Chapter 7
Upgrading and Training
Beta: Old man of the mountain/Darklord331
Naruto had retreated from the sewers and returned to Andre. While there, he asked him to do some maintenance on the arm and he did admit that the arm was in good condition but nothing a little oil and some basic maintenance.
Sitting by the bond fire Naruto sighed and mulled over the situation in his head with his 'war council.'
'So we have a bit of a situation with that thing down in the sewers. Nothing I did scratched that thing on the surface.'
"True maybe we need to find a stronger weapon to start tearing through the monster's flesh."
"That won't be easy, that creature a descendant of the Ancient Dragons. They are known for the durability and everlasting power. But it looks like this one might be a lesser dragon that I heard about."
'One that mutated to the point that it looks like a vagina with teeth?'
"Well," Gwynevere blushes, "Stranger things could have happened. Honestly, with everything that has happened, I have no guarantee on why it mutated but it could be that it hungered for more power."
"I think that is irrelevant to this point."
'Maybe but it is something to consider; what could have mutated that dragon so much that it became that?'
"Maybe it has something to do with this curse that is going around?"
'Possibly could the Lord Souls do this?'
"No, most of the souls are still where the realms of those that control the kingdom. But last I heard after father left to relight the first flame, most of the lords have remained in their domains untouched."
'I see, so that means they can't have had a hand in this.'
"Maybe. The only two that I can think of that would do something like this are Seath and the Witch but the later last I heard was having her own issues with something she created while the former has been locked up in his research conservatory."
'Huh.' Naruto sighed, 'But back on topic Kurama is right we need to do some more work on my weapons as some of them are just not cutting it anymore.'
"How about those weird black shards that we found? What if we gave them to Andre and asked if he can do anything with them?"
'That could work.'
"Also, didn't Andre say that if we did him a favor we can get that big sword that he has in his inventory? That weapon seems to be powerful enough that I think that we can slice through the dragon's skin no matter how strong it is."
'You forget that I would have to train with the sword and that could take days if not weeks. I'm not sure about you but I don't know if we have that kind of time as food doesn't seem to be plentiful.'
"True but thanks to the Estu's flasks you won't need it."
'Explain.'
"The flask returns a body back to its normal state. Means that if you drink it, it should remove all signs of fatigue and can even remove your hunger and thirst keeping your body operating at full capacity while at the same time, we can find food in some places in the realm and with some of the traders if we just harvest some of the undead that are still reviving."
'True.' Naruto sighed, 'But first thing first; upgrade our weapon and then we go into the forest and see if we can find that blacksmith that Andre was telling us about.'
"First rest. You have been running yourself ragged and we are going to need you at 100% before we go and challenge the forest. So get our stuff up to snuff and then get some sleep."
Naruto sighed and acknowledged her point. There was no point in running himself ragged without actually resting a bit to recover from all the fighting. While he did agree with Estu's flask he felt those should be reserved for when he needed it and given that the woman in the cage could upgrade it he was not too sure that he wanted to waste the first dose just because he is hungry.
Naruto walking over to Andre showed him the metal and he explained that with them he can upgrade his sword but only to a certain point saying that the quality of the steel mattered. With it he could make the weapon sharper and stronger but he says maybe only to about 3 times what it normally was. Other kinds exist out there in the world and if he is diligent he can find more of their kind and this will allow him to make his sword even stronger than before.
He nodded and let Andre get to work with all the shards he had while resting by the bond fire until he was finished.
Naruto hated sleeping but after drinking the Estu's flask at the insistence of Gwynevere, he realized that he was feeling lethargic. So closing his eyes he fell asleep.
Flash back
Naruto could argue that he should have done more; he should have just smashed the desk and thrown shit out the window. He should have hit his so-called friends and just tell them to fuck off.
But he knew all that would do is bring more people to breathe down his ass and he was sure that the other villages would support his Kage's decision.
Something that annoyed him; if it wasn't for him then the current Kage wouldn't be alive, he is confident to say that if he and Sasuke hadn't patch things up, the village wouldn't exist and everyone just be trapped in an eternal dream realm. But no, Sasuke is given a pass thanks to him but he gets treated like the Solve All Solution.
