THE END WAR – JONAS' ASCENSION BEGINS

The Imperial Palace

Erik is fighting alongside Petra and Max against Helion Ashen. Ashen is a mighty opponent, probably the strongest he has ever faced. However, he is not afraid of her. He is fighting with two others and has no reason to be afraid. Safura's recent defection has complicated things slightly, but that doesn't worry him. Safura is possibly the most skilled of all class 8 warriors, maybe even more skilled than himself. However, the now former Head General Safura is a class below him and not someone he needs to take seriously.

Ashen spies something approaching from an obscure angle and smiles at it. A small orb of light moving at great speed. The orb arrives before King Erik and transforms into a woman. It is the 9th Hokage, Uchiha Sarada. Sarada concentrates 'creation' energy on her right hand and delivers a powerful Solar Punch to Erik. Although the Noble King is stronger than Sarada she catches him by surprise and knocks him back. As he is moving backwards she rushes forward with her comet form again, taking the opportunity to land a trio of strikes against him.

When Erik does come to a halt he lands on his feet and looks furiously at his attacker. He was just attacked by a mere class 8 warrior. Him! He is King of Cheqitori and demands to be afforded respect from his peers. In his mind weak class 8 warriors should thank him for even tolerating them in his presence.

Now left with only two royals to fight against Ashen and Safura look over towards their ally the 9th Hokage. They each nod their appreciation in Sarada's direction. Thanks to her their fight has just become a lot easier.

"You're the prisoner," Erik remarks. "Who do you think you are to strike me?"

"My name is Uchiha Sarada. My mother was Haruno Sakura. She participated in the attack on the Foundry. You attacked my mother and her allies. My teacher and my fiancé were forced to fight against you. When they returned the group was too exhausted and they couldn't save my mother. She died a pointless death. They went to the Foundry and achieved exactly what they set out to do, but they couldn't save her."

"I have no idea who your mother is. I only fought Uzumaki and the Crown Prince."

Sarada frowns. "After you did that it tore my friends apart. Most of them blamed themselves. Some people blamed the 1st Hokage because he had the power that made the fight happen. Some people blamed Boruto for approving the alliance. Some people blamed my mother for going along with the plan. Some people blamed my teacher because he was too weak to save my mother. Some blame Himawari because she delivered the killing blow.

"I want you to know that I don't blame any of the brave rebels who attacked the Foundry in the name of stopping Furst. I blame the only person who was on the Foundry with bad intentions. Hertz Erik, I blame you for my mother's death!"

"It makes no difference to me who you blame."

Sarada smiles. It does make a difference because that makes him her enemy. She 'creates' a diamond kunai with a paper bomb attached. She throws this at Erik. Being much faster the king easily steps to the side and avoids the weapon, foolishly opting to catch it. As Erik catches the kunai it blows up in his face. The explosion is enormous, a result of the unique formula Sarada is 'creating' the paper bombs with. She 'creates' a multitude of kunai in this way and throws them one after another at Erik.

After a minute of being continuously attacked Erik emerges from the dust of the explosion moderately unharmed. He brushes some dirt from his jacket before creating a golden 'cosmic' lance in his hand. He gestures towards himself with his hand, creating a barrier behind Sarada with his divine ability and pulling her towards him. As Sarada is lifted from her feet Erik launches the lance at her with all his power. The 9th Hokage reacts quickly thanks to her Future Sight divine ability. She 'creates' a diamond shield and uses it to slow the lance slightly. When the weapon pierces through the shield she moves her head to the side to avoid it. Instead the lance ends up destroying the barrier that Erik himself created.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a class 8 warrior," Sarada warns Erik. "There is a way for me to defeat you. I guarantee you that I am going to find it."

Nearby, the Imperial Palace

Nadia watches the colonels distribute her plan to their subordinates. She sighs, calculating that any second now they will be attacked by one of the rebels. This is not one of the ordinary rebels either. Their likely opponent is, with the exception of Naruto, the most difficult to fight of them all. She closes her eyes and makes a prediction. Over her right shoulder he will attack Swen first, then he will turn counter-clockwise and attack her next.

