Asunder

Chapter Twenty Five

Deception

"Yes, I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."

― Oscar Wilde

"Are you certain that this is the right choice?" Inoichi couldn't help but wonder if the trust he had in his oldest friend hadn't led him astray. His daughter had followed their Hokage, while he had joined the rest of the Konoha's forces. Why? He could argue that he did this because he was the leader of the Yamanaka clan, but if he was honest with himself, he'd rather be with his daughter. Sadly, this was one of those many cases where his duties were outweighing his personal wishes.

"Do you think we should instead trust a letter sent by a girl who isn't even officially leading her village?" Shikaku snorted. "No… you know very well that I would not go to war if I could avoid it, Inoichi- but this situation is too perfect an opportunity. Kiri is too divided to interfere, Suna too weak, so who is to stop us from exploiting the war between Iwa and Kumo? Those fools started this by themselves."

"I know that you act under the presumption that there is nothing left that could threaten our village," Inoichi sighed. "But what if Tsunade is right?"

"Do you still trust her capabilities? Her temper was always a weak point in her character, but to blatantly disregard the council and rush off with a force of her own… well, she made her decision. She chose to chase ghosts over doing her actual duty, proving that her critics were actually correct," the unusually talkative Nara couldn't muster much respect for the Senju. "Her quest showed me that we should reconsider her position. I wonder why she just did not accept that, and persisted with those fantasies that he was kidnapped. After all, there have been multiple witnesses who have seen Naruto leave the battlefield, as well as those who have seen him travel through Hi no Kuni."

"But why would he have done that?"

"Why?" Shikaku turned to look at his friend. "He already stated clearly enough that he didn't particularly care about our village anymore. All we need is for him to keep out of this. For too long, we have suffered the equilibrium between villages. For too long, our shinobi have fought and died for nothing. Today, we have a chance to shatter that equilibrium. Two villages are at each other's throats, weakening each other. Who is to stop us from swooping in and taking out two of our competitors?"

"It is logical," Inoichi spoke the last word as if it were dirty. "The logical thing to do, for sure, but is it right?"

"What is right or wrong is determined by the victors," the Nara shrugged. "Morality and ethics are subject to cultural influences and personal opinions. They aren't somehow magically fixed entities. And even if it is wrong, who cares? It will be decided by history, and those who are victorious write that history."

"You would go through with this plan despite knowing that it is wrong?"

"There are too many grudges between our villages. Even if that greenhorn who thinks herself to be a kage believes that peace is as easily attained as just offering it to the others, the both of us know that there are too many grudges on both sides to ever accommodate a lasting peace. And do I need to mention that we have a shot at ending Kumogakure's greed? They have been hoarding power for decades- just ask Hiashi about that. Do you want them to snatch away your daughter, Inoichi?"

"…"

"The only feasible path to a lasting peace is for us to eliminate our competitors. An idealist might say that we should give Iwa the benefit of the doubt, but a realist would know that my words are true. Now is the time for Konoha to rise to dominance, and to put an end to this long struggle for power. Tell me, does that make me evil?" Shikaku questioned. "Even if it does, in my opinion it is worse to waste the opportunity we have been presented. If we act now, our children and all the generations to come do not have to suffer the pointless bloodshed we have experienced. For that… for that, I gladly become a villain."

Yamanaka Inoichi remained silent, not knowing what to say. Was Tsunade right, with her faith in Kurotsuchi? A lot would depend on how trustworthy that girl's promise was. Did she have enough sway over her village and her council to actually back up her words? The fact that she wasn't yet the official Tsuchikage spoke against her. Meanwhile, the good judgment of Tsunade was also something that could be put to discussion. Inoichi knew better than most, even if his daughter was rather tight-lipped about the matter, that the Senju was emotionally fragile.

'What should I say? Should I join the others, and participate in a war that brings peace, or should I try to advocate for peace, knowing that this choice would most likely lead to more wars in the future?' Inoichi looked at his friend. The Nara was going over the strategic map, revisiting his plans with the latest intel provided by the Sensor Division.

'Is it evil to sacrifice a few for the good of the many? Is it worse to act self-righteously, knowing that I would condemn many more to die in inevitable future conflicts if I refuse to dirty my own hands? This choice seems to be between the lesser of two evils.'

The whole thing was a mess, really. The tree, one of the most recognizable aspects of the village, was gone, while the village itself… all that was left was ruins. When he had first 'visited' Takigakure, along with Kakuzu, the village was already not the most prosperous. Not that the village radiated an aura of poverty or anything, but the differences between a major village and a small one such as Taki were clearly visible. Of course, once Kakuzu had left the place, dragged away by Naruto, Takigakure had already been scarred.

Right now, there wasn't a scarred village anymore. The battle had transformed the place into a crater, an ugly scar on the landscape. The Jūbi, unable to break free, kept thrashing around. As a testament to its power, its tails destroyed the mountains surrounding the former village as if they were made out of cardboard. More than one White Zetsu was caught in the destruction, flattened by boulders that were tumbling down.

Of course, those cowardly clones didn't dare to come close anymore. If they came too close to his chakra, Naruto knew what would happen to them. Especially now that Kurama was complete, his chakra was so 'full of life'- Kurama's words, not his- that Zetsu would lose his consistency and turn into a tree.

