Hey,
So about the time skip thing. Here it is.
Starting from the moment Kirito entered the Underworld, no time has passed in the Elemental Nations.
The difference in time progression was too huge, so you can probably say a second in the Elemental Nations would equal a year in the Underworld. But the time progression gradually equalizes as Kirito in the Underworld grows up.
To keep it simple, at the point Quinella announced the opening of the portal, it is the same as when Yui felt it. But time in the Underworld is faster by a small bit.
The point where Obito appears in the Underworld is when the Underworld and Elemental Nations have equal time progression, and is when Yui told Tsunade about the portal. (In which that its evening in both worlds.)
So from there on, the time progression of the Underworld and the Elemental Nations will be the same.
And I'm really surprised no one asked about the black goo that latched onto Vassago. But eh, whatever... It'll be revealed anyways soon.
Anyways, Firegamerftw, thank you, really appreciate it. Glad to see you enjoy the story, but well, I can promise you, if things go smoothly for me, a chapter is guaranteed within a month.
To Guest, yes, that will come, but that has to depend on the way I'll bring the story, because everything here will be escalating to some extent.
To Redragon0911, here you have it. As I have said above, the chapters will usually be released once a month, sometimes earlier if I can manage. If some shit comes up for me, then maybe later. But usually within a month.
To Saifani Tri, yeap, I wanted to try twisting things up a bit. Well, who knows, its pretty much in this chapter ahahaha.
To Misaka Phenex, sorry, a week is a bit too short for me to complete the chapter. I usually start writing a new chapter a day or two after I release a new chapter. But considering the current COVID-19 situation, we might get new updates more frequently... that is, if my workload from online classes are better...AhAHAHA
To NeonGamer973, well, we're all facing similar situations, for better or for worse. Good to know you can work on your stories more, good luck with them.
So yeah, that's pretty much it. Enjoy the new chapter guys.
XXX
The next day, Kirito, Eugeo, Alice, Gawain and Lancelot were gathered at the landing/launching platform.
As they all mounted their respective dragons, Lancelot asked, "So, what do you think will happen there?"
Gawain glanced at his friend, "No idea, it's been centuries since we last saw that place after all."
Alice blinked, "You've been there?"
Gawain nodded, looking at the girl, "Yeah, back before Lord Kazuto fought Vector. I don't know if you remember, Kirito, but you've been there plenty of times, as your previous incarnation, of course."
Kirito nodded, "Sorry, I still don't know anything from that life."
Lancelot nodded, "It's alright, you'll remember soon enough."
Eugeo then asked, "So, what was it like back then?"
Lancelot glanced at Gawain, who motioned for him to answer, and the purple haired man nodded, "Peaceful, for one. The people there weren't as skilled with the sacred arts as we are, and they lacked the need to fight."
Lancelot paused before he continued, "But well, remember the Rikudo Sennin Obito told us about?"
The three younger knights nodded, and Lancelot continued, "At some point, that sage started to spread the usage of mana, or chakra, as they called it. And they began using it for war."
Alice frowned, "So they used mana for war?"
Gawain nodded, "Yeah, so I'm not sure what exactly happened, but at some point, Vector and Lord Kazuto had a fight about it, and we went to war."
Lancelot nodded, "And after that, the path to the Elemental Nations was sealed. But for some reason, there were portals linking us to the Nations here and there."
Kirito nodded, "And Bercouli-sensei met this... Kayaba Akihiko."
Gawain nodded, smiling softly, "We all did, actually. But he stayed in a small village outside of Centoria, and the commander just decided to train him on a whim."
Eugeo nodded, "I see..."
Kirito nodded, before he spoke, "Okay, let's not waste any more time."
The four other knights nodded in agreement, and they launched into the sky for the altar.
(linebreak-Konoha)
At the same time, Hikari, Suguha, Asuna, Sinon, Kakashi, Yugao, Sakura, Sasuke and Jiraiya were at the gates.
Jiraiya looked at the two teams, "Alright, we'll be heading for the island, where the portal to the Underworld will be."
He looked at Yui, who was in her pixie form on Asuna's shoulder, "Umm, Yui, can you explain more about that?"
Yui beamed and flew to beside Jiraiya, "Okay, the portal is an altar, called the World's End Altar. There is one here and three in the Underworld. So we can go to any of the three entrances in the Underworld. But how it actually works, I'm not too sure."
Kakashi nodded, "Then what about the Underworld as a whole?"
Yui frowned, "I couldn't find much about the Underworld. But I can tell you a bit of their society."
Yugao nodded, "Please."
