Adventures of the Orange Flash
Chapter 22: Springing a Known Trap
WARNING! THERE IS A TORTURE SCENE IN THIS CHAPTER!
Naruto was running along the pathway in search for Carol who ran off after having an argument with Lilac, so he went looking to talk to her in hopes of returning back to the others together. Naruto scoped the area as the rain continued to fall with his Aura sight active until he was finally able to locate her energy signature.
Naruto went over to find Carol sitting near a rock with her back to it "There you are Carol-chan, I was looking all over for you,"
Carol turned her head to towards Naruto before looking away "Oh hey Naruto, did Lilac send you to come looking for me?"
Naruto shook his head at the question "No I chose to come here on my own and make sure that you're doing okay,"
Carol smiled a little at that "Thanks Naruto,"
"No problem but…" Naruto activated his aspect to manipulate the upper part of the rock to form a makeshift roof overhead before sitting next to the wildcat "You didn't mean those things you said to Lilac-chan, did you?"
"Not really, I was just…worried. Ever since we started this mission, everything had been going wrong and I began to think what would happen to us after all this,"
Naruto chuckled softly at that "I gotta admit, your concern for Lilac and her caring for you has me feeling pretty jealous of you two,"
Carol looked at Naruto in surprise "You're jealous of our friendship?" she saw him nod with a soft smile on his lips.
"Back in my village when I was a kid, there was this guy who's name is Sasuke Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha clan. There was an incident that led to his clan's massacre which left him the lone survivor," Carol's eyes widened in shock at that "When I learnt about him being an orphan, I was overjoyed…that there was someone like me and I wanted to approach him immediately to be his friend…but I couldn't work up the nerve to do so. Sasuke was capable of doing just about anything and everyone was fawning all over him, he was so far ahead of me despite our shared status and I refused to admit the plain truth. So I chose to see him as my rival whom I must surpass, I tried so hard to be better than him but I couldn't reduce the gap between us and everyone looking down on me just made it worse…even when we were placed into a team. I was just too stubborn to express what I really felt,"
"What you really felt?" asked Carol.
Naruto nodded "Yeah…that I really wanted to be just like him, he was everything that I wished to be. Which was why, when he acknowledged me as one of the people he wanted to fight, he had no idea how happy he had made me feel…cause it meant that he was seeing me as his equal. Neither of us said anything to each other, but deep inside we saw each other as friends…brothers even. Which was why I felt so hurt when he decided to leave the village to join a criminal in order to attain power to kill his older brother who was responsible for the death of his clan. I gave chase and tried to bring him back, even if I had to knock him out and make him see reason. But he refused to listen, saying that I didn't know how it feels to be all alone after losing the ties to those closest to me when I was alone from the very beginning of my life,"
Carol was shocked at first but then it turned into anger "How can he say that?! You too were alone even longer than him, he has no right to say that!"
[She's right Naruto-kun, friend or not, he spoke out of line!] said Nicole angrily, from her perspective, Sasuke doesn't even deserve Naruto's friendship and loyalty.
"Even so, he too was suffering in his own way," Naruto defensively.
"There are times I wish you weren't so lenient, especially towards the Uchiha. This is not out of a personal vendetta anymore but from the fact he constantly hurt you even when not near," thought Kurama, recalling how Sasuke almost killed him the next time they met, how Karui punched him to a pulp in refusal to release information, when he begged the Raikage for forgiveness only to later find out Sasuke attacked the Kages during the summit. The avenger had done more harm than good. There were times he now suspects that Asura's brotherly love for Indra had a serious effect on his container to be too forgiving towards him.
"Despite all that and the many times I tried to bring him back to the village, he turned up a changed person to offer us support during a great battle which could decide the fate of the world and we won…something happened which forced me to leave altogether, so I entrusted the newfound peace in his care and that of the others too before I left,"
"How sure are you that he would keep that promise?" Carol was rather skeptical, given what she knows about him so far.
"Sometimes one doesn't need to be vocal to express one's intentions, and I could tell he had definitely changed which I can hope is for the better," Naruto turned towards Carol "I trust him just like you do for Lilac despite our past ideals differing from each other,"
Carol sat there, deep in thought for a while before finally speaking up "…okay Naruto, let's go back and talk with Lilac. I would have gotten over it anyway,"
Naruto smiled brightly at that "I'm glad to hear that, now let's get back and make a plan on saving Torque and kicking Brevon's butt out of the planet,"
With a nod from the wildcat, the duo got up and were about to make their way back to the others when they heard the pattering of feet and turned to see Milla and the Chao heading towards them with a look of panic and worry on their faces.
"Milla-chan, what's the matter?"
"It's Lilac, she's gone to save Torque by herself!" said Milla, shocking the others.
"She did what?! Doesn't she have any idea how dangerous it is that she's doing?!" said Carol in shock of what her friend is doing.
"What are we going to do?" asked Milla worriedly.
"I can go and get some help from someone whom I know won't be able to refuse,"
"In that case…," Naruto took off his headphones and digitized it into the S.A.C before detaching it from his waist as Nicole materialized with a look of confusion.
"Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" asked Nicole.
"I want you and the Chao to go with Carol and Milla to find the help which we need to rescue Lilac while I go after her and make sure she's safe from harm," said Naruto.
"That's crazy Naruto! You could get into trouble along with Lilac!" Carol protested.
"I understand the dangers, which is why I'll try to buy as much time as I can for you to show up with help for our escape,"
"But…" Milla looked unsure.
"I assure you that I'll be fine and make sure that the others will be safe," Naruto spoke with a smile.
"Alright Naruto-kun, we'll go but don't anything that will put your life at risk," said Nicole.
"Chao/Choa," Kou and Yoru were in agreement.
"Gotcha, I'll be waiting for you guys to catch up with me soon," said Naruto, then he took off at high-speed whilst leaving behind a long trail of afterimages.
Nicole turned to Carol "So where do we go to find help?"
"We'll head back to Shang Tu, that's where we can find the guy who's gonna help us," said Carol.
"Who?" Milla was curious.
"Spade of course," said Carol much to the surprise of the others.