'Kinda makes you wonder what those bastards are made of,' he idly groused, while scanning the battlefield. Kurama was nervous, as the Jūbi should have been able to put up more of a fight. Naruto agreed with the cunning fox, knowing all too well that it was wise to heed the fox's warnings. Things were definitely going too smoothly.

The assembly of shinobi, in which Naruto saw hitai-ate from both Konoha and Ame, was circling around the Jūbi, firing jutsu after jutsu while his dragons kept sapping chakra from the creature. Still, even though he had recharged sage mode, Naruto could not sense the Jūbi weakening at all.

The logical conclusion would be that it was waiting for something. But for what did it wait? The White Zetsu clones were incapable of doing anything, and each of Akatsuki's members had perished. All except Black Zetsu. It irked him that he couldn't detect Black Zetsu. Standing atop his strongest jutsu, the Jūichimen Kan'on, Naruto kept a close eye on all the players left on the field.

'Could it be that Konan betrays us?' he wondered. No, the woman was leading the Ame nin, and was attacking the Jūbi with everything she had. On the other side of the Jūbi, Tsunade was leading the Konoha nin. She, too, seemed to be at his side. What other players were left that could change the game? Maito Gai? 'Neh, his taijutsu is impressive, but he's just a jōnin. He's not the type to side with the Jūbi,' Naruto scowled.

No, there was but one person with the potential to change the battlefield at this point. And she would never side against him. Naruto was willing to lay down his life for that.

"That means there's only one option left," Kurama growled angrily. Ironically, he did so at the very moment that Naruto detected Black Zetsu's presence. If he hadn't been looking in the right direction he doubted if he could have sensed the stealthy bastard at all, but luck was at his side for once.

"I can make it… I gotta improvise. Senpō: Kawarimi no Jutsu," Naruto simply combined two jutsu, mashing them together on the fly. Ajisai was encased in wood, and she and Naruto substituted. It was nothing like the regular Body Replacement Technique, but he had to improvise.

"You!"

"Me," Naruto smirked when he saw Black Zetsu's startled expression. He stomped one foot on the ground, forcing his chakra through the earth. He wouldn't allow the evasive Zetsu to escape once more. 'Especially not after he dared to target Aji-chan.'

"Do you truly think you can stop the inevitable?" Black Zetsu looked down, obviously noticing that Naruto had tried to cut off his escape route.

"Watch me," the jinchūriki glared back. "Senpō Mokuton: Kan'on Ryote (Sage Art Wood Release: Kanon's hands)." A replica of the left hand of the Kan'on shot from the ground, its speed surprising Zetsu, who completely failed to dodge. Before Zetsu fully processed what Naruto had done, the hand held his legs, its thorns piercing Zetsu's black 'flesh'.

"You really are an unexpectedly great annoyance," Zetsu grunted, ignoring the pain he felt. "But I have lived for centuries. Did you think that I would go down easily?"

"You'll die, no matter how you'll try to squirm your way out of this one."

"The Jūbi will grow. The tree will rise. And then the day of reckoning is upon your species! You dared to impede my exalted mother."

"And here I thought that your white half was the insane one," Naruto spat. "Just hurry up and die already, you backstabbing piece of shit."

"It took much effort to get the Mizukage and Raikage to cooperate, but once I made sure the Hokage wouldn't do a thing to stop them… it was fun to destroy your clan, Uzumaki Naruto," Black Zetsu laughed.

Naruto was starting to think that the parasitic creature had completely lost it, except for the fact that the fall of the Uzumaki clan sounded exactly like one of Zetsu's schemes- and the Hokage had, willingly or not, played a part in that?! The wooden hand of the Kan'on clenched, crushing Zetsu's legs. This didn't really accomplish much, considering how Black Zetsu had a rather fluid body, but it felt satisfactory nonetheless.

"Fūin," Zetsu still chuckled. "How delightful that you will be destroyed by the jutsu your ancestors guarded with their lives."

Naruto choked and nearly lost his balance, when something oppressive connected to his body. He heard Kurama scream warnings, but could only watch with a morbid fascination at the intricate pattern that appeared underneath his feet. Now it made sense to him why Black Zetsu had disappeared for a while. He had been preparing this, and targeted Ajisai to seal… to seal what?

"The Jūbi," Kurama cried out in panic. "Stop that bastard! He's sealing the Jūbi in you!"

"I would… if I could," Naruto stammered. "I can't move," his eyes turned to the Jūbi, which had suddenly stopped resisting its binds. Its enormous eye focused upon the blond jinchūriki. But Naruto could not really keep his attention on what the Jūbi did. He looked at his Moku Bunshin, and to Ajisai, disoriented, at its side. The rough jutsu he had used to get her to safety had apparently not gone without a hitch. Wordlessly, Naruto nodded at his clone, ordering it to move back and take Ajisai away.

"I might die today, but the tree will bloom, and your world will be rent asunder!" Zetsu shouted with the last of his power. The chakra injected from the left hand of the Kan'on had spread, blossoming into a lethal poison, and after centuries of scheming, Zetsu's quest had finally come to a close. The parasitic entity died with a smile, knowing that he had succeeded, he had fulfilled his purpose.

