Chapter Thirty-Seven - The Hidden City
Naruto finished the seal as soon as the last memory of Akatsuki's dealings with any of the major villages finished, coincidentally being from Konoha. Before Danzo died, he had paid the organisation to attempt an assassination on either the young Prince or on his top commanders in Uzushio. He had long speculated the rebuilding of the ruins and even though he cared little for it, he cared more for the treasures and secrets within and he wouldn't be able to achieve that if there was high level opposition against him. Sadly for him, the duo that were sent were Izumi and Kisame.
"As you can see, the only one without sins is Kumogakure," Naruto told the leaders and his statement caused Ay to puff out his chest in pride. "Don't take too much pride, Ay-dono, because that does not mean that you have not been capitalising on any information you find when such missions were carried out. I do not do this to demean or incriminate any of the Kage or villages but to show that all of you have been played by a growing enemy."
"How are they our enemy? They are stationed in Amegakure and are only working for the highest bidder."
Naruto nodded along with Onoki's statement. "Yes, that may look like what it seems but, truthfully, look at the implications of an organisation filled with A-rank and above rogue ninja. They operate anywhere and everywhere and go after any and all targets. But the true problem lies with their next targets." Naruto now turned to Gaara and his eyes softened at the boy. "How many of you have Jinchuuriki?"
Muttering from the leader's bodyguards could be heard but they were quickly silenced by Naruto raising his hand.
"Why do you ask," Kakashi decided to question as, of the villages in attendance, his is the only one without one.
"How many of you have Jinchuuriki loyal to your village?" Naruto's question that ignored Kakashi put many in the room on edge. "I know the answer but the fact most of you will not answer tells me all I need to know. Konohagakure has an allied Jinchuuriki so their answer does not matter, nor does Sunagakure as theirs is the Kazekage. Tsuchikage-dono, let's start by asking you how many Jinchuuriki you have and of them who are loyal?"
"My village's dealings are none of your business, brat!"
"Oh, but the thing is I know your village dealings down to the last good sold to your own secretary, so let me ask again," this time Naruto's eyes darkened as they narrowed at the old man, "which of your two Jinchuuriki are loyal?"
Onoki stared down Naruto with defiant eyes and his bodyguards also seemed to tense at the floating aura between the two. While Onoki has plenty of experience and developed his power through many conflicts, it was the power of the blonde Prince that had everyone sweating. He was like a maelstrom facing a typhoon.
"Which of the two did you not sell out to the Akatsuki for a profit?"
This question cut the tension in the room and there were sounds of disbelief coming from everyone, even the Iwagakure bodyguards. Onoki, however, still refused to answer and continued to stare in defiance.
"The Yonbi Jinchuuriki, Roshi, had left the village after being outcasted by his village despite having saved and protected his people for many years. Three years ago, your village was hurting to fund its militarisation and you made a deal with the Akatsuki. They will pay you a large sum of money and in return you tell them the last reported location of the Jinchuuriki. You accepted." Naruto spat out the words as if they were bile. "Not even a year later, you blow through the money without thinking and you are back to dealing with Akatsuki. This time, you give away the one Jinchuuriki left loyal to you. Han, the Gobi Jinchuuriki, was too independent for your tastes and despite being a great commander you kept him in a Special Chunin rank so he couldn't gain any power. You sold him out for double. Quite the profit, right?"
Onoki slumped in his chair as if the weight of the world suddenly sat on his shoulders. "You were not in my position, boy."
"I am a Prince of a recovered nation!" Naruto suddenly shouted, bringing everyone back on edge and causing the Iwagakure bodyguards to reach for their weapons. "I have been in your position since I was ten. I accomplished everything without selling my own people! I did not make deals for the good of the village but for the good of every single person! You are old and you are senile and you are too fucking stubborn to admit it!"
Naruto's eyes glared at the small form of the Tsuchikage as he took deep breaths to calm himself from his anger. "Moving on," he spat without another look at the elder. "Mei-dono, your village once had two Jinchuuriki as well but one was your former Mizukage who ordered the start of the Blood Wars. What happened shall remain private as per your request when he was finally killed, but you have the Rokubi Jinchuuriki, correct?"
