Chapter 115
Light taps of metal and porcelain chimed in and out, filling in the gap left behind by the silence in the room. The silence was occasionally invaded by the rapid tapping of footsteps that somehow blended in perfectly with the moving utensils giving the room the impression of a restaurant.
The remainder of the chicken and potato soup never saw the light of day again. The blonde-haired boy, seated at a grand table, gently returned the spoon into the bowl in front of him before patting his mouth with a napkin then setting it down as well. He sighed, feeling the fleeting warmth rushing into his stomach. It faded as quickly as the strange yet wonderful taste that had been the soup.
It had been close to a week since the events of the boy's duel against the heir of the house of Phenex had occurred, with him claiming victory by a landslide. Well. At least he didn't recall getting hit once. Call it the ultimate flex if you will.
The table he was sat at wasn't in the extremities in size however, it had enough space to fit a dozen people without compromising their arm and personal space. It was crafted from the finest oaks, so fine that it seemed unearthly. Since did oak have a purpleish hue? Most people would miss the hue because of the crimson colour table cloth with a very familiar symbol near its centre.
There was an elegantly designed black and white vase at the centre of the table and in it were what appeared white roses but unlike the ones, on earth, they had a surreal feel to them. Their white was so vibrant that it seemed unnatural, almost as if someone had used magic to enhance its beauty. Tiny flakes and specs of light drifted away from the bleached petals before fading into nothingness like a dream that had no hopes of existing.
"Something isn't right," he thought, his drowsiness wearing off. He remembered going to bed with Koneko because Rias was still mad about the camel outfit. Her family got the funny idea of turning his apartment complex into a fucking mansion but for some reason, she specifically ordered him to go sleep on the couch. He refused and just left the building for a little while. Sleeping outside was not something that made him uncomfortable, in fact, it brought him nostalgia however his favourite catgirl had other plans.
Unlike the week which he had quickly adapted to, he didn't wake up with Koneko tightly wrapped around his arm. Instead, he was seated at an unfamiliar table which normally is alarming but he did not feel any hostility directed at him... Well, there was plenty in the form of presences that oddly felt like a certain burning chicken.
He didn't care, he could fold them anytime he wished. Easy. And because they were no threat to him, he proceeded to enjoy the breakfast placed before him. After finishing, he took a moment and paused, finally allowing his perception to arrest his attention.
He was in an unreasonably large and well-furnished room, bustling with activity. Gorgeous young women in maid outfits rushed in and out of the room, going past satyr looking men in black suits and shades standing guard by the massive door. What the hell is that in the corner? A horse, dragon thing? Naruto didn't know what the hell that was before it was converted into a devil. He ignored its appearance after realizing that one of his friends was quite literally a dolphin-horse thing.
"Rias..." he turned to the woman seated on his right, close to the head of the table's seat
"Yes honey, lovely baby boo..."
"First of all... Don't call me that," he frowned slightly hearing her stifled giggles. He finally decided to acknowledge the other people seated at the table.
There were two men with crimson hair, one with a stubble and the other with nothing. There however an enormous difference in power, both politically and physically between them... There was a woman who strongly resembled Rias but had larger breasts and had brown hair.
He could see Ravel and her parents, Sona and a girl who resembled her but was shorter and larger breasts and was dressed in a kimono.
"Secondly, why am I at a table... Having breakfast with you know... Devils? You planning some crazy ritual. Again?"
"It was that one time."
Naruto gave her a flat look, "okay, eight times but it was all for your safety. You wouldn't want scary monsters crawling under your bed would you?" she asks making exaggerated creepy motions with her fingers.
"Eyoo... I ain't 5 ya know," he sighed in exasperation. "Actually, how the hell did you get me here anyway? And dressed me?" he inquired plainly, looking at the black suit with a white dress shirt.
"Oh, I kidnapped you," she smiled innocently as Naruto made a Kiyoshi Fujino face. "What the f- I am a-. What the hell? There is no way you did that."
"Yet, here you are," she snickered at his disgruntled face. "So dear," she started, "I have been made aware that you put lady Ravel Phenex in a contract so that has to be settled today. Why you didn't tell me anything about that is beyond me but anyway, we didn't do it on other days because of outrage from the Phenex clan but with efforts from my brother and cooperation from the heads, we were able to calm the crowd," she explained, giving him dull stare drawing a yawn from him. The girl frowned briefly before giving him a mischievous smile "Oh and I wanted you to meet mother and father."
He took a moment.
"I'm sorry what?"
"Isn't it natural for the man to meet the woman's parents?"
That moment there proved that confidence was a mere illusion.
He raised his arm to wipe the sweat forming on the temple. He for some reason no longer felt like the cunning fox he was, instead, he felt like an injured deer that knew it was being watched by a tiger. The dad was staring at him with a critical eye causing him to flinch.
His hidden hand formed a tight fist, trying to fight off the anxiety that had utterly demolished his years of shinobi training. "Damn woman, got me. I hate you Rias," he wailed internally, seeing the girl smirk from the corner of his eye.
"You got this," he hyped himself up.
"G-good morning, mother and father."
"I don't get this at all!" he screamed internally. "Pfft," Rias turned away from her lover, covering her mouth. "For fucks sake Naruto. Get a grip, you are this generation's god of shinobi. How would your subjects feel seeing you like this? And Kurama," he could practically hear the fox rolling in laughter in its grave.
There was a moment of silence then, "good morning dear," the flaxen-haired woman with violet eyes responded warmly. "Hmm," the red-haired man with the stubble stared him down.
If the boy was surprised then he most definitely did not show it. He had assumed her parents were extreme traditionalists and hence show an unfathomable amount of hostility towards him but that did not seem to be the case at all. Even if they were hostile, they probably wouldn't really be a threat but still, the nervousness would remain, though without it bothering him, simply because they were her parents.
