BACK TO SCHOOL – ATTACK ON THE ACADEMY
The Outpost
Boruto glances back over his shoulder, an unnecessary action given his omni-directional vision. He looks back to question his own sanity, could he have just seen what he thought he did? He could swear that his mother just defeated his master with a single blow. Surely that isn't possible. His mother is a successful shinobi but never approached the Hokage level, defeating the 1st Hokage is unthinkable. Glancing back, Boruto checks his mother's divine energy level to find that it is indeed on the same level as his own. That means it was theoretically possible for her to win with a single blow, but only if her skillset were vastly superior to his own. How could this be?
"Hey," Hinata calls, grabbing her son's attention. "What do you want to do Boruto? Do you really want to try fighting against me, keeping me here as a prisoner?"
"You're my mother," Boruto answers remorsefully, "I don't want to fight you at all, but I trust my master's judgement. I know that unlike me, he is impartial in this situation."
Kushina grins. "Do you really think that you can beat her Boruto? This isn't the same Hinata you have seen before. She just sent your master flying!"
Boruto shakes his head. "It must have been the surprise factor. Frankly, your power isn't any greater than my own, I can feel that quite clearly. If we were to fight, it may not go all your way, especially with an element as dangerous as 'death' in the equation. Your Homeworld friend that you brought along may end up dying."
Upon being mentioned, a mighty power arises from within Ming Dai as well. Boruto looks to his newfound adversary and knows straight away that he came here confident he could escape. Ming Dai's power is also on a similar level to his own.
"I can fight too," Dai says proudly, "I fight with a power equal to yours. If you decide to fight it out here, your odds of victory are no better than half."
Himawari steps gently towards her brother. "Brother, even if you do succeed and hold us as hostages, when dad comes to get us, he will bring people far stronger than you. There is no way that you could convince people that we are hostages. I know that deep within you, you still love us too much to hurt us."
Boruto flexes his 'death' divine energy, gauging the reactions of those in front of him. Ming Dai is put on edge straight away, as expected, he is the one who knows the least about Boruto. Kushina appears nervous but does not retreat in the least. His sister and his mother have the same reaction, staring death in the face without flinching, because they both know exactly what he is going to do.
Boruto dispels the energy. "Let's forget it then, you're right Himawari, there's nothing to be gained by fighting here. If my subordinates are free to go, then so are you."
Hinata nods and her trio of comrades begin to move away she remains glancing at Boruto. There is still much unfinished business in their family, but it is not something that they can resolve together. When people are so lost as Uzumaki Boruto, there is only one man who can find them again.
"Your father will be back for you Boruto."
"… yeah, I know."
With their encounter finished without resolution, Hinata follows her three allies and leaves.
Several Hours Later, Underneath the Military Academy
As the four returning warriors make their way down the stairs into the deep, cold underground of the military academy, they are greeted by the concerned gaze of their loved ones. Particularly, one Uzumaki Naruto waits at the bottom of the stairs.
"Where have you been?" Naruto asks.
"I went to see Boruto," Hinata admits.
"You know where he is? Why didn't you take me with you? If you had brought me along, I could have-"
"I didn't want to distract you Naruto. I wanted to see if my words could reach him, but they couldn't. I'm sorry, my words fell on death ears."
Himawari places an arm around her mother's shoulders, shaking her gently and encouragingly. "It's not your fault mom. You said all the right things, I just don't think there is anything that can get through to him anymore."
A depressed silence descends upon them. Minato recalls the time he asked Boruto to stand in for him during the captained six contest. It was a time when nobody else was willing to give the shadow Hokage a chance, but he always believed in him. Looking back on things now, he can't help but wonder if that faith was misplaced. He can't help but wonder if he had done things differently if Boruto may not be here with them now.
Naruto suddenly laughs, breaking the silence. "Don't worry, I always find a way to get through to people when they're being stupid. Boruto is my son, there's no way that we can't understand one another."
