Chapter 21 - ch 20 - when the going gets tough

Rizevim stood on a large cliff overlooking a vast forest. He didn't particularly like the peaceful air about this place, but this was where he'd agreed to meet with the others. Standing beside him were two of his cohorts, Katerea and Euclid, a young-looking man with braided silver hair and a calm demeanor. Neither appeared all that worried, though Katerea seemed impatient.

Several other figures stood with him. Their forms were cloaked in darkness, hoods covering their faces. He didn't know any of their names, but he didn't really need to know. They were humans, members of the magician faction of their happy little family. The only one he even knew personally was the one in charge, who stood at the forefront of the ten magicians.

"It has been a long time since the battle began," Euclid stated calmly. "Are you sure they haven't been killed?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sure." Rizevim smiled. "How is Shalba doing?"

"He's bedridden and swearing," Katerea informed him. "He's also been howling in pain."

"Well, he is the one who decided to go into battle without wearing our new armor," Rizevim said. "That's what happens when you let your ego get the best of you."

At that moment, someone appeared within a teleportation circle. He knelt on the ground, holding the stump where his left arm should have been. Blood leaked from his mouth, and he was breathing quite heavily. His face had broken out into a sweat.

"You see that?" Rizevim gestured to the man. "Siegfried has arrived. Hm, though you're a little injured than I expected you to be. Did your fight against Naruto Uzumaki not go as planned?"

"I didn't fight Naruto," Siegfried rasped.

"Oh? Do Tell?"

Several of the mages strode forward carrying boxes, which they set down next to Siegfried, who looked like he was going to pass out. They opened the boxes and pulled out a number of syringes, injecting them into Siegfried, who grunted. Then they waved their staffs at him, encasing the silver-haired man in a sphere of green energy.

"I fought against the people that Naruto brought with him," Siegfried explained. "A holy sword user, a member of the Phenex clan, a nekousho, and Rias Gremory."

"So I see. Yes, your wounds make a lot of sense. Unlike the soft-hearted Naruto, those girls don't play around. I suppose it is a very good thing you were wearing that new experimental armor of ours." At that moment, what almost appeared to be dead skin flaked off Seigfried's forehead. It wasn't skin, though, not human skin at least. It was too scaley to be that. "Although it appears that your armor was overloaded."

Siegfried grunted in reply, causing Rizevim to smile.

"Don't worry about your arm. These magicians are really good at making those. We can have a new one grafted on you in no time."

Siegfried said nothing. While the magicians worked on stopping the bleeding and implanting a fake arm until they could remake his old one, three more teleportation circles appeared, along with three more figures.

"GRRAAAA!"

Heracles' howls pierced the air. The man lay on his back, his flesh peeling off, the muscles in his chest deteriorating. His ribcage was visible, white bone covered in crimson ichor. It looked like someone had taken a drill to his chest.

"Could somebody please silence this man?" Katerea scowled. "His obnoxious wailing is grating on my nerves."

A mage waved his staff and Heracles became muted.

"That's better." Katerea sniffed derisively at Heracles who, even silenced, continued to scream. "Honestly, what a pathetic man."

"What did I tell you?" Rizevim said. "I told you they would come back alive, didn't I? So how was it-battling against Naruto, I mean? I was right, wasn't I? Tell me I was right."

Cao Cao gritted his teeth. He held a hand to his chest where Naruto's rasengan had hit him. Sitting on it was a horrendous wound. Blood oozed from the spiral markings engraved on his chest. The flesh there had literally been shredded. Fleshy muscles were visible beneath the torn skin. He was better off than Heracles, but not by much.

"You were right," Cao Cao said the words like admitting that Rizevim was right was slowlykilling him. "Naruto could have killed us, but he didn't."

Rizevim excitedly clapped his hands together. "I knew it. He's just like Sirzechs; too soft for his own good. He won't kill someone if he doesn't have to. He's weak, and that very weakness will be his undoing."

"You call this soft?" Jeanne gestured to her chest, where a bright red spiral mark marred her once perfect skin.

"Yes," Rizevim said plainly. "The mere fact that you are alive after being hit by that technique is a miracle. I doubt you would know this, since you haven't bothered to study up on the current underworld events, but that technique is one of Naruto Uzumaki's signature moves. From what I have gathered, it is a technique that uses multiple rotations to grind away at an opponent's body. You can see the results from poor Heracles over here. Unlike you, he received the full brunt of the rasengan's power. Were it not for the Magician Factions 'Dragon Powder Armor' that you three are wearing, I guarantee that he, at least, would be dead."

Jeanne looked at Heracles. He was no longer thrashing around, having been sedated. His prone body was being worked on by magicians. They waved their staffs over his wounds, green light emitting from them. Flesh and bones slowly mended in a sickening display, which caused Jeanne to wrinkle her nose in disgust.

"Point taken."

"Still, I think this was an excellent first test." Rizevim declared, nodding several times in satisfaction. "This armor is still in the testing stage, so the fact that it can withstand even a weakened rasengan is good news. Now we'll be able to improve on it before our next engagement, and since Naruto is too weak and soft-hearted to outright kill someone, it means we can keep attacking over and over again."

Rizevim was definitely feeling pleased. Everything that he'd been told about Naruto was ringing true. His benefactor had really come through for him.

The magicians finished healing Cao Cao and Jeanne, and Heracles was soon placed on a floating stretcher. Rizevim decided that it was time for them to leave this dreary place. There were things that needed to be done, like getting the magician faction to finish working on his latest project.

"All right, everyone!" he said, his tone amiable, if slightly mocking. "It's time for us to head off. There's much to do, so let's go."

Whistling a chipper tune, Rizevim created a portal around them, transporting the group back to their based.

Today, he decided, had been a good day.

~Devil Ninja~

Azazel frowned as the feeling of immense power cascaded over him and everyone else like an avalanche. There was no mistaking that indescribably disgusting power. Only a dragon could have so much power, and only a dragon would flaunt it so readily.

Deep laughter like the rumbling of the earth echoed across a vast distance. He could see the dragon dozens of meters away. What had once been a decimated corpse now looked brand new and even more powerful than ever before.

"Lord Azazel," Shamzhazai, his second in command, swooped down and landed by his side. "Should we aid the devils in disposing of this dragon?"

Azazel pondered doing just that. It would be a good way to build trust between their races. On the other hand, too many people fighting the same enemy could easily become a disaster, especially when those people haven't worked together before.

"It would be difficult for any but our strongest fighters to stand a chance against that thing," Azazel said at last. "Baraqiel should already be heading over there anyway. Besides, I need most of you here with me. There's still pockets of resistance from the Khaos Brigade. We need to dispose of them before they cause anymore problems."

"I understand, Govern General."

"If you want, I could lend a hand."

Azazel's eyes brightened as another figure descended for the ground. Clad in white armor, he stood, wings burning a bright blue spreading from his back, emitting powerful light. A helmet sat on his head, reptilian in nature and bearing a fierce demeanor. Light blue eyes shaped like diamonds glowed from within the faceplate. Behind him, a segmented tail writhed as if alive.

"Vali," Azazel grinned at the boy. "You're pretty late to the party. What happened?"

"I apologize for being so late. I was… delayed."

Azazel's eyes narrowed.

"The Khaos Brigade?"

Vali nodded.

"I see. It seems those rascals are causing problems everywhere. All right." Azazel grinned. "Since you're here, it means we can help those kids with that dragon. I want you to go over there and lend your support."

"You've got it."

Wings flared like luminescent suns as Vali shot into the air and took off, his destination the dragon, and the people who were fighting it. Azazel watched the young man go, his face etching into a frown as a short sense of foreboding overcame him.

"Governor General?" Shamzhahai asked.

"It's nothing." Azazel turned from the sight. "Let's back up our men at the front."

"Yes, Governor General!"

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto was the first to go on the attack.

Everyone else hung back while he charged the dragon like a ballistic missile. Aži Dahāka laughed, as if amused by his antics, and tried crushing him with a paw. Naruto dodged-or rather, he thought he'd dodged. A powerful forced slammed into him, shocking Naruto as he was sent rocketing backwards, tumbling across the ground like a ragdoll thrown by an angry child.

"Naruto!" Rias shouted in concern.

"I'm fine! Stick to the plan!"

Naruto turned his roll into a skid, feet sliding along the ground, digging a trench through grass and mud alike. He bent his knees and, timing himself to a second before his body stopped skidding, launched himself into an all-out sprint.

Two clones appeared alongside him as he barreled for the dragon, one on either side. He held out his hands, which already had two spinning orbs situated within his palms. The clones added their own chakra to the mix, expanding the amount used. The rasengans went from being the size of his palm to the size of his head, then to the size of his entire body. Leaping into the air, Naruto soared high over the heads of Aži Dahāka and came crashing down.

"Tsuin Rasengan!"

The two orbs slammed into the dragon's head-and then fizzled out.

"What?!"

Naruto had just a moment to realize his predicament before the head tried to swallow him whole.

"Dragon Shot!"

A massive beam of energy slammed into the head, knocking it off course. Naruto landed safely on the ground and sent Issei a thumbs up.

"Nice save!"

"You owe me for that!"

"Heh… saves me one time and he's already getting cocky."

A magic circle appeared underneath his feet. Leaping to the side, Naruto avoided becoming a shish kabob without a stick. A giant pillar of fire leapt from the circle. The fire then changed, twisting, warping. It was no longer a pillar, but instead a massive dragon, its fiery yellow body contrasting starkly with its vicious blue eyes.

Naruto snarled as the dragon flew at him. He channeled chakra to his hand, wincing as something similar to acid was pumped through his body, and then punched the dragon right in the face. The fire dragon exploded around him. Snatching his hand back as it was burned, Naruto leapt away as a clawed hand came crashing down.

"Ise!" Rias shouted. "Back Naruto up!"

"Right!" Issei grinned and slammed his fists together. "Time to fight!"

"I don't think so," a voice said, seconds before a speeding white bullet slammed into Issei like a freight train.

"Ise!"

"Ise-san!"

"Ise-kun!"

