Author's note:
This is my first chapter of my first story, so please critique. That being said, please provide me some feedback that will help me write better.
One constructive review is worth a thousand fans & haters.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in the Naruto manga or anime.
" = Speech
' = Thoughts
Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, watched the state of the world through his limitless chakra reserves. Hagoromo sat on his transparent and home invisible only to him and his brother. His home was on top of a cloud that never vanished. His home was quite humble for the Savior of the World: a small cottage and a garden, which was never perfectly kept. Sighing yet again at the limitless violence made by his descendants, Hagoromo rubbed his eyes in exasperation. The old man's Rinnegan eyes were tired of seeing violence, and more than anything, abuse of the nine Bijuu, the tailed beasts.
The attempts to capture the tailed beasts from clan after clan, village after village, finally reached the era of Jinchuriki. The creation of Jinchuriki only became widespread after the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama, brought the Kyuubi, Nanabi, Gobi, and Rokubi under his control. Hashirama's Mokuton was powerful enough to even suppress Bijuu chakra, which is exactly what he did, and to great effect. After spreading the Gobi and Rokubi to Iwagakure and Kusagakure, the Nanabi was sent off to Takigakure as a gesture of goodwill to a smaller nation.
Nothing could be further from the truth; Hagoromo knew that although humans thought that his precious Bijuu were nothing more than demons, they were much more. Each tailed beast had it's own techniques, abilities, emotions, quirks, talents! Yet, humanity continued using his precious Bijuu as weapons that even their own Jinchuriki despised and ignored.
Over time, various Bijuu were captured and forced from one land to another. The Rokubi was taken from Kusagakure by Kiriagakure shinobi, with the help of the Sanbi Jinchuriki in the first Shinobi World War. The Hachibi was removed from Amegakure in the second Shinobi World War, with the help of the Nibi and Nidaime Raikage. All the while, Hagoromo was watching, rubbing his eyes and sighing in disgust at the world he had left his precious creations in.
'Hopefully one day I'll smile and see my Bijuu happy.' Thought Hagoromo every time one of the nine tailed beasts was mistreated or ignored. The Sage of Six Paths' luck was clearly against him, as the world sped continued through the Third Great Ninja War. A group of S-Ranked Nuke-nin decided to turn their attention towards capturing all nine Bijuu in order to resurrect the nightmare of Hagoromo's era, the Juubi. The leaders of this organization were following the orders of one of the Sage's descendants, no less!
Hagoromo continued to be in deep thought about this new organization, the Akatsuki, until his brother Hamura joined him in observing the world the two brothers had saved, long, long ago.
"Brother, do you have any ideas?" Hamura asked Hagoromo, knowing every detail about his brother's predicament. Hamura looked and saw just how exhausted his brother was. Hagoromo truly looked like he had lived through all ages, and looked even more ancient than his age would show. Hamura knew from the pained expression that Hagoromo's worries about the Bijuu had far from left him.
"An organization desires to resurrect the Juubi, brother. They are going to take all nine tailed beasts and seal them in that monstrosity's husk." Both brothers sat in silence for a second, remembering the horrors of fighting their mother, Kaguya, alongside the Juubi. Hamura scrunched his eyebrows and looked at Hagoromo. "Hago, what about taking the Bijuu out of that world and bringing them to us?" Hagoromo looked up at Hamura, as if contemplating his brother's intelligence.
"Hamura, the Bijuu can only stay with us so long before getting bored of our company." After processing Hagoromo's statement, Hamura sighed and created a small wall. 'Only Hago would think that the boredom of the tailed beasts is a primary concern.' Thought Hamura as he repeatedly slammed his head into the wall. Hagoromo suddenly looked up with a new light in his Rinnegan, he clearly had a new idea.
"Hamura, what if I sent them to another world, somewhere with less fighting?" Hagoromo looked hopeful as he waited for his brother's reaction. 'Less fighting, I wonder… Perhaps then I won't have to deal with Hago losing his mind every time something happens to his Bijuu…' As Hamura kept thinking of all the benefits that would come from his brother's peace, he decided to add a piece of his own. "Hago, the group that's after the Bijuu, Akatsuki, was it? What if we sent them along to protect the Bijuu rather than harm them?" Hagoromo had an evil grin from all the possibilities.
"Well, brother, it seems I'm going to find the Akatsuki and make them help the Bijuu." With that statement, Hagoromo warped into the tallest tower of Amegakure, the village Hidden in the Rain. Invisible to all, he strolled deeper into the maze of pipes and hallways until reaching a small room in the center. In said room, Hagoromo found a man with spiky orange hair, Rinnegan, and dozens of Chakra receivers all over his face. Next to him, a woman with blue hair and amber eyes was talking to him. Both, Hagoromo noticed, had black cloaks with red clouds on them, and each one had a conical straw hat with strips of paper going down, which would undoubtedly provide anonymity.
