BACK TO SCHOOL – PREPARATION FOR WAR
The Military Academy
Sora sits down and is immediately pleased with how comfortable the chair is. This chair was 'created' by Sarada, along with the platform it is on and the hundreds of chairs in front of it. The 9th Hokage has created everything here, in the decimated region of in the middle of the academy, so that he can speak to as many people as possible all at once. It's time for him to tell the students what he needs to tell them so that they will be ready to go out into the world on take on Furst Jonas. This is his contribution to the preparations for war.
Nina sits on the edge of the platform, raised slightly above the money students and cups her hands around her mouth. "Alright, settle down," she yells at the students, just loud enough for those at the back to hear. The shinobi and the military fall silent. "There's a lot you need to know and not enough time, so you need to shut up and listen."
Sora glances at Nina, "Thank you, Nina."
"OK, since we don't have a lot of time, there are important things you need to know, all of you. Since the shinobi amongst you have only recently arrived in Homeworld, you will know next to nothing about us. And, since the rest of you were in the military you've actually spent the majority of your life away from this world, and lots of key information has been kept from you. A lot of important facts are known only to those of us who have been given important positions within this world.
"I want to try and explain a little about this world's structure, so that you will be able to navigate Homeworld in the upcoming conflict."
Everyone nods their appreciation to Sora, but they remain silent. This is perhaps the closest person in the world to Furst Jonas. Besides the emperor himself, he is likely the strongest person in Homeworld, and will know more than anybody else about the struggle they are going to go through.
He continues, "During the last conflict, I fought alongside Endou Akashi, Furst Jonas and many other people. We fought against foreign invaders from a parallel world we called the Dark Dimension. This war became the defining event in the history of Homeworld.
"We fought to defend some parts of Homeworld, and to liberate the majority of it. Together, we fought as part of the most powerful military this land has ever known. The officers of that army, people like Clyde's former teacher Carmen, went on to be given the title aristocrat. Aristocrats were the heroes of our society, those who served with distinction during the war.
"These days aristocrats are given many privileges in this world, mostly financial. They also own a tremendous amount of land; thousands of times more than the average person can afford to keep. They used to be loved, but now many of them are feared. It never used to be the case when Endou Akashi was the emperor, but Furst is different. Furst has deliberately increased the disparity in privilege, he has made people less equal, it's all part of his scheme to control the world. These privileges aren't optional for aristocrats either, many aristocrats like Carmen didn't want them, but they were forced upon them. That means that even those who are sympathetic towards the unfortunate like Carmen are unapproachable, it prevents any grass-roots rebellion. People like Carmen will be willing to help you to fight the empire.
"Anyway, not everyone served with enough valour to become an aristocrat, the remainder were split into two armies.
"The first of these armies is the one you have experience with, lead by Head General Lara here, we simply call it the military. It was originally charged with fighting any future foreign invaders away from Homeworld. Since Furst created the pocket worlds, they have been fighting groups of pocket-worlders like the shinobi amongst you there. Since Furst took over, we have used Dark Dimension technologies to make members of the military forget their past. If not for your bond with one another, the military would have become a group of unthinking machines
"The second army you have had less experience with. It is called by the imperial guard, lead by Head General Safura, a far more powerful army. They were originally tasked with defending Homeworld at home, and that brief hasn't technically changed. However, now the imperial guard answers to the emperor, rather than to the people. They are little more than enforcers for our ruler now. Two imperial guard generals recently attacked the academy, you hopefully remember Odion and Dodi."
The group of listeners listen to what Sora is saying and accept that it makes a lot of sense. As unfortunate as it is, they have to admit that these two generals are more powerful than any who have ever been in the military. Currently, General Clyde is the most powerful general the military has ever given rise to, and he has never been able to defeat Uzumaki Naruto who in turn was unable to defeat the imperial guard generals. The disparity between the two armies is clearly as enormous as the headmaster is suggesting.
