"Where is this?" the first thing Gozaru noticed was they finally escaped from the encirclement of the people that hunted them down.
"Inside the dimension, or I suppose to say it is my dimension now?" a flat and indifferent voice came from afar. But of course Gozaru knew that voice so well. He was too familiar with it that he turned his entire body without hesitation to the source, finding that familiar person yet also different in a certain kind.
"I hope that you can understand why I did this and say such things to those people a moment ago..." it was the same person who had an overwhelming presence, the one who threatened the people of this world with her act.
"Are you alright, Kaguya-sama?" different voice yet the same concern reverberated the place. All of them apparently asked the same thing in a different time and manner but it was what they felt now.
"Of course I am." the woman nodded. She felt both fortunate and unfortunate that things turned out like this. It was because there were some people that sacrificed their lives to protect her that she felt responsible for their death.
"And this dimension, how did it appear?" the gaze that wandered around the space around him did not stop its duty as Gozaru asked.
"Then let me explain to you all, especially to you who was dragged into all of this." sighed in helplessness, Kaguya said to all of the people present, especially when her white eyes gazed at Aino who looked back at her in a daze.
"This is one of my ability which is able to manipulate space, resulting in the creation of this dimension. I know that I made a violation not to hand the fruit to the clan but I will not regret it nor I will be disappointed by this. For that is who I am, the person from Ōtsutsuki Clan, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
That was right. The purpose of her coming to this particular world was to obtain the Chakra Fruit. But in the end, it was her decision as to what the fruit would be used to.
'Initially, we have two option. One is to give the fruit to the clan. The reason is to gain a favorable impression from the clan. And the second is to consume the fruit and gain the power of God Tree into oneself.' this was what her servant Gozaru thought. He had discussed this numerous times with Kaguya as to what method was the best to gain strength and both of them seemed plausible.
But since the turns of the event went a bit astray from their previous choice, they had to adapt to everything that comes after. But consuming the fruit was not a bad idea to gain sudden strength either compared to gain a favor from the clan and hope that they would get a chance to get the strength they desire.
"But the most obvious change is this..." as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya continued with her explanation, she then pointed out at the thin black line which was located above her forehead. Slowly that thin black line opened horizontally, revealing a third eye.
That was right! The third eye appeared at her forehead which previously did not even exist.
"This eye...make me able to do many things unimaginable. Perhaps if I use one of its ability, I can get this world to achieve their long lost peace." as she mentioned peace, her expression turned darker and somber. Clearly, she still did not move on just yet.
"But that ability is in theory good to achieve peace but in human perspective, this will be like an act of a demon. To trap them in an everlasting illusion called Mugen Tsukuyomi, that is the name of that ability."
Trap them inside the illusion? I see why Kaguya-sama said it was rather inhuman but if it truly effective then someone else will definitely do it but not me. Now that his master had told about it, Gozaru could understand the situation. Despite having the overwhelming power at her disposal, in the end it was not omnipotent if it did not close to being one. She could not possibly make peace with such a method, especially when you want that piece to long-lasting.
"But before that, we need to take care of you. Isn't that right everyone?" said Aino enthusiastically as she grasped Kaguya's hands and dragged that now powerful being with her.
"Yes, of course it is. At least for now we are going to be busy with an important matter like this. Not something like a constant war." Gozaru did not have any rejection with that as well.
As for the rest of them, they all agreed as well and prepared to find a suitable place for their princess.
Three months after the incident. Kaguya decided to settle on another place in the world she visited. This time it was near a mountainous range, filled with fleeting clouds.
"Please don't move too much, Kaguya-dama. Especially with your ability from that fruit." as her loyal servant, it was Gozaru's responsibility to watch over his master well being. It was more so since her body had become weaker compared to three months ago.
"So what? I have to enjoy this moment before I can't even get out of my room for the next few months. And looks like I can also fly well..." with her ancient clothes, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was flying around above near the clouds.
With that kind of ability, she should have considered about the chance of her failure to understand some ability and stopped doing it for the sake of her unborn child.
"Argh! Please stop this instant, for your child's sake. For the safety of your child at the least..." the more he watched his master, the more worried and anxious Gozaru became. He could not even let his eyes off of her even for a moment in case something unexpected happen.
"It is sure lively with how things going on." from one of the little wooden houses near the mountain, Aino got out and looked at the scene in front of her. After that, she giggled as she felt truly happy at this moment.
"Damn it! Gotta run to that slope. Yes, that is the most closer location to the flying pattern Kaguya-sama takes." as fast as the wind Gozaru ran. He was only an ordinary humanoid if not for the fact that he truly resembled a human in any morphological shape.
