A/N: To those of you who figured that Naruto's taijutsu style last chapter is Gill/Urien's, you get your cheesecake and wine, and it shall be known that it will be his main style when not using his soul swords. As per haseothesage's suggestion of placing the song before the part of the story where it happens, I am trying it out with this story. Also, I am looking for a beta-reader for this story, so anyone who is interested in collaborating with me will PM me or add it in their review. Do read and review would you kindly?
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{Play: "Pavor Nocturnus" from "Soul Calibur V"}
[Chuunin Exam Stadium: Stands…]
It's been almost half an hour since Naruto had been declared the winner of the three-way match between him, Setsuka, and Gaara. The only point of interest as of this moment was the gigantic pillar of purple chakra that was keeping both Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen locked in. It just so happened that he teleported on his throne just behind the ANBU since the start of the match between master and student. "What do we do?" asked one of them, "We've got to get in there and assist Hokage-sama!"
"Pathetic!" said Naruto, catching their attention as he sat up from his throne, "You are all supposed to be the Hokage's bodyguards, and here you are looking helpless!"
"Shut your mouth you de…"
The ANBU never got to finish his sentence as Naruto grabbed the man by his throat, watching as the foolish ninja struggled for air. After having had his fill of the man's plight, the heir to Algol's throne ended the pathetic ninja's suffering with a mere twitch of his thumb—snapping the poor man's neck. Just as the other ANBU were about to draw their weapons, they found themselves being subjugated by a massive amount of killer intent. "This fool broke your precious Hokage's law, and so it's only fitting that I break his neck. You are all pathetic! You want your Hokage rescued? Then so be it!"
It was then that Naruto shot his left arm out to the side, and a light blue energy started to coalesce and crystallize into the shape of a ball with crystals jutting out in all directions on a long shaft. The ANBU instinctively stepped aside, and watched as the infamous Demon-Brat took the two-handed mace in both hands, brought it up, and then swung downwards on the purple energy field. The impact of the blow was such that all members of Orochimaru's Sound Four clutched their heads in pain before collapsing from the feedback of chakra that was scrambling their nerves. Once the barrier was down, Orochimaru looked down from the trees with his former sensei at the fact that someone smashed through. Hiruzen on the other hand, looked ecstatic that the barrier was down, but was terrified that it was Naruto who had done so, and it showed when he saw the head of the boy's mace.
"Kill that brat!" shouted Orochimaru, causing the First and Second Hokages to charge at Naruto before he watched in disbelief as two resurrected kage took two spheres of chakra in the face fired from what appeared to be cannons that formed on the boy's arms, and interrupting their attacks. Before long Naruto finished his attack by turning around, and letting out a roar as what appeared to be metallic blades in the shape of wings sprouted from his back and impaled the resurrected bodies of both Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama through their heads. Due to the fact that they were hit exactly where the seals being used to control them were placed, neither brother got back up and began to crumble away to reveal the people used to sacrifice for them—it was Tsuchi Kin and Abumi Zaku.
Once he was done, Naruto turned around with a look of reverence on his face. "Rest now Senju Brothers," he said, paying his respects, "out of respect to the both of you, I shall not absorb your souls; but I hereby solemnly swear to you as future king of the Elemental Nations, that I shall punish the one who has defiled your bodies and disturbed your eternal slumber, and it shall be by my hand that the ones who have despoiled your vision of the future will know your wrath from beyond the grave."
Upon seeing his two resurrected servants killed so easily, Orochimaru was wide-eyed in surprise. He simply looked at Naruto as if he were a piece of meat…yes, his body would do quite nicely for a replacement—as a matter of fact, he could sense the chakra coursing through his veins and making the boy impervious to the effects of time, and sickness, and aging. He could even imagine himself using the weapons he used earlier! There would no longer be any need to learn all the jutsu in the world; it would merely be a hobby compared to actually ruling the world from a throne! Now that he thought of it, 'King of the Elemental Nations' did have a nice ring to it! Unfortunately, he also knew that the battle against Sarutobi-sensei had been very taxing and so a tactical retreat was in order…as he turned to leave, Orochimaru found himself pinned to the ground by his calf and in pain as he found that he was pinned to the roof by a long spike made of a red crystal, causing him to drop the Kusanagi no Tsurugi. "Where do you think you are going knave?" asked his prey, walking up to him in a slow and menacing pace, "You wish for my power do you not?"