Meanwhile, Naruto had arrived at the outskirts of Jade Creek and came to a skidding stop as he turned to look into the distance to see a large structure built in the middle of a lake then he looked at the holomap on his ECG-X gloves to display the tracker being there.
"This must be the place where Torque is held captive and Lilac-chan is already in there," said Naruto, turning off the holomap and got ready to dive into the lake.
"Kit, I'm sure you're aware that you might be falling into a trap," said Kurama.
"I know but I don't have much of a choice at the moment, I need to get to them quickly before Brevon-teme has a thought of killing them off," Naruto then activated his water aspect and dove in the lake with the passive ability to breathe underwater, Naruto shot towards the base like a torpedo till reached to find an entrance which he successfully did in the form of an elevator and pushed a button to take him upwards.
Music Start: Freedom Planet OST; Thermal Base 1
Naruto rode the elevator up to its designated top floor went on ahead, suddenly he encounter a small flying robot with a red/yellow shell which opened an eye to fire an energy. Naruto dashed to the side a fox fireball to shoot it down but then a Shade Elite appeared and began to shoot at him. Naruto dashed forward in a zigzag pattern while channeling chakra into the ECG-X gloves to form arm blades then he sliced the laser rifle in half and followed up with a bisecting slash. He looked to see more of the flying Seekers flying towards him and shooting rapidly.
"Swift release: Bladed Shadow Dance!" with the arm blades still active, Naruto darted towards the Seekers and struck out while leaving behind afterimages from each strike before appearing behind them and continuing on his way as they all fell to the ground in pieces. Naruto jumped up a staircase like path and ran into a pair of Shade Elites, he slid across the ground and lashed out with a double kick to knock them into the air "Shadow Clone jutsu!" two copies appeared and jumped after the airborne enemies with fists ablaze with foxfire and slammed them back to the ground. He resuming his trek and passed through a pair of sliding doors to finding himself standing before a forked path. Going with his gut, Naruto took the upper path by climbing up a ladder to a rowing of hovering platforms, he jumped along them but had to watch out for the flames exhaling from the thrusters till he got to the other side. Naruto ran alone the uphill pathway and up a ramped wall to the top. There was a medium-sized green/grey which suddenly fired a red arrow at the ground created red spikes to run along the ground, Naruto quickly leapt in to the air to avoid the attack and dive towards the robot but quickly darted to the side to evade a red energy arrow fired from its top cannon "Foxfire Kick!" Naruto's right foot lit up with an azure flame as he charged at the robot and struck out with a roundhouse kick to send it crashing into a wall.
Naruto used a trio of hovering platforms to grab an horizontal bar and swung over to an upper level, then he stepped into an elevator which took him to a lower floor before he got off to stand before a locked door and a control panel next to it, Naruto went to examine the panel "Hmmm, looks like I need some sort of key to unlock the door," he activated his Aura Sight and looked around to see a yellow aura above him on a mesh platform, so he ascended to find a small green keycard and took it to the control panel and inserted it into the slot before the door opened for him to pass through to another locked door requiring another keycard. Naruto took another route by climbing up a nearby ladder to the top, suddenly a large circular monitor came online and a green eye was staring at him as it spoke in a feminine voice.
[Intrusion Detected, please remove yourself from the facility]
"Like I would listen to you," Naruto ran past the monitor through a door, there he ran into pushing pillars of varying heights powered with thrusters from both the floor and the ceiling, he had to climb and drop from the approaching pillars to get to the other side of the room and up a short ladder. He pressed on ahead through a pair of doors till he ran into a blockade so he climbed down a ladder to the bottom. At that moment, a hatch on the floor opened and a large shrimplike robot with a red head and tail which courses with electricity rose from it and flew around. Naruto activated his wind aspect and fired an Air Bullet from his palm to strike the head only for it to be deflected "Tsk, just like with the Prince's flying mech. I'll to destroy the source of the forcefield…" he looked closely and noticed the glowing red spots on the body "…that must be them," Naruto channeled chakra to the gloves to form kunai constructs and began throwing them at the blinking red lights, the robot swooped at Naruto and tried to hit him with its taserlike tail but Naruto jumped to dodge it and land on one end of the body, then he curled up to perform the Kitsune Spiral Dash to destroy the segments and launch himself into the air and activated his air aspect for the wind to swirl around him "Gale Force Dash!" Naruto descended and smashed the robot's head down to the ground, destroying.
Seeing no other way, Naruto climbed back up the ladder to the top when he noticed that the blockade was gone and a keycard laid there "I guess the robot was guarding it," he picked it up and doubled back to where control panel was and inserted the keycard to unlock the door then proceeded to the next room. Naruto stopped at the edge of the platform and looked down to the floor filled with metal spikes all over and there were moving pillars passing over it so he used it to his advantage and carefully got across to the other side, however Seekers attempted to intercept him so he created a pair of foldable windmill shuriken with the ECG-X gloves and flung them to cut the robots down. Naruto landed on safe ground and ran through a door to venture deeper into the base in search of Torque and Lilac.
Elsewhere Lilac was dashing through the passageway past a few sliding doors and entered a room when she heard calling out to her.
"Looks like it's payback time!" she looked up to see that it was Serpentine looking down at her from a ledge before jumping off to land on the ground and face her.
"Let Torque go!" said Lilac with a glare.
"Or else what?" Serpentine asked tauntingly.
"Remember what happened the last time you messed with a dragon? Now let him go!" Lilac took a fighting stance, ready to defeat the viper once more.
Serpentine laughed out loud "Tchyaa ahahahahah! Good girl! I want you to be nice and angry for this!"
The door behind Serpentine opened as someone walked into view along with a squad of shad elites behind, Lilac took a few steps back in slight fear upon realizing who it was standing before her. Torque spoke about him and she could now attach that name to a face.
"He must be Brevon, the cause of all this," thought Lilac as she stared at the alien who stood there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face "…I can't lose my nerve now, I gotta beat him so I can save Torque and get the Kingdom Stone back!" Lilac then charged up her Dragon Boost and dashed towards Brevon…but in one move, he unsheathed his blade and struck her down! The Shade Elites immediately moved in to restrain her as she struggled against her bonds.
