AN: The next chapter

DISCLAIMER: All characters, and source material are property of their respective owners.

"Speech"

"Empowered speech/Jutsu"


A Possible Request

He had lost count of how many times he had visited this exceedingly small village in the fringes of the Empire, it could have been nine?

Maybe ten visits...

Honestly he had not been counting them. True enough the time he had spent here had brought upon many a frowns in the eyes of his advisers and those whom were much older and 'experienced' than him. Admittedly they had mentioned his...obsession in a rather gentle manner, given the possible consequences of offending someone of his status...

Yet for the ninth...or maybe tenth time he had decided to ignore their advice.

He knew his advisers meant well, especially given that he is the Emperor, forged by his ancestors before him for quite a few generations now. Indeed he knew he was responsible enough to be aware that these visits to this very village yielded no real benefit, but then again an Emperor could govern no matter where he is.

As for the reason he had been obsessed with this seemingly value-less endeavour, he undoubtedly knew it was anything but pointless.

For he was to gain a woman's hand in marriage...and as of yet he had been...very unsuccessful.

A woman by the name of Kaguya, the daughter of a bamboo cutter, at least that was what those around him had informed him. Like the dukes and lords of his dominion as well as the other nations, they came far and wide to meet what was perhaps the most beautiful woman in the lands. They had visited this very village, for the chance to wed her.

Each and every one of them failed, and each and every one of them gave up.

All except him.

Upon his request for her hand the first time he had met her, she had quite bluntly rejected it...completely disregarding she had rejected the request from the Emperor no less. It had been even more impressive as she remained unaffected when one of his personal guards started to threaten her for her lack of said respect.

Then again this is coming from a woman who asked lords and dukes for something as outlandish as a "coloured jewel from a dragon's neck" or a "legandary robe of a fire-rat".

Yes, a simple rejection had been much better than something like that.

He had to calm his guard down from doing anything he would come to regret.

People wondered why he had not given up, if anything else, why he became further motivated. Well unlike those who came before him, there was always something else about Kaguya that interested him, more than any insanity-inducing beauty could ever do to interest him.

He wanted to get to know the woman so bold as to refuse a request from the Emperor, or rather a woman so bold as to completely disregard the status he held.

It was on this day, on one of his many visits that he was once again in the bamboo-cutter's house, to meet with the woman whom he had fallen in love with the very first moment he had set eyes on her. Although he had been unsuccessful in gaining her affection...as of yet he had convinced himself, he had found her company to be unusually desirable.

He had hoped that she would not be as cold-hearted towards him on this matter that he would be bringing up...

He was now in a room, a cup of tea served to him, and facing him had been Kaguya herself. It was a welcome change from her usual refusal to entertain his presence in the previous visits.

He had a bright grin on his face, whilst the woman in front of him seemed to have her usual scowl on hers, a scowl she seemed to wear whenever he visited. Her bright Amber orbs eyed him with a mix mild annoyance and some other emotion that he did not really know...

They had been staring at each other for a few minutes now, but to him there really was nothing else he would rather do.

Despite what his advisors might try to say.

She on the other hand, decided to break the silence with the Emperor.

"You are really not going to give up on this now are you?" she asked calmly yet bluntly, some might say hazardously tactlessly considering exactly who she was talking to.

He laughed at her remark, as he always did since the first day she had spoken to him.

"What kind of man would I be, if I give up on fulfilling my goals so easily Kaguyahime?" he responded, his grin widened when she heard her groan at being called by her given 'pet-name'.

Nevertheless she responded to what might have been a rhetorical question, "I would say you would be a very reasonable man to give up already, like the rest of them. I have lost count of how many times I have rejected your proposal already..."

"Now when did I say that I was asking for your hand in marriage Hime?" he asked, to which Kaguya looked back at him in surprise and confusion.

"Did you not ask for my hand in marriage the first day you had arrived? Perhaps even the second, third and fourth day as well? I recalled you were almost to the point of whining by the forth." she queried in slight amusement, she raised her brow slightly.

He chuckled awkwardly and nodded, "Yes, I did. You have refused quite strongly and by that time...lets just say I got the message.. and I have therefore accepted your refusal graciously!", the answer seemed to cause Kaguya's eyes to twitch slightly.

