Naruto: Shy Fox Chronicles

Shy Fox Chronicles

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Chapter 18: Of King and Kage

Bolded Italicized is used for descriptive actions.

Italicized is used for internal thoughts/flashbacks.

Bold is for emphasis.

"Underlined Bold" is for dialogue/internal thoughts concerning otherworldly beings.

Kushina sat at the left side, roughly compared to the door to the conference room, at the table. On either side, sitting either at the long table or clustered in like quails, was every single one of the most important people in the village. Shinobi, heads of departments, advisors, clan heads, business leaders, and somehow found a priest to pack in there as well. At her back were both Jiraiya and Tsunade. Yet the sight across from them was far stranger. A total of roughly ten surrounded this supposed king of Seaheart. Including something called a gremlin. The two sides, in dress, composure, and any other metric could not appear more different.

"I thank you greatly for agreeing to this meeting, Lady Hokage. It is an honor to meet someone so distinguished." King Oda said, his voice was as smooth as silk, and as sure as a mighty river.

Wearing her best poker face, Kushina gave a courteous smile. "The pleasure is all mine, King Oda. We welcome you to our village. I hope that my son Naruto and his friends did not cause you too much trouble." the Fifth Hokage replied, mild annoyance at her son's antics peeking out into her tone.

"Quite the contrary, fair lady. For without their fate timed arrival, then it would have caused much trouble later down the line for the common good of modern man." King Bartholomew said, sat upon a tall stool that was hastily procured for his… unique stature. 

Kushina looked at the gremlin king and nodded. "You did say that before, King Bartholomew. Would you mind explaining what you mean by that?" she requested.

"Oh but of course. Where are my manners? You see after isolation for roughly a thousand years, give or take a decade, the spirits had become more or less deranged. Spirits are like people in a way. Those bound to a place for a specific purpose build a certain rapport with those that sealed them. Without them for prolonged periods of time, well, it is no different than locking someone up in a cage and throwing away the key. They begin to lose it after a while." The short ruler answered with surety that shocked many on the other side of the literal aisle.

Kushina nodded in understanding. "I see. That does put things in perspective a bit. But what is so important about the trip that the boys made that warrants such a meeting?"

"Aside from awakening us, it involves what they were searching for. The Nythralian." Oda answered simply.

"You mentioned that. What are these… 'Nythralians' that you speak of?" Tsunade asked, speaking up.

"Minister. Go get the child." Oda ordered, and one of the men behind him rushed off. "They are a race beyond the mortal plane with the power over chaos itself."

"'Power over chaos itself?' That sounds… a bit similar to Senjutsu being used to manipulate nature energy." Jiraiya commented, having experience with something like that.

"From what the Lord of the Kamishini explained, it is. However, on a far greater scale and with effects that can alter reality itself." Another minister, one wearing a great grey hat, replied.

"I see. So, they can basically control a much more powerful version of nature energy…" Jiraiya said contemplatively.

"That is merely the minimum of what chaos can do, Great Sage." Seishin explained, his eyes not shifting from those before him.

"The minimum? What else can it do?" Kushina asked, now surprised and curious.

The various Seaheartians looked a bit more nervous and tactile at that. "We don't know, fair lady. Aside from what was described from the Black Vault, potentially anything." Another minister replied.

"That… is more than a little concerning. That means that that child downstairs has power that could potentially eventually rival a god's. Power that could be very destructive if he fell into the wrong hands. Are you sure you don't have any further information?" one of the elders, Koharu, asked in more than mild worry.

"Even if it was, it is so buried in roughly 10,000 years of documents we'd never find it. Let alone the process of erosion." a sagely minister replied to Koharu.

Homura nodded at that. "I see. Then that raises further questions. Outside of how we should handle things here with your people, what do we do with the infant?" He added, lacing his fingers in front of him with his elbows on the table.

"We must treat it as a threat, then." Came the telltale voice of Danzō.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the source of the voice. It didn't occur to the old man just why everyone was soon shooting daggers.

"What?" he asked, looking around at everyone.

"... First of all, Danzō, 'it' is a 'he.' Second, you know my policy when it comes to children. Or do I need to let my furry little friend downstairs out to… talk with you?" Kushina replied, glaring katana blades at the veteran shinobi.

"Oh? To bring the little fox out to play at such a critical time? That isn't like you." The covert lord answered dryly, sending a tinge of tension through the Konoha side.

"Danzō. You're already on thin ice as it is. Quit while you're behind." Hiruzen warned his old friend with a quick glare.

"And who is the reason for that, old friend?" Danzō answered with a tinge of venom.

