DECLARATION OF WAR – THE SPACETIME TRAP
The Spacetime Trap
Naruto wakes up. He knows that he has been unconscious but has no idea how long he has been out for. He looks at his surroundings, guessing that perhaps the absence of the sun means that the night has fallen. There is no sun though, not in this place. This is not because of the time of day but simply because the sun never reaches this deep. The only light is the tiny dust-like green and silver energy particles.
Naruto realises where he is now. He was unable to control his divine oddity and defeat Hannah, she ended up casting him into the spacetime trap. This place is as dark as he imagined it would be. There is no wind, it is cold and there are seemingly no boundaries to the infinite darkness. This place appears to just be one endless void.
Naruto wonders how much time must have passed above, what has happened to his daughter, his parents, his sister, and Ming Dai. Without him there to protect them it is entirely possible that Hannah has lost control and slaughtered the lot of them. His only hope is that for some reason her instinct told her to keep them alive, to use them rather than kill them, given that they are not a threat to her.
Regardless of anything else, he has to get out of here.
The 7th Hokage then realises that he is not alone in this place. There are many people around him, each of them in grey uniforms that he doesn't recognise. A lot of them have torn their hair out, others are muttering to themselves, others look like they haven't slept in a thousand years. He guesses that these people must be the other victims of the spacetime trap. These people have probably been here longer than he could imagine and have lost their minds. It is a great shame, but he is not someone who can help with their mental state, all he can do to help is bring them away from this terrible trap.
Naruto uses the One True Sense, combining his senses in the same way Carmen once did, recalibrating them to maximise the most useful in that moment. He puts all his senses behind his eyesight and very high up in the sky above he notices a slight glimmer. It appears that they are all being held here by a layer of this glass-like substance over the top of the trap.
There is only one thing to do. He must break the glass, climb out of the pit, and save everyone.
Naruto directly underneath the glass and begins to notice a beam of light descending from it, a gateway into the outside world. When he steps into this light, the countless insane warriors around him are drawn closer and suddenly confined by four stony walls around them. The shinobi works out that stepping into the light must have triggered some kind of mechanism for an escape attempt. He can now use these four walls in his attempt to reach the glass above.
This is no doubt a much easier climb for Naruto than it is for the others, his shinobi skills allowing him to easily ascend up the walls and strike the glass above. He picks one of them which involves evading the lowest number of those trapped down here. He begins to climb the wall, ascending as quickly as his legs will carry him for several minutes. He is surprised by just how high up this glass is, much more than it appeared to be from down below, likely an effect of the 'space' energy present in this place. In the end he runs non-stop for several hours to reach it.
As he is about to strike the glass, he notices below that all the warriors who lost their minds are gazing up at him, wondering how he will fair against the escape mechanism for this timeless prison.
Naruto gets himself to a good vantage point then launches himself at the glass. He creates a rasengan in his right hand and spins himself mid-air to increase the momentum of the chakra attack. He waits until he is just beneath the glassy surface, noting that it is a lot thicker than it looked from the ground but still quietly confident in his power. Then, he slams the rasengan up into it.
There is a resounding bang that fills the trap and Naruto watches in horror as his rasengan detonates without doing any damage to the glassy surface whatsoever.
Completely exhausted, Naruto falls back down to the ground, shocked at the ineffectiveness of his rasengan. His back hits the ground with a thud and he just about manages to call upon his 'life' energy to avoid losing consciousness once again.
'Time' and 'space' energy begin to swirl about the glass surface. Naruto notices that the two energies are making a slight indentation upon the surface, writing a word that goes straight into the core of his mind, as if translated by the divine energy itself.
He uses the One True Sense to maximise his sight once again and read the word that is written above them, describing a situation he doesn't yet understand the true gravity of.
The word reads, 'slower'.
"It says slower," Kurama points out.
"Thanks for that," Naruto sarcastically replies.
Suddenly, all the others begin to move Naruto. At first, they move slowly, but then they begin to speed up, running towards him. Naruto spots a common look in each of their eyes. Hatred, they hate him for what he just did to them.
