IMPERIALS – THE POCKET-WORLDER
The Okarin-Aturia Border
"Do you have a plan moving forward?" Mitsuki asks.
"Isn't it obvious?" Hashirama asks.
"Are you going to look for a cure for the Hive Mind immediately?"
"Tsunade is always my priority, but t here may not be a cure and finding out won't be easy until the war is over."
"Are we attempting to re-join the rebellion. I don't know if Naruto has enough sway yet to re-admit us and I doubt any of his fellow rebels are willing to let us return. We have already caused too many problems for the rebellion; they cannot take anymore."
"I know, I have no intention of joining the rebellion."
"Then what?"
"I have become a class 9 'death' user. I have the perfect credentials to defeat an opponent above my level. If it is the fastest way to end the war I am going to kill Furst Jonas."
The Council Chambers, Dunstone, Ewoa
Naruto looks sorrowfully at Hinata. She approved his appointment as the King of Ewoa even though both souls now have a say over her actions. That means they will be apart for much of the time in the future. He doesn't understand why she would do that. Endou Hinata made it seem like she was feeling closer to Naruto than ever before, and Hyuuga Hinata seemed delighted to see him again. He thought they would be together until the end of his days, or at least until his progenitor understanding began to kick in.
"Now onto the next business, the formalisation of the marriage between King Uzumaki and Empress Endou," says Yuhan.
Naruto starts, "How did you know about that?"
"Acting in her capacity as the empress' most senior relative Yoshida Mana announced details of your Official Private Engagements to us the most senior officials representing the free people of Homeworld."
Naruto looks over to the grinning Mana who excitedly gives him a thumbs-up. She has been looking forward to this moment for a long time and he knows that she must have revelled in revealing as many details to the council as possible. He hopes that she left out the various difficulties he and Hinata have suffered through lately. Nevertheless he is delighted, it seems that Hinata's feelings for him have not diminished after all.
Hinata walks into the centre of the room where she stands opposite Naruto. She moves him slightly the side and whispers to him that they will now need to go through the motions of a ceremony. Naruto nods lightly and hopes to himself that he can get through this without offending any of the Homeworld natives.
"Who speaks on behalf of Endou Hinata in—"
"Endou-Hyuuga Hinata," Hinata says, interrupting Yuhan.
"My apologies empress. Who speaks on behalf of Endou-Hyuuga Hinata in relation to her marriage?"
Mana steps forward. "I speak for Endou-Hyuuga Hinata as her sister."
"And who speaks on behalf of Uzumaki Naruto in relation to his marriage."
Minato pushes Sasuke forward. The Uchiha clansmen looks back, checking whether it would be more appropriate for Minato or Kushina to speak on behalf of their son. Michel prompts Sasuke with a nod and he steps forward in the same manner Mana did.
"I speak for Uzumaki Naruto as his Shadow Hokage, and as his friend."
Yuhan gestures Mana and Sasuke to join Naruto and Hinata in the centre of the room. Sasuke closely watches what Mana does moving slightly slower than her in hope of copying her movements. Mana positions herself on the left side of Hinata, so he moves to position himself on the left side of Naruto. As Sasuke is walking to Naruto's left side Mana shakes her head at him before tilting it the other way. The Shadow Hokage awkwardly steps to Naruto's right side, standing directly opposite from Mana.
Mana begins her ceremonial question. "Uchiha Sasuke, will Uzumaki Naruto love and cherish Endou-Hyuuga Hinata from this day until his final day in accordance with his promises?"
"He will."
Sasuke hears Jun speaking with a communication stone. "You ask her the same question in reverse."
"Yoshida Mana," Sasuke begins. "Will Endou-Hyuuga Hinata love and cherish Uzumaki Naruto from this day until her final day in accordance with her promises?"
"She will."
Mana walks towards Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder and walking away with him. This is much to the Uchiha's relief who was becoming more uncomfortable with not knowing what to say. The two of them join the other friends and family members of Naruto and Hinata at the side of the council chamber, watching the proceedings.
Hinata raises her hand, holding it upright a foot in front of her face, she invites Naruto to do the same. The new king steps closer to her, raising his hand and touching it against hers.
"Repeat after me," Mana tells Naruto using a communication stone.
