THE FOUNDRY – THE AGONIZING VICTORY
Aboard the Vehicle
Sasuke prepares to push the vehicle through the void. However, Sakura is occupied keeping Himawari safe. This leaves a vacancy on one side of the vehicle. Someone strong needs to anchor the wooden casing to the vehicle. There are only two people available, Hannah and Boruto, neither of them are in the best condition. Thankfully, Hannah and Boruto don't need a prompt. They run over to the side of the vehicle that Sakura was holding together. Hashirama creates an additional wooden anchor for one of them to take and the two of them take hold of them tightly. There is nobody left without a job.
Sasuke doesn't speak another word. Now is the time, they are entering the void again as quickly as possible. He propels them forwards with 'spacetime' energy, moving the vehicle faster than any of them could endure without the protective casing. Boruto and Hannah dig in their heals, feeling a much greater strain than Tsunade who specialises in strength. They have to bear with it for a few more seconds. The shaking is getting more and more intense and the Shadow 7th Hokage is focusing on the space in front of the ship, looking for a tiny opening to exploit.
The opening arrives and Sasuke drives them through the gap between worlds, he pushes them into the void.
Naruto who is kneeling beside his daughter and Sakura is drenched in sweat at this point, but he needs to keep going if they are going to get through this. Boruto is in an even worse condition than he is, so helping Hannah navigate the void with 'fate' energy falls to him this time. He circulates 'fate' energy around his body before directing it towards Hannah.
Through grinding teeth Sasuke can just about hear Hannah's occasional directions. The warrior with the perfect instinct calls out bearings to the nearest degree, giving very precise directions and times to match Sasuke's speed. She is struggling to hold the vehicle's protective casing together, but she understands they need to be even quicker this time than last time. Himawari needs them to go fast.
Sakura would rebuke Naruto for throwing his energy around so carelessly if she weren't focusing herself. 'Healing' energy is not as versatile as 'life' energy. She is minimising any damage that should naturally be happening to Himawari's body. Her focus is particularly on the brain, work that requires a touch both delicate and exact. This is where her skills are superior to Naruto's, her medical knowledge lets her act with a precision that he cannot.
Hannah's directions continue for several minutes longer before Naruto begins to feel an enormous draw from ahead with the One True Sense. He can feel Homeworld just in front of them. He yells out to Sasuke that it is just ahead and Sasuke tells them all to hang on. This is the one last hurdle for the Shadow Hokage; take them home and leave everything else to Naruto.
Sasuke finds an opening. Going into a realm from the void is much more difficult than leaving. This is it. He finds the tiny gap between Homeworld and the void and tears it open. He forces the vehicle through. The deafening roar starts again, and the protective wooden casing begins to pull away from the vehicle harder than ever.
A shooting pain hurts Boruto who accidentally releases the handle he was using to anchor the casing to the vehicle.
Hashirama watches the casing falling away from the vehicle knowing that he can't do anything. Only one man can, a man already demonstrating superhuman endurance just to get this far. Naruto shoots himself towards the handle with his divine oddity. He holds it in place for a second and then power-up his arm, using his divine oddity a second time to pull the protective casing back into position.
"Dad, you can't—" Boruto begins as he fails to force himself to his feet.
The Uzumakis words are lost to the roaring of the vehicle as Sasuke pushes it through the void. When Boruto catches his father's eye he sees what he always sees, conviction. Naruto is going to get them all through this no matter how much of a toll it takes on himself. He will find a way, he is the 7th Hokage, he is their Hokage.
Sasuke is running low on energy himself. If he were being reasonable, he would say he doesn't have enough energy to get them back to Homeworld. Opening a gap between void and Homeworld is putting a tremendous pressure on him. But he can see how hard his best friend is working to get them home safely. If it is the last thing he does he is going to take them back to Homeworld.
Sasuke lets out a primal roar, lost to the sound of the vehicle crossing the barrier between worlds. With very low reserves of energy left he manages it! Sasuke lets go, leaving the vehicle tumbling towards the ground on autopilot. He has nothing left to give, barely any energy left, but he has done the impossible. He has flown them through the void and brought them back again!