The white bullet shot into the air, taking Issei with it, disappearing from sight. Before Rias or the others could even think of going off to rescue their friend, four more people appeared. The first, a beautiful woman with yellow eyes and messy raven hair. Next to her, two people who could've been siblings, their matching blond hair and blue eyes giving them away. In front, standing with an easy-going yet confident posture, a man wearing Chinese armor and carrying a bo-staff grinned at them.

The raven-haired woman's eyes scanned the crowd before locking onto Koneko.

"Shirone-chan," she purred, "it's so nice to see you again. Did you miss me?"

Koneko stiffened with fear, but she still managed to glare at the woman.

"Kuroka… onee-sama."

"So, you do remember me." Kuroka looked positively delighted. "I've come to take you back with me."

Rias was about to stand protectively in front of Koneko, when the white-haired girl stepped forward.

"Koneko…?"

"I'm not going back with you," Koneko declared.

Kuroka grinned.

"You say that like I'm giving you a choice."

As if in response to her words, Koneko's neko ears twitched several times, and white senjutsu chakra engulfed her hands.

"If you want me to come with you, then you'll have to take me by force," Koneko declared.

"And you'll have to get through me as well!" Ravel declared, moving to stand by Koneko's side.

"Cacciatore…"

"D-don't look at me like that." Ravel blushed. "There's no way I'd let this woman take you-and stop calling me that!"

"Tch!" Kuroka's face became truly hideous. "If that's how it's going to be, then I'll simply kill you both!"

Kuroka charged at the two girls. Rias, Xenovia, Irina, Kiba, and Akeno all made to defend them, but the other three people attacked before they could move, keeping them from reaching the pair.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Bikou's golden staff extended to incredible lengths. Rias and the others were forced to dodge, especially when the ground shattered upon the staff striking it. Bikou charged after Rias and Akeno, launching senjutsu projectiles to keep the pair occupied. Le Fey created a barrier around Arthur and his three opponents, the other sword users, Kiba and Xenovia and Irina, while at the same time providing covering fire in the form of a multitude of spells.

The lines had been drawn. The second half of the battle had begun.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto fell from the sky. Below him stood Aži Dahāka, whose massive reptilian form created a stark contrast with the ground.

Several dozen magic circles appeared. A combination of lightning and fire leapt from those circles, all of them converging on Naruto's location.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Acid dripped in Naruto's veins as one-hundred-and-two clones were summoned from thin air. Half the chakra constructs grabbed the other half and threw them at the spells-human meat shielding at its finest. The dozens of spells exploded as they met the clones, which cleared a path for the original Naruto.

A bell-like shriek filled the air. Naruto held a hand above his head, two clones adding their chakra and helping shape it. Wind swirled around the small sphere in the center like a cyclone. The sphere grew more and more massive, and with it, so too did the shuriken-shaped wind blades, from which the jutsu derived its name.

"Kurama, I could use some more Senjutsu chakra."

"Can't," Kurama grunted.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I've got bigger things to worry about right now, brat."

"Like wha-urk!"

"Like keeping your ass alive, that's what!"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he finally felt it, what he'd been ignoring all along. Pain. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. So intense he couldn't describe it, so powerful that no amount of metaphors would do it justice, it felt like his very existence was being ripped from this reality. He didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't let this pain stop him.

"Oodoma Rasenshuriken!"

Putting everything he had into this single attack, Naruto ignored the pain and threw the rasenshuriken, using minute chakra control to keep a line attached to the jutsu, so that he could control it even from a distance. It hurt. Using chakra like this hurt. Using chakra at all hurt, but he wasn't about to let something like that stop him. He shoved the feeling of fiery needles piercing his chest aside, and focused everything he had into this single attack.

A magic circle appeared in above Aži Dahāka. The rasenshuriken slammed into it, then broke straight through it without pause. Another magic circle followed the first, then another, and another and another. With each magic circle that the rasenshuriken destroyed, the jutsu he'd launched became smaller and smaller, until it was barely the size of his fist. The miniature rasenhursiken struck the left-most of Aži Dahāka's heads, shredding it to pieces. However, the head quickly regenerated.

Struck by a pain so intense he could scarcely comprehend his surroundings, Naruto was unable to do anything as a tail struck him across the back.

Earth was upturned as he struck the ground, creating a massive crater. He blinked several times and soon realized that his face was halfway buried in the earth. Rolling onto his back, Naruto looked up at the sky.

"Kurama…"

"Shut up. I can't concentrate if you keep talking to me."

"What do you…?"

"I SAID SHUT UP! DO YOU WANT TO DIE, NARUTO!"

Naruto grimaced. Something was wrong. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. He didn't know what, but he could tell, his body could tell, his whole being could tell.

Slowly clambering to his feet, Naruto was quickly forced to a knee as he vomited blood. He wiped it away-or he tried to. When more blood leaked from his mouth, he realized that it was pointless and stopped trying.

Just then, a loud, rumbling laugh, like thunder striking the ground, echoed all around him. Naruto looked up. There, towering over him, looking down at him with a hungry leer, was Aži Dahāka.

Fuck me sideways.

~Devil Ninja~

Issei struggled against the white-clad figure, yet all he could do was grunt as the person clad in draconic armor slowly crushed him.

"Is this all the Red Dragon Emperor has?" the figure asked. "To think, someone as weak as you is supposed to be my rival. It's almost laughable."

A growl emerged from Issei's throat. Rearing his head back, he slammed it into the armored warrior's head.

"OWCH!"

Issei yelped as pain speared through his noggin. Maybe slamming his head into someone wearing a helmet wasn't such a good idea. At least it got the other guy to let go.

Extending his wings, Issei hovered several meters from the figure clad in white armor.

"Who the hell are you?!" Issei demanded.

"I'm sorry. I completely forgot about introductions. My name is Vali Lucifer, and I am the White Dragon Emperor."

Shock jolted through Issei like a powerful electric current. He couldn't believe it. This man was related to that douchenozzle who interrupted the meeting, and he was the holder of the Divine Dividing?! What the fuck?!

"That's not cool, man! How the hell does that even work?! I thought only humans could be Sacred Gear holders!"

"You don't know anything, do you?" Vali asked rhetorically. "While devils cannot become Sacred Gear holders, anyone with human blood in them can. I'm a half-devil, born between a human woman and a devil."

"Oh." Issei scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I guess that makes sense."

"Albion," a deep voice said from his gauntlet.

"Woah! It talked!"

"It's been a long time, Ddraig. When was the last time that you and I fought?" Vali's gauntlet replied.

"It must have been several hundred years at least. The last time we had a host, yours died before we could fight."

"And as I recall, the one you had before that died before we could fight. It seems we have finally gotten a chance to renew our ages long battle."

"Indeed."

"Look, not to interrupt your conversation or anything, but could you two, like, not talk while the two of us are about to fight? It's really distracting."

"Sorry, partner. I just wanted to say hi."

"It's cool. Now," Issei pounded his fists together, "I have a score to settle with the giant lizard over there and some friends to protect." He pointed at Vali. "You're in my way, so it looks like I'm gonna have to move you!"

"You're welcome to try," Vali said, his visor's eyes glowing a bright blue.

No more words were spoken as the two charged forward.

~Devil Ninja~

"Haaa!"

Koneko, her fist glowing with concentrated Senjutsu chakra, bore down on Kuroka like a rampaging bull. The ground shattered when Kuroka vanished and she struck the earth instead. Large ruptures appeared as the area she stood on cratered, the earth splitting apart like a localized earthquake.

Kuroka appeared several feet away from Koneko.

"Nya, it seems you've learned how to use Senjutsu, Shirone. Very impressive. However…" Kuroka's lips twisted into a mocking smile, "that's not going to be enough to defeat-"

Kuroka was engulfed in fire before she could complete her sentence. Floating several feet away, Ravel pointed her hand at the woman, bright white flames rushing from her palm. The flames formed a massive beam that completely consumed Kuroka in a fiery conflagration-or so Ravel thought.

"My, my, that wasn't very nice, nya," a voice said behind her.

Ravel's eyes widened as she spun around. Kuroka grinned as she sent several Senjutsu spheres at the Phenex heiress, yet moments before they could hit, Koneko jumped in front of them. Using her cat-like reflexes and rook strength, she swatted aside each and every sphere, protecting Ravel from receiving any damage.

"K-Koneko…"

"Are you alright?"

"O-of course I am! Who do you think you're talking to?!"

"I'm glad to hear that, because Kuroka-onee-sama is moving onto the attack."

"What?!"

Sixteen Kuroka's appeared, like mirages forming from a thick mist, and all of them charged the two youngsters. Koneko knew this technique. She'd been trying to recreate it with Naruto's help, but she had yet to find any success. She just lacked the talent in youjutsu that her older sister had.

"All of these are fakes," Koneko explained to Ravel. "They're not real."

Ravel nodded in understanding. "Are they similar to Naruto-sama's Shadow Clones?"

"Not really. Those are physical copies. These are just illusions."

"Could the real one be hidden amongst them?"

"It's possible."

"In that case, let's smoke her out!"

"Right!"

Ravel leapt into the air while Koneko bent over until she stood on her hands and feet. Her ears twitched and her tail writhed. Lips peeled back to reveal sharp canines as she unleashed a very cat-like hiss. Her amber eyes flickered. She could feel the Senjutsu chakra pouring into her. It was a dark, malignant presence, a pressure that pushed down on her conscience. But she bore with it, ignoring the darkness and focusing only on what she knew were her own feelings. Just like Naruto, she would not be defeated by the world's evil.

The Kurokas closed the distance. They all attacked Koneko in unison, but none of them were able to find their mark. In that moment, Koneko blurred into action.

While Knights had speed and rooks possessed strength, Koneko had learned to supplement her lack of speed by using Senjutsu to sense the presence of others around her and interpret their attacks. It was almost like foresight, except not quite. She couldn't see the future, but she could use the minute changes in a person's ki to predict how they would attack.

All of the Kurokas around her were illusions. They lacked the necessary ki to make a complete being, so Koneko ignored them. The illusory figures past through her one after another. One. Two. Three. Four-

"G-gu!"

