The Shinobi Visitor

Chapter 31 - A Little Holiday Cheer...

"What a bright and sunny day!" Naruto said, basking underneath the sun's light before a wave of thick clouds blocked it as its reach stretched for miles. "Never mind."

It was another simple day at the Ryozanpaku Dojo.

It was simple for Naruto of course, but not his fellow disciples as they're in another sparring match against their fellow Furinji Style disciple-in-training.

The Shinobi stood as Kenichi and Miu charged at him, landing blows that were blocked, deflected or simply dodged casually. After dodging Kenichi's and Miu's dual attack of punch and kick, Naruto jumped backwards with a smile before making a beckoning gesture.

"Let's get him, Kenichi."

"Hai!"

On the sidelines sat the Ryozanpaku masters, Rhea, Medusa with Kuroka (in her cat form) on her head as they watched the spar, although this isn't any regular sparring: Naruto is also training them at the same time to point out their flaws and strengths.

Naruto, after catching Kenichi's punch that was sure to knock out someone on the latter's level, gently shoved him. "Kenichi, put your entire weight into the punch if you want to knock them out." He then blocked Miu's leg with his forearm after sensing her from his blind spot before Miu back-flipped away from him. "You have to be much faster, Miu, if you want to catch your opponent off-guard."

"Hai!" The two agreed as they took their stances before charging at him.

Chuckling to himself, Naruto simply turned his body to the side as he blocked their attacks with one hand for each of them. Even after increasing the speed of their punches and kicks, they couldn't get past Naruto's strong defense and his experience doesn't help them either.

Catching Kenichi's kick and Miu's punch, Naruto gently shoved the kids away that made them stumbled onto their butts. "I think that's enough for now."

"Ah! We still couldn't land a hit on him." Miu pouted while Kenichi nodded.

Naruto chuckled as the younger kids stood up and walked to him. He placed his hands on their heads and smiled at them, "You guys are ready for the tournament next week; you'll do great."

"I concur with Naruto's statement." The kids looked to the side to find the masters standing before them. Akisame spoke again, "Miu and Kenichi are as ready as they can be. Naruto on the other hand…" The Jujitsu master looked at his towering friend. "His training is incomplete, correct?"

The Elder sighed as Naruto reluctantly nodded. "I'm afraid so. There have been… certain circumstances that stalled our training." He stroked his beard before a small smile etched his face. "But I know Naruto will be all right."

"How many techniques have you learned from grandfather, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Miu before answering, "I'd say three of the Trine techniques, but they are not pushovers." He chuckled while scratching his cheek. "I'll only use them if the situation calls for it."

"Or if you want to show off." Sakaki grinned at the pulsing vein on Naruto's forehead. "Is any of them a finishing move?"

"Any technique could be a finishing move if you put your strength into it." Naruto countered casually before smirking at the Karate master. "And from the way you asked about them being finishing moves, it sounds like you don't have a finishing move of your own." He spoke in a cheeky tone.

Right on the money, an vein-marked Sakaki ran to the apartment and returned in his tattered white dogi with a punching bag under his arm. "Take a look at this, kid." He hung the punching bag on the branch of a tree. "This technique is exalted as the most feared and forbidden in the Karate world."

"Really?" Naruto asked sarcastically with a hint of awe. The Elder and the rest of the masters chuckled while Miu sighed exasperatedly before Naruto pulled Kenichi next to him. "Did Sakaki ever show you this technique?" A shook of his head was his answer. "Looks like you're going to learn it."

"Osu!" Sakaki gathered his strength into his punch before releasing it unto the heavy bag. Instead of a full-out punch that would've sent the bag into the air, it looked like Sakaki barely punched it and the bag didn't move at all. "Motionless Sand Cloud Bomb."

Naruto wasn't impressed as he was to make a witty retort when the other side of the bag suddenly exploded, letting the sand inside fall to the ground in a pile. After a few minutes, the surprised blonde ninja looked at the smirking and smug Karate master. "How?"

"This technique releases a shockwave without moving the bag one millimeter. That is why it's feared." Sakaki walked to the scared and shaking Kenichi. "And you're going to learn this technique, Kenichi." His eyes shined with lights beaming with his smirk.

"But I don't want to!" The scared Kenichi received a head slap from an irritated Naruto. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you should be grateful that Sakaki is going teach you a new technique." Naruto scolded with folded arms before sighing, "I don't know Akisame and the others had done so, but they should do it soon. Sakaki already has a head start after all."

His master caught onto Naruto's doing. "Nice work, young lad."

Before Kenichi could retort, he was pulled by the masters like a flag as they bombarded him with their secret finishing moves, leaving behind Naruto, the Elder and the girls. "SAVE MEEEE!"

"No can do, Kenichi." Naruto chuckled at his displeasure before a loud growl escaped from his stomach, embarrassing him. "Sorry, I guess I'm hungry right now."

"We can fix that for you." Medusa said with a smile as she petted Kuroka's head.

Rhea nodded as she and Medusa walked toward the main house before shouting, "We'll be having ramen with Chafusu Pork and sushi!"

A happy and smiling Naruto threw his arms up in joy. "Yay!" He cried out before feeling a huge hand on his head and looked to see it belong to his master. "Elder?"

"Walk with me."

Knowing what he wants to discuss, Naruto followed his master out of the dojo, walking besides him on the concrete streets of their metropolitan city. After making sure that none of the usual eavesdroppers—Kenichi, Miu, Apachai and Shigure—were following them, the Elder spoke to his disciple in a grim tone. "You've met him: my son."

"For the hundredth time, master, yes I met him." Naruto responded with a discreet roll of his eyes. His encounter with Saiga was a week ago and when he told the Elder, he wasn't allowed to leave the dojo until the tournament… Which is next week. "I didn't ask because I have a feeling, but I'll ask anyway: do the other masters know?"

"Yes, they do and they were surprised. Especially Akisame."

"Oh right." Saiga and Akisame were best friends before the former's supposed defection to the Satsujinken. "The room I'm staying in… It was your son's?" Naruto asked.

The Elder said nothing as the duo walked for several blocks before entering a park with lots of people and kids. The master and student found an empty bench near the lake and sat on it, staying silent as they watched people passing by them. How fortunate for them as they're blessed with ignorance to their world.

"Do you believe him?" The Elder finally spoke after what felt like hours had passed.

Sparing to glance at him, Naruto knew what he was talking about: Saiga's innocence of his wife's, Shizuha Furinji, murder. "I do."

"Why's that?" That's when he looked at the younger blonde and received a small smile from him.

"Because he's your son. And Miu's father." Naruto looked at the Elder before leaving. "That's all I need to believe him." He didn't even look back to see the knowing smirk on the Elder's face before thinking about the look and body language of Saiga that day. The man looked like he was on a mission, dedicated to accomplish it by any means necessary. But that doesn't mean that he'll leave Saiga alone and that means ninja time.

