THE FOUNDRY – THE FAYOTH RESISTANCE
South Fayoth
Travelling North a short distance was a small price to pay for Naruto and his companions. This is the town he was told of, one where he was told he may find one of two things. He may have come here to find a large group willing to join the resistance, or he may have come here to find a trap.
The town is not dissimilar to the Hidden Leaf Village, but on a much smaller scale. It doesn't have any of the luxuries the village is said to have accumulated during his time as Hokage, but it is equipped with the bare minimum. There is a doctor's office, with an old lady out the front sleeping. There is a town hall, or at least a building labelled as such, seemingly designed as a residence rather than a hall. There a few small shops which seem to contain the essentials for any such village to survive, and lastly there is a tavern.
They decide to search through the buildings one at a time. Starting with the doctor's office they notice that there is nobody inside. They determine that the old lady sleeping out the front must be a doctor herself. Naruto asks Sakura about the state of the clinic and she answers that it is adequate for an establishment of it's size. Of course Sakura would have gone on to take charge of much larger scale establishments and become a renowned healer.
Next the town hall. There is a gentleman inside sat behind a desk who questions why they are there. Hinata is quick to make up an excuse and it seems to be effective enough. As they look around the town hall, they don't see anything that could possibly lead them to any of their fellow rebels. The town hall appears to be unused with meetings surely taking place once a month or more seldom still.
The shops are the next on their agenda. They head through them in pairs, pretending to be browsing travellers. There is nothing of interest to them here though. Groups of warriors with such talent as they have no difficulty in obtaining food or water. Through the shops there is no sign of any growing resistance movement. Hinata doesn't believe that she's even seen any warriors in the town.
As they leave the last shop on their list, they notice a man with fancy robes entering the town hall. Mana points out that this man is almost certainly the mayor of this town. They each try to guess his strength. All of them believe that he is probably a veteran of the conflict with the dark dimension, but he is no aristocrat. They average a guess of a class 2 warrior. Not very impressive at all, the mayor has done well to avoid being drafted into the military.
Failing to find anyone by looking around was to be expected, now they rely on sensory powers. Himawari and Sasuke are the most experienced amongst them at searching using their senses with Hinata still adjusting to her shinobi abilities. After an initial glance though neither of them can see any hint of anything unusual.
"Why don't you try using the One True Sense?" Himawari asks her father.
Naruto does. There is a harmony in this place. A boring doctor's office with nothing happening. A town hall with almost no commotion within. Shops that serve people at a slow and steady rate. Then there is the tavern, the one exception to the otherwise perfectly normal town. Barely anyone is going in or out of the tavern. The 7th Hokage appreciates well enough that people require activity, and other than social activity there is little to do here. What should be the busiest doorway in the entire town at this hour has not been passed at all since they arrived. With the One True Sense he can tell that whatever is inside is unusual.
"Nothing," Naruto lies, "I thought that the mayor of this town would be someone impressive. The one we sheltered with the day of Hinata's death was much stronger than this guy."
"Then you bumped into someone unusual, possibly even someone my father worked with," Hinata remarks.
"Oh well, you guys wait out here, I am going in the tavern, I'll ask if the owner knows anything about any veterans around here."
Naruto heads into the tavern alone, exactly as he planned since he heard about the possibility of this being a trap. His priority was always to protect his family from any problems if that were the case. If the worst comes to pass and he dies at least Hinata will still be there to protect Homeworld.
Inside the tavern it is dark with a heavy atmosphere, dense air, and sticky floors. Naruto instantly gauges the room with the One True Sense, developing a more detailed picture than the one he was able to create outside. The second he stepped inside people turned to look at him, that isn't unusual for a newcomer somewhere this remote. What is unusual was the looks on their faces as they did so. Each of the occupants of the room looked scared to see Naruto, he can sense the sweat running down their back as he feels the situation out. There is only one exception, a hooded figure sat at the bar.
Naruto approaches the bar and sits down next to the hooded figure. It seems that this figure has been expecting him ever since he arrived.
The hooded figure leans towards Naruto and whispers into his hear.
"You look exactly like the descriptions, you're Uzumaki Naruto aren't you?"
"Yes."
"We cannot talk here where people may be forced to reveal your secrets to the Imperial Guard. There is a tall tree outside the town, we have made a ditch beneath it where we meet. There are other rebels there."
"I understand."
"We have heard that you and Yuuki Terukatsu are spearheading the resistance. If you know his latest position you could direct us towards him so that we could better coordinate our movements."
"Yes, I think that is a good idea."
The hooded figure lifts his hand revealing a stone within. This is a communication stone, one that the Imperial Guard is being issued with now. A secret known to very few people on the rebel side of the war.
"You go ahead, I will tell them that you are coming."
Naruto nods. He rises to his feet and opts to take the rear door to leave the tavern, sneaking away from his companions. He still suspects that this is a trap and will do everything in his power to keep them away from it.
The hooded figure squeezes the stone. "Everyone, we've gotten lucky. Prepare yourselves. Uzumaki Naruto himself is heading your way!"
