EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 268: Impression

[Day 120]

With the end-of-cycle celebration underway, Vahn should have been the guest of honor. Instead, he found himself in a warm, dimly lit room, gently tapping his dick against the abdomen of a panting Orihime, holding up her own legs by the pits of her knees. Her voluptuous, completely naked body was coated in a glossy layer of sweat, causing it to glisten temptingly in the room's low lighting as she eyed his dick with wide, fervid eyes and her lips drawn in expectantly.

"Alright, here goes..." hummed Vahn, causing Orihime's labored breathing to intensify as he lined up his glans with her hot, pulsating, and earnestly leaking entrance—plugging it without hesitation.

"At long last..." sighed Orihime, her voice husky, tinged with passion and relief as she exhaled long and loudly from her throat. The interior of her pussy trembled, tensed, and throbbed with the beating of her heart, but the tensions in the rest of her body melted away, the result of more than two and a half years of expectation, repressed desires, and guilt releasing as a protracted sigh.

"You're not thinking you can finally begin repaying me, are you...?" asked Vahn, replacing Orihime's hands with his own, holding her legs in position as he began to slowly but purposely undulate his hips.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't..." responded Orihime, turning her face to the side but continuing to stare at Vahn through narrowed, glossy eyes as she contended, "But I also really wanted this...not just because of the stories, but because you're kind, incredible, and more handsome than any idol..."

"And you're as adorable as you are sexy..." hummed Vahn, his expression smoldering as he leaned over Orihime, slowly and deliberately tracing his tongue across his upper teeth before burying his face into her neck and licking her carotid with his long tongue. He had intended to kiss her, but since she didn't turn her face to reciprocate, he naturally transitioned to licking and planting kisses on her neck while rolling and twisting his hips with the finesse of a male belly dancer.

"Oh, Vahn...it's even better than I imagined..." moaned Orihime, catching Vahn a little off-guard as he understood she wasn't specifically calling out to him but crying out—effectively replacing the phrase 'Oh, God...' with his name. With that, he became even more determined to ensure that Orihime never regretted her decision to advance from a Third-Class Maid to a First and, most importantly, stand at his side...

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[January 31st TST/September 23rd DBT]

With the Tower closed and everyone returned to their original worlds, Vahn performed his usual post-cycle routine before immediately getting to work on integrating Minato's world, SW-2092, as one of Invirtua's core realities.

"Home sweet home..." joked Vahn, entering his futuristic, somewhat cold, and spacious command theater, reminiscent of a space station's viewing deck. Grayfia and Venelana were with him, as was almost always when he used the facility, but it wasn't just the three of them. Sona, Serafall, Misla, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman with long, golden-blonde hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears entered alongside them—garbed in a matte-black bodysuit with belts on the upper arms and thighs and golden accents that matched the color of her hair.

"This is...?" asked the Elven beauty, Alpha, hailing from a setting called The Eminence in Shadow. She was officially the Second-in-Command but, in effect, the Leader of a clandestine organization called Shadow Garden. So, when she heard they would be gathering in the Intertwining Dragon Palace's command theater, she expected to enter a spacious room lined with terminals and hundreds of personnel working tirelessly to gather intel and supervise field operations.

"It's super empty, that's what," chimed Serafall, similarly looking around, but rather than being curious, she was looking for something fun to do or occupy herself with.

"This is Vahn's personal command theater, where he directly supervises worlds and situations of interest," explained Venelana, preempting Alpha's conclusions by asserting, "The Dragon's Pavilion operates very differently from Shadow Garden. We don't typically require clandestine operations as there are few secrets, people, or locations we can't ascertain or access at will. Observe..."

Prompted by Venelana's telepathic communication, Vahn nodded, raised his left hand, and swept it from right to left, causing hundreds of displays of various sizes to appear, each a window into Alpha's world. They hadn't brought her there to threaten her, but witnessing each display focused on a particular member of her organization was as effective a demonstration as a deterrent.

Seeing her Master front and center amid the displays, Alpha's expression remained unchanged, but every muscle in her body tensed—holding her last breath captive. Rumors regarding Vahn's omniscience were common, but it wasn't until that very moment that she comprehended how exposed she and her colleagues—her family—truly were.

"In exchange for Shadow Garden's assistance in the current matter, you will be given access to a similar ability through an Administrative Proxy called Althaea," explained Vahn, breaking Alpha from her statuesque state as he glanced back at her over his shoulder, smiling as he appended, "Of course, you will only be able to use your authority to supervise your world and SW-2092's safe zone. Privacy is important."

"Indeed..." responded Alpha, swallowing hard but ensuring it wasn't too noticeable using her slime-formed bodysuit.

"Alright, then, shall we get started?" asked Vahn, erasing the displays Sis had previously created with a casual sweep of his right hand. Then, after preparing sofas, chairs, drinks, snacks, and a reclinable massage chair for Serafall, he had Sis produce displays depicting Minato, Danzo, a withered Madara, all presiding Kages, and many other karmically significant figures they would either need to reach an accord with or eliminate...

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As Vahn and the Dragon's Pavilion observed him using means he could only imagine, Minato stood tall and proud before Hiruzen as the elderly but noticeably rejuvenated Hokage received a whispered report from his ANBU. The produce and medicine provided by the Dragon's Pavilion had given the fifty-six-year-old Shinobi the appearance and vigor of a man in his mid-forties—a feat made all the more impressive considering he was rarely seen without a lit pipe.

"You are dismissed," said Hiruzen, closing his eyes and exhaling a weary sigh as the ANBU bowed his head and promptly disappeared as if he had teleported.

