"King Kai, I need to go to Hell!" Naruto spoke aloud in the middle of the Hokage's office. To the uninitiated, it would look like the maverick ninja had finally lost his mind and was talking to his imaginary friend about going to Hell. His pink haired girlfriend Sakura and surrogate mother Tsunade however knew that truth; that Naruto was actually talking to an all-powerful God from another dimension about going to Hell. So he hadn't lost his mind, he was just crazy.
"Naruto wha- are you being serious right now?" His girlfriend stuttered.
"Of course I am Sakura-chan. Sasuke was our teammate and I won't leave him hung out to dry like that." Naruto stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Sakura was at a complete loss for words. She had always known Naruto to be the one to act first and think later. He was reckless sure, impulsive even, but even then he always had valid reasons for his actions. Charging Zabuza to get his headband back, attacking Orochimaru to defend his comrades, etc.
But this…what he was proposing was way beyond the call of duty. This was Hell they were talking about. With a capital H. Death had always been an ambiguous entity in the life of Shinobi. You rarely talked about it and it did no one any good to dwell on it. Ninjas died in their line of work; friends and family members young and old. There was no getting around it. You just accepted it.
Morality in death was another touchy subject for ninjas. Their jobs requiring them to do things a normal civilian would find repulsive. All a ninja could hope for is that their deaths served their comrades and their village then they could pass from this world knowing that they had done good.
To have it all but confirmed that yes, there was a good and a bad afterlife and your choices in life dictated how you spent the rest of eternity…that was a lot to take in.
It put some things into perspective, that's for sure. And here was Naruto, proposing to willingly traverse that forbidden place of eternal damnation for Sasuke. A former teammate who was already dead and gone. It just didn't make sense to Sakura.
'Naruto, I don't think you realize what you are saying. This isn't some far off hostile land. This is Hell.' King Kai spoke up.
"Nonsense, I heard Gohan talk about how his father visited the Afterlife and Hell all the time. Didn't he even once teleport himself to your home King Kai? And you're located in the Afterlife too right?" Naruto explained again like he was making travel arrangements.
'Well yes, but that was to transport the monster android known as Cell to my planet so that it could safely blow itself up without destroying the Earth.' King Kai said while reminiscing about the years it took for him to rebuild his planet from scratch. 'But that required a special technique that only Goku knows. I don't know it, Gohan doesn't know it, and if you are really thinking of going through with this I definitely won't ask Goku to teach it to you.'
"Oh come on King Kai, this is serious!"
'I'm being serious! Hell isn't just some place you can visit willy nilly. And especially not for the sake of one boy that, yes I kind of agree with you, probably doesn't deserve to be in Hell.'
"Fine! Then just bless his soul or whatever and get him out of there. You're a God right?"
'I told you I'm not that kind of god. There is a hierarchy of different jurisdictions and I'm not involved in the judging or ascension of mortal souls.'
"Ok, then who is?"
'Right now? That would be the master of ceremonies for the upcoming tournament you mentioned. But there is no way you are getting me to contact him with any kind of ridiculous request. He'd blow up my planet with a flick of his wrist and I just rebuilt this thing thank you very much.'
"Come ON!" Naruto whined. "What will it take me to get you to contact him?"
'NOTHING! NOTHING WILL MAKE ME CONTACT LORD BEERUS!' King Kai shouted into Naruto's head.
"Beerus huh? Thanks King Kai." Naruto said with a smile.
'You're welcome-WAIT, WHAT?!'
Naruto re-positioned himself into a stance and cupped his mouth. "BEERUS! HEY BEERUS!" Naruto shouted, startling both ladies in the room with him that Tsunade knocked over her stack of papers.
"Shit!" Tsunade cried. "Naruto what the hell are you doing?!"
The blond took a breath from his constant shouting. "Praying." He simply said before resuming his cries.
"Praying?" Tsunade asked, she would have to beat this idiot into the pavement if he didn't start making sense.
"Yeah, praying. I'm trying to talk to a god, that's what praying is all about right?" Naruto couldn't understand why everyone had become so oblivious recently.
'Naruto stop it! You're not going to contact Lord Beerus like that!'
"Who dares disturb my slumber?" Came a voice directly behind Naruto and Sakura.
The three ninjas in the room turned around to notice a purple man sized cat thing standing in the middle of the office where there wasn't anyone before. Ninja instincts took over and the two chunin leapt to the side of their leader to protect her from this unexpected intruder, while Tsunade herself jumped back out of her seat into a defensive stance. The team of ANBU that had been stationed throughout the building sensed Tsunade's fluxuation of chakra and scrambled into the office to surround the intruder and secure the Hokage. Short swords and kunai were drawn, all pointed at the sleepy looking intruder who yawned like the elite guards weren't even acknowledging.
"Identify yourself!" The leading ANBU commanded.
"Really now, one of you worms interrupted my nap for some pathetic ambush? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't destroy your pathetic planet right now so that I can ignore it and go back to bed." The purple cat said in a bored tone.
"Quit spouting ridiculous nonsense and tell us how you got in here!" The ANBU Captain ordered again.
The purple cat looked at the insect who dared to speak to him in such a disrespectful tone. He lifted his right index finger up and pointed it at the Captain.
"I was quick." The cat spoke before poking the ANBU Captain in the chest. He was so fast no one else noticed that he had done anything until the Captain fell to the floor dead as a doorknob with a finger sized hole in his heart.
"CAPTAIN!" One ANBU cried out.
"Hold position!" The second in command ordered. "Don't break formation!"
"I didn't even see him move…" Another ANBU whispered in fear. Every other ninja in the vicinity was in the same frame of mind. No one, not Rock Lee, Might Gai, the Raikage, or even the late Fourth Hokage whom was nicknamed the Yellow Flash could move that fast. And this stranger had only used his finger.
'What the hell is going on? This guy…cat…whatever he is isn't giving off chakra. Is his speed purely by his own muscle strength? Or is he just so powerful that we can't even sense his chakra level?'
"I'm already cranky from being woken up 4 years early, don't make me swat you insects as well." The cat threatened in the same bored tone he had used since the beginning.
Any other branch of the Konoha military force would have back off at this moment, but the Hokage's personal guards were different. For better and worse they were the highly trained unit tasked with protecting the Hokage at all costs. Even in the face of an impossibly powerful opponent. This time however, it would be their downfall.
Tsunade blinked and when she opened her eyes again, half a dozen of the village's most talented ANBU elites lay dead on the floor, each with matching holes in their chests. As the purple cat brushed past them on his way towards Tsunade's desk, their bodies finally registered that they were supposed to fall over like sacks of potatoes.
"I'll just kill you three and get a few more years of shut eye." The cat said as one would describe how they were about to throw a broken alarm clock away.
