Chapter 42 - Crimson Guard Part 1(18+)

Two months later

After Lutecia had gotten Neideen and Raftela, the Crimson Guard, deciding that it was too late for them to get moving all agreed to wait one more day. Afterwards, after a nice rest, all of them got on their new dark red bodysuits, and black plate armour the women all went on their way to the South. The West, Naruto's domain, is what they are avoiding for the moment. Hence, why they are heading to the South, to the town of Nile in what was Luciela of the South's territory. Considering he showed up when the Organization tried to dig up one of his lovers there, it was assumed by Miranda that he would show up again if they were to go there. Then again, this was all just a theory. The Ladykiller had not shown up in that area since then.

There was no point in them being discrete either, since this mission against the Ladykiller was going to be handled diplomatically and hopefully not through combat. It was time for their presence to be officially announced to the world, as this would be their first and… hopefully not last mission, as well, so the Elders and handlers were quick to explain when they are asked, that the Crimson Guard was a new unit formed in response to the rampant threats to the villages that had been springing up over the years. So as not to give away just yet that they were going after the Ladykiller, though, they were purposefully vague about the purpose of these new Warriors in Red. To hide their intentions, the revived warriors were also instructed to take out any awakened beings along the way and take a roundabout course to approach the Ladykiller, to throw off suspicion. They were also to take out yoma free of charge and try to regain the trust of the locals if at all possible.

It was a sound strategy by the Organization. Their reputation had taken a nosedive when Naruto started wiping out yoma and bandit threats free of charge. By doing this, not only would they eventually regain the trust of the towns and villages, but they would be wiping out any awakened beings and yoma they come across, thereby reducing the threat to their funding while also lowering the number of awakened beings in the world for the Ladykiller to fuck on over to his side. That being said, female awakened beings were of especially high priority. Granted, no one knew if any still existed aside from Isley, but that was still pointed out for good measure. Too bad the Organization didn't know the person they were trying to kill had found a way to grow food for the awakened beings. Or that he is capable of healing their stigmas. The former was understandable. No one outside of Morris or the strongholds dotting around Dragonspire Mountains knew about that. The latter on the other hand is because the handlers are being kept in the dark about it by the Crimson Guard and their very own warriors themselves. No one wanted to fight him. No one.

But, if push came to shove, the revived warriors would do their duty, as they always had. It was a grim responsibility, but someone had to do it. And it would be hard for them since this was going to be the very first time they may have to break the most important rule of the Organization: never kill a human. Eventually after effortlessly wiping out large packs of yoma and an awakened being or two the 16 woman group were getting close to their destination. One woman, however, was particularly enthusiastic.

"I'm curious to see the statues of me," Neideen said with a wide grin as they approached the town of Nile.

"Of course you would," Cassandra muttered. That pervert would just love to see statues of herself.

Raftela blinked owlishly. "Statues?"

"One of Neideen's past exploits was blown way out of proportion," Hilda sighed. "To the point where she became known as St. Nymphetamina, a prominent figure within the Twin Goddesses' faith."

Neideen was clearly enjoying herself as she added, "It turns out they think I fucked a monster with a 'thousand dicks' to death."

Raftela cocked her head to the side in curiosity, making the other warriors feel a bit… odd. It was the first display of emotion she'd ever expressed in their presence, they realized. "How did they come to that conclusion?" she asked.

Neideen shrugged. "It was just an awakened being with a shit ton of tentacles. By the time I found him, the awakened being was having his way with the nuns in their place of worship. Of course, they were being fucked so hard they eventually got torn apart. It took me a while to kill him too. He was also a little… grabby. I guess they thought I was fucking him because they heard my moaning and the tentacle fucker eventually pleading for mercy."

Raftela blinked again, before nodding in satisfaction. "That makes sense," she said, her tone as apathetic as ever. "The human imagination often leads to strange conclusions."

"Tell me about it," Sistina groaned. "These visions are not making any more sense than they did last time. At least I haven't shouted any in a while."

The party descended into more idle chatter as they swiftly approached the Nile. As one would expect, Neideen made a beeline to the local church of the Twin Goddesses with the feeble excuse that she was going to gather information, though no one stopped her. But, after a long, awkward silence, the realization of what they had unleashed upon the poor, innocent souls started to sink in. Cassandra let out a deep sigh, before accepting her fate. "I'll... go keep an eye on her…" the short-haired blonde muttered dejectedly.

Before Cassandra could go watch her, she felt Miranda taking hold her hand, "There there… I'll go with you." she said.

The former Number One gave her friend a tired smile. "Alright," she said. "Just be careful." She didn't want the poor girl to be any more violated and she already had been along the way.

"I have you watching my back," Miranda pointed out with a smile, "So we both should be careful. Besides, there's two of us and one of her. How much damage could she do?" Cassandra let out a tired chuckle before she and Miranda went to make sure Neideen wasn't doing anything inappropriate.

----

It didn't take long for them to find the chapel, as the locals found Miranda quite likeable, so they just followed the directions she was given and surprisingly found Neideen being rather civil with the villagers. And when they got closer they were surprised that the woman was civilly getting information from the priests, who were shocked to see the St. Nymphetamina in the flesh before them, but they kept their composure around her. It had taken them a moment to recognize her, due to the helmet, but when she took it off, the locals within the chapel had nearly shat themselves from shock. Neideen was heavily amused when they pressed their hands together in prayer, and some even got down on their knees. But she quickly put a stop to that before it got 'worse', she liked being seen as a mythological figure but she wasn't arrogant enough for them to do that.

"...any rumours lately?" Cassandra and Miranda both heard the end of Neideen's question.

"Hmm…" one of the priests, a wrinkly old man, with a receding hairline rubbed at his jaw, "lately there's been no yoma, or voracious eaters to the West. They say that the Lord of Morris is actively hunting them down. He even has several claymores under his employ too. Many of them were the ones that showed up here with him six years ago."

Seeing an opportunity to get information on Naruto, Neideen then asked, "Has the Lord of Morris ever ventured out of the West?"

The priest shrugged. "We've heard that he tends to head down South now and then, but rarely. He usually has one of his wives to lead a party to patrol the area."

"How many does he have?" Cassandra asked, somewhat uncomfortably.

The priest chuckled in mild amusement. "According to our records, he married his 28th just over a year ago," he said, "a ravishing brunette by the name of Clarice. Such an adorably shy one, that woman."

"She was a single mother when she met him, yes?" Neideen asked.

"Indeed, she was," the priest confirmed. "I can't imagine what it must have been like to raise a child under such dangerous circumstances… to have been the mother of a claymore. No offence intended, mind you; I'm just saying that if she were my kid, I'd be worried sick for her safety."

"That explains what happened to Numbers 4 and 47," Cassandra mused aloud. "Seems they found the Lord of Morris and he took them in. Even married the latter. Number 9 is likely with them, as well."

"Which means he isn't just attracted to strong women," Neideen pointed out. Leering at Miranda. The former Number 35 turned beet red at the implication.

The priest let loose a hearty chuckle at that. "Lord Naruto would be blessed by your affection, St. Nymphetamina," he said with a knowing grin. Then he asked, "Is there anything else you want to know, my lady?"

Neideen chuckled, "What other rumours have you heard? I've been… away for some time, so I want to know as much I can about this Lord of Morris before I meet with him."

"I see; word has it that the Lord of Morris can walk on water and move on any surface," he said. "That he can perform miracles and heal even the gravest of ailments upon engulfing himself in golden flames. I have never seen it, myself, but there are simply too many reputable accounts for me not to believe. A person or two actively sought him out to heal their family here."

Neideen, Cassandra and Miranda all exchanged looks at that; then they looked back at the priest with interest. "Oh? Can you give us an example?" the first asked.

Instead of the elder priest, a young nun spoke up, "It was said that the Lord of Morris was able to heal the blindness of a young child, with but a single touch while he was engulfed in golden flames."

The priest nodded, "One year ago, the Lord of Morris removed a bandit camp and rescued many people that were enslaved by them. Word has it that the women he had with him were using witchcraft as they were able to turn into birds. How accurate that is, however, I don't know." Taking a moment to think as he tapped his chin, he continued. "There was also Old Man Jared He brought his blind son to Morris and claimed that Lord Naruto healed him right up. I've also heard tale of people having entire limbs grown back, the lame being able to walk again, some even claimed to see him being able to fly. There are simply too many for me to keep track of."

"Some of that sounds… out of this world, to be honest." Neideen pointed out, staring at the priest in wide-eyed wonder. "I have got to see that for myself."

"Some of that sounds similar to what we can do," Cassandra pointed out, though she too was staring at the priest in wide-eyed wonder. "We can reattach our limbs. Some of us are even able to regrow them. Plus, one of our own did develop a technique that enables her to fly, herself."

"The question is how he managed to get those abilities," Neideen replied. "I'm certainly curious if nothing else."

