4

The Sea Snake and Blackened Bastard -Oberyn's swan ship and the converted pirates' galley respectively- gently rocked back and forth against the waves, easily traversing forward with the wind guiding them along the Summer Sea.

It's been a week since the two sea vessels left Meereen as nothing really much happened in the trip to Dorne, which is supposedly going to take roughly a week at best. There was no pirate attack or any bad storms that occured, for instance. The only thing that was remotely exciting -which is putting it mildly- was returning to the Old Valyrian borders.

The place was still creepy as hell to see from the ship's deck for the young shinobi. And luckily for him and the ships' occupants, neither of them wished to even step foot onto it's soil. No one wanted to get roped into a similar mess they went into when the ships made the temporary stop near it's shore last time.

Especially with Naruto and Oberyn with their encounter of it's stonemen and monster-like residents.

Speaking of, Naruto wondered how exactly those Old Valyrian monsters were captured in the first place and brought to Meereen. His older companions told him that people tend to stay away from the cursed territory; with only those brave, and practically stupid and greedy, would venture into its lands. It was possible that game hunters went into Old Valyria to capture new beasts for fighters to go up against to make things more interesting for the audience to enjoy. But it would've been bloody hard to acquire that giant horned beast he and Oberyn had to go up against, making the shinobi think the hunters might've stumbled upon the beast while it slept and immensely drugged it to properly transport it to Meereen.

At the current time, the resident Uzumaki was in the Sea Snake's hull as he briefly looked over the bodies of the deceased men placed at the far off corner.

Naruto had offered to seal up the corpses so their decomposing bodies wouldn't just stink up the ship, but also not take up space. After all, he did the same thing with Gerion's body in order to originally make things easier for transportation. But the respective crews turned down the offer as it wouldn't seem right at all. Stuff about it being unnatural and wanting to respect one's wishes before proper burial rights.

After that, Naruto didn't pry any further.

Letting out a bit of held breath, the whiskered Uzumaki unsealed an old book and placed it on his lap. Mind you it's no ordinary old book as it's the same tome that peaked his interest when he first found it in the shrine's library. He, Oberyn and Ellaria already went through many of the other ones that were collected from said location to kill most of their boredom.

Yet after reading many of the other books, this one had been something Naruto has been putting off for a while. Might've been from focusing on other reading materials or out of necessity… because the book was rather thick, indicating quite the lengthy read. He even checked the first several pages in order to find the index to read more on Old Valyria from where he first glanced at it's pages.

But there seemed to be much more than just that old Freehold written in this ancient tome, causing Naruto to wonder what the rest of its contents were.

'Might as well get to this, then.' He thought as he cracked open the cover and flipped through the pages to the 'official' first one past all of boring frontal stuff. 'Hope the read will be quite interesting unlike the other books we read.'

On the first day, man was granted a soul; and with it, clarity. On the second day, upon the earth was planted an irrevocable poison... a soul-devouring demon.

Naruto momentarily stopped reading, raising a brow upon reading the opening lines. 'Well that is rather odd for an opening.' He thought before he continued.

King Allant -twelfth of his name- channeled the power of souls, bringing unprecedented prosperity to his northern kingdom of Boletaria. That is... until the colourless Deep Fog swept across the land. Boletaria was cut off from the outside world and those who dared penetrate the Deep Fog from either side never returned.

But Vallarfax of the royal Twin Fangs broke free from the fog and told the world of Boletaria's plight. That the Old King Allant had aroused the Old One -the great beast below the Nexus- from it's eternal slumber. And that a colourless fog had swept in, unleashing terrible Demons. The Demons hunt down men and claim their souls. Those who lose their souls also lose their minds. The mad attack the sane and chaos reigns.

Vallarfax spoke of the enticing power of the Demon souls. For each time a Demon claims a human soul, the Demon's own soul is invigorated by the life force.

And the power of a mature Demon Soul is beyond human imagination. The legend spread quickly. Mighty warriors were drawn to the accursed land, but none have returned.

Biorr of the Twin Fangs... Yurt the Silent Chief... Sage Urbain... Scirvir the Wanderer... The Sixth Saint Astraea and her knight Garl Vinland... And Sage Freke the Visionary were such warriors. Beloved and worshipped by many were now lost to the rest of the world.

The colourless Deep Fog slowly creeps beyond Boletaria's borders. And humankind faces a slow and steady extinction. For the Deep Fog will eventually swallow all lands near and far. But Boletaria has one final hope. A lone warrior who has braved the baneful fog…

Has the land found its saviour... or have the Demons found a new slave?

Before he could continue forward, Naruto heard Oberyn's voice call out to him. "There you are. I was looking for you."

Quickly bookmarking his spot -not that it really mattered- Naruto closed the book and looked at the Viper. "Need me for something?"

Whenever not helping around the ships and reading through the Valyrian books, Naruto would be having lessons under the Dornish couple. Either fighting or educational in nature to better fit with his new environment.

On most times, Ellaria occasionally asked Naruto on how to properly wield her new Kusanagi sword as it's quite foreign to her. The Uzumaki did all he could as he wasn't knowledgeable in any sword styles, but gave her the basics in order to let her come up with a style that naturally suited her. Regardless of this fact, the Dornish bastard was very appreciative on the help.

During the more educational lessons one time, Oberyn's maester side was interested in Naruto's native language. His old curiosity in the Elemental Nation's map rose back up and had wanted to learn it's written language. So Naruto took some time to help him out as it was quite the challenge for the Viper, but he's getting through it… at a decently slow pace.

If it wasn't either of those in general, the couple wanted to learn more on Naruto's homeland and experiences. So he exchanged stories with them -and vice versa- as they gained a better understanding in the others' home environments as it also doubled as oral lessons for the Uzumaki.

It was quite funny when they heard of Naruto's exploits in pranking many areas of his home village. From painting the Hokage Monument in broad daylight in his orange jumpsuit, sneaking into the ANBU headquarters and causing chaos while outrunning them, and getting into certain clan compounds and dying all of their clothes into bright feminine colors without anyone noticing were just mere examples of his sneaking capabilities.

As for Naruto's missions, he first told them the full backstory on how he acquired Kubikiribocho during his time at Wave. They were astounded in how he helped liberate an entire island nation from a man named Gato, a business mongrel who ruled it by controlling the shipping routes and monopolying everything within its borders. And the only way to help liberate Wave was to help complete the bridge that's supposed to rival the Bridge of Volantis in terms of size.

The opposition Naruto and his team had to face were an infamous assassin and his protege that Goto hired in order to kill Tazuna, the bridge builder. Meetings turned into fights and in the end, justice prevailed with Goto slain by the demon assassin he betrayed in the end. In the end, Naruto helped save the country's people from themselves by helping them rise up and take action once the Mist shinobi killed Gato. And at the resting place of the deceased, the whiskered Uzumaki took up Zabuza's carving knife sword and Haku's philosophy of protecting others as his own.

And the other mission the Uzumaki regaled was what happened at his time in the Waterfall village. From befriending the young ruler, Shibuki, and a peculiar green haired and orange eyed girl named Fu before she went to a mission out of her home for the first time. During this time, Naruto eventually had to help prevent a coup as a missing-nin -Suien- wanted to take over with the legendary Hero's Water. And like with Wave, Naruto earned the residences respect and gained a better alliance and trade negotiation towards Konoha.

Suffice to say, the Dornish couple were quite entertained of the two stories while still curious on certain aspects their young companion talked about.

The Dornish prince merely shook his head a little. "Not much, just wanted to look for you personally."

