The Shinobi Visitor

Chapter 32 - First Impressions Are Everything...

"For a Satsujinken organization that wants to destroy us, Yami sure has connections."

That was in Naruto's mind as he and his party stood in the island's hotel room. Their room had a big kitchen complete with refreshments, five bedrooms and a panoramic view of the island's landscape. This was probably a formality or a way to lower their guard down.

Obviously Yami doesn't really know who Ryozanpaku is.

Naruto went to the balcony and set his arms on the ledge, leaning on them as he relaxed with the wondrous view. His eyes scanned from the west to the east where he found a large stadium that resembles the Coliseum, but not as large as Aphrodite's replica.

Kenichi soon joined him to see the view as well, still feeling a little anxious but more confident after their talk.

"Are you ready? The first round is in an hour." Naruto asked, getting a firm nod from the brown-haired boy. "Remember: always be vigilant and aware. Be confident in every attack you throw at your enemy."

"Hai."

"Kenichi."

"Naruto."

The ninja and the Strongest Disciple turned around to find everyone staring at them with the Elder beckoning to come inside. When they did, Rhea and Medusa with the Elder stood behind them gave Naruto a box while Kenichi received a similar gift from Miu with his masters behind her.

Naruto and Kenichi looked at each other before retrieving the boxes. When they opened them, both Naruto and Kenichi's eyes turned into stars before they ran into one of the rooms, leaving behind a trail of their excitement while everyone chuckled at the boy's reactions.

"I take it they like their gifts." Akisame stated as a fact.

"THIS IS AWESOME!"

"I KNOW! LOOK AT MINE!"

"…"

"What?"

"Why is yours orange?"

"WHY ARE YOU HATING ON THE ORANGE?!"

Sweat-drops slid down on everyone's head as the sounds of a girl shrieking and clattering of stuff breaking filled their ears from the room.

-(One Hour Later)-Yami's Coliseum-

"Wow."

"This is-"

"A rip-off." Naruto got confused looks from Kenichi and Miu. "I've seen the real Coliseum a while back." He said when the entourage arrived at the stadium before being directed to a box where they will be watching the matches and for the fighters to rest between said matches.

It looked eerily similar to the Coliseum in Rome; deep with the arrangement of crowd seats and viewing boxes for the attendees of Yami's criminal nature that overshadowed the area that's meant for battle. However the only difference is that area for battle was a humungous stone platform instead of the sandy fighting arena of old.

Naruto also noticed that there was one particular platform that stood out from the rest. There were five thrones atop and the platform gave it a clear, panoramic view of the ring below.

"If those seats are for whom I think they're for…" Naruto looked at Miu who stood to a nervous Kenichi, trying to soothe him before they have a match. "I just hope she remain calm during her matches." He glanced at Kenichi's new wardrobe and gave his approval. "He is the disciple of six martial arts masters, so it does blend in nicely."

Kenichi now wears a white sleeveless dogi top over chain main armor, black loose Kung Fu pants and shoes, and his arms are bandaged with Muay Thai wrappings. Karate, Jujutsu, Weapons, Chinese Kenpo and Muay Thai… all infused in one person who may grow to become a powerful master in the future.

"Then again…" Naruto looked at his new attire. "I make this look good."

His attire was similar to the man's attire from one of his visions. Instead of the gi being orange, it was dark blue with the undershirt being a lighter shade of orange. On the back of the gi, there was the kanji symbol of 'Light', representing the Katsujinken side. The knot belt and wristbands are a darker shade of orange instead of blue. Still on his person were his ninja sandals and the trusty Konoha headband wrapped around his forehead as always.

Overall the outfit was an inverted version of the man's outfit.

The Shinobi looked at the Elder and Rhea as they were the ones created the outfit with the latter finding the clothe and materials and the former finding a person to match the description. It was the Elder's Christmas gift to him and his way of telling him that he's close to completing his training under him.

Noticing his eyes on her, Rhea smiled at him while waving, "All right!" Naruto slammed his fist into his palm. "I'm ready to go!"

"You have to wait until your name is called, Naruto." Akisame said, sending the boy in a depressed state.

Kenichi and Miu chuckled at their friend's busted mood while Rhea and Medusa walked to Naruto, putting him on the seat as they sat on both sides to cheer him up; Rhea on his right side and Medusa on his left. As for Kuroka, she chose the spot that is the top of Naruto's head, her purring being the sign of content.

The masters sans the smiling Elder, Kenichi and Miu were intrigued and surprised by the closeness between the three teenagers.

*GONG*

*GONG*

All the whispers and chatters were silenced by the reverberating sounds as everyone in the stadium present were drawn to the top box where six figures emerged from the curtains behind the thrones. Five of them were men while the last was a female, who was instantly recognized by the Elder.

