Chapter 5
1400 AD
Florence , Italy the street is narrow and dusky filled with misty shadows, and at its opposite end rises the vast bright-colored side of the cathedral the white walls of Milan must be likened to snow and ice from their base, while those of the Duomo of Florence may be the image of some mighty hillside enameled with blooming flowers the place is the final home or memorial harbor of the native illustrious dead.
The large quiet distributed town garden with the vague hum of big grudging boundaries all about it however the political power of the city rested primarily in the hands of the wealthy merchants who dominated the industry these merchants built enormous guilded mansions in the city, villas in the country, and contributed to the construction of great buildings competition between merchants who usually competed to see who would contribute most to the city but none contributed more than the Medici family however not everyone was thrilled with their success or contributions to the city.
Speaking of the Medici family things were not looking to good for them right now the head of the family Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici was looking at the possibility of declaring bankruptcy because his clients couldn't pay back the loans that they owed him thus he had to cover everything hurting the banks coffers they have nothing to stop their creditors from trying to seize their bank however one day Giovanni gets an invitation to lunch at the nicest restaurant in Florence he dresses in his nicest clothes then sits down at a table a few minutes later he's joined by a tan young man with grey eyes with brown hair wearing an average looking tunic but he was carrying a case with him.
The young man sits down shakes Giovanni's hand and introduce's himself as Ezio Dorian Giovanni introduces himself they have lunch then they go back to his bank where Ezio asks that he gets rid of every guard or servant but those that he trusts with his life Giovanni asks "why should i do that" Ezio says cryptically" that the walls have ears "Giovanni immediately understands what he means by that so he does as requested he also says that for what i came here for today i'd like to ask that you keep this meeting a secret from everyone do so and all of your problems will vanish.
Giovanni gets suspicious of Ezio then asks how do you know of what i'm dealing with Ezio chuckles and says i bribed some of your staff and some of your servants Giovanni isn't happy with that but atleast he now knew that his hunch was right to Ezio's cryptic statement Ezio says also i had my finance guys do some checking into your bank since it opened here's ever transaction since you opened to today tell me if you see something fishy Giovanni looks through the papers at first he doesn't find anything but he starts to notice a pattern with the Orsini and Pazzi accounts.
They take out a huge loan pay it up half way then a few month later they pay smaller amounts which is normal but 6 months later they stop paying all together then he picks up a huge portion of the debt when they can't pay and they pay the rest in 6 months time it's not just them but every smaller family associated with them he looks up from the paperwork then asks what is this Ezio says its a plot by the other Italian families to bankrupt you here is their transaction records just in case you're interested Giovanni looks at their records like his at first there's nothing wrong.
Until it comes to his account then everything stops being normal and they just withold funds or spend it on something else or writes it off as gambling he's livid he looks at Ezio then asks "how did you get these papers "Ezio says "i had to pay off alot of people to give you this information" Giovanni asks "why what do you get out of it" Ezio says "i'd like to own half of the Medici bank once you acquire the other families banks Giovanni looks at him like he's nuts until Ezio says don't worry i can get them to sell you everything that they have but i want half ".
Giovanni says that "even if you made me the number one bank in Italy why would i give you half of my bank"Ezio says simple nothing will change you and your family will run it until it no longer exists anymore plus you have my word that i'll protect your family from everything except natural causes all you have to do is sign on this line and our friendship as well as our partnership will begin" Giovanni thinks about it then asks what else can you offer me Ezio smirks then hands him his case then says open it Giovanni does inside is 50 million Florens enough money to buy every business in Italy he nearly passes out but has a drink of wine to settle his nerves.
After he settles down he signs on the dotted line then asks what happens now Ezio says in a week your debts will be paid off also the loans that you covered for those other families has been returned back to you also in your books unless you changed it they will show that they still owe that huge amount Giovanni says no i haven't had time to update the books yet he says good don't just wait one week also don't deposit this money until that time but hide it in your safe only spend very little of it acting as though you're hurting for cash while waiting for a client to pay you.
Giovanni says it's not that difficult to sell but i dont have any spending money Ezio says let me see the books for your household expenses he brings it to him he reads through it makes some notes then hands it back to him and says from here on out instead of the 4,000 Florens a month you will be living on 1,000 Florens a month also no gambling very few gambling houses are honest most of them cheat people to make money Giovanni nods in understanding then gives Giovanni out of the 50 million 10 million then says this should cover everything until you get back on your feet just wait until next month before you deposit the whole amount if you're going to do it in small installments.
