Devil From The Heavens
Chapter 32: Moving On
"I won't."
The answer was clear before any words were said. The long chain of events in his life was just a journey between cages. Be it Paragus, Madara, or these two, that seemed all that was fated for him.
Unless he gave up his strength.
It was almost enough for a laugh. The entire point of these prisons was to wield the near infinite strength he had been cursed with. With that gone, there was no point to Broly anymore. Not to them at least. What was the greater treasure? Strength unmatched with a sword above ready to behead or a weight on his back that stole his potential but allowed him to live as he wished?
It was obvious to the Saiyan.
"Not again. Never again." Broly said after some moments. "I won't allow anyone to have that control over me."
"It isn't control. It's an assurance that-" Jiraiya started.
Broly was on his feet in an instant and there was little more than a few inches between the two men. Tsunade pulled the Sage back as Konan threw up a wall of paper between the two. Jiraiya was not a short man by any means, he was often the tallest in the room at over 6 feet, yet Broly made him crane his neck. The Saiyan was furious.
He closed his eyes as the barrier blocked him. It couldn't stop him but it did put a necessary pause to his anger. He took in a large breath and released it along with his sudden fury though it kicked and screamed on its way out. He looked to Konan. There was no judgement from her, just a question of whether he was of clear mind now. The request went unasked but she let the wall down.
"Don't insult me." He said. "I've seen how treacherous and underhanded you shinobi can be. I'd be a fool to believe you at face value. You've seen what I can do, I volunteered my mind for you, why is my restraint not enough?"
Jiraiya clicked his tongue at that. While the thought did cross his mind, he ultimately decided against it. Not that Konan and Broly would believe him. He didn't give them the benefit of the doubt, they certainly wouldn't give it in return.
Tsunade interjected and gestured for the Toad Sage to step back. While she initially supported the suggestion, it was clear Jiraiya was too heated to think things fully through. To put it frankly, he should have brought it up to her first. Given some time to think about it in seclusion rather than almost right after the, admittedly world shattering, revelations brought forth by Ino.
"A fair point, Broly. I think it's safe to say that emotions are riding high right now and that this is not the best time to have this particular discussion. If we give each other some time to cool off, perhaps an alternative may be negotiated."
"If you cannot trust him," Konan interjected. "Then perhaps you can trust that our goals align. We are all threatened by Madara after all and wish to be rid of him."
The Saiyan removed the various medical instruments from his body. "Madara dies at the end with or without you. It's how much damage he can do before I can get to him that you should be worried about. Remember that."
A frustrated sigh escaped the Hokage's lips. If there was one thing she hated patients doing the most, it was leaving before being cleared; they normally just came back later in a worse condition.
"Broly, please, you need rest."
"I've done enough resting, I want to get some fresh air."
He moved passed her and she could only try and take a calming breath as she heard the man shoulder check Jiraiya. She was going to have an aneurysm at this rate. Konan followed behind but she had the decency to look more apologetic. Tsunade grabbed at the bridge of her nose.
"What were you thinking?" The Hokage shot him a tired glare. "Throwing that out without clearing it with me first?"
The Sage held her gaze steadfast. "I was looking out for our village and, despite what he believes, I'd not abuse our tether. It's just...what if he turns his sights on us after the end of this? We've heard him and Ino. It scares me that we barely survived what we did and that was just a fraction of what he could do."
"This is uncharacteristic of you, Jiraiya." She leaned against the bed. "Besides, our hands aren't clean either."
He scowled at her. "We all have our limits and seeing the village razed was mine. Don't tell me of dirty hands when there's a dozen orders of magnitudes between accidental collateral damage or a failed mission and what we know he's done! Whole worlds like ours reduced to dust! That can't be allowed to roam free."
"I know!" Jiraiya flinched as Tsunade practically boomed at him. "I know, it's my village too and, ultimately, I do agree with you there but it was never our choice to make now, was it? No matter how much we play at it otherwise, we're little more than ants to him. The fact he is, or was, willing to help should have been enough."
"So what, we just stand around useless and wait for him to do whatever?"
