten by everyone. And our light shall reach other worlds, to reflect from them and go further and farther, until everyone sees the light of salvation; and once the holy task is finished, Lord will finally allow himself to rest, surrounded by the love of his loved ones…'
She coughed, attempting to stop the lewd thoughts from appearing in her head. Well, a girl can dream, right? She didn't get any sweet time since… that night!… Wu-u-u….
Eta focused on blood sample from her beloved Master.
Ever since him coming back to other world she has not been able to do any meaningful experiments and theories about him, which she was greatly annoyed by. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to come back, and the supply of 'Cidium' and 'Shadium' has been returned… No, these are not any material substances. It's just her way of saying that she misses her Master a lot.
The blood sample was not the only thing she took; really, all she has been missing is sperm… But she will get to that, sooner or later. Yes.
As of now, the only thing she could do is analyze the samples she already got: blood, skin, hair…
And she has found something interesting.
Master Shadow has completely lost any and all traces of magic, but was still able to use it easily as if he still had the colossal reserves he had before. This is… interesting, to say the least. Normally all living beings contain mana in their bodies… But he instead had something entirely different. This energy merged with his body and continued to support it even after being separated, much like Demon Diablos' limbs… However, in Diablos' case the limbs at least still had a semblance of normal body systems and a large amount of magic to continue their existence.
Here, however?
Eta brought the drop of blood closer to her eyes and watched how it suddenly started beating on the glass walls it was carried in. Yes, it was alive. And judging by the reactions, very much alive…
Oh, yes, she was now endlessly curious. She has long known of their Master's nature as otherworldly being, but now it has only cemented it… What was he like? Was he comparable to beings from Realms? Or was he something infinitely higher? Something that, just like her, wanted to know the universe to the fullest?
She now knew that he was not so omniscient as she previously thought… However, that didn't mean his nature wasn't curious. Though sometimes the way he does things… Left even her in shambles. Talk about effectively killing your body to make it stronger…
And that's why the blood drop was so curious. Even now, it exhibited lifeforce far greater than Eta's whole body had. Perhaps, it was even comparable to Malaks, the fake dragon copies…
Her smile widened.
She wants to know more. She needs to know more.
Without hesitation, she went onto her working station. Yet another gift of his that he granted to Shades…
He really loves them, doesn't he?
Well, she loves him too.
Loves to madness.
'Seriously? Eta, again?' the mature-looking woman with indigo hair and dark blue eyes sighed as she saw yet another request for increased funding.
Nonetheless, she signed it immediately. Now that they all were a large family bound by love, she saw no problems in granting as much money to other members as they want… Especially considering that in the end Eta's research gives a lot more. Seriously, this girl… If not for her research obsession, she could probably outsmart all other Shades at once… Then again, she would not be able to find so much Shadow Wisdom, now would she?
Businesswoman sighed again and went for another document. Request to grant more manpower to one of the branches… Ah, it's that region… Yes, developing one… Granted…
"Lady Gamma, there is a visitor," Nu, her secretary, bowed.
"Visitor?…" Gamma tilted her head. She did not expect any visitors…
"It's Lord Shadow's adopted son," brown-haired woman added.
"Oh…? Oh!" the usually level-headed businesswoman immediately beamed, "Let him in."
With a quick nod Nu went to open the door.
"Hey, aunty Gamma!" the blonde kid ran through the passage immediately and stopped in front of the table.
Gamma's heart melted somewhat. Though it was not their biological child, it was still someone who Lord Shadow wanted to help… That, and an experience of being a mother was something she would not mind.
"Naruto," she smiled gently and placed the document back on the table to show how serious she is in her duties as… aunt, yes… "Is there something you need?"
"Well, umm…" the energetic kid got all shy all of sudden, "Well, we have been playing with Lilac-onee-chan…" ah, yes, Aurora in her child form, "And then we found, well…" he opened his hoodie and took out… "This!"
He proudly displayed a small fox. The animal in question just stared at the surroundings in curiosity, not bothered by people around it in the slightest.
"You want to keep it?" Gamma immediately deduced, "Of course, of course. I don't think Alpha or Lord Shadow would mind… But you will need to learn how to care for animal," she frowned slightly.
"I will, ttebayo! Or I am not Uzumaki Naruto!" he beamed at her words.
