I do not own anything from Naruto or the image. Also, it is advisable to read the Author's Note at the end.
Naruto sighed and plopped in front of Hagoromo. He felt Sasuke awkwardly shift next to him, no doubt a bit perturbed by what the Sage of Six Paths had just told them. Well, not that Naruto blamed him; he himself felt incredibly weary and upset. After all the fighting they had done, all the sacrifices they had made, only for it to end with being absorbed by Kaguya was an incredibly disappointing result.
No, Naruto corrected, they hadn't exactly been absorbed, at least not yet. They were a millisecond away from dying when Hagoromo stopped time and pulled their consciousness away from the fight, landing them in front of him. But this could not last forever, and both Naruto and Sasuke knew that if Hagoromo sent them back to the world, they would surely be absorbed.
Unless they went ahead and did what Hagoromo had advised them to do, they would be dead once they went back to the world.
"And there's no other choice?" Sasuke asked calmly, even though Naruto knew he was anything but calm.
Hagoromo shook his head.
"But what will happen to Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan?" Naruto interjected. "Will they… die?"
The Sage sighed, suddenly looking and feeling very old. "What I have proposed to you two is that you travel to a parallel world where neither Naruto nor Sasuke exist. That is, where Indra and Asura have yet to reincarnate. Parallel worlds can resonate with each other, so if you're able to kill Kaguya in that world…"
"We kill Kaguya in this one," Sasuke finished, nodding in understanding.
Naruto looked Hagoromo, then at the Uchiha, and cocked his head to the side. "Huh? I don't get it."
The black-haired shinobi shot his friend an annoyed look. Trust Naruto to not understand when time is precious. "We can't travel back in time because that will create various paradoxes. You understand so far?" At the blond's nod, he continued, "We can't just go to any parallel world because having two of you or two of me would mess up the reincarnation process when we die."
Naruto perked up and stared at Hagoromo, gaping. "Wait, does that mean that we would be stuck in that parallel world forever?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Traveling from worlds is an incredibly taxing experience that any normal person can only experience once. That is why you have to go to a world where there is no reincarnation. The other option is to leave you two in here and have you and everyone in the world subject to my mother's madness."
"Oh… Okay," Naruto mumbled and looked at the dark floor, which wasn't really a floor but who cared right now? He would be ripped from his world to have one chance, and one chance only, to make things right. "So if we beat Kaguya or foil her plans, then this Kaguya will also die because we are connected?"
"Not exactly," Hagoromo interjected, his voice grave. "I will repeat the plan once again, Naruto. In a few moments, I will give you two each a String of Fate. It is imperative that at least one of you attaches this to Kaguya before I sent you to another world; if you can get both that increases the chances of success. Once you reach the parallel world, you must find that world's Kaguya and attach the other end of the String of Fate to her. That way, if that Kaguya dies, then this Kaguya dies as well, because their Fates are connected."
Sasuke hummed and nodded. "That means that we must make sure the Infinite Tsukoyomi plan succeeds and an Uchiha with Rinnegan, correct? It's the only way to awaken Kaguya."
"Correct."
"Wait, does that mean we're going to be the bad guys?" Naruto pitched in, yelping. "Remember how hard everyone fought against the Infinite Tsukoyomi? Does that mean we have to fight against Konoha?"
Hagoromo stared at Naruto for a couple of seconds before sighing once again; he did that a lot when around them. But, he couldn't complain. This felt like having a conversation with his sons, and not much had changed since then. This also gave him hope, because if there was anyone who could stop Kaguya, it would definitely be his own children. "Not necessarily, Naruto."
"Huh?"
Sasuke groaned and resisted the urge to slap the blond's back of the head. Even though they were allies at the moment, Naruto's slowness consumed the Uchiha's patience. "What he means is that the Infinite Tsukoyomi doesn't have to be necessarily evil anymore. Now that we know what it really does, we can plan for it."
"Does that mean you're not going to destroy Konoha?"
He grunted and looked away; he hadn't thought about that. Even though Itachi had sacrificed his life for Konoha and asked him to protect his homeland, Sasuke still felt bitter about the way his brother had been perceived. Then again, there was no way to know what exactly was going to happen in this parallel universe. There could be no massacre, for all he knew. "Now's not the time to ask such questions."