"Yes," Mei nodded her head. "Utakata-san was part of the rebels during the Civil War and he has since found peace in the village now that things have calmed down. He seems happy."
"I would hope so," Naruto gave a smile before turning to Ay. "Would you like to report your own two Jinchuuriki, Raikage-dono?"
Ay grunted but began speaking. "Both Jinchuuriki are loved and loyal to the village. Both the Hachibi and Nibi are safe in our village."
"Indeed," Naruto smiled before turning back to the packet. "The reason I brought it up should have been obvious from my questioning of Tsuchikage-dono. Akatsuki were aiming for the Tailed Beasts. And if you don't see a problem with that, then let me counter by saying, if S-rank shinobi are an issue already then how much of a problem would they be with a whole Tailed Beast inside them. It's like adding Wind to Fire, or Lightning to Water; it supercharges something already devastating. So that is why I wanted to bring all of this up. We need to make sure we keep an eye on the Jinchuuriki we have and make sure the Akatsuki cannot easily target them."
"This means no heroics," Naruto turned to Gaara when he said that as the boy is now Kazekage and may let his duty as village leader get in the way.
"Same to you, Prince-dono," Gaara shot back but more playful than malicious.
Caw!
Everyone turned when a Suna messenger bird landed nearby with a call. It extended its leg out that had a small scroll attached. Gaara approached and accepted the scroll before opening it to read. His eyes widened as he continued reading.
"What is the matter, Kazekage-dono?" Naruto asked his friend with curiosity.
"Something was unleashed in the scarred dunes."
Before
"How do you know where you're going?!"
"Beetle can sense something in the middle of this storm!" Kankuro blocked his eyes as he and his patrol team rode on top of his centipede-like puppet that he affectionately misnamed Beetle. "Just hold on! Whoever is causing this needs to be stopped unless this storm consumes more of the area!"
A purple lightning bolt struck the ground to their right, turning the sand into glass in a horrifying frozen display, and the jagged ends crackled with leftover electricity. It was getting more dangerous as they entered the centre, more strikes of lightning getting too close for comfort. However, the two Suna Chunin teammates were using a lot of chakra to erect granite walls to cover their trek.
"At this point, half the team will be too exhausted to do anything!" Temari shouted over the raging storm. "I hope Gaara gets that message soon!"
"Don't worry," one of the Chunin shouted, "Kuro-chan is the fastest messenger bird out there! She will have no trouble making it to Uzushio quickly!"
"I hope you're right because we're right on top of the bastard!" Kankuro can see through his puppet's eyes and there is a chakra signature under the sand. "Everyone hold on! We're going in through the roof!"
"Kankuro, wait-!" Temari didn't get to finish before Beetle began digging into the ground and creating a large enough hole for them to all get through. "Sand is getting in my hair!"
"I got sand in places I don't ever want them in!" One of the Chunin shouted.
They travelled down for a few dozen feet before they hit sandstone and Beetle was able to grind its head through the stone easily. Everyone began wiping their eyes and face of the sand as they finally reached a safe place from the storm. Kankuro was the first to recover and he looked around as his puppet travelled across the roof to one of the walls.
The room they were in is some kind of intricate sanctum with decorated sandstone walls and various torches that were somehow lit. The walls surrounded the room with five sides, the top point facing opposite the wall that had what he assumed is an entrance. A single bridge leads from the entrance to a large middle circular platform that has a garden inside. Pink and purple roses can be seen taking up most of the garden, but in the middle is a thin black pillar with an orange cloth tied to the top. To his amazement, seals lined around the garden and the walls of the sanctum.
Why do the seals look familiar? Kankuro wasn't one for seals as he cared more about puppets but their formulas look familiar in his eyes.
"Wait, Kankuro, look!"
Kankuro glanced back at his sister before following where she was pointing and he was surprised to see a person he missed is making his way to the center. He is a scrawny Sunagakure shinobi but his clothes are torn and dishevelled, indicating he has not settled or changed for a long time. In his hands are four similar pillars to the one in the middle but they had different coloured ribbons; pink, purple, red, and black.
"Hey! Stop!" Temari jumped off of Beetle and used her fan to glide toward the middle platform.
