Fox of Many Masks

Chapter 10

-5/9 - Monday-

As he waited for the train he had to admit it was a bit odd not heading to school with Ann after the last few days.

She had assured him after their lunch at Big Bang Burger that he didn't have to anymore since she figured Kitagawa wasn't going to stalk her anymore. He did make her promise to tell him the second she felt it might be resuming after she had thanked him for going out of his way to make sure she had felt safe.

"Oh, why hello there" a voice that only recently became familiar called out, getting Naruto to turn to see the student council president Makoto Niijima walking up to him with a smile.

"Hello Niijima-senpai, good morning" he said with a smile as she stopped beside him to wait for the train. "How have things been for you recently?" he asked, silently referencing the Kobayakawa situation.

"Things are fine as I'm doing what you suggested and acting which seems to be working as he's praised how quickly I've started…" she told him with a frown, getting him to frown as well.

"Which means he has teachers or maybe even other students watching you most likely to ensure you are doing what he wants" Naruto continued where she left off which got only a nod from her. "Not to be forward or weird but it might help if you had my number just in case he ramps things up and you need help" he suggested, watching as her frown lessened up to a soft smile before she nodded.

"That would help put me at ease...I'll try to make sure I don't need to bother you" she assured him as they changed numbers only for him to shake his head at her.

"It really isn't a bother, I'd rather you contact me if you need it instead of holding off and getting in a worse situation" he told her as the train showed up. "You go on ahead, it'd be bad if anyone sees you talking all friendly with me Niijima-senpai" he added, rolling his eyes a bit at how ridiculous it was that the Principal had eyes on her and that there were people on his side like that after everything he's done.

"Smart but please, call me Makoto" she said as she started walking forward.

"Only if you call by my name as well" he said quickly, getting a nod from her as she entered the train with him a bit behind her.

As he walked towards the front gate of the school he was a bit confused by the boisterousness of the students around him as well as the number of reporters around. What really made it annoying was the fact so many people were talking and chattering that he couldn't overhear anything about what was going on.

After what felt like a minute of pushing through reporters he was finally able to make it into the school only to trip but have his arm grabbed by a nearby teacher just before he fell and get pulled back up to his feet.

"Uzumaki, second year. Head up to your floor and don't dawdle" Ushimaru told him, confusing him as he let him go.

"What is going on Mr. Ushimaru? What is up with all the reporters and why is everyone so erratic?" Naruto asked as he noticed a teacher standing guard by the stairs to the left.

"New transfer student is causing a reaction. We have to keep students from heading up to the third floor to bother them. Just head up to your floor and get ready for class. We should have the reporters gone by the end of the day and will ensure they don't cause any future trouble" Ushimaru told him with a sigh that was more directed at the situation rather than him for asking about it.

"Yes sir…" Naruto muttered, wondering if the rumor Ann told them about the transfer student being a celebrity was true. Afterall, why else would teachers be standing guard at the stairwells like this if there wasn't something like that going on.

"Oh Naruto! You finally showed up!" Ann said excitedly as she pulled him along the second he arrived at the second floor. "This is so crazy, isn't it!?" she asked with a large smile on her face, showing she clearly thought this was interesting.

"Yeah, Ushimaru filled me in on a bit of it. Any idea who the celebrity is?" Naruto asked as they entered the classroom before they sat down at their desks since there wasn't really anything else they could do until class began.

"Well, I don't know if you've heard but in Tokyo we have these two 'Detective Princes'. They are these two handsome guys who are, as their title states, detectives and actually help the police on cases" Ann started explaining while he nodded along. "The thing about them is that only one of them is into the media scene while the other likes their privacy and sticks to just solving cases. Seems we got that one" she finished, getting Naruto to frown a bit.

"A Detective Prince might be dangerous for us as people don't just randomly transfer around. They probably did it because they might be curious about us" Naruto warned her, the look on her face showing she already figured that.

"We'll just have to be careful and not do anything suspicious...don't worry though, I already warned Ryuji" she teased with a chuckle, making Naruto smirk and chuckle a bit as well since they both knew he was most likely the 'risk' of the group.

"Hopefully he doesn't go challenging them or anything" Naruto hoped as Ann nodded along before the bell rang with Kawakami showing up a bit later to officially start the day.

School, no matter how hard it tried, had an aura of excitement as it was obvious people were whispering about the new student and wishing they could meet them.

His phone chiming was a welcome escape from everything.

Ryuji: Dude, does your class feel like they are about to burst out the moment the bell rings to try and see the new transfer student

Ann: Totally, no one is paying attention and Ushimaru has hit five students with chalks so far

Naruto: Mishima got hit twice

Shiho: Ann told me everything. Everyone stay safe as the first Detective Prince is much better than the second as they come from a family of detectives

Ann: Hear that Ryuji? That means don't try anything

Ryuji: Hey! Why are you only sayin' that to me!?

Ann: Cause you are so the type to try something

Ryuji: Whatever! I'm not that stupid to try something with some famed Detective Prince. I looked them up online during lunch and I have to say they are freakin' scary!

Ryuji: Super smart and hundreds of solved cases all without needing to go on news networks to get popular

Naruto: Good thing there is literally no way to learn about how we do things. Otherwise I'd be worried

Shiho: Naruto definitely has a point. As long as we don't slip up and talk in the open we'll be fine

Ryuji: Either way, are we still on for the exhibit?

Ann: Yeah, we're going to meet up with Shiho and Shibuya and head over a bit after school

Naruto: Sounds like a plan

The rest of school went the same and thankfully, right before the bell rang, their teacher warned them to not even think about bugging the transfer student and to give them their space. The threat of detention seemed to be enough to calm everyone down for the most part.

As the bell rang Naruto groaned as he stretched a bit, glad this surprisingly exhausting school day was over. "You ready to go?" Ann asked as he nodded and stood up while still in the middle of his groan and stretch.

It didn't really surprise him to see people eyeing the stairs up to the third floor.

"Geez, look at them. They're like piranhas waiting for some meat to drop down into the water" Ryuji muttered with a frown as he walked over to them, Naruto nodding along before everyone tensed up as someone started to walk down from the third floor.

"Ah, excuse me. You're Naruto Uzumaki, right?" a soft male voice called out as Naruto turned towards the stairs to see someone he definitely hadn't seen around school before.

The underclassman seemed to be easily a foot or more shorter than him with grey eyes and short blue hair that was under a blue cap. At first look he wasn't quite sure if they were a boy or a girl due to their face looking a bit feminine despite the male uniform but, in the end he remembered his friend Haku and felt going with male might help keep him from making the same mistake.

Plus their voice didn't quite seem female so there was that as well.

"Yeah, that's me. What can I help you with" Naruto said with a smile as he looked him over.

"My name is Naoto Shirogane and I'd like to ask you some questions Senpai, if you don't mind" he asked, bluntly but calmly which surprised but also didn't surprise him.(*1)

He'd be lying if he believed he was successfully 'laying low' with everything he had been involved in so honestly, when the news of a Detective Prince enrolling reached him he fully expected this.

"I promise I won't take up much of your time" Naoto assured him before Naruto looked over to his friends, easily noticing the worried looks barely hidden in their eyes.

"You guys go on ahead. I'll meet up with you outside the Shibuya train station where we normally meet up. The exhibition isn't really going anywhere as it's open for most of the day" he told them, giving them a look to silently tell them he'd be fine before they nodded, still clearly unsure about it before they left.

"How about we head up to the roof to talk, unless you have something better in mind" Naruto suggested as he was happy to answer some questions but at the same time he figured that Naoto would want to do it away from prying eyes.

"That is a perfect idea, I was thinking the exact same thing" Naoto said before motioning for him to lead the way.

"This place is closed off for the most part but I'm 'allowed' up here cause I'm helping the upperclassman who is in charge of the planters" Naruto told him with air quotes when he said allowed as he didn't actually have permission.

"Haru Okumura, right?" he asked as they came out onto the roof with Naoto closing the door behind them.

"It doesn't really surprise me that you learned that much Shirogane so how about you tell me what you know so far" Naruto suggested as he looked at him over his shoulder while he made his way over to check the planters.

"Please, call me Naoto. As for what I know I heard how you originally had a bad reception due to Kamoshida having Yuuki Mishima leak your record but were able to turn the reception around when you saved Shiho Suzui. When I enrolled here the Principal personally warned me about you, telling me about your record, and asking me to look into you" Naoto explained, Naruto nodding along with him as he listed off things.

"You should know you aren't the only one who he's asked, he threatened Makoto Niijima's sister to get her to look into me" Naruto pointed out to him, looking at him over his shoulder again as the 'detective prince' smiled softly at him and nodded.

"Given how Kamoshida's confession included the Principal it doesn't surprise me nor did I ever plan to go along with his request" he said, showing Naruto that his guess about him being safe was correct. "I'm more interested in your involvement with Kamoshida and your recollection about the day that the calling card was posted by the so-called 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'" he asked, again, not surprising Naruto as he stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Kamoshida targeted me from day one with the ulterior motive of recruiting me to the volleyball team by befriending me even if the whole school was against him. That failed the moment I called him out on his bullshit with Shiho after I saved her, which is when he tried to have me expelled" Naruto recalled with a shrug of his shoulders. "After that my homeroom teacher tried to help me as much as she could but it didn't seem to work at all due to Kamoshida's control over the Principal. Things seemed a bit helpless until the calling card was posted" he told Naoto, him gaining a spark in his eyes once he mentioned the calling card.

"When did you arrive the day of the calling card?" Naoto asked as Naruto frowned a bit.

"I arrived the same time I usually do, met up with my friends, ended up seeing the scene, and then Kamoshida showed up. He freaked out, threatened me and assaulted me a bit before Kawakami helped me out and a few days later he confessed. Not much else I know or can say" Naruto told him, hoping that was enough to satiate him but the look on his face showed he was very deep in thought which honestly worried him...

"What do you think of the Phantom Thieves?" Naoto asked with a look in his eye that reminded Naruto of Jiraiya whenever his godfather looked over info he had at home.

And that alone told him that Naoto wasn't just a detective for show.

"I think they are focused on helping people who are being abused by those with power that makes them untouchable - like Kamoshida - or just corrupt people who cops can't really get to due to it being 'minor crimes'" Naruto told him as he leaned back and sat on one of the desks that were on the roof.

"And how do you think they do it? To make someone like Kamoshida who, by all cases, had no reason or desire to change over a new leaf actually turn himself in is quite a surprising feat" Naoto noted, Naruto feeling he was silently asking if he thought they did it through threats or blackmail given that was what some people thought.

"I'm not sure, stealing a heart doesn't make sense to me even if I try and think of it as a code for something. I do know it wasn't done through threat or blackmail like you are possibly suggesting" Naruto said which got a slight smirk on the detective's face before he forced it down.

"Why do you think it wasn't either of those things?" Naoto asked before Naruto merely shrugged.

"Because if it was Kamoshida would have revealed it once he was safe in police custody to either get himself a lighter sentence and so far I've heard nothing. Then again, I don't have ears in the police" Naruto told him, silently asking if he heard anything.

"All I will say is that he hasn't mentioned any threats or blackmail and has consistently said how he had just been reborn and hated his actions in the past" Naoto said before smirking again as he looked at him. "I will admit that I also figured that it couldn't be blackmail or threats for the same reason" he added, getting a chuckle from Naruto.

"Nice to see I have the same train of thought as a 'detective prince'" Naruto said which got a tired sigh from Naoto.

"Please don't call me that" Naoto told him, making it clear he wasn't too fond of the title.

"Ok, I'm sorry 'bout that" Naruto apologized only to get Naoto to shake his head.

"It's not your fault, I just personally don't like how the media jumped to start calling me and Akechi that….although Akechi seems to thrive on it" Naoto said with a bit of an annoyed muttering at the end that Naruto barely heard.

"You're the type to just focus on the job and not care what people think. One sign of a true detective" Naruto said, which got a bit of a smile from Naoto before Naruto decided to ask the important question.

"If I may turn around a previous question back at you - what do you think about the Phantom Thieves?" Naruto asked as this would help him pin if Naoto was dangerous or not.

"I'm not too sure, it is much too soon to tell but your views are helping me form an opinion. I'm actually glad I was able to talk to you Uzumaki-senpai as you seemed the most approachable of all the victims of Kamoshida" he admitted with a smile while Naruto smiled a bit as well, not only for seemingly being approachable and also due to Naoto not seemingly being dangerous as honestly he felt like he might be okay with them.

Then again, it's a bit too soon to tell.

"I'm glad I'm helping but honestly, call me Naruto" he assured the underclassmen, getting a small nod from him.

"I'll keep that in mind Naruto-senpai and as much as I'd like to keep talking I don't want to keep you from hanging out with your friends" Naoto said as Naruto inwardly groaned at himself as he basically forgot about them for a bit due to being so focused on discerning if Naoto was dangerous or not.

"Thanks but if you ever want to talk feel free to seek me out or we could exchange numbers if that'd help" Naruto suggested, seeing a bit of surprise in Naoto's eyes before he nodded with a smile and pulled out his phone.

"That sounds reasonable as having you as a source to ask would help me figure a lot more out about this school. I feel a bit bad bugging you like this and not giving anything in return though…" Naoto muttered as they exchanged numbers.