"Unfortunately, killing the boy would be highly inadvisable. The writings that my grandson Kei and the king's brother uncovered in the vault have… enlightened us to some pieces we were missing of the prophecy." Seishin informed the present Konoha representatives.

"You all still believe in that old thing to that extent?" King Oda asked with a bemused eyebrow raised.

"I mean no disrespect, Lord Oda, but the prophecies our seers have gotten have always come true." Seishin replied sadly.

"Does that mean we have all of the pieces of it now?" Koharu asked a bit hopefully.

Every other Konoha representative above the age of forty in the room looked at her like she had been smoking something they should be worried about.

"If it were that easy, I'd put in for the lottery. Not that I would win or anything, bad luck, misfortune, and all, but that's optimistic for such things. Prophecies are pure havers like that." King Bartholomew chipped in, waving it off.

Koharu sighed as Homura then spoke up. "If that truly is the case, do we at least know how much of it is missing?" he asked.

"We do not. We will have to have shinobi scouting out for signs of any ancient ruins they can find. Any traces at all the rest of the prophecy could help us uncover what is to come." Seishin replied in a small hint of frustration while muttering something about 'damnedable riddles' and 'ancient peoples never making things easy.

"Prophecy was never something we put much stock in, young one. By the time you collect the pieces of the damnable thing, parts of it have been altered. It, like fate and time, are mutable in its own way. It's about altering prophecy, not understanding it." King Oda explained.

"I see your point and raise you this one: How can we alter it if we do not understand it?" Seishin replied with equally sagely wisdom.

"The same thing I've told Lord Moto so many times. Use what you know as a trial marker." King Oda explained.

"My King! I have arrived with the child!" the Minister yelled, rushing back in with the baby in tow.

"What took you?" King Oda asked in annoyance.

"He required a snack break." The Minister replied.

"... A snack break? This is a meeting that could help decide humanity's future going forward… and you stopped to give the infant a snack break…?" Koharu asked in sheer disbelief.

"You will not like the child if he is unhappy. For if he is unhappy, then the world is unhappy." King Oda explained sternly, staring into Koharu's soul.

"I don't see what the problem is." Homura replied in confusion.

"The last time he cried, a big, cool looking arrow of lightning shot out of him!" A familiar voice replied from behind the minister, making him jump in surprise and move aside to reveal the boys.

"... Come again?" Kushina asked simply.

"That's one horny baby." Jiraiya chuckled to himself only to be smacked in the back of the head by Tsunade hard enough to knock him to the floor, crack it, and leave a lump on the old sage's head.

"Jiraiya! Not in front of the children!" Tsunade snapped at him as they looked at the baby.

"Heh heh heh heh heh!" Came from the baby, bouncing and jiggling as it gave a hearty giggle.

To the surprise of all present, something unbelievable happened. The crack in the floor began to mend as Jiraiya's lump slowly disappeared. The old sage then got up and rubbed the back of his head, extremely confused now.

"... My headache is mostly gone now. What just happened…?" Jiraiya asked in confusion.

"Baby happened." The boys said in unison.

"Ooookaaaay then… explain, boys. How did baby happen?" Kushina replied to the boys inquisitively.

"You had this idiot. How do you not know how baby happened?" Sasuke answered with sass.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto and Fugaku called out in indignation at their younger son's antics.

"What? He is an idiot." Sasuke said to defend himself.

"... Okay, let me rephrase that. How did the baby do that?" Kushina replied, rubbing her temples.

"You're asking us?" Kei asked in confusion.

"You were there. How do you not know?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.

"We don't really know what this kid can do, Granny Tsunade. All we know is that, when he giggles, good things happen; when he cries, bad things happen; when he hiccups, he poofs away." Naruto told her honestly.

"We don't know what happens if he burps or farts." Seikoku chipped in… for what it was worth.

"... What do you mean by… 'poofs away…?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shinkoku! Gently shake the baby!" Naruto proclaimed.

"Gently shaking the baby, sir!" Shinkoku replied with a salute before taking the baby from the minister and gently shaking him.

Soon, the baby began to hiccup. As soon as he did, he began disappearing with a flash of blue and green light, teleporting around the room. First ending up in Tsunade's arms, then hanging from Jiraiya's ponytail, then sitting atop Danzō's head before ending up in Kushina's lap as the hiccups stopped. Much to the shock of the entire Hidden Leaf side of the gathering.

"... Why was there an infant's posterior on my head…?" Danzō asked with stunned annoyance.

"... Ah. So that's what you meant by 'poof…'" Kushina replied in sheer disbelief.

