THE FOUNDRY – THE IMPERIAL FAMILY
Above the Crystal Caves
"Mother?" Boruto murmurs.
"Mother?" Hinata repeats, "Oh so you are my son. Ironic, I once prayed that you would lead the empire to prosperity, instead you yearned to destroy it."
Boruto has waited too long to meet his mother again, but he didn't expect hostility when they met. Unfortunately, it is justified for Hinata. As the true Empress of Homeworld she is responsible for the countless people who inhabit this land, people who her son once wished to see dead. As far as successors to the crown go Himawari is far more suited in that sense.
"I don't understand what's going on," Naruto admits, much to Kurama's frustration.
"This is my mother, Muto Enri. She used to be the Empress Consort of Homeworld. She is also Headmaster Muto Sora's sister. She is probably the greatest ally we have in the battle to free this world from tyranny."
"An exaggeration," Enri says modestly.
At this point the others arrive. Minato and Kushina lead an ensemble of powerful allies that Naruto and Hinata have assembled recently.
"I assure you that Lady Hinata doesn't exaggerate," says Michel the Horse, "Lady Enri was a dedicated fighter in the last conflict who saved Akashi countless times. Without her Homeworld would not have its freedom. Her title of Empress is well deserved, I consider her one of Homeworld's great protectors, just as Akashi and Sora were."
Naruto scratches his head. This makes Enri some elaborate connection to what has been going on so far doesn't it?
"So, you're Hinata's mother. That means that Boruto and Himawari are your grandchildren. But they also have grandparents in the Hyuuga clan. My mum and dad are also their grandparents. That means they have 6 in total."
"Clan leaders, Hokage, Jinchuriki and Emperors," Kurama tells Naruto, "Naruto, your kids have quite the heritage."
"I've always thought that the two of them were special, but they are my children, I thought it was just how all parents looked at their kids. Maybe I was seeing something more than a dad's love for his kids."
"Wait, you married Uzumaki Naruto?" Enri asks her daughter. "All this time I've been training my son-in-law, and my grandson. How could I have spent all this time with Boruto and not realised that we were related."
Enri realises that her powers of fate blinded her. Her grandson is blessed with such a tremendous will that will one day bring him to a point of great destiny. With such tremendous 'fate' power around him it was impossible for her to see that their fates were interlinked more than that of teacher and student.
Mana pulls at Sakura's sleeve and whispers excitedly into her ear, "This is the most entertainment I've had in years. Things are always so much more fun when Hinata-sis is around. I'm never going to let her forget this. Were things this complicated when your husband met your parents?"
"Sasuke and I aren't married yet," Sakura explains, avoiding the complicated details of their time travel, "But he left the village and became so fixated on vengeance that he almost killed my teacher and the other villages leaders. That's only after he obtained a legendary visual technique that only he could learn because he was his clan's last survivor. After that he tried to kill Naruto and only stopped when the two of them each lost an arm."
"But they both have arms," Mana says.
"Yes, they do," Sakura says, "My point is that complicated circumstances aren't unusual for us. Though I must admit this whole situation is quite bizarre."
"So, you are married?" Enri questions her daughter.
"Naruto married the other soul possessing this body, not me. I don't remember anything about the life he and Hyuuga Hinata shared, I just see a few flashes from time to time. It's best that you overlook the fact we were married."
Enri grins at her daughter's behaviour. She knows that Hinata isn't embarrassed as some people may mistakenly believe, she is a pragmatist who recognises that emotion at a time like this can be difficult. The former empress is sure that there is a small part of her daughter that does feel awkward around Naruto as most people would feel around a spouse they do not know. Hinata is focusing herself entirely on the empire, attempting to push all distractions aside, something that neither Enri nor Akashi would have done. Enri doubts that it will work but she admires her daughter for trying, even if it is short-sighted given the circumstances.
"This is fantastic news," Enri remarks. "It turns out I have been training the heir to the throne all this time. I am confident that when Homeworld is in trouble next time that Uzumaki Boruto would be a worthy emperor should the worst happen."
"A worthy emperor?" Hinata says incredulously, "You clearly don't know the full story. My son allied himself with our enemies. He swore that he would kill everyone in Homeworld to make the pocket-worlds safe."
Enri is too forgiving for Hinata's liking saying "I'm sure that he was confused at the time. After all, people from our world did attempt to kill him and everyone he cares about."
"If it helps Tao Ma was tricking me because he is a servant to the Hive Mind, the Dark Dimension is to blame for tricking him and everyone else that followed him. It made it hard for them to control their own minds."
"The Dark Dimension," Hinata repeats, "You allied yourself with Homeworld's most fearsome foe, people who once threatened to end all life in this world. I don't think this makes you any more suited to being my successor."
