Chapter 31
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
AN: I don't usually bother with chapter notes anymore, but in this case I wanted to insert a quick apology before we started. This chapter was complicated to write, and I'm not happy with how long it took me to figure it out. Even if it's late, I hope you enjoy it.
Myrmidon Chapter 31
Meruem wasn't sure how to approach the situation.
"I'll make this simple." Sasuke Uchiha leaned back, his posture rigid and his hand settling on his right knee. He looked as though he were having a drink with a new acquaintance instead of face to face with the King of the Chimera Ants. The human frowned. "At this point, there's not much room for terms. You can either surrender, or die."
The King laughed. He wasn't sure there could be another response. "I'm not sure you understand what's happening here." Sasuke smiled. The King felt a flash of anger at the benign look. 'It's you who don't understand,' he thought. 'Is that what he's thinking?'
The human's movement of Komugi had put him instantly on edge. Meruem couldn't take his mind off his companion. What if the man had swapped himself with him instead of her, and taken her head off with his sword before Meruem had understood what had happened? He was utterly certain the shinobi was capable of it; not just physically, but at heart. Hinata Uzumaki had, after a deadly moment, relented. Sasuke Uchiha would not.
How could he keep her safe from someone like this?
"It seems somewhat familiar," Sasuke said. "From what I've been told, you're building an army." He looked Meruem in the eye, refusing to break contact. It was unnerving. "Not unusual for kings."
"Oh?" Meruem said. He was searching for a way out. No, that wasn't it. He was the King. It wasn't his path to wriggle out of situations like a worm. He was the culmination of his species. He surmounted and demolished obstacles. He did not avoid them: he met them! That was why he was still playing Komugi, until he could win. What kind of monarch would simply concede defeat and seek victory from another direction? Only a coward would bother.
The King smiled, feeling a deep determination permeate his whole body, and the man watched him with a stone face. He'd grown from Komugi. He'd grown from Hinata. He'd grown from his proxy's battle in Peiing; his clone had been destroyed in the end, but it was only during true adversity that it had developed and become more powerful. Struggle was a source of strength, and was a rare resource for someone like him.
This would be just the same. This was one more challenge for him to overcome and use as fuel for growth. When everything was done, he'd probably wish to thank Sasuke the same way he had Komugi and Hinata.
"Yes," Sasuke said, apparently happy to make small talk for the moment. "Without the power to project their will, a king is just a useless title. With the state of your Ants, it's no wonder you'd seek an army."
One of Meruem's hands curled into a fist. "Perhaps you think you can buy a surrender with a lecture."
Sasuke looked unimpressed, but didn't speak. Meruem considered. He couldn't just deny the surrender outright immediately, not until Komugi had gained some distance. His clone was escorting her away already; it would only be another couple minutes. Then, he could figure out how to kill this human.
"That's not the right way," Sasuke said, and Meruem twitched.
'What?'
Their chakra had begun to mingle, he realized. That was only natural. But where he and Hinata had forged a lightning connection that had almost drowned them both, Sasuke's soul stayed at a distance; if Meruem had to make an analogy, it was like the Uchiha's chakra simply brushed his, just enough to maintain the link. It was a cynical and paranoid extension of the man's aura, perfect for a situation where neither trusted the other.
It was like the human had experience with unwelcome Ninshu. He'd used it to silently read the King's intent and give nothing of his own.
"You could try to kill me," Sasuke said in the tone of a patient parent. Meruem began reaching out more aggressively, trying to invade the shinobi with his chakra. The man didn't openly resist, but what Meruem found wasn't of much help.
Determination. Certainty.
Dull anger.
"But it would be difficult."
Meruem felt a flash of sensation. Flight: overwhelming heat and pressure. He reached out, a phantom sensation, and before him a flying mountain exploded in a wash of thunderous energy. A memory, or a metaphor? He couldn't be sure either way.
However, the feeling it imparted was absolute.
"I'm offering surrender for your benefit," Sasuke said. "Not mine, and certainly none of my allies. They all insisted I kill you immediately, which I'm sure isn't a surprise to you."
"Then why are you bothering?" Meruem asked, and he found that his curiosity was legitimate. This human was bizarre, and strong. He was worth learning at least a little more about before he died.
"A fight would be complicated," Sasuke said. "If you would surrender, that would be the simplest resolution."
Just like that, Meruem was sure that no matter how intimidating his aura was, this man was weaker than him. Anyone who avoided conflict inevitably would be. He had a little more room to maneuver now. When it came to a fight, he could certainly protect Komugi.
"It's useless to ask for my surrender like that," Meruem said, leaning back and crossing his arms. "Why would I bother, when our positions are not equal? I would have to be a fool to concede without even being in check."
"You won't reconsider?" Sasuke asked, and Meruem laughed.
"Consider it as this, then," he said, leaning forward. "Reality isn't like a game, where any piece can put another in check. In the real world, only another King can dictate terms to a weaker one." And sneered. "And you are no King. I learned that much from Hinata. From what I saw in her, you're a glorified retainer. And you carry yourself like one." Perhaps even looked like one, Meruem thought, though he didn't share the thought. Sasuke and Neferpitou were strange mirrors of one another thanks to the injuries his Guard had sustained in Peijing.
"If I would even consider surrender," Meruem finished, feeling somewhat satisfied with his rebuttal, "it would have to be a demand coming from a real king, not a cripple sent in his stead."
"That's naive," Sasuke said, and Meruem twitched. "Oftentimes, a leader can't go themselves. They have to act through proxies." He narrowed his eyes. "If you couldn't accept the words from me, you wouldn't be able to accept them at all. Acting otherwise is just making excuses."
"You seem presumptuous for a cripple," Meruem said, doing his best to stay calm. He was interested to see if he could get Sasuke to throw the first punch. It would be amusing for the man to be forced to give up on a peaceful solution. "Perhaps your king was simply unwilling to come." The memory came back to him, reinforced by Sasuke's own thoughts. "Hinata's husband, wasn't it? The Fire Shadow. He's not willing to defend his own wife?"
Sasuke sighed. "If Naruto were here…" he paused, and then chuckled. "He doesn't have my patience. Things would already be resolved."
Meruem felt the fulcrum start to tip towards violence, and tensed his whole body, chakra coursing through him. His first strike would be with his tail; it was his most flexible limb. He was sure he could shoot lightning from it, if he concentrated. Even if the initial blow missed or was turned aside, he could paralyze Sasuke with the follow-up.
"It's a shame he's not here, then," he said with a smile. "Perhaps my time wouldn't have been wasted."
He was sure that would have led to the first blow. Meruem's heart thrummed, prepared for an actual battle.
But instead, it had the opposite effect. Sasuke relaxed. He leaned back, propping himself on one arm, totally unguarded. It didn't make any sense. Meruem was forced to search his opponent's aura instead of his own assumptions, but even that didn't satisfy his curiosity.
"He couldn't be," Sasuke said. "I came in too much of a hurry."
"Desperate to rescue your allies?" Meruem laughed, and Sasuke chuckled.
"Yes, of course," he said. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Meruem didn't have an answer for that. The man's sincerity infuriated him. Perhaps he should just attack now? No, that would be conceding. He was set on Sasuke throwing the first punch. It was the least amusement he could get from this irritating situation.
"Still, if he's too frightened to come here himself…"
The Uchiha grunted. "He couldn't come here without me, no matter how much he wanted to." He lowered his head. "And he very much did."
"Hmm?" Meruem looked at him askew, taking an active interest. "And why would that be? Chained to a desk?" He spat. "Or too fat to move, like so many human leaders?"
"There's no point in being rude," Sasuke said with a small, infuriating smile. "If you want me to attack first, that won't be enough."
He was still too open. Meruem tried to shut the gate on his soul, but found to his consternation that, like a muscle he'd never exercised, he couldn't quite figure out how. He could control what was pouring into the chakra link between them if he focused, but he couldn't dam it up entirely. What was wrong with him?
(Was he that desperate for an equal?)
"Naruto and my home are in another world," Sasuke said, and Meruem perked up at the concept. "There's a machine for moving from one to the other, but it's not working at the moment. I'm the only one who can travel from plane to plane without it, and I didn't have time to pick him up before I arrived here."
"A fascinating excuse," Meruem admitted. "So your tardiness kept him away from me."
"Yes," Sasuke said, but then his face fell. The shinobi's aura spike, pushing out a little more into the King's. Invading him, almost. How bizarre. Meruem felt it swirl through his chakra with a detached fascination. "You don't understand. She won't be able to go far enough."
Meruem's jaw tightened.
'Kill him,' he thought. 'This is going nowhere. Give up on the first blow. Just kill him.'
Meruem didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he was frightened.
"Last chance," Sasuke said. "I mean this sincerely. You don't seem to appreciate the problem." He tapped one finger on his knee; the extra pupils in his right eye slowly rotated. "If you and I came to blows, it doesn't matter how far Komugi is. She'll be in danger. Everyone in this country would be."
