THE FOUNDRY – TRAINING WITH ENRI
Above the Crystal Caves
"Becoming a class 8 warrior is not easy. Indeed, that is the true mark of this world's elite warriors. When people reach class 8 their name gains recognition the likes of which they have never enjoyed before. A bandit becomes a public enemy. A colonel becomes a general candidate. A resistance fighter becomes a great hope for Homeworld.
"To reach class 8 is difficult for normal people, but for pocket-worlders it would be a miracle. To understand divine energy when you come from a world so devoid of it is improbable. To understand a double-transcendent element from a pocket-world, that was once thought impossible. However, to reach class 8 you both need to understand comprehend two double-transcendent elements and achieve balance with those powers.
"Understanding a double-transcendent element is hard. Such a power cannot be taught, not even by the likes of Muto Sora. You will observe in time that those who come to understand such power possess immense willpower, willpower that gained the attention of the heavens, that blessed them with trace amounts of 'fate' energy. To understand two such elements, that is unheard of.
"Regardless, there are some people who live their lives defying expectations. I believe that I am blessed to find myself with two such students. I will do my duty to Homeworld, this realm that once protected so many people. I will train you to become the first to complete this impossible feat. I will train the two of you to defeat Furst Jonas."
As such the training begins.
Training 'fate' is not like training that either Uzumaki has done in the past. In the past their efforts to break through have been physical in nature. Naruto has trained using clones. Boruto has walked the line between life and death in an effort to understand the latter. Even when Naruto was training at the academy, he was learning other techniques in the hope that real-world experiences would help him to understand his element.
The power of 'fate' as an element is to influence outcomes, to take random events and turn them to your favour. The training Enri puts them through matches that. At first, she sits her two students down for a game of chance. They roll dice aiming to score higher than the other, using 'fate' to influence the outcome. This continues for two days straight and Boruto can't help but feel it achieves nothing.
When they started competing with these dice the win rate was 50-50 as any good statistician would predict. Thinking that he had improved his understanding of 'fate' he had been expecting his win rate to increase, but it has not moved. The evidence before him seems to suggest that he has made no progress at all. Yet Enri watches over the two of them patiently, seldom taking her eyes away as they play this tedious game of dice, occasionally joining in to prove that her own 'fate' powers can make a difference.
At the end of the second day when Boruto suggests that this isn't working Enri proves to them that it is. She asks Boruto to stop using 'fate' energy for the next ten rolls, to compare an unaided Boruto to a 'fate' enhanced Naruto. The results speak for themselves. In a game where each player should have a half chance of winning Naruto wins all ten times. The same happens when they try with their rolls reversed.
This demonstration is enough to encourage the two shinobi to keep going yet Enri is surprised that it was required. Both of them are progressing so fast in her opinion, faster than she ever did. It may be the influence of her own 'fate' energy as it seems that this could only happen with this father-son combination. Naruto and Boruto absorb knowledge about their elements at tremendous speed, faster than she can ever recall seeing another learn. It is likely that only Boruto can keep up with his father's pace, and that only Naruto can keep up with his son's.
Naruto notes over the following days that this unlike any training he has completed before. Even when he trained with Sora he didn't progress so quickly as this, and the Headmaster was widely acknowledged as the greatest teacher in this world, perhaps the greatest teacher to ever live. He concludes that this must be because Enri is training him in an element, she is familiar with.
Naruto then realises that this is just another obstacle he has had to overcome. Given that it is best to be trained in a master of your own element, there is only one person who truly could have trained him until now. Only Endou Akashi understood the same element as Naruto, only he understood the best ways to train in 'life' energy, to master the energy that runs through everyone in the world.
This training continues, not just for days but for weeks on end. It is the best training that Naruto has ever experienced. He feels every day that he grows closer to understanding tier 2 'fate' energy and becoming a class 8 warrior. He pictures General Rana in his mind every day, a target to reach for, a being of such tremendous power that she rendered his divine oddity and his life-gathering rasengan useless. Every day Uzumaki Naruto strives to make sure this disparity in power never befalls him again.
Enri starts to change the training slightly, including a bout of physical combat where her two students fight her. Even with their knowledge of each other's abilities they are unable to keep up with her, her skill superior to theirs and her power much greater. Each time they get better though and each day the difference in skill between them and the generals decreases.
Enri is always cautious though; it is in her nature and she knows what likely awaits these two. It will be a long road from class 8 to class 9 for the Uzumakis. They will need two separate breakthroughs, one in each of their elements. While Homeworld waits for them to make that final breakthrough, for their heroes to stand on the same level as the royals, they will not be able to stay with Enri. At that point they will have to become leaders for the resistance.
It is during the wait between classes 8 and 9 that they will likely come up against their greatest challenge, a challenge unlike any they have faced yet. Enri predicts that in this gap the emperor will send his own general against the two of them. Head General Safura, the most powerful class 8 to have ever lived, a woman who has acquired skills that nobody has ever countered. That is when she fears they will be most vulnerable, that is something that she can only try to prepare them for. When Safura comes after Naruto and Boruto, Enri will not be there to save them, she will just have to pray that they are ready.
