THE END WAR – REWARD FOR VICTORY
The Imperial Palace
Hinata stands over Naruto. "Can you stand?"
He puffs his cheeks. "Do I have to?"
The two share a laugh, Hinata offers her hand to Naruto and helps him to his feet. She hugs him tightly the second he is up. She can feel that he is still wobbly on his feet and she can't blame him. He has endured more than anyone else, run through more obstacles than anyone else, and achieved more than anyone else in the rebellion. She doesn't want to let him go now, she wants to stay with him, it is the safest place in all Homeworld. She didn't want pocket-world intervention at the start of this war, but she couldn't have been more wrong. She is glad that she was wrong, he has become their hero. He has helped her to fulfil her ultimate ambition. Homeworld is free at last.
Next Himawari hugs her father.
"I always knew you would do it," she says.
"Yes, thank you. For a few moments there I almost didn't believe it myself."
"Well next time try not to worry us so much OK?"
"Please tell me that there isn't going to be a next time," Naruto says. "I'm not sure I can cope with doing this again."
"It's alright dad, you can rest now. You've done it, you won, he's gone! You're the Pocket Emperor now, not just in the minds of the people but officially. Everyone will help you, from now until your final day, you only need to ask for it. You have been here for us all this time; we will be there for you whenever you need it."
"You can retire from being a shinobi now," Naruto says. "You can be an artist if you want. You could help Homeworld as the Blaze Princess. You can do anything you want."
"Thank you. I won't waste the opportunity you have given me, that you have given us all."
Boruto is the next to hold his father. He pats him several times on the back and feels years' worth of stress washing away. Sarada's previous thoughts match his own. This war has caused so much division in their family, in their village. Now that division is over at long last, now they can go back to how things were meant to be. They are free of the oppression, of the worries. They can start to work on improving the lives of everyone in Homeworld. They can go to sleep at night without fear that they will come under attack.
"You always were a crazy old man," Boruto says.
"Next time someone threatens Homeworld you can deal with them."
Boruto laughs. "OK, I will do my best. Well done dad, you did it. You did it!"
Next Naruto finds himself in the arms of his parents. They are both just as excited as everyone else. Minato and Kushina tell him how well he has done, how proud they are of him. They tell him that they have never seen anything like that before and hope they will never see it again. He is happy that this means they will survive. They will have the chance to raise Mito here in Homeworld, a chance they would never have been given if not for Sarada summoning them. For all three of them this incident has been difficult and traumatic, but it has changed their lives for the better.
Naruto looks over his parent's shoulders and sees his teachers, Kakashi, Nina, and Enri.
"Any pointers?" he asks the three of them.
"Pick an easier opponent next time," Kakashi suggests.
"Try not to depend on a million people making a shield for you," Nina says.
"If you're going to make that kind of breakthrough, next time do it at the start," Enri says.
They all laugh and congratulate Naruto individually. They have seen him undergo remarkable growth as a warrior. From a shinobi who had little going for him to the 7th Hokage. From a pocket-worlder with basic understanding of his element to someone who could defend himself as he toured Homeworld. From an above-average warrior to someone who could fight royals and defeat an emperor. They will forever share the distinction of having taught Uzumaki Naruto, the man who went on to save all of Homeworld.
Naruto looks next to Mana and Michel.
"Did you have to make that last fight so nerve-wrecking?" Michel asks.
"I promise if I could have won sooner I would have done."
"Ignore all these critics Naruto," Mana says, "I thought it was very exciting."
"Thank you."
"But he's right, next time a bit quicker would be nice."
Naruto shakes his head. The tailed-beasts all seem to be agreeing. It was very exciting to watch, but next time if Naruto could win the fight without almost dying several times it would be a lot better for their hearts. Kurama informs the others that Naruto has a habit of leaving this sort of thing until the last possible moment. They will have to get used to it. They will be together now for a very long time. They have won.
Next Naruto is greeted by someone he has not met yet. Endou Akashi.
"Hello, you are Hinata's partner I take it?"
"Oh, old man emperor, hello."
Michel can hardly believe it. All those times he tried to tell Naruto about official imperial procedures, all those times he insisted it was vital to not offend anyone. He can't help but laugh though, it is typical of Naruto to forget himself in a moment like this. The mantle of emperor will be passed down from Akashi to him and Hinata because of the great acts of heroism they have each performed today. If anyone has earned the right to ignore procedures for a little while it is him. The 7th Hokage, the Leader of the Rebellion, the Pocket Emperor, Uzumaki Naruto.