As he watched this exchange, Hiruzen started inching away. If he was careful enough, he could…before he could think anymore on that train of thought, he felt pain as he was pinned to a tree by spikes penetrating his shoulders and his legs, forcing him to drop Enma in his staff form. "Don't think for a second that I'm done with you yet, you treacherous worm!" snapped Naruto with a venomous glare aimed in his direction, "I'll get back to you after I deal with this corpse-defiling piece of trash!"
Once he was assured that his target was not going anywhere, Naruto continued to take his steps towards Orochimaru as the latter struggled to escape…he then tried to fight his way out by commanding his sword to attack the boy only to watch his hopes dashed away as he held his sword with a strong grip. The future king was in no rush to kill this pathetic excuse for a human being…in fact, it wouldn't even take much to cleanse the world of his taint! "Now where were we? Oh yes! I saw that hungry look in your eyes…you looked at me like wolf drooling at a piece of meat. You want my power don't you?"
With a desperate look in his eyes, Orochimaru marveled at the picture of perfection standing menacingly before him and holding his own sword to his throat. "Yes, I want it! I'll even be your servant just to get a taste of it!"
A grin had found itself on Naruto's face as he pulled the spike out of his enemy's leg. "Well then I'll grant you that taste…" At that, Orochimaru had a look of anticipation; that was easy, too easy in fact. That was before his thoughts were interrupted when the boy landed a jab in the Snake Sannin's solar plexus, followed by an uppercut to his chin that lifted his enemy into the air, and then being repeatedly shot at by purple orbs from cannons being formed on Naruto's arms. When he was high enough, Naruto teleported away from his last position and smashed both fists into his opponent's back. He was not done yet though…because as soon as Orochimaru hit the ground, he summoned his throne from its last position and sat on it before it was sent crashing to the ground on the parasite's back before he could even escape.
"I hope you enjoyed that," said Naruto as he slowly reached his hand out, with Orochimaru struggling to escape—unfortunately, he could not even fight back because he had a foot pressing his head down to the ground, "because your soul is now mine!"
A red glow had emanated from the hand that was reached out. Orochimaru knew it was futile—he could not escape. And as he was resigned to his fate, he felt pain as though something was being ripped from his body, and he howled as his soul was being torn out. Before long, there was nothing but silence; once Naruto stood up and caused his throne to teleport away, he inspected his handiwork. The Snake Sannin's body had been petrified into a statue with the parts of his body below his chest having made an indentation in the roof. A look of fear and pain was forever frozen on his face, before the heir to Algol's throne added pressure to the foot that pinned his adversary down and shattering the statue he had become. When that was done, the Sound Four let out moans of agony fell to the ground unconscious as their curse marks vanished. "Your taint upon this world is no more Orochimaru!"
Hiruzen could only watch in despair as his former student's body crumbled into shards under the boy's foot. Now there was nothing standing between him and Naruto! He had to escape before… "And now I think it time for us to have our words, ojīsan!"
Shit! Hiruzen looked on as Naruto simply took slow steps towards him; every footfall seemed to be another tone in his funeral dirge. "First question Hokage-sama: why did you decide it prudent to allow my abuse before saving me?"
"I-I d-don't…" he was cut off from finishing off his sentence when Naruto grabbed one of the spears that pinned him to the tree, and started twisting. The screams of pain had brought the ANBU closer—they were hesitant to attack now that they saw the Demon-brat's power. "Lie to me again, and this will happen," growled the boy, "now answer me!"
"I wanted you under my thumb for the sake of Konoh-AAAAH!"
"Can you do anything except lie to my face?"
"NARUTO, STOP!"
Once he turned to see the one who spoke, Naruto saw that the voice belonged to an old man with a red vest and iron-gray shinobi-shozoku. Oh, he knew who this man was, given the memories that Algol had shown him prior to his ascension to the throne. "And why should I, Gama Sennin Jiraya?" he asked, "This traitorous piece of trash has been lying to me from the day I was born—he must be punished!"
"Traitorous? Sensei told me that…"
"He lied!" interrupted Naruto, "Everything he's ever told you was a lie!"
The look of horror on Jiraya's face soon lightened up. He must not show fear, lest his sensei be mauled to death by the monster that was killing him. "Be that as it may, he still has to answer for everything you claim he's ever done."