"Goo…" the little baby said, before laying down and snuggling into Kushina's lap. Seemingly finding it infinitely comfier than the bony forms of the boys.

"We will… need to keep an eye on that one…" Hiashi sighed with a small smile.

"I would personally recommend that the Kamishini handle that assignment." King Oda offered, to the shock of everyone else.

"Us? Why is that, King Oda?" Seishin asked in confusion.

"Don't forget to tell them about the horn rule, Mr. King." Naruto said to Oda, tugging on his robes.

"Thank you, boy. I almost forgot." King Oda answered before patting his head.

"Must… resist… joke…!" Jiraiya grit out.

"Horn rule?" Chōza asked, pointedly ignoring Jiraiya's comment.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna be massively troublesome…?" Shikaku groaned in frustration.

"If you pull out his horns, he goes boom. As in, big boom. Well, that's what the nice vampire man said to us." Naruto explained chipperly.

"The nice what now!?" Kushina, Mikoto, and Miko all exclaimed as Kushina handed the baby to Tsunade before the three mothers walked over to check Naruto and the boys for bite marks while Tsunade checked over the baby.

"You start nibbling, you're going in the lap. Understand?" Tsunade said to the baby sternly after finishing checking him over.

"Gah." baby Kumori replied in understanding before turning to give Jiraiya a smug look as Tsunade pulled him back into her breasts.

"You little punk…" came quietly from the Great Toad Sage.

"Okay, Naruto's good! No bite marks!" Kushina called out in relief.

"Sasuke's fine too!" Mikoto sighed in relief.

"Kei, Shin, and Sei are all clear!" Miko replied, sighing in relief.

"... King Oda. Why do you have a vampire in Seaheart?" Seishin asked, rubbing his temples.

"I don't understand the question." Oda asked in confusion.

"The vampire race has changed much since you went into stasis. The Strigoi are not the only type of vampires to be a problem now." Seishin explained.

"What are you talking about? We have long allowed vampires of many types to live in our city. Duan is an urban vampire, not some rural degenerated monster. So long as a vampire can keep to the laws and keep the hunger under control, they are allowed to live with us." King Oda explained. "Before many of the other races migrated, we were and still are quite cosmopolitan. It's just there all still in stasis. Dwarves, Yōsei, Giants, Vampires, you name it." 

"... Excuse me, what?" Danzō asked, his one visible eye widening in shock.

"The Giants of this realm died out seven hundred years ago, my king. The last known Giant was seen several hundred years ago at what is now known as Mount Koryū." Seishin sadly informed him.

"We truly are in an era of continuing tragedy." King Bartholomew said with a level of sorrow that no one, not even the kids, had heard from him.

"Indeed. And the Dwarves and Yōsei are either dead or in hiding. The Dragons are all but extinct. The Fishmen? Those who haven't died out have retreated into the deepest depths of the sea or into another realm…" Seishin recounted sadly.

"So, we are virtually alone? It is only humanity that stands against the dark tide?" King Oda asked, slowly standing.

"Not necessarily, King Oda. There are pockets of the other races still out there, we're sure of it. Not to mention that the Angels still fight strong and many Demons and Oni have since changed sides to our end of things." Seishin explained.

"And what true damage has been done to the enemy? From the murmurings I hear from your men, the main gates are beginning to fail." King Oda asked sternly, now clearly trying to press Seishin.

"Unfortunately, yes. We have sent forces out to assess the damages and figure out how to repair and reinforce them. We have also been working on seeking out the pockets of the other races and bringing humanity closer together, starting with trying to ally the Five Great Nations together." Seishin explained.

At that, Oda gave a nod and sat down. With his deep blue eyes, he looked over the large group of people before him. He tapped on the table several times, as if deep in thought. All but Kushina felt a pang of dread as he sat there. For Kushina, however, she was trying to do everything she could to read him. Yet, to her surprise, he was not hiding anything. He had a small sweat, both from travel and from his own nervousness. A clawing, gnawing feeling was eating away at him from the inside, likely the weight of the many who owed him their loyalty. He had a heavy weight upon his head as he thought deeply. No one ever is so open like that…

"What terms would you have for us to be able to immigrate into your village, Lady Hokage?" King Oda asked bluntly, catching the council of Konoha off guard. While Kushina sat their firm.

"Immigrate? You wish to set up shop in our village and aid us?" Kushina asked, caught off guard.

"Can he, mom? Please?" Naruto asked hopefully, giving her the puppy eyes.

"Naruto… son… it's… not that simple…" Kushina tried to tell her son as Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded in agreement with her.

