The soft, measured exchange between the Supreme Mage and Odin did little to disrupt the ongoing celebration. The grand hall of Asgard was alive with music, laughter, and the clinking of goblets. Yet, where joy thrives, trouble is never far behind.
"Look at them—singing, dancing, celebrating," a cold voice cut through the noise like a dagger. "But I'm the only one in chains. Tell me, Mother… am I still your son?"
Loki's sudden outburst froze the entire hall. The festivities came to an abrupt halt as all eyes turned to the shackled prince.
Frigga's face darkened. Not from embarrassment at Loki's public display—but from the recent revelation during the interrogation of the captured Dark Elf. It had been Loki who secretly directed the elf to her chamber that day.
Until now, Frigga had always regarded Loki's past rebellions as the impulsive defiance of a wayward child. But this… this was betrayal born of rage, not immaturity. And it hurt.
"Whether you're my son or not," Frigga said solemnly, "depends on how you choose to see yourself. Before sending you to prison, I told you—I am your mother. But you refuse to be my son."
Loki's voice sharpened, cutting through the tension in the air. "If I truly am your son, then why am I denied the right to inherit the throne?"
The question pierced through the hall, silencing even the whispers.
Odin stood, his gaze heavy and grim. "If you can lift Mjolnir, then you can claim the throne. Can you?"
Loki sneered. "Everyone knows Mjolnir carries your enchantment. Is that your 'test'? A throne rigged from the start for Thor?"
"Loki!" Thor interjected, stepping forward. "If you truly want the throne, then take it. But why must you challenge the king like this?"
"Enough, Thor!" Loki snapped. "I never asked you to 'give' me the throne! Is that pity? Sympathy? Are you saying it's yours to bestow?"
The bitterness erupted like a volcano. "So that's all I am. An adopted son no one really cares about!"
Loki's fury, long buried, now spilled out for all of Asgard to see. The crowd stood frozen. Thor clenched his fists. Frigga looked away. Odin remained silent—but his jaw tightened.
"Loki!" Odin thundered, taking a step forward. The urge to strike his defiant son in front of everyone boiled beneath his skin—but he knew better. Loki was like a tempest: the more you tried to control it, the more violently it raged. Discipline would only harden his rebellion.
"I challenge Thor to a duel!" Loki shouted. "But Mjolnir stays out of it. Let's fight as equals—hand to hand!"
"Right here?" Thor asked, frowning.
"What's the matter?" Loki goaded. "Afraid, brother?"
Odin's voice cut through the tension. "Enough of this farce."
But before he could end it, Su Xiuyu stepped forward and placed a hand on Odin's shoulder. "Let him have this," Su Xiuyu said calmly. "Sometimes, a child needs to stumble—fall a few times—to understand reality. Let Loki face the wall on his own."
Odin looked at Su Xiuyu. He was right. Loki wasn't a villain. He was a wounded soul—selfish, stubborn, but ultimately still a child, yearning for attention and acceptance. Odin sighed and finally nodded.
With a wave of his hand, Odin released the magical shackles around Loki's wrists.
"Let's see how far you've come, Loki," he said.
Thor, ever the noble one, placed Mjolnir down on a nearby table. "Loki, I won't hold back—"
Before he could finish, Loki blurred from sight. In a flash, he appeared behind Thor and drove a dagger toward his waist.
But Thor, half-turning, grabbed Loki's wrist just in time. "Again with the phantom trickery?" he muttered. "You've done this move before."
"You're right~" Loki said with a smirk—just as the version Thor held vanished into mist.
The real Loki lunged from behind a pillar, spear in hand.
The fight erupted. But without Mjolnir, Thor was a different warrior—powerful, but lacking in range and force. His raw strength made him a formidable shield, but not an effective sword.
Loki danced around him, striking with speed and precision.
"Look at you," Loki sneered mid-combat. "Without Mjolnir, you can barely hit back. Are you Thor, or just some glorified Hammer God?"
The words struck deeper than the blows. Thor had noticed it himself—during his battle with the Cursed Warrior, he'd struggled to adapt without his hammer's lightning. His fighting style was too dependent on it.
But he wasn't about to let Loki win this.
With a sudden roar, Thor charged and tackled Loki, pinning him to the ground. He raised a fist—ready to end the match with one decisive blow.
But just before he struck, he hesitated.
That split-second of hesitation was all Loki needed.
With a wicked grin, Loki pulled a hidden blade from beneath his cloak and drove it into Thor's side.
"Agh!" Thor cried out, the pain shooting through his body as the hall gasped.
"Loki wins," Odin announced flatly. His voice lacked pride. His eyes held only disappointment.
Thor groaned, clutching his side. Loki, meanwhile, stood tall, flushed with victory—but deep down, even he knew this meant nothing. No throne would be granted from this charade. No respect earned.
But he had embarrassed Thor.
And more importantly… he had gotten under Odin's skin.
That was enough—for now.
In truth, Loki didn't even care about the throne anymore. He just wanted to matter. Like a neglected child throwing tantrums for attention, Loki kept pushing boundaries to see who would still care enough to push back.
Odin turned toward Su Xiuyu.
"Loki," he said, voice composed again, "there are guests here who wish to spar with you. Visitors from another world."
Odin gestured to three figures: Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin.
They stood quietly, clearly younger than any Asgardian warrior. Compared to the hulking gods around them, they looked like mere children.
Loki raised a brow. "I have no objections," he said with a dramatic bow. "But are you certain? They're children. Even if they fight me together, I fear I might hurt them."