They slow as the air resistance pushes back against the vehicle. After two seconds they feel a tremendous heat pushing against the outer casing. The 1st Hokage monitors their speed, waiting for the moment when they have slowed enough to endure the pressure unprotected. When the moment arrives Hashirama shouts to Tsunade, Hannah and Naruto to let the outer casing go.
The outer casing is released and four more seconds pass before the vehicle crashes down in the opening that it left from, throwing the occupants into the air, scattering them on the ground all around.
The Hill Overlooking the Clearing, Outside the Hertz Compound
A massive cheer erupts from the hill. The rebels can't believe it, they've never seen anything like this before. Truthfully nobody has seen anything like this before, it hasn't happened. Homeworld's most famous experts have tried and failed to journey through the void. They had the odds stacked against them by the Imperial Guard, even by the royals and they succeeded, nonetheless. They are back.
Hinata doesn't have time to celebrate though. While the others cheer, she immediately rushes down into the clearing. She needs to know what has happened to her daughter. She rushes down and looks over the scattered survivors until she finds Himawari, who hasn't been brought back yet. She activates her Byakugan and looks at the others, they are all alive, but only one of them is vital right now.
The Clearing, Outside the Hertz Compound
Hinata runs to Naruto who is unconscious.
"Hey Naruto, wake up!"
The princess takes hold of Naruto's arms and drags him along the ground towards their daughter.
"Come on, wake up!" Hinata says. "Come on! Everyone's back, you did what you said! Just one more! Just bring Himawari back and you will have kept your word! Isn't that what your ninja way is, never going back on your word! So wake up! Wake up!
"Wake up!"
Hinata feels a squeeze on her wrist. She hears the weak sounds of his breath. He is awake!
She drags him over to Himawari and place his hand on her heart.
"Come on Naruto!" Kurama begs from Naruto's inner world. "You're almost there. Show them what you've known all along. Show them that if you work together that you can do this! Just do it Naruto! Find the energy from somewhere in this tablet. Save her Naruto. Do it!"
A small amount of white translucent energy leaves Naruto's hand, entering Himawari's body. 'Life' energy. The 7th Hokage can barely breathe. He has endured more than anyone could ever ask of him and he is still going. This is all he can manage; he has never felt so empty of divine energy. Just to get them this far he has helped navigate the void twice, fought a royal, held the vehicle together and saved his son on multiple occasions.
The 'life' energy stops. Naruto cannot physically draw anymore. He closes his eyes and begs to whoever might be listening. He begs that this will work.
The others all make it to their feet and limp over to the Uzumaki family. They are all praying for the same thing. They pray to whoever is listening, just for Himawari to live. The word echoes around in their brain again and again, live!
Then she gasps!
Himawari breathes!
Hinata falls to her knees before hugging her daughter tightly. It is not considered dignified for someone in her position to cry in public, but she can't help it. This is unbelievable. This crazy fool that her uncle taught who is constantly coming up with high risk plans has actually done what he set out to do. This was not her mother, her uncle or Yuuki Terukatsu. This was not one of Homeworld's big names who carried this plan out, this was Uzumaki Naruto and the other pocket-worlders. They have achieved the biggest victory over the empire since Furst Jonas took the throne.
Hinata raises her arm and gives a thumbs-up to those watching from the hill above. When Mana tells them that means everyone lived the cheer erupts once again. This isn't just the greatest victory for the rebellion, this is a total victory. Not one person has died in this incredibly risky mission. It fills them all with a sense of joy, if they can do this impossible mission what's to say they can't do it again. For the first time some of them are daring to dream that victory may be possible in this war, they make actually defeat Furst!
When Hinata eventually stops hugging Himawari, Boruto helps his sister to her feet before embracing her tightly. When he saw his father take over from him in holding the vehicle together, he thought it was over, that the 7th Hokage would expend too much energy. He should never have doubted him, nobody should ever have doubted him. There is no question in his mind or in the mind of anyone else, Naruto is exactly who the rebellion has always needed.
