This is the Hidden Village among the Leaf.
Years ago, the village was attacked by the great beast.
By the sacrifice of the village leader, the beast was subdued.
Sealed inside a baby boy, the beast was left jailed.
Said boy was then facing a great hardship from being a jailer.
Said boy then grew into one of the greatest heroes of the continent.
His name was Naruto Uzumaki.
However, this story is not about that boy.
That boy had grown into a man, and that man was later having a son.
That son was just a boy, and his story hasn't even begun.
This would be his story.
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After the battle against the last Otsutsuki, the world was in general peace.
In general, as the prosperity of the five villages was not shared among the lesser villages. When great nations enjoyed their (honestly) earned luxury, it was at expense of the smaller villages that were left in tatter as the greater nations fought their war, whether the people of the greater nation realized it or not. Just like what Nagato had harshly reminded to the young Anruto Uzumaki in their confrontation.
Amegakure was left without leader after Pain and Akatsuki was destroyed. Takigakure had lost their main bargaining chip and trump card the moment their Jinchuriki was killed. Kusagakure was all but extinct because of the creature known as Zetsu was tainting their inner politic for sake of funding the Fourth Shinobi War. The stranglers were scrapping leftovers of the five villages' prosperity just for sake of surviving, and resentment bred within these people's hearts as one could expected.
But, the alliance between the five nations had crippled any attempt of invasion toward the villages, and no menace was raised beyond some minor banditry. In the end, prosperity was only for those who had backing of the daimyo's mission fees, and those who did not were left as scavengers. It was a sad truth of a system governed by strength of military and monopoly of feudal power.
Nevertheless, even though they had never obviously showed it, the lesser villages were always planning for the fall of the greater nations. The shinobi of Amegakure had found several knowledge of the Sage of the Six Paths that was unwittingly left behind by Pain. Enticed by the stories of the land beyond from where the first wielder of chakra hailed, the desperate ninja sought the ancient power of their ancestors. Gods and demons and monsters, any of those that could sway the power balance to their advantage.
Unfortunately, power without control would only end as a disaster. The power they tried to call was the power that naturally an antithesis of mankind itself.
Yori was an Amegakure shinobi, born and bred in this land that never seemed to stop raining. When the great five villages had their war, Amegakure was trapped in the crossfire. Countless children orphaned and soldiers driven mad because of the endless battles that smashed over them like sea waves.
He was one of those who believed that Pain would surely bring peace to their village. He was one of those who witnessed the birth of Akatsuki; the true Akatsuki. Students of the famed Toad Hermit Jiraiya, the trio that founded Akatsuki was the first who could bring the sun into the forever cloudy sky of Amegakure. He looked up on them so much, he became ninja so one day he could join their crusade against the iron fist of Hanzo and brought even a shred of prosperity into the people.
But Hanzo had left them with nothing but more suffering the moment he forced Nagato to kill Yahiko. He was a young boy back then, and it made him feel powerless when he heard of the news. Nagato was a poor successor, but no one doubted his heart. It was the outside influence that made people distrustful of the new Akatsuki, and it was proven when there was no trace of the old Akatsuki but Nagato and Konan. Amegakure was loyal to the cause of the trio for peace, not to the Akatsuki. Nevertheless, they still regarded Pain and Konan in reverence.
In his youthful idealism, he trained to be a shinobi so he could use his strength for that cause. But when Pain attacked Konoha and the subsequent Shinobi War had drained hope from his dream, he could no longer see the savior that would bring the sun back.
And so, he and his comrades sought after Nagato's last heritages. Anything, anything at all. Seven years digging in Pain's headquarter that was forbidden before his death, everyone almost giving up when they finally unearth an old manuscript written on a stone tablet.
The land beyond this land. Another world all together, even. It was a forgotten heritage, from the time before even the Sage of Six Path, from before even his mother the first user of chakra. It was the time when beasts with power to tear the sky apart with one hand and bring down heaven's punishment were of norm.
'In this world, if you're not strong, no one will listen to you,' so he and his attempted to tap on this power. A summoning ritual and a sealing technique not unlike those of the Jinchuriki. To bind the power into them, to gain more than a human should have, all of it was necessary.
Meanwhile, a certain world behind a barrier had their sky suddenly ripped apart.
The Hakurei shrine maiden looked up to the sky, her eyes narrowed. What are those guys doing? She thought. For damage on the boundary to go that large, even Yukari wouldn't delegate the task to her fox, no matter how competent she was.
