The sound of crashing thunder rang through the clearing as flesh smacked against flesh.
Yuuma was sent tumbling backward from the impact, her body twisting as she hit the ground hard enough to bounce. For a split second she looked utterly stunned, as if her mind couldn't quite process that a human had just put her on her back.
Who knew humans could pack such a punch?
Naruto grinned as she landed with a heavy thud, blinking up at the sky. A dark bruise began to bloom across her cheek, spreading fast.
Good, Naruto thought, breathing hard through his nose. Still got it.
Yuuma sat up slowly, one hand pressed to her face. Her violet eyes locked onto Naruto with a glare so sharp it could have cut steel.
Naruto's grin widened.
"There's plenty more where that came from if you don't leave the pervert alone!" he declared, cracking his knuckles with exaggerated confidence.
Behind him, Issei—said pervert—twitched.
"Hey! I have a name too, you know!" he hissed, voice trembling between outrage and sheer terror. "Why does everyone keep calling me that!?"
Yuuma snorted as she rose to her feet. She dusted off her dress and jacket, moving like she hadn't just been knocked down—like the pavement hadn't cracked under her weight. The only sign anything had happened was the bruise darkening along her cheekbone.
"I'll admit," she said casually, "you're a lot stronger than most humans. That punch actually hurt."
Naruto's eyes narrowed a fraction. Compliments from enemies usually came right before something nasty.
Yuuma's smile turned devious.
"However… this is over."
Naruto blinked. "What do you mean?"
Yuuma didn't answer immediately. She simply smiled wider—wider than a human smile should have been, as if she already knew the ending and was savoring it.
"You're already dead."
Naruto's confusion lasted exactly one heartbeat.
Because at that moment—he felt it.
Or rather… he didn't.
The sensation in his legs vanished. The ground beneath him might as well have disappeared. Everything from the waist down went numb like someone had cut the wires in his body.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"What the—?"
He looked down.
A spear of light protruded from the center of his chest.
It was embedded so cleanly it looked unreal, like a prop shoved through his body in some cheap special-effects movie—except the blood wasn't special effects. It was warm, thick, and very real as it began bubbling up into his throat.
Naruto stared in shock, mind scrambling.
When did she…?
He was sure he would've noticed. He should've noticed. Even without chakra, even in this body, Naruto had spent his entire life training awareness. Reading movement. Sensing intent. Feeling the space around him.
He looked up at Yuuma, blood already dribbling from the corner of his mouth.
"When… did you…?" Naruto managed, voice gurgling.
Yuuma's grin sharpened.
"When you punched me," she said pleasantly. "You were so focused on pummeling my face that you didn't even notice me stabbing you."
She tilted her head slightly, almost impressed.
"I'll admit, I'm impressed you lasted this long with that in your chest."
Naruto's breath hitched. His heart felt like it was trying to punch its way out of his ribs—then failing with every beat. His vision swam at the edges.
It didn't take long for him to understand.
Shinobi relied on awareness. Spatial sense. The ability to feel everything around you, to track movement even when you weren't looking, to notice the smallest shifts in air and intent.
But that skill had limits.
The biggest one was hyper-focus.
Tunnel vision.
When a ninja focused too hard on a single objective, everything else became background noise. The world narrowed until only the target mattered.
And people died that way—experienced ones, too.
Naruto remembered Kakashi telling him about the day he gained the Sharingan.
During Kakashi's first mission as a jounin, he'd used his prized assassination technique—the Chidori. But the technique demanded speed. And at that speed, your senses narrowed. The world turned into a tunnel aimed straight at the target.
Tunnel vision had almost killed Kakashi that day. If it hadn't been for Naruto's father—Minato—Kakashi would have died before he even became "Copy Ninja Kakashi."
Naruto had listened to that story and learned the lesson:
Never hyper-focus. Never let the tunnel close.
And now—here he was, repeating the same mistake.
He'd focused on Yuuma's face. On landing the punch. On finishing the exchange.
And she'd slipped the spear in like a needle, clean and silent.
A month in this new world… Naruto thought bitterly, coughing. A month without chakra…
It had made him soft.
Worse—it had made him forget what it felt like to fight someone truly lethal.
Back in his world, even without chakra, Naruto would've been able to sense things—feel the pressure of killing intent, read negative emotions, notice the shift in air.
Here, with his chakra coils ruined, he had nothing. No warning. No instinctive "ping" to tell him something was wrong.
Just pain.
And blood.
"Damn…" Naruto whispered, more to himself than anyone.
More blood flooded his mouth. He tried to step forward—tried to force his body to obey—but his legs didn't exist anymore.
Naruto lurched, then toppled face-first onto the ground.
The impact jarred his skull. He groaned, barely aware of grass and dirt pressing against his cheek.
Somehow—miraculously—he managed to roll onto his back.
The sky above was blurred. The sun had almost fully set, leaving only thin streaks of orange bleeding into the horizon.
Fitting.
Footsteps approached.
