Through repeated visions, she was able to piece together more of that blond's life, seeing how he tried to hide his growing jaded personality from those in his 'village', trying to prank others for attention, for some semblance of recognition or warmth...
But he rarely found recognition, even the bad kind, and he never found warmth in almost everyone.
Truly, to him, the entire world seemed to hate him.
A major difference to someone like...the red-haired jinchūriki that he would meet in the future, who, by this point, still had family who cared about him.
What truly stood out to her back then though...and even now for that matter, was his constant attempts at smiling.
It was truly perfected by that boy, his smiles, always assuring that old man that occasionally checked up on him if he was alright, as well as all of the adults in his village.
Yet she knew, deep inside, how much of a lie those smiles were.
And the longer that she watched his early stages of life, the more fascinated she became with the boy, unable to tear her eyes away.
The future tyrant remembered when Naruto brought his hands together in order use a ninja 'jutsu', successfully transforming his appearance into something else, something which was completely foreign to her as a child.
And, much to her shock and awe, she couldn't copy him.
For the first time, ever, she couldn't simply learn or copy what someone else did.
Of course, since there were other students learning how to use their powers in his world, one could assume that she would grow to admire them too.
However, that wasn't the case.
The tyrant wasn't so arrogant as to assume that she would always be better than others in every subject, after all, sometimes there were individuals that surpassed her in a certain area due to their diligence in it.
Of course though, the difference here was that Uzumaki Naruto surpassed her in two.
He reached the truth by himself for a longer period of time than she has, and could utilize a power that she couldn't.
That boy has surpassed her in the ways that mattered most; power and logic.
A first for her in her entire life, which was why, in another first, her heart stirred for someone.
It wasn't in a romantic sense, it was more like...in a sense of camaraderie.
Of kinship even.
Back then, she felt like she has met someone who could be as extraordinary as her, just in a different sense, a feeling that she retains to the present.
This belief would only be furthered when she noticed his lack of talent for the first time.
At first, she was disappointed, but that dispirited attitude was clearly wiped away when she saw him...try and train.
It was absurd at first, someone who has given up on the concept of life should not be trying to improve his abilities for a class, or at least that's what she believed.
To be perfectly honest, she still wasn't too sure why, back then, that boy occasionally trained on his basic jutsu...
Though, it was possible that, on some level, Naruto wasn't entirely convinced that there was absolutely no hope in getting the love and respect of his fellow villagers. So, a part of him deep inside continued to get him to try.
And considering the state of the shinobi now...that theory held water.
Regardless, while his lack of talent and lackluster abilities were off-putting at first, she would later come to the conclusion that this only interested her more.
As, precisely because of this lack of talent and lackluster abilities, the boy would take a different path to her during a combat situation.
The shinobi of that world were all very intelligent as a whole, using abilities to their fullest effects whenever they received the chance. Placing contingencies within contingencies.
However, Naruto was different, as his inabilities would force him to use his prankster mindset to fool his opponents with flashes of brilliance and unpredictability.
It was then, she realized, that he served not as an inferior, but as a foil to her.
Vice-versa as well.
He may not have the talent, but she on the other hand, did.
In contrast, while she held intelligence, he held a mindset which made that intelligence practically obsolete.
At least, that was the case back then.
But never before has she felt such a sense of basic excitement prior to that moment, as she felt she had found someone who would serve as a polar opposite to her...in the best way possible.
The world was colored in nothing but grey to her, but that boy...gave that world the breath of new life, bringing color into her existence.
For, only when she was watching, would she know how it felt like to be alive...
And that opinion would never change, even when she was forced to face a harsh truth.
That harsh truth being; that Uzumaki Naruto would not remain as he was as a child.
It would be a few years after she met that boy, during which she ran away from home in order to fully embrace the supernatural world, as well as her own exceptionalism, where she would notice the shift.
She only ever saw flashes of his life, so she wasn't entirely sure when he...changed, but he definitely changed, of that she had no doubt.
The eyes.
It was his eyes.
Once upon a time they held that dull quality that revealed his realistic attitude towards the world, proving that he truly understood how vapid and pointless it all was.
More importantly, it proved that, despite their large differences, they were still connected via similar beliefs and ideologies.
That they were connected.
Yet the first words that she heard from his mouth after a period of absence, which was spoken with bright blue eyes and a toothy smile was;
"I'm gonna grow up and become the Hokage!"
Hokage.
The leader of his village; his home.
To say that she was furious was an understatement back then.
She didn't understand what had happened to change him, almost didn't want to, but she couldn't deny how she felt back then.
Her sense of betrayal cut deep, even though she knew that it shouldn't.
As much as she was aware that he had no clue about her existence...it still didn't change the fact that his movement away from his former jaded worldview felt as much of a rejection of her as it was of their shared beliefs.
And it stung, truly, she's never been outright rejected before...by anyone frankly.
Rather, she's received an emphatic 'no' before, but her mix of brutal authority and incredible talent has always changed that 'no' quickly.
But she couldn't do anything to him, he was in another world, which meant that she was forced to simply deal with it like a normal person.
Yet another new experience thanks to him.
Though, it didn't change the fact that she gained a new-found bitterness for the blond, one that would stick with her, building into an eventual love-hate relationship with him.
