Chapter 1 – Into the abyss

"Gabriel. Are you sure that this is the right move?"

"Of course. After all, we are thieves…"

"…We take what we want."

Five figures clad in black jumped from the roof. The Peintures & Patrimoine building sat across the Rue Rivoli street. A hundred meters away from the entrance to their target, Louvre. It was a busy street, especially during nighttime, where the city of Paris truly shone the brightest. Street lights covered their every movement, children of shadows and deceit.

Gabriel let the wind soothe his face. They had spent the entire week on that building. Checking guard patterns and camera movements. Two months were spent in checking which of those cameras actually worked and which were dummies. The largest job they had ever taken. Their do or die moment. Gabriel, Lucifer, Mammon, Inari and Indra; the shadow syndicate.

The shadows were fifteen when they started. Orphans, street rats. Pulled together through life's whims. Grew up in dirty slums, dank streets filled with rats. They ate whatever they could steal. Whatever they were given. And then, on that faithful day, two years ago, they did their first official job. It was messy and complicated. Well as complicated as robbing a small bank in the outskirts of Chicago could ever be. It was bloody, messy, and not fun at all. Just like a girl's first time; but that didn't put them down. They traveled, expanded; a huge clientele and worldwide media coverage. The men in black. The thieves. Countless nicknames given by countless onlookers.

And now two years later they could finally earn their retirement. Was it too early? Maybe. But, the Longinus spear could buy you a small country. Found underground during an excavation in Jerusalem, it became the buzz of the century. The spear that took Jesus' life. The same spear that was imbedded into god's personification on earth. Now safely located in Louvre, it was their target. Their way into the high life. Was it risky? Yes. Was it worth it? Maybe.

"Indra, remain nearby you know what to do," Lucifer spoke in a commanding tone. His usual arrogance was not coating his words anymore. The group was apprehensive. None of them was sure this was going to end well. Only Gabriel's cheerfulness held them from falling apart. Their heartbeats accelerating to dangerous levels. Indra turned into a tiny alley between Rue de Rivoli and Place du Carrousel while the rest of them ran into the gates that separated the streets and Louvre's campus. Couples still walked around the grass covered fields but their eyes were glued on the glass pyramid that stood upside down on itself. Looking at themselves they nodded as Inari and Mammon turned left to go inside through the normal entrance. Lucifer and Gabriel went on towards the pyramid.

'One two. One two. Can you hear me, guys?" Indra's voice came through their speakers. The adrenaline was at an all-time high.

A chorus of "Loud and clear" came through their interconnected headpieces.

"Team one, entrance will unlock in two minutes. Team two… Take care of yourselves."

"Roger. "

If not clear, until now; Team two consisted of the two leaders. Lucifer and Gabriel. Satan and Archangel. It was ironic onomatopoeia; they were drunk when they came up with the names. Inari, god of crops and foxes- their support. Mammon, the personification of greed and avarice. Indra, the wrathful god. Lucifer, the demon of pride. And Gabriel, the messenger of god. It was through Inari's irony that he didn't get a demon's alias. 'You are too pure to be a demon' she had said back then. Although it was probably his looks and her shyness that kept her from revealing the entire thought process.

"Sasuke. Never forget…" Gabriel started as he sped towards the glass, "… We are thieves." He threw a metal gadget, -made by Inari, on the glass and it started beeping. Lucifer looked at his leader's back and smirked, with a groan he jumped as high as he could ready for the hole that would appear shortly through the reinforced glass. "Ah, I'll never forget. We take what we want right? Naruto."

Gabriel jumped at the same time as the gadget emitted a high-frequency sound, and shattered it. "Yeah…"

"Eh, guys. You know the plan, go on to point B, the fake it there. Start the alarm." She said shyly. It was always enjoyable to poke fun at her, but at this point in time, they couldn't bring themselves to joke.

On the other side of the campus, Indra and Mammon walked right through the high-grade security doors that led to the vault. Whose idea was it to connect a door to the internet? Inari couldn't tell. But it came in handy at this point so she couldn't really complain.

"Indra, go to point C, plant them five feet apart each. Arm them for ten. "

"Yes chief!" he said excitedly. Unlike the rest of them, Indra lacked self-preservation instincts.

"Could you take this seriously Johny?" Mammon spoke.

"heh? Aren't you one to talk. So carelessly saying my name like that."

The banter didn't take off as usual. They separated as per plan. West of them sirens started echoing through the campus which was the whole point of the operation. Two rooms and a turn to the left led to the vault. "I'm here Inari."

"Yep, wait a sec. "Keyboard clicks could be heard from the other side of the speaker. After a few silent moments, the vault released and opened just enough to let the visitor inside. "Done!" she said cheerfully.

"Nice Inari. It was fun working with you." He said, letting a bit of regret color his words.