Sarada grins. "My father was thought to be lost once before, just like Boruto. Everyone had completely written him off. Even my mother didn't believe that my father could return to the village at one point, but he did. Trusting Naruto has proven to be the right course, I see no reason not to do it again."
Everyone agrees. Trusting Naruto has always worked, it will do again.
"Wow," Ming Dai smiles
"Sorry Dai, I haven't checked on you," Naruto apologises, "Did my son hurt you at all?"
"No, your wife protected me from any harm," Dai explains, "Your son is an intense man though, he has a powerful element and an even more powerful demeanour. He's very much like you."
"Thanks," Naruto replies, "I'm sure that one day things will be different. One day he will happily call you a friend, he's just not himself right now."
"I will look forward to it."
Ming Dai begins to walk away and then stops, turning back to face the extended Uzumaki family. "You know, when the world is free once again, I hope that our next rulers are nothing like Furst. I hope they're more like you."
Outside the Military Academy
The wind gently rustles the grass across the hilly moorland environment as silence consumes the surroundings. Not much sound comes out through the thick walls of the military academy and the only words that can be heard are those carried by the wind, spoken by the captains and colonels that guard the entrances to this grand facility. The landscape is peppered with granite rocks which accumulate most at the surrounding peaks, each of which would offer a similar view to the military academy. A surprise attack on this place would be impossible for an army, there is nowhere to hide, that is why in the past only small groups were sent for such incursions.
Mirai leans back against the stony wall of the military academy but immediately stands back up when she finds it unpleasantly damp. She looks over this environment for a few more minutes, having not yet had the time to truly appreciate it. She then comes to ask herself something more poignant about her current situation.
"Lara, we're outside, aren't we?"
"Yes."
Lara says this as if there is nothing to question about the situation. Mirai has worked with teleporters before, but none who used their power to confuse people like Lara does. Its as if her brain has changed to believe this sort of motion is normal, as if its everyone else's fault for not understanding where they are going.
"Why have you brought me here?"
Lara sighs. "I was going to tell you about my past, memories and that kind of stuff, shouldn't that make some of the pain go away?"
Mirai nods. "It may also make the pain worse in the short term. Honestly speaking your mind will make it easier for people to understand you though."
"You probably need to be relatable to more than one person though," Clyde declares with a smirk.
Mirai nod in agreement. Lara nods reluctantly. Doesn't Clyde understand that opening up like this is difficult for her? For that matter, doesn't he understand her feelings better than anyone anyway? He was there for all her pain and anguish, he shared her trials and tribulations and watched as she wallowed in solitude. All along Clyde was able to create bonds with people, that's why he tried to sacrifice himself after losing the captained six contest. Lara never had anything like that.
Mirai and Lara both then start. Weren't they alone?
"Clyde!" Mirai yells.
"When did you get here, idiot!" Lara joins in by shouting.
"I grabbed on when I saw you teleporting away," the general explains, "I thought I would tag along on your little nostalgia trip."
"Well you can get lost; this is supposed to be a private conversation between two friends."
"Aren't you and I old friends Lara, come on, after knowing each other for so long. Most of your memories are my memories too."
"What sort of stupid logic is that?"
Clyde smiles as Lara rants freely at him. She's so completely different from how she used to be. She would have used to attack Clyde in these situations. Even if she didn't launch a physical assault on him, she would assert her dominance over him in some other way. Previously, he was an arch enemy, an adversary, but now he is at worst a rival, most likely a friend, and perhaps something more.
Clyde feels truly happy, until he looks over Lara's shoulder.
"Lara!"
"Don't shout at me Clyde, I'm your boss not the other way around!"
"Lara shut up!"
Clyde points behind Lara and Mirai at a pair of men in gold and silver sleeveless uniforms. Lara and Clyde both recognise this uniform as that of an imperial guard general, someone much more powerful than themselves.
One of the men has incredibly pale skin. His pale skin makes his features more prominent, his hair bright shiny red, his eyes dark green but so empty. The mans overall appearance matches his eyes well, so empty, so emotionless and thoughtless and automatic. This is the imperial guard general answering to Queen Nadia, General Dodi.
