BORUTO'S MASTERS – THE ROYAL CONFERENCE

The Royal Conference, West Okarin

Royals live lives of extreme luxury, they dine and sleep in palaces tended to by thousands of servants. This building is far from the luxury they are used to though, a hut constructed from mud, long but narrow with a table in the middle. This is where royals meet, a place only known to those who sit upon one of Homeworld's thrones and to Head General Safura of the Imperial Guard.

She watches as the early arrivals bicker amongst themselves.

"You may think I am weak, but you will soon come to regret that thought, King Swen," Hertz Erik says, "One day I will be the strongest amongst all royals, then you will regret looking down on me."

"Whatever," Swen sighs as he leans on the table.

Nadia chuckles at her friend's reaction. He has always been like this uncaring and distant, coasting on his supreme offensive power alone. If Swen had been bothered to pursue the path of the warrior, he may well have been the strongest royal by now. She doesn't mind though, now Swen is able to act this way because her strategies and plans protect him. No royal is capable of exerting more influence than she is.

"And you Nadia, you have taken land from me every year since I became King of Cheqitori, I will not quickly forget that," Erik threatens.

Nadia grins at Erik, taunting him with her laid-back approach to the situation. Nadia and Swen have always rubbed him the wrong way with their relaxed attitude, but the two of them are very distinct from one another. Swen is relaxed because he doesn't care about the posturing and competition between the royals. Nadia is relaxed because she has never lost.

"Nadia is more useful than you," Queen Huen Petra says.

"What was that!?"

"I said Nadia is more useful than you," Petra repeats, her eyes downcast as she does so, "All you bring to the table as a royal is your strength Erik. You are easy to control, frankly you're not that valuable. If we were to fight a war, you would just be a powerful soldier, Queen Nadia would be the one giving you orders."

"How dare you!"

"Oh, are you going to attack me?"

"Be quiet," King Weiss Max interrupts, "Your arguments will get you nowhere. These pathetic attempts to win the emperor's favour are no better than those of children to win over their parents."

"You shouldn't irritate me Max," Petra returns, stepping towards him and looking him dead in the eye, "I'm the only one here who could act against you without consequences."

"I am not frightened."

"You should be."

"He is frightened," Swen announces, having just read Max's mind.

Nadia breaks the tense atmosphere with a laugh, patting her companion on the back, she praises him for his impeccable timing. To her these threats are useless. Every time a royal threatens another, they show off their own power, their fearlessness and their advantages, but it's never anything knew. They all know that she has the most land, that Erik has the most useful people and that Petra is the emperor's favourite. These exchanges of words are echoes of thoughts from long ago in her life.

There is one person they are all afraid of though, they fear her in the very depths of their hearts, Queen Mauer Sabine.

Mud splashes as she passes through the door frame, still wearing the same battered clothes that she was the last time they all met. Pale as if she has never seen the sun, the Queen of Ewoa enters having not tidied herself for years.

"Welcome Queen Mauer," Safura says from her position in the corner of the room.

Upon seeing Sabine enter the room, Max averts his gaze, desperate not to meet that of Ewoa's criminal queen. He witnessed the terror that she inflicted on people the first time she was free, the horrors that only Endou Akashi was able to stop.

Erik's reaction is different, despite his previous bravado he becomes very humble in the presence of the strongest royal. He even greets her as if delighted and offers her a position standing beside him at the table, one that she rejects wordlessly. Nadia has taken more territory from Erik than any other royal has taken in history, but he would much sooner that than call Sabine his neighbour, he is glad their kingdoms are on the opposite ends of the continent.

Sabine approaches Swen, grabbing him by the sides of his skull, she tilts his head upwards so that his eyes meet her own. Swen's gaze remains empty and apathetic as always, but there is a hint of something different in his eyes, a hint of fear. There are some people whose mind Swen doesn't want to read, Sabine is very much in that category. He gets the message and takes a step backwards, permitting her to walk the shortest route around the table.

Next Sabine comes to Nadia.

"You can go around," Nadia says defiantly.

Sabine's hand snaps up quicker than Nadia can react, gripping her powerfully by her cheeks. The Queen of Ewoa brings her deadly divine energy to her hands, edging it closer along her fingers towards Nadia's flesh. The energy is so potent that Nadia can feel it in her very bones as it approaches her.

"You won't hurt me," Nadia says confidently.

Sabine cackles, "Oh Nadia, are you sure?"

Nadia doesn't move in Sabine's vice-like grip, she watches calmly, without any wasted motion believing strongly that her prediction this time will be correct as with every other time. This is the emperor's gathering; Sabine won't hurt her.

With a burst of energy, Petra grabs Sabine's arm, pulling her fellow queens apart from one another. With a powerful burst of motion, she throws her arm out, casting Sabine's arm aside.