"Huh?" Inari suddenly felt pain, as if someone was squeezing her heart. It was the same kind of pain one felt when hitting his toe on the table foot. Only it concentrated in her heart. "When?" she asked through gasps of air. She could hardly even think right now. She had to tell Naruto and Sasuke.

"When? When I accidentally scratched you this morning Eli. I am afraid that this ends our cooperation. I'll see you on the other side. "he said cockily while throwing his headpiece away. The spear lay on a metallic table. It was being examined earlier. The researchers left it there like that. The untapped power that just waited to be wielded. God's blood had seeped through its cracks making it about as powerful as a nuke. All there, inside an eight-foot pole.

"Hey, are you finished here?" Johny's voice rang inside the acoustic chamber. His eyes widened when a sharp pain rang through his senses. He coughed blood and steam rose and entered his eyes. A spear was embedded inside his chest. The weight of it made him stumble and he fell on his knees. Beyond the metal pole stood Mammon. Casually smirking at him. That annoying face.

"You won't get away with this Cao Cao. You won't get away with this." In his rage, he pulled the spear out. Another gurgle of blood and spit escaped his mouth. His left lung was collapsed and he couldn't care less at this point. The rage blinded him. It was the kind of feeling he only experienced once before.

His mother lay on the ground. A pool of blood surrounding her still form. That man stood over her, cleaning his gun with a tissue. Ah… He had said the same words back then. 'You won't get away with this.' But the words were empty, only the shadow of that man aligned with Cao Cao's figure. "YOU. WON'T GET. AWAY WITH THIS!" his eyes dead to the world as he screamed. The all mighty weapon safely in his hands, he raised it, ready to throw it at the traitor. Cao Cao raised his hand and in a sudden the spear left Johnny's hand and flew over to him.

"What?" his eyes widened at the feat. How did he do that? This shouldn't be possible.

"Indra, Johnny. The world is beyond your imagination. You are blind to it. Blinded by that which they want you to see. You are but a tiny ant in front of a goliath. At least; at these last moments you can catch a glimpse and when that arrogant prick and goodie two shoes join you in the afterlife you can tell them all about it." The Longinus was raised at Johnny's eye level. A blinding ball of light gathered around its spike.

"You won't get away with this. Gabriel will make sure of it." He closed his eyes, accepting his fate. The vault was illuminated as the deadly beam engrossed his entire body. There was nothing left there.

"What is he going to do Indra? Kick me?" he snorted.

"I am going to FUCKING KILL YOU!" Gabriel's obnoxious voice rang through the corridors, Sasuke stood behind him glaring daggers at Cao Cao.

"Ahahah. You? Kill me? Know your place!" Another beam escaped the holy spear, only slightly missing its intended target."

Naruto ignored the illogical fact that a spear released a beam of doom towards him and rushed Cao Cao. He was fast for a human, but not fast enough. Strong but not strong enough. Cao Cao disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke. "Guess that's it. Luci." Another beam removed Sasuke's chest and organs leaving a humongous hole in his body.

"Na… Naru." He fell flat on his face. Naruto was on his knees staring at his brother's corpse. "Why Cao? Why did you do this?" There was no reason to live anymore. Money didn't matter if they weren't there. Fame didn't matter if they weren't there. Only the daunting emptiness of the abyss remained in his heart.

"It wasn't personal Leader. I want everything this world has to offer. Can't have that if I have to share with you." Cao cao shrugged. HE FUCKING SHRUGGED!

"So it was for money?" Naruto asked. Broken as he was. "For petty money?"

"Money? Don't be ridiculous Naruto. Money is but a way to power. With the Longinus, I can ignore the middle man so to speak." He answered flippantly. "As I said earlier. I'll see you on the other side." The spear started charging power as it aimed towards his still form. Naruto didn't care. He started pulling himself on the floor, - his feet wouldn't move for some reason. Slowly but surely heading towards Sasuke. The spear deactivated suddenly and Cao Cao felt his stamina drain. He didn't have enough power to give his former leader a fast death. "I guess I'll do it the old way" The spear rose again, ready to be thrown towards the unassuming blonde who was now hugging his dead friend. There were tears flowing but Cao Cao couldn't care less about that.

His attempt was again thwarted by footsteps. Through the pitiful sniffles, he could clearly hear them. A team of eight, armed. He was tired so fighting them was not an option.

"You are lucky Leader," He said as he vanished into thin air.

Naruto sat on an uncomfortable metallic chair. The police dog sat on the other side of the table. He was speaking in French; a language Naruto couldn't speak. So he didn't answer. There was no point to it anyway. A life in prison awaited him anyway. Locked behind bars while the bastard went about his merry way.

It had been two weeks since then. Daily, a guard would pick him up from his cell and would bring him in the interrogation room. At which point he would sit and listen to French mambo jumbo he couldn't understand. Ten hours later he went back to his cell. No food was served nor water.