"Are you trying to annoy me old man?" Lara asks.
"I'm sorry Lara, I'm simply stating the facts, anyway where was I?"
"Explaining the inadequacy of my army."
"Oh yes," Sora smiles, "As I was saying, when people first reach a basic understanding of their element, their age can be used to judge their talent. People who understand a more complex element at a younger age are considered more talented. Naruto is an extreme example, understanding 'life' energy at his age is remarkable."
"Thank you," Naruto says.
"In Homeworld, the more talented people are put straight into the imperial guard. The less talented people are put into the military. There are very few exceptions to this rule. Sometimes talented people are brought here to the academy because they were found directly by the aristocratic teachers employed here at the academy. Generals Lara, Clyde and Elliot were all found by our teachers, rather than being assigned to the academy, otherwise they would likely have become members of the imperial guard."
"That's why they were put into Carmen's special class?" Sarada asks.
"Exactly. They may have been near the top of the imperial guard if we hadn't found them first. You see, when Furst became the emperor he gave even more power to the imperial guard, and to the aristocrats who he knew would be loyal to his money and power. He created a monopoly of power and resources, ensuring it would only go to those who would help to further his tyranny. He even used his scientific abilities to steal from the Dark Dimension.
"Now he uses all his power to control the world. He furthered that control by splitting most of the world into six kingdoms. Each kingdom has a royal, either a king or a queen who answers directly to the emperor, directly to Furst. Queen Nadia and King Swen each rule over one of these kingdoms. Every king and every queen has selected a general from the ranks of the imperial guard to be their second in command. Head General Safura answers directly to the emperor, the six generals below her each answer to one of the royals.
"By suing this organisation and power Furst has gained complete control over this world. Some brave aristocrats like Carmen and Juan are willing to stand up to them, but the royals and their generals usually put down any rebellion before anyone else can ever learn of it."
"You're all part of something special here," Nina reminds them, "The headmaster's fight against the royals is the most significant rebellion Furst's empire has ever seen, yet."
"He has scared people into submission," Sora continues, "Don't ever underestimate how powerful Furst's control on this world is. If people ever offer to be your allies it's best to remain cautious around them, because he probably has control of them in a way you never expected. Don't underestimate the emperor, or you won't have time to regret it."
Sora knows all to well the consequences of underestimating Furst Jonas. He always realised the young man was talented and as a teacher he often felt that the young scientist may have been more talented than Akashi Endou. However, Sora's admiration for his brother-in-law was blinding to the threat their comrade posed. Sora, to his own shame, never saw Furst's betrayal coming, not even after the warning he received. By overlooking the scientific advisor, he allowed him to turn the world upside down.
"So, what was next on my agenda?" Sora asks Nina.
"Divine energy, from the basics to the theoretical."
"Oh yes, thank you. It's best you all understand everything. You will need to master divine energy as a group in order to overthrow Furst after all. I know that a lot of you already understand a lot about divine energy but it doesn't hurt to be reminded, not even for the generals amongst you.
"To use divine energy you have to understand the nature of an element such as 'fire' or 'water'. There are three levels of understating.
"At the first level you can use your element. At the second level you can use an elemental cloak. At the third level you can use golden elemental cloak. Of course, at higher levels your ability to manipulate your element increases in a variety of ways."
"Such as?" Naruto presses for details.
"Until I broke through and manifested my elemental cloak I couldn't 'enhance' other people's attacks," Sora explains, "I could only enhance my own."
Naruto looks at his own hands, hands which wield energy he knows to be that of 'life'. Currently his powers make him one of the best healers in all the world, probably the best. This is what he can do with just the most basic understanding of his energy. This leads him to wonder what sort of wonderful powers he will master as he understands more about his element. Will he even be able to die, will he be able to reverse death itself, who knows?
Sora continues his explanation.
