Disclaimer: All respective characters and settings belong to their respective franchises.
If someone were to tell Nara Shikamaru, even as half-hearted praise, that he was unfazed by everything, one of the hallmarks of a fine shinobi, he would be humble enough to admit that; no, he could still indeed respond normally to external stimuli. Fear, anxiety, excitement, happiness, he had a pretty normal range of the emotional spectrum. He simply had a willful preference to be apathetic.
Those who knew him would attest that this propensity was not due to laziness or lack of motivation.
That was partially correct, but the reality was far more complex than that.
For as long as he could remember, nothing seemed to hold his attention or interest very much.
A new toy his parents would buy him, before they stopped when he would barely touch them. Being enrolled in the Academy, before his mother would be on his back constantly from neglecting his studies. The latest issue to Shōnen Champ that a classmate or neighbor kid would buy. He'd pay it no mind save for a glance or two.
He was not interested; really, he wasn't.
Things would take a slight turn when he met Chōji, then Ino.
And, of all people, Naruto.
Before, nobody seemed to matter to him barring his immediate family, but he felt a queer sense of ease and attunement whenever he was with any one of them. The first two were patently obvious due to later finding out about the Ino-Shika-Cho tradition, but Naruto seemed to resonate with him just as much as the first two, the town troublemaker. But, he wasn't always. The first time he laid eyes on the blonde, he was sitting alone in the old playground on a bench at the very far end, being ignored by kids and adults alike. While not peculiar at first glance, it would be the same scene that greeted him every time he felt like cloud-watching with Chōji, or doing the bare minimum of swings and seesaws.
When they first tried to approach him, an old lady promptly stepped up before them, and when they tried to sidestep past her, she moved in sync to block their path.
She told them to stay away from that boy.
Now, Shikamaru never cared much for the opinions of others, especially those of adults. When he asked her to move or why they needed to keep their distance, she only gave vague, barely coherent answers, practically skirting the issue. The sheer oddity of it all was that she seemed nervous the entire time, eyes shifting as if she was being cautious or wary of something.
Or, someone.
Taken aback that a complete stranger would tell them; no, warn them to stay away from a kid about their age, who wasn't even doing anything wrong, spurred them to seek some counseling from their parents. He could still recall the moment he brought the blonde boy up after dinner that very night. He immediately took note that broaching the subject caused his mother and father to pause, with Yoshino exiting the dining room without a word after exchanging a look with her husband, leaving them alone. Shikaku proceeded to give his son a look that seemed to last for the entirety of the night, causing the latter to believe that he had done something wrong.
Did he come to you first?
No, he replied.
He kept watching his father's reaction; the man's gaze falling for a moment before locking eyes with him again.
I don't see why it should be a problem.
That was all there was before he too vacated the room, leaving him to his thoughts.
The next time they were at the playground, he and Chōji approached the lad, with nary an old woman in sight to hinder them. Initially, he just stared at them blankly, as if waiting for them to say something more.
Or, do something else.
Chōji tried the hardest to get the boy out of his shell, but all attempts failed as he left without saying a word.
Over the next few days, Naruto was sporadically present and absent. Whenever they called for him, he ignored them. Whenever they approached him, he left.
It came to a point that they thought of giving up, but for some reason, whenever they caught sight of Naruto, they'd keep pestering him regardless. Like they couldn't help themselves from doing so. This stalemate perpetuated until one day, Ino came along with them, where they once again found Naruto sitting at the same spot.
You know you're being creepy, right?
Naruto looked up from his stupor, and his gaze fell on her, wordlessly scrutinizing this new face that had its hands tucked behind, and a smile drawn across her lips.
No wonder the other kids don't want to play with you.
Ino, already showing the early signs of what would become her imperious attitude for years to come, could only smirk at him.
If that's the case, why not ask around yourself?
This seemed to get an actual reaction from the boy.
I already did that.
Ino's smile remained unwavering.
Really? Didn't your parents ever tell you not to fib?
Like a switch had been flipped, a scowl replaced the brooding, and for every barb Ino threw his way, it deepened alongside his heaving chest, fuming.
You must think you're too good to play with us, don't you?
Her tone carried more of a mocking tenor to it instead of resentment, as if the boy being by himself was a show of arrogance. As if he could afford to be alone. As if it were his own choice.