Naruto does just that. "I, Uzumaki Naruto promise that I will love and cherish you, I promise that I will protect everything that you hold dear from this day until my final day, and I swear this vow to you in front of my family and friends in my capacity as 7th Hokage, King of Ewoa, and as someone who loves you."
Hinata speaks. "I, Endou-Hyuuga Hinata promise that I will love and cherish you, I promise that I will protect everything that you hold dear from this day until my final day, and I swear this vow to you in front of my family and friends in my capacity as the Empress of Homeworld, a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, and as someone who loves you."
Yuhan lowers his head to them. "As the highest ranking non-participating official of the Free Peoples of Homeworld I recognise the vows you have spoken and congratulate on behalf of those people. Empress Hinata, King Naruto, congratulations."
As the members of the council, their friends, and their families clap, Endou-Hyuuga Hinata kisses Naruto for what feels like a first time. Naruto's time perception fails as him as he feels the warmth of Hinata rush over him. He opens his eyes momentarily just to look at her, his wife. This still feels imaginary to him. Since that day he thought that she had died she has always felt so far away but now she feels closer than ever before. Hinata's insecurities, both as Homeworlder and pocket-worlder vanish as she is with him and as their arms intertwine they are cut off from the difficulties of the ongoing struggle, trapped in the moment with one another.
When the applause has died down after several minutes, Yuhan continues with the final piece of council business.
"After information regarding this marriage was brought to us by Miss Yoshida, we were also reminded about what the role of empress entails. The empress or emperor is traditionally not only the leader of Homeworld, but also is King or Queen of Okarin. That person has always spent much of their time away from that homeland, helping the other nations, working to increase the prosperity of the empire. Okarin has never suffered without its king present, and we believe that if King Naruto were given the same mobility he would still serve this nation well.
"Tradition dictates that as Empress Hinata's partner he would hold the title of Emperor Consort in addition to his title as King of Ewoa. However, that is a purely ceremonious title and prior to this meeting the empress informed me that she did not believe such a role was enough given King Naruto's immense contributions to the rebellion and to Homeworld. She suggested that not only should he be given the same mobility as herself, but that his role should be the same as her own, a full emperor of Homeworld.
"Homeworld would be lead by Empress Endou-Hyuuga Hinata the Queen of Okarin, and Emperor Uzumaki Naruto the King of Ewoa.
"We will now vote on this."
Naruto understands now, Hinata never wanted them to separate. She knew that he would be selected as the King of Ewoa, but she wanted to remain with him. That is why she not only wants him to be the king of this realm, but also an equal emperor leading Homeworld by her side. The vote appears unanimous once again as the council chamber fills with one "aye" after another. The last member to vote is once again Council Leader Yuhan and he makes the vote unanimous by declaring a final "aye" for the joint imperials.
Ming Dai smiles and claps for his friends. He wonders how much his teacher Muto Sora knew when he first met Naruto and Hinata. He must have known back then that Hinata was the true Empress of Homeworld. He also had faith that Naruto would be the one to free Homeworld from Furst. Did he realise from the very start that they were destined to walk this path together, that they would one day stand where they are standing now?
"Glory to Okarin, Homeworld and the Returning Empress!" Yuhan says.
The others all bow and repeat the words. "Glory to Okarin, Homeworld and the Returning Empress!"
"Glory to Ewoa, Homeworld and the Pocket Emperor!"
The words are repeated. "Glory to Ewoa, Homeworld and the Pocket Emperor."
Hinata takes Naruto's hand and grips it firmly with her own. The war is drawing to a close now. Whatever they do from this point forward they swear that they are in this fight together. They will either lead Homeworld into a bright new future side-by-side or they will meet their end fighting against the Betraying Emperor Furst Jonas.
Tamade, Gavaria
Sarada and Clyde are waiting for word on the latest developments when Kakashi enters the room.
"It worked," the 6th Hokage declares. "Swen will be departing to Seblix shortly in line with his original plan."
"Then everything is in place," Clyde says.
Sarada nods. "Yes, we have everything that we need. When Swen leaves we will take Gavaria for the rebellion."
The Imperial Palace, Okarin
"My emperor," Safura begins.
"What is it?"
"I am surprised. It sounds like Ewoa has fallen into the hands of Uzumaki Naruto or his counter-aspect. The rebellion seems stronger than ever, maybe not strong enough to fight you, but they are still powerful. Sabine is the strongest of the royals, why are you not intervening personally? Aren't you worried that Uzumaki now poses a credible threat to yourself and the empire?"
