Digital Emperor (Naruto X Digimon)

Morning arrived without a hitch and Asura along with Rambo finally awoke from their slumber after the stressful battle with Bancho Leomon. The powerful presence had almost scattered their data if not for Bancho's kindness and Naruto's support. However, all of it was not negative since the risk had also brought an opportunity. Both digimon had grown stronger mentally and spiritually, which was clear from their expression and presence.

The lion was the strongest being both digimon had come across their short lives and instead of being pushed into his shadow they had taken the courageous step to challenge the creature in the future. The duo's fighting spirit hadn't lessened on bit, as it had increased by a factor.

Looking at his team, Naruto was lost in thought about ways to improve them. Arslan was new to his team and Naruto didn't have much info on him, so he decided not to mess with him at this point. Asura had already achieved a unique evolution that had barely just stabilized. Only, Rambo was mostly normal at the moment.

Meramon was Asura's normal evolution name and the next evolution would be Death Meramon (Skull Meramon). It was a form that became mostly human looking and the heat level reached extreme degrees that ice would evaporate from his mere presence in its vicinity. It could produce flames that were around 60, 000 Degree Celsius and it could create familiars out of flames.

It was a strong digimon that stood out in the Ultimate realm but, it was not enough for Naruto or Asura. It had been easy to modify the early evolutions but this was a challenge. Should he give up the flame like form for something solid or keep the form?

Should he opt for the humanoid form or take it to the other side?

'Asura already has great energy potential. He lacks a move set that is not reliant on power level.' Naruto had learned from his past mistakes and stopped focusing on pure firepower. He took great care to learn special moves that were game changers.

With that in mind, Naruto decided to avoid getting a form with flesh and opted for a skeletal form. The skeletal structure would be made from the chrome digizoid alloy while the flames would be enhanced even further to cause spiritual damage and mental damage.

Naruto decided to overwhelm Asura's existence with Yin-Yang so that he would become immune to existence erasure and become powerful enough to erase with his mere presence. Yin-Yang was Naruto's specialty and it was also Asura's strong point beside flames.

Discussing the plan with Asura about killing flame and dark digimon, the partner's came to an agreement as they both trusted each other unconditionally.

Moving from Asura to Rambo, Naruto had a lot of work cut out for him since the digimon had not been enhanced in a unique manner even once.

Rambo was stronger than normal champion digimon, but he still just above average and not an anomaly like Asura.

Rambo's next evolution was called Tankdramon and just like Metal Greymon, it had nuclear war heads. It was a powerful creature, but it was just an average ultimate digimon. It was incompatible with Naruto.

Rambo needed to retain his flexibility and speed as none of his evolutions were durable like the Legend arms.

"Master, remember that I am willing to take any risk to keep up with you. Please, do not abandon me." Rambo had watched Asura discuss with Naruto and saw the expectations of his master. It felt like they were rushing ahead of him, so he felt the need to remind Naruto about his words. No matter what happened, Rambo didn't want to be left behind.

Remembering the scene where Rambo first combined with Asura, Naruto understood what he could do for his young partner. It was a step that would bring Rambo and Asura to a similar level of power.

"I didn't forget, and this will be very painful for you." Naruto already knew that Rambo would take the chance so he didn't ask. He just needed to collect more chrome digizoid and dragon data before the next evolution so that Rambo would achieve Darkdramon form at the Ultimate level.

Hearing Naruto's idea, Rambo was flabbergasted. It was straight out of a fairy tale.

"Is that even possible?"

"You already took the form with Asura's help, now you will just do it alone. It is just that simple."

Arslan watched the exchange from the side and was deeply impressed by his master. The man didn't think normal, and directly broke the boundaries. Not many people thought about creating champion's strong as Ultimate's and vice versa. There were even less people that actually succeeded in such madness.

Such an occurrence gave him further assurance that Naruto would definitely lead him to another level of power.

Once the discussion was over, Naruto sparred with his team and poured his chakra into their bodies to strengthen them.

Rory had asked Naruto to meet her in the afternoon, so he had been using the time to prepare what he needed for the journey. Seeing the pattern of his destiny, Naruto decided to visit the Legend Arms and asked for a temporary partner.

He was still not strong enough to get the Ultimate shield and sword on his side. Nonetheless, he was patient and didn't act hastily.

Getting out of the shop, Naruto was greeted by Hikari and Takeru.

"Did you two decide to follow me?" Naruto asked as he had requested the duo to join him before even receiving their partners. They were childhood friends and the duo was very much similar to him.

"It is a nice idea, but I prefer staying with my brother." Takeru (TK) replied with an awkward smile. The young man was very attached to his brother and only wished to lighten his burden.

"Takeru hasn't, but I will be joining you temporarily until your teammates return." Hikari decided to use the chance provided by the world and get the alone time with Naruto. During the adventure she would be the only person close to him, which should allow them to get closer comfortably.

It was really embarrassing when pother people were around. She wasn't shameless like Rika.

Giving both of them a hug, Naruto was curious about Takeru's reason to follow him since he hadn't mentioned his target to anyone yet.

"Do you know where I am going?"

"Yes, you are going to the Dragon Empire… I saw it in a dream." Takeru replied without running circles around the topic as he knew that Naruto trusted him.

Takeru was someone that could see events in his dreams. They came to him randomly, but all of them were of some importance to him and were directly connected to him.

Looking at the smiling young man, Naruto was truly impressed. Takeru was humble that no one could guess that he was the strongest person in Japan according to his potential. If everything went normally, Takeru should surpass everyone within few years.

"What did you see?"