It was a phenomenon that affected a large percentage of men, and unfortunately for him, he was one of them. He immediately felt the years of extreme anti-social behaviour returning to bite his ass. He wondered about things such as looking his best or perhaps calling them by their first names or really stupid things he'd never think of.
If her mother and father were hostile, he'd have a lot less anxiety but there was nothing. Like really. Nothing like hate directed at him and that was strange. They evaded his expectations like that one kid in dodge ball. Were these really the people who were responsible for Rias' suffering? What the hell? He was most certainly more than baffled.
He didn't have much of a problem with Sirzechs as a king that showed favouritism wouldn't be respected and thus lose power which would suck for the devil world. But these people in front of him were her parents. That's right... Them. It was them that caused that mess...
"Don't go off. Different cultures, different values. Don't go off," the hostility within him that wasn't present slowly started crawling into his being. "Relax," his breathing slowed slightly.
The woman let out a melodious giggle, moving her hand to cover her mouth, "There is no need to be so guarded. It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto. My name is Venelana Gremory, Rias' mother, it's a great pleasure to finally meet you."
"..." The shinobi had a puzzled look on his face as he listened to the introduction.
Sirzechs muffled chuckles could be heard at the table. "Yes," Naruto finally responded after a few fleeting seconds, "I-It's a pleasure to meet you too. I can see the resemblance," his eyes snapped back before they committed what he felt would be a felony. Naruto averted his gaze slightly "I blame you for this Issei. Next time I train you, you are going to need a replacement for your entire skeletal system. No, wait. That's illogical as I have had perverted characteristics way before I met him. Calm down."
Elsewhere
The crimson sphere in Issei's hand blasted through the air before breaking apart into dozens of balls of flame. The boy looked at his scaly left hand frowned before shivering, "Why do I feel like I just dodged a bullet?"
The boy then paused again and the feeling of dread poured into his consciousness. "Why do I hear boss music?"
"Ara. Ara, did I say you could stop Issei-kun," the boy didn't answer. Instead, he heard the loud crackling of lightning.
"You blonde asshole, this is your fault! She is taking out her frustration on me!" the boy couldn't run, instead he accepted his fate.
Return
It took Rias, all she had not to laugh at the boy before deciding to slip her hand under the table and hooked her fingers between his. This was most definitely not missed by the other people at the table.
The brown-haired woman couldn't help but feel elated by her daughter's actions because she felt that the greedy princess she had raised had shown signs of a great amount of growth. She felt pride not only as a mother but a fellow woman at the fact that Rias was in a very healthy relationship where comfort went both ways. She saw the slight quivering that was on the boy's shoulders fading.
She then turned her head to meet the eyes of a blonde man with blue eyes, the man was shaking, his hands tensing more and more as they heard Naruto's voice.
The boy just sat there, acting as if what he did had never happened, as if he was but an innocent babe. Him not looking in their direction made him feel... Humiliated but more so frustrated at the amount of damage he had caused during that evening.
The boy waltz into the room and defeated his son and his peerage. He would have been more than fine with that, in fact, he would have been happy as it would have taught his son humility but the boy took it way too far.
Despite Riser's shortcomings, his father loved him dearly and naturally as a parent, he strongly desired to shield him from the dangers of the world, keeping him from harm and giving him a path to happiness which he failed at. He could have protested against the Demon Lord's decision to allow an unknown to face Riser for Rias' hand. He could have offered to duel the boy instead. He could have... He could have done something.
He participated in both the great war and the civil war so he knew how dangerous wild cards could be. Race was irrelevant when it came to wildcards meaning that even the 'weakest' race, humans, were capable of causing precarious scenarios.
His lapse in judgement resulted in his daughter giving herself up to the human to spare her brother from an even worse fate than hers and just like that he had lost two children, one to the man and the other to trauma induced by him. The man bit his lip, feeling the taste of iron washing over his tongue before the feeling quickly faded because his regenerative abilities kicked in.
The boy left his son with burnt plastic-like scars that could not be healed by the clan's regenerative abilities nor Phenex tears. The greatest physicians in the underworld were at a loss as well because the nature of the man's wounds was beyond them.
It would be a great fortune if it ended there but that was not the case at all. The young devil's mental health had waned significantly, to the point that he locked himself in his room because he had a strong fear towards anything that had a humanoid appearance. The cause was likely the fact that his peerage had betrayed him and the fact that the people of the Phenex clan had features similar to that of the boy that had done that to him. This led to his family approaching him with magic that disguised their blonde and blue-eyed features.
Riser feared his own family and refused any contact with his peerage and that marked the first time he was truly alone. He just sat on his bed, staring blankly at his sheets, refusing to move from his spot. He'd occasionally scream at nothing. Rage without provocation and just whimper pathetically.
Both Lord and Lady Phenex hated themselves, considering themselves failures for being unable to defend their children.
Ravel revealing why Riser was not killed was a great shock to everyone and a rumour about her statement quickly spread causing an uproar amongst the people. Matters settled down eventually when the Devil King himself got involved. Soon after that, there were meetings. Lots and lots of meetings weighed the benefits and consequences of trying to ignore the contract with the boy. Almost everyone felt that the contract should be ignored as they felt no obligation to fulfil an agreement with a creature below them.
But there was one problem. His power was unknown.
The older devils that made up the Phenex clan's council correctly pointed out the boy's power exceeded a high-class devil's by a significant margin, allowing him to defeat not only the prodigious son but all his servants as well. It is worth noting that Riser Phenex's peerage was amongst the best in the underworld with its weakest members being skilled warriors and the boy had walked over them as if they were insects and escaped the fight without so much as a scratch.
