Gods were unkillable.
It was a simple inevitable fact, like the density of a blackhole or the light of the sun.
A part of the natural order and as undeniable, as the void between stars.
However Campione exist, and have existed for longer than human history.
For a Campione to exist they must kill a God.
Thus, they are a paradox. An inescapable and completely undeniable fact of impossibility.
Campione are more than Godslayers, if only because they need to be in order to exist in the first place.
They are irrevocable glitches in causality and probability. Monsters born of human nature that twist luck and weave fate around their fingers.
Campione are a blatant, continuous, violation of the source code that operates the universe.
And it loves them for it.
As such it should be no surprise that witnessing two creatures of such brilliance was comparable to both the most treasured arts and the darkest of torture for those unprepared.
Every breath caused probability to shift as the beings of afterthought bothered to plan, to strategize and think about what they would do next. Every blink twisted fate, and weaved a new tapestry of the future.
It was also remarkable that if anyone asked a campione if they were aware of it they would blink in confusion, if they didn't kill you on the spot. For such titanic beings they were largely ignorant of their impact beyond the surface of reality.
Naruto was completely unaware as reality rippled silently around him and his opponent. Unaware as they practically wrestled over the scales of luck and probability. Unaware as the scales themselves finally clicked into place. Unaware as the fight was won and lost before it had even begun.
Naturally, that was the moment the wily older campione made his move. The older man leaned back ever so slightly. Something that might have gone almost completely unnoticed in almost any other context.
But in any other context there weren't two god-slayers wrestling with enough force to shift the landscape. It was a minor shift, subtle as the tensing of muscles and a shift of the lips, but in that single distracting moment it was all Naruto could see.
One moment they were standing in a gridlock, the next and Naruto found himself being thrown into a tree trunk with a crack of breaking treebark. The impression of the Marquis's knee in his stomach as he blinked in confusion and pain for half a second.
The only warning he got was a twitch of instinct as he rolled to the side, just in time to see the Marquis deliver a clawed haymaker to his previous position. The tree, and older than any Naruto Had ever seen in his life, split in half with an ear rending creak even as Naruto tackled the man into it.
Pinning the older Devil King to the cracking tree trunk just long enough to pull back a fist, only for said fist to shatter wood and obliterate the ancient oak into nothing but dusty splinters as the older king shifted his head.
The force of his passing fist had disheveled Vauban's immaculate silver hair and left a small cut along the Marquis's cheek. Time slowed for a moment as a tiny trickle of blood dripped from the wound like the world was mourning the single ruby droplet.
The air Shivered slightly as the wolfkings' eyes narrowed into slits, and Erica, now almost a hundred feet away from the Children of Epimetheus, nearly collapsed as power Dark, Deep, Bloodthirsty, and above all, Pleased flooded the valley.
Naruto didn't notice it in the least, too lost in the moment to care with a fanged grin that would have had any sane person running for the hills.
It was also stunningly enough, an almost exact copy of the grin present on the marquis's face.
The Kusanagi jumped back gaining just enough distance to escape decapitation at the Older King's hand. The bloodiest king followed eager to spill blood as his other hand moved so fast it was almost invisible in a jab that would have resulted in a crushed rib cage and a human heart being ripped from a still living body.
If it wasn't for the presence of the scaled coat around Naruto, stopping it easily with a repeated screeching wail of nails on a chalkboard.
The younger king merely used the blows' momentum to gain distance, as he paused to think (headless of the fact he was still flying through the air from his elder's blow for the second or third time in only minutes.) for what felt like the first time in hours. If anyone asked him what he was doing at the moment he would swiftly answer with 'No fucking clue' as he was a prodigy of the spear.
He knew less about fist fighting than your average street brawler, or delinquent. All of his knowledge on combat was solely centered around the use of the spear.
'So why does fighting like this seem so natural?' he wondered internally, not that it mattered much. Seeing as if he tried to fight like this, using only his fists he would be putting himself on the back foot. Voban was turning out to be a master of using only his hands and shifting between wolf and man like he was a master of an unsettling foreign art. While Naruto had drawn first blood the Marquis had landed several hits that were only prevented from drawing blood because he was using the [Armour of the Slayer].
There was no question that this path would only result in a loss.
But if Naruto was well and truly honest, it was also very Fun.
Despite this, Naruto needed to change tactics. He needed to flip the table on the Marquis and he had exactly the way to do it.
So as his back collided with the ground Naruto rolled with his momentum in a backwards roll that brought him back to his feet. Two short furrows came into existence as he forcefully slowed himself before shooting forward with all of his strength.
Straight towards the pursuing form of Voban. The man had been surprised, his eyes widening ever so slightly as a spear shimmered into existence only inches from his face.
The old man only just managed to turn his head enough that the spear didn't impale his head, instead leaving a small scratch along his forehead. There was a single frozen moment of time as a bead of blood dripped down the side of the Oldest Campione's face.
It was shattered by a howl of glee as Both Kings burst into a flurry of blows fast enough to escape the human eye. The King of the Balkans having discarded his act entirely, showing the barely hidden bloodlust, and animalistic glee to all who could see it.
A smile split the kings face to an obscene degree as he ducked under the younger's spear. Pushing backwards to gain momentary distance as he began to chant.
"All the living things in the world are the same: Saints and sinners, villains and heroes, innocent children and even their mothers are the source of my fire."
Naruto only had the chance to blink before the chant was over, and all the clouds in the sky disappeared.
Seconds later the world was bathed in crimson light as a ball of fire began to grow in the sky. Only growing larger by the second, within a minute it was already large enough to cover an entire town.
Naruto found himself staring at the growing orb in the sky with no trepidation or even resignation. No, he just found it well-
'That's actually really pretty.' the blonde thought idly, having relaxed his posture and rested the butt of his spear on the ground and leaned it on his shoulder.
"Oh have you given up?" an amused voice asked from behind him, naruto merely glanced at the Marquis with confusion. "Why would I do that?" His voice was just as baffled as the Marquis' face at his answer, Turning his head back to glowing ball of Fire as it started to fall.
'I should probably do something about that.'
"Oh Serpent dwelling in fire, I call your blood, I call your bones, I call your life, For I Am your slayer!"
A ring of fire suddenly blazed into existence in front of Naruto, nearly three stories tall with blinding intensity, just in time for the orb of flame to impact the ground.
A/N: what do you know? It's an update! Honestly I've made so many versions of this chapter that it isn't even funny. But hey update.