Chapter 12: Across a Distant Shore
(Qward - Guardian Chambers)
"So you mean to tell me that your people had found a way to contain these Tailed Beasts inside a living person? Beasts that I might add that are not only sentient but also provided great power to not just themselves but also their hosts?" asked Scar.
Both she and Orochimaru sat in her chambers as Orochimaru recited the tale of Naruto Uzumaki to her. Among the many feats that he accomplished such as sealing Kaguya, a god like being, at least on their terms, but ending the Uchiha line. What interested her now was the description of the Jinchuuriki and the process in which one could become such a being.
"Yes." said Orochimaru. "Through multiple varieties of fuinjutsu. Seals are used to cage a Tailed Beast and keep them contained inside the hosts. The original purpose of such a technique was for the villages of each nation to harness their powers and use the hosts as living weapons. Unfortunately, like many experiments, most attempts ended in failure."
"Why?" the rogue Guardian asked.
"The first reason is that the Tailed Beasts are difficult to control without special abilities. And the second: psychological issues with the Beasts' hosts. Only a person with a strong will and sense of self can hope to resist being influenced by the will of the Tailed Beast. The villagers in each of their respective nations usually ether viewed them as the same as the Tailed Beasts themselves or lacked faith in the Jinchuuriki's control, and therefore mistreated or outright abused them. As such some of the human hosts did not even care for their villages while, others earned the respect of their villages." Orochimaru explained.
"In other words prejudice and stupidity. A universal constant no matter what the species or race." said Scar. "Though I'm assuming Naruto would fall into the latter category, earning his people's respect."
"And understatement to be sure of." said Orochimaru.
"And you are saying that this is the reason why he would trump you in terms of power?" Scar asked.
"Indeed." said Orochimaru though hiding the other fact that Naruto also happened to be the last descendant of Asura Otsutsuki and with that blood connection came the Senjutsu of the Six Paths which allowed Naruto to enter Six Paths mode.
So far there were no reports about Naruto using that Mode since he took on the ring. However, if the Betrassian Blitz was any indication of his growth then the Sannin figured the boy was keeping it in reserve in case he needed it. And the reason he didn't tell Scar about this was simple.
Orochimaru didn't want to hurt his position.
His thoughts were interrupted when Scar rose from her chair.
"In that case I think we may have a solution so that you may finally be able to match your fellow Ajnian when the time comes for you to do battle." she said with a smile on her face.
Orochimaru soon found himself in between being worried and also intrigued. After all, one must do all for the sake of attaining more power.
(Mount Justice)
"Exactly what I am supposed to be doing out with this?" asked Wally pointing at the football in his hand as he, Naruto and Black Canary stood in the center of the white, digital mat they used for training.
After their training session had ended Naruto had told Wally to hang back. That was when Dinah threw him the football.
Instead of answering, Naruto projected several constructs and obstacles around the room. The constructs shifted into people.
"We are doing an exercise today that will be added on to your training Wally." said Dinah. "In this case learning what many football players, specifically running backs, are trained to do. Juking: A running technique used to move around an opponent rather than through them, with the right body movement and foot work."
"That sounds great and all, babe, but how does this help me in the field?" Wally asked.
Dinah didn't seem to like it too much that he kept calling her that but put it aside. As did Naruto since he had a way to get him back for it.
"As you can see I have a small battalion here around the room. We want you to try to get through them. Just do the same as you normally would in a situation? Then you'll know why." said Naruto.
Wally decided to do as he was told and started running towards them as he would. Unfortunately, while the young speedster was fast he was not very maneuverable. Meeting his first opposition, he tried moving straight left and got clobbered into the ground by the construct's strong clothesline.
Getting up and shaking it off Wally tried it again. He managed to get around the first construct though it proved to be a feint as he was lead to being tackled to the ground again, losing the ball this time.
The process repeated at least five times with Naruto and Dinah watching and Dinah wincing every time he got knocked down.
"You sure this is necessary?" she asked.
"The best way to understand your weaknesses to is to get hit a lot in my experience. Especially when you don't even acknowledge that you have one in the first place like he does." said Naruto.
"I can understand the logic but still." said Dinah as Wally went down again for the eighth time.
"I think that's enough." said Naruto. With a snap of his fingers the constructs disappeared. He then walked over to Wally who was lying on the ground with the football lying next to him. Naruto moved over and held out his hand to the groaning speedster who took it and from there helped him up to his feet.
"Man I don't understand. I ran my fastest and I couldn't get through them at all." said Wally.
"Faster you may be on foot. But I'm still faster in mind." said Naruto. "And it shows your lack of maneuverability, which is what juking will help with."
"Okay I'm not so good when it comes to football in the first place so I don't even know what juking is!" Wally grumbled.
"You have watched it though right, with your family?" Dinah asked. Wally nodded. "And you have seen a running back use twists and footwork to fake out and avoid linebackers and tacklers right?" she asked again to which he nodded. "What the running back does is juking."
"Oh." said Wally finally getting the message. "So I'm guessing that's what I need to learn then."
"Yes. And we are going to help you with it." said Naruto. "We are going to work on your juking. Mainly cause you're not as fast as your uncle so this Team needs you to be more maneuverable so that you can be a better asset. Dinah and I will be training you and helping you with this on your weekends until you get better with it. Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah I guess. I don't want to be a burden to the Team." said Wally reluctantly.
"Then you won't. Now get going you got school in fifteen minutes." said Dinah. This got Wally back to his normal mood as he groaned at the prospect but ran out towards a Zeta Tube to head home.
"Well from what he said at least its progress. Hopefully he starts taking the training more seriously if only for his friends sake." said Naruto.
"We can hope." said Dinah. "Good work with those constructs."
"Thanks. I do aim to make sure my construct's are up to the task." said Naruto "By the way did you bring what I requested?" he asked.
Dinah soon pulled up a tablet from her jacket.
"At his behest." she said. Naruto looked over and saw the schematics and plans for the Javelin. He then created a USB cord and put it in the port and download the information into his ring's computer database.
"Thanks for being the go between. I know you don't like it." said Naruto.
"Its not a big deal. Besides I liked how you stood your ground when you and Bruce faced off." she said. Naruto smiled at that as he uploaded the data in the tablet and handed it back to her.
"That's all the info I have on Orochimaru. Hopefully he will put it in the League computer so everyone can see it." he said.
"I and the rest will make sure that it happens. If this guy is as big a threat as you seem to make him out to be then we will need to be ready." she said. She noticed on the pad that the information was extensive and even had the man's face. She couldn't help but be a bit intimidated by man's snake like eyes.
She then noticed a symbol next to his name. One that looked like some mockery of the Green Lantern symbol
"I'm assuming this symbol means he's joined a Lantern Corps. Sinestro's if I'm right." she said.
