Yet another chapter for you all. This is all i have prepared though. For anyone curious why i split it into three chapters, it's because i'm aiming for between 7,000 and 13,000 words in each chapter. I didn't want to make you guys think all my updates will be 27,000 words.

Naruto flipped as the bark exploded underneath his feet, making sure to land on his feet. He had already felt what it felt like to fall on his head when falling at the beginning, and he had no desire to have a repeat. He quickly dropped to a knee. Trying to moderate his heavy breathing, he looked up at the tree which he had been running up. The entire bottom half of it was littered with marks from where the bark had exploded out.

This was the first exercise Anko had given him. Tree climbing. She had also given him an exercise called water walking. Apparently they were the genin level chakra control exercises. Once a genin has mastered both, it is generally thought that they at least have the chakra control necessary to be considered for promotion to chunin.

Tree climbing was split into two different parts to fully master it. The first part was running up the tree, and the second part was walking up the tree. The first part was focused on learning to more easily control your chakra by keeping a steady flow of chakra to your feet to enable them to stick to the bark of the tree. The second focused on doing that while simultaneously enhancing one's core muscles with chakra. Ninjas might be stronger than normal civilians, but that doesn't mean they can stand horizontal on a tree without chakra enhancement. Running up the tree first lessened the chance of back injury while allowing the genin to focus entirely on keeping the chakra to their feet.

It was frustratingly difficult. It sounded easy, but so wasn't. Naruto had found the correct amount of chakra to stick to the tree easily, but he simply couldn't control his chakra well enough to keep using that amount. After a few seconds he kept overloading the chakra stream, causing the bark to explode under his feet. He had been working on it for almost five hours now, but he'd only managed to go about twenty feet up the rather small tree that stood in training ground 4. It was pathetic in his opinion, considering Anko said that one had to easily be able to walk up a hundred foot tree to claim to have mastered the exercise.

"That's enough for now, Naruto," Momo called from the small spot of grass she was currently sitting in. Momo was looking somewhat more worn then usual. She had also tried the exercise, using her species' type of energy. She had even more trouble than Naruto. The bark just wouldn't not explode under her feet, and she had been exhausted after twenty minutes. Since then she'd been trying to recover.

Naruto growled though while arguing without his sight leaving the tree, "Come on, Momo. I'm finally making some progress here."

"Exactly. Anko already wrote about this," Momo retorted without budging.

Naruto sighed in defeat at that. That was true. Anko had written about how the larger one's reserves, the harder it is to control them. That is why it is so hard for Naruto. She also mentioned that doing the exercise for too long would result in chakra exhaustion, which actually might make the exercise easier for a time. If Naruto spent twelve hours doing this till he exhausted 90% of his chakra, he might be able to get to the top of the tree. However, when he comes back tomorrow with his reserves fully recovered, he wouldn't be able to do it again. One had to manage the exercise with their chakra reserves full, otherwise they wouldn't have truly mastered it. Most genin apparently only did this exercise for up to half an hour a day for weeks at a time to ensure they don't exhaust themselves. Five hours is probably too much as it is.

"Alright. I guess your right," Naruto reluctantly admitted. Relaxing his body and forcing his gaze away from the tree, Naruto turned and walked over to the patch of grass where Momo was sitting. Plopping himself down, Naruto turned to Momo before asking in concern, "Are you feeling better now?"

Momo gave a small smile before replying reassuringly, "Still a bit tired, but nothing a good night of sleep won't fix."

"That's good, but you seem to be having just as much trouble with this exercise as me," Naruto pointed out curiously.

Momo shrugged before easily explaining, "It's because I'm a devilukean. Use of our internal energy is easier for us than it is for your species to use chakra, but it comes with its own drawbacks. Not only is our control of it usually limited to using it to increase our physical prowess, but our energy is also more potent than your species' chakra. Its even worse for me. Because my dad is ki-uh, because my dad is really strong, I've inherited some of his strength. Few devilukeans are capable of shooting attacks from our tails like I am, and even then they usually require years of training to do so. My energy is also far more potent than the average devilukean. It isn't even a matter of controlling my energy properly like it is you, but simply that my energy is so potent the bark is exploding under my feet. Either I have to use figure out how to better diffuse my energy throughout the bark under my feet so that it doesn't overload it, or I have to somehow lessen the potency of my energy. I'm sure I'll manage it eventually, but it will take a while. I have far less energy than you, so I can't go at it for hours like you can."

"I see," Naruto muttered thoughtfully. By now Naruto had accepted that Momo was an alien. She simply talked about it like it was a fact, and it did fit. The tail, the whole lightning from the tail thing, and plenty of other stuff. It was just so weird to think about that Naruto usually shoved it to the side. Naruto soon turned to Momo and exclaimed, "We haven't actually talked about that too much have we? You obviously know about my species and culture, but I don't know about yours. Tell me about devilukeans? I also heard mention of your dad in there. You've not talked a lot about your family much either."

Momo looked somewhat surprised at his line of questioning, but after a moment of thought she shrugged and answered, "Sure, why not. Where to start?…I guess starting with some basic knowledge about the galaxy is most important. There are hundreds of planets throughout the galaxy that boast intelligent species. Many species have their own internal energy, their version of chakra. That is where your species along with devilukeans differ from other races. For most species, only the elite or a small number of warriors are capable of utilizing their energy. Even then, the results aren't too significant. Honestly, I'm shocked by how powerful your people are. Many species have singular abilities, like manipulating a certain element, transforming, telepathy, etc. Never have I heard of a species that is capable of doing all that just through training. It is quite amazing. Devilukeans mainly use our energy for reinforcing our physical abilities, to the point it is almost subconscious. Due to all these differences and many species wanting to prove themselves superior, things were not always so…peaceful. Wars were constant."

"That changed though with the initiation of the Galaxy Unification Wars. Devilukeans were always regarded as the strongest species in the galaxy, due to our near instinctual use of our energy. When a new king took the throne for Deviluke, he looked at the galaxy and declared it unacceptable. He set out to unify the galaxy, and with the strength of the devilukean people he succeeded. He destroyed those species who were set on destroying those weaker then them, defeated and subjugated those who fought against him, and offered protection to those who couldn't protect themselves. It was not easy, but he succeeded. The war ended about ten years ago."

"That isn't to say there aren't problems. A galaxy spanning empire is sure to have problems. Some officials are corrupt, crime is always a problem on outer rim worlds, and some species won't accept the rule of Deviluke or won't give up their feuds with other species. It is still an improvement over how the galaxy used to be though, even if there is still a long way to go."

"Damn, your species must be beasts to take over the entire galaxy," Naruto commented with a wide grin.

Momo giggled softly before claiming, "I'm not actually so sure anymore. I would have agreed with you before coming here, but as I said before, I'm amazed by your species as well. If you discount our technological superiority, it isn't so unreasonable as to claim your species would match or even surpass the combat prowess of devilukeans."

"Really?…Sweet, I guess," Naruto replied, unsure of how he should respond.

"Not much more to tell about devilukeans that you probably don't already know. We have tails, although they can come in many different varieties, and the tails of females are incredibly sensitive," Momo claimed, subtly telling Naruto of that fact. Naruto gave no sign that he cared about that piece of information, causing Momo to sigh in disappointment. In truth
Naruto tucked that piece of information away for later.

