Chapter 31: Explosion! x2

'Why is Yunyun crying...? Oh no! I forgot about her again today!'

Naruto thought and ran over to the two Crimson Magic Clansman. How could he forgot to tell Yunyun that he went to Wiz's shop in the mornings before coming to the Adventurer's guild!?

"Honestly, you sure know how to keep a girl waiting Naruto! I've been looking for you all morning, you know?"

Megumin complained while pointing her staff at the incoming shinobi, uncaring of the crying girl at her feet.

"Naruto... San?"

Yunyun sniffled when Megumin said the blonde's name a second time.

"Yunyun! Are you okay? What happened?"

Naruto asked, ignoring the petite mage, and helping his partner to her feet.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

Megumin shouted and stamped her foot on the ground in frustration. If there was one thing that bothered her more than people looking down on Explosion magic, it was being ignored.

"W-well..."

Yunyun mumbled as Megumin fumed at being ignored once again.

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Earlier That Morning...

Yunyun had woken up to see that Cecily had already left. Which was strange, since the priestess didn't seem like the morning type when you considered her personality.

Disregarding the nun's absence, Yunyun got up to prepare for her day. She figured she would see Cecily again at the adventurer's guild anyway.

Just the thought of going on another quest with her party made Yunyun excited.

After getting dressed and gathering her gear, Yunyun slowly opened her door and peaked at the room next to hers.

'Naruto-San is staying in this room, right? I wonder if he already left?'

She wanted to knock on the door and ask if the blonde wanted to walk to the adventurer's guild together, but ultimately decided it would be better not to bother him for such a trivial thing. She would always see him later.

Making her way to the guild, Yunyun noticed Dust walking in the opposite direction.

'I wonder where that despicable man is off to... Oh well, it's better not to get involved with him if I don't have to.'

Yunyun thought with a nod as she walked up the steps to the guild hall. She entered the building and immediately stuck to the wall to avoid any of the people.

Sitting down at the corner table she had grown accustomed to the previous day, Yunyun pulled out her board game. Might as well practice as she waited for Naruto to show up.

'I wonder what kind of quest we'll be going on today? Even though yesterday's quest was easy, it was so much fun...'

The timid girl thought as she placed the pieces onto the table.

"Good morning! Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

A waitress walked up to the table and asked, startling the mage.

"E-eh? Ah... N-no, not yet..."

Yunyun mumbled while looking at the table shyly.

But wait. What if Naruto was thirsty when he showed up? If she wasn't mistaken, he said his favorite drink was...

"U-um, I'll take two neroid juices please!"

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Three Hours Later...

The neroid juice was already warm, and Yunyun ended up ordering and finishing her breakfast. Did Naruto get caught up in some sort of trouble?

No, unlike that delinquent adventurer, Naruto wasn't the troublemaking type... Right?

'Come to think of it, we didn't actually make any plans to meet up today after what happened yesterday with Aqua-San...'

Yunyun thought as she fumbled with her empty glass, which reminded her of the knowledge she had acquired at the library. Naruto was trying to get a girlfriend, which was a subject Yunyun had absolutely zero knowledge of.

That is, until now.

What Yunyun had learned from the novels she skimmed through could prove helpful to Naruto with his goal, and she wanted to help out as much as possible. After all, talking to a friend about their love affairs was something she had always wanted to do.

It was then the guild doors burst open and a certain Crimson Magic Clansman stormed inside.

"Naruto! Where's Naruto!"

Megumin hollered as she scanned the bar for her blonde target.

Yunyun was getting a sense of déjà vu. Didn't this scene just happen yesterday?

Shaking her head, Yunyun stood up and walked over to her fellow clansman. This time she would defeat Megumin and claim the title of Number One Crimson Magic Clansman!

"Megumin! It's time we had... o-our... showdown."

Her voice gradually grew meeker when she realized the guild's attention was now on her.

