AFFLICTIONS AND ROYALS – A TURNING POINT
Outside Dunstone, Ewoa
A captain returns King Hoffman Swen's royal-grade communication stone to him. The king glares at the captain after taking back his possessions, scaring the captain who wisely runs for his life. Now he is outside the capital city of Ewoa with his son and the hunter the royals recruited to eliminate Naruto.
"You should go back to Gavaria," Swen says.
"Why? Do you think I want to be the prince? I hate you for what you have done. Muto Sora was more a father to me than you have ever been."
"You could make a difference as the Prince of Gavaria. I have never had an interest in policy, you could effectively rule the kingdom. Whatever change you want to see; it would be easier to implement that change from the palace than it would be from one of your rebel camps."
"Not for long. We will overthrow the empire."
"Stop deluding yourself," Swen yells, showing more energy than usual. "Uzumaki Naruto will not lead you to your promised land. Nadia was backed into a corner; she had no powers and you saw how hopeless her situation was, yet now we are free. Nadia is clever enough to crush the rebellion herself, there is no way you could ever defeat Jonas."
"I would rather die fighting for what I believe in than join this empire."
"… you are a fool Dai. I only hope that when the time comes I can save you."
Swen reaches into his pocket and squeezes his royal-grade communication stone.
"Nadia, we are all free. What do you want me to do now?"
North-East Seblix
Naruto and Nadia continue to lock eyes, the former trying to determine the latter's intentions. She has all the power here now. With Naruto's divine energy sealed by Wuying, Nadia could definitely decide to kill him. He can only hope that she was on their side all this time, that she plans to let him live and join the rebellion. However, as Kurama tells him from his inner world, that seems to be a long shot right now.
Nadia squeezes her communication stone and smiles menacingly.
"Head back into Ewoa. Use Sabine's portal to the Imperial Guard Headquarters. From there take the portal to the Imperial Palace. There is a secret portal beneath the throne room that will take you a short way to the North of my current position."
"Are you in trouble?" Swen asks.
"No, but I think you should be here for the rebellion's end. We have Uzumaki in the palm of our hands."
Nadia steps towards Naruto. He now feels her intentions clearly.
Naruto creates a Rasengan and turns towards Wuying. His only hope is that he can force Wuying to unseal his powers.
Nadia is not going to let Naruto regain his energy so easily at a time like this. She grabs him by the wrist quickly and begins to tighten her grip. With their current difference in power it is unbelievably easy for the royal. To Nadia it is like battling a fly, Naruto barely seems to be moving to her.
Hinata is too far away.
"Him! Take that man out!" she shouts, pointing to Wuying.
"Dive!" Duke Laurent orders the birds. "Take him down!"
The birds dive in a rough formation. There is no finesse as with their previous attacks, it is not required for a weak opponent like Wuying. Their only goal is to eliminate him quickly. Unfortunately Nadia's shortcut was ideal, especially for someone who can move as fast as a royal. A giant golden 'psychic' shield appears between the diving birds and Wuying, saving him at the last moment from the onslaught.
King Hoffman Swen has arrived on the battlefield, just in time for the rebellion's downfall.
Nadia begins to crush the bones in Naruto's arm when a beam of golden 'light' appears between the two of them. Hannah claps her hands and uses her Light Speed technique to appear between them. She clasps her hands together and swings them down as hard as she can, knocking Nadia's hands away from Naruto. The pure strength of Nadia's grip does significant damage to Naruto as Hannah forces her grip to release, but Hannah's instincts tell her that this is necessary. If they are going to survive Naruto needs his divine energy back, at that point he would be able to heal himself.
Hannah wraps one hand in golden 'darkness' energy, the other in golden 'light' and claps her hands. A copy of her parents technique. However, the moment Nadia saw Hannah's energy changing she considered this possibility, so she closes her eyes, avoiding the stun effect. Hannah's instincts begin to tell her something horrifying about Nadia. Unlike her the Queen of Seblix has poor instincts, but her mind is so strong that she is consciously calculating all the possible attacks and defences. There is no clear weakness for Hannah to exploit.
