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Artwork: jessejzette - The 7 Generations of Hokage - Find jessejzette on deviant art.
A NEW WORLD – FIGHTING CARMEN AGAIN
Approaching Carmen
The shinobi-soldier alliance once more approaches the rear entrance to the imperial palace, only this time they have Lara with them. Naruto is determined that this time will be different, that she will be the missing piece of the puzzle, that she will give them the help they need to defeat Carmen. At the same time, he laments that he shouldn't need her help. If Boruto and Hashirama had never turned their back on hope, then the villages four mightiest shinobi could have fought together. If such a thing had come to pass, they may well have been able to defeat Carmen.
There are clear groups that have formed as they move towards Carmen once again. One group walks at the front consisting of the villages leading shinobi and of Clyde's most senior soldiers. The group walking immediately behind them consists entirely of shinobi, their faces stoic and their minds focused, they are yet to trust any of their otherworldly allies. The next two groups stand one slightly to the left, one slightly to the right. On the left are a mix of shinobi and Clyde's captains, doing their best to work together despite their many years of fighting. On the right are Lara's group, isolated by their actions and by their lack of regret.
At the head of Lara's group is the woman herself. Her intensity is unwavering, she's not focused but as per usual, she appears ready to snap at a moment's notice. This is the Lara that has put everyone on edge for years, a tap on her shoulder may be enough to set her off.
"Lara, I hope you won't find it impudent if I ask you a question" Elliot asks, his tone as respectful as it always has been.
"Stop messing around and get on with it Elliot" she replies sharply.
"Is it really necessary to ally yourself with these people, quite frankly I am certain we could work without them".
"Oh, what makes you think that?".
"If we were to go rogue and work together, it would only take a few tens of years before collected several strength training manuals" Elliot begins. "We may even find one that can train you to a level three in that regard, that would almost put you on a level with Furst. Why do you resent patience, why not use this method to attempt a solo assassination with a greater chance of success"?
Brooks and Blackburn are each drawn in by Elliot's line of questioning. Certainly, the method would require more patience, but it would also be more effective. Furthermore, with this method Lara wouldn't have to work with Clyde or the pocket worlders. Overall, if they had to choose which option suited Lara's character more, Elliot's method is what they would have picked.
"You really ask some difficult questions don't you" Lara moans loudly.
"I would appreciate it if you would answer me ma'am, at least in recognition of my respect for you".
Lara admires her second-in-command for a split second. Very few of her followers would dare to press her with a question like this.
"Fine, if you want the truth then I am simply being impatient" she admits. "I want to kill Furst, I want to get rid of this feeling as soon as possible. You won't understand the feeling, but I have been on top of the food chain my entire life. I have never felt the sensation of defeat, of failure". Lara spits, "It's revolting, it makes me sick to my stomach and I can't stand it".
"Is rushing yourself to be rid of the feeling really worth the additional risk it entails?".
Lara grins to herself, a happy yet innocent smile seldom seen on her face. "I think there is something else to be gained from this alliance anyway".
"What would that be?".
"I don't know. It's like it's there but you can't see it or hear it. Know what I mean, Elliot?".
"The idea is intangible to you?".
"Call it whatever fancy name you want. I think there is a feeling amongst these people. It's a feeling I don't understand yet. If I understand this thing, this emotion that they share, it may be enough to push me back above Clyde".
Blackburn has never known Lara to be like this. Always impulsive and doing whatever she wants, her desires have been easy to read but never have her motivations been clear. Whatever has pushed Lara into doing what she does he doesn't know, whether it was a traumatic incident in childhood or the effects of being raised as the number one genius, something damaged her. Normally, Lara resents emotions or anything sentimental, even when it is suggested that they could make her stronger. Perhaps whatever this feeling is, it is affecting everyone, even the head general.
"I spoke with Sarada previously" Elliot reveals. "She is perhaps the most naturally gifted fighter I have ever met, maybe even more than yourself".
"Are you trying to annoy me?".
"No ma'am, but I felt it in Naruto too. It's the way people look at him, like he is more than a leader. They look at him like…" Elliot hesitates, searching his vocabulary for the right word. "They look at him like he is an angel".
Lara snorts. "As long as you're impressed with them".
"Didn't you say they impressed you too ma'am"?
"I didn't say it was the two of them I was impressed with".