"Yes." said Naruto. "Have Hal and John mentioned him or the other Corps in the past?"
"From time to time yes. We know more about the Star Sapphires then the others though. Mainly because Carol, Hal's former girlfriend is among them. Though I think I will recommend they share more about the others in the future." said Dinah with certainty.
"As you should." said Naruto as he nodded in affirmation as he walked away to a Zeta Tube while changing into his uniform.
"Where are you going?" Dinah asked.
"Everyone is done with their training. Only makes sense that now I get started with my own." said Naruto. "Normally I do it in the morning before the Teams but I wanted to be sure we get it into Wally's head how important your juking method is to his survival."
"Okay then but why don't you just train here?" the heroine questioned.
"Let's just say if I used some of my better moves the mountain wouldn't be here anymore." said Naruto
"Alright." said Dinah though she seemed reluctant to believe that statement entirely since she knew that he would rather keep his abilities a secret for as long as he could.
"Though if you want some hand to hand practice, let me know. I don't have many sparring partners at my level." she added.
"What about Ollie?" Naruto asked.
"He's good but I clean his clock too often for his taste. His words not mine." she said with a proud smile on her face.
"That I believe." said Naruto. And he really did after he saw her handle both Wally and Superboy the way she had. "Anyway see you later."
"Take care." said Dinah as she saw him disappear.
'Though I have to wonder? What does he do for training that is so dangerous that he can't do it here in Mount Justice?' she thought to herself.
(Scandinavia)
Deep in the icy mountains of old Scandinavia is where Naruto chose to train. Mainly cause there would be less chance of anyone seeing him and there was no one around to be hurt.
For some reason Naruto found the snow filled lands as the perfect place to train in the various elemental jutsu that he acquired from the scrolls that Tsunade gave him. It was an easy to find a place where he could use the shadow clone jutsu to make hundreds of clones, each of them practicing the various elemental jutsu.
Case in point one of his clones was making his hand signs against him.
"Lightning Style: Lighting Spear Jutsu!" he called out. A spear of lightning chakra appeared in his hand and he fired it directly at him. Naruto then acted to counter.
"Wind Style: Air Barrier Jutsu!" he called out. A wall of condensed air formed around Naruto effectively neutralizing the lightning attack. As they continued two more clones used the Fire Style jutsu Majestic Destroyer Fire to which another used a massive Water Wall. Naruto also made note to himself and the clones that when using water jutsu that he must be able to use it in where there might be no water as the Second Hokage did. Or at least that was what he aimed for.
The clone in turn used the snow on the ground to create a wall that protected him. Others were using the Earth style.
One of the elements that piqued his interest was the Magnet Release since this would allow him to control metal. And it combined Wind and Earth. So mastering the Earth style was a top priority. After all if a situation happened and he couldn't use his ring he could just stop bullets with a wave of his hand or something.
Naruto turned to his clone and decided to finish his fight by concentrating once again and using the wind surrounding him and super heated it with his Boil release. He channeled it into his arm and struck his shadow clone dead center easily dispersing him. Naruto looked down to see his arm relatively unharmed.
'Best to use that as a weapon of last resort. Another to the lethal list.' he thought to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted as fire balls once more were headed towards his direction. Naruto prepared to counter when he heard a voice in the air.
"Come. Come to me." it said. This distracted the shinobi for a moment. Until he heard the mental shout of his partner.
'NARUTO!' he looked to see the incoming fire. Quickly he used his ring to create a shield to surround himself before they hit just managing to avoid getting damaged but still feeling the impact of the attack.
The dust from the attack settled with Naruto standing in craters with his green shield.
'What the hell!? Boy are you trying to get yourself killed!?' Kurama said.
'Sorry Kurama. I thought I heard a voice coming from somewhere.' Naruto responded as all action from the clones ceased.
"Hey boss, are you okay?" asked the clone that fired at him.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just hearing things I guess." said Naruto. He then looked around and saw the damage that his training had left. He looked at the time from his ring and saw that it was already well into the afternoon.
"Alright that's enough for today." said Naruto. The others nodded and disappeared in puffs of smoke. The information and refinement of the jutsu that they had all practiced ran through his head.
The Green Lantern had to rub his head as the information was processed.
'It's a wonder that I don't get headaches from all this info.' Naruto thought to himself. 'Kurama did you hear a voice or anything during that fight?'
The tailed beast grumbled but decided to hold off lecturing his partner for now and did as he was asked.
'I didn't hear a voice like you said since I was mostly paying attention to your imminent death. But now that you mention it there is some trace of something in the air, magic perhaps. Can't be sure though.' said Kurama.
Naruto nodded. He looked around again. Maybe he was hearing things. It was at this point that this time he did hear a voice. Only unlike the voice he heard this one was that of a woman.
"Are you alright?" he heard. He looked to the sky and saw who the voice belonged to and was surprised to say the least.
The woman in the sky was tall and fair-skinned. She had a lean but still muscled build, curvaceous but slender and with a sizable bust to her. She wore a strapless red buster held up by a gold brace that resembled two W's. A golden robe hung on the side of the blue briefs with stars. She wore red boots with a white line and to finish had silver bracelets, red star earrings and golden tiara with a red star on its forehead.
All he knew from the profile on the League data-banks. Though seeing the person in question as he often found out was a different story all together.
"You're Wonder Woman." Naruto said in astonishment as the lady landed in front of him.
"And you would be the new Green Lantern the others told me about." she said with a smile. She then held out her hand. "But I also go by the name Diana."
Naruto was a little startled at first when she said her real name. But then he remembered that Diana technically had no secret identity. At least not one he knew of. And since he and her were the only ones in the immediate area and for some reason seemed to trust her he took her hand and shook it.
"Naruto." he responded as they released their hands. "What brings you all the way into Scandinavia?"
"I could ask you the same thing. I just arrived in this part of the country when I heard loud explosions and what I thought was a battle. Though by the time I came I saw you standing alone in this field." she said gesturing to the craters around them.
"Ah yeah, that was me training. I was working on some techniques that I had recently acquired. I told Dinah that my techniques would be too destructive around the Cave, so I decided to go somewhere remote. The snow filled Scandinavia seemed the right place." Naruto explained.
Diana looked over where he trained at. He noticed that she seemed to be looking around trying to piece together what he was doing.
"What kinds of techniques are you practicing that would lead to this level of destruction?" she asked.
"Techniques from my home planet. I decided to try a majority of the lethal ones here since it's more remote than anywhere else I could find. At least in case I need to get back to the cave since I don't know the location for a Zeta Tube here." said Naruto rubbing the back of his head.
