AFFLICTIONS AND ROYALS – FIGHTING KING MAX
Outside CheoCho
While Rana is not a great scientist herself she has come to understand the basics. She has spent years in the services of the man who run's Homeworld's laboratories, one cannot live in the presence of such a man and not pick up a few things. One experiment that Rana did hear a few details of was the creation of a warrior with perfect animal-like instincts. She remembers Jonas rebuking Max for losing this experiment, perhaps the most shameful moment of Max's reign. That most vital experiment stands before her now as an enemy. That experiment is Hannah.
Hannah rushes towards Rana.
Rana is afraid, and she is wise to be. Hannah may be the most frightening opponent she has ever faced.
Hannah charges towards Rana, she keeps an even and steady pace as she does so, counting the footsteps between them in her head. She watches Rana's movements and they confirm her instincts regarding the general's preferred counter-attack. Rana spins her hands once and throws golden 'space' energy into the gap between them. This is the general's favoured method of confusing her opponents, bending the space between them to make fighting harder for any would be foe. This gives Hannah the chance to try out the latest technique she has invented.
Hannah lifts both her hands and positions them just over her right shoulder. With hands raised she begins to gather golden 'light' energy on them both, energy that she inherited from her mother. She stretches that energy into a beam, not one with the power to harm anyone but easily bright enough power to illuminate the surroundings. The beam travels a long way behind her and in front of her, just to the left of Rana from the perspective of Naruto's student. She claps her hands around this beam and announces the name of her latest technique.
"Light Speed."
In an instant Hannah appears beside Rana, her hands still around the beam of golden 'light' but in a different position. Rana starts. 'That is impossible, I was bending space, she should have slowed down. She moved through the manipulated zone too fast. It was like she wasn't moving at all. It was more like teleportation.'
Naturally Hannah cannot teleport. A technique like teleportation requires a complex application of energy, even for Sasuke who has mastered 'spacetime' energy. However, she has perfected the speed boost that a user receives when they use 'light' as their element. 'Light' users travel faster by catching the light in the air, by travelling with it, but they can only partially interact with that light. It would be impossible for most people to completely interface with the light, but she has perfect instincts. By interfacing with that light completely she can travel along with it, she accomplishes that complete interface by creating the light herself. There is however a weakness to this technique, the beam of golden 'light' broadcasts her potential destinations.
Regardless of Light Speed's potential weaknesses, it is a strength which Hannah is more than ready to make use of. By bursting through Rana's distorted space, she is now face to face with the general. She strikes out with a pair of jabs, each of them knocking Rana slightly backward. Rana tries to retreat again, but Hannah creates a golden 'light' beam and uses Light Speed to move behind the general. Hannah grabs Rana by the wrist, spins her around and then delivers a powerful headbutt to her.
Rana tries to counterattack in every way she can. First she steps forward towards Hannah and attempts the first strike. Hannah responds to this by changing her style to a more passive approach, gently pushing Rana's strike just past her body before retaliating with a jab to Rana's head. Rana tries to endure the jab and follow-through. Hannah creates a beam of golden 'light' and uses Light Speed to move back two paces. Hannah raises her left leg and kicks Rana three times before lowering it, this time knocking the general to the ground.
Rana uses golden 'space' energy to make her retreat easy. She gets up with ease and retreats on a curving path, making it difficult for even Hannah to time the application of her Light Speed technique.
Hannah seems unperturbed by Rana's retreat, opting to run straight towards the general.
'Fool, does she think I will make it easy?' Rana wonders.
The general bends space between them, increasing the effective distance for Hannah to reach her, all while maintaining her snaky retreat. She is however forced to stop mid-retreat when her escape is cut off by a sword flying through the air. Quickly the sword is replaced by the shape of a one-armed man, of course it is Sasuke. Sasuke kicks Rana back into the region of space she manipulated.