"Is that-" 'A threat?' the King wanted to ask, but he already knew it wasn't. There was too much honesty in the man's chakra. He really was just giving him fair warning. He could see it in his mind's eye; maybe it was Sasuke's own vision. The old Hunter had split Peijing in half with his Nen projection's final blow; Sasuke had more than enough aura to replicate that feat. What would Meruem be forced to do, in the face of that power? He'd have to meet it in kind.
Nothing around them would survive, even when Meruem won. Komugi, his Royal Guard, the rest of the Chimera and the humans they'd gathered, they'd all be swept away like dust in a storm.
And then, beyond that…
'Things would already be resolved.'
Sasuke's vision came from experience, Meruem realized. The story his chakra was telling was an old one. At the forefront of the shinobi's mind was the same man who'd constantly been present in Hinata's.
The King watched Sasuke's chakra, and pulled himself inward, as the Uchiha had. The world grew a little duller, a little quieter. Maybe this was the equivalent of Nen's Zetsu.
It was peaceful, even relaxing. For the first time in his life, Meruem wasn't connected with anything, not even Komugi. He felt like an electrical circuit that had been deactivated after months of activity. Still running hot, but finally still.
Now, without the Uchiha's chakra poking at him, he could think straight.
Fate was like a string you could not see or feel, Meruem thought, but it had an unmistakable presence nonetheless. Hinata Uzumaki had been a part of the King's life for as long as he'd had a consciousness; her eyes had been on him even in the womb, and he'd innately responded to that observation even before he had chakra of his own. They were linked by something more than opposition.
But now, Meruem could see it went farther than Hinata. The connection they'd established went beyond, to Hinata's family, her children and her husband. She couldn't be separated from them, even by the gulf between worlds. And now, here was Naruto again, through this mysterious man. The connection grew stronger.
Another king, Meruem realized. That was what this was. That was why fate, or destiny, or cosmic chance had pushed them into a collision course, like gravity drawing two titans towards one another. Naruto was a king who had inspired his wife to risk her life for people she barely knew, who'd helped her become someone brave enough to come before him alone and resist him in the heart of his power, could command someone like Sasuke who had ripped through his Royal Guard without care or difficulty.
Naruto was a king who, maybe, in some small way, might have met more success than him, at least in the quality of his subordinates. It couldn't be a coincidence that two of the most powerful humans in existence were related to the Fire Shadow. Which meant that it was perfect, really, that this connection had been forged now. So long as there was somebody out there like Naruto Uzumaki, Meruem wouldn't be able to claim absolute supremacy. He'd have a potential challenger.
He'd have to smother that possibility immediately.
He let his chakra sprawl again, and Sasuke sighed. The Uchiha's chakra pushed back. The man understood Meruem's decision. Violence could be the only option.
Meruem considered as Sasuke prepared to attack. It was remarkable that he could feel the impulse forming so clearly through their link. Hinata had been forced to slam herself shut before assaulting him, but Sasuke showed no such hesitation. As they were now, striking each other would be like striking themselves, but the man didn't care. It was like he had no regard for himself.
That was completely it. Despite his power, Sasuke didn't hold himself in any regard. The feeling, something Meruem could only interrupt as a vast crushing vacuum, came over him like a tidal wave. It was completely alien: the King flinched. Something had gone out of the human alongside his arm, he decided. He'd been broken and rendered lesser. It only made his victory surer.
Less than a hundredth of a second had passed. In another hundredth, the room would surely explode. Their chakra was already cracking the walls.
Naruto was the one who changed me, Sasuke thought, and Meruem felt the words in his heart. For the better. But it seems you'll never understand that. You'll never understand that feeling of-
Fear? Disdain? Hatred? Resentment? Greed? Guilt? Resignation?
Wrong. All wrong.
Gratitude.
Meruem froze, or rather, the impulse that was about to send his tail rocketing forward as a deadly spear fizzled and died halfway down his spine. The feeling trapped Sasuke in limbo as well, both of them paralyzed by the King's chakra.
Gratitude?
Gratitude… gratitude for being ground down into a servant? Being grateful for being made so weak, so pathetic that he'd jump like a dog for a single man?
Gratitude for being given a chance to learn from his mistakes.
Meruem was twitching. He had never dreamed of anger on behalf of anyone other than Komugi or himself, but now, Sasuke's chakra had driven him into a frenzy. Now, just killing Sasuke and Hinata wouldn't be enough for him. How could it be? This man had been transformed into a slave. Who was to say that the same couldn't happen to him?
You really don't get it. Maybe you can't.
They were finally fully connected; for some reason, Sasuke had embraced his chakra. Their souls were twined together now, a cord with two strings. It was his last chance at resolving the situation. This is Naruto's world; I'm just lucky enough to live in it.
Meruem stared into the shinobi's mismatched eyes, a cold determination in his chest.
The only way he could grow was by overcoming. Like a fire, consuming anything that wasn't itself. But Meurem wasn't a fire. He was the King. He had to be more than that: a sun.
If he didn't kill Naruto now, consume him, metaphorically and literally, he'd die. Meruem, watching his own situation with shock and awe, found himself looking upon a fundamental physical law of the universe. The strong and stable system survived and propagated; the uncertain and unstable system fell to pieces and ceased to be. A fire could flicker and die: a sun had consumed enough to become stable and immortal.
He needed Naruto here, now. He had to seize this feeling and turn it into a weapon, let it sharpen his chakra into something keen enough to destroy another King. Meruem was utterly certain that if he let this feeling fade, he'd lose the edge he needed. He needed to kill the man right away, to slay every one of his fears in a single stroke, and settle the matter of his superiority permanently.
His chakra receded, transforming into a small vibrant bubble around him and Sasuke. The Uchiha watched him, eyes narrow. He hadn't attacked. He'd been processing Meruem's feelings, absorbing them just as Meruem had his.
Slowly.
Very, very slowly, Meruem reached out with his right hand. Sasuke watched it come with apparent caution, but didn't move away. Their souls were still overlapping. The King's hand settled on the shinobi's shoulder, squeezing firmly, but not enough to hurt. It was the first time he'd touched anyone other than Komugi without malice.
"I'd ask something of you," Meruem said, and Sasuke cocked his head. Chakra crackled down the King's arm, bright and loud as lightning. It surged through the shinobi's body, and the man took it without resistance. They were practically a single person now, and nothing was a secret from the other.
Sasuke was laughing. The King could hear it in his head; a quiet, amused chuckle. Maybe this was exactly what he had been desiring since he'd replaced Komugi. Meruem knew the man had been pulling him towards a particular conclusion with his words and with his chakra.
But that had been Sasuke's mistake. The King's certainty was absolute now, and Sasuke's silent laughter dried up in the face of it.
"Take my chakra." The Uchiha was filling up now, like a reservoir in the rain. It was only a small fraction of the King's energy. It would be restored within five minutes, maybe more with exertion. "And go. Fetch Naruto Uzumaki." Meruem smiled, tombstone teeth bright in his mind through the connection with Sasuke.
"Please."
There wasn't an acknowledgement. The connection broke like a bone snapping, and Sasuke rose to his feet. Meruem's hand dropped to his side, and he regarded to shinobi from his seated position. Sasuke looked down at him, expression unreadable, and then stepped backwards into nothing.
The man evaporated, and for the first time in weeks Meruem was completely alone. He sat back, and savored the silence before the storm.
###
Hinata couldn't believe what she'd seen.
"It's over."
Netero stirred, looking back at her over his shoulder. The man had taken a seat, cross-legged and staring intently at the palace. "The King's dead?" He sounded almost disappointed. "Already?"
"Not yet," Hinata said softly. There was a warmth spreading in her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe, but it wasn't a harsh feeling. "Sasuke… I don't know how he did it, but somehow he tricked the King."
"Tricked?" Gaara asked.
"He..." Hinata couldn't wrap her head around it. She had only seen the interplay of chakra between the Uchiha and the Ant, not what it carried. That had been beyond her eyes. "The King gave Sasuke his chakra. He sent him to bring Naruto."
Gaara laughed. "Impossible," he said. "Why would he?"
"I don't know. They weren't talking. It was all… all their chakra." Had there been a genjutsu? If so, it had been too subtle for even Hinata to detect. Maybe that wasn't beyond Sasuke. "But Sasuke's gone now. And the King is waiting."
"Hmmph." Netero stroked his chin. "Interesting."
Hinata could barely pay him any mind. Her heart was speeding up, her chest trembling.
Naruto was coming. Naruto was coming. Her husband was coming. He could fix this. Maybe he was the only one who could. Sasuke could have just killed the King, but would that have been enough for her? She didn't know.
But if Naruto came here. That would be enough for her. That would be enough to make her right. She needed her husband. It had been seventy days without him. She needed him in her arms; his warmth, his smile, his certainty, his laugh, and even his strength.