"Now now Lord Beerus, that is quite enough." A new voice spoke from behind the cat called Beerus.
Naruto was about to jump in-between the freaky cat guy and the girls, allowing time for Tsunade and Sakura to escape when this newcomer came out of nowhere and halted the purple cat's advance. He looked up to take in this second intruder's equally weird appearance.
He was a head taller than his cat companion, not counting his ridiculous white hair that seemed to grow straight up and only at the very top did it remember that gravity was a thing. His face and overall body seemed like the size and shape of a tall skinny human, except his skin was baby blue and his feet must have been huge judging by the clown shoe sized tap shoes he was wearing. The rest of his outfit was either a dress or a robe (Naruto was having a hard time telling which), royal blue with some kind of black fabric pads draped over his shoulders and chest. On his back was a large halo that framed his upper half, giving him a mystical priest look. To top it all off he carried a long staff with an orb perched on the top.
"Oh dear me, the mess you've made." This newcomer playfully scolded Beerus. He gave an equally playful karate chop to the impossibly powerful cat's head like you would to a naughty child. Not to someone who had killed 6 elite ANBU guards like they were slugs on the pavement.
Surprisingly the one called Beerus didn't retaliate and just grumbled to himself.
Whis then crouched down at the nearest corpse and tapped it once on its wound. Like his switch was flicked on, the ANBU took a huge gasp of life. Whis then followed suit with the rest of the dead ANBU before all six of them were up and about…well more like on their hands and knees gasping for air, but they were still alive none the less.
The beehive haired newcomer then turned to the three remaining ninjas in the room and smiled. Each of them was terrified in their own way; the level headed Sakura, the veteran Tsunade, and the fearless Naruto. All of them could tell these two newcomers were beyond their realm of comprehension.
"Sorry about my Lord Beerus. He gets so cranky when he doesn't get his full 50 years of sleep. But to be fair I was going to have to wake him up myself in a couple of days anyway. So I must thank whomever did call for my Lord since they indirectly did the blunt of my job. I assume it was one of you three, correct? Or did my Lord kill the messenger, again?" The tall blue man spoke.
"Yeah um… that was me." Naruto raised his hand up. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way." He gestured over to his girlfriend. "This is Sakura-chan." He then gestured towards the Hokage. "And Granny Tsunade.
"Oh I see, forgive my rudeness I have yet to introduce myself. I am Whis. Caretaker to Lord Beerus the Destroyer." Whis then gestured in a grand fashion towards the purple cat that was licking himself clean. "And this is Lord Beerus the Destroyer."
"It's nice to meet you." Naruto replied, showing off some unusual curtesy for him. Then it hit him. "Wait! You said Lord Beerus? You're the one King Kai was talking about!"
Lord Beerus had finished licking his paws and was now digging for gold. "King Kai huh? So that's the lower god that revealed my name to a mortal. I'll be sure to pay him a visit as soon as I'm finished with you." The God of Destruction threatened.
Elsewhere on King Kai's planet…
"BUBBLES! GREGORY! GET THE GO BAGS, WE'RE LEAVING!" King Kai frantically said while stuffing his red sedan full of every one of his possessions that he could carry. His fear of dying again overshadowing his logic that there was only one road on his tiny planet that led nowhere.
Back on Element in the Hokage's office…
"Wait, ah Lord Beerus was it? Sir, I have a request!" Naruto bowed, certain that if there was ever a time to be chivalrous, it was now.
"Oh? Well what is it? Speak quickly before I blow up your entire planet for the lolz… Is that how they say it now a days, Whis?" Beerus asked, still not quite awake.
"In some parts of the multiverse it would be appropriate, yes." Whis answered back.
Tsunade and Sakura were still frozen stiff, this was all so overwhelming yet they knew in their heart of hearts that this was an opponent to take seriously.
"I wish to participate in the Get Out of Hell tournament, so that I may rescue my friend Sasuke." Naruto requested.
Beerus raised a quizzed eyebrow at the blond, this request intrigued him.
"What the hell is the Get Out of Hell tournament?" He asked Whis.
"It is a fighting tournament held in the underworld my Lord. The same one that you were chosen to oversee this generation, I told you that decades ago before you went to sleep." Whis explained.
"Ah yes, I do seem to recall you blathering on about it. Yawn, do I really have to though? Watching weak ass souls of the damned fight one another is so boring!" He whined.
"It is a part of your job as a Lord of Destruction. Failure to comply will result in you losing your immortality."
"Really?! Awe shit, I need that right?"
"Yes sir, very important."
"Damn…fine, what was it you wanted again brat?" Beerus addressed the blond.
"My name is Naruto, call me Naruto, and I want to enter the tournament."
"No to both of those things." Beerus shut him down, then turned around to face Whis.
"I'm going back to bed. Remind me to destroy these three once this damn tournament is over." And with that, the purple cat god disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the ninjas alone with Whis the caretaker.
Whis turned back to the terrified shinobi. "Don't worry, I won't remind him. Too much of a hassle to come back to every planet that ticks M'lord off. He'll probably forget all about this in a day or two anyway."
"Um… thank you?" Naruto tentatively said.
"You're welcome." Whis replied with a smile.
"But about letting me into the tournament...?" Naruto asked eagerly.
"Lord Beerus has already refused your request, so I don't know why you are asking me?" Whis replied.
"Well aren't you stronger than Beerus?" Whis raised an eyebrow, Tsunade and Sakura looked at Naruto with shock.
"My my, aren't you the observant one? Usually when people hear my title as caretaker, they assume I am a servant of Lord Beerus."
"Well I thought that too until I realized how he let you touch him and you seemed to command him in some ways." Naruto explained. It shouldn't be a surprise that Naruto would be so good at picking up certain quos. You don't grow up hated on the streets without learning how to read people.
"Impressive, but I still don't see why I should bend over backwards for you? Not without compensation at least."
"Well what do you want?" Naruto asked. He didn't have much experience dealing with gods, but from what he could tell from stories and the like, they usually asked for blood sacrifices or your eternal soul. Neither of which sounded appealing at the moment.
"I want...something delicious to eat." Whis declared in his godly voice.
"Something to eat...?" Naruto repeated back.
"Not just any old hors d'oeuvre mind you. As an immortal god I have sampled the finest delicacies across time and space. So if you cannot bring me something that will really tantalize my taste buds them I simply won't help you."
"Something delicious huh?..." Naruto said. Pausing for a moment deep in thought.
Sakura was finally snapped out of her shell shocked trance to realize her boyfriend was probably about to do something stupid.
"Naruto, whatever it is you think you are doing-
"Don't you worry one bit Sakura, I got this!" The maverick ninja declared. Giving the love of his life a quick peck on the cheek, he leapt out the window and sprinted across rooftop after rooftop in search of his target.
