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Chapter 915 - 8

Chapter Seven – The Great Earthland Train Robbery

0.0

Crunch...

Wendy eyed the large window of the eatery just across the street with longing. If only they could afford it. Instead, she had to contend with watching the patrons wolf down the town's local delicacy. After all, who hadn't heard of Hargeon's famous 'Chilli Crab Shack'?

We have crabs so big, it'll give you cramps, their neon-rainbow sign declared.

The young girl reached out with one of her hands. A cereal box was pushed within her reach. She dug deep, grabbing as much as she could before popping a small portion of it in her mouth.

Crunch...

Wendy smiled after a particularly hard bite. She had found that crispy, scrumptious nougat of artificial banana flavouring. Now, if only she had milk to go with her cereal.

Pushing a few stray hairs off her face, she wiped the small crumbs of cereal flakes from the corner of her mouth. It was starting to get annoying when her fringe got in her eyes. It had been a while since she had last trimmed it, close to three years in fact, shortly before Naruto joined the guild. She turned to him, grasping her long hair and pulling it into pig tails.

"Do you think I should cut my hair?" she asked him.

Naruto examined her, tilting his head to one side. His eyes scrunched up in disapproval. "Nah, you look better like this," he said, dusting cereal crumbs off his poncho. "Eh, but what do I know."

Wendy pouted, turning to Carla, who had refused, as she called it, to slum with them on the neatly-trimmed grass in the park. Instead, she parked herself on the bench right next to them.

"Carla?"

The Exceed turned towards her, holding a half-eaten oval biscuit in her paws. "Leave it," she concurred blithely after another bite of the tasteless biscuit. Carla was never a fan of banana nut cereal. "Long hair suits you better."

Crunch...

There was a comfortable silence as they continued their faux picnic, but it was only because they couldn't afford a decent meal in a proper restaurant. Good paying missions had been hard to come by in the past few months. Sadly, it was the kind of drought she was altogether familiar with over the years; clients rarely put up Cait Shelter as one of their preferred guilds in the mission request registry.

No, it was always Phantom Lord, Lamia Scale or more often nowadays, Fairy Tail, which garnered the kingdom's attention, though not always for good reasons. Their little guild was just a small fish in a really big pond.

How could capable, hard-working and dependable mages like them ever compare to the likes of Fairy Tail's notoriety? Their team had never burned down a bridge in Wilandra, one of the few remaining Ishgar's heritage sites, or severely damaged the structure of the well-preserved Lupines Castle in the historical town of Gardenia.

They were simply efficient.

"You know," Naruto mused aloud after a brief silence. "This thing is starting to get itchy." He proceeded to scratch the small stubble on his chin. "I should probably start shaving again."

The Dragon Slayer looked away, remembering the awkward memory when she had walked in on Naruto in the bathroom—on accident, of course—his kunai poised just under his chin, millimetres from his neck.

She was still sleepy.

What else did she think was going on?

"Hey, hey... You remember that time a few weeks ago?" He mimed himself shaving with an imaginary razor. "No, Naruto," he said in a high-pitched cry. "You have so much to live for!" He started laughing impishly, grinning at her.

Wendy narrowed her eyes, scrunching her lips together. She didn't sound that shrilly. "I don't sound like that!" she huffed, turning to the small cat next to her. "Carla, tell Naruto I don't sound like that."

Carla raised one of her half-lidded eyes as she stared at the duo. "No, she doesn't sound like that—"

Just as Wendy was about to beam at the feline...

"—it was a bit higher actually."

The smile died in her mouth.

"Carla~"

The cat ignored Wendy's attempts to curry her sympathy, as well as the amused gleam in Naruto's eyes. He was trying but failing to hide his delight behind his hand as his laughter poured out in short, muffled bursts.

Wendy sighed to herself.

Well, at least once they were done with this mission, they could finally return to the guild with a hefty stack of Jewels in their pockets. Maybe she could finally buy that teacup set she had been eyeing back in Diligeon.

Carla would surely love it.

Crunch...

Why did it feel like today was going to be a long day...?

0.0

"Jeff, you said I was your favourite customer!"

The middle-aged blacksmith shook his head, wrapping his arms around his wide frame. "Naruto, I say that to everyone I meet," he said dully as beads of sweat trickled down his brow due to the extreme temperatures of the forge just to his left.

"I've been coming here for the past two—no, almost three years! How could you do this to me?"

Jeff pulled the damp bandanna off his head, revealing his balding brownish-grey hair. "Business ain't picking up like it used to back then, and it ain't cheap to buy the materials nowadays, what with the miners sitting out." A small sigh escaped him. "Sorry, kid, I can't sell it to you that cheap anymore."

Naruto couldn't help but feel aggrieved. He knew it wasn't right to blame the blacksmith for something he had no control over, but their team was barely getting by—he couldn't even scrounge enough money for lunch just now. "Can't you just put it on my store credit or something?" He clamped his hands together. "C'mon, I really need this. I'll totally have enough to pay you back after my next mission!"

Naruto blanched.

Since when did he start talking like Minori?

Jeff gave another grim shake of his head. "Can't do that either, kid. I'm backlogged right now. None of my customers have been paying me back, and my suppliers are coming round next week. I won't be able to stay afloat if I keep giving handouts."

It was hard enough to find a blacksmith that forged such exotic weapons. Other stores had told him that they were antiques; relics of some forgotten past, and said that he was never going to find someone who would still meddle in such types of weaponry. They had pointed him towards the latest fashion—heavy, clunky armours with equally flashy, hefty weapons.

He wouldn't touch those things with a ten-foot pole, mainly because he had never been taught the disciplined art of Kenjutsu. Ithad never been much of an appeal to him back then; he was always more inclined towards the flashy techniques.

"Listen, I'm going to be swinging around town once we finish our mission. Can't I just pay you back later?" Naruto asked, dragging a surprised Wendy in front of him. It was sneaky, but he could use a new batch for the coming mission.

Jeff grunted, narrowing his eyes at the sudden change in negotiation tactics.

"That's just really underhanded, kid."

