IMPERIALS – EWOA GOVERNMENT
The Void
"You know, I don't think that beard suits you very well," Kasumi says.
Naruto frowns at his fellow progenitor before cutting his beard with a kunai once again. This has undoubtedly been the most irritating part of his advanced ageing, needing to repeat this process once every hour at least. He keeps moving, exercising as well as he can to avoid his body becoming too weak as he ages. Combining this exercise with the benefits of his 'life' energy means he hasn't lost much in the way of stamina, but nevertheless it is now decreasing. He has gone past his physical peak and gradually he is becoming old.
"Hold on, hold on I think Matatabi is doing it!" Kurama says.
"Yes, something is definitely happening!" Gyuki adds.
They are all curious to see what will happen in this strange inner world they all share when the breakthrough occurs. Naruto ventures in and stands with his comrades, watching as the stone tablet begins to form. Compared to his own tablets it is smaller and dirtier, nevertheless it represents an element he will be able to use. When Matatabi is done it is clear what element the two-tails has worked out. It is written on the tablet in large characters.
Fire!
"Amazing," Matatabi says, beginning to toy with the new flame-based powers. This is the first time a tailed-beast has ever broken through becoming a class 4 warrior in the process.
"Well then," Kasumi says. "I think it's time for you to test the theory out. Naruto you can read the word on that tablet, you share an inner world with Matatabi now. Read the word, draw on the energy and externalise it."
Naruto returns from his inner world and looks at Kasumi. He pictures the tablet he saw on the inside and wills 'fire' energy to emerge in the same way he would 'life' energy. He is not confident, but there is no logical reason to doubt himself, as a progenitor he is one day destined to have a library of tablets in that inner world. He holds his hand out and the orange-red flame begins to appear above his palm.
Kasumi smiles. "That flame is exceptionally hot."
"I don't feel any heat."
"That's because it is your energy Naruto, the type is borrowed from Matatabi along with some chakra, but the divine energy is yours. That flame will not harm you."
"Is it really hot?"
"If you are returned to Homeworld safely that will be one of the hottest flames to ever burn in that world. 'Fire' energy is not something that class 9 warriors would usually use; you are unique in that sense. To date the only ones who could have rivalled you were the users of the Dark Dimension's Crown, Empress Helion Ashen and Headmaster Muto Sora. Yet somehow I doubt even they could match this flame."
"Himawari understands 'fire' energy. One day she will be able to match this flame."
"Yes, I'm sure she will."
Naruto does not realise that his daughter has already become a class 9 warrior as the student of Empress Helion Ashen. She is the one with a flame to rival his own.
"Would you like to try the flame for battle purposes? Aim it at me and I will give you some feedback."
"You want me to hit you with 'fire' energy?"
"Are you worried that you would hurt me?" Kasumi can't help but chuckle to herself. "Naruto, you have a long way to go before you could hurt me. You may be a genius, but you have not yet experienced the benefits of being a progenitor."
"How many classes stronger than me are you Takada-sensei?"
"Don't call me sensei, you will make feel old."
"You are old."
"You'll look older than me soon enough. Besides, I am doing this as your friend, not your superior."
"Sorry. Kasumi, how many classes stronger than me are you?"
Kasumi smiles, "I lost count years ago. In my day there were no people with fancy double-transcendent elements. That didn't really start happening until the war with the Dark Dimension. But believe me Naruto, even if grabbed hold of me and detonated your core it would not hurt me at all. You are safe to practice your flame on me."
Naruto uses Energy Projection to surround Kasumi with the 'fire' energy from Matatabi. The Homeworld Progenitor comments about how strong the flames are and how much heat they are generating. Considering this is not Naruto's energy he wields it like a master. However, she gives him some pointers about how that heat can make an opponent feel, how it can be used to drive them into a corner. The points that Naruto misses Matatabi understands perfectly, committing them all to memory for use in future battles.
"It looks like we all have a lot of catching up to do," Gyuki says, returning to elemental contemplation.
"Kasumi, what is the Dark Dimension?" Matatabi asks.