Brevon approached Lilac to grab her by the throat as he lifted her into the air "Before you decided to throw your life away and interfere with our mission, you should have asked yourself one very important question…what makes you so special? A question which another will soon ask themselves,"
"What…are you…talking about?" Lilac grunted out painfully, Brevon smirked and snapped his fingers for a holoscreen to appear next to him. Lilac looked only to gasp upon seeing Naruto running through the base and destroying robots in search of her and Torque.
"Thanks to you and the chaser, I have more than enough bait to catch a big fish,"
"Oh no, he plans to…Naruto please don't come any closer! He's planning a trap for you!" thought Lilac fearfully.
"Until he comes, I suppose I'll pass the time with you for company," said Brevon with an evil smile before carrying her away with the Shade elites following after him.
Back with Naruto, he emerged from behind a door and dashing along the pathway when an elevator rose from below with a Shade elite which proceeded to open fire at him. Naruto quickly flung a Hirashin kunai and disappeared in a yellow flash before reappearing behind the robot with the kunai in hand and Hazy-Moon unsheathed while in a position to show it has struck "Flying Raijin Slash!" the robot fell to pieces as he ran up and down a slope to another locked door. Naruto climbed down a ladder but then his instincts had him drop quickly in time to avoid laser fire from a floating red/black robot with a round body and two tendrils which have crystal-like guns attached to them. The robot fired at Naruto again but he dodged by rolling to the side as he activated his wind aspect "Wind Assault!" he lunged at the robot with air swirling around an arm in the form of a spinning cone and pierced straight through to destroy it.
He then dropped down a deep hole and land in an area resembling that of a furnace "Phew, what a hot zone,"
"Don't start with the puns and get a move on already," Kurama scolded.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," Naruto activated his fire aspect to gain the passive ability of high fire resistance as he moved across the flames shooting out from the ground and across elevating platforms which were pushed up and down by the flames, he jumped to grab a long hanging bar which he climbed across to the other side where he ran into a pair of Pushups which launched red energy projectiles at him but he quickly used Shadow step to evade then quickly retaliate with a Rasengan barrage to take them both out. Naruto continued on to use a bounce pad to ascend to an upper level to pick up another keycard before taking another route back to the locked door by using one of the pushing pillars to cross over a spiked floor to the other side. He battled several Shade elites and Seekers along the way whilst detonating walls of bombs manually to unblock the pathways as he advanced and found himself dropping down to another sector of the furnace area.
Naruto proceeded through the area with the use of the Ferris-wheel like platforms but he had to watch out for flowing lava which were flowing through the pipes from above, he arrived at another forked path and again took the upper route where he triggered another wall of bombs to drop down to the next path ahead to use the bounce pads to quickly ascend whilst avoiding the flowing lava before taking an elevating platform to reach the higher level. Naruto activated his Aura sight and managed to track down a pair of keycards hidden behind some crates before locating the locked doors requiring them to continue on to the next area.
Naruto emerged into the next area at the beginning of a downhill slope littered with Shade elites and Seekers, he performed the Kitsune Fire Wheel to speed down the slope and smashed the robots out of his way and jumped into the air at the end to perform a heel drop kick upon a Shade elite as he landed back on the ground to take it out. He dropped down a pathway to the lower level and come upon yet another lock.
Another monitor came online with the green eye staring at him again [To unlock this door, step on the red panel to the right]
Naruto looked to see said panel nearby and turned to the monitor with a deadpanned expression "Does it really think I'm stupid to fall for such an obvious trap?" he took out a kunai from his ninja pouch and wrapped a gravity seal on the handle before tossing it at the panel which started beeping rapidly then it exploded "…Got something to say for yourself?"
[It was just a joke]
"About as funny as a muddy pig ordering bath soap online," Naruto retorted, he sought out another route by climbing up a ladder to the top and bypassing several piston like platforms and a hovering platform into an area where he a large flying robot resembling a squid but with only two tentacles. Naruto looked closer and saw a keycard behind a glass on its head. The Robosquid swung a tentacle at Naruto but he dodged by rolled to the side then fired a fox fireball to hit the glass, scorching a bit. The robot began firing energy bullets from the cannons mounted on its head, Naruto channeled chakra into one of the gloves to create an energy shield as Hazy-Moon floated to his freehand to be unsheathed before he lunged towards the robot, but he was forced to vault off the tentacles which were lashing out at him "Lunar style: Crescent Strike!" Naruto shifted the ninjato into a reverse grip before performing a 180 spin to slash at the glass and quickly grabbed the keycard with one of his tails
"Got it!" he would have smirked if it wasn't for the Robosquid beginning to attack him aggressively all of a sudden. Naruto casually flung a kunai with a level 3 explosive tag attached to destroy before returning to opening the locked door to step onto an elevator and was taken down to the lower levels. Naruto quickly bypassed the area whilst avoiding the magma pouring from above to drop down further into an area surrounded with metal spikes. Then a green floating robot resembling a squid only that it has two tentacles teleported in from above before robot arms appeared and began to assemble machine parts rapidly, then it dropped to the ground before him now resembling that of a large spider with a large pincer-like claw.
[In case you are lost, would you like assistance?] asked the robot.
"So you're the one that's been trying to kill me, finally I can hit you for that 'joke' earlier," Naruto cracked his knuckles in preparation for a fight.
Music Switch: Freedom Planet OST; Meanie Boss! (Minor Boss Battle)
The robot opened its pincer towards Naruto as he took a stance, suddenly he detected something coming towards him from behind and quickly jumped high into the air to see a long stream of magma flowing through the air and into the pincer. The robot rushed towards Naruto when he landed back on the ground and attempted to stab him many times with its front sharp legs, he unsheathed Hazy-Moon to parry the incoming before countering with his own to inflict damage upon it. He then noticed it aiming the pincer at him and quickly used the Swift release: Shadow Dance to be avoid the globs of magma being launched towards him but now several spots of the metal platform being superheated.