"Your guess is as good as mine," the priest shrugged. "The best way to get the answer would be from the Lord of Morris himself. But he rarely ventures out of the citadel, much less the town he occupies."

"I see," Neideen mused, then she gave the old priest a polite smile and inclined her head. "Thank you for your time. I shall be taking my leave, for now." The priest nodded went back to doing whatever he was doing before Neideen came along. The former Number 9 put her helmet back on and looked to Miranda and Cassandra and beckoned them to follow her out of the chapel.

"Feel free to come back anytime you please, your grace!" the priest said with a respectful bow, before taking his leave.

Cassandra looked around to make sure no one was near, before whispering, "I'm surprised you didn't do anything perverted in here, Neideen."

"This is a chapel, Cassandra. There are a time and place to do perverted things, but here is not one of them." She scolded playfully, before giving her colleague a lecherous grin. "They have special chambers for that~!"

Cassandra let out a growl and pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. "Ugh, too much information."

"How are you even aware of this special chamber- Oh. Nevermind." Miranda asked, before pausing mid-sentence and deadpanning the words at the end. On second thought, she simply didn't want to know.

----

Meanwhile back with the other women of the Crimson Guard. While they were doing their own thing Raftela was looking at a series of books that caught her eye. What was it that Sistina said those books were called again…? Ita Ita? Itchy Itchy? These books were called Icha Icha… Orange books, as the prophet had described. Written by the Ladykillers mentor. Icha Icha: paradise was the last one written by Jiraiya. The one called Icha Icha: Conquest, was apparently the latest edition, written by the Ladykiller himself. Judging by the credits, Naruto… Uzumaki, was it? Odd… She didn't know people tended to have more than one name. But Naruto had started writing about twenty books in, adding ten of his own with the first one being Icha Icha: Taboo. It would also appear that this one, in particular, had a reputation for being quite the scandalous read. She just had to find out what these books were about for herself. So, Raftela dumped several Beras before the shopkeep and grabbed all the books - purchasing a satchel to keep them in while she was at it. Needless to say, the young man was set for life as a result… as were several generations of his family thereafter.

Let it be said that Raftela did not know how to spend her money. But the woman simply did not care. She went back to her subordinates and got to reading... Taboo, she believed to be called? It was the first one written by their target, so perhaps she could get into his head by reading his writings? Suffice to say, the woman was blushing from her cheeks to her neck when she got a few pages in; but she just could not take her eyes away from it. The characters were what had managed to draw her in. Not sex! Nope! Definitely not the sex! Or sex positions! Most definitely not the sex positions! She was not like Neideen. She just found the books compelling is all! And the story, she found it interesting, too! Very interesting! It didn't matter what other people thought of her, reading this, they can go fuck themselves! This Mana chick was very complex and intriguing for someone depicted as a thirteen-year-old… frighteningly intelligent, too!

"What are you reading there?" Noel asked her captain in curiosity. Anything that could make even the emotionless Raftela blush had to be interesting!

"Icha Icha: Taboo… a book was written by the Ladykiller. Trying to see if I can get into his head by examining his writing habits and preferences." Raftela robotically answered. "It is… an intriguing read,"

Noel couldn't help herself, looking over her captain's shoulder and found herself subjected to a hypnotic depiction of the book's protagonist, Mana, fingering herself to her father. She had to physically tear her gaze away from the pages, blushing up a storm. How the fuck did that draw her in?!

"What was the name of the book, again?" Noel asked.

"Icha Icha: Taboo," Raftela answered, just before she turned to another page. "I have brought all the books to read," she added robotically.

"...So… can I read any of the other books, then?" she politely asked. She did not want to get on her captain's bad side after all. Even if she had the personality of a dead rat. She also didn't want to find herself awakening some weird, sick fetish the former Number 5 even didn't know she had, so Noel sincerely hoped this series had something else to offer. In response to Noel's question, Raftela reached into her satchel and took out one of them for the woman to read. This one was entitled Icha Icha: Conquest… a lovely title that is. Apparently, the Ladykiller did a thing for dominating women? Still, maybe this book will be different from… Taboo. And so she stood next to Raftela and opened the book to read. Needless to say, Neideen would later find herself falling over a fit of laughter upon the realization that no less than half her party was sitting in a neat, little row, reading porn. Even Cassandra and Miranda were surprised to see that once they rejoined the party.

----

A few hours later, in the Citadel of Morris…

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I'M PREGNANT?!"

...shit just got real as Naruto was being shaken back and forth like a ragdoll, all the while he was trying his damnedest to quell the newly-expecting woman's wrath. Though in reality, it was because poor Irene was far more afraid than scared. Beside her, Tsunade enjoyed the sight of Naruto being shaken around like a ragdoll. He deserved it in her opinion, for not keeping it in his pants. After a minute though, the former Hokage put a hand on Irene's shoulder, which got her to stop shaking Naruto around.

"I think you've punished the brat enough," she said, gesturing to Naruto who now had swirled in his eyes and was swaying unsteadily on his feet. If Irene didn't have her hands on his arms he probably would be flat on his ass right about now. Suddenly feeling a bit sheepish, the former Number 3 helped the father of her unborn child to a nearby chair.

----

Back in the Nile.

Neideen couldn't keep herself from sniggering if her life depended on it. Half of the party, reading porn? And not just any porn, but ones that were written by their target? She never thought that would happen! But it did, and she was there to witness it! To her, it was both glorious and hilarious. The only ones who still weren't reading the book series were, obviously Cassandra and Miranda; the others were Roxanne, Licht, Chloe, Lutecia, Sistina and Uranus. The others were too engrossed in the contents of the book. As of now, the Crimson Guard were taking residence in a local inn; apparently, it was the one the Ladykiller and the surviving warriors from Pieta had taken to living in for a brief time. It was quite an impressive establishment, she had to admit. Not many were able to afford to stay in such a ritzy place, but, of course, the Organization had given each woman more money than they knew what to do with, so staying here for the night barely even scratched the surface of their funding.

"I just have to ask: how are the books?" Neideen questioned them with a wide grin.

"Quite informative," Raftela answered, her voice having a tinge of wonder that sounded… out of place coming from her. She'd read this one book no less than three times, already! She just couldn't put it down! "Ladykiller is a good writer. It is a much bigger improvement from the other books by Jiraiya."

"I have to agree," Hysteria muttered, before realizing what she just said. "I mean… um…" She trailed off, visibly flustered.

"Oh, please," Neideen chuckled. "It's nothing to be ashamed of,"

"Says the world's most legendary hussy," Roxanne muttered, prompting the former Number 9 to playfully sticks her tongue out at her. Then Roxanne sighed and looked at the women who were reading. "I'm not asking this out of curiosity, but more about what may go on in Naruto's head: so what are those books about?"

Nearly everyone was a little too into those books, but the ones who managed to answer were Noel, Hysteria and Raftela.

"Mine is about a Yakuza who conquered an entire continent by raping the royal women into submission, among many others," Noel muttered shyly.

"The heck is a Yakuza?" Cassandra and Roxanne asked at the same time; that word was unfamiliar to them. They accurately guessed it was a word from Naruto's homeland.

"The leader of an organized crime syndicate, from what I can tell," Noel replied, "it appears to basically be a... bandit, but more sophisticated and with friends in high places."

"Mine is about a frighteningly intelligent, evil thirteen-year-old girl that has a disturbing obsession with getting her daddy's attention… to the point of even killing anyone, she perceives as her competition, without her father knowing," Raftela said. "She is insanely jealous… literally, and wants to keep him all to herself, while providing him everything he ever wanted, including several more children. She even becomes his personal secretary to ensure that no one gets too close to him."

"That's… disturbing," said Miranda as she blinked owlishly. "Uh… I think I'll pass on that one."

"Oh? Are you planning on reading his books?" Neideen asked, giving Miranda a leer. The pigtailed blonde in question turned beet red and sputtered up a storm, frantically trying to deny that she was even remotely interested.

"Mine is about a woman and her brother being the last members of… what I assume was a noble family," Hysteria explained. "They keep calling it a clan, though that word seems to mean something different in the context of the story. The girl goes on a campaign of vengeance, killing those responsible with her brother by her side, finding him several suitors while she's at it. This one's not for the faint of heart, either… very bloody, and the girl ends up pregnant with her brother's child, as well."

Neideen hummed, noting that the book in the former Number One's hands was dubbed Icha Icha: Legacy. The rest who weren't reading the books we're giving Hysteria an odd look. The way she sounds when speaking, it was as if she was comparing her own experiences with what had happened in the book.

"Icha Icha: Legacy, eh?" the one-eyed woman said, "I'm going to guess there are some parallels to what had happened to you in that book?"

