Naruto was up and out the door the moment his clone was about to move and wake him. He had been just about to fall asleep when his senses registered the massive spiking power.
'These psycho assholes! Who the hell fights in a city like this? I thought they would have moved.'
He was outside the hotel now and his hands shot towards his chest as his fingers came together in a cross shaped seal. Wordlessly several hundred shadow clones came into being. They shot off in every direction as soon as they touched the ground.
In the center of the city Ares and Mars were currently fighting and Hera had just jumped over and struck Juno. The fighting was quickly escalating and there were still a lot more gods to add to the fray. They clearly did not care for the human life around them.
His power was as suppressed as he could make it as he moved silently across the rooftops. Every time he stopped a Body Flicker a hundred more clones bloomed away from him. His goal was simple, rescue anyone he could.
Already he'd moved several thousand people to the outskirts of the town. But the all-out melee in the center of the city was escalating and high power attacks were being thrown around in every direction. Naruto kept his emotions calm but he sighed at the pointless waste of life.
At the moment Naruto did not feel inclined to interrupt the fighting. Those who such an action could have saved were already lost. The pressure and errant power had crushed and slain those in the immediate vicinity.
There were now at least 2,000 clones spread across the city ferrying the civilians out of the city. But a city the size of Kuoh had at least 200,000 people. A Hirashin marker was placed by the first clone to reach the outskirts of the city and each clone was popping there with each citizen they found. Only to re-appear where they had just been having set up a local marker.
Using this method, thousands of people were already grouping outside the city. But the gods were still escalating their violence.
'As long as the heavy hitters stay out of the fight the city should remain mostly intact…'
Another large explosion destroyed an office building near him. The embers peppered the surrounding buildings and another city block was set aflame. He looked over towards the fighting as saw dozens of shockwaves surging out from impacts as the gods fought.
The sonic booms constantly cracked across the night's sky. The sound of citizens screaming was silenced as a clone transported them out of the way.
'Should I step into the fight? These guys won't all be caught flat-footed like the three from before. I would probably cause some crazy collateral… Kurama what do you think?'
"Heh, who cares? Even if you feel compelled to stop their fighting the damage is already done and who knows how much more damage they would inflict to try and kill you? None of this matters Naruto. You know my stance, we need to get back home."
No answer came from the blonde and Kurama spoke no further on the matter. His opinion was out there, what Naruto did was up to him. Before he could decide however the fighting stopped. A huge figure beheading a kneeling woman and a different god shot upwards into the inky night sky. Then as one the other gods vanished the city fell into silence. The only sound to be heard was the crackling of flames.
The clones began popping once they realized the citizens were safe. As the info flooded his mind Naruto paid it no attention and let if mix into his collective experience. From the center of a huge crater he surveyed the city and took note of the extensive damage. He shook his head and vanished into the shadows of an alley. The city meant nothing to him, the destruction was nothing to him. The death, all of it meant nothing. He had seen much worse.
[ToR]
"Lord Rizevim, 666 has caused an unbalance between the Greeks and Romans. He slew Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. The Roman's quickly capitalized and wiped out the remaining Greeks."
Rizevim spun around in his red cushioned armchair. His fingers were steepled together as he viewed the random servants kneeling before him. His right eye brow rose as he spoke.
"Oh? 666 is quite interesting isn't he?" His question was rhetorical and the servant dared not answer. "No matter, go and fetch Euclid."
The servant quickly stood and bowed before striding from the room in haste. Lord Rizevim was well known in his castle for killing servants who stayed longer then he wanted.
'Come now 666, why are you still wasting time in the human world? Do you not wish to fight your way past Great Red and out of these connected dimensions? Why must you delay my adventure?'
Sitting in his comfortable chair he could do nothing but wait. Everything rested on 666 to fight Great Red. It didn't even matter if 666 was able to win, he just needed to keep Great Red busy long enough for Rizevim to make his move.
[ToR]
In the Dimensional Gap Great Red flew yet another circle around Ophis. He had been doing this ever since Naruto had been un-sealed. His deep booming voice was constantly repeating the same question. But Ophis had been unable to answer him the first time, and now when he asked for the millionth time she still remained silent.
