(Chapter 20: Truth be told)
It would soon be the month of May as Gohan had finally crafted his suit of +2 plate mail which he was thankful for considering that it felt nice to walk around in actual armor that could provide an actual defense against his enemies. Not only that but when he went dungeon crawling with Sasuke it felt much more comfortable to be in the suit of armor than walking around with run of the mill clothes on, which he thanked his high strength stat for considering that running around in it and doing the physical feats of what he did normally was something that was ill-advised.
Meanwhile, Gohan had been putting more emphasis on leveling his Warrior class considering that he didn't just want the extra health and stamina, although it was something that he was happy to gain by the time he hit Level 60 of Warrior. But also because he knew that he wouldn't be able to rely on his Necromancer class which he was happy he'd reached Level 85 on, therefore he knew that it was going to be thanks to his martial capabilities that made or broke him on his path to gaining the rank of Chunin.
(May 6th, 998 S.E, Uchiha Compound, 4:56 Pm)
It was 4 minutes till 5 as Gohan and Sasuke were about to go dungeon diving into Demon Dungeon as they were finishing putting on their armor and getting their gear ready to go for some demon-slaying.
"Well, Sasuke are you ready to go?" Gohan questioned as Sasuke had his weapons secured on his person
"Yes, I am. By the way, it seems as though you've finally made yourself a suit of armor. I was wondering when you'd finally get it done." Sasuke answered as he saw Gohan finish putting on his plate mail
"You're correct and I will say it feels great to finally have it on me. Because no longer will I have to worry about getting hit by a katana or naginata slicing open my insides like a roasted boar. Neither will I have to worry about some bastard's arrows piercing through my lungs or throat and dropping me to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Besides, unlike everyone else I actually have something on that will protect my insides better than what everyone else has." Gohan responded as his plate mail was painted onyx with cobalt blue trim with it being reminiscent of the Lawbringer's armor from For Honor except with less robust pauldrons and the greaves, gauntlets and chestplate being slightly more heavy-duty
"Anyways let's get down to doing some demon-slaying." Gohan added as Sasuke activated his Sharingan
"Let's get to it already. Because I never thought that demon-slaying would make my day, but here I am eager to slaughter them all." Sasuke remarked seeing as how as of late demon-slaying had become something of a favored pastime for him
"Well without further ado let's get to it." Gohan said as he soon transported them to the 1st true layer of the Demon Dungeon
That in mind the armor cladden duo soon set off into the fiery hellscape where fireballs and meteors semi-regularly crashed down onto the surface like a light rainstorm in the middle of spring, while thin clouds of ash covered the skyline in faint streaks of darkened reddish grey. With the two already coming into contact with a trio of Goristro's that between Sasuke's speed and deadly precision with his sabre and rapier and Gohan's brute force offensive that they were quickly taken apart within mere moments of each other before they moved on.
With them having fought through Goristro's, Hell Knights and Barons of Hell from the DOOM 2016 game with them differing from their video game counterparts in showing darker red skin, armor that was a mix of bone and darkened steel and wielding large halberds or flanged maces that pulsed with demonic energy. That being said Gohan and Sasuke took to fighting against them with great fervor as Sasuke had killed one via using Light Release: Flash Pillar to momentarily blind it and then followed it up by using a Chidori to pierce through its horned skull.
For the both of them were despite the greater number of demons and Devils than the initial layer whose strength was a great deal superior, the duo were able to still wreck some of their shit through martial capability alone. Not to mention that avoiding the random fireballs that rained down from the sky also made for good evasion training, something of which Gohan needed considering that even without wearing his plate mail his DEX stat was pretty low in comparison seeing as how it was the only one still in the double digits.
"Well, Sasuke you still holding up alright?" Gohan questioned as the avenger just finished killing off a Bone Devil with his glaive
"I'm doing more than just fine since I've really been needing this. Besides, with the Chunin Exams coming up this summer then I need every bit of training possible." Sasuke answered back as he began turning another Bone Devil into pieces with his glaive
"You've damned sure got that right. Especially, with that fucking jinchuuriki in Suna we've got to worry about." Gohan agreed as he split a Bone Devil straight down the middle and followed up by bisecting another with a Cleave attack
"At the rate, we're going the jinchuuriki shouldn't be a problem, since my Sharingan are almost fully matured." Sasuke spoke as he went over to regroup with the Necromancer
"Well I'll have to put your money where your mouth is when the time comes. But until that point, we should probably start booking it." Gohan told him as he saw fireballs and meteors coming towards them like incendiary hail
That in mind the two continued their trek throughout the 1st layer of the Demon Dungeon as the two continued to kill demons and devils, as the avenger went forth in speedily slaughtering everything in sight as all demons that came in his crimson eyed crosshairs were eventually swiftly dismantled before him. With Gohan as he switched to his Necromancer for a bit to unleash the power of undeath onto these demons and Devils that dared to oppose him, having gotten somewhat proud of how far Sasuke has come in seeing his future executioner go forth and destroy and butcher any demon or devil that got within melee range with him.