Naruto could kill the King, and then he could make everything right. He always had before.
"It's over," Hinata repeated, and there was nothing truer in the world.
###
It took all the courage Pitou had to present herself to the King. She was sure the other Guards felt the same, even Youpi. They had been unable to even slow down the intruder; they hadn't even been able to enter the game room thanks to the force of his and the King's chakra. It had pushed them away like an impenetrable wall until it had vanished without warning. When they had entered, they'd expected to find the shinobi's body, or at least the King finishing an impromptu meal.
But instead, they'd just found the King of the Chimera Ants pondering a half finished game of Gungi with a distant expression.
"Your majesty," Pouf said, dropping to one knee. "Congratulations on your victory."
The King's eyes flicked towards Shaiapouf, and the Ant flinched back at their chill. "I didn't defeat him," he said, and the phantom pain in Pitou's missing arm flared. "I sent him to collect his master."
"What?" Youpi asked, stepping forward. "What do you-"
The King's chakra struck him square across the face, a solid and coruscating energy, and Youpi stopped in his tracks. The Guard didn't make a show of obedience or even react to the blow; he just froze, his head tilted slightly from the blow. The King grunted.
"I came to a realization," the King said, and Pitou felt a chill run from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. "Actually, two realizations, I suppose." He stood up, entire body coiled into limitless potential violence. The Guards stayed silent, recognizing the threat washing over them. "The first was that there are people out there that could challenge me. Naturally, they need to be taken care of immediately."
"Your majesty-!" Pouf began to say, and then gagged on his own words as the King's malice smashed him flat. Tiny copies of himself began to squirm out of his skin as his whole body distended, desperate to escape the pressure.
"The second," their King said, his eyes closed, "was that I have been cursed with truly worthless subordinates."
No one in the room said a thing. Youpi's head hadn't returned to its original position. Neferpitou felt her soul collapsing in on itself. If she didn't step forward, say something, she might die right there. After all, the King had just said they didn't need to exist. Or rather, shouldn't have existed in the first place.
"Sir." That was too casual, Pitou thought, but in the face of what the King had said she had a hard time caring about that. "We couldn't stop him. But that doesn't mean we couldn't be of use. When they return, we could-"
"Die? Blind them with your blood?" the King spat.
"Yes," Pitou said with complete conviction. "If that was all we could manage, we'd do it in an instant. That's why we were born."
"You don't understand, Neferpitou." The King began pacing. "He came here, to this room. He took Komugi, without me being able to do anything. If he'd wanted to, he could have killed her in an instant. There was nothing I could have done." He stopped, pinning her with his stare. There was a desperation in him that Neferpitou never could have dreamed of. Shaiapouf was already weeping, but Pitou only felt a deep and existential despair. She wanted to cry, but that wouldn't encompass the feeling.
"Could you understand?" the King asked. "Could you understand what that would mean?" His words dug into her like swords. Even the high explosives that had taken her arm and eye couldn't compare to the pain the King was causing her. "Even if I died myself, could a worthless little creature like you comprehend what losing the only equal I've ever met would mean to me?"
Neferpitou's world was shrinking down into the pinprick of purple light that was the King's eyes. She was trapped in an event horizon, crushing her down into a single molecule. No matter how small she got, she wouldn't be able to escape the King's contempt.
"Do you seriously think anything you could offer, your blood, your life, could compare to that?" The King snarled. "This is what I'm talking about. You, and this lunk, and that wretch, you're all so petty. How could I be guarded by something that doesn't even know what to guard?"
He turned his back on them, and the pressure of his eyes lifted. Pitou could breathe again, even if she didn't want to. "Stay if you want to die for nothing, and run if you don't. You've failed me on every level." He crossed his arms, fingers digging deeply into his own skin. "You're all even worse than that fool. Weakness grew fear in you instead of gratitude. At least one could have inspired some introspection."
"Meruem-" Shaiapouf sobbed the King's real name, and the Ant snapped, his chakra flexing.
"Leave," he hissed, and the compulsion drove them from the room in a blind panic. They only regained their sanity when they were almost out of the main building, over a hundred meters from the King.
Youpi was the last, silently lumbering. The moment they were clear of the King's anger, he sat down, leaning forward and putting his chin in his hand. Though Pitou wasn't sure it was possible, her fellow Guard looked deep in thought.
She couldn't imagine how he could bear to think. The moment Pitou considered the situation, she broke. She felt it clearly, like her organs had begun to shut down.
Neferpitou, firstborn of the Royal Guard, had been thrown away like a piece of garbage. She and the others were now just living detritus, without anyone to serve and without purpose in a world that wanted them dead. In that moment, there was nothing stopping Pitou from simply lying down and letting it get its way. She was sure that if she recalled the King's disdain, the hate in his words, she could will herself to die here and now, and at least serve him in some way.
Maybe that was for the best.
"Oh…" Shaiapouf was shaking, and Neferpitou glanced at him. He must have been thinking the same thing, she thought. If they both died here and now, maybe that would bring the King a tiny piece of satisfaction. That was all they could be good for now.
"Ohhhhh…" the Royal Guard rattled. Pouf turned towards her, his eyes darting in every direction. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" His shaking intensified, his whole body trembling and vibrating, every cell squirming and trying to escape.
"Pouf?" Pitou asked, unsure if it was worth talking. Was a waste of matter like her even worthy of speech anymore? "Shaiapouf?"
###
The Royal Guard Shaiapouf was searching for a way out.
'Shaiapouf is the only one I can rely on now.'
Those words, which had melted his heart and provided the bedrock of his existence for the last several days, had been torn into so much bloody confetti. His body was rejecting reality, trying to split apart and escape the conflict. But there was nowhere he could go now, surely.
Now that the King had rejected him, Shaiapouf had no place, no master, no purpose, and no excuse for existing. Maybe his cells weren't trying to escape, he thought. Perhaps his body thought that it could split itself, smaller and smaller, until consciousness became impossible and he was rendered nothing more than dust in the wind. Dust, which was what he'd always been, dust, dust, nothing but dust and disappointment-
He was screaming, Shaiapouf realized. How long had he been screaming. It didn't really matter. Neferpitou was watching him, paralyzed. Menthuthuyoupi was, as ever, doing nothing.
The King's words had been shredded, and were being replaced by another. Shaiapouf could see them being spoken quite clearly, an old man's bushy mustache twitching with disgust.
'If the other Royal Guard are quite as cowardly as you, then this will be easy.'
That was it, he realized.
This wasn't Shaiapouf's fault. How could it be, when he was the only one that the King could rely on?
Neferpitou. Menthuthuyoupi. Youpi had struck down Pitou when that shinobi had pulled his trick, and he'd fled from Peijing when everything had been on the line. And Pitou, Pitou was even more despicable. Hunting the Watcher and failing at every turn, so useless as to be crippled now.
And, looking at her, the Guard bore a strange resemblance to the shinobi who had knocked them away like errant children. Shaiapouf could still feel the burn of the man's electricity. But he was gone now, and only the King remained. The human was coming back, of course, but what did that matter in the meantime.
He understood. Pouf understood. This was a test. It had to be. The King relied on him. It was impossible that He would throw him away for something as ridiculous as failing to defend a human. A human? A worthless, blind little girl? It was absurd. It had to be a test.
'If the other Royal Guard are quite as cowardly as you-
-Shaiapouf is the only one I can rely on now.'
Ah.
Shaiapouf stopped screaming. It made perfect sense now. He had to focus. There was only one way to pass this test.
The mass of his body that had been scattered by his fight with the old Hunter in the dimensional space was nearly back in East Gorteau, he was sure. He'd been studying maps of the small continent, doing his best to guide his disparate self. Perhaps it would arrive just in time for him to pass his test. Wouldn't that be perfect? Then, there would be no chance of the King ever knowing of his failure. He could return in every aspect.
He walked forward.
"Shaiapouf?" Neferpitou asked. "What are you doing?"
He glanced back at the little creature, feeling a distinct pity. Of course, Neferpitou was too stupid to figure out the King's intention. Her brain had been rattled by the human explosives: her body was too solid for its own good, and her mind followed suit, without an ounce of flexibility or intuition.
Shaiapouf struck out, right hand formed into a claw, and tore half of Youpi's jaw off. The Royal Guard didn't flinch. His hand didn't even shift from his chin as Pouf began tearing into his side, ripping off great hunks of bleeding flesh and tossing them in every direction. Pitou's eyes widened and she stumbled forward, raising a hand in shock.
She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the only way to show the King they understood was to be the only one standing.
That was why he was going to be the one to return to the King's side, and not her. After all, if the King didn't take him back, then Shaiapouf was cease to exist.
###
About forty percent of Youpi's body had been destroyed when he decided to leave.