"There are all sorts of theories in Homeworld about where the Dark Dimension came from, but you will not hear the truth from any scientists," Kasumi explains, remembering her past. "The truth is that I mastered 'creation' energy shortly after I became strong enough to enter the void by myself. I decided that the best thing to do with these god-like powers I had been given was to create new life.
"That was a mistake. Creating new life is difficult. I succeeded on my first attempt, using a combination of 'life' and 'creation' energy to create an entirely new world. That world was the Dark Dimension. It was populated by different animals, different plants, different people. They were physiologically different from us but amazing all the same. I thought that I had achieved something magical, I had created a realm by myself, a realm the same size as Homeworld.
"Of course I didn't realise that while I succeeded, I had overlooked some things. I still didn't fully understand the way 'spacetime' worked. It only took me a month to realise my mistake. The Dark Dimension was shrinking because I had not created it properly. It was a doomed world with no hope of long-term survival. I wanted to help them but before long I was too strong to return to the Dark Dimension. It took the people of that world too long to work out there was a problem. When they did they ended up declaring war against the people of Homeworld out of desperation.
"Naruto, I am not your sensei, but I will caution you against making the same mistakes I did. When your power begins to expand because of your progenitor mind take things slowly. The mistake I made in creating that realm caused the war between the two great peoples. Helion Ashen, and all those who she fought with in the war, their atrocities are my fault."
The Council Chambers, Dunstone, Ewoa
The Ewoa Council has three senior members. The leader of the council is a man named Yuhan. He is argued to by two members who oppose each other on most issues. The Leader of the North Wing is a woman named Bai; her counterpart from the South Wing is a man named Shuren. When an important issue arises it is voted on by the entire council. When a trivial issue emerges, in the interest of time the Wing Leaders vote, the Council Leader providing a tie-breaker if it is required.
Today they are discussing the issue of the attacks to the North-East.
"I think it is quite clear that the attacker is Uzumaki Naruto," Bai says. "The description our colonels provided of this attacker matches Naruto's exactly. While the application of his power may differ marginally, I believe the difference is insignificant enough for us to be confident. This man is the rebel Naruto."
"Do you have any concurring sources?" Shuren asks.
"I have spoken with a few of the higher-ranking captains from Dunstone's Imperial Guard. It seems that General Alaa is acting on the assumption that this is indeed Uzumaki himself. His information has consistently been more up-to-date than ours for years now. There is no reason to doubt his word."
"We don't have his word," Shuren says, "We have rumours that you heard."
"There is no need to be so hostile," Yuhan says, exercising his authority as Council Leader. "As always we must work together to come to sensible conclusions. At the moment the evidence seems to suggest that Bai's theory is correct. Shuren, have you any reason to believe anything else?"
"No Council Leader Yuhan, I do not."
"I do," says the voice of a lesser council member.
Yuhan, Bai, and Shuren sit atop of a slightly raised platform. Debates of this nature are usually conducted by the three of them as between them they represent almost all council members below. However, there is no reason that someone from below can't voice their opinions, particularly Jun, the son of the previous queen. As former royalty and their investigator his view is always welcome.
"These attacks can't have been Uzumaki Naruto," Jun says confidently. "We have heard about Naruto's actions. First we read that he tricked Headmaster Sora into betraying the empire, but we know that Headmaster Sora and he were allies. Then we read that he incited the War Council to betray the empires, but we all know that Yuuki Terukatsu has been waiting for this chance for years. Now the information the Imperial Guard gives us is limited, the reason is obvious; they are afraid of Naruto."
"They could be afraid that he will destroy the city," Yuhan suggests.
"Do you think the Imperial Guard care what happens to the city?"
"No, I don't."
"Frankly these attacks are out of character for Naruto," Yuhan says. "He has always kept casualties to a minimum in this rebellion. Having become a class 9 warrior he must have fought the Imperial Guard many times. Have we ever heard about one of the generals dying? Have we ever heard about one of the royals dying? No, he has spared them every time, just as Endou Akashi would have done in the past. He is not the killer we are reading about now."
"Then who do you think this is, his twin?" Bai asks.
"I suspect that this is an imposter of some sort. This is not unprecedented, we heard about plans for the Dark Dimension to do this kind of thing during the previous war. A lot of Dark Dimension technology is still out there in outposts that we never found. I don't know how it happened but I am confident that this is not the real Naruto."