Koneko winced as a ball of compressed Senjutsu chakra slammed into her gut. She skid along the ground, coming to a stop several meters away. A wince escaped her as she held a hand to her stomach. Steam wafted from it, and she could feel where her skin had been burnt by the foreign chakra.

"You tried to sense where I was using Senjutsu, weren't you?" Kuroka crossed her arms. "You should have realized that wouldn't work on me. Not only am I a senjutsu user, too, but I'm also far better at using it than you. You'll need to try harder than that, Shirone."

"Don't call me that," Koneko said through gritted teeth.

"Why shouldn't I? That's your name, isn't it? Shirone. Shirone, Shirone, Shirone."

"Stop it!"

Koneko sent several Senjutsu spheres at her older sister, but they were all knocked away with ease. Kuroka laughed at her.

"You really are inexperienced at this, aren't you? Poor, Shirone. I know! Why don't you come back with me?" Yellow eyes lit up and a delightful smile appeared Kuroka's face. "If you come with me, I'll teach you everything that you need to know about Senjutsu."

"I'm learning just fine without you!"

Koneko threw several more spheres, though it was all for naught, as each one was either knocked aside or outright destroyed by Kuroka, who used her superior senjutsu abilities to negate them. The older Nekousho's fists blurred, each strike smacking a sphere, dispersing it into elementary particles.

"You're such a stubborn child, nya. Why won't you just come to your senses and come home with me?"

"Because Koneko already has a home!"

Ravel floated in the sky. With her arms spread wide and pinions of flame bursting from her back, she created several dozen birds of fire, swallows. Each one flapped its wings, creating fiery after images.

With a combined war cry, they swooped down and tried to batter Kuroka. Instead, they were blown back when the nekousho made several symbols in the air, and a massive burst of wind gushed from nowhere, slamming into the birds and knocking them off course. Each bird dispersed harmlessly several meters out.

"You shouldn't speak out of turn, little girl," a voice hissed behind Ravel.

Koneko's eyes widened when she saw her sister hovering behind her friend. "Ravel! Move!"

Ravel tried to respond, to move just as Koneko advised, but before she could, her body was engulfed in purple mist.

"W-what is…"

Ravel hacked and coughed. Her once brilliant wings flared to inexistence, dispersing as if they'd been doused with water. With her wings no longer there, she fell to the ground, and she would have broke her neck had Koneko not caught her before it could happen. She cradled Ravel to her chest, listening as the blond girl whimpered and coughed. Gritting her teeth, she glared at Kuroka.

"What did you do to Ravel?" Koneko demanded as her sister landed lightly on the ground.

"Oh, I just gave her a little present, nya." Kuroka's mysterious smile bothered Koneko-no, it upset her. How could she smile after what she had just done? "That poison mist of mine is quite powerful, and Ravel is still an immature Phenex. She won't be able to regenerate from that sort of damage for a while."

Kuroka's smile widened.

"Which means it's just you and me, Shirone, so why don't you show me what you can do, nya?"

Koneko looked down at her friend. She and Ravel had spent so much time together since the Phenex heiress had arrived. They'd done almost everything together: They ate breakfast together, they bathed together, and they had even started sleeping together in the same room. Ravel was her best friend.

And Kuroka had just hurt her.

Gently setting Ravel on the ground, Koneko brushed a few blond strands of hair from the her friend's face. She stood back up, her fists clenched and her golden amber eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to kick your ass, Kuroka-onee-sama."

"Eh?" Kuroka actually blinked. "That was a rather vulgar thing to say, nya. I think you've been spending too much time around Narutoecchi."

Koneko didn't say anything. Words were no longer necessary. With her lips peeled back in a snarl, Koneko charged at her sister, intent on paying the woman back for what she'd done to her friend.

~Devil Ninja~

Rias and Akeno were in a bind.

"Take this!"

The Powers of Destruction burst from Rias's hand like crimson hell fire. It struck Bikou in the chest, who laughed as he shrugged the attack off like it was nothing.

"Kekeke, you'll have to do better than that, Boobzilla!"

Rias gritted her teeth. This man's abrasive personality really annoyed her. He was even worse than Naruto, who at least had the decency to be polite. This monkey wouldn't know what polite meant if it smacked him in the face.

Unfortunately, much as she would have loved to wipe that stupid look off his face, Rias and Akeno were facing a problem they'd been experiencing a lot these days. Someone stronger than them. This monkey, though she was loathe to admit it, appeared to be stronger than both her and Akeno combined. Nothing she and her friend threw at him worked. The Powers of Destruction splashed off his armor like water. Even Akeno's lightning attacks were dispersed before they could reach him.

"Then why don't you try this on for size!" Akeno shouted as lightning lanced from her fingertips.

Bikou grinned as he spun his bo-staff around in front of him, which moved so quickly it blurred until it looked like a solid circle. Lightning struck the makeshift shield, glancing off it and plowing into the ground beside him. Bikou then slammed the butt of his staff into the ground. The staff extended quickly, shooting up to smack Akeno in the stomach before she could retaliate. It continued growing longer and longer, taking the fallen angel-devil hybrid with it.

"Akeno!" Rias shouted before glaring at their enemy. "Don't think I'm going to let you get away with this!"

Power of Destruction coalesced as Rias channeled her considerable power into the palm of her left hand, then fired it off in a baseball-sized sphere. Bikou saw the sphere and grinned. His bo-staff retracted back to its original length, and he thrust it at the sphere, striking it dead center. The tiny ball of destructive energy exploded, engulfing everything within a five meter radius. When the blast cleared, a massive crater had formed. Only a single section, which jutted out of the ground like a pillar, remained, and standing on top of that pillar was an unharmed Bikou.

"Kekeke, that wasn't bad. Not bad at all. You've got some power to ya, Red," Bikou complimented with a cheerfully mocking cackle. "But, you've still got a long ways to go before you can be a match for me! Now prepare yourself! Kino'un!"

A golden cloud flew suddenly flew in from behind Bikou, who leapt into the air and landed on it. Once he was secure, the cloud shot toward Rias like a bullet.

Gritting her teeth, Rias gathered the power of destruction into her hands. If it was a battle this man wanted, then it was a battle he would get.

"AKENO!"

A loud voice shouted from across the battlefield.

Rias looked up to see a figure flying toward them on ten black wings.

She sighed.

This battle has just gotten a lot more complicated.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto felt like a freight train had slammed into him. The giant clawed hand swatted him away like he was a fly. The air left him and a sharp pain filled his chest. Several ribs had just snapped. He could feel them like poison-laced daggers piercing his chest. When he hit the ground, that pain was magnified considerably, to the point where he couldn't even see the world spinning around him. He came to a stop several meters away, his back protesting as he crashed into a tree.

The battle had not been going well for him. Ever since his body had become wracked with pain, he'd been unable to use even the simplest of jutsu. Hell, he could barely even move! Kurama had also cut their connection, so he couldn't talk to his furry friend to find out what was wrong with him.

Naruto climbed to his feet, wincing several times as agony flared in his body. It wasn't pain aimed at any specific spot, but everywhere, all over. Chakra. It was his own chakra burning through his chakra coils. Already several of his tenketsu points had burst with violent red chakra. It had been agonizing at first, but the pain was beginning to dull. His body was growing numb. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

Damn it. What the hell is wrong with me?

Chuckling reached his ears. Aži Dahāka's earth-rumbling footsteps nearly knocked him back down. The massive reptile lumbered over to him, jagged teeth grinning down at Naruto, who knew he must have looked pathetic.

"You're not looking too good," Aži Dahāka said, chuckling. "You were talking such a big game before, yet now look at you, groveling on the ground, barely able to stand up, like some pathetic worm. And here I thought you'd give me a challenge."

Naruto didn't answer. He knew that anything he said would be used against him. Instead of responding to the dragon, he turned his attention inward.

"Kurama! Damn it, Kurama! Talk me! What the hell is going on?!"

However, Kurama didn't respond. Naruto didn't receive a single word in response to his question. He was left with silence.

"Nothing to say?" Aži Dahāka asked. "That's fine. I suppose the weak have no right to talk anyway. In which case, I believe it's time I ended this, and you, in a single blow."

Naruto grimaced as Aži Dahāka raised another massively clawed hand. He didn't know why his chakra wasn't working, but the whys didn't really matter right now. The fact remained, his chakra was burning his body from the inside out, and Naruto couldn't use any of his jutsu anymore until this issue was resolved-whatever the problem was. Unfortunately, it looked like he was out of time.

Damn, how do I get out of this mess?

The claw came down-

-and was stopped by a body interposing itself between Naruto and the clawed hand.

His armor was dented. Deformed steel adorned a frame that appeared battered but still breathing. The helmet that had once been situated on his head was gone, having shattered some time ago. Metatron. He stood between Naruto and the dragon, Aži Dahāka, his long silver hair hanging about his frame, and his green eyes locked onto Naruto.

"You…" a strained word. Metatron grunted as the dragon roared and tried to crush him beneath his hand. "T-that technique you used… that was the Shadow Clone Jutsu… was it not?"

Naruto blinked. What an odd question to be asking someone when they were both nearing death.

"Um, yes?"

Metatron nodded.

"I thought so-WOOOOOOOOAAAHHH!"

With impressive strength, Metatron threw the clawed hand off him, then rushed over to Naruto. Aži Dahāka growled, annoyed, and tried to crush them both, but Metatron's sword materialized in his hand, and he used it to hack away at the claw. Aži Dahāka reared back in surprise as gashes opened up in his palm, then steam rose from the surface, as if the blood inside of his veins was being boiled.

"What is this?!"

"Can you stand, Ninja-sama?"

"Uh, yeah…" Naruto clambered to his feet, wincing. He felt a little better-well, he felt numb. That probably wasn't a good thing. "I can stand-wait. Ninja-sama?"

"I am pleased to hear that. We'll need to work together if we want to defeat this dragon."

Naruto stared at Metatron as if the man had sprouted wings-oh, wait. He had sprouted wings. He was angel.

"Um, weren't you against working with devils?"

"I was," Metatron admitted. "I still am. However, for you, I shall make an exception."

Naruto didn't really get it, but he figured this meant he had a new ally.

"I'm glad to hear that. I could use the help."