"The Four Great Dragons protecting us from the darkness. Naruto, something is coming and we need to hurry before it catches us unprepared." Takeru dropped the smile and showed the seriousness hidden behind it. The young man had truly been stressed out after seeing the dream and had already informed his brother about it.

The Higher ups would have other ways to get such an information, but he still conveyed his dream just in case they missed it.

Takeru's premonition didn't come as a surprise since Naruto expected a storm once the Akatsuki and Ouroboros gang started moving. There was no way that all these villains didn't have some grand plan that they followed with conviction.

However, the information was unclear and he really couldn't make any preparations from just that single picture. All he could do was to act extra cautious and focus on all minute details, so that not a single clue was missed.

"Is there any other clue?" Naruto asked as he walked towards the city center with the duo.

"I think it might be related to Apocalymon. It gave me the same feeling as the relic that my brother found in a ruin dedicated to it…. The despair I felt in the dream was palpable." Takeru shivered as he shared the full extent of his nightmare and his reaction was natural. No one could deny that Apocalymon was the worst case disaster.

It was a digimon that could end the world with its mere presence.

Hearing his answer, Naruto could see why Hikari was not being talkative like normal. The situation was too much for these kids to handle. It was like if someone had told him about facing Madara and Kaguya when he had just become genin, truly an impossible task.

"You guys should stop worrying so much, as things won't go in that direction. Trust in the people around us and if not them, trust in the Royal Knights. No one would allow that creature to enter this realm, you should know that. And look at your dream, it didn't show us dead. So, stop thinking negative thoughts before you start getting white hair from stress." Naruto put his hands on their heads and messed with their hair to get them to act normal. Worrying about something that was not within their ability was a waste of their time and a pointless endeavor. It was better for them to focus on what they could do and not about the impossibility of their unknown enemy.

Usually Naruto wouldn't have to light up their spirits since the duo was very positive, but it seems this nightmare had done a number on them.

"How are you fine after hearing this name? Are you not worried about what we will lose?" Hikari couldn't help but ask as she was scared of the losses that humanity would have to endure from the disaster.

"What will change from worrying about it? It is better for us to focus on our goal instead of stressing ourselves about the risks. And, everyone has a time when they need to pass on to the next world. So, just remember them fondly and stop panicking about what you can't change." Naruto understood that it was cruel but the children would have to learn the lesson one day, though hopefully it didn't involve anyone close at such a young age.

From the heroic spirit of their brothers, Naruto knew there was always the possibility of the duo dying on the battlefield. Their deaths would devastate the young children.

"I will try, though it doesn't seem possible at the moment… Thanks for lending me an ear, Naruto, and not panicking." Takeru didn't take his comments negatively and was happy that Naruto was there to provide him support. Takeru had yet to grow into a man that could stand alone and relied on others for support. At the moment it was mainly his brother and sometimes it was one of the other senior members, sometimes it was Hikari or Naruto.

On the other hand, Hikari was stronger mentally. However, even she didn't know how Naruto was so calm. Though, she had expected it. It was still hard to understand. It felt like Naruto really didn't possess a heart. Sometimes she felt that he was extremely cold with his words and she was left wondering whether what she saw in him was even real.

"I know my words came off as cold, but it is something that I understood with time. I may look your age, but I am not." Naruto didn't want his young friends to get the wrong idea, so he shared his origin with them. They were close to his heart, so he always planned to share it with them.

With the secret out in the open, the duo connected the dots and understood why Naruto stood out so much.

It all made sense but it also made things very awkward. Naruto was older than their brothers. There was no way they could talk to him in an informal manner after knowing these details.

It was clear from their expression and body language that they had a hard time adjusting. Takeru wasn't the only one as Hikari didn't know how to deal with this situation.

She loved Naruto, but he was older than Kai. It wasn't strange for people to have a large age gap in the current world, but she didn't know how to feel about the situation. She really ended up liking a person older than her as others had expected.

And, it was someone that was married.

Hikari really didn't know what to do after hearing about it. She didn't want to come between true love and it made her feel dirty thinking about coming in between such a bond.

 "What's up with them? It feels like they had been caught kissing and now can't show their faces." Rory commented when she the trio arrive.

Hearing her comment, Hikari and Takeru denied it profusely. Their childish reaction made her laugh before she learned the gist of the situation.

Rory refrained from teasing them after seeing Naruto's gaze. She knew it was the normal reaction to the unique situation and it wasn't something easy to adapt to even if they wanted to. It was especially worse for Hikari.

"I know there are countless things on your mind, but our journey isn't a picnic. So, we can't afford such absentmindedness. If you are not ready to focus, it would be better for you to stay and find your rhythm." Naruto had given them time to adjust but it was worse than he had expected. The duo was completely lost in thought and lacked awareness.

Hearing his words, they felt ashamed but they didn't back down.

"I would have done so normally, but the situation doesn't allow it." Takeru responded and decided to put all thoughts at the back of his mind. He really couldn't afford such distractions.

It was the same for Hikari as the dream also showed her presence and she had promised to help Naruto. Just because it was awkward between them, it didn't mean she would break her oath.

"That's much better. I thought we might have travel for weeks in that stifling atmosphere. That would have been a terrible experience. Now let us march, young soldiers!" Contrary to all their expectations, Rory decided to walk to their destination.

Without an explanation, all of them followed the young berserker towards the Dragon Empire that was thousands of miles from their location. It was the distance from one side of earth to the other side since the digital world was enormous.

Regardless, it would only take them few weeks to a month by foot if they walked and it would only take a day if they ran towards their destination.

It was necessary for them to travel by foot because it was unknown whether Examon wouldn't have moved from his current location and walking allowed the team to fight various digimon while also providing them an opportunity to find precious items.