'Uh… n-no," she denied unconvincingly. "None, at all!" It was true, for the most part. Her experiences were very different. Though if she were to be completely honest, she wished they had. Though she'd die before admitting it, at this point, Hysteria had an… unhealthy appreciation for her elder twin brother, back when he was still alive. And the plot of the brother and sister campaigning to get revenge for their family was eerily similar to her warpath to kill all the yoma in the world, back in her first life. Hell, they were even swordsmen!

"Well, if nothing else, we've learned of the Ladykiller's incest fetish," Cassandra clapped slowly. "Bravo! I wish I'd never discovered that, myself…"

"Most of the things that go on in these books are similar to what the Ladykiller has been through," Raftela replied.

"I read the back of mine," Hysteria said, "it turns out that Icha Icha: Legacy was loosely based on someone he knew. He had an obsession with killing his older brother who had killed their entire family when he was six years old. He had no sister, though. That element was part of a manuscript left behind by the original author of the series, before his untimely death."

"See!" Neideen said to Cassandra with a grin, "the books have some basis to what the Ladykiller is capable of if they're similar to what he has been through!"

Cassandra let loose an exasperated sigh. "Whatever… just… don't expect me to start reading one of those books. I'm not into that kind of shit."

"You should see the ones the original author wrote." Hysteria said with a chuckle, "They're twice as lewd… and have little to no plot other than sex, sex, sex. It's impressive how much of it there is, even."

"Ooh~!" Neideen chirped.

"NO!" Cassandra shouted at the one-eyed woman. "None of that! Shame on you!"

"The ones by the Ladykiller are much better in my opinion," Elizabeth said, finally speaking up. "They have an actual plot, that balances out the lewdness. Or at least mine does."

Neideen grinned, taking note that the former Number 5 was reading a book named Icha Icha: Servitude. "Oh? What's yours about?"

"A rich aristocrat having his way with several of his servants," Elizabeth muttered, turning beet red. "One of the chefs, the stable girl, and most of his maids. A manuscript was left behind for this one too by the original author."

"Oh? Any that he wrote on his own?" Neideen asked, now very curious.

"Conquest," Noel replied. "From what I gathered, it was the very first book that he wrote himself."

"It's actually the third," Raftela pointed out, "The first was Dungeon, followed by Journey."

Licht spoke up for the first time. "Okay, fine... you've got me curious now. What are those two about?" she asked with her arms crossed expectantly.

"The first is about a man who was kidnapped by tribe of feral women with insane physical strength." Raftela said as she turned a page, "He is forced to take part in gladiatorial combat with other prisoners, before taking on their champions, three of the strongest women in the tribe, including their leader. He defeats them by fucking the women into submission, thereby winning his freedom so he can return to his wife and kids."

Chloe perked up at that as Raftela explained. "That book was based on a true experience the Ladykiller had. Minus the man fucking the champions. He had to fight the heir to a clan of women. Similar to the tribe of ferial women, she had insane skill instead of strength. And if she won, then the Ladykiller had to die. If she lost, the Ladykiller had to marry her. He won, but didn't marry her."

That didn't stop him from fucking her when she sought him out again to duel for his hand, but they didn't know that.

"Why didn't he marry her?" Chloe asked.

"She wasn't happy and she didn't want to marry him. The Ladykiller instead inspired her to change the rules of her clan once she became the leader." Raftela stated, before moving on to the next book. "As for Journey, it's a fairly typical 'damsel in distress' affair, at first glance. The fiancee of the protagonist was kidnapped to prevent a political marriage between two noble families that had been at war for centuries. This sparked renewed hostilities between the families, so the protagonist was constantly shifting between searching for his beloved and preventing the families from killing each other in all-out war. He makes friends along the way while searching for her. The man even gets to have some fun with a few girls - some as a means to get his hands on vital information, others to… alleviate his urges, or as a reward for his heroic deeds. Again, it's loosely based on real-life events, as the fiancee of the protagonist is loosely inspired by the Ladykiller's old childhood crush and several of the heroic deeds within are heavily inspired by missions he'd accomplished as a mercenary."

"I see," Neideen said with a thoughtful look, "so... do any of you want to suck his dick~?" she asked with a wide grin. She couldn't just resist, knowing their reactions would be nothing short of priceless.

She was not disappointed.

Her answer came in the form of a unanimous "yes." Then, every woman with a book in her hands but one immediately dropped their reading material, slapping their hands on their mouths while insisting they didn't mean it. Raftela was the only one still reading as if nothing had happened.

"Oh great; they all became perverts, now," Cassandra whined while Neideen fell upon the floor in yet another fit of laughter.

"To be fair, you're one too." Miranda pointed out. "You did ask Sistina if the Ladykiller had a big dick after all."

"Please, don't remind me…" the former Number One muttered to her friend. Then Cassandra looked at Sistina in concern. "Hey, Divine Oracle, has our encounter with the Ladykiller changed again?" After hearing how many wanted to have his dick in their mouths, she was worried that had changed the future.

"...We are now to have a combined thirty sons and forty daughters with him," Sistina replied after closing her eyes to concentrate.

'THAT'S NOT HELPING!"

Sistina opened her eyes and shyly averted her gaze, "The future is not set in stone. Events are in constant flux. Changes can still be made."

----

The next afternoon, Raftela lead the Crimson Guard to the gravesite, after Neideen managed to get its location out of some local kids who happened upon it after doing some exploration around the town one day. Following their directions to the letter, the group found themselves staring at the graves of seven warriors, though no one present recognized the symbols. Sophia looked around their surroundings, the gravesites were on a scenic cliff just North of the village. And off to the side, there was a delta with four waterfalls and several patches of wildflowers throughout the lightly-wooded area. The cliff they were standing on was facing westward, giving them a nice view of the setting sun and this area always had roughly the same, tropical weather year-round.

"Credit where credit is due, the Ladykiller knows a good place to bury someone." the loose, short-wavy haired woman said. "It's very peaceful here."

Cassandra took a closer look at the gravesites and noted a bouquet of white roses had been placed upon the centre one. She squints her eyes while leaning forward to take a closer look. "Aren't those… fresh?" she asked aloud.

That immediately put the women on edge. Those who could tell concurred that the roses themselves still looked very healthy. Did that mean the Ladykiller was here?! Everyone present, shifted they're gazed here and there, looking for any sign of the man while reaching out with their senses. They detected nothing in the vicinity… and that did not make them feel even slightly better.

"Uh... M-maybe they're a few days old?" Miranda suggested while struggling to keep herself from shaking out of nervousness. If he decided to show up, would he be aggressive? Would he talk to them civilly? Or… would he be suspicious of their intentions?

"I… don't think they are." Cassandra hated to break it to her friend, she really did… but, "they look freshly plucked. By a few hours, I'd wager." the elf-eared blonde looked to Miranda and said. "Keep your eyes open, there is a very high chance that the Ladykiller is still around."

"And you would be right," a male voice sounded from a nearby tree. Then, as the women all snapped their heads towards the said tree, a whisker-marked blond hopped on down, landing between the gravesite and the Crimson Guard. He took in their attire and noted the gear these women are wearing are comprised of dark red bodysuits with black plate armour. And unlike the bodysuits of the other warriors, like Anastasia is wearing the tops of these women's bodysuits were much thicker and visibly padded. Rather than vambraces, they had articulated gauntlets to protect their hands and he guessed they double as knuckledusters in unarmed combat. The backplate with slots for their swords was replaced by a proper cuirass, though these still had an extension with slots for their swords. Aside from the usual fauld, sabatons and spaulders, however, they also had large half helms with nose guards and large, metal plates to protect the cheeks. This armour was also lacking the usual capes that the other warriors had. Also, they lacked a symbol the other warriors had.

"Warriors in red… so the rumours were true after all." he narrowed his eyes at them, and crossed his arms against his chest, "So, what are you doing here?"

At that, Hilda stepped forth, deciding she should be the one to explain as she raised her hands placatingly. "W-we came here to talk," she said. "I know that you have a friend of mine in your ranks and wanted to talk to her and you… to negotiate with you."

Naruto gave the woman a flat smile, "Is that so? Because I heard an interesting rumour that you all were made with the sole purpose to kill me."

The women all tensed at that as Hilda frowned. "We were formed as a special task force to deal with descent within our ranks," she explained. "This doesn't need to turn violent. The Handlers would be perfectly fine with you just… returning to your continent and taking your women with you."

"So you say…" Naruto looked at the rest of the women, and squinted at them suspiciously, "Hmm… an interesting group. A different set of armour from the rest as well." his gaze lingered on a few women for quite a bit, "If I had to guess I'd say a lot of you were formerly Number Ones."

"M-many of us were," Hilda answered honestly. One caught more flies with honey as the old saying goes, so being truthful seemed wise in this situation. "I wasn't, and our captain was previously Number 10."