Swen looks into Petra's mind and is reminded of the animosity between these two powerful royals. Petra has followed Furst's instructions to the letter since she joined him, she has embraced her fellow royals and exploited them to the limit of their potential. Petra may not share Nadia's ability to plan, but she has an iron will to support the emperor that is unmatched amongst the royals. However, there is one thing Petra can never do and that is forgive Sabine.

The hatred between Queen Petra and Queen Sabine is the greatest between any two royals. In her days as a criminal, Sabine took something from Petra, she committed a sin that can never be atoned for.

Sabine is not afraid though, not of any royal. Shown such disrespect by Petra she feels that it's only right to respond in some capacity. She brings her terrifying divine energy to her hands once again and raises them towards Petra's neck.

"Ahem."

The royals all stop bickering as they look towards the entrance towards the small conference room.

Furst Jonas has arrived.

Sabine smiles and dissipates the energy she has gathered in her hands. If she were to lay a finger on Petra, she doubts that the emperor would let her get away with it. She may be the strongest royal, but even she dare not deny face to this almighty being.

"It's time to begin," Furst declares as he walks to the head of the table.

Each of the royals assume a position at the table spaced equally from one another. Safura breathes a sigh of relief at this development. She knows in her heart that the emperor is bad for this world, that he is evil, but looking at the royals she appreciates him just a bit more. If these royals were ever truly given the chance to settle their grudges with one another, the whole world may be caught in the crossfire. Only Furst Jonas can maintain peace between these superpowers.

As per Furst's decree, the royal conference begins.

"I expect you all to know why I am calling this conference," Furst says from his spot at the head of the table. "Recently a pocket-worlder has come to this world, a man very different from any pocket-worlder we have seen before. He wielded 'life' as his element and speaks of overthrowing the empire. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, and he was Sora's student."

"The royal conference is for a pocket-worlder? Is he really that strong?" Erik asks.

"Of course not, his strength is not a threat to us," Furst explains, resisting the urge to groan, "What matters is what he has accomplished. Many experts have appeared in the time since I became emperor. There have been masters of a thousand different elements, people who can wield two elements and people with remarkable divine abilities. However, Sora didn't take interest in any of them.

"Sora had not raised a hand against the empire since I killed his brother. We all know why this is, it's because he didn't think anyone could defeat me. That all changed when Naruto came along, this world's best teacher found a student he thought could stand against the empire and win. Sora may have died my enemy, but I still trust his judgement, Uzumaki Naruto is a serious threat to us."

Erik goes silent upon hearing Furst's reply. Since he became a royal, he's never seen the emperor fear anything. This hasn't changed, it's clear that Furst is not afraid of Naruto. However, this is the first time that anyone has ever been viewed with such caution since he rose to the throne of Cheqitori. He begins to wonder just what Naruto is like, is his voice commanding, is his presence overwhelming? What qualities does the pocket-worlder have that could turn Homeworld upside down so quickly?

"This wouldn't have happened if it were not for your incompetence," Petra points at Nadia, "You always act so calm and collected, but frankly the two of you are at fault. You had Uzumaki Naruto in your grasp, but you let him escape."

Nadia smiles, "We didn't let him escape, we were stopped by Headmaster Sora. Tell me Queen Petra, do you believe that you could have done what our emperor has done? Do you think you could have beaten Sora?"

Petra looks at Furst for assurance but receives none, his eyes are empty as he watches the debate unfold before him.

"If you really want to cast blame," Nadia begins, "Then perhaps since we are all gathered here, we should blame King Max. This whole chain of events began when he let the empire's most prized experiment escape. Tell me my King, have you retrieved her yet?"

"She is still on the run," Max begrudgingly admits.

"Still on the run, and what if she bumps into her parents, or into Naruto?"

"What of it?"

"Perhaps she will be persuaded to join their side," Nadia grins.

"You have a brilliant mind Nadia, but you don't understand science," Max lifts his chin, "By now the experiment is almost certainly a warrior of a higher class than the pocket-worlder. Trust me, I have determined that it would be impossible for her to join their side."

"Oh, you have determined that, that fills me with confidence."

Max shakes his head and turns to look away from Nadia. Naruto is likely in his territory at the moment and he has felt nothing but pressure from the imperial guard to deal with it. He is used to being treated as royalty and is fed up of the petulant queen of Seblix.

Swen yawns, "He's run out of clever things to say, yep."

Nadia laughs, patting Swen on the head as if encouraging a young child. Despite the tense situation the royal conference brings she could happily spend the rest of her life here mocking the royals with her friend.

"Ha, who cares about this?" Sabine asks.

Erik raises his eyebrows at the strongest royal.

"It's not like we need to do anything, he's a weak pocket-worlder right now," she continues, "If we try and hunt him down it will be exactly what he expects. Let him become strong, do something he won't expect and when everyone expects the world of him crush him with overwhelming strength. Hope is built on expectation, why play into it?"

