THE IMPERIAL PALACE – IT'S NOT OVER YET
South of the Imperial Palace
Naruto tilts his head painfully backward, wincing as he looks up at the man who put him in this terrible position. There is not a scratch on his vest, not a single grey hair displaced from his head. Sora is smiling, a smile that communicates not happiness but smugness. The headmaster is on another level to them and there is absolutely nothing that he could do to bridge this level, at least not now.
Clyde's perspective is the same as what it was going into this test. There was never any chance that they would actually win here. Sora is a man who brushed shoulders with Endou Akashi, he is a man who truly stands at the pinnacle of this world. This man is perhaps the only one who could make Furst Jonas think twice, and he is not someone they can touch. It is now abundantly clear that the assassination plan would have been meaningless.
Naruto groans as he gets back to his feet. "Mr headmaster, that's some serious power that you are packing."
"Naruto," Clyde sighs as he raises to his feet, "I think the conclusion of this test is obvious, isn't it? There is no need to continue is there?"
"Then what conclusion have you drawn Clyde?"
"We can't win here. Headmaster Sora is just too strong for us. Right now we are too weak to-"
"What?"
Lara teleports to Clyde's side, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him viciously around to look her in the eye. The bloodlust in her eyes is as intense as ever and strikes Clyde immediately. Lara may have calmed down a lot during her time together with them, but it's obvious that right now she is the same person she used to be.
"What are you talking about you idiot," Lara berates Clyde, "I haven't given you an order to surrender, so you keep going."
Clyde laughs, "Is it still about orders for you Lara? Isn't it obvious to you that we can't defeat him?"
"I don't care about your miserable attempts to forfeit, I'm not going to stop going until I've got those bells."
"Then you will be going forever Lara."
Sarada stops listening to the duo bickering and pushes herself up to her feet. She watches Sora grinning at their arguments, like this is just another day for him. She quickly realises that it is, that this man stands at the heart of the anti-Jonas sentiment, and that he deals with people constantly. Everyone who dares to stand up against Furst Jonas is crazy, they are mad and eccentric, none of them get along with one another easily. That's why he is so used to dealing with their bickering, just like with Clyde and Lara.
"I agree with Clyde, continuing is pointless," Sarada shouts at the bickering pair.
Lara is seething, she grabs Clyde and teleports to the Hokage.
"Thank you for being sensible Sarada," Clyde says as he removes Lara's hand from his head, "There's no shame in admitting that we can't do this right now. We need to be realistic for the sake of all those depending on us. We can't get the bells right now."
"Do you think that's what those people need?" Lara shouts into his face, "Do you think they need us to fail? Do you think they need us to be weak right now Clyde?"
"It's not what they need, but right now it's true that we are weak," Clyde answers honestly, "The first step towards changing that is acknowledging our weakness."
"Pride comes before the fall," Sarada says, signalling her agreement with Clyde, "This is not the time to second guess that."
Sora's eyes fall on the youngest member of the group, on Uzumaki Naruto himself. The young Uzumaki clansmen seems to have fallen into an almost hypnotic state, a state of such intense focus that nobody would be able to snap him out of it. The headmaster grins, practically able to read the mind of the Hokage. He just hopes that all his expectations prove to be correct.
Naruto finally speaks up. "Do you really think that we can't grab the bells?"
"I think we need to get stronger first," Sarada answers.
Sora decides to test his insight. He approaches the group and becomes to speak with them. "I am willing to help you to become stronger. I hope now that I have shown you it is necessary, that right now you're too weak. My specialty is teaching, I am a teacher by profession, and I'm willing to use that talent to build you up."
Sarada is delighted by the offer. This isn't the same as what they were targeting before. Before they were aiming for a miracle in trying to get close to Furst. They were aiming for a second in miracle with the assassination. This is a chance to really take the fight to him though, to become stronger and take their chances in a head-on assault. This is a chance for a real fight.
