THE FOUNDRY – WELCOME TO FAYOTH
A Cave, South Fayoth
The cave is damp and dark. An unpleasant location for a meeting, especially one with such esteemed and powerful guests. Nevertheless, some precautions must be taken when conspiracy is afoot. What the attendees will discuss here today will determine their fate and that of many other.
"Is that the last of us?" asks the aristocrat in charge.
"Yes, that was Feng, we should all be here now."
"Curious, I can't help but feel this cave feels a bit too full."
Those present all look around nervously. Usually when the aristocrat talks to them in the tavern his words carry great weight. Just meeting here is the most dangerous action any of them have taken in many hundred years. That is because the purpose of their meeting is not sanctioned by the empire. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the reign of Emperor Furst Jonas and how to bring that reign to an end. At long last word of rebellion has spread to their country and the tyranny they have endured for many years may soon come to an end.
They have spoken about Furst previously in the safety of their favourite tavern. They all agree that he is a false emperor, that Endou Akashi was the emperor by right and that the throne should have been passed down to his daughter. They fought in the conflict against the Dark Dimension and heard stories about the achievements of each warrior. They shouted Akashi's name when he led them to another seemingly impossible victory. They cheered whenever they heard news that Jonas had discovered something to make them all stronger. This was never what was supposed to happen after that war. That war was supposed to grant them freedom for an eternity.
"So, are you willing to take charge if we are doing this?" one of them asks the aristocrat.
"I am, though we all need to be prepared for the dangers. Our odds in this conflict are worse than the last time around. We will survive if we decide to do nothing. This is a big decision to make and I want you all to be certain that this is what we should do."
"You've known us for a long time, this is definitely what we want."
"Good."
"I hear that Yuuki Terukatsu is leading the rebellion," one of them says excitedly, "With a guy like that in charge our odds aren't as bad as you think."
"I heard that it's Uzumaki Naruto in charge," another says.
"Uzumaki Naruto, who's that?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, he is a pocket-worlder who uses 'life' energy."
"Just like Emperor Akashi did?"
"Yeah. I didn't think it was possible for those pocket-worlders to understand divine energy, but he did it. He did it and brought a bunch of his allies to Homeworld with him. I hear that he even defeated Head General Lara and General Clyde before making them agree to work with him."
"Then perhaps we shouldn't rebel," the aristocrat says.
"Why?"
"Someone like this man, this Uzumaki Naruto is dangerous. He is an outsider from a foreign land who could one day turn against us, but that's not even the biggest problem. The greatest problem is that he's a beacon of hope, shining his brilliant light down on the world from above. We all look at that light and we're blinded by it, just like we were when Akashi entered the war. We think that because we can't see either of them, they must be the same, but we can't be sure. It may be that this Uzumaki Naruto is not as impressive as he seems.
"You said you were happy before that Yuuki Terukatsu is leading the war, but that's just because of his name. There are generals in the Imperial Guard who can defeat Terukatsu without help. He definitely can't defeat any of the royals and he doesn't stand a chance against the emperor. That means he has made a gamble that soon somebody will, presumably this Uzumaki Naruto you have heard about. Do you really want to bet your life that some pocket-worlder will be able to defeat the emperor?"
The group falls silent for a few moments before the aristocrat continues.
"Because I do."
"What?"
His friends are immediately confused. He made it seem like such impossible odds that they are up against, like their death was an absolute certainty, it's only natural that this turnabout would surprise them.
"Sure, I don't think the odds are in our favour. Frankly anyone defeating the emperor is unrealistic. He has a mathematical advantage in battle that nobody in history has ever surmounted. But this man, Uzumaki Naruto, while it is unlikely that he can surpass Akashi, we're probably never going to get a better chance. If he isn't the man we want him to be then nobody ever will. Yuuki Terukatsu may not be the leader we need, but he is a sensible man, and he wouldn't have declared war if he didn't think we had a chance. I know it's childish, but I want to believe in this strange pocket-worlder."
"He does control 'life' energy."
"Yes he does."
"I heard he has a divine oddity."
