Pseudo Styles: A Naruto Fanfiction

by Alpha Vii

[Undergoing retrofit] Clan desolation reduced. Development heavy plot line where the canon generation is privy to the cloth they are cut from. Rapid growth, and... escalation prone events.

26. Volume 26: Finale Part 4

Pseudo Styles: A Naruto Fanfiction: Volume 26 (Finale Part 4) Jubi boss fight; Final Battles: Chapters 1-6

[Important Notice: Retrofit pending. If you are reading this, the chapter has yet to be overhauled. Plot and character points subject to dynamic change. Chapters that have had this message removed have been - for the most part - resolved.]

CRACK

Alright guys, this is the big one. The final boss fights and end of my awareness of the Narutoverse. Granted I've got bits and pieces, that's not enough to keep the storyline alive.

That being said…I've got mixed feelings about this story. Pseudo styles Gen 1 has been a huge help in finding myself, but I'm also aware that there are HUGE holes in the plot progression. During Enigma's 'jump to hyperspace' The story…I still don't understand how, but it took control of those years. I missed things in doing that like, Kanji's transformation and development. Sasuke's innovations of the chidori. Gentle fist evolution. Naruto's progress with the C.O.P.

Alpha sighs, "In that sense I failed this project." His gaze reforms, "But I've learned a lot from that mistake. To make up for it I'm considering staggering the progression of Gen two, to allow for more plot development. But that creates an issue: Fillers. I hate fillers. A lot of people hated fillers. To make that style work I'll need advice from our community to keep the plot relevant and interesting. I'll need to slow plot progression down and speed the intro stage up so that the community can keep up. During the next gen all three Viis will be genin. They will have a base of operations as well as a developing relation with the leaf. My main concern is whether to recreate the C.O.P. concept in gen two. If I do, they will be far more in tune with the shadows. The 'raids' would be scenes on their own and the C.O.P. rather than being loud and boisterous will be silent and hidden. They won't be reduced to the likes of root. They won't swooping down like Kami's judgement. They will be ninjas through and through, but not in the heartless killer kind of way, rather; they will be just as honorable as samurai and twice the shinobi of a jonin. They would bring light to the shadows and vice-versa. They will bring the 'hidden' back to the village as much as the current one brings community. To do this, I need to figure out things that aren't available on public media. I'm not saying I'm about to go to the dark side. I'm going to need to reverse engineer Konoha's aspects in my head. I'm thinking this 'Mystery' writer, who I'm thinking is Phantom, knows more than I gave him credit for."

Anyway, after this Volume will come final goodbyes as well as the portal scene.

Pre post edit: Alpha's eyes twitch irritably, "Well. I just reviewed one of the later episodes of shippuden to find some of the loose ends. I happened to discover that I wrote the current setup backwards. In terms of escalation I made the error of thinking Phantom and Kaguya were one the same level in terms of power. I wasn't wrong, but I WHOLLY underestimated a crucial difference: Phantom Is absolutely against interdimensional combat. His methods will be nowhere near as extreme as Kaguya's. I may have to reconfigure the setup. Lee's fight is too big to adjust within a reasonable amount of time, so it's actually a blessing I only just started Kaguya's fight. I'm switching the setup so that the C.O.P. is fighting Kaguya and the A.S.F. are stalling phantom. I'm going to have to BS the hell outta the timeline to make my plan work out. Fortunately as Enigma has mentioned before, Dimensional combat tends to disengage the safety that is time. Not - any - less - BS - though."

===Volume 26===

—Chapter 1: Vii's greatest fear—

Black Zetsu snarled at the turn of events. The Akatsuki's KI was dropping left and right. The moment he saw Madara's KI sink however, a primal fear surfaced.

White Zetsu asked, "If that man could bring down the darkness you stirred in him…"

Black Zetsu snarled, "No way in hell am I about to let mother be denied." He released his 'trump card' from his flesh and turned to him, "Since you hold no better purpose…Might as well make use of your abilities."

The dark Zetsu latched on to Phantom and brought the man's hands together. The two spoke in their voices, "Rinne rebirth!"

The jutsu launched upward for a few feet before slamming down into the ground. The barrier beneath them shattered and a sprout began to form before shooting up and shattering the C.O.P. support pillars.

—Meanwhile—

Enigma turned to Naruto and spoke, "It's begun your majesty."

Naruto's eyes widened before he turned and shouted, "FULL EVACUATION! CLEAR THE CRATER!"

Within the span of five minutes the crater was drained of human presence.

Within the next thirty seconds the HQ's support structures were absorbed by the growing trunk of the sacred tree.

A beam of light shot down from the moon and met the top of the tree.

—

Zetsu looked up to see the form of Kaguya standing next to him, but suddenly he felt himself being forced apart from the inside. He detached from Phantom as a massive wave of energy was released.

The Tree groaned from the strain and Phantom wearily placed a hand on the creature. He seemed to break down, "I…I'm so sorry. I need you to be strong for a little while longer. Until then…You must survive!" His KI poured into the tree and the creature let out a groaning howl. (Wood this old creaks. It would sound like an orchestra at this point.)

Kaguya turned to Zetsu with an unspoken query. The spore nodded. Kaguya raised her hand and blast of energy sent Phantom…stumbling?

Black Zetsu's eyes widened as the equivalent to an almighty push barely even matched a physical push against the man.

Phantom stood to his feet and his eyes…Had evolved. Behind the tomoe was a faded yin-yang symbol, "Sorry lady. Forces of nature are as much my forte as they are yours. You're spawn knows my weakness, but so does my successor, and he knows why!"

Kaguya looked at Zetsu and the creature smirked, "The tsukiyomi should level this guy."

The 'mother of chakra' sighed before her third eye opened. Kaguya spoke calmly, "Tsukiyomi."

Phantom raised an open palm in front of him, the sharingan appearing over his eyes (Side effect of tsukiyomi, not the actual doujutsu). He closed his palm into a fist and a brief flash of white was seen. The image of the sharingan shattered and Phantom spoke, "Visions of this world will affect me no longer for as long as I am here. As much as the others hate my willingness to say this; there is one demon I have yet to absorb, and I can not face it here."

Kaguya smirked before countering, "Than my final objective will end your act of defiance!" She looked to the sky. (Despite being close to mid day, the moon still faces the earth all the time. The jutsu reflects off the moon, but the 'light' that creates the effect isn't actually limited to reflected sunlight)

Phantom smirked, "Thus my role here is set, and your ambition ends here. You have prevented our battle…But you sacrificed your war."

Kaguya turned to see Phantom staring into the sky, a pensive look on his face.

"Eye of darkness; Shadow of light. Eternal balance, and soul-bound sight! Demons and angels of the earth, fall upon me for a new rebirth!" The moment he finished a red light reached the atmosphere, but the illusion suddenly converged on the jubi's location and poured into Phantoms eyes.