"Well then, Nu," she turned to her secretary, "Please find someone who can either teach the skills necessary for that or give him books."
"Understood, Lady Gamma," Nu bowed slightly and turned back to Naruto, "Please, Young Master, come after me."
"Yatta!…" boy in question shouted and went right after the woman, jumping a bit with each step.
Gamma followed his exit with a smile. Then her smile disappeared and she sighed. Back to work, is it?…
Kyuubi 'looked' around in interest.
Apparently this suit could even split a little, allowing its consciousness to temporarily leave the jail. Temporarily, because it was as good as watching through the suit… Because it was the suit. Fox just slightly controlled the chakra to move.
Of course, it was not enough to fool anyone who had brains, such as this shinobi-like woman who scrutinized the chakra-suit that was morphed into a fox. So long as it stayed somewhat near the main mass and the wearer — his jailer, — Kyuubi had a small degree of autonomy. But that was it. Kyuubi could not do anything more than that. And honestly? There was no need to.
Fox was pretty content with current situation… Aside from the fact that strange man still could take it out at any time if his abilities in messing with chakra seals are a good measurement. Other than that, though? It's great.
Way better than when Kyuubi was sealed in these women and chained to the wall while the chakra was drained.
Excerpt from research about biology of living things:
'…Humans, at their core, are the most average of sentient beings. Average lifespan, average offspring, average strength, dexterity, intelligence… Of course, there are some things which humans are better at than other beings. And of course, there are certain exceptions. As it turns out, humans of other worlds are not different from humans of this world, thus further research is not required…'
'…Elves are unique in the fact that most of them are quite well-attuned to nature, to forests. They can feel the nature around themselves and don't like when it's suppressed, such as in human cities. Of course, one could also attribute it to the fact that humans can be quite obnoxious sometimes, especially considering that most elves are also a beauty standard for human race. As it stands, elves enjoy way greater lifespan, magic reserve, and close connection to their Hero ancestor, Olivier. However, it also makes them more prone to Curse, or Possession, or Magic Overload. Elves also are prone to obsessions, way more so than humans or even therianthropes. And of course, considering that their lifespan is quite large, at the time when human retires in old age, elves just start thinking about offspring, despite maturing way earlier than humans do…'
'…Therianthropes, or beast-people. Quite a large group that houses the smaller ones. Mostly aggressive, with far greater physical qualities, they often lack the ability to think logically and not in the spur of a moment; and even those who do are prone to be distracted by their instinct. However, their natural sense are unparalleled, sometimes even challenging the greatest inventions: one wolf-kin was able to find something that the whole research team equipped with innovative tools was searching for days… in less than five minutes. Their abilities are closely related to the type of animal they are similar to: wolf-kin have greater sense of smell and unmatched physical strength, while feline-kin are often praised for their dexterity and cunning personality…'
'…Vampires, a branch of Cursed. Boast about their immortality, in practice, are able to not grow old and continue functioning at their peak. Have access to unique type of magic, Blood Magic. Have impressive regenerative capabilities and innate abilities to control magic, as well as immunity to Magic Overload. Strength is observed to be higher on average than that of humans, further increased during event named as "Blood Moon". However, sun rays destroy their cells, and prolonged stay on the outside during the sunny days can kill them. Require sustenance that is harvested from other sapient beings, that is, blood. Without taking blood they lose their race abilities except non-aging, but in exchange they lose their weaknesses.'
'…Demons. Beings of other Realms. Posses physical qualities that are similar to animals of our world, but with major alterations. Cannot be killed without magic, or rather, magic can heavily suppress their regenerative abilities. Apparently, follow the hierarchy system, with strongest at the top. Blood of one was used as catalyst to create the Demon Diablos, Aurora. Despite having their cells, she herself is still closer to humans with ability to shapeshift into Demon Form at will…'
'…Cid Kagenou. Physical qualities far exceeding those that are supposed to be achievable. Magic evolved to the point we can no longer find it. Has strange energy in his body. Ability to travel between worlds and use nature to his own advantage. Was human at birth. More research is required…'
By Eta, Seventh Shade of Shadow Garden, Head of Research Department.
Eta: "How do I categorize you? How do I categorize you?!"
Cid: "Don't categorize me!"
Eta: "From where did you say that?!"