IMPERIALS – ASHEN VS JONAS
North-East Ewoa
"You're the other Hinata?" Mana asks.
"Yes."
"Not my sister?"
"I have a few of her memories, and I have seen everything since we switched in the fight against Mars. I am not Endou Hinata though, I am Hyuuga Hinata."
"Are you OK?" Minato says, helping Hinata to her feet.
"I will be OK, but what about Naruto? How do we help him?"
"We don't know sis— Hinata," Mana says, correcting herself mid-sentence. "But we're going to find a way. Did you really see everything that she saw? Does that mean she can see what you are seeing now?"
"I saw all of it. I don't mind you calling me sister if it would make things easier for you. I have been hearing you call me that for a long time now."
"OK then, I will."
"I think my other soul can see you now. If it's like it was for me she shares my senses. I hope I can assure her that it will be OK. We'll work out how to resolve this problem. For a while now I have been starting to feel the same way she does, I find myself caring deeply for this world and its people. I look at you and I feel as if I am looking at my own sister. I think that she was starting to look at Naruto and feel the same way I felt."
"I think she was," Mana smiles in agreement.
"It's good to have you back Hinata," Kushina says.
"I was beginning to worry that we may never see you again," Ming Dai says. "That day we ran from the Academy was difficult for all of us, but I thought back then we would never see you again. It is a relief that you are OK, that both Hinatas are OK."
"It is good to see you again too, Kushina, Minato, Ming Dai," Hinata says before looking to the other shinobi. He was not there with them last time her soul was in control of this body. "Sasuke, I am really sorry that I did not help with the attack on the Foundry. I am sorry about what happened to Sakura. I hope you know that the other me considered her a friend just as much as I did."
"I haven't seen you since the war," Sasuke says. "Naruto would be relieved that you are still OK. You seem to have gained some confidence since then."
"Yes. I have learnt some things from my other soul. I would like to think that we are both changing each other for the better."
"I hate to ruin the moment," Michel says. "But we are not in a good situation, and this may have been the worst moment for this to happen. The Naruto running around at the moment is an imposter and our strongest warrior is heavily injured. At a time like this it would normally fall to the Princess's other soul to lead us. Princess Hinata, have you any idea what we should do now? How do we find the real Naruto?"
"I don't know," Hinata admits.
"Can you change back?"
"I can't."
Michel sighs. "Has anyone got any ideas on what we do next."
Hannah croaks something out in a barely audible voice. Sasuke leans down to hear her and after doing so activates his Rinnegan. He looks to the south and confirms the warning that Hannah just gave him, someone is approaching. The man approaching doesn't seem to be much of a threat. Since he is approaching them with such purpose he must surely know who they are, yet he does not seem intimidated nor combative. With his hands sunk into his pockets and sunglasses covering his eyes even as the sun sets, he seems very collected.
"Hello," the newcomer says. "I know who you all are from the reports. Hinata, Mana, Michel, Ming Dai, Shao Chin, Hannah, Claude, Sasuke, Minato, and Kushina, right? Did I get any of that wrong?"
"It is Princess Hinata to you!" Michel says before pausing. "Wait, haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
Mana approaches the newcomer and looks at him awkwardly from a couple of directions. She tries to lower her head and look under his sunglasses. This doesn't work so she stands upright and reaches for them, ready to remove them from his head. He reaches out and grabs her wrist harshly before pausing and releasing her. Mana proceeds to take his sunglasses off and identifies the person beneath.
"The Prince of Ewoa!" Michel starts.
"It's Brainy Wakamoto!" Mana jokes. "It's been a long time; I haven't seen you since before the coup. What are you doing with yourself these days?"
"I work on the Ewoa Council."
"I'm surprised that Sabine hasn't executed you."
"I believe the story is that she flipped a coin to decide my fate."
"You're the Prince of Ewoa?" Sasuke asks. "Sabine's son?"
"No, Sabine was a criminal when I was the Prince of Ewoa. My mother was Wakamoto Taira, the Queen of Ewoa who worked hand-in-hand with Hinata's father Akashi. Our forces weren't so strong when my mother was in charge, but people liked her for some reason, the council believes it is due to the lack of poverty and starvation."
