THE FOUNDRY – DESTROYING THE FOUNDRY
The Foundry, Upper Levels
"Naruto, if this is the end, make sure you hit him with everything you've got," Kurama says.
"Don't worry, I intend to."
Naruto powers-up his leg, launching himself at King Erik as fast as he can, perhaps going faster than any class 8 warrior can. He arrives before the king and throws a punch across the king's body, powering-up his arm as he does so.
The king dodges this first punch with ease. Even with his divine oddity Naruto cannot keep up with him. The difference between each battle class is greater than the last, naturally class 9s are much more powerful. This doesn't trouble Naruto; he has no intention of stopping with one punch. He powers-up his left hand this time, trying a jab towards Erik which the king cleverly sidesteps. He still isn't stopping, this time powering-up his leg and swinging it towards his opponent's head in an enormous sweeping arch.
Erik catches Naruto's leg effortlessly before giving him a simple backward push. The 7th Hokage falls backwards onto his back.
Erik reaches behind himself, grabbing the wrist of a previously undetected assailant, Boruto using his Death Mask divine oddity. Tightening his wrist causes the rasengan the Shadow Hokage prepared to disappear. Next, he swings the shinobi over the top of his head before slamming him down into his father.
With one big kick, the king pushes back both Uzumakis. At this point a lesser warrior would accept a break in combat, but he is not here to mess around. He uses his divine ability to create a barrier behind the two of them. He gestures towards himself, drawing the barrier back in his direction and dragging the father-son duo along with it. A mass of golden and lime-green 'cosmic' energy appears between his hands, so much energy that the two shinobi couldn't possibly withstand it.
Naruto creates a mass of clones on his right before powering-up his leg and using them as a launch pad. He fires himself left, along the barrier, and grabs his son to drag him away from the barrier and out of Erik's firing line.
The moment the golden 'cosmic' energy connects with the barrier they realise what they are up against. The barrier shatters into tiny pieces. The One True Sense helped Naruto to gauge just how strong that barrier was, there is no way he could have broken through it, not even with his divine oddity, that is why he needed to get the two of them out of the way.
This is not a battle for victory, this is a battle for survival.
Naruto searches his many experiences for ideas, but nothing comes back. He has fought against strong opponents before; he has hit people believed to be untouchable but only with the help of countless people. Now he and Boruto are fighting alone against an opponent far more experienced than they are.
"Boruto, can you create a distraction—"
Naruto quickly puts up a shield of 'life' and 'fate' energy. Boruto joins his father, adding his own 'death' and 'fate' energy to the mix. A javelin of golden 'cosmic' energy collides against their shield. The instant of the collision all the energy detonates, throwing Naruto and Boruto off their feet and onto their backs.
The two of them quickly hop back up, expecting another attack. Boruto's mind is racing just like his father's. He doubts that his father has come up with a plan to win, but he knows he was about to ask for a distraction. He is more than happy to deliver that.
Boruto throws a series of kunai at Erik, relying on his old trick that has helped him many times in the past. Halfway to their target each of the kunai turns into a 'death' enhanced Rasengan.
Of course Erik thinks all of his opponents' attacks are slow, these Rasengan are no exception, they look like they are barely moving. He instantly spots all the openings in the attack, weaving through them effortlessly. He slips his shoulders to the left, shuffles his feet to the right and then bends to avoid another. He positions himself in the last opening, but he has made a mistake.
A Rasengan appears from nowhere, hitting him in the chest. This is an attack made purely of chakra, a class 3 attack at the strongest, so it doesn't hurt him at all, but it does stun him if only for a brief moment.
That brief moment is enough. Naruto creates a gigantic Rasen-Shuriken enhanced by 'life' energy above his head. In this unnatural arena where he cannot find inherent energy for the life-gathering rasengan, this is the most powerful attack he can do. He spins it above his head with both hands before throwing it forward with each of them.
Boruto knows this is as much power as his father can create right now, so he adds his own to the mix. Four more kunai, he throws them to the four quadrants of the Rasen-Shuriken before converting them to 'death' enhanced Rasengan. He then enlarges the four Rasengan, funnelling as much 'death' energy to them as he can.
Together this is the most powerful attack they can manage. They are sure that this will be enough to challenge a class 9 warrior, and they are right. The power of this attack is indeed enough to bother a class 9 warrior, but they have overlooked something. The royals are not just warriors with that quality of power, they have added skills and talents to the repertoire all their lives.
Erik creates a barrier in front of him. When the enormous attack clashes into the barrier he feels an unusual amount of pressure in his direction, more than he expected from these two. Together they may be able to rival Head General Safura in a few years. However, to challenge a royal with this kind of power is a fantasy.
