EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 271: Visitation

Passing his gaze over Roshi and Han, Vahn caused both men to tense as he remarked, "I've never been fond of the mentality that if an attack goes as planned, you do as you please. But if it fails, you suddenly expect to be forgiven—relying on the clemency of the person you were trying to injure or kill. It's a little shameless, don't you think...?"

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Not knowing Vahn's disposition, Roshi and Han remained silent with their heads down. Trying to justify their actions could have the opposite effect, severely diminishing their already compromised position.

"Well, it's not that I can't empathize with your situation..." sighed Vahn, closing his eyes and shaking his head before staring at the two men and recounting, "The two of you were pressured into becoming Jinchuriki for the most antagonistic of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, and you've since participated in three wars and hundreds of skirmishes at their behest. It's not the only thing you've known, but conflict has defined your lives..."

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Surprising the still-silent duo, Vahn's tone softened considerably as he maintained, "The two of you have perpetrated countless sins, but your culpability—your fault is minimal. You did what was necessary for you to survive, and if you hadn't, someone else would have been forced to take your place. As with most Jinchurki, this sets the burden of responsibility at the feet of those who turned you into weapons. For it is not the fault of a sword that it kills..."

Gesturing with his left hand, Vahn compelled Roshi and Han to rise with his Domain, allowing them to see his face directly as he smiled and said, "Your world is at the precipice of a future without the need for large-scale wars. I would like the two of you, whose existences have been defined by war, to become advocates for absolution. Regardless of your decision, the Tailed Beasts in your and all other Jinchuriki's bodies will be freed so they can never again be wielded as weapons. They, like you, were never meant to be weapons..."

"You're him, aren't you..." started Han, his voice low, full of tension as he appended, "The one heralded as the Dragon God, Vahn Mason...sama..."

"Considering you attacked those sent to explain the situation, I presume you heard about me via the whisperings of your spies in Konoha?" asked Vahn, causing Roshi's and Han's eyes to widen as he created seventeen light-formed displays, each depicting a different spy associated with Iwa. At a glance, they looked like ordinary merchants, laborers, or established residents of Konoha, but as long-time associates of the Tsuchikage, Roshi and Han knew of the men and women they had stationed abroad.

Preempting the duo's response, Vahn confirmed, "Well, you're correct. I am the Dragon God of Intertwining Fates, Vahn Mason. But what matters now is the choice—the path presented before you. Even if you refuse to become advocates for absolution, we will still return you to your village. But if you do, we will grant you divine protection against harm. And once the number of people you have saved eclipses those you have killed, you will be free to choose a path beyond the limitations of the world you have known..."

Exchanging glances with Han, whom he had been fighting alongside nearly his entire life, Roshi didn't need telepathy to understand what his masked companion was thinking. Vahn had made it abundantly clear he wasn't someone they should antagonize, and while his stubbornness was often compared to his friend and mentor, the Tsuchikage, it would be a lie if he said the weight of his actions didn't burden his soul.

"Could you—could Ryujin-dono better explain what it means to walk the Path of Absolution...?" asked Roshi, prompting Son Goku, the Four-Tailed Beasts sealed within him, to react with surprise. The Five-Tails within Han, Kokuo, had a similarly shocked reaction. But, unlike Son, he was far more concerned with their impending release—and Vahn's similarities with their father—than his vessel's absolvement from sin...

"Of course," responded Vahn, offering a curt nod and surprising Roshi and Han as he instantaneously teleported them to an undamaged suite. There, he invited the two men to make themselves comfortable before providing them the same courtesy as Karura. The path he laid out for them wouldn't be an easy one, effectively requiring them to become traveling monks, but so long as they were willing to walk it, he vowed he would watch over and see them through it to the end...

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With the Jinchuriki of the Two and Six-Tails being children, Vahn decided to leave them in the capable hands of Misla and instead made his way to where the fair-skinned, scarlet-haired, blue-eyed Kushina was sharing a suite with a similarly-aged woman with mint-green hair, distinctive orange eyes, and bronze skin.

"And you are...?" asked the mint-haired woman, answering the door and frowning when she found Vahn standing outside with what she viewed as an overly friendly smile.

"Rei-san! That's the Dragon God, Vahn-sama! Be nice to him...!" shouted Kushina, calling out from where she was seated atop a comfy felt sofa in a white top and a leaf-green, apron-esque dress.

"Vahn-sama? O-Oh...!" exclaimed the mint-haired woman, Rei, her orange eyes widening in shock as she hurriedly opened the door the remainder of the way, bowed her head, and expressed, "Please excuse my discourtesy. I had no idea I was addressing the esteemed Dragon God-sama..."

"It's fine," assured Vahn, maintaining his smile as he affirmed, "It's good to be cautious of those you've never met. Raise your head, Rei-san. And, please, call me Vahn. I am neither your God nor your Lord."

"See? I told you he was nice," remarked Kushina, rising from the sofa and making her way over to the suite's entrance with her hands on her notably pregnant belly, beaming as she met Vahn's gaze and asked, "Do you want to say hello to Naruto or Mito-chan?"