"Well, pray tell why are you here then Mikado-sama?!" she asked, annoyance seemed much more evident in her voice.

"I am here to ask you whether you would be keen on friendship?" he asked simply. This answer completely evaporated all annoyance on Kaguya's expression, and all that was left was confusion and surprise.

She was silent for but a moment, that was until she finally responded albeit with a lot less of her usual cold unfriendliness.

"...why?", that was all she asked.

He shrugged in response, though he could feel his shoulders slumped quite noticeably, "lets just say, the Imperial Court has never been a place where actual friendships can blossom. This is especially so with someone of my...position. People would more likely place false smiles or fake gestures of respect because they fear an Emperor's wrath, no matter how much I tell them otherwise."

As he explained his reason to Kaguya, he could not help but reminisce the years he had spent in the Palace. The servants during his younger days were the closest he had to friends and even then...they often feared him as the Late Emperor's "Sole Heir".

Meeting Kaguya had been a completely different experience altogether, indeed she completely disregarded who he is and it had been apparent since the day he met her. She was willing to be honest to him, perhaps a little bit on the blunt side...more importantly she had seen him as a person, rather than a ruler.

"Indeed I might have first arrived here to ask for your hand in marriage but, I stayed so that I could ask for your hand in friendship." he scratched the back of his head, suddenly feeling somewhat awkward.

"Never really had friends come to think of it, if you are willing...you might be my first one. I know you might be wondering what kind of loser of a ruler I am to have no-" he spoke somewhat sheepishly, but he was silenced when Kaguya interrupted him...once again devoid of tact.

"If that is why you are here, why did you not say anything all these time?!" she asked.

"You almost always interrupted my by saying you were 'not interested' in what I have to say, that was even before I could even ask you anything. I am actually surprised that you decided to allow me to linger in your home for as long as you did...But honestly, you never really gave me much opportunity to speak." he replied honestly. He noticed Kaguya looked to the side as he gave his answer, a mild blush formed on her face out of embarrassment.

He found that expression to be adorable.

Kaguya did not take long to suppress the reddening of her cheeks, upon which she looked back at him with a sigh...her expression noticeably softer than before.

"You're hopeless aren't you Mikado?" she asked, likely in a rhetorical manner. After a brief pause, Kaguya finally gave him her answer, albeit trying to appear as calm and cool as she always seemed to portray herself all these times.

"I suppose...I wouldn't mind, being your friend since you have asked so nicely. To be fair I think you are not as...deplorable and arrogant as I thought you would be..." she continued, "you're actually not that bad of a person too...and I don't have any friends myself..." she mumbled softly, hoping that he did not listen on the last part.

Unfortunately he did, and he could feel a smile form on his face. Kaguya saw his expression, and she had promptly formed her cold exterior.

"Lets just get this straight...I am doing you a favour! I-it's not like I really want to be your friend of anything like that it's just my sympathy goes to you, there's nothing more to it, got it?!" it seemed that despite what she had said however, it was too half-hearted for her to actually mean it.

Nevertheless he laughed at her response, "whatever you say hime!" he replied, gaining a scowl from Kaguya.

"Are you patronising me?" she asked in a deathly calm manner. Her amber eyes seemed to glow faintly as she leveled a glare at the Emperor.

He could feel a thin layer of sweat at the decidedly dangerous glare of the woman.

"Even as the Emperor, I would never dare to!" he answered hastily. This seemed to satisfy Kaguya, as her leer subsided, the frightening aura seemed to have resided.

After a brief silence, he decided to voice out again, "well...I hope we can get along then Kaguyahime."

She merely snorted in a mildly unladylike fashion, "oh if we didn't get along, you would have known about it..."

"What makes you say that?" he asked

"Why do you think I didn't ask you to do some impossible task for me like the other dukes who asked for my hand? Definitely had nothing to do with the fact you are the Emperor."

His eyes widened as what she said,

"Oh..." was his response.


Departure

He placed the worn out Hitai-ate on the Hokage's desk, there was a brief silence between the two individuals in the room, one was Naruto Uzumaki, and the other was the sixth Hokage of Konoha, and the person he had seen as a teacher for a good few years of his life.

He had his eyes squinted to prevent others from seeing the permanent changes to them. It would have been inconvenient for people to start talking.