"You can see why I call him Brainy Wakamoto," Mana says. "Hinata-sis, do you remember Brainy at all?"
"No. No, I don't believe I do, I am sorry Mr Wakamoto."
"I am not here to be praised for my status. Besides, if we are keeping score recent events in Dunstone have lead me to believe that I am not the only one. I imagine that the captive situation in the Palace was because you are the Prince of Gavaria, isn't that right Ming Dai? I am a former prince, but you still hold that distinction."
"I do not consider myself Swen's son. I was raised and trained by Headmaster Muto Sora; he was more of a father to me than Swen has ever been."
"In that case you're either part of the Royal Family of Gavaria, or the Imperial Family of Okarin and Homeworld. Either way, you're a much more significant player on the world stage than anyone realises. I hope that you can help the rebellion to return this world to what it once was."
"If we're going to do that we need Naruto," Sasuke says.
"That is why I am here, watch this."
Jun lifts his hand up and reaches into the air before him. He motions to pinch the air with his thumb and forefinger before grabbing something. It is a thread. That thread lights up in a navy-blue colour, matching the colour of Jun's divine 'intelligence' energy. He pulls this thread tight and it stretches ten yards to his left before the visible thread runs out and it becomes invisible.
"This is my divine ability, the Relevance Marker," Jun explains. "It is part of the reason I am the Council's Investigator. Whatever answer I most desire, this thread will lead me to that answer. At times it is useless, if I am not interested in a mystery, or if the answer is somewhere inaccessible. However, at the moment the answer I most desire, is how do we retrieve Uzumaki Naruto.
"Follow me, I will take you to the answer."
One Hour Later, North-East Ewoa
They all arrive before a strange sight. It is Naruto, but he is not entirely present, like a ghost. Unlike Mada, he is wearing the same clothes he was when he went on that date with Hinata. He is appearing and disappearing at very high speed. Unbeknownst to them, this is because he is moving between this world and the pocket-world. They all notice something else as well, this Naruto is older than the one they knew, middle-aged. Sasuke who understands 'spacetime' quickly deduces that this advanced ageing is as a result of his strange movements, but he does not know how to safely stop his friend.
Hinata approaches him and while she doesn't dare to touch him she stands close. Even like this she feels great warmth and comfort from him.
"Hello Naruto," she smiles. "I want you to know, I think you've done great."
Hinata considers that Naruto's movements look repeated and gentle, as if he isn't being forced into and out of the world, he is flowing in and out. In that sense his movement is just like that of water, an unstoppable flow. This flow moves people in all kinds of ways, it is the same way people move about Homeworld on a daily basis, the same way they migrate or birds flock, and it is the way Naruto is moving now. She understands the importance of this flow now, it is the very essence of 'water', it can be found everywhere.
Hinata makes her breakthrough, understanding tier 3 'water' energy. It is marked by the golden 'water' energy that surrounds her and the switching of her hair to half-red and half-blue as a result of her genetic defect. Mana is quick to congratulate her sister and Michel does as well, but the others remain distracted by Naruto's phasing out of the world. They know where the real Naruto is now, but they are no closer to helping him, and if the ageing is anything to go by they don't have long.
"Flow is how all things move and change," Hinata says. "That's how she and I swap, I'm sure it is."
"Hinata…"
"I want to stay here with him," Hinata admits. "But right now he doesn't need help from Hyuuga Hinata the shinobi. He needs help from Endou Hinata the Princess of Homeworld."
"He will want to talk with you," Kushina says.
"And I want to talk with him. But I have already waited a long time, to help him I will wait as long as I need to. I will help him, no matter what it costs me."
Hinata is suddenly surrounded by spinning vortex of 'water' energy. From the top downwards this 'water' begins to change into 'fire'. When the 'water' has been entirely replaced by this new energy the 'fire' energy begins to disappear from the top. When all the energy is gone Hinata is stood there, looking exactly the same but in fact being very different. This is no longer Hyuuga Hinata, this is Endou Hinata.
"What is going on?" Jun asks.
