Chapter Thirty-Eight
To Be Prepared
Day 2
Sunday
"Val is such an asshole!"
Cherri raised her eyebrow in surprise at her friend's shout as they walked the streets. The boy has been ranting for the last hour that it has taken to leave V Tower and make their way to Naruto's restaurant.
Angel had a suitcase rolling behind him with a duffle bag sitting on top with the straps over the handle. He had gathered the bare necessities as he was rushing to leave his boss' estate as soon as possible. And yet the moth demon had found a way to ruin his mood!
"Bastard thinks just because we have a deal that he owns me!" Angel scoffed and blew air to move his hair from his eyes.
"That's kinda what that deal means, babe," Cherri reminded the pornstar.
"Yeah well," Angel fumbled for something before quietly screaming while grabbing his hair. "I thought that when tall, sexy and ballsy won all of their souls that it would just void the contract with him! Or go to him at least!"
"Nope, not how it works," Cherri sighed and shook her head.
She really felt for her bestie but he was the one who made the deal and signed the contract without thinking of the future. He was in a tough spot, granted, but it was no excuse to go and sign your soul to someone's possession especially when you knew full well how that person acted. Valentino was a flaming asshole but that was how he built his company and gained his power.
Angel had raged the rest of the way to their destination - his new home - and spent that time cursing his boss over his 'scumbaggery'. However, that ended when they neared the restaurant and found a large crowd on the sidewalk and the streets as even cars were stopped blocking traffic. That was no small occurrence and most people barreled through obstructions like this without a care for safety.
Seeing as the rest of their walk was blocked by the hovering crowd, Cherri put her hands on her hips and looked around.
"Damn, what's everyone he'e for," Angel looked around with a whistle. "There a big celebration or somethin'?"
Cherri did not answer and instead just approached the first Sinner she found. "Hey, fucker, what's going on here?"
The Sinner blinked a few times from being suddenly ripped around before shrugging. "Apparently Get Wasted had been attacked last night and is closed for repairs."
"I bet it was them angel bastards," a Sinner nearby spit on the sidewalk with a scowl. "They probably didn't like the fat shafting Naruto gave 'em."
"No, the official story is some demons came and killed everyone," another Sinner corrected. "Naruto wasn't there so he couldn't stop them. The demons killed Sinners and hellborn alike. The Exterminators can't target anyone outside of Extermination Day."
Cherri narrowed her eye before shoving the Sinners out of the way. "Move!"
Angel quickly followed after her, chuckling whenever a demon was shoved away or to the ground. He was also curious about what happened and how bad the restaurant is for everyone to be gawking at it. The fact that the news hasn't spread far already also made him curious as something like this was the talk of the city.
Wonder who has the balls to target someone like blondie, Angel thought to himself as they neared the last rows of people.
However, as they broke through the front, they were shocked with the sight that greeted them. There were some demons helping cleaning the pieces of wood, stone and brick into piles on the sidewalk and into trucks from the dining room. And the dining room, completely blasted open for all to see, is being cleared by Naruto and the others who work there with some other helping demons.
Others that weren't cleaning, dressed in suits and with weapons, were bringing in and unpacking boxes brought from an eighteen-wheeler. The boxes were clearly supplies of some kind, a mix of regular items and new equipment and furniture to replace those destroyed. It seems that the attack on the restaurant was purely damage to the first floor as the other three were undamaged.
"Hey, Naruto!" Cherri shouted as she walked towards the blonde through the broken entrance. "What the fuck happened?"
Naruto looked up when he heard her and his eyebrows raised. "Cherri! Angel! What are you guys doing here?"
"Today you said I could move in," Angel answered while dragging his suitcase along the floor. "But it looks like we missed a bit."
Naruto's eyes widened and he quickly looked at his watch. "Ah, shit, I forgot it was Sunday. Your room is ready on the top floor so if you want to move your stuff in there right now I'll organize a group to go grab the rest for you. I won't be able to do it myself as I have some stuff to handle here."
"Fucking talk about it," Angel looked around as he said that.
"What happened?" Cherri asked as she was curious on who could have done this.
"It's a long story that you'll have to ask the others about," Naruto shook his head. "I don't know how much longer I will last so I have to get as much done as possible before I disappear. Go talk to Haku, he will give the best explanation."
With that, the blonde quickly walked off as he was called by some of the men in suits from the delivery.