Which was why, through that bitterness, she forged a goal that ran antithesis to his.
If he was going to be a Hokage...then she was going to be a tyrant.
A king.
At first, this was far more like a petulant retort to the whiskered boy's answer, but that thought would take hold of her soon enough, bringing forth grand ambitions that would only grow in scope and magnitude.
And she had him to thank for it.
"I want to crush him."
That's what she claimed to the former hero, in the best and worst way possible.
To crush this Naruto, and to bring forth the one that she had grown to...
"Then you need power." he claimed.
She was aware, and she was prepared.
"...I want to bring the power of the shinobi to this world, as their elusive and unique abilities would do everything to confound the world of the supernatural. And I have made steps in doing just that, thanks to the power of Sacred Gears..."
In the past, she wasn't entirely sure how the elderly man accomplished that, but in the present...
Well, now she knew the answer.
Artificial Sacred Gears.
Actual Sacred Gears found within an individual's soul was created by the God of the Bible, meant to serve as a method to counteract against supernatural beings that would try and control humans.
However, it seemed that that crafty old man had managed to devise a way to create artificial Sacred Gears within an individual, many of which were based entirely on the powers of the Elemental Nations.
But not all, but they all shared something similar with one another.
Practically none of them could be conquered through sheer power alone, something that was completely foreign to the power-focused beings in this world.
Simply, the Sacred Gear would depend on who it was given to, as the power would manifest according to the individual's personality...which was precisely why that hospital was meant for those that had 'abnormal' mindsets.
Without knowing any of that though, the little girl would desire whatever power she could gather.
Yet the wily old hero wasn't done.
"...However, to truly crush him, you won't just need Sacred Gears which defy logic and reason, but the true power of the humans of his world as well; chakra."
She felt that that would be necessary too, though she wasn't sure how she should go about gaining that power.
"I'm sure that you don't understand how you'll get that power, but there is a way to achieve it for yourself, though, in order to do that, we must...'go' to the past."
The past? The past would help her receive power?
It seemed illogical to her, yet he was correct in what he claimed.
As it turned out, this world held a secret, one that was closely guarded for generations by two powerful groups, which were introduced to her via the symbols they left behind.
One group had a symbol that consisted of a horizontal line with a vertical line right down the center of it, and with two rib-like protrusions near the ends of the line, pointing outwards, giving the ends of the lines a trident-like appearance.
While the other group had a symbol which seemed...familiar to her.
The symbol was a simple fan, with the upper half of it having a red hue to it while the bottom half was the purest white.
Regardless, the owners of both symbols were long dead, left behind by their brothers and sisters to protect a secret that should never become public knowledge.
A secret that the old man, thanks to his ability to see, to truly see the history of the world through unfettered eyes, was privy to.
That secret being; that this world had access to a gate, a dimensional gate to be precise.
One that, if opened, would serve as a bridge to another world far off to this one.
Yes...once upon a time, this world was connected to the world of the Elemental Nations through that very gate.
A gate, which if the hysterical old man's words were to go by, was likely created by a being of immense power, possibly even a god.
Though, despite his discovery, it wasn't like he was able to get into it.
...But, along with the gate, he did find something just as, if not more, valuable.
The bodies of the ancient shinobi that once guarded the gate, deceased for many years, that still carried bits of their DNA.
The old man, with the bodies, was able to barely scramble together enough of their DNA to legitimately create a potion, one that would help someone form their own chakra coils once drunk.
Complete chakra coils.
However, because of how old the DNA was, the potion could not be replicated.
So, with the DNA of the two groups, the former hero was only able to make two potions in total.
One for her.
And the other for...
...Him.
But now, thanks to that potion, her body had slowly managed to form chakra coils, albeit, while giving her body an immense amount of pain for it.
Yet she had it, and with it, she would be connected to that boy that she had met so long ago on a deeper level.
On a deeper level still, if the DNA she has taken into her system was to be believed.
One could even call them...extremely distant cousins, but cousins nonetheless.
Though, it was only when she allowed for her benefactor to give her a Sacred Gear that she had truly transformed into the woman that would face Uzumaki Naruto in the modern day.
It was a powerful Sacred Gear, one that would become far more powerful if more and more artificial Sacred Gear users existed in the world.
However...something happened.
The blood that was coursing through her veins, thanks to the DNA implanted into her, was affecting the Sacred Gear in her body, mutating it into something far greater.
Something befitting her sublime status.
As the blood of the people that she would come to know as the 'clan of a thousand skills' helped to slowly evolve her Sacred Gear into an ability that truly matched her genius as an ordinary human being, she knew that she was becoming truly beyond exceptional.
That ability that she has gained would one day be shorthanded into a single phrase, one that, once more, fit her more than anything ever could.
The End.
"Hey...asshole."
The tyrant blinked, her mind returning back to the present as she focused on her opponent once more, locking with red slits.
"...Ah, apologies, Naruto." the young woman murmured, drinking in his feral features with her eyes, doing her best to memorize the feeling of it. "I was just reminded of something is all."
"Yeah?" Naruto growled, his demeanor nothing if not aggressive. "Well do that in your own damn time! Face me, now!"