That didn't deter him in the least. "Please! Don't you remember the time when we only took half the reward for helping out at your daughter's wedding?"

"You said I was your best client!"

"We say that to all our clients," Naruto said dryly before arguing, "Come on! You know me! I always keep my word, don't I?"

"Aye, you do, but not always on time."

Naruto nudged Wendy in the back. He was silently glad that Carla had opted to talk to their client first. She would never condone using the Dragon Slayer for such a cheap stunt.

"A-Ah, please just this once, Uncle Jeff," the dark-haired girl implored, offering a large bow.

Jeff looked away for a minute, staring at a weapons rack just off to the corner of his store, and Naruto knew he had the man at the ropes. Naruto didn't allow his hopeful, pleading expression to waver. With a small sigh, Jeff reached down the counter, pulling out his order of assorted kunai and shuriken.

"Only 'cause it's you, kid. You're the only one ordering these stuff by the bucket loads; I would have stopped making these altogether had you not come 'round," Jeff explained, grumbling. "I'm a bleeding heart, I know. I'm a sucker for helping idiots like you."

"You're the best, Jeff!"

"And you better not forget it!" He paused, scribbling the details down on his notepad. " I'm gonna give half of your order now. When you come back from your mission—now where is it again?"

"Hamlin, Hamlin's Crossing," Naruto said, giving the man another grateful smile as he systematically placed the weapons in his pouch.

"Right that ought'a take about four days tops to make a round trip back here, and plenty of time before the suppliers comes knocking on my door. You will pay me back immediately. No sight-seeing around town, you hear me? Then, and only then, will I give you the rest of your order."

Naruto nodded, reaching out to grab the older man's hands. "You rock, Jeff."

"Ah, get your hands off me!" The blacksmith pried himself from his grasp, making a shooing motion with his hands. "Just remember to pay me back, and keep that team of yours safe, all right?"

"Sure thing," Naruto said, inclining his head in agreement before he guided Wendy towards the exit once she had given her thanks to the older man herself.

"Oh, and that snobby cat of yours too, I suppose!"

"Carla's not—"

Wendy tried to interject but Naruto slapped a hand over the Dragon Slayer's lips before she got into another lecture trying to defend her best friend's surly behaviour.

"See you in a couple of days, Jeff!" he shouted over his shoulder as they exited the store.

The irate girl was trying her best to pry off his hand by licking his exposed palm. It had been borne by one of those trial and error things due to the numerous attempts of 'hand-slapping-over-the-mouth' deals that was so rampant in their team. It was a weird dynamic they had developed over the years.

He had to admit though: he was ticklish.

Once they were safely away from the store, he released the hold over her mouth, grimacing as he cleaned the offending palm on his poncho. Wendy seemed equally disgusted as she wiped her tongue with the back of her hand.

Ewww.

"You know," Naruto said. "We do have some time to spare before the train leaves. I'm sure we can walk around Hargeon for a bit before we go back to the station."

The young girl perked up, prior disgust forgotten. "Really? I did hear something about a new magic shop that opened recently," she trailed off, her eyes hopeful.

Naruto sighed. He didn't know why Wendy was so interested in such run-of-the-mill magic; she was a powerful mage in her own right. He chalked it up to one of those things that kids did. After all, even he had splurged on an unnecessary shuriken plushy cushion when he was young.

"Why not?"

Naruto lurched forward, allowing Wendy to pull him by his arm. As he watched the young girl lead him through the narrow streets of Hargeon, he couldn't help but smile.

Wendy was slowly coming into her own. As much as he would like to take credit for it, Naruto wasn't thatself-centred. While her wide-eyed innocence and cheerful disposition remained, there was a steel-like determination inside her, tempered by the numerous missions they had undergone as a team in the past three years.

Even Carla had been trying her best to pull the timid girl out of her shell. A few times, her methods and lectures had irked him. The two had butted heads quite literally behind Wendy's back on a number of occasions. Harsh words were exchanged, and a few tea cups had shattered in the process, courtesy of Carla. In the end, concessions were made. Both had ultimately agreed to do what was best for Wendy.

While Naruto had agreed with Carla, he remained conflicted. Did he really want Wendy to grow up so fast?

The young girl remained as one of the links that tied him down to this world and he would be lying if she hadn't grown on him, even Carla for that matter. It had been inevitable considering the time they shared together. In all these years, they had relied on him, depended on his strength, and that alone had made him feel needed. It had given him another purpose in this world aside from his desire to return to Konoha.

But could he leave them so easily once he found a way back? Was he really that callous?

He struggled with himself, lambasting his wayward thoughts that he could never, ever do such a thing to someone who had grown into such a precious person. But for three years, three whole years, and not even a significant breakthrough on his part to return home; it was starting to wear him down, both physically and mentally.

"We're here!" Wendy exclaimed, pulling them into a stop.

Naruto looked up, wrenching his thoughts away from such sombre themes. Against the backdrop of the sweltering sun, two stories of brick and mortar cast a tall shadow on the narrow streets. With the exception of small traces of worn-down paint on the side of the building, it looked decent, better than some of the shady stores just around the corner.

"Come on," the girl said, flashing a brilliant smile.

He returned it, motioning her to walk in before him.

Stealing another glance at the sky, Naruto gripped his hands under the covers of his poncho. As much as he hated himself for putting it off again, he would cross that bridge when it came. It wasn't good to dwell on such things now.

With a resigned sigh, he stepped in.

The moment he entered, Naruto promptly crashed into Wendy, who was transfixed on the strange sight in front of her. She staggered, almost falling over had Naruto not reached out to steady her.

His eyes too were drawn at the spectacle before him. A small perverted thought echoed in the largely hollow space that was his mind. He couldn't help but compare the seductive pose the attractive girl was in to the covers of his late Master's perverted books. A small chortle escaped him in the ensuing silence, his laughter resounding around the small store.

He couldn't help it.

Whatever this girl wanted, she must reallyreally want it bad.

Wendy had skittered off to one of the aisles away from their view. She was never one to laugh in someone's face, but her small, delightful giggles did eventually reach his ears.

