Isshin stood over the ashes of his fallen opponent.
The great rain clouds of Ame parted as the first rays of sunlight basked Isshin in an ethereal glow. The people of Ame watched in mute shock as the clouds gave away and the rain stopped, and Isshin just stared up into the sky, contemplating the implications of this impulsive action.
For the first time in decades, the people of Ame enjoyed sunshine, only it was not a welcome sight.
"What have you done!" The Angel of Ame screeched.
Konan had heard the explosions in their tower rock the very earth she was standing on when she was making the rounds and making sure the people were taken care of. Nagato and Konan very deeply cared about their home, after all; their journey had first started as an opposition to Hanzo's tyranny. Although Nagato was beginning to be swayed by ideals far larger than that – sinister ones, even – that was still their roots.
She instantly took to the air, urging her wings to carry her back as fast as possible.
She was too late.
With his extended 360-degree vision, Isshin saw her coming from a mile away, already putting two and two together. But there had been enough needless bloodshed today, so he just focused and reached deep inside him, drawing out the ultimate manifestation of his Rinnegan. Throughout recorded history, there have only been a handful of people to awaken the Rinnegan, and each one offered an ability that essentially did not conform to reality's rules.
"Kyoka Suigetsu." (Mirror Flower, Water Moon)
He turned away as Konan continued to express her anger, attacking thin air with such a ferocity that baffled the people around them. He extended the radius of his technique, applying it to the people watching, and he even implanted it into their heads. Soon enough, the people of Ame were watching a different battle, one that ended in the heroic Angel of Ame managing to slay the tormentor that dared to kill their God.
He could not do it to Nagato, as the Rinnegan allowed one to look through this deception. All things considered; they were a bad match up.
"You're getting soft, Isshin." Jin spoke gravely.
"What was I supposed to do? The fight was getting out of hand."
"Don't try that bullshit with me. You could've killed him in seconds, but no. You wanted to humiliate him, toy with him, fly circles around this human who dared to…" Jin sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "No lives would've been lost today if you didn't make this personal."
It was true.
Isshin had let his emotions get the best of him; he honestly had no excuse. He just wanted to show them that Pein was not a god, that there are no gods, and the only peace they will ever find in this world is if they made it so.
After all, the world only makes sense if you force it to.
But in hindsight, his actions had been selfish, foolish even; he still had a lot to learn. Perhaps it was best if he kept a low profile from now on.
"You're right."
Naruto did not know how he felt about joining ANBU. Things were moving pretty fast; the last thing he expected was to be drafted into ANBU straight from Chuunin. Even more so, with the intent of leaving Konoha always in the back of his mind, Naruto did not even feel like this was a feasible move for him.
He opened the door to his apartment, only to be met by an unfamiliar face.
There was an old man sitting on his couch, and he was a curious sight. The right side of his face wrapped in bandages, he wore a black robe and wielded a crane in his right hand, and his gaze landed on Naruto as soon as he opened the door.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto spat. "Get out."
"Please, take a seat, Naruto." Danzo was unnervingly calm. "You would want to hear what I have to say."
"Fine. Say your piece real quick and then get out." Naruto stood still, crossing his arms.
Danzo chuckled. "I presume the Hokage has already offered you a position in ANBU?"
Naruto was inwardly surprised at the declaration; this man must be pretty high up in the food chain to already be privy to this information. He warily squinted at the intruder, giving an imperceptible nod to urge him to continue.
"And I'm also going to assume you're going to say no. Why wouldn't you? I know you're not fully loyal to this village, and if I had to guess, I'd say there's a good chance you plan on betraying Konoha sometime in the future." Danzo tilted his head at Naruto's expression. "Did you think we were blind?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Danzo had dealt with hundreds of liars in his lifetime, people with secrets to hide, just like himself. He made it a point to be very well informed about the ins and outs of his village, and he had noticed. That drastic turn the Jinchuuriki went through, spouting about his dream to be Hokage one day and retreating into his shell the next. He connected the puzzle pieces and concluded that this was not a boy who would die for this village.
Konoha did not really have a Jinchuuriki at this point.
He needed to fix things, and that forced him to show his hand. No matter, he had plenty of bargaining chips to use in this encounter, and he could then control the outcome. He just needed to divulge enough information to get to that point, where he had Naruto in his clutches and his alone.
Only then would Konoha have their Jinchuuriki back.
"Where are my manners?" Danzo shook his head ruefully. "My name is Shimura Danzo, and I am the head of an organization called Root. We are in charge of clandestine operations that are necessary for the survival of Konoha. Am I correct that you feel a kinship with your Jinchuuriki brothers and sisters?"