Speaking of ninja time or something related to it. "Maybe I should ask Rhea for ribs and orange chicken," Naruto mentioned with a drool-sated mouth.

The Elder sighed as he heard that with his unusually strong hearing before following him back to the dojo. After a few minutes, the master and student chose the scenic route back to Ryozanpaku-roof jumping across Tokyo's skyscrapers. As Naruto and the Elder landed in the dojo's training grounds with two loud 'crashes', the younger blonde looked at the older and more muscular one. "Master?"

"Yes?" Hayato asked as Naruto made hand-signs, creating an invisible sound barrier around them. "What is this?" When Naruto stayed silent, he became concerned. "Naruto?"

Drawing in a breath, Naruto looked at his towering master. "Three nights ago, I had a dream." Hayato gestured him to continue. "Well I've been having dreams for a while, but they're weird ones."

"How so?" Hayato mentioned before sitting down as Naruto followed suit in a cross-leg pose. "Explain."

Naruto rubbed his chin as he thought about them carefully. "Well…the first one was just a glimpse of something." Hayato motioned his arm in a 'go on' gesture. "I might sound insane, but the glimpse was something about a sheep's head… in the bow of a boat of sorts."

"…Really?" Hayato couldn't help but sweat-drop.

Naruto cleared his throat with a cough. "Yeah, it doesn't make to me either. Fortunately, the second dream was more than a glimpse; like a regular dream. It was about some kid around my age with glasses at something called an exhibition and the kid was bitten by a spider."

"Nothing weird about that."

"The spider was hit by some green laser before biting the guy."

"Oh." Hayato is starting feel less at home. "Is there more?"

Exhaling sharply, Naruto rubbed his head before answering, "After the second one, the dreams were glimpses except the most recent one: it was a guy."

"The same one before?" Naruto shook his head in the negative. "A different man?" This time it was a nod in the positive. "Who is this man?"

"Well he has spiky black hair—more spiky than my own—and he was flying and… He was fighting against two guys who wore some sort of armor." Naruto could smell the home cooking of Rhea and the girls that started to get his mouth watery, but shook it off. "Then he defeated one of them by performing a technique that somehow increased his power and that's when the dream ended. Although I did like the guy's uniform: an orange gi with a dark blue undershirt. People who wear anything that is orange have my utmost respect." He ended with an approving nod.

After hearing this, the Elder stroked his long beard as he pondered about this. "… And you've never met or seen them before?" Naruto shook his head once again. "Could this be related to your becoming a god?"

Blinking blankly, Naruto pointed at the Elder. "That must be it-. No, that has to be it." He stated with absolute certainty. "Just like what happened with the Greek language." The Elder's eyes rested upon him, which caused an explanation from his mouth. "I discovered I could read, understand and speak Greek; both ancient and modern."

"Huh." The Elder saw Miu gesturing them to come in the house. "Looks like food's ready." His disciple couldn't be faster when he heard those words as Naruto ran, leaving behind a dust trail while also disabling the barrier. "Things are becoming for hectic for you."

-Minato District-

"Please tell me why I'm here again?" Naruto whined as he followed Miu and Rhea with Kenichi by his side.

Pouting at his tone, Miu looked back at him. "Because you need to do something other than training. Besides it's almost time for the holidays." She got a tilt of Naruto's head in response, "You do know that Christmas is coming, right?"

Then she and Kenichi heard the words they'd never hear. "What's Christmas?" The duo gasped loudly as Naruto became more genuinely confused. "What?"

"Oh, dear, dear, dear Naruto…" Kenichi patted the taller boy in a sympathetic way. "Where did you live in your life that you never heard or know Christmas?"

"I don't know. Maybe that I'm from a different dimension that never had something called Christmas." He wanted to retort that, but instead Naruto said with a shrug, "My village was very isolated from the world." A big sweatdrop appeared on his head when the hands of a star-struck Miu grabbed his own before he was dragged like a little girl with her toy. "What's happening just now?!"

Kenichi chuckled while Rhea giggled before cupping his mouth with his hands. "You're about to get the full Christmas package." The two then ran to catch up with Naruto and Miu, who was failing miserably to drag the taller blonde further when he regained his footing.

"Come on! Let me show you the wonders of Christmas." The Ryozanpaku beauty said exasperated after she stopped pulling. "Why are you refusing?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not. You just caught me off-guard is all." He rubbed his head sheepishly with a chuckle. "So what's happens during Christmas?" A sudden breeze of chill air sent a shiver through his spine. "Ah! Why's it so cold?!"

"Because it's snow season." Kenichi responded with a deadpan look. "Why else Rhea, Miu and I wear these jackets?" He pointed at the thick brown jacket and red scarf he's wearing before re-directing his finger at the girls.

When the shivering Naruto took a closer look at the girls, he saw Miu wearing a white coat with matching color earmuffs and Rhea sporting a green thick jacket with brown mittens and a matching scarf around her neck. All in all, they all looked very warm to him.

Kenichi stated at the glaring Naruto. "You're the only one who hasn't."

"W-whatever." Naruto tightened his headband before noticing Rhea holding a thick orange jacket like hers in front of him. "T-thanks, Rhea. You're a goddess and I mean it." Rhea blushed slightly as Naruto took the jacket before putting it on, becoming warm moments later. "Ah~ Warm and toasty."

"How about Kenichi and I head to the mall…" Miu said slyly before dragging a surprised Kenichi with her. "… While you two get the food?" Before the Shinobi and the Titaness could get a word out, the younger children were already gone.

"…Um…." Naruto looked at Rhea who looked at him before identical smiles appeared on their faces. "Normally I'd whined like a little kid, but with you I'm fine with this."

"Me too." Rhea giggled before wrapping her arms around one of Naruto's and led him to follow her. "And I get to tell how Christmas began."

"Do tell my beautiful goddess." Naruto said, suppressing the blood in his nose as his arm was being smothered between Rhea's assets as they walked under the cascading shade of white trinkets.

-Ryozanpaku Dojo-

"This is bad." Akisame stated with a large sweatdrop. In front of him were a sheepish Shigure and a nervous Apachai with a very large tree laying behind them… right next to a stomp that looked like it was cut and punched through. "This is very bad. Very bad for you two."

"Not my… fault." Shigure pointed at her giant friend. "He started it."

"Apa!" Apachai gawked at the blame-shift play from Shigure. "Not true. Apachai only wanted favorite Othello piece from Shigure, but she took it and ran off!"

Akisame cleared his throat, effectively ceasing the scuffle between the younger masters. "It doesn't matter who started it. What matters now is what we're going before Hayato comes back." Shivers went down in Apachai's and Shigure's spines before they started shaking in place. "I'm pretty sure you remembered last time."

