IMPERIALS – NARUTO VS MADA
Near Dunstone, Ewoa
Mada power-transfers to both legs and launches himself at Naruto. He is thrilled that he at last has the chance to prove that he is stronger than his counterpart, that his choices were better, that his mind is superior. On path he activates his red chakra cloak, Naruto responds by activating his own orange chakra cloak. They both begin to use the One True Sense, pinpointing each other's locations. Beast snarls from Mada's inner world, ready to offer his power in this fight. The nine tailed-beasts offer Naruto their good luck knowing that the old man will surely need it.
Mada is bearing down on Naruto at speed when there is an explosion of steam around the Uzumaki clansman. This is more than just steam, it is 'steam' energy; Kokuo's 'steam' energy. Each second Mada spends enveloped within the energy he feels the pain of the superheated water on his skin. What is worse is the cover it provides to his adversary. When the 'steam' appeared Naruto took note of Mada's position and trajectory, the counter-aspect was not able to take the same opportunity as his counterpart was stationary. Naruto power-transfers and strikes Mada twice from the cover of the 'steam', driving him out of vaporised water and away from Dunstone.
Naruto power-transfers to his legs and leaps after Mada. Away from the city the two of them begin a furious exchange of strikes, their power boosted by their shared divine oddity. Each blow fills the air with raw divine energy, a battle of powers that most have never seen. Naruto notices that as the strikes move forward Mada is starting to gain a slight advantage, he attributes this to the advantages of youth, but he has his own ways of fighting back. He uses Gyuki's 'ink' energy to momentarily blind Mada. While the One True Sense still allows Mada some perceptive abilities they are much more limited after his eyes are attacked. Naruto quickly creates a golden 'life-fate' Rasengan and drives it into Mada's chest, driving him back once again.
Mada uses Energy Projection to attempt to strike Naruto. Naruto does the same thing, intercepting the projected attack at the halfway mark. The two of them stand completely still as the clash of energies happens in mid-air. Mada has no intention of letting this continue without progress, he manipulates the grass, growing it and ordering it to attack Naruto from behind. As the grass emerges from the ground and intertwines it begins to move towards Naruto, that is until the 7th Hokage wills it to stop. These two are the ones who can control living things around them, but neither of them can hurt the other with that power.
Naruto is the first to break the stalemate. He power-transfers to both legs and launches himself forward through the colliding projected energy. He kicks the ground a second time, firing himself towards Mada. Mada stands ready to defend against any attack from the 7th Hokage, but he still does not understand the full extent of Naruto's powers. Suddenly 'sand' appears beneath Mada and lifts him up. It is not just any sand, it is actual 'sand' energy and it is being projected. This is the divine energy understood by Shukaku. Naruto's fist connects with Mada's head and he pushes forward as hard as he can. Mada power-transfers to his legs, standing his ground. Naruto's hand then begins to burn brightly, turning red hot as he pushes Matatabi's 'fire' energy through it.
"He'll attack below," Kurama announces.
"Then defend with my energy!" Isobu suggests.
Naruto does just that. As the tailed-beasts predicted the heat is becoming too much for Mada so he strikes towards Naruto's abdomen with his other hand. Naruto uses thick 'water' energy to slow down the incoming fist, projecting it between the two of them as a kind of shield. He then shifts to the side slightly, retracting the arm he is using to punch Mada's head and power-transferring to the other arm before striking Mada's gut, pushing him through the projected sand and down into the ground below.
Mada had been expecting a weak old man, not this. Naruto is far stronger than he was before. This run of dominance continues as Naruto walks towards Mada and does something very intimidating. He begins to project energy around him in circles. First he projects Shukaku's 'sand' energy around him as the inner most layer. Layer two is Matatabi's 'fire' energy. Number three is Isobu's 'water' energy. Mada recognises that this is beyond coincidence now and determines that somehow Naruto has reunited with the tailed-beasts and learned powers similar to theirs. He disregards this though, launching himself straight through this elemental protection that Naruto has amassed. Used with class 9 energy these elements are strong, but they are nothing compared to 'life' or 'fate'.
