THE BATTLE BEGINS
The Imperial Palace
Himawari releases the Sacred Dagger and circles it around herself at great speed. She rushes through crowds of the Imperial Guard, eliminating several at a time with the orbiting dagger. They try to avoid her but quickly realise that they have no chance of outmanoeuvring the Blaze Princess, she is not only a class 9 warrior, but she is also a mighty shinobi. She would outclass them with her movements if they were on the same level, levels above them she is far beyond what they can match. She recognises that at the moment the rebels have fewer class 9 warriors than the empire, so she picks the most ambitious target of them all.
Arching her run through the Imperial Guard Himawari begins to run towards the Crazy Queen Mauer Sabine. Sabine smiles at the approaching Blaze Princess, but Himawari has no intention of granting Sabine a fun battle, she is going to end this as quickly as she can. She processes the many moving elements in front of her, plotting a course towards the royal with the least amount of resistance. She weaves through the Imperial Guard accordingly before reaching an opening. She then rushes towards Sabine.
Himawari takes the final few steps towards Sabine. The Crazy Queen pushes golden 'chaos' energy towards the orbiting Sacred Dagger. The path of the Sacred Dagger changes slightly, hitting Himawari in the arm rather than making another orbit. Himawari glances at the dagger momentarily, unnecessary because of her Byakugan yet done due to habit. This momentary distraction is all that Sabine requires, she steps forward and kicks Himawari in the head, pushing the Blaze Princess away.
While tumbling back along the ground Himawari uses her visual prowess and remarkable talent to discern a safe landing spot. Himawari places her hand on the ground and pushes the perfect amount. She manipulates her course and lands exactly in the safe spot she identified. Himawari draws the Sacred Dagger back to her hand before making a note of what she learned in that last exchange. The main point is that Sabine's reputation is well-earned, the Crazy Queen's divine energy is powerful. Sabine is stronger than Max was, and Himawari has never defeated such a powerful opponent without help.
"I heard that you attacked my family in Ewoa."
"You're related to Uzumaki? Is that relevant?"
"I am Blaze Princess Uzumaki Himawari, I am the daughter of Uzumaki Naruto and Endou-Hyuuga Hinata. You almost killed them when you attacked Ewoa not long ago. I am going to make you regret that."
"That last attack wasn't very impressive," Sabine says frankly. "You come from a family of big shots, but if you're going to entertain me I need to know that you're strong. Come on, prove to me that you are a worthy opponent, Uzumaki Himawari."
Sabine throws her arms out the side and smiles maniacally. She pours golden 'chaos' energy into the ground and causes it to explode. Broken earth fills the space between the two warriors. However, defying all imaginable odds Sabine begins to walk through this explosive area and is hit by none of the debris she has created. As the Crazy Queen moves forward the exploding earth gets closer to Himawari, a continuous explosion that she knows the Blaze Princess won't be able to avoid.
Himawari may not be as strong as other members of her famous family, but she will not disappoint Sabine as an opponent, she is strong. The Blaze Princess is the only known master of three elements in Homeworld. She throws the Sacred Dagger forward, enhancing it with golden 'fire-lightning-wind' energy. As the dagger enters the debris field its path begins to change at sharp angles. Unlike Sabine the dagger is not avoiding impact by manipulating the odds, Himawari is using her Byakugan to carefully navigate it through the explosion. After several seconds of Himawari's strongest focus the Sacred Dagger hits Sabine, knocking her out of the debris field and stopping the explosion.
Thanks to her Super Healing divine ability Sabine's wounds are fixed instantly. Despite losing the former Queen of Ewoa smiles excitedly. It would appear that the first exchange was not a symbol of Himawari's true abilities, the Blaze Princess is strong after all. Sabine now has reason to look forward to the rest of this fight. Himawari's elements are innately chaotic, whoever emerges victorious will have survived the chaos and will be the strongest.
This kind of fight is what Sabine loves the most.
Nearby, the Imperial Palace
The Imperial Guard are less keen to stand in Ashen's way than they were with Himawari. Many of them recognise her appearance as that of the people from the Dark Dimension. They have been briefed that Empress Helion Ashen has returned, that is someone they still all have nightmares about. This is someone who their combined might could not stop in the previous war, someone who only Endou Akashi was able to defeat. They refuse to stand against her, leaving that responsibility to their stronger superiors.
