THE FOUNDRY – THROUGH THE VOID
The Clearing, Near the Hertz Compound
Hashirama produces the vehicle from his pocket. It's a platform, made from a mystical wooden substance. As he wills it, the vehicle grows many times larger and floats a couple of feet above the ground. Hashirama has chosen the size wisely, just enough to fit all of them on but as small as possible to give Sasuke more control of it in this world. The vehicle will either carry them to the Foundry, or to their death. Today it may become the first known trans-dimensional cruiser.
Yuuki Terukatsu arrives with the leaders of the two wings in the War Council. Many other rebels and representatives of the council stand a long way behind them. They are clear of the danger zone on a small hill just outside the compound, the perfect spot to watch a piece of history from. Amongst those on the hill are Hinata, Mana, and Michel, the princess still muttering her prayers under her breath.
"Nobody has ever survived a journey like this before," Terukatsu says, "I want you to know that whatever may happen, I will ensure that you are remembered. This world has made your lives miserable in the past, and yet you have forgiven us, and you are risking your lives to protect us. No matter what happens, each and every one of you is a hero of Homeworld. I only hope that you can return to us with your lives."
Terukatsu and the leaders of the northern and southern wings retreat to the hill with the others, leaving the shinobi to depart into the void.
The Seer Twins arrive excitedly and stand next to Hinata to watch the departure. Mana questions why they need to watch if they can see the future, but they remind her they can only see a few details. Of course seeing the future only makes this event more intriguing to the two of them, they appreciate more than anyone else how important this mission to destroy the Foundry will be.
The shinobi stand on the vehicle, each assuming positions that Hashirama instructs them to. Specifically, he asks Tsunade and Sakura to stand to the sides of his vessel, Sasuke to stand to the rear, and he himself adopts the position in the centre. Everyone else need only stand out of the way for the moment, somewhere they think they won't get hurt.
"I'm going to bend space to move us forward," Sasuke says, "If we're going to break through into the void, we're going to have to move very fast. If any of us moved at this speed unprotected, we would die. I assume you have a way of protecting the vehicle?"
"I do," Hashirama reveals.
Hashirama activates his wood release powers. In an instant, the platform is encased in a thick protective layer of wood. Next, he activates his 'death' powers, pouring his divine energy into the casing to enhance it. Naruto sees his predecessor doing this constantly and suspects that the 1st Hokage has needed to master the regulation battle principle to do so.
A set of four branches emerge from the wooden casing. Those branches begin to morph, adopting a rope like shape except for the endings which are shaped into handles. These branches shift down the inside of the protective layer, placing themselves in front of Sakura and Tsunade. Hashirama tells the two of them to grab the handles and pull as tightly as they can, this will be the only way to hold the vehicle together as they move into the void.
Hashirama nods to Sasuke.
The vehicle is surrounded in a layer of Sasuke's viridian 'spacetime' energy. At first the energy carries the vessel forward slowly. Those who watch from the hill wonder if the vehicle is too heavy for Sasuke to move. Those inside, not having a view of the outside, wonder if they can't feel the true speed of the vehicle yet. In fact, Sasuke is simply starting to accelerate slowly so that the impact of bending space around them doesn't come as too much of a shock.
Then Sasuke begins to bend space.
One would hear gasps on the hill, if it were not the deafening roar of the vehicle tearing through the air. For most of them it is the fastest they have ever seen anything move. In less than a second the vehicle is gone from their view as it launches forward into the clearing.
Terukatsu takes a deep breath, hoping this isn't the last time he will see them.
The Seer Twins smile, watching with wonder as they try to piece together the details of the future they have seen.
Hinata lowers her head and whispers a final two words to her prayer.
From the inside the vehicle is shaking violently. For those just trying to keep out of the way, it is difficult to keep their feet grounded for more than half a second at a time. Naruto tries to call out to make sure Himawari is OK, but his voice is lost with the shaking of vehicle.
Tsunade and Sakura suspected that holding on would prove challenging when Hashirama asked them to do it. After all, physical strength is their forte and he wouldn't ask for help if he didn't need it. They didn't anticipate that the force trying to rip the hull apart would be so great. They are forced to pull so hard that the pain in their muscles is already overwhelming, they can only hope that the shaking subsides when they pass into the void, if they pass into the void.
Hannah looks at Sasuke hopefully as her instincts alert her to something alarming. They are about to reach the end of the clearing any second, and if they're not careful they'll crash into one of the desert dunes.
Sasuke is much too occupied to concern himself with Hannah's instincts now. He is waiting for a tiny tear between this world and the void. One tiny rip in space is all he is likely to get and it will take all his focus to push the entire vehicle through that tear. Unbeknownst to him, there are less than three seconds left, and still no rip in space.
But then it arrives! A tear in space!
