Chapter 21:
King Nita was confused. He couldn't put his finger on it but something felt wrong.
He had done everything the noble told him to do, even drag the unconscious Hokage back into the city and in a private cell. But why?
The ruse, sending his men to the Leaf, imprisoning the Hokage for doing what he was told. None of it made any sense. The king hadn't been suspicious of the noble before but he certainly was now.
Deciding to pay the man a visit, the king started to head in the direction of the dungeon only to find the noble heading his way. "I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind."
The nobleman smiled politely at him. "Of course, Your Majesty."
The king wasn't smiling. "You said you wanted Kai. You said you knew he had become a donkey and intended to reverse the transformation. You told me that the shinobi who had come to my kingdom were likely responsible and that I should acquire their assistance in changing him back."
"I did," said the nobleman.
"Then why is Kai still a donkey? You said that was the point. Why is he still here? Why haven't you taken him or transformed him?"
The nobleman did not answer, continuing to smile. His silence only made the king list more complaints, hoping something would trigger him to speak.
"You lied to me, didn't you? Kai really isn't a donkey, is he? And to think I almost fell for…"
"He is a donkey," said the nobleman. "Despite telling you otherwise, I had no intention of changing him back. Of course, if the transformation occurred… Well, that was to prove something else. The fact of the matter is that I never wanted him changed for my sake."
"It was for mine," said the king firmly. "You promised Kai would be changed back. You promised me answers. He's still a donkey. You're not taking him from my kingdom. What else were just words?"
"If he changed back, he was all yours. It's not my fault the shinobi stopped the process."
"Then what was the point of all this?" asked the king, rage mounting. "Everything was going as you said, and to suddenly stop…"
"I never cared about that. Like I said, if he was changed back, he was all yours. This was never about Kai or your desires. This was about mine. I needed to find something and you did an admirable job flushing it out."
"I'm a pawn, is what you're saying. How dare you…" The king raised his hand and several guards surrounded the noble.
He didn't bat an eye at the spears pointed at him. When he saw the anger on the king's face and the weapons of the guards pointed at his torso, he treated it like a joke. "You're no threat to me," he said. "You can say you'll do something, but you won't. You can hate me, but you'll love me. You can refuse me then obey me."
"You've done something, haven't you? To me and who knows who else?" The king kept a close eye on the nobleman as he spoke. "Having my men invade the shinobi village was never my decision. Yet I gave the order. Why? Why have I felt as if I've been traveling in a fog these past few days? Now that the fog has lifted, I see that some trickery was in play. What have you done? For what purpose?"
"Purpose?" the nobleman laughed. "It's the same for anyone and everyone. Why do people do anything? It's for power. And what grants power?"
"Money," answered the king. "The wealthy have power and people scramble to gather as much of it as they can."
"No," said the nobleman. "Respect. That is what grants power."
"People respect those with money," said the king.
"Money is a tool, and like a tool, the more of it you have, the more you can do. However, that is not the answer. It's respect. And I'm sick of being looked down upon. Ha, all the money in the world means nothing compared to what I have."
"And what is that?" asked the king. "Is it what you used to influence me so? An insane plan that doesn't make any sense? What?"
As he moved to draw something from his vest, the guards pressed closer, thinking it was a weapon. The nobleman didn't slow his movements, pulling out the circular mirror with his right hand. "With this, I can change anyone into whatever I want them to be. No one will deny me again."
The king saw the mirror, recognizing it as the same one he saw before the shinobi collapsed. Under normal circumstances, he would have called the man insane, but he knew it held some sort of power in the way it was presented and in how heavily the noble relied on it.
Not knowing what it was, the king didn't intend to take it for himself but knew at once that he had to get it away from this man.
"Seize that mirror," King Nita told the guards and they advanced on the nobleman. Moments later, they were knocked aside by the noble's companion.
Naruto came to stand beside the noble but he looked unsteady. Whether he was afraid or angry was unclear, but his unwillingness to look at the noble directly told the king that something had happened between the two of them. He also knew that this wasn't the same Naruto he had met before.
The noble smirked smugly in the king's direction, pleased with his new bodyguard.
