Credits
Artwork: jessejzette - The 7 Generations of Hokage - Find jessejzette on deviant art.
A NEW WORLD – THE FIVE PRINCIPLES
The Circle
The circle convenes after just a single nights' sleep, giving people just enough time to gather their thoughts yet not enough time to actually relax. The situation is urgent of course, if they do not find a way past Carmen quickly, it could be all over for them.
Presiding over the discussion of the new expanded Circle are both Shikadai and his father Shikamaru. Both full-time shinobi now control the single greatest government body in their village's history. It is not only representatives of the village gathered though, Hokage's act as representatives of the villagers while the three Generals, Clyde, Peterson and Sheer, represent the captains who serve them.
The mood is sombre, some people in the room are ready to discuss solutions to the problem. They easily identify themselves by their body language, leaning forward and resting their arms on the table. The others though, those less optimistic about their future slump back in their chairs.
"What are we going to do now?" Hiruzen asks, "Carmen has surely blocked off our only hope of success for this assassination".
Hiruzen represents a large portion of the village and the villagers. There are those still alive in the village who remember growing up when he was the Hokage. He also represents many people who have become hysterical about the situation. Ever since Naruto, Sarada and Clyde came back, defeated, the villagers particularly were disheartened. Their destiny is far out of their reach now, it will be determined instead by the likes of the Hokage. Each defeat for those Hokage is another nail in their coffins.
"Calm down Sarutobi" Tobirama says.
"I am perfectly calm, Lord 2nd. I am just wondering how we intend to proceed from here because unless something changes, I have no ideas".
"We are in a good position. We can simply keep on trying to defeat her as many times as we like, and she will not kill us".
Tobirama's analysis is dangerous if it is trusted. It relies on the idea that Carmen is a good person, solely focused on stopping their passage because she fears for their lives. If Carmen is telling the truth, then she really won't kill them, not deliberately at any rate. However, if she were to change her mind, or any accidents were to happen, it may well be that Naruto, Sarada or Clyde could die in their battles. If that were to happen, it would be all over for their hopes of assassinating Furst.
"There isn't much of a point in trying again right now, is there?" Peterson asks rhetorically.
"What makes you say that, General Peterson?".
"Currently, common sense dictates that Carmen would defeat our representatives in a battle of strength. Not only is she stronger than us, she is many times stronger than us. There would have to be a fundamental change in our power, otherwise we could try this a million times and not bridge the gap in power".
Kakashi makes a cutting point. "If that is the case, aren't things the same for our planned assassination on Jonas".
"Are you willing to kill an innocent woman" Peterson asks in return.
No. None of them are, of course they are not. Ultimately, Carmen agrees with them, Furst Jonas is her enemy. She is simply stopping them based on timing and their development. She is trying to do the best thing for their cause. They would likely be successful if they attempted to assassinate her, sneaking up on her from behind and attacking her lethally when she is caught off guard. To kill her would be an entirely different decision though, a decision none of them would be prepared to make.
"Is she really blind?" Sarada asks suddenly.
"Of course, she is" Clyde answers, "Is there any reason to doubt that?".
Naruto rolls his head along the back of his chair to look at Sarada. "Eyesight isn't everything, otherwise you would be far stronger than I am, Sarada".
"Regardless, we need more information on the way she fights" Sarada decides, "Otherwise we will never defeat her".
"I know about the way she fights" Clyde admits with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
"Then please enlighten us General Clyde".
Clyde recalls his days as Carmen's pupil. "Carmen uses five principles which guide her fighting style. Five battle principles. It is thought that she may have contributed towards the creation of the principles. It doesn't matter though, either way she uses the principles now. She teaches the principles to her students, and a wiser student would have made more effort to learn them".
"So, you don't use the principles?".
"I've never really had to. There is only one student who was ever on par with me and until recently, there was no great benefit in defeating her".
Clyde ignores a large part of the problem with his declaration. In the past, the principles were never of great use to him, but that isn't to say he could have learnt them. Very few students from the academy have ever successfully practiced any of the five principles. Mastering all five of them at once is rare, even for members of the aristocracy. Carmen, unfortunately for her attackers, is part of a rare-breed of exceptional warriors.
"What are the five principles?" Sarada asks.
Naturally, Clyde explains.
"Principle one, scatter attack, a simple but diverse attack that can hit many opponents at once. It's more of a hinderance than a killing blow".
"Principle two, regulation, you should be able to perfectly control the flow of your divine energy. If mastered, you won't lose any energy unless you execute a powerful attack".
Kakashi notes mentally that this is what he observed during the fight.
"Principle three, foundation, against weaker opponents this is used more often than not. You root yourself
Sarada takes her turn to confirm her observation. This is what she noticed before, Carmen doesn't move when she fights.
"Principle four, the concentrated attack, an energy recycling super-attack that will put your opponent down and end the fight".
"Lastly, principle five, the concentrated defence, a full body armour constructed from your element, virtually impossible to break, the perfect defence".