Another thing was his ability to forcefully turn the Phenex clan's regeneration against them. This knowledge not only rattled the house of Phenex but other clans as well. The reason was that he displayed the ability to forcefully take control of magical abilities which are what most of the remaining pillars specialize in. The Phenex clan's regeneration is considered a magical ability and so their ability being turned into the opposite of what it does is terrifying to every clan. Another addition is that the famous Phenex tears could not heal wounds inflicted by him.
His absurd powers drew a lot of attention to him and research of his history was done with the only results being his birthplace in the USA, his middle school and his parent's deaths etc. Their corpses were uncovered as well but they were so normal that they made his abilities even more questionable. (Naruto used Yin Release to create bodies. Took him over a weak to create perfect human bodies.)
It caused unrest in most high-class devils with the house of Gremory as an exception. The heiress was taken in for questioning but even she insisted she was unaware of the human's latent abilities and when they tried to apply spying magic on her, it would mysteriously disappear by unknown means.
Both the elders and the clan's heads ended up agreeing to just honour the deal made between the "human" and the young devil, fearing what would happen to their people if he got his way. They were not alone in caution as the demon lord behaved warily around the boy making lord Phenex feel like he had lost everything.
But still, she was his daughter. There surely was something he could do right?
"The life of your child or the life of thousands," he almost chuckled in self-deprecation.
Zeoticus sat at the head of the table with his wife, son and Phenexes to his right and his daughter, her lover and her friend to his left. At the opposite side of the table sat another one of the great Devil lords, Serafall Leviathan.
The girl from the house Phenex raised her head and had her eyes glued onto the blue eyes of the boy with whisker marks. She flinched before tearing them away and went back to staring at her hands.
Naruto took a sip from his cup.
"Yes indeed, it is a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance, boy," the red-haired man started in. The cup was placed back onto the table as the boy straightened his back.
"While it would have been more preferable to meet my you, my son in law, in a less formal setting, this has to be done due to the stir you caused in the previous week," the man explained.
"Before we move on to that, we of the Gremory clan would like to apologise for all the harm done to you, your well being and your relationships."
"You are apologising to the wrong person," he responded whilst shaking his head. The man stayed silent for a moment, his eyes wide before nodding.
"Rias, I have forced my greed onto you without considering your feelings. I am really sorry," he turned to his daughter and lowered his head. "I as well," Venelana had a regretful look on her face, "I understand that us simply apologising is not enough and..."
Rias gave her parents a gentle smile, "I can forgive you but... I can't forget but... Let's just bury the hatchet and keep it in the past." There was silence before the man just nodded, muttering, "Thank you."
The reason they could not spend more time talking was simply that they had other matters to attend to. Their family matters could wait, this couldn't.
"This is my wife and seated next to her is my son and current Devil King Sirzechs then beyond his are the lord and lady Phenex and their daughter who you have met already. Then on the opposite side is another one of the great devil kings, Lady Serafall Leviathan and next to her is her sister and co-ruler of the territory Rias occupies."
In a manner uncharacteristic of himself, the boy lowered his head slightly in greeting. The other save for the Phenex returned them vocally.
"As for why you are here... To put it bluntly, you are a threat."
"Huh? Really?"
It took all Lord Phenex had not to jump and shout at the boy.
"Because you are an enigma, you are considered a risk to the security of the sisters of the Maous."
"I see, a person with unknown powers being very close to a devil of such standing is alarming. Explains the assassins I had to kill off this past week," the boy responded, nodding slightly, drawing wide eyes from the table.
"I don't suppose you sent them. If so then should I take that as a threat I wonder?"
"That's strange, there were no reports of any units being dispatched to eliminate you," Sirzechs chimed in with a frown, "I assure you, we as far as I am aware, we did not send people after you," he continued. The others also confirmed the man's statement. Eyes darted amongst each other in visible unease, "Naruto... You dealt with assassins this past... Why didn't you tell me anything?" The eyes eventually landed on the couple seated next to each other and their child. The couple opened up to protest but they were cut off by Naruto.
"Not like someone was acting like a girl on her first period," he responded plainly drawing a frown from his girlfriend, "No need to be suspicious of anyone here. No lies have been told... I am an empath that specializes in negative emotions," he casually revealed, earning even more surprised looks.
Servants detecting the change in atmosphere immediately vacated the room save the horse dragon, a few satyr guards and Grayfia.
"I... See," Sirzechs responded slowly, "To be honest I don't find this surprising as higher class devils sometimes desire to get rid of impurities and competition through disagreeable means."
"You don't say... I have their corpses in my possession. I will hand them over after this meeting is done," he said, "Now to business, I assume lady Leviathan being present means that the faction I am affiliated with is still in question... Well, I understand that you will take my words with a grain of salt but I am human and am not affiliated with any existing factions," he said.
"I see but then, Mr Uzumaki, that brings the question. What is the origin of your powers? You not being affiliated with a faction is extremely unlikely given that you have great power and have displayed great mastery over that power. If you are really 17 like you claim then that means that there must have been someone responsible for training you," Serafall responded calmly, staring at the boy.
"I can't answer that question because I don't know. The only thing I am sure about is that my powers are the result of my union with a fragment of a dead god," he half-lied smoothly. He had already told Rias the truth but given her inexperience with being in a serious setting with multiple people of power, her body language would show and as such, as a precaution, he had secretly sent a bit of his chakra into her to assist her in maintaining control.
He only gave her a brief summary, they agreed to talk about it in greater detail at a later date as the two became busier.
He wasn't Sasuke who could outright hijack people's bodies but he could affect some people's bodies to a certain degree. Rias' body being responsive to him and managing to identify him made it much easier.
