Chapter 24
The Naruto clone gnashed his teeth together as the two devils that he was about to ambush managed to escape via magic circle.
Damn it...he was too late. He climbed up a damn mountain for nothing.
The clone sat down petulantly, frustrated that the bastardgot away from him.
...Again.
Toad-like eyes stared at the spot where the two devils have left, one of them was wearing a mask...
More importantly, thanks to the power that was now coursing through him, he recognized the energy signal that the masked devil was giving out.
That bastard that attacked them before...it was definitely him.
'Naruto' sighed, the battle between that fire bird and the boss was already over. So there was no point in giving him the extra power anymore...
The clone frowned for a moment, allowing himself to question something since he had the time and peace of mind for it.
It was a pretty important question too.
...Why did the natural energy feel...off?
It was strange, back at the Elemental Nations, the natural energy felt like water that was seamlessly pouring inside him. Filling him up with new power and strengthening him for any fight.
But this world's natural energy felt like...
Well, it felt greasy, slippery, maybe even darker.
The power derived from natural energy felt the same at the very least. No threats to upend his fun while in this state, but still...
This world's natural energy not only felt weird, it was also harder to take in when compared to his world.
The fight between the boss and the phoenix-thing wasn't a long one, but it shouldn't take five minutes to gather natural energy. By the time the clone was done gathering the natural energy, the boss was already about to finish off his enemy with the rasenshuriken.
It barely took one minute at the Elemental Nations...and he was pretty sure that it had nothing to do with how long it has been since he's used it. Gathering natural energy wasn't something that Naruto could get rusty in.
The clone sighed, just one thing after another.
Well...he better inform the boss at the very least, he would want to know about these thoughts and what the clone has seen.
He glanced down from his elevated perch on the mountain, sensing that the boss was carrying their former opponent towards the castle. He had plenty of time to think about the information he was about to receive.
The clone then made sure to look around, he was pretty far away from the castle when he was gathering natural energy before...but now he was much closer to it. But devils couldn't sense his regular chakra, so hopefully they wouldn't sense him...
With that thought in mind, he internally dispersed the natural energy that was intertwined with his physical and spiritual energy...
Then he dispersed the chakra in himself.
*POOF*
The dome that appeared on the battlefield has finally blinked out of existence, it's oppressive winds finally dwindling to nothing.
To the relief of everyone inside the castle, especially those that came to the party for political reasons.
Many of the noble devils were anxious due to the battle that has taken place so close to them, after all...no one there was expecting such a thing.
They weren't just anxious however, they were also afraid.
These were beings that knew everything about the world around them.
Who was important, who was powerful, who had a name that could cause the bravest of souls to flee in fear.
Yet this...boy...was not known as such an individual.
He came out of nowhere, ended a pure-blood marriage that was vital for the survival of pure-blood devils, and was invited by the Maou himself to attend an important function.
How could this be?
There was no such thing as a powerful individual that didn't have a name attached to them.
Yet this young man was an exception, someone unaccounted for in the grand scheme of things.
That lack of knowledge helped give birth to a fear that every sentient being has, perhaps to devils most of all.
Fear of the unknown.
Devils are beings that can live for thousands of years, they live in a society that has been mostly unchanged for most of that time. It's stable and comforting to stick with what they know.
For many, change in any shape or form is far more terrifying than any enemy.
They know what to expect from their enemies.
They know who's powerful and influential.
They know who can be considered among the top ten strongest on the planet.
But they didn't know about Uzumaki Naruto.
They didn't know what to expect from him.
They didn't know how powerful he was.
They didn't know how to deal with him.
For beings that live life in a society that has stayed more or less the same for thousands of years, that's terrifying.
Sooner or later, that knee-jerk reaction would transform into resentment.
They had names, power, wealth, and influence lapping at their feets. All through the grace of the their circumstances of birth.
They were meant to be important, to be secure in their power in every single way.
Now that security was threatened, in more ways than one.
New variables meant new circumstances, new circumstances which could transform into a new reality.
An uncertain future. One that couldn't be planned out of.
They didn't want to face an uncertain future, they didn't want to deal with it.
Yet that option was out of their hands, they were utterly impotent in the face of this new variable.
Of this unknown variable.
So all they could do was lash out. Against the circumstances, against the individuals that have engineered this terrifying prospect of uncertainty.
Yet they couldn't even do that, everyone who was directly responsible for bringing this boy to the limelight was far too powerful for them.
So for now, they did nothing, but the negative emotions that many nobles were feeling wasn't about to go away anytime soon.
No...the resentment would be hidden, bottled up, until something managed to push their frustration into intolerable levels. Or rather, until someone could give it the final push that it needed.
If that happened, then they would do the next best thing to soothe their damaged pride, rising fear, and hidden resentment.
Find a scapegoat.
"I can't believe how reckless you all were! Running towards the battle like that! If it wasn't for Naruto, all of you would've been killed! Especially you Issei!" Rias reprimanded, pinning all of her Peerage members with a hard stare.
Around the time that the flaming bird appeared, Riser's little sister; Ravel, panicked and attempted to help her brother. Much to everyone's shock.
Issei, being who he was, only hesitated for a split second before running after her, trying to stop her from getting herself killed. Which in turn, caused the rest of the Gremory Peerage to chase after him.
The Gremory heiress could only shake her head at the turn of events.
"Ah...apologies Buchou, we acted without thinking. But seeing Issei-kun run off like that...well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we felt like we should have backed him up." Yuuto claimed, giving his 'king' an apologetic smile for the trouble.
The red-headed devil sighed at this sentiment, it seemed that it was shared by everyone else too.
Her beliefs were compounded by the next set of comments.
"Now now Buchou, how could we possibly leave our kohai to that scary monster? We did act without thinking...but I don't really regret it." Akeno piped up cheerfully, completely and utterly unrepentant of her actions.
"...Won't abandon family." was all Koneko said, giving her 'king' a firm stare.
Issei gave everyone grateful looks, thankful that they would back him up here.
Rias for her part, held the bridge of her nose in frustration, they were making her out to be the bad guy here...
She stopped after calming herself down and gave her 'queen' a pointed look, hands on her hips. "You know for a fact that this situation isn't as clear cut as you're making it out to be, right?"
Akeno shrugged slightly, not losing her easy smile at all.
"True, but at it's essence, we moved to help a precious family member, no? Outside of all considerations, we did that. I suppose that I'm merely focusing on that specific fact." the 'queen' admitted easily.
Rias could have face palmed, she was intentionally being obtuse about this...
Koneko stepped up silently, moving towards her 'king' and tugging at her skirt.
"...You would do the same for us, Buchou." Koneko stated.
The Gremory heiress could only stare at her cute servant, surprised to realize at how utterly correct the young 'rook' was.
She sighed once more, a wry smirk appearing on her face, very much against her will.
