Disclaimer: Don't own the Naruto franchise, nor any of it's characters.
Rating: T
Enjoy ;)
A little later
Hinata watched even as Sakura worked; Naruto remained unconscious, but slowly growing stronger.
"These guys must be bad, not only destroying the arena, but Kurama conserving his chakra instead of using even a little to heal Naruto" Sakura breathed, worried but working hard to heal him. "You're going after them, aren't you."
"Yes, we will" she whispered, slowly rubbing her fingers against Naruto's hand. "Wherever they've gone with his clone, it'll be away from the village. I know that's at least part of why, so Naruto and the rest of us can fight at full power, without endangering everyone."
Sakura made a sound. "Still crazy" she breathed, a little lighter. "I hope you guys kick their asses."
"We'll do our best."
"Mom!"
A little surprised, Hinata turned and saw Himawari rush in, soon followed by Ino. "Mom" she breathed, before she caught sight of Naruto. "Dad! Is he okay?"
Sakura's voice was gentle. "It's alright, Himawari" she breathed gently, still working. "Your father will be okay, and Boruto's resting nearby."
Himawari visibly slumped in relief- Hinata touched her back and rubbed it gently, though she then looked at Ino-
-who was slightly sheepish. "Sorry about this; Himawari was frantic about finding you guys" she explained.
-she just smiled. "I understand" Hinata breathed, looking at her daughter. "Still, thank you Ino. Now you should get back, see your family."
She did after a little, though not without a worried look at Naruto.
Just then, Boruto rushed inside in a hurry- he quickly saw Himawari, then dad, and he just seemed to go shock-still. "Dad" he breathed... and then without taking his eyes off: "What happened? How is he here?"
"I went after your father" Hinata explained, a little heavier. "And things happened."
"But... but mom, even if you're as strong as dad, and I- me and Himawari didn't know, why would you do that?"
"Because he'd do the same for me, even if it meant his life. He'd do the same for any of us."
The words seemed to touch something deep inside Boruto- his expression didn't change much, but he didn't speak at all. Behind him, at least partially aware of the conversation going, Sarada and Mitsuki slowly came around the corner.
"Any of us would've gone after Naruto, if we thought we had a chance" Sakura added onto, though her gaze remained on Naruto, who still remained out of it. "He worked hard to become Hokage, to protect the people of the Hidden Leaf, just as we've all worked hard to better ourselves. He'd give his life for the village if necessary, because of that effort."
Several seconds passed in silence...
Mitsuki slowly tried to touch his teammate's shoulder. "Boruto-?"
Boruto just turned and ran off, Sarada barely getting out of his way in time- the sight of it made Hinata feel sad, but she recognized what he must be going through. Back at the arena, even if it was Katasuke's manipulation that's also at fault, Boruto had just taken the easy way out by using the Kote... and no matter what, that went against the lessons that a shinobi needed to learn.
Or something similar.
His shame was saddening, but she knew it should help... after this is over though, she knew there had to be a talk; Naruto's work had played a part, but she had some responsibility for not recognizing this trend as well.
"Boruto" Himawari tried to call, to get up- Hinata pulled her back, slowly shaking her head afterward, but then pulled her daughter close.
...
So this was the Kote... hmph.
Lifting his gaze, Sasuke watched as Boruto slowly walked away, every footstep heavy and his walk nearly limp- as if weighed down by everything that'd happened, possibly with a number of statements he'd heard since then. The boy just wearily walked toward the Hokage's office, ie the room his father operated from, entering it without a word or hesitant motion. He followed of course, waiting outside the door even as Boruto went through his self-realization journey... even if he choose to help now, this was Boruto's chance to redeem himself. Minutes passed without a word, with only occasional noises as things were moved, adjusted, or whatever is going on in there... then:
"Man, I'm... such a loser..."
A tiny little smirk, for a moment anyway.