The blonde girl rigidly turned her head to the side in mid-wink, his view of her face now no longer obstructed by her oddly lop-sided pony tail, which was tied up by a puffy blue ribbon. The initial blush on her cheeks blossomed, covering her face completely.

Naruto looked on in amusement.

"A-Ah..." she said, still not getting off the counter.

The elderly attendant, who remained oblivious to his new customers, held up two fingers. "I'll mark it down by two thousand Jewels." There was a perpetual odd-like serenity present as he spoke, "Take it or leave it."

Mechanically, she got off the counter, turning to the side so that Naruto couldn't see what she was doing.

Although, judging from the fact that her hands went up to her top of her vest and his ears could pick up the faint zipping sound, his mind could easily imagine—and with vivid realism—what she was doing. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Wendy peeking around the shelves, trying to mouth something to him, but it was too vague for him to make out.

"I'll t-take it," the girl muttered.

She kept her head bowed as she slapped the Jewels on the counter. Slowly, she clutched a small box in her hands, holding it against her chest. As she shuffled closer and closer towards the door, all the while ducking her head down, Naruto stepped aside, opening the door for her.

"Here."

"T-Thanks," she said, inclining her head at Naruto, but not making eye contact with him. Just three steps away from the store, the girl zoomed down the street without so much as a glance backwards.

"Miss, you forgot your change!" the elderly attendant called after her.

Naruto sighed.

Why was fate always trying to lead him towards impressionable girls?

He stepped forward, reaching for the spare change in the attendant's hands. The girl must be on a pretty tight budget if she had to beg for a meagre discount. That, and he knew what it was like to beg too.

"Give it here. I can catch up to her."

Next to him, Wendy looked at him strangely. Somehow, a knowing gleam appeared in her eyes as she smiled. The young girl turned back to the attendant as he started to peddle his products.

"Wendy, make sure you stay in the store until I come back, okay?" he said as the elderly man began to demonstrate some odd form of magic much to her delight. "And don't buy anything you'd regret later," he added nervously. "Please..."

"Okay~" she intoned over her shoulder, waving him off.

Naruto channelled chakra into his legs as he set off to chase after the girl, jumping from rooftop to rooftop so that he would have a better vantage point. She had quite a head start on him, and it wouldn't do if she had some kind of high-speed magic like some of the mages he had seen over the years. As it turned out, her blonde hair stuck out like a sore thumb in the sparse crowd.

He reached up to touch his. Was it really such an eye-catching colour?

Naruto shrugged, leaping off the short building as he flipped his body in mid-air before landing gracefully right in front of her. The preoccupied girl shrieked, pulling her body back in an odd defensive stance.

"Kyaaa! It's y-you!"

Naruto held out her change, looking away as he coughed into his free hand. "You ah, forgot your change from... earlier."

She visibly relaxed, her prior embarrassment forgotten as she reached for the Jewels. "You ran all the way over here just to hand me back my change?" She looked back at the street, brows furrowed in confusion before gasping. "Was that magic?!" she asked, her eyes glittering with excitement.

"Was what magic?"

The girl pointed at the ground he was standing on, almost skipping in place. "The way you just appeared right in front of me. What kind of magic was that?"

"What? Nah, it wasn't magic," he explained, nodding towards the rooftop of the building he had just leapt from. "I jumped."

Her features froze in mortification before she sighed. "A-Ahaha... well, you ask a stupid question," she said under her breath.

"No, really, I jumped."

The girl waved her hands placatingly. "Ah, I didn't mean it like that." She shook her head, her long hair trailing after her in a delayed reaction. "But thanks for helping me. My name's Lucy."

"Ah, that so? Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

She smiled that kind of smile that he had always been so fond off—a smile that reached up to her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Naruto." She paused, looking around him as she stared down the street. "Uhm, so how did you get here so fast anyway?"

"Oh, right." No matter how long he had been using this excuse, the words still felt foreign in his mouth. "I'm a mage."

In an instant, Lucy closed the distance between the two of them, clasping her hands over Naruto's, rattling off, "I knew it! I knew you were a mage! Say, what kind of magic do you use? What can it do? Which guild are you from?"

"Y-Yo, wait a bit. One at a time."

"Sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away when it comes to magic. But really, you don't have to be so formal with me, just call me Lucy," she added with a small wink and a giggle. "I'm a mage too." Lucy looked away, embarrassed. "But I'm not a member of any of the guilds yet though."

A look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

"Oh, so... Do you wanna join our guild?"

Honestly, apart from him, nobody had even approached to join their guild in the past three years. Then again, it was with good reason why no one aside from him ever did.

Chief Roubaul had seen to that.

His interactions with his Guild Master had grown superficial over the years. Between the two of them, they exchanged pleasantries in the guild tent from time to time to keep up the flimsy charade, but there was little need for it when he was already interacting with his... 'guildmates'. The sad truth was that they both knew that the other knew, as confusing as that sounds.

Naruto was less-than-content to leave things as they were, but there were more than just his frustration at stake here. He had to consider what was best for his team.

The thought caused him to frown.

He was mindful not show it to Lucy, lest he deter the young woman from joining. Maybe, it wouldn't hurt to have someone new at Cait Shelter. At the very least, for Wendy's and Carla's sake.

"Can I?" she pleaded, looking expectant.

He nodded hesitantly, but it went unnoticed. "Yeah, I don't see why not? I mean, it was easy for me to get in. Although, our guild is kinda far from here, and my team does have a mission to do pretty soon."

"A mission? Really?! That's so cool! What is it?"

"It's nothing too exciting. We just have to guard a train." As he explained, his expression morphed into a look of abject horror as he glanced up at a large clock tower in the distance; it was well past their arranged meeting time with Carla.

Oh, crap.

The mission.

Lucy remained oblivious to his plight. "Awesome! By the way, you never answered my question: which guild are you from? Phantom Lord? Fairy Tail?" She looked up, only to find an empty space. "Naruto?"

"Sorry, Lucy," a faraway voice called out to her from the one of the adjacent rooftops. "I have to run. I'm going to be late for my mission!"