"Oh, well if it isn't the weirdo number two? I'm sorry to say this, but my daily showdown has been reserved

Megumin said while touching her forehead in a haughty fashion, seemingly unbothered by the attention.

"Weirdo!? I-I may have scored second place to you on all the exams back in school, but hearing you say that rubs me the wrong way!"

Yunyun said, her voice regaining its volume.

"Oh, what's this? Weird Yunyun is acting awfully willful today! That sure is strange! As expected of the Crimson Magic Clan's number one weirdo!"

Megumin said while shaking her head and shrugging.

"Again with calling me weird! Megumin's the only weird one here! Wasting all those skill points on such a useless spell! I've been meaning to say this, but Megumin should be called the Crimson Magic Clan's number one idiot!"

Yunyun responded, prompting the shorter girl to step back in shock.

"Y-you really said it this time... Very well then! I may already have a showdown reserved for today, but for the gutsy Yunyun I'll make an exception! Our match will be hand to hand combat!"

Megumin shouted before pouncing on Yunyun.

"B-bring it on!"

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Yunyun and Megumin were sitting on the steps in front of the adventurer's guild.

"Hmph! Yunyun is lucky the receptionist kicked us out before I could draw out my full power."

Megumin said with her arms crossed stubbornly.

"Megumin doesn't fight fair! How could you grope me in front of all those people!? I'm so embarrassed...!"

Yunyun said while hiding her teary red face behind her hands.

"It's Yunyun's fault for showing off those fat sacks in front of me!"

"M-Megumin's a dirty old man!"

"What was that!?"

And so, the two wrestled in front of the adventurer's guild. But once again, it ended with Megumin on top, and poor Yunyun on the ground crying.

"Waahhh! Megumin touched me in weird places in front of people again!"

Yunyun wailed as she sat on the ground in front of the "victor".

"You know what they say: "All's fair in love and war". A good mage is always prepared, and Yunyun was clearly unprepared for hand-to-hand combat. So, it's clearly my win."

Megumin told her rival like a teacher mentoring their student.

Yunyun defiantly stared up at Megumin with teary eyes.

"Oh, what's this? Do you still wanna go?"

Megumin asked while making strange gestures with her hands, prompting her fellow clansman to squeak.

"N-no! I get it! It's Megumin's win today!"

Yunyun stuttered while curling into herself to keep the little girl from groping her again.

Megumin was about to gloat in her victory when she noticed a figure falling from a nearby building.

"Huh? Ah! There you are Naruto!"

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Present...

Naruto stared at Megumin with a deadpanned expression, his eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. To correct his earlier statement, the was one girl in Kazuma's party that he did not misjudge.

Megumin was a brat.

"Shall we go on a quest, Yunyun?"

"O-okay!"

"Just a minute here!"

Megumin ran in front of Naruto and Yunyun just as they were about to walk into the guild.

"You've got a lot of nerve thinking you can just yet again walk away from me! You promised we were going to have our showdown! A battle between two people, who's love for Explosion magic is unrivaled! Our Explosions will shake the heavens!"

Megumin declared loudly with a massive grin on her face, her crimson eyes shining brightly.

"Besides, Yunyun was soft-banned from the guild for a couple hours for rowdy behavior."

The petite mage added nonchalantly, causing Yunyun's eyes widen.

"...You know, there's a lot of wrong in that little speech of yours."

Naruto said and looked at Yunyun for a second before sighing. But if Yunyun really was soft-banned from the guild, then they wouldn't be able to do a quest now anyways.

"Alright. Let's do this."

"Eh? Really?"

Megumin said with a surprised look, and Yunyun adorned a similar expression. They both didn't expect Naruto to give in so easily.

"Of course. I did promise yesterday, and I don't go back on my promises! Kazuma should be around the corner, so go get him and we'll go to that spot."

Naruto said and pointed in the direction he had left Kazuma and Dust, and Megumin nodded eagerly before she took off running.

When the little girl left, an evil smile formed on Naruto's lips.