Sasuke directs a surge of 'spacetime' energy through the front of the vessel, grabbing hold of that tear and stretching it wide open. Just as they were about to crash into the dune, he forces a gap between Homeworld and the void and navigates the ship through that gap.
A moment later they are finally able to relax a bit. The violent shaking has stopped, and they are not tearing through the air anymore. The force trying to rip apart the hull is still present, but to the relief of Sakura and Tsunade it has lessened. Hannah can no longer sense an impact with the dunes approaching.
There are many great sensors on this vehicle, but one doesn't require sensory prowess to know what just happened.
They just made it to the void!
"We're in the void," Sasuke says.
"Congratulations Uncle, that was incredible," Himawari says.
Boruto, having activated his Tenseigan, is already aware of the next problem though. Hannah has noticed it too, and as they begin to use their powers, Sasuke, Himawari and Naruto quickly follow suit.
The void is enormous, and they failed to properly consider what would happen when they broke free from Homeworld. There is nothing here, save for the dimension containing Homeworld just behind them. There is no sight of the Foundry or anything at all other than the place they just came from, just an eternal emptiness.
"I assume the Rinnegan isn't failing me?" Sasuke asks.
"No, I can't see anything with the Tenseigan either," Boruto answers. "There is nothing wrong with our eyesight, there is just nothing here to see."
"Someone will have to navigate, otherwise I can't take us to the Foundry."
"How are we supposed to do that if we can't see where we're going. We can't use a compass here, even someone with perfect senses will lose their sense of direction after a while. None of us are capable of navigating through this place, we'll have to come up with something else."
"We don't have to rely on our eyes," Naruto says.
"You can smell the Foundry?" Sasuke asks sarcastically.
"I'm not saying that. I can't find the Foundry; I can't find it at all. But I can feel Homeworld behind us, I can feel the draw of it, like gravity calling us back to it. Surely if we get close enough to the Foundry, I will start to sense that. We can use the One True Sense to get us there."
"We can only use the One True Sense to know that we are nearby," Boruto counters. "It's probably better than our eyesight alone, but fundamentally there is no difference. We can't find it."
"Then what do we do, just turn around? We've already risked our lives greatly just coming here. We can't get everyone's hopes up and do all this for nothing, we have to find some way of getting there."
"How do you suggest we do that?"
The vehicle goes quiet for the first time since it started moving. Even considering going through the void with this thing was out of the box, their subsequent plans to destroy it and to kill Himawari before returning were even more so. But no matter how much they search their brains for an answer nothing is coming to them. There seems to be no way to find the Foundry.
"We can't stay here forever," Sakura says, "Tsunade and I can only hold on for—"
"I'll guess," Hannah says.
"You'll guess?"
"That's ridiculous," Himawari adds.
Hannah continues. "Listen, I was made to have perfect instincts, if I listen to that voice in my head, as stupid as it sounds, we may actually find the Foundry."
"Nobody's instincts are that perfect," Sasuke says. "There are little tiny 'space' energy drifts in this place, I doubt any of you can detect them, but I can. Given how far we can see between us, we know the Foundry must be at least that distance away. Those drifts can turn us around completely and we would never even realise it had happened. This is more than a guessing game, more than can be handled on instinct alone."
"It is a guessing game, it's just harder to win than most," Hannah counters.
"This isn't a million-to-one guessing game that perfect instinct will let us win. This is more like a trillion-to-one guess. Something will set us on the wrong path, even something as little as a sneeze could make me head one degree to the left. It's not a matter of instinct, you won't be able to perceive the difference."
Silence descends on them once again as they all think of a solution. Naruto can play his part, Hannah can plays hers too, but even then, it will not be enough. Boruto and Himawari know that they are the only ones left with the freedom to act, if someone is going to do something it will have to be one of them. Fortunately, Boruto may be the best man for the job in this situation.
"All you need is a bit of luck on your side," Boruto says, "I can manipulate 'fate' energy. Dad and I have been training like this for a while now. If I help you out, we may get lucky and your mistakes may all cancel each other out."
"If you're not lucky we'll venture into the void and never find our way back," Hashirama says, "Are you sure that you can—"
"We haven't come this far for nothing!" Boruto insists, "It's alright, we already agreed to risk everything, this is just one more risk to take. We will risk everything, but if we pull through, we win!"
Sasuke, Hashirama and Naruto share nods with one another. Hannah begins to call out bearings for Sasuke to follow as Boruto uses 'fate' energy to boost her luck. All the while the 7th Hokage focuses on using the One True Sense. For the first 30 seconds he feels Homeworld moving away behind him. Then for the next two minutes he feels nothing but the void. Tsunade and Sakura look over their shoulders anxiously at him.
Finally, luck seems to be on their side.
"10 degrees, and slow down a bit," Hannah tells Sasuke.
