EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons

"If this is true...those who bear the title of Ascendee will become the pillars of the worlds they originate..." remarked Hiruzen, his skin slightly clammy after perusing the document Vahn had provided, a list detailing the conversion ratio for various agricultural and material goods such as rice, wheat, iron, silver, gold, and, most notably, Chakra Metal, a material more commonly known as Mithril.

"The Tower only sends invitations to those who are destined to or already have a meaningful influence on the flow of fate within their world..." stated Vahn, seated alongside Azazel at the end of the conference table, directly opposite Hiruzen. Then, as everyone shifted their gazes to him, he added, "In other words, even if Minato hadn't accepted the Tower's invitation and become an Ascendee, the only thing preventing him from leaving his mark on this world is the amount of effort he's willing to put in. The same holds true in the Tower."

"Preposterous..." muttered Danzo, drawing everyone's gazes to him as he firmly asserted, "Namikaze Minato is extremely capable; no one here or in any other village can deny that. However, it is obvious why he was chosen to become an Ascendee despite his lack of standing and background. You aim to undermine the authority of this here Council and elevate him to the position of Hokage to promote some hidden agenda..."

"Oh? Well, if you say so, it must be true..." droned Azazel, making a show of rolling his eyes before meeting Danzo's gaze with a challenging smile and asserting, "It's either that or you're butthurt that you weren't chosen, preventing you from promoting your own hidden agenda."

"A baseless accusation that further proves my claim...!" exclaimed Danzo, bringing his left fist down atop the table, causing it to shudder and spilling several people's tea.

"Enough, Danzo. You will be silent, or you will leave..." warned Hiruzen, staring the one-eyed man down with a withering glower. Nearly everyone else present gave him similarly disapproving looks, but while they weren't buying into his assertions, they also found it difficult to believe Vahn didn't have an agenda. Shinobi were taught to look for hidden meanings within hidden meanings and to never trust a situation that seemed too good to be true because, far more often than not, those who sought to aid you outside of your immediate family or squad were trying to get you to lower your guard.

Noticing Vahn sporting a disinterested look, Hiruzen smiled apologetically and said, "Excuse Danzo. He and I have fought through and survived two wars and are presently weathering a third. He is simply being cautious, as his station requires."

Shaking his head, Vahn calmly asserted, "That's something for you to discuss and solve amongst yourselves. His blustering has no bearing on whether we end up collaborating, as it's your side seeking benefits from us. If you still seek them, you will find a way to prevent him from making a fool of himself. If you don't, it doesn't matter, as we are harmed in no way by not collaborating with you."

Having grown weary of the interaction, Vahn surprised everyone except Azazel by rising to his feet, his expression and tone neutral as he added, "Regardless, I have better things to do than sit here at your convenience. If there is a matter that requires my attention, you can request my time at my palace."

Finished with what he had to say, Vahn briefly met Azazel's violet-eyed gaze, prompting the Fallen to state, "I'll stick around for a while longer. I have personal business to discuss with our new friends, and once we're finished here, I intend to accept Jiraiya's invitation to tour the village and its establishments."

"If that is what you've decided..." affirmed Vahn, offering a slow nod before returning his gaze to Hiruzen and stating, "Azazel here is not an agent or spokesperson of the Dragon's Pavilion. However, he was once Governor General of one of the three most powerful factions in his world. If any harm befalls him in my absence, I will not prevent his former allies from retaliating."

"Rest assured, Vahn-dono...we will not allow any harm to befall Azazel-dono while he is a guest in our village..." stated Hiruzen, his gaze shifting to Danzo as he spoke. He then intended to express that Vahn was free to return and that they would be delighted to host and entertain him, but as he looked back, Vahn disappeared in a flash of bluish-white light, leaving Azazel shaking his head and exhaling exasperatedly in his wake...

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"Haaaaa..."

After teleporting from the world of Naruto and reappearing in his room, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahn's throat as he plopped face-first onto his oversized bed. He didn't consider himself particularly bloodthirsty, but at that moment, he felt an almost overwhelming desire to do the entire world of Naruto a favor by having Danzo disappear...

'Let's just hope their increased capabilities allow Minato and Kakashi to affect things for the better...' thought Vahn, closing his eyes and drinking in the womanly perfume that permeated his blankets, helping put his mind at ease.

(With eight additional months of experience and a noteworthy increase in his Power Level, Kakashi should be more than capable of dealing with the Shinobi who abduct Rin and lead to Obito's apparent death) assured Sis.

'I certainly hope so...' thought Vahn, recalling the scene of Kakashi being forced to pierce his childhood friend and the girl who had a crush on him through the heart. If Obito hadn't had half his body crushed, he wouldn't have fallen into the hands of Madara or relinquished one of his Sharingan to Kakashi. This would accordingly spare the girl, Nohara Rin, from being made a sacrificial pawn in the elderly Uchiha's plans, and, depending on the circumstances, prevent Minato and his wife, Kushina, from being killed on the day of the titular main character's birth...

(As it stands, there is an 88.439% probability that Obito will be able to avoid being crushed. However, the odds of another Uchiha being chosen as Uchiha Madara's pawn are even higher due to the enmity implanted in them due to Danzo's machinations) stated Sis.