The others ignore him. Mana approaches her sister and looks her in the eye. "Hinata, which one of you are we talking to now?"
"It's me Mana, Endou Hinata."
Mana smiles, "Have you got any ideas? How do we save Naruto?"
"I think I know who might be behind this. If we're going to stop her then we need to act quickly. Fortunately the other me understood tier 3 'water' energy. By doing that she completed our combat journey. I am now a class 9 warrior. Together with the right people, I may just be able to save him in time."
"Then do it," the others encourage her.
Hinata nods before considering what she just saw while watching her other-self. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, concentrating on a few words. "Well done, other-me." She can't hear any reply, but after a second she feels positive emotions, emotions that are not her own. She cannot hear Hyuuga Hinata's thoughts, but she can feel her emotions. This is a big first step on that road. They are beginning to understand how their dual-soul dynamic works.
They do not have long to act, but action is now possible, because together they are a class 9 warrior.
The Imperial Palace
The doors to the throne room are knocked from their hinges, a feat very few people could achieve. Not many people could even begin to fight their way through the guards of the Imperial Palace, even fewer could make their way to the throne room. However, the reason the defences are so strong is because of fear of this very woman, Dark Dimension Empress Helion Ashen. She walks over the fallen doors before stamping on them, shattering them into millions of tiny pieces.
Ashen looks at who she is greeted by. Only two people are left, to her these people are Al-Aziz Safura and Furst Jonas. They were both class 8 warriors during the war. Seeing the two of them here both answers questions and gives her new ones to ask.
"Hello Jonas. Hello Safura. It has been a long time since we last met, hasn't it?"
"Helion Ashen, I am surprised that you are here. That old fool must have sealed you away rather than killing you then. He always was a naïve idiot."
"Don't get your hopes up about the throne Furst, Akashi's personality change is only temporary. When I have secured the Little Diamond I am going to return him to normal. I trust him to be merciful, even with sceptical advisors like yourself."
"Akashi's personality change, I have no idea what you are talking about," Jonas says. "Do you believe that Endou Akashi is still the emperor. He was indeed given that title shortly after he defeated you, but he has been dead for many years now. I killed him and became the emperor."
"You're the emperor?" Ashen shakes her head, Himawari and Boruto tricked her. That was clever. "Do you think that you can intimidate me because you sit on a throne now? You were always skilled in the art of combat I admit, but your greatest talent is your grasp of science. You killed Endou Akashi? That's very clever of you, how did you do that? Did you perfect one of our anti-Endou devices, did you push him into the void?"
"You fail to understand Ashen; I did not use tricks to kill Endou Akashi. I killed him by being stronger than he ever was. I am now a class 10 warrior; you would be wise not to test me."
Ashen laughs loudly. "You are a funny man Jonas, but if you think I am going to believe that you have another thing coming."
"You are free to attack if you doubt me."
Ashen smiles. She activates her full power, choosing particularly to draw on golden 'hot' and golden 'cold' energy at this moment. She spreads her arms out wide throwing the energy in every direction. Furst is quick to activate his golden 'destruction' cloak, Safura is even quicker to activate her golden 'diamond' cloak, protecting herself with a dome of the hard material. Ashen's tremendous energy breaks through Safura's dome, and through the walls of the Imperial Palace itself, collapsing it on itself. It is an omni-directional attack of tremendous power.
Jonas points his finger at the ceiling, he shoots golden 'destruction' energy from his fingertip and destroys all of the collapsing rubble, reducing it to nothingness, protecting himself and Safura from the falling debris. He then points that same finger at Ashen, still sat upon his untouched throne, and fires a small beam of golden 'destruction' energy at her.
Ashen creates a golden 'diamond' shield and holds it up to intercept the attack. However, the energy pierces straight through her shield, hitting her in the abdomen. The shock forces Ashen to instantly drop the shield. She immediately focuses on using 'healing' energy to protect her vital organs as the attack from the emperor breaks through even her bio-hardened flesh. When the attack finally subsides she gasps numerous times for air, struggling to stop herself from falling to the ground. She glares at Jonas, it is clear now that he wasn't bluffing before, he really killed Akashi.
