THE GENERALS – NARUTO VS SAFURA
West Seblix
General Alaa, General Rana, General Odion, General Yasmine and General Dodi stop their efforts against Naruto. They stand in a loosely gathered pack behind Naruto. Recently they've had lots of opportunities to see Head General Safura in action and she has never failed to impress them, but this is an entirely different opportunity. This is a chance to see Head General Safura battle against another top-tier class 8 warrior, the ultimate battle between the representatives of the Imperial Guard and the rebellion.
"Are you ready?" Naruto asks Kurama.
"Of course."
Safura inhales deeply and smiles. She has been waiting eagerly for this.
Naruto uses his divine oddity to power-up his leg and launches himself at Safura. He creates a 'life' and 'fate' enhanced Rasengan at record speed as he quickly closes the distance to her. When the 7th Hokage arrives before Safura, he drives the Rasengan forward as hard as he can, an attack that is sure to hurt anyone.
'A technique to gauge his intention. Another technique to adopt the perfect posture for receiving his attack. A third to hide my intentions. One to move without being seen. And lastly the One True Sense, so that nothing is hidden from me.'
Safura grabs Naruto's wrist and his attack does not reach her. Just like that he is stopped. It is just like the others warned him, Safura has created more techniques than he knows. There is nobody better suited to stopping him.
"I expected more," Safura says.
Naruto doesn't disappoint. He uses his divine oddity to power-up his left arm, a point-blank full power attack right to a vital area. Safura raises her hand to counter, focusing golden 'diamond' energy on a tiny spot between her hand and Naruto's incoming fist. The collision of energies causes an explosion of sound and an air wave that pushes Shao Chin backward a couple of steps.
Safura completely blocked Naruto's divine oddity.
The Head General closes her fist around the small golden 'diamond' that she created. She pulls her arm back and strikes Naruto powerfully in the chest, launching the Uzumaki clansmen backwards.
By the time Naruto steadies himself he is forced to call upon his divine oddity immediately. Safura leaped up and is falling down towards him to strike with that golden 'diamond' again. He powers-up his left leg and throws himself backwards to avoid another powerful strike.
Nina only catches a glimpse of Naruto's fight because of her own conflict with Nero, but the result is just what she feared. Naruto's divine oddity may be the most powerful technique ever created in terms of destructive power, but he is still a novice when it comes to using that technique. Safura's techniques are definitely inferior to the divine oddity, but there are so many of them and she has perfected every single one.
Naruto comes to a halt and creates five new clones, replicating his move from before. Each of the clones throws a Rasen-Shuriken and he enhances each of them with 'life' and 'fate' energy, sending a barrage of powerful class 8 attacks at Safura.
Safura is prepared for this as well. She weaves through the Rasen-Shuriken using acrobatics to rival even the most skilled shinobi. When she dodges the fifth and final Rasen-Shuriken she cartwheels forward and throws the golden 'diamond' from her hand, aiming it at Naruto's head with remarkable power.
Naruto raises both hands to try and catch the golden 'diamond', but even with his recent body training the power shocks him. The pain as his hands contact the small diamond is overwhelming and he is forced to use his divine oddity once again in order to fully push it over his head.
When he is clear, Kurama points out the horrifying truth to his partner. It took Naruto several seconds to muster the power to push that diamond over his head, in that time Safura made no efforts to attack any further. She is toying with him.
"Her attacking power is amazing," Kurama says.
"We just need to prove that we are stronger," Naruto answers.
"Yeah."
Naruto lowers his head for a moment before holding out his hand. Suddenly 'life' begins to pour towards his hand from the surroundings at a remarkable rate. Ming Dai has seen this attack several times, one of the most powerful in Naruto's arsenal, the Life-Gathering Rasengan. He draws energy from the very life that surrounds him, the only limit being his capacity to control that energy which he is absorbing. A power uniquely suited to Naruto.
"This isn't going to be enough," Naruto realises.
Then his eyes meet Hinata's and she speaks her feelings through those eyes. She believes in him.
Naruto closes his eyes and lowers his head once more.
"More!"
There is suddenly an explosive increase in the power of the Life-Gathering Rasengan. All the generals unconsciously take a step backwards. The look in the eyes of not just Hinata, but Sasuke and Ming Dai changes from belief to astonishment. Even Nina and Nero stop their battle and stare. This is a concentration of energy that they have never felt from a class 8 warrior before.
Even Safura is surprised. 'This attack power exceeds even my own,' she admits. 'Uzumaki Naruto, I understand why they look at you that way now. You are a monster.'
While Naruto's attacking abilities may have eclipsed Safura's, that was never the greatest concern for this battle. Safura's element is 'diamond', the greatest defensive power in Homeworld. This is the moment when everything becomes clear, the class 8 with the greatest attack versus the class 8 with the greatest defence.