Shaiapouf was trying to kill him, he realized, but he wasn't having much luck. The Royal Guard didn't have any advanced Nen techniques for offense beyond Ken, and that wasn't sufficient to kill Youpi. He was losing mass, but it could be easily regained with a thought. However, he was too consumed with other thoughts to bother.
He was faced with an interesting problem. When the King had struck him in the face with his chakra, it had perfectly communicated his monarch's intentions. Youpi had immediately understood down to the roots of his soul that the King would never forgive them. When had the little human, Komugi, whose name was now permanently etched in his mind, become more important to the King than his own well-being?
Hmm. Did the King even realize that? He must have, but his chakra hadn't betrayed that. Maybe there was only so much that could be communicated in a punch.
The King…
No, Mereum. There was a divide between the two that Youpi couldn't describe but could understand. Meruem had thrown away his Guards, and in doing so he'd also given up on the other Ants. Youpi had felt that too. It had left him completely paralyzed. The Royal Guards, the Ants, they were like a limb cut away now. There was nothing to guide them, and they weren't of much use to anyone now other than as a club, or maybe a mantelpiece.
But that wasn't entirely true, was it? Youpi had learned in Piejing that the Royal Guard were a little more than just limbs. They were extensions of the King; they could act in his place, speak for him, command for him, protect and guide what he couldn't.
That was the thought that made Youpi lumber to his feet. He ignored as Shaiapouf chased after him, tearing more flesh from his rear. The attack ended as suddenly as it began; Neferpitou charged in, knocking the Royal Guard away, screaming and wrestling him to the ground before he split into thousands of parts.
Menthuthuyoupi ignored them. Whether they killed each other was none of his concern. Pitou was the first-born; she could take care of herself. Whatever madness had afflicted Shaiapouf would doubtlessly burn out. Most likely, Meruem would kill him if he tried to return to His side. He had different and more immediate priorities.
The rank and file of the Ants had scattered in the wake of the shinobi's incursion. Even if Meruem had given up on them, they were still the King's subjects, and deserved direction and protection.
If Youpi couldn't keep his monarch safe, the least he could do was extend an aegis over his subjects.
There were more humans coming. One powerful enough to command someone like the man who had casually torn through them without bothering to kill them, powerful enough for Meruem to consider him a direct threat. When they inevitably came to blows, surely nothing around them would survive. He had to collect the other Ants, and get them out of the blast range. What came after that was entirely immaterial. At the moment, physical safety was all that mattered.
Youpi started running.
###
Komugi sat still, trembling. She didn't know where she was, or how she'd gotten there. Nothing in the past ten minutes had made any sense. She'd been immersed in a game of Gungi with the Supreme Leader, and then without warning had been somewhere else, standing, with another Leader in front of her. He'd taken her by the arm and led her somewhere, commanded her to stay still, to stay quiet, and promised he'd return.
He hadn't come back.
She didn't have her walking stick. Even if she had, she was sure she was too confused and too frightened to find her way back to the room with the Gungi table, her one bit of stability in the palace aside from her bedroom. The path between those two, she knew by heart, but the rest, she wouldn't have a chance.
Her ears, begging for anything to bring relief, finally pricked at something. It was a soft, inhuman tread. Somehow, she knew who it was right away.
A door creaked open, and the Supreme Leader entered. Komugi knew right away that something had changed. She could sense his anger, and more than that, his fear. She'd never dreamed of that coming from him.
"Supreme Leader," she whispered. "What happened?"
He paused, standing over her. She could feel his shadow. It had weight.
"It's hard to explain," he eventually said. "But you're safe now." He shifted. "You'll always be safe."
Komugi didn't feel safe. She shivered. "Can we resume our game?" she asked. She hated the sound of her own voice. Tremulous, stuffy. She wished she could sound as sure and brave as him.
Another pause. Komugi waited in the dark.
"You know, all this time, all those games," the Supreme Leader said, "and you never asked my name."
She hadn't expected that. Komugi lowered her head. "It wasn't mine to know," she said. "You are the Supreme Leader. That matters much more than your name."
He didn't like that, Komugi instantly knew, but it wasn't a mistake on her part. Just a misunderstanding.
"That may be true," the Supreme Leader said. He wasn't human. She'd known that for some time now, though she would never be sure of exactly when she'd realized it. What did it matter? He wasn't cruel to her, and he pushed her to be better, which was more than she could say of most other people. "But nonetheless… I'd still like you to know it."
"Why?" She wished she could leap to her feet, or at least see his face. Something had changed, and because of her blindness she was clueless as to what.
He didn't answer her. "Meruem," he said, and Komugi marveled at the name. It had a beautiful symmetry, like a perfectly arrayed board balanced in black and white. "Komugi, I don't want only my enemies knowing my name. Do you understand?"
She didn't, but she nodded anyway. But instead of comforting her, or agreeing with her, or anything that she wished for…
Meruem stepped back.
"Komugi," he said again, and hearing her name in his voice made her shiver. "You have to leave."
"What?" she cried, trying to scramble up. Her legs were weak, but she made it nonetheless. She hadn't slept in at least a day, she suddenly realized. "Why?!"
"Some of my enemies are coming, by my invitation," Meruem said, and she felt her heart scrunch up in her chest. "Once I'm done with them, we can finish our game."
That wasn't true, she thought. Komugi was suddenly entirely sure that if she left, she'd never see Meruem again.
"I won't!" she said. She didn't want to sound like a child, but that was what came out. "I won't leave you! I can't!"
"You have to. I'll make a clone to-"
"I won't! Supreme Leader-"
"Meruem!" he barked, and she wilted back. The name felt like a slap in the face.
"Meruem," she said back, trying to fight back tears. It felt good to say his name, even if it had just hurt her. "Please. If I leave, I won't-"
"You'll see me again." His voice was absolute. "You're the only one who's allowed to defeat me."
"That's not how things work!" she said. "If I can beat you, that means someone else can!" She was crying now, her throat clogged with phlegm. "Please-"
"QUIET!" Meruem roared, and his aura seized her like a straightjacket. "You have to leave! Now! It's the only way you'll be safe! Don't you understand?!" His voice was almost as thick as hers. "If you stay, I can't protect you!"
Komugi tried to move, to face him, maybe even to slap him, but she was completely rooted in place. As though she was being tugged by invisible strings, her legs began moving on their own, marching her out of the room, following a path she hadn't picked.
She realized what was happening.
"NO!" She screamed back. She couldn't control anything below her neck, but her mouth was still hers. Meruem had refused to take that. She was truly weeping now, so hard her whole body was shaking. "You promised! You promised!" Her hand opened the door without her consent, and Komugi kept screaming.
"YOU PROMISED! MEREUM!"
She was screaming for a long time as her body moved without her control along a track she couldn't perceive. Corridors, stairs, tile, stone, and eventually grass all passed under her without distinction. Even after she'd left the palace, she kept shouting in denial.
Meruem's chakra carried her, screaming and weeping the whole way, to safety.
###
Afterwards, with Komugi's screams still ringing in his ears, the King returned to the abandoned Gungi board. He sat down by it, and regarded the half-finished game with empty eyes.
He would have lost this one too. It only took him a minute or so to see that. Komugi still held an absolute advantage over him. One that Meruem had to admit extended beyond Gungi as he shifted one piece between possible moves with a shaking hand.
His chest hurt.
He waited like that for some time. Five, perhaps six minutes. He wasn't counting the seconds religiously. Instead, he was trying to calm and center himself. He had to call up the passion of a sun, the thing he'd felt before, and shape it into a peerless sword. That was his only path to victory.
So Meruem did just that, sitting as still as a statue and watching the board with eyes that were somewhere else entirely. He would consume. He had to consume. That was his nature.
'You promised.'
He struggled to overcome those words. And then, when he failed, he struggled to avoid them. How could he reconcile his fate as King, and his fate in meeting Komugi? There was a paradox there that he could not fully understand, and it gnawed at him and his sword.
If he let it chew too much, he was sure he would die. But if he threw it away, a part of him would die instead. Even though the whole was obviously more important than the part, leader against subjects, soul against body, the King against Meruem…
He couldn't discard it. He couldn't bring himself to do it.
That was fine. Let the sword be a little jagged, a little worn then. Wouldn't that only make it's bite more bitter? He could use that. He could use fighting for Komugi and his supremacy. He could make them one and the same, if he tried. He was sure of it.
Far too soon, the moment came. A hole in the world opened up, like a great eye, and two men stepped out of it, precisely from where Sasuke had departed. The first one was Sasuke, who led with a confident step out of the unknown void.
The second, Meruem had never met. Nonetheless, he recognized him instantly from what he'd gleaned from other's hearts.
Naruto Uzumaki was even brighter in life than he was in memory, and it seemed that he took in the entirety of Meruem in a single glance. The blond man, more than a foot taller than him, cocked an eyebrow.
"So," he asked, his voice rough and curious. "You're Meruem?"