It was the fourteenth day when a red haired man walked into the interrogation room. He had long hair and wore glasses. Tall or, at least, taller than Naruto, he wore a business suit and carried a leather Gucci bag. The man spoke a few words in French to the officer; who for some reason stood up and robotically walked outside.

The man sat across and opened his bag taking a thick manila folder out. "I'll be frank with you, mister Naruto Uzumaki."

'what?' how did the man speak his language? Well, it wasn't such a rare occurrence for someone to speak a tongue. But this man spoke, and he understood what was being said. But the sounds didn't make any sense. Like drinking orange juice while expecting milk. It was disgusting but not really. Get it?

"What did you just say?" Naruto spoke in his mother tongue, Japanese. The man didn't bat an eye as he answered in fluid Japanese.

"I said. That I am going, to be frank with you Uzumaki-san. You are in a lot of trouble… "The string that banded the folder was released slowly and the man took a large stack of papers out and started reading. "… 2013, you and members of your group entered the Bank of America branch office, Cornelius avenue. Two guards dead, shot. The group left with a gross sum of fifty thousand and sixty-five dollars…

The Same year, three months later, a group of people, now named shadow syndicate enter the Smithsonian museum of Art in Washington DC, stolen artifact being Nuestra Senora de Los Dolores by John S. Copley – estimated price, seventy thousand U.S dollars. Same year, December. The crime syndicate known as shadow enters the private estate of billionaire Donald Trump, stealing several artifacts of unknown value…." The man put the folder down and looked at him, "Should I go over 2014 Uzumaki-san?"

"You have been watching us." Naruto glared at the man.

"Yeah. In my defense, a group that has Cao Cao's descendant in it is always something to watch for. At least in my circles." He said as he raised both hands pleading guilty.

"Cao Cao's descendant? That bastard is an orphan, just like everyone in our group."

"Ah, that is true. Unfortunately, though his heritage does exist even if you didn't know about it… The great hero of China, Cao Cao or Mengde. Rose to power during the three kingdom era. Eastern Han dynasty. Well, that is the official tale of course. "he shrugged.

"There is an unofficial one?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, apparently he was part of some organization that hunted yokai. Even killed a Kyuubi with seven tails. Well, it was a baby Kyuubi but still. "the man went on to ramble about how a baby Kyuubi should be powerful enough to fight off entire human armies. Which was totally unfair considering the humans.

"Wait, stop. Time off. What the hell are you talking about… eh"

"Lucifer. Sirzechs Lucifer. Not your friend Lucifer, I am the actual Lucifer. Although I wasn't born a Lucifer there was this whole war and…"

"STOP! What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto yelled in outrage. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Ah… I guess I'll have to start from the beginning huh?" he scratched his head sheepishly.

And so the story of a world is hidden in broad daylight unfolded. Where even the boogeyman probably dwelled under some unsuspecting child's bed. A world where angels were licking their wounds while devils multiplied with chess pieces and fallen angels did whatever it was that fallen angels did. Where vampires lived in castles and warred between their clans, bigfoot was but another daily occurrence and that slender man game you play at night with your lights off? Yeah, he doesn't exist but still.

"So why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked when the story finished.

"That's it? You believe me just like that?" Sirzechs asked in bewilderment. That was quicker than Grayfia pulling him back in the office.

"Yeah, I mean a beam of holy light bisected two of my brother's and the dude responsible is somewhere out there. I guess if I accepted the existence of god then accepting whatever tall tale you just told me is probably easy." He shrugged.

"Ahem, yeah I guess so. So to the reason, I'm here. I am a sucker for revenge stories and drama." Sirzechs said seriously.

"Huh?" Naruto gawped.

"I mean come one. There is this whole teenage ultra-thieves plot and then there is betrayal, some romance was going on. I've been hooked with you guys and I just couldn't let you rot in some prison while Cao Cao lurks around. It would be lame." He finished.

"So you are here because… Is this some kind of soap opera to you bastard? Do you find all of this entertaining?"

"Ah, yeah?" the answer was shaky at best.

Naruto sighed as he massaged his temples. He didn't ask for any of this. But there was some truth to the devil's rumblings. He couldn't rot in jail. Not yet at least. "

"So … What is it you are suggesting then?" he asked.

"Hm. A friend of mine hasn't started her peerage yet. She is really picky and an actress. Ever seen Miracle Levia-tan?"

"What?"

"Oh, I guess it only airs in the underworld."

"You got television in the fucking underworld?"

"Yeah."

"They got ramen?"

"Ah… Yeah?"

"Sweet."

A.N I wanted to make this chapter longer, but ending it on a high note seemed important and I would have ruined it if I went further. Review and follow if you liked it!