Thank you, my dear readers for taking the time and effort to hear my pleas last chapter. Unfortunately, real life had put a great amount of pressure on me recently, and even still now. I would say that this will probably be my only update in a long while. Still, I am proud to present to you this.

Oh… and I still don't own anything.

Chapter XII: Beyond the white veil

"Welcome, one and all to another segment of Charlotte's exposition corner!" a smiling Charlotte announced as the curtains split open, revealing the galaxy mage sitting on a fancy armchair.

"Once again, thanks to all of our loyal readers for tuning in. Today, we'll be covering basic demon knowledge. More specifically, the Alastor race." As she spoke, a screen lit up behind her, showing illustrations of a sword, spear, axe and bow. "Alastors are a rather curious species. They can take the form of any simplistic weapon, not necessarily limited to the ones shown above-"

She pauses, just as the slide changes to show a gun on one side, and a staff on the other, with a large question mark in between. "However, weapons with complex mechanisms like guns and the like are out of their reach. For this same reason, weapons such as beam swords/spears/etc. also cannot turn into Alastors."

"There also exists such things as staff Alastors, however, with the rarity of this particular type, combined with the number of staves that were given sentience through magic, it's become pretty difficult to judge which is which. Granted, staves aren't the only weapons given magical sentiency, but they are the most common."

She pauses again, the picture on the screen now changing to show a white silhouette of a demon with 'X's for eyes and a blue gas escaping from it and into a sword. Beside it was another picture of Agni and Rudra, with arrows going from them and towards a pair of swords.

"Second, the formation of Alastors, and their differences from magichanged demons. To begin with, whereas magichanged demons are creted when… well, a demon magichanges into a weapon, Alastors are 'born' when someone who has used the same weapon for most of their life dies and left with their weapon. Given the usual habits of demons though, Alastors are actually more likely to pop up when a human dies and isn't pillaged of their weaponry. Being buried with their weapons also increases the chances that the weapon will eventually absorb their former wielder's soul."

"To go further, while magichanged demons essentially become no different than any other weapon, –save for the fact that they can still use certain abilities– Alastors are, for all intents and purposes, fully living beings. They can possess the minds of those with weaker wills than them, and, if they're strong or experienced enough, can even function on their own. Unfortunately, this also comes at a price. Being living weapons, if their vessels are left damaged for too long, the soul will eventually 'leak out' so to say, killing them in the process. The more damaged the vessel, the faster the loss. To add to that, as Alastors themselves are closer to lost souls bound by demonic power rather than being actual demons, they can't be easily brought back to life, always needing to preserve their original bodies lest they turn into prinnies."

Once more, Charlotte stops and the illustration shifts to one divided into three parts: the top picture showing a sword with an arrow starting from it and pointing at a fist, the middle showing Etna holding a trident-like spear with eyes, and the last picture showing a floating set of armour.

"Now to the final part: miscellaneous information. For those of you who are curious, yes, Alastors are capable of magichanging. What makes this interesting is that, no matter what form the Alastor has, they always magichange into Fist-type weapons, which would actually belong to the Animor species. Speaking of which, the Animated Armors –or Animors, for short– acts as the sibling species to the Alastors. More on that later. Lastly, as rare as they are, one Alastor actually has already appeared in both this story, and in the game. More specifically, it's the spear that Queen Etna used in chapter 3, Longinus, who also appears in the original Disgaea game; a polearm Alastor who'd originally sworn loyalty to the late King Krichevskoy."

"Also, one last fun: while Alastors who were born from demon wielders –like most other demons– are very hard to obtain loyalty from, actually earning their loyalty pretty much means you can use them without worrying about them possessing you."

Finally, the screen turns blank and shuts off as Charlotte rises from her chair and curtsies. "That's all the time we have for today. Thank you for anyone who took the time to read through this. Your patience is well appreciated."

-X-

"Well now, isn't this an interesting development."

An amusedly smug voice sounded across the bridge. Even with half of them injured and tired, all of team eight, along with their client looked towards the end of the bridge in high alert.

From beyond the thinning mist, numerous figures marched towards the battleground. They came slowly into view, revealing their leader to be a short and stout man in a business suit, sneering at the group of ninja.

"I really didn't expect Zabuza to actually die in all of this, at least before I'd have him killed myself, but I certainly can't complain about the outcome" Gato commented, his tone filled to the brim with arrogance. "Now all I have to worry about are a bunch of injured kids and a tired teacher. Perfect."

In the silence that descended on the bridge after the short man's words, the snickers and chuckles of glee from the bandits accompanying him could even be heard from the other side of the structure. Uncontrolled bloodlust seemed to fill the air as more and more of Gato's muscle became visible, each of them wearing manic grins on their faces. A few brave –or foolish– souls among them even pointed lecherous eyes towards the two females on the team; ogling them shamelessly, even as the older of the two glared back at them.

Hinata followed Kurenai's example, too, as soon as she managed to set herself up in a seated position, her legs still too numb from all the damage they'd taken.

Team eight was outnumbered, that much was obvious. To make it worse, Naruto had already taken heavy damage, Hinata was mostly incapacitated and Kurenai had exhausted a good portion of her chakra. Perhaps the only consolation was that Shino had yet to still do much, nor had Agni and Rudra, meaning all three were fit to fight. Still, with such a large disadvantage in quantity, it didn't look good for team eight at all. Keyword being 'look'.

