HEY GUYS!
Welcome to what is possibly the second part of a double update. As of writing this I'm in a plane on my way home, already more than halfway there.
Anyway, as with all my updates coming out pretty soon, I'm writing this on my iPhone/iPad so that's why I haven't been uploading in the past two and a half weeks. I feel like some of you haven't realised that I was on a school trip….
Regardless. Since chap 12 hasn't gone up there isn't any review replies (IM SORRY! DX) so I'm just going to go straight into the chapter.
Also! This is the finale of the first arc to not be four chaps long!...this arc is 5 chaps. Also, who liked the reveal at the end of chap 12? I thought it would be a good way to introduce them.
This chap will also likely be a lot smaller than usual. Like chap 1/chap 2 level of small so I apologise.
ONTO THE STORY!
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"How is she?" Naruto asked while staring at the makeshift cage they had placed Erza inside.
Said girl was silently sitting there and staring at Naruto curiously, something which everyone found odd as literally anyone else received the full force of her glare.
"She's fine. But she still refuses to say anything other than that stupid phrase" Tsunade said while glaring back.
"She's a soldier. It's not surprising they did drills about things like this. Especially such a bloodthirsty and invasion-hungry race" Naruto said factually.
Erza felt her teeth grit slightly. But as much as she wanted to argue. She knew it was true. The higher ups of both the government and the military made it no secret that they would be invading and slaughtering every race they came across in their quest for supremacy.
Naruto, seeing the calculating look in the soldier's eyes, felt his own light up as he laid a bit of bait with his next words.
"I wonder. Do the Demons know of the worlds hierarchy?" He smirked as her head twitched up slightly.
'So, you know the value of information? Good' He thought before turning and facing her directly.
"Let me warn you now. I know that you do not hold the same hatred in your heart as most Demons. If any of you think you can rise to be the greatest. You will fall" He said before standing up.
"...why tell me this? I am your enemy" She spoke quietly.
"Who says you have to be?" He asked before walking over to Tsunade.
"And you said all that because?" Tsunade asked with a smirk.
"I wanted to see how she'd react. Even if she escaped it's not ground-breaking information and may make things easier if they become more cautio-" He began before being cut off.
"You want her for the peerage, don't you?" She guessed, knowing him quite well by this point.
"...shut up" Was his ever-eloquent response.
Turning back to Erza he snapped his fingers and smiled as a previously invisible barrier disappeared.
"A little sound-proofing never hurt anyone, now did it?" He asked teasingly "anyway, Tsunade. I'm gonna summon Tri. Up for a game of fetch?"
The blonde girl mulled it over before nodding with a confident smirk, confusing the red-haired Demon.
Naruto released his hold on his magic for a moment, cracking the ground. Erza's eyes widening in fear at the display of power. Easily on the level of a Lieutenant-1 possibly even a Commander-5 or 4. She watched as he slammed his palms down on the ground and a large formula began to glow on the ground, roughly 150m in diameter.
The first thing to appear out of the formula was a massive bone. About the width of a regular house. Following the bone was three massive dog heads followed by the rest of Tri's body. Once Tri was finally out, the formula fizzled away. Leaving Naruto and Tsunade smiling at the massive Cerberus, and Erza fearing for her very life.
Every wag of his massive tail created gusts of air which nearly sent the three flying. With a massive 'boom' the bone hit the ground.
"You want to play fetch? Ready to get a good run in?" Tsunade said to Tri in a baby voice, getting his tail to wag even faster.
'How the absolute fuck are they going to play fetch with a bone and dog that large?!' Erza thought in surprise.
Her surprise only grew as Tsunade walked up to the bone and prepared herself to punch it.
"What do you reckon? I think if I went all out I could get a solid 15km" Tsunade bragged.
"12. Going to prove me wrong?" Naruto challenged, knowing exactly how to spurn Tsunade into doing something.
As she lined up the punch, her fist began to glow green. The green grew darker and darker and the ground caved slightly under the sudden weight of the dense magic. Swinging her fist forward, it met with a massive shock wave, a burst of green air moving with the bone as it was suddenly picked up and flung across the sky like it didn't weigh anything. In a series of small earthquakes, Tri ran after the flying bone. Erza felt her jaw drop in shock as the shockwave whipped her hair around like crazy and bounced slightly from Tri's steps. Looking at the ground she saw that once he had started running the massive dog was actually leaving impressions in the ground that were a few meters deep.
'What are these people? They're so strong….' She thought as the tremors slowly died off.
"Why even do that here? Surely such a creature doesn't need to play….fetch" She said tactlessly, blushing as she realized she had actually spoken.
She felt her face morph into an embarrassed glare as she noticed Naruto's smirk.
"He loves to play fetch, even if Tsunade is the only one who can truly do that anymore" He says, getting a smug smile from the girl in question "Not to mention, he's a part of our little family. Why wouldn't I take care of my family?" He asked rhetorically before turning back to look where Tri had run off to.
Since he was looking away from her, he never saw the look on her face. Her embarrassed glare turning into a wistful look as she stared at his back.