Kankuro saw his sister jump and turned to the two teammates. "The pillars in his hands must be what is causing this sandstorm! Stop him at all costs!"
"Yes sir!" The two Chunin launched themselves off of Beetle before making a run along the walls and to the ground.
Temari landed on the other end of the bridge, standing in front of the mystery man, and extended her fan with a wave that sent a gust of wind against the man. He raised his arms and skidded along the ground but he used chakra to stick to the ground before he got too far away. His fingertips began glowing blue and three golem puppets sprung from nothingness, most likely sealed onto his cloak or something. They were large and similar in stature, clearly a mass produced line of puppets.
As the three golems engaged his sister, Kankuro's eyes widened as he recognised the puppets from his studies to be a puppet master. "Be careful! These are A-rank puppets from the Old City!"
"What?!" Temari shouted as she dodged the attacks of the golem. "But the Old City has disappeared!"
"Clearly there are survivors!"
The two Chunin were about to engage the puppet master but he jumped over his golems and the blonde woman. They instead moved to cut the threads that connected the man with his puppets, channelling chakra into their kunai to do so. With a few tandem slashes, two of the golems were dispatched and fell to the ground with a loud thud but the last still pressured Temari into close combat.
"Null Rasenringu!"
A black spiralling mass of chakra shattered and sucked in the scattering pieces from the head of the golem, causing the rest to crack and crumble. But with the destruction of the golem revealed numerous exploding tags beginning to burn.
"Scatter!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed Temari by her waist and substituted with one of the sandstone blocks above the centre of the inner platform.
The Chunin jumped away quick enough to avoid the large fiery explosion that consumed the remains of the golem.
"Naruto!" Kankuro shouted with a grin at seeing the blonde. "That man unleashed the sandstorm above that is consuming the area! The last pillar is in the middle!"
"Understood!" Naruto shouted as he idly glanced at the seals surrounding the pillar. Uzumaki seals? What are they doing in a place like this?
Even with the questions in his head, he was able to catch the dash of the unknown enemy heading towards the last pillar. He let go of Temari, and the girl opened her fan to glide in the air to safety, before going through multiple hand signs. "Lightning Style: Electric Slide!"
Lightning covered his arms and legs before propelling him towards the platform in the middle. He almost reached the man in time but he was too slow as the enemy yanked the pillar free from the ground. A flash of light blinded him, causing him to cover his face, but his blood boiled as he could hear the maniacal laughter coming from the old man.
"Everybody, run! Get away from here!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his hand on the ground, summoning a seal array. "Secret Sealing Art: Chaos Boundary!"
The Sunagakure shinobi were able to group together in time to cover themselves in a thirteen-inch thick rock wall, but the last thing they saw was a purple energy surrounding the energised explosion.
Meanwhile
Konoha was having a council meeting with Asuma and Kurenai acting in the Hokage's place while Kakashi was in Uzushio. It was not rare for things like this to happen as Kakashi still trained his two remaining students sometimes. But with one being part of the Demonic Masks and the other now working full time in the shinobi hospital, they usually only met three times a week.
"Okay, now next we have," Asuma began looking through the papers on the next topic. "Redeveloping the Tobirama Sparring Fields before the next Genin Exams in five months. Projected costs are about 55.8 million ryo, approximately twenty percent of this quarter's budget."
"It is pretty early in the quarter to use that much," Kurenai mumbled with her own copy of the paper.
"How much of the budget have we used this far?" Shikaku asked from his seat to the side as he served as Chief Strategist while his wife represented the Nara seat in the council.
"According to the weekly report," Kurenai grabbed the paper under the stack of reports and skimmed for the paragraph she needed. "We have used 55.9 percent of the quarterly budget."
"That will be putting us pretty close to our cap," Hiashi commented.
"Yes, but it would be good to-"
Chouza stopped speaking as he seemed to freeze up entirely, and the same happened to Shibi as well but no one would have noticed if Tsume wasn't sitting next to him.
"Shibi!"
"Chouza!"
"What's happening to them?" Asuma asked as he and the others rushed to the two clan leaders' sides.
Before anyone could answer, they watched as a black swirl slowly etched itself into their skin with a sickly red glow. To many they knew this as the Uzumaki swirls and only one person could have put this on them.