Instead of crying or lashing out like most children in their age group would have done, Naruto continued to breathe heavily through his flaring nostrils, seeing red. He slowly stood up from the bench and stepped up to an unflinching Ino, who seemed to derive even more amusement from watching him fall for her provocation.
You…You…
Naruto seemed to be torn, as if ready to accost the haughty girl, hands set to grab her, his mind in turmoil.
He spun on his heel and stormed off, incensed.
Ino, brushing off the confrontation, left as well.
The next day, Shikamaru and Chōji returned to the playground without Ino, when two water balloons dropped on top of their heads without warning, before Naruto himself dropped down from his hiding spot atop a tree, the triumphant smile on his face telling them he had been watching all along.
They gave chase, which evolved into a game of tag, hide-and-seek, which concluded with them dunking the mischievous blonde's head into the canal as revenge.
After that, they began meeting and hanging out regularly.
Until a rift was formed in the early years of the Academy, when Naruto began to perceive the gap between them.
At present, Shikamaru wondered if another rift between them would form; not because of how secretive the young Uzumaki had been, but if his spine would still be intact the next time they saw him.
He would be lying if he said that he hadn't been flummoxed by all that had transpired in just half a day, in what was supposed to be his period of repose. That very morning, halfway through another one of his mother's sermons and rants about how less and less she got to see his father, he wasted no time in collecting Chōji, intending to just laze about and enjoy the cold spell. Meeting up with Naruto wasn't part of the plan, but neither was being treated to a picnic, the food making him consider if his old lady needed to relearn everything she knew about cooking.
After more or less cleaning out the generous spread, he had more than enough energy to spend the rest of the day performing the daunting task of waiting for the sun to set on Konoha. It might have even been a magnificent sight to behold, rather than the tarnished skyline of their beloved village. Or, watching one of his friends battling with some monster, and getting blown the fuck out of sight by said monster.
He and Chōji would have gladly pursued, had they not been glued in place by terror. As Academy students, shinobi-in-training, they had been told in no uncertain terms by teachers and parents alike that they would no longer be mere children by civilian standards after graduating, but rather soldiers in service to the village.
Death would be a very real and likely outcome.
Not a matter of "if", but of "when".
Now, in the heart of an unlikely battlefield, he and Chōji understood that this was but a preview of what awaited them in the foreseeable future.
Or, what he hoped was merely a preview.
The only inkling of comfort, to his chagrin, was that his old man and his team were here, along with the Hokage and a kunoichi tending to the Jōnin they rescued.
He could only stand, frozen, as he and Chōji watched their fathers. Inoichi made eye contact with the ice ogre from the corner of the latter's gaze, causing him to position his hands in the signature seal of his clan's jutsu.
"Shinranshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Disturbance Technique)!"
His chakra flared as he transmitted it through the air and straight into his target, only for his eyes to widen in surprise.
He was quiet for a moment as he composed himself. Panic was the last thing they needed. "It didn't work," he muttered.
Shikaku and Chōza understood that he didn't need to further clarify. Bokomon had explained to them during one such meeting that Digimon were immune to jutsu that heavily relied on chakra. Genjutsu mostly, but certain ninjutsu as well. To prove it, the scholar himself volunteered for a demonstration, which understandably made them hesitant. Confident that he'd be unaffected, Bokomon waved off such concerns. And, indeed, when Inoichi used his clan's basic mind-reading techniques, he couldn't so much as glimpse into the Digimon's mind.
Or, rather, there was nothing there for him to see into.
It was almost like trying to read an inanimate object. Bokomon seemed as alive and fleshly as they were, but further testing started to cast doubt on that classification.
Outwardly, yes, but our bodies are but mere shells, vessels. The true mind and soul is our Digicore.
Waxing philosophical aside, it threw them for quite a loop that there existed beings that were naturally immune to jutsu barring the more straightforwardly offensive kind.
Chōza acted quickly, as there was only so much Shikaku could do while still having enough chakra, with the added strain of how physically strong their opponent had proven himself to be. He leaped high into the air, defying his size, and clasped his palms together.
"Baika no Jutsu (Multi-Size Technique)"
In a puff of smoke, he had grown instantly in size, a head taller than the very Academy building, his toes nearly touching the ground, before proceeding to tuck his body into a ball and rolling.
"Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank)!"