He smiled disarmingly, playing the gentleman. In truth, he saw no threat. Even if they had powers, they were still just kids. There was no glory in beating them.
--------------------
"What you're about to face is no ordinary foe—he's Loki, son of the God-King Odin. A master of illusion and magic, blessed with a formidable physique. Just a heads-up: simply throwing kunai at him won't get you far."
Su Xiuyu gently patted the heads of the three young shinobi. This upcoming battle was anything but ordinary—it was a rare clash between myth and ninja, and he wanted them ready.
"Xiuyu, are you certain they're up for this?" Madara's eyes narrowed as he assessed the trio. "At best, they're Chūnin level, right?"
He wasn't wrong. Naruto and Karin had an abundance of chakra, but at their age, their technical mastery and combat experience were still lacking. Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan, but it was only at the first tomoe—indicating his bloodline was still in its early development and lacked lethal power.
"They're not perfect," Xiuyu said with a small smile, "but they've got potential. And if all else fails, we've still got the Nine-Tails, don't we?"
He wasn't joking.
Naruto's mental space stirred as Su Xiuyu projected his will into it. Inside the cage, the Nine-Tails was napping, its breath steady and low—until the clanging iron door jolted him awake.
"Damn it, Naruto, what the hell do you—!?" The great fox blinked. "...Oh. It's you."
Even the proud and fiery Nine-Tails showed respect in the presence of Su Xiuyu, whose power had already surpassed that of the Sage of Six Paths. The aura radiating from him was unmistakably divine.
"Yo, Kurama. Give Naruto a hand this time. His opponent is no pushover. And try getting along with the kid, would you? If you do, I might even help you reclaim the other half of your chakra sealed in Minato."
Kyuubi's ears twitched at that.
"No need, Lord Xiuyu. Helping Naruto is helping myself," Kurama said smoothly, bowing his head. "Besides… he's not that bad."
"Glad to hear it. Naruto's got a way with people—he can even win over ancient chakra beasts."
With that, Xiuyu vanished from Naruto's consciousness. Kurama let out a long, tired sigh the moment he left.
"Like I had a choice," the Nine-Tails muttered. "Negotiate with someone on the Six Paths level? I'd be vaporized before finishing a sentence."
Especially since no one knew how Su Xiuyu had reached that level. Normal people needed the Ten-Tails to break into Sagehood—but Xiuyu had skipped that step entirely. Some people were just born different.
Back in the grand hall of Asgard, Squad 7 stepped forward, their nerves taut but their resolve unshaken. The air buzzed with energy as thunderous applause erupted around them. The citizens of Asgard admired courage—and even though the three were practically children by Asgardian standards, their fearlessness was earning respect.
"So, you're the ones who dare challenge me?" Loki grinned, twin daggers gleaming in his hands. "Try not to bore me."
"The match begins now!"
With the officiator's call, Loki wasted no time. Three knives, sharp and fast, shot toward the trio like lightning, aiming straight for their throats.
In a flash—bang! bang! bang!—the three targets burst into smoke. Shadow clones.
Naruto had planned ahead.
Almost immediately, several shuriken came flying at Loki. He didn't even flinch, ignoring most—until one aimed directly for his face. Just as it neared him, the projectile shimmered—and transformed into Naruto himself.
"Rasengan!"
The spinning sphere of chakra formed instantly in Naruto's hand and smashed into Loki's stomach, launching him into the air with a thud.
"Did we get him?" Karin asked, tense.
"No," Sasuke said sharply. "He's not down yet. That didn't hit hard enough."
Sure enough, Loki got back on his feet. His elegant green robes were torn, especially around the abdomen, where the Rasengan had left a noticeable hole. Blood trickled from the wound, but his face showed more irritation than pain.
His Frost Giant heritage was no joke.
"You little brats... you'll pay for this humiliation!" Loki snarled. With a flash of light, he multiplied into over a dozen identical clones, each grinning wickedly.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto's fingers formed a seal—and suddenly, the room flooded with hundreds of Narutos charging headlong into the fray.
Clones clashed in a chaotic melee. Loki's illusions moved like ghosts, but the brute force of Naruto's approach quickly revealed the real one—who retaliated with swift, brutal strikes.
Sasuke, eyes sharp, seized the moment. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The massive ball of flame soared toward Loki, but its slow speed betrayed it—Loki dodged with ease.
Karin, however, was ready. "Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Golden chakra chains burst from her back and whipped forward, ensnaring Loki before he could react. The chains dug into the air, locking him down.
"Now!" she shouted.
"Rasengan!"
"Chidori!"
Naruto and Sasuke's ultimate moves launched in unison, a flash of blue and a crackle of lightning slamming into Loki's restrained form.
"ARGH!"
The blast echoed through the hall. Loki screamed in pain as the electrical surge and spiraling chakra tore through his defenses. Blood splattered across the floor.
But even this wasn't enough to finish him.
"Damn... all of you!" Loki roared, staggering back.
From the grandstands, even Odin furrowed his brow. Despite being just children, these three had managed to injure a god—however slightly. It was no small feat.
Yet it was clear: their attacks, while impressive, couldn't fully break Loki's defenses. His Frost Giant bloodline made him more durable than most shinobi could handle.
If Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin were prodigies of the Hidden Leaf... then Loki was something even more monstrous. A god with untapped potential, hiding the full strength of a king.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Pâtreon for Advanced Chapters
Pâtreon .com/Fanficlord03
Change (â) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9