Naruto: The Last Harbinger of Storm – Book 2
Chapter 1: A New Era
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Author's Note:
Welcome back, everyone! 🎉 This chapter is a brief 3k-word introduction to kick off Book 2, titled New Era. For those who are new to this series, don't worry! While it's better to start with Book 1 for full context, I'll make sure to include enough references so you can still follow along. That said, there may be moments where the story draws heavily on past events.
To my long-time readers, thank you for sticking with me! 🙏 I know the initial chapters of Book 1 had issues with narration it was my first attempt at storytelling, and I've learned a lot since then. For those who made it past the first 30 chapters, you saw how the story evolved and matured into a better blend of third-person POV and immersive narration.
For new readers, if you can bear with those early chapters, you'll find the journey worthwhile. To my old readers, I promise Book 2 will be even more thrilling, with twists & turns.! 🌟
💡 Update Schedule:
From now on, new chapters will be posted every Wednesday and Sunday. Today's chapter is a complimentary bonus to set the tone for what's to come.
Let's embark on this exciting new journey together! 🚀
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"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."
— Melody Beattie
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Now:
It had been three months since the coronation of Naruto Uzumaki as the first Emperor of Uzushiogakure, now heralded as "the Grace of the Old Clan." For most, life had moved on, but for Kosuke Maruboshi, the ripples of that historic event had yet to settle.
He lay stretched out on a sturdy tree branch, gazing at the sky as the sunlight filtered through the leaves. Since the coronation—an event the world now called "the Event of the Century"—Kosuke had found himself in an unfamiliar spotlight. Though a humble man by nature he is, the recognition he received from being seated alongside the Kages and minor daimyos during the ceremony had turned him into a small-time celebrity.
People who had once dismissed him as just an old shinobi now sought him out. Merchants, politicians, and hopefuls from the Fire Court traveled great distances just to meet him, to gain his recommendation, or to secure even a slim chance of an audience with the Emperor. If the rumors were to be believed, getting an appointment with Naruto Uzumaki was next to impossible. Even catching a glimpse of him was considered a rare privilege.
Kosuke, ever polite, refused most requests. But some he simply couldn't turn down—like the son of an old comrade who had sacrificed his life to buy Kosuke the time to escape with a retrieved scroll. Kosuke had promised to look after the boy, though his mother had taken excellent care of him. Over the years, Kosuke had visited occasionally and provided for the family when needed.
Now, that boy was a grown man of 29 with a small business of his own, always searching for investors or patrons. Few knew that even during Naruto's time in Konoha, Kosuke and the boy were close. Now that Naruto was Emperor, the young man had come to Kosuke with a request. He wanted Kosuke's help to secure an audience with someone in Uzushio who could assist him with his venture.
Kosuke couldn't say no to him. Taking out a scroll, he wrote a request to Naruto himself, asking for a favor. That had been a month ago. The boy had since returned from Uzushio, and the tale he told left Kosuke deeply moved.
Flashback
"Uncle Kosuke!" the man called out, his voice brimming with excitement as he approached Kosuke's favorite spot under the trees. Though nearly 30, to Kosuke, he would always be that wide-eyed boy from so many years ago.
Kosuke chuckled. "How was your trip to Uzu? Did you manage to secure an investment?"
The man beamed. "Uncle, you won't believe it! First, let me say, Uzu is unlike anything I've ever seen. The city is breathtaking, grand and pristine, like nothing else in the world. When I arrived, I had to pass a rigorous inspection just to enter the gates, but once inside… Oh, the splendor!"
He paused. "I stayed at a small lodge to freshen up and headed straight for the administrative building. I didn't even bother trying to go to the palace commoners aren't allowed anywhere near it. At the admin office, I handed over your scroll to an officer. He looked confused, then took it to his superior. Who left the building. After half an hour, a very noble-looking man entered. I mean, he looked like someone important. He asked who I was, why I was there, and how I was connected to you. I was very scared and nervous by then."