"Whatever you decide to do with the boy rests in your hands," he told the king. "Kill him or don't. Let him rot in a cell or set him free. It doesn't matter to me. And now it doesn't matter to the boy's father, either. Naruto doesn't care about any of you. He'll kill you without a second thought."
"Using that mirror?" asked the king, knowing he wasn't mistaken.
The noble chuckled. "Maybe you'll be more inclined to listen to me, unless you want the same fate to befall you."
"What do you want?" the king asked, glaring back.
"I already told you what I want."
"Respect? How am I supposed to give it to you? What do you want me to do?"
The noble pouted slightly. "I haven't really thought that far yet. But I suppose if you would like me to return to my home and leave you alone, I'd be willing to do that for a small sum. That train ride, though fast, was unbearably uncomfortable for someone of my status. Perhaps you could send me home in style. Along with a few gifts."
The king forced a chuckle, still glaring at the noble. "Haven't thought this far is right. You're not a man. You're a child holding a weapon. You think it will grant you anything you want because it inspires fear in others. All you need do is brandish it and people will bow. The truth is, you don't know what you're doing."
"I'm pretty sure I do," said the nobleman.
"You're a brat who wants his way. You've been too busy plotting to learn anything worthwhile. Even the tools of the trade. The fact is, you don't know how to run anything on your own, relying on others to do the work for you. You're helpless without them and you know it. Servants, partners. Take your pick. And now that you sit atop as head of a noble family you married into, you need a way to support yourself. Rather than learn how to do anything, you instead leech off of others, manipulating or threatening them in any way you see fit."
The noble maintained his smug smile but it was frozen, his eyes slowly darkening with every word the king spoke.
"Look at you now. Holding a weapon in your hand, barking orders. Threatening people. And when I ask what it is you want, you can't give me an answer. You don't know what you're doing. You think you do, but you don't. Simply holding a weapon in your hands gives you no answer. Now that you have this power, what now? You gain nothing from this. Just a lot of enemies and even less respect than before."
The king's words chipped away at the noble's smile until it revealed a look of malice on his face and a need to make the king eat his words.
"I will show you what I can do and we'll see who gains." The nobleman hoisted the mirror in his hands. "Naruto, your hand."
Naruto gave the noble his hand which he forcibly placed on the back of the mirror with his own and together, they pointed the mirror at the guards hurrying to protect the king.
The nobleman's smile faded after only a few seconds, realizing something wasn't right. He kept the mirror pointed at the guards but they weren't doing what he wanted. It wasn't that the mirror wasn't working, it just wasn't working the way he wanted it to. His intention was for the men to attack the king instead of protecting him. What was actually occurring involved one guard dropping his weapon and the other two caught in the mirror's surface to change personalities.
The noble looked at Naruto in anger. "What are you doing? You're supposed to grant me full power over this thing. Why won't it obey me?"
"It's doing a thing, ain't it?" Naruto asked sounding bored though his face did not reflect that.
"Not the thing I want it to. Now do your job. Make it work the way I want."
Naruto frowned, looking hurt and scared. "I'm not what you think… Please."
"You'll obey me or else." The noble turned the mirror on Naruto. He looked into its surface but his face did not match what was in the mirror; something the nobleman couldn't see himself because the mirror wasn't pointed his way. "Do as you're told."
Naruto didn't move. His head started to lower but not in submission.
"Do as you're told," the nobleman ordered again. "I said obey me-"
Naruto's hand shot up and grabbed the noble around the neck, lifting him off the ground.
When Naruto's head lifted, it was a very different Naruto. One with red eyes and a fearsome expression. He growled dangerously at the noble who began to shake in his grasp, frightened. Not only could he feel the strength in Naruto's body through his hand, he also felt his blood chill at the mere sight of those red eye full of hate and rage.
"You dare order me?" Naruto's voice had also changed. The whiskers on his face became more defined and his teeth had sharpened to fangs. His short blond hair stood on end, wild and unruly. "You are nothing."
He threw the noble into the wall where he hit hard and slid to the ground, holding the mirror protectively to his chest. He looked back in time to see red chakra engulfing Naruto's body.
Naruto no longer cared about anyone, having lost his humanity. He despised everyone, hatred flowing through him. He was powerful and saw no reason to hold back.