The pixie started, "The Underworld comprises of two parts. The Human Empire, and the Dark Territory. We'll start with the Human Empire. It is made up of four parts, with a central shared capital, Centoria."
Yui paused a while, before continuing, "In the center of Centoria is a cathedral, and that's where their strongest military force, the Integrity Knights, usually are."
Sasuke hmm'd, "Integrity Knights..."
Yui nodded, "If we were to put it in our terms, one Integrity Knight would be a low or mid level Kage ninja."
Yugao frowned, "And how many of them are there?"
Yui closed her eyes, "As I have found from Kayaba Akihiko's notes, there should be at least 25 knights, but we don't know if their numbers have increased."
Kakashi narrowed his eye, "So 25 kage level knights, and there might be more."
Jiraiya patted the cyclops' shoulder, "Don't worry about it too much, we're not sure if they're the enemy yet."
Kakashi glanced at the sage, and nodded, "True."
Jiraiya then glanced at his goddaughter, "By the way, Hikari, we'll be using your Hiraishin to cover the distance within the day, and Yui will tell you the general direction for each jump, okay?"
The blonde nodded, "No problem, the faster we get there, the better."
Yui, in her pixie form, sat down on Hikari's shoulder, earning a soft smile from the blonde.
Jiraiya nodded, before he looked at everyone, "Alright, Team Kakashi, Team Yugao, we're heading out."
In the blink of an eye, the nine shinobi, plus one pixie, vanished with a yellow flash.
(linebreak- A short moment later in the Underworld)
Kirito, Eugeo, Alice, Gawain and Lancelot were at the World End's Altar where they met Obito.
Standing before the altar, Kirito touched one of the marble pillars, "How do we activate this thing?"
The black knight glanced at his fellow knights. Eugeo and Alice shrugged, not knowing the answer.
Gawain shared a look with Lancelot, and the purple knight gestured for him to do it.
The knight of the sun sighed and nodded, walking to the altar, "If memory serves me correctly, it should work... Like this."
The blonde pushed a small pulse of mana through the pillar, causing it to glow, before a portal formed at the center of the altar.
Gawain glanced at his fellow knights, "Alright, let's go."
The four knights nodded, and they all went through the portal.
(linebreak- Unnamed Island)
As soon as the five knights stepped through the portal, they were met with the sight similar to that of where they previously were.
Kirito looked around, "So, this is the Elemental Nations..."
Lancelot walked off the altar, looking around, "Hmm, yep, its the same as I remember."
Eugeo glanced at the older knight, "Lancelot, you've been here before?"
Lancelot nodded, "Yeah, actually most of us who knew Lord Kazuto has been here before."
Alice nodded, "I see, then, what should we do now?"
Kirito let out a breath, "Let's find the closest town first, we need to find out if what Uchiha Obito said is true."
Gawain chuckled, "Well, first we need to get to the mainland first then."
Alice blinked, "Mainland?"
Lancelot nodded, "Yeah, this is a separate island, so we'll need to cross the sea to get there."
Kirito nodded, "Then we'll have to get our dragons."
The four knights nodded, and they quickly headed back into the portal to call for their dragons.
(linebreak - short moment later)
The five knights were soon on the mainland.
Kirito looked around, "So, we've made it to the mainland, but where are we?"
Lancelot walked to the front, looking around, "If I'm right, we should be in Cha no Kuni (Tea Country). Well, I might be wrong, so we'll have to find the closest town."
Gawain then looked at a direction into the trees, "No, I don't think we'll need to."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the five knights were blinded by a bright yellow flash.
Kirito groaned, "What the-"
His vision quickly cleared, and he was met with the sight of nine very familiar people.
"Papa!"
Before he could react however, something, or rather someone, crashed into him, which also sent the other four knights into alert, followed by confusion, as they saw a young girl hugging Kirito.
Kirito blinked, feeling nostalgic for some reason, "W-what?"
The girl hugged him tighter, "I finally found you, Papa!"
The knight blinked, "P-PAPA?!"
The four other knights were dumbfounded, before Alice asked, "Kirito, when did you become a father?"
Before he could answer however, one of the girls in front of him spoke, "K-kirito-kun?"
Kirito looked at them, and he immediately recognised them from his dreams and visions.
He didn't know who they were, but one thing he was sure now, they weren't the enemy. But he still wanted to know who they were.
The reincarnated god looked at the 9 of them, "Who are you?"
That question had shocked the nine ninja, moreso the four girls.
Hikari stepped forward, "Kirito-kun, it's us."
Kirito furrowed his brows, "I'm sorry, but... I don't know you."
Hikari blinked, "Eh?"
Yui let go of Kirito and frowned, "You... don't remember?"
Kirito shook his head, "Sorry, I don't know who you are."