"If you want to help me then seek out the upperclassman I mentioned before named Makoto Niijima. She is being forced to 'look into me' by Kobyakawa and I feel if news reached him that you are 'helping' then it'd take a lot of pressure off of her" Naruto suggested with air quotes to remind him that it was an act.

"Helping you by helping someone else, can't say I expected much else from someone who leapt out of a window to save someone" Naoto said with a chuckle before he gained a serious look in his eyes as he adjusted his cap. "I will admit helping her, if she truly is being targeted by Kobayakawa like Suzui-san was, is for the best as it'll help the both of you. You have a deal" Naoto assured him as he held out his hand, showing he was on his side when it came to this.

"Thanks Naoto, just message me whenever you want to talk and I'll do my best to come around" Naruto told him, getting a smile as they shook hands before the world turned grey around him.

"I am thou, thou art I….Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Justice Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…" the woman once again announced, showing that a new confidant bond had been formed before a blue light floated over beside them and transformed into the Persona that would start out the Justice Arcana for him.

Though, as it formed, he quickly felt his cheeks heat up and he looked up a bit as she was like Succubus in terms of exposed skin.

The womanly Persona was clearly an angel if the white wings were anything to go by but her outfit was quite risque for an angel to wear as it consisted of a pair of incredibly small leather short shorts, a leather band around her midsection, and a leather band around her breasts that just covered them with strip of leather going vertically up the front and attaching to a collar around her neck that hand a chain hanging from it. Her eyes were also covered with a leather band that had the design of an eye on the front of it.

The oddest thing about the Persona was how similar she looked to Succubus in terms of hairstyle, hair color, and facial features.

"Hello there master~ I am Angel. I shall become the mask of yours to represent the Arcana of Justice. May I serve you well so that you may raise the flag of justice into the sky together by your side" she said with a gentle smile before she floated into his chest and the world returned to normal.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks for talking and I hope you enjoy the exhibition with Takamaki-senpai and Sakamoto-senpai" Naoto said with a smile, stepping aside to let him walk by.

Walking through school was a bit odd as he felt so many eyes on him, most likely wanting to ask him about Naoto given he was basically a celebrity.

As he made his way towards Shibuya he quickly looked over his new Persona, removing the Mitama he got from the Councillor Arcana but definitely keeping Angel as she had a light based skill, something he definitely didn't have covered yet.

"I'm glad I can be of help to you master~" she told him as he closed the book, her voice also being similar to Succubus' but much softer and not nearly as teasing.

"How rude master! I tease out of love for you" Succubus told him, getting an eye roll and a smirk from him as he got off the train and started to head up out of the station where he found his worried looking friends.

"Dude! Are you okay!?" Ryuji asked as he rushed up to him.

"Yeah I'm fine, what did you think would happen?" Naruto asked him with a raised eyebrow before Ann shoved him out of the way.

"Ignore him, he went to the worst scenario by thinking Shirogane-san would somehow figure things out instantly and have you arrested" Ann said with a roll of her eyes before he walked over to them.

"So how did it go?" Shiho asked as she too was a bit worried when Ann showed up and explained things to her but definitely wasn't at Ryuji's level of worry.

"It went fine. He asked me about Kamoshida and my thoughts on the Phantom Thieves and I told him everything I could. I even put him onto the trail of Kobayakawa threatening Niijima-senpai so that should help her" Naruto told them, getting looks of relief on them before he pulled out his phone and checked the time.

"Enough about all that though, we have an exhibition to visit and a possible target to check out" he reminded everyone, getting nods from everyone as they headed off to the department store that the exhibition was being held in.

"So crowded…." Morgana muttered as he peeked his head out of his bag before Ryuji quickly turned to glare at him.

"It'll be a pain in the ass if someone sees you so don't stick your head out too much, all right?" Ryuji warned him as Morgana begrudgingly nodded and went back into the bag just before Kitagawa showed up.

"You came!" he said, excited to see Ann before his expression instantly turned to annoyed as he noticed the rest of them. "You really came…" he said to them this time, his tone was just as flat and annoyed as the look he was giving them.

"What'd you expect when you left us those tickets!?" Ryuji asked as Naruto nodded along.

"Plus, given everything with Ann there's no way we'd let her come here alone" Naruto told him as he narrowed his eyes at the teen, the look in his eyes enough to make Kitagawa take a step back.

"J-Just make sure that you don't get in the way of the other visitors" he warned them, though his stutter lessened things immensely, before he turned to Ann. "Come now, I'll show you around and I'd like to speak more about the picture I'd like to draw as well" he told her before Shiho walked up and hugged on to Ann's arm a bit.

"You two be safe" Naruto said as the two of them nodded.

"See you guys later" Ann told them before they walked off, Kitagawa clearly a bit annoyed that Shiho was tagging along but going along with it anyways.

"Will Lady Ann be all right!? What if he drags her behind some painting and tries something funny?!" Morgana cried out before Ryuji shoved him back in the bag.

"I told you not to come out!" he hissed out while Naruto sighed.

"First off, Shiho's with them and she wouldn't let that happen and secondly, you can't go behind paintings" Naruto told him with an eye roll before he looked over to Ryuji. "Well? Want to go look around and see if we can learn stuff about Madarame?" he asked, getting a sigh and a groan from Ryuji before he nodded and they walked into the exhibition.

Personally, while painting and art weren't anything he could accomplish, he did have to say there were some nice paintings on display as they walked around….too bad they knew none of them were actually made by Madarame.

"I know nothing of art but wouldn't people realize these all have different brush strokes or something? I forget if that's a thing but I remember an artist friend of mine saying something about each artist being different or something" Naruto muttered to Ryuji as they walked through.

"I don't know man. Could be that he's so big they don't check or care?" Ryuji said with a bit of a shrug before they paused as they noticed someone being interviewed by a camera crew nearby, a someone they saw not only on articles but depicted in a few paintings around the exhibit.

"Wait, isn't that Madarame?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from Ryuji before they walked a bit closer so they could overhear them better.

"We continue to be truly surprised by your imagination. You have such expansive styles, it's hard to believe that it all stems from one person. Where in the world does all your inspiration come from?" the female reporter asked, Naruto suppressing a chuckle as it seemed people were a tiny bit suspicious about it even while they accepted it.

"Well, it's rather difficult to put into words. If I had to describe it I'd say they naturally well up from within my heart like bubbles rising one after another in the spring" Madarame said as he started to explain to the reporter. "What's important is to distance oneself from worldly desires such as money and fame. My atelier is a modest shack but it is more than enough to pursue true beauty" he continued, the reporter eating it up as if hearing the 'shack' from him was something humorous.

Naruto frowned a bit as he had already seen the article and was privy to the fact that the man had a Palace built off plagiarism and abuse of his students.

They couldn't stick around much longer though as a swarm of people seemingly rushed over at the sight of Madarame. It was like a supermarket sale on steroids with how many people swarmed the area with no regard for others around them.

In the end the two of them decided to retreat a bit to an accessway with a text to Shiho telling her where they went off to.

-Ann & Shiho-

"Wow, I didn't know there were so many types of Japanese art" Ann said in amazement as she and Shiho walked around looking at several pieces along the way with Kitagawa following along behind them a bit as he acted as a bit of a guide.

Shiho was thankful that Ann was letting her cling to her given how she wasn't good around men. Part of her wished Naruto could have come with them but she knew enough that Kitagawa wouldn't be able to give Ann the info with him around and Ann was helping her more than enough.

She did get a bit worried when she got a message from Naruto saying they had to leave due to a swarm of people but the part saying he'd rush back if they needed him made it better as they knew he'd do just that in a heartbeat for them.

"Usually one concentrates on their own style. However, Sensei creates all this by himself. He's special" Kitagawa said, that alone raising some flags in their heads as the 'by himself' should be implied from the start and not need to be added at all given they were at an exhibit of Madarame's.

Not only did it come off as odd but also a bit forced.

"There you are Yusuke" an older voice called out, the two of them turning around to see Madarame, the same man from the car yesterday, walk over towards them which seemingly surprised Kitagawa.

"Ah, the girl from yesterday. Are you enjoying the exhibit with your friend?" Madarame asked as he smiled softly to the two of them.

"I don't know how to put it into words but it's really amazing" Ann admitted as coming into this she worked to focus on admiring these pieces as art, not as 'Madarame originals' since she knew they weren't.

"You're sensing something from the artwork. That alone is enough to give us artists satisfaction" Madarame told them, them both staying neutral as the existence of a Palace proved these weren't made by him. "I hope this becomes a wonderful piece Yusuke" he added, smiling at him before he excused himself and wandered off.

"Oh! This is it! The painting I wanted to see in person" Ann said, smiling as she and Shiho walked over to a painting of a landscape.

"This one?" Kitagawa asked, his voice a bit nervous and unsure as he followed them.

The painting itself had some amazing use of color for the sky as the sun was starting to set. Though at the same time Ann could feel a bit more coming from it.

"I guess I'm feeling the painter's anger? I'm not sure but I sense this...strong frustration from it" Ann said as despite the vivid colors something about them came across as almost 'contained frustration'.

"Something wrong?" Shiho asked, noticing an almost pained look on Kitagawa's face.

"Don't mind me but there are better pieces than….this one. Come now, this way!" Kitagawa urged, walking away before they annoyingly had to follow after him.

-Naruto-

As they waited for the girls Naruto kept glancing at his phone in case they needed his help, his worries were thankfully unwarranted as after a bit the girls finally showed up.

"So, how did it go?" Naruto asked as they walked over to them, Ann pulling out her phone and waving it a bit with a half frown.

"Kitagawa gave me his contact info and the address to his sensei's atelier for the modeling job he wants me to do" Ann told them, which meant they now had the real world location for the Palace.

"We checked the address and it's close by. We'd just have to walk a bit past Central street" Shiho revealed before Naruto frowned a bit as he checked the time only to sigh once he saw it.

"With Naoto holding me up and everything else it's getting pretty late. If anything we can head over tomorrow after school to check things out, not for you to model" Naruto told them, making clear they weren't making Ann agree to anything which got a relieved sigh and nod from Ann.

"I am so pumped! Our second Palace and second target! I am so ready to go!" Ryuji said as he pumped his fists, showing he was ready and raring to go.

"Palace yes, target not yet. I know the existence of a Palace points towards a target but we need to check things out in the Palace first before anything else" Naruto reminded him, getting nods from the girls and Morgana as he poked his head out of the bag.

"Maybe we should talk to Kitagawa about it before we head in? It might help us get a better idea of things" Ann suggested before rubbing her arm a bit. "It's just, as he was showing us around he reacted really weirdly when I commented on one painting..." she muttered before Naruto frowned as he realized where she was going with it.

"And you think he might have been the real creator of it?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from her before he rubbed his chin in thought a bit. "Honestly that's perfect, we can bring it up to him when we talk to him and gauge his reaction. We could even bring up the article to see his thoughts on it, playing it off as worrying about him" he suggested, looking around and getting nods from everyone.

"It'd be just like how we did with the volleyball team members" Ryuji said as Naruto nodded along.

"Yes and like with them we need to be careful not to anger or upset Kitagawa" Naruto reminded him and, with a plan set up, the four of them headed home for the day.

A bit tired, and to prepare for a Palace visit tomorrow, he decided to head to bed early only to be surprised with a phone call from Mishima.

"Hey, it's me. Got a minute? I have some interesting news" Mishima said as Naruto sat down on his bed.

"Sure, what you got?" Naruto asked, curious if this was potentially another Mementos case since stacking up on a few before heading it could be for the best.

"Someone who received a change of heart contacted me on the Phan-Site. Said he wants to meet with you to discuss another person who needs a change of heart. He didn't give me specifics other than the target is a terrible person and it'd be dangerous to post the target's name online so it's probably best to talk to him yourself. I told him to wait for you at Shibuya Station after school, his name is Nakanohara" Mishima explained, all the info surprising Naruto but also being perfectly timed.

"That's actually perfect, thanks Mishima" Naruto said before Mishima wished him luck and hung up.

"What was perfect? What happened?" Morgana asked as he had been too far away to hear anything.

"Seems like Nakanohara wants to talk to us about Madarame. This could give us more stuff to confront Yusuke about" Naruto told him, getting a shocked look from Morgana before he nodded.

"Best to head to bed soon, tomorrow sounds like it's going to be a busy day" he suggested as Naruto agreed since to him it felt like they'd be making their way into a Palace shortly after school.

-5/10 - Tuesday-

School seemed to go by before he noticed it, probably due to anticipation for heading to a new Palace. Once school ended they were quick to head towards Shibuya to meet up with Nakanohara before heading off to Madarame's atelier.

"You messaged Kitagawa to expect us, right?" Ryuji asked as they arrived at the train station.

"Yeah, he said Madarame is there but I can come over….I don't think he expects you guys to be there and I think he expects me to be modeling today…." Ann muttered before Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Let him be disappointed and surprised, today is business. We need to ask Kitagawa about everything and then head into the Palace to see how it looks" Naruto told them as they got on the train.

"It's serious as last night I was looking up stuff and apparently a past student of Madarame's killed themselves when they couldn't speak up about Madarame stealing their work" Ryuji told them in a low tone, that definitely getting a few of them more worried.

"I'm sure Nakanohara will add more context to that since he's coming to talk to me about changing Madarame's heart" Naruto assured them as he definitely had to admit that the fact that someone might have killed themselves over this was more than enough to get them to target Madarame.