Her prediction turns out to be true. Appearing just moments before his attack Uzumaki Boruto jumps a short way up into the air and kicks Swen. The strike is powerful, performed with physical strength matching the Lazy King's own. Having knocked Swen back with the first attack Boruto disappears again thanks to the benefits of his Death Mask. He then moves towards Nadia, exactly as she predicted. Nadia throws a punch to her right, predicting the spot where Boruto will approach from. Once again her prediction proves correct and she hits the Uzumaki, but he blocks her strike and counters with one of his own, sending her back in the same way he did Swen.

Swen tries to listen to Boruto's thoughts using his golden 'psychic' energy. He finds that he is reluctant to listen to his opponent's thoughts after starting. This is part of the effect of Boruto's Death Mask. His opponents are reluctant to look at him, subconsciously willing themselves not to look at him. The same logic applies to Swen's mind reading. It is difficult for even the King of Gavaria to pinpoint his target using this method.

Nadia picks up a stone from the ground and covers it in golden 'mind' energy. She concentrates. Her 'mind' energy helps her most with long-term plans and tactics, but it is also good for short-term battles. Her unique power gives her insight and reactions to the battle in front of her second only to Hannah. She predicts that Boruto will approach Swen from straight ahead this time, attacking him with his Rasengan technique. She picks the direction of his approach and throws the stone, skipping it along the ground like a pebble on a lake.

A direct hit!

The pebble strikes Boruto's wrist, pushing his golden 'death-fate' enhanced Rasengan past Swen. The King of Gavaria reacts quickly, raising his knee and striking Boruto in the head. Boruto stumbles backwards and Swen moves to follow this attack up with another. Swen strikes towards Boruto but his attack hits nothing. Boruto teleports to a marked kunai he left on the ground before he attacked the two royals. Confident that he has escaped harm he stands and faces the two of them.

Swen looks around for a target he is unable to pinpoint. Nadia stands beside her closest friend and tells him to stand still. She places her hands on his shoulders and closes her eyes. She turns slightly to the side, pointing herself and Swen perfectly in Boruto's direction. This surprises the Shadow Hokage, but Nadia simply smiles. She has studied the Crown Prince's thought process for some time now, she can see through most of his actions. Knowing his approach angle she knew he would leave a marked kunai in that very spot.

Boruto removes his Death Mask and faces his two adversaries.

"Fighting two opponents, you certainly are confident," Nadia teases Boruto. "Ashen is doing the same thing over there, are you trying to one-up her?"

"I am fighting the two of you because I know that I can defeat you. One of my powers is the Path Light, it gives me suggestions on how to defeat my opponent. Those suggestions come from my ancestors. They had no idea how to defeat Jonas, but they have plenty of ideas on how to defeat the two of you. Nadia, Swen, give up."

Nadia laughs. "Give up? Why would I do that? Everything is still going according to plan."

"Your plan is flawed," Boruto declares. "The full might of the Imperial Guard is already here. Right now you have us outnumbered but reinforcements will arrive. This is going to get tougher for you."

"You underestimate the royals, Uzumaki Boruto. Still, let me point out where your logic is flawed. You are suggesting that we would fare better if we betrayed the emperor and sided with the rebellion. Just because your ancestors have suggestions about how to defeat me doesn't mean you can do it. Those suggestions may not work. However, if these suggestions are as reliable as you believe then there is even less reason to switch sides. You have just confirmed to me that you cannot defeat the emperor. Our best bet is to side with him."

"He will turn against you eventually. If you don't realise that you are a fool."

"Do I strike you as a fool?"

Boruto pauses and sighs. He lifts his hand positioning it over his face. He gather's golden 'death' energy on that hand once again and puts on the Death Mask. He hides his presence from his two opponents. The rebellion have suspected on several occasions that Nadia and Swen may be willing to change sides but that seems not to be the case. If they will fight with the emperor until the end then his goal is clear. He will defeat the two of them and clear the way for rebellion to take Okarin.