There was no more time for thought.
With consideration for nothing but the present, Meruem attacked.
Myrmidon Chapter 31
In The Shadow of Fire
Meruem wasn't sure how to approach the situation.
"I'll make this simple." Sasuke Uchiha leaned back, his posture rigid and his hand settling on his right knee. He looked as though he were having a drink with a new acquaintance instead of face to face with the King of the Chimera Ants. The human frowned. "At this point, there's not much room for terms. You can either surrender, or die."
The King laughed. He wasn't sure there could be another response. "I'm not sure you understand what's happening here." Sasuke smiled. The King felt a flash of anger at the benign look. 'It's you who don't understand,' he thought. 'Is that what he's thinking?'
The human's movement of Komugi had put him instantly on edge. Meruem couldn't take his mind off his companion. What if the man had swapped himself with him instead of her, and taken her head off with his sword before Meruem had understood what had happened? He was utterly certain the shinobi was capable of it; not just physically, but at heart. Hinata Uzumaki had, after a deadly moment, relented. Sasuke Uchiha would not.
How could he keep her safe from someone like this?
"It seems somewhat familiar," Sasuke said. "From what I've been told, you're building an army." He looked Meruem in the eye, refusing to break contact. It was unnerving. "Not unusual for kings."
"Oh?" Meruem said. He was searching for a way out. No, that wasn't it. He was the King. It wasn't his path to wriggle out of situations like a worm. He was the culmination of his species. He surmounted and demolished obstacles. He did not avoid them: he met them! That was why he was still playing Komugi, until he could win. What kind of monarch would simply concede defeat and seek victory from another direction? Only a coward would bother.
The King smiled, feeling a deep determination permeate his whole body, and the man watched him with a stone face. He'd grown from Komugi. He'd grown from Hinata. He'd grown from his proxy's battle in Peiing; his clone had been destroyed in the end, but it was only during true adversity that it had developed and become more powerful. Struggle was a source of strength, and was a rare resource for someone like him.
This would be just the same. This was one more challenge for him to overcome and use as fuel for growth. When everything was done, he'd probably wish to thank Sasuke the same way he had Komugi and Hinata.
"Yes," Sasuke said, apparently happy to make small talk for the moment. "Without the power to project their will, a king is just a useless title. With the state of your Ants, it's no wonder you'd seek an army."
One of Meruem's hands curled into a fist. "Perhaps you think you can buy a surrender with a lecture."
Sasuke looked unimpressed, but didn't speak. Meruem considered. He couldn't just deny the surrender outright immediately, not until Komugi had gained some distance. His clone was escorting her away already; it would only be another couple minutes. Then, he could figure out how to kill this human.
"That's not the right way," Sasuke said, and Meruem twitched.
'What?'
Their chakra had begun to mingle, he realized. That was only natural. But where he and Hinata had forged a lightning connection that had almost drowned them both, Sasuke's soul stayed at a distance; if Meruem had to make an analogy, it was like the Uchiha's chakra simply brushed his, just enough to maintain the link. It was a cynical and paranoid extension of the man's aura, perfect for a situation where neither trusted the other.
It was like the human had experience with unwelcome Ninshu. He'd used it to silently read the King's intent and give nothing of his own.
"You could try to kill me," Sasuke said in the tone of a patient parent. Meruem began reaching out more aggressively, trying to invade the shinobi with his chakra. The man didn't openly resist, but what Meruem found wasn't of much help.
Determination. Certainty.
Dull anger.
"But it would be difficult."
Meruem felt a flash of sensation. Flight: overwhelming heat and pressure. He reached out, a phantom sensation, and before him a flying mountain exploded in a wash of thunderous energy. A memory, or a metaphor? He couldn't be sure either way.
However, the feeling it imparted was absolute.
"I'm offering surrender for your benefit," Sasuke said. "Not mine, and certainly none of my allies. They all insisted I kill you immediately, which I'm sure isn't a surprise to you."
"Then why are you bothering?" Meruem asked, and he found that his curiosity was legitimate. This human was bizarre, and strong. He was worth learning at least a little more about before he died.
"A fight would be complicated," Sasuke said. "If you would surrender, that would be the simplest resolution."
Just like that, Meruem was sure that no matter how intimidating his aura was, this man was weaker than him. Anyone who avoided conflict inevitably would be. He had a little more room to maneuver now. When it came to a fight, he could certainly protect Komugi.
"It's useless to ask for my surrender like that," Meruem said, leaning back and crossing his arms. "Why would I bother, when our positions are not equal? I would have to be a fool to concede without even being in check."
"You won't reconsider?" Sasuke asked, and Meruem laughed.
"Consider it as this, then," he said, leaning forward. "Reality isn't like a game, where any piece can put another in check. In the real world, only another King can dictate terms to a weaker one." And sneered. "And you are no King. I learned that much from Hinata. From what I saw in her, you're a glorified retainer. And you carry yourself like one." Perhaps even looked like one, Meruem thought, though he didn't share the thought. Sasuke and Neferpitou were strange mirrors of one another thanks to the injuries his Guard had sustained in Peijing.
"If I would even consider surrender," Meruem finished, feeling somewhat satisfied with his rebuttal, "it would have to be a demand coming from a real king, not a cripple sent in his stead."
"That's naive," Sasuke said, and Meruem twitched. "Oftentimes, a leader can't go themselves. They have to act through proxies." He narrowed his eyes. "If you couldn't accept the words from me, you wouldn't be able to accept them at all. Acting otherwise is just making excuses."
"You seem presumptuous for a cripple," Meruem said, doing his best to stay calm. He was interested to see if he could get Sasuke to throw the first punch. It would be amusing for the man to be forced to give up on a peaceful solution. "Perhaps your king was simply unwilling to come." The memory came back to him, reinforced by Sasuke's own thoughts. "Hinata's husband, wasn't it? The Fire Shadow. He's not willing to defend his own wife?"
Sasuke sighed. "If Naruto were here…" he paused, and then chuckled. "He doesn't have my patience. Things would already be resolved."
Meruem felt the fulcrum start to tip towards violence, and tensed his whole body, chakra coursing through him. His first strike would be with his tail; it was his most flexible limb. He was sure he could shoot lightning from it, if he concentrated. Even if the initial blow missed or was turned aside, he could paralyze Sasuke with the follow-up.
"It's a shame he's not here, then," he said with a smile. "Perhaps my time wouldn't have been wasted."
He was sure that would have led to the first blow. Meruem's heart thrummed, prepared for an actual battle.
But instead, it had the opposite effect. Sasuke relaxed. He leaned back, propping himself on one arm, totally unguarded. It didn't make any sense. Meruem was forced to search his opponent's aura instead of his own assumptions, but even that didn't satisfy his curiosity.
"He couldn't be," Sasuke said. "I came in too much of a hurry."
"Desperate to rescue your allies?" Meruem laughed, and Sasuke chuckled.
"Yes, of course," he said. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Meruem didn't have an answer for that. The man's sincerity infuriated him. Perhaps he should just attack now? No, that would be conceding. He was set on Sasuke throwing the first punch. It was the least amusement he could get from this irritating situation.
"Still, if he's too frightened to come here himself…"
The Uchiha grunted. "He couldn't come here without me, no matter how much he wanted to." He lowered his head. "And he very much did."
"Hmm?" Meruem looked at him askew, taking an active interest. "And why would that be? Chained to a desk?" He spat. "Or too fat to move, like so many human leaders?"
"There's no point in being rude," Sasuke said with a small, infuriating smile. "If you want me to attack first, that won't be enough."
He was still too open. Meruem tried to shut the gate on his soul, but found to his consternation that, like a muscle he'd never exercised, he couldn't quite figure out how. He could control what was pouring into the chakra link between them if he focused, but he couldn't dam it up entirely. What was wrong with him?
(Was he that desperate for an equal?)
"Naruto and my home are in another world," Sasuke said, and Meruem perked up at the concept. "There's a machine for moving from one to the other, but it's not working at the moment. I'm the only one who can travel from plane to plane without it, and I didn't have time to pick him up before I arrived here."
"A fascinating excuse," Meruem admitted. "So your tardiness kept him away from me."
"Yes," Sasuke said, but then his face fell. The shinobi's aura spike, pushing out a little more into the King's. Invading him, almost. How bizarre. Meruem felt it swirl through his chakra with a detached fascination. "You don't understand. She won't be able to go far enough."
Meruem's jaw tightened.
'Kill him,' he thought. 'This is going nowhere. Give up on the first blow. Just kill him.'
Meruem didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he was frightened.
"Last chance," Sasuke said. "I mean this sincerely. You don't seem to appreciate the problem." He tapped one finger on his knee; the extra pupils in his right eye slowly rotated. "If you and I came to blows, it doesn't matter how far Komugi is. She'll be in danger. Everyone in this country would be."