"...You seem to be more aggressive than I remembered you being while utilized the kyuubi's chakra...did something happen to elicit such dark responses from you?" she questioned, curiously seeking more information now that her target was right in her face.
Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be in a talking mood.
"Stop talking already..." the shinobi warned, his slits narrowing dangerously. "And face me already...before I come over there myself."
In response, all the feral ninja received was a cocky smirk, before she jerked her head to the side, beckoning him to her.
Naruto didn't hesitate at all.
With a heavy step that cracked the concrete underneath him, the shinobi surged forward with red chakra swirling around him, moving at such speeds that the cars parked around him were violently being pushed back against the air pressure he made.
A slow smile split apart her face as she felt his incredible force come to bear on her, the familiar tingling of excitement surging through her chest at the sheer concept.
She had been through many battles prior to this, but she knew that she wouldn't feel this feeling of rush anywhere else.
Not necessarily because this may be her toughest battle yet, but because this was also personal.
The complicated mix of emotions that fluttered in her heart as the blond thrust his fist out to smash her in the face...
That very intensity that it invoked in her...
Admiration.
Disgust.
The tyrant shifted her head to the side just enough to allow for the attack to merely flick her long purple hair aside, using her own fist to viciously hit her opponent across the face.
Naruto though, was prepared, smashing his foot into the ground as soon as her attack sailed towards him.
He would use the force that he made to push himself away from his stationary position, putting him into a spin as he swiftly moved around her front to attack her flank.
Without missing a beat, the young woman cancelled her attack mid-swing and bent her knees, bringing herself to the ground as her enemy was swinging around her with incredible speed, bringing his foot out to hit her in the side.
As soon as the leg crossed over where her head used to be, she brought her own feet out and promptly scooped his feet from right under him.
Losing his footing, the young man growled as he brought his arm out, catching himself before he fell onto the ground.
Though the tyrant wasn't finished, as she continued her spin, increasing her momentum to greater heights as she raised her foot and smashed her foot into Naruto while he kept his handstand.
Superiority.
Inferiority.
Caught off guard, Naruto was sent flying backwards, where he only recovered by twisting his body and bringing his hands out to use his claws on the ground, cutting off his momentum with friction.
His claws did the trick, slowing him down enough to land on his feet, despite the deep marks that his nails left on the concrete streets.
Both of the combatant's eyes locked with one another, both ruby, mirrors of one another.
"I love you." the tyrant stated without reservation, her words echoing in the abandoned streets.
A flash of confusion flitted across Naruto's features, unsure of where her words came from.
And the aspiring ruler definitely couldn't blame the teen for his confusion, as her own volatile emotions were far too...mixed to properly grasp properly.
So she just said what she felt then and there, without pausing.
Yet, there was one more thing she had to express fully...
She smiled as she made her next rare expression of emotion, meaning every word of what she was saying, and relishing it.
"I hate you."
Those words echoed just like her last ones, leaving no room for misunderstandings.
As the young man puzzled even more over her words, she raised a hand to point at him with, her ruby eyes glistening despite their dull quality.
"Now grovel before me."
As if a massive weight slammed into him, Naruto's body began to fold, trying to bow down to his enemy without his say or his input.
Red chakra swirled around him like a tornado, fury making his human sounds give way to growls and grunts, enhancing his ability to resist whatever magic was forcing him down.
Just barely though, as while he didn't get into a seiza position, he was still struggling with keeping himself upright.
"...Hoh? So you've managed to stay upright despite the fact that I'm using full power...? Not bad." the young king murmured softly, her voice managing to travel to the blond's ears despite how quiet she was. "But I wonder...how will you fight while in that state?"
The shinobi had his brows scrunched together as he steadily forced himself upright, his chakra flaring even more as he resisted the impulse bend over.
He was so busy that he wasn't really paying much attention to his enemy.
That being said, he was keeping her visible through the side of his eye, making sure that she didn't make any sudden movements.
Problem with that, was that she wasn't making any sudden movements.
No, she was slowly and methodically preparing herself for her next attack, raising her left leg so that she could slip her foot out of her shoe.
This seemingly innocent action slipped through Naruto's notice, the kyuubi's chakra enhancing his frustration in his limited movements, which in turn clouded his mind.
It wasn't until his enemy slipped out of her other shoe and then hopped up that the shinobi took notice.
The tyrant, in what looked like a childish move, began hopping up and down in place like a child would do on their bed.
More than that, they weren't supernatural hops or anything, they were normal human hops, ones that didn't extend into several feet into the air.
It was a strange sight to the blond.
Even weirder, soon after she began to go and up and down in place, the sounds that were emitting from her feet's contact with the cement was...off.
Yes, off. As in, while her feet tapped against the ground physically, he didn't hear the sound of the tap until a second later.
...A time lag?
Suffice it to say, the blond was confused, and this served to, if anything, infuriate him even further, as he felt like this would be a prime opportunity to strike before she tried anything.
If he was more clear-headed, he would have been more cautious of the warning signs, but right now, all that dominated his mind was to attack.
And the tyrant didn't waste that opportunity.
"...Don't die." she ordered crisply as she continued jumping up and down, her long hair flailing softly due to her movements.
Naruto finally managed to straighten himself out, preparing for a merciless charge as he blinked, clearing his focus.
