Disclaimer: I will be alternating between anime effects and TCG/OCG effects for some of Naruto's cards, depending on which effect is better. The ones with anime effects will be noted with an *.
Anime card effects apply to canon ZEXAL characters.
I will also be using some OCG card names if they sound cooler.
"I see… So Luna has escaped…" Eliphas looked away from his kneeling attendant and towards the night sky of the Astral World.
Tonight just like all nights, the sky was divided by a curtain of bright emerald light.
Eliphas' own chamber was one decorated by pure, white crystals – ones so flawless and untainted that he could see his own undistorted reflection just by looking at the floor.
It had been eons since he purged his world of Chaos. During that time, he had never regretted his decision even once.
He was absolutely certain that in order for their world to truly Rank Up into a higher realm, they needed to get rid of Chaos.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a sting of disappointment from Luna's actions. He had known Luna since she was a little girl and was immediately impressed by her intellect — so much so that he even shared with her the secrets of Rank Up.
Yet, to think that the girl that he mentored would grow up to threaten the world that he loved so dearly– he had truly been stabbed in the back by a blade of great irony.
"What are you planning on doing with the Numeron Code, Luna? Surely, you know that if Chaos ever returns, the Goddess of Despair will be not long after?" He asked the unanswerable questions. Of course, the person he wished to hear from the most was no longer with him.
"Should we chase after her?" The attendant asked.
The God of the Astral World shook his head. "Leave her be. Astral will not fail in his mission." He said with the utmost confidence.
"Ahhh~~~~"
Frankly, Vector was bored of the crimson jungle of crystals in front of his eyes.
If this weren't his home, he would have thought that he had stumbled into the midst of a crappy cavern.
Even the ocean of this world reflected nothing but red.
The only thing not red in this world was the strange black hole that ate up the skies in the distance. Even then, the several haloes of swirling clouds that surrounded the black hole were red in color. Though, if he wanted to be fair, he supposed he could judge those clouds as orange.
He must have done something terrible in the past to ended up as an emperor of such a drab place.
Sometimes, he wished that someone, anyone, would come into their world and liven things up a bit. Things had really gotten boring ever since he got rid of two of his most hated "colleagues" —especially when the duo that ended up replacing them had less than half of their personality.
Just then an errant breeze brushed him by, and he was reminded of his meeting with a certain self-righteous dignitary.
Vector stood from the crystalline tower that he had perched himself on and spread his demonic wings. "Well, I think I have wasted as much time as I can. That bastard must be getting pretty agitated right now."
He flapped his wings and leaped off his perch, heading straight to the palace where he knew his new leader was waiting.
He landed in the palace with the light tap and walked straight towards the throne that sat atop the staircase. Once again, everything around him was red.
"Vector!" The person sitting atop the throne shouted with a tone of authority. "What took you so long?"
The figure was a black humanoid with large spiky purple hair that fanned to the right.
Vector held up his hands to show that he meant no ill will before kneeling down on one knee. "I just got distracted by the scenery that's all."
The figure stared down at Vector with his piercing gray eyes. After a while, his gaze softened as he relented. "Whatever! Just tell me how your plan is going! Remember, this is a matter that concerns the fate of our world!"
Vector rolled his eyes. "Relax, Ute, our fearless leader." He addressed him with evident sarcasm. He had no fear that the man would get enraged enough to cut him down on the spot. After all, out of all Barians, he was the only one with the cunning to come up with an actual plan.
"Even though our world can't directly interact with Astral World, if everything goes my way, the Astral World will be gone in no time at all. All of my pawns are in their place."
"I see…" Ute appeared to be deep in reflection. "You're dismissed, Vector."
Vector didn't waste a second to get off his knees and walk out of his leader's chamber. In his ideal world, he would have been crowned as the new leader of the Barian Emperors. But alas, fate seemed to have thrown him a spiteful curveball and made a bumbling fool the king instead.
He supposed that he could have made a challenge for the crown. But even he knew that dealing with Ute's Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon wouldn't be an easy task. For now, the best move for him was to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to strike – just like how he did before.