"Is that-" 'A threat?' the King wanted to ask, but he already knew it wasn't. There was too much honesty in the man's chakra. He really was just giving him fair warning. He could see it in his mind's eye; maybe it was Sasuke's own vision. The old Hunter had split Peijing in half with his Nen projection's final blow; Sasuke had more than enough aura to replicate that feat. What would Meruem be forced to do, in the face of that power? He'd have to meet it in kind.
Nothing around them would survive, even when Meruem won. Komugi, his Royal Guard, the rest of the Chimera and the humans they'd gathered, they'd all be swept away like dust in a storm.
And then, beyond that…
'Things would already be resolved.'
Sasuke's vision came from experience, Meruem realized. The story his chakra was telling was an old one. At the forefront of the shinobi's mind was the same man who'd constantly been present in Hinata's.
The King watched Sasuke's chakra, and pulled himself inward, as the Uchiha had. The world grew a little duller, a little quieter. Maybe this was the equivalent of Nen's Zetsu.
It was peaceful, even relaxing. For the first time in his life, Meruem wasn't connected with anything, not even Komugi. He felt like an electrical circuit that had been deactivated after months of activity. Still running hot, but finally still.
Now, without the Uchiha's chakra poking at him, he could think straight.
Fate was like a string you could not see or feel, Meruem thought, but it had an unmistakable presence nonetheless. Hinata Uzumaki had been a part of the King's life for as long as he'd had a consciousness; her eyes had been on him even in the womb, and he'd innately responded to that observation even before he had chakra of his own. They were linked by something more than opposition.
But now, Meruem could see it went farther than Hinata. The connection they'd established went beyond, to Hinata's family, her children and her husband. She couldn't be separated from them, even by the gulf between worlds. And now, here was Naruto again, through this mysterious man. The connection grew stronger.
Another king, Meruem realized. That was what this was. That was why fate, or destiny, or cosmic chance had pushed them into a collision course, like gravity drawing two titans towards one another. Naruto was a king who had inspired his wife to risk her life for people she barely knew, who'd helped her become someone brave enough to come before him alone and resist him in the heart of his power, could command someone like Sasuke who had ripped through his Royal Guard without care or difficulty.
Naruto was a king who, maybe, in some small way, might have met more success than him, at least in the quality of his subordinates. It couldn't be a coincidence that two of the most powerful humans in existence were related to the Fire Shadow. Which meant that it was perfect, really, that this connection had been forged now. So long as there was somebody out there like Naruto Uzumaki, Meruem wouldn't be able to claim absolute supremacy. He'd have a potential challenger.
He'd have to smother that possibility immediately.
He let his chakra sprawl again, and Sasuke sighed. The Uchiha's chakra pushed back. The man understood Meruem's decision. Violence could be the only option.
Meruem considered as Sasuke prepared to attack. It was remarkable that he could feel the impulse forming so clearly through their link. Hinata had been forced to slam herself shut before assaulting him, but Sasuke showed no such hesitation. As they were now, striking each other would be like striking themselves, but the man didn't care. It was like he had no regard for himself.
That was completely it. Despite his power, Sasuke didn't hold himself in any regard. The feeling, something Meruem could only interrupt as a vast crushing vacuum, came over him like a tidal wave. It was completely alien: the King flinched. Something had gone out of the human alongside his arm, he decided. He'd been broken and rendered lesser. It only made his victory surer.
Less than a hundredth of a second had passed. In another hundredth, the room would surely explode. Their chakra was already cracking the walls.
Naruto was the one who changed me, Sasuke thought, and Meruem felt the words in his heart. For the better. But it seems you'll never understand that. You'll never understand that feeling of-
Fear? Disdain? Hatred? Resentment? Greed? Guilt? Resignation?
Wrong. All wrong.
Gratitude.
Meruem froze, or rather, the impulse that was about to send his tail rocketing forward as a deadly spear fizzled and died halfway down his spine. The feeling trapped Sasuke in limbo as well, both of them paralyzed by the King's chakra.
Gratitude?
Gratitude… gratitude for being ground down into a servant? Being grateful for being made so weak, so pathetic that he'd jump like a dog for a single man?
Gratitude for being given a chance to learn from his mistakes.
Meruem was twitching. He had never dreamed of anger on behalf of anyone other than Komugi or himself, but now, Sasuke's chakra had driven him into a frenzy. Now, just killing Sasuke and Hinata wouldn't be enough for him. How could it be? This man had been transformed into a slave. Who was to say that the same couldn't happen to him?
You really don't get it. Maybe you can't.
They were finally fully connected; for some reason, Sasuke had embraced his chakra. Their souls were twined together now, a cord with two strings. It was his last chance at resolving the situation. This is Naruto's world; I'm just lucky enough to live in it.
Meruem stared into the shinobi's mismatched eyes, a cold determination in his chest.
The only way he could grow was by overcoming. Like a fire, consuming anything that wasn't itself. But Meurem wasn't a fire. He was the King. He had to be more than that: a sun.
If he didn't kill Naruto now, consume him, metaphorically and literally, he'd die. Meruem, watching his own situation with shock and awe, found himself looking upon a fundamental physical law of the universe. The strong and stable system survived and propagated; the uncertain and unstable system fell to pieces and ceased to be. A fire could flicker and die: a sun had consumed enough to become stable and immortal.
He needed Naruto here, now. He had to seize this feeling and turn it into a weapon, let it sharpen his chakra into something keen enough to destroy another King. Meruem was utterly certain that if he let this feeling fade, he'd lose the edge he needed. He needed to kill the man right away, to slay every one of his fears in a single stroke, and settle the matter of his superiority permanently.
His chakra receded, transforming into a small vibrant bubble around him and Sasuke. The Uchiha watched him, eyes narrow. He hadn't attacked. He'd been processing Meruem's feelings, absorbing them just as Meruem had his.
Slowly.
Very, very slowly, Meruem reached out with his right hand. Sasuke watched it come with apparent caution, but didn't move away. Their souls were still overlapping. The King's hand settled on the shinobi's shoulder, squeezing firmly, but not enough to hurt. It was the first time he'd touched anyone other than Komugi without malice.
"I'd ask something of you," Meruem said, and Sasuke cocked his head. Chakra crackled down the King's arm, bright and loud as lightning. It surged through the shinobi's body, and the man took it without resistance. They were practically a single person now, and nothing was a secret from the other.
Sasuke was laughing. The King could hear it in his head; a quiet, amused chuckle. Maybe this was exactly what he had been desiring since he'd replaced Komugi. Meruem knew the man had been pulling him towards a particular conclusion with his words and with his chakra.
But that had been Sasuke's mistake. The King's certainty was absolute now, and Sasuke's silent laughter dried up in the face of it.
"Take my chakra." The Uchiha was filling up now, like a reservoir in the rain. It was only a small fraction of the King's energy. It would be restored within five minutes, maybe more with exertion. "And go. Fetch Naruto Uzumaki." Meruem smiled, tombstone teeth bright in his mind through the connection with Sasuke.
"Please."
There wasn't an acknowledgement. The connection broke like a bone snapping, and Sasuke rose to his feet. Meruem's hand dropped to his side, and he regarded to shinobi from his seated position. Sasuke looked down at him, expression unreadable, and then stepped backwards into nothing.
The man evaporated, and for the first time in weeks Meruem was completely alone. He sat back, and savored the silence before the storm.
###
Hinata couldn't believe what she'd seen.
"It's over."
Netero stirred, looking back at her over his shoulder. The man had taken a seat, cross-legged and staring intently at the palace. "The King's dead?" He sounded almost disappointed. "Already?"
"Not yet," Hinata said softly. There was a warmth spreading in her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe, but it wasn't a harsh feeling. "Sasuke… I don't know how he did it, but somehow he tricked the King."
"Tricked?" Gaara asked.
"He..." Hinata couldn't wrap her head around it. She had only seen the interplay of chakra between the Uchiha and the Ant, not what it carried. That had been beyond her eyes. "The King gave Sasuke his chakra. He sent him to bring Naruto."
Gaara laughed. "Impossible," he said. "Why would he?"
"I don't know. They weren't talking. It was all… all their chakra." Had there been a genjutsu? If so, it had been too subtle for even Hinata to detect. Maybe that wasn't beyond Sasuke. "But Sasuke's gone now. And the King is waiting."
"Hmmph." Netero stroked his chin. "Interesting."
Hinata could barely pay him any mind. Her heart was speeding up, her chest trembling.
Naruto was coming. Naruto was coming. Her husband was coming. He could fix this. Maybe he was the only one who could. Sasuke could have just killed the King, but would that have been enough for her? She didn't know.
But if Naruto came here. That would be enough for her. That would be enough to make her right. She needed her husband. It had been seventy days without him. She needed him in her arms; his warmth, his smile, his certainty, his laugh, and even his strength.
