Phantom of the Underworld - Chapter 10 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Highschool DxD or any other anime I use in this story.

Arc II- The White Empress

Chapter 10- Downfall of the Spirals

Previously on 'Phantom'

"Kabuto Yakushi." The spiral masked-man responded, "Arguing with you now will only weaken our side." He stated.

"What do you mean?" The snake-like man asked.

"So be it. We will join forces with you." The man assured. "But on the condition that I hand Naruto over to you after my plans have been realized. You will not be allowed to see Naruto until then. I will reformulate my plans after I confirm your battle strength." 'Madara' told the snake-like man.

"Now tell me… what do you know of Naruto Uzumaki?" The masked man asked.

Kabuto Yakushi smiled, and it was an eerie one at that.

XXX

"Are you insinuating that I killed both my parents and my entire clan?" Naruto glared back.

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Ajuka affirmed.

Naruto's hand shook, not from the gazes of five of the strongest devils to ever exist, but in rage.

He took a calming breath, thought long and hard on what to say.

And then he finally spoke…

XXX

Naruto stared at the possible exists within the room, there were no windows, and only a single door, which was guarded by Grayfia. That wasn't even taking in the fact that there were all four Maou within the room. In certain conditions he might be able to take out Serafall or Falbuim. But he knew he didn't stand a chance against Ajuka or Sirzechs just yet. And that wasn't even taking in the fact that he would need to face all four if he wanted to leave.

Of course, he could always use Kamui to escape, but that was a something he'd rather avoid. In doing so he would be making a enemy out of the Maou. Not to mention incriminate himself for failure to listen to a Maou. Something he could do.

So for now he's play their game.

He'd suspected something like this once he had been greeted by Grayfia.

And then, he finally spoke...

But no words came.

Instead, a roar of laughter erupted from his mouth. "Hahahaha." He chuckled, causing the Maou to look at him in shock.

Ajuka gritted his teeth, "you think this is funny?" He questioned .

"Of course I do," Naruto nodded, "You already have an official report of the incident with Kakashi, do you not?" He questioned back, as he sat down in the remaining chair at the table.

If Ajuka wanted to rile him up, it wasn't working.

"We do," Sirzechs nodded, "but we felt it was necessary to hear your perspective on the matter. "He told him.

"I assumed as much" Naruto commented. "But, it was a long time ago, I barely remember the event." He tried to dodge the questions.

"You better start remembering Uzumaki." Ajuka ordered.

"Even so." Sirzechs sighed at his friend's attitude, "would you be so kind as to tell us what you do remember so we can get this matter settled ." He wasn't like Ajuka, who had let his own personal bias on the 'Indra' get the better of him.

In fact, he actually knew the boy when he was younger. And, at the time, he was a kind young boy, who cared about his family to the bitter end.

The information they had of the event was too incomplete, and there were no other known survivors of the event.

But, with the information they had now, there were only able to come to once conclusion on that night...

There was a third party, and the only one with the actual information on the subject was currently in this room, right now.

"Well, "Naruto started, "if it's an order from 'the Maou', I should oblige."

"But I won't tell you..." Naruto finished, as he closed his eyes. And as Ajuka was about to order him to answer, Sirzechs held up his hand.

Naruto opened his eyes, with a red-pointed star with a six-pointed pentagram and a dot in the middle kaleidoscope-like design spinning rapidly.

"I'll show you."

XXX

Uzumaki Mansion

Flashback (8 years ago)

It was a night not unlike any other. The Guards were doing their routine rounds around the building.

When abruptly, a black vortex appeared on the outskirts of the estate. And out of the vortex stepped out a man. Covered in a strange cloak. And his face was covered, wearing a mask with a peculiar spiral-like design, and its main color was a bright orange.

As he walked through the building, he made no move to conceal himself, but in the odd way he walked, it was as if he were a phantom, left to haunt the occupants within the building. And it didn't take long for him to be spotted by a Uzumaki clan member on his routine patrol.

"Halt! There's an intruder within the building!" A nearby guard shouted, alerting other guards within the area that there was an intruder.

And it was only then that the masked man rushed at the guard who had spotted him. But any attempt the guard made to defend himself were rendered useless. It was if the man had passed I'm his hand right through the guard's weapon.

