THE FOUNDRY – GENERAL YAMSINE
The Hertz Compound
Yasmine casually avoids the latest 'silver' spear. Terukatsu really hasn't been letting her have a break, but although he has gotten close, he hasn't done much damage to her yet. She is disappointed. Yuuki Terukatsu is a man with a great reputation throughout Homeworld, their leader for the early stages of the last war. He has come close though, just a little bit more and he could defeat her. Defeating him won't be without cost.
The battle as a whole appears to be going in the rebel's favour. The newcomers are all unquestionably making an impact. It is an opportune moment for the empire to end the war, for allowing the newcomers to continue growing will complicate things. If they are allowed to continue at the current rate, then it won't be too long before they pose a threat to the royals. In truth only Furst himself is safe if they go unchecked. But they won't go unchecked, Yasmine knows this. Today is the day when things change.
Terukatsu spots Yasmine relaxing and launches his latest attack. He creates an enormous block of 'silver' and throws it at Yasmine. Naturally the colonel is going to evade, and she has to choose one side or the other. Normally this would prevent someone attacking her, but Terukatsu can see the heat in her brain, he knows exactly where she is moving.
Yasmine evades to the right of the block, and Terukatsu is there, ready for her. He leaps and kicks her, propelling her back into the 'silver' block he just threw. The general bounces off the block and back into his grasp. Terukatsu isn't planning to let up, not against an opponent as strong as this. He grabs her by the collar of her uniform and runs forward, slamming her back into the block.
This is a chance, not one he's going to let pass. He jumps a short way into the air before striking down on Yasmine from above. Next, he strikes her three times in the ribs before pulling her away from the block and slamming her back into it. He kicks her in the ankle, bringing her down a level before kicking her abdomen. Terukatsu lifts Yasmine up one final time to look at her, knowing that this could well be the end.
But it is not the end.
As the Leader of the War Council strikes towards Yasmine, the general evades the incoming punch, letting his fist hit the 'silver' block behind her. As soon as Terukatsu's fist connects with the block, he is sent flying backwards, propelled by a jolt of electricity. The general used the block as a conductor for her own electrical powers.
Yasmine uses a wave of 'water' energy to bring Terukatsu towards her. As he flies in her direction, she grabs him by his green jacket, just as he took hold of her golden one previously. She slams their heads together, dealing significant damage to both of them. The damage does not put her off. She does it again, and again, and again! She cares nothing for the potential long-term damage this is doing.
Eventually Terukatsu spots his opening. He waits until he has completely understood Yasmine's tempo and then he creates a 'silver' shield at the perfect moment. He holds the shield firm as her head bounces painfully off it. When her grip on his jacket loosens, he steps towards her and strikes her once more with his shield.
Casting the shield away, the rebel leader clads his fists in a cast of 'silver'. He presses Yasmine to the ground and attacks her continuously, not letting up for a moment. He keeps swinging until there is barely any energy left in his body. When he only has a tiny bit of energy left, he uses it all in one go, creating 'silver' bindings to tie Yasmine to the ground. Normally this would not be enough to keep her down, but right now it is all that is required. He has won.
Terukatsu gets to his feet, struggling as he does so. He looks down at the broken and defeated Yasmine.
"General Yasmine, on behalf of the free people of Homeworld, I declare victory in the Battle for the Hertz Compound, and I am placing you under arrest."
The rebellion cheers loudly. This is their crowning victory, a triumph over an Imperial Guard General, the first since the movement was born. If they are capable of this it means the royals are next. This may be the most significant victory that has ever been scored over the empire, at least since the last war.
Himawari checks that her mother and her other family members are OK before hugging Hinata tightly. It seems they have all survived. Minato is jubilant, teleporting to the safe spot where Kushina and his daughter Mito were waiting before returning with them. Michel seems to be OK too. Mana has a few injuries but nothing that can't be mended. Sasuke and Sakura are both fine. Claude is perched on Hannah's shoulder, praising her for her valour in the last fight. Everyone seems to be happy, except for two people. Naruto and Boruto.