"You've got that right" he spoke then, stepping inside - Boruto, standing in front of the mirror, only turned his head. Sasuke continued: "At the exams, everyone scorned you for cheating. You were stripped of your headband, and can't even call yourself a shinobi right now. On top of that, you've made your little sister cry, your mother worry about the path you're taking, and your father hurt himself trying to protect you."
In front of the mirror now, he briefly glanced at Boruto, who's expression hadn't changed much. "If it weren't for your sister who adores you, your mother who loves you, and your father who works hard - even too hard - while still loving you... you'd be in the same situation as Naruto. So, what are you going to do about that?"
Roughly five seconds passed before Boruto stirred. "So my dad..." he breathed, barely a whisper before his expression changed, turning around entirely. "How did he do it?"
Sasuke observed the change, inwardly approving. "So it's not just his weaknesses you're interested in" he noted, even as outside the door, he easily felt the approach of the others. "You should ask himself, when this is over. For now, your father and mother, along with myself, are going to confront those who threatened our village - I know where they are, for I can sense the chakra of Naruto's clone just as well as the real one."
Boruto glanced down, still seeming a bit down. "I don't get it, Uncle Sasuke. Why are you even bothering with me at all?"
"You're actually quite a strong shinobi" he answered evenly. "I may have lost to Naruto, but... you can become someone who surpasses him."
"But how are you even able to tell that?"
Sasuke had to prevent himself from knowingly-smirking. "Well you are his son, and my number-one student, correct?" he asked rhetorically. "And maybe even moreso, you're a worse loser than Naruto ever was."
Boruto struggled a little with that, as expected. "A loser... what does that mean...?" he asked, nearly pouting.
This time, he did smirk a little. "All I mean is that you both hate to lose."
The boy's expression was a little shocked, but in even less time, it changed to something resembling determination- Naruto's brand anyway. This he quite approved of, as finally the boy was starting to behave as he should be...
"Hey, aren't you two forgetting about the rest of us?"
Sasuke turned his head, seeing the other four Kage, who'd been there for the past few minute or so- Boruto had no idea of this though, as his shock indicated.
"If the Hokage's going, we should help out as well" Darui spoke then, following Chojuro's teasing question. "Can't let ourselves disgrace the reputation of the Five Kage by sticking this one out."
Kurotsuchi soon smirked, looking fairly excited for what's next. "Yeah, let's do it, everyone."
Boruto moved forward a bit, seeming a little awed. "Wow so cool, the Five Kage."
Gaara just closed his eyes, having a little smile even as his arms stayed crossed. "You look just like the old Naruto" he told Boruto, "I can already feel my power surging."
"Not just yet" Sasuke spoke - he wasn't surprised to hear they were going anyway, but he'd left them out on purpose, knowing how they'd react to that; it's kinda fun. "There's still something that's missing- specifically for you, Boruto."
...
Somewhat later
Naruto struggled a little; after all that effort he was still somewhat weak, and Kurama couldn't afford to use any chakra to heal him. In fact right now he's struggling against the two Otsutsuki members - just hold on Kurama; they're coming. Even now though, he's still a little surprised he came up with the plan's adaption on the spot as he did... half-awake, he'd felt the chakra swirling around him, and recognized it as Hinata's Palm Rotation. And in that moment, when he didn't sense the Otsutsuki's inside it, managed to do the Shadow Clone jutsu... if it didn't work, he'd still have been captured and nothing would change, yet if they took a clone Kurama and himself would still have to resist, but they'd have an element of surprise they didn't have before.
And it'd actually worked... guess he must've miscalculated a little, because he'd thought those two would take him away much faster.
But they hadn't, and so Hinata had interfered- heh, just like her too.
Beside him, Hinata kept his body supported. "Once we ambush them, Kurama should dissipate the clone and heal you, so you'll be fine," she breathed, he nodding. "That's good. Still, this is gonna be difficult."
"Yeah."
Even as they spoke, they arrived at the top of the Hokage's office; Shikamaru was already there, though Sasuke and the other Kage had yet to show. But soon they would, and then they'd go to where the Otsutsuki members were, pinpointed by his own clone - and this time they wouldn't be holding back for fear of collateral damage/friendly fire.