As Mada bursts through the rings of elemental protection he closes in on Naruto. The 7th Hokage's new powers incomparable to his own as he predicted. However, Naruto smiles, using those powers in rings was an invitation for Mada to challenge his strength, his counter-aspect has taken the bait. As Mada gets close to Naruto, the Uzumaki lifts his hand, throwing Son Goku's 'lava' energy up in a sheet before them. The 'lava' sticks to Mada who is forced to use golden 'life' energy to heal himself constantly, the only way to avoid damage after coming into contact with such an element. When he refocuses after healing himself and ridding himself of the lava, Mada notices that he is surrounded by a bubble, an actual water-based bubble. This is Saiken's 'bubble' energy. Naruto closes his hand and the bubble explodes, throwing Mada back once again.
Mada glares at Naruto as he is thrown backwards, he knows now that he must make this old man pay for all that he has done to him, for this humiliation along with all the other pain. However, before Mada reaches the ground he is caught in a hand of energy-projected 'sand'. Naruto power-transfers to both legs and throws himself at Mada. Somehow he starts to move even faster than he did before, Mada soon realises that this is because Naruto is using 'wind' energy to push himself. He arrives before Mada and strikes him powerfully once again, driving him back through the 'sand' hand and into the ground.
After coughing for a full ten seconds Mada forces himself to his feet. He feels more rage towards Naruto than he ever has before. This is impossible in his world view. Naruto is a merciful and sentimental fool who has no interest in strength and yet he seems to accumulate it at an almost supernatural rate. He had hoped to defeat his other-self purely through the superiority of his philosophy, but it looks like that will no longer be possible. Mada makes the decision to use the technique that Naruto refuses to, to absorb 'life' energy from his opponent.
First Mada creates an orb of 'life' energy in his hands, then he lets it expand. The orb expands into a metaphorical bubble, encapsulating the two versions of the same person. When Naruto is trapped within the orb he feels his 'life' energy being slowly siphoned away from him and towards his opponent. However, his control of 'life' energy does allow him to slow the process slightly. He could remain alive in this bubble longer than anybody else but doing so will still make fighting difficult. As the tailed-beasts assure him, he will need to be careful as this fight moves forward.
Mada creates a golden 'life-fate' Rasen-Shuriken and throws it over his head at Naruto. It is a powerful attack and it is moving quickly, more so than any of Mada's attacks to this point. With no time to dodge, Naruto creates a wall of 'sand' in front of him to catch the attack. He feels the wall shake violently as the attack connects and begins to break through it stage-by-stage. When the attack finally does make its way through, Naruto stretches out his hand to catch it. He struggles, for there is a tremendous amount of energy that has been placed into this attack, but with concentration he does slowly manage to gain control of the projectile.
As Naruto is trying to gain control of the golden 'life-fate' Rasen-Shuriken, Mada power-transfers to his legs and launches himself through the hole in the 'sand' wall. He stands in front of Naruto and strikes him back, immediately pursuing him as his nemesis bounces along the ground. He takes steps to follow Naruto and grabs the original version of himself by the collar. Mada then begins to absorb 'life' energy directly through Naruto's chest. Naruto's eyes snap open as he feels his lifeforce weakening by the second. This siphoning is clearly much more powerful than the passive siphoning by the bubble and he needs to find a way to fight back against it quickly.
Fortunately, Naruto is not so weak as the others that Mada has tried this on. He covers his hand with golden 'fate' and slams it down into the ground. One solitary stone springs out of the ground and hits Mada in the face. The counter-aspect releases Naruto instinctively and begins to heal the minor damage. Taking advantage of this opening Naruto power-transfers to his legs and kicks Mada in the stomach, pushing him backwards. He tries to stand but Mada thinks more quickly than his other-self, he uses projected 'life' energy to knock Naruto back down into the ground. He then draws a kunai and slams it down towards Naruto's chest.