Kakashi Hatake eyed the forehead protector, his expression indiscernible. Soon enough he looked up towards his once student.

"Are you sure about this Naruto? Are you willing to give up on this? Give up on everything that you had dreamed towards?" Kakashi asked, his voice seemed hushed, and Naruto could identify that it sounded akin to forlorn.

"I am sure sensei. I would rather much prefer to disassociate myself from any Hidden village if I can help it." was his answer.

The sixth Hokage sighed upon hearing his response, but he still attempted to dissuade Naruto to proceed with his plans.

"You will be leaving everyone...do you not understand what your friends...your precious people would feel with you gone?!" Kakashi's voice raised slightly, perhaps his decision had a larger impact that he first thought.

"A lot of people will be hurt to see you leave the village Naruto, Sakura, even Sasuke. What about Hinata?! What would she think when you are gone?!"

Naruto expected that outburst.

"I am aware of that sensei, but despite what you say...me leaving Konoha would be for the best. This village does not need the power I hold, no village does."

He also felt he needed to clarify the last issue Kakashi brought up, "As for Hinata...honestly I am aware of her feelings, but that is the extent of it. It is one sided, more admiration that true love in fact. She knows too little of me other than a handful of moments we have met and talked, it would do her good for me to be set thing straight with her."

Kakashi appeared shocked at hearing that, "What if she is serious? She will be heartbroken to know that Naruto..."

"The inevitable result of unrequited love sensei. I will not be better off to pretend that I feel the same way." Naruto answered.

Silence reigned again, but Naruto decided to break it by changing the topic.

"I know with you as Hokage sensei, Konoha would be protected and there will be peace among the villages. With a bit of hope, it might last for a good few generations after the war we just had if you pick your successors well." he smiled at the Hokage, whom seemed somewhat close to tears but had managed to hold it down.

Naruto started to turn towards the door out of the Hokage tower, but he was about to leave, he heard his ex-sensei speak out.

"You do realise Naruto...that if you leave Konoha now, you are never to return."

He nodded at the question, "would not have it any other way."

A brief pause, and Kakashi finally responded.

"I suppose all I can say, as a sensei to his student is farewell, and take care...Naruto."

He gave his sensei a grin, "I could say the same for you too Kakashi-sensei. I think you would make a great Hokage."

The doors out of the Hokage office opened, before he left the room, Naruto spoke out loud.

"Take care Hokage-sama." at that the doors finally closed.

That was the last time Naruto Uzumaki would be in the Hokage tower, and Konoha in peaceful terms.


Undying

"Kurama?" Naruto called out to the being in the cage, in his mindscape which was once a sewer...now it was just an endless sand dune...the cage that had kept his tenant imprisoned had been gone. Leaving it free to navigate in it if the Bijuu saw fit.

Silence...

This had been the case since his fight with Sasuke...that had been many years ago...ever since he had these visions, and ever since he had manifested the eyes of Shinju, there had been a noticeable change in his tenant.

The chakra that manifested into a Nine-Tailed Fox remained silent and unmoving as it stood in front of him...still as a statue, in fact one might say the fox might as well have been a statue at this state. The behemoth was expressionless...emotionless...merely a husk made of material chakra at this point.

Everything about the fox remained unchanged with the exception of its eyes. Instead of its blood-red slitted fiery orbs that held limitless rage and fury, Kurama's eyes were that of a familiar blank rippled purple. Naruto knew that it must have something to do with the eyes that was now a part of him, but as of now he was unsure why it had such an effect on the bijuu.

It was almost as if the bijuu has lost its sentience. As if the soul of the Nine Tailed Fox was no longer there...

"There is no point in continuing this Naruto, Kurama has lost its consciousness, it is merely a husk to contain the nine-tails worth of chakra" a voice from beside him, one of the few voices he had heard quite frequently now in his mindscape.

"You never really told me exactly how a Bijuu, which you have created is capable of losing sentience in such a way Hagoromo-san." Naruto looked to his side and noticed that indeed, the one named Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the man hailed as the first Rikudo Sennin had been standing next to him, eyeing the fox as well.

"It has something to do with your eyes Naruto...something to do with the chakra that had begun to manifest within you."

"Do you know anything about it then?" Naruto asked Hagoromo

The first Sage shook his head, eliciting an annoyed sigh from the blonde. That being said, there must be a reason as to why he was here right now in his mind-scape.