'Will the revelation that there are other worlds not influence things...?' asked Vahn, contending, 'It's virtually guaranteed that Madara would learn of the gateway and the existence of the Terminal World via Black Zetsu. And with another world available to them, there's a chance the Uchiha could relocate here and create a new life rather than staging a coup...'

(It's a possibility) conceded Sis. (However, the Uchiha are very proud and consider themselves one of the foundational pillars of Konohagakure. It's just as likely that they will try to force the Elders through the gate and claim the village for themselves.)

'How troublesome...' thought Vahn, sighing both outwardly and internally. Fortunately, as he had reiterated to Hiruzen several times, such matters were for him and the denizens of the Narutoverse to resolve. It wasn't his responsibility to intercede, so instead of mulling things over, he eventually rolled onto his back, opened his Contacts, and had Sis create six displays to see what Grayfia, Venelana, Rias, Sona, Nami, and Robin were up to.

'Oh, wow...that's a lot of messages...' noted Vahn, seeing (38) next to Nami's name and (5) to the right of Robin's. The duo had returned to their world that morning with the other Straw Hats and, unsurprisingly, one of the first things they learned upon their return was that Luffy's brother, Ace, was set to be publically executed at Marine HQ, Marineford, in one week's time. Even less surprisingly, Luffy was determined to rescue him before he was moved from the World Government's most secure prison, the underwater gaol, Impel Down.

Seeing Nami ask if it was possible to teleport Ace out of Marine custody, Vahn closed his eyes and exhaled from his nose. It was, in fact, possible, but if he admitted that, not only would he be denying them an opportunity to grow, she would become even more dependent on him.

Shifting his attention to Robin's messages, Vahn's brows perked at the revelation that he had been assigned the moniker 'Blasphemous Wings' alongside a bounty of 350,000,000 Berries. As for his bounty poster, it showed him looking down with a contemptuous look on his face, along with the text: For crimes against the Celestial Dragons, inciting rebellion, engaging in the trade of slaves, and murdering innumerable Marines, this winged menace is to be captured to await public execution.

'When did I murder even a single Marine...?' asked Vahn, disregarding Rob Lucci as the latter was an Agent of Cipher Pol, not a Marine.

(Since people might rally behind you if your only offense was opposing the Celestial Dragons, it makes sense that they would accuse you of heinous crimes that would give the average citizen pause and the Marines ample reason to resent you) contended Sis.

'Corrupt bastards...' thought Vahn, briefly humoring the idea of teleporting Imu and the Five Elder Stars into deep space. If that happened, the World Government would probably crumple from the inside, but it would also put him in a position similar to Yagami Raito from Death Note. And playing the part of a God without shouldering the responsibilities of your actions was asking for karmic retribution.

Though he knew he could weather whatever befell him, Vahn didn't want the people closest to him to be implicated due to his carelessness. Thus, after significant deliberation, he informed Nami that he couldn't teleport Ace from Impel Down as his actions resulted in him being detained there. Freeing him would go against the flow of fate and causality, so it would be up to her and the other Straw Hats to reach and free him. Only then could they retreat to the palace and escape via spatial transference.

Seeing Nami relay what he had said, causing Sanji to snort and make an offhanded remark about how he knew he couldn't be trusted, Vahn's left eye twitched. Fortunately, the remaining Straw Hats seemed to agree that it was their responsibility to rescue Ace, with Luffy outright declaring that if they had to depend on others to solve things for them, they should give up on their dreams there and then...

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"Being the Avatar is such a pain..." sighed Korra, sitting between Vahn's legs in the ninth floor's spacious bath, reclining against him with flushed cheeks and a pouty expression as he held and gently caressed her belly with his left hand and rubbed her slit with his right middle finger.

"It's certainly difficult, making rational arguments and believing you know what's best only for people to ignore or lash out against you because they have been convinced to think differently by people who only view them as pawns..." muttered Vahn, referring to Amon, the masked Bloodbender that currently served as Korra's foil. Fortunately, with four months of training in the Tower and a regimen of stat-boosting foods, she was nearly five times stronger and markedly faster than her canon counterpart. She also wasn't freely exhibiting her abilities by becoming a Pro Bender, so, theoretically, she should have an insurmountable advantage against any opponent from her world.

"It just doesn't make sense..." groaned Korra, leaning her head back and nuzzling Vahn's neck and the underside of his chin with her forehead as she contended, "Republic City is a place where Benders and people from all nations gather. Those in charge are constantly working toward making the city equitable for everyone, but people like Amon ignore that and turn people against one another. If the Equalists had their way, they would kill or strip away the bending of all Benders, even though it is their hard work that built and keeps the city powered..."

"Even in worlds where Spirits, Bending, and the supernatural don't exist, there are always people like that Amon trying to pit people against one another to secure power for themselves..." stated Vahn. "But, as long as you do your best and work together with other influential figures, you will eventually be able to expose him for the deceitful manipulator he is. Then, all who doubted your words and capabilities will see you for the powerful, kind, and extraordinary woman you are..."

"Mmn...you know just what to say..." hummed Korra, her tone huskier than usual as she closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. She secretly felt that Vahn was a little too forward with his actions, but instead of scolding him or telling him she wasn't in the mood, she exhaled a hot sigh and allowed him to continue fingering her until she came. Then, as a matter of course, she returned the favor in her room...

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