A child is sitting in front of so many corpses. Her eyes are full of blankness while staring at them. She doesn't have any idea what just happened. She just remembers the blessing that keeps repeating in her ears like a broken tape.
"The prophecy has chosen you, my child"
"A prophecy that will bless our empire with prosperity and a prophecy that will curse our empire with destruction. You are chosen to lead our empire, my child."
"Upon the time has come, I see men who will love you and men you will love. Men who will kill you and men you will kill"
"You don't have a choice but to accept my blessing, may it be your life and death, ups and downs, past and future. It was your choice, what crossroads ahead of you is your destiny."
The light shines and touches the white and soft skin of the pinkette's beauty that comes from the window that wakes her up. She stared at her ceiling for 2 minutes before getting up.
"Again, that horrible dream" she mumbled sighing before getting up off of her bed. She fixed her bed before taking a bath. Afterward, she then put on her purple tight low round dress with long sleeves and tie her green hanfu face veil below her eyes, and don't forget the color red wig to stay incognito to the public. She didn't tie her wig and just let it loose so people won't easily notice her pink hair inside of it. Before she left her chamber, she put on her cherry blossom necklace. An heirloom from the Haruno clan that was given to her by her late father.
The pinkette look up to the sky after locking her door and saw the beautiful sunlight touching her delicate skin. She ignored it and proceed to where she is going.
Meanwhile, the Third Emperor of the Konoha Leaf Empire is discussing with the other clan about the debutante partner for the son of the late Fourth Emperor of the Konoha. The son is now turning into a young man, but they can't deny that he is still immature despite being the son of the great Hero of the Konoha. Since he grew up without having a parent, people judge him as a disrespectful and lowly child without any knowledge about etiquette as a prince. The young prince knows that all of the nobles who attended the delegation just want their reputation to increase, even though they despise his immature behavior.
He is so sick of them. No, he is so sick of being a noble and this useless debutante ball. He didn't need this kind of tradition, since almost everyone, even the other country knew him as being the Konoha Hero's Son. However, this is their tradition as a noble so he can't avoid it, especially since he is a Prince and an important noble of the Konoha. Sometimes he wished to Kami that he should just die right now and get reincarnated as a commoner. But that won't happen because he doesn't believe in Kami.
"Now, would you like to accept the delegation, General defense of the Hyuga clan?" Asked the Emperor while staring intensely at the General Defense of the Konoha Leaf sitting at the right side of the long table, who in return stared at the blonde prince with aversion.
"It is an honor to have a son of the fourth Emperor or the Hero of the Konoha to be a debutante partner of my daughter. I just hope that this son of this hero won't do anything such as reckless to humiliate my daughter to the public" he said looking so detest at the Young Prince standing beside the emperor. By his chosen words it is obvious that he doesn't want to acknowledge the prince as the Son of the Hero.
"You hear that, Naruto?"
"Hai, it is also an honor for me to become a partner of your daughter on my debutante ball, General Hyuga-sama. And I Prince Namikaze Naruto would never humiliate Lady Hinata in the public" he answered while bowing respectfully pushing himself not to put any wrong expression to not humiliate his late father's name anymore. The General stared at him with displeasure at his chosen words, because it lacks decency.
The emperor read the atmosphere that the General is sending and this may provoke the Hyuuga clan to deviate from the decision.
"Alright, everything is settled!" he purposely inserted while smiling, getting the General Defense's attention. He nodded in return at the Emperor and never said anything to not create any more dissension glance to the Prince to affect his clan's reputation. As much as he dislikes the Prince that is nothing but a simple-minded boy, he is still useful to increase his reputation and gain more favor from the Emperor.
"Very well. Before I make a dismissal to our delegation let me remind you of some minor issues of the Konoha Leaf Empire..." the Emperor discussed all the issues that needed to settle as soon as possible before it affects the whole empire. Especially the crisis regarding the missing mages and the inadequate medical mages.
After a while, the delegation is finished without any problems coming from the young prince for the first time. The clan that is part of the delegation left wishing the emperor a long life leaving the prince and the emperor inside the conference hall.