"Instead of chatting with my clones?"

"I did say personally." Oberyn said before looking at Naruto's position and what he had on his lap. "Why are you reading that down here, anyways?"

"Needed a little change of scenery after reading way too much outside."

"...And instead of your bunk, you're reading here in the hull," he then pointed to the corpses over yonder, "nearby the deceased."

"...I was also paying some respects while thinking things over."

Oberyn nodded in understanding before asking the obvious question. "Like what exactly?"

Naruto scratched his wild blonde locks as he sighed. "I was thinking things over that when we're at Westeros, I wondered how I would properly deliver Gerion and Brightroar back to the Lannisters."

Oberyn briefly made a tightened fist upon mention of the family and breathed to quickly cool himself down. "And why would you think that?"

"Well… if I simply bring Gerion back to his family, questions might arise with how he seems freshly dead after being presented to them."

The Dornish prince nodded in understanding. From what Naruto told him, deceased bodies being sealed away preserved them while being transported as if no time has passed. No decomposition and no horrid smell that comes with it if the body was left out in the open for so long like the bodies tucked away in the ship's hull.

"I can understand that things will get complicated if you ended up blandly bringing him back with hardly any signs of rot upon his body. Hell -if I know the Lions- they'd probably cause you misfortune and accuse you for his demise… among other things." Oberyn stroked his thin beard as he imagined that happening to his young friend, leaving a small distaste in his mouth. "So tell me, Naruto, what do you plan to rectify this?"

"When I get settled at Dorne, I'll cremate Gerion's body and hand his ashes back to his family." Answered the Konoha shinobi.

The prince nodded as it seemed an easier way to solve the rotting, decomposing problem. Yet another question arose. "And how will you prove to them that it's really him instead of someone else?"

"Strip the body of both his armor and belongings and hand them over alongside the ashes. Might be the best form of proof I could muster."

"Hmm~ Seems simple enough."

"And Brightroar will be amongst them, for obvious reasons."

This little detail got Oberyn to blink. "And… why aren't you going to keep it?"

Naruto merely rose a brow. "Excuse me?"

"Think about it, having another Valyrian-steel weapon in your arsenal." A small smile came onto the Viper's lips. "I mean -for one- you seem quite well wielding it during our spars."

In order to test out Viper's Kiss and Kusanagi, the Dornish couple wanted to go up against their young friend. Naruto would've used his Kubikiribocho but it was a little too big for the limited space on the ship's deck. And as for Amaterasu, no one wanted the enchanted Valyrian sword end up causing a fire on accident… even though Naruto can only spark by fueling chakra into the blade. So the only option he had to go up against their Valyrian-blades was Brightroar.

And despite having no experience in wielding and using the sword before, Naruto seemed quite natural upon using it.

The Dornish prince then tried to apply more facts upon the whiskered blonde. "Growing your reputation -if you ever want to make one here- by having more than just one of the-"

"I'm sorry, Oby-san, but I can't keep Brightroar."

"...And why not?"

"First off, you need to remember I have a good number of Valyrian-steel sealed up that I could make them into anything to suit mine or anyone else's tastes. And second, I… I don't want to break my promise." Oberyn was silent as Naruto explained. "Sure, Brightroar does work well with me, but Gerion asked me to bring both him and Brightroar back home and I intend to do it." The Uzumaki's eyes turned hard as he stared down at the Dornish prince. "I never break my promises and I don't plan on ending that trend anytime soon. For once I make a promise, I never go back on it. That's my Nindo; my shinobi way dattebayo!"

Oberyn soon let out a sigh. 'Stubborn little shit.' He thought before silently chuckling. 'But I can understand his reasons and respect his decision. Not to mention that verbal tick is rather funny.'

The Dornish prince had hoped Naruto could've kept Brightroar -instead of returning it- as a way of screwing the Lannisters up their asses. Brightroar has been a powerful symbol of their House as it boasted their people's moral upon seeing it in battle. But after Tommen II took it with him centuries ago, said moral took a blistering dive off a cliff while it steadily rose back up throughout the generations; especially with it's recent Head and Lord of Casterly Rock.

Yet it wasn't exactly the same without Brightroar in Lannister's hands.

It wasn't just that fact as it was much more to Oberyn. After what happened in the Sack of King's Landing, the Viper had wanted revenge against the Lions on what they did to House Nymeros Martell. Now granted, Oberyn can't exactly go up against Gregor Clegane and slay him without repercussions as he's one of Tywin Lannister's best assets. But that didn't mean other means of revenge couldn't be done to somewhat make up for it.

For now, that is.

And as for Gerion, the man was probably one of the only Lannisters Oberyn seemingly tolerated so far in his life. The man was reckless and had quite the gift for making others laugh. Tywin's youngest brother was quite the man to get along with… prior to Robert's Rebellion as relations between Houses became quite sour afterwards.

Thinking on his young friend's little creed, Oberyn spoke three words. "Unbent, unbowed, unbroken." This quickly gained Naruto's attention. "These are the words of my House. Warnings towards our enemies while comforting towards loved ones." His dark eyes focused quite well on the whiskered blonde. "I believe you keeping unbroken promises and seeing them to fruition would maybe do well with my House while you live with us, for a time."

Naruto could only chuckle as he seemed to like the Martell House even more. First were their colors of red, yellow and orange and now their house words.

"Now, I believe I came to find you not to discuss such things," spoke the Viper, "but to inform you that we're getting close to Volantis and will be docking soon."

Naruto nodded in understanding on why they needed to stop at Volantis.

For one, rest. The crews and occupants on the two ships can only handle being on the seas for so long before cabin fever takes its toll on them. And since no one wants to get stir crazy, they need to get onto dry land for some well deserved shore leave for a few days.

Second, their supplies were running low. Maintaining one ship alone with certain supplies can only go so far, but maintaining two can be a stretch depending on the vessels in question; especially with shortened staff on both causes shortages to oddly appear.

Each ship had their positive and negative traits, but it didn't matter in the end if the occupants were not happy and satisfied. So stopping at Volantis before making a beeline to Dorne was quite necessary.

"I'll be sure to get ready, Oby-san."

The Red Viper nodded and made his way out of the hull in order to finish his own preparations and to check up on his paramour.

-Half Hour Later-

"Now remember, Naruto, try not to use your talents out here."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, Oby-san. You don't have to tell me twice."

After the whole debacle back at Meereen, Naruto had to keep his chakra techniques away to a bare minimum. And from what he learned from the Dornish couple, his 'magic' has various results depending in which region of the world he would presently be in.

If he was in the North of the Neck in Westeros, he'd be somewhat accepted by the people of the North and the First men as they worship the Old Gods who have dealt with magic in the past… or so it's so believed. Anything below the Neck, then he'd be put into a pretty bad light by the Southerners and those of the Andal religion with the Seven, due to what crap went on centuries ago. Though over in Dorne, it could be quite lenient with what his present relationship is with one of its rulers.

Asides from the Westerosi nations, Essos is quite… the mixed bag with their view on magic.

The concept is rather soured in most of its territories due to what the Valyrian Freehold exactly did in it's reign. Dothraki -in general- are extremely hesitant and weary about it, as one example. Other areas are… iffy at best due to the many religions present in the much larger continent and it's hard to fully describe them without having a massive headache by how bloody complicated they were.

Hell, even Oberyn was in an agreement with such a thought.

Having docked at Volantis' pier earlier, the ships were quickly taken care of as a small number of crew members and henged clones were stationed to be sure neither vessel were taken advantage of by any would be thieves.