"Very well, then. You and I shall work together. Now, please produce those magnificent clones of yours, Ninja-sama. I have a plan, but the clones are necessary."

Naruto was very disturbed by the gleam in Metatron's eyes as the man spoke of his Shadow Clones. However, even if Naruto were inclined to produce them, there was a slight problem.

"Um, I can't use those right now?"

"… I'm sorry, what?"

"Yeah." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "My chakra is acting all funny and stuff. I can't use my jutsu for some reason. That's why I've been doing so poorly against this dragon."

Metatron was silent for a long moment. Then…

"Well, I think we might be screwed."

"I think you're right," Naruto agreed as Aži Dahāka roared and tried to crush them beneath its palm.

~Devil Ninja~

Issei felt his back squeal in protest as he was slammed into the ground. It felt like his spine had splintered into a thousand tiny fragments. His vision went white, then black, and then it came into blurry focus.

A figure hovered above him. Clad in white, his helmet gone, Vali Lucifer's pale face was twisted into a displeased frown. He looked disappointed, incredibly so.

"Is this the strength of the Sekiryuutei? Surely my rival isn't so weak."

Issei would have snapped at the other man about how he'd like to see him face a dragon, then fight a Sacred Gear user, but he felt like he'd swallowed his tongue. He also couldn't breathe very well, so speaking was difficult.

"Hmph. This is pathetic. I came all this way because I'd heard that my rival was strong. Now I see that all those rumors I'd heard were false." Vali smirked down at Issei, who glared up at him. "I wonder… do you think you'll become stronger if I give you a reason to fight? If you're anything like that soft-hearted fool, Naruto, then I'm sure the death of a loved one will make you take me more seriously."

Issei would've questioned how this guy knew Naruto-sensei, but then he heard the rest of Vali's words and realized what he intended to do.

Asia stood several dozen meters away, hidden behind one of the few remaining walls. Her eyes locked with Issei's while Vali raised a hand, a bright white orb forming in front of it.

"Say goodbye to your friend," Vali said, grinning.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!"

"OOF!"

With strength that Issei didn't know he had, he launched himself into the air and rammed into Vali headfirst. The Hakuryuukou gasped as all the air was driven from his lungs. Issei gritted his teeth as he felt his neck creek. It hurt, but he wasn't about to let someone he cared about get hurt.

"BOOST! OVERBOOSTER!"

As Issei once more transformed into the Welsh Dragon Armor, Vali gave a bloody grin.

"Now this is more like it! Let's keep fighting!"

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto was feeling a little better. Sure, everything still hurt. It felt like his skin had been peeled off and his body dumped into a vat of acid. Still, that was better than being numb, which could never mean anything good.

He and Metatron wove through stomping claws and numerous spells. Metatron wielded his sword with incredible expertise and precision. He was also surprisingly apt at dodging, and Naruto could've sworn he'd seen the angel use the replacement technique at least once, though he was sure that he must have been seeing things. An angel using ninja techniques? Preposterous!

His ability to use chakra had returned, too, which was good because it meant he wasn't helpless anymore. He couldn't do much with it yet, as performing jutsu still hurt beyond all reasonable comprehension, but smaller techniques only did minimal damage. Kurama still hadn't spoken with him since cutting their connection.

"You worms are awfully good at dodging!" Aži Dahāka roared, and suddenly, the ground and sky lit up with hundreds of magic circles, which surrounded Naruto and Metatron. Glowing bright red, crackling with vicious energy, each circle looked ready to unleash devastation upon them.

"Well," Naruto started, "this isn't good."

"Indeed, Ninja-sama," Metatron agreed. "This is quite bad."

Naruto looked at the angel oddly seconds before the area they stood on exploded.

"Hmm. It looks like I missed."

Naruto and Metatron hovered in the air, having used the replacement technique to switch themselves out with a log.

"So, you can use ninjutsu!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Of course I can, Ninja-sama. I have been studying up on ninja techniques for many years now." Metatron's chest swelled with pride. "Although I have never had the chance to use the few techniques I know in combat. I'm pleased to see they work."

"How many techniques do you know?"

"Only three."

"Let me guess; replacement, transformation, clone."

Metatron nodded. "Those are the ones."

"Stop talking and start fighting!"

Apparently impatient for the battle to renew, Aži Dahāka spewed searing hot flames from all three of his mouths. The trio of simultaneous fire attacks combined into a single, massive tornado of destructive energy that threatened to wash over Naruto and Metatron. However, neither of them had any intention of taking such an attack head on and quickly replaced themselves with another pair of logs.

"Naruto," a voice said in his head.

"Kurama! Where the hell have you been?"

"Me? I've just been dealing with your fuck up."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're an idiot! Did you honestly think you could just take the Longinus spear to the chest and come out unscathed?! What kind of moron lets himself get stabbed anyway?!"

"I was trying to make a point…"

A massive claw tried to smash Naruto into the ground. He leapt back. The ground where he'd been standing on exploded with dust and debris, as the very earth seemed to shake.

"And what point was that? How to be stupid?"

"No. I wanted him to know that it didn't matter what he did. That I was too strong for him to beat. That I was more powerful than him-"

"HAS YOUR HUBRIS GROWN SINCE LAST WE SPOKE?!" Kurama roared. "You might be more powerful than that human, but that spear would've killed you if not for me! It very nearly did kill you!"

"You mean…?"

"That pain you've been feeling is due to your body trying to rip itself apart. Your very existence was threatened, Naruto. Had I not been in here healing you, you would have been destroyed."

Three massive beams of localized fire shot from Aži Dahāka's three mouths. Naruto sent wind chakra to his feet, launching himself quickly into the air. Fire burned and earth was boiled, turning red hot and becoming liquid like magma. Steam rose from the ground in massive quantities, clogging the air and making it impossible to see.

"You really are reckless. You've let your power go to your head, Naruto, and you have forgotten one fundamental fact. That power you are wielding, the power that makes you practically immortal, isn't yours. It is merely a side benefit to having me sealed inside of you. However, without that regeneration ability, your power is, at best, on the same level as an Ultimate Class Devil."

Aži Dahāka tried to take a chunk out of Metatron, who replaced himself with a log, reappeared above the head that tried to bite him, and stabbed his sword into the dragon's eye. Rather than roaring in agony, Aži Dahāka laughed in joy.

"Yes! That's what I'm talking about! It's not fun if you can't even hurt me! Let's see you do that again!"

"You're right… I'm sorry. I let my-no, I let your power go to my head."

"Do not forget this, Naruto. No matter how much power I have, you can only use a little bit of it. Your body cannot handle more than a hundredth of my power."

Naruto's body was a vessel-a vessel that contained a creature far too powerful for it to handle. In some ways, it could almost be likened to a vase. Kurama did an admirable job of keeping his power contained, but if he ever poured too much into the vessel, then much like a vase with too much water and soil packed into it, Naruto's body would break.

Naruto soared over Aži Dahāka's left-most head and heel dropped it with a wind-chakra enhanced foot. The head crashed into the ground, where the melted earth tried to boil the dragon's scales.

"I understand…"

"Good, then see to it that you don't do something this stupid again. I won't have my only friend dying on me because he wants to be an idiot."

"You got, Kurama."

"Now that you've been healed, I expect you to show this giant lizard who's in charge here!"

"Right!"

With Kurama giving him the go ahead, Naruto felt his chakra surge. It no longer hurt to wield his own chakra. It swirled around him, strengthening him, empowering him. Kurama had even given him an extra boost. While it wasn't much, he could feel a little bit of his friend's immense power mixing with his own. It would be enough.

"Metatron!" Naruto shouted. "Stand back and let me show you how a real ninja battles!"

Naruto was very disturbed by the sparkle in Metatron's eyes.

"Yes! Ninja-sama!"

"Where do you think you're going?!" Aži Dahāka growled as Metatron, with a mighty flap of his ten wings, soared into the air. One of the dragon's three heads tried to attack him, and several magical circles appeared to increase the intensity of the intended arial bombarded.

The fire that had been growing inside of Aži Dahāka's mouth exploded when Naruto sent a concentrated ball of wind chakra into it. The wind fed the flames, turning the tiny ball into a raging inferno that engulfed the entire head.

"Ha ha ha! Interesting! How interesting!" The two heads not engulfed in fire laughed. "Let's see you do that again!"

"With pleasure! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Dozens of Naruto appeared out of thin air. Aži Dahāka cackled as he systematically destroyed each one. His claws slashed them apart. His fire burnt them to a crisp. Lightning struck several of them, the clones convulsing for several seconds until they popped. Clones were destroyed in whole swaths. Dozens upon dozens died a terrible death.

The real one wasn't among them.

He was above Aži Dahāka, descending toward the dragon, two gigantic balls of rotating wind chakra swirling above his hands.

"Tsuin Rasenshuriken!"

Aiming a hand at each head, a large magic circle appeared behind the Rasenshurikens. Naruto used the devil magic to launch the Rasenshuikens forward with a bell-like shriek. The two massive balls of swirling wind chakra struck the heads, expanding until each head was completely engulfed within the attack, which looked like two giant spheres of insane cutting winds. The attacks soon dissipated to reveal that both heads were gone, nothing but stumps bloody remained. However, even as the necks hung there, headless, gore dripping from them, the heads quickly grew back.

"HA HA HA! Oh, yes! That pain is so good! More! I NEED MORE!"

Is this guy-dragon, a masochist?

"You want more?" Naruto snarled. "Fine! Have some more! Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength!"

Naruto's chakra began to boil. Large amounts of steam emitted from his body, the pressure inside of him building up, increasing his strength proportional to the amount of built up steam. He descended onto the center head and unleashed all that pressure into a single blow.

"Erupting Propulsion Fist!"

Steam detonated everywhere as Naruto's punch caused Aži Dahāka's muzzle to cave it. The dragon howled, somewhere between a cry and a laugh, as blood erupted from his muzzle before it was boiled by the steam.

"How do you like that?" Naruto crowed before experiencing shock when the head he'd just demolished quickly became a whole again. He had just a second to realize the danger he was in before its jaws clamped down around him.

There was a brief moment where he felt himself being crushed to the roof of Aži Dahāka's mouth by a fat tongue, and then he slid down the creature's gullet.

