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"Normal speech" people talking.

'Normal thought' people thinking.

"Kurama/Dragons" Kurama or Dragons speaking.

'Kurama/Dragon thought' Kurama or Dragons thinking.

"Jutsu/ Magic" is being used.

Once again, Merry Christmas.

Enjoy.

Shadow Light

Chapter 26

Familiar Forest

Astaroth Territory

"My lord, I found a person who fits your requirements perfectly," said Cheado, bowing.

"Well done, Cheado. Tell me, where is she and what does she do?" Asked Diodara in interest.

"Her name is Asia Argento and she was found in front of a church as an infant and was raised there. She had awakened her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing in an incident when she healed an injured puppy.

It was witnessed by one of the Catholic Church members and she became the Holy Maiden. She is very kind and a bit shy. I think she suits your purpose well, my lord," said Cheado and gave Diodara a photo.

The photo has a pretty young girl with long blonde hair and kind green eyes. Her hair flowing all the way down to her back, with split bangs over her forehead and a single strand sticking out from the top and sloping backwards.

Her attire consisted of a dark teal nun outfit with light blue accents, a white veil over her head with light blue accents, a brown satchel slung on her right hip with a Bible, and brown boots with black straps in an X-shaped pattern. She also wore a silver cross necklace around her neck.

She has a kind and gentle look about her that gave great satisfaction to Diodara. He smiled vilely at the photo.

"Good. You did a great job, Cheado. Do you have any more information about-" Diodora stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh my, what is this. I didn't think you were this foolish, Cheado. You have a tail? How could you not take care of that?" Asked Diodora in a disappointed tone as he slit Cheado's throat and shot a demonic blast from where he sensed the spy.

"Escaped? No matter. I made sure to kay enough traps for any intruders. Now, Cheado, how could you be so careless while coming here? Didn't I tell you that I won't tolerate any such behaviour?" Diodora asked about the lifeless body of Cheado.

"Now I should find her myself. This is going to delay things," he said loudly in a displeased tone and went back to his duties.

Kuroka was just hair's breadth away from being trapped when an orange magic circle teleported her to a safe location, which is Naruto's house in Lilith. She called the blonde in haste to inform him what happened.

'Naruto? Can you hear me?' Asked Kuroka taking large gulps of air.

'Yes. What happened? Did someone attack you?' Asked Naruto, his tone taking a sharp edge.

'No. I found who is searching for the blonde witch.'

'Oh? Who would that be?'

'Astaroth. Diodora Astaroth. Heir to Astaroth Clan.' breathed Kuroka.

'Isn't it interesting? What else did you find?' Naruto asked and Kuroka explained everything that happened in the Astaroth territory. Naruto heard everything carefully.

After hearing everything, his blood boiled. How can he allow an innocent girl's life to be thrown away for a twisted pleasure of a Devil?

'So he is into nuns and Holy Maidens, huh. Quite a twisted character he had. Hmm, what to do?' Asked Naruto.

'Whatever you do, don't harm him now.' She said, finally getting a hang of herself.

'Why are you breathing heavily? Did you fall for his traps for something?' Asked Naruto.

'Something like that. Your magic circle brought me here in time. I can't imagine what that twisted filthy bastard does to me if I were to be found,' she said in relief.

'Don't worry. All my magic circles are equipped with safety protocols that take the concerned party to a safe location or to me,' assured Naruto.

'Yea. Seeing it in action is a great thing. Ok. The matter is, Diodora is currently holding talks with Khaos Brigade and can prove to be valuable to them as he is an Heir and the Opd Satan Faction is eager to have him.

If you kill him now, they may smell something wrong in their plans or sniff a mole and change their plans. We can't have that as this is being planned for 3 years.' She explained.

'Yes. That is true. That is one of the reasons why I didn't reincarnate you yet. We can't have their grand entry spoiled for a single twisted Devil. I'll plan something else.

Thanks, Kuro-chan. Without your help, who knows what might have happened to that girl?' Naruto said, complimenting her.

'Can I have babies now?' She asked in a hopeful tone.

'Maybe in the coming years,' said Naruto and cut the line.

"What are you going to do, Naruto?" Asked Kurama.

"As she said, nothing now. I'm gonna tell Shika about this. I know he will also tell me to refrain from action.