But before he could go on further however, he felt a pulse in his chest.
(Linebreak - inside Kirito's soul)
In their shared soul scape, Kazuto felt the pulse coming from deep within their soul.
The god's eyes snapped open, immediately knowing what was happening.
But he was too late, as he felt the second pulse. The god cursed, "Ah fuck."
And everything went black.
(linebreak-real world)
Immediately after he felt the second pulse from his chest, Kirito fell to the ground, holding his head in pain, "Argh!"
Then, he just slumped to the ground, unconscious.
That set off various reactions.
Alice and Eugeo immediately went to look at him, while Gawain and Lancelot stood guard, wary of the shinobi in front of them.
The men of the shinobi group were obviously worried, but wary of the knights, same for Sakura and Yugao.
The four other females however, were worried sick, and tried to move to check over him.
However, Lancelot stood in front of them, "Stay where you are."
Hikari growled, "Like hell I will!"
Asuna, Suguha and Sinon shared similar sentiments.
Gawain recognized their hostile tones, and quickly readied to draw his sword, same with Lancelot.
The former White Knight of the Round Table glanced at Alice, "Alice, how's Kirito?"
Alice glanced up at the man, "Just unconscious, he's fine, as far as I can see."
Gawain nodded, "I see."
Before he could continue, Asuna cut in, "Let us look at him, we have a medic with us."
Alice wanted to protest, but Eugeo shot her a look, "Alice, I understand how you feel, but we'll need to make sure Kirito's fine first."
The blonde girl stared at the blonde man, and she reluctantly nodded.
Eugeo then looked at Gawain and Lancelot, "Gawain, Lancelot, I think its better if we let them look at Kirito first, we're a long way from our base, right?"
The two older knights shared a glance, before they nodded slowly, and Gawain looked at the Konoha shinobi, "Very well, but we'll need answers."
Jiraiya nodded, "Of course."
Without another warning, all of them were blinded by a yellow flash.
Before they knew it, all of them were in front of a hospital within Konohagakure.
Eugeo blinked, "W-what just happened?"
Hikari replied, "Hiraishin, now move, we need to get Kirito-kun inside."
Before Eugeo could reply, the four girls, along with Yui, had picked up the black knight and brought him into the hospital, followed by Alice, who didn't look very happy.
The blonde knight blinked, looking at his senior knights, "Umm, is it okay to let them go like that?"
Gawain sighed, "I guess it should be fine. Alice is with them, so I doubt anything bad will happen."
Lancelot nodded, still rather shocked about what had happened, "Yeah, besides, I don't think they're faking it, they seem genuinely worried about him."
"Of course, they pretty much lost him a few months ago."
The knights turned to see Sasuke, along with Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sakura and Yugao.
Jiraiya looked over the knights, taking in their overall appearance.
Eugeo stared at the Uchiha, "What do you mean... Lost him?"
Kakashi replied, "Long story, but, Kirito saved them, and he vanished. Now that he's back, you can't blame them for acting like that."
The three knights shared a confused look, before Lancelot asked, "What do you mean? I don't think Kirito has ever been to the Elemental Nations. Are you sure he isn't a person with the same name?"
Jiraiya shook his head, "Impossible, Hikari is a sensor, and I'm one to some extent. Kirito's chakra is exactly the same."
Gawain looked into the hospital, "I see..."
Everyone stayed silent, before Kakashi asked, "So, we can assume you're all from the Underworld, right?"
Gawain glanced at Lancelot and Eugeo, both of whom nodded to the knight of the sun, as Lancelot sucked at diplomatic stuff, and Eugeo was way inexperienced compared to the older knight.
The blonde looked at the ninja carefully, before he answered, "Yes, and we've been told of your plans to gather the Bijuu, that's why we came here to scout out for information, before... well, Kirito happened."
Yugao raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean we're gathering the Bijuu? Who told you that?"
Gawain glanced at his fellow knights, who both just shrugged, and he decided to test his luck, "A man named Uchiha Obito, he told us you're planning to dominate the world using the Juubi."
Kakashi's eye widened, and so did Sasuke's. The copy ninja immediately stepped up to Gawain, "Did you say Uchiha Obito?!"
The knight was slightly taken aback by the masked ninja, before he nodded, "Yeah, he wore a white mask, why?"
"Because Uchiha Obito had been MIA, or rather, presumed dead since his body wasn't found."
The answer came from Sasuke, before the youngest Uchiha frowned, "And if he wore a mask, then that pretty much confirms it."
Sasuke looked at Kakashi, "Obito is Tobi."
Lancelot blinked, "I'm sorry, I don't follow you."