The feeling in the room is grim as the others begin to understand the exact ramifications of what Clyde is saying. Carmen can always attack them. Carmen will not lose divine energy. Carmen will not let you move her from the spot. Carmen can defeat you at any time. Carmen cannot be defeated.
"These principles are useful at fighting those on the same level as yourself. They are very helpful for fighting those weaker than you" Clyde explains, "Defeating someone stronger than yourself who uses all five principles in a head-on attack is unheard of. Perhaps we are the only group who have ever stood a chance".
Minato summarises, "It's practically impossible for us to win".
"If it's impossible we'll do it anyway. We just need to find another way" Sarada says, her determination undying.
The people of the Circle can easily be split into two groups, those ruled by their heads and those ruled by their hearts. While Naruto and Sarada fall into the hearts group, people like Tobirama and Kakashi fall into the heads group. It is left to another member of that group, General Peterson, to bring a sense of realism back to the room.
"Think of it though, have any of you ever defeated someone so much stronger than yourselves… anyone…".
With an image of Kaguya in his mind, Naruto speaks up, "Yes… I have…".
Naruto's success over Kaguya was different to this though. Naruto and Sasuke were granted a power tailor-made for defeating Kaguya. In addition to that, Naruto and Sasuke formed a perfect team, the two of them could almost read each other's minds. In that fight they also had the help of Kakashi and Sarada, their teammates. Also, their speed was on a similar level to Kaguya's, even if their power was not. The speed differential to Carmen is greater. For a miracle like victory over Kaguya to occur again is very unlikely.
"Everyone, we should relax, we are being too tense about this situation right now" Clyde says, putting on what Naruto now recognises as his 'leader voice'. "I know someone we can speak to about this issue. He will help us with our problems".
"Who is he?".
"Please, allow me to explain some things about this world. Some of you may have heard the story before but I think we should all hear it together, in this formal setting".
With Shikadai largely responsible for directing the flow of conversation, Shikamaru prepares himself to take notes on what Clyde is about to say. If the worst comes to the worst and the people in this room die or get trapped somewhere, it is important that this information be known to those outside; to Mirai and Hinata, even to Hashirama and Boruto if necessary.
"In this world, the gifted are taken to the military academy. It is the first place you saw when you came to our world. It's huge, entirely indoors, it even has its own atmosphere. Anyway, you are taken there when you first show signs of the potential to be a warrior, like Sheer, Peterson, myself and all my subordinates have done".
"That usually happens when you first break through to the captain level" Sheer explains.
"Yes, that's exactly right" Clyde nods, "Now, students are sorted into classes according to their talent. Most of them end up in larger classes, with hundreds, thousands, sometimes tens of thousands per class. That is where Colonel Burns learnt for example".
The majority of the Circle are familiar with Colonel Burns, a warrior and master of 'ice' who they fought against during the captained six contest. Experienced, talented and powerful, an adversary who caused them much trouble back then yet has since evolved into a powerful ally. She was once placed in a large class in the military academy, labelled as someone with low talent.
"Then, the more talented students go into small classes" Clyde explains, "The teacher would be able to learn everyone's name quickly, they could become familiar with a few of the more talented ones too".
"That's the sort of class Sheer and I went into" Peterson recalls, still slightly disgruntled that his talent had been rated below the top level.
"Then, there is the most elite class that is formed once every few years, it contains around ten members, only the most gifted students can get into it" Clyde says. "You have to credit the students; the aristocracy aren't necessarily that gifted".
This is initially met with confusion but after a moment's consideration, the members of the Circle understand the difference between the students and aristocrats.
"Furst picks people he trusts to enter the aristocracy and they are nurtured to greater levels of power than we could hope for" Clyde tells them, "The students on the other hand, we were all gifted, we were commoners, born in cities, towns or villagers, earning great power despite our impoverished upbringing".
"It sounds awful" Naruto says aloud. It's a world where everyone struggles, just like he once did.
"It's a system we are fighting to end" Minato says, comforting his son, "We are fighting so that nobody else will need to be raised in this way".
"That system wasn't implemented until after I joined the academy. For all I know, I could have lived a privileged life before all this began" Clyde says awkwardly, noting that his talent may not have been so random.
Clyde is one of the oldest members of his entire group, older than either of his subordinate generals or any of his subordinate colonels. He is one of the few with this uncertain background. The likes of Peterson, someone born into the Furst regime, certainly came from an unfortunate background. He was once a small boy, wandering aimlessly in a near-infinite world, unknowing of the great power he would one day wield.
"In my generation there were a number of elite generals, some even had transcendent powers that climbed a level, just like I do". Clyde's voice has become slightly hushed as he calmly explains his background. "There were two clear standouts in the class though, one was me, the other was Lara, two people with a completely different approach to leadership".
