I changed the name of the chapters and am dividing them in acts.
End of Act 1: birth of a faction
Rule #4: The key to victory can sometimes be making sure that your enemies know that you're willing to lose.
Naruto slept, slept and slept some more. When he woke up he was thirsty, tired and hungry.
He woke up on the bed with his head on a very soft pillow and a very comfortable bed. He didn't open his eyes, for the Sharingans of both eyes were active, but he had a general feel of the situation.
He was clothed, that was a good sign, he didn't recognise the texture of the clothing, that was a bad sign. If he didn't remember taking off his clothes and he was dressed in clothes he didn't recognise, it meant that somebody dressed him up.
Upon further thought and investigation, he discovered that it was Kaguya, and the soft 'pillow' he rested his head on, wasn't a pillow at all. It was her lap.
"Good morning." She told him and he groggily got up.
"I'm so hungry, how long have I been out?" He rubbed his eyes without opening them and Kaguya handed his his glasses.
"You slept for an entire day. I have been here with you since." She answered and he placed the silly shades on.
"Woah, an entire day?" He asked and she nodded, not that he could see anyway. "You stayed with me an entire day?"
"Yes." She answered simply, seeing how he couldn't know she was nodding.
"Oh, wow, you didn't have to…" he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders.
"I did it because I wanted, not because I had to." She watched him get up from the bed. "If you are hungry, they are about to have breakfast."
"Oh yea? That's great, let's go." He rolled his shoulders and she came to his side. "Wait, all this time, did you eat anything?"
"..." Kaguya brought his hand to her elbow for her to guide him.
"Alright, let's just go then." Naruto said and she began to 'guide' him.
Naruto's mind felt so clear, it was like a crust had been removed from his head. He could 'see' his way around the castle even if Kaguya weren't around.
The brain is a miracle, but it is not efficient. There is a maze inside everyone's head, a labyrinth of missed connections and untapped potential. The clarity that he had when he was trying to remember past conversations about genjutsu that he never payed attention, had nothing compared to what he was feeling now.
He could remember the entire schematic of the castle, the amount of steps for each hallway, the exact amount of steps on each of the staircases that he had to go through to get to his room.
It felt great. Especially without the side effects… but how long would it last? He felt great now, but didn't feel like pushing his luck and using the sharingan unnecessarily.
When they arrived they found them all already having breakfast Diehauser, Cleria and their respective peerages.
"Ah, you two have decided to come out, I was getting worried." Diehauser said as they joined him on the table.
"I was… undisposed. Did we miss much?" Naruto asked and a maid prepared his and Kaguya's plate.
"Not much, Roygun is still recovering and we haven't gotten any information out of her." Diehauser stated and glanced at Cleria, Naruto nodded.
"Umm, Master Naruto." Cleria began and he turned his attention to her. "There is something I have to say."
"Oh?" Naruto mouthed and a maid placed his and Kaguya's plate in front of them and left.
"You were so helpful, I feel like I should tell you the truth…"
"I know already." Naruto interrupted and touched the table to find his fork and knife. He deduced that there were fruits, waffles, syrup and some other things in front of him from the smell.
"You know?" Cleria noted that there was something wrong with his body language, the way he was touching the table. She wasn't quite sure but had a good guess that he wasn't seeing.
"Yep." He sighed and reached to his pouch, he was thankful that Kaguya didn't mess with it. He pulled out a red king chess piece and placed it on top of the table. "It is all about this, isn't it?"
"What, you, when?" Cleria looked at Diehauser and he wiped his mouth clean.
"He took it from Roygun." Diehauser looked at the piece. Cleria had filled him in on the true reasons earlier, so he knew all about it already.
"Precisely, I knew that there was something personal for them wanting you, Cleria. They were so motivated to find you, it was like their lives depended on it. when I took this from Roygun I realized that one possibility was that they shouldn't have this, and you somehow found out, and they took advantage of your relationship to try and get you and your boyfriend killed. Isn't that right?" Naruto slid the king piece in her direction. "Bedeze's piece got destroyed when I killed him."
Now nobody in that room fell for it, Naruto wasn't even trying to hide it in the first place. It was pretty clear that he meant 'I'm keeping the other one, if anybody asks, it got destroyed.'
"Wow, you found out all of that on your own?" Brian asked in disbelief and Diehauser's Queen glared at him for speaking out of place. "What? C'mon, you guys got to admit that it is impressive."
"You giving this to me?" Cleria looked at the king piece as if it were radioactive. It was the reason her beloved was killed, as a scapegoat, or worse, as collateral to the scapegoat.
"Well, you guys can probably use that to find a way to clear your name or something, be creative. This whole thing is out of our hand, we are just mercenaries." Naruto gestured to himself and Kaguya and began to eat.
"Of course, I will take care of that." Diehauser picked up the king piece, then placed it back down. "Speaking of which, I have been thinking about the payment. After we are done here, I'd like to talk with you two in my office."
"Alright then." Naruto went back to eating.
-after breakfast-
After eating breakfast, Diehauser's peerage, Cleria and her Peerage went away to do whatever it was that they had to do. Naruto thought that something felt odd about Cleria, something familiar.
Diehauser took Kaguya and Naruto to his office and showed them a large map on his table. There were office supplies on the ground that he had previously moved to the ground to make room for the map.
The map showed a large village, a town as per say, with a large castle, farms and lakes on the outskirts.
"This is one of my favorite projects. Rosemary Town, southeast from here. It's self sufficient and it is a large exporter of food, drinks and textile industry. I spent a lot of time building it up, my Queen was managing it, not it is yours." He pointed to the castle. "Everything, in it is yours to keep, all that is left is to present you to the villagers and it is official."
Naruto turned to Kaguya, he hadn't opened his eyes to see the map, he didn't need to. "I personally don't think we can accept that, as if we do, then we will become known and noticed, and that is the opposite of what we need now. But what do you think, Kaguya. You have as much of a say in this as I do."
"I want it…" she looked at the map then back at Naruto. "but you are right. We can't bring attention to ourselves."
