The legend of the true sage
Chapter 13
Naruto observed the boy before him with keen eyes. For three days now he was tracking the child, an orphan street urchin but with chakra flowing through his body. One of the only humans he had been able to find with chakra still present. He watched on as the kid from the shop keeper chasing behind, he was caught stealing today not that he seemed to mind the chase. If anything Naruto suspected he enjoyed it but the intention of a petty thief wasn't his interest. What interested him was the fact that the boy displayed feats that required a good control of chakra.
He watched impressed as the boy jumped well over twenty feet crossing the wall that blocked the alley way. The chasing shopkeeper stood there gawking surprised how the thief had fled. The boy stood on top of the roof laughing heartily at the misfortune of the pursuer.
"That was not very nice" Naruto spoke as he landed silently on the rooftop. It was amusing to watch the kid panick. He smiled as the boy sheriked in fear before started running jumping across the roofs with ease. The shinobi grinned it was funny seeing the kid panick reminded him of old days but his task needed doing.
"That was freaky" Joey thought as he finally came to stop on top of another building quite far. He didn't like when others snuck up on him it made survival tough in the street.
"You wound my heart kid" Naruto spoke leaning against the railing from opposite him.
Before he could run again Naruto raised his hand in a gesture for peace, "dont run its meaningless, I just want to talk"
Naruto watched impressed as the kid faced him with every muscle tensing to jump in action at once. It appeared that life in streets had preserved the instinct of shinobi in the boy.
"I dont know how to sugarcoat things, to put it bluntly you are one of the few able to tap in the power of chakra. I want you to come with me so i can teach you to master the power instead of being just a thief"
Joey was surprised the man sounded honest but the story was too far fetched. "And what does your chakra do? Make me fly like superman or walk on the water"
Naruto smirked he had already seen the water fountain in the distance, if the audience demanded spectacle then they shall be provided one. He vanished in a explosion of speed appearing on top of the fountain.
Joey was gaping the man had just teleported right before his eyes and now was standing upon water like it was cement floor. This definitely had crossed in to the world of madness but he was seeing this with his own eyes.
"Impressed yet, or want some more demonstration"
He was shocked out of his skin as he saw another identical man standing behind him.
"You...is this magic?" Joey stammered nervously.
"No just chakra" Naruto answered now he knew why Jiraiya used to show him the attacks long before teaching it to him, this was the bait to bring out his best.
"So are you willing to learn from me"
This time Joey didn't hesitate he wanted to learn, this feats these were the acts of someone who had moved beyond human. He wanted to be like that, like the heroes of comics.
Nearly a thousand km away from there another Naruto groaned. In many cases the chakra coils were so underdeveloped all he met with was disappointment. Now near in Kyoto he was sensing perhaps the largest gathering of chakra since the fourth war. But there was a small problem he couldn't seem to find it, it was there but strangely hidden. Fifteen days had passed since he had left them, yet his heart constantly ached for her. He missed them all, for even without his notice they had made place in his heart. He needed however to continue, only three that was the number his search yielded. It was from there he dreamt of building a niche for them.
'Kid you must get back' a tensed Matatabi spoke in his mind.
'Why' Naruto asked even as the new world unfolded right before his eyes. Resonating chakra of Matatabi had pierced the veil. He summoned Kurama's power not enough to create any visible change like the chakra cloak or coat but simply the blue eyes changed to blood red.
'A new hidden world' he muttered but his thoughts were scattered as Matatabi spoke once more. 'They are in danger kit, my soul fragment that I left in the little descendant of mine has been called in to effect'
No more words were needed as with a yellow flash he vanished from sight. Appearing right in the midst of a fight, his eyes widened as he noticed the barrage of fire balls coming at him and Koneko. She certainly looked worse for wear but this wasn't the time to think about that. Within the fraction of a second a shroud of orange chakra covered him, making him glow like a miniature sun. Arms sped out of the shroud blocking the thousands of fire balls.
It was then Naruto locked his eyes with the enemy. There was something about that enemy. Surrounded at all sides by some of the strongest beings of the universe and yet smiling a smile. Then it looked him in the eye. Naruto had locked eyes with evil before, faced the personification of hate and still came on top but this eyes chilled him to the core. These eyes held endless madness, promise of death and terror but no reason.
"Who is he?" the question escaped his lips without meaning to.