The Celestial Spirit mage reached out her hand to stall him. "Wait! Where are you going? How am I supposed to join your guild when I don't even know the name?!"

Naruto stopped short just as he was about to dash off, shouting, "Just drop off at Diligeon and ask around for a guild called Cait Shelter. They'll point you in the right direction. I hope to see you there!"

"Cait Shelter? T-That's not the guild that I want to—"

Naruto vanished in a sudden gust of leaves.

0.0

"Join..."

Lucy finished lamely as she tried not to let her jaw drop.

What kind of magic was that?

And so there she was, alone once again as her body wavered languidly, reacting to a small breeze that drifted by. What was she supposed to do now? She was running low on Jewels, especially after splurging on the Celestial Spirit, Nikora. There was no way she could afford another boat ticket to Diligeon.

Well, she hoped Naruto won't be too disappointed if she didn't join his guild. He seemed like a nice guy and all, but she had never even heard of Cait Shelter before. Maybe if she just tried out at one of the more popular guild first, and if she were to get rejected, well...

Lucy sighed.

"They say that a famous wizard is in town!" a girl squealed as she rushed past her.

"It's Salamander-sama!"

Why did that name sound so familiar to her? Lucy watched a couple more girls rush past her, all gushing in delight over the arrival of the one called Salamander. Wait, wasn't that the one that was said to use fire magic that you can't buy in any store? The great fire mage, Salamander?

Well, that was bound to be interesting.

0.0

"Where have you been?" Carla muttered in that low dangerous voice, placing her paws at her hips. It was the stance she reserved for naughty children... but mostly for Naruto.

He tried to keep the scowl from his face. "I said I was sorry," he grumbled, helping Wendy aboard the steep steps to the locomotive train. "There was an incident and I had to help someone out."

"Oh? How so?"

"I don't see how it's any of your business."

The Exceed turned to Wendy who only shrugged in response. Instead, the young girl turned her attention towards the empty seats, walking down the aisle to inspect the coach.

"So it was a girl," Carla said to herself.

He tried to keep his expression neutral, though he was obviously failing from the telling blush on his cheeks. He could never understand how those two were able to communicate telepathically. It was like they were able to read each other's minds or devised some sort of hidden code much like the ANBU back home.

It was downright sneaky.

"What's the catch?" he asked, trying to change the focus back to the mission.

Carla seemed like she wasn't about to drop the subject, but sighed and hopped off the headrest. She walked down the aisle—towards Wendy. "This is a fairly straightforward mission. We are to safeguard this train or in particular, the safe in the baggage car at the front of the train, from any attacks until it is safely transported to Hamlin's Crossing."

"Sounds easy enough. Is the client expecting any real trouble in this mission?"

Carla frowned. "The man wasn't very forthcoming," she said, eyeing the interior of the passenger coach. "But he did say that whatever was in the safe is a lot more important than the actual train itself, so it's safe to assume that we will encounter resistance."

Wendy, who had been initially staring out the window, turned her head towards the feline. "Really? Is that why the train is so short?"

"Yes, I've noticed that." Carla beckoned them with her paw as she walked towards the vestibule connecting to the other passenger coach. "As you can see," she said, spreading her paws towards the surroundings. "There are only five passenger coaches and all of them are empty."

"Well, at least, we won't have to worry about civilian casualties," Naruto said. "But we could add a few clones as passengers to make it look like a normal passenger train."

Carla shook her head. "No, if there was a plan to hijack the train, they would have clearly known the schedule."

"Then, why do we have to stick to the schedule? For that matter, why do we even have to take the train? Why not just take out whatever we're supposed to be protecting and secretly head there ourselves. I could use a clone to stay in the train and we can leave this thing running as a decoy."

"Firstly," Carla said. "The stations must always stick to the schedule and ergo the rules. If there is no schedule, then all there is... is chaos. Secondly, it was specifically stated by the client that we have to arrive at the destination by train. Don't even ask why, Naruto. The client requested the mission to be carried out this way."

Naruto frowned. It would have been so much easier and far less conspicuous if they had just gone on foot. Why he could just go alone and let his team have a good rest while he made the trek west. Though, he was sure Wendy was never going to go for it. Still, it was kinda suspicious. Why did their method of arrival have to mean so much to their client?

"Then who's driving the train?" Wendy asked, cutting into his musing.

Carla blinked, lips drawn dourly. "No one. It's being directed by self-sustaining lacrima and powered by coal."

The young girl blanched. "Coal?"

Naruto chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Yeah, yeah, we know. If the worst should happen, we can always stick you in the last coach." His playful mood diminished. "Is anyone else getting that creepy feeling that something bad is going to happen?"

"I worry only when something doesn't."

A small pause ensued, which was only broken by Naruto. "That's not as cool as you think it sounds."

0.0

"M-Mister McGraw?"

The grizzly man scowled, reining in his horse as he turned towards the voice, giving a few calming pats to its back as he did. Lifting the brim of his Stetson hat, a single cold, calculating black eye regarded the newcomer; a new recruit one of the older hands of his posse had recruited.

"Yes, TronBon?" he asked gruffly.

He had made it clear that no one was supposed to disturb him, especially when he was staring out into the vast expanse of grim, fleet terrain. It was when he could cut loose, brood, and hold a one-sided conversation with his horse.

Dammit, it was his alone time!

The young man winced, eyes cringed close as he slowly peeked at their leader underneath his own rattan hat. "A-Actually, the others call me... BonBon, but I'd prefer Billy the—"

"I don't give a rat's ass! Out with it, Bonnie!" McGraw said.

"Y-Yes, Mister McGraw! Right! Well, you s-see..."

A little pistol whipping ought'a straighten the kid's tongue out.

Reaching into the holster on his hip, McGraw pulled out his famed revolver, cocking the hammer back as he took aim at the silly decoration on Bonnie's hat. He savoured that sweet ping as the bullet ricocheted off its target, sending shattered shards of the small wooden ornament flying. The boy yelped like a banshee and McGraw revelled in his misery.