"So I guess I should start talking about my family. Both my parents are alive, and I have two older sisters, one of who is my twin. I'll start with daddy. He is…probably the strongest devilukean to have ever lived. A true freak of nature. He is to the average devilukean as your 'Sage of Six Paths' was to a civilian of that time. So he is rather important in the government," Momo carefully lied before continuing, "Honestly, he isn't exactly the best role model. He's lazy, arrogant, reckless, violent, bloodthirsty, and incredibly perverted."

"Huh, no offense, but that is not what I expected the man who raised you to be like," Naruto confessed.

"I can see why you would say that," Momo stated while trying to hide her blush. Truthfully, she's the one who likely follows her father in personality. Lala is way too childish to even be compared to their father personality wise, and Nana only really inherited his recklessness. Momo, on the other hand, seems to follow in his footsteps in regard to bloodlust, deviousness, and lustful behavior. Even if she carefully hid the first two and was careful in who she showed the last to. Coughing, she quickly continued, "That might be because he really didn't raise us much. I have very few memories of him when I was younger. He was always in the thick of the fighting during the war. We were mainly raised by servants in an isolated castle."

Naruto frowned before hesitantly telling her, "Not exactly what I pictured families to be like."

Momo shrugged without a care before replying, "Every family is different. Don't think too bad of him by what I've told you though. Despite everything, daddy usually does what he believes is best, even if he is very bad at conveying that to us." Naruto nodded in understanding.

Momo smiled to herself as she continued, "Next is my mother. She's widely regarded as the most beautiful women in the galaxy."

"That explains so much," Naruto grumbled softly to himself. Although not softly enough for Momo to miss it. Being the daughter of the most beautiful women in the world would almost certainly explain how ridiculously pretty Momo was.

"Hehe, that is true. All three of us sisters have been said to have inherited her beauty, although Nana a little bit less so in a certain department," Momo stated with a smile. Partly at the fact that she knew Naruto found her physically appealing, and partly at the thought of Nana's lacking bust. It was so fun to tease her sister. Momo almost continued on that topic seeing Naruto blush, but eventually decided to continue with, "That isn't all there is to momma though. If my dad is the warrior, she's the diplomat. She always knows what to say to calm people down and to fix problems. She's almost constantly away conducting negotiations or organizing treaties. She always makes sure to call weekly though to talk."

"Even here while you are on vacation?" Naruto asked curiously.

That had been what she had told Naruto. That she had finally managed to convince her parents to let her have a vacation. That she had meant to study the plants here before this whole business with Naruto had come about. She knew he had his suspicions, but he never pressed her thankfully.

Momo nodded and pulled out a telephone. She then explained, "Yep. She calls me every week or so to check in. I even told her about you. She's eager to meet you, although it will likely be a long time before she can manage the time off to come here."

All she said there was actually true. Momo wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to go three weeks to a place she'd never been without being to contact at least someone. After making sure her phone wasn't traceable, Momo had then given her number to her mom and her alone. That way the two could keep in touch. Her mom hadn't been happy about Momo's plan to run off, but had eventually relented when Momo explained her precautions. Since then Momo had been updating her mom on her situation and her relationship with Naruto. Her mom had been delighted to hear about Momo finding someone she liked. Momo even told her the plan she had to work around her father. Her mom had then given her agreement with the plan to stay with Naruto, amused both at Momo deviousness and the fact that Gid was being set up. There wasn't anything Momo didn't trust her mom with.

Naruto nodded and asked, "What about your sisters?"

Momo winced, realizing that talking about her relationship with her mom had probably bothered him slightly, Momo quickly explained, "Well as you know, I have two sisters. I am the youngest. My older sister, Lala, is seventeen right now. She's actually a genius. She can make inventions easier than I can make a meal, even if they tend to malfunction or serve no real purpose. Otherwise, Lala can be described with one word. Childish. She plays pranks, rarely takes things seriously, and seems totally incapable of feeling negative emotions. She can definitely be a handful, but she's a bright and sunny handful."

"Don't underestimate her though. Of us three, Lala was the one to inherit the most pure power from papa. She's even capable of shooting beams of pure energy from her tail," Momo informed him seriously.

"Pure energy?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Momo nodded before clarifying, "You know how I shoot lightning from my tail. There are many different types of blasts we can do. The most powerful is pure energy. To do that requires so much raw power that even I can't do it, but Lala has effortlessly been able to do it since she was a child. She once destroyed the west wing of our castle when a bug scared her and she packed so much energy into a scream that she destroyed the stone around her."

"Daaamn," Naruto let out in awe. Destroying stone with a scream! Totally badass.

Momo chuckled at his response and nodded before telling him, "I know. Luckily, Lala is too kind a person to really use that stuff. She never really trains or even desires to do that stuff. She usually only does it on accident when she is worked up over something."

"Then there is my older twin, Nana. Nana is a bit insecure since she hasn't quite taken after our mother as much in the looks department as Lala or I, although she tries not to show it. She usually compensates by being somewhat brash and reckless. She nice underneath all her bluster though. She has the ability to talk to animals just like I can talk to plants."

Naruto nodded, having already learned that Momo could talk to plants. Boy had he been confused the third day she had been in his house when she said that the houseplants liked him. He still didn't get it really. How can plants talk to her when they aren't intelligent? Or is it more a feeling thing? Eh, he's just going to stop thinking about it.

Laying on his back while looking at the sky, Naruto asked curiously, "So what should we do now? I don't really feel like doing any dodging practice."

Momo smiled mischievously. She quickly leaned over till her face was just above Naruto. She then said in a sensuous voice, "I think I might have an idea."

Naruto grinned at that and lifted his head slightly as he replied softly, "Really? What are you thinking."

"I'm thinking…" Momo said softly as the lips of the two grew closer. Just as their lips were millimeters apart, Momo drew back with a wide grin and exclaimed, "That we should do some extra reading."

Naruto blinked at her with wide eyes. He then blurted out, "You can't do that!"

Momo smirked as she stood up and asked innocently, "Do what?"

Naruto jumped to his feet and pointed at Momo as he replied indignantly, "Tease me like that!"

"I think I just did."

Naruto blinked in shock at the response and sly smirk on Momo's face. So this is what they call a tease. Well Naruto isn't going to take that lying down. After all, Momo had all but confessed to him earlier. So he no longer had to worry about doing something she didn't want. He no longer had to sit by while she set the pace.

Stepping towards her, Naruto growled out, "True, you did. Too bad I'm not going to just take it. I'm going to have to punish you for being so naughty."

"Naruto, you perv," Momo teased while blushing slightly. She then turned and playfully started running away. Naruto grinned before following. It wasn't much of a contest between Naruto and Momo when it came to speed. Even if Naruto wasn't anywhere close to the fastest in his class, devilukeans have a greater predisposition for power than speed. It was a game between them though, both laughing as they did the chase. Naruto soon had her pinned to the tree, one of his hands holding her wrists above her head. Momo squirmed and struggled lightly, not really trying. Naruto would find it difficult to match her strength with both of his arms, much less one. She wasn't really struggling though, only struggling slightly to keep up the play. She then looked at Naruto before commenting, "Looks like you caught me, Naruto. What are you going to do now? Punish me?"

