Artoria sat in the hot spring beneath a star-filled sky.
The warm water clung to her body and slowly eased the tension that had built up in her muscles throughout the day. In the background, she could hear Naruto trying to catch Kurumi. The little vixen had once again teased him nearly to madness.
"I'm gonna get you, you little vixen!" Naruto shouted.
The next moment, he actually managed to grab one of Kurumi's nine tails, but was immediately dragged along behind her when she leaped into the water. A heartbeat later, both of them landed in the hot pool with a loud splash.
Artoria opened one eye.
Her gaze fell on the two troublemakers.
Even Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine at that look.
"Can't you two be quieter?" Artoria asked in a cool voice. "I would like to relax."
Naruto blinked, then tilted his head slightly.
"Big Sister, why have you been so tense all day? My mum said there are days when women are in a bad mood. Is this one of those days?"
Her icy voice slid into his ear like winter itself, and even Kurumi suddenly felt as if death itself were stroking over her fur.
"That is none of your business."
At that exact moment, another voice sounded in Artoria's mind.
Host, the pictures from the shoot were excellent. I do hope we will have many more opportunities like that.
Artoria's gaze darkened instantly.
"System," she said flatly, "I hate you for what you did to me."
Host, you know I only wanted what was best—
"For you," Artoria cut it off sharply, "and for those lustful little eyes of yours that I felt the entire time. It was humiliating. I am a king."
For half a heartbeat, the system fell silent.
Then it spoke again, more hastily.
Host, I could offer compensation. A gacha pull.
Artoria's eyes narrowed.
"Ah. So that is your solution."
If I do not distract her now, Master will only grow even angrier… and if that happens, she may really destroy me.
"Very well," Artoria said at last. "Then give me the pull."
It will probably just be garbage again, she thought coldly. I need to find a way to tear this system out of my soul.
Before her mind's eye, a rainbow-colored coin appeared.
Artoria's expression did not change.
"Then let us see what I have received."
A bright voice rang out in her mind.
Congratulations! You have obtained—
Then came a pause.
A very strange pause.
…
Excuse me?
No. No, no, no—
Artoria Avalon. All abilities.
For the first time in a long while, the system truly sounded panicked.
Shit. Master did not want her to gain the power to create her own divine land. That is impossible. This reward is not even in the gacha pool. I'm going to die. I'm still so young—
Artoria's eyes slowly widened.
Then, very slowly, a dangerous smile spread across her lips.
The system immediately fell into even greater panic.
H-Host! Would you perhaps like to exchange all of Artoria Avalon's abilities for twenty rainbow coins?
"No."
All right, then I will— wait, what? The voice nearly cracked. Host, are you sure? Twenty rainbow coins could get you much better things!
"I find this reward perfect for me."
The system sounded as though it were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
O-Okay… congratulations on obtaining the abilities of Artoria Avalon.
With a small, satisfied smile, Artoria leaned back in the hot water.
And immediately, she felt it.
Her divine essence began to grow.
Deep within her, something stirred, shifted — and then surged forward with tremendous force.
A boundary she had been pressing against for far too long shattered.
The barrier that had hindered her growth until now was gone.
And for the first time since the beginning of this absurd journey, Artoria felt something dangerously close to satisfaction.
"System, after that reward, can you show me my status now?"
Before Artoria's eyes, a bright, half-transparent window opened.
Status
User: Artoria Pendragon
Title: Goddess of the Holy Lance / Future Mentor
Race: Divine Spirit
Condition: Soul stabilized / Heart fragment purified
World: Naruto Universe
Location: Hi no Kuni
Mentor Points: 5890
Physical Attributes
Strength: A+++
Agility: A++
Endurance: EX
Magical Power: EX (awakened)
Resistance: A++
Divine Aura: EX (awakened)
Special Traits
Divinity: High
Nature Resonance: Active
Soul Presence: Stable
Royal Bearing: Active
Mentor System Compatibility: 100%
Avalon: Active
Abilities Rhongomyniad Divine Magic Soul Perception Nature-Nurturing Aura Uzumaki Fūinjutsu Knowledge Bloodline Purifier Complete Ninjutsu Knowledge of the Naruto World Student Analysis Map Function Level 2 Excalibur Restrictions Bloodline Purifier cannot be applied to the host Heart Fragment Loss Active
Artoria studied the window calmly.