"Pein-sama, Deidara and Sasori-san are going to Sunagakure to hunt the Ichibi, just like you asked them to. Hidan and Kakuzu-san are going around Kakuzu's network to discover more information about the Nibi's location, as well as collecting more funding from bounty hunts." The blue haired woman finished, and Hagoromo scowled in fury. These two were clearly among the higher-ups of the Akatsuki, with the Rinnegan bearer being the leader of the two. Hagoromo knew that one of Indra's descendants was the leader of the Akatsuki, but he seemed to not be present. 'Be patient, Hagoromo. He will show up eventually…' Hagoromo thought to himself, as he felt no other presences in the area.
"Everything is going according to plan, then. You have done an excellent job getting me this information, Konan. When Itachi and Kisame return from their mission, send them with Zetsu to locate the Yonbi Jinchuriki and analyze his fighting style. We need to know his strengths, weaknesses, locations he frequents, habits, and any other relevant information." With this, the man, who Hagoromo assumed to be Pein, walked over to a map, which showed all the known lands. Hagoromo noted that some of the locations were crossed out, a clear sign of thorough searching.
Hagoromo was about to make himself visible when a third figure arrived, using a teleportation from one of the three great Dojutsu, the Sharingan. This man's lack of a black cloak with red clouds surprised Hagoromo, but then again, Indra was always proud, and it made sense that his descendants were that way too. What was unusual about this Uchiha, however, was not his pride or his lack of a cloak, but his mask; an orange, spirally mask that covered one eye, only leaving one Sharingan visible. 'So this one is the true leader of the Akatsuki. Definitely one of Indra's descendants, that nasty look in his eye is all I need to see.' Hagoromo thought and decided that now was the only time to get the attention of all the Akatsuki higher-ups.
Allowing himself to be visible with his staff in hand, Hagoromo merely stood in his awe-inspiring power, waiting for Pein, Konan, and the third man to see what they had gotten themselves into. Pein's eyes widened in anger and disbelief at seeing the staff, the demonic features, and more than anything, Rinnegan in Hagoromo's eyes. Konan turned paler than a sheet and backed away as fast as she could without leaving the room. The third man's eye narrowed as the tomoe in the Sharingan started spinning around wildly, looking for illusion or some possible sign of how the legendary Sage of Six Paths came into the scenario.
"Madara-san, what is going on here? How did he enter without any of us sensing him?" Pein instinctively jumped in front of Konan, knowing he had the highest chances of stopping any attacks the Sage could bring forth. The inside of Pein's head was running through possible ways of surviving such an encounter. 'Perhaps if I was able to go to an exit and use Shinra Tensei, I could push Konan away before the Rikudo Sennin could counter… No, his visual prowess is exponentially greater than mine. Perhaps a summoning could provide enough protection for both of us to escape… No, if his visual prowess works in a similar fashion to mine, he'll be able to use Banshou Ten'in and bring us back. Chibaku Tensei? No, his Chibaku Tensei is the moon itself, while mine is only the size of a city. Damnit, is there any way for escape?'
Hagoromo looked with curiosity at the masked Uchiha, knowing full well this individual's chakra couldn't even compare to a fraction of Madara's.
Laughing loudly, Hagoromo asked, "Madara? You're telling them that you're Uchiha Madara and they believe it? They believe that Madara would hide behind a mask in the shadows rather than just take charge and obliterate his enemies?" Hagoromo laughed even more, and despite his ancient features and unintimidating stature, his reputation turned those laughs into beacons of terror for the three Akatsuki in the room.
A second later, Pein and Konan registered the words of the Rikudo Sennin and looked at the masked man, questioningly. "Now, lets remove that mask of yours so your friends can see exactly who you are." Hagoromo said with a smile befitting of such an ancient figure as he pulled Madara into range of his arms to pull his mask off.
'Without any movement, or even saying the Jutsu's name, his visual prowess is on a level unimaginable compared to Nagato's!' Konan thought with worry replacing curiosity about Madara's true identity. Pein's mind wasn't having a better time.
'No sign of using Banshou Ten'in, no gesture with a hand, and complete choice over who or what he pulls in! Is this the Rinnegan's most powerful form?' Pein's mind was quickly looking for a solution as he truly realized how much the Rikudo Sennin dwarfed his visual prowess.