"You did a great job earlier..."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said while bowing.
"But regardless of your nice and great posture while standing, you still lack appropriateness when it comes to your vocabulary. Haven't I made Iruka to teach you those lessons? Or is he not—" he added but was cut by Naruto.
"Iruka-sensei haven't done anything, but push me to learn those lessons. But, I refuse, and it is my fault for neglecting such an important lesson. Forgive me, your Majesty" he said making the Emperor surprised and impressed at his behavior.
"*Sigh* It's alright, for now. Don't ever neglect such an essential lesson next time". The prince nodded respectfully like he was a different person. It impress him so he decided to multiply his budget for the debutante ball and call his Chancellor and told him to give the budget to the Prince.
"You can ask Tsunade to help you manage your debutante ball with the budget, I have given you. Furthermore, don't forget to ask a Priest to attend your debutante ball to give you a blessing".
"Hai!...Is that all?" The blonde asked while scratching his butt getting back to his usual self.
The third Hokage sweat dropped and thank Kami that the nobles of the delegation have already left and didn't see this side of him. He thought the Prince's behavior earlier would last longer, but it was just temporary.
"Is there something wrong?". The third emperor gets annoyed at his changes of tone towards him.
"Naruto, I thought you already learned your lesson. If you try to show this side of yourself to the public. It will not just affect your reputation but also..."
"My Parent's reputation" he added. He didn't just hear this word for the second time, but he heard it a hundred times already. "Yeah-yeah, I knew that already, your majesty. If you don't have anything to say. Can you excuse me now 'cause I haven't eaten breakfast yet, Dattebayo".
The Third emperor sighed again at this young prince's behavior. If his parents are still alive right now, would his behavior become the opposite? He excused the prince and then go back to his office to continue his pile of work.
The old emperor sighed and gaze at the outside of his office, while his chancellor is fixing the mess on his table.
"Do you think that child would mature?" he asked his chancellor who take a pause and think who was the child the emperor is talking about.
"Uhm, is it the Prince?"
"No...Nothing. Just forget about it." he said disregarding his question to his chancellor who also dislikes the Prince.
Naruto rode his horse and go to the Village to eat some ramen before deciding on going to the temple. While he was peacefully eating his Ramen, an annoying rival of his noticed him eating peasant food.
"Hn"
"What are you doing in here, teme?" the blonde started while glaring at him.
"Patrolling." He answered with a straight face.
"Then if you're on a patrol why are bothering me?"
"Hn. I'm roaming around, dobe" he answered now glaring at him.
The blonde ignored him and kept on eating. But he got distracted again when his rival purposely coughed at his back getting his attention more. He finished his ramen first before facing his rival.
"Why are you still here, teme?"
"Waiting for criminals."
Naruto stands up out of his chair and starts looking around.
"Look, there is no criminal around here, teme. So just roam in there and get out of here. 'Cause I also have a place I need to go to. Dattebayo!" he said before leaving his rival behind. But before he step further, his rival stopped him by putting his sword on his belt making Naruto's face fell on the floor.
"TEME!"
The blonde pointed his sword toward his rival and it was immediately stopped by the raven boy shielding it using his sword.
"I am not here to fight you. I just wanna ask. Hn,... where. are. you. going?" he said reluctantly while feeling embarrassed.
Naruto was shocked by the question. Has this guy in front of him been possessed by something? This was the first time his rival asked him without them fighting. Or does he have an ill motive?
The blonde grinned widely before deciding on mocking his rival. "I'm. not. gon. na. tell. you, TEME".
After that, he rode his horse and left his rival dumbfounded on the ground. He can't help but felt humiliated because it just stabbed his pride.
Actually, he asked Naruto that question not because he had ill motives, but because he heard that the dobe is going to the temple. The word 'going to the temple' means he wants to ask Naruto to invite him to the temple, moreover, it's because he had something he wants to discuss with the Cardinal. However, this is certainly not an excuse that the Ravenette boy would choose to lose his pride just to go to the temple. Honestly, he wishes to see again the silhouette of this beautiful red-haired woman with emerald eyes praying in front of the Kaguya's Statue. To confirm if this woman is not just a glimpse, but a real lady.