"Why are you here?" he voiced his thoughts.

Hagoromo eyed him intensely for a moment before he gave his response, "you have been acting strange for no few years already Naruto, I have continued to notice that you had eyed the moon, where Kaguya Otsutsuki has been sealed. It almost seem to me like you are having second thoughts on keeping her sealed against your better judgement..."

For some reason, what the first sage had said seemed to annoy him quite noticeably...

"She is your mother Hagoromo-san, would you not have second thoughts about keeping the woman who birthed you to this world sealed for all eternity?!" Naruto retorted.

For some strange reason he had been increasingly...distressed upon holding on to the thought that Kaguya remained sealed up in the moon, helplessly and without escape...it had started off as faint feelings of remorse or doubt, but ever since he had these visions of a life he could not recall, the life of this man called Mikado, the feelings continued to intensify to that of regret and sadness.

There were times that he had actually wept as he looked towards the full moon...

"She would hold the entirety of the human race under her control! She would take away every single shinobi's ability to use chakra! You have seen what she could have done! Mother or not, it is for the best that she remains out of reach from the people of the Elemental Nations!" Hagoromo responded heatedly.

Naruto scowled at what the first sage said, "she only did what she did to stop humanity from destroying themselves through the many wars the species has waged, and destroying this world with it!"

"She wanted to keep all the power of Shinju for herself! She believes that chakra is to be hers alone and no one has right to it! She hungers for power!" Hagoromo shouted out in return.

Before silence had a chance of taking over, Naruto finally spoke, replacing the shouts he had given was a whisper.

"Look at humanity now then Hagoromo-san, look at what they have done over the centuries after you have given them chakra. Are they not hungry for more power? Are they the virtuous, peaceful species that you have hoped they would be?"

This drove the first sage to silence, true enough for the ages since he had bestowed chakra to humanity, there had always been war, there had always been bloodshed. What he had intended to be a gift to help protect themselves and a means for enlightenment, became a tool for wanton destruction.

"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely Hagoromo-san. You have given an easily corruptible species the power akin to Gods. You should have listened to your mother, you should have allowed her to hold on to power that you had no right to give."

Hagoromo glared at Naruto in response, "and what makes you think...the she would not be corrupted by the power that she had acquired from eating the fruit?"

That was a genuine question, how did he know Kaguya would not be corrupted by the absolute power of shinjuu flowing in her veins and encompassed her being?

He did not know the how...he realised he just knew.

There was no point lingering here any longer...if this argument continued, it might turn physical. He did not mind engaging Hagoromo in combat, but considering this was his mind-scape, it would be too hazardous.

"This conversation is over Hagoromo-san, leave when you will." Naruto finally declared. Just as he was about to leave his mind-scape, Hagoromo interrupted him again.

"I will say again Naruto, do not even consider releasing Kaguya from the ChibakuTensei. Do whatever you must in your power to ensure that never happens."

Naruto chuckled humourlessly, "everything in my power? Much like how you were willing to imprison your own mother into your gut in the past?".

He left Hagoromo with that last statement.


Cycle Repeating

He had now returned to the material world from his mindscape, he found himself sitting on the engawa (1) of the shrine he had erected some twenty years ago. He could say quite safely that ever since his last fight with the Uchiha, and since his last words with Kakashi, he had not set foot in Konoha. It had been his home, but that was now in the past.

Although he had made it clear to the then Hokage that he would not be found, that did not stop his friends from attempting to drag him back to the village, some strange irony that had been. Suffice to say they never found him, and in time they had either given up or passed on with age. It was then he had decided to settle down into a much simpler life. Preferably a life free of his shinobi past.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and then to years and finally decades. He had finally lost count of how many years had flown past since the end of the fourth war...just about every person he knew, acquaintance or friends had passed on with old age. In a way, he envied them as the ability to live forever is not as pleasant as what people like the very late Orochimaru would lead them to believe.

Here he was, mostly unchanged ever since he reached adulthood. His biological clock seemed to stop around the age of twenty to twenty five...he did not really know...as he was, unmoving, unchanging. Time started to lose significance to him by his first century of what he could safely conclude had been eternal life.

