บท 5: Beasts
"The Chūnin Exams… Are you planning to take it?" Naruto ask, his eyes glaring at Boruto.
"…Yeah, I guess so." Boruto replies after hesitating a bit.
Naruto looks at him for a few seconds with a worried expression. Meanwhile, Boruto tilted his head, confused on why this question was being asked.
The Chūnin Exams was a common stepping stone for most if not all shinobis to advance their profession. He didn't have any particular interest in that, but figured that he might as well since it would be troublesome if he started giving off a bad image for still being a genin.
"Listen Boruto, there's something I need to tell you." he speaks out.
Naruto sat down on a chair and gestured Boruto to do the same. They were now sitting across from each other with the dining table between them. The atmosphere in the room began to get much more serious.
"…Yesterday, I left the village to have a meeting with the four Kages."
Boruto's eyes instantly opened up wider. A meeting involving all the villages' Kages wasn't common by any means. It would have to be regarding an problem that could possibly affect everyone across all the villages.
"Most of the details are confidential but I will tell you this… You are special Boruto." Naruto tells him with a serious face.
Boruto tilts his head, slightly annoyed by the vagueness of it all, as he was unclear of what was being said to him all of a sudden. He already knew he was special since forever, and it wasn't really news to him. But why was he mentioning this now?
"There will be a tournament-style competition for the last part of the Chūnin Exams, and the top three will be receiving special training with the support of every village." Naruto took his eyes away from Boruto and looked down at the table as he grips his fist in irritation.
Boruto had even more questions now. Special training for what? Was this not going to be a normal Chūnin Exam? However seeing that Naruto had more to say, he kept quiet for now.
"…I managed to make an agreement that if you were to not place top three, there's nothing we can do to force you into anything." Naruto lifted his head and stared straight at Boruto intensely.
"Heroes aren't born but are created. I chose to become a Hokage to protect those I cherish. So now tell me Boruto, as my son, decide your own future. What will you do?"
"My own future…?" Boruto mutters out.
Naruto nods. Boruto looked down at the table and thought hard. He mind was blank. He had no idea what kind of future he even wanted. He wished Naruto just told him to place top three so he could follow without any thought.
They sat there in silence with only the ticking of the clock being heard. Naruto then got up and went over to place his hand onto Boruto's shoulder, calming him. There were too many questions but Boruto already knew they weren't going to be answered.
"Give me some time to think about it." he says.
"Alright." Naruto pats his head. "Just know I'm here shoulder all the burden, because that's my role as Hokage, and your father."
"Yeah…" Boruto clenched his fist and looked away. Aside from this talk, he hated how good of a person Naruto was. He wanted to hate him for so many reasons but decided it wasn't right to do so and hid away these thoughts. Soon after, he headed upstairs to his room. Naruto stayed seated in the dining room, worried, and mad at himself for not being able to do more.
- A Few Days Ago -
It was late night when a young toad tapped onto the window of the Hokage's office. Naruto noticed and let him inside.
"What's going on?" he asks.
Doing some hand signs, white smoke popped in front of the toad as a scroll came out of it. He politely handed it to Naruto with both hands, showing respect.
Naruto, confused, grabbed it and began unfolding the scroll to read it. Only after a few words, his attention grew as he started paying more attention to what the scroll was saying, until sweat starting forming on his neck.
Not long later, a reverse summoning jutsu was used to head for Mount Myōboku as Naruto rushed over to meet the Great Toad Sage.
"Gamamaru!! Tell me everything!" Naruto shouts.
"Naruto…"
Gamamaru starts explaining from the beginning, as Naruto paid attention intently. Apparently, he had gotten another vision of the future, as well as sensed some disturbance from certain significant individuals.
"Kings?" Naruto questions.
"Yes, you see long ago before the existence of Chakra, there was vast amounts of Natural Energy everywhere covering Earth; much more than it is now." Gamamaru spoke slowly, reminiscing about the past.
"You mean the Natural Energy used for Sage mode?" Naruto asks.
"That's right. It was an era where nature manifested itself to converse with those it's closest to. The Natural Energy took on the shape of all sorts of animals…such as snakes, slugs, toads; those who lived closely with nature. I was the first Toad Beast created. Although the rest are descendants of the first wave of Toad Beasts, we all have an incredible ability to absorb Natural Energy. There might still even be descendants of Human Beasts out there."