Kaguya tensed as she watched her dream of peace vanish before her eyes. She made to strike him down but…

Phantom's head lowered and his body shook. Black and white trails of energy warped into the air around him. His eyes…Couldn't be seen. KI fields blocked them from reaching the light of the world. He turned to face the forest and his gaze locked onto Enigma.

===Chapter 1-2 Bridge===[Irritatingly little was edited here]

—Chapter 2: Motive, Morale and Margin of terror—

Enigma and Naruto were observing The C.O.P. and Allied shinobi forces set up their counter attacks.

The blond turned to Enigma, "Will Phantom be able to survive an onslaught of every nation?"

Enigma chuckled, "Naruto, I survived getting kicked around by Rock Lee, who throws punches strong enough to piss off this worlds physical tolerances. If Phantom DOES get killed he'll be reincarnated in a split second. I'm not strictly talking about the Phaze ability either. He's got more invested in this world than even me, and he won't be letting the shinigami bring him down." Suddenly his smile sank, "But there's someone…There IS someone who can unseat Phantom completely. And…we angered that person a few days ago. Inner peace shows you ALL of your demons. But there is a demon…Even stronger than than any demon I could ever communicate with. Our past."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "I thought the past had no influence over your life. What kind of demon are you talking about?"

Enigma chuckled pathetically, "You know how your nindo determines how you live your life?"

Naruto nodded and held out his fist, "Hell yeah!"

"I made mine when I was four."

…

…

Naruto stumbled back, "You…What?!"

Enigma chuckled, "You swore off going back on your word. We swore off swearing carelessly. I've never made a binding promise if there was chance I could be prevented from keeping it. As a result my young self treated any form of manipulation or ulterior motive as an attack on his life. He was about the scariest little demon you'd ever seen. You try to physically restrain him and he'd break any chain. Any form of restraint, he'd fight tooth and nail before searching for a weak-spot and exploiting it. Give him a millimeter and he'd shake the whole world off it's hinges." Enigma hung his head, "Swear in his name carelessly…and he'd denounce you. His demons run just as deep as mine and Phantom's. No one else in my life has that kind power over us. Not my siblings, parents, senseis, doctors, therapists or even religions. To lose his faith is, to us, to be damned."

Naruto sighed with a grin, "Enigma, now I've got a lesson for you; Everyone's in that same boat. Granted their all different boats, but you're not the first one to lose faith in yourself. By the sound of it…I'm not sure you truly have."

Enigma smiled, "Your insight is…remarkable. I don't care what any vision shows. You may not be a genius in skill, but in heart, you have no equal. Yeah you're right. Phantom is representing my past right now. My job is to prove that our new vow is as strong as our past one. I must equal or defeat him without compromising our new vow. To lose here…Is to be truly lost."

Naruto smirked, "Well you already know you're not fighting him alone."

Enigma paled, "Crap! Visions of the future are as much a curse as a blessing!"

Sasuke strolled up and countered, "You say that a lot. Isn't your whole shtick too prove that?"

Enigma groaned, "How will I ever find another dimension THIS good?!" He wiped his eyes before grinning, "Let's go kick ass!"

—

The C.O.P. members gathered their gear and equipment and prepared their scrolls and custom techniques for deployment.

Ryusa walked up to Naruto and asked, "We're about to fight that kids mentor, so I get that he must be some kind of badass. But I'm worried about his relation to Phantom."

Naruto nodded but hesitated before answering, "Which part? Cause Enigma's known about this fight for years."

Ryusa crossed her arms and looked around at the C.O.P. members, "So I've seen. But I'm more worried about Phantom's awareness of our weaknesses. If those two are connected, how much of our skills does Phantom know?"

Naruto rubbed his brow. He looked to Enigma. The boy in question flashed a handsign. Naruto nodded and Enigma leapt down from his perch in the tree. Naruto sighed before asking, "Just how much of your mentors 'sensitive' intel are we facing?"

Enigma sighed and leaned against a tree, "At this point I might as well tell you…What I know, about the Vii network. Granted, it's not much, but it's more complicated than a simple hashtag. All Viis past and present are linked to our true body. It grants us a sense of independence from any plane of reality. But there's a significant difference from techniques like the shadow clone. Right now the Vii network follows the rule of three. By that I mean each component keeps the others in check, and prevents any one from entering a state of permanence. What you've seen from me, is the Emulation version of our host. I can create or replicate abilities based on aspects absorbed by the Vii network. I am the most…how to say…Adaptive of the current variations. Thing is…The other two surpass me in their own skills. Phantom, Is… Let's try this: If I am iron, he is diamond."

Ryusa pouted, "I swear, if this ends with a civilian cliche…"

Enigma chuckled, "Then my future clanmate would pull an interdimensional Tsunade on me. Trust me Vii's aren't fond of that kind of analogy. More often, other people jump to that conclusion before we reach our objective." He sighed and continued, "No, Phantom is actually the opposite. He's unbreakable. You can beat him up with anything and he wont even care. The only way to reach him is by chipping away at his surface and adjusting his perception. Short of destroying him that is, but that…Would destroy me. He monitors what the Vii network has valued throughout our life and wont take shit from anyone."

Naruto frowned, "Are you redirecting on purpose?"

Enigma's eyes widened, "Ah shit. No, but that's one of my weaknesses. I rarely hit the nail I was going for at first. Lemme try again…"

Ryusa sighed as they waited.

Finally Enigma scratched his head and added, "Phantom has more intel than even I do, but he's slow to act. His patience is…Ridiculous. He'll figure out your techniques right away, but he's typically more interested in finding out what you'd use them for. He doesn't like interfering with the timeline. Short of threatening one of his core values, you're not his target." Enigma sighed, before chuckling pathetically, "And relatively speaking, I'm the only one present who's even close to the demon he's facing now." Enigma's look darkened before he finished, "Besides…Almost all of his core values denounce killing. The day he kills, Diamond and gold will both shatter like glass."

A kunai struck the ground before the boy. Enigma looked up and saw Ino scowling, "Don't joke about that!"

Enigma's hands shot up as Ryusa's kunai reached his neck, "It wasn't me! I'm iron remember! I have nothing against either element! My point is that Phantom is unable to kill!"

Ryusa shrugged, "If he's not a shinobi AND unwilling to kill…Why is he so dangerous?"

Enigma folded his arms, "Because, without the ability to limit himself, He'll change the face of the earth with any one of his abilities."

Sasuke walked into the clearing and shouted, "Phantom's on the move! He's walking up the canyon wall!

Naruto turned to his advisor and asked, "He has chakra?"

Enigma chuckled pathetically, "Yeah, as well as access to chi, karmic intent, elemental aspects…"

Ryusa cocked her head, "Chi?"

Enigma nodded, "Think, Tsunade's strength and remove the limitation of her fists and feet."