The intruder quickly angled his hand forward, directly into the guard's chest. And within an instant a shower of blood erupted from the guard's body as he collapsed onto the ground in pain. And with all the blood loss and internal damage to his body, the guard would surely not be long in this world.

But surprisingly, there wasn't a speck of blood on his clothing.

The intruder just stared out at the remaining guards within the area, counting.

XXX

Unaware of what was going on the other side of the estate, Naruto and his family sat at a large dinner table in comfortable silence.

Joining them was Minato's very own student, Kakashi Hatake of the Hatake clan, a clan which has served the Uzumaki clan since its founding many years ago.

Kakashi was a man with large spiky gravity-defying silver hair that was oriented to the left. While wore a peculiar black face mask that covered the bottom half of his face along with a headband with a silver plate that was angled to cover his left eye.

"So, Naruto? I hear you've been spending a lot of time at Rias's, anything happen that we need to know about?" Kushina asked, with a teasing glint in her eye.

Naruto blushed a little, remembering the small kiss Rias had given him on the cheek. While it had been short as it may have been, it had been all he could think about. "N-No… everything's good." He stuttered out.

Minato smiled, playing along with his wife's games, "well, isn't that good to hear."

Naruto nodded, trying to reign in his emotions.

Truthfully, within the past few years they had been very busy, rarely making time for him. They rarely got to spend time together like this.

That was probably why he spent a majority of his free time at Rias's house. When they weren't focusing on their studies of course.

Schoolwork sure sucked.

But recently, his parents had been acting strange as of late. They've been having lots of visitors at strange hours, and they've always seemed to be swamped with work. Actually, this had actually been one of the few times he had seen his parents this month.

Don't get him wrong, he loved his parents more than anything. But he just wished he could help them more often.

It was then that the silence in the room had been broken, courtesy of one Kakashi Hatake. With the familiar sound of perverted gigling. Kushina's hair began to twist violently into nine swirling tails.

"Ka-ka-shi!" It was then that Kakashi had realized his mistake at not being as discreet as he might have liked. He had been so swamped with work he barely had any time to read his precious icha-icha.

Meanwhile Minato and Naruto laughed at the scene, happy to not have been the target of Kushina's ire.

XXX

Elsewhere in the mansion

"M-m-m-monster!" A red haired man shouted as he was pierced through the stomach, resulting in another shower of blood permeating the air. And yet again, the spiral masked man seemingly had no blood staining his clothing.

He just went on the look for his next target.

A projectile made its way towards his head, courtesy of a Uzumaki whose death was now imminent. But just like others before it, this projectile passed right through him as if he weren't even there. But unlike before, this projectile was an odd tri-pronged kunai.

And, as it hit the ground, the Uzumaki clan member died, taking solace in that fact.

XXX

Abruptly, Minato stood up, surprise evident on his visage, causing his chair to crash onto the floor, startling the other occupants in the room. Although it inadvertently saved Kakashi from a beat down.

"Kagami's seal just went off." Minato stated.

Minato had given a few of his kunai with seal to various members of the Uzumaki clan during the war. They were only meant to be used when they were in dire need of help.

Kushina looked at him in surprise. "But he's in the mansion… right now ." She knew that for a fact, as she had seen her fellow clan member just minutes before coming to this dinner.

The two shared a look, they both knew that if someone were to activate one of his Hiraishin kunai, that it was an emergency.

But if his seal went off, and he was in the mansion…

For when their life was on the line that meant…that someone else was in the mansion. It was the only explanation.

An intruder.

But the mansion had numerous seals along the halls to stop such a thing. Not to mention, some of the strongest members of their clan as guards for the mansion. Along with all of their other clan members within these very walls.

How could someone get into the mansion that easily?

"Minato go!" Kushina told him, and her husband nodded.

"Protect Naruto." He told her, as he vanished within a bright yellow flash.

'Don't worry, I will' she told her self.

"Kaa-San? What's happening?" Naruto spoke, gauging his parents reactions, he could tell something was not right.

But Kushina and Kakashi could only stare at the child, not entirely knowing the answer to his question.

XXX

(With Minato)

The scene minato come to see… was Kagami.

He was a fairly handsome looking man with the Uzumaki clan's signature crimson-red hair. Although now… it was stained red for a different reason, as it was stained with blood. A lot of blood, as his body laid lifeless on the floor around him.