"Be careful along the way." there was nothing someone like Aino could do so she just reminded them from the distance.
The mountain itself was rather tall and its side was rather sloppy so Gozaru had to be careful. He had to use his own hands just to climb that slope and it was no easy.
"Come on!" gritting his teeth, Gozaru raised his hands as he grabbed another milestone. He faintly saw an injury mark on his hands. It was the injury he got from the arrows when he tried to protect his master.
Climbing higher and higher, Gozaru finally reached his destination. Cold winds blew his face just like the whisper of nature teasing him of his incapability, unlike his master who currently flying between the clouds.
"Finally here." panting, Gozaru raised his head only to find that his master already circled around the peak of the mountainous range. He could not possibly chase after her anymore, he lacked the preparation and besides, the person who ate that fruit should be able to protect themselves in case of danger.
"Speaking of which, I heard from the people around the mountain that several lands and nations now engaged in a full-scale war." this time Gozaru resigned and sat nicely atop of the bedrock.
"The problem is, this mountainous range is also in the vicinity of the war zone. What should I do? No, it is what Kaguya-sama will do?" he scratched his head in frustration. He was so absorbed in his own mind that he failed to notice that his master already returned using her spatial ability and currently stood beside him.
"What did you say earlier? Say that again!" hearing that voice so close and so sudden was the least thing Gozaru ever wanted. He jumped in surprise as he moved backward due to the surprise.
"Oh, eh.." Gozaru wanted to speak more but he went silent as if he was having a hard time just to move his tongue.
"What? Can't move your mouth and tongue?" said Ōtsutsuki Kaguya in a disdaining manner.
'This act, it should be clear who the culprit is but looks like it is not just my mouth that becomes unable to move but also my entire body.' thought Gozaru as he could only stare at his master in a helpless manner. He wanted to smile wryly yet he could not, even to frown he was also unable to accomplish.
"Have a taste of my ability again, don't you?" chuckling, Kaguya covered her face with her long sleeve. It was at this time that Gozaru felt rather strange for the attitude his master had taken. There was something strange when he thought about the situation.
'Hmm, look at that little bulge on Kaguya-sama's stomach. I bet she will become fat by the time she gives birth to her child.' Gozaru just thought of something that one usually used to his best buddy instead of someone of higher status like that one.
Then he looked at her face directly to see whether her expression changed or not. And the result of his curiosity was...like curiosity kills the cat, he was 'killed' by his own master.
But when he noticed the change on Kaguya's face, which already turned rather like a demon from the deepest layer of hell stared at him, Gozaru knew that he messed up big this time.
And countless slaps, followed by a breaking stone and quake could be felt around the mountainous range.
"How dare you!? You, of all people to think like that towards your own master. So you are starting to get disobedient towards me."
"Wai-" Gozaru knew that his master was showing mercy, perhaps too much mercy and ruthlessness at the same time as he had to experience a painful torture.
Whenever his body hit something, it would break some of his bones. Gozaru could only endure it and gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to show how he wanted so much to scream.
But, his master also healed his injury right away.
'How can this be!?' Gozaru could clearly feel his body was healing faster but that meant his suffering would not end soon.
After thrashing her servant, Kaguya looked at her own body. She could see it for herself that her power had increased exponentially and even she could heal someone with a severe injury in an instant.
"No wonder my clan is always looking for this fruit. This is this world's energy accumulation, after all." squinting her eyes, Kaguya looked at the vast, blue sky. Probably, her clan was located somewhere in that vast place.
Then she turned around and picked her only personal servant. Seeing his carefree but full of bruise made her feel discomfort but she did not show it on her face.
'He is unconscious. It's his own fault for provoking my temper. But the thing that he said earlier...' no matter what happened to her right now would not matter if the world that the current Kaguya had stayed with for some time became a warzone.
'But if the God Tree is in that world and still alive, it will absorb the energy of the world like leech does and ended up destroying the world. Is there something I can do?' thought Kaguya for a moment.
Then she remembered the words of her servant, Gozaru which she carried on her left hand like a little kitten.
"The main force of the clan always talking of that tree. But apparently there are some feasible methods to stop the God Tree from destroying the world. But Kaguya-sama, do you truly want this if someday you ate the fruit?"
Of course, that method was rather obvious in general but hard to practice. When Kaguya remembered what Gozaru had mentioned in their talk, she did not know whether having such a strange but loyal servant was a good thing to her.
Different from the peaceful moment Kaguya and her group were having currently, it was a total mayhem right outside their territory. A remnant of war was sighted as the smell of iron from a large amount of blood spilled accumulated and formed a river.