A few minutes later, he returned with a sealed tupperware container and a huge grin on his face.
"Lord Whis, prepare to be amazed." Naruto began, Whis was flattered to be called Lord anything. "For the greatest dish in the entire Leaf village, if not the world."
"Oh God..." Sakura groaned.
Naruto unclasped the tupperware to top to reveal...
Crab sushi.
Nah I'm just kidding, it was ramen.
Sakura and Tsunade slapped their faces.
"Oh my, what's this concoction? I don't think I've ever seen soup quite like this." Whis commented.
"This isn't soup Mister Whis, sir. This is ramen; miso ramen with extra pork to be precise. It is my favorite." Naruto said, showing the steaming bowl to the blue skinned god.
"Interesting…but if it is not up to my incredibly high standards I will not allow you in the tournament." Whis reminded.
"Just take a bite…before I do." Naruto said, his mouth slightly watering as the delicious scent of ramen hit his nostrils.
Whis smirked at the mortal's cheek. Normally you didn't threaten to take away a god's offering, it must be good. He pulled out a pair of chopsticks from nowhere and dived right in, scooping up a slice of pork with a few strands of noodles.
Sakura and Tsunade gulped, not sure if this god would destroy Naruto for feeding him cheap roadside fast food.
Whis closed his mouth on the bite of ramen and his eyes shot open. The medics in the room swore that their hearts stopped. Then the tall haired god lunged for seconds, only to be denied by Naruto pulling the bowl away from Whis's reach. Whis frantically swiped at the bowl but was held at arm's length by the mischievous blond.
"Well? How was it?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.
"It was delicious, let me have more." Whis answered quickly.
"Not until you let me into the tournament." Naruto demanded.
"Fine, whatever, just give me!" Whis all but shouted. Slowly, still enjoying watching a god squirm, Naruto handed Whis the bowl. The caretaker of the Lord of Destruction scarfed down the dish; the spices, the texture, the heat, the saltiness; it was the most amazing thing Whis had tried in decades.
The sight before the Hokage and her apprentice was one to behold. Leave it to the most unpredictable ninja to do the unbelievable like have a god on his knees eating ramen like a starving man given his first meal in weeks.
"Now about that tournament."
Whis slurped up the noodles hanging off of his chin. "Of course, the Get Out of Hell tournament is open for anyone who wishes to participate. Just be warned that it is primarily a team based tournament. You can bring up to five other fighters along with you. Either your friends or any souls you can find among the denizens of the Afterlife. We don't normally get contestants from the living world so the tournament or its staff is not responsible if you or anyone you bring along dies a mortal death."
"Seems simple enough. I don't know how to get to Hell though." Naruto said. It was currently the biggest hole in his plan.
"Oh that won't be a problem, I can simply open a portal for you to the entrance way to the Afterlife. Right on King Yemma's doorstep." Whis said. "It'll be up to you to get to the actual tournament located in the 85th section of the first circle of Hell. That's the first layer of Hell so you shouldn't encounter anything too lethal to a mortal such as your species. Still the surface is a maze of sharp jagged rocks with firestorms blazing all around."
"Well that doesn't seem too bad." Naruto said. It sounded absolutely terrible to Sakura and Tsunade.
"Well I could be wrong but the 85th section is located approximately 500,000 of your miles away from King Yemma's palace." Whis commented.
"F-f-FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND?!" Sakura shouted. "MILES?!" Whis had to be joking, it was insane. That was longer than the circumference of the planet! Maybe more land than there was to walk on to begin with, it was ludicrous!
"Yes, and the preliminaries start in three days. I don't know how fast you humans can move, but I wouldn't dilly dally." Whis suggested.
"Couldn't you just open the portal closer to the tournament?" Naruto asked. Not really anxious to having to travel half a million miles in less than 3 days.
"I'm a god, not a miracle worker. It is hard enough allowing living souls to enter the Afterlife without dying. And I assume you want to continue living after all this is over?"
"Yes sir."
"I thought so. So when and where do you want this portal? I could do it right here and now, but I would imagine that you want to run home and grab your toothbrush." Whis said while looking at the bottom of his empty ramen bowl, hoping that more ramen could be willed into existence through the power of dreams.
"I could run home and grab my travel bag. Shouldn't take me more than an hour. Sakura-chan, what about you?" Naruto turned to his girlfriend with an excited look on his face. A new adventure was on the horizon and they needed to move quickly if they were going to save Sasuke's soul.
"I'm not going." Sakura said.
'Wait, what?' Inner Sakura thought.
"Sakura-chan? I'm sorry I must have misheard you-
"I said I'm not going Naruto!" Sakura shouted more clearly. "I'm not going to Hell to fight demons or whatever and I don't think you should either!"
Naruto was taken back, where was this coming from? Especially from Sakura of all people.
"Sakura-chan, what are you saying? This isn't just us going to fight demons, this is to save Sasuke, our teammate…"
"Our former teammate, Naruto. Emphasis on former. He's dead now, remember?"
"Yeah, I do!" Naruto bit back. "And I also remember that he is trapped in Hell! Being tortured as we speak for all eternity! And you just want to leave him there!" This whole scenario was disturbing to Tsunade. Naruto never, and I mean never, yelled at Sakura with that tone of voice.
"Of course I don't want to leave him there! But this whole going to Hell thing is just asinine! It's ridiculous! To go this far for anyone!"
"I was always ready to risk my life to save Sasuke, and I thought you were too…" Naruto said with a touch of sadness breaking through his anger.
"I was! But this…this is Hell we are talking about! We'd be risking more than our lives on this journey…mission…whatever this is! And for what?!" Sakura through her hands up.
"For Sasuke! Our teammate!"
"For Sage's sake, Naruto! Can't we just forget about Sasuke for once!?"
"Forget…about Sasuke?"
"YES! He's dead, alright! Dead and gone! He's no longer our concern! I understand that you made me that promise to bring Sasuke back no matter what! And I admire your dedication, I truly do, but this is over the top! There is no use helping the deceased, Naruto. The dead stay dead."
'The dead stay dead…' Tsunade could remember telling Sakura those exact words when she began her medical training. It was more personal advice than advice to a fellow medic though. It was Tsunade telling Sakura not to chase ghosts like Tsunade had done for half her life. Better to move on from your failures than to dwell on them for decades until a certain blond haired idiot comes along and knocks some sense into you.
"The dead stay dead…?" Naruto whispered. "What a load of horse shit! The dead don't stay dead Sakura! We literally just met my dead parents an hour ago!"
"That's different!"
"How so!?"
"They were good people!"
"And Sasuke wasn't!?"