Wheeling in midair, he landed with a loud thud, shaking the earth beneath everyone's feet before he barreled towards Hyougamon, who didn't expect this bizarre attack from such a human. In a panic, the ice ogre tried to pull himself free from the unseen force confining him at such an inopportune time, forcing him to erect a platform of ice to divert his trajectory, only to fall flat when Chōza bulldozed it like nothing when he was only a few feet away.
"Oh please," Shikaku thought with a snide smirk. "That old trick?" It might have had a better chance of working in their younger, more inexperienced days, but Chōza had grown wise to obstacles as part of perfecting his Human Bullet.
"Go, Dad!" Chōji cheered his father on, with a more subdued Shikamaru standing next to him.
No, no, no! "That's just what he wants!" The Nara heir cried out.
"Eh?" Chōji sounded, pausing in confusion.
Hyougamon's panicked expression twisted into a sneer as large spikes of ice emerged in front of him, curving in like claws all the way behind him and hooking into an advancing Chōza, stopping him in his tracks.
Shikamaru clicked his tongue in admonishment. "Damn."
"You boys needn't worry," Shikaku assured them, silently commending his son's intuition.
True to his word, Chōza, who had been standing still for a mere moment, spun in place with an unforeseen acceleration, catching Hyougamon off guard. The heavyset shinobi powered through the blockade and pounced on the ogre, slugging him underneath.
Grounded in the dirt, Hyougamon kicked his arms and legs out, mustering enough strength through the haze of pain to fling his attacker off.
For him to toss Chōza from that position… Shikaku credited the beast, as only a strong few could claim to have accomplished such against the Akimichi Head. Granted, that was generally easier to do when flat on one's stomach, having a firmer anchorage.
In the brief window of focus, Hyougamon erected more ice pillars from head-to-toe, which Chōza landed on, offering a gap from which to escape. Once again, however, he stopped short of crawling out, the confining sensation returning as Shikaku used his Kagemane.
Hyougamon growled in frustration as he continued to monitor the weight bearing down on the ice, his reprieve beginning to give way as his limbs became increasingly immobile.
"This should be enough." Chōza needed to conserve chakra. Breaking out of his state in a puff of smoke, Hyougamon was once again taken aback, giving the clan head ample opportunity to pull another jutsu while he still had air time. "Bubun Baika! (Partial Multi Size Technique!)"
He wound his right arm back as it grew in size before slamming it down on his incapacitated opponent, then flinched. He retracted his fist with some blood gushing out, revealing a thick layer of ice spikes blanketing Hyougamon's back as a defensive shell. Chōza retreated with a shunshin.
The ogre was now doing his damndest to break free by pulling with all his might, before erecting mounds of ice to forcibly leverage himself up by his hands.
Stumbling to his feet, he gingerly lifted one leg to test if he was still ensnared, and found that he wasn't to his relief. "I gotta get away from here," Hyougamon barely caught Chōza charging at him like a raging bull, the man taking a deep breath and reinforcing his knuckles with some chakra, growing in size once again before the massive fist crashed against him, his spine taking the full brunt of the mighty blow as he was sent hurtling, the shell failing him.
He had not been punched so hard in a long time. Opening one eye, he felt weightless as he found himself sailing through the air, momentarily numb to the pain.
He grinned. Perfect. His plan had been born the moment the fatso went giant. All he needed to do now was-
He stopped in midair, killing his train of thought as he felt something tug at his arms and legs, right before a still giant Chōza; having leapt up after him, slammed his massive foot down in a fierce downward axe kick.
Shikaku exhaled, releasing his jutsu a split second before his teammate made contact, having stretched his shadow to trick the ogre into thinking he had broken free. He only had enough chakra for one more. The clan's signature jutsu was already being tested by the limited light the weather afforded him, the shadows thin and fleeting.
The force of Chōza's landing ruptured the ground, and caused nearby buildings to crumble. When the dust settled, a victorious Akimichi Head stood over a prone Hyougamon, foot still firmly fixed.
"He did it!" Chōji cheered in pride for his father, while Shikamaru still felt a sense of unease hanging over him, which was shared by Shikaku and the Hokage.
Chōza warned, "Stay down." Sensing a change in the air, he immediately retreated again, shifting back to his normal size.
"Dad? What's wrong?" Chōji asked as his father landed from across where the Hokage and Anko were guarding them.