"Swift Release: Shadow Rush" The Naruto dashed towards the robot and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks at high-speed before quickly retreating when it vacuumed another stream of magma from behind before spraying it all over the platform to heat it all up. "Wind Spinjitzu!" Naruto jumped into the air and began to spin rapidly to summon the wind to swirl around him, hovering about a feet over the platform. The robot pounced at Naruto in an attempt to gorge him with its legs but the swirling wind spun with enough velocity to knock it away from him before rushing after it in midair "Nine Bladed Tails!" said appendages hardened as he used the momentum to send it flying away from him. Naruto increased the range of the wind to rapidly cool metal platform so he could land back on it.
The robot got back on its feet and moved towards a large pipe constantly flowing with magma then opened its pincer widely to suction more magma into it before constantly firing long streams of it at Naruto, he was continuously somersaulting and dashing all around the platform to evade the attacks as they were fired at him from different angles. He channeled chakra to his ECG-X gloves to create kunai constructs to fling them towards the robot in retaliation and now it began to circle round the edge of the platform and firing magma in either long streams or globs with Naruto dodging and countering with own long range attacks.
Naruto whipped out two Hirashin kunai then stabbed one to the ground, he quickly ducked under yet another stream of magma fired at him before dashing towards the robot and leaping off the edge of the platform "Swift release:Shadow Flight!" he dashed in midair while leaving behind a trail of afterimages to reach the robot whilst preparing a Rasengan in hand but fused it with his wind aspect "Wind Style: Rasengan!" he rammed the jutsu into the robot to inflict critical damage then quickly warped back to the Hirashin kunai back at the metal platform to avoid falling into the spikes.
The pieces of the robot blew off, leaving it in its squid form as it hovered above and stretched out its tentacles to form a rail of sorts before moving over to the spikes and activating a magnetic force to the metal spikes towards it, then it started firing rapidly at Naruto who quickly unsheathed both Hazy-Moon and Masamune to deflect the incoming projectiles until it finally ran out of spikes for him to switch to the offensive. He jumped at the robot to strike at it with the blades but it barely dodged the attacks by moving along the railing to attract more spikes and firing at him again. Naruto sheathed Masamune and held Hazy-Moon in front of him "Lunar style: Orbitual Blade!" then he twirled the ninjato to deflect the spikes and placed hand back on Masamune "Lunar style: Crescent Wave!" he sharply unsheathed the blade to unleash an energy wave to land a critical hit on the robot.
[Systems severely damaged, logical option; retreat] it flew up the way he came down from.
Suddenly there was the blaring of an alarm and red lights were flashing, a confused Naruto felt the place rumble and it seemed to be coming from behind. He looked back only for his eyes to widen in shock upon seeing a large flood of magma flowing towards him, Naruto quickly turned and ran after jumping over the spikes through the large passageway with the magma pursuing him.
"Why does stuff like this happen to me?" Naruto ranted as he ran.
"Less talking and more running, I don't want to get cooked either!" said Kurama.
Naruto dashed up and down the slopes at high-speed to escape from the pursuing magma and was slowly beginning to outpace the deadly trap. He dropped down several staircase like pathways before escaping through a hatch which quickly sealed itself to prevent any magma from coming through.
Music End
"Phew, that was too close for comfort," Naruto wiped a sweat of his brow.
"At this rate, you're going have a long list of things chasing you every time," said Kurama.
"Tell me about it…" Naruto glanced to the side and found a keycard, then he located another locked door to unlock and continue on ahead.
Meanwhile, Carol led the group back into Shang Tu via a storm drainage tunnel which she reveals is the entryway to the hideout of the Red Scarves. They carefully bypassed security beams with Nicole hacking their system to temporarily shut them down, the group continued and avoided or destroyed the traps along the way until finding themselves in an arena where they had to fight a large group of biker ninjas. Carol and Nicole had the upper hand with the former possessing better biking skills and the bike loaned to her had way better specs than theirs and the latter utilized her digital abilities to manipulate the enemy vehicles to her own bidding.
Afterwards, their next opponent was none other than the leader of the Red Scarves, Spade. The battle was pretty hard-fought from both sides but Carol was able to earn the win with a well-timed Wild Claw, then they could finally have that talk with Spade.
"You're here to ask for help, aren't you? Couldn't handle that little quest of yours on your own?" asked Spade with a smirk.
Carol angrily butted heads with him "Cram it, Spade! Or I'll kick your butt again!" they were about to have another rumble if not for Nicole and Milla forcefully separating them.
"Carol, we don't have time for this!" said Nicole, frowning at Carol who looked at the ground sheepishly.
"She's right…we need your help, our friends are in trouble," said Milla, worriedly thinking about the safety of Naruto and Lilac.
Spade quirked an eyebrow at that "I'm supposed to care, why? Plus you got that fox guy to help anyways,"
"The guy who kidnapped two of them is the one who killed your father," said Carol.
"…"
"Face it, buster. We're the only lead you got,"
Music Start: Freedom Planet OST; Thermal Base 2
Naruto dashed through the doors to find himself in the depths of the hidden base, he jumped on several revolving platforms to get to higher ground then he ran along a large tubular pathway through a downward shuttle loop followed by a regular shuttle loop before running up a ramped wall to launch himself into the air and landing on top of a conveyor belt which moved in reverse, Naruto easily outpaced the conveyor belt to jump off the edge and land before a locked door.
"Geez, how many locked doors do I have to go through already?" Naruto grumbled, he climbed up a ladder overhead to the top and went up a staircase-like pathway to run into a medium-sized purplish blue robot on tread wheels with a television-like head which began to shoot orange energy bullets from its cannon-like arms upon locking on to Naruto who rushed towards it whilst evading the shots fired at him to then slamming a palm onto the robot's face and activating his hidden blade to pierce through to the other side before pulling it out for it to explode. He continued on ahead to the end of the pathway where he used a bounce pad to ascend to a higher platform where he fought off another pair of Tankbots after getting off a conveyor belt. Naruto jumped up to a revolving platform to reach up to a horizontal bar and shuffled across to launch himself off a diagonal bounce pad.
