Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Overlord, nor any of the other characters that appear in this fanfiction
W-well… here I am again with a new story! SORRY! I couldn't get this out of my mind the moment it spawned, the ideas kept coming and crawling around my mind and would not leave me alone. So without too many unneeded words, let's get on with my newest brain child.
Prologue: Absolute power brings absolute boredom
'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'
That was a saying that has been passed down through many generations, it conveys the meaning that as a person's power increases, then their moral sense diminishes.
It was not a fact though, there had been an equal amount of powerful people who had the most righteous of moral compasses. For every Uchiha Madara, there would be a Senju Hashirama. A balance of sorts, poetically phrased as there would be a light to every darkness.
"The person who came up with that phrase should be revived by Edo Tensei (Impure World Resurrection) so I can kill them again!"
The voice that spoke was deep and thick with annoyance, it also came from a white-haired male that was currently lounging in a sofa-like throne.
The male in question had a sneer on his lips, with only one eye opened but it was cold enough with its piercing glacier-blue colour and slit pupil. His skin had a light tan to it with a rather smooth complexion that would usually be associated with members of royalty. Hair that was the colour of bleached bones was held up in a high ponytail, with a few spiky bangs falling over his forehead.
Clad in a simple golden kosode, over which rested a deep-black haori with an elaborate pattern of a dragon stitched across the sleeves and the back in white. Despite their simplistic design, even a peasant would be able to tell that the quality of the cloth was something that they wouldn't be able to afford in their entire lifetime.
"Well you would actually have to know who said that to revive said person."
The dark, intimidating voice came from a rather demonic looking creature that stood leisurely beside the throne. It had a rather athletic-built human body, with the exception of the pale white skin and fist-sized hole in the middle of its chest. Its upper body was bare of any clothing, only having red tufts of fur growing around its wrists and the slope of its shoulders. It only had a pair of black hakama-styled pants held up by a white strip of cloth tied around its waist.
It also had a skull for a head, with two frontward pointing horns growing from the side and a mane of untamed orange hair that fell down its back.
"Tsk, damn it War. Stop crushing my dreams!"
"He's right though Tennō-sama (Lord Heavenly Sovereign)."
A female voice chimed in this time, it belonged to a curvaceous woman sitting on the armrest on the left of the throne next to the head of the male occupying it. She had dark-pink waist-length hair, from the top of which two bone-like horns emerged. Her face was unblemished and housed a pair of wine-red eyes that danced with mirth, her lips currently quirked upwards in a small smile.
Her choice of dress was also rather simplistic in nature, a white kimono with pink sakura petals adorning the hems of it and held together by a dark red obi.
"Conquest, you know I hate it when you guys call me that." The male scowled at the pink-haired female, though it could be seen that he did not really mean it.
"Ara ara~ but you are our beloved emperor after all. Every one of us here live to serve and carry out your will~"
Another female voice, this one was velvety and seemed to ooze sensuality with every word. The owner of said voice was a petite girl, who seemed to only be a young teen. She had long flowing raven-black hair with a black and red ribbon as a hair ornament, also sharing the same wine-red eyes as the female before her. As oppose to the more traditional ware of her peers, she was clad in a black dress with red frills, black stockings supported by garters and a pair of red boots.
Laying at the base of the throne, she held onto the last piece of her outfit in a sensual caressing manner. A huge purplish axe with a silver edge, the entire weapon easily being more than twice her height.
"Death, you four are my strongest and closest allies. You have long earned the right to address me by my name."
"Ah... but there is a messenger in our presence so we should use your rightful title Tennō-sama."
The voice was cold and emotionless, yet still obviously female in nature. A young woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, her facial expression seemed as emotionless as her voice. She had on a yellow cardigan over a plain black tee and a pair of black cargo pants, a hairband with a butterfly ornament kept her hair in place.
"Oh I almost forgot about him, thanks for the reminder Famine!"
Standing awkwardly at the base of the steps that lead up to the throne for the past few minutes did not help the anxiety of the messenger, neither did the cold blue eyes that turned their gaze upon him.
"Well? Are you waiting for an invitation?"
"H-Hai! My apologies Tennō-sama!" The man swallowed and quickly pushed down his nervousness, dropping to a knee and stared at the base of the stairs. "We have gotten reports of an armed uprising from the remainder of the Allied Shinobi Forces, they seemed to have been in hiding in Yu no Kuni (Land of Hot Water)."
"Oh~ Yu no Kuni you say?"
"Hai Death-sama, they took advantage of the tourist aspect of the land to blend in and gather their power. They are currently marching towards us, we estimate they would take at least a few hours to reach the shoreline."