"NOOO!" Naruto screamed in terror, traumatizing memories of being swallowed by another scaled creature surfacing in his mind. "I don't wanna be swallowed by another giant reptile!"

Within his cage, Kurama sighed.

Not again, the near-omnipotent creature with the powers of Ootsusuki Kaguya and eight other Biju sighed to himself.

~Devil Ninja~

Issei felt fire burn his chest as his armor shattered when Vali kneed him. Struggling past the pain, Issei unleashed a fierce battle cry and headbutted Vali. As his fellow Sacred Gear user stumbled backwards, his helmet cracked, Issei grabbed the other boy's arm and pulled him into a fist, shattering the white breastplate.

"Ha… ha… you're stronger than I expected," Vali complimented.

"Tch, and you're more annoying than I expected!" Issei declared.

The two ran at each other, and their clashing fists created a shockwave that tore apart the ground.

~Devil Ninja~

This is disgusting…

Naruto wondered if it was his fate to be constantly eaten by ginormous reptiles. Seriously, he knew that Negi would have a cow hearing him say this, but it almost felt as if fate had determined, through some inexplicable logic that he would never understand, that any gigantic reptile he came into contact with would eat him.

"You have the worst luck when it comes to reptiles."

"Shut up. No commentary from the peanut gallery."

"Hmph! So, how do you plan on getting out of this? I don't think the same trick you used on that snake will work here."

This dragon's hide was much tougher than any snake's, and even its insides felt more solid than diamonds. That meant he would have to use a wind jutsu, but it couldn't be any old jutsu. It had to be strong enough to cut through hide, but weak enough that it wouldn't damage him. He'd just finished healing. The last thing he wanted was to get injured and have Kurama heal him all over again.

Which meant wind jutsu was out of the question.

Damn it.

"I guess there's no choice. I'm gonna have to use 'that' jutsu."

Kurama sucked in a breath.

"You don't mean… THAT jutsu, do you?"

"Yes." Naruto tried to nod solemnly. It was a little hard when you were stuck in a stomach. "I'm talking about THAT jutsu."

Within the seal, Kurama shuddered. He was not looking forward to this.

After several seconds of struggling, Naruto put his hands together and slowly made several handseals.

"Konohagakure's Hidden Technique: Indigestion no Jutsu!"

~Devil Ninja~

Aži Dahāka felt strange. His stomach was gurgling in a manner that he hadn't experienced very often. Dragon's rarely went to the bathroom, after all. However, that was exactly what he felt the need to do now-take a massive dump.

A loud rumbling ripped through the campus, quickly followed by a massive stench. Metatron, who floated in the air above Aži Dahāka and was therefore the closest, nearly died as he choked on the horrid fumes that rose from the large pile of dung underneath the dragon's rear.

"Oh… Lord Almighty, I think I'm gonna be sick."

Within that pile of crap, a single hand emerged. The hand was followed by another hand, and then a head before, finally, crawled out from the massive mountain of shit.

Naruto had never felt more disgusted than he did right now. The nauseating scent of dragon crap stung his nose, threatening to make him vomit. It was worse than anything he'd ever smelled before. If that wasn't humiliating enough, then he was also covered in the stuff, caked in it from head to toe.

Few things could ever be more putrid than being covered in crap.

"This… this is humiliating," Naruto muttered harshly.

"It's disgusting is what it is," Kurama interjected. "I don't know how you could do something like that."

"It was necessary…"

Naruto went through several more handseals. Water suddenly burst from his pores, crap splattering everywhere, including on Aži Dahāka, who reared back as his own crap splashed against all three of its heads. Some of it got into the dragon's eyes, making him thrash. Unfortunately, even though Naruto was now clean, he couldn't get rid of the stench.

"This is so gross."

"Incredibly gross."

"And I'm angry."

"Good, because I'm pretty pissed off myself."

"This dragon's ass is grass."

"It had better be."

"Ninja-sama!" Metatron dropped down to the ground. There was a relieved look on his face. "Ninja-sama, I am so glad to see that you're-" he stopped talking. His nose wrinkled. "You stink."

"Gee, ya think?" Naruto said dryly.

"I am being quite serious here, Ninja-sama. You reek."

"Yeah, I know."

"Your stench reminds me of this time Father took a dump. He didn't do so often, but when he did, all of heaven could smell it."

Naruto twitched.

"Thanks for that."

"Graaa! I can't see! Can't see!"

Aži Dahāka thrashed around, his three heads shaking back and forth. Grimy brown liquid crap stung the beast's six eyes.

Naruto cracked his neck as he prepared to finish this thing. It was clear to him now that he couldn't use any of his weaker jutsu. If he wanted to really defeat Aži Dahāka, then he would have to use a technique that could destroy the dragon in a single blow.

I guess there's no choice…

A small sliver of regret worms its way into his gut.

"Kurama?"

"I can't give you much chakra. Your body already has more of my chakra than it can safely handle. However, I think I can lend you enough for this."

"Thank you."

Naruto felt his connection to Kurama open beyond what it normally did. The gates, figurative of the seal that kept the powerful bijuu at bay, opened a small crack, and Kurama's chakra poured forth. He could feel it infusing him with power. The ground around him cracked. Pebbles rose from the ground. Even Aži Dahāka stopped thrashing as the feeling of Kurama's immense power descended upon the battlefield.

"What's this? You're quite the daring one to hide this power from me."

Naruto didn't respond as he reigned Kurama's power in, cloaking himself in it. Ten orbs appeared around him, each one akin to a black hole. They were perfectly round and smooth, but were dark beyond compare, like tiny motes of nothing floating in a sea of color.

"Ninja… sama…?"

Metatron gawked at him, but Naruto ignored the angel. He stepped forward, the ground indenting underneath him. Wincing, he further compressed Kurama's power into himself. Doing so felt like taking a fire jutsu to his chakra coils, but he didn't stop. He couldn't let Kurama's power run wild. He took one step. Then two. And then-

-he vanished.

A loud bang! like the firing of a cannon went off, and suddenly, a large hole appeared in Aži Dahāka's flank. Blood and bits of muscle scattered across the earth. The dragon roared in anguish at the unexpected attack.

Darkness appeared above Aži Dahāka, an oblong mass of black, which soon receded to reveal Naruto. The black mass broke apart like a cell undergoing osmosis, then it broke again and again, until ten orbs floated in the air around him. Stretching out his hand, Naruto willed nine of the truth balls to extend and wrap around Aži Dahāka. The dragon squirmed and struggled, roaring as it tried to break free, but the bindings holding the evil dragon were far stronger. The last orb came to his hand, shifting, morphing, changing from an orb into a shakujō.

Landing, Naruto tapped his shakujō against the ground. Aži Dahāka was lifted off the ground by the nine Truth-Seeking Balls and tossed into the air. The dragon flapped its mighty wings, creating fierce winds that tore apart the earth and uprooted trees.

Naruto gathered the nine Truth-Seeking Balls into a single sphere, which enlarged to several times the normal Truth-Seeking Balls mass before it compressed. He then added wind chakra to the mix. A bell-like shriek, shrill and vicious, reverberated across the battlefield. Tapping the swirling object with his shakujō, Naruto sent the ball soaring toward Aži Dahāka.

"Massive Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken."

The ball struck Aži Dahāka, expanding quickly. A giant orb formed within the sky, a black sphere of nothing, so dark it seemed to absorb all light. Darkness eclipsed the planet. The sun was blotted out, invisible as the massive sphere of inky blackness consumed all the light particles in the area. Then, like a ripple spreading across the water's surface, the orb twisted in on itself, shrinking and becoming smaller. However, rather than disappear, the sphere pulsed before, like a star going nova, a massive explosion of light rocked the sky.

And then the world turned white.

~Devil Ninja~

Koneko was breathing heavily as she continued battling her sister. The battle had been going on for some time, and throughout their entire engagement, Koneko hadn't injured her sister once. Several meters behind her, Ravel, lying on the ground, moaned in pain as the poison sapped her strength.

"No, no, no, Shirone," Kuroka chastised as she wove through several senjutsu spheres. "You need to use finesse when attacking. You can't expect to beat with me brute force, especially since I'm so much stronger than you."

"Shut up!"

Air blew through Koneko's gritted teeth as she launched several more attacks. The spheres flew all over the place, trying to hit the constantly moving Kuroka. She then extended her arms, and several thin strings glimmered into existence, each one connected to a sphere. Yanking on them, Koneko pulled all of the senjutsu spheres back toward her sister, who suddenly found herself surrounded.

"Oh, my. So you weren't just attacking me with no rhyme or reason," Kuroka determined, her lips curling into a deceivingly happy smile. "How interesting, nya."

Koneko growled and yanked on the spheres, causing them to converge on Kuroka's position. They exploded brilliantly, like a dozen stars going off at once. Koneko raised an arm to shield her eyes from the brightness. When the light died down, there was no sign of her sister, only a decently-sized crater.

"That was pretty good," a voice said in her ear.

Koneko's eyes widened as she spun around and crossed her arms. A fist slammed into her crossed arms. She felt her bones snap as she skidded across the ground. Tears leaked from her eyes, but she shunted the agony of her broken limbs aside and forced them to move.

White energy laced her hands. Koneko used them to defend against her sister's attacks. Kuroka proved to her that she wasn't physically weak just because she was a bishop. Every fist that Koneko blocked made her wince. Every kick that she dodged created powerful gusts of wind that nearly knocked her off balance. Kuroka was overpowering her at every turn.

"Ngg!"

Steam rose from Koneko's hand as she blocked a fist. She clenched her teeth as a jolt traveled through her arm. Her legs shook as she struggled against her sister's overwhelming physical prowess.

"Kya-oof!"

Koneko gasped, her breath leaving her as she hit the ground. Her skin was rubbed raw as she rolled along the earthen floor, and her bones were jarred from the numerous impacts as she tumbled. Sharp pain flared in her nerves when her shoulder was torn from its socket. She then came to a stop, her limbs twitching as she struggled to stand.

"You shouldn't get up, Shirone," Kuroka chided. "You've been injured. Allow this humble onee-chan to heal you. Then we can go back home together."

