And we are back with an update for Reading: Hela's Vanguard. I hope you enjoy it.
Please go check out AizenTheGoat's original story as well as his account as he has multiple excellent stories that you will enjoy. Along with that you should come try out the server hosted by the man on Discord where he, myself and many others are pretty much always chatting it up with readers and writers from across the fanfiction community. A link can be found here→ /rMkWyjGWvM
Lets get started then.
Kushina cleared her throat and began reading straight away. The group was too into the story to take a break and instead dove right back in.
Naruto appeared in the center of the bridge leading to the Bifrost where the undead army plus Skurge were fighting. All participants briefly stopped what they were doing as he arrived but soon went back to their business. All but one that is. A man dressed in an elegant green and gold outfit under Asgardian armor along with a golden head piece with two long curved horns stepped forth. This man is Loki, the God of Mischief.
"Ah, I would normally be happy about appearing in a story. I can't help but worry slightly, especially if you are my sister's consort." Loki said thoughtfully.
"I'm sure the two of you will get along swimmingly." Hela smirked.
"I'm sorry but who might you be?" Loki asked. Naruto looked him over briefly before answering.
"Well if you want an official title then it would be Hela's Vanguard. That or her husband. Both of those would work really." He answered calmly
Loki shook his head with a slight smile. "I'm sorry I thought I heard you say you were my sisters husband, but I'm sure I must have misheard."
"Oh no, younger me, you heard…" Loki said with a sigh.
Naruto smiled at the man "No you got it right. And you called her sister, so I guess you're my brother in law too."
"So you're Asgardian." Loki concluded.
"Somewhat." The blond replied "I wasn't born here but due to circumstances here I am." He added before using his staff to smack a warrior off the bridge into the sea below without taking his eyes off him.
"That is actually something we might have in common." Loki said in surprise as he realized they were both born as others and became essentially Asgardian.
"Well." Loki began as he kicked an undead knight away from him. "I love chaos and destruction as much as the next god but you…" He said pointing at Naruto "Don't strike me as the type. So what's your game?" He asked.
"That's what I'm wondering. Naruto is the closest thing to a pacifist that Konoha has produced. Ever." Sakura commented.
"That's funny to me." Hela commented, getting glances from the shinobi.
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.
"My husband may not be big on destruction or even war really, but he most definitely is a being of chaos. Wild and untamed." Hela answered with a smirk.
"Why did that sound so uncomfortable? It was like she was talking about-" Thor began to question out loud.
"Thor, son, stop talking." Frigga ordered, not really wanting to discuss relations between Naruto and Hela.
"My game? Originally it was to kill Odin for what he did to us, but he's dead now. There was once a time where I'd be against all of this. But after Odin betrayed us and Asgard went ahead and swept us under the rug like we never existed I couldn't care less about this place.
"He's so different." Kakashi hummed.
"A second life and what was it fifteen hundred years sealed away after being betrayed…I think that changes someone." Loki replied sarcastically.
Kakashi eyed the green clad man and decided he rather disliked this 'god'.
Imagine giving everyhing you had for Asgard only to end up being stabbed in the back. Everything we did was for the greatness of this place and for what? Odin sealed my wife and I, the people didn't care enough to spread word of our existence. They just let us fade away." Seeing that he had the mans full attention he continued.
"But you want to know the worst part of it? It was with Odin's blessing that I married Hela and was accepted into the the family. The man used to call me 'son' and would constantly tell me that he was glad I was the one his daughter had married. To have one of the people who seemingly cared about you the most turn on not just you but his own blood. To find out they were weary of you. It changes you." He finished.
"Fair." Sasuke commented.
"That's putting it mildly. You're lucky old man. We can't do shit here but I would happily kill you." Kushina growled.
"She would get the chance." Minato said before snapping his fingers. "Like a flash…"
For a moment Loki felt a pang of empathy. For he too felt Odin didn't really love him as he had claimed. "So what you're here for revenge on the people then?"
"He was kind of a shit father all around then." Hela laughed.
"That's not fair…" Thor tried to weakly defend him, but with all the reveals honestly it was harder that he thought it would be.
"No I really don't care about the people anymore." The blond answered. "Or Asgard in general for that matter. But Hela wants her rightful place on the throne and I'll help her get it." He added.
"He really loves you. Even people that had done him wrong in the past he forgave and even typically got along with. He would genocide Asgard for you." Sakura realized in horro as she turned to the grinning goddess.
"I know, isn't he romantic?" Hela replied simply with a smirk.