This piece of news seemed to intrigue the emperor as he moved into an upright sitting position, bent forward with his arms resting upon his knees.
"Consolidated their forces you say? How many of them are there and who is their leader?" His tone was casual, yet held an undertone of anticipation.
"Your majesty, we estimate the enemy force to be within the thousands with the majority being Jounin in strength. Based on our spies report, the leader of this uprising is the last of your former acquaintances… Nara Shikamaru."
"Shikamaru… looks like today isn't going to be so boring after all hahaha!"
"What are your orders Tennō-sama?"
The emperor stood up from his throne, a savage grin stretching across his cheeks.
"Give your men the rest of the day off! I will handle this myself!"
"Allow me Tennō-sama."
After speaking, the horned entity known as War stepped forward and performed a clawing motion through the space in front of it. The air seemed to part beneath its claws, tearing open a distortion in the space ahead which stabilised into a portal.
"Efficient as always! Well let's go greet our guests, wouldn't want to be a bad host when they've taken the trouble to travel all the way here!" The emperor let out a laugh as he walked into the portal, followed by the other four of his companions.
Shoreline of Yu no Kuni
Emerging from a distortion in space, the white-haired emperor had shed his casual outfit for a more combat orientated choice of clothing. As they stepped out from behind him, it could be seen that three of four of the others had changed their outfits as well. Only Death with her gothic-Lolita outfit and giant axe remained unchanged.
The leader of the group was now clad in a mesh upper bodysuit, over which he kept his dragon-patterned haori along with a pair of matte-black forearm guards. His lower body was now covered with white hakama pants, held closed by a tattered blood-red cloth and tucked into a pair of black combat boots.
War had simply thrown on an oversized black cloak, with the hood tugged down to cover its demonic visage. Conquest swapped out for a dark-red battle kimono and black spandex shorts, her bangs falling over and shadowing her eyes. Famine seemed to have followed War's example, donning a tattered beige cloak but without a hood.
"Famine, be a dear and locate where the Allied Shinobi Force are currently."
"Hai Tennō-sama…"
Staring straight into the forest ahead of them, her dull blue eyes suddenly glowed with an ethereal red glow. Several seconds passed before the glow faded.
"They are located about fifty kilometres into the jungle. However it appears that they are not moving at the moment, they seemed to have set up camp."
"Oh~ maybe we should drop in on them for a surprise visit?" Death suggested, a smirk on her lips.
"It's definitely a trap though." Conquest said before adding on. "Not that it will work."
"Heh. Knowing Shikamaru, it's a trap without a doubt. Probably an absurdly cunning and elaborate one, which he knows that I will know just not the details of it. He also knows that I will still walk straight into it because that's just my style!"
"Then let us not delay any further~"
"Agreed."
War immediately tore open another rift in space, transporting the group from the shoreline to an open clearing within the forests of Yu no Kuni.
Upon appearing, they were greeted with the glares of thousands upon thousands of shinobi and a single lazy gaze. That gaze could only belong to the leader of the uprising, a man who the highest ever recorded IQ within the Elemental Nations and a terrifying strategical mind.
"Shikamaru… you're looking good."
"No thanks to you… troublesome blond."
The man in question had aged. No longer the youthful teenager he once was, instead now in his place stood a hardened veteran of war. He still kept his hair up in the usual pineapple-style ponytail, but that was where the similarities ended.
His face was now weathered with time, hastily shaven stubble lined his chin and stress-induced wrinkles lined the edges of his left eye. His right was covered by a simple black eyepatch, having been destroyed years ago in a battle. He had on a long-sleeved black tunic and pants, over which there was an assortment of dark-grey armour that pulsed with energy.
"Hoh, is that an experimental chakra armour? It doesn't seem as bulky as before."
"There's nothing experimental about it."
The four companions of the emperor and the army of shinobi stood behind their respective leaders as they spoke, one side completely tensed while the other was extremely relaxed. The army of shinobi seemed ready to pounce at any moment, meanwhile Death had actually let out a small yawn of boredom.
"Why don't we cut the banter and get straight to it."
"So eager Shika, we haven't seen each other in years. What's the harm in catching up a bit?" The question caused a scowl to appear on the Nara's face.
"I have nothing to say to a psychopath."
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO OUR GLORIOUS LEADER-"
"Conquest enough!" The emperor cut off his subordinate before he let out a short bark of laughter. "Do forgive my horseman, she doesn't take kindly to insults directed at me. So how have you been Shika, touring the sights in Yu no Kuni I heard?"