If she was in their shoes and watched one of her Peerage members run towards imminent danger in front of her, she would have done the same thing. All logic and reasoning be damned.
"...Fine, you're right. I'm being hypocritical, I admit it. Just...be more careful, ok? All of you nearly gave me a heart attack." Rias grumbled, turning away from the slightly smug look that Akeno was giving her.
She felt a hand land on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze.
"Sometimes, even a 'king' could be overthrown by their servants." Sona pointed out, eyes dripping with humor.
The red-headed devil rolled her eyes at that, slightly annoyed that one of her closest friends was getting some amusement out of her predicament.
With that unpleasantness out of the way, she finally noticed that someone wasn't taking part in the conversation.
She turned around to see her kohai staring off into the battleground.
"Mio. Naruto is fine." the high-class devil murmured.
The younger red-head's shoulders twitched, slightly surprised that her inner thoughts were so see-through. So she turned around and regarded her sempai with a sheepish expression.
"S-Sorry. I'm just a little worried that he might have gotten hurt, but this is my brother, right? So he's probably fine." Mio said, before turning to look at someone behind Rias. "But I think we have more pressing issues, like what to do about the little girl?"
All eyes turned to the young Phenex girl, unconscious and leaning on the wall ever since she was retrieved from the fight outside.
Issei, who was sitting right next to her, only shrugged. "No idea, I was hoping that she would have woken up by now. I don't really want to leave her behind if we have to go anywhere, maybe Grayfia-san can do something?"
Mio glanced towards the front of the castle, where the flames from the deadly phoenix once threatened them.
The maid was inspecting the burned and melted area where the flames once raged, staring at it as if it was a disconcerting puzzle.
The teenaged group glanced at one another, unsure who should approach the icy woman and seek her advice on their conundrum. She wasn't exactly the easiest person to approach.
Mio glanced at Rias, hoping that maybe she could-
"No way, Grayfia is scary when she's in maid mode. So don't look to me to solve this problem." the red-headed devil stated, shooting down the younger devil's idea before it even began.
The high-class devil then turned to her 'queen', maybe she could-
"Ara ara, Buchou. How could I, a lowly servant, possibly request anything of the second-most powerful woman in the Underworld? I simply don't have the prestige to ever hopeof trying!" Akeno exclaimed dramatically, feigning her disappointment with her inability to help.
Rias just sent her a dry look, she knew damn well that the black-haired sadist was just enjoying watching her squirm.
Before the Gremory could try to punt the issue to someone else, Sona intervened again, trying to be the voice of reason.
"Instead of trying to ask individuals to speak to Grayfia-san, perhaps it would be prudent to speak to her as a group? With Issei-san taking the lead of course." Sona spoke out, glancing at the owner of the 'Boosted Gear'.
Issei squirmed a little, suddenly feeling that he was being put on trial. "Wait, why me!? I'm pretty sure that I would mess everything up if I went!"
The Sitri heiress pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose, the glare of the light reflecting on her lens as she gave Issei a stern stare.
"Because you are the catalyst of this situation, thus you should be the one to resolve it."
Ah...his reckless actions were coming to bite him in the ass now, huh?
That sucks.
Yuuto was watching everyone's interactions with a smile, glad that most of the tension has bled away now that the immediate danger was gone.
He turned to ask Koneko, who was by his side, what she thought of the situation-
He stopped.
"...Koneko-chan? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost..." Yuuto asked quietly, unintentionally grabbing everyone else's attention.
Koneko suddenly started shivering, her eyes were wide and her expression was scrunched up in a mixture of fear and disgust.
"...Natural energy." the 'rook' spoke with a soft tone, her eyes downcast.
Many faces paled.
Issei looked at the young girl in confusion, what the hell was natural energy?
Mio was just as confused, but before she could ask, her sempai went up to the clearly distressed girl quickly.
"Koneko-chan, are you sure that you sensed natural energy? Absolutely certain?" Rias asked quickly, kneeling in front of her Peerage member to look her in the eye.
Koneko just nodded slowly, her eyes staring past her 'king'.
The red-head's eyes narrowed at the confirmation.
Akeno walked up to her and whispered in her ear urgently. "Buchou, if it's who we think it is then..."
Rias was aware, as far as she knew...there was only one person that could enter the Underworld, stay undetected, and utilize natural energy.
The high-class devil stood up and marched past all of the teens in order to reach the 'queen' of the current Maou Lucifer.
This was more important than petty fears.
Naruto was staring ahead, contemplating upon the information he has just gotten from his clone.
Looks like he wasn't able to hide most of his abilities after all...now the guy that he wanted to thoroughly trash knew about his power.
Or at least, most of it.
Maybe it was a good thing that the the blond didn't manage to use senjutsu, best to keep it under wraps for future battles. Wouldn't want someone to create some kind of defense against it after all.
The shinobi's eyes narrowed a little as his thoughts drifted towards another matter.
...Who was that guy? The devil next to the bastard that attacked him the other day?
He had a lot of demonic energy...he was almost as strong as that stoic maid from before.
Shit...this entire event went downhill pretty damn fast, first Riser-san, then the phoenix, now a strange and powerful devil that was spying on him?
His luck was absolute shit when it came to these kinds of things.
Now Naruto was just trudging towards the castle, holding his former enemy over his shoulder and trying not to wince at the pain from his feet.
He shouldn't have used his new trick so much, obviously. It backfired pretty badly, he was lucky that he didn't do moredamage.
The air step...a work-in-process 'trick' that relied on very careful application of wind.
It was pretty simple, he pretty much just focused his chakra onto the soles of his feet, then transformed it into molecular wind blades, similar to those found on his wind-based rasengans.
He condensed it enough to 'stick' to it using his chakra, then used it as a temporary floor to jump out from. It was his first real attempt at removing his flying weakness.
That being said...it had quite a lot of weaknesses, one of which he was literally suffering from.
It would always take him more than a split-second to create the air pads under his feet, leaving him open to an attack should someone utilize the opportunity.
Not only that, but the air pad itself could only stay condensed for a split-second as well, since Naruto had to release the condensed wind in order to grab it with his chakra. The wind blades inside the condensed air pad would be released almost immediately after he stopped holding it, meaning that the wind blades could possibly hit his own feet.
Which is exactly what happened during the fight with the phoenix, much to the shinobi's annoyance.
The only saving grace for his poor feet, was that the wind blades weren't nearly as powerful as the ones used in his rasengans.
Although, he supposed that someone could claim that he should just not use sharp wind blades to form the air pad, but there was a problem with that idea.
He can't use anything except wind blades, during his elemental training, he only learned how to convert his chakra into sharp wind blades.
From cutting a leaf...to splitting a damn waterfall.
Until he learned to utilize his wind abilities differently, he wouldn't be able to change his issue with his newest trick.
In short, he had a lot of work to do to get the air pads completely down. He wasn't even going to get started on the other experimental jutsu...