He was tired, he was tired of this mess, he was tired of being used, and he was tired of giving a shit.
After arriving back in his apartment he began packing everything; all of his belongings and all of his knowledge and turning them into scrolls that he would hide with the Toads who were still loyal to him thanks to his partner Gamakichi having become the new head of the clan. While he did ask why, Naruto stated he was just done and that he was ready to take on the next journey of his life.
Hearing this, the toad understood and left him to his own devices but wished him luck and if he ever needed them to call for them.
Naruto after packing his stuff waited until nightfall where he walked to the north gate which was the least guarded of the three gates they had. But unlike before, the gate didn't have the guards but Sasuke was standing there with a smile on his face.
"Knew you would show up here."
Naruto smiled,
"Why here to see me off?"
Sasuke nodded his head,
"Yeah I figured you would like to see at least one friend before you walked off. But considering how they are acting I thought a brother would be better."
"It is."
Sasuke and him stared at each other,
"Your sure about this?"
Naruto nodded his head,
"I am."
Sasuke sighed,
"Can't say I blame you." He smiled, "Take care of yourself, I'll keep the guessing for a few days and that should be enough time no?"
Naruto nodded his head,
"Yeah I heard that Wave has some ships that travel away from the Elemental Nations and end up in some new lands far away. I figured that if I did this, I might be a little more free than if I just moved to another country."
"True." He smiled, "Not worried someone will read my mind to find out?"
Naruto shrugged,
"Doesn't matter to me, either way I'm not coming back." Turning to the mountain he glared at the faces of the first and second, the fifth, and sixth hokage, "You know I always dreamed of my face on that rock wall but now I realize it was just that, a dream. Something that I chased to help pursue the idea that people will respect me if I did something amazing. But I realized something that you taught me." Looking at Sasuke he smiled, "I realized you were right, respect is earned, not given. If I can't have earned the respect after all the shit I have gone through then who gives a shit about this place?" Naruto looked at his brother, "So what are you going to do?"
Sasuke shrugged,
"Probably travel. Sakura is getting on my nerves again and while I get people want me to rebuild the clan I want it to be my choice and whoever I choose to do it with."
Naruto smiled and laughed,
"You sure your not gay."
Sasuke glared,
"Watch it. At least I know I'm not a virgin."
Naruto glared back,
"What was his name, Rod?"
Both brothers glared at each other before breaking out into laughter. The two just smiled and held each others hand and soon brought the other into a hug.
"Be safe little brother."
"You too big bro."
Releasing one another, Naruto walked past Sasuke and took off in a blur leaving the Uchiha to have a small tear escape.
"Is this what you felt Itachi, when you saw me for the last time? I'm sorry you felt this way."
Naruto on the other hand just made a mad dash for the border and smiled,
'Mom, dad, sorry but I can't swear loyalty anymore. I want people to earn my loyalty instead of it being given.'
With this began his journey to find the ship in Wave and sail off into the unknown.
Flash back Ends
Naruto was awoken by Andre shouting for him.
Rushing back to the blacksmith he showed him his sword and saw that it had a distinct air around the blade. Something akin to being sharper and seemed to be better formed compared to the usual.
Andre explained that he had used everything he could to upgrade the weapon so he should be good to go with some of the enemies in the forest.
Naruto thanked him and proceed into the forest or at least the lower level, were he encountered an unusual sight of a powerful creature dwelling below. Literally only one floor below Andre and his workshop.
Naruto managed to slay the monster with a few quick swings and while avoiding its long range magical attacks. He also found another one of those metal shards that he stumbled on and quickly grabbed it so he can use it for later.
From there, he found his way into a dark forest area where he started to see nothing but trees and vines as far as the eye can see. Walking down the path he saw a few plant beasts that emerged from the forest. They were just giant vines with brush for heads and they swung wildly to get him. Surprisingly Naruto had to duck closer to the creatures to avoid their long range swing but thankfully he managed to wipe out the creatures after performing a few quick strikes cutting them in half.
Naruto marched along the path while finding some off the beaten paths and some minor encounters here and there. But he managed to claim the treasures and souls that were lingering in some of the areas.