Naruto grabs Mada's wrist to block the incoming kunai. Mada places his other hand on Naruto's chest and begins to draw 'life' energy from him once again. The old man can hardly fight back, he tries to peal Mada's hand away from his chest but he is too focused on protecting himself from the incoming kunai. He power-transfers to both arms to give himself a boost but finds that Mada has done the same. He looks inside for answers, he then externalises Kurama's chakra to create an orange chakra hand. He moves this hand towards Mada but then a similar, red-coloured hand blocks it, this is the hand of Kurama's counter-aspect Beast. Naruto extends two more arms; this time belonging to Gyuki and slowly manages to wrestle Mada back away from him.
With Mada back slightly Naruto is finally free to use his arms. Mada throws the kunai at Naruto with a powered-up arm, but Naruto catches it with an equally powered arm. Dropping the kunai, both versions come up with the same idea. They both create massive pools of energy before them, of chakra, of golden 'life' and golden 'fate', shaping the tailed-beasts' chakra into a pair of Tailed-Beast Bombs. When their energy has reached its zenith they each launch the attacks at the other, creating a giant explosion.
The first to recover from the damage of the blast is Mada who has the advantage of the energy he absorbed from Naruto before. When he gets to his feet he power-transfers to his legs and leaps over to Naruto once again and places a hand on his chest. Mada starts to absorb 'life' directly from Naruto's heart, weakening his lifeforce even more quickly than before. Naruto is stunned by how strong his counterpart is despite his bad attitude. He gasps for air as he feels himself weakening by the second. He then creates summons a bo to his hand, coating it in golden 'life-fate' energy, he slams it into Mada's head, pushing him away.
As Naruto gets to his feet Mada creates a quarterstaff of his own. They approach one another and begin to exchange strikes. Given Mada's healthier condition and the advantages given to him by the 'life' he has absorbed he quickly gains the upper hand. When he has broken through Naruto's guard he spins and slams the bo across Naruto's chest, propelling his opponent backwards at great speed. It is only with the assistance of projected 'sand' energy that Naruto manages to slow himself down, eventually coming to a halt.
Naruto slowly gets to his feet.
"I think it's time you admit it old man, you are inferior to me. You have failed to defeat me, both in strength and in intelligence. Admit your failings to me before I kill you, at least that way one of us will be happy."
"Admit my failings? Don't fool yourself, this fight is not over yet."
"You have no way of keeping up with me anymore. Every second this fight continues I get stronger and you become weaker."
"I have only shown you eight of the tailed-beasts' elements so far. Shukaku's 'sand'. Matatabi's 'fire'. Isobu's 'water'. Son Goku's 'lava'. Kokuo's 'steam'. Saiken's 'bubbles'. Chomei's 'wind'. Gyuki's 'ink'. I have not yet used Kurama's element. That is because it is difficult to control, especially when it is combined with my other powers."
"Do you think one more element will make a difference?"
"Indeed I do."
"Very well, you can have your lust hurrah. Show me what it is, Kurama's element."
Naruto takes a breath and concentrates. He pictures the word on the final tablet in his inner world, the tablet that appeared when Kurama finally understood his element. Kurama concentrates on the tablet as well, donating his element to his friend. Through their combined effort a red energy begins to flow from Naruto's inner world and out through his arms. That red energy then begins to move up and down the lengths of his limbs and his torso in a helical motion. Naruto continues to concentrate for a few seconds taking regular and repeating breaths, dividing his mind as much as he can.
Naruto smiles, it seems like it has worked.
Mada frowns and adopts a defensive position. He doesn't know what this strange red energy does, but he is more than happy to show Naruto how powerless it is against him. He power-transfers to both arms and stands ready to receive an attack. But he is not ready for what Naruto has in store for him, not ready at all.
Naruto power-transfers to both legs and at the same time the speed and intensity of the helical red energy increases. He launches himself forwards, appearing beside Mada before the latter can react. Mada quickly turns his head to the side, but that is all he can do before Naruto strikes him in the chest, supported by this new type of energy. There is a loud roar at the moment of connection, a roar unlike anything Mada has ever felt before. The energy transfers from Naruto's fist to the counter-aspect's body and the impact is the single most powerful attack he has ever endured. When Mada is blasted backwards the red energy forms a wake and the speed with which he moves induces air currents that tear the ground below him to pieces marking a clear trail of where he has been.