Even as they waited though, Shikamaru came up to them - he glanced at him, lip curving. "Guess I'm not surprised you recovered that quickly, even by yourself" he merely said, to which Naruto just smiled. "Anyway, I've reviewed all the information you've told me, Hinata. Your plan seems quite sound; congratulations."
Hinata made a sound. "It's just a simple divide-and-conquer strategy, really" she admitted.
"Perhaps" he said easily. "But sometimes simple can be more effective than anything convoluted. And besides, there's a lot we don't know about them as well - making a lot of plans that deal with unknown variables would just weigh you down, perhaps hesitate; it's better to be decisive."
"We'll do our best, ya know" Naruto promised, holding up his fist- Shikamaru knowingly returned the gesture.
Just then, Hinata tugged at his arm, and he looked over to see the others arriving. The other four Kage, Sasuke and-
-and Boruto.
He glanced at Hinata, who returned it, feeling the same mix of emotions he did.
-once they met up, Naruto took in/let out a little breath.
"Give us a minute, will you? Shikamaru can fill you in on the plan while you wait" he asked the others. They glanced at Boruto, then nodded as they went over - except for Sasuke, who created a Shadow Clone to listen to that plan, yet otherwise stayed nearby.
...okay then.
Squeezing Hinata's hand, Naruto stepped forward a little. "Boruto... it's dangerous where we're going" he said, faint, knowing the ground between them wasn't exactly stable right now.
His son glanced down, but his expression slowly turned determined - without a word, he drew something from behind, closing his eyes as he held it up to his head...
A headband, but with a very distinctive scratch through it; Sasuke's.
...Boruto tightened the knot as he finished tying it, smirking.
Naruto nearly gasped, feeling a chill go through his body - something Hinata would later say she'd felt too, exactly as he described. Combined with his old jacket (that he somehow only just know realized Boruto was wearing), that determined look, Boruto looked just like he used to when younger... down to the last details, the resemblance was almost uncanny!
Kinda like looking at his own Shadow Clone...
"I'm gonna go" he said, equally determined - he even grinned, not unlike how he did.
Stunned a little, he could only look at Hinata, who shared the 'chilled' feeling... somehow they were having the same thought. They wanted him to stay where it's safe, but having seen this sight, the resolve to go and redeem himself- they just couldn't seem to say no all of a sudden. Even as he watched, Hinata's worried surprise slowly turned into a smile, and he couldn't help but return the favor... they both nodded. Even as this happened, Boruto's shoulders almost slumped a little from relief, and he looked over at Sasuke-
-who simply approved. "Now you're finally carrying yourself like a shinobi" he just said, before walking away. "Come whenever you're ready, as you have other company."
Naruto went 'Hmm?', before he noticed Sasuke was right; having also come up the path was Himawari, followed behind by Sakura - who'd clearly seen the previous scene, going by her smile - along with Sarada and Mitsuki. Boruto soon looked at them, slightly sheepish, before he gestured to his other teammates before moving toward them; he's still gonna go, but he had to assure them and everything.
Meanwhile: "Dad, mom" Himawari spoke, a little worried. "Do you have to go?"
He hesitated a bit, certain that Hinata would assure her, but his wife merely squeezed his hand without a word- because he'd been at work most of the time, this was his chance. Mentally, Naruto felt he's lucky; he knew he'd screwed up and deserved the words said to him, but Himawari had never once blamed him according to Hinata... before, or now. He smiled, feeling she's just like her mother that way, even as she'd clearly taken after him in several ways... such as her eyes (when they weren't Byakugan anyway), her smile, and even the energy.
Bending down a bit, Naruto touched her shoulders. "Yeah, we do" he said gently. "If we don't, they'll come back and put us all in danger again."
Himawari made a small sound. "But big brother's going with you" she said, a little unsure. "Could I- could I come too?"