Koneko's eyes widened, and her struggles increased. She didn't want to go back with her sister. She didn't like her sister. She hated her sister!

Someone… please, I-I don't…

Just then, seconds before Kuroka reached her, the entire world was covered in a brilliant white light.

~Devil Ninja~

When the light vanished, Aži Dahāka was gone. There was nothing left. Neither flesh nor bone nor blood nor muscle, not even ashes remained.

"Kurama…"

"I know what you're going to ask, and Aži Dahāka didn't survive," Kurama said, pausing. "How do you feel?"

"Sick…" Naruto looked down at his hands. "Kurama, how much longer am I going to have to kill? How many more times am I going to go against Ero-Sennin's desire to bring peace through understanding?"

"Naruto, you know as well as I do that some people cannot be allowed to live, lest they kill more people."

"I hate this."

"Is that why you've been holding back ever since you regained your strength?"

"I guess…"

Naruto looked at his hands. They were shaking.

Closing his eyes, Naruto willed his hands to stop shaking. He could worry about his own insecurities later.

"Ninja… sama…" Metatron muttered. It was only after the angel had spoken that Naruto realized that seraph was standing right beside him.

"Holy crap, when did you get here?!" Naruto shouted as he leapt fifteen feet into the air.

Metatron blinked. "I have been here the whole time."

"Oh." Naruto blinked. He hadn't even sensed the angel's presence. "Right, well, let's go. I need to find Koneko and the others."

"Of course, Ninja-sama."

As the two began to move, a thought occurred to Naruto.

"By the way, what's up with calling me Ninja-sama?"

~Devil Ninja~

Rias panted as the light and fierce winds died down. She looked around and couldn't see anyone near her. The once grassy field was scoured with pockmarks and burns. Several craters marked where Bikou's fist had destroyed the earth. There was no sign of the monkey himself, however.

"It looks like he ran," Akeno said, floating to the ground beside Rias. She looked pretty banged up. Bruises covered much of her body and a good portion of her clothing was torn.

"So it seems," Rias frowned. "He must have used that massive explosion in the sky to facilitate his escape."

"Akeno!" Baraqiel landed beside the raven-haired female. "Are you okay?"

"Why are you here?" Akeno scowled at the man. "Have you not been able to figure out that you are not wanted? Leave."

"A-Akeno, I just wanted to-"

"Leave!"

The man stood in silence for a second, then, with an agonized expression, flapped his wings and took off. Rias watched the man go with mixed feelings. It was clear to her that he wanted to bond with his daughter, but she didn't know how to feel about it.

She shook her head. There would be a time to think about this later.

"Come on," She said to Akeno. "We need to find the others."

"Of course, Buchou."

The two took off into the sky, leaving behind an empty battlefield.

~Devil Ninja~

"Hm, that attack just now," Kuroka mused to herself as the light and raging gale winds died down. "There was senjutsu infused into that attack. Nya, that must mean Naruto was the one who made that big explosion."

Koneko knew that way better than her sister. She was intimately familiar with Naruto's chakra, so she knew what it felt like.

Naruto…

Her body ached. She was tired. Her muscles felt sluggish and uncooperative. No matter how much she struggled, no matter how hard she tried to pick herself back up, all she could manage was to make her arms and legs twitch.

"Nya then," Kuroka turned back to her, "time to take you back with me."

"N-no…"

Koneko wanted to get up, to stand back up and keep fighting. She couldn't, however. Her body refused to obey her will. She was simply too tired to do anything more than lie there on the ground, inert like a vegetable.

Naruto… please…

As if hearing her silent plea, Naruto appeared before her. One second he wasn't there, and then the next he was. He stood in front of Koneko, his glowing white form blocking Kuroka from coming any closer. The raven-haired older sister stopped walking when she saw him, and she crossed her arms and pouted.

"I think you've had enough fun, Kuroka," Naruto said.

"Tch, are you going to get in my way, nya?"

"If I must."

A standoff seemed to ensue. Naruto and Kuroka eyed each other before, with casual yet surprising grace, Kuroka backed down.

"Hmph, if you're the one I have to get through, then I suppose there's no other choice. I can't beat you in a straight up battle, so I'll leave… for now. Be sure to take care of my Shirone until I return."

A portal opened up behind, which the woman stepped back into. It then closed, leaving not a trace of her presence.

Naruto turned and knelt next to Koneko, lifting the girl into his arms.

"Naruto…"

"Are you alright, Koneko?"

"Tired."

The white-haired girl snuggled against his chest, taking comfort in his presence and the feeling of his chakra.

She wrinkled her nose.

"You smell like shit."

"Really," Naruto murmured, his right eye twitching.

Despite how horrible Naruto smelled, Koneko was too tired to care. Her body demanded rest, and so she fell asleep, her nose still wrinkled.

She really hoped Naruto would take a bath, and soon.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto smiled down at the girl as her breathing slowed and her body relaxed. She had fought pretty hard, and against a superior opponent like Kuroka to boot. Undoubtedly, the girl was beyond exhausted.

"N-Naruto…"

A weak voice called out to him. Naruto looked down at Koneko, but when he realized that she wasn't the one who'd spoken, he looked around the field before his eyes landed on Ravel. The young Phenex heiress lay on the ground several meters away. Her clothing was torn in several places, and her breasts were exposed, but she didn't seem to notice.

Naruto created another clone, which picked up Ravel gently, as if she were a princess. Ravel, despite not being one-hundred percent cognizant of her surrounds, had the decency to blush.

"W-what are you-?!"

"I'm carrying you, what does it look like I'm doing? You're too tired to walk on your own, right?"

"I-I guess." Ravel buried her face into his-the clone's-chest. She then looked up at him, only her eyes and red cheeks visible. "B-but don't get any funny ideas, got that?"

"Got it."

"Naruto!" another voice called out to him-a very familiar voice.

Turning around, Naruto saw Rias, Kiba, and the two exorcists running up to him

"Hey, you guys," Naruto greeted as the group stopped in front of him.

"Naruto, are you alright? That dragon…"

Naruto grimaced at the reminder of Aži Dahāka. Even though Aži Dahāka had been an evil dragon, he still felt guilt weighing on his conscience. He knew it was foolish to feel guilt over this. Aži Dahāka had been evil, and he'd killed many people, but the act of killing had become repulsive to him. It felt like he was smacking Jiraiya's ideals in the face.

"I'm fine," Naruto said, mastering his emotions.

"I'm glad to hear that," Rias said, smiling, though her smile soon turned into a frown. "By the way, what is he doing here?"

Everyone turned to Metatron, who stood next to Naruto. He'd been silent up to now, but when he saw all the looks being directed his way, the seraph gazed upon them with his calm and elegant demeanor.

"I am here because Ninja-sama is here."

Everyone paused, as if unsure of what to make of that statement.

"Ninja…" Rias began.

"Sama?" Irina finished unsurely.

"Let's not get into that right now," Naruto said. He didn't want to deal with… whatever weird thing Metatron had for ninjas. "Anyway, where are Akeno, Asia and Ise?"

The group looked at each other. Naruto could sense a slight tension in them, like a giant snake summons coiling around them, constricting them with worry.

"We don't know where Ise or Asia are," Rias said at last. "Akeno's gone to look for them."

"Ah."

"By the way, Naruto," Rias began again.

"Yes?"

"You reek."

"I know," he said solemnly, his shoulders slumping.

~Devil Ninja~

Issei knew he'd lost the moment his body stopped working.

He lay on the ground, staring up at the figure looming over him. His opponent, one Vali Lucifer, had beaten him, thoroughly and utterly. To say that he'd been routed was a gross understatement. From the very start of this battle, Vali's victory had already been guaranteed.

"I'm pretty disappointed in you, Issei," Vali said. "When Naruto was held in captivity by the Khaos Brigade, he would always talk about his 'precious perverted student' and how much potential you had. However, while you have some strength, I'm not seeing anything that would make someone like him proud of you."

Issei opened his mouth and tried to say, "fuck you." However, it ended up sounding like, "wufuwugu," instead.

Vali blew out a deep breath.

"As you are right now, you're not worthy of being considered my rival. You're not even worthy of being killed."

"Vali!" Arthur and Le Fey Pendragon ran up to him. "It's time to leave. We're pulling back."

"I imagine so. After all, our objective here is complete." Vali ran a hand through his hair. "Man, to think my rival would be this weak."

Issei wanted to tell Vali that he wasn't weak. However, in the face of what happened to him, of their battle, of his loss, he couldn't dredge up the words. Not that he would have been able to speak anyway, but still.

Vali soon left, stepping through a portal that Arthur opened using a holy sword. When the portal vanished, Issei was left alone.

He would eventually be found by Asia and Akeno. However, even they would be unable to help him come to terms with his defeat.

~Devil Ninja~

The battle was over. It seemed that, with the death of Aži Dahāka, the Khaos Brigade had lost their nerve and decided to flee. A few had fought to their last breath, but the majority, realizing their untenable position, had fled through portals that had opened up for them. No doubt every member of the Khaos Brigade had been granted a special emergency escape device, which was what allowed them to beat such a hasty retreat.

Sirzechs looked at the damage done to school, at the bodies lying on the ground, and his shoulders slumped as regret gnawed at his insides. There was so much death, so much destruction, and for what? What reason could anyone have for causing this much sorrow?

Sometimes it feels like the matter of devils and angels will never end in anything but violence.

For a long time now, he'd been making great strides to bring peace to his people. Gone were the days when might made right. In this era, those who thought with cooler heads and compassionate hearts prevailed-or they should have. Seeing the carnage wrought before him made Sirzechs feel as if all that he strove for was nought but the pipe dream of a foolish idealist.

Michael strolled up to Sirzechs as he contemplated his many regrets this day. The archangel of heaven, its current leader, maintained a calm demeanor even when surrounded by such devastation. Sirzechs envied his poise.

"All of the civilians have been evacuated safely, I'm guessing?" Michael asked.

"Yes, though it took longer than I expected. We were ambushed, and several agents planted within the emissaries tried to sow chaos among the politicians. They were defeated, but, well…"

"You regret the loss of life?"