Kakashi glanced at the purple knight and nodded, "Tobi is the one of the leaders of the Akatsuki. He was the one who started collecting the Bijuu in the first place."
Jiraiya nodded, "Yep, and we're trying to protect the Bijuu so that he can't revive the Juubi."
Gawain furrowed his brows, "But he told us, that you're the ones trying to revive the Bijuu."
Jiraiya chuckled, "If we were, then why would Hikari, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna have four of the Bijuu willing sealed in them? The Bijuu themselves do not want to revive the Juubi."
Gawain blinked, glancing at Lancelot, who closed his eyes for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, it's true, I can sense the Bijuu's mana within the building, and they seem pretty calm."
Gawain nodded, "I see... If that's the case, we'll have to tell our superiors about this."
Jiraiya nodded, "Of course, but before that, would you mind following me to see our Hokage?"
The knight glanced at his teammates, and the two nodded, before Gawain looked at the sage, "Very well."
Jiraiya nodded, "Thank you, let's go. And don't worry, Kirito is in good hands."
Gawain merely nodded, knowing Alice alone would be enough to keep Kirito safe, well, not that she needed to.
(linebreak-meanwhile in the hospital)
The girls had gotten Shizune to look over Kirito, and the medic, while shocked to see the man, quickly did a quick scan on the knight, before putting him in a ward after finding nothing wrong with his body.
The medic had also took off most of Kirito's armor and equipment, which Alice made sure to keep his sword, while his armor was put at the side of the room.
Now, Hikari, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Alice were in Kirito's room beside his bed.
Shizune took a record of the unconscious knight's vitals again, before she looked at the girls in the room, "Alright, I'll go check if we have any previous records that can help him. But for now, all we can do is just let him be as it is."
The girls all nodded gratefully to the medic, before the woman left the room.
Alice looked at Kirito, before she glanced at the four girls, "So, who are you? You all seemed like you knew Kirito."
Sinon looked at the blonde, "We're his girlfriends."
Alice blinked, she blinked again, "What?"
The four girls nodded, and Asuna said, "Well, we just agreed to share him, so..."
Alice blinked again, before she narrowed her eyes, "You're lying. Kirito's never been here, and Eugeo would tell us if Kirito had four girlfriends in another world."
Hikari stared at the blonde knight, "And how would you know?"
Alice stared at the blonde ninja, "Because I knew him since we were kids. We lived in the same village."
Hikari huffed, "Coincidence, we lived with him in the same orphanage and the same apartment since we were kids."
The Integrity Knight frowned, "Kirito lived with Eugeo his whole life, there's no way the four of you lived with them."
The two blondes continued to argue, while the other three girls stared at them.
Sinon glanced at her sisters, "We're gonna get a new sister at this point."
Suguha stared at the brunette incredulously, "From what I'm seeing, I'm more worried they'll tear the place down."
Asuna smiled softly, before her eyes landed on Kirito, "I don't think she's lying, so how did she know Kirito-kun as a child?"
The answer came from Yui, who landed between the two blondes, "Okay, stop!"
Alice and Hikari were both slightly taken aback by the girl's sudden appearance.
The Kyubi Jinchurikii asked, "Yui-chan? Where did you go?"
Yui glanced at her, "I was going through Kayaba Akihiko's data within me, and I think I know the reason Papa's like this."
Alice blinked, "P-papa?"
Yui glanced at the knight with a proud smile, "Yep! I'm Papa's daughter, Yui!"
The knight just nodded, "O-okay..."
The pseudo Bijuu nodded, "Anyways, you remember how Papa vanished?"
The four kunoichi nodded, while Alice looked confused, "I'm sorry, I don't follow."
Yui glanced at the knight, "It's something for another time. But long story short, Papa fought someone and that someone opened a portal to the Underworld."
Asuna nodded, "Okay, but why doesn't Kirito-kun remember us?"
Yui looked at her mother, "Because somehow, the journey to the Underworld reversed Papa's clock, and he grew up in the Underworld, possibly along with...umm, sorry, what's your name?"
The girl looked at Alice at the last part, and Alice blinked, before replying, "Alice."
Yui beamed, "Thank you. So, Papa grew up with Alice and the other people back at your world. So he lived another life, I suppose the phrase would be."
The four kunoichi frowned, and Suguha asked, "So... Kirito-kun won't remember us?"
Yui shook her head, "I'm... not sure, there is a chance Papa might remember us, but at this point, I'm more worried why Papa fell unconscious. There wasn't anything in Kayaba's notes."
The five girls nodded, and Alice asked, "So, Kirito previously lived here, but got sent to our world and grew up with us?"