Loki chuckled slightly. The man still wasn't getting it. "Yes yes I get it. You're in love with my sister and will seemingly do anything to see her happy that's fine I get all that. But what's your deal?" He asked emphasizing 'your'. "Surely you have aspirations of your own rather than just following her around?" he asked.
The readers leaned in. This could be interesting.
The god needed information. He could feel the strength this man possessed. While he looked innocent enough he stood tall and didn't seem to worry about what was going on around him. The mere fact that he possessed the space stone and had the ability to use it was reason enough to be weary of him. If he could somehow convince this man to join him then perhaps his chances of survival would increase.
"Good luck with that." All of the shinobi as well as Hela, Odin, and Frigga said.
Loki just rolled his eyes.
As he finished his train of thought an image of a purple giant with golden armor appeared in his mind.
"Who was that?" Minato asked.
"It will be revealed in time." The Host interrupted any explanation.
"You're right. I do have aspirations of my own." The blond finally answered. "You see one of the main reasons why wars begin is due to lack of resources. There's too many mouths not enough to go around. When Odin told me about the infinity stones I looked into it anywhere I could. Eventually I found something.
Loki and Thor shared very real expressions of dread at Naruto's words.
I found that should anyone possess all six stones they will basically become omnipotent. That's when it hit me. With all six stones I could create unlimited resources in the universe. No more hunger, no more poverty, no more destroying planets for resources. Hela will rule Asgard as she should and I bring the universe as close to peace as possible. Of course there will be people who try and cause conflict for other reasons. But with the six stones in my possession…well I think they'd think twice about it don't you think?"
"That was pretty much my plan." Sasuke said with agitation.
"No, I'm pretty sure your plan was to tell everyone what to do and kill them if they even thought about raising a hand against you," Kakashi replied.
"That's what he plans." Sasuke argued.
"Sasuke, the core of his plan is to make enough of everything for everyone in the universe. That is not the same as just killing people because they are starving and angry. It's a better plan than yours cause it's not just oppression." Sakura said, causing the boy to gawk at her arguing against him.
She noticed his stare. "You are surprised I disagreed with you conquering the world and killing my teacher along with the other Kage?"
The boy snapped his mouth shut and simply huffed waiting for the story to continue.
"So you want to collect the infinity stones?" Loki asked. While he looked calm on the outside, on the inside he was the embodiment of happiness. This was perfect. This might be the perfect person to beat him. "Well if that's the case then there is something important you should know. You're not the only one." Now all that was left was to talk the man into joining him and everything would go smoothly. Things were looking up for the God.
As Naruto was about to reply a huge lightning bolt struck the palace where Hela and Thor were currently fighting. Naruto looked up and saw the god of thunder coming down in their direction. When he landed he noticed that the man's right eye was black and no longer open.
"Oh that had to hurt." Hela joked getting a glare from Thor causing her to roll her eyes.
"It does hurt." Both Kakashi and Sasuke replied with frowns and the memory of fingers digging into their eye sockets running through their minds.
Standing besides Loki, Thor turned his head towards his brother. "Worry not brother. He may be strong but we can take him." He said before he ran forward, lightning charging itself around him. Loki didn't have the time to react as his brother rushed in.
Loki stared at Thor who only shrugged his shoulders in response as if to say 'what can you do'. The God of Mischief wisely chose to drop it and motioned Kushina to continue.
"Wait! Stop you oaf I had it under control." Loki yelled. Unfortunately for him his brother did not listen and had already begun his assault. Loki watched as the blond just weaved and dodged every attack Thor threw at him. Thor having realized that close combat wasn't working jumped back and summoned lighting from his hand and directed it at Naruto.
Hela seemed to be near laughter as the image of the fight displayed in the center of the room in time with Kushina reading.
Minato and Kushina likewise were enjoying the sight of their son at work.
Said man brought his staff forward and began to spin it at a ridiculous speed in front of him. The lightning collided with the staff and dispersed soon after. As soon as the attack died down Naruto used the staff to parry a lightning enhanced punch to the right. The moment he parried he swung his staff back around and hit Thor once in the ribs before redirecting the staff to hit the man with the bottom of it under his chin.
Both hits were done in rapid succession. Before Thor had a chance to compose himself the blond then kicked him hard in the chest sending him stumbling back to Loki. The god of mischief watched as his brother was completely outclassed and merely stepped aside letting his brother tumble past him rather than help slow his body down. He noticed Thor getting up again and it didn't take a genius to know he was going to try again.
"No thoughts of strategy or anything, just smash what's in front of you. Does that actually work for you?" Sakura asked only to blush as Kakashi and Sasuke gave her wide eyed stares of disbelief.