Naruto's gaze drifted, unfocused, until Yuuma stepped into his field of view. From his angle, he got a very clear view of her legs… and the panty-clad curve beneath her dress as she stepped over him without a hint of shame.
Then she walked toward Issei.
Issei stumbled backward, his face pale, eyes wide, mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.
"Y-Yuuma…" he stammered. "W-Why…?"
Yuuma didn't answer. She didn't need to.
Her hand began to glow again.
Naruto's heart slammed against his ribs. His arm twitched.
Move. Move!
His left hand shot out, fingers digging into the grass as he forced it forward and latched onto Yuuma's ankle.
Yuuma paused.
She glanced down with mild surprise, as if she'd forgotten he existed.
"Oh," she said lightly. "You're still alive."
Naruto tried to tighten his grip. Tried to pull. Tried to do anything.
His fingers felt weak.
Yuuma's lips curved.
"I suppose that's fine," she continued. "Consider it punishment for getting in my way."
She lifted her foot and kicked.
Naruto's grip broke instantly. His hand flew back, pain shooting up his arm as if the bones had been rattled loose.
Yuuma didn't even look at him again.
She continued toward Issei.
Naruto's vision dimmed at the edges. He tried to force himself up. Tried to scream. Tried to throw something—anything.
It was all for nothing.
He couldn't even feel his legs. Couldn't even feel most of his body anymore.
Man.
This sucked.
Here he was, trying to help someone out… and all he'd done was get himself killed.
Karma.
This was definitely karma.
What did I even do to earn this kind of karma? Naruto wondered hazily, staring up at a sky turning darker by the second.
His thoughts drifted.
To Konoha.
To the faces he hadn't seen in what felt like a lifetime.
Sakura, punching him when he deserved it—and sometimes when he didn't. Kakashi, reading that stupid orange book like it was holy scripture. Shikamaru, complaining about everything while saving everyone anyway. Hinata…
He wondered if they were happy.
Had they finally built something lasting? A peace that didn't shatter the moment someone stronger showed up?
Madara was gone. Obito was gone. The Juubi was gone.
Naruto had paid in blood, sweat, and tears for that victory.
Gods, he hoped it mattered.
Because dying here—dying in some random park in a world where he didn't even belong—would feel a lot worse if everything he did back home had been for nothing.
His eyes flickered.
His breathing grew shallow.
Somewhere nearby, Issei let out a broken cry. Naruto couldn't make out the words. The world was muffled now, distant, like he was sinking underwater.
Yuuma's voice cut through, calm and deadly.
"Don't worry," she said to Issei. "Like I promised… painless."
A spear of light formed again.
Issei shook his head violently, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I— I didn't— Please—!"
The spear flew.
Naruto couldn't see if it hit. He couldn't even turn his head properly anymore.
But he heard the sound.
A wet, horrifying sound.
Issei made a noise—half scream, half gasp—then choked as if trying to inhale through water.
Naruto's stomach twisted, even as his body failed.
So… Issei was dying too.
Naruto's vision narrowed further, edges turning black.
And then—
A small slip of paper in Issei's back pocket began to glow a deep crimson.
The paper fluttered as if caught by an unseen wind. It slipped free and floated into the air on its own, the strange circle printed on it pulsing like a heartbeat.
There was a flash of bright light.
The paper vanished.
But the circle remained—hanging in midair, glowing a deep, bloody red.
It expanded.
Wider.
Wider still.
Until it was several meters across, an occult symbol burning into the night like a brand.
Naruto's dimming eyes widened slightly.
…What the hell is that?
The circle hovered for a single breath—then began to descend.
Slowly.
Inexorably.
Like judgment falling from the sky.
As it lowered, the air in the park changed.
Pressure built. Not the warm heat of Yuuma's light, but something colder, heavier—like a presence that didn't belong in the human world at all.
Yuuma froze mid-step.
For the first time, her expression shifted from amused cruelty to irritation.
"Tch," she clicked her tongue. "Devils…"
From within the descending circle, a figure appeared.
Crimson hair spilled like liquid fire. A school uniform draped over a body that moved with unshakable authority. Blue-green eyes—sharp, calm, and utterly in control—looked down at the scene as if she'd walked into an inconvenient mess.
Naruto, half-blind and dying, still recognized her.
The girl from the rooftop.
The one with the smile that felt knowing.
Rias Gremory stepped out of the magic circle and set her foot on the ground as if she owned the world beneath it.
She looked at Issei first—bloodied, shaking, impaled and fading.
Then her gaze shifted.
To Naruto.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Not in disgust.
Not in pity.
In interest.
As if she was seeing something unexpected.
Naruto's lips twitched, a weak, blood-stained grin forming despite everything.
…Told you, his mind whispered faintly.
This school isn't normal.
His eyes fluttered.
Darkness closed in.
And the last thing Naruto saw—before the world went black—was Rias Gremory taking a single step forward, as if she'd just made a decision.
::: A/N - I hope you enjoyed the fifth chapter! This is a new crossover project for me, and I'm working hard on the writing and editing. I would love to hear your thoughts—please leave a comment and let me know what you think so far! :::