53 Chapter 53
"Man, I don't even know how I am supposed to share this with the boss. You are on anomaly that no one seemed to have taken into account. What are you? Are you an experiment by Drasil, a reincarnation of a digimon? There is no way you could use those skills while being a human being." Toad shook of his absolute shock and walked close to Naruto.
With his words, Toad took the interest of everyone gathered around Naruto. It was true. There was no way that a human being could do what Naruto did. Humanity had yet to even reach the level of the strongest Ultimate Digimon, but Naruto broke through that like it was normal. He didn't struggle or talk to them about doing something experimental. He acted like it was normal.
Henry and Takato looked at him. They believed in him and knew him from the beginning. They all had their own conclusions about why Naruto was so different, but there was never a confirmation. However, they believed in him and waited for the answer.
Seeing the power, they realized that Naruto was bigger than what they had ever imagined. He was bigger than life itself and it felt like the path to his side had became an impossible gap. They were best friends and team mates that were supposed to fight together.
But, how could they fix this gap in power? Was it even possible? Naruto was so strong at the start of the journey then when they went to the next level, the gap would only worsen.
It made them feel hopeless. It made them feel useless. Was there even a point in their participation? Wasn't Naruto just babysitting them?
At this moment, both boys felt lost as they held on to their partners.
Rika also felt similar emotions, but she didn't want to leave his side. She could feel it. Naruto was extremely reckless with his life. He was selfless and wouldn't hesitate to put his life on the line. He needed someone to stop him from those choices and to keep him grounded to the world.
Rory on the other hand wasn't really feeling such emotions at all and was on the other side of the spectrum. She was extremely excited and couldn't keep the large grin off her face. She didn't even kind that Naruto had just shattered her treasure.
It had been one of the worst battles in her history since the Mega digimon was old and experienced or she would have won. Nonetheless, she realized her limitations and believed it was time that she challenged the bio-Matrix challenge or got her mega digimon.
Even with her rage quality, she couldn't surpass the power level of a champion rank. However, she could still continue fighting by fusing with her digimon.
'Beloved, beloved' Rory whispered under her breath as she stared at Naruto with an affectionate gaze while biting her lip.
Mai was also excited as she hit the jackpot and ended up serving such a powerful lord.
Yurine and Mio were happy for Naruto and saw his actions as confirmation of their belief that he was special. However, they were also curious about the origin of his powers. The answer wouldn't really change anything for them and most of the people present.
"I am not a digimon and I have no connection to Drasil. This is just my ability and I have no reason to share its inner working with you." Naruto did think about sharing with the others but Toad was an outsider.
"Whoa there, no need to look at me like that. I was just curious."
"Apologies, I didn't mean to scare you. Honestly, I am grateful for your help. You have certainly made me reconsider your group." Naruto shook of the heaviness and returned to normal. Looking at Toad, he could see that everyone had their own way of fighting for peace.
Toad just shook his head at those words. He really couldn't believe that a little kid scared him in the digital world. In the outside world there were obviously many young mutants that could kill him but in the digital world he was protected by the barrier connected to his Ultimate Digimon.
"You are welcome and I am happy that I was able to show the good points of the Brotherhood. How about joining us?"
"I have to refuse since we have something's that we can't agree on. You should try not to involve innocent people in your plans and please reconsider your standing, not all Metal Digimon are evil. You know it, but your rage blinds you to that truth. You need to move on or your hatred will weaken humanity. That is my message for your leader. It is better for him to change before he is forced into a fight with the elites." Naruto knew the history of the Leader, Magneto, and understood where he came from. It was Magneto's path that helped humanity survive getting a large scale invasion from the machines. It was that hatred of this one man that changed how humanity saw Metal Empire Digimon and created countermeasures.
There was a point to his suffering. But, now it was over and it was harmful to humanity.
"I will convey your message and you can always visit us. I see that you don't hate us and we don't want you to die either. You are the hope of humanity, Naruto. We see hope for this accursed world from your talents. Keep on fighting young warrior, know that we will always back you to the last man." Toad took out a silver card and passed it to Naruto before teleporting to a different region since he didn't want to get caught by the official forces.