He also needed proper names for them. First and foremost. Priorities damn it.
Naruto winced again, his feet were still aching from the wind blades that hit his feet...it'd take a while for that to disappear.
Those thoughts soon disappeared as he got nearer to the castle.
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he saw a lot of armed devils, seemingly standing still and surveying the area. Were those...guards, or something like that?
If so, then that's not good...he should probably hurry.
He made to take a heavy step, using incredible force to launch him into the air and get to the castle sooner.
...
"Fuuuuuuuuuu-!"
His foot! His damn foot!
The second he took that step, it felt like hundreds of little needles were stabbing his foot viciously. It was pretty damn painful.
Naruto glared at his own feet, as if it had done him an injustice, and finally glanced back to the castle.
Ugh...fine. He would have to slowly make his way there then. Hopefully Grayfia-san could take care of any mess that started up.
What could possibly happen in his absence with the Maou there anyways?
"Grayfia, I require your assistance."
The silver-haired woman turned away from her study of the melted architecture in order to look at her young sister-in-law.
"What is it, Rias-sama?" Grayfia responded obediently, still playing her role as a maid.
The woman was taking note of the damage done to the front of the castle from the flames from before, it was quite extensive. But more than that, they were legitimately dangerous.
What caused the young Phenex to grow in such power? The first growth in power after he appeared at the party was incredible enough, but what about during the battle?
These were important questions, she was hoping to get some information from Riser-sama when he came back.
Grayfia's eyes silently drifted off to where the the phoenix was vanquished, there was also the issue of the young human's power...that dome of wind he created was...something else to say the least.
"We have a problem, Grayfia. Koneko-chan sensed someone using natural energy." Rias stated seriously, eyes firm.
The maid's eyes widened slightly as she turned to regard the red-head, that meant...
Her eyes closed.
"I understand, please gather your friends and go to the main hall Rias-sama. For your safety, I must speak with the rest of the devils who have attended the function." Grayfia murmured to the high-class devil, straightening herself and moving back towards the main hall.
But not before creating a mini magic circle besides her ear and speaking into it, giving out instructions for the castle guards to take positions outside the castle and throughout the structure itself.
Rias watched her go, feeling a small amount of apprehension, before turning and going back to her friends, who were watching her with baited breath. Obviously curious to hear what has happened.
"So? What's the verdict?" Sona asked quickly, seeing the maid leave quickly with such a serious expression gave her a clue however.
"We are to go back to the main hall, for our safety." the Gremory heiress responded briskly, the tension of the day's events finally getting to her.
Slightly nervous glances were shared between all of the teenagers there, so it seemed that this was being taken seriously.
"Buchou, I understand that we shouldn't stay out here anymore, but...what should we do about Koneko-chan? She's quite out of it." Akeno pointed out, looking at the 'rook' with a worried expression.
Before Rias could make the call, Koneko finally spoke.
"No, wait...I'm fine. Please...let's just go."
Akeno looked at her 'king', her expression spoke more than her words could have conveyed.
Koneko wasn't fine at all.
Like a little cat with it's hackles raised, Koneko was twitchy and she kept glancing around the room. As if she was trying to find someone before they managed to get her.
But they couldn't deal with this here, so no one said anything about it.
"Uh, question; what do we do about the blond bishoujo?" Issei asked, raising his hand to illustrate his query.
Rias' gaze turned from her 'rook' to the young Phenex that was resting against the wall, still unconscious.
Hmm...her parents didn't take part in the day's festivities, mostly because they were both busy, since they both managed the political and economical status of the Phenex clan. Basically, Riser's younger sister didn't necessarily have someone to look over her...
"It wouldn't be too much of a hassle to take her with us, would it? I don't think any of us would like to just leave her here or to hand her to someone else. We can leave her under Grayfia-san's care once she's done with her work." Yuuto interjected, seeking to give his 'king' another option.
The red-headed devil agreed, that was probably the best they could do, given the situation at hand.
"Issei, take her with you. We are going to stay with her until Grayfia is done making sure that the castle is secure, she probably has to speak with onii-sama as well..." Rias said before frowning in thought, she shook it off after a moment and continued. "Also, please be careful with her, she's a pretty important individual."
The brown-haired boy nodded, scooping up the young Phenex carefully in his arms, making extra sure not to ruin her dress.
The dress was probably worth more than he'd ever want to think about.
Akeno nodded at her 'king', they were ready to go now.
"Wait! Aren't you all forgetting something?" Mio called out, an distinct frown visible on her face.
Everyone turned to her, mostly giving her questioning looks.
Mio's frown deepened. "What about Naruto? Aren't any of you worried about him? He's out there, by himself, with a dangerous person out there!"
She had no idea about the specifics, but she knew that Koneko has sensed someone dangerous, that was the only explanation she reached to which would justify everyone's reactions.
Sona shared a look with Rias, both confirming their own feelings on the matter without verbally speaking.
"Mio-chan...I understand that you're worried. But going off to find Naruto right now isn't the smartest move for anyone, for him or us. We are way out of our league compared to an SS-ranked criminal, so much so that we would be more of a hindrance than helpful." Rias explained patiently, carefully laying out her position.
Sona nodded. "More than that, if we left, then there would be a possibility that we would need rescuing, placing everyone in danger, including Uzumaki-san himself. The best thing to do, would be to wait for him. Besides, he seems quite capable, if his performance outside is to be considered."
Mio stared at the two high-class devils, biting her lip as conflicting feelings froze her still. The fact that the criminal was an SS-ranked criminal just made it worse for her.
"...I know it's stupid, but I still don't want to leave Naruto all alone out there. He could be hurt. He could be weakened. Can't we just wait for him here or something?" the younger red-head pleaded.
Sona sighed, pushing her glasses back towards the bridge of her nose. "Mio-san...let's consider your option for a moment. Not only would we be leaving ourselves to possible attacks from an SS-ranked criminal, we would also be placing Ravel-san in danger, Rias' 'rook' in danger, and compromising the security of the castle itself. All while placing ourselves and Uzumaki-san in greater danger. Does that sound like something your brother would want?"
Mio went silent, staring at her feet with a new-found forlorn expression.
"...Alright, fine. I understand. Just...let's just go." Mio muttered, turning around to leave the area and go inside the main hall.
Rias watched her go off, sighing at the turn of events.
It's not like she didn't want to help him, but it would really be stupid of them to overestimate themselves, especially when they had to take care of Koneko-chan and Ravel from harm. They would very simply, get in the way of everyone.
Naruto could take care of himself, Mio should have more faith.
With that out of the way, the rest of the teenaged devils walked after Mio, entering the safe confines of the main hall.
Grayfia finally shut down the small magic circle by her ear, finished giving out the instructions to the guards to ensure everyone's safety.
This was turning out to be a rather embarrassing situation overall, no doubt some would be dissatisfied with the situation. But she seriously doubted that any of the noble devils would actually do anything about it, except complain of course.