Eventually he found through the path to an opening that showed a walled off tower looking building to his left, a giant sealed wall in front of him, and a fog gate, as he was told, to his far right.
Naruto walked over to the tower and looked for anything unusual with the wall but Kurama said,
"Swing at it, Gwynevere says there is a bond fire lying beyond this."
Swinging his blade across the wall he didn't feel his blade striking anything solid. The wall quickly disappeared revealing the bond fire as mentioned before and thus ignited it so he had a safe spot to rest.
Leaving the bonfire he proceeds through the fog gate where he encounters some giant bronze knights with shields and swords. Naruto quickly slices through their ankles and is able to counter their movement with some well timed rolls and thus is able to cut them down to size. Doing this he manages to make it through the area without too much difficulty but the lizards and the tree monsters were just numerous and annoying to him.
Collecting everything in this region he proceeds up the path to the right and there he finds a giant root blocking his path and just settled for slashing at the root. Over a period of ten minutes he managed to cut through the root and it disappeared leaving him an opening to head out. From this, Naruto made it into another clearing dispatching some more monsters and even slaying a mighty stone golem. There, Naruto found a ring that was available to him and he smiled before putting it away in his storage space. He would go through his treasures when he got back to a safe spot.
From there, he managed to make his way through the area and slay another giant golem in which he proceeds passed it. Naruto soon arrived at another fog gate, this one showing an arch of some sorts and Naruto frowned.
'Got a feeling we are in for a treat.'
"Naruto be careful, there is something lingering on the other side and given that this is a bridge we can assume it flies."
'I swear this better not be another dragon.'
Naruto walked through the fog gate and see that he was just settled on a bridge where there was a giant moth like creature floating closer to him from the distance. Naruto raised an eyebrow,
'A giant bug?'
"NARUTO! Be careful that is one of Seath's horrid experiments!"
'For real!?'
"That poor creature, it was twisted beyond recognition. It must have escaped the grand archives and came out here to find something. But it can't recall what it was and now it is just lashing out.'
'It doesn't matter it is-,' Naruto quickly rolled as soon as he saw several magical bolts fired at him. The attack was aimed in a pattern that he thinks is to maximize the range and speed of his attack but due to how slow it was moving he was able to avoid it.
Naruto after dodging the attack quickly sees another powerful attack fired at him and he just rolled out of the way again.
This process would repeat for at least ten minutes and Naruto was growling in frustration.
'Damn thing has to run out at some point. What is taking it so long?'
"Seath is known as the father of magic, so it is possible that the creature has a near limitless reserves."
'Well it has to stop soon.'
Naruto continued to dodge more of its attacks and this leads to the butterfly just firing and firing and firing until finally he sees it. The final attack of the creature which it launches a powerful sphere at him but due to how slow it was going he was able to roll away from it.
But the creature started floating closer to the plants on the bridge.
Naruto narrowed his eyes that it was now within attack range so he slashes at the creature's head and it just continued chewing on the plant. From this, Naruto continued to slash at it but the minute he saw the creature glowing he growled.
"Not this time you big flying bastard."
He took his sword and slashed at the creature's wing causing it to flurry away from him.
Wings that were desperately trying to keep them airborne but due to the inbalance he was facing, the wings lead to him crashing into the bridge. Blocking his path to the tower, Naruto just sighed.
"Sorry big guy." Walking up to the butterfly and he could hear it squealing as if screaming something at him. Naruto couldn't make it out and frowned.
"I wonder?"
Naruto touched the creature's head and closed his eyes.
Kurama saw Naruto trying to in touch with nature around him and his eyes widened.
"Senjutsu."
"Senjutsu?"
"Yes it is Naruto's technique that he mastered from his master before him. From what I understand the technique works with him working alongside nature but this should be impossible he lost his chakra!"
"Maybe the mana that replaced his chakra is acting as a substitute so it is having a differing effect compared to chakra?"
Naruto however was seeing something and he couldn't explain it.
A dark and empty place
Being with multiple eyes looking at them
Tears streaming down their face
Pain coursing through their body
A white present being holding out its massive hand and all it can feel is pain
Floating through the air, seeing more of its kind floating around
The being flying high in the sky
Seeing a man sitting at the top of a tower begging for his life
Seeing a blond boy enter the area and firing magic at it
"All I wanted is the pain to stop, thank you."