Mada slowly forces himself to his feet. "That is impossible! I was using the One True Sense and Detonation Martial Arts, yet I was far too slow to react to him moving, no, not too slow, I didn't react at all."
Mada sees an explosion of red divine energy from the spot where Naruto hit him. In less than a second the 7th Hokage is stood beside him again. This time he doesn't attack. He simply stands beside his counter-aspect, a view of the terrified city of Dunstone behind them and speaks to him about his current predicament.
"Some elements are completely independent," Naruto explains calmly. "Some have opposites like 'life' and 'death'. Some have similar elements that are unconnected like 'steam' and 'water'. Lastly, some elements are centred around understanding the interaction of two others. Sasuke's 'spacetime' is such an example, he doesn't understand one or the other independently, but he understands the way they interact.
"Kurama has been watching us all for a long time now. He has seen countless elements used in many different ways while never considering learning one himself. When he was told he needed to learn one he was determined to make it a good one. Two people he took inspiration from were Ming Dai and Princess Emilie. As you know their elements are 'strength' and 'speed' respectively. Imagine there was an element that represented the interaction of 'strength' and 'speed', it would be an element that could make every movement faster, every movement stronger. Now imagine if you combine that element with Detonation Martial Arts. It would be very difficult to control, but if you could do it you would be almost unbeatable.
"Of course I doubt you get along with Kurama like I do. I imagine that you hate him and you continue to use his energy for your own purposes. The most important part of me using Kurama's element is that he is willing to let me use it. That is the difference between us, you may be stronger on your own, but I am stronger when I work together with others; and that is a strength you could never match.
"Kurama's element centres on the interaction of 'strength' and 'speed'.
"It is a double-transcendent element called 'might' energy."
The Void
Takada Kasumi watches her fellow progenitor with a smile. 'Might' energy is an interesting power indeed, especially given the present circumstances. She believes that Uzumaki Naruto is now the strongest class 9 warrior to have ever walked Homeworld. Calling him class 9 at this point seems almost laughable to her. Although he lacks the energy to be classed as a class 10 warrior, his raw strength and speed put him halfway between that and a class 9 warrior. She jokes to herself that in this moment Naruto has become the world's first class 9.5 warrior.
Dunstone, Ewoa
Mada lays down, practically admitting defeat. He sighs as what Naruto told him goes through his head. If he is using Kurama's new power and it is what he claims there is no way Mada can defeat him, and that means there is no way he can stay like this. Naruto and the others will not allow him to continue acting on behalf of the Dark Dimension. With Dunstone so close at hand he feels it is a final insult from his original self. That's when he is hit by an idea, he does not wish to keep going in a world where Naruto determines his destiny, there is still one way in which he can fight for the Dark Dimension.
Mada power-transfers to his legs, launching himself as close to Dunstone as he can go.
Naruto power-transfers to his legs and adds 'might' energy. He fires himself past Mada and stands between him and the city.
"What are you trying to do. You know that you can't hurt them while I am here."
"I can still do this. I can detonate my core. That way I take down you and Dunstone with me!"
Naruto thinks of trying to reason with Mada, but it is already too late. Mada's whole body is glowing as he prepares to detonate his core. This is not a partial detonation of the core, there will be no holding back as with Detonation Martial Arts, no energy reserved for healing purposes, he is going to unleash it all towards the city. It is possible that some of the stronger warriors will survive, and maybe people on the opposite side of the city, but the majority will die.
Naruto leaps backwards, creating a bit of separation between himself and Mada. He needs to find a way to protect Dunstone and quickly. He uses Energy Projection combined with 'sand' energy to create a massive wall between Mada and the city. He knows that this will not be enough so he creates thousands of clones to run into Dunstone and secure as many people as possible. He still doesn't know how they are going to survive this.