Images of Hayato chasing a duo of horrified Apachai and Shigure with Tochumaru on her shoulders in a Christmas night while shouting, 'I'll kill you' caused the masters, even Kensei and Sakaki, both of whom just arrived to shudder and fidget uncontrollably.

"That was a night I wanted to forget." Sakaki mentioned after a shaky swig of his beer.

Kensei nodded while trying to read his adult magazine, also shaking. "That night gave me nightmares for months. I couldn't even look at Hayato back then."

"Yosh!" Everyone looked at a glowing-eyes Akisame who had a determined face. "We will save Ryozanpaku's Christmas in our 'Save-Christmas-by-finding a-tree-before-Hayato-comes-back' plan!"

"Hai!" The rest of the masters cried out before they disappeared in a burst of speed towards the north.

-With Naruto and Rhea-

The couple ignored the glares from the passing boys and girls as they hop store to store, looking for the ingredients for the dinner party. As they exited out of the one that had the final ingredient they needed after a brief scuffle with a customer who tried it from them, Naruto looked at Rhea who carried the two bags of groceries.

"Rhea?" The Greek beauty looked at him. "So do you know who's coming over to the party?" Naruto asked curiously.

Rhea nodded with a small smile. "Kenichi did mention that a few of his friends from school are coming over. Apparently they're martial artists of different styles."

"Is that so? Do you know what they study?" A shook of her head was his answer this time. "Guess I'll have to find out at the party." He chuckled when Rhea gave him a playful slap. "What?"

"No fighting." Rhea playfully scolded as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I think you've done enough of that for a while."

Naruto gave an affirmative nod. "Tell me about it."

After a very nice long, slow walk with the tale of Christmas, the birth of Jesus and the many traditions that came to life afterwards, the two arrived back at the dojo to find an unfamiliar sight.

The sight of the masters sans Sakaki and Akisame being frantically tangled by the endless Christmas lights. It didn't take for the older martial artists to notice them. "Uh, what's going on here?" asked Naruto as Rhea walked over to them to help with the untangling.

"Just a little setback." Kensei said, straining to untangle his hands but only to make it worse than before.

"Right." Naruto responded with a deadpan face. With a discreet help of his subtle wind chakra coated hands, Naruto freed the masters with a series of knife-hand strikes, surprising them with his proficiency and precision. "What?" He asked upon seeing their surprised faces.

"Y-you used knife-hands." Apachai stated with a blank face, pointing at the blonde.

"So?"

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Sakaki greeted followed by Akisame, only for his grin to fade when he felt the glares from Kensei, Apachai and Shigure accompanied by a glaring Touchumaru. "What?" Before he knew it, Sakaki was suddenly dog-piled on by his recently freed masters that resulted in a wrestling match. "What's your problem all of the sudden?!"

Naruto snickered as he watched the restrained wrestling match between the four masters before noticing the perturbed looks of Rhea and Akisame. "What?"

"Aren't you going to tell them?"

"Tell them what?"

This time it was Rhea who answered him. "You know exactly what." She responded, her hands on her hips. "Tell them."

"Tell us what?" By then the scuffle ended as the four masters stared intensely at the nervous Naruto.

"Uh…" Naruto shrank a little as he rubbed his head sheepishly. "I may or may not have been practicing the discipline on my own… during Sakaki's sessions with Kenichi… since I've been here."

Since Rhea demonstrated a Karate technique during their little spar on Furinji Island for the peace summit plus his interest in the marital art since day one on Ryozanpaku Dojo, Naruto thought to do the same thing. But he had to do it on the down low since his master was vehemently about his training solely on the Furinji Style. If the Elder ever found out, even he wouldn't be able to escape his wrath.

Instead of being tackled to the ground as he expected it, Naruto was suddenly in a tight bear hug by a joyous Sakaki. "Hahaha! I knew it!" He sported a smug grin with one arm pointed at the downed masters after letting go of the confused blonde. "Told you! This proves that Karate is the strongest martial art!"

The atmosphere that was once jolly now turned into one of enormous pressure. "Uh-oh." Naruto and Rhea said simultaneously as they stepped back as the masters including Akisame all had glowing and shining eyes, their Ki leaking out of their bodies. "This is not good." Naruto stated as he held Rhea close with his arm around her shoulders as her arms wrapped around him. "I might actually have to intervene here."

"You want to rephrase that comment." Akisame said with a clear hint of rage.

Kensei nodded with a tick mark on his head. "I didn't think you were capable of such a joke." Akisame nodded grimly as he was sure that he has his fellow doctor's support. "Obviously Chinese Kenpo is the strongest." Scratch that thought.

"No! Apachai's master said that Muay Thai is the strongest!" Apachai countered back at the Chinese master.

"No… weapons are the best." Shigure said before slightly drawing her nodachi from its sheath.

Rhea gulped loudly as she watched the masters about to get into it. "Shouldn't we stop them?"

"Nah…" Naruto shook his head, pointing with his free hand behind them at the gates. "He'll take care of it."

When they heard 'He', the five masters suddenly turned pale as they tensely turned around, their bodies turning completely white when they saw a grinning Hayato standing there with crossed arms.

"CAN I JOIN PARTICIPATE AS WELL?!"

-With Kenichi and Miu-

The two disciples looked to the east in the direction where Ryozanpaku is located when they felt a brief but huge Ki release before it disappeared just the same as it appeared.

"Was that-"

"Yep…" Miu said exasperated as she continued walking before Kenichi followed her pace. "They must've been at it again."

"'They'?" asked a confused Kenichi as he adjusted the heavy sack on his back.

"Oh right. Before you arrived at Ryozanpaki, the masters used to get into arguments with each other relating to which marital art is the strongest."

She got a tilt of Kenichi's confused head as an answer. "But isn't your family style the strongest since the Elder is the master of the dojo?"

"Well obviously, but the argument is usually between Akisame, Sakaki, Kensei, Shigure and Apachai. And my grandpa usually breaks up the argument before it gets out of hand." Like what happened just moments ago. "Nowadays they try to come on top by doing something that is not martial art-related."

"Like what?"

"Board games and such."

"Oh…" Kenichi and Miu looked at each other before facing forward while changing direction for the dojo. "I bet no one wins at the end."

"Except my grandpa."

"Of course."

However things are waiting for them and they're in for something totally unexpected.

-(Two Hours Later)-

"What happened to them?!" Kenich and Miu cried out upon seeing the down and heavily bruised masters whose eyes sans Akisame's closed ones rolled back. But the biggest and most shocking was that the Elder was also one of them with a huge bump on his forehead and swirly eyes. "Grandpa!"

Kenichi looked at a nearby nonchalant Naruto who was whistling a tune after he put up the new tree. "What happened here?"

