AFFLICTIONS AND ROYALS – A ROYAL TRAITOR
North-West Okarin
Naruto and Hinata's group climbs to the top of the tallest mountain in the area. This is one of the best views in Homeworld, where snowy peaks can be seen for miles around. Hinata remembers her mother summoning her and Mana here once before Jonas took over the empire. She has fond memories of this famous peak; its name is Snow View Rise. However, this particular visit to the mountain will go differently to her previous ones.
Everyone is sat taking a well-earned rest, admiring the beauty before their eyes. Then a voice calls out to them.
"Yoo-hoo," the voice calls.
Naruto recognises the voice. He leaps to his feet and spins around, power-transferring to his right arm and getting ready to strike with Detonation Martial Arts. An opponent as strong as this must be taken seriously, even in light of their recent victory over a royal. What is more, Boruto and Himawari are no longer here to help them.
"I surrender," the voice's owner says.
Naruto stops just short of hitting her. The rush of air from his fist throws snow from the top of the mountain, revealing the stony structure underneath. It also forces their guest from her feet, knocking her to the ground and almost injuring her. Nonetheless, she gets up and dusts herself off.
It is Queen Hirsch Nadia.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you almost killed me!"
Naruto starts. "What are you talking about? Almost killed you? I've fought royals before and I know for a fact that this attack is not enough to kill one. What are you doing here, Nadia?"
"Is that any way to greet an old friend?"
"You are not our friend. The last time we met you tried to kill everyone in the academy."
"She has lost her powers," Hannah says. "It's the only reasonable explanation for her complaints. If she were a threat to us then my instincts would have sensed her approaching. I didn't feel anything, and they're still not warning me even as she stands there."
Nadia smiles. "It must be the famous Hannah, the glorious experiment of my fellow royal Max. The official story is now that he killed all of you, yet here you stand unharmed. Your instincts really live up to their reputation, no doubt you contributed to the defeat of the Imperial Guard in CheoCho."
"This is Nadia, it's possible she found a way to trick your instincts," Hinata says.
"You are so cynical princess. It is very impressive; your father would have believed me right away like a naïve fool."
"Why are you here?" Naruto asks.
"I am here because I know exactly what this group has been up to. Recently Head General Safura met you with the Blaze Princess in Boni. When you were there Prince Ming Dai formulated a plan to meet with former Empress Consort Muto Enri. Dai's idea was that when you had cured Fauna Blight in CheoCho, Enri would summon you to safety thus preventing any dishonourable clashes with King Max or General Rana."
"How do you know all that?"
Nadia laughs. "You know who I am, right? Working things out is what I do best. I have followed every decision you have made ever since you ran from the academy, combining that with what I know from first-hand experience makes it easy to work out what happened. Even if I weren't capable of that, my palace is in Boni, did you really think I wouldn't notice you were in the same city."
"What happened to Ming Dai?"
"He and the hunter Shao Chin never encountered Enri, instead they were captured by one of my colleagues."
"Which one?" Hinata asks.
"Sabine."
Hinata holds her head in her hand before pacing back and forward. This is not good. If the two of them had fallen into the hands of any other royal recent evidence suggests they would have a change of mounting a rescue mission. Sabine is different, the most powerful of all the royals. Even all of them together may die if they fought her. This still leaves their previous question unanswered, why is Nadia here?
"I am here because imprisoning Prince Ming Dai was only the first stage of Sabine's plan. She used him to lure Swen and I to Ewoa. When we arrived Sabine captured Swen and took away my powers. I need your help to rescue them."
Hinata laughs. "This is definitely a trick."
"I could work with you as a strategic advisor. You won't find anyone better qualified in all Homeworld."
"Naruto, you don't believe her do you?" Hinata asks. "I don't remember the day in question, but I know she tried to kill us. Her predictions are so accurate, her plans are so well formed that she managed to take the throne of Seblix from the Tyrant King. If she tried to fool us there is no way we could know, she is too clever."
"If she is trying to trick us my instincts aren't picking up on it," Hannah admits.
"Maybe we should give her a chance Hinata-sis," Mana says. "She did free Seblix from the Tyrant King after all. After she came to power the injustices in Seblix disappeared."
"Mana she helped with the coup! She almost killed our father!"
"Would I be more trustworthy if I had succeeded in killing him?" Nadia asks sarcastically.