It took awhile for the initial group to reach the inn where the two crews were going to be staying at during their visit here in Volantis. As much as they wanted to quickly disburse and do their own thing, it's a necessity to get their rented rooms first and drop off some of their belongings before doing whatever else afterwards.

With most of the crew members wanting to hit the brothels or whatever they had in mind -in order to get away from the hot, heavy and bright sun- Oberyn and Ellaria decided to give their young companion a tour of the city.

At its absolute height centuries ago, the Valyrian Freehold ruled half of the known world. Yet as the Doom occurred as it consumed the central pointed land in it's darkened curse, Volantis is the last city to supposedly cling onto most of Old Valyria history and traits; ensuring that it's parent's flame doesn't fully die out as their supposed heirs.

Or so what people have told Oberyn to which have told Naruto when coming here. Yet the Viper also said that those from Lys and Tyrosh have also boasted the same thing. And in truth, the cities that were at the Old Freehold borders were merely clinging onto ash and glory.

From what Naruto learned at their recent stop, Volantis is the oldest and first of the Valyrian cities when the former sheepherders decided to expand their territories. And at the Doom's aftermath, the Volantenes had tried to rebuild the once great Empire -under their rule- but they failed.

Their downfall started at it's beginning with how divided the residents were in what they thought their dominion might best be achieved. Old Blood favored the sword while the merchants and moneylenders advocated trade. As they contended for rule of the city, the factions became known as they fight for the dominant spot of the land with the tigers and elephants being small examples of said factions.

Now the tigers held sway of things for nearly a century after the Doom and for a time, they were successful. A Volantene fleet took Lys and an army captured Myr and for three generations they were all ruled from behind the Black Walls.

Yet this all ended when they became greedy and tried to swallow Tyrosh whole.

Pentos came into the war to aid the Tyroshi along with the Westerosi Storm King before Aegon the Conqueror's rule. Braavos provided the Lyseni exile with a hundred warships and later Aegon flew on top of his trusty, oversized dragon -Black Dread- to join the fight to help Myr and Lys. And in the end, the Disputed Lands became a wasteland with Myr and Lys slowly recovering while Volantis was broken after a century of war.

And with that, the city is supposedly more contempt with ruling their lower classes instead of others.

"I highly doubt it." Naruto commented, earning little chuckles from the Dornish couple. "After all -like Kakashi-sensei taught me- look underneath the underneath."

"Wise words your teacher gave." Oberyn said with his paramour nodding. "And it's true what many know the Volantene apple rolled a fair distance from the Valyrian tree, yet many deny it. Always clinging onto the old ways in order to be something that they aren't."

As the three walked along, they saw hathays roaming the streets. Hathays were much like horse or ox pulled carts that Naruto was familiar with, but in this city they were pulled by dwarf-elephants. And instead of typical drivers being paid for such services, they were driven by slaves with a small wheel tattooed on their cheek. It's not just that, but the amount of slaves seen in the city were more apparent than from Meereen. They were as numerous as cockroaches, scurrying practically everywhere for their masters' orders.

And not far from Fishermonger's Square and the four story inn they were staying at, armored spearmen and tiger-skin cloaked soldiers motioned people to stand aside. Naruto was a bit confused on what was going on until he saw normal sized elephants, armored with odd mini-castle like structures perched on their backs. They were so high that they barely scraped the top of the ornamental stone arch as they went underneath.

Sensing the questions in the whiskered blonde's head, Oberyn spoke. "The Triarchs -those who ride the elephants up there- consider themselves so elevated that their feet are not allowed to touch the ground during their year of service, Naruto. They ride everywhere on elephants."

"Blocking up the streets." Naruto said before he saw something drop from up high with a wet 'slop' as it hit the street, causing him to recoil a little in disgust. "And~ leaving heaps of dung for everyone else to clean up after them."

Ellaria nodded as she looked away. "Why Volantis needs three princes, I will never know."

"Well Dorne makes due with my brother and I and our fellow Dornishmen love us." Said the Viper before his lips went down a bit more. 'Though they were much more happier when my sister was alive.'

"Question." Naruto said, getting their attention. "Are the Triarchs royalty or what?"

"The triarchs aren't kings or princes, if that's what you're thinking Naruto." Oberyn answered. "Volantis is a freehold, like Valyria of old. All freeborn landholders share the rule and even women are allowed to vote, provided they own land." The three then moved around once the spearmen and tiger-skin cloaked men allowed everyone to pass… after the dung was quickly taken care of. "Now, the three triarchs are chosen from amongst those noble families who can prove unbroken descent from Old Valyria, to serve until the first day of the new year. And -if possible- the same triarch could be chosen again depending if they're more favorable or not."

'So it's like an election.' Naruto guessed in his head.

"At least it's better than what the Pentoshi does with their 'royalty'." Ellaria added in.

The Uzumaki blinked before asking the coming question. "Which is what exactly?"

"Instead of the triarchs here -who want their position- when getting chosen by the people, those from Pentos have no say in the matter." Answered the bastard, gaining more confusion from their young companion. "Sure, their term as 'prince' can go longer than a year and at the beginning of each new year they must bed a maiden of the fields and sea respectively."

Oberyn gave a bitter chuckle. "Yes, it would've been a nice way for a naive man to look forward on the idea. But the downside of the position is that when the Pentoshi believe the gods are angry with them -like crop failure or loss in war- they sacrifice the current prince by cutting his throat to appease the gods before choosing a replacement.

Naruto looked both horrified and disgusted upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Oberyn and Ellaria shared the feeling their young friend gave out. It was not a great world like what most people pretty up for children. Everyone had their own ways of practice that for some it's frowned upon, others distasteful and the rest was a natural part of their culture, to which they've come to accept.

Hoping to get Naruto's mind off the little issue, Oberyn looked around and saw something in the distance. Smiling a little, he patted the Uzumaki's shoulder. "See that over there."

Following as to where the Viper was pointing towards, Naruto was amazed to see a giant, black stoned wall. "What is that?"

"That, my friend, is the infamous Black Wall of Volantis." Answered the Dornish prince. "With it being two hundred feet high, it could be seen cities away, even as far as the fallen Rhyone."

Ellaria picked up on the lesson from there. "Raised by the Valyrians when Volantis was no more than an outpost for their empire. A great oval of liquid stone -which no one knows how it's done- it was made so thickly wide that sixty four horse-chariots could race around it's top with hardly no problems, which they actually do each and every year to celebrate the founding of the city."

Naruto nodded as he kept eying the blackened wall in the distance. With how they spoke about it, the structure sounded like it was made out of cement; a concept that was common knowledge back where he came from. And as for it's coloration, he figured it was due to the intensive heat of dragon flames since the Valyrians made the damn wall.

Soon enough a thought crossed his mind. "Is the wall just a wall to separate the city?" Asked the shinobi.

"We're not over there yet, but I might as well inform you on what it surrounds specifically." Oberyn said, getting the whiskered blonde's curiosity. "It doesn't surround the entire city, but only a certain area."

"Which is…"

"The ruling sector of this city as to where the triarchs, city officials and Volantene nobility live." This earned a bland 'are you serious' look from the shinobi. "Yes, I know the feeling quite well, young friend. It's ridiculous, but it does bring in the curiosity of foreigners, outlanders and freedmen as their not allowed inside to see what the sector looks like. Only an invitation of those who dwell inside can get you in there."

"Well that's annoying."

