THE END WAR – THE REBELLION
The Imperial Palace
Tobirama still feels the pain from the injury inflicted on him previously. The Kage are coming under more and more pressure, the new arrivals causing the Imperial Guard to work faster. Their intention is to eliminate the Kage before their reinforcements can approach. When Tobirama trips it presents an opening for one of the colonels. The colonel uses her divine 'fire' powers and fires a flame towards Tobirama at maximum speed. Kakashi has no time to save his fallen friend but is thankful that another is able to do so.
Tobirama is rescued by the Flying Thunder God technique, executed this time not by himself but by one of his successors. It is 4th Hokage Namikaze Minato. Minato drags Tobirama away from danger and uses Kurama's chakra to signal someone from afar. From a great distance a golden 'gale' arrow strikes the colonel, driving her back into the others, knocking them down as a group. Minato smiles, that was Shao Chin. Even at such great distance the hunter is very impressive. He has given cover for yet another of the Kage to reunite with their counterparts.
"Welcome to the fight Minato-sensei," Kakashi says.
"I wouldn't miss it."
One of the captains shouts a warning to the others at the rear of the pack. They have spotted Michel the Horse charging towards them. The famous beast who joined the Homeworld Empire and sided with Endou Akashi. On his back is the adopted daughter of Endou Akashi, the untitled princess, Yoshida Mana. Their charge is simply a dummy. When Michel gets close to the guards he stops, Mana uses her Hydrokinesis divine ability to lift water from the ground, she then uses golden 'lightning' energy to electrocute it, attacking many enemies at once.
After the first attack from Mana and Michel the Imperial Guard spots another from the air. Claude is fast approaching and he is carrying Kushina with him. One of the ranged-fighting specialists throws a spear towards Kushina but it is quickly knocked from the sky by another of Shao Chin's golden 'gale' arrows. With their approach secured Claude drops Kushina. The shinobi falls towards the Kage from above, using her Adamantine Sealing Chains to take a few of them down before she lands with the others.
"Are you ready to synchronise?" Minato asks Tobirama.
"Yeah."
One of the over-excited captains tries to attack Minato. The 2nd and 4th Hokage swap positions. Tobirama lands a series of strikes on the captain before he is ready to counter. As the captain counters Minato and Tobirama swap places again. Minato takes advantage of the confused captain's disorientation and lands another series of strikes. They use this dizzying method twice more before Minato creates a golden 'wind' powered Rasengan and drives it into the chest of the captain. The Rasengan detonates explosively taking out the captain and several of his nearby allies.
"How long have you been holding on?" Kushina asks.
"Too long," Shinki says.
"How much longer do you think we can last?" Minato asks.
"With you guys here maybe a few extra minutes. If one of the others can defeat one of the royals then we could use the extra support to—"
"We're not taking that extra support," Minato interrupts Shinki. "They are all fighting the strongest people in the world, who have controlled this place for centuries. The least we can do is hold on here while they fight to save the world. We are not taking any backup from them; we will fight here even if it kills us."
Tobirama questions this. "Kakashi, you are the best strategist among us. Do you agree?"
"If sacrificing ourselves helps Naruto to win then we must do it. But I have no intention of dying here now. I want to see my student save the world. We have to hold on until more help is available. We will not take any support away from Naruto and the others. At least not for now."
Nearby, the Imperial Palace
"Well-well-well, we're really in trouble here," Yasmine says. "Do you think the emperor is going to kill us for not noticing she was a traitor."
"I think he will kill us if we don't get out of these restraints and help," Dodi says.
"Can't you use 'absence' energy to escape?"
"I can only use 'absence' energy to pass through something I'm not already in contact with," Dodi answers. "Safura knew that from six years four months and two days ago when we last discussed it. Queen Nadia was also present. It was in West Seblix."
"Pity."
"I'm not going to let her keep us out of this fight!" Nero says angrily.
Alaa laughs. "If you have any ideas Nero I'm listening. I've tried using the Berserk Switch but even that strength increase wasn't adequate."
Nero pulls her arm up, lifting her golden 'diamond' restrictions out of the ground. Alaa's eyes widen as he stares at his comrade. With the exception of Safura, Nero has always been the strongest of them. However, he had believed that with his Berserk Switch he had superior physical strength. He was right. Normally Alaa is stronger than Nero. However the situation drives the General of Fayoth insane. Fuelled by this much rage and adrenaline she grows stronger, refusing to be held down. She lifts both of her golden 'diamond' restraints and slams them together, shattering them dramatically.