"I see…" then he smirked, "I'm going to take a little guess here… some of your group are known as… Cassandra the Dust Eater, Hysteria the Elegant, Rosemary the Red, Heavy-Blade Chloe, Sistina the Divine Oracle, Three-Armed Licht, Roxanne of Love and Hate, and Lutecia the Universal. How'd I do?"

"You are correct," the captain stated. "I am former Number 10, Raftela, leader of this unit. I would be happy to clear up any misconceptions or the like if you wish."

"The Organization wants me gone, and they brought back their strongest warriors to do it if I refuse. What 'misconceptions' are there?"

"This unit was not created with the sole purpose of getting rid of you and your… faction," Raftela pointed out, "though your presence was a strong motivation in that regard. As Hilda pointed out, we are a task force formed to quell dissent among our ranks and maintain stability within the continent."

Naruto, of course, knew better. This woman clearly believed what she was saying, but that didn't mean it was true. But there was one person here who was around when Riful was Number 1, before her awakening. "Which one of you is Sistina?"

The woman in question stepped forward. Upon getting a closer look at him, she started to blush? It was hard to tell with the cheek plates in the way, but Naruto swore she was hungrily eyeballing him. Interesting… "That would be me," she said with a respectful bow.

Blinking owlishly at the unexpectedness of that, Naruto chuckled and gave her a respectful bow of his own. "I have a question for you, Sistina, if you'll indulge me," he said, as he straightened himself.

"It depends if I can answer it," she replied, straightening herself as well.

"I recall Miria and Riful telling me that the yoma didn't appear before the Organization did," Naruto explained. "What do you know about that?"

Sistina let loose a sigh, taking a moment to think about how she'd answer. "I've foreseen that you'd ask this question, though the answer is… deceptively complicated," she said, much to the shock of many presents. "The Organization predates the yoma, yes, but they didn't come to the shores of this continent until after the yoma popped up and wreaked sufficient havoc upon the populace."

Uranus suddenly looked uneasy after hearing how Sistina worded that. "W-what do you mean by sufficient havoc?"

Sighing Naruto closed his eyes, "I guess the Organization told you that, huh." he exhaled.

"They didn't," Sistina said, catching the blond by surprise, though what came next almost startled him. "Hagoromo did,"

"Grandpa-sage?!" His eyes shot open in surprise. No one here should even know that name!

"The very same," Sistina confirmed with a nod.

"I… He… What…" he stammered, "How the heck did you meet the Sage of the Six Paths?!" he demanded.

"He came to me with visions of what would one day come to pass," Sistina explained. "What would occur in time, warning me to be careful in these… polarized times, and what would happen should I not heed his warnings."

"I see…" Naruto didn't know how to feel about that. But now was not the time to dwell on such things. "I'm sorry to say that, I won't be going anywhere until the Organization is destroyed." Hilda and several others flinched at that. "They are too dangerous to be left alone and have caused the people far too much suffering to be left alone."

"B-but what about the yoma?!" Miranda demanded. "Who will deal with them, if not the Organization?"

"You're looking at him," Naruto deadpanned at her. " I do have a shit ton of loyal warriors and awakened beings to help me out with that, after all. And besides, the Organization are the ones making the youma in the first place. If I deal with those pricks, there won't be anyone making more, which means I can just hunt down and wipe out the rest."

"The Organization are not the ones making the youma!" Miranda insisted, with many others nodding in agreement with her.

"Believe what you want; ignorance is bliss, I suppose," Naruto said with a shrug. "But ask yourself this: if there were only 47 men from Isley's generation, then how come more of them have been showing up? I know three of the only four survivors from that generation; they're living in one of my strongholds, right now. Isley's still cowering in the North, and I personally killed his second in command in Pieta, and I also killed Riful's previous consort who was also from Isley's generation; so why and how are there still male awakened beings showing up? Hell, you killed one on your way here, so don't try denying that they're still popping up."

"H-how did you know that?" Cassandra demanded.

"He has the likes of Renee and Galatea in his roster," Sistina pointed out. "The latter could have detected that conflict from a minimum of five miles away."

"Exactly," Naruto said, admittedly unsettled by the woman's knowledge of how much Galatea had improved. Then he let out a sigh, though it sounded more like a growl than anything else, as he felt their negativity towards his earlier words. "I better get going, I can see how I outstayed my welcome here."

"Not true," Neideen said with a flirty grin as she approached. "I don't mind that you're here at all~!"

Naruto blinked owlishly, immediately recognizing her, despite the helmet. "...St. Nymphetamina?" he asked with squint eyes.

The former Number 9 giggled. "As much as I love the name, it's actually a bit long for my liking. You can call me Neideen."

Naruto immediately got vibes that this woman was a pervert of Jiraiya's Calibur. "I suppose it's true that you were a warrior of the Organization, then… interesting."

"Number 9 of her generation, actually," she said, hitching a thumb at Cassandra. That caught him by surprise. Her yoki was far too potent for that to have been the case, but he could tell she wasn't… wait… her yoki felt familiar somehow. She was like Clare- oh… that was why her yoki felt familiar! So that was what they did after the failed attempt at reviving her.

"I see…" Naruto mused aloud, filing those thoughts away for later. He chortled and grinned at her, "I guess the story of you fucking that monster with a thousand dicks to death was an exaggeration, then?"

Neideen grinned right back at him, snickering herself, "It was. I'm not quite sure how they came up with such a thing. Though I have a few ideas… Either way, it's amusing as all hell."

"It certainly is one of the more… imaginative legends I've heard. I'd like to hear what happened, though."

"Oh no, they're becoming friends…" Cassandra groaned, much to Sistina's well-hidden amusement.

"Unfortunately, though, I need to get going," Naruto said with a sigh. "Riful's calling, so I need to see what she wants."

"B-before you go," Hilda called out. "Please tell Miria that I... I'm flattered she named her firstborn after me… and that I'm sorry for putting her through so much grief."

"Hmm…" the blond thinned his lips in thought, "If you want, I can bring you all with me to the Citadel, that way, you can tell her yourself and see with your own eyes where we're coming from."

That… caught them off-guard. Was he inviting them to his place so easily?

"I recommend we take him up on that offer," Sistina chimed in. "It will make negotiations much easier." Naruto could tell something was… off about that one. Was she discreetly trying to sway her comrades over to his side? Seeing as how she knew Grandpa-sage, it was a distinct possibility.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure you women are wondering why I think the Organization are the ones making yoma." Naruto said to them, "And if you know about that, then you most certainly know I think they're the ones sending yomas and awakened beings to places to refuse to pay them. Once we're all on the same page, I think we can talk about my position more readily and come to some sort of agreement."

"That would be a very logical course of action," Raftela replied robotically, thoroughly reminding Naruto of Shino... And Alicia and Beth when he first met them. But more of Shino. "I would rather know the facts before deciding on such perilous matters."

"...Well," Cassandra started with a little optimism in her voice. "at least we didn't have to fight you. If it means we can come to some kind of compromise, then I suppose it couldn't hurt. We're here to keep you from causing trouble, after all, so if we can find a peaceful way to go about it, then I'm all for it." Roxanne was ever silent, watching Naruto like a hawk as she nodded in agreement.

"I would at least like a good spar, some time," Chloe grunted. "I was looking forward to seeing what you're capable of, but I certainly wouldn't mind doing so in a friendlier context."

"Is that so?" Naruto chuckled. "Well, I won't turn you down. If any of you want to spar we can do so in the Dragonspire Mountains, later on."

"I would like that, too," Roxanne chirped, finally speaking up.

"Of course you would," Cassandra grumbled, which made Naruto look at the two. He could sense quite a bit of tension between them. Miranda calmed her friend down with a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to sigh and cross her arms with a huff.

"...I'm getting some weird vibes about the two of you. But I won't pry." honestly, the two of them reminded him a lot of Sasuke and Itachi. Perhaps those two were Cassandra and Roxanne? Evianna was not going to be happy about that… "I'm curious, would there happen to be someone called Uranus here?" The girl in question raised her hand and Naruto eyeballed the woman and noted a strong resemblance to Evianna. "If you're the Uranus I think you are, then I know your sister," he said, catching her off guard. "She misses you."

"E-Evianna?" Uranus asked. But… it's been so long! She shouldn't still be alive, unless… "Oh, by the Twins… She… she awakened, didn't she?"

"Yeah. She did," he confirmed and frowned sadly when the woman got an upset look. "I met her in the North a year ago. She's living with me now… and she isn't eating the innards of innocent people anymore. I found another way… I had to give my own flesh and blood for it to happen, which hurt like a bitch, but I found another way. That is when she's not purging my territory of the occasional bandit camp. Someone's got to protect the locals from that shit, after all." Most of the women turned a bit pale at the implication, but couldn't deny that he had a point. Raftela's composure was the only one that hadn't cracked in the slightest. "Anyway, if any of you want to come with grab hold of me or hold hands. I'll teleport us there."

