Disclaimer: First Chapter
Story Start!
Ramen.
"You have quite the appetite for a human."
"Do I?" Naruto asked as he polished off his 3rd bowl of ramen that Makima bought for him. He could eat way more if he were turning this into an eating competition, but since it was just a normal meal, he was satisfied with just 3 bowls after the lack of proper meals he had been having lately. Makima had only eaten a single medium sized bowl, and she called it good and waited for him to finish eating before she questioned him. Naruto brought the bowl to his lips and drank the broth. "... it's pretty good, not Ichiraku, but all ramen is good ramen." Naruto appreciated the food, even if it wasn't his favorite of the kind.
Makima didn't comment on that comment.
She gestured to the chef, and he brought out some dumplings for them.
"Now, Naruto, you claim to be a human... but you don't seem human in your strength." Makima pointed out. A guy that could hold back and kill powerful devils was a rarity among rarities, most humans just wouldn't be able to kill strong devils without a devil contract to aid them. She only knew of 4 or 5 humans who could take out a strong devil without a contract, and several of those humans weren't normal humans to begin with. "You can clone yourself, do you have a contract with the Doppleganger Devil?" Makima asked him.
Naruto crossed his fingers, and a clone appeared next to him sitting down in the stool, it spun around the stool, before it vanished in a puff of smoke. Makima smiled at the show of his skill, and she had not smelled any devil involvement in the creation of the clone. She would have smelled some kind of devil if it had been contract related.
"Nope, just me. So, you called yourself a necessary evil." Naruto remembered.
Makima turned away from him, and she considered how to answer.
"I hold no personal love for humans, but I do wish to see humans thrive and flourish, because the things they create interest me. I am evil, because I am willing to use humans to help humans as a whole, and kill when I need to." Makima explained in the kindest way possible. "If I am forced to pick between saving the life of an orphan baby or a pregnant woman, I will leave the baby to die because 2 lives are in danger with the pregnant woman." Makima explained.
Naruto pointed a finger at her.
"I know a lot of people that think that way, it's a super normal thing in my world... I don't agree with it, but I would be a hypocrite to judge you as evil for thinking that way." Naruto wanted to call her evil and not listen to her, but at the same time, he had to remember that in his world that was an extremely normal line of thought.
Hiashi's brother being killed to protect the Byakugan and stop a war.
Danzo having the Uchiha killed by Itachi to stop a Civil War, and prevent Konoha being destroyed by the other nations while weakened.
Pain planning to use a superweapon to destroy a nation to make the other nations stop war.
There were actually too many examples to count where the lives of a few were sacrificed to benefit the whole. It was a shitty way of thinking, but it was still a valid way to think if your goal was really benefit of all people as a whole.
"Hmmm, interesting." Makima smiled at Naruto and judged him.
"Hmmm?" Naruto ate a dumpling as she stared into his eyes.
"When you use those special eyes of yours, the ones you tracked me down with. How far is the range of your sight?" Makima asked for a range. Naruto closed his eyes and stayed still for a moment, and she watched as his eyes changed once more. She got a more peaceful, serene feeling from him as the aura around him almost changed. He became at peace with something, even if she couldn't tell what it was.
His scent changed, almost like he stopped being a living person and became a tree or a rock.
"I can see everything in Japan, and if I focus a little I can... feel about halfway into China." Naruto lowered his focus and kept it down to about 1/3rd of Japan. "I can also lower my focus so that I can only feel about a third of Japan. There are tons and tons of people in this world, way more people than in my world." Naruto's world had a much, much lower population than this world did. Even just this small, super small, nation of Japan had more people than the 5 great nations combined as one.
Yet, the Elemental Nations landmass was larger than all of the landmasses of this world combined into one. He could hardly fathom just how many humans there were on this world when compared to the small number in his own world. It was almost amazing how many people had been breeding in this world in comparison, and how few people were dying daily.
"Feel." Makima focused in on that world.
"Yeah, I don't see it as if I'm looking at it. I feel things, and then the image of what I'm feeling forms in my mind. So I can see it in my brain-" Naruto tapped the side of his head. "It's kind of like getting tons of visions in my head at once. I can see everything and everyone as if I'm looking at them. It's a Sixth Sense." Naruto stated.
Makima smiled.
"There is no such thing as a Sixth Sense in this world, the concept of it was erased when the Sixth Sense devil was eaten by the Chainsaw Devil." Makima explained to Naruto. He raised an eyebrow at the statement. That was an interesting thing to hear, and he seemed to take it in stride.
