Soul: Welcome to our collab-fic. This was two years in the making, and finally we have a chapter out.

NS: Aye, since he wanted to wait until the anime came out…

Soul: *grumbles* Can't wait to binge the first 13 episodes! And I read the manga all the way up to Volume 9 on Kindle. But anyway, this chapter helps set up the first arc nicely, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto, The Rising of the Shield Hero, or any other series that'll appear. We do not make money off this. It's a hobby.

Special thanks to Zronku/Fjtiko for the cover image.

SoulEmbrace2010 and NorthSouthGorem presents…

Yoroi no Yuusha: The Fifth Hero

(The World)

The world was on the brink of destruction. This was neither a new notion, nor a surprising one to the people. For as long as people could remember, there had been the Waves. Every few centuries, monsters and demons would swarm the land, raining devastation and despair down on every country. But along with destruction, comes creation.

Fortunately, with each generation, there came the heroes that would drive them back. The Four Divine Heroes, of the Sword, Shield, Bow and Spear.

The Four Heroes hailed from worlds beyond theirs, yet their worlds were similar to each others. But the one thing the Heroes bore in common was their love for games, and they were able to easily adapt to the world. Unfortunately, they would inevitably fail to put their differences aside, and worked separately from each other. Worse, the Shield Hero was always considered to be the black sheep of the summoned Heroes, due to their worship by the demi-human race in the country of Siltvelt.

Generations of Heroes have come and gone, and the Waves continue to devastate and change the world to this day. And the previous Heroes have fallen due to people's betrayal of the Shield Hero, resulting in their death. Without their defense, the Legendary Heroes fell one-by-one, and the people refusing to acknowledge their mistake.

And now the cycle begins anew, with the Kingdom of Melromarc at its epicenter preparing the ritual to summon the new generation of Heroes. But little did they know that someone had a plan to usurp the system, to create a fifth Hero. A Hero that would bring together the four Legendary Heroes and properly battle the Waves. A Hero with a perfect balance of light and darkness in their heart. A Hero that would follow his heart and do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.

'Now, to make a few teeny-weensy adjustments…'

Chapter 01: The Armor Hero

(Tokyo, Japan)

An alarm beeped on a night stand, prompting a hand to slam on top of it. The beeping ceased, prompting the hand to withdraw back into the covers. A groan resounded from under the covers before they were thrown back. A busty young woman with black hair and brown eyes sat up, rolled out of bed and began gathering her tossed clothes from the carpeted floor. She looked back at the bed and smiled, seeing her client likewise rousing from his slumber. He blinked, then smirked, enjoying the sight of the girl slipping into her clothes one layer at a time.

The young man is 5'4" tall, had sun-tinted blonde hair, blue eyes, slightly tan skin, and whisker-marks on his cheeks. He was currently naked, showing off his lean, muscular body. He shook his head to rid himself of the drowsiness, and saw the girl counting the money he'd left for her on the table. "It's all there, Mizu-chan." he told her amusedly.

"I'm sure," she replied, not looking up.

"Aww, don't trust me after last night?"

She gave him a sunny smile. "Well sure I do, sweetie. But a job's a job."

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

"Yep, it's all here. You're in the clear." Mizu said, putting the money in her purse. "Hope you ring for my services again soon, Naru-chan!" she said cheerfully, blowing a kiss at the blonde before exiting the apartment.

The blonde chuckled and got off the bed himself. After stretching and doing some quick calisthenics, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, use the toilet, and take a shower. After taking care of his hygiene, he slipped into a black shirt, an orange hoodie, blue cargo jeans, and black sneakers. He then grabbed his bookbag of electronics, his smartphone, and headed towards the door.

"Oh crap," he muttered, stopping in his tracks, "Almost forgot."

He ran to his tableside table and swiped his ID that read 'Uzumaki Naruto.' Satisfied, he left his apartment and locked the door behind him.

Pocketing his keys, he vaulted over the railing, landing on the ground and rolling to lessen the strain on his legs. Without skipping a beat, he ran out of the parking lot and down the road. Along the way, he weaved and dodged pedestrians, vaulted over and slid under obstacles; all without losing his momentum.

Naruto was an orphan and a ronin of college student. He'd lost his family when he was young, and had no one to take him in, getting shuttled from orphanage to orphanage. He'd run away from them each time, unwilling to stay in one place. He did this for years, until finally he received his inheritance from his parents, using the money to buy his current apartment.

Throughout the years, he cruised through school, finding life boring. To fill the empty void, he both observed and participated in Dungeons and Dragons sessions, read various light novels, played video games, and explored the various sights of Japan with his parkour skills.

When he wasn't rotting away in classes, he does the following: goes to the library to read in the morning, plays around in the arcade after lunch, and empties out the pachinko machines with his devil's luck. When there isn't a DnD session, he hangs around Akihabara, and sometimes takes an escort home with him for their services.

Back with Naruto, he found himself in front of the library after a fifteen minute jog using parkour. His face brightened, as it was the day that the library received new books for people to read and borrow.

As he climbed the steps, he paid no mind to a cloaked figure hanging around near the entrance, reading a book. However, they stepped in front of him, catching his attention.

"Salutations." they said, with a voice that Naruto couldn't tell was either masculine or feminine.

"Um, hello?" Naruto replied, clearly looking confused, "Can I help you?"

"Tell me, what do you think of the world you're living in?" the cloaked figure inquired, "This world specifically, might I add."

Naruto frowned, "Who wants to know? And just so you know, I have no money on me."

"Kukuku," the unknown individual chuckled, "I don't want your money. Just your humor. Please."

Naruto looked hesitant. This person was speaking to him in a weird manner. While he was cautious, he was curious as well, and wondered what would come out of opening up to his individual.

"Well," Naruto started, still keeping his guard up. "It's the only place I can get a meal, I guess. My only gripe is that it's nothing like the worlds of fantasy and technology from the books I read."

"I see." the person mused. "And if you had a chance to leave, would you take it? Even if it meant that you could never come back to your luxuries?"

Naruto's hair stood up on the back of his neck. He took a few quick steps back, not out of fear, but alarm. He kept his eye on the person, but so far they haven't made any sudden moves.

"Who wants to know?"

"Just a curious individual who means you no harm. Now, your answer."

Naruto bit his lip, feeling a bit jumpy. His heart was pounding not out of fear, but…excitement.

"A basic premise of an Isekai light novel. Going to a new world, without any way back," he said, and smirked, "To be honest, this world sucks. People care too much about other people's business. They argue too much on social media, further splitting them apart and never coming to an understanding. And the government's…too many corrupt politicians unwilling to reform. But I never cared. I live my life as free as the wind, never caring about the world. You ask if I would take a one way trip to a new world. Your answer is yes, I would do it in a heartbeat."

The cloaked figure closed their book with a snap, "Well, then congratulations, young man. Today's about to become a good day for you. Hestia-sama will be pleased."

Naruto blinked, "Come again?"

"You'll know that meaning soon enough." the cloaked figure said and entered the library. "I look forward to your journey, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hey, wait!" Naruto shouted as the doors closed. He went after the figure, but when he opened the door, they were gone, "What the hell?"

Brow furrowed, he made his way into the library proper, looking around.

"Oh, Uzumaki-san." the librarian waved to him, "You're here early."

"Hey, have you seen a guy or gal in a cloak come in here?" Naruto inquired.

The librarian shook his head. "Sorry, no. I just saw you coming in. You need any coffee?" he asked, pointing on a table of complementary coffees.

"Hmm, I'd love some." Naruto accepted. He took a cup, downed it without any sugar or cream, and tossed it in the nearby trash. The blond then made this way to his favorite section, full of light novels and manga, "Now, let see."

He browsed through the new books, seeing updates for his favorite series: Blazblue, High School DxD, RWBY, Hundred, Infinite Stratos, Trinity Seven, Brynhildr in the Darkness, Hybrid × Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia, Testament of Sister New Devil, and many many more. Smirking, he took his tablet out of his backpack and set it to download the new titles. While he liked reading physical copies, he enjoyed having a digital bookshelf on his person even more; like a mobile library.

"Hmm?" His eyes fell on an old book on the new release shelf. "That looks quite old for something new."