The pupils of Enri are the only ones who seem confused by the whole thing. This battle has been surrounded by 'fate' energy. That energy should have fluctuated or stabilised as the battle came to an end, signalling that a significant moment had taken place. The energy is still here though, undisturbed. That can only mean that whatever the great event was, it hasn't happened yet.
Thanks to the One True Sense, Naruto finally realises what is happening.
He tries to call out.
"Terukatsu!".
But Naruto is too late.
Terukatsu is suddenly surrounded by a field of 'water' with electric 'lightning' energy pouring through it constantly. Having used up all his energy he is helpless to defend himself against the onslaught. It is Yasmine. She has recovered as if nothing was wrong. Her attack shows no signs of letting up, not for the first ten seconds.
It is at this moment that Naruto is finally able to act. He uses his divine oddity to leap headfirst into the danger. By powering-up his leg, he is able to enter the water and exit with Terukatsu in a fraction of a second. The 7th Hokage immediately begins applying 'life' energy to his leader's body. If it weren't for his presence, the damage done to Terukatsu may have been permanent.
"What did you do?" Boruto asks Yasmine.
"This is my divine ability," she smiles. "It's been quite a while since I've had to use it. I call it Lucky Three."
"Lucky Three?"
"Lucky Three allows me to completely restore my vitality and my divine energy. Of course, I am no healer and I am not immortal, there is a limitation to this ability. It is as the title suggests. I can only use my ability three times in any one day."
"Three times?"
Yasmine chuckles. "If I face someone really-really-really strong, then there is nothing I can do. If they can kill me three times, then that's that. Beating me three times for a class 8, almost impossible. Only Head General Safura can do something like that. Terukatsu did a good job, but he's not as strong as the boss."
"You were planning on using that power since the moment your fight started, weren't you?"
"Yasmine is strong. Yasmine is a general. Yasmine knows she's better than any of the rebels, but she's not arrogant enough to play fair with Yuuki Terukatsu."
A feeling of doom descends upon the rebels. Members of the War Council, veterans of the previous conflict, aristocrats, newcomers, none of them know what to do now. If Terukatsu couldn't defeat Yasmine, none of them are going to be able to. They are now at the mercy of one of the enemy's generals.
"I will offer you a chance," Yasmine smiles, "Surrender. If you aren't from the Endou or Uzumaki family, I am willing to spare your life if you surrender yourself to captivity. I like making new friends, I promise I will come and visit you in Rara Prison. But, if you don't surrender, I can't promise you anything better than death."
Yasmine is met with silence.
That doesn't disappoint her.
The first of the rebels to move is Uzumaki Boruto. He walks forward calmly, positioning himself directly between Yasmine and the remainder of the rebels. He lifts his hand to his face before donning his signature mark, the Death Mask. Suddenly he is obscured to everyone, a phantom on the battlefield.
When wearing the Death Mask, Boruto's strategy is simple. Strike the enemy where they least expect it, take them down with a single blow. If someone on this battlefield is capable of taking down Yasmine it is likely to be him. He approaches her from the right side and strikes at her with a sword.
As per usual, Yasmine can only sense the attack coming at the last moment. At this level a sword is nothing to her, it is softer than her skin when she is using her full power. She moves her hand to intercept the blade and knocks it from Boruto's hand. The blade is of no concern to her though, she grabs hold of Boruto as tightly as she can, not daring to let go. When you get hold of him, you have to take him down, that is the kind of measures necessary to counter the Death Mask.
That sword was not Boruto's though.
The sword disappears and is replaced by Sasuke. Sasuke's chidori is dripping with viridian 'spacetime' energy, powered to the utmost level he can. He strikes Yasmine from the front, hitting her neck as powerfully as he can. But the general uses her concentrated defence, absorbing the blow as if it was an insect bite. She electrocutes Boruto, making full use of her 'lightning' powers in an effort to take him out of the fight early.