"Loss of life is always regrettable. However, I have accepted that it is sometimes necessary. What I regret is the unnecessary loss of life. None of those people had to die if they'd just laid down their weapons."

"And yet, we both know they would not have laid down their weapons. The evidence of this fact has already come to pass."

"I know."

They stood in silence for a time. All around them angels, devils, and the fallen worked together, digging through the rubble to locate their comrades, or helping tend to the injured. Such a sight would have normally pleased Sirzechs immensely, but the immense loss of life that had been incurred this day, weighed heavily on his mind.

Meters away, a crowd of beings parted and a man, clad in dented armor, and with ten golden pinions marred by blood, stepped through the throng. He did not wear his helmet, allowing everyone to see his effeminate features and long silver hair. Sirzechs was not fooled by the man's appearance, however, and he felt weary as Metatron approached them.

"Metatron," Michael said, sounding pleased. "I am glad to see that you are alive and well. I'd heard tell that you fought against Aži Dahāka and suffered grievous injury."

"A mere trick of the eye, Michael," Metatron said dismissively. "Misdirection is a ninja's most powerful allie. I had to pretend I was injured in order to fool that dragon."

"I see…"

Sirzechs looked at Michael's uncomfortable shifting and almost snorted. He didn't know what the heck was up with Metatron's ninja obsession, but he couldn't deny it was hilarious. Seeing Michael's expression only made it more so.

"I would also like to inform you that I have changed my mind," Metatron continued.

"Er, changed your mind?"

"About allying ourselves with the devils and the fallen," Metatron extrapolated. "In light of the recent events, I believe it would be a good idea if we had more allies. Therefore, I agree to allying ourselves with devils and the fallen."

Michael looked like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

"I'm glad to hear that."

"However," Metatron said, causing Michael to eye him warily, "I do have one condition."

As Michael listened to Metatron's condition, an incredulous expression "what the fuck?" kind of expression on his face, Sirzechs couldn't quite contain his laugh.

It seemed there would be some interesting times ahead.

~Devil Ninja~

This conversation had been coming for a while now. Naruto knew that he and Rias needed to talk. Regardless of what happened during the battle, what happened before now couldn't be ignored or swept under the rug. Besides, Naruto had never been the kind of person to run away from his problems-unless those problems included a horde of angry women trying to kill him because he and Jiraiya had been caught peeping. In those instances, running away was perfectly acceptable.

A blue sky marked what was going to be a beautiful day. He and Rias strolled through a park located several kilometers from their home. Green trees lined either side. Flowers bloomed, a multitude of colors and gentle fragrances. No one else was around. Neither of them wanted anyone else butting in on this conversation.

He looked at Rias to see that she was also staring at him. They held eye contact for a second, and then both of them looked away.

Well, Naruto thought sarcastically, this isn't awkward at all.

He and Rias glanced at each other again. When they caught the other staring, they both looked away. Again.

Ugh, this is so pathetic. I need to say something!

Things couldn't progress as they were. One of them had to take that first step. This problem had arisen from his mistake, so it was up to him to man up and be the first to admit that he was wrong.

Naruto sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry/I'm sorry!" they said at the same time. Both of them looked at each other in surprise, then broke down into laughter. Naruto had to admit, it felt rather liberating to laugh like that with Rias, especially after what had happened.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Naruto said, wiping a few stray tears of mirth from his eyes. "I know I shouldn't have left without saying anything."

"And I'm sorry about being so angry," Rias also apologized. "I should have talked things over with you, but I let my anger and jealousy get the best of me."

"Jealousy?" Naruto furrowed his brow. "Why would you be jealous?"

Rias stared at her boyfriend for several seconds before realizing that he truly didn't know what she was talking about.

"Never mind." She shook her head. "Anyway, I apologize for lashing out at you instead of talking it over. I guess I'm still a little insecure about our relationship."

"Why are you insecure about our relationship?"

"It's just… this is the first relationship I've ever been in." Rias blushed, as if embarrassed about her admittance. "I've never… I mean, because of my status, I was never able to just date people. And I couldn't date anyone at school either. All the students saw me as was one of the two Great Ladies. I was never just Rias with them, and I wanted to date someone who saw me for me."

It was understandable. In fact, Naruto could understand her reasoning better than most people would think.

All his life, he'd been treated like a pariah, however, it wasn't like those people had been treating him, Naruto Uzumaki, as a pariah. No, they'd been treating the Kyuubi Jinchurikki as the pariah. He hadn't been hated because of who he was, but what he was. In that same way, none of the people loved Rias because she was Rias Gremory. They loved her because she was either "the heiress to the Gremory Household," or because she was, "One of the Two Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy." While their circumstances couldn't have been more different, in some ways, their desire to be seen for who they were was the same.

Rias's situation actually reminded him a lot of Konohamaru. The third Hokage's grandson had never been seen as himself, never as Konohamaru. Instead, everyone had only seen him as "The Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage." Much like Naruto, Kohomaru had sought recognition from the village. He wanted to be somebody other than the third's grandson in the same way that Rias wanted to be something other than the Gremory heiress.

"Still, even though I admit that I could've handled this better, Naruto, I need you to realize something." Rias stopped walking. He stopped as well, and turned to face her. "You can't just go off on your own like that. I know you're kind of used to doing your own thing-I remember the stories you told me, but you need to get better at this. If a King can't control her own servants, then she is a failure in the eyes of devil society. As the heiress to the Gremory Household and the sister of Sirzechs, anything that reflects poorly on me is going to tarnish their name."

"I understand. Heh, I guess, in the wake of our relationship, I kind of forgot that I was also your servant and not just your boyfriend."

"I'm sorry," Rias apologized again. "That must make this relationship seem unfair to you, doesn't it?"

"No, not really." Naruto shook his head. "I kinda already knew what I was getting into when we started dating. I just… didn't think about the consequences is all. I think some part of me realized that I couldn't do things like I used to, but the rest was pre-wired toward disobeying orders and going my own way when I thought I was right."

Naruto would admit that he'd always kind of done his own thing. Oh sure, he'd followed his Hokage's orders before, but he'd disobeyed those orders just as many times. Maybe those times he'd been right, and maybe he hadn't. Certainly, if he'd obeyed Tsunade and not joined the Fourth Shinobi War, things would have turned out very differently-though whether that change would've been for better or worse, he couldn't say. It didn't change how he'd disobeyed a direct order from his Hokage, however, which was what had landed him into this situation with Rias in the first place.

One thing is for sure, I wouldn't have met Rias if I'd followed Tsunade's orders and stayed on that island.

And that would have been tragedy.

Believe it.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto was sure that Murphy had decided to screw with him. Really, there couldn't be any other possible explanation to explain what was happening.

"Ninja-sama, I will be in your care from this day onward."

Metatron stood before him and the other residence of his house, his body lowered into a bow. Standing by his side was a somewhat exasperated Michael, a curious Gabrielle, and a sheepish Irina. All of them seemed uncomfortable by the deference he was showing Naruto.

Two days had passed since the battle against the Khaos Brigade. A lot had happened. The alliance had officially been recognized and signed by all three faction leaders, Kouh Academy had been repaired and would re-open next week, and Naruto's life had returned to almost normal. Almost.

"Excuse me," Rias spoke in Naruto's place, mostly because Naruto himself couldn't find the words to say. A cat seemed to have latched onto his tongue. "But what, exactly, do you mean by that?"

Michael, with as much dignity as he could muster, explained.

"It was part of Metatron's condition for allying ourselves with the devils and fallen. He wants to live here-"

"I would like to train under Ninja-sama!"

"-so we were hoping you'd be willing to accept him into your care," Michael finished. There was a small vein throbbing on his forehead by the time he was done. No longer composed, he looked ready to burst a blood vessel.

"Please take care of me, Ninja-sama!"

While Gabrielle giggled, Michael looked about ready to face palm. Likewise, Irina looked almost scandalized by the way Metatron was acting.

"Also," Michael continued, his shoulders slumping as if exhausted, "while I know it's a little troublesome, I was hoping you would allow Irina here to live with you as well."

"Irina?" Rias studied the girl, who waved shyly. "Why Irina? Not that I mind, but I thought Irina and Xenovia were a team…"

"They are, however, when we offered these two a chance to live here, only Irina accepted."

"I thought I would do my best to help improve relations between devils and angels," Irina said. "I was hoping I could stay with you guys to help with that."

Naruto needed several more seconds to reboot his brain. The whole "Ninja-sama" thing had really gotten to him. It was one thing to be looked up to because he was awesome. It was quite another to have someone fawn over him just because he was a ninja.

"I don't mind if they stay with us," Naruto started, "but I'm also not the only one living here."

"I am fine with Irina and… Metatron… sama… living with us," Rias said, adding the "sama" suffix with great difficulty. Naruto understood her plight.

"I don't care one way or the other," Koneko added, shrugging.

Everyone turned their heads to Ravel who, upon noticing the way everyone was staring at her, turned her head away, her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"If this is what everyone else wants, then I see no reason to deny them."

"I guess it's settled, then," Naruto said, grinning at the two. "Welcome to the family."

"Family…"

Metatron, seraph of heaven, the Voice of God, one of the most powerful angels in the world…

… began crying.

"Uh, Metatron?" Naruto asked, a little freaked out by how the angel was acting.

"Ninja-sama… has called me… family…"

"Um, is he going to be okay?" Naruto asked Michael, who merely sighed in response.

"He's even more of a flake than the perv," Koneko added.

"Sh-should an angel really be acting like this?" Ravel asked no one in particular.

Naruto wanted to ask the same question, but he supposed that, just like ninja, there were all types of angels out there, hard though that was to believe. He kind of assumed all angels would be a bunch of stiff, overly formal people wearing robes and stuff. Perhaps this would be a good lesson about never judging an angel by his robes? Well, he could worry about that later.

"Come on. Let's get you two a room, then we can show you around the house," Naruto said, grabbing Irina's small suitcase, which likely contained her clothes and necessities. She thanked him with a smile, and the group set off.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto woke up that night to the warmth of his naked girlfriend snuggling into his side and a loli standing above him.