Naruto scoffed. It was then that he held Hiruzen by the neck, and started pulling out all the spikes one at a time. "Very well then…but keep this in mind, kyōfu that this isn't over between me and him."
With a sigh of relief, Jiraya then looked down at the pathetic form of his old sensei. "Sensei, if you don't start explaining yourself, I may very well let Naruto finish off what he started with you."
…
[A few days later, in the Konoha Council Chambers…]
The noise of harsh voices filled the air as everyone argued about the boy sitting on the throne at the ground level while petting his almost-naked slave in the hair, causing her to nuzzle her master in the neck even more. Some were calling for his death' others were calling for those people calling for his death to shut up. Fortunately, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were there to oversee the proceedings along with Shimura Danzo. "Order! Order!" called out the crippled war hawk, silencing the chambers, "We are gathered here today to discuss the changes that have happened to Uzumaki Naruto, from the words of the genin himself. Uzumaki Naruto, you may begin."
"There is not much to tell," began Algol's heir, "after I was almost killed and left for dead, I was met by my ancestor, who said he was the Rikudō Sennin's father."
"Lies! Speak the truth, demon brat!" No sooner than the Civilian Councilman spoke, the slave vanished into thin air, kicked the councilman from under the chin to launch him screaming into the air. She was not done however, and she bent over, and spiked her leg upwards to kick the councilman in the back to break his lumbar. "That felt good didn't it?" she asked flirtatiously while gently caressing him by the neck, and then following through by grabbing him by the neck and then flipping him over to practically pulp his organs. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the councilman was dead.
Once she was satisfied with her kill, the slave looked to the rest of the council chambers. "I'm sorry about that, but any more interruptions will guarantee that you end up like him." Having said her piece, the slave jumped from her spot, and landed back on her master's lap to continue nuzzling him lovingly.
"As I was saying," continued Naruto, "I've met the Rikudō Sennin's father. He was a mighty warrior once known as the Hero-King Algol, and he had named me the heir to his throne, which I sit upon now. And in accordance with being his heir, King Algol had unlocked a bloodline within me that allows me control over the ultimate weapons known only as Soul Edge" at this point, he raised a hand and created a sword of red crystal over his left hand, "and Soul Calibur," he concluded by forming a sword of blue crystal in his other hand, "both of which now course through my veins to become any weapon I wish them to be."
He watched as the swords dispelled, and from that moment, Danzo had plans of his own: kill the demon-brat and claim his weapons for himself! Then again, there was also a question as to what the boy's plans are. With that, the elderly man willed his Sharingan to try and mind-control Naruto into becoming his servant. "What are your plans now?" he asked, trying to stall for time.
Naruto simply grinned in amusement. That fool thought that he could use such parlor tricks on him? Him! The most powerful warrior in the Elemental Nations and the future king of the world? Then again, it didn't hurt to humor the foolish old man. "I thought I made my ambitions clear in the arena," he said, as his smirk remained on his face, "I said I was going to be 'future king of the elemental nations', and I stand by that claim!"
The majority of the council had widened at Naruto what had just said…the civilian council members however, were far more outraged at his claim. The audacity! The demon brat? Becoming the future king of the Elemental Nations? Preposterous! If anything, Uchiha Setsuka may be a better queen than him! In fact, screw the little bitch! They all had thoughts of showing this so-called 'future king' what they thought of his rule! Danzo, however felt the power of his Sharingan reach out to the brat. Something seemed wrong about this; why was he not following his commands? "Give it up, Shimura," called out Naruto, snapping the war hawk out of his musings, "your parlor tricks won't affect me. Ever since my bloodline has been awakened, ever since Algol had told me the truth of my heritage, I've been immune to any sort of mind-control that might come my way because of that accursed eye. Who do you think fathered the Uchiha? Because I know for certain that it was the Rikudō Sennin, not the Shimura family that was the ancestor of that clan, same as the Senju and Uzumaki!
"The only way for you to get the power of both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur would be to take my throne and become king! And it has to be you, and YOU alone, because YOU have to prove your own might; having your subordinates assassinate me will only give that subordinate that killed me my power, and to be honest, I highly doubt any of them will be as loyal as you think the second they inherit every scrap of my ancestor's power! Which reminds me…"
Naruto sat up from his throne, and placed his hands together in a very familiar seal, creating an army of Kage Bunshin that practically filled the entire ground-level of the Council Chambers. The Naruto at the throne however, simply sat back down and began petting his slave while looking up at Danzo with a half-smile, worrying the old man with thoughts on what Naruto would do with this many Kage Bunshin. "Kill all members of the Civilian Council that had a hand in my abuse, leave no survivors!" he coldly said, terrifying the Civilians at the thought, "I don't care if it's direct or not. Just make sure they pay for their crimes against me!"