Many were simply too afraid of Sirzechs-sama's power and reputation.
Not all...but many. For now that was good enough for the situation at hand.
She moved quickly towards the large ornate door which led to the main hall where most of the nobles retreated to. The battle outside spooked most of them once the 'phoenix' emerged, it was quite surprising she supposed.
The maid opened the ornate doors without hesitation, moving into the main hall in order to address the devils within. Their safety was paramount.
Especially since very few devils that attended this function were...experienced.
The abruptness of the party itself made it difficult for certain people to attend, since some devils, especially Clan Heads, had a lot on their plate.
So really, most of the nobles attending were relatively young and inexperienced with such situations, what with many of them being born with silver spoons in their mouths.
Representatives, heirs, and wealthy high-class devils were mostly in attendance. That made it imperative that for her to give out a warning, just in case.
"Excuse me, noble devils." Grayfia called out, not particularly loudly, but with enough authority to grab everyone's attention anyways.
She idly noted that the rest of the devils that were staying at the front were now entering the hall, listening to her words as she addressed the majority inside. Including her young sister-in-law and her friends.
Good.
"First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the disruption earlier today. The duel between Riser-sama and Naruto-sama has gotten out of hand, but the phoenix that appeared during the battle has ultimately been vanquished." Grayfia stated levelly, preparing to give the important information. "However, I have been recently notified that an SS-ranked criminal may be in the area, whether it is true or not, I'd like to ask for everyone to depart early for their own safety."
The immediate aftermath of her announcement, was silence. An undertone of shock was reverberating throughout the hall.
It took a while for people to actually process the information properly, such was their disbelief at the turn of events.
Then they processed it.
A large amount of the devils began to shout in anger at the announcement; first a duel, then a legendary creature, now an SS-ranked criminal?
All on top of the information of that the much-celebrated pure-blood marriage was to be cancelled?
Many devils among the crowd were furious. Even more so than before.
Except they wouldn't be bottling it up this time, now everyone will know of their displeasure.
Before anyone could really allow their anger to run wild, many of them stopped cold in their tracks when the 'queen' of the current Maou Lucifer flared her demonic energy, sharp eyes accompanying it as she stared at the crowd with an emotionless expression.
It was a warning.
Just as quickly as it had begun, the crowd settled down, caring far too much about their safety than having their opinions heard.
Grayfia sighed, relieving everyone of the pressure of her power. Hopefully everyone understood by this point.
There would be no more conflict while she was around.
That being said, she needed to speak to her husband, he needed the details of what she has learned...and it needed to be done personally. She couldn't afford to have their conversation eavesdropped on.
The maid glanced up to look at the Maou's box, high up on the other side of the wall.
Sirzechs was calmly regarding her, waving her up so that he could receive the details.
"I must speak with my master, everyone may leave at their leisure. If you wish to stay a little longer, then please stay inside the main hall, guards have been posted to ensure your safety. Sirzechs-sama shall be watching in his private box, so your safety is guaranteed while in the main hall." Grayfia explained briefly, before walking towards the crowd so that she could make her way to the Maou's private box.
The crowd parted ways almost immediately, giving her easy access through them.
None of them were taking any chances.
Mio couldn't help but be silently impressed as she entered the main hall with the rest of the teenaged devils, Grayfia-san must have an enormous amount of respevt for that kind of reaction. From nobles no less.
Or maybe it was fear? She honestly couldn't tell.
The second that Grayfia passed by the crowd and walked up the stairway to speak to the Maou Lucifer, several of the noble devils began to congregate towards one another. Maybe they wanted to get one last deal or favor in before they left?
A frown began marring her features as she stared at the group of wealthy and influential devils that comprised the crowd.
The entire reason that she came to this function to begin with, was to speak to them and get some sort of legal barrier against any attempts at her life. But now...
Well, that seemed unlikely by this point, the sheer amount of everything that happened today just eclipsed all other concerns.
Then there was her concerns with how Rias and her Peerage looked at Naruto...
"You seem upset, still thinking about your 'onii-chan'?" Akeno quietly asked, a teasing smile on her face she she approached the younger red-head from behind.
Mio tilted her head slightly to regard her sempai of two years. "...Partially. A bit more upset at Rias-sempai. Although I admit that she is right in a practical point of view, it still seems so...impersonal of her, not to be worried I mean."
The black-haired young woman gave her an indulgent smile, placing her hand on top of her shoulder in comfort. "It's sweet to see you so worried, but please try to understand that Buchou honestly wants to do what's best in these...interesting circumstances. You do realize that don't you?"
Mio turned away from Akeno, she knew that already. She just disapproved of it anyways, logic be damned.
If someone told you that you'd have to leave a family member behind for the greater good, you wouldn't like it. You'd be pissed, even if it's the logical thing to do.
"Besides, this is Naruto that we're taking about. He just finished wiping the floor with a phoenix, what's an SS-ranked criminal to that?" Akeno spoke up wryly.
She didn't notice the look that she got from her kohai.
It was a look that belayed the younger girl's feelings.
Confusion.
How? How could they have so much absolute faith in him?
Weren't they worried at all?
He wasn't some sort of immortal, some kind of superhero. He was Naruto.
He was overwhelmingly strong, sure. But he wasn't impervious, he could still get hurt, bleed, die.
Yet they weren't worried at all.
She knew they cared, but even if you had faith in another person, you still can't help but worry about their safety anyways, it was a normal fear.
Then something clicked in Mio's head.
They never saw him fail...
They weren't there when he failed to catch that masked man in the forest.
They weren't there when he admitted that he had some insecurities about who he was, when Mio and Maria inadvertently discovered that they had no idea who he was after searching his room.
They never saw him fail...!
What must he look like in their eyes? A young man with incredible power and ability, someone who could defeat powerful figures from different factions. Someone who could take out a legendary beast with a single attack.
As a half-devil, Mio sometimes couldn't help but see Naruto as something higher, a viewpoint that she has been trying to temper. Something that neither of them needed.
But what about pure devils? Or part-devils that simply didn't repress that part of themselves? How did they see Uzumaki Naruto? Especially when power is highly respected by devil culture as a whole?
She wasn't sure, but she was positive that their expectations for him were too high.
Hero worship.
Nevertheless...while she still believed that they had too much blind faith, their logic was still solid. As much as she hated to admit it. She was just being very stubborn about it.
And childish.
So Mio opened her mouth, preparing to apologize for her behavior from before.
"None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you! If you just stopped being selfish and accepted the union, then everything that occurred wouldn't even have been possible!"
Both Mio and Akeno snapped their heads towards the scream, staring at a familiar devil that was castigating Rias while she was talking to Sona; with her Peerage behind her. Both devils were staring at the noble devil in shock at the interruption.
Mio's eyes widened, that guy was the same guy that made a scene when she accidentally tripped him earlier!