"You know what nevermind, Miss Kushina please keep reading." Sakura mumbled.
As Thor moved passed him he stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you stopping me brother?" He demanded. As he answered a black and green portal opened up next to the blond and out of it stepped their sister.
"Well for one Hela just arrived. And second we were about to come to an arrangement before you arrived. I need you to stand down." Loki told him.
"Well, perhaps you all can find a way to come to a compromise. For the good of Asgard." Frigga said, only partially caring about Asgard, she truly did care for all four of them, though she was never close to Naruto and Hela.
Thor looked over at the two and back to his brother and nodded. He didn't want to back down but decided to put his trust in Loki. However, just in case he had instructed the Valkyrie to get the crown of Surtur as he realized exactly what he had to do. If in the next few minutes they couldn't handle things peacefully…well their home would be destroyed.
"Thats awfully petty. You can't be king so you destroy your home to keep her from being Queen? That's just…" Minato was a bit disgusted, truth be told.
"Well, don't say it like that. I-" Thor defended. He stopped when he realized none of the shinobi were really all that interested in being convinced of anything by the man opposed to their friend and loved one and his wife.
"Now…as I was saying." Loki began. "You're not the only one who's looking to collect all six infinity stones. However, unlike you this person isn't looking to use them for reasons as noble as you are."
"I see and are you planning on telling me who this person is?" Naruto asked
Loki grinned "I might. Perhaps we can come to an arrangement."
Hela sent Loki a very annoyed glance, one mirrored by Kushina and oddly enough Sasuke as well.
"Snake." Kushina huffed.
"Reminds me of Orochimaru." Sasuke said with a sick expression.
Hela scoffed next to Naruto "He really sounds like Odin. Really ticks me off." She commented. Naruto just looked at her amused before turning his attention back to Loki.
"Take that back." Loki said instantly.
"It's not that bad!" Odin finally joined in with his take.
"Says you! I think it's a horrible insult." Hela laughed.
"Ok I'll bite. What kind of arrangement?" He asked as he tilted his head to avoid an arrow.
"We become allies. This man is not one to take lightly. He's powerful, unbelievably so." He responded.
"You're afraid." Hela said. "Whoever this person is must be far stronger than you and you feel the need to seek protection." She added.
"Thats a given." Sasuke said with a scoff.
"You wouldn't take him lightly either even if you were once Naruto's equal. He is a threat to the universe as a whole." Thor said seriously.
Sasuke frowned at being reminded that Naruto had surpassed him.
Loki glared at her before willing his anger down. It wouldn't do to get angry at the moment. He could swallow his pride for the time being. "You're partially right." He admitted. "I do not seek protection but rather allies as he will no doubt come looking for me."
"What do you mean brother?" Thor asked seriously. He'd never once heard Loki admit to needing help. This was worrying. Loki was going to answer but was beaten to it by the blond man.
"Your brother must have worked for him at some point." He began "Either you screwed up and he's after you, or you back stabbed him. Either way you're on his shit list." He clarified. As he finished his sentence he noticed that the ship that was being loaded with the asgardian people was beginning to take off. He closed his eyes and gathered his chakra.
"Oh, nail on the head, huh?" Kushina giggled at Loki's annoyed expression.
Using his magnet release he created the magnetic field around the area and pulled the ship back down, crashing into the bridge they were on. "Alright so what do you want from this alliance then?"
"He did that frighteningly easily." Frigga commented.
Thor was stunned. His brother, the god of mischief and lies was actually solving their issue with arguably the two strongest beings they've seen in a civil manner. He never thought he'd see the day.
"This is what happens when you don't approach every obstacle like that simple green monster friend of yours." Loki scolded his brother.
Thor eyed his brother sourly but said nothing. There was a point to be made there.
"All I ask is that when that man comes to try and kill me you give me a hand with him. Likewise, he'll be coming after you soon too. After all, you're in possession of an infinity stone so he'll try and take it from you." Loki answered.
"That and you leave the people of Asgard in peace." Thor butted in, glaring at his brother briefly for not mentioning that bit in his negotiation.
"You can have all the peace you want around here as long as they kneel before me." Hela answered back. "That's all they have to do. I'm the rightful heir to the throne and as such I'm their queen. Once they kneel before me this can all end."
THor and Hela glared at one another while the rest of the readers wanted to see how this would play out.
"We'll accept this so long as the exectutions cease. No ruling with an iron fist. This isn't your time anymore. Times have changed. People have changed." Thor said.
"That is debatable." Hela scoffed. There was little bite in it though.
"I know you must be angry, but really, to rule people there has to be a people to rule." Minato said getting the woman to roll here eyes in annoyance.