"Obey me!" the noble shouted, pointing the mirror at Naruto again. "You're supposed to-"
Naruto bellowed so loud, it sent a powerful gust in all directions and made the floor tremble. He turned to the noble, eyes wide and full of hate. He jumped and put his hand through the wall where the noble's head had been a split second ago. The noble had leaned to one side to escape the blow and was now frantically crawling down the hall with the mirror.
Naruto pulled his hand free, snarling. His eyes narrowed and took two hunched steps before pouncing again, his attack creating a crater in the ground which buckled and gave way to the floor below. Pieces rained down on the people in the room directly below them, sending them screaming and running to avoid being crushed.
Another roar from Naruto sent shockwaves through the hall, shaking picture frames from their hooks and men to their knees.
The noble looked over his shoulder at Naruto, petrified. Naruto could see the look of terror in his eyes and relished it. He was not to be messed with and he would let everyone know that. He saw the look on the noble's pale face and wanted him to experience true fear. This wasn't enough for Naruto.
He was going to show him what he had unleashed.
He was going to destroy everything.
Shikamaru, Seki, the cat spirit and Temari arrived at the main gates of the seaside kingdom to rescue Naruto. Shikamaru didn't think it was wise to bring Temari along but she insisted and he had the bruise on his arm as evidence of her persuasion. Seki didn't seem to mind Temari being there since she had yet to realize he was a kitsune and his partner the cat spirit.
Both Seki and the cat spirit looked in the direction of the palace, sensing something. Shikamaru picked up on it a short time later, though he didn't seem to feel it as strongly as they did.
"Something's going on at the palace."
Temari put a hand on the fan strapped to her back, ready for action. "So what's the plan? Need me to handle the guards?"
Shikamaru's plan didn't involve her but now that she had come along, he needed something for her to do that wouldn't cause more problems. "We need to get into the palace without drawing too much attention and without causing any serious harm."
"One broken door coming up."
They hurried to the palace and found a small drawbridge between two guards at the main doors. The guards weren't going to let them pass and the drawbridge was up. Temari's Wind Style wouldn't lower the bridge but pushed it back away from them which was the opposite of what they wanted. The metal cords supporting the bridge weren't easily cut either.
Shikamaru looked for an open window they could use but Temari was already taking action. She rode on her giant fan over the raised bridge up the wall and out of sight.
The cat spirit, still disguised as a human, smiled and laughed. "My, you are strong humans, aren't you? Don't really need our help at all."
"I wouldn't say that," said Shikamaru.
Seeing what Temari had done, the two guards decided in that split second that these people were enemies and pointed their weapons at the trio. Seki flinched and backed away hastily and Shikamaru stood in front of him protectively, knowing Seki had a fear of human weapons.
The cat spirit tapped the tip of the spear pointed at his face with his long fingernail, unafraid. "Really? Just for standing here? The woman was the one who scaled your wall."
The guard thrust the spear forward to intimidate the cat spirit who flipped through the air to avoid it, landing lightly on the spear's shaft and springing off it to kick the guard in the jaw. The other guard came to assist but was no match for the cat's quick reflexes and flexible body, avoiding every attack.
Shikamaru grabbed Seki's arm and pulled him behind the guards. The drawbridge began to lower and he called for the cat spirit who ignored him, saying he was enjoying himself. "Go on ahead," he told them and sprang to the side, the guards tripping over each other.
Shikamaru pulled Seki onto the lowered bridge and into the palace. The doors were big and heavy but they managed to open them with a good hard push. Temari readied her fan to blow away anyone who stepped forward to stop them but the foyer was empty.
She lowered her fan in confusion. "A palace like this should have guards by the main doors, inside and out. What gives?"
They walked carefully inside and Shikamaru knew something wasn't right. Having been here before, he knew this wasn't the same as every other time he had been here where he had seen servants and guards passing through every few minutes. "Where is everyone?"
A loud ferocious roar sounded from somewhere deep in the palace, causing a tremor to spread over the floor and walls.
"What was that?" Temari asked, looking around.
"Oh, no," Shikamaru breathed. He could sense danger and hear undertones of Naruto's voice in that roar. He feared something horrible had been unleashed.
Seki sniffed the air. "I can smell Naruto but there's something else."