I want to give Zekram a good reminder, but I can't have Khaos Brigade focus on my back, at least now. My Queen is before everything." Said Naruto.

"Queen, huh. Do you see Hinata that much in that ice girl?" Asked Kurama in wonder.

"I know you can see it as well, Kurama. It's just hidden. What she said about power is also true, right?"

"Blasphemy. I'm the most powerful being in the world, maybe along with Red. But I'm the Almighty Juubi. I can-" Kurama started boasting and went on a tangent about various things he can do.

Naruto left him to his thoughts and returned to the bedroom he was staying in and felt another body beside him.

"What is it? Did something happen?" Asked Miya.

"Nothing to be concerned about. We found the man behind the scenes," said Naruto cryptically.

"Anything planned?"

"Should increase my time with Katerea. She is going to be our next task,"

"What about Grayfia? How did your date go?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"Oh, it seems you got a good hang of spying, don't you?" He said, kissing her.

"It went well. She is just how I thought she would be without all those titles and responsibilities. A perfect one for my taste,"

"Do you mean we are not perfect?" She asked in a half-serious and half-hurt tone.

"Oh dear, you became perfect after becoming a part of my family," said Naruto.

"That's better to hear."

"How's Medusa doing?"

"Well. She was good at everything. I think Kana had developed a rivalry with her. I heard she is pushing herself past her limits,"

"Don't you think that's good?"

"Yes."

"A rivalry which could benefit Kana is good. I think she is going to reach great heights,"

"You will make her achieve if she can't," assured Miya and they had a memorable night.

Scene Break

Another week passed and as Naruto ordered, his full peerage came responding to his call. They all collectively made it to his new territory.

Jiraiya was given a territory equivalent to the UK in the Human world as his was scattered across all the territories of Devil pillars.

Naruto was given a territory of Germany, but this is outside the occupied space by the Devils, so the size didn't matter to them.

Naruto and his party arrived in a large empty land which stretched as far as the eyes could see as there was nothing there.

"Isn't this great? We have a lot of empty space with practically no one to disturb," said Naruto cheerfully.

"Oh my, what will you do to us?" Asked Miya teasingly.

"Definitely something pleasurable," added Reni with a genuine smile. She, similar to Grayfia, always held the responsibility of being the face of Naruto as she is the most known member of his Peerage.

She sometimes had to fake emotions, which she shared with the respective Queens of Sona and Rias's peerage.

"Wow. It's huge," said Kana.

"According to estimates, it is equivalent in size to Human World's Germany. We got a lot of territory on our hands," said Naruto, clarifying Kazehana.

As Roygun and Kazehana are tagged along with Medusa, who doesn't know about Naruto's secret of being Jiraiya, Miya and Reni decided not to talk about it.

"Well, girls, as we have seen it, how about we think of something interesting to build here?" Asked Naruto and everyone nodded.

"Think of anything you always wanted to live and give me your ideas later. Now we have important work to do." Said Naruto.

"We can plan this eventually. Why don't we have a small spar here to decide who should improve where?" Asked Naruto and everyone nodded happily.

The spat began and Naruto observed how Kana and Roygun improved though they still need improvement.

Medusa also showed her skills by sparring with Miya and she is most comfortable with her. Reni oversaw all these spars, occasionally joining and they had an enjoyable day.

Kuroka couldn't make it as she has some important meetings to attend and was busy as a whole. Naruto can also call another person who knew about him as he is the one who saved her. He thought of visiting her as it's been long since he talked to her openly.

Scene Break

After their training session in the territory he was assigned, Naruto pointed out all of their weaknesses as he observed all of them.

Naruto, with the help of Roygun, explained about the Familiar Forest to all of them and explained his plan.

"So I wanted to get you all a familiar. But instead of how most Peerages does, I'll talk one at a time. Like that everyone will have more time to search for a suitable one and can explore the forest if you want. What do you think of this, Roygun?" He asked the most experienced Devil?

"That's a good idea. Generally, all peerage members go on a full moon to pick their Familiar. As the High-Class Devils have them from when they turn 10, they only need to search for a familiar for one of their Peerage members.

All members can't find a familiar which suits them in one try, which make them visit the Forest many times. This way everyone can have ample time, to find one." Concluded Roygun.

