THE GENERALS – THE MERCENARY ATTACK
West Seblix
When Emilie awakens, she curses her luck, she recognises the figure in front of her as humanoid. The last thing she needs right now is someone who could want to cause her harm. As vitality returns slowly to her body her eyesight improves. The clothing in front of her stands out, black and orange. The man's rough blonde hair looks familiar to the Beast Clan Princess, and then finally she recognises him. It is of course Uzumaki Naruto, Head General Safura's predictions have come to pass.
Emilie's wounds would have been the end of her if he had not arrived. Naruto is likely the most proficient healer in Homeworld, the man that everyone wants to be nearby when they taste defeat.
Emilie once declared Naruto an enemy, not just of herself but of her entire people and yet he has come to her aid. She looks into his eyes as she feels the last of her strength return, she sees something different to the previous times, a sadness within Naruto. The spark that kept him going is no longer there. The same kindness remains though, the good nature that she saw in him when she asked him to become an ally. One thing she knows for certain is that he has been through much since they last met.
Naruto walks away, leaving Minato and Kushina to approach Emilie in his place.
"Hello Princess," Minato says.
"It's good to see you again," Kushina adds, bowing politely.
Emilie looks into Minato's arms to see a little one. It is Mito, Naruto's younger sister. It is something that the two of them are fighting for, something Emilie believes in protecting. She knows now that last time she was focusing on what separated the pocket-worlders from the Beast Clan, when she should have been looking for what united them. Minato and Kushina love Mito, just as many members of the Beast Clan have loved one another.
"Hello again. I'm sorry, your names…"
"I am Uzumaki Kushina. This is my husband Namikaze Minato and our daughter Mito."
"I apologise for forgetting," Emilie says. "I am pleased that your daughter is still in good health. I am less pleased to see that you would welcome a hunter into your group."
Hinata looks at Shao Chin and hopes that he will be wise and keep quiet about his past. No such luck unfortunately, Shao Chin has no political instincts and is very proud of his past as one of Homeworld's greatest hunters.
"It is not like beasts don't hunt humans," Shao Chin says. "The only reason you're angry is that I am better at it than your fallen allies."
"I am angry because you attack my kin!"
"Are you innocent of that Princess Emilie?"
"That's enough!" Hinata shouts, silencing the two of them.
Emilie and Hinata share a glance with one another. Back when Emilie asked Naruto to ally himself with the Beast Clan, she was unknowingly asking him to betray Hinata's own people. These two represent their two groups with the title of princess, the animosity between them is not easy to supress. However, Emilie admires Hinata for her restraint in this situation. Humans and beasts dislike each other for a reason, but the human princess seems like she is willing to look past that.
Next, Emilie looks to Naruto. He has his back turned to her, but his silence speaks for itself.
"I —" Emilie begins.
"You know that I was telling you the truth when we last met," Naruto says. "It doesn't make a difference if you consider me your enemy, Emilie. You have proven yourself to be my friend. Whatever trouble the Beast Kingdom is in, I will help you to resolve it. One day I hope that you will consider me a friend too."
Emilie sighs. "You're not like other humans that I have dealt with Naruto, you're a real outlier. Do you realise that you risk upsetting Princess Hinata by trying to be my friend? After all, she owed allegiance to an emperor who helped did immeasurable damage to my clan."
"Hinata is Furst's enemy."
"I am not talking about Emperor Furst."
"It… it makes no difference in the end," Naruto says. "You and Hinata are both good people, you want what is best for the people you lead. That can be enough to make strong and permanent alliances, I have seen it before. Peace between you could work."
"There is a lot of ill will between us."
"If there wasn't, we wouldn't be talking about making peace."
This conversation is more difficult than anyone for Michel the Horse. He is the Beast Clan's most famous traitor, a horse who became so close with the emperor that he went on to become a guardian to his daughter. Emilie is one of the Beast Clan's most forward-thinking members, the most likely broker of peace if that were possible. When the princess looks at Michel, she still feels a hostility towards him, an enmity reserved for only the most reviled of traitors.
"Tell me Princess Hinata, do you believe this peace could work?" Emilie asks.
"If you want my honest opinion, no I don't. There are too many obstacles. I don't know that my people would be willing to overlook the crimes of your clan. And I do know that your clan will not forgive humans for what we have done to you. The problem is Emilie that you are an outlier as well, your clan doesn't want the same peace you do, they just want victory."
"You have not known us in a very long time!"
"I have not seen anything that would change my opinion."
"Perhaps it's time for everyone to let go," Naruto says. "You can't hold onto this grudge forever. It doesn't help either of you, the only person it does help is Furst."