The sun had already set long ago by the time that Naruto and Luna started to make their way back to Naruto's apartment. Ever since they discovered the key to recovering Astral's memories was to collect the Numbers cards, they had been devoting a significant portion of their day to looking for other Number holders.
Today, they managed to add yet another Number to their collection. Luna knew that if they kept this momentum going, it wouldn't be long before they discovered the location of the Numeron Code. Despite this, there was one doubt that remained on Luna's mind.
"Is it really ok?" Luna asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"To leave that Yuma kid like that?" Luna clarified. The memories of Astral's partner groveling for help was still fresh in her mind. "You seem to have crushed his spirit. I doubt he would be much use to us as a broken shell of his former self. It might have been best to just put him out of his misery."
"I disagree." Naruto shook his head. "That Yuma guy is not the type to give up so easily."
Naruto paused mid-stride as he heard something unusual. Something akin to a high-pitched whistle of a boiling kettle. He turned his head to the back, ever so slightly, and his eyes shot wide from what he saw approaching them. It was missiles – large black balls of fury that streaked towards them with blurring speed.
Without warning, Naruto tackled Luna to the side, earning a surprised yelp from the unsuspecting girl. Just then, the missiles crashed onto where they were standing, unleashing a bright, fiery explosion.
"These are…" Naruto's voice rose as hot air from the explosion blew past him. "These are real missiles!"
His eyes immediately darted towards the direction that the missiles came from and saw a girl mounting a cannon-shaped hovercraft in the distance.
"Damn you, you two timing bastard!" The girl on the hovercraft screamed. She released another round of ammunition towards Naruto, who quickly grabbed Luna and weaved through the incoming cannon fire .
"Just who is this girl?!" Luna asked in panic.
"I don't know!" Naruto replied in haste. From the look of confusion in his eyes, Luna could tell that the blonde wasn't lying.
As a third round of missiles streaked their way, Luna summoned forth a barrier and reflected the missiles back to their attacker.
The hovercraft girl seemed to panic as she saw her own attack coming back at her. After clumsily dodging around in the air, the girl was eventually knocked out of her hovercraft and crashed onto the ground.
Naruto and Luna didn't waste any time rushing to the spot where the mysterious girl landed. When they did, they came face to face with a girl with pink and orange hair that was styled uniquely. The girl was sitting on the ground, groaning and massaging her head that she likely bumped when she fell from the sky.
"Wait…You're…" Upon seeing the girl's face up close, a certain name started to float to the front of Naruto's mind. "Anna!"
Upon hearing her name being said, the strange girl angrily raised her hovercraft canon and aimed it straight at Naruto's head. "You cheater!" She accused angrily as she glared at both Naruto and Luna. "I can't believe while I was gone, you went and got yourself a girlfriend!"
"Girlfriend?" Luna looked confused.
Naruto sighed. "She's not my girlfriend."
"Oh…" Anna's face softened as she lowered her cannon. "My mistake then…. Ahaahhaha." She laughed as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, trying to act as if she hadn't just attempted murder.
"I see…" Luna set down her cup after taking a sip. All three of them were sitting by the outside patio table of a late-night cafe. "So you knew Naruto when you were a child?"
"Yup!" Anna said. "We were classmates in elementary school!"
"Oh?" Luna's interest seemed to be piqued. "What was Naruto like in elementary school?"
"Well he was kind and nice, and warm…" Anna seemed to be lost in the world of her own as she rambled on. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were clasped on her heating cheeks. "He helped me deal with bullies that picked on other girls too! And taught me how to play Duel Monsters!"
"Huh? Sounds like such a sweet, dreamy guy." Luna peeked over to Naruto who had an unreadable expression on his face. She poked his arm teasingly. "Looking at you, I almost think she got you confused with someone else."
"..." Naruto remained silent despite Luna's attempt to elicit a reaction from him.
Seeing that Naruto was being a killjoy, Luna decided to move the conversation along. "So, when he taught you how to duel, did he say super edgy lines like "Obscured falcon, raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion"?''