"Do you think that is all it will take to defeat me?" Ashen asks.
"Of course not, I am simply curious. What will you do next? You are an interesting opponent; with all your elements your attack power is limited only by your imagination."
He is right, and Ashen intends to prove it. She uses golden 'light' energy, putting as much power behind it as she can to blind Jonas. She leaves an orb of the glowing energy directly in front of him before using her 'speed' energy to rush back and forward. Fearing that he may use a sensory power to detect her approach she uses 'gale' energy to obscure the effects of her movement. Her movements are growing more and more rapid, and she waits until the perfect moment to rush him, to attack him from right in front of his face.
Jonas blinks, that is the cue. Ashen rushes forward, wrapping her body in golden 'lightning' to increase the power of her upcoming attack. Jonas senses her approach and casually throws 'destruction' energy in her direction, but she uses the golden 'lightning' to temporarily increase her speed, making her the slightest bit faster. This speed boost allows her to avoid Jonas attack, something that surprises even the emperor. She then stands right in front of him, substitutes her golden 'speed' energy for golden 'strength' energy and strikes towards his head as hard as she can.
Golden 'destruction' energy appears in the way of Ashen's fist and blocks it. She is stunned, there wasn't even a sound when she hit this energy, as if there were no vibration at all.
"That was an impressive approach, it is no wonder you rivalled Akashi," Jonas comments. "Did you know there was another Crown that your world produced? It was eventually found by Muto Sora; you must remember him. He used that Crown when he tried to fight me. That was the first time I ever used the second intensity level of my divine oddity. It is called Micro-Control. It allows me to control my energy on a very small scale.
"You are probably shocked that there was no impact when you hit the energy just now. That is because the energy moved away from you as you struck it, resisting as little as possible in tiny increments. You decelerated in such a way that your fist didn't even make a noise. I think it is appropriate that I afford you the same courtesy as the other user of your world's Crown."
"Controlling energy on that scale is impossible," Ashen says.
"I am not interested in whether or not you believe me. You cannot break through this."
"Don't underestimate me! Furst Jonas."
Ashen pulls back her arm to strike again, something Safura dismisses as futile, but it is not. Ashen strikes forward but instead of golden 'strength' energy this time she uses golden 'absence' energy on her arm. Jonas tries to block it with his Micro-Controlled energy, but her arm passes right through it. Once her elbow has passed the energy she rematerializes her arm, striking Jonas in the head. She does this once again successfully but the third time he catches her arm. Still, the fact that she was able to hit Jonas at all shocks Safura, who is reminded of how amazing Helion Ashen is.
Jonas squeezes Ashen's wrist before remembering her bio-hardening. He finds it amusing, that always made it difficult to attack her. He resolves this easily, enhancing his hand with golden 'destruction' energy before he squeezes. Ashen reacts to that immediately, using golden 'absence' energy to pull her arm to safety, keeping the damage to a minimum. She can't keep up with what is happening, her surprise is too great. When she saw Jonas last he was merely a class 8 warrior, an advisor to Akashi, now he is this strong.
"Why don't you use your divine ability Ashen?" Jonas asks. "I know that this is not your full strength. Show me your divine ability, or questions will be left unanswered."
"I don't need my divine ability to fight you."
Jonas concludes that this is a lie straight away, but he doesn't know why Ashen wouldn't want to use her divine ability. He dismisses this concern, watching her hand move towards him with golden 'absence' energy once again. He lets her hit him as he sighs, the science behind 'absence' is not complicated. It involves using microscopic movements to be both present and absent at the same time. What he cannot understand about the power philosophically he more than makes up for scientifically. Dismantling this is not easy, even for him with his Micro-Control, but he knows how to do it.
Jonas waits for Ashen to strike again and intercepts her fist with golden 'destruction' energy. He has blocked her attack even though she was using 'absence' powers.
"How did you—"
"The energy can still interact you if it matches your microscopic movements. Micro-Control cannot do that, but the third intensity level of my divine oddity can. I call it Nano-Control. Of course my energy could move through solid objects with this technique, just like you can, but I have no need for weak strategies like that, I can defeat you with overwhelming power."