"Right. There you have it. Now, who will come with me?" Asked Naruto and all of them raised their hands.

"Ok, how about a toss. You play, who wins it among 2, will move forward and the last winner will be taken," said Naruto and they all started to spin.

It all came to Reni and Miya, the 2 luckiest people as they won everything toss they played. Reni tossed and Miya called.

"Heads,"

"And it is... Heads. Miya-chan won," said Naruto as he took the coin. Miya gave a victorious smile while Reni high five'd her.

"I'll go next time," said Reni and everyone dispersed except for Naruto and Miya.

"Shall we?" He said extending his hand and she gladly took it.

They vanished in a magic circle and came into a large forest where every tree was black like it was charred and the sky was blood red. It has an eerie look to it.

Naruto felt someone behind them and saw a man sitting in a tree looking at them in glee.

"Who wants me? I'm the master of familiars, Zatuji." Said the man as he jumped from the tree branch and landed in front of Naruto and Miya.

Zatuji is a middle-aged man with a lanky appearance. He has neck-length red hair tied in a low ponytail and has brown eyes. He wears a white top, black shorts with a green sweater wrapped around his waist, white socks, brown sneakers, black fingerless gloves, a dark-blue cap and carries a yellow backpack.

"If your goal is to find familiars galore,
then you've come at the right time, that's for sure!
The full moon is out to help you decide,
and I'll be the one to act as your guide." Zatuji cheered as he formed a 'G' with his hands.

Naruto and Miya sweatdropped. 'This is going to be annoying,' both of them thought and braced for the familiar Masters' rhymes.

Naruto felt nostalgic as Zatuji reminded him so much of an octopus he knew back in the Shinobi World.

"Your nostalgia aside, I think something is falling towards you," said Kurama, making a shadow wall to stop it from attacking them. It turned out to be a cloth eating slime.

Naruto got a dark smile after seeing it and went to the trapped slime which was acting like a deer caught in headlights.

While Zatuji's eyes were covered by the green slime. He started to sing rhymes to make it move from his eyes.

"Hey, little guy? Can you understand me?" He asked as he took the green goo into his hands. It bounced in all directions as if to say it could hear him or maybe to escape?

"Good. How about you become my familiar? I'll make sure to have fun with you," he said slowly and the slim bounced enthusiastically as if agreeing.

"Good. Now let's make this official," said Naruto, calling Zatuji.

"Are ya sure, you don't want anything more?" Asked Zatuji.

"Old man, I know Devils can have multiple familiars. So I'm going to take this little guy first," said Naruto and Zatuji agreed and they formed a familiar and master bond. Which was signified by a green magic circle forming on the Slime's body.

"Now behave yourself, Torrel. Don't get into trouble. I'll call you as soon as I find the perfect chance," said Naruto with a wide smile. Torrel jumped enthusiastically and went into the woods to do whatever he did. Naruto turned to Miya only to her looking at him surprised.

"What?"

"Did you just, just make a slime your familiar?" Asked a surprised Miya as she is managed to control her surprise.

"Ya. You know it is going to be fun," said Naruto with a wide smile.

"Come, we should find you a Familiar," said Naruto and Zatuji started showing different Familiars which Miya didn't like.

He showed some kinds of horses, mermaids and even Hydra. But none attracted the purple paired Knight and they continued their exploration.

"Sorry, dears. I think we should leave now. It is almost morning," said Naruto as he knew they were here for hours.

"Sometimes it happens. I hope the next time you come, you get a familiar," said Zatuji somberly. He would at least find one familiar when more than one person come.

He is disappointed when he couldn't find even one for the two in front of him. Miya wasn't disappointed as she already had her mask and she is excited to come with Reni next time.

As both of them formed a sister-like bond. With a wide smile, she left with Naruto and enjoyed the night in pleasure as Naruto decided to compensate her.

"Zatuji, tell me where Tiamat lives," asked Naruto and this surprised the Familiar master. As he just saw the blonde leave.

"T-Tia-Tiamat? What do you want with the Dragon King? If you know what I'm saying," rhymed Zatuji. As Naruto went through this, he replied quickly.

"Isn't she an optional familiar? As we have something similar," replied Naruto in a similar way as Zatuji. Zatuji's eyes widened in surprise and tears fell like waterfalls from his eyes.