Yunyun, having never seen such an expression on the blonde's face, almost jumped when he turned to look at her. But just as he faced her, the ninja's expression returned to his normal foxlike grin.

"Don't worry, Yunyun. I got an idea."

Naruto said with a hint of mischief hidden in his voice.

"I-is that so...?"

Yunyun didn't know whether to be worried about Naruto's strange behavior, or Megumin's wellbeing.

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It didn't take long for Megumin to find Kazuma, and so, with Yunyun tagging along, the four of them set off on a "scenic walk" outside of town.

"What happened to Dust? Wasn't he with you?"

Naruto asked, and the only other male in the group shrugged.

"He suddenly took off after you left. What was up with you earlier anyway? Weren't things going well?"

Kazuma asked, and Naruto gulped when the two girls looked at him curiously.

"What was going well? Were you two with each other earlier?"

Megumin asked, with Yunyun nodding in the background.

"N-nothing... Ah, we were actually looking for you when we got separated! Silly Kazuma, falling behind like that! Ha ha ha..."

Naruto fibbed in an attempt to keep his confrontation with Darkness a secret. He didn't want them to know about his embarrassing blunder.

"Oh really?"

Megumin said while eyeing the nervous blonde closely, but she shrugged and let up her intense gaze.

"Well if that was the case, then why were you being so difficult earlier? To think we could have been having our showdown now..."

The Explosion mage said with a sigh.

"T-that's because you were bullying my party member!"

Naruto stuttered. Why was a kid calling him difficult!? He wasn't difficult! Megumin was the difficult one!

"Heh... You're both such kids."

Kazuma mused to himself, earning sharp glares from both Naruto and Megumin.

"I don't want to hear that from you." x2

"!"

While Kazuma bickered with Megumin and Naruto, Yunyun looked back and forth between the three of them. She wasn't sure how to join the conversation, or if she even should. She was just happy to have been invited to go along with them.

"Ah, I've been wondering for awhile now but... Where are we going?"

Yunyun found herself asking.

"To an abandoned castle that a Demon King General once dwelled. In fact, it was the very same General that I, along with my party members, vanquished the other day."

Megumin stated proudly as the walked up to a cliff, and a large rundown castle could be seen sitting atop a mountain across the valley.

'There she goes again...'

Kazuma thought while rolling his eyes, but he kept to himself to avoid any more arguing. It was cold outside, and he just wanted to go back to his warm, cozy mansion.

"Wait, you mean there was a strong enemy living in that castle when we here that one time!?"

Naruto said while looking at the crumbling castle in shock. How could he have missed out on the chance of fighting a Demon King General like that!?

"Naruto-San's been here with Megumin before?"

Yunyun whispered to no one in particular. Naruto had already mentioned that he knew Megumin, but from the way he spoke it didn't seem that they were all that close. Megumin did force him to learn that useless spell after all.

But were they closer than Yunyun had initially assumed?

Hearing Yunyun's question and seeing the troubled look on the girl's face, a mischievous smile formed on Megumin's lips.

"That's right. Naruto and I shared an explosive moment together here. Isn't that right, dear?"

Megumin said and threw a wink at Naruto's direction.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh...!?"

Yunyun stammered as she looked back and forth between Naruto and Megumin. Did they cross the line!? No, there was no way Megumin was telling the truth!

"Hell no! We are not going through that again! Listen, Yunyun. I only came with Megumin here because Kazuma didn't want to do it with her that day!"

Naruto yelled to clear any misunderstandings, but it only seemed to worsen the situation as Yunyun's blush increased all the way to her ears.

'Kekekek! You sure phrased that in the best way possible!'

Kurama's amused voice chimed in, prompting Naruto to gain a blush of his own.

"I-I-I-I have some business to attend to at the library!"

Yunyun sputtered before she turned tail and ran back towards the town. Who knew Megumin had gotten so far ahead of her in a span of six months!

"Wh-No, wait! Yunyun! Come back! K-Kazuma! Say something!"

Naruto pleaded to his fellow male for help, but the guy merely shook his head in a pitiful fashion.