"With all due respect to you and your charges, Lady Kushina, but our homeland is not in a state of habitability. Nor will it be for some time. Afrit may have… overcooked it a bit with the denial protocols…" King Oda explained, trying his best to ease her concerns.

"Why do you wish to settle here? Did you not pass by other settlements on your way here?" Kushina asked, her eyebrow raised.

"The reason is both for the now and the future. Currently, we only have a few thousand awakened, and that is not sufficient for long term survival in this hostile world. Secondly, if we are able to free our kin from their stasis, then that will rapidly increase the numbers we will require to provide for, something Konoha is already equipped with. And finally, us immigrating would also technically include the baby. He was in our care, after all." Oda explained.

"Even if that is true, what can you, as refugees, bring to our village? We can't exactly run a charity here." Homura countered with a scoff.

This caused much muttering from both sides. Hints of offense were clearly heard from Seaheart's ministers, while the shinobi were beginning to question as well. A strange silence, however, came from the Kamishini contingent, which equally got the speculation mill going. Finally, however, there was a break in this chaos.

Kushina raised her hand to silence both sides, then took a deep breath and nodded. "We will need a demonstration of what you and your people can bring to the table, King Oda. A public show of strength, so to speak, to convince the other villages that this coming and growing alliance is necessary if you alone can't deal with what's coming." she told him, a plan beginning to form in her head.

"She's right. Humanity in this part of the world has been divided for so long that uniting them all won't be easy. They need to be shown what their potential allies can offer them while having the potential threat be put into perspective for them." Tsunade explained.

"Tsunade speaks the truth. There's a lot of bad blood amongst the nations because of the history we've endured ever since you went into stasis. Between the Warring Clans Era and the three Shinobi World Wars, nations trusting each other in this day and age is difficult because too much hatred has been stewed up and spread." Jiraiya added sagely.

This got the rest of the Seaheart ministers murmuring. From their faces, they seemed bemused at best at the prospect, to dismissive at worst. Crude was uttered more than once amongst them. However, King Oda soon stood up, silencing the chatter on his side instantly. As if they knew their King had made a decision.

"A demonstration of strength is merely what you ask? That is it?" King Oda asked inquisitively, more in disbelief than his companions.

Kushina nodded. "Yes. We also need to make sure that the other nations' shinobi leadership and lords all attend to watch. We need to put it in perspective just how much trouble humanity is in for in the future and that the only way we'll survive is by standing together." she explained.

"What kind of demonstration do you require exactly? Define public for me." King Oda asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Why not an exhibition match in front of foreign diplomatic parties between the most powerful combatant of Seaheart and the most powerful combatant of our village? We could send out invitations to the other nations for their shinobi and civilian leadership to attend. We could even host it in the Chūnin Exams stadium and make a festival out of it." Tsunade suggested.

At that again King Oda fell silent again, going into a more contemplative stance. It was as if it puzzled him at such a request. Almost as if he were expecting something else entirely. His ministers held their breaths as King Bartholomew gave a big grin, as if knowing something everyone else did not. At that Oda spoke again.

"If I perform this public demonstration of strength, you will accept my people into your village for refuge?" King Oda asked, in a clearly testing tone.

"So long as you can help us eventually secure this alliance with the other nations for whatever is coming? Yes." Kushina replied in an unguarded tone.

Soon a big smile stretched across King Oda's face. They had all seen a similar smile upon little Naruto before. A clever, devilish, foxish grin.

"Believe me, fair lady, diplomacy is a gift of ours. After all, everyone has their price. I, King Oda Shang the Second of Seaheart, formally and personally accept your challenge! What shall my demonstration of strength entail!?" King Oda roared, rapidly becoming far more bombastic and animated. One may even say kingly, in a strange way.

Hiruzen gave a smile. "A one-on-one exhibition match between you and one of the strongest shinobi in our village should do quite nicely, your majesty. One where both combatants can give it their very all." He told him, a bit of mirth peeking out.

"Then I presume the greatest of your kind will stand before me in this very room then?" King Oda asked, standing to his full towering height, and now literally gazing down upon them all. With an intense fiery glare, like that of a dragon.

That was when, to everyone's surprise, Jiraiya stood up, a great smile upon his face. "I, the Gallant Jiraiya, the Mighty Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku and one of the Hidden Leaf's great Legendary Sannin, shall meet your challenge, King Oda!" he declared to all present.

"Then, Great Lord of the Toads, shall you face the King Closest to the Gods in honorable combat! And may our battle make the very world quake!" King Oda roared, pointing directly at Jiraiya, locking eyes. As everyone now knew, a fight like that rarely seen on this planet, was on the cusp of taking shape.

To Be Continued…