This was the way a gun should have been used. Just a revolver, a first-rate aim, a single good eye and blindin' fast reflexes. Yeah, none of that Guns Magic that's been spreading around them worthless punks nowadays, and even amongst his posse. God help him if they had to rely on such trickery to even aim a damn gun.

Pathetic. The whole lot of 'em.

He was known round these parts as Quick Draw McGraw for good reason. He was the villain of Hamlin's Crossing, the devil of Blackwater, the scourge of the Wild, Wild West... of Fiore.

McGraw watched as Bonnie shivered in fear.

Good.

He had to get that fear into them young before they started thinking crazy 'bout wanting to take over his posse.

"Try again," he said pleasantly, though the small, wicked gleam in his eyes denoted otherwise.

Bonnie clutched onto his hat. "The train—they say it's departing right on schedule. It should be arriving within the day."

McGraw chuckled lowly. "Good," he said, grinning as he looked out at the vast expanse of arid land in Western Fiore. "Prepare the posse, Bonnie. The Red Dead Bandits shall ride once more."

0.0

Check.

Naruto stepped down from the ladder to the topside of the baggage car as the warm winds carrying past the vast expanse of barren land whipped his hair back. He spluttered, blowing out the sand that had gotten into his mouth.

It was almost like the sandstorms back in Suna.

Standing on the narrow open platform between the one of the passenger coaches and the baggage car, Naruto held onto the steel railing and leaned out sideways, taking a moment to watch the onrushing scenery.

He then couldn't help but grimace. There was something definitely off about this mission.

It didn't help that the baggage car holding the safe was sealed shut by their client. Come on, who was paranoid enough to weld the steel door shut? Not that he couldn't easily pry it open, but really... what was up with this Marston guy?

At least, he had his clones to work with. He had a few of them disguised as passengers as part of a decoy and an added precaution.

Huh... Check.

"Is everything prepared?" Carla asked as he plopped down on the comfortable seat opposite Wendy.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Think we're gonna be attacked any time soon?"

The cat shrugged. "Could be, we're just hours away from Hamlin's Crossing and there's not a town in sight of this place. It should be the perfect window for them to strike, in my opinion."

He blinked, nodding as he caught onto her reasoning. "Huh? So no one would hear us scream. Smart."

"Ah, don't say it like that, Naruto." Wendy fretted in her seat, saying, "I'm sure we'll be..." She paused, as if something caught her eye in the onrushing scenery on the other side of the glass. "Oh," she uttered faintly as she pointed at the faint speck of shadows far off in the background. The shadows steadily got closer, as if trying to intercept the train, large clouds of dust trailing after them as they did.

Naruto sighed. "Well, that was a coincidence." As he stood up, he quickly worked out the kinks in his body. "Remember the plan, all right? And always remember to—"

"—stick to rule number one," the duo intoned lazily.

His words died on his lips.

"Right, let's get to it then."

0.0

It took them a while to catch up to the train by horse, and even more on their attempt to jump aboard while on horseback, but they weren't bandits for no good reason. That was why the moment McGraw stepped onto the open platform at the end of the train, he knew something was wrong. One didn't survive to the age of forty-three as an outlaw without having a gut feeling about these sorts of things.

McGraw lagged at the rear, hesitant to enter the train fully, but the rest of his twelve-man posse had cackled, rushing into the cabin with guns blazing and terrifying the small group of passengers inside.

McGraw scowled at their foolishness.

The old outlaw didn't really care much for his makeshift crew. They weren't particularly smart; just bloodthirsty and reckless enough to want to follow in his footsteps. He wasn't blind to the fact that they were likely here only to ride on his coattails. After all, he was practically a legend 'round these parts. But he had made it clear enough to the rest that this was his posse, and they were only to act on his orders.

No ifs and buts. No back-sass.

In the end, the idiots complied, though they did so begrudgingly. It had formed a rift in their group, and he was their main antagonist despite being their leader.

Bah.

He still didn't give a damn. They were merely faceless replacements who could never measure up to original Red Dead Bandits.

God rest their filthy, filthy souls.

McGraw stepped back, choosing to hide himself behind the door to the cabin. His 'client', some slick pecker called Marston, had informed him beforehand that there were mages aboard the train, but he was never told about the passengers. Their presence would only make the execution of their mission messier, even if they afforded him a nice security blanket should they be hindered by the Rune Knights.

He glanced around the car, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Paranoia and self-preservation had kicked in, and he couldn't shake off the feeling that the panicked screams of the passengers felt forced.

"McGraw?! What the hell you doing hidin' there?"

It was Randy who yelled at him; a beefy bastard of a man whom he had picked up near the town of Hamlin's Crossing. He wasn't that good with a gun, but he made up for it for his willingness to kill in cold blood. In his arms, Randy held a struggling brunette against him, slowly gyrating his hips against her back as he basked in her terrified screams. He had a thing for girls like that—those prim and proper girls who were just a bit too snooty for their own good.

She really did look the type too.

"Now we got ourselves a fine hostage situation, don'tcha think? You add that to the reward we'd be getting for this little shindig," Randy said, looking at the sea of expectant faces of his fellow members. "We're gonna be fucking rich!"

As cliché as it seemed, McGraw had to bite back a curse as they started shooting their firearms into the roof, sending wooden shards into the air. They were heehawing like a prospector striking gold.

"Knock it off, you sons' of bitches!" he bellowed. "Can't you see there's something wrong here?"

Jesse, one of more veteran recruits, sneered at him.

"The only thing wrong I see here is a yellow-bellied coward hiding behind a door."

Jesse was a bastard, much like Randy too, nuff' said. The boy never held back from declaring his disdain for McGraw, but would never do so in front of him. Their animosity had almost reached a boiling point in their last raid, but Jesse had been smart enough to back down then.

"Has the great Quick Draw McGraw finally gone senile?" Jesse taunted, his eyes narrowed as he levelled a revolver in McGraw's face. "It's about time we stop taking stick from you, McGraw."

With a forceful shove, Jesse pushed his female hostage back into her seat, requipping another revolver from his magic seal with his free hand. The rest eagerly followed suit.