"Heh... Typical Yunyun to misunderstand the situation and run off. She's just too easy."

Megumin said with a self-satisfied expression, one that ticked Naruto off to no ends.

"Alright, that's it! It's time someone taught you a lesson, you brat! Let's do this!"

Naruto said and cracked his knuckles.

"Oh, you're finally ready? Very well then! Since I'm the senior in the path of Explosions, I'll go first to set the bar! Here I go!"

Megumin said and flipped her cape dramatically, an action Naruto was all too familiar with now.

"My name is Megumin! My calling is that of an Arch Wizard! Wielder of Explosion magic, the most powerful offensive spell in the world! To those who wish to observe my forbidden strength, prepare yourselves! For when one stares into the abyss, the abyss stares back!"

With her introduction out of the way, Megumin began to chant her spell.

"I'm going to judge the Explosions by their volume, destructive power, and heat. Depending on each category, you'll each be given a score out of one-hundred. Whoever scores more points is the victor."

Kazuma explained in a professional manor.

'For all those complaints about wanting to stay home, he sure enjoying this.'

Naruto thought with a sweatdrop.

The air around the little girl began to swirl as she continued to collect mana, and a bright ball of collected energy formed at the tip of her staff.

"Let the hammer of eternity descend unto me! Explosion!"

*Boom!*

The moment Megumin completed her incantation, a magic circle appeared above the castle and the entire structure was consumed in a pillar of flames.

"Become ash... Omph!"

Megumin said as the feeling of mana exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she fell to the ground just as a wave of heat swept over the three of them.

Despite it's faults, Explosion magic truly was a powerful spell. Only a fool would deny it's destructive power. Naruto was only able to achieve such destructive capabilities through outside sources, via Kurama or Sage Jutsu.

Yet Megumin, a thirteen-year-old girl, was capable of pulling off what was said to be impossible for humans.

But impressive as it may be, Naruto still had an ace up his sleeve.

"Oh~! That one was pretty good! The volume of the explosion was bigger than usual, and even through this cold I still felt the heat from here! You even managed to destroy one of the watchtowers this time!"

Kazuma said as he praised his party member while pointing at the now crumpled tower in the distance.

"Score... My score?"

Megumin asked as Kazuma picked her up and propped her on his back.

"Hm... I'd give it ninety-two points this time! As of last time's score of ninety, this is a new record!"

Kazuma said and gave the little girl on his back a thumbs up, to which she tiredly returned.

Naruto chuckled, breaking their little moment of broken records.

"Fufufu... That was an impressive explosion, Megumin. You've gotten stronger again since the last time I saw your spell. But you're not the only one who's been training!"

He didn't have a cape to flip like the Crimson Magic Clansman, so he made do with tightening his headband as dramatically as one could.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! Son of the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! Prized pupil of Ero-Senin himself! My calling is that of a ninja! With the help of the nine-tailed fox demon sealed inside of me, I have defeated countless foes! Get ready to see what the world's number one unpredictable ninja can do!"

Kazuma and Megumin's jaws dropped at the blonde's surprise self-introduction.

Stretching his arm out towards the ruined castle, Naruto went through his incantation as he and Kurama gathered the necessary chakra/mana.

"Explosion!"

*Boom!*

A ball of energy shot out of the palm of his hand at a neck breaking speed, smashing into the castle which was once again consumed in a fiery explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Kazuma and Megumin turned back to Naruto and were further surprised when they saw that the blonde was still standing. In fact, he didn't look tired at all.

"Hm... Looks like my Explosion magic isn't as powerful as Megumin's. It's to be expected though, she has more experience and has a staff that boosts her magic power after all."

Naruto said while nodding sagely, having expected this outcome.

"H-how...?"

Megumin gaped at the fact that Naruto not only made a glamorous self-introduction that would make any Crimson Magic Clansman proud, but he was still standing even after using Explosion magic!