The woman wasn't the only one as her colleague on her right simply smirked when he sensed the glares from Ryozanpaku. Kabuto, who was standing behind his martial arts master, chuckled as he observed the enemy masters until he saw his fellow Shinobi/Olympian being calmed between the two girls.

"Soon, Naruto. Soon."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as if he heard his message. "Yeah… soon." His eyes went to Saiga who sat in the central throne before they went to the man sitting on his right.

The man was tall and had similar muscular build to Saiga, his black hair reached his back with strands on the sides of his face and his attire was something interesting. He wore a long-sleeve shirt over a chain mail vest with a sash around his waist as his arms and legs were covered with gauntlet bands.

"That guy… For some reason he has the presence." The presence that is deadly yet subtle: a hallmark of a ninja. "That guy could be trouble for the masters, perhaps even the Elder." Naruto thought to him-self before looking at Miu as she stared at her father, feeling conflicted and sad at the same time.

And she wasn't alone.

The Elder and Akisame stared the man, doing their best to restrain themselves from jumping to the box and take Saiga by force if necessary. How could he just sit on that throne with those people who probably hurt innocent people and martial artists? How could he sit there without looking at them in the eye?

"Calm down you two." The Elder and Akisame along with everyone else looked at Naruto as he watched a spokesperson emerged from the ring. "Your Ki is starting to break the walls." He pointed at the wall behind them where cracks slowly formed from the sheepish masters' recent sealed Ki. "We just got to be prepared."

"For what?" asked Kenichi as Naruto looked at Rhea and Medusa before looking at the brown-haired nervous bundle of a boy.

"Anything."

"All right everyone! Welcome to the Desperate of Disciples Tournament where all aspiring martial artists under the age of 21 convene to test their skills against each other!" The spokesperson shouted excitedly into the microphone. "The tournament will last for two days; today 100 fighters stand before us, but tomorrow only one shall be victorious!"

"That means we'll have back-to-back matches today and tomorrow." Miu gasped in surprised. Despite training from an early age and having physical prowess than most kids her age, there's only so much she can do. She looked at Kenichi and couldn't help but worry about him.

"In gratitude to our sponsor, Yami and its leaders, we shall have the first match!" The spokesperson then pointed at the top in the east where an installed large, black screen was located for all to see. "Let's have our first match ups!"

The entire stadium stood silent as names of teams and individuals randomly changed for several seconds, adding to the suspense and tension in the atmosphere. Finally the names stopped with two teams as the spokesperson announced them.

"The first match is between the Karate Team and the Judo Team!"

-Ryozanpaku's Box-

"*Scoff* So called the 'Karate team'. They didn't show one decent technique." Sakaki criticized after the match between the two teams ended.

With a stretched out hand in front of the Karate master, Akisame cleared his throat loudly. "I believe you owe me 300 yen." They made a bet about which team would emerge victorious and bragging rights about the martial art for a month.

"No I don't!" Sakaki shouted back instantly.

"Yes you do." Akisame replied in a calm but deadly tone.

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

By the two masters were butting heads with gritted teeth until Naruto cleared his voice, catching their attention. "Actually you two owe me 1300 yen." Naruto stated with a grin.

"What?!" Sakaki and Akisame shouted simultaneously. "What makes you say that?" asked Sakaki with a trembling fist.

"Easy. I bet both teams would fight to a draw, specifically all the members are knocked out." Naruto looked at the slacked jaws masters with a smug grin. "I'll be expecting my money when we go back home."

Before they could retort or protest, the spokesperson started the lottery for the next match up and soon enough it came with a surprising match up.

"The second match will be the Chinese Kenpo martial artist, Kiyoko Tenno, and one of Ryozanpaku's students, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"WHAT?!" Naruto, Kenichi and Miu shouted in surprise. "That can't be! The three of us signed in as a team." Miu said as she pondered about this. "Why did they do this?"

"They're testing him."

"What?" Kenichi asked as he and his team members looked at the Jujitsu master.

"They already know that Naruto is training under the Elder's tutelage. Most likely they want to see his skills beforehand so they can gauge his abilities." Akisame turned to look at Naruto just as the latter yelled a whoop of excitement, running down the stairs. "… He left while I was still talking."

After jumping over the gap between the stands and the ring, Naruto bounced on his toes, ready for the upcoming battle as his opponent stood before him. The woman was wearing a brown tracksuit with the jacket unzipped that revealed a green sports bra and her midriff. Her black hair stopped short of her chin with a slight bit tied into a bun and a tattoo of sorts donned her left cheek.

"Gee she looks so serious." Naruto commented lowly after seeing her brown eyes glared at him, his arms set by his side as she lowered her stance with both arms stretched for offensive purposes. "Why so serious?"