The blonde finally arrived at the temple of the Konoha. He entered the rear of the temple and saw a deacon with shoulder-length white hair, pale skin, and vivid green eyes. He was wearing an alb with a lavender stole hanging on his right arm. But the two scarlet dots on his forehead caught the prince in awe.
"Excuse me. I am Prince Naruto Namikaze, here to ask a priest to bless my debutante ball." he started while bowing.
"Greetings to the son of the hero. I am Kimimaro an acolyte, your highness" he responded in return while bowing. It turns out he knew the Blonde prince and aside from that he is not a deacon but an acolyte.
"Eh!?, I thought you were a deacon"
"Pardon me, your highness. You misunderstood, this stole on my arm is not mine. And, Deacon never wears a commoner's alb" he said still respectful to the prince while still in his straight face.
"But deacons are also commoners. They both undergo to the same seminary and study to become a priest. What's the big deal of the differences between the clothes of the commoners and the priest clothes?" he stated feeling obnoxious about the prejudice, even though that's not about the conversation.
The young acolyte just sweat dropped at the prince's response. He was gonna explain the differences between a deacon and an acolyte, however, it would just waste his time. So he chooses not to extend the conversation to this kind of topic. Since he also knew what this prince is capable of.
"Your Highness, let me assist you to the sacristy. Here is the way". He said assisting Naruto inside the temple.
After the blonde prince stepped inside the temple's hall his jaw dropped. He thought the rear of the temple is not big as its sanctuary, where the mass takes place. The exterior of the temple was designed with two high pointed triangular shapes at the roof signifying a woman and a man that was created into the Earth. The platform of the temple was made of mud brick and timber. It may look slightly big on the outside, but it is more immensely huge on the inside. In the interior, there are a lot of columns carved inside supporting the roof. It has a lot of rooms and spaces but the major predominant at the temple are the four gardens, two on the right and two on the left side.
"What is inside those Gardens?" the blonde prince asked curiously while walking. The acolyte takes a glance at each of the gardens before explaining.
"Each garden had a sculpture engraved inside of it, namely the Main Great Gods we worshipped. The first Garden had a statue of Hagoromo known as the God of Light and virtues. The second Garden had a statue of Hagoromo's First Son Indra as the God of War and Wisdom. The third Garden had a statue of Hagoromo's Second Son Asura as the God of Peace and Harvest. And the Fourth Garden had a statue of Hamura, Hagoromo's twin brother as the God of Darkness and Evil." he took paused and looked at the Prince.
"You may be confused, as to why would we worship a God of darkness, right?" He asked while tilting his head towards Naruto who immediately nodded showing an interest in the topic.
"I am also confused at first, but this red-haired lady explained to me that being the god of darkness doesn't mean Hamura is an evil god. He became a God of Darkness to punish all the bad people in the World. And that is why he is my Favorite to worship among them all" he added while being proud of his favorite God but in an emotionless way.
Yes, he was interested just now, but he still loses interest in any of the Gods the acolyte mentioned, since he doesn't believe in Gods. Anyway, they were just mere humans who are just incredibly powerful. However, the word red-haired caught his attention. By any chance does this Acolyte know his cousin? No, that will never happen—ever. Because Naruto's cousin is not fond of such as reading scriptures and visiting the temple. It is a miracle if his cousin happens to come to this kind of place. However, having a handsome priest in such a place is not an exception. Especially, the Acolyte in front of him could be his cousin's target. Yup, he knows all the dirty and trashy personalities of his cousin. Despite this fact about his cousin, there are still a lot of men wooing her.
"Ano-san, the red-haired lady you mentioned. Was it Princess Karin?"
"Princess Karin?" he asked while raising his left eyebrow. Without a doubt, his expression just simply means he doesn't know who is Princess Karin of the Uzumaki, who was famous as the most influential noble lady that exists and known by every man.
"YOU DON'T KNOW KARIN?!" Naruto yelled making the acolyte cover his ears to this prince's loud voice.