"Well, if you don't want attention, then it can be arranged so that you aren't revealed as the owners." He rolled the map and handed it to Naruto. "Please think about it carefully, it is the best offer I can make."
"Okay, we will think about it." Naruto took the map and Kaguya guided him out of the office, and back to their room.
Once they made it back to the room, Naruto placed the map on the table and sat on the bed.
"The resources and manpower would be useful…" Kaguya said to herself, taking a seat besides him.
"Yea, but then we would quickly lose our anonymity and freedom… unless… if one of the dimensions you made could support a town could we move it there? Nah, silly idea, what am I thinking."
"No, it is not." Kaguya furrowed her eyebrows. "I could shape it for that. It would take a lot of power of transport the entire town and its structures, but over time it is a possible."
"No, no, not transport the entire city. I was think along the lines of replicating its main resources and places on your dimension. Then whatever we can't replicate like machines, and creatures, then we transport that." Naruto stopped to think for a few seconds. "You got any experience on calibrating and preparing a dimension for a village?"
"I was once a princess, I understand about the management of a kingdom, but that would be new to me." She looked at Naruto. "The devil said that the village is an exporter, so it's absence would leave an impact. As it would also feel the separation from other villages and cities."
"Oh right, I hadn't thought about that." Naruto frowned and laid down.
"Doesn't mean it can't be done, devil society would take a hit, but they would recover, we can accept the offer and research on the subject." She placed her hand on his head.
"Right yeah, we should accept it, then study and research what we can do from there. Get to see how the village is and what exactly we are going to do." He got up from the bed and grinned. "We talk to him soon, there is something I got to do first."
"Hmm?"
"I'm gonna go talk to Cleria, see how she's hanging on." Naruto turned to the direction that he thought was the door. He was right on the general direction, but would end up on the wall.
Kaguya got up, and took his hand. "I will take you to her."
"Oh, that'd be great, but you don't have to. I just need to check up on her, nothing that you should worry about."
"I want to. I will take you." She placed his hand on her elbow and took a step forward, then waited for him to follow.
"Alright then, if it is like that. He smiled and they both left.
She wanted to preserve him, and his sanity, she needed him to be on his best. The brain is a delicate thing and she couldn't do anything to help, what she could do is help and make sure he doesn't push himself unnecessarily.
He wasn't used to that kind of help, and he didn't know what to make of from her wanting to help, but he appreciated it, it was progress.
Didn't take Kaguya long to find Cleria, only a few seconds, but the walk to reach her took around fifteen minutes. She was running laps on around the castle. They stayed outside and waited for her to come around.
She was wearing sports clothes, and seemed to be beginning to sweat. She slowed upon seeing them and stopped in front of them. "Naruto, Kaguya, you two leaving already?"
"Not yet, I was looking for you actually. I see you're jogging, I'll join you for a chat." Naruto said, letting go of Kaguya's elbow and walking next to Cleria.
"You wanted to talk with me?"Cleria went back to walking, and Naruto followed. "About what?"
"About you, I'm worried about how you holding up." Naruto answered, keeping most of his concentration on his balance and the sound of her footsteps. Correcting his mistakes so quickly that it was hard to even notice that they made them on the first place.
"I don't know, I'm sad, I miss Masaomi, I'm furious for them bringing him into my mess, I'm angry at myself, I'm confused." She glanced back at Naruto and sped up. "You worrying about me, but what about you? You're with your eyes closed, why?"
"Ehh so you noticed… these eyes are great for fighting and studying but otherwise they are best left closed." He accelerated to her side. "For what it is worth, I'm sorry about your loss, I feel that maybe if I had been quicker I could have done something. "
"It wasn't your fault, you did what you could. You got in time to save me and my peerage, and for that I will always be grateful." She smiled and they did a lap around Kaguya who stayed behind, waiting for him.
"What will you do now?" Naruto said after a few moments of silence.
They both stopped and she turned to him. "I'm going to train. I'm tired of being weak, I'm tired of those old farts doing whatever they want with no consequences. What they did to Masaomi wasn't fair! I'll get stronger and they will have to answer for it."
Naruto opened his eyes for a brief moment and looked into hers. They were filled with determination. He knew that it felt familiar, she was going down the same road that Sasuke was.
"That's a rough path, you sure you want to go down that road? It isn't up to you to do that anymore, your cousin is already making plans on that." He closed his eyes and took a seat on the base of a tree, then patted the spot to his right.
She sat besides him. "I will help him and for that I need to get stronger."
"It is a lonely road, the quest for revenge. Makes people do horrible things, push friends away, become the type of monsters that they hate." Naruto chuckled to himself upon remembering Sasuke when he first said his dreams.
"What part of that is funny?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, he was supposed to be making a point to try and stop her, not laugh about the idea.
"Just the memory of a guy I once knew." He stopped and sighed. "If you want to go down that road, then you are free to do it. But know what if I come back and this place is full of crows and ravens and you suddenly became a broody emo. I will kick your butt all the way back to Japan and then color you like a rainbow."
Cleria laughed, what he said made no sense whatsoever, perhaps it was the way he said it, she couldn't tell, she just laughed.
"If it comes to that point, then please do." She smiled and got up, one of the few rare smiles that she had given since they had met.
"Seriously though, try not to go down that path. Or at least don't make your life revolve around revenge. It just isn't worth it, and I know what you're thinking, 'what does he know?', right?" He tilted his head in her direction.
"I wasn't…" Cleria looked around and he patted her lap.
"It is fine okay, after all who am I to tell you what to do? I'm just a guy you met a few days ago." He smiled and she shook her head.
"Don't talk like that, you saved me, you're my hero… it is just that, you don't seem like a type of guy to hold grudges."
"That is because I don't… err… at least I try not to. I know that hate won't do me good, so I try to expel it. It isn't like I don't feel anger, disgust and pity, but I know that my ways, my defects and my quirks will make others feel the same for me." He smiled and nudged Cleria. "I'll stop bothering you about it, I'm sure everything will be fine. And if it ever isn't you know where to find me."
"The coffee shop?"