"The match between Naruto Uzumaki and Kiyoko Tenno shall now… begin!"

By the time the spokesperson… spoke the last word, Kiyoko was already on the attack as she cocked back her fist, swinging it full force a moment later. Naruto casually dodged it before he back-stepped from another attack that was her left arm this time, taking the moment to analyze what she just did.

"You used your arms like whips just now." Naruto said after a long moment of silence. "What is it?"

Kiyoko scoffed before commencing another attack. "You're a martial artist. Figure it out yourself!"

"Fine then."

With that note, they continued the game of cat and mouse with Naruto not even trying at all.

-Yami's Box-

"He's toying with her." Kushinada stated after seeing Naruto's movements as he dodged another attack. "He's not threatened by her at all."

Agaard chuckled as his muscles tensed after watching the blonde's casual dodges and movement, resisting the urge to go down there and fight the boy himself. The way he moves and the fact that he hasn't used his arms or legs to block any of Kiyoko's attacks shows that he is on a much higher level like Kabuto.

Only neither he nor his colleagues save Ogata knows the true capabilities of his disciple just as only the Elder knows his own disciple's capabilities as well.

"I don't think we'll be able to see his strengths or weaknesses anytime soon." Ogata said, getting all eyes on him. "Not when his opponent is clearly not on his level."

The one who supported that statement was Saiga.

"Ogata is right." The Furinji master clarified, his attention split between Naruto and his daughter, Miu. If anything, he was convinced that Uzumaki is a lot faster and more powerful than anyone in the stadium, perhaps even his father. The only being that could match him in a fight right now is probably Kabuto, but he still has some doubts though.

"Then we'll adjust…" All eyes diverted to the man next to Saiga as his closed eyes slowly opened, showing his coldness and darkness within. "By having him fight against Kabuto."

Ogata smirked evilly as Naruto knocked Kiyoko out of the ring with a swift punch, sending a small and fast shockwave. "I don't think that'll be a problem… Senzui." The said man sharply narrowed his eyes at the newest member.

"Don't forget that we have to get rid of their other disciples as well."

-Ryozanpaku's Box-

"That was awesome, Naruto!"

"Neh, whatever." Naruto replied dryly after sitting down with Rhea and Medusa. "She was kinda sloppy in her offense and slow too."

Confused by this, Kenichi and Miu looked at each other before shrugging as the spokesperson announced the next lottery. They waited until the lottery ended not with names of teams or individuals, but-. "Special Round!"

"Eh?" Everyone in the stadium sans the marital arts masters chorused loudly.

"Round Three is a Special Round! Instead of a regular match, it will now be an all-out match between 20 contenders! For those who are in teams: if one or all members are left standing at the end of the match, you will advance onto the next match! Now let's find the lucky ones to participate in the wondrous round!"

"Wondrous round? Yeah right." Naruto said before noticing Kenichi as he started to shake in place due to nerves.

"What do you think they're up to?" asked Medusa after secretly placing her hand underneath Naruto's left hand. Apparently Kuroka didn't like it when she hissed at the red-orange haired beauty from her spot on Naruto's lap. "Naruto? Rhea?"

Rhea gave her answer after several moments. "Well it could be a lot of things, but I'm sure Kenichi and Miu will overcome it together."

"You got that right, Rhea." Naruto agreed as Kenichi and Miu stood up from their seats when they were called. "Those two have been training together for a long time, so they should have this in the bag." He then called out to Kenichi who came over to him. "Remember this okay, Kenichi?"

"What?" Kenichi asked with determination present on his face.

"Don't use that technique. Only use it if the situation absolutely calls for it." From his experience, it's always better to have a trump card or two in your sleeve for a rainy day. "Do you understand?" Naruto asked for clarity.

"Hai."

Naruto smiled as he waved him away. "Good luck to you… and you as well Miu."

"Thanks!" She couldn't help but be cheerful as she waved back before slowing down her pace, allowing Kenichi to catch up to her inside the ring as the other named contestants entered moments later.

Each of the contestants looked strong but the teams and individuals kept to them-selves as they're huddled together, most likely going over battle strategies. Naruto noticed that most of the fighters must have the same strategy as they kept looking at Kenichi and Miu along with another team that consisted of their age as well.

"Hopefully they caught on already." Kensei mentioned as everyone in the box stared at the ring.

"Caught on what?" Medusa asked curiously.

Naruto looked at her as he answered with four words.

"They're the first targets."

"AAAHHHH!"

Sounds of face-palms echoed across the stadium from the Ryozanpaku box as all the occupants had red marks on their faces.

-With Kenichi and Miu-

"Kenichi duck!"