"NO! HE WASN'T!" Sakura screeched, the dam breaking loose. "HE WAS A JERK SO FULL OF SELF PITY THAT HE BROUGHT EVERYONE AROUND HIM DOWN WITH HIM!"
"You don't mean that…"
"I DO! I was just too blinded by my stupid crush on him to see it! But now that I think it over, yes, maybe he does deserve to rot in Hell!" Sakura spat. Her chest heaving.
Naruto looked upon her with a face of utter disgust.
"A jerk full of self-pity huh? So I guess that means you think I deserve to rot in Hell too? Is that right?" Naruto asked.
Sakura was taken back by his response. "What? No, Naruto, that's not what I meant at all!"
"But it is what you implied. You might not have realized it Sakura, but I did want to bring Sasuke back for more than just your benefit." The blond spat.
"I wanted to bring Sasuke back because I wanted to bring him back. Sasuke is like a brother to me, the closest thing I could ever hope to have like the real thing. We're cut from the same cloth, him and I. So if you think he is a jerk full of self-pity over his tragic past, then I guess you must feel the same way about me."
"Naruto no, that's not what I think at all!"
"Or is it just that I'm alive and I'm here? And Sasuke isn't?" Naruto questioned.
"What's that supposed to… Tsunade! Aren't you going to say anything!?" Her apprentice spat, hoping her mentor could come and save her.
Tsunade had been patiently watching the argument unfold before her. It never seemed her place to butt in, but never the less…
Tsunade sighed. "Naruto, I agree with Sakura. This whole plan is asinine. You say you want to be Hokage, Naruto. Well a Hokage's duty is always to his people, his living people. You need to learn here and now that a ninja who chases ghosts is of no help to anyone. And I am not about to allow any of my ninjas to go on a suicide mission to ease the suffering of a dead traitor." Tsunade said, trying her hardest to keep her Hokage persona going.
"Granny, you can't be serious."
"I'm being very serious Naruto. I forbid you from going to Hell." She ordered.
"Oh my," Whis spoke up. "This is getting rather tense."
The attention of everyone in the room returned to the god still standing in the center of it, trying to catch drops of ramen broth on his chopsticks.
Just then, Gohan flew through the open window to join the Hokage's side. "Sorry I'm late, Videl had severe morning sickness and- who the heck is that?" Gohan looked at the tall man standing in the center of the Hokage office with ANBU crouched in fear all around him, like he would kill them if they got any closer.
"Oh don't mind them. They're just traumatized from coming back to life." The man explained as if he read Gohan's mind.
"I see. And you are?"
"I am Whis, caretaker to Lord Beerus; the God of Destruction."
"I see...can you guys fill me in? I'm kind of lost." Gohan asked.
"Long story," Sakura began. "But we found out that our former teammate Sasuke is in Hell and this idiot- Sakura gestured towards Naruto- wants to travel to Hell and enter some tournament to get Sasuke into Heaven or whatever. And this one- She gestured towards Whis- says that he'll let Naruto enter after Naruto gave him ramen!"
"Okay…you said Hell right? Capital H, e, double hockey sticks?" The women medics nodded.
"Naruto that's crazy!"
"Don't you start too, Gohan."
"No I'm serious, everyone who dies goes to the Afterlife right? If our dimensions have the same afterlife, then you won't just be facing the worst souls of your dimension, you could end up facing the worst of mine!"
"I don't care Gohan, I have to save Sasuke. If you don't want to help me that's fine."
"No Naruto, I do want to help you, I do, but this isn't worth the risk." Gohan pleaded.
"I should have known you all wouldn't understand." Naruto said, he then looked towards Sakura. "You especially… I thought you of all people would support me on this." Naruto positioned himself in front of the window to take off. He turned back towards Whis. "Can you open up the portal in an hour? I need to get my stuff ready."
"Sure thing." Whis said before disappearing.
"What! No, Naruto!" Gohan cried. But Naruto was making his way outside the office window.
"Naruto if you go on the mission I will demote you to Genin!" Tsunade threatened.
"Go ahead." Naruto didn't even look back.
"Naruto! If you leave I will kick you off the Neo Z Fighters!" Gohan tried.
Naruto untied his gold plated headband and threw it on the floor. "I preferred my old headband anyway." Naruto was just about to make the final leap.
"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "If you leave I won't ever forgive you!" He hesitated…for just a moment.
The orange ninja leapt out to the rooftops and sped off into the distance. Sakura ran up to the window and leaned outward. "NARUTO! FINE, BE AN IDIOT YOU STUPID FUCKING JERK!" The pinkette screamed. Her face betraying her true feelings, her cheeks were stained with tears.
Tsunade turned to her useless ANBU guards. "Follow him and don't let him leave the village no matter what!" She barked. The ANBU all scrambled to attention and nearly tripped over one another trying to leave the room.
Tsunade slumped back into her chair. This day could not get any worse. That's when Gohan stood in front of her looking serious.
"Don't worry Lady Tsunade, I'll bring him back." Gohan promised.
"You think you can out preform my ANBU when it comes to hunting Naruto down?"
"I know I can. I'm faster and can track his energy signature practically anywhere on the planet."
"Yes, but you will need some help if you want to convince the little idiot to give up this plan of his. Jiraiya and Kakashi have already been called away on other missions, and Iruka is off on a class field trip." Tsunade listed.
Gohan thought it over for a moment, then a light bulb went off. "I think I know a few guys. I'll round them up and then cut off Naruto before he can get anywhere."
"Perfect, get to it." Tsunade ordered. Gohan nodded, not that he actually took orders from Tsunade, and blasted off towards his destination.
Tsunade was left alone to look at her apprentice staring blankly out the window in the direction that Naruto was last scene. "Sakura…"
Without answering, Sakura turned around and headed for the door. "Sakura where are you going?"
"To the hospital." Sakura answered back. "Gohan mentioned that Videl came down with some severe morning sickness and I want to check to make sure that my patient is alright. Just as you taught me."
"Sakura, I know you must be upset about Naruto…"
"Upset? I'm not upset, that idiot can go and get himself killed for all I care!" Sakura slammed the door on her way out of the Hokage's office, leaving Tsunade to ponder how everything could have gone so wrong so fast.
Meanwhile, Sakura was left alone with her thoughts.
'Ok, what the Hell was that back there? And I don't mean with Naruto's half assed plan, I mean why didn't you agree to go along with it?' Inner Sakura asked.
'Just drop it.' Sakura though in a tone that even her inner self couldn't argue with.
One hour later, deep in the forest north of the Hokage tower…
The half-moon light cascaded down upon the forest clearing where could be found the infamous maverick ninja. The wind kicked up autumn leaves all around him in a kind of intimate dance. The only thought on the young chunin's mind was, 'The fuck is this damn portal Whis promised me?'