"Loki, the god of chaos,mischief and lies" Rias said her voice trembling with fear. Naruto saw even Odin tensed as if waiting and dare he say it scared. He saw Ise in his dragon armor,his aura of power had changed from before it was not the swirling maelstrom like before rather now it was vast like ocean calm but terrible all at once.
He was stunned as Ise released a huge sphere of pure draconian power at Loki. The mad god simply laughed before blasting the energy attack with ease. 'Be careful Naruto, the power of a god is beyond what you have faced, he is stronger than even Obito with juubi.' Kurama warned as Naruto raced ahead. He knew he couldn't take it easily and thus summoned his full power to the front.
His toad like eyes merged with the vertical slit of the tailed beast power, nine swirling sphere of pitch black chakra appeared behind him creating a halo. The might of all nine beasts resonated within him with it merged power of nature.
Loki stopped in the middle of his laughter, the arrival of the new power was something he hadn't predicted. The power of world tree and the primal fire both merged in one, this could only mean one thing the tree bore fruit. He quickly summoned layer upon layers of defense as the new fighter appeared right before him.
Naruto let out an animalistic roar as he slammed the tailed beast bomb towards the god of lies. His power came in contact with invisible barriers of the god, tearing through them before exploding. The sheer energy of the attack pushing him back.
As the smoke cleared he saw Loki standing even after taking a full powered tailed beast bomb. The god looked damaged but nothing compared to what should have happened. His mad eyes now held another emotion, fear.
Odin was the only one not surprised, he alone knew the extent of power Naruto commanded. "Unbelievable, even my strongest light spears hardly fazed the nutter" Azazel commented his twelve black wings were smoking from blocking endless magic attacks. He supported another fallen angel. The other fallen angel was bleeding from his various wounds. "Azazel this fight is way over our capacity at the moment, you need to summon the balance breaker" Barakiel wheezed. However the warning came too late
Loki smiled at the gathered warriors opposing him, it was so much fun for the chaos born to pass. His eyes flashed with flame born of chaos. "Come forth my child, your father has need of you" he called ripping the fabric of the dimensions with ease. A dark void hung in the air and a blood chilling howl came from within.
Naruto felt his hair stand on the edge, "be careful Naruto, this opponent is strong if i am not wrong it is close to me in power". Kurama warned his host the opponent was a pure monster that much he could tell.
A huge wolf stepped out of the portal. Rias gasped in horror she couldn't believe the beast she was seeing it was malevolent energy given form, a living longinus. Even Odin was horrified. The words of the fates echoed in the all father's mind, 'the teeth of your favorite animal will end you father of the Aesir'.
Loki smiled to see the fear in them, he relished the fear mainly the fear bubbling off Odin. However the ninja didn't seem afraid, if anything he looked more serious. That suited him just fine, this power would come in handy in the ragnarok.
Loki summoned the strongest magic attack he was able to, the magic circle blazed with different characters swirling too fast to be seen. Too bad for him that the main target was no where to be seen, the attacks passed through the blank space aiming for the others.
Naruto appeared behind Loki in a blaze of speed, throwing a punch with full power. Loki felt the attack coming in close, but it was too fast to be dodged. Like a blow from Mjolnir it hit felt his own ichor in mouth, ever since his binding to Odin this was the first time he felt it.
Elsewhere a howl of pain drew the ninja from him. Naruto saw Rias support Ise who was bleeding dangerously while the wolf was readying for another attack. But Loki stopped the wolf, the god was looking murderous but soon his rage transformed in to a grin. "It was fun fighting with you, I will be back soon three days I will give you prepare all you can." Loki said his flaming eyes on Naruto promising a fate worse than death. Then just like that he vanished.
For a while the only sound was from the labored breathing from Ise. "Why did you do it?" Rias asked him tears in her voice as Asia put her everything to counter a power enough to kill a god. Naruto stood a bit further close to Azazel and Odin.
However his ears picked up the words without any difficulty. "I don't know prez...my body reacted on his own" Ise wheezed in between. The words heard across millenias and yet able to convey the same feelings. For a second he could easily see the raven haired Uchiha, the arrogant boy who would become closer than any other friend a brother in all but blood. This raised the worth of the young devil in his eyes. However there were greater issues that need to be addressed. Odin stood with head bowed low, he knew Loki was getting stronger lately the rune binding him to the aesir was fading. The chaos in him growing with the passage of time.
"Why didn't you fight?" Odin didn't expect this question, or any question. No one questioned him, this was the way for the gods. Not even other gods of different mythos questioned him, so the question was kind of unexpected.