"The coffee shop." Naruto got up as well, opened his eyes and looked around. "Well, it is good that you're training, but c'mon you're strong, you can do better than just a few laps."
"Huh?"
He walked to a boulder and yanked it from the ground with a single hand, then carefully carried it back to Cleria. It was roughly around two and a half meters in diameter.
"There, run while carrying this above your shoulders. If you're going to get stronger, then you will do it right and work hard. I know you can handle this light weight." He handed her the boulder and helped her adjust and hold it correctly.
He had no idea of her true strength, but she could indeed carry it without much effort. She was a high class devil, she was no pushover, just wasn't that strong compared to others.
"You sure I should train like this? Seems rather crude." She adjusted the boulder to get a better grip.
"Yea I'm sure. It would probably be better for you to use something easier to hold and carry, like some type of heavy vests of compressed materials or leg weights. So for now do a few laps with that and see how the weight is, if too light then find something heavier and easier to hold." he clapped his hands and motioned for her to go.
She began to run, wondering if such things existed. With magic should be possible to make. Would be great for training if they did.
Naruto ran along with her, but stopped upon returning to Kaguya. "Alright, let's go talk to Diehauser about it, see what he thinks."
"Very well." Kaguya took his hand and placed on her elbow.
She was excited about the idea of having a castle and a village. Like when she was a princess, but better, maybe she could get the devils to worship her like a goddess…
Naruto was blissfully unaware of her ideas and plans for the village, probably for the best.
They went first to their room to get the map, then went to Diehauser's office. They knocked on his door and then entered shortly after. His things were still on the floor and he was writing a paper.
"Back already, you two have come to a decision? Will you accept?" He said while placing the papers that he was writing inside a drawer on his desk, giving them their full attention.
"We have, but first I'd like to ask you what have you decided on Cleria's case. I was thinking earlier and came to a realization." Naruto said and took seat on chairs opposite to Diehauser. "The official story is that Cleria and her boyfriends were to be killed by their own side to keep the status quo of Heaven and Hell, right?"
Diehauser nodded.
"Okay so hear me out. Heaven probably doesn't know about the whole king piece thing, and if they do, they won't care, it is devil's internal business. What they will care is that they killed their own exorcists and Cleria is still alive, so they will feel tricked."Naruto waved his hands around as he spoke for emphasis.
Diehauser's eyes widened slightly, "yes, I assume you have an idea?"
"Indeed I do!" Naruto grinned. "So Cleria is still alive, but Bedeze is dead, how about you guys try to find a way to correct the misunderstanding and pin it on Bedeze. If they think that killed Bedeze, a very strong devil in Cleria's place, they are likely to accept."
"You're right, of course! Yes this works!" Diehauser became relieved, as if a huge weight was lifted or a large problem was solved. "Bedeze was ranked third in rating games, he was a very famous devil, much more of a risk to Heaven, if I spin the story in our favor, and get Roygun to cooperate, then can get them to forget this incident. While also cleaning Cleria's name in one go!"
"Glad you're excited about this, now can we talk about a hypothetical situation regarding the village?"
"Of course, yes, go on."
"What if hypothetically we had a dimension that we could recreate the farms, minerals, lakes and natural resources of the village and it's surroundings in this hypothetical dimension. Make things even better than it was originally. Then, teleport the inhabitants, live stock and living beings there." Naruto tapped the table and Diehauser blinked a few times.
"Hypothetically?"
"Yea."
"Hmm…" Diehauser rubbed his chin. "Hypothetically the Underworld would lose a lot from not having the exports and the land becoming empty. The village too, while self sustainable it imports a lot of it's things. An investigation would happen on the disappearance of the village, the Maous wouldn't be too thrilled about it. But it could be done with effort… hypothetically."
"Let's say that this hypothetical me wants to do it despite what the Maous think, because in there resources are better and it is overall more convenient for the hypothetical me." Naruto smiled and Diehauser leaned back in his chair.
"You can generate any resource in this hypothetical dimension?"
"Yea, the only things that can't be made in this hypothetical dimension are machines and living beings, which can be teleported to it. Homes and structures can be made as well, but blueprints would help in some cases." Naruto said, remembering to have seen a castle on one of her dimensions in the background, and deducing that it would be better with blueprints
Her way of modifying her dimensions was similar to making a senjutsu where she can rewrite the aspects of reality. But some of the laws of physics remained and an unstable foundation would have consequences after.
"Would have to lockdown the village and have a head count for every single villager to know the exact amount and all of their jobs. Machines would have to be bought and Architects would have to redesign the village with the new information." He stopped to think. "In second thought, Sirzechs is a reasonable devil, hypothetically he would aid this project for better trades and resources from this dimension."
"Yes but that would beat the point of me remaining anonymous. And to exploit the ability to make whatever material we desire on this dimension, for trade would be very taxing for our hypothetical selves on the long run. Although some compromise can indeed be arranged to avoid conflict." Naruto sighed and massaged his temple.
"You two are mercenaries, you can't be completely anonymous for long. Sooner or later they will hear about you anyway, may as well be on your own terms." Diehauser leaned forward. "Is this hypothetical situation, just hypothetical?"
Naruto opened his eyes and glanced at Kaguya, and she nodded at him. "No, we indeed have our dimension where we have complete and total control."
"If that is the case, then we have a lot of planning and work to do. But we should have make an appointment with Sirzechs and the other Maous explain to them a part of the situation and cut a deal with him in which we all benefit." Diehauser massaged his forehead then took out a sheet of paper from his drawer. "Let's begin with the plans then ..."
-Three hours later-
They all talked a lot, discussed every detail of the plan, every possibility, every consequence, and what they would tell the Maous when they meet.
Naruto and Kaguya were now about to leave the castle to go and see the village for themselves.
Diehauser had yet to schedule the meeting, so he couldn't know when it would be, but due to the recent events and the urgency, Naruto shouldn't stray far, and be back within a week to filled. Which wouldn't be hard for them, both he and Kaguya were capable of teleporting back.