He took it and read the cover, "The Wandering Vagabond and the Records of the Four Holy Weapons?" he appraised it, noting the wear on the cover, "No author name or summary." Using his smartphone, he looked up the book title, only to receive zero results from the search engine, "What the hell…?"

Curious and fascinated, he put his tablet away in his backpack, and begun to read. "When the world is on the brink of disaster, heroes will be summoned from another world. The four heroes will each possess a weapon: Sword, Spear, Bow, and Shield. So, it's a fantasy. Bet there's gonna be a harem element in later chapters," he mused, turning a page. "But, another hero shall emerge, a vagabond clad in Armor, blessed by the Gods. He is the one who shall join the four heroes, uniting them against the Waves that threaten the world. Yep, the vagabond is the main character, and all the girls want a piece of them. People hate the cliches, but they have their charm. Wonder if the other heroes will have harems of their own? That'd be kinda new."

After reading a few more lines, his look of fascination turned into confusion, "The hell? A blank page?" he flipped through the rest of the pages. "They're all blank- huh~?"

His eyelids began to drift shut, growing heavier and heavier. 'For some reason, I'm feeling awfully tired…'

He fell forward, but didn't hit the ground. Instead, he suddenly felt weightless, as if drifting through the air. Then, a jolt snapped Naruto awake. He gasped and looked around, only finding himself in a black void of nothingness.

"What the fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!" He started yelled, suddenly aware of the sensation of falling through the empty space. "Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

He panicked before remembering the cloaked stranger's words from earlier. "If you had a chance to leave, would you take it? Even if it meant that you could never come back to your luxuries?"

"Oh."

"Congratulations, young man. Today's about to become a good day for you."

"That…"

Before he could dwell further on his meeting with the cloaked individual, he felt himself crashing onto the floor.

"Ow."

Groaning, he lifted himself off the ground, seeing bare brown floor usually found in a bar. He looked around to see that he was actually in a bar. It was old-fashioned, dimly lit and cluttered with round tables, booths and a long mahogany main bar.

"Ugh, where am I?" he mumbled, holding his cheek where it landed on the floor.

"Why hello there!"

Naruto jumped and turned around to see the speaker. When he laid eyes on them, his jaw dropped when he recognized his greeter: a young woman.

She had long black hair tied into twintails, reaching down her thighs and tied with a pair of blue and white bell ornaments. She had bright blue eyes, fair skin, and a short stature with a sizable bust. Her attire was a white mini-dress with a blue ribbon around her neck, and another tied around her arms and under her breasts. She also wore a pair of white, elbow-length gloves, and a pair of sandals.

"Hestia…" Naruto whispered, and gulped.

"Oh, you know who I am! That makes things easier!" the girl said brightly, "May I know your name, hero?"

"Um…Naruto." the blonde replied slowly, "Uzumaki Naruto. And I would like to ask…Am I dead?"

"Don't worry, you haven't suffer the same fate as most of those Isekai protagonists have." Hestia replied simply, and patted the stool next to her, "Please, have a seat."

Naruto nodded and sat down, "So um…how's Bell?"

"Oh, you don't have to be scared, Naruto. I know that in your world, my adventures are chronicled in those novels you read," chuckled Hestia, holding up Naruto's tablet, "And they're accurate, except for a few details."

"Do tell," Naruto said idly as a tray appeared in front of him, "I already had some coffee."

Hestia giggled. "Please, everything's on the house."

Naruto hummed and skimmed over the menu, "Then…I'll have the Teriyaki Ramen, some seafood sushi with soy sauce, and a bottle of ramune please."

"Coming right away, sir."

Naruto recognized the voice and saw his one-night stand, Mizu, taking his order. She was dressed in a skimpy server outfit, and had a coy smile on her face.

"Huh, guess I came highly recommended." Naruto commented, watching Mizu walk away with a sway in her hips, "I'm guessing the cloaked one was your minion as well, Lady Hestia?"

"Not quite. They were on loan from a friend." Hestia said, and handed the tablet back to Naruto. "But never mind them. Let's talk about you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess. I'm one of the heroes in that book?"

She smiled enigmatically. "Perhaps. Not yet, but you certainly could be."

"Could be? Then I'm the lone wolf Vagabond then." Naruto guessed, causing Hestia to giggle, "What?"

"I'm surprised you're still guessing. That sweater of yours must be comfy." Hestia stated coyly with a mischievous cat-like look on her face.

Naruto followed her eyes and looked down. He was surprised to find himself clad in a set of light armor over his clothes, securely strapped to his body with belts. The armor was a white diamond-shaped chestplate, cut above his lower abdomen, a pair of white spaulders with rerebraces set under them, a pair of elbow guards, and greaves.

"Whoa," he murmured, standing up to examine his new attire. He patted the armor down, and then jumped up and down, strangely not feeling the weight of it, "It's awfully light. I like it."

"Great. Now check your status."

"Come again?"

"There should be a blinking icon in your field of vision." Hestia instructed, pointing at Naruto's head, "Focus on that."

The blond nodded and focused his attention on the indicated icon. It blinked before expanding into a full screen in front of him, making him step back.

"I don't want to make this a catchphrase but, whoa," Naruto repeated as he looked over his stats.

Naruto Uzumaki: Armor Hero Lv 1

Age: 18

-Status
HP: 500
MP: 50
SP: 75
Attack: 13
P. Defense: 20
M. Defense: 15
Agility: 13
Intellect: 13
Luck: 30

-Equipment:
Basic Armor
Otherworld Clothes

Backpack

"This is just like my video games." Naruto said, reading the screen, and noting that his elemental affinities and experience were currently at zero. "This is good. At least I'm starting at the bottom. It would be boring if I was starting off overpowered like your average light novel protagonist."

"That's for later," Hestia told him, smiling wryly, "But yes. The God who created that armor has made it so that while you start off like this, you have 'limitless paths of infinite depth to explore with it…' whatever that means. That sort of thing isn't my strong suit."

"Considering what you represent as a Goddess, not surprised," commented Naruto, just as Mizu returned with his order, "Thank you, Mizu-chan."

"My pleasure, Naru-chan~." Mizu replied with a coy smile.

"Please. Being the goddess of the hearth doesn't stop me from having fun." Hestia replied with a huff.

"Indeed. I'm sure Bell isn't complaining." Naruto said with a smirk. "Now, about this Armor…?"

"Well, your Armor grants you several passive boons, like the other Divine Weapons." Hestia started, watching Naruto eat. "But when that armor bonded to you, it gave you some perks I installed myself, to cheat the system of the world you see."

"...Do tell." Naruto said after finishing his sushi and moved on to his ramen, "Well excuse my French, but cheating the system definitely sounds like some overpowered shit. So what exactly did you give me?"

Hestia smirked, "What you and your DnD buddies use to spice up your sessions."

Naruto blinked and finished his noodles quickly to respond, "What, the Adventure Meta CYOA? I'm the only one who uses that. It gives my character a Body Makeover, Enhanced Condition, Boosted Health, and an Improved Inventory. They also have a journal that updates automatically, can teleport to a previous accessed destination via Fast Travel, and can maintain a Mental Map. Finally, it gives them access to the Fighter, Mage, and Rogue adventure classes, as well as their subclasses." he recited, and sipped some ramune. "The rest of the guys use other OP builds, as well as lewd builds to make hentai-style DnD sessions. In my last game, I took some of those stupid lewd CYOA builds due to the idiots pressuring me-"

"Mmhm." Hestia nodded during the explanation, and gave him a knowing look when he finished talking.

"To think I'm being stalked by the Gods." Naruto muttered in exasperation as Mizu came and collected his dishes. He then furrowed his brow when he noticed that he was a few inches taller than her, and she was still the same height, "Wait…"

"There's a tall mirror in the restroom. Wanna check your new look?" Hestia asked, pointing in the direction of said restroom.

Without answering, Naruto jumped off the stool. He tripped over for a bit, not used to his sudden but obvious growth spurt. Using the surrounding tables as support, he tumbled over and entered the restroom. Seeing the mirror, he gapped at what the Body Makeover had done to his person.