"A long time ago we used to quantify people's strengths a bit better than we do now, we gave them a class number to show how strong they are. We said those with basic control were class one warriors. We called this with elemental cloaks class two warriors and those with golden cloaks class three warriors. You may notice that this matches up quite well with the military.
"Typically military captains are class one warriors, colonels are class two warriors and generals are class three warriors. Your pocket world was unlucky though. General Clyde and General Lara both used what we call transcendent elements, 'darkness' and 'light' respectively. At least you appeared unlucky. Naruto and Sarada use elements of an even higher class, we call them double-transcendent elements for obvious reasons. Their elements of 'Life' and 'Creation' are double-transcendent, just as my 'enhancement' is.
"When transcendent and double-transcendent elements emerged, the people who thought up the old system had to rethink their measurements. People with these special elements were much stronger than ordinary class three warriors. Someone began to notice some repeat incidents, people with 'Cold' energy were always stronger than those with 'ice' for example. We needed to update the terminology, it was now possible to become a class four or even a class five warrior. We eventually had to go higher though.
"During the war with the Dark Dimension we became pretty desperate at points. We had to work out how to become stronger or we were destined to die. We put our best scientist to work, of course Furst Jonas turned out to be a leading light. The scientists invented a tool to help us become stronger still, one that linked directly to our physiology so that our attackers from the Dark Dimension couldn't use it. This tool was called a divine training manual, we often just call them manuals for short.
"The manuals created by people like Furst suddenly let us draw out yet more power from within, making us so much stronger than before. Suddenly, classes six, seven and eight emerged. Once upon a time people in class three were looked at as gods, but now they weren't all that special, not with people so much stronger about, genuine class eight warriors now existed. Class eight wasn't high enough for everyone though, the invaders were still pushing us back, even heroes such as Akashi couldn't save us, we were too weak.
"There was one last invention, a stroke of genius from Furst Jonas and the other scientists who helped him. He found something in our brains that differed from the people of the Dark Dimension and decided he could draw power from it, everyone thought he was crazy, but not Akashi and I, we were his friends back then. He created what we now call divine abilities.
"A divine abilities could only update the quality of our divine energy by a single level but that single level was more than enough to change the tide of the war. Furst became a hero overnight, he managed to add an extra punch to the divine abilities. The reason they are named divine abilities is because they didn't just boost the quality of our energy, they also gave us an additional power, something unique and unpredictable. In Lara's case she can teleport but I can stun people with my ability."
"You pocket worlders are unlucky," Nina says, "Furst was clever, he designed the training manuals so that only the people of Homeworld could use them, the divine abilities too. He wasn't kind enough to give pocket-worlders the same brains. That's why we haven't given training manuals or divine abilities to Naruto or Sarada."
"Very unfortunate indeed," Sora concurs, "However, thanks to divine abilities we were able to not only increase our versatility in battle. It became possible to become a class nine warrior."
"I assume class nine warriors are strong?" Clyde asks.
"Yes, let me give you a bit of context," Sora smiles, delighted at the chance to show the students just how big the world is. "Clyde, your captains are class one warriors, your colonels class two warriors. Regular generals like Peterson and Brooks, they are class three warriors. When you invaded Naruto's world you were a class four warrior. After finding a training manual you successfully drew out power from within. You then fought Lara who had found her divine ability and had learned to teleport, at this point you were both class five warriors. Since coming to the academy you have used your manual successfully once again, thus becoming a class six warrior, the same as Naruto and Sarada."
"I'm a class six warrior?" Naruto asks.
"Yes."
Clyde does the maths in his head, something he is sure that Naruto won't be doing. This means that during their fight in the captained six contest he was a level above Naruto for the majority of the battle. However, when Naruto understood 'life' he instantly shot up from a class three warrior to a class six warrior, probably the single largest jump in history. The moment the 7th Hokage mastered 'life' energy, the battle became impossible to win for Clyde. No wonder it seemed so daunting to face him, at that point Naruto was the strongest opponent that Clyde had ever faced.