Then, in a flash, his enemy suddenly vanished from his view without a trace as soon as he opened his eyes again.
Sensing imminent danger, he managed to snap his eyes downwards, catching movement through the side of his eye at the last second.
That movement being a flash of purple.
Red slits widened to the size of saucers as the blond bent his knees to get out of the way, ordering his body to move.
Instead of jumping, his knees buckled down thanks to the strange powers that was being used against him, conspiring to prevent him from attacking or dodging.
With a gasp, he felt more than heard his opponent zip past him with incredible speed, the air contorting around them following her pass.
For a split-second, nothing happened.
Then it suddenly felt like Naruto was smashed by an explosive pressure, the ground underneath him ripping apart along with him.
Cement was split apart into rubble as they were thrown into the air, with a large amount of dust covering the affected area following the shocking attack.
A silence followed, which was only broken after a voice spoke up in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You know...I'll admit that a part of me has felt that naming that attack would be nice. But then I remembered how imprudent that would be in an actual battle situation, so I've abstained from doing so." a feminine voice reverberated in the streets, explaining things that had almost no basis on the matter at hand.
Ruby eyes were focused on the dust cloud that she had made, lightly tapping her feet idly, wondering how the blond had handled her attempt at breaking the sound barrier...right next to him.
No, not just breaking the sound barrier; shattering it.
Truly, the energy that was flowing through her had done wonders in making her body durable enough to not wreck it after such a move.
Stretching her legs a little, she watched as the cloud began to disperse, barely managing to see the silhouette of the young man that she was targeting.
Only after a few tense moments, did her ruby gaze register Naruto's appearance, which at once seemed strong, yet haggard.
He was standing upright, his back straight, with his right arm up in a guard position right next to his face, and his shirt shredded to reveal his right pectoral and sleeves, along with a lot of his skin in those areas.
Though, with his red chakra still swirling around him, his open wounds were mending themselves, leaving no traces of the damage he had sustained.
More importantly than that though...was when Naruto swerved his head to the side to glare at her, his red slit locking onto her through the side.
The look she received was backed up by the fact that his chakra began to grow more unstable, rising into the air like a twister as the rubble began to fly up in suspended animation.
Rather than be intimidated by this scene however, the tyrant was more...puzzled.
She has seen him in this state before in the visions, but she was under the impression that, while he would become more aggressive, he still wouldn't lose his basic strategic functions.
Yet...he reminded her of a brute rather than the strategic minded fighter she has come to know.
...Has something happened to him since the last time she saw him?
Her thoughts on the matter would have to wait however, as, right before her eyes, the blond changed.
The mindless aggression that characterized him before was erased, as his feral features smoothed out into a more calmer and balanced facade, his red slits becoming more calculating.
"...Hoh~" the shinobi huffed, turning around with a heavy step, still under the affects of whatever his opponent used on him. "Well...this is interesting. But not bad I guess."
Now it was the young woman's turn to be confused, cautious by the massive shift in demeanor.
Yet Naruto continued, almost looking amused. "Wow, this feeling I'm getting is...kinda like last time. I feel good...no, great even. Liberated. Yeah, that, it's that. Though these...what is it? Weights? I guess, yeah, weights...they're annoying, ya know? Care to take them off so that I could rip your throat out?"
The tyrant raised a delicate eyebrow, intrigued. "My...this is quite the change. You've lost your mindless aggression, yet you've kept the violent tendencies that I associated with this state...no, actually it's worse. I don't think I've ever heard you threaten death on someone quite so casually...and mean it."
The shinobi shrugged in response, chuckling casually as if he was sharing a joke with her. "Yeah~ I agree, it's kinda weird. But I don't hate it, no, I think it's great! Why you may ask? Well...I guess it's because..."
A foot smashed into the ground, viciously cracking it apart as the teen suddenly used it as a springboard to soar forward, his body trying to force itself back into a bow, but unable to because he was in mid-air.
So shocked was the king by this maneuver, that she could only stare at the incoming claws that were aiming at her throat, eyes wide.
If it wasn't for another ability that she has gained throughout her clashes with other...'abnormal' individuals, she would not have been able to dodge the incoming attack.
Literally, her body was bent backwards without her input, as if she placed it on autopilot, and narrowly dodged the claws that swiped against her throat, feeling the chakra that coated his arm make very slight contact.
Landing by her right in a grunt, the teen was forced to take a second to recover now that his body was trying to bow again.
"I'm not entirely sure what's going on..." the tyrannical female proclaimed steadily, eyes sharp. "But it doesn't change the fact that you're still dangerous...and that I fully intend to show you the correct way of thinking."
At least, that's what the blond thought he heard.
He was too busy dragging his nearly unresponsive arm up in a defensive position to intercept the foot that was about to crash against him.
Somehow, he managed to bring that arm up in time, feeling bone creak as he was sent sliding back, his feet scraping harshly against the cement underneath, using his other hand to try and grab something in his pouch to fight back with.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the tyrant was about to let up any, as she very much chased after her opponent with her fists balled, ready to pummel him while she had the chance.
In quick succession, the young woman let loose lightning-fast blows that rained on him the second that he stopped sliding backwards, feeling each one connect since he could only use his nearly unresponsive arms as a shield.