And the fountain of that river of blood was a mountain. It was made neither from sand nor stone but corpses. The height could reach as high as the hill and their deaths were questioned whether they truly died for the sake of their lands or just became a chess piece on a larger picture. No one knows even to this day.
"All-out war against a strange and powerful entity? What is this about?" a lord of the land in the north was surprised that one of the spies informed him of a certain rumor from Ka no Kuni.
"Yes, Yoshimoto-sama. Their lands are currently focusing on a large scale war! I thought, just as you expected, they will attack their weak neighbor land but then their movements are going to the opposite of their enemy." the spy kneeled as he explained the situation.
"What is this entity to make one of the newly emerging places luke Ka no Kuni acted like that?" the lord which was identified as Yoshimoto showed an interest. In this warring state period, you had to rope every talent and strong people you could find.
Such a powerful entity, if any of the lands or powerful population gained its favor then they would not only be safe but also possibly rule the entire place! Such as the thought of Yoshimoto.
'If this entity is strong, how can its location be known?' this was a crucial point. Even if Yoshimoto wanted to rope this entity in, he should make sure that it would not turn against him first. And second, if the entity could escape the powerful forces, what was its purpose for doing so?
'It felt as if the entity is using the emotion of those people to lead them somewhere.'
And true to what Yoshinoto had thought, it was the plan that Kaguya had. It was because those people harmed someone important to her thus she decided to make full use of them.
"The conversion of the God Tree. When the person is absorbed their energy by the tree for a certain amount of time, they will turn into a new humanoid form." currently, Kaguya was fleeing, no she was actually slowed her speed down to let her pursuer to catch up.
"I want to see it for myself whether this humanoid form will be beneficial to my cause." as she muttered those words, she continued to fly at a certain direction as she used the ability of her white eyes. This ability enabled her to see everything in omnidirectional and bypass the obstacles. It was her white eyes that did the job done, her Byakugan.
Actually, she could not move that tree for now. That was why she decided to bring those people who chased after her closer to the tree.
'They knew that I brought them to the previous place. But they don't stand a chance against this.' so what if they knew about it? In the end, they were already fallen under her palm.
"Using illusion is good for those defenseless people. And..." as she thought about it, there was a flash of thought inside her mind.
'Will these powers be inherited to my child?' it was just a thought but since she already ate the fruit, she got a lot of strange and powerful power at her disposal and it also strengthened her instinct at the same time.
'What should I do? What am I supposed to do if that truly happened?' her thought was only that, and that was how Kaguya spent her time.
Pitifully chasing after her was a large group of soldiers. They equipped mostly with cold weapons like sword, bow, spear etc. They cursed her in their mind for making them work so hard.
"The hell are you slowing down? Faster! She is in our sights. Archers, you better successfully shoot her down!" the worst of it came from their commander which ordered them like a cart-pulling horse.
The archers aimed their arrows at her. They were the elite bowmen from their land. Even some of them followed the Bushidō ( Warrior's Path), the codes of honor which they used and practiced.
In it, one of its code was obedience. So it was actually their own code that dragged them into this situation. The other was actually martial arts mastery but it would not be of use when they encountered someone like Kaguya.They wore with them their pride armor and their well-tempered weapon as they kept moving around inside the forest.
"Uraaa!" one of the soldiers gritted his teeth and he ran faster to aim his arrow to the target which was flying slowly in the air. He was actually very good even in the peers of the samurai.
He nocked his arrow and he pre-calculated the winds speed, gravitational force as well as the strength he had poured to pull the bowstring. Then after he made sure his calculations were correct, he released the bowstring!
Of course for someone like Kaguya, she could already tell what the archer was doing even just from his intention alone. She did not even need to use her third eye at all, just using her innate ability Byakugan was more than enough.
'Now I even have to pull my illusions from them. Should I do it now? I have its power after all.'
Since the time she left the temporary shelter, Kaguya could remember everything that happened before in her life. Including the time when she and Gozaru were discussing the God Tree.
"There is something about the tree that most people from the clan are unaware of. That is the tree itself is also a living thing, not just a mere power gatherer." her servant Gozaru explained it attentively to her.
"What use this knowledge to me if we can't find its location anyway?" Kaguya shrugged her own shoulder as she looked at the scroll beneath her in displeasure.
"No, no Kaguya-sama. This is where things get interesting!" Gozaru shook his hands, trying to prevent her from diverting the topic.
"In the end, this is still of no use. The knowledge without the way to practice it is a wasteful and useless knowledge." Kaguya shook her head as her white eyes were staring at the scroll.