"You may be my husband's father, but what are you twenty five? Don't lecture me child." Hela sneered.
Hela narrowed her eyes and was about to retort when the ground began shaking. Everyone looked up as a large chunk of the land behind them exploded as a giant monster of earth and fire began rising above Asgard.
"Oh no." Thor whispered.
"What did you do?" Loki asked angrily.
"I sent the Valkyrie to release Surtur as…" He was cut off by his fellow blond.
"Destroying Asgard would drain Hela of her power." He finished.
"Once again the Thor Smash Strategy strikes again. Woe that your name didn't start with an A and let me create a fun little acronym." Loki bemoaned.
"He's saying it would spell ASS and that would fit you well." Hela said.
Thor mimed a laughing face before turning away from his siblings while Thor groaned.
"They're like normal siblings but with crazy amounts of power. It's kind of scary." Kushina said.
"Hopefully Naruto will rein them all in." Minato agreed.
"Yeah, don't count on that." Kakashi mumbled as he shook his head. Hela was right earlier Naruto was kind of a force fo Chaos so he didn't really see the blond reining in anything.
"Tremble before me Asgard." Yelled Surtur as he raised his sword high in the air.
"Would've been a brilliant plan had I not been here as well." Naruto commented as he watched Surtur wind up his weapon. Naruto stood calmly and materialized a truth seeking orb through his hand and willed it to take the form of a large disk. "I'll be back in a second don't do anything stupid now." He said before a blue and black portal opened behind him and took him in.
The room collectively felt a little self conscious about their own abilities at the moment. Barring Hela. She was just enjoying this different point of view of the events honestly.
Thor was tempted to attack Hela now that the blond was gone but decided against it. Everyone watched as Surtur swung his giant blade down into the city destroying a few buildings before something unthinkable happened. As he was scraping the sword along the ground it hit something before turning into dust.
"What has happened?" Thor asked "What happened to Surturs weapon?" He followed up looking at Hela then at his team.
"It was the black shield he created. It's one of the many ablilities my beloved can use." Hela answered.
Kushina was all smiles reading that line much to Hela and Minato's amusement. Hela could see where he got some of his more enjoyable personality traits from.
"Yes of course it is isn't it?" Loki asked rhetorically. Seriously how many abilities did this man have?
Loki glanced over at the shinobi who all shrugged, they didn't have a clue anymore. Naruto just seemed to perpetually grow in skill and power over time.
Over in center of Asgard the blond was looking up at the giant as if appraising him. "Well you're bigger than last time that's for sure." The blond commented. "Not that it'll make much of a difference for you though."
Rather than answer Surtur brought his hands up high in the air preparing a hammer fist. At least that was the plan. Seeing what was to come Naruto once more activated the stone and disappeared from his spot before reappearing above them. Once more creating a Truth seeking orb he changed it into the shield once more and thrusted straight into the giants arms.
"Surtur moves way too slowly for him to stand a chance against Naruto." Sasuke commented.
"Yeah this won't be much of an actual fight I bet. More of a one sided beatdown." Sakura agreed.
"He is the fastest shinobi in history." Kakashi added in.
Minato's eyes widened before a conflicted expression of pride and defeat slipped onto his face.
The effect was immediate, his arms all the way to the elbow turned to dust. The giant let out a monstrous scream not in pain but in anger. Willing the stone to send him back to the floor he activated his magnet release once more while the beast was screaming.
"That power is terrifying." Odin commented.
"Bet that helped in your decision." Hela huffed.
"Yes." The man simply replied.
As he raised his arms in the air, the destroyed pieces that were buildings of Asgard levitated into the air around him. He created five giant nails out of the debris and made a motion with his hand. All at once the five pieces flew to the giant. Two empaling him on each leg before the final one embedded itself in his chest.
"It's unreal." Minato said in a bit of awe at his boy's power. His face was split with a broad grin.
"That's my son." Kushina grinned.
"They realize he is effectively using a destroyed city to nail a living being to the ground right?" Loki asked in wonder.
"Oh they know. I am going to get along well with mom and dad, I think." Hela said with a smile.
"Now to finish him off." He commented. He smacked the bottom end of his staff into the floor and allowed himself to be pulled into the portal once more. He reappeared in front of the now kneeling Surtur and brought his hands up in a single hand sign.
"Senpo: Ranton Kouga" He thought before releasing a very sharp and thin stream of light from his mouth. He twisted his head back and forth rapidly and was pleased as the beam easily cut the giant in half at the waist and removed its head from the body. The head dropped down and landed with a very hard thud which left a small crater in the ground. The blond approached it before turning it to dust with a simple thrust of his arm. With the crown of Surtur having been reduced to dust, the eternal flame which had powered the man was put out.