"Tell me about it." Ellaria commented as they traversed the streets. "I -for one- don't really care what goes on behind it's wall and go on with my business. But others, they seem obsessed with it."

"Yeah, I can understand what you mean, Ella-san." A thoughtful look crept up on to Naruto's face. "Maybe while we're here, I could sneak in there at night and see what's what." Then a mischievous one quickly formed. "maybe even pull a few pranks while I'm at it."

"As if you could do such a thing, Naruto." She responded. "The wall is very manned and guarded. The last line of defense for the more important residents here from invaders. That even if people could somehow get past it's outer wall, it's a labyrinth in there."

"And yet you forget what he said and could do, my desert snake." Oberyn said as he grew an amused smile. "Walking on walls, jumping great distances, surviving falls and sneaking into places one should not be in is quite the cake walk for the likes of him." This earned a laugh from the Uzumaki. "We can discuss that possibility later, Naruto, but for now we continue exploring."

-Later-

'Man this place is so damn crowded.' Thought the shinobi as he, Oberyn and Ellaria were walking through the Long Bridge of Volantis.

It was originally built as an extremely large connection for people alike to cross over the Rhoyne River if one didn't want to port from the city's harbor. Up close, Naruto compared this structure with the bridge back at Wave as they were indeed roughly the same size. Though, at some point, various buildings and markets were built onto the bridge, making things harder for one to go through this section of Volantis.

The blonde's eyes wandered all over the place as an uneasy feeling built up in the pit of his stomach. He can blame it on seeing the severed body parts he saw dangling on chains to the different slaves doing their daily tasks with the small tattoos on their cheeks. Flies for dung shovelers, hammers for builders, and tears for whores are all but a few categories that reside in the city. Though Naruto would hate to imagine what some people might confuse him as a slave with his whisker birthmarks since those get mistaken as tattoos.

'Okay me.' He said to himself as he tried to move through the crowded bridge street. 'Remember what Oby-san and Ella-san told you: don't use my chakra. Even though it's not magic, it's considered so in this world and I don't want to draw in too much attention towards myself or else I possibly won't hear the end of it.'

Wearing only a brown tunic with large scarf to help blend himself with the populace, Naruto wandered about as he tried to catch up to Oberyn and Ellaria. It was starting to get a little hard to do so with more and more people blocking his way. He'll probably be forced to create a clone or walk up the walls in order to find his older companions, which is what he would normally do.

But in this case, he'd do it as a last resort.

"Sorry… Excuse me… Sorry…" Naruto kept saying as he tried to squeeze right through several people. He had a guess that it wouldn't be long until he'll end up shoved or fall down on accident with how bad some people are at the current moment. Though it doesn't mean he would suddenly find some free space for a bigger intersection. "Finally… I can breathe."

"...Lord, cast your light upon us." A woman's voice called out from one section of the intersection, causing Naruto to look towards the source. "For the night is dark and full of terrors."

Naruto soon heard a bit of an echo coming from a crowd of people surrounding the source moments ago. When gazing at the person first speaking, the woman looked like a priestess of sorts with the dark brownish-red dress and cleaned up a bit more than from the rest of the surrounding people. Though he did see -with his better vision as of late- that part of her cheek was burnt, the same part that possibly had a tattoo.

"I was once one of you -like it or not- as I was bought and sold several times in my life." The priestess started out as she seemed to tell her tale. "Branded and scourged to the point that once my usefulness was done, I would be tossed aside like a broken tool… Until the Lord heard me… He heard my voice like he hears the voices of kings and the slaves; even the stone men in their miserable times in exile."

Naruto could only sigh a little -with a shake of his head- as he heard that last bit. He saw how badly grayscale turns out on the Old Valyrian island and good luck fixing that. Would take a real miracle to do such a thing before it truly consumes them.

Asides from that, Naruto understood on what the priestess was doing exactly: converting people towards her religion. Not that there's anything wrong with that since people have the right to choose in what he/she believes in, hence one of the booms here in Essos with the various religions Ellaria briefly taught him during their ship ride to Dorne so far. Like the Great Stallion for the Dothraki, the Lady of Spears for the Unsullied in Astapor, and the Multi-faced deity over in Braavos. Even in Dorne, people there not only worship the Seven but some parts supposedly worship the Old Gods and Mother Rhoyne.

With the Uzumaki, he still believes in the shinto religion he grew up with-with some Buddhist elements here and there to help bring him a sense of comfort in times of need.

"He has sent you a savior to this world!" The priestess continued with her little sermon. "To either help bring balance to it or to destroy it! And in the end, all will be remade!"

"Well that's very comforting." Naruto sarcastically mumbled as he was walking away a little to hopefully find his companions.

"For the Whiskered Warrior will help save us all!"

The moment Naruto heard that, he stopped in his tracks and tried to process what he just heard. He didn't have to turn around to feel the one priestess looking right at him, sending chills down his spine in the process. So taking a deep breath, the shinobi brought his scarf higher to cover up his whiskered cheeks before pressing onward.

Naruto was getting slightly nervous at this point as he didn't know where he was going exactly. His mind was reeling with the priestess' words with it clouding his thoughts. Much so that the Uzumaki didn't realize he was going too fast until he ended up running into someone.

"GAH!" Both of them cried out as they fell onto the ground.

Shaking their heads to rid themselves of their slight dizziness, Naruto was the first to react after looking at the person he knocked over. She appeared to be a few years older than him, wearing a normal set of clothing in this city. Her slightly angular face was complemented with her dark brown eyes and her matching hair tied into a ponytail. With her was a basket that seemed empty before he saw several items on the ground, a result of both of their little moment.

"I'm so sorry about that, ma'am!" Naruto called out as he quickly went towards the items and started picking them up for her. Speaking up with how loud the street seemed to be. "I wasn't seeing where I was going!"

"No. No. It's my fault." She said as she got up herself and helped secure her items. "My mind was elsewhere, making me not focusing properly. Add that to the crowded street here to make things worse."

Nodding in agreement, Naruto soon saw some of the glassy items broke with their contents spilling onto the street. "Crap."

"What is it?"

"Sorry, ma'am, but it seems some of your stuff are ruined." Holding up one of the broken jars, she saw what he was talking about. "I can help pay for this, I swear."

"No. You don't have to." The dark haired teen replied as she tried to wave him off.

"I insist. It was mostly my fault and I want to make things right." Seeing as there was no way she can talk him down, the woman sighed before accepting the offer. "So mind directing me towards whatever shops you got these from? I'm sure I can help pay for whatever replacements you need."

The woman gave him a small nod as she directed him through the bit of street traffic before asking something that was on her mind. "Sorry to intrude or anything, but you seemed to be in a rush in either getting away or towards something."

"The former actually." He answered, causing her to slightly nod on the information.

"From what exactly?"

"Some creepy clergy thing I heard at the one intersection."

"Oh… You mean the Red Priestess for R'hllor, right?"

"R'hllor what now?" He asked in confusion, making the woman gain a knowing look.

"Ah. So you don't belong to Essos, I see. People who live outside of this continent don't know the religion all that well."

"Eh… You can say that. So what's this R'hllor you mentioned?"

Passing by a few other people, the woman answered back to him. "R'hllor is the Lord/God of Light; also known as either the Red God, Heart of Fire, and God of Flame and Shadow. I try not to focus much on that religion, but many of its priests and priestesses wear lots of red… Did something happen back there?"

"Yeah… The one priestess was creeping me out and I wanted to hightail it out of there."