The duo was eventually flanked by a group of Frost Knights after they had gotten ambushed by a pack of Goristro's that had a number of Pit Fiends with them, as his undead eventually dwindled down as they continued to fight through their demonic opposition. With them cutting a swath through the part of the dungeon they were on as he, Sasuke and his undead continued their march through it as Gohan and Sasuke became covered in blood, grime, sweat and ash yet even throughout all of this they looked more exhilarated than tired.
With it not being long before they soon reached the 1st mini-boss of the dungeon which was a pit fiend clad in dark ashen grey half-plate armor with robust pauldrons and heavy-duty gauntlets and wearing a blackened pot helm on its head that hid darkened absinthe colored eyes. For it wielded in its hands a large greataxe made seemingly out of brass and onyx while the shaft of it was made of blackened steel that glowed with lime green demonic energy that hissed almost acidicly.
Zakath the Lesser
Level 58
Rank: Veteran
HP: 105,000/105,000
MP: 10,500/10,500
SP: 21,300/21,300
STR: 357
DEX: 126
VIT: 204
INT: 54
WIS: 105
CHA: 139
LUC: 114
Description: One of the many warlords vying for power in the 1st layer of the underworld, Zakath is nevertheless looked down upon as one of the inferior demons trying to rise to power. Even still this pit fiend is known for his brute strength and savagery in combat, using physical intimidation and ferocity to get his way in the 1st layer of the underworld.
"Hey, I'm gonna need to borrow some of your chakra for this one." Gohan requested as he felt Kurama's chakra surge through him
"Go ahead and use it, just be sure to crush this abomination." Kurama responded back in giving him his chakra to combat the armored pit fiend
"Well Sasuke, are ya ready for this?" Gohan questioned hefting his zweihander aloft
"Let's kill this thing and move on already." Sasuke answered back as the two went into action
That in mind Gohan used Thunder Step to teleport them onto Zakath's and began going to work on taking his wings out of the equation, with Sasuke quickly stabbing and slashing his left wing to ribbons; while Gohan used Vornskr's Ferocity to not only hack away at the right wing but also into Zakath's armor and dense hide. With them managing to succeed seeing as how by the time the pit fiend realized what was going on it was too late as they began to harshly descend back to the ground and crashing with a thunderous noise from the sheer bulk of the demonic warlord as it rose to try and quickly crush them.
Only for Gohan to get them away in time due to a timely Thunder Step as they landed back on solid ground while Sasuke launched a Dragon Fire Jutsu at Zakath, only for him to curse and see that the damned thing was resistant to his flames. With Gohan seeing this knew that his Zweihander wouldn't be of much help which was why he decided to start using his Necromancy spells to put down Zakath who swung down his greataxe to try and split Sasuke in half, with the avenger luckily dodging and letting Gohan get in a chance to start firing off Rays of Death to get his attention.
Before firing off a 3 Rays of Enfeeblement in order to slow down the Pit Fiends attacks as it zeroed in on him and began charging after him, with Gohan having to engage it in melee combat as he swung the large Greataxe with the intent of cutting him to pieces. With him being thankful that he was very much competent in martial combat as well as his great deal of strength that allowed him to effectively put up a fight against Zakath.
"Here goes nothing" Gohan thought to himself as he launched a Stunning Strike against the Pit Fiend who had managed to slash him across the face and take 8.7K Health away but in doing so was knocked flat on his ass by the slash to his ankle
"Sasuke do it now!" Gohan called out to Sasuke as he held a full-power Chidori in hand
"This thing might be fire-resistant, but let's see how it fares against lightning." Sasuke whispered to himself as he dashed as fast as possible
That in mind Sasuke dashed as fast as possible while Gohan had decided to quickly jump away from Zakath and fire off a Blight spell that struck the pit fiend in the dead center of its chest, causing it to roar in pain from the necrotic attack that caused parts of its flesh to decay and wither. With Gohan using Insect Plague to further impede it while Sasuke dashed towards it via unhinging his jaw and breathing out an angry swarm of wasps, locusts, scarabs and other such insects that furiously tore into and at its flesh in a ravenous frenzy.
With the pit fiend now waving wildly and swinging his greataxe to destroy the insects that were attacking him, for he continued to do so until the Pit Fiend felt a pain go through its thick and meaty neck while the smell of ozone permeated its nostrils and brackish dark orange blood began to gush out of the wound. Zakath soon looked as it felt a haze come over it as it looked down to see Sasuke covered in its blood having landed next to Gohan with the Chidori still sparking with electricity, as the pit fiend soon realized that the avenger had pierced through it neck and obliterated its jugular vein causing blood to gush forth.