Sasuke had paled at 'Tsunade's strength,' "How is that not a ninja?"

Enigma sighed and shrugged, "He could match Lee in a fight. He revived the Uzumaki. He was toying with your dad. If he ever answered to any political power, this world would be turned on its ear. The day he's named a ninja…I'm teaching him to hold back." Enigma shook his head diffusively, "No, that needs to start the day he suggests being a ninja."

A.N: Alpha sits back and ponders, "Alright, I didn't mean to but my writing speed is already slowing down. I'm not sure of what the overall effect that will have, but I'm not having much luck slowing the deceleration. I'm beginning to see my hesitation affecting Enigma and that's a bad omen. Taking into account what we're going through, not to mention the story line's current…Ahem…decisiveness, It seems acceptable for story progression. Issue is; I don't know how the ending will affect Gen 2. Granted a few of Gen 2's features are already decided since Volume 12 but this is…Stressful."

—

Ryusa walked over to her setup to finish prepping her puppets for the attack. She looked to the side to see Funjin practicing his jutsu for the erosion style, "Is it really battle ready?"

Funjin grinned cheekily, "Well you know me; I'm not fond of the round about methods. I can't rely on constantly like a natural kekkei, but it's beyond enough to wreck an opponent. Might not work on an intangible being's body, but it will sure as hell screw up his attacks." He lunged towards a tree with a biting strike and the wood cracked before smashing apart in a shower of amber-esk shards."

Ryusa picked one up an poked the tip. Immediately she regretted doing so, "Damn! That's sharper than any arrow head I've ever seen! To bad we don't have any archers among the shinobi forces or these would be wicked ammunition."

===Chapter 2-3 Bridge===

—Chapter 3: Rock Lee VS Sacred Tree—

Lee was stretching while Neji and Tenten prepared for the fight.

The former perked up as the ground trembled and a terrible creaking was heard. Lee buried his fist in his palm and smirked, "Finally! An opponent on which my flames of youth can burn brightest!"

A.N: Alpha rubs his forehead, "This fight is rigged. Once again I pity the tree! That being said I'm not fond of the idea behind One Punch Man and I'm not about to make the tree into Lee's punching bag. Even as a pile of driftwood this tree has more vitality than an Uzumaki."

—

Kaguya was doing her best to find a source of nutrition for the tree (Why she thinks chakra is a viable food source, for a tree that produces it, is beyond me) And finally found a batch of shinobi worth going after. However, the tree wasn't as eager to mobilize as she had expected it to be. The creature was extremely slow to move and seemed extremely interested in sight seeing.

Lee leapt off of the crater rim and onto one of the tree's roots. He flexed his KI to draw the tree's attention.

Kaguya groaned when the tree came to a halt. She looked around for some kind of barricade and completely overlooked the one 'leaf' present on the tree's roots. (As dumb as this sounds…most people make this mistake hundreds of times in a lifetime.)

Lee took a stance and spoke, "Sacred or tainted, I'm not letting you hurt my friends. SEVERE LEAF HURRICANE!"

A.N: Alpha pales, "It occurs to me now that some REAL taijutsu actually possess a degree of elemental aspect. This and Lee wasn't using taijutsu to trounce Enigma, rather full fledged… Yeah I have a few regrets now."

Kaguya turned to the sound of a localized gale. Looking down she noticed a massive ball of wind. She turned to the crater rim (*eye twitch*) and searched for a castor, "Show yourself! Foolish mortals, you fight like cowards!" (Alright THAT'S IT:)

Creak

Creak

Creak

Lee continued to pummel the outer shell of the tree. The wind chakra managed to leave several gouges in the trunk, but Lee was becoming confused, 'This is no ordinary wood. I hadn't expected the Jubi to be THIS much tougher than a tree.' "Looks like standard Taijutsu won't be enough to do much damage. Time to see if nature manipulation will have an added effect!"

Kaguya finally pinpointed Lee's position but the Allied shinobi forces had started pouring into the crater and the support teams began launching artillery attacks (Both weapon based and combination attacks). With a frustrated groan she leapt off of the Jubi and attempted to swat the closest of the attackers, namely Lee.

Before she could make contact Kaguya was forced to repel a "DYNAMIC ENTRY" from Gai.

Despite having failed to land a blow, Gai was successful in protecting his student from the woman. [I can make this work]

Meanwhile Lee completed the basic stance for earth moulding and sent a flying kick to the sacred tree. The ground beneath them cracked as the roots fought to maintain a relationship with the earth. Lee launched a sequence of blows into the trunk as he jumped between branches and roots alike. Finally he reached the upper end of the monolithic tree and attempted to land a heavy strike to the crown.

Lee's eyes widened when a branch intercepted his kick. The energy was diffused into a number of heavy branches but the tree held.

Said tree had taken enough hits to warrant defending itself. With a tremendous groan, seams all over the crown cracked open and branches formed from the crown.

A.N: Alpha sighs, "When trees can't sustain their branches they occasionally drop one to prevent starvation. The number of roots needs to be able to sustain the branches. If that doesn't work the tree typically dies. The issue here is: This tree is going on two millennium. At this point the rules of 'Not as young as I used to be' apply HEAVILY. This tree was ready to retire the moment Kaguya sniped its heir. These 'new' branches aren't sustainable and are the equivalent of a fruit tree's 'last stand'; where the tree gives everything it has to produce an heir. At this point the tree is doing so to prevent an early demise and will likely discard them or reduce them to stay alive."

Lee watched as a number of branches began to close in on him. He smiled and took a stance, "I was hoping it wouldn't be that easy!"

A large branch bore down on Lee and the boy was forced to dodge. While the initial attack was simple to avoid a wall of narrower branches started closing in from the side he chose.

Lee took an advanced earth stance and lunged forward before preparing an upward strike, "Metal style: Iron Lance!" (Yeah, I figured. Metal/Steel style isn't fully established yet. I'm pretty sure it's NOT a binary as much as an enhancement of an earth style. There's a difference between fused elements and manipulating an outcome. Rasen-shuriken is actually more of the latter the way it was produced in canon.)

The smaller branches were torn through with the efficiency of titanic garden sheers as the unyielding force tore through. The tree quickly adapted to use the sliced branches as lances to either repel or destroy the intruder.

Lee managed to escape the onslaught by redirecting some strikes into retreating branches. He landed on the larger branch he'd dodged, but was quickly forced off by two frontal bundles that made to flatten him. The green clad boy sweatdropped, "It's like fighting every C.O.P. training ground at once! Adapt to one trap and another variation appears! This is awesome!" Lee quickly had to counter an attempt to 'rope' him down and managed to avoid an excessively tall patch of thorns.

The tree continued to groan as it tried to either contain or repel the infestation. While Lee wasn't doing much damage to the tree itself, every effort to catch him burned up its vital energy. Suddenly the tree began to take a more passive approach. The large movements slowed and it opted to set dozens of slow moving traps and use only small branches to keep Lee from gaining a foothold.