She chuckled when hearing this as she looked back to speak to him. "You're not the only one. Not a lot of people like the religion and feel quite uncomfortable around them. Most people are when not wanting to understand what they're speaking about… Though they seemed a bit more active as of late."

"Why's that?"

"Only rumors being spread about." She answered with a small shrug. "Started out sometime last week, pertaining to something that happened in Meereen."

"...And what happened in Meereen?" Naruto asked since he had a sinking suspicion on what she might be referring to, especially when remembering some of the titles the religion's god was mostly called.

"Don't know for sure since word of mouth tends to muddle things. Something dealing with some boy fighting a fiery demon and him becoming a savior or something like that." Was her response, not seeing Naruto's nervous reaction. "Though I don't believe any of that since I'm someone that believes in things once I see them actually happen. So what ever happened over there is just glorified rumor to entertain people."

Nodding in understanding, he kept following the woman before a thought came to mind. "Don't mind me asking this, ma'am, but mind telling me your name?" This caused her to mildly stop in her tracks and turned towards him. "We might as well introduce ourselves if I'm helping you out on this." Holding out his hand, he told her his name. "Mine's Naruto Uzumaki. What's yours?"

Smiling at the gesture, she took his hand in hers and shook it. "Mine's Talisa Maegyr and it's good to make your acquaintance, Naruto."

Following the now identified Talisa, he responded in kind before looking at some of the broken jars. "And don't mind me asking this, Talisa, but what were in some of those bottles?"

Naruto had started dropping calling people with their given honorific suffixes as of late, due to what Oberyn and Ellaria taught him. It would've been very confusing if being brought up all the time for explanations towards others. Yet, Ellaria seemed to like being called Ella-san so she was fine with it. As for Oberyn, being called Oby-san was annoying as hell at times but Naruto would always refer to him as such for humor's sakes.

Besides, for some reason the change of name sounded cool in the blonde's opinion.

The dark haired teenager responded. "Herbs and creams that I'm trying to experiment with."

"What for?"

"Would you believe that I want to be a healer?" Talisa answered with another question, something that made Naruto think for a moment. Though before he could give her a response, the two stopped their movements as the 'healer' stopped in front of a shop. "Well this is it, Naruto."

Once entering inside, the two went towards the counter as Naruto saw the many jars and containers that had certain labels written in what he believed was Valyrian. Soon Talisa spoke with one of the workers and eventually got the replacements she needed. Seeing as it was time for him to pay, he asked if the man accepted Westerosi currency, to which the man humbly accepted. Pulling out Gama-chan -Naruto's frog-themed wallet- the shinobi was able to pay for Talisa's order before making their way out.

"I can't believe you have something that's so cute." She giggled out, much to his annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up. But this girl has been with me for as long as I can remember."

"Sorry." She apologetically said, yet amusement was still being voiced.

Looking up into the sky, Naruto guessed that it was roughly mid-day before looking back at Talisa. "Do you want something to eat? I'm buying."

She raised a brow at him before giving the blonde teenager a slight smirk. "Helping me out on replacing my damaged goods and now asking me out for a meal? My you work quick in courting me."

Realizing what she was implying, Naruto sputtered before yelling out at her. "S-Shut up! Don't you want some food or not?!"

"Sure, why not." She chuckled as she lead the Uzumaki further down the street before heading towards one food stand she supposedly goes to often. Took some minutes before the two ordered their meals and sat down on one of the outside tables. "Don't mind me asking this, Naruto, but what brings you to Volantis? You're clearly not from around here -or Essos for that matter- as stated earlier."

"I had a… world changing experience, if you will. So I'm just traveling around a little and I'm hitching a ride with some friends on their way to Dorne. Wanting to see things in a new perspective and do what I can from there."

"I can understand that quite well."

"And what about you? You said earlier that you wanted me to believe you wanted to be a healer. Is that right?"

"Silly, I know but it's what I want to be actually since most healers are Westerosi maesters and typical male trade."

The whiskered blonde shook his head as their food was soon placed in front of them, nothing much but more of a light meal for the time being. "It's not silly at all. In fact my granny is a healer as well."

"Really? How so?"

Taking a bite out of his meal, he answered shortly after swallowing. "She told me she wanted to become a healer after her little brother's death and spent many years studying the craft so she could help others in times of conflict. People said her methods and reasonings were unorthodox, but she kept forward in her goal and now she's one of the best healers that I know of."

This got Talisa to be quite interested in Naruto's 'grandmother' and seemed interested in her. "And where's she now? Maybe I could see her one day."

"...About that… She's not around anymore." He said in half truths. Tsunade's still alive and all, probably with her being so damn stubborn to keep herself alive through that is. But it's -in fact- he who isn't around her anymore after he ended up in this world.

"I'm sorry… And when was this?"

"Roughly two weeks ago."

"And is that the reason for you traveling around Naruto?"

"It's apart of that moment, but it deals with something else, Talisa. Something that I don't want to talk about." The two slowly ate in silence, with people chatting all around them. But something Talisa said earlier made him wonder about something. "You wanted to possibly learn from her, didn't you?"

Nodding in confirmation, Talisa swallowed some of her meal before responding back. "I would've liked the privilege to do so, but it seems that opportunity's gone before I even got the chance."

"Sorry on that… Though answer me this: Why do you want to become a healer? You said that being a healer is unlike a craft a woman would get into. So why become one in the first place."

Taking a swig of her drink to help clear her throat before explaining her reason. "Like you, I too had a world changing experience. It was several years ago when my parents left my little brother and I behind while they went to a wedding that lasted several days."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Several days?"

The 'healer' chuckled at his bewildered look. "I know it's odd for a wedding to last that long, but here in Volantis it's a common practice."

"That must've been really expensive."

"It can be, depending on what type of wedding it is." Finishing up the rest of his meal, he ushered her to continue. "Anyways, the second afternoon they were gone, it was practically the hottest day I've ever experienced. It was to the point that neither of us bared to stay inside, making us head towards the Rhoyne River with all of the other children in the city. The rich, the poor, it didn't matter who you were since practically everyone had the exact same idea. We raced each other, swam towards the little islands naked so we can really cool off while musicians played for coppers by the east bank.

Well… at one point, I was treading water as I talked to one of my friends when I realized that I haven't seen my brother for a while. I called out his name while I searched and before long, I started screaming it... I soon found him, face down in the water and my heart… stopped. My friend and I swam as fast as we could in order to drag my brother back to the river bed."

A look of sadness soon overcame her pleasant features. "Gods… He was so little back then. I screamed and shook him to wake up, but he didn't since I realized he was dead. But before I could try and mourn for him, a man with a fish tattoo on his cheek ran over and pushed me aside... And before you question about it, the fish tattoo signifies a slave fisherman… Anyways I was really offended at the time when he pushed me away."

"...Why?"

"You need to understand, Naruto, that a slave pushing a noble-born child is a serious offense, resulting in death. But he still pushed me away before he started pressing his hands on his chest and breathed into his mouth. Again and again for what seemed like forever for me and before long, my brother spat out half of the river back out of his chest. He cried out as the slave cradled his head, calming him down and saying everything was alright…

And it was on that day I promised I'd do two things with my life from then on: I won't waste my life away, planning events and dancing with other noble lords and ladies. And when I came of age, I'd leave Volantis and become a traveling healer. Though the second promise still needs adjustments. But I want to do selfless acts towards others like what that slave did for me back then."

"...Well I think it's a great promise, Talisa, and I hope you do well on that."

"Thank you, Naruto."

"And when do you think you'll be ready to leave?"