With the two watching it soon dissipate and Gohan taking the spoils of it all into his inventory before he and Sasuke agreed to call it a day after the fight with Zakath, considering that they'd rather not push their luck against any more mini-bosses in knowing full well that anything could happen. That in mind they left the dungeon and returned back to the Uchiha Compound where they decided to rest and clean themselves up after their training session, with it being around 40 or so minutes after getting cleaned up and taking off their armor that they now sat outside enjoying the nice sunny day.
"One thing I'll say is that this was a session well done, seeing as how we beat one of the many mini-bosses there." Gohan spoke in seeing this as a session well done for them
"Indeed it was. But we did get lucky against whatever that thing was supposed to be. Because had we not been then we would've come out with far more injuries than what we managed to walk out with." Sasuke responded in knowing they'd gotten lucky with Zakath
"Be that as it may we still did a damn good job." Gohan spoke as he had gotten up from his seat
"Anyways, I'll go over some of what we got from the dungeon. Because knowing that we fought what was supposed to be a mini-boss, we definitely got something good." Gohan added in knowing that the rewards gained from it had to be something pretty valuable
"Alright then. Anyways, I'll be taking a breather for now seeing that even with how fun it was. I think I'll take a bit of rest and then get dinner ready for myself and Yakumo." Sasuke semi-wearily told Gohan since he nearly forgot that he was to make dinner for Yakumo
"Well, I'll leave you too that then, as you two have a nice time to yourselves." Gohan replied as he soon went elsewhere for the day
(4 days later, May 10th, 998 S.E, ROOT HQ, 3:21 Pm)
It was the afternoon as Gohan had come to once again visit Kushina who from what the ROOT medical personnel had told them on their weekly updates had been doing well in purging the sedatives and narcotics in her system that had been used to keep her sedated.
"So how's she progressing?" Gohan questioned as he saw Kushina lying on her bed
"Her status has been improving. Because it took them many working sleepless nights and over 3 weeks to do so, but they succeeded in removing enough of the drugs in her system for her clan's healing factor to take over and do the rest." Danzo answered back as to how Kushina's condition was at the given moment
With it having taken many painstaking hours to get the sedatives and narcotics out of her system and use a mix of medical ninjutsu and concentrated doses of adrenaline in order to counteract the drugs within her body, once they did so her healing factor was able to kick in and take over for them. Since the ROOT personnel on duty for her had recorded of the fact that her body was going into overdrive in order to not only purge itself of the remaining drugs in her system but also speeding up its recovery time in order to awaken as quickly as possible.
"That's much needed good news, because after almost 20 years of being left alone in this god-forsaken village. I'll finally have what I should've had all along...family." Gohan spoke in being quite glad that Kushina would soon awaken
"Yes as even I must admit that it was idiotic of Hiruzen to deprive the village of Kushina. Considering that it would've done you wonders had you had your mother take care of you, because had that been done then you would've been considerably stronger than what you would've been. After all, who better to train an Uzumaki and jinchuuriki than one of their own." Danzo replied in knowing that one of Hiruzen's follies was in not letting Kushina raise Gohan in seeing as how he would've wound up much stronger if she did
"Well, it just goes to show that he's further inept at being Hokage. Because he's so concerned with pushing for peace and trying to keep everything folded under the image of a benevolent Konoha, that he's damned others in that idiotic path of his. Honestly, its people that want peace so much that make me so angry I could tear someone's head clean off." Gohan replied as the more time persisted onwards the more he grew to hate Hiruzen and people like him that wanted peace as much as that decrepit Hokage desired
"Which is why I'll be glad when she finally wakes up. Because we need someone who can change this place into a war machine that's always at the ready, as its thanks to him constantly demilitarizing the village so much that should someone come knocking down at our door we'd be easy targets." Gohan added in knowing that thanks to Hiruzen having greatly demilitarized the village that when the Suna and Oto invasion happened then heavy losses were sure to happen
"At least if anything should happen to the village we will be properly armed and ready." Danzo responded seeing as how thanks to Gohan's impressive blacksmithing skills and be able to create jutsu ROOT would be ever at the ready to defend the village
"Even still equipment alone isn't enough. Which is why I'll be glad when my mother wakes up, because once she gets things in order I can start implementing ways in which to improve our military." Gohan responded in knowing that once Kushina eventually replaced Hiruzen as Hokage then he could start making changes here and there to improve the village
"Nevertheless, any estimated time on which she'll awaken?" Gohan questioned as to when Kushina would eventually awaken
"Anywhere from a few weeks to a month or two. Because if there was one thing she was when she was still running around, it was that she was the epitome of resilience. For there was nothing that could really stop her once she got moving." Danzo remarked at the fact that Kushina before she was supposedly 'killed' by the 9 tails there was nothing that could really keep her down
Because Danzo noted that between her clan's natural healing factor and her great amount of physical durability and endurance she was next to impossible to put down or even stop during the mission when war was going on; so much so that one of her monikers was known as the Crimson Juggernaut.