Naruto runs towards Safura slowly, waiting patiently until he reaches the perfect distance. He uses the One True Sense in combination with his recent mental training to ensure that nobody is planning to interfere. Finally, when he is ten meters from Head General Safura he uses his divine oddity to power-up his leg and throw himself, Life-Gathering Rasengan in hand, at his enemy.
Safura quickly raises her arms. A golden 'diamond' wall raises up through the ground, coming between Naruto and Safura. A wall of pure diamond, this is the strongest defence.
The Life-Gathering Rasengan smashes into the golden 'diamond' wall. Naruto drives it forward with all the combined might of himself and Kurama. The spinning of the Rasengan is so intense that it echoes through the diamond wall and into the ground creating an earthquake. Energy explodes in all directions; it shines a light so brilliant that it blinds all those unprepared for it.
They all wait impatiently to find out what happened. When their vision returns all becomes clear. The golden 'diamond' wall is still standing. The Life-Gathering Rasengan exploded in Naruto's face and he took the full-force of his own attack.
As Naruto forces himself to his feet, gasping for air it is clear that he has lost.
Safura's defensive diamond wall is unbreakable.
Nina looks on at the fight. This is a disaster. Naruto's defeat is the worst possible scenario, they were gambling everything on his victory. There is no way she can take on all the generals by herself. Even if she freed the other rebels they couldn't win without Naruto. Now she sees no path to victory for the rebellion. If both Naruto and Hinata are eliminated here today, then the rebellion will surely vanish.
Nevertheless, Nina still feels a burning desire to defeat Nero. Her family falling to Safura is one thing, but she swore she would never let it fall to Nero.
Nina uses her hands as a funnel for golden 'fire' energy. A beam of red-hot flames flies straight at Nero. The general easily counters with a beam of golden 'hot' energy. This energy is the perfect counter to Nina's, fundamentally a stronger version of her element. However, this was within Nina's expectation, she pulls one hand away and swings it through the air, arcing golden 'lightning' energy around their clashing beam and striking Nero from her feet.
Nina rushes forward as fast as she can, aiming to reach Nero before the general can get to her feet. Unfortunately the general gets to her feet first and a close-range battle ensues between the two of them. Nina favours a rapid striking style, doing her best to maintain an arm's length between the two of them at all times. Nero favours a grappling style which allows her to use Razor Skin divine ability to inflict constant damage on her adversary.
Nina manages to keep her distance for the first few seconds and lands a couple of golden 'fire' enhanced punches on Nero. After this Nero manages to grab Nina and starts wrestling her to the ground. Nina struggles to counter not because her strength is inferior but because of the continuous effect of Nero's Razor Skin. She is forced to rely on her determination to escape. Her powers can't compare to Razor Skin, but since they are in contact, she uses her golden 'lightning' energy to continuously attack Nero. Nero continues to hold on a for almost half a minute before eventually releasing Nina.
When distance between the two of them appears Nina's adrenaline begins to wear off and she realises just how much damage Nero inflicted. Even with the incredible endurance she demonstrated to Naruto and Hannah previously she has her limits. Naruto has incredible self-healing powers that she cannot replicate, an attack like that last one will surely slow her down for the rest of the fight.
Panic starts to set in for Nina. What would she tell her students to do in this situation? She used trickery to win a ranged battle once already, Nero won't fall for it again. She can only get a close-range advantage in a striking contest, but Nero's last assault has slowed her down. Now if they get into a striking exchange it is practically certain that Nero will grab her and use the Razor Skin again.
'Is the only way I can defeat her detonating my core?' Nina wonders. 'No, Naruto would never give up. He would find a way to fight back. I can't be outdone by my own student.'
A spark of inspiration hits Nina, Naruto may have given her the answer. There is no way her golden 'fire' energy can ever overcome Nero's golden 'hot' energy, but she still has golden 'lightning' energy to call on. She cannot replicate Naruto's technique exactly, but perhaps that is for the best, it can give her the element of surprise. Nina starts to gather golden 'lightning' energy on her body before slowly letting it leak away. Energy flows from her inner world to the tips of her fingers, to the soles of her feet, into the air and the ground beneath her.
Nina charges clumsily towards Nero.
'She has no options so she's lashing out in anger,' Nero concludes.
Nina's run continues until she reaches striking distance. Nero's reaction is almost automatic once that range is accomplished, she reaches for Nina. Then to the general's surprise there is a huge thunderclap. An equally huge lightning strike hits Nina from above, giving her golden 'lightning' an intensity boost.
'She wasn't leaking energy carelessly,' Nero realises. 'She was manipulating the atmosphere with her powers. She paid with her own energy and she was rewarded with ten times more power than she invested.'