"When my teacher thinks I'm ready, which I think is soon I hope. I am of age right now, but I just want to be properly prepared before I travel around and help others."

"Then I wish you luck, Talisa." Holding up his cup, he spoke up with a smile on his face. "To world changing experiences."

She chuckled before holding out her cup and clinking them together. "To world changing experiences." It wasn't long until the two finished up their meals, as they talked about other topics, before wanting to head on out. "Well I've got to get going, Naruto. It's been nice talking to you and thanks again for buying my supplies and for the meal."

"It's no problem, Talisa. Though you didn't tell me one thing?"

"...Which is?"

"How's your brother?"

"He's doing quite well actually." Standing up from the table, she headed on out before giving the shinobi a smiling nod. "Good luck traveling, Naruto. Maybe I might see you in Westeros someday in the future."

"Same to you." He said as she walked back into the crowd towards her own destination. Before long, the Uzumaki let out a sigh as he rubbed his head a little. "Now I need to find Oby-san and Ella-san, but where are they? They could be anywhere by now and possibly worried sick."

"Oh we wouldn't say that, Naruto!" A male voice called out from behind the blonde, causing him to look back to see the Martell couple looking at him a few tables away. "You were doing quite well on your own."

Seeing their smirking faces, he gained a worried look before speaking back. "And how long were two here?"

"For a while actually." Came the Sand Snake's response. "We were going to look for you when we saw you with her. So we decided to sit down and watch the performance."

"And I've gotta say, Naruto, she possibly is a real catch." Stated the Viper with a growing smile. "A smart, beautiful girl like that could be real beast in bed with her knowledge on healing." With the ever growing blush on Naruto's face, Oberyn decided to bring it on home now. "Possibly you could charm her once she's in Westeros and bed her and she'll 'heal' you back up for more."

"S-SHUT UP ERO-HEBI!"

As the teasing ended, the three decided to go through the marketplace to see what could catch their interests. Though this time, the Dornish couple kept a close eye at their younger companion so they wouldn't lose track of him again.

While in the marketplace, Naruto purchased a good amount of items that seemed to satisfy him. From a large amount of paper and ink in order to make more exploding tags and experimental seal work, to other sets of clothing. As much as he likes the clothing Ellaria got him in Meereen, Naruto wanted to get his own that possibly suited his style and then some.

He even purchased a good amount of material from one of the local blacksmiths along with some books on how he can try to speak and understand Valyrian; with some of its branched dialects like Volantese, Braavosi and those from Slaver's Bay. Though he couldn't find any on High Valyrian and the other language shown in the books/tomes they procured from the island, much to his and Oberyn's displeasure. Supposedly it can only be taught verbally and written by someone that personally knows the language.

And upon Oberyn's suggestion, the whiskered blonde purchased a copy of 'The Fires of the Freehold', Galendro's history of Valyria.

"No complete copy is known in Westeros. And even the Citadel lacked most of its content with twenty-seven scrolls or so. That is, unless, the Citadel got more material since I was last there." Said the Viper, getting Naruto to nod.

"Maybe the books and tomes we found there could fill in the blanks."

Oberyn nodded on his young companion's idea. "That could be true since neither of us have gone through everything we partook from the shrine's library." The prince then rubbed his thin beard in thought. 'Maybe once back home, I should contact Marwyn and get him to come on over to Sunspear help on looking over the books.'

Archmaester Marwyn of the Citadel was a good friend and mentor for the Red Viper during his time there. The man was quite interesting to get to know with as he was quite the unusual maester. Asides from him, Marwyn didn't get along with his fellow Archmaesters as they barely tolerated him and his delusions. His thoughts were considered unbecoming for his status as he was quite fascinated with magic.

From what Oberyn knew of the man, he collected a vast series of ancient texts on magic which allowed him to learn on the subject. Yet despite this amount of knowledge, he was no means a master on the craft. For example, he kept a dragonglass candle in his quarters as he tried to make it's tip flicker with flame. But no matter how hard he tried, it would never happen as magic was no longer present.

This didn't mean the man gave up his research in anything magical.

If he sends word to his old friend, Marwyn will no doubt come to his home and personally ask of everything that occured in Old Valyria. He would go through all of the texts he and Naruto acquired -even the smither's journal Naruto has on him- and confined himself in his family's library until each and every page has been processed through his mind.

'Not to mention questioning Naruto on his abilities.' Oberyn thought as he sucked in his teeth a little. 'If he does plan on coming, I'll need to ask him to not relentlessly bug him for information. I don't want to scare the boy off if Marwyn goes all knowledge crazy on him.'

Time has passed with how much shopping was done for the three. Unfortunately, Naruto somewhat played the part of servant in carrying the many parcels and items Ellaria purchased. Sure, Oberyn helped out in the workload alongside several of Naruto's henged clones. And before one asks about sealing the items away, there was no available area nearby to properly take care of it all without being seen.

Once returning to the inn late into the afternoon, each had their own forms of rest after dropping off their new belongings. Naruto had tried to take a nap… but…

'Why… Why did I get the room right next to theirs?' The shinobi thought in disdain as loud screams and moans were heard from the other side of the wall. 'I… I can't sleep with them going at it!'

Naruto wondered if they were doing this on purpose and annoying the hell out of him. This happened every night back on the Sea Snake, causing him to hop off and get onto the Blackened Bastard to sleep there for the night… And yet he could still hear their love making from such a distance!

'This must be because of me calling Oberyn Oby-san and not giving him the 'respect' he deserves. Either that or me refusing to keep Brightroar.' He thought with an eye twitch. 'Having his own form of revenge by annoying the fuck out of me so I won't go to sleep easily.' Getting up from the bed, he rubbed the sides of his head. 'And by the different amount voices in that room, it's not gonna end anytime soon. Oh I wish I knew how to make a silencing seal -if there ever was one- then this wouldn't be a problem.'

Getting fed up with this, Naruto decided to head on out and do some self-exploration around the city.

He quickly pulled out a blank slip of paper and wrote a message for the Dornish couple that he was going out. Telling them not to worry as he won't get into any trouble at all… hopefully. After getting himself ready, Naruto exited his rented room before slipping the message underneath Oberyn's and Ellaria's door.

Once that was done, the Konoha shinobi made his way out of the inn, jumping across the rooftops to parts unknown.

-Other side of Volantis-

'Well~ this is quite the sight.' Naruto thought as he stared at the site before him.

In his blind travel towards the Western side of the city, everything seemed to be the same throughout the land. Then again, he did most of his travel via rooftops and hardly went to the ground level. When he did, it was either to use the privy, grabbing a quick bite to eat or taking a quick look around. But when he did take a better look, Naruto realized he saw the state of things seemingly becoming bleeker. Realizing that since all the nobles, rich folk and triarchs live by and within the Black Wall then all of the poor, less-privileged people live at the opposite side of the city.

Despite the sorry state this section of Volantis was, it seemed the structure the shinobi looked upon seemed to brighten it up… in several odd ways.

Naruto didn't fully know if the structure was some sort of temple with it being an enormity of pillars, steps, buttresses, bridges, domes, and towers flowing into one another as if they had all been chiseled from one colossal rock. And the Uzumaki didn't know if it was the sunset currently taking place or not, but the temple's outer walls had a hundred hues of red, yellow, gold, and orange meet and melded like a roaring flame.

'Gotta admit, this is the biggest thing of art I've ever seen.' Mused the whiskered blonde. 'Wonder if it's the same height as the Hokage Monument back home.'