Yui nodded, "That's most likely the case."
Alice nodded, "I see... As ridiculous as it sounds, that does make sense to why you all know Kirito... "
Suguha nodded, "Yeah, but what's important is that he's back now."
The four kunoichi nodded in agreement, before they fell into a short silence.
Sinon then spoke up, "I think we should let Kirito-kun rest."
The other kunoichi nodded, before Asuna looked at Alice, "Hey, Alice, was it? Do you mind if you tell us about Kirito in your world?"
Alice looked at them. So far, aside from Hikari arguing with her, they seemed civil, or at least, too worried for Kirito to bother with her.
She was also sure they genuinely cared for Kirito, regardless if their relationship with him was fake or not.
The knight nodded, smiling softly, "Of course, but only if you tell me about him in your home."
The chestnut haired girl smiled something mirrored by the other girls, "Deal."
(linebreak- Ichiraku Ramen)
The six girls sat at the bar, waiting for their ramen as Teuchi and Ayame cooked away.
Asuna looked at the Integrity Knight, "So, Alice-san, can you tell us about Kirito-kun when he was in the Underworld?"
The blonde knight considered if she should reveal his status as a reincarnated god, but remembering the worried faces of the four kunoichi, she held off from it.
Instead, she recalled the times when they were kids, and she smiled, "When we were kids, Kirito and Eugeo were given the calling to chop down the Gigas Cedar, but well, they'd always slack off and nap beneath the tree."
The four kunoichi smiled, and Suguha commented, "Napping during a job, sounds like Kirito-kun alright."
Sinon nodded, "Yeah, but this Eugeo, is he that blonde guy in light blue armor?"
Alice nodded, "Yep, they're basically brothers, at this point."
Asuna smiled, "I see..."
The five girls then continued talking about random things, mostly about Kirito.
(linebreak-meanwhile)
In the Hokage's office Gawain had just finished relaying the information he received to the Hokage.
Tsunade stayed silent for a while, before she spoke, "I see... So, Uchiha Obito is alive, and he told you that we're gathering the Bijuu to revive the Juubi."
Gawain nodded, "Yes, but if you have the Bijuu sealed in the Jinchurikii as they are, then it wouldn't make sense if you were trying to revive the Juubi, they wouldn't allow it."
The Hokage nodded, "Yes, but that begs the question, how do you know of the Bijuu? To my knowledge, the Underworld has not have contact with our world in years."
Gawain nodded, "Yes, but we have had contact with the Elemental Nations before, and our superiors have knowledge of the Bijuu and their history."
Tsunade nodded, "I see."
Gawain looked at the Hokage, "We've told you what we know, and I sincerely hope we can come to an understanding. We don't want to fight your world."
Tsunade let out a breath, "I understand, in fact, a war is the last thing I want. However, I'll need to discuss this over with the other Kages, I'm sure you understand that this isn't something I can decide on my own."
Gawain nodded, "Of course."
Jiraiya then spoke up, "By the way, Gawain, would it possible if we got your leader to join the meeting?"
The White Knight looked at the sage, "I will have to ask, but I don't think it will be a problem."
Tsunade nodded, "I see, that'd be appreciated."
Gawain then felt Eugeo nudge him, and the older blonde knight looked at the younger blonde, "What's wrong?"
The blue rose knight asked, "What about Kirito?"
Gawain let out a breath, "We can carry him back to the Underworld and have Lady Quinella look over him, but at this point, I believe it would be better to let him rest."
Eugeo wanted to protest, "But-"
He was cut off as Gawain raised a palm, "We'll have Alice stay with him, and if you want to, you can stay too. We don't know what happened to him, and I don't want to risk anything."
The knight knew that Kirito, being Kazuto's reincarnation, wouldn't be so frail, but still, he didn't want to risk anything.
The younger blonde nodded slowly, "Fine..."
Gawain nodded, "Good."
He then turned back to the Hokage, "So if you don't mind, we'll be leaving to tell our leader about the meeting."
Tsunade nodded, "Of course, I'll have a messenger give you the details before you leave."
Gawain nodded, "That'd be appreciated."
The Hokage nodded, "Very well."
She then looked at Kakashi, "Kakashi, how about you show them around the village?"
Kakashi nodded, "Of course."
Gawain merely nodded, very much aware she was also sending the cyclops to keep an eye on them.
The copy ninja then beckoned the three knights to follow him, "Come on."
The three Integrity Knights followed the cyclops out of the office, leaving Tsunade, Sakura, Yugao, Sasuke and Jiraiya in the room.
Sakura looked at her master, "Tsunade-sama, is it okay to let Kakashi-sensei be with them alone?"