As they arrived at Shibuya it didn't take long for Nakanohara to find them and somewhat nervously head over.

"Excuse me, my name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara, the one who was posted about on the Phantom Aficionado website. I contacted the administrator of that website and they told me to look for someone in a Shujin uniform with red hair and a cat…" Nakanohara introduced before explaining why he had come over to them.

"You wanted to talk about changing someone's heart, right? Someone who would be dangerous to name online?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from the man.

"I wish for a change of heart to be triggered in an artist named Ichiryusai Madarame" Nakanohara revealed before he took a deep breath to ready himself. "I'm...one of Madarame's former pupils. He gave me lodging at his home where I thought only about art. I genuinely wanted to be an artist...There was another pupil as well, a very talented man that was multiple years my senior" he started to explain, Naruto knowing he was just about to get to the real serious bit.

"Obviously Madarame kept tabs on him and everything he made was claimed as a Madarame original but he wasn't the only victim though. In response to Madarame's actions….that senior pupil committed suicide. He must have been unable to bear seeing his work praised under Madarame's name" he revealed, the look on his face showing how such a thing had an impact on him as well.

"That was when I disobeyed Madarame's orders and left. After that he quickly pressured other parts of the art world and my life as a painter was destroyed. I tried to turn over a new leaf working at a ward office...but it was no use" Nakanohara admitted, hanging his head a bit as they both knew where this was going.

"My attachment to art warped my emotions. Soon I began getting attached to everything and in the end I even turned into a stalker before the Phantom Thieves were able to save me" Nakanohara told them which helped show them that he was actually thankful for the change of heart.

It made sense to Naruto as the way he saw it Nakanohara deep down knew his actions were bad but due to how he was hurt in the past his heart just wouldn't allow him to stop.

"Please, make Madarame have a change of heart. Not only for me but to save the life of the one younger man about your age who is still under Madarame's tutelage" Nakanohara said, clearly referring to Yusuke. "Not only is he a talented artist but he also owes Madarame for taking him in after his mother passed. He is the perfect target as he has nowhere to go and cannot leave" he told them, getting Ryuji to clench his fists out of anger.

"So he really has no choice but to listen!" Ryuji said which got a somber nod from Nakanohara.

"I actually spoke to him a few times back when I was still living at Madarame's. I asked him if he found it painful to stay with Madarame and in response he said 'If I could leave, I would'" he revealed, shocking everyone while Naruto felt this bit of info could help them potentially get through to Yusuke.

"I have no right to say this given my prior cowardice but I don't want to see another suicide. I'd like to find a way to save this young man who has a bright future ahead of him. Please consider that when thinking about changing Madarame's heart" Nakanohara finished as Naruto nodded.

"Thank you very much for coming forward and telling us everything. We'll be sure to pass this along to the Phantom Thieves as honestly we're just a go between" Naruto told him, getting a short nod from the man before he left them.

"We've been asked to act directly on behalf of one of Madarame's victims and we have a direct account of plagiarism. All that's left is to confront Kitagawa and then head into the Palace" Morgana announced as everyone nodded, showing they were ready to go.

"So where exactly is this atelier?" Naruto asked as Ann pulled open the regular map app on her phone.

"It's telling me a bit past Central Street so we just have to head up and go in that direction, I'll give directions once we start" Ann told him before he gave a shrug and they all started to head towards it.

The atelier, as they reached it, definitely screamed 'shack' as it seemed to be made of metal steering riveted together to form a house.

"Uh...is this the right place?" Ryuji asked as Ann leaned forward a bit to read the door plate.

"It says 'Madarame' and this is the address so it has to be it" Ann told them before Ryuji nudged her forward.

"You ring the bell" Ryuji said with Ann quickly shaking her head.

"No way, the walls look like they might collapse if I do" Ann said only for Naruto to walk forward, getting the others to quickly follow alongside him before he rang the bell for them.

"I doubt it's actually as fragile as it works. Madarame wouldn't want his pupils dying from a collapsed house" he told them with an eye roll before the intercom turned on a second later.

"Who is it? Sensei is currently out of the house at his exhibit" Kitagawa said over the intercom.

"Um, it's Takamaki" Ann told him once Naruto moved over to allow her to step up to the intercom.

"I'll be right out!" Kitagawa quickly said with the door sliding open the next second which surprised and didn't surprise them given his eagerness around Ann. "Takama-You three are here as well?" he said, his joy going to annoyance faster than they could blink.

"Careful there, don't want to get whiplash with how quick your tone changed" Naruto joked under his breath, getting a laugh from Shiho before he straightened up and smiled over at Kitagawa. "Well can you blame us given your actions in the past….if you decide to acknowledge them…." he told him, muttering the last part to himself as he walked forward and put a hand on Ann's shoulder.

"You see, the real reason we're here is because we were worried for Ann and cause she's nervous about modeling so we came to talk a bit before that stuff gets figured out" Naruto started, looking over to Ann and giving her a look that asked her to trust him which got an instant nod from her.

"Because of….past events, she asked us to look into Madarame and whatnot ahead of time and after coming across this she asked for us to come with" Naruto told Kitagawa as he looked back over to him, pulling out his phone and showing him the article about Madarame's abuse and plagiarism.

The laughter that came from Kitagawa reading it seemed a bit odd. It seemed a bit forced as well as exaggerated as if he was acting to show how outrageous the claims he had just read were.

"Preposterous! Not only is the plagiarism impossible but abuse? He welcomes pupils into his own home! This is no act of violence; it is charity!" Kitagawa declared, clearing getting defensive - way too defensive. "And I'm the one residing here and studying under him. I'm saying it's not true so it's beyond doubt" he added before Naruto frowned as he put his phone away.

"I had no family when Sensei took me in and raised me into what you see now! If you continue to ridicule the man I owe my life to you will rue this da-If I could leave, I would" Kitagawa started to yell before Naruto calmly cut him off, the phrase instantly silencing him as he took a step back.

"Those are the words you told a former pupil of Madarame's before he left, aren't they?" Naruto asked, his eyes steeled as he looked into Kitagawa's.

"And that painting I saw at the exhibit...you're the one who actually painted it, aren't you?" Ann added on, getting Kitagawa to clench his fists and stare down at the ground.

"Your sensei's seriously messed up. He just thinks of his pupils as tools. He doesn't give a damn that his stealing of their works led to one of them committing suicide" Ryuji tacked on, adding the reveal about them knowing about the past suicide to show they knew everything.

"It should be clear that there's no point hiding things from us. We essentially know everything" Shiho chimed in as Kitagawa shook his head in exhaustion.

"Stop it….It's just as you all say. We're….our sensei's 'artwork'" he admitted before he regained some of the 'spark' in his eyes. "Don't get me wrong though, I offered my ideas to him myself. As such, it can't be called plagiarism. Sensei is simply suffering from artist's block right now" Kitagawa tried to defend before Naruto shook his head.

"Cut with the crap Kitagawa. Just because you give him the okay to steal doesn't excuse all the countless others he's stolen from. Someone killed themselves over it so the little 'artist's block' excuse won't cut it!" Naruto yelled as he took a step forward with an annoyed glare.

"What is wrong with a pupil helping out his master!? There are no victims here! Stop pushing your self-centered righteousness on me!" Kitagawa yelled back as Naruto stomped his foot to silence him and get his attention.

"Someone killed themselves over it you dense asshole! Stop defending him when I know deep down that you know I'm right!" Naruto yelled out, Ann putting a hand on his shoulder to gently pull him back. "You can do whatever you want with your life but your sensei resulted in the death of another by his demands and his actions, your permission doesn't erase that so don't even try" Naruto told him, his tone making it clear to not even think about it.

"Don't ever come here again. If you do I'll sue you for causing a disturbance" Kitagawa told them, basically showing he refused to acknowledge anything and just was essentially shutting the door on them.

"Seriously? You're still going to just ignore it all?" Ryuji asked, getting a sigh from Kitagawa as he pulled out his phone.

"You leave me with no choice, I'm reporting you three to the police. I gave Takamaki my info to be my model, I never allowed ever calling you three to come here" Kitagawa threatened as this time it was Naruto to start laughing.

"Seriously!? Calling the cops cause we wanted to protect our friend from a stalker!? Good luck with that since you've been talked to by the cops before for stalking" Naruto told him, playing proverbial chicken before Ann pulled him back.

"Calm down Kitagawa! We'll leave, okay?" Ann told him, seriously just wanting to get out of here as it turned out worse than she expected it would.

"Fine, I won't report you….but only under one condition" Kitagawa told them, Ann having to squeeze Naruto's shoulder to keep him from responding.

"What is it?" Ann asked, a bit nervous about what he might suggest.

"When I told you I wanted you to be my model I was hoping you'd come alone so we could talk about the piece I have in mind privately but now is as good a time as ever to tell you the details" Kitagawa started which in turn started to worry Ann, Shiho, and Naruto. "I wish for you to model for me so that I may create the best nude painting ever!" Kitagawa declared before Shiho quickly hugged Naruto from behind and started to pull him back with Ryuji grabbing an arm to help and Ann covering Naruto's mouth to keep him from yelling.

"Of course you won't be allowed in and neither will you" Kitagawa said as he looked to both Naruto and Ryuji. "I also ask that you forget about our discussion today as well. If I don't submit a new piece to sensei soon there will be some….inconveniences. I'll make time according to your plans but please, come before the exhibit ends" he finished before calmly walking back inside and closing the door.

"Please calm down dude! You are way stronger than you look!" Ryuji yelled as pulling back Naruto was harder than he expected.

"Yes, please calm down Naruto! I don't want you getting arrested" Shiho cried out, that alone being enough to calm him down and get everyone to let him go.

"If he seriously thinks you are going to do any of that he has a whole truckload of other things coming!" Naruto growled out as he started to stomp away from the house, the others following after him.

To be honest they were all a bit surprised as they didn't know he could get so angry but the girls had to admit it was nice to see him do so for a good reason like that.

"I agree, he is so out of his mind if he thinks I'm going to pose nude!" Ann agreed, flustered and upset as well before Ryuji sighed.

"We won't have to worry about any of that if we make Madarame confess before the exhibit ends. In the end Madarame is no different from Kamoshida, he's an asshole who is usin' Yusuke and countless others in the past. If he ain't a prime target then I don't know who is" Ryuji told them, getting nods from everyone, even Morgana as he peeked out of the bag.

"Surprisingly, I agree with Ryuji. There is no reason to hold off any more" Morgana told them as Naruto pulled out his phone, looking around one last time and getting a nod from them as he opened up the Meta-Nav and began navigation to Madarame's Palace.

-Madarame's Palace-

The change of scenery as they crossed over into the Palace was just as jarring and sudden as with Kamoshida. The sky had suddenly become dark and cloudy with spotlights shining up into it like when done at Hollywood premiers.

The atelier, just like Shujin, had changed drastically as instead of a 'modest shack' there now stood a massive grand and rather gaudy golden museum.

Their clothes had even changed already, showing that Madarame saw them as a threat.

"Well, honestly this feels like what I expected it to be after all the talk of plagiarism and all that other bullcrap" Naruto grumbled out as he looked around at the museum and their surroundings before they started walking towards the building.

"And it seems he's on guard if we are in our thief outfits. Why is that?" Shiho asked as they had only talked to him once and he seemed fine towards them.

"He's most likely on guard around everyone since he never shows his true face to anyone" Morgana explained as they stopped on the other side of a massive line of faceless people, most likely representing the countless fans of his works.

"It's so extravagant….to the point that it's gaudy" Ann muttered as Naruto nodded along as he sat on the trunk of a nearby car. "It's a museum, right?" she asked, a bit unsure due to how insane it looked.

"Why is his place a museum like this when his stuff is displayed in real life as well?" Shiho asked with a frown, getting the others to look towards her. "I mean, his exhibit is popular and people respect him so why would he fantasize about a museum?" she clarified since with Kamoshida he had fantasized about something that could never be while here it was something much more realistic.

"I think we'll find that answer once we get inside as theorizing won't do us any good" Morgana suggested before Ryuji smiled as he looked over at the museum.

"That aside, ain't a museum a must for phantom thieves?!" Ryuji asked, getting a chuckle from Naruto as he hopped off the trunk and nodded.

"Very true but we have to be careful as there are probably security traps everywhere" Naruto said, getting nods from everyone before he looked around for a way to get in without going through the front door.

He smiled a bit as he saw a large moving van, seeing how they could climb that and use that to get over the wall.

"Come on guys, this way. I think I found a way in" Naruto told them, motioning for them to follow before a blue cell door appeared near the van with Justine walking out of it.

At first he thought she needed him but she merely shook her head only to tilt it to the side as he stopped and the world paused.

"Do you need to visit?" she calmly asked as he walked over to her.

"Actually, yeah. You guys mentioned fusion before and I haven't had the time to check it out" he told her, getting a soft smirk from her as she nodded and the door opened for him.

'Then please, come in" Justine invited before she followed him behind.

-Velvet Room-

"So, you've come to try out the fusion of Personas. Come, your wardens will explain how it is done" Igor said, his smile still as permanent as ever before the two wardens stepped in front of his cell door.

"Listen up inmate cause we're not going to say this twice!" Caroline barked out with a glare before she banged his cell door with her baton.