Naruto just smirked as he replied, "I don't know. I should, but what should I do?" He then started moving his face closer to hers as he whispered, "Spank you? Maybe tie you up and put you in timeout?. Or maybe…something else." By his last words, his lips were millimeters from hers.

Momo immediately purred out sensuously, "While all of those sound fun, I like the sound of the last one."

"Something else it is. I think I have the perfect thing in mind," Naruto replied in a husky voice. Their lips were just about to touch.

And Naruto felt something collide with the side of his head with such force that it was a miracle that his head didn't go flying like a football. A sickening sound from the impact rang out before he was launched to the side with ridiculous force though, spinning uncontrollably. Naruto went at least twenty yards before he even touched the ground, and even then his momentum continued for another ten yards before he came to a stop in a motionless heap.

Momo blinked in astonishment. One moment Naruto had finally taken the lead and something wonderful was about to happen, and the next it was like Naruto had been hit by a cannon. Looking over to see what sent her boyfriend/lover/boy toy? flying. She immediately exclaimed without any thought, "Zastin?!"

Yes, it was Zastin who booted Naruto in the head so hard that it was a surprise Naruto's head was still attached to his body. In his defense though, he hadn't really known what was going on. He had arrived barely ten minutes ago to this world, with a ship going to follow and stay in orbit till he called it. He had resigned himself to a long search for Princess Momo. Instead he stumbles into a clearing and sees her. His fury had immediately risen when he saw the situation she was in. He saw a boy chasing Momo before pinning her to a tree. While Momo had her struggling arms pinned above her, the boy then had appeared about to steal a kiss from his charge. His response had then been pure instinct. He rushed forward and booted the offender in the head.

Zastin took a breathe as he saw the motionless form of the boy. He felt a small flash of guilt at the sight. He hadn't meant to put his full strength behind that shot, but he had literally reacted on his soldier instincts. The boy was probably dead. You don't take a full power shot from a trained devilukean without serious damage. A shot to the head like that probably broke his neck and cracked his skull. The guilt was quickly washed away though. The boy was trying to take advantage of Princess Momo. He deserved even worse than death in his opinion.

Zastin then turned to Momo, who was still far to shocked to really react. He muttered in relief, "Thank goodness you are alright, Princess."

That caused Momo to finally snap out of her shock. Her head snapped to the side to look at Naruto's unmoving body. She quickly screamed in horror while moving towards Naruto, "Zastin! What have you done?!"

Zastin quickly moved and grabbed Princess Momo's wrist, easily holding the desperately struggling girl in place. He quickly asked in confusion, "I've come to pick you up. Why are you struggling so?"

"I'm struggling because you might have killed Naruto, you baka! Now let me go!" Momo cried out, trying to escape from Zastin's iron hold on her wrist. It was futile though. Zastin was a trained Devilukean. Even Lala couldn't overpower him if he really seriously tried.

Zastin looked at her with his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. What was going on? Did Momo know that boy? Zastin opened his mouth to question her.

This time it was he who got an unexpected interruption. His instincts flared, and he leaned his head back to avoid the shuriken that would have hit him in the temple. Sensing a new presence, Zastin looked down right in time to see a fist connect with his face.

Truthfully, he could have dodged it. While he had been slightly surprised by the attack, he wasn't so rusty to have been unable to dodge an attack from such a slow opponent. It would take more than that to truly hit him. He didn't for one reason. He's assumed it wouldn't really affect him. Devilukean durability was just as high as their strength. A full power punch from the vast majority of species wouldn't affect him. So he felt no need to move his head out of the way.

So he was surprised to actually find his head thrown back from the impact and stumbled back a few steps. He quickly recovered though. It hadn't truly hurt, but it had been hard enough to affect him at least a bit. Which is actually quite an accomplishment. That says the person who did it had quite of bit of raw power. He quickly looked at the one who accomplished such a feat.

It was the boy he had kicked earlier, and the kid had very clearly not come out unharmed. A cut in his hairline was causing a trail blood to run down on side of his face. His orange clothing(what a garish color!) was torn and covered in dirt from the tumble on the rocky ground. Zastin saw other signs that he was hurt from his previous attack though. His eyes were glazed over from the head injury, and he could easily see the wobbling in his stance. The kid was barely standing. The fact that he had managed to throw that weapon(a shuriken, what an odd choice of weapon) with such accuracy was clearly due to luck. The kid looked ready to fall over any second.

Momo almost cried from relief at the sight of Naruto, managing to stutter out while holding back the sobs that had been about to flow from her just seconds before, "T-Thank goodness, N-Naruto. You're alright."

Naruto just held out a hand to push her back while growling at the man who had attacked him. Holy shit! Naruto hadn't been hit that hard in…ever! Naruto was never going to say that Sasuke hit hard again. This guy made Sasuke look like a fucking pussy in that regard. Taking a clean shot from Sasuke wielding a sledgehammer would have probably not been as damaging as this guy's kick. The entire world was spinning around Naruto, and his body felt like it was going to collapse at any moment. Every time he turned his head he also heard a rather nasty sounding crack that indicated something in his neck was in bad shape. Naruto was also pretty darn sure that he'd broken his hand just by punching the guy in the face.

So he was in very bad shape. If Naruto had been a normal person, he'd fight on the defensive. That was the logical thing to do. If he had done so, it would have probably allowed Momo to interrupt the fight. He was Uzumaki fucking Naruto though. He didn't back away from trouble like a coward. He ran towards it head on like a bull. That was his automatic response to being pressured in a fight, developed from hundreds of spars with his classmates where his only chance was overwhelming his classmates with his inhuman durability and stamina. In this case behaving like a rational person would have ended far better.

Reaching towards his weapons pouch, Naruto quickly threw his hand out to throw five shuriken at the man opposite him. He then followed, hoping to catch the man when distracted by the metal stars of death were heading towards him. Zastin just responded with almost contemptuous ease. While not use to dealing with shuriken, Zastin had fought plenty of people far more skilled at this boy who used other forms of ranged weapons. The weapons weren't aimed with the intent of making it harder to dodge, they just came randomly. It was simple for him to slip between them. His hand then shot forward faster than Naruto could hope to dodge, intending to finish this now.

When his punch landed though, it only destroyed a log as opposed to the boy's jaw. Zastin just blinked in befuddlement at the log that his punch had half obliterated. It was his instincts that forced him to react to the presence he felt at his back. He automatically grabbed the hilt at his side, and unleashed the green energy blade from it while spinning around. His stroke easily cut through the kunai Naruto had been planning to stab into his shoulder. The stroke then continued till hit Naruto's side. It sliced through like butter, creating a diagonal cut in the left half of Naruto's stomach.

Things seemed to slow down to the group. Naruto's mouth opened in a gasp of pain at being half bifurcated, his eyes bulging in shock. Momo screamed. Zastin's eyes widened before he regained control. He'd reacted on instinct to feeling someone trying to stab him in the back and had gone for a killing stroke.

Time seemed to restart. Naruto fell to the ground limply, puking up blood as his body finally registered that half of his waist had been cut through. At least two vital organs as well. He immediately felt his body going numb and his vision darkening.

Momo ran forward in attempt to reach Naruto, but was once again stopped by Zastin grabbing her wrist. She once again struggled, although this time it was almost hysterical. She literally clawed at Zastin's hand, trying to force him to release her out of pain as she shrieked, "Let me Go! You killed him! No! Naruto!"

