Notes
Normally, I'd put the notes before the chapter, but since no one seems to read them, they're back at the beginning. If that bothers you, sorry, but there are things I need to say. Anyway, here we go.
In the prologue, two maids appeared who are completely original characters created by me, and they'll be very recurring. Well, I haven't named them yet, and later on—or whenever I have time—I'll make myself an Instagram account to publish their designs. I'd like them to already have names by then.
So, with that said, leave your name suggestions.
Chapter 1
Still resting in the comfortable lap of his maid, Naruto simply had to analyze as best he could the information that had been forcibly drilled into his mind about the Gate of Heaven… The most important detail was that it used something called the Sacred Grove to open the path to other worlds. He wouldn't pretend he knew what the hell any of that meant, nor was he going to try.
However, it wasn't something he could do freely, since very specific conditions were required to open a new gate. The main and most important condition of all was that he could only open a new world once the previous one had been completely conquered. And, as the overdeveloped lizard who called himself the god of all dragons had apparently screamed at him, each time he conquered a world, that god would grant him a little more of his own power.
To be completely honest, he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about the fact that, basically, he was going to receive the power of a damn true god solely because said god had decided, on a whim, to choose him as his avatar. But it wasn't as though he truly cared; after all, what he had been asked to do fit quite well with his personality and desires.
Why did he say that? Well, it was pretty simple. First of all, Naruto had the ambition of becoming the true god of this world and founding his bloodline as the new gods of the world. The fact that Shamrock constantly mocked him by calling him "Zeus, region four" was one of the 102 reasons he hated that red-haired idiot.
But setting aside his ambition, the truth was that, as one of the most important Celestial Dragons of all, he had the ability to mobilize a considerable number of resources and use them as he pleased, so long as it benefited the World Government. Which only meant that, with enough time and patience, he could conquer almost any world and open the gates to others.
And thirdly, Naruto himself had the capacity to climb to the position of absolute new king of the world. And now that he had access to this gate, he wouldn't even have to go through the trials, because with the ability to open gates to new worlds, Imu would simply appoint him the new king of the world, solely because he would bring new worlds to conquer, new kingdoms to subjugate, and that kind of crap.
And of course, he was going to tell Imu about this himself. He didn't trust Gunko to remember enough of the damn details to save him from having to explain everything personally. Besides, he genuinely had no worries about what might happen to his life if he revealed the truth… or, rather, he didn't want to think about what would happen if things didn't turn out the way he expected.
He just hoped they would. After all, he knew the nature of the Celestial Dragons, and Imu and the Five Elders weren't really any different from the vast majority of his peers: they were just as greedy. And therefore, upon learning that, as the future king of the world, he could open gates to new worlds to conquer and plunder for resources, it was logical to assume that the five greedy old men and his questionably-gendered ancestor would simply be more focused on taking everything possible from those new worlds than on trying to kill him out of jealousy for such a marvelous ability. And if that didn't happen… well, he'd apply the tried-and-true method: open a gate beneath their feet and close it before they could reach him. Cowardly, yes, but better to live to fight another day than die a stupid hero.
In a middle-case scenario, he'd end up becoming a sixth Elder Star… even if he was only eighteen years old. But that wasn't the point right now.
With his mind finally organized enough to plan out his next conversation with Imu, and as if fate itself wanted to contradict him, in that very moment Gunko returned to the hall… and if the shriek of the other maid and the sound of shattering glass were any indication, she had once again used the damned window.
"What do you have against my windows?" he asked, half-opening his eyes to glance at the fair-haired young woman who was staring at him with that same damned blank expression that was as exasperating as it was endearing.
"Saves time," was Gunko's simple response. If he hadn't had more pressing matters on his mind, their usual war of barbed remarks would have begun then and there. "She wants to see us at once."
"Fantastic," Naruto said dryly as he stood up and, after allowing the brunette to smooth his clothes, both left his residence and quickly made their way to the Hall of Flowers. Why his ambiguously-gendered ancestor resided there was a question he was still struggling to understand.
"My lords," came the voices of the two guards at the gate. Fortunately, it wasn't Shamrock's or the idiot Summers' shift, but rather two members of CP0 whom he could easily tolerate at the moment. Naturally, Naruto simply returned their greeting with a nod.
Yet unlike other Celestial Dragons, he—though incredibly egocentric and rather arrogant—wasn't, in truth, the kind who looked down on everyone else. In his opinion, the mere fact of being a god was more than enough to make him undeniably important, and there was no need to belittle others just to elevate himself.