Naruto stumbled. All things faded from his sight. Sounds were silenced. Lights were dimmed. Smells evaporated. Only the chill of the Jūbi's endless chakra crept through his body. With it, a voice came. It was a voice, so sweet and soothing, enticing yet commanding without tolerating any disobedience, a voice which commanded him to do something…

Something…

What was he doing?

What was she saying?

Why was he listening to her?

Something left his body, something grew higher than any tree he had ever spawned. Its roots went deeper than anything he had every felt. It was everywhere. He was everywhere. The world suddenly felt so small. So fragile. They weren't caught in the genjutsu, as they should be, but it mattered little to him- to her. The sequence was of little importance now. All he needed- all she needed- was to reclaim what was hers.

Hers?

"Shin: Jukai Kōtan (God: Nativity of a World of Trees)," he heard himself say, repeating what that female voice whispered him to say. Then, what little was left of his consciousness was dragged inside. The alluring voice drew him closer and closer.

She had made fun of him. She had ridiculed him in whatever way she could get away with- that he let her get away with. She teasing him, while he grumpily played his own part in their usual play, it had been how she had imagined herself to be doing this, for him to be there, at her side, giving her the guidance he had always given- the guidance she desperately needed, the guidance that she had always taken for granted.

Regret- that was what she felt most during these days. It had numbed her heart, even if her mind was straining to cope with an overwhelming amount of information that she had to process, and decisions she had to make. She had always made fun of him when he made a fuss when nothing was going on, when nothing seemed to be going on. Only now, she realized that he had put so much effort into his duties in order to keep it like that, to maintain that façade, in order for the rest of the village to only have to worry about trivialities. For decades, he had ensured that Iwagakure no Sato endured.

And now that task had fallen to her.

It pained Kurotsuchi to admit that she was not ready for such a daunting task. There was just too much going on, all at the same time, for her to maintain her usually calm and easy-going demeanor. She was tired, cranky, and mourning. She was mourning the death of her grandfather, slain by the treacherous Raikage, but also the death of her father Kitsuchi.

Those self-righteous fools of Kumogakure actually had declared war upon Iwagakure. The very moment the war against Amegakure had ended, the very moment the word had spread that the Tsuchikage and Raikage had fallen in battle, the forces from Kumo had marched to their borders.

The shinobi from Iwagakure had valiantly defended the borders, but although they fought on their own familiar grounds, they were at a disadvantage from the very start. Kumo's forces had been scattered over the nations, cleaning out the Akatsuki hideouts, but they had lost relatively few. Iwagakure, on the other hand, had participated in a battle where many had met their untimely ends. Due to the trickery of Zetsu and the betrayal of the Raikage and his jōnin, Kurotsuchi had lost many good men and women who could have given her the edge over the invading army.

Instead, they had found themselves outnumbered and outmatched, fighting and retreating each day. It was a war in the trenches, quite literally, as they made Kumo fight for every inch of ground, and it had brought only misery to both sides. So many had died… and why? If anyone should have been outraged, it was them, not Kumo, as the Raikage had slain their Tsuchikage!

'I wish gramps was still here,' Kurotsuchi thought wistfully. 'He would know what to do, even in this mess. Then again, I doubt he would have approved of the letter I sent to Konoha. He would never have asked for an alliance.' She firmly believed that Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki would have found some way to avoid this mess. And if it had happened anyway, he would have put on a show and disintegrated a few squads. A good scare would have changed the minds of Kumo's shinobi. After all, what kind of idiot would willingly face someone with the Jinton kekkei tota?

Yes, Kurotsuchi, acting Tsuchikage during this invasion, wanted her grandpa to still be alive. She wanted her father to be at her side too, grumpy and annoying as he could be. She wanted rest. 'I'm too tired. I should get some sleep, but how can I rest while all these men and women are risking their lives out there? They're depending on me to find a way out of this mess.'

She sighed deeply. Her eyes were drawn to the map, where the current status of the battlefield was drawn. How long could they maintain this, before the Kumo nin would reach the village? How long would these invaders be able to keep pushing them back? Surely they would have to get exhausted at some point as well, right?

A large figure rushed into her tent. Before she recognized his chakra, she saw his silhouette. It was the 'shield' of the Tsuchikage, Akatsuchi, one of the best jōnin left in her army. And rather than wearing the grim expression he had shown during their attempt to thwart the invasion, he was now actually smiling. It was a tired and, literally, dirty smile, as if he had rushed straight from the front lines to here, still covered in dust and blood.

"They're here!"

"Who is?"

"They've used the setting sun, and whatever else they could, to hide their approach. Now they are rushing towards the left flank," Akatsuchi continued, ignoring her question. "They should be hitting Kumo's forces as we speak."

"I might not be the Tsuchikage officially, but I'd like it if you at least answered my questions," Kurotsuchi tried to resist the urge to lash out against him. She was too tired and too worried to have an excess of patience.

"Konoha!"