Angel watched the boy go, slightly confused before turning to his friend. "Well, sugartits, while you do that I'm going to go get my room ready."
"Yeah, I'll see ya, Angie," Cherri drawled as she stared after the blonde while he continued to talk.
He doesn't know 'how much longer he will last'? Why is a clone here?
She had a feeling that Naruto would not have left something as serious as this just to a clone. Unless there was something much more serious he had to handle personally. Maybe more than just the restaurant was attacked?
I'll just go find Haku.
With that thought, Cherri walked further into the back as she saw that the raven-haired boy was not among those cleaning the front.
"I'm not going back!"
"Octavia-sama, it's your grandfather's orders," Gaara sighed as he faced the anger of the Goetia Princess. "I am simply bringing you back as I've been ordered."
"I'll talk to grandpa Bael! He'll tell grandpa," Octavia shouted again.
Cherri was surprised with the scene she came into. A redheaded boy was standing off against a Goetia demon, his arms crossed while closing his eyes with his head tilted down. A large gourd with the texture and consistency of sand is on his back while he wore a fancy tan suit with a white shirt and red tie. The Goetia girl is partially transformed into a demon and the way her aura made the air thick made the Sinner buckle as soon as she entered the area. The princess's feathers are completely black while the skull design on her tail is a burning orange. Her eyes were glowing red as she glared at the redhead.
Gaara took a slow breath before sighing deeply through his nose and opened his eyes to look at the young Goetia. "Octavia-sama, I understand that you are wanting to stay here and help with the repairs but you must listen to your King. If you happen to get Bael-dono to change your grandfather's mind then there is nothing stopping you then. But until then, you are called home."
"Gaara, I do not think you have a right to take away Octavia even if it's on the orders of one of the Goetia Kings," Haku stated as he leaned on the prep table.
Gaara turned to Haku and his eyes narrowed at him. "What makes you think that, Haku? To my understanding, the Goetia politics means just that."
"Did Paimon state the reason that he demands Octavia-san to return home?"
Gaara raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Reasons were unimportant."
"Octavia is a third-generation Princess who will not inherit the throne or be seen as the heiress for at least a few thousand more years," Haku stated, confusing the redhead as that was not uncommon knowledge but the way it was explained was different. "So her use to King Paimon is to have her betrothed to another of higher standing so that eventually she will inherit not one but two titles. That's the plan before she mated with Naruto, at least."
Now that surprised the redhead and he turned to Octavia. She nodded her head in confirmation.
"That is… interesting," Gaara finally said. "What makes that mean she does not have to follow her King's orders?"
The redhead had not been rude or demanding the entire time, just genuinely curious and having to fulfill his orders as a worker under the Goetia name. He didn't want to force Octavia to leave the place she considered her home but he understood the rules of politics even in this afterlife. In his own opinion, he wished for her to find a way to get King Bael to convince Paimon to leave the young girl alone.
"Because she is mated to someone, I believe that the Goetia cannot force her to leave such a union. To do so would harm not just Octavia but also put a bad image on the traditions and rituals usually conducted for young birdlike Goetia." Haku now looked at Gaara after saying all of this. "Go tell Paimon-dono that should he believe that what I've said is not so, he may have a written order presented to us. I will make sure that Beelzebub and Bael both hear of his demands."
Gaara sighed and nodded his head. "I will relay that. I do not wish to force anything." He turned to Octavia and bowed his head. "Apologies for upsetting you, Octavia-dono, but I am just following orders as someone who works for your family. I wish you the best. Haku."
The raven-haired boy nodded his head in farewell and finally turned to see Cherri there. "Oh, Cherri, I just saw Angel pass by. I'm sorry I wasn't there to greet you and explain anything. As you can see, we had a bit of a problem."
Octavia quickly gained back her natural colors and rubbed her arm while lowering her gaze apprehensively. "I'm going to go rest."
Haku nodded his head with a smile. "I'll wake you up when we are preparing dinner. I'll let Naruto know where you went."
At the mention of her blonde mate, Octavia seemed to become more somber before walking away.
Cherri watched everything silently, trying to break down everything she witnessed and just learned. Naruto mated with a Goetia? And with a Prince of Sin? Why did the girl look upset at the mention of the blonde as well? Who was that sexy redhead? Too many questions made her frustrated.
"What in the fuck happened?"
Haku just sighed. "Sit down, it's going to be a long story."