{Play: "No Heaven" by DJ Champion}
Upon hearing that, the Civilian Council started running for the doors, only to watch as two Naruto's had teleported in front of them, sitting on a stone throne before kicking down the first wave of escaping people. "You heard the king," said one of them, "He said 'no survivors!"
At that point, the slaughter had begun! Some of the Civilian Council were stabbed by Soul Edge or by sharp talons, others were decapitated by Soul Calibur or blades being formed from roundhouse kicks, and a good number of them died from axe kicks to the head and being crushed in general by Naruto's Kage Bunshin smashing their palms into their chests. All the while, Naruto just sat there while watching Danzo tremble significantly. For a moment, he thought he saw envy in the old man's eyes, before it turned into outright horror.
It wasn't long until the ROOT ANBU had come into the chambers on Danzo's secret orders to not only stop the slaughter, but to assassinate Naruto. In that instant, Shimura grinned to himself, assured that his splinter cell of shinobi would be able to cut down knock-offs of a would-be king. Unfortunately, he couldn't be more wrong! Because as soon as they made a move to try and assassinate Naruto, their target simply got up, and started murdering each shinobi in a very effortless and brutal manner. Some had been decapitated or stabbed by his swords, while a few were smashed against his throne, but by the time he was done, the last member of ROOT was being held by her head in Naruto's palm in front of Danzo's eyes. Her struggling had made it clear that her head was being crushed, and that Naruto's grip was getting tighter and tighter. "I do not endorse in unnecessary killing," he began, before finally turning the upper half of the female ROOT member's head into a gory mess of blood, brain, bone, and ceramic with a sudden jerk of his hand, "but what I just did was in retaliation to wrongs that have been done to me over the years, as well as for aiding and abetting in despoiling Senju Hashirama's dream of a great village with their corruption. And if they continued to do so, they would have undermined the village's security just to fatten their wallets!"
Once he was finished with the ROOT shinobi he had just killed, Naruto let his arm drop, and focused his gaze upon Danzo who simply trembled at the scrutiny. "Well? Don't just stand there!" he challenged, while causing himself to float above the ground, "You want my throne don't you? To begin your reign with all the power you desire while securing the unquestionable legitimacy of your rule? If that's the case, then why don't you come on down and earn it with your own bare hands?"
Now this, he could not abide! This was a blow to his pride, and Danzo knew it. But then again, he had an edge that the demon-brat didn't, and it was that he had the power of both the Sharingan and Mokuton! He simply leaped from the podium and landed in front of Naruto having drawn the blade of his shikomizue and holding it in one hand. "If you are going to fight me, then hold nothing back!" barked Naruto, glaring angrily at him, "You don't get it do you? I already know of the Sharingan hidden in your arm, and in your eye! I also know of the wooden face that is growing on your shoulder! I've known all your secrets the second you tried to bend me to your will, so don't insult my intelligence by keeping up this charade! If you want to have my throne, then at least have the decency to fight me as a man than as a coward who would use his disguise as a cripple as an excuse for his defeat!"
Danzo's eye had widened upon hearing that revelation. The demon-brat knew his secret all along? Well, if he says so, then he'll kill the brat with everything he has! He threw the sword down before he ripped off the bandages on the right half of his face, revealing a Sharingan eye spinning wildly at Naruto, before he then pulled his kimono down to reveal a wooden armored sleeve with seals written on it. With a single press of the button on his shoulder, the sleeve broke off and revealed a face on his shoulder, along with nine more Sharingan eyes along the length of his arm. "Much better," began Naruto, getting into a stance as his throne had blinked out of existence, "now, I will show you the way true kings fight!"