Lee noticed the change almost immediately. He wasn't sure what the tree was trying but the number of pikes developing gave him a worrying impression. Taking a wind stance Lee began to sprint across the pikes and sliced them apart, however long whips began to hone in on him from several places and heard him. Using two heavy kicks he managed to slice them down, but they regenerated much faster than he could afford to waste energy on (What? Physical moulding takes physical energy. While he wont run out of chakra he's not an Uzumaki…Oh SHIT I FORGOT AGAIN!)

A.N: Alpha grins, "Lucky us Phantom didn't!" Alpha groans, "It's creepy that two parts of me forget and yet things still happen."

Finally Lee managed to get outside the developing Venus fly trap and a terrifying war cry was heard.

Six towers were summoned around the crater about a hundred meters out and from several points the roar of shinobi possessed (Trust me, I'm using my younger self as a comparison and an army of that would scare me shitless from the TV let alone if I was actually in control! Imagine if that army that beat up Mizuki wasn't HALF Uzumaki and then add in that each clone was a thousandth of Naruto's chakra capacity AT TWELVE! *Face of unmatched fear* OH KAMI THIS IS RIGGED!)

A wall of kunai flew off of the crater rim and painted the surface of the tree's trunk black and red. The trunk turned yellow as the fuses lit and… (*Whimper*)

(Rolling thunder) BOOM!

The explosion sent Lee flying like a cannon ball. He looked down at the tree and shrugged, "Might as well make myself useful!" He went through stances for water and the atmosphere desperately tried to offer its bounty as tribute to the absurd amount of natural disaster preparing to take place.

All Notes: "Oh, Christmas tree, oh…" (I have nothing else that matches the sheer amount of awkwardness that comes with this situation)

To be concluded…

===Chapter 3-4 Bridge===

—Chapter 4: A.S.F. VS Phantom—

Kakashi and Gai were among the lead platoon that entered the Canyon. A good thing too as Kaguya made a move to take out Gai's prized pupil.

Kakashi barely had time to note when Gai broke rank before the sound of a "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" was heard and Kaguya was knocked off course.

The Woman stood to her feet but Gai was already rejoining the unit.

As the lead platoon established the front against Phantom Kakashi walked over to his rival, "Was that really necessary Gai?"

The man in question gave his glinting smile and countered, "Should you ever find an apprentice of your own you'll begin to understand. Still we can't afford to have Lee hindered as his distracts that…"

CRUNCH

Kakashi turned to see the sacred tree recoil from one of Lee's larger hits, "Well there's no doubt he's making progress." He turned to Gai and asked, "He's not gonna use the inner gates is he?"

Gai's eye twitched at the implication, "Don't joke about that Kakashi. Jutsu users have a much higher death rate from using those gates."

Kakashi seemed distant for a moment, "That's the principle. But then Lee hasn't really used any jutsu this whole time. I'm not questioning your choice Gai, but I'm not sure Lee's situation has changed from/for these techniques." A shout from the front lines drew their attention.

—

Phantom had paused about halfway up the crater wall when the people on the rim began to mobilize. Seeing Enigma split off with the C.O.P. the man was immediately hesitant to hunt the boy down. (As hellish as facing our past is, there's still the issue of collateral damage. If Kaguya were to destroy the world because of the Vii's it wouldn't be any less disastrous for our past selves. Even in a blind rage there are things you will protect at all costs. AH HE'S BURNING ME! }{) Phantom watched the shinobi prepare to strike him and relented to meet them halfway, "Some things don't deserve such satisfaction. If they want to challenge me, I'm not harboring any illusions of a false advantage. I will not be affected by trivial matters and I will answer any attempt to down me with equal force and objectiveness. There will be no sense of progress until they have earned it in merit. I will be their mirror and I will hide no cruelties."

A.N: Alpha's eye shudders, "Yeah I do not miss sounding like Gaara. Feeling manipulated is a terrible way to live a childhood. Feeling guilty for curiosity is a sickening and tainted way to get a dose of reality. Having people look at you like a cause of death will grate on your nerves until you feel nothing. Don't let parenthood be a chore…EVER!"

—

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the mans speech, "That doesn't sound like your garden variety threat."

Do to the shape of the crater the sound of Phantom's voice managed to carry a large distance. To the second and third deployments his words were well perceived.

As the front two groups began to correlate, Asuma and Hayate made a point to utilize their close range headsets.

Hayate pressed the com and asked, "Okay, Who's the wise guy? I'm pretty sure the registered pranksters are in a separate unit so I'd like their fans to give us a reprieve."

A moment passed before Gai answered, "Lads I'm afraid that was the real thing. That man's using nothing but tension against us."

Kakashi tapped in, "No joke. Phantoms just projecting a layer of KI on us. At this rate anyone with a hair trigger will go off in a few minutes."

Asuma opened the channel and asked, "What's your progress on the initial attack?"

After a minute of pause Kakashi sent back, "We're about to launch."

Suddenly Gai punched in, "Actually we've already started. I think Kakashi's hair triggers just went off."

—

Phantom noted six jutsu that had been cast as he waited. Finally three large earth style jutsu leapt from the ground around him and made to 'knock his block off'. Phantom ducked beneath them and Immediately slammed his back into the shallow prisons roof. The massive stones cracked and lifted from Phantoms body, "Pseudo style: Aspect association: Ancient earth orbital defense."

The stone pillars that had begun to fall back towards Phantom suddenly shook before lifting into the air. They held upright and began to revolve around him.

Some of the nearer Jonin braced for an attack. One of the chunin relay team members called out, "What kind of excuse for an earth jutsu is that?!"

Phantom smirked before raising a fist and pumping it down. The three boulders slammed into the ground and suddenly the surface of the earth became jaded as the less apparent jutsu were forced into an active state.

An improvised mobile core.

A swamp of the underworld.

Two tunneling techniques.

And two headhunter maneuvers were ejected from the ground.

The Chunin and Jonin attempting the direct maneuvers scrambled back to the platoon.

Phantom manipulated the remaining jutsu directly. A massive stone platform rose a few feet into the air using the mobile core. The crater around it was cut into a pair of trenches with the tunneling techniques and the underworld swamp poured over the two trenches creating a hellish marsh field. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders, "I find it impressive that this was your warm up, but if this outcome discourages you than such a perspective will be reversed. Let's see if you can match the impressions this one has seen in you. Show me what this world's demons have taught you 'Warriors of the shadows!'"

Phantom looked up to the sky when he sensed four of the Kage reaching the rim behind him. He turned to face them and asked, "Only four. Since there are none injured…" He smirked before turning on his heel and slamming a fist into a rocketing boulder. The ground beneath his feet shattered from the amount of force impacting it. The boulder however had no time to suffer. Blue cracks appeared throughout the stone as Phantom slammed a chi enforced fist into a fault in the stone. The boulder broke into rubble. Phantom grinned when a kunai made to strike him through the ruin, "Seen there, Seen that." He leapt up and using Sasuke's 'tree walk kunai' stunt launched the blade into the wall of the crater. The wall hissed before a massive crack was forced open.