They charge towards Naruto, clearly moving to attack him. Naruto consults Kurama for any suggestions to solve his immobility, but the tailed beast can think of none. The 7th Hokage is left with almost no hope, and closes his eyes, waiting for the final moment of his life to arise. He says some words of farewell to Kurama and receives some in reply. He never thought this is how he would die, that he would fall at the hands of Hannah rather than the empire, but that's how it seems things must end.
At this point, 'water' surrounds him in an enormous fluid wall. An elderly woman approaches him and lifts him up, placing Naruto's arm over her shoulder. After a few seconds the walls that appeared when Naruto stepped into the light vanish and the woman runs with him into the night. Whatever the reason, this old lady has decided to save his life.
The old lady drags Naruto for hours but eventually stops, convinced that together they have escaped the crazed warriors who were pursuing them. She places Naruto down on the ground, resting his head gently against the floor, then sits down herself, exhausted from her ongoing exertions.
"Can you talk?" the old lady asks.
"Yes," Naruto answers.
"Oh, thank god," she replies gratefully. "I have been trapped here so long without anyone to talk to. I wouldn't have cared if the heavens sent me an idiot, a villain or a criminal, I just need someone who I can talk to."
Naruto looks her over. Grey attire, just like everyone else here. By her appearance this lady broke through late in life, probably in her eighties. On her ears she wears to rose shaped earrings which are very elaborate. Her eyes are grey and her skin wrinkled. Regardless, she is a warrior, a master of the 'water' element with the ability to summon a golden cloak. Even then, she is only a class 3 warrior, nothing compared to Naruto.
"What's your name?" Naruto asks, his muscles starting to react to his commands once again.
"You can move again so quickly?" she asks, ignoring his question.
"I've always been quite proud of my stamina, though it seems to have let me down today."
"My name is Chang Ziyi," she answers proudly. "I am a Captain of the Rose Kingdom, one of our elite warriors."
This confirms one of Naruto's previous suspicions that the people down here are from before the war with the Dark Dimension. The Rose Kingdom doesn't exist anymore, it was probably smaller than the modern day Aturia. A kingdom that predates the likes of Furst Jonas and Yuuki Terukatsu. It's no wonder that the majority of those trapped down here have gone mad, this lady has likely been trapped without anyone to speak to for over a thousand years.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm a pocket-worlder."
"A pocket-worlder, what's that?"
Naruto gives a wry smile. He has never had to explain what a pocket-worlder is to anyone else before, Clyde always helped with that in the past. Ziyi of course would have been trapped before Furst Jonas was even born, long before he created these pocket-worlds to harvest power from.
Naruto considers explaining pocket-worlds but then shakes his head.
"I've got to get out of here," he says as he forces himself up to his feet.
"That will not be possible."
"What do you mean?"
"Nobody has ever left here," Ziyi explains. "People have made the climb you made many times before. They have struck the glass and have failed to break free. Each time the word 'slower' appears and things become worse. Time slows down. Those of us down here all have divine energy, we do not wither and age. We are simply doomed to stay down here until someone outside decides to free us. It is our prison, where we must remain for what feels like an eternity."
Naruto understands now. That word 'slower', it must have set everyone off because they have seen it before. Each time someone fails to escape their suffering is prolonged. It is a sick trick by the people who created this place. Perhaps it was made this way by the people of the Dark Dimension, perhaps by the soldiers of Homeworld, but either way it clearly wasn't used in the previous war. This pit has only ever been used to upset these people of the Rose Kingdom, veterans from a war that ended so long ago. It must feel like forever for them, who knows how many countless kingdoms have arisen and fallen in the time they have been down here.
Naruto is thankful for this one class 3 warrior though. If it were not for Chang Ziyi he would not have survived, and he wouldn't have the chance to try breaking free again.
"How long has passed in the outside world since I've been down here?" Naruto asks.
"About one second."
"One!" Naruto repeats in disbelief.
"One second has passed in the outside world."
Naruto looks back in the direction he came from. Even from this great distance he can faintly see the glass above them. One second, it's hard to believe, but it is also a great source of hope. If only one second has passed, that means they are all OK. Himawari, Mito, Minato, Kushina, Ming Dai. If Ming Dai and Shao Chin are the warriors, he believes they are they can definitely last longer than that. If he can escape this place, he will still have time to save them.