He only managed to throw an open-handed hand at her in a pathetic attempt to push her back, which was painfully slow and uncoordinated, most likely due to her ability still in play.
Naruto couldn't do anything.
Well aware of this, after knocking the blond's head to the side with her fist, drawing blood from his mouth, she spun around and attempted to hook his feet from under him, about to deprive him of any semblance of a chance to fight back.
But, to her shock, Naruto hopped up as soon as she finished her spin, her feet connecting with nothing, as though...
As though he was waiting for her to do that...
Ruby eyes narrowed as she watched the young man smirk at her through bloody lips, raising his arms to make his own attack.
A simple thought occurred to her at that moment; could someone bow in mid-air?
She supposed they could...in a sense, but when she made her order, she very much imagined the picturesque bow in a seiza, something impossible without the ground.
Her influence over his body wasn't necessarily cancelled, but it did help counteract it.
An unbidden smile pulled at the side of her lips, not really expecting such a move, relishing in that fact.
...Though, it wasn't like she had to make him do that bow, she could simply order his body to do something else, but she didn't necessarily want to show off her abilities yet.
"Naruto..." she murmured, her ruby eyes glistening. "Let's enjoy ourselves further, shall we?"
The shinobi flashed his sharp canines, an insane glint his slits. "We can't enjoy anything if you're about to die!"
Still in mid-air, the young man raised his arms in order to slash at his enemy, fully intending to rip apart her head in a gory display.
But he was cut off, as a foot without a shoe was smashed into his stomach, making his breath hitch.
With a dancer's flexibility, the young woman on the ground raised her foot to catch the whiskered teen in the air before he reached her, her leg longer than his arms.
This action sent the shinobi back again, into the air, seemingly getting pummeled.
But, unbeknownst to her, Naruto only smirked even wider as he flew back, his plan about to be put into action.
A plan that his oppressive enemy wasn't aware of until she felt something tug her arm, shocking her.
Taking a very close look at her arm, she saw a very long and thin string that was wrapped around it, dragging her towards...
"Got ya!" Naruto crowed, deadly intent in his eyes once he pulled at the shinobi string that was on his fingertips.
Back when he was sent sliding backwards and before his opponent began pummeling him, he managed to grab some shinobi string on his other hand, wrapping it around his limb.
Then, while she was in the process of beating him with her fists, he threw his hand at her with an open palm in order to wrap it around one of her arms, being long enough to not be noticeable until he was sent really far away.
Which, he just was.
And now, thanks to the fact that he was in the air and not as affected by her ability, he would be able to properly fight back.
Thanks to her intelligence, the tyrant quickly became aware of his plan, his smile growing wider in anticipation as she dug her fingers around the wire.
"This is it...! This is what it means to feel alive...!" she whispered harshly, breathing harshly, embracing the sensation that she only felt in circumstances that involved this teen.
With practiced ease, she finally began to use the energy that was originally from the shinobi world, focusing it on the soles of her feet, sticking to the ground.
And pulled.
Due to the shinobi's lack of leverage, thanks to the fact that he didn't have anything solid to hold onto, he was quickly yanked back towards the ground at significant speeds.
Which, even then, was something that was in Naruto's favor, exemplified when he brought his claws out.
Between the two combatants, he was the only one with anything sharp to utilize as a weapon, which meant that hecould end this all with one swift stroke.
...If he had the chance.
And she just gave him that chance.
Catching onto his plan, the tyrant jumped backwards in an attempt to get away from his attack, wary.
But she quickly found that she couldn't, as her back met the wall of an apartment building, preventing her retreat as the blond charged forward with deadly intent.
With red slits colored with glee, Naruto thrust his hand forward, claws jutting out to pierce his enemy's heart in one clean impalement.
At the very last second though, before he reached her body with his hand outstretched...
He heard something.
It was quiet, and even, but it was something that he had more than enough time to become familiar with, though it wasn't really something that someone would even think about twice about in their daily lives.
Breathing.
Quiet breathing.
So quiet that it couldn't belong to an adult...so it was a child's?
But it had a slightly lower pitch to that of a girl's...so it was a boy?
Since it was even...that child was asleep?
No. More than that.
The breathing was coming from beyond the wall.
Right behind her.
If he continued with his attack, he would have ripped apart a little sleeping boy.
Naruto stopped his hand right in front of the tyrant's heart, not piercing her skin at all, using the very tip of his foot to stick to the ground with his chakra.
His red slits were locked with her dull ruby, his own wide with disbelief, sanity returning to those orbs of his.
He couldn't speak.
He had no idea what to say.
"You almost killed him." was all she said, voice even.
Naruto's breath hitched, feeling like he received a sucker punch.
"...Do you feel guilty?" she wondered, retaining that almost clinical tone of voice, not necessarily judging. "That you would have prematurely ended a young life?"
Red slits shifted to the floor, shaking, his eye fluttering open and close in small intervals.
"So you do then?"
He didn't answer, whether it was because he was still in shock or because he just didn't want to was another question entirely.
"...I don't understand that mindset." the young woman admitted quietly, her irises studying him.
The blond snapped his head up, his eyes wide in even more disbelief.