Nearby, the Imperial Palace

Tobirama sustains the first injury of the Kage group. Shinki reacts immediately, filling the gap left by the 2nd Hokage, switching from mixed duties to purely defensive ones. Hiruzen becomes more reserved with his attacks and Kakashi focuses more than ever on his defence. Tobirama creates a series of shadow clones which throw marked kunai in many different directions. He uses Kurama's chakra to connect himself with the other Kage and teleports them as far away from the Imperial Guard as possible.

Naturally the Imperial Guard is quick to spot the escaped group of Kage. They immediately begin to pursue them, allowing Tobirama and the others only seconds of recovery time.

"Will you be OK?" Kakashi asks.

"Focus on yourself Lord 6th, I…"

"Tobirama!" Kakashi shouts. "Tell me that you will be OK."

Tobirama glances at Kakashi. During the years since he arrived in the future he has found few people that he admires more than the pragmatic 6th Hokage. After the invasion of Clyde's group and the captained-six contest he often spoke with Kakashi. During the years of separation from Naruto he confided in the Hatake clansmen more than anyone else. He realises that he has come to care for Kakashi as family. If there is anyone who has earned a truthful answer from Senju Tobirama it is him.

"I will be fine Kakashi," Tobirama answers. "Kurama's chakra is already boosting my recovery time."

Kakashi nods before offering Tobirama a bandage. The 2nd Hokage refuses the attention. Kakashi puts away the bandage, instead displaying a marked kunai he has kept in his pocket. Tobirama nods. Kakashi throws the marked kunai towards the approaching Imperial Guard giving them a moment's pause. Kakashi then uses his Kamui powers, temporarily transporting the kunai to another realm. After a couple of seconds he uses Kamui again to bring the kunai back. Tobirama teleports to the returning kunai and uses Kurama's chakra to strike out in every direction at once.

With the attack successfully executed Tobirama teleports back to Kakashi's side.

"I told you I would be fine."

"It's a good thing my spacetime techniques are more advanced than yours otherwise that wouldn't have worked," Kakashi jokes.

"Are you competing with my spacetime techniques Kakashi? You are challenging the master of the discipline."

"You two are usually quite sensible," Hiruzen remarks. "What happened to you two? Making jokes here of all places."

Shinki smiles. "It's good to see isn't it? If we're going to die here let's do it with a smile on our faces. Let's make the Imperial Guard see our willpower until the very last second. If we meet our end we must show them that we believe the rebels will go on to win this fight."

Hiruzen returns Shinki's smile. "I would rather survive long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Whatever happens though I am proud of where we are standing. 2nd Hokage, 3rd Hokage, 6th Hokage, 7th Hokage, 9th Hokage, and 5th Kazekage. We have all made it here to the battle that will end everything. Let's show them why."

Nearby, the Imperial Palace

Naruto stands in front of Jonas and throws ongoing strikes at him. He rapidly attacks, lefts hands and right hands, kicks, and elbow strikes when it confuses things. Nothing that Naruto tries is getting past Jonas's guard. Every strike the emperor intercepts effortlessly. Naruto tries to drop and sweep Jonas's legs from beneath him but the emperor simply steps over the attack. When Naruto stands Jonas focuses golden 'destruction' energy on his hand and slaps his open palm into Naruto's chest. Naruto is pushed back a long way before he collapses to the ground.

Naruto covers himself in golden 'life' energy and begins to recover from the attack. After two seconds he winces and glances down, realising that he is still in pain. Healing himself doesn't usually take this long but Furst is just too strong. He looks back up at Jonas to find that emperor is simply glancing at his hand. Naruto is the second strongest person in Homeworld, yet Jonas barely seems to register his presence. The 7th Hokage doesn't remember him being this strong. Even Kasumi didn't make Jonas seem this strong.

Jonas looks at Naruto.

"You're a bit stronger than I thought you would be Naruto, I admire that. I haven't fought an opponent so strong since Endou Akashi himself. It would be interesting to know which of you is stronger. I suspect that in the right circumstances you might be even stronger than he was. But you're clearly no match for me."