True to his words to Hagoromo in his mindscape, the years had completely eroded all thoughts of peace across the Elemental Nations. The villages, once significantly weakened as a result of the fourth great war had not regained their strength. With strength, they had the means to fight, and with over a century of peace, the nations and the hidden villages regained the strength they had lost and more. The horrors of war now a distant memory, humanity as a species turned restless...find an excuse to wage war, and an excuse to kill each other.

True he had wanted this cycle to be different, but he knew this was nothing more than wishful thinking on his part. The generation that was weary of the bloodshed and the massacre that was the fourth great war had for most parts died off from over the generations.

Really all that was left are a bunch of children, starting their bloodshed all over gain...and for petty reasons.

Truly, mortality had a very short memory-span...

Just as he contemplated on the time that was long gone, and mistakes being repeated, Naruto's eyes caught the sight of smoke in the horizon. The smoke seemed to have originated from one of the small towns that were close by to his shrine, a place that he frequented once in awhile, and even recently in fact.

He had been dreading moments like these but considering the climate of the world as it is, it should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Town had been on the fringes of Waterfall Country, is it any wonder why it was being attacked?

The thought of whether to intervene in this situation mulled through his head for a moment, it is unlikely that anyone would be able to survive whatever it was that had been happening at the town right now.

He however hoped for the best.

He stood up and in moments, disappeared from the shrine.


Cinder

The buildings were on fire, this was the result of a large group of Konoha shinobi as they torched every standing building indiscriminately; bodies of men and women littered the streets, from the militia guards whom attempted and failed to protect the town, through to the young and old too weak to resist. There were a handful of townspeople still alive, though it is truly a question as to whether they were lucky that they were still breathing. They were huddled to one side, each and everyone of them terrified and sorrowful at the death and the imminent danger they would face.

The Konoha Shinobi, continued to search every part of the small town, killing off those fit enough to fight. There were a handful whom attempted to escape and were running as fast as their legs could handle, yet their efforts were in vain.

Attempts at running were often met with a resounding bang, and their bodies fell to the ground limply. Scream resounded as the sudden loud noise startled the surviving townsfolk.

The Konoha Shinobi merely laughed and cheered at the entire ordeal, there was no protest nor outrage out of any of them for the indiscriminate killings. They also cheered at the sheer delight of using a weapon that just been made standard issue across the entire shinobi force chunin and up.

"War, heh as much as they remain the same, they have changed." the shinobi whom killed one of the people who tried to escape held on to a long barreled weapon, smoke still evident from the hole at the tip of the barrel.

He raised the weapon to his face, a cruel smile on his face, "gunpowder, it's like having chakra without needing to know how to use it! Just about anyone has the power to kill with something like this!" awe was present in his voice.

"Makes the killing all the more easier in the hands of a shinobi!" he continued, as he approached one of the few survivors they had rounded up. It was a young man, perhaps in his late teens. He was beaten up and there was a deep kunai wound at the side of his legs. His face filled with anger, and hate towards the gathered shinobi.

"And just when I thought I'd seen it all..." with a twitch of his hand, the barreled weapon morphed into a bladed weapon, like a chokuto.

"It lets me do this..."

In a blink of an eye, he struck the once ranged weapon towards the young man, the victim's head sliced cleanly from his body. The boy's eyes were wide open, his hateful glare still remaining even in death.

"I am loving this war." he chuckled darkly at those last words. As he had gone on his short ramble and observation, the other Konoha shinobi remained silent, preferring to wait till he was done.

When it seemed it had been the case, one of the other shinobi voiced out a question.

"Commander, what do you want us to do with these survivors?" he gestured towards the group.

At that question, the apparent commander of the Konoha shinobi looked back towards his apparent subordinate, his voice contained barely suppressed glee.

"Well since they are all conveniently gathered here it makes things really easy! Kill them all, the Hokage after all wants to send a message to Waterfall country for their refusal to accept our annexation offer. This will be a good message..." upon hearing that, the surviving townspeople started to panic and beg for their life. The cries and screams of mercy fell unto deaf ears, even when some of the Konoha shinobi seemed hesitant to do the deed they voiced no protest.

Eventually however, a handful of the shinobi ended their cries.

Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu

Large balls of fire came out from the mouths of a few, and collided towards the gathered crowd. The sounds of pained screams as the flames burned their flesh could be heard, the screams of women, children and the weak. Throughout this ordeal, most of the shinobi were either apathetic or in glee.

