Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto
Summary : A man declared his message to the world. "I am the one who will establish peace and order." The man have faced pain and survived. The man have died and resurrected. He was both Uzumaki Naruto and Rikudō Sennin.
This chapter has been Beta'd.
Reviews Responses:
Jostanos: ...no spoilers. Read if you wish to know.
MugetsuIchigo: To be more exact, multiple alternate sequels.
Battle neurosis: Thanks, glad you liked them. At first I wondered what will be a good technique for weapon creating Shuradō... then I thought, why not make the same legendary weapons in the legends? Also seeing as Elemental Country has mix of different cultures, it makes choosing the weapons easier...
8Swords: Thanks and of course it is mean. This is Sasori we are talking about.
Zelga Lim Li: You have to wait for now... Let's see... at the pace I'm going, about 24 chapters per 6 months, then I will finish this story in about... three months or so... Well that is unless I write chapters in rapid pace.
CelticReaper: Thanks, I'll try.
pucflek: Well the story will explain it but I guess I put it here. Wind: Mastered, Water: Barely Mastered. Fire: Adequate. Lightning: Adequate. Earth: Barely Adequate. Mastered means able to use A-ranked jutsu without handseals (Kamikaze in last chapter for example). Adequate means able to use B-ranked jutsu without handseals and so on.
Zen Rinnegan: Hmm... your suggestion is noted. I'll see whether I end up busy or not when I'm writing the sequel.
DruidFWY: I believe the reply will be too long to put here. PM.
Ouke no Ki: Hmm... we'll see shall we?
Guest: Hahaha... seems like I made a mistake... Oh well, I have an idea to fix it. Sorry...
Thank you for all who follow/favorite this story. I'll try my best to make sure this story reach it's conclusion.
He Who Will Establish Peace and Order: Samsara
Chapter 24 The Outer Realm and a Jinchūriki
"...well this is new..." Naruto muttered as he looked around. A black skies above him and all that he could see around was blackness. "...this is certainly not Heaven Realm. If this is one of the Desire Realm, the Paths should have greeted me by now. That means this is..."
"Welcome to my Realm, Chosen of Samsara," a voice similar to his called.
Naruto chuckled, "...and here I thought you will wait patiently until I come to you, Gedō." Naruto turned and raised an eyebrow.
With how similar he and the Paths of Desire Realm were, he was expecting someone remotely looked like him.
Instead he was facing a male version of his mother with short red hair and Rinnegan eyes wearing an inverse colored clothing from him. While he wore black jacket, white shirt and black pants, the Outer Realm wore white jacket, black shirt and white pants.
"You certainly are different from the others..." Naruto commented.
The Path smirked, similar to his own and yet completely different, "I am what you are not. I am what you could have become. I am neither you nor not you. What am I?" he asked.
"A paradoxical being. A being outside mortal's comprehension. For you cannot exist with me and yet exist within me," Naruto answered with a tense face. "Does that mean I will go insane if I spend more time with you?" he asked, half joking, half serious.
"Of course, it is more fun that way," Gedō answered with a smile. "Do you wish to escape from this Realm?" he asked.
Naruto nodded.
"Do you know what you must do?" another nod. "...then let us begin, I am Gedō. The Outer Realm. Tell me, Chosen of Samsara, when you see a mirror of a mirror, do you see yourself? ...or do you see death?"
Immediately numerous chains came down from the black sky above them and moved to attack Naruto. He immediately formed several chains and used it to form a shield in front of him.
The Outer Chains abruptly stopped and curved around the shield he had made, forcing Naruto to jump back, avoiding their assault.
"Chosen of Samsara, your chains could never match mine. After all, yours are merely a copy of mine," Gedō commented as the chains coiled and attacked Naruto again.
Naruto stood still and the chains froze before reaching him. The Outer Realm looked at him, confused by his attitude.
"...you are not the Gedō that fought against the bijū," Naruto declared. "His presence is different. It was more oppressive, more feral. If you are the Outer Realm, then who is he?"
Gedō smirked and answered calmly, "...that is Gedō. But he is not yours. I am your Outer Realm. He is someone else's."
Naruto immediately realized whose it was. It was obvious, that Gedō knew too much about the things he did not know. Especially about bijū. "...he is Tendō's is he not?"
"...Tendō?" Gedō blinked confusedly then his eyes lighten up in realization. "Ah you mean the Outsider... yes, he is the Outsider's..."
