THE FOUNDRY – OUR RESPONSIBILITY
The Hertz Compound
Today is the day!
Naruto woke this morning nervous about what was to come, but excited, nonetheless. If everyone plays their part today, as he is sure they will, then it will work. Their plan to destroy the Foundry is finally going to be executed.
There are troops to be rallied. Naruto crosses his fingers and creates a series of clones to gather those who are coming on this expedition with him. They move to the various rooms the Hertz Clan have agreed for the rebellion to use.
First, one of the clones reaches Sasuke and Sakura.
Sasuke and Sakura are preparing their weapons for the journey. Sakura is shaking slightly but is doing a good job of projecting confidence in spite of that. Sasuke, as always, is a picture of calm, calm in the face of the storm he is about to charge into headfirst. This is a chaotic plan he has helped to create and one that he is more than ready to implement.
"There's a clearing a short way to the west," Naruto's clone tells them. "We're going to meet and launch our mission from there. Are you guys ready?"
"Charging into danger with you is what we were trained to do Naruto," Sakura says, "Do you even need to ask if we are ready?"
"Let's get on with this Naruto," Sasuke adds, "The sooner we head out the sooner we can destroy this thing."
Naruto's clone grins before scattering, he never had any reason to doubt them. Team 7 was made for greatness, for rushing into danger. History's most revered team, if the Leaf could have chosen anyone to do this it would have been the three of them.
Second, one of the clones reaches Boruto.
"We're meeting in the clearing to the west. Are you ready for this Boruto?"
"Enri prepared us for this day. The two of us have been trained, by shinobi, by aristocrats and by those who used to lead this world. Dad today is our chance to really pay them back for what they gave us. Let's do it!"
Naruto's clone disappears.
Third, a clone reaches Himawari.
"Hello father."
"Hi Himawari. We're meeting—"
"Clearing to the west, I know."
"If you're scared it's still not too late to change your mind. We probably still have some time before they try and take back the compound. We can come up with another plan."
"Relax dad, I know what I've signed up for. I'm taking responsibility for today. I'm going to risk my life, and if we don't come back, then I'll be proud to have given everything this fight."
"We will come back Himawari, I can feel it."
Naruto's clone disappears.
Fourth, a clone approaches Hashirama and Tsunade in the middle of their encampment, surrounded by a legion of loyal warriors who would die at their side if asked to. These warriors no longer need to risk themselves though, a testament to Hashirama's control and leadership abilities.
"You know where we're meeting right?" the clone asks.
"The clearing," Hashirama nods.
"If there is any reason for us to doubt you Hashirama, anything you want to say, now is the time to say it. If we go into the Foundry and you're keeping something from us, there is no guarantee that we will make it back."
"There's no need to worry Naruto. I will do my best to get us the Foundry, to destroy it, and to help bring your daughter back alive"
Naruto nods before looking to the other Hokage. Tsunade has hardly spoken a word since returning here. Whatever the Hive Mind has done to her it's effects were clearly devastating. One thing that Naruto is certain of is that Senju Hashirama would reverse this damage if he could. Seeing his granddaughter like this must hurt the 1st Hokage more than anybody else.
"Can we trust you?" Naruto asks.
"I believe that all Homeworld should die," Tsunade admits. "But I will follow my orders, for now the people of Homeworld are our allies."
Naruto exchanges a glance with Hashirama. He would have been happier if Tsunade had something more reassuring to say. However, he cannot employ half-measures at the moment. If he doubts Hashirama, then he should leave both Senju behind. If he believes Hashirama, then he should take both Senju with him. He has chosen to believe the 1st Hokage, at least for now.
Naruto's clone vanishes.
The final clone opens a door only to have an owl burst out over his shoulder. He shakes his head, wishing that Claude would make an effort not to scare him like that. The owl is flying his first recon flight of the day.
"Good morning Hannah."
"Good morning."
"Hinata said you shouldn't come on this mission because you come from Homeworld. Tell me honestly, do you want to come with us, or do you want to remain here?"
"You saved me Naruto. Since then your family have become my friends and you have become a mentor. It doesn't matter where I was born, I will follow you until the end."
The clones smiles. "Head to the clearing to west. We're leaving soon."
10 Minutes Later, The Western Clearing
Boruto is the last to arrive.
"You are late brother," Himawari says, "you've got two of your teachers and your dad waiting for you, it's like you're asking to be shouted at."
"I'll bare that in mind next time Himawari. I wanted to speak to mom, but she still doesn't like me much," Boruto admits. "I left a message with Mana in case I don't make it back."