After shaking off the ANBU pursuers and grabbing one of his hidden bug-out bags, Naruto had been out in the cold for what seemed like hours trying to find the exact location Whis had told him about. The blond was about try the clearing to the west of the winding river when he felt his entire body stiffen up in place. Naruto's suspicions were confirmed when from out of the darkness came one of the last voices he wanted to hear right now.
"Shadow Possession complete." Shikamaru stated.
Instantly, Naruto was surrounded on all sides by what looked to be all of his male comrades from the Konoha 11, plus one Saiyan and a dog.
"Thanks for ratting me out, Gohan." Naruto spat.
"Little late for a stroll, ain't it?" Gohan said seriously.
"Don't change the subject. I told you that this doesn't concern you or anyone else, but instead you gather up my friends and involve them too." Naruto angrily said.
"You're damn right I involved them. You have no idea the terrors that await you there. You think Orochimaru was bad? There are guys down there that would make him about as scary as a kitten. I know, I fought a good number of them. Do you have any idea how miserable Sakura is that you are doing this? Videl already knows and she is doing her best not to fly over here and kill you herself. I understand how you must feel right now, truly I do."
"No Gohan! YOU DON'T!" Naruto shouted, breaking the quite night time serenity.
"You think you have all the answers, but you don't! Not this time!"
"LIKE HELL I DON'T! Gohan yelled. "One of the guys down there is Cell. The one who BLEW UP my father. All because I was too cocky to finish off the bastard myself and my dad sacrificed himself only for Cell to survive his own blast and come back! It took every ounce of energy I had to take Cell down. for the past 7 years I have been living with the guilt and pain of having my father not only use his life to save our world, but then refuse to come back... I wanted so much to being him back into my life. I wanted to go to Namek and use their dragon balls to bring him back, hell I was ready to drag his ass back here from otherworld. But I was helpless from doing so. So don't sit there and tell me I don't know how it feels because I do!"
"Is your father trapped in Hell? Fated to be tortured for eternity just because he had a bad lot in life and that drove him down a dark path? Did you fail to keep your promise to the girl you love that you would bring your father back home safe and sound? Huh!?"
"The circumstances maybe a little different, I'll give you that. But, you didn't have to go through the pain of witnessing your own mother break down in front of you, sobbing and crying because her husband was gone for good because of some stupid, childish action on my part. If you go down there, there is a very good chance that you will die, and because there are no dragon balls in this universe, if you die, you can't come back." Gohan said in a very low and serious tone.
"I know he's your brother, though not by blood. I have a 7-year-old brother and if he were in the same situation Sasuke is in, then yea, I would be doing the same thing you are. But you can't expect to go in there, guns blazing and expect to come out alive."
"If you know that you would do the same for your brother than why stop me? See you think you know what Sasuke means to me, but you don't! You might have had to see your mother cry, but at least you had a mother growing up! Your father might be dead but you still knew him all your life! I just learned who my Dad was today!" Naruto broke down. He never played the orphan pity card with people. He had promised himself long ago to stop using it as an excuse and to get by on his own strength. Yet another promise he seemed destined to break.
"That is the difference between you and me, Gohan. You've always had a family; I've had to fight for mine! If that means I've got to fight the worst bastards from my universe, your universe, or whatever; then I'll do it to save a member of my family."
"I'm aware of that, Naruto." Gohan started.
"Then let me go." Naruto said. Gohan only stared at him for a few moments.
"When me and Videl came here, we were told that we could never return to our universe. We can never see our friends and family until we die. Videl and it the worst, her father committed suicide when he learned about us leaving. But since we've been here, we've made new friends and are starting a new family of our own." Gohan said as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Ever since I met you, I have come to think of you as a brother. I already had to go through losing my friends and family more than once in my life and I don't want to go through it again. Plus, I want my children to have a Godfather, Naruto. They can't have one if you're gone."
Naruto was taken back. Gohan's words had touched him...truly.
"What the heck is a Godfather?" Naruto asked. All his buddies deadpanned, of course he wouldn't know.
"Think of it as like being a surrogate or second father. Someone who's children can also look up to in life." Gohan said with a smile.
"Wait hold the phone." Kiba interrupted from atop his trusty canine companion Akamaru's backside. "Videl is pregnant?"
"Yosh, that's what I heard from Tenten!" Lee spoke up.
"Congratulations Gohan." Choji commented in between bites of chips.
"Yea. She's carrying twins." Gohan said joyfully. "Naruto, I want you, and Sakura, to be a part of our family. Videl want's Sakura to be the godmother."
"...I'm honored...truly you have no idea how much your offer means to me. To be trusted with someone's child, like that..." Naruto spoke in awe.
"Well, you gotta be alive long enough to fulfill it. Also, if you die, how can you live up to your dream of marrying Sakura and becoming Hokage?" Gohan said calmly.
'Aw shit... That's what I needed to asked Tsunade about! Getting me and Videl married...' Gohan thought suddenly.
"How can I become Hokage when I can't save one friend?"
"You know, Naruto. I learned hard in life that you can't save everyone, no matter how hard you try. There is a saying from a movie in our world; The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one."
"Pervy Sage said something like that to me once. That I someday I would have to cut my loses and be smart if I wanted to survive in this world. You know what I told him? That I'd willingly be a fool all my life." Naruto countered.
Gohan chuckled. "Yea, well at least you got the fool part down right." Gohan joked.
"Yeah, now stand aside and let me through."
Gohan sighed. He really didn't want to do that was coming next.
"Listen, Naruto. I would have for this to come to blows. So please, reconsider. Take time to at least think things through. I don't want to hurt the only man I consider a brother in this world." Gohan said sadly.
"You shouldn't underestimate me, Gohan. Everyone who has ever done that has ended up flat on their back with nothing but a sense of shame. Just ask Neji and Dog Breath over there."
"It's true. He'll fart in your face and steal a couple of cheat shots." Kiba commented. Akamaru covered his eyes with his ears after remembering his partner's most embarrassing defeat.
"Shut up, Kiba! Or do you want another whiff?"
"I know what you're capable of, but I also know what I'm capable of." Gohan said as he powered up to Super Saiyan. Then with a mighty yell, ascended to Super Saiyan 2.
"I'll make a deal with you, Naruto. If you can beat me here and now, I'll let you go. If you can't beat me, then you won't be going anywhere and I will see to it that you don't."
Naruto eyed up and down his opponent. "Deal. Shikamaru, do you mind?" Naruto asked. Still trapped in the Nara heir's Shadow Possession. Shikamaru muttered something troublesome and released the jutsu.
Naruto cracked his neck and dropped into his usual taijutsu stance.
Gohan fell into his mixed stance of his father's and Piccolo's. Right off the bat, he could spot several openings and he was ready to exploit them. Not one to make the first move, Gohan waited for Naruto.