"Outsider?" Naruto looked at the Outer Realm questioningly. Technically speaking, the name would suit Gedō better.
Gedō laughed, "it seems that you do not know anything... very well. If you pass my trial, I will tell you what you want to know. About myself and about Tendō."
Naruto's eyes grew fierce and a new set of chains burst out from his hands, moving towards the Outer Realm. The chains were met by their Outer counterpart and they dispelled each other.
"Raiton: Kusari," lightning covered chains shot out from Naruto's hands and spun around him.
"Gedō: Kusari." white chains came from multiple directions and began to attack Naruto.
The chains battled around them and Naruto formed several handseals.
"Fūton: Shina-Tsu-Hiko," a powerful wind covered the area and blew the chains away. Then the wind moved towards the Outer Realm.
Gedō looked at the approaching gale with a bored expression. A white chain came down from the black sky and slammed to the middle of the battlefield, the shock-wave dispelling the wind.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.
"...in this Realm, any techniques other than the Outer ones will be weaken. Your wind is no exception," Gedō explained.
Just as he was about to attack, Naruto noticed that his body began to disappear. He recognized this as a sign that he was about to wake.
"...you are about to wake up. Boring..." Gedō commented. "Before you wake up completely, how about I show you my true power?" he asked.
Naruto looked at the Path in confusion then his eyes widened as his body was suddenly pierced by multiple chains.
Naruto screamed wordlessly. The chains moved faster than what his eyes could see and he was dragged by the chains to the sky. He knew that he could not die in the Realms but the pain was definitely real. One chain in each of his palms, one through his feet, three through his stomach and one in his right chest.
He knew what that meant. If Gedō wished, he could kill him by piercing his heart or head by a chain. But he did not, because he simply wished to show how strong he was compared to him.
Then as he was raised to the sky, he saw hundreds chains rising to the sky from behind Gedō. The chains spun and then they were blown away as a massive figure was revealed from inside the chains. A figure of a pale-skinned giant with armor covered in chains, blue fire covering it's body. A massive being summoned by the Outer Realm.
"Zaou..." Gedō jumped high to the sky pulled his right hand back, the giant following his movements.
"GONGEN!" the Outer Realm and the giant swung their arms and a massive fist slammed upon Naruto's body and he was sent crashing to the ground, burning with blue flame.
At that moment, Naruto felt his mind breaking.
"AAHHH!" Naruto woke up screaming on the hospital bed.
"Ruto!" Tayuya immediately hugged him, worried by his sudden scream. Naruto, still panicking grabbed Tayuya tightly. "Ruto, what's wrong?" Tayuya asked cautiously.
"...no, nothing is wrong..." Naruto assured her while panting. He knew that she was not convinced and so he gave her a smile to clear her anxiety.
"...if you say so..." Tayuya stroked his back as she hugged him.
"My apologies for startling you, Yuya..." Naruto bowed his head towards her.
"No, it's fine. Do you have a nightmare?" Tayuya asked.
Naruto nodded but said nothing else.
"...I'll call Tsunade-sama," Tayuya declared as she left to call the Legendary Medic.
Naruto, left alone in the hospital room laid back down on the bed and began to close his eyes, planning to visit the Heaven Realm. As his eyes closed, he saw the visage of Gedō and the giant and he was snapped back awake.
Naruto noticed that his hands were shaking. "...am I scared of him?" he wondered. He knew the answer. Yes he was. That was the first time someone came that close of killing him. Gedō let him escape. Had he moved a bit faster, the mind of Uzumaki Naruto would have been overtaken by Gedō.
'...I lost... I cannot even harm him...' Naruto thought as he tried to calm himself.
'Master, we saw the memory...' Shuradō said to him. Naruto nodded, he knew the Paths would be worried. 'I must admit, the power of the Outer Realm surpassed what I expected... we should train for now.'
"...train, huh?" Naruto wondered whether it would make a difference or not. The Outer Realm was powerful. 'Perhaps as powerful as Tendō...'
'You shouldn't give up, master,' Shuradō advised.
Naruto was about to answer but then he heard the sound of a door opening. He looked towards the door and raised an eyebrow.
"...why are you visiting me?" Naruto asked Fū bluntly.
Fū looked away, it was clear to Naruto that she was here reluctantly. "...you saved me... thank you..." she muttered.
