Hi there everybody, thesaiyanjedi here with the next chapter of "Shinachiku's Next Adventure!"
Yes, yes, I know that I have kept you all waiting WAY too long for this chapter, and I swear to you that I am really, really sorry. The fact of the matter is that December has been a very busy month for me. I am working an evening job this year, with the usual daily business that needs to get done every morning. I have had to deal with many different responsibilities regarding my family, my job during peak season, and, honestly, a bit of writer's block as I tried to figure out this very long and complex chapter.
I do not mean to make excuses for my tardiness, only to let you in on what has been going on. I hope you can forgive me, and I thank you all so much for your patience.
But anyway, onto this chapter. This is by far the longest chapter I have written yet for this story, and for good reason as you will see. There is a lot that will happen in this chapter, and with any luck, it may shock and surprise a lot of you.
With all of that said, let's get to reading!
Chapter 11: The Times They Are A-Changin', Part II
"Shina!" Sarada yelled working to keep up with her boyfriend among the crowd of villagers lining the streets. "Slow down and stay focused!"
"There's no time!" the blonde shouted back. "We need to find Mizuki now before he gets away."
"Come on, how do you even know that was him?"
"I read a description of him in my dad's book."
"That's no proof!"
Shinachiku stopped suddenly, turned his head around, and snapped. "You've got any better suggestions?!"
Sarada frowned at his anger and shook her head in disappointment. "No."
"Good. Now come on, before he gets too far ahead."
The couple made their way through the crowd for several more minutes but he damned cloaked man was too far ahead and out of sight.
"Damn it!" Shinachiku cursed as he kicked a mail box in frustration.
"Hey!" A Konoha postman with youthful features and brown hair caught them and approached them. "That box is village government property. There's a fine for kicking that—Oh! Excuse me Honorable Son of Lord Seventh. I didn't realize it was you. I'm actually a huge fan of you and your father. I don't believe we've met, my name's Tayori Kuroyagi, Konoha Central postman as you can see from my uniform. Please forgive my rudeness, but you really shouldn't—"
"GET LOST!"
The postman freaked out at the boys furious outburst and actually ran away in terror. In fact, he could have sworn he could see slits forming in the boys eyes for a split second.
"What the hell was that for?!" Sarada chastised her boyfriend incredulously. "That guy was just doing his job."
"He was getting in the way of our mission."
"No, he was chewing you out when you kicked that mail box like a child. You're lucky you're so famous and he didn't report you, and he may do that now anyway."
Shinachiku stopped to take a deep breath. "I...I'm sorry, all right. I'm just a little..."
He trailed off, and so she took the liberty to put a hand on his shoulder and look him in the eye.
"Hey," she said, "it's going to be alright. I know what's at stake. But you're team captain, you loosing your cool and getting angry and unfocused isn't going to make things any easier. You're smart enough to know that."
He smiled and put his hand on her own. "Sarada, I'm—"
"Captain?"
The two of them turned at the sound of a pair of a voice they recognized immediately. Mitsuki and Muon had finally caught up to them, even within the crowd.
"Captain," Mitsuki addressed the blonde formally, as usual. "We've both rendezvous with you both just as you've ordered sir."
"Did you have trouble finding us?" Sarada asked.
"A little," he said.
"I'm glad you're both here," Shinachiku told them. "Have you seen any sightings of the suspect we described to you?"
"No captain, I haven't."
Shina turned to his other teammate. "What about you Muon?"
"..."
"Fair enough. Alright listen, I want the four of us to split up and search the village and the city from top to bottom. Everybody keep their phones and communication devices on. Report in to one another the moment you hear anything. This man must not be allowed to leave this village under any circumstances. Understood?"
"HAI!" The other three all said as one.
"Alright then, break!"
With ninja speed, the four of them leapt in opposite direction to scour the Hidden Leaf Village in pursuit of their mysterious adversary. After all, the fate of everything depended on it...
"Sai!"
The Anbu captain heard the voice of his friend and leader and, for once, was not looking forward to speaking to him.
"G-Greetings Lord Seventh sir."
Naruto looked over his friend's injuries. "Sweet Sage Sai, what the heck happened?"
"It was the boy Naruto. He's proven much more clever and stronger than we'd thought."
"Bolt did this to you?"
"Hai."
The Orange Hokage rubbed his face with his bandaged hand and stared to the side to gather his thoughts. "You're telling me that a Genin won a fight against you? An Anbu Black Op?"
Sai actually got defensive. "Don't be so shocked Naruto. He is your s—"
"SHHHHH!" The blonde shushed him in a panic. "What are you trying to do?! Alert the whole village?! That's an S-rank secret, remember?!"
Sai scratched the back of his head innocently. "Oh yes, silly me. Gomen Lord Seventh."
Naruto sweat dropped. "Look, Sai, just tell me where the kid is right now."
Sai paused before answering. "Naruto...I'm sorry."
"Sai?"
"...Neji took him."
"What?!"
"He was in the crowd when we fought and he saw the boy using the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist fighting style. He took the boy with him."
"Shit!" Naruto cursed under his breath. "Was Neji alone?"
"..."
"Sai?"
"..."
"SAI!"
"Naruto...Hinata was there too."
The blonde felt every trace of blood in his face draining down to his feet. He was turning as pale white as Sai himself was. This was it. This was his worst nightmare come to life.
There was only one word he could say to all of this. "Fuck..."
A man in a cloak was rushing through the crowded streets of Konoha. He couldn't shake this feeling that somebody was following him. Scratch that, he knew that someone was following him. The Uzumaki bastard! If that kid caught up to him everything was going to be ruined.
'No more waiting then. I need to find a safe place and do this now.'
The cloaked man put in every bit of ninja speed he had to sneak through the crow, even rudely bumping into many of them and not paying them any sort of respect.
Little did he realize that another pair of eyes were watching him from atop on the city buildings. His blue eyes shined underneath his white robe...
Down below on the village streets, a little girl was walking to a local restaurant. She was feeling so relieved as she was walking with her aunt and uncle from the Hidden Cloud Village. With the tragedy on the train that killed her family, they were summoned by members of the Anbu Black Ops to come to Konoha to claim her, accepting their new responsibility as the girl's legal guardians.
The girl herself was, for the first time during this horrible, horrible week, at peace. She was smiling, something she was not able to do ever since her family died. Her aunt and uncle even got the girl to start talking again.
Now, just as soon as the new family had gotten themselves a bite to eat, and then they could start heading back home to the Cloud Village...by carriage of course, they knew that she did not want to go anywhere near a train...