Nina doesn't strike Nero, instead grabbing the general's shoulders and holding on as tightly as she can. She lets all of the lightning and golden 'lightning' flow through them. This is her version of Life-Gathering, Lightning-Gathering. Her grip tightens to its utmost, she swears that she will not lose in a contest of wills, she will hold onto Nero until she has no energy left to give.
Nero can easily counter this, and she does. Nero activates her Razor Skin divine ability, inflicting continuous damage to Nina. The teacher barely flinches at this, so the general adds an extra incentive, channelling 'hot' energy through her shoulders to superheat Nina's hands. But Nina holds eye contact, and Nero realises that her enemy's will greatly surpasses her own, that she won't let go no matter what. Nero has only once choice, hold on for as long as she can.
Nina's grip continues for twenty seconds before the lightning energy from the environment stops coursing through her. Nina finally releases her grip, there is nothing left to give. Nero throws Nina to the ground, pressing her there with her foot. This is the end.
"This is how it will always end for you, Nina," Nero says. "You watch helplessly as your students are taken from you. Don't worry though, I promise this will be the last time."
"Is this rivalry behind you now, Nero?" Safura asks.
"Don't insult me, this bandit has never been a worthy rival."
Safura smirks at Nero. That was hardly a convincing victory against an opponent at a severe emotional disadvantage. This whole situation has been to their advantage from the moment they took Sasuke prisoner. It has been a simple plan and it has worked. Now all that is left is to eliminate the rebel leaders once and for all.
Safura calls out. "Uzumaki Naruto, despite everything you have been a worthy adversary. You remind me a lot of someone from my past. Do you have any final requests before the end?"
"I'm… not going… to lose," Naruto declares.
Safura smiles, high-spirited until the end. She clicks her fingers and the golden 'diamond' wall she created before emerges from the ground and flies at Naruto as if shot from a cannon. It slams into the Hokage, knocking him back to the ground painfully. When he stands again the wall turns around and charges into him from the other direction. It is a repeating attack from a battering ram made from the world's hardest diamond. The most powerful attack of the Imperial Guard.
Naruto waits for it to come towards him for the 4th time and strikes at it by powering-up his arm with his divine oddity. It doesn't even put a dent in the wall which knocks him from his feet again. He never gives up, he tries Tailed-Beast Bombs, Rasen-Shuriken, Rasengan and groups of shadow clones, but nothing he does makes any difference to the wall. He doesn't believe in giving up, but there seems to be nothing left he can do.
He closes his eyes and desperately searches his experiences for an answer.
A voice comes to him. Enri's voice.
'Boruto, if you can master this technique you should surpass the skill level of the generals. But Naruto, this technique is particularly useful to you. If you can get the basics of this technique, and if it combines with your existing skills in the way I believe it will, then it may put your skill level on par with the royals.
"Divide your mind."
Naruto uses his divine oddity, but something is different. The glowing energy doesn't start where he focuses the power this time, instead it starts in his chest. The glow flows down the length of his right arm, powering-up his fist. Then a second glow appears in his chest, this time flowing down to and powering-up his left leg.
Naruto launches himself at the golden 'diamond' wall at top speed, then he punches it with his powered-up fist.
The golden 'diamond' wall shatters!
As Naruto emerges from the glass-like debris, Safura quickly grasps what has happened. Before Naruto would need a short gap between each application of his divine oddity, and he could only power-up one limb at a time. Now not only is he powering up two limbs at once, but the glowing detonation energy isn't disappearing at all, it is staying even after impact. The power isn't repeating anymore, it's continuous!
"Together!" Safura shouts, immediately summoning help from the other generals.
Naruto transfers his divine oddity to both legs. He runs at Safura with a speed beyond any class 8, a speed approaching the royal level. Safura has no choice but to use her Quick Step divine ability to escape, positioning the other generals between herself and the rapidly approaching Naruto.
Odion and Dodi rush towards Naruto. He kicks with both powered-up legs to throw himself at the two of them. He transfers the divine oddity to his arms, spins in mid-air and hits both generals with his arms at the same time, knocking them both away from him.
Naruto transfers the divine oddity back to his legs and runs towards Safura. He dares not prolong a fight against so many opponents. He intends to win right away.
Next Rana uses her golden 'space' energy to artificially increase the distance between herself and Naruto. Yasmine fires a stream of golden 'water' energy at Naruto and electrocutes it with her golden 'lightning' energy.
Naruto effortlessly weaves through Yasmine's attack with great agility. Less than two seconds later he is right in front of Rana. The general thought it impossible for someone to approach so quickly when she was manipulating the space between the two of them. The 7th Hokage sweeps Rana's legs out from under her, his legs still powered-up, before kicking her into Yasmine.
The 2nd of Yasmine's Lucky Three is used up.