"I think you are just seeing what you want to see Jun," Bai says. "We have been suffering under the current regime for a long time. I know I have my sources in the Imperial Guard, but I agree with you when you say we can't trust them. That's why you want to believe in Naruto. You want him to free Homeworld, so that things will be like they were when Emperor Endou and Queen Wakamoto were our rulers. The truth is that he probably won't be like that. We don't know much about these pocket-worlders, there is every chance he has just gone mad. This talk of Dark Dimension technology, it's grasping at straws."
"He's gone mad overnight? A couple of days ago he was sparing his worst enemies, now he is killing people at random. People like Naruto are unwavering in their determination, they won't change on a whim."
"I think it is best that you drop this subject," Yuhan tells Jun authoritatively. "There is nothing we can do, and it seems clear to me that this is Uzumaki Naruto causing these problems. Jun, I am sorry."
Jun rolls his eyes and walks out of the room. As far as he is concerned the members of the council are foolish. Maybe they are right, there may be nothing they can do. However, if there is a chance that he can help to bring back the real Uzumaki Naruto he must take it. He recalls a series of portals he needs to use to head north-west, thanking his council status for his access to those portals. He needs to find someone who may be willing to listen to him, he needs to find the Empress-in-Exile Endou Hinata.
Beneath Silver Depths Lake, Gavaria
Clyde looks around the secret hideout beneath the Silver Depths Lake. Having teleported down he is half-surprised that Colonel Protector Malika was telling them the truth. There is next to nothing down here, no guards to protect it, no traps or mechanisms to repel his arrival. He begins to look around for the schedule in question when Tobirama teleports to his side, checking if it is safe to bring the others down. Clyde confirms it would be safe to do so and Tobirama brings the other Hokage and generals down to join in Clyde's search.
Kakashi activates Mangekyo Sharingan and finds the schedule immediately. He points to a book on a shelf. Shinki takes this guide and uses iron sand to remove the book from the shelf and open it on General Odion's desk. They all gather around and take the schedule in. It is a fantastic find, filled with the dates and times Nadia and Swen plan to meet, where they plan to meet, and if they have any plans for those meetings. It is a marvellous resource, perhaps the most useful the rebellion have encountered. They believe that this schedule is the key to taking the nation of Gavaria from the empire.
"There is a day not long from now when Swen plans to meet Nadia in her kingdom Seblix," Sheer says, pointing to the day. "If we attack Otoriko on this day we can take the city! The whole country will soon follow. We can really do this! We can take Gavaria from the empire!"
"It's important that we remain cautious," Hiruzen says. "First we need to consider if there is anything wrong with this plan. Can anyone think of anything?"
"I can think of a possible problem," Sarada says.
"Please go ahead."
"I'm sure that Kakashi and I can both look at that schedule and tell it has changed from when it was on that shelf. There are tiny remnants of our divine energy on that book, a few grains of Shinki's iron sand, and some fingerprints from where we have been turning the pages. Even with all our skills we cannot remove all these traces manually. I suspect that General Odion checks that the schedule has not been interfered with, and that when he next comes here he will notice the problem and inform King Swen of the interference."
"We need to stop him from discovering it then," Clyde says. "Sarada, could you make an exact copy of the schedule as we found it with your 'creation' powers."
"No. I couldn't be absolutely certain that I was correcting the right imperfections. If General Odion has someone whose job is specifically checking the integrity of the schedule they will notice that I got something wrong."
"We could take the schedule with us," Peterson says.
"He would definitely notice that it was missing."
They all stop and think but nothing comes to mind. They need to resolve this problem otherwise this schedule is worthless. General Odion will re-write it, Nadia will think of a way to stop it being found again, it will be hidden elsewhere, they won't take Gavaria. Normally in this situation creating a plan falls to Shikadai or Shikamaru, but since neither of them are here one of them needs to come up with an idea. The first person to think of a solution to the problem is Hatake Kakashi.
"I have an idea, but it's a gamble."
"Let's hear it Kakashi," Clyde invites his comrade to provide his solution.