Her gaze was like how a noble would stare. It was full of absolute pride and contempt of anything that did not please their mood. But she was still holding herself when she heard her servant said something.
"It is the merging process. If the eater of its fruit is merging with the tree, there is a chance for the person to use the capability of the tree! See, it is different if ordinary people are merging with it. They will turn into a white humanoid being..." Gozaru smiled wryly every time he had to deal with the current Kaguya, for he knew that she was protesting, she was pouting in displeasure.
Now she was standing in front of the exact tree that grew in this world. Kaguya did not know what to do and she was struggling whether to use the large-scale illusion or not. She was undefeatable in this world but the people of this world were fighting against each other.
'But I have also to make an example to those who defy me and my words. Looks like they will arrive soon.' thought Kaguya.
Not only this action was to make them into her experiment object but it also served as a warning, an absolute threat so that they would not dare to think about opposing her and at least a temporary peace could be formed.
The arrow flew high and speedily coming towards Kaguya. But she just opened a portal and entered it.
The arrow missed the target and the archer felt his pride as a marksman trampled from the inside out!
She hid inside another dimension as the soldiers and their commander arrived. They were actually rather afraid when they saw the tree. It was like that thing became their deterrence and somehow their will was lowered by its presence.
"She disappeared!? I swear she is just above in front of me just now." the archer whose arrows targeted Kaguya murmured in a low voice. He believed that with his accuracy and power in pulling his bowstring, he would hit her definitely!
"What's wrong? Are you really someone from the formidable Namikaze clan? But I have to say that tree in front of us is really like something ominous." one of the soldiers noticed how the archer missed his shoot and came.
"I'm afraid that our target is too much for us to take." the archer shook his head. He was sure that his target possessed an extraordinary feat to dodge his arrow.
'Relying on space movement is not good. But at the same time I want to understand it more...' Kaguya evaluated her ability. She could use something else to escape from the arrow unharmed, heck she could just float on air as the archer shoot his arrow and nothing would harm her.
But she used her spatial movement ability instead. For her, this was a chance for her to learn about space movement with the use of her chakra.
"Looks like our leader doesn't stop even as we are heading toward the same place as the people that reported about that incident." the archer from Namikaze clan sighed un helplessness as he smiled toward his friend.
"What can we do about it? Our leader is one of the important people in our land. There is no way for us to disobey him, beside to throw our codes of samurai away and want everyone from the land and your clan to hunt us down." his friend replied.
"Yeah, see what our leader has in his mind." the archer saw a gorgeous armored man closing toward his position along with some of his personal bodyguards.
That leader of theirs was someone who had fierce, sharp eyes. His movement was good except for the fact that his stomach bulged a bit, a little off from the usual build the people around him.
"Don't tell me you failed!?" yelled their leader.
"I'm sorry for my incompetent, general!" when the archer heard that voice, he straightened his body and at the same time he lowered his line of sight.
"Remember this then, the one we are chasing after is no other than the exact person who has killed our people here!" the leader shouted and yelled at the two soldiers who received a rain of spittle.
"And besides that, she is also important to us both as a soldier and as the people from our land. We have an order to get her dead or alive, regardless of the method to defeat her, here!" the leader narrowed his eyes and pulled something from his clothes underneath the armor.
He was grabbing a small bamboo scroll. Then he untied the small rope which tied the scroll and unfurled it.
"From...The Emperor himself." the archer muttered in worry. It was because he had failed the very task that his leader gave him directly from the emperor.
The archer clenched his hands and teeth to the limit. He had never felt such a day where he failed multiple people's expectation. But he also knew that his instinct had been telling him not to mess with the target, not to provoke it.
'What should I do!?' the archer was in a dilemma. He did not want to do the orders from even his land's leader just because of his instinct.
"Can I say something?" the archer raised his head with determination.
"It is better satisfactory or else I don't know how to cover this up." his leader harrumphed in annoyance as he waved his hand, agreeing to the request.
"From my observation so far, our target is not something we can deal with in the beginning. Is this true because the first group that encountered her cannot do anything and one died?"
"That's already in the rumor and some of it is confirmed to be true. So, is this your reason for failing to fulfill your duty?" the leader became colder in his voice, he was sure if anyone had nerves to anger him now he would explode.
"What I mean is...that figure is not attacking us yet. If we can discuss things better..." the archer did not finish his words before he felt something hit him hard in the face.
"Fool! This is an order from the emperor to deal with this matter and you dare to disobey!?" when the archer saw what had hit him, he struggled to properly stand up. What hit him was strong and large arms clenching into a fist from his leader.