The other man has a much darker complexion. His black facial hair is well groomed, as is the hair on his head, his eyes are dark, grey and piercing. This man appears to be ruthless and the more talkative of the two of them. He carries himself with an entitled air. This is the imperial guard general answering to King Swen, General Odion.
The two generals have noticed them!
"Who are they?" Mirai asks.
Lara ignores Mirai's question, and her previous bickering session with Clyde. She quickly grabs her two closest confidents and teleports them underground. This underground space was supposed to hide them from the forces of Furst trying to find them, now in a moment of stupidity, the three of them have broken their illusion.
Underground
"It's the imperial guard!" Lara shouts at the top of her voice, "The imperial guard know that we're here! The imperial guard has found us!"
"What are you talking about?" Mirai asks, "Who are these people?"
Clyde puts a hand on his chest, taking a few deep breaths. "That was General Odion and General Dodi. They were handpicked from the ranks of the imperial guard. The imperial guard generals are the strongest people below the royals. Now that they're here we're in big trouble. News will definitely get back to Furst that we're hidden here."
Dai sighs. 'Master, the imperial guard are here for us. Are you still certain you made the right call, leaving us to fend for ourselves?'
Above Ground
"Stick behind me Dodi, I will do the talking," Odion declares.
"If you say so."
The two of them approach one of the many entrances to the enormous military academy. A man with a silver cape is standing guard on the entrance, a military colonel. A military colonel is a million years too young to challenge a general from the imperial guard.
"Where is Uzumaki Naruto?" Odion asks.
"I'm afraid I don't know Lord General."
Odion has no time for ignorance. He immediately activates his golden cloak, demonstrating an element far superior to any that the colonel has ever faced before. In an instant, the colonel goes from intimidated to terrified, certain that his life is now over. Odion attacks with his element, not only killing the colonel but injuring dozens as the building collapses behind him. Odion is too strong for them.
The first person to emerge from the rubble is a general of the military. He charges towards Odion in a blind rage, ready to attack him for endangering his comrades. This is no threat to someone of the imperial guard as Odion simply catches the enraged general by the neck.
"Where is Uzumaki Naruto, where are Lara and Clyde?"
"I don't know!" the general protests.
Odion throws the general through a nearby stony corridor, causing yet more of the military academy to collapse. This is just a tiny part of the military academy, but it is still more damage than has ever been dealt to the academy before. The buildings defenders are quickly alerted to how serious their assailants are. Odion and Dodi will tear down the entire building if that's what they need to do.
"You're not exactly subtle" Dodi tells his comrade.
"There is no need for subtlety in the long run Dodi, they know that we're here now," Odion explains, "We just need to find out exactly where they are."
An aristocrat with years' worth of teaching experience arrives, the first potentially serious threat to the newcomers. This woman is one of the people who knows what is happening under the academy, she is one of the rebellious aristocrats who first loyalty was to the previous emperor and is now to Uzumaki Naruto.
The aristocrat leaps at General Dodi but is surprised when she passes straight through his body, as if he is a ghost.
Odion moves behind Dodi and catches the assailant by the neck.
"Do you know who I am?" Odion asks.
"Of course, I know who you are," she says through her gasps for air, "Imperial Guard General Odion, second-in-command for King Hoffman Swen of the nation of-"
"I don't need you to ramble," Odion says, shaking her violently by the neck, "Do you know where Lara and Clyde are?"
"Yes."
"Where are they?"
The aristocrat laughs, "General Odion, you won't get another word out of me."
The aristocrat manages to move her hand from her own neck in a moment of sheer will. She grabs hard onto Odion's head and activates her divine ability. A terrible feeling quickly envelopes General Odion's entire body.
'She's paralysed me?' Odion realises, 'A divine ability?'
The aristocrat raises her arm into the air and a strike of lightning comes down from above, enveloping it in electricity. The aristocrat gathers as much energy as she can and readies herself for what will be the attack of her life. If this works, she will have defeated an imperial guard general, if it fails, she will probably die.