Tsunade shook her head. "No, what we lack in power, we can make up for in utility. The Kage summit is just a few days away. If I can manage to get everyone on the same page-"
"What, do you think we'll have better luck against him with everyone together?" He sputtered to her annoyance as she held up a hand to stop him.
"-We can prove useful in locating Madara quickly." She gave him a quick glare as he looked to respond. That shut him up. "I think the best play here is appeasement. I don't know if you've noticed but he and Konan have rapport with each other. If he's going to be on anyone's side besides his own, it'll most likely be Amegakure."
And given the history of the Hidden Villages in regards to Ame, that's a precarious position to be in. If her predictions came true, the Village Hidden in the Rain would, overnight, be on top of the hierarchy. No one would be happy about that but there would be no real way to prevent that should Broly choose and who knows how Konan would act after when, or if, Madara was taken care of.
"I'll need to prepare to head off soon. This takes priority."
"They will not let you stay with them after that."
His shoulders sagged somewhat. "I expect that. As long as those two are around, I won't want to be around here anyways. I can survive in the woods; it's not like anything can hurt me."
"I do not plan to stay as well. Amegakure is without leadership." She replied. "You may come with me if you wish. With Nagato-" Her voice hitched for a moment. Were his full attention pointed elsewhere, he would have missed it. "With Pain gone, they will look to me for guidance. We will be able to accommodate you."
Broly glanced at her. "Are you sure about that? Wouldn't Madara know you're there?"
Her lips twitched downward. "You are right but I cannot leave my home abandoned any longer. If it were my fate, I'd meet my end at Madara's hand there."
"Then you'd have thrown your life away and your village is leaderless again." He scoffed. "Pointless in the end."
It was Konan's turn to shrug. "So be it."
The Saiyan refrained from rolling his eyes. "If that's the case, I'll stick with you. The sooner I meet Madara, the better anyways."
It's not like he could do as he pleased like before anyways. Even the cowardly prince could kill him as he was now. Granted, that still put him far above anyone he'd met but with those clones that Madara had, that might prove deadly. And who knows what might be out there in that grave above them. He can't have been the only monster out there.
A small smile graced the woman's face. "I'll be happy to have you."
The two fell into a comfortable silence as they walked. They were far enough away from the civilians that, barring anyone sneaking around here, they were safe to move through specific areas. Konan recognized the path.
"You want to see Naruto?"
He nodded. Say whatever of the village's remaining leadership, the boy was genuine. Some part of his subconscious was certain beyond any doubt of that. Why that was the case was unanswerable by the Saiyan. It wasn't like it was a skill he'd grown proficient with; Hagoromo was the one in tune with emotions and all that garbage. Did he leave something behind when he did what he did?
Broly cleared his throat of a lump that formed. "I want to talk to him before I go. He and- what was the name of the woman with him?"
"Hinata."
"Right, those two, including you, are the most responsible for freeing me. As much as I don't want to be here anymore, I still want to give them my thanks."
As they approached the medical tent, he could hear the complaints coming from the blond quite a ways away. The kid didn't appreciate being stuck like he was. The Saiyan couldn't blame him either. He opened the flap and it suddenly fell silent.
"Hey kid."
Naruto beamed while Hinata gave a polite smile. "Broly! You're okay!"
"Like anyone on the planet could actually keep me down." Broly noticed the missing arm and a pang of guilt hit him. "I don't remember that but I imagine it's my fault."
Naruto looked to the bandaged stump and waved it off. "Ah, it's nothing I can't recover from. I'm just glad I was the only one to get this hurt."
The Saiyan scoffed as he lifted up his injured hand and opened his eyelid to reveal nothing there. "All of you gave almost as good as you got if it makes you feel better."
Now it was Naruto's turn to look guilty. "When did I do that?"
"This was the red guy actually. Before you, he was the only one to do any actual damage. Nearly killed me himself."
"Might Guy." Hinata added solemnly. Rock Lee had been nearly inconsolable since the end of the siege and his teammates weren't much better off since the noble sacrifice of their sensei. Only one of many. "His name was Might Guy."
That nearly had him bark a laugh. Of course that was his name. "Appropriate, he has my respect. He was incredibly strong for a member of your species."