"...I don't see how you could have made the correlation, but the break up of the engagement had absolutely nothing to do with the day's events." Rias retorted sharply, annoyed at the disruption of her conversation with Sona.
The devil sneered. "Oh! No correlation, huh? How about the fact that if you had just married the Phenex, then the duel would have never happened to begin with! Then that monster that came out from that duel would have never appeared! Finally, the schedule for the marriage itself would have been more carefully chosen! Meaning that we would have spared from hiding from an SS-ranked criminal!"
Murmurs of agreement began to rise from among many of the devils following the rant.
"Now that I think about it...that's true. Shouldn't the Gremory heiress be more aware of her position? She's being awfully obtuse about this..." a young male devil mentioned slowly, sharing a look with a female devil beside him.
Said female devil snorted. "I seriously doubt that she was being obtuse, more like she took advantage of the situation. Using that Uzumaki-guy for her benefit...kinda makes me doubt her position to be honest."
Numerous opinions began to get bandied about, slowly forming the small crowd into something else...
Sona glared at the devil that castigated the Gremory heiress. "Zephyrdor-san of the Glasya-Labolas clan...once more you're causing trouble when there was none to be had. Your assumptions are based on nothing but speculation and half-truths. For all you know, Riser-san could have transformed into that beast-"
"Stop protecting her!" Zephyrdor interrupted harshly. "Everyone knows that you're childhood friends with Rias Gremory! Your objection is filled with bias, pure and simple! If Rias Gremory just followed her obligations as a Gremory instead of lashing out like a child, then none of this would have happened! "
Sona was taken aback by the ruthless shut down of her argument, leading to some cheers from quite a few devils that were getting riled up by the spawn of the Glasya-Labolas clan.
Many among Sona's Peerage snarled at the blue-haired young man, furious with how he was treating their 'king'.
Rias just grit her teeth, this looked like it was getting out of hand. "Why are you blaming me? Instead of looking at me as the culprit of these unfortunate events, why not-!"
Before she could even get started, many among the crowd began to 'boo' her, stopping her words from getting heard, as the large crowd slowly began to form itself into a mob. Intent on nothing except finding a reason to vent their frustration.
With that, Sona's Peerage quickly formed around Sona and Rias, seeking to protect them should hostilities arise.
Yuuto stood up, preparing to defend his 'king' should things get out of hand as well. Although he was pretty sure that combat may be necessary.
Even worse, the guards were all posted outside, so it wasn't like they could break it up...
"...No...no...not again...please no..."
The 'knight' glanced at Koneko, watching in growing dread as the young girl began shaking and hyperventilating while looking at the crowd.
...She's seen this before...
Yuuto turned to look for Issei, finding him placing Ravel down on the floor, against the wall. Before summoning his Boosted Gear and preparing himself for a fight.
Akeno watched the entire proceedings in confusion, before preparing herself to defend her 'king' as well.
"...That's it." Mio whispered beside her, a tone of finality to it, as bangs shadowed her eyes.
Before the second-in-command of the Gremory group could have asked her, Mio turned around and ran.
"That's what happened, Sirzechs-sama." Grayfia finished dutifully, bowing to her husband once she was done.
Sirzechs was unresponsive, placing his hand on his chin and scratching it while he was thinking.
Just what was going on recently...? A phoenix appears onto the battlefield, now apparently someone who can utilize senjutsu has appeared near the castle?
It could be Koneko's sister...but considering the crazy things that have been happening recently, he was somewhat inclined to wait for more proof.
That being said, he would have to reassure everyone who hasn't left the castle yet that their safety was guaranteed still. He'd also have to go through damage control later...man...a lot of Clan Leaders were probably going to be upset at the turn of events.
That meant a lot of paperwork...
The red-headed Maou stopped his musings when he began to hear the rising din from the main hall.
Sirzechs moved away from the well-covered inside of the Maou's box to the 'balcony' piece of it, to check the main hall from his elevated position. He ignored the dull ruckus that the crowd from below was causing before because he assumed that everyone had much to talk about before they left, but now the noise was becoming more...aggressive.
The second he saw what was happening outside, his eyes narrowed.
"...I thought that I set them straight, I'll stop this immediately." Grayfia said quietly, preparing to interrupt the rising tension.
"No, wait." the current Maou Lucifer muttered, stopping his wife as he took a step forward. "I'll do it myself this time."
He prepared to spread his wings and descend onto the floor, intent on preventing any more conflict.
But he stopped, incredulity stopping him cold as he watched a certain daughter of the Original Lucifer climb up the stairway and end loud din from the mob by shouting at the top of her lungs-
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
The entire room went silent as the loud scream echoed throughout the hall, gaining everyone's attention at the sheer abruptness of it all.
"...Mio-chan?" Rias whispered, eyes wide as she regarded her usually unassertive kohai.
Mio was standing on top of the stairway that led to the Maou's box, staring down at the crowd assembled before her as if she was preparing to give a speech to a large group of supporters.
Except she didn't look the part.
Her eyes were dilated. Her fists clenched. Her shoulders shaking. Her chest heaving.
With clenched teeth, she prepared to release everything on her captive audience.
"...Hypocrites...!" Mio spat out, glaring heatedly at the crowd of devils staring back at her.
Silence was all she heard in response.
"...Hypocrites! Each and every damn one of you! All of you who are condemning Rias-sempai for her selfishness are nothing but hypocrites!" Mio screamed out, pointing an offending finger at the large group of devils in front of her.
The incredulity that everyone was feeling was only compounded by these words, keeping them silent and passive throughout her statements.
But that was changing, as many of the noble devils began to feel red-hot anger from the girl's claim. Their displeasure was about to be voiced, but the young half-devil continued unabated.
"You all claim that Rias-sempai's actions make her selfish, yet are any of you any different!? You make political ploys to enhance your position while detracting your enemies, scheme to use someone for your benefit whether they like it or not, and all of you even celebrate an engagement when one of the participants clearly don't want it! How are any of you in any position to denounce her exactly!?" Mio began, gaining more and more traction as she continued, releasing all of her frustration and anger over the day's events in one singular rant.
The anguish she felt when she learned of her origins...!
"Maybe Rias-sempai is being selfish, but how dare you criticize her when none of you are any different! The fuckinggall!"
Her impotence when watching her brother fight Riser...!
"More than that, a bunch of you were planning on getting Naruto into your Peerages! Through hook or crook! Yet you denounce her for using him!? The arrogance!"
Her disgust of the blood running through her veins...!
"Also, before anyone could claim that Rias-sempai is obtuse, who exactly are you all following again!? Oh right...it's the devil that threatened my brother; the guy who had the Maou Lucifer's favor and who could take down legendary beasts! Who the hell is obtuse here again!?"
Her fear of Naruto's safety...!
"All of you are just making a scapegoat out of my friend! Look at a fucking mirror already!"