Day 3
Monday
Charlie had been… lost ever since everything happened at the restaurant. She has spent a night at her parents to vent and rebuild herself to prepare for the coming days. She wanted to be in the best mind to help get Naruto back and that meant she needed to relax. She needed to ground herself with the people she felt were worth fighting for.
She has felt so powerless and even after her birthday she had not changed in any way that was beneficial to the safety of her and those close to her. When she was younger she had trained with her mother on how to use her magic powers but that was for beginner spells and party tricks. It was never combat oriented and never reached a well enough level that would allow her to combat those that have targeted her friends.
Naruto's enemies are powerful and appear to be on the level of her parents and the Princes. That means she is woefully unprepared, that was clear from the attack on the restaurant. Not expecting anyone to do something such as attacking demons in her father's domain was no excuse.
And that led her to her current location. Her ex-boyfriend's and current girlfriend's house.
The last time she was here she was still dating Seviathan. Yet here she was wanting to see her girlfriend, the sister of the very ex that made her so upset. She had wasted a whole hell year with him and it was all a lie. It made her nauseous thinking about it but she was not here for him.
Ringing the doorbell, she did not have to wait long for someone to answer the door. It was nostalgic when it opened but she was grateful that her ex was not the one on the other side.
"Oh, hello, Charlie," Bethesda smiled as she opened the door further. "Come on in."
"Hello, ma'am," Charlie smiled at the woman. "How are you?"
"Still dealing with everything," Bethesda sighed.
After the talk with Naruto of what happened, the two parents have been torn on what to think. On one hand, they were glad to have their daughter back safe and sound. On the other hand, they were disappointed and concerned to hear that whoever kidnapped their daughter had successfully tricked and captured the blonde Sinner.
On top of all of this, Seviathan had been coming to them begging to be let back into the family. They had kept to their word, disowning their son and cutting him from his part of the inheritance, but he has had a lot of trouble. He found out that surviving without his parents' status and money was harder than he thought and had been coming to spend a few nights occasionally.
"How's Helsa?" Charlie asked as she tried to hide how anxious she was about the subject.
"She's awake, you can go see her," Bethesda smiled and shooed the young girl away. "You know where it is. Go on ahead."
Charlie smiled and quickly made her way to Helsa's room. It is on the second floor in the left hallway, across from one of the many bathrooms despite her room having its own full bathroom. Considering the house had three guest rooms, one of which she used while staying over when dating Seviathan, there had to be a few available bathrooms.
She knocked on the door a few times before calling out. "Helsa! It's me!"
"Come in, hon."
She opened the door when she heard the response and she felt her chest tighten with seeing her. Helsa was a little pale but was not hurt or harmed from her time kidnapped. She was still to rest from the ordeal and that's why she still remained at her family's home.
"Hi, babe," Charlie smiled softly and sat on the bed to look at her girlfriend. "How are you?"
Helsa laughed with dim eyes. "I'm fine, don't worry. I'm glad you're okay."
Helsa took Charlie's hands into hers and pulled her close. The Princess sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She leaned her head on her girlfriend's head and hummed.
Helsa ran her fingers along Charlie's hands and forearm, spacing out as she thought of what her parents told her.
"I heard about Naruto."
Charlie paused as she heard the subdued tone of her girlfriend and looked at her.
"He really gave himself up for us." Her words are bitter now but she did not stop caressing Charlie's hands. "He's so stupid."
"No, he just loves us," Charlie shook her head. "He felt responsible. You should have seen his reaction when he returned from Heaven's embassy. He looked ready to destroy the entire block."
Helsa did not respond.
"We will find him," Charlie assured as she mistook her silence as doubt. "If he doesn't escape himself, we have my father and the Princes on the lookout. He will turn up somewhere."
"And if he's not in Hell?" Helsa looked at the Princess with watery eyes. "I can't go on knowing he's gone because of me."
"He's not," Charlie assured again and gripped her lover's hands tightly. "We will find him, just have some faith and patience. Everyone is working hard to find him."
"And when we do? How will we face those people again let alone whoever commands them?"
That question had Charlie pause as she herself had questioned that plenty of times before. What will they do? What can that do? It's already clear that they are not strong enough as they are now.
Auntie Bee could show me a thing or two.
"We will train," Charlie finally answered with a confident nod. "I will train with my aunt and mother. You can join if you want."