Elliot stumbles over his own words. Naruto and Sarada are easily the most powerful individuals amongst them. Their power comes in spite of their youth and despite their often-questionable leadership practice people look at them in awe. If it wasn't them that Lara was looking at, who was it?
Near the Front
Clyde's subordinates, namely the colonels and generals, pull him aside to ask him a few questions.
"General, is this really a good idea? We were trying to protect Naruto from Lara a short while ago."
Clyde resists the temptation to laugh at himself. What a ridiculous mistake that had been. "I didn't realise how strong Naruto was before. I was foolish, he doesn't need protecting from Lara, he never has".
"This is really risky though" Grace continues, "I don't think anything has changed from before. We can't just suddenly trust Lara".
"Grace has a point sir" Burns nods, "Lara has repeatedly made things difficult for you in the past. She hasn't given you any reason to trust her now".
Sisto adds his contribution. "I agree, trusting Lara is a bad idea".
"You guys, listen to me" Peterson smiles at the colonels. "I know it's a hard idea to go with, I doubted it too at first, in fact I still do. But if you had seen Naruto argue for her, you may believe in her too. This is a chance worth gambling on, even if the odds aren't in our favour".
"General!" Grace looks to Clyde, desperately hoping he will not continue this line of thought.
"I don't think we have much to lose by attempting this here" Clyde says with a shrug. "If you don't trust Lara then trust Carmen. Carmen has a conscience, something we lost for years. If Lara does betray us, then Carmen won't let her kill us".
"Isn't Carmen our enemy?"
"No. Carmen is protecting us because she sees us allies. She is simply misguided in what is the best way to do that" Clyde explains. "I want her to remain an ally forever. Even as we fight her we must respect her, for the old man".
"For the old man" they repeat, as if toasting Endou Akashi's memory.
If only Endou were still around, things may be so different.
The Rear Entrance to the Imperial Palace
The ensemble of shinobi and soldiers come to a halt a good distance away from the small rear entrance to the imperial palace. From front to back, they all know what this stop means for them. If they have stopped it can only mean one thing, they have arrived, and Carmen is stood before them once again. For the vast majority this is the point where they stop and pray for a miracle. For the four elite warriors of the group, this is the point where they peel away and walk toward their destiny.
Lara teleports to the front, placing herself right next to her closest rival. "Clyde, come on".
"It has been a long time since we fought together Lara, you could at least use a more respectful tone. In front of our teacher, you should remember some manners".
All together, the four of them step forward, marching towards Lara at the same time.
To those behind them they look like four giants, striding towards the greatest obstacle the world can put before them. To the one in front of them, they most likely look like insects. Each step they take though has a great effect on their minds. Each seems to send an imaginary ripple through the floor, each step is a seismic event drawing all eyes towards it. This foursome means business.
As they get close to Carmen, she raises her head revealing her failing eyes. The two brilliant white orbs shine behind a head of dishevelled hair and are surrounded by patches of dead or decaying skin. These injuries are unique and can only obtained in very unique circumstances.
'She has clearly been in a fight' Sarada realises, her rinnegan the polar opposite to Carmen's blind organs. 'It could only have been with them… with Boruto…'.
"Clyde… you people have come again… why" Carmen croaks out. She has not been beaten down physically but mentally. "Didn't I warn you off… didn't you learn your lesson last time… why… why are you back again?".
Clyde pities his teacher. She has defended this place with her life, certain that it is the right thing to do. She has protected this entrance and at the same time saved the lives of those who would try to use it. It's not a rewarding job that even her greatest students are not grateful for. It's a job that her students refuse to learn from. Boruto and Hashirama likely tried to kill her when they tried to get past, the two of them have no respect for the people of this world. Combining the attitudes of Boruto and Hashirama with the perseverance of Clyde, it is no wonder she is so enraged.
"I am afraid that I didn't not learn the lesson you tried to teach me, Carmen" Clyde shouts to his teacher. "I am going to try to get past you once again".
Carmen's rebalanced senses analyse the three people that Clyde has arrived with. "You have brought some unexpected company with you this time. Must you all insist on doing this again, you know that I… I'm stronger and I will try and stop you again".