"How have I been?" Shikamaru growled out each word as his body started trembling in rage. "After having my eye sliced apart, after the murder of my sensei, after the death of my team, after the destruction of Konoha, after the death of my parents, the death of our classmates, the death of the woman I loved and our unborn child?! How. Do. You. Think. I. Feel?!"
The venom that laced each and every single word would have been potent enough to kill a full-grown elephant multiple times over. The sheer aura of hatred that emanated from the man even caused a few of the men behind him to take a few steps back. However the recipient of the killing-intent did not even blink an eye, he merely nodded as if in complete agreement.
"That's true. Maybe you should go see a psychiatrist for your problems?"
Shikamaru looked sorely tempted to explode right then but bit down on his tongue and swallowed his rage, it still managed to leak through within the glare he levelled at the white-haired male.
"You're reign of terror is going to end, right here."
"Insolence, our glorious emperor would never fall to the likes of you."
"He will never be my emperor. He was once someone I called friend but that was a long time ago."
"Well then… I guess this is farewell Nara Shikamaru."
"Indeed… Uzumaki Naruto."
The emperor could only grin at having his true name spoken aloud, it had been a long time since anyone other than his closest confidants had addressed him by it. The white-haired emperor was indeed the blond Jinchuuriki from Konoha, though the man bore almost no resemblance to the boy from before.
Shikamaru raised his hand, which caused the entire clearing to suddenly become sealed by a powerful barrier Fūinjutsu. Naruto and his group barely seemed concerned by that, only deeming to take a glance around before the emperor cocked his head slightly.
"You do know I can shatter this rather easily right?"
"It's not to prevent you from leaving."
That was all the black-haired male said before he gestured for the first row of shinobi to move forward. Naruto smirked as he rolled his shoulders, he stepped forward but not before addressing his companions.
"Don't interfere. I want to savour this moment while it lasts… that means the nine of you hiding in the shadows as well. Don't think I didn't sense you from the start…"
Several grumbles filled the air as nine bodies emerged from the shadows on the field, revealing nine cloaked individuals.
"Ara ara~ it seems like the nine generals of hell got bored as well."
"Of course! If something were to happen to my-*cough* our beloved Tennō-sama then how could we bare such shame?!" The closest hooded figure cried out, the voice was obviously that of a females.
"Ah I don't care, just don't interfere with the battle." Naruto casually waved them off as he strode towards the slowly advancing line of enemy shinobi, he then held up four fingers. "I have been meaning to test out my new branch of techniques that I had invented, there are a total of nine but alas I think you lot will only survive to see four of them."
Those words seemed to rile up the enemies troops, their ranks burst forth with cries of outrage.
"This bastard! He's looking down on us!"
"Four techniques?! Even forty techniques would not be enough to take us down you bastard!"
"You truly don't even see us as capable opponents… I'll make you regret that!"
Naruto paid no attention to the insults and abuse hurled his way, he merely held up a single finger to the oncoming rush of opponents. They had about a few hundred shinobi in the initial wave, it mattered little to him.
"Saisho no Taiyō (First Sun)…"
An extremely dense sphere of flames burst into existence over the raised finger, the area around it blurred from the heat being generated by the flames. The moment the sphere became stable, looking like a miniature sun, Naruto pointed it forward and fired it straight into the crowd of incoming enemies.
The attack seemed to miss everyone and slammed straight into the ground, where it glowed for a split second before dissipating. The shinobi all stopped in confusion before they burst out in laughter.
"Did you see that?! He freaking missed!"
"I was worried for a second there, turns out he was such a lousy shot!"
"Hey bastard, was that your first technique? Don't worry you still have three more hahaha!"
Naruto allowed a lazy smirk to grace his face as he jerked the outstretched finger upwards, as if firing a finger gun.
"Kodoku no Tō (Tower of Immolation)."
The first wave of shinobi perished instantly as they were engulfed in a towering pillar of flames that stretched upwards into the sky. Screams that lasted a few seconds were drowned out by the roaring of the flames of the sun, the heat generated by the attack caused the nearby area to catch fire.
*Snap*
The tower of flames vanished when Naruto snapped his fingers, leaving a plain that had been completely scorched black. The hundreds of corpses were charred black to the point that they were utterly undistinguishable from each other, a testament to the power of the attack.
"Oh they all died, I expected at least a couple to survive…" He sighed as he turned towards the rest of the Allied Shinobi Force, several of which were now trembling from his show of power. "I hope the rest of you can last a little longer, maybe if you all come at me together hmm…"
"M-monster… he's a monster!"