"Uh, I'm sorry, your highness. But it is my first time hearing her name," he said. Naruto can't believe what he just heard. There has been no Man alive who said those words. Because every time his cousin was mentioned, they all know that she is a powerful woman with so much influence. However, when he recalled his thoughts earlier about his cousin visiting such a place. He then realizes that he shouldn't doubt the situation because it would be a miracle.
"Actually, I don't know if the red-haired lady I saw was a Princess since I can barely see her face because she was wearing a net mask under her eyes and her eyes were hidden underneath her hair. Also, her dress is just too simple," he added. Naruto placed his hand under his chin and stared at the acolyte. The acolyte felt uncomfortable with the Prince's stares so he can't help but asked.
"What is it, your highness?"
"Hmm, Yeah, you are right. You don't know my cousin" he said before walking inside the temple leaving the Acolyte confused about the situation. The acolyte's mind just nodded at his thoughts that this Prince in front of him was really a simple-minded boy.
After a while of walking straight inside the temple, the Prince halted in front of a large entrance to another Garden. He turns around to the acolyte to fill his confusion.
"I thought there are only four gardens inside the temple?".
"No, your highness. There are five gardens built inside the temple. Yet, this fifth garden is still unaware to the public since it is built in the middle of the rear that only the priest and nobles can pass through. However, the newly elected pope modify the rule and renovate the Garden. Inside was a sculpture of Goddess Kaguya the Mother of Hagoromo and Hamura and the Goddess of Love and Fertility. In addition, according to the scriptures, she was also the Goddess of Balance and Prophecy." he explained while staring at the fountain inside the Garden.
"Also, this is where I met the red-haired lady I was talking about earlier. Some of the nobles who came in here to pray to Goddess Kaguya-sama said she was spirited away..."
The blonde prince felt goosebumps all over his body. It is unbelievable that an extremely enthusiastic boy could be scared of Ghosts. He gulped and tilted his head slowly while trembling at the Garden in front of him.
"D-don't wo-wor-ry I am not s-s-sca-scared of go-ghosts" he utters while trembling, before walking straight to the garden like a robot.
"Uh, your highness. That is not the way to the Sacristy".
The Prince sighed in relief and go back to where the acolyte is standing, who just save his life just now. The Acolyte pointed towards the right corridor where they will go through, which is just adjacent to the Garden and proceeded to the Sacristy.
Before Naruto walked and come next to the Acolyte he flinch and notices something in the corner of his left eye. A silhouette of a person who just passed by. No matter how scared he was of what he just saw, he still tilted his head. When he takes a glance there was nothing but a fountain and trees full of flowers on the ground and that made him ran towards the Acolyte who just walks through without looking at him.
The Blonde Prince arrived at the sacristy while sweating and trembling in fear.
"Are you alright, your highness?"
"I-I am fine hehe. I don't know that the temple could be this hot" he said while waving his hand like a fan to his face pretending to feel hot. The Acolyte was confused because there are a lot of open windows on the way to the Sacristy and even if you were inside the temple you can still feel the breeze of the wind.
"But the breeze is so cold, your highness. Or perhaps you need water?" he asked being hospitable to the Prince.
The Prince can't help but nod to the question. He may be exposed if he didn't accept the offer.
After a while, the request for a priest to attend his debutante ball was finished voluntarily by the Pope. All the preachers were surprised by the sudden change from the Pope, who is well-known for his cold personality and hate towards royalty. Though the Prince who will be having a debutante ball doesn't even care who's going to bless him since he doesn't even care about his debutante ball.
Specifically, he only wanted to finish this debutante ball as soon as possible so his only focus, for now, is being promoted to a Knight. He can't wait to be given a handkerchief by a Lady to wish him luck or to show affection towards him when events like hunting, jousting, horse-riding, and single combat occur in the future.