...At least, that was the plan, until the girl looked up at the city skyline and even from such a high vantage point was able to catch sight of something that made her blood go cold.
"Sweetie," the girls aunt called to get her attention. "Dear, are you alright?"
The girl could not look away. It was him, the man in white. The man whose face haunted her nightmares.
And that was when she knew...everyone in the village was going to die...
The doors to the Hyūga clan compound flew open as Neji tossed the boy across the room, causing him to land on the floor.
"Neji!" Hinata demanded. "Please calm down! He's just a boy!"
"A boy who knows our clan's techniques."
"So? I taught Shinachiku some lessons in his free time. Maybe Hanabi took on a student she hasn't told us about. It's not a big deal."
"That's not the point."
"Then what is the point?"
"..." Neji couldn't finish the sentence in disgust. Instead his just turned back to the boy. "Who are you? Start talking."
"B-Boruto," the boy stammered out. "My name is Boruto."
"What is your last name?"
"I..." The boy found his eyes darting to the concerned woman standing behind the angry Hyūga that was questioning him.
"Don't stare at Lady Hinata boy!" Neji demanded. "What is your full name?"
"I...can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because the Hokage ordered me not to."
Hinata reacted in surprise. "Naruto?"
"What does Lord Hokage have to do with this?"
"I can't tell you that either."
"How do you know the Gentle Fist style?"
"It was taught to me."
"By who?"
"By, uh..."
"Who?!"
Bolt swallowed a gulp in his throat. "By my mo—"
"What's going on here?"
They all turned around to see a grown man with long, messy brown hair, a goatee, sharp black eyes, with vertical slit-pupils, and pronounced canine teeth. More notable were the distinctive red fang markings of his family's clan tattooed on his cheeks. The man was dressed in a standard Konoha flak jacket underneath a open fur coat, and black fingerless gloves, along with grey pants reaching his calves and pair of shinobi sandals. He was carrying a grocery bag under his arm and beside him was a large, old dog with white fur and a wrinkly snout.
"Kiba," Hinata acknowledged her husband.
"Honey, what's going on?"
"Kiba, what are you doing here?" Neji questioned.
"We just got back from getting the groceries. I told you both that, remember?"
"Woof!" Akamaru barked in agreement.
It was then that Kiba got his first glimpse at their other guest. "Who's the kid?"
"That's what I am trying find out," Neji answered.
The dog lover turned to his lovely wife in confusion. "Hinata, what's he talking about?"
"I don't know. I just came across Neji assaulting this poor boy in the street and then he drags him back to our house like a prisoner."
"Neji," Kiba stormed up to his in-law, "I don't know what's gotten into you man, but you know you can't just grab a kid off the street and yell at him like that. This is abuse of a minor!"
"He has information I need."
"About what?"
"It's none of your concern Kiba."
"It's happening in my house, so damn right its my concern!"
"Wrong, this is the Hyūga compound, and this is Hyūga business."
"Neji! Stop it!" Hinata snapped. "Kiba's family now, you don't have the right to talk to him that way."
"That's okay babe," Kiba assured her. "I can take care of myself."
Neji merely scoffed and turned back to the boy. He stared at the child's face, analyzing it carefully, intricately...But he needn't have bothered. The facial structure, the eyes, the hair, those damn markings on his cheeks...It set his blood to a boil, so much so that his Byakugan activated without his even realizing it.
"Boy," he demanded, "who is your father?"
"...I"
"Never mind. I already know. Isn't that right Naruto?"
Neji's kekki genki let his see his old friend, his Hokage, was standing there in the doorway right behind them. The other's all turned around in shock to find that, indeed, the Orange Hokage of the Leaf was standing right there, with one of the most serious and downtrodden expressions they had ever seen from him.
"Naruto..." Hinata gasped.
The blonde stepped into the house, Akamaru sensing the tension in the air and actually growling at him behind fanged teeth.
"Let the boy go Neji. That's an order."
Naruto's command disgusted the resurrected Hyūga. With grimace, he signaled for the boy to get up and get out of his sight. But as he did so, Naruto grabbed him by the arm and whispered something to him.
"Head back to my house as stay there, do you understand?"
"...Yes sir."
Naruto let him go and Boruto left, only taking one last look at a worried and confused Hinata before doing so.
The blonde was left to stare down his old friends. They had met him, he was here. In spite of all he had done to prevent this, the moment had come.
"Naruto, what's going on?" Kiba questioned in confusion. "Who was that kid?"
His eyes glance to all three people in the room, particularly Hinata, before closing his eyes, letting out a deep sigh, and opening them again. "You guys, there's something I have to tell you..."
Sarada was combing the streets on the west side of the city. She activated her Sharingan to give her a better eye's view and hopefully help her to find her target. No, her clan's kekki genki wasn't known for this kind of use the way that the Byakugan was, but given what was on the line, she was willing to take every advantage she could get.
The Chūnin's bright red eyes, highlighted her glasses, possessed two black tomoe as her vision changed. She was focusing on the flow of chakra down on the streets. She was looking for anything that was above average from the dozens upon dozens of pedestrians lining the streets. She was searching for a Jōnin-level chakra signature in a sea of, well, Lees.
'Aw man!' she coursed. 'All these people and I can't see a thing! He must be on a different side of town by now. I hope the others are having more luck than I am.'
Shinachiku was frantically patrolling the north side of the city. He decided to seek out the high ground by climbing a stairwell to the roof of a nearby building. He was hoping that by getting himself some elevation that it would make it easier for him to find his target. After all, for all the skills he possessed, he was no Uchiha or Hyūga.
'I can't believe I'm thinking this, but that Boruto kid might actually be useful right now.'
The boy's eyes were constantly moving back and forth in every direction, searching top to bottom for any sign of this man.
'Wait! What's that?!'
There he was! Passing through a busy sidewalk was a man in a cloak! And the cloak was an exact match to the one they were looking for!
"Got you!" Shinachiku proclaimed...
...Until the cloaked man stopped to talk to someone else amongst the crowd, then promptly lowered his hood to reveal just another Leaf ninja.
"Damn!" The blonde made a fist as he contemplated his next move. 'I have to catch up to that guy and fast, before it's too late...'
Mitsuki was on the south side of the village, his golden eyes darting back and forth. He was looking in every way he could think of, from a distance, from the high ground, but he could do nothing to find the person his captain sought.
That was when the boy got himself an idea. He bit his thumb and slammed his hand down on the ground.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!"
In a puff of smoke, right in the middle of the street, with dozens of civilian villagers around him on all sides, a swarm of normal sized snakes appeared before the boy.
"AGH!" a woman screamed in terror. "I hate snakes!"