"Are you giving up, Sarada?" Naruto asks.
"Giving up? I don't believe that we can get the bells off him right now. That doesn't mean I'm giving up, does it?"
"And what about you Clyde?"
"Sarada and I aren't giving up Naruto," Clyde reiterates. "We're just saying that we can't succeed today, but that we shall succeed tomorrow."
Clyde knows of Headmaster Sora. Sora is the one who orchestrated the entire process by which he and Lara learnt what they did. Sora is the one who set up the military academy. He is the one they have to think for their talent, for their power, for coming this far. Now that he's offering to help them go so much further, it is an offer beyond what he ever dreamed would come his way. However, the disapproving tone of Naruto's voice worries him, are they really going to throw this chance away?
"I agree," Naruto says, much to the others shock.
"You do?"
"We need to get stronger. We were being foolish. We didn't stand a chance, I see that now," Naruto admits. "But Lara, you don't agree with them do you?"
Lara snorts. "I don't want to lose to this old man."
"Neither do I."
Clyde looks back to Naruto, who doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind. "What are you talking about Naruto, are you saying that we should stop or keep going?"
"Sarada, Clyde, why don't the two of you just sit down for now, sit down and watch," Naruto says, "I'm willing to keep getting stronger, I want to get stronger, but there is something I must do first."
"You're going to keep moving forward?"
"Yes, I am," Naruto declares, "This test is not enough to stop me. Lara and I are enough to grab those bells, so you just sit back and watch."
Sarada shrugs her shoulders. "Alright then, let's go Clyde."
As the two of them step aside, they look back over their shoulders, wondering exactly the same thing that their subordinates are, how are Naruto and Lara alone going to be enough to do this. Sora is a man who dominated the four of them without much effort, for two people alone to deceive him and grab the bells from his waist, especially two people as different as Naruto and Lara, it will surely be impossible.
"I didn't expect this from an idiot like you," Lara admits.
Sora steps forward, startling them both. "Fantastic! Fantastic! The enthusiasm of the young ones is more refreshing than it has ever been before. Alright then, Uzumaki Naruto, General Lara, let's the three of us keep going."
Somewhere Inside the Imperial Palace
Carmen wakes up and memories instantly come flooding back to her. She remembers having incredibly bad luck, running into two royals at once. The two that are always together, that obsessive thinker Nadia and the kid who wants to sleep Swen. Running into the empire's most deadly partners in that situation is about as unlucky as it gets. Then they brought her here.
She doesn't open her eyes for the first few moments, deciding to test her bearings. First she notes that her hands and feet are tied down and that she is laying flat but on a steep incline. On some sort of table, she has probably been brought here for questioning. She uses her elevated senses to estimate the size of the room she is in, not much smaller than the average bedroom, but much colder. Given the luxury and resources used in creating the imperial palace, the cold temperature is almost certainly deliberate, an attempt to keep her uncomfortable.
When she finally lets her eyes creek open she looks around. Her limited sight impairs her even further in the dimly lit room, but she believes that she has confirmed her suspicions, she is alone in the room. The only light coming in is through a door in front of her, thick and metal, with a tiny window in it. This is not dissimilar to the laboratories, but she guesses that she isn't there, not given the tendencies of King Max.
She finally makes a decision, she must get free. After a few tries she is certain that she can't break free of her bonds, so she resorts to her only other option. Prayer.
"Help! Help! Help!" she calls desperately.
To her amazement, there is a loud metallic thud as the latch on the door opens. She gains an appreciation for how thick it was, given that she wasn't able to hear anyone on the other side. She is quickly disappointed though, as the two individuals that step inside are her captors, Queen Nadia and King Swen.
"Hello Carmen," Nadia greets her sarcastically, "Judging from the screaming I doubt that you enjoyed your nap very much."
"Help!" Carmen screams again.