"Hokage-sama, Anko, please take the boys and leave this place immediately."
Bokomon peeked his head out from behind Anko's legs, watching as Hyougamon's battered body slowly rose from its heap, wobbling for a moment before going eerily still. Silently, he slowly turned around, and that was when the scholar's eyes caught sight of something that made his stomach drop.
Clumps of Hyougamon's disheveled hair could be seen falling over his face, hunched just slightly so that it could barely get a good profile, with the injuries he sustained from battle starting to show. But, that wasn't what made Bokomon balk in dismay and horror, but at what was sticking out of his chest.
"A…A Bla…A Bla…B-B-B-B-BLACK GEAR!"
"A what?" Anko looked down at the scholar inquiringly, her gaze following him as he scurried past ahead of her in a frenzy.
"Y-You fool! Why would you have that?!" he asked pressingly as veins started to pop all over the creature's body, stemming from what appeared to be a small black sprocket stabbed directly into its thorax.
Hyougamon let out a guttural growl as he seemed to be twitching in immense discomfort, his muscles convulsing like mad. "It would have been better for me to just finish this job without having to, but you all forced my hand, as they say. Even with the discount Etemon offered, this was expensive. Best get my money's worth, if anything." When he looked up, they all froze, as even from a distance, they could see the bloodshot eyes that were staring back at them, filled with the promise of death.
"Leave now, we'll-"
"All of us need to clear out now!" Bokomon declared emphatically, cutting off Shikaku.
"Ease up, Dough Boy, we-"
Bokomon snapped his head towards the kunoichi, and said with abject fear dripping from his every word, "No, you don't understand. The Black Gear is a powerful stimulant that grants Digimon a boost in power."
"So, they're like-"
"NO! They are not like Hyōrōgan!" Bokomon stammered, alternating his gaze between the kunoichi and Hyougamon, and went slack-jawed as a familiar glow began to emanate from the ice ogre.
"Oh, so that's what you mean," Anko nodded in clarity, remembering the little detail that Digimon could evolve. "I'm guessing with how you're about to lose your shit, he's…"
Bokomon explained, "He's going to go Ultimate! But not just any Ultimate. If my guess is correct, he's going to-"
The glow enveloping Hyougamon intensified, as did his glee as he started to cackle maniacally. "YES! I can feel it. The power coursing through my veins!" He spread his arms out, balling his hands into fists, head thrown back. "Literally. It hurts like hell, but it's a good kind of pain. Nothing compared to the world of hurt I'm gonna be dishing out, once I-"
Pop~!
His rant was cut short as the light faded just as suddenly as it had appeared.
"..."
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"..."
"Wow! That was certainly something."
It took a moment for everyone to realize that Shikamaru had been the one to say it.
Hyougamon could only stand, frozen in a dramatic pose for what was supposed to be his moment of glorious ascension. "Wha-...what? What…" He blinked several times in confusion, before looking down at his body. All of his injuries were gone, and now that the pain had subsided, he felt reinvigorated. However, what was distinctly missing, or unchanged, was that he was still a Hyougamon.
"That was rather anticlimactic," Anko pointed out, just as put off as the rest of the humans.
Bokomon was nonetheless relieved, but no less confused. "That shouldn't be right. He should have evolved." He pondered on it for a moment. "Wait, could he have-...Hey! Did you really receive that Black Gear from Etemon?"
Hyougamon, in the midst of wondering where he went wrong and why the Black Gear didn't work, studied the now seemingly useless trinket between his trembling fingers after pulling it out, the indentation it left mending. "That should have worked...why? Why didn't it?"
"Hey!"
Hyougamon looked up from his examination, irritation crossing with disappointment. "What?!"
"Did you buy that from Etemon?"
"Yeah, I got it from that chimp! He's the only one who mass produces this shit!"
"Did you…happen to buy the cheap kind?"
"It was at a discount!"
"No, it's not. He gave you the cheapest one he had in stock, which can only grant evolution if the user isn't tired," Bokomon explained. "Otherwise, it's no different from getting a pick-me-up."
"Etemon, that son of a-" Hyougamon cursed, his chest heaving. "That's not right! I used a Black Gear before!"
"That must have been before the production of the recent batch that's more cost-effective but less potent," Bokomon added. "I regularly keep tabs on the black market, so I know what I'm talking about."