"Oh dear friend of mine, I'm going to tell you about the end of the forest line, a cave you will find, there you will see the one you need," said Zatuji in joy as none in his years as familiar master replied like Naruto. Naruto nodded in gratitude and vanished into the tree line.

After some time

Familiar Forest

Naruto, the clone the original left was making his way towards the cave where Tiamat lives while he remembered everything about the Dragon King in question.

Tiamat is one of the Five Great Dragon Kings and one of the few legendary Dragons left who are still active since ancient times. She is known to be rampaging around the Human World on multiple occasions.

That's why she is given the name Chaos Karma Dragon due to her Chaotic nature. She is the only free Dragon from what Naruto can understand as others were either in hiding or in Sacred Gears.

"She was an ally of Skiadrum and was interested in Skiadrum when he was alive," added Kurama.

"You decide to stay with me?"

"Not that the original will allow me in his pleasure time," said Kurama.

"Yes. He would definitely not." Said the clone as he walked towards the cave.

When all the Dragons were forced to choose a side when Ddraig and Albion started their brawl, Skiadrum warned all other dragons to stay neutral.

Tiamat became the first to be warned as she is the most chaotic than other Dragon Kings. She fought with Skiadrum and lost badly.

After which she took a liking to him and remained neutral on most occasions. She didn't even participate in the Great war either and as she had Skiadrum's protection and she is strong herself, no one went after her, that's until Skiadrum's death and that's what Naruto had on her.

As they neared the cave, Naruto started releasing his Draconic Aura. This is the first time he actively released it and the effect was instantaneous.

All the familiars in and around the vicinity started vacating the area as they felt his Draconic Aura. As they approached the cave, he heard rumbling from inside and waited for a few meters outside the entrance.

"Who is it? Who dared to disturb me?" Shouted an angry voice. And soon, a figure stepped out of the cave.

She has the appearance of a pale blue Western Dragon with celestial blue scales that reflect the moonlight with brilliant slitted yellow eyes looking at him in annoyance.

"Tiamat. It's been long," greeted Naruto as if he knew her. Tiamat got even more agitated by this. She changed into her human form to get a good look at the person in front of her.

She has the appearance of a beautiful woman with straight and long beautiful pale blue hair, dark blue eyes, and a cold atmosphere that radiates from her beauty. She possesses an extremely powerful dragon aura within her body. She also wears a navy blue skirt, and her entire body is doused with the colour of deep blue.

"What are you human? Devil? Dragon? Why can't I sense anything?" she asked in a curious tone.

"That's because I don't want you to, Tiamat," said Naruto cooly. This managed to agitate her more.

"Why do you speak as if we know each other, Bastard?" Yelled Tiamat.

"I'm disappointed. I thought you still remembered me," said Naruto in a faux hurt tone.

"Who are you?" She yelled again. Naruto released the final restraints on his aura and a large pressure set in the area by the raw force of his draconic aura.

"Ski-Skiadrum? How is this possible? I thought you died?" Said Tiamat in surprise.

"Yes. He was, but Azazel managed to make a Sacred Gear out of his essence and over time, all of Skiadrum's scattered power accumulated in the Sacred Gear, making it on par with his original strength.

The Sacred Gear, Abyss Shadow, chose me when Azazel tried on me. So that's how I became the Shadow Dragon Emperor." Explained Naruto. As his light element was to be kept as a secret, he didn't tell her about it.

Tiamat gave Naruto a once over. She still has some doubts which she decided to get clarified.

"If you are Skiadrum's host, then tell me his real title," asked Tiamat with a sharp look. Skiadrum even though known as the Shadow Dragon, also had another title, which is better known among Dragons than the Shadow Dragon title.

"Similar to how Ddraig and Albion took Domination and Supremacy, Skiadrum also had an element or trait, for lack of a better word.

His being Balance. He is known as the Emperor of Balance or Black Balance. He believed in natural balance and that's why he chose to stay neutral until Ddraig and Albion took it too far. Am I correct?"

"Yes. He is well known as the Black Balance. Even though all these are telling me to believe you to be Skiadrum, I have one last test you should pass to make me believe," she said in a calm tone.