One by one, McGraw found himself staring down the barrels of their firearms; some long, some short, some even getting damn near rusty. He scowled. It was such a waste to see such decent weapons sullied by their owners' hands. A gun was like a woman. You gotta handle her just fine before she'll give you a...

Well, that wasn't the best way to describe it. Maybe more like—

Wait a minute.

Why the fuck was he thinking about this now?

He was getting gypped here.

"You fucking assholes!" McGraw roared.

It was common knowledge to not freaking mutiny against your leader during a goddamn mission. It was downright unprofessional—even thieves were supposed to have honour.

Fucking bastards.

Even a hardened man like him couldn't help but gulp. He wasn't a fancy-schmancy mage; he was just an ordinary gunslinger. A good one—a famous one even—but against the twenty odd barrels levelled point-blank at his person, even he couldn't get three shots in before he was gunned down like a dog.

A filthy, filthy dog.

Bonnie, that weedy little bastard, stepped forward with a scowl on his youthful face. It didn't look the least bit intimidating due to sporadic freckles on his cheeks. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do this." His eyes narrowed into slits as the young man cocked the handle on his shotgun vertically in the air with one hand before snapping it under his chin. "You're a real fucking piece of work, McGraw."

"And you're a shithead, Bonnie," McGraw said simply.

Don't kids nowadays know how to handle a shotgun properly? He was placing an enormous amount of stress on the internal moving parts of his firearm. Something was bound to break inside.

It was like calling your woman a whore right before she was going to give you a...

Right.

Getting gypped here.

McGraw glowered at the weedy bastard. "I'm gonna kill you first just cause you're an annoying little prick."

Bonnie thrust the shotgun in his face, and McGraw could already see so many weaknesses in his posture. There was no way this kid was going to survive out in the West for long.

"It's Billy, Billy the kid. Not Bonnie, you ass—"

"Quiet, shithead!" Randy cut in. "You can cuss him all you want when he's dead. Let's just finish this." Randy sneered at McGraw. "We'll even do it your way, McGraw. Just to give you a fighting chance."

A fighting chance?

Bah!

He wasn't senile, like they believed. There was no love lost between the lot of 'em. Without him acting as the focal point of their ire, their loyalty no longer belonged to anyone but themselves. There was no way one of them wouldn't turn on the other just to get a larger slice of the pie. At the end of the day, his body wasn't going to be the only one left cooling in this here passenger car.

"Good on you, Randy," McGraw said, grinning. "Who you got your eye on next after me, huh? Is it James? He's too smart for his own good, isn't he? Or is it Cameron? Tsk. Don't give me that look, Cam. You're a fucking cunt. No one here likes you."

McGraw didn't consider Cameron a good enough criminal, but there weren't a lot of people who wanted to bask in his esteemed company. The man was willing, even if he grated on everyone's nerve with his bumbling personality, and he needed numbers to fill up his group after a particularly bloody raid. He didn't think the man would survive past their first raid together, but the buffoon kept pulling through at the end. It made him wonder what the man had done in his previous life to gain such favour from the big guy up there.

Then again, the man was an idiot.

Cameron started looking around the group. "S-Shut up!"

This was good.

McGraw could feel the odds against him lessen.

"What? You didn't know?" He scoffed, pointing at Bonnie. "Fuck, I like the little shithead more than you, Cam... and everyone here hates the shithead because he's a little bitch."

Cameron looked crushed, fingering the trigger on his rifle before he lowered his rifle down. "Is this true? B-But I really like you guys! Even you Bonnie! We make a good team, don't we? "

"It's Billy! I want to be Billy the—"

"Goddammit! Enough, shithead!" James shouted, scowling at Bonnie. "If you say one more thing, I'm going to kill you myself," he said plainly. "Can't you see what he's trying to do? He's turning us against each other. Let's just finish this and argue later!" He glared at the rest of the posse as they surrounded McGraw in a half-circle. "Ready, boys?! On the count of three!"

McGraw smirked and readied his weapon. What's one last hurrah before dying? "Heh... Don't come crying to me in hell when one of you follows me down there."

"One—" All of them intoned together.

"Two—" Similar maniacal grins tugged at their lips as their fingers neared the trigger.

'Slam!'

The door to the next car crashed open as a blond man in a gaudy poncho, his hands locked in some strange gesture, and a dark-haired girl decked out in a sunflower dress, her chest puffed out as if she was holding in a great breath, stepped into view.

"Three!" the blond shouted.

0.0

Tiger. Ox. Dog. Rabbit. Snake.

"Fūton: Daitoppa!"

"Tenryuu no Houkou!"

It took microseconds for their attacks to connect, his widespread gust of wind fuelling the potency and size of her Sky Dragon's Roar. The hurricane-like blast began to absorb his technique, increasing its rotation, reinforcing the bluntness of her attack as it tore into the interior of the passenger coach. The spiralling storm shredded everything in its path, dispelling the disguised clones, pulling seats off its hinges, and shattering the fragile windows.

The intensity of their attack was not confined to the single car. It had brushed past them and back towards the front of the train, continuing its swath of destruction. Not even his clones in the other cars had been spared as their memories filtered back to him.

It had been so severe that Naruto had pushed Wendy aside into a corner, shielding her with his body. He only hoped that Carla would be able to find shelter somewhere.

From the resultant pressure, cracks then began to appear at the sides of the car as the large volume of wind sought a release. The combined forces of their attacks ripped off the top half of the car like a half-opened can of soup, its lid dangling dangerously in the air. With an almighty crash, the top half toppled over, the remains of the wooden roof crashing onto the train tracks.

There was a loud screech as it was dragged along with the moving train, intermittent bursts of sparks shooting off the broken roof as a result of the underlying friction between the two surfaces. The train itself was teetering on unstable wheels as it continued its journey along the tracks.

The bandits were immediately lifted off their feet; one was unlucky enough to be hit directly by their attack, and was thrown out like a rag doll through the open doorway. A lucky few managed to survive the start of it by instinctively onto whatever purchase was within their reach, but as the intense storm continued to surge without signs of abating, their strength gave out and they were flung from the moving train onto the harsh, barren wasteland.

