IMPERIALS – ENDOU REUNION

South Cheqitori

Enri understands the urgency with which she must act. She rises from the desk to her feet and walks to a vacant spot in the room. She raises her arm and thinks the initiating thoughts for her 3rd Party Summon divine ability. The moment she activates it she feels a tremendous energy draw. This never normally happens, the only reason it could be happening is because they are in a difficult space to summon them from such as another dimension. She fears that they are trapped in the Dark Dimension or somewhere just as far away. Summoning them will take a great concentration of energy, perhaps more than even she can muster.

Hinata places a hand on her mother's shoulder, donating some of her energy to her. Boruto and Himawari suddenly appear in the room. Enri and Hinata both breathe a sigh of relief. None of them are dead.

"The 3rd Party Summon can bring us through those walls," Boruto observes. "That is a handy trick. It's a good thing you summoned us grandmother, something terrible happened. The Empress used this device and it was supposed to lock onto Akashi— our grandfather's divine energy. She said that it replaces him with his counter-aspect."

"Have you ever heard of this concept before mother?" Hinata asks.

"I think I heard about it during the previous war, but I am no expert."

"Ashen-sensei explained all about it," Himawari says.

Hinata frowns. "Ashen-sensei?"

"It's a long story mom, but without the war she wasn't that bad. Even what she is doing now she is only doing because she has something she wants to protect. She calls it the Little Diamond. Have you ever heard of a Little Diamond?"

"No."

Enri changes the subject, "Hinata, you donated energy to me. You didn't enhance my actions with your own energy, you actually gave me the energy. That shouldn't be possible, how did you do that?"

"We don't have time to discuss that right now."

"It was class 9 energy."

"You're a class 9 warrior?" Boruto asks.

"Yes."

"Then we are all class 9 warriors," Himawari says, ignoring the obvious exception of Shao Chin.

Enri is distressed to hear about her granddaughter's opinions on Helion Ashen. She says that she was not that bad when they met. She says that she is only doing bad things to protect something she cares about. She referred to her as her sensei, making it very likely that Himawari reached class 9 thanks to Ashen's intervention. What is worst of all is her new red and black attire, the colours of an empire she once fought against. She holds back on warning Himawari about Ashen though, being forgiving in this situation is hard to understand, but it is what Akashi would have done.

"Would you like to congratulate them?" Hinata asks her other-self. "I just spoke with Hyuuga Hinata, she is proud of you both. I am as well."

"You can speak with our other mother?"

"We don't have time for this!" Shao Chin says, walking forwards. "Naruto's counter-aspect, Mada or whatever it is called, is on a rampage down in Ewoa. He's taking his time, destroying villages one-by-one, but it won't be long before he reaches the capital. If we're going to stop him destroying everything we need the real Naruto back!"

"We need to confront Ashen. Himawari, are you comfortable fighting your new sensei?" Hinata asks.

"I am."

"Boruto, I assume you have no objections."

"If it will bring the real dad back then I am all for it."

"Mother, will you—"

"I can't come," Enri says. "I am still needed here in Cheqitori. We know that King Erik is about to raid one of our hideouts but we don't know which one. I need to be ready to evacuate people from that hideout and counterattack. Besides, facing Helion Ashen, I never want to do something like that again."

Hinata nods. Since they can't bring Ashen here she asks Shao Chin to take them to the Empress, suggesting that Himawari's new robes may have traces of Ashen's scent on them. Shao Chin confirms that they do, so he will take the three of them to face her.

Endou-Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Boruto, Uzumaki Himawari, it is up to these three to defeat she who only emperors have defeated and save Ewoa.

The Pocket-World

At the suggestion of his followers, Hashirama approaches a mysterious occurrence. He arrives and finds that Tao Ma's followers have formed a large circle, each silently observing the object in the centre. He looks at Mitsuki who is stood behind Tsunade, Tsunade herself being part of the circle. The 1st Hokage approaches, bringing Mitsuki inside the circle with him and walks up to the strange occurrence. It appears to be an old man who is appearing and disappearing very quickly.

"Is this who I think it is Mitsuki?"

"Yes, it's Lord 7th."

"Is it safe to interact with him?"

"I don't think so. You can see that he is half-visible, I think that is because he is moving very quickly. If we touch him we might end up killing him. Or given his 'life' powers he may survive and we would lose a hand."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"I tried calling out to him from over Tsunade's shoulder, no response. He hasn't moved a muscle; I don't think he knows we are here."

"How did he got so old?"

"I think it might be a consequence of him moving so quickly. After the tenure of the 1st Hokage ended technology began to move forward. During the era of the 6th and 7th Hokage we began to develop technology for our entertainment and for scientific observations. When Konohamaru-sensei and Sarada were the Hokage we used that technology to understand the world. At high speeds time becomes a difficult concept to deal with. If something else is causing him to age then it is beyond my comprehension."

