The Fourth Beast

12

The Top Ten

VII

Heaven

(The day before the Core Stone resurfaces)

"Brother?"

Michael released a deep breath and raised his head to meet the gazes of his fellow Seraphim. Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael were standing in front of him. He could tell that Gabriel and Uriel had no clue why they were called, but Raphael knew. Michael honestly did not know how he would go about revealing this, but he knew that he could not and should not delay this any longer. After all, the core stone would be resurfacing the next day. And all of them would be seeing Naruto Ōtsutsuki face to face. And he had a strong feeling that Naruto would be the center of attention, one way or the other.

"What I am about to tell you should not leave this room under any circumstances," All of the three Seraphim straightened up, "And I also urge you not to make any rash decisions yourselves. Remember, in these trying times, we do not represent the Heaven faction only, but also our father."

It was clear that Gabriel wanted to say something but held herself back. Michael sighed, "With that being said, may I know your thoughts on Naruto Ōtsutsuki?"

The question was random, and he could see the confusion on Gabriel and Uriel's faces. It was Uriel who spoke up, albeit cautiously, "In general terms, Naruto Ōtsutsuki is a great king. Yes, some of his actions may seem questionable in our eyes, but that also meant that he is capable of making hard choices. As for my personal opinion, I will reserve my judgment since I have not met him directly."

Michael nodded and turned to Gabriel, "Do you believe the same?"

Their sister pondered for a while and then nodded back.

"I see," Michael let out a tired and pained smile, "A year ago, I had a meeting with him, you all know that. I wanted to persuade him not to take any direct confrontation. But when I saw him, what I saw in him..." Michael paused and released a heavy sigh. Even now, he was not sure how he was to tell about this. After a brief moment of hesitation, Michael decided to go with a visual approach since he could not find the right words. He waved his hand, and immediately the light in front of him distorted and started taking Naruto's shape. He purposefully made it so that his eyes were the last to reveal. And when Gabriel and Uriel finally saw the eyes,

"This cannot be!"

"By the Heavens...!"

Michael let his calming aura wash over them. Although they stopped shouting, they were still agitated. With a sigh, Michael continued, "I had told Raphael about this before," He immediately raised his hand to stop Gabriel and Uriel, "The reason why I did not tell you two is that I myself was lost. Out of you three, I was sure that at least Raphael would not have charged toward the Avalon Kingdom to confront him directly." The sheepish smiles on Gabriel and Uriel brought a gentle smile to his face, "I even consulted with Azazel. We had a long discussion regarding this. We have not come up with any concrete idea, but Azazel believes this may be something to do with power cores."

Even the Seraphim did not know how the power cores were created. All they knew was that the Biblical God, at his last breath, did something which resulted in the creation of the power cores. And as far as they knew, one way or the other, all the factions had found one power core each. Unfortunately, it was not the case for the Heaven faction, the Grigori, and the Devil faction. Michael thought the power cores, which were meant for them, might had created a new Longinus, or they were still dormant. But Azazel had different opinions. He believed that the power cores reserved for them were unique. He believed they had a purpose of their own; either that or someone had already found them. Both fervently hoped that it was not the last case.