Ezio takes his bag with him then heads to the Orsini family home he uses his persuasion to convince them that he's here to make them greater than every other family in Italty then he plants thoughts in their heads to sell all of their land titles and everything else to him he pays market value they sign he gives them money they leave half of them Florence the other half stay in their house in Florence Next he goes to every smaller family doing the same thing as he did to the Orsini he covinces them to sell everything they have to him he does this with every family in Italy as well as those who want to see the Medici go down in flames the last one on his list is the Pazzi family this excursion has taken 3 years to track down all of their rivals and enemies but he did it they were either bought off or killed then he bought their stuff.
Ezio arrives at the Pazzi home he was expecting an attack but they let him right in also the food has no signs of poison neither does the food although everything makes sense when the head of the Pazzi family speaks " i know that it was you going around taking out the enemies of the Medici but what you don't know is that most of their enemies are ours as well the only family that we were allied to was the Orsini family half of which who now reside in Venice which is odd considering you supposedly bought all of their lands" Ezio chuckles then says" i did but which ever town they wanted to go to i simply signed it back over to them for a small fee of a home cooked meal".
The Pazzi family just chuckles at that then Ezio asks" not that i don't enjoy being back in Florence after being gone for so long but what am i doing here i was under the impression that you hated the Medici " The Pazzi family head sighs then says "no i don't hate Giovanni just got caught up in the rivalry if he went bankrupt i'd have helped him relocate and rebuild but only to first have him sign a contract stating that he will never do big business again" Ezio asks "isn't that unreasonable just because you might be afraid of the competition before i got involved you didn't have to go through with this scheme to do this" the whole Pazzi family sneers then says he's not even from Italy his family originates from Spain they moved here a century ago".
Ezio was going to spare this family but he asks what does that make me i was born in a foreign country as well so are you going to drive me out as well without thinking the lesser members says yes after that statement uses his telepathy to order everyone but the head of the family to go get their holdings they do everyone outs it all on one paper then they sign everything over to him and the Medici family after that he lets them keep this house gives them enough money to live for the next 100 years then leaves after that all they remember is that they had a nice dinner with Ezio then he paid off all of their debts as well as bought every other holding they have but left them more money than they know what to do with just like the Orsini family.
A few days later he knocks on the Medici family bank door a servant answers not recognizing him asks "is there something i can help you with" Ezio asks "is signore Medici in today i have some business with him" she says that "he's out on business has been all morning but he should be back soon you're welcome to wait in the waiting room "he smiles then says thats fine" Giovanni comes back home 30 minutes later he sees Ezio smiles then welcomes him into his office Giovanni says "it's good to see you again old friend so what do i owe the pleasure of your visit".
Ezio says it's good to see you too other than checking out the sites i'm here on business Giovanni asks what kind of business Ezio says "before we get into that how are things at the bank going since i've been gone "Giovanni frowns then says "at first things were running smoothly especially with you buying out the competition however the past 2 years i've been dealing with stress and push back from Rome basically threatening me to close down my bank unless i do all of my business with them and them only" Ezio scowls then asks did you keep all of the letters and write down everything that was said in the meetings" Giovanni says "yes i did but i had to make copies just in case they tried to destroy the paperwork".
Ezio reads everything sighs then says" it looks like i'm going back to Rome even though i swore that i never would step foot back into that place" he gets up then says business will have to wait also who was the person that you spoke with Giovanni says it was a cardinal Sforza he said that he spoke for the pope Ezio sighs then leaves to Rome it takes him a month to get there that's because he chose to walk there he arrives in Rome once he gets to the gates the guards there can tell that he's not happy being here they study his facial expression and it almost seems like he's being forced to come back here.
They follow him for someone they've never seen before he knows Rome even better than they do in fact he takes them to a part of it they thought was lost since the death of Julius Caesar after that he arrives at the main square looking around confused then he uses his hand to have one of the guards to come up to him then asks where is the senate building it used to be right here that question shocked those that heard it as far as they knew it was destroyed in the collapse of the old republic he sighs seeing their shocked confused faces then asks where does parliament meet now also where does the cardinals meet they take him to that building.
Ezio sighs then walks into the building he sees that both the cardinals and the members of the senate are in a meeting he smirks then uses his abilities to give him an invitation to this meeting after that he walks inside the meeting room not even bothering to wait to be announced or wait for proper procedure everyone gets annoyed by this until they see who it is they know that he's on today's docket they just don't know that he was going to be here so soon.
Ezio says "sorry the abrupt entrance it was the only way to get your attention i'm here for 3 reasons but we'll get into that in a minute the first thing i'd like to know is which of you think that you have the audacity to summon me here to this godforsaken city like i'm one of your little lackeys" the chairman of the meeting cardinal Sforza "says you were summoned here because we know that you have been buying up every business and land that could have hurt the Medici so we'd like you to sign it over to the catholic church instead of the Medici family".