"Since Safura is a traitor we need a new Head General," Nero says. "I am the perfect candidate. Do any of you intend to challenge me?"
Everyone stays quiet. At least until the tactless Dodi speaks up.
"We're currently being threatened, if we answer that question in present circumstances the decision would be subject to review by the royals. This was one of the guidelines we set out three hundred years ago. This one was suggested by General Odion."
"I never agreed to it!" Nero objects.
"Correct, you were defeated by popular vote. In favour were Generals Safura, Alaa, Odion, Dodi, Yasmine, and Rana. Against was General Nero."
"Then we are going to take another vote on that right now. Who here wants to live?"
After each of the generals admits they would like to live Nero frees them from their restraints. She shows that the rage fuelling her dramatic increase in strength was not short term. Safura catches sight of it for a moment, smiling briefly at how impressive Nero can be. If Nero had always demonstrated such strength there may have been a different Head General all those years ago. However, Safura would have done whatever was required to become Furst's general. Nero may be powered by rage, but the Little Diamond was powered by something much more powerful.
"Are we going after Safura?" Alaa asks.
"No, that is exactly what the rebels want. We're going after the weak ones first. When the stronger ones are angry they will make a mistake. That is when we will kill them."
Nearby, the Imperial Palace
Jonas slams his hand into the floor. The vibrations spread through the ground like an earthquake. Nobody is left unaffected by it. Naruto, stood only a few meters away from Jonas, is knocked to the ground. He is joined by countless others, on both the rebel and imperial sides. With the One True Sense he can feel the sheer scale of the impact. For a moment he rests his head back against the ground and closes his eyes. Even the tailed beasts have stopped telling him to go on now. How can he win against someone with this much raw strength, the strength to stop even the likes of Sabine and Ashen in their tracks?
Jonas raises his hand and spreads golden 'destruction' energy about the battlefield. He splits groups all over the place with his enormous energy barricade, something on a scale that nobody else could replicate. With his energy he creates a clear split between two groups, the rebellion and the imperials. The battlefield previously filled with explosions and populated with death has now fallen silent.
Naruto inspects the strongest warriors on the Imperial Side. Compared to Sasuke and Sarada, Erik has suffered relatively minor wounds. Nadia is still going strong, suffering only fatigue despite battling an opponent with a divine oddity. Swen has the upper hand against Ming Dai, something that doesn't look like it is going to change. Petra remains confident even against the Empress of the Dark Dimension. Max seems unbothered facing his experiment. Sabine has the upper hand even when fighting against two members of the returning Imperial Family. Most importantly Jonas is still at one-hundred percent. Naruto thought they would have gained a significant advantage in some of these royal battles by now, but they have not. The Battle for Okarin seems to be turning into a disaster.
Jonas drops his golden 'destruction' barricade to address the rebels.
"I am going to give you all a way out of this," Jonas proclaims.
Naruto, still grounded, looks up at the emperor in confusion. He is going to give them a way out of this? How ridiculous, his advantage is still overwhelming, what could he possibly hope to gain from making them such an offer. Could it be that he needs Naruto in some way? Could it be that there is some reason he doesn't want to defeat the rebellion here? No, he quickly proves these wrong when he makes his offer.
"I will allow the rebels to depart if the following people are executed," Jonas says. "Uzumaki Naruto, Endou Hinata, Uzumaki Boruto, Uzumaki Himawari, Uchiha Sarada, Helion Ashen, Safura, and Hannah."
"He's lying," Hannah confidently yells to Naruto.
"I would have considered the offer if you asked me to give my life for them all to survive," Naruto says. "You're asking for me to surrender my family to you. Don't be ridiculous, I could never do that, no matter the reason."
Hinata too would consider giving her life to save the rebellion, but not the others' lives too. Not Boruto, not Himawari, not Naruto. There are things just as important to her as the rebellion, more important than the throne of Homeworld. The offer is unimportant anyway. As Hannah's instincts have indicated, Jonas's offer to spare the rebellion at large is probably a lie. They would be no threat to him if the leaders were executed. Without Naruto there would be nobody to protect the rebels, no reason for Jonas to keep his word, nothing to stop total imperial control of Homeworld forever.
"We can't accept that offer," Hinata agrees.