And he was surrounded by a multitude of others who had met a similar fate. Lying in pools of their own blood with hand-sized holes in their stomach, chest and even some on what was left of their heads.

This resembled a many of the battlefields during the Great War he had had personally witnessed.

But this was different. Instead of the many dead bodies of soldiers of both sides, this was only the Uzumaki.

There wasn't a battle, there wasn't a struggle. No… this was a massacre.

A presence in his peripherals made itself known, a man with an orange spiral mask. "Hey! We really should talk." He told him.

It was with no surprise when a kunai made its way through the air, thrown quickly by Minato's hand. Minato sent an icy-glare at the man. The message was clear…

Someone was going to die tonight.

XXX

Boom!

The whole mansion shook as Kushina dragged Naruto through the halls, with Kakashi following closely behind.

"Kaa-San, thats father magic." Naruto pointed out, and he was right. He knew that magic signature from anywhere, and even if he wasn't a sensor, he could feel the large magical pressure his father was releasing.

"I'm sure he will be fine, this is your father after all." His mother tried to reassure him, but he could tell that she wasn't so sure of her own words.

Boom!

Another explosion racked the halls. And Kushina could only wonder what was going on.

Was her husband alright? What about the rest of her family?

Whatever the case, they needed to get to the safe room within the mansion, and that's where they were heading now.

But she couldn't shake this feeling, that somewhere, in the deep recesses of her mind, she knew that things wouldn't be alright after this night.

All the while, she heard the sound of her husband's battle around them.

But as she cast a sidelong glance at her son. All her doubts and trepidations . As she looked at his worried and confused expression, she would come to realize that it didn't matter… just as long as he survived.

She loved her son, more than anything. And she knew that he would bring the Uzumaki clan to new heights. She needed to protect him, it was her job.

She was his mother after all.

Kushina steeled her resolve.

Stopping their descent down the halls. Naruto looked at her confusedly, but she just pulled her son close, relishing the moment for as long as she could.

How she longed to give him a well thought out speech; on how he should eat his vegetables, or listen to his teachers, or finding the right woman to love. Although, she did kind of help him with that.

Oh Maou! Was he going to have multiple wives? She had no doubt he would grow up to be handsome, and all those floozies would love to get their grimy hands on her son. But that also meant more grandchildren. Oh how she'd love to smother them all.

Perhaps… in another life.

She looked him straight in his eyes, a multitude of expressions running across her visage.

"Naruto… A-always rember, no matter what you do. I-I love you, more than anything, that will never change."

That would be her final message to him.

As Naruto stared into his mother's eye he saw many emotions flash across her face. Confusion, worry, anger, sadness, but then… there was another emotion. One he couldn't place.

Just what was his mother feeling?

And it was then that her eyes began to change, morphing into their clan's prized bloodline. Two crimson-red tomoed eyes spun violently, casting a small genjutsuto force him into a deep slumber.

Right into his mother's arms.

Silently, she handed her son's limp body to kakashi, who could only noded, understanding the pleading message she gave within her eyes.

"That should keep him out for a while. You won't have enough time to use a magic circle to teleport out of here. Take him to this room… It's a safe room within the building. It has the most defense and security seals within the entire mansion. It will protect you from the damage were about to inflict." She told him as she ran after where she knew her husband would be.

All the while, Kakashi had a similar feeling, and he knew, that things were not going to end well.

XXX

Boom!

An explosion rocked the mansion.

'My attack went right through him' Minato realized, as there was a momentary halt within their battle.

As, not even a second later, the masked man reappeared within a black spiral, but this time, he noticed how the man was now wearing a set of chains connected to his wrists.

'What was that jutsu?' Minato thought. 'Is that how he was able to get past the highest level classified barriers around within the building.'

"Who are you?" Minato demanded .

"Hmm… if I told you, that would ruin the whole point of wearing a mask, wouldn't it?" The man dodged the question.

And, on another silent signal, the two rushed at each other once again. Minato stabbed the man in the chest, but it was no surprise when his attack passed right through him. As the masked man used the opportunity to wrap him around in his chains. But he was able to quickly flash away towards a nearby kunai to gain some much needed distance.