Ezio takes a deep breath then asks why would i help this hypocritical organization everyone looks at him like he's nuts until he says "1000 to 1300 the so called crusades which were really just the church's way of showing their dominance to their rest of the world 1307 the execution and subsequent massacre of the knights templar which is ironic given that just days earlier the head of the order met with the pope of that time then they get charged with heresy treason sedition and trying to take over Europe".
Everyone was speechless including the pope sitting in the back listening to all of this he knew that some of his predecessors were corrupt but not this corrupt also there's an angel who's listening to what's being said he can immediately tell that this person is not human he contacts his superiors to see what he should do it goes through all of heaven until God looks at the person standing there he guages his power then says tell that angel after this meeting to escort him peacefully up here we are long overdo for a chat they relay the message but he asks what if he won't listen to me God speaks to Ezio telepathicly then asks how long are you going to torment those humans in front of you".
Ezio says" until they learn that they are not the smartest strongest people in the room" God sighs then says "it's become clear that the humans have not helped you become someone good what happened to the young man who saved those gods lives when he first got here" Ezio says "he's still here he just doesn't see anything worthwhile in humanity also if it was still up to you we wouldn't be having this conversation so don't blame me because you fear what you don't understand just like the humans you love so much."
God sighs then says you're right if it was up to me you'd still be asleep until we got in trouble enough to need your help but by then it would be too late Ezio says "no it wouldn't because someone was working on setting me free before i got free anyway once i clear everything up with the humans here i got business in Florence then i'm going to settle down in Asia" God sighs then" says tomorrow the underworld will be contacting you" Ezio says i'm done with you guys until you come up here i'll have nothing to do with any of you" God asks so does that mean that you won't go the meetings that the 3 factions have set up Ezio says I will but don't expect me to be apart of anything in fact you got lucky that a friend of mine is being bullied by Rome or i'd never have set foot in this shit hole ever again".
God is surprised to hear that then asks when was the last time that you were here in Rome Ezio says 50BC God almost chokes on his tea then wonders how old this young man is Ezio says if you remember there were dinosaurs on earth when i first visited the planet i was let out of my seal at the year 1,000 BC by 1,000 AD i had completed my journey of exploring this world as well as my training God sighs then asks how old were you before you came here Ezio replies 14 years old their conversation ends after that then the people in the room ask what are the 3 things that brought you here today.
Ezio says other than being summoned here which if i had a choice i'd never have comeback to this city not after the pain it's caused the whole world but also to my family as well they looked at him with confused looks on their faces until he walks up to cardinal Sforza then hands him a scroll he opens it turns out to be a family tree going all the way back to two ancestors Jacob and Evie Frye he passes it around two names stick out other than the person standing in front of them Arno and Maria Frye the first died of old age after retiring from being a gladiator the second died of child birth due to poisoning.
They check their records turns out that Arno Frye served with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony during the Gaul campaign he also is responsible for helping Rome conquer the land where Hadrian's Wall was later built after that he comes home to find that the ruling class killed his sister some of those in the room don't care for his story because all they care about is wealth and power others who are corrupt but not bad people wouldn't do that to someone Cardinal Sforza sees the varying reactions on everyones faces but when he looks down at their guest he seems even more annoyed than when he first stepped inside the room.
Ezio says "reason two is get you guys to stop bullying the Medici family if you don't do as i ask don't forget that my family was responsible for building this city since there was nothing here but dirt don't make me look up the old blue prints to see which buildings we still own because mark my words if the Medici family runs into more problems from you guys i won't stop at just taking our buildings back everything you see here will seize to exist even if i have to burn it all down to the bedrock and if you still feel like doing stuff after this meeting because you feel like your wealth and family names can protect you from my wrath.
Think again because not even god will be able to save you and if you really want to push things i will bring this whole planet down to a cosmic Adam and Eve until my point gets across" cardinal Sforza as well as everyone else processes what he just said they agree to leave him alone he sighs then says "the third reason i came here hopefully for the last time is to buy something that i've always wanted but first i need to know if it's any good"everyone is confused but cardinal Sforza asks what is it that you wanna try before you buy it " Ezio says "a place that makes wine but i've never had any before and i've brought plenty of money to those who have it in stock in their houses".