Naruto landed on the next level before a wall of bombs of which he pushed the button to detonate and open up a path ahead for him to go through. Naruto took a few short steps before finding a keycard but it was on top of those landmines the robot tried to trick him into stepping upon, he used the Shadow Step technique to instantly rush over to grab the keycard and move away before the triggered mine would explode. Naruto made his way back to the locked door and going through it to find himself dashing along another tubular pathway through a shuttle loop into a downhill loop before using the conveyor belt up ahead to access an upper level above a watery pit below. He pass through a door into another passageway but was attacked by a Shade elite and a Tankbot, "Fox fireball!" Naruto conjured orbs of blue flames from his palms and launched them to knock the enemies back a bit to rushing up to them with blue spiraling energy orbs "Rasengan Barrage!" he rammed the spheres into the robots to send them smashing into the wall with the pieces falling apart.
He emerged at the other side of the tunnel in a furnace like area and used the conveyor belts to cross over the flames to a forked path, he took the lower path and had to latch on to the ceiling with his chakra to avoid the flames below him until he got past it to dash through another tubular path through an inverse shuttle loop and shuttle loop combo before diving into the water below and having to activate his water aspect to attain its passive abilities. The currents originating from the pipes began to push Naruto forwards in one direction as he went in further before being pushed up to the surface, Naruto poked his head out of the water to see a platform with a tankbot on it and a lever hanging overhead "Water Snake!" a stream of water in the form of a serpent shot up and constrict the robot before dragging it down to the water for Naruto to get onto the platform
"This looks important," Naruto scanned the level with the Aura sight to see it covered in a yellow aura, he pulled on it with the room rumbling and he noticed the water level getting lower to certain point "Seems I can go a bit further now, Naruto doubled back to where he could dive into the water and was pushed forwards by the currents again then swam up to the surface to the edge of a pathway. The blonde moved along long conveyor belts but had to watch out for flames shooting up from beneath them to reach the end and run up a ramped wall to reach an upper level where he was attacked by a group of Seekers "Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu!" he flung a shuriken and watched as it multiplied into a thousand copies of the original before piercing through every single one of the robots.
Naruto cautiously traversed a section of the area where giant pile drivers were in operation to avoid getting crushed and located another level which he pulled to make the water levels rise back up before diving in to be propelled for by the current once more but only for a bit to emerge at the other side. Naruto broke through the water's surface to climb up the side of a large tube to the top, he moved along the pathway to the end and found a locked door slightly below him and a ladder leading to an upper level on which he climbed, however he quickly used a substitution jutsu to avoid getting hit with laser fire from a strategically placed Lava Squid and reappeared with a Rasengan in hand to grind it to the ground.
Upon finding another keycard, Naruto returned to unlock the door and had to watch out for both enemy robots and rows of giant pile drivers, then proceed through a pathway consisting of conveyor belts and piston like platforms. Naruto went through a door to find himself standing in the middle of a large elevator which began to rise to the designated floor, he didn't remain idle as enemies began to drop onto the elevator from above. "Swift Release: Bladed Shadow Dance!" he moved at blurring speeds with Hazy-Moon unsheathed to unleash a barrage of slashes on several Shade elites then quickly dashing to the side to avoid gunfire from some Seekers which were attacking him from behind "Fire Whip!" he activated his fire aspect as a long rope made of flames burst from his hand before using it to strike down the airborne robots. By the time the elevator reached the top, Naruto came walking out, leaving a large pile of robot parts behind him.
"Hope there's a janitor here, cause I ain't cleaning that up," With that said, he picked up speed and was passing through several doors before dropping down into a wide area with ladders leading up to platforms and magma flowing underneath a metal flooring with ramped walls at both sides. Suddenly the magma began to bubble before something burst out from it and floated in the air, Naruto immediately recognized it to be the robot from before only that it appeared to be docked onto a large version of itself but orange in color.
[Please hold still during the incineration, thank you] said the robot.
"Gone to lick your wounds and returning for another eh? Let's see what you got!" Naruto took a stance on one of the higher platforms, ready for battle.
Music Change: Freedom Planet OST; Major Boss Battle
Syntax started off but suctioning the magma into its two tentacles then aiming them at Naruto and unleashing a salvo of magma projectiles, Naruto leapt off the platform to run along a wall to evade the shots fired at him, then he kicked off the wall to launch himself with foxfire radiating from his feet "Burning Kick!" he kicked rapidly at the robot's head before jumping away to avoid an incoming attack from one of the tentacles to land on one of the middle platforms.
Syntax then began lashing its long tentacles in an attempt to strike or constrict the target, Naruto used his speed to jump from one platform to another in order to evade the incoming attacks. It then plunged one of its tentacles into the magma and pointed the other at Naruto to fire magma projectiles at a rapid rate. Naruto activated his fire aspect to execute his technique "Blazing Fighter!" his fist and legs ignited in flames as he leapt off the topmost platform and proceeded to punch and kick at the magma balls at blurring speeds whilst approaching Syntax then performing a powerful heel drop kick to send it crashing into the magma below with him landing on the bottom platform soon after. He was about to take a step away when suddenly large spiked balls burst out from the magma and slammed into him only to go up in a puff of smoke and revealing a burning log, Naruto blurred into existence at the top platform to look down at the spiked balls being tossed before returning to the magma and Syntax emerged once again.
"Guess it's not playing around, huh?" thought Naruto.
"You should exercise more caution kit, you almost got yourself pierced through," said Kurama.
"Yeah, my water aspect won't able to help much here, and air would only strengthen the heat. Using my fire aspect is the best option as of now,"
"What about your celestial aspect, you hadn't been using it at all since you got here,"
"…you know, I'm now asking myself why,"
"Well what are you waiting for?"
"Right," Naruto closed his eyes and focused on his power, the star ball within him began to emit a snow white aura then a golden halo appeared over his head whilst sparkles of light surrounded him "I feel so calm right now," he felt more focused than normally, he quickly leapt into the air to avoid an attack from one of Syntax's tentacles while leaving behind a long trail of light to land at one of the middle platform. Naruto stretched a hand out as a white orb of energy to form "Light Beam!" he thrust his palm for to fire a white energy beam to strike the robot before dropping of the platform to dodge the stream of magma fired at him, Naruto dashed across the area at speeds to appear as that of a shooting star and position himself in midair right above the robot "White Hailing Arrows!" he manipulated his celestial energy to construct a bow before pulling a bowstring to form an arrow and let loose to fire the projectile as it split into many more before repeatedly striking Syntax, forcing it to dive into the magma.