Those whom were disgusted by the act remained silent, too afraid to object.

The screams died down, until all that was left had been the sound of burning flesh and structures. For just a short moment there was silence, as the Konoha shinobi remained where they were. Some were proud of what they had done, and some not so yet they did nothing to stop it. They truly left no survivors when they raided this village. Indeed some knew there was absolutely no need to have done it...to kill every single person here.

But for the sake of relaying their message on behalf of their village, they had no choice...that would have been what they had told themselves

Silence broke, as the commander of the Konoha shinobi squad breathed a resounding sigh, akin to a sigh of satisfaction.

"Well, that's that then. That will give Waterfall the message they need, doubt they would ignore it now. Lets go, all this is making me a little hungry..." he declared loudly.

As the group prepared to leave after dealing all these death and destruction, they heard the sound of footsteps; the footsteps of a single person. They paused at the sound of a new visitor.

"How could you do this..." the voice of a man, barely a whisper. All shinobi turned their attention to the source of the voice.

To see a young man, his face down as if trying to stifle tears that was building up. From the crack in his voice, and the shaking of his body, it all seemed reasonable to believe that was exactly what he was doing.

The commander's eyebrows raised slightly, but a twisted grin grew on his face as the blade in his hand morphed into a gun once again. Must be some boy returning to see his home destroyed. The Hokage did say no survivors were to be left, he would need to complete that objective now wouldn't he?

But just for kicks, he might just have some fun in riling up the boy a bit before he quite harshly put him down.

"Oh? Whatever do you mean, boy?" the commander entertained his question in a condescending manner, completely oblivious to the aura that faintly radiated from the person in front of him.

"They...they were innocent people; people who showed you no ill will, people who posed no threat to you...there was no reason to kill them...how could you have massacred them without even the slightest hint of remorse?" the young man asked, his voice still strained, sorrowful.

He idly noted that the young man's hand was holding on to a shakujo, a monk perhaps...he also noted that his grip on the staff seemed to tighten until the whites of his knuckles could be seen. His hands were shaking, probably from the rage, not that he could blame him.

Though it's not like a single young monk could do anything against tens of Konoha Shinobi armed with the most modern and sophisticated weapons...

The commander only chuckled, deciding to entertain the passionate young monk who seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, "Remorse?" he chuckled at that word, "what kind of question is that boy?! The nations of the Elemental Countries are at war with each other, and you are here asking why we kill without remorse?!"

The young monk retorted instantly, his voice continued to be strained, yet there was a underlying rage building up. "So war gives you enough reason to do what you did? Not just people who can stand and fight in retaliation...but women...children?! "

He pointed his weapon at the young man in front of him, the monk was starting to annoy him, "why don't you tell me what else is new?! This is what is means to be human! We fight, we kill, we do all that we can to gain power, we butcher other just so we end up on top! When has humanity ever truly care about distinction between the strong and the weak when the stakes are high?"

He armed the weapon, now it only took a pull of a trigger to release the projectile and in turn kill the seemingly hapless person.

"But I suppose you won't be living long enough to lose those blind idealisms of yours." with that the commander laughed, before finally pulling the trigger. A resounding bang erupted.

The commander expected the projectile to leave the barrel at immensely high speeds, and had expected the bullet to land hit the young man's head and that would be the end of it.

Instead the weapon merely exploded in his hands, turning it into a mess of gore. It took him a few seconds to register what had just happened.

But when it did, he merely screamed in pain, the same scream of agony that came from the people he had ordered to massacre. He looked from his now destroyed limb towards the man he had tried to kill.

"I suppose you are right, conflict has always been part of human nature..." the monk said.

Looking back at him were orbs that were both terrible and awe-inspiring, the eyes that were forgotten over the years and he himself had an inkling of what it was yet could not truly recall what it was. The rippled purple orbs looked towards him, tranquil fury emanated from it to the extent it seemed like god himself was judging him.

"Which is why you have shown me how humanity is a far cry from redemption...you have shown me that leniency will get you nowhere."

The man in front of him no longer seemed to be weeping, his face was impassive, expressionless. But he knew it was more than that, he knew the rage that was coming from the person in front of him. It disturbed him, and it brought out panic like he had never experienced before.