Several Weeks Later
"That's when I discovered my divine oddity," Naruto reveals.
"That's amazing dad."
"Don't be ridiculous," Enri says, "There is no way you mastered a divine oddity at such a young age."
Enri is right to be incredulous. She has seen many great warriors try and fail to create a technique worthy of being called a divine oddity. A weapon that once wielded with sufficient skill will make the user completely unbeatable in their level. To this day she has only known one man to succeed, that man being Furst Jonas himself. Even Jonas was much older than Naruto when he discovered his ability to control divine energy on a microscopic level.
"I'm willing to show you if you don't believe me."
"Go ahead."
Naruto steps away from the others into a space by himself. He focuses on a large boulder, concentrating so hard that he only perceives himself and that boulder. He thinks about his right arm, knowing that Kurama will do the same. His arm shines brightly with white and yellow energy, 'life' and 'fate' respectively. Kurama partially detonates his core and the 7th Hokage slams his powered-up arm into the boulder, shattering it into dozens of pieces. No sooner than his arm is damaged it is well again as Naruto sends 'life' energy to the limb to mend it.
Naruto turns smugly and grins at Enri. It has been confirmed to him by great warriors from this world that this indeed a divine oddity.
"That's amazing," Enri says encouragingly, "Tell me, how does it work. It seems like you're controlling your energy to do two different things at once. Was that something Headmaster Sora taught you at the academy?"
"I don't have any fancy techniques from this world to help me," Naruto explains, "I've just got my partner. The people of our world call him the nine-tails, but his name is Kurama."
"The chakra fruit present in every world," Boruto explains, seeing his master's confusion. "In our world it was divided into nine parts. The circumstances are difficult to explain, but one of those parts was sealed in my father from a young age."
"I'm sure you have a good story to tell," Enri comments.
Naruto continues his explanation. "Anyway, I was fighting against an opponent I shouldn't have been able to defeat, someone with perfect instincts. That's when Kurama and I realised that he could direct my energy to help me attack and that I could direct it to heal myself. It could only work if we timed each use of the divine oddity perfectly. That's why only he could do it, because only he knows me well enough to know exactly when I would use it."
"Your moves are unpredictable," Enri admits. "I suppose this is why you have been able to maintain that confusing style until now. As the people of this world grow stronger our fighting styles become more efficient, but they also grow more similar to one another. Of course some people have their unique methods, but mostly our movements are the same."
"Then couldn't we just learn to see through all your movements?" Boruto asks.
"That's if you knew which movement we were going to make at any time. Our style is efficient, but our decisions are unique. That is what separates the monsters of this world from their inferiors."
Naruto thinks back to his battles with those more experienced than himself. Certainly the more powerful people in this world are the better decision makers in combat. The best decision maker he has fought against was Hannah with her perfect instinct. He wonders now if Hannah's instinct has limits. Perhaps if she doesn't have adequate experience to make good decisions then her instincts are not so valuable. Maybe she can see everything coming but doesn't always react in the best way. He dismisses the thought from his head, Hannah is too talented, the daughter of Lara and Clyde, she learns so quickly that it's impossible to judge if she is making poor decisions. Naruto would need to increase the gap in experience between them significantly before he could tell.
"This is great news," Enri says, "A divine oddity. Only the second one to grace Homeworld. You've already achieved something that sets you apart from our previous emperor. Capitalise on this Naruto, this technique is a weapon, a blade, sharpen it so that it is ready for use on the ultimate stage."
Boruto admires his father greatly for what he has achieved but he feels dissatisfied. Since they have been training with Enri, he has kept up with his father's every step. He can't help but wonder if they are truly on the same level. If they are, as Enri seems to believe, then what is to stop him from developing a similar technique of his own. If his father can develop a divine oddity, why can't he do the same.
Boruto gets to work, thinking through the unique mechanics of his divine energy. He looks for an unexploited opening, just as his father did. He looks for a way to create an ultimate technique.
The Next Day
"Dad."
Boruto shakes his sleeping father, rocking him back and forth until he awakens.
"Father!"
Naruto wakes up and immediately uses the One True Sense, as he does every morning, to scout for surrounding dangers. He doesn't sense anything dangerous, but he does notice that Boruto's eyes are slightly discoloured. The Shadow 9th Hokage has not been sleeping. Unbeknownst to his father he has spent the night awake, contemplating how to create his own ultimate technique.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asks.
"Enri has something to tell us."
Naruto gets to his feet and stretches. The two of them take a leisurely walk to the opening where they have been training each day. This training has been very easy on the body, with little combat even recently. Adding Naruto's 'life' powers into the mix means the duo have spent virtually their entire training regime at full vitality.
The two of them arrive before Enri and she gestures to the ground opposite her. The three of them sit cross-legged in an equilateral triangle. Naruto observes their slow breaths and the gentle beating of Enri's heart. It seems that she has something important to say. Boruto has picked up on this as well and is waiting to hear it.