"This doesn't add up," Sarada says, "Naruto and I have only just mastered our elements, the numbers are still a bit confusing to me but shouldn't we be class three?"
"You're right, basic understanding of double-transcendent elements means you should be class 3," Sora says cheerfully, "If a homeworlder had done the same that would be the case, but you are also shinobi aren't you? You were both tremendously powerful shinobi who could fight against a general without any divine energy, that's why you're so powerful now. You're hybrids who use two different energy sources, chakra and divine energy, that's why you give us so much hope."
"How strong are you?" Sarada asks.
"I've reached a plateau I cannot climb beyond," Sora explains. "My element is double transcendent, I have understood it fully and manifested a golden cloak. I have made every breakthrough I can with a manual and I have a divine ability, because of this I am considered to be a class nine warrior. Myself, my brother-in-law, all the royals of the six kingdoms, we are all class nine warriors."
The many people who have been listening to Sora in silence begin to discuss this with some level of confusion, they have never heard of this numbering system before, was it deliberately kept from the military as part of Furst's monopoly. They each begin to work out their own classes and where they stack up against their commanding officers. Groups of weaker people can overcome a stronger person, like when the Hokage and the Generals teamed up to defeat Carmen, do these classes put a limit on this.
"I see," Shikamaru says.
"I don't," Naruto replies, still counting with his fingers.
"Good to see some things never change," Shikamaru laughs. "Basically Naruto, the difference between yourself and the headmaster is like the difference between a villager and a Hokage."
Naruto's head snaps in Sora's direction. "I really have that far to go?"
Sora nods, "Your path to becoming hokage may be the hardest you ever walked. I expect this path may be just as hard, and you will have the emperor acting against you every step of the way. The entire world is depending on you making that journey again. Good luck."
Clyde calls out, "Headmaster, I notice you didn't mention the emperor himself, isn't he a class nine warrior as well."
Sora shakes his head and sighs. "No, the emperor didn't accept a divine ability at the same time as the rest of us. He theorised that it was possible that one a million divine abilities would go just a little bit wrong in the production process. He was right, one in a million divine abilities don't grant you a special power, usually they just increase your energy quality as usual. However, it's possible for one of those broken divine abilities to increase your energy level twice. Furst found that divine ability.
"Furst is a genius who can work out anything he puts his mind to. He is the true master of 'destruction' energy and the only person to have ever found the most special of divine abilities. Furst Jonas is mathematically unbeatable, he is the world's only class ten warrior."
A quiet awe falls upon the listening group when they consider what this means. Furst didn't just defeat the previous emperor with skill alone, he defeated him with superior power. In all the world there is no warrior and there has never been a warrior who can stand on the same level as Furst Jonas. As Sora says it's mathematically impossible, he's the product of a one in a million chance created by a science that he pioneered. The man is totally and utterly undefeatable in Homeworld. However, the powers of a shinobi haven't been categorised in this world before, that's why Naruto brings a hope that they have never experienced before. He can go beyond the limits of a Homeworlder, he's the freak pocket-worlder who understood divine energy.
"There is more," Sora says. "I want to speak to you now about what Nina called the theoretical elements of divine energy. I want to speak to you specifically about one thing that Akashi called a divine oddity."
"A divine oddity?" Clyde asks.
"It's not real," Nina says dismissively.
"It is," Sora insists. "My brother saw it in Furst, a quirk not in his biology but in his soul, the one place he couldn't see. Akashi saw that Furst had a powerful determination, one even greater than his own. This brought about changes in Furst's fighting style, powering him up to the point where he didn't even have to move to fight sometimes.
"A divine oddity is a blessing from the gods.
"A divine oddity is something you spot in your own soul, a trait of incredible strength. If you can find a new way to fight, a new way to use divine energy you can bring out the power of that spark. If you master a new fighting technique, if you control divine energy in a way unique to you, you are said to have a divine oddity. People with divine oddities defy the class system, they can defeat anyone on their day. Everyone with a divine oddity can change the world."