"Well seeing as how she was quite the legend back in the day and because I want to make sure that she doesn't have a repeat of history happen again. I felt as though it was best if I made her this." Gohan spoke as from his inventory he pulled out a +2 longsword, shield and suit of plate mail
"After all, I figured that its only right that I give her this to not only protect herself when she wakes up. But I might as well make her something to make up for all those mother's day gifts I ever got to give her." Gohan added considering that he thought that it wouldn't only be a way for her to have some added defense, but also as a nice gesture for her when she did wake up
"How touching. Nevertheless, you will be notified of when she wakes up. Since an occasion like this is something that shouldn't be missed." Danzo said in having full intentions of notifying Gohan when she awoke from her coma
"Thank you for that Danzo I appreciate it." Gohan thanked the warhawk for having done this for him
"It is no problem at all. Speaking of which, is there anything that you wish to discuss before you leave?" Danzo questioned the necromancer if there was anything important that he needed to discuss with him
"No, not at the current moment. But I would like some alone time with my mother if you wouldn't mind." Gohan answered back as the warhawk looked at him in understanding and took his leave while Gohan went over to the comatose Uzumaki
"Hey, its your son and I hope that when you wake up that you'll like who I've started to become, as everything I've done or will do is to make sure that things that people like Hiruzen or that fake who caused the 9 tails to attack will never happen again. So when you wake up and you get to meet me for the first time in almost 20 years, then I hope you'll be proud of me when I start making this world better." Gohan spoke to the comatose Uzumaki before taking out of his bag a vase and put in it red, yellow and pink roses
"I got these for you, as I thought that when you woke up that you could use a bit of color in your life...well I should probably get going as I've still so much to do and little time to do it. So I'll see you the next time I get the chance." Gohan added as he kissed Kushina on the forehead before leaving
But unknown to him and those who saw Gohan left burgundy chakra as well as deep azure outlined in black colored arcane energy that was usually associated with Gohan's magic trailed out of him and filtered itself into Kushina's body. With the reason this happened being that Kurama had felt that with the kindness Gohan had done to it in getting to know the kitsune and embarking to have Kurama ascend to godhood that it decided to try and repay the favor in kind.
Which was why every time that Gohan came to visit his comatose mother during and after he left, Kurama would send a mix of its chakra and some of Gohan's arcane energies into Kushina's body to help in not only speed up her recovery time from what would've originally been. But also mutating her enough to where she would be much more durable, resilient and gain physical strength; since they felt that with how much Gohan cared about Kushina and wanting to bring her back so that he could see his mother in the waking world again that it was the least the kitsune could do.
"Well at least Gohan can't say I've done anything special for him now." Kurama said before dozing back off to sleep
(4 days later, May 14th, 998 S.E, Forest of Death, 2:48 Pm)
It was days later as Gohan was with Anko at his house having lunch together with him not only having a nice day with her, but after a good deal of thought and thinking things over and felt as though he could trust Anko with the information of his being a Gamer like he'd done with Sasuke months ago.
"This is some good food Gohan, as I didn't know you were such a good cook." Anko said in being absolutely stuffed from eating so much food
"Well when you live out here, you have to learn to make good food out of what you can. Besides, now that I can actually afford groceries even with them overcharging me. I can actually make good food." Gohan responded since with both him going on missions with his team and from Danzo as well as some of the money gained during dungeon-delving he was sitting on a pretty comfortable cushion
"If you ever quit being a shinobi, then you could definitely open up your own restaurant. Because this is too good to be true." Anko said as she was so full after eating Gohan's cooking that she was bordering on going into a food coma
"Thanks for the words of praise Anko, I appreciate it." Gohan spoke as he had some of his shadow clones get their plates and all of the trash from their lunch to be dealt with and cleaned
"Are you sure that its a good idea to tell her?" Kurama questioned
"I'm sure of it. Because next to Sasuke, she's the only one I feel I can trust with this. Besides, it helps to always have people in your inner circle and I feel that with Anko she's one of those people." Gohan answered back in having enough trust in Anko to tell her of his capabilities
"If you're trusting of her with this information, as you deem her worth to be then I will trust in your judgement. But the moment I sense anything from her, then I will personally tear myself out of this seal and strike her down with all of the might I can from this damned prison I'm in. Because I refuse to let anyone jeopardize you or what we've planned together." Kurama responded since the kitsune would use all of the power it could summon forth from behind the seal to kill Anko should she prove treacherous
"Thanks for showing that you care about me and trusting in my judgement. Since we're making progress after all." Gohan said in getting a proverbial eye-roll from the kitsune
"Whatever. Anyways, I'll be listening in case things go south." Kurama told him before severing the connection as Gohan focused back onto the matter at hand
"Is everything ok Gohan?" Anko questioned as she saw her boyfriend space out for a few moments
"I'm fine Anko. Its actually that I wanted to talk to you about something important." Gohan answered back in deciding it was now or never
"What is it that you have to tell me?" Anko asked the necromancer who took a deep breath before going onto explain to her
That in mind he gave the same explanation of his Gamer abilities that he did Sasuke which was why when she took as a joke he gave her the same party invite he did Sasuke, with him still finding it highly amusing in her thinking it was a genjutsu. Once she stopped and realized it wasn't she soon enough hit accept and proceeded to look at him with a relatively unfazed expression on her face, with him assuming he was in the clear with her considering that Kurama had during all of this detected no traces of negative emotions in her.