"Fusion is the matter of merging the energy of two Personas to give birth to a new one with the abilities of those used" Justine explained as the guillotines appeared in the back of the room. "We have provided a list of outcomes so you may see what you are creating" she added before handing him a clipboard that, the second he grabbed it, two lists appeared.

The list on the left was a list of his Personas while the one on the right seemed to be the list of outcomes though some of the top ones were greyed out.

"With fusion you can create Persona you normally can't handle but there is a limit so keep that in mind!" Caroline told him, explaining why some of them were greyed out. (*2)

As Naruto looked through the list, running his finger down it he found out he could see a picture of the creature he was making as well as the skills they had.

The ones that interested him the most were Matador and Suzaku as Matador had a psychic skill and Suzaku had what seemed to be a nuclear skill. He noticed though that Matador was of the Death Arcana, meaning in time he'd get one while Suzaku was of the Star Arcana, one that he didn't have yet.

'Kodama and Koppa Tengu….it'll get a wind skill so I can probably remove Koppa Tengu after it to keep Kodama for when it learns that psychic skill' he thought and completed his choice before Caroline snatched the clipboard from his hands.

"Suzaku, going for a stronger one. Smart...for an inmate" Caroline said with a smirk before he watched two orbs of light fly out of him and into the guillotines where the blue cloths that were in the barricades suddenly became filled up.

It was a bit intense, even if it was just energy, as he watched the guillotine blade drop on them, sending the energy out and merging together with a flash of light.

As the light died down he was able to see the large red bird. With a purple-ish pink body and head which also had two long whisker-like feathers coming out from its cheeks. To him it looked like a mix between a swan, due to its long neck, a peacock due to its tail feathers that spread out behind it, and secretary bird due to its long legs. He also noticed how it had five different colored tail feathers - red, black, white, blue, and yellow.

"I am Suzaku, the burning light of the south that illuminates the future, and am now your new mask" Suzaku the bird said before it flew into his chest, Naruto able to sense it was stronger than his usual Persona.

"If you wish to do another, do let us know" Justine said as Naruto nodded and took a step back to think things over.

'Actually, getting Matador ahead of time will help as it gets me instant access to a Psi skill instead of having to wait for it' he decided, keeping Koppa Tengu on for now as he was needed to make Matador.

The fusion for Matador was simple, Koppa Tengu and Hua Po were needed but once he was made it created another problem as it had inherited a fire skill from Hua Po.

"Do not worry master, as we have said before, we want you at your strongest. Do not feel ill for swapping us out" Hua Po assured him with a smile as she appeared floating over his shoulder inside his cell, the Velvet Room being a place where they could manifest like this. "I will still be by your side so do not fret" she added, getting a nod from him before he removed her, Kodama, and Koppa Tengu.

"I think I'm ready to leave and head back" he told the wardens, getting nods from the both of them before the door behind him opened up to allow him to leave.

-Madarame's Palace-

Time thankfully started to move again only once he went back to where he was before it had stopped, allowing him to continue on towards the moving van where one by one they pulled themselves up it and up the wall beside it.

The drop was a bit much but their outfits allowed them to make drops like this without it hurting them which was a nice feature.

Though, as he and Ryuji went first - totally forgetting about Shiho and her outfit's skirt - he made sure Ryuji looked away with him before sending a silent 'I'm sorry' to Shiho for forgetting with her smile telling her it was okay.

"To think this is how he sees that run-down shack…" Morgana muttered, still surprised and a bit confused that this was Madarame's Palace.

"As you said before, we'll figure out why once we get inside so there's no use wondering and wasting time right now" Naruto told him, getting a nod from him as they continued on towards the right to avoid the Shadows in the form of security guards that were positioned near the entrance.

The path seemed to be through a garden of sorts with square shaped archways that led towards a large fountain.

"Deadend….unless we can climb up these things" Ann muttered before looking over toward these weird twisted pillars.

"I think we can, you girls head up first and then we'll follow" Naruto suggested, Ann letting Shiho go up first due to her skirt before the others followed up after them.

They were able to easily hop from one to another until they reached a wall that jutted out from the museum itself, allowing them to walk along and - with a few hops up a stairway-like structure with only three steps - they were able to get onto a roof with nearby skylight that was open.

"Well, we found a way in if Morgana has a rope that we can climb down with" Naruto said as he opened up the open skylight even more.

"Of course I do! I am the tool specialist after all" Morgana declared proudly as he fished one out of his pouches before, with a bit of help with someone with thumbs, they were able to tie one end to a nearby air conditioning unit while feeding the rest through the open skylight.

"Be careful heading in, we don't know if shadows are active yet or not" Naruto warned Shiho and Ann as they went in first, getting a nod from them and the others as one by one they climbed down the rope.

Once in they had to hop down one more ledge to get into what seemed like the actual exhibits which, at least in the room they were in, was entirely filled with odd swirling paintings of people.

"It's quiet in here, almost eerily so" Morgana muttered as Naruto nodded along, not hearing any nearby footsteps at all since even if Madarame's Shadows were dressed like security guards instead of knights they should still be hearing some kind of sound for them.

"H-Hey, that painting it's...moving" Ann pointed out as Ryuji sighed.

"C'mon, we're in a Palace. That ain't anything to be freakin' out over" Ryuji said with a roll of his eyes while Ann glared a bit at him.

"The Palace reflects it's ruler's heart. We may want to check these paintings out" Morgana advised while Naruto walked up and read the placard at the corner of the picture.

"It's….someone's name and age? Aren't these things supposed to be the title of the painting?" Naruto asked, looking over at Ann and Shiho since they had been shown around by Kitagawa recently.

"It's supposed to be but I don't think that's what it is. It can't be the artist's name either….can it?" Ann answered, a bit confused herself before Morgana shook his head.

"Let's check the other paintings too. I think there might be something about them that could help make this more clear" Morgana said which showed even he wasn't too sure about what these paintings were.

As they walked into the next room, seeing even more paintings, all swirling and - with a quick look over of a few of them - had the same stuff on their placards.

"They all are painted the same way and in the same style. All of them have names and no two paintings are the same person from what I can see. Just what are these supposed to be?" Naruto thought out loud as they made their way into the next room through an odd slanted picture frame styled opening.

No one really answered until Shiho widened her eyes and pointed ahead of them.

"Wait a second, isn't that Nakanohara?" Shiho asked before they all walked over to look at the painting.

"Natsuhiko Nakanohara, this is definitely him" Ann said before Naruto snapped his fingers with wide eyes as he finally understood what these were.

"These are all former pupils of Madarame's!" Naruto yelled out, surprising the others before one by one their eyes widened in realization as well. "That's why they are framed like this! Remember what Kitagawa said!? 'We are our sensei's artwork'! He literally sees them as art or something for him to profit off of and be famous for" Naruto told them, silently beating himself up that he didn't see it sooner.

"That's also why he sees this place as a museum! This is where all his 'artworks' have lived or 'been on display' over the years" Ann said, quickly adding onto it before Naruto quickly started looking around, running through the room before coming to a stop at the end of it.

"Well this truly proves my theory" Naruto said as the others followed after him and stopped beside him right in front of a picture of Kitagawa.

"To think he's had so many over the years…" Morgana muttered as Shiho frowned a bit.

"Well he is pretty old, who knows how many students he's had over the years before he was left with only Kitagawa" she brought up, getting nods from everyone as Naruto looked around.

"They probably all had their careers ruined when they eventually left or when Madarame grew tired of them. Kitagawa mentioned 'inconveniences' if he didn't submit a new piece for him in time" Naruto theorized a bit as he started walking towards what seemed to be the lobby with the others following behind him. "It could be either abuse like the article mentioned or he could get kicked out or something. Either way it just serves as more a reason to change Madarame's heart" he continued while he walked up to the counter and grabbed a brochure from a stand, smiling as he held it out, fully open for the others to see.

"And now we have a map or half a map. Either way we can see where we are going a bit with this" Naruto said before he slipped it into his inside pocket.

"Let's keep going, now that we have a map we aren't going in blind anymore" Morgana suggested, getting a nod from them as they continued on - but not before looting the two chests in the room where one of them contained a stronger looking sword for Morgana.

The next room was back behind the lobby as it was the only direction they could go due to the left being blocked by shutters and the second they were in it there were a bit floored by the massive golden statue that continued on up towards the ceiling with several statues of people scattered on it as it went upwards.

"'The Infinite Spring'? A conglomerate work of art that the great director Madarame created with his own funds" Ann started to read from the placard beside it. "These individuals must offer their ideas to the director for the rest of their lives. Those who cannot do so have no worth living!?" she finished, utterly shocked and angered by the end of it.

"This has to be how he sees the atelier, to him it's an 'Infinite Spring' that he's able to fund just by giving all the students somewhere to live and food to eat" Naruto muttered with a frown as he glared up at the statue.

"He really does just see them as tools to profit off of…" Shiho said with a frown as well, feeling disgusted just looking at this statue.

"The sooner we take this bastard down the better" Ryuji said as he cracked his knuckles with an excited smirk.

"Everyone be on guard, the security will be active and intense from here on out. Make sure none of you touch anything or run into any of the displays, all right?" Morgana said before Ryuji frowned at him.

"What're you lookin' at me for?" Ryuji asked with a flat look as Naruto sighed.

"Let's just get moving" Naruto said, not wanting an argument to start before he started walking up one of the ramps in the room towards the door in the back of it.

Personally he also really wanted to get out of this room as not only did the statue disgust him but the fact that the designs on the wallpaper were moving just weirded him out.

Once through the door right was the only way they could go, partially due to the door on the left being blocked by shutters and partially because of the signs directing them where to go.

"Be careful, there are infrared lasers here. It's a given that if we touch them security will be alerted" Naruto told them before he started running towards them, sliding under the first set of lasers and quickly jumping over the next.

It didn't take long for everyone to do the same, Shiho again getting the polite look away as she did it, before they walked forward and Morgana rushed on ahead a bit.

"It's a safe room! Come on guys, let's head in. I have some stuff to give you guys" Morgana told them, getting them to casually follow the 'not-cat' into the room.

The safe room looked more like a mini office room with desks along one side of the wall with phones and laptops laying on each desk. As the room flashed between Meta-verse and real they found that this room seemed to be just a normal room with some painting tools throughout it.

"So, what do you have for us Morgana?" Naruto asked as he idly messed around with the laptops as he walked along the desks due to being curious if they worked only to find out they didn't.

"Well, it's everyone but you since you have one already. I've finished making everyone else grappling hooks!" Morgana said while Naruto silently wondered how he went about doing that when he was by his side the majority of the time.

"Oh sweet! I was wondering if you were gonna give them to us before we needed them" Ryuji said with a massive smirk, showing he was excited to use them.

"How tricky is it to use?" Ann asked, looking over to Naruto who waved off her worries with a smile.

"It really isn't that hard, just fire it off and it tends to grab onto things easily" he assured her, getting a relieved smile on her face as she and Shiho put theirs on.

He did though get a bit curious what Ann whispered in Shiho's ear to get her to blush and whack at her arm but figured it was probably just a girl thing.

"So are we ready to set off?" Naruto asked only for Morgana to shake his head.

"Not yet! I want to suggest a change in hideouts!" he told them, getting a confused look from everyone before he held out his paws to stop them from responding just yet. "My reasoning being the principal's helpers and the new arrival of a detective prince. The principal has teachers on his side that might be keeping their eyes on us and even if you say Shirogane is fine it'll be a 'better safe than sorry' scenario" Morgana explained, getting Naruto to sigh as he leaned back on one of the desks.

"Fine...before we agree or vote on it, what do you suggest for the change of location?" Naruto asked, which got Morgana to smile proudly that he was getting him to listen and consider it.

"The accessway we went to while waiting for Panther and Spartan to get done at the exhibit. The noise of others will conceal our talks and since it's out in public getting together won't be suspicious" Morgana suggested as the others looked around at each other.

"I mean, I don't mind as this way it'll allow Spartan to be there easier" Ann said while Ryuji nodded along.

"Plus it'd also let Niijima-senpai off the hook a bit since if we keep meeting on the roof she might be bugged about why she isn't spying on us" Naruto added on before nodding. "Fine, from now on it's our new hideout but if that is everything, and if everyone is ready, can we get going?" he asked with Morgana and the others nodding to show they were done and ready.

As they snuck through the next exhibit part they had to be careful as near the end of it there was a Shadow with a red aura around it, telling them it was way above their pay grade. Though thankfully, with a bit of well timed jumps from cover to cover, they were able to make their way through it and off to the stairs that were nearby.

First thing Naruto noticed after they avoided setting off another set of lasers was the security looking booth with the shining gold vase on display being the next once they turned the corner. 'That's a trap and a half if I've ever seen one' Naruto thought to himself as they ran by it.

"H-Hey, wait a second! You're just gonna ignore that golden sheen?" Morgana asked, as if shocked and insulted they were walking past it like this. "Mmmm...look at that luster~" he purred out with stars in his eyes.

"I know it might be tough to take with us but don't you think it'd sell for tons?" Morgana asked as he jumped up there before Naruto could say anything, causing a loud click to go off.

"Everyone, stand back!" Naruto ordered out, leaping back just mere seconds before a complete laser grid caged everyone in the area.