"That would be Stockholm. We have a tube there." said Diana. "These techniques wouldn't happen to be elemental in nature would they?"
"You saw the footage from the fight with Amazo." Naruto stated.
"Yes. And unlike Batman I could persuade you with my lasso to tell me more." she said gesturing to the fabled Lasso of Truth. "But I won't." she added.
"Why not?" Naruto asked genuinely surprised at that since just about everyone was curious about his capabilities.
"Because I am not Batman. When you feel you can trust someone with whatever secrets that you have should be your choice." she said. "Though I should tell you secrets belong in shadows. And they are eventually brought into light."
'Something to think about.' said Kurama getting a little tired of the hiding as well.
"I'll keep it in mind." said Naruto. "Anyway you said you had a mission here?"
"Yes. About a month ago there was an ice glacier that had melted here. When it collapsed it revealed an old ship. Viking in origin. With the standard of King Rick. The only ship that would have carried that banner and gone that far north was one that belonged to Prince John. Also known as the Viking Prince." she explained.
"Guessing there's a story to it." said Naruto.
"Quite the tale. Known even to the Amazons. If you like you could join me and I can tell you it and the why it's relevant to the mission." Wonder Woman inquired. "Unless you would prefer to continue training."
"No I was just about done here anyway." said Naruto immediately going into mission mode again.
"Then follow me." said Wonder Woman. From there they both shot up into the sky.
"So what is the story of Prince John exactly?" he asked.
"Back in the early tenth century Prince John had distinguished himself as the greatest warriors of his age. His skill and valor earned him his name and fame throughout the known world. His adventures were epic as were all the tales that were made of them wither it was fact or fiction. However, one story turned out to be true." she began. "One day on a frozen battlefield, the last battle of a war whose purpose is lost to time John was wounded and was taken, thinking dead, by a Valkyrie, a messenger of the Norse Gods whose duty was take fallen heroes and escort them to their reward in Valhalla. She soon found that he was very much alive and then something impossible happened."
"They fell in love." Naruto answered guessing where this was going.
"Indeed. And they swore their hearts to each other. But Odin, the king of the Norse Gods, found out about their affair and banished him from Valhalla. John pleaded and begged Odin to at least be given the chance to return to his beloved. Odin agreed saying that per the law that if John died an honorable death that he could return and that he and his love would be together for all eternity." Diana continued as they approached their destination.
"But he did something that could prevent that from happening." said Naruto.
"Yes. Before he banished John Odin had gifted him with invulnerability to metal, wood, fire and water. John found out and soon despaired for he would never find an honorable death for no weapon on Earth at that time could kill him. Not that he didn't keep trying as he went from one battle and adventure after another. And eventually he grew weary of his loneliness and sailed north never to be seen again." Diana finished.
"Until now you mean." said Naruto looking to see the ship in question. As she had told him the ship was trapped in a glacier. More than likely from the centuries it had spent at sea and finally freezing.
He also looked at the area around and saw several unconscious bodies on the ground in the same area as the ship itself.
"I take it someone wanted to get their hands on the ship." said Naruto as they landed. He looked to see the troops were wearing black armor with advanced rifles. He also saw that the gear they wore was mainly for under water and land based combat. "Whose do these guys answer to?'"
"Black Manta." Diana answered. "An enemy of Aquaman. He has his own private of army of troops that he has funded and stocked for years."
"And I'm assuming that he wants this ship mainly because he believes that the corpse of the Viking Prince is on board. And he wants to take it and find a way to re-engineer his invulnerability." said Naruto
"That was my thought as well." said Wonder Woman looking at the ship in ice. "After I dealt with Manta's soldiers I was going to call the League and see about getting this ice removed. Which is why you are a fortunate find in this area."
Naruto got what she was saying and pointed his ring at the glacier. Using a relatively low but wide beam he fired at it and soon enough the glacier melted way. After that he had the beam constrict around the ship as he helped it stay afloat on the water.
"The glacier managed to preserve the ship. Any wear and tear on it would be minor at this point." said Naruto.
"Can you see where the body of the Prince is on board?" Wonder Woman asked.
Naruto then had his ring scan the ship. The results of it surprised him though, enough that he did a second scan. The results were the same.
"Are you sure that this is his ship?" he questioned.
"Yes. It has the banner of King Rick his father." she assured.
"Well then we have a problem. My ring is saying that there are no life forms, dead or alive, inside the ship." said Naruto.
"Check it again." she said.
"I did, twice. There is no one on board." said Naruto. 'Kurama do you sense anything?'
'Not from the ship. But I do sense something nearby.' said the Tailed Beast.
Before she could answer Naruto once again heard the voice he had heard during his training.
"Come! Come to me!" it said loudly, enough for the young shinobi to wince from the volume. And he wasn't alone in hearing that.
"Did you hear that?" she asked. Naruto nodded in response, hearing the voice was not enough though as it seemed to be all over the place.
"The voice clearly has magic attached to it. And it seems centered on us." Diana said.
Naruto thought for a moment. Magic and Chakra were two different things but the one thing that they and all things have in common is energy. So he got an idea.
'Already in position.' Kurama said reading his mind. Naruto went into Sage Mode. He could now see the energy in the air. What he saw was a trail with the color of ice blue.
"I've got a bead on whoever or whatever is calling out to us, I'm going find it." he said. Before Diana could stop him he flew off towards the location catching Wonder Woman by surprise by the enhanced speed that Sage Mode afforded him.
Naruto had no trouble following the trail to its destination. Which turned out be a deserted part of the country. No trees in the immediate vicinity and the ground covered in snow for at least a few miles. All that was there was a cave.
It was here that the source met its end. Naruto immediately returned to normal form and glow around him faded with his eyes returning to their normal state.
'Probably not wise to have left Diana the way I did.' Naruto thought to himself as he went over his reckless nature waiting for his partner's response. But it was not to be.
'There is someone here.' said the Tailed Beast.
'You sense something?' Naruto asked.
'Yeah, the emotion I'm feeling is definitely negative. Not evil though. It feels sad...and angry. Watch your step kid. Someone's looking for a fight.' Kurama surmised.
The instant he finished Naruto could see that something was coming out of the cave, or rather someone.
That someone was at least six feet and well muscled wearing what looked to be full Viking armor. Chain-mail shirt with thirty lamellar plates for extra protection and a helmet that covered his face. Weapons included a round shield in his right hand and a one-hand double-edged sword. Also on his back Naruto saw that he carried a bastard sword, something Naruto noted wasn't a traditional Viking weapon.
The warrior in question, along with his armor and weapons, appeared to be made of ice, or at least imbued with the element.