All of these emotions were being released as Mio screamed out her negative feelings towards the many noble devils that were taking part of this pity party.
She's had enough.
The red-headed half-devil stopped for a second, taking a deep breathe to try and center herself. She had one last thing to say...
"...Even if any of you aren't hypocrites, you would still be using her family as the basis of her being self-sacrificing. But guess what...this is the part where I'll be selfish, because even if all of you care about clan obligations and letting family define who you are...I don't. You could all complain about it, but at the end of the day, I will neverjudge someone through their family, so all of you who are seeing her as 'just another Gremory'...could just fuck off!"
...
...
The room was deathly silent after Mio has finally finished her rant, everyone staring at the fifteen year old red-head who has just viciously brought the verbal beat down.
Where the hell did that come from...?
Rias especially was incredulous, shocked that all of this could have come from the usually mild tempered Mio. But nevertheless...she couldn't stop the warm feeling that her fellow red-head's words has elicited. A sense of pride helping to fuel that good feeling.
Meanwhile, the daughter of the Original Lucifer was breathing hard, taking in a large amount of air to compensate for the long-winded rants that she has just released.
It was while she was taking in so much air, that she noticed the clapping.
A constant clapping noise that was coming from the opposite side of the hall, where the main doors that led to the front were.
She glanced at it, curious to see who was-
She froze.
"Yoooooooo~! That was pretty damn impressive! Someone should you give you a medal for that!"
All attention snapped towards the large ornate doors, eyes widening as a certain blond finally made it to the castle.
Mio for her part, only began to respond when her face began to heat up, embarrassment was flooding her cheeks with red as she began to stutter out the perpetrator's name.
"N-N-Naruto!" Mio cried out, a complete one-eighty to her disposition just a few seconds ago.
Naruto waved at her lazily, a large grin on his face as he regarded Mio and the current situation at hand.
"Well...I probably missed a lot of important crap, but it seems that you handled it pretty damn well, if I say so myself! Who knew you had that in you!? I've never been more proud!" the whiskered blond claimed, sniffling slightly as proud faux tears began to flow down his face.
Damn it, they grow so damn fast!
Mio's cheeks just went full-blown crimson at his words, flustered that she was caught ranting by the one person she was hoping wouldn't see her. "Y-You! How much did you hear!?"
The shinobi shrugged from his position on the opposite side of the hall, slightly raising his voice so that it could travel to the other side of the room. "I heard when you said 'THAT'S ENOUGH!', so...I guess half-way?"
The red-head's jaw just dropped, that was practically the entire thing!
Ugh...this was just a bad day in general...
"...Well, I think we can definitively say that Mio-kun is Naruto-kun's younger sister." Sirzechs piped up dryly, staring at the half-devil on the stairway with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk.
"...I think that that's a fair assumption." Grayfia agreed levelly, still stoic as always.
Naruto grinned as he saw the thoroughly red face of his imouto, he wasn't exactly sure why she was red faced but...it was pretty damn funny.
"Naruto! Welcome back!" Issei called out, running towards him with a grin. Before frowning and looking around for another body. "Where's the bird-brain?"
The shinobi gave him a smirk in greeting, then pointed at a spot where he laid Riser down, slumped against a pillar. "Sleeping, getting your ass handed to you can be pretty taxing, you know?"
Issei smirked and was about to make another comment before the flood gates opened from everyone else.
"Well well! Look at who finally decided to show up! I knew that you'd be fine, Mio really should stop being such a worrywart sometimes. Glad to have you back, Naruto." Rias said warmly, crossing her arms across her chest.
The blond scratched the back of his head bashfully, an easy smile on his face as he did so. "Sorry for taking so long, my feet are kind of killing me here, so had to move slowly."
"Ara ara, it seems that the illusive foxy-kun has returned, how naughty of you to embarrass your sister in public." Akeno greeted, a sly grin framing her lips.
Naruto coughed into his hand, glancing uneasily away from the black-haired young woman. "...Didn't really do it on purpose..."
Yuuto walked up to the group as well, making his own input. "I think Naruto-san just did what he has always done, doubt that he meant anything bad of it."
Naruto gave the bishōnen a deadpanned look. "You make it sound like I do this kind of shit on purpose..."
Yuuto shrugged, he wasn't exactly wrong.
The shinobi snorted, amused in spite of himself.
Then everyone heard the soft pitter-patter of fast footsteps. Turning just in time to see Mio tackling Naruto with a hug.
Somehow he held firm, but was shocked nonetheless, wide-eyed as he tried to balance himself and the young girl that pushed her face onto his chest.
She didn't say anything, she just stayed in that position, holding him tight as if she was afraid to let go.
Then she spoke.
"...Welcome back...Naruto."
The shinobi stared at the red hair of his psuedo-sister for a moment, slightly confused.
Then he grinned.
"...Nice to see you too, Mio."
Happy grins were exchanged as the two siblings were reunited, it was pretty cute, watching those two.
After several moments, Naruto finally dislodged himself from Mio's iron grip and patted her on the head, much to her external annoyance and internal happiness.
It was good to have him back.
The shinobi was about to say something clever, but his grin turned into a frown as he looked around and noticed someone missing.
"Hey...where's Koneko-san? She doesn't want to say hi?"
The expressions on everyone's face dimmed slightly at the question, much to the blond's confusion.
"Well...you see, many things happened while you were making your way back." Rias began, trying to explain everything that has transpired since he was away.
But before she could...
"Perhaps it's best that I explain the current situation, Rias." Sona remarked, slowly walking up to the group with her Peerage behind her.
Naruto's hackles were raised when he realized that the entire Student Council was here, he couldn't help it, he was practically conditioned to prepare himself to move when they were all here.
It didn't help that Saji-san was giving him the stink eye...
"Uzumaki-san." Sona said, grabbing his attention. "The entire castle is on lock down, there is proof that an SS-ranked criminal might be in the area."
Naruto gave his kaichou a surprised look. "Seriously? Nowof all times? How do you know?"
She tilted her head towards someone behind her.
The shinobi moved his head to see behind her clearly, and saw the missing Koneko, who was resting against the wall.
"She lost consciousness soon after the mob formed against Buchou." Yuuto said quietly, giving the young 'rook' a sympathetic glance.
Naruto's eyes snapped towards Sona after he stared at the unconscious young girl, seeking answers. "So then...how did she know?"
Rias decided to answer this time.
"She sensed someone using natural energy, judging by her expression, a lot of it. As far as we know...there's only one person who has that kind of ability, Koneko-chan's older sister; Kuroka." Rias explained, eyes downcast.
"...Natural energy?" Naruto asked quietly, face and eyes suddenly unreadable.
Sona nodded, assuming that the blond's sudden reticence was because of his lack of knowledge of the term. "It's a form of energy that comes from nature itself, used in the forming of a dangerous power called senjutsu. Koneko's sister was said to have become mad with power because of it."