Even without looking, he somehow felt everything Hinata was feeling; this was definitely her daughter, as well as his. "Himawari" he breathed, smiling. "Boruto's coming to redeem himself, to prove he's a shinobi. He won't fight unless he has to... and the same would be true for you too, if you came with us. We all know you're strong (he resisted the urge to touch his stomach), but these guys are much stronger, and if something happened then... I guess, what I'm asking is... do you feel like you'd be ready to put your life on the line?"
She glanced behind her slowly, looking at her brother before back at him. "No..." Himawari breathed, but looking at him without fear. "I suppose that's part of it, dad? Being a shinobi?"
He just nodded, before hugging his daughter- she quickly returned it. "Yeah, though there's a lot more to it" Naruto breathed. "But Himawari, since you aren't ready, we can't ask you to go with us. But that'll make us feel better, because we know you're safe here... just promise us something."
"Anything."
"Cheer for us in spirit, okay?"
Pulling back from him, Himawari just gave him a big smile, nodding several times - by then, Hinata had come forward, hugging them both in a three-way for a little. Once they all pulled apart, Boruto had joined them for real, standing beside his sister- all eyes seemed to turn to the two of them.
"Boruto" Naruto breathed, slowly rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, for everything. I- from now on-"
"It was fine as it was" Boruto said a little quickly, to some surprise - however, his expression seemed better, and he was smiling a bit. "But dad, when you can manage to be around, when you're not lecturing... I want to hear stories about your past" he continued, before glancing at his sister. "And if you can manage it, tell us both."
Himawari soon smiled, nodding.
"Heh" he breathed, knowing he owed them that much. "Sure thing."
Hinata put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll have my own stories to tell, which I'm sure you'll want to hear too" she breathed gently, their children a little more excited at that. "After all, I think we owe you that much, including about how we obtained our powers."
"Yeah" Boruto said, nodding. "Definitely mom."
"You'll be sure to tell me all the details, big brother?" Himawari asked Boruto, hands up in some excitement. "Right? After everything's done?"
"Hehe, yeah of course."
Naruto just smiled, feeling Hinata lean against him, already doing the same herself- they'd made some mistakes, him in particular, but overall their children had grown well. Still had a long ways to go, but they were a good bunch... yet for now, they still had a big problem to take care of...
"Come on, Boruto" Naruto breathed, his son nodding - Himawari waved after them, not exactly happy as before, but clearly hoping/helping them in spirit already.
Back to the others then-
"Took you long enough" Sasuke mused. "Anyway, everyone knows the plan."
They all nodded: it was simple divide-and-conquer - if possible they would capture them, but if/when it came down to it, they were to be taken out without hesitation. Due to their Byakugan and the chakra seeds they carried, genjutsu was highly impractical, which Kurotsuchi had almost sulked upon - and moreover Momoshiki had his Rinnegan, meaning they couldn't use ninjutsu on him (including Truth-Seeking Balls, on his and Hinata's part). Dividing them was necessary, not only to make them easier to handle but also to avoid anything drastic happening (if at all possible), though there might be more they didn't know. At the same time they had the advantage, as despite Kinshiki's skill at hand-to-hand combat, Momoshiki's personality and behaviors meant it's extremely likely he didn't bother with such 'trivial' concerns much... so it wouldn't be his strong point.
And in their favor, they were all fairly skilled at taijutsu and/or kenjutsu.
Sasuke opened his Rinnegan, which formed the purple-black portal beside them - one-by-one they all entered into it. The portal stuck around for a bit after that, but unknown to their group they were secretly followed...
Momoshiki's dimension
The world was desolate, sky perpetually kept in the dark under thick cloud cover; even the God Tree of the planet had long since withered. And yet as brown as the surrounding landscape was, a tiny light could be seen near it's base, as were three lifeforms... one bound and the other two floating...
Naruto yelled even as Momoshiki tried to absorb Kurama's chakra- however, frustration crossed the latter's face. "This is taking way too long" he said, stopping his attempt for the moment, and for a few seconds only Naruto's panting could be heard...