Naruto looked back and forth between all the other guys surrounding them. "You guys aren't going to interfere are you?" Naruto asked. Ninjaing 101, know who you are fighting and still expect to fight all of them.
"You kidding? Like I'd miss a chance to watch you get your ass thoroughly kicked." Kiba said, all the other guys were mostly in agreement.
"First mistake Naruto." Gohan said as he dashed forward and landed a hard kick to Naruto's gut, sending him flying across the field.
"Never take your eyes off your opponent."
Naruto skipped like a stone across the field and flew into the bushes at the tree line, making Gohan lose sight of him. "Holy shit!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru woofed in agreement.
Not taking his eyes off of his opponent, Gohan get his gaze fixed on the trees. Until he sensed a power level quickly spiking from beneath him. Like a trout out of water, Naruto burst through the ground with a Rasengan in hand aimed directly for Gohan's chest. Neji in particular had a flashback to this chunin match against Naruto when he used that exact move to win the match.
The half Saiyan was too quick though and grabbed the ninjas forearm right before it reached him.
"Good advice, Gohan. You should take it yourself." Naruto wheezed out, slightly out of breath.
"Maybe you misunderstand something, but I just stopped your attack."
"Yeah, but you still took your eyes off of your opponent." Naruto then poofed into a white cloud of nothing, revealing that he had been a shadow clone all along.
Gohan then sensed an incoming attack coming at him quickly. Using a massive burst of speed, he shifted his gaze to the side and blocked another attack, only for it to be another shadow clone.
'Hmm... This isn't going to work on me.' Gohan thought. He sensed several other energy signatures coming straight towards him. Gohan tuned his senses to the one with the most energy and found the real Naruto up in a tree 50 meters away. 'There you are.'
Gohan phased out just before all of the clones hit him, causing them to hit each other and puff away. Gohan appeared on the same branch as Naruto and swiftly backhanded the blond ninja down to the ground near their comrades.
Naruto shook his head and righted himself back into his fighting stance.
"Give it up Naruto. I already know all your moves." Gohan stated.
"Is that right? You know all my moves?" Naruto taunted. "I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that Gohan. You might know all my techniques, but you don't know all my moves."
Gohan was confused by Naruto's continued cocky attitude. Then he looked behind Naruto and noticed one of his shadow clones coming out of the forest.
Then another, then 10s of clones, then hundreds.
Before his very eyes, Gohan was surrounded by 1000s of Shadow Clones. Even after dozens of spars with Naruto, Gohan had only ever seen him use a handful of clones. This...this was new.
"And what exactly do you plan to do with all of these, pray tell?" Gohan asked sternly.
"Kick your ass?" A thousand Naruto's answered back. Like a starting gun had been fired. Thousands of Naruto clones stampeded towards the half Saiyan. Shouting profanities and brandishing kunai knifes.
Gohan just stood there. He didn't even bother to take up a defensive stance, nor try to block any attack that would come. instead, he was hit directly by an onslaught of attacks ranging from punches, kicks, and kunai slashes. This when on for nearly a minute as Gohan took one attack after another.
"Well, this has gotten boring." Gohan said suddenly, putting all of the Naruto clones in a state of shock, including the real one.
"RAAAAAAHHH!" Gohan yelled and flared his aura up until it engulfed every clone and the entire area became nothing but white smoke.
A quick burst of wind from Gohan cleared away the smoke to reveal a completely unscathed Gohan.
Naruto stood there in shock with his mouth agape as he witnessed Gohan standing where the mob of his clones used to be. Gohan was hit by just about every basic attack in his arsenal and not a scratch was seen.
"How in the hell..." Naruto gasped out.
"I've been going easy on you, Naruto. I could have ended this in 5 seconds if I wanted to. You think I'm powerful? The truth is that I have been slacking off in my training for years before I came to your world. The monsters my friends and I put down where you are going would put me to shame as I currently am." Gohan warned.
"Grrr, so what?! I told you that I don't give up easily!" Naruto shouted as he made his signature hand sign. Immediately, a thousand more Naruto Shadow Clones popped into existence. Without waiting for a command they all rushed the half saiyan again.
"Again?" Gohan asked dryly.
Before the shadow clone mob could even touch Gohan, he flew straight up, all according to plan. The Clones all crashed together so pathetically. Gohan thought it looked sad and figured he should just send a Ki blast down and end this now.
Instead he was struck from behind by a massive water bullet that came out of nowhere.
Unknown to Gohan, Naruto had summoned his two main summoning Toads, Gamakichi and his younger brother Gamatatsu to launch water bullets at Gohan should he fly up high as he did.
This achieved the blond's intended result. Gohan flew lower to dodge the onslaught of water bullets. Once again his attention was focused on his last threat and the half Saiyan didn't even notice the pyramid of Shadow Clones that was built beneath him to give a dozen remaining Shadow Clones a stepping stone to leap at Gohan. Each of them armed with Rasengans the size of beach balls.
No time to charge up another blast of ki in all directions, instead Gohan tried to hand blast his way out, but it still wasn't enough. Another water bullet came hurdling through the cloud of Shadow Clones and struck Gohan right in the back, sending his body sailing directly in front of one of the Shadow Clones.
"RASENGAN!" Naruto cried. His concentrated ball of chakra found its mark dead center in Gohan's chest. Then two more clones came up from behind him and struck Gohan in the back as well. The shockwaves from the blast sent Gohan flying towards the hard ground.
Quickly, Gohan righted himself back into his fighting stance, seemingly unfazed by the recent attack. The combined might of the three Rasengans had been powerful, but no more powerful than what Gohan would expect from a single punch from an opponent with Gohan's base level power level.
"You're not bad Naruto. You are quite skilled and you have a pretty hefty arsenal. But I'm afraid that if this is all you have, you won't last long in Hell. I've been going easy on you this whole time to see if you would be able to hold your own. From my stand point, unless you tap into the Kyuubi's power, you won't be able to save Sasuke." Gohan stated seriously.
"He's right, brat." Kyuubi said into Naruto's mind.
"You can't even put a dent in Gohan as he is without my power. Yet, even if you did use my power, you would be back to square one. He is just too powerful for you."
'Shut the fuck up.' Naruto thought. 'You already know what my plan is and it is not about to involve you. Not now, not ever. So do me a favor and go back to sleep for the rest of my life…'
'Besides, I've already won this fight.'
"You have, huh? This I gotta see."
Naruto and his clones all landed safely on the ground and began pairing up to make new batches of Rasengans.
"Gohan's right, Naruto. Just give it up. Sasuke made his choices and now he has to make up for them." Kiba stated. His suggestion fell on deaf ears though.