The wording confused the two sages.
"Did you mean to say species?" Hinata inquired. "We're all human here so..." Her voice drifted off as Broly shook his head.
"Right, you two weren't there for that." The Saiyan gave them a brief run down of what he was and how he ended up where he was. He didn't mention the genocides he'd committed; more for his sake than theirs as he did not want to deal with their moral indignation currently. In the future, that bridge might be crossed. "So, yeah, I meant to say species."
"That's incredible and to think we look so much alike..." Hinata muttered. That explained the misplaced tenketsu points and his lack of chakra too.
He shrugged. "I couldn't begin to tell you why we're basically identical. Though your people are more colorful than how my dad described Saiyans."
"Wow." Naruto breathlessly exclaimed. "Are we really the only ones you've seen use chakra?"
Broly nodded. "Yeah, power out there is more like mine but I am a special case even among my own people. That's a talk for another time though. I came here..." He trailed off as the words seemed to catch in his throat. "I just...I wanted to thank you. All of you. I'm only alive because you went out of your way to save me like you did."
"Ah..." Naruto scratched at his face awkwardly. Hinata gave a small smile. "If it wasn't for the old guy, we wouldn't have been able to free you. We would have been the ones dead, not you."
Konan looked to Broly at the mention of an old man. Was that who he was referring to the other night? If so, who was it? Broly glanced her way and his expression promised answers later so she remained silent.
Broly thought about revealing that Madara wanted him to drown regardless of what occurred but he dismissed it. He didn't want to drag the conversation anymore than he already had.
"Alright, we both have reasons to be appreciative. I did come here for more than that." He crossed his arms. "I've had a disagreement with your leaders and...I don't think I'll be staying much longer."
"Wait, I thought..." Naruto glanced around as he thought about how to word his concern. "Well, since you're an alien, I didn't think you had a home to go back to."
"I don't."
The blond pushed himself up to a fully sitting position. "Then why not stay here with the Leaf Village?"
Within his thoughts, Broly found Naruto's request, and it was a request as he wasn't that dense, strange. The boy seemed oddly attached to him; they've barely even seen each other. "Ignoring that I killed most of the people here, I don't think that's a good idea given that your leaders and I...had a disagreement." He finished diplomatically. The desire to twist the knife into those two was overshadowed by his gratitude towards the kid. "You can ask them for the details. I still want to help but it's going to be more on my terms. I'll be back soon."
Naruto pouted. "I'll need to talk to granny Tsunade and Pervy Sage then."
"I- what?" Broly's brows furrowed and he glanced at Konan. "Does that mean the same thing here that I think it does?"
That seemed to break what bleakness his news brought as both Hinata and Naruto started to laugh. Even Konan smiled.
Their laughs were interrupted as a pressure compressed the air around them. It was very slight at first, barely noticeable, but as the seconds went by and they quieted to focus, it grew until it was compressing their bones. It was a noxious, hateful thing that sucked what little mirth could be found out of them.
They looked to Broly as he stared in the direction of the pressure's origin. It felt like his own when he first arrived but it was off. Like someone recreated it from memory.
"I know what that is." He left the tent. "Stay back; I'll take care of this."
Precisely none of them listened as they followed the Saiyan out of the tent. Konan caught up to him first.
"Do you believe it to be those copies?"
"I know it is and I think it's more than one or two. Good." His aura roared to life and blew away his medical scrubs. "I have some frustrations to let loose."
The Saiyan erupted into the air without a second passing. The women's faces were lit up with red as Naruto rubbed at his eyes with some curses.
"Damn it, I didn't need to see that!
Madara stared at the white mask for some time. The Gedo Status looked down on him in turn, its open maw waiting for the last Tailed Beast to sate its hunger. He did not believe the Hybrids would succeed. Their target seemed to have a knack for survival. That meant his plan was in true jeopardy of failure for the first time and it was here in the endgame.
If only they stole even a fraction of the Kyubi's chakra. It would be enough to revive the Ten-Tails. To allow him his rest.
Something ate away at him. It was like his subconscious was screaming that he had all the pieces but they just had to be put together. There was a solution here, something that could right this listing ship, but it was just out of reach.