Garra immediately realized the intent and leapt to the side and into the crater, all the while sending his sand into the crater wall.

A opted out of the round about and leapt over the edge and phantom all together

Mei took a similar approach to Gaara in the opposite direction, quickly running through handsigns and launching lava onto the cracks.

Onoki just stepped out and floated down.

Phantom waited until all three had landed, only briefly checking their position to confirm their tactic, "As unique as this situation is; your driving me into the atomic grade meat grinder and not all to subtly. Contingent includes a perpendicular approach utilizing either a form of burn, death by sandstorm or a combination of the three. Atomic dismantling doesn't mind the composition of slag or glass as long as the target doesn't have a quick out. Which means the way out…Is forward or up. Down is out do to pulverized earth. Actually…" Phantom looked down and smirked, "Five out of six kid, but that's more than enough to work with! Pseudo style: Aspect association: Reverse atomic dismantling technique!"

Oniki rolled his eyes, "That's not how jut..su…WHAT?!"

Gaara's sand broke through the broken ground and attempted to swarm Phantom from underneath but the grains began to condense and catalyze underneath him into a mineral crystal that continued to push into air.

From the surface Phantom chuckled, "Not entirely wrong gramps. That was mostly to yank your chain, but the technique is actually referred to as mineralization. Considering it's behavior it IS the opposite from your trinity element in that the roles of elemental manipulation are reversed. But that's not all it's good for. METAL STYLE: MOBILE CORE!"

Gaara once again managed to anticipate the attack type and made to sever the earths connection with the A.S.F. as well as buffer the attack.

The crystal structure was forced into the crater like a sword thrust and the ground immediately around it was fracked to hell. The surface of the crater heaved as chunks of earth were dislodged from their state of sedimentary contentment.

—Slow—

A leapt forward to bring Phantom down from his foothold. Lightning trailed behind him as he launched shouting, "LARIOT!"

Phantom was still facing Onoki and had yet to react. A plowed through the man but his eyes widened when phantom's shoulder rammed into his side.

—Normal—

A skidded over to Gaara as his brain fumbled over the nonsensical hit. He glared at Phantom but the man chuckled.

Phantom's entertainment briefly became a laugh before he asked, "Have you heard of a 'kekkei' known as swift release? One of the popular weaknesses to exploit is that the technique has a brief period of recharge between discharges, but in reality that only applies after the technique is completed. While typically used as a 'line of sight' attack there's an alternative strategy to form a pattern of approach. Same flaw of predictability applies but thanks to a recurring after image…" Phantom appeared behind A. As the Raikage made to swipe him down Phantom ducked and lifted two fingers to A's arm and placed his knee on the ground, "YOU MISSED!"

As the contact was formed Phantom tensed briefly as the energy discharged across his side.

A however felt as if he'd been winded as his shield unexpectedly drained. He stumbled forward before gaining some balance.

Phantom smirked, "Earth jutsu: Grounded circuit!"

—

Kakashi and Gai were preparing kunai with explosive notes as the deployment team finished setting up the defensive barriers for the line.

The former looked up and noted the odd turn of phrase.

Gai asked quickly, "I find it intriguing that he calls out his techniques differently each time, but after a while it starts to get a bit lame."

Kakashi narrowed his gaze as the robed man stood and mobilized, "That wasn't ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu Gai. I don't think that man has used a single word without motive." Suddenly Kakashi paled, "The Raikage's been weakened!"

Nearby Darui tensed. He turned to Kakashi and asked, "That's a bold claim. Lord A shrugs almost anything off with his lightning armor. I doubt this upstart had better luck than the fourth Hokage and he came closer that anybody."

Kakashi's eye widened, "He couldn't have…" His gaze hardened, "No. It'd be foolish to discard the notion out of prejudice. I think Phantom somehow drained the energy from the Raikage's armor with that technique he just used. He called it grounded circuit."

Darui froze, "He survived that?" Darui shook his head, "This is supremely dull. Lightning is a very potent element and releases a lot of energy quickly. If that guy is able to route the energy from the lightning armor on a whim, then any lightning jutsu's effect will be dulled to nothing!"

—

Phantom waited for the Kage to regroup. He noticed the glint of metal from Tsunade's position and grinned, "Medic, ranged, Metal aspect; Aerodynamic over a hundred meters: Senbon. Counter?" Phantom lifted a hand, "Let's test your mettle. Magnetic style: Ferrous field!"

Eight orbs flew from a sack on Phantom's belt and formed a ring in front of him. The sound of bits of metal scraping preceded a number of irritated shouts from several jonin.

Five senbon flew into the crater and made for Phantom's unobstructed body. To the surprise of many the senbon splayed off course and swung around the orbs before clanking into them. About thirteen kunai and eight shuriken were also claimed by the field before the unseen barrier finally decayed. The orbs dropped their bounty and returned to Phantoms pouch, "I will say this much; I haven't seen any repeat performances, so this crowds mainly free of idiots."

Suddenly A massive black and white seam appeared in the sky behind Gaara. It tore open and the C.O.P. stormed out.

Naruto groaned, "That was worse than Gai sensei's workout routine, and that's not a mistake I plan on making twice!"

Enigma chuckled, "Admittedly; I had WAY too much fun for that to have been reminiscent of normal." He grabbed his gut and dry heaved, "That last dimension ruined my lunch though. Joy and disgust are an awful couple!"

Sasuke groaned, "How did that seal even work? Sealing a live human is supposedly impossible!"

Enigma scowled, "Tell that to the asshole running blood prison! I'm still pissed at his ideal form of subjugation! Hell it wouldn't even work on someone like myself or even Lee!"

A.N: Alpha types nervously, "I'm hoping E.N. returns for the next chapter. There are some things he can say that these notes can't."

E.N: ({}) "KAMI LET ME…FRESH AIR! Oh that was a nightmare! C.V. had me annexed the whole chapter! I did not miss the feeling of an emotional cascade nearly as much as we thought. It's one hell of a natural high, but it's…corrosive. Not as bad as Mei's acid mind you, but it runs REALLY deep, like soul violation deep. How did Naruto manage to survive THAT?!" (Reads authors notes) "Is that really all I am to you?"

A.N: Alpha folds his arms, "To describe ALL of your good aspects would take months of preparation. We've got two more fights to get through and then we can post this volume."

E.N: "Finally! I get to meet my new clanmate and the nameless era is over!"

A.N: Alpha pouts, "Priorities bud."

E.N: *Scowl* "Aw shut up! You're the one keeping petty secrets! At least C.V. produces big reveals!"