"Is he still ageing?"

"He is. Since I've been watching him he has shown a few signs of ageing. A few more hairs have turned grey, his skin has changed, and there a few more spots."

"It should be impossible for Naruto to age shouldn't it? When we understand Homeworld's divine energy we should become immortal within the next few years. He understood divine energy before any of us, why would he still be ageing?"

"I don't know."

"Is it possible that he will die?"

"He understands 'life' energy, that will probably give him longer than most of us. I have no idea where his limit is, the lifeforce of the 9th Hokage is unparalleled in the history of our world. Not even you have a vitality that can compare with him. If he dies then I fear that the rebellion is finished. I don't wish to sound downcast, but there is nobody else who can defeat Furst Jonas."

Hashirama steps closer to Naruto and wishes that he could speak with him. When they arrived in the future they quickly became friends. When Mito died and Tao Ma killed Hashirama that changed everything, their paths began to diverge dangerously. Tobirama has commented before about how Naruto reminds him of his brother, that is one of the greatest compliments Hashirama has ever received. He wishes that he could talk to him one more time and apologise for all the difficulties he has put the 7th Hokage through. When Hashirama first pictured the perfect Hokage he pictured someone exactly like Uzumaki Naruto. If he dies here then a big part of the Hidden Leaf Village will die along with him.

"If there is nothing I can do then we will continue the search," Hashirama says, signalling to Tao Ma's followers to resume their former search pattern.

"I will remain with him if it is OK with you."

"Very well."

As everyone else leaves Mitsuki continues to observe Naruto. Why has he appeared here of all places, in this part of the pocket-world? Is it because he died here or because of another reason entirely? As Mitsuki contemplates this he takes his own opportunity to mutter some final words for Uzumaki Naruto, a man who helped create a village that changed his life. Nobody is more important to the people of their village than Naruto is, and he wishes that the 7th Hokage knew that.

The Void

Naruto sighs.

"You look good for an old man," Kasumi jokes.

"I hate being an old man."

"It suits you."

"There better be a way to reverse this. It's going to be a struggle to defeat my other-self, I don't want to have to explain this to everyone I meet. I could wear a name tag or something but everybody will think that I'm joking. I'll have to use unique powers like 'life' and Detonation Martial Arts to prove it's me, it will waste lots of time and it will be much less impressive than using them in battle."

"Naruto…"

"Boruto will look more like me than I do. What if copycats appear claiming to be me? That happened before you know, a fake Naruto, that was a real pain."

"Naruto…"

"Sasuke will never let me hear the end of it. He will tell me 'you sit down over there old man I will deal with this'. He will tell everyone that he will take care of my responsibilities because I'm too old. I'll have to give up being the Hokage. People will start acting like I'm wise and I have lots of experiences to tell them about."

"Naruto!" Kasumi shouts.

"What is it?"

"In your inner-world. The last of your tailed friends is breaking through."

Naruto quickly stops complaining and enters his inner world. He watches in wonder along with the other tailed-beasts as the final one of their number unlocks their element. That final tailed-beast is none other than the nine-tails himself, it is Kurama! Kurama has long watched others use divine energy without considering it himself, now that the time has come he has been focusing on becoming strong, on helping to save the friend he has inadvertently been harming. As the final required thought passes through the nine-tails' mind the eleventh stone tablet drops into the world, joining Naruto's two and the other tailed-beasts' eight.

"Well done Kurama."

"Ha, that will show you all for making fun of me. I did it, I understood an element."

"We never doubted you for a moment," Son Goku says.

"Except for Shukaku," Gyuki says.

"He only broke through last because having fewer tails makes you smarter."

"What was that you foolish raccoon."

"Come on, no more fighting, this is a good occasion," Naruto says, emerging from his inner world to face Kasumi once more. "Well Kasumi, does this mean that I'm no longer ageing. Am I immortal now?"

"Yes, congratulations, when Kurama made his breakthrough you achieved immortality. It is hard for me to remember limitations as you are experiencing them now. For a full progenitor it is easy to see that you are in fact no longer ageing. Well done to all of you, your hard work has paid off and now all that there is to do is wait."

"Is the other-me still causing problems?"

"Yes, but your friends are working to resolve them. Do not let that distract you now though, you need to practice using your new powers if you are going to stand a chance against him. He is using your powers in ways that you refused to do, in a way that makes him stronger than you. Use your greatest advantage over him, you are willing to work together with others to become strong. Fight with the tailed-beasts, with all of them, and I believe that you will find a way to defeat him."

"You think this old man can do it!?" Kurama teases.

"Well I certainly hope so," Kasumi answers.

"None of you are very supportive," Naruto says, waving his fist comically.

"You don't need my support, not when you have all of theirs. Besides, Kurama's element, it really is interesting, isn't it?"