"C'mon Ophis! When is he coming? Huh? When is that guy coming back? He better be at 100% this time. He was way too easy to beat last time."
'Oh? He said something else. I guess I shall respond.'
The small dark haired girl turned from facing the endless void and stared at the circling dragon.
"He was barely alive at the time. Even witnessing his wounds rapidly healing one could still ascertain that his life was hanging in the balance. Yet you struck him from behind and when he turned to fight, you blew a great cone of fire onto him. His survival was impressive but then he fled to the human dimension. I imagine you are unsatisfied with the previous encounter?"
"HA! Unsatisfied? The guy was nearly dead and he still survived my strike and my flames. I am anything but unsatisfied. I am beyond thrilled. He survived that! In such a state even you would have died. Yet he survived! Just imagine what he will be capable of when he meets me in battle… BUT DAMN! When is he coming?"
Ophis merely stared blankly. She still did not have an answer so she would just keep waiting.
[ToR]
"Th-That… Rias. What just happened?"
Issei's frank question had the entire room's attention. Sona and her peerage were in attendance and the Occult Research Clubroom was getting cramped as they mixed in with her peerage. She looked at her pawn and took a moment to gather her thoughts. Rias then spoke a minute later.
"Well. From what I saw, it seemed to be the ancient Roman gods fighting and killing the ancient Greek gods. They seem to have destroyed a huge portion of Kuoh and likely killed most of the inhabitants. As to why this happened… I can only guess."
Her tone was dull and her speech to the point. It held none of her usual sugary happiness. The shock from early had not yet worn off. Issei just nodded his head dumbly. The words bounced around inside his head as he was having trouble connecting her statement to reality.
Sona cleared her throat from her seat on one of the couches. When she spoke it was with her usual bland monotone. "Why this has happened is anyone's guess at the moment. But I suspect Naruto played a large role in this evenings events. His unique energy signature was easy to feel when he flared his strength prior to all the gods arriving.
Several people around the room nodded their heads in agreement. 15 minutes passed silently as the group was lost in thought. Soon the sun would start to peak over the horizon as several early birds chirped outside the window. The peaceful silence was suddenly disturbed as several people barged into the room.
"Riiiiiassss! Why are you still here? I told you to return to the underworld!"
Her brother looked stern and his tone held no room for arguing. But as Rias looked towards Sirzechs he quickly softened his gaze as he noticed her distress. She was clearly a bit shaken up from the battle. The pressure alone would have been a shock to her system.
Luckily no one from her peerage had been caught in the crossfire. So she should get over her shock soon. Sirzechs had paused for a second when he caught sight of Rias. But Serafell had sped up and rocketed towards her younger sister. Sona had a rare smile on her face as her sister fussed over her.
"Serafell, I'm fine. Please get off me."
Serafell gasped. "Sona! Don't treat me so. I was just worried about you and so it's only natural that I would fuss for a bit when I see you. So just sit there and deal with it missy. Magical-Girl Levia will make it all better so let her use her healing hug on you for just a while longer."
Issei just stared as Serafell rubbed herself all over Sona. But his gaze was drawn away when he saw Sirzechs rapidly shaking Rias. As he yelled something about "Shaking her out of shock". It may or may not have bene working, but Issei was too focused on her chest as it shook freely around.
Akeno sighed at their antics and Asia quickly moved to talk with Issei about something. Koneko was trying to comfort Gasper and Kiba was just standing next to the window gazing out at the sunrise. Sona's peerage was clustered around the two sisters. Grayfia who had entered unnoticed stood near her.
"Oh, hello there Lady Grayfia. I didn't notice your entry. Are you well this early morning?"
Grayfia turned to face the young queen and decided to ignore her husband's antics. "Greetings Akeno. I am doing well. But I believe young Lady Rias is not doing well. So I shall prepare an early breakfast. A good meal always helps" Grayfia turned on her heels and moved further into the clubroom.
Akeno hummed to herself and glanced around the room once more to find everyone still engaged in their actions. So she decided to follow the older woman to the kitchen in the back.
[ToR]
A vertical black slit distorted the air as it suddenly appeared. It was hard to see against the grayish black backdrop the made up the Dimensional Gap. When the rift measured over six feet in height a head of sunny blonde hair poked through the faint rift as Naruto exited the portal.