"Yeah, he did!" Anna beamed as she slapped the table in excitement. The two girls then shared a laugh.
"Haha…" Anna wiped a joyful tear from the corner of her eyes. "Rio and I used to roast him for coming up with such ridiculous lines. Speaking of whom, how is Rio doing?"
Naruto stood up from his seat abruptly. Anna's question seemed to have struck a nerve with him. "I will be leaving now. A lot of things have happened since you moved away, Anna. For your safety, I would suggest that you stay as far away as possible from me. I don't want to drag you into my mess."
He was just about to leave until he heard Anna slam her hands on the table. The girl was now standing up, her face lightly flushed from irritation. "Hey! What's with you!" Anna yelled. The passerbys around the cafe have all turned their eyes to the source of the commotion.
Normally, Anna would feel embarrassed from the attention, but this time she didn't care anymore. "From the moment we met, you have been acting cold towards me. Did something happen to Rio? If so, you need to tell me. She's my friend too!"
"It's none of your concern!" Naruto barked back. There was a forceful fury reflected in his usual cold, blue eyes. "All you need to know is that I will definitely bring her back!"
Anna seemed stunned into silence by Naruto's rebuttal. When she recovered, her hands balled into fists on the patio table. Finally, she spoke, making a strange request as she did so. "Duel me."
"Huh?" Naruto had a look of confusion on his face.
"I said to duel me!" Anna repeated her request, this time with more strength in her voice. "I have learned from my years of dueling that the best way for duelists to communicate their feelings is through a duel!" Anna said as she set on her D-Gazer and equipped her D-Pad.
It was clear to Naruto that the girl wouldn't be above throwing a tantrum if he declined her request. "Fine." He relented. "I could spare five minutes to beat you into the ground!"
As Naruto put on his D-Gazer, a rain of digital code streamed down around him. Within seconds, he was in virtual reality.
"Duel!"
Anna ripped a card from her deck. "I will go first!" She glanced at what she drew.
T1 Anna H:5-6 LP: 4000
"I will summon Ruffian Railcar from my hand."
A red, armored train rolled onto Anna's field.
Ruffian Railcar EARTH LV 4 Machine/Effect ATK: 1800
"Once per turn, I can inflict 500 points of damage to your Life Points!"
The bumper lights of the train transformed into a pair of lasers that lanced right through Naruto's body.
(Naruto's LP: 4000-3500)
"I will set one card and end my turn!" Anna swiped a card into the Spell and Trap card zone of her D-Pad. She made a fist with her hand as she steeled her resolve. "I will make you remember, Naruto. Our intense encounter! My intense feelings towards you! My everything! I will return you to the kind boy that I fell in love with."
"Naruto…She's already said so much…Aren't you going to respond to her feelings?" Luna teased from the sidelines.
"Shut up!" Came Naruto's cold demand.
T2 Naruto H:5-6 LP: 3500
"My turn." Naruto swiped a card into his hand. "I draw!"
"I will summon Raidraptor - Impale Lanius."
Raidraptor - Impale Lanius DARK LV 4 Winged Beast/Effect ATK: 1700
The monster that he conjured was a mechanical raptor covered in crimson metal. Its talons resembled to sharp knives that were locked together like a crab's pincer. Its head was adorned with 4 bright emerald eye, and a beak that resembled the tip of a sword.
"Impale Lanius' effect allows me to change one Attack Position monster on the field to Defense Position. I will be changing Ruffian Railcar to Defense Position."
Ruffian Railcar EARTH LV 4 Machine/Effect DEF: 1000
"Battle! I will attack Ruffian Railcar with Raidraptor - Impale Lanius!"
"A sudden and straightforward approach! I like it!" Anna swung her arm and called forth her Trap Card. "But I activate my Trap: Nightmare Wheel and strap it to Impale Lanius! Now, Impale Lanius will no longer be able to attack!"
"It's pointless." Naruto rebutted coldly. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Swallow's Nest from my hand! By tributing Raidraptor - Impale Lanius, I can Special Summon from my deck one Winged Beast monster with the same Level! I will call forth another Raidraptor - Impale Lanius from my deck!"