"Welcome. To your doom." said the being in front of him in an old dialect of Norse. Naruto could tell that the reason his voice seemed different was because of the helmet he wore, seeming to enhance his voice. He also silently thanked the ring for translating though he didn't know why.
Naruto immediately created a ninja-to construct and got into a stance with the sword in a reverse grip. He waited wanting for his opponent to make the first move, which he did as he charged the young shinobi with a high strike of his sword. Naruto parried and countered to which the ice Viking used his shield to deflect. The two then struck at each other their swords sending sparks and they clashed.
Naruto found the opening he needed and feigned a left cross slice. When his opponent moved for his shield to block he spun around and struck at his side slicing at the armor and drawing blood from the wound.
The Viking before him knelt down dropping his weapons as he held his side. Naruto wondered at that since he had not done that much damage with the strike since it was meant to disable not kill.
'In fact he seemed more surprised than anything else.' Naruto thought to himself. He saw the being look at the blood in his hand that came from the wound. His opponent then laughed.
"At last...after all these years. A worthy opponent." the being in front of him said.
Naruto became angry at this statement. He had fought and killed but there was always purpose in it whether being a mission or when a planet was at stake or even when he had to kill Sasuke because of his insanity. He did not fight for sport.
"I'm not playing this game of yours." he said waving his sword construct away. This made the Viking mad.
"You will fight!" he yelled discarding his shield in anger grabbing it in both hands as he swung wildly in anger and Naruto in turn dodged the strikes.
"No! I will not fight in a meaningless battle for sport! There is no honor in such a thing!" the Lantern stated.
"Honor?" the Viking questioned. "What does thou know of honor? For centuries I have waited and watched as time passed. Now my goal is now in sight. You will fight!"
He made an overhand strike with both hands. Naruto managed to catch it with both hands though he clinched in surprise at the strength of him.
'He's desperate. He really wants you to fight him and I don't think it's for sport.' Kurama stated getting a read on the being's emotions. 'It's almost as if his life depends on it.'
Naruto took the information that his partner said and got an idea as to how he could figure out what is going on. He forced the sword and the wielder away from him.
"If you are going to kill me do it. I'm not going to fight." he said. He then sat down cross legged and waited.
The Viking halted his assault and stared at his opponent in shock.
"Nay, I cannot strike thee defenseless. This battle must end by the warrior's code. I beg thee. Rise. Unsheathe your sword from whence it came and continue this fight." he implored.
"Why?" said a voice from the sky. They both looked up to see Wonder Woman above. She landed and asked the question again.
"Why should he fight you for your amusement?" she questioned again clearly understanding the language that the Viking spoke in.
"Not amusement. For freedom." he said with a sad tone as he took off his helmet to reveal himself a man. He appeared to be in his late forties or late fifties with long blond hair that had grown from a long time of being not kept. He wrinkled though still distinguished features showed exhaustion from the years. None more apparent than in his blue eyes. When he spoke again his voice was normal and tired.
"A long time I have spent waiting for the one to find this cave. To hear my call. For I am a man underneath this armor. A mighty warrior like thee. One who until now believed that he would never be reunited with his beloved." he said. Naruto and Wonder Woman could not help but feel sympathy for the man.
The Viking then turned back into his cave. Moments later he came out with a large stone. On the stone was carvings written in the language of Old Norse.
"I have made this recording of my life. So that I would never forget who I am. The warrior I was. And the woman I love above all others." he said giving the tablet to them.
Both Naruto and Wonder Woman had begun to suspect who this mysterious warrior was but as they examined the tablet it confirmed what they both believe who this man was.
"You're Prince John." said Diana.
"Yes. Or I used to be him. Since thee know my name thou must know at least part of my story." said John
"The tragedy of it yes." said Diana while Naruto fell silent. "How have you lived for all these years?"
"I had once saved a mystic and her village at one time early after my exile from Valhalla. She had a smith craft me the fine armor that you see before you. She enchanted it so that I may persevere as the ice of the Norse Lands." John explained.
"I see." said Diana. John had then turned back to the silent Naruto.
"You know what must be done. The only way to enter Valhalla is fall in combat against another warrior." said John who knelt before Naruto. "My fate is at your mercy."
'Kid I already know what your decision is going to be and I support it wholeheartedly. But although you are sanctioned to kill in matters of war by the council of the Guardians I don't think they would sanction a death like this using the ring, which means you will have to use a jutsu that does not involve wood, metal, fire or water, as he is invulnerable to those.' Kurama explained to his now silent partner.
Naruto knew he was right. And thanks to his training he had now a wide variety of jutsu of wind and lightning to choose from to give the Viking Prince his freedom and the ability to return to his beloved. However, for some reason his mind kept going to two jutsu in particular.
The first one was his signature. One that he had always relied on in every battle he ever fought. The Rasengan had proven its worth in ways that his father could never have imagined.
Then the other popped up in his head. The one that was the signature of a now hated enemy. One he hadn't really needed training to use. He saw the hand signs so many times that they were forever engraved in his mind. He had also been struck with it enough times to understand the pain. He had also noted that in some ways it was inferior to the Rasengan.
And it had taken someone he loved away from him.
Naruto's eyes turned towards John as he made his decision. Before announcing it Diana spoke first.
"It appears we might have company." she said point to the eastern direction. They looked to see more troops in black in larger numbers. Their leader was different however. He wore the same armor as his mean but was wearing a manta shaped helmet with two large daunting red eyes with small tubes that connected to the back of his head to his shoulders.
"It appears Black Manta had decided to lead this attack personally." she turned to Naruto and John. "I will handle them. You two can do what needs to be done." she flew off after that towards the enemy.
John turned again to Naruto. Who said nothing as he stood up once again and conjured a green blade. Only instead of a ninja-to as he had before he made his construct a katana. He shifted into a standard stance with two hands griping the sword.
"Prepare yourself." he said.
John did all he could to hide the joy he felt as got into his own stance.
"At last, the gates of Valhalla, and to my beloved Aria, open to me at last." he said as he hefted his sword, picked up his shield from the ground, and swung. At the same time as Naruto launched himself at John and struck with his own sword.
The broke apart, John using the bottom of his hilt to strike Naruto's face. It connected catching him off guard. He recovered and sliced at the Prince's head. He deflected the attack but did not see the front kick to his chest that Naruto delivered.
Naruto moved to strike at him with a two handed strike which was blocked by John's shield. The shield was cracked by the strike but it was still usable. The two combatants clashed with their blades echoing throughout the valley as they struck, blocked and dodged their attacks.
Naruto blocked another sword strike only to be hit with a shield bash to his face that sent him flying a full twenty meters from where he was on the ground eating snow.