Carmen's words are clearly meant to intimidate them, but it doesn't work. Lara the brutal, too spoilt and too used to getting her own way, far too irritated to turn back now. Clyde the redeemed, so desperate to make amends for all the suffering he has caused in the name of his once great homeland. Sarada the inspired, too certain in her opinion of the one next to her to doubt herself now. And Uzumaki Naruto, the anomaly, the one whose determination stems from a bottomless well that only destiny could have given him. Whether it is courage or stupidity, these four wouldn't run from god himself.
Naruto steps forward. "I am well aware that you are going to try and stop me, but I cannot afford to be stopped here".
"You can't to be stopped?".
"I don't know if you can sense it, but I have thousands of villagers who are depending on me, tens of thousands. Then there are the people of this world too, there are more of them than I can count" Naruto explains, "I have to keep advancing for those people. I can't afford to stop here, because the cost is greater than my own life, it's more than any of us could ever imagine".
Carmen, even with her reduced sight feels a lot of similarities between two of her recent assailants.
"Your ideology is a lot purer than his was" Carmen mutters.
"His?".
"Another group of pocket-worlders attacked me recently. My sight may be failing me, but I can hear the similarity in your voices" she explains. "You both have the same charisma and the shape of you is similar. He is older than you yet somehow he is also less wise".
Naruto knows exactly who Carmen is talking about.
"Tell me, is he your father?".
"Is Boruto my father? I'm sorry, I don't really have time to explain, it's all a little complicated".
Carmen, hearing this answer, takes her own turn to walk forward. The adrenaline rushes the shinobi and captains got from their representatives' steps is felt one hundred times stronger with each of Carmen's.
"You are different boy, I can tell that much. You radiate an aura not of divine energy or anything similar. You radiate the aura of a truly mighty warrior. You are a warrior who has overcome hardships that other people cannot imagine, that they cannot understand, that they can only hear of in stories. Please, you know that you are different, don't you?".
Clyde knows that Naruto is different. Carmen put it perfectly, reading Naruto's significance like a book. In Clyde's opinion, Naruto is the second coming of their previous emperor, the man destined to end the tyranny of Furst Jonas. Someone who the waters of life cannot erode, the one true anomaly, the only hope left.
"People certainly treat me like I'm something special" Naruto admits, "I don't really care about that though, I'm just going to do what I think is right".
"I'm an outsider to your group and even I can tell that you are special. So please, listen to me boy. You represent a greater hope; your life is far more important than this battle. Please, turn around, become stronger, live your life and then come back and do this later. Don't throw away everything here".
It has been realised in the past why Naruto won't go down this route. If Naruto were the sort of person to take this option, he would have never made it this far in the first place.
"Sorry Carmen, I can't back down. I never give up, that's my ninja way".
Carmen sighs. "Yes, he wouldn't have given up either".
'Emperor Endou, this boy is just like you. Too much like you for his own good'.
"Then, will you fight again?" Carmen asks, tensing her muscles as she does so.
"Yes, I will fight".
"Very well. Then know this boy, Clyde, Lara, all of you! You are spitting on the hopes and dreams of the people I care about by fighting here. I am not going to let you off with that lightly".
Carmen immediately begins using her scatter shot. One of the principles she has mastered, a constant barrage of golden 'air' is launched at all four of her opponents.
Clyde activates his golden 'darkness' cloak, creating a shield and using it to protect himself from the incoming balls of condensed 'air'. "Lara, scatter shot".
"I know" Lara says, creating her own golden shield and blocking the incoming attacks. "I was her more successful student you know!".
The scatter shot is a pain to deal with, it makes things very awkward for weaker opponents to approach and attack you. However, it isn't perfect. The scatter shot is a straightforward attack, it cannot curve or change path mid-air without putting a significant mental strain on the user. Therefore, using a defensive item such as a shield or armour, the scatter shot can be easily defended against.
Naruto evades the scatter shot skilfully, flipping through the air in all directions as he does so. 'The two of them are bickering, is this the lack of unity Shikadai spoke of, or is this more like Sasuke and me?'.
Sarada also opts to dodge the shot instead of blocking. 'Scatter shot is what Clyde called it, it's difficult to deal with alright. It's fast but not faster than Naruto and I can move. With our skills as a shinobi it's a bit less awkward to dodge. However, Clyde and Lara are significantly weaker than us, they cannot even move when being supressed by its constant assault'
Clyde picks up his shield and, with gritted teeth and tensed muscles, manages to run forward. 'Damn, Naruto and Sarada are coping with this easily but I can barely move'.