The shinobi glanced away from the Sitri heiress to regard the unconscious Koneko, her sister went mad with senjutsu...? It sounded a lot different than the senjutsu he knew...maybe this difference explained why the natural energy felt different?
He frowned, more importantly, his clone would have sensed another senjutsu user around here, so it's more likely that...Koneko-san just sensed his use of natural energy.
That meant that he was the one who caused the entire situation...
He had to make it up to Koneko somehow, without letting anyone know of his own use of senjutsu...
Too many questions would arise because of it, that and senjutsu doesn't seem to be too highly regarded in this world.
Naruto moved away from his internal thoughts to look at Rias, deciding to go with the flow for now. "So the castle is secure then? No problems?"
The red-head nodded in affirmation, then her brows scrunched up. "Well...mostly. Since you've seen Mio's...ah...performance, you know that some of the devils became a little antsy. Nothing too bad though."
The blond nodded slowly, staring at the crowd of devils that were talking among themselves, this time intent on getting their business done and leaving.
Smart moves on their part.
"Mio." Naruto called out, grabbing his psuedo-sibling's attention. "You have had a pretty rough day, so just let me handle the tough shit from now on. I'm going to see the Maou."
Mio's pink eyes trained themselves on Naruto's blue, unwavering as always.
She nodded. "Go for it."
Naruto grinned, giving her a thumbs up.
"Ah...Naruto-kun. Quite the day wasn't it?"
Naruto didn't respond, he simply stayed silent as he gazed upon the red-headed Maou with a serious expression.
Sirzechs raised an eyebrow, curious to why the blond seemed so serious, surely he didn't-
"Why didn't you intervene?" the shinobi asked, the tone of his voice framing it into more of a demand than anything else.
"It was necessary." the current Maou Lucifer responded levelly, not beating around the bush.
Naruto's face scrunched up in disgust. "Necessary!? How exactly is gambling with the lives of everyone here and your own damn sister necessary!?"
The Maou raised a hand up, seeking to calm down the angered teenager. "It was necessary to find out who you really are, it was paramount, both as an older brother and as a Maou. Besides, no one in the castle was in any danger, I sent Grayfia to the front and I myself was watching the battle on the one of the highest points of the castle. Making sure that any attack from the phoenix would never hit the castle from the air."
It was necessary, because he wasn't just dealing with a random human that happened to have defeated a high-class devil.
It was because he was dealing with the 'unknown variable'...the figure that defeated Vretiel, a powerful fallen angel. A dangerous individual.
The shinobi's face softened slightly, slightly mollified to know that the Maou wasn't leaving it all to chance. He still wasn't done though.
"Still, even if finding out who I really am is somehow thatimportant, it doesn't change the fact that your actions gave everyone here a scare. Do you really think that everyone's just gonna walk off the fact that a fucking phoenix appeared and tried to kill them!? More than that, if you just intervened, then the mob from earlier wouldn't have formed to begin with! They formed because they were scared!" Naruto angrily continued, remembering how mobs were formed back at the Elemental Nations...
Back at Konoha...when everyone was afraid of the kyuubi...
He bit his lip and held his stomach. No one should go through that fear.
Sirzechs sighed, rubbing his brows as he felt a pang of guilt, he honestly didn't think that everything would get that bad. It was a miscalculation on his part.
"...Honestly, you're right. I should have seen this coming, especially when considering what happened with Kuroka..."
The shinobi perked up, that was the second time that he's heard that name, also apparently this 'Kuroka' was the source of Koneko's pain...
Sisters...huh?
"What do you mean? Did something like this happen before?" Naruto questioned seriously, eyes aimed unerringly at the Maou.
Sirzechs glanced at the 'unknown variable', seeing that he would not leave without the information, and feeling that he had no need to keep it from him. "A few years ago, a young woman by the name of Kuroka was said to have mastered the art of senjutsu, a powerful energy that is formed by combining natural energy and chakra; another mystical energy that is only accessed by yokai.
Naruto's heart leapt, senjutsu, natural energy, chakra. These were all familar words to the shinobi, maybe these yokai might have a connection with the Elemental Nations...?
Maybe even this 'Kuroka'?
The Maou continued unabated. "Anyways, the natural energy of the world has become...tainted...over the years, it's filled with negative feelings such as hate due to the many conflicts that have occurred over the years. So when Kuroka became proficient enough in senjutsu...well...they say that she became drunk on her power, killing her 'king' in a rage. Because senjutsu is so versatile, many devils feared that Kuroka's sister could become just like her, killing innocent devils after going insane with power. So many devils came to the conclusion that Koneko-chan had to be destroyed before she followed the same fate...falling to mob mentality and allowing their fear to overrun their senses."
The shinobi stared at the Maou, giving him a grim look after hearing all of that. That was terrible...condemning someone for something that they might do?
More than that, it wasn't even much to be afraid of, unlike the kyuubi, which could annihilate Konoha if it was released, Koneko could do...what exactly? Kill a single high-class devil before she's taken down? By sheer numbers or by an ultimate-class devil?
She wasn't that big of a threat, so what was with the fear? It wasn't even a reasonable fear...
It was absolute bullshit.
Sirzechs shook his head. "There is something you must understand Naruto-kun, devils...don't like change, any large shift that occurs outside of their understanding, and they begin to lash out. That is one of the biggest weaknesses of devils as a whole, something that even the newest generation could fall victim to. Even the Great War, which killed off so many devils, was something that a lot of devils didn't want to change, based solely because it was what they knew."
Naruto stared at the floor, deeply disquieted, before turning back to the Maou. "So...you're saying that this can inevitably happen again?"
The Maou merely nodded solemnly.
The blond said nothing for a moment, eyes unseeing.
Then they went back to the present, his eyes now hardening as Naruto made his decision.
It was stupid, foolish, and just flat out insane.
But it had to be done.
He stood up from his seat, moving towards the external section of the Maou's box, to the balcony to oversee everyone in the main hall.
"Wait! Naruto-kun! What are you doing?" Sirzechs called out, confused at the blond's actions.
Naruto stopped right before he pushed aside the curtains to reach the balcony section, turning around with hard eyes.
"...What I have to...Maou-sama." Naruto responded quietly.
The older man winced slightly, the tone of his voice was all he needed to know about how much respect he has lost from the young human.
He was a young man that consistently called people by their names, trying to familiarize himself with whoever he was talking to, so for him to use a title...
Sirzechs watched him leave the well-covered inside of the Maou's box, feeling that he might have to make it up to the teenager one day.
One day...
"What do you think that they're talking about, Rias?" Sona inquired, curious to see if her friend might know something.
The red-head shrugged, she was pretty clueless.
The Gremory and Sitri groups were waiting around for Naruto to finish his meeting with the Maou Lucifer, curious about what they could possibly be talking about.