"Well, that's that then." Sakura said in mild disbelief. She had known he had become incredibly powerful but to end an apocalyptic threat like it was child's play. It just left her a bit numb really.
Within seconds all that remained of the giant was bones and ashes. Asgard for the most part was in tact with the exception of the few buildings he managed to destroy. Having finished what he had come to do he tapped his staff and was once again being pulled into the portal.
Back on the bridge both Thor and Loki were staring at the distance in disbelief. "That shouldn't be possible." The god of thunder said out loud. At that moment their final team member joined them on the bridge.
"Thor! What happened to Surtur?" She asked as she jumped high into the sky before landing next to the brothers. One moment she saw the giant prepare to destroy the city and the next he was gone. As she moved her gaze from where Surtur had been she realized that the two weren't fighting against Hela like she had expected.
She was about to ask about this when she stopped dead in her tracks. Next to the goddess of death a portal opened up and out of it came someone she had hoped to never see again. Her eyes widened and her mouth dried up. She tried to talk but no words would escape her. Even the sound of Thor's voice asking her what's wrong couldn't help her. All she could think about was the day she and her sisters in arms were decimated by Hela and the blond.
How easily he had brushed them off. Hela was powerful yes, but the blond was on a completely different level. "Valkyrie!" That finally got through to her. "I don't know what has you so shaken up but fear not. We're close to resolving the problem. Hela's husband is surprisingly a lot more reasonable than she is." Thor told her.
Thor winced as he had a better point of view on the situation now.
"Well…" Began Loki "Watching you take care of that pile of bones was entertaining but we do have matters to attend to. So do we have a deal?" He asked.
The blond rubbed his chin in thought. "What do you think?" He asked turning to Hela. The goddess turned to the Asgardians and stared at them for a minute before speaking.
"That depends. Will Asgard be left under my rule?" She asked the trio.
"As long as you honor your part of the deal we'll leave Asgard to you." Thor conceded.
"Not exactly how I imagined this playing out but very well. We have a deal." Naruto said. As the words left the blonds mouth Loki let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. They had really lucked out, had it been someone more arrogant or power hungry he doubted things would have gone this smooth.
"He is a blessing in disguise." Loki said with Thor nodding along and even Odin begrudgingly agreeing.
"Pfft, what disguise?" Hela asked. Kushina grinned at that. Her boy knew how to pick them it seemed.
Naruto turned to Hela and nodded in the direction of the undead warriors who were still in a deadlock with the remaining Asgardian forces. Understanding what it was that he wanted of her she walked forward towards her army. Though they had a truce at the moment the Asgardian trio were still on very high alert as she passed by them.
"Halt." She commanded. "The battle is over. Pull back." Her army followed her order obediently and began walking back towards Asgard. Thor walked up as well and said his piece.
"Citizens of Asgard, we have come an agreement. Hela will be the new ruler of Asgard." Seeing that some people were getting wide eyed he quickly continued. "But worry not as I shall be around to make sure she keeps her end of the agreement." He added successfully calming the crowd down. "Now please. Let us make our way back to Asgard."
An hour later the group of six, since Banner had finally landed, were in the throne room. The room was missing a ceiling as Thor and Hela had destroyed it during their battle earlier on. The goddess wasted no time in taking her spot on the throne. Naruto took his spot standing besides her and crossed his arms, his staff still in hand.
"The picture of power and grace." Hela said gleefully.
"This is going to be an insufferable time." Loki commented.
"Alright. Time to keep your part of the deal." Naruto told Loki "Who is it that's coming after the Infinity stones?"
As Loki was about to answer they noticed that the sky above them was getting darker and in seconds Asgard was covered in darkness. Jumping onto the roof of the building they noticed a ship slowly coming down. It was many times larger than the ones the Asgardian people were trying to escape in.
Turning his attention back to the blond he spoke. "That would be The mad Titan Thanos."
"Action after action. Can't they get a chance to rest?" Kushina huffed.
"With that chapter complete, I believe it is time for you all to take a break. We shall return shortly. You will find spare rooms each is a bedroom marked with your name and has a conjoining master back, there is also plenty of foods and drinks to enjoy." The Host said simply before seeming to stare at nothing with its dark cryptic eyes.
"Well, I for one could eat." Minato said.
"They have Asgardian, Earthling, and Elemental Nations food." Hela agreed happily, going for the Ramen…her husband may have influenced her tastes to an extent.
And that is that another chapter down and more to come.
Till Next Time.