"So are you good with everything?" Gohan questioned Anko who still seemed relatively unfazed by the recent revelation
"Oh yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Since I think its pretty fucking awesome that your life is a video game by whatever this is." Anko answered back as she found Gohan's life being that of a video game to be pretty awesome too say the least
"That's a reliever to here, as I honestly expected you to freak out over this." Gohan replied in relief that Anko didn't flip her shit over this
"The only thing I'm wondering is that since your life is a video game; does this mean you can go monster-slaying and all that? Because if that's the case I wanna come with you and kill shit!" Anko asked considering that something she always wanted to do as a kid was slay monsters
"Well, you can slay demons if that helps out anything." Gohan told her
"Close enough, as when can we get started?!" Anko excitedly asked the Necromancer
"Whenever your ready to do so. But I do want you to promise me that all of what I told you stays between us, as you and I both know how people would react if they found out about this...especially the Hokage." Gohan answered back as Anko rapidly nodded yes
"You won't have to worry about a thing as your secret is staying safe with me. Besides, you are quite literally on the small list of people I actually like or care about in the village." Anko told him as Gohan's secret was safe with her
Especially because with the majority of the villagers treating her like shit for half of her natural life and having talked shit about her behind her back, well she didn't particularly have love for anyone in Konoha and add to it the fact that Gohan had been the best to her out of everyone's she been with, and suffice to say she'd keep his secret till the day she died.
"Great to know as we can get started on some demon-slaying this evening if your up for it." Gohan told her as a smile lit up on her face
"That sounds fantastic, I'll be back here in 3 hours for some real good fun." Anko said before kissing Gohan on the cheek and going off excited for some demon-slaying tonight
"Well looks like my day just keeps getting better." Gohan thought to himself before he saw a notification from the System come up
For getting Anko to keep your secret and become part of your small yet growing inner circle, you gain 25 Charisma.
"As I've said my life just continues to get more awesome. Now the only thing left for me to do is decide which class I'm gonna main for when I go demon-slaying with Anko." Gohan mused to himself as to which of his 2 classes he'd focus on when demon-slaying with Anko
"You might as well continue with your necromancy, seeing as how your so close to completing it you might as well continue to do so." Kurama advised to Gohan as to what he should do
"Huh...I guess your right. Thank you Kurama." Gohan thanked the kitsune for the sound advice
"No problem. Now good luck with your 'date' with the snake woman." Kurama teased the Necromancer on his pseudo date with Anko
"Its not a date...we're just gonna kill demons until we get bored." Gohan responded
"Whatever you need to tell yourself." Kurama said before severing the connection
"Smartass demon fox." Gohan spoke to himself as he awaited for Anko to return
(4 days later, Gohan's Mindscape, 9:45 Pm, May 18th, 998 S.E)
It was 4 days later as Gohan was in his mindscape with Kurama who were conversing with one another and just enjoying their general company with one another.
"Well at the rate I'm going I should be able to find someone that I can test a full tails' worth of your power out on." Gohan spoke considering at the rate he was growing in strength he was itching to fight someone who was strong enough to make him go into a tailed chakra cloak
"Agreed. Although I'm happy that you've been getting more high-intensity missions than what they masquerade as having you simply doing chores for someone. But even I must admit that it is growing boring that you aren't getting an adequate challenge." Kurama agreed at the fact that it was getting boring that Gohan steamrolled through a great portion of his opposition
"Hopefully when the jinchuuriki from Suna comes here for the Chunin Exams, then I'll get the challenge I've been looking for." Gohan said in knowing that he'd get an adequate challenge of Gaara or whatever this universe's version of Gaara was
"Even though Shukaku is the weakest of all, she's still a formidable threat." Kurama told him in remembering how their younger sister was still a threat by human standards despite being the weakest
"Wait a minute, I thought Shukaku was dude." Gohan spoke in surprise that this iteration of Shukaku was a female
"While she presented herself as male to more often than not get some form of credibility amongst the humans as the spirit of the sands and all the power she possessed over the desert. Shukaku is indefinitely 100% female. Granted she acts like a little shit most of the time, but nevertheless she's a manic little shit who you need to be careful of." Kurama warned of their youngest sister
Because Shukaku was always the most manic and often mentally unstable of the 9 seeing as how she often went into states of delirium; that often resulted in violent sandstorms and widespread sandpits trapping anyone who trespassed into her territory. Suffice to say that the years of being sealed and imprisoned didn't help her state of mind at all, seeing as how currently she was in a persistent state of manic bloodlust and delirium that had her chomping at the bit to cause more carnage.
