NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: A Miracle in Kyoto
Game
Thoughts
"Talking"
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A single sweat drop fell off of Naruto's forehead as he looked down a set of stairs nervously. This was not what he was expecting to do today. Yasaka had dragged him up a set of stairs, which led to a large temple. In said temple, he was then dragged up another set of stairs, which led him to the big golden pillow he was sitting on. Apparently, this was where Yasaka would usually be sitting as the Queen/Leader of the West Youkai Faction. Instead, she was sitting on a slightly less extravagant pillow to his right, with a young girl, who looked almost like a mini-Yasaka sitting next to her.
However, neither the beautiful woman next to him nor the extravagant pillow under him was what was making him nervous. It was the large collection of Youkai officials sitting at the bottom of the stairs staring up at him intensely. By large collection, he meant the entirety of the West Youkai Faction's government, and even some of their family members. Word had spread quickly about the "Youkai God" arriving. He would've been surprised if word didn't spread quickly, considering Yasaka had dragged him down the busiest road in the city excitedly. He suspected the citizens of the city rarely even saw Yasaka, considering she was the Queen and all, much less saw their Queen dragging the "Youkai God" down the street.
"Welcome everyone," Yasaka started, sitting up straight and looking down at the gathered officials. The air in the room shifted, and suddenly Yasaka looked much more dignified and authoritative. She looked much different than the excited young woman who dragged him through the city, and looked much more like a Queen, "You have probably already heard the news, and know why I'm holding this emergency meeting. This is Naruto Uzumaki, the Youkai God, and he's come to save us from our current situation. Please, refer to him as Kami-sama."
Now, no one could ever say Naruto Uzumaki was stupid. He may have failed his graduation exam 3 times, but he made up for his lack of school smarts in other areas. You could never call Naruto Uzumaki stupid, but, right now he was confused, lost in a new world, suddenly made a God, and really hungry for ramen. So, while Naruto Uzumaki was not stupid, his response most certainly was as the entire West Youkai Faction's government and their Queen stared at him expectedly.
"Um… don't call me that? Naruto is fine." Naruto answered with a big smile, only realizing the next day, after a well-deserved nap, that now would've been the perfect time to refute that he wasn't actually the "Youkai God" while he had the entire government's attention.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added [ERROR]
[Ladies Man] has added [ERROR]
Your [LEGENDARY] Debuff - [Bad Timing] has deactivated your [God's Luck] Perk!
Your [LEGENDARY] Debuff - [Bad Timing] has deactivated your [Ladies Man] Perk!
1!
Check failed!
The look Naruto received from the various government officials was almost comical, as they looked at him in disbelief or obvious discomfort. What they were so uncomfortable with, Naruto wasn't sure, but his question was soon answered.
"Kami-sama is very humble, but refer to him as Kami-sama or you will be executed." Yasaka said as she smiled sweetly at the officials, all of whom nodded rapidly in unison. Did they choreograph that?
Reputation Update:
+25 Affection with Yasaka (Adored)
+10 Obedience with the West Youkai Faction (Authority Figure)
+10 Reputation with the West Youkai Faction (Friendly)
"Now, about the situation, Kami-sama. I'm sure I don't need to explain it to someone such as yourself, so I will not take up any more of your precious time than necessary." Yasaka said, looking at him expectedly. He found himself the recipient of the entire room's eyes again.
I have no idea what situation you're talking about, crazy lady. Naruto thought in exasperation.
Naruto glanced across the room comically slow as he thought, taking far more time than necessary to look over at Yasaka. He was sure he looked like a moron, but he needed to think.
I have two options here. Admit I have no idea what they're talking about, or use Talk-no-Jutsu to figure out what's going on. I need to help them to complete that quest and get closer to seeing my friends, and to not die, so figuring out the situation might be the best option, Naruto thought, showcasing that despite how stupid he looked taking 5 minutes, not an exaggeration, to gaze across the room and lock eyes with Yasaka, he was not actually stupid.
What Naruto didn't know was that he looked anything but stupid to the rest of the room. Each official at the bottom straightened their back as Naruto's gaze ran over them, sweat dripping down their backs.
His stare is so intense! One official, Fuji, thought as Naruto stared at him for an entire minute straight while thinking. We only locked eyes for a second, but it felt as if an entire minute passed!
Eventually, Naruto's eyes locked with Yasaka's. His mouth opened to answer, "..." then closed as he considered his words carefully, trying to think of both a way to figure out what they were talking about without them realizing he had no idea about the situation, and how to do so without another crazy misunderstanding happening.
Naruto's eyes stayed locked with Yasaka's for nearly an entire minute, and in that time Yasaka saw her future. A wedding dress. 10 children with fox whiskers and fluffy tails. Kunou helping her little sister with her homework. All of them sitting around a table sharing a meal as Naruto and Yasaka sat at the head, watching them eat fondly.