"You are a class 3 warrior," Naruto tells Ziyi.
Ziyi doesn't know what that means.
"I am class 7, with unique powers that didn't exist in Homeworld when you guys were trapped down here," he continues. "I know that this may not be enough to break that glass right now, but in time it will be. If only one second has passed, then there is still hope that I can break free from this place in time. My plan is going to be what it always has been. I will never give up. I'm going to keep hitting that glass and eventually it will break."
Ziyi doesn't understand what Naruto has said, but he is happy to explain it now. Given how slowly time is passing it will take him less than a tenth of a second to tell her everything that has happened in his life, so he does. He sits down and patiently describes everything to her. He explains the war with the Dark Dimension, and the trio of heroes from Homeworld who arrived to fight them back. He describes the birth of the pocket-worlds, one of which he called home, and explains how he is now Homeworld's greatest hope for freedom from their dictator.
Ziyi doesn't want to believe Naruto is a liar after spending so long alone, she refuses to believe that. If nothing else the young man seems very honest. If he is wrong, and his plan doesn't work, the time they spend trapped in here will seem thousands of times longer and they will both lose their minds. However, if he is right his persistence will pay off, and after working hard enough he will become strong, and he will help them to escape this place.
So Ziyi agrees to his plan.
Attempt 2!
Ziyi carries Naruto to the light, doing everything in her power to preserve his stamina having waited for the opportune moment. Everyone else is looking the other way, the second he steps into that light he can make is second attempt to escape this prison.
Naruto steps into the light, triggering the mechanism which draws everyone to him and manifests the walls.
He runs up the length of the wall, taking hours to do so again. He is almost completely exhausted when he reaches the top, but he forces his body to do something so painful, he powers-up his leg and fires himself at the glass, using his divine oddity this time. Again, he smashes a rasengan into the glass, and nothing happens.
Naruto drops down to the ground below.
"2 seconds have passed," Kurama informs his host.
Then the word appears again.
SLOWER!
Ziyi grabs Naruto as he falls, using her powers to protect Naruto from the others who try to attack him. Then they run, they run until they find a safe space. Then Naruto recovers.
"I need to use my divine oddity twice," Naruto says, "I need to heal the damage to my leg mid-air, then use it again on my arm to push the rasengan into the glass."
Ziyi nods to Naruto and they repeat the process again.
Attempt 3!
Ziyi carries Naruto to the light.
Naruto makes the climb.
Naruto powers-up his leg.
He tries to heal the damage but fails.
The glass doesn't break and he falls to the ground.
"2.5 seconds have passed."
SLOWER!
Ziyi takes Naruto and runs.
They wait for him to recover.
"I think I'm getting the hang of it," Naruto says, "I need to heal my leg using 'life' energy at the same time as I use my divine oddity, that's the only way I'll be able to use it in the long run."
Attempt 4!
Ziyi carries Naruto to the light.
Naruto makes the climb.
Naruto powers-up his leg.
He tries to heal the damage and is about to succeed.
Naruto is too slow, and hits the glass himself, falling to the ground unsuccessful.
"2.7 seconds have passed."
SLOWER!
Ziyi takes Naruto and runs.
They wait for him to recover.
"Do you think you will succeed next time?" Ziyi asks.
"No, I'll need lots of practice before I can succeed," Naruto answers.
"Perhaps we should stop then, time is only going to keep moving slower, it's only going to get worse for us."
"I have no intention of stopping. I'm not planning to do this once or twice," Naruto reveals, "I'm planning to do this hundreds of times!"
Attempt 10!
Ziyi carries Naruto to the light.
Naruto makes the climb quicker.
Naruto powers-up his leg.
He tries to heal the damage and succeeds.
He has no time to use his divine oddity again, he hits the glass, falling to the ground unsuccessful.
"3.5 seconds have passed."
SLOWER!
Ziyi takes Naruto and runs.
They wait for him to recover, his quickest recovery yet.
Attempt 40!
Ziyi walks with Naruto to the light.
Naruto makes the climb in record time.
Naruto powers-up his leg.
He tries to heal the damage and succeeds.
He has no time to use his divine oddity again, he hits the glass with his rasengan, fails and falls to the ground.
"4.2 seconds have passed."
SLOWER!