"I feel it!" Naruto shouts, his eyes widening. "Exactly where Hannah said to go. I can feel an end to the void. There is something there!"
Himawari being the only one left with any freedom activates sage mode and her byakugan, maximising her sensory prowess as much as she can. A few seconds later she confirms to the others that Hannah has kept her word. The Foundry is finally in sight!
"Everyone hold on," Sasuke says.
He understands the mechanics of space and time in a way the others don't. What they don't realise is that breaking into a different realm will be far more violent than breaking out. Hashirama's reinforcement of the hull, Tsunade and Sakura's ability to hold the protective casing together, his ability to decelerate, this is where they are going to be truly tested.
"Naruto, you need to give me a countdown to the approach. Let's hope that this doesn't rip us apart."
"10… 9… 7… 8…"
Hannah removes her hand from the hull, feeling the heat building up on the outside. Perhaps it is odd particles from the world they are about to break into, but they are brushing against something, generating tremendous amounts of heat in doing so.
"6… 5… 4…"
The deafening roar from before returns, as does the violent shaking. Everyone adopts a wide stance to try and stay on their feet, but other than Hannah nobody has much luck. Meanwhile Naruto does his best to shout over the roar, hoping that Sasuke will at least be able to read his lips.
"3… 2… 1…"
There is a massive explosion of noise the moment Sasuke forces them through a gap in space and into the pocket dimension containing the Foundry. Everyone is forced from their feet and onto the ground, except for Sasuke. Naruto throws himself behind his falling friend to keep the Uchiha upright, knowing that their survival depends on his ability to stop the vehicle.
Sasuke steadies them.
The protective wooden casing around the vehicle is ripped away, leaving them exposed for one very painful moment. Hashirama is just barely able to use his wood release to stop it getting too far away while Sakura and Tsunade grab the handles he provided them and pull it back to protect them.
"We've made it!" Naruto shouts.
But they are still moving at tremendous speed. The Foundry is a floating industrial building suspended in space. There is no need for walls but landing on it at this speed is going to be practically impossible. Right now they are not heading for a landing, they are heading for a crash.
"You have to slow down!" Himawari yells to Sasuke.
Sasuke summons all the energy he has in his body, holding absolutely nothing back as he focuses on slowing them down. He identifies one of the lower floors that it would be safest to land on, but as they approach, they are still going too fast. There is no time for him to think of other solutions, that falls to others.
With their approach now slowed, even just a little bit, Sakura decides to release the protective casing. She runs to the front of the vehicle and braces for impact, placing herself in the riskiest position available.
As the vehicle lands on the low floor of the Foundry, Sakura quickly plants her feet on the ground and lifts the platform to prevent it disintegrating. That is not the end of their troubles, on their current course the vehicle looks like it is going to fly straight off the end of the floor. If it falls to somewhere and they can't retrieve it, there will be way back from them.
The fastest to react in this situation, Hannah bellows an instruction for the others to disembark. Everyone does, with the exception of Sakura and Sasuke who work in tandem to try and slow the vehicle, their only way of leaving this place.
The distance to the edge shortens.
100 meters… 80 meters… 60 meters….
Naruto uses his divine oddity, working together with Kurama he powers-up his leg and fires himself towards the still speeding vehicle. Just about catching up, he grabs the rear of the platform. He manifests two enormous hands with Kurama's chakra and grabs hold as tightly as he can.
Naruto uses his divine oddity once more, powering-up his leg to pull backwards with more force.
40 meters… 20 meters… 10 meters…
Sakura pushing with her 'strength' energy. Sasuke adding an opposing force with his 'spacetime' energy. Naruto dragging with his divine oddity and his 'life' energy. Together team 7 finally brings the vehicle to a stop!
Sakura's feet are half hanging over the edge of the floor, less than 1 meter further and they would have lost the vehicle.
Naruto can feel everything with the One True Sense. He can feel the structure of this place. There are several floors joined by one central spire and by several staircases and ramps scattered about the place. Each of the floors in itself is an almost perfect circle, created from an ultra-strong material similar to what he saw during his time in Okarin. The air is thin and there is a burning smell in the air, accompanied by the sound of machinery.
None of that is really getting through to Naruto's mind now though, because he is overwhelmed by one thing. Euphoria.
Naruto lets out a victorious deep roar. He is quickly joined by the others. Even his calm and measured Shadow Hokage joins in. This improbable team of shinobi from different times with different motivations has just done the impossible, something that everyone put past them.
They have made it to the Foundry!
In Response to griffinhunter74's Question
Asking if a Rasengan could be made from pure divine energy
I don't think so, I think a Rasengan fundamentally needs to use chakra.
Even if you disregarded that technicality, divine energy is much harder to control than chakra.
Using the Rasengan is difficult because of the way you need to manipulate chakra.
Furst is probably the only person who can control divine energy with such precision.
Thanks for reading.