It took a good moment before their combined attack finally died down, causing Naruto to blink. Sure he had gotten the idea when he was working on the collaboration technique with his toad summons, and while his few attempts with Wendy during practice did look promising...

This.

This was...

He promptly noted to himself never to use it in such a constricting space unless it was absolutely necessary.

Naruto glanced up, the locks of his blond hair billowing in the wind as he looked at their new improvised convertible passenger car. At least their client didn't really care about the state of the train. He wouldn't want to be the guy who had to foot the bill at the end of the mission.

Again.

Wendy tugged at his poncho, looking worried and grief-stricken. "A-Ah, are they...? Did... Did we—"

The blond tried to suppress a small grimace. He couldn't be too sure, but this wasn't something he wanted Wendy to blame herself for. "They're fine," he lied, cutting her off quickly. "A bit roughed up and maybe a few broken bones, but I don't think any of them died."

He hoped.

The sound of a bullet ricocheting off the wall, just fractions away from Wendy's head, snapped him out of his thoughts. He pushed the young girl back into the second car, shielding her with his body. His arm snapped out, a kunai finding its way into his hand as he deflected another bullet.

That one was dangerously close to his heart.

Slowly, a dishevelled man emerged from his crouch, his profile hidden behind the small pile of rubble at the end of the car. Cuts littered his body as blood seeped into his tattered clothes. Miraculously, his hat got off unscathed. As he lifted the brim, a single eye stared back at him.

"I gotta thank ya, boy," he said gruffly. "My posse was about to mutiny."

"Just doing my job."

The man laughed a deep bellowing laugh. "Haha, now that! That's the kind of gumption I want in my crew," he said, fingering the chamber of his silver-white revolver. "It's just too bad, I gotta do mine too, you know... And Quick Draw McGraw never—" he lifted up his firearm and slotted it back into his holster, "—ever messes up a job."

Naruto's experience with the strange weapon had been sporadic at best in the past three years, but to him, guns had always felt like a cheap imitation of a real weapon. Then again, it didn't make them any less dangerous. He needed to keep Wendy away from this fight. This one knew what he was doing, judging from his first two shots; the first he belatedly assumed was a warning shot to warn his younger teammate away.

A sudden lull descended between the two as the train passed through a small tunnel, shrouding the theater of war in darkness. It emerged from the other side of a very deep, rocky canyon. Careful to keep his attention on the gunslinger, Naruto took a small sideways glance over the side, inwardly gulping at the sight.

That was a very long way down.

A single eye narrowed at him.

"Draw!" McGraw shouted, snapping his revolver out of his holster in a flash.

Naruto sucked in a breath, once again barely deflecting the trajectory of the bullet away from his person. Another followed a fraction of a second away, which he blocked by unleashing a flurry of shuriken at his adversary.

McGraw proved that he didn't merely rely on the skills of his weapon. The gunslinger whipped his gun in the air, diverting away his projectiles using the barrel of his revolver. McGraw didn't so much as wince as he parried the last shuriken with his free hand, the ninja star digging deep into the open palm as the sharp edge protruded out from the back of his hand. He smiled menacingly, rubbing the back of his injured hand against his cheeks, the shuriken leaving a small cut on his already scarred face.

Hmm, that wasn't creepy at all.

"I think I've heard of you before," Naruto said. "McGraw, right? You're supposed to be some big shot around here."

"I suppose. It's nice to be recognised at least."

Naruto felt someone tug at his poncho. "N-Naruto, I can help!" Wendy said.

He was hesitant to let her do so.

The man was far too trigger-happy and calculating for him to make any rash decisions. Using clones seemed far too obvious in this confined space. He could always swarm and overwhelm the man, but he needed an opening. Then again, he couldn't rule out McGraw having a hidden ace up his sleeve. The man hadn't even used his magic yet. No, it was better to wait and play it cautiously. If he rushed the gunslinger, he would leave Wendy terribly exposed, considering her eagerness to help out.

Naruto shook his head without looking at her. He could already imagine the small scowl that played across her features.

A tense exchanged ensued which ended in another draw. It was clear that they were at a stalemate as the combatants easily deflected their counterpart's ranged attacks. It was only then Naruto saw his chance after a rather obvious conclusion.

Shit...

He never considered that.

"You're good, but I got you pegged, boy. You can't use that magic of yours cause you might just end up destroying the train and killing that little girl with you." McGraw looked down over the canyon, chuckling. "That is unless you can fly, but I doubt that."

For a moment, Naruto wondered where Carla was in this whole fracas. He had told her to keep an eye on Wendy if something like this were to happen, but where the hell was she?

"If it comes down to battle of skill and reflexes, me and this here gun got you beat. I've been doing this since before you were born. What makes you think I'm going down to a bunch of snot-nosed brats?"

"You keep telling yourself that when I kick your ass." He then smiled cheekily. "It took me a while to notice it, but I was too busy trying to look underneath the underneath that I never considered the obvious. You're not a mage, are you?"

McGraw scowled.

"What's that got to do with anything? You mages think you're all high and mighty, don'tcha? Well, I've killed mages much older and better than you who thought the same thing, boy."

Naruto didn't bother with a reply, readying another salvo. Now that he could see the patterns in the way the man fought, coupled with his reaction speed, it was remarkably easy to figure out a win.

For a man without magic, McGraw was holding up quite well by himself, but without a trump card Naruto could overpower him by the next move.

Their fingers twitched.

Each deft flick of the wrist was met by a small spark of metal, but it was on the sixth and final bullet that McGraw thumbed the release latch. He inverted the gun, barrel pointing upwards as he unloaded the chamber.

Two seconds.

Two seconds was all it took for the man to swing the cylinder closed again with a fresh round of bullets, and another second or less to aim and squeeze the trigger. It was more than enough time to reach the gunslinger.

Naruto pulled his outreached arm forward, his hand clamped tightly over the man's wrist as he delivered a bone-shattering elbow to the man's jaw. He followed up by snapping the outlaw's wrist, loosening the man's hold over his weapon as it clattered to the floor. Before McGraw could even choke out a scream, Naruto twisted his arm behind his back and delivered a swift chop to the base of his neck.