"I tripped security!" Morgana cried out before Ryuji groaned out in utter frustration.

"And you were the one makin' us be careful too!" Ryuji barked out, making Morgana look even more sheepish than he already did.

"Don't worry guys, I'm free and there has to be some switches nearby to turn off the lasers in case workers accidentally set it off" Naruto assured them before heading off to his left, deciding that freeing Ann and Shiho was his best choice for first ones to free.

Climbing up using some things nearby was easy but as he walked around the top ledge overlooking the area beside where Ann and Shiho were trapped he figured he might have to fight a Shadow on his own.

'I have more than enough Persona to handle whatever comes my way so I should be fine' he reassured himself before jumping down to unmask the security guard Shadow.

The shadow, as it melted and reformed, turned into a yellow and blue dog that he swears he's seen as a statue around Japan.

He quickly moved on from his thoughts as a blue explosion burst in front of him, sending him skidding back a bit. 'I'm going to take a wild guess that was a nuclear attack' Naruto thought with a groan as he heard a chuckle in his head.

"That it was Niño and a little word of advise" a new male voice spoke out as Naruto watched Matador appear beside him "nuclear tends to be weak to psychic skills and vice versa since you seem new to this" he said, a smirk clear in his tone as - while he didn't enjoy the talking down to him - he appreciated the help.

"Fine, then hit them with Psi Matador!" Naruto yelled, watching the skeleton Persona wave its red cape in its hand which seemingly caused orbs that were a mix pink, yellow, and blue before they flew into the dog creature, dazing it and allowing him to fire off another Psi at it.

That wasn't enough to take it down though, the dog glaring at him as it barked again which started up another explosion. This time he was able to get out of the way to avoid it.

"Finish it off with another Psi Matador!" Naruto commanded, blasting the dog with another attack which was thankfully enough to take it out.

He let out a sigh of relief, glad it was just one Shadow, before he pressed a nearby button which lowered the glass wall between him and the two girls so they could move away from the lasers.

"Thanks Joker, we always can rely on you" Shiho said with a smile as Ann nodded along.

"Now let's get Mona and Skull out!" Ann said, getting a nod from the two of them before Naruto led them away from the lasers.

Seeing it as the only way he had them follow him back up onto the ledge where they continued on until they reached the area that was next to Ryuji. With a quick look to make sure they were ready he leapt down to unmask the security guard.

This one melted into three different shadows - the dog from before, an elegant woman dancer of sorts, and a small bearded creature with a leaf umbrella.

The dog was easy to knock down with Matador, allowing him to baton pass to one of the girls to try out their element on the remaining two which - after Shiho attacked and knocked down the bearded creature and Ann hit the dancer - showed they were both weak to fire. After that a quick All-Out Attack was all they needed to finish them off.

"Now we just have to press the button and Skull should be freed" Naruto told them, finding the button in the same place only to frown when nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Shiho asked as Naruto looked around, using his third eye skill to look around which allowed him to see footsteps leading towards a glowing tilted painting.

"Nothing wrong just…" Naruto muttered as he walked over to the painting and pulled it off the wall "this one is two step" he revealed to them, showing the button behind the painting before he pressed it and the wall finally rose up.

"Nice job! Let's hurry and meet back up with Skull" Ann said, Naruto nodding as he hurried over to see Ryuji rubbing his arm a bit.

"Sorry about having you free me like that but now we just gotta get Mona out of there" Ryuji said while Naruto looked around.

"I don't think we'll be able to get him out unless we can turn the lasers off" Ann said before Shiho frowned a bit.

"There aren't any other buttons nearby, are there?" Shiho asked, getting a shake of a head from Naruto as he saw none.

"I think we'll need to find a way into the control room nearby, probably through a vent that's most likely on this side since I didn't see anything on Panther and Spartan's side" Naruto told them, turning around as Morgana continued to do his best to avoid touching the lasers.

The vent, with a little bit of looking around, was easy to find. "Okay, Skull and I will go first with you two bringing up the rear, sound good?" Naruto asked, getting smiles and nods from the two girls as he hopped up and started through the vent first.

"Just no one look back, okay!?" Ann warned them since, with their cleavage on display if they looked back while crawling they'd get an eyeful - something neither of them wanted.

"Don't worry, we won't" Ryuji groaned out with an eyeroll before he headed in next.

Once through the short bit of vent Naruto quickly started looking around, trying to see if there was any button before a laptop that was on caught his eye.

"'Security level control. Status: on'" he read out loud as the others finished their way through the vent.

"You found it?" Shiho asked before Ann walked up and frowned.

"Wait, it says we need a password to use it" Ann muttered only to have Naruto smirk a bit as he looked over to them.

"Then we'll just have to find it by listening in on some Shadows. They don't really scream the 'cautious' type" Naruto told them as he walked over to the door and opened it, only to have to rush to a nearby corner as there were two Shadows standing in the middle of the hall in front of them.

Thankfully the others decided to stay in the room as there wasn't enough room for all of them over here.

"Hey, did you hear about those intruders?" one rather basic looking shadow security guard asked the other which looked much more powerful and in charge.

"Yeah, you mean the thieves sneaking around in here? I got a call telling me to change the password just in case" he told the other as Naruto really started to focus on listening in.

"And? What did you change it to? You know, just in case one of the others stupidly set it off again" the first one asked, showing Naruto that his assumption that they weren't entirely too smart was rather spot on.

"Hello, 0-7-7-3-4. If you read the numbers upside-down they spell out the word hello" the second one told the first.

"Isn't that a bit childish?" the weaker looking one said with a confused tone only to get waved off.

"It should be fine as long as nobody else finds out. It's not like anyone's eavesdropping on us" the stronger one said, Naruto rolling his eyes as he figured with phantom thieves around they should always be worried about eavesdropping.

He stayed there a bit, even as the stronger one left, until he was certain that he could make it back to the control booth without getting spotted.

"So? Did you learn the code?" Ann asked as Naruto nodded and walked over to the laptop.

"The code is the numbers that spell out hello if you hold a calculator upside down….these shadows are grade schoolers…." Naruto told them with an eye roll as he entered in the code before the status changed and - through the nearby window - they were able to see the lasers had turned off.

"Great! Now let's go meet up with the cat that got us into this mess" Ryuji said, Naruto shaking his head as he started off towards Morgana while he hoped no arguing started between the two of them.

"I-I'm sorry….that was very much unlike me" Morgana apologized as Ryuji sighed.

"I mean, weren't you the one tellin' us not to go around touchin' shit in the exhibit?" Ryuji asked which got an embarrassed groan from the 'not-cat'.

"That is true...I can't believe I made such a novice mistake, even for solid gold" Morgana said, ears drooped as he turned to look back at the solid gold vase. "Something was drawing me to this vase though…" he told them which got them all to look towards the vase.

"What do you mean? Isn't it just an ordinary gold vase? What could be so special about it?" Ann asked as to her it just looked normal….well, normal in the Palace.

"Maybe check it out?" Shiho suggested, Naruto shrugging as breaking it open wouldn't endanger them given they turned off the security.

Plus he somewhat enjoyed shattering vases and statues that he saw glowing around Palaces.

Shattering it was easy and satisfying but inside seemed to be a large reddish purple diamond. "Uh, what is this?" Naruto asked as he picked it up and turned around only for it to start glowing and shatter which caused a nearly blinding flash of light.

Once the light died down Naruto saw the diamond had changed colors, now being an even bigger than before bluish-tinged diamond with a weird yellow eyed ghostly figure rising out from it.

"I am Regent. May you find me useful in your endeavours, whatever they may be" the figure said before turning into blue light and flying into his mask.

"Okay, let me revise that - what was that?" Naruto asked, looking over to Morgana who smiled up at him.

"That is a Treasure Demon, a rare Shadow that resides in pricey items. They can't fight but they should be able to help you and your Personas Joker" Morgana told him, Naruto somewhat unsure about how he knew about stuff like this before deciding to just shrug it off and continue on.

Easier to do than wonder and be confused after all.

Once out of the room and down the hallway that was past it they were thankful to find another safe room to rest in for a bit.

They didn't stay long though as they were all still energized and all still wanted to get a move on to see how far into the Palace they could go until they decided to call it for the day.

Immediately as they left the safe room they headed right, that being their only path….only to stop a bit as they could see a full set of three security lasers in their way.

"Guess we're heading this way" Naruto said, motioning towards the large window opening in the wall beside them before pulling himself up.

"The hell!? How're we supposed to get past this huge hole in the-!" Ryuji started to yell only for Morgnana to shut him up by covering his mouth. The reason for his shock was due to there being a massive hole in the middle of the room they were looking into with a singular wooden board barely going across it.

"Calm down and look at where the security guard is walking" Morgana told him with a flat look, them all watching as the guard was seemingly walking on the hole as if it wasn't even there.

"What is this supposed to be, Looney Tunes?" Naruto muttered with an exasperated sigh before he hopped down and went to quickly unmask the Shadow.

The Shadow turned out to be another pair of the bearded creatures and a dancer looking lady. Deciding he might as well try and get more Persona it was easy to knock them all down with fire and get the dancer - now known as Apsaras of the Priestess Arcana - to join him.

He did it more for potential fusions since Jack Frost was stronger than her, getting him to remove her and Regent from his active roster.

"Wow, this is really realistic...if it wasn't for the guard walking around we probably would have believed it" Shiho muttered as she tapped her foot on the optical illusion to really test that it wasn't an actual hole in the room.

"Well this is the Palace of an artist, stuff like this - while odd - is fitting" Morgana said, getting a few nods from the others before they continued on.

Trying to conserve as much energy as they could they decided to stick to moving from cover to cover down the long hallway, avoiding two shadows before they entered another exhibit type room full of paintings.

The second they walked in they realized they had been caught in a trap as a set of metal poles rose up from the ground on each side of the doorway they had just passed through and two currents of electricity formed a gate, blocking them from exiting.

"Intruders in the Second Exhibition Room! Apprehend them at once!" a loud voice over the intercom yelled out, causing Shadows to form in the room and send them to quickly hide in cover.

"What do we do!? Where's the exit!?" Ryuji hissed out in a whisper from a cover at a nearby wall before Naruto held up a finger to his own lips to tell Ryuji to be quiet.

"Just stay calm and follow me" Naruto told him calmly, getting a nod from him as everyone there trusted Naruto to guide them out of this trap safely.

Looking around it didn't take long to find the way out that he was looking for, it taking the shape of a nearby metal crate of sorts that they could easily climb on top of. It'd easily allow them to get above and onto one of the weird cube pillars that were used to display paintings.

"You guys wait here, I'm going to grapple over there and see what's there. It's a dead end so I have to jump back down" he told them, getting nods from them as they either stood on the crate out of reach or on the pillar with him.

Once over there he smirked as he found a button, which he instantly pressed as he figured - just like the vase room - it'd help turn off the security. His guess turned out to be right as a second after he pressed it he stopped hearing the crackling of electricity in the room.

He smiled as he walked back over to the ledge, motioning for them to head to the door out of the exhibit since he figured they might as well start heading out now while he worked on jumping down once he was certain he wouldn't be seen. Thankfully it didn't take long for him to rejoin them.

As they continued on Naruto frowned as he saw what seemed to be a large courtyard with another building at the end of it through the blue and yellow windows, the golden tree attached to it just seemed weird and creepy.

"That place is even gaudier than the rest of the museum" Ann muttered with a frown as they reached an archway that allowed them to step into the courtyard a bit.

"It definitely looks like something important would be hidden away in there…" Morgana suggested, Naruto nodding along as it definitely screamed that way to him.

They were cautious as they continued on, the second they made their way up to the blue sliding doors it, and many others that were behind it, opened up for them instantly.

The sight at the end wasn't good for them as red laser barriers that were coursing with red electricity were blocking their way to the building and the peacock looking front door of it.

"What the hell!?" Ryuji asked out in shock at the sight of it all.

"Infrared lasers? There's no way we can get past them, is there?" Ann asked while Naruto looked around, trying to see a way around it only for him to shake his head as he couldn't see anything.

"This level of security simply proves there's something worth protecting up ahead" Morgana suggested, something Naruto definitely agreed with while Shiho walked up to a nearby sign.

"'All personnel: the door can only be opened via the security room that lies beyond it. Please be cautious as it is impossible to open from the outside'" Shiho read, frowning as she looked back at them since this didn't spell good news for them whatsoever.

"So it's never gonna open!? How're we supposed to get past!?" Ryuji asked as Naruto hummed in thought as he looked over the peacock looking doors ahead of them.

"This place represents somewhere in the atelier, probably somewhere heavily guarded…" Naruto started to theorize a bit as Morgana nodded along.

"I have an idea but I'll explain later, for now let's head to the nearby safe room and use that as a way to head back to the entrance" Morgana said, the look in his eyes showing he was confident about the idea.

"Okay, not like we can go any further today. Let's head back so we can learn the plan without being in danger of an ambush" he told them, getting nods as they followed Morgana to the safe room which in turn allowed them to leave the safe room and appear back outside where they had started from.

"Now returning to the real world from Madarame's Palace. Thank you for your hard work" the Nav told them as the world rippled and they left the Metaverse.

-Real World-

"So, how're we supposed to get past that door?" Ann asked as Morgana hopped back inside Naruto's bag.