Kenichi did just that as Miu jumped over and spilt-kicked away two fighters that flew out of the ring. As she landed, Miu crouched before leaping forward with her arms in front, spinning like a missile as she charged past five incoming fighters who were in the midst of an assault. "Furinji Chirugama!"

"Wahoo! Nice Miu!"

Hearing Naruto cheering for Miu and remembering of his advice on being confident in one's self, Kenichi took a quick breath before taking his Karate stance as other fighters charged at him. Eyes snapped open, Kenichi looked to the left where a tall muscular man already threw a punch, dodging the attack by tilting his head.

"What?!" The man cried in surprise before being double punched; one in the stomach and the other in the face.

"Yamazuki!"

The fighter fell to the ground as Kenichi charged this time at the surprised fighters. They didn't retreat as they chose to attack as well, but Kenichi didn't falter in his charge. Dodging another punch, Kenichi grabbed a man's sleeve before shoulder flipping him hard into the ground. Quick on his feet, Kenichi picked up the downed man and used him to charge through the crowd of fighters, plowing through them.

"Nice Kenichi! Keep it up!" Naruto's voice cheered from the box. "Annihilate them!"

Kenichi nodded as he threw the man up before spin-kicking him out of the ring, also knocking other fighters as well. Miu, upon looking at the confident Kenichi, couldn't help but be drawn by his fighting spirit. She delivered a crushing high kick at a woman's chin before rapidly spinning around, becoming a human twister.

After knocking out another fighter, Kenichi watched the 'twister' send hordes of fighters out of the ring, feeling a little depressed at the moment of being outdone.

"No fair." He sniffed loudly as Miu walked to him after stopping her attack. "You're still better than me."

"Of course!" Miu said with no hesitation, only noticing the depressed cloud over him a moment later. "Kenichi what's wrong?"

-Ryozanpaku's Box-

"Is she a clutz or something?"

"Something all right."

The commentators along with the smart alecks were silenced by a strong and swift burst of Ki by none other than the Elder, who was glaring at the people that spoke the insults.

"Calm down Hayato."

"Akisame's right, master. Take a chill pill before you knock out half of the stadium."

"What was that?!"

"You heard me!"

The Ryozanpaku party sweat-dropped and grew pale as they watched Naruto and the Elder butting heads against each other, neither gaining ground although the former was holding back (a lot). After they managed to calm and separate the master and student, Rhea looked at the ring where the numbers of twenty reduced to five souls.

"So it's Miu and Kenichi against them." Rhea pointed, drawing everyone's attention back to the match.

"Hmm…"

Rhea, along with Medusa who was eating a hot dog from the stadium's food bar, looked at the Chinese martial arts master who had a worried look as he stared at the three young opponents his disciple and Miu are facing now. "What is it, master Kensei?"

Kensei answered while staring at the ring. "Kenichi and Miu are in for quite a fight right now."

"I wouldn't say that." Naruto commented with a smirk. "After all they're training under the strongest martial arts masters in the world." The six masters beamed as they puff out their chests with pride. "Of course I helped them out too."

"You're not even a master!" Sakaki shook his fist angrily at the smirking blonde.

"I might as well be a master already!"

The boastful laughing ceased when the six masters hit him in the head, knocking Naruto into the ground. He soon got into his seat, nursing the six bumps on his head. "This sucks." Naruto grumbled before looking at Rhea and Medusa. "Can you make the boo-boo go away?"

"Eh?!" The masters sans the Elder and Akisame cried out in surprised when Rhea and Medusa gave little pecks on the bumps. "How? When?!" Apachai asked with a pointing finger.

"Very impressive, Naruto." Kensei praised the blond for scoring two hot girls, his hand under his chin as he stared at the trio.

"Perverts… both of you… are."

Ignoring the pervert comment, Naruto glanced at the opposing team who took the name 'Santoryu' before looking at the list of names and styles of fighters in the tournament. His eyes slightly widened when he saw three but very familiar and famous Chinese Kenpo styles.

"Baguazhang. Taichi. Xing Yi Quan. Those three styles are going to give Kenichi and Miu a tough time to fight against… three months ago." Naruto inwardly smirked to himself.

-With Kenichi and Miu-

The two disciples of Ryozanpaku stood ready as they faced down their 'real' opponents on the opposite side of the ring. It was a team of three, but they looked strong given from the look of their stances. Two of them are boys, but the third member is a girl so Miu's most likely the one going to fight her.

Meanwhile they recognized this particular team since Santoryu declared that Team Ryozanpaku will die by their hands at the opening ceremony earlier in the day. So with Naruto, they did a little background research on the members.