"May I...?" asked Vahn, his expression somewhat incredulous as he felt Kushina was casually asking him to do something very intimate.

"Well, you're quite literally going to be their Godparent, so it should be fine..." reasoned Kushina, stressing the word should as even she wasn't entirely sure it was okay to let Vahn touch her.

"Then, pardon me..." said Vahn, resisting the temptation to ask when it was decided that he would be the unborn Naruto's Godparent. Instead, he took a knee, causing Kushina to tense, her eyes widening and her face turning an almost luminous shade of red to the tips of her ears as he very gently placed his hands on the sides of her pregnant belly and rested his forehead against her navel, muttering, "Grow well little one...I will ensure nothing bad happens to you or your parents..."

Though she was touched by Vahn's words, seeing him kneel before her and tenderly caress her belly caused Kushina's voice to crack nervously as she jokingly questioned, "Does that mean I'm also immune to harm like Minato...?"

"Mmn...that wasn't part of our agreement, but I don't see any reason it can't be arranged..." affirmed Vahn, catching Kushina off guard and then surprising both her and himself immensely as he closed his eyes and, via muscle memory, habitually planted a lingering kiss on her pregnant belly. He always did the same when parting with the pregnant bellies of his own wives, so his body moved before his brain had the chance to process and stop what he was doing.

Fortunately for Vahn, he had gotten much better at concealing emotions like embarrassment and awkwardness, allowing him to rise to his feet and present a relaxed smile as Kushina stared up at him with an expression of open-mouthed disbelief.

"Shall we take a seat? I came here to answer questions and assuage any concerns you and Rei-san might have about your present circumstances and the events transpiring back in your world," proposed Vahn, gesturing to the sofa Kushina had been sitting on before his arrival.

"Oh, uh...did you have any concerns, Rei-san?" asked Kushina, tearing her disbelieving gaze from Vahn and shifting her attention to the dark-skinned Takigakure Kunoichi—sporting an incredulous, questioning expression of her own.

"Not really...?" responded Rei, exuding uncertainty as she shifted her gaze between Kushina and Vahn, settling on the latter as she casually revealed, "My village has never treated me particularly well. I will miss being able to speak with Chomei, but he deserves to live freely. As for me, I haven't yet decided what I want to do, but I know I don't want to burden Vahn-sama or be reliant on the Dragon's Pavilion...it might not be the smartest choice, but I want to try and figure things out for myself..."

"I respect that," affirmed Vahn, nodding approvingly before smiling as he stated, "Just remember that the doors of the Dragon's Pavilion are always open. And if you ever find yourself in particularly dire circumstances, you can call out to me. I might not be able to respond instantly, but I will hear your plea and come to your aid."

"Thank you for your consideration..." muttered Rei, folding her hands over her lap and bowing respectfully. She didn't like how Vahn's words implied that he would be keeping an eye on her, but since she had never traveled outside her village and wasn't sure what she would do once Chomei was removed from her body, it was reassuring to have a literal God to fall back on...

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After chatting and personally preparing a meal for Kushina and Rei, Vahn parted ways with the two Jinchurki, leading to him feeling pensive at the realization more than half his day had been spent. None of the suites the Jinchuriki were staying in had Time Compression Barriers, so even though he had just spent an hour or two talking to each of them, his System clock revealed that it was already 2:42 PM.

'Do I really want to spend the rest of my afternoon dealing with someone like Killer Bee...?' Vahn asked himself, stopping in the halls of his palace to gaze up at the raftered ceiling, structured in such a way to allow members of the Maid Battalion to move about unseen if they so pleased. Yoruichi, in particular, spent a lot of time in them.

Thinking of the short but remarkably buxom cat girl, Vahn's desire to meet with Killer Bee that day vanished. Instead, he opened his chat interface to see if anyone had messaged him. There were numbered notifications next to virtually all of his 1,108 Contacts, but he focused his attention on the 47 near the top, denoting his harem, friends, adoptive children, and the youth troupe.

'Mmn...'

Seeing that Bonney had sent him several standard messages, Vahn briefly hesitated but ultimately opened their chat to see what she had sent. Most of what she had sent was random chatter and her annoyance at his failure to respond. But, among the more than five hundred messages, two stand-out topics required his attention. Specifically, she was worried that using her Devil Fruit to maintain her adult form had stunted the development of her true form. Secondly, she wanted his opinion regarding her signing up with the Revolutionary Army, which, unsurprisingly, had expressed a keen interest in meeting him.

'These could have been priority messages...the fact she buried them within a wall of text suggests she didn't want to bother me with personal matters...' noted Vahn, prompting Sis to affirm (She likely concluded that she had been a hindrance to you during the past Tower cycle. Her burying important matters within a wall of text could be her way of verifying if you care enough to read her messages properly.)

'Always testing me...' sighed Vahn, closing his eyes and exhaling from his nose. He knew Bonney harbored deep-seated trust issues, but that didn't make her constant tests less tiresome. Fortunately for her, he was trying to cultivate a mentality that would allow him to weather eons, not simply thousands of years, so after his initial exasperation, he responded to her messages by asking if she wanted to meet up to discuss her concerns in person...

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