Sasuke sees the birds recoiling off Swen's shield, and the King of Gavaria turning his attention to Naruto. He kicks away the guard he is fighting and desperately tries to think of possibilities. For all his 'spacetime' techniques he is not going to get there fast enough to save his friend. All his techniques that can reach that far take too long to activate. He sees Hinata running, Mana and Michel close behind, but none of them will make it either. Emilie is still recovering from Sabine's previous attack. Claude is with the other birds and won't make it. Laurent is not close enough. Didier is down.
Sasuke panics, there is not enough time.
Swen launches himself at Naruto.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke catches a glimpse of something brilliant. A kunai about to be thrown, there is also a Rasengan. There is one person who can save Naruto in this situation.
Naruto suddenly feels a hand touch his shoulder, and he sees a marked kunai fly over his shoulder, released the second his saviour arrives. Not a moment later the hand is gone again and his saviour catches the flying kunai, a Rasengan in his other hand and thrusts that Rasengan towards Wuying's chest. It is his father, 4th Hokage Namikaze Minato, the only person who could react quickly enough in that situation.
The Rasengan moves towards Wuying.
Swen moves towards Naruto.
Hinata for a moment closes her eyes and prays.
Minato's attack hits first!
Naruto's power comes rushing back to him. He immediately uses his divine oddity, power-transferring to both arms and pushing Swen past him just before the King's attack reaches his heart. He then power-transfers to both legs and retreats. Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief; he has survived a very dangerous few moments.
They are not safe yet though, as demonstrated by Nadia's next move. She grabs each of Hannah's wrists, preventing her from using her array of new two-handed techniques. Swen rushes over to Hannah, using his golden 'psychic' energy to lift her into the air. Minato cannot react quickly enough this time as Swen slams Hannah viciously down into the ground. The 4th Hokage uses the Flying Thunder God technique, but it is to retrieve a severely injured Hannah instead of saving a healthy Hannah.
Hinata, Sasuke, Mana and Michel all run to Naruto's side with Minato and Hannah. They are all worried that the rebellion came very close to its end then and there.
Naruto kneels to heal Hannah, but she takes hold of his wrist, stopping him.
"Don't waste your energy on me, there are better uses for it," Hannah says.
"Don't be stupid," Hinata says.
"I'm not. I'm listening to my instincts. He needs his energy."
Naruto stands and looks at Nadia and Swen. Fighting against two royals with Hannah down. They would get no help from Didier, no help from Emilie. The class 8s who could help with this fight are Sasuke, Hinata and Laurent. Last time four of them were required to defeat an unprepared royal, it seems unlikely that the four of them would defeat two royals. However, Naruto's eyes come to rest not on the royals, but on the surroundings themselves. He has observed something truly astonishing.
"We should retreat," Hinata says. "Minato, you take Naruto, Kushina and Mito. Get them out of here. Sasuke you take with us. They probably won't bother to pursue the beasts. If we are lucky we will be able to escape."
"We're not escaping," Naruto says.
"We can save the Beast Clan another day Naruto, but you have to live to do it!"
"Tomorrow is not good enough. We will save the Beast Clan, and we will do it now."
"We can't!"
"The guards are starting to overwhelm the Beast Kingdom. You guys can go and help them. I will fight Nadia and Swen."
"Listen to me you idiot," Hinata says. "You cannot defeat the two of them by yourself."
"You don't understand. I've never seen anything like this before. 'Fate' has just reached a turning point."
Hinata has heard her mother describe such an event before. The future is being shaped constantly, by each and every action people take. A turning point in 'fate' is different. The turning point happens when the future is about to be reshaped dramatically. Something like this is extremely rare, Enri herself has only seen it happen a few times despite being the master of watching 'fate'. Hinata understands what Naruto is saying about the turning point, what he thinks it means. She knows that it could mean the rebellion is about to be destroyed, that the war is about to end, but that is not what he thinks. Given the circumstances, Hinata finds herself with no choice but to believe Naruto is right.