Sasuke begins to manipulate the zone with his own golden 'spacetime' energy, undoing some of Rana's work as she hurtles backwards. She isn't too worried. Sasuke's element may be more powerful than her own, but when it comes to the pure manipulation of space she should be slightly superior. However, she has failed take into account his ability to manipulate time. Sasuke has been able to greatly increase the power of his own attacks by slowing them down in the past. He is using half his energy to undo Rana's manipulation and the other half to slow down Hannah's attack.
Hannah eventually lands a strike to the general's abdomen. Rana's body bends around Hannah's fist, the strike lands so hard that she swears she can feel her heart in her mouth. Hannah's attack throws Rana back towards Sasuke. The Shadow 7th Hokage uses a golden 'spacetime' enhanced Susano to catch the general and slam her down into the ground.
Rana demonstrates incredible might when pushed into a corner. She uses her Sonic Scream divine ability to force the Susano hand away from her. She then walks towards Sasuke and continues to use the scream. Gradually the Susano begins to crack. Yet Sasuke is not worried, he sees the look of confidence on Hannah's face, leaping back and leaving the rest of this fight to her.
Rana looks back at Hannah. She is surprised to see that although one of Hannah's hands is still wrapped in golden 'light', the other is now wrapped in golden 'darkness' energy. She raises these hands above her head and claps them together. The two energies begin to swirl around one another and them merge into a chaotic pattern which proves almost hypnotic. The light show draws Rana's eye, and then begins to switch rapidly between being bright and dark. It stuns Rana, making her wobbly on her feet.
This is the same technique Hannah's parents used to defeat Carmen.
By the time Rana regains her balance Hannah is stood right in front of her. She has no time left to hesitate; she uses her most powerful attack. She steps back and uses her Sonic Scream divine ability against Hannah. This isn't like before though, she uses her golden 'space' energy to manipulate the effective dimensions of the sound waves. She concentrates the Sonic Scream into a compressed beam but also multiplies the power several times over. This is the only attack which she is confident could put Hannah down for the count.
Hannah responds by smiling and stepping to the side. Her timing is perfect. In spite of how casual Hannah makes it look, that was a complicated evasion. She has made Rana look like a complete fool.
Hannah bends her knees and grabs the collar of Rana's uniform. She pulls Rana forward slightly so the general is leaning forward and then punches her chest as hard as she can with the other hand. Hannah's strike is powerful enough to lift Rana off her feet and up into the air, so she arches her punch, dragging the general up a short way before driving her powerfully back down into the ground.
The impact creates a crater and scatters golden 'light' and golden 'darkness' energy in all directions. Sasuke acts quickly to protect the others from it, all with a smile on his face. He doesn't need the Rinnegan to see what an amazing warrior Hannah has become. When she broke through she reached another level not just in terms of her battle class but the proficiency with which she uses her elements. He has created a monster.
Hannah joins Sasuke in walking to the front of their group, standing between the others and the tremendous Imperial Guard force. They ask if they really want to go through with this, if they want to fight the rebels who just defeated General Rana. The Imperial Guard's immediate retreat is exactly the answer they were hoping for.
They have won.
CheoCho
Naruto leads the charge against Max, or so the royal thinks at first. Naruto leaps forward with power-transferred to one arm and one leg. He strikes downward with a chop that is clearly going to miss the royal. At the same time a low sweep hits Max's legs from behind, lifting him from his feet and into the path of Naruto's attack. Of course the sweep was performed by Boruto who hid his approach using the Death Mask divine oddity. Naruto strikes down with Detonation Martial Arts, forcing Max down into the ground.
The King of Aturia creates a rope with his golden 'particles' energy. He extends the rope from both ends, wrapping both the pocket-worlder and the Crown Prince with it. He raises his hand slightly and spins the two of them over his body like a flail before throwing them into a nearby building. Naruto is grateful that he senses no life in this building, that people are instead gathered elsewhere thanks to Fauna Blight.
Max returns to his feet.