"Yes, we have to deal with her death or alive but we can peacefully talk and negotiate with her. Right now, the rest of the lands are in a high alert and we cannot make her go to our enemies' side." the archer felt his nose broke and a red liquid started to leak from the hole of his nose. But he had to say it, because he knew that killing that figure was utterly impossible!
"That is why we have to change our approach. Besides, we are entering the ancient battlefield zone which marked that tree in front of us all." the archer purposely 'mentioned' the tree to make them alert and aware of their situation.
"How!? We are already offending that figure and now you asked us all to change our approach? Fine, since you proposed this then you should be the right person to do it..." the leader smirked and pointed his finger at the archer.
"Not only that but you are also a member of the warrior clan. Now, you are permitted to leave."
"Where is she!?" by the time he woke up, Gozaru found himself on a bed and his vision was on the ceiling he barely recognized.
"Calm down, you are fine but to make sure about it you have to rest some more time." a pleasant voice came from his side. He tilted his neck to the side and saw the familiar face but unexpectedly he saw more than one person.
"Now that he has awakened, we have to ask where Kaguya-sama went to."
"Oh, it's you. How long do I sleep? It feels like half a day." Gozaru instantly rose from his bed but his head felt dizzy all of a sudden, he saw many yellow lights flashed in front of his sight.
"Don't suddenly raise your body!" both the people in the room warned him and supported his body.
"I...I'm afraid that we have to prepare for anything that will happen." while saying that, Gozaru tried to get out from his bed as one of his hands held his head.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Naito, I mean what I said. And for you Aino, I just want to tell you to be prepared for anything..." Gozaru flatly replied.
"Is the matter really serious?" the one who Gozaru called Naito was the person who had some friction with Gozaru. But Naito knew that Gozaru had always been at Kaguya's side for a long time thus he knew when the matter was severe just from his tone and expression.
"When one has the power to realize their own wish, what do you think about it?" Gozaru smiled wryly and he even shrugged his shoulders.
"Hmm, actually what are you trying to say? Isn't Kaguya-sama wished for a peaceful world?" asked Aino in curiosity.
"But do you think peace can only be achieved through kind negotiation and diplomatic means? Like a proverb saying, there are many ways to go to a city. To achieve peace, there are several methods but if in the worst case it happened..."
Before even Gozaru finished his words, there was a loud sound coming right above their heads. Naito, Gozaru, and Aino looked up and saw four people descending right at them!
The inevitable came and all of them were hit against each other. Gozaru who had just recovered had to experience another kind of pain as a person was above him!
Gozaru was lying on the floor, with his face upward. He raised his neck and saw the four people who out of nowhere appeared before them.
First from the one who was at the top of his body was a young man in his twenty. He wore with him a green flak jacket, a headband with an unknown symbol, and his hand gripped tightly a pronged kunai.
Gozaru did not even know who this person was. From his clothes alone, Gozaru could not know where in the world these people came from. And then Gozaru just noticed that the young man's eyes were closed in pain and his face twitched and twisted, his lips were tightly shut. But the blond, spiky hair of the young man was another thing to note for Gozaru.
As for the unluckiest of the four, it was the kid with a black hair, google on his head and a strange red eye that Gozaru could frequently see every time he moved around, clutching his head. Even Gozaru could hear the boy's voice as he felt pain.
"Ouch, hit head first...ouch, my head." even currently, the boy was rolling on the floor.
"Can you please move away from me, now!?" Naito asked the person above him. A silver-haired kid was sitting above him cross-legged with his blade aimed at Naito's neck.
But Naito already placed his dagger right at the boy's chest too so both of them were in a stalemate. They stared and their sight locked, cautious and tense.
"Stop whining out loud, Obito! Our situation now is imminent! And even Minato-sensei is shouldering a burden for all of us." the silver-haired kid shouted. Clearly, he felt irritated at the black haired boy's antics.
All of them had the same symbol on their headband? Gozaru noticed that the four people before him had the same symbol on their headband. They were from the same place but Gozaru did not know where the heck it was.
"How are you doing? Is everyone here fine?" Gozaru spoke to ease the tension between Naito and the silver-haired kid who kept his guard up at all times.
"How about you, Aino? Are you okay?" then he asked Aino instead since only her would be good enough to start a conversation.
"I am fine but this girl here is unconscious. And the young man atop you is also in a bad shape." replied Aino who had a trace of worry plastered all over her face.
"Actually you should worry whether they are hostile or not but well...that's just your nature." Gozaru nodded and satisfied with her.