"You know that if you stay, you'll probably die, right?"
"I know," Naruto answers.
"And you still want to stay?"
"I need to take a stand here. I need to fight!"
Hinata nods. That is good enough for her. She turns and runs back into battle against the bunker guards. Mana understood what Naruto meant as well, having also heard Enri's stories. She too re-joins the battle.
Sasuke watches for a moment, Naruto wants to fight two royals by himself. He wonders if Naruto is mad. Then he smiles to himself. Of course he is mad. He then turns with the others and joins the battle against the guards. This leaves Naruto to fight against the royals alone.
North-East Cheqitori
Himawari is about to throw the Sacred Dagger at her grandmother when she sees both her and Boruto stop. They seem to be looking into space, gasping at nothing. She doesn't understand what is happening, can they see something that she cannot? Surely that is not the case, her sight is superior to Enri's. That's when it hits her, they can see the movement of the world's intrinsic 'fate' energy. Something significant must be happening.
Boruto doesn't know what anybody else is doing at this moment, he only sees the challenge in front of him. If he and his sister can defeat their grandmother, their next step will be to unseal the Empress of the Dark Dimension. Her freedom would surely impact the future of Homeworld significantly. Perhaps this is the moment when they succeed, the moment when they defeat Enri and ensure the empress' return. Whether it is a change for a better future or a worse one he does not know, but he is certain that the future is changing dramatically.
Enri is the only person in Homeworld who has seen this change happen before. Back then it was a symbol of positive change, symbolising that Akashi would be able to overcome one of the most dangerous obstacles in his path. Now though she does not know what this symbolises. Could her grandchildren defeat her here and force the empress location to be revealed? Or is there something happening elsewhere in Homeworld; something even more significant than their fight here.
North-East Seblix
"Swen, if he thinks he can defeat us by himself there is something wrong. There is no logical explanation to it."
"Do you want me to read his mind?"
"Go ahead."
"… he thinks that he has seen a turning point in Homeworld's intrinsic 'fate' energy. As far as he is concerned either the rebellion will end here or he will defeat us."
"He clearly can't win," Nadia says. "But… no that would be too much of a coincidence."
"What's wrong?"
"My logic in getting us hear has been flawless. I just get the feeling that something is wrong."
Naruto launches himself at Swen first, having power-transferred to both legs. The King of Gavaria reads his mind and pulls up a chunk of earth with his golden 'psychic' energy, launching it at Naruto. Naruto kicks through the projectile before power-transferring to one arm and one leg. He kicks to fire himself forward one more time and strikes at Swen as hard as he can. The king catches his fist, but Naruto feels him give slightly under the pressure. Swen is strong, but he is not as strong as Sabine was, and Naruto thinks that he may be able to force his way through his defences.
Swen is by no means weak though. He uses his telekinetic powers to push Naruto towards Nadia. Nadia lifts her knee, driving it into Naruto's lower back. The Hokage immediately begins to heal the damage to his spine. The Thinking Queen lifts her other foot, pressing it against his upper back and pushes him back towards Swen who catches Naruto with his telekinesis again. Naruto reacts by forging a pair of Truth-Seeking Orbs into a pair of bo, enhancing them with golden 'life' energy. The shinobi then power-transfers to both arms and swings at Swen twice before breaking through his guard.
Naruto sees his opening, converts one of the bo back into a Truth-Seeking Orb and takes hold of it like a Rasengan. He then pushes that Truth-Seeking Orb towards Swen, enhancing it with golden 'life' energy on the way. However, Nadia grabs Naruto's arms at the last second, tying them behind his back. She begins to stamp on his ankle repeatedly. She knows that he will immediately heal any damage she does, but she is confident that in this position she can attack him almost constantly, draining him of his already fading energy.