Three streaks of light. So the Yakumo finally jumped into the fray. But when she waited for several more minutes and the gap didn't close, Reimu felt shiver went down of her spine. Something was wrong, so wrong not even Yukari and her posse could subdue it. The shrine maiden immediately abandoned her bamboo broom and flew directly to the tear on the sky.
Yukari strained against this power. A power that somehow familiar, and yet not. A power that trying to pull the entire barrier of Hakurei to its foundation to somewhere unknown. This power was not unlike the very base of this boundary between fantasy and reality, the very source of what the word 'existence' described.
Not many knew it, but Yukari Yakumo was not the only Youkai Sage of Gensokyo. Her power to manipulate boundary was its own limitation; by manipulating boundary, it was inevitable for her to rub shoulder with someone who govern over the concepts that created the boundary in the first place. The boundary of life and death would have 'life' and 'death' as opposition, and the small gap between them was the 'boundary'. Thus, to create the Hakurei Barrier that existed in a boundary, Yukari had to ask for those who govern any possible concept that would become Gensokyo's 'neighbors' for their cooperation, as to not leaving any flaw in the barrier and causing future disputes that would cause danger into its existence. Those who had a direct hand on the creation of Gensokyo were called the Youkai Sages.
Thus, this situation should not happen.
She had calculated everything. This thing that threatened Hakurei Barrier was one of those concepts that she had made an alliance with. The one who governed over this concept was not the kind of person who would just change her thought, for she had reason to erect this barrier and had no reason to destroy it. And if she made it clear she finally had a change of heart anyway, she would announce it with flashy celebration and audacious invitation for those who willing to stop her.
No, this power was familiar, and yet not exactly the same. Like a bloodline that was finally thinned through generations, a descendant of that power would be the most likely culprit of this incident.
"Yukari-sama!"
Ran's desperate cry shook her out of her musing. They could no longer maintain Gensokyo to the foundation of their 'outside' world. Like removing a circle by removing a larger circle outside of it, Gensokyo was pulled from the 'fantasy' of Japan and into an unfamiliar world where the sky was always raining.
Yori was staring in confusion that the result of their summon. A rundown building, seemingly a shrine of some sort, was sitting behind a large red torii gate. What he had expected of the great power was nothing but a long abandoned building, and it drained every remaining speck of hope from his person. He roared and slammed his fist to the ground, glaring vengefully at the red gate and the abandoned shrine.
He then stomped down the cobblestone road that also came with the shrine, intending to vent on his anger at this innocent building. Was the power of Yin Yang Release a failure? Then what did they do wrong? The power of the Six Paths was that of connecting worlds, especially the living and the nirvana. A wheel of reincarnation in which souls were judged to whether continue walking on Earth or enlightened enough to gain the heaven. Or so the manuscript said.
Whatever power it was, Yori did not care. And he could never more uncaring of it when the ritual was a failure.
And so, he stomped pass the torii, only to jerk back in surprise at the strange gate. Behind the gate, he felt like he was entering a water body; a mild discomfort from some sort of resistance but not exactly dangerous. He was curiously trying to touch this 'barrier' with his hand, and now staring in awe as his hand made some ripples on the unseen dome. Still enthralled at it, he once again tried to touch the barrier.
A very delicate hand of a woman suddenly clawing at his arm and pulled him into the barrier with a surprising strength. His comrades were all too late when they realized he was in danger when the barrier turning into a stuff coming from their nightmare. Eyes, red and many, were all staring back at them. As far as they could see, from the ground level to the sky, was a field of eyes staring unblinking in a field of pitch black darkness. The ninja all wanted to scream, but even their throats were frightened to silent.
On the other side of the Hakurei Barrier, Yori was 'interrogated' by monsters.
A fox and a cat were now pressing hot red branding irons to his skin, burning his flesh, and pulling at his muscles. Behind them, watching over the entire process with a very restrained expression of anger, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"What did you do?"
The woman asked, and in cue the cat was clawing at the underside of his ribs. His lungs were now cupped by ten long and sharp nails, slowing digging into his organs as the cat slowly pulled them up. He sputtered for a moment, almost giving in to his fear, when he remembered. The time when he begged for food, the time when Hanzo's men took his already moldy bread and stomping on it, the time when Yahiko died protecting his ideal.
In front of her was the one who answered his desperate summoning. And so, he shouted out his answer.
I summoned you to help us, he said. Even in pain, his voice was remarkably clear. The woman was visible taken aback, but she hid it well enough behind her opened fan.