Naruto sighs. This arguing is getting them nowhere. Hinata is right, Nadia's plans are beyond what any of them can understand. If the queen is trying to deceive them there is very little they could do about it.
Naruto turns to Minato. "What do you think dad?"
"I don't think that we can trust anything Nadia says," Minato admits. "We can trust Hannah though. Hannah's instincts suggest that Nadia isn't lying. If she is serious about giving us strategic advice we would be fools to turn it down."
Naruto nods. "Nadia, what happened after Sabine took your powers?"
"Her plan was to use my strategic mind to capture you, Uzumaki. Her deal says that when I deliver you to her she will release both Swen and the prince. A fool like you might believe her, but she is lying and we are not going to fall for it."
"Are you sure she is lying?" Naruto asks.
Nadia smirks at Naruto.
"Of course you are," Naruto says. "Carry on."
"I have a plan to get both Swen and Ming Dai back unharmed. I am going to need your help to execute that plan. The first stage of our plan is to get help from a warrior who may be strong enough to hurt Sabine. The rebellion only has one class 9 warrior, and that is the former Empress Consort Muto Enri. She is not strong enough to hurt Sabine, we need someone stronger. I believe you are already on the right course with your plan to cure the Beast Clan of Fauna Blight. We must seek the Beast King's help in fighting Sabine."
"How did you know we were planning to cure Fauna Blight?" Kushina asks.
"You're Naruto's mother right? Your son is a naïve idealist who just cured Fauna Blight in humans. He lacks Princess Hinata's prejudices so he's going to try curing the Beast Clan as well. You probably argued about it, I'm sure Michel got quite heated, and eventually you agreed on a logical solution. You're going to offer them a cure in exchange for help in the war."
"I am not prejudiced!" Hinata insists.
"Of course not princess, I'm sure you are Homeworld's moral compass."
"My father made his decision about Fauna Blight. I have not made mine yet."
"Listen to you. You've been hanging around with the pocket-worlder for so long he has started to influence your thinking. You must be more partial to him than the others realise."
Hinata groans and massages her head. She has always hated speaking with Nadia, even when they were on the same side following the downfall of the Tyrant King. Mana has always teased the princess and Nadia seems to find it just as fun.
"You think the Beast King can defeat Sabine?" Hinata asks.
"No, he's not that strong."
"Then why bother offering a cure to Fauna Blight?"
"He is the most powerful warrior that the rebellion can call upon, even if a cure is the price. When he fights alongside you, with his many powerful subordinates at his disposal, it will fall to me to create a battle strategy. Defeating Sabine for anyone else may be impossible, but with all of you following my plans, I am confident that we can free both Swen and his son."
Naruto and Hinata exchange looks. On the surface it seems to be a good plan to both of them. Hannah gives each of them her approval as well. It seems that this is genuinely a plan Nadia believes will free Swen and Ming Dai.
"Do we have a deal?" Nadia asks.
"You can be our strategic advisor on a trial basis," Hinata says.
"Excellent choice princess. Since recently losing my powers I've remembered how hard it is to walk long distances. At the rate you all move one of you is going to need to carry me."
Sasuke smirks, "I'm sure Naruto can manage."
Sasuke's comment sparks a chain of agreement. Everyone but the 7th Hokage agrees, so it is settled by an almost unanimous vote, he must carry Queen Nadia to North Seblix where their next objective lies. On the bright side travelling with the queen will hopefully spare them from the Seblix Imperial Guard.
The Ewoa-Gavaria Border
Clyde and Mirai's eyes meet. They have just heard Elliot's final words; it is a sad moment for them. They each wish they could have given their lives in his place, but that is not possible. Clyde would never be accepted back into the arms of the empire, as their most famous traitor they need to keep him as an enemy. Mirai is a pocket-worlder, it would be impossible for them to believe her as a defector. Only General Elliot could have given his life in this way and they will forever honour him for doing so. His sacrifice will not be in vain if they can do anything about it.
"Clyde, have you heard from Naruto?" Sarada asks.
"No. Until just now Elliot was acting as a spy in the Ewoa Imperial Guard Headquarters."
"Is he on his way here?"
"He gave his life so that we could reunite."
"Clyde… I'm sorry to hear that. For what it is worth, he died as a hero."