Sasuke commented, "Kakashi-sensei is strong, I don't think we have to worry."
Tsunade nodded, "That's true. But I doubt they would act aggressively at this point."
The pink haired medic just nodded. Yugao then looked at the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, is there anything else?"
Tsunade shook her head, "No, you can all go home. Get some rest."
The three ninja nodded and left the room, leaving Tsunade and Jiraiya in the office.
As soon as they left, Tsunade wrote several notes, before summoning four small slugs, "Send these to the four other Kages."
The four slugs nodded, taking the notes before they vanished in a small puff of smoke. As soon as they did, Tsunade brought out a bottle of sake and poured a cup for herself.
After she downed the cup, the woman poured another cup and offered it to Jiraiya.
The sage chuckled, "I'm good."
The Hokage raised an eyebrow at her long-time friend before downing the cup herself, "So, what do you think of those knights?"
Jiraiya's smile vanished, and he answered with one simple word, "Dangerous."
Tsunade nodded, "I see I'm not the only one then. Their chakra was leaking all over the place, and the way they held themselves, they're on guard, but they're confident they can handle anything."
The toad sage nodded, "Yeah, but I don't think we need to worry that much. If Kirito is with them, then its pretty much safe to say that they're not the enemy."
The Hokage nodded, before she stood up, "Yeah, and speaking of which, I should go check on that brat."
Jiraiya nodded, before he jumped out of the window, "Alright, I'll go do some research then."
The slug summoner sighed, not missing the perverse grin her old teammate had, before she left her office.
(linebreak-short moment later)
With Kakashi, Gawain, Eugeo and Lancelot, the four walked through the streets, garnering the attention of many civilians due to their armor.
As they walked, Kakashi spoke, "So, what do you think of our village?"
Eugeo answered, "Its... peaceful."
Lancelot nodded, "Yeah, its a nice place."
Gawain merely kept silent, taking in the sights around him.
Soon, they walked past the hot springs, and they spotted Jiraiya giggling perversely beside one of the walls.
Gawain raised an eyebrow at the white haired sage, and he called out, "Hey, Jiraiya, was it, what are you doing?"
The sage didn't respond, but Kakashi spoke up, "Ah, don't worry about that. Jiraiya-sama is doing some very important research. We can just leave him be."
Eugeo blinked, "Eh, really?"
The young blonde noticed the signs near the entrance of the hot springs, pretty much guessing the genders from the colours of the signs, "But, he seems like he's peeping..."
Kakashi just eye-smiled, "Its fine, let's leave him be and move on to the other areas of the village."
The three knights shared a glance with each other, before deciding to take the cyclop's word for it as they went around the village.
Soon, they arrived at Ichiraku's Ramen, and Eugeo noticed Alice with the other four girls laughing, "Hey, its Alice... and the other girls."
Lancelot blinked, "Huh, she's getting along with them better than I thought."
Gawain nodded in agreement, but chose not to comment more on the matter.
Kakashi looked at the three knights, "You guys wanna go in? We've pretty much walked around the village by now."
The White Knight looked at the masked ninja, "If you don't mind, I'd like to tell Alice about the meeting with your Hokage."
Kakashi just nodded, "Sure."
At that moment, an Anbu with an eagle mask appeared beside Kakashi via Shunshin, "Kakashi-senpai, we've received a reply from the other Kage. Hokage-sama told me to look for you to find the people from the Underworld."
Kakashi nodded, "I see."
The man gestured to the Integrity Knights, "These are the people from the Underworld."
The Anbu nodded, and faced the three Integrity Knights, "These are the details of the Kage Summit."
The Anbu passed Gawain a small scroll, and the Knight of the Sun unrolled it, reading the details, "Hmm, a meeting in three days at the Country of Iron, Tetsu no Kuni."
He rolled the scroll and nodded at the Anbu, "Thank you, I'll be sure to give this to our commander."
The Anbu nodded, before he vanished via Shunshin, something that surprised Eugeo, although Lancelot and Gawain seemed unfazed.
Gawain then looked at Kakashi, "Excuse me, but I suppose we'll be leaving after telling Alice about our plans."
Kakashi nodded, "No problem."
The knight nodded, before he headed into the stand, "Alice."
The blonde, along with the four kunoichi, turned to see the blonde man, "Gawain?"
The knight spoke, "We're done, so Lancelot and I will be heading back to tell the commander about what we found here."
Alice blinked, "What about Kirito?"
Gawain glanced at the four kunoichi at the table, before he looked at the blonde knight, "You and Eugeo will stay here, and look after him."
Alice nodded, "Fine."
The White Knight of the Underworld nodded, "We'll be heading back then, we'll come back for you once we get things sorted."