The girl, Yinlin Chou, had dark and strong eyes with her brown hair tied up in buns with a long braid cascading down her back. She wore black wristbands, a short Chinese white and light blue dress with a green sash tied around her waist and an opening in the chest area that exposed much of her cleavage to the public heart-shaped eye(s).

One of the male members was Kaku Shin; a young man that had short white hair and a borderline maniacal expression on his face like a bully found his next victim. He sported a red tiger and yellow dragon emboldened Chinese martial arts robe with gray trim and black pants with matching Kung Fu shoes.

The taller male and final member of the group was Tekai Yo. His hair was black and he sported an eye-patch over his right eye, donning a royal blue Chinese robe with white trim and black Kung Fu pants like Kaku.

"Finally I can get my revenge on Kensei Ma… by destroying you two." Kaku grinned evilly as Yinlin and Tekai assumed their respective styles' stances, prompting Kenichi and Miu to do the same. " Die."

Kenichi's eyes widen in pain as he doubled over by Kaku's palm, twisting into his diaphragm. Kaku didn't stop there as he kicked him, but Kenichi blocked it this time with his forearm and countered with a high but swift kick to the chin, knocking his opponent back.

Yinlin and Yo were surprised when their leader skidded back with his back up in the air. Kaku swatted their gesture to help him as he rubbed his chin while Kenichi did the same for his stomach although he didn't look bothered by it… at all.

"How strange." Yinlin commented after observing the otherwise fine Kenichi.

Yo interjected after her statement. "He doesn't seem to be too bothered by your sneak attack, Kaku."

"Whatever…" Kaku scoffed skeptically as he slipped into his Taichi stance, prompting his pawns to do the same as well. "Initiate the plan."

"Hai."

"Are you all right, Kenichi?" A concerned Miu asked since she didn't see the sneak attack coming at al. Usually she's able to detect incoming attacks better than most fighters her age, but she didn't sense Kaku's attack at all. That's the sign of a true martial artist.

Kenichi coughed after breathing deeply. "I'm fine now, Miu." He rubbed his stomach a final time before taking his main stance; his arms held parallel to each other as if they were going to cross-guard block: a Karate defensive stance. "Maeba No Kamou."

"The Stance of Absolute Defense… Well he did want to learn Karate in the first place." Miu mused before quickly taking her Hybrid Martial Arts stance with her left knee raised at waist level.

"They're coming."

"I know."

The Ryozanpaku representatives tensed when afterimages of Yinlin surrounded them with little to no gap between her steps, effectively trapping them.

"Mudwading Step."

-Ryozanpaku's Box-

"Is that the Bushin technique?" Medusa mused after seeing the technique for the first time. She then was surprised when Kaku and Yo seemingly merged in the technique with messing it up, creating afterimages of their own. "They can do it too?!"

"It's not the Bushin technique. It's-" Kensei was interrupted by Naruto who placed a hand on Medusa's shoulder.

"That right there is the Mudwading Step; a technique of the Baguazhang style of Chinese Kenpo." Naruto stated, continuing after an impressed Kensei gestured him to finish, "This technique allows one to effectively trap his/her opponents by circling around them while taking as little steps as possible. However…"

"What?" Rhea asked for Medusa as she's also interested in the technique.

"The fact that her teammates flawlessly blended in her technique and keeping Kenichi and Miu at bay with their styles is nothing short of impressive." Naruto narrowed his eyes after Kenichi was knocked back by Kaku's punch after an attempt to escape the circle. "That's the sign of training and teamwork."

"Astute observation." Akisame praised as the other masters agreed with nods of their own. "Expected of Hayato's disciple."

"Hehehe. Well master, Miu, Saiga and I are Hybrid Martial Artists after all." Naruto pointed at the tallest master. "In every one of our training sessions, Elder over there always showed the katas and forms of other marital arts styles so I would know and recognize them on the spot." He put his outstretched limb as he fell into a depressed state. "And he would always try to use those techniques on me whenever he has a chance to do so."

Hayato in response gave a cheeky grin. "But it paid off." There is also the Shadow Clone Jutsu's unique memory trick that played a major part as well. "You instantly recognized a Baguazhang technique. Good for you."

"Thanks."

"Oi! You were supposed to say 'But master, I wouldn't have be able to do it without your help.' Where's that?!"

"I'm not saying that." Naruto responded nonchalantly.

"Why you-" Hayato shook his fists and before he could lay them on his disciple, Naruto already ran down the hallway with a trail behind him. "Damn it…"

-The Ring-Team Ryozanpaku vs. Santoryu-

"Where is Naruto going?"

"Focus Miu!" That was rare. Kenichi telling Miu to focus during a match while it was the other way around. "I think I figured it out." After trying and failing to escape that resulted a few blows on his person, he chose to use his brain instead. Kenichi stepped forward and waited for the slightest if the miniscule gap or space in the circle trap with his fist cocked back. "Wait for it."