"Why didn't you say so immediately?" she snapped, rushing out of the tent. To her elation, she saw chaos spread through the ranks of the Kumogakure shinobi. Squads of Konoha nin were surgically striking key points in the Kumo army. She had gotten a reply only one hour ago, stating that Konoha would send reinforcements. So, either the messenger hawk had been slow, or the message had been sent late. Anyway, Kurotsuchi was relieved to see that they had answered her request; well, it was a plea, and she knew it.

An explosion caught her attention. It was too close.

"What the…" her eyes widened. The Konoha nin had split into two large groups, one striking the Kumo forces, while the other half descended upon her own shinobi. "Traitors!" she cried out. "You filthy, hypocritical, backstabbing traitors!"

Akatsuchi could not recall ever having seen the young woman this angry. While she was usually easy-going, she had been particularly angry when Deidara had defected. But that was nothing like this… right now, she looked as if she could exterminate the whole lot of their enemies with one glare.

"Kurotsuchi-sama," he instinctively used a honorific he'd never used for her before, "we should call everyone back and organize our-"

The ground started to tremble, and suddenly a wave of strange chakra pulsed through the area. Some men stumbled and fell, spouting trees from their bodies as they died. This occurred within her own ranks, but she saw the same confusion within the Kumo and Konoha ranks just as well.

Although she did not know, and could not see it, Shikaku was shocked to see his cousin undergo the same fate. He, however, quickly connected the facts, and paled. This was what had happened to the White Zetsu clones that had gotten too close to Naruto. This meant that that pulse of chakra originated from the jinchūriki as well. Worse was the fact that it showed how Zetsu had infiltrated their ranks. This particular cousin, Shikaku remembered, was the person who had provided the information that had convinced him that Naruto had merely defected, rather than being abducted like Tsunade had claimed.

Across the field, the Kumo nin saw several of their men and women turn into trees, although none realized that these had all been particularly vocal supporters of this invasion. Unlike Shikaku, they did not realize that they had been manipulated. Granted, none were given the time to process the events properly- there weren't many strategists in the world that could outthink a Nara- and Shikaku was the best of his clan for a reason. Not even Shikaku could have foreseen what was coming now, though.

The earth stopped trembling. Enormous tree roots shot up, tearing open the soil. The attack was as sudden as it was devastating, and before Kurotsuchi could do as much as blink, many of the gathered shinobi had fallen victim to whatever jutsu it was that Naruto had cast.

What Kurotsuchi did notice, however, was that the attack was completely indiscriminate. Akatsuchi protected her as well as he could, but there were too many. Everywhere roots shot up, entangling people, trapping them into cocoon-like shells. It wasn't until she fell victim to the jutsu herself that she understood why those who were captured in those cocoons did not break free.

Even if they were not caught in any genjutsu, Shin: Jukai Kōtan was more than capable of subduing every living thing. Surely, it was more difficult to drain the targets of their chakra, and they would not be transformed into the loyal minions that the Zetsu were, but the jutsu did what it was supposed to do nonetheless.

All over the world, the same thing happened. A pulse of chakra affected every White Zetsu in the world, causing the instant extermination of their kind. Each and every clone was hit, causing them to destabilize and sprout out as trees. All over the world, there were those who saw their friends, family, and loved ones change. Leaders saw their most trusted advisors turn into trees. Generals lost their best messengers. All throughout the social systems of mankind, there were many in important, yet unimposing, positions who had turned out to be spies. Such was the extent of Zetsu's infiltration.

Not just Iwa, Kumo, and Konoha were thrown in confusion, but Kirigakure and Sunagakure were affected as well. Temari had been in the middle of a heated debate with her village's councilors when two of the elders suddenly turned into trees. Unknown to her, the impersonator of the daimyo of Kaze no Kuni- the only daimyo that had been successfully replaced by Zetsu- perished as well.

In Mizu no Kuni, the time for debates had already been passed. The grudges and disagreements had grown out of control in the typical way for their nation, as the people were too hot-headed and vengeful for their own good. No matter how Terumi Mei had exerted herself, a civil war had proven to be unavoidable. However, aside from some early skirmishes, both sides were still regrouping and strategizing. The 'loyalists', who still believed in Yagura's doctrine, were outnumbered but knew that this did not mean much, as the 'rebels', who now ruled Kirigakure, had been victorious from their underdog position.

Imagine the surprise when men and women on both sides suddenly turned into trees. Both sides briefly accused the other of this act, before the branches of the Shinju rose from the earth and gathered all.

All over the world, people tried to resist, tried to escape the inevitable, before they were caught. Some lasted longer, like Mei or Temari, while others were caught before they even realized what happened.

Zetsu had done his work well, and in each army and group there was division and discontent. Distrust prevented allies from properly fighting side-by-side, which might have given them a slight chance at victory. Against Naruto's mastery of the mokuton kekkei genkai, however, all struggles soon proved to be futile. Sunagakure, weakened to the point that it was afraid and defensive, fell. Kirigakure, torn in civil war, fell. Kumogakure, with the majority of its shinobi misguidedly invading another nation, fell. Iwagakure, already struggling to defend itself, fell. Even Konoha stood no chance.