Despite everything, none of the ninja were actually that worried. Had it been a group of other shinobi and kunoichi at just a tenth of the bandits' numbers and they probably would have began sweating, but a group of thugs wouldn't amount to much; especially not in the face of an Aburame. Being able to control a huge swarm of chakra eating bugs made the members of the insect using clan from Konoha perfect for quelling mass numbers of untrained hostiles. A single wave of bugs is all it would take to quickly incapacitate a group of people with chakra levels as low as a common farmer.

Of course, as mercenaries like Gato's muscle were rarely ever put against ninja, they tended to underestimate them; if not in power then in skill. This was most likely the case as it was blatantly obvious none of the thugs were worried that Shino was obviously still fresh and ready for battle. In fact, none of them seemed to pay attention to the few bugs that had already managed to latch onto them.

"Hey boss," one of the lead bandits called out, getting his employers attention. The man could have easily fit in amongst the Akimichi clan had it not been for his completely dishevelled appearance, easily taller than all of team eight and twice as thick as any of them. "Is it alright if I take that old mummy's sword as a bonus for this job?" the stout man asked, a greedy grin spread wide across his face.

Gato regarded the speaker for a moment, even as the thug made his way to the front, easily pushing past anyone in his way, causing a lot of protests from the group. The businessman paid no mind to this, opting to focus on contemplating the request. It didn't last for long though, and soon, a sneer had developed on his mug. "You may loot whatever trinkets you wish-" he gestured towards Kurenai and Hinata, "as long as the two women remain alive and in good condition. Otherwise, there will be... consequences."

The large merc laughed amusedly at the proposal, accepting it without even a second thought before making his way to the giant blade near Naruto's feet. He wasn't the only amused.

Though Naruto himself made sure not to show it, he too was laughing in his head, just for a completely different reason. Unlike everyone else, –well, almost– he was aware of just how this little debacle would turn out if the fat guy got a hold of Kubikiribōchō. Now it was all just a matter of steering things in a better direction. With a smarmy smirk on his face, Naruto moved to the side so he'd be easier for the businessman to see.

"Oi, Gayto was it?" the blonde inquired jokingly, well aware of the questioning glance that had probably been directed at him by his team, to which he responded with a gesture to stand down. The look of irritation on Gato's face was both priceless and perfect as he shouted his name in reply. "Yeah whatever," the demon prince brushed off, further infuriating the midget. "Do me a favour and correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks to me like you were planning to stab Zabuza in the back after he finished us off."

The cheerful and condescending tone in Naruto's request only served to add more fuel to Gato's anger; the short businessman already clenching his fist at the obviously insulting jibe. "And what of it!" he snapped back rhetorically, calming himself down before continuing. "I'm a businessman, boy. Money is everything, and quite frankly, that fog nut cost far too much than he was worth. And to make things even better, I can also collect the reward for his head. Besides, for what reason would you care about a nukenin? You're just another lackey to your village, trained to be whored off to whoever who's willing to pay."

Slightly perturbed at being called both a lackey and a man-whore, Naruto still kept on with his act… or at least tried to. The erratic twitching on his face didn't quite make it convincing, but he made an effort nonetheless. "So you weren't planning on paying him after all huh?" he gritted out, ambling away as the large merc reached for the sword.

"Hey don't even waste your time on this brat, boss," the now kneeling thug called out, directing a malicious glare towards the blonde, "I'll take care of 'im soon enough."

Finally, his meaty hands closed around the sword's handle and his body suddenly stiffened. The large man paused for a moment, simply rubbing his hand across the handle, seemingly humming in contemplation.

When he finally picked it up and got back on his feet, there was something noticeably different about his stance. It was… more controlled was how most would describe it, as though he was much more ready to fight. He placed the back of the sword upon his shoulder and began to step back towards the rest of the mercenary.

"You know, I bet you would've really enjoyed it if we killed Zabuza ourselves, right?" the stout man asked, directing a grin towards Gato. When the short businessman nodded in affirmation, his grin turned absolutely manic. "Yeah, I thought so. But then, it probably wouldn't be as enjoyable as cutting up a backstabbing son of a bitch like you."

Before anyone could even process what had been said, Gato's head had already been fitted though the hole on Kubikiribōchō's blade. A single, strong pull combined with a powerful kick later, and the midget's head was ripped off; a fountain of blood from the jagged neck painting many of the front most bandits crimson.

The shock paralyzing almost everyone on the bridge came at a heavy cost to the rest of Gato's entourage as the stout man followed up with a powerful horizontal slash, bisecting the entire front row and disembowelling most of the second. It wasn't until another half dozen or so men were sliced apart did the mercenaries regain their senses and drew their weapons, already having lost a quarter of their numbers.

It was all for naught though. Without even trying to dodge, the stout mercenary sent his gigantic blade crashing down on his next victim, bisecting him from head to groin, even as the man's own sword pierced his killer's neck; the partially rusty katana just missing the spine and coming out on the other side of his neck.

Before anyone could think that the fight should be over at that point, the Zanbatou wielding mercenary's attack suddenly grew more furious. Hoisting the blade on to his shoulder once more, he used his free hand to grab the half of the man that held the sword piercing his throat, pulling it viciously away to club another mercenary to the ground before bringing Kubikiribōchō down on him; cleaving his flesh and crushing his bones all at once.

Once the thought that their attacker should have died already crossed their minds, many of the remaining men had fallen to their backs in fear; backpedalling away in a futile attempt to run from the demon before them. They didn't get very far before the large man was on them, and with a single sweeping swing, they were all either sliced in two, or had their ribs, skulls or necks broken from the force behind the assault.