He was now 5'9" tall. His spiky blond hair now had red strands. His eyes were the brightest of blues. Forming fists, he slightly flexed his muscles, feeling stronger. He lifted up the bottom of his top to see tight, 6-pack abs, replacing the 4-pack he'd had.

"This is amazing." Naruto said, patting his stomach, "This is exactly how my own DnD characters are…wait, if the Adventure Meta was used, then could those other-" he noted before getting a perverted thought.

"So, do you like the changes?" Hestia asked, poking her head through the door to see Naruto staring down his pants.

"Oh yeah, big change." Naruto agreed with wide eyes and a cat-like grin, "Like big 'gonna get need bigger boxers' change."

"Excellent. Follow me then." Hestia instructed, gesturing to him.

She lead him to the back of the bar, where a practice range formed in the empty place.

"Where is this place anyway?" Naruto questioned, watching as the practice dummies materialized.

"A dimensional rift between spaces. Basically, the pathways between the otherworlds. It's the backbone of the Hero Summoning System, along with the catalysts." Hestia explained. "One of the catalysts is that book you read that summoned you. Normally, you would be summoned directly to the parallel world, but it was rigged to bring you to me."

"Wonderful." Naruto said, "Feels like this is the tutorial stage."

"That's exactly what this is, a tutorial." Hestia said before taking a seat to the side, "In one year's time, the Kingdom of Melromarc will summon the new generation of the four Legendary Heroes: Sword, Spear, Bow, and Shield. And my fellow gods agreed that it'll be the same song and dance with them. The four Heroes are supposed to work together, but they took the lone wolf routes, squabbling with each other in petty rivalries. Then again, I guess it doesn't help that the previous heroes would get summoned to different countries. And in all those times, the Shield Hero would get the shaft."

"How come? I mean, the Shield shouldn't be that bad." Naruto pointed out, while Hestia summoned a briefcase. "It can be used as a weapon. So many heroes in media back in my world have innovative ways of using a Shield as an attack weapon. However, I have a question."

"Ask away."

Naruto folded his arms, "You mentioned that the Heroes will be summoned by one Kingdom instead of the usual four this time. …Why?"

"Glad that you're paying attention, Naruto." Hestia praised, "But that will be a mystery for you to discover. You have a year until the Heroes arrive after all."

"...Cool." Naruto deadpanned, drawling in a way that would make a certain rat-faced British bastard proud.

"Now, to business. In the world you're going to, things work like your typical standard RPG. But only to an extent, as to be expected; it's still a real world. One of the differences is that you're classified as the Hero of the Armor, so you cannot wield any weapons. It's to counterbalance the divine nature of your armor." Hestia explained, looking amused at Naruto's look of dismay, "Oh don't you dare cry. You can still use the fighting skills you physically possess, like your Traditional Karate, Wushu, and Kickboxing."

Naruto's eye twitched, "I always wanted to wield a sword."

"And that's where another boon comes in, but we'll get to that later." Hestia waved him off, "Now attack that dummy on the far right."

Naruto grumbled as he approached the target dummy. When he was close, an indicator for Lv. 1 appeared over its head. He tilted his head and looked to his left, seeing that the other dummies bore rising levels, like Lv. 10, Lv. 20, etc; ending at Lv. 100.

"I can attack in any way?"

"Yes, of course. You can attack in any way you want, as long as you don't pick up a weapon. You can even make your own special moves. No restrictions."

"Works for me!"

Naruto drew his fist back and punched the dummy, causing it to wobble in place. An HP meter appear, showing that the punch had taken off 50 percent of its health. He then delivered a spinning roundhouse kick, dropping the dummy's health to zero. Due to his new body, Naruto stumbled a bit before straightening up. As for the dummy, it exploded. A few seconds later, another Lv. 1 Dummy took its place.

"Okay then…"

He moved to the Lv. 10 Dummy and attacked with a combo of punches. It took less damage, and it took him around 30 seconds to deplete its health. Strangely enough, it moved the same way the other dummy had as it took damage.

"Hmm…"

Naruto targeted the Lv. 50 dummy next, and delivered a strong haymaker. Not did the attack barely take off a chip of damage, but it responded the same way the other dummies did would it took an attack.

'Judging by the dummy reactions, the target would respond as if reeling from a punch no matter what. But leveling up and attack power is everything. Which means that if the roles were reversed…' Naruto shivered when the story of Re:Zero came to mind, 'Yeah, I'll avoid high level monsters and areas for now and… Say Hestia?" Naruto asked nervously, "Is permadeath in full effect?"

"Of course."

"...Wonderful."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"They nearly crept up. The thought of dying terrifies me like any sane person, but it's to be expected." Naruto admitted, shivering slightly again, "I'm not going to back out. Not my style."

Hestia nodded in satisfaction, "Excellent. Further proof that I've chosen wisely. Now, let's move on to your Armor's five special abilities."

"Is it like a Falna, a God's grace? And did I receive yours when you put this Armor on me?" Naruto inquired, patting his back.

"Yes. However, my Grace is outside your Armor's abilities. But again, you'll have to find out what it does yourself during your journey." Hestia teased, making Naruto groan, "Now about your Armor. It's been imbued with the Hard-light element, which ties in to your Armor's abilities. The first ability acts in correlation with your imagination. Imagine what you want to fight with. Try it."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, focusing and bringing forth a katana in his mind. He felt a tingling sensation in his hands, causing him to open his eyes. Cyan-colored energy channeled in his hand and formed a katana without a sheath. His eyes widened as he examined it.

"Is this what you mean by cheating the system?" Naruto asked before the katana shattered in his hand.

"That's right. You can shape the Hard-light element into any weapon you desire, and receive no penalty from it. The reason it disappeared is because the skill is at a low level. The higher the skill, the longer it can be maintained." Hestia said.

"I see." Naruto confirmed. He tried to summon the Hard-light Katana again, but was hit with a message highlighted in red.

Hard-light weapon: Katana - Cooldown: 24 hours

"I forgot to add, but their durability is extremely fragile, so they don't last long. The higher your level is, the shorter the cooldown is, and the longer they'll stick around. So for now, that ability should be considered for emergencies. And finally, the ability is tied to your attack points."

"Noted." Naruto mumbled, noting that the Hard-light weapon lasted for three seconds, 'I can come up with some pretty neat ideas with this!'

"Next is your Armor spells. Open up your Armor skill tree."

Naruto nodded and shifted through the menus until he found the Armor skill tree. He saw the names of the locked skills were hidden, and frowned when he recognized the name, "Wait, that's-"

"Now, defend yourself!"

"Pardon?"

Naruto quickly closed his menu to see the Lv. 1 Dummy rush in to attack. Acting quickly, he chanted, "Armor Lock!", kneeling down and punching the ground simultaneously.

A hard-light shell flared up around him, conforming to his body. However, at the same time, Naruto found himself locked in place. But the ability did its job, barely even flickering as the dummy delivered minimal damage. Naruto growled as the dummy was repelled back, the former not happy about being stuck in place, "Shit~!"

He was freed after five seconds, and saw an icon that notified him of the ability's cooldown being 60 seconds. "Halo's Armor Abilities, and I start off with the my least favorite one. Go figure." He charged forward and struck the dummy with a boot to its face, causing it to explode.

"Good job. You should have gained experience from that." Hestia said.

As Hestia spoke, Naruto saw that he gained 200 EXP points out of 500, meaning that he needed 300 points for a level up.

"And finally, get that item the dummy dropped, and follow the prompt on your HUD," Hestia instructed, "And watch the magic happen."

Naruto walked over to the item and picked it up. It was a rabbit totem with the limbs covered in springs. The rabbit item, along with his the gem in the center of the chestpiece, glowed in unison. The item then floated into the gem, causing the armor to shine brightly.

When the light receded, the armor was now red, with a thick, skin-tight black suit taking the place of his clothes. The armor covered most of his chest, his limbs, and he even gain a helmet that took the motif of a rabbit.

Rabbit Armor

"This Armor makes me Mega Man." Naruto commented, examining himself, "Yeah, let's end the tutorial. I got this now that I know the impossibilities are endless. I can take it from here."