The grizzly man slumped lifelessly to the ground.

"Naruto?"

Seeing the concerned look Wendy directed his way, he smiled. "Took care of that pretty easily. At least we can enjoy a peaceful train ride after all this."

"Run!"

They turned, seeing the small form of Carla running down the aisle towards them. The fact that the feline was stricken with worry and that she was actually running, well... the scene did not bode well for them.

"Get off the train!" Carla shouted at them. "There's explosive lacrima on the—"

A deafening boom echoed around them, reverberating off the walls in the closed off canyon as the lacrima exploded. A massive rock slide from the surrounding cliffs converged on the tracks just metres away from the head of the train. The wooden and steel scaffolding structure that supported the train tracks crumbled under the mass of the large, falling rocks.

The train lurched forward as it begun its descent into the canyon. The kinetic energy from its speed, powered by the self-sustaining coal lacrima, propelling them faster into the rocky abyss.

"Wendy!" he screamed, losing his footing as a result of the downward force. His hands snapped out to reach his free-falling teammates. "Carla!"

Pumping chakra into his legs, he dived, trying his best to cushion the blow as he tackled Wendy into his arms. The young girl whimpered at the rough contact, but remained steadfast as her hands reached out to grab Carla. The act caused the cat to stop her plunge down the aisle as her small body was yanked back, dangling precariously in the air by the tip of her tail.

Naruto didn't have time to compliment Wendy on her catch as he landed into an odd crouch, using the back of one of the train seats as a platform. The seat buckled dangerous under their total weight, squeaking as the pressure threatened to budge it off its hinges. Without a second thought, he stole a glance up at the only remaining exitthe large, gaping hole at the end. They were right in the middle of the train, and he had to work fast to cover the remaining two passenger coaches if they were to escape.

He re-adjusted the two of them securely in his arms as he jumped up to the next crude seat-platform, narrowly avoiding pieces of debris that rained down the aisle. The previous one rattled off its hinges and tumbled down the aisle with a metallic squeak, crashing into the a few of the other seats on its way down.

Immediately, he bit back a gasp, pointedly looking away from the body of McGraw as he too plummeted down the aisle, towards the head of the train and to his rocky death. The gunslinger was too far gone for him to reach. In the man's unconscious state, there was nothing Naruto could do for him now. Besides, the safety of his team was more important than some two-bit criminal would ever be.

Luckily, Wendy and Carla had their eyes squeezed shut in his arms. At least that was a small consolation once they got out of this wooden death trap.

His breaths got more and more laboured as he reached higher and higher, using any crude furniture inside the train and the odd metal struts along the overhead bins as a means of reaching the large gaping hole of the recent convertible car.

He had to make it. He just had to.

With a forceful lunge, he reached over to the next seat, carefully jumping over a few stray wooden boards which had broken off due to the sudden impact. Naruto could feel it; the warm, arid air on his skin.

They were almost there.

Seeing that the falling hazards had lessened, he channelled the chakra to the soles of his feet as he ran across the slippery surface of the roof, gradually lengthening his strides as the train groaned in protest, the wooden structure squeaking as it tilted more and more over the edge. Somewhere along the lines, he didn't know when he had started screaming as the others joined in.

All he knew was that he had to reach the exit.

With another chakra enforced leap, he jumped into air as the last of the passenger car plummeted to the bottom of the canyon with an emphatic crash. Naruto landed roughly on his knees a few metres away from the edge of the tracks, sucking in huge gulps of air as his grip tightened over the duo in his arms. Slowly, he brought his head down to rest on Wendy's.

He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop laughing.

0.0

"I do not understand, young warrior."

The blond scowled, raising his chin off the table lazily as he regarded Grognak. "We were double-crossed, Grog. As it turned out, our client wanted to get rid of his father's will which he kept inside the safe, and since he didn't want it to be linked back to him, the bastard made this crazy plan to destroy the train and everyone else involved."

"So what happened then?"

Naruto snorted in derision. "What did you think happened? We high-tailed out of there and rushed back to the guild."

"Hmm, that still doesn't explain why you came back so late," Grognak said, glancing at Wendy and Carla who were a few tables away, talking animatedly with Chief Roubaul.

Naruto paused, taking an extra-long gulp from his mug. "I er—owe a certain blacksmith a debt that I couldn't pay, so I had to work it off." He fingered the edge of the mug, chuckling weakly. "But seriously, it was by far the worst mission we ever had!"

"Even worse that the time where you had to stop an active volcano?"

Naruto shuddered at the memory. "No, that wasn't the worst, but it certainly was the dumbest. I don't even know why I agreed to do it," he said, shaking his head. "I mean this wasn't the first time we were double-crossed by our clients, but we didn't even get our reward this time 'round! I'm telling you if I ever find this John Marston guy, he'd wished he never double-crossed us."

"Vengeance is never the answer, but I will humour you since I know you are simply venting your frustrations."

"I know, I know... No more revenge quests." He perked up then, his anger forgotten as he stroked his chin. "Oh hey, did a blonde girl ever come asking to join the guild?"

Grognak shook his head in reply.

"Nuts... I wonder where she went off to."

Fiore Criminal Registry File

Name: Maltese 'Quick Draw' McGraw

Age: Forty-three

Magic: None

Alleged Deeds: Several counts of assault, armed robbery and murder

Bounty: Three hundred thousand Jewels

Threat Level Assessment: Medium (classification level: B-Ranked)

Notes: A career criminal well-known in the western region of Fiore. Former associates: Dutch Van Der Linde, Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella (All classified as deceased; perished in the infamous shootout of Peterson Royal Bank in XV775) formed up the now reformed Red Dead Bandits, which in their illustrious four years crime spree committed dozens of (reported) bank robberies, train raids, murders and other various illegal activities across the western areas of the kingdom. After the death of his team, McGraw spent the next decade roaming the region as a lone outlaw before finally deciding to rebuild his former posse with a number of interchangeable minor criminals.

CONTINUE FROM LAST READ?
Chapter 185, 17