Again, all those who bore witness could do nothing but stare as a man defied certain death, yet still continued to deal it; the momentary pause causing another casualty as one of the shaking mercenaries was thrown off his feet. A swift stomp on his neck left him gasping for air as his trachea was crushed beneath large and powerful feet. His skull was soon crushed beneath the tip of Kubikiribōchō's blade.

Seeing this seemed to shake the men out of their stupor, and many began to run, though a few brave –or otherwise stupid– souls tried to press on. A series of sword slashes, stabs and slices cut into the stout man's body, even as he slowly stood up, each ignored or countered; the monstrosity of a swordsman sending blood and gore flying as he continued to decapitate, disembowel, lobotomise and just plain massacre the horde. One man thought he'd gotten lucky when his blade sank into the larger one's neck, dodging a sword swing before turning his entire body to the left, pulling his sword with him and cut his opponent's head off in a messy display.

But like everything else before it, the act amounted to nothing. The tables had turned on the decapitator before he even had a chance to move. A powerful kick at the base of his spine sent him headfirst into the bridge railings, where his skull was crushed with the back of Kubikiribōchō.

The frightened survivors entered the stage of complete horrified hysteria in the face of the now headless killer before them, their formerly tough façade not even leaving a ghost in its wake. There were only six of them left, and each of them already had a distinctively darker spot on their pants; a smell much like ammonia wafting through the air, masked only by copious amounts of blood.

They were in a state of fear and panic. A state usually heralding rash and ultimately futile actions. What one did next though, while futile nonetheless, was still much smarter than one would expect. Seeing the great severing sword come at him next, one of the survivors grabbed the man next to him and used him as a shield. The large blade sank diagonally into the man, breaking his ribs and pushing one of the broken ones straight into his heart.

The sooner than planned resistance, though, stopped the giant cleaver from cutting through cleanly, not having built enough momentum to cut through at a premature time. This gave the sacrificing bandit just enough time to raise his sword high, and bring it down on his opponent's arms, depriving the walking carcass of its weapon.

And just like that, the body fell on its back. Pools of blood collecting under the now motionless corpse.

At first, the five survivors could hardly believe their eyes; continuing to stare fearfully at the body of the… demon that had terrorized them just moments ago. Then, they became more confident, stepping lightly towards the body and giving it experimental pokes with their weapons. When no reaction came, the five shared a relieved sigh-

"If you think it's over, you might want to look behind you," Naruto suddenly suggested, pointing at the spot right in between the confused mercenaries. Somehow, the shocked and scared looks on the other ninja's faces sent a chill down their spines.

Craning their heads to look behind them in a slow, paranoid motion, the inkling of horror that clenched their souls escalated over a dozen fold at the sight that greeted them, crushing whatever hope they had that what they thought was happening wasn't actually real. Right there, just a few steps from the edge of the bridge stood the previously sacrificed mercenary, way too far to have simply stumbled there, and smiling maniacally, completely ignoring his obviously fatal injury.

Fear gripped their bodies as two of them backed away, the remaining three sinking to their knees and begging what could only be a demon out to kill them for mercy. The two would-be escapees found themselves thrown closer towards the moving corpse by a blast of whirling, gale force winds as soon as they began to run. One was killed shortly after by a skull-crushing downward stab from the heavy blade, followed by a lever-like motion that brought the rest of the sword's blade down on the second one's neck.

The three who were left begging may as well have been trying to dehydrate themselves as they sweated, cried and soiled themselves all at once. Their pleas were left unanswered in the end as the hellish being smacked them down with the flat of its blade. One was lucky enough to have been knocked unconscious, losing his life moments later when his torso was sliced horizontally into two. The others weren't so lucky and wound up being decapitated while screaming in absolute fear.

Nothing moved for a while after that, all those who hadn't been brutally killed simply watching the scene in horror, morbid fascination, disgust and, in the case of one individual, approval.

"Heh… you know, I really have to thank you for doing this to me kid," the walking corpse suddenly spoke, scaring the living daylights out of all the human's present. Standing to full height and raising its sword, the animated body regarded the blonde shinobi with an amused smirk. "Really, if I didn't hear about you groping Haku in her sleep, I might have been willing to serve you, like those vassals of yours," it continued, pointing towards Agni, Rudra and Hinata in turn, a glint of satisfaction appearing in its eyes as it noticed the irritated look on Naruto's face.

"How do you know about that?" the blonde prince demanded, momentarily suppressing his annoyance. It spiked not long after though, as the possessed corpse shrugged offhandedly.

"A little white birdie, or bat, I suppose would be more appropriate, told me about it. Offered me a job too," Zabuza answered, shortly before spinning around and throwing Kubikiribōchō off the bridge. As the corpse, having lost the spirit possessing it, fell to the ground, the sound of beating wings and the cry of a bird, ten times louder any normal bird could produce rang through the air giving pause to all those present. Then, like a flash of white lighting, an eagle like beast with alban plumes, easily twice the size of an average man, swooped down towards the same side of the bridge before flying up once more; Kubikiribōchō grasped firmly in one of its feet.

With a beat of its great wings, the mighty avian stopped in midair, turning around as though it was hovering. Naruto soon found himself glaring into emerald eyes as the pristine beast regarded him for all of a few seconds before turning its eyes elsewhere. It took team eight a moment to figure out just where its eyes where pointed, but by then the bird had already dived after its second target: the unconscious Haku.