Until he started laughing.
"Hmm?" Momoshiki breathed, irritated, even as Kinshiki moved a bit. "Wait, this laughter... could it be the demon fox?"
"Hehehehe. You two, thinking yourselves so above everyone."
Neither of them so much as stirred as Naruto lifted his head - his eyes were red, and his whisker markings had thickened.
"And yet," Kurama spoke through him, grinning. "you fall for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Pathetic."
Poof
Barely did they react to this development before quickly looking up; they had incoming.
Gaara was first: "Let's do this!"
Quick as bullets, sand shot through the air, many where the two Otsutsuki had been before they just managed to dodge. And still more sand flowed, forming platforms for Gaara himself, Darui, and Naruto (Boruto in his grip) to land upon, all around the floating Momoshiki - even as this happened, Chojuro, Kurotsuchi, Sasuke, and Hinata all nimbly landed upon the ground, surrounding Kinshiki.
The Five Kage spoke in unison: "Don't think you can get away from us!"
Momoshiki was dismissive as expected. "You vulgar creatures" he spoke, raising his left Rinnegan, which glowed-
-boom.
...
"Whatever happens, make sure to stay away" Naruto said intently. "You're no match up-close."
Boruto just nodded, digging into his pouch. "Then I just bend my attacks" he said easily, smirking a little - Naruto thought this had to do with Sasuke being his teacher, as he was a master at shruikenjutsu.
Even as they quickly spoke, the battle had already started: Gaara was forming a 'ceiling' of sand whenever Momoshiki tried to get higher, and his platforms moved everywhere as they pursued him. When Darui got in close, Momoshiki was forced to defend himself with a chakra receiver, but always he fought to get some distance- after a bit though, he managed to push Darui away, just in time to turn toward Gaara (who'd launched a sand bullet).
Momoshiki tried to absorb it with his right Rinnegan-
-and failed miserably, as the sand bullet raked across his palm - it was hard to tell if he inflicted lasting damage, or if said damage was healed by his constantly-flowing chakra, yet still.
"My sand is beyond your Rinnegan's power" Gaara told him, coming in fast. "It will harm you no matter how strong you are."
His opponent was scowling, but still tried to stab Gaara; the sand protected him without a second thought, and even more coated Gaara's arms and legs. The two of them sparred a bit, then Gaara shoved Momoshiki downward... and Naruto was there, throwing a well-aimed kick, forcing him to defend with his chakra receiver. Then Darui blind-sided him, and still Momoshiki tried to get room to blast them, or even just escape their relentless pursuit- they didn't allow it one bit.
"Your kind is nothing" he called, about to aim his left Rinnegan... but at the last moment, due to his feet having been pulled by the sand, his attack wildly missed. Before he could recover, Gaara was there drop-kicking him, Momoshiki barely just managed to stop Darui from cutting him with his sword, but he was forced to pull back as Naruto closed in - together they pursued him, while the two of them heard a shruiken fly through the air; Naruto just grinned a little. Momoshiki saw it coming too, and got well out of it's way... but he didn't expect a second one to impact it, turning back straight toward him.
He still dodged it of course, but it left him wide open to more blows.
Pausing a bit, letting Darui and Gaara pursue Momoshiki, Naruto flashed a thumbs-up and a grin to Boruto.
...
Hinata moved fast, ducking underneath Kinshiki's blow before she struck at the points around his right leg; his chakra levels almost immediately re-opened the the points, but it caused a momentary falter in his step. Sasuke immediately took advantage by attacking from the right side, forcing his sword against Kinshiki's created ones- Hinata meanwhile slammed her Vacuum Palm straight into his chest while he was distracted, right toward Chujuro and Kurotsuchi. He recovered quickly, swinging at the two (who deftly dodged) - Kurotsuchi even caught the blade between her bare hands, twisting his arm when she pulled it into an unfavorable position for him. Chojuro used that opportunity to slam a shock-wave at Kinshiki, who was unable to dodge (Kurotsuchi bent underneath it) - it was unclear how much damage he took, but it threw him away a good distance.