Swen approaches Naruto and places a hand on his chest. The 7th Hokage feels something that he has never felt before, resistance to his heartbeat. From this close range, the King of Gavaria can use telekinesis to physically affect an opponent's heart. He has never felt resistance like Naruto's before, the lifeforce of the shinobi being stronger than most royal's, but the king will win if this goes on. Naruto has only seconds before his brain is starved of much-needed oxygen.
Naruto power-transfers to his arm and slams the other bo down into Nadia's foot. For just a moment she releases him and he swings the bo into Swen's head, stunning him. He grabs his weapon with both hands and swings it down towards Swen as hard as he can. However, Nadia grabs his arms and slows him, allowing Swen to easily catch the powerful weapon. The Lazy King then pulls the bo from his adversary's hand, he lands three hard strikes before lifting Naruto with telekinesis and pushing him back. This leaves a long trench leading to the Hokage's final position.
Naruto gasps for air as he stands up, using the sides of the trench created from his own backward momentum. He has done better than anybody else in his class could have, but his energy is depleting fast, and Swen is using the Regulation battle principle. As things stand he is certain to lose and there seems to be no way out of it.
The bo is still in Swen's hand. He adds his own golden 'psychic' energy to it before holding it out to Nadia. Then Nadia adds her own golden 'mind' energy to the weapon. Naruto's shoulders drop when he realises how strong their combined energy is. He has no idea how he is going to endure this attack. He power-transfers to both legs ready to try dodging. However, when Swen throws the bo forward, combining his arm strength with his telekinetic powers, Naruto realises that the attack is too fast for him to move out the way.
However, Naruto is lucky, Hinata was already moving and is therefore not limited by reaction time. She steps into the path of the attack and holds up the Sacred Sword. The Sacred Sword clashes with the bo.
Naruto fears the worst, that this attack will kill Hinata. But that doesn't happen, instead strange energy begins to whirl around the sword. He can't identify where the energy is coming from but it continues to build for several seconds, adding to Hinata's own as she struggles against the bo. Somehow she is holding back the attack, at least for now.
"Looks like she is holding you off," Nadia comments.
"Any help would be appreciated," Swen admits.
"You know what to do."
Swen pulls the bo back using his telekinetic powers. Hinata trips forward, carried by the force she was using to push against it. As she regains her footing, she sees Nadia in front of her with her foot on the end of the bo, grinning. Nadia kicks it forward again, this time not allowing the Sacred Sword's power to gather, not allowing Hinata any time to resist. There is an explosion of many energies. Of 'life', 'fate', 'mind', 'psychic', 'fire' and 'water'. When the light from that explosion dims Naruto is knelt with a seriously injured Hinata in his arms.
He begins to use golden 'life' energy to heal her, sensing that she won't survive without it.
"Naruto…"
"Don't speak."
"Listen you fool… this isn't easy for me to say but… you are the one who can change things… I admire you… I know I didn't want to let you fight… but I was a fool… now I want to be like you… I want you to be there when we take back Homeworld… and I want to see who you become tomorrow."
"Hinata you're…"
"If you die now… this has all been for nothing," Hinata says. "So don't die here… this moment must belong to someone… make sure that someone… is you…"
Naruto continues to heal Hinata until he is satisfied that she is no longer in danger. He then lifts her from the trench and rests her gently on the ground. He turns to Nadia and Swen who are ready to attack him again. He knows that this is it, either he does what Hinata says and makes this moment his, or both of them will die.
He walks slowly towards Nadia and Swen.
He has had moments like this before in his life, several times. Defining moments where he lives or dies depending on his actions. He has always believed in himself; he has been absolutely determined to do things his way and he has knocked down every obstacle in his path. Now what he is beginning to see is the significance of that willpower, how it drove him forward each time he was in this situation. Each of those moments were likely small indetectable turning points in 'fate'. He makes his realisation. In moments like this, willpower is the most important factor in determining how the future will unfold. It is all about willpower.