"Mommy! They're scary!" A child coward next to her mother.
"Get them away! Get them away!" a fully grown and heavily muscled man pleaded like a total sissy.
"Masssssssssster?" one of the snakes hissed. "Was issssssssss it?"
"I want you all to split up and scour the entire village. Look for a man in a hooded cloak who has white unkempt hair with a blue tint that reaches down to his shoulder and green eyes. He should look fairly muscular and well defined. He should be wearing an open black vest, black pants, and a dark brown belt with a buckle shaped like a silver rectangle."
"Who issssssssss this man?" the snake asked.
"A criminal," Mitsuki answered. "One that my captain and Lord Seventh would very much like to see returned to prison. Now scatter!"
The snakes all slithered away in every direction, freaking out a lot of people as they did so and causing a bit of mass panic as they quickly moved to get out of the creature's path.
'I simply will never understand ophidiophobes. Even the captain doesn't get us father.'
Muon was patrolling the east side of the city. Wordlessly he passed through the mob. The boy was like a specter, an invisible voyeur who could pass anybody and observe anything and be so silent and attract so little attention to himself that absolutely nobody would even notice his existence.
That was always the boy's greatest contribution to his squad, his anonymity. And he knew precisely how to use that to his advantage. Nobody knew the reason why this boy had taken a vow of silence, but for a ninja that proved to be a good asset.
Scanning the crowd, eyes darting from one civilian to another, he could see nothing... Until all of a sudden, he saw a man in a cloak, and in less than a second, he got a peak underneath the hood to see the face of the man they ere looking for.
Muon trailed him in silence, his footsteps so light that they made no sound, and even if they had, the commotion of the villagers were loud enough to cover it up. He followed Mitsuki down several blocks. As he did so, he pulled out his cellular phone and started typing an email addressed to his three teammates.
Shinachiku's phone all of sudden chimed, alerting him that he had received an email. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he opened the email and found a message from one of his team: "..."
The blonde immediately started typing back to the others: "Attention team, Muon had found Mizuki. He's on the east side of the village. Muon is trailing him, but everyone begin rendezvousing on that side of the village. Be prepared for a fight."
After sending his message, Shina wasted no time making his way eastward.
'Thank you Jōkā, we'd all might be dead right now if it wasn't for you...'
"The message has been sent master. Uzumaki and his comrades are on the hunt for Mizuki as we speak."
"For Taka's sake, we must pray that they reach him in time."
"Literally."
"Watch your tongue!"
"Gomen, master. What now?"
"For now, continue keeping up your guard. Your deep cover assignment has been going too well for it all to be exposed now—"
Knock! Knock!
Jōkā slammed his laptop shut as soon as he heard a knocking on his door. He then heard rattling, as though the person on the other side could not turn the doorknob. Swallowing his composure, he said "Come in."
"I will when you unlock the door."
Getting up, the young Stone ninja got up and unlocked the door, opening it. Waiting on the other side was his teammate with pineapple-shaped hair, who came into the room closing the door behind him.
"Shikadai, what are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing," the Nara boy retorted. "Why did you have the door locked?"
"Hey, can't a guy be aloud a little privacy?"
The current head of the CGRS glanced over his teammate's shoulder and noticed his laptop. "Why? Were you looking porn or something?"
"No!"
"Pfft! Whatever. So troublesome."
Jōkā folded his arms. "So what's up?"
"We're having a meeting in the conference room, and everyone's required to be there. Now come on, I've already told everybody else."
Jōkā's eyes darted off a bit when his teammate had his back turned. "Wait, should we really be having a meeting without Shinachiku and the others here?"
Shikadai turned back around in suspicion. "As interim captain until Shina gets back, I have the right to call a meeting when I feel it's necessary, and trust me, I do. Besides, with the snow still falling pretty hard and us being so far out from the nearest village, its not like any of us are going anywhere for a while. Right?"
'Shit! So much for my escape.' Seeing no other recourse, the boy nodded. "Okay, I'll be right there."
"Good." Shikadai was just about to exit the door, before he stopped again. " Jōkā?"
"Yeah?"
"Do me a favor and bring your laptop with you to the meeting, would you?"
"Umm...Why?"
"...Captain's orders."
"H-Hai captain."
With that, Shikadai at last lest the boy's room. And when he did, the whole room felt a lot larger and a lot more empty as all the traitor could think to himself was, 'Well, this sucks.'
There was silence in the Hyūga compound as Naruto finished telling the story to his three friends. If this whole affair was tearing him apart just talking about it, he could sense that the others were all utterly decimated.
Hinata was stuck sitting on her hands and knees, her face in her hands as tears poured out. It was like something out of a dream and a nightmare all at the same time. That boy, he was her son! Her and Naruto's son! Her first love. And in some other world, they were together!
She could almost see it...A house...two kids...him coming home from work and her waiting for him with a warm smile as they kissed...and the four of them all sitting down together for dinner...
...And then, when then the kids were all in bed, they would both go to their bedroom themselves...one thing would lead to another...
'NO!'
Hinata's conscious came back with a vengeance! She would not let herself go down that path, thinking those disgusting thoughts! That was a different life, not her life! She loved her family, and she would never dare betray them!
Neji, meanwhile was just standing there listening to his friend spill the beans. As Hinata's cousin and a member of the branch family, it took an unusually high amount of self control for the clan prodigy to stay where he was and attack his own Hokage right then and there... Not that he would stand much of a chance in a fight with Naruto either way, but that wasn't the point!
What was the point was how conflicted he was feeling right now. Never before had he felt so inherently disgusted at another human being, yet simultaneously understanding that, technically, he had done absolutely nothing wrong. As utterly preposterous as Naruto's story seemed, Neji himself was only here to listen to it because of the powers of one of the very same chakra gems that caused the boy to appear here in the first place.
As for poor Kiba, he needed to sit down at the dinner table and listen as his friend explained that in some other life he had gotten married to his wife instead of him, and together they had not one, but two children. The images of Naruto and Hinata in bed together kept forcing here way into his skull...Overall, he was taking it all pretty well...
"I feel like I'm going to throw up."
Hinata got to her feet and rushed over to him. "Kiba..."
She tried putting her hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off almost like it were diseased. He loved her, he knew she was his and his alone. He just...he just couldn't right now.
Naruto hung his head. "I'm sorry Kiba...all of you. I don't know what else I can say."
"I think you've said enough already," Neji snapped.
"Neji, please?"
"What do you expect me to say Hinata? You and Naruto have a son from another universe shows up and you expect me to say nothing?"
"We can't blame Naruto for that."