For a brief moment, Yasmine is shocked to see Sasuke's body light up with viridian energy. She instantly suspects the worst, that he is going to detonate his core. But then the viridian energy disappears, and she notices that Boruto is no longer in her grip but at his father's side, being healed with Terukatsu. It was an illusion, seemingly another power that this pocket-worlder possesses.
"Neat trick," Yasmine says.
A beam of 'water' and 'lightning' engulfs Sasuke for two seconds. That is all takes to completely zap him of his vitality, to remove him from the fight. Sakura tries running to Sasuke's aid, striking Yasmine twice with her 'strength' powers. These powers alone cannot make up for the gulf between their battle classes, it takes only one powerful strike to the head for Yasmine to take down the powerful shinobi.
Hinata is stunned for a moment. She knew Yasmine was stronger than them, but she didn't think the difference would be so great. That's when she realises the reason. They have all been through a tough battle to get here, but thanks to Yasmine's Lucky Three power, it is like she hasn't been fighting at all.
The empress in exile tries to draw on the full strength of the sacred sword to match up to the general, but she cannot draw the full power of the weapon, there is something she is currently lacking. When the blade rests in Yasmine's hand, it simply becomes a conductor with which she electrocutes the princess, taking her down as well.
Michel the Horse and Mana try to come to Hinata's aid. They each attack Yasmine frantically. However, even if Yasmine were at a quarter of her full strength, taking on these two class 6 warriors would be easy. Yasmine once more only requires a single strike to the body to take down each of these attackers. She dispatches them mercilessly. She marks each of them in her head, knowing that she will come back to them and kill them after she has eliminated all the threats.
Yasmine stops and looks into the crowd.
"How cute," she remarks, "Can I hold her?"
She has set eyes on Mito.
Minato tries to act rationally when he can, but the threat to his daughter is too much. He uses the flying thunder god to put himself right in front of Yasmine, and he drives a rasen-bomb towards her as hard as he can. There is no scrap of energy that he isn't willing to exhaust in keeping this horrible person away from his daughter. Unfortunately, all the energy he has isn't enough to keep her away. She blocks the rasen-bomb with a single hand and continues to do so until Minato is out of energy. She watches as the 4th Hokage simply drops to the ground.
Ming Dai grabs Yasmine's arms, holding them behind her back as tightly as he can. Unlike with Sakura, Ming Dai's 'strength' energy is enough to hold her in place, as he is a class 7 warrior. This gives Shao Chin the opportunity to fire a 'gale' enhanced arrow towards Yasmine.
Yasmine smiles, this was actually a well thought through attack, she would be proud of her colonels if they tried this in practice combat. She still will have no mercy though. She flips forward, positioning an airborne Ming Dai between her and the arrow. When Sora's student is hit, his grip loosens, and he plummets to the ground. The second Yasmine's feet hit the ground, she lunges towards Shao Chin, grabs him, and electrocutes him. Another powerful duo of newcomers out of the fight.
The cry of an owl sounds above.
Yasmine is beginning to play with them. She picks up Shao Chin's bow and pretends to have struggles with loading the weapon. Eventually she gets it right and points it into the sky, firing a beautifully precise shot. Unfortunately, the consequence is that Claude falls from the air, landing next to a devastated Hannah, who proceeds towards Yasmine.
The general electrocutes her hand and reaches for Hannah. Hannah's perfect instincts don't allow the contact though, she dodges the grab and delivers a quick pair of jabs to Yasmine before sweeping her legs. With Yasmine down for the first time, Hannah presses a knee into her gut and begins to rain down powerful strikes upon her. Every time she does this it brings up painful memories of the time she killed her mother, but she can't afford to hold back right now.
Yasmine tries a couple of times to push Hannah away but with no luck. Eventually, Yasmine sees her 'water' energy as the only way to escape this situation. She wraps them both in a bubble of 'water'. Every one of Hannah's strikes are slowed in the bubble, and she slowly begins to tire herself. Eventually, her instincts tell her to get out of the bubble, but it is too late. The general waited until Hannah was too tired to escape in time, now she electrocutes the bubble with her 'lightning' energy.