Naruto glanced around as the hole closed behind him. Everywhere he looked the horizon seemed to stretch endlessly yet at the same time it seemed to be a fuzzy messed of darkness. Like a fog hung at the edge of his vision. Depth perception within the Dimensional Gap's void was greatly skewed.
Naruto did not need to see where he was going however. There were two energy signatures within this void and they were far away somewhere on his right. A strange attraction drew his gaze towards the horizon over his left shoulder.
This feeling of being drawn in that direction was what Naruto was looking for. A special rift existed in that direction. This rift would allow him to leave this dimensional cluster and access the greater dimensional network.
Previously he had appeared in this space. His exit had been dizzying and his sense of balance was greatly skewed. As he floated in the nothingness he had extended his senses to examine his surroundings. Only to be blindsided by a powerful strike. Following the strike a great tongue of yellow flame had washed over him.
Instinctively his body had shielded him from the brunt of the damage but the powerful flame had left a mark. Naruto was even further wounded then when he came through the last portal, so he quickly ripped open a portal and jumped through it to safety. Or so he had hoped at the time.
Somehow he had been cast from the greater network through a connecting tunnel and into this cluster of dimensions. Compared to the last time he was within this murky dimension his strength and condition were far greater. Now nearly at full strength Naruto had no plans of been snuck up on or being delayed from getting home.
He turned midair and channeled his chakra to propel him forward. At the same time he kept track of the two signatures now moving his direction. It was going to be close whether he would make it to the rift before they reached him.
"Just turn and fight them Naruto. We can't afford to blitz our entire reserve just to leave this dimension. We are going to need everything we can get when we get home."
Naruto said nothing to acknowledge Kurama's statement. But the large fox knew his container heeded his advice when Naruto slowed his pace slightly so that he was currently generating chakra faster than he used it to travel.
After several more minutes of flying through the void his pursuers caught up. A deep voice reverberated through the dead air.
"Heh, bro! Why are you flying away? Are you not here to fight me properly this time? This fight is going to be a good one I can tell."
A strange glint shined in the dragon's massive black eyes. His tone was playful but his suffocating intent showed through as he tried to force Naruto's surrender through bloodlust. Naruto just sighed and turned to face the creature.
The sight of a small girl wearing a frilly purple dress actually managed to catch him off guard for a moment. Not that anyone would ever know. Professional ninja did not get caught off-guard!
"Look, I am just trying to leave. So don't bother me and I won't bother you."
The killing intent was massive, but Naruto was not cowed by it. He had truly faced far worse before. He had not the time or inclination to tangle with this beast. But the thought was not reciprocated. A deep booming laugh came from the dragon's throat.
"Leave you alone? No! I don't think so. You will fight me and this time you will not escape. Trespasser, you do not belong here."
The beast lunged forward. His mouth snapped where Naruto had been a second earlier. A dozen clones sprang to life surrounding the dragon and as one they silently fired off a huge combo of fire and wind techniques.
The hell storm raged against the dragon's scales, but Great Red took no damage. He span swiftly and his tail whipped out and managed to dispel half the clones. Great Red roared his displeasure at killing fakes and turned towards the remaining group of Narutos. His jaw snapped open and a swirling cone of bright flames burst forth.
Great Red swept the inferno horizontally and the remaining clones popped as they got caught. But the real Naruto hovered above the dragon's head. His eyes narrowed in annoyance. He'd wanted the clones to distract the dragon while he made it to the exit.
But it seemed they would not be capable of delaying it for long enough. He would have to cripple or kill the dragon to make his move. A large swirling Rasengan gathered over his right palm. A visible white tinge colored the edge as a high pitched drone cut across the silence of the void. Four rotating blades appeared around the central ball.
The shuriken like vortex moved back as Naruto drew his arm back to aim. In a blur his arm descended and the ball was whipped towards the dragon's exposed back.
Ophis watched silently as Great Red destroyed the copies and she saw what she assumed to be the real one floating overhead. When he summoned a swirling ball of energy and threw it, she wondered what effect it would have.