Alaa activates the Berserk Switch, sacrificing his self-control in favour of a tremendous power boost. He anticipates when Naruto will be close enough for an attack and he strikes. Naruto transfers his divine oddity from one of his legs to his arm, matching Alaa's strike with his own. Alaa is a general recognised for his immense raw strength, but with the power of a divine oddity Naruto easily overpowers this and knocks him away.
Nobody left between Naruto and Safura.
Safura uses another Quick Step to move backwards.
By power-transferring to both legs Naruto chases after her, managing to catch her with only four immense steps.
Safura creates another wall of golden 'diamond' energy. Naruto power-transfers to one leg and one arm. The 7th Hokage throws himself at the wall before striking it as hard as he can. Once again, he breaks through the most powerful defence in the Imperial Guard. Naruto launches himself at Safura again and finally, finally lands a powerful strike to her abdomen.
Safura feels all the air pushed from her lungs. She has battled many times before, but she has never been hit so hard. She is forced to use her concentrated defence, granting herself a suit of golden 'diamond' armor. That grants her relief for a couple of seconds before Naruto kicks the ground again and the former pressure is renewed.
Safura Quick Steps away out of desperation, once again positioning herself behind a defensive line of generals. She doesn't have the divine energy to do it again, all she has done is bought time for a two-pronged counter strategy. She will use what energy she has left to shore up her own defences, and she will hope that while Nero has been watching she has worked out Naruto's attack pattern.
Nero has been doing just that and readies a golden 'hot' attack for the perfect moment. If she gets her timing right, she can completely derail Naruto's attack.
Naruto power-transfers back to both legs. He first dashes to Alaa, kicking away his attempted strike before jumping up and kicking him in the chest. Next, he returns to Yasmine and Rana who are back on their feet. He power-transfers to both arms, grabs the two generals and slams them together before power-transferring back to his legs. Lastly, he rushes to Odion and Dodi once again. No matter how much Odion increases his time perception, he can't do anything as Naruto uses a trio of kicks to knock them both down.
Now for Safura. Naruto launches herself towards the Head General once again, not yet realising that Nero is ready to attack him.
A defeated Nina hears familiar voices in her head.
"Don't lose another student," the voices say, "Save him or you'll lose your family again!"
The voices of Nina's former students are willing her on! Nina grabs Nero's leg, ignoring the damage that the Razor Skin is doing to her and pulls as hard as she can. It is a momentary distraction, but it works.
Thanks to Nina, Nero's attack misses!
Naruto deviates slightly from his original path, jumping and slamming his knee into Nero's head to push her off his teacher. Then he returns to the original path.
Safura has assembled a thick golden 'diamond' armor and has placed an even thicker golden 'diamond' wall between herself and Naruto.
Naruto power-transfers to one arm and one leg. He strikes the golden 'diamond' wall and breaks through it successfully once again. When Safura sees him emerge he prepares another Life-Gathering Rasengan in his hand.
Safura tries to move backwards, but there is nowhere left to go.
Naruto power-transfers to one leg and the hand with the Life-Gathering Rasengan. He kicks the ground one final time, approaching Safura faster than ever.
"Never threaten my family again.
"Life-Gathering Rasengan."
With a loud battle cry, Naruto pushes the Life-Gathering Rasengan into Safura's concentrated defence. It is the most resistance he has felt yet, but he holds nothing back and continues to push without relenting.
Safura's concentrated defence cracks! The golden 'diamond' armor is broken!
Naruto finishes driving his attack and the Life-Gathering Rasengan explodes.
Safura is blasted away with no divine energy to spare. She looks at the man who started the rebellion she opposes. She looks at the man who dared to summon the War Council into this conflict. She looks at the man who destroyed the Foundry. She looks at the man who is too strong for the Imperial Guard. She looks at Uzumaki Naruto.
Uzumaki Naruto is the strongest class 8 warrior.
Uzumaki Naruto has won.
Nina laughs between her coughs. "Do you see that princess!" she shouts. "He is finally ready!"
There is a plateau of power that very few people can stand on. A place for a select few whose names will go down in history. The emperor and the royals have stood virtually unparalleled since they walked through the door to this place and became class 9 warriors. However, for the first time in so many years, they can hear something. They can hear someone else knocking on that door.
Author Note
Hi All,
This is the final chapter of Part 12 - The Generals.
I hope you have enjoyed reading it.
I don't anticipate releasing a chapter next week.
I'm hoping to update the week after next, and plan to update more regularly from that point onward.
Thanks for being patient with me recently.
Finding time to write has been difficult.
Thanks for reading,
Me.
In Response to Demon90340
Who asked if Baryon Mode could be integrated into this story
While unlikely it is definitely possible.
Since this story pre-dates the existence of the technique it would have to be 'rediscovered' in-story.
Thanks for reading.