Neither Hinata nor Emilie seem to be changing their stances on peace. They are optimistic people at heart, each one destined for the throne of their kingdom, but even they cannot see their way to peace. Only Naruto is willing to strive for such an outcome. Michel wonders if the old Naruto were talking here now if he may have changed their mind. Until he can get that spark of magic back, the resistance can make no progress.
"Naruto, I was attacked by Head General Safura," Emilie says. "She had a man with her, I think he was a pocket-worlder. He was wearing this funny robe, and a cloak. He had dark hair and his eyes had this unusual pattern; do you know anybody like that?"
"Sasuke."
"Safura has taken him. She's using him as bait to lure you into a trap."
"Thank you for telling me Princess Emilie. I will make sure that we get him back."
Emilie smiles faintly. Last time she met Naruto she knows that those words would have come with tremendous conviction, this time there is no such determination. She worries that if he fights the Head General he will be defeated. Not only would his optimism for peace vanish, but so would any chance of one day defeating Furst Jonas.
However, actions speak louder than words and today Naruto has saved Emilie. He has ignored her previous declaration of hostility between them and proved that he is a friend to her and the Beast Clan.
"I was wrong to dismiss you before Naruto," Emilie says. "I don't believe peace between our people can happen, but I know that you believe it. I want you to be right. I believe in your vision. When the time comes, no matter what my clan's position, I will be your ally in the battle against Furst."
"Thank you, Emilie."
Ewoa
"An attack! We're under attack!"
"What!?"
Hiruzen can hardly believe the warning when it comes. He rushes to the top of a nearby rock where the warning was shouted from. It was Tobirama who gave the warning, his senses acting over tremendous distances after his recent power increases. From here Hiruzen detects the attackers shortly after his predecessor. They are each wearing dark clothing and they seem to be strong yet disorganised compared to the Imperial Guard. Intelligence suggests that these attackers must be mercenaries looking to collect a reward for tackling pocket-worlders.
"Everyone with divine energy get ready to fight!" Shinki shouts. "Everyone else evacuate the villagers! Someone take Sarada away from here!"
This is exactly what they were hoping wouldn't happen, an attack while Sarada is meditating on her element, unable to protect them. The Kage are all class 6 warriors, they should be able to fight off most attacks, but an attack of this size means there are likely more class 6 warriors among the attackers. In the worst-case scenario, a group like this may have a leader even more powerful, someone that the Kage would be unable to face themselves.
Shino lifts Sarada onto his shoulders and begins to run the other way, instructing his remaining students to do as the Kazekage said and evacuate the villagers. Frankly they don't stand much chance of escaping if the Kage lose but they have to try. They have been fighting all this time for the survival of the Hidden Leaf, for Sarada's dream. Giving up now would be an insult to Sarada, to Naruto and to all the Kage who came before them.
As difficult as the situation appears to be, the Kage do well in their fight. They are outnumbered significantly, and the shinobi who have remained with them since they got separated at the academy are not as strong as them, but they are still the Kage. They have dedicated their lives to protecting this village and they have no intention of stopping now.
In the absence of his brother Tobirama has done a valiant job protecting his people in the circumstances. He has been working hard with the Flying Thunder God technique, having seen how Minato uses it so efficiently he has always wanted to improve it. Not only has he mastered using the technique over greater ranges, but he has also worked out how to introduce a significant delay between disappearing and reappearing. He uses his newfound skills to make things difficult for the mercenaries, even the fighters on the same level as him have no idea how to deal with his trickery.
Hiruzen's skills are numerous, his talents too many to count. When he faces other class 6 warriors he doesn't need to rely on trickery or even his shinobi abilities to defeat them, instead drawing on his years of experience. These warriors may be good, but he is great, no matter what they try he has seen it before. No matter if they make it a battle of endurance, strength, stamina, or speed, he is the more practiced. He is a symbol of fulfilled potential.
For non-shinobi Kakashi is a very difficult opponent to deal with. He can pass through objects; pass through every attack you throw at him. Like Hiruzen, Kakashi is a man of many talents, but in this situation, he is not being forced to call on all of them. Unless confronted with someone very much faster than himself, he can avoid any damage and he needs only to be patient in waiting for an opportunity to attack. He knows that Naruto is working hard and has no intention of slacking off himself.
With his control of iron sand, enhanced by having 'sand' as his element, Shinki is a challenge for any adversary. He can defend and attack all angles. The Kazekage has been just as vital as any of his Leaf counterparts to the defence of their now combined village. He can easily defeat a Homeworlder on the same level as himself, slowing down multiple people on that level is not much more difficult. Together with the others he mounts an admirable defence.
They are doing well, the Kage. Together they are holding the line while the others escape and given time, they will achieve a complete victory over the mercenaries.
Then disaster strikes!