"He isn't anyone important..." she started quietly, only gaining steam as she continued. "It's not like anything important will happen to him, or he will do anything important...he's just...a normal child that will grow up. Grow up doing nonsensical things, useless things, contributing into a society that does nothing but promote useless things, while singing about useless platitudes..."
"...Useless...?" Naruto echoed, his voice barely a whisper.
"Useless." the tyrant affirmed solemnly. "And you know why that's the case? Because, simply, they pay homage to lifeitself. When life itself consists of nothing except struggles upon struggles, a constant battle to simply cling to life...a battle in which everyone will lose in the end anyway."
Now the oppressive female focused intensely on him, her eyes searching his. "You...understood this once, right? You accepted this philosophy as fact..."
"No." Naruto shook his head, taking a step back from her. "No, that's...no. What you're talking about is just a bad time in my life, a time that's long gone. They aren't meaningless platitudes, they're real."
"Oh?" the tyrant wondered aloud, her features scrunching slightly. "So...you're telling me that a part of you didn'tsimply wonder whether you should just finish me off while you had the chance? That the life of that child was worth the price for my death?"
The shinobi opened his mouth to loudly deny the claim, vehement at the sheer thought of what she was suggesting.
Yet nothing came out, stunned, suddenly uncomfortable.
"...You did, didn't you?" she drawled, a slow smile creeping onto her lips. "A part of you, deep inside, didn't really care, right? Just like when you were a child, despite the fact that you gave up on getting love from your fellow villagers...a part of you still silently hoped. Well, it seems to be the opposite now, with a part of you retaining that apathy from your past."
Naruto bowed his head again, clenching his fists, his entire body trembling, stuck at an impasse.
Recognizing this, the young woman took a step forward, her arms outstretched, reaching for him. "...Why resist this, Naruto? All of this moralizing has done nothing except make your life more difficult for you, hasn't it? Just...let it go. The life of that child, the life of your many enemies, as well as allies...they are all meaningless. You have no need to feel guilty about taking a life of someone that is insignificant..."
She cupped her hands on his cheeks, eyes beseeching him, trying to get him to understand.
"Let go."
The shinobi kept his eyes on the ground, his pupils quivering slightly in indecision...
Until they lit up.
"You..." he started slowly, his eyes refocusing on her's. "Is that why you did it?"
The tyrant frowned, unsure of what he was talking about. "What?"
Naruto blinked, breathing out steadily, before trying again. "...You said that the lives of insignificant people aren't important...that I don't have to feel bad about taking their lives. So...I was just thinking...maybe that's why you accept this belief? Maybe...you don't want to feel bad about crushing the lives of others? So you're using this philosophy...so you don't have to feel guilty for your actions...?"
The shinobi was suddenly sent forced back, pushed back by her as if she was touching something scalding hot, her ruby eyes glowering.
"You...!" she snarled. "That's not-!"
"I think I just struck gold." the shinobi retorted back, not even letting her get a word back in, silently thankful that she pushed him away.
He could take a second to recover; mentally.
It took the tyrant a split-second to calm herself down, caught flat-footed by the sudden inquiry. "You...really are something. I don't recall the last time that someone has managed to throw me off my balance quite that easily."
"I have a talent for pissing people off, I think." Naruto dryly noted, retaining his kyuubi enhanced features, but now back to a more stable state of mind.
As he was now, he had returned to a reasonable level of control over the initial transformation of the kyuubi's chakra.
Possibly thanks to the shocking fact that he almost killed a child.
Now...all he had to do was stay this way, as he actually did need to use this power to fight on even terms.
Unfortunately, the senjutsu that he used back in his battle with Ophis had left him weakened, as this corrupted natural energy really did seem to have negative effects on him after he was done using it.
He was weaker than usual to be perfectly honest, and his level of fighting right now was weaker than his usual base form.
But he didn't want to go further than this in borrowing the kyuubi's power, or use senjutsu a second time.
He'd have to work with what he had.
But first...
"What's your name?"
The tyrant blinked, straightening her back in caution, mentally preparing herself for whatever her crafty adversary was up to. "Why does it matter? Now? Of all times?"
Naruto shrugged. "I have no idea what to call you, so I'd like a name for future reference."
"...I don't have a name."
"Everyone has a name."
"I don't. I threw it away." she maintained, growing ever more suspicious the longer that they spoke. "...What's your angle here? What are you plotting...?"
The shinobi cocked his head to the side. "I...don't really have one to be honest. I just wanted to know your name. I can't really just call you 'purple-haired king wannabe', can I?"
The tyrant twitched involuntarily at the name. "...You seem far too upbeat right now, especially after your demeanor prior."
"Oh. Don't get me wrong. I'm feeling ridiculously stressed right now." Naruto retorted with a bitter smile, before returning to his more positive attitude. "I'm just doing a really good job at suppressing it right now, for this, because it's important to me."
"My name?"
"Exactly."
"...And you think that acting in such a manner will make me more malleable?" she questioned with genuine amusement, crossing her arms.
"It put you into a talking mood, didn't it?" the blond shot back, crossing his own arms in response.
The tyrant's amused expression slid off of her face after that, falling into a more thoughtful one. "...I suppose it has, hasn't it?"
Her ruby eyes fixated on the shinobi again, flashing a genuine smirk. "Truly, I have never been so amused by another individual...or surprised by one, either. Very well, I'll tell you my name...after one more round between us."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, sensing that she was itching for another go at him, aware that he didn't have much more time for questions.