"I haven't been honest with the two of you. I have no malicious intentions, but I have been concealing the truth for such a very long time. It has mostly been for my safety, but it has occasionally been for the safety of those around me as well. I have been hiding my identity, because I am now the most wanted enemy of the empire.
"This place is very important to me; it always has been. Strands of 'fate' energy have tied me to this place, something that very few people know about. I'm sure the two of you have seen it given your talents in 'fate'. I knew that this place was important when I first followed those strands and came here. That is why I remained here, looking for a chance to fire one final shot at Furst Jonas. It is why I brought you here.
"I probably know your former teacher Muto Sora better than anyone ever has. He was here with me before, when I first came here, when I fell into the crystal caves. We were both trapped down there, and we couldn't find our way out with conventional means. We tried for days but for all his power and might we could not break our way through to the surface. We realised that our senses were being disrupted and our chances of breaking free were almost non-existent.
"That's when I realised that 'fate' had brought me there for a reason. I found another strand of 'fate' energy and I followed it to the surface, bringing Sora with me. That is when I made my second breakthrough, tier 2 energy in this wonderful element. You see, I didn't just save my life that day, I saved the lives of two others who would go on to change the destiny of this world. What I achieved that day shifted Homeworld and we are still feeling the effects now.
"I wasn't just down there with Muto Sora, your previous master, I was also down there with Endou Akashi, the man who would go on to become the emperor of this world. This was in the days before he was so well known, back then he may not have amounted to anything. But it was 'fate' you know, that the two of them got stuck down there with the only person who could get them out safely. I made a difference!"
"You knew Endou Akashi?" Naruto asks.
"Knew him? Yes, I knew both Muto Sora and Endou Akashi very well, perhaps more than they knew themselves. You are so very much like him Naruto. I can see why the comparison has been made, it's not just that you both use 'life' as an element. When I look at you Naruto, and you Boruto, I see the formation of 'fate' energy around you and the imprint you leave is so similar to what he left. It is almost as if you two are an echo of his presence."
"How did you know the emperor?" Boruto asks.
Enri smiles, remembering everything, "Akashi and I were…"
A flash of golden chakra appears next to the three of them. At this crucial moment, Minato arrives, bringing Hinata with him. After weeks separated Naruto finally sees his wife again. He is amazed yet delighted that she was able to find him here of all places.
For Boruto it feels like a lifetime since he last saw his mother. He had heard that she died, an incident that prompted his second breakthrough in 'death' energy. Now he sees she who he never expected to see again. His mother has come back to him from beyond the grave.
"Hinata, dad!" Naruto calls happily.
Minato starts for a moment, seeing his grandson again. It is a surreal experience. It has been too long since he has looked at him as a friendly face.
"The others are just behind us Naruto," Minato eventually says, "Hinata just wanted to make sure everything was OK first. I assume that I can bring them now?"
Hinata nods to Minato.
The 4th Hokage disappears to bring forward the other members of their group, individuals who have been very anxious since the two shinobi disappeared. This is a reunion that too many people have waited too long for. Yet their wait doesn't compare to Hinata's wait, her maternal reunion has been years overdue, years longer than she can count.
A different body but the genetic defect still clearly marks this new arrival as Endou Hinata. Someone who has been gone from this world for far too long.
"Hello Hinata," Enri smiles gently.
"Hello mother."
Battle Classes in this Chapter
Uzumaki Naruto (7) = Life (2) + Transcendent (2) + Shinobi (3) - Also has tier 1 fate understanding
Uzumaki Boruto (7) = Death (2) + Transcendent (2) + Shinobi (3) - Also has tier 1 fate understanding
Enri (9) = Fate (3) + Transcendent (2) + Manual (3) + Divine Ability (1)
In Response to Demon90340's Question
About a possible 'Hope' element
Thanks for your praise.
It absolutely could be a double-transcendent element.
If a triple-transcendent element did exist revealing it would be a spoiler I'm afraid.
Thanks for reading.
In Response m'j doom's Questions
About various subjects
Hopefully this chapter makes it clear that Enri is not only Sora's ally but his sister.
As for Naruto and Boruto teaming up against Furst, it would be a spoiler if I told you either way.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Guest's Question
Asking what Kushina's element is
Yet to be revealed I'm afraid.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to sarada chan san's Question
About who Enri is
Hopefully this chapter makes it clear that Enri is Hinata's mother, the previous empress consort.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Guest's and iloveffn's Question
Asking if Kurama can understand elements
There is no reason that he couldn't understand elements.
However, at the moment he doesn't understand any.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to S's Question
Asking if it is possible to keep learning more elements
It is in theory possible to learn every element.
In practice it is incredibly difficult.
By understanding three basic elements Himawari did something exceptionally rare.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Kaiser lucifer's Question
About how long this story will go
I would estimate that the majority of this story is complete.
I'm afraid I can't be certain presently.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to tarunfiction1's Question
About the 'fate' element
Sorry about my bad spelling.
Yes 'fate' is a double-transcendent element.
Thanks for reading.