As the implications began to sink in, Anko let out a belly laugh. "You got scammed, big guy," she said. "He got you hooked and now he's handing you nothing but the cheapo low-grade schlock!"
Hyougamon had to concede to that point as he silently chewed on his situation. Etemon had not once mentioned that tiny little detail at all. He probably expected the mission to not be that much trouble for him.
"So what now, blue balls?" Anko asked snidely. "You gonna give up?"
Hyougamon looked to the side as he mulled it over, the open-mouthed scowl soon breaking out into a grin. The duplicity alone effectively voided his contract, which meant he wasn't going to get that sweet three hundred million, but he still had something to fall back on. Bokomon and Hiruzen sensed this, but right as they were about to get a word in, the ice ogre acted fast, launching himself up with an ice pillar.
"He's going after the kid," Anko deduced.
"Not if we get to him first," Shikaku elected, Inoichi and Chōza ready by his side.
"The question is, where he could have landed," Anko said.
"The Hokage Monument."
All eyes turned to Bokomon, who proceeded to explain, "Terrified as I was, I calculated the speed and trajectory of his flight path. He should be at the Hokage Monument. Hm, right above his father's head, give or take."
"Are you sure you don't actually have a supercomputer for a brain?" Anko remarked backhandedly.
"His father?" They all turned to Shikamaru, who glanced dryly at the Hokage. "I should hope not. No offense, sir."
All things considered, Hiruzen really couldn't hold it against the lad even if he wanted to. "None taken, Shikamaru-kun," he sighed, exchanging a glance with his Jōnin Commander, who nodded.
Shikaku folded his arms and locked eyes with his son, his tone as even as it was sincere. "Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato," he said.
They expected the boys to express some level of surprise, and indeed, this would have floored almost anyone not in the know; however, the two heirs were nothing but unreadable, save for Shikamaru, whose signature scowl furrowed with exasperation.
Chōji, on the other hand, marveled as he turned to his best friend. "Wow, Shikamaru, you were right on the money."
The adults sweatdropped; they already knew.
"Gasp, how could you have figured it out?" Anko quipped flatly, folding her arms under her chest. "It can't be the hair and the eyes. There's no way," she said in disbelief.
Shikamaru admitted, "I didn't do it on purpose; it was just something I said randomly. It's a long story."
"Well, we'll have plenty of long stories once we take care of this blue ball," Anko said, catching Guy and Kakashi as they rose to their feet. "You two good?"
"Unfortunately, I doubt we'll be of much help in our current state," Kakashi stumbled. Guy himself had to accede, as they were already feeling the aftereffects of opening the Second Gate, much less the drain on their chakra and body heat.
"What does that guy even want with Naruto?" Shikamaru questioned. "All we heard was some minutiae about a world inside a computer, virtual monsters, and whatever this place is." He gestured to the AR Konoha. "What's Naruto got to do with it? Oh, and why does he look like something out of a lame Super Sentai knockoff?"
"You boys will get your answers, I assure you," Hiruzen told them, actually knowing what the last one was from his grandson. "But for now, we must move. Naruto-kun is in danger."
Get up.
He could hear it.
Get. Up.
A voice.
You can lie down when you're dead.
Through the fog, he saw a dark, burly figure.
Perhaps placing that seal on you was asking for too much.
The figure loomed closer and then retreated.
There. Try not to hold back.
"Osu…" Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he stirred, a dim and cloudy sky greeting him. He blinked twice to clear the fog of his vision before gingerly sitting up. He stared aimlessly ahead for a moment before scanning his surroundings, and saw the familiar sight of the village skyline. Yet, something was different about it. Looking down, he found himself sitting near the edge of the cliff, right above his father's head.
What was he doing again?
He gazed down at his palms.
Was he in the seal?
You wish.
What…
The short term memory loss will pass. Give it a few minutes. There was a pause, before Kurama spoke again. Okay, you might not have a few minutes. Evolve now!
"Huh?"
Peering over his shoulder, the ugliest face he had ever seen looked back at him; the imposing creature's right arm winding back.
"Hey, kid, so about that Spirit," Hyougamon said, grinning from ear to ear.
Naruto blinked, and it was then that everything came back to him, just in time for him to jump away from the ogre who almost crushed him with its fist. Thinking quickly, he felt the familiar shape of his D-Scanner clasped between the fingers of his right hand.
