A Shinobi's Take on this Wonderful World

Naruto Vs Joe

"You lost her!? What do you mean you lost her!?"

Darkness screamed while shaking Naruto back and forth.

"I-I don't know! You saw what she did, right? Who knows how far she flew after that attack..."

Naruto shouted back, and eventually the Crusader ceased her rattling of his brain and dropped him to the floor.

"We're going out to find Kiki. Come on, guys."

Kazuma declared in a serious tone. But just as he and Darkness turned to leave the waiting room, Megumin stepped into their path.

"Hang on, we'd be out there all day looking for that Kitsune. Naruto's moving onto the finals, which means he'll be facing Joe. We should be here and support our friends."

The Crimson Demon said as Aqua helped the dazed Naruto to his feet.

"I'm glad you guys are concerned about Kiki, although I'm not sure why you're so fired up Kazuma... Anyways, she'll be fine. Our Beast Bond is still intact. I wasn't planning on battling with her in my next match anyway to let her rest, so we can look for her after the tournament."

Naruto clarified while sparing Kazuma a strange look, causing his fellow adventurer to avert his gaze.

Suspicious...

"That's right! We can't miss Jerry's match, you guys! He's going to win because of me!"

Aqua stated while puffing her chest out with pride, and all eyes turned on her.

"Are you talking about the fish Naruto just fed him?"

"Didn't you hate Jerry until recently?"

"Tsundere..."

Were her party member's collective remarks, causing the Arch Priest's expression to crack.

"W-well, you know... I-I'm just being supportive! For Naruto's sake! Since all of you are so shamelessly rooting for Joe to win! Aren't I a great friend, Naruto? You can praise me if you want."

Aqua fired back, taking to the shinobi's side.

Naruto chuckled. Aqua has definitely come a long way with Jerry, and he was glad she didn't hate him anymore. Even Megumin seemed indifferent about his prized toad.

"Thank you, Aqua. But the others can root for Joe all they want, it doesn't matter to me. Because Jerry and I are definitely gonna win!"

"Who's gonna win?"

The group turned to the entrance of the waiting room to find Joe, who had just opened the door and walked in.

"Hey Joe, I made it to the finals just like I promised! Ready for our match?"

Naruto asked and offered his fist, to which the young Beast Tamer readily bumped.

"Sure am! But before that-"

Joe started before his eyes widened to an impossible size.

"WHERE'S YOUR KITSUNE!? I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET ONE!"

. . .

"What!? She's gone!? We gotta go find her before the finals start!"

Joe wailed and turned to run out the door but was stopped by Naruto, who placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Ah, no. It's okay. We were just talking about Kiki before you showed up. I'm gonna let her rest. Besides, I still have three other monsters for our battle."

Naruto explained while shaking away his deja vu.

"Well... I guess that's fine."

Joe relented with a slight pout on his face. He was sure Naruto's other monsters were strong too, but he really wanted to battle a mythical beast like Kiki.