"Idiots. You can't beat us. Our fighting styles are the strongest in Chinese Kenpo, and together, we're unstoppable! Tekai now!" Kaku commanded with the insane grin still present.

Upon the demand, Tekai suddenly dashed forward and threw a straight punch when Kenichi was in range. The punch was so fast and straight, it resembled the thrust of a bladed lance. "."

It didn't land as Kenichi ducked underneath the punch, shifting his feet forward a little as his palm connected to Tekai's chin with no force. Just as Tekai was about to counter-attack, his head snapped back when Kenichi slammed his connecting arm with his free arm in the elbow. "Ma Style: Takegoroshi!" Kenichi shouted as Tekai's feet left the ground, flying straight into one of his own teammates.

"Ah!" It was Yinlin who was caught and entangled momentarily. With their momentum disrupted, the Baguazhang trap circle ceased as the afterimages flickered out of existence, leaving only one angry Kaku.

Looking at Kenchi after glancing at his downed teammates, Kaku charged at the duo with a primal yell. Instead of Kenichi, it was Miu who met him head on before ducking under a spiraling knife-hand thrust before landing a high kick, sending a surprised Kaku in the air. With a casual jump, Miu appeared above her male opponent before holding one leg above her head and started rapidly spinning with her other leg straight down as it connected to his stomach, mimicking a drill.

"Furinji Kouhou Yoku!"

Blood and spittle sprayed out of Kaku from the technique plus landing hard on the ground, his eyes rolled back as a sign of unconsciousness. Miu landed a second later as Kenichi stood next to her, holding up a fist before feeling the air. "What-" He forgot he was behind her and Miu's reflexes are sharper when someone's behind her.

"Awgk!" Miu cried in surprised after shoulder-flipping her teammate on the floor, "Kenichi, I'm so sorry! You know you're not supposed to be behind me!"

A weak Kenichi meekly responded, "Yeah… My bad."

"And the winner of Round 3 is Team Ryozanpaku!"

-With Naruto-

"Ah what?! I missed the match?" Naruto grumbled before lightening up. "Oh well. At least they won and it didn't take them long to win the fight." He made it to the garden area that was outside the stadium before looking around to make no one was around. Naruto lifted his right hand, activating the small white magic circle, putting it against his ear. "Michael?"

"Naruto? How good to hear from you again."

"Yeah, it's a pleasure. How was Christmas for you guys up there?"

"It was fine considering the situation we were previously in, but My Father and brethren enjoyed the feast party. You should've come." Naruto chuckled sheepishly as Michael continued speaking, "Other Angels including the Seraphim wanted to meet you, including my sister."

"Gabriel, right?"

"Yes."

"I see. Well I wanted to spend Christmas with everyone down here and hey, thanks for helping me out with the girls' gifts. They liked it." Naruto said with a smile.

"I'm glad they liked it. Although I am concerned about her."

Naruto grew serious as he knew whom the Arch Angel was referring to. "Kuroka." He couldn't lie to the Seraph since that would strain the alliance and friendship between their factions, but made him promise to not tell anyone else… except His Father.

"Yes. If the Devils and the Underworld were to know about her whereabouts, they will go after her for her crime and previous affiliation with the Khaos Brigade."

"Yeah, but I think I figured out a loophole." He could tell that Michael got more interested. "Poseidon mentioned it in passing, but a criminal may be absolved of his/her crimes if someone were to vouch for her."

"You don't mean…" Michael said in surprise as he figured out the loophole.

"Yeah, but I'll talk to you, Sirzechs and Azazel about it later; especially Sirzechs and his fellow leaders. Anyway, the real reason I called you is about the other part of the favor I asked apart from the jewels."

"I figured as much."

"Well?"

"It's taken much more effort and time considering how enormous Heaven, but we eventually tracked her down. I personally informed her of your plan and she's 100% for it." Naruto gave a firm nod as Michael continued but in a grave tone this time. "There will be consequences after this is done. It is against the rules."

Naruto nodded again before grinning, "Well technically I'm a God, so the rules don't apply to me." He chuckled before clearing his throat and became serious as his tone changed too. "I'm just joking. I know that there are consequences. I'll take full responsibility. When it starts, how much time will she have?"

"It's only been done once before, but she will only have one hour."

"That's more than enough time. Have you located the other person as well?"

"Sadly no. Not yet."

"I see… Thanks Michael. I know you had to pull a lot of strings for this and in secret if I may add." Naruto sighed as he rubbed his hair with his free hand. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Yes and we'll be waiting for your signal. Good bye."