Nadia takes out her notebook and begins to write down her predications and everything that she is learning. Carmen is a war hero, presumably one of the last people still loyal to the previous Emperor Akashi Endou, and an innovator who helped to develop the battle principles. She is a fascinating subject to study.
"I'm going to have a nap, yep," Swen decides, "Could you wake me up if something exciting happens Nadia?" Proclamation made, Swen leans against the wall, his back sliding down it as he lowers himself to the ground for his nap.
"You're a real nuisance sometimes Swen."
"Sorry."
"Help!" Carmen screams once more.
"You know that you're hoping for help from someone stronger than a royal," Nadia asks rhetorically, "I don't think that you're that stupid Carmen. If I didn't know any better I would say that you're trying to interrupt Swen's nap."
Every instinct in Carmen's body is screaming for her to lash out at the two royals, to tell them exactly what she thinks of them, but the logical part of her brain stops her. She searches for any better way out of this situation, but she can't think of any. The only logical next step for her is to plead.
"Please Queen Nadia, let me go," she begs, "I really don't know anything that would of any use to you. I'm willing to make up for wasting your time, so please let me go."
"I'm afraid it's too late," Nadia shrugs with a chuckle, "I've already traded the information that you're going to give up for more power and land. Another win for Queen Nadia."
"You could say that I escaped," Carmen suggests, "Execute some of your subordinates, the Emperor wouldn't punish someone like you, not a royal like you. Just don't do this please, I don't have anything useful to say!"
"I'm not going to be doing the interrogation anyway," Nadia grins, "I'm just here as an interested party, an observer. I'm here to collect my finder's fee."
Once more the latch on the door unlocks, this time Carmen thought she heard some steps but dismisses it as her imagination. In comes a woman whose entire person seems to shine with brilliance, like there is no element of her life that is beyond her control. Carmen puts the image together with the smell and with the sound of this woman's footsteps, the situation has now become hopeless.
This woman is a third royal.
Queen Huen Petra.
"Hello Queen Nadia," Petra politely introduces herself, "I take it that you are doing well today. And I see that King Swen is as excited as ever."
Nadia grins, gently tapping her friend with her foot. "Swen, wakey-wakey young King, Petra will want your help with the interrogation."
"Huh, that woman is here?" Swen asks groggily, "She doesn't need help, 'control' energy should be enough for this interrogation, yep."
As Swen goes back to sleep, Carmen tries to relax for a moment. If these people are going to be interrogating her it will be virtually impossible to keep information to herself. Between them, they are the best at extracting it to have ever lived. She begins to devise a strategy for keeping it to herself, to just reveal enough that they will believe her and won't pry any further. There has to be way, she has to escape here with her life, she has to protect Naruto and Sora.
But then she hears some more footsteps.
"On your feet Swen, I'm ordering you to help with this interrogation."
The footsteps, the voice, there is no mistaking them. The door finally closes as one last person enters the room.
Emperor Furst Jonas is here!
"Oh god," Carmen whispers to herself.
Swen's eyes snap wide open as he questions what he just heard. Looking up he sees the perfect unblemished presence of the most important person in the whole world. Emperor Furst Jonas is here. He immediately pushes himself up from the floor, bowing formally from the waist and greeting the man he fears most.
"Greetings Emperor Furst."
"This information is vitally important, if what Nadia said about a secret entrance turns out to be true, I don't want anything missed," Jonas explains, "Petra will use 'control' energy to force Carmen to answer my questions. You will use 'psychic' energy to listen to her thoughts for answers. Is that understood?"
"Yes my emperor," Swen bows once again.
"I don't have any information to give you, there's nothing of worth that I could tell you Emperor Furst," Carmen insists desperately, "That's why even when Queen Petra manipulates me, even when King Swen monitors me, it won't be of any help. I hope that you learn I am ignorant and will be merciful to me when we are done."
"You may begin Petra," Jonas says, ignoring Carmen's pleas.