"That museum is based on this shack and that door wasn't in theme with anything else inside the Palace. It was far too specific looking to be a random design brought upon randomly by the Palace itself" Morgana told them while Naruto raised an eyebrow at the 'not-cat'.

"So you're suggesting the door is based on a place inside the shack?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from him.

"Yes and it's probably heavily locked given the intensity of the security in the Palace" Morgana added which only got a sigh from Ryuji.

"Don't we wanna be openin' the door in the Palace?" Ryuji pointed out, not sure where this was going or how it'd help them.

"We do and we will do so by opening the real door in front of Madarame's eyes. Basically we're going to change his cognition that the door is unopenable" Morgana explained to them, getting Ann to scratch the back of her head.

"So, in other words, when we open the one in Madarame's house that area in his Palace will open up on its own?" she asked as Naruto nodded a bit.

"I believe so if I'm following this all correctly but only for a bit until he closes and locks the door back up" Naruto guessed with the nod from Morgana showing he was right.

"Still, given the intensity of security in the Palace doesn't that mean there will be a hefty lock or something on the door in real life? How are you going to deal with it?" Shiho asked, unsure how a cat would deal with that.

"That'll be a breeze. Just give me a hairpin and I'll handle it" Morgana boasted before Naruto sighed.

"How about I make you a durable lockpick and you use that instead?" Naruto suggested, the shrug from the cat showing he didn't mind either way.

"It will take some time though, doing everything by myself in front of Madarame would be impossible….if only there was someone who could distract him for a while" Morgana said, looking over to Ann which instantly made Naruto, Ann, and Shiho start to not like where this was going.

"Man, how are we even gonna get into his house? We'd get reported for sure if we force ourselves in. I guess the only way in is...havin' you go nude" Ryuji said, getting a chuckle out of Morgana.

"Fancy you say that Ryuji, I was just thinking the same thing" Morgana said before Ann stomped her foot.

"This isn't funny! I am not going nude!" Ann yelled as Naruto nodded along but sighed.

"As much as I utterly hate this plan I think I can see where it's going" Naruto started, looking at her with a 'hear me out' look in his eyes. "You essentially take Kitagawa up on his offer to get into the house with no intention of ever getting nude. You delay time long enough for Morgana to unlock the door and then you lead Kitagawa to the door" he explained a bit, getting a nod from Morgana to show he was right in his assumption.

"B-But how would Madarame even see it!?" Shiho asked, clearly flustered from the idea just like Ann was.

It made sense since he doubted Shiho would want her friend to go into a dangerous situation after everything they dealt with in regards to Kamoshida.

"If it truly is an important door I'm willing to bet that he has some kind of security alert for when it's opened or attempted to be opened. He might rush home if he got an alert about it and given how close the exhibit is to here you wouldn't have to wait long" Naruto told them both, walking forward to put a hand on both of their shoulders.

"All you have to do is give me and Ryuji enough time to make it past the door and then instantly escape back to the metaverse with Morgana and Shiho" Naruto told her, getting a confused look from Ann as he smiled. "What? Kitagawa never mentioned Shiho when listing off people who can't come back. He's more likely to allow Shiho there so you won't really be alone" he assured her, getting a long and loud sigh from Ann.

"Fine….I'll be the bait...for justice!" Ann said, clearly not too into the idea but willing to try.

"You have four days to figure it out….unless you want to do it during exams" Naruto said with a bit of a frown.

"After exams is for the best. It'll allow us to prepare a bit as well, just tell Kitagawa you want to do it on Sunday" Morgana said, which only got another groan from Ann before she nodded, her head drooping down before a squeeze of her shoulder got her to look up at Naruto again.

His smile made her feel a bit better despite still not being all for this idea.

"For now let's just head home" Naruto said, turning to leave only to notice someone heading over towards them.

The woman was young looking, easily only in her mid-20s with brown eyes, black hair that was styled in a bob cut, and a pair of red lips. She wore a black shirt that had a blue and pink design on the front of it with a white long sleeved shirt underneath it, a pair of blue jeans with a pink fanny pack around her waist, a pair of black and white sneakers, and a camera hanging around her neck.

"Hey, can I talk with you kids for a sec?" the woman asked as they turned towards her. "From the looks of things you don't seem like the ordinary, stalking fans" she told them, getting confused looks from them before she laughed a bit embarrassedly.

"Sorry...I should've been more clear. You see, I'm a reporter and I'm looking for people that know Madarame's pupils. There's this painting 'Sayuri' that was supposedly stolen in the past but there's this rumor that it was taken by one of his pupils in retaliation for being abused. Have you heard anything about that?" she asked as she started to explain, showing that she wasn't just some weirdo.

"We don't know anything about Sayuri but we have heard rumors about the abuse. We even talked to a former pupil who confirmed them….although we really don't have his info so we can't be much help there" Naruto told them, seeing no harm in telling a reporter a bit about all of this.

"Really?! Even just a confirmation this way is something I can use as I can easily say due to privacy I confirmed it through a proxy, thanks a lot!" she said, clearly excited before she fished out a card and started to walk over towards him.

"My name is Ichiko Ohya and I'm a journalist so if you ever get any leads would you mind contacting me?" she asked as she handed him her card, Naruto looking it over before nodding.

"Sure thing" he told her, pocketing the card before she walked off with a smile.

"You sure that was a smart idea to do?" Ryuji asked while Naruto merely shrugged.

"Telling her all that doesn't change much and hey, who knows if a journalist connection will come in handy later" Naruto said with a smirk as while he did have a more powerful source of info in the shape of his godfather he also knew he couldn't ask him.

One part due to him being busy and the other part due to it potentially making him suspicious due to it. In the end he felt this could come in handy.

"Look, for now let's just head home. We have exams to struggle through so let's try and clear that hurdle while working to find a way to clear this one afterwards" Naruto told them as they nodded along with him as they made their way home.

-Yongen-Jaya-

As he got home he sighed, the usual exhaustion that came with going into Metaverse rearing its head in his muscles. He decided to wait until he at least was sitting on his bed before he opened up the message that made his phone chime once he walked in the door.

Ann: So I messaged Kitagawa about modeling and he agreed that the 15th would be for the best

Ann: Also it seems we won't have to worry about Madarame not seeing it as it seems he'll be returning early on the day planned...

Ann: I already told Ryuji all of this but I kinda wanted to talk to the two of you privately about it...

Shiho: That's fine, is he okay with me coming along?

Ann: He's okay with it since you aren't Naruto or Ryuji

Shiho: He really doesn't like you guys, does he?

Naruto: Doesn't surprise me, I did confront him and call him out on a bunch of stuff

Naruto: People often don't like having the truth shoved in their face

Naruto: But hey, at least Shiho can be there for you so you don't feel so nervous

Shiho: Yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't try anything pervy on you for sure

Ann: Thanks Shiho, that honestly makes me feel a lot better

Naruto: If you need help with your plan to stall him in any way just let me know

Ann: Shiho and I are going to make a plan but we'll keep that in mind, thanks :)

Naruto: Well, as long as you know. Message me the moment you need anything

Ann/Shiho: Will do

With exams being brought up Naruto couldn't help but groan. Studying was never his big thing but Tsunade and his older aunt had been very intent and driven to ensure he wasn't an idiot.

In the end it resulted in him being really good at remembering things he's heard, making him more of an auditory learner which was fine.

Just meant he had to repeat his notes out loud a few times while he read them over which wasn't that bad.

He did his best not to stay up too late studying before he went to bed, bracing and readying himself for the next four days…

-5/11 Wednesday to 5/14 Saturday-

Exams, like he expected, were hell….but! In the end he was somehow able to survive.

Everything he had studied for ended up being on the test and he even had some help with Morgana coaching him through things a bit.

Alongside exams he was also caught up checking on Ann and Shiho's plan to distract Kitagawa and allow Morgana enough time to open the door.

The plan was actually quite interesting and rather odd. He felt it might just work but at the same time it'd be very tricky.

But he was confident that it would work since it had to so they could continue on in the Palace, especially since he ran into Kitagawa on the first day of exams.

It was still obvious that Kitagawa didn't like him whatsoever but, a bit worryingly, he felt Ann's sudden acceptance of his offer to be odd...not that he blamed him. Naruto did his best to act like he had no idea about Ann's choices which Kitagawa seemingly believed and went on his way….of course, not before warning him he'd call the cops on them if they tried anything.

Seriously, what was with people and threatening to call the cops so easily over things?...

Overall sure, it made him a bit worried about when they executed the plan, but he had faith that Ann, Shiho, and Morgana could get it done.

-5/15 - Sunday-

"Everyone clear on the plan?" Naruto asked as they waited nearby Madarame's atelier, a bit out of sight so Kitagawa didn't spot them.

"Yeah, while we're working on the door you two will be waiting in the Palace to make sure the door stays open for us in there since that sign mentioned a control room inside" Ann said, looking over at Naruto and Ryuji as they nodded along.

"We'll be heading in with Morgana real quick so we can get to the safe room near the door and the second it goes down we'll rush in to permanently turn it off" Ryuji said before Naruto gave one last look to the two girls.

"I know you two can do this, just stay calm and remember you will have a way out if things turn sour" Naruto reminded them, getting a nod and smile from them both, a determined look in their eyes telling him they were ready for it.

"Okay then, we'll leave you two to get things ready" he said with a smirk at the bags of clothes they had around them, only being able to imagine how their plan turned out as Morgana hopped out of his bag and onto his shoulder.

"We'll be right back Lady Ann so fret not!" Morgana declared, getting an eye roll from the two guys before they entered the Palace and - after a quick 'fast travel' they were in place.

-Ann & Shiho-

Ann was thankful that Kitagawa left the door unlocked for her, allowing her 'plan' not to be spoiled as Kitagawa called out for her from within the house to guide her to the room he was using.

It also allowed for Morgana to quickly scamper off with a lockpick in his mouth in search for the door they were looking for.

"To think you'd really come...I assumed you were lying when you contacted me" Kitagawa said as she walked up to the room, his back towards her as he seemed to be getting his paints ready.

"I'm sorry it was so sudden, especially right after exams" Ann apologized only to get a shake of his head.

"It's not a problem but, as I told you when you first contacted me, Sensei will be returning early today. In about 20 to 30 minutes to be a bit more precise. So….I'm sorry if that causes some anxiety on your part" Kitagawa reminded her as Ann fidgetted a bit.

"That's why I'm here today dammit…" she muttered, nervous but a quick pat on the shoulder from Shiho helped calm her down. They both knew she couldn't sit down as Shiho also had a role in things that she just had to wait to go do.

"What was that?" Kitagawa asked as he finally turned around before Ann quickly shook her head.

"Oh no, it was nothing!" she assured him, getting him to raise an eyebrow at her a bit.

"By the way...have you gained some weight?" Kitagawa asked, somehow not recognizing or realizing that she was wearing countless layers of clothes.

"You think so? I weigh the same as always….Maybe I'm bloated today?" Ann said, her being beyond thankful that Naruto's guess about him being this dense was right.

But him being this dense was something else.

"So then...can you, um...get ready here?" Kitagawa asked as Ann frowned a bit.

"I...need to take my clothes off, right? I'm embarrassed. Could you look the other way?" she asked, getting a nod from Kitagawa before he turned away so that she could take off her countless layers of clothes which in turn allowed Shiho to silently hurry off to help Morgana with the door.

"How is the door going?" Shiho whispered as she found Morgana who was somehow using the lockpick with only his mouth while he clung to the massive lock on the peacock looking door.

"Good but you could help me, let me sit on your shoulder so I have better leverage" Morgana said as he hopped down, spitting out the lockpick that Naruto had crafted for him to talk before picking it back up as Shiho picked up up and kneeled by the door so that he could sit on her shoulder and get back to it.

"Just please hurry up, I don't want to put Ann in a tough place" Shiho said, Morgana nodding along as neither did he.

"Hey, you're sensei's coming back soon right?" Ann asked, getting a nod from Kitagawa as he was still facing away from her. "Then do you think we could do this somewhere else then? A little more atmosphere would be lovely" she suggested, knowing they had to leave this room to get Madarame to see the door when he came back.

"This should be good enough" Kitagawa tried to assure her as Ann sighed.

"But wouldn't a room with a lock be a bit better?" she asked, getting confusion from Kitagawa. "Must a girl say more?" she added on, tossing another piece of clothing past him, knowing each piece was making him nervous.

"But the only room with a lock is...Sensei's room" Kitagawa told her, getting a smile from Ann as this was perfect.

"Then why not there?" she asked him, finally getting all the clothes she had on over her casual outfit before he turned around.

"You were wearing all this?" Kitagawa asked, finally realizing her countless layers of clothes due to all of them being in a massive pile beside her.

"D-Don't you think it's cold today?" she replied as she tried to play it off like nothing.

"I suppose so? The sun is starting to set…" he said while Ann quickly nodded with a smile.

"Riiight? That's why a change of location would be nice. I mean, I'm gonna take it all off" she told him, getting some mumbles from him about how it'd make for a better picture if she was in a better mood.

The mumbles of 'expressive poses' quickly did make her worry but in the end she knew she wasn't actually going to pose for him and that she needed him to follow her.

"T-Totally, let's go as I'm so starting to get into the mood" Ann purred out a bit before she quickly left the room and headed down the hall. She knew her acting was bad but with someone as dense as Kitagawa it'd be fine for him.