Upon leaving the castle, they saw Cleria slowly finishing a lap with the boulder over her head. She was completely drenched in sweat, from head to toe, and seemed very tired.
She also spotted them, picked up her pace and met with them, dropping the boulder on the ground and taking a few seconds to regain her breath. "Naruto, Kaguya, you two aren't leaving now, are you?"
"We are." Kaguya told her, she was still getting the hang of the use of language, but she was progressing.
"Oh," Cleria frowned. "Without even saying goodbye?"
"Don't worry about it, we will just be gone for about a week." Naruto smiled and ruffled her hair, even her hair was drenched in sweat.
She perked up, "oh then just a see you soon then!"
"Yep, don't stress it, focus on your training and time will fly." Naruto said and Kaguya began walking away in the direction of the city and Naruto turned half of his body to the direction Kaguya was going.
"Wait, Naruto! Before you go, I have something for you." Cleria stopped him then ran to her backpack that was on the side. Wiped her face with a towel, had a sip of water then came back with a rectangular box. "I want you to have this."
She handed the box to Naruto and he opened it. Inside were shades, black, pointy, triangular shades. Naruto ran his fingers on the border of the lens and then opened his eyes to confirm it.
"I found it on an anime convention and bought it for Masaomi. It is made after to be like the glasses that his favorite character, Kamina used. We were supposed to go together, but something turned up and I went alone… I think it would be good on you, use it." She looked at Naruto expectantly.
"I like it, thanks." The shades seemed silly, and exaggerated, but it meant something to her, so he took off his shades and placed them on. It felt silly on his face, but she smiled. "Take care, will see you soon."
He smooched her on the forehead then ran off to catch up with Kaguya. She was literally the only person he didn't need eyes or senjutsu to find, her chakra signature was so large and he was so used to it, that it felt natural.
"Those glasses are stupid." Kaguya said as he reached her, she seemed somewhat disturbed.
"What, nah they're awesome! And since when do you even care about what I wear?" Naruto asked and Kaguya picked up her pace.
"Keep up." She began to fly and Naruto accelerated to keep up with her, to end up tripping, rolling and crashing into a tree.
-Three hours later-
The trip was long, and Kaguya seemed to be in a bad mood. It got worse that he couldn't figure out why for the life of him, and she wouldn't tell him.
But upon seeing the village, he gained an idea, her mood always improved with chocolate milkshakes.
The village was large, around the size of Konoha, it's structures varied, stone houses and wooden houses, some built better than the others. The largest structure was a castle on the center of it, which they could see from outside.
There were guards monitoring the entrance, but not that many, they were easily bypassed. And afterwards, the two split up to explore.
Kaguya to go do whatever it is that she does, and Naruto to find her a chocolate milkshake, to try and better her mood.
Naruto opened his eyes and observed the population as he walked by. Noting how devils could be different from one another, it was very much like Konoha in a way, they weren't rich and exuberant, but weren't in poverty either.
Didn't take him long to find a modest cafe, he entered saw that it was mostly empty and went straight to the counter, "hey, you guys serve chocolate milkshakes here?"
"Yes we do, sir, will that be your order?" the lady on the counter asked, taking note of it.
"Yea, the best one you can make, and chocolate carrot cake if you have that too."
"That would be three bronze coins, sir." She smiled and Naruto placed a golden coin on the counter. "Sir, this is too much, I can't exchange it."
"Oh don't worry, keep the change, buy yourself something nice. Just do you best." He smiled and then took a seat on one of the tables. Diehauser had given him and Kaguya sacks of coins to spend the week. With the amount that he had given, they could spend the week as a celebrities or nobles, but it wasn't necessary.
They wouldn't even need the money at all, word would be given to the castle's employees that they were to expect them.
The employees of the store whispered among themselves about Naruto and stared. Maybe paying too much could have been a bad idea. Thankfully it didn't take long for the milkshake to come, a very large cup.
He took it and then left to find Kaguya, whom he tracked to a nearby park.
She was seated on a bench watching kids play with an unreadable expression.
Naruto sat besides her and gave her the milkshake, "so what's up? Something wrong?"
She took the milkshake, but didn't say anything, just drank. A couple arrived and sat on a bench on the other side of the park. They seemed very close. Naruto didn't see them, he closed his eyes to not strain them.
"What are we?" She asked upon finishing the milkshake, surprising Naruto.
"Umm, we're partners." He answered and crossed his legs. "Why you ask?"
"I am confused on the type of partnership we have, they are partners too." She pointed subtly to the couple across from them and Naruto opened his eyes to see who she was talking about.
"They are a couple… oh." Something clicked in Naruto's mind. "Our situation is too complicated for me to even describe. You're the grandma of my reincarnation and I'm losing my sanity bit by bit."
"I don't believe you will lose your sanity. I believe that when it is necessary, you will get yourself together." Kaguya closed her eyes for a few seconds. "have you stopped to think what will be of us if we succeed?"
"Not really…" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.
"I think you do know." She opened her eyes and stared back at him. "There are only two things that can happen. Either we disappear, due to the impossibility of us arriving in here on the first place, or we don't, and what do you think happens then? There will be another you back in the dimension, living blissfully unaware of what could have happened, me, you we won't have a place in that world anymore."
"Where are you trying to get? Fine, yea I know that already, what you want to torture me with that now?" Naruto sighed, he didn't like to think about it. The thought that he would never be able to be with his friends depressed him.
"If I want to torture you, I will, and it will be painful. This isn't it…" she stopped to think for a second. "What I am trying to say is that this is a new start, for both of us. We have to both leave behind who and what we once were, and liking it or not, I am all that you got, and you are all that I got."
"..." Naruto became silent and diverted his eyes from her.
"This is strange for me as well. I remember who I once was, I remember the time I longed for peace, the first time that I had loved, the first time I was betrayed." She looked into the horizon with a distant gaze. "There is no turning back for us now, I give up on taking my chakra back, I want to use this opportunity to start over, together. "
Naruto's heart raced. "I…"
"You don't need to answer me now. I understand you are in turmoil and I don't want to aggravate your condition." She got closer to him and looked into his eyes. "For now I can be content with an answer to another question, does my appearance please you?"