"Spirit Evolution! Agnimon!"
Assuming his Digimon form by willing it, Agnimon ducked a left straight from Hyougamon as soon as he touched ground.
Huh, so I can evolve like that, too? Who knew?
Focus.
Right, right!
Entering into his range, Agnimon embedded a straight punch into Hyougamon's gut.
"Blergh!" The ogre was sent flying until he crashed into the trees.
Agnimon blinked, looking down at his fist in amazement. "I couldn't have hit him that hard," he said.
Fool! Keep your head in the game or you'll lose it!
Hyougamon burst out of the heap of debris, never losing his smile, an ice club in both hands.
This was no longer just a job.
This was a fierce battle.
Agnimon sidestepped as the club bore down and ducked when it detoured in his direction in a fluid motion. He arched his upper body to balance on one hand, stabilizing with his other as he spun.
"Fire Slide!"
He swept a flaming leg to trip the giant, who evaded by stepping back, his reach allowing him to swing his club down, but Agnimon tucked his legs together after his rotation to fling himself for a kick with both feet, shattering the weapon and connecting squarely with the monster's groin, the tremor from the blow riding up his belly, knocking the wind out of him. Hyougamon slid back from the force, staggering for a few steps, coughing. 'The hell?!'
He shook his head to collect his bearings, more surprised than hurt, though the pain was there. "Wha-What is this?! Y-You weren't this strong before!"
Agnimon righted himself before his bewildered adversary and took a boxer's stance. "Don't know, but I'm not complaining!"
The two then became locked in a brawl for dominance, with Agnimon ducking and weaving Hyougamon's flailing arms and wild hooks, slipping in a punch for every opening afforded to him with his confounding speed, his blows and quick jabs fast and heavy.
All the while, Agnimon took note of the key difference. 'What's going on? I feel…lighter. Like…it's easier to move.'
"Snow Punch!"
Whirling on his heel to dodge it, Agnimon once again entered Hyougamon's range up close by taking a fluid step back before jerking his head up, forcing the ogre to block with both arms before the blow could reach his chin, which would prove to be a mistake, failing to intercept the warrior's right elbow going for his side. Not done yet, Agnimon pivoted his right foot to Hyougamon's, throwing off his balance once more.
"Salamander Break!"
Agnimon spun in place, arms spread in a lariat, while Hyougamon was unable to step out of range as he endured a whirlwind of punches within a tornado of flame, ending with a leg to his knee, which he hoped to block with at the last second, only for the kick to win out, the sound of bones and joints surrendering.
Falling on one knee, Hyougamon willed an ice pillar to jut out right as Agnimon went in for a finishing blow. Lurching his head to the right, the warrior of fire's range of motion was disrupted, giving Hyougamon ample chance to swing his fist overhead, encasing it in ice. "Ice Punch!"
The strike hit Agnimon in the face, the reinforced blow increasing the damage as he was sent barreling back to collide with a tree, shattering it and slamming into the next.
'I have to finish this now.' Hyougamon engaged, ignoring his bum knee as he channeled cold energy into his left hand. "Hyougan Nage!"
Forming a ball of ice, he flung it straight at Agnimon, who smoothly evaded the projectile in a blur of movement at the last second. Hyougamon's eyes widened at how insane that was. The kid was surely incapacitated, looking as prone as a ragdoll, but he moved out of the way like nothing. The ogre was undeterred as he swung in his right without missing a beat. "Snow Punch!"
Agnimon sidestepped the attack, veering sideways and ducking to aim a jab at Hyougamon's side, but the latter knocked the fist away before it could connect, then countered with another punch. Agnimon smirked, intercepting with a pivot inside at point blank. "Crimson Knuckle!"
Hyougamon's muscles screamed as he lifted his right forearm to block, riding out the burn, the force dragging him across the ground. "Snow Barrier!"
A large wall of ice split the ground beneath them, nearly bordering the entire mountain range and reaching past the cliffside. Agnimom stumbled back from the rumbling right as he was about to engage again, placing some distance between himself and the erupting glacier.
"I can make my ice as hard as steel, runt," Hyougamon boasted between short gasps for air. "There's no way you're going to break this." He needed time to recover his stamina. Even with the boost from the Black Gear, he had wasted too much energy to evolve on his own. He should have done it from the beginning, but hindsight could be a cruel bitch. "Oh, and I'd just love to see you try and melt your way through. We'll be here all day."