Their combined attack breaks through the barrier. They are elated, it seems like their combined attack may be enough to win. But it isn't. The second it breaks through the barrier, their attack disappears. They are staggered when they see something that should have been obvious. Erik has simply used a second barrier.
Effortless! That is the best way to describe the royal's systematic destruction of their most powerful weapon. The gap between them is too great.
Outside the Hertz Compound
Once more!
Once more Swen throws an enormous chunk of earth in Ming Dai's direction. Ming Dai brings all of his 'strength' energy to the surface, pushing as hard as he can against the projectile in hopes of saving some of the people in the compound. He isn't so lucky though, once more he is forced to step out the way.
Ming Dai wipes the sweat from his brow before shaking his head. He glances back at the compound and sees the destruction his father is causing. This can't be allowed to continue; he must find a way to stop this onslaught. Only he can do it, if he asked someone stronger for help his father would surely use his full power and things would take a turn for the worse.
There is a way to improve his counter to this attack. Whether it will make a difference or not is a long shot but at this point he must try something. He waits for the earth to appear in the distance again, surrounded by pink 'psychic' energy, and he stands prepared to stop it.
The chunk of earth is hurled towards him just as fast as before.
'Lightning' energy suddenly ignites inside Dai's body, flowing from his inner world to the tips of his fingers. He blasts this 'lightning' energy at the chunk of rocks, a flash accompanied by a thunderbolt. Naturally, 'lightning' is weaker than 'strength' energy, however it does work at greater ranges. This has not stopped the chunk of earth, but it might have slowed it down just a bit.
When the chunk of earth arrives before him again Ming Dai raises his hands and pushes against it. He digs his feet into the ground and pushes as hard as he can. He can feel that the momentum of the rock has been lessened slightly by the 'lightning' from before. He dares to hope for a couple of seconds that he may be able to stop it.
But he cannot stop it!
Again, Ming Dai is forced to step aside and let the projectile fly into the Hertz Compound, destroying yet more of the famous buildings. This ground is normally protected by King Hertz Erik, anyone else wouldn't dare to damage it, they would fear a terrible retribution. His father is an exception. Nadia and Swen cooperate the most of any two royals and have always come to one another's aid, they are not afraid of Erik.
"Looks like you're really struggling."
Ming Dai looks around and sees that Shao Chin is sat beside him. The hunter may have been watching for some time now, Dai cannot be certain.
"If you use your 'gale' powers to help slow it down more, I may be able to stop it," Ming Dai says.
"I have no intention of stopping him."
Ming Dai instantly suspects the worse. Shao Chin was sent after them in the first place by Emperor Furst, perhaps his allegiance hasn't changed despite his words.
"Are you still with them?" Dai asks.
"No. I am here with you. I told you, before didn't I? I want to see your true powers someday. Right now you're not doing enough to stop the King's attack, it's time to change that. Bring everything to the surface, fight using your full strength."
"I can't use those powers. Not here. Not now. I can't!"
Shao Chin watches as Ming Dai makes another attempt at stopping the earth flying in his direction. Before now Dai's attempts had been getting slightly better each time, but this time was worse, much worse. Whether because of Ming Dai's reservations or because of King Swen's ferocity is unknown, but the consequences for the compound are only increasing with each failed attempt.
Shao Chin sighs. "Listen Ming Dai, your power interests me, I really want to see you fight with all that power at some point. That isn't the only reason I've been paying attention to you though, there is something more important at play. When I fought Naruto, I knew there was very little I could teach him. That isn't just because he defeated me unlike you, but because of something I saw in him.
"I've become good at analysing foes during battle. In my time as a hunter I've battled many members of the beast clan, learned to read all sorts of body language, and encountered many different applications of divine energy. The most important things can always be seen in the eyes though. You can tell if a hunter will be successful from the look in his eyes, you can determine their focus, their confidence levels, and their conviction.
"When I am hunting, I get this look in my eyes, I know it's there. It's a look that tells you I am going to succeed, that I am focused and confident. Hunting is what brings that look to my eyes. Meeting the pocket-worlders was quite a shock for me though because that look, that conviction comes so easily to them. For pocket-worlders, it is as if they are full of conviction every time they fight. Naruto is an outlier even among them, I don't think I've ever seen him without that look, I don't know how he does it.
"You are different though. I've never seen that look in your eye.
"I know that you and Naruto are sibling students of this world's greatest teacher. He is this big hero now who everyone is looking to. But, if Naruto fails then soon people will be looking to you, the other student of Muto Sora. There is nothing I can teach him, but I felt that I could teach you something, I felt that I could teach you how to get that look in your eyes."