The Pocket-World

Mitsuki notices that Naruto has stopped ageing and rushes to tell Hashirama and Tsunade. He quickly bumps into one of Tao Ma's followers and asks her to take him to them. The journey does not take long and he finds the two of them stood atop the Hokage monument in the Hidden Leaf Village. He runs to their side eagerly but notices that they are not in the mood to be disturbed right now. They are silently looking over the rebuilt village.

Mitsuki has mixed feelings coming back here too. He now considers Clyde an ally but remembering what he put them through does still fill him with anger. It is directly below his feet where his teacher was forced to give his life to protect the village. That was a solemn day for the Hidden Leaf, one of very few times they were forced to leave this place. The intervention of Homeworld in this realm has caused all sorts of problems, but in some ways it saved them to. If Endou Akashi had chosen a different realm for his daughter's reincarnation they may never have survived. If not for Furst Jonas' intellect this place would never have existed to begin with.

This place has just as many memories for Hashirama. He helped to create this village, hoping that in doing so he could start the process of ending the constant wars. How ironic that the village was destroyed by just that, a war. He feels even now that a large part of what happened here was his fault, not the first time but the second. With his help the battle against Lara could have been avoided entirely, as could so much pain that happened afterwards. If he and Naruto had worked together since the beginning they would be much better placed now.

Tsunade also has her losses in this realm. She lost both her grandmother and her partner here as a result of a betrayal from her grandfather. The future has treated nobody worse than her, and as she looks at the part of the village they rebuilt she feels a rare emotion, a sense of emptiness. They can rebuild buildings but what she has lost can never be replaced. Never again will she see Uzumaki Mito or Kato Dan. She can never go back to the past she lost nor enjoy the future she wanted.

What links them all though is how appalling they find what took place in this realm. As they have searched it they have been reminded of what was lost here. The military rolled through this world easily, destroying all five villages with only a few people surviving. They were merciless, causing death on a scale that the pocket-world had never seen before. It was almost extinction for the people of this world, and it was only thanks to a small group of elite warriors that it was avoided. This death is Furst Jonas' fault and seeing it from this position fills them all with determination to stop it from ever happening again.

Mitsuki sees both Hashirama and Tsunade suddenly surrounded with grey 'death' energy. He nods his approval as he watches them each go through a metamorphosis. Tsunade's energy is transforming into a divine 'death' cloak. Hashirama's is transforming into a golden 'death' cloak. The 5th Hokage is becoming a class 8 warrior and the 1st is becoming a class 9 warrior, someone who can make a real difference in the events to come.

Mitsuki realises that this may be why the Seer Twins sent them here. They have not succeeded in finding Akashi's body, but returning here has made them face the 'death' that happened in this pocket-world. It has led to this crucial breakthrough, it has turned Tsunade into someone who could fight a general and Hashirama into someone who could fight one of the royals. Even if they leave now it will not have been in vain, they are one step closer to safety, one step closer to victory at long last.

In Response to Kinguu
Who asks how much of this I thought out at the start

Honestly it is very hard to remember.

I had the concept for Homeworld, although I hadn't named it yet.
If I recall the plan from early on was for Hinata to be from Homeworld.

I planned for Hashirama to become a villain, at least temporarily.
Boruto's use of 'death' energy to counter Naruto's 'life' energy was planned since the start.

I planned for Clyde's allegiance to change from the beginning.
I planned for his superior to do a second invasion, but I can't remember if I had created the Lara character yet.

There are things that haven't happened yet that I have planned since the beginning.

Beyond that it's hard to remember.
Perhaps after the final chapter I will write some details about the planning for this story.

Thanks for reading.

In Response to NicoFics
Who asks which part so far is longest?

Per the list below the longest part was part 5, War Never Ends. This was the part in which Naruto and Clyde formed an alliance and Lara invaded Homeworld.

Part 1 - Hope, A Thing of the Past - 13 chapters (1 - 13)

Part 2 - Making the Impossible Possible - 16 chapters (14 - 29)

Part 3 - The Battle for the Earth - 30 chapters (30 - 59)

Part 4 - Rebirth of the Leaf - 16 chapters (60 - 75)

Part 5 - War Never Ends - 41 chapters (76 - 116)

Part 6 - A New World - 27 chapters (117 - 143)

Part 7 - The Imperial Palace - 20 chapters (144 - 163)

Part 8 - Back to School - 26 chapters (164 - 189)

Part 9 - Boruto's Masters - 16 chapters (190 - 205)

Part 10 - Declaration of War - 30 chapters (206 - 235)

Special - 1 chapter (236)

Part 11 - The Foundry - 32 chapters (237 - 268)

Part 12 - The Generals - 9 chapters (269 - 277)

Part 13 - Afflictions and Royals - 21 chapters (278 - 298)

Part 14 - Imperials - 12 chapters so far (299 - current)

Thanks for reading.