'I have to aim for a mutual stirike, percisely timed. Whoever attacks an instant quicker than the other… will win this match.'Minato thought, coming up with a much needed plan, as he readied his kunai for another confrontation.

They both rushed towards each other, minato threw his blade towards the man's head, which unsurprisingly, went through the man as of he weren't there once again. While simultaneously, he readied a Rasenganin his right hand. All the while, the masked man's grasp was inching ever closer towards Minato's chest.

Whoever landed the first blow would prove to be the victor within this match.

'I win!' The masked man thought, as his hand was a hair's breadth away from Minato's arm. But instantaneously, Minato disappeared within a yellow flash, and teleported right above the man. Ramming his Rasenganonto the man's back, he expected a large explosion below.

But his attack didn't land.

Instead, his attack went right through him once again. As he had the same technique he used before.

As the man quickly turned, using Minato's surprise to try to land a hit on the Yellow flash.

And all Minato could do was watch, as the man's hand inched closer. He tried to maneuver out of the way, but he had sacrificed that luxury when he sent himself flying within the air.

How could he be so foolish?

He had bet everything on his plan to work. Not even planning for if the man would anticipate his next move… and now he was paying the price.

As the hand inched closer, he could only think about one thing… his family.

How would they react to his death? Naruto? Kushina? How would they feel that he'd just disappeared on them?

He didn't even get to say goodbye.

He expected pain, and shower of blood, a similar fate like the uzumaki clan members before him.

But the pain never came, instead , he heard the distinct sound of metal slashing through air. But that wasn't quite right. More accurately, a sword passing through the masked man's head.

"I hope you didn't forget about me, Y'know (Dattabane)!" The newcomer shouted, as the masked man used this opportunity to gain some distance, and reevaluate the situation.

"Well, if it isn't the one they call the Red Habanero?" The masked man stated.

And there she was, with her crimson locks framing her face, in a new battle attire that she had previously sealed on her person, and wielding a new sword the distinct color of blood, and a handle as dark as the night sky.

"Kushina?" Minato exclaimed in surprise.

"Kakashi has Naruto." Kushina answered the unasked question, not taking her eyes off the masked intruder. "Let's take this guy down, Dattabane!" She told him, unconsciously using her verbal tick.

Minato nodded, readying himself for another confrontation.

"Thanks for the information, it makes my job easier."

XXX

(With Naruto)

As Kakashi held the knocked out Naruto on his shoulder, he could see he neared the room that Kushina talked about. He could see the seals lining the walls within the room, along with the door.

"Kak...ashi" Naruto muttered. And Kakashi was surprised that Naruto was even conscious at the moment.

"Kakashi… Where's Mother?" Naruto asked, trying to regain some of his senses. "What happened to Mother?" He asked once again.

Kakashi didn't know what to do, should he put Naruto in another Genjutsu? How did he escape the first one? It should have put him asleep for a few hours, so why hadn't it?So many questions, but he did end up answering Naruto's, "Kushina went to help Minato-sensei. That's where they are, fighting right now."

"I…see…" Naruto stated, as he held his head low, understanding the situation. "Ka…kashi?" He questioned, gaining even more of the scarecrow's attention.

Boom!

Naruto slammed a fully-powered Rasengandirectly into Kakashi's chest, knocking the man into the adjacent wall within the room.

Taking the silver-haired man fully by surprise.

As the man regained his senses, he was met with the visage of Naruto, with his three spinning tomoe, standing at the door.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that." Naruto told him as he sealed off the room .

As he channeled magic on the door , fully sealing it shut. The seals around and within the room were meant to withstand the high-magic attacks that Devils weren't known to produce. Once activated, the seals within the room were meant to keep an intruder from entering. It also had the added effect of keeping someone locked within for a little while. Now, an Uzumaki, like Himself, was able to circumvent this with their vast knowledge of seals

Sadly, Kakashi wasn't an Uzumaki, and even though his father might've taught him a few things about seals. But even so, that gave him time… time he desperately needed.

He rushed towards where he felt his father's magic signature from earlier. All the while, he was thinking about a particular feeling of foreboding.

XXX

The longer he journeyed on, the more the feeling of trepidation overtook him. He just couldn't escape the feeling that something bad was going to happen. That, on this day would change his life forever, and knew that it would be for the worse.