'That felt awful familiar actually.' he thought as he remembered getting hit that hard before by a certain pink haired girl that he had thought about earlier.
…Especially after he returned from his two years of training.
'I felt it too. The guys actually has a chakra network and is somehow using in unconsciously. Though he can't control it all that well it is augmenting his strength and stamina. Reflexes as well I think. It must have been from the curse. What Odin did to him must be similar to what Hidan got from his god.' Kurama confirmed.
'So Hidan wasn't all bullshit.' said Naruto
'Yeah looks like. Though I'm starting to not like these so called gods interfering or messing with people all that much.' Kurama stated to which Naruto fully agreed with.
"Rise warrior! Rise!" Prince John screamed. "Honorably I must be defeated! I cannot let up!"
Naruto clinched his fist in the snow as he stood up.
"Don't worry, this is still just the warm up." he said. He threw a brace of shuriken at his opponent. The Viking Prince deflected the projectiles but barely managed to parry Naruto's strikes with his reformed katana construct. Allowing himself to use his chakra to augment his strength, Naruto was better able to match his opponent's physical strength. Something Prince John had noticed.
Naruto then got some distance and made a jumping spinning round house kick. Though John managed to block it with his shield the force of the kick sent him flying at least twenty feet and had him landing on his back. He looked up to see his opponent in the air preparing the death blow when suddenly he stopped in mid-air and had made a construct to grab a grenade and throw into the air exploding.
The two looked to see a few of Black Manta's forces had managed to make it through the battle with the Amazon.
"Damn it! We don't need you interfering right now!" said Naruto making hand signs. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he shouted sending his hands forward and a gust of wind blow the half dozen away and back towards the explosions and laser fire that was emitting not far from them.
"I would have killed them for their interference." John growled as the death blow would have sent him on his way.
"As would I in your position but the laws made by people of this time wouldn't allow it." said Naruto. He turned with his Katana construct made whole again. "But fortunately our fight doesn't need to follow those rules."
John smirked and roared as the duel recommenced.
The two warriors fought for what seemed like hours when it was only minutes. Blocking, striking, dodging, and parrying. The battle that Wonder Woman was having with Manta and his forces could be heard in the background and felt in the area as grenades and fire boomed the land.
But all Naruto and John could pay attention to was the fight they were having. The one that John hoped with all his heart would be his last.
Naruto had to give credit where it was due. Prince John was the pinnacle of his Viking kind. He used their tactics, brutish though they were, to great effect. But Naruto had his ring and the variety of options. Truth be told, the fight could have ended a while ago.
But Prince John was a warrior and as soon as Naruto made the decision to fight him he would hold back his full power and arsenal and restrict himself to only one jutsu that would send Prince John to his rightful place that he had longed for.
That time had now come.
Naruto changed the shape of his bladed to a piercing end of a double-edged sword and thrust it at his opponent. John moved his damaged shield to block but that had proven to be a mistake as the blade thrust hit its cracked shell and the shield shattered like glass and staggering his opponent to the ground from which John quickly recovered thanks in part to the numbness of his arm from Naruto's kick.
Though John's arm was damaged and numb from both strikes he unsheathed the bastard sword from his back, gripping it in both hands and swung it at the Lantern. Naruto also gripping his weapon in both hands blocked the attack. The two stood with their swords locked together with metal and construct sizzling with Naruto seeing the red from the part of the blade that was locked with his. As they got close John used a head butt to try and knock him off. It succeeded but Naruto was able to twist around and slashed at his legs with John able to avoid some of the power of the blow but still ended up with a gash on his left leg.
The time had come to end this and they both knew it. They could see it in their eyes. From there the two warriors charged each other with their swords coming at each other at the same time. As they struck Naruto's construct shattered from the force of John's attack. Disappointment ran through the Viking Prince as he seemed to think his chance at Valhalla was gone.
As he turned around to face Naruto however, he soon found himself struck with a great pain in his abdomen.
"Ahhh!" he grunted. He looked down to see a hand wreathed in lightning. He looked up to see that the owner of the hand was the young man that he had been fighting.
It dawned on the prince on what had happened. Naruto has his sword break on purpose so that he could use this attack, whatever it was, to finish the fight.
For the Chidori was the jutsu Naruto used. A jutsu he never thought to use but he figured that since it took the one he had loved at one time it could reunite two others.
John coughed blood as Naruto pulled his hand out of his abdomen. John coughed blood as he held the wound in his chest but smiled all the same.
"After all these years, my time has arrived." said John kneeling down on the snow. A small blue glow seemed to come out of him and soon left his body.
"Odin! Your spell is broken!" he cried out into the sky above. It was his last yell of defiance before he finally fell.
Naruto moved quickly and held up to keep him from falling too hard and gently laid him on the snow.
"Prince John...I'm-"
"Don't worry my friend. This is the end that I have longed for." said dying Viking. "I have one final request."
"Name it." said Naruto.
"Please...hand me my sword." he said gasping as life continued to leave him.
Naruto reached over to the sword and placed it on his chest where John hand grabbed it with both hands.
"Thank you." he said. His eyes closed then and the last breath of life left him.
To Naruto he looked like he was sleeping. He saw the smile on his face as he was at peace as he expected the Prince to be.
What he did not expect was for a light in the sky suddenly appear. He looked up and saw what was causing it with a hand shielding his eyes. The light dissipated but remained as Naruto could now see it was not a what, but a who.
It was a red haired woman who wore a simple white dress and bore a winged helmet upon her head. From his database of Earth he knew that this was a Valkyrie from the ancient tales of Viking folklore.
She looked at him, or rather next to him. Naruto looked to his right and saw Prince John standing there, his body now appearing as a spirit as he could see right through him. He looked younger than he had when they fought. He looked as they saw each other. Both of them had tears in their eyes. The soon ran to each other and embraced with a passionate kiss.
Naruto could not help but smile under his mask at seeing the scene before him. He could also feel a tear in his eye as he saw the scene.
'Always pegged you as a romantic.' Kurama quipped, giving a toothy grin.
'Shut up furball.' said Naruto though deep down he knew his partner was right.
The Valkyrie, who Naruto knew was this Aria that John spoke of, turned while they were still holding on to each other.
"Thank you young warrior." she said. Naruto bowed in response.
"It was my pleasure. Love should never be denied." he said.
"No it should not." said the spirit of Prince John holding on to his beloved's shoulders. "Though you should be warned, while I believe most of the gods will not care for what has transpired here today Odin will not be pleased to find that one of his schemes has been foiled. I would be cautious of his wrath."
"That's okay I'm used to pissing off godlike beings." the young ninja plainly stated.
This got a smile out of both of them. Then a light shone behind them. Naruto could barely make out what appeared to be gates.