"So, how many people have divine oddities?" Naruto asks.
"Just the one, that's why it's theoretical," Sora admits. "Furst Jonas is the master of the only divine oddity we have ever seen."
Sora knows that Nina has her doubts, but in his heart he also knows that this is true. He fought for years alongside Jonas as he called him at the time. Back then he and Akashi were stronger than Furst, but they looked at him and were filled constantly with admiration for his skills. The divine oddity was different though. Furst was born with an unmatched talent equalled only by his own drive to live up to his incredible potential, he didn't need any extra help from the start, he was destined to stand atop the world. When the divine oddity came along though the only thing that could stop him was a superior quality of divine energy. The only person who could ever stand up to him was Endou Akashi but he still lost. What's worst is that Sora, along with Akashi, were the composers to this piece, they helped to create this monster during the war.
"You don't need to worry about Furst in the short term, just take one step at a time," Nina encourages the students, "Furst only achieved so much because he had the patience to pursue his ambitions. It took a lot of hard work and he had to stop an entire war with his scientific genius. So, just keep calm, don't be intimidated by him."
Sarada rests her head in her hands, how is everyone supposed to stay calm after learning how strong Furst is. To her this seems like an even greater uphill struggle than before, what must it seem like to the other shinobi?
"Now, there is one more thing I want to show you," Sora says, "Since the pocket-worlders amongst us can't use divine abilities or manuals they be relying on their shinobi powers and raw divine energy to defeat Furst. I don't know anything about shinobi powers, but I know a lot about divine energy.
"What I am going to show you now is how to meditate on your element. Meditating on your element means going into a state of absolute focus, devoting your brain entirely to understanding that element using your existing experiences. Please, watch closely, because we don't have time to show it to you individually."
Sora sits down in a comfortable position, cupping his hands together as if to pray and summons his 'enhancement' energy, concentrating it on the tips of his fingers. The energy is so small that the students can't even feel it, the only proof of it's existence is the faint blue energy it emits, a light in the dark. Slowly, the energy moves over Sora's skin, sliding up the length of his arms, down his body, all the way to the bottom of his legs and to the tips of his toes. Sora reverses this pattern, moving the tiny amount of energy from his toes to his fingers. This action is repeated three times and then Sora's muscles all relax, and the same faint blue light glows behind his eyelids. The energy continues to move up and down his body but Sora is no longer conscious, it has become automatic as he enters his state of contemplation.
To demonstrate Sora's point, Nina approaches him and lifts his hand up. As Nina releases his hand it returns to a default position automatically. She demonstrates further his lack of consciousness to the students, even going so far as to clap her hands forcefully around Sora's, but nothing she is doing is stirring the headmaster. He is now unreachable.
Eventually, the blue light disappears from behind Sora's eyes and his eyelids open.
"That is how you meditate your element," he says, "But be warned, you will be vulnerable to attack in this state. The pain in my hand suggests that Nina felt the need to demonstrate this. Just make sure you're absolutely certain that you're safe before you meditate, otherwise you won't be able to defend yourself."
The students thank Sora for this demonstration loudly and gratefully. Most of them spent time at this academy as part of their training for the military and military training doesn't involve any techniques so complicated as this. However, from the way Sora and the other teachers have spoken to them about meditating on their element, it is clear that using this method should allow them to become stronger many times faster. This meditation technique is what will transform the military as an army from Furst's tool into the imperial guard's greatest adversary.
"I think we should rally the military now," Nina says, recognising that Sora's lecture is finished, "I'll bring them here to the academy, hopefully either Lara or Clyde can convince them to turn their back on Furst."
"Good idea Nina, please go and get as many of them as you can."
Nina leaves, heading for the military headquarters, a building formerly under Lara's jurisdiction.
Sora suddenly smiles. "Sorry everyone, I know that I just threw a lot of information at you very quickly. I'm sure you have questions, feel free to ask them."