"Then who the hell are we supposed to blame?"
"Neji—"
"And you! How stupid are you that you chose to bring this boy with you back to the Leaf village? Look at all the harm he's caused already?! Your marriage! Our family! He's ruined everything!"
"Neji!" Hinata protested. "He's just a child."
"Your child! Yours and his!" Neji pointed angrily at a silent Naruto. "You and I may understand the truth, but other won't. The villagers won't. The elders won't. Lady Hinata, you could be labeled an unfaithful whore for this!"
"Hey!" Naruto retorted. "That's uncalled for—!"
"Naruto! You could loose your job for this! What if the elders strip your title from you. You'd be labeled a disgrace to the entire village!"
"I know."
"You and Sakura might end up getting divorced."
"I know."
"Your children. Have you even thought about the shame something like this might bring down upon them?"
"I know!"
"Then what the hell were you thinking then?!"
"I felt that we had a much better chance of finding answers here in the village where we had resources than in the CGRS headquarters in the middle of nowhere. I ordered him kept in quarantine until we'd figured something out."
"And you sure did a wonderful job with that, didn't you?!"
Naruto groaned. "What would you have me do then?"
"Use the gem to send him back to wherever he came from."
"How? We don't understand how it brought him here in the first place."
Neji, for once, could not come up with any more suggestions to fix this mess, so he simply stayed silent and glared in anger.
The blonde was now felling like a complete and total ass. He needed to speak to somebody, anybody that would still listen. His eyes fell on Kiba, still looking as disillusioned as ever.
"Kiba, you know this must be hard for you, but I want you to—"
"Get out."
He was taken aback, but dared to speak again. "Kiba, I'm sor—"
"GET OUT!"
Well, that was all there was to it. Whether their friendship was broken or not, the damage was done. In silence, and with Neji's eyes still glaring upon him, Naruto bowed his head in politeness and made his way to the door.
But before doing so, he stopped in front of a crying Hinata. There were no words shared between them, their eyes did all of the talking. Regret, apology, loneliness, all of it was conveyed with three long seconds of eye contact. By the time he turned his head back and walked out thedoor, she was on her knees again crying her eyes out...
The entirety of the Chakra Gem Recovery Squad, minus it's captain, second-in-command, and two of it's most mysterious members, was assembled in the conference room located in their isolated headquarters. The squad was sitting a large round table where everyone had a chair. It was here that the team would gather to discuss leads to the location of the chakra gems, important information that was transferred to them from the Shinobi Union, and any and all other important business that needed to be discussed as a group.
There were some ramblings as everyone took their seats. Shikadai sat at the head of the table, filling in for Shinachiku as he was the interim captain, with Inojin and Chōchō sitting to each side of him. Sitting next to Chōchō was Tsuki, with Ōkami on the other side of her. Sunako took the seat beside Inojin, with Bagu sitting next to her, and Burandon next to him. Bōis and On'na took seats next to each other and held hands beneath the table. Jōkā took the last available seat and set his laptop on the table.
With everyone seated down, Shikadai banged on the table to silence everyone and bring this meeting to order. "Good evening guys, girls, thank you for coming. I'm sure all of you are wondering why I called this meeting."
"This had better be good Shikadai!" Ōkami protested rudely.
"I know it's late, but I do have a reason for calling all of you here."
"What's going on?" On'na asked.
Taking a breath, the Nara began to explain. "As you all know, for the last year this squad has been responsible for the locating and procurement of the three remaining chakra gems before our enemies in Taka can find them first. As you will also know, we've been doing very badly."
Bōis leaned over to whisper to Jōkā. "Way to rub it in, huh?"
"Yeah..." The Stone ninja put up the best front he could, to hide his own sense of discomfort about this impromptu meeting.
"What is your point in all of this cousin?" Sunako questioned.
"I've been thinking about our situation. How is it that until just a few days ago, every single one of our leads has turned out to be a dead end? How has Taka always gotten a step ahead of us? How have the gems always eluded our grasp until now?"
"Because hardly anyone in the world knows about them to begin with," Inojin offered.
"True...Or because somebody on this team is a mole."
There were gasps both of shock and offense at their teammate's accusation, It quickly turned in to a ruckus as Shikadai was forced to bang the table again to reclaim order.
"Dude! What the hell are you talking about? We're your friends man!" Ōkami shouted.
"Yeah Shika, you can't be serious," Chōchō added.
"I know that this is troublesome and that none of you want to hear this," Shikadai stated. "But this is a internal threat to this squad's mission that needs to be confronted."
"Perhaps it would be wiser and more youthful to have this discussion when Shikachiku, Sarada, Mitsuki and Muon have returned?" Burandon offered.
Shikadai put a stop to that right away. "No. Shinachiku is a great guy, but he's just like his dad, once his trust is earned, it's not easily broken. He wouldn't have it in him to doubt one of his own team, especially not after a whole year of us working together."
"And you think you know better than him?" Bagu challenged.
"Yes."
There were some more rumblings around the others as they reacted to all of this. Jōkā sat there, as if he were in deep thought, a far cry from his usual humorous self.
"What proof do you have Shika?" Tsuki asked.
Shikadai took a deep breath. "Well, I'm sure some of you saw that news story on Konoha Tonight about our captain Shinachiku, where the reporter talked about rumors of a Taka mole among our ranks."
"Oh come on!" Bōis shouted. "That was just a bunch of media garbage!"
"I agree with Bōis," On'na added.
"A bit of a biased point-of-view, don't you think?" Bagu remarked.
"What did you say?" Bōis looked like she was ready to punch the bug user's light out. "Don't talk to her like that!"
"Shut up!" Shikadai shouted to get everything back in order. "This is serious you guys!"
"Shikadai," Inojin spoke up, "I saw that story too and I think I know where you're going with this. You don't agree with them that Mitsuki could be the mole, do you?"
"No. Mitsuki may be mysterious and a bit weird, but he's no traitor. He's been way too loyal to Shinachiku for that."
"So who then?" Burandon asked.
"How about the person who's been the least useful on our missions despite his skills. The one who frankly got recommended to be on this team as much for his computer skills as for his fighting ability. And the one person on this team who hasn't said a single word since he got here."
The room fell silent as all heads turned to said person...Jōkā.
"Wh-What are you talking about man?"
"You have been the one of us most responsible for researching our leads over the Internet, all of which turned out to be a bust until now, and the one clue that actually led us to a chakra gem came from a different source than you."
"So? That doesn't prove anything."