"The masters actually challenged the Elder to a fight which he obviously accepted and defeated all of them, but Sakaki managed to land a direct Ki-infused hit on him." Naruto answered without a beat before looking away to the side. "I can't tell them that I was the one who knocked out the Elder." With the help of something called Sage Mode and its enhancements, he did as to overcome the masters' senses.

"Oh no." Miu started to get tears in her eyes and sniffled. "What are we going to do now?" Rhea and Medusa soon appeared with pots in their hands, smoke escaping from the hole in it as the delicious aroma grabbed the nostrils of Naruto and Kenichi as they sniffed loudly.

They weren't the only ones as each of the masters suddenly sprang to their feet albeit with some grumbles here and there. However before anyone could reach the delectable hidden food, Rhea and Medusa repelled their grubby hands with a ladle and tong. "Oh no you don't." Medusa scolded, waving her tongs at the hungry crowd.

"The decorations are not done so no one is going to eat until they're-" Rhea paused when sudden blurs of multiple colors whirled around the dojo, only for some of the Christmas lights were held on the roofs while the rest are decorated on the tree that stood in the middle of the training ground. "-up. Never mind but we still have to wait for our guests."

"AH~" The residents sans Naruto chorused with slag shoulders.

After noticing the sudden disappearance of the blonde Shinobi and looking around the area they're in, Rhea asked the obvious question. "Where did Naruto go?"

Everyone simply shrugged before resuming their feasting.

-(Meanwhile)-Tokyo International Airport-

Upon exiting the tunnel that connected the plane to the terminal, the passengers merged with the crowd of those who were either waiting for their flight and the ones who just arrived from other airlines of other countries.

Just like the East Coast of the United States, the Coast of Japan and its capital city, Tokyo, were bombarded with cascading snow. However the storm was not extreme enough to ground outgoing flights or incoming traffic from other countries.

Amongst them was a woman who broke off from the crowd to the baggage claim area. She had brown hair with ringlets, red lipstick and wore a brown coat that hid her figure, but the most distinguishing trait about this woman was her eyes. Her eyes resembled the color of fire; yellowish-red and it clearly didn't help with stares of passing men.

"Every time." She sighed exasperatedly as she made to the baggage claim area. After several minutes of waiting, the woman found the luggage—three of them—before pulling them out with ease. "Now where are they?" She whispered as her eyes scanned the direction where she came from. "I told them to meet me here after they were done."

"Looking for someone, ma'am?"

Her eyes widening slightly, she recognized the voice as she heard it over the phone two weeks ago. The woman turned around to see a grinning blonde teenager with six birthmarks on his cheeks, a headband on his forehead and wearing brown thick coat that provided warmth.

"Why yes you can." She responded before mirroring the blonde's grin.

"Then let's find them."

-(20 Minutes Later)-Ryozanpaku Dojo-

The normally quiet (except training sessions) strongest dojo in the world was filled with chatter, songs and joy. Inside the main building were the residents and their guests who managed to arrive in time as Miu served cups of hot chocolate to her new friends.

"Here you Takeda and Ukita. Enjoy~" Miu chirped at the boys. The two of them differed in stature in regards to height and build due to their differing martial arts. The smaller one known as Takeda had indigo hair that was set in a ponytail, dark-toned skin and a stick in his lips. The taller one was Ukita who had broad shoulders, light green hair and a pair of glasses that hid his eyes from everyone and the lights.

"Thank you Miu!" The two boys chorused before sipping their drinks, savoring the delight and taste of it. "Delicious!"

"… Boys…" A different voice drew their attention to their visiting friend. It was a girl around Miu's age with a red cap above her brown hair, yellow-slit eyes. She was wearing a red jacket and a complete set of pants since her usual one was missing a leg there not appropriate for this kind of weather.

Takeda smirked as he pointed at her. "And what about you Kisara? You look like you're having fun with Miu's cat." The black cat purred under Kisara's soft fingers as she rested on the girl's legs.

"Whatever."

In Kuroka's mind, she inwardly pouted about her predicament. "Damn it. This hasn't been going as I planned at all! I haven't been able to be close with Naruto ever since I got here." A small smile tugged her cat mouth. "But come midnight, that will change."

"EVERYONE!"

The partygoers turned their heads to see a formal-decorated table and plenty of delicious, warm food on top of it. Rhea and Medusa smiled at them, causing a mess out of the drooling Takeda and Ukita.

"FOOD IS SERVED!"

"YAY!"

Everyone sans the Elder, Akisame, Rhea and Medusa ran to the table before they sat down and enjoyed the splendid meal before them. Medusa giggled upon seeing Sakaki chasing Apachai for the last of the glazed gingerbread cookie before looking at Rhea who had a slight frown.

"What is it, Rhea?"

"Oh it's nothing." Seeing Medusa's dry look that showed her disbelief, Rhea sighed. "I miss my family… my children."

"Oh…"

"It's… been a very long time since I've seen either of them." Medusa wrapped her arm around Rhea's shoulder before pulling her into a one-arm hug, soothing her. "I wish I can see them once more."

"Ask and you shall receive!" Naruto entered the room, receiving greetings from the people present. "Hello everyone!"

"Naruto!" Everyone sans Ukita, Takeda and Kisara greeted.

"Who's that?" Kisara whispered to her friends, receiving a shrug from Ukita before noticing the pondering face of Takeda. "Takeda?"

After a minute of thinking, the boy placed a fist into his palm upon figuring it out. "Oh, I know who he is now! He lives here in the dojo with Kenichi and Miu. Apparently he's the disciple of Miu's grandfather."

"Disciple?!" Kisara and Ukita looked at each other, then at the towering that is the Elder and looked at each other again. "How could he survive that guy's training?"

"Beats me."

Choosing to ignore their conversation, Naruto instead walked over to Rhea and Medusa before leading them to outside the main building where there was a guest or guests waiting for them. It was the woman from the airport with two little girls standing on both side of her. The young girls had their mother's hair and wore identical white jackets, but the difference between them was their eyes; the one on the right had blue eyes and the other on the left had red eyes.

Rhea gasped lowly as the woman smiled at her with closed eyes. "Hello mother."

"Hi grandma!" The smiling twins greeted Rhea with a wave of their hands.

Both Naruto and Medusa smiled when tears of joy cascaded from Rhea's eyes as a smile tugged her lips. "Hestia." The now known Hesita smiled as her mother looked from her to the twins. "Why you two must be…" Rhea playfully paused as she gestured her granddaughters to say their name.

"My name is Selene!" The young girl with the red eyes introduced as she giggled.

Her sister with the blue eyes then introduced herself after. "And I'm Isabel." Isabel and Selene exchanged looks before running to Rhea to give her a tight hug. "It's so good to meet me, grandma." Instantly Rhea returned their hug with her own tight one before Hestia joined in as well.