Ashen pushes an awe-inspiring amount of golden 'strength' energy to her arm, so much that Jonas almost thinks she is detonating her core for a moment. She keeps pushing as hard as she can until she feels something give in Jonas' Nano-Control defence. Sensing weakness she pushes forward through this defence and strikes towards him, determined that this time she will land a blow that will actually hurt him.
Her attack does not land on Jonas. The second Ashen destabilised his energy he pulled it back an inch and used it to block her fist a second time, robbing her of all the momentum she built up. The ultimate humiliation for Ashen is that through all of this Jonas has not risen from his seat. Finally he does just that, standing and simultaneously expanding his output divine energy. He wraps Ashen in golden 'destruction' energy, forcing her to move as he desires to avoid it. He forces her down onto the ground before kicking her into the space where the doors used to be.
Ashen shakes as she gasps for air. She looks up at Jonas and can only see a fuzzy image. She has never fought anyone like this before. How can she possibly ensure that the Little Diamond is safe while somebody like him exists? As far as she is concerned he is absolutely undefeatable.
Jonas approaches Ashen and stands before her.
"Frankly I believe that Petra could defeat you if that is your best effort," Jonas says.
Ashen does not remember Petra the Queen of Fayoth, she remembers Petra as Jonas' weak student mastering the basics of 'control' energy. She appreciates that his student has probably come a long way but she finds the comparison insulting. She closes her eyes, grits her teeth, and prepares for the end.
"You had better go now," Jonas says as he turns and returns to the throne.
Both Ashen and Safura start. Why? Why would Jonas let his most powerful rival leave after she just tried to kill him? What possible advantage could it bring him? Ashen, not in a mood to argue, stands as quickly as she can and flees the Imperial Palace. She doesn't care why she is going to live; she just wants the opportunity to keep going, she must find a way to survive, she must find a way to protect that which is most precious to her.
"My Emperor, why did you let her leave?" Safura asks.
"She will doubtless cause problems for the rebellion. Right now her survival will cause Uzumaki Naruto more problems than it will cause me."
The Military Headquarters
Hashirama, Tsunade, Mitsuki, and the Hive Mind's legion of loyal followers return to the Military Headquarters in Okarin. It has been a long time since they were last here. It has been a long time since they journeyed from the pocket-world to Homeworld. Hashirama doesn't know how to feel about returning to what will surely be an empty realm. He hopes that it may help Tsunade to return to her former self, but he isn't optimistic.
After many hours of looking they find the mechanism for opening portals to the pocket-worlds and they work out how to open one to their own pocket-world. This is what Lara did after Naruto trapped Clyde and the others following the Captained-Six contest. They open that portal as planned and promptly return to their pocket-world. It is like returning to their houses after years of travelling, the relief washes over Hashirama and Mitsuki as they return through the portal.
When they return to their pocket-world they find that their new strength makes moving through the realm easy. It once would have taken them days to move from one side to the other, now they can do it in less than an hour. Despite that they search and search for Akashi's body but they cannot find it.
For the moment the body of Endou Akashi will remain lost.
In Response to jenuzmaki
Who asks about Hinata's souls
Hopefully this chapter goes some way towards answering your question.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Mr. Jovonovich/lovebolito
Who asks how a DBZ spin-off would work
I don't know that I'm definitely doing one yet.
I could write that different base-realms have different energy systems to make the world unique.
I could also say that the group of universes is separated from their base-realm by the void.
Or I could say the dragon ball universes were the base-realm, the possibilities are endless.
I have a friend who is very good at world-building, he has helped me with parts of this story and if I write that spin-off I hope he would help with that too.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Hyokage
Who asks about dividing your mind and 'mind' energy
As hinted at in this chapter to break through in an element you need to understand it philosophically, not scientifically.
Nadia understands 'mind' energy philosophically, Naruto and Boruto do not.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to S
Who asks if Kasumi knows any elements stronger than ones that have appeared in the story so far
I haven't decided either way, but I don't see why not.
If you can think of any I'm open to suggestions.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to m'j doom
Who asks if/how Naruto and Mada will meet
I couldn't answer that without giving away spoilers.
Thanks for reading.