Naruto walks to the tree in question, using the One True Sense all the way. He manages to avoid detection of his own companions while making his way, sparing from them any potential traps. He notes there are several trees around but one of them is very much taller than all the others, unmistakably the one the hooded figure mentioned. He approaches this tree and senses how deep the chasm is beneath it. Unfortunately due to this depth, even with all his senses combined he cannot tell who is hidden within. It is as he suspected, the perfect trap.
Naruto drops down into ditch beneath the tree, dropping for four seconds before he hits the ground. It is darkened such that most people's eyes would need a time to adjust. Naruto is not like that; he has control over the balance of his senses and instantly develops a clear picture of the people waiting for him. The majority of them are wearing bronze but several are wearing silver. More than he expected.
There are several Imperial Guard Colonels waiting down here for him. On the edge of the number he feels he could fight alone. Not all colonels are as skilled as Zahra, he knows that, but he has taken it into account. If any of these people are skilled it may be the end of him. Coming down here alone, while it spared his family from any potential harm, was a great mistake. He should have brought Sasuke with him. He realises that now.
Not everyone can immediately see Naruto, many of them lack the eyesight to identify people in an area like this.
"Someone has joined us," one of the colonels announces, using her superior sense of smell.
"Is it the one we were told to expect?" another asks.
They all look to a woman leaning against the wall, hiding her face behind a mask, an imperial guard colonel by her robes. She is the only one amongst them who has seen Uzumaki Naruto up close before. While her mastery of her senses isn't equal to Naruto's, she has enough sensory input to go on.
"Yes," she says, "That is Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto feels uneasy hearing this woman's voice. As if confronted by a great disturbance. Perhaps he dreamt of his death a long time ago, perhaps he foresaw it, and this was the voice he heard at the end of his life.
"You're not rebels, I was assured I would find allies down here," Naruto says, feigning ignorance.
"You're quite right. Tell us Mr Pocket-Worlder, did you come here alone or are there more waiting for us outside?"
"I came here alone," Naruto answers bravely.
"Good."
Six colonels stand out from the remainder of the imperial guard and surround Naruto. Instantly divine energy begins to fill the air as various combatants activate their powers. Naruto joins them, activating his divine 'life' cloak and drawing on his full power as a class 7 warrior. Thankfully none of these colonels are class 8 as Zahra was, but taking on this many won't be easy, not even for he with a divine oddity.
The colonels begin to walk around him, slowly increasing their pace in the hope of escaping his view. Even for a man with perfect senses, there is only so much input that the brain can handle at any one time. After a minute they assume ideal positions, surrounding him on all sides and they attack.
First two colonels launch simultaneously at Naruto. He flips in the air to avoid them both. He powers-up his arm and strikes the first of the duo, blasting her into one of the ditch's walls. Next, he exchanges three strikes with the other colonel, avoiding each of the incoming ones and meeting his mark with each outgoing one. Then, when the moment is perfect, he and Kurama sync up, he powers-up his arm and strikes that colonel into a nearby wall.
As Naruto deals with the second colonel, a third strikes a blow to his back, having moulded his energy into the shape of a hammer. Naruto kicks back to his feet and avoids the next swing but walks straight into the incoming arrow of a fourth colonel. He drops to a knee, quickly removes the arrow, and heals himself before retreating. However, as the 7th Hokage retreats he is intercepted by the fifth.
Naruto does a good job holding his own against the colonels, but even for a man of his skill the numbers are overwhelming. On the few occasions he does manage to break free of all six of them, the captains present attack him simultaneously, combining their ranged attacks into a much more powerful combo. Everything appears to be hopeless for him.
"Hey Naruto, are you going to give up?" Kurama asks.
"Don't be ridiculous."
Naruto tries once again to leap away from his attackers, but this time he gives them a warning, beginning to accumulate massive amounts of energy in his hands. This is a technique they are not yet familiar with, one they have never seen in person, a level-defying attack unlike any other.
Naruto comes to a halt, a life-gathering rasengan in hand.
He looks at the six colonels who have been orchestrating this attack against him. Logic would usually dictate that he should go for the most powerful of these colonels, but he has sensed something wrong here from the very moment he arrived. The teamwork of his adversaries is unusually good, especially for the Imperial Guard. Clearly one of them is holding all the others together. Therefore the best person to target is the leader, and by reading the body language of his assailants, he guesses which one that is.
Naruto launches towards one of the colonels, using one powered-up step of his divine oddity. He waits until he is right in that colonels face before using his divine oddity on his leg again. He diverts himself sideways, arriving right in front of another colonel. He pushes the life-gathering rasengan forward as hard as he can, continuing to push it as it comes into contact with the colonels chest.
Naruto comes to a halt, looking around out of breath. That's the first colonel down, but he is tired. He needs just seconds to require with his vitality, but those look like seconds his enemy is not going to grant him. The colonels were expecting that last attack, now the remaining five are standing next to each other, preparing to combine their divine energy in one deadly attack.
Naruto sighs, no way out of this.
The colonels fire their combined energy towards him.
It doesn't reach!