After he and the others finished showing Metatron and Irina to their rooms, they'd been given a tour of the house. Irina was already familiar with the place, but it had given her a chance to catch up with the others, and Naruto finally got to actually speak with the girl for an extended period of time. Afterward, they ate a quick dinner… and then… they…

Wait. What?

Naruto blinked the sleep out of his eyes to see that, indeed, there was a loli sitting on top of him. He couldn't remember there being a loli when he went to sleep, however, which meant she must have come in some time during the night.

"Ophis?" he murmured, rubbing one of his eyes.

"They're here," Ophis said simply. Naruto stared at her for several seconds, uncomprehending, before he realized who "they" were.

"Right. Give me a minute to get dressed."

Ophis got off the bed. Naruto stood up and put on a pair of pants. He then shook Rias awake.

"Naruto?" Rias mumbled, cutely rubbing her eyes. "Why are you waking me up? It's still early. Come back to bed."

"Sorry, there are some people here to meet me, and I didn't want to keep them a secret from you."

Rias seemed to sense something in his tone, because she woke up seconds later, got out of bed, and threw on a nightgown that covered her all the way down to her feet.

"I'm ready," she said.

"Ophis?" Naruto turned to the little dragon god.

"They're waiting in the living room," Ophis answered.

"Right."

As the group walked down through a long wooden path, Rias turned to Ophis.

"So, you really are Ophis?"

"I am."

"Why are you so short?"

"Why are your breasts so big?"

"Hmph, that is not much of an insult."

"Were we being insulted?" Ophis asked in honest confusion. "I didn't know."

"You… you don't talk to people that much, do you?"

"I prefer living in solitude."

Naruto shook his head as he listened to the conversation behind him. Ophis said that, but he was sure she didn't mean it. She'd probably never had people to rely on, or people to care about. He couldn't count the Khaos Brigade, since they were just using her.

She needs someone to show her that there's more to life than simply living.

And he would be that person. Naruto couldn't stand seeing someone who was lonely and didn't even realize it.

They entered the living room to discover five people waiting for them.

"You!" Rias glared at Bikou, who was lounging on their couch.

"Heya, Red." Bikou grinned as he waved at her. "How ya doing?"

"Be nice to my girlfriend, Bikou, or I'll do to you what I did to Arthur."

Bikou's grin widened.

"What? You'll die my hair bright pink or you'll replace all my underwear with g-strings?"

"Both."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not even here!" Arthur lost his composure and shouted.

"I take it these are the people you were talking about?" Rias asked.

"Yep."

Rias huffed at his words. She must have still been miffed by her battle with Bikou.

Bikou wasn't the only person in their living room. Arthur stood near the entrance, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his face red. Vali sat in a chair, his expression relaxed, while Kuroka lay on the ground, her kimono parting to reveal her insatiable bust.

"Naruto-sama!" A brightly beaming Le Fey rushed up to him.

"Oh, Fey-chan!" Naruto grinned at the girl who exuded a happy aura. "How are you? I heard you and your brother got into a fight with Kiba, Irina and Xenovia."

"Yeah, but don't worry. We made sure no one got hurt, just like you asked."

"I'm glad to hear that," Naruto said.

"Naruto," Rias interrupted, "perhaps you could explain why these people are here?"

"Right." Naruto coughed into his hand. "Vali and the others are members of the Khaos Brigade, but unlike the Devil and Hero Factions, they're on Ophis's side, so they only listen to her. I asked them for a favor because I had a feeling the Khaos Brigade would try something."

"And that favor was attacking us?" Rias asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, it was getting everyone out of the way so I didn't have to worry about you getting injured if I had to go all out. It was also for Ise."

"For Ise?" Rias frowned. "I don't understand."

"Vali," Naruto called out to the young man, who raised his head and gazed at Naruto with a bored gleam. "Tell me, what did you think of Ise?"

"Honestly… he was okay," Vali admitted. "He's not as strong as you made him out to be, but he's got room to grow, I guess. If he gets stronger, he might make a good opponent."

"Coming from you, 'okay' is high praise," Naruto retorted. "Anyway, I want you to keep antagonizing him. Having a strong rival will be good for the boy."

Vali shrugged.

"Sure, sounds fun."

"I think I understand what's going on," Rias said finally. "You're using Vali to help Ise get stronger."

"More or less," Naruto said. "Vali is the White Dragon Emperor, so he and Ise are natural rivals anyway. They would fight at some point no matter what. I just decided to use that position to help benefit Ise."

"That makes sense, though I wish you'd think these things through. At the very least, you should talk to me before doing something like this."

"You're right." Naruto winced. "Sorry."

"I'll let slide… just this once." Rias winked at him. Her expression then shifted to one that was much more serious. "And what about her?" she asked, jerking her head at the lounging Kuroka. "Why is she here?"

"Because Kuroka's a part of Team Vali?"

"That's not what I meant."

Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, Rias, I know what you're getting at, but there's much more to what happened back then than you or anyone else knows. That devil, Kuroka's master, was a horrible person, and he was going to use Koneko for an experiment. When Kuroka realized what he planned on doing, she killed him, but was forced to flee soon after because of it. She never meant for any of the stuff that happened afterwards to happen, and she didn't know that Koneko would almost be executed as a result."

Rias closed her eyes, appearing to be in deep contemplation. When she opened them again, her eyes were sharp. Naruto knew this was no longer his girlfriend, but the heiress of the Gremory Household.

"Even if I believe you, it doesn't change the fact that you're a stray," Rias said to Kuroka. Her gaze was harder than diamonds. "If these were normal circumstances, I would have had no choice but to slay you where you stand."

"You say that like you can, nya." Kuroka smiled languidly, completely unconcerned by Rias's words.

Rias huffed.

"Whether I can or cannot isn't the issue. Regardless, the circumstances right now are not normal, so I'll pretend I didn't see you."

"How kind of you," Kuroka muttered sarcastically.

"Ke ke ke, I sense a cat fight," Bikou chuckled.

"So, what are the other factions up to?" asked Naruto.

"The other factions are currently nursing their wounds," Le Fey told him. "The Magician Faction suffered the most losses. They're going to be inactive for a while. Um, let's see… oh! The Devil Faction also lost a lot of people. Shalba was injured pretty badly, too. Last I heard he was stuck in the hospital. The Hero Faction isn't in terrible shape, but two of their members were seriously injured: Heracles and Siegfried. Siegfried lost an arm while Heracles is comatose."

"You mean we didn't kill Siegfried?" Rias asked, clicking her tongue.

Le Fey shook her head.

"No, Siegfried is alive, though hurt pretty bad. He had to get his arm replace."

"Heracles should have died," Naruto muttered. "I might not have used a full powered rasengan on him, but I actually did try to kill him. How did he survive?"

"It's because of their newest invention." Pushing his glasses up the his nose, Arthur stared at Naruto with some disdain as he spoke. "Dragon Powder Armor, the Magician Factions most recent creation, made specifically to protect members of the Khaos Brigade from you. It was made by taking the shed skin of the evil dragons within our faction, then imbuing that skin with a fraction of Ophis's power."

"I guess that explains why my rasengan didn't hurt anyone as badly as it should have," Naruto hummed. "Do you know what they plan on doing next?"

Le Fey shook her head.

"We're not exactly well-liked by the other factions. I think it's because we don't believe in their goals."

Naruto nodded. Team Vali was a group who played to the beat of their own drum. They didn't believe in the Satan Factions goals. They would never follow the Hero Faction and their misguided hatred of devils. Likewise, none of them fit in with the Magician Faction, not even Le Fey, their resident mage. In all regards, they were more like a freelance mercenary unit than a true part of the Khaos Brigade.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what they plan on doing next. Thanks for coming to let me know what happened," Naruto said.

"Of course!" Le Fey looked at him fervently, her eyes glistening like two stars. "We're always willing to help a friend."

"Speak for yourself," Vali said, standing up. "I just want to make sure the Sekiryuutei can give me a good fight when the time comes."

"Ke ke ke, and I just want to have fun."

"I'm doing this for Shirone."

"Tch, I'm being forced to do this."

As the others stated their own reasons for helping, Le Fey puffed out her cheeks like an indignant squirrel.

"You guys are mean."

"If you say so," Vali said, stretching his arms. "Now let's get out of here before anyone notices our presence. While I don't mind a good fight, I'd rather pick and choose my battles."

Saying their goodbyes, Team Vali left through a portal that Arthur opened, disappearing as if they'd never been there in the first place.

Naruto and Rias went back to their bedroom after that, and Ophis disappeared, saying something about trying out her "new look," whatever that meant.

Sighing contently as he and Rias snuggled under the blankets, Naruto was just about to drift off to sleep, when Rias broke the process with her voice.

"Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"About Kuroka…" She paused. Naruto could sense her hesitation.

"What is it?"

"If Kuroka really did kill her master to save Koneko, then shouldn't we tell Koneko that? I mean, it could heal their broken bond."

Not speaking at first, Naruto contemplated how best to respond.

"Do you know how bonds are forged, Rias?" He could feel her shake her head against his chest. "Bonds are forged through an innate understanding between two people, born from the ability and desire to bridge the gap between them. They aren't something that can be done half-heartedly, nor are they something that outsiders should interfere with. A bond not brought about from the heart is a bond that's easily broken."

Naruto grew silent, allowing Rias to draw her own conclusions.

"You think us telling Koneko the truth would cheapen any bond she forges with her sister."

"Yes. More than anything else, I want Koneko to be happy. However, I know that a half-hearted relationship with Kuroka won't give her that happiness. She might become content, and she might even enjoy their relationship, but it won't be a true relationship between sisters if someone from the outside interfers."

"I see." Rias kissed his chest. "For an idiot who acts recklessly."

"Ugh."

"And is constantly holding back in battle."

"Ku!"

"You say some surprisingly deep and meaningful things sometimes."

"All right, all right. Enough poking holes in Naruto's poor ego already, meanie."

Rias giggled as she kissed him once more, then snuggled further against him, her full body pressing into his, and her arms holding him close. Embraced with such warmth, Naruto could do nothing but surrender to it.

"I love you, Naruto."

"I love you, too, Rias."

Smiling as he closed his eyes, Naruto slowly drifted to sleep.