"You are beautiful, but that isn't the case…" Naruto averted his eyes from her.
"What is it then?"
Naruto groaned and saw that she wouldn't back down. "It is complicated okay. You're the Sage's mom! You ruled the world, you're wearing Madara's body like Orochimaru wanted to wear Sasuke, and the bijuu, my friends, they are still in there, waiting for my promise…"
The thought of her wearing Madara like a dress, really was a deal breaker, but it wasn't the worst thing. The worst thing was knowing that the bijuu were still inside her. Just the thought of having something more with her was enough to make him feel guilty, as if he were somehow betraying them by not getting them out.
There was also the fact that he was in no mindset for a relationship. His sanity was on a thread that he had no clue how long he would resist.
"If the fact that the bijuu are still inside me, we can make a deal." Kaguya brought Naruto out of his thoughts. "I acknowledged that my way of handling and using chakra is archaic and simple. I will give you the consciousness of the Bijuus if in exchange you tutor me."
She decided to not keep pressing on the subject of their status and relationship. She couldn't do anything about the fact that she was using Madara's body. But she could do something about the bijuus, who were resisting her control and making things more difficult for her.
"Oh really? That'd be awesome, sure let's go, now." Naruto got up from the bench and her lips twitched upwards.
Her third eye opened and they disappeared.
The dimension that Kaguya had made for their base was, for the lack of better word, plane. The sky was clean and pure, the grass green and short, there was a few clouds and a sun.
The fact that it was plain didn't make Naruto any less amazed. He never truly appreciated her dimensions when they fought, for obvious reasons, now however he did. There was a freaking sun, how cool was that?
While Naruto was admiring her work, Kaguya placed her hand on her gut and pulled out several white blobs, which entered Naruto's back.
"Woah, huh?" He turned around to her.
"There, they are yours." Kaguya backed away and crossed her legs, floating in the air like her son, Hagoromo. "Now teach me."
"oh wait, give me a few secs." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and prepared to enter… wherever it is that the bijuus stay when inside him.
-wherever it is that the bijuu stay-
Naruto appeared in the familiar sewer It would seem that his mental instability didn't affect the place.
They were all there, all nine of them… at less than a quarter of their size.
"Sup guys… Kurama… Gyuki… what's up…" Naruto greeted them awkwardly, and they cracked their necks, wings, hands and whatever limbs they had, adjusting to finally having a body again.
"Never thought I would see you with those cursed eyes…" Kurama spoke and narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "Relax, we know what happened. We don't like it, but we understand."
"Oh great, I'm glad, had me worried for a bit.." Naruto chuckled to himself and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry for taking so long."
"Don't worry about it, ye? We are lucky that you did!" Choumei said, beginning to fly around the mindscape.
"We will be fine, we'll recover within the year, it is you that we are worried about." Gyuki said, and they all nodded together.
"Yea, human… you and grandma, who would've thought…" Matatabi smirked.
"Okay, you know what? I'm going now, and don't be talking in my ear unless you guys really have to, things are confusing enough already." Naruto turned away and disappeared.
-Kaguya dimension-
Naruto's eyes opened and he looked at Kaguya, who was patiently waiting for him. "Alright… where should we start… "
(I was going to end it here, but nah, I re-read the reviews and decided to Wrap everything up)
-1 weeks later-
Kaguya was a good student, she paid attention and did things as asked. Naruto however, was a crappy teacher, but things sort of balanced out.
It turned out that Kaguya could make time pass slightly slower in the dimension. While in the exterior only a week had passed, they stayed on her dimension for two weeks.
During the time, Kaguya learned how to make clones and did chakra control exercises. She had a lot of chakra, but her control wasn't very good and a lot of it went to waste, it would count when and if they fought somebody with a lot of stamina or large groups.
The energies of the devils and other creatures were hard for them to detect, and they were hard to detect for them as well. Their energies didn't cross each other's radars for some reason, except that while on sage mode he could get get a grip on them.
In theory, it should be that the natural energy of that reality helped him get more in synchronization with the energies of the natives. Kaguya had a hard time spotting them so in theory she shouldn't be as well to absorb their attacks like she does with ninjutsu. So she had to better her control to last longer.
Plus they were working on some ideas to incorporate elemental chakra to some of her attacks, like the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack for some extra pain, but that was still a work in progress.
Naruto also trained a bit during the time, worked on his own control over the elements. He didn't have much of a practical use to train with the elements that the bijuu supplied him, or the time to train on all of them, so he would leave that part for them to assist. He trained his chakra control, refined his wind chakra and messed a little with the king piece.
He had to test how it reacted to chakra, which it didn't react much at all, the two energies weren't very compatible. It did react with Senjutsu, and Six Paths Senjutsu, so at least in theory he should be able to use it if he is in Sage Mode.
The question was, should he? The energy in it was dark, and if he used it then it could be that there would be no turning back, and the last time he used dark Senjutsu… it didn't work out well, so he figured he should keep it for another date and mess with it more.
The two had just about teleported back to Diehauser's castle entrance, the guards were surprised with their sudden appearance, and on side was Mana running with a type of vest on. She was running the same lap that Cleria was, which was creating ring around the castle from the weight of their footsteps.
"Oh, master Naruto, mistress Kaguya, welcome back." Mana said as she reached them, and right after Cleria came running along with Brian. It would seem that the whole team was training together.
"Uh thanks, hey everybody." Naruto waved at the direction that he heard them all coming from.
"Hey Naruto! My cousin is looking for you two…" Cleria greeted him rather cheerfully, time was doing her well. She looked at his shades at her vest and remembered something "Oh right, we tried looking for training vests, but couldn't find any. So we gathered a few servants and came up with these! There already were techniques for super compressing weight so it wasn't that hard. These are prototypes, but we will try perfecting it to make a brand and start mass producing."
"Oh… that's great! Good for you guys. Now don't let me get in the way of your training, keep going, later you tell me all about it." Naruto grinned and entered the castle with Kaguya, leaving them behind to continue training.