Naruto pulled his hand back and his eyes widened.
'What was that?'
"Kit what happened?"
'I, I, I don't really know. It is so confusing. I think I saw the creature's memories.' Naruto shivered, 'Kurama, they are so horrible how can someone do this to someone? I mean even Orochimaru drew the line at certain things but this guy, he didn't stop. Their screams, their pain, it is so haunting.'
Kurama frowned, he felt bad for Naruto. Something like that was going to shake up anyone and from what he can guess if he thinks Orochimaru is not as bad, then this guy is a real twisted fuck.
Gwynevere however, cried. She knew what he was talking about, how couldn't she? She knew the being personally and hated him more than anyone else. Hated him more than her father for what he did in his paranoid state of mind.
Hated him more than the Four Kings that betrayed her father.
Hated him more than the Pygmy's who were trapped by her sister and keeping her trapped for all eternity.
She hated him so much, she couldn't stand it. She hated him so much for all the evil that he committed.
But now was not the time, she was busy holding the Butterflies memories and its essence and started to covet it. Hugging the being's soul she whispered into the soul,
"Hush child, it is okay now. Your safe, I won't let him touch you again. Please sleep now, you can sleep and embrace those that you so longed for."
Gwynevere cried tears and just held onto the soul in her loving arms and begged the soul to forgive her.
Naruto however, had shaken off some of the shock and proceed through the ruined tower. There he found a blacksmith's corpse sitting there in a praying position, his hammer destroyed, and his smith shop overgrown or ruined. He felt the pain this man went through but quickly swallowed his feelings and retrieved a small stone that glowed and it looked like a whetstone that he had seen before. But it had a weird feeling to it and it seemed to be deep inside the hands of the blacksmith. Prying his hands free he took the stone and apologized to him. There he found a key not too far from the body and also found a bone of some kind that had a weird glow. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and sent them away while he proceeded down the tower and walked the way he came.
Arriving back, he saw Andre and handed him the stone that he found with the blacksmith.
The man looked at it and smiled,
"Thank you lad, with this I can make your weapons divine and thanks to it I can upgrade them even more than before."
Naruto nodded his head,
"Great. Hey listen I was wondering who was that I took the stone from?"
He frowned,
"An old friend."
"No one I should-"
"You want the fucking sword or not?" Pointing over to the giant sword.
Naruto could see this is personal so he opted to let it go, holding his hands up and nodding at his question.
Walking over Naruto grabbed the handle of the blade and with both hands lifted it but grunted from the weight of the blade.
"Shit really heavy." Naruto laid the blade on the ground and sighed, "Looks like killing the dragon is going to need to take a step back until I can swing this fucking blade." Naruto sighed, "Hey Andre where did you say you got this blade?"
"Oh some traveling merchant said an old swordsman used it for the longest time but he gave up on it after he completed his goal years ago. Don't know much other than that the man apparently scattered his armor, weapons, and even his arm. Like the one you are wearing but his was more, diverse in its creation."
Naruto nodded his head looking at the weapon itself but he frowned, he swears he could see something reflecting out of the blade.
"Anything about this blade that is unique?"
"Other than the fucking thing is heavy as fuck? No not really." Andre turned, "Why?"
"Don't know why but I swear I saw something in the blade." Naruto frowned and picked the sword up again with both hands struggling to hold the blade up. Slowly he lifted the blade above his head and then brought it down in a massive swing.
"Well, I guess," he grunted, "Nothing better to do than train with this sword no?"
Andre smiled,
"That's the spirit brat. Keep doing this and maybe in a few days you'll be able to swing that thing around like your other sword."
Naruto looked at him and continued to slowly swing the blade in a downward slash.
"Is there anything that can upgrade this weapon?"
He shook his head,
"Sadly that blade isn't compatible with any of the material in this land. Meaning that upgrading it is out of the question but I have a feeling that thing doesn't need it."
Naruto could nod to that, thing was heavy as hell, even if it didn't cut something he was sure it could shatter bones and bodies with ease.