"… how?" Ming Dai asks.
"Just close your eyes and listen to my voice," Shao Chin says. "Feel everything around you, feel the wind in the grass beneath your fight, feel the cold in the air and the heat of the sun. Empty your mind of all thoughts and only let my voice reach you.
"Now think of one word. What are you going to do here? You're going to stop his attacks! Stop. Stop. Stop!
"I want you to take one more breath of that cold air. When you exhale, you're going to make me hear that thought in your breath, you're going to think it so hard I can hear the thought bouncing around in your head.
"Now, you're going to open your eyes, and you're going to show King Swen your conviction. Do it Ming Dai. Do it!"
Ming Dai opens his eyes.
He can see the pink energy in the distance.
Shao Chin has set that word into his brain and it is repeating.
'Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!'
The earth begins to fly in Ming Dai's direction.
Divine energy begins to surge around Ming Dai like none that ever has before. In this moment his eyes are exactly as Shao Chin described. He is focused, he is confident, and he has conviction. His mind is so fixated on his task that he fails to realise what is happening around him. It is the final level of his training manual. He is becoming a class 8 warrior.
Dai places a single hand out in front of him and blocks the earth with it.
'You will stop!' he says in his mind.
The muscles in Dai's arm tense. He feels completely different, like there is no weight in the world anymore. This is the strongest he has ever felt.
He stops it!
But the look is still there in his eyes, and now it is accompanied by a different thought. It is an intense thought, rattling around in his brain. Focus. Confidence. Conviction.
'Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!'
Dai steps forward bending his arm slightly. Then he rotates his hips, generating as much power in them as he can before extending his arm. Not only has he stopped the chunk of earth that his father threw at him, but he is also throwing it back. He pushes as hard as he can and launches it at full speed.
Swen wasn't using his golden 'psychic' cloak, just a regular cloak. Functionally, this means he was only using class 8 energy when he threw those last few attacks. He launched the earth with telekinetic powers. But now it is being thrown back at him with 'strength' powers, by someone whose powers are designed for things like this. The speed of the counterattack is much greater than the initial attack.
Shao Chin grins.
Ming Dai has done it!
Nearby
Nadia starts clapping and cheering, this makes Swen rolls his eyes.
A class 8 warrior has just thrown a great weight of earth towards them. Anyone else would quite rightly be terrified, but he is the King of Gavaria after all. He waits a few moments for the earth to arrive before him again, then he activates his golden 'psychic' cloak. Swen holds up his palm and brings the projectile to a halt not an inch from him. With a twist of his hand he rotates it parallel to the ground and replaces it in the spot he lifted it from.
"Well, you played catch," Nadia says. "Do you want to keep going or shall we head home?"
"No, that's enough," Swen answers. "Let's go."
The Foundry, Upper Levels
Naruto powers-up his arm and strikes at Erik, but the king catches the punch.
Boruto uses the Death Mask to sneak up behind Erik and drive a rasengan towards his neck. Once again Erik intercepts a shinobi attack.
Erik flicks his wrist, slamming the two shinobi together once again. He follows this up by throwing a powerful strike towards Boruto. The blow is crippling, shattering bones all down the Shadow Hokage's right hand side.
Of course, Naruto is quick to protect his son. He grabs him and powers-up his leg to throw the two of them backwards. The 7th Hokage funnels 'life' energy through his hands to heal his son as quickly as possible, but it seems that it is too late. Erik has already leapt after them and will catch them in less than a second.
Boruto closes his eyes, accepting that he will at least have spent his last moment fighting alongside his father. Naruto is not in such an accepting mood though. He creates a legion of clones between himself and Erik to slow the king down, just for a moment.
"The mask," Naruto whispers to Boruto.
When Erik breaks through each of the clones, the Uzumaki's plan becomes apparent. It is simple, Boruto once told Naruto that hiding somebody else would be very difficult with the Death Mask if they were to move around. Naruto has no intention of moving. The two Uzumakis are standing perfectly still, giving themselves just a few more seconds to spare as Erik searches for them.
Those few seconds are enough.
An enormous explosion rocks the central spire of the Foundry.
One doesn't need the One True Sense to work out what just happened. Hashirama and Tsunade, Himawari and Sakura, and Hannah, they just did it. They attacked the core with perfect timing, resulting in a massive explosion.
The shaking of the Foundry confirms something unthinkable to Erik. The Foundry is falling apart. This place has stood unharmed ever since Furst Jonas created it. It had the most thorough security measures available to them, it is even located in another realm so that people cannot access it. But these pocket-worlders journeyed through the void and distracted him for enough time to destroy the Foundry.