He then explains where Carmen enters into the equation. "Carmen taught our class regularly, she was a renowned teacher with a high status in the academy. Our class had more potential than any that had come before, it made sense that she teach us. It was when I was getting my first practical experience, battling in pocket worlds, that Furst killed the previous Emperor Endou. We believe that is when our memories of our families were… trained out of us… that we forgot who we were and became the perfect soldiers".
Mortified, Naruto can only mutter two words. "I'm sorry".
"With the poor conditions most of us were raised in, it may well have been a blessing for them to forget their pasts. Sometimes I wish I knew my family name though" Clyde admits, losing himself in unfamiliar nostalgia. "Regardless, Carmen thought highly of Lara and I".
"What did she do?".
"She took us to the academy headmaster for tutelage, the only two students ever to have the privilege. The headmaster, he is our former Emperor's brother-in-law, a mighty warrior who once fought at his side. He taught Lara and I for a while, it was during that time that we were shown the rear entrance".
"General…" Peterson mutters. Each time he hears Clyde talk about the past, he is more amazed by just how unique he is. Clyde is an exceedingly rare talent, if he had been born a thousand years earlier, he may well have been one of the mightiest members of the aristocracy.
"The headmaster may be sympathetic to our cause, he's a good man and was Emperor Endou's brother-in-law. I'm sure that if we ask him for help, he will provide it. He may even become the catalyst for our success".
"Is he strong?" Sarada asks.
Peterson laughs loudly. "He was among the group of three that went to see the fortune teller who predicted the coming of a god. He went along with Emperor Endou and then scientific advisor Furst. Other than Furst, he is probably the strongest person alive".
The second strongest person alive.
The headmaster.
Sarada likes the sound of it.
"It sounds like a good idea".
Shikadai concurs, polling the room to find unanimous agreement.
"Then it is agreed. General Clyde will take Lord 7th and Lord 9th to see the headmaster. Then we can all pray that he is as you describe him".
The Uzumaki Tent
Walking in, exhausted from a day's worth of meetings and admin, Naruto raises his croaky voice.
"Is anybody here? Hello!".
Nobody is around, he guesses that they must all be organising things. He knows that the others have all tried to take the pressure off of him by working harder. He sees the way that Shikamaru quietly takes work away from him and gives it to Kakashi. He overhears when Hiruzen offers to cover for things that he missed, insisting that nobody tell him. He is only human, all the Kage make mistakes but the others have to cover for themselves.
In spite of how hard everyone works to relieve him, he wonders how he can possibly be worked so hard that he ends up this tired. What he fails to realise is the emotional tole these events have taken upon him. It's all centred around him, bad things happen because he hasn't been there to stop them, treachery has cost the village and his son and friend have been the traitors. With the sadness weighing down on his mind, he brushes past the thin curtain that separates living and sleeping areas and instantly falls asleep.
Hours later he is woken by the sound of whispering voices and heads into the living area to see his family.
"Dad" Himawari smiles as her father emerges.
"How are you, Naruto?" Minato asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine" Naruto says as he sits down with his family members.
"Naruto…" Hinata lowers her head slightly, beckoning for another answer.
"I'm fine" Naruto insists once more.
Naruto thinks to himself that he has made his point, he doesn't want to talk about this. He should know that his fiancée wouldn't roll over so easily. She stands up, grabs Naruto by the shoulders and makes him look at her.
"Naruto, are you OK?".
He sighs. "I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders you know. You heard it before didn't you dad, and you've heard it Hinata, what Clyde said".
"Mum told me about it" Himawari speaks up. "About the way the people here are raised and selected for the academy".
"It's barbaric" Hinata adds.
"But you will stop it dad, I know you will".
"But that's it, isn't it?" Naruto leaps to his feet and points immediately at his speaking daughter. "It's the way everyone looks at me. I can feel the weight of their expectations and don't get me wrong, I will do everything I can to live up to them. But if I fail, more people than I could ever hope to count will be let down, I will have failed them".
Minato understands, at least the most of anyone present. He has been the Hokage before. What's more he was the Hokage who had so much expected of him. He was to take over from the stable Lord 3rd and drive the Hidden Leaf Village, and the world, into a new golden age. That is something that never happened.
"Naruto, the people of this world have never met you" he explains. "The people who have may look at you a certain way, but these billions of people you are hoping to save, they have no expectations of you. So, try to relax, they will be grateful no matter what you do".
Naruto nods awkwardly, accepting the argument for now.
Minato knows that he is only nodding for them. 'It looks like there is nothing that will stop him thinking about it'.
He is right, at the very same moment his son thinks, 'I have already let too many people down'.
One thought leads to another.
"Is Sarada here? She is supposed to be staying with us, right?".
"Sarada hasn't been here, no" Hinata admits.
"Dammit" Naruto scrunches his fist into a ball. "I'm supposed to be her master, her teacher, she should be relying on me, shouldn't she? After what happened with Boruto, shouldn't I be supporting her".
Kushina shakes her head. "We all handle grief in our own ways".
"Is she avoiding me because she wants to handle it alone" Naruto asks.
"Or is she avoiding me because she blames this all on me?".