The longer he went on the less the explosions occurred . Many of the Mansion's walls had collapsed due to the sheer amount of magical pressure his parents exerted, and all the techniques they had used. Now, the building resembled more of an unfinished construction site more than the luxurious mansion it had once been.

But still, he journeyed onward.

It was dark, darker than it had been before. Just how long ago had it been since he and his parents were peacefully eating dinner?

The distinct smell of iron fully came toward his senses. And he felt a cold chill running up and down his spine. And he knew why that smell was so bone chilling.

Because it was also the smell of… blood.

And that distinct, lustrous, life-giving liquid was all around him. Along with the bodies and limbs the pools of red liquid had once flowed through. The smell was so intoxicating that he almost wanted to throw up.

He rushed towards each of the bodies, and each one he recognized. They were; his uncles, his cousins, his aunts… his family.

But it didn't matter who they were, because their lifeless bodies just laid sprawled out on the floor. Like a dirty rag that one had left unattended.

Each was a member of his clan. And each was a soul that weighed heavily on his mind, until he reached a particular body…

His heart skipped a beat.

It was a woman. She at one point in time had been beautiful. But now, she had a sword impaled through her stomach, a very particular sword, with a crimson blade and midnight black handle. And he recognized that hair anywhere.

'no, no, No, No, NO!

That was impossible, it couldn't be, it couldn't!'

He turned the body over, uncaring of the blood that now covered his hands. Time froze, the color seemed to fade from the room, and a cold chill ran through his entire body.

'I don't understand…'

This couldn't be… his mother couldn't be dead,she wouldn't leave him like this.

But no matter how many times he tried to push her awake, she refused to move.

XXX

"Well, is this just a tragic little scene?" A voice called out, and in an instant, Naruto whipped his head in the direction of where the voice came from.

It was a man.

He was dressed in a black cloak, with a distinct red cloud-like design and an orange spiral-like mask upon his face.

"Wh-who are you?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" The man asked, "I'm the person who did all this." He answered, as if it were the most monotonous thing he had done that day.

Naruto held his head down low, causing his eyes to become shadowed by his hair.

"You…you killed my mother… didn't you?" He asked, and it was a fact they both knew was true.

"I did, sadly she couldn't even dance properly." He said, as he looked over at the red-headed woman's mutilated corpse, before shaking his head in dissatisfaction. "Such a shame."

"And my father?" Naruto enquired, as he stared at his mother's stilledform.

"Oh him? He's somewhere around here. Although he's in about as good of a condition as your mother." The man answered, indulging the boy.

Naruto felt a burning flame in his chest so hot that he hadn't felt anything like it before. If he had to place it to a similar feeling; he'd say it was a feeling similar to when he'd saved Rias in the Familiar Forest, or the shadow that had tried to attack Rias in the night.

But those feelings felt minuscule when compared to how he felt now… and all of it was directed at this man.

"Such a shame really, and I thought they would've lasted far longer.

But guess their skills have filled into these past few years. And, in the end… were truly pathetic." He goaded, adding fuel to Naruto's burning rage.

But the masked man felt like stoking the flame some more. "Oh How the mighty yellow flash has fallen. I doubt those who honored him so much would, praise his last performance. In the end, your father was truly pitiful. He-" The man's provocations were interrupted.

As Naruto rushed towards the masked individual, his Rasengan'spale blue glow being the only thing that lightened up the dark room.

However, the masked man easily dodged his assault, outstretching his hand for a simple counterattack. As he had done for countless others of his clan.

But instead of his hand going straight through him like others before him. The man just sent a swift punch to his solar plexus, stopping his attack. Before quickly thrusting a violent kick to his stomach, knocking the wind right out of him and sending him careening back.

"That attack, it was your father's, was it not?" the man asked, recognizing the attack from his previous battle.

"How could you expect such a technique to defeat me if your father wasn't able to pull such a thing off."

Meanwhile Naruto just laid there, on the floor. Performing an odd mixture of gasping for air and coughing up blood from the two violent blows. Absent-mindedly, he could feel his insides slowly healing from the attack.

The world just seemed so dark, withdrawn from the color he once knew. It was like the light within his life had been snuffed out. It was like this was all a dream…No! A nightmare, one he would never wake up from. But he knew that that wasn't true, that deep within his psyche, when he would come to wake up the following morning, he would come to realize that this whole ordeal was nothing but his new reality.