Luna gave a soft smile at the genius maneuver. "Now, not only will Nightmare Wheel lose its target, but the newly summoned Impale Lanius will still be able to attack."
Naruto pointed a commanding finger toward his target. His eyes "I will attack Ruffian Railcar with Raidraptor - Impale Lanius!"
The avian predator speed forward with its wings flapping at the speed of sound. In one swift motion, it plunged its bladed beak into the body of Ruffian Railcar. A swift web of electricity washed over the sentient vehicle's body as its internal system started to fail.
Within seconds, the Railcar exploded into a shower of metal, causing Anna to yelp in fear as the errant shrapnel scraped her by. "Ahhh!"
"During my Main Phase 2, if Raidraptor - Impale Lanius battled this turn, I can revive 1 Raidraptor monster from my graveyard. I will bring back the Raidraptor- Impale Lanius that I tributed with Swallow's Nest."
".…" Anna wasn't sure who she was looking at anymore. There was no warmth behind his dueling – not like it used to have before. He didn't even ask if she was okay after she had just tumbled to the ground. "Naruto…just what happened to you? Why have you changed so much?"
Naruto ignored her question and continued with his turn. "I will target one of my Raidraptor - Impale Lanius and activate Overlay Satellite!" A miniature satellite appeared and circled around the Impale Lanius positioned on the right. "When I use the equipped monster for an Xyz Summon, I can treat it as two monsters."
"I will now overlay the two Level 4 Raidraptor - Impale Lanius! Xyz Summon! Take flight, Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon!"
"Then per Overlay Satellite's effect, it is attached to Fortress Falcon as an extra Xyz Material."
Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon DARK R4 Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect DEF: 3000 Xyz Materials: 2→3
The monster that Naruto conjured forth was an avian beast clad in gold armor. On its back, there sprouted a pair of mechanical wings. As it hovered in front of Naruto, it projected a semi-translucent barrier of interlocked pentagons that kept both itself and its master from harm.
"When Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon is on the field, all effect damage less than Fortress Falcon's Defense Points are negated."
"That means!" Anna's eyes shot wide open in realization. "All effect damage under 3000 will be reduced to 0!"
Satisfied with the flow of the duel, Naruto held out one card in his hand and inserted it into his D-Pad. "With that, I will set one card face-down and end my turn."
T3 Anna H: 3-4 LP: 4000
As Anna started her turn, her heart was heavy from uncertainty.
"Any damage underneath 3000 will be negated…" Anna mumbled once again in disbelief. As long as that monster remained on the field, her ace monster's ability would be completely useless. In a way, it was almost like a fortress that Naruto had put up to block out her words.
She shook her head to rid herself of her doubts, and reassured herself that the kind, smiling boy that she loved was still in there somewhere. She just needed to find a way to get through to him.
At that thought, a fire lit up inside her and she became determined to take down the monster no matter what.
"I will summon Night Express Knight without tributing a monster. But its attack points will be set to 0."
A metal railroad track unfurled midair. Moments later, a white bullet train came rolling out. Except this train was different from the others. As other trains didn't have a mechanic medieval knight wielding a lance and shield attached at their tips – yet this one did.
Night Express Knight EARTH LV 10 Machine/Effect ATK: 3000→0
"I then activate Machine Duplication. By targeting a Machine monster with 500 or fewer attacks, I can Special Summon up to 2 extra copies of that monster from my deck. I will summon another copy of Night Express Knight from my Deck."
Night Express Knight ATK: 3000
"Its Attack Points didn't decrease!" Luna narrowed her eyes. "Is it because it was Special Summoned by the Spell Card Machine Duplication?"
The scientist from the Astral world shifted her attention back to the golden falcon that guarded Naruto. "But a mere 3000 Attack Points won't be enough to defeat Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon!"
"I will now overlay the two Level 8 Night Express Knight and build the overlay network!"
The two Night Express Knights transformed into streams of lights and poured into the Overlay Network that expanded on the ground.
"Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 10! Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max!"