"Human Beasts…?!" Naruto exclaims, shocked by the idea. "…Actually, now that you mention it… I've met someone who can absorb Natural Energy without any effort or training…"
"However, the Natural Energy of nature that was once one, taking multiple forms, created conflicts. It started The First War, where Beasts fought to rule supreme over each others. This lasted for centuries with three particular Beasts dominating over the rest. Enma, the Monkey King who ruled the land. Laos, the Shark King who ruled the sea. And Vigor, the Dragon King who ruled the sky."
"Wait, wasn't Enma Lord Third's summon?" Naruto was still digesting all this information but recalls a name he have heard before.
"A great accomplishment by him. However, I doubt he was able to bring out his full strength or I would have sensed it. Fortunately the Monkey King is quite friendly with humans, as the same goes for Laos. I remember humans used to give offerings to the sea for it's blessings. They developed features like sharp teeth, gills, and such others that resembles a shark, and they were passed down overtime."
Kisame was the first person that appeared in Naruto's mind when he heard this. The guy never looked very human. Now learning that he was a descendant of Laos Worshippers, no wonder he was so naturally strong and talented in water jutsus.
"The war came to a close when an outer space organism descended to Earth and grew the God Tree. It absorbed massive amounts of Natural Energy around the world and every Beast felt it steadily decreasing. We had to figure something out since we were the very embodiment of nature, without Natural Energy around us, we grow weaker. Hence almost every Beast figured to seclude themselves in different areas, trapping plenty of Natural Energy inside. Us Toad Beasts for example closed ourselves from the outside world in Mount Myōboku."
"That explains why it's easier to go Sage Mode here than outside…" Naruto ponders. "But what has all this has to do with your prophecy?"
"Another creature has descended to Earth once more. The Kings are furious. In my previous vision, you were the hero. But now, my newest vision forewarned me of greater danger. And that the new hero is someone who has 'the presence of a king' and 'the blessing of a hero'."
"But that means…." Naruto grips his hand.
Naruto left after a while and had announced for a Kage meeting as soon as possible to discuss the matter. He knew it wasn't something he could decide himself.
However, during the meeting, the obvious answer was immediately said out. Boruto was to be the new hero. With him being Naruto's firstborn, his blessing was unasked for, and with the help of one of the King Beasts, he was the perfect candidate that fulfilled the two conditions. It all made sense.
"But as a father… How can I make my son go though the same hardship as I have?" Naruto looked away from the other Kage's eyes. "Haven't we moved on from pushing our problems to the innocent children?!"
Naruto argued with not only the words of a father but also the logic of responsibility as an adult. He did not want to taint this era of peace created by thousands of blood and tears.
"Now now Naruto… The prophecy only said the blessing of a hero. Who says you can only give support to your own son?" Gaara spoke out. "My child Shinki I believe is just as much of a fitted candidate."
"Gaara… Are you suggesting your own child to…" Naruto looked at Gaara with disbelief.
"I believe we must not hide the prospects of terror from our children but teach them how to deal with it. What happens when we passes? Their generation may be peaceful now but they do not know how to maintain that peace." Gaara speaks out sternly, his eyes locked to Naruto's.
This brought out a new discussion for the Kages to start suggesting their own village's next-gen shinobis to become the next hero, as they began arguing over who was the perfect candidate. Naruto was quietly listening the whole time until quite of while past when finally he decided to speak out.
"Enough! This is the era of peace that we've created. I don't intend to pass on my responsibilities just yet." Naruto slammed the table. "However, if you are this insistent, we will hold a special Chūnin Exam this year. A tournament to see three potential candidates to give my blessing."
Silence filled the room for a split second until some broke down into smiles. They got excited by the idea. Even though war between the villages was over, some still had the patriotic spirit in them. And so for a few hours, they discussed the matter regarding the tournament and some other important issues.
"Oh, there's one last thing I forgot to mention that Gamamaru told me." Naruto scratched his head in annoyance. "Apparently this Dragon King, Vigor is very reluctant in cooperating. It seems that he's a bit of a stubborn one… We can try but let's get in contact with the other kings first."
Meanwhile, at the Academy they were starting their lesson on the Summoning jutsu. The students were all excited as they discussed with each other what kind of contracts would be cool to get. Although one person in particular wasn't too keen about the idea.
"Tsk… I'll just get a contract with a dog or something. They seem calm." Boruto signs, yawning in the process.
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