Similar cries rang out through the army, their morale visibly plummeting after they witnessed their opponent single-handedly decimate a force of a few hundred shinobi in one attack. The white-haired male had successfully instilled fear into their hearts, which was something their commander could not allow.
"Man up! We are the lost hope of this world, for the people you've lost, for those you've yet to lose! Stick to the plan and I guarantee we will defeat this monster!"
Shikamaru managed to rouse his men with his impromptu motivational shout, their backs straightened and their eyes hardened. This prompted Naruto to quirk an eyebrow in surprise, he did not expect such a thing from the usually lethargic shinobi.
"Second wave… advance!"
The secondary wave of shinobi numbered in the thousands, thunder filled the air as they charged across the battlefield. Having learnt from the previous assault, they split into several attacking formations instead of one large group.
"Hoh, one on each of my flanks and one right down the middle. Simple but effective!" Naruto said with a grin, now holding up two fingers as a pair of flaming spheres starting forming over them.
"Daini no Taiyō (Second Sun)…"
"He only has two spheres, which means he will only be able to take out two groups at most!"
"Whichever group survives, remember to give him hell for the rest of us!"
"Charge!"
The attacking shinobi had a reasonable assumption, with two spheres of flames and three groups. It was logical to assume that he would only be able to attack two of the groups at most, leaving the final group free to close in and engage in close quarters combat.
Unfortunately for them, that was not the case.
"Hinosenrei (Baptism of Fire)!"
The two miniature suns shot upwards into the sky, merging together as they ascended and forming into a larger version that hovered several metres off the ground. It hung there for a moment before erupting outwards in a rain of fire, the concentrated shower of flames fell upon the three oncoming formations and seared everything they touched to a crisp.
The formations started falling apart as shinobi fell in the front, their corpses causing others to trip and suffer an untimely demise as well. The well-trained and orderly shinobi were gone, each of them tried to escape the curtain of flames. None of them succeeded. While not all of them died, those that survived already wished they had perished.
The survivors of the aerial bombardment had missing limbs, ranging anywhere from all four to only one or two being seared off. The flames were so hot that they melted straight through tissue and bone, leaving nothing behind.
Naruto did nothing, merely watching on passively as the surviving members of the second wave attempted to crawl away from the battlefield.
"Now this is just pitiful… Famine, end them."
"Hai Tennō-sama."
Blue eyes once again glowed with an ethereal red light, from within the folds of her cloak emerged a swarm of demonic locusts. The cloud of insects descended upon the unsuspecting survivors, eliciting screams of terror and pain as they were eaten alive by the ravenous swarm. Roughly thirty seconds later and the area was free of the insects again, similar to how the skeletons on the field were devoid of any meat.
"Heh… your horsemen are as inhumane as ever. Not that you are any different…" Shikamaru remarked after witnessing the absolute slaughter of his men.
Naruto merely shrugged at the statement, seeing no point in refuting the truth. Instead he rolled his neck around before smirking at the remaining troops, he raised a hand and beckoned in a challenging manner.
"C'mon boys and girls, let's dance."
This time almost the entirety of the remaining enemy forces charged at the lone emperor, leaving behind only their commander and about ten other shinobi. They stayed spread out as they rushed forward, fanning out across the field and moving to surround their single target.
Naruto, as well as his companions, watched in undisguised amusement as the white-haired male was trapped in the encirclement of Jounin-level shinobi. There were still a thousand shinobi, much lesser than the second wave but much higher in individual quality.
'Not that it matters.'
The thoughts of the entities that belonged to the emperor's faction mirrored each other, they were not worried in the slightest. Such was their unwavering faith in their leader.
Keeping track of their movements through minute glances from the corner of his eyes, Naruto shook his head in disappointment.
"All of you… are still lacking. I guess the main players are those still in the back?"
The more experienced shinobi did not rise to the bait, instead keeping in formation and slowly advancing forward.
"Heh so not as impulsive, but I still don't want to waste my time playing with you…" He held up three fingers, the circle that had been slowly tightening froze as they watched the three spheres of fire burst into existence.
However as the three miniature suns reached the appropriate size, they stopped growing and instead started flickering and gradually burnt out into nothingness. The embers dispersing into the wind as if the technique failed.
"Be careful! We can't underestimate his abilities, keep your senses alert for any build-up of chakra and evade." One of the Jounin stated, tensing his body to dodge at the slightest notice.
"While I would normally applaud such thinking…" Naruto begin speaking, staring at the ground in front of him with his bangs falling over his eyes and shadowing them.
"…hey is it just me or is it starting to get a little warm?"
The shinobi surrounding the lone man started to shift uncomfortably as they suddenly felt an unknown source of heat being generated. Their faces started twitching as the feeling grew, slowly growing red as if they were experiencing a high fever.
