Susan slid the folder across the desk. Her dark eyes were unwavering, the faintest tension in her posture betraying how serious this was. Naruto didn't open it immediately. He didn't need to. The weight in her tone told him everything.
"Who?" he asked flatly.
Susan exhaled. "Three names. Martin Calloway. Leah Carter. Henry Doyle."
The silence in the room thickened. Naruto's fingers tapped once against the desk before he pulled the file open. The first page was a list of reported disappearances in the Lower East District. His gaze caught instantly on the photos clipped to the side: Martin's lined but kind face, Leah's sharp-eyed glare, Henry's nervous smile.
"They're missing?" Naruto's voice was controlled, but the edge beneath it was undeniable.
"Not yet," Susan corrected quickly. "But their names came up in chatter. There's a group moving through the district—demonic contractors, organized, and careful. They've been targeting people who have had… encounters. Survivors. People you've saved." She met his gaze. "They're cleaning up witnesses, Naruto. And your connections make those three very visible targets."
Naruto closed the file, standing abruptly. "Then I move first."
Susan grabbed his arm, not unkindly but firmly. "You can't just charge in blind. They're baiting you, don't you see? Using your ties against you. Whoever's pulling strings knows exactly how you operate."
Naruto's jaw tightened. "And what do you want me to do? Sit here while they're hunted down? Wait until I find their bodies in some alley?"
Her silence was answer enough.
He pulled free, reaching for Purgatory. The blade's weight settled against his back, a familiar anchor. "I don't care if it's a trap. They're mine to protect."
Susan studied him for a moment longer, then sighed. "I'll get you information—locations, names, patterns. At least let me narrow the field before you go running into hell."
Naruto gave her a short nod. "Then move fast."
That night, Naruto stood on the rooftop of an apartment block, the city sprawling beneath him. His golden eyes scanned the streets, catching every flicker of movement, every shifting shadow. The memory of Martin's tired but grateful smile, Leah's stubborn fire, Henry's trembling determination—they weren't just memories now. They were reasons.
You're rattled, Kurama's voice rumbled within him.
Naruto didn't argue. Yeah.
Good. Use it. But don't let it cloud you. These contractors aren't the usual trash. Organized means dangerous. If they're targeting people you've saved, then they've been tracking you longer than you thought.
Naruto exhaled slowly, breath misting in the cool night air. Then I'll cut their threads before they touch mine.
The first lead came sooner than expected. A contact Susan had embedded in the contractor network tipped them off to a meeting point in the old Ashgrove warehouse district. Naruto went alone. Susan had argued against it, but she knew better than to try and stop him once he was moving.
The warehouse smelled of rust and rot. Broken windows let in slivers of moonlight that painted long, jagged shadows across the floor. Naruto walked through them silently, Purgatory strapped to his back, his senses sharp.
He heard them before he saw them—two figures speaking in hushed voices near a collapsed wall.
"…next on the list is the old man. Calloway. Easy pick, no family to guard him."
Naruto's heart stilled. Martin.
The other laughed darkly. "The bar owner? Figures. Always did smell like trouble."
The air shifted as Naruto moved. In the space of a heartbeat, he was there, stepping from the shadows like a wraith. His golden eyes burned faintly in the dark.
"You won't touch him."
The contractors startled, hands flying to the weapons at their belts. One drew a jagged dagger, the other a pistol etched with faint sigils.
Naruto didn't wait. Purgatory flashed free, the jagged blade gleaming with a low, hungry light. The pistol fired—demonic rounds meant to shred more than flesh—but Naruto twisted aside, the bullet grazing his coat. In the same breath, he closed the distance.
Steel met flesh. One contractor dropped, screaming as Purgatory carved across his arm. The other swung desperately, but Naruto caught his wrist, twisted, and slammed him against the wall hard enough to crack brick.
"Who sent you?" Naruto growled, voice like iron.
The man spat blood, sneering. "Doesn't matter. You're already too late. They'll all—"
Naruto drove the blade into the wall beside his head, the jagged edge vibrating with suppressed fury. "Try again."
Fear flickered in the man's eyes, but before he could speak, his body convulsed. Smoke hissed from his mouth, his veins glowing red. A curse mark, burning him from the inside. Within seconds, his body collapsed into ash.
Naruto stood over the remains, eyes narrowing.
They're covering their tracks, Kurama muttered. Whoever's in charge doesn't want their pawns talking.
Naruto sheathed Purgatory, his expression unreadable. Then I'll just cut my way to the top.
The following days blurred into a hunt. Naruto moved through the underbelly of the city, chasing whispers, dismantling cells of contractors, cutting through demonic infestations before they could spread. Each time, the pattern was the same: survivors he had once saved were targeted. And each time, the threat drew closer to Martin, Leah, and Henry.
Martin's diner was watched. Leah's apartment door was marked. Henry's school had been staked out by strangers.
It wasn't coincidence. It was war.
One night, Naruto returned to his office to find Susan waiting, her expression grim. "It's not random anymore," she said, spreading maps and files across his desk. "They're circling in. Coordinated pressure. And all signs point to one name: Damien Veyl."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Veyl."
Susan nodded. "Ex-contractor. Ruthless. He used to work clean-up for the higher circles—anyone who broke contracts or drew too much attention, he made them disappear. He shouldn't even be alive. Word was he went down years ago."
"Clearly word was wrong."
Susan hesitated, then added, "He's not just targeting your connections, Naruto. He's targeting you. This is personal."
Naruto strapped Purgatory back into place, his expression carved from stone. "Good. Saves me the trouble of finding him."
But when the attack finally came, it wasn't aimed at Naruto directly. It struck at his threads.
The night was quiet when Martin locked up the diner, humming softly under his breath. He never noticed the shadow that slipped behind him. Leah, walking home from a late shift, felt the prickle of danger just seconds before two figures stepped out of the alley ahead. And Henry, leaving the library after evening study, froze as three men surrounded him, their eyes glowing faintly red.
In three separate corners of the city, the people Naruto had saved were ensnared again.
And this time, the trap wasn't meant for them.
It was meant to draw him out.
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