Sword of God -- A Naruto Fanfiction

| 58 | Epilogue

3 Years Later...

A man with long, silky ebony hair sat cross-legged in a massive, oriental Japanese-style temple palace, coloured primarily gold, silver and black. Under him was a mat made from bamboo and velvet, and the area surrounding him was just as beautiful, a lonely stone path leading across a river where exquisitely bred koi fish lived happily, and a lavish garden full of blooming sakura trees stood.

He wore a black haori with golden flames licking the underside over a masculine hakama with the pattern of twinkling stars, and his stark skin provided much contrast to his powerful, radiant eyes that were like gems at first sight, cold and impassive.

His lips were set in an unchanging neutral position, stoic and enigmatic, you would never know what he was thinking, a trait befitting of his station as Emperor.

He was currently in the middle of a hymn to Kami in a room of prayer for him personally, and to ensure that all of the gods were recognised and appreciated he prayed to every single god, which took an hour out of his day but was worth it. He gave prayers and offerings that reached the gods in heaven, which helped keep the Kingdoms safe from divine fury that could plague the Elemental Nations at any time.

In fact, because of this practice, he and many of the devout followers of the gods prayed in unison around the Nations, which had been reformed into Four Kingdoms.

The first Kingdom, the Kingdom of Land, encompassed the former lands of Earth and Wind with the areas in between and was being ruled over by his loyal subordinate and friend Karin. The amount of nature, as well as wildlife, made them expert survivalists, which allowed them to get the most out of their environments and export numerous hard materials and minerals from the mountains.

The second kingdom named the Kingdom of Unity, which also served as the mainland and capital of the systems was ruled by Hinata, who had blossomed into a fierce combatant and craft diplomat through years of learning and experience. The Kingdom's economy was well-built on trade, importing and retail which allowed for them to thrive. Their innovation made them a strong competitor and forerunner in numerous markets, and their product development was the most advanced in the nations.

The third kingdom aptly named the Kingdom of the Sea, covered the many islands of the South, but because of their numerous technological advancements in water technology, they had built a thriving artificial island that held all the aspects of nature but was immensely modernised and ultra-futuristic, having an infinite supply of energy due to their use of sustainable hydropower sources. This was ruled over by Suigetsu.

Finally, the last kingdom, the Kingdom of the Sky had been the most mediated and well-rounded Kingdoms to exist, incorporating aspects such as the superior technology of the Sea Kingdom and modifying it, the unique survivalist and scavenger lifestyle of the Land Kingdom and the well-founded economic and business structure Unity Kingdom, but always finding a new way to suit it to themselves. It was preceded over by Fu, and was thriving under her rule, and bijuu had been banished back to Makai where they had come from, leaving the world without devastating, mountainous monsters that could decimate entire countries with the swish of a tail.

But there was one anomaly in the Kingdom system. Where was Naruto, and if he played such a small role, why was he named the Emperor?

The all-powerful man had receded back to nature, presenting himself as an illustrious figure whose location was known only to the likes of his former associates, now the rulers of the Kingdoms, his duty was done, and Kami smiled upon the world he had reformed.

He had, quite literally, attracted and sealed all the sin in the world into a ruby necklace, sealed that into a scroll that was sealed into an ordinary pebble that was heavily affected by security seals to ensure that it couldn't be unsealed.

This took a lot out of the young and aging man, and he had been in a comatose state for an entire year; taking the bad aspects from an entire WORLD took a lot out of him. Once he woke form his coma, he had placed himself under self-imposed exile, never to be seen again.

You could call this a hermit lifestyle. Anyone who entered his domain came out battered and bruised, but overall much more wise, knowledgeable and a practitioner of self-defence through taijutsu and kenjutsu, and so he had been forced to relocate every year or so due to people seeking him out for well-mannered, innocent advice.

Naruto grew weary of the solitary lifestyle and was already plotting a return to the world.

"Lord Naruto!" A familiar voice greeted.

"Namaste," Naruto stood, finishing up his prayers and standing with a polite, shallow bow. "There is no need to address me as such, Hinata-Chan. If anything, I should be addressing you with respect."

"I humbly disagree. You took me under your wing and trained me to become what I am today, and for that, I am grateful. I owe my success to you, and I must treat you with the respect you deserve."

Naruto smiled, waving two fingers and the duo reappeared in a separate room, that of an office. With his lead, the two sat.

"I assume that you are here for business instead of a social visit?"

Hinata nodded, her demeanour becoming serious as she handed him a file, giving him time to skim the three pages before continuing.

"How is this possible?"

"We don't know, " the ruler admitted. "That's why we're calling you in."

"I withdrew from the active shinobi roster years ago. I am not bound to any Kingdom."

Hinata pouted, activating the dreaded Puppy Dog Eye no Jutsu. "Please?"

It took Naruto all of his mental strength and fortitude to resist the twice-damned jutsu. "No."

"Well," Hinata smirked, withdrawing a scroll from the folds of her Imperial regalia. "You'll find that the other three rulers think otherwise. On behalf of the Four Kingdoms, you, Naruto Uzumaki, are compelled to perform your duty."

Naruto released a mental groan. "I knew I shouldn't have trained you in politics."

Hinata simply smiled. "Good luck with the demons. Close that pesky hell gate, or you may just have to drain the world of sin all over again."

Naruto armed himself with Kyosonzai and Arashi, standing, his eyes flashed, a potent and dominant gold.

"I'm ready."

With a deep inhale of oxygen, Naruto allowed for the shadows to swallow him whole, leaving Hinata in the middle of nowhere.

"Well, hopefully, he destroys the demon gate. There has been enough loss as there is."

Hinata disappeared in a shower of water that soon evaporated.

Needless to say, Naruto eradicated the demons, to the extent that their molecules would never show their invisible faces ever again.

The end.

I hope you all enjoyed this long fanfiction, it really did take a long time (six entire months of hard work) and it is finally completed! I'd like to shout out RenikArkanum421 for being the first to read my latest chapter and the first to vote. It's heartfelt, really, and for that I thank you.