Shikamaru didn't think he should subject Seki to the sight of what Naruto had become, worried how he would react. He didn't want to leave him alone either, just in case they were attacked. He also didn't want to let Temari see Naruto like this, knowing it would stir up bad memories of her brother when he had lost control. Nor did he want her to be alone with Seki in case she saw something she wasn't supposed to.
He had to make a decision and, wanting to protect his wife from seeing Naruto like this, he decided it was best for her to stay with Seki and protect him.
"Seki, there are bound to be other guards in the palace. Can you and Temari keep them busy while I help Naruto?"
Seki nodded. "His scent's coming from that direction." He pointed down the left hall.
Nodding, Shikamaru led the way down the hall with Temari and Seki flanking him. When they reached another hall, they were cut off by a number of guards brandishing weapons.
"We got this, Shikamaru," Temari said confidently and raised her fan.
"Thanks." He ran ahead, dodging guards left and right and running along the wall to avoid the rest. He landed on the other side of the group and kept going.
There were guards lined up along one wall of a different hall, beaten and bruised and in no condition to oppose him. They barely noticed he was there as he ran by. This hallway was empty aside from chunks of walls and large cracks in the floor.
Bellowing from the next room had Shikamaru's hair standing on end. He didn't want to go in there, but he had to. He tentatively inched his way over to the doors of the throne room which were hanging off their hinges and looked inside.
He covered his mouth to keep from yelping at the sight.
Naruto was inside covered in red chakra and smashing the ground with his fists, screaming at the top of his lungs and snarling. His head swiveled left and right, tracking something.
Shikamaru tiptoed into the room, narrowly avoiding dropped weapons scattered over the ground in the guards' hast to retreat. This was beyond the fear he felt when Naruto lost his temper outside the city. His cat instincts probably made it even worse, screaming at him to run the other way.
"Naruto," he whispered, his voice unable to get any higher than that.
Naruto scratched the ground with his claws, hissing viciously but didn't turn around.
"Naruto," Shikamaru said a little louder.
This time he turned. His red eyes narrowed at Shikamaru angrily.
"It's just me," he said calmly. He lowered himself slightly as if coaxing an animal. "Naruto, it's me. It's alright. I need you to calm down…"
Hearing the order to calm down infuriated Naruto and he snarled, moving closer to Shikamaru.
"Ok, ok," Shikamaru said quickly, backing off. "Never mind. It's fine."
A growl rumbled low and deep in Naruto's throat as he watched with narrowed eyes.
Shikamaru's heart was beating so quick, it was making him dizzy. His arms were tingling and he felt unsteady. He had to calm himself down before getting Naruto to do the same, but his calming down was dependent on Naruto being calm. Shikamaru took several breaths to steady himself and tried again to talk to Naruto.
"There's no enemies left," he told Naruto. "Everything's fine now. You don't have to do this."
Naruto's black lips curled, showing Shikamaru his fanged teeth. It was unclear if he was going to attack or not. The red chakra coating his body bubbled.
"Naruto, please…"
Naruto studied Shikamaru for several moment before letting his lips fall back over his fangs.
Suddenly, Naruto's head turned to the side and he snarled as several soldiers came rushing in with a new tactic.
"Ready, men?"
Shikamaru reached out his hand imploringly. "No, wait! Don't!"
Seeing the threat, Naruto roared and ran towards them on all fours. Shikamaru tried to use his shadow to slow him down but one of Naruto's chakra tails whipped him in the chest and sent him flying. Naruto screeched and descended upon the soldiers like a tiger upon its prey.
Sarada panted as they ran through the main gate of the seaside kingdom along with Mitsuki, Shikadai and the mystery boy now known as Sugata. They knew the adults reached the city before they did but it seemed they arrived only ten minutes apart.
"Do you sense your mirror here?" Mitsuki asked Sugata.
"I cannot. I must be near it to sense it."
"Then it's not that close."
Shikadai pointed. "It's probably at the palace."
"Stands to reason," said Sarada. "After all, that's where we found the other spirit item last time."
They hurried to the palace and knew they were in the right place when they saw two guards laying on the ground in front of the drawbridge, groaning. The shinobi and the spirit pressed on, heading into the palace which shook, sending dust raining down from the ceiling.