"You only need to look at how this is going to know that you have lost," Jonas says. "I have yet to make a serious effort to kill Naruto, for now he is just an instrument to measure my powers with, the only opponent close to being worthy. If I wanted to I could end this battle instantly. Each second this fight continues is my mercy to you. Now I am giving you a chance to survive."
"He couldn't end the battle instantly," Hannah says. "Naruto-sensei could hold him for a few minutes at least."
The members of the Homeworld rebellion look to their leader. When Jonas said that he was toying with them there was reason enough to doubt his honesty, the same is not true with Hannah. She has the best picture of anyone about how true the emperor's words are. If she was looking to say the most inspiring thing she would call Jonas a liar again. She is not, Hannah is telling the truth. If something doesn't change dramatically then the battle will continue pointlessly. There will be no chance of defeating the emperor.
"He will find a way to win," Kushina says.
"That's right!" Minato adds.
"I don't know how but the 7th Hokage has always found a way," Tobirama says. "I don't believe that is going to stop with you."
Hiruzen speaks. "Naruto is the greatest shinobi I have ever met. I refuse to believe that he will lose to someone like you."
"Naruto has always been told what he couldn't do by people like you. You are no different from the rest, my student will prove you wrong," Kakashi says with certainty.
Shinki nods, "My father always said so. When it looks like all hope is lost Uzumaki Naruto will step up and save the day."
"He has prepared for this his entire life," Sarada says.
Safura admits the truth. "I had never faced an opponent like Uzumaki Naruto before. While I was fighting him I knew there wasn't much chance, but I began to hope that something could change. In the back of my mind I hoped he could defeat you."
"Naruto saved Hannah, we can rely on him," Claude says.
"He is just like Akashi was, your worst nightmare," Michel declares.
Mana agrees. "He has the same will as our father had. Just like he found a way to get us here, Naruto will find a way to defeat you."
"He is Muto Sora's student. Sora gave his life to protect Naruto knowing that he would come back to defeat you," Ming Dai says.
"That's what we're seeing here," Shao Chin says.
"I've seen countless impressive warriors through my life," Ashen says. "I don't know if any of them could defeat you. But if any of them can it is that man Uzumaki Naruto."
"My instincts are hardly ever wrong, but it is not impossible. I believe that this will be one of those times. I think that Naruto will beat the odds, as he always does. He will defeat you," Hannah declares.
"I have always believed in him, he's never let me down yet," Himawari says.
"You can't escape from our father's determination. He will keep going without giving up," Boruto says.
Sasuke agrees. "You can knock that idiot down as many times as you want, but you are just one of many others. The fool will keep standing up, again, and again, and again, he just won't die. You will see that in the end."
Hinata makes their final declaration.
"We are not giving up Jonas! We still all believe that he is going to defeat you!"
Jonas wishes he was surprised, but he is not. The rebellion was a hopeless cause to begin with that has fared better against the royals than anyone expected. He has never thought that they would win. No right-minded individual would expect a victory for the rebellion. However, the rebellion fought against the empire anyway because they have made an irrational decision. From the very start they cast logic aside and decided to believe in Uzumaki Naruto. Reasoning with them was always going to be difficult. No matter, he can still kill them when he grows bored of the situation.
"You are hopelessly outmatched and outnumbered," Jonas says. "Fighting any more proves that you are foolish optimists."
Sarada and Sasuke are both looking over their shoulder with the Rinnegan.
Sarada chuckles, "I don't think we're outnumbered."
Naruto turns and sees the hill in the distance. There is a solitary figure stood atop it. Even with the One True Sense he struggles to identify the figure from this great distance. He is hinted to though by the smiles of Sarada, Sasuke, Boruto, Himawari, and Hinata. He then grasps it and feels relieved. It is an old friend that he has not seen in a very long time.
It is Head General Clyde!
Clyde looks on and whispers to himself. "Look at you, the pocket-worlder who fought back. Look how far you have come. You have made it."
Clyde raises his arm and gestures forward. He begins to descend the hill as those behind him ascend. At first only a familiar few climb over the peak. The likes of Peterson and Sheer, those who invaded their pocket-world. Then Naruto recognises the gold, silver, and bronze colours of the Homeworld Military. They are climbing over the hill by the thousand. They climb over the hill, most powerful warriors at the front per the precedent Clyde set. They continue to appear, more and more until the entire military is atop the hill. Then as they descend they are followed by those they recruited, secret divine energy users, and aristocrats who dislike Furst. Alone the group is larger than the entire Imperial Guard, but they are not alone.