They are down. Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Michel, Mana, Minato, Ming Dai, Shao Chin, Claude, even Hannah. They are all down.
"Now, where was the ball of cuteness?" Yasmine asks as she looks around for Mito.
When Yasmine eventually spots Mito, she walks towards her. She eliminates the veterans and aristocrats who try to get in her way, but most of them are paralysed by fear now. Only Kushina finds the will to act, to run away in an effort to protect her daughter to the very last second.
"Stop!"
At the very last moment, Naruto uses his divine oddity to power-up his legs. Positioning himself and a recently healed Boruto between Yasmine and his sister.
Boruto may be healed, but he is still way down on energy. Naruto himself went through Yasmine's electrified bubble to save Terukatsu. The two of them are hardly in any condition to fight. Nevertheless Yasmine humours them.
The exchange is an overwhelming victory for Yasmine. The shinobis' movements are all slowed dramatically. Each strike they throw is easily blocked by Yasmine and answered by one many times more powerful. She uses small electric shocks rather than large ones to wear them down slowly. This is not an exercise in breaking their bodies, but instead one in breaking their spirits.
Still, no matter the pain they endure, Naruto and Boruto are too stubborn for their own good. Their spirits do not break, their resolve doesn't waver, not even for a second. They get back up, every single time they are knocked down, until divine energy is no longer responding to their commands. Left to rely on chakra alone, they become measly class 3 warriors, attempting laughable attacks on a vastly superior opponent.
"Your movements have sharpened false prince," Yasmine remarks. "It seems that Enri has taught you to divide your mind. Your left and right side are moving independently of one another. But it seems that yours are not Mr Naruto. Perhaps you are not such a quick learner as your son."
"My son is incredible," Naruto says. "I'm proud of him. He is worth a thousand of anyone in the Imperial Guard."
"You should spend more time fearing my father," Boruto says. "If he can do this with only one active mind, imagine what he can do when he can finally divide it into two."
Yasmine shrugs. "It doesn't really matter which of you is the bigger threat. When I'm done with you it will be over for you both. Dead-dead-dead."
Those with the energy to do so look on in despair. Mito represents the freedom they are fighting for, the right for ordinary people to be born free. They are fighting for people to be able to make their own decisions, to live without fear knowing that the authority is on their side, looking out for their best interests. Every step Yasmine takes towards the young Mito is another step towards the destruction of their cause and their ideal.
Yasmine smiles. "You know, you two are standing here with divine oddities. It's all like poetry, right? It's a bit like this was meant to happen."
Naruto lowers his head, as if depressed or contemplative. But he defies all expectations with what he does next, he laughs. Initially a chuckle, his laugh becomes louder and louder, springing from amusement to joy.
When the two Uzumakis eyes meet, Boruto begins to join in with the laughter. He read the subtle clue from his father's eyes and came to understand what he meant. They have both come to the same realisation.
"What is so funny?" Yasmine asks.
"You just had to say it didn't you?" Naruto says, lifting his head. "It's a bit like this was meant to happen. No. It's not like this was meant to happen, this WAS meant to happen."
"We can see residual 'fate' energy," Boruto explains. "That's why we didn't celebrate when Terukatsu defeated you. We could tell that something important was going to happen, and it hadn't happened yet."
"The thing is it looks like you've won," Naruto continues. "But things haven't changed, not one bit. The 'fate' energy hasn't budged one tiny bit. You've virtually beaten us already, even if you finish it off it won't change that much. No, something else is going to happen here."
Boruto laughs. "That's why the two of us are in this exact position. There's a reason we are the last two to stand in your way. We are the ones that 'fate' brought to my grandmother in the first place. We are the only ones who are still learning this wonderful element. It all happened because we are the only ones who can stop you."
"We understand."
"This was 'fate'," Naruto says.
"This was 'fate'," Boruto says.