With a feat of speed many would have thought impossible for its size, the white bird lunged at the still form of the ice user, its free claw ready to grab its target before the group's very eyes before flying off one more. A loud and victorious cry was the last thing they heard as it disappeared into the clouds.

There was silence once again, as the group stared where the giant creature had last been seen, most of them quite tired of the number of surprises that had been put in front of them thus far. Then they all turned to what they rightfully deduced to be at the centre of it all: Naruto.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Naruto," Kurenai practically ordered, her crimson eyes boring into the blonde's own azure orbs. When he looked at least a bit nervous, she switched targets to her only female student, who was only just regaining feeling in her legs. "Hinata, you as well."

-X-

Kurenai sighed tiredly as she leaned back on her chair, giving in to the urge to massage her temples. Across from her sat Naruto, his wings folded behind him and bandages covering his injury. His two pets sat on their haunches on either side of his chair, watching silently. Hinata lay on a cot a little more behind him, her legs still feeling a little numb, but otherwise fine. Everyone else was either sitting on a different side of the table or –in Tsunami's case– behind the kitchen counter. It actually amazed the crimson eyed Jonin a bit that the woman could still calmly wash the dishes after a meal when Naruto had just been telling them what was probably the most outlandish tale they'd ever heard. Then again, she was more amazed that no one was scared of the four demons.

The group had gone back to Tazuna's house after the entire bridge debacle, a decision half made due to the stress of the whole situation, and partly due to most of them just wanting to know what the hell it was that was going on with Naruto, Hinata, Naruto's pets, Zabu… actually, pretty much every single person that was directly involved in the mission, was still alive, and had… unique appendages. Granted, the layer under Shino's skin that housed his insects could probably be called 'unique' too, but technically wasn't an appendage.

The entire rundown had taken no less than four hours, which wasn't helped by the fact that most of the people in the village were either celebrating or tending to the workers Zabuza had attacked. The sounds of music and hundreds of loud shouts not only forced Naruto to repeat himself more than once, but also contributed to Kurenai's migraine as well.

"So… to summarize…" Kurenai began tiredly, "you-" she brought a hand away from her head and pointed towards her blonde student, "-are the prince of hell-"

"Netherworld," Naruto instantly corrected. "I'm the prince of A netherworld."

"Right. The prince of a netherworld, who's mother –one of the daughters of the current king-"

"Overlord."

"Overlord– was abducted to be trained and used as a weapon by the people who summoned her."

"Actually, it was my grandmother they-"

"Moving on." the Jonin cut in, her face scrunched up in un uncharacteristically teeth gnashing growl. It was clear that she didn't want any more interruptions. "She was later rescued by a group of people who sealed her into a human form and adopted her. Those same people somehow ended up taking refuge in Konoha with your mother with them, where she gave birth to you."

The crimson eyed woman paused for a moment, staring questioningly at Naruto to make whatever corrections he needed to make now. The demon prince, a slight grimace present on his face from her previous reprimand, nonetheless nodded his head to tell her that she was on the right track.

Kurenai sighed once more. "After that, the Kyubi –whose name is apparently Kasumi–" she took another pause, this time to give her two winged students a dubious stare, "attacked Konoha under the control of some mysterious shinobi, during which your parents were killed."

"And then Kasumi sealed inside of me. Yes," Naruto confirmed, not caring in the least about the information he'd just given out. Of course, the only people who weren't privy to that bit of information when he included it in his tale were Shino and Tazuna's family. They'd long since gotten over the surprise, if only because even more shocking information followed right after.

Kurenai simply let the matter drop. It wasn't like the information would've changed anything, given everything else she'd learned. "A few years later, your demonic powers awakened, which also alerted a bunch of demon ninja-" she shuddered at the thought of such beings "-who were sent by your grandparents to search for your mother. Instead, they found you, but recognized your energy signature as something that only belonged to a tribe of demons whose only living member at the time was your grandfather, so they took you back to him anyway."

Naruto was almost tempted to correct his Jonin sensei again by saying that only one of them had found and rescued him, but held his tongue. It would only aggravate her more, and while the blonde normally wouldn't have had any problems with aggravating anyone, even he knew the horrors of an angry woman. After everything that had happened, he wasn't very willing to face one, even if she wouldn't have been able to match his mother or grandmother at their worst.

"Moving on from there, you made a deal with the Shinigami to bring your parents back to life, but in return, you have to hunt down a few pseudo-immortals for him who are at large in the Elemental Nations. After that, you decided come back to Konoha, offering a possible alliance if you decided that the village was 'worthy' of it, after scouting it out yourself."

"That still doesn't make any sense to me," Tazuna interjected, apparently not having fully comprehended Kurenai's mood. A quick and distasteful glare shut him up almost immediately, and made the old man shrink into his chair.

"A few weeks after that, you offered to turn Hinata-" she pointed at her female student, "-into a demon in order to help her become a better ninja. An offer she accepted half-way through the Scroll of Seals incident. Everything else from there…"

"More or less leads to our current situation," Naruto finished for her, yawning in boredom. "Since you've obviously grasped the basics, I'm guessing you have some questions?"

"Why did you choose to return to Konoha?" Kurenai demanded, not missing a beat. Her eyes narrowed into a glare that could pierce through stone. "As Tazuna-san has pointed out, your goal seems to be to track down these individuals the Shinigami told you to hunt down. That you would choose to stay in Konoha makes no sense, so why?"