"What was that?" asked Shikadai.
"Something must be happening. Maybe a fight."
They didn't get far before a crowd of servants came running their direction, fleeing the building. They didn't take notice of the children as they ran screaming from a hallway without looking back.
"There are still people in this building?" asked Shikadai. "Wouldn't they have evacuated everyone who's not able to fight?"
"Maybe they were relocated to another room for safety until that became too dangerous," said Mitsuki. "Whatever's going on must have spread further than they thought."
"Then that makes it harder for us to find it," said Sarada. "If it's contained in one area, it'd be easy, but now that everyone's running around, we're not sure how many there are or how bad it is."
"They're running from something," said Shikadai. "Let's go in that direction."
"What if it's not what we're looking for but something else?" said Sarada. "We can't rush in blind."
"We can't stand here either. Let's go."
They hurried down a hall where a massive gust of wind threatened to blow them off their feet. The gale soon died down and Shikadai heard his mother's voice. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay at the Leaf."
"Sorry, Mom, but-"
"We're trying to get people out of this building in case it comes down," Temari lectured him. "You need to get yourselves out of here before the roof collapses or something. You should have stayed in the village."
"Is that why everyone's running away?" asked Mitsuki, oblivious to Temari's warnings and lecture. "You're driving them out of the building?"
"I'm trying to," Temari said pointedly.
"What about the people who can't leave?" asked Mitsuki. "Like Boruto. He must be trapped somewhere in this building. We can't leave without him."
"And why would the building collapse?" asked Sarada just before another tremor shot through the building followed by a roar. "What was that?"
Temari pointed back the way they came. "You need to get out of here now. Shikamaru and I will handle this."
The shinobi left the hall but didn't leave, taking a different route. They knew Boruto was locked up somewhere in this building and needed to find him. They also wanted to find out what all the racket was and find Sugata's mirror, refusing to leave without it.
There was a loud crash and the ceiling caved in above them, jewels raining down on them like hail amongst the stone. Mitsuki and Shikadai went one way and Sarada and Sugata lurched to the other to avoid being crushed. They shouted to one another over the pile of rubble, deciding to split up from there since they could not reach each other safely.
Sarada pulled Sugata down the hall and into another, slipping on small pieces of ceiling. She could hear clamoring and went in that direction, thinking someone needed help. On the other side of the dust cloud was the king shouting frantically at his guards. Instead of evacuating, the king was having his men collect as many artifacts and décor as they could. When another tremor rang out, he pointed to a large jewel encased in glass on a pedestal, ordering them to protect it.
Sarada's mouth fell open at the sight of the men fumbling to carry paintings and jewels as if they were worth more than their lives.
Sugata frowned at the sight as well, disgusted. "Humans like that took my mirror."
Sarada looked at him and tried to make him see that not all humans were the same. "Not all of us are like that."
"I know," he said. "People like your mother would be like the other woman trying to help people get out to safety."
Sarada nodded, turned and called to the king and his men. "You have to get out of here! Forget the jewels and just leave before the ceiling falls on you."
The king ignored her, wanting to protect as much of his collection as he could. It wasn't just the treasures themselves he was looking to protect, but their future. If they needed to rebuild, they had to have money to do it. If they left everything behind and the building fell, he wouldn't have enough money to rebuild his home or his wealth.
Sugata turned away from the king. "Sarada, leave them. They've made their choice."
Sarada looked back at him, unwilling to just let them be. She knew they were making a mistake.
Reluctantly, she came with Sugata, only to stop a short time later when she saw more guards coming their way with food carts piled high with paintings and glasswork. There was a large mirror resting between paintings, its frame encrusted with jewels.
The cart was pushed down the hall towards the king as fast as the guards could push it. The cart's wheel struck a piece of rubble and it tipped, spilling everything to the floor. The king dove to catch the vase and the guards hurried to gather the rest. "Quickly, now," said the king as he grabbed what he could to carry with his own hands. "Hurry! Get all that. All of it. Hurry along!"
The building shook again and the ceiling above them began to crack. Sarada shouted for the men to move out of the way but they didn't listen, trying to salvage as much of the king's possessions as possible before heeding her warning.
"Hurry!" Sarada shouted frantically. "Leave the stuff and run! You'll be killed!"