Naruto enters his most powerful state while on the move, combining the power of his divine energy with the six paths sage mode that he remastered since coming to the future.
Right now, their greatest advantage is that they have learnt from the last fight where Carmen hasn't had the chance to do so. She is frustrated, she is underestimating them and that gives rise to the perfect chance to strike.
Naruto coats his truth-seeking balls in 'life' energy, sending a quintet of them at Carmen.
Carmen has endured this attack before, it certainly stings but it isn't fatal. Her prediction turns out to be true as she knocks the first four balls away one after the other. Her hand coated in thick golden 'air', she slices downwards and sideways to knock the attacks away. That is until the 5th ball arrives.
As the 5th ball is about to reach Carmen, it disappears in a puff of smoke. It never emerges from the smoke, instead it is a person who emerges. It is Sarada. Sarada, using the unique powers of her rinnegan, gathers the powers of her world's sun on her fist and hits Carmen in the chest with a powerful solar punch.
Carmen is routed into the ground, a result of the foundation principle she developed, but the punch certainly rocks her on the spot.
Sarada then ducks to the ground, revealing that she has covered Naruto's approach. She skilfully timed her attacks to shroud Naruto's approach in sound, light and vibration so that not even Carmen could sense his coming. The second Naruto arrives, truth-seeking staff in hand, he lands three powerful blows on the disoriented aristocrats neck. He then creates a 'life' enhanced tailed beast bomb.
Carmen knows better than to take the hit if she can avoid it. She thrusts her hand toward Naruto, sharpening the coating of air to give it a knife-like edge. It won't be lethal, but it will certainly be painful for the 7th Hokage. That is, it would if it were to hit him.
Sarada uses her powers of creation, creating a wall of sand between Naruto and Carmen.
The sand was never going to block Carmen's attack, but it wasn't meant to. It gives Naruto a moment to skirt to the side of the incoming blow and avoid the attack.
Sarada creates two giant steel kunai, launching each of the slightly blunt weapons into Carmen's back. A powerful blunt-force blow to rock her forward just a few inches. A few inches that would make all the difference in the world if a force were coming the other way.
Naruto's mind is perfectly in sync with Sarada's as he thrusts the 'life' tailed beast bomb through the sand and into Carmen's stomach.
Excess battle has damaged Carmen enough that even she can't help but groan in pain as she is slammed by the combined might of the two Hokage. For the first time, it feels like they can win, like they are fighting to beat Carmen instead of to survive her.
"Look at them go" Minato says with a clenched fist.
"Don't get too excited sensei. Carmen is starting to fight back".
Kakashi's observation is proven right. Even against two such skilled shinobi, Carmen does have a speed advantage, an advantage which shows she changes her fighting style. She switches from relying on heavy attacks to depending on frequent but less powerful ones. In the space of a few seconds she deflects all the incoming attacks of Naruto and Sarada and instead lands five punches on each of them.
Enough time has passed though. Clyde finally arrives within range of his teacher and carefully throws golden 'darkness' dart into her leg.
Carmen flinches for an instant. That instant is enough.
The flinch allows both Naruto and Sarada to evade incoming attacks from Carmen. The Hokages' then land strong punches on either side of the aristocrat's head. Doubling up attacks like this is hard but it deals much more damage against someone routed in like Carmen. It may also be their only hope of defeating her.
Carmen, clearly rattled by the last attack, panics and throws the golden 'air' coating her hand down into the ground. Spreading in all directions, the 'air' knocks Naruto, Sarada and Clyde from their feet.
Sarada groans internally. 'I thought we had her on the ropes, but it feels like we've done next to nothing with hose attacks'.
'I need to hit her with something stronger' Naruto tells himself. 'But I don't have anything… I don't have anything stronger'.
'I only managed to get in one attack and it made her flinch. All I could do was annoy her' Clyde berates himself.
With the other shinobi, Mirai observes the fight. "Gramps, I'm not the only one wondering about her, am I?".
"No, Tsunade seems to have noticed too".
Tsunade nods.
"Yeah, since the start of the fight, Lara hasn't moved from the spot…".
"… just what is she doing?".