"I don't want to be your successor anyway," Boruto says.
"No worthy ruler has ever wanted the throne of Homeworld," Enri explains, "Your grandfather and your mother just know that it is their duty. I'm sure you will realise that in time too."
Michel the Horse steps forward, his body surrounded in golden/light green 'serenity' energy. He steps into between the arguing generations of the Endou family and calls upon the special powers of his divine energy. He clouds the three of them gentle 'serenity' particles calming them down in spite of the tense situation. Naruto watches with the One True Sense and notes how impressive Michel's abilities are and how quickly he lowers the temperature of the trio.
"Perhaps we should continue this discussion after we have all calmed down," Michel says.
Mana rolls her eyes at Michel before insisting to Sakura that the horse is ruining her entertainment yet again.
"Very well," Hinata says before walking away.
The empress-in-waiting has been to the area around the Crystal Caves with her mother several times in the past, she knows a few good places to relax around here. She brings Michel and Mana with her, the two of them ever-faithful servants to the rightful heir to the throne.
Next Enri smiles at her granddaughter, "Hello."
"Hello," Himawari replies.
"I believe you are my granddaughter."
"Yes, I believe I am."
Enri approaches Himawari and hugs her. At first it is awkward but after a few moments that awkwardness disappears, replaced by the warmth of a familial embrace. It feels right to the two of them that they are here with one another. It feels like they have known each other all their lives rather than the last few seconds. It feels like family.
"These are my parents," Naruto says.
Naruto is relieved to see Minato and Kushina becoming fast friends with Enri. At least that is one tension in this family that he won't have to worry about. However, there are so many people he has to keep together now. Hinata doesn't want to work with pocket-worlders. Hinata and Boruto couldn't have more different opinions of Homeworld. He doesn't know how Kushina, Minato and Himawari will feel about Boruto now that he has returned to them.
There are a lot of relationships that need fixing, but for now Naruto is glad to have his family around him.
That Night
Naruto's son joins him sat atop a large rock. Down beneath their feet is a huge chasm, a pathway to the Crystal Caves below. Now only three people have escaped that terrifying network below, and they are two of them. Once the Crystal Caves have been conquered, they no longer look so frightening, and when they are filled by light the crystals glow like the stars. One could get lost in the sight; they understand now why Boruto's grandmother spent so many years in this place.
"Today could have gone better," Boruto admits.
"Don't worry about your mother Boruto, she doesn't like working with any of us from the pocket-world. She warmed up to Himawari, I'm certain that she will warm up to you as well in time."
"She hates me, and she has every reason to. You and Himawari never betrayed her but I did, I turned my back on everything she has ever loved. I'm not like Hashirama and Tsunade, I made a choice to go against Homeworld blinded by my own hatred. I don't think there is any coming back from this dad."
"Didn't you hear what Michel said about Enri earlier. She is a hero of this world, she used to be the empress, there is nobody who loves this world more than her. She doesn't hold a grudge against you because you're her family. Hinata is just feeling a lot of pressure right now, eventually she will realise that she loves you, because you're her son."
Boruto nods, "I'm sorry, I've made this all about me. It must be hard for you old man. It must be hard with her acting like she never met you."
"She's alive, that's what's important. In time she will come to terms with her life as a pocket-worlder. She has already become friends with Sakura. I'm sure that her memories will return. When she remembers what the two of us have been through together, we can start to work on fixing things."
"I'm the heir to the throne dad," Boruto lowers his head, "I don't know if that's what I want. I always wanted to be a cool shinobi who protects the village from afar, like Sasuke."
Naruto chuckles, "If there's one thing you should from learn from Sasuke and I, it's that you can't let others tell you what your future has in store for you. The village once planned to hunt him down and arrest him. People used to call me a demon and try to get rid of me. Look where the two of us are now. You may be the heir to throne, but nobody can decide what kind of prince you are going to be. That's your choice."
Boruto smiles and lays back, looking at the stars. They really are similar to the crystals below. He wishes that Sarada were here. He knows that his father's words are wise but there is always part of him that wants to rebel against his parents. With Sarada things are different, when he works with her it feels like everything will be OK. When the two of them work together there is no obstacle he can't overcome. Perhaps she is looking up at these same stars. It is his duty to apologise to her for what he has done.
"By the way dad, I think I've worked out a divine oddity."
"I thought you might."
"Care to help me test it out?"
"Sure."
Boruto and his father find a clearing to test this divine oddity in. Naruto is very curious about the new power his son claims to have created. So far there have only been two divine oddities, one increasing control to unmatchable levels and the other increasing power like nothing else. If Boruto's technique can do something so remarkable then it will be a tremendous coup, not just for the Shadow 9th Hokage, but for the rebellion.