Everyone was utterly exhausted by this point, no one was expecting the amount of excitement that happened today, so really, everyone just wanted to go home.
Riser was dropped off right next to Ravel, they were both unconscious and being tended by Grayfia, who has decided to watch over the duo as her husband and Naruto-sama finished their talks.
Koneko was being watched by Yuuto, sitting next to her slumped form as he looked on worriedly.
Everything was silent for now, everyone in hushed whispers as most people were finally beginning to leave, finished with whatever business that they had to attend to.
"Hey! You assholes over there!"
All eyes snapped towards the Maou's box, where many jaws were being dropped at the blond's temerity.
It was Naruto!
Uzumaki Naruto was pointing an offending finger at the noble devils that were still present at the main hall, still congregated together. "Before anyone of you panic, don't worry. I'm not here to verbally beat the shit out of you, Mio did enough of that for the both of us. I'm just here to give you all a message!"
Mio felt her cheeks go red-hot again, he didn't need to remind her...
"Listen! I've heard about all the shit that went down today! Then I heard about the shit that has been going on beforetoday! Knowing all of this now...I've come to a decision, a big one." the shinobi began, scanning all of the relatively inexperienced devils of pure lineage.
The hall was silent as they regarded the blond, who was straightening himself, about to drop the bomb.
"I've decided...that outside of my dream...I'll make it a side-goal of mine to fix devil society!" Naruto declared, a massive grin making it's way to his face.
...
...
"""""EHHHHHHHHH!?"""""
Naruto's grin only widened at the thoroughly flabbergasted response. "Oh yes! I've seen some stupid shit that devils seem to think is acceptable practices, all while pretending that they are so damned deserving of the power and influence that they got. Well I think that someone ought to do something about that! No more of this mob bullshit! No more of this class bullshit! No more of this psuedo-slavery Peerage bullshit! I won't ignore it anymore! So spread the word! Spread the word that Uzumaki Naruto is here to rock your world!"
It was a declaration that would shake the Underworld. One that would be spread through word of mouth, one where many would swear up and down, that they were there to see.
One that would be pointed to down the road...as a majorshift in the course of history.
Things were changing...whether people were ready or not.
Sona was staring up at the blond delinquent, who has always foiled her efforts so much at Kuoh Academy with his intractable belief that he didn't need schooling.
Was this...was this really that Uzumaki Naruto? The same one from school?
Did he always behave this way?
Because seeing him now, watching him declare such things was doing wonders for her perception of him.
She let loose a small grin, pushing her glasses back from the tip of her nose, back to the bridge of it.
It looks like she was wrong about him.
Who knows? Maybe she could really get behind such a radical idea...it just might coincide with her goals as well...
Naruto had a large grin on his face as the magic circle finished transporting them back home.
Home. How ironic was that word?
They were back at Kuoh Town, all exhausted and looking forward to some rest.
Mio practically lost knocked out soon after his speech, the stress of the day tiring her out, Naruto was literally giving her a piggyback ride to take her home.
The day was a bust, there was no denying that, his main goal for going to the party was pretty much unattainable by this point.
Partially anyways, but he also learned quite a few new things, and had a new goal to aim for.
Naruto let loose a small chuckle, he should begin to write down a list at this rate, didn't want to lose track of how many goals he had to keep track of after all.
His good humor dampened slightly when he reached the front of his home.
Someone was waiting for them.
"Yo brat, been a while. Kind of hoping that you still don't hate my guts though." an older man drawled lightly.
Shaggy brown hair, check.
Two scars, check.
Messy clothing, check.
Glasses, check.
Cigarette, check.
"...Toujou Jin...you look like shit. More than usual I mean." Naruto retorted smartly, pointedly staring at his bloody left arm.
The hero blinked, glancing at his arm with a raised eyebrow, seemingly never realizing that it was heavily damaged. Then he glanced back at the whiskered teen.
"Thanks, you look pretty spry yourself, where'd you get the suit? At a dumpster?" Jin replied, a wicked grin on his face.
Naruto looked at his sorry state, right...the phoenix.
"Recently got out of a life-and-death struggle, you?"
Jin shrugged. "Same."
Both humans went silent, staring one another down for a moment, before the Great Hero finally scratched the back of his head in exasperation. "Look, there's something I gotta talk to you about, even if you still hate my guts. Even if you hate me, you don't hate Yuki-kun, right? Or all of your friends, right? This is about everyone's safety."
Naruto said nothing for a moment, studying the Great Hero...
Then sighing.
"...Truth be told, I'm still slightly sore about your deception, but I've mostly gotten over it. That and...well...I really shouldn't be pissed at two separate faction leaders..." Naruto grumbled out, looking disgruntled.
Jin raised an eyebrow in interest, before shrugging. Not really his problem.
"Before I tell you, I should make sure that Yuki-kun hears what I have to say as well." Jin explained.
The shinobi nodded, made sense.
...
A long moment of silence passed.
"...What?" Naruto asked, annoyed that the hero was dragging out the conversation.
Jin coughed, glancing away uneasily as a slight pout made it's way to his lips. "Well...you see...I have a favor to ask."
The blond groaned, they were back to this shit again? "...What do you want?"
The Great Hero, the most celebrated and most powerful hero in the Hero Tribe, bashfully scratched the back of his head as he gave Naruto the mission.
"...Can you mediate between me and Yuki-kun? I'm afraid that she's...quite upset at me at the moment.
Naruto rolled his eyes.
This day was getting better and better...
Lucifer was staring at the wreckage of his home base, the home base of his Old Maou Faction.
The citadel...it was...
In pieces.
The entire western quadrant of the massive structure was blown away, the walls giving way to some sort of severe attack which cut it to pieces.
The ceiling was blasted open, with the pillars which once held the ceiling aloft, now alone and left with nothing to hold.
The throne room, which was once filled with opulence and splendor, was now in shambles, with the floor caved in and creating what looked like a bottomless hole on the ground.
Large gashes were everywhere around the throne room, one of which was responsible for cutting down the supports of a tower in the southern quadrant of the citadel.
...Which was hundreds of meters away from the throne room.
So Lucifer was understandably frustrated, blue eyes staring at his own broken sword, before throwing away the weapon with a snarl.
He'd need a new weapon...
It was also official, he needed to draw attention away from his faction, they were simply not ready yet to strike. Several more things were required to obtain before he made his move against the current government...
Patience...he waited more than a hundred years...he could wait a few more months.
His thoughts inevitably fell back onto the strangely powerful human...
...The best way to deal with that...was to get other powerful beings, those that had a vested interest in such individuals.
His eyes narrowed, he knew just who to contact, they were technically 'allies' in the organization that they were both a part of...but also rivals.
Then the powerful devil frowned, no...his involvement wouldn't be enough, he wasn't ready to make his move yet either...he needed someone more...brazen.
A dark smirk made it's way to his lips, yes...
There was another...