Queen Petra stretches a single hand out in front of her. Gold particles infect her purple coloured 'control' divine energy as it stretches from her fingertips and takes hold of Carmen. It spreads throughout her body, confirmed by several spasms induced by Petra's will. Within a few seconds, Petra determines that she is in control of the aristocrat.
Carmen grinds her teeth and clenches her fists. No matter what, she vows that she will resist here, for the good of the empire, for Endou Akashi's legacy.
Furst Jonas begins his questioning. "Carmen is there a secret entrance to the Imperial Palace that I'm unaware of?"
"I don't know… I dare not assume… that I know your mind… my emperor," Carmen manages to say through her gritted teeth.
"I'm telling you to assume you know my mind," Jonas insists, "Now, tell me Carmen, is there a secret entrance to the Imperial Palace?"
"There's the northern entrance near…"
"No Carmen, we all know of the northern entrance. Is there an entrance to the Imperial Palace that I don't know about?"
Carmen remains deadly silent. Furst looks to the right to see Swen's eyes have turned purple and his goggles are down. The teenage royal is trying but hearing nothing. To his left Petra is doing her best to force Carmen into answering the question, but miraculously, the aristocrat is managing to resist this two pronged attack. Jonas has little in the way of admiration for Carmen, but he soon comes to admire her strength of will, even if it won't last.
"Tell me Carmen, is there a secret entrance?" he asks again, "Tell me."
"Sir, her mind just slipped, she thought about a secret entrance to the west of the imperial palace," Swen explains, "But it was a smokescreen, she used it to her true thoughts. The secret entrance is to the south of the Imperial Palace."
"Carmen is there a secret entrance to the south of the Imperial Palace?"
"No… No… No… Yes… there is a secret entrance… to the south of the Imperial Palace," Carmen admits, her own words beyond her control.
"Well?" Jonas asks his two cohorts.
"I have control of her," Petra answers.
"Yep, she was telling the truth, yep, there really is a secret entrance to the south," Swen adds.
"Very well," Jonas calms himself to pursue the next line of questioning. "I think you should tell me who has used that entrance Carmen."
South of the Imperial Palace
Naruto finishes speaking to Lara and gives her a pat on the back, much to her annoyance. The two of them then turn away from one another and face their opponent. They walk slowly toward him, like a predator stalking his prey, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
Sora notes the difference in their appearances. It's no wonder that their subordinates were shocked. Lara appears berserk, her eyes wide and crazed, her teeth bared as she prepares to taste blood for the hundredth time in her rule of terror. Naruto appears childish, calm, as if he's about to use a practical joke to sort the whole thing out. The two of them have completely opposite philosophies. That's why he keeps his guard up, if people like this can find a way to work together, it makes them truly dangerous.
"I hope you two have come up with a really good plan," Sora says.
The duo come to a halt ten paces away from him.
"You don't exactly seem thrilled about this plan," Naruto says to his partner, "I want to know if you trust me Lara, I think it's important."
"We don't need to trust each other for this plan to work," Lara counters.
Naruto extends his fist. "You were not willing to give up, that's all that I need to know. I trust you. I want to know that the same is true in reverse."
Sora grins at the exchange. The younger of the two has effectively assumed the role of the leader, and there is a small part of Lara's brain that is going along with it.
Lara holds her head in her hands, embarrassed by what Naruto is proposing they do. Bump fists? Does this pocket-worlder think that she's a newly recruited captain, a naïve fool with no experience of the real world. No, he doesn't, the same sincerity can be found in his eyes as always. There is something else there as well though, a little cunning gleam. So, Lara decides to go along with it.
Lara bumps her fist against Naruto's and then he disappears.
'That sneaky fellow,' Sora realises straight away what happened. He flips backwards to avoid a grab from behind, watching as Naruto's hand slips just past the bells. 'That whole charade was set up as an act so that he could get the bells.'