The tailed-beasts all tell Naruto to take their energy. He adds it to the wall, not sure how much it will help. It is a strange combination of elements, a wall made from 'life', 'fate', 'sand', 'fire', 'water', 'lava', 'steam', 'bubbles', 'wind', 'ink' and 'might', but that is what he has available to him. He concentrates it all on the wall, this is the strongest possible defence he can provide for a widespread area, perhaps only Furst Jonas himself could do better. He closes his eyes and hopes that it will be enough to protect all the innocents in the city behind him.
Mada screams his final words, "You will always lose, Uzumaki Naruto!"
Mada detonates his core.
The explosion of Mada's energy connects with the protective wall Naruto has created. Although it doesn't break through it immediately it moves it enough to create a giant shockwave that spreads throughout the city. Naruto's clones have to act quickly to protect as many people as possible from the shockwave. The warriors, including the members of the Ewoa Council, watch and pray that Naruto can continue to hold the wall against the core detonation, but they do not hold out much hope. How can anyone hold back that much energy?
"Never give up," Kurama reminds Naruto.
"Never give up!" the other tailed-beasts say in agreement.
The wall is suddenly pushed back again, creating another shockwave. Most of the elements Naruto has used to reinforce the wall fall away. He projects 'water' to solidify the sand, turning it into as hard a barrier as he can. Now he has only one thing left to defend the people with, himself. He runs up to the 'sand-water' barrier and pushes it, using a combination of his divine oddity and 'might' energy to push himself forward.
The council members and the citizens of Dunstone watch on terrified, but they have a determined protector.
"Never give up!" Naruto tells himself.
Suddenly the thousands of Naruto clones emerge from the city and join the original body in pushing against the wall. They all cry out together, shouting "push" in unison. It is a combined effort put forward by one very determined man. When the aristocrats and council members look at him now they see a reminder of their previous emperor.
Images of people rush through Naruto's mind, people depending on him. He sees Sora and Carmen. He sees Enri and Nina. He sees Juan and Terukatsu. He sees Didier, Emilie, Laurent, and all the other members of the Beast Clan. He sees his parents and his sister, his son and his daughter. Last of all he sees Hinata.
Naruto lets out one final battle cry and suddenly the wet sand blows away from him and into the distance.
The core detonation is over!
Naruto has saved everyone!
The clones disappear. The people behind the city gates look out and see a man with the words 7th Hokage on his back. They see the legendary rebel Uzumaki Naruto. He turns around to them and punches the air, shouting "yes!" at the top of his voice. It is unusual to see a man of his elderly appearance behaving in such an excited manner but the citizens of Dunstone can't help but join in with him. They all excitedly cheer about their survival, congratulating him, thanking him, cheering and clapping for him.
The council members walk around the corner to catch a glimpse of this man who has saved them. They join in with the civilians in clapping and cheering for Naruto. He has won the eternal gratitude of Dunstone on this terrifying day. He has become a hero unparalleled throughout Homeworld.
Today Naruto fought Mada in a terrifying battle.
Today Naruto won!
In Response to secret lvoe writer
Who asks if there other progenitors for the beasts etc.
There was a beast progenitor and one for the Dark Dimension.
I have no intention of expanding upon their existence in this story though.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to m'j doom
Who asks several questions
Q1: Did Hashirama and the others discover something important in the pocket-world?
A1: They made a breakthrough, they saw Naruto, other than that nothing.
Q2: Is the Little Diamond an Otsutsuki?
A2: I definitely can't reveal that without giving away spoilers.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Snaketh
Who asks several questions
Q1: How much longer is the story going to run for?
A1: I couldn't reveal that without potentially killing some of the tension at the end. But relative to the total length of the story we are nearly at the end.
Q2: How long will you continue rapid updating?
A2: I'm hoping until the end. At the moment my health is OK, though I must admit I sometimes lose sleep because I'm writing. It is not much longer though, so I think this will be the update pace until the story is finished.
Thanks for reading.