"That was quite impressive, I've never thought of using 'life' energy how you do."
"It's very dangerous, I'll do my best to avoid it in future. Maybe I will practice Jonas's divine oddity a bit more."
"Your oddities reflected your personalities. He was a very meticulous and uncaring man in the end, willing to use any means to increase his power. You were willing to sacrifice for those you love, something I consider very admirable. But yes, his was a lot safer than yours. For now you should relax," Akashi says. "You have done something that nobody else could have done, that I failed to do, you freed Homeworld. Congratulations Uzumaki Naruto, congratulations."
There is something bothering Kakashi, something that he still doesn't understand.
"Naruto, I'm sorry to distract from the celebrations. Why can only yourself and Mirai use that power?"
"I don't know, I have no idea what it is."
"Perhaps I can help to explain that," Akashi says. "Before Jonas betrayed me I was doing my own work on creating divine abilities. Of course I didn't have his scientific knowledge so it was difficult. I was trying to create a divine ability that could be used by a pocket-worlder. I tried several times, some of them dramatic failures. I created a broken divine ability that claimed to be a god named Jashin.
"After several failed attempts I succeeded in creating a divine ability, one that pocket-worlders could use but Homeworlders couldn't. I hoped that many of you would learn this divine ability, but that doesn't seem to have happened. It would appear that this divine ability is even more useful than Jonas's and Hinata's, it doesn't just give you a one battle class boost, it allows you to get stronger still by fusing your elements. Although there is a small delay before it awakens.
"When I went to your world I met a man near the portal named Otsutsuki Hagoromo. He erased his own memory shortly after my departure. While I was talking with him I created that divine ability that lets you fuse elements. I knew that I couldn't leave it lying around though, I wanted multiple people to absorb it passively over time. It was only a theory, but I thought that if I embedded it into the portal between Homeworld and that pocket-world it would spread to everyone in time. It seems to have only spread to two people, but thankfully that was enough."
"Divine abilities are best learned when unconscious," Boruto recalls.
"And you knocked Mirai out when you discovered the portal," Naruto says.
"That's right, that's why she learned it so much quicker than you did."
It is at this point they have put together all the pieces, except one. They have all failed to realise that something could undo them, something that is hiding right under their noses. Before this final battle began events had already started, a terrifying fate was already sealed. Hashirama detonated his core, sacrificing himself to save Tsunade from the torment of the Hive Mind. However, it takes more than the death of the host to eliminate the Hive Mind, there is only one way it can be finished for good. Until the moment that it is finished it will forever be looking for a new host.
It has found the perfect host now!
It has found a host too exhausted to resist!
"Uzumaki Boruto, I am taking control."
Boruto feels great pain all through his head, both mental and physical. It is the most pain he has ever experienced and he drops to his knees. Mitsuki recognises it straight away, he recognises the symptoms, the pain, the anguish. The Hive Mind is still here, and it is taking over Boruto! This is what happened to Hashirama, this must be what happened to Tao Ma as well. He stands watching from afar knowing that there is nothing he can do. He is terrified with the knowledge that Hashirama was at full strength when the Hive Mind attempted to gain control. Unlike with the 1st Hokage, Boruto has been fighting all day, he is in no position to resist.
"What's happening?" Hinata asks.
"Hive mind…" Boruto wheezes, "Hive mind… hive mind…"
"What do we do?" Himawari asks.
"'Life' energy… 'life' energy…"
Himawari looks to her father but knows that he is no state to help. Akashi uses what 'life' energy he has left and pushes it through Boruto, flooding his entire body with it. That is their only hope of evicting the Hive Mind from its latest host. But this was a long shot, a guess by Boruto, and it doesn't work. The Hive Mind is still whispering in his head, and he is too weak to resist it, just as Tao Ma was all those years ago. He has lost control!
The Hive Mind has control of Boruto!
"Having control, it makes everything easier," the Hive Mind says via Boruto.
"Let him go!" Hinata demands.
"Let him go? Ha! When I am so close to ending everything? You must be joking," Boruto says. "I now have control of the most powerful 'death' user in history. Not only do I have access to the powers of Uzumaki Boruto, but I also stand to benefit from the work of Furst Jonas. He left a machine over there, a machine through which your energy can reach all of Homeworld.
