Chapter 96: Symbolize

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"No need for that, Rias-san," Kiyome stated stiffly, looking to be wary of Rias. She then explained, "Uzumaki-san assisted me in a certain matter. I was simply fulfilling my end of the bargain by showing him to the proper locations. Now that we are finished though, I would like to leave. No offense, but I would rather conclude my dealings with your kind as quickly and hassle free as possible. I do not wish to lose my soul anytime soon."

Rias gave a slightly bitter smile at her words. It wasn't an opinion she hadn't heard before. To many people, devils were a symbol of evil.

They viewed them as beings to be feared. Naruto was quite skilled at working with the types that feared them like that.

Kiyome had clearly lost whatever fear or wariness she had of him. That did not transfer over to Rias and her peerage though.

"You may leave whenever you wish. I simply wanted to thank you for helping my servant regardless," Rias said calmly.

Kiyome nodded tensely, and moved a short distance away. She closed her eyes and concentrated for several moments.

A yellow magic circle slowly started forming around her. It was forming pathetically slow compared to one of their own, but that wasn't a surprise.

Kiyome might know a small bit of magic to teleport to places like this, but she was a beast tamer. Not a magician.

As the magic circle formed, Kiyome turned to Naruto and remarked in a surprisingly friendly voice, "I thank you, Uzumaki-san, for your aid dealing with that wyvern. I won't deny you infuriated me by the ease by which you gathered the ingredients, but I was impressed regardless. You are an…interesting character, Uzumaki-kun. I might be willing to work with you again in the future."

"Sure, Kiyome-chan," Naruto replied with a friendly grin.

"Don't call me that. I'm still getting used to you calling me Kiyome-senpai," Kiyome stated immediately.

"Don't say that. You know you love me," Naruto declared with a smile. He then continued, "Don't worry, Kiyome-chan. I'll make sure to prank the tennis club sometime soon. I won't forget you."

"Please don't do that," Kiyome requested as she rubbed her brow in irritation. "I've changed my mind.

I don't want to work with you again, Uzumaki-san. You're too infuriating. I'm going. Goodbye." The beast tamer then disappeared as her magic circle finally finished.

With Kiyome gone, Rias turned towards Naruto and questioned, "Well? Did you gather the ingredients?"

Naruto didn't answer her, instead turning towards Zatouji. Approaching the familiar master, Naruto's smile widened. Withdrawing the items from the storage seals on his wrists, he handed them to Zatouji as he said, "A cucumber of a kappa. Golden banana of the monkey yokai tribe. Kelp of the mermaids. Petal of the Golden Death flower." With Zatouji now holding all the ingredients, Naruto exclaimed victoriously, "All within six hours. Booyah!"

Zatouji looked perplexed before he chuckled as he replied, "Well I'll be damned. You proved me wrong kid. I'll go grind these into a powder. In the meantime, you should make the shrine."

"Uhh…yeah. Can you explain that whole shrine thing to me again?" Naruto requested sheepishly, having forgotten.

Zatouji sighed in exasperation, but still told Naruto indulgently, "The powder created from these ingredients will attract all nearby fairies, but the shrine will be how those fairies judge you. Simply create a small pile of objects that describe you."

"What do you mean by 'that describe you'?" Naruto asked, not getting it.

"Exactly that. Fairies are spirits. They don't…think like us. They process and interpret the world around them differently than we do.

They can understand things beyond the physical realm. They are capable of sensing the emotions and meaning behind objects.

They inherently understand what the objects symbolize. If you lay out objects with personal significance, they can comprehend why.

They can then judge you based on those objects," Zatouji explained slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"Okay. I think I get it," Naruto claimed hesitantly, scratching his head as he thought over those words.

Zatouji quickly walked to the edge of the clearing and pulled out several tools. He then set to work.

Naruto turned around as he considered what he had just been told. Yuuto quickly came up and patted his shoulder as he informed him, "This is something you need to do yourself, Naruto. Good luck."

Naruto nodded and continued thinking as the rest of the group went back to interacting with their familiars. Things important to him. Make a shrine that describes himself.

Naruto quickly started pulling objects from the storage seals on his wrists. His Konoha headband.

The piece of metal was battered to the point of being unrecognizable from the trip over here, but Naruto had kept it anyways.

It was important to him, symbolizing Konoha and his dream to become Hokage. Naruto then pulled out Gama-chan, his old wallet reminding Naruto of the toads. It was also the first gift Naruto had ever received.

The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja. Ero-Sennin and the source of Naruto's name. The headband for the Shinobi Alliance. Peace and cooperation.

The tatters of his old orange tracksuit. Cause orange is awesome, dattebayo! A sealed cup of instant ramen.

Cause ramen is also awesome, dattebayo! It also reminded him of the Ichirakus.

Now his new life. Naruto pulled out Excalibur Ruler. A gift from Selene, who gave Naruto a second chance at life.

A copy of Icha Icha. Despite his resentment of how it affected his reputation, it was Naruto's way of earning money. Thus he had to own the consequences.

Both the good and the bad. A bucket of orange paint. To represent his love of pranks.

Tilting his head in thought, Naruto turned and called out, "Hey. Can I get a strand of hair from each of you?"

The unusual request shocked everyone, and Raynare quickly demanded, "What the hell kind of request is that?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he admitted, "Comrades are really important to me. So I want to put something here which will symbolize our group. Hair seems the easiest option."

Accepting his explanation, they all complied with his demand. Although several did it grudgingly

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