With Naruto and Boruto momentarily out of the fight Hinata charges towards the king. She draws the Sacred Sword back over her left shoulder and makes a low running approach. Just as she begins to attack Himawari sends the Sacred Dagger flying across Max's face, distracting him for a moment. Hinata slices down across Max's chest, the royal only saved by his own retreat from the dagger but given a nasty cut all the same. Hinata tries to attack him three more times, sword swings which Max avoids having realised how powerful the weapon truly is.
Just after dodging the third swing Max feels the Sacred Dagger approaching from behind. He grabs the blue and gold weapon, holding it tightly even as the sentient blade struggles in his grip. He resolves not to let Himawari grab the weapon again. Then a skeletal hand emerges from the ground, gripping his left ankle, the root of a flower emerges to grab his right. Hinata leaps up and strikes Max with her knee, driving him backwards as Naruto and Boruto release their projected grip from him. Max is forced to relinquish the blade which immediately flies back into Himawari's hand.
Himawari and Hinata charge the royal together. They exchange strikes at a rate far beyond what ordinary people can see. Max is clearly the fastest of the five of them, but Hinata and Himawari understand one another. The mother-daughter team strike with such brilliant timing that after the fourth attack Himawari breaks through the king's guard. Both of them jump from the ground at the same time and land combined kicks to his chest, pushing him back through the streets of his city.
Hinata pursues Max down the street. Max creates a golden 'particles' javelin and throws it towards the oncoming princess. Himawari throws her Sacred Dagger at the javelin and the two collide in the air for a moment. With Himawari's inferior divine energy she knows that the collision will not last long, she runs to her mother's side and tackles her to the ground, pulling them both out of harm's way just as the javelin knocks the Sacred Dagger aside and continues its path towards them.
Naruto appears behind Max swiftly, having positioned himself there with his divine oddity. He power-transfers to both arms and begins to exchange strikes with Max. The royal would expect to overcome a class 8 warrior like Naruto in a fight like this, but Naruto's arms are moving at a speed close to his own. With Naruto's superior skill he miraculously manages to land a clean strike to the royal's head, staggering him backwards.
Although his control over kunai is inferior to Himawari's over the Sacred Dagger, Boruto can use his wind chakra to create invisible walls and bounce them. He does this, bouncing his kunai off two such invisible walls and towards Max's back. He then uses his shinobi powers to transform the kunai into a Rasengan. Max ducks beneath the Rasengan, but Naruto catches it, adding his golden 'life' energy to it and thrusting it into Max's chest.
Max is hurled back towards Himawari and Hinata. The two of them catch him by his arms and drag him to the ground. Hinata shouts for Himawari to hold him there. Naruto and Boruto approach as quickly as they can to attack the downed royal, but before they can reach him Max breaks free of their grip. He claps as he did before, scattering golden 'particles' energy into the faces of his two assailants.
Leaping backwards, Max tries to escape the continuous onslaught his opponents are performing. Naruto power-transfers to his legs and arrives next to Hinata. He prompts her to jump and she does so. He power-transfers to his arms and grabs Hinata's mid-air feet, throwing her towards Max as fast as he can. Hinata lands and immediately begins to attack him with the Sacred Sword, not letting him relax for even a moment. She is even more determined now; this will be their moment; they will defeat him.
Boruto uses the Death Mask to get behind Max, but he has taken Himawari's Sacred Dagger with him. He releases his grip on it, allowing Max to detect it unexpectedly. Himawari then uses the dagger's power to pull it back towards her. The dagger strikes Max in the back pushing him forward. The king stumbles on and almost walks into one of Hinata's strikes, pushing the Sacred Sword to the side at the last moment with a golden 'particles' shield.
Naruto arrives before Max, power-transfers from both legs to both arms and strikes the shield. He strikes it five times before it cracks, leaving an opening for Hinata. The would-be empress swings her sword like a bat, cloaking it in her golden 'fire' energy. She slams the sword into Max's side and drives him away from her into a nearby park which the people from before have fortunately vacated.