Hinata sits Naruto up before hugging him. She hasn't felt comfortable with him since she met him. There has always been awkwardness brought on by their former life for her. The fact that Naruto knows her so well and that she doesn't know him at all makes her hesitant, there is a closeness between them that is invisible to her. For now she doesn't care who he was in the past. She cares that he is the man who just saved her daughter's life. No matter what the future holds for the two of them, she will always be grateful to him for that.
This is the high point of the rebellion!
This is the point at which disaster strikes!
Naruto doesn't see what happens at first, his eyes just scan the area in front of him as he watches the others react with shock. He sees Sakura slowly falling towards the ground, her head snapped back, and her body surrounded in a grey wispy energy. It is 'death' energy, she has been hit with 'death' energy!
He looks first to Tsunade, the only one who would want to do that, but it wasn't her.
Next Naruto looks to Hashirama, the man who might have been hiding his true intentions, but it wasn't him.
Then Boruto is the focus of Naruto's attention, but he looks just as surprised as his father, still clutching at his injury.
It can only be one other person!
Looking down at her hands, horrified with what she just did is the recently resuscitated perpetrator of this heinous attack on an ally. It was Uzumaki Himawari!
Himawari attacked Sakura!
For just an instant the Hive Mind took control of Himawari!
Naruto looks to Sasuke. He tries to say something, but his voice fails him. He wishes he could find the words to keep his best friend calm. The others might have recovered some energy, but he is so totally drained of it he has no hope of containing the situation if the others lash out. But as he sees Sasuke's fists clench he knows that the perfect victory has just disappeared from in front of them. If they are not careful this may turn into a dramatic defeat.
They all know a fight is about to break out!
Hinata quickly reaches for the Sacred Sword.
Tsunade saw Hinata's intention to get involved before the Endou Princess reached for her sword. She steps over to Hinata with a quick two steps and strikes her as hard as she can. Hinata's battle class is greater than Tsunade's, but the 5th Hokage is unusually strong, and in this battle a momentary distraction may make all the difference. As the princess falls to the ground Tsunade immediately moves after her, trying anything to make it more difficult for her to get back to her feet.
Sasuke draws his sword and swings it towards Himawari, who is still paralysed by the shock of her own involuntary actions.
Naruto tries to yell Sasuke's name, but his voice is still failing him. He can only watch as his best friend attacks his daughter from the future. He cannot stop it.
Hashirama, knowing that Himawari wasn't acting of her own free will, steps into Sasuke's path, absorbing the strike from the Uchiha's sword with his Sacred Armor.
'That wasn't Himawari, that was the Hive Mind,' Hashirama realises.
It was a moment of weakness from him, a moment where he should have been vigilant. That single moment of relaxation was enough of an opening for the Hive Mind to reap chaos. The Hive Mind controlled Himawari's actions as a revived Sage Mode user for just a moment, giving her access to the element of 'death' for just that moment. Himawari's attack on Sakura is his fault, and now it is going to undermine everything they were working for.
His first attack not reaching the target, Sasuke pulls back his sword and attacks again. He doesn't care if Hashirama has a special defensive artifact, that won't stop him. If Hashirama is defending Himawari then he assumes that he is responsible for the attack on Sakura. His odds have gone down, but he pays no attention to this, he is not his usual calm self, he is fighting because of rage.
Hashirama closes his eyes, accepting that he is responsible for this. If Sasuke wishes to strike him down, then the 1st Hokage is willing to accept that fate.
Sasuke uses his 'spacetime' powers to initially slow down his fist and then speed it up, magnifying the power of his attack many times as he punches Hashirama in the chest. This pushes Hashirama onto his back. Sasuke then steps above him, sword raised in the air, then pushes his sword down towards a gap in the 1st Hokage's armor.
Himawari hasn't got long to react, to think through what just happened. However, she knows that her free will has returned. Clearly the Hive Mind's control of her was only momentary and it wasn't Hashirama's intention. She gathers the three elements she has retained, focusing them on her hand and slaps Sasuke's sword to the side, saving Hashirama who had resigned himself to his fate. Then she kicks Sasuke in the chest, driving him back a couple of steps. This is a fight for survival now, she knows this.