Hestia giggled, "Patience, Naruto. You're about 90 percent done here. All you have to do is to test your abilities, and defeat an opponent that'll fight back. Sounds easy?"

"Bring them on." Naruto replied, punching a hand in his fist, "I'll destroy it."

Hestia smirked and snapped her fingers. A portal appeared next to her, with several orange, crystallized construct stepping out of it, "I trust you know what this is?"

"Manikins from Dissidia. Perfect," Naruto cracked his neck, noting that the Manikins are Lv. 5, "I have a few…bones to pick with them-" Upon closer inspection, he saw the Manikins looked a lot like him, "Well, figures that they would be me…"

…

Naruto Uzumaki: Armor Hero Lv 3

HP: 700
MP: 80
SP: 80
Attack: 13
P. Defense: 30
M. Defense: 18
Agility: 15
Intellect: 17
Luck: 40

It was a pain, but Naruto managed to get through the final stage of the combat tutorial. He leveled up two times to Lv. 3, causing his stats to moderately increase. He also received a new item that merged with his armor. It was a vial with a sample of the Void, granting him the Wraith Armor.

"Wait, we went through 3 of my armor's special abilities. What about the other two?" Naruto inquired, but sighed at Hestia's knowing look. "I'll find out for myself, right?"

"Now you're catching on."

Naruto grumbled, 'This really is like a game. At the beginning, the starting area shows a new player that ropes without explaining everything. Hell, I bet there're some hidden options that the Help Menu doesn't mention.'

He followed the goddess back into the bar. He noticed that someone was behind the bar this time, taking something out of the refrigerator.

"Afreya, our guest is about to be on his way. Shoot him a jinglebeer, please?" Hestia requested.

'Wow, Shinmai Maou no Testament this time?' Naruto thought in surprise, getting a good look at the goddess.

She had long, blonde hair, green eyes, fair skin, and wearing a form-fitting white dress that was semi-transparent.

Naruto reverted his eyes to avoid staring, 'Hope I get to meet Basara, and maybe share a drink together. Preferably without Maria around. I'd rather not share a girl with another guy, even if I like 'em…'

"Of course, Hestia. Here, Naruto-san. One jinglebeer." Afreya said, sliding a bottle to Naruto, "Enjoy."

"Before you depart, Naruto-san, there are several things I want you to keep in mind." Hestia said, her voice taking a serious tone, "Stop thinking that the world you're going to is like a game. It's just as real as your own. Your actions will have consequences, and the people around you have real lives. There are no do overs. Never forget that."

"I won't," Naruto swore, popping the cap on the jinglebeer, "I will not die, and nobody close to me will die. You have my word."

"I speak for my peers involved when I say, 'I hear your words, Uzumaki Naruto, and they bind you,'" Hestia intoned. Then she gave a wry smile. "Now that's that over with, next, all I can say is that the knowledge of your favorite stories will be useful, in more ways than one. Just expect the unexpected, and look beneath the underneath. Clear?"

Naruto raised his bottle, "Duly noted." he said, and drank, coughing a bit.

The alcoholic drink was exactly how he expected it to be: sweet and tingly, with a kick to it.

"And finally: Never. Ever. Give. Up."

After draining the bottle, Naruto slammed it on the table, "Yes, ma'am!" he declared with a determined look on his face.

"Then, off you go!" Hestia said and opened a portal in the middle of the floor.

With a nod, Naruto stood up and walked over to the portal. He stopped in front of portal and looked back at the two goddess, who were now joined by Mizu.

"Say hi to Bell and Basara for me." He said with a salute.

Hestia gave a dry smile, "I would, but no doubt Bell's on another date with that Wallenstein girl."

Naruto blinked at that, "Eh?"

"And last I checked, my nephew's in another BDSM session with Yuki of the Hero Clan, so he'll be quite busy as well." Afreya added, putting a finger to her chin.

"...Wut?"

"Our stories may be canon in your world, but in our respective ones, they're quite different. You see what we mean on your journey." Hestia said before waving, "We'll talk again soon!"

Before Naruto could reply to that, he was suddenly sucked into the portal, and it closed behind him.

"You like him too much, Hestia." Afreya noted teasingly.

"Touche, Afreya. The only reason we didn't do this sooner because we had to wait for your baby clock to die down!" Hestia scolded her, poking her chest, "And you!" she pointed dramatically at Mizu, "You were having way too much fun taking on different appearances to have sex with him, Medaka!"

"What can I say?" "Mizu" said enthusiastically, "He's the only one who could satisfy me. Then again, it's as expected of my descendant."

"Mizu" gripped her barmaid clothes and pulled them off, revealing her true appearance. She now had long purple hair, red eyes, and wearing a red and white kimono, with a purple hakama.

"But more than that, he can handle the burdens the world will toss his way." Medaka added, taking out her signature mini fan and opened it.

"Are you sure he can bring the Four Heroes together without incident?" Afreya question, "If he's anything like our favorite Rabbit Goddess Kaguya, then his temper might get the best of him."

She sighed. "That's a risk, for sure. However, if fortune favors him, maybe she could straighten him out."

"Oh? And just what, or who, have you been hiding from us, Medaka-san?" asked Hestia with a look of concern.

Medaka hid her smirk with her fan. "I've hidden nothing. She herself lies outside the sight of the gods, having overcome their might. The world shall quake, when our Hero of the Armor partners with her…"

(The Other World)

Deep within the forest, far from kingdoms and civilization, a line of horses dragging giant cages made their way through. They were steered by humans, who were dressed in armor and wielded bladed weaponry of all variety. And now, the latter were serving them well, as they fell under attack.

The leader, a big burly man with red hair, sideburns, and beard; and wearing massive armor; was looking quite pleased with himself. He took it upon himself to patrol the caravan, admiring his cargo. He slowed down at a cage, peering into it. He smirked at a young girl who covered herself in a sheet, cowering and trembling.

"A shame that you're my precious merchandise. I'll love to get a ride with you, if you know what I mean." he said and made a kissy face at her.

The girl shivered and scooted away from him.

"I'll say this, dragon cunt. Whoever your master's gonna be, he'll be one lucky man-"

A pair of slender arms suddenly wrapped around his barrel chest from behind. "Perhaps," whispered a feminine voice, "But you won't live to meet him. Poisoned Heart."

The man stiffened, breaking out of the embrace easily and whirling around to demand who this woman was…only to stop short, his skin going chalk white. "Y…you…!" he croaked. Suddenly, he grunted and grabbed at his chest, as an icy pain seized his heart. He made to grab his battle axe, but his strength failed him and he couldn't even draw it.

"Run along, boy," cooed the woman that had cursed him, "Take your last steps~"

Groaning and panting, pain and terror striking him dumb, he turned and stumbled away, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes rolling madly. "H-help…!" he cried hoarsely, grasping at a wagon, "We're under…attack! The she-devil is here…!"

"Boss?" asked a scarred, unshaven man in leathers, stepping out at his call, "What're you talking ab-?"

Something small and pink blurred past, just out of the corner of his eye, and his underling collapsed, his head rolling away under the wagon.

There was a roar, terrifyingly close, as something huge landed on the other side of the caravan. One of the wagons suddenly pitched to the side, one side splintered and shattered, the horses running screaming into the sunset.

"We're under attack! We're under attack! Defensive position everyone!" Shouted someone, "Protect the cargo! Boss! Where are ya?! Boss!"

The men formed a defensive circle around the caravan, standing together with swords and spears out.

"How many of us are left? I saw Bart and his group sent flying!" a slaver called out nervously. "Just where is the Boss?!"

"What is that?!" A terrified newcomer to the slave traders pointed into the forest, where he saw a pair of golden eyes.

The eyes moved closer, revealing their to be a massive white tiger; easily the size of one of the wagons. In its mouth was the neck of one of their own, its teeth sunk deep into his throat and crushing his windpipe. With a menacing growl, the beast threw its prey into a tree, breaking the corpse's spine in half.

With a roar, the tiger charged at the remaining slavers, clearing the distance in several bounds.

"Everyone, converge on the beast!" a slaver yelled, only for his head to be lopped off by a red streak, "Grahgh!"

"What was that- Ahhhhhhh!" a slaver cried as the tiger landed on and mauled him.

