Naruto's journey through the swamp had already been filled with unexpected challenges, but nothing could have prepared him for the scene that unfolded before him. As he jogged towards his destination, he suddenly saw her—Ella. His heart leaped with joy, and for a moment, all his burdens seemed to vanish. He shouted her name with all the enthusiasm of a child, desperate to reclaim the friend he thought he had lost.
"Ella, I am here! This way, down here!" Naruto called out, his voice filled with emotion.
But the Ella who turned to face him was not the same one he remembered. Her expression was cold, distant—nothing like the warm and joyful face he had known. She didn't seem to recognize him, and her eyes held none of the love or recognition that he had hoped for. She simply dropped the giant beast she had been carrying and muttered something under her breath.
"A new present for Naruto. He will be very happy to devour one so strong," Ella murmured, her gaze not just distant but almost calculating, as though she saw him as nothing more than prey.
Naruto's heart sank. He instinctively went into a defensive stance. Something was wrong. This wasn't Ella—the person he had known and cared for. His mind raced.
'She isn't seeing me. Is she under control, or is this some kind of illusion?' Naruto thought, his instincts flaring.
Nemesis's voice, cool and knowledgeable, echoed in his mind. "She's been affected by an underworld parasite. It's a rare species that slowly takes control of its host. It will likely keep feeding off her until she's fully consumed. You'll need to get rid of it, but be careful—it's deeply embedded. If you fail, there may be dire consequences."
Naruto's resolve hardened. His mind was already spinning with ideas of how to deal with the parasite, but his immediate focus was on Ella. He had no time to waste—he had to save her. But she was far more dangerous now, as evidenced by her sudden attack. With an unearthly speed, she dived down toward him, her claws like a deadly comet in the sky. Naruto barely managed to evade her attack, his instincts guiding him to safety by a hair's breadth.
'She's fast... and she's learned a lot since we last met,' Naruto thought grimly as he quickly analyzed her movements. He wasn't about to let her hurt him, but he knew he couldn't harm her the way he would an enemy. He had to subdue her and save her.
Ella retaliated swiftly, sending a whip of crackling energy toward him. The whip cut through the air with terrifying precision, and it coiled around his left leg, pulling him off balance. He gritted his teeth in frustration.
'She's no longer the fragile girl I knew. She's deadly,' Naruto thought as he fought to free himself from the whip's grasp.
Summoning the power of the earth, he tried to trap Ella, but she responded by taking flight, dragging him into the air with her. The swamp below became a blur as she soared high, her eyes locked on him with a predator's focus.
"Sorry, Ella, but I need to hurt you if I want to save you," Naruto muttered, his voice tinged with regret but also determination. He didn't want to hurt her, but he had no choice.
As they neared a giant spiky tree, Ella made a move to smash Naruto into it. His heart clenched at the thought of causing her more pain, but he knew there was no other way to stop her. Reacting in a flash, he unleashed a powerful beam of flames that cut through her right wing, sending her crashing to the ground.
The pain of the attack sent a shockwave of fury through Ella. She screamed, her rage boiling over. "Ahhhhhh! Ella will destroy you!" she cried, her voice filled with torment and anger.
The intensity of her attack knocked Naruto to the ground, and as she landed, she lashed out with her whip again, sending powerful electrical currents through his body. Naruto's muscles locked up as he was electrocuted, the volts of electricity coursing through him, paralyzing him.
But Naruto was no stranger to pain. Drawing on his elemental control, he managed to neutralize the electrical current, his wind manipulation pushing back against her attacks. With a surge of strength, he pulled her toward him and slammed her into the ground, using his full might to restrain her.
"Gahh, Ella will win. Ella needs to find Naruto," Ella screamed in frustration, the wild, uncontrollable energy radiating off her. Her body crackled with unrestrained currents as she struggled to break free.
"Ella, calm down! It's me—Naruto!" he shouted desperately, trying to reach her, to make her listen. His arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly in an embrace. Despite the shocks that still coursed through his body, he refused to let go.