A tall angry-looking man in a long black coat and a dark-red shirt arrives. He is a muscular man who looks like he could punch straight through the Kage. From the way the other mercenaries retreat to his rear, the Kage quickly understand that he is in charge here, and they correctly fear the worst. This man is a class 7 warrior, the leader of these mercenaries and one of the mightiest of his profession across the world. This is Saturn.
Winning now will be difficult.
Saturn swings his arm, sending a tsunami of golden 'earth' energy towards the attackers. His element is the same as Hiruzen's, so the 3rd Hokage can easily tell the difference in their strengths. Tobirama grabs the others with the nine-tails chakra and teleports backwards. The Kage are saved by this at the last moment but know they face an uphill battle. This man is probably even fast enough to hit Kakashi before he can react.
However, they are pleasantly surprised to see a silhouette in the rubble after the tsunami of golden 'earth'. The silhouette is surrounded by golden energy of some variety and the shape looks familiar to them. When the owner of this shadow casts their arms outwards, a tremendous number of shuriken are sent flying in all directions, these shuriken take down all of the mercenaries except Saturn. They are all defeated in one single swift move, a move of even greater speed than Saturn was showing before.
Kakashi smiles and tells the others what he can see with the Mangekyo Sharingan, and what they have all now worked out.
"She's finished meditating on her element. It is Sarada."
Lord 9th is now a master of golden 'creation' energy and has reached her full potential as a class 8 warrior. She is even more powerful than Saturn now. This is great news for the other Kage, now Sarada is on the same level as an Imperial Guard general, so unless a general or a royal attacks them, they are going to be OK. Now all that is left is for the Uchiha to defeat the mercenary in front of her.
"My intelligence didn't mention you," Saturn says.
"Then feel free to leave," Sarada replies.
If Saturn were more sensible, he would take Sarada up on that offer. His divine ability allows him to boost any of his senses, that is how he was able to detect one of the shinobi patrols. Since then he has been gathering information about this hidden group, looking for all their strengths and weaknesses, gauging their defences. Unfortunately for him, Sarada was not up and about at that point. Now he has invested too much of his time to retreat, and he is foolishly pitting himself against a much stronger warrior.
Saturn stands his ground.
Sarada sighs. "Tell me, are you an educated man?"
"What are you asking!?"
"I ask because I want to tell you a story. See my element is a bit unique. I've been told that my power is double-transcendent, just like my teacher's and like the emperor of this world. My element is 'creation' and I learned it at a very important moment, back when everyone was depending on me.
"When I fought with this element, I was able to create all kinds of things. I was able to create wood, stone, metal, grass, even diamond if I wanted to. It was really useful, I could create homes for the homeless, I could create anything we needed. In the long term I was certain that it would help us to recover quickly if we had decided to stay in the pocket-world. Instead we came here, we attempted to free this world and I needed to get stronger.
"When I did get stronger things changed. Of course this meant that I manifested a divine 'creation' cloak. You know how it works, you manifest the cloak and you become stronger, that's exactly what happened to me. How could my power get any stronger? I was surprised by the answer. Suddenly I could create things that I couldn't before. I could create water, oil, and lava. I noticed a trend in my power. This is why I am asking if you an educated man.
"The trend was obvious to me; it was the states of matter. The first tier of 'creation' energy allowed me to create solid objects. The second tier allowed me to create liquids. Before I even began to meditate on my element, I knew what the third tier would allow me to do, or at least I had a good idea. Tell me, are you an educated man?"
"Are you saying that you can create gasses?" Saturn asks.
"That's right, I can create gasses. You should know that I've only been awake for a few moments, so I've barely had any time to test this theory. If you were as perceptive as you like to think you would have noticed that I am testing this theory out as we speak. I have surrounded myself with clean breathable air, but that is not the only thing I'm creating."
Saturn gets the picture at long last. He tries to force himself backwards, but it is too late, he is losing control. The gas Sarada has been producing is in his blood now, helping him to drift off to sleep. He falls down first to his knees, trying his best to summon the will to stay awake, but he cannot. He looks up into the eyes of Sarada, the woman he thought would be his next opponent. He realises that he is not a worthy opponent for her, and he collapses to the floor, unconscious.
Sarada has defeated him without even moving. This is the power of a tier 3 'creation' user, of a class 8 warrior. She smiles to her fellow Kage and quickly agrees a plan with them to get themselves and the villagers as far away from the mercenary as possible. Uchiha Sarada is awake at long last.
Author Note
Hi All,
I'm sorry about the delay with this chapter. I was hoping to release it on the 25th, but it proved too difficult.
I hope that in spite of the current worldwide situation you have all enjoyed the holidays so far and continue to do so.
I have some news that I hope will go down as good news.
The reason the planning phase is taking so long is because I am not just planning part 12 but the entire remainder of the story.
For the first time, the end of the story is in sight.
Thanks for reading,
Me