General Dodi watches on, surprised by the turn of events but not bothered enough to help his more confident colleague. It would definitely be a surprise if this aristocrat were able to defeat them.
The aristocrat throws forward her powerful golden 'lightning' punch, but Odion catches it. The paralysis has no effect.
"How…" the aristocrat asks.
"Sorry, but my element is 'time', to think that your paralysis would last forever on me was foolish," Odion explains.
With the attack having failed, Odion delivers a powerful crippling blow to the legs of the aristocrat, guaranteeing if nothing else that she won't be fighting him again. Perhaps, subconsciously he is sparing her as a reward for her efforts and bravery.
"Let's move, Dodi."
"Yes."
The two generals would appear to be unstoppable.
Underground
Naruto dashes towards Clyde, having heard he and Lara yelling about what is happening above. As he makes the run, the very foundations of the building shake several times causing him to lose his footing. He doesn't need the one true sense to know what is going on. There is a fight, between people more powerful than either of them.
"What's happening Clyde?" Naruto asks, "What is going on up there?"
A few seconds after Naruto arrives before Clyde, his family do as well, each of whom were following just behind him. If the academy is under attack, it is almost certainly because of them. Those little pocket-worlders who were once dismissed as too weak to oppose the military are now the focus of the entire world's attention.
"The academy is under attack," Clyde confirms, "Two generals from the imperial guard who serve Queen Nadia and King Swen."
"Why are they here?"
"They're almost certainly here for you Naruto. King Swen can read people's minds unless they have trained to resist it. Queen Nadia is a genius planner beyond what any of us could comprehend. It was only so long before they found you here."
"Then what do we do?" Hinata asks.
"Don't look at me," Clyde replies regretfully, "The aristocrats up there are struggling to even slow them down, there is nothing that any of us down here could do."
Hinata looks over her shoulder at Nina and Juan. "Are you sure that none of us could do anything?".
"That's right," Naruto says cheerfully, "The two of you are the best teachers in the academy. Juan, Nina, surely the two of you would be able to help the aristocrats and stop the attack."
"You're probably right, but we're not going to do anything."
Naruto is taken aback, as is Clyde. There are people fighting for their lives above, there are people fighting all because they believe that Naruto is the man to save this world, or because they believe in others who believe that. Realistically in the absence of headmaster Sora, Juan and Nina are the only people who can defend the academy against such mighty opponents. How could they do nothing?
"What do you mean you're going to do nothing?" Naruto begins angrily, "You mean you're going to sit down here while our friends die? You'll watch as our mentors and teachers fight to their deaths up there?"
"If we do nothing, they will think Lara and Clyde ran away," Nina explains as she sits down and rests her back on the nearest wall. "If we do something, we will give away our location to Nadia and Swen. Keeping you hidden is our greatest advantage over Furst. So, we'll do nothing, we'll keep you hidden down here at all costs."
"We can't," Naruto shouts, "I won't accept that no matter what. I refuse to stay down here while people above die in my name."
Nina pities Naruto for a moment, there are things that he doesn't yet realise. He may have fought in war before, he may have led a war before, but he has never had war waged in his name. Very few people are forced to endure that. So, few know the sensation of having people die in their name, people that they have never met, people that they will never know about. It takes a strong principle to endure such a burden, and an even stronger person. Nina hopes beyond all hope that Uzumaki Naruto becomes such a man in the years to come.
"You're too weak to do anything about it," Nina explains, "Those people value you for your potential, not for the man you are right now. You are going to defeat Furst Jonas one day, that's how important you are to this world. If you ever want to become that man, you have to do what I say and stay quiet."
Naruto is befuddled, how can Nina care so little for her comrades? She always acts like she cares for her students as if they are her own children. Yet, for the people who believe in her and depend on her, she does nothing but sit down and relax as they fight. He then turns to the other of the two senior teachers to see what he says but Juan is even less concerned with the situation. Juan is resting next to Nina, not just leaning against the wall, but sleeping as well.