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, "you should not thank me. Saving you is merely a side effect."
the girl looked conflicted, then she seemed to have resolved herself, "...train me."
Naruto's eyes opened in surprise, "I must admit, I did not expect those words to came out of your mouth..." then Naruto looked at her closely, "Why did you not ask my mother?"
Fū looked towards the floor, "...I did but she said that she is not good at teaching... She told me to ask you..."
Naruto nodded, "...I suppose that explains why you are here. However, I do not believe my mother's words are the only reason you are asking me to train you. Is there any other reason? How about you ask the other jinchūriki?"
Fū looked embarrassed but then she began to speak, "...you are the strongest person I know. I heard that you stopped Nanabi and Rokubi... then you saved Yagura. And now you defeated an Akatsuki member alone..."
Naruto raised an eyebrow hearing that. 'The first two achievements were not mine... The third would not be possible without Shuradō...'
"...I doubt I will be able to teach you anything..." Naruto muttered.
"It's fine! I just want to be stronger... I want to protect the others..." Fū looked down after her outburst.
'You should teach her, ya know...' Ningendō cut in.
'...did I even call you?' Naruto wondered.
'Nah, you didn't. That didn't stop me though,' Ningendō boasted. 'But seriously, ya should train her. She can be a good help, ya know...'
"...the only thing I can teach you is elemental manipulation," Naruto declared. "If you still want to train under me, after I am released, meet me at the clearing near the Uzumaki compound. Tell the others that if you want."
Fū nodded and muttered, "thanks..." then she left the room.
"...annoying..." Naruto muttered to no one in particular.
"...don't do something as reckless as that ever again!" Tsunade lectured.
Naruto nodded as he half listened Tsunade's lecture about how he should not face an Akatsuki member alone. His mind focused on how he would train the vessels and how he should train himself.
"Ruto! Are you listening?" Tayuya asked as she saw Naruto's eyes becoming half-closed, showing that his mind wandered away.
"...I am listening..." Naruto muttered.
Tsunade's eye twitched and she sighed tiredly. "...there's no point in lecturing him when he is like this..." Tsunade then left the room with a warning that he should not exercise much.
"...Yuya," Naruto called.
"Yes, Ruto?" Tayuya sat on a chair beside his bed.
"Can you bring me several apples?" Naruto asked. "About five or six?"
Tayuya smiled and nodded, thinking that he wanted her to peel him an apple.
She was mistaken.
Tayuya's eye twitched, not unlike Tsunade's few moments ago.
While it was true that Naruto wanted her to peel an apple, the remaining five apples were used by him to train his chains. The apples danced in the sky as Naruto's chains struck it from many directions, preventing it from falling.
To add, Naruto did not even compliment her as he absentmindedly ate the apple slice that she feed him.
Tayuya sighed, '...then again, this is how he is... whatever happened in his nightmare must have shook him...' Whenever Naruto was worried or stressed, he would train like crazy. Somehow, training seemed to calm him down all the time. She supposed that was similar to her playing flute.
"Do you want me to bring you more apples?" she asked.
"...no thank you. I should not waste more food..." Naruto declined.
"Do you need anything else?" Tayuya asked again after a silence.
Naruto stopped the apples by placing them on one chain. Then he looked towards her, "can you play a song for me?"
Tayuya smiled and took out her flute.
Soon, as Tayuya began to play her flute, she noticed that the chains that Naruto had began to move according to her melody, she wondered whether that was because Naruto wanted to train or because he was enjoying her song.
Watching him smiling serenely as he laid on the bed, she believed the latter.
After her song was finished, Naruto stopped his chains and brought the apples back down.
"Thanks Yuya," Naruto thanked her.
"What for?" she asked. Wondering what his answer would be.
"For the apples, for feeding me and for playing a beautiful song," Naruto listed.
Tayuya laughed, "most people would call it a haunting melody. That's why it's called the melody of death..."
Naruto gave a small smile, "...I am not most people..."
"Yeah, you aren't... most people wouldn't be alright after being struck by a lethal dose of a poison. Are you immortal or something?" Tayuya asked jokingly.
Naruto gave a sardonic smile, "Believe me, I am a mortal..." the memory of being struck by Gedō's chains and punched by a giant came back to him full force. "...by the way, Yuya, does your song have a name?" Naruto asked.
Tayuya blinked, "no, it doesn't I always called it 'Melody of Death'. Why?"
"I have a good name for it," Naruto told her.