Another energy intercepts it, an energy made from golden 'fire' and golden 'lightning'. Nobody in Naruto's party has powers of that level, and the quality of this energy is undoubtedly higher than his own. To be able to go toe to toe with five colonels like this, this energy must be at least class 8 in quality.
Eventually both sides stop, and Naruto's saviour is able to step forward. It is the woman in the mask.
"I'm glad that you have made so much progress, though you still lack a bit of experience, nothing that a good teacher couldn't sort out in a lesson," the masked woman remarks. "A class 7 warrior, frankly your skills are far beyond these guys. I'm surprised that they were able to keep up with you so well."
"Who are you?"
"And that ability you have is really strange. Divine abilities can't be used by pocket-worlders and it hasn't boosted you a level. I wonder what it could be. I hope that when this is all over you tell me all about it."
"We have met then?" Naruto says.
"You really are something, moral support."
Upon hearing those words memories come flooding back to Naruto. Fighting with the most talented people in the world constantly has made him forget how rare their powers are. Using two elements at once is almost unheard of throughout Homeworld, a power so rare that all he can do it are said to be destined for fame. The first time he saw it used was by someone famous throughout the land, a teacher of his, a class 8 warrior.
The woman removes her mask to reveal her half-burnt face and her fiery red hair. An appearance so noteworthy that she could be identified in any of the seven nations of Homeworld.
It's his teacher.
It's Marti Nina!
"Why didn't you help me in the first place?" Naruto asks, as frustrated with his teacher as ever.
"It's important for every teacher to assess the abilities of her pupil regularly. You were never in any danger of dying."
"What are you doing here?"
"Let's not talk about this now, there are still five angry colonels facing us, and I want to see you use that weird ability of yours again. Shall we talk once we've taken them all out, moral support?"
Naruto groans, "Fine."
Alone he was a lucky break away from taking them down one by one. With Nina's help taking down the colonels will prove to be easy. This is Marti Nina, the famous bandit who became a teacher and defended the academy from two generals at once. Compared to Dodi and Odion, taking on these five should be easy for her.
Nina slaps her hand through the air, launching a cloud of golden 'fire' energy at her opponents. While they cover their eyes she rushes forward, her speed enhanced by golden 'lightning' energy and grabs one of them. Laughing, she throws that colonel back towards Naruto as if playing catch with him.
"Go on, hard as you can!"
Naruto wishes that she would take this situation more seriously. He powers-up both his arm and his leg with the help of Kurama. He first launches himself at the colonel then strikes her as hard as he can down into the ground. With the free reign that Nina has provided him, he takes his time with the attacks, getting his full power out of them, taking down that colonel in a single blow.
That's two down, four to go. Or so he thought.
By the time Naruto looks up, the former bandit has already taken down another two colonels. She is going faster than him even while helping him out. This reminds him about the true gulf in class between him and class 8 warriors, true class 8 warriors. Unlike Zahra, there are those on the class 8 level who train all the time, who have an abundance not only of power but skill, skill sometimes even greater than his own.
To not hold Nina back, Naruto decides to quickly dispatch of the many captains that are gathered down here. He uses his divine oddity to rush through the pack of them, knocking out each of them with a single blow. The strikes do not require his divine oddity, for he is not only stronger than these warriors but more skilled.
It doesn't take long for Naruto to finish off the captains. By the time he is finished he just has enough time to watch Nina dispatch the last of their opponents. She throws him up in the air a short way before kicking him upwards. The colonel bursts through the ceiling of the underground area, smashing the tree above into tiny pieces. He hurtles away into the distance, leaving the teacher and pupil standing over dozens of defeated opponents.
Nina grins at Naruto.
He seems to be in awe of her power despite having increased his own, but he is missing the point as far as she is concerned. His progress is remarkable, more so than any student she has ever seen. Uzumaki Naruto is fast becoming the man that Muto Sora hoped he would be. She knows that the odds are long, but it seems possible that he may be the man to free Homeworld after all. She is beginning to believe in him.
Author Note
Hi,
I'll try and get another couple of chapters out this week, but I can't make any promises.
Thanks for reading.
Battle Classes in this Chapter
Uzumaki Naruto (7) = Life (2) + Transcendent (2) + Shinobi (3)
Marti Nina (8) = [Fire + Lightning] (3) + Combo (1) + Manual (3) + Divine Ability (1)
In Response to S's Question
About what divine energy looks like
Some of it looks like the element. Fire will look like flames for example.
Where that isn't applicable, such as Naruto's 'life' energy, it just looks like an aura.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to S's Question
About the names of various characters abilities
Naruto - Kamikaze Martial Arts - divine oddities are named by their creators, Naruto chose this name because it damages him to use it
Hannah - Supreme Instinct
Sora - Perfect Stun
Furst - Furst doesn't have an ability as such, he absorbed a mutated ability which didn't give him any strange powers but made him jump an extra level. Only he and Hinata have taken this divine ability
I'm sorry that they're not particularly interesting.
I may have even named them several things throughout the story but that's the most recent thing I have in my notes.
Thanks for reading.