Yasmine senses something happening, a rush of energy arising. All the divine energy that Naruto and Boruto lost seems to be returning in one go. Then she spots the tiny particles of energy flowing through the pores of their skin, yellow energy, 'fate' energy. It is mixing with Naruto's white 'life' energy cloak and Boruto's grey 'death' energy cloak. The cloaks are beginning to split in two, and for each of them one half of it is yellow.
They each have a double divine cloak.
For Naruto, 'life' and 'fate'.
For Boruto, 'death' and 'fate'.
That means they have understood tier 2 'fate' energy.
Their elements have come into balance.
Their divine energy levels are rising!
They keep rising and they don't stop! Yasmine now understands why they were laughing, they were the only two who realised what was happening around them. They were the only two who could see this coming. They realised they were the only two who could stop her.
The seconds pass and their divine energy stabilises. The tide has fully turned against Yasmine.
Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Boruto have just become class 8 warriors!
Battle Classes in this Chapter
[Muto] Enri (9) = Fate (3) + Transcendent (2) + Manual (3) + Divine Ability (1)
- Divine ability: Can summon people she has met before from anywhere in Homeworld
Hertz Erik (9) = Cosmic (3) + Transcendent (2) + Manual (3) + Divine Ability (1)
- Divine ability: Can summon barriers
[Yuuki] Terukatsu (8) = Silver (3) + Transcendent (1) + Manual (3) + Divine Ability (1)
- Divine ability: Can monitor the temperature in people's brain
[Isa] Yasmine (8) = {Lightning + Water} (3) + Combo (1) + Manual (3) + Divine Ability (1)
- Divine ability: Lucky Three - Lets her completely recover vitality and energy three times per day
Uzumaki Naruto (8) = {Life + Fate} (2) + Combo (1) + Transcendent (2) + Shinobi (3)
- Divine oddity: Allows him to detonate part of his core and immediately fix any damage with Kurama's help
Haruno Sakura (6) = {Healing + Strength} (1) + Combo (1) + Transcendent (1) + Shinobi (3)
Uchiha Sasuke (7) = Spacetime (2) + Transcendent (2) + Shinobi (3)
Endou-Hyuuga Hinata (7) = Fire (3) + Shinobi (2) + Divine Ability (2)
- Divine Ability: A warped divine ability that jumps two levels but gives no strange power
Uzumaki Himawari (6) = {Fire + Wind + Lightning} (1) + Combo (2) + Shinobi (3)
Uzumaki Boruto (8) = {Death + Fate} (2) + Combo (1) + Transcendent (2) + Shinobi (3)
- Divine oddity: Makes it exceptionally hard to notice his presence
Ming Dai (7) = Strength (3) + Transcendent (1) + Manual (2) + Divine Ability (1)
- Divine ability: Unknown
In Response to rasengan1245's Questions
About various subjects
1) Healing and Strength are only worth 1 "point" because Sakura only has tier 1 understanding of those elements.
2) Tsunade's only element is 'death'.
3) Naruto uses Six Paths Sage Mode to access his full shinobi powers which are required to be a class 8 warrior. He is using them most of the time during combat, even if I neglect to mention it.
4) Kakashi does still have dual mangekyo sharingan.
5) It is still possible to use summoning jutsu technically, but there isn't much point anymore.
6) Tsunade needs a moment of standing still to enter sage mode. The time required is reducing over time.
7) Kakashi has 'lightning' energy only.
8) Minato can't jump back to the pocket-world with the flying thunder god technique
9) 'Fate' energy allows users to see or manipulate events that are very likely to happen, or are seemingly predetermined.
Some good questions there.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Krosenko's Question
About whether the others have tried regrouping
Homeworld is enormous. Travelling across it takes a long time. Villages are a long way apart, so it takes a long time for news to travel between them.
News may well have reached the others about the rebellion, but any reported location where Naruto has been would be out of date.
Being all in one big group may not be what is best for the rebellion anyway.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to griffinhunter74's Question
Asking if Furst has a second element
I have never mentioned Furst having a second element.
Therefore if he did have one, I couldn't mention it because it would be a spoiler.
Thanks for reading.