"What exactly does Naruto think he's doing?" Shikamaru wondered aloud. "He's knows he can't win so..." The genius ninja was caught in deep thought, which intrigued the Hyuga standing next to him.
'I wonder...Byakugan!' Neji thought, activating his clan's signature eye jutsu to see everything in all directions over great distances. In no time he found what he was looking for and he couldn't help but chuckle at the blond ninja's sheer cheek. 'Oh that is clever.'
Meanwhile, Gohan was busy blasting the charging shadow clones before they could reach him with their slightly threatening Rasengans. Yet strangely, for every Naruto he blasted into nothing, he never struck the orange ninjas actual physical body. Soon enough, there was only one left standing, holding up his Rasengan and looking around at his disappeared comrades like he forgot what he came in here for.
"Are you done yet, Naruto?" Gohan shouted from across the field. "I can keep this up all night if I need too. So can you so I've heard, but the way I see it, you have two choices. First, you forget about this escapade of yours and go home. Second, I knock you out and drag you to Tsunade where you will be met with disciplinary actions by her and the council. Your choice." Gohan said seriously.
Naruto was about to retort with something clever like, "No, fuck you!" When a strange explosion could be heard coming a mile west of them.
"What was that?" Gohan asked to no one in particular.
"Global warming?" Naruto suggested before rushing Gohan again.
Gohan merely batted away Naruto's fist. Naruto continued his furious onslaught and Gohan deflected every attack. "Alright, I've had enough of this." Gohan stated before grabbing Naruto by the scruff of his shirt and sent a hard jab to the blond's stomach. Causing the young ninja to dissipate like the Shadow Clone he was.
'Heh, just as I thought.' Gohan thought. 'Now, where are you...' Gohan expanded his sensing abilities far and wide until he noticed a lone power level signature coming from the exact direction where he heard the strange explosion from earlier.
'He couldn't have…son of a!'
Gohan rocketed off towards the energy signature and as he got closer he began to see a dull gray light coming off like a giant bonfire from beneath the tree line. Once he had gotten close enough, he could see that the gray flames were in fact part of some evil looking door that couldn't have been there before. He also saw an orange silhouette trying to pry the doors open.
"What in the hell..." Gohan said out loud.
Shinkamaru, Neji, and all the other ninjas (even Kiba) had already picked up their comrade's deception and were secretly smiling at one of their own pulling a fast one on the Saiyan.
"Oh shit... That can't be the portal..." Gohan said in surprise
"Open up you stupid portal!" Naruto shouted to himself in anger. "I need to get to Hell, God damn it!"
"Oh... SHIT!" Gohan yelled as he dashed as fast as he could to stop Naruto from going to Hell.
Naruto, not as oblivious as people give him credit for, quickly turned around to face Gohan with a Rasengan in hand. Only for Gohan to step into his attack and slam the real Naruto down to the ground by the scruff of his neck.
"GAH!" Naruto coughed, the wind knocked out of him. Normally Gohan would be saddened from being forced to hurt a friend, but this was for Naruto's own good.
"I've had enough, Naruto." Gohan declared. The Ascended Super Saiyan was about to break both of Naruto's legs just so he could drag him back to the Leaf when all of the sudden, he felt his entire body stiffen up.
"Shadow Possession complete." Shikamaru declared.
"What in the-" Gohan said as he processed the voice he heard.
"Goddammit, Shikamaru! We're supposed to be stopping Naruto, not me you fool!"
"We kind of all changed our minds. Or at least I did." Shikamaru replied.
"What do you mean, you changed your minds? Have you all lost your marbles?!"
"I mean we see where Naruto is coming from. This unflinching desire to save a fellow comrade, even if it means going into Hell itself, it's something they teach us ninjas with the Will of Fire." Shikamaru explained.
"Will of Fire?" Gohan questioned.
"Oh right, you wouldn't know what that is would you?" Shikamaru said. "It's an ideal we have in the Leaf village. How the desire to protect one's home and one's comrades comes from a ninja's will passed down from his leaders and mentors to him. The Will of Fire states, among other things, to never leave a comrade behind. No matter what."
"If it is Naruto's Will of Fire that drives him to traverse the very lands of Hell itself for the sake of his comrade, then we, as his comrades, will not let his youthfulness stand alone!" Lee declared.
"Y-you guys." Naruto said.
"I see... I didn't realize you all believed so firmly about all of this." Gohan said softly. "Allow me to come with you. If you want to save Sasuke, you're going to need someone who has fought the guys in hell before."
"No." Naruto choked out.
"No? what do you mean no?"
"You were right on one thing, Gohan. Going to Hell is going to be treacherous. There is a good chance I won't make it back. I've always beaten the odds, but this isn't something I'm willing to bet all your lives on. If something were to happen to me, I'd die content knowing that the village was safe under your protection, Gohan." Naruto stated.
"And how will Sakura take this if you die, Naruto? How would I tell her that the love of her life is now dead? explain that one to me."
Naruto looked down at the ground sadly, remembering the argument he had had with his love not hours ago.
"So long as she is safe too, I'll still be content."
"So, you would be content seeing Sakura living her life with a broken heart because the man she loves the most is dead?" Gohan stated seriously. "That makes absolutely no sense at all, Naruto."
Naruto looked at Gohan with perhaps the closest thing Gohan had ever seen to a defeated look on the blond's face.
Thankfully, Shikamaru was ready with the words Naruto couldn't think of. "Leaving loved ones behind is something we ninja are accustomed to. The girls know this too, although they might have more trouble accepting it." Shikamaru explained.
"That's what my dad told my mom years ago. I just hope I never have to tell Videl that."
"You know Gohan. I think I'm starting to understand more of what Naruto said." Choji spoke up. "You are accustomed to the life of a warrior. We on the other hand, live the lives of soldiers." Choji explained.
Gohan finally started understanding the way these ninjas operate. finally realizing he was defeated, he powered down from his ascended Super Saiyan state.
"You're right, Choji. You're absolutely right. If this is your decision, I can enlist some help from other world to help you, one of them is stronger than I am."
"Don't bother. This is our fight." Kiba boosted.
"Actually, I'm not comfortable with you guys following me either." Naruto interjected. "Saving Sasuke is my burden to bare. I can't ask any of you to risk your lives in the same manner."
"In that case, you can shut up too Naruto. Didn't we just get done saying that were comrades. Each and every one of us shares the others burden. We are coming with you Naruto." Neji stated.
Naruto looked around the faces of the rest of his teammates. The blond had to smile at the looks of conviction on each and every one of their faces.
"Please, Naruto. It would make me feel better. One of them is my grandfather, Bardock. You outclass him greatly, but he has knowledge about the beings in Hell and can assist you with anything you need to know about Otherworld. The other is my dad's friend, Pikkon. He is on par with my dad in terms of power, skill and strength. That's saying a lot since my dad found a level beyond a Super Saiyan 2. He would be your greatest asset."