Ziyi takes Naruto and runs.
They wait for him to recover, again his quickest time yet.
Attempt 200!
Ziyi walks with Naruto to the light.
Naruto makes the climb, his quickest speed yet.
Naruto powers-up his leg and heals it at the same time.
He tries to use his divine oddity again but can't get the right angle and falls to the ground.
"5.6 seconds have passed."
SLOWER!
Ziyi takes Naruto and runs, he recovers quicker again.
"I need to adapt my movements if I'm going to use this divine oddity in combat," Naruto reveals, "I'm going to have to work out a new fighting style."
Attempt 500!
Ziyi walks with Naruto to the light.
Naruto makes the climb, quicker yet again.
Naruto powers-up and simultaneously heals his leg, using his divine oddity with no damage.
He uses his divine oddity again, hitting the glass but cannot break it.
"7.5 seconds have passed."
SLOWER!
Naruto runs unassisted, having recovered before even dropping to the ground.
"It's not strong enough, I'm going to need to detonate a larger part of my core. Then… then I will be able to break that glass."
Attempt 1000!
Naruto walks to the light alone.
He makes the climb, even quicker yet again.
Naruto powers-up his leg and fires himself at the glass.
Naruto powers-up his arm and hits the glass, but it doesn't break.
"9.2 seconds have passed."
SLOWER!
Naruto doesn't need to run away, he is ready for another attempt before hitting the ground.
Attempt 4000!
He makes the climb in under an hour.
Naruto powers-up his leg, firing himself at the glass.
Naruto powers-up his arm, creates a rasengan, and slams it into the glass.
Finally, after 4000 attempts, after what feels like years of trying, the glass covering the spacetime breaks, and the pit disappears.
Naruto surrounded by thousands of crazed soldiers from the Rose Kingdom appear above where the pit used to be.
The 7th Hokage basks briefly in the sunlight, taking in a deep gulp of air. He activates the One True Sense; it looks like Hannah was just about to jump at Ming Dai and kill him. They are all still there though, Himawari, Mito, Minato, Kushina and Ming Dai, not one of them has been harmed. He has done it, his never give up attitude has saved the day once again. All that time he spent training, and nothing bad happened.
"After what seemed like years of training, and countless failed attempts, you have done it Naruto," Kurama says. "4000 attempts, 10 seconds have passed."
Hannah looks at Naruto, nothing about his appearance is any different, minus perhaps a slight change in muscle tone. Yet for some reason her instincts are screaming to her to be wary of him. She has no idea what changed, but the man who just emerged from the pit is not the same man she threw into it ten seconds prior.
"How did you escape?" Hannah asks.
"I don't have any intention of explaining it to you," Naruto says teasingly before cracking his knuckles. "Sorry about our previous fight, I was having a bad day and it seems like I wasn't really on my best form.
"Shall we try fighting again?"
In Response to ultimusred's Question
About space-time energy and double-transcendent elements
More than one person could have the same double-transcendent element.
For example, both Akashi and Naruto understood 'life' energy.
'Spacetime' is a double-transcendent element that Sasuke uses.
'Space' and 'Time' on their own are each just transcendent elements.
The pit was first made before the war with the Dark Dimension, then enhanced with transcendent 'space' and 'time' energy during that war.
As for the full abilities a 'spacetime' user has, I'm not sure I can explain without giving away spoilers.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to sarada chan san's Question
About why Boruto hasn't found Naruto yet
Unlike Shao Chin, the shinobi who split several months prior to Naruto waking up are far less talented trackers.
Shao Chin's tracking is so good because it's his divine ability.
Homeworld is too big to track most people across, even for the most adept shinobi.
Currently Boruto is searching for his father by listening out for rumours about him.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to ShadowMonarch's Questions
About various subjects
Q1
I don't think it would be a spoiler but it would probably depend on the circumstances they would be subjected to by the plot.
I think you have the right sort of idea though, Orochimaru would likely be 'poison'. It's hard to speculate about the others but if you press me I could.
Q2
I couldn't possibly respond to this without giving spoilers sorry.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to S's Question
About a 'nature' element
There is no reason for it not to exist. None of the characters I have written about so far use it but it may appear in the future.
Thanks for reading.