"Yes he did," Clyde says. "In the last few days he told us that the empire's position is that Naruto is dead. This could be propaganda, but we don't have any evidence to say it is untrue. Until recently we heard whispers that he was recruiting people for the rebellion, but that information is just as useless. If Naruto had died, Ming Dai would have used his name as propaganda, at least that's what I would have done."
"Naruto doesn't die easily," Kakashi says.
"I know that from first-hand experience," Clyde remarks, smiling. "I hope that he is alive Kakashi, I really do. I know that even if the royals got their hands on him, he would not have gone down without a fight. If they did, I'm sure that he never stopped trying to fight back."
"We shouldn't say anything about this," Shinki tells the other Kage.
"You think we should lie to the villagers?" Hiruzen asks.
"Yes I do. When Clyde and the others invaded our world the first time, I survived with very few people from my village. Honestly I thought that nobody had survived the invasion, there was no reason to believe that the Leaf would succeed where we had failed. Clyde was stronger than Naruto and Sasuke, so I thought we were doomed. I told the villagers that Naruto was probably still alive fighting for us. Sometimes even a false hope is better than no hope at all."
Tobirama, as pragmatic as always, agrees with Shinki's position.
"We need to act on what we believe though," Sarada says. "We need to keep fighting this war, for Elliot, and if he's no longer here then for Naruto as well."
"We need to assume the worst then," Clyde says. "From here we should work with the assumption that Uzumaki Naruto is already dead."
South-East Seblix
"Maki… Maki… Maki!"
Former Chief Historian to Endou Akashi, Ogawa Maki looks around her kitchen but she cannot see anything. 'Where is the voice coming from?'
Boruto removes his Death Mask, appearing in front of her.
Maki shouts in surprise, falling over and dropping the glass she was holding. Her pet parrot flies around the room, making noise about the situation. Boruto rolls his eyes, this was supposed to be a stealthy way to enter the historian's residence.
"Please stop making so much noise," Boruto says, half to Maki and half to her parrot.
Himawari opens the door and enters. "Brother there really is nobody watching, I've walked all around the town to confirm it. There was no need to frighten Maki and her parrot."
Maki gets to her feet and dusts herself off. She bows to the prince and princess before they insist that she stops performing formalities. She offers each of them a cup of tea and invites them to sit down with her.
"Why did you need to sneak up on me?"
"When we were retrieving the Sacred Dagger we were attacked by Head General Safura," Boruto explains. "She didn't harm us, but presumably she knew where we were going because this village was under observation."
"It isn't anymore," Himawari insists.
"Sorry, did you say Sacred Dagger?" Maki asks.
Himawari nods, drawing the Sacred Dagger to her hand and using her telekinetic control of the blade to gently pass it over to Maki. The historian inspects the blade with fascination, marvelling over the blue and gold handle, as well as the blade's obvious power and connection with the Blaze Princess. The weapon is a fantastic piece of history, truly living up to the legends which spoke of it.
"We need your help again," Boruto says.
Maki's eyes do not leave the blade causing the siblings to smile at one another. They are glad that they could repay her kindness to the two of them by letting her see this. The dagger is her find just as much as it is theirs.
"We have learnt that our grandfather did not kill the Empress of the Dark Dimension. It turns out that he sealed her somewhere," Boruto says.
"Not even Furst Jonas knows where," Himawari explains. "We need to find her. The reason is hard to explain but it is to do with restoring my free will. Is there anything you know that could point us in her direction?"
"Jonas was one of your grandfather's closest friends during the war," Maki says gently. "If Akashi didn't confide in Jonas then he would not have confided in me either. There are some Dark Dimension sites and artifacts around Homeworld, but none would point you to where she is sealed. If Akashi was keeping a secret, he would keep that secret well."
"Please, you must have some idea," Himawari says.
Maki thinks about it. "If Akashi didn't tell Jonas there were only a few people he trusted more. Have you asked Princess Hinata and your aunt Mana?"
"Neither of them know."
"Then the only other possibilities are Headmaster Muto Sora, and Akashi's wife Muto Enri. News here is unreliable, but if Sora died as reported then Enri is your only hope. Be warned though, if Akashi didn't want anyone to know where she was sealed, then Enri would have agreed with him. She may refuse to reveal the location, even to the two of you."
Boruto nods. "Last I heard our grandmother was working to liberate Cheqitori. We will begin our search there, thank you Maki."