Helsa shook her head. "I can't, love. My parents want me to not get involved. They have their own plans for my time."
Charlie frowned at that but did not argue. She wondered what the plans could be but decided it was not important at the moment. She was just glad that Helsa was safe and in her arms.
Konoha has not been the same since the attack by the Akatsuki. Even now, three days after, the cleanup has been slow and disheartening. People's homes and businesses have been destroyed, a big crater is right in the middle of the village, and the trauma is still raw and present.
The only grace, a surprising and almost disbelieving one, is that all of the lives lost have been returned. As they dig up rubble, they find more and more revived and surviving individuals. Civilians and shinobi are just popping up and most of them are recalling either an existence of pure black or finding themself in a world that bled every color thinkable.
Nobody knew what to think about these accounts and just took it as a phenomena that occurred from the death of the terrorists with the Rinnegan. Considering how little is known about the abilities, it would be no surprise if the death of the individual in the moment created a chain reaction that revived all of those murdered. Either way, nobody was currently ready to question it.
That is, with the exception of Tsunade Senju, Fifth Hokage of the village. She had heard reports of the rogue Uchiha, the youngest one, had been seen in the village with a group of individuals. It was said that he was facing the Paths himself before disappearing out of the village after one of the Pains left the crater.
She wanted to know how much was true and what was exaggerated, and that was only with investigating those involved. That's what brought the current people into her current temporary office in one of the buildings on the Hokage Monument. Shikaku and Shikamaru, Kakashi, Guy, Ibuki, Chouza and Choji, and the Anbu Commander Dragon.
"First, Shikaku, Shikamaru, report on the condition of our intelligence on the Akatsuki gathered by Jiraiya."
At the woman's command, the older of the two began speaking. "Most of the Intelligence Division of IT was destroyed but the vault we used to contain the Pain body and information was not breached. However, the body was destroyed upon the real Pain's death."
"We had gathered enough information on it, however," Shikamaru stated for his father. "Not much was able to be gathered beyond the memories gathered by Inoichi, but we do know how it operated. That does not matter much anymore."
"Explain," Tsunade told the heir while connecting her fingers in front of her face.
"We had captured the members of the Uchiha's team," Ibuki stated, surprising the others. "Well, it is more like they turned themselves in. They had told us what happened to the other Pains, which we confirmed by going to the cave they said the Uchiha fought them in. Only two charred remains were found inside while the other bodies were rapidly decomposing upon our arrival."
"So the traitor was here?" Tsunade turned to Kakashi this time.
The Jonin was barely paying attention to the meeting, reading his book but distracted from even that.
"Something to add, Jonin Hatake?"
"Huh?" Kakashi looked up and blinked blankly at the Hokage. "Oh, no. Nothing to add."
"How about your encounter with the rogue Uchiha?" Tsunade sighed as she realized that prying the information from the man would be harder than it seemed.
"Nothing to add which hasn't been given."
She took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "Alright, I'll circle back to that. Since you've mentioned the traitor's teammates, tell me about them, Ibuki."
"The names are Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo. They used to be ninja for Orochimaru but they all escaped with Sasuke about five months ago. They all have special abilities that made them desired by the Sannin but they say they hold no loyalty to him." Ibuki listed off rapid fire facts and statements given by the trio during their interrogation. "They have been cooperative so we have not had to use any of our intense techniques to get information but they have stated they wish to talk to you. We have asked them for their reasons but they said it is information only for you to hear."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that and filed it away to think about later. "What are their abilities you mentioned?"
"Suigetsu is of the Hozuki clan from Kiri and had been kidnapped at a young age. He has the Kubikiribocho and is a skilled swordsman. His clan have the ability to manipulate moisture within their body and in their surroundings. The uses are extensive so I can compile a list later today if you wish."
"Just a summary for now."
"Understood. Karin is the most shocking of the three as she states she comes from the Uzumaki clan and was kidnapped from Kusagakure." Now that has gained everyone's attention including Kakashi. "She has the ability to heal wounds with her chakra through biting, has some control over some form of chains manifested with chakra, and is a natural sensor like an Uzumaki."
"As for Jugo, his clan is unknown but he does have a natural ability to absorb nature chakra from his surroundings. It causes him to transform somewhat and enter some type of crazed state so he does not fight often. His family and village was destroyed by Orochimaru when he was a child so he doesn't have much information on his history before being taken in."