Everyone is excited upon hearing what he wants but also understands his request so they each pour him a cup he tries them all is impressed with them then asks can i do business with all of you instead of just one they say yes he says i don't want any competition between you guys except to have a wine making contest once a year this intrigues everyone there as they have never thought of such a thing before Ezio says "i can see it now you guys with booths competing to see who's the best while turning it into a festival he says people would come from all over to judge your wines while also bringing money to the city".
They all agree with his idea he says all i want is free wine from each of you in order to get it i'm willing to pay off the debt of everyone in this room they agree then he gives each person the amount to cover all of their debts they in turn give him all the wine he can carry after that he left the meeting went outside then was approached by someone who wasn't human after touching his shoulder they went to heaven it resembles a place sitting above the clouds with a bright white ceiling high overhead it is guarded by a large gate and has a white stone path and stone buildings which appear to be floating.
First heaven the first floor of heaven where the brave saints and low-level angels reside it also serves as a front lines of heaven's defense second heaven is a place filled with darkness where the angels observe the stars and where they confine angels who have sinned it is also the place where those involved in the Tower of Babbel incident are imprisoned third heaven is the home of the souls of the dead who have been taken to heaven its so vast that it's almost immeasurable and it is the heaven worshippers believe it is also connected to Purgatory it is also the place where the Tree of Life is located.
Fourth heaven the place where the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Wisdom reside fifth heaven the former home of the fallen angels who now reside in Grigori before they fell sixth heaven also known as "Zebel" the current core of heaven where the seraphs reside it is protected by a large gate that only a god class being could break through seventh heaven home to the sacred gear system it's also where God resides it has a defense system that teleports tresspassers.
They stop at fifth heaven after some waiting God shows up then says i'm sure that you don't have to stay in that disguise anymore Naruto undoes his transformation he stretches getting used to being back in his own skin again after that he makes a clone disguised as Ezio gives it his bag then says you know what to do it nods then teleports to Florence to get everything settled once that's done the clone dispels making him smile God asks can we talk now Naruto says yes so what do you want with me.
God says that i can feel how strong you have become but it's not going to be enough why don't you allow me to train you for a few years before you head to Asia Naruto says well you've got 200 years to train me the other 200 will probably be spent training with the devils God nods at that then says don't worry i have a technique that will allow you to get 2,000 years worth of training in just 20 years Naruto says lets do it he takes Naruto to his secret training void then they train in everything from his fallen angel abilities to his sacred gear he masters every ability he starts out with in fact he's close to unlocking the next level he just needs a push.
After that he heads to the underworld he arrives at his old home once everyone feels his power they immediately know that someone powerful just arrived in the underworld things are kinda tense around the underworld right now with another war threatening to break out the last thing they need is another headache but they send people to the energy source anyway to get this over with once they arrive they see a blonde haired young man with whisker marks on his face wearing a black and orange jump suit they ask him to come with them to the council chambers he does as requested.
they were running when an idea hit Naruto that he wants to try he concentrates then two devil wings come out of his back surprising those who were sent after him he takes to the sky a little shakily but those around him give him some tips while their flying to their destination eventually they make it there but Naruto crashes because he's never trained in flying much they knock on the door then Naruto enters the council chamber shocking everyone.
They couldn't believe that he was standing in front of them stronger than ever and they could actually feel his devil energy as well as his power level it was almost mid class devil level but his other half was already at mid class devil level they can tell that once he masters his powers he'll surpass everyone here but yet the fact that he hasn't yet worries them a little bit however they can tell that his power level combined is almost high class devil level if he brings up his devil abilities to his fallen ones his power level will equal high class devil.
Naruto reads their minds already knowing what they want him to do he sighs then says i'll join this conflict but if i'm saving someone's life no matter which side their on i expect no arguments they agree also if they are female no forcing them to marry someone for survival they also agree they say the war will happen any day now we don't know when it is happening but we know it will be a civil war.
After the talk and briefing Naruto heads back to his old house opens it seals it back up then gets a good night sleep he gets woke up to the sound of banging on his door he opens the door to find a soldier there saying it's time for war Naruto yawns then puts on his armor carries his sword then goes to the battlefield he sees his troops then leads them into battle the war was brutal it lasted 300 years although thanks to Naruto several people who didn't even want to fight in the war were spared he also saved two significant and influential people Venalena Bael and Grayfia Lucifiage those two particular women were powerful beautiful smart had a lot of political power and were saved because they only wanted to support their families.
After the war people tried everything to get Naruto to stay but he teleported to Asia however a certain someone knew that if she wanted to see him again then she was going to have to manipulate events so they would meet on Earth so she agreed to lower her status temporarily to be a apart of the phoenix heir's peerage also she met with the two ladies Naruto saved and had them agree to help manipulate things in her favor for one night with her intended.