Naruto kept his eyes on the magma for any signs of the enemy, sure enough tow streams of lava shot out from the magma towards him "Light Barricade!" he held his palms forwards to project a light energy shield to block the stream until it dissipated "Repercussion!" the shield fired a blast of energy straight into the magma resulting in a large explosion and Syntax emerged looking severely damaged. Syntax then transformed in a giant circular saw and began rolling around the area, Naruto took evasive actions to avoid getting hit by the blade wheel for a while before it finally stopped spinning and reverted to it squid mode. Naruto seized the opportunity and charged straight towards Syntax while constructing a sword with his light energy "Light speed Blade!" he moved at blurring speeds to appear at the robot's head before unleashing a slash so fast that the naked eye couldn't see it, however multiple white slashes began to appear all over the robot before it exploded into many pieces.
Music End
"Now that I'm done with that hunk of junk, time to back on looking for Lilac and Torque," Naruto activated his Aura sight and saw a yellow trail leading through a door "Over there," he moved through the pathways and several doors with the yellow trail glowing brighter "I'm almost there,"
Naruto went through a door to find himself inside of a room, ahead he saw Lilac restrained to a large metal table positioned upright and encased in a glass case but what horrified him was that he saw Lilac's twin ponytails hanging nearby which meant they had been cut off.
"LILAC-CHAN!" Naruto rushed over and started hitting the glass to get her attention "Wake up, please!"
The purple dragoness opened her eyes to see Naruto and was surprised which quickly turned into fear "Naruto, you need to get out of here, it's a trap!"
"I know, just let me get you out of here then we'll go and rescue Torque!" Naruto channeled his chakra for a Rasengan.
"You don't understand, Brevon's targeting you!" said Lilac desperately.
But no sooner she said those words did the door seal itself shut, Naruto turned back in surprise then he started to hear hissing sounds from all around him and looked to see green gas coming out from the vents then realized what it is "Damn! It's knockout gas…Wind Spinjitzu!" he quickly activated his wind aspect and spun rapidly to form a cyclone to blow away the gas from getting any closer, that's when he heard a voice from the loud speakers.
[Nice to see that you've finally arrived, although it saddens me that you aren't cooperative at the moment. A problem I can quickly fix]
*BZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT*
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Lilac screamed out in pain as volts of electricity coursed through her body before stopping.
"Lilac-chan!" Naruto called out to her in worry.
[This is just a mere example of what will happen if you don't cooperate…at low power]
Naruto's widened in realization of what Brevon is implying, he could potentially kill Lilac if he doesn't do as he says "Dammit! What do I do?!"
[I'm waiting I am not the most patient of people] Brevon threatened.
"I…I have no other choice now," Naruto channeled his chakra to seal away the gloves and ninja pouch before stopping the technique and letting himself inhale the gas which soon made him lose consciousness with Lilac calling out his name.
WARNING! THERE IS A TORTURE SCENE HERE! SKIP IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ!
"…"
"…"
"…ugh," Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked around to find himself restrained in a similar way to Lilac and placed right next to her as she too was also waking up.
"Why do you fight?" they turned towards the voice to see Brevon at a control panel with his back to them "I know both of you are awake, so answer the question. Why do you fight?"
"For my friends, I'll do whatever it takes to protect them from freaks like you!" Lilac answered back angrily.
"My answer is the same as hers, Teme," said Naruto, for some strange reason his body feels numb "Kurama, what's happened that my body feels so numb?"
"They injected some sort of serum into your body which affects your motor nerves, I'm trying to purge you of it as we speak," Kurama replied with a frown, the process was taking longer than he thought.
"Keep them safe, every move you've made has put them directly in harm's way," said Brevon with his arms crossed "Destroying our properties, assisting our sworn enemies, attempting sabotage against our mission which, by the way, has nothing to do with you. We're leaving this barbaric planet behind as soon as our ship is repaired,"
"You forgot the part where you took our Kingdom Stone! Where you ruined years of peace between my people and put thousands in danger!" said Lilac.
"An unfortunate side effect yes…but I wouldn't have resorted to such drastic measures if you had the common sense to stay out of our affairs,"
Naruto glared at Brevon in anger "Side effect? Side effect?! We're talking about the lives of families, innocent people who don't deserve this so-called side effect which would kill them!"
"As if it concerns me, thanks to the both of you, your companions are in more danger than ever," Brevon replied nonchalantly.
Lilac looked down at his words, recalling how Carol left her because she was always putting her in danger "Maybe he's right…"
"Don't listen to him Lilac-chan! He's trying to discourage you, Carol was coming back to help you before you left! She didn't desert you!"
Lilac looked at him surprise "She didn't leave?" and received a nod of affirmation from him, making her feel happy deep inside that their friendship remained true.
"A foolhardy decision if you ask me, why don't I show you both the consequences of your stupidity," Brevon turned to the control panel and push a button to raise the window shutters, revealing Torque bound in chains with two Shade elites standing at both sides.
"Lilac! Naruto!" Torque called out in shock upon seeing them.
"I had to do something!" said Lilac.
"Sorry Torque, but our rescue plan kinda went awry," Naruto replied apologetically.
Brevon interrupted them "Answers, Commander. Give them to me," Torque didn't respond "Don't be a fool. You've seen how far I'll go to get the information I need,"
"Don't tell him anything!" said Lilac.
"…," Torque remained silent.
"Very well, don't say I didn't warn you," Brevon pushed another button on the control panel.
*BZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Naruto and Lilac screamed out in pain as they were struck with volts of electricity with Torque watching on in horror before Brevon stopped it.
"OKAY STOP, I'LL TALK! I'M THE LAST ONE, THERE'S NO OTHER CHASER LEFT! THERE, YOU HAPPY NOW?!" Torque yelled.
However Brevon smirked evilly and pushed the button again and even doubled the power.
*BZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I TOLD YOU THE TRUTH ALREADY!" Torque protested.
By then time Brevon cut off the power of the voltage, many scorch marks could be seen on Naruto and Lilac's bodies as they shook in pain from the brutal torture.