"You also have been pretty damn useless every time you've come with us on a mission, despite coming with the Tsuchikage's recommendation. Everything's just one big joke to you. And once we found that one lead that proved to be right, you insisted on coming with us where, guess what, you proved to be a nuisance once again!"
"That was just a coincidence!"
"This does seem highly suspicious," Sunako agreed.
"Oh it gets better. You may be the leading computer geek on this team Jōkā, but I've been tracking a number of suspicious, late night email correspondences coming from this building very late at night. Oh, it may not have been on the main server, but lets just say I have a few tricks of my own."
Jōkā actually started getting offended. "Fuck you! I don't need this! I don't need this traitor crap!"
"You've been contacting Taka high command right under our noses this whole time, haven't you? Haven't you?!"
Jōkā merely glared at his accuser with eyes that could pierce through a brick wall. He said nothing, but he had the intend to kill.
"I suppose there's no way to prove that those messages came from Jōkā, or from any of us for that matter, much less whom they were communicating with," On'na noted.
"Oh there is." Shikadai held out his hand. "Jōkā, hand over your laptop I asked you to bring with you."
"What?!" he protested. "You're crossing a line!"
"Do it Jōkā! That's an order!"
Wordlessly, he picked up his laptop and handed it over. Shikadai immediately opened it up and began going through the files stored upon it. What he didn't notice was that Jōkā had let his hand slip back up his sleeve, grabbing hold of something hidden inside...
"What do you see?" Inojin asked his friend.
"Looks like there's a hyperlink to a forum on here." He looked up at his teammate in question. "What is this?"
"It's just a link to an otaku forum I like to visit."
"You? An otaku?" Ōkami cocked an eyebrow.
"What's your password?" Shikadai asked, not believing his explanation.
Jōkā sighed. "WSJ111014."
Shikadai typed the password in, and received access to the forum. He immediately started reading all of the messages and conversations he was having with someone with a username of 'MASTER.'
"Oh my..."
"What is it Shikadai?" Tsuki asked in concern.
Having read enough, the Nara stood up from the table and addressed his team. "This forum is filled with private conversations with the obvious leader of Taka himself! Our teammate has indeed been working as a mole the entire time!"
The rest of the team reacted in alarm, many jumping out of their chairs and getting into a fighting pose.
" Jōkā," Shikadai said in contempt. "By the authority of the Shinobi Union, I hereby place you under arrest for acts of treason against the shinobi world and humanity." He slammed his hands together and rapidly made a series of hand signs. "NINJA ART: SHADOW POSSESSION JUTSU!"
The boy's shadow spread out to entrap the boy, making the traitor their prisoner...But then, something horrific happened. Shikadai's jutsu would not touch Jōkā, it merely retreated back to it's creator having no effect on it's target at all.
'Damn!' Shikadai cursed in his mind. 'Of course! How could I have stupidly overlooked that?!'
Jōkā smirked as he answered the question that was on his entire team's minds. "Blue Serum. Made sure to take some before I came to this meeting. Seems it came in handy."
"AAAAAGGGHHH! Traitor!"
Ōkami furiously lunged at Jōkā! His clawed nails drawn, he would show no mercy!
"FANG OVER FANG!"
Having studied the Inuzuka boy's fighting style for a year, Jōkā knew the precise points to dodge the attack and to get the proper grip.
"AGH!"
Ōkami fell down to the ground in pain, then pulled something out of his body. It was a small hypodermic needle, one that has the last traces of some kind of reddish clear fluid still left inside of it.
"Oniichan!" Tsuki shouted in terror!
"Sis! Stay back!"
Tsuki stayed where she was at her twin brother's insistence.
"WATER STYLE: TWIN HYDRO PULSE!"
Bōis and On'na jointly released one of their signature techniques: they each released a full powered water jutsu from their mouths that each came together for twice a destructive force...Only to see their attack completely collapse to the floor, flooding the entire room and leaving their former teammate completely dry.
"Really?" he quipped. "Were you two not paying attention to a word I'd just said?" His eyes then shifted to the side when he could tell something was happening behind him. "I know you know better Sunako. Your sand won't do you any more good then their water."
The sand princess wordlessly and begrudgingly recalled her sand back into her gourd, admitting to her disadvantage.
"You can put the paper and brush away too Inojin. You're not going to be sending any of your crappy doodles into my brain as long as I've got the blue serum inside me."
The Yamanaka boy was actually so pissed off and disgusted that he did a very uncharacteristic thing by just throwing his artist's tools on the floor.
"You know," Jōkā spoke to everyone, "I'm actually kind of glad that my cover is blown. It means I can finally deal with all of you annoying bastards once and for all."
He rolled up his sleeve to reveal that he had been wearing some sort of device worn on his wrist that was loaded with small hypodermic needles filled with Taka's familiar red serum. It was in this way that he was able inject Ōkami with the serum earlier.
"That serum will do nothing to stop me or the power of youth!" Burandon Lee charged forth with his legs outstretched, ready for a pivotal strike. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
"You're right..." The traitor grabbed the green beast of Konoha by his leg and threw him down to ground.
SNIKT!
"...It won't."
Gasps and screams of horror filled the room. It unthinkable had happened...On Jōkā's other wrist was a retractable, spring loaded blade, hidden up his other sleeve. The blade had now been unleashed and found itself a new home...
...And that home was in the now bloody throat of one Burandon Lee.
Retracting his blade, blood splattering as a trail of it lined the floor, Jōkā left he dead, lifeless body to itself as he faced the others, his vials of serum and his lethal weapon both at the ready.
"Oh boy," the boy said with a crazed smile," I can't tell ya all how much I've wanted to show you my toys..."
The man in the cloak had ducked into an alleyway. He was tired of waiting. He'd been patient for so long, but he saw no need to wait any longer. So, he ducked into a place where he thought he would have all the privacy he needed.
...Or so he thought.
"Mizuki!"
The man in the cloak turned his head to find a stranger standing there. the stranger was dressed head to toe in white, with a silver belt that had a curious multicolor belt buckle.
"I think you have me confused with someone else stranger," the cloaked man said.
"No, I don't believe so..."
The man in white lowered his own hood, revealing a startling face, one that bore an uncanny resemblance both to the very man he had come here to destroy, and also to somebody else he knew, but was having a hard time placing the face.
Mizuki was in such shock that he dropped the act and lowered his own hood. "Who are you?"
"That's not important to inferior trash like you. Now, if you wish to live, you will surrender the chakra gem you have to me right now."
"I don't know what you're—"
"Don't lie to me! You carry one of Kaguya's relics on you right now and you came here to use it to get rid of Naruto Uzumaki."
"And why do you care whether Uzumaki lives?"