All fell before the might of the Shinju, all failed against the skill of Uzumaki Naruto. Only one remained: the last conscious and free human being, one who had seen all her friends and allies being caught by Naruto's onslaught- Ajisai.

She, with her rinnegan, had seen it happen.

Naruto's clone had spent all of its chakra using the Jūichimen Kan'on to protect her, and after it fell she was forced to rely on her own powers. Shinra Tensei was useful, without a doubt, and one of the strongest jutsu that existed… but the seconds she needed to wait after each usage was a glaring weakness.

Why had this happened? Ajisai had seen Black Zetsu rise from the ground, seemingly targeting her, and then she had been moved to the top of Naruto's enormous wooden Buddha-like statue. Then all hell had broken loose. A truly enormous tree had risen up, one which put even Takigakure's old tree- the one which the Jūbi had somehow consumed- in its shadow. The burst of chakra that came from Naruto right after that had blinded her for a moment, showing the downside of a dōjutsu that could see chakra.

Never before had she seen a chakra signature as potent as his. Naruto had always been extremely powerful, and was even more so since she had reunited the two halves of the Kyūbi. But right now… right now his power was simply absurd. With her summons at her side, Ajisai slowly worked her way through the onslaught of tree roots that all tried to ensnare her in a cocoon, like the tree had done to all others she had seen. Tsunade, Konan, Suiren, Ino, she could not see any of them anymore, not even the toads.

Every cocoon looked the same to her, the tree's chakra completely masking the signature of those within. 'I can't keep this up all alone,' Ajisai didn't fail to notice that her own chakra reserves were slowly dwindling. Besides, to properly act, she needed to know what this jutsu was, what it was supposed to do to its victims. All she had seen was an enormous tree filled with an ominous energy, while its roots gathered all the shinobi that were nearby. 'Perhaps if I know the purpose of the jutsu, I can find a weakness in it. And if I can free people from it, they would be able to help me out.'

Alas, it was easier thought than done.

Getting near those cocoons meant that she had to get closer to the thicker roots to which the cocoons were attached. Getting closer to those roots meant that the attacks intensified. Still, she had to take a risk. Playing it safe in this already desperate situation was no option anyway.

What she found was that the cocoons were surprisingly easy to break- from the outside, at least. Those trapped inside, however, seemed completely subdued. She had found a Konoha kunoichi, a jōnin by the looks of it, who barely seemed to register Ajisai's attempts to free her. Ajisai could see how the chakra of the tree completely overwhelmed its victim, and if she was not mistaken it had slowly started to drain the kunoichi of her chakra.

Ajisai could not tell for what purpose. She was not granted the time to investigate, and lost her summoned panda before she got out of the web of roots that had tried to trap her. Obviously, her actions had drawn attention.

Her eyes only caught a hint of a movement before the sound of a crash entered her ears. Naruto… no, someone who looked like Naruto had noticed her. His skin and hair were as pale as White Zetsu, and a strange bone-like thing adorned his forehead. It somewhat resembled a hitai-ate, only without a symbol. What was even stranger was that two horns grew out of the bone thing.

His eyes were closed, yet it did not seem to hinder him in the slightest. Before Ajisai even got a proper look at him, he had already planted a foot in her stomach- sending her flying. Ignoring the pain, Ajisai quickly scrambled to her feet.

"Shinra Tensei!"

More on instinct than with any conscious thought, she halted his follow-up attack. It did not seem to stop him for long, though. He now wore rough black pants, walked on bare feet, and had his torso covered by some sort of white robe. This robe had six black magatama markings across the chest and nine black magatama markings in three rows of three on the back.

Those symbols were odd, but they weren't what made his current appearance so odd to her. With her eyes, she could see that these 'clothes' were not what they appeared to be. The pants and the robe were constructs of pure chakra. She couldn't tell why he'd create such a chakra cloak, but she could see that it would shield him from practically any jutsu.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing? Get back to your senses, please!" she pleaded. She didn't understand why he was suddenly doing this. What had Zetsu done to him? Why was his chakra so similar to that of that monstrous tree?

"…ru…to…?" his voice was almost mechanical, as if he did not know how to use it.

"Do you even understand what I'm saying?"

"…"

"What did Zetsu do to you?!"

"…"

"Are you giving up this easily?" Ajisai whispered. "Don't you even try to resist whatever it is that Zetsu did to you?"

Naruto raised his arms, perpendicular to his torso, and from his opened hands two black blobs of chakra emerged. Ajisai tried to look past the empty expression on his face, tried to ignore that he still had not opened his eyes, and looked at those black orbs of chakra instead. It wasn't like she couldn't distinguish a single nature transformation in that chakra, but rather that she saw it all. Doton, raiton, fūton, katon, and suiton, she saw it all being balanced and merged in that black chakra.

To any other person, that chakra would've formed a nigh unstoppable attack. Sure, Ajisai was surprised to see one of the black orbs fly at her, as she didn't expect anyone to use a chakra with such density for a ranged attack. But the abilities of Preta Path were always hungry, regardless of what type of chakra it was.