He turned to face the person who dared ask the question, it was Naruto to ask the question. "It was your problem and yet you just stood behind, when you drag your mess beyond your home, you should at least have the balls to stand beside us" Naruto was furious he disliked cowards and the way Odin acted was cowardise of first order. The Valkyrie who was standing behind Odin, approached aggressively but a shadow clone blocked her path.
"Answer me damn it, why didn't you stop him. It is for you others are suffering now. For eons you had Loki under your thumb and you allowed him to grow. Why?" He yelled his fury leaking in the form of killer intent.
"How dare you to address lord Odin as such?" The valkyrie tried to get past the shadow clone blocking her, the power rolling off the ninja froze her with fear.
"He is right you know" Odin spoke in a low voice, he hated to admit mistakes but mistakes he made. "I brought this upon myself and my kin. I was hungry for power, the rigidity of absolute order stifled me and I sought to make power of chaos in my tool. It was then I found the fire born, in exchange for his knowledge I gave my blood and the rune forged our bond. Even if I try I can't kill him, my essence will protect him. Its my fate to die by the fang of Fenrir." Odin felt his age for the first time the burden he carried seemed unbearable.
"Bullshit," Naruto was still angry, he knew leaders made mistake that was normal but to believe in the rigid lines of fate is stupidity. "There is no fate, its nothing but an excuse of the weak." Flashes of his friend's plight came unbidden bringing tears to his eyes, Neji the name he could never forget. Fated by birth in a life of servitude, the Hyuuga changed it all. Rock Lee born in the world of shinobi without the ability to mold chakra for ninjutsu, only through hard work became stronger than most. Now a god who shaped the world was shying away from fight with excuse of fate it didn't sit well with him. Azazel touched his shoulder gently slowly drawing the ninja away.
'For millennia I carried the fact that ragnarok will come, helpless in the knowledge that the stolen chaos that I used would break once but now the fates are blind, even all my eye sees is the constant shifting of future as if a whirlpool has thrown the swift currents of fate in complete disorder. Yet all of the ripple come to merge on the ninja standing before me' the all father was feeling a new hope, three days Lokabrenna had given in his pride the chaos born neglected the power of the war lord of aesir and he would pay dearly.
Two Days Later
Naruto sat watching Ise and Kiba practice, they blazed with extreme speed trading blows. Their speed was extraordinary easily on par with the fourth raikage in his lightning armor. However their fight style needed a lot of work, Kiba was fine as long as someone attacked directly and from the front, the tricks of a shinobi expert in misdirection like Kakashi or his father would tear him apart. That meant fighting against Loki will be suicide for the swordsman, for two days he had studied the lore related to the trickstar god. He even talked with Odin to understand the extent of the Norse god's powers. The god never ever fought fair, he was known as the shapeshifter, that actually disqualified most of the fighters. But of all of them only Ise could kill the trickstar, he was the only longinus available to them. How to accomplish that was the question.
He felt Akeno's life signature moving close, the last two days were wonderous for him. It felt good to have another body beside him at night. The shared warmth of her body eased out his nightmares. He didn't know if it had any future. He was just a mortal while she was a soldier of hell, immortality was her birth right. However ever since his return he felt her different. He thought of asking about it again and again but always the greater good came in consideration. All those thoughts fled from his mind as the soft flesh of his lover hugged him from behind.
"Hello, Naruto missed me?" Akeno whispered in his ear. She enjoyed the slight shivering that travelled through his flesh. However her mood shifted remarkably for worse as she heard the voice of one person she hated above all came from the doorways. One of the war leaders of the Grigori, lord of the holy lightning Barakiel.
Naruto felt her tense up, the rolling wave of sorrow and hate hit him in the gut with all with the force of a punch. He followed Akeno's vision to land on the two lords of the fallen angels. For a while it seemed confusing to consider why Akeno would hate them. 'May be because the other one is her father, remember she is half fallen angel herself' the voice of Kurama supplied. For two days he had listened but all the while his mind returned to the vicious power of the wolf. Then he hadn't faced it but this time he will fight it. His pride demanded it, the wolf may be god killer but that was irrelevant. He was no god.
Akeno felt Naruto gently hold her hand. His warmth providing her with the anchor holding her to the reality. Memories of fire and pain still haunted her, the smoke that choked her mother to death all too fresh in her mind. Yet beyond all the pain she could feel his warmth it called to her it called her back to reality. She followed it home.
Author's note: thanks to all who read and reviewed, favorited or followed. You provide the inspiration to write on.