"Alright, but I have one more thing to ask before the second round begins." he started, making it quick. "...You keep saying how much you want to make me 'see the error of my ways' so to speak, but...you don't seem too concerned about changing my mind right now. No, you're so focused on just beating the shit out of me. I hope you know that you won't change my mind by beating me, right?"
The tyrant leaned forward a little, her ruby eyes hooded. "...What? Do you want me to convince you...now?"
The shinobi wasn't amused, stonily staring at her with a firm expression.
For a few moments, the both of them simply stared each other down, challenging one another.
Until the mysterious woman finally leaned back again, smoothly returning back to topic. "I'm in no rush to convert you back to normal, no rush at all as a matter of fact. I'm satisfied enough by simply meeting you in person and..gauging your abilities. Besides, I've already begun the process of showing you the truth...you will realize the error of your ways soon enough."
"You've already-?" Naruto repeated, before his blood suddenly went cold. "Wait...what do you mean by that?"
The tyrant went silent.
Taking an aggressive step forward, with all pretense of civility and serenity gone, the shinobi bared his sharp canines and demanded answers. "Hey! That last thing you just mentioned...what the hell did you mean by that!? Answer me!"
At first, all he really got was an enigmatic smirk in response.
But her next words did absolutely nothing to make him feel any better with the situation.
"Let's just say..." she rasped. "That you will begin to agree with my point of view soon enough."
A young man with long brown hair was impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk he was leaning on, waiting for his opportunity.
Which, by this point, seemed like it was never going to come.
Shiba, a traitorous member of the Hero Tribe has been waiting for the adoptive child of the Toujou Jin; Nonaka Yuki, to call her father in order to inform him of his biological son's survival.
Such an event would no doubt distract the powerful man enough to allow for Shiba to make contact with the old man that he has...'allied' with, completing the deal that they have made with one another.
The young man was uneasy, at best, with keeping a contract incomplete, as it allows for a debt to accumulate, and he hated the very concept of a debt.
Still, to his frustration, he hasn't been able to complete his deal, mostly because Toujou Jin was not under any duress, suggesting that he was not dealing with the fact that his son was, in fact, alive.
Which meant that, for whatever reason, Nonaka Yuki has not called her adoptive father.
...That or Jin was a great actor.
Regardless, he had to make contact with that old bastard...and soon...
"...Yo, Shiba, haven't seen you in a while..."
Shiba felt his brows crinkle at the rather familiar voice, quickly getting himself back into his 'loyal' hero persona. "Ah...it has been a while, Takashi-kun."
To his side, a young man wearing the formfitting standardized hero outfit walked up to the traitorous hero, a small grin on his face. "Heard that you were almost immediately dragged into the newest meeting of the elders the second that you got back. Must be rough."
"Eh, it's not so bad." Shiba remarked with a smile, sticking to his facade. "It helps to know that I'm just doing my part for the Hero Tribe."
Takashi merely hummed, taking a seat by the other hero with a casual air. "Maybe."
Shiba didn't really look at the younger man, teen really, and kept his pupils focused ahead.
But he was taking in his profile through the side of his eye, suspicious at his timing.
Hayase Takashi; a well built young man with short messy blond hair, which was slightly dyed dark brown at the fringes, and sharp blue eyes.
Put simply; he was a new and talented hero among the numbers of the Hero Tribe, someone who mostly kept to himself...except for a few exceptions.
Shiba being among them, for reasons that the hero wasn't so sure about.
Between the two, they were practically polar opposites, nothing really to connect either of them with one another.
So...why did the younger man seek him out? Was it really just for inane small talk?
...Or maybe he was simply becoming way too paranoid?
As Shiba continued to weigh in on his suspicions, Takashi himself was staring at the table as if it was the most interesting thing in the world for him.
He was seriously having doubts as to why he was here, and why the Great Hero even needed him here in the first place...
Toujou Jin; the Great Hero, has asked him about a month and a half ago to keep an...eye open for any strange actions that the hero; Kyouichi Shiba, might make.
Whether their leader was correct, or simply becoming a little too mistrustful after recent events was something that Takashi was seriously wondering about.
...Maybe the whispers that Jin was, perhaps, no longer fit to be their leader were true...?
"Takashi-kun."
The young man blinked, getting back to his objective. "Ah, oh, sorry, was distracted."
Shiba smiled at him while keeping his eyes closed, friendly as always. "Apologies, Takashi-kun, but I'm curious, what are you doing here in the recreation room?"
Takashi shifted uneasily at the query given to him, aware that he really didn't think up of a decent reason to actually be there.
Both males were in the recreational room near the conference room for the the higher ups, a place that most heroes didn't really pass by casually without a reason to.
The blond opened his mouth to respond, thinking up something on the spot. "I-I was curious to hear about what really happened, so I was hoping to hear it from a possible first hand source. That's all."
In reaction to his lie, Shiba's smile grew even wider than before, some could say that it even went mischievous. "Hah~ I see, that makes sense. Though, I'm sorry to say that that information is top secret, as the elders have forbidden me to tell anyone about what has happened until they deem it alright. Information can be a dangerous thing after all~"
Internally, the traitorous hero was very much satisfied in seeing the flash of frustration in Takashi's features.