Sasuke prepares to attack with his sword again. This time Hashirama will not stop him as he moves to attack Himawari.
Naruto's voice finally returns to him.
"Hannah!" he shouts, pointing at Sasuke.
Hannah leaps between Sasuke and her teacher's daughter, striking the Shadow 7th Hokage with a powerful palm to the chest. She drives him back several steps and forces him to release his sword before executing a smooth-flowing series of strikes, seemingly the only person fighting with her usual calmness as this carnage deepens around them.
Boruto is of similar mind to his father. Everyone else is fighting over who must die but he is just praying for a miraculous way out of this, a way where none of them have to die. That's when he sees that his mother has got the upper hand against Tsunade.
Hinata kicks Tsunade back away and then leaps straight up onto her feet. She grabs the Sacred Sword and swings it towards Tsunade who is driven not by a sense of self-preservation, but by her unwavering loyalty to the Hive Mind's host. If Tsunade dies here, then she would die gladly as a servant of that divine ability. That is not what anyone else wants.
Boruto musters what is left of his energy and grabs a kunai. He throws it between Hinata and Tsunade, converting it into a rasengan mid-flight to make the two of them flinch. As the two warriors are stunned, they back off for a moment, that gives the Shadow 9th Hokage just enough time to act.
"Hashirama!" Boruto shouts, "Save Tsunade."
Hashirama's eyes snap open. That's right. Boruto is right. He is willing to resign himself to whatever fate awaits him after all this, but as far as he is concerned Tsunade is innocent. If he moves to the other side and something happens to her, he will never be able to look Mito in the eye, so he must act. He quickly leaps to his feet and runs over to the fighting duo. He draws on all his shinobi skills to strike Tsunade quickly and then Hinata multiple times. He forces Tsunade to stop fighting for a moment and prevents Hinata from killing his granddaughter.
As Hannah is about to reach Sasuke, the Uchiha believes he has found a way to outmanoeuvre her instincts. He waits until she is just about to reach him and then swaps places with the sword he dropped just a moment ago. Hannah is barely avoids falling onto the sword, saved only by her supreme ability to see through her opponent's intentions. Sasuke doesn't care though, he only cares that he is moving to attack Himawari again.
"Sasuke!" Naruto yells.
Then a hand grabs Sasuke by the back of the collar and wrestles him to the ground. Naruto looks around and sees that Hashirama and Hinata are being separated as well. It is Ming Dai who is wrestling Sasuke to the ground, and he has brought the leaders of the War Council with him to separate the others.
Naruto breathes a sigh of relief as Ming Dai pins Sasuke down and brings the fight to a stop.
"Let's all calm down!" Ming Dai says loudly.
Dai repeats the phrase several times. He waits for everyone's pulse to slow, for Sasuke's rage to dissipate, for Hinata's anxiety to decrease, for Himawari to regain herself, for Hashirama to relax and for Tsunade to stop fighting. Ming Dai was hoping to come here and celebrate with his friends, but it looks like this will be something very different.
Naruto is still upset even after Dai has calmed the others down.
"Naruto! What are you waiting for!" Sasuke asks. "Save her! Save her you idiot! Don't just sit there and wait, save Sakura!"
"Sasuke, he can't even move anymore," Boruto says.
"Then drag him! Do it!"
Boruto shouldn't be doing work like this now, he should be resting, he fought King Erik only a few minutes ago. He does it, nonetheless. With what little energy he has left in his body he walks over to his father and takes him by the wrist, dragging him over to Sakura who is conscious but barely breathing.
Boruto places his father's hand on Sakura's heart and steps back, hoping for one more miracle. All this time everyone insisted that Naruto didn't have to be perfect while he placed that pressure on himself. Now the Shadow 9th Hokage is forced to look at the present situation and concede that they were wrong. Only his father can remedy this situation, but they are requesting perfection from him.