Him, not divulging information was because he did not want the devils deciding to take over the new world and end up attracting the attention of an Otsutsuki. That wouldn't be fun to deal with. Just like they were unsure of him and his motives, he was unsure of them and their motives so he held back information just in case.
"A dead god," Sona muttered softly before pushing her glasses up, "And what was their name?"
"The hell would I know that. The god didn't even have a physical form cuz you know he is dead..."
"And how did you come to the conclusion that the entity that merged with you was a god?"
"I don't really have a way to describe it. But it feels divine somehow. And yes, I know what divinity feels like. Was in China the other year and saw a dude with a spear that drove people that looked at it mad and it particularly had a stronger effect on Christians. That thing felt like a bible but on steroids and there was another presence in it. Then I saw some dude with a buzzcut in India and the amount of power coming off him was ridiculous but it felt similar to the one in that spear. The wavelength of energy between those two instances was similar to the wavelength of my power and hence how I decided that it's divine"
"You have had contact with a possessor of the True Longinus?" Sirzechs cut in, fists clenched tightly. "And Sakra..."
"Yes. I wasn't doing anything silly, I was just touring like any other normal person there."
"We digress. Dead god, it's a dead god because it doesn't feel alive and it's divine in nature. This power is now mine and as for how I came into contact with it. Probably had something to do with the trip I had in Greece this one holiday with my parents."
"I have had contact with various deities and as such I can judge whether your conclusion is correct. If you would..."
Naruto nodded as a magic circle appeared above him and created a barrier. He began moulding Six Paths power, making sure its chakra aspect didn't leak instead he let its divine characteristics leak, cutting down suspicion towards the boy.
"So it's true..."
"Ahhh," Sirzechs nodded, "Would I be wrong to assume that you suspect that this power originally belonged to Pan?"
"Nay, your assumption is correct," Naruto nodded. Sirzechs rubbed his temples, acknowledging that what the boy had said could be true as it was not unheard of for people to gain power from a deceased powerful figure. The best example being the humans that inherited the spirits of great heroes from the past such as Jeanne D'Arc and Hercules and even his own pawn, Beowulf.
But a human inheriting the power of a god was unheard of but couldn't be ruled out as it was very possible. In theory.
"But then why do label yourself as a human," Serafall asked slowly, suspicion waning. "I have not experienced any changes in both my physical form and my astral body. I haven't had any desires that would be odd for the average person. I still get tired and want to take naps and get hungry and want to eat. I am just a human with power just like magicians are humans with... Well, magic. I have the power but my nature as a human hasn't changed at all. Magicians use magic but I don't see them being labelled as not humans. With that in mind, why can't I label myself as human? I'm technically like them after all."
"Fair enough," Serafall nodded before allowing her sister to bring up another query. "Are the whisker marks on your face a result of the power you gained?" Sona asked, tilting her head. "Yeah. I theorize that since my favourite animal is a fox, Pan's power gave these to me."
"Acceptable," the devils had partially fallen for his lie. "Tell us then, why did you keep these powers a secret? And how did you reach an expert's level of skill in using them?"
"My parent's death was a result of an attack by monsters. I don't remember much of what happened but they brought all their ranks along. I killed them all in my rage, including their leaders. I then discovered that I could instinctively suppress them because if I didn't then more of them would come for me. As for how I learned to use them well, this may sound silly but..."
"Since I could control water, electricity, earth, flames and winds, I went to do research at a superpower wiki online and tried replicating the powers explained there. Practised for a few years then boom. That and I have done a fair amount of martial arts as a child," he explained, ignoring the giggling coming from Rias.
"You went online to... That is surprisingly clever," Sona paused then complemented.
"Just wanted to live normally but this annoying thing came into my life," he gestured to his girlfriend faking a frown whilst Rias faked a gasp drawing chuckles.
"So, in conclusion, you are not affiliated with any faction."
"Yes. If I was, I wouldn't have exposed myself and my abilities. I came to Rias' rescue as soon as I regained my memories after Rias' spell failed so I probably wouldn't have had time to contact my "superiors".
"Magical items?"
"None, the Gremory family should know of this as they made a mansion out of my apartment without any notice. They could have easily found suspicious items," he responded calmly.
"A lot of us are capable of storing our items in a separate dimension. Can't we assume you can too? You already displayed space-time manipulation by teleporting out of the hall," Serafall pressured, leaning forward with a bone-chilling stare.
"Well I can do that," he admitted with a light shrug, "but still, I can guarantee that my items have nothing to do with communication. The only things I have are battle-related," he waved his hand, generating a white hazed bubble that slowly bubbled up in size and floated above the table. The haze cleared and revealed hundreds of bladed weapons, from great swords to katanas to spears to kusarigama and many other types of weapons, all in pristine condition.
The bubble allowed the aura exuded by the items to flow out and most of the items within the bubble were normal with the snake Jian as an exception.
"These are all my weapons. Was hoping to get Rias to get me guns," he said almost gleefully.
"I'm not getting you any guns," the young woman shot him down making him frown. Serafall stared at the weapons aimlessly floating in the bubble and nodded slowly. "The only item of supernatural quality is that sword over there. I do not recognise it, what is its origin?" she asked.
"This woman..."
"At this point, you are just finessing me. I found a dying Burmese python with a gash on its side. The perpetrator left the weapon he used to harm it. At that time, I couldn't heal so I somehow combined it with the sword. I then named it after one of the imperial swords of japan, the Kusanagi no tsurugi to reference how quickly snakes move through grass almost as if cutting it..."
"I see... How much power did you gain from the 'fragment'?"
"I can't quantify it due to my insufficient exposure to the supernatural world but I suppose I could destroy Kuoh? I guess," he faked a thoughtful voice, placing his index finger on his chin. Serafall closes her eyes and leaned back, displaying satisfaction. While he wasn't specific on how the scale of his power, his destroying Kuoh gave them a good baseline to start from.