Nadia smiles to herself, Sabine has never been the smartest royal. While her plan does have some merits to it, it's based on a huge assumption, that she would be able to defeat Uzumaki Naruto. The young man has so much potential, she saw that during the assault on the academy. Can anyone truly be confident of defeating him? Even the emperor is taking precautions around him. While she admires her fellow queen's charisma in the delivery of her suggestion, she is certain that it will be rejected.

"Do you recall my comrade Endou Akashi?" Furst asks, "I'm sure you remember him Sabine. He is the one who defeated you last time is he not? Your first defeat, it was to a 'life' user, just like Uzumaki Naruto. I have no reason to believe that you will win this time either."

Sabine's rage peaks as her fists tighten so much that Furst can hear her bones crunching.

They are all reminded once again about the man their emperor is. Queen Mauer Sabine is the strongest royal, she fought against the emperor's former comrades, against Muto Sora and the others. Now she holds the title of the world's second mightiest fighter, but Furst Jonas is not intimidated by her in the least. That is the man the emperor is, he stands at the pinnacle of the world, he remains unchallenged because he diligently ensures that nobody can reach him.

Furst will not compromise, he decides to reject Sabine's decision and focus the imperial guard's efforts on stopping Naruto.

Then, one of the mechanisms outside the hut triggers.

Safura quickly gets to her feet, "Somebody is here!"

Safura's senses are not her speciality, but she has worked on them as is expected of every member of the imperial guard. As the woman at the very top of the elite organisation, her powers are greater than most and she can hear with clarity the footsteps around the edge of the hut.

'Two steps on my right.'

Safura waits just a moment before thrusting her arm through the wall to her right, reaching for the person on the other side. When Safura grasps for the potential assailant her hand catches nothing but air, the mystery attacker is not there.

Suddenly, the ceiling collapses and a man with long uncut grey hair drops down from above, it is the hunter Shao Chin.

Shao Chin grips a stone with his right foot, slamming it down on the table below while twisting his hips he sends a barrage of sparks into the faces of the six royals surrounding the table. The general was distracted by the noises he made outside, the royals are all covering their eyes, it was a moment of perfect trickery.

Shao Chin draws back the string on his bow and fires a powerful shot towards the emperor of Homeworld, the man he decided would be his greatest ever prey. It is euphoric, he feels the chemicals rush around in his brain as the arrow dances towards Furst.

But the arrow does not reach.

Head General Safura catches the arrow with her bare hand.

Shao Chin stumbles backwards, almost falling as he looks on with wide eyes. Just a moment ago Safura was chasing a non-existent attacker outside the building. He had dropped down from above and attacked the emperor in less than a second, how could she possibly have stopped him so quickly. What's more is that incredible defensive move was made with relative ease by the weakest person in the room. The royals could all have stepped in to stop him at any moment, blinding them surely had no effect whatsoever. Then there is the emperor himself, he didn't move, like he knew that the shot would not reach him from the moment it was fired.

Shao Chin slumps, he was never going to win this fight.

'A fool like this was trying to kill the emperor, did he ever think that was going to work?' Safura wonders.

"Good work General Safura," Petra says gently, "Now, please kill the intruder so that we may resume the conference."

The royals are mostly in agreement with Petra, they should kill this intruder. The royal conference is supposed to be a closely guarded secret, not even the other generals in the imperial guard know where it is hosted, only the royals and the head general. Safura is of the same mind, Shao Chin may be a dangerous person to release. However, there is one royal amongst them who has different ideas.

"We shouldn't kill him," Nadia giggles, "Why let such an opportunity pass."

"What do you mean?" Swen asks.

"Don't you see it Swen? The royal conference is supposed to be a secret, the most well-hidden event in history, but this guy found us!"

Swen doesn't understand the big deal. Perhaps this man is good at tracking them or perhaps he is simply blessed with great luck, either way his value as an asset is not worth risking the royals' lives for.

"I agree," Furst says, surprising Swen yet again.

Shao Chin's furrows his brow, "You're going to let me go?"

"I'm not letting you go without paying a penalty," Furst explains. "However, I have use for a man of your talents. I have use for a man who can find that which does not want to be found. There is someone I am looking for, someone I will spare no effort in finding, he is currently hiding in the nation of Aturia. If you find him, I shall consider your sins absolved."

"Who is this man?" Shao Chin asks.

"He is a pocket worlder called Uzumaki Naruto."

Author Note

Hi All,

Sorry that I haven't been able to update for a couple of weeks.
I've been somewhat ill which gets everyone worried now, before that I was working out of the country.

I hope you're all staying safe at the moment and that you enjoy this chapter.

Thanks for reading,
Cbehrills