"Good. Good… I can clearly feel my strength. System, one question: What does EX (awakened) mean?"
The system's voice suddenly became noticeably quieter.
"You have broken through the limits of your soul and are now on the path to a higher divine level. Before, you were a low goddess. Now you are a Low++ Goddess, close to becoming a Mid Goddess."
Artoria's lips lifted slightly.
"That is very good."
Haha… does she really think that is merely good? If Master finds out his new target has become even stronger, he will destroy me…
Just as the system could barely keep that panicked thought to itself any longer, the door to the hot spring bath opened.
A blonde woman entered the room. Beside her came a black-haired woman, and between them trotted a little pet pig.
"Shizune, did you bring the sake?"
"No, Lady Tsunade. I forgot it. I can go get it."
But before Shizune could even turn around, both women heard a voice they did not recognize.
"I have enough sake for everyone here — provided you do not disturb the two little ones over there."
The unknown woman calmly pointed toward a little boy who was currently fighting with a tiny Nine-Tails.
Tsunade immediately dropped her towel.
Even Shizune's mouth fell open, and nearly everything slipped from her hands.
"H-How… the Nine-Tails?!" she gasped. "Is she the monster that killed my master?"
"Come closer," Artoria said calmly. "I do not bite. Only when someone tries to tear my soul out."
Her voice remained composed.
"So do not be afraid."
Slowly, Tsunade and Shizune moved toward the hot water and eventually stepped in.
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then Tsunade watched with slightly narrowed eyes as the little boy tried to catch the tiny Nine-Tails, while the latter escaped every grab with striking agility.
After two minutes of silently watching the spectacle, Tsunade finally asked the most important question of her life.
"Why does every tail have a little bell on it?"
Artoria took a sip of sake without taking her eyes off the two troublemakers.
"No idea," she said dryly. "You would have to ask the little one yourself. Though it is possible that thing is part of a punishment from me."
Shizune's gaze remained fixed on the little bundle of energy that was currently squealing as he tried to catch a tiny Nine-Tails.
"He really looks incredibly similar to Minato," she murmured. "I thought his child was dead…"
Artoria took another sip of sake while her eyes calmly drifted over the two women.
Hm. I always thought I was taller than the legendary Tsunade. But apparently, I'm only a tiny bit shorter.
"Good eye," Artoria said calmly. "He is the son of Kushina and Minato. His life in Konoha was… unpleasant. Dirt in that village was treated better than he was."
Her voice remained calm, but that only made the words heavier.
"I found him half-starved in the forest and took him under my wing."
Then her gaze shifted to Naruto, and for a moment, it softened.
"He is cute, is he not?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"I remember very clearly how Minato and Kushina died. They showed me their child's corpse back then." Her voice turned colder. "I had to hand over the Uzumaki inheritance for a bit of money. Had he still been alive, I could not have done that."
She paused briefly.
"Unless… I should have killed my master myself. Now it is too late anyway."
For a heartbeat, the air grew heavy.
Then Tsunade asked, without taking her eyes off Artoria:
"What is your name, if I may ask? You already know ours. And this—"
With a small gesture of her hand, she pointed toward the snorting pig at the edge of the bath.
"—is our lucky pig, Tonton."
Artoria set the sake cup aside.
"My name is Lion King Artoria Pendragon."
An almost invisible smile brushed across her lips.
"And would the two of you like to travel the world with me?"
Shizune blinked in surprise.
Before either woman could answer, Artoria slightly lifted her gaze to the side.
"One other question first."
Her voice remained calm.
"The man who is watching us from outside… do you know him? If not, I could turn him to dust."
On the other side of the partition, the eyes of a white-haired man instantly went wide.
His notebook slipped from his hand.
Then he ran.