As Hagoromo pulled on Madara's mask, the masked Uchiha used Kamui to quickly flee to another dimension, undoubtedly to preserve his identity. The Rikudo Sennin broke the mask in half and dropped it at his feet. Despite his ancient features, Hagoromo had a mischievous glint in his Rinnegan, further signaling to Pein and Konan that the two of them were in for quite a 'talk'.
"So, I have two options for you, leaders of Akatsuki." Hagoromo's smile widened as he predicted the looks he would receive when he gave them this idea, and was somewhat surprised to see that the one with his eyes still had a poker face. "You can either die, or help me with a small issue I have." Hagoromo obviously knew that the issue would win, and he knew that Pein and Konan wanted to make the world better. If he let them know how removing the Bijuu from this world would save it, the two leaders would side with the Sage of Six Paths without a doubt. Upon seeing Pein and Konan exchange eye contact and take a minute or two reasoning out the possibilities, they both looked at Hagoromo and Pein replied, "The second option seems to have more convenience."
"My tailed beasts, my nine precious Bijuu are being hunted down by you. Your desires of resurrecting the Juubi prove harmful not only to my nine creations, but to the entire world. The Juubi's power will never be controlled by anyone, even the combined powers of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara at their fullest could not restrain it. What made you two think that you had even the slightest chance at controlling such a beast?" Konan looked down, presumably ashamed of her actions, while Pein narrowed his Rinnegan eyes. Mentally, Hagoromo sighed; Pein was without a doubt prideful, but luckily Hagoromo knew more than one way to shut up people with pride.
"I can offer you a method to make everyone's lives easier. Because you've somewhat agreed to the second option, you're going to help me." Konan looked up, curious as to what the second option was. Pein's eyes narrowed even further, clearly suspicious of my intentions. "If you're going to be so defiant, we could always continue this conversation in that giant contraption you're using as life support, Pein." Pein's eyes were blank, seemingly taking in the fact that I knew his greatest weakness; his fragile state.
"I will take all nine Bijuu and bring them to another dimension. Nine new Jinchuriki will be chosen, and the Bijuu will be treated better, as they will live in a more peaceful world without being used for power, or extracted and sealed repeatedly. These nine Jinchuriki will be kinder, and won't be forced to use the Bijuu chakra for fighting. These Jinchuriki and my Bijuu will be a team in perfect harmony, and your world will be free of the objects of your greed." Pein and Konan's eyes widened. The two of them had expected judgment of some sort from the greatest of all shinobi, but instead, had made an even better solution to the problem of how to make peace. 'Perhaps...' thought Konan, 'Were Nagato and I wrong?' Konan decided to investigate further, as her basic shinobi instincts started kicking in.
"Rikudo Sennin-sama, how will the Bijuu get sealed in these Jinchuriki, and how does our choosing of the second option change those factors?" Konan asked politely, but also curiously. Hagoromo's grin returned, even wider than before.
"Well, did you really think I would let people like the Akatsuki off the hook that easily? Let's take a look at the records of your members, shall we?" An image of Pein appeared beside Hagoromo.
"Pein, also known as Uzumaki Nagato, wielder of the Rinnegan. Your misdeeds are numerous. You have slaughtered over one hundred Amegakure shinobi in revenge, extracted two Bijuu from their Jinchuriki, killing the Jinchuriki in the process. You have also slaughtered the innocent families of those associated with Hanzo of the Salamander, as well as placed Amegakure under a reign of terror." Pein's ringed eyes visibly widened at the sound of his real name, and Konan braced for herself being next, after seeing the image of Pein flicker away and one of herself flicker in.
"Konan, also of Amegakure. You supported a cruel dictatorship, and aided in the terror that is the Akatsuki." Konan's sentences were only two, considering she had done many fewer things wrong in her life. Her image faded out as Akasuna no Sasori's image took her place.
"Akasuna no Sasori, of Sunagakure. Has killed over one hundred people and defiled the bodies of the dead by transforming them into human puppets. He specializes in poisons, and often creates poisons with the intent to kill slowly and agonizingly. On top of that, he also possesses a Jutsu that controls the mind of others, making them unwillingly do his bidding. He is willingly going to hunt down the Ichibi no Tanuki and join the ritual to seal it inside of that monstrous husk." Sasori's image flickered out and Deidara's took its place.
"Deidara of Iwagakure. Stole a forbidden scroll to make clay into an explosive. Went rogue from Iwagakure after setting off dozens of explosives, injuring and killing thousands. After this barbaric act, he aided terrorist factions trying to destroy Iwagakure, and only retired from his barbaric business when he made a bet on a whim and lost. He is also going after my precious Ichibi no Shukaku." Deidara's image left and was replaced by Hidan's.