Opening his distinctive, steel-grey eyes, Hiruzen gazed thoughtfully at Minato for several seconds before stating, "I was just informed that your wife has disappeared. Are you that certain that the Dragon's Pavilion can be trusted, Minato? This proposal you've given me—it stretches the limits of the imagination, much less feasibility..."

"Sandaime-sama, you know I would give everything to defend Konoha, even my life..." started Minato, his expression and tone resolute, full of conviction as he asserted, "But Konoha isn't a place—it's an idea and a people. When Shodai-sama, Nidaime-sama, and Madara-sama founded the village, it was to bring an end to interclan conflicts in the Land of Fire. When Shodai-sama later sold or entrusted the Tailed Beasts to the other hidden villages, it was to deter wars and lay the foundation for diplomacy—not change how and where wars were fought..."

Shaking his head and holding up his right hand, gripping it into a clenched fist, Minato's convictions and natural charisma exuded from every pore of his being as he declared, "The Cycle of Hatred must end here, Sensei. We failed Shodai-sama the moment we started sending children and orphans to fight for the interests and profits of men, women, and nobles five to ten times their age. Shinobi aren't tools to serve our ends, Sensei. They're our people. And if we're serious about securing their futures, we will spare no effort to create a world where they can live without fear of losing all they know and hold dear in a war someone else picked. For that reason, I have decided to join hands with the Dragon's Pavilion."

"What about the position of Hokage? Have you given up on becoming my successor?" asked Hiruzen, narrowing his eyes as he questioned, "Or is it that you intend to seize the position by force?"

"Of course not," responded Minato, his resolution replaced by a wry smile as he asked, "Do you think I have the heart to do such a thing? You're still my Hokage and the Sensei of my Sensei. There are moments when I have questioned your and the Council's decisions, but I have and will continue to believe that Sandaime-sama did what you believed was best to cement Konoha as the greatest of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. It is because of your leadership that we were able to reach this critical moment, where we are uniquely poised to guide our entire world toward a brighter future. No longer will we be many villages divided but a singular, united world among countless..."

"You've always had a knack for speaking..." sighed Hiruzen, exhaling from his nose and shaking his head before emptying and unhurriedly repacking his hand-crafted wooden pipe. Had Minato come to him half a year earlier, he would have dismissed his Grandprotege's proposal as naive, post-war idealism. However, as he had toured the Intertwining Dragon's Palace and experienced the wonders they were capable of himself, he couldn't blame Minato for choosing to put his faith in them rather than man. History, after all, had proven faith in the makings of men to be folly...

Finished packing his pipe, Hiruzen lit it with a snap of his fingers before meeting Minato's gaze, his steely gaze firm but a faint smile adorning his face as he conceded, "Humans are short-lived creatures. We are quick to forget, and even our loftiest ideals wear to their foundations with the ebb and flow of time and history. Perhaps it is time we put our faith in a power and authority greater than capital..."

"I believe in Vahn-sama," stated Minato, his expression softening into an appreciative smile as he claimed, "I have observed him closely these past two and a half years, and there has yet to be a single instance where I felt that his actions crossed a line they shouldn't. He is kind, charismatic, and a source of wisdom and encouragement for all those who approach him in pursuit of aid or direction..."

"Most vitally—" started Minato, raising and clenching his right fist anew before appending, "Vahn-sama and the Dragon's Pavilion are strong. With the power and authority they have bestowed me to facilitate our world's integration into their core realities, I genuinely feel as though I could take on our entire world."

"Hmph...well, with the Jinchuriki of every village abruptly disappearing, the Kage of other four villages aren't likely to be as easily convinced as I..." remarked Hiruzen, exhaling thick streams of aromatic smoke from his nostrils. The proposal before him detailed a ten-year plan that began with the Tailed Beasts being safely removed from their hosts. That was already a feat in and of itself, but since the other villages were presently unaware of the Dragon's Pavilion's existence—at least publically—they were bound to be outraged even if their Jinchuriki were safely returned. After all, they each just had their most potent weapon for waging war and safeguarding their villages taken away from them...

"I'm certain that, once they witness what the Dragon's Pavilion is capable of and me through them, even the infamous Fence-Sitter will be willing to compromise," affirmed Minato, his confidence causing Hiruzen to raise his right brow ever so slightly. The version of the proposal he had been given didn't mention anything about the powers or protections Minato had been afforded as their world's representative, but as the latter wasn't the type to brag or embrace hubris, Hiruzen was certain the Pavilion had provided him something extraordinary.

With such thoughts in mind, Hiruzen got straight to one of his foremost concerns regarding Minato's proposal, his steel-grey eyes narrowing as he asked, "So...what will you do with Danzo and the rest of the Council? Each of us has—"

Before Hiruzen could finish, Minato produced a tiny glowing sphere from his Inventory, his expression and tone flattening as he revealed, "This is a Sphere recording Danzo's actions over the past six months, real-time. The Dragon's Pavilion began monitoring him after his indiscretion during Vahn-sama's good-faith meeting with our Council. Sandaime-sama can witness for himself the kind of person Shimura Danzo is..."

"Very well..." exhaled Hiruzen, accepting the blue, faintly glowing Sphere, which, despite weighing less than a kilogram, felt inordinately heavy in his palm. He was already well aware of the type of person Danzo was, but he also knew what had driven the man to become Konoha's shadow. Had he remained in the darkness, Hiruzen could have turned a blind eye to his old friend's many crimes. Now that they were being brought into the light, and at the behest of the Dragon's Pavilion, no less, there was likely nothing he could do to defend his former rival from the consequences of his actions...

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