"Oi, Gozaru. Can you please help me with this paranoia brat!? He has this irritable proud aura from his body which makes me sick." protested Naito because he was ignored. And it was actually the servant that ignored him...
"That's no way to ask for help, Naito. The clan should teach you the manners to do it but since you at least ask, then.." Gozaru glanced at both Naito and the silver-haired kid before he blinked his eyes. But when he opened his eyes, his composure had changed.
"Stinky brat, do you believe that I can incapacitate the four of you here this instant!?" Gozaru threatened the kid.
"I want to see you try! But remember that I will not let my comrade down." Gozaru sneered when he heard the reply that came not from the silver-haired kid but rather the boy who was rolling previously.
Right now, this black haired kid who his friend called him Obito was trying to stand while a trace of blood flowing down to his face was apparent. But his eyes showed his clear intention, his determination to make his words true.
Damn it all! How can this happen? that was what Obito thought as he saw his sensei was grimaced in pain and one of his teammates was lying unconscious. His red eyes were having its only tomoe spinning slowly.
"Then I shall let you see it." Gozaru knew that the silver-haired kid had some ability with his blade and the black haired kid probably had good reflex so he had to adjust his hidden weapon trajectory in order to hit them accurately.
After he placed the young man atop of his body to the side, Gozaru noticed that both of the kids were staring at him as if a mutual target.
So caring for your team leader I see...
Only after the burden of the young man had been removed that Gozaru could move freely, grabbing some needles from his sleeve. He flicked his wrist and threw a dozen of needle simultaneously, surprising both kids because Gozaru threw the needles not toward them but it moved around them.
The needle was flying far from the intended target, even calling it a miss was already good. It was basically thrown off its course if not for the fact that it had served its purpose.
"Careful!" light flashed on the black haired boy who saw the trajectory if the needles. It went beyond his vision and ricochetted mid-air.
The boy moved back a little, trying to get a better view of things or perhaps to ease his nervousness. He only felt better when he saw the people in front of him were without any chakra signature meaning they were only ordinary people.
Damn! Can't do even a thing in this cramped room
The black haired boy glared with both nervousness and anxiousness as every thought of his current position and teammate. It was not that he could not use any method but if he ever used it, he did not know what would happen if he did.
As for the silver-haired kid, he suddenly flickered and parried a needle that came to his way. He also moved closer to his team leader first but something came toward his neck.
The boy placed his blade in front of him as a cover. The one who had attacked him was none other than the one who used the needle to attack them.
Really, a good kenjutsu. Too bad you are lacking in experience as of now
Using his hand to deal a fatal blow, Gozaru thought about the kid's movement when he drew the blade closer to his front but maintaining his firm stance. It was good for defense but only in a certain angle.
And for Naito who had seen the scene around him and the encounter, he felt that all of them were inside a limited room covered by ricochetting needles. The sound it produced, as well as the light it reflected truly made inexperienced fighter confused and stunned in place.
"Just give up your struggle for now, you can't even unleash your full strength with your ally here." said Gozaru calmly.
"Just for your information, the needles I threw earlier have a poison in it. Well, not the one that kills you but it will make you go to the world of dream."
Instead of relaxing, it only served as a stimulation for both the newcomers to be alert. The black-haired boy's eyes were still at its red color, with a single tomoe in it.
What to do? I can't perceive all of the needles...
Good for him that his eyes could see the trajectory of the needle in his view but the rest of it were outside his detectable range. His hope was laid at the silver-haired kid who was in motion to evacuate their team out of this place.
"Just who are you, anyway!?" frustrated, the black haired boy asked in annoyance. He felt a danger from his side and reacted to it immediately. The boy moved his body to the front slightly as something small flew past him.
"Shouldn't it my question? Hmm, your reaction is good despite your lack of initiative." Gozaru answered while he evaded a strike that came from the silver-haired boy who became irritated because the opponent ignored his strike.
Then another strike from the silver-haired kid came in succession, giving a small opportunity for Gozaru to catch his breath.
"And why did you just watching from the side? At least you can help me." this was what Gozaru felt for Naito who stood still like a statue.
"I am done with my part. Do you see why the intensity of the strike increased?" Naito pointed with his finger as multiple lights flashed instantly.
When did that person move? the silver-haired kid stared at Naito's figure in disbelief. It was because the time it took was short but that was unexpected because the people in front of him were just ordinary if he did not count their ability.
No! I can't accept this, I don't want it... the black haired boy saw that everything he had hoped for was for naught. He dodged another needle by tilting his head and this continued some more.