Hope of Humanity
Those were words he had heard from Jiraiya and it had been so long but they never left his mind. The title seemed to stick with him until the end.
"I will share with you my secret later. Right now isn't ideal." Naruto told his team as he looked behind them and the world seemed to shake.
Blastmon had finally appeared because of the battle. It was a massive even for a digimon and it looked like a mountain walking towards them. Standing 900 meters tall, Blastmon was a mountain made out of crystals and each step shook the world.
"Young ones are you safe. I am sorry it took me so long to notice this situation." The voice was booming and extremely loud that it could be heard from a long distance. However, it was soft and not very dominating.
It truly was a mystery what the creature had been doing while the battle was going on. Most of them had thought he might have been held back by some other Mega digimon like Ebemon.
"Lord Blastmon, did Ebemon attack you?" Mio asked calmly. All of them had to treat such powerful digimon with respect. Mega digimon were the overlords of the digital world and it was not a good idea to disrespect them.
Blastmon seemed to act shy because of those words and rubbed his head, "Sorry to disappoint, but I was asleep. I am usually asleep. It is part of my nature."
Looking at the giant, it made sense since the digimon was a literal mountain.
"No problem, can you please send us back to Dawn City?"
"Of course, that is the least I can do." Blastmon looked at the kids who were like specks of dust to him and opened a spatial gate under them.
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Just like that the team arrived outside the city instantly; it really was convenient that all mega Digimon could open such gates.
Riding inside their flying car, the team headed for the Uzumaki Clan HQ.
"You know I intended to keep this secret for a long time and maybe even to my grave. But, I think you guys need to know." Naruto looked at them and closed his eyes as he collected his thoughts. The dangerous situation had made him reconsider and it truly was unfair towards the girls.
With those words they were fully focused on him.
"You know there are multiple universes, and across this multiverse exists a place where I am from. I used to live in another world where there were no digimon. I was the leader of humanity and the strongest guardian against all threats. However, I died to a powerful alien and I did manage to kill him as well. Regardless, I didn't mind since it was always an expectation of mine. I was warrior since birth and death had followed me all my life. It is my silent companion.
I believed that it was over, but I woke up in this world as a young child to the same parents and with the same name. Even my appearance was the same. I adapted and followed my path to his moment while learning new things to improve myself to solve the problems of my past." Naruto summarized it and told them the basics of his situation.
No matter what they had thought, Naruto shattered those conclusions. However, knowing that Naruto was extremely old and a powerful being of old helped the boys calm their hearts down.
"Did you not want to share it because you thought we might avoid you or find you abnormal?" Rory asked as she sat beside him.
"No, I am quite confident in my social skills. I thought it could invite trouble from unknown beings."
"That's good, because I wasn't going to change my direction after knowing your true age. You are mine old man." Rory grinned as she caught his collar and hugged him tightly. She now understood why she felt that Naruto was older.
She didn't really care about his mental age and found him even more charming after knowing his legend. It was truly exciting. She wanted to hear more details about his fights.
However, the others were silent. Looking at Naruto, now they overlapped his transformed form with the teenager body.
They understood that the transformed body was how Naruto looked like before.
He was 52 years old, 36 from the old world and 16 from the new world.
"This really doesn't change much. It only helps us understand why you were so different. I am extremely grateful for all the training you provided us. You could have kept it a secret as well, but you shared it with us. So, I am good. No problem even if you are an old man, Naruto sir. It feels weird to say big brother now." Takato broke the silence first and shared his opinion in a simple manner.
Henry shook his head as he had been thinking such complex thoughts when it was just that simple.
"I also feel the same. I don't think there is a problem and I can see why you kept it a secret." Henry said while looking at Rika.
Unlike the boys, the secret would have a bigger impact on the girls.
"Now I understand why you would always keep me away, it makes so much sense. You didn't want me to like you because of this reason.
Do you still think about your wife? Is that why you are intent on pushing us away?" Rika had been silent but she had been only connecting the dots about the different events across her life. It all clicked with this new info in place.
However, it also brought the biggest challenge in her life? She wasn't just going to fall out of love because of such info. Naruto was still the same Naruto, and he didn't act different nor was his previous actions some false reality.