Neideen immediately went first by clinging onto his right arm with a giggle, nearly making Naruto jump out of his skin. That… escalated quickly. Though he wasn't surprised, all things considered. Sistina was next and she held his shoulder as more stepped forth, holding hands with those two until everyone was holding hands or in contact with him. The instant Naruto was sure that was the case, the women of the Crimson Guard blinked owlishly, feeling a bit dizzy upon suddenly finding themselves within a large, stone room within the Citadel of Morris.

Then, there was a poof of smoke as they saw another Naruto appear next to the man who brought them before the original addressed them. "As I said earlier, Riful's calling, so I'll check on her. Meanwhile, you can follow him to the war room and wait there for the meeting. I'll gather everyone and be there within half an hour, okay?"

"That seems reasonable," Raftela said with a nod, though she was unable to keep her eyes off of the clone. What kind of technique was that?

Naruto nodded before vacating the room with a golden flash, leaving his clone with the women. Then they all looked at the other Naruto expectantly. The clone chuckled and gestured them to follow. "The war room is this way," he said. "The boss has a habit of being early, so we might wanna be ready for the meeting as soon as possible."

"Noted," Neideen chirped, before clinging onto the clone. "So, I trust you'll keep us… entertained while we wait for ~?"

"Neideen!" Cassandra barked. "Behave yourself!"

"Oh, please," she giggled, "we all know you curious from hearing what he did to Riful when they first met~!" The clone chuckled nervously, wondering what the hell the boss had just gotten himself into.

----

Naruto found Riful waiting for him on the battlements of Shatter Keep, flanked by Harja and Elspeth, as she'd been doing rather often these days. Honestly, it was getting a little suspicious for his liking. He really hoped the Abyssal One wasn't planning anything drastic, like taking over the world or something. He stopped one organization that tried to rule the Elemental Nations under an illusion, already. He didn't need his lovers forming another with even bigger plans in mind.

"What is it, honey?" he asked her. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing too bad," the Abyssal loli assured. "We've caught wind of a massive yoki surge to the south not too long ago and were able to confirm that some warriors in red had killed off the Number 5 of my generation… plus a few others before that. It was quite impressive. The girls were also feeling lonely, so I figured they'd want to see you while I filed that report."

"I know. I just met these warriors in red." Naruto replied, catching Riful by surprise. "They were at Natalie's gravesite, apparently hoping I'd pop up so they could try and convince me to leave diplomatically."

"How many of them are there?! Are they strong?! Are they dangerous?!" The loli immediately asked, immensely worried for her man.

"About 15 or 16 of them, yes, and not at the moment," Naruto replied to each question with a chuckle. "They were surprisingly civil and I can't shake the feeling that two of them are… interested in me in ways they probably shouldn't be. Not that I mind. It turns out that St. Nymphetamina's among them, as well, interestingly enough."

"...St. Nymphetamina is real?" Riful asked, visibly surprised.

"All legends have a kernel of truth to them," Naruto pointed out. "It's not her actual name, though. Turns out its Neideen. She was Number 9 of Cassandra's generation… and a bit of a Letcher." then he rubbed the back of his scalp and added, "plus it seems our suspicions about who the Organization would revive to deal with me was right: Roxanne, Cassandra, Licht, Chloe, Sistina, Uranus, Hilda, Lutecia, Hysteria, and Rosemary, plus a few more have been revived. They believe they are around to quell dissent in the ranks of the Organization."

Riful frowned in concern at one name in particular. "Be careful about Sistina. She's powerful. When I had first awakened, she almost bested me single-handedly. That's quite the roster, though, I must say. The Organization isn't pulling their punches."

"Are you sure everything's okay, Daddy?" Harja asked. "No offence, but you tend to be a bit too trusting for your good. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"The reason I'm too trusting is that I can sense if they're lying, and I will know if they are planning on hurting anybody." Naruto reminded her, patting his daughter on the head. "You've got nothing to worry about, sweetie. I've learned from my mistakes, and I will kill them all without hesitation if they purposely try and hurt anybody under my protection."

She frowned but seemed satisfied with that.

"Where are they now?" Elspeth asked him.

"In the war room of the Citadel of Morris with one of my clones - a reinforced one for good measure," he said. "I want to get back to them as quickly as possible, just in case. They've agreed to meet with Miria and a few others to hear our side of the story. And we have proof to back up our claims on what the organization is doing." He turned to Riful and added, "I want you to be there with us to provide your testimony on the matter, among others."

"Do I have to be there?" she whined; the loli did not want to be in the same place as that woman. She almost killed her for the love of the Twins!

Naruto sensed her unease and pulled his wife into a hug. "I'll protect you if it comes to that," he assured. "You have nothing to worry about. But, if you really want to stay here, then you can just send a shadow clone in your place."

Riful sighed. "That's reasonable enough… Alright, I'll send a clone." She then pulled Naruto down into a possessive kiss and said, "be careful."

"I will. Don't you worry about that," Naruto assured with a warm smile. "Make that clone, and I'll bring her back with me to Morris."

"You mind leaving one here yourself for the kids?"

"I don't mind at all." the blond made a cross seal with one hand and a puff of smoke appeared beside him. The clone saluted the original and ruffled Harja and Elspeth's scalps, drawing giggles from the both of them.

Riful smiled warmly at that and created one of her own.

----

"So this is the war room, huh? Pretty spacious." Cassandra mused aloud. The women all filed into the room after the clone lead them there and took in the interior of the spartan-like area.

"It's gotta be, this is a fortress after all." the clone said, then he walked over to the table upon noticing the map of the continent and the mainland on it. "Hmm. I thought this was taken away the last time this room was used." he quickly rolled it up and put it out of sight and out of mind. For the moment at least, since he was fairly sure it was going to be used again. "You ladies can take off your helmets if you want and take a seat" he offered. "The boss shouldn't be too long."

"He's already back with Riful from the feel of it," Neideen stated while obliging. She placed her half helm in front of her as she plopped on down into the nearest chair.

"Teleportation is awesome like that," the clone chuckled, taking note of her ability to sense that so easily before he turned to address Hilda. "Miria will likely be coming here as well," he said. "She's the boss's secretary and second-in-command."

Hilda averted her gaze uncomfortably, still clearly regretting what her death did to her friend.

"So who are the yoki signatures on the third floor?" Neideen asked. "They feel kinda weird. More… natural, somehow."

"Those would be the boss's kids," the clone pointed out, with a threatening undertone. The message was clear: if they tried anything, they would die… painfully. Then he brightened up considerably as he added, "they share all the traits of awakened beings and hybrids like yourselves but without the need to eat innards. Or with the case of the hybrids' children, without the threat of awakening."

"I… see." a now helmless Raftela said robotically. Then she cocked her head to the side and looked at him. "What are his preferences?"

The clone shrugged, not seeing any harm in answering her. "Women who are strong, bold, and dominating; women who know what they want and aren't afraid to show it. But, he also finds shy and timid ones to be rather cute. It depends on the woman, but generally speaking, he prefers it when someone is not afraid to be herself around him."

Upon hearing that, Neideen got up and sat down right next to the clone with a flirty grin. "Well, that is something I can certainly get behind~!" she purred throatily.

"Neideen! No!" Cassandra barked. "He doesn't need that!"

"But, does he want it~?" the former Number 9 cooed, drawing a nervous chuckle from the clone.

"Well… I wouldn't mind per se. You are a gorgeous woman, Neideen…" he admitted sheepishly. "And I did say the boss prefers it when someone is not afraid to be herself. So, be you."

"Oh, I will be," she cooed, placing a hand on his thigh suggestively.

"You know, what? Fuck it! As long as you're not molesting me, I guess…" Cassandra relented, crossing her arms with a huff. "But, if his wives kill us all, I'm blaming you!"

"In that case, I'd better take steps to avoid dying a virgin a second time," Neideen teased, giggling when Naruto's clone turned beet red at that. "So, what do you say, cutie~?"

"I would ask for any higher being why I'm cursed with being surrounded by perverts." he joked, "Then again, you are gorgeous, so I certainly don't mind in your case."

"The gods felt you needed… preparation for what life had in store for you on this continent," Sistina pointed out. "Her in particular."

"...I'm guessing your moniker 'Divine Oracle' isn't just for show, huh?"

Sistina shrugged. "I had to get the name somehow."

Naruto chuckled goodnaturedly, "Well… at least you don't have a god complex. I fought someone like that… tough to his credit, he was an utter bitch to beat."

"I certainly wouldn't mind hearing tales of your heroics while we're snuggling," Neideen cooed.

"I'll… think on it." then Naruto shook his head and then said, "No, actually, I won't; the boss will be the one to think on it."

"Oh?" Neideen asked, looking hopeful. "So you'll tell him?"