The man's voice quickened, his excitement palpable. "Then, after another hour, an even more noble-looking man arrived. He was a true lord, I could tell by the ring that everyone speaks of, which he wore on his hand. He was the Lord of the Kaguyas. He personally escorted me through the city, with guards forming an actual perimeter around us," he said excitedly. "You should have seen the faces of the people who came with me, hoping to get their own investments. They laughed at me earlier, since I had been put on hold for approximately two hours by then.
Can you imagine, Uncle? Me, walking through Uzu like that?" But then, we headed straight to the palace!"
Kosuke smiled faintly but said nothing, letting the man continue.
"We reached the palace," the young man went on, his voice dropping as if in awe. "It felt like stepping into heaven. Everything was shining, immaculate, and perfect. I think I dirtied it just by stepping in. I was told to wait again, and then a lady came to take me upstairs. She taught me how to bow and maintain the proper distance from the Emperor. I was so nervous I practiced bowing all the way up the stairs! Comically at that now that I think of it."
The man laughed nervously at the memory. "When I finally entered, the Emperor was there, seated at a desk, working on some papers. I knew he was once part of Konoha, but now he is an important figure. Even back then, when he was still here, he was already the strongest person in the village. The sheer presence of him… I forgot all my courtesies and just bowed awkwardly, saying, 'My lord.' The secretary hissed at me, correcting me with 'Your Grace,' but the Emperor laughed and said, 'Any friend of Kosuke is a friend of mine.' Can you believe that, Uncle?"
Kosuke raised an eyebrow, amused. "He said that?"
"Yes! Then he got up and walked over to a sofa, inviting me to sit with him. I was so flustered—I didn't think it was proper for me to sit, but he insisted. Even the secretary gave me a disapproving look, but he said, 'Anyone you send will be treated with respect.'"
The young man took a deep breath. "And do you know what he asked first? He asked how you were doing. He even asked if you were still hiding your back pain and said to inform you that the Empress—Lady Tsunade—would be happy to give you a private healing session."
Kosuke's hand unconsciously went to his lower back, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"But Uncle, that's not the best part," the young man said, almost breathless. "The Emperor didn't just invest—he gave me 100 times what I needed, plus a prime piece of land in Neo Uzu, in the Land of Demons, no less! It's now one of the five largest commercial centers there. The rent alone would be beyond anything I could afford, but he gifted the land to me outright. My family is set, Uncle. I'm leaving the Land of Fire and moving to Uzu with my mother. All of this is because of you."
The man bowed deeply. "Thank you, Uncle. I owe you everything."
Before Kosuke could respond, the man handed him a scroll. "Oh, and the Emperor asked me to give you this."
End of Flashback
As Kosuke lay back on the branch, his gaze drifted to the scroll resting near his satchel. He hadn't opened it yet, but he already knew its contents. Another invitation to join Uzushio, to retire in peace under its warm embrace. Yet again, he had refused.
And yet, as he stared up at the sky, a pang of sadness filled his heart.
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The Land of Fire and Konoha, by extension, had lost far more than they had imagined. They had lost things they didn't even expect. Not they per say, Sukino Nara had warned them but he and other members of the Fire Council did not heed it. Oh, they were wary of the Emperor, only a fool wouldn't be and took extreme measures to curtail his growing power, but they didn't take it to the paranoid level Sukino insisted on taking. They thought it was an exaggeration. Oh, how wrong they were.
The first unexpected blow came with the loss of the Hatake Clan. At a glance, it seemed insignificant. After all, the Hatake had barely contributed anything to Konoha or the Land of Fire since Lord Sakumo's death. But they were painfully wrong. The Hatake's leaving stripped more than just a name; it removed the 'Dog Summons' support, which might have seemed negligible to him but, for shinobi, it was a huge deal. It also severed an alliance connected to the Nagi Islands.