Normally, Zastin would have reacted very differently. He genuinely cared for all three princesses, having helped raise them since they were little more than toddlers. To see one acting so outrageously while clearly in pain would have alarmed him. He would have done everything he could to calm her down.

This wasn't just business as usual though. He'd spent three weeks worrying while imagining all the terrible things that could befall Momo outside of his protection. That had stressed him out immensely. He then starts looking for her and, from his point of view, prevent her from being taken advantage of. He'd then engaged in a fight, albeit a short one, where he had accidentally killed a boy no older than Momo. In conclusion, he had finally reached his breaking point from all the stress and emotional turmoil.

Gripping her wrist hard enough to force a cry of pain from Momo, he exclaimed harshly, "Stop struggling! You have gone too far this time, Princess Momo! I have been ordered to return you, and I will not hesitate to knock you out in order to do that. I am not in any mood to deal with your antics." Momo looked to collapse inward at his words, sobbing uncontrollably. He quickly reached for her with his other hand, hardening himself to complete his job despite her tears.

This time, Zastin could not claim to have been able to dodge. This punch had both the surprise factor and the speed to truly catch him. And it had the power to send him backwards. It was accompanied by a hoarse voice roaring, "Don't touch her!"

Zastin cursed as he recovered. He smoothly rolled backwards and retook his feet. He then looked in shock to see the Naruto standing above Momo, glaring at him with his now crimson slit eyes.

Zastin gaped. How the hell was the boy alive, much less standing? He'd definitely hit several major organs. Even if he had somehow missed, one does not just stand up while having such a large cut in their side. Their bodies go into shock! Shut down to try and perform emergency action to stop the bleeding.

He was even better than before. He was definitely faster to have managed to truly hit Zastin, and he was stronger too. The previous shot of the boy had just been enough to throw his head back and force him to stumble backwards slightly. This one had enough power to force him to fall into a roll or else he would have fallen flat on his hind quarters. He even felt some pain from the cheek the punch had connected too.

It had to be due to the change in his eye colors. Some species have a berserk state that they enter when injured. That had to be it. A last ditch shot of adrenaline.

That thought was thrown out though when a sort of red energy seemed to start appearing from different parts of Naruto's body. Soon he was enveloped in a cloak of red energy. A few seconds later it shaped itself to form two…rabbit ears on his head and a tail formed extending from his tailbone.

Zastin's eyes widened as he felt the pure power radiating from the boy. It was…massive and powerful! His soldier instincts quickly kicked in though. He got into a stance while activating his blade. He had to take this seriously now. The pure bloodlust and hatred he felt emitting from the boy showed this was not going to be pretty.

Growling, Naruto leapt forward at a far faster speed than he was normally capable of. Zastin spun out of the way before slicing with his blade towards Naruto's side again. His attack connected, but he quickly felt the difference. Before he had sliced through like butter. This time he felt the resistance. The cloak itself was resisting his blade. Energy blades were suppose to be capable of easily slicing through metal, as shown when he sliced the boy's kunai easily earlier, but this cloak was putting up a challenge. Zastin grunted and put more power into the strike, finally cutting through the cloak to cut flesh again. A large wound was left on Naruto's side, but he didn't stop for a instant. Changing direction, Naruto leapt at Zastin like a wild animal. Zastin was taken by surprise and took a heavy blow into his side, but his armor protected him from most of the damage. He just grunted and reacted with a swing of his sword toward the arm used to punch him. The cloak once again resisted, and Zastin once again managed to overcome it. His strike would have removed Naruto's left hand at the forearm, but Naruto showed impressive reflexes in this state by tilting his arm to avoid most of the damage. A large cut was still left on his forearm. Naruto responded by lashing out a spin kick that Zastin blocked with an arm. The kick still had enough power to send him sliding back a few feet.

A small lull happened in the fighting. Naruto was breathing heavily, his face showing some clear pain. Zastin watched with wide eyes the two wounds he had dealt him in the past exchange rapidly healed with only some steam resulting. High speed regeneration! That makes things a lot more complicated, although it explains why the boy was still alive after his earlier wound.

Zastin then saw something out of the corner of his eyes. He looked in disbelief as the armor on his arm he had blocked with…melted. Maybe disintegrated was a better description for what happened. Looking at the side he had been punched at earlier, he saw the same thing had happened earlier. That red stuff was corrosive! Thank goodness he was wearing armor. Zastin could imagine the horrible burns that stuff could do to skin if his armor was this damaged by it.

Zastin looked back at Naruto, who looked about to start again. Zastin tightened his jaw. Despite himself, he could feel his devilukean blood rising at the idea of a fight with such a dangerous opponent. Despite his current job, Zastin had been one of the top warriors in the devilukean military during the Galaxy Unification War. To go from that to basically babysitting three rebellious girls had certainly bothered him. So he couldn't help but feel somewhat excited at the thought of facing his first strong opponent in over a decade.

The next exchange will end it, Zastin decided. He'd gotten the resistance of the cloak down, and knew how much strength was needed to compensate. The high speed regeneration would make all but the worse wounds not important, so he would have to deal a wound even it couldn't deal with. The boy seemed to be fighting on instinct, and thus there were plenty of holes in his attacks. One exchange was all that he needed. It was a shame that the fight wouldn't last longer. The boy had plenty of power, but he clearly didn't know how to best use it. At least his devilukean blood would be satisfied after defeating such a strong opponent.

Naruto roared as he jumped forward, throwing a clawed hand toward Zastin's throat. Zastin reacted and swung his blade. Wound his hand or deflect the attack before finishing with a cut to his exposed head and neck.

The exchange was stopped before it could begin. A pair of hands grasped both of their wrists. The one holding Naruto's gave a powerful tug and then pulled down to wreck his balance. The result was him flying through the air while flipping uncontrollably. He soon collided back first with a boulder, cracking it and falling to the ground. Stunned. The one holding Zastin's wrist just stopped his strike, not doing anything else.

Zastin eyes flickered to this person in astonishment. He had clearly been focused on his opponent, but the fact that he hadn't detected this person spoke volumes of his abilities. It was a tall and rather muscular man dressed in a green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, and a lighter green vest that was unzipped. Otherwise he had a bowl haircut, incredibly thick eyebrows, and rather defined cheekbones. The man was shaking out the hand that had come into contact with Naruto's cloak.

Zastin then had to stop himself from jumping when he felt an arm drape over his shoulder. He looked to his other side to see a man with spiky silver hair and a face mask reading a book he held in his left hand. His other arm was draped over Zastin's shoulders. The sharp edge of a blade pressed to his throat also told Zastin the man had a knife in his hand.

Zastin then felt the second strongest aura he had ever encountered. Second only to the king's. Zastin slowly turned to look at a rather old and small man slowly walking towards them. The man was wearing white and red robes that included a rather ornate hat with the kanji for 'Fire' on it. The old man had gray hair and a small goatee, along with a number of liver spots. The man had a pipe in his mouth. The main thing Zastin cared about was the incredibly powerful aura coming from the man. The very air felt heavy. While not as hatred filled as Naruto's chakra cloak, the energy he was emitting was stronger and far more controlled.

Zastin could say without a shadow of a doubt that the man was far stronger than him. Even if he hadn't been rusty from a decade of inactivity. Looking at the other two men, Zastin also decided these two were as well, if by a smaller margin. Distracted or not, the two had snuck up on him. He could also feel powerful auras from them, although they clearly weren't flexing them like the older man was.