Naruto shrugged. "In away? If I dispel the boss would get my memories. So anything I learn he would learn too." then he looked at the rest of the women. "So do any of you gorgeous women want to ask anything? Just to pass the time?"

"Oh, I can think of a better way to pass the time~!" Neideen chirped, immediately encouraged. "If he gets your memories, then I think a little… appetizer is in order~!"

"Would you please at least have some decency and take that somewhere private?!" Cassandra asked.

"Make me, killjoy," the one-eyed woman giggled, now blatantly groping the clone. Said clone shuddered in pleasure as he felt the woman's hand enthusiastically stroking him through his trousers.

"I have to admit," the clone groaned as he spread his legs, "you're the type of woman I would love to be in a relationship with~." he took a deep breath and looked at the now blushing women. Cassandra specifically, "I have to admit I find women with pointy-ears to be exotic. It makes you so damn sexy~." he flirted.

The poor former Number One turned beet red at that, completely unable to respond. Lutecia and Sistina found themselves in similar condition. They had pointed ears too, after all, so did that mean he found them sexy? Then, Neideen got especially bold and started undoing his trousers. Now kneeling in front of him with clear intentions, the one-eyed woman looked him in the eye with a saucy grin as she opened his breeches.

"Y-you think I'm attractive?" Cassandra asked, shyly feeling her own ears with a blush as she looked anywhere but at him.

Naruto patted Neideen on the head and chuckled. "Of course! I try to always mean what I say." he gave Lutecia and Sistina smiles as well, "And yes, I find the two of you to be attractive as well. The three of you are just so exotic, in my opinion. So, beautiful." Upon feeling the jealousy coming off one woman, in particular, Naruto gave her a warm smile and gestured for her to approach.

Roxanne blushed and timidly obliged. It was something that surprised Miranda, Cassandra, Elizabeth and Uranus greatly; that was because it is something completely out of character for Roxanne to do. Then, when she was within arm's reach of her, he cupped her face and said, "You're gorgeous, too, you know~!" Then, he gently pulled her towards him and stole her first kiss with a man. It was but a quick peck, but she fell to her knees immediately, completely out of breath. That settled it. Neideen was not waiting any longer! She pulled his trousers and boxers down immediately and marvelled at the mighty tool before her. Many a woman stared at it in utter disbelief. Holy shit, it was huge!

"Fifteen inches," Sistina said with a throaty growl. "I told you he was big."

Not wasting any time, Neideen pounced, taking it into her mouth without a shred of hesitation. She rapidly flicked her tongue around the tip behind her lips and moaned hungrily, bobbing her head and she ran her tongue along the underbelly of his mighty beast.

Naruto groaned at her expert ministrations, placing both hands on Neideen's head and thrusting gently into her mouth. Holy shit, she was good! "A virgin, eh?" he asked, thoroughly impressed. "I don't believe you!"

Neideen giggled at the compliment. It was legitimately flattering.

"Noooo…" Cassandra whined in despair and her head plopped on the table. "Just once I wish she didn't do anything perverted! Now she's going to be even worse now that he's encouraging her! To make matters worse, she's our heaviest hitter. If something happens and we come to blows… no pun intended," Naruto snickered at the pun, it was a pretty good one in his opinion.

"Pretty sure that option was off the table before we even got here," Miranda pointed out. "We made it a point to not provoke him, and no one wanted to fight him, in the first place-" cue a very loud cough from one woman in particular, "...except maybe Chloe."

"I look forward to that spar, by the way," the muscular former Number One added.

"So do I," Naruto chuckled. "Or rather, the boss does. He has a thing for strong women. Hmm, considering you're the strongest I wonder if the boss would go into his strongest transformation to fight you?"

"I'm eager to see these golden flames I've heard so much about," Chloe said with an evil grin.

"Oh? Which versions?"

That… was an unsettling implication. Chloe, however, was up to the challenge. "The strongest one," she said. "I want to see how worthy an opponent you would have been."

"The strongest one, eh?" Naruto grunted when Neideen started bobbing her head along his dick with even more enthusiasm, as if to say, "notice me!" He chuckled, matching her pace and rubbing her scalp. "I think the boss can do that… I'm not sure how long y-you would last, but, it... should b-be interesting." Holy shit, this… babe was getting him off so much faster than he was used to! "He'd have to hold back quite a bit though." He moaned throatily as she started using her hands, skillfully jerking his shaft with one and fondling his balls with the other.

"And, uh, why is that?" Licht asked, trying and succeeding at keeping her eyes above his waistline. Even if the insistent sucking and slurping were filling the room.

"My strong-gest att-attacks can make what happened t-to Pieta look tame in comparison when I am in m-m-my strongest f-f-f-FUCK!" He couldn't finish as Neideen's skilled, relentless assault upon his dick proved too much for the blond. As he came inside of the one-eyed woman's mouth, Naruto's hands plopped down on the table with a loud 'THUD' as his legs lost all strength to keep him standing. Neideen giggled, loudly gulping down her prize with considerable effort, considering the sheer size of his load, but she managed quite readily.

Every other woman in the room stared in wonder as Neideen greedily swallowed gulp after gulp after gulp of Naruto's hot, thick cum, wondering how the hell much of it there could possibly be. After what felt like an eternity, Neideen finally withdrew, letting his still-hard dick out with a pop, before licking her lips. "By the Twins above," she purred. "I won't be able to eat for months after that~!"

"HOW IS IT STILL HARD?!" Cassandra demanded. "I… I can't believe you're still ready for another round!"

"My family on my mother's side were well known for their stamina, among other things," Naruto explained with a chuckle.

"Oh, really?" Neideen cooed. "Perhaps I should take it a step further, then? I'd hate to see you go unsatisfied~!" She licked her lips once more standing up, before sitting on the table before him. "C'mon big boy~! Show me what you can do~!"

To her disappointment, the door slammed open as a livid Miria kicked it open. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY HUSBAND YOU HUSSY?!"

Cassandra immediately pointed at Neideen, "...SHE STARTED IT! IT WAS TOTALLY HER!" Number One or not, there was no way in hell she was going to find herself on the receiving end of that shit.

"...Uh…" the clone quickly pulled up his trousers and boxers, before pointing at one of the women in the room. "Oh, look! It's an old friend of yours!" Maybe seeing Hilda again will calm his wife right down? ...Hopefully?

Said woman looked startled at being thrown in the spotlight… and used as a sacrificial lamb. "Uh… hi?" she waved awkwardly.

Then the clone looked at his wrist as if he was looking at a watch. "Oh would you look at the time, I should get going!" Then he promptly dispelled, literally going up in smoke with a poof. A few seconds later, they heard the Original Naruto shouting, "ARE YOU SERIOUS!? STUPID KAGE BUNSHIN! I PUNCH YOU IF I COULD!" It was promptly ignored, though, as a deafening silence thundered throughout the chamber the instant Miria's eyes met with those of an old friend… her eyes went wide and welled up in realization.

"Hilda…?" she said, sounding and looking uncharacteristically timid. Looking as if she had seen a ghost.

Said woman removed her half helm as if to confirm it was really her, before standing up, marching on over to her old friend, and pulled her into a tight hug. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling awkward when she felt her old friend hug back. Then, she patted Miria's back comfortingly when the sandy brunette started to cry. This was going to be… much harder than anticipated.

----

Ten minutes later, a very flustered Naruto managed to gather Tsunade, Shizune, Samui, Octavia, Europa, Evianna, Dietrich, Priscilla, and the clones of Riful, Chronos, Luciela, Rafaela, Nina, and Clarice. Tabitha popped up as well of her own volition, after hearing Mira's yell of indignation, as did Clare, Cynthia and Jean also pop up, though they were standing guard by outside the door. Once Miria calmed down and a teary-eyed Evianna scooped her sister Uranus into a hug, Naruto sat down with a tired sigh, plopping several assorted files and books upon the table before him.

"So, where do we begin?" he asked, addressing the new guests.

"You can start with what those are," Noel said, pointing at the files in question.

Naruto exhaled and gestured to them. "Those are files and books I stole from the Organization when I infiltrated their headquarters six years ago," he revealed, and the blond took note that, out of the sixteen women who made up the Crimson Guard, only Sistina wasn't surprised. "It chronicles everything they did for the past… four to five hundred years? There is plenty of more I stole from them, but the ones in front of you are the most important." well, they are the most important in the context of this meeting since many of those books and files are focused on many of the women before him. While the rest is common knowledge to everyone in the Citadel. "So many questions you want the answers too are likely to be in there."

The Crimson Guard looked at the books and files with well-hidden interest. They had never seen anything written by the Organization, so, whatever is in them must be a pretty big deal… and with that thought, it slowly dawned on them all that whatever was in those books must be the reason why Naruto and the others in the Citadel were so opposed to the Organization. It left them quite nervous.

Roxanne frowned deeply, swiftly connecting the dots. "I take it one of those is some kind of account on how the youma were made?"