Reputation Update:
+50 Affection with Yasaka (Minorly Loved)
Yasaka blinked as the vision disappeared and Naruto finally spoke, "Should we be discussing this with a child in the room? This is a serious matter." He said as he gestured to Kunou. Naruto Uzumaki was not stupid, but he was stalling for time to come up with a plan.
Kunou:
[Youkai Princess]
Lvl: 52
STR: 20
DEX: 45
CON: 10
INT: 75
WIS: 15
CHA: 500
LUK: ?
Skills: ?
Perks: ?
Debuffs: ?
Kunou is the daughter of Yasaka, and the Princess of the West Youkai Faction. She is being educated and trained to eventually take over ruling of the West Youkai Faction from her mother.
"Don't worry about Kunou, Kami-sama! She already knows about the situation, my handmaidens have been educating her all about it to help her prepare for when she takes over as Queen one day!" Yasaka hurriedly told him, her face completely red for reasons unknown to Naruto. Behind her, Kunou nodded rapidly in agreement.
"Um… well, she should explain it so I can be sure we're all on the same page. It wouldn't be good if she misunderstood something and was confused about what I'm going to say, or if you guys didn't know as much as I do!" Naruto said, speaking quicker towards the end as he spit out an excuse.
There's no way this works… Sakura would smack me if I tried making such a stupid excuse to her.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added +20 to your roll!
[Ladies's Man] has added +5 to your roll!
25!
Check success!
"Yes! Of course Kami-sama, how wise of you! I'm the one at fault for assuming we knew as much about this as you do, Kami-sama! I'm ashamed." Yasaka said, blushing and then looking at Kunou, "Please explain the situation, Kunou."
"Yes, Kaa-san!" Kunou said, sitting up straighter and holding her head up proudly. It was cute how she puffed up her chest in an attempt to look more dignified.
"Our species as a whole is in danger due to the Neekoshoo incident-"
"Nekoshou." Yasaka gently corrected her.
"Ahem, yes, Nekoshou," Kunou said, her face beet red, "As I was saying, our species as a whole is in danger due to the Nekoshou incident. While the Youkai species is broken into many different factions, there has been an unspoken agreement between the Youaki and the devils that any Youkai are safe to be citizens in the underworld. Recently, a Nekoshou by the name of Kookoo-"
"Kuroka." Yasaka corrected her again, this time glancing over at her handmaiden, the one who Naruto assumed educated Kunou, with an annoyed look on her face. Said handmaiden suddenly became very interested in a loose thread on the pillow she sat on.
"Kuroka," Kunou continued, "killed her master, as she had been reincarnated as a devil in his peerage, after going crazy with power from her senjutsu. Her master was a pureblood devil, a part of the 72 pillars, which caused her to become an SS-Class wanted criminal in the underworld. This has enabled many devils to slaughter Youkai, using the excuse that they believed it was Kuroka, or that the Youkai had gone crazy with power."
The idea of going crazy with power from using senjutsu seemed stupid to Naruto, but he realized it was plausible with how toxic the natural energy in this world was. He'd felt it in the forest, and while all it did to him was make it a bit more difficult to utilize chakra, he could see how someone more sensitive to chakra and with less control could have issues with it.
"Roughly 50% of the total Youkai population is residing in the underworld, and over half of them have been killed by devils. The government is closely guarding the exits from the underworld, and all Youkai have been banned from leaving until they capture Kuroka. Thousands of Youkai are trapped in the underworld, and are being killed mercilessly." Kunou said, looking down slightly. Many of the officials clenched their fists, and Yasaka looked ashamed.
Naruto's next words slipped out without him realizing, completely forgetting he was supposed to know about this in his anger, "Why isn't anyone helping them?"
Luckily for him, everyone in the room collectively thought that he was testing Kunou's knowledge on the subject.
"The cease-fire between the 3 great factions, the devils, church, and Grigori, is tentative and could break at any moment. Neither the church nor the Grigori are willing to risk war with the devils. Any other faction is too weak to try anything, so the only options for help come from sacred gear users or fellow Youkai. Sacred gear users, at least those strong enough to help, like Longinus users, are all either a part of a faction, missing, or unwilling to do anything that doesn't benefit them. As for fellow Youkai," She glanced at Yasaka nervously, who nodded in encouragement at her.
"As for fellow Youkai," Kunou started again, "We're scattered into different factions, some at war with each other, so it'd be impossible to unite them all. The West Youkai Faction is the strongest group, but with how poisonous nature's energy has gotten over the past few hundred years, mainly from the Great War and the World Wars, Youkai in general are much weaker, and the more powerful ones risk going insane by using their whole power. Kaa-san has enough control over the Leyline's to fight, but, with the toxic energy limiting her, she wouldn't be able to stand up to even one of the Maou anymore. Even then, she's much weaker outside of Kyoto, so she couldn't go to the underworld to help."
"Hmmph, I could still take a Maou." Yasaka said, head tilted slightly upwards in arrogance with her eyes closed, though one eye was opened slightly as she looked at Naruto to see his reaction, hoping he was impressed.