"Wait! If you wander around Sensei will…" Kitagawa cried out to her, trying to get her to stop.

"It's soooo hot~" she purred out again as she started to slowly head towards Morgana and Shiho, Morgana calling out to where they were since only Shiho and her could hear him.

"W-We really can't use any other room!" Kitagawa cried out again before stopping when Ann threw her jersey jacket into the doorway to make him believe she was stripping.

"Why not this one?" Ann asked, smiling as the door was unlocked, Shiho giving Ann a nod to tell her she'd sneak around to get the clothes back as Morgana rushed into the room.

"Please, wait!" Kitagawa yelled out, closing the door behind him as he quickly ran after her.

-Naruto & Ryuji-

"Are they seriously gonna be able to pull this off?" Ryuji asked as they were sitting in front of the lasers, enjoying some cup noodles that Naruto brought with him as, with the time difference between the real world and Metaverse he had prepared for them to be there for a while.

"I mean, Panther was sayin' stuff like 'I'll just seduce him with my acting' but that sounds out of her league" he added while Naruto shrugged as he finished off his cup of noodles.

"We have to have faith in them, I heard their plan and it sounds like a good time waster to ensure Madarame returns in time. Plus Spartan is with them and Mona is using a lockpick to get at the door. All we have to do is wait for the door to open so we can rush in" Naruto told him, tossing the trash in a nearby empty paint can.

"But given everything don't we have like only a few seconds to get in?" Ryuji asked which only got a shrug from Naruto.

"Depends on what happens after it's opened. Either way waiting is all we can do" Naruto reminded him, sighing as he understood Ryuji's worry but also knew that it was all up to them.

-Ann & Shiho-

"Please, can you just wait and-" Kitagawa tried to say as she stood in front of the door, somehow stripped down to an outfit she had underneath her normal clothes which consisted of a red camouflage tank top and a pair of jean shorts.

"I wonder what's in here?" Ann asked as she put her hand on the door with a smirk.

"I-I keep telling you that you can't go in there! It's just a storage area for old paintings...but why is it unlocked?" Kitagawa tried to tell her, confused why the lock was gone which only made her smile a bit more.

"Why don't we do it in here? I won't be embarrassed if we go somewhere nobody can find us" Ann told him, trying her best to flutter eye eyelashes at him to get him to agree with her.

"Only Sensei can go in there" Kitagawa tried to remind her before she pouted.

"Pleeease? I wanna be alone with you" she whined out which made Shiho, who was silently waiting nearby, inwardly groan at since she knew how bad Ann's acting was. "I wanna be somewhere like, quiet. You know, where we won't be interrupted" she added, making a nearby Morgana doubt that this would work on him.

"S-Sure. Wait! I mean no! We can't go in there!" Kitagawa quickly said, showing he had nearly given in, that alone making Morgana fall on his face out of shock that Ann's acting was actually working.

"Then I'm leaving" Ann whined with a pout, crossing her arms and making Kitagawa flinch at.

"W-Wait! No!" Kitagawa cried out before they heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" Madarame called out, instantly making Yusuke nervous as he called out to him which in turn confused Madarame due to how scared he sounded.

"Come on!" Ann told Kitagawa before she opened the door and stepped inside with Morgana running in after her, deciding to head inside with her in case she needed him.

"What are you doing there!?" Madarame yelled out as he saw Ann inside the room with Yusuke standing outside it.

"It's...It's not what it looks like!" Kitagawa tried to assure Madarame before Ann decided to make a move, grabbing him and pulling him inside.

"Not in there!" Madarame yelled out again, his tone telling them he definitely didn't want them in there.

-Naruto & Ryuji-

"How much longer do you think it'll be before they finally open it?" Ryuji asked with a groan as Naruto stood up and stretched a bit.

"Given the time difference it should be hopefully happening soon since we only are waiting like 20 to 30 minutes" Naruto told him, watching as the door started to rattle before it quickly opened and the lasers dropped down.

"It's off! They seriously did it!" Ryuji said in shock as Naruto nodded and started running towards the opened door.

"Yeah but come on! It could come back on at any second!" Naruto yelled at him, getting a nod from Ryuji as he followed after. "If we run into any enemies be on guard, it's just the two of us so we can't get cocky!" he warned him, Ryuji nodding as they went inside and quickly noticed one guard in a red uniform in their way.

"Seems like we already have one in our way. Let's take them out!" Ryuji suggested as they stopped a bit in front of the guard.

"You two must be the thieves who dare threaten Lord Madarame! I will not let you pass!" the shadow yelled out as he dissolved and reformed into a massive creature that had the head of a monkey, arms and legs of a tiger, a body that he wasn't quite sure of, and a snake for a tail.

"How did you get past the security system!? You cannot go any further! You are trespassing on Lord Madarame's territory!" the creature barked out it burst forward and slammed its fists down on Ryuji, him groaning out as he skidded back, a quick look to Naruto telling him he was fine.

"We'll see about that! Try out your element, we have to see what this thing is weak to" Naruto told Ryuji as he summoned Matador. "Let's start with the girl's element since they aren't here. Matador! Agi" he called out, the bullfighter blasting the creature with fire which knocked it down instantly.

"Straight into an All-Out Attack! There's only two of us so we have to take it down fast!" Naruto instructed as Ryuji followed him into attacking the Shadow.

"Got it! Come on Captain Kidd! Zio!" Ryuji yelled out as his Persona fired his cannon at the Shadow, landing a hit for some decent damage.

The Shadow, angry and hurt, swung a fist at Naruto in a fit of rage. Naruto was able to handle it as he skidded back a bit and summoned Matador again.

"One more time and we should be able to take it out" Naruto said as he blasted it with fire again, knocking it down again before the two of them finished it off with another All-Out Attack.

Naruto panted a bit as the Shadow dissipated, it having hit harder than he already expected but thankfully he wasn't hurt all that much by it. Plus, by the pulse inside him and the glowing orb in front of him, he was able to grow stronger from the fight.

He watched as the orb transformed into a woman with grey skin and long black hair done in two low ponytails with her arms seemingly slipping through them. Her outfit was quite off with an upside down fan in front of her face, two in her hands, and another in front of her chest, with a very very short skirt that was kept on by a rope around her waist, and a long cloak that only her forearms were through.

"I am Ame-No-Uzume, the next step in the Lovers Arcana and I shall be your new face. Now come, let us rejoice in the melody that draws forth true might~" she told him, her voice melodic as she smiled at him before turning back into light and going into his chest.

"Whew….things are real tough when it's just me and you" Ryuji said with a sigh, Naruto nodding along as he definitely understood.

"Yeah but it'd be a real pain if we got spotted again. I think I see the security booth so come on, we gotta do our part or Panther went through all that worth for nothing" Naruto told him, Ryuji agreeing as they quickly hurried off.

-Ann & Shiho-

"Takamaki, this is bad!" Kitagawa told her, his tone full of worry as they were blind in the pitch black room.

"Are these the lights?" Ann asked, ignoring his worry as she pulled a nearby cord and lighting up the room to see it was utterly full of copies of that Sayuri painting the reporter had mentioned a few days ago.

Of course after hearing the mention of it they all had looked it up to see if there were any rumors about it. It was true there were rumors about it being stolen but the countless copies in a room like this made those rumors seem odd.

"What the…" Kitagawa muttered, floored by the sight around him.

"Isn't this Sayuri? Why are there so many of them?" Ann asked as it made no sense to her for there to be this many Sayuri all stacked together like this.

"I have no idea…" Kitagawa said as it didn't make any sense to him either.

"Get out!" Madarame ordered, anger clear on his face as he quickly followed in after them.

"Sensei, what is the meaning of this?" Kitagawa asked while hoping for some reasoning that made sense to him.

"I suppose I can't keep quiet now that you've seen this...truth be told, I'm in severe debt" Madarame said with a sigh, his tone quickly becoming tired like he was ashamed to admit it. "I handmade these 'Sayuri' copies and have been selling them through a special connection of mine" he explained to them as he looked to the side to avoid their gaze.

"But why?" Kitagawa asked, even more curious for the reasoning behind things.

"The real 'Sayuri' was stolen by one of my pupils long ago. I assume they begrudged my strictness...that moment was quite a shock for me and since then...I've been mired in a terrible artist's block" he explained to them with a shake of his head. "Because of this distress, some of my pupils handed their ideas over to me from time to time" he revealed, making an excuse for the plagiarism….although to Ann it didn't make sense to her.

"I knew I couldn't keep that up so I attempted to recreate the 'Sayuri' a number of times...However, it resulted in nothing more than replicas but that's when someone came to buy the paintings, knowing well they weren't originals" he said with a sigh. "It's all my fault. I couldn't pay the price of being famous. As expectations for me rose it reached a point where I had no choice but to keep making them. I needed money to further your talents...I ask that you forgive your cowardly teacher" he apologized as Kitagawa walked towards him.

"Please, don't!" Kitagawa said, not wanting to see his Sensei apologize to him like this.

"Hold on...Something doesn't add up" Ann said with a frown as there was something that just didn't click. "If the original painting got stolen how did you make copies of it?" Ann asked since she was sure that to make a copy you need the original.

"I….happened to find a finely detailed photograph of it in an artbook" Madarame said after a bit of hesitation.

"So you managed to sell copies of a photo of the original? I'm not sure how this works but don't people who buy paintings generally have a keen eye for the fine arts?" Ann asked as she might not know that much about the arts but this much she definitely knew. "This sounds like a lie to me" Ann told Madarame, really not believing the man given his Palace.

"What would you know!?" Madarame barked out, clearly defensive as Ann saw Morgana hiding nearby.

"Lady Ann! Check the one with the tarp over it! It seems different!" Morgana whispered to him before Ann nodded and walked over to it.

"I don't know, something just doesn't feel right and I feel it has something to do with this" Ann said as she pulled the purple tarp off of the painting.

"'Sayuri'? This is the real 'Sayuri'" Kitagawa revealed, surprised to see it - especially after everything his Sensei had told him. "But you just said a moment ago that it was stolen!" he said, confronting his sensei on his lie.

"That's a replica!" Madarame said quickly before Kitagawa shook his head.

"No! It's nothing of the sort! This painting kept me going, it's the reason I made it this far" Kitagawa said only to take a step back and shake his head a bit. "Sensei...don't tell me…" he muttered, not wanting to believe what he was thinking.

"It's fake...Yes, a counterfeit! I heard there was a counterfeit spreading around so I bought it!" Madarame said, once again changing his story as Ann shook her head with a sigh.

"So you're telling me that the actual artist behind the painting bought a counterfeit? That's pushing it and you know it" Ann told him while Kitagawa nodded alongside her.

"You're lying Sensei...please, just tell us the truth" Kitagawa pleaded with him, only to get a sigh from him.

"You too?" Madarame asked before he shook his head and pulled out his cellphone. "I've reported you to my private security company!" he revealed, basically refusing to answer anymore and going straight to arresting anyone who dared confront them.

"I had it set up to deal with some problematic paparazzi but I never thought it'd come in so handy" he told her with a smirk, as if finding the thought of suing a highschooler to be humorous.

"Please wait Sensei, let's talk about this!" Kitagawa said, trying to stop him from overreacting.

"You can talk all you want to the police….that includes you Yusuke" Madarame revealed as Ann stomped her foot.

"Seriously!? You're going after him even after I'm the one who pulled him in!?" Ann yelled out before Morgana looked over at her.

"Lady Ann, let's run!" Morgana yelled out, Ann nodding before she looked over to Kitagawa.

"I'm sorry Kitagawa…." Ann told Kitagawa before she and Morgana ran out of the room to Shiho who was waiting for them out in the hall.

"There's no point! They'll be here within two minutes!" Madarame yelled out with Yusuke running after her but he quickly lost track of her and ended up running out of the house after her, unaware that the two of them - plus the cat - had escaped somewhere that he couldn't follow.(*3)

-Naruto & Ryuji-

As they entered the room the two of them were quick to scan through the room, trying to find the controls for it.

"So….which one's for the security?" Ryuji asked as Naruto pointed to the only laptop that was one.

"At least they make it easy" Naruto muttered as he walked up to it and quickly turned off the controls. "With that the lasers should be off for good, now let's get out of here" he said, getting a nod from Ryuji as they rushed out only to stop once they made it a bit out of the door.

"Hey! Who's there!?" a Shadow yelled out, Naruto cursing their luck that more were coming their way.

"Crap! Let's make a run for it!" Ryuji suggested as they quickly ran out of the building, glad to see the laser poles go away completely once they got out.

"Good to see we won't have to worry about those anymore but let's get back and meet up with the others, I'm a bit worried about them" Naruto muttered before he widened his eyes as he saw red ripples form in the sky.

"Noooo!" Ann and Shiho yelled out as they started to fall from the sky.

Naruto, once again, went on instinct as he summoned Arséne instantly. Thankfully his Persona knew his plan, grabbing his shoulders to make his regular jump even higher so he could catch the two of them.

He knew it might be a bit uncomfortable with each essentially being draped over a shoulder but it was better than crashing into the ground.

As he started coming back down he was quick to spread his legs apart to cushion the impact and make sure he stayed on his feet with the two ladies on his shoulders.

"You two okay?" Naruto groaned out, a bit exhausted as it always took a whole lot more energy out of him when he had to make Arséne actually grab him or touch things.