The Hokage's eyes scanned the area, taking in Kakashi and Gai restraining the armored man wielding an energy sword that looked even more advanced than the Raijin. To Momo, who by now looked emotionally exhausted by all that had happened in the last few minutes. Finally stopping on Naruto, who was rising from the ground where he had been thrown by Gai. The entire village had felt the use of the Kyuubi's chakra. He had quickly called the two ninjas he had the most confidence in being able to handle an out of control Naruto before rushing towards where they felt the energy originating from. Although surprised Naruto had managed to draw a tailed cloak the first time he used it, he quickly recovered. The man no doubt had something to do with it.

Sighing, Hiruzen looked at Naruto and ordered in a powerful voice while flexing his chakra, "Naruto! Calm down. Everything is fine."

The Kyuubified Naruto looked at Hiruzen. Hiruzen almost felt like he would attack, but was relieved to see recognition spread across the jinchuriki's face. The cloak oh so slowly dissipated, leaving a battered and exhausted Naruto. The jinchuriki's wobbled before falling backwards.

Hiruzen moved quickly and managed to catch Naruto before he hit the ground. Naruto looked at the Hokage through bleary vision before managing to rasp out, "M-Momo."

"Rest, Naruto. Momo's fine. I've got everything under control," Hiruzen reassured the exhausted Naruto.

"T-Thank the Sage," Naruto whispered before he was out like a light.

Hiruzen sighed as he lifted Naruto up in his arms. This was so much easier when Naruto was a small tyke. Hiruzen had always been below average size, much less now when he was old and decrepit. Carrying a teenager a bit larger then him wasn't the easiest thing. Looking at the situation, he sighed again. And he had to clean up this mess. Crap!

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It was no slow awakening for Naruto. One second he was dead asleep, and the next he sat up while looking around rapidly. What happened? Where was he? He remembered fighting against this guy with armor. He'd been cut bad. Next, it all went fuzzy. He's pretty sure he continued fighting, but he really couldn't be sure.

In his panicked examining of the room, Naruto saw a flash of pink from the bottom of his eyes. Looking down, Naruto saw a sleeping Momo resting her head on the bed he was laying in. Confused, Naruto leaned forward and shook her shoulder. She resisted slightly, wanting to continue sleeping, but she soon sat up while cutely rubbing her eyes. She then looked around groggily.

The second her eyes alighted on Naruto, she shot forward while screaming his name. Naruto froze when Momo's arms circled him in a desperate hug. She also buried her head in his chest. He blinked, perplexed by her actions. He then felt through his chest vibrations. Looking down, Naruto's eyes widened when he realized Momo was crying.

"It's alright, Momo. You're safe. Just let it all out," Naruto whispered soothingly while wrapping his arms around her crying form. He had no idea why she was crying, but he'd seen parents do this to their children when crying. Just hold them close and whisper reassuringly to them. After a minute when it seemed she had calmed down, he tentatively questioned, "Why are you crying, Momo? What happened?"

Momo reacted far more animatedly then he had expected. She pulled back out of his hug, showing her less then perfect appearance. Momo almost always gave an immaculate appearance. Everything perfect. Even when she had the 'just out of bed' look, it was so perfect it almost seemed like she specifically did herself up to give that impression. So it was a shock to see her current state. Her eyes were red and puffy, clearly having been crying. Her hair was askew, and her nose was even running slightly from when she had been crying into his chest.

Naruto was snapped out of his stunned observation of her when Momo screamed at him, "What happened! I thought you died! Twice! Then you were covered in some red energy, and started fighting Zastin…I was terrified, Naruto. I'd thought I lost you." Momo ended softly while pulling him into a hug again.

Naruto just thought about what she said in surprise. So the fight had happened. He'd been cut. Apparently he'd then been covered in a red energy. Naruto stiffened slightly when he realized what that meant.

Shaking his head, Naruto focused on Momo again. Hugging her again, he whispered to her in concern, "I'm sorry, Momo. I never meant to worry you like that."

"I know you didn't, but you still did, baka," Momo mumbled with her face still buried in her chest.

Not really sure how respond, Naruto just held Momo. Momo seemed to quickly calm down, but the two stayed like that for a while yet. The experience had been quite traumatic for the both of them, and so both were thankful for the opportunity to draw comfort from the other.

It had to end eventually though. Momo pulled away slowly and started rubbing her eyes, trying to dry up her tears and clean her face from the signs that she had been crying. Naruto took the opportunity to look around the room again. Now that he was more coherent, it was clear he was in the hospital. The white…everything gave it away. By the Sage, did he hate hospitals!

Looking back at Momo, Naruto asked, "What happened? I really don't remember much after I was cut."

Momo shook her head before explaining slowly, clearly not exactly happy to be thinking about it, "Zastin was about to take me away, but then you jumped in and hit him. You were then covered in some red energy. You and Zastin then started fighting so fast I couldn't even keep up. Then three men appeared out of nowhere and stopped you. I recognized one as the Hokage. He then took you to the hospital. I…can't exactly remember much beyond that point either. The doctors said I was in shock." She ended in an embarrassed tone. For someone who prided herself on her control, to be seen in such a distraught state by the doctors wasn't something she hoped to ever repeat. Even that episode a few minutes ago with someone she truly cared about was something she wasn't exactly proud about. Losing control of herself wasn't something she was happy about. Not at all.

"I see," Naruto replied gravely. The idea of Momo suffering from shock because of his actions didn't sit well with him. Seeing it wasn't something Momo wanted to talk about, Naruto asked, "So what is the verdict for me? And how long has it been?"

Momo gratefully latched onto the change in subject and informed him, "Well it has been four hours since we were brought here."

Naruto blinked and looked out the window to see it was pitch black outside. The sun had just been about to set when the fight happened, so that fit. He quickly turned to Momo and repeated, "And my injuries?"

Momo quickly took a clipboard from the end of his bed and read off it, "You were actually almost fully healed when you arrived. Whatever that red energy was, it healed most of your more serious injuries. You just had mild chakra exhaustion and an overused chakra system. It seems that red energy is very intensive, whatever it was. After a full examination, including from a Byakugan, they found several signs of recently healed injuries. Two bones in your hand appeared to have been cracked, you suffered a concussion, one of the vertebrae in your neck was dislocated, and you received several deep cuts from Zastin's sword. All that is healed though. The wound you received before that red energy appeared couldn't be fully healed though." She ended in a hesitant voice.

Blinking, Naruto looked down. Pulling the hospital gown he was wearing out of the way, Naruto looked at where he had been cut earlier. There was a scar. The white scar tissue stood out against his tanned skin. It looked to have been a very clean cut by how thin the scar was, but it made up for that with how long it was. The scar started right next to the top of his abs on the left side. It then trailed down to the top of his left hip. He then felt with his hand as it extended on his back, going back up higher on the back. That cut had been a through and through. Just under half of his waist had been cut through.

Naruto looked at it for a moment before bursting out with, "This looks totally badass!"