The first of those superiors to approach Ashen is the Puppet Queen of Fayoth. It is Huen Petra, the direct student of Furst Jonas.
"Hello Ashen, it has been a long time," Petra says.
"Oh look it's Jonas' weak student," Ashen says jokingly. She claps her hands for Petra. "The last time we met you were too weak to do anything worthwhile. We used to joke about you in strategy meetings. One general of mine referred to you as Petra the Useless. They always said that they had no idea why Furst would take on a student like you. I understand why though, it is because he thought your 'control' energy could be useful to him."
"I am Queen of Fayoth now Ashen, second in charge of this empire, direct student to the most powerful being alive. Don't think that you can intimidate me. I surpassed you a long time ago."
"You still seem like Petra the Useless to me."
Petra smiles gently. She then activates her golden 'control' cloak and points her finger at one of the Imperial Guard fighters. She sends golden 'control' energy to the man in question and wraps the energy around him, slowly gaining control of him. She then forces him to walk slowly towards the Empress of the Dark Dimension. The walk is slow and laboured, all the way the guard begs the queen not to send him into danger. Ashen finds the display amusing. Does Petra want her to eliminate this guard? Someone this powerless is not worth considering for someone like Ashen.
Petra clicks her fingers. The guard's core explodes, hitting Ashen from just a few meters away. As an elite warrior of the Imperial Guard was behind it the core explosion is fairly large, it stings even Ashen to endure it. However, emerging from the blast the Empress is mostly unharmed. There are a few scratches on Ashen's face that she immediately removes with golden 'healing' energy.
Ashen stretches, taunting Petra. "If this keeps up we will have to rename you Petra the Mostly Useless."
Petra does not react to Ashen's obvious provocations, especially as she glances over her shoulder and sees reinforcements arriving.
Meanwhile Ashen reaches into her pocket and uses a communication stone.
"Little Diamond, it is time."
In quick time Petra gains significant reinforcements. She is joined by the six Imperial Guard generals. She is also joined by two royals, King Weiss Max the Science King of Aturia and King Hertz Erik the Noble King of Cheqitori. Ashen smiles, taking on Jonas was too much, she couldn't defeat him. Taking on Akashi was too much; she couldn't defeat him either. However, taking on several royals and generals she feels comfortable. Fighting all these opponents at the same time will surely be difficult, but if anyone is up to the challenge it is her.
Ashen slaps her hands together, she gathers golden 'ice' in one and golden 'fire' in the other. She then unleashes the two elemental powers at Erik and Max respectively. She runs forward, bursting through the middle of the generals before kicking Petra in the abdomen. With one set of attacks she pushes back all three royals and breaks through the ranks of the Imperial Guard's strongest members. None of them are hurt and she has used much energy to execute the single sequence, but it is a reminder to them of who they are dealing with. This was Homeworld's strongest enemy, and she is back.
"You can't keep that up Ashen the Hopeless," Petra says. "If you fight like that it won't be long before you use up your energy. Against that fighting style three royals can defeat you easily."
"I am not fighting to defeat you," Ashen admits. "I am fighting to stall you. I must thank you for talking with me Petra. Ironically you have proven useful. Now would you like to talk some more, or do you think you can defeat me before it is too late?"
"Are you underestimating us?"
"Not at all. Three royals, six generals and you have to worry about a time limit. I don't think you stand a chance. Try to prove me wrong Petra the Useless, let's see what happens."
Nearby, the Imperial Palace
Kakashi uses the power of his Mangekyo Sharingan to help the others avoid harm, a defensive duty that he is sharing with Tobirama. They are fighting against opponents of a much higher level, colonels from the Imperial Guard, yet because of their unique powers they are staying in the fight. If the guards had the same experience as their soldier counterparts perhaps they would win easily, but they have only fought in Homeworld, they have never experienced strange abilities like these pocket-worlders have.