Naruto looked as if he was to rebuke, but he suddenly became pensive. "Oi, Sage, Kurama and the rest ask what will become of them?"
"Nothing will change for either you or Sasuke," Hagoromo explained. "However, be warned: should either of the Zetsu find out what you wish to do, then our plan might fail, since he will wait until you two die to restart the Infinite Tsukoyomi. And the best way for the ever-resourceful Zetsu to discover your true purpose is if you attract too much attention to yourselves. You must be shadow puppets and must keep your true powers secret. After all, Zetsu will immediately know there's something wrong if he sees Naruto's with Kurama's chakra or Sasuke with a Rinnegan eye."
"Why not kill the Zetsu?"
"White Zetsu cannot be killed because he's born from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and there's many of him," Sasuke responded.
"And Black Zetsu cannot be killed because he's the manifestation of Kaguya's will," Hagoromo continued. "Be very careful with what you do. I can only transport your bodies once, since doing it more than once will send your bodies in shock and kill you."
Naruto grinned. "We understand, Sage! We won't let you down!"
A chuckle slipped Hagoromo's lips. It was very hard to keep his mirth when he felt like he was seeing his children one more time. Even if their faces and backgrounds were different, there was absolutely no doubt that these two were Indra and Asura. "I'm sure you won't, Naruto. Now." The Sage put his two index fingers together and sent chakra to the finger tips. Then he drew them apart, solidifying the glowing blue chakra until it resembled a string.
Once it was a foot in length, the string was cut from his fingertips and he handed it to Sasuke. He repeated the process and handed the string to Naruto. Both of them held the String of Fate delicately, understanding the importance behind the object. He, his brother, and Kaguya were the only ones who could create a String of Fate, and it was a good thing, because joining the destinies of two people was mostly detrimental.
"I will send you both back to the moment before you are absorbed. You need to attach that String to Kaguya in five seconds, and in the sixth, right before Kaguya finishes, I will send you to that parallel world. Are you two ready?" Hagoromo asked. Both Naruto and Sasuke nodded, their eyes hard with determination. "Very well, I wish you two the best, my sons."
One minute they were staring at the Sage's aged face and in the next they were being held by the throat, about to be absorbed by Black Zetsu. Sasuke immediately drew the string and stabbed it through Kaguya's index finger, keeping the other end open. If what Hagoromo had said was true, he would carry this string to the parallel world and, since both the parallel worlds and Kaguya are connected, they would resonate once she died. Of course, this would all be for naught if he lost his end of the string, but that would never happen.
This was new, she thought. As far as she was concerned, only she and her sons were able to create Strings of Fate. It was a power bestowed on her by Shinju, a power she had wanted back from her sons, along with their chakra. The other power only she and their sons had was–– Kaguya's eyes widened and she slightly slackened her hold on the black-haired shinobi.
Naruto also got his end of the String of Fate ready, but by then Kaguya already knew what was going on, She let go of Sasuke's neck and snatched the String of Fate from Naruto, then stabbed one end through Naruto's right arm and the other through a wheezing Sasuke's left arm. Now she only needed to kill one and the other would die, which would make things much easier.
She was about to run her hand through Naruto's torso when he and Sasuke disappeared, leaving behind two globs of Black Zetsu, moaning from the pain of forcibly being ripped apart by a space-time ninjutsu.
Leaving her behind in this world, because this land was her nursery, and she would be damned if she left it.
Welcome to Chakra Strings! As you may have noticed, it is completely AU. Such project takes a lot of planning and motivation, so I hope that those interested drop by and follow or review. After all, though I already know how Chakra Strings will end, how to get there is completely up in the air.
I know this introductory chapter is a bit short, but there is a reason for that. I am leaving three things up to you, reviewers: When and where Naruto and Sasuke will land as well as pairings. The first two are extremely important, but the last one is really just icing on the cake; I have never put that much importance on romance for the overall plot. There is only one restriction to the when part, and it is that there must be no living reincarnation of either Indra or Asura in that time period. The default time period is the normal Naruto manga one, but that could change. After those three have been chosen, you will have to trust in me.
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