Gustav Max, a railway gun with a red base and green, squaric, segmented top, came rolling out on a set of holographic railroad. With a few loud clicks, the square-shaped compartment of Gustav Max opened up, and a large silver cannon pipe poked out from within and glistened against the rays of the moon.
Two spheres of brown lights circled around the monster in perpetuity.
Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max EARTH R10 Machine/Xyz/Effect ATK: 3000 Xyz Materials:2
"Normally, I would detach 1 Xyz Material to inflict 2000 points of effect damage to you. But…" Anna glared at Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon. "As long as that Xyz Monster is on the field, it would just be a waste. So, I will instead equip Gustav Max with Stoic Challenge!"
A golden aura wrapped around the body of the gargantuan rail cannon.
"Per Stoic Challenge's effect, Gustav Max gains 600 attack points for each Xyz Materials it has. This means Gustav Max's attack points will increase by 1200!"
Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max R10 ATK: 3000-4200 Xyz Materials:2
"Then I activate Limiter Removal!" Anna kept the pressure on as she whipped another card into her D-Pad. "Gustav Max's attack points will be doubled until the end of this turn!"
In front of their eyes, Gustav Max doubled in size until it towered over Fortress Falcon.
Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max R10 ATK: 3000→4200→8400 Xyz Materials: 2
"Its Attack Points are now way higher than Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon's Defense Points!" Luna exclaimed.
"But Raidraptor- Fortress Falcon is in Defense Mode." Naruto calmly reminded Anna. "You can power up your monster all you want. However, it won't matter if you can't touch my Life Points!"
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Anna shook her finger from side to side. She had a grin on her face – the type only worn by people who knew a secret that others didn't.
"This time, I will reach you for sure!" Anna roared as she waved her arm. "I activate my Trap Card: Meteorain! Until the end of the turn, all my monsters will be able to inflict piercing damage!"
"Which means even if Naruto's monster is in Defense Mode. Any difference between Fortress Falcon's Defense Points and Gustav Max's Attack Points will be inflicted to Naruto as damage!" Luna realized.
"Battle! I will attack Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon with Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max! Per the effect of Stoic Challenge, any battle damage you take will be doubled!"
"That means…" Luna's eyes perked up in bewilderment. "If this goes through, Naruto will take 10800 points of damage!"
Gustav Max lowered its gargantuan towards Fortress Falcon, who now looked comically small in front of its enlarged adversary. An energy bullet charged at the pipe of the cannon before rippling outward in a sparkling blast of electricity.
Having beholden such an asinine sight with his own eyes, Naruto smiled. A genuine one that was devoid of malice or condescension. It was almost as if he took a modicum of pride in the woman battling him.
"Well done Anna… But!" Naruto's eyes snapped open like a falcon on the hunt. "I activate the trap card: Raidraptor - Evasion! By returning one of Fortress Falcon's Xyz Materials to my hand, I can negate your attack. I will return Raidraptor - Impale Lanius to my hand!"
As the energy bullet neared, Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon suddenly soared sharply upwards until it was out of the blast range.
"It can't be…" Anna's voice was barely a whisper as she saw her attack being thwarted—so easily too.
She looked at her empty hand and knew that she quite literally had no cards left to play. Her Spell and Trap Card zone were barren save for the Equip Spell: Stoic Challenge —but that card was no longer useful in the current situation.
Putting it simply, she was all out of options. "I end my turn." She resigned herself to her fate. "Then at the end of this turn, Limiter Removal's effect will destroy Gustav Max."
Gustav Max's engine let out a low, drawn-out roar as its body became consumed in a fiery explosion.
Now there was not even a monster to defend her Life Points.
Luna scoffed at the sudden turn of events. "So in the end this was an all or nothing plan that backfired terribly. For a second there, I thought Naruto really could be in danger."
"It's my turn!" Naruto's voice rang throughout the street. "I draw!" He didn't even need to look at what he drew as he already had everything he needed to win.