Alice nodded, "Got it."
Gawain nodded, before he turned and left with Lancelot, leaving Eugeo with the five girls.
The blonde man looked at them, "So, now what?"
Asuna let out a breath, "Well, since the two of you will be staying here, and considering how close you and Kirito-kun are, you might as well stay at our place for the time being."
Eugeo blinked, before he nodded, "Okayy..."
After a short moment, the six of them left the ramen stand, heading back to the hospital where Kirito was.
(linebreak)
With Gawain and Lancelot, the two knights flew back to the portal with their respective dragons.
Lancelot asked, "Hey, you sure its fine to leave the two of them there?"
Gawain nodded, "Alice and Eugeo are strong. Besides, considering how those four girls, along with the Hokage, care for Kirito, I'm sure they'll be fine. Regardless if our Kirito is the same as theirs or not."
The Knight of the Lake nodded, "I suppose that's true..."
Gawain nodded, "Yeah, and that's why I trust them to leave Kirito, Eugeo and Alice in the village."
Lancelot smirked slightly, "Who knew you'd think like that? I thought you were supposed to be the noble and honourable Knight of the Sun."
Gawain chuckled, "Hey, you remember I used to stand in for Artoria, right? You pick up some stuff after dealing with those disgusting nobles for so many years."
Lancelot just chuckled, shaking his head as they reached the altar.
The two knights quickly dismounted their dragons and passed through the portal, before quickly heading back to the cathedral.
(linebreak- earlier)
In the Underworld, Vector stood up from his throne, "Vassago."
Immediately, the right hand of the god appeared, "Yes, my lord."
The dark god let out a breath, "Get Shasta and one of his knights and meet me at the gates, we're going to meet my siblings."
Vassago hid a grin, "Yes sir."
Vector nodded, before the dark knight vanished in the blink of an eye. The god let out a breath, before he slowly walked out of the throne room.
Soon, the god reached the gated, and he spotted Shasta, Lipia and Vassago waiting for him.
Vector regarded the three knights, "Let's go."
The knights all nodded, and in the blink of an eye, the four of them vanished.
(linebreak- Central Cathedral)
Meanwhile, in the library, Cardinal's eyes widened slightly as she felt the dark god's presence closing in, and the aspect of wisdom quickly got up from her chair and headed for Quinella's room.
The short woman instantly appeared in front of her sister, and Quinella looked at her curiously, "What's wrong?"
Cardinal stared at the aspect of life, "Vector, he's coming."
Quinella blinked, before she stood up, "I see... Tell everyone to get ready, if things get bad, then we might have to fight."
Cardinal nodded, and she quickly headed downstairs to pass the message.
As for Quinella, the woman headed for the launching/landing platform.
As the woman waited there, Bercouli walked over to stand beside her, "So, after so many years, the dark god Vector decides to show up."
Quinella glanced at the first Integrity Knight, before she nodded, "It would seem so."
Soon, a shadow started to form on the ground, and four figures rose from the shadows, revealing Vector, Shasta, Lipia and Vassago.
By now, Cardinal had also joined Quinella and Bercouli, while Fanatio, Gilgamesh and Artoria stood behind her.
Quinella spoke, staring at her brother emotionlessly, "Vector."
The god of darkness regarded his sisters, "Quinella, Cardinal. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Cardinal stared at the god, "What do you want?"
Vector smiled wryly, "What? I can't visit my siblings after a few decades?"
Quinella just looked at him, "We know you wouldn't come here personally just to catch up."
Vector's smile dropped a bit, "I suppose you've got me there. Well, I suppose I'll get to the point then."
The god of darkness's smile vanished, and he looked at them knights and his sisters seriously, "I'm sure you know the path to the Elemental Nations is open now."
Quinella and Cardinal both nodded, and Vector continued, "And I'm sure you know I plan to finish what I started."
Bercouli stared at the god, "So, after fighting Lord Kazuto to a stalemate, you still plan to destroy the Elemental Nations?"
Vector glanced at the knight, "No, of course not. I suppose, what's done is done, and I cannot possibly wipe out half the population of the Earth."
The god looked at his sisters, "I only plan to destroy the remains of Otsutsuki Kaguya, nothing more, nothing less. I'm sure that would be fine, yes?"
Cardinal stared at the aspect of darkness, "What do you mean, by the remains of Otsutsuki Kaguya?"
Vector stared at her, "The five major ninja villages and the nine Bijuu. The civilians are innocent, and I'm not stupid, their mana levels are too low."
The god let out a breath, "No, the only ones I will purge of the world, will be the ninjas."
Cardinal let out a breath, "You know that means you will be going to war."