"He does not have the power to kill me, reaching that level is mathematically impossible for him," Furst remarks. "But unlike the others I have considered Naruto a threat from the moment I learnt about him. While you have all tried and failed to defeat him conventionally, I have been working on other ways to counter that threat."
The doors to the throne room swing open and King Weiss Max enters in a rush. He immediately orders Safura to leave, something he does not have the authority to do. Safura looks to the emperor and waits two seconds before Furst himself orders Safura to leave the room. She bows her head to the emperor and leaves the throne room, shutting the doors behind her.
"I didn't think it was possible," Max admits.
"My suggestions worked, didn't they?"
"Yes my emperor. We did what you asked, gathered the chakra in a slightly different method and mode the optimisations you requested."
"And is the device ready for testing?"
"Yes, the prototype stage is complete."
"Your other failures have marked you as a great disappointment Max, but you have shown that you still have value as a Chief Scientific Advisor. Now that we have reached the prototype stage the war is as good as over. The rebellion, Uzumaki Naruto, Endou Hinata, none of them can stop me anymore."
The Council Chambers, Dunstone, Ewoa
Mana enthusiastically leads Hinata and Naruto's friends and family in congratulating the couple on their new imperial status. However, neither she nor the others fully understand the difficulty of the task that is still in front of them. Furst Jonas is never inactive, he is always becoming more powerful, either more mighty or more wise. The emperor they are pitting themselves against is more powerful than he has ever been.
The Betraying Emperor fights to become the foretold god.
The Crazy Queen fights to reclaim her stolen kingdom.
The Science King fights to retrieve his stolen experiment.
The Puppet Queen fights to impress her teacher.
The Lazy King fights to reunite with his son.
The Thinking Queen fights for her friend, and for the fulfilment of her plan.
The Noble King fights to regain the honour he lost during the Foundry incident.
The Beast Princess fights for unity.
The Beast King fights for equality.
The Military Head General fights for his doomed comrades.
The Imperial Guard Head General fights for loyalties misplaced long ago.
The Dark Dimension Empress fights for the Little Diamond.
The Experiment fights out of admiration for her teacher.
The 1st Hokage fights to free his granddaughter at long last.
The 9th Hokage fights to finally save her people.
The Former Empress Consort fights for retribution.
The Blaze Princess fights to regain her freedom.
The Crown Prince fights to protect his sister.
The Returning Empress fights for the Free Peoples of Homeworld.
The Pocket Emperor fights for an end to the war.
Who will be left standing when the fight is over?
Who will tell their story happily in the future?
Who will smile when the sun rises over an empire they fought to create?
Who will be victorious at the conclusion of The End War?
Author Note
Hi All,
This was the final chapter of Part 14 "Imperials".
Unless anything changes significantly I will be releasing the next chapter tomorrow.
It will be first chapter of Part 15 "The End War".
Part 15 will be the final part of this story.
I hope you all enjoy it.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Guest
Who asks if Mitsuki has understood an element
I have never said one way or another.
Saying now might give away spoilers.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Snaketh
Who asks for a reminder of the potential scores
The following are from my notes rather than from the chapter.
Juan: 7
Nina: 7
Akashi: 9
Sora: 8
Jonas: 10 - (rumoured)
Ming Dai: 8
Lara: 7
Clyde: 7
Mirai: 7
Tobirama: 7
Hiruzen: 7
Minato: 7
Tsunade: 8
Hinata: 8 - (test unifinished)
Sarada: 8 - (stopped voluntarily)
Naruto: 10.5 - (was told it was 9.5)
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Guest
Who asks if Naruto is now 35
Yes he is.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Engineer
Who asks several questions.
Q1: What if Tao Ma is the Little Diamond?
A1: That could be interesting, revealing whether it is true would be spoilers.
Q2: Will Ming Dai's divine ability be revealed?
A2: Yes it will.
Q3: Can Claude and Michel reach class 8?
A3: Michel could in theory, Claude couldn't because his element isn't transcendent.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Guest
Who asks the average lifespan of a Homeworlder
Most Homeworlders never break through and have similar lifespans to real humans.
Homeworlders who have broken through have yet to die of old age, so their potential lifespan is unknown.
Thanks for reading.