A concept being erased?
"Well, I'm not from your world, so it's the concepts of my world that apply to me then... kind of like if you buy a berry ice cream with your buddy, and you go to a different shop that doesn't serve berry ice cream. Your buddy can't order berry at the new place, but you still have your berry ice cream." Naruto explained it in the best way that he himself could understand the concept of concept erasure not applying to him. Because he wasn't from this universe, so anything that was erased wouldn't apply to him because he was linked to the concepts of his world instead of this one.
"Ice Cream sounds nice."
-At an Ice Cream parlour-
"So... me having a 6th Sense is what made you interested in me?" Naruto ate some of this world's ice cream, and he found it to be even better than his world, unlike the ramen which was worse. It was a lot sweeter, and it came in way more flavors. He had picked out something new that he had never seen from his world.
Makima picked out basic chocolate with a fudge topping.
"Yes, because very few devils even remember what a 6th Sense is. It made me want to meet you, and invite you to work alongside me. You claim to be human, but you smell different than a human." Makima watched as Naruto smelled himself to try and get the scent that she was talking about. He tried to smell the nonhuman scent on himself, but shrugged his shoulders. "My goal is to find the weakened Chainsaw Devil, the Chainsaw man, make him mine so I can have him eat things that make this world a worse place." Makima explained part of her grand plan.
Naruto crossed his arms, leaned back, and had to think about it.
"Sounds... weird... I can't quite wrap my head around it. What are some things you want eaten?" Naruto asked her.
"Death, War, Famine, those kinds of things." Makima explained to him, and Naruto frowned a little as she listed three common things about life.
"So, people would stop feeling hungry, they would stop dying... but they would keep aging, since you didn't list Aging... but if you have Aging eaten, then that ends pregnancy too because babies age in the womb... so you would have an immortal aging population... wouldn't people live in constant suffering when their organs start to fail, but they can't die?" Naruto asked Makima, since that struck him.
"Then I'll have the Suffering Devil eaten."
"Okay, but they would still be Aging, and would one day be immortal piles of dust. Without Famine, would crops be abundant, or would people just not be hungry anymore?" Naruto asked Makima, and her smile started to slip into a frown. She stopped looking at him, and looked up at the ceiling, in thought over how erasing famine would affect the world.
That was a good question, would erasing the idea of famine cause people to no longer need food, or would it cause food to grow in such abundance that everyone would never worry about growing hungry. Famine was caused by a lack of access to food in combination with a need for food.
"I hadn't thought about that." Makima had overlooked those details.
She just believed humans would be better off without death and famine, so it would be better to erase those things.
"Also, wars are fought over land, money, women, and revenge. So, if you erase war, what of these are getting erased. Will there just be tons of land... or will people stop feeling any aggression or a need to get more. If you erase war, wouldn't that lead to the end of the human desire to expand?" Naruto explained, since he didn't know what needed to be erased in order to erase the concept of war. "Will you just be removing human free will?"
"That seems ideal then, erasing human free will would solve all those issues."
"But you said you like human inventions, so if you erase free will, the world will become a boring place where nobody wants to invent anything... no... where they don't have the free will and desire to invent something." Naruto proposed a flaw in humans having free will erased.
Makima listened to Naruto and her frown turned back into a smile.
"You know, since you are immune to concepts being erased. If I erased all those concepts, you could rule over this world as a king, with loyal subjects who have no choice but to obey." Makima offered.
"Not interested, I don't want to rule over people, I want to work together with people to make the world better. I would rather live in a flawed world where people work together, than live in a perfect world of slaves." Naruto frowned as she smiled. Makima stopped smiling as her face became neutral.
"You sound like you experienced that."
"I just defeated a person who wanted to rule over the world by putting everyone into a permanent sleep, where all their dream worlds could come true. A dream world where everything is perfect sounds great... but it isn't real. It's pathetic, and sad, and an excuse. Instead of being strong to make the world better, you take the cowards way out." Naruto didn't respect the idea. He looked to see Makima consider his words, before she smiled at him. There was a glint of evil in her eyes, but it was the kind of evil that your average ninja had.
Makima was considering the value of life at the moment.
"I don't agree, I think a world of dreams is better than a flawed reality. Still, what I think doesn't matter in this situation. I want you by my side as a follower." Makima stated.