"What did that Uzumaki boy do?!" Yoshino Nara panicked as she looked over the swirl on Shibi's right hand.
"He crossed the line this time," Asuma growled out as his eyes briefly flashed with rage. "We will issue a bounty for him to be brought in on charges of-!"
Asuma would have continued but the tension releasing from the bodies of the two men had him stop. Chouza and Shibi seemed to slump in their chairs with small sounds of exhaustion released from their mouths. Relief washed over everyone as the two men recovered slowly in their seats.
"What happened to you two?!" Asuma asked with urgency. "What did Uzumaki do to you?"
The two men did not answer, instead looked to each other as they seemed to communicate nonverbally. It was Chouza who spoke, but his words only seemed to confuse the other people more.
"He is a crafty and intelligent individual."
A light rising above the tower, bursting with emotion
The path of the Dragon that must be protected
Looks to the sky reflecting itself on the blade
I hear singing, Naruto thought as he opened his eyes to look at the sky - or what would have been if he wasn't in some underground room.
Even if the sand and wind turn violent
The bright sun blooms proudly and the flowers dance as they fall
Naruto looked around as he slowly sat up from the ground, still hearing the singing bounce around in the room he was in. He wasn't in the sanctum anymore but he could tell by the architecture that he was still around the area. Was he thrown somewhere else in the blast? He couldn't feel the chakra of Temari and Kankuro.
The dark flowing with rings of light
To the garden where the dragon's claws ends
Shadows of the olden days long past
A perfect union for a future yet sealed
Naruto looked behind him and his eyes caught the sight of where the singing was coming from. A young girl he had never seen before, she had red hair in a ponytail and red eyes that had tears streaming down her cheeks. She wore a pink long-sleeve shirt and a grey skirt with black thigh-high leggings. Naruto could feel chakra within her and knew that she was in some way trained in ninja arts.
"That's beautiful singing," Naruto said loud enough, surprising the girl enough to make her jump. "The name is Naruto Uzumaki, who are you?"
The girl quickly got to her feet and slid down the pillar she was sitting on and began running where he couldn't see here.
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
Naruto ran to follow her, being quick enough to catch up to the girl but he had to dodge an attack from two cloaked people. As he dodged, he noticed that they were not people but golems similar to the one he destroyed when protecting Temari. They launched multiple kunai and he dodged to the side but was surprised when the kunai burst open and created some kind of purple chakra wall.
Hm, Naruto hummed as he tapped his kunai against the chakra only for it to spark. "Now that's interesting."
He put his hand against the wall, not acknowledging the young girl stop at the bottom of the stairs. An array spread from his palm with three circular rings of seals all connected to the centre with four lines of writing. With a brief wave of a yellow glow, a single crack shot up and down from roof to floor and five feet front to back.
Crumble!
The wall gave way and fell down as if giving way to thousands of years of neglect and age. With it fell the barrier as well and the young girl took a step back in shock and angst. No one has ever been able to take down the chakra field that the defence-type golems could produce, not even those from the major villages have shown such ability! That's what has made the golems so unique especially in a nation allied to Sunagakure.
This is dangerous, she thought to herself as she thinks the blonde man is here to kill her.
"Stop running, I have a few questions to ask," Naruto told the girl as he began taking steps forward in her direction.
The two golems moved to intercept the blonde but he soundlessly created two Rasenringu in his hands. He shattered both of the golems before sending them to another plane of non-existence when he heard the familiar hiss of bomb seal tags activating. He was not going to deal with those again if he could stop it.
"Alright, now please don't-" Naruto turned to address the unknown girl but no one was there. "Shit."
The blonde sighed as he could feel multiple chakra signatures around him but the girl somehow dropped off his radar. A weird but not rare occurrence but what caught his attention was the silence in prayers; what used to by the constant humming of grasshoppers is now a subtle ringing of tinnitus. It is silent and he almost thought he somehow lost his divinity if it wasn't for the rippling power still in his body.
This is weird, Naruto thought to himself and almost wished he had Kurama back.
He let the old man be resealed into the Elder Beast realm with his sibling Isobu. They deserved some time among themselves and without the threat of being controlled or resealed into someone else. That is also his eventual end goal when it comes to Biju and Jinchuuriki; he is going to take the Biju and put them into the mountain seal where they won't be disturbed ever again.