"No fooling around when you're like this huh?" the unperturbed blonde replied jokingly. "Well, if you must know, I actually have several reasons." Here he paused, straightening his posture a bit to look more serious. "To begin with, there's the fact that I'm not just looking for any old bunch of individuals. I'm looking for individuals that are actively trying to hide themselves."

"And your point is?" the Jonin pressed on. Naruto threw her an annoyed look in response.

"Let me put it this way: My grandfather sent hundreds of our best ninja to find someone who never even had any intentions of hiding. All of them were thrown off for an entire twenty seven years just because my mother's powers were somehow sealed away. Quite frankly, they suck at that particular part of their job. The Ankokukaigan no me(1) could probably find them easier, but with how hyperactive they are, any self respecting ninja they'd find would probably just end up spotting them and either getting away or stopping them."

The deadpan expression on Naruto's face would probably have been very humorous at any other time, but given the current situation, no one was in the mood to laugh. "Anyway," the blonde continued, sighing exasperatedly, "since using our own resources was out of the question, it was decided that we'd just outsource all the searching to a local hidden village. And of course, seeing as I already had some connections to the Hokage, we chose Konoha."

He stopped there, satisfied with the answer he'd given. However, while Tazuna and his family felt that that was all that was needed to be said, both his sensei and male teammate thought otherwise. Certainly, everything the blonde had said answered the question of why he'd gone to Konoha, but it left one thing out.

"What of the alliance?" Shino questioned, speaking up for the first time.

"Legitimate," the prince replied, "while using the village as an information source was my primary objective, adding Konoha to the Krichevskoy kingdom's list of allies would be a great bonus. Of course, that's provided they 'pass', so to say."

"And if that isn't the case?" Kurenai followed up.

"Don't know," Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "In the end, grandpa's the one who makes all the decisions. I just do the reports. I mean sure, I get the say on whether we do go on with the alliance, but he expects me to tell him why and what for. I'm thinking it's probably some kind of lesson for me or something."

"… You… don't… know?" Kurenai muttered in disbelief. "What do you mean 'you don't know'?" she repeated, her tone sounding more and more incredulous. "Didn't you say you were the prince?"

"Well yeah, I did. Doesn't mean that I know everything that'll happen if stuff like this goes wrong," Naruto deadpanned, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned into his chair. "Look sensei, one thing you have to understand is that, when it comes to demons, politics isn't normally complex. To be Overlord all you'd have to do is kill the current Overlord or, if there isn't one already, prove yourself more powerful than all the other claimants to the throne. Stuff like murky politics only come in when dealing with heaven or human worlds."

"But you're already allied with heaven," the Jonin countered. "You said so yourself. If that's the case, how can you not know about the proper procedures for these sort of situations?"

The question, much to Kurenai's relief, seemed to have gotten the boy into a contemplative state. "maybe now we'll finally get some answers about this."

Sadly for her, after just a single minute, Naruto could only muster a shrug. "Never really bothered to learn about it," he answered offhandedly, dampening his teacher's mood.

Once more, the genjutsu mistress rubbed her temples, sighing in resignation as she tried to think of a way to get more information. For the life of her, she really couldn't understand how or why the Hokage had agreed to such a vague arrangement as this. And with demons no less. Granted, neither Naruto nor Hinata had done anything truly abhorrent yet, as many would no doubt expect from their 'kind'. Still, it remained a fact that the Kyubi, who tried to destroy their village thirteen years ago was with them, a fact that was well known among the shinobi council. Mind control be damned, that still should have amounted to some form of wariness.

"Alright. Calm down Kurenai. It won't do you any good to get even more frustrated. Remember, you don't have the whole story yet. Naruto mostly focused on his background and Hinata's 'transformation' when he explained things. He didn't say anything about his grandfather's interaction with the Hokage other than that he'd arranged the meeting to be held. Wait until you have all the information, then make conclusions. For now focus on more recent events."

Taking a deep breath, Kurenai turned her attention back to her blonde student…

"So to put it simply, my grandpa charged into heaven, beat the resident high seraph, learned that it was all a plot setup by his late father to form better relations. They finalized the alliance contract within a month."

… and found herself giving the boy a confused stare. It was probably pretty evident too, since Naruto had easily caught onto it; a teasing smirk playing at the edge of his lips. In fact, when she looked over to the sides of the table, she found even Tazuna and Inari giving her strange looks. Oddest of all, when she looked at Shino, the boy almost seemed hurt.

"You know sensei," Naruto began, the grin on his face spreading, "I don't know very much about being a teacher, but I'm pretty sure that always zoning out whenever the same student says something vital isn't very good practice."

It took a while for Naruto's words to actually register in her head, but once they did, the Jonin couldn't help but be flushed with embarrassment. This marked the third time she'd gotten lost in thought when Shino had said or asked about something important. That was actually a big problem she'd had for a long time. Getting lost in thought, that is.

It was actually why she'd taken so long to earn Jonin rank. Ridding herself of her habit to over think everything had taken her a long time, and while it was useful at times, she wasn't anywhere as fast at it as the Nara. Unfortunately, while she had curbed her problem, it would still pop up whenever she was either too stressed, or too relaxed.

"Umm… yes. Sorry," Kurenai apologized awkwardly. It wasn't exactly easy to say sorry to your own student, at least amongst ninja, much less for being distracted by your own thoughts. "What exactly were you two talking about?" she asked.