"Won't you wake up!" Naruto bellows as he kicks the wall next to Juan's head.
Juan groans as he opens his eyes. "Just do what Nina says, we can't do anything in this situation."
They just don't care, that's all that Naruto can bring himself to believe.
"Who cares what those two idiots say Naruto," Lara says as she runs over. "The situation has been risky ever since you decided to go up against Furst. People are dying up there and if you want to use 'life' to save them just grab my arm and I will take you up there."
Naruto looks to his wife. "I'm doing the right thing aren't I?"
"Yes," Hinata says.
Nina leaps to her feet with remarkable agility. "Listen here moral support, you're too important to us to-"
Before Nina can truly react, Lara teleports away with Naruto, leaving the two senior teachers with no control over the circumstances at play. Now that Naruto is above ground, Odion and Dodi are certain to identify him. Once they have identified him, they are certain to report to Queen Nadia and King Swen. They in turn will let the emperor know that Naruto is here. There is nothing that anyone can do to oppose Furst right now, what Naruto has just done involves throwing away all the secrecy that they have worked for.
Hinata glares at the two senior teachers. "Now there is no doubt they know we're here. You two have to go above and help them."
Nina shakes her head. "If we go up there-"
"If you don't go up there, Naruto is going to die," Hinata says definitively, "How can you possibly win this fight if you stay here and do nothing and he goes up there and dies? Do you not believe in him at all?"
Nina looks over at Juan.
Juan sighs.
Above Ground
Naruto and Lara arrive next to a pair of aristocrats. Naruto lets go of Lara's arm and gets to work straight away, using 'life' to heal the two fallen fighters. As he looks around, he sees hundreds of people who need his help, there is no time to waste, clearly these people from the imperial guard are stronger than Carmen or anyone else he has faced before.
Unfortunately for Naruto and Lara, the two generals are just a short distance away, and they are looking straight at him.
Dodi nudges his partner. "Odion." He then points at Naruto.
Odion steps forward, laughing. "You have shown yourself so carelessly young man. It's been a long time since I last encountered a pocket-worlder. You must be Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto continues to rummage through the debris, healing as many people as he can. The bright white light extends from the tips of his fingers and envelopes people whole, bringing them back from the brink of death one by one. Lara helps him diligently, finding as many people as she can using her keen sense of divine energy and bringing them to her comrade. Many of these people belong to the military, they are her subordinates, this is her divine duty.
"So, the stories are true," Odion muses, "You really are a 'life' user, just like our previous emperor."
Naruto ignores Odion, knowing there is no way he can fight him. He continues to heal his fallen allies.
"Stop ignoring me!"
Odion launches himself at Naruto. The latter tries to rally, to use his element to defend himself, but he knows that this is likely to fail. Even if he were the most skilled warrior in the world, he is unlikely to overcome the raw difference in energy levels between the two of them. He may be about to die, but at least he did the right thing.
But then there's a flash of yellow.
Naruto's father arrives between Odion and Naruto, and he doesn't come alone.
One of the two senior teachers, Juan, signals his presence by kicking Odion square in the chest, driving back the imperial guard general and protecting his student.
Despite what they said earlier, Nina and Juan have come to protect the academy.
"You just keep healing people, moral support," Nina orders her student, "Leave the grown-up business to us, won't you?"
Naruto thanks the two of them and then does just that. 'Life' flows from his body once again and he continues undoing the damage that the imperial guard has done to this place. There is something about the looks on their faces that's different. An unusual serious look from Nina. An unusual sober look from Juan. They are really going to stand up for this place.
"It's been a long time since I've battled the imperial guard," Nina admits, "I'm not going to let you guys take another student away from me."
Author Note
Hi All,
I'm sorry for not uploading a chapter last week, I did intend to but became ill at a rather inconvenient moment.
I have been doing some extra planning to try and make up for it and I believe I will be able to release another chapter tomorrow to make up for it.
Sorry for the delay this has caused.
Thanks,
Me