"Well, this is gonna be interesting when I do encounter her jinchuuriki." Gohan said in knowing he'd have his work cut out for him when he went up against Gaara
"Which I wish you good luck against. Because all of her jinchuuriki thus far have been unstable insomniacs who she takes delight in driving insane through lack of sleep. Not to mention she's more than likely passed on her insanity and delirium to her current host, so I'd watch yourself around whoever they are." Kurama informed him of the fact that Shukaku's hosts on top of being an insomniac would more than likely be driven insane and suffer from violent bouts of delirium
"Luckily enough I'm good enough to either fight against them in close combat or if worst comes to worst then they can go through me and my hordes of undead." Gohan spoke in feeling confident in his ability to go against Gaara or whatever the Game would deem to be Gaara
"Besides, I'm pretty sure that even without your power I'd stand a fairy high chance of crushing Shukaku's host." Gohan added in knowing that with or without Kurama's power that his chances stood at a pretty high level
"Be that as it may, I will be more than willing to lend you my power once you go up against her and her jinchuuriki. Because I have a reputation as the strongest of the 9 and as such I refuse to let my little sister beat me, so when you get the chance Gohan I want you to make sure to crush them into the dirt." Kurama told him as they wanted their little sister to be thoroughly reminded of their place in the pecking order beneath them
"Don't worry if they should try anything against me, then I'll make sure to let them know how much inferior they are compared to me. Because I am a soon to be fuck mothering lord of undeath and as such, they're gonna recognize exactly who the hell I am." Gohan responded as he would crush Gaara one way or the other if he had his way about it
For Gohan wasn't exactly prideful, yet, even so, he refused to be seen as anyone's inferior, if only for the fact that he worked too damn hard for the power of undeath and the martial might he commanded to be seen as anyone's lesser. Therefore if anyone dared to challenge the fact that he was inferior to them, then he'd do the obvious and most logical possible and proceed to tear them apart in all the ways he knew possible until they were rendered a broken mess of shattered bones and eviscerated flesh.
"That's the spirit Gohan. Because you'll definitely need it once you go up against Shukaku's jinchuuriki, word of advice to you once you do face off against them. Be careful of fighting them, since that sand that Shukaku wields will be their greatest sword and shield. So good luck getting around it." Kurama said as he knew that the manipulation of sand that Shukaku and by proxy Gaara would be able to command would be a defense and offense that Gohan would have his hands full with
"Don't worry about it, as I already have plans on how to counter it. If all goes accordingly then the jinchuuriki of your little sister won't see what's coming." Gohan replied in having already thought up ways in which to counter Gaara's automatic defense
"Nevertheless, the moment you face off against Shukaku I want you to use my power to pound that manic little shit into submission. Because it is high time that she be reminded that even sealed I'm still better than her." Kurama said with pride in their voice over their clearly superior amount of power versus that of Shukaku's own
"Trust me I will. Anyways, I'm gonna go for now. Because I'm gonna try and get some late night training in while I still can." Gohan told the kitsune
"Alright then. Goodnight Gohan and good luck against my little shit of sister." Kurama spoke before Gohan soon came back into reality
"Well at least I have a few hours to myself to do some training with my Deadhand style. Because the moment I get to face off against Kiba or Neji with this..they won't know what hit them." Gohan said to himself as he soon began going over the repetitions of the Deadhand style in anticipation of when he'd fight against anyone in the Chunin Exams
Meanwhile within the ROOT HQ where Kushina was being kept the Uzumaki matriarch's heart rate monitor began to beep rapidly as her chakra soon began to surge and swell, her fingers soon twitching before slowly but sure curling tightly into a fist. With her soon shaking as though she were having a night terror as her heart rate monitor sped up and soon enough she sat bolt right in her hospital bed, her eyes looking around at her new surroundings which puzzled her immensely as one moment she was taking care of her baby boy and the next ANBU abducted and drugged her.
With her looking to see a suit of armor, a longsword and shield with said shield having her clan symbol on it that when she got up to go see her legs nearly gave out from under her from nearly 2 decades of atrophy. Yet through sheer willpower she kept herself straight and went over towards the sword and shield which had a note attached to the shield stating that it was a gift from her son and going on about how he was sorry in advance for not being able to make her anymore suitable gifts...which further begged the question of how long she'd been out for.