"It is time my love. We have centuries of time to make up for." said Prince John.
"That we do." said Aria. She turned to Naruto again. "May you find fortune in all your battles young warrior."
Naruto said nothing but he did bow in response. The two lovers turned and walked hand in hand to the gates. When they reach them the gates had opened they had walked through. After they did the light disappeared leaving Naruto alone.
He could hear that Wonder Woman's battle was coming to a close and moved to join her. He looked to see John's body, as it was when he made the final blow, lay before him. He had a contented smile on his face. Naruto flew toward them.
Not that he needed to. He saw all but a few of the forces that Manta had brought with him had been knocked unconscious. Only Black Manta and a few of his forces remained.
Manta looked to see that the Green Lantern in question had returned.
"I assume than that Prince John is now deceased in reality then?" the villain asked.
"He is. And before you start thinking of going back to your mission to grab his corpse the curse that was used to give him his invulnerability was lifted as he died. It's just another human body now." said Naruto.
"Well that is unfortunate." Manta grumbled. He crossed his hand behind his back. "I'm assuming you both will want to take me in?"
"More specifically to Aquaman, your crimes against his rule and of Atlantis stretch far Black Manta." said Diana.
"Very true, but consider that today I have not committed a crime against Atlantis today. Nor have I against the world above. After all you are the ones who set free the Prince's ship. Yes I had intended to use him to find the secret of his invulnerability but truly can you say that you can prove this in court?" Manta explained. "As an ambassador of your people Wonder Woman I think you can see where this is going."
Wonder Woman clinched her teeth at his explanation.
"You're seriously not actually considering letting him go?" Naruto asked.
"She is indeed young man. For the rules of law are in my favor this day." said Manta. And even though he couldn't see it Naruto knew he was smiling. He raised his ring hand to shut the bastard up but Diana stopped him from doing so.
"Let them go." said Diana clearly not happy about the situation. "Know this though Manta. Next time you will face justice."
"So you say. Keep the unconscious if you like. And do tell Aquaman I said hello." he said as he turned and left.
"Next time bucket head." said Naruto. This made the villain stop and turn to look at the boy.
"Your quality will be known among your enemies on this day boy. As well as your impudence." he warned before leaving.
They then both turned back to Prince John's body.
"I'm sorry. But Black Manta is right. We have no grounds to put him in prison even though we had the upper hand." said Diana.
"Since we have no evidence. I get it. Not your fault." said Naruto.
"Personally though I wish we could go back to simpler rules of law. That way he can get what the bastard deserves." said Diana. They turned back to Prince John's corpse.
"He should be burned. It is Viking tradition." she said as she picked up his body. Naruto flew off and gathered the fire wood. From there they put his body on the pile and Naruto ignited it with his ring. He held the tablet that he had recorded his life on in under his arm as they watch the fire burn the body.
As it turned to ash Diana looked to see Naruto using a ring to carve something on the tablet. She was about to admonish him for it until she saw what he had written. It was image of Prince John with what she knew was his beloved Valkyrie, under them said the word 'Free'.
"I figure I could keep this safe. So that others might read it. Translated versions of course." said Naruto. Diana nodded her approval.
"Well come on. I think this day has been long enough." she said. Naruto agreed noticing that the sun had set. Which meant it was late at night.
"Yeah." said Naruto. They flew into the air heading to Stockholm to take the Zeta-Tube back to their respective bases. But, as they approached a tunnel where the Tube was Naruto had a thought cross his mind on another matter.
"Diana how well do you know Superman?" he asked.
"I have known Kal for a long time." said Diana. When she noticed his confused look she added. "His full kryptonian name is Kal-El. I call him Kal in private since that is as much his name as the one he uses on Earth. Which you already know."
Naruto nodded. "So you know than that he has been...distant from Superboy."
"Yes. And though I can understand why at first, the violation of someone using a part of him to create something intentionally to kill him, so far the boy has done nothing to provoke this suspicion." Diana explained. "So I do not understand why he has remained distant."
"Does he strike you as someone who would do such a thing normally?" Naruto asked.
"No and that is what makes it strange. As I'm sure you know from your database on Earth I am an Amazon. And we are isolated from the outside world of men because of our...tragic history with Hercules. Too make a long story short Kal was one of the first to show me that not all men are like the ones who harmed my people. And throughout my time with the League I have reaffirmed what I knew in my heart. That both genders are capable of great good and great evil." Diana explained.
'She definitely is good at speeches.' Kurama said for the first time since Prince John's death.
'No kidding.' Naruto responded.
"I understand from Dinah that you may have an idea as to why he is acting this way." Diana added getting Naruto back on track in the real world.
"I do. But in order to confirm it I may need your help. And Dinah's" said Naruto.
"You want to have a confrontation with him." said Diana to which the Lantern nodded. "Very well, name the time and the place."
"Just like that?" said Naruto surprised at how quickly she was agreeing to help.
"Superboy does not deserve to be shunned by the one person that can help him the most. And the man I know, the man I respect the most, knows that. So if you believe that he knows something that is keeping him from doing what he, you and I know to be right I wish to know what that is." she said with conviction.
"I think you and I are going to get along just fine." said Naruto smiling under his mask.
It was at that moment that his earpiece went off.
"Green Lantern and Wonder Woman this is Red Tornado. The Team has just returned from another mission. I suggest you hurry back to the cave."
"What's happened Red?" asked Naruto.
"We have lost someone this night." said the android over the comm. Hearing that, both heroes immediately rushed into the tunnel and used the Tube to get them to the cave.
Naruto only hoped it wasn't a member of the Team that had been lost.
(Mount Justice)
It wasn't long after Naruto returned that Red Tornado had informed him of what happened.
The Team had been looking for a mission to do right around the time Naruto was in his duel with Prince John. Red Tornado had informed them that Kent Nelson, known to the world as the Doctor Fate, had gone missing. From what Naruto gathered Kent was just another in a long line of people that the Helmet of Fate, the physical construct that held the Lord of Order Nabu inside it, to represent this entity in physical form.
Not long after they were able to enter the Tower of Fate using a key given to them by Red Tornado. Naruto immediately took note of another weakness of Wally's was his outright denial of magic existing and always finding ways to explain it away with science. Something that everyone who was in this line of work, including Robin and he dare thought Batman, knew was wrong.
That denial nearly got them killed as he pretended to believe in it trying to impress M'gann. Fortunately, he redeemed himself a bit by finding Nelson and rescuing him for a moment. As it turned out Klarion a Lord of Chaos, natural enemy to Nabu, was after the Helmet that he had left in the Tower after Nelson retired to be with his wife Inza. By the time they had found the helmet however, tragedy had struck.