===Chapter 4-5 Bridge===

—Chapter 5: C.O.P. VS Kaguya—

A.N: Cracks knuckles, "Let the Bullshitting commence!"

The C.O.P. poured down into the crater and aimed for the bottom of the tree.

As the lead group approached Naruto noted what was likely Gai defending his student, "Enigma just how big is this gonna get?"

Enigma winced, "It's not so much how big as how absurdly ambitious. This woman would ice Hiashi with a glance and he'd never know she'd noticed him. I mean that literally; Ice style's got nothing on her."

Naruto chuckled, "So she's as unpredictable as me then?"

Enigma rolled his eyes, "With an interdimensional hall pass."

Naruto grinned deviously, "Can I get one?"

The two shared a laugh before Enigma sighed, "I'm considering loaning mine to this fight. But that depends on certain…Criteria being met."

—(This scene is currently preparing to evolve. previous version will remain an O-make for time convenience. Will place notice after alterations have been executed.)—

Kaguya stood passively as the group formed a ring (Impending regrets found my speed dial!) and asked, "So this is what that man denied peace. Unfortunately for him he's started an eternal war.

Sasuke shrugged, "That seems to be their theme. Eternal wars don't seem to last very long though so…same time next week?"

Kaguya appeared to be a statue but Enigma picked of something barely traceable, "Dear kami she HAS got emotions! Almost as much as a rock I once murdered!"

Naruto looked over to the boy, "What the hell do you see in her?"

Enigma shrugged, "Unless you can read plate tectonics at a glance, I'm not sure it matters, but I sure as hell CAN!"

Kaguya's veins suddenly bloated.

Cue lava cave.

Enigma shrugged, "WEEE!" Before forming his favorite handsign. Fourteen arms swarmed around him and after a glance to either side, "Well thats a but excessive. ANCIENT ART ENCOMPASSING: ASPECT EMULATION: FIRE ASPECT!"

Using several nets the C.O.P. Produced a number of footholds at different elevations.

Enigma continued to plummet.

Naruto quickly shouted, "What are you doing?!"

Enigma began to glow and slowly his decent decelerated. The magma however began to slowly dim, as if a dying ember. By the time Enigma hit the 'lava' it was reduced to cold stone. Enigma on the other hand was a burning man. Fire shot from his sleeves into long arcs like a walking flamethrower. His ankles released steady rings of fire beneath him. His head glowed a bright yellow and his hair a green to orange mane similar to the Nibi's, "Is it hot in here…OR IS IT JUST ME!?"

As stoic as she was, Kaguya was visibly pissed.

Suddenly the chamber shook and Enigma cocked his head before widening his eyes, "Oh for Kami's sake! Dimensional jumping my ass! This is the volcano feeding the hot-springs of the elemental nations isn't it!? Son of a snitch, I knew a lava planet was a long shot but this is… Kinda clever actually. Are you only using the summon dimensions in this merry go round of yours?"

Kaguya's eye twitched, (SCORE! Oh it's a photo finish!…) "You're existence is a cancer to this world!"

Enigma rubbed his chin, (Looks awesome with the flame deflection.) "Yeah now that I see the pegs, the Rinne-sharingan seems only one relative deviation from the rinnegan. Still bad ass as hell, but then again we're already here so…"

Tencho barely restrained his laughter at the burn. (I hate you phantom, just for THAT!)

Naruto was far less accommodating. He rolled around on the net barely managing to make a sound through his joy constipated lungs, "At…At this…At this rate y…You'll kill me first!"

Enigma placed his hands on his hips, "Russian roulette; take two, eh Kaguya? I'm pretty sure this volcano need's to recharge or Jiraiya's gonna be broke in the next month, not to mention a few countries will be without hot water for a few months. This is a huge misuse of a volcano by the way as I'm pretty sure 'tree's' need minerals to thrive. 'Wink wink' 'hint hint'. Seriously I'm running out of fire puns and I haven't even tried yet. Besides I've yet to see the fall kill a shinobi, and I've seen failed skydives from the initial platform on Mount Lee! By that point terminal velocity is in it's prime!"

The area flickered and the nets were left behind.

They group appeared over a mess of Ice burgs and Enigma cocked his head, "I almost miss global warming. Welp, I've got the fire. Might as well borrow Revali's gale." Enigma dove down and shouted, "Aerial combat gear! One skydiving simulation coming up! (Ga! Why phantom? Why are you still punishing me? (Alright fine I just punned.) Kami damn it!)"

Sasuke shivered as the heat from the volcano left his body, "Why will wind make this any better?!"

Enigma managed to get some headway and shouted, "FIRE STYLE: DEMONIC FIRE WALL JUTSU!" He threw both fists forward and pulled a stunt that would make iron man envious.

A.N: Alpha scratches his head, "Does an inside joke count as a crossover? NAH! It's just a reference! Same disclaimer standards though. I've already kung fu'ed the panda and indirectly used the iron fist. I'm beginning to think 'swift release' flash might make some people question things though. But really they weren't the first to apply those aspects either. The spidey sense thing is probably pushing it but both detect KI anyway."

The water in the crevice delved into a cascade of boiling water and the steam alone was enough to send people soaring. The updraft had them flying like hawks and a few made to attack Kaguya on the way up.

Enigma decided to waste the rest of his fire on pulling sasuke's bridge stunt. He clapped his hands rubbed them together and shouted, "CLEAR!"

Fire tornados were never THAT glorious. Twas like a giant cast the grand fireball jutsu and as much as the fire wouldn't faze her, Kaguya was not interested in going blind.

—

A few minutes past an Hinata suddenly realized her byakugan was active throughout the attack. She rubbed her eyes before checking and sure enough, the fire contained almost no divine/blue chakra. It still rendered in her eyes but no more than any normal obstacle. She swooped in to find Neji. Having managed to close the gap she shouted, "ARE YOU SEEING IT TOO?!"

Neji noted his cousin in his range and nodded, "HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?"

Suddenly Enigma zipped by, "JET STREAM!"

—

Kaguya barely managed to dodge the ballistic Shinkiro Yurei (Suna) and Enigma.

Naruto and Sasuke laid their trap with the trails the other two left.

The former asked, "Is this enough?"

Sasuke shrugged, "If you still want a controlled explosion."

Naruto nodded an signaled the two.

—

Enigma smirked and checked that Shinkiro was in position. Seeing true results he sighed, "Man I hate genjutsu. WIND STYLE GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!"

—

Kaguya felt the two fronts press into the funnel. She checked and sure enough, the incarnations of her grandchildren were above. She held out a hand and a flame attempted to rise into the air.

Boom

BOOM

The ionized air detonated the moment the trail of energy made contact with fire. Do to the difference in energy potential the cloud of burning air detonated twice and it syphoned the remaining difference from Kaguya's current chakra affinity.