He had no idea whether the younger man was here under orders to get information, or whether he was genuinely trying to quench his own curiosity, but either way, he was more than happy to upset him in anyway he could.
And he was about to take it even further, made even worse by the fact that Shiba did actually need to go.
"Anyway, sorry about this, Takashi-kun, but I need to find and speak with Jin-dono about...certain things, mostly about the loss of the Chinese branch of the Hero Tribe." he apologized, smoothly standing up from his seat so that he could do just that.
Takashi smoothed out his annoyance quickly, offering a small smile instead to his acquaintance. "Ah...no, of course. You're a busy man right now, no need to apologize."
As the traitor swiftly made his way to the door, prepared to take his leave and give a final farewell to the teenaged hero, he paused.
Right at the very handle of the door.
The door that the traitorous hero was about to leave through would have led him to the hallway of the relatively sizable western-style castle that he was in, one that had plenty of guards since this was a place where the elders consistently adjourned in.
Guards...which he didn't sense.
Shiba always had a strong ability to sense other people, something that made him into a dangerous force against other groups the second that he entered the battlefield.
And, even while inactive, he could always feel the people who are not that far from him via distance.
Yet, right then and there, he couldn't sense any of the guards past this door.
With a newly found cautious air, Shiba slowly opened the door, eyes keenly aware.
What he saw made him freeze on the spot, unable to register the very real, yet thoroughly unimaginable scene in front of him.
It was simply impossible, yet there it was.
In front of him, in the long hallway made of fine brick and mortar, was red.
Lots and lots of red.
'Red paint' was splattered across the walls, as their owners, impaled and staked all over said walls, were simply...hanging there...loosely.
"...What is this...?" Takashi whispered from behind Shiba, horror lining his voice as he walked up to his fellow hero.
Shiba was too stunned to try and even retort to the other human, but that wasn't the only reason why he didn't say anything.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
The echoing sound of two hands impacting against one another in a leisurely fashion became known to the young man's ears, bringing forth a genuine chill to his spine.
...He didn't sense anyone in the hallway.
He heard the sound of clapping, but he didn't feel their presence.
Despite this, Shiba turned his head to follow the source of the sound, one of his eyes opening wide at what his optics registered.
Right next to one of the many impaled bodies, nearly hidden from sight by using that very body as cover, was a young man.
That young man, at first glance, was the definition of 'average'.
He had an average height, an average build, average short black hair, and average looks.
If the heroes who were staring at him didn't know any better, they'd guess that he was just a normal high school student that got lost. Especially considering the black jacket he wore, which had a white collar, five yellow buttons lined down the middle, and matching black pants.
But...there was something wrong with this boy.
Ignoring the fact that Shiba couldn't sense his presence...at all, there was also the fact that there was something patently...twisted about this child.
It actually reminded the young man about that old man's pet project...that girl with the purple hair...
No...it was similar, but not quite the same.
That weak-looking boy, now done clapping, would finally push himself away from the wall that he was leaning on and face the duo, spreading his arms out as if he was about to hug them.
「Hello there, fellow humans!」the teen cried out in an exaggerated fashion, a wide smile on his face. 「Apologies, apologies! I'm here on behalf of the Space Federation to kidnap a brave soul for ransom! Would any of you fine gentlemen like to give yourselves up for the cause?」
Shiba and Takashi shared glances with one another, concerned about the mental stability of the boy in front of them, before Takashi decided to take aggressive step forward. "...Were you the one responsible for this?"
The unknown young man blinked, his blue eyes scanning the area around him, as if just acknowledging the fact that everyone around him was dead. 「Hmm~? Oh! You mean all of these people? Please, don't jump to conclusions! Truth be told, they all already looked like this when I got here.」
As the black-haired teen waved away the accusation, Shiba couldn't help but notice how...bloody his clothes were.
And almost immediately after that, the traitorous hero soon realized grimly that all of the guards that were nailed to the wall...happened to be nailed by what looked like...
Shiba frowned, the weapons looked kind of like...screws, as the business side of the metallic object had a spiral motif, and the...handle, so to speak, looked just like a Phillips head screw.
With a wide smile, the teen then raised his arms while holding onto those very same screws, which just so happened to also be covered in blood.
「Now...I don't know what kind of dastardly individual could have possibly been responsible for this.」he admitted, shaking his head mournfully, before flashing a friendly smile as blood dripped from his weapons. 「But, I can assure you one thing!」
Right at that moment, an annoying ticking sound began to reverberate in the hallway, becoming overbearing in how loud it was.
And just like that, Shiba suddenly felt the intense energy signals of up to seven other beings, quickly closing in on them from the outside of the relatively old western-style castle.
It was coming from...!
The teenaged boy in front of them smiled his pleasant smile as the very ceiling fell apart due to an unknown force, looking about as innocent as a little child.「This isn't my fault.」
The ceiling from above suddenly exploded, the force of which literally blew back both heroes, and, to their own shock, completely caught their twisted adversary in the center of it.
Though, by that point, they didn't have the luxury to even think about him anymore, as ceiling fell on top of them once the world as they knew it gave way to a blinding light.