Tobirama performs better than he ever has before. He is working with Kakashi on defending the others but he occasionally attacks as well. He and Kakashi have been working together for years now. They have long since understood one another's timing. Tobirama recognises when Kakashi is going to defend them and uses those opportunities to attack. As the last of the Senju brought to the future he vows that he will see this through to the end, that he will fight on the others' behalf. That way when he reaches the other side he can tell them how well their village did, how they won.
Hiruzen's 'earth' energy makes him a physical powerhouse. His energy is inferior to many of the colonels he is fighting. Despite that energy weakness he is their match in terms of raw strength. He has more battle experience than any shinobi here and he uses that knowledge wisely. He recognises patterns in his opponent's movements and takes opportunistic strikes against them. He takes a leading role in this attack, barking occasional instructions to his fellow shinobi. He is the one of the three Hokage from the Sarutobi clan to be here at the end, he wants to see it through for the others. He fights for Sarutobi Konohamaru who gave his life to get them here and Sarutobi Mirai who selflessly defended the villagers.
Shinki has lost a lot to get to this stage. He lost his entire village and had only a few surviving family members in the Hidden Leaf. He will forever be remembered as the last Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, but he will not fail in his duty. The Imperial Guard, the villains who were responsible for the death of his village will feel this final attack from the Sand. He carries the will of his father, his uncle and all the others. With his frequent iron sand attacks he makes life very difficult for the guards who would attack them. On the seldom occasion that Kakashi and Tobirama's defences slip he is there to tidy up. The rest of the time he is an omni-directional attacker.
The Kage are those who the Imperial Guard never anticipated that they would fight. They are the leaders of the weak from the worlds they exploited. However, they are leaders with power who have experienced more battle in their short lives than most of the guards. They have fought in a world with much more diverse combat, they have learned from experiences that the guards could never have had. Now in spite of their weakness they have become the Imperial Guard's worst nightmare. They were hoping to help the royals with their class 9 opponents, yet instead this small group of class 6 warriors has completely tied their hands. Ashen may struggle to stall the royals for long but the Kage look comfortable stalling their opponents for hours if need be.
Nearby, the Imperial Palace
Nadia retreats to a safe position and brings Swen with her.
"Should we really be holding back here while the rebellion is attacking?" Swen asks.
"We need to create a battle plan. The Imperial Guard requires instruction, otherwise this battle will become impossible to win when their reinforcements arrives."
"Reinforcements?"
"You and I know better than anyone what Naruto has achieved since he arrived in Homeworld. I can understand that not all his allies would come to Okarin at a moment's notice, but some of them should have. He has come here in a rush with a skeleton crew of allies. When the others arrive this fight won't be so comfortable. But if I can get my battle plan out to the Imperial Guard we can make things difficult for them."
"You sound panicked Nadia."
"I don't panic Swen."
"I don't need 'psychic' energy to tell that your breath is erratic. Something has changed, you are usually much more composed than this. Are you OK?"
"I need to be more careful than usual," Nadia admits. "I am without a doubt the best strategist in Homeworld, but it is possible the rebellion contains my closest rival. Before long I won't be able to work on a plan, I will be focused on fighting. Meanwhile their strategist can adapt his plan as it is required. They have a dynamic strategist; our strategy is a one-time decision. Even I find it difficult to create a full-proof strategy."
"Why worry? It's not like the emperor will lose."
"Everything needs to go perfectly according to my plan," Nadia explains. "If they don't then nobody knows what might happen. The rebellion may end up taking control of the world. Perhaps you and I could end up dead, maybe at the hands of the rebels, maybe at the hands of the emperor. Just trust me Swen, we need to do this my way."
"I have always trusted you Nadia. I know that your plan will work."
"Yes, you're right. My plans always work."
Nearby, the Imperial Palace
Jonas watches calmly as two people run towards him. He has never come face-to-face with either these people despite being their enemy for years. Now the time has arrived, his moment of destiny where he asserts himself as the most powerful being in all of Homeworld. Of course his two enemies are the pupils of Enri, wielders of 'fate', one the master of 'life', the other of 'death'. This is the so-called Pocket Emperor Uzumaki Naruto and the exiled Crown Prince Uzumaki Boruto. They are currently moving towards him at standard class 9 pace, he recognises this as a bluff.