"A fight then. I know and am prepared for it to show and prove that I'm Skiadrum's host. But I want it to be in Dimensional Gap as the collateral damage will be huge," he said calmly and Tiamat agreed to that.

Tiamat vanished in a blue flash while Naruto dropped into a shadow. They appeared in an area where Great Red won't get disturbed though Naruto knew the True Dragon will be amused by their fight and watch intently.

"To prove to me that you are Skiadrum, I want you to use everything he used in our last fight and defeat me," said Tiamat, laying the rules and she changed into her Dragon form.

"As you wish, Tia-chan," said Naruto and unleashed his Draconic aura changing into semi Dragon form.

"Shadow Drive," said Naruto. His body was surrounded by a black flame-like form as the shadows spread into the surrounding emptiness.

"Chaos Wave," said Tiamat as she sent a dark blue dragon beam towards Naruto.

"Shadow Dragon's: Roar," said Naruto and sent a large burst of shadows towards the incoming blue wave. They nullified each other.

"I thought you were Skiadrum's host. What is that pathetic attack?" Mocked Tiamat as she prepared her next attack.

"Burning Breath," she said, unleashing a single thin beam of concentrated light towards Naruto. Sensing the danger it posed, he responded in kind.

"Shadow Dispersion," said Naruto and sent a large shadow towards the incoming beam of light. The shadow devoured the beam of light and dispersed the light harmlessly.

"Corruption," said Naruto and sent an enlarged hand towards Tiamat. She knew this attack well. It will engulf the target in shadows and corrupt their magic by injecting shadows into it.

The magic goes out of control, thus making the target lose control over their magic and become an easy target to the user. She dodged it by inches.

"Phew. That was a nasty spell he created," said Tiamat in relief. When Skiadrum used it on a large scale, none of his enemies have magic to oppose him, thus he gets the victory.

"Shadow Strike," said Naruto, appearing in front of a relaxing Tiamat who was surprised by his appearance. He struck her in the middle of her underbelly, which sent her soaring through the endless iridescent colours.

"Damn you," said Tiamat and used her wings to right herself.

"Napalm Burst," she shouted, a shot of heat explosion blast towards Naruto. The Infernal flames took her shape and weaved into his direction. Her form split into multiple identical copies and sped towards Naruto.

Not wanting to experience whatever they are going to do to him, Naruto breathed a gulp of nothingness in the Dimensional Gap.

"Shadow Slash," he said, making the magic he released taking the form of a black slash. The slash tore through all dragons, nullifying them and dispersed as all its magic was used in dispersing the dragons.

"What are you doing? Trying to kill me? Didn't you say this was a test?" Asked Naruto incredulously.

"Why did you use Corruption then? You know how it damages its targets," fired Tiamat back.

"I thought of ending it with that as it pretty much proves the point,"

"Since you have used all of his major repertoires, I think I'm going to accept you as Skiadrum. It's just, I didn't sense anything, that's why I didn't recognise you," apologised Tiamat.

"I'm glad we had stopped. I can't go any further without anyone noticing my aura," said Naruto.

"As you are convinced, can we talk in our next meeting?" Naruto asked, changing into his normal form. Tiamat thought about it. She doesn't much to lose and she agreed and Tiamat vanished into the familiar forest.

Naruto felt a tear open in front of him and waited for his friend to come out. Soon, the large body of Great Red made his way through the tear and it closed behind him.

"That was a great fight, Naruto," he said in his booming voice as a tear opened in front of Naruto.

"How have you been, Red. It's been long," greeted Naruto.

"Yes. You are busy in all your 'activities'," pointed Red.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'll introduce you to my best friend sometimes. He is a good guy," said Naruto, referring to Shika.

"I look forward to that," said Red in joy.

"I wanted to talk as well, Red. But I don't want to gain Ophis attention now. See ya later, my friend," said Naruto and vanished. Understanding Naruto's situation, Red nodded.

He spread his magic in the area to nullify any lingering magic that has Naruto's scent on it and moved across the empty space.

In an Unknown location, a small figure can be seen wandering aimlessly when she recognised a magic signature she was searching for.

Her silver eyes sparked in curiosity and she vanished in a purple portal to investigate what was happening. Only to find nothing.

And Cut.

That's it for this chapter folks.

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RR.

Black Infinity1289,

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