Naruto picked up a rather thick file and slid it her way. "You would be correct," he said.

Miranda in her grim curiosity couldn't help but take a gander at the file from where she sat, and immediately looked concerned. "That's… that's Dae's handwriting…" she said, then the pigtailed blonde took the file and began to read through the first two pages it was opened on.

Not even one paragraph in and she was already sick to her stomach… and then she dropped the file to the table. Her hands were trembling as she tried to steady her breathing, which was coming out in quick uneven pace.

"...Miranda?" Cassandra immediately went to her friend's side, "Miranda what's wrong?!"

"I… I don't want to believe it…" she whimpered, Doing her damnedest to hold back her tears.

Cassandra glared at Naruto with narrowed eyes. "What the hell did she read?!" the short, wavy-haired woman demanded. What was in that file that could have caused her friend to almost break down like this?!

"Roxanne asked for an account of some kind on how the yoma are made," Naruto replied with a shrug. "I gave it to her. As Miranda pointed out, that's also Dae's handwriting, so... " once more, he shrugged nonchalantly, "...either read it yourself or, ask the Cynthia lookalike."

Seriously, those two could be twins! But, that was neither here nor there, so he pushed those thoughts aside for now. Roxanne's frown deepened. As she picked the file up and leafed through it. After a long moment of thought, she sighed and got up, before moving around to Naruto's side of the table and taking a seat without another word. Her mind was made up and her intentions were clear as day. She was turning on them. Cassandra scowled. Of course, she'd turn on them upon the first opportunity!

Closing her eyes, the long, curly-haired woman said, "I can see why you're fighting the Organization now." then Roxanne exhaled, and then looked at Naruto and Miria. "If you'll have me, I'll be glad to join."

Cassandra scowled once more and was about to say something about that, until her best friend surprised the hell out of her by saying, "s-so will I!"

"M-Miranda…" the former Number One gasped.

"Read it yourself," the pigtailed blonde replied while pushing the document to her friend. "I was Dae's assistant throughout the revival process of everyone here. I know his writing patterns and what his handwriting looks like. He wrote this! There's no doubt about that!"

Now thoroughly concerned Cassandra looked at the file with contemplation. She took a deep breath and exhaled before picking it up started reading through the two pages… she skimmed quickly through the first paragraph if Miranda said this is Dae's handwriting, then she'll believe her. She had no idea what the man's writing looks like, so she will trust the word of her friend. And then she began to re-read it properly. After the first few minutes, the woman closed her eyes and tried to keep herself from scowling outright. "If Miranda is joining you, then so am I!" she declared. Raftela, being the leader of this group frowned and took the file into her hands. Impressively, she read the whole thing in under three minutes, before passing it to a dreadfully curious Neideen. Then, the former Number 10 marched on over to Naruto's side of the table to show that she was joining Naruto's side of this conflict without another word.

One by one the rest of the Crimson Guard poured over the file as well as all the others Naruto had brought. Some took more convincing than others, but when the women he'd gathered gave their testimonies, those few who still supported the Organization became more and more doubtful of their position. One who appeared to still support the Organization was Sistina, as she declined to read even one page, patiently waiting for everyone to finish before speaking her piece. "I have been gifted with visions, long ago; one for every person here, recounting their tales in great detail," she said, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. "What they say is true. What those files say, are true. The Organization is a blight upon this land that should be purged."

Lutecia couldn't believe what the woman was saying. "You knew of all this and didn't tell us?!"

"What would you have done if you were in my place? Knowing what I know?" the Divine Oracle retorted without opening her eyes, "You would have simply branded me insane and a traitor had I tried. So, I felt that hearing it from them would be more convincing."

"To be fair, if I didn't change the mission from scaring the Organization into submission to information gathering, and getting the proof right here, they wouldn't have believed us." Naruto pointed out.

"Exactly," Sistina agreed with a nod. "I knew you had the proof."

"How did you know we had proof?" Miria asked with suspicion, "Are you able to see into the future or something?"

"I was granted visions of the future and other possible paths the timeline might take by Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths," Sistina explained. "He provided me with this, because he foresaw what would happen years in advance, and whenever an event that changed the course came to be, like Neideen developing an attraction to you before we even met, I was informed of what those changes were."

Miria was none too happy to hear that yet another hussy sought her hubby's dick, but she kept it to herself.

"I believe you," Naruto told her, to the surprise of almost everyone in the room. Sensing Miria's jealousy, he pulled her on over, plopping the sandy brunette into his lap.

"Are you sure about that?" Riful asked in concern.

"There is no way she could have known about Grandpa-sage," Naruto pointed out with a nod. "Let alone his actual name. I know it because he introduced himself to me when we met. Though when that happened I was on death's door; and before then, no one knew his actual name, because it had been lost to history for centuries by then."

Sistina opened her eyes and looked at him, "I met him shortly before I chased after Riful when she awakened." she revealed, "I would have killed her too, but, then the first vision had shown me a possible future - one with you arriving on this island from a far distant land…" she paused and exhaled, "however, in that vision you were more vengeful, angry and less merciful. Riful had escaped by the time I came out of it."

"That doesn't sound like Naruto at all," Tsunade pointed out.

"I wasn't myself when I first came here," Naruto admitted. "The Suna Incident affected me a hell of a lot more than you'd think," he shrugged and hugged Miria to him. "Originally, I came here with the intent of escaping the Elemental Nations, and eventually create an army to destroy Konoha for everything its villagers put me through. Now that I have people I care about, though, I'm not nearly as bitter. Mind you, I'm never going to live back in Konoha, but I won't be against visiting some friends there if I am allowed to. Kakashi-Sensei is still one of the people I care about. And so are the rest of the Konoha 12… though that would make them the Konoha 8, now."

"Meeting Riful, Jean, Clare, and Galatea was the first major step to your recovery," Sistina pointed out. "It gave you a new family to care about, even if they were just fucking buddies at the time. Had I killed Riful, you would be far more jaded and less forgiving, now. Isley would be dead, as would Priscilla, and your primary stronghold would be in the North, just to name a few differences off the top of my head."

Tsunade and Shizune would have died as well - the latter committing suicide. But, felt that keeping this information to herself was the wiser course of action… at least for now. It was here that Licht remembered something the Divine Oracle said a year ago. "...your original vision: the one where we all died - was that the result of you killing Riful?"

"That is… both true and not," Sistina replied. "There were two possible ways for that to happen. The first was the result of me killing Riful. The second was the result of us coming to blows with one of the teams patrolling Naruto's territory. That would be Team Undine, specifically." the woman closed her eyes and sighed, "Due to our unfortunate duty, we were obligated to kill them. Needless to say, Naruto would not have taken kindly to that… especially when he discovered that Zelda, in particular, was pregnant, based on her scent. She had just recently conceived, at the time. That being said, I did everything in my power to prevent this from happening, even going so far as to deliberately go into my trances to warn you what would happen, despite the more… embarrassing side-effects of my actions."

"I thought that was caused by the methods Dae used to revive you," Miranda pointed out.

"That is partially true," Sistina clarified. "It wore off within a day or two, but I forced myself back into a trance the moment I knew what was going on. Due to the fact I had yet to fully recover, though, I… broke, for lack of a better term, and found myself stuck in an erratic state for so long I lost track. Ultimately, though, it worked out and I was able to change the course of our fates."

"Which is good," Naruto sighed in relief. "Had I found out that you killed anyone I care about, let alone one of my pregnant wives, I would have made what happened at Pieta look tame in comparison. To give you an idea, I have about nine or ten transformations. Me turning into a mountain-sized fox to destroy Pieta is only my sixth strongest transformation."

"Uh… s-sixth?" Sophia asked in a tiny voice.

"Ten transformations?!" Noel exclaimed.

"The only person here who's seen me in my strongest transformation is Clarice," Naruto said, pointing at the brunette in question with his thumb. "I used it to heal her stigma and… unusual condition, because her body was somehow rejecting the conversion process that made her a hybrid. Seeing that she needed so much more work on her, I felt that my usual healing method needed a bit more oomph to succeed."

Clarice giggled, "You even saw me naked when you finished," she teased. "I still think you destroyed my clothes on purpose, though I certainly don't mind~!"

Naruto chuckled and kissed Miria on the neck when she growled, "To be fair, the clothes here aren't as durable as they are back in the Elemental Nations… at least not the ones used for military purposes."

There was an awkward silence before Raftela decided to break it. "I am grateful that you did this, Sistina," she said. "I am in your debt."

"I owe ya one, too," Neideen added with a grin. "So… what now?"

"There's something that's bothering me when it comes to you," Naruto admitted as he looked at Neideen. "Your yoki… feels a lot like someone else's here. Teresa's. Can any one of you explain why?"