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?" Naruto asks.

"You still have your uses," Jonas answers. "I should consider the other threats now; I believe that you know them better than I do. There is of course the Returning Empress as they now call her. She doesn't have the power to fight me but politically she is still an issue. Then there is the Blaze Princess, she has remarkable raw talent, left unchecked she could be a threat one day. Your son the Crown Prince is a pain as well, given the chance he could wield power close to matching your own. Ashen could cause problems if she worked with others too, especially that student of yours, the experiment Hannah."

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

"Provoke you?"

"You are threatening the people I care about, but you have always been doing that. I have known that only I could stop you from the beginning. If you think I am going to lose my cool because you threaten my family now you are mistaken."

Jonas sighs. "You seem to share Akashi's lack of brains. I am not threatening you to provoke you. So far you haven't inflicted any damage on me at all. I have no need for a psychological edge in our fight. Besides, if you are looking for a mental advantage you have picked the wrong opponent though."

"The wrong opponent?"

"I assume Sora told you the story of how I first realised that I was destined to become the god of this world. I used 'destruction' energy to become the hero of my village. I fought off all attackers until one day an attack came that I could not repel. I lost my best friend in that attack. You talk as if losing those close to you is painful, like losing a limb. I didn't feel any pain as he died, not mental nor physical. Why would a god care about the lives of insects like you? Compared to you, someone who cares greatly for his friends and family, I will always have an advantage."

"You're crazy."

"I am the foretold god."

Naruto takes a deep breath. He has always known that Jonas would be like this, there is no reason to hesitate now. It is time to show the emperor an attack that he hasn't seen yet. The 7th Hokage power-transfers to both legs, running at his opponent once again. When Naruto gets close to Jonas he kicks the ground, sending dirt up towards Jonas's eyes. With his opponent blinded, Naruto power-transfers to his arm. He then uses 'might' energy to superpower that arm. He generates as much strength as he can in his midsection and throws the superpowered punch towards Jonas's face.

Jonas lifts his hand to intercept the incoming punch. Naruto remains confident that Jonas won't be expecting the increase in strength. However, the 7th Hokage's hand slows slightly on its way to its target. Naruto feels something shatter, almost like a layer of glass. His hand then powerfully connects with the emperor's, but Jonas catches the punch easily. After delivering his most powerful strike Naruto sees that he has achieved nothing.

"What was that substance?" Kurama asks.

Naruto's One True Sense picks up on the remnants of the substance on the floor. It is tiny, shattered pieces of diamond.

"Ah I see," Jonas says.

A steel hammer appears in the emperor's hand. He smashes the steel hammer over Naruto's head, knocking the 7th Hokage down. Jonas kicks Naruto mid-fall driving the Hokage back away from him once again, this time with injuries more severe than the last. Just before he was knocked back Naruto glimpsed something different to the crimson 'destruction' energy that Jonas usually uses, instead the energy was jade green.

The different energy appears in Jonas's hand again.

It may only be tier 1 energy but it was enough to resist Naruto's superpowered punch.

Jonas is using 'creation' energy!

His ascension has begun!

In Response to secret love writer
Who asks what the opposite of 'fate' would be

I have no idea. That's a very good question.
Have you got any suggestions?

Thanks for reading.

In Response to NicoFics
Who asks what Jonas looks like

Jonas doesn't look particularly unusual but I will describe him anyway.

He is mid-late twenties.
He is slightly above average height.
He has dark brown eyes and short black hair.
He wears the emperor's robes which are yellow, blue, and red.

As you say Naruto now appears to be in his mid-thirties.

Thanks for reading.

In Response to Engineer
Who asks several questions

Question: Which general sare in Okarin now?
Answer: All of them. Nero, Dodi, Yasmine, Odion, Rana, Alaa, and Safura (if she still counts).

Question: Will we see more royal backstories?
Answer: Not in any great detail. I might write them in a compendium.

Thanks for reading.