"…Daisan no Taiyō: Kazan no Netsu Hassei (Third Sun: Volcanic Thermogenesis)."
It started with a single scream, a middle-aged Jounin at the forefront of the formation spontaneously combusted into flames for no apparent reason. The man roared in agony as the flames devoured his flesh, leaking out through every pore and orifice on his body. The shinobi closest to him reached out to try and assist him, only to find themselves the next victims as flames burst into existence across their bodies.
"Aahhhhh!"
"Somebody! Please! Help!"
"It hurts! Make it stop!"
From there it proceeded like an unstoppable conflagration in a dense jungle, men and women alike spontaneously erupted into flames. They tried rolling to put them out but it only set the field aflame, they were in too much pain to even form any handseals or take their own life. They could only scream themselves hoarse as their flesh, muscles, organs and even bones were burnt to cinders from within.
Naruto stood in the middle of it all, surrounded by the screaming and burning bodies of his enemies. His face shadowed by his bangs, with only a savage grin to be shown on his face.
"A thousand opponents of Jounin strength, reduced to this in a mere moment… as expected of our glorious emperor." One of the cloaked generals remarked with a nod, this one a male.
"Sasuga Naruto-sama!" Another called out, a different female voice then the one before.
The man himself ignored his subordinates for the moment, standing on the only remaining patch of grass for hundreds of metres. A scorched landscape was what remained of those hundreds of metres, even the soil was thoroughly blackened by the flames.
Walking across this field of death were the remnants of the Allied Shinobi Force, the once large group reduced to just their commander and ten elite members. Each of those ten were also decked out in similar chakra armour as their leader, proving they were much more valuable than the rest of the army.
"So was this your plan? Throw fodder at me and hope that I expand enough chakra before confronting me with the elites of your forces? I expected better of you." Naruto's tone was taunting as he wagged a finger at the approaching foes.
Shikamaru did not deign him with a response, striding forward with a silent purpose as he leaves footprints in the ashes of his fallen comrades. The ten elite troops with him were faceless, having donned plain blank ANBU masks.
"If this is all you got, I may not even need to reveal the fourth technique… what a shame."
The attack came without warning as a sphere of flame slammed into the ground ahead of the group, they immediately scattered to avoid the following tower of flames that erupted forth. Utilising it as a distraction, Shikamaru shot his shadow forward in his clan's signature technique.
Naruto, who was engaged in a bout of taijutsu with two of the masked elites, saw the shadow darting towards him and instantly flipped over his opponent. He threw out a kick, knocking the guy into the path of the shadow.
Shikamaru smirked as his shadow connected with the wrong target, only to use the man's shadow to branch off and shoot forward even faster. Just as the technique was about to connect with its target, a blazing inferno erupted forth.
The flames turned the two enemies closest to it into burnt corpses within a few seconds, their chakra armour having overloaded in an instant. Naruto did not pause there, instead blurring into view behind another two of the masked elites. The palms of both his hands glowing white-hot as he grasped them by the head, screams of anguish escaped as the heat caused their masks to melt onto their faces.
"You two don't look so good, maybe you should have your friends take a look?" Naruto mocked as their skin started glowing red, steam pouring out from their pores.
The emperor flexed his muscles, lifting the two up by their heads and tossing them towards their allies. Each of them were caught by two people, who were then consumed in a fiery explosion as the flung bodies were used as improvised bombs.
The two remaining members moved into position beside their leader, waiting for his instruction but the man could only offer a lop-sided smile to them.
"Sorry guys, but you knew this would be the outcome anyway."
His statement was met by brief chuckles and a curt nod, the trio then turned their attention back to their opponent. Nothing left to lose, they dashed forward as one with all three flying through different sets of handseals.
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Wild Water Wave)!"
"Raiton: Gian (Lightning Release: False Darkness)!"
"Fukushū no Kage (Shadow of Vengeance)!"
Naruto sighed as he held up both his hands, the highly pressurized jet of water immediately evaporated upon coming into contact with his palm while the spear of lightning dispersed into the air. He did widen his eyes slightly in surprise when he saw the large shadow creature rushing towards him.
"Well this is a surprise, guess you can teach an old dog new tricks."
A wall of fire intercepted the shadow creature, forcing it back towards its creator. Naruto took the time to appraise the technique, seeing that the entity was in fact Shikamaru's own shadow. The creature itself was completely black in colour, with glowing yellow circles for eyes, a fanged maw and a pair of razor sharp claws.