"Bye." With that, Naruto deactivated the magic circle before walking back to the stadium, entering its massive hallways. He nodded with folded arms as he entered the box just when Kenichi and Miu sat down on the seats with a single shroud of fatigue. "Hey, congratulations you two!"

"Thanks!" Kenichi couldn't help but be happy. "It felt really easy. It was like they were in slow motion the whole time."

Raising a curious eyebrow, Naruto smirked at his younger companion. "Is that so?" A confused nod was his answer. "Then how did that psycho kid managed to land that first punch on you if he was moving in slow motion?"

That ruined Kenichi's mood as he was downtrodden with a depressed cloud hovered atop of him.

Naruto chuckled with the masters before noticing another horde of fighters entering the ring for the next round. "How many matches?" He saw Apachai held up two fingers. "Two more? Okay, I can wait that long before dinner." Unanimous nods chorused as he took his seat between Rhea and Medusa once more while Kuroka retook her previous seat on his lap. "Who wants ramen?"

A loud chorus of groans caused a huge depressed cloud above Naruto as he slouched forward with his head down.

-(10 Minutes Later)-

"Man, these fighters didn't train hard enough." Naruto said sadly after the final round of the day turned out to be disappointing. "Not one of them won this round." He looked at Miu who sported a small frown after seeing her father for the first time in a long time. "Poor Miu. She lost everything that night."

He and the rest of the Ryozanpaku party was walking the stairs with empty stomachs and the thoughts of delicious, scrumptious food just waiting for them in the main banquet hall. The masters also took this time to give Kenichi a few pointers and a lot of criticism of the fights overall.

The tournament started with 100 fighters today. Now the number rounds to 43 martial artists including that mysterious fighter with the glasses and that unknown fighting style he used in the last round. There was something about the man that Naruto couldn't help but seen before. The hidden persona… the persona of someone out for vengeance and won't stop until he's accomplished it. He'd seen this persona manifested in someone he regarded as a brother.

Hayato, seeing his granddaughter's downtrodden look, placed a hand on her shoulder with a solemn look. Naruto spared one glance at them before noticing Kenichi holding his stomach, tip-toeing side-to-side with a strained face like he was about to pop right in the middle of the hallway.

"Kenichi, what are you doing?" Naruto asked exasperated as Rhea and Medusa giggled behind him while Kuroka laughed in her own way.

"I gotta use the bathroom." Kenichi answered as if it was the obvious thing, which it was.

"… Very well." The Elder said after ridding himself of the embarrassing moment. He looked at Naruto behind him with a grin. "You go with him." Naruto's jaw became slacked by the simple order before he reluctantly nodded as he turned around with Kenichi to find the nearest bathroom.

"Hold on! I want to come with you guys!" Miu ran after her friends, quickly catching up with them.

"…"

"Well now that we're alone…" Hayato stated with a grin that matched the other masters as he looked around to see security guards around the hall after entering. "Let's pig out!"

"Hai!"

-Yami's Headquarters-

"The matches were disappointing to say the most." Saiga heard from Agaard as the larger-muscled master flexed a little, shattering his cup into pieces on his throne. The only female member in the room agreed as Kushinada rose from her throne with her arms behind her back.

"This goes to show that martial arts in the world are in grave danger if they're left in the hands of the Katsujinken." Her tone grew grave as her cold eyes narrowed slightly. "Especially in Ryozanpaku's."

Ogata chuckled loudly for everyone to hear, gaining his fellow Fists' attention and a glare from Kushinada. "I happen to think that martial arts are improving in their hands… even it is Ryozanpaku's. That boy certainly surprised me with the way he fought today."

It was true. Kenichi Shirahama was a Sei-type fighter and usually defensive to let his opponents take the first strike evidenced in his previous fights, but in today's round, he took the initiative this time and swiftly defeated a team that was at his level with Miu Furinji's help. Plus he didn't show any hesitation in any of his moves and he was so full of confidence than the last time he saw him in the forest.

"He and Furinji's granddaughter are a threat to us. They must be eliminated." Kushinada stated with finality before looking at Saiga. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No." The Furinji Style master said instantly although he was suppressing his parental urge to protect his daughter and that urge was telling him to fight her on the spot. He sent a glance at Senzui who was just sitting there motionless as the discussion was underway. "Not at all."

Senzui finally spoke for the first time. "But the biggest threat is that boy. Naruto Uzumaki." The temperature became hot as Ki flared from the masters' excitement and/or disdain, particularly Kushinada. "He must be dealt with. The fact the 'Invincible Superman' took him under his tutelage shows the enormous potential within him."

"Hahaha. His first battle today against that woman certainly showed it. He didn't even look like he was trying or better yet, he wasn't even warmed up at all." Agaard's grin grew bigger as the excitement of potentially fighting against Uzumaki began to rise. He hasn't felt this way since seeing Apachi again in the stands as both of them can give him the fight he desires.