The high pitched whine alerted Great Red of the approaching attack. But his bulk counted against him as the attack clipped one of his wings as he tried to dive away. A storm of microscopic wind blades erupted in a cortex of white light. A shockwave blew Ophis's hair wildly around her head as she viewed the destructive power of the attack.
Great Red's left wing was completely pulped to the joint. Fleshy blobs scattered in every direction and the great dragon roared in pain.
"What the fuck was that! Bro! I am gonna kill you for that one."
A sickening squelching noise sounded as a bone pierced out of Great Red's back and the muscles of the wing sprouted out from the growing bone. Like a rippling wave, leathery skin followed in the muscles wake. Within 15 seconds the entire wing was whole once more.
Naruto was even more annoyed. Of course this creature could regenerate. Of course! Even so, because the dragon was so large it took a while for him to regenerate when heavily damaged.
Great Red spun around and glared at Naruto. He gnashed his teeth together and snarled. His wings fully extended he flapped hard and ascended higher. A great jet of flame lanced out but Naruto dodged. Great Red began rapid firing as he attempted to pin down his wily foe.
Naruto for his part was dodging around with some effort. But he was having an internal debate on how to end this fight. He was aware of the position this dragon held. Its death could cause serious harm to this dimension. Another gout of flame nearly seared him as it came closer than the last one.
'OH! I could just seal this place off. Yeah, ok that'll work. Sorry big guy.'
Naruto sped forward and his left hand smashed a heavy hook across the dragon's nose. Great Red recoiled and snarled again. How could he not hit this guy?
Naruto summoned a Rasengan twice the size of the previous one. His arm came forward and the energy ball smashed into the scaled flank of Great Red's right shoulder. A harsh grating sound echoed out as the Rasengan tried to drill through the tough scaly hide.
Great Red thrashed around and his necked smacked into Naruto and blew him a hundred feet away.
"Tch. Fuck off human. That hurts like a bitch."
A shallow round chunk was carved from the dragon's shoulder. But without more time the Rasengan was unable to drill further.
"Just do it and kill this creature already. We have somewhere to be."
Kurama said. The giant fox kept commenting his thoughts on how Naruto seemed to be wasting time. Naruto grimaced. 'There is no other choice I suppose. I need to pop this guy anyway.'
The clone sitting inside the forest outside Kuoh popped. Even though part of the refined sage chakra was lost while travelling across dimensions a huge surge of sage chakra rushed into Naruto's body. His discipline asserted itself as he focused the chakra and momentarily stilled.
The next moment he was in sage mode and his body reflected the changes. Ophis and Great Red noticed the changes. Before they could comment a blinding golden flash of light shot out of Naruto. When the light died down they saw Naruto in his former glory. Glowing with pure golden energy Naruto floated in his six paths sage mode.
His body shone like a beacon as he surveyed his opponent. Before anyone could blink Naruto was in front of Great Red. A Truth Seeking Ball was cupped in his palm as he shoved it between the dragon's eyes. Like a rock through wet tissue paper, the black ball disintegrated the scales and skin as it touched them.
Naruto was quickly stuck up to his elbow inside the dragon's forehead when Great Red reacted. He violently thrashed his head about but Naruto did not move from his position. His arm was harder than steel as it stayed locked in place. The dragon shuddered as more of his head was vaporized. At Naruto's mental command the Truth Seeking Ball rapidly expanded.
Great Red was now desperately roaring as he clawed at Naruto's position. But a second Truth Seeking Ball was used to block the incoming strike and simultaneously destroy the offending paws. Then in a moment the echoing roars went silent.
Ophis stared wide-eyed. Where once the strongest existence's head had been was now nothing. In a matter of moments Great Red had been annihilated and his opponent did not seem to be trying. Ophis could not feel fear or awe. But before immense power that was Naruto she believed she was humbled. She was an ant to his strength.
The great corpse floated absently in the void as Naruto turned to face the small girl. He was unable to sense any form of emotion from her. An oddity but he didn't care.
"Do you wish to block my passage as well?"
His voice was calm but an obvious threat lingered in the question. She stared at him and shook her head. Naruto then turned and in a blink was gone. Ophis sensed him speeding towards the strange section of the gap. Why would he be going there?
I have got nothing to say besides that this story is nearly finished. I can't see it stretching beyond another chapter or two. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.