The crew was in disarray as they tried to fight off the tiger and a blurred red blade that were both slaughtering them all. And it was all happening in front of the eyes of their boss, so was slowly dying from his heart receiving a massive amount of poison.

"N-no…" he gasped, reaching out his hand.

"Such a pity, wasting your live to enslave those you have no ownership of." a voiced cooed above him, "Now watch, as your men suffer because of your wrong turn on the path of life."

"Damn…you…She…Devil…" the captain croaked.

As the slaughter continued, a portal opened up from above. The figure looming over the captain, a dark-skinned woman whose face was hidden in a red shroud, looked up to see a large fireball come out of it.

A loud "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" came from the flaming ball before it crashed to the ground near the caravans in a huge explosion. "...Ow."

The fighting came to a halt, resulting in the white tiger beast bounding next to the red-shrouded woman, who held a book at the ready. The red blade zoomed towards her before stopping, revealing a young girl with fluffy, pink, strawberry-blonde hair, tawny golden-brown eyes with red spectacles, and wearing a large woollen shawl. Her scarlet blade glimmered in the firelight, revealing that it was translucent, formed of solidified blood.

"What in the heavens?" wondered the red-shrouded woman.

The tiger growled momentarily.

"No," the woman whispered as if it had spoken, her eyes sweeping the remaining slavers, who were all going awestruck, "This is something new."

"What do you want us to do, ma'am?" the scarlet blade-wielding girl inquired, pushing up her glasses.

"For now, observe." the woman answered as the smoke cleared.

…

"Eeeehhhhhhh."

Naruto found himself on his upper back, his legs sticking up in the air. He grumbled and watched as the portal closed above him, revealing the glowing sky on the verge of nighttime.

"Aaaahhhhhhh." he groaned as he collapsed fully on the ground backfirst, "Alternate universes. Of course. Didn't even give me a chance to ask them out on a date in the future. Ah well."

Pounding his fists to the side, he lifted his knees to his chest and kipped up back to a vertical base. "Woah!" He nearly lost his balance before correcting his equilibrium, "Whew. So, I'm in a forest. Typical starting point for coming into a new world, next to castles and villages." He turned around, dusting himself off, "Now then, where to- Eh?"

He looked to find a caravan in disarray, cages full of people and different creatures, and two forces in conflict. His HUD in his field of vision relayed information to him, showing that the cages were Slave Cages, and the men around them were Slavers and Bandits ranging from Lv. 7 to Lv. 11.

'Slavery, just like in Fairy Tail and One Piece,' Naruto thought with a frown, 'No utopia here. Still, social activity. That was fast…'

He then focused on the trio that were staring at him. His eyes widened when he recognized them, his otaku brain going into overdrive.

'Well, never expected to run into an odd trio like them.' Naruto thought, bemused by the sight before him.

The one dressed in red shroud was a exotic dark-skin young woman, with long purple hair and a golden headdress. Her left eye was teal, while her right eye glowed with a golden light. She possessed an ample bust, and her outfit left little to imagination, consisting of a red bra top, connected with a elaborate necklace by black straps; a small bikini bottom, red and black leggings, and a cape attached to her lower back, flowing down the ground.

Her first companion was a young girl with fluffy, pink, strawberry-blonde hair, tawny eyes with red spectacles, and wore a large woollen shawl around her petite frame. Her second companion was a massive white tiger, its golden eyes trained on him.

"I'm going to have lots of fun here." Naruto muttered with a shadow of a smirk on his face.

The woman stepped forward, a sort of carelessness in her gait. "And what sort of fun would that be, stranger?" she asked idly. Glancing up, Naruto saw that her level was 128, while the other two were 24 and 28, respectively.

Gulping, he held up his hands placatingly. "Nothing, just talkin' to myself. Name's Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to, er, meet you."

The younger girl only narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her, but the dark-skinned woman gave lazy smile. "Well now, a well-mannered greeting in a place like this is unexpected. I am called Sheba. How did you come to be here just now, Naruto?"

'Sheba? So she's named after the place where she was Queen in Fate: GO…' He shrugged. "Well, you know, just got dropped off, really. You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?"

"Indeed, I do. We're on the road heading for the border between Melromarc and Rolganda. This is a slaver's caravan." Smirking, she glanced around at the burning wagons and smashed cages. "This was a slaver's caravan."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that she and her companions were the cause of the destruction wrought here. "...Right. So who're they?" he asked, indicating the girl and tiger.

He knew, but he needed to confirm.

Sheba's smile softened as she reached down and ruffled the smaller girl's hair. "This here is Kuriyama Mirai."

"D-don't tell him!" protested Mirai, brushing the hand away, flustered, "It's unpleasant!"

"Don't you mind her, she's just grumpy. As for this one…" Sheba stroked the tiger's flank lightly, eliciting a growl, "This is Nakajima Atsushi."

"Nice to meet you two. Now…" the blonde pointed at the remaining slavers and bandits, "We just need to clean out the rest of this filth, right?"

Naruto was not fond of slavery, most who exercise the practice are mostly assholes. Not necessarily all of them, as some protagonists he'd read about ended up with slaves, but treated them well. But the slavers in front of him looked anything but.

"You assume correctly, Naruto. I can only hope that you can properly fight, and kill if necessary." Sheba told him, "I can tell you're from another world, and this one isn't for the weak-hearted."

"Hard to disagree when slavers exist. But you don't have to worry about me, Sheba-san." Naruto retorted, raising a fist, "I may not had to kill in my old world, but considering how much I've read about different worlds, I should be fine."

With a wink, Naruto walked towards the remaining opposition.

"Wait, kid! You don't have to do this! We're just running a business, and you can be a part of it. Just turn on those freaks, and you'll be richer than most. Not a bad starting point in his world, right?!" a slaver shouted, trying to wave the blonde off, "I mean, look at this one!"

The slaver reached into the cage and dragged out a young girl by her cape. When she lost her hood, Naruto froze, another bout of recogization running through his mind.

The girl in question had medium-short dark red hair flowing down her back, with horns protruding from the sides of her head. Her eyes were brown-red, draconian wings attached to her back, and a large tail protruding from her lower back.

Well, what are the chances? Just how many crossovers can I going to see in this world-' Naruto ranted in his mind before seeing the slaver putting his arm around the girl's neck, "So we're doing this now. Okay then."

"Being a slaver means getting to catch hot dragon chicks like this one!" the slaver said, grabbing the girl's breasts and making her cry out, "I mean, look at the mammaries on this one here!"

Naruto looked less than amused, "Let her go, you're making her uncomfortable." he said coolly, while hatching a plan to deal with the slaver.

"Oh, so I take it as a no? You're one crazy kid for turning down a good offer like this. To turn down such fine specimen-"

'Now!'

Naruto's Armor morphed into a sleek, black set with a glossy white under suit. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared, leaving a trail of silvery mist in his place.

"What the? Where'd you go? Don't you go playing tricks on me now!" The slaver snarled, holding the dragon girl close to him, "Show yourself this instant- ARGH!"

Naruto re-appeared behind the slaver, elbowing him in the ribs. The slaver grunted, unwillingly releasing the dragon girl to hold his side pain. Naruto then disappeared from sight again, just as the slaver was unsheathing his weapon. As the dragon girl scrambled away, Naruto popped back in sight and planted his feet in the slaver's face.

The armored blonde forced the slaver's head to the ground. The slaver tried to get off, but received a knee to his face. As the slaver groaned in pain, holding his face, Naruto growled as he held his own head. A mysterious, echoing voice whispered in his mind, constantly interrupting his thought process.

'Shit! This armor has Wraith's powers! From Apex Legends!' Naruto thought, shaking his head. 'Fuck, that's her voice, but it's echoing all over! I gotta end this quick before she drives me crazy! That's right, her Finisher!'

Naruto clenched his fist, activating his Armor's power, Phasing. The world changed around him, becoming gray and static, and everyone disappeared; becoming shadows and silhouettes. He shifted to the side, deactivated the ability to return to the real world, and delivered a devastating punch to the slaver's face, putting the latter's HP in the red.