The two masked men dashed forward with support from the creature, unsheathing their blades and going for an attack from both flanks. It was an obvious bid to create an opening for their leader, but Naruto decided to humour them and caught both their strikes with his hands. Tugging the blades free from their owners' grasps, he threw them at the shadow before punching a fist at each of the two.
"Nenshō Eikyō (Combustion Impact)!"
The last two members of the elite group found themselves in multiple pieces, their bodies torn apart from the explosions that emanated from the white-haired man's fists. Naruto had not even looked at them as he threw out the attack, focusing on the shadow creature as the swords were absorbed into the inky blackness.
With the aim of testing the durableness of the technique, Naruto decided to put more effort into his next attack. A wave of scorching white-hot flames surged forth with a flick of his wrist, barrelling towards the stationary creature. The flames that came into contact with it seemed to vanish as if they never existed, allowing the shadow to survive unharmed.
"Well… now this might get interesting!" A savage grin stretched across his cheeks, excitement evident from the glint in his eyes.
"Saisho no Taiyō: Kodoku no Tō!"
The pillar of flames bathed the surroundings in hues of yellow and orange, completely engulfing the shadow in flames that encroached on the intensity of the sun. Without waiting for the pillar to disperse, the emperor was already midway through his next move.
"Daini no Taiyō: Hinosenrei!"
Shikamaru cursed as he forced his shadow of vengeance to spread out across the area above him, creating a shelter from the rain of fire. The creature once again proving its durability in taking on a multitude of attacks without faltering, the flames seemingly being negated.
'Troublesome, he is starting to get serious. All these flames aren't making it any easier to think, the heat is unbearable… Shit!' The allied forces leader widened his eyes upon realising the move that was coming. 'Looks like I have to use it earlier than expected.'
"Fukushū no Kage: Jisshi Keitai (Shadow of Vengeance: Embodiment)!"
"Daisan no Taiyō: Kazan no Netsu Hassei!"
Naruto flung his arm out, releasing the micro-sized particles of flame into the environment. Even if the shadow were to be unaffected by the technique, its caster definitely was not immune. Several seconds of silence descended upon the battlefield before a figure walked out of the smog.
The shadow user had changed greatly upon using his technique, now wearing his shadow construct like a set of clothing. It clung to his frame in the form of black bandages that wrapped around his limbs, body and the lower portion of his face thus leaving only his eyes and hair visible. His hair now free from its usual ponytail, fell around his face in a mess.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it so soon. The technique I had created, the result of many months of blood, sweat and tears. With this, I have become the embodiment of my vengeance. With this… I will kill you and avenge all of the fallen."
"…hahaha! HAHAHAHAH!"
The laughter slowly built up to a crescendo, with the man clutching his face as he doubled over.
"Interesting. Really interesting! For entertaining me, I will grant you the pleasure of witnessing my fourth technique!"
Four spheres blazed into existence this time, slowly revolving around the man. Reaching his hand out, the spheres reacted and shifted themselves to orbit around the outstretched fist.
"Daishi no Taiyō… Shōmetsu no Hashi (Fourth Sun: Edge of Annihilation)!"
A brilliant golden glow shined across the clearing as the spheres merged together, the flames acting like molten steel as it shaped itself into a giant greatsword. Once the glow died down, the weapon was revealed in all its glory.
The greatsword was huge, easily the height of a fully-grown young adult. The guard was designed like a pair of dragon wings, the hilt wrapped in crimson cloth and ending with a snarling dragon head for a pommel. The blade itself looked like it was forged out of pure gold, with glowing orange markings running along its length.
"There it is! The strongest of Naruto-sama's base abilities! The 'Edge of Annihilation' is the concentration of the four suns into a physical form!" Conquest shouted in glee, excited to see the technique in action.
Swinging the greatsword around a few times, Naruto easily wielded the large blade with ease and it was only with a single hand. The blade came to a rest as it pointed directly at the still form of the shadow-clad male, pale-white flames flared into existence along the blade as chakra was channelled through it.
"Come Nara Shikamaru! Show me your determination!"
Naruto blurred forward in a burst of speed, greatsword cleaving through the air as flames danced along its path. To his surprise, the blade found resistance in the form of a katana formed of shadows. He pulled back his blade and unleashed a flurry of strikes, all coming from differing angles and each capable of bisecting the opponent.
Yet each and every blow was blocked by the thin and flimsy shadow katana, which itself showed no strain or damage. After a few seconds of exchanges, the white-haired emperor back flipped away and smirked.
"You're using the nullification aspect of your shadow technique to disperse my flames and the kinetic force behind my attacks."