Boruto raises his hand in front of his face and disappears. A few seconds pass as Naruto slows his run. Suddenly, Naruto's legs light up a mixture of white and gold. The 7th Hokage launches himself forward at a vastly increased speed. Jonas watches as an orb of energy appears on Naruto's hand, the golden 'life-fate' enhanced Rasengan. Quickly the Hokage arrives before him. The Shadow Hokage suddenly appears behind him with a similar golden 'death-fate' enhanced Rasengan.
Jonas puts one hand in front of him creating a small shield of golden 'destruction' energy. He does the same thing with the other hand behind his back. He dynamically and accurately blocks each of the Uzumaki's attacks with these small shields. He is surprised that they continue to drive their energy forward though and almost feels strained as they attack him with all the power they can muster.
"Where did Princess Hinata find such a pair of monsters?"
Jonas pushes back against the incoming attackers. With minimal effort he sends them both flying. His energy is a class stronger than theirs and the difference between each class is greater than the last. It is a reminder to the 7th Hokage and Shadow 9th Hokage of how strong their opponent is. Not only is his energy superior but his physical strength and mental strength is just as remarkable. Naruto fears that if Jonas were class 9 they would still struggle to defeat him. This is the powerful enemy everyone has told him to fear all this time. He now finally understands just what a monster he finds himself up against.
"This encounter is long overdue," Jonas remarks. "Uzumaki Naruto, you have caused a lot of trouble with your rebellion. When Sora sacrificed his life for you I knew that you must be something special. At the end he believed that you would be the one to defeat me. I admire his insight into the potential of his students, not even I can match it. It is a pity you are my enemy; you would have been a much better student than Petra has been."
Boruto doesn't care for Jonas speech. He uses the Death Mask to sneak up on the emperor, this time from in front of him. As he approaches from the front he hears a recommendation in his grandfather's voice. He uses the Step Burst to modify his approach, then he hears a suggestion from one of his other grandfathers. He throws a kunai at Jonas, teleporting to it at the last second and kicking towards Jonas' head as hard as he can. However, the emperor raises only one hand to block it, catching Boruto by the ankle and throwing the Shadow Hokage away.
Boruto removes the Death Mask and gasps as he looks at Jonas. This is a problem for his Path Light ability. He can hear the recommendations of his predecessors clearly in his head, unfortunately none of them knew how to defeat Furst Jonas. This man lives up to his reputation, he is seeing through the Death Mask quicker than anyone else, Path Light doesn't know how to defeat him, he takes both the Step Burst and the Flying Thunder God in his stride. This is the man who can control the royals, this is the final enemy they must defeat.
After several seconds Head General Safura runs past them towards the battle. Naruto and Boruto do not dare to glance at her out of fear. A momentary distraction would be enough for Jonas to kill them.
"Go and free Sarada," Naruto says.
"But you can't—"
"Go! He is my opponent!"
"Dad he's—"
"I told you that I can handle this Boruto. Remember, I never give up, I never go back on my word. I have been trained for this my entire life. Trust me, I won't let you down now."
Boruto is reluctant, but after a couple of seconds he puts the Death Mask back on and runs around Jonas. He runs towards Sarada who is still trapped thanks to the efforts of Head General Safura. That means that he is leaving his father, he is leaving the rebellion's greatest hope alone with their most fearsome enemy. However, this was something he was always going to do, no matter how hard it is. Fighting Jonas is what Naruto has been trained for all this time, either he can succeed or they are all dead. It is the most difficult leap of faith he has ever made yet one that he must.
"I am curious, Uzumaki," Jonas says. "Do you really believe that you can defeat me?"
Naruto remembers Nina, speaking of eyes that make people believe in him. He raises his head and does his best to show those eyes to his opponent.
"I will defeat you!"
In Response to Demon90340
Who asks several questions
Question: Where is Hinata?
Answer: Last time she appeared she was in Dunstone.
Question: How hard is it to understand opposite elements?
Answer: Very.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to BlueForce
Who asks how strong Jonas is now
I couldn't say without giving away spoilers.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Sarada chan san
Who asks if Jonas stole Sarada's powers and how strong Jonas is now
I couldn't say without giving away spoilers.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to GUest
Who asks if Jonas understands 'creation' energy now
I couldn't say without giving away spoilers.
Thanks for reading.