"Kill or be killed… " Naruto whispered, watching as his opponent sway on his knees.

Focusing, Naruto channeled the Hard-light element to form a large scythe, before spinning on his heel and lashing outward, slashing through the slaver's torso. Blood spurted from his chest as his HP dropped to zero.

With flick of his wrist, the Hard-light scythe shattered. Naruto turned to the rest of the slavers and bandits, who were all looking horrified. Naruto breathed deeply, trying hard not to think about his first kill, since he had some slaves to rescue.

"So," Naruto spoke up, dispelling the Wraith Armor and donning his Rabbit Armor, "Who's next, eh?"

Sheba's eyebrows shot upward. The newcomer had not only changed his Armor, but utilized an unknown element to form a weapon.

"How can he do that, Sheba-san?" Mirai questioned, "His Armor changes, just like the Four Legendary Weapons do. Not only that, but he's using strange magic to form weapons."

Sheba could only shake her head, "I don't know. I've never heard of Armor like this…" Then she smiled. "I believe we've found someone worth accompanying."

Back to Naruto, he engaged the slavers and bandits. He counted five slavers wielding whips, and seven bandits wielding swords, axes, and spears. He saw the whips bearing down on him, Mirai suddenly dashed in front of him, her crimson blade slicing through both weapons with one swing.

"Thanks, Mirai-chan!" Naruto said before jumping up and striking two slavers with a roundhouse kick, knocking them back, Three bandits wielding spears rushed forward to stab him, but they bounced off his Armor. Despite that, Naruto took chip damage that shaved off an eighth of his health, "Ow, you pricks!"

He suddenly ducked when Atsushi bound over him and land on two bandits that had axes. Not pausing to view Atsushi mauling his prey, Naruto attacked the bandits with quick kicks and strikes. He then saw that his hands and feet were wrapped in wind, much to his confusion. He turned towards Sheba, who winked at him, confirming that it was her that used an enhancement spell on him.

Naruto gave her a thumbs up before going back to engage the enemy. He spun around a spear thrust and struck the bandit with a back elbow. He continues by punching the bandit across the face, and followed up with a knee to his midsection. The bandit reeled and dropped his spear, clutching his stomach. Naruto picked up the spear, but was violently shocked at the action, forcing him to drop it.

"Gah, fuck!" he yelled out as a message appeared in his vision.

[Legendary Weapon Rule:

The Heroes may not, aside from their assigned Legendary Weapon, equip another weapon with the intent to fight with it]

"So that's what Hestia meant! Of course, bullshit systems in an RPG world. No wonder the Gods gave me the Hard-light element to cheat the system by manipulating it to create weapons temporary." Naruto growled before forming a Hard-light spear, "Plus the long cooldown too…"

He jabbed the spear into the bandit's stomach, causing blood to spurt out of the latter's stomach and mouth. The blonde raised an eyebrow when a 'Critical Hit' message floated above the dying bandit, followed by a 'Bleed' status effect.

"Right, real world shenanigans definitely applies here." Naruto muttered, staring at the dying bandit as his Hard-light spear faded away, 'No matter the level, a human is still a human-, well, humanoid…' Naruto casted a side-eye at Sheba, seeing her ears twitching cutely, 'Can't say the same for monsters or creatures I'll encounter…'

"You…bastard…" the bandit choked out before succumbing to his wounds.

Naruto scoffed and turned to the rest of the slavers and bandits, only to find that Mirai and Atsuchi had already dealt with most of them, leaving only one slaver. He glared at the now lone Lv. 13 Slaver, who was trying to pull the dragon girl with him.

"Oh, for the love of…" Naruto groaned, before using his Rabbit Armor's speed ability to zoom over to the couple.

He shoulder-tackled the slaver to the ground, releasing the girl from his grip. The Lv. 13 Slaver lashed out with his whip, nearly striking Naruto's face. The latter managed to avoid the attack by rolling away. Both combatants got up, with the slaver trying to strike Naruto with his whip. Naruto put his arms up to block, with the whip striking at his gauntlets.

The armored blonde growled and ran forward, tanking the blows as he closed the distance. The slaver yelped and attacked, wrapping the whip around Naruto's wrist. Naruto retaliated by grabbing the whip and rushing forward, landing a punch to the side of the slaver's head. He continued punching until his fists were a blur, targeting his target's head, chest, and stomach areas. The slaver attempted to block, but failed as he was unable to keep up with Naruto's speed.

"Haaaaaaah!" Naruto yelled, rearing back his fist, while forming a Hard-light dagger in his hand, "Ha!"

Naruto jabbed the dagger into the slaver's stomach, and drove it upwards. The dagger shattered as blood spurted from the slaver's open wound. He moved his head to the side to avoid the blood that the slaver coughed out, and booted him back. He then groaned, holding his nose as he caught the stench of blood.

"Gonna have to get used to that." he grumbled, watching the dying slaver's HP decline from the Bleed effect.

"D-damn y-yo-y-" the slaver choked out before succumbing to his wounds.

"You're no slouch, Naruto-san." Sheba praised, walking over to him, "It seems that you have the gist of your situation."

"Thanks, Sheba-san. To be honest, I never done this before." Naruto confessed, rubbing the back of his helmet, "Back in my world, there are stories that put one in the shoes of the protagonists. My only gripe with them is that they're bland and make decision that one normally doesn't make."

"The one thing you can't do here is make your own fairy tale," commented the dark-skinned, horned catwoman, as her companions gathered up the former slaves, "Carve out your own legend, and be the best version of you."

Naruto nodded, "I will. So…" he gestured to the former slaves, "What happens to them now? I don't think we can leave them here…"

"Of course we can't. They're part of our mission. We were hired to destroy this slaver caravan and rescue its victims. They'll be housed in the town we took the quest from until they're ready to leave under their own power." She smiled coyly, "Sorry Naruto, but since you joined in the middle of the fight, you won't be gaining any shared experience bonus from my party."

Naruto shrugged, "Meh…"

"Now, let's go deliver these refugees to the client's town. After that, I'll decide if you will join my party."

Once they left the camp, the slaves were startled to see the massive tiger shrinking, transforming into a young boy with white hair, dressed in simple clothes. He bowed to them, mumbling greetings, before joining his mistress.

Beckoning imperiously for them to follow, Sheba led the procession down the road, the weaker captives loaded up into one of the few surviving wagons.

Naruto patrolled the wagons, observing the surroundings. A few times, he felt a pair of eyes on him, and noticed that the busty redheaded dragon girl was staring at him intently. During one pass, he noticed her reaching her hand out to him. He smiled and took her hand, gently squeezing it in reassurance.

"Say, Naruto. Why don't you rest up? Mirai can take it from here." Sheba called to him from the roof of the main carriage.

Naruto looked over at Mirai, who hopped off a wagon and walked his previous route. He sighed and nodded to the She-Devil. As he walked over to the wagon, the dragon girl was leaning over the edge of the wagon she was on. Naruto shared a look with her, ignoring her breasts hanging over the edge, before hopping into the wagon.

He sat next to her, with the latter resting her head on his shoulder. The blonde shivered when he saw a look of longing in her eyes, and cleared his throat nervously; feeling the side of her breasts pressing against his arm. Before he could speak to her, a message appears in his field of vision.

[? wants to join your Party. Y/N?]

Naruto smiled, and looked into the dragon girl's red-slitted eyes, "What's your name? Mine's Naruto, like fishcake, and maelstrom."

"...Grea." the dragon girl responded meekly, "I'm…a dragoness demihuman. Can I…come with you?"

The blonde nodded, and noticed that the message changed.

[Grea wants to join your Party. Y/N?]

"Well then, welcome abroad, Grea." Naruto said, and choose the Yes option.

Noticing a change in his HUD, he saw his HP bar in the upper-left corner of his vision. Then, Grea's name appeared with her own HP bar, noticing that her level was 5. In addition, Naruto noticed that his level was now 7.

'A few level ups from that battle, and my main from Granblue Fantasy joins my Party. Everything is awesome so far…'

A few hours later, they arrived at a small medieval town, a couple of peasants standing watch at the gate. "They've returned!" one called, "The She-Devil has returned!"