Vector nodded, "It is inevitable."
The god looked at the people standing in front of him, "And I hope you will join me, if not, at least don't stand in my way."
Gilgamesh huffed, "Hmph, as if we'll side with you against those mongrels."
Vector stared at the former King of Heroes, "I did not ask for you opinion, half blood."
The golden knight just smirked, "Well, at any rate, if K... Lord Kazuto has anything to say about it, then I can tell you the next time we all meet will be at the battle field."
Artoria elbowed the blonde man in the ribs, earning a wince from him.
Quinella sighed, before she spoke up, steel in her eyes, "Vector, I'll only tell you this. If you take things too far, we will be there to stop you."
Vector let out a breath, "I see, then I suppose there's nothing else to say."
The god of darkness turned, the shadows around him darkening, "The next time we meet, I hope it won't be on the battlefield."
With that said, Shasta, Lipia and Vassago, along with Vector, vanished from sight. As they did, no one noticed the small smirk on Vassago's face.
A short moment after the five left, Artoria glared at Gilgamesh, "Why did you say that, you idiot?!"
Gilgamesh huffed, summoning a glass of wine from his treasury, "Even if I didn't say anything, we'll still be going to war against him."
Bercouli sighed, "Yeah, well, Vector hasn't changed a bit."
The first knight looked at Quinella and Cardinal, "So, what do we do?"
The two goddesses shared a glance, before Cardinal sighed, "We'll wait for Kirito and the others to come back. But knowing that brother of ours, even as a reincarnation, he won't sit at a side."
The Integrity Knights nodded, before they spotted two dragons flying towards them, easily, recognising them to be Gawain and Lancelot.
Soon, the two dragons landed on the platform, and the two knights dismounted.
Gawain regarded his senior knights, before he nodded his head respectfully to Quinella and Cardinal, "Lady Quinella, Lady Cardinal."
Cardinal looked at the two knights, "Gawain, Lancelot, where are Kirito, Eugeo and Alice?"
Gawain raised his head, "Yes, about that."
The White Knight explained everything that happened, and Bercouli frowned, "Hmm, as I expected..."
The first knight looked at Gawain, "Hey, you said he fainted when he saw those four girls, right?"
Gawain nodded, "Yeah, well, five. One of them called him Papa."
An awkward moment of silence befell upon them, before Gilgamesh's laughter broke the silence.
The former king took a breath, "So, a girl called Kirito, papa?"
Gawain and Lancelot nodded, prompting the ancient king to laugh again.
Artoria blinked, "Umm, maybe they just mistook him for someone?"
Bercouli shook his head, "I doubt it. Kirito has told me of visions about four girls, I'd say it may have something to do with why he couldn't become complete with his body."
That got Quinella and Cardinal's attention.
The aspect of wisdom nodded, "If that's the case, that would explain why Kirito hasn't regained his memories. The missing part would be in the Elemental Nations."
Fanatio nodded, "Then we'd need to find out what's missing."
Quinella nodded, "Yeah, but before that, we'll have to deal with Vector and the Dark Territory."
The aspect of life looked at Gawain and Lancelot, "Gawain, Lancelot, the leaders of the five ninja villages are having a meeting, right?"
Gawain nodded, handing a scroll to the goddess, "Yes, the details are written here."
Quinella looked through it, before she nodded, "Good, Bercouli, I trust you can handle this?"
The first knight nodded, "Of course."
Quinella nodded, "I'll leave all the decisions in that meeting to you."
She looked at Gilgamesh and Artoria, "The details say to bring two escorts, so Gilgamesh, Artoria, I want you two to follow him to the meeting."
Artoria nodded, while Gilgamesh merely huffed, "A bit of an overkill, but sure."
Quinella nodded, "Good, the meeting is in three days, get ready."
The three knights nodded, before they turned and left to prepare.
Cardinal then looked at Gawain and Lancelot, "Gawain, Lancelot, can you two watch over Kirito, Eugeo and Alice?"
Lancelot nodded, "Of course."
Gawain nodded, "Sure."
The goddess nodded gratefully, before she shared a look with Quinella, and they both vanished to the library.
The two former knights of Wesdarath looked at each other, before heading back to their room for some well earned rest.
XXX
DONE. That wraps up the chapter.
Now, I was going to do the Kage summit in this chapter too, but then I realized it'd be too fuckin long.
But we'll just cover that in the next chapter.
So yeah, the next chapter will be the Kage Summit, and some other stuff. So look forward to it.
Until then. Stay safe, keeping your distance, review the chapter, wear masks and gloves. MOST IMPORTANTLY, WASH YOUR HANDS. XD