"Dae," Miranda said. "When he failed to revive Teresa of the Faint Smile, he combined her remains with those of Neideen and revived her instead. That's why she's so much more powerful than anyone else he revived, despite having been Number 9 when she died."

"I thought so." the blond sighed; then he looked towards the door, where he knew Clare was. "Clare, can you come in, please? I think they deserve to know why Teresa was unable to be revived."

Clare peered into the room, frowning. "Are you sure?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Besides' if they try anything," he cracked his knuckles threateningly. "I'll kick their pretty asses."

"Kinky~!" Neideen chirped, immediately making Naruto feel a bit awkward. That was… not the reaction he was expecting. Then Cassandra sighed and whacked the perverted woman across the scalp.

"Enough of that!" she berated.

"...I approve of that one," Miria commented with a satisfied nod. If the pointy-eared woman kept it up, she'd honestly not mind if Cassandra joined the family.

Clare sighed and walked into the room and stood beside her husband. Noel and Sophia both locked eyes with her as they felt Teresa's yoki inside of her. So Dae grafted her flesh and blood into her too? Noel squints her eyes to get a look at her. Something about this woman was… familiar for some reason. It was gnawing at her. "You look familiar to me for some reason. Have I seen you before?"

Clare locked eyes with the woman and nodded. "I was with Teresa when you, Irene, Sophia and Priscilla were sent to kill her." she put her hand to her chest and added, "I have her flesh and blood in me."

Naruto decided to drop the bomb, so to speak, by adding, "She is also the reason why Teresa wasn't revived." To show rather than tell what her husband meant, Clare closed her eyes and focused. Then, before everyone's eyes, she started to change. Her hair became longer and curlier. Her form became slightly bigger, her breasts slightly reduced in size, though the rest of her started looking slightly older. Sophia and Noel could barely believe their eyes as Teresa came into being right in front of them.

"Because I am right here, alive in Clare," Teresa said as she opened her eyes. She gave Noel, Sophia, Rosemary and Hysteria a faint smile. "So many familiar faces… I honestly thought there'd be fewer people I recognized among this new task force. Such a pleasant surprise."

Miranda blinked repeatedly in disbelief. Then her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed in a dead faint. Naruto blinked owlishly at that. Seems the young woman couldn't handle the revelation that the Strongest of all Number Ones was here among them. Cassandra quickly caught her friend though and slowly eased her down on the chair before she accidentally hurt herself.

Lutecia just blinked. "Well, that certainly explains a lot..."

Neideen grinned at the new arrival, appraising her thoroughly. "Interesting…" Naruto had quite the beauty, there.

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, Teresa has been alive all this time in Clare."

The woman in question giggled before sauntering on up to her son-in-law and pulled his chin up before kissing Naruto on the lips. That took Noel and Sophia by surprise, since the last time they saw Teresa she was a cold-hearted bitch. The only person that managed to wiggle their way into her heart was Clare.

"What the story behind the two of you then?" Sophia asked after Teresa pulled away.

Naruto shrugged, "I fucked her. After that, she became putty in my hands… so to speak." At that, Neideen couldn't help but laugh her ass off. "Yes. Laugh it up, why don't you," he told her in mock anger.

Teresa gave him a faint smile as she walked behind the blond, then she leaned against him and rest her bosom on top of his head. "I would keep fucking you and drain your balls dry of their seed if I had any say in it~." she crudely said while leering at him. "But, poor Clare's limits are much lower than mine and I don't want to hurt her."

"Maybe we'll find a way around that," Naruto said. "If Dae can restore your body then so can Tsunade. We just need to find it. After that, it's just a matter of figuring out how to transfer you into it."

"Seeing as how Teresa's body was combined with Neideen's," Tsunade pointed out, "it should just be a matter of extracting a bit from her and using that to regrow it."

"You would have to find what piece of her is Teresa though," Naruto pointed out the little flaw in that plan. Then he shrugged and added with admittance. "I do like the idea, though. I can infiltrate the Organization again and retrieve what's left of her body from them and bring it back here if they still have it."

"It's been a while, so I'm not sure if they do or not," Miranda said. "They could have disposed of what was left, for all we know. But, I did help with the splicing, so I can give you a general idea of where to look, assuming you can differentiate between what's hers and Neideen's."

"A simple diagnostic technique would do the trick, in that case," Tsunade said with a nod.

"How big a piece would you need from her?" Naruto asked. "I know you grew an arm to replace my lost one by using your grandfather's cells…"

'Not very big," Tsunade said. "Mind you, having something sizeable to work with will speed up the process, but even a few cells will do. So a few drops of blood, maybe a piece of skin, that kind of thing… Maybe both for good measure."

"Sounds like a plan if you ask me," Neideen said. Giving only that much to the cause was child's play for one of her kind, even if she was an offensive type. Besides, helping Naruto revive Teresa was a good place to start if she wanted to get him to like her… granted, so was the blowjob she gave his clone, but a little redundancy wouldn't hurt.

"Are you able to do it now?" Naruto asked the former Hokage.

Tsunade scoffed. "Of course, I am a doctor." she reminded him. "I always keep a vial or two on me to craft antidotes and poisons. I can use one of them to draw blood and the other to get a skin sample." Naruto was happy to hear that, as was Teresa herself; then Tsunade looked to Neideen and asked, "If that is okay with you of course?"

"Will I need to strip down?" the one-eyed woman asked with a thoughtful look.

"Since I'm not an expert on how you women are created, I'll guess, with no?" Tsunade replied, "All you should need to do is roll up your sleeve, so I can take a little bit of blood. That way I will be able to find out what has Teresa's cells and what doesn't."

"Most of Teresa's flesh was implanted in the abdominal region," Miranda pointed out. "So if you want her flesh, Neideen will have to be topless."

"Which means I can't close her stigma, yet." Naruto sighed. "I'll help out with that when we're done here since that sounds like something we should relocate to the clinic for."

Neideen shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright. We are just about done here, aren't we? I mean, we are changing sides now, right? So what else is there to talk about?"

"Admittedly, not much." Naruto replied, "There are awakened beings living here, but as I mentioned before: they aren't eating any innocent people; they haven't been for the past year… some for longer. It depends on how long they've been with me. So long as you leave them alone, they should return the favour."

"I wish to know more about you, in particular," Raftela stated. "Would you be so kind as to leave a clone for me to speak with?"

"I don't see any harm in that," he replied. Then Naruto looked to the rest, "I suppose you women would all want to be healed of your stigmas as well?"

Several of them perked up at that.

"I certainly wouldn't mind," Uranus replied.

"Same here," Elizabeth chimed in.

"Naruto needs to see what he's healing," Teresa told them with an amused smile. "In other words, you have to be naked."

A few of them blushed at that, but most didn't seem to mind too much. Miranda was still out cold, so it was hard to tell in her case. Naruto let out a chuckle as he pecked Miria several times on the scalp. "Well, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing what they look like naked. They're all gorgeous women after all~."

Neideen giggled at that. "Flatterer~!"

Several women blushed or giggled in response as well, enjoying the complement to varying degrees, though others seemed unimpressed or unamused by it. Miria being one of the latter, and show showed what she thought of his words… by whacking him across the head with a twitching eye. Compared to the hits he was used to taking, that felt more like an irritated poke. Nevertheless, Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Okay, I deserve that." He then hugged her close, pacifying her immediately as he nipped and suckled at her neck, marking her as his with a nice, fat hickey.

Miria mewled pathetically, her knees trembling at the sensation. "S-stop that you cheater!" thank the Twins above that she was sitting down on her hubby's lap, else she would be on the floor right about now.

Naruto chuckled, kissing her on the cheek. "But you love it when I shower you with attention, babe~! Why would I stop giving you attention?"

The former Number 6 mewled once more, now trembling pleasurably in his grasp. "I'm trying to be mad at you for hitting on them like I'm supposed to, damn it!" She gasped and shuddered as one of Naruto's hands slipped in between her legs. She spread them open reflexively, giving her man access to her already-dripping cunt. Thank the Twins no one could see what he was doing under the table! Naruto was aware that they were being watched, but couldn't find it in himself to give a damn. Miria needed his attention damnit! "I don't like it when you're mad at me though," he kissed her several times along the neck and jaw, before adding, "it makes me afraid you'll leave me. Though the angry sex makes up for it, no?" He chuckled again when Miria elbowed him in the ribs.

"You will give me another kid before allowing any of them in," she told him. Miria paused to think about it for a moment. "...unless Hilda wants in, but I don't know how likely that is, given her personality."

Said friend was red as a beetroot at the moment. That was very unlikely… yup! Extremely so! He'd be more likely to survive getting half his head lopped off!

"I'm pretty sure she'd try to take my head off if I tried," Naruto said with a chuckle. "And besides, I don't go for anyone that has no interest in me. Even if I'm interested in them."

"Noted…" Neideen chirped.

"...and you're giving me two kids before I allow that one anywhere near you!"