And honestly… he just felt numb. Like his reality hadn't set in properly just yet.

"I… I don't understand…Why? Why did you do All of this." Naruto whispered, lifting his head up slightly to look at the man, although his eyes were still shadowed.

"Why?" The man hummed, "hmm, that is an interesting question, well I suppose…" and Naruto could feel the man's small smirk behind his mask. "I did this because of you." The man answered.

"M-me?" Naruto questioned in shock.

"Yes, you, this has always been about you." The man answered.

"Do you even realize how much power you have within your eyes?" The masked individual questioned, but he received no answer. "Of course you don't, such power does not belong in the hands of a child." He stated.

So that was it! All of this, all this destruction, all this needless slaughter… his parents lives. All of it was for his stupid eyes! Well, if this man wanted his eye… he'd show him just how powerful they really were!

"I've been needing a new set of eyes." The man held his hand over his covered left eye. "I've lost this one a while ago, and I might as well replace this one while I'm at it." The man stated, as if it were just a menial chore.

"Now, let's get on with it, shall we?" The man asked, as he began to slowly walk towards Naruto.

But the boy, in a moment of harsh clarity, and the knowledge that, as of right now, he didn't stand a chance against this man. He jumped back, to the other side of the room, right near his mother's corpse once again. But not before grabbing the crimson blade that had been impaled within his mother.

He looked up for the first time in their entire conversation, showing his eyes, but instead of the three tomoe he may have expected to see in his reflection . His eyes had morphed into a six pointed star, with a pentagram like structure in the middle.

And he spoke one final sentence as he gazed at the man of his eternal ire.

"Begone..,within the flames of my despair."

"Amaterasu!"

And with that final word, the entire building would soon be engulfed within a sea of black flames.

But, for only a second, it was if he saw the man disappear… within a black spiral.

XXX

Present

Naruto's eyes finally closed.

And, in an instant, they were returned to the room they had been in.

But in truth, they had never really left.

That left the Maou to marvel at the illusion Naruto had used, it was quite powerful, although had they really wanted, they could have released it without too much difficulty.

"…and that's how I remember it." Naruto stated, and there was a silence within the room.

"Sniff… sniff" Serafall cried, as crocodile tears fell from her eyes, causing the other Maou to look at her strangely.

"What!… it was just so sad!" She reasoned.

"Be that as it may, it leaves a lot to be determined." Sirzechs said.

"Yes… quite a convinent story, I might add." Ajuka stated, as he looked straight at the resident Uzumaki.

Naruto titled his head in confusion, "and what would you like me to do about it?" He asked, "You only know as much as I do." He stated.

"But how do we know you're even telling the truth, there certainly isn't any evidence left for us to check, you certainly made sure of that fact." Ajuka stated.

Naruto snorted, "Easy. You can simply ask Kakashi to verify the story, I'm sure you've already read his report on that night."

"Verification of this story aside." Falbium interjected, speaking for the first time during this meeting. "I'm more concerned about this masked man within your story."

"It is indeed quite troubling." The Lucifer nodded. "We currently have no certainty of this man's motives, nor his identity" Sirzechs turned towards Naruto. "Are you sure you haven't left anything out?"

Naruto shook his head, "I have a few theories but nothing concrete as to who that man's identity is. But I have no doubt that the man survived, he was strong enough to kill my father after all."

"I expected as much." Sirzechs sighed, but he instantly changed his mood as he clapped his hands together. "Well? Why don't you head home, it's been a long night for you," he told Naruto, sporting a comforting smile.

"Wh-what? Sirzechs, we still have much to discuss, you can't possibly let him leave now." Ajuka argued, but Sirzechs gaze firmly shot him down.

"You're right, we do 'have much to discuss'" Sirzechs repeated, "However Naruto has done what we've asked of him, and now it's time for us to reflect on what we have learned. So, Naruto, you may leave."

"And besides," he turned towards Naruto, "I don't think you want to keep my little sister waiting." He said with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Naruto ignored the look and nodded, he knew the man was really just wanting him to leave so they could talk about what they've just learned. And if a Maou asked you to do something, it was in your best interest to listen to them.

So, he'd plan along… for now anyways.