They've got him!
The core has been destroyed!
The Foundry is disintegrating!
The king knows that this place will be gone in a few minutes. He looks around desperately for any sign of the two Uzumakis, hoping to at least present his superior news of their demise. He cannot find them though, they are remaining perfectly still and are hidden by the ultimate stealth technique, one which makes you want to look away!
"You idiots!" he screams into the air. "This place, it's power, it's just a drop in the ocean to the empire! We royals are the true power! I am the true power! All you have achieved here is spitting in our faces. If you make it back to Homeworld we will find you, and we will crush you and the rebellion! Do you hear me, Uzumaki Naruto, this is the end for you!"
"Naruto, there's no time left, we have to go now!" Kurama tells his host.
Naruto realising they still need to avoid detection comes up with a characteristically dangerous plan. He powers-up his leg, announcing his and Boruto's location to Erik. But he launches the two of them in completely the opposite direction to the king. He launches himself off the edge of the platform, letting gravity carry himself and Boruto down the outside of the Foundry at great speed.
Erik runs over and looks down. He has no time to pursue them. He uses his key to open the portal and leaves the Foundry immediately, sending Naruto and Boruto to almost certain destruction.
Naruto heals Boruto even as they fall until the Shadow Hokage yells at his father to save his energy. Naruto is relieved to see that Boruto is fine now. Indeed, Boruto is the one who saves them from this predicament. He uses some wire as a makeshift rope, threading it through a kunai and then throwing that onto the platform where the others are waiting. He grabs his father's wrist and heaves the two of them up onto that platform.
The others stand ready on the vehicle and Sasuke even lifts it a short way off the platform with his 'spacetime' powers. Just keeping it grounded is dangerous at the moment, the Foundry is likely to collapse at any second.
Naruto and Boruto run towards the vehicle, but Boruto falls as he tries to run on his right leg, showing Naruto that he wasn't doing as well as he said.
Naruto grabs his son and lifts him onto his shoulders. He runs for the vehicle as quickly as he can. The platform above begins to crumble, pieces falling down on them like hail. It is only due to his shinobi versatility and the One True Sense that Naruto is able to avoid them all.
When he gets near to the edge of the platform, Naruto realises just how far away Sasuke needed to position the vehicle. It's a big jump. He has one use of his divine oddity, so he powers up his arm and throws Boruto onto the vehicle with all the strength he has. He watches Boruto land clumsily on the vehicle and breathes a sigh of relief, now he only needs to get there himself.
Naruto leaps towards the vehicle, stretching out with his fingertips.
He is not going to make it! Sasuke realises this, but it is too late for him to move the vehicle closer, Naruto is going to fall!
Naruto sees someone standing on the edge of the vehicle, but when he sees who it is, he hears the voices of everyone who second guessed his decisions.
It is Hashirama!
What if everyone who doubted Hashirama was right? What if Hashirama doesn't let him get back on the vehicle, there would be nobody who could stop him, there would be no point in stopping him. The 1st Hokage could claim it was an accident and try to take over the shinobi side of the rebellion. If Hashirama lets him fall, it would mean that one person died during the mission to destroy the Foundry!
Boruto looks back with his Tenseigan and sees his father fall below the bottom of the vehicle.
Then he sees Hashirama drag him back up!
Naruto was right to trust Hashirama. The 1st Hokage just saved his life!
"We've got to get out of here now!" Hashirama says as he drags Naruto up.
Sakura looks at Naruto. The Hokage looks absolutely shattered. The fight against Erik clearly took a toll on him, both emotional and physical. She worries that he only has so much energy left to contribute. If he is going to bring Himawari back from the dead is this going to be enough?
Sasuke moves them gently towards the edge of this realm, knowing that they still need to execute the plan before leaving.
Sakura speaks up. "Naruto, do you still have enough energy left to—"
"I'm bringing her back Sakura, even if it kills me!"
It is not the reassuring answer that Sakura was looking for, but it is the one she will have to settle for. She stands ready to keep Himawari as close to a living state as she possibly can without bringing her back.
"Dad, if those goes wrong—" Himawari begins.
"It won't go wrong!"
"OK… I believe in you."
Boruto forces himself to his feet and looks into his sister's eyes. He witnesses her determination to go through with this plan. He has never been prouder of her than he is today. He waits for a nod from her and then executes their horrible plan.
Boruto floods Himawari's body with 'death' energy, minimising damage as much as he can.
Their plan to cheat death has begun.