Putting this thought aside, Naruto gazed down towards the temple's courtyard and saw many people patrolling in reddened attires. Each wielded either a sword or a lance as they moved about. And entering through the main gate into the temple grounds seemed to be many cloaked individuals of similar colors.

'Wonder what's going on in there.' Naruto thought as his blue eyes briefly scanned the area. 'Might as well take a look.'

Leaping off the rooftop, he softly landed on the ground before dashing forward. Going along the fenced up side, Naruto soon leaped over and landed at the other side when none of the armed guards weren't looking. By the time he rushed forward, he jumped again and stuck onto the temple's wall before ascending it's length to find an opening.

And sure enough, he found one as he quickly got inside through an opened window.

'So far so good.' He thought as he quickly looked at each side of the small bedroom he was in. 'Now let's see what's in this place.'

Naruto first checked the current space for anything to give him a proper disguise. He then came across a closet and upon opening the door he blinked in wonder to see how empty it was.

'Maybe the person had all of his/her clothes are currently getting washed.' Naruto guessed. Quirking his head in confusion, suspicion arose before he checked the other places in the room from the desk drawers to even the dresser to only find the same result. 'Or this room is practically vacant, waiting for someone new to take it up.'

Clicking his tongue in not finding an appropriate temple outfit to help conceal himself in. He thought on henging himself into the desired attire, but he shot that down. What if he got the design wrong and could've been picked out as the odd person out at first glance?

'Maybe I could knock someone out, take and wear their clothes while I'm exploring this place.' He thought with a small nod. 'Either that or survey some people and get a visual on their attire in a semi-close matter.'

With the decision made, Naruto got up to the bedroom's entrance and carefully opened it up slowly to just a crack. He didn't want to give himself away if someone were to pass by, perchance, and cause a resulting incident. Looking through the crack, Naruto saw no one passing through, giving him the breathing space to leave the room.

Upon exiting, he quietly closed the door before looking at his sides to see himself in a closed off hallway. He made his way towards one end to get himself out of the closed space. Getting closer to a possible, open space -which surprisingly took a while- Naruto saw a glow coming from around the corner.

Seeing as he needed to go there anyways, the shinobi investigated.

Naruto did indeed reach an opened space, which caused him to hug the wall upon instinct. Peeking his head out, he looked over to see if the coast was clear for him to proceed. His blue eyes caught onto a male form walking away towards one end of the pathway while the other had a pair of individuals walking towards his position. Ducking back into his spot and scooting back, Naruto waited for the pair to pass by in order to him to move forward.

Looking upwards, Naruto scrunched his face a little. 'If only the ceiling for this hallway was higher than I could just stick to it and walk over them.' His blue eyes then looked towards the opened space and breathed out a little sigh of frustration. 'But the layout of the opened chamber is really odd with there being many floors to this place. I could get spotted if someone were to look along the walls. Especially since more people are coming into this place when I got in here a bit ago.'

Naruto didn't get much of a good look of the space -which will be rectified very soon- but early glances help in planning things out. This worked very well in the past with his pranking endeavors. And when he asked about this towards Old Man Sarutobi and Iruka-Sensei, they responded that his pranking skills were surprisingly good traits as a shinobi if one wanted to survey the land for missions or even laying out traps against the enemies.

Knowing this, he took great pride in for future moments of personal fun and when on the job.

Seeing as the next pair of temple personnel passing by, Naruto carefully stepped out of the hallway before going through the one pathway in a crouched position. As he felt he got a reasonable distance away from the people behind him, Naruto decided to take a better look over the ledge to see what he'll be dealing with.

What he saw felt rather odd for the Uzumaki.

In the center of the bottom floor was quite the large bonfire. The flames were bright and filled the space with warmth. Smoke went upward, traveling towards the opened vent in the temple's ceiling.

No, what was really odd were the people kneeling before the flame as they appeared to be praying in whatever way they fancied. As he was only a few floors up from the scene he saw, Naruto was able to get a better look of their attires due to how bright the fire gave out.

And after several moments, the shinobi slowly processed who these people were. 'They… They look like that one woman wore as she gave that sermon at the bridge.' A groan soon escaped his lips as he slowly realized on where he was at. 'Should've known the details sooner that I'm at this R'hllor's place.'

Naruto made small chatter throughout the day to find out more on this god, R'hllor, after chatting with Talisa. He only got the bare minimum of information but it seemed enough at the time. That here in Volantis lies the greatest of the god's Red Temples, where many of his priests/priestesses, warriors and temple prostitutes take residence in and do their forms of worship.

-Insert Dark Souls 2: Fire Keepers Extended-

'I should probably get out of here.' He thought, quickly turning in his place. But as he did, he ended up crashing into someone as they fell onto the ground. 'What the hell is wrong with me today with crashing into people?!' The whiskered blonde soon heard a weak groan… moan… from underneath him? Opening his eyes, he saw he was on top of a woman with one of his hands placed upon her breast. "GAH! I'm sorry!" He automatically said in recoil with a raised voice. "You can hit me if-"

"It's alright." Interrupted the woman as she still laid onto the ground. "No harm can be given. T'is a simple accident." Her hands slowly placed onto the cooled stone as she tried to get herself up.

Seeing as she struggled -probably from the little fall- Naruto quickly went to her side. "Let me help ya up."

"Why thank you." She said, offering her hand to him. "It's a little hard to tell where to lean onto, given my condition."

Helping her get back onto her feet, the Uzumaki got a good look of her. And to his admittance that despite her attire showing she was one of these R'hllor followers, she was rather beautiful.

She had lightly tanned skin and rich, dark hair -with a streak of silvery white along the side- that was tied into a ponytail; yet it didn't stop it from forming waves both around past her shoulders and framing her face. Her front showed her curves and breasts were nicely developed and enticing to any who saw her, given the fact that she was possibly a few years older than him. And what parts of her face he could see were finely delicate, yet strongly regal.

Reason why he couldn't see all of her face was due to it's top portion covered by a reddened cloth… that was possibly a dead giveaway to her blindness.

Her attire was quite dark in color, but with what light was shown upon the material revealed it to be a rich shade of red as if brushing over black. It was a nicely designed robe-like dress -which reached towards her ankles- with some dark chain wrapped around her waist to help tie it together. Draped over her shoulders was a shall that was lightly colored from the rest of her outfit. And to finish off her attire were red, fingerless gloves that appeared likes wraps which reached into the robe's sleeves.

"Um… sorry about bumping into you, ma'am. Didn't mean to do it. Honest."

"Like I said before, it's alright."

"Could've heard ya, but…" Naruto tried to think of an excuse for his distraction on not noticing her. "I didn't hear ya."

The blind woman in red merely gave a soft smile. "I've been known to have quiet steps." She pursed her lips and tilted her head as if trying to process something in her head. "I don't recognize your voice." He stiffened upon her saying this. "Are you new here? Or even a visitor, perchance?"

'Visitor?' Naruto thought before remembering a small detail from back home.

When it pertained to faith, people often went to temples for some sort of self-discovery. Whether it was for repentance, questioning their faith in their religion or questioning if they want to be converted or not. Many things are accounted for on this, no matter what religion there is like the main one back home or that creepy one he heard in passing pertaining Jashinism; which used to be practiced back in the Land of Hot Water.

He didn't know if this fact still applied here, but Naruto had to take the chance or else he'd be discovered and questioned on his intentions. "Yeah, I'm a visitor."

"Do you have business with one of our priests or priestesses?"

"No."

"Did you come here to take pleasure from one of our-"

"Oh nonononono!" Naruto frantically said as he quickly waved his hands.