"That's nice to know, but I was more interested in your resolve. You crack easily, it seems,"
Kurama was roaring out in rage "HOW DARE HE HARM THE KIT! I SWEAR I'LL TEAR HIM APART FOR THIS!" he now has to purge the serum and heal Naruto's damaged body.
Brevon strode up to Naruto and Lilac with a frown on his face "But I have a funny feeling about you two…I'll bet that I could hack at your limbs all day and you'd still find a way to bite back,"
"I'll do more than that you monster!" Lilac screamed at him.
"However I'm not done asking questions," he turned towards Naruto "…especially about you,"
Naruto glared at him "…What you want from me?"
"What is the source of your power? I've never met anyone with energy like yours,"
"What makes you think I'll tell you? You wouldn't be able to reproduce it anyway," Naruto retorted.
"It seems like you've forgotten how persuasive I can be," Brevon walked back to the control panel.
"No! Don't do it!" Lilac pleaded but was ignored as he activated the device once more.
*BZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT*
"GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"Naruto!" Lilac and Torque could only look helplessly as their friend is being zapped with tons of electricity. Brevon cut the power once again and Naruto's head slumped forward weakly.
"So…are you going to tell me what I need to know? Or do I have to ask your friend instead?" asked Brevon cheekily.
Naruto slowly rose his head to look at the alien warlord, having no other choice but to play his game if he doesn't want any more to harm to come onto the others "…my power comes from an energy source called chakra…and it is generated from a special circulatory system within my body which enables me to perform powerful techniques,"
Brevon looked deep in thought "Hmmmm, interesting…" suddenly Syntax appeared behind Brevon much to Naruto's shock, he was sure he had destroyed it earlier before.
[Sir, the chasers are within visual range] said Syntax.
"Let's see what they're made of," Brevon turned to Naruto "I suspect that you would use this 'chakra' of yours to break yourself free, so I'll have you use it for something else…productive,"
*BZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
He turned on the power, with Naruto screaming once more.
"You monster, you'll pay for hurting him!" Lilac yelled in rage as tears flowed from her eyes.
Brevon simply scoffed in reply "Like I care about what you think of me," then he left the room with Syntax and the Shade elites taking Torque away.
Five minutes later, Naruto was still being electrocuted and Kurama was healing him as fast as he can but at this rate, Naruto would succumb. Both him and Lilac prayed for a miracle to happen which could save Naruto from this torture. Deep within Naruto, the Star Ball began to emit a yellow aura which slowly grew larger with electricity arcing around. Outside, Naruto began to notice that the electricity was no longer hurting him but rather being absorbed and empowering him, he clenched his fist and began to focus on the electrical energy and channeled it to his arms and legs.
"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he unleashed the power to destroy the restraints and the glass surrounding him before tumbling to the floor both weakened and damaged. His vest had been burnt off along with the headband as the metal plate clattered to the ground and his black pants are in tatters.
TORTURE SCENE OVER
"What…what just happened? The electricity wasn't hurting me anymore," thought Naruto.
"It seems you managed to unlock the lightning aspect of your Kitsune powers, and with good timing too," said Kurama looking relieved.
"Naruto, are you okay?" Lilac called out to him in worry, though feeling a bit relieved that he was no longer being electrocuted.
Naruto let out a pained groan and slowly got up to his hands and knees while picking up the metal plating "…I think so…just give me a minute or two…then I should be able to get you out of there,"
"I'd rather you not move at all, right now your body is seriously damaged. Any longer and you would have died. Damn that bastard!" said Kurama, growling at the last sentence.
Suddenly the door opened up and a collective gasp was heard, they turned to see that it was none other than Carol, Milla, Nicole, the Chao and a freed Torque who rushed over to the control panel and deactivated the restraints and raised the glass to free Lilac.
"Naruto! Lilac!" the girls hurried over to check their conditions, the Chao fluttered around Naruto in worry over their friend.
"Naruto what happened? You assured us that you would be fine before you left," said Nicole, deep within she felt sorrow at seeing him in such a condition.
"That Brevon, he threatened to kill Lilac-chan and Torque if I didn't surrender," Naruto weakly replied.
"Please be okay," Milla whined sadly at the sight of her friends being so badly hurt.
"Lilac I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have ran off without you! I promise I'll never do it again!" Carol looked at the two while crying "If I hadn't said those things and ran away, none of this would have happened,"
"…we have to get out of here! Now!" Lilac yelled out, knowing that Brevon will be coming soon.
However, her fears were confirmed when the doors opened again and Brevon came walking through with his squad of Shade elites standing behind him as he stood before them with a smirk on his face while Torque, Carol and Nicole positioned themselves to protect Naruto and Lilac with Milla as support.
"You know, it was so smart of your coalition to attack my ship over an inhabited planet. Whatever happened to that prime directive of yours?" asked Brevon tauntingly.
"You think you're some blameless force of nature, don't you?! That the rules don't apply to you?!" Torque growled in response.
"It's my world on the line, you know exactly how far I would go to ensure its safety,"
"Your world is in danger because of the suffering you've caused to the other worlds!"
Brevon looked mildly shocked "My actions have hurt people? I had no idea, I'm dreadfully sorry,"
"Really?" asked Milla.
"He obviously lying Milla, otherwise he wouldn't have done this to Naruto and Lilac!" Carol spoke with a hateful glare towards Brevon.
"I have a lot of work to do so let's make this quick, kill them all," at his words, the Shade elite proceeded to open fire at the group. Milla and Nicole quickly stood forward and projected energy shields to defend against the incoming laser fire and Torque took out a laser pistol to fire back at them.
"I can't hold it much longer!" Milla struggled to keep her shield up.
"Just hold on for a bit longer Milla!" said Nicole.
Naruto struggled to channel his chakra to unseal the ninja pouch before reaching in to bring out a scroll which he unraveled and pointed the seal at Brevon and his minions "Hey Teme! I got something for ya!" he activated the seal to release a missile which the very one Serpentine fired at him during their second battle. Brevon's eyes widened in shock before quickly moving out of the way for the missile to destroy some of the robots and glared at the smirking fox before he fainted.
"Naruto!" Lilac crawled over to the unconscious fox, at that moment the alarm started to blare loudly with red lights flashing. The group were suddenly teleported away from the room before Brevon could attack them much to his anger.