The Prince was dismissed early after the Pope declared himself to attend his ball. At the moment, he is now walking towards the entrance again to go home. It was almost midday so there is a shadow coming from the open window of the temple. The acolyte was ordered by the Priest to fetch something so there is no attendant left to assist him outside the temple. The peaceful temple felt so eerie every time he stepped in his direction. This frightened him, and that is why he walk faster than the average, but still, his feet halt in front of the fifth garden. He doesn't know why he feels like he wants to enter the garden. He couldn't help himself and entered the garden without thinking twice about what could happen to him.
After he entered he didn't feel anything frightening or eerie. He only felt astonished by how sparkling and beautiful the garden is. It feels so relaxing and comfortable inside contrary to how he felt earlier. While roaming inside the garden glancing at every flower you could think of, he heard a soothing voice of a woman humming inside. He followed the voice and saw a statue engraved on the wall from afar behind the fountain. He halted once again because of the red-haired lady he noticed. Only her hair can be noticed behind the fountain, therefore he steps forward a little more so he could see her face but before he could move once more a hand grabs his left shoulder. He looked around and saw his squire companions, the chubby boy, and the pineapple head boy.
"What are you doing in here?" the pineapple head boy started.
"Eh?... I should be the one asking that, why are you two doing in here?" he asked in return.
"I ask first Naruto," the pineapple head boy said with an exhausted face.
"I was looking to the red-haired lady, there behind the fount—" he didn't finish his sentence since he felt goosebumps all over his body after realizing that there was no lady or woman behind the fountain. The two squires looked behind the fountain and saw nothing but the statue of Kaguya-sama.
"Are you fooling with us, Naruto?" the pineapple head asked while raising his eyebrow.
"Do I look like I am fooling?"
"Choji, when is the time Naruto never fools us?"
"Hmm, none." the chubby boy replied while eating his chips.
"Hey, there is a time when I didn't fool you two"
"When?".
The blonde prince makes a flashback to everything he does in the past to the extent that there is nothing he can think of but his Prank and tricky jokes to his companions and professors. He felt defeated at the question and just choose to give up.
"Fine, if you don't want to believe me then don't. But then what are you two doing in here?"
"The Third Emperor ordered us to help the temple move all the relief goods to the village and give it to them..."
"Yeah, and it was such a drag 'cause the Hyuga and the Uchiha are so troublesome" he added while rolling his eyes feeling irritated with the two prodigies who can't even get along.
"Eh? Teme is also here?!" he shouted.
"Yes, I am here, dobe" the ravenette boy spoke out intruding on their conversation who just arrived perfectly at the time when his name was mentioned.
Naruto once again yelled, "Eh?!" while pointing his finger at his rival. It felt like his rival is following him everywhere like some stalker.
"You followed me here, aren't you? Teme stalker," he said, adding his new nickname to his rival. The ravenette glared at him.
"I would never follow a dumb-dobe, who turns into a squire merely because of sympathy," he said mocking the Prince. Naruto felt his rage rising towards his rival's words. He gripped the handle of his sword strapped to his waist and control his emotion. The word of his rival is too personal to him since it is true yet humiliating if it was leaked to the public.
"Hey-hey stop it you two. Can't you please not quarrel just for a day? We still need to move those cargoes of goods to the carriage. You two are such a drag. Geez, Choji let's go" the pineapple head sighed before turning around to go to the exit and leave the two behind since he can't take any more quarreling coming from his fellow squire who acts like a child. The chubby boy followed him without saying anything.
After the two left, the atmosphere became intense.
"Yeah, you are right. I became squire because of Iruka-sensei's sympathy since that is what you heard. But even if I told you the truth you would never believe me. I am titled a Prince since birth, but I would never make this title just to manipulate people and take it for my own benefit." he stated staring seriously at his rival.
"Hn." was the only word the ravenette said before going towards the Kaguya Statue like he was looking for someone.
He stared at the statue before looking back at his rival. "Then, let's fight at the training ground tonight. When all of the squire and knights fall asleep" he declared before leaving his rival behind. The Prince touched his stomach and feels the adrenaline running like crazy inside. He can't help but felt excited because finally, his rival acknowledges him.
Then, the Prince left the Garden forgetting the silhouette of the red-haired lady he saw.
*
To be continued...