"I asked Naruto-san how his grandfather made an alliance with heaven," Shino replied plainly, the slight creases on his face disappearing once more into his stoic demeanour. "A rather interesting and… unusual story, to say the least. It does make me more confident that this offer of an alliance is legitimate though."

Kurenai nodded slowly, letting the information sink in. Certainly, with what little she'd heard of the, hopefully, short tale –as obviously, it wouldn't do for her to have been out of it for too long– the story behind it most certainly must have been unique.

"And my words earlier weren't enough… why… exactly?" Naruto cut in, his question somehow taking on a half-serious, half-joking tone. Whichever was the case, he still received his answer via a 'you know damn well why' look from Kurenai.

For the fourth time that day, Kurenai allowed a sigh to escape her. "Well, obviously we won't be getting anywhere else concerning your grandfather's alliance offer. Also, both of you have proven to be… mostly… trustworthy. As such, I suppose this discussion can be postponed for a later date."

"That said, let's move on to more recent matters," the genjutsu mistress decided, placing her crossed arms on the table to support her, her crimson eyes staring intently at her student. "You've already covered the whats, whys and hows concerning you and, in a way, Hinata. Now I want to know what happened on that bridge."

For a while, Naruto did nothing but meet her gaze. A defiant glint was present in his eyes, taunting her, telling her outright just how much authority her orders had over him. Then, suddenly, it just vanished; a gleam of amusement taking its place.

"Do you remember what I did right before Zabuza and his apprentice got away the first time?" the half demon prince asked, receiving a nod of affirmation from his Jonin instructor, andmixture of looks of confusion and curiosity from everyone else. "That was the spell that turns people into demons."

All but a single pair of eyes in front of Naruto gave the blonde a shocked and incredulous stare at his announcement. Only Kurenai didn't look surprised, already having come to the same conclusion. Not that it was a difficult connection to make, given that everything else that had happened pointed to a single conclusion.

She did have one question though: "why?" the genjutsu mistress asked tersely, staring intently at the blonde, as if trying to look for the answers for herself from his face.

"He thought it would make fighting him more interesting," Hinata cut in, speaking for the first time since they'd left the bridge. For a while, the five humans could only stare blankly at the succubus, unable to comprehend the situation. Then their expressions turned incredulous as they all turned their collective attention back to Naruto.

Kurenai felt her eye twitch as the blonde refused to meet their gaze. Not even the fact that the at least had the decency to be a little embarrassed spared him from the genjutsu mistress' oncoming wrath. As seconds passed by she began trembling in place, her head angling downwards, casting her face in the shadows of her hair.

On instinct, all the people that were situated on the table began inching away as far as they could without leaving their seats. Any thought concerning what they had just heard from Hinata disappearing from their minds. All that was left in their heads was a single thought: "This won't end well."

"THAT'S IT?" she shouted, rising to her feet. "THAT'S WHY YOU DECIDED IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO PULL THAT STUNT? ARE YOU INSANE? WHAT KIND OF IDIOT WOULD DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THEIR ENEMY STRONGER?"

"Sensei, losing control of our temper will not help the discussion. Please… calm down," Shino tried to placate the enraged woman.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Kurenai shot back before facing her other male student once more, still angry, yet –despite her rebuttal– apparently more in control of herself.

"How could you just do something like that just because you felt like it? Do you realize how close you came to dying in that fight?"

Even if she wasn't shouting as loudly as before, the silence from outside –likely brought about by her initial outburst– seemed to make voice even louder.

"So?" the blonde questioned back, the weak and childish tone in his voice surprising all those present. "I managed to come out alive," he argued, his eyes shifting towards the Jonin warily, "I'm already healing from it too, so it's not like there's anything to complain about."

Kurenai's frown deepened upon hearing her charge's reasoning. "Is that so?" she asked rhetorically, eyeing the bandages around the boy's abdomen, "Naruto, what you did put yourself at risk, it put the client at risk and above all else, it put your team at risk. Giving the enemy that kind of power could have easily led to all of us being killed in that fight. "

"But none of us did," the blonde retorted defiantly. "Besides, I took care of the situation myself didn't I?"

"That's not the point," Kurenai rebuked, putting as much authority into her tone. "That we all managed to keep our lives through that fight is a good thing, I'll make no arguments there. However, that fact alone does not excuse you for what you did."

"As things stand, the problem here is that you completely disregarded both your team's as well as the client's wellbeing. I know you're a prince, but that doesn't give you the right to put other people at risk for your own amusement!"

"I know that!" Naruto shot up hotly, meeting the crimson eyed Jonin's glare with his own. It didn't last though, as soon enough, the frustration on his face seemed to melt off into discomfort; his focus going from his sensei's face and towards floor beside his chair. "A ruler's greatest resource is his people. To waste that resource is something only a foolish monarch would do. To protect it is the act of the wise. I've been given the lesson before."

"Then why haven't you been acting on it?" the genjutsu mistress pressed on, finally feeling as though she was getting somewhere. When her student's examination of the floor beside him grew more intense, she knew it was her chance to finish the entire debacle. She could only hope that this was the last time they'd have to go over something like this. "Tell me, Naruto, if the girl who fought Hinata had also been turned into a demon, how different would the fight have turned out?" No response. "If Zabuza had been lucky enough to kill you, who could've stopped him from killing all of us?" The prince remained silent. "If Zabuza hadn't just stopped with those mercenaries, how well do you think we could have done to defend ourselves?"