"Naru-I mean, Joker! Are you okay?" Shiho asked, a bit worried as he set them down only to get a smile from him.

"Yeah, what about you two?" Naruto asked, looking at the two of them just as Morgana fell from the sky and landed on his feet nearby. "Three, you three?" he added, getting a chuckle from Ann as Morgana groaned in pain a bit.

"We're fine since we have our resident girl catcher around" Ann teased which only got an eye roll from Naruto.

"Please don't call me that, it makes me sound like I'm a womanizer or something" he told her, getting a bit of laughter from the two.

"Not to interrupt or anything but we can't dawdle like this! The security level has gone through the roof and I don't think I can do my fast-travel skill right now since the safe room is blocked off right now" Morgana told them which brought their attention over to the safe room and how there were two strong looking stationary Shadows in front of the safe room.

It didn't look like they'd give chase but more just there to block them for now.

"Then we'll have to leave by backtracking through the Palace. Let's avoid fighting all together right now as we've all been through a lot today" Naruto suggested, the others nodding along as they started going back through the Palace.

The one thing that Naruto was quick to notice - which worried him - was how there were no Shadows anywhere. To him, it felt like they were waiting elsewhere to ambush them…

Sadly, as they got to the room with the Infinite Spring, his assumption was right as two Shadows appeared right in their way.

"Come on! The exit is right there!" Morgana groaned out as they got on guard before a loud laughing started to ring out.

The source of it seemed to be a familiar face, it being the Shadow version of Madarame who was definitely just as gaudy as his Palace. He wore a traditional kimono with it being more a shiny gold color than yellow with makeup on his lips while his hair was styled in a Japanese topknot that looked like a paintbrush and his eyebrows were beyond bushier than his real ones.

"Wait a second? Is that Madarame!?" Shiho asked in shock, surprised but also not that surprised given how the Shadow version of Kamoshida ended up looking like….

"Talk about bullshit clothes! First a king, now some kinda shogun!?" Ryuji asked with a glare as Madarame smirked at them.

"Welcome to the museum of the master artist Madarame!" he announced with an extravagant 'here I am' gesture before slipping his hands into his sleeves. "My usual ragged attire is nothing but an act. Besides, a famous person living in that shack? I have another home under a mistress's name of course" he told them, giving some credibility to the part of that post that mentioned it.

"Given everything with this place that really doesn't surprise me" Naruto said with a bit of a grimace before Ann stepped forward.

"How about you answer me something your real self wouldn't! If the 'Sayuri' was stolen why was it in your storage room? And if you had the real one, why make copies!?" Ann asked, Naruto wondering what happened back with them but figured she'd tell them once they got out.

"You children will never understand the art world" Madarame chided them with a smirk. "The painting being stolen was just a false rumor I spread! It was all a perfectly calculated staging!" he told them with a massive smile before rubbing his chin in thought a bit.

"Let's see, how does this sound? 'I found the real painting but it can't go public. You can have it for a special price though'" he said before laughing and smirking at them. "How's that for preferential treatment!? Art snobs'll eat it up and pay good cash at that!" he admitted, still smirking as if proud at his actions and finding them hilarious as well.

"The value of art is purely illusion. What's the matter with providing that illusion to eager customers? Though I doubt brats like you would ever come up with such a brilliant scheme!" he declared as Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Yes cause us kids are so jealous about you and how you are a shitty adult" Naruto said in a flat tone while staring at the Shadow Madarame with a flat look.

"Yeah! You keep goin' on and on about money this, money that. No wonder you ended up with this disgusting museum!" Ryuji yelled out as he stomped his foot and glared hard at Madarame.

"You're supposed to be an artist, right!? Aren't you ashamed of plagiarizing other people's work!?" Shiho yelled out, trying to see if there was any 'artist' in Madarame despite how greedy and fake he was acting.

"Art is nothing but a tool! A tool to gain money and fame! That brat Yusuke has helped me greatly as well, to think he believed I took him in out of the goodness of my heart" he said with a scoff, everyone staying quiet to see what else the Shadow might confess to. "Plucking talented yet troubled artists allows me to find promising pupils and take their ideas. After all, it's much easier to steal the futures of children who can't fight back. Livestocks are killed for their hide and meat! This is no different, you fools!" Madarame declared before Naruto slammed his foot down, creating a massive spider web of cracks in the floor as his mask blazed with blue fire from his rage.

"You are a monster by countless definitions! I won't let you get away with this any longer! I will avenge all the dreams you trampled on and exchanged for riches and all the monstrous actions you have committed towards countless others!" Naruto yelled as Arséne blazed to life behind him, the gust around him reminding him of his awakening.

'Seems I can replicate the force of it if I'm angry enough, that's good to know' he thought with a smirk as red and black energy collected in Arséne's hands. "Arséne! Knock them back! Maeiha!" he yelled out as Arséne blasted all the security guard shadows with a burst of red and black energy that shot up from below.

"You insolent brats! Guards! Kill them all!" Madarame ordered as more shadows appeared and transformed, turning into a group of four Koppa Tengus and one metal masked human looking monster with a sledgehammer and a pair of large pliers.

"You are in the presence of Lord Madarame! On your knees!" the human monster declared as Naruto scoffed as he glared at it.

"What is up with Shadows trying to get us to praise and obey the rulers of the Palace? We've been fighting you guys non-stop so what makes you think we're going to suddenly change just cause you demand it" Naruto said with a glare as he changed his mask, knowing just what Koppa Tengus were weak against due to having one.

"Jack Frost! Mabafu!" Naruto yelled out, the cute looking snowman appearing behind him before shards of ice suddenly formed on all the shadows, damaging them and knocking all the Koppa Tengu down.

"Finish them off!" Naruto told Ann, passing the 'baton' to her as Carmen appeared behind her.

"Leave it to me! Carmen! Maragi!" Ann yelled out as Carmen launched fire at all the Shadows, killing all the Koppa Tengu while the human monster seemed to not be all that affected by fire.

They were all a bit worried as the monster charged to attack, swinging his sledgehammer only to see it was being swung at Shiho who - as always - was immune due to her Persona.

"As annoying as it is to be targeted I'd rather they go after me than any of you" Shiho said as Chilonis' blade started to glow orange. "Chilonis! Giant Slice!" she ordered, her Persona swinging her sword to slice through the Shadow for a good chunk of damage.

The other elements didn't knock it down either as electricity was neutral and wind reflected back at Morgana when he tried to attack. Though, given wind was his element the attack didn't do much of anything to him.

Not even nuclear was able to knock it down but at least they could tell it was nearly dead with all the attacks that were connecting.

The Shadow roared out again, angry and enraged from being hit over and over again, charging and swinging his hammer at Ann who - while hissing in pain - handled the attack easily enough.

Shiho though blazed with determination to finish off the Shadow as, after everything they had been through, she hated seeing her friend hurt at all.

'Set them ablaze my child. Let your anger strengthen you' she heard Chilonis tell her as her sword blazed even stronger than before she nodded and narrowed her eyes at the Shadow. "Chilonis, burn them down! Agilao!" she declared as Chilonis swung her sword, firing off a stronger fireball at the Shadow where, even with his resistance, it was enough to take him down.

"You useless guards! How hard is it to take down four kids and a cat!" Madarame yelled out, frustrated before he stomped off, all of them knowing that fighting him now wouldn't help anything.

Especially given all the fighting they had done beforehand.

"Let's get out of here so you two can tell us what all happened in Madarame's house to result in you falling from the sky" Naruto said, getting nods from them as they wasted no time in leaving - promptly heading to a diner so they could talk and recharge from the battle.

-Real World-

"Wow, that's intense. Do you think you two will be alright?" Ryuji asked as he sat beside Ann with Shiho and Naruto on the other side of the booth they were sitting at.

"Kitagawa messaged me saying how Madarame is taking police action against all of us but it won't be until after the exhibit as bad press during it will be damaging to him" Ann told them, lessening their worry a bit since they knew they were safe as long as they changed Madarame's heart by the end of the exhibit.

"What about Kitagawa? Is he in trouble?" Naruto asked as while he did butt heads with Kitagawa it was clear that he had 'opened his eyes' a bit to things.

"He said that Madarame lessened up him as he was more angry at the security company that they couldn't even catch one high school girl" she explained as Naruto sighed and leaned back against the booth seat, stretching his arms out and missing the smirk Ann was sending Shiho's way since he essentially had his arm draped behind her.

"Madarame is really defensive and desperate….it makes me think there are more secrets he might be hiding" he muttered, thinking aloud but also telling them a bit. "In the end we know what we have to do, same as Kamoshida: change his heart before the deadline. For now, let's rest for the day and see about heading in tomorrow after school at our new hideout" Naruto suggested as he took a sip of his coffee, them all eating some lunch together before heading home.

'Another deadline, this one out to the 5th of June - 22 days. Gotta find the Treasure room by the 2nd, send the calling card by the 3rd, and execute it by the 4th...should be more than enough time to get everything done if we keep at it' Naruto thought, smirking a bit as this was much more time than they had for Kamoshida.

In the end, he wasn't worried as he knew they could handle it when they got back in there. For now, rest and a bit of work on a little side project in his notebook was what he had planned until tomorrow rolled around.

Take it day by day, that was the best choice overall as with the Metaverse it was better they be prepared for whatever popped up for them.

-Chapter End-

Pairing: Naruto x Futaba, Ann, Shiho, Makoto, Haru, Kasumi, Kawakami, Tae, Caroline, Justine, Lavensa, Sae, Hifumi, Ohya, Chihaya, and Naoto

*1 = Many of you guessed right as honestly, I wasn't being subtle with the gender-neutral pronouns, grandfather, cap, and detective style talk and honestly, I wasn't trying to be subtle lol

You might be asking "Wait, how can Yukiko and Chie be adults but Naoto be the same age?" and that is simple. Her mother essentially took her role in P4 before her parents eventually died the same way as in P4 (in a car crash if I remember correctly).

This way, I'm able to use my favorite P4 girl (with Chie right behind her) in this story as a pairing option. Honestly, I know it might seem odd but I have a lot planned for her in this story so look forward to it

I will note that it is really hard to not mess up and say 'she' or 'her' when I'm writing stuff with Naoto lol

*2 = Fusion is tricky in a setting where he naturally gets more Persona as he grows stronger. To alleviate this difficulty I decided to allow Naruto to summon Persona up to 5 levels higher than his current level (he's currently level 12 so he can summon up to 17)

I'll also speed through it in future fusion set ups and not describe them n whatnot

*3 = Also, one big thing I have to say about Yusuke. I don't hate him in any sense, it's just the way he was introduced in the game and his actions in the beginning really just made me dislike him in the beginning UNTIL he became a thief and whatnot

It's just with the stalking, the refusal to acknowledge Madarame's wrongdoings, and threatening them with 'Hey, I won't call the cops on you and sue you for 'trespassing' by coming with your friend if she poses nude for me' it all was just beyond Bleh. I know there were reasons for why he refused to acknowledge it but to me its still Bleh

Yes I removed him but I don't hate him so PLEASE don't misunderstand

The reason why I removed him is due to how Naruto changes things as, like you saw in this chapter, Naruto confronted him way harder than he was in canon. That paired with Shiho being there and whatnot would mix things up a lot

And in terms of 'Ice element Persona user', let's just say I have a plan much further down the line as I will tell you - with a bit of spoilers - that I plan to make a new Palace to explore later on so look forward to that ;)

This also doesn't mean Yusuke will be removed from the Emperor Arcana, he'll still fit that role but just not be a Phantom Thief or a member of their group of friends

Before I get to the story notes I would like to remind everyone I do have a pat reon which includes rewards like seeing progress updates, notifications to new stories I plan to do, voting polls, and early access to chapters before I post them on FF.

Simple go to pat reon and paste:

/user?u=4783680

At the end of pat reon's url and you'll find my page.

You don't get anything that everyone here won't get aka there will be no "pat reon exclusive stories" or things where I have to get a certain amount of money before I work on something as both of those are shitty practices.

It is solely "hey, you want to support me, a disabled unemployed writer who survives off my disability checks? Thanks, I appreciate it" and nothing more

So yeah, check it out if you want, now onto chapter notes!

I used Kitagawa for Yusuke from the start as first name stuff wouldn't start until they actually get to know him. Otherwise it'd get confusing for me going back and forth with them calling him Kitagawa and then being referred to as Yusuke outside of dialogue - as in 'Yusuke said' and whatnot.

One thing with Ohya is that I removed her sunglasses, a personal preference as they do look a bit eh to me. Idk, just my opinion

I decided to have Shiho go along with Ann to the modeling as it'd help make the both of them feel a bit safer.

Also, I like the idea of anger being able to create an outburst with Naruto akin to a Persona Awakening force as emotions were always something that had a big effect with Naruto. In the end he mainly uses it to push things back a bit, plus it allows for a bit of a power boost with Arséne

I don't have much else to really say as I tend to forget key points by the end of the fic, hence why I do * notes to remember and point out the big things.

In the end, I like the changes I've made to the fic and I hope my removal of Yusuke from the Thieves doesn't anger you guys since I tried my best for it to not come off as bashing, just having it where things are different due to Naruto

I hope you all liked it

Until Next Time

Rate and Review

Buh-Bye!