Perfection is not forthcoming.
"Come on! Come on. Come on." Naruto repeats the mantra to himself, but he has no divine energy left.
Sakura tries to heal herself with her 'healing' energy, but it doesn't work. Only Naruto can combat 'death' energy when it is all throughout the body in this way, and he cannot do it. There is nothing left for him to give.
"It's OK," Sakura whispers to Naruto. "It's OK Naruto… I don't regret anything… it's… it's been an honour… Lord 7th… Uzumaki Naruto… my greatest honour… to fight with you… it's OK… this isn't your fault… it's OK… it's OK…"
With no effort spared, having heard the final words from his friend, Naruto faints.
Dai finally releases his grip on Sasuke and the Shadow 7th Hokage immediately gets up. He runs to his Hokage's side and grabs him by his jacket, lifting the unconscious Naruto. He shouts into Naruto's face, despite knowing the Hokage won't be able to hear him.
"Hey! Wake up you fool! Get up Naruto! You have to save her! This is no time to be sleeping! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
"Sasuke," Boruto says, placing a comforting hand on his back. "This isn't helping anyone. You should be with her now, at the end—"
"This is your fault," Sasuke says as he drops Naruto and turns to Boruto. "You allowed us to go ahead with this stupid plan and with these stupid ideas, you of all people should know better. You should have finished Hashirama when you had the chance! This is your fault! But it's not you who suffers because of it! Your sister doesn't suffer, neither of your parents suffer! It's Sakura! It's Sakura!"
Hinata slaps Sasuke.
"Calm down," she says to him. "You can shout at us later. Right now you need to be with her."
Hinata's words bring reality into focus for Sasuke. He looks back over his shoulder at his wife and his rage vanishes, replaced only by sadness. He nods and walks over to her side before kneeling next to her. He lifts her gently and holds her in his arms, knowing that this will be the last chance the two of them will have to be together.
The others leave, giving them some privacy, each to cope with this agonising defeat in their own way.
"Hi," Sasuke says.
Sakura chuckles. "Hello."
"Is there… uh… is there any way I can make you more comfortable."
"No… I'm comfortable… thanks," Sakura says, her voice growing quieter.
"I… I really don't know what to say."
"Sasuke… this wasn't your fault. You… you have to get past this…"
"No I—"
"Promise me… you'll find our daughter… find Sarada… and keep going."
"I promise, Sakura. I promise."
Nearby, Outside the Hertz Compound
Hashirama stands and looks back in the direction he came from. He was unable to fight when the military sent the future-Sasuke against the Hidden Leaf because he was injured. Now he wonders if he is responsible not just for one but both Sakuras' deaths.
The 1st Hokage stands with Tsunade and Mitsuki at his side, the latter doing his best to comfort him.
Yuuki Terukatsu approaches them.
"You know I have no choice," Terukatsu says.
"I know."
"Hashirama. Tsunade. Mitsuki. You three and your followers are no longer welcome in the rebellion. Please leave immediately."
Hashirama has no choice but to agree. He walks back to his encampment with the Tsunade and Mitsuki before instructing the victims of the Hive Mind that they are to leave immediately. The Hive Mind has shattered their potential alliance.
The Clearing, Outside the Hertz Compound
As Sasuke watches Sakura's eyes close and he knows. He holds her close and lets rare tears come to his eyes.
Nearby, Outside the Hertz Compound
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Boruto asks as he limps away alongside his sister.
"Yeah."
"You know it isn't your fault, right?"
"Then why do I feel sick to my stomach, why do I want to go back there and beg for forgiveness, why do I feel like this Boruto?"
Boruto has no answers to give his sister.
"Do you feel responsible?" she asks him.
"… I do."
"So do I," she says. "We said that we would take responsibility if the plan went wrong, that's what we have to do. We're leaving."
Boruto nods.
The Crown Prince and Blaze Princess walk away from the rebellion, determined to take responsibility by walking a different path.