They all laugh together upon hearing that. It was just a joke. Uzumaki Naruto may well be the most impressive pocket-worlder to have ever lived with a power that will one day eclipse most warriors in Homeworld, but there is surely no way he has worked out a divine oddity. They have heard rumours that this is the name of an unfathomable type of power that only Furst has worked out, but in the case of both Naruto and Jonas they are sure that is all this is, a rumour.
"Let's put it to the vote," the aristocrat says, "We won't make anybody do anything they don't want to do, but I'm interested to hear what everyone has to say."
He turns to his right and they call out their intentions in a counter clockwise circle.
"Rebellion."
"Rebellion."
"Rebellion!"
They move around in the circle of ten warriors and each of them, veterans of the last conflict, announce their intentions. It is unanimous. They all vote for rebellion. They vote to join Yuuki Terukatsu and Uzumaki Naruto in their war to free Homeworld.
After taking this vote they here the sound of footsteps outside the cave. It is a march, a large group marching in unison. The timing of their steps rules out the long shot that it is the War Council, meaning it can only be one group. The Imperial Guard have found them.
The aristocrat raises a finger to his lips before lowering both his hands. The others lower themselves gently to their knees and then press their heads towards the ground. It is doubtful that the Imperial Guard are unaware of their presence but if they are it is vital that they do not give themselves away. They hold their breaths and still their movements, praying that they will remain undiscovered as the ominous footsteps draw ever nearer.
Entering the cave at the head of the pack is a captain, dressed in her bronze uniform kept in impeccable condition, she arrives smiling at the crouching veterans of the last conflict. They are down on the ground looking up at her, somewhere she believes they always have and always will belong.
"We heard about your little plan," she says smugly, "Rebellion, against the emperor in the name of Uzumaki Naruto, a boy you have never even met."
"I never met Endou Akashi, but I would have gladly given my life to further his cause," the aristocrat answers as he returns to his feet, "Are you certain that you wish to fight us here, rather than join our side. I am sure our cause is one that you believe in and that you know if we fought, I could defeat you."
"You are hopelessly outnumbered. You may be able to defeat me, but you will not leave this cave alive."
Another of the veterans steps forward, "Is this who you sensed earlier? It's a shame we lacked the wisdom to see the Imperial Guard were onto us, but we should at least go down with honour."
"No this isn't who I sensed earlier," the aristocrat admits, "But now that they are here, we will fight them to the death."
With these seemingly final words spoken, the rebelling veterans of the previous conflict are given a divine blessing. They hear heavenly words from above, as if they were sent by the gods, that offer them salvation in this dangerous moment.
"You won't have to."
Everyone looks to the ceiling of the cave to see a man hanging from it. A man with light hair and a striking orange jumpsuit. A man far younger than any of them, clearly a prodigy of whatever divine energy he wields. What they don't know about this man is that he is the one they have been thinking about this entire time. What they don't know about this man is his name, he is the champion of the pocket-worlds, the last hope for Homeworld and the 7th Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village.
This is Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto drops down and grabs the captain by the arm. He uses his divine oddity to power-up his right arm and throws her into another of her comrades.
The captains work together in the cave to try and take Naruto down, but they are foolish and inexperienced when it comes to battling pocket-worlders. They each try to hit him with their fists, but he dances through them unaffected. He has fought hand-to-hand against the most powerful experts from his pocket-world, compared to that these Imperial Guard captains are nothing.
The aristocrat watches the fight with an astonished look on his face. He watches as whole groups try to attack Naruto, only for him to dissect them one by one. They take a brute force approach, an approach in which the pocket-worlder is clearly better than them, but he doesn't play their game. Naruto barely uses any energy as he lets them come to him, avoiding their attacks by narrow margins, not by accident but on purpose. There are no wasted movements as he takes each of them down with a single powerful strike to the back of the neck.
As more and more captains flood into the cave the numbers make no difference to Naruto. He may start to struggle more but the entrance is a bottleneck. Only so many people can pour through at once and he is capable of keeping up with those numbers. If the Imperial Guard wants to waste soldiers by throwing them all against him in this confined space that is up to them, he will take them on all day.