That's what the students do, they ask question after question, scrapping for every piece of knowledge they can get their hands on, for anything that will give them the advantage over Furst and his imperial guard. Meanwhile, Naruto only half-listens to the answers, distracted by Akashi's theory about a divine oddity. A soul can be pure enough to manifest physically, to increase someone's power and make them fight in crazy ways? Is it possible to overcome someone with such a powerful soul? Could he himself ever match up to that?
Around half an hour later the students are still asking questions when a gruff male voice calls out loudly, silencing them.
"Well-well," the man calls out, "Look at what we have here. Headmaster Sora, these students don't look very ordinary."
The approaching man approaches with his hands buried in the deep pockets of his black coat. Residual smoke still lingers about his face from the last cigarette he just threw away. He has distinctive red hair and eyes to match. This is a man without principles, this is the mercenary Sora recently used, this is Mars.
"Ah students, this is Mars," Sora says, gesturing to the cocky gentleman, "He's a mercenary. Mars thinks that he can intimidate me by sharing my secrets with the emperor. You don't need to worry, Mars cannot intimidate me."
"I heard a rumour that you were harbouring a dangerous pocket-worlder in your midst," Mars continues, "I even heard that you have angered the emperor, so, I thought yo would come and see you in your last few days. Just think of it, how the world will change, how many people will cry, Headmaster Sora is going to die."
If you anger the emperor, you die.
Headmaster Sora is a beloved war hero.
If Headmaster Sora dies, the world will weep for him.
Sora doesn't seem concerned despite Mars' attitude. Mars is a good mercenary, he knows how to navigate Homeworld competently, he's paid all the right bribes to all the right people. Mars is not a true warrior though, he's a good fighter but he has never willingly put his life on the line, he has never taken on an opponent he didn't think he could defeat. People like Mars exist everywhere, people who always take the safe option, who stand out because of their remarkable talent. People like the headmaster are of a higher calibre, he is one of those people who for the sake of others walked willingly into the fire.
Mars begins to pace through the ranks of pocket-worlders and Homeworlders, staring at the students, each of whom is weaker than him. He is a predator, he is hunting money, and the man who may become very valuable to him is hidden amongst this group.
"Which of you is the big catch? Which of you is Uzumaki Naruto?" he asks, "Is it you? How about you?"
"Mars, leave the pocket-worlders alone," Clyde says, "Or else-"
"Or else what?" Mars runs up to Clyde looking him straight in the eyes. "Are the military going to make an enemy of me, are you going to try standing up to the big bad mercenary?"
Lara joins Clyde opposite Mars, "Are you looking down on the military Mars?"
"Oh Head General Lara, I can look down on you if that's what I want. I can defeat you without breaking a sweat. The Head General of the military means nothing to me, and so, the military also means nothing to me." Mars walks back and forward in front of Clyde and Lara, amusing himself with their anguish. "If he could see how weak you still are, Endou Akashi would have been ashamed of the lot of you."
"Oh ignore him," the headmaster waves his hand dismissively, "He would have been proud of you all."
Mars looks back over his shoulder at Headmaster Sora. He's the anchor in this situation the Headmaster, the controller. The reason that the students aren't afraid of him attacking is because of the headmaster, because they trust his influence, his control. Reluctantly, Mars is forced to admit that this is the case. As long as everyone keeps calm, the reality remains the same, there can be no violence because Sora would always win. Mars though, he has no intention of letting everyone remain calm, he wants to find the big catch.
"The old emperor could sympathise with you couldn't he. He appreciate those who were too weak to survive alone, didn't he?" Mars tells Clyde and Lara, "That was him all over. He was too weak to stand up to the new emperor, so he died a failure. Tell me, is anyone here any better than your brother-in-law Sora, or is everyone here a failure too?"
Sora doesn't lose his temper, he knows what Mars is trying to do, to provoke a reaction, to take control of this situation. This is a game the headmaster has played a thousand times before and not one he will lose.