"Help you? You have taken us and our realm just to bind us to your whim?" By that time, it was clear the surprise was coming from the sheer audacity of the ninja instead of being impressed, "Why shouldn't I let my shikigami from devouring here and now?"
He didn't have a counter argument. He was lost and at mercy of these monsters. He could give his and his people's service to this woman, but what make it different from the time with Hanzo? Only his desire of freedom remained in this dying body, and it too would be taken from him also. He slumped, no longer seeing a way out.
"Hey mister. Just what makes you so in despair?"
He looked up, and his eyes met the cat's genuinely curious ones. Even though she had her nails jammed inside his abdomen, her voice and eyes were so innocent. A honest question from his torture technician, just how bizarre this situation could be?
The fox was glowering at the cat, displeased at her for speaking out of turn, but didn't say anything as the woman behind them seemingly letting her be.
"In where I lived, there's only despair, girl. Despair by our own kins' hands, can't even knowing peace."
"Peace? Is that important your 'peace' is, mister?"
"Yes. Our village is always in the crossfire of larger countries' fighting, and so we have to fight too. Because we always have to fight, we have no peace."
They were silent for a moment. Yori started to feel numb, the cat's sharp nails no longer meant anything to him.
"Chen, put him down." It was the woman who spoke. The cat, now dubbed Chen, obediently retracted her nails and stepped away from him. The blond woman was now in front of him, her lower face blocked by her hand fan.
"Unbalance of power was not uncommon," she spoke, slightly regal in manner. "But for the weak to absolutely have no mean to turn the tide is unacceptable for the people of Gensokyo. Tell me, boy... what manner of service you could give us? As you had made us stranded here, it's only fair for you to make some compromise for this inconvenience..."
She listened to the shinobi she tortured on a whim, actually. She would care less for these people, who didn't even know just what kind of enemies of mankind they had summoned.
But there was something about the way he spoke of his plight that made a small pang in her chest. Sight from distant past, a past that she still often saw. There was this girl and her best friend who would go to some adventures, both safe and dangerous. They would visit many places and talk about many things, and the girl's heart then filled with great warmth as her best friend finally smiled after so long. The girl was then separated from her best friends by some strangers, and was confined in a place where she could no longer go having those things.
The girl could no longer fulfill her and her best friend's dream of seeing the world hidden from common eyes. The girl could no longer see her best friend at all.
Inside this solitude, the girl left people's hands to another's hands as they were trying to rebuff what she and her friend saw. In the girl's world, there was no such thing as dream, and thus there was no hope. Such notion was an anathema for this girl, as her very 'existence' was bounded by fantasy that should already be dead. Those people would do just that for sake of validating their own self-worth.
Freedom and peace were proper dreams, thus there was no wrong for the land of fantasy to join in those causes. Nevertheless, youkai were always the enemy of mankind; their reason for doing what they did might not even make any sense for humans. Yukari Yakumo was intrigued of this possible excitement. Would this war-torn village rise from their ruin and become great? Or would it be just like any other footnotes in children's history books? Would this unfortunate people prove themselves worthy of glory that she had never tasted?
She glanced behind her shoulder. Her gap was open for everyone searching for entertainment and information to see the entire interrogation. Or would be, if not for her end decision to cause quite a stir among Gensokyo factions. She inwardly sighed. A proper meeting between Gensokyo leaders and the people of this village should do the trick.
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"Daimyo of the Land of Wind and his entourage had Suna's ninja protection when they'll cross our border. If there's any bandit, then they should be enough to repel any possible attack. All they need is our approval for passing our border."
"Granted. Next?"
"Our intelligences are reporting that a landlord and her entire cadre of industries was settling in Amegakure territory. It seems the shinobi of Amegakure move made an alliance with this woman named Yukari Yakumo to establish their own nation."
Naruto was silence. Amegakure, it was where Nagato and Konan came from. He never heard much of it other than several clashes with its shinobi when he was still a Genin, but small bits of info he got from here and there all said the place was quite a wasteland even though they highly industrialized. A village that was more like a fortress - because it was surrounded by three major villages, it was a battlefield of many wars between their neighbors. It wasn't strange for them to try getting a betterment for their life.
'Are they trying to establish themselves as the outpost of the nations' trade route? But now they suddenly changing their stance of their long isolationism, people will get suspicious.'
He remembered Konan. She swore that Ame would have their allegiance to Konoha because its people shared his ideal. Sending some envoy should iron their relationship more smoothly, if they truly wished to become the center of mercantilism. And even they did not, the envoy could double as spy network of their possible scheme. Indeed, it was suspicious.