Naruto turns his head to the right slightly and sees Nina approaching from another direction. She is flanked by a smaller group, but one close to Naruto's heart. It is all the shinobi. They have remained in Homeworld and have decided to risk their lives to fight in this final battle. Shikadai, ChouChou, Inojin, Temari, Biwako, Kiba, Shino, the group contains many elite warriors from the Hidden Leaf Village. They have arrived at long last.
In between the Homeworld Military and the shinobi arrives another group. Naruto recognises them as well. This group is being lead Muto Enri, the former Empress Consort. She is joined by the War Council, by those who declared this war. If Naruto searched he would find Chang Ziyi among this group, the warrior who he was trapped with after his fight with Hannah. He does notice that there also appear to be a few members of the Hertz Clan mixed in with this rebel group.
Then the air is filled with a deafening roar. It is a lion's roar. The sky is filled with shrieks and cries as birds fly forward in formation. The lion is of course King Didier of the Beast Kingdom. He is joined by Princess Emilie, by Duke Laurent and by all the other members of the Beast Kingdom. They have kept their promised and come to the rebellion's aid at the end of the war.
As they get closer the Kage hear the shinobi shout encouragement to them. This battle has been difficult to fight by themselves but now they have the reinforcement they have been desperate for. The surviving shinobi of that most important pocket-world have all arrived. From the weakest of shinobi to the mightiest of Kage they will all join in this fight against the empire that almost destroyed their world, the empire that destroyed so many more like it. As they get close Naruto sees a few old friends in this group. Each of those old friends shouts their assurance that they are with Naruto to the end.
The military rebels constitute an enormous army, far bigger than the Imperial Guard. What they lack for in strength they make up for in numbers. This is the result of Clyde's disbanding the military group, of telling the generals to setup a recruitment network across Homeworld. They have all struggled to hide from the Imperial Guard. They all have their own stories of suffering, of loss, and of defeat. However, many of them have made it here to the final battle, bringing more warriors with them than Clyde ever expected they would. This is a fitting tribute to the Homeworld Military, to those who have been forced to fight for so long. Soon they may not need to fight anymore.
There is a resounding bang as the War Council approaches. They developed this technique of marching towards the enemy during the conflict with the Dark Dimension. Ashen remembers it well. Every fourth step they slam their feet at the same time. This creates a wall of sound, a pressure that the enemy can feel even from this distance. They are here to intimidate the Imperial Guard. They are here to fight for their world one last time. They are here because they listened to Uzumaki Naruto and he was right, they will fight with him against Furst.
The most noise of all comes from the Beast Clan. Didier, Emilie, and Laurent lead the others in creating this sound, challenging them to make more noise than the War Council or the military. Roars, screeches, growls, buzzes, barks, trumpets, squeaks, cries, warbles, squawks, and howls fill the air. They march to the aid of the Beast Clan's first human ally, and of the rebellion who have promised them that things will be different when this is over. Things can only change for the better if the Beast Clan is victorious here, they are just as motivated as anyone.
Many in the Imperial Guard understand the scale of this war for the first time. Marti Nina, Head General Clyde, Muto Enri, Yuuki Terukatsu, King Didier, Princess Emilie, Duke Laurent, the pocket-worlders, the military, the War Council, the Beast Clan, they made enemies of them all. Now those enemies have finally united against them.
The Hertz Compound, Cheqitori
"Do you think they've arrived yet?" Philip asks his sister.
"You know that they have."
"It was very bad you know. Telling them that we had to betray Erik and the empire or everything would be lost. We don't know that is the right decision. The clan could be destroyed because of what we did."
Theresa shakes her head. "We don't know that it was the correct decision, but we do know that it was the right thing to do. If Jonas wins the world will forever fall into darkness. If Naruto wins then there is still hope for the future."
"I know. This is the moment isn't it? This is the moment from all those visions. This is the moment that they will be given meaning."
"Yes. That's why we need to do everything we can to help the rebellion. We can help to determine the meaning of those visions."
The Imperial Palace, Okarin
Hinata approaches Naruto who is still on the ground. She picks him up by the collar and pushes him forward.
"Get up," Hinata says bluntly.
Naruto stumbles forwards as Hinata pushes him.
"All these people can't be wrong," Kurama tells Naruto. "They have all come here because they believe that you are going to win. They think you are going to save them. We all believe in you too, so don't stop fighting that fool. Don't stop fighting him until you win."