"Better than Akashi, it's hard to make such a claim," Sora admits, "But most people here are better than you, Mars."
Mars takes another cigarette and ignites it using his 'fire' energy. He immerses himself in the smoke, using it's chemical powers to calm himself, using the pause in conversation to question of there is any point proceeding here. Maybe this trip has been fruitless after all, Muto Sora is a fortress, he is not going to let information slip carelessly.
But then, Mars has an idea.
"I wonder, if I were to just pick one of these pocket-worlders and attack, would you have time to react before I hit one of them?"
Sora reacts instantly.
CLICK!
The headmaster activates his divine ability.
Mars' head begins to spin and he collapses to the ground, unable to control himself as his muscles behave in a way he cannot explain. He closes his eyes and tries to will himself to his feet with muscle memory alone but the signals from his brain aren't working as usual, as if they have all been mis-wired since he heard the snap of Sora's fingers. As the nausea starts to wear off and the disorientation dies down Mars rationalises what has happened, this is the effect of Sora's divine ability.
By the time Mars is able to get back to his feet half a minute has passed. The effect of Sora's divine ability lasts much longer on weaker opponents, and Mars is far weaker than Nadia and Swen.
Mars looks over at a very smug looking Sora.
"I think I may be able to react in time, don't you?" Sora smirks.
"Pah, I guess you've proven my point Sora, just like you, like the military and like Endou Akashi, the pocket-worlders are all failures."
As Mars walks down an empty file between captains and pocket-worlders he contemplates what a failure this whole exhibition has been, but things are about to change. As he gets to the end of the file, he is intercepted by a young man. The man has an air of confidence and is not wearing the uniform of the military, clearly he is a pocket-worlder. Distinctive orange clothing and blonde hair, Mars would certainly be able to pick him out of a crowd.
"I am Uzumaki Naruto," the pocket-worlder tells him.
"Wow. It looks like I've encountered another pocket-worlder with some guts."
Clyde walks forward anxiously, "Naruto, I hope you know what you're doing. Can't you feel it? His battle class is a level higher than your own?"
"That's true," Naruto admits. "I don't really get the numbers but I realise this guy is stronger than me. But, I can tell from the way he moves, his energy is all he has. He has more energy than me, but I have way more skill than he does."
Sora smiles. Naruto has understood all that he needs to.
"You can talk about numbers all you want," Naruto begins, "But if I fight a guy like this, there's no way I'm going to lose."
Now it's Mars' turn to smile, he loves his prey gullible and naïve, makes them much easier to catch, and this catch will be the biggest of the lot.
"It's no wonder the empire wants you dead, if you're half as good as you think you could be a threat one day," Mars admits, "You best hope that your words don't come back to bite you Uzumaki Naruto, because I could be seeing you around very soon."
"And you had better hope we don't meet again Mars, otherwise you're going to learn that numbers don't mean everything."
Still as confident and cocky as when he arrived, Mars leaves. He is locked onto his target now. The two pocket-worlders he encountered before were lucky that he was in a hurry, this one won't be so fortunate.
'Defeating someone in a higher class is difficult, but it's not impossible' Sora admits to himself, 'It's what he will need to defeat the emperor and free Homeworld. It's interesting, I can't wait to see how you do it, Uzumaki Naruto!'
Author Note
Hi All,
Thanks for being patient, it took me a bit longer to get this chapter out than usual because I've had visitors the last couple of days (and because it's longer than usual).
To echo Sora's words, sorry everyone, I know that I just threw a lot of information at you very quickly.
Please don't worry about keeping track of battle classes going forward, I'll try and make everything clear at the time.
I have basically been using the same numeric logic since about chapter 10 though, so you shouldn't notice much of a change.
If you have any questions let me know, I will do my best to answer them assuming it doesn't involve giving away spoilers.
Thanks for your support as always,
Cbehrills.