Shikamaru nodded when he spoke of this plan.
"Well, it's not like we're going to suspect them of everything whenever they do something, but better prepare or we'll be sorry. Diplomatic relationship is a little delicate with people like them, so I think you should mostly stay out of this."
"Eh? Don't you believe me, Shikamaru?" Naruto immediately sulked, before puffing his chest indignantly. "After all we got most of our allies because of my diplomatic skill!"
"Unfortunately, these kind of people won't be our friend just by punching them hard enough on the face. We need someone who is patient, soft-spoken, and capable of soothing hearts. The kind that can stand marrying you, to say the least..."
"Does it have to be Hinata, though? I don't wanna her leaving the house too much after the last mission in the Land of Rice. It seems Orochimaru is still obsessed with bloodline limit, especially after the war..."
Shikamaru sighed. He could understand where the worry came from. The fact that Kakashi sort of letting Orochimaru and Sasuke leaving from any retribution might be one of those Hokage mistakes that would forever taint the history record, just like when Hiruzen Sarutobi first let Orochimaru turned traitor. But who can call out the Hokage for being in bed with the Uchiha, when they were quite infamous for their mind-breaking rage over people's disrespect for their self-important ego? At least Sasuke was mostly out of their hair by being Konoha's independent agent, but Orochimaru was still an uncountable probability when it came to affable relationship.
Naruto almost waged a war with the Land of Rice because of that accident, and knowing just how very much like a cockroach in term of the difficulty to kill the Snake Sannin was, the war might go for years. And that would be backward to Naruto's vision of peace, which would make people distrusted his standing over his own (loudly proclaimed) nindo. Dissent was the last thing they had to deal with, especially when their Hokage was in a more... passionate side of temperament.
Though he was getting better at it after he got married with the Hyuuga princess, Naruto was still quite stunned in courtly manner and political intrigue. Subtlety didn't not exist in his vocabulary and, though he got many allies because of his straight-forwardness, several of the more shady factions within and out of the village were always scheming behind his back.
"Fine, fine. Just send her along with some Jounin if you're so worried about it. Or send some message and ask them to come here for the talk. Just let Hinata handle this, end of story."
Again, Naruto sulked.
The next day, he was watching his wife packing her necessities. As usual, she traveled lightly, but she somehow could be prepared for any situation. She looked up at him, already in full gear, and giggled.
"I haven't left, and you miss me already?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, woman." He grumbled, mostly to himself. "You will walk to a territory that has been hostile since before the Perverted Hermit's time. We don't know how it will go, so I want you to keep your eyes open in this case."
Naruto took her hands with his own, rubbing the back of her palm with his thumbs. Hinata smiled at this and kissed each of his hands.
"I have Kiba-kun and Shino-kun with me. Don't worry, I won't get myself in trouble if I can help it."
Hinata then slung her backpack and walked out of the room. In the kitchen, Himawari dashed to her mother and hugged her legs.
"Stay safe, Mama." She mumbled out through her mother's pants. Hinata affectionately pat her hair before turning to her son. Boruto was a little more reluctant of showing his feeling. Ah, the boy was in that age, huh? 'Girls have cooties' or something like that? Hinata still pet her son's hair and whispered to his ear, "Don't be naughty while I'm gone, okay? Listen to your father and be a good boy." He only grumbled a little, before nodding.
Satisfied, she then turned to Naruto.
"The food is in the fridge. Just reheat it if you're hungry, it will last for two days. The first aid kit is in the usual place and please take down the laundry before the sun set, okay?" receiving a nod, Hinata smiled. "Well, then. Ittekimasu."
"Itterasshai!"
With that, she left the house. The meeting place was the usual front of Konoha's great gate. A team of five, consisting Hinata and her two old teammates, A Yamanaka named Shigure, and a new Chunin named Nami who made a name of herself in the last exam for talking her opponents out to surrender through a combination of smooth talk and intimidation. The second layer of envoy, if in some way Hinata somehow failed with the diplomasion.
Not that Naruto could see; he still had works in the office. Boruto would have his graduation today – and his mood soured that his family was not complete to celebrate it, so Naruto would have to cheer him up later in the day.
"Say..." He begun, "Since Daddy's coming home early, why don't we go out tonight?"
Himawari immediately brightened up, though Boruto still needed some moment to finally melt.