An open space where he has no protection, this is their perfect chance.
Himawari arches her run into the park. Max immediately throws a dense ball of golden 'particles' energy at her, sending her back into the bottom floor of the hospital behind her. Naruto runs at him next, approaching from the same direction as Himawari, power-transferring to both legs and throwing himself at Max. Max tries the same defence, pushing Naruto back with the same force as his daughter.
Hinata catches Naruto before he can fly into the hospital. She pushes him forward, resisting the power of Max's attack. Naruto power-transfers to both arms and forces the ball of golden 'particles' energy over the top of them. Now is there chance to attack. Hinata pushes him forward, ready for the rebellion's defining moment, for their family's defining moment.
Naruto creates a Truth-Seeking Ball and enhances it with golden 'life' energy. He raises his palm, launching it towards Max.
Max knows this is a critical moment, he uses his concentrated defence. He creates a large orb of golden 'particles' energy in front of him to absorb the impact of the Truth-Seeking Ball. After golden 'particles' at the front of the orb act against the attack they retreat to the rear where Max re-energises them. Doing this rather than creating new golden 'particles' is much more efficient in terms of energy use. Max doesn't conserve energy though, he uses the same amount of energy as anyone else would, opting not to conserve his power to but to increase the strength of the concentrated defence.
Hinata runs to Naruto's side and points the Sacred Sword at Max. Her golden 'fire' energy emerges from the end of the sword and combines with Naruto's Truth-Seeking Ball. They attack together as a team in this vital attempt to overcome his mightiest defence.
Max senses that Himawari is getting to her feet and may soon be helping her parents. He creates another golden 'particles' javelin and throws it over the top of Naruto and Hinata and towards the bottom floor of the hospital he knocked Himawari into.
Boruto appears, jumping through the air and catching the golden 'particles' javelin. His momentum is just enough to push the javelin off course and to save Himawari, even as it drags him into the building as well. He has given Himawari a brilliant chance to involve herself in this fight once again. It will take him a few seconds to recover. He is proud as Himawari runs out of the building without any prompt, already knowing herself that she is needed outside. Himawari is an incredible shinobi, just like he always knew she could be.
Himawari throws the Sacred Dagger towards Max, stunning him before calling it back to her hand. She then gathers each of her elements on the Sacred Dagger, powering it with 'fire', 'wind' and 'lightning'. She propels the powered Sacred Dagger forward where it joins with her mother's flames and her father's Truth-Seeking Ball in colliding with Max's concentrated defence.
Max tries to create another golden 'particles' weapon in his hand, but this time he is stopped. Boruto has emerged from the building and grabbed Max's arm. Boruto creates a 'death' enhanced Rasengan and slams it into Max's shoulder, making him drop the weapon. More significantly the royal is dropped to one knee. His energy is fading.
Boruto throws himself in his family's direction, overdoing it slightly and going past them before turning to join them. He uses his Tenseigan's power to create his own Truth-Seeking Ball. He adds golden 'death' energy to it before launching it at Max's concentrated defence.
Naruto and his golden 'life' energy.
Hinata with her Sacred Sword.
Himawari with her Sacred Dagger.
Boruto with his golden 'death' energy.
Max looks at the four of them and realises what has been in front of him all along.
This is the true Imperial Family, and together they are strong!
Naruto, Hinata, Himawari and Boruto sense a chink in Max's armor so they bring out all the divine energy they can for the attack. They feel it at the end and none of them needs any further incentive, they lean forward and with a battle cry they muster one final push.
King Max's concentrated defence breaks!
King Max is down!
King Max is defeated!
For several seconds they remain silent. Then Naruto collapses from sheer exhaustion. Today he has not only helped to defeat a royal, but he has cured Fauna Blight in all humans. His accomplishment is unparalleled through history and he is now taking a well-earned rest.