With how the blind woman stood there, Naruto wondered if she blinked behind the cloth in response. "Ah, so you're here to wonder about our faith, then."

"...Yes."

"Good to know… Though answer me this. Why aren't you with one of our priests or priestesses to give you a tour?"

"I… wasn't given one." He said as he was mildly sweating in slight nervousness. 'Please buy it. Please by it!'

"How strange." Voiced the woman in red. "Usually one is assigned to visitors of this nature." She then shook her head. "Since you're not in company with one of my fellow priests or priestesses, I might as well fill in that role." The blind priestess then held out her arm. "Mind accompanying me? Despite me living here almost all my life, I sometimes get lost in my way or even my step."

"That must not have been great." He said before looking at her arm as he got a little idea on what to do. Slipping his arm around hers, the pair soon walked.

"Indeed." She responded with a sigh. "Been many times I tripped, fell or lost my footing."

Naruto cringed. "Sorry to hear that."

"No worries. I've slowly gotten used to it, over time that is."

Naruto wasn't one to be worried over his mistakes, getting punched daily back at Konoha tends to make one either fix his mistakes or roll with the punches, but people with disabilities were rare to him. He has seen the occioanosal blind or mute person in the red light district or streets in his old home, but this was the first talking to one about… their weakness.

"Would you mind settling my curiosity and tell me your name?" Asked the blind teen in red.

Seeing no harm, he answered. "Mines Naruto. Yours?"

"My name is Rhae."

"Rai?" He asked using the more familiar version of the name, to make sure he didn't get it wrong.

Rhae merely rose a brow under her blindfold. "Eh, no. It's Rhae, like the sun rays."

"Right, sorry."

Coming across a flight of stone stairs, the shinobi carefully held her arm just in case if she were to fall. The girl blushed slightly, but let it go as she knew the teen was protecting her and will do even if she said no. "That name of yours… where does it hale?"

"From a far away land." He quickly answered. "Nowhere you'd ever really know."

"If you say so." As they slowly descended the steps, Rhae spoke a question. "Now what are you curious about our faith?"

"Well given I don't know very much about it, only the basics." He said, leading her gently into each step. "All I know is that R'hllor is the Lord/God of Light; also known as either the Red God, Heart of Fire, and God of Flame and Shadow."

Naruto always wanted to escort a princess and thankfully this girl was cute enough. He had hoped in having the chance with Koyuki after his mission back in the Land of Snow/Spring, but his team had to get back home sometime after his recovery and her coronation.

Some practice for the near future after all wouldn't hurt…

"It is quite common for many to only know the simple notions of one's religion. Whether they be good or bad."

"Especially with the people burning." Naruto muttered under his breath.

Hearing him caused her to sigh. "That being the more well known one." The shinobi stiffened and tried to apologize, yet she held up her free hand. "Burning people at the stake has only been used against the guilty and sinners in the past." They continued walking down the steps as she kept talking. "Has been the means of cleansing them before meeting our Lord for final judgement for either paradise or damnation. But some of our more… escentric members went too far in the past, causing many to look upon our faith in a bad light with the act. And because of this, we've been mending the mistakes they've made."

"I can… probably understand that, Rhae. But something like that is gonna be really hard to fix."

"Most definitely. Men and women alike make mistakes, even the more honest servants of His will."

"And I wonder that if everything is under your God's will, would he allow all that to happen?"

"Who's the say." She said as the pair eventually made it towards the ground floor. "It's quite fine to have a healthy skepticism, but not everything can be answered; which causes all of us to wonder on the bigger mysteries we question about." Making past several of her fellow worshipers, Rhae spoke in her soft voice. "Everyone is what they are and where they are for a reason. Good and bad things happen for a reason."

"If you're talking about Fate already having a set course for everyone, well I gotta tell ya but I don't follow that, Rhae."

This seemed to peak her interest. "And why, pray tell, would you say that?"

"If I have a destiny and it turns out it's not something that I like, I want to have the courage defy it and forge it the way I want it to be." He then gave her a fox-like grin… not like she could see it. "And since I've stared Death in the face a good number of times, then why should I stop now?"

"And why would you think of this?"

Naruto sighed, scratching his golden locks. "Throughout most of my life, I've been deemed as a failure by many. Even after confronting a fellow villager who thought everyone had a set destiny that couldn't be fought. Spouting that everyone's lives consisted only of being swept along in the inescapable current with nowhere else to go until the very, bitter end.

But there's an analogy I heard from a teacher of mine on what he thought about destiny. That if a fish lives its whole life in a river, does it know the river's destiny? Not at all. Only that it runs on and on, out of the fish's control. It may follow where it flows, but it cannot see the end, thus it cannot imagine the ocean.

This got me to realize that a person makes their own fate with hard work and determination. And if I do nothing about it, then I would end up following what everyone thinks of me. I want to prove everyone wrong that I'm not a good for nothing that I can be something more than what they want to bitterly believe."

The blind priestess hummed, digesting what he said. "Quite the admirable thought you have, Naruto." Rhae said with a soft smile. "Not many believe in such a thing as they are held down to status' they've been born into and not wanting to change their personal flow. Either from being too comfortable or too scared to move on from their current positions."

"No doubt about that." Rhae merely kept her smile as they walked around the people praying towards the fire. Seeing this happen, Naruto decided to get back to the little matter as to why he's here. "Mind telling me what's so important about this religion of yours? I know you worship this R'hllor guy, but there doesn't seem to be anything significant as to how he has so many followers."

The priestess nodded. "Of course, Naruto. I'll be glad to answer. You see… our religion has been not only built on the teachings of our Lord, but on a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" Naruto questioned for confirmation, earning a nod in return. "That… is rather odd."

She gave a shrug. "That's what I thought as well when I was first taken into this temple when I was young, but it's how it's been for generations, Naruto."

"Speaking of, I heard many of the priests and priestesses were first taken in as children-"

"And I was one of them."

"...Well I was gonna say of them being bought as they were previously slaves." He said, remembering that one priestess from the bridge as she used to be a slave before taken in; to which he assumed she was purchased in some way.

"Oh… If you're suggesting that I was a slave, no I was not."

"Then how did you come here into the first place, if you don't mind me asking?"

The blind woman nodded as she stopped walking. Turning her head towards the fire and seemingly stared into the flames… if that were possible. "I was around two… or three years old when I first came here. I can't remember much of my life before then… except a hot burning on my eyes… womanly screams… and a nice fragrant smell."

With his free hand, Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek. 'So whatever happened back then made her go blind.' He thought before voicing a question. "Were the screams that of your mother's, a relative or caretaker?"

The priestess rubbed her forehead, trying to focus on the memory. "Sad to say, but it's hard to remember."

Despite his one arm laced with hers, Naruto waved both limbs. "Hey, I'm not trying to force ya to remember or anything. I was merely curious."

Rhae patted his arm and gave him a warm smile. "You're quite alright, Naruto, and I understand."

"Thanks… Now what do you remember?"

"Asides from what I said, I… also remember being on a boat before sounds of a storm took place. And from there, I remember drowning as I assume the boat capsized in said storm. And next thing I knew, I was being taken care of by my savior and soon to be mentor." A bright smile graced her face. "She was so kind to me as she nursed me back to health. Taught me everything I needed to know on current affairs, politics, numbers, and so much more. And she told me our Lord gave her a vision to find me near the shores of Lys." The arm slinged around the shinobi's soon tightened. "If it wasn't for both of them, then I would've either died or possibly been given a crueler fate."