The king waved his arms for the guards to carry the stuff to safety, supporting a vase and some jewels to his chest. The ceiling began to bow.
"You idiots, go!" Sarada ran forward, pushing the cart with the gathered painting on top down the hall, hoping they'd chase it. Two of them did, but the rest stayed behind to pick up whatever was left on the floor, including the large mirror. Sarada kicked the paintings out of the way and pushed one guard with both hands. "Move! The ceiling!"
A monstrous roar thundered and the ceiling gave way.
Sarada looked up to see a large piece falling towards her head and threw a powerful punch straight up to shatter it into smaller pieces. It worked but her hand stung from the impact. She wasn't near her mother's level yet but it was impressive nonetheless and exactly what she would have done.
The guards tried to unbury the treasures from under the fallen ceiling at the king's request. "These are priceless! Find them! Protect them! Don't let them be crushed."
"Are you kidding me?!" Sarada snapped.
"I can replace my men a lot easier than I can these priceless treasures," said the king, almost in hysterics. "After all this, what will be left standing? How will we rebuild with no money? Our way of life goes down the drain if we don't salvage what we can! Food, homes, everything depends on this."
"You got money," Sarada lectured. "You have enough to stick in the ceiling, for crying out loud. You'll be able to rebuild, but what would be the point if there are no people? Save them first!"
"You don't understand."
Sugata rotated the mirror propped against the wall and when a guard tried to wrestle it away from him, he placed his palm over its smooth surface.
The guards stood and ran with whatever they had in their arms towards the exit. The king, still clutching the treasures in his arms, did as well; all hurrying to escape without arguing.
Sugata took his hand off the mirror and slumped over its frame, panting heavily. "If I had full control, I would have had them drop everything and flee, but I suppose this works."
Sarada put Sugata's arm over her shoulder and helped him stand. "Thanks, but if it's not your mirror, doesn't it hurt you?"
Sugata caught his breath. "I'll be fine."
Mitsuki and Shikadai coughed, making their way through a thick cloud of dust. They could barely see anything. Every now and then, blurs and shadows moved through the smoke in retreat. From the sound of their armor, they were most likely soldiers.
They made it to a corridor free of smoke and tried to get their bearings, unsure of where they were or how to reach the dungeon. Both were confident there would be one in a palace like this, even though Sarada said a lot of places kept such things away from the king for safety reasons. Since this was an older building, it seemed likely for the dungeon to be on the premises in case the king made a hasty decision to have someone escorted from his throne room and locked away nearby.
Mitsuki stopped, seeing a pair of legs tucked behind a statue. He wandered over to find a man whimpering fearfully with something pressed to his chest. Mitsuki bent down to speak with him. "It's dangerous here. You should leave."
The man shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's dangerous everywhere."
Shikadai squatted down beside Mitsuki. "Are you hurt?" he asked the man. "We can help you."
"What can you brats do?" he said resentfully. "All those guards could do nothing against that… that monster."
"What monster?"
"The beast I tried to tame only to anger. The one who wants to kill me." He hid behind the object in his arms. "He won't stop until he does."
Mitsuki saw between the man's arms that the object was a mirror.
Shikadai saw it, too. He also remembered that Shikamaru said something about the mirror being used to change someone and Sugata saying that the mirror was too powerful for a human to wield properly.
Together, they deduced that this was the mirror they were seeking.
"He was supposed to obey me," the man whimpered. "The more I tried to… the more he…"
"Can I have this?" Mitsuki asked politely as he pulled the mirror from the man's grasp.
The man was so much in shock, he didn't put up much of a fight.
"You need to get out of here," Shikadai warned the man, trying to get him to move.
As Mitsuki tucked the mirror into his clothes, another rumble sounded and the man curled into a tighter ball, whimpering. "I'll look for Boruto," said Mitsuki. "You can handle the rest."
Shikadai watched him take off, at a loss for what to do. He didn't have time to deal with this man, needing to find what was causing the rumbling. Since Mitsuki didn't give him much choice, Shikadai tried to get the man to stand but it was like moving a boulder. Shikadai only managed to get the man to get up by using his shadow.
Walking down the hall, mirroring Shikadai's movements, the man could only mutter, "He's a monster."