The woman understood that the boy was very perceptive and incredibly cunning and as such chose his words carefully. He says destroy Kuoh but... Wouldn't destroying Japan be destroying Kuoh as well or destroying Asia that would be destroying Kuoh as well. Him saying he could destroy Kuoh was very vague to her.
Sirzechs nearly narrowed his eyes but kept himself from doing so. He could tell that the boy was leaving out a number of details but it was relieving to know that he truly wasn't affiliated with an enemy faction. If he was capable of feeling the exact nature of an item and a weapon like the Longinus then it wouldn't be far fetched to think he could detect how powerful the devils at the table were.
The boy showed no signs of being intimidated and did not seem to be holding himself back and faking calmness meaning that he simply didn't see them as a threat. He would give the boy the benefit of a doubt and turn a blind eye because it was clear as the moon and stars in a cloudless sky that his sister and the boy were in love with each other. So he stayed silent. He could see that Serafall and his parents were within the same thought range as him but took no action for their own reasons.
What most inexperienced people would miss about Naruto was the way he completely controlled the fight with Riser. There were no ifs and buts or maybes, he won by a landslide and could have ended the fight whenever he wished.
There was no way the boy wouldn't be well known within the supernatural because the way he fought displayed that he was highly experienced and just "practising" was simply not enough to make him that strong instead his skills were similar to his. Born from years of combat. Practice is never enough to close down the gap in experience and that boy was highly experienced.
No rumours about him. Just nothing.
It would have been one thing if the boy just nuked the whole area and won but he didn't, instead, he opted to take them on fairly and disassemble their teamwork with his superior technical skills.
What he had been saying was likely false but Sirzechs understood that sometimes lies were very close to the truth and because of that he suspected that the boy had a form of apotheosis. Maybe he was a forgotten god trying to live as a human.
Despite the possible threat, however, Sirzechs could not bring him to be paranoid about the boy. With the amount of power he had, he could have easily kidnapped the two rulers of Kuoh and killed off their peerages before holding them hostage but he did not.
When the boy came into the ballroom, he reeked of hostility. His face was as plain as a white wall but his eyes betrayed him, they showed everything he felt. His hostility was directed at the one and only Riser Phenex. When he went to speak to Rias alone, the darkness had disappeared as if it had never been there.
Sirzechs could see how much the boy loved his sister and as such felt a sense of brotherhood. The boy had a variety of masks but none could hide his feelings, his thoughts.
What he did to Riser's peerage was cruel but he had given them the chance to back down and let the boy fight their master. No good deed goes unpunished. They were punished for their loyalty.
It was clear as day that the boy would not hesitate to get rid of anything that would bring harm to those close to him. That included high-class devils and their subjects and so it was his duty to make sure the boy was not antagonized unless necessary.
His power being a question mark was very unsettling, to say the least. Sirzechs may be in the top 10 strongest beings in the world but he knew that people much weaker than him could kill him if the conditions were right. A solid example being the wielder of the true Longinus or the dragon eater scoring a good hit on him.
It was even possible that the boy exceeded him in strength. Sirzechs frowned slightly as thoughts flooded his mind.
He felt it was best to leave it. His intuition told him that the boy was only interested in keeping Rias and her peerage safe and as long as they were fine there would be no problems.
Sirzech's next thoughts significantly soured his mood because they were related to the next issue at hand. Devil kind was notorious for being rebellious in instances that did not favour them more so than humans and so examples had to be made to pacify them. They desired results, not words which were why a weak devil would never become one of the 4 devil kings.
The human was seen as a threat to what remained to the of the 72 pillars and as Naruto had explained, they would try to get rid of him.
He did not want to do this but it had to be done or disaster could befall them in the future. What had to be done was the sacrificing of the Phenex clan head's daughter. Riser's falling had shaken not only those of Phenex but all the leaders of the other clans. Ravel being handed over to the human because of the contract they made was one of the more logical solutions as it would give the impression denying the boy was extremely dangerous.
Negotiation could be attempted but the data provided by Rias and her peerage has shown that Naruto is a rather stubborn individual who clung to what he wanted and rarely had compromises.
"Now that we have reached a suitable level of discussion regarding your origin, it is time to settle Ravel Phenex's contract with you. May I ask what kind of contract you made with her and if possible how," Sirzechs said, looking Naruto in the eye.
The lone human's eyes trailed over to the Phenex family's once more and did not miss the shivering on their shoulders, despite their attempts to hide them.
"Nothing special I suppose. When I accepted the deal, a piece of my power entered her soul and I am sure you understand what that entails," he shrugged ignoring the horrified look present on their faces. "Haven't learned how to manipulate souls yet. Don't look at me like that," he lied reaching for his cup and lifting it before frowning.
"Excuse me miss, mind getting me more juice?" he called out to Grayfia.
"Of course sir," the maid appeared on his left and delivered his request. He relished the refined sweetness that invaded his mouth, either ignoring the tense atmosphere or being completely ignorant.
"Wait a minute! Let's make a deal!" Lord Phenex shot up from his chair, drawing a sigh from the spiky-haired blonde. "We truly are sorry for the pain that our son Riser has caused you and Lady Rias," he started. The boy held the urge to roll his eyes, "Here comes the but," he thought.
"But our daughter did nothing wrong, instead it should be us paying for our mistakes," he said.
"Father..."
"Yes, you are paying by giving up one of the most important people to you," he responded smoothly. "Let's say I agree to release her. What do I get out of it? Don't mistake me for someone who gives a shit about the affairs of devils. The only one I care for is Rias," he continued evoking a crescendo of emotions from the Phenex clan.
"Wait Uzumaki don't be so unreasonable!"