Kent Nelson was blasted by Klarion. That attack combined with his effort to shield Wally and the Helmet of Fate had taken its toll and had killed him. Wally than managed to put on the helmet and became Doctor Fate and defeat Klarion though not destroy him. Though he was not a being who belonged to magic Nabu had managed to use his temporary host to defeat Klarion by going after his cat Teekl. Since Nabu and Klarion were from another plane they each needed a physical anchor. With Nabu the helmet and Klarion was the cat.
After that it was a simple matter of taking out Klarion's accomplice Abra Kadabra. Against he, who used tech to simulate magic, all Fate had to do was remove his equipment and clothes which left him vulnerable to Superboy to easily knock out.
Between this and his battle with Prince John Naruto was about all magicked out for the day as he walked the hall in his civvies with the tablet that was the chronicle of the Viking Prince under his arm.
"Nice slab of stone you got there." said the voice of Artemis. "Guessing it's going to join the helmet as a souvenir?"
"For now until we can find better housing for both of them." said Naruto.
"Well Wally is in there still being in denial about it. Saying that Fate did an interface with him and all that." she said.
"And you believed him?" the shinobi asked being skeptical that she did.
"Nope. But I let him get away with it." Artemis confirmed with a smirk. Naruto returned it with a nod.
As he was about to turn he saw M'gann walking down the hall. He nodded to her and she returned it.
"Hey M'gann." said Wally in what he interpreted was his attempt to be smooth coming up behind her.
"Hold it Wally. We need to talk." said Naruto putting a hand on his chest to stop him. For he did need to talk with him and it just saved M'gann from being pestered by the speedster.
"Heard you guys had quite the adventure while I was absent." he said as they re-entered the room which held the souvenirs of their battles. As he placed the tablet on the shelf he looked to see the Helmet.
"Yeah. The AI Nabu just interfaced with me and-" Wally began his story but Naruto cut him off.
"Spare me the techno babble that you are going to unleash. We both know, that while you may not believe in magic per se, you cannot deny that it exists. For it doesn't matter what you believe some things just do." said Naruto turning to him.
Wally frowned at that.
"Fine. Alright I admit it. Magic does exist. Hell, seeing Kent Nelson, a guy who is dead now, in the realm I was in when I put the Helmet on pretty much confirms that." he said. "So what does this mean?"
"It means you accept there are thing that you can't explain. And that hopefully you will be ready for the unknown. And not let what you believe or not believe influence what you do on the field." said Naruto putting the tablet on the shelf. "And do accept and expect the unexpected."
"So...any chance we can get started on more training than? So I can be better prepared? I don't want to be a burden to the Team." said Wally.
"Glad you asked." said Naruto with a smile. "But learning juking is only the beginning." Naruto said.
"What do you mean?" asked Wally.
'Naruto what are you thinking?' asked Kurama now getting into it.
"I'm saying that given what I have just experienced today it's time to expand the Teams training." said Naruto to both the speedster and his partner. "You will find out tomorrow." said Naruto as he walked out of the room
Wally groaned.
"I get the feeling I'm going to regret asking for more training"
(Mount Justice – Next day)
Naruto stood in the center of the mission room and took a breath. It was just about time for the Team's morning training that was held on Saturday since that meant everyone could come in. And it was time to step up the training.
'You sure about this kid?' asked Kurama
'If I am going to prepare them they need to know their full arsenal of abilities. And after fighting John I need to know who has a potential chakra network and who doesn't.' Naruto responded as he made the hand signs and slammed his hands into the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!" he called out. From there puffs of smoke appeared and out came Fukasaku and Shima.
"Naruto boy!" said the sage. "Good to see you but where are we?" he asked looking at their surroundings.
"I'm sorry for the abrupt summons guys but I wanted to get you here for a change. First and foremost, any information on Orochimaru that either of us have I will summon you here to confer with the Gokage." said Naruto quickly.
"Do you have any to share now?" asked Shima.
"Aside from what I've told you already, no. He seems content to stay low for now. But I'm sure he will act out sooner or later." said Naruto.
"So then what is the second reason Naruto boy?" Fukasaku asked. Than the Zeta-Tube activated and both Dinah and Red Tornado appeared from it. She saw Naruto in Green Lantern uniform. What bewildered her was seeing a pair of larger than normal toads.
"Naruto may I ask who your friends are?" she asked. Naruto turned to see her.
"In a moment Dinah, I just wanted to wait until everyone is in the room first." said Naruto. And just as he said it the rest of the Team showed up.
"Either I'm seeing things or I'm seeing a pair of toads walking up right." said Dick.
"Hey show some manners you young whipper snapper!" yelled Shima. Robin immediately had his hand up in a placating manner.
"Uh sorry ma'am." he said.
"Don't mind her she's just old. Doesn't like waking up in the morning all that much." said Fukasaku.
"In any case I think introductions are in order." said Naruto calming the situation down. "Ladies and gents the two toads you see here are Fukasaku and Shima. On my world they are known as the two great sage toads."
"Your planet has talking, self-aware toads?" asked M'gann. "I've never heard of a planet that had those."
"As if the Tower wasn't weird enough." said Artemis.
"Then there is much to learn then. One lesson we can get now is why are they here?" asked Aqualad.
"As many of you know from your mission at the Tower of Fate you will be facing things that may fall outside your comfort zone. Things you are not prepared for wither its magical or from outer space. Part of my job as your teammate, being more experienced than you, is to assist Dinah in preparing you for those. But I had an encounter with someone who like me had a chakra network, a kind of secondary cardiovascular system that is the source of my abilities, here, on Earth." Naruto explained.
"So if someone here on Earth has this system then there could be others." said Dinah.
"Exactly. But like for my people his was triggered by something. I won't bore you all with the details but I will say this. I don't know which species has it or not but I can find out and trigger it the same way. Now at the moment I want to limit it to the people in this room. If I find that you do have a chakra network I can activate it but only if you want me to." Naruto said.
The others looked to each other in disbelief. Robin decided to speak.
"You're saying that we could use techniques that you use in battle. Just not augmented by a power ring." he stated.
"Yes. Though the jutsu that you would employ, if you wish to learn, will still be powerful." said Naruto. "As I said this is optional to you all including you Dinah. Mainly to give you guys the best possible tools that you will have when you face the bigger and badder enemies. The training you will receive will only be once a day so that you're training in other areas that Dinah and I have will not be interrupted or sabotaged." he then turned to heroine. "Is that alright with you?"
"I never was one to give up on learning new techniques. I'm in." she said with a smile.
"I think that goes for all of us." said Superboy. All nodded in agreement though Robin was more reluctant.
"Batman would kill me for this...but what he doesn't know won't hurt him." he said.