Silence…

Kurenai sighed and sat back down. She was calmer now, more like her usual self. "Listen, Naruto, I don't know what kind of training you received in the Netherworld, or how powerful you really are. At this point, I can't even say that I really care. What I do care about is that you're my student, and that means that it's my responsibility to teach you to be a real Konoha ninja… just like I'm sure your father was. And that means no putting your team in unnecessary danger. Am I understood?"

Again, silence…

To Naruto, it was almost like being scolded by his swords instructor again. The leader of the ten generals, Gunshin(2), Akumei Motoko was widely known across multiple netherworlds for three things: Her skill with a sword, her unique treatment of her subordinates, and her ability to somehow make you feel emotional pain for the stupidity of your actions with words alone. A person who knew how take a problem with you, turn it personal, then use everything else she knew about you to guilt you into changing whatever habit you had which she didn't like.

She also happened to be one of the few people who Naruto could never win an argument against whenever she was serious about a topic. Kurenai, unfortunately for him, seemed to have joined that short list of people.

This, of course, was something the blonde simply couldn't accept, and he was more than willing to resist her command until he could somehow manage to win…

"Alright fine! So I messed up! What do you want me to do about it?"

… a feat which would have been infinitely easier if Charlotte had written up an argument for this topic, just like when he'd talked to Hiashi about Hinata's transformation.

The crimson-eyed Jonin sighed once more –something she'd been doing a lot for the past hour or so–finally regaining her full composure. Then she eyed her scowling student impassively, not giving the slightest hint about her intentions. Again, she sighed, this time shallower than the last. "Well right now, we can't really do anything about it. Not when we still have a mission to complete," she told the boy, analyzing the situation at hand.

"The deaths of people who deal in the black market like Gato are never silent affairs, especially considering the celebration that the village had when they heard about it… however brief it may have been." She noted, for the first time then, how the background noise had since dimmed down. It was louder than when she'd first shouted, but certainly not as audible as back then. "In all likelihood, some of the more… assertive under the table dealers will try to take over the situation. They'll probably bring in some hired ninja forces of their own, and in larger groups as well."

A pair of red eyes glared towards Naruto once more. "Naruto, I don't want the incident with Zabuza to repeat itself, am I clear?" Kurenai paused for the blonde's confirmation, receiving a begrudging nod in return. "Good," the Jonin nodded back, "and tell you what, if you can avoid getting caught up in that battle-lust of yours, I'll consider this problem a personal matter. However, we will still have to work on this once we return to the village."

Again, Naruto nodded, still scowling as he looked away. "For all his apparent 'maturity', it seems that in the end, Naruto's still a kid at heart," thought the genjutsu mistress amusedly, her previous frustrations nearly leaving her completely. She leaned back into her chair, arms crossed, and decided to change the subject to a much more comfortable zone.

"Regardless of the situation, Zabuza –or at least, I'm pretty sure that was Zabuza– also mentioned already being given a job and –from the way you two were talking about it– it would seem that his newest contractor is demon as well. You wouldn't happen to have a clue about who did this, do you?"

And just like that, the tension in the air thinned a great deal, and the blonde was able to face her again. The scowl on his face still remained though. "Yeah, that was Zabuza alright. I'll explain later. Anyway, about his employer… I have a good guess, but I can't be sure entirely," he replied.

Kurenai raised a brow in curiosity at that, not really expecting a positive reply. Then again, neither did anyone else in the room, each of them directing a questioning stare at the prince. Surprisingly enough, it was Shino who voiced what they were all thinking: "Who? And for that matter, what led you to such a confident deduction?"

For a few seconds, the blonde merely stared at his usually silent teammate, the frown on his face softening just the slightest bit. He shook his head and gave a short huff. "Regarding the 'what', first of all, I'm pretty sure that the bird that we saw earlier was a Rukh(3), a rare breed of netherworld beasts. Suffice to say, having something like that on your side pretty much means that they have a lot of connections. Second: Zabuza described his employer as a 'white bat', and there are only a few people I know who could possibly fit into both those categories."

"And that would be…?" Kurenai pressed on.

"Her name is Garnette," Naruto replied, his expression clearly telling them just how much he wished he was wrong. "She's the eldest daughter of one of my grandfather's old friends. 238 years old, but looks no older than fourteen. Pinkish white hair, blunt black horns, short, heart tipped tail. Usually wears a dress shirt, blazer and skirt combo. Good with magic. Annoying to the core…" he paused to sigh, "and worst of all, she seems to convinced that me and my cousin are her 'rivals'."

Everyone in the room could only give him an odd stare. Then Inari said the last words he wanted to hear: "That sounds just like the girl that helped me and Kaa-san earlier when Gato's men tried to take her away."

-X-

At the borders of Nami no kuni…

"Ugh…" a distorted groan reverberated through an otherwise silent part of swamps at the edge of Nami. The origin of the sound slowly began to stand, opening his eyes to find himself standing on one of the small islands that dotted the Nami no kuni's marshes. With him were a giant white bird, and four other people, all female. One he was very familiar with, looking at him worriedly. Another was a bit less familiar, although her white hair, horns and extra appendages made her easy enough to identify. She was also giving him a very proud smile.

"Heheheh. So… how do you like your new body, Zabuza-san?" Garnette asked whimsically, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she gave the missing-nin turned Alastor a onceover. "That masterpiece is one of my oldest creations you know? It was originally an experimental attempt to integrate more advanced technology into the original Frankenstein's monster creation procedure. The 'bringing it to life' part may not have worked due to the large amount of weaponized circuitry inside of it, but I figured that it was biological enough for a soul to possess and control."