"Time's up. You two did well. Now is the time for you two to rest." Gozaru said as his sight came to a certain direction. He threw one needle at that location and then all the needle that miraculously bouncing around truly exploded to all direction.
"Not good, they get me..." suddenly the silver-haired kid went numb, his hands released the blade he held and his movement went sluggish.
"No! I, we..." the black haired boy knew that Naito had pulled his move long ago when they landed on these people except for him. He could see those needles closing into him but there was no room for him to dodge.
In the end, where are we? Why did this happen? that was the last thought of the boy before countless needles hit him and he felt the pain. He pursed his lips as he still struggled to maintain his consciousness which failed miserably. He fell while kneeling.
"How are their condition?" due to the sudden appearance of the four people they had not recognize nor expected, Gozaru placed them on an unused storage room. Not that it matters for the current condition.
"Mostly fine but that blond young man is exhausted, bearing the pain of overexerting his stamina. As for the rest of them, they are resting well." answered Aino.
Naito then added, "They are strange people that appear out of nowhere but as expected of you, The Hedgehog of Ōtsutsuki."
"Whatever you say..." Gozaru sat down on a wooden floor but he still held his head after the encounter with the four people. His head felt like spinning around the world, especially after he used such a large move in the room with his needles.
"We have to go out for a while. Even though right outside this region is another large battlefield but we have to see whether something happened or not." Gozaru pointed at a certain direction where one of the clan members told him about the remnants of the large battlefield.
A tall mountain of corpses and the river of blood that was still flowing even as he spoke currently, that was the view he would see.
"Please tell me what is probably inside Kaguya-sama's head since you are the only person to be so close to her and also the longest to know her." Naito helplessly asked for a clue. At least he had to know what were they doing it for.
"To bring peace to this war-torn world, what else are you expecting?" Gozaru instantly replied without thinking his words.
"But what if she has another agenda which will make the people in this world see her in another light? Do you dare to see it when they only see her as a monster?" protested Naito.
Hearing that made Gozaru silent and lost in thought. He knew what Naito meant after all. His master,
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was a rather selfish person so she should have at least another thought that good for a bigger view of things but against ethical codes. Gozaru then gulped down his saliva when his thought came to that idea.
"Then if Kaguya-sama comes back, what should we tell her about those four people?" Aino asked.
"Whatever she wants us to tell. But we should send some people to guard against them in case they are planning to escape." Gozaru firmly decided it. Those four people had this strange sensation that similar to his master but it was so weak, at least weaker than Kaguya.
"No!" muttered the black haired boy as he moved his body in panic unconsciously.
"Wake up, Obito. This is not the time for you to sleep." another voice came and that surprisingly made the boy awaken from his slumber.
"Ah!" the boy went up and positioned himself to be sitting. The boy saw that he was inside a large room with two windows at the side, which produced the only light source for them inside.
"What happened? Have we trapped inside an illusion a moment ago?" the black haired boy whose identity was known as Obito turned his head to the source of the voice.
At that side, a silver-haired kid stared at him with ridicule. It was something that made Obito triggered and annoyed.
"Kakashi yaro, what do you mean by the time to sleep!? Besides, how is everyone? Did something happen to us?" as the sight started to become much clear to his eyes, Obito looked at his own hands to check something.
"I don't know about it but they caught us for good, that is for sure. Especially that guy who planted this poison in my body..." the silver-haired kid raised a small thorn that was coated with liquid.
"Judging from their actions, they only wanted to neutralize the threat which is us, due to a certain reason." continued the silver-haired kid that Obito called Kakashi.
"This happened right after we wanted to teleport somewhere. Right, how are Rin and Minato-sensei doing? I saw that they are in a terrible state." asked Obito as his sight wandered around the room.
"If you are talking about them, our capturer treats them nicely. For now, we can't do anything than wait for both of them to awake." answered Kakashi before he turned his head where two beds were present.
"They have the bed while we don't. Not that I want to complain about it but this is mistreatment!" Obito said. But his actions betrayed his words as he went to the side of one of the beds.
"They need it more than we do. Although Rin's condition is fine, on the other hand, Minato-sensei is not something I can explain." Kakashi stared back at the two figure that laid on the bed.
Both of them only knew that they had to wait until all of them recovered to continue their mission.
"Hmm..." then it came to them when another one of their teammates woke up. It lessened their worry because with that, only their team leader was still unable to fight.
"Good grief that you finally come to your sense, Rin." at the same time, Obito came to the side of the bed, looking at the girl that slowly opened her eyes.
"Obito, Kakashi, where are we now? It looks like we are inside a room." the light slowly came to her sight and a faint image of her teammates came to her view.