Sigh, Naruto turned back into the room and looked up to see three sunlight windows.
After levitating and flying through the glass covering one of the windows, he landed on the green grass that was not supposed to grow in the scarred sands. When he noticed the towering spires reaching high into the sky, he knew now that he was not in the same place he was before or not in the same time. This did not look like anywhere else in Elementia or in Gaal that he knew of so he was really confused on his location.
"I don't like this," Naruto told himself before raising his hand up to his right and erected a shield on instinct.
Five kunai bounced off the shield and he looked to see two more puppets coming after him from behind one of the spires. He turned to face them completely and as he did, the two golems turned into six as they fanned out from their two by three lines. They raised their arms and began explosive projectiles at his position but he raised a dome shield to prevent him and the building from being damaged.
"Alright, you bastards," Naruto levitated higher into the air before turning around and rapidly flew around a neighbouring spire. "Catch me if you can."
And so began a chase between the Prince and six golems through the city. He would lose them for a second, hiding in one of the spires, before coming out to use a Black Hole Rasenringu to destroy and absorb the remains of the golems. This seemed to be the best way not only to dwindle their numbers but to also not allow any chance for the explosive tags to bruise him in the mad chase.
Naruto smashed another Black Hole Rasenringu into one of the puppets, dodging the dozens of kunai sent from the remaining two golems. He turned and was about to begin the chase again when he was suddenly smashed into from above and sent smashing through the roof of one of the buildings. He landed in a pile of broken rubble and furniture and the building he was in looks abandoned for a long while.
"Ah, shit," the blonde groaned as he got to his feet. "That hurt like a bitch."
He knew that the wounds would be superficial and unlikely to actually injure him but that didn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell. Looking up, he saw the two golems he was fighting dropping down the hole but it was the third one that followed that had his eyes widening. It was nearly three times the size of the regular ones!
"What in the fuck are you even used for?!" Naruto was prepared to fight the new enemy but he barely saw someone appear at his side, grabbing his shoulder quickly before disappearing from the clearing.
Naruto landed rolling on the ground of some alleyway and he gasped at the unceremonious landing. His seal teleports never happened this rudimentary, let alone make you feel like you are being squeezed through a damn tube! "Warn a guy," he gasped as he got onto his back, "next time!"
"Apologies, there was not enough time," the masked man said.
Naruto looked at the man and he noted the owl-decorated mask and blonde hair as well as the ninja uniform. "What village are you from? Clearly not from Sunagakure, and this city uses golems."
"That is none of your business," the man answered but his voice confirmed everything Naruto needed to know.
Naruto got to his feet and brushed his pants of the dirt. "Yeah, well, if you wanted to be discreet in your duties, at least try not to be some famous ninja from the Third Shinobi War."
Naruto smashed a fist into the mask, shattering it and sending the Konoha-nin flying into the wall. The mask now being gone revealed Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, who now sported a bloody lip from the sudden assault.
"Nice to meet you, Minato Namikaze," Naruto crouched to look at the man. "We have a lot to talk about. Father to son."
"Ninja Art: Insect Swarm."
Naruto raised a shield around himself and prevented the insects from touching him, and he turned to look at the newcomers. He found what was clearly Chouza Akimichi and Shibi Aburame at the other end of the alley. The two men looked ready for a fight.
"Greetings, Chouza-san, Shibi-san," the blonde Prince grinned at the men. "Please relax, that punch was uncalled for considering I am clearly in a different time and Minato-san has not done anything yet to deserve it."
"Who are you?" Chouza demanded.
"The name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am the son of Kushina Uzumaki and this man on the floor," Naruto pointed at the stunned blonde man. "We have a lot to talk about so don't interrupt me as I explain. Can I ask either of your age, Chouza-san, Shibi-san, as I am friends with your children in the future."
"Twenty-five," Chouza answered easily, his mood changing slightly at hearing a future child of his is friends with such a strong boy. And the son of the Yellow Flash, too.
"So, I am from twenty-three years in the future," Naruto informed the group, surprising them. "It is weird, but when a seal is messed with when it shouldn't be, it tends to have dramatic consequences. For me to go back to my time, I must find where my target is and stop him and fix the timeline."