The man in white chuckled. 'Believe me, I don't. But what you have in mind would completely undo everything I am and what I am working to create."
"Whatever," Mizuki took a fighting stance. "If you want this gem, you'll have to go through me."
The man in white shook his head. "I'll make this quick. MANGEKYŌ SHARINGAN!"
The man's eyes transformed from blue to a mixture of black and red, in a shape that resembled a straight tomoe, a lotus-like pinwheel shape that could hypnotize and terrify those who gazed upon them.
And that was when Mizuki finally realized who it was he was dealing with, who the second face he saw within the man's own reminded him of. "What...What are you?"
"I...am perfection. GENJUTSU!"
His right eye spiraled and Mizuki found himself in a void, a desert with no signs of life anywhere to be found. In the outside world, his body was unable to move from being trapped in the illusion.
"Wh-What is this! Hello?!"
"AMATERASU!"
Mizuki then heard the man in white's voice again, and then he felt an intense, terrible, horrible burning!
"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"
In the real world, the man in white activated his left eye, and the result was that black flames engulfed the rogue ninja's entire body, burning him with a fire hot enough to burn other fire!
'Scream all you want you fool. Once you're done, I will be free to take the gem for my own.'
Mizuki lay there screaming in pain as his body was being burned to a crisp. The pain was the worst he had ever felt...This was it, he would never get his revenge...It was all going to end here...He was about to die...
"RASENGAN!"
A powerful blast of chakra slammed right into the man in white's back. It was enough to cause a small explosion, one that did it's intended job and broke the stranger's concentration. The genjutsu and the Amaterasu were broken, and Mizuki was left a smoldering, but alive, mess on the alleyway floor.
Getting back up, the man in white glared at those whom dared to attack him. What he saw was a quartet of faces he was not anticipating. They were a bunch of thirteen-year old children, elite Chūnin-level shinobi. One of them was a boy dressed like he was from the Cloud village, but he was the one that he was least interested in.
There was also a girl there, one with raven hair and black eyes. Standing right next to him was a boy, a boy with blonde hair and green eyes, and from the way he was holding his hand it seemed that he was the one that had dared to attack him.
'So, the spawn of my blood brothers show their faces before me.'
He then noticed the fourth child, another boy, one with pale skin, gold eyes and white-blue hair. This boy seemed utterly terrified at who they were facing, and for good reason. The man in white knew this boy well, how could he not after all the time they'd spend together?
Standing back up, the man in white smirked. "It's been a long time Mitsuki. How's father?"
An intense shiver crawled up the boy's spine. A cold sweat drenched his blue kimono jacket. Only a single word could escape the boy mouth, "S-Sugure..."
Shinachiku and Sarada both looked to their teammate in shock. Never before had they seen him this scarred of anything before.
"Mitsuki, what's wrong?" Sarada asked. "Do you know this guy?"
"..."
"Mitsuki?" Shinachiku asked again for her.
"..."
"MITSUKI!"
The blonde's yell finally snapped the boy out of his shock. "C-Captain...we need to get out of here immediately."
"What are you talking about? We have to take Mizuki into custody and arrest this man for ruthless assault."
"No! No, captain please! We need to leave!"
"Stand at your post Mitsuki! That's an order!"
"NO! We have to go! NOW!"
Shina was at a loss for words. For a year they have worked together and Mitsuki had never shown him even a trace of defiance before. If his friend was getting this scarred, then this was far more serious than they realized.
"Mitsuki, who is this man? Tell us, that's an order."
The boy swallowed a lump in his throat before continuing. "His name is Sugure Mashita, captain, and he is a genetically-engineered superman created from combining the DNA of two of the world's most powerful shinobi."
"Who?"
"Lord Seventh Hokage and Sasuke Uchiha."
Both the blonde and the girl reacted in terror. Muon remained silent never taking his eyes off the man in white.
"M-My dad?" Sarada questioned in shock. "My dad's DNA went into making that guy?!"
"Hai," Mitsuki answered. "That's why he can use the Mangekyō Sharingan. He has all the abilities of both of your father's at their peak, plus superhuman strength, speed, and intelligence to boot. In short, he is a perfect being."
Shina's mind was racing a mile a second. This man, this monster, was cloned from his and Sarada's father's DNA, and now this man was standing between them and the person they'd been hunting across the entire village for.
"How do you know all of this?" Shina questioned.
"..."
"Mitsuki, please answer me."
The boy paused for a moment before answering. "I know because Sugure and his six followers were genetically engineered by Lord Orochimaru himself...Just like I was."
This revelation caused the two kids to jump back as their eyes went wide. Sarada was the one to speak next. "Orochimaru?"
"Yes. I'm his son..."
Shinachiku was about to say more, but he was distracted by the sound of sarcastic clapping. Turning their heads, they saw Sugure was still standing there clapping away, an arrogant smirk plastered all over his face. "Well, well, well, isn't this amusing. It really is good to see you again Mitsuki, give my regards to father the next time you see him. I'll be sure to let the others know you said hi once I regroup with them. Now forgive me kiddies, I'd love to stay and talk more, but I'm afraid I have a matter to deal with first."
Now ignoring the children, the superman turned back around look down upon the pathetic wretch that was Mizuki. The rogue ninja was in too much pain to do or say anything as his attacker reached into his pocket and pulled out the object he sought. It was a glowing orange gem!
WHIP!
A metal cable shot out and grabbed hold of Sugure's arm that was holding he gem. Turning back in annoyance, he saw that the Cloud ninja that hadn't spoken a word had whipped out a cable to hold him hostage.
"Good job Muon." Shinachiku complimented. "Hold him still."
Muon merely nodded.
"Sugure Mashita," the blonde spoke again, "by the authority of the Chakra Gem Recover Squad, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and the Shinobi Union, I hereby place you under arrest—"
SNAP!
A flick of the wrist was all it took to break the cable. But he didn't stop there. He grabbed he cable and flung Muon over to him. The boy quickly made a series of rapid hand sings and formed another whip made of pure lightning chakra to strike the superman with, but he instead backed away and dodged it electrical current. Nobody knew the name of Muon's jutsu because, well, he never shouted his technique's names during combat. With an electric crack the silent warrior attacked his opponent over and over again, but Sugure dodged the attack every time.
Tiring of this, Muon ceased his jutsu and created a new one, a sword made of pure electric chakra that he attempted to lunge at the enemy with the speed and agility of a true ninja...Except that the superman grabbed him in the air by the throat, strangling him.
"Let's see if this gets you to talk."
Sugure threw the boy clear to the other side of the alleyway, across the street and through a solid wall! The civilians inside the building went screaming in panic.
