Frozen Flames (CH 10) (Patreon)

A/N: Story is M rated.

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Chapter 10: Training Days

Unnamed Forest Clover Kingdom...

Naruto was training his new recruits, Sister Lily and Mimosa, when he went back to retrieve them; it was eventful, if nothing else.

Yuno had challenged him yet again when he went for Mimosa; he reminded the blonde of a young Sasuke when he learned a new technique and thought he was unstoppable.

Flashback...

Golden Dawn Headquarters...

Naruto stood in front of the headquarters with Williams and Mimosa as the blonde went over what it meant to be part of his new elite squad.

Naruto was about to leave with Mimosa when they were stopped by Yuno; he had a confident look on his face, piquing the blonde's interest slightly.

"Hold it right there!" the black-haired teen demanded. "I challenge you to a duel; if I win, Mimosa doesn't have to go with you."

"Why do I gain by accepting your challenge?" Naruto asked curiously. "I already beat you once; unless you have something to offer me if I win, I don't have to accept."

Yuno looked thoughtful for a moment before extending his hand to the jewel around his neck."I will give you this if you win," he said. "It was used by the Elves to reincarnate, but it's something I have had since birth."

Naruto looked slightly interested as he saw Mimosa gasp and look in shock at Yuno's offer; it seemed the jewel had some sentimental value to the black-haired teen.

"Yuno you can't wager your precious necklace for me" Mimosa exclaimed"I will be fine, it's not like I will be gone forever"

Yuno gave Mimosa a confident look and then looked at the illusion mage with determination in his eyes.

Naruto said, "Are you sure you want to do this again? The last time wasn't even a challenge."

"Don't worry; I won't waste your time." Yuno replied with a smirk, and the little spirit cheered him on.

Naruto sweat dropped at the teen idiocy, he must have trained in the time the blonde was gone and defeated him so he could face the blonde again.

"Whatever, don't blame me when you lose, and I'll take your necklace." Naruto stated.

William was the referee for the match; other Golden Dawn members came to watch the match as William raised his hand and dropped it to signal the match had begun.

Flashback End...

Naruto didn't even let the duel last more than a minute; in the end, Mimosa had to heal the black-haired boy's injuries before she willingly left with the blonde. The girl didn't want her friends to get hurt because of her.

Naruto didn't take the necklace that was wagered on, which hurt Yuno's pride; however, the blonde simply told him to get stronger because the necklace is technically his and he is allowing Yuno to borrow it until he can win it back.

The next stop was for Sister Lily, who looked defiant because the kid named Asta was there shouting about being the Wizard King and how he would protect her.

This challenge was much like the one with Yuno, it wasn't as interesting but was more challenging than the one with Yuno.

Anti-magic was really interesting as it prevented the blonde from hypnotizing Asta and all magic attacks were useless, but there were still some ways around it.

Flashback...

Hage Village...

"I will not let you take Sister Lily," Asta shouted. "I swear as the future Wizard King to protect her."

Naruto watched on with annoyance as Mereoleona was laughing in amusement and Mimosa was cooing over the ash-colored hair teen. Sister Lily seemed to give Asta a grateful look; it pained Naruto that he was about to crush any hopes of her staying here.

"Let me guess, you're challenging me to a duel so Lily can stay here." Naruto stated as he knew that the anti-magic black bull was giving him the same vibes as that Yuno kid.

"Yes, now get ready because here I come," said Asta as he transformed into his Black Form, which was just an incomplete Devil's Union without a proper contract.

Naruto jumped away from the surprisingly fast anti-magic black bull, and attempted to directly put it into an illusion. However, he failed, so he used his illusions indirectly by creating clones. The clones were destroyed by Asta, but he was able to zero in on the original using something he called "ki."

From what Naruto could tell, Ki was just physical energy; something most magical knights used unconsciously, including himself. He vowed that after this match, he would look into it.

Naruto clashed with the anti-magic powered magic knight and found that physical attacks worked just fine against him, while all magical attacks were ineffective.

"Enough!" Naruto exclaimed as he dodged Asta's sword strikes and activated his Devil Mode. The blonde grew several horns on his head and gauntlets on his hands.

Asta was shocked, just like everyone else, but Mereoleona seemed unfazed because he had already told her about his devil powers.

"How do you have Devil powers?" The teenager with ash-colored hair shouted with a comical expression on his face.

"I think you should be more worried about winning than on how I gained this power," Naruto replied as he motioned for Asta to follow him, so he wouldn't hurt anyone present.

"Now, let's finish this." Naruto said. "Get ready for a powerful attack, brat!"

"What? Why are you telling me what you're going to do?" Asta was confused as to why Naruto was telling him his next action in a battle.