"Troublesome. Looks like you figured out my little trick heh…"
Shikamaru went on the offensive this time, dashing forward with his katana poised for an overhead blow. The attack was easily intercepted by the emperor, who then had to quickly evade two sharp shadow tendrils that shot out from his opponent's back.
Twisting out of the way of the tendrils, he slammed his greatsword into the ground that caused an explosion of flames. While the flames were negated by the shadow armour, the shockwave of air still forced the man back a few steps.
Something that was immediately capitalised on.
A horizontal cleave. A vertical strike. A diagonal slice.
Each blow was met and countered, but steadily pushed the shadow user back a step at a time. Sweat could be seen gathering on the man's brows, struggling under the onslaught. Eyes widened as his foot caught onto one of the remains of the deceased, he stumbled back half a foot and recovered immediately.
However it was too late.
"DIE!"
The rising strike bypassed his guard, connecting with his body and erupting with a huge explosion of flames that blew him into the air. Naruto did not hesitate as he leapt straight up at the airborne man, intent on dealing the final blow. Flames surged along the blade, the intensity causing the pale-white flames to become a blinding white.
Through his blurred vision, Shikamaru could only let out a final sigh as he saw the blade descending towards him.
"Nenshō Eikyō!"
Having been channelled through the 'Edge of Annihilation' caused the explosive technique to dramatically rise in power. The moment the blade slammed into its target, a massive explosion rocked the area. The shockwave tossed corpses into the air and caused the cloaks of the nine generals to flutter erratically in the wind.
A figure shot out from the explosion and smashed into the ground, kicking up soil from the impact. It was followed a second later by another figure, this one landing gently on his feet. Naruto released his technique, allowing the golden greatsword to disperse into golden particles.
Taking a few steps forward, he glanced down into the newly formed crater. The smoke cleared to reveal an injured Shikamaru, the shadow of vengeance technique dissipating as a result. His chest was caved in, blood pooled around him and he was struggling to breathe.
"That was a good fight Shika."
"Heh… liar… you could have… defeated me… anytime…"
"True, nothing can seem to give me a challenge nowadays. Not even my horsemen. Absolute power is so boring, it's like you say… troublesome."
Shikamaru wanted to chuckle but only succeeded in coughing up a wad of blood, he could feel his end coming closer.
"You did provide me some entertainment, you can take pride in that. Goodbye Nara Shikamaru."
"Heh… hahaha… who said… this was over…"
The dying man started laughing, even as he started hacking up blood as the colour drained from his face. Naruto narrowed his eyes when he noticed complex Fūinjutsu patterns started appearing on the exposed skin of his opponent. The wind picked up suddenly as the sky started to darken, the atmosphere turned chilly despite all the flames that had been thrown around earlier.
"You… what have you done?"
"The men didn't know about it… they all thought… my technique… was the trump card!" Shikamaru wheezed out, his eyes taking on a demented glint. "No… this is… my ace in the hole!"
The sky which had been slightly cloudy a moment ago, had turned pitch black without even the broken moon to be seen. Lightning flashed across the sky as the howling of the wind picked up, an icy feeling spread throughout the clearing.
Suddenly a swirling void of darkness appeared in mid-air, just above where the duo were. In a split-second, Naruto was surrounded by his generals and horsemen. Each of them eyeing the oddity in the air, bodies tensed for anything.
"Usually… you can only… get it to seal souls… but I… made a contract… thousands of souls… this is your end…"
Mist started pouring out of the void, twisting and writhing around as it slowly started to take form. It coalesced into a translucent, gaunt spectre with a demonic visage. It was much larger than an average human, possessing long, shaggy, white hair, from which two red horns protrude, as well as purple-coloured skin. It is draped in a large white kimono and carries a set of prayer beads.
"…see you in hell… Naruto."
The light left his eyes as Nara Shikamaru passed into the afterlife, a semi-translucent mist escaping from his lips and flowing into the mouth of the demonic entity. A serpentine-looking tongue darted out from between its sharp, jagged teeth as if tasting the mist-like substance.
"…contract accepted. For the price of three thousand souls. In exchange, I shall reap the souls of Uzumaki Naruto and his allies."
Naruto, the horsemen and the generals all stared with wide eyes as the translucent spectre became more opaque. The tanto within its grasp burst into a black fog before rapidly reforming into the form of a scythe.
"…holy fucking shit."
"Is that the fucking Shinigami?!"
Two of the generals shouted out, breaking the stunned silence.
"Well~ this wasn't something I expected getting out of bed this morning~" The horseman of Death remarked with a giggle, twirling her giant axe around as she prepared herself for battle.