"The Imperial Guard knows that we're together, so we divide and conquer. If we return to Tamade we can use Colonel Malika's communication stone. If I understand their communications correctly the message would go through a series of intermediaries. We send an emergency message from Malika to the capital via those intermediaries. She will call for immediate support from General Odion saying that his help is needed in Tamade. Once he is there it will be up to Sarada and Clyde to defeat him.
"Once Odion is defeated we send a message from him saying that he needs to remain in Tamade for a while to extinguish any further rebel threat. We then wait until Swen's planned trip to Seblix and we take the capital. If everything goes according to plan we can take Seblix and capture General Odion."
Sheer sighs. "That won't work. Communication stone messages don't need to be spoken aloud. We don't know that Malika and Odion will send the messages we want. Chances are that they will warn their superiors of their capture."
"Not if we send the messages," Kakashi says.
"If the message isn't in their voice they will know straight away," Clyde says.
"We can send the messages in their voices."
"Are you saying that you can do impressions?"
"No," Kakashi shakes his head. "I'm saying that we could use a transformation technique to roughly mimic their voice. We would only need to do it twice, once for Malika and once for Odion. That is where the gamble comes into play. There is a chance they will see through the fake voice and alert Swen to the danger, but if they don't they will think it is General Odion himself giving the orders."
"I remember shinobi using that technique during our invasion," Sheer says. "I never found it particularly convincing. Seeing through your attempts at infiltrating our ranks was easy."
"But you could see us," Sarada reminds Sheer. "With Kakashi's method they will only have our voices to go on. We would only need it to work twice. I think Kakashi is right, we can do this!"
Clyde looks around the other shinobi who all nod their agreement. They know better than him the effectiveness of the transformation technique. If that is their determination he is happy to accept it. They will return Tamade, they will send the fake message with Malika's communication stone luring General Odion to Tamade, and they will defeat him. They can do this, there is light at the end of the tunnel. They can take Gavaria!
In Response to Jenuzumaki
Who asks several questions
Q1: How old is Naruto going to be on his return?
A1: I can't answer without giving away spoilers. To help with your worries Naruto's age change may not be permanent because he could use the age-changing technology that Akashi and Enri used.
Q2: Can Kasumi create a portal back to Homeworld?
A2: No, her power would tear Homeworld apart.
Q3: Why didn't Sasuke help Minato to escape Mada?
A3: Sasuke's teleportation techniques have more conditions to meet than Minato's, Minato didn't need his help.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to LILI. Namikaze
Who asks if Boruto should be a progenitor
I couldn't answer that without giving away spoilers.
Rest assured I have thought about that and it will be mentioned in future.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Sarada chan san
Who asks several questions
Q1: Isn't Boruto the first one to understand divine energy?
A1: Yes. This will be mentioned in future chapters but I don't want to give away spoilers.
Q2: If Kakashi uses Kamui could he free Boruto and the others?
A2: Yes, but Gavaria is in the south-east of Homeworld, Fayoth is in the north-west.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Engineer
Who asks several questions
Q1: Can Hannah use Light-Speed to move faster than Detonation Martial Arts?
A1: Yes, but only in bursts, not continuously.
Q2: Do Mada and Beast need to work together to use Detonation Martial Arts?
A2: Beast's help is unneeded because of the mind-division.
Q3: How would Hannah vs Sabine go?
A3: The fight may happen, I wouldn't want to spoil it.
Q4: Why is Mada using life-absorption?
A4: Naruto can do it but he refuses to on moral grounds, as did Akashi. You're right though, it helps him accumulate more power.
Q5: Could Naruto hold down Nadia with grass in a fight?
A5: She could probably break free, but Mada attacked Hannah relentlessly before using it which is why it worked. It's usually only useful for surprise attacks.
Q6: Could Safura be beaten with only Energy Projection?
A6: Probably not, but many class 8 warriors could.
Q7: Could Naruto defeat all the generals by using wood-style-like tree manipulation?
A7: Possibly.
Q8: Does Mada hate Homeworld or is he simply following Ashen's orders?
A8: He is following what he assumes Ashen's orders would be.
Thanks for reading.