Unfortunately the Imperial Guard are not so stupid. After a while they start to leave and someone else steps into the entrance of the cave, it is a colonel. With a scar on his cheek and many more decorating his arms it is clear that he is a victim of a thousand battles. He steps forward towards Naruto with a snarl.
"You will not leave this cave alive, boy."
Naruto grins and begins to power-up his leg.
The colonel swings for Naruto but the 7th Hokage reacts to quickly for him. Using his divine oddity, Naruto propels himself out the cave, tackling the colonel to bring him with him. As they emerge into the open-air Naruto lifts the colonel and slams his back down into the ground. Now surrounded by a divine 'life' cloak, he creates a rasengan and enhances it with divine energy. He slams the rasengan down into the chest of the colonel, eliminating him with a single pulse of mighty power.
The veterans of the previous conflict run out of the cave and finally see the numbers they were up against. There are hundreds of captains, seemingly all under the command of this one colonel. However, in the middle of this crowd, the boy who came to their rescue stands over the fallen colonel. He stands in the middle of them as a conqueror.
The 7th Hokage looks around at the remaining captains and offers them a wordless yet clear message. Run. Run away while they still can. The man who stands before them is not someone they are capable of stopping.
The message is received, the overwhelming ensemble of captains leaves and all that remain are those on the side of the rebellion. In this moment to them it seems that the sun is a great light shining from behind Naruto, creating a silhouette out of the mysterious man from another world.
"Who is that?" one of the veterans asks.
"Don't you see, he used 'life' energy, this is Uzumaki Naruto, the one the emperor is trying to find, the man who will inherit the resistance movement from Yuuki."
"Don't be ridiculous, what would that Uzumaki Naruto be doing in a place like this."
"You can stop now," Naruto tells them, "I am Uzumaki Naruto, Muto Sora's final student before he died. I am here to help grow the rebellion's numbers. I was going to try and recruit you when I heard you talking before, it sounded like you fought in the last war. It turns out I didn't need to; you were already thinking about it yourselves. I stayed hidden to see what you truly thought about me, I was glad to hear you say what you did."
"Well I am glad our thoughts met with your approval," the aristocrat sarcastically replies.
"When I listened to your words, I was not judging you," Naruto says, "I was judging myself."
The aristocrat reassess Naruto. First impressions are important and eavesdropping on them wouldn't normally create a good one. What he just said though reminds the aristocrat a lot of the days when he followed Endou Akashi. It was said that Akashi cared deeply about the morale of his soldiers and what they thought of him. That is the greatest difference between the current emperor and his predecessor, the importance they assign to the opinions of others.
"I also came here because we have heard reports that the Foundry may be to the north."
"I've never heard about the Foundry being in Fayoth, though I doubt I would have even if it were here," the aristocrat admits. "Have any of you ever heard any mention of the Foundry's location?"
The veterans all respond together, none of them have ever heard anything about the Foundry being in Fayoth, nor where it might be. This is not surprising to Naruto, Hinata is the true heir to the throne and not even she knows where the Foundry is, it was always doubtful that the local warriors would know.
"You should give up on the Foundry," the aristocrat says. "That place was hidden on purpose, kept far away from prying eyes, concealed in a location that nobody could ever find it. Both Furst and Endou were happy that it would never be infiltrated by foreign invaders, you will never set foot inside."
"I've been told that I can't do things many times in the past," Naruto says, "It has never stopped me before. You just wait and see; I will go to the Foundry and I will address the imbalance in this war."
"Then I hope that you will prove me wrong."
"I will."
"Perhaps there is another way I could help you Uzumaki, if I were to tell you what inspired us to consider rebellion in the first place."
"What was that?"
"We heard that there was a large group of unhappy aristocrats and veterans nearby, that they were organising their friends to join a resistance movement, your resistance. If the rumours are to be believed their numbers are greater than ours, and their help would be much more useful to you."
"I get the feeling there is a catch," Naruto says.