Meanwhile, Amegakure had received Konoha's message the moment it was decided. The people of Ame was slightly more trustful toward Konoha as Konan their angel had decreed that the man named Naruto Uzumaki, who currently in the position of Hokage, might be the man closest to Ame's vision of peace. If they truly wanted to establish alliance between the two villages, then it might be the best time to do so.
Yori was staring in amazement at how fast his wounds were healing. It might not erase the scars, but none of them was bleeding anymore. The medicine of those rabbit youkai was just like how Gensokyo people had spoken - if the disease existed, then they had the cure. He turned to the fox youkai standing in the same room as him. As usual, her hands were concealed under her folded sleeves, and her face was as neutral as her poise. She was the go-to envoy of Gensokyo toward the world outside the Hakurei barrier, as Yukari now taking care of business with the other factions' leader.
He was relieved at this arrangement. Though very intelligent that sometimes he could not follow her explainations, Ran was more straight-forward than her mistress. When with Yukari, the Ame ninja was always breathing more heavily into his gas mask, knowing just how scheming this woman could, even from the short time they were together in this. Seeing the underneath of the underneath might not even sufficient to decipher her line of thought, and it brought great stress into him every time he was talking with the Yakumo head.
"Ran-sama, what do you think of this possible alliance?"
"Strength can come from many places, including allies. The most important of what a developed country need is economical growth, which we can get from other villages. Konoha is with the largest population, thus the need for trade has more value there. The village's location might be a curse if we're seeing it from war side of things, but surrounded by the Land of Stone, Wind, and Fire had its advantage for merchants' toll booth. Konoha's envoy is most likely to make alliance with this country as to make compensation of lower tax against your plan of more developed industry."
"I... see?"
He had lost track of the youkai's rambling at the word 'trade'. Had never worrying about anything more than survival, suddenly thrusted to the front seat of political situation had made him realize that he absolutely blind of this. Ran, noticing that he was lost, repeating her explanation in layman's term.
"They're asking payment for their friendship by asking a lower tax than anyone else."
Yori was thinking about it for a moment.
"Doesn't that mean they're planning to monopolize the trade route?"
She shrugged, as she was watching speculations swirling in the poor man's head. Her order from her mistress was simple; provide the ground for some incidents to happen, because only through conflict an idea could take ground. Peace could not exist without conflict to highlight it and, as Yukari had finally catch up with the history of this land, the main problem of this village over their supposed 'freedom' was because there was no tyranny to fight.
With every information gatherers from all factions dwelled deep into Amegakure's records, with many magicians and chroniclers jumping in at the first chance to research this alien land, with countless spies spreading among the normal populace of the outside villages, it was impossible to miss any sort of knowledge that might buried into this land's history.
Three days were the time needed for some form of stable living and society to be established between Ame and Gensokyo, and another three days for a proper feudal landlord to stand on the Land of Rain with the Hieda clan as the center. Hieda no Akyuu was begrudgingly agreed with arrangement. After the last Shinobi War the reveal of the origin of chakra, it could be said any record pertaining the shinobi world was no longer a secret guarded by some ancient conspiracy.
Not that they need to go that far to understand the problem with this village that had summoned them; the record about the first appearance of Akatsuki was not that far behind the history.
As the one who killed the symbol of this village's peace was killed in a war they had no hand in, their psychological need for 'revenge' for that insult was unfulfilled. With the lost of both 'peace' and 'tyrant', people who always dictated by those two concept no longer had a clue on how to continue their life, and instead searching for something that will fill their void. Only through 'tyranny', 'peace' can be achieved, and since there was no tyranny in their own country, they were searching it outside. Such mentality could no longer be saved, as they nevertheless had repeated what their hated leader Hanzo did. That was why it's called revolution – it was an unbroken cycle.
Well, maybe their worthy messiah had to wait for another generation. Meanwhile, Gensokyo always have time to waste, and it was the youkai's duty to foster some fear in the hearts of men anyway. If they're not working to strengthen the barrier, that's it.
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His father always saying, "This graduation test isn't the most important thing you have to concentrate on. There are those who proved their worth as shinobi by doing what the instructors in academy had not expected you to do," as a ground on saying the graduation test was actually a front to cull those who can't see what it takes to protect the village. And Boruto always had a nagging suspicion that his father only said that because he only had passed the test by basically failing three times at simple bunshin technique and cheated his way out by stealing forbidden jutsu.
Well, he wasn't planning to end up like that. For one, he wasn't a Jinchuriki with sucky chakra control, thus bunshin technique was no-brainer for him; he had his mother's side of family training him for that after all.