"I am telling you this because I don't care whether or not you know my attacks are coming; you can do anything to stop them, and therefore you can protect yourself so I don't accidentally kill you." Naruto explained.

"Don't underestimate me," Asta yelled. "I am the man who will become the Wizard King."

Naruto released a massive blast of ice, pushing Asta back due to his anti-magic he wasn't frozen, the blonde then used fire to heat it up the ice creating a shockwave that threw Asta through trees and knocked him out.

Naruto picked Asta up and carried him back where everyone else was. "It looks like I won," he said as he laid Asta down. Meanwhile, Sister Lily and Mimosa fussed over the unconscious Asta.

Flashback End...

Physical attacks work and natural phenomena still work, even if they are caused by magic; for instance, if he uses fire magic to create a thunderstorm by heating the clouds up, Asta would not be able to cancel the lightning.

Naruto used hand-to-hand combat and his magic in an indirect way to knock Asta out by freezing the air and rapidly heating it with his magic, causing an explosion in Asta's face.

After the anti-magic mage was knocked out, Sister Lily surrendered quietly, and Naruto felt bad for the kid; he kind of reminded him of his past self who had wanted to become Hokage.

Naruto came out of his memories and back handed a water fist Lily sent his way and destroyed it, Mimosa was panting from exhaustion and Mereoleona was naked knocked out on the side.

The Crownless Lioness had burned her clothes off when she got too excited during training and he had to knock her out; they were all progressing well in their training, although Sister Lily still resented him for forcing her to leave behind Hage Village, but with what might come in the future, the blonde was sure she would get over it.

Mimosa was a kind soul, so she couldn't hold a grudge; it wasn't like the blonde was keeping them from going back to see their family and friends, it's just that five days out of the week they were in intensive training or on dangerous missions.

"That's all for training today," the blonde vice-captain said. "You are getting stronger, Lily; you just need more battle experience, and as for you, Mimosa, you are too kind to even hurt a fly."

"We have to work on some things and develop both your magic powers and physical abilities," Naruto stated. "I have an idea on how to help you two develop your magic, but that will be on a later date for now; what you need most is battle experience."

"Does that mean you are going to take us on more missions with you?" Mimosa asked cutely, tilting her head to the side. "And shouldn't Mereoleona be awake to hear this?"

"Yes, we will be taking more missions together, and it doesn't matter if she's awake or not; she will be joining us too" Naruto stated offhandedly.

Mimosa was confused about the relationship between the blonde and the Vermilion Lioness, but she knew they had kids together, which caused a huge scandal when it became public knowledge that a royal had children with a peasant, even though he was the vice-captain of a magic knight squad.

"So we are going to take more dangerous missions," stated Sister Lily. She was worried because the missions they had taken so far were extremely dangerous; she had almost died more in the last few weeks than in her entire life.

Naruto nodded, causing Lily's shoulders to slump. He watched in amusement, for despite all her complaints, she had completed the missions to perfection and her power had also increased, making her as strong as any magical knight.

Fast Forward...

Naruto had an idea to increase the strength of his team by getting them to bond with devils; he had copied the ritual from the vice-captain of the Black Bulls, Faust Nacht.

Naruto wondered if it was the right thing to do; it would increase their power, but the ritual itself was very dangerous.

Naruto looked over at his team as they trained together; Mereoleona was giving Lily and Mimosa some tips on how to better utilize their powers.

"Okay, that's enough for today," Naruto stated. "I want to talk to you all about something very important."

"What is it, blondie?" Mereoleona interjected, interrupting the blonde. "Spit it out."

Naruto gave the Crownless Lioness a look that made her flutter; it was a look that promised she wouldn't be able to walk properly for a long time.

"So I will just ask you all something," Naruto said. "Do you want to become stronger, even if it means putting your life on the line?"

Naruto watched their reactions; Lily and Mimosa looked nervous, while Mereoleona had a wide grin on her face.

"What do you mean by risking your life?" Mimosa asked."I mean it exactly how it sounds; are you willing to put your life in danger to become stronger?" Naruto repeated.

"The weak cannot protect anything; they can only rely on the mercy of the strong," Mereoleona said. "I, for one, will not be at the mercy of anyone."

Naruto looked at the Mereoleona with a smile, recalling how many times she had him at her mercy.

The fierce Lioness's little speech must have lit a fire in the other females because they had a look of determination.

"So, what are your answers?" Naruto asked, even though he already knew what they were going to say.

"Hell yes!" they shouted as one.

"Well, now let's get to work," Naruto said with a grin. "Now, follow me, and the fun can begin." Naruto led them to the place where he had set up the devil summoning and binding ritual.

Chapter End...

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Next Chapter: Devil Ritual and a new Mission.