'A family?...I wonder what it's like to be a part of one. If they are truly as great as people say.' She thought, tensing as she feels the tremors starting to return.
Tilting her head to look past Naruto she sees the faint outline of Tri which begins to grow bigger as the tremors begin to grow in severity. The giant Cerberus obviously excited to play fetch again as he ran back to his Master.
"Up for another round?" Naruto challenged Tsunade, who merely scoffed.
"Up for another round? Please! I bet I could go for another 20 at double that distance" She said with a smug grin.
"Five dollars says you can't" He challenged back.
"Make it twenty and you're on!" She said with a fire in her eyes.
"Deal" He said while shaking her hand.
Turning back, he saw Tri nearly upon them and stood back while mockingly gesturing her forward. Despite only doing it to egg her on he did find it genuinely funny to watch her eye twitch uncontrollably.
"You're lucky you're cute" She mumbled, too low for him to hear as Tri dropped the massive bone in front of them again.
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"Here yet again? What's this? The fourth time?" The Commander heard while walking towards the council chambers of the capital.
He groaned and rolled his eyes while looking at the General besides him, his distinctive rock and dirt wings sticking out of the holes in his custom jacket. Now sporting a gold embroidery of General-3. Having gone up 2 levels in the last year, truly nothing to scoff at. (The General from chapter 7)
"Indeed, it is the fourth time. I assume you once again am going to vie in favour of promoting me to General?" The Commander guessed while walking alongside the General.
"Naturally. Having you stuck as a Commander. Even a Commander-1, is a waste of your potential and resources" He rebutted with a small grin.
"Even if you think so, too many of the Generals dislike my non-pureblood status to allow me to pass. Even going against brothers' pleas", the red eyed Commander commented.
"It's a shame that this is the only place they'll ever oppose your brother." The General replies with a grim look.
"I'm not surprised by that though. Apparently, he's a candidate for an Arch-General position"
"Him and that rival of his. It would be such a….shame. If he didn't show up" The General said as they reached the Council Chambers.
Easily opening the blast doors made of solid metal, the General walked away from the Commander and sat in a nearby seat. Standing in the centre of the circle of seats once again he heard a few groans.
"This song and dance again? Wonderful. I wonder how the cronies will rebuke you this time" A lazy voice said, coming from a General-3 to the Commanders right.
"Cronies!? Have you no respect for your Elders!?" A fairly elderly General-2 said from the Commanders left.
"You haven't actively trained in 400 years. You almost never speak up unless about our dear Commander here and people like him. You might as well have retired from the military. I don't understand what the Arch's are thinking still allowing you guys here" The lazy General-3 from before said.
"How dare you! I've served out raced faithfully for millennia! I will not be-" The elderly General was cut off by a simple cough from a General with long, straight brown hair and equally as brown eyes.
"If you could please get over your fighting. I would like to get through this chance to promote my little brother. Again." The General-1 said with slight annoyance in his tone as he brought up that this is not the first time his brother has been brought in for a General promotion.
"Right….Ahem! We are brought here to discuss the promotion to General-5 of this Commander-1-"
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It had been three hours of intense debate. Something which the Commander had grown used to over the last four times he had been brought in to discuss the same topic. Unlike the last time, new points and discussions were actually made this time, but once again. The exact same conclusion was reached.
"Unfortunately. The General council has still found you lacking in a few vital qualities found in Generals. So once again, we regretfully cannot promote you" Another elderly General said. This one being a General-1.
"Surprise that. You people care not for waste. Instead only focusing on selfish greed and pride" The Rock-winged General-3 drawled.
"Meeting adjourned!" The elderly General-1 said rather quickly.
Many Generals shuffled out of the room while grumbling in annoyance. The Commander walking out silently but with a visibly annoyance snarl on his face. Still inside the room was only five Generals, including the Commanders older brother.
"Once again you hold back my brother because he isn't a pure-blooded Demon. Quite petty of you"
"I while not be lectured by a child" The other General-1 said snidely. Both Generals staring each other down coldly.
The three other Generals began to lightly sweat as the two strongest General's in the room began to leak their magic out to try and pressure the other into breaking their gaze. The elderly General-1 beginning to very lightly sweat under the increasing pressure. Both Generals then suddenly stopped releasing their magic, though they both knew who the 'loser' of that little bout was.
"You are playing a dangerous game Hashirama" The General-1 growled.
"And I will continue to play it. I hold far more loyalty to my brother than to any of you. Do not forget that" He said before striding out of the room, leaving the other four Generals sitting there.
"This new generation is practically made of monsters…" an elderly General-3 muttered right before the doors closed once more.
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AAAAANNNNDD DONE!
What I think is my shortest chapter to date! But there wasn't really much for me to put into this one without making it feel like I artificially inflated it just to put more words in.
Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chap. If you would like you can just think of this and chap 12 as one massive 9k chapter XD
Sorry this took a while though guys. After getting back from my trip in America I was really sick (I still am. I haven't gotten better at all) so I had to fight to have the energy to begin writing.
Anyway!
ADIOS!