Ogata nodded with his smirk becoming cruel. "Fortunately my disciple is in the same level as him and you all know what that means."

"So we're in agreement for tomorrow?" Stiff nods came from everyone. "Good. That leaves for Ryozanpaku's chosen disciple, Shirahama." Senzui stated, "I believe Shou will be pleased to eliminate him."

"Oh yes he will."

Saiga turned to his inner thoughts as the meeting ended before the others left the room, leaving him alone. "Father. Akisame. Miu… I'm sorry, but I'm almost there. Once this is finished, I'll come back home and I really hope you have open arms by then."

-With Naruto-

*Growl*

"I know, I know. I'm hungry too." Naruto complained as he walked with Miu and Kenichi in tow, trying to find the way back to the banquet hall. "If it wasn't for Kenichi getting us lost on the way back, we would be stuffing ourselves by now."

A depressed cloud appeared above a slumped Kenichi while he walked. "Sorry~" He meekly said as Miu tried to comfort him before pouting at Naruto.

"Whatever." Naruto responded before grinning at him and Miu. "Anyway what will you eat?" The two couldn't answer since they were interrupted by a annoying sound.

*Growl*

"What a big appetite you must have." The voice of someone sounding playful echoed in the halls.

The trio stopped in their tracks as they spotted two figures standing before them. One of them was Kabuto who was smirking at Naruto as he fixed his glasses per usual. The second figure was a teenager around Kenichi's age with long silver hair in a ponytail, sporting a blue jacket with a red dragon in the left sleeve and black sports pants. He had a mark of sorts on the left side of his face with a earring on his right ear and the most distinguishing feature was his eyes as the right eye was ice blue and the other was red.

"Kabuto."

"Naruto."

Kenichi, Miu and even Sho gulped nervously as the pressure in the hallway grew heavier while Chakra started to leak out of the more experienced warriors. After overcoming his nervous, Sho couldn't help but be impressed. "Wow. Your Ki is just as strong as Kabuto's." He stated before noticing Miu, his eyes widening as he was overtaken by her beauty. "Such purity and innocence! She's… She's…"

"Why is he looking at you like that?" Kenichi asked as he grew irritated from the way Sho looked at Miu. "I don't like it." He then noticed the pressure returned to normal before he noticed an intense glare from Sho. "What?"

Sho scoffed as he stretched his arm out to Miu. "Come with me."

"Eh?" The Ryozanpaku trio said simultaneously while tilting their bodies to the side.

"You don't need to stay with these bugs." He ignored the glare from Kenichi but grew slightly nervous when Naruto simply stared at him. "You and I belong to a higher plane than them. I can protect you unlike him." By 'him', he meant Kenichi. When he saw that he wasn't convincing her, Sho played his trump card. "I can take you to your father."

Miu's eyes widen in surprise. Bingo.

"I can take you to him. You'll be reunited with him and together we will conquer the world with Satsujinken. No one will stop us." Sho declared while Kabuto stayed silent but still had that smug smirk. "Come with me."

Kenichi and Naruto looked at Miu whose eyes were shadowed as she pondered about this. She wanted to see her father up close and personal. She really wanted to, but something else is telling her 'no'. She was so confused as to why, but something told her to look to her left and she did.

A concerned Kenichi was there, staring right at her. Her eyes widened as she remembered his words long ago.

"As long as I'm… breathing… I'll always… protect you… Miu. I promise."

Sho was shocked when tears fell from Miu's eyes before she wiped them away as she shook her head. "Why?" He asked in an almost-demanding tone. He caught her gaze on the clueless Kenichi before she cried and grew angrier. "Because of him?"

"Eh?" Kenichi said with a tilted head. His face grew serious when Sho leaked out his Ki, prompting him to release his Ki as well. "Let's settle this tomorrow."

"Fine by me. Your death will herald the end of the Katsujinken." Sho swiftly left them with Kabuto following suit but not before the latter sent one last smug smirk at the taller blonde.

Naruto simply hummed before he placed a hand on Kenichi's shoulder, telling him to keep his Ki in check. "Remember what I said about prodigies and hard workers?" Kenichi didn't look at him but he gave a nod. "Then you know what to do right?"

"Hai."

The seriousness and tension from the encounter was broken by an unwelcome sound.

*Growl*

"Ugh. But first we got to eat." Naruto said with his hands favoring his stomach.

Kenichi and Miu nodded before following Naruto back to the banquet hall. As they were walking, Miu sneaked several glances at Kenichi who was talking to Naruto about Kabuto. She didn't know why, but she felt her cheeks heat up before cupping her face. "Kenichi…"