Around her, the other three horsemen readied themselves as well. Famine was surrounded by clouds of buzzing mutant insects, War had summoned a daitō with a pitch-black blade, hilt, and guard and the space around Conquest emitted a faint humming noise.
Just as the nine generals were about to discard their cloaks, a deep laughter resonated throughout the area. The source of it was the white-haired emperor, who had his arms spread out wide as he let out another burst of laughter.
"A primal god? A god that had been birthed and not created! A true force of nature! Not like that false goddess that I had absorbed! This… this is what I've been waiting for!"
An oppressive feeling descended upon the shoulders of the generals causing them to stumble back from the pressure, only the four horsemen seemed to be unaffected. The ground cratered under his feet as his chakra output started manifesting as ethereal blue flames, the sclera of his eyes turned black as scales started forming under his eyes.
The crater deepened as Naruto shot forward like a rocket, he cocked his fist back and launched a wild haymaker. The Shinigami was silent as it moved, a palm coming up to intercept the attack. No sound was made as his fist smacked into the much larger palm, not even a scratch was formed.
"Max output… Nenshō Eikyō!"
The following explosion put the previous two to shame, the shockwave alone was enough to force the horsemen to take a single step back and the heatwave caused a forest fire to start in the distance. The explosion itself completely tore up the land and launched its user backwards, Naruto landed on his feet and rolled to the side instantly thus dodging the scythe blade.
Floating out of the smoke was the god of death, looking as if nothing had occurred. It held out a hand, the scythe dispersing into a black mist and reforming within its grasp again.
"Nothing you do can harm me, I am the embodiment of death. Just forfeit your life to me Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto smirked as his hair started fluttering, a single sphere of flames formed in front of him. It was followed by another, then another and it kept up until there were five spheres of condensed flames. Four of the five spheres started revolving around the fifth, gradually getting faster until they formed a planetary ring.
The temperature of the area started increasing drastically as Naruto held the attack above his head, the space around it started warping.
"All right, I can start getting serious here…"
Curling his arm back, he stomped forward and hurled the spiraling sphere of flames straight at the god of death. The technique blitzed across the field, leaving a trail of molten glass.
"Daigo no Taiyo (Fifth Sun)…"
The Shinigami once again raised a hand to stop the attack, black mist forming around the palm to bolster its defensive ability. Within a second, the technique smashed into the palm and expanded into a roaring inferno in the shape of a dome.
"Chōshinsei Hōkai (Collapsing Supernova)!"
The dome of flames did not explode nor did it expand, on the contrary it started to shrink and compress all the flames under a strong gravitational pressure. The compression causing the temperature within to reach the levels necessary for thermonuclear fusion. It stopped shrinking when it was about ten metres in radius, then it started trembling violently.
BOOM
Words would fail to describe how immense the explosion was, the resulting shockwave flattened the landscape for kilometres and burnt all plants and wildlife to cinders. A mushroom cloud blossomed into the sky, large enough for anyone within a hundred kilometres to spot easily.
The four horsemen and nine generals were protected from the effects of the blast by a defensive barrier Fūinjutsu laid by one of the generals. Naruto himself was barely affected by it, standing there with a smirk on his face as he was buffeted by gale-force winds.
"Let's see if you come out of that unscathed you purple-skinned bastard."
It took a much longer time for the aftereffects of the destructive technique to dissipate this time, everyone waited with baited breath as the smoke was blown away. All that was left was a scythe stabbed into the ground, it too then disintegrated into ashes and dispersed by the wind.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"
The rage-filled roar echoed throughout the decimated clearing, shaking the rest out of their stupor.
"Did Naruto-sama just defeat the Shinigami?" Conquest asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"It seems so." War replied.
"Ara ara~ it seems we still haven't seen our leader's true power yet~" Death remarked with a sultry smile, licking her lips as she eyed the emperor.
"Naruto-sama is the best, it was obvious he would win." Famine stated in her cold, logical tone.
"After bragging about how futile it was, he just upped and died like a chump! Fuck! Stupid, useless, good for nothing… AGH!"
Naruto let loose another scream of frustration as he sunk to his knees in the blackened earth beneath him, he looked up into the sky with tears in his eyes.
"BEING OVERPOWERED SUCKS!"
Well that's a wrap for the prologue of this story, now before anyone says anything. Yes, Naruto is overpowered. He is basically Ainz counterpart in this story, a being so powerful they could waltz over anyone.
Instead the story would be focusing more on the character development and world-building like Overlord does, so I hope you look forward to the next chapter!
Also I would like to see how many of you can guess the identities of the four horsemen, I did drop some hints in this chapter~