The chakra-made robe flickered, destabilizing for a fraction of a second, while Naruto tilted his head. He seemed confused by the sudden disappearance of his attack. The momentary lapse of concentration showed that his chakra wasn't as strong as she initially thought. Well, it was still far too strong, that was obvious, but it was also strangely divided. Conflicted.

"…sai…run," he strained to talk. "She… close…"

Darkness. As far as his eye could see, there was this endless and despairing darkness. Apart from all this nothingness, the only thing that he could distinguish were the branches that kept him in place. They tied him, bound him in such a way that he could barely move a muscle. The constant pressure of battling the white-grey and brown branches, which constricted him to the point that they seemed to be intent on tearing him asunder, was threatening to make him lose his sanity.

He already was lost, or so he felt. A weariness, a mind-numbing apathy, had taken hold of him. Why was he here, what was he doing, where would he go? All such questions had seemed important once, yet held so little meaning now. What did it all matter? Everything he did came crashing down in failure anyway. He'd lose whatever he gained, fall whenever he managed to stand up, and it all changed nothing about the world around him. It was…

No, he couldn't think like that. Ajisai was alive again. Kurama depended on him. If he lost now, the Jūbi would rise, swallowing up the poor fox- who'd be condemned to a fate worse than death. Unlike the mortal soul, which would pass on to the Pure Land, Kurama's entire existence would be erased. The creature that he had once been a part of would reclaim him, absorb him until finally all aspects of the personality he had developed over the course of the last centuries…

It was irrelevant. Duties, hopes, they were all just burdens, ties that kept him from moving. They were strings that made him a puppet in the hands of others. Everything which he had held important was just as futile as the matters of any other human. He, like any other mortal, was a lesser creature whose only reason to exist was to…

Wait, what? Why did he feel like that? 'It's like there are two voices in my head, battling for dominance,' he sighed wearily. He was tired. Caught in the crossfire between both opinions, he felt only his fatigue. He was tired because he had to keep resisting the branches that threatened to tear him apart. What the other two voices wanted… it all seemed so cumbersome.

Indeed. Resistance is futile.

No, do not give up. Think of Ajisai, think of Kurama. What would happen to them? What would happen to Tsunade, to Ino, to everyone?

Foolishness. They'd all die eventually. It would be better for them if their deaths were to serve a higher purpose.

'I am nowhere. There's no escape from here. Not only that, but it's a burden to keep myself together. Why are those two opposing opinions even important to me, if I can't even do a single thing to liberate myself?' Naruto groaned when the branches around his right arm tightened and threatened to pull the limb off his torso. 'And yet… I cannot allow myself to fail. I cannot fail Aji-chan. I cannot condemn Kurama to such a fate… I must… endure…'

"Humans have always struggled to delay the inevitable," a female voice came from the darkness that surrounded him. Naruto recognized the voice, as it was the same which had he heard before he ended up in this… this… whatever this place was supposed to be.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled.

"Curiosity, even at the very end, your short-lived race never seems to lose that quality. Unfortunately, that curiosity by far exceeds your capacity to understand," the female voice sounded oddly disappointed. "Perhaps that is why they turned against me…"

"You will fail, Jūbi!"

"Your resistance is commendable," the voice regained the slightly amused edge it had before she spoke of those who had turned against her. "But now it ends. Pride yourself in the fact that you managed to last this long, and rest. Live your dream. Your suffering has lasted long enough."

Even if it was involuntary, the darkness that followed after her word grabbed a hold of his mind, and he welcomed it. Whether he was truly glad that it ended or not, he could not tell. His heart felt corrupted by the opposing ideals. The pain of the branches tearing at him was irrelevant compared to the feeling he had that his own mind had been invaded.

Had he lost this struggle before it had even started?

Blinking his eyes, he tried to shut out the annoying light. He stifled a yawn, though failed horribly at doing so. Reorienting himself, he noticed that the sheets were a mess, all sweaty and twisted around him. Obviously, he had been having a bad dream. It was a weird dream, too, although he couldn't really remember what it had been about. The elusive nature of dreams was a rather frustrating fact.

Freeing himself from the entangled fabric, he walked towards the mirror. His eyes had grown adjusted to the bright light of the morning sun. His mood had improved a lot, simply due to the many songs of the birds outside. It sounded like spring, and the garden had attracted many birds who all sang their songs. It seemed perfect, and yet…

Looking in the mirror, his hands absentmindedly touched the places where he had expected to see scars. 'Weird. Why should I have scars? Was it that strange dream?' he pondered. Turning around, he went to the closet and collected his clothes. They seemed a bit big, but his vantage point had changed too. For some reason his own height confused him. 'Why would my height confuse me?'

Things didn't seem logical. All that confusion was eclipsed when a woman entered his bedroom.

"Naruto-kun, you should get dressed," Yamanaka Ino kissed him. No, she wasn't a Yamanaka anymore- he remembered the day she had taken his name. "Breakfast is ready, and you've gotta go to your office soon."

Stupefied, all he could do was stare at her. Her purple outfit left her midriff exposed, and seemed to be designed to accentuate her chest- an area where she had been very well developed. Motherhood had that effect on people, after all. 'Wait, what?'