Momo blinked as Naruto raved about how every totally awesome ninja had a few scars. Her mouth quickly formed into a smile. That is just like Naruto. Big scar on his side, immediate response is to declare it a sign of his awesomeness. She liked that about him. Although he had become quieter and more controlled since she had arrived, that didn't change his optimistic nature. As long as it didn't have to do with Anko, Naruto seemed to always think the best of everything. The only reason Anko was excluded was that she sort of terrified him.

Naruto slumped against his pillow after finishing his little episode. Breathing deeply, he looked over at Momo. He quickly grew serious and announced, "I think it is time we had a talk, Momo, since it is clear that you know this…Zastin."

Momo flinched slightly and broke eye contact. Taking a deep breath to gather her courage, she muttered while still not looking at him, "Yeah, I guess we should…Zastin is actually the bodyguard of my sisters and I. See the truth is that I've been lying to you about my origin and why I am currently here."

"Really? I never would have guessed," Naruto replied sarcastically. He then continued when Momo shot him a shocked look, "Well your story about being on vacation never seemed to fit. If you were on vacation, you probably would have a parent or supervisor of some sort. It was also pretty clear you were highborn. You just have the bearing and manner matching that of nobles that I've seen. Not to mention you claimed your father was likely the strongest devilukean to exist and your mother being a diplomat."

Momo shook her head ruefully. Another example that Naruto was far more cunning and intelligent than he appeared to be. It also reinforced her earlier thoughts that Naruto chooses to accept lies than question them. Even though he knew she was lying and keeping stuff from him he just calmly accepted it, hoping she'll eventually come clean on her own.

"Yeah, my family is a bit more important than I alluded to before," Momo began hesitantly. She took a breath before bursting out, "My father is King of Deviluke!"

…It took a few seconds for Naruto's brain to make the connection. Momo's father is King of Deviluke. The King of Deviluke initiated the Galaxy Unification Wars, and became Emperor of the Milky Way Galaxy. Daughter of a king means…Momo is a princess! Momo is Princess of the entire galaxy!

Naruto just stared at her with wide eyes, absolutely speechless. He'd figured that Momo's family was rather important. He did not think they were the most important and powerful family in the galaxy though.

Momo peeked at the speechless Naruto nervously, unsure of what to expect. Eventually growing tired of the shocked look, Momo began slowly, "Uh…Naruto?"

Naruto blinked and forced himself to start speaking slowly, "King of Deviluke. So that means you are…"

"The 3rd Princess of Deviluke," Momo finished nervously.

"…Okay," Naruto replied blankly.

Momo blinked before repeated in a somewhat upset voice, "'Okay!' That's all you have to say!" She was somewhat dreading his response, and all she gets is 'okay.' She at least wanted something more than that.

Naruto shrugged before clarifying bluntly, "What? It really hasn't totally sunk in yet, but I really don't think I'll freak out. I could rant and rave about you keeping things from me, but that won't change anything. It's better to just accept it and move on."

Momo just stared at him, disbelieving. After a moment though, a giggle burst from her lips. Soon she degenerated into a fit of giggles. Her arms held her stomach as she tried to bury her face in the bed to muffle her giggles.

Naruto tilted his head, perplexed by her sudden fit of laughter. He finally asked, "Uh, what's so funny, Momo?"

Momo took a moment to stifle her giggles, wiping the tears that had leaked from her eyes. She then exclaimed with a smile, "I'm just laughing cause I should have expected that reaction. You really are the only guy who would just casually accept that the girl you've been living with for three weeks is Princess of the Galaxy. A moment of shock before casual acceptance. You really are one of a kind, Naruto."

"Uh," Naruto grumbled out, not so sure how to respond. He finally managed to force out in a questioning tone, "Thank you?"

Momo's response was cut off when a knock came from the door. Momo quickly got up and answered it, revealing a masked ANBU. The ANBU took note of the awake Naruto before announcing, "I was sent to check on Uzumaki-san. I was also ordered to bring you two to the Hokage's office if he was awake. He needs to talk to you both."

Naruto and Momo nodded, expecting this would happen. As Naruto prepared to get off the bed to stand, he noticed his hospital robes. He quickly turned to the ANBU and questioned, "Is there anyway I can change before going?"

The ANBU nodded tersely before informing him, "Yes. There is an outfit prepared to you on the table. You have two minutes." Both the ANBU and Momo left the room and closed the door behind them.

Naruto looked to see the ANBU was right. A small pile of clothes was sitting on the table. Naruto quickly pulled them on before leaving the room. Naruto quickly grumbled out to the ANBU, "Could you guys have given me more boring clothes?"

"Don't say that, Naruto. You look pretty good," Momo replied as she looked him over. He had been given a black pair of ninja sandals, black cargo pants, and a dark blue, long sleeved shirt. She quickly added after a moment of thought, "Although they are a little bit on the dull side."

"I know, right. They need some orange. A little pizzazz, you know," Naruto eagerly stated.

Momo nodded, thinking. While Naruto's typical orange jumpsuit took it a bit too far, brighter colors did suit Naruto more. Black and dark blue were too dark and dull for Naruto's typically bright personality. A splash of orange on white would probably work best. Maybe silver or gold. Even some bright crimson would work well. With the growth Naruto had displayed in the past few weeks, he was going to have to go shopping soon for clothes. When that happened, Momo was going to make sure that he got the outfits that successfully bring out and emphasize many of the handsome features he has that most people ignore due to his too bright jumpsuit.

The ANBU cut in before Momo could respond. Putting a hand on each of their shoulders, he shunshined them away. The two experienced around ten seconds of extremely fast movement that left them disorientated. When they finally came to a stop, both of them wobbled. Naruto quickly grabbed Momo's shoulder to make sure she didn't fall. Naruto had more experience with handling a shunshin, even if he was still vulnerable. Even the ANBU wasn't immune to the inevitable disorientation from a shunshin based on the fact that he took four seconds to recover before he jumped into the shadows of the room.

Once the two recovered, they looked at their surroundings. Naruto immediately recognized the Hokage's office. The Hokage was seated in his usual spot behind his desk, but it was the other person in the room that caught Naruto's attention. Zastin was currently seated in one of the chairs before the Hokage. Naruto quickly narrowed his eyes at him. Even knowing that it was a misunderstanding, Naruto still fully realized this guy had almost killed him. A bit of resentment and tension was still there. Based on how Zastin returned his glare, he was feeling it too.

"Now, now. There will be no fighting in here. Naruto, Momo. Please sit down," Hiruzen said with it clearly being an order. Naruto and Momo quickly sat. He then took a moment to light up his pipe and take a few puffs before he turned to Momo and said, "Firstly, I want to state how happy I am to have the 3rd Princess of the Galaxy here. This is certainly not how I expected us to be introduced, but I also want to thank you for taking care of Naruto for the past three weeks."

Momo nodded automatically, although Naruto reacted more animatedly. Standing to his feet, Naruto burst out by asking, "What? You knew?"

"You underestimate me, Naruto," Hiruzen claimed calmly before continuing with a smirk, "You really think I wouldn't have heard when the entire town is talking about how you got a cute girlfriend."

Naruto just gaped before asking, "T-Then why didn't you do anything? I would have thought you would disapprove. That's why I haven't come here to talk to you since Momo arrived."

Hiruzen just chuckled, "It was really none of my business. Once I made sure Momo was staying with you of her own free will, I was content to wait until you came to talk to me about your alien guest."

Naruto choked before pointing at him and exclaiming, "And how do you know about aliens?! You even called Momo the 3rd Princess earlier!"