"F-fuck! What are you people waiting for? Kill him now!" the commander ordered his men, and they promptly responded. Some shinobi tossed kunai and shuriken towards the ripple-eyed man, some cast an array of destructive jutsu towards him, and some unholstered their new weapons and fired at him, sounds akin to thunder resounded.

They were met with a sight that shook them, that eroded any confidence they had.

The kunai and shuriken seemed to be knocked back by forces unknown, various elemental jutsus changed direction. The small metal projectiles that were expelled from the gunpowder weapons seemed to collide with an invisible force and fell towards the ground harmlessly. The monk stood there unmoving, the tranquil fury in his eyes ever present, as the chakra that now surrounded him started to affect the shinobi in front of him.

Ten metallic spheres formed behind the monk.

"You have opened my eyes thoroughly, you have showed me the extent of my mistakes, the extent of my unfounded leniency. It is about time I set things straight."

The metallic spheres launched themselves towards the various Konoha shinobi present, with each one vaporized upon making contact with the spheres. Some tried to run as fast as they could, yet they could not outrun the homing spheres.

A few shinobi thought it a better choice to go on the offensive and charged the monk, though their efforts would be the death of them as well.

Handful of shinobi were now close enough to engage the young monk, they brandished kunai or shifted their weapons to melee form, they were hoping that the monk would be overwhelmed by the intensity of their assault. Unfortunately no such easy victory would be had against him.

The monk weaved through the swipes and stabs by the many shinobi. Strike after strike hit nothing but air; in short moments, each and every shinobi felt blunt strikes that landed on their skulls and their gut. The monk used his shakujo as a weapon, and with each opening the shinobi made after every strike that landed on nothing, they fell before so much as an acknowledgement that their efforts to cut down the monk failed.

The counter-onslaught had been overwhelming, the apparent monk's mastery over his weapon, both the shakujo and the metallic spheres had been frightening. The spheres continued to claim victim after victim as more shinobi disintegrated in ash upon physical contact with the spheres. Some of said spheres channeled every element known by shinobi and burned, smashed, decimated what had been tens to hundreds of shinobi in the raiding group.

"Commander if we continue any further, we will all die!" one of the shinobi cried out.

In time the shinobi found it futile to press the attack, and decided to pull back with clear intention of taking flight.

"You will go nowhere." the monk's voice resounded, more declaration than a threat.

Chakra chains erupted from the back of the monk, heading towards the shinobi attempting to escape from imminent death, and it ended up impaling each and every one of them at various locations. Enough to completely immobilize them, but not enough to kill. Cries of pain and panic resounded, begs for mercy could be heard

But the words they heard soon after would be their last sensation...

Ningendo: Jihi no Senju (2)

The chains started to absorb the souls of the impaled shinobi, and it did not take long until all that was left were lifeless husks. The chains dissipated and the fresh corpses now fell to the ground, motionless.

Just like than, in mere seconds, the entire group of Konoha shinobi were killed off.

All except for the commander, whom did not enter combat throughout the entire ordeal. The fear that now seeped into his very being had been so overwhelming that he had almost forgotten about his destroyed arm.

As the commander saw the rippled eyes turn its vengeful gaze towards him...he could not help but beg for mercy.

Beg he did, he prostrated himself, making multitudes of promises that he would change himself, that he repented, anything that could perhaps allow him to keep his life.

Though as he went on and on with his empty words...he was thoroughly shocked to silence when the monk appeared right in front of him in an instant. The monk was mere inches from him, and all he could focus on was those fury-filled orbs, he begs louder, yet it did not seem that the monk was interested in any notion of mercy at that very moment.

He felt a palm rest on his head, and a faint pulling sensation coming from it.


Naruto felt anger, yet for some reason he did not feel hate...the only thought that ran through his mind as he had put down the crowd of shinobi had been disgust and disappointment.

Indeed he felt all the disappointment he could possibly feel, for he had placed so much hope that massacres like these would never happen again, that these needless death-mongering and twisted justifications for such actions would never rear its sickening head...destroying the world with it.

As he contemplated, his attention turned to the commander, the sole survivor of his wrath by his non-participation towards suppressing him. His face had merely fueled his rage...the shameless begging just so he could have even the most remote chance to avoid judgement had filled him with fury.