Naruto went to Diehauser's office while Kaguya went somewhere else, probably to find something sweet to eat.
He knocked and entered, to find him seated behind his desk.
"Heard you were looking for us." Naruto said, closing the door behind him as he did.
"Indeed I was, neither of you showed up on the castle and I needed to pass a message. The meeting with Maous is scheduled to happen in two days, but that isn't the message. Roygun refuses to cooperate until she has spoken with you." Diehauser got up and walked to him and they shook hands.
"Talk with me? About what?" Naruto reopened the door and they both exited the office.
"She wouldn't say, just that she wanted to talk with you alone before anything." Diehauser led Naruto through the hallway.
"Huh, alright then." Naruto made a handsign and his appearance flickered, his hair instantly became dark and the orange mask appeared on his face. Disguise wasn't as solid as actually using the mask, but it would do.
With his chakra control slightly improved, and a extra bit of concentration, he could use the henge without creating smoke.
Diehauser raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, it was a peculiar ability, like that of a metamorph, it could be the reason why he never heard of the blond till now.
Didn't take long for them to reach their destination, a locked room.
Naruto entered alone.
Inside the room was a table and two chairs, on one chair there was Roygun, Naruto's least favorite horned woman.
"So you finally show up, I was wondering how much longer I would have to wait." Roygun smirked and Naruto sat opposite to her.
"We had a deal, I spare you and you cooperate with them." He stated and then sat down opposite to her. The sharingan becoming visible through the mask's hole.
"And I intend to honor my part, but after I do, I will probably be locked away for a few centuries, I want to know more about the creature that ruined me. You had me thinking about you all week, what you hide beneath that mask, why I never heard of you." She leaned forward and her shackles restrained her. "When we first met You felt cold, demonic. Now when I try to sense you, I get nothing. It is as if you aren't here. Diehauser if this is a game, if this is a game, I'm not playing!"
"This is no game. Why should I show you my face?" Naruto's sharingan spun lazily. He was somewhat enjoying himself.
"Because I'm asking… please?" she tried to show some cleavage, but couldn't because of the bandages beneath her clothes.
"..." Naruto closed his eye. He could 'take off' the mask and show her a fake face, if he had a mask on and it wasn't a henge. He also could dispel the henge with smoke and replace with another one before she saw his face, but why go through the trouble? Instead he unceremoniously dispelled the henge.
No smoke, just dispelled it.
Roygun blinked, her mouth opened, and closed. "You're blond? Shit that's clever, I tho- wait are those whiskers?"
She squinted her eyes at him, and he remained silent and adjusted his pointy shades.
"Damn… can't say I was expecting this… actually you're more handsome than I initially fantasized. Now I can get a better picture, aham." She smiled and Naruto sighed and tried not to let his mind go astray. "So what are you anyway? And what's with the glasses? Some type of hybrid, or experiment?"
"What I am, isn't important, let's just get this over with."
"What I want is these shackles off and for us to have some fun… actually we could have fun even with these chains, but you don't seem to be in a mood, so you can go. I cross my heart and promise that this time I'll be a good devil." She grinned and Naruto got up from the chair.
Of course devils aren't paragons morality, but is this normal? Naruto thought and turned around from her. To be fair he hadn't spent much time around devils on their normal mindset and habitat. "Just cooperate with them, will you? They'll see what can be done about your situation if you do."
"Wait, before you go, answer me something… what did you do with the king pieces? You handed them both or you keeping one…" Naruto stopped and she smirked. "Don't worry, you're secret is safe with me."
Naruto glanced back at her for a second and left. He would think about the odds of her telling on him later, more precisely the entire night before sleeping. Now he had plannings to do.
He had to study and research about the Maous. He never cared about the exploits of people like the third Hokage, the first, and Madara during his years. Now however, research was a necessity, which he needs to do to survive.
Hopefully he could get a large part of that information from Cleria and the servants. Strong and famous leaders have the disadvantage of having their exploits known, although it was a double-edge sword because the more an information is passed, the more distorted it got.
-2 days later-
The time has come for their meeting with the Maous, Naruto, Kaguya, Diehauser and his Queen were on their way to the meeting place, being led by Grayfia. Naruto and Kaguya were dressed as usual, outside of their hidden identities, in Naruto's case with the pointy shades that Cleria had given him, and Kaguya with her horns out.
Naruto had studied as much as he could on the Maous, and he was a bit tired on the eyes. Cleria had helped him with what she could and Diehauser gave him his notes/books on research that he did on the Maous previously. It was very convenient that Diehauser had to study and analyze everything he could about others to nullify their power, his library was filled with priceless articles made by his clan and himself.
Roygun did cooperate after her chat with Naruto, her help was proving to be invaluable to arrest the other users of King Pieces and finding who gave the green light and sealed with Heaven, Zekram Bael.
They entered a room with a large oval desk and founded them there, Sirzechs, Ajuka, Serafall and Falbium, standing besides the table talking among themselves, except Falbium, he was sleeping on a chair.
Falbium woke up as they arrived.
Sirzechs Lucifer, previously Sirzechs Gremory, a devil classified as a Super Devil. The most charismatic of the four and their leader, known for wanting peaceful solutions that benefit all. The embodiment of the saying 'long for peace, prepare for war', he is a master of the Power of Destruction, known to use a special type that destroys only what he wants to, without leaving a trace. Rumored to be made of pure destruction. Being in charge of domestic affairs, the meeting could go on with just him.
Ajuka Beelzebub, previously Ajuka Astaroth, another devil classified as a Super Devil. The most intelligent among the four and Sirzechs' best friend. He likes to invent new things, and his magic style is the one that Diehauser least understands. Master at calculation, he uses formulas to control phenomenas. He is in charge of the research department
Serafall Leviathan, previously Serafall Sitri, strongest woman of Hell, cheerful, uses ice magic, in charge of foreign affairs.