"Hidan of Yugakure. Sacrifices people on a weekly basis in painful rituals. Aside from that, he went rogue from his village by slaughtering his family and all of his neighbors. His misdeeds are many, needless, and repetitive." Hidan's image flickered out and Kakuzu's took its place.
"Kakuzu of Takigakure. Steals people's hearts to prolong his life and kills people to make money. He has also killed several of his partners in the Akatsuki because of his temper. He uses the hearts he takes from people to aid in his bounty hunting and Jinchuriki hunting." Hagoromo dispelled Kakuzu's image and turned again towards Pein and Konan, Itachi's image in Kakuzu's place.
"Uchiha Itachi of Konohagakure. Itachi slaughtered his entire clan, caused severe mental trauma to his younger brother at the age of seven, by showing the killing of his parents. Itachi's use of the Mangekyo Sharingan creates fires that burn until their target is nothing more than ashes. His Tsukuyomi is torture in its most brutal form – mental torture. His eyes can control and manipulate without the consent of others." Hagoromo finished, Itachi's image being replaced by Kisame.
"Hoshigaki Kisame of Kiriagakure. Killed his comrades many times, for the sake of his master Saikazan Fuguki. Following those murders, he slaughtered his master in cold blood, taking Fuguki's sword with him. From then, he collaborated with the man who manipulated the Yondaime Mizukage, the very same man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara. Kisame revels in the sensation of killing his comrades, and even kills those who put faith in him." Kisame's image flickered out totally and Hagoromo turned to Pein and Konan.
"Because of your discrepancies in this world, I'm sending all nine of you Akatsuki with the Bijuu. When I see that both worlds are better because of this operation, I'll simply place you back in this dimension and you'll never have to go through with the resurrection of the Juubi, because the world will already be better." Pein and Konan's eyes narrowed, as they both wondered how the world would somehow get better without the 'God' and 'Angel' to guide it to true peace.
"Also, one more thing. The nine Jinchuriki will have already been chosen and given chakra by the time you arrive in the other dimension. You will simply have to piece together which Jinchuriki goes with which Bijuu; think of it as a puzzle!" With that, Hagoromo sped through 10,000 hand seals in a matter of seconds and slammed his fist into the ground.
Around the world, Hagoromo's jutsu took place.
Gaara, the Godaime Kazekage, was sparring with his siblings Kankurou and Temari, when a golden light emitted from his seal. Upon closer inspection, the three Sand Siblings discovered that the sand demon Shukaku was gone, along with its seal.
Nii Yugito and Kirabi sparred frequently. The two Kumo Jinchuriki weren't particularly close friends, but had great respect for each other, as fellow Jinchuriki. The two were locked in a match of strength, Yugito's cat claws against Kirabi's sword. The two felt a warm sensation in their stomachs, and looked down to see the seals of the Nibi and Hachibi glowing golden. The two's eyes, already wide, widened even further when they realized that their seals had vanished entirely, along with their Bijuu chakra. In less than five seconds, they had charged towards the Raikage's tower to report this new finding.
Isobu, the Sanbi turtle, sat at the bottom of a lake filled with mist. Isobu's three years long rest of freedom was interrupted by a golden glow. Opening its eyes, Sanbi realized that it was glowing, and the chakra signature that was drawing it near…
'Old man… So you've come to get us at long last? You kept all of us waiting, and let us go through enslavement after enslavement after enslavement. What's done is done though, perhaps you have something better planned for us now…' Isobu thought sleepily as the golden glow increased in brightness.
Around the other shinobi villages, the Bijuu and their seals were quickly extracted. Roshi, the Yonbi Jinchuriki, and Utakata, the Rokubi Jinchuriki, were both shocked but not entirely sad. The Gobi and Nanabi, which were sealed in the Gedo Mazou, were both taken, with Pein's sealing jutsu taken to make transportation easy. Of course, Uzumaki Naruto didn't notice the Kyuubi or the Tetragram seal being removed. He was too busy eating his forty-fifth bowl of ramen in his annual Ichiraku ramen-eating contest with Konohamaru.
Just after placing the nine Bijuu and their seals inside a scroll for safekeeping, the second part of Hagoromo's jutsu took place.
The first chapter is over! The second chapter will be the Akatsuki entering our world with the Bijuu, and the framework for the first arc will be revealed by it.
I am not going to set myself to a "I can upload once a week" type schedule for future chapters, but rather I intend to write when I can, and upload when I can.
-KingsOfSarutobi