The problem came from his previous family.
It was the problem for Yurine and Mio as well. None of them blamed him or thought he was creepy since Naruto had never actually tried to groom them into his lovers or such things. It had been the opposite.
"I do. I intend to go back once I find a way."
"Did you lie about giving us a chance?" Rika and Rory glared at him together. It felt like Rory was about to break his arm from the force. He was extremely weakened at the moment so Rory could absolutely fold him in half.
"I didn't lie. I consider this world my own now as well, so I want to live in both worlds. Polygamy is true in my world as well, so my wife wouldn't mind.
Though, I feel really bad about enjoying life while she might be going through difficulties. It is the reason why I haven't really settled on anyone."
"You should have started with that, look you almost made me snap your arm." Rory weakened her grip and Naruto's arm was hanging freely because it had broken.
Sending a silver of energy to his arm, Naruto fixed the damage. He didn't mind since it was his mistake. He should have been clear with his words.
"Look at me, Naruto." Rika took hold of his head and made him look at her.
Staring into his eyes, she declared her intentions.
"I will make you fall in love with me. I am sorry for your wife, but I will be your number one. That is final, you understand. I am not going to treat you like an old man, so don't even dream about running away from me."
Looking at the drama, the boys were happy that they avoided such relationships. Having a single girl was the best, two was too many and more was just asking for a disaster.
Just like that the troublesome event came to an end and the team survived an impossible situation that spread their name far and wide. It also started another round of battles with the Metal Empire since Ebemon was involved in helping the Akatsuki, Ouroboros and Dark Masters in eliminating Naruto's team.
The hatred for the Metal Empire grew further in the Human world and the Emperor of Mankind finally took action. Takuya arrived like an unstoppable force and caused Ebemon's territory to vanish with a single move, leaving a giant hole.
It was a warning towards Ultronmon that such disrespect would not be tolerated. The only reason Ultronmon wasn't dead was because he had an empire while the human side didn't have enough fighters to contend and actually survive.
Humanity was only alive because of the Ancients who were such a powerhouse that the Empires in the digital world had to think thrice before attacking.
However, even that had its limit since the other empires were growing in power and soon even the Ancients wouldn't be able to act as deterrents alone.
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A.N. Hope you enjoyed
Now before we move on to the next arc, it is time for the review. I know most of you guys have trouble with it so you guys can just give marks according to the headings in the critique form below, points from 1 to 10.
And I will be very much grateful if you could actually write a review.
Story Critique Form
1. Originality. On a scale of 1 to 10, how original was this story? A 1 means that the story is cliché while a 10 means that it has at least a couple of ideas that I haven't encountered before.
2. Setting. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well was the setting developed? A 1 indicates that the setting was poorly developed. This means that is almost completely disappeared from the story, or that I felt confused as to where and when the tale took place in one or more scenes. Of course, the author should involve all of the senses in describing his or her setting. A 10 means that not only is the setting well-developed, but it informs every aspect of the story—from character development to tone and narrative style. In a story that rates a 10, the setting itself is a powerful draw for the story, and the author succeeded in transporting me into the tale. _
3. Characterization. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well-drawn are the characters in the story? Good characters should convince us that they grew up in the world or setting that we've placed them in. They should have complex motives and be imbued with conflicting attitudes about life, ethics, politics, and so on. The characters should have friends, enemies, acquaintances, secrets, desires and fears. The character should have a physical body, with a physical history. The character should have a family, of course, and some type of history, along with a place in society. In short, with a poorly drawn character, we know virtually nothing about him by the end of the story. With a well-drawn character, we feel as if we know him intimately by the end of the story. _
4. Conflict and Plot. On a scale of 1 to 10, how interesting are the conflicts? Since the characters, along with their motives and abilities really lead to a plot, then one must also consider the twists and turns of the plot. How inventive are they? How exciting? How engrossing? _
5. Emotional/intellectual payoff. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well did this story arouse powerful emotions? If it did arouse powerful emotions, were they the proper emotions for the intended audience (as gauged by the age and sex of the protagonists)? Remember that the author shouldn't be hitting the same emotional beats over and over again.