The aristocrat smiles, "Yes, you are right. The Imperial Guard did just find us in a cave in the middle of nowhere, clearly they knew we were considering rebellion. It is possible that this story of a larger rebel force is a fabrication designed to lure us out. If that is true then you will find yourself walking into a trap, perhaps one that even a man of your talents will be unable to escape from."
"If there is a trap awaiting people who wish to rebel then I need to walk into it either way. Until someone destroys that trap hundreds of resistance fighters could fall for it. I hope it isn't a trap but if there is then my presence was inevitable."
"You have wisdom beyond your years Uzumaki, you must have fought many battles in your pocket-world. Tell me, how long ago did you master divine energy and how old are you now?"
"I couldn't put an exact number on it, but I discovered divine energy within the last five years and I'm not twenty-five years old yet."
"Wow. You posses a talent the likes of which the world has never seen. Be careful, if we lose you to this trap then the empire will have won, we will have traded our most valuable pawn away for nothing."
Naruto nods and begins to walk away. He has much to think about following this encounter. His mind goes to his friends and his family. If he is going to be walking into a trap, he doesn't want to take them with him, but he must also be careful if he choses to withhold information from them.
"Uzumaki, there is one thing I forgot to say to you."
Naruto turns back to look at the aristocrat, wondering what more information he will have to offer.
"Welcome to Fayoth."
Author Note
Hi All,
Sorry it has taken so long to release this chapter, I have been having health issues.
I will be releasing one chapter a week until I finalise the plan for part 12 (which I'm pretty sure I will finalise this week).
Once the plan for part 12 is finalised I will be releasing three chapters a week.
If my health improves I will try to return to the five chapter a week rate I was going at previously.
I appreciate that this is annoying, I will do my best to return to normal as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Me
In Response to Demon90340's Questions
About the empress
1 - The empress has not appeared in this story before chapter 236
2 - I have not given the empress name in the story so far
3 - I couldn't possibly say
Thanks for reading.
In Response to jenuzumaki's Question
About the empress
I couldn't possibly say what happened to the empress without giving spoilers.
I hope that over the years I have been writing this story I have given you the confidence that I won't leave a loose end though.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Guest's Questions
About various subjects
Akashi's maximum class was 9, even with his golden cloak. He couldn't defeat Furst.
It's hard to say what class Hagoromo/Kaguya would be. They would be either 3 or 4.
I couldn't give the exact geographical location of everyone.
Sarada is with the majority of the Hokage.
Boruto is looking for his father.
Ino-Shika-Cho are looking for their deceased parents.
Tao Ma, Hashirama, Tsunade and Mitsuki are still together but their location hasn't been stated.
The rinne-rebirth jutsu may be indirectly connected to 'life' energy, I've never thought about it to be honest. Good question.
The two strongest living characters that have been introduced are as follows:
- Emperor Furst Jonas of Homeworld
- Queen Mauer Sabine of Ewoa
It's hard to say the third for certain, but it's probably Hoffman Swen.
Each class is stronger than the previous by a greater margin, so:
class 7 class 8 class 9 class 10
So Furst is much stronger than the next strongest warrior.
Sora is only marginally stronger than some other class 9s.
Naruto may technically be able to revive the tailed beasts. My memory of his exact abilities from the original story have faded over time.
If he can and I haven't written so it will be purely for narrative reasons.
Jonas was obsessed with thinking as a child.
As for the reason he is so good at it, it's a combination of practice and natural talent.
Jonas' power totally eclipses any pocket-worlder's.
Whether Jonas could take on all the class 9s and win remains to be seen.
Thanks for the compliment about my writing, very kind of you.
I think the most important thing is hard work, ironic given my lack of it recently.
It's also important to get the basics sorted, grammar and spelling.
Thanks for reading and for some excellent questions.
In Response to m'j doom's Question
About Akashi and Hinata
Hinata's divine ability is a mutated one, just like Furst's.
It means they don't get a strange ability but they transcend two levels instead of one.
I couldn't possibly say where Akashi's wife is, or if she visited the pocket-world, without giving away spoilers.
I couldn't answer the reincarnation question without giving away spoilers either I'm afraid.
Thanks for reading.