Boruto cups his hands together, bringing the power of 'death' into them. Small grey particles move in all directions at first, but then their direction becomes uniform. They flow around Boruto's hands in a circular motion coming over his fingertips and under just below his wrists. Next the shinobi decreases the quantity of the particles and slows them down. If he were to try, he could count the number of them at this point.
Boruto raises his cupped hands to his face and gently transfers the 'death' energy onto it. This produces a mask made from low intensity 'death' energy. Unlike other times he creates this energy though it doesn't dissipate, it hovers there just like it does in nature.
Naruto starts.
Something has changed about Boruto, but he doesn't understand it. Even as he activates the One True Sense, he can't tell what is going on behind this new mask that hi son has created. His son's presence is obscured like nothing he has ever witnessed before.
"I know you're there," Naruto says, "But I feel like I don't want to know. It's like I'm looking away from you on purpose."
"Death is traumatic," Boruto says.
Naruto looks around instinctively in spite of his sensory powers. He knows intuitively exactly where Boruto's voice is coming from, but it sounds different, as if it is coming from every direction. If he didn't know where Boruto was before he activated the technique, he would struggle to find him even with the One True Sense.
Boruto smiles at his father's confusion. "You don't like looking at dead bodies. Of course you don't, most people hate it. For many it reminds them of terrible things they have seen in the past, especially fighters like you and I. Imagine if you could control that repulsive feeling. Imagine if you could magnify it hundreds of times over. That's what you're feeling now. Your body is instinctively trying not to find me."
Naruto smiles. This is a stealth technique, perhaps the best he has ever come up against. Invisibility is easier to deal with than this, at least when your opponent is invisible you can want to detect them. With the One True Sense an invisible opponent can be detected through the sound of their footsteps, their smell, or the vibration of their feet on the ground. With this technique the brain tries to reject those senses, it does its utmost to shut them out.
"Try to attack me then," Naruto challenges his son.
Boruto leaps at his father confidently. It is a surprise to him how effective the technique is, but it is even more so to Naruto. Naruto's senses are excellent ranking high even in Homeworld but while he can faintly sense Boruto coming he can't tell from what direction. He understands now that this is not simply a stealth technique, it's the technique of an assassin, a killer who cannot be avoided except by the most exceptional people.
Boruto is very close when Naruto's senses finally tell him where his son is. The 7th Hokage can only thank his lightning reactions that he is able to turn around in time to see Boruto coming. He moves to block the incoming strike, but his hand moves too slow. It is only when Naruto and Kurama sync and activate their divine oddity that his hand speeds up, knocking Boruto away just in time.
Boruto stops using his technique.
"The effects will diminish the longer a fight goes on, but most people won't counter it as well as you dad. This is my ultimate technique. I call it Death Mask."
"Death Mask," Naruto repeats. "It's an impressive skill. I believe that you have done it Boruto. Death Mask is the third divine oddity."
Normally one would celebrate the finding of such a technique, but Boruto is no ordinary man. Boruto is a support machine for Hokage. His father is one, his teacher was one, even his fiancée is the Hokage, he knows better than anyone what they need. Just now his technique tricked Naruto into acting as if he was alone and when the 7th's body language changed Boruto saw it, stress.
"Dad, be honest, how are you coping?"
Naruto nods. "I'm feeling more pressure than I ever have before Boruto. Right now I am the would-be leader of the resistance, husband to the true empress, father to the prince and princess, and the chosen student of both Muto siblings. I can't afford to do anything wrong, every move I make has to be perfect."
"Try to relax dad, we will be your family no matter what mistakes you make. You weren't chosen because you will get everything right, you were chosen because we know you will get the most important things right. Trust our judgement, you won't fail."
"Thanks Boruto."
Nearby
Enri approaches her daughter in a spot she used to frequent. From here there is a good elevated view for miles around. A young Hinata would often sit in this spot and listen to her father tell her about the size of Homeworld, the empire which she would one day have to defend. Back then Enri is sure it felt like a privilege, now she is sure the size of this realm feels much more like a burden.
"Hinata."
"Do we have to talk about this mother?"
"You should be happily telling everyone that you're married to him. If nothing else, it plays well. It will give people the sense that there are greater forces at work here, that this is a fight they can win."
"That was always your speciality. To me Naruto is a stranger. All I know about him is what I see in front of me and the occasional flashes of my other life."
Enri smiles. "Perhaps you should stop overthinking it. In time your memories will return, but that won't make a difference. I have confidence that if you relax you will see him as the rest of us do. He is a good man Hinata."