"So you are my son," Minato repeated as he got to his feet with a small grin. "I must have trained you well to land a hit like that on me."
Naruto just looked at him, a small frown and narrowed gaze at him. "Sure. If that's what you want to think."
The three men noticed the tone in his voice but they did not push even if they wanted to.
"So who are you looking for," Shibi asked softly as he recalled his insects to him.
"Older man, black hair, slightly scrawny frame, I do not know his name but he was a former Suna puppet master," Naruto told the men before looking up. "I can't sense chakra well here, something is saturating this place with energy."
"The Ley Lines," Minato told him.
"The Ley Lines is an abundance of ancient chakra that sits under the city of Roran. It's what powers the city's golems to replace the Suna shinobi that used to patrol here," Chouza told Naruto, elaborating his squad leader's statement.
"That is why we are here," Minato looked out into the street and found no one nearby. "The shinobi you are looking for arrived here six years ago, his name is Mukade."
"And, what, he became a court representative for Roran," Naruto asked sarcastically but the silence from his father put him on edge. "You're joking."
"We're afraid not," Shibi told him.
"Mukade became the Minister of Roran under Seramu, the previous queen," Minato picked up this time. "He advised her to use the ley lines beneath the city to better power and control the city's golems so that they could protect the citizens without the involvement of Sunagakure shinobi. However, we speculate there was a falling out between the queen and the minister and he had her killed. As of four months ago, Anrokuzan, as minister, cut off trade and alliance agreements with Konoha and Suna."
"So you were sent to remove him so you can re-establish trade and alliance," Naruto speculated at the end. "I'm not here to help you. What happens after is nothing to do with me but I am going to kill that bastard and go back to my time."
"I must ask that you lay low," Minato reached out and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "I don't know what you've learned from Kushina-chan and I but I doubt you will be able to handle the city and Mukade on your own. You need to be smart or you will ruin my squad's mission."
Naruto pushed Minato's hand from his shoulder before walking towards the street. "Worry about yourself, I will do what I need to."
With that, he disappeared before the three of them could stop him. Minato had a stressed expression before he sighed and his posture sagged a bit.
"If that is the standard or even the top of the next generation, I'm excited for how my own child will be in the future," Chouza grinned as he was stuck on the fact that his future child will be friends with such a strong young man.
"It is indeed good to hear the future generation will be tough," Shibi stated monotonously but there was a small undertone of pride.
"He wasn't wearing a Konoha headband," Minato said suddenly, still staring at where his son disappeared. "His clothing is different as well. He may know us and the next generation but we cannot treat him as one of us. We have a mission to accomplish."
The two others nodded their head. "Understood!"
My presence around them will alter the future, Naruto thought to himself as he looked over the city from the spire he teleported to. I need to accomplish this on my own and with as little interactions with my father and Choji and Shino's fathers as possible. My clones are transformed and scouring the city so hopefully they will find Mukade or that girl from before and I will have a lead on what to do next.
Her face flashed past his eyes and he sighed to himself as a feeling began bubbling in his stomach again. He was having issues with his breathing and even his heartbeat and it was starting to concern him. He wasn't sure if it had to do with the time travel or not but he will have to figure out a way home as fast as possible.
A string of memories suddenly entered his mind and he closed his eyes to review them. A clone had followed a parade into what seemed like the town square and from what he could hear, the Puppet Queen will be speaking to them from the balcony. For now, the civilians were lighting fireworks and eating festival foods.
Father did mention the new queen being advised by Mukade, Naruto thought to himself before jumping off in the direction of the town square. If she is around then so will that bastard.
Naruto jumped over buildings while making sure to land on a lower roof until he made it to an appropriate level of height by the time he arrived at the town square. As the clone saw, there is a large crowd gathering with fireworks and various festivities for any joyous occasion. He landed on the side of one of the taller spires so he can look out over the crowds for the girl he met underground. There were a few redheads but none with her shade of hair.
The doors of the balcony overseeing the town centre suddenly opened and three people exit, two golems following a young woman with-
"Wait a minute," Naruto mumbled to himself as he noticed the familiar shade of red hair. "It's her! She's the queen?!"