"Don't just stand there, silly," Ino smirked. "I know I'm gorgeous, but save that for tonight," she blushed a little. "Sakura-chan agreed to have Minato-chan sleeping over. You know how well Minato-chan and Sarada-chan get along. But it leaves the whole night for the two of us… I seem to remember you talking about a second?"

"Yeah," Naruto didn't know why he had been confused. Why would the appearance of his wife confuse him? "I'm sure Minato-chan would love a little brother or sister," his smiled broadened. "I'll make sure I finish the paperwork early. Or else I simply ditch it on Baa-chan."

"Don't anger Tsunade-sama," Uzumaki Ino stood on her toes and kissed her husband. "I can't have you all injured tonight. I want my tiger to be in prime condition!"

"I wouldn't mind getting the nurse treatment again, though," Naruto thought aloud. "I'll stop teasing," he chuckled, seeing his wife being uncharacteristically bashful. Obviously she hadn't forgotten about that night either. "I'll be down in a second."

"Good, I'll get Minato-chan out of bed." Although Naruto didn't let her get out of the bedroom without first playfully slapping her well-formed rear.

'Life is good,' Naruto thought happily, finishing dressing himself. All he needed was his cloak, but that was downstairs. Along with the hat. Even after four years, he still thought of it as Tsunade's hat. He had married the girl he had grown up with, the woman he had always loved, and together they had their little loose cannon of a son. Uzumaki Minato, named after the boy's famous grandfather, had unfortunately inherited a deadly combination of the energy of his father and the inquisitiveness of his mother. Naruto was looking forward to the time his boy would pick up the noble art of pranking.

Yes, life was definitely good.

And yet there was something gnawing at him. What? He couldn't tell. Ino wondered why he was so pensive, but he couldn't explain it to her. As he walked to the Hokage's office- his office- he was greeted by countless people. Their hero, their idol, he wondered why they saw him as such. It felt so odd that there were those who practically worshipped the very ground he walked upon, yet so good to know that he was acknowledged by them all.

'Why am I feeling so detached?' Naruto couldn't put his finger on it. Sakura dropped by, giving him the reports of the hospital she led. Tsunade may have founded it, but she had decided that her pupil was better of leading it. At least, that was what the Senju had claimed. Everyone who knew her a bit better knew that she had simply pawned off the responsibilities so that she could pick up her gambling addiction again.

'Oh well, at least she stays clear of alcohol now. That one drunken debacle was bad enough. Ino-chan threatening to keep Minato-chan away from her definitely had the desired effect,' Naruto chuckled as he looked at the portrait of the former Godaime Hokage. Tsunade loved sake, but that affection paled in comparison to the love she felt for what was practically her grandchild. She and Jiraiya definitely were complete suckers when it came to the blond three-year-old.

Still, when his jōnin commander entered the office, Naruto was overwhelmed by a sense of wrongness. Sai gave it no thought, simply giving his report regarding this week's drills, acting as stoic as ever. While they had enjoyed peace for years now, the pale jōnin commander remained adamant that their forces had to maintain proper discipline. He had always been a bit too serious. At least, until Naruto pointed out that he still had some lipstick on his cheek- the former Root operative was easily flustered, making it so funny to tease him.

But why was it that the interaction with Sai felt wrong? Once he was alone in his office, Naruto looked down at his hand. A golden ring, practically identical in color to Ino's hair, adorned his finger.

'Why was I expecting to see a wooden ring?'

"Why can't I feel you?" the hunched-down form of Uzumaki Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato muttered to himself, referring to the tree against which he held his hand.

Nothing. He couldn't feel a thing. The complete and utter lack of any sort of sensation coming from the tree made him feel empty. While he had trouble remembering, he knew for certain that there had to be some sort of connection between himself and nature.

For weeks since he had had that odd dream, he felt… disconnected.

'When I remembered that ring, I knew I had to feel… something. But what? Why do I keep feeling so incomplete?'

He had woken up, got dressed, ate his breakfast, enjoyed the company of his lovely family, and then went to work. As the Hokage of Konoha, he definitely had a lot of responsibilities, yet his efforts were made fairly easy due to the peace that had been established between the nations. In the absence of wars and larger-scale conflicts, the shinobi had a rather peaceful time. Sure, there were the occasional rag-tag groups of bandits or missing nin, but it was nothing they couldn't deal with. In fact, they hadn't lost an active shinobi in over a year! After dealing with the internal politics and paperwork of the village, he'd return home, enjoy dinner, and later, after little Minato was in bed and read his nighttime story, Naruto would turn to his wife…

So what was wrong? What was gnawing at him? The world was perfect, his life was perfect, his family was perfect, so why did he feel so empty inside?

His eyes suddenly spurred wide open, and his hands went to his stomach. "He's gone?!" Naruto stammered. "H-how… no, wait, he was never there… was he?" Shouting out in frustration, he unintentionally uprooted the tree in front of which he stood. 'Dammit, I really gotta restrain myself…'

The world made no sense. It was as if he had woken up from a dream so deep, that it felt as if he was still numb and wondering what was real and what was not. So many questions were left unanswered; so many things which had seemed obvious in his dream now seemed…

'What is this hole inside my head? Why does it feel like I'm lost in some kind of void?'