He flipped the mask over. The answer will come in time.
A moment's thought as he was out in the bright sun on top of a rib of some long dead giant beast.
"I've been waiting for you."
"So the snake leaves its hole." Madara glanced at the robed figure behind him. "And what brings you here, Kabuto?"
Out from beneath his hood, pale green shone from Kabuto's eyes. "A proposition."
Author's Notes
And we're back with a fresh chapter. A bit of a shorter one I'm ashamed to admit but that's because I cut out a big section that I felt interrupted the chapter's pacing too much; I'll try to make the next chapter longer to make up for it. I'm kinda half tempted to put AUF on the backburner for now to see if I can get this story done this year. I'd estimate between 10 - 15 chapters at most before its finished.
There's always an epilogue to be had too of course, ah, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Gotta say though, I love, and was completely caught off guard by, the strong reaction to last chapter's choice. Feels good to get that reaction, make me feel like I'm doing something right.
Anyways, let me know what you think.
Ent out.
Review Responses!
SilverJoJo: I think you might've misread, no Sasuke in this chapter but they will be meeting up in the future, just you wait.
Abyss Trinity: It is much higher but what she saw was billions in her estimation.
fightingchampion: I like the passion on display here. Something tells me you'll like this chapter haha.
TheBestLikeNoOneEverWas: I kinda feel bad I made y'all wait so long for this chapter, lol. But it looks like he chose whatcha wanted.
Jutten: It's hard because, like, how can anyone react with a level head to something like that, y'know?
DTLA1992: Oh, they won't like it at all but writing that will be fun.
God Of Light: You have nothing to worry about, Broly is firmly in the 'Absolutely Fucking Not' camp.
Dontus -not Donut- Powerus: The fragment of Hagaromo inside of Broly is dead and gone but your review did, potentially, give me an idea for the future. I would say centuries in stasis is plenty of time for chakra to form.
Isaiah Navarro: Thanks for the praise! Honestly, if that ever happened with his chakra, he gives me a fire nature chakra vibes or earth.
jonathan: Thanks and today!
SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Hmm, now I'm suspicious that you're not Vegeta e.e
luis: Today!
TheRightPrice/GhastlyOrnox: (Both reviewers here have the same, or very similar, core critique so I'm answering them both here)
The first thing I want to say is that Broly's arc isn't complete and his road to permanent change won't be smooth despite appearances. Now, that doesn't mean these critiques aren't valid, they absolutely are, but I feel justified given a few key factors:
1) He isn't in control. He's forced to see what he's doing from essentially an outside perspective. This combined with the idea that he'd hate what he was doing specifically because Madara ordered him to would allow him to put his actions under a more critical gaze than he normally would. It's easier to judge an action performed by someone else of course.
2) He has a moral compass in the form of the Sage unlike in AUF. Hagoromo made Broly confront what he's done with no easy means to brush it off. He had to reconcile his beliefs with his current circumstance and his previous action. If it was justified to commit genocide against a planet because they were weak and couldn't defend themselves as he's stated, what would that say of him where he stood? A person confronted with such hypocrisy either changes or forces themselves to ignore the double think.
3) His mind was healed by Hagoromo. This one is weaker than the first two admittedly but it bears mentioning. The LSSJ power, in this story, is a corrupting, toxic power that maims and distorts the mind. It's why he so aggressive in the form as it turns him into almost a beast. It's a headcanon of mine that this is why the previous Saiyan blew himself and the planet up: the power deteriorated his mind and his ability to control until all that was left was this unstable critical mass that burst. This was, mostly, fixed by the Sage in the centuries that Broly was imprisoned so the Saiyan has a much cooler, more rational mind at the start.
Now I believe that, under the right circumstances, a person can change radically over a short period of time. Does that excuse the relatively sudden shift in this story? Maybe, maybe not. I kinda agree that I could have taken more time or shown more interactions between him and Hagoromo or at least made the story take place over a longer period of time to make it easier to believe but that can't be changed now.
Like I said, he's not done and his desire to change will be tested in the future.
And, whew, I wrote way more than I intended there. Thanks for the critiques and I hope to read your reviews in the future!