"You'll speak to her again Boruto," Hashirama says. "This is the most united the Hidden Leaf has been in a long time. We're not here to lose, are we? No, we're going to win!"
Boruto nods. "Dad, you should probably go and speak to her before we leave. It may be your last chance."
"I wish Sarada was here," Naruto says. "I know if you could have spoken to her again you would have. When we get through this, you're going to owe her an apology. Got it?"
"I know. I left a message for her with Mana too."
Naruto smiles before running back towards the compound. Hyuuga Hinata may not be able to hear his words right now, but they still need speaking. If he leaves a message, then perhaps one day his feelings will reach her.
The Hertz Compound
Naruto's search isn't as quick as he would like it to be. Once again, he creates clones to help him. After creating a dozen clones, it takes just a few minutes before they all disappear, returning their knowledge to him. He doesn't know where Hinata is, but he does know who can tell him. The Seer Twins.
When Naruto arrives Theresa and Philip are stood with their hands clasped behind their backs waiting for him.
"Hello Naruto," they say in unison.
"Hi guys. I want to thank you before we leave. No doubt we will have to leave the compound quickly, even if we do survive this mission. You two have been great, and if we succeed that will be because of you."
"You have done well so far Uzumaki Naruto," Theresa says.
"Yet you still have much left to endure," Philip says. "And your future is complicated. There is much still obscure even to the two of us."
"We cannot tell if you will succeed, but we hope you do."
"You do?" Naruto asks.
Theresa smiles. "Philip and I have observed you and your friends since you have arrived here. We don't know everything about you yet, but something has become obvious."
"If you do win in the future," Philip continues, "then the world will smile again. Only you can bring that happiness back. We hope that you can defeat Furst Jonas."
"So do I. Do you know where I can find Hinata?"
"Of course, you can find her towards the North end of the complex. She is in the temple at the moment."
Naruto thanks the twins and heads north.
The Temple
The temple Hinata is using isn't the tallest in the compound but it is one of them. The roof consists of several convex arches and is made of a fine gemstones. It looks like this may be one of the most expensive buildings in the entire compound. The stonework alone must have cost a lot of money. The Hertz Clan is known for its wealth and power, no doubt this temple is just another status symbol to them.
Naruto enters and notices how quiet it is inside. The temple is quite large and most of it is taken up by this single room. It's a grand hall with empty space on the left-hand side and a series of wooden benches on the right-hand side. At the far end of the room are a series of books, each with either one-word or two-word titles printed on the front in a large font. Naruto notices similarities to some of the places he saw on his travels before the war.
Hinata is sat on the right at the front, resting her forehead on her fingertips, with her elbows in turn resting on her knees. She is sat there wordlessly so Naruto begins to approach to offer her a final few parting words.
"Stop," a voice whispers to him from behind.
Naruto stops in his tracks and looks around. Mana is leaning against the wall at the back of the temple. The 7th Hokage looks at her for a moment before she gestures him over. He glances back at Hinata before approaching Mana and leaning against the wall beside her.
"What is it?" he asks. "We're going to be leaving any moment."
"Then why are you here?"
"Isn't it obvious, I wanted to say goodbye to her."
"Aww, aren't you nice," Mana smirks.
Naruto looks at Mana, it seems she has not yet given her approval for him to walk forward. He continues to stare at her, raising his eyebrows as a hint. He wants to know what exactly she has asked him to step back for.
"You shouldn't disturb her during prayers," Mana says.
"She's praying?"
"You do know this is a temple, right?"
Naruto watches Hinata for just a few moments. He hasn't seen the princess pray much since they met. He's not sure he's heard her talk about her beliefs at all, not even to Himawari. The many books at the front and the strange formation of the room makes him presume this is building caters to many different beliefs. He can only ask one person about it right now.
"Could you tell me about religion in Homeworld? I want to know what she believes."
"We only have the Dark Dimension to compare ourselves against, but I'll do my best. Religion is very personal to us here. Once upon a time villages and cities shared faith, but that time passed many years ago. Now faith is unique to most families, a mixture of many old beliefs.
"We determine our own beliefs by learning from our parents. I was raised with Hinata. In our case Enri and Akashi told us about the times they prayed and how those prayers were answered. She and I talked about it quite a bit when we were younger. Sometimes siblings disagree on what to take away from their parents experience, sometimes they agree.
"Hinata and I agreed. We listened to Enri's experiences and Akashi's, it made quite a story. Hinata believes in a single goddess, a deity without name. She believes that there are limits to what the goddess can do and limits to what the goddess is willing to do. But she does believe that the goddess sometimes listened to her parents and helped them."