This wretch needed no mercy for he gave none to those who similarly begged for it.

The placed his palm on the commander's head, he could see the the confusion marred on the his face, but no fear subsided from his expression.

"P-Please...I will repent! All I ask is for one chance, please...be benevolent!" the commander continued to beg.

Repent? Benevolence? Those words sounded so foreign being uttered from such a puss of a person.

"You ask...for mercy? Yet you have shown no mercy to others...You have...butchered the defenseless, the weak...the innocent young without care and without remorse. You revel in such deeds, and given the chance and the opportunity you would do so again." at this the commander stuttered, trying to justify his actions in some way.

For his village...it had been his orders...other people like him had done the same...the excuses went on and on...

The sage could not help but shake his head in disdain, had he any doubts of what he was about to do before, it would have already been extinguished.

Ningendo

He felt the man's tainted soul tether itself to his hand, and slowly he started to pull the person's soul from his body. It did not take long for the sage to do so and for a loud thud of the now hollow carcass to fall towards the ground.

Naruto now eyed the ethereal form that was the man's soul, there was one more thing that he felt obligated to do. It was insignificant in the whole scheme of things, but nevertheless one less wretch in this world would always help.

"You are beyond repentance." the sage stated simply.

A screech of pain resounded, as the ethereal form started to burn in a pure black flame. The spirit of the man he had no interest in knowing the name of was slowly but surely being destroyed in its entirety, it's entire existence being cleansed from this world by the black flames. Suffice to say, agony would have been the last sensation that wretch would have felt before all that was left of him was this motionless carcass.

With the deed done...there was now silence, with only the sound of burning rubble being apparent. The sage felt the anger slowly dissipated...and all that was left was the a feeling of hollowness...of despair.

"Rain." he muttered, letting a large pulse of chakra surround the area. Upon doing so, the clouds above started to darken, and in time droplets of rain started to fall to the earth. The drizzle soon turned to heavy rain, so intense that the burning rubble and fires were extinguished in seconds.

The rain continued on as all that was left of the village and its inhabitants were cinders and corpses.

Naruto took this time to mull over his thoughts.

Over a century had passed and through that time a small part of him wanted to hold on to hope. The decades after the Fourth Great war seemed to help him hold on to that hope. The various countries and villages across the elemental nations had experienced peace...indeed he should have known that this was merely an interlude after the last great catastrophe, yet he wanted to believe that this was something more than that.

He wanted to believe that humanity would could in some possibility transcend or at least suppress their urge for conflict, yet as the decades continue to pass...he would bear witness to the next ugly cycle.

His ideals continued to waver over the years and what he had witnessed at this very moment merely added to the swelling disillusionment that he had so unwillingly allowed to spread in his mind.

He knew what the dead commander said had been the truth, humanity would be unable to overcome their inherent limitations, their urge for violence, for greed...self-centeredness and narcicissm formed their fundamental characteristics as mortals. Those who are able to, by some miracle overcome these limitations are few, merely a fraction of a fraction of a minority of humanity.

Forgetting history would doom humanity to repeating it again, but it seems even with the knowledge of history, it had become no deterrent to endless cycle of brutality.

Naruto felt the overwhelming urge to give up, the thawing in his mind demanding him to prevent the species that he was a part of from continuing this path of self-destruction, and the destruction of the world in its process.

That was the reason he fought her after all.

He had faith that humanity could improve, could change for the better, that they deserved another chance to redeem ages worth of damage.

Yet for one last time...he suppressed this urge...gave humanity a benefit of a doubt. At least just for the moment.

Memories from the shinobi at the very least gave him that motivation...

He knew a Kage summit was to take place in the coming days...if he could just convince the Kages to stand down and forge a peace, even how fragile it would be...he was willing to withhold whatever judgement he was sure to bring upon them.

It would give him hope...that would be good...

If only they would just listen...

Though by the end of the day he knew she was right. She was always right.


(1) Wooden strip of flooring immediately before windows and storm shutters

(2) Human path: Thousand arms of Mercy

AN: Busy with stuff irl, so it took a little longer to get this chapter written. This chapter is really neither here nor there, a bit of bridging before the big stuff happens.

Wanted to get this out as soon as I can though.

Mostly inspired by "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", pretty obvious where exactly.