Momo now paid closer attention. She had been sort of dazed by Naruto's attitude. While he was a loud and exuberant person, the fact that he speaks so bluntly and rudely to the leader of the village shows the two are comfortable with each other. She's heard about it from Naruto, but to see it was a different thing. Now she was curious about how the Hokage knew about aliens, instead of just assuming her tail was an accessory like everyone else who had noticed it.

"You are still underestimating me and Konoha, Naruto," the Hokage claimed while calmly puffing on his pipe before continuing, "In fact, Konoha has known about the existence of aliens since the Second's reign, even if it hasn't become common knowledge. It seems that this planet has become a somewhat popular safe haven from refugees fleeing war, famine, planet downsizing, and other things of that nature. Konoha and Fire Country in particular due to our nicer image. So we've long since known about the galactic community, even if we aren't yet a part of it."

Naruto just gaped…What?

Seeing Naruto wasn't going to say anything, Hiruzen continued mirthfully, "In return for our protection, many of the refugees keep us up to date on the current affairs of the galactic community, along with other useful information. So I knew that Momo here was a Devilukean since I saw her tail through my crystal ball when I first heard, although I admit I did not ascertain her identity as a member of the Devilukean Royal Family. We have had little need to become familiar with such things besides the obvious."

Naruto once again didn't know how to respond. Thinking on it, he should have expected this. With all the rumors spreading and with that damned pervert' wet dream crystal ball of his, it would have been extremely simple for the Hokage to check up on him. Despite knowing that now though, it didn't change the fact Naruto hadn't even thought about that. Too much had happened today. It was too much to fully absorb.

Hiruzen smirked at the look on Naruto's face. He quickly grew serious though as he announced, "Now, we need to sort out this mess we've found ourselves in."

Seeing an opportunity, Momo quickly bowed her head as she burst out, "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Staying with Naruto, not telling anyone of my station and birth. Everything. I really didn't mean for it to turn out this way. I never expected Naruto and Zastin to start fighting. I sincerely regret all the trouble my actions have caused."

The Hokage quickly lifted a hand to stop Momo before he calmly informed her, "While some fault rests on your shoulders, Princess Momo, you could not have expected things to turn out this way. Sometimes things just spin out of control."

Like Naruto and Zastin fighting. Zastin is clearly a trained soldier, and Naruto is being trained as a ninja. Both are trained to defend themselves automatically. A small misunderstanding like what happened could easily set them off. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were more evenly matched. Momo could have stopped them if given more time. Unfortunately, they weren't evenly matched. Zastin was at least jounin level. It had only taken one exchange each time for Zastin to handily defeat Naruto, even with Naruto using the Kyuubi's chakra it would have only taken Zastin two exchanges to finish Naruto. The fights had been over before Momo even had a chance to step in.

Momo still claimed stubbornly, "I still wish to apologize for all the trouble I've caused."

Hiruzen chuckled at her behavior, and quickly announced, "Then I accept your apology, Princess Momo. Now think no more of it."

Zastin coughed to gain their attention before declaring, "I thank you for your understanding in this situation, Lord Hokage, but I still have to fulfill my orders. Despite the apparent…relationship between Princess Momo and…this boy, my orders from His Majesty are to bring her back to the castle. Even these revelations cannot change that. I must now complete that mission."

"What?! You can't do that!" Naruto burst out while springing to his feet. The rush of emotions that hit him at the idea of Momo leaving was too chaotic for him to really understand, but he knew he didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Calm, down, Naruto," the Hokage ordered sternly before Zastin could refute Naruto's thoughtless claim. He quickly informed Naruto seriously, "Unfortunately, there is nothing you or I can do. Keeping Momo from her father would only complicate the situation, and create the possibility of blood being shed over this. There is nothing you can do here, Naruto. Zastin has the right to take Momo with him, as he is acting on the behalf of both Momo's father and the Emperor of the Galaxy."

Naruto looked at the Hokage with a betrayed look in his eyes. It stabbed at Hiruzen's heart, but he hardened himself. One girl wasn't worth the risk of bringing war down on the village. If he refused Zastin, Momo's father might very well view it as them kidnapping his daughter. And if there was one person in the galaxy that Hiruzen didn't want becoming Konoha's enemy, it was Gid Lucione Deviluke. The guy conquered the galaxy, and was capable of destroying planets! You don't get stronger than that. Zastin looked appeased by the Hokage's words.

Someone else had a different idea apparently. Momo announced with a smirk, "Actually, Zastin isn't totally correct about that." That caused the three to look at her in confusion, causing her to smirk. With all that had gone wrong today, she was finally getting a chance to take a bit of control.

"What are you talking about, Princess Momo? Even ignoring your father's position as king, he has total control regarding you as your parent," Zastin pointed out, rather alarmed by the carefree smile on Momo's face that said she had something up her sleeve.

"I'm talking about the right of a suitor to house and provide for his fiancée after a betrothal has been established," Momo stated happily. Seeing Zastin's eyes widen, she eagerly continued, "I see you understand. Yes, it is true. Naruto proposed yesterday night, and I am happy to announce that I am hereby accepting his proposal. Thus, according to Devilukean law, Naruto has the right to demand my presence in his home."

Now the trio was just staring at Momo, with mouths wide open in astonishment. Even Naruto, who was wondering just what she was talking about. When did he propose?!

The Hokage clearly thought the same thing, and turned to Naruto to ask with a raised eyebrow, "You proposed to her, Naruto? I must say I'm surprised. I definitely did not expect this twist."

"What?! No! I never proposed!" Naruto stated, baffled by this turn of events.

"Well, which is it? Did he propose or not?" Zastin demanded, looking between Momo and Naruto with confusion and irritation in his eyes. He likewise didn't expect this twist to happen, and it certainly fell out of his range of expertise.

"I think I understand the issue. Naruto proposed that way, Zastin," Momo declared before putting her cheeks in her hands while smiling giddily with a small dusting of pink on her cheeks. She then claimed, "I can still feel his warm hands grabbing onto me, and giving a gentle squeeze."

While Naruto and Hiruzen looked confused by her words, Zastin gasped in realization. After sending a rather sharp look in Naruto's direction, he explained hesitantly, "I do see the issue now. I'm assuming this planet also follows the usual method of proposal practiced throughout the galaxy, namely a male getting on his knee and presenting a ring to a female. Unfortunately, Devilukean culture has a second method of proposal. This method requires a male to grope the breasts of a female. It is a method of proposal only considered legitimate among Devilukean nobility, of which Momo is a part."

The jaws of Naruto and the Hokage would likely be sore tomorrow from how many times they dropped from shock. Groping the breasts of the female? Really?!

No doubt guessing their thoughts, Zastin coughed to hide his embarrassment before explaining, "It is an old, archaic tradition. It only recently had a revival in use. Namely, Momo's father. He found it humorous, and…well…gave it legal authority once again. Presenting a ring is still the preferred method." Zastin was rather embarrassed by the entire topic. It really was an old tradition. He still remembers how the Queen scolded the King when she heard he had reinstated that tradition. He had done it when he was drunk simply because he thought it was a hilarious tradition after reading about it on the internet. This is actually the first time he's heard of the method being legitimately used since it was given legal standing again.