And on and on, the white haired girl continued to ramble about her creation, not even once noticing that her conversation partner had long since tuned her out. Currently, Zabuza was too focused on his new vessel to even hear a single word.

Walking towards the edge of the small landmass, the Alastor gazed into the large pool of water to get a better look at himself. What first greeted him was a head that seemed to have been divided into three. The upper right looked more or less normal, and just less paler than his original skin, with the only noticeable marking being a stitch line that ran down from his eye. It reached all the way to his jaw, which was covered by a cloth face mask. While both features were normal enough, the third part… wasn't. The best way to describe it would have been to say that his entire skull had been turned to steel, and his left eye replaced by some sort of jewel before that section of his skin was completely torn off.

It actually managed to startle the missing nin for a moment, not that he would ever admit it. Sure, he'd already seen it as a sword, but looking at the face of an unmoving body and your own face were completely different matters. Still, he regained his composure quickly and, soon enough, had gone back to his inspection.

The overall build was rather similar to his original body in height, if a bit taller. It was also a little bulkier than he actually was, but not enough that he would really have any problems with it after a while. What intrigued him the most, however, was that the structure was partly metallic.

His left arm below the bicep, everything from the hip down, his chest and right shoulder; all made from jet-black machinery that looked far too complex to have come from anywhere in his world. Yet, Zabuza didn't feel weighed down in the least. He knew the metal was hard, though he didn't know how he knew, but it was extremely light as well. Whether that was due to a quality of the material itself, or simply because the entire body was built to support it, he wasn't certain; but one thing was for sure: his new body was made for combat.

And if the body's structure and metal composition weren't big enough hints, the way it was originally garbed certainly was. His stomach, back and neck were all protected by a deep, crimson armour that somehow managed to still be very flexible, despite feeling similar to steel. It had a large pauldron attached to its left, protecting his flesh shoulder. His other arm was protected by a fingerless gauntlet of the same material, while his palm and fingers were covered in black leather.

"Hey! Are you even listening!"

Garnette's shout shocked the Alastor out of his stupor. Zabuza quickly turned around to face his new employer, only to find himself staring at the livid face of the white-haired demon girl. "Uhh… sorry. I was just… distracted by your invention is all," he admitted truthfully, hoping that it would mollify her. It wouldn't do to anger his source of income and information, after all.

Fortunately, while it didn't seem to get rid of all her agitation, his admittance seem to calm her down. Crossing her arms back over her chest, the white-haired demoness huffed as she turned away. "I suppose that makes sense," she said, more to herself than anyone else, "my inventions are rather amazing after all."

With a prideful nod, the littlest amongst the small group walked back towards the two unknowns that had come with her, just as Haku made her way to her master's side. Once Garnette reached her destination, she spun around to face them, giving the two rogue ninja a pleasant grin.

"I believe some introductions are in order," she said, her grin never leaving her visage. "Now, all three of us already know who you two are, so to get things rolling, I'll start. My name is Garnette Maritsu, and these two," she said, pointing to the two taller girls beside her, "are my younger sisters. Girls, introduce yourselves."

"Hai, Onee-sama," the two chorused, bowing slightly in respect. As they stood back to full height, the tallest of the three –a girl garbed in clothes resembling a Miko's robes– took a step towards the two nuke-nin, a cheerful smile gracing her alabaster skin. "My name is Lapis Maritsu. The youngest sister."

The miko-esque girl bowed once more, though shallower than before, and backtracked to her original position. At the same time, the third girl, who was dressed in traditional ninja clothes, mimicked her sister's earlier actions, stepping up to Zabuza and Haku before bowing herself. "I am Amber Maritsu. The middle sister. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Both nuke-nin stared at the unfamiliar procedure blankly. Being criminals, it was rare for any of them to be greeted in this manner. Still, they had to admit, it certainly felt better than how most of their other clients acted.

"Alright, now that all the needed intros done with, let's move on to something a little more important," Garnette announced cheerily before pointing towards Zabuza. "I've already told you what your job is, so I highly doubt you'd need much instructions. However, as the eldest daughter of one of the multiverse's most powerful Overlords, I simply cannot allow you to guide us through this world while you are still as weak as you are. As such we'll be going to our Netherworld to train you."

She talked fast. Faster than either Zabuza or Haku could follow. As such, neither of them were really sure about most of what she said. They were just about to ask her to repeat herself slowly, but by that time, the white haired demoness had already brought her sceptre high; an array of geometric patterns and runes appearing at the base of her feet.

"To Jaaku Gakuen(4)!" she shouted enthusiastically, plunging the bottom of her staff into the ground beneath them. In a bright flash of light that reached all the way into the sky, the entire island and all its occupants were gone from sight.

-X-

Ahh… finally done. Sorry for the long wait, but again, I've been busy with a lot of issues. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Make sure to review and tell me what you all think.

(1) Ankokukai no me: Eye of the Dark World. Other information will be covered later on.

(2) Gunshin: Army god. Akumei Motoko's rank and title as the leader of the ten generals, and the most powerful demon in Naruto's home Netherworld, outside of the royal family. The only one amongst the generals to not possess sho(general) in their title.

(3) Rukh: A mythological bird from Arabic lore. Said to be a gigantic, pure white, eagle-esque bird that could grow to the size of a ship. The one Garnette has is a chick.

(4) Jaaku Gakuen: Evil Academy. For those who still don't know what connections Garnette has, this refers to Maritsu Evil Academy.