And lastly Falbium Asmodeus, previously Falbium Glasya-Lebolas, in charge of the military department. Diehauser didn't have much on his powers, but from what Naruto understood, if Sirzechs was the Hashirama of the Underworld, he was the Shikamaru. Absurdly smart, outrageously lazy. Maybe there was something about being smart and becoming lazy, a relationship between the smarter you become, the less work you have to do, due to finding quicker and easier methods.
"Ah, welcome, Diehauser, Naruto and Kaguya. Let's all have a seat." Sirzechs gestured to the table and the three sat besides Falbium. "Before we begin, Diehauser, for what is worth, I am deeply sorry about what has happened and am glad Cleria is safe."
"Thank you Sirzechs, we can discuss more about that later." Diehauser took a seat opposite to the four and Naruto and Kaguya sat beside him.
"We were just discussing about the files and request you sent us. Trying to completely understand it, could you elaborate on it." Sirzechs crossed his hands and a file appeared on the table in between them.
"Yes, in the file you have a small city of mine with around fifteen thousand habitants. I am giving it to Naruto and Kaguya, as a reward for aiding Cleria and helping unravel the conspiracy that tried to kill her." Diehauser glanced at the two. "They want to move the population of Rosemary Town to a dimension that they own."
"I thought I was misunderstanding when I read it, but it seems not." Sirzechs looked at Naruto and then Kaguya. "Before anything else let's start with why you two want to do this, I can imagine it would take considerable effort to organize and accomplish that task. Is the city not good enough as it is?"
"No, it isn't. The place is alright, but it can be better. In our private dimension the entire town and outskirts can be rebuilt, better, reorganized and perfected" Naruto replied simply and then adjusted himself on the chair, he would be speaking for both himself and Kaguya. ". Not only that, we want to have our space, where we can organise and walk in daylight. None of you have ever heard about us before this whole incident, correct?"
The Maous nodded in union, paying close attention to his words.
"That is because that is how we like it. We enjoy coming and going as we please, taking only the jobs that interest us. If we are to be associated with an entire town, then we will begin to lose that privacy. And if we aren't associated with the town, then it isn't truly ours, is it." Naruto finished and the Maous glanced among themselves.
"Why do you believe you can make it better in your dimension?" Ajuka asked, having taken an interest on it along with Falbium, all four of them were.
Now came the moment of decision, should Naruto be truthful with them, or not?
"We believe we can make it better because we can. In there we have total control over weather, resources and structures. It would be simple to create the city as we imagine it to be and the conditions and resources are as favourable as we will them to be." Naruto answered, and released a calm breath.
Diehauser and Kaguya were gauging the reactions of the Maous. Kaguya had complete trust in Naruto, despite his recent mental issues. It was thanks to him that they had gotten this far and that they seized this opportunity.
Ajuka glanced at Sirzechs, then fixated his eyes back on Naruto. "You two can shape and produce anything you want in this dimension of yours?"
"Indeed we can. We feel like it would be a waste to have it just for ourselves. We are willing to find out if a civilization can prosper under our care and we are willing to come to an agreement so that there is no animosity between us, for we mean no harm." Naruto gave a friendly smile.
"And what is it that you want from us?" Ajuka, asked and leaned back into his chair.
"We understand that the Town produces supplies for other neighbor cities and villages, and that as leaders, you might want to make sure that your people are being well treated. We would like assistance in the design of the new city, and with industrial machines, for maximum efficiency of the population." Naruto intertwined his fingers. On the outside he seemed fine and calm, on the inside he was freaking out.
"Alright then, we need to discuss this among ourselves, so let's have a break, yes?" Sirzechs said and got up along with the other Maous.
"Of course." Diehauser nodded, and both Naruto and Kaguya mimicked him.
The Maous left to discuss the deal and situation in another room. Grayfia stayed behind to make sure that the guests were properly served.
-2 hours later-
The Maous sure discussed a lot and took their time. Were he the same Naruto that entered the war, his anxiety and the waiting would have eaten him inside. But instead of that, a peace of mind and clarity graced his mind and he began to calculate.
He calculated the odds and possibility of the types of things that they could have been talking due to the time he spent waiting. He imagined different outcomes, solutions, so that when the Maous returned, he would be ready.
When they walked in and sat on their previous chairs.
"Alright, we discussed this a lot and we agreed to help. Ajuka has taken interest and wants to personally design the layout of the city. We will provide you with whatever machines you need, but here are our demands, I hope you find them reasonable. " Sirzechs slid a piece of paper to Diehauser, and Diehauser passed it to Naruto without giving it a glance.
Naruto read it once, twice, thrice, then he placed the paper down, closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair.
For an entire minute he stayed motionless and everybody waited for an reaction of him. While he stayed still, Diehauser read the paper and raised an eyebrow.
Then he made himself straight and turned to Diehauser. "Do you have a pen?"
"Yes, here." Diehauser gave him one and he began to cross things off the paper.
"this is fine, no to this, no this, definitely not this, nope…" he continued to write all over the paper and the Maous shared a look. "Sorry guys, but no thank you."
"Huh?" Sirzechs mouthed surprised and Naruto slid the paper back to him.
"Look, I can get that you guys want to take care of your people and all, but I don't think you understand something." Naruto sighed and took off his shades, revealing his eyes. "I want for us to be on friendly terms, but frankly, this isn't at all what friendly is. We aren't going to be a colony for you guys, we are going to be our own people. Asking permission for this is just a formality, we are going to take the village, with or without your support, for it is already ours."
Silence befell them and Naruto turned his attention to Ajuka.
"No offense to you, I'm sure you have a remarkable intellect and that you would be the best person to design the best city. But for this price, not really worth it. What I need from you guys, is something that, I can get from other places. I can get machines from other places and I can design the city alone if I have to. So we can begin to actually talk business, or this conversation ends now." Naruto interlaced his fingers and waited.
He understood their point of view, he and Kaguya were unknowns, they appeared from nothing and claim to have a dimension where they can produce any material that they desire in any quantity that they want.
That in itself was already a great threat for they could just as well over flood the underworld with gold, silver and jewelry and crash the entire economy to the point that devils would be trading golden chairs for fruits.
Combined with the fact that they knew nothing about them, their powers and their alliances, made them a tactical nightmare.