A Small Building, The Hertz Compound
Naruto's eyelids flutter open, but he can't move his head. He feels the soft pressure of a cushion behind his head and feels that he is indoors. He is greeted by two faces, his mother, and his father.
He wishes he could relax but his last memories come rushing back to him. He tried everything he could to save Sakura but then he lost consciousness. Despite Kushina and Minato's best efforts, what happened is written all over their faces. It makes feel Naruto feel rotten instantly.
Sakura is gone.
"Are you OK?" Kushina asks.
"I want to be left alone."
"Naruto, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Just go. Please."
Minato and Kushina share a glance and leave the room, allowing Naruto to recover alone after what should have been his greatest victory.
Another Building, The Hertz Compound
"Claude," Hannah says.
"Yes?"
"I felt like this before, back when my mother… Everyone else feels the same way, don't they?"
"Yes," Claude admits.
"Nobody should ever be made to feel like that. Nobody should."
"I know Hannah. I know."
"Divine abilities, everyone fought so hard for them, but all we get in return is pain."
The Temple, The Hertz Compound
Mana walks to the front of the temple where Hinata is sat. She sits next to her sister and places an arm around her shoulder, hugging her tightly.
"It was too much for him," Hinata says.
"Yes."
"Hannah told me he helped them get there, fought King Erik and helped them get back as well as saving Himawari."
"It's amazing he managed that much," Mana says.
"Sakura told me he was expecting too much of himself. She said that I needed to help calm him down or he would take on too much, she said—"
"Hinata, don't go there…"
"If I had listened to her, if I had given in and tried to talk with Naruto, then she wouldn't have died Mana. This is my fault."
"Don't say that!"
"She was my only friend from the other world, the glue holding us together. Now she's gone. Himawari's gone too, and Boruto and I… I could have stopped it all if I had just listened to her."
Mana hugs Hinata, wishing she could do more than just being there.
Naruto's Room, the Hertz Compound
Naruto's eyes open as he hears someone enter the room. He recognises Sasuke straight away. It has been a while since he saw his best friend's eyes reddened by tears.
"Sasuke…"
"She's gone."
"I… I… I…"
"Do you know what hurts the most Naruto? She didn't die because she believed you. She died because she believed IN you. You have this uncanny ability to draw people to you, it makes them put their faith in you, it makes them blind, they would follow you to the end of the earth, to their deaths. I can't watch that happen to anyone else."
"Sasuke…"
"I'm leaving Naruto. I'm going to search for our daughter. Good luck with the war."
Naruto tries to reach out as his best friend departs, but the man who can usually find the perfect words can't find any here. He is wordless as Sasuke leaves, shutting the door on the rebellion and perhaps on their friendship.
The Foundry has been destroyed.
This was supposed to be Naruto's greatest victory, instead it is his greatest defeat.
Author Note
Hi All,
First, I am sorry about the issues uploading the previous chapter.
Those issues in turn contributed to the delay in releasing this chapter.
This was a difficult chapter to write.
I hope that it makes for a good read.
This is the final chapter of Part 11 - The Foundry.
I am probably going to take a one week break now.
I know that I haven't been as quick as I have been in the past lately, current circumstances have made things difficult.
Hopefully I will be releasing chapters more regularly soon.
Soon I aim to release the first chapter of Part 12 - The Generals.
Thanks as always for your support.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Engineer's Questions
About Ming Dai
I can't reveal why Ming Dai uses 'lightning' energy without giving away a spoiler, sorry.
I think I mentioned previously that Ming Dai's potential was measured to be the same as his teacher, Headmaster Muto Sora's.
If I didn't mention that I apologise.
Swen was indeed trying to help his son become more powerful, albeit through unusual means.
Ming Dai and Shao Chin's trick against General Yasmine may have worked if he was a class 8 warrior.
It's important to bear in mind that the Generals are very skilled even for class 8s, so Yasmine may have still countered.
Dai has enough power to hurt a royal if he punched one now.
However he probably couldn't hit one of the royals at his current level.
I'm afraid I can't reveal what Ming Dai's divine ability is at this stage.
Good questions.
Thanks for reading.