All her life Megumin had been praised by her mentors for her inhuman mana reserves, but even she was barely able to use Explosion magic!

Naruto grinned as he took mental pictures of their surprised faces. But before he could rub it in the girl's face anymore, they heard a deafening roar and a massive silhouette burst out of the forest behind them.

"Eh!? What is that dangerous looking thing!?"

Kazuma yelped and immediately moved behind Naruto.

Hey, he was holding Megumin, and Naruto was capable of punching giant toads across a field. What would you do?

"That's a One-Shot Bear... But what's a high leveled monster like that doing here?"

Megumin said, her attention being temporarily drawn away from the shinobi as the five-meter monster stomped its way towards them. That was when a thought occurred to her.

"Ah, we might be in trouble. I'm out of mana, and I doubt Naruto has that much mana left-"

The Arch Mage didn't get to finish her sentence when Naruto suddenly ran forward.

Was he crazy!? Beating giant toads is one thing, but One-Shot bears were very common monster around the Crimson Magic Clan. With the village being so close to the Demon King's castle, they were quite strong.

But a glint of Blue light shuriken in the palm of Naruto's hand caught Megumin's attention, and her eyes widened even further when she felt a familiar sensation in the air.

"Blackness shrouded in light..." (t/n: he's faking incantation)

Naruto mumbled before he dashed into the bear's guard, dodged a swipe by sliding under it at the last second, and positioned himself behind it.

"Wind style: Rasenshuriken!"

"Graaaaoooorrr!"

The One-Shot Bear howled in pain as the Blue light shuriken ground into its back. The monster was then picked up off the ground and sent spiraling past Kazuma and Megumin and over the cliff.

*Booom!*

The explosion detonated in the air, causing Kazuma and Megumin to fall to the ground due to how close it was.

When the sound of rushing winds was over, the two just stayed on the ground motionlessly.

"...Oi, Megumin. Naruto just used Explosion twice."

"...Yes. Yes he did."

While the two party members mumbled to one another, Naruto crossed his arms in mock-frustration.

"Dang~! Looks like that one still wasn't as good as Megumin's Explosion. That's too bad, I thought I'd be able to surpass you with that technique. Well, I still have one more trick up my sleeve."

Naruto said, prompting a tick-mark to form on the back of Megumin's head.

"You...!? How dare you defile Explosion magic like-!"

Megumin started shouting into the ground since she couldn't move, but she suddenly stopped when she realized the blonde had mentioned something strange.

"...What do you mean?"

Kazuma asked and slowly looked up at Naruto, a hint of fear in his voice. To his terror, the ninja had a massive grin on his face.

"Let's go, Kurama!"

Naruto shouted and flicked his arm out, and at the same time his body became shrouded in a golden energy.

'It's that form again...'

Kazuma thought with wide eyes.

But wait, it was different this time. Naruto now looked like he was wearing a long coat, despite only having on that jacket of his, and the black lines that covered his body were more defined.

"OHHHHHH!"

Naruto clasped his hands together and shouted, and the golden energy surrounding him began to expand.

"What's going on?!"

Megumin shouted since she couldn't move, and therefore couldn't see anything. She felt Kazuma grab her head and position it so that she could see, and her eyes became saucers as she and Kazuma began to shift their gazes upward.

After that day, rumors that a mountain had gone missing began to spread throughout the Kingdom.

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A/N: That poor castle...

Just to clarify some things just in case, Naruto's is only able to use Explosion magic three times by himself due to its insane mana requirement. Remember how he uses both mana and chakra to perform the skills he learns? But with Kurama's help, Naruto can use Explosion magic three times and still stand because he would only be using up his mana reserves. But he wouldn't be able to use Explosion magic for a while(a day) because it requires both mana and chakra for his body to be able to perform the skills he learns in this Wonderful world.

In short, Naruto supplies the mana and Kurama supplies the chakra, allowing Naruto to use Explosion three times without suffering mana exhaustion like Megumin since he still has his chakra leftover.

See you on the next chapter!