—

The group appeared in a dimension filled with multicolored clay.

Kaguya quickly turned when she heard Enigma speak from far closer than she anticipated, "Human; Check. Polar species such as bears, foxes, or even penguins; Check. Toads and other mud/swamp lovers; Check." Enigma looked up smugly, "Anywhere else you'd like to knock off my bucket list? Odd's are Mount Myoboku wasn't open to tourists, but their backyard is kinda interesting."

The woman's eye twitched, "Die."

Enigma's eyes widened as spikes shot through his gut. They narrowed a moment later and he timidly stepped out, "I was wondering when I'd learn that variant of the phase technique." The boy rubbed his brow, "When the hell did I figure that out anyway?" One last spike struck him in the chest and his eye twitched, "It's always the pointy ones damn it!"

Kaguya tensed when Enigma appeared to one side. She intercepted a kunai before noticing they still had guests.

Naruto had his arms crossed, "Show off!" He grinned, "Don't you have somewhere to be soon?"

All: "Tis creepy!"

Enigma tensed, "Yeah, actually, I do. Kamikaze, the Uzumaki won't be much longer either, and I'm getting MASSIVE KI fields from the southeast."

Sasuke cocked his head, "You can still sense KI fields in Oto?"

Enigma pouted before turning to Kaguya, "On that note, why are your dimensional waypoints so close together? We haven't even left Oto this whole time, relatively speaking! You're not tunneling, you're opening doors! Talk about closing yourself off! The rinnegan's summons have more mobility, and they're dead!"

Kaguya turned to the boy and asked, "What would you know about such a thing?"

Enigma rolled his sleeves, "Enough to say that the Fourth Hokage ran laps around you and he was on ONE plane. As far as space time techniques go; this one is dated, harshly."

Ryusa cocked her head, "Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

Enigma sighed, "Sure. But for the record; I'm broke." Enigma leapt off the ledge and took a lotus position.

Tayuya sensed the jutsu type and switched to another dimension filled corroded trees. Ironically it had less cover than she expected of the serpents forests.

Enigma steadily voiced, "Aspect seal; Aspect yin; Aspect yang; Aspect zen; Aspect dark; Aspect light; Aspect association; Aspect emulation; Aspect ulterior: ANCIENT ART: ASTRAL DIMENSION: ETERNAL DEATHMATCH!"

Ryusa paled, "THAT'S WHAT THAT WAS?!"

Kaguya attempted to pull a Chibaku Tensei but suddenly black and white chains latched onto her. The chains revolved around in an opening rift before locking together and pulling her in.

The gate closed and Enigma used a length of ninja wire and a kunai to haul himself up to the slimy rock.

Tencho gave a disturbed glance over the area, "How are we getting out of here?"

Enigma tensed and Naruto slapped his back, "Hall pass?"

Enigma groaned, "Yeah. Yeah this qualifies."

Enigma opened a rift and seemed to check a few things, "Alright, next stop; C.O.P. Crater, Otogakure division!"

A.N: Alpha groans, "I realize I accelerated the fight progression a considerable amount. Issue is…I'm not sure what else to do against Kaguya. I'm not eager to finally close the gap on shippuden because…that fight was already beyond the typical fanfic standards for godlike. HELL! Naruto and Sasuke had met the standards BEFORE the jubi fight, and that was in canon! I seriously am having trouble staging a half decent fight against someone who LITERALLY controls the battlefield. Being there is one thing. Writing it is another battle entirely, and despite how stoked I was…Lee was honestly the easier battle to make balanced and he's fighting a TREE!"

===Chapter 5-6 Bridge===

—Chapter 6: Cascade of the VII—

The C.O.P. exited the rift and stood to the right of the A.S.F. main forces.

Gaara sighed, "That was faster than expected."

Naruto smirked, "Didn't take long to figure out. Once you get over the scale it's just a routine." The blond noticed Phantom and asked, "Isn't he supposed to look scarier?"

Phantom had been waiting for the ice breaker before asking, "So. This is all the future held for us. Are you ready to answer for your betrayal 'KID'?!"

Enigma faulted, "Damn you don't forget anything do you?! T'was cool enough for me back then, and I'm gonna make you eat those words! You don't get to denounce our past any more than I do! If you really want to break our chains…"

Enigma looked skyward. Phantom looked to the ground.

Energy poured down on Enigma. Energy poured in on Phantom.

Enigma chanted, "Eye of darkness!"

Phantom answered, "Shadow of light!"

Together they chanted, "Eternal balance and soul bound sight! Demons and angels of the earth, Fall upon me for a new rebirth!"

Enigma's eyes burned white and a dark energy poured around his body in a multitude of vapor trails, "Neither shall reign victorious. And only one force of nature shall remain."

Phantom shuddered for a moment before taking a feral stance. (Don't hurt me Phantom! I'm not just Enigma! Anyway, think Naruto after Sasuke 'dies' on the bridge.) [Back off brat! I'll do my own notes!] Phantom flexed his energy and his eyes were darkened with KI. Wisps of white energy formed trails around the man and he spoke in a feral voice that challenged Kanji and Kakusareta's, "Then lets hope allies truly made you strong, because you couldn't stop me any more than they could. Let's see how much difference a world of magic makes in your attempts to forget me!" The light and dark energies within and without phantom fused against the surface of his body and his spiritual energy flew through the roof, "Ancient art: FULL YIN RELEASE!"

Enigma smirked before speaking with an extreme amount of potency, "There's no way you're so ignorant that you've neglected this, but I'm as much your weakness as you are mine. You know very well that my betrayal of our nindo struck both ways, but that's about as different as we are; reflections of our life. I will never abandon our nindo, but as deep as it's rooted, there are things equally important to protect outside of ourselves. To deny those is to denounce the world. ALL worlds. I wont forget what I value, and I never once forgot what created us. That won't blind you any more than me. You know we're immune to manipulation, but faith that blinds is just as devastating. Ancient art: FULL YANG RELEASE!"

Naruto approached his comrade, "Can you use our strength?"

Enigma paused, "To fight here is to fight the demons of the earth as one. Make sure you know EXACTLY who you believe in. There are four fronts here, not two. Do not enter this battle lightly. If you see anything in black and white than you cannot win this battle. I will accept your decision and respect it, but do not tie yourself to the outcome or it can destroy you."

Sasuke walked up and countered, "Actually, I think that in spite of your faith, you've completely underestimated who you've inspired."

Enigma smiled, "Then by all means, let's see what you've found in this life!"

Phantom glanced at the blond, "You'd chain yourself down with that burden?"

Enigma scowled, "It's called inspiration. What you couldn't see as such is what empowers me now. What you saw as invulnerable truth is now what I refuse to be limited to. While you are untouchable; I am unlimited. Such is the eternal balance of demons and angels. You're familiar with the outcome of this fight. You came close enough see it plenty of times. For that perspective I'm eternally grateful. And to the end I will not lose you to the wayside!"