Naruto could kill the King, and then he could make everything right. He always had before.
"It's over," Hinata repeated, and there was nothing truer in the world.
###
It took all the courage Pitou had to present herself to the King. She was sure the other Guards felt the same, even Youpi. They had been unable to even slow down the intruder; they hadn't even been able to enter the game room thanks to the force of his and the King's chakra. It had pushed them away like an impenetrable wall until it had vanished without warning. When they had entered, they'd expected to find the shinobi's body, or at least the King finishing an impromptu meal.
But instead, they'd just found the King of the Chimera Ants pondering a half finished game of Gungi with a distant expression.
"Your majesty," Pouf said, dropping to one knee. "Congratulations on your victory."
The King's eyes flicked towards Shaiapouf, and the Ant flinched back at their chill. "I didn't defeat him," he said, and the phantom pain in Pitou's missing arm flared. "I sent him to collect his master."
"What?" Youpi asked, stepping forward. "What do you-"
The King's chakra struck him square across the face, a solid and coruscating energy, and Youpi stopped in his tracks. The Guard didn't make a show of obedience or even react to the blow; he just froze, his head tilted slightly from the blow. The King grunted.
"I came to a realization," the King said, and Pitou felt a chill run from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. "Actually, two realizations, I suppose." He stood up, entire body coiled into limitless potential violence. The Guards stayed silent, recognizing the threat washing over them. "The first was that there are people out there that could challenge me. Naturally, they need to be taken care of immediately."
"Your majesty-!" Pouf began to say, and then gagged on his own words as the King's malice smashed him flat. Tiny copies of himself began to squirm out of his skin as his whole body distended, desperate to escape the pressure.
"The second," their King said, his eyes closed, "was that I have been cursed with truly worthless subordinates."
No one in the room said a thing. Youpi's head hadn't returned to its original position. Neferpitou felt her soul collapsing in on itself. If she didn't step forward, say something, she might die right there. After all, the King had just said they didn't need to exist. Or rather, shouldn't have existed in the first place.
"Sir." That was too casual, Pitou thought, but in the face of what the King had said she had a hard time caring about that. "We couldn't stop him. But that doesn't mean we couldn't be of use. When they return, we could-"
"Die? Blind them with your blood?" the King spat.
"Yes," Pitou said with complete conviction. "If that was all we could manage, we'd do it in an instant. That's why we were born."
"You don't understand, Neferpitou." The King began pacing. "He came here, to this room. He took Komugi, without me being able to do anything. If he'd wanted to, he could have killed her in an instant. There was nothing I could have done." He stopped, pinning her with his stare. There was a desperation in him that Neferpitou never could have dreamed of. Shaiapouf was already weeping, but Pitou only felt a deep and existential despair. She wanted to cry, but that wouldn't encompass the feeling.
"Could you understand?" the King asked. "Could you understand what that would mean?" His words dug into her like swords. Even the high explosives that had taken her arm and eye couldn't compare to the pain the King was causing her. "Even if I died myself, could a worthless little creature like you comprehend what losing the only equal I've ever met would mean to me?"
Neferpitou's world was shrinking down into the pinprick of purple light that was the King's eyes. She was trapped in an event horizon, crushing her down into a single molecule. No matter how small she got, she wouldn't be able to escape the King's contempt.
"Do you seriously think anything you could offer, your blood, your life, could compare to that?" The King snarled. "This is what I'm talking about. You, and this lunk, and that wretch, you're all so petty. How could I be guarded by something that doesn't even know what to guard?"
He turned his back on them, and the pressure of his eyes lifted. Pitou could breathe again, even if she didn't want to. "Stay if you want to die for nothing, and run if you don't. You've failed me on every level." He crossed his arms, fingers digging deeply into his own skin. "You're all even worse than that fool. Weakness grew fear in you instead of gratitude. At least one could have inspired some introspection."
"Meruem-" Shaiapouf sobbed the King's real name, and the Ant snapped, his chakra flexing.
"Leave," he hissed, and the compulsion drove them from the room in a blind panic. They only regained their sanity when they were almost out of the main building, over a hundred meters from the King.
Youpi was the last, silently lumbering. The moment they were clear of the King's anger, he sat down, leaning forward and putting his chin in his hand. Though Pitou wasn't sure it was possible, her fellow Guard looked deep in thought.
She couldn't imagine how he could bear to think. The moment Pitou considered the situation, she broke. She felt it clearly, like her organs had begun to shut down.
Neferpitou, firstborn of the Royal Guard, had been thrown away like a piece of garbage. She and the others were now just living detritus, without anyone to serve and without purpose in a world that wanted them dead. In that moment, there was nothing stopping Pitou from simply lying down and letting it get its way. She was sure that if she recalled the King's disdain, the hate in his words, she could will herself to die here and now, and at least serve him in some way.
Maybe that was for the best.
"Oh…" Shaiapouf was shaking, and Neferpitou glanced at him. He must have been thinking the same thing, she thought. If they both died here and now, maybe that would bring the King a tiny piece of satisfaction. That was all they could be good for now.
"Ohhhhh…" the Royal Guard rattled. Pouf turned towards her, his eyes darting in every direction. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" His shaking intensified, his whole body trembling and vibrating, every cell squirming and trying to escape.
"Pouf?" Pitou asked, unsure if it was worth talking. Was a waste of matter like her even worthy of speech anymore? "Shaiapouf?"
###
The Royal Guard Shaiapouf was searching for a way out.
'Shaiapouf is the only one I can rely on now.'
Those words, which had melted his heart and provided the bedrock of his existence for the last several days, had been torn into so much bloody confetti. His body was rejecting reality, trying to split apart and escape the conflict. But there was nowhere he could go now, surely.
Now that the King had rejected him, Shaiapouf had no place, no master, no purpose, and no excuse for existing. Maybe his cells weren't trying to escape, he thought. Perhaps his body thought that it could split itself, smaller and smaller, until consciousness became impossible and he was rendered nothing more than dust in the wind. Dust, which was what he'd always been, dust, dust, nothing but dust and disappointment-
He was screaming, Shaiapouf realized. How long had he been screaming. It didn't really matter. Neferpitou was watching him, paralyzed. Menthuthuyoupi was, as ever, doing nothing.
The King's words had been shredded, and were being replaced by another. Shaiapouf could see them being spoken quite clearly, an old man's bushy mustache twitching with disgust.
'If the other Royal Guard are quite as cowardly as you, then this will be easy.'
That was it, he realized.
This wasn't Shaiapouf's fault. How could it be, when he was the only one that the King could rely on?
Neferpitou. Menthuthuyoupi. Youpi had struck down Pitou when that shinobi had pulled his trick, and he'd fled from Peijing when everything had been on the line. And Pitou, Pitou was even more despicable. Hunting the Watcher and failing at every turn, so useless as to be crippled now.
And, looking at her, the Guard bore a strange resemblance to the shinobi who had knocked them away like errant children. Shaiapouf could still feel the burn of the man's electricity. But he was gone now, and only the King remained. The human was coming back, of course, but what did that matter in the meantime.
He understood. Pouf understood. This was a test. It had to be. The King relied on him. It was impossible that He would throw him away for something as ridiculous as failing to defend a human. A human? A worthless, blind little girl? It was absurd. It had to be a test.
'If the other Royal Guard are quite as cowardly as you-
-Shaiapouf is the only one I can rely on now.'
Ah.
Shaiapouf stopped screaming. It made perfect sense now. He had to focus. There was only one way to pass this test.
The mass of his body that had been scattered by his fight with the old Hunter in the dimensional space was nearly back in East Gorteau, he was sure. He'd been studying maps of the small continent, doing his best to guide his disparate self. Perhaps it would arrive just in time for him to pass his test. Wouldn't that be perfect? Then, there would be no chance of the King ever knowing of his failure. He could return in every aspect.
He walked forward.
"Shaiapouf?" Neferpitou asked. "What are you doing?"
He glanced back at the little creature, feeling a distinct pity. Of course, Neferpitou was too stupid to figure out the King's intention. Her brain had been rattled by the human explosives: her body was too solid for its own good, and her mind followed suit, without an ounce of flexibility or intuition.
Shaiapouf struck out, right hand formed into a claw, and tore half of Youpi's jaw off. The Royal Guard didn't flinch. His hand didn't even shift from his chin as Pouf began tearing into his side, ripping off great hunks of bleeding flesh and tossing them in every direction. Pitou's eyes widened and she stumbled forward, raising a hand in shock.
She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the only way to show the King they understood was to be the only one standing.
That was why he was going to be the one to return to the King's side, and not her. After all, if the King didn't take him back, then Shaiapouf was cease to exist.
###
About forty percent of Youpi's body had been destroyed when he decided to leave.
Shaiapouf was trying to kill him, he realized, but he wasn't having much luck. The Royal Guard didn't have any advanced Nen techniques for offense beyond Ken, and that wasn't sufficient to kill Youpi. He was losing mass, but it could be easily regained with a thought. However, he was too consumed with other thoughts to bother.