The Hokage finally recovered. He turned his head to look at Naruto. After a moment of thought, he commented, "I really didn't think you had it in you, Naruto. Good job." Since Naruto clearly hadn't known about that tradition, he must have groped Momo just for the sheer joy of it.

Naruto very clearly understood what was going through the Hokage's head. Sputtering, Naruto stood up and pointed at Momo before exclaiming uncontrollably, "I-It isn't like that! Momo ordered me to take a bath, and then walked in naked a few minutes later. She told me I was getting a reward for housing her for all this time, and literally placed my hands on her breasts."

Zastin and Hiruzen blinked at the story before turning to look at Momo. She just gave them a beatific smile packed with innocence that didn't match what Naruto had just claimed she did. The two of them sweat dropped. She tricked Naruto into marrying her…So just like any relationship then.

With Zastin and Hiruzen both somewhat stunned by what she had done, Momo turned to Naruto, who looked rather helpless. She wanted to squeal when she saw the helpless and flustered on his expression. No, she had to control herself. She could think about how adorable Naruto looked when flustered later.

She stood up and moved towards Naruto. She quickly slipped onto his lap without a single hint of hesitation. Positioning herself so that she was partly facing him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. She then asked with genuine curiosity, "Is that a problem, Naruto?"

She asked that seriously, despite the very seductive actions she had done right before it. She really was curious on what he thought. It had been the easiest way to ensure she could stay with Naruto without having to outright tell him about her situation. Manipulate him into proposing in a way that he didn't even realize he had done it. So when Zastin came, she could pull this off. Naruto did have a will and mind of his own though. Maybe he didn't like her doing that. Its even possible, no matter how unlikely, that he doesn't have any feelings for Momo that would make the thought of marrying her acceptable. It would hurt, but if he really didn't want to be with her she wouldn't force him. She prayed that wasn't the case though.

"Uh, it's just," Naruto stuttered out before closing his mouth and thinking. He really had been caught off guard. Momo had basically confessed to him, but marriage? Naruto really hadn't even considered the idea of marriage. Even if it wouldn't be right away, it was a huge commitment. Did he not want to though? His life had gotten way better since Momo entered it, and Naruto could say he was genuinely happier than he had been before. Could he picture himself marrying Momo and having a family with her? He was going to ignore the whole 'Princess of the Galaxy' thing, and all the issues that would inevitably cause. Did he want to marry Momo? Naruto finally opened his mouth and said with a soft smile while looking into Momo's eyes, "No, not a problem at all."

Momo felt her eyes watering at his answers, but she held them back. She just smiled back before kissing him. Naruto was surprised, but quickly returned it.

After a few seconds, the two were interrupted by Zastin coughing. The two broke apart with blushes on their faces. Zastin just sighed before sternly stating, "Be that as it may, it isn't so easy. Because Momo is not yet an adult, she needs parental approval before the proposal is legitimate. So she must still come with me."

"Actually, Zastin," Momo began with victory clear upon her face, "I have gotten parental approval from mother. You can even check in with her."

Zastin just stared, incapable of responding. While Gid was king, legally his queen had just as much power over their children as him. The queen had also made it clear that she disagreed with the king's method for finding husbands for their children. With everything Momo had already done, it wasn't at all farfetched to think she could contact the queen and get her permission. And if she had, then Zastin couldn't do anything right now. The king could probably still break the engagement, but until then Zastin can't do a thing.

He finally sighed and admitted, "It seems you have me beat, Princess Momo. I shall leave for my ship, and inform the king of these developments."

Momo grinned as she heard his words. She had done it! She had won. She was going to stay with Naruto, and once her father knew she was okay, he likely wouldn't care enough to go through the work of breaking off her engagement to Naruto.

Zastin stood up and nodded to the Hokage as he told him, "I thank you for your cooperation and understanding, Lord Hokage."

"It was my pleasure. I also would request that you inform me of any developments in this case as quickly as possible. It would make dealing with this…situation easier," the Hokage replied coolly.

"Of course," Zastin said. He then turned towards Momo and Naruto. He nodded at them before continuing, "I apologize for our earlier misunderstanding, Lord Uzumaki. I also hope this…relationship turns out well for you, Princess Momo. I really do. Now I shall take my leave." Zastin soon strolled out of the room.

Naruto was slightly confused by the lord attached to his name, but after a second understood. He was now technically engaged to a princess. He could be considered nobility based on that alone. It was…an incredibly weird thought for Naruto. The complete opposite of how he is used to being treated.

The Hokage quickly spoke up, "A lot has happened today. You two must be tired. Go back to Naruto's house and sleep. I'll call you two tomorrow when some more developments have taken place."

Naruto and Momo both nodded and stood up. The two walked out of the room. Once they left the Hokage's tower, they both started running through the empty streets so they quickly arrived at home. Once they entered, both were hit with a wave of exhaustion. Today had been both physically and emotionally exhausting for them both.

Naruto quickly stripped off the clothing he had been given at the hospital, leaving him in a pair of boxers. He quickly grabbed his panda sleeping cap and moved towards the couch. He felt Momo touch his shoulder before he reached it though.

Momo smiled at him and told him, "You can sleep on the bed with me."

Naruto blinked at her in surprise. Since she had arrived he'd given her use of the bed while he slept on the couch. Thinking about it, Naruto actually didn't see a reason why that should continue. They'd done more when Momo came into his bath, and they were apparently engaged now. So Naruto nodded towards Momo in acceptance.

Momo smiled before walking into the bathroom to change. Naruto crawled onto the bed, relishing in the chance to sleep on a bed again. He relaxed for a minute before he heard Momo come out of the bathroom. She was using a button up t-shirt and a pair of pink panties as her sleep wear, the outfit the same as what she had greeted him in yesterday. She smiled at him before crawling onto the bed next to him.

Once she was level with him, Naruto wrapped his arms around her. She immediately snuggled into his chest before letting out a sigh of relief. She had always enjoyed sleeping with her sisters or her mother, the warmth of another's body simply couldn't be replicated with blankets. She had lamented when she reached an age where it became less common, and always secretly relished when Nana or Lala crawled into her bed at night. Naruto had a higher body temperature than her sisters, and Momo quickly decided that made it even more pleasant.

The two didn't even contemplate doing anything naughty. Momo had been planning on 'sealing the deal' with Naruto tonight before Zastin showed up, but Zastin had showed up. In the end, they were both just wanted to sleep. So the two quickly fell into a deep sleep in each others arms.

I'm guessing that Devilukeans have their own type of energy, which is stressed in this chapter. Every species has their own 'chakra', but their ability with it and the effects will vary. I will be expanding on Momo and other Devilukeans' abilities.

I've always been annoyed by Zastin in the manga. He's suppose to be the best swordsman of the strongest species in the galaxy, but he is literally only there for comic relief. Not in this story. He'll keep some of his more entertaining faults like his bad sense of directions, but he'll also be competent. For those of you who want to know how he compares to ninjas, he's a high jounin level. I'd say he is right about equal to Asuma. He'd lose to Kakashi or any other S-class ninja, but he'd at least put up a good fight.

I also expanded the part where Zastin leaves Momo there. Momo and Lala are princesses of the entire galaxy, but Zastin just leaves them there after hearing some nice words from Rito. Not this story. This time he only left Momo there because she made it so that he legally couldn't take her.

So that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and tell me what you thought.