"They brought the refugees from the cursed caravan! Open the gate!" another shouted, gesturing down below.

The shouting jerked Naruto awake. He has fallen asleep during the trip, right after Grea herself dozed off. He rubbed his eyes and looked around to see the large gate from his position. He then felt something heavy on his lap, and blushed to see Grea resting there. His blush deepened when he felt her large mammaries pressing down on his groin.

'Wait, no! Don't be embarrassed like the dolts in those light novels! Just…enjoy it…' he thought to himself, trying to ignore the feeling of his pants tightening, 'Or just wake her up…and hope she doesn't barbeque me.'

He poked her on her head, "Hey, wake up Grea. We're here, wherever this is…"

Grea groaned before stirring. She lifted her head up, blinking blearily, drooling dripping from her mouth. She looked around before noticing Naruto's red face. She looked down, finally seeing that she was laying on her rescuer's lap and started blushing herself, realizing the position she was in. Feeling something hard beneath her breasts that was not part of his Armor. She wiped her mouth clean and quickly sat up. "I'm sorry, Naruto-sama. I didn't…make you uncomfortable did I?" Grea asked nervously, clasping her hand in front of her.

"Far from it, actually." Naruto assured her, waving his hands and trying to ignore the feeling of missing her boobs on his legs, "I was just waking you up since we arrived at our destination. You have anyone waiting for you?" he inquired, a certain blonde-haired princess coming to mind; a character that is Grea's BFF in the Granblue Fantasy mobile game.

"Hmm, no one. I'm all alone." Grea said sadly as the gate opened, "All I have right now is you, Naruto-sama."

"I…see." Naruto said and put his arm around her, "I'm new to these parts, but I'll take care of you the best I can."

The wagons rolled through the gates and down the main street. Naruto took in the sights, seeing the connected buildings and the usual shops found in an RPG. He then glanced at the former slaves, who were looking relaxed; a far cry from their fearful looks during the trek.

They soon arrived at the village square, where Mirai and Atsushi directed the refugees out of the wagons. Sheba meanwhile spoke to a group of humans and people with various animal traits, evidenced by their ears and tails.

"Per your request, we have eliminated the slave caravan that took your people." Sheba said to the town's leader, "Some of them are from different Kingdoms, but I'm sure you can find a home for them here. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"Of course," said the leader, a bearded, broad-shouldered man, "I've no doubt that there are more like them out there. For now, however, I can only thank you for the people you have liberated today."

She smiled sadly. "That's all I can be grateful for, then. We'll be taking our leave now."

"You sure you don't want to stay?" a blue haired woman with wolf ears and tail, "You've done so much for us for years. Surely you're weary from your travels."

"We would, but we have a delivery to make in the next town over." Sheba replied regretfully, "But the next time we pass by, we'll take you up on that offer."

"Godspeed then, She-Devil." the leader said, bowing with his peers.

"Mirai. Atsushi. We're going." Sheba called over to her companions.

"What, without even staying the night?" sighed the young man, rubbing the back of his neck, "She-Devil is right…"

"How unpleasant…" groaned Mirai, "A-at least let us eat something! I had to use a lot of iron, you know!"

"The question is why you used so much blood for a simple mission, especially with that young man coming around," Sheba said in exasperation, handing Mirai a bar of dark chocolate, "Here. This should tide you over until we complete our next job."

"That's not even close!" she protested, even as she snatched it up and tore into it eagerly.

"What about them?" Atsushi inquired, pointing at Naruto and Grea, who were both mingling with the nearby locals; both of them being showered with admiration, "Are they coming with us, or what?"

"Of course. After the last battle, I'm curious about that newcomer, and I want to learn all about him," Sheba responded, and walked to him.

Naruto was in a bind, his hands up as the townsfolk crowded around him and Grea. Since he was part of the group that liberated their people, they plied the blond various items and goods.

"Eh~" Naruto whined, as his vision was bombarded with messages.

[Received: World Map]

[Received: 3x Apple Gel]

[Received: 2 Healing Potions]

[Received: 1x Fruit Basket]

[Received 5x Jerky]

"Wait, wait, I think I'm good. You don't have to empty out your stocks for me," he protested, raising his hands, "I just got here."

"But you helped. Your feats witnessed by the refugees will be remembered for years. It's the least we can do, otherworlder," said a burly man, and handed Naruto a small bag, "Here. You'll need this on your journey."

Grumbling, Naruto accepted it, "Thank you, sir."

[Received: Knife]

[Received: Bandage Wraps]

[Received: 1x Antidote]

Naruto took his backpack off and put the received items inside. As he did so, he raised an eyebrow when he saw his own items from his world like his smartphone, tablet, and Swiss-army knife were still in there, along with a few other condiments.

'Literally in another world with my smartphone. But best not to use it for now, since there's no batteries in a medieval world like this…' Naruto thought, zipping up his bag. He then addressed the crowd around him. "Thank you all. Rest assured that I will repay you all for this kindness. I'll also be back to help whenever I can. Well, we'll be back." he corrected himself, gesturing to his new party member, Grea.

Previously, Grea was in rags, leaving nothing to imagination. Now she was dressed in a white shirt under a red dress that reached down her knees; white socks, and black shoes. Since she was a victim of the slave caravan, they were given to her free of charge.

"Where will we go, Naruto-sama?" Grea inquired, causing the blonde to turn to stone.

"Um, well, exploring for now, and leveling both of us up." Naruto replied confidently, "That and earn us some money doing quests. As well as recruit some party members for our Familia."

"Familia?" Grea questioned with a tilt of her head.

"Sounds better than party, to be honest." Naruto shrugged, "Still, you up for it, Grea-chan?"

As Grea nodded in determination, a message popped up in Naruto's vision.

[Tome Hero Sheba invited you to her Party. Join? Y/N]

'Tome Hero?' Naruto wondered, before turning to Sheba. As he gave her a once-over, he noticed for the first time a large, elaborately embossed book hanging from her waist in a holster.

"See anything you like, Mr. Armor Hero?" she drawled, cocking her hip and crossing her arms under her significant, dusky bust.

"As a matter of fact…" Naruto smirked, giving off an air of confidence. He refused to have a dull, lackluster personality like some of the Isekai protagonists in his favorite stories, "I do. Not only are you stunning, you have…" he smirked in a mischievous manner, "A really big book."

"Classy," Sheba snorted, walking up to the blonde, her breasts bouncing at the motion, "Now, I believe that you were about to accept my request."

"Sure, but where does that leave Grea-chan?" Naruto inquired, as the dragon girl hugged his arm, "She already joined my Familia."

"Oh? Are you some kind of God too?" Sheba questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Only they use that term."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm no God, but it feels appropriate, since I might net myself a big party in my travels. We'll be one happy family."

"Well, you're nothing short of ambitious," she praised him lightly, "But back to your question. When you join my party, she'll automatically join, since she's under you. So no worries."

Naruto hummed, "Well, can't go wrong with traveling with a beautiful She-Devil and her companions."

The dark-skinned woman rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's get this out of the way: you do realize that I'm not actually a Devil, right?"

He blinked. "Er…I mean, you've got those horns, so…"

"I'm half-Draph," she deadpanned.

"Half what now- Wait…" Naruto looked stunned, recognizing the term, "Come again?"

"Half. Draph." Sheba repeated slowly.

Naruto blinked, "Huh. You're rather tall for a Draph."

"Oh? And how do you know about my race? After all, you just got here," she put a finger to her chin, "Are there Draph in your world?"

"No. But as to how I know about them, well… It's a long story." Naruto admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"And we have a long journey ahead of us. So, join me?"

Naruto nodded and selected Yes.

[Joined Tome Hero Sheba's party]

[Increased currency and shared EXP bonuses applied]

"Excellent. Now come. We have quite the walk ahead of us." Sheba said, leading her group towards the exit of the town.

Atsushi grumbled, "Ah, couldn't we take one of those spare carriages?"

"Remember what happened to their horses a month ago?" Sheba reminded him, "How a horde of goblins killed them in the middle of the night to prevent the townsfolk from escaping. They're still trying to raise money to be more horses with their market. They were extremely lucky that Orcbolg was staying at the inn."