Head General Clyde and Council Leader Yuuki Terukatsu make their way to the front of the rebel army. They each approach Uzumaki Naruto and salute him.
Terukatsu speaks first. "Leader of the War Council Yuuki Terukatsu, reporting for duty alongside Head General of the Military Clyde. Naruto, sir, Pocket-Emperor, it is our honour to be fighting alongside you."
Naruto looks at Clyde. "It has been a long time."
Clyde smiles. "I brought everyone that I could."
Naruto puffs his cheeks.
"Not bad."
Naruto and Clyde share a laugh before shaking hands. It has been so long since they fought in the captained-six contest. Back then Clyde thought that Naruto using 'life' was impossible. Shortly afterwards he took it as a sign. He believed that Naruto could become Homeworld's second saviour. Now after all this time his faith is being rewarded. Naruto is here, fighting against an opponent nobody else can, fighting against Furst Jonas himself.
Clyde removes something from his pocket and hands it to Naruto.
"What is this?" Naruto asks.
"This has been around Homeworld many times since war was declared. One of the people who fought alongside a shinobi thought it would be right to give you something like this, a symbol of what you mean to the rebellion. Naruto, this is a gift from everyone in the rebellion to you."
Naruto unwraps the cloth to find it is a head protector. It has a unique emblem on it.
Clyde explains. "That symbol is the emblem of the rebellion. It will become the emblem of the new empire that we build today. This head protector identifies you, Uzumaki Naruto, as the Leader of the Homeworld rebellion."
Naruto smiles and nods. He puts on the head protector and glances at Jonas for a moment. Now there is no way that he can forfeit this fight. Not after the rebellion have bet so much on him.
"Clyde, I heard that during Lara's attack you gave a speech to rally our people."
"I did."
"Could you do that one more time?"
"It would be my honour."
"I still have Akashi's horn," Terukatsu says.
"When you have spoken, give Terukatsu the signal," Naruto says. "Then we charge in, and we fight."
Clyde paces back and forward. Word quickly spreads through the rebel soldiers and they go silent for him. A few 'sound' users explain that they will help Clyde's words to reach those towards the back. He takes a deep breath, this may be the last time he can ever speak to these brave men and women, he must make it good.
"For hundreds of years we have been used by this man, by Furst Jonas. We have been living in a world of his design, without help, without joy, without hope. I invaded pocket-worlds on his orders and killed more people than I ever dare to look back on. But when I went into the final one of those pocket-worlds I saw something for us. I saw something that I had spent my entire life looking for but I had never found. I saw a future.
"I saw a future when I saw a man there who understood divine energy, double-transcendent divine energy. A pocket-worlder who understood what only our previous emperor understood before him. A pocket-worlder who could stand up to the might of Homeworld. A pocket-worlder who had the strength to fight for what he believed was right.
"I saw a future free from this villainous emperor. A world where civilians smile knowing that the empire is willing to help them. A world where soldiers don't slaughter but protect the innocent. A world where we are judged not on what we can contribute to his power but the strength of our character.
"I saw a future where we came to this place on this day. A future where an army of rebels united under that pocket-worlder's leadership and stormed the Imperial Palace. A future where men and women stood up and said no more and took the fight to their oppressor. A future where we fought the most powerful foe in the world against all the odds.
"I saw a future in which we regained hope. Hope for the day when we saw the end of those who would force the weak to obey. Hope for a day when people could rally together, when they would put aside their difference, when they would be united once again. Hope for a day when people not yet born sing songs about the valour you show here in battle today.
"I saw a future where we marched to battle in Okarin. A battle where we would demonstrate heroism that would never ever be forgotten. A battle when the weak would triumph over the strong and take Homeworld back. A battle where the rebellion would fight against the mighty Imperial Guard. A battle where that pocket-worlder I met would stand up against the strongest man in the world.
"I saw a future where they underestimated us and we made them pay the price for it.
"I saw a future where we fought in the Battle of Okarin, and we won!"
The rebellion cheers, creating another wall of noise to intimidate the empire.
The horn of Endou Akashi sounds!
The rebellion charges into battle!
It is the beginning of the end.
In Response to Engineer
Who asks how long has passed since Naruto defeated Shao Chin
I'll come back to this question at the end of the story.
I know what's in my mind but that might contradict what I have written.
Thanks for reading.