Naruto made no indication of a response.
"There have been these… hybrid-jinchuuriki popping up in Mist. Innocent, regular people who are somehow being injected with the corrosive chakra of a Bijuu, transforming them into mindless, terrifying beasts. I'd wager one of your brethren are being used."
Naruto was taken aback by what he heard, not fully comprehending what that meant. He had come to terms with the reality of Jinchuuriki, but it seemed the horrors knew no bounds. As long as the system was like this, things like this would always happen in the world, and that was just the way the cookie crumbles. Still, he made no outward show of his emotions, choosing to play it cool; he did not want this stranger to know too much.
"This is something you need to tell the Hokage, not me." Naruto tried to dismiss him.
"Yes, I'm sure you will bring up our entire conversation with Tsunade, but much of what I'm telling you is riddled with complications."
He was banking on it; his plans relied on Naruto telling Tsunade all the details of this conversation. He could rely on Tsunade offering the other side of the coin, which would only serve to further pique Naruto's interest. He wanted Naruto to learn about him and the nefarious darkness Root lived in, because Naruto would be the perfect spy for Tsunade.
All according to plan.
"So, why me?"
"I want you to join Root."
"What makes you think I'd join your cult if I was already going to say 'No' to regular ANBU?"
Danzo simply stood up and began walking to the door, pausing once he reached it. He turned back one last time, offering the last piece of the riddle he knew would get Naruto hooked.
"Shisui didn't kill himself."
Danzo vanished into the night with a Shunshin.
"Danzo did what?!" Tsunade screamed.
Replaying the conversation over and over in his head, Naruto had relayed it to the woman, all except the parts about Shisui and his questionable loyalty – he wanted to keep those close to the chest. Danzo had revealed key pieces of information that actually appealed to Naruto's interests; he had definitely done his research to make Naruto an offer he could not refuse. Not only was a Jinchuuriki being mistreated in Mist, what had Danzo meant when he said that about Shisui? Naruto's farfetched theory of the Uchiha Massacre being a greater conspiracy was looking more and more likely.
"He offered me a position in Root." Naruto confirmed. "Catch me up on exactly what that means? And what's he talking about – these hybrid-jinchuuriki in Mist?"
"Danzo was sensei's teammate, and he has his own ideals and vision for the village. Root is a proxy of his will, carrying out admittedly necessary missions without involving Konoha in anyway. They are ruthless drones under Danzo's command, and even I don't have a full understanding of the inner workings of Root – they worry me." Tsunade sighed. "Mist have been very busy the last nine months, and there's a lot of politics going on here, Naruto."
"What do you mean?"
"The bloodline rebels are breathing down Mizugakure's necks, threatening to usurp power at any moment. They're also the ones trying to recover the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi, which is what we believe is the source of these pseudo-jinchuuriki. As a result, Konoha cannot officially help them, as it would make the other nations wary that we're trying to form a tri-prong alliance with Mizu and Suna. After the invasion, we cannot risk shaking the balance of the world like that."
"Unofficially?"
"Root doesn't have the limits regular ANBU shinobi have." Tsunade took a deep breath. "ANBU are usually promoted after climbing up the ranks – the best of the best, and a lot of the people under those masks are recognized in the Bingo Book. Root, on the other hand, is comprised of ghosts, covert operatives that never had their names publicized, so even if they are killed in action, it can't be traced to us."
"Which lets you cross that boundary without any repercussions."
Naruto knew that things like these were the norm; most of the battle is usually fought in the shadows. Still, he naively expected the Hokage to not be… involved in this type of stuff. He wondered if the kind grandfather figure he knew also dipped his hands in the dealings of the shadows – he was a Kage, after all. During the threat of imminent war, a Kage needed to be making the hard decisions, the ones that could cost thousands of lives.
"You're not a nameless shinobi, but Danzo still wants you in Root." Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
'He wants to control me, a necessary sacrifice because he feels like I'm not fully loyal to the village.'
"Is ANBU doing anything, then?"
"Yes. They're busy with their own investigations into Mist, something even more nefarious than perverting the power of a Bijuu." Tsunade sighed. "We have intel that the Tsuchigumo Clan is working with Mizugakure to create multiple human bombs – ones that could level entire sections of a village. Since Mizu doesn't have the manpower to spare for an all-out battle, they are pursuing other avenues to help them win this fight."
Naruto was reeling from the information being bombarded to him; he had assumed everything was running just fine, that these past months were peaceful times. Instead, he had just now recently found out strife has been