"You mean ally?" Naruto asked her.
She paused.
"An ally... that is an interesting question. What is the difference between a follower and an ally?" Makima asked Naruto. She always considered a follower to be the same thing as an ally, but Naruto clearly did not consider those to be the same thing. She had plenty of followers who would do whatever she said, and she considered them her allies.
Naruto crossed his arms tighter and closed his eyes, as he thought about how to put his thoughts into words.
"Well... a follower just does whatever you say... but an ally..." Naruto tried to think about how to phrase it in a way Makima would get it. He looked around the room to try and find something he could use as an example. He found nothing, but Makima just sat there and watched his face with that same smile that didn't reach her eyes all the way.
Naruto looked at Makima's eyes.
Actually, her smile was reaching her eyes right now, it was subtle, but her eyes seemed happier than her fake smiles from before. Her smile was still fake, but the smile in her eyes almost seemed genuine.
"An ally will... call you out when you're wrong, and help you stand back up when you fail. If you're about to make a mistake, an ally will... pull you back and try and stop you... and you would do the same for them." Naruto brought his hands together.
Makima didn't understand him at all.
"Interesting thought, I don't understand, but it does sound interesting." Makima admitted to liking the sound of his words, even if she couldn't understand them. "You see, I manipulate humans, it's in my nature as a devil. It goes against my nature to give up control to somebody else." Makima was the Control devil for a reason.
Naruto thought about it.
"Giving up Control is an important part of taking Control though. Sometimes, there are other people stronger, or smarter, or just better suited to controlling a certain situation. If you're the Control devil, then can't you give up control, and take control, depending on... like... you know... the situation?" Naruto asked her.
"Example please." Makima politely requested.
"Uuuuuh... I mean, if you aren't good at negotiations, maybe let somebody else do it for you, and you just tell them what you would like done... give them control, and trust them to do the right thing by you both." Naruto gave an example. "... and for when to take Control, you can take control of a situation when it's something you're better at too. I mean, I have friends way smarter than me, but I'm way stronger than they are. It kind of balances out, giving and taking control?" Naruto asked her.
"Yes, I guess that makes sense." Makima gave control to the government for some things, and took control over most situations. She could understand letting a smarter person take control of a situation that needed intelligence, and a stronger person take control when strength was needed. It was easier for her to understand than the concept of allies being different than followers.
Naruto had a very interesting outlook.
Maybe it was because he was from another world, or maybe it was because he was stronger than her, but she did enjoy listening to him. She didn't need to see his full power to know that he could defeat her in a straight fight. She didn't question that he could wipe out all life on the planet if he wanted to, because by the way he talked, and the fact he was from another world, kind of implied he was from a world much stronger than her own.
"So you understood that, good."
"Now, onto the matter of why you're in this world... why are you here?" Makima finally addressed the most important topic from a government standpoint, since Naruto was an illegal alien in this country.
Actually, he was a literal alien to this world.
"... I'm here to... recover. I accidentally killed my best friend when I was trying to help him, it was an accident, but if I don't hold myself responsible, nobody will. I'm in this world, because without my best friend, there is nobody in my world who could challenge me... nobody who could stand by my side and stop me from becoming a monster. One day, I might go back home when they need me... but I'm in exile." Naruto sighed as he admitted the truth. It wasn't like he needed to keep his reason a secret.
Makima noticed something.
"So, your here to heal a broken heart so you don't become evil." Makima summarized in just a single sentence.
"... Yeah, that." Naruto agreed, kind of. He didn't like calling it a broken heart, but it wasn't a wrong way to put it either. His heart wasn't broken, but he did feel like he had done something that left a hole in his heart where his best friend had been. "... but I don't plan on causing any destruction on this world or anything." Naruto assured her.
"You know, that isn't how the government will see it. They will want some kind of assurance that you won't try something. I mean, you are a human who isn't bound by the law, and strong enough to conquer the world. No government in the world would want you, and you would forever be isolated by society... eventually, the fear of your power will spawn a devil." Makima explained with her silver tongue going to work.
Naruto actually smiled back.
"So, I should make a contract with you, to bind myself to you, and since you let the government hold your leash, me being related to you will give them assurance that I won't cause trouble... it will stop being from being afraid of me?" Naruto asked her, since even an idiot like him could see where this was going.
Makima smiled and stood up, gesturing for Naruto to follow her.