The two launched at each other: Phantom launching a punch glowing with a roar of chakra and chi. Enigma received it and diverted it into the ground to see Phantom's might.

The ground formed white seams as the glow began to intensify.

The Kage managed to clear the affected area moments before the seams ruptured and chunks of rock leapt into the air.

Phantom smirked, "Pseudo style: Aspect association: Ancient earth orbital defense!"

The stone chunks began to swing around the two. The end result was eerily similar to electron orbital rings with the exception that the sphere was flat. (Oh crap! Way to spoil!)

Enigma quickly made himself at home in the giant arcane stone henge. He leapt into the air and shouted, "Projection is my shtick remember? PSUEDO STYLE: FULL METTLE ASPECT EMULATION: PERIODIC ELEMENTAL MANIFESTATION!"

Phantom cursed, "Crud."

Enigma was lifted by the technique and all of the 'Electrons' swung around him in a full multilayered sphere, "Underestimate the enemy and you'll eventually get killed. Underestimate yourself and you've never had the chance to truly live!" Enigma lowered a hand to one of the 'energy' orbs and called out, "Electro-magnetic discharge!"

Phantom braced for the attack. A massive shockwave emanated from the dome and pressed out from the side containing a focused blast surrounded by particulates. Phantom managed to break through the wall of forceful particles, "That jutsu is still flying at a snails pace compared to what you just emulated! That's entirely pathetic for our potential."

Enigma shrugged, "Yeah, but then scorching the C.O.P. would be counterproductive. Besides, T'was but a warning shot!" He smirked as he swung both arms around, "EM COMPOUNDING WAVES! PHOTON EMULATION!"

Eight waves of particles fired out and the waves overlaid directly in line with Phantom. The man rolled his eyes, 'That's enough taunting from the peanut gallery.' "Mineralization!"

A spear of some kind of unknown metal formed and Phantom made to heave it at Enigma.

Sasuke and Naruto finally completed their combo attack. Together they shouted, "Collaboration technique: Wind tota: Rasen-shuriken." The jutsu intercepted the spear and shredded the boulders to dust and ash in a hail of earth and lightning.

Enigma and Phantom looked at each other before booking it. Enigma asked, "Who the hell is handling them?"

Phantom grabbed his chin before his gaze locked in, "Son of a troll! That double crossing…"

A.N: Alpha cackles, "Irony makes the best topping for revenge! You didn't think I'd sideline the story for a personal issue did you? ARTIST IN THE HOLE!"

The C.O.P. slowly rallied behind the two as they figured out the two's objectives. Slowly the mass of shinobi multiplied behind the hole punched by the jutsu.

Enigma chuckled euphorically, "Oh man he's cheesing us!"

Phantom smiled deviously, "Serves you right for strong arming a borderline goddess."

Enigma pouted, "There's a vast disconnect between borderline, and the real thing. No one can be their own god. As hard as she tried to destroy her humanity that's not something humans can do no matter how devoted or devoid they become." Enigma lifted an arm as a distant roar was heard, "Ready to kick the source to the curb?"

Phantom nodded, "You two might be worth my faith after all. Let's see how long you three last before you're back here again." He lifted his arm and met Enigma in the middle.

Together they spoke as one, "Soul bound sight, Wheel of roots ritual complete!" They shimmered before a revolving force of black and white honed in on the little Venus asparagus.

The little fungus barely registered the approach before tumbling into an alternate dimension.

The two looked between Kaguya and the little demon companion, "You missed one. As cold as you are, this world doesn't want an ice queen anymore. Those that fail to evolve fall to the wayside. Those that can't control their evolution fall to pieces. Those that can become a driving force of change are heroes. Those that reveal their faults are villains. To have one without the other is to break reality in half and destroy ones true self. As much ire as you've stirred you're fighting a force bigger than yourself and even this dimension. However sacrificing yourself to shield the world from a demon they can't fully understand means it will surface again later. This is true with all demons and angels alike. Sources as old as hate can't be removed or destroyed within the universe, but they can be made into a part of you. You have already cascaded and your demons have followed you there. All that's left is to awaken them to your hopes and dreams. Those dreams exist in the world, but they atrophy as you abandon them. That the tree's desperation latched onto you is not your end as a human but your beginning. You hold the only connection to a deity that far surpasses most human history. That you saw it as a weakness was your ONLY error. The rest is history. I implore you to allow us to prove that life cannot be slain no matter how far gone. There is but one demon you haven't been able to face. Let's see if your future is as bleak as you thought it to be."

—Crater—

The dimensional barrier fell and Kaguya watched as the trunk of the tree lit up. The ancient tree splintered into a massive fire hazard. Suddenly a speck of light was seen and Lee plummeted into the tree's remains. The tree was vaporized in mere seconds as the water remaining was forced through cells with the effectiveness of a rasen-shuriken.

The divine entity fell to ground as she watched the source of her guilt be destroyed. She trembled and cried out, "You monster! You've destroyed the one thing that was pure in this world!"

The two walked forward and stood in the center of the scorch marks that marked the demise of the sacred tree, "There is nothing on earth that fully constitutes such things as god, perfection or purity without a community in which to thrive. A life of isolation eventually ends with the same. However mother nature doesn't sponsor a species to self terminate. Without this protection the sacred tree would have died centuries regardless of any attempts to reawaken it. It held out for one thing that all creatures thrive on; hope. May your future be kinder than your past and may your final dream be rekindled. ANCIENT ART: PYRE OF THE IMMORTAL PHOENIX: SHARIN BYAKU RINNE REBIRTH! (Take that literal and lateral translation! I DO HAVE AN END GOAL FOR THE MADNESS! Here's hoping that wasn't going to be a feature of canon. Took me this long to crack that cheeseball though.)"

Ash and minerals from around the crater slowly gathered into an orb in the center of the crater. A massive shape developed.

Kaguya's eyes widened as a nostalgic light entered her eyes, "Is that…It can't be!"

Enigma nodded, "Make this one count for something. As her only immediate family let's hope you have better luck with raising this one."

Kaguya approached the fruit before immediately entering a stance that most of the shinobi population recognized as the most terrifying type of parent.

Phantom sighed, "Anything happens to those two and I'm coming back to flatten some sense into the idiot who would curse the planet twice!"

Kaguya placed a hand on the precious treasure and vanished in a rift.

Naruto walked over and asked, "So this is goodbye?"

Enigma chuckled as the two Vii's disconnected, "Not before a lengthy farewell. Remember, I'm not done finding what makes you brighter than a supernova. I'm actually kinda worried you might peg us in the next dimension. I've spent WAY to much time around you, and you're already getting more of us next time."

Naruto raised his fist to the boy.

Enigma chuckled, "I've missed this feeling." He met the boy's fist. Till next we meet.

===Volume 26 Finale End===