He was faced with an interesting problem. When the King had struck him in the face with his chakra, it had perfectly communicated his monarch's intentions. Youpi had immediately understood down to the roots of his soul that the King would never forgive them. When had the little human, Komugi, whose name was now permanently etched in his mind, become more important to the King than his own well-being?
Hmm. Did the King even realize that? He must have, but his chakra hadn't betrayed that. Maybe there was only so much that could be communicated in a punch.
The King…
No, Mereum. There was a divide between the two that Youpi couldn't describe but could understand. Meruem had thrown away his Guards, and in doing so he'd also given up on the other Ants. Youpi had felt that too. It had left him completely paralyzed. The Royal Guards, the Ants, they were like a limb cut away now. There was nothing to guide them, and they weren't of much use to anyone now other than as a club, or maybe a mantelpiece.
But that wasn't entirely true, was it? Youpi had learned in Piejing that the Royal Guard were a little more than just limbs. They were extensions of the King; they could act in his place, speak for him, command for him, protect and guide what he couldn't.
That was the thought that made Youpi lumber to his feet. He ignored as Shaiapouf chased after him, tearing more flesh from his rear. The attack ended as suddenly as it began; Neferpitou charged in, knocking the Royal Guard away, screaming and wrestling him to the ground before he split into thousands of parts.
Menthuthuyoupi ignored them. Whether they killed each other was none of his concern. Pitou was the first-born; she could take care of herself. Whatever madness had afflicted Shaiapouf would doubtlessly burn out. Most likely, Meruem would kill him if he tried to return to His side. He had different and more immediate priorities.
The rank and file of the Ants had scattered in the wake of the shinobi's incursion. Even if Meruem had given up on them, they were still the King's subjects, and deserved direction and protection.
If Youpi couldn't keep his monarch safe, the least he could do was extend an aegis over his subjects.
There were more humans coming. One powerful enough to command someone like the man who had casually torn through them without bothering to kill them, powerful enough for Meruem to consider him a direct threat. When they inevitably came to blows, surely nothing around them would survive. He had to collect the other Ants, and get them out of the blast range. What came after that was entirely immaterial. At the moment, physical safety was all that mattered.
Youpi started running.
###
Komugi sat still, trembling. She didn't know where she was, or how she'd gotten there. Nothing in the past ten minutes had made any sense. She'd been immersed in a game of Gungi with the Supreme Leader, and then without warning had been somewhere else, standing, with another Leader in front of her. He'd taken her by the arm and led her somewhere, commanded her to stay still, to stay quiet, and promised he'd return.
He hadn't come back.
She didn't have her walking stick. Even if she had, she was sure she was too confused and too frightened to find her way back to the room with the Gungi table, her one bit of stability in the palace aside from her bedroom. The path between those two, she knew by heart, but the rest, she wouldn't have a chance.
Her ears, begging for anything to bring relief, finally pricked at something. It was a soft, inhuman tread. Somehow, she knew who it was right away.
A door creaked open, and the Supreme Leader entered. Komugi knew right away that something had changed. She could sense his anger, and more than that, his fear. She'd never dreamed of that coming from him.
"Supreme Leader," she whispered. "What happened?"
He paused, standing over her. She could feel his shadow. It had weight.
"It's hard to explain," he eventually said. "But you're safe now." He shifted. "You'll always be safe."
Komugi didn't feel safe. She shivered. "Can we resume our game?" she asked. She hated the sound of her own voice. Tremulous, stuffy. She wished she could sound as sure and brave as him.
Another pause. Komugi waited in the dark.
"You know, all this time, all those games," the Supreme Leader said, "and you never asked my name."
She hadn't expected that. Komugi lowered her head. "It wasn't mine to know," she said. "You are the Supreme Leader. That matters much more than your name."
He didn't like that, Komugi instantly knew, but it wasn't a mistake on her part. Just a misunderstanding.
"That may be true," the Supreme Leader said. He wasn't human. She'd known that for some time now, though she would never be sure of exactly when she'd realized it. What did it matter? He wasn't cruel to her, and he pushed her to be better, which was more than she could say of most other people. "But nonetheless… I'd still like you to know it."
"Why?" She wished she could leap to her feet, or at least see his face. Something had changed, and because of her blindness she was clueless as to what.
He didn't answer her. "Meruem," he said, and Komugi marveled at the name. It had a beautiful symmetry, like a perfectly arrayed board balanced in black and white. "Komugi, I don't want only my enemies knowing my name. Do you understand?"
She didn't, but she nodded anyway. But instead of comforting her, or agreeing with her, or anything that she wished for…
Meruem stepped back.
"Komugi," he said again, and hearing her name in his voice made her shiver. "You have to leave."
"What?" she cried, trying to scramble up. Her legs were weak, but she made it nonetheless. She hadn't slept in at least a day, she suddenly realized. "Why?!"
"Some of my enemies are coming, by my invitation," Meruem said, and she felt her heart scrunch up in her chest. "Once I'm done with them, we can finish our game."
That wasn't true, she thought. Komugi was suddenly entirely sure that if she left, she'd never see Meruem again.
"I won't!" she said. She didn't want to sound like a child, but that was what came out. "I won't leave you! I can't!"
"You have to. I'll make a clone to-"
"I won't! Supreme Leader-"
"Meruem!" he barked, and she wilted back. The name felt like a slap in the face.
"Meruem," she said back, trying to fight back tears. It felt good to say his name, even if it had just hurt her. "Please. If I leave, I won't-"
"You'll see me again." His voice was absolute. "You're the only one who's allowed to defeat me."
"That's not how things work!" she said. "If I can beat you, that means someone else can!" She was crying now, her throat clogged with phlegm. "Please-"
"QUIET!" Meruem roared, and his aura seized her like a straightjacket. "You have to leave! Now! It's the only way you'll be safe! Don't you understand?!" His voice was almost as thick as hers. "If you stay, I can't protect you!"
Komugi tried to move, to face him, maybe even to slap him, but she was completely rooted in place. As though she was being tugged by invisible strings, her legs began moving on their own, marching her out of the room, following a path she hadn't picked.
She realized what was happening.
"NO!" She screamed back. She couldn't control anything below her neck, but her mouth was still hers. Meruem had refused to take that. She was truly weeping now, so hard her whole body was shaking. "You promised! You promised!" Her hand opened the door without her consent, and Komugi kept screaming.
"YOU PROMISED! MEREUM!"
She was screaming for a long time as her body moved without her control along a track she couldn't perceive. Corridors, stairs, tile, stone, and eventually grass all passed under her without distinction. Even after she'd left the palace, she kept shouting in denial.
Meruem's chakra carried her, screaming and weeping the whole way, to safety.
###
Afterwards, with Komugi's screams still ringing in his ears, the King returned to the abandoned Gungi board. He sat down by it, and regarded the half-finished game with empty eyes.
He would have lost this one too. It only took him a minute or so to see that. Komugi still held an absolute advantage over him. One that Meruem had to admit extended beyond Gungi as he shifted one piece between possible moves with a shaking hand.
His chest hurt.
He waited like that for some time. Five, perhaps six minutes. He wasn't counting the seconds religiously. Instead, he was trying to calm and center himself. He had to call up the passion of a sun, the thing he'd felt before, and shape it into a peerless sword. That was his only path to victory.
So Meruem did just that, sitting as still as a statue and watching the board with eyes that were somewhere else entirely. He would consume. He had to consume. That was his nature.
'You promised.'
He struggled to overcome those words. And then, when he failed, he struggled to avoid them. How could he reconcile his fate as King, and his fate in meeting Komugi? There was a paradox there that he could not fully understand, and it gnawed at him and his sword.
If he let it chew too much, he was sure he would die. But if he threw it away, a part of him would die instead. Even though the whole was obviously more important than the part, leader against subjects, soul against body, the King against Meruem…
He couldn't discard it. He couldn't bring himself to do it.
That was fine. Let the sword be a little jagged, a little worn then. Wouldn't that only make it's bite more bitter? He could use that. He could use fighting for Komugi and his supremacy. He could make them one and the same, if he tried. He was sure of it.
Far too soon, the moment came. A hole in the world opened up, like a great eye, and two men stepped out of it, precisely from where Sasuke had departed. The first one was Sasuke, who led with a confident step out of the unknown void.
The second, Meruem had never met. Nonetheless, he recognized him instantly from what he'd gleaned from other's hearts.
Naruto Uzumaki was even brighter in life than he was in memory, and it seemed that he took in the entirety of Meruem in a single glance. The blond man, more than a foot taller than him, cocked an eyebrow.
"So," he asked, his voice rough and curious. "You're Meruem?"
There was no more time for thought.
With consideration for nothing but the present, Meruem attacked.