'Goblin Slayer is here? Awesome.' Naruto mused, a shadow of a smirk on his face, 'I wonder how many crossovers are in this world, and how they came to be? And more importantly…' he glanced at Grea, who smiled up at him, 'How much will they influence each other, and the world?' he wondered, and glanced at Sheba.

The woman herself gave him a look in return, an enigmatic smile playing across her lips. 'A fifth hero…it looks like even the gods grow tired of this farce of heroics. Let's see how it all plays out, then…all the way to the end.'

END OF CHAPTER 01

Next time on Yoroi no Yuusha! Chapter 02: The Hero of the Tome

As they travel to their next destination, Naruto learns more about the world and the Waves; and Sheba demonstrates what it means to be the Hero of the Tome.

Soul: Yay, we did it. First chapter in after two years of planning! Hope you all enjoyed it! I'll be handling Naruto the Hero of the Armor and his party, and NSG will be in charge of Sheba, the Hero of the Tome and her party. Armor wasn't taken as a Legendary Weapon, so I'm using it as the basis for the new fifth hero. I originally want to it Kamen Rider style, but that idea fell out. The first arc will deal with Naruto's first year in the new world, gathering up new members for his party, before going to deal with the events of Rising of the Shield Hero with Sheba. It'll be quite the storytelling ride, so please be patient and enjoy the show.

NSG: I actually didn't realize that the Tome already existed as a Vassal weapon, but what the hell, I'm still having her use it. As for her/its abilities, you'll see soon enough. And yes, she's based on the Queen of Sheba/Caster of Midrash from FGO. But that's only for her appearance. Her personality is most likely totally different, since I've never played FGO myself.

-References and Easter Eggs

Naruto waking up with Mizu (Medaka) is a tribute to the scene in the Cyberpunk 2077 demo video where V wakes up with an escort.

Naruto meeting the cloaked figure in front of the library in an homage to the first episode of Kamen Rider Zi-O, where Sougo meets Woz for the first time.

Naruto falling through the void is from Kamen Rider Ryuki, where Shinji falls through the Mirror World during his first transformation.

The characters Hestia, Bell, Ais Wallenstein; and the term Falna (God's Grace) is from Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

Naruto's starting base armor is Jaune's Armor from RWBY Volume 1-3.

Hard-light is from Halo and RWBY.

Armor Lock is from Halo.

The Rabbit Armor is reminiscent of the RabbitRabbit Form in Kamen Rider Build.

The Manikins are from Dissidia Final Fantasy 012.

Afreya (Chisato Hasegawa), Basara, and Yuki are from Shinmai Maou no Testament/Testament of Sister New Devil. She's in her true form.

Medaka Kurokami is from Medaka Box.

Poisoned Heart is a (homebrew) spell from Dungeons and Dragons.

Naruto arrived in the world a la Kamen Rider Fourze in the Kamen Rider OOO: The Shogun and the 21 Core Medals movie.

Sheba is based on Caster of Midrash from Fate Grand Order.

Kuriyama Mirai is from Kyoukai no Kanata/Beyond the Boundary.

Nakajima Atsushi is from Bungou Stray Dogs.

The Wraith/Void Armor contains the abilities of Wraith from Apex Legends.

Grea is from Granblue Fantasy.

Grea sleeping on Naruto is how Saeko slept on Takashi in Highschool of the Dead.

Apple Gels are from the Tales of… series.

Draph are a race in Granblue Fantasy.

Orcbolg the Goblin Slayer is self-explanatory.

Adventurer Meta CYOA:

You may use this CYOA with another CYOA or group of CYOAs or by itself if you want. Or make a build with this as a standalone CYOA. Your choice. Before getting started, you get all these for free:

Body Makeover - You get a free makeover for your physical appearance, be it size, ethnicity, or even gender. No, you may not change your species - only human. In addition, any genetic defects and existing physical/mental health conditions will be fixed. This will only happen once, so don't waste it on becoming a little girl or something, okay?

Enhanced Condition - All of your parameters gain a boost, whether physical, mental, or even spiritual, upgrading them to twice as potent as those of a peak human in Marvel/DC Comics. Also includes the obligatory pool of magic you can use to cast spells you learn (free spells not included - make up your own).

Boosted Health - You're immune to all forms of mundane poison, venom, diseases, as well as the effects of aging, and highly resistant to supernatural ones. In addition, you gain a superhuman healing factor, healing shattered bones in an hour and regenerating severed limbs within a day. Just remember that while you are biologically immortal, taking too much damage can still end your life.

Inventory - You gain access to an inventory that can store any number of items, which can be accessed via any form of items that can be used to store and carry things. It is not linked to any one particular receptacle, any you open can be used. Any item that you can pick up can be stored, and all items stored are in stasis and have no weight while within the inventory. Gasses, liquids and plasma must be bottled or otherwise contained before they can be stored, although the container does not need to be sealed, a cup of tea would be fine. Sapient or mobile beings cannot be stored. Whenever you open your inventory, you will automatically be able to know what is contained within it, and can remove any desired item without having to search.

Journal - You gain access to an automatically updating, indestructible, unlosable journal that keeps track of information for you. Jobs, rumours, bestiary, maps, places, item values, number of sweet rolls you've stolen and far more are all recorded as you encounter them. Ordinarily only you can read anything within the journal, for anyone else it will appear blank. However, you can choose to show an individual specific entries if you wish, though they will still remain unable to read it by themselves. You will automatically know if any major new additions are made to the journal and can, when opening it, turn straight to the page with the information that you desire to read.

Fast Travel - You can instantly teleport to any exterior door, gate, or threshold you have touched before, or to inside the entryway of any buildings that you own. This can only be done while you are still, and not in immediate danger of attack or any combat. You may take companions and willing allies with you if you choose, but they must also be out of danger like you.

Mental Map - Your sense of direction and your memory of the land is uncanny. You remember what the land around looks like, even if you barely glanced at it, and can visualize it like it was a map. If you're within 500 meters of a spot you've been previously, you know exactly where you are. If you got teleported, you don't immediately know where you are relative to your old location, unless your new and old locations are connected by area that you've "mapped".

Experience - You can slowly and steadily improve yourself by going out and do things, whether it is killing monsters in a dark dungeon somewhere, or working a Nine-to-Five job in some city. Whenever you level up (how it manifests is up to you), you gain "points" that you can then spend to invest in any attributes and abilities you pick. Yes, even if it has nothing to do with the route you chose to level up, so you can be a boring office worker who just happens to be a terrific swordsman or something.

Quests and Loots - At times, you may receive requests from others, be it random strangers on the street or someone you are familiar with. Accepting these requests, whether they're doing some grocery for your mother or retrieving five bear asses from the local mountain range, will grant you additional "experience points" as detailed above, as well as some reward, whether monetary or something more exotic (but mostly monetary). The more specific and difficult a quest is, the better the reward. In addition, anything you kill from now on (be it people or beasts) will have a chance to drop something upon death, such as money or something thematic to their nature. Like before, the more powerful or rarer your kill is, the higher the chance for them to drop some sweet loot upon death.

Now that you're done salivating over this shit, here're some classes you may get. Pick one as your primary class; depending on what you do in your time as an Adventurer, you might be able to gain the skills from other classes, granting you versatility, or strengthen your class skills, making you more powerful in that respect.

Fighter - An old and respected adventuring class that has its practitioners facing their enemies in direct combat, fighting them on with martial prowess. They are also the most hardy of any of the major classes, capable of taking the most hits before being defeated. Subclasses include Knight, Warrior, and Dragoon.

Mage - Magic has the most potential, rivaling Technology in its uses, and thus practiced under many kinds of disciplines. While most magic-oriented classes tend to specialize in a single element, one may try their hand in different kinds. Schools of magic include Elementalism, Shamanism, Divine Casters, and even Druidism and Necromancy.

Rogue - This class embodies a wide variety of specialties, including thievery, assassination, and infiltration, or archery, tracking, and wilderness survival for those who prefer to not deal with matters of intrigue. Those in this class are often quick on their feet, and able to defeat opponents with cunning and not brawn. Subclasses include Assassins, Thieves and Rangers.

Release: Saturday, March 30, 2019