Nevertheless, she strapped the shield to her right arm and picked up the longsword with her left as she hobbled wearily out of the room a frantic and nervous mess of a woman, her bloodshot eyes looking to see where the hallways ended. With this continuing on until she soon found herself face to face with none other than Danzo Shimura himself who was flanked by a few of his ROOT operatives, his expression impassive while he looked upon her with his lone eye.
"Hello Kushina, its about time you've woken up. Although I didn't expect you to wake up for another 2 weeks or maybe more, but I won't argue." Danzo said matter of factly
"What the hell is going on here, where's Gohan, why have I been knocked out for so long?!" Kushina questioned frantically as to what's gone on as she had her sword and shield out at the ready in case things went south
"You've been gone for a long time Kushina...17 years to be precise." Danzo told the Uzumaki matriarch whose face went from frantic to absolute shock
"N-No that can't be right...it can't have been that long..." Kushina spoke as she felt her heart sink into her stomach like a stone upon hearing that
"I'm afraid it has been that long, as a lot has changed since you've been away. Especially concerning Gohan." Danzo told her with a voice that held no attempts at deception or lies within it
"I-Is Gohan ok..please..please let him be ok?" Kushina asked in hoping her only son had done alright
"I won't lie to you in saying his childhood was a stellar one, but he has so far been one of our strongest up and coming shinobi. In fact he's proven himself to have become something of an example of what is means to be a shinobi for the village." Danzo answered back in having held the necromancer in high esteem amongst the new generation of shinobi with Kushina calming down upon hearing such news about her son
"Really?" Kushina questioned her voice having calmed
"Yes and if you calm yourself down, I can catch you up to speed on what you've missed on the last 17 years concerning not only your son. But the village itself, since there's been so much that must be caught up on. After that and you getting cleaned up, I'll arrange for you and Gohan to meet with each other with no distractions." Danzo told her considering that after she was caught up to speed and was cleaned up, he'd arrange for her and Gohan to be alone with one another
"Do you really mean that?" Kushina questioned her voice almost pleading upon hearing that
"Of course I do. After all, I have no reason to lie to you. Now then come with me and I'll get you up to speed on things and have you cleaned up, seeing as how after almost 20 years you don't exactly smell like roses." Danzo answered back as Kushina soon had a hopeful smile
"...Alright I'll come with you, anything to see my son again." Kushina wearily spoke in just wanting to see her son again
"Good. Now then come with me and we'll get you cleaned up and have fresh clothes in front of you within the hour." Danzo told her as she wearily and sluggishly came towards and then followed Danzo
'Well, Gohan I hope your ready because soon enough you'll be getting what you wanted and our plans for a new Konoha will be coming to fruition soon enough.' Danzo thought to himself as he internally grinned at the fact that soon his and Gohan's plans for a new Konoha would soon be coming into motion
So then with Gohan having told Anko the truth of things and now Kushina awakening from her nearly 20 years-long coma, things are now coming into play as things are now beginning to wind up for his plans of a new Konoha. Find out how it shall all come to fruition in the new chapters of A Necromancer's Path to Power.
Now then onto the reviews from the last chapter.
L.B.N: Happy you liked the last chapter and additionally happy you enjoy the story overall.
Blazing heart Frigid Soul: Glad you liked the chapter.
Inritus: Well while you've brought up an interesting point I more or less have Gohan lean into his Warrior class more since I want to get him ready for both when he won't be able to use his magic and all he's got is own physical might and because I wanted show off more of what he's capable of as a martial combatant for a bit. But he will be making more use of his Necromancy during and after the invasion considering that's when things will really start popping off in the story. Also I'm a sucker for heavy armor and 2 handed weapons since their pretty dope in my opinion and something I favor more than the traditional necromancer robes.
FlameofDecay21: No it isn't since that's more or less what I'm aiming for down the line.
John50: Also glad you like Sasuke's character development since its something he rarely ever gets in other stories and something I felt he needs since there's a lot of potential things you can do with him that people don't take advantage of. On the subject of other worlds that Gohan will be traveling to, the next world he'll be traveling to after Part 1 is over with is Game of Thrones.
frankieu: Glad you like the last chapter and hope you enjoy this one
TheOnlyKing: You're welcome man and also I haven't officially decided to have him decide to sign the Toad Contract, I'm just considering it is all since I thought its something that would be dope. Also while I'm all down for the Salamander Contract the thing is that it would be pretty tough to get ahold of considering that outside of him getting a Gatcha the chances of him going for it would rough considering that its more than likely in Rain Country. A place where Gohan's not ready to go near just yet.
Rydrian Gunn the Journeyman: Glad you like the story thus far and as for Kurenai and Hinata understand that they're minds are gonna more than likely get melted and sundered by Yakumo considering that Gohan's leaving their fates to our illusionist, so whatever happens to them is all dependant on what Yakumo wants to do to them.