Sasuke was the first after him; Hinata quickly moved over to the others.
"He isn't losing stamina" she said quickly. "We need to trap him quickly."
As she quickly explained her plan, Sasuke kept Kinshiki busy, particularly once he noted their standing together- no matter how he had to do it, he managed to keep up for about a minute. Chojuro came in then and created another sword shock-wave, which Kinshiki dodged by jumping high into the air, and Sasuke ducked under; the strike itself cut through the roots with ease. Kinshiki soon attacked the man, while Hinata quickly went over toward Sasuke, explaining the basics... and all the while, Chojuro dueled Kinshiki himself, though all his movements were intentionally retreating, only feigning difficulty. Still they moved together, slashing through the God tree's roots before Kinshiki pushed him against a branch, managing to strike down Chojuro's sword, then a quick upward slash got him.
"You're cornered!" Kinshiki rumbled, raising his weapon.
Chojuro smirked- his cut was bleeding but the wound was shallow, which was all he'd allowed to happen. "Speak for yourself" he snarked.
Even as he spoke, the ground directly between them shifted and morphed, forming a mound as large as either of them. Kinshiki barely had enough time to utter "You impudent-!" before Kurotsuchi struck, the force of her punch sending him flying far upward. Kurotsuchi moved sideways, preparing hand signs while Chojuro just prepared his Hiramekarei, from which he produced a clone of. A distance away, Hinata was already forming hand signs herself, mouthing the jutsu to herself. Back up in the sky, Kinshiki struggled to regain control but before he could even halfway do so, Sasuke was there with his sword coated in Inferno-style flames- Kinshiki managed to avoid harm, but the strike finally broke his weapon, sending him to the ground.
Immediately, extremely-sharp blades of chakra appeared from nowhere, wrapping around Kinshiki from head-to-toe- if he struggled, they cut into his skin. "Protecting Eight Trigrams, complete!" Hinata mentally finished.
And that wasn't all; just as she spoke, multiple knife-like constructs slammed into Kinshiki, piercing his arms, his legs, and most into his torso. Some, not all, had been aimed so precisely that they interfered with several chakra points, further restricting what he could do from then on.
"Bone Mutilation!" Chojuro had called, dual-wielding his Hiramekarei-
-and just as he finished, Kurotsuchi followed it up - from her mouth, she spewed her distinctive kekkai genkai, which formed around her Protective Eight Trigrams and Chojuro's Bone Mutilation knives as if they weren't there. "Lava Style: Ash Seal!"
Even as Kinshiki struggled near-helplessly, Hinata looked up at Sasuke. "We'll hold him here! Help Naruto!" she said intently- with a nod, he soon moved away with a blur.
...
Under Gaara's gesture, his sand soon formed another 'ceiling' that forced Momoshiki downward- Darui ran across it like stepping stones, before jumping down through a gap, closing with Momoshiki and forcing him on the defensive with his vastly-superior skill, Gaara's sand providing platforms as he needed. Naruto followed them for a bit before he saw an opening; as Darui forced Momoshiki's chakra receiver upward (to block an overhand strike), Naruto managed to get behind him... the result was kinda mixed, as Momoshiki had sensed him coming. So yeah, he had to defend himself from the chakra receiver as well and had to block that with his forearm, with the impact hurting but on the other hand he'd managed to graze Momoshiki's face with his fist. Darui soon followed up with a more backhanded blow, which hit Momoshiki's shoulder even harder as he fled, and then in his haste almost ran smack-dab into Gaara's wall of sand.
Soon enough, the three of them were converging from three different directions, with their target trying to take the only one left to him-
-except not; Momoshiki skid to a halt, chakra receiver straining against Sasuke's sword, with the latter pushing him away. The rest of them surrounded him, ready to continue fighting and make sure he couldn't escape.