"Zip it, Sona," he didn't bother looking her way. To him, the focal point of the situation was the head of Phenex himself.
"Phenex tears. We are willing to part with a year's supply worth. If that is not enough we are also willing to grant you riches beyond your imaginations and women! Women too! The finest in the underworld, beyond the ones found on Earth."
"Not interested."
"What!? But," the man seethed, his hair catching ablaze.
Rias couldn't take it any longer, she opened her mouth but a flat gaze from Naruto stopped her. It was that trust me look he always gave her in tough situations. She didn't understand what he was thinking but with great reluctance, she stayed silent, watching everything unfold.
"To be honest, hearing you say that made me think of a few things. Aren't you being rather selfish right now? I can guarantee that your people will not be in a good spot if I accept your terms. You sure are a wonderful ruler," a light sip tore through the silence. The boy placed his elbow and the table and leaned into the palm of his hand, paying no heed to the man's turmoil.
"Please sir, reconsider," this time Lady Phenex spoke up, "Please have sympathy for our family."
"Kinda ironic that you say that. If you had sympathy for Rias then none of this would have happened. I can see where Riser's dumb ideals come from," the boy snorted, "You speak of sympathy yet you moved to force someone into something they refused to do. Driving them to the point of obsession with media to escape reality. Kinda funny huh?" the boy had the gall to look like he was having the time of his life.
" I understand our hypocrisy but you have to understand that devils-"
"I'm going to have to stop you right there lady. You have the technology to convert any species into devils but can't I don't know grow babies in tubes. Converting other species to devils is just hilarious. Like seriously, what are you, China? Conquer the world by taking in other races and making them your slaves. Wow..."
"You have to understand that-"
"No. I really don't. This is just another case of boomers refusing to pass the torch to the next generation."
"Pass the torch?"
"Yes..."
There was a brief paused until Sirzechs spoke up.
"I believe this will be beneficial to all of so could you please explain," he requested.
"Sure. So you guys clapped some cheeks during the war but what caused it exactly? It was obviously the older generation's desire to continue the war whilst you younger ones desired to rebuild your world. Your generation was obviously in the right as continuing the war would only drive you to extinction.
Refusal to pass the torch is basically forcing yourself to be the main character in a story that isn't about you at all. In this case, it's forcing this generation to carry on traditions like yours without considering how it could affect them. You say you are doing it for the good of devil kind but the hatred will accumulate so much that it will tear your species apart and drive you into ruin.
New generations come with new innovations ideas and refusing to let them grow is essentially killing your own future in the long run.
Everyone has a role to play and playing a role that is not yours will harm them. I believe knowing your traditions and knowing your roots is important but forcing yourself to become a person based on those roots won't go well.
A lot of problems will go away if you pass the torch. For example some devil's hatred with the angels. If they don't pass that hate to their children then their children will start focusing on what's the same not what's different," he paused allowing it to sink in.
"To me, Rias is human but with wings. If you can find what's the same in someone instead of what's different then maybe you won't find yourself in nasty situations," he shrugged. "But my words are merely an opinion I guess. Anyways, the old coots from your species will come for me and my family. I have no real reason to antagonise you any further than this so I expect the same. You may give me promises but you will never give me guarantees and if your promise is broken then it will lead to me taking less pleasant manners to handle my debacles. Plus I also want to do this as well for more... Personal reasons," he gave a ghost smile.
Lord Phenex said nothing and just relaxed his body, keeping his mouth shut. He could not say anything else to the boy, instead, he looked into his daughter's eyes and was taken aback by the strong resolve she had in her eyes.
"Now then Mr Phenex, if you take into consideration what I said, it is not your place to make decisions for your daughter. She understood very well what she was going to get into and made the deal regardless of the consequences. She is mine now and I have no reason to give her up. I ask you then good sir, what can you give someone who has almost they want?" he asked amusedly, watching them squirm under his gaze.
"It's okay father, mother," Ravel comforted, before taking her mother's hand into her own. In as much as Ravel feared the human, she held no hatred towards hin instead she somewhat felt a sense of appreciation. He could have easily incapacitated her at that moment and moved on to kill her brother but he didn't. He showed emotions. Sympathy. Monsters did not stop to consider other people's emotions but he did. He wasn't a monster.
During the days that passed after the engagement party, Ravel had a lot of time to herself. To... Think. About, everything. To think about her reason for sacrificing herself and the answer was simple. Ravel loved her older brother.
She remembered the days when the boy was gentle and respect to not only adults but his peers as well. He would show concern over small animals that were subject to cruel pranks by children practising magic and gently tend the roses in the garden with the gardeners.
She remembered playing, falling and scraping her knee and he'd carry her back to the mansion despite the fact that her bruises could have healed themselves with ease. She looked up to her older brother but the one knew slowly starting warping. She didn't understand why it happened. Perhaps it was his company or his realization that he could get away with doing a lot of things or perhaps he got poisoned during his first taste of women.
The one she knew was gone, blinded by materials and swayed easily by temptation.
Their relationship halted as their bond was forgotten in favour of all he had and could have. That didn't stop her from loving him because she felt that their bond as a sibling would never fade even if he changed.
She later joined his peerage and years passed by and she slowly started to lose hope in the old Riser returning until that one faithful day. Riser had mistakenly underestimated one seemingly weak human who proceeded to defeat his peerage and corner him.
She could see the fear building up in his, the fear that his clan's great power would save him. The fear that death itself was upon and so the man begged the people he thought loved him but to no avail. They were no longer concerned about his fate, instead, they were concerned about themselves all except her. She would have been just fine if she stayed out of the way but she moved and shielded him with fear threatening to rip her heart out of her chest and drive her brain to madness.