"He'll know in time." said Naruto "Let me be clear on something though. I'm only laying this out in case there are those here that might have a chakra network. That is not to say that everyone here will. And I don't plan to be doing this often with anyone else that may or may not join the Team in the future. And I must insist that you don't tell anyone, not even your closest friends about what I will tell and show you."
"I can understand that but may I ask why?" Dinah commented.
"Because Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, the founder of Ninshu, and my ancestor, gave chakra to my world and thought everything would be alright. That line of thinking lead to four world wars on my planet before things finally stabilized. Those wars became more intense with the introduction of chakra. Something that is already seen here on Earth with all the the super powered individuals here." Naruto explained.
"Makes sense." said Dinah realizing how much destruction the battles that the League has had with their powers against others.
"If you are so reluctant for us to learn this because of the possible outcome if this gets out why are you telling us about this now?" asked Artemis.
Naruto then turned to Red Tornado.
"Have the computer files been updated?" he asked.
"They have." said the android. Naruto then made a gesture for the holographic panel to appear. After a few button presses he pulled up the file on Orochimaru with the symbol of the Sinestro Corps on the end of his name.
"Okay who is mister creepy here?" asked Wally.
"His name is Orochimaru. He is of Ajnin just like me. Unlike me he happens to be a wanted fugitive on my planet. Not only is he one of the most powerful and deadliest shinobi on my home world he also happens to be a scientist who likes to experiment on all forms of life in order to gain more power. Whether jutsu or whatever else. Especially, since he's now joined the Sinestro Corps. My Corps nemesis." said Naruto.
"Which means that sooner or later he might come to Earth, and we'll have to face him." said Conner.
"Hopefully not for some time but yes, he might. And once he finds out what I know now that there are other species out there who might have a chakra network he will exploit it in one way or another. So I would like to be ahead of the curve." said Naruto. "Make no mistake though; if it comes down to it I would prefer to face him myself. This man is dangerous even to League members."
This made everyone silent with some, Wally and even Robin, swallow in nervousness.
"That's why I am seeking those who might have a chakra network in case of such a time despite the fact that more than likely none of you will have the ability to have a chakra network. But even I can see that necessity of even trying to find out. And even if you don't you can still learn something from me and my allies here about a martial art or technique." Naruto explained. The Team nodded in confirmation.
"Now these two toads here have more experience than just about anyone else on my home world. When and if, keyword if, you do develop a chakra network they will help me teach those that do on what kind of jutsu you are suited for." said Naruto breaking the tension and getting everyone back on track for training.
"Well then Naruto boy I say there is no time like the present." said Fukasaku with a smile.
"Speak for yourself you old goat. I liked retirement." Shima grumbled.
"On that note let's begin." said Naruto.
(Qward - Central Battery)
Orochimaru, Sinestro and Scar stood before the central battery. Sinestro was more than a little worried about what was about to transpire in the next few minutes.
"Are you certain this can be done?" he asked.
"Yes. Though if he is willing that would be more than helpful." said Orochimaru has he mentally prepared himself for the jutsu.
"In that case I will summon the entity." said Scar as she flew towards the center of the glowing giant battery. Her eyes then glowed yellow as she called the beast out.
"Parallax. You are to be summoned. Now come forth!" she said in augmented voice. At that instant a glowing yellow arm shot out from the battery and grabbed her. She struggled to breathe as the parasite like being's head came forth from the battery and roared.
"You do not order me Guardian!" it said tossing her aside right next to Orochimaru. Both he and Sinestro looked panicked as the giant entity stood at its full height towering them.
"So Sinestro. Have you found another useless host for me to try and inhabit? I will not accept substandard hosts any longer." said Parallax.
"Since the last one you had burned from the inside out. Or the one you drove to suicide from his own fears?" said Sinestro. This caused another growl. "Well no need to worry. We have something else in mind."
"Indeed." said Orochimaru who could not help but stare in awe of the being in front of him. "I am Orochimaru, newest member of this Corps. And I have a proposition for you."
Parallax leaned to get a closer look at the rogue ninja.
"You are different from the others that I can tell. You have the fear but you have it controlled. More than some anyway." he said gesturing to Sinestro.
"I am glad you see that." said Orochimaru. "Now from what Sinestro and Scar have told me, you possess bodies so that you can inhabit them and control them directly. As you can surmise I cannot be easily controlled."
"Yes yes get to the point." said Parallax
"What I propose is a partnership. My people have an assortment of techniques. What we call jutsu. If you agree I can perform a ritual where you will be sealed inside of me through a sealing jutsu. You will be out of your cage and through me we will wreak havoc upon our enemies and anyone who gets in the Sinestro Corps way." Orochimaru explained.
Parallax seemed to give it some thought on it.
"I will not be a prisoner of anywhere. I am already stuck in that battery. I refuse to be a prisoner in a living being." he said.
"That is not the intention. Essentially you and I will be one being. You will retain your voice, thoughts and any advice and wisdom you have. And our powers will be combined." Orochimaru pitched.
"You will not get a better deal." said Scar recovering from the entity's assault.
"Very well." said Parallax. "Just do whatever your technique requires so we can get to destroy our enemies."
Orochimaru did so and started creating the hand signs for the Sixteen Trigrams, Torii Seal. It was a brand new seal he had developed using all of his acquired intelligence on Uzumaki seals. Normally such a jutsu would require eight people to perform. But thanks to the fact that Parallax had agreed with being sealing willingly there won't be a need to suppress its energy and power which in turn meant less effort.
Finishing the hand signs he planted both hand into the ground and the jutsu began its work as he channeled the Mokuton chakra stored in his system to strengthen the seal.
"Fuuin!" he cried. Immediately the energy being known as Parallax began to warp toward Orochimaru's center and transferred itself into directly into his stomach's central tenketsu. Moments later it was finished and underneath the uniform Orochimaru felt the seal on his stomach burning as it was freshly formed.
"Orochimaru can you hear me?" asked Sinestro staring at his glowing form. His uniform manifested yellow armor plating. Orochimaru turned with glowing golden eyes.
"I've never been better." he said with a toothy smile.
End Chapter
Okay guys I can only say that I'm sorry these chapters take as long as they do to get out. But between working on a book, other fanfic ideas, and my job I'm all over the place. I can only hope the chapters are up to quality.
I would also like to apologize if some found my last chapter wanting. If they did I hadn't intended it to be but since many know that episode by heart I didn't want to be overly detailed. But rest assured it will not be a mistake made again.
A final note to mention is my beta who also my partner in crime, qtar1984, has helped me a lot with finding ideas and refining what I have initially thought up. So a lot you see here and in the future is as much to him as me.
So thanks again for the continued support. See you all next time.