"… I'm so happy to see you girls." Rhea then broke the hug to look at the smiling Naruto. "How did you find her?"

"During my first visit in Atlantis, Poseidon mentioned Hestia and her daughters lived in New York. So I called Hestia and invited her to spend the holiday with you." His smile grew bigger as Naruto's eyes closed. "I tried to invite your sons, but they had their own thing going on, but they send their love to you. Everybody should be happy during Christmas time. That's what you told me earlier, didn't you?"

Seeing him smile like that made Rhea's face red before she fought it down. After feeling a nudge on her leg, Rhea looked at Selene who gestured her head at something that was atop of Naruto. She then looked closely as her blush came back full before walking to Naruto. "Thank you so much. And for that I have a gift for you."

"Really?" Naruto was surprised before noticing Rhea's slight stare at something above, prompting him to do the same. It was a Christmas tradition that indicates intimacy. "Hey isn't that a mistletoe?" His head was pulled down before he felt her lips connected to his. It was bliss as Naruto and Rhea wrapped their arms around each other, their lips still joined together as they enjoyed it.

Hestia smiled brightly as her daughters cheered for their grandmother for finding happiness with Naruto. However there was one who wasn't particularly happy at the moment.

"NO!" Medusa cried anime tears before noticing the smug wink from Rhea. "Ooohh… you won this round, but the battle goes on!"

Finally Naruto and Rhea separated, much to their chargin, as their cheeks were as red as Rudolph's nose. "That… was…"

"Amazing." Rhea finished before him as she smiled, getting Naruto smile back at her.

The blonde Shinobi gently placed his headband-wearing forehead against the Titaness' forehead. "Merry Christmas, Rhea."

"Merry Christmas, Naruto."

-(Later that Night)-

After making sure that Kenichi's friends were safe on their routes home, Naruto appeared on the dojo grounds via Shunshin. As he walked inside the main building, Narruto's thoughts went back about the martial artists as they were quite interesting to say.

First and foremost, they used to be Kenichi's enemies and were a part of the neighborhood gang that consisted of marital artists called Ragnarok. The gang once controlled the neighborhood of aspiring martial artists by giving those who were unlucky to be on their radar: either join them or be beaten to a pulp. Their most powerful fighters were known as Fists. Each Fists had a codename that were Nordic Mythology origin.

Now Kenichi had fought against Takeda and Ukita, but not Kisara. Apparently Miu took care of her since Kenichi's code wouldn't let him hit a girl in his life.

But the most interesting thing about them is that they all mentioned Kenichi changed their lives for the better, including their martial arts. Takeda wanted to get stronger to beat Kenichi next time so he's currently under the tutelage of a master boxer and the 'mustache' rival of Akisame. Ukita went back to the Judo club to hone his Judo skills and Kisara simply joined them after being attacked by third Fist known as Freya.

"Boxing, Judo and Tae-kwon-do… Very interesting." Naruto smirked about Kenichi's defeat of those martial arts practitioners as he stopped in front of his room. "Things are going to get rough for them here on out." He opened the door with the intention to sleep and think about Rhea's precious lips, only for that intention to disappear when he spotted her sitting on his futon. "Rhea. What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" A somewhat blushing Rhea smiled her brilliant smile at him as she patted the spot next to her. "I'm going to sleep here."

"Eh?"

Her blush returning at full force, Rhea nervously said, "I-I was wondering if I could… sleep with you tonight. Hestia and the girls are sharing with Miu's room, so I thought…"

Naruto raised a hand to stop her. "Say no more." His cheeks turned red as he sat next to Rhea. "I was kind of wondering the same thing…" He said while his finger nervously scratched his cheek. "I-I won't try anything funny just so you know."

"I-I-I… Thanks." The blushing Rhea said before she and Naruto laid down on the futon as the latter pulled the blanket over them. She smiled as Naruto's arms wrapped her waist while she wrapped her limbs around his neck, bringing them closer. "This feels… right."

"I know right?" Naruto stated before giving her a peck on the forehead. "Good night… my goddess."

"You do know I'm a Titaness."

"*Chuckle* To me you'll always be a goddess." Naruto smiled at her before realizing something else. "Why aren't you recognized as a goddess?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you helped your children during the Titanomachy, so I've always thought you should've been recognized as a goddess."

"I never thought about it like that." Rhea responded after a moment of thinking.

Naruto gave her a peck on the lips. "Well I'll make it official. Rhea the Goddess of Motherhood, Fertility, Second Chances and Redemption." Instead of a relieved look, he got a confused look with a raised eyebrow as a response. "Not good?"

"… I love it." Rhea beamed him with her sunny smile before kissing him, entering a deadlock of lips between them. It wasn't long until the couple entered a deep slumber while in the embrace of each other.

-(Three Hours Later)-

His eyes stirred as the dojo's perimeter seals he put up pinged inside his mind; the sleeping Naruto summoned a weary clone that quietly left the room with his ninja steps. The clone stifled a yawn with the back of his hand as he went outside in the cold weather before noticing that it was still snowing as the dojo grounds was filled completely with the wondrous substance.

As he jumped on the dojo building, the clone scanned the perimeters before sensing energy coming from the back… where Ryozanapaku's personal hot spring was located. "Who would be back there?" He muttered to him-self before strolling through the thick woods. For some reason, he couldn't sense whose energy signature belongs to or the quality of it so the clone had to be cautious.

After some time passed, the clone reached the perimeter of the hot spring and put his hands through a thick bush that was in way before pulling them apart, giving him a clear view of the hot spring itself… and its occupant.

"My, my… so bold Naruto~"

The clone was sent crashing against a tree by a massive nosebleed upon seeing whom it was. He stood up with his nose covered while looking to the side. "Kuroka, what are you doing?!" He whispered harshly.

"What does it look like?" Kuroka asked as if it was obvious despite being bare in front of him. "I'm taking a bath in the hot spring." She moved a wet bang away from her eyes before a sultry smile tugged her lips. "Do you want to join me?"

"Uh-um… No."

"Too bad." Kuroka appeared behind the blonde to push, but Clone Naruto caught her by the arms and quickly clothed her with the black kimono. "Oh~" The nekomata pouted as she looked away from him. "Party pooper."

"What were you doing out here anyways?" The clone asked, getting her to look at him. "You should be asleep." Kuroka gave him a smile although he already could tell that it wasn't genuine. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing." Clone Naruto gave her a dry look, getting a sigh from her. "Nothing is going my way." Kuroka admitted with a frown, confusing the blonde.

"What do you mean?"

"… Ever since I killed my master to protect my sister, nothing's been fine. I'm being hunted by the Underworld; my sister hates me and I'm pretty sure Ophis and Cao Cao are looking for me right now; and now…" She looked at the blonde with a slight reddening on her cheeks. "Now you."

"Me?"