"You got balls to up the stakes like that, kid. This is a serious game you sure you up to it, and that you want to drag her with you?" Falbium asked and gestured to Kaguya.
"I have never been this sure on anything, believe it." Naruto answered without any hesitation. He knew what they were doing, and he had to keep a strong front with no signs of doubt.
The Maous glanced at each other then nodded.
"It was worth a shot, what do you propose then?" Sirzechs asked and he smiled. Those were just the words he was hoping for.
Over the course of history, many deals were made where the stakes were ridiculously one-sided just because the favoured person was smarter and held more power. But Naruto knew better, he had a studied them and formed a profile that he hoped was accurate.
It wasn't about getting into a fight, it was about making a stand and showing that he is willing to. None of them knew his or Kaguya's capacity, but for them owning an entire dimension and being unknown for all this time, they had to assume that they are powerful. And they don't want to go to war with the unknown, Naruto knew that because he doesn't want to either. They had too much to lose for a single village
"Alright then…" Naruto cleared his throat. "I accept that you guys want to monitor the safety and the treatment, but I don't want a hoard of your people coming in and out of our place like some parade. If you want to have some degree of control over what happens in there. Make a list with possible candidates that you trust to tutor and discipline the town's military force for the time period of five years. Of that list I will pick 10, same for other sectors that you wish to influence."
He stopped to re-arrange his thoughts, let his words sink in and then he continued.
"We refuse to pay tributes as some colony, subjected to you. We might agree to pay a one time fee and the subject never be touched again. We will pay for whatever machines you provide. We can discuss about a trade route…" Naruto went on and on about the conditions.
Kaguya was surprised with how well he was handling the situation, she almost admired him. She found it strange how her relationship with him worked, it was different than what she had with Tenji, she knew her role, she knew what she had to do. He was the head, and she had to support him, help maintain his sanity and trust him to make the right choices.
They complemented each other, he was far from perfect but so was she.
They discussed for hours, going back and forth, making and declining offers.
-Author notes on the chapter-
Sorry if there wasn't much action in this chapter, and it feels a bit rushed. Political stuff is necessary for the long term and I kinda wanted to wrap it up
A friend had made me a challenge for me to get certain amount of reviews in here. We almost got there but no biggie, it was just made for the heck of it. Now I have to leave my selfie as profile pic for a while. :D
The pointy anime sunglasses as said are made after Kamina's, but aren't the same color. Instead they are exactly like that of another character who uses them ironically, Bro/Dirk Strider from Homestuck. I like his sense ironic sense of humor.
-Omake Nightmare-
"Ha-Hashirama…" Coal eyes fluttered open, Madara. He was in a bright room laid down on some type of chair.
He felt heavy.
Naruto and Kaguya were standing besides him along with a woman using a facemask.
He tried to move, but felt too heavy. He glanced down, his stomach was bulging.
"Umm yea about that…" Naruto shifted around nervously
"What is happening to me, the war…" he struggled to get up, what is wrong with me?"
"Right, long story really, you see… me and Kaguya," Naruto gestured to her. "We sorta hit it off and she ended up pregnant… we had to remove her from your body, but the baby stayed."
"Congratulations Madara, you will be a mother." The masked woman said and his eyes widened.
"Huh, what…" he looked down at his stomach. "No, this can't be happening, no, no, no, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Naruto bolted up from his bed and looked around, he was in a white room like before with a nurse standing beside him.
Kaguya was on a medical bed with her legs stretched open and several nurses pulling something from in between her legs.
The nurse handed him the thing, wrapped in a bundle. And he looked at it… it was Madara… his adult face on a baby.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naruto jolted up from his bed screaming, his head was resting on Kaguya's lap and she was looking at him with an eyebrow raised.
"I don't want to know." She said and he sighed in relief, it was a dream, a dream inside a dream.
"Probably for the best
-Omake End-
Summary of the Act 1:
Naruto and Kaguya arrived in the DxD universe around 10 years before canon.
Naruto's brain was damaged on the trip back in time and through dimensions. They learned the language adapted on the first month, Kaguya learned the basics, Naruto struggled and managed to learn some more advanced, making an already bad brain problem, worse.
Kaguya made two dimensions and Naruto transplanted Sasuke's left eye and Obito's right eye. Naruto's subconscious gains sentience, Inner Naruto is born from the product of his brain being damaged and healing in a cycle.
walked through the seas with his eyes closed, skipped New Guinea and ended up in Japan.
Naruto discovered that he couldn't normally sense the supernatural, but he could while using Senjutsu with the Earth's energy. He ripped off the memories of a devil and improved his linguistics, overall knowledge and got his brain 'rebooted.'
He ran into Cleria and helped them, using the Mangekyou after a week of transplant.
He and Kaguya become mercenaries and help Cleria reach Diehauser's castle on the underworld. Naruto kills Bedeze, captures Roygun and takes both of their king pieces.
Naruto's already present brain injury aggravates, Kaguya knocks him out before he got out of control and peeked inside his brain. She understood that his brain is constantly being damaged and repaired although the use of the eyes tips it so that the stress is more than the repairs. Also notes that it is because of the damage and repair cycle that he is efficient, because every time a 'house' was destroyed or burned down, better and more ones were rebuilt. It is also why his subconscious is ceasing to be subconscious.
When Naruto wakes up the next morning he is feeling better for a part of the damage on his brain has stabilized and he can use more of his potential.
Naruto hands one of the Evil Pieces and Diehauser offers one of his towns, Rosemary Town to Naruto and Kaguya as a type of reward.
They decide to make a plan to remake the town better in her dimension and transfer the people there.
Naruto and Kaguya have a serious talk, they make a deal and he helps train her in exchange for the consciousness of the bijuu.
They have meeting with the Maous to come to terms on a deal regarding the town. The first step to the creation of their army and faction is taken ...
I feel like some people aren't understanding my concepts and the story entirely, so I am working on being clearer, a step at a time.
On the end of every Act I might make a Omake and a Summary like this, tell me what you guys think if should continue or not.