{Play: "The Supreme Sword" by Masaharu Iwata from "Soul Calibur IV"}
The two fighters stood across from each other, staring each other down. Danzo began the fight by charging in with his blade, attempting to stab Naruto in the chest only to be kicked in the face, and then in his chest—it was a good thing that he quickly summoned a wooden barrier to block that second kick, as it gave him ample time to avoid the attack before he barely dodged a blade that shot out from under Naruto's toes with a straight kick before it retracted back into some pocket dimension, who then followed through by charging in with a heavy right hook. The old man immediately jumped back just in time to be a good distance away from Naruto; unfortunately, it was for naught as he found a gash across his cheek. As he looked back at his opponent, he saw that a blade was jutting out perpendicularly from his forearm—was this part of his Kekkei Genkai, to turn his entire body into a literal weapon?
"Impressive," said Naruto, as the blade retracted back into forearm, "it seems you've backbone after all. But you are still hundreds of years away from dethroning me!" Danzo leaped into the air, only for his opponent to cross his arms and have the two swords forming over his hands. He sprouted a tree from the ground just in time for the red blade to intercept him; but alas, he was forced to change his position in mid-air the second he saw that the blade effortlessly penetrate the trunk, and almost stabbed him in the head. The red blade then retracted and Danzo could only watch as Naruto had charged in with another bladed right hook moments before landing. With no apparent means of escape, he focused his chakra into one jutsu just as the blade jutting from Naruto's forearm had literally bisected his body—causing him to fade away! Naruto's response was simple: he planted both feet into the ground, bent forward, and sprouted a pair of wings behind his back that successfully bisected Danzo just as he was about to stab him in the back. Unfortunately, his opponent had faded away yet again from his fate.
With a smirk, Naruto turned to face his opponent who was currently standing to his left. Danzo was staring at him with fear in his eyes as he panted—twice he had to use that jutsu to escape a very certain death. His opponent was bristling with hidden weapons! "A clever technique, but it is clear to me that your body is not able to keep up with its requirements. I can see that two of your Sharingan have already faded away. You can do this eight more times at most before your death is certain, so you must SLEEP FOR ETERNITY!" At that, the throne had teleported into existence, and landed on Danzo's head while Naruto teleported above it, slowly lowering himself to sit upon it.
"The almighty Naruto has NO EQUAL!" Upon having completely crossed his legs, the full weight of both the throne and Naruto had come crashing down on the back of the old shinobi. Danzo struggled—his mastery over Izanagi had failed him this time, and to make matters worse, his arm was injured. It wasn't long until Naruto un-summoned the throne and grabbed Danzo in a one-handed choke hold in such a manner that the two of them were at eye-level with each other.
"I know of what you have done by looking into your eyes," snarled Naruto, the fury clear in his eyes while Danzo let out a bloody cough, "indeed, my intent is to conquer the world and unite the Shinobi Nations under my banner. However, I intend to do it openly to ensure that nobody will question my right to rule, and I have a contingency to bring peace and prosperity to the lands I have conquered upon my success. I also have plans to negotiate during these times of peace and prosperity. You on the other hand wish to assassinate all who oppose you and your vision of the future and your ideals of peace. From what I've seen of your actions, I should kill you to free the world from your heavy-handed policies, and it shall be decreed that my judgment for you is this!"
At this point, Danzo closed his eyes—he was resigned to his fate, and he had doubts that his mastery over Izanagi would enable him to escape this fate now! "You…shall live, Shimura Danzo!" Not only did this cause Danzo to look at his would-be executioner with widened eyes, but it was clear that his jaw was hanging. "You shall live, not because of your misguided nobility and honor (as much as I grudgingly admire it), but because I see that your usefulness tips the scales of fate in your favor; if only by a slight offset. However, your sentence shall be that you will be the first of my servants—you will never attain the throne, but you will serve it with all your might as my first advisor. If you betray me at any point, then your life is forfeit!"
As he let go, Danzo could only look on in befuddlement. What just happened? A question that was shared by everyone else in the Council Chambers.
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A/N: To anyone who is wondering why Naruto is using a mace, remember that he was taught by Edge Master and so now he can fight as any Soul Calibur character using Soul Embrace or either of the Soul Swords.
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Vocabulary
Shikomizue—this a Japanese weapon whose name literally means 'prepared cane', which describes a weapon hidden in a cane, most notably in the shape of a sword. While ninja are notorious for using this weapon, they were more prominently used in the Meiji era. Notable users of this kind of weapon include the blind swordsman Zatoichi, Brook from "One Piece", Urahara Kisuke and Genryusai Yamamoto from "Bleach", and Setsuka from "Soul Calibur III" and "Soul Calibur IV".