"You haven't forgotten that I still want you. To help me revive my race." Kuroka looked away again with a sad sigh as Clone Naruto blushed. "Is it because I'm not beautiful enough? I know Medusa and Rhea are extremely beautiful and I know I can give them a run for their money, but…" She looked at the clone who had realized what's she saying. "There must be something wrong with me. I didn't catch even a single glimpse of your attention since you welcomed me here."

The clone was taken aback by this news before answering, "You're wrong about that. The boss thinks that you're gorgeous." Kuroka blushed although she was confused at the same time. "Although he's pretty much in for Rhea right now… and Medusa."

"What do you mean by 'the boss'?" Kuroka asked before her mind went back to the memory of her and Triton's failed attempt to capture him back at Aphrodite's Coliseum. "Oh... you're a clone." She said in a dejected way. "Not even the real one can talk to me."

"Come on, stop this now." A tick-marked Clone Naruto scolded as he grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him. "The boss or I-he-I-… Damn I get confused sometimes… Whatever. He does care about you. I care about you. If the boss didn't care about you the way he does about everyone in his life, then he wouldn't have taken you on the date back then." He smiled as he put his finger under her chin, lifting her face so he can see the yellow eyes. "He's been really busy and things have been hectic lately, but luckily I'm here."

Kuroka couldn't help but smile at the clone's tone. "And why's that?" She was caught surprised when the blonde cupped her face before his lips made contact with hers, causing her to moan in delight.

"So I can do that." He smiled after breaking the kiss. "Gosh I'm a lucky one and the boss is too." Seeing the raised eyebrow, he elaborated, "The boss will have memory of this later on."

"Really?" Kuroka asked in a sultry tone before her eyes diverted to the south of his body. "Everything?"

"Yeah." The confused clone tilted his head. "Why?"

Before he knew it and a yelp of surprise, Kuroka tackled him with surprising speed into the hot spring.

-(Just Before Dawn-Hours Later)-

After carefully removing him-self from the warm embrace of Rhea's body, Naruto quietly left his room and eventually entered the main house through the hallway that connected the apartment building to it. He sighed deeply when his clone's memories of spending time with Kuroka in the hot spring flashed in his mind, but smiled to himself when the nekomata had a genuine smile before she went to sleep in Miu's room in her cat form.

"I should spend more time with her… and Medusa… all of the girls." With that in mind and upon entering the common room where they usually relax most of the time, he found Medusa sitting in front of the table. "Ah! Morning Medusa." Naruto greeted with a smile and a wave before he noticed the frown on the girl's face. "What's the matter?"

"Wha?" She looked at him before showing a smile at him. "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

Naruto gave her a dry look before sitting next to her. "Don't give me that." Medusa was surprised that he saw through her. "Tell me what's wrong. After all it is Christmas… although we celebrated it a week earlier for some reason."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Medusa-" He paused when Medusa's hand was placed atop his own and looked at her face, also noticing the girl's red cheeks. "You too?"

The former priestess became confused. "'Me too' what?" Medusa asked with a small glare, getting a sweat drop from Naruto who nodded at her.

"W-well… last night I thought there was a perimeter breach, but I was tired to check it myself so I sent a clone instead." He coughed with his cheeks turning slightly red. "It turned out that it was Kuroka who triggered the breach and she was at the hot spring…" Naruto's sweat drop turned bigger, shivering from the menacing aura behind Medusa as he struggled to continue his story. "And…she-was-naked-at-first-but-my-clone-put-her-clothes-on-." He said at rapid speed before inhaling to get more oxygen, "And Kuroka may or may not have tackled him into the hot spring… where they stayed for most of the night."

Despite his dual training in Ninjutsu and Furinji Style, there was nothing that could prepare for the incredibly strong ominous aura behind Medusa. Naruto had several sweat drops on his head as he stared at the glaring Medusa, who crushed her cup of tea after hearing the story, realizing the thing that his old perverted master and godfather warned him about when it comes to the female gender.

"The unfathomable wrath of women… the one thing that all men can't fight against… their one true, undefeatable foe." Naruto replayed those words before gulping loudly as he interlaced his hands with Medusa's. He inwardly cheered when the ominous aura disappeared, seeing a calm albeit slightly upset Medusa. "But I wasn't really there, you know."

"But it was a clone of you!" Medusa barked at him, causing the blonde to shy away a little. "So technically it was still you." She pouted while looking away from him to avoid revealing the tears in her eyes. "Was she really gorgeous?"

Naruto frowned as he directed his hand to her cheek, turning her face so he could see her waterworks, and wiped away the tears. "Honestly…" Naruto paused as Medusa gave her undivided attention, slightly smiling. "You, Kuroka, and Rhea…" He affectionately rubbed her cheek, getting Medusa to rub against his hand. "The three of you are gorgeous, beautiful and unique in your own way. That's what I love about the three of you."

"…What?" A wide-eyed Medusa looked at him. "What did you just say?"

Grinning at her, Naruto scooted closer to Medusa. "I said that's what I love about you girls." Their lips grew closer and closer as he spoke, "And I will never make any of you feel neglected again." His eyes closed as Medusa's lips touched his, entering a different kind of passion than the kisses from Rhea and Kuroka.

Rhea was the sun to him and her lips tasted like sweet honey mixed. With Kuroka, her lips were cinnamon with a small hint of ginger. Now Medusa… her lips were a mix of cherry blossoms and strawberries. All in all, they were great kisses that the girls will no doubt come back for more and he will be waiting for one or all of them at the same time.

"Ahem!"

The two snapped their eyes open while separating their lips as they looked at the doorway to find a pouty Kuroka and a seemingly sweet Rhea with her godly aura leaking out. "And what do we have here?" Rhea asked Naruto who looked like he was about to piss himself on the spot. "Well?"

"Think, Naruto, think! How do I get out of this?!" Naruto then felt a ping from the perimeter's seals and a 'Hello' from outside. "I'm saved if that's what I think it is!" He raised a finger with a nervous chuckle. "Just give me a moment, Rhea okay?"

Nodding after a moment, Rhea and the rest of the girls watched their blonde lover run out of the building and come back inside with his hands behind his back, raising their intrigue. "Naruto, what do you have behind your hands?" The Titaness asked, her aura disappearing by the second.

"Well I asked Michael for a favor and that favor just arrived." Naruto responded with a small smile.

"When did you ask him?"

"Remember the brief time we separated in the mall?" Rhea nodded at him as Medusa and Kuroka stood by her and in front of Naruto. "That's when I called Michael."

It was Medusa who spoke this time. "But you hate cell phones, plus you don't even own one."

"I know." Naruto muttered with a grumble as he scrambled with whatever behind his back to show his right palm glowing with a golden symbol. "Michael gave me this to communicate better, so I decided to use it last night." He pulled out his left arm to show three small boxes stacked on top of one another in his palm. "Honestly I was expecting them to be ready for New Years, so Michael must've had his brethren work overtime. But this is better."