[Pressure overload detected, the facility will explode in six minutes] Syntax spoke up.
"Don't let them escape, find out who did this!" said Brevon angrily before taking off in pursuit.
Outside, the remote base began to explode and gradually sink to the bottom of the lake before finally exploding entirely, leaving large waves of water in the aftermath. All was calm before something rose from the surface into the air revealing it to be a large white energy sphere, the energy construct floated towards the shore and settled on the ground before dissipating to reveal Lilac holding on to Naruto still unconscious along with the Chao whereas Kou was the source of the energy sphere.
Lilac looked down at Naruto and began to shed tears upon seeing how hurt he is, Kou floated down to settle on his stomach with a sad chirp while Yoru growled in anger as it planned that the next time it saw Brevon…it will bite a limb off!
"…I'm so sorry Naruto, I should have waited for you and Carol to come back so we could save Torque together…and yet I…I…," Lilac was finding it very hard to speak as she continued to cry "I went ahead recklessly and got the both of us captured and tortured…you almost got killed because of me! Please wake up…so I can tell you how sorry I am,"
Suddenly they heard sirens and turned towards the sound only to quail in fear upon recognizing it to be the police hovercraft and Neera Li stepping out and walking towards them. Right they don't have the strength to fight back or escape.
Neera Li pointed her cyrostaff at them with vigilance "Stand down!"
"But I-" Lilac was about to explain but was cut off.
"There are two ways we can do this dragon! And you're only conscious in one of them!"
Lilac wanted to say more but there was no other options left, she let out a sigh of resignation and responded "…do what you have to do…but please…help Naruto," she looked sorrowfully at said Kitsune.
"Very well then," Neera Li signaled the others to move in and carry Naruto into the police hovercraft with the Chao following him while she goes to restrain Lilac, but couldn't help but wonder what or who could have done this to them especially a strong warrior like Naruto. Could this really be part of Mayor Zao's plan or was it the enemy whom they had been telling her and the magistrate about?
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto goes after Carol and talks her while revealing to her and Nicole a bit more of his past in comparison to their friendships, Milla and Chao appear to inform them of Lilac's decision. Naruto goes after her alone while Carol and the rest went to get backup from an unlikely source. Naruto traverses the base in search of Lilac and Torque only to be force to surrender when Brevon holds them hostage, both were subjected to brutal torture with Naruto suffering the most due to Brevon's dark interest in his power and almost succumbed had it not been for one of his abilities unlocking to aid him in time before the group finally arrived and barely escaped from Brevon and his forces. However, the group wound up separated during the escape, and now Lilac and Naruto are arrested by Neera Li. What's going to happen next?
I gotta tell ya guys, doing this torture scene is quite discomforting considering how much I like Naruto and the others and I personally hope not to do anymore, but not to worry Brevon's time will come. Anyways I'm sure some are wondering how many abilities Naruto has as a Kitsune so I'm listing them below as follows:
Air: Control over winds and cool air. They may cause gusts of wind or freeze someone in their tracks. These Kitsune may feed off of air currents or even such phenomena as solar winds. (UNLOCKED)
Earth: Control over fertility and soil. A Kitsune of this type could create excellent growing fields or move pillars of earth. And strong enough where Kitsunes can make mountains Similar to earth but more powerful to the point of generate earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides and Cousin to stone, this element allows for the control of the mountains, and those that live in it. With this, Kitsunes can cause earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides are. They may use fertile fields or a planet for energy. (UNLOCKED)
Fire: Control over fire and heat. They can make a room sweltering, or burn things to the ground. They simply eat fire. (UNLOCKED)
Life: Healing abilities. Offensively a so inclined life Kitsune may cause injuries or simply suck the life out of a weaker opponent and plants. A strong source of life energy would be a river or other sources of fresh water and the ocean. (LOCKED)
Celestial: or holy/light. Celestial Kitsune may control light, Teleportation or even summons and use raw magical energy. A strong source of celestial energy would be a star's radiation. (UNLOCKED)
Lightning: Control over electricity and weather. No one needs a battery with one of these foxes around. A good source of lightning energy would be a great storm or a power plant. (UNLOCKED)
Metal: Control over metals, and gemstones. A powerful metal Kitsune may even transmute materials such as the vaunted lead into gold transformation. They weaken metals after they feed. (LOCKED)
Void: or dark. Black holes and shadows are among the things that exist in this tricky to define domain. A strong source of void energy would be a black hole. (LOCKED)
Spirit: Influence over souls, minds, and will. Spirit Kitsune are good at influencing others. They may make others feel confident or fall into a pit of depression and some can Summon spirits. They have excellent senses for detecting paranormal phenomenon. (LOCKED)
Time: The ability to slow down or speed up everyone in the vicinities perception of time. Haste spells and whatnot. May also be used to accelerate entropy. These Kitsune often make good seers. A time Kitsune can gain energy by eating time off of a lifespan. (LOCKED)
Plant: Dominion over plant life. Abilities such as making trees walk and plants move as the Kitsune commands. Strong enough where Kitsunes can use forests. This allows for the control and manipulation of wood, trees, and creatures of the forest. Those who study this element are almost druidic in their ability to survive and blend in with the woods, and can find herbs and roots to work salves with. A Kitsune of this type will never have problems finding a specific plant. Giant trees would be a good source of plant energy. (LOCKED)
Water: Control of water. Ability to cause massive waves and floods. They may also rip all the water out of a foe's body, or draw up water from the ground. They can douse for water in a pinch as well. Oceans are good sources of power for these Kitsune. (UNLOCKED)
Creativity: The ability to influence things through art forms such as dance, music, writing, music, painting, etc. May also use sound waves. They flock to artists and creative centers even if they're not artists or scholars in their own rights. (UNLOCKED)
*Notice: Back then, members of the Yakan clan specialized in one of the aspects and those with more than three tails can control three to four aspects or more as they gain e tails and it is said that those with nine tails can control all aspects with an example being Asami, the Bride of Vulpecular Shadows who was the leader of the Yakan clan.*
Read and review as always.
This is Hussbek from Ghana
Signing out.