What'd he say?
Who cares?
Agnimon shrugged, unable to hear Hyougamon due to the thickness of the ice impeding the sound, before tapping deep into his Digicore, bringing out all the fire he could muster. Taking a deep breath, he focused the energy into both fists, then lunged at the wall. "Million Gatling Burst!"
As Hyougamon was busy recovering, he looked up at the wall, hearing what sounded like dull thuds. "Hmph! No way is he gonna break through. Waste of time. Go ahead. Tire yourself out. By the time I get some of my strength back, you'll be at my mercy."
Agnimon blasted through the supposedly impenetrable wall in an explosive manner, his fists ablaze. Hyougamon only had enough time to see this before his vision was flooded with a torrent of fire, distinctly shaped like a downpour of fists.
The warrior of fire roared, doubling his efforts the instant he caught sight of Hyougamon's silhouette, the burn of his arms as intense as the speed his punches traveled, each and every one connecting.
Hyougamon was so overloaded that he went numb halfway through the assault, until he could no longer feel anything, dissolving into scrambled code.
Agnimon stopped the barrage once he realized he was only punching air, hunching down with his hands on his knees. "I... I did it..." He watched as his body absorbed Hyougamon's leftover code, followed by a small flash of light as something formed in front of him.
'An egg?'
The largest egg he had ever seen, no bigger than a football, light blue in color and etched with white stripes, gracefully landed on the ground.
A Digiegg. That's Hyougamon. Or, what's left of him, set to be reborn again.
"Funky," Agnimon said between breaths.
"Naruto-kun!"
He turned around just as he was enveloped by the code, dispelling his evolution, leaving only an exhausted Naruto to receive the entourage.
Minutes Earlier…
Sarutobi Hiruzen, even when he was skirting close to his seventies, was by no means beholden to his age. Under the ideal conditions, he could still tangle with the best of them and then some, all for the sake of his beloved village and those he loved. Following recent events, he had come to reevaluate his shortcomings. Not all of them, for who could ever say they were perfect? No, he was never that arrogant. Okay, maybe a little, but things change as one grows older.
Now, as he stood before the Hokage Monument, which still stood proudly as a testament to Konoha's unwavering spirit in this bleak parallel world, a sight that he had shared with comrades, friends and students alike; three of them with him at that very moment, he couldn't help but notice one thing.
A large ledge of ice had cut into the mountain near perfectly, and whose face but his was split down the middle.
Why couldn't it have been Tobirama or, hell, Minato? They wouldn't have minded. Was this a sign? Was the universe trying to tell him something?
Looking further up ahead, they could hear the heavy sounds of clashing at the top. "Looks like Short Man's got his hands full," Anko remarked. They all nodded decisively to one another, with the heirs and the two other Digimon in tow.
With Piyomon flying, Bokomon had to be carried by Anko under one arm. The shinobi dexterously capered up the cliffside, and upon arriving, they were treated to the sight of Agnimon in the midst of destroying part of the barrier with a blistering flurry of punches so fast, the friction and heat of his element combined wreathed him in flames, creating a cloud of steam as the ice seemed to dissolve instantly.
"Whoa, look at Naruto go!" Chōji exclaimed in amazement as he watched them, the ground beneath trembling from the intensity of their high-speed impacts.
Guy echoed the sentiment. "Indeed! It seems I've just found another rival as well as a student! I'm getting some of my vigor back just by looking at it!"
Once he was through, Agnimom slipped out of sight, refusing to slow down, and judging from the sounds of him pounding into something, it was an easy guess.
After about half a minute of silence, they all ran to check on him, finding Naruto the only one standing, hunched over and breathing heavily, just before he changed back to his normal form.
"Naruto-kun!" Hiruzen called.
The blonde peered over his shoulder to see them approaching through the gap he made.
Falling onto his rear, Naruto leaned back on his arms. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious he was tired. "Well, Short Man, you stuck it out," Anko said as she stepped up to the boy, hands on her hips. "How do you feel?"
Naruto panted, "H-How do you think?"
He perked up a little at the sight of Shikamaru and Chōji. "H-Hey…pretty crazy day, huh?"
"No shit," Shikamaru said dryly.