Until she felt her beloved older brother returning. She felt strength and courage as she felt that it was her duty as his sibling to protect him. She stood her ground and faced the devil himself. Standing in front of her with immaculate clothes, highlighting that their attempts were nothing.
A hopeless situation indeed but she still stood her ground. And she begged for Riser's life because she felt that he deserved a second chance. To start over. Saying that her conscience was clear would be a lie as she berated herself over her choice but still, even that did not shake her. She had resolved to be taken away by his cruel arms except...
She realized she only saw the bad side of the man attacking her family. For some reason, she did not believe that he was evil just... Furious. But he still had the mind to stop and reconsider then it happened... His eyes changed so much that she pitied him.
She knew that he wasn't cruel and thought that perhaps becoming his servant wouldn't be to bad. Perhaps losing her would make Riser wake up and help him become a better person so with that in mind she was at peace.
Naruto put down his cup then slowly raised his arm, his index finger slowly uncurling from his fist. His hand turned in a way that made his palm face the ceiling and pulled his index finger back before returning it to its former position then repeated.
"Wait! Ravel," her mother called out to the girl. The girl was dressed in a flowing pink and frilly noble dress and wore a necklace with emeralds. The girl stayed silent and rose from her seat before moving around the table to stand by Naruto's side, refusing to allow her gaze to drift into his eyes.
"I expect you to be at the house before the sunsets in Japan," he said simply.
"Yes... M-... M-master," she responded stiffly, fidgeting slightly. Naruto's raised his hand and it was encased his a golden flame, "Come closer," he beckoned and she obeyed after a moment of hesitation. She saw his hand moving towards her chest causing her to clamp her eyes shut and stiffen up, preparing herself for the worst instead she felt a warmth in her chest. He wasn't touching her per se more like going through her.
She then shivered, feeling something that was accustomed to having in her body being removed. The feeling stopped and she opened one eye before mirroring the looks that everyone on the table had. On Naruto's hand was a chess piece.
The boy then tossed the piece to her father, who caught it.
"You are mine now, that piece is no longer necessary," he said to which she lowered her head slightly, "Yes," she responded.
He nodded and turned back to the couple, particularly the woman on the verge of tears being held back by her husband.
"No! Please!" she begged, tears spilling from her eyes. The speed at which she had risen from her chair has sent it backwards, nearing shattering if not for the efforts of one of the satyr guards. "Can't you reconsider..." The boy shook his head.
Her face contorted, warping her face into something that could be seen in nightmares "if anything happens to my daughter, I'll!" her hands crushed the part of the table she was clutching before burning the pieces away. Killing intent flowed out her body in waves, moving to trap the boy in what seemed to be a sea of flames but he was unphased.
"You speak as if you are in a position that's threatening to me. You can't do anything whilst I can whatever I wish. I'd be careful about pissing me off, I have no problem with bending your pure daughter over the table and dislocating her spine whilst forcing your eyes to stay open," he responded with a small smile. "Eep," squeaked the red-faced Ravel. "That's enough you," his cheek was pulled as he was scolded by Rias who looked like she had taken a bite out of something bitter.
"Lord Lucifer," she cried out.
The super devil shook his head.
"Lady Leviathan," her tear-filled eyes bore into the devil but she too shook her head
"Lord Gremory," she whimpered.
The man shook his head. They all agreed with Naruto to some extent so they said nothing.
Her eyes fell onto Venelana causing the woman to sigh. "I understand your pain however your daughter made that deal. As devils, one of our greatest pride is fulfilling contracts so not fulfilling a contract would shame us as a species. Besides... I do pity you for actually believing that my daughter's lover would bring harm to your daughter. Although his choice of words is questionable pay attention to the type of person Rias is, would she love a monster?" she asked before closing her eyes before turning to Naruto.
"My son, I don't comprehend why it is that you desire to be misunderstood but whatever it is that weighs heavily in your heart it will fade with time. If you wish you can confide in us as you are family," she smiled.
Naruto had never cast a jutsu as quickly as he had now. It happened so quickly that he nearly released a spike of chakra which would have broken the jutsu. A simple illusion to mask his face.
"... Thank you... M-... Mother," the word came out his mouth much harder than it had earlier. He received a smile. Lady Phenex just collapsed back into her chair and her sobs were muffled by her husband's embrace.
"Now then Mr Uzumaki, about Kuoh..."
"Yes. Your sister is under my protection as well," he responded easily, drawing wide eyes from Sona. "That easily?"
"No one is allowed to torture my arch-nemesis except for me..." There was silence.
"Naruto... You really got to learn to use words that won't be misunderstood," said Rias after a moment of silence.
"Why?" Sona asked him.
"Do I need I reason? I just feel like it... Plus, I wouldn't want to put my thing over here in a tough spot if something happens to you while nothing happened to her," he responded whilst scooting his chair closer to Rias and pulling her into his arm.
"Mou... You can use nicer words to refer to me to dummy," she pouted. Naruto kissed her forehead and stroked her locks of hair.
"There, there."
She slapped his hand and pushed him away and turning away while puffing her cheeks cutely.
"Sad," he wiped an imaginary tear.
"Mr Uzumaki, you realize that your anonymity will be in jeopardy should you choose to do this? People will assume that you are affiliated with our faction"
"It's fine Lady Leviathan. I have more than enough strength to defend myself and the two groups. Besides them thinking that is fine. It will make them more nervous."
"Even if your enemy is a god."
He shrugged, "Bring it on baby," he responded with ease. He paused, realizing that what he had said contrasted with his statement of simply being able to destroy Kuoh. He just held in a sigh and finished his juice thinking, "Sasuke would be disappointed." He made no expression when the woman smirked.
The boy turned to his lover, who flicked her hair slightly and turned to him.
"Hmmm?"