North-East Cheqitori
Boruto feels the turning point has been reached. 'Fate' is actively changing around him. He stands facing Enri and questions why these events always coincide like this. He dismisses the possibility that it could be pure coincidence, he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He realises now that this is because his predecessors have built this path for him for many years. In this world Akashi, Enri and Sora helped one half of his mother to escape into the pocket-world he was born in. In the pocket-world Naruto and Hinata guided him, they taught him, and he would not have been born if not for Minato and Kushina giving their lives many years before. He has always had a path to follow because they have built one for him.
Boruto feels energy begin to rise from in his body. To join his grey 'death' energy, yellow 'fate' energy begins to surface.
North-East Seblix
The same yellow energy surfaces for Naruto and particles of gold begin to mix with it.
"Oh no," Nadia mutters. "That's not fair."
Swen creates a golden 'psychic' spear and throws it at Naruto. If he is going to beat Naruto's surging power he needs to win now. But as the spear approaches Naruto golden 'life' and golden 'fate' energy act upon it, knocking it slightly from its path and forcing it to miss both Naruto and Hinata.
Swen cannot believe what he has just seen. Divine energy comes from one's inner world and is moved by expending more divine energy internally. What just happened is something he has never witnessed before. That energy did not come from Naruto's inner world, it was created externally. The pocket-worlder didn't even move his hands to form it. It would appear that the energy was projected purely by his willpower.
North-East Cheqitori
Enri can't believe it. She said that Boruto and Himawari must wait until they can defeat her before she will reveal the empress' location. Now something like this is happening, it is beyond belief, even for someone who has watched 'fate' for as long as she has. She decides to test this latest development.
Enri creates an intricate coin from golden 'fate' energy and throws it in Boruto's direction. It shoots forward like a bullet, an attack that would injure even the mightiest of class 8 warriors.
Boruto hears Enri's voice in his head.
'The same coin.'
Then he hears Minato's voice in his head.
'Instant movement.'
Boruto creates the same coin as his grandmother. It is identical in every way, matching the intricate design down to the smallest detail. What is more remarkable is that he has perfectly emulated the energy she used to create it, the same type of energy, and the same tier of energy.
Boruto throws his coin up into the air and a short way forward. He waits until Enri's coin passes beneath it and then he teleports forward, evading her attack and catching the coin that he threw before.
'That is the same coin I made,' Enri realises. 'It's not an imitation. It is the exact same coin. How could anyone copy it so closely?'
Himawari noticed something too. 'He marked that coin. He didn't just teleport as a fluke. He just used grandfather's Flying Thunder God technique. How did he do that?'
Boruto's golden 'death' cloak is joined by another tier 3 power.
North-East Seblix
Naruto's golden 'life' cloak is no longer alone. It is joined by a golden 'fate' cloak.
Nadia was right to be worried. Hannah's instincts were correct. Naruto judged the turning point correctly. He and Boruto have taken the biggest step for the rebellion so far.
By combining and balancing two double-transcendent powers at tier 3, they have stepped onto the same level as the royals.
Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Boruto have become class 9 warriors!
Battle Classes in this Chapter
Uzumaki Naruto (9) - {Life + Fate} (3) + Transcendent (2) + Combo (1) + Shinobi (3)
Divine Oddity: Detonation Martial Arts
Uzumaki Boruto (9) - {Death + Fate} (3) + Transcendent (2) + Combo (1) + Shinobi (3)
Divine Oddity: Death Mask
In Response to S
Who asks a pair of questions
Q1: Can Sabine's divine ability heal a heart or brain injury?
A1: I suppose it depends on the severity, but most injuries could be healed given enough time.
Q2: Can living people can swap divine abilities?
A1: No they can't.
Thanks for reading.
In Response to Engineer
Who asks how someone can hijack Hannah's loyalty
Hannah was designed to be controlled upon being defeated by King Max.
Unfortunately for him Claude the Owl saved Hannah.
Eventually Naruto became the first person to defeat Hannah but rather than control her he gave her free will.
In theory Naruto could order Hannah to do what he wants, but naturally being Naruto he wouldn't.
Hijacking Hannah's loyalty would probably be the work of a scientist.
Thanks for reading.