"Leyline's?" Naruto inquired, his focus on thinking of a solution rather than remembering that he was supposed to know what those were. Of course, everyone in the room conveniently was lost in thought and forgot about that.
Kunou cutely held up a finger and closed her eyes, as if she was a student trying to remember an answer after the teacher called on her, "Lines of energy that run under Kyoto. Due to the huge Youkai and supernatural population here, they are some of the strongest Leyline's in the world. Kaa-san can control them and use the energy to fight."
"What if someone could purify the energy in the Leylines, young Kunou?" Naruto asked, stroking his chin with his finger to look smarter than he really was. It worked, as in everyone else's eyes he suddenly looked like a wise old man.
"That would be impossible, Kami-sama," Yasaka answered instead of Kunou, "but if someone did, then it would allow me to defend Kyoto much better. With the help of the other supernatural creatures living here, it would be defensible against even the devils, as they wouldn't be so brazen as to send all the Maou or their army and leave the underworld undefended and open to an attack from the church or Grigori. However, it wouldn't help the Youkai trapped in the underworld, as I can't access the Leyline's outside of Kyoto."
Naruto closed his eyes, sensing the energy around him. He could feel the massive streams of energy flowing through the ground, all headed to a single point. This building. He could see why Yasaka made her base of operations here, at the center of the Leyline's. However, with all the energy flowing, he could also feel all the poison and toxicity flowing through it. He clenched a fist, and heard everyone around him shuffle slightly as he abruptly entered sage mode. He placed both of his hands on the floor, letting the energy run into his right hand. He felt the poisonous energy enter his body, before being quickly consumed as it combined with his own chakra. His pure chakra shone like the sun, burning away the toxicity. The energy flowed through him, before leaving back into the ground through his left hand. The new energy, bright and pure, continued the job, burning away the poisonous energy around it as it reentered the Leyline.
Around him, everyone sat still and watched in awe. Naruto's body glowed bright yellow as he purified the energy. Yasaka herself could feel the pure energy entering the Leylines again, and was in awe.
He's purifying the energy! His is so pure, so bright, like the sun! Yasaka thought, feeling more powerful than ever.
Every Youkai in the room could feel it. The warm energy flowing around them. Flowing into their bodies. Purifying the toxic energy in them. They never knew natural energy could be so bright, so pure, so powerful!
Naruto wasn't sure how long it took him to purify all the energy. It could've been only a few minutes, or it could've been an entire day, but no one else in the room knew either. They lost sight of the world itself as they stared at his glowing form. The many different Youkai in the room thought many different things, but there was one common thought among them.
Youkai God.
If there was any doubt in anyone's mind before, it was completely gone. This was the Youkai God, here to save them.
When Naruto felt all the energy in the Leyline's was purified, he opened his eyes to another surprise.
Reputation Update:
+1000 Affection with Yasaka (Obsessively Loved)
+1000 Obedience with Yasaka (Worshiped)
+1000 Obedience with the West Youkai Faction (Worshiped)
+1000 Reputation with the West Youkai Faction (Worshiped)
Title gained! [Sage]
Naruto blinked at the huge amount of reputation he just got. While purifying energy was certainly impressive, something only sages or powerful chakra users could do back in his world, he didn't realize it was this impressive. This was way more than he had gained doing anything else before. He still didn't know what reputation did. Was there a way to see how much he had in total with each group? A tutorial about it maybe? He'll have to look into that, and his new title, later.
"That… that was amazing!" Yasaka breathed out excitedly, staring in awe at Naruto. She felt powerful. More powerful than ever before. Even before the Great War she had never been this powerful. She felt like she could take Sirzechs and Serafall at the same time right now. She clearly wasn't the only one feeling it, as at the bottom of the stairs the various officials were clenching and unclenching their fists in awe, some throwing a few mock punches into the air. A man even grabbed a nearby handmaiden, attempting to kiss her in happiness, only to receive a lump on his head. Even Kunou seemed in awe at her new strength.
"So, that'll make it a lot easier to defend this place. Next, I'll purify all the energy in the underworld so the Youkai in there can fight back while we figure out a plan to save them. That should work for now, right? I need some ramen first though, purifying that much energy made me even hungrier, I'm starving now!" Naruto said, standing up and stretching. He turned around, and was greeted with the sight of every Youkai's jaw on the floor.
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Naruto Uzumaki:
[Sage]
Lvl: 500
STR: 762
DEX: 725
CON: 450
INT: 120
WIS: 750
CHA: 999
LUK: 0
Skills: None
Perks: [Martial Arts], [You're a Wizard, Naruto], [Ladies Man], [God's Luck]
Debuffs: [Confusion], [Bad Timing]
Naruto Uzumaki is a Hero from another world, who has been reborn with the power of the Gamer system! His goal is to save the Youkai and see his friends again.
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AN: Up until chapter 13 is currently available at Patreon.com/Koyon ! Thanks for reading!