But it wasn't just the electrical currents that made things difficult. It was Ella herself—her body writhing with the energy of the parasite, her mind overtaken by it.
"Ella, please, listen to my voice," Naruto spoke softly, his tone filled with an earnest plea as he whispered directly into her ear.
Using the power of sound, Naruto sent vibrations into her body, targeting the parasite. He concentrated on its position within her skull, using the sound to break it apart, atom by atom. The effort was taxing, but he pushed through, determined to save her no matter what.
Ella's body spasmed as the parasite was destroyed, and the energy that had consumed her body began to dissipate. Her wild, erratic movements slowed, and she went still in his arms. When the final remnants of the parasite were gone, she stopped fighting him.
"Let me go..." Ella gasped, still disoriented. Then, as if a light bulb went off in her mind, she recognized him. "Naruto..." Her voice softened as she whispered his name, her hands reaching out to touch his face. "Naruto, Naruto," she repeated, her tone now filled with warmth and affection as she kissed him on the neck.
Naruto's heart swelled with relief, but the weight of the situation was still on his shoulders. He smiled gently, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I'm so happy to see you're alright, Ella. I'm sorry for getting you killed... Please forgive me."
Ella's eyes shone with pure love as she replied softly, "Ella is happy to see Naruto. There is no need to apologize. For Naruto, Ella will do anything. Naruto is all I need. Never leave Ella alone. Ella feels like dying without Naruto."
The weight of her words struck him deeply, and as much as he was moved, a sense of unease began to build in his chest. He could see the heavy dependence she had on him, and though it was touching, it was also a bit concerning. The sheer intensity of her love, her reliance on him—he didn't know if he could handle it.
'She's so pure, just like a child. Do I deserve this?' Naruto thought, a foreign thought entering his mind. 'Yes, she is mine.'
He froze, shocked by the possessiveness that surged within him. 'Do I want this? Do I want to be with her like this?' he questioned himself, the internal turmoil growing.
Ella's voice cut through his thoughts. "What's wrong, Naruto? Does it hurt?" she asked, her brow furrowed with concern as she saw the conflicted expression on his face.
Naruto quickly masked his emotions with a smile. "Nothing. Just a bad dream," he lied softly, hiding the weight of his thoughts from her as he focused on healing her body.
But his mind was racing again. The changes he had gone through, the power he had gained—it was affecting him more deeply than he realized. Ella's intense affection for him, and his own growing sense of possessiveness, were stirring emotions he wasn't sure how to deal with.
Then, before he could think, Ella began to rub against him sensually, her clothing seeming to disappear. Naruto's face flushed as he instinctively turned his gaze away, embarrassed by the sudden shift in behavior.
"Ella, what are you doing?" he asked, his voice strained as he tried to maintain control.
"Ella wants to be with Naruto. Make Naruto happy. The books told Ella how to make Naruto happy," Ella replied, pressing herself against him, her chest against his body as she kissed him.
Naruto could have pushed her away, but when he looked into her eyes—eyes filled with nothing but love, pure and uncontrollable—he hesitated. The thought of her leaving him, of her being lost to someone else, terrified him. And in that moment, he realized that he couldn't bear the idea of losing her.
As the kiss deepened, Naruto's mind swirled with conflicting thoughts and emotions. He had become something that others would abhor, something dangerous—but as long as the ones he cared for loved him, he was willing to accept it. He had to. There was no going back now.
As he responded to her kiss, Naruto realized that this was a point of no return. The man he once was, the idealistic hero who would never let his emotions control him—he was slipping away, and in his place was something entirely different.
Inside Naruto's soul space, Nemesis observed the unfolding events with a mixture of amusement and contemplation. The situation had become one she hadn't anticipated—Naruto's life, once so focused on his mission, now entwined with intense, complicated emotions. As Hestia and she watched the scene outside, Nemesis couldn't help but comment on the irony of it all.