Who knew my luck, Naruto chuckled as he always seemed to be running into royalty wherever he went. That, or they came looking for him he's unsure.
"Okay, time to ask some questions," Naruto told himself as he made a hasty plan in his head. "Royalty coming to visit royalty is a common practice and I can create enough clones to make an envoy, but she has met me already in that cavern. Maybe I can blend in with the crowd? Nah, that's too boring."
Crack!
Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the queen walk forward and the platform immediately start crumbling. He dashed across the building and leaped into the courtyard, soaring towards the falling woman as she screamed. She was closing her eyes tightly as she prepared to die but it felt like an eternity as she fell.
"Don't worry, your majesty, I got you!"
She opened her eyes and looked up at the familiar face looking down at her with a grin on his face. She was held flushed against his chest, secured in a fashion she knew deep down she would not be let go easily. It made her cheeks darken in an intense red at the feeling.
Naruto grinned as he held the young woman in his arms and descended softly. "You were about to have a nasty fall! Good thing I was around or that would have been bad!"
Naruto landed on his feet near the crowd but none of them were coming to see if she was alright, if anything they made sure to keep a good distance away from them. Nonetheless, he let the queen down onto her own feet and bowed to her. "We met briefly before but we did not actually get acquainted. My name is Prince Naruto Uzumaki. I am the ruler of a foreign land and I am visiting Roran for the unforeseeable future as I take a vacation from my duties."
Presenting myself as royalty visiting it is, Naruto sighed to himself as he thought of his statement on the spot.
"You were the one in-," She did not continue as three puppets landed near her and raised their weapons at the blonde. "Wait!" She went around the puppets to stand between them and the man that saved her. "He saved my life! This is no way to treat a hero like this!"
The puppets stopped but after a moment they put their weapons away and stepped back.
It seems they listen to her somewhat, Naruto thought to himself as he stared at the golems for a few more moments before turning to the young queen. "What is your name, your majesty?"
"Ah- My name is Sara Naga!" The queen bowed quickly as she introduced herself. "I am the Queen of Roran."
Naruto grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, lightly kissing the knuckle, before giving her a charming smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sara-hime."
The girl blushed and she tried her hardest to resist stammering when she spoke. "It is good to meet you too, Naruto-dono. I thank you again for saving me, as well. I will be sure to reward you for such an endeavour, but until then you may accept my invitation to rest in my citadel."
Naruto grinned kindly and bowed once more. "I would greatly appreciate that, your company will also be enjoyed during my stay."
And so, Naruto begins getting close to the beautiful queen of a kingdom that had disappeared. But in the back of his head, just above his perception, he noticed and acknowledged the human puppets among the crowd with concealed weapons inside their body being pointed at the real humans. This is a weird dark past.
I decided to split this into two chapters instead of one long one. I think that for those who don't have as much time to read a chapter, it allows a more relaxed read. Idk, could be wrong, but the next part is just about finished and I will post that by this weekend. Sara never had a last name so I gave her one and this one is for a reason that will be shown in the future.
Hope this was a good first part!
WindCitySlayer1: The Sage was not divine because of his eyes but because his godhood was granted through the worship of Ninshu. So the Rinnegan may be the most powerful Dojutsu, but it does not make one a god and Pein will find that out harshly if he does not see the error in his ways. I have two ways I can go with this and it really depends on some things but either way it'll be good.
Primarx: Naruto likes bold colors lmao. Silver, Black, red, and others lmao. Let's not forget that Isane has his firstborn. As for the gods, you have no idea how complicated it gets especially since divines and religions will be playing a role as we continue. It will also play a role with the Otsutsuki in the future, but is mention in the next part.
TigrezzTail: That is very much indeed the case. Pein has always gotten his way by exerting the power of the Rinnegan. Half of the Akatsuki members were forced to join by being defeated and have seen firsthand what he can do through his Paths of Pein. But he has never met someone like Naruto so it'll be a rude awakening lmao
Krieger Techpriest: Don't worry, most stuff I do repeat but if you don't pay attention some stuff will fly under the radar for some people xD
Guest: Wasn't gonna be much but Mui goes *squish* lol