The sound of footsteps drew him from his musings. He ignored it, at first, but soon found himself unable to do so. She had let her son down, and he had rushed to his father.

"What's wrong Minato-chan?" he frowned, seeing the confused expression on his son's face.

"He's the one who is worried, Naruto-kun. As am I," Ino chimed in. "You… you seem a bit out of it, today. Are you really okay?"

"I should be," Naruto answered truthfully. His son had inherited his spiky hair, although with Ino's brand of platinum blonde. Those curious, big, blue eyes seemed to stare into his soul, and… they hurt him, Naruto realized. Holding his son so close, yet doubting the reality in which he lived. It hurt. The love he felt for his family tempted him to just accept this all as real.

But he couldn't feel the energy of nature itself. Kurama wasn't here. and that ring… something was wrong with his ring. Why did he have a golden wedding ring, when it should have been a smooth, wooden engagement ring?

"Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."

His eyes widened when the memory entered his mind. 'Whatever future. It will be shared with… Ajisai. Not Ino, not Minato-chan, but…'

"I really wish I could stay, Ino-chan," Naruto tried to ignore the tears that began to run down his cheeks.

"N-Naruto-kun, what are you saying?" Ino stammered. "You're not… why would you leave us? Y-You can't!"

"There are no lights to guide me home, but still… I need to free myself," Naruto kissed his son, who was affected by his parents' emotions- even if the little boy didn't understand what his parents were talking about.

"I won't let you-" Ino began.

"Ino-chan," Naruto looked away. "I wish I didn't need to. This world is perfect. Minato-chan is perfect. You… you are as perfect as I always imagined you to be. My family, my beloved… I wish I could stay forever. This is all I wished for, before I…"

"Then stay!"

"But Ino-chan, they all depend on me."

"Who? No, it doesn't matter," Ino shook her head. "We depend on you, Naruto-kun. I depend on you!"

"I know," Naruto hesitated. "I know you do… for you are not real. None of you are."

"W-what are you saying?" Ino now cried openly. "Please… p-please stop it… you're breaking my heart!"

"You are the world that could have been, had Zetsu not interfered with my life. This is a world where none of my friends have perished. This is a world where I didn't have to struggle with the burden that Kurama once posed," Naruto let down Minato, as the little boy wanted to go to his mommy. "You are the dream I had when I was a boy: the perfect world."

Naruto sighed, and turned his gaze to the village.

"But Kurama was there. Zetsu was there. Kakuzu was there. I lost my memories, committed horrendous acts on behalf of Akatsuki, and I met someone… my light in the darkness, the one who saved me from myself. Ajisai never really knew how important she was to me. How important she still is," Naruto smiled wistfully. "I loved you Ino, I really did. You were the love of my life- my old life. But things changed. I changed. You accepted that…"

He looked at his hand.

"I can still feel my ring, my true ring- the ring that I made when Ajisai and I became a couple, when I claimed her hand for marriage. No matter how perfect this illusion is, no matter how much I wish I could stay for a little longer, I still feel that other ring on my finger. No genjutsu in the world can rob me of that feeling."

"…" Ino said something, but he couldn't hear her anymore. He couldn't hear his son's cries, even though he saw the tears running down his chubby cheeks. It was as if the whole world was silenced. The wind through the trees, the bird chirping, the water flowing through the nearby canal, all those sounds had vanished.

"I will never again lose myself," Naruto vowed. "You will never separate us again."

The deafening silence was broken by the sound of breaking glass, as this false reality collapsed.

It was the last he saw of his life-that-could-have-been. It was the last time he saw Ino as his wife, and Minato as his son. This was what could have been, had Zetsu not torn his life asunder. That dream had been destroyed. Letting go of it was something he had done before he had confronted Pein, before Zetsu once more had tried to ruin his life. This life was something he had once desired, but he had changed, his heart had changed. So now, that dream of the past was shattered once more.

He already had a new dream. "Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."

Author's notes

Illusions are cruel…

Yes, I decided to make Kaguya more intelligent. Why? Well, for simple reason that I found it unbecoming of the final villain of the manga to act like she was Zetsu's puppet. Not to mention that it simply didn't fit with her premise of seeing herself as a godlike world-destroying overlord (overlady?). She may be somber all she wants, but I'd still rather see her as someone who is cunning enough to create her own schemes. To tell the truth, the manga left me with the feeling that she was mentally challenged, rather than an actual threat…

For those who bother about the specifics: I only intended the Jūbi-Naruto of this chapter to have the powers of the 'Six Paths Sage Mode', so he isn't exactly like Obito or Madara when they were Jūbi-jinchūriki. The reason for the closed eyes is obvious, I suppose. Anyway, I intended for him to have the Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Ball) and Shin: Jukai Kōtan (God: Nativity of a World of Trees). The latter being an 'upgrade' for Naruto's regular mokuton, considering his connection to the newly grown Shinju. The Gudōdama were linked to Six Path Senjutsu, thus it made sense to me that Jūbi-Naruto got them. And why just two orbs? Well, the answer is simple: before Obito managed to gain control of the Jūbi's power he also only had two Gudōdama.

-Ziltoid-