After giving the girls their gift, Naruto smiled at them once more. "Open them girls."

They did and their only response was a chorus of gasps.

In Medusa's box, her gift was a shining white bracelet with a Greek shield charm that had her name etched on it as her name means 'Protectress'; a red katana charm that most likely symbolizes her Kosaka Style studies and a blue diamond that had a introverted purple/sky blue swirl inside of it.

As for Kuroka, her gift was a silver ring donned with a clear-cut aquamarine, her birthstone, also noticing the same swirl symbol etched on the surface as well. How did he know her birthstone, she was wondering but put them aside as Kuroka inspected her ring. That's when she noticed that there was an inscription in the inside of the ring. It read 'No one is ever truly alone.' Her eyes began to tear up as she interpreted the meaning of the inscription. He was her light as she was his darkness in a good way.

Lastly Rhea. She stood there, completely speechless while staring at her gift that really surprised the Titaness. It was a golden necklace with a blue sapphire that had an image of a roaring lion's head: her sacred animal. She flipped the jewel to see an inverted golden swirl that glowed underneath the light.

Naruto smiled brightly before he was tackled on the ground by three bodies, being showered with wet lips around his face. Chuckling, he returned some kisses to the girls before sitting up cross-leg as Rhea, Medusa and Kuroka sat in front of him in seiza. "I take you girls like them?" Happy nods were his response. "Want some help?" Another round of nods was his answer. "Okay."

With some playful banter and touching, Naruto sat back as the girls looked ravishing with their gifts. The sapphire necklace around Rhea's neck really drew his attention to her assets, but also to her sea-green eyes as the jewel brought them out even more so. The ruby-encrusted ring on Kuroka's left ring finger shined underneath the rising sun's light as she giggled while staring at it. The silver bracelet around Medusa's right wrist jingled as she blew a kiss at the blonde, showing her enhanced beauty by the jewel.

"Merry Christmas, girls." Rhea, Medusa and Kuroka looked at each other before they donned the same sultry look, confusing Naruto as he tilted his head. "What's with the looks?" He asked nervously when the girls set their predatory-like looks on him. "Girls?"

"We were thinking of a way to thank you-" Medusa said first.

"-So we thought we'll take you to-" Kuroka interjected as she licked her lips.

"-The hot spring and with your barriers, we would remain uninterrupted." Rhea answered lastly with her sunny smile once more, causing Naruto's legs to fall asleep momentarily. "For the whole day."

No longer able to hold it after the image of the girls naked in the hot spring, Naruto was sent flying outside by a massive nosebleed.

"NARUTO!" The girls ran outside and kneeled down to the blonde ninja who had swirling eyes, reddened cheeks and blood streaking from his nose.

"Girls… Naked… Hot spring…" The boy muttered lowly.

Sweat drops slid on the girls' heads before Rhea picked Naruto up and took him back inside the warm building, Kuroka and Medusa following suit. In the end they chose to embrace him with their bodies, gathering warm akin a fireplace as all of four of them smiled under the early 'Not-Christmas' morning.

-(One Week Later)-Somewhere in the Sea of Japan-

Aboard Ryozanpaku's boat, the Saratoga II, most of its passengers remained oblivious to the dangers of the tournament set by its sponsor, Yami, as they enjoy their trip abroad the open sea with their activities. Miu, Rhea, Medusa and the transformed Kuroka were inside the boat's kitchen, prepping lunch for everyone on board. The masters were doing their own thing to pass the time like getting on each other's nerves and the occasional poking.

All but one and that is Kenichi Shirahama.

"Why? Why?" He whined while rubbing his arms and legs to rid the soreness from the final 'all-day finishing moves training-from-hell' session yesterday. "Why me?"

His eyebrow twitching, a pulsing vein-marked Naruto head-slapped him, knocking Kenichi out of his stupor. "Thank you, now please be quiet for the rest of the trip." He had to suppress the urge the boy again when the latter sighed loudly. "*Sigh* why don't you go help Miu make the lunch, okay?"

Just like that, the not-so-whining Kenichi sped off inside the boat.

"That kid…" Naruto shook his head before turning around to see the vast ocean surface with no island in sight. He thought back about the three days Hestia and her daughters stayed with them and the smile on Rhea's face when she enjoyed the time together with them and him of course.

Of course Rhea was a little downtrodden when her daughter and granddaughters returned to the United States, but Hestia, along with Selene and Isabel promised to come visit her and Naruto often, especially during the holidays.

"I have time." Choosing to sit near the mast after finding nothing else to do, Naruto took several slow breathing and closed his eyes as he slipped into meditation.

Upon seeing the meditating boy above deck, Akisame walked to his towering friend who manned the helm. "Hayato, are you sure about this?"

"About what?"

"This whole thing: the tournament; Saiga meeting Naruto; everything. I can't believe he actually came back." Akisame said with a small hint of contempt.

"… As did I." The Elder said under breath.

The Furinji Style and Jujitsu masters looked at the meditating blonde, watching him breathe even and sitting so still as if nothing would bother nor disturb him. It was really impressive of Naruto. Not only did he rapidly learned the Furinji Style, his capabilities as a teacher and sparring partner for Kenichi and Miu was unfathomable since the two disciples' skills skyrocketed after every sparring match.

Not to mention that he helped Kenichi learn an ancient technique that will no doubt be extremely advantageous for him in the future.

"He's quite something, Hayato." Akisame praised as the Elder simply nodded with a smirk. "I envy you for having him a disciple."

The smirk on the Elder's face grew bigger. "I know." He said in a cheeky tone before an angry vein mark appeared on his face.

Meanwhile Naruto slipped into his mindscape to talk with his partners, although he was in for one big surprise.

-Naruto's Mindscape-

As he appeared, Naruto didn't expect to see Kurama and Ashura sitting in front of a gigantic plasma screen TV that clearly rivaled the fox's titanic size, laughing on whatever was on the screen. He thought that it must be very funny since it got both his partners to laugh.

When Naruto got closer, he soon turned pale as a ghost when the 'program' turned out to be one of his memories… his first kiss ever… with Sasuke.

"NNNNOOOOO!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, scaring the jeepers out of them before passing out on the grassy fields.

"Oh no!" Ashura ran to his descendant and shook him to wake up. "Naruto! Naruto!" Feeling the ground rumble under his knees, the younger son of Hagoromo looked back to see his accomplice digging vehemently like a dog would to find his buried bone. "What are you doing?!"

"Hiding the evidence!"

"… Good job." Ashura went to wake Naruto up albeit in a slow manner. After Kurama placed the television within the hole and filled it with the dug-up dirt, Ashura chose to slap the Uzumaki who woke up a second later. "Hey there."