Observers from the Imperial Guard stationed in CheoCho arrive from one direction. The mayor arrives at the head of civilians from other, all reacting to the pause in the sounds of battle, all wanting to see what happened. There are a few gasps among both groups but neither says a word. The silence is not theirs to break. That silence is only broken by the victorious words spoken by this world's true Crown Prince.
Boruto takes a deep breath.
"WE WON!" he says.
The mayor and the people of CheoCho jump for joy, embracing each other in celebration of their salvation. This is incredible. This is unheard of. There were rumours that Headmaster Sora defeated royals who visited the academy, but that has never been confirmed to them. They have just seen the rebels arrive in their country and defeat the King. That is unheard of since Furst rose to the throne, it is unprecedented. This is a clear signal, the clearest they are ever likely to receive, the rebellion really can win!
Boruto hugs his mother and she embraces him in return. This is the first time she has felt comfortable with him since learning that he was a traitor. What she just saw though was not the act of a traitor. Boruto just defeated one of the royals who helped with the coup against her father, he is a hero of Homeworld, a hero of the world he once vowed to destroy.
Himawari kneels beside her father and takes his hand. She thanks him for helping them to reach this point, a tear starting to form in her eye. He has endured more than anyone to bring them here, to help them mount a resistance against the empire, and it has not been for nothing. The true Imperial Family has just defeated a royal!
Himawari then stands, telling her mother and brother that Naruto will be OK. She then hugs the two of them tightly. There have only been a few moments when she has felt true joy since coming to Homeworld and this is the top of the list.
Hinata looks at the exhausted Naruto, her greatest ally in this rebellion. Now she sees in him what everyone else sees, she sees the reflection of her father. Endou Akashi once got the people of Homeworld talking, dreaming of victory in a war that looked hopeless. Today they have won a victory that will get people talking in the same way, and they will be saying his name just as they spoke Akashi's. Her uncle was right, he does have potential to be Homeworld's second such hero.
Max coughs, dragging himself helplessly along the floor.
Boruto turns to his mother. "Are you going to kill him?"
"I certainly should," Hinata says before looking at Naruto. "But people will talk about what we do today. He wouldn't kill Max, would he?"
"No," Himawari answers.
"People will leave here today and speak about the differences between us and the empire. They will tell their friends and their family that they saw us defeat King Weiss Max, and that we spared his life. They will speak of a more merciful alternative to the current empire. They will speak of hope for the future."
"Are you sure?" Boruto asks.
"No I'm not," Hinata admits. "But I don't think Naruto would approve if we killed him and I get the feeling that he would be right."
Max continues to crawl away, but Hinata approaches him, lifting him by the collar. She is not willing to let him leave just like that.
"You will listen to me!" she shouts into Max's face. "You are going to leave this place and you are not going to hurt anyone for what happened here today! And you are going to give Furst a warning from us. You tell him that the true Imperial Family has returned for the throne that he stole! You tell him that the people are taking back their stolen world. You tell him that we defeated you!
"And if you do not give Furst this warning, if you retaliate to this loss by hurting your own people, know that next time we will not be so merciful. We will come back for you, stronger than ever, and I will kill you."
Hinata throws King Max back down to the ground.
"You have an hour," Hinata says, "Get out of CheoCho, or we will make you."
Himawari and Boruto lift their father's arms over their shoulders and lift him up. Hinata walks back and joins them again.
Max realises that this war is much more serious than he thought. If the rebellion is capable of defeating even a royal then soon the emperor will need to drag himself away from his other work and involve himself in the war.
It is as Princess Hinata said.
The Imperial Family are back, and they won!
In Response to Engineer
Who asks various questions
I think your questions are rhetorical.
But if they are not I'm afraid I can't answer them at risk of giving spoilers.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Hestia is Bestia
Who asks if 'life' and 'creation' together could create a new being
I've never thought about that. Maybe.
It might be necessary for both elements to be used by the same person.
Thanks for reading.