Tayuya looked at him questioningly and Naruto smiled as he declared the name.
"Memento Mori."
A few days later, he was released from the hospital. The first thing he did was to go to his usual training area.
There, he saw a rare sight. Tayuya and Fū training together. '...then again, it is more as if they are ignoring each other...'
"Ruto, you're back! Why didn't you tell me?" Tayuya immediately went to him, stopping her training.
"...I am planning to train before returning. However, it seems that you are here before me..."
"No training for you! You should rest more!" Tayuya scolded.
Naruto sighed, knowing that arguing with her was pointless. "Then, at least I will fulfill my promise with Fū-san."
"What promise?" Tayuya asked, blinking in confusion. She knew that Naruto and Fū's relationship were not exactly friendly. It was unexpected to hear that Naruto promised her something.
"She asked me to train her. Worry not, I will not exert myself too much," Naruto answered. Then he walked towards the green-haired vessel.
"Before we start, Fū-san. Can you tell me about the Akatsuki member you fought?" Naruto asked.
Fū tried to recall what she knew about the blond Akatsuki. "I think his name is Deidara, from Iwagakure. He uses paper bombs..."
"Clay," Naruto corrected calmly.
"What?"
"Deidara of Iwagakure is known for using exploding clay. He possess Bakuton bloodline which allows him to use Explosion Release. I do not know about the details however, possessors of this bloodline are able to use any form of materials to cause explosion," Naruto explained.
"But, he flew using a big white creature! A clay will be too heavy. How can he fly like that?" Fū argued. "I mean, I can see him flying if he use paper and then wind chakra. How can he do that with a clay?"
"Flying with wind chakra, while sounds useful, is impractical. Even with my wind control and chakra capacity which are above most, I am only able to stay floating for several minutes. For him to fly with a large object sounds impossible..." Naruto then closed his eyes, lost in thought. "...unless he used a chakra sensitive material..." Naruto declared.
"Chakra sensitive material?" this time, it was Tayuya who voiced her confusion.
"Indeed, it is similar to the material used for your flute. It allows you to cast genjutsu with it. Chakra sensitive materials can be found in ANBU swords, Sunagakure's fans or even high-quality kunais. To put it simply, they are chakra-enhanced weapons."
"So the clay that guy used is like that?" Fū asked.
"Most likely. It is easier to channel chakra to certain materials rather than using it to your own body. This is why Sunagakure wind users use their special fans for their techniques, it is stronger that way," Naruto explained.
"But your wind is stronger than theirs, right Ruto?" Tayuya asked with a grin.
Naruto nodded, "Itachi-sama will be disappointed if it is not. Enough talking, it is time for you to train."
Fū nodded, determination burned in her eyes. Beside Naruto, Tayuya looked at the girl with pity in her eyes.
'...she won't survive...' Tayuya thought sadly.
Fū laid on the ground, her whole body sore from the 'training' Naruto put her through.
"...aren't you being too harsh, Ruto?" Tayuya asked. She felt sympathy for the girl. As should anyone else. After finding out the girl's elemental affinity, which was wind, Naruto's eyes gained a strange gleam and then forced her to deflect the rocks he threw at her using only wind chakra.
"...I was expecting her to do better. I survived all elements training with Itachi-sama. She should at least be able to survive one element training..." Naruto muttered.
"How good is your manipulation anyway?" Fū asked as she tried to sat but failed.
Naruto thought for a while, "I am able to recreate A-ranked jutsu for Wind and Water. B-ranked for the rest."
"...how long did it take for you to be that skilled?" Fū wondered.
"Three years or so... However, you are learning only one element and so, I expect you to reach this level in a year at most," Naruto told her.
Fū groaned in despair.
"...where are the other vessels?" Naruto asked. He was expecting the others to join their training, at least Gaara.
"They went back to their own villages," Fū answered with a hint of sadness. "Takigakure is too weak to protect a jinchūriki so I'm still here."
Naruto nodded, "I see, as I expected..."
"As you expected?" Tayuya raised an eyebrow.
"Do you not remember our talk with the Kage, Yuya? I am the one who advised them to hide the jinchūriki in other places. It seems that my suspicion is correct, they found out that five jinchūriki are staying in the Uzumaki compound and attacked with six members at once. With the vessels' safety compromised, they have to hide them in other places, unless they want the whole Akatsuki to attack Konohagakure."