"That's right, Endou-Hyuuga Hinata, 3rd Empress of Homeworld. I can kill everyone in the world in one attack!"
"You're outnumbered and exhausted," Enri explains. "If I need to I will summon you back to me every time you move towards that machine. Boruto may be among the strongest class 9 warriors, but even with his body you're not getting to that machine through all of us."
Boruto laughs. "You lack context Muto Enri, let me give you a small history lesson. That fusion power worked for Mirai because she was unconscious near the portal. It worked for Uzumaki Naruto because he was there to destroy the portal. They were two of three pocket-worlders who visited that portal, three pocket-worlders who must have had the fusion divine ability embedded somewhere in their inner world.
"There was a third pocket-worlder who absorbed that divine ability. That's right, it was this body, it was Uzumaki Boruto!"
In this moment Homeworld is in grave danger once again, perhaps even greater danger than before. The Hive Mind is not like Jonas, it doesn't wish to be the omnipotent ruler of a perfect version of Homeworld, it wants to eliminate all life in this place. With the power of fusion on its side it would be even stronger than Jonas was. It would immediately become a threat on par with the emperor.
Boruto lifts into the air, grey and yellow energies start to circulate around him. He smiles tauntingly at Hinata as the words he longed to hear start to fill the air.
"YOU!"
"Connect everyone!" Hinata shouts at Minato.
"ARE!"
Minato quickly uses Kurama's chakra to connect as many of the present warriors as he can. The others take the clue that something bad is happening, they quickly join arms again expecting to form a shield against this new threat. They don't hold out much hope of defeating a fusion expert though, not if they are as strong as Naruto was before.
"STRONG!"
Boruto drops down with the same smile on his face, looking forward to dismantling Hinata's shield.
But Hinata is not using another shield.
Hinata places her hand on Naruto's shoulder and transfers all the energy to him.
Everyone who was providing Hinata with energy collapses as she takes it all in one go and donates it to Naruto. She leaves only enough energy for herself to remain conscious for a few seconds longer. As she begins to drop to the ground Naruto catches her, looking at with shock.
"What is this?" Naruto asks.
"I took as much energy as I could without killing them," Hinata says. "I gave it all to you."
"Hinata…"
"We can be happy together Naruto, just rid us of that thing. I know you can do it. Save us one last time Naruto, by saving him.
"Only you can do it, I know that because I am his mother…
"… and you are his father."
Hinata loses consciousness.
Naruto rests her gently on the ground. He looks around at what remains. Everyone is unconscious except for himself and the Hive Mind which has taken over Boruto. Unlike his battle with Jonas he seems to be very alone right now. But no, he doesn't believe that he is alone. Hinata took energy from everyone and donated it to him. He is not alone, once again everyone has given him as much as they could to keep him moving forward, a debt that he can never repay. Each and every one of them is here with him.
Now Naruto stands across from Boruto. They are now the only two people with divine oddities. They are the masters of 'fate' each who developed unique techniques based upon their understandings. They are the two progenitors who will one day enjoy repeated breakthroughs that make them stronger than anyone in Homeworld. They are two people who once had very different philosophies, two people who wanted to deal with Homeworld in different ways. One the Pocket Emperor of Homeworld, one the Crown Prince of Homeworld. One the Hokage, the other the Shadow Hokage. One the other's father, one the other's son. One a master of 'life', the other a master of 'death'.
Hinata was right, one more fight, one that only he can win.
This is more to him than just a fight for Homeworld.
This is a fight for Boruto's soul.
Naruto vs Boruto, the final battle of the End War.
In Response to Xzsdyk Delos Santos Samonte and NicoFics
Who ask what Naruto's battle class is now?
I have put 12 in my notes, but it could well be higher.
It is at the point now where he is so much stronger than everyone else its not worth assigning a number.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Silver Warrior
Who asks several quetions?
Question: Is Akashi still a reanimation?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Was this Naruto's progenitor breakthrough?
Answer: No. Hopefully this chapter shows it was a pocket-worlder compatible divine ability that Mirai has always had.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Guest
Who asks what the voice is?
The voice doesn't belong to anyone as such.
It is the voice of the divine ability.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Engineer
Who asks if Furst died by detonation or Naruto's attack?
It was by Naruto's attack.
He couldn't have copied the One-Hundred Percent Detonation though, he would have died in the following few seconds.
Thanks for reading.