For centuries, the Daimyo's family of those islands had maintained a tradition to ensure good fortune: their firstborn daughter would marry a Hatake, if there was an unwed Hatake. Dating back to the clan warring era, this custom had given the Hatake, and by extension Konoha after their inclusion, exclusive access to the Nagi Islands' rich natural resources. This was done by the previous Daimyo. After Sakumo's death, it was almost forgotten, but the Land of Fire still used the riches. But after the Hatake left Leaf… Konoha tried to appease the Nagi feudal family by pointing to Kakashi's own ties through his mother, once a daughter of a Nagi Daimyo. Yet it was too late. The Nagi had always held the Uzumaki in high regard. Though there was no direct alliance—only through the Hatake—the Nagis used the Uzumaki as mediators to settle disputes. And now that the Hatake were back in Uzushiogakure's fold, the new Emperor didn't waste time. He swiftly arranged a marriage between Sozin Hatake, now the undisputed heir of the Hatake, and the Nagi Daimyo's daughter. With that, the abundant resources of the Nagi Islands returned to the Uzumaki fold. And that, Jeramy Aethil realized, was only the beginning.
What sickened him more was this: despite all odds and ignoring Sukino Nara's warnings, Naruto Uzumaki then managed a diplomatic coup with none other than Raitenben no Onoki. Known by some as "one of the butchers of Uzushio," he and his people had seized a few outlying islands that rightly belonged to Uzushio. Everyone assumed hatred would prevent any accord. Shock rippled through the Land of Fire's halls when news arrived that Onoki had unilaterally withdrawn from those islands, returning them to Uzushiogakure.
No alliance was formed—Onoki made that clear—but a trade deal was signed, opening a critical route that linked the eastern and western edges of the Elemental Nations. This undercut the Land of Fire, which traditionally leveraged high tolls on trade passing through its territory. The resulting shift in economic power was drastic. And that godforsaken so-called "Golden Spiral" bank, newly established by the Emperor, fueled further problems. It offered favorable loans to those who traded with or allied themselves with Uzumaki interests. The bank was spreading faster than any disease he had seen. The bank was now linked with every business the Uzumakis had hands in. Which was huge.
Jeramy, long a power broker, had watched with growing alarm. So he had tried to sabotage Uzumaki businesses operating in his territories. One by one, he orchestrated fires in their warehouses and attempted to blame it on "accidents." But what truly unnerved him was the Uzumaki response. Mysterious arson struck back, burning many of his secret facilities—businesses no one else, not even the Daimyo, was aware of. Every councilor had their own hidden ventures, yet the Uzumaki managed to burn many of his, sending a chilling warning that they knew about the remaining ones as well. Along with the destruction came a message to all remaining secret enterprises: "You nearly crossed a line, Aethil."
Oh, he knew that his failed sabotage wasn't the real reason for Uzumaki retaliation—it was an annoyance, but not that grave. The real cause was the attempted kidnapping. Now that Uzushio had opened, the Uzumaki who were in hiding were trying to go back. One such group, a family of six, was traveling through the Land of Fire toward Uzu, and he got wind of it. He attempted to kidnap them, but at the last moment, Senju Tsunade—who happened to be in the Land of Fire for negotiations—appeared out of nowhere, killed all his men, and rescued them. He thought no one would trace it back to him, but he was wrong. Very wrong.
The Uzumaki Empire is growing very rapidly. Its Emperor, undoubtedly one of the foremost business minds in the entire Elemental Nation, as well as a strategist even the Nara avoided, and a very strong shinobi, had always been a politician and diplomat at heart. He never openly used brute force unless no other option remained. But after this ascension, he's become more direct and does not shy away from exercising his power.
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In a remote corner of the world, a group of hooded figures gathered beneath the pale light of a crescent moon. Their crimson cloaks bore faded Uzumaki spirals, muted by time and wear. The eldest among them, her voice raspy with age, broke the silence.
"So… Mother Uzu has opened her arms to the world once more," she whispered. Her words carried a strange mix of longing and disdain. "We must go, even if only once, just to feel her embrace again. Oh, we are not worthy… but still, just once."
Another hooded figure scoffed, his voice laced with skepticism. "To Uzu? Don't fool yourself. Old Lady Mithrusha, it seems, has been alive all this time. Her seals will be very difficult to bypass. Only you," he said to the old lady, "can achieve that feat. After you, there was no one bar the old fossil who is above you when it comes to seals. And Lord Suifu, he's still alive as well itseems. The moment he sees the breach we make when we leave, he'll know it's your handiwork."