-At Makima's Apartment-
"I don't want any unknown ears to hear about the details of the contract, it's better that way." Makima stated.
'She's got a lot of dogs.' Naruto was petting one of her dogs, her super affectionate dogs who were licking his face and arms as he gave one attention. Makima had 7 super affectionate Huskies, who really enjoyed licking new people apparently. 4 black and white huskies, 2 grey and white, and 1 brown and white.
"That's Tiramisu, and this one here is Custard, but he also answers to Cream puff. We also have Mousse, Meringue, Panna Cotta, Trifle, and finally we have Yoghurt." Makima introduced all of her dogs, who would jump and lick in response to their names being said, with Custard doing it twice since the 2 names he responded to were both said. "You know... for somebody so strong, it wouldn't make sense for you to hear me out on a contract that would limit you." Makima pointed out.
Naruto shrugged.
"Part of being strong, is knowing when your power isn't needed. I already have to hold back in this world. So what is this contract?" Naruto asked.
"Go into the bedroom everyone." Makima ordered her dogs, and they obeyed by doing into her bedroom. She and Naruto were left alone, as she followed the dogs and closed the door on them, so they wouldn't see. She walked across the room and approached Naruto, before she formed her hand into a knife shape. She shoved her hand inside of her chest, a blood display that surprised Naruto into standing up and jumping back.
Makima ripped her own heart out.
Then, her heart regenerated and the wound healed, but the hole and blood on her shirt remained.
"The contract is simple. I am weaker than you, so trade hearts with me. Become the Control Hybrid, and allow me to have your heart in my chest. Wounds inflicted on one of us, will be felt on both of us." Makima offered a contract that would benefit both of them equally, tie them together, and she could lie about the contract to the government and say that she had control over Naruto.
"Control Hybrid?" Naruto asked her.
"You will become more than human. You stated you were in exile... but what if time functions differently in your world. What if 1 second in your world, is 10 years here... How can your friends call you back... if you die of old age?" Makima asked him.
Naruto frowned.
"This is manipulation."
"This is the truth, become a devil hybrid with my heart will make you immortal. You will stop aging, and if the day comes that your allies need your help, you can help them. You will still be human, but at the same time you will be part devil." Makima stated, and the heart in her hand was still beating. She smiled at Naruto. "... and wouldn't you like a home. If you have my heart, wouldn't it just make sense for us to be together... I do want to learn more about you, your world, and your viewpoint. I had fun with our conversation."
"I would take her deal if I were you." Kurama spoke up inside of him.
Naruto turned away from Makima.
"You would?" Naruto asked with a slight frown, and Makima raised an eyebrow when Naruto started to talk to somebody else, even though nobody else was in the room.
"She raises a good point, and remember, for us Tailed Beasts, you are our only ally. I don't want you to die. You're already a Jinchuriki, so you were already more than just a human. Adding a devil's heart won't change much." Kurama gave his advice.
"Still, not growing older, being immortal... being a hormonal teenager forever doesn't sound great. I won't grow taller."
"You won't be alone though, and you won't leave me alone when you die." Kurama pointed out.
Naruto grinned.
"I knew you loved me."
"SHUT UP AND MAKE THE DEAL IDIOT!"
"Yikes, so Tsundere." Naruto grinned when his teasing caused Kurama to yell at him. Kurama went silent, and Naruto rubbed the back of his heart with a small laugh. Kurama did help him make up his mind. He turned to Makima, who had just been patient the entire talk with Kurama. "... I want to add something to this contract."
"Oh?" Makima gestured for him to speak.
"The way I see it, you also become immortal, because if I can't die, you can't die... so I want you to actually give up something in this contract. If I'm giving up a part of my humanity, you need to give up something to, so this is an equal contract." Naruto stated as he gestured to Makima. He realized that she purposely worded the contract in a way where she was given an extra layer of protection as well.
If they were linked, and he was immortal, that would make her immortal too, so she lost nothing and only gained from the contract.
"Hmmmm... would you like me to give up some of my dogs for adoption, that would certainly be me giving up something I love. It wouldn't be fair to make me give up all of them... so how about I give up 5 of them?" Makima raised a hand with 5 fingers on it. She didn't think she would be okay with losing all of her huskies, but if it was 5 of them, then that might make the contract fair. "I could always make Aki take some of them, and possibly a few other subordinates. I wouldn't like trusting them with my dogs, but it would be... a sacrifice." Makima glanced over at Naruto.