"I didn't think I'd be in such a position," Nemesis mused, lounging in the peaceful forest within their shared soul space, "nor did I think the pure Hestia would be watching a couple going at it."
Hestia, visibly uncomfortable with the situation, couldn't help but react. "Nemesis, could you please give them privacy? It is not right to do this."
Nemesis smirked, enjoying the discomfort. "Oh my, is this making you uncomfortable? But why? Haven't you already seen this, or is it something else?" she teased, enjoying her playful banter with the ever-pure immortal, though her tone was far from judgmental.
Realizing the need to ease the situation, Nemesis closed the mental window into the world outside, bringing peace back to the environment around them. "There, all better now," she said with a satisfied grin.
Hestia, though still somewhat confused by Nemesis's comments, couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth for Naruto. The happiness he found with Ella—despite the chaos and unpredictability—was something that brought her comfort. She had always known that Naruto's heart was a complicated one, but seeing him embraced by such deep, unwavering love made her smile. "May this happiness last forever," she murmured, her voice filled with genuine hope for him.
Nemesis, however, was far more attuned to the complexities of the situation and pondered aloud, "Aunt Gaea will not be happy with this, but it seems she will have to accept these lower life forms, if she wants Naruto to be happy. Though I wonder, what would he feel when he knows about what happened when he was asleep?"
Her tone held an underlying layer of intrigue. She knew that Gaea, for all her power and maternal instincts toward Naruto, would have her own reactions to how his life was evolving. Nemesis couldn't help but smile at the thought of the future and the uncertainties that came with it.
"Aunt Gaea is really proactive when she wants to be," Nemesis continued, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "This should be interesting."
Hestia's brows furrowed slightly in confusion, not entirely understanding Nemesis's cryptic words. But one thing was clear—Hestia cared deeply for Naruto's well-being, even if she didn't fully comprehend all the complexities of the situation. She simply wished for him to find peace and happiness, no matter the forms they took.
"Indeed," Hestia agreed softly, her gaze looking far beyond the soul space, as if sending her well-wishes into the world Naruto inhabited. "May his journey be filled with love, and may he never be alone again."
The woman, draped in pristine white clothing, lounged upon her throne, a sense of dissatisfaction hanging over her like a dark cloud. She stared out into the void, tapping her fingers absentmindedly on the armrests as she muttered aloud, "So boring. It would have been so much better if he didn't know how to find or kill such tiny targets."
Her voice dripped with frustration, as though this small inconvenience had spoiled a much larger plan. The expectation of watching her creation—a creature or being she had nurtured and made stronger—fall short of her desires was something she could not tolerate. "I went to the trouble of making her stronger but no payoff." Her tone hardened with irritation, but then a cruel smile played on her lips as she continued, "Never mind, it just means this worm is really capable, unlike my slave."
Her gaze grew darker as she considered the implications of this development. It seemed this "worm," as she called it, was a far more competent opponent than she had anticipated. The thought of someone defying her creations, especially when she was used to crushing mortal beings without challenge, left her feeling both disappointed and intrigued.
A gleam of sadistic amusement flickered in her eyes. "I wonder how the battle between these mongrels will go... Hopefully, it will be interesting." She stood from her throne, stretching lazily, but her mind was already far ahead, focused on the next task at hand.
She was not one to stay idle, nor did she have the patience to let insignificant rebellions go unchecked. As she made her way toward the door, her thoughts turned to the next target. "Another rebellion to handle and more mortal worms to crush." Her voice was cold and detached, as if she viewed this as an endless cycle of sweeping away obstacles—one after another.
With a wave of her hand, the doors parted, revealing the dark expanse beyond. She stepped out, her mind already set on the planet under her jurisdiction that needed cleansing. It would be another reminder of her power, another simple victory to maintain her dominance over the weak.
Her footsteps echoed in the silent halls, each one resonating with the weight of her authority. The battle that had just caught her interest would have to wait. Right now, there were more pressing matters—mortal vermin who needed to be crushed under the weight of her will.