While going through the swings and alternating to taking a break or doing physical work outs to improve his body he started going over things in his head.
'First we have the other bell tower to reach but until we can get past that dragon, we won't be able to reach it.'
"Why though the gate is there isn't it?"
"My guess is that the dragon is there to act as a guardian or something."
"Guardian? How though?"
"How else do you explain a giant dragon in the middle of a sewer system with no obvious sign of how it got into the city without drawing attention?"
"…..Fair point."
'Yeah but still, we have to ring this other bell and then what?'
"You'll be able to walk through the gate. The one that man is staring at with no clue how to open it? That gate is sealed until the two bells are rung."
'So ring it, place opens up, walk through more death traps and alike ,and then find my way to…. Where exactly?'
"To my former home."
'You mean the capital?'
"Yes."
Naruto frowned,
'Gwynevere I was meaning to ask you something.'
"Yes what is it?"
'What happened to the Pygmy people that you mentioned. The ones that touched the Dark Soul?'
"Actually that is a good question. We've talked about it while you were busy and she told me that they were all touched by it and supposedly they were well equipped to handle the next era that is to come. Which is the reason for the extension of the Age of Fire."
"Yes father feared the next age, didn't want the Pygmy race to challenge him even though they were loyal to a fault and even capable of being better than some of our best troops. They were well equipped and their armor was powerful enough that even the Gods feared them. Mostly because it came from the Abyss."
'Abyss?'
"Yes it is where all being originated from but those of us from the Age of Fire, fear it due to the danger that dwells there and how our powers don't work as well compared to others."
'I see, so the Pygmys can dwell there thanks to their connection to the Dark Soul thus when the Age of Fire ends, they have the chance to reign supreme over all the realm.'
"Indeed, that is why my father banished them to the furthest reaches of the world with their own kingdom and everything. But he made sure they could never challenge him. They are a cursed race not knowing that they were betrayed by the very people they worshipped and followed."
"But that was your father dear." Kurama stared at the goddess who looked back, still holding the soul of the butterfly. "Your father and his allies made those decisions not you. Your siblings had nothing to do with it, you didn't do it, and no one that had no voice in the situation did this. Remove the guilt you feel in your heart; what happened to them was paranoia and greed built up from generations of domination. Nothing more."
'Kurama's right. You have guilt, which means your more of an ally to those around you than those that try to hide their mistakes behind some divine ideal. You take responsibility and you are the one that stands the most to help fix the mistakes of the past as best as you can.'
Gwynevere smiled and cried,
"Thank you both. I ask you to continue on this journey so we may do just that."
'Of course, what are friends for?'
"However; I fear what is to come."
'Why though? Is there someone in the capital we have to be weary of?'
"Yes whether they are actually still there or not is unclear as again I havent' been around to see what has happened in the last few hundred years."
'Well I guess we'll find out shortly.'
Naruto sighed and laid down on the ground by the bond fire and looked at his newly acquired sword and could only frown.
'Still, the world is bigger than I thought and some of the stories are even darker than our own. But it is worth it, I think this is better world than my own. No deception or BS, just people doing their own agendas and not trying to pretend that they are your friend and keep up the ruse continuously.'
"True."
"Indeed, however I do wonder, if the Dark Soul does exist and it seems the most flexible of all the souls, does this mean that the soul is lingering somewhere in the world and we just don't know it? What about the kingdom of the Pygmy's could they hold it?"
"No, the Pygmy's are by products of the Dark Soul. They are connected to it in some manner or another but they are not in possession of the original. Last I heard Artorias conquered the Abyss revealing that he slayed a mighty being that is considered the first Pygmy, so if I had to hazard a guess, more than likely Artorias is the only one that knows what happened. But he perished ages ago."
Naruto sighed,
'Well, we'll find out sooner or later. Call it a hunch.'
Naruto closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the warmth of the fire while ignoring the tingling feeling on the side of his head. Something that was gnawing at him and he was not sure what.
"Father please stop!"
"I'm sorry but you must perish."
Images of a white bearded man, a flash of yellow and a pair of female hands held up with a scream.
Naruto jolted awake, sweating and hyperventilating.
"What did I just see?"
Chapter End