"I wish a good man were enough."
"He reminds me a lot of your father," Enri smiles.
"That doesn't make things any easier."
"Maybe not. For now just try to go a bit easier on him. Your thinking he's a stranger is even harder on him than it is on you. The other Hinata was influenced by your imprint, she is you, the chances are that if you give him time you will feel the same way about Naruto. I believe that fate is tying the two of you together."
Hinata stays silent, considering what her mother said. Frankly she has been harsh on him. There is nobody better suited to the role Naruto has found himself in than the 7th Hokage. In many ways he is perfect but there is one huge flaw. He is a pocket-worlder who refuses to leave this war to her. His fighting is a symbol that the Endou-Muto family has failed in her mind, a symbol that they are not good enough to defeat Furst.
"I'm going to check on the possibility of setting up a rebellion in Cheqitori," Hinata says.
"I've already got a few people ready to help," Enri says, "If you went you could inspire more. You are the Empress of Homeworld now Hinata, it's a great privilege but also a great burden. Be careful, there are no shortage of people who want your blood."
Hinata pauses before leaving.
"You said fate may be tying us together. Is this because of you mother?"
Enri hesitates, "What do you mean?"
"Don't pretend you don't know. You could have manipulated our entire pocket-world with 'fate'. Are Naruto and I married because of what you did?"
Enri steps forward, looking into Hinata's eyes.
"When Akashi took you to a pocket-world Sora and I knew our duty. With 'Enhancement' and 'Fate' we were the perfect people to create a strong pocket-world. It's possible that because of our influence Naruto's father can control 'wind' energy. That may explain the powers of some of the other pocket-worlders as well.
"But let me make one thing clear Hinata. Even my control over 'fate' is not all-powerful. I could never help someone to learn a double-transcendent element, I could never have helped Naruto to master a divine oddity, and I could never have made you and Uzumaki Naruto fall in love. What the two of you have is real, it has nothing to do with my power."
"Then how did this happen! How can the people of that world be strong!? How could he have mastered 'life' energy?"
Enri laughs, "I don't have a clue. As far as I am concerned there are only two possible sources of such a miracle. One is the presence of your soul in that pocket-world. It's possible that you slowly introduced divine energy, eventually allowing one person to understand it."
"What is the other?" Hinata asks.
"The other possibility is that Uzumaki Naruto broke the dam. It's possible that his breakthrough enabled all the other pocket-worlders to use divine energy. In Homeworld there must have been a first person who used divine energy, a legendary expert who showed the rest of us the way, a progenitor. It's possible that Naruto is the progenitor for the pocket-worlds."
"What would make these progenitors so special?" Hinata asks.
"What makes Uzumaki Naruto so special?" Enri repeats the question rhetorically. "Don't ask me what makes him special Hinata, the world's greatest expert is sharing that body with you."
In Response to sarada chan san's Question
About how Boruto understood 'fate'
Fundamentally Boruto understood that if 'fate' weren't real he wouldn't have had the chance to escape the cave.
He did escape the cave and thus discovered it.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Engineer's Questions
About Enri
Yes, Enri was the mystery figure who it was once speculated may be defending the academy.
'Fate' is Enri's only element.
It's combat uses are limited but it's mostly just used for blunt force attacks.
There are many more non-combat uses.
Petra did indeed stop chasing Nina because she recognised Enri's power.
The re-appearance of Muto Enri was much more important to her than Nina.
Enri could fight Safura but it's a case of practical battle strategy.
As a class 9 it would be a tactical waste to send Enri after Safura, most of her time should be spent confronting the royals.
Enri knows it's inevitable that Naruto will eventually need to win against the strongest generals by himself.
In the circumstances you mentioned, Enri would use 'fate' to influence the way in which they meet in battle.
The in-battle uses of 'fate' are limited.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Demon90340's Question
About the maths on his power calculations
Your maths is perfect.
Well done, what you've said is very much possible.
Thanks for reading.
In Response m'j doom's Question
On Various subjects
Yes, you're right. To get to class 8 would require a significant amount of work for Naruto and Boruto.
Future plans for the other tailed beasts would be spoilers.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to todor996's Question
About my health
My health is improving slowly thank you.
I hope it won't be too much longer before I'm back to normal.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to S's Question
About a full chakra fruit shionbi
Yes, such a person could be a class 4 warrior.
They don't usually happen in the pocket-worlds but there are a few of them.
When circumstances like that arise then the stronger generals were needed to conquer those worlds.
Class 4 generals mentioned so far include Clyde, Lara and Elliot.
Although Lara is dead and the other two aren't class 4 anymore.
Thanks for reading.