He didn't actually felt any sort of accomplishment toward his graduation, actually. With what kind of family he came from, it would need more than just passing the academy to create a large splash about his name on the history of the world. Become a Hokage? That won't do. Because of the history of the Hokage succession, he would be surprised if one day he would become a Hokage.
Proving self-worth through hard work and determination? A big fat lie when your role in the history was already predetermined.
Though Father said he was going home early, he had no intention to going home. Not now, at least. Since they had studied the history of the village several months pass, suddenly a wave of cynicism washed over him. If it was because of the heritage from the Sage of Six Path that caused his father and Sasuke Uchiha to win against Rabbit Goddess, then what chance other people have? What can they do against him if he came to power? He often pondered about it, but felt there was no one who could give him the answer. Except maybe his mother. But Mother wasn't here, and he regretted he had delayed it for too long to ask her.
Now, the instructor were practically worshipping the ground he walked on when he showing off a little with Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and his suspicion was confirmed more than ever without anyone to disapprove it. Everyone expected great things from him because of his linage, thus anything he do would be 'just expected'.
So there he was, walking aimlessly in a field of sakura trees. They would have a flower-watching event the next month, when the sakura would bloom for the last time in the year before the petals fall and the trees bare.
But there was already someone in his special space. A woman with green hair and plaid red clothes, holding an umbrella in her right hand, was watching the petals swaying. There was something about the woman that made him feel uneasy. Maybe he should run from there...
The woman turned to him when she felt his presence. Her eyes were red and sharp, her lips in disinterested frown. She looked middle-aged, but her aura was far more ancient. Their eyes met for a longest time, before the woman broke silent.
"Is this your place, boy?"
His tongue seemed swollen when he was trying to speak. But the woman was satisfied enough.
"Then pardon me for intruding. I was looking for a new place for flower to bloom. This country seems like nothing special to mine."
A foreigner? She indeed was unfamiliar, despite being quite stand out in the village.
"It's fine." He croaked out, "Not that many people come to this neighborhood; I just like it here."
"I see. But then you're quite away from home, no? Shouldn't you come home before it's dark? Some evil creature might just carry you off to a world unknown..."
Boruto shivered, though he didn't really know where it came from.
"Maybe, but that will be more interesting for me anyway."
"Hm? Possible death is more interesting?"
"When you everything is just like a script for a drama that you already know the ending, wouldn't that be boring?"
"Do you dislike your destiny, then?"
"Sorta..."
"Will you seek another, then?"
"I...guess?" But then he thought about it twice. What path left for him to go? If not to be the village hero, then would he become a villain just for sake of betraying people's expectation? Would he do that to his father, mother, and sister?
Boruto cleared his throat, and the speaking with a clearer voice.
"No... I want to be a hero in a different way than how people are thinking. I want to become greater than anyone had ever been."
The woman chuckled.
"Brave words, boy. Who knows? Maybe your wish is not that far away in the future, after all."
"What do you mean, Miss?"
"You'll see. I assure you, that day will be the day we'll meet again."
She walked away from the lines of trees. The new ninja called her out, asking for her name. That woman only gave her a smile and said, "Prove that you really have what it takes for your dream. Then, I'll give you my name."
She disappeared in a storm of cherry blossom petals.
Prologue Ends
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Greeting.
The end of Naruto gives me some idea at how the world will continue on, mostly from my dissatisfaction of the ancient backstory of Rikudo Sennin and his mother Kaguya. I really want to justify Kaguya's presence within the narrative of the series, but the sheer ex machina of her entrance put me off because just how detached she is in the overall storyline.
My choice in this crossover is because if there's a way to connect the ancient with the current generation, while still holding that strong Japanese aesthetic of both side of the crossover, then there's nothing can do the job better than Touhou. Nothing can have a better ancient beings living in the modern world other than Gensokyo setting, and the jarring dissonance between the two is exactly the way I perceive the subtle conflict between Kaguya and modern ninja.
Ah, and since this is following the end of Naruto, it will use the official couples and kids in the epilogue. I will not accept any complain about shipping because honestly romance doesn't matter much in this story compare to political intrigue, the usual ninja battles, and Boruto's shenanigans with Gensokyo's residents. Think of it more like you're reading One Piece and not the usual Naruto fanfictions that got oversatured with pairings.
It also doesn't follow any future installment of Boruto that might be coming, so please bear with me. Though I might adopt some future concepts, we'll see how it will go first. For now, this story will follow my interpretation of the characters from what we had seen from the epilogue.
Also available in Spacebattles forum with the same title.
Enjoy your stay.