"Well!?" Momoshiki demanded, looking around at all of them- he seemed unnerved. "Where are your pitiful attempts at jutsu!?"
Naruto crossed his arms, smirking. "What do you take us for? Idiots?" he said easily.
"We're not falling for that trick" came from Sasuke.
Darui hefted his own sword, just a bit over his shoulder. "As if we'd do anything you say anyway."
"Taijutsu is your weakness" Gaara finished, arms crossed. "A simple thing to exploit."
Momoshiki actually began to shake, very slightly, his scowl an ugly thing entirely- if Naruto saw that correctly, he was actually intimated. Still, even when he went head-to-head with Sasuke - more of a brief meeting than any exchange of blows - he seemed to do so out of slight desperation, as if looking for a way he could overpower them.
Well, it's not like-
Subtly, a sound like something tremendous had just crashed - they all adjusted somewhat, except for Momoshiki. Then the rest of them tensed, and instantly they jumped away as glowing weapons slashed through the tree roots- Momoshiki merely jumped two feet to avoid them, Kinshiki coming to his side-
-and swung his weapon in an arc, slicing through the God Tree like it was paper.
The tremendous din it created was like an entire village had been destroyed, and they all tried to protect themselves from the shock-waves. Naruto barely managed to see Boruto crouched deep behind a thick tree root, yet he still felt the impact- but as long as he's safe. Not too soon afterward, he saw Hinata along with Chojuro and Kurotsuchi a little farther away, though they each looked like they'd recently taken a blow. Then he looked toward their enemies- yikes, Kinshiki looked like he'd been through hell. The big guy's clothes had been torn all over, and cuts perforated almost every part of his skin... which horrifyingly, parts had been torn right off, revealing the muscles and tendons underneath, blood dripping from almost everywhere.
He knew that couldn't have been from the others' attacks; they'd just been trying to restrain him.
Even as he pondered this, the realm's even-deader God Tree fell with an equally-loud din, clouds of dust rising from impact. Standing/floating above it's trunk, Kinshiki looked completely unsteady upon his feet, saying something, while Momoshiki lifted his right Rinnegan with what seemed to be an angry expression on his face.
"Don't think I would!"
His Rinnegan activated, pulling Kinshiki up - screaming the entire way - and- and turned him into a chakra fruit!? Without even a moment's hesitation, Momoshiki further upped the shock (and disgust) when he ate into what remained of his former partner- gah, that's completely disgusting! But what happened next didn't let them focus on the disgust; eating his partner's chakra fruit caused drastic changes in Momoshiki, who's pale skin turned to something resembling a darker-red all of a sudden, along with a number of smaller things like fangs, claws, even a pointed chin. More than that though, even from this distance they could tell he'd grown much larger than before, now at least a good four feet taller than all of them- and unless he was mistaken, he'd awakened a third Rinnegan on his forehead, not unlike Kaguya's 'third eye' thing.
"And this guy calls us creatures" Kurama groused, equally disturbed- Naruto couldn't disagree for the life of him.
Just then, Momoshik pretty much roared- the force of which slammed into them like gale-force winds. They had to dig into whatever was available to hold their ground, but even that gave a pretty clear indicator of his new power... and he'd been strong before...
This way managed to give Himawari a somewhat-bigger part and more focus... I admit I was tempted to bring her along too, but pretty sure that'd have been pushing it hehe. That little girl's strong and definitely has potential, but she isn't even in the Academy yet while her brother had to come because of plot- but it is what it is XD Meanwhile, I definitely made Kinshiki stronger in addition to Momoshiki - even with his movie fate, and despite suffering a worse severity of those injuries, he 'has' to be stronger to break free not just from Chojuro/Kurotsuchi, but a Tenseigan-infused Hinata. And as a result of his increased strength, Momoshiki now has that in addition...
Regarding cutting the second chapter off here, it's pretty much for length, as the rest of the battle is as long as the first chapter (lol)