"You'll still be able to see them though, so add something else. I don't actually even have to do this contract you know." Naruto stated to her.
So she thought.
"I'll give up on my plans of erasing War, Famine, and Death. I'll allow my sisters to live." Makima stated, since she wanted all of her sisters dead, and it was part of her goal. If she gave up 5 dogs and allowed her sisters to go without being eaten, then that would be more than a fair trade for binding Naruto to her for eternity.
Naruto gestured for her to continue.
"No, I think I've added more than enough on my end. I think it would make it fair if you added something now. I want you to live with me, here, and if you ever get called by home, I want to go with you." Makima added more to his end of the contract. She made her end more than fair by giving up something she loved, and giving up on part of her dream. It was only fair if Naruto added something that didn't hurt him, but benefitted her. "Part of being an ally is giving and taking control... well... I allowed you to take control, now allow me to take control. You do want to be equals right?" Makima asked him.
"Clever, real clever, using my own ideology against me... fine, I'll agree to your terms there too. If I ever go back home, you can come with me. So... are you strong enough to even rip my heart out?" Naruto asked her.
She nodded her head.
"As long as you don't resist, I'll try and make it as painless as possible." Makima stated as she approached him, and he started to take his shirt off.
Her hand went into his chest.
He didn't react, other than spitting up some blood. The pain was something he could handle, but he did wince when she yanked his heart out of his chest. She shoved her other hand back into his chest, a hand that contained her beating heart. He felt the feeling of her heart latching onto his veins and connecting to him, and that feeling spread through out his entire body as his veins integrated with her heart.
His body changed.
His own regeneration kicked in.
"Oh... you have regeneration even without a trigger." Makima watched the hole in his chest close up.
"Huh?"
"Hybrids have a trigger that will heal all of their wounds, and they can regenerate by consuming blood... but you have your own regeneration to add onto that. You might even be more immortal than I expected. Did anything else on your body change?" Makima circled around him and looked for any other changes. Usually part of a hybrids body would change in response to becoming a hybrid. "... ah... here it is, on the back of your neck, your hair covers it up." Makima stated as she found it.
It was ironic.
It was her name like a tattoo on his skin, no bigger than a dime. Makima knew the contract wasn't complete yet, so she ripped out her own heart a second time and placed his still beating her inside of her chest. There was little to no change in her though as his heart replaced her own. She stayed a pure devil, and didn't gain any powers from the heal. His heart in her chest was more symbolic of their contract than it was anything else.
"Immortal now, huh?" Naruto asked her.
"Immortal, you could get your head cut off right now, and you could survive. You're even more immortal than other hybrids, because unlike them... you can regenerate all on your own. Still, you do have a trigger... so..." Makima pressed her finger down on her name.
There was a fizzling sound as Naruto's hair turned the same red as her own hair, and his eyes changed from blue to ringed yellow eyes like her own. A halo of chains appeared to float over his head, but Naruto cancelled out the transformation with his willpower as soon as the changed took place.
"Don't do that, that felt... weird."
"Weird?" Makima asked.
"Yeah, weird." Naruto stated again.
"Maybe because when you were transformed, I was able to see through your eyes, and feel what you were feeling... it was quite the rush. Your body feels very powerful." Makima had gotten that sense of feeling from him as she gained a second pair of eyes. She wondered if Naruto had been able to feel what she was feeling and seeing as well. "Your hair turned red... guess since I'm a humanoid devil, the transformation is more humanoid than other hybrids." Makima had seen other hybrids transform before, and their heads always transformed to look like the head of the devil they were hybrids of.
For Naruto, his transformation was just a hair and eye color change, seeing she was humanoid in shape.
"So... what now?" Naruto asked.
"Now, we get you a suit. You'll need one to work as a Devil Hunter." Makima ran a hand over his back. "... and I have some phonecalls to make, and dogs to give away. This will be a very sad moment." Makima had to pick which dogs she gave away to her subordindates. She had to pick the ones she could trust to take care of them the most. She would explain it as she made a new devil contract, and part of the contract was giving away her dogs.
She woudn't tell them she was a devil in the contract though.
"Oh, and me being a devil is a secret Naruto, a very high level secret. You can't tell anyone. They all think I'm human." Makima pointed out to him.
"That's fine by me."
He was pretty sure people would freak out at working for a devil.
Chapter End!
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