Looking around for something, a dazed Naruto looked at Ashura. "I-I came to talk to you guys about something, but then I saw…"

"What, Naruto?" Kurama playing it cool as he rested on his head on his forearms, laying his body on the ground.

"Uh… a TV in here that was about your size… and…" Naruto blinked several times as he tried to remember what happened, but couldn't for some reason. "I blacked out." He looked at his partners who were sweating bullets. "Why can't I remember?"

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Ashura asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah."

Ashura got a 'nice' wink from Kurama by changing the subject as Naruto spoke, "I was wondering if I can use my connections as Poseidon to find out about something."

"Like what?" Naruto looked away with nonchalant whistling, causing the fox to snarl at him and a angry vein on his forehead. "Naruto!" Instead of an answer, he got more whistling but louder this time. "Tch, whatever. Since Poseidon and his Olympian brethren were and are still pretty big shots, you could use your power to investigate this 'something'. Plus there's the alliance with The Three Factions, so you got influence there as well."

"… I see." That's when Naruto noticed the fresh and disturbed hole that was next to the Tailed Beast. "What did you dig in there, Kurama?" He noticed Kurama slightly flinched after mentioning the dirt, becoming suspicious as his eyes narrowed. "What do you have under there?"

Ashura appeared next to Kurama's face in a split second, surprising the blonde as the two nervously chuckled. "Nothing/Nothing." They flinched a little when Naruto squinted his eyes before walking towards them and stomping on the fresh dirt.

"What's under here?"

"Nothing." Ashura answered nonchalantly after calming down.

Not believing a word, Naruto looked at the gigantic eye of his partner while seeing his own reflection. "Kurama?"

"As we said before, nothing."

Pursing his lips at his tenants' behavior while glancing at the dirt underneath their feet, Naruto chose the hard way. "Okay then." He raised his hand and formed a Giant Rasengan, startling Ashura and Kurama. "I'll find out myself then." He was about to slam the large Rasengan into the ground when one of them finally cracked under the spherical pressure.

"Wait!" Seeing Naruto look up at him and away from the Rasengan, Kurama then sweat-dropped as soon as he said, "It's my crap."

The whole world felt like it stopped for them as both Naruto and Ashura stared at their sweat-dropped and blushing Tailed Beast who averted his eyes to the sky, silently regretting the lamest excuse he ever thought up in his centuries-old life. But to his surprise, however, it worked as a disgusted Naruto scampered away from their spot before hastily leaving the mindscape.

Moments passed the two tenants as they stood there in complete silence with Kurama still embarrassed and a disbelieving Ashura who stood before him with slouched shoulders and hanging arms.

The successor of Ninshu opened his mouth as he was about to say something, but a snarl stopped him plus a deadly glare from Kurama.

"Not. A. Word."

-Sea of Japan-

Shuddering after waking up, Naruto stood up from his spot. He stretched his arms as Naruto walked to the starboard side and there stood an uncertain Kenichi whose arms rest on the wooden plank.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He snickered when Kenichi screamed like a girl before turning around to see him. "What's up Kenichi?"

After pouting at the blonde for scaring him, the brown-haired disciple sighed as he stared at the sea. "Things have been so crazy this year."

"Yeah I know."

"And I don't know if I can win the tournament. I've only been training for about a year now." Kenichi remarked before resting his head on his arms. "Do you think I can win, Naruto?" When he didn't get any answer, Kenichi looked at the blonde only to find him to fallen asleep. "Hey!"

Snorted after getting nudged in his side, Naruto woke up and looked at a glaring Kenichi. "What? Are you done complaining now?"

"Hey!"

Naruto sighed as he placed a hand on Kenichi's head. "You just got to be more confident in yourself, Kenichi."

"That's easy for you to say. You manage to learn techniques much faster than me and a better fighter to say the least." Kenichi muttered, getting another sigh from the discreet Shinobi. Naruto inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling, preparing to tell something about his past.

"I'm not one of those prodigies that you think I am."

"Huh?"

This prompted Naruto to nod, confirming what he just said. "Before meeting the Elder and coming to Ryozanpaku, I attended at a… dojo who taught basic martial arts for self-defense and protection of others. I wasn't bad or good at the same time and everyone doubted me passing. Three times I failed the graduation exam."

"What?" A wide-eye Kenichi asked in a surprised tone.

"But I never gave up. I kept training and training until I passed. The point I'm trying to make is that there are prodigies and there are those who work hard." Naruto pointed his thumb at Kenichi and then at him-self. "You and I are the hard workers. And there's nothing wrong with that. Just believe in yourself and your training."

Kenichi then watched Naruto go inside the boat before facing forward at the sea once again. His uncertain face soon changed into a determined one as he made a fist. "I will." The multi-style disciple walked to the center of the boat before practicing the katas from his martial arts.

Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched by the masters above with an approving Naruto. "Attaboy." Something caught his gaze as he stared forward and found a small glimpse of something. And that something grew bigger and bigger as the boat slowly sailed towards it. "Guess we're here."

-The Island-Yami's Headquarters-

"Ryozanpaku is here."

The man known as 'Kensei' to Yami, but to the rest of the world he was known as Ogata Isshinai observed the holographic projection in the center of the large circular room with his disciple, Kabuto, standing behind him. The image showed the Ryozanpaku party docking and entering their island through their fortified gate. His cool gaze observed the quietness that was enhanced by his fellow masters who stayed silent as they chose to watch their enemies.

"This is a lot sooner than I expected, Ichei." A very tall and very muscular man in a red robe stepped out of the shadows, showing tribal tattoos near his eyes, which have four markings in them and a headband. "I wasn't expecting to fight my friend so soon." His eyes were glued to Apachai. "I certainly hope he improved."

"Always the fighting enthusiast, huh Agaard." Ogata stated after a chuckle.

Another figure stepped forward and this time, it was a woman. She had long black hair that shined despite of the dark room and cold eyes that didn't match her attire which was a Jujitsu hakama except the top had red outlining and showed an enormous amount of her cleavage. Her eyes were dull, cold, and full of apathy as if there wasn't even a mark of light in them at all.

"Kushinada." Ogata greeted, but was ignored as she stared at the image.

"Is that him, Ichei?" She pointed at the headband wearing blonde boy. "He's the Invincible Superman's disciple?" Kushinada looked at her colleague who also stepped out of the shadows before he nodded slowly. "Then he shall die by our hands."

"With all due respect, Master Kushinada…" Kabuto stepped forward with a smug smile with his eyes glued in on Naruto's holograph. "He'll fall before me." He stated confidently with his body slightly glowing purple chakra.

The present Yami masters gave firm nods as they watched the image feeds focused on the blonde shinobi, their added main target of elimination alongside the images of Kenichi and Miu, the masters and their female allies.