The another figure chuckled bitterly. "Let him. The Uzumaki have scattered and hidden for so long, and now I hear they're converging on Uzu. That's a sight I'd be happy to see, even if it costs us everything. At least this new Emperor has done something right, despite being a descendant of Ashina Uzumaki."
The mention of Ashina drew a sharp reaction from another figure. "What are you talking about? This so-called Emperor is no Uzumaki! He made chummy with Onoki, of all people. Rather than taking back what's ours by force, he accepted it as a 'donation.' He's as spineless as Ashina ever was. And don't even get me started on the trade deal with Iwa—Iwa! How can he act as if the blood of our people isn't staining that land?"
The room buzzed with murmurs of agreement, but one voice broke through the dissent. "Hey, give the boy some slack," a younger figure said. "He's given our brethren hope. That's more than anyone has done for us or among us in decades."
"Hope?" the critic spat, his tone dripping with venom. "He didn't give them hope, he reopened the cursed shrines! Do you call that hope? He's enslaving them all over again, chaining them to the same burdens that destroyed us in the first place."
Another voice, softer but firm, interjected. "I don't like those shrines any more than you do, but don't call it enslavement. What's happening in Uzu might not be perfect, but their lives outside were far worse. At least now they have a chance."
The critic slammed his fist, the crack echoing through. "Better to die in hardship than to condemn their descendants to the same fate we faced! To the last man, woman, and child, we died fighting pouring our lives into a barrier that did nothing but delay the inevitable! And all for what? The whims of an old fool! Do you want the so-called free people to face that same horror again?"
Silence fell, thick and suffocating, until the leader of the group, who had remained quiet until now, finally spoke. His voice was deep and measured.
"Enough," he said, his gaze sweeping across the room. "I've heard enough. The Emperor has made his choice, and now I make ours. We will not return to Uzu not as loyalists, not as family. While we shall never raise arms on fellow Uzumaki unless for self-defence except Ashina's descendent. But considering the situation we will take the offer of that Madara wannabe."
"What? Are you mad?" said the oldest woman who had spoken first. "Completing the Gedo Mazo is insane more insane than Ashina's madness."
The leader looked at the woman and said, "You may be the greatest seal mistress, and I respect you immensely, but never compare me to that man. No, we will do our part. After all, to get all the tailed beasts, he will have to take the Seven and Six-Tails, which are in Uzu. He will meet his match there."
"This world has no place for us," the leader continued, his voice colder now. "Not in Uzushiogakure for we are not worthy of mother Uzu. If Ashina's decendent wants to play politics with the butcher of our people, then he's no better than the old man who doomed us all. Let him have his empire. We'll make our own way—on our terms."
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Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of NTLHOS- Book 2!
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NTLHOS-2: Chapter 1: A New Era. IS OUT!
NTLHOS-2: Chapter 2: Dark Coulds. IS OUT!
NTLHOS-2: Chapter 3 – A monster from the past. IS OUT!
NTLHOS-2: Chapter 4 – Drums and Gongs of War.
NTLHOS-2: Chapter 5 – First Wave. IS OUT.
NTLHOS-2: Chapter 6 – Price of Freedom.
NTLHOS-2: Chapter 7 – Crimson Storm.
NTLHOS-2: Chapter 8 – Retaliation.
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 9 – The Gathering Woods In The Pyre. IS OUT!
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 10 – We Forgive, But We Never Forget. IS OUT!
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 11 – The Dept Is Called. IS OUT!
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 12- How Times have changed. IS OUT!
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 13: A New Game Of Chess. IS OUT!
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 14: The Power Of A Single Stroke Of A Pen. IS OUT!!!!!!
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 15: Back to Konoha IS OUT!!!!! (NEW)
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 16: The Night of Falling Crows IS OUT!!!!!!.(NEW)
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 17: Did Uchihas Survive?. IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!! (NEW)
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