"Yes, what you said is true. We are inside a room because we are the hostage now." Kakashi sighed helplessly, he felt that this encounter with those people would become a long and arduous deal. With only their unconscious sensei left, they were basically good.
"What!? Tell me from the beginning, as detail as you can." the girl named Rin surprised to hear that. Then she turned her head to see that on another bed, her sensei was laying with his face full of sweat and agony.
"Don't!" when Kakashi and Obito saw what she was trying to do, they stopped her by holding her.
"But what about Minato-sensei? He is in such pain and I can't even help..." said Rin as she started to sob, tears started to appear at the corner of her eyes when she saw her sensei was in that condition.
"If you are unable to properly do some healing, don't do it. Besides, even we are unable to help either. As a Jounin, I am no worth its title." for the first time, Kakashi felt this way.
"What are you talking about? Aren't you a genius in the academy? This situation can be solved as long as Minato-sensei return to normal." said Obito with a slight smile and elbowed Kakashi.
"No, when things went from worse to the worst I can't do a proper thing. This condition..." there was a strange expression that came from the silver-haired kid, an expression of regret.
He then continued, "...is because of my inability. Our opponent is not a shinobi! And yet look at us now."
"What is this pessimism you said? This is strange because it came from you." Obito did not know clearly why Kakashi suddenly said all of those things. But it did not mean that Obito was in the dark.
It is just a failure for the first time. Even though I hate to admit it but he is really a good ninja and rival for me so...
"Do you angry because only me that doesn't give you something for your congratulatory gift to advance rank?" asked Obito while scratching his head and a wry smile. But he knew that his friend of his was troubled by two things.
First was because he could not protect his teammates, which was dangerous if they encountered another shinobi. The second would be when Naito delivered a sleep poison to his body. Even if the effect was delayed but he was hit with poison. It was the mistake that Kakashi could not accept, not since he was already a Jounin.
"Obito! You do know the real reason why Kakashi become like this and yet you still pick that topic." Rin let out a bright smile when she saw such a scene.
"It's because he is thinking too much about his failure. Although for me, it is whether you fail a mission or you fail your teammates." Obito stared back at Kakashi who became surprised when he heard such words came from Obito.
"What did you say earlier? About fail your teammates." Kakashi came closer and he grabbed Obito's shoulders with both hands. As for Obito, he looked around once again to see that Rin looked back at him.
He felt warm all over his face but immediately conceal it, embarrassing if anyone ever found out that he liked Rin. But he thought that so far no one knows about it yet.
And then he looked at his team leader as well as their sensei, the one who was together with them all this time. Now Obito saw a rare thing that came from his sensei, and it was a frown and pain that his sensei had to endure.
If possible, I will not even leave my friends behind for a mere mission. I would rather fail a mission than fail my friend because...
"Yeah. Remember those instructors said that the people that fail their mission are trash? I just think that since such people are called trash, what about those that abandoned their friend for a mission? What will they be called then? Whatever it is they called but for me, they are lower than trash" Obito had a choke on his last words as if something was preventing him from saying more.
"And I think that you are not such person who is lower than trash. That is why I will not believe that you are unworthy of the Jounin position." with a firm look and his hands returning the gesture from Kakashi, grabbing the shoulders, Obito locked his gaze to the one that became his rival and then also his friend.
"You didn't abandon us there, Kakashi. I don't want to say this but you are a great ninja." with those words Obito released his hands from Kakashi's.
"Oh, maybe I should give you a present but what is it that suitable for you..." Obito placed his hands on his chin, truly thinking what was the most suitable present.
"I think we should take care of sensei for now." Rin got up from her bed, she felt that her body was weak. It was like everything came inside out and it truly felt painful and unpleasant.
"What Obito said truly ignite something inside me. He is right, I cannot abandon my teammates and friends. That is why you two should let me help Minato-sensei."
Kakashi wanted to object but he also did not reject her idea either. Obito also in the same line of thought so he not only accept the idea but hoped that it could be done sooner.
"Only after you recovered." Kakashi said after seeing that Rin was still in a bad shape.
"Are you there?" from the depth of the forest, a man who carried a bow was shouting as loud as he can.
His voice entered the forest and reverberated in it, echoed far and wide. But only falling leaves and whistling winds answered his call.
Please don't let something happen because of me and my people.
End of Chapter 2
Yes, from the chapter we can see that some unexpected event take place. It will affect the story eventually and also the people involved in it.
Perhaps this chapter only showed that sometimes, you cannot expect everything is within your grasp and even you have doubt on something that you are sure to be ok.