Tsunade mulled over the information, staring at her desk in blank thought. An Uzumaki appears, and she was one of the teammates of the Uchiha? She had to wonder if the boy knew, and what made him keep her around considering her lineage. Was she just useful for her healing?
"I'll think that over, thank you, Ibuki." Tsunade now turned to Kakashi, Chouza, and Choji.
The three men were the ones who worked with and were around the Uchiha when he fought the Pains. From the brief report given by the Akimichi patriarch, they had arrived to find Sasuke protecting Kakashi against the Deva and Asura Paths. They then worked together when the other Paths arrived and that was until the Deva was revived somehow. They were all then protected by the Uchiha Susanoo, where he was thought to have died.
But he somehow revived as well and was surrounded by fire. Tsunade's eyes narrowed at that. And then he disappears only to have found the hiding spot of the true Pain where he commits suicide by using that fire to incinerate everything. I don't know what to think.
"I have not received your report, Kakashi," she spoke up, gaining the man's attention. "I demand a full report of the events in detail that led to your fight with Pain and the arrival, and subsequent leaving, of rogue Sasuke Uchiha. Am I understood?"
"Crystal clear, Hokage-sama," the man replied dutifully.
She nodded her head and sat back. "All of you are dismissed. Ibuki, give me a comprehensive report of events from the three's perspective. I will then decide if they are worth speaking to."
With that, all of the men left the room. All but one.
"I said you're dismissed, Kakashi."
The man stood there with his hands in his pockets, his one good eye staring out over the destroyed village called home. As he looked he suddenly felt a decade older than he really was. And yet he couldn't rest.
"Hatake!" The woman raised her voice when she realized the man was spacing out and did not acknowledge her.
"May I ask a question, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose as she exhaled harshly. "If it'll get you out of my office, you may ask one question."
Kakashi did not speak for a moment but the silence did not last long before he asked the question on his mind. "Do you believe in the divine, my lady?"
She froze in her seat as she heard the question, almost not even breathing as she looked at the man's face. She had to look hard to see into the distracted window that is the man's one eye but what she found puzzled her. He seemed troubled with some grief and guilt but there was some amazement as if beguiled by something supernatural and beautiful.
"Why do you ask?" She decided to dig more before she answered.
"After encountering my former student and fighting with him, I had been troubled to learn of his suicide in killing Pain." Kakashi's words came out fluidly and his eye finally locked with hers as he spoke. "He was different, no longer the young avenger he was in his youth. It wasn't fake, I can tell that much at least, and he took the time to tell me he was sorry for his youth and his mistakes."
The man paused in speaking, giving the Hokage time to digest and pick apart his words. She did not doubt the Jonin was still affected by what happened to his team and seeing one of them clearly left him dazed and stressed. But her mind as a medic kept her silent as she knew that the only way to get to the bottom of it was to keep listening.
And she will just file this as a verbal report if anything.
"I was sure he died protecting us with the Susanoo. I could feel it deep down. And yet he rose back up while coated in golden flames that burned with a fiery passion. It wasn't something tied to him. It wasn't anything a normal person could produce."
"That power he was given or unlocked in the last moment on the brink of death had the power not only to kill every trace of the true Pain but to revive everyone who has died. It felt otherworldly but it did the same thing as what the Sage's eyes did; control life and death."
Tsunade sat back in her chair and thought long on the man's words. It was similar to Chouza's words, stating that the fires felt divine beyond that of the Rinnegan, and yet it was awakened in a moment where the boy should have died. She really hated not having an answer for anything like this even as she was no stranger to putting faith into the old ways.
Could Sasuke have been blessed by God if only for a moment? Until it was confirmed, with the boy dead there was no telling if it ever will, there was no use in wondering about things such as that.
Sighing, she sat forward in her seat and pulled out a pen and sheet of paper. "I'm writing an order for you to be placed on reserves for a full week. I want you to not train or be involved in shinobi affairs in that time. If I learn of you going against my orders, I will have you restrained in the psyche ward of the hospital."
Kakashi opened his mouth to disagree, partly feeling the woman wasn't believing him, but he saw her gaze the moment she looked up. He bowed his head. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Good," she handed him the slip. "Give this to Shikaku on your way out. Rest, Kakashi. I have no answer for what you felt or witnessed but I will not have you active while distracted."
The man bowed again and left the room.