"Muon!" Shinachiku and Sarada both exclaimed, while Mitsuki was still too distraught to move.
'It's happening all over again...He'll destroy us...He'll destroy all of us...'
As all of this was happening, Mizuki was still on the ground stretching his horribly burnt arm out to grab hold of the chakra gem that still lay forgotten on the ground...
But Mitsuki's two teammates were not going to let this end without a fight! And so they hand the proper hand signs, channeled their chakra, and applied the necessary change in chakra nature to form two of their signature techniques.
"WIND AND FIRE RELEASE: RASENGAN!"
"SCORCHING CHIDORI!"
"Foolish children!" Sugure gathered the chakra inside of his own palm to form a large Rasengan, then changed it's nature to wind to form a giant shuriken-shaped version that hovered in his hand above his head. "You think you can defeat me?! I am unstoppable! I am perfection! I am—!"
"History!"
The superman turned around to see Mizuki grab hold of he chakra gem and closed his eyes, focusing his mind and his chakra.
"No!"
The rogue ninja instantly disappeared, the gem along with him.
The three young ninja all stopped in their tracks as they saw what had just happened. The entire world started to change then. Sugure fell to his knees, clutching his chest as he slumped to the ground.
"AAGH!"
"Hey!" Sarada screamed, "What's wrong with him?!"
"No...Noooooo!" Sugure Mashita, the so-called perfect being, screamed his final outcry of pain as he, quite literally, vanished right before their eyes.
"What the hell just...?"
Shinachiku eyes widened. It wasn't just the man in white who was disappearing, it was everything! Everything in the village was vanishing, taking on a new form of some sort. And his three teammates, they were all literally disappearing the same way that Sugure had!
"C-Captain...I..." Mitsuki never got to finish before his was gone. Muon, just now struggling to get up, could only salute his captain before he vanished as well.
"MITSUKI! MUON!"
"Shina..."
The boy turned and glared in absolute horror. She was fading away too!
"SARADA!"
"Shina...I can't stop it! What's happening to me?!"
The boy rapidly grabbed her hand and stammered out everything he could think of to say to her. "Don't go! Sarada don't leave me! Please! Fight it!"
"I can't! I don't..."
Neither of them could speak anymore, Both of them could feel tears falling. Neither one could help it, they came together in a kiss. A kiss that said what words could not. They lost track of time...
...Until time pulled them apart. Shina could no longer feel his beloved's lip upon his own...
"I love you..." were the last words he heard before she was gone...And he was alone...
Jōkā stood there in a nightmarish scene of utter carnage. The entire squad, every single one of Shinachiku and Sarada's closest friends, all of them lie dead and cut to pieces, everyone's blood mixing with everyone else's. They all fought to their last breath, but their opponent had spent the year studying them too well, and with their chakra now lost to them, and their techniques useless even if they had had them, they were simply no match for the wolf that had hidden amongst them in sheep's clothing.
Shikadai, Inojin, Chōchō, the next generation of Ino-Shika-Chō, had all fought, and died, together. The Izuzuka-Hyūga twins found their mutual peace in each other's arms. The two lovers from the Land of Water embraced as they both died sharing their last kiss. Bagu was fallen with his arms out and his sunglasses shattered, his insects falling out of his body as they gasped their own last breaths. And Sunako, her gourd was broken and her enchanted sand spilled onto the floor where it turned red by absorbing the flowing red blood. Her last word, as she peered up at the sky, was simply, "Mother..."
His work was done, his so-called team was destroyed, and now he could finally leave this snow-buried hell hole and return to his true masters. It was a shame that Uzumaki, Uchiha, and those other two could not be here to join their friends in their massacre, but oh well, it left something for the rest of his order to follow up on, perhaps even his master.
Chuckling, he was about to at last leave the room...when all of a sudden he felt something strange. He could feel his stomach straining, He looked at his hand and could see it disappearing!
'No...No! Mizuki you bastard! You've doomed us all!'
He was leaving this world. Soon it would be like he was never here. Like no one was ever here...Funny, now all of that work he had just done felt like a waste of time.
The boy, fading away as he was covered in his friend's blood, started laughing. "It's a joke...It's all just one big joke..."
And so, in his last moments before fading away, he said the only other words that ever truly mattered. "Hail Taka..."
Boruto was back at the Uzumaki household with his head in his hands. He'd really done it this time. He'd screwed up everything! Why? Because wanted to see her. That's all there was to it. He wanted to see her, and now he'd ruined everything for everybody.
"It wasn't your fault."
The boy looked up to see a smiling, beautiful woman with long red hair looking down on him. Even though he'd never met this woman before today, he knew who she was, and he could not deny, just being in her presence made him feel warm, safe, at peace.
"Grandma."
Kushina kneeled down and placed her hand on the boy's shoulder. He may be from some other universe, but he was still her grandson. She needed to say something.
"I couldn't do it," the boy said. "I just couldn't stay hidden anymore. It just wasn't fair. They all told me to stay hidden and I wouldn't listen. And now look what I've done!"
"Bolt, sometimes our desires can cloud us, lead us to choices that affect far more than just ourselves. Sometimes doing the right thing means putting aside what we want and doing what we must for those we love."
Bolt looked up at her. He couldn't speak, but he found himself chocking up as the woman brought him into a hug. "I just wanna go home..."
"I know, I know..."
Minato came into the room, looking upon the scene. He figured he's leave the two in peace...Until he suddenly started feeling something tight in his stomach.
"AAGH!" The Fourth Hokage fell onto the floor in intense pain.
"MINATAAGGHH!"
Kushina overheard her husband's pain and was about to run over to him, before she too felt the same symptoms.
"Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" Boruto was panicking, hysterical. "Grandma! Grandpa! What do I do?!"
"Stay safe..." Was the only thing Kushina could find the strength to say as she started fading away.
Both knowing that they had virtually no strength, the two of them crawled along the floor to one another, gazing into each other's eyes. They both shared a passionate, romantic kiss, before they were gone from this world.
Boruto was horrified at what he has seen, even more so when the entire mansion he was staying in disappeared along with them. The boy was now stuck in the middle of the forest outside the village, all alone...
Hanami Uzumaki was in the room her grandparents had set up for her. She was clutching her chest in pain, the worst pain she had ever felt. Pain even worse than what Taka had done to her only a year ago. She could feel herself, her room, everything fading away.
"Hanami!" Her grandma and grandpa came storming into the room as they heard her cry out in pain, but they were vanishing too.
As the poor girl was stuck on her bed, looking up at the ceiling, all she could think about were of those she loved, those she wanted to be with her now.