"Which is why I am training you, Fū-san. After all you know better than most, anything can happen. There might be a time where you have to fight against the Red Dawn alone. When that time comes, I expect you to be prepared."
Fū nodded.
In the middle of her training, Fū suddenly said that she wished to talk with Naruto alone.
"Yes?" Naruto asked calmly.
"Um... I'm sorry!" Fū bowed while shouting her apology.
"...ha?" Naruto blinked, confused by the girl's sudden action.
"When I first saw you, you looked at me and the others like how the villagers of Taki used to... as if we are nothing... so I..." Fū trailed off.
"So you acted hostile towards me," Naruto nodded. He could see how that would spark the girl's dislike towards him. However... "However, I acted the same to everyone," Naruto pointed out.
Fū blushed, "...yes, I noticed that after seeing you interact with other people but at that time, I thought that you disliked me... so I avoided you..."
Naruto blinked again. '...so to put it simply, she acted hostile to me because of a misunderstanding then she got too scared of me and so she avoided me?' he sighed, '...I am not good with this emotional talk...'
"Raise your head. You made a mistake and you apologized for it. I believed that your hostility towards me came from your life as a jinchūriki and so, I do not dislike you because of that."
Fū looked at his eyes and saw the usual cold eyes she saw in the villagers but then she saw a trace of kindness in it and smiled, "...thank you, Naruto-san."
"Do not thank me. When I trained everyday, you are the one who took care of my mother. I should be thanking you instead," Naruto nodded towards her in appreciation.
Fū shook her head and muttered in a low voice, "Kushina-sama is right, Naruto-san is very kind..."
Naruto saw her muttering but could not hear what she said. He decided to ignore it and told her to continue training.
After Fū finished her training, the three went back to the Uzumaki's house. To be exact, Naruto carried the exhausted Fū on his back. On their way, Naruto noted that it was already nighttime and wondered how angry his mother would be.
"Mother, I am home..." Naruto greeted as he, Tayuya and Fū entered the house.
Kushina immediately hugged him, telling him how worried she was and how he should not do something as reckless as facing an Akatsuki member alone again.
Naruto awkwardly hugged her back. He wished he could say that he was alright but being sent to the hospital because of a poison was definitely not alright in his mother's book.
After his mother was done lecturing him, the four ate dinner.
Naruto noted that for the first time, Fū did not seem to be wary of him and Tayuya. The air was peaceful and Naruto supposed that it was similar to the old family dinner he and his mother used to have, except that it had two more members.
'I suppose Fū would be a distant cousin then...' thought Naruto, '...how about Yuya?'
After their dinner, Naruto and Tayuya were about to go to the rooftop as they usually did but Kushina stopped them.
"I don't think that it is safe to be in the rooftop for now. You should sleep in your own rooms," and so Naruto and Tayuya went to their respective rooms.
"...it has been quite some time since I sleep here, has it not?" Naruto wondered as he laid on his bed.
"Indeed, it is quite nostalgic is it not?" a voice asked him.
"...how is it that you managed to appear in this world, Gedō?" Naruto asked as he looked at a see through image of the Outer Realm floating beside his bed.
"Because I have defeated you," Naruto winced at the reminder. "I defeated you and therefore our body recognized me as an owner. Worry not, I am at most a wraith," the Path stated.
"I am unable to touch anything," Gedō placed his hand through the bed as an example. "No one except you can see me, Chosen of Samsara."
Naruto watched the Path warily.
"As of now, you are too weak..." Gedō declared bluntly. "I will allow you to live for now. However, I will summon you to my Realm one day. And then..." he trailed off.
"Only one of us may walk away..." Naruto ended.
Gedō smirked, "I look forward facing you again, First." The Path disappeared.
Naruto looked at the place where the Path once was.
'...First?'
Another chapter done. I guess the twist with the Outer Realm was unexpected.
Any thoughts about Gedō and Tendō?
BN: ^^; Gomen Nasai….. I was busy reading other stories, playing games, and watching you tube that I had almost forgotten about Betaing Samsara. *bows* Please forgive me.
*coughs* There were a few errors, but I fixed them, DL.
Hmm… I have a theory… Gedo and Tendo's positions, once upon a time, were switched.. But as time went on Tendo got jealous of Gedo's position and not only battled him, but also defeated him for the position. Now Gedo is in Tendo's former position and Tendo is in Gedo's.*shrugs* What do I know?