T4 Naruto H:3-4 LP: 3500
"I will summon Raidraptor - Impale Lanius from my hand!" Naruto declared. "Then, I will detach 1 Xyz Material from Fortress Falcon to activate its effect. It's time to battle! I will attack you directly with Raidraptor - Impale Lanius!"
Raidraptor - Impale Lanius DARK LV 4 Winged Beast/Effect ATK:1700
His monster surged forward and buried its beak into Anna. The girl yelped as she fell on her back. (Anna's LP: 4000→2300)
"Then I will attack you directly with Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon!"
Anna was still struggling to get back on her feet when she heard the puzzling command. "A-Attack? But Raidraptor - Fortress Falcon is in Defense Mode?"
"As I activated Raidraptor- Fortress Falcon's effect, it can now attack while in Defense Mode, and when it does, I can use its Defense Points for Damage Calculation!"
Luna winced. "Ouch. Merciless."
The golden falcon charged a pulsing sphere of darkness at the tips of its beaks before lobbing it towards Anna. The sphere collided with the girl's flesh, knocking her down without resistance.
"Agghhh!" Anna cried out as her Life Points dropped to zero.
Anna's LP: 2300-0-LOSE
Naruto's LP: 3500-WIN
Naruto let out a sigh at the conclusion of the duel. He took off his D-Gazer and steadily approached Anna — who remained laid out on the floor from his latest attack. Sensing him coming, Anna quickly pinned him down with a hardened gaze that demanded an answer.
"That was a nice duel." Naruto finally said as he extended a hand to help Anna up.
"Eh?" Anna blushed at the unexpected gesture. She took the hand regardless. His arm felt even stronger than he remembered. When she got back to her feet, she couldn't help but avert her eyes shyly. "Um… about Rio…"
"Fine…" Naruto sighed. "I will tell you what happened."
"Go, Number 39 King of Wishes, Hope! Attack Number. 96, Dark Mist! Hope Sword Slash!"
At his command, Yuma's armored warrior leapt towards the blob-shaped giant and split it in halve with a swing of his blade. The blob-like abomination perished instantly amidst an echoing roar of agony. Almost at the same time, the monster's owner dropped onto the floor as well.
But unlike many other Duelists that Yuma fought before, this one didn't scream when his Life Points dropped to zero. In fact, compared to others, this one felt a bit too quiet and too motionless.
"It seems like we have recovered yet another Number, Yuma." Astral said as he absorbed Number 96 into his body. In response, Yuma gave Astral a tired smile.
Ever since his loss to Naruto, Yuma had been working hard in hunting down Numbers —not only to help Astral recover his memories, but also to get stronger for the next time that Naruto attacks.
"Yuma…" Kotori let out a lower whisper of concern as she observed her childhood friend from the sidelines.
The boy's appearance had gotten more disheveled lately, his hair was a mess and there were heavy bags underneath his eyes. Even though she couldn't see Astral personally, she could tell how much that Yuma valued him as a friend.
"What's wrong Kotori? We're going home." Yuma called out to her from the distance.
"Oh…yeah…" She answered absentmindedly before jogging to catch up to her friend. She just wished that there was a way for her to help him out.
They eventually found their way into the crosswalk of an intersection. It was then that everything around Yuma stopped moving. For a second there, Yuma thought that stress had finally snapped his mind. Yet no matter how hard he pinched himself, the cars, people, and even Kotori still remained frozen in front of his eyes.
"Yuma…" Astral's voice took on an alarmed edge. "It appears that we have been put under a spell of some sort."
"Don't tell me…" Yuma gulped nervously as his eyes swam wildly around the area. "Naruto is here again?"
Up on the rooftop of a skyscraper, a man observed Yuma with malicious intent. Slowly his robot companion approached him.
"Everything is ready, Kaito-sama."
"Let's go, Orbital." The man replied.
A/N: Huge thanks as per usual for everyone pitching story ideas, card ideas. I will see if I can work them in in the future. As for Number monsters that never appeared in the manga/anime, I'm thinking of just adding a "Cannot be destroyed by battle except with a "Number" monster" clause to them for simplicity's sake. Naruto vs Kaito is coming up soon. Probably next chapter.