'Mommy...Daddy...Oniichan...'
Naruto was walking away from the Hyūga compound with his head hung low. Everything was crashing down around him. Everything.
"Naruto!"
The blonde picked his head up at that familiar voice. "Sakura!"
The pinkette was clearly in a panic as she ran to her husband. She was worried about something and he figured that he knew already what it was.
"Do they know?"
"Yeah."
She cupped her mouth in her hands. Their friendship with the Hinata and Kiba and Neji was all ruined now. "Naruto...I'm sorry..."
"No, no, none of this is your fault. And it's not the kid's fault either. It's my fault."
"No, no Naruto it isn't."
"Yes it is, and don't tell me it isn't."
Not knowing what else to do, they two of them came together in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his back and he ran a hand through her hair.
"I wish none of this had happened," Sakura said.
"Me too," Naruto answered. "But I want you to know something."
"What?"
"That no matter what, I'll—AAAAAGGGHH!"
Naruto fell to his knees. He was clutching his chest with both hands. He felt like he was being stabbed, brutally, from the inside out. It wasn't just his pain either, it was Kurama's pain too! In fact, it almost felt like the fox was being ripped right out of him!
"NARUTO!"
Sakura didn't hesitate, she immediately started using medical ninjutsu on his chest, demanding to know what was wrong.
"What's happening? Where are you hurt? Let me help you!"
"I-I don't know! S-Something's...AGH! Something's wrong with me! AGGHH!"
Naruto started disappearing. He was fading away as the intense pain was consuming him, tearing him apart from the inside out.
"NARUTO!"
"Sakura...I can't—AGGHHH! I don't know what's happening to me?!"
The woman rapidly grabbed his hand and stammered out everything she could think of to say to him. "Naruto! Please stay with me! Fight it! FIGHT!"
"Sakura...I'm...I'm"
Neither of them could speak anymore, Both of them could feel tears falling. Neither one could help it, they came together in a kiss. A kiss that said what their voice would not.
Separating, he touched her crying face, smiled the warmest smile he could muster, and finished what he wanted to say. "No matter what...I'll always love you."
He pressed his lips to hers yet again, and they both let out the last of their love...
...And then, he was gone...And moments later, with a last few droplets of ters floating in the air, so was she...
'Naruto...'
...
...
...
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside and it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'
...
...
...
The world was changed. The Hidden Leaf Village was gone. All of it. There was nothing left but a disaster zone rivaling even the ruins of the Hidden Whirlpool Village. Buildings were demolished, human skeletons of villagers and Leaf ninja long dead were littering the streets. It was like everything one knew was erased from history and replaced with an apocalypse.
There was one, only one living soul standing in the in the middle of all of this...Shinachiku Uzumaki.
'It's gone...All of it...Everyone...Gone...'
The boy was breathing hard, scratch that, he was hyper-ventilating. He could not fathom any of this. He tried he'd really tried. But everything he'd feared would happen since Jōkā sent him that email had come to pass.
Or had it? He needed to be sure, and there was only one way he could be.
Running like a madman, he spent at least ten minutes running across the remains of the village, until he finally reached what was left of the village cemetery. He didn't know how long he spent searching for what he was looking for, and he prayed to anyone, anything who would listen, that he wouldn't find what he was looking for.
But he did. There it was. A single, simple grave. And upon it, a single heading: Uzumaki Naruto, hero of Konoha, dead at the age of twelve.
WHOA! That was a hell of a chapter! Seriously, so much happened in this one, and a lot of it was so shocking and emotional and action packed, that hopefully you have an idea why I needed some time on this one.
Okay, so, in case you haven't pieced the plan together from the last few chapters, yes, Mizuki's plan was to use the chakra gem to travel back in time and kill Naruto before he ruined his life. But of course, as anyone who has ever read or seen a time travel story can tell you, the slightest change can profoundly alter the future in ways you can't imagine. So you know what, I will leave it to you guys: try to imagine the events of the Naruto story, except in this timeline, Naruto dies at the start of the series. How different would everything have been if our favorite knuckleheaded ninja wasn't there. If any of you have any ideas you'd like to pitch for this possible alternate reality, feel free to let me know, please. I think one thing we all can agree on, the Naruto world without Naruto in it is bound to be a very dark and tragic place...
Yes, I killed them, I killed all of Shinachiku's team...Or did I? As horrific and tragic as this scene was, remember what kind of story we are dealing with here. At this point anything can happen.
I also finally had Naruto admit the truth to Hinata and her family and, as you might have expected, it didn't go over very well. Personally, I feel the most bad for Kiba out of all of them. Even if his Naruto and Hinata never had any affair, just knowing that in some other timeline they got married can't be good for him to hear.
In speaking of Kiba, his line "I feel like I'm going to throw up" was a callback to "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." Miles Bennett Dyson has a similar reaction when the Terminator, Sarah and John finish telling him the story of how his research will one day lead to the creation of Skynet. Obviously these are very different stories, but I was imagining Kiba having to sit in a chair and just take it all in, much like Dyson did in that movie.
There were two DC Comics homages in this chapter as well, and both of them came from Jōkā. Right before he begins his massacre of his team, he tell them that he can't wait to show them his toys. That was a callback to the movie "Suicide Squad," where the Joker tells somebody the same thing.
The second homage came as he was being erased, referring to everything as a joke, as has been his life's philosophy. This is tribute to the Comedian from "Watchmen."
There was even a Marvel Comics reference I snuck in there too. The sound effect when Jōkā pulled out his spring loaded blade is the same sound effect the comics use for Wolverine's claws.
There is one more reference I threw in here, but this time I'm going to have a little fun and let all of you guess what it is. When Shikadai asks for Jōkā's password, he says it's WSJ111014. This is not just a random number, but a reference to a very specific thing. Personally, I think its pretty obvious to anybody in this fandom, but let me know if you figure it out.
Lastly, the song for which these last two chapters are named after. The song is "The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan. It's a very lovely song that has a good message and a soothing, relaxed beat to it, and it works very well in a literal sense to what has happened here, of course. I was inspired by it's brilliant use as the opening montage during the title sequence of "Watchmen," still I feel the best DC Comics adaptation that Zack Snyder has ever made...even though, yes, it is still vastly inferior to the graphic novel (now please don't come after me fanboys).
I think that's about all I've got for this time. Once again, sorry about the long wait, and also sorry if this chapter didn't necessarily go the way you were expecting. But on the plus side, we still have a long way to go before this story is finished. Where will it all lead us? Well you just have to come back next time to find out.
Until then, see ya!