XXX

Sirzechs had a small smile as he leaned back in his chair.

Ajuka turned toward him, with a frustrated look on his face. "Sirzechs, what the hell!" The Maou asked, acting totally off character from his usual composed self.

Sirzechs stared back at his normally calm friend with an amused expression on his face. "You know, Ajuka, I'm not so sure what I know what you mean."

Ajuka's eye twitched, "you know exactly what I mean," he argued.

"Naruto's story matched up with the story we'd received from Kakashi right after the Uzumaki clan fell." Sirzechs added, "I saw no reason to keep him here any longer."

And as their eyes met it was as if the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees.

But as quick as the change came it had subsided.

"Ajuka, don't you think you're letting your own personal feelings on this matter influence your thinking?" Sirzechs asked, and —after a long pause— he was met with an answer.

"Maybe," the Green Satan relented, " But know as well as I do what he's capable of." He reasoned.

Sirzechs caught what he was referring to, and nodded. "I do, which is why I know he can be a powerful asset in the years to come." He reasoned back.

"You can't really believe that, after what the last one did?" Ajuka told him.

"I do." Sirzechs affirmed.

The two stared at each other for a while, before Ajuka asked tithe unasked questions.

" How can you be so sure? How can you trust him so easily?" Ajuka asked.

"It does seem rather puzzling." Falbium interjected, who had previously been watching the entire conversation before him.

And the other, bubbly, Maou nodded in agreement.

Sirzechs sat in silence, before he finally raised an eyebrow. "What ever gave you that impression? I trust in his work, that is all. But Naruto Uzumaki is still an unknown. A mystery, one I fully intend to uncover." He said fingering the previously used business card.

"I just thought we should stop pressuring him. It would get us nowhere, after all."

XXX

He was fine.

Reliving that awful night hadn't effected him as much as you might expect .

He was going to be okay, he was over it.

He had made peace with it long ago.

So… why?

Why the hell was his hand shaking?

XXX

New Uzumaki mansion

After the building's destruction, which was partially his fault, the Uzumaki mansion had been rebuilt. Officially, it was to be a monument of sorts to the fallen Uzumaki clan. But, with his reappearance, people will believe the actual reason was for it to be a proper place to live once he re-emerged.

These reasons were both false.

The real reason for the reconstruction of the building served one purpose… it was a decoy. Similar to how it was when he mother had been clan leader. But in reality he had several safe houses scattered across several dimensions.

Now, owning several pieces of property was nothing new for a devil family, with many clans having several vacation homes in luxurious areas. But his purposes were different.

Because instead of luxury he was after something else… security.

If any of his plans failed, or he just needed a place to go to for whatever reason. He could always go to one of his many safe houses.

While many would just assume his main place of residence was just in the allotted portion of the underworld owned by the Uzumaki clan.

It also helped that he had an official address. That meant gaining allies would be much easier because they knew where he would be.

It was a win-win for everyone.

XXX

Naruto's office within the New Uzumaki mansion

Naruto's office was a standard office, considering he had rarely used it. With a desk, a window he could look out when he needed to think, a few bookshelves with books he might read occasionally. Along with a few small couches and chairs with a small table he would use to talk with guests.

That was the image he was greeted by once he appeared within the room from a black spiral. Well that… and an orange Fox, laying lazily on his couch.

"Kurama." He greeted, as he sat down at his desk.

The fox just opened one of its eyes lazily. "So, how was your meeting with the Underworld's very own 'leaders'" Kurama drawled.

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing I couldn't handle, they asked me the expected questions and I answered most of them truthfully."

Kurama raised an eyebrow, something which he didn't entirely know was possible for a canine. "And you would lie to your Maou so easily ?" He asked.

Naruto scoffed at the statement, but explained himself. "I didn't lie to them, I just didn't exactly tell them everything they wanted to hear."

"About the masked man?" Kurama concluded.

"Yes," Naruto answered. " I neglected to inform them of one simple detail."

But now that he knew all he knew, he had come to one conclusion. That 'that man', the man who had both massacred his family and killed off his parents… was an Uchiha.

It was the only explanation for why his prowess with what he now knew had been the sharingan was so high. To the extent that, only a descendant of Indra Otsutsuki could pull it off.