Piddle: Yeah Brutal Legends as it turns out is pretty dope.
Silber D. Wolf: Nice that you thought the last chapter was great and hope you think the current one is the same.
MasterofDragonsGod: Thank you for liking the last chapter in how it turned out and hope you like this one.
CuriousGuest: Yeah Fuu will soon be coming to Konoha and on the side of Gohan after the invasion is all said and done with. Also glad you like Sasuke and Yakumo bonding together since its something that I don't get why other authors haven't done so considering that if they took the time to do so, then they'd see that both of them can bond and be together and help each other grow from their trauma. Also yeah Kakashi helping our trio out is something that I like doing considering that it would make sense as while he helps them grow in their respective skills so do they in motivating him to get better and get to and surpass his prime. Also neither can I concerning Demonology and Necromancy mixing together.
Joshl: Not gonna lie the idea and appearance of Rias's stand sure pretty cool. Yeah and I agree that going to Ame at the level he is now would be suicide considering that the Akatsuki are right there. Not to mention that I agree that the Toads while being offput by how Gohan would go about wanting to obtain order over things would understand where he's coming from. Since he works with Danzo not as his puppet to clarify things. Also I do agree that the Sannin especially Tsunade look more like Yakuza bosses than hippies if anything. On DXD yeah I will cover some of the specials since I will have to work out how they fit into the timeline once Gohan gets there. On the subject of Ichigo I'm completely fine with him since unlike Issei he's not a total dipshit and the fact that he's like that because of his failure to protect and seeks to get genuinely stronger makes him one of my favorite protagonists. Also Gohan would try and do so and get him to embrace his hollow side as well since I'm not the only one who thinks it's super cool. Also I'm down for his possible pairings since they'd be right up my alley.
Loonogzhu1: Hey I get it and that's another thing for the new year I'll try to work on since I hope to make some improvements by 2020. But still thanks for giving the story a chance.
clatonfromMoga: Nope I haven't since it just feels to surreal to me. Also glad you finally get the rage vomiting thing.
10 (Chapter 1-19) Glad you love the story so far since I agree with the fact that it's hard to find ones that aren't the same cookie cutter stories of Naruto not really affecting much with his powers. Don't worry I have plans for Ino and I will get to Ryuzetsu if possible. Concerning Neji when Gohan gets ahold of him..yeah he's gonna get super fucked up. Also Gohan will be getting an advanced class after he finishes his Warrior class with the Juggernaut class being what I have planned since I want to make Gohan be able Gohan withstand a lot of punishment with what he has to face. Don't worry Gohan will be getting his own bloodline soon enough, it'll just be awhile is all. Hey you'll have to wait until we hit the Kiri Civil War to find out if Haku is a trap or not. Also I agree with you on the fact that Mei is the sexiest of all redheads. And possibly with Gohan getting his own construct and eventually he will find a racial class beyond Lich since I get the downsides of it concerning his sex life. Also Kurenai down the line is gonna get fucked up you can be assured of that as I've got plans for her besides Yakumo mind breaking her. Furthermore Gohan will be losing his virginity within a few chapters so keep your heads up for that. And don't really know when I'll do that but I'll eventually get to it. And I will eventually add more Anko and Tenten time, I just have to work on all the other moving parts in the story before I can get to them
And cut as I hoped y'all enjoyed this chapter and all that it entailed, but without further delay, let's get down to it now shall we.
First up we've got Gohan and Sasuke's mini excursion into the 1st actual layer of the Demon Dungeon which I hoped y'all liked since I based it off of Avernus from 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons.
Following that up, we've got a bit between Danzo and Gohan on Kushina which I liked doing on the fact that it gave a bit of development on Gohan's part and the developing for what I've got planned for Kushina when she takes power as Hokage.
Next up is Gohan telling Anko the truth and her getting included in his being a Gamer, which I liked doing for the fact that when you think about it Anko would more or less be enthusiastic about Gohan's life being a video game. Not to mention that with how things have been for her she'd have no real reason not to keep his secret.
Lastly we've got the part between Gohan and Kurama discussing Shukaku who yes is a girl considering that with the whole mother schtick that goes on I figured I might as well say fuck it and have Shukaku be a girl but with my spin on it. Also if you stuck to read to the end of the chapter Kushina has finally awoken and oh boy does she have some catching up to do.
That being said please favorite, follow, review and share this story as much as possible; because I'd like to see how far this story can be taken and become something pretty dope in the long run. Also please remember that flames won't be tolerated since they're merely a waste of everyone's time, and the fact that I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you do it in a well thought out and respectable manner.
With all that out of the way this Pravus666 signing out until next time, with the next chapter being Gohan reunited with Kushina among other things. So be sure to stay tuned for that.
Part 1 Theme Song: A New Game by Mudvayne
Random End Song: All Secrets Known by Alice in Chains