That was not all that was planned in advance. Naruto creates a rasengan in his hand, using 'life' energy to enhance it. There is no time to gather the energy for a life-gathering rasengan, but this is the next best thing. As Sora falls uncontrollably towards the ground, Naruto slams the rasengan up into the headmaster's stomach.
'It's not as strong as the life-gathering rasengan,' Sora winces as he is hit, 'But it's still a powerful attack.'
Sora is propped up a short distance from the ground by the attack, this creates an opening, just as Naruto and Lar planned. Lara teleports to Sora's rear as he is propped up and reaches for the bells.
Sora reaches his leg back behind his head, his experience as a warrior allowing him to wield it with the same dexterity as an arm. With a series of gentle but precise hits, he manages to keep Lara's arms away as she makes several grabs for the bells, persisting with his efforts until he lands safely on the ground. Upon landing, Sora jumps backward, putting space between himself and the two warriors.
'What can truly elevate people to do extraordinary things,' Naruto realises, 'Is the resolve to never give up.'
Naruto pulls his hand back and reaches it into the empty space before him, grabbing for something that just isn't there.
'That technique,' Tobirama starts, 'It's just like the one I use.'
Lara takes Naruto's shoulder mid-grab and teleports him away. This places the 7th Hokage just an inch away from the bell behind Sora, superb accuracy even by Lara's ever improving standards. What's more, Naruto is already moving, it would take an incredible level of skill to avoid such an attempt.
'Too close, no time to block, no time to run,' Sora concludes.
Sora has only one route of escape. He spins his body as fast as he can, opting for the only direction he can, a counter-clockwise spin using his left heel as an axis. Using all the power available to him, he just manages to evade the much slower Naruto. But as he spins around he notices that Lara has already teleported into the new path of the bells, did they come up with this backup plan in advance? Sora reaches back , grabbing Lara by the wrist and throwing her into Naruto, sending the two of them scuttling backwards.
The tumble along the grassy ground tears the skin and grinds the bones of the 7th Hokage and the Head General, even Sora cringes at how painful the roll looks. Many others would be inclined to give up, but not these two. They stubbornly separate themselves as they tumble along, bouncing painfully off the ground in more and more controlled bounces. After many ricochets they manage to gain control, landing on their feet. The looks in their eyes is exactly the same as before, the two of them just won't stop.
Naruto creates a group of a hundred clones, using them to steady himself and Lara.
'I just have to watch Naruto's movements, then I can predict exactly where Lara will put him,' Sora realises, 'I'm sorry you two, but I'm not going to just let you grab these bells, I have my own pride too.'
Lara puts her hand on Naruto's head, flipping over the original body and into the pack of clones. The clones shuffle themselves up, disguising the real body, the only one that can use divine energy. Then, the hundred identical beings all run forward, marching on Sora in perfect unison.
'She's hidden herself among the pack of clones?'
"Take your pick, Lara!" Naruto shouts as he charges forward.
A first clone appears behind Sora and leaps for the bells, but Sora leaps back away, realising that this was only ever a diversion. A second clones appears in Sora's backward path, reaching for the bells using Sora's momentum against him, but the headmaster spins once again, avoiding yet another grab for the bells.
That's when the final teleportation happens. Sora can sense the difference with this Naruto instantly, this one has divine energy, this isn't some clone, this is the original body. However, Sora is already spinning, there is no way to change his course this time. What's more, the original body is already reaching towards the space which Sora is retreating towards.
Sora gazes at Naruto in astonishment. This young man of infinite promise, he is already someone who can make miracles happen.
Naruto's original body bursts past Sora, the clones dissipating as he does so. The Uzumaki clansmen comes to a halt with his hands aloft.
He has the bells!
Naruto walks back towards Sora, Lara approaching her former headmaster from the other side. Together the two of them arrive before him, one representing the rebellious soldiers of this world, the other representing the desperate pocket worlders of his and many other worlds.
Naruto lowers the bells into Sora's hands.
"Headmaster Sora teach us how to defeat Furst!"