"Gohan, please. Like Kiba said, this is our mission. Just stay here and protect the village, we will be back in no time." Naruto said.
Gohan then stood up, shaking Shikamaru's shadow possession off like it was nothing but a mere annoyance. Shikamaru made a face like, "Fine, I was running out of chakra anyway."
"I am not going." Shino spoke up, shattering every one's built up sense of camaraderie.
"What the fuck Shino?" Kiba shouted. "We got this great inspiring thing going on and you totally ruin the atmosphere!"
"You forget; I was not a part of the original squad tasked to retrieve Sasuke. This blinded nostalgia will only lead to disaster one way or another. Tsunade will surely demote all of us if she discovers that we have joined Naruto on his journey to the Afterlife. Why? Because she threatened Naruto in the exact same way if he went ahead with his hair brained scheme, which he is already in the processes of doing."
The rest of the ninjas looked upon Shino with a look of anger and disbelief. It almost seemed like he was ready to sell them out to Tsunade if they didn't call of their plans.
"Which is why I shall stay behind and act as all your body doubles."
"Wah-what?" Naruto asked.
"While I may not be as proficient as you Naruto when it comes to Shadow Clones. My beetles can craft very elaborate clones in the shape of anyone I choose. Creating very convincing doppelgangers for long periods of time. It might not fool our closest friends and family, but with the right misdirection I can make it appear that all of us have remained in the village during the six of your absences." Shino explained. "Provided that someone..." Shino looked at Gohan. "...does not rat us out."
Gohan sighed in defeat. "Very well then. King Kai and Grand Kai will be there to aid you at least. Just, be careful and try not to do anything stupid. What do you want me to tell the girls? Because they will find out sooner or later and come to me looking for answers."
"Whatever you have to. Just keep them out of the loop as long as you can, especially Granny Tsunade. If we can keep her in the dark throughout all of this, it'll be smooth sailing." Naruto said.
"Well, Videl already knows. I can sense her shadow clone a few hundred meters away. She just told me mentally that she would come up with a cover story for everyone." Gohan stated.
"You've got yourself one of the least troublesome woman I've ever met, Gohan." Shikamaru complimented.
"Damn, that is some high praise coming from him." Choji commented.
"Hey, what can I say? She does think this whole thing is asinine and that Naruto is a complete moron for even trying something like this, but she'll go along with it... Oh shit she's in the Hospital too..."
"Damn... Seems as though my mom put clover in the tea she gave Videl. Videl is highly allergic to clover." Gohan said with a panic look on his face. "I'm trusting you guys to make it back here alive. I can't stay here any longer so good luck."
Just then, Videl's clone dropped from above. "Gohan, the boss is okay thanks to a senzu bean you had. She is just there with Tsunade to make sure everything is okay." the Videl clone said.
"Oh good..." Gohan said with a sigh of relief.
"Same to you. And Gohan..." Naruto said.
"Yeah?"
"I promise I will come back alive and be the best Godfather your kids could ever ask for. Believe it." Naruto smiled.
"I do believe it." Gohan said with a soft smile
"Sakura also accepted to being the godmother, by the way." The Videl clone said.
"I figured she would, knowing her." Gohan stated.
"Sakura-chan..." Naruto whispered softly. "Gohan, one more thing... Sakura-chan... could you tell her..."
"Tell her what?"
"Tell her…I'm sorry and I love her." Naruto said.
"Of course, brother." Gohan said as he held out his hand to Naruto. Naruto clasped his hand and held it tight in a kind of still handshake. Gohan then took Naruto's hand and placed his Neo Z Fighter headband in his palm. "You forgot this at the Hokage tower, you know."
Naruto smirked and untied his old headband and slipped in into his kunai pouch for safe keeping, then tied the golden headband proudly around his forehead. "Thanks man."
"Just so you know, you are going to go through a bitch load of gravity training when you get back. You ain't gonna rest until you hit 500x gravity, ya hear?"
Naruto smirked. "Count on it."
"I'll try to keep Tsunade's temper to a mere simmer should she find out. Good luck again." Gohan said as he let go of Naruto's hand.
"You won't succeed. But we appreciate the thought." Kiba commented.
Naruto thanked Gohan again and turned to the doors.
"You'd be surprised, Kiba. My mom's temper made Tsunade's seem docile in comparison." Gohan said as he lifted off.
"Look, Gohan, I know you think you are hot shit. Always one upping us and what not. But you have only dealt with Tsunade drunk. If she gets mad enough, she'll go sober and then you are in for a world of hurt..." Kiba explained while the rest of the boys shuddered.
"Whatever you say" Gohan scoffed as he took off for the hospital.
"He's not lying you know. His mother is certifiably crazy with a capital C. Even I'm afraid of her." The Videl clone said as she dispelled into smoke.
"That's the real reason you're not taking him with us right? Because he always needs to get in the last word?" Kiba complained to Naruto. Akamaru shook his head at his master's bitching.
"If that were true, we'd be leaving you behind too." Shikamaru commented.
As the two ninjas had a little in fight, Naruto, Lee and Choji all got to work on opening the door. It proving heavier than any of them had ever anticipated. A few dozen shadow clones, some enlarged palms, and two opened gates later; they finally succeeded.
Once open, they were met with a wind vortex pulling them in. Even with their chakra enhanced soles of their feet, they couldn't keep their footing and the six of them were quickly pulled into the portal, leaving only a somber Shino behind.
'God it is chilly out here.' He thought.
Samuraipanda85: Got this one out earlier than expected. I know most of you were probably expecting our two favorite couples to be the one's going to Hell but the temptation to reunite the Sasuke Retrieval Squad was too great. I'm all about giving side characters more screen time though and Naruto has nothing if not the best cast of side characters in the mangaverse. Don't think Gohan, Videl, and Sakura are gonna be useless in this arc though. They will get their times to shine.
Forewarning about future chapter release schedules though; some projects due dates are closing in as always, but then I have Thanksgiving break which is always followed by Finals week which actually lasts 2 weeks until Christmas break. So if chapters get inconsistent, you can blame me prioritizing my education over the release schedule.
Also I'm sure you have all heard by now in international news, about the terrorist attack on Paris.
To all those affected directly and indirectly by this tragedy; you have my deepest condolences. As do all the victims of other terrorist attacks the world over who do not receive as much media coverage.
Many of you might not know this, but cmartinHFD is a volunteer EMT, so there is a chance he will be called away to assist Paris in any way he can. Nothing is set in stone yet, but should this come to pass, I wanted you all to join me in wishing him the best of luck. As well as all the other emergency personal helping Paris during this time of crisis.