"Will you come in with me, or wait outside?"
"My orders were clear: even if it means I have to get into your bed, I must always remain within two meters of you."
And that explained why, when he was younger, he had sometimes caught her watching him while he slept.
Setting that aside… for the sake of his sanity, the two Celestial Dragons walked into the Hall of Flowers through one of the longest and most unnecessarily dark corridors in all of the Holy Land. By the time they reached the door leading into the chamber, both were slightly anxious, though for different reasons.
Of course, they didn't let their anxiety stop them, and soon they entered the room filled with flowers and fluttering butterflies. In the center of the hall sat the figure clad in black, veil and Crown of the World upon their head, seated cross-legged among the flowers, radiating the utmost elegance with mere existence and an unmistakable majestic aura. With butterflies swirling around, their presence reminded Naruto somewhat of the myths of Persephone, the ancient goddess of spring and the underworld.
Naturally, that person was none other than Imu, supreme ruler of the World Government—of whom, honestly, Naruto was not at all sure how the hell they had been living for more than eight hundred years and still looked as young as ever. Nor was he sure whether Imu was his grandmother or grandfather, and he still needed to figure out the trick behind making their voice sound in such a way that no one could discern their gender. It was simply a brilliant trick.
"Come," was all Imu said, their gaze not directed at either of their two favorites. Even so, both were fully aware that the gesture of patting the grass beside them was clearly a unique invitation to the young man who had requested the meeting in the first place.
With a nod, Naruto simply approached and gracefully lowered himself beside his ancestor, letting the fragrance of the flowers fill his lungs and allowing the calming scent to soothe his nerves as much as possible.
An action Imu noticed, leading them to reach out a hand to their descendant's reddish locks and begin to speak:
"You usually avoid coming to see me unless I summon you personally."
And apparently, he hadn't been as discreet as he thought.
"Did something important happen?"
Fortunately, Imu hadn't taken offense… or at least that was the impression Naruto had at the moment.
It was honestly hard to tell, considering that in eight hundred years of existence, those eyes had seen so much that hiding true feelings was child's play. But right now, such things didn't really matter, because what Naruto had to show was far more important… at least in his not-at-all humble opinion.
Now, he was aware he could explain the situation in exhaustive detail, but in this case he felt it would be much better—and far more effective—to show what had happened. So, with a slight motion of his hand, a golden gate began to appear directly behind him… which made him frown: he had wanted it to appear beneath Gunko's feet, just to make her fall and annoy her. Clearly, he needed more practice to better control the ability.
Imu, on the other hand, seemed only slightly perplexed, unable to understand why Naruto had the Doa Doa no Mi when, as far as they knew, it was currently in the possession of CP9.
"Did you eat a Devil Fruit?" was all they could ask. Perhaps the boy was right, and it was time they paid more attention to world events.
"Eh… this is a little more complicated than a Devil Fruit, ancestor," Naruto said, not entirely sure how to explain that a lizard the size of a star had bestowed this power upon him.
"In what sense?" Imu asked, a slight glimmer of confusion in their eyes. They hoped this wasn't Vegapunk's doing—the deranged scientist already caused enough trouble without handing their new favorite some power with his inventions. Though, now that they thought of it, Naruto hadn't even met the doctor yet, despite demanding it for years.
Soon, the legitimate ruler of the world was pulled from their thoughts when Naruto snapped his fingers, causing the gate to hum and slowly open, revealing what—in Gunko's opinion—looked like a rather pretty play of colorful lights, resembling a rainbow.
"To sum it up: the same entity that gave me the ability to see the future has now granted me the ability to…" He had to pause, thinking about how to finish his sentence without it sounding so— "…to open doors to other worlds."
In the end, he realized there was no way to make it not sound incredibly ridiculous and just blurted it out.
"Doesn't seem like much," Gunko said, with Imu nodding. If it was only the ability to cross from Paradise to the New World, it was a rather mediocre power. Though useful enough… perhaps it was time to join him to the Kami no Kishidan.
"I don't mean the second half of the Grand Line, old hag… When I said 'to new worlds,' I meant it literally. Like those parallel-world novels you're so fond of for some reason."
And, naturally, the moment he called her "old hag," Gunko shot an arrow straight at his backside.
As for Imu, it took much longer to process that declaration. But when they did, they simply rose to their feet, their deep, piercing eyes staring directly into Naruto's soul.
"What did you just say?"
End of Chapter.