And honest… that was what made him so dangerous.

He looked through the new documents that had reached his desk.

Since the time of his resurfacing into the underworld he had received a large influx of paperwork. That was something he could deal with, given enough time.

Paperwork aside his assimilation back into the underworld had run smoothly. While it wasn't exactly common, during times of war clans would sometimes hide away an Heir from the public for a certain amount of time for a number of reasons. Although the main reasons were to prepare the heir for his duties as clan and to temporarily hide the heir from their enemies.

And, to the Underworld, that has been exactly what Kakashi had done.

Protect that clan heir while getting him ready for his duties as the sole member of the illustrious Uzumaki Clan.

"So…" Kurama started. " I heard you ordered Haku to recall your peerage recently."

"It's necessary for my plans to commence." Naruto told him, as he flipped through another stack of papers. "Although some might take some time to arrive given what they are currently doing." He added as an afterthought.

"Does that include your [Queen]?" Kurama asked.

Naruto flinched at the question. "I… I suppose it does." He answered honestly.

Kurama shook his head. "You know, youreally need to talk to her."

"You don't think I know that?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "I haven't seen her in months. Every time I tried to message her, she wouldn't even respond." He sighed.

How did his relationship with his Queen end up like this?

Although, he supposed it had been his fault.

He and his Queen had been together for a while. He had come across her while on a mission, like many of his other peerage members. But when he found her, she was just like him, lost and alone. So he took her in, and she became his family, the only person he had left.

But after the… incident, their relationship begin to change.

It started off small, with their conversations becoming shorter, but then she started to disappear more often. And now? Well he rarely spoke to her.

Of course, he was the only one to blame for his current situation.

Kurama sensed Naruto irritation of the way the conversation was going, so he quickly changed the subject.

"That Bael you worked with did the act well." The fox mused.

"He did." Naruto agreed, happy for the change in subjects." It's to be expected, and truthfully, I think he just really wants to fight me." He chuckled..

Kurama grinned, he was looking forward to seeing their fight.

While Naruto thought about his recent 'surprise meeting' with the two estranged Bael.

XXX

Underworld- Bael Territory Outskirts

Flashback (about two days ago)

Misla Bael, formerly of the Vapula Clan, one of the remaining 72 pillars. She was eventually married into the Bael clan, being one of the wives of the clan head, to The Great King of the Underworld. And eventually, their marriage had led to a similar path that most relationships come across. She had given birth to her husband's first born son. And her life had been filled with nothing but luxury.

However, that all changed after it was discovered that her son, Sairorg Bael, didn't have the ability to produce any devil magic whatsoever. This eventually led to her and her son to be ostracized by her fellow devils and clan members. It even got to the point that they had been relocated to the edge of the Bael territory altogether.

But, honestly, she didn't care.

Misla Bael loved her son, and she had faith that he would go far in the underworld… it was tragic that he would have to walk that path without her.

Misla is a beautiful woman who had long brown hair and purple eyes.

However, in the more recent years, her health started to decline. Her skin was grew paler, her sleep hours began to get diminish, ironic given what she had contracted, and her eyes had grown darkened rings around them.

But that had been nothing that couldn't be hidden with some makeup and some carefulscheduling, at least it had been.

The doctors said she had contracted a type of sleep disease. Something that, at the moment, had no lasting cure. And eventually , she would fall into a deep coma, where her body would give out and eventually… She would die.

She had yet to tell Sairaorg.

But if she had one regret… it was not being there for her son.

Her son was growing into a fine young man these days. And she needed to ease her son into the two thought of living without her.

But right now… she would enjoy some of her last moments in the night alone, with a cup of tea on her balcony to think and stars within the night sky. An activity she had frequented during the last few years. Something which had only increased in the amount of times since her doctor's diagnosis.

So she went to the kitchen and made herself a particular blend of tea, not wanting to bother a butler with such a mundane task. If she were quite honest, she would say she had gotten pretty good at making tea since her time within the Bael clan.

And then she made her way to her room.

As she opened her door and entered her room…she'd spotted a figure.

Wearing a blue fur-line cloak with a white porcelain Fox mask.

"Hey! We really should talk." He told her.

And in her surprise at the intruder, she accidentally dropped the porcelain glass that had previously been within her grasp.

Crash

End Chapter.