Naruto thinks about it. "Sometimes your goddess answers your prayers and gives you helping hand, the rest of the time you are left to make your own fate?"
"That's what Hinata and I believe. Enri would tell you something slightly different. Some people believe in many gods. King Max would tell you there is no god. Furst probably believes he is a god. It's all very personal. But without exception, it means a lot to people."
Naruto has failed to realise this in the past, the importance of belief to the people of Homeworld. He has met so many people since he has been here, and he has never known what those people have believed in. Thankfully the people of both worlds have shown they have one trait in common. The people of both worlds have the ability to believe in other people.
Naruto begins to walk from the building, but he stops for a moment.
"What is Hinata praying for?"
"… for you."
The Western Clearing
Naruto returns with a new perspective. What they do here today may chance the destinies of billions of people around the world. Each of these people believes in something, each of them is praying to someone else, or something else for a better tomorrow. If even one of their prayers work, then luck will be on their side today. They're carrying a lot of people's well-wishes, but also a lot of responsibility on their backs.
"Let's go," Naruto says.
Hashirama reaches into his pocket to bring out his vehicle, but he stops when he sees a strange look on Naruto's face. The Uzumaki clansmen is still realising just how big the task is before them. It's impossible to imagine the number of people depending on them, too many to count. Every time Naruto is reminded about these people, he is humbled.
"Is everything OK Naruto?"
"No I… I have something to say before we go."
"Then now is the time."
Naruto paces back and forward for a couple of seconds, trying to bring the right words into his mind. People have told him in the past that his words have a way of moving people, but this time the pressure is on. These people in front of him already know most of what he knows, they already agree with him on most things. Finding a way to motivate them even more now will be difficult. But in Naruto's inner world Kurama is smiling, he is fully confident that the words will come, they always do.
Naruto begins.
"Since coming to Homeworld, I've learnt a lot about responsibilities, about responsibility for others, about responsibility for what happens, about responsibility for everything.
"When Sora told me about the terrible things that this world has gone through, I became responsible for the fate of all the people who live here. When Clyde told me about Hannah, I became responsible for her fate going forward. And when I learnt about this place, the Foundry, a place where divine abilities are manufactured so that the Imperial Guard can control the world, I became responsible for its destruction.
"But I learnt something very important about taking responsibility here, something I like to think I would have learned as the 7th Hokage. You never have to do it alone.
"We're all here together. The 7th Hokage, the 1st and the 5th. The Shadow 7th Hokage and the 9th. The Legendary Battle Medic, the Blaze Princess and the one with an unbeatable instinct. But we do not stand here as individuals, we are standing here as a team.
"This isn't the responsibility of any one individual, this is our responsibility.
"No matter what happens when we go into the void, no matter what perils we come across we are going to navigate them as a team. Lives depend on us; this is our responsibility.
"When we make it through this mess and stand atop the foundry, I don't care if we come up against generals, kings, or queens or even the emperor himself, we do it together. That is our responsibility.
"And when we do what we are going there to do, when we leave the foundry a molten pile of ash, we are going to leave together, and we are going to come back together. We are going to make sure we all get back safely, that is our responsibility.
"We will come back here and stand on this same ground as the winners. And we will look at one another and know that no one carried all the weight, that no one person contributed more than the others. We are all going to support each other, that is our responsibility.
"No one amongst us has to be perfect because we are all there for one another. Victory today is our responsibility.
"So we're going to go there, we're going to win the only way we can. We stand not as individuals. We stand together.
"Let's do this."
In Response to Kinguu's Question
About why Himawari doesn't stay behind to avoid her death
The twins prediction was that someone would return dead, but they didn't say who.
If Himawari didn't go it would just end up as someone else, and they would have no say in the matter.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to rasengan1245's Questions
About various subjects
Q: How old is Mito?
A: Assuming you mean the original Mito, probably in her thirties
A: Assuming you mean Naruto's sister, since chapter 206
Q: What battle classes are the other Hokage at?
A: The classes I have currently stated are as follows: Hashirama (8), Minato (6), Tsunade (6), Naruto (8)
Q: Would the Dark Dimension's Empress' Crown boost Naruto a level
A: I don't think it would given his current powers, but I would have to check the rules
Q: How old is Sasuke?
A: It's difficult to say exactly because of the time-travel dynamics, but roughly he's in his mid to late twenties
Q: Can the people in Homeworld use chakra?
A: Only those born in a pocket-world
Q: Is there an equivalent to bloodline limits?
A: Not that I have written about
Thanks for reading.