"I've got a nice garden to show you." The time spent with the boy wasn't for nothing as she immediately understood what he was saying. "I'm gonna turn your evening into a white night," he grinned drawing powerful reactions.
"Oh Satan Naruto. Just... Wow," Rias couldn't help but hide her face in embarrassment as her mother giggled at her expense. Even the servants were snickering.
"How improper, Uzumaki!"
Sona was ignored.
"Don't worry if you can't handle it, Ravel will be ready to help."
"M-M-Master! I... *****" her words were lost as her face exploded into crimson, displaying how innocent she was. "We can get Sona in this as well," he continued, ignoring the spit take followed by violent coughing.
"Woah there son, I'm going to have to stop you right there, do you mind explaining what 'turning your evening into a white night' means. Go on I'm listening/ Stay away from my Ria-tan you fiend!/My daughter's purity will not be tarnished by you foul beast!/Hey! Leave So-tan out of this," the table was filled with protests.
"It's fine lady Leviathan, if you join us, I'll let you have first dibs on her."
"DEAL!"
Naruto nodded with a small smile, "Your sister is very cute," he said casually. "Of course she is, she is MY sister after all," Serafall gushed.
"Explains a lot. Man thinking of you two below me... Something is rising and it sure as hell ain't the shield hero," he said making Serafall hold in a laugh. They both turned to look at Sona who looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Sona screamed in a manner that was very unlike her. Rias rubbed her temples, watching a magic circle appear under Sona before whisking her away. Naruto and Serafall burst out in laughter and high fived each other. Prank successful.
"That girls gotta loosen up," Serafall said, recovering from her fit of giggles. "I know right," the boy responded. "Anyways, it's been nice getting along with you Lady Leviathan but I gotta attend to some business."
"No, call me Levia-tan or Sera-tan or just Serafall. Nice meeting ya kid, have fun," she said, making him nod.
"Come on Rias, we losing hours. Been a week. I wanna beat on that bottom," he disappeared in a burst of speed and had her in his arms in a princess carry, going deaf to her protests. "Ravel dear, get your nicest nightwear, I want to see you squirm," he licked his lips.
Naruto blinked, no longer feeling Rias' weight in his arms. "What the f-" he watched Zeoticus gently put Rias on the ground before narrowing his eyes.
"Ho? Sir Lucifer, Sir Gremory and Sir Phenex you dare challenge me? You realize that I have no mercy towards cock blockers yes?" The ground below the boy caved.
Sirzechs smirked, "Our love for our family will not be defeated by you villain!"
"As if I'd allow a delinquent to be anywhere near my Rias."
"Why am I here?"
"Father!"
"I mean, Ravel will not be devoured by you!"
"Hey, uh... Isn't this the part where I say something cool?" Serafall's kimono was nowhere to be seen instead she was in a pink outfit.
Naruto scoffed and got into a stance and the men followed suit causing servants to dash out of the room. "Okay that's enough you three," the women with authority appeared and grabbed the men by their ears as the aura they released was shaking the house.
"Ah! Grayfia, I'm so-"
Sirzechs scream was muffled. What happened does not need to be mentioned. It just happened.
Rias sighed, keeping a firm grip on her protesting boyfriend's ear, "I promise to protect your daughter from this fiend," she said, turning to lady Phenex, "He speaks cruelly but his behaviour doesn't really reflect the wonderful person he is. I swear on my honour that he will not harm your daughter in any way."
"How could you trust him? Can't you see that-"
"A wise human once that a person incapable of evil will struggle in protecting what he loves. He isn't evil but he is more than willing to become a monster to protect us, the ones he considers a family," Rias closed her eyes, attempting to mask her sadness. "You may refuse to acknowledge it but he has shown you kindness by taking your daughter instead of what was offered to him," she explained.
"He spared you from the guilt you'd feel from your family falling into ruin then being enslaved by other families," she finished before turning to her still whining fiance.
"Go home stupid, I'll see you in a few days. I have duties to attend to and make sure you train Issei kay?"
The girl grabbed his arm and pulled him into her embrace before getting on the tips of her toes and planting a kiss on his cheek. "If you behave... I'll consider letting you turn my evening into a white night," she giggled pulling away.
The boy sighed in disappointment.
"Also there has been really suspicious activity in our territory. Please see to it. Once you are done then you can train Isse," she requested.
"... Okay," he turned to his in-laws, "Until next time," he moved his hand and was about to form a single-handed sign.
"Master! Please wait!"
Naruto lowered his head and turned to Ravel who had her head very low, and looked close to prostrating herself. "Speak," he said after looking her over again.
"Please! My brother... Please consider removing the curse you have placed on him!" she begged.
"Why?" he asked a simple question, his face devoid of emotion. Ravel froze, realizing words could not form. Was she too afraid to answer? If so why? She had already taken the first step so why couldn't she continue...
The reason was simply because there was no reason for him to do it. She could claim that the curse could sap away at his energy but that wouldn't be valid as self-sustaining curses did exist. She had nothing to offer him in exchange so she just prostrated.
The boy sighed, "For someone in your position to make a request. Whatever, it's pointless for me to shit on him any longer. Very well, it is done. Most of his wounds shall heal by the end of week. He'll retain some scars as a reminder of what will happen if he points his dick where it doesn't belong," he said before disappearing in a shimmer.
The girl raised her hand and muttered a quiet thank you before a magic circle appeared below her. She bowed before her superiors and teleported away so she could make preparations.
The family stared at the spot the boy was in.
"He forgot to leave the corpses," Sirzechs muttered drawing strange looks to him. "What?"
Rias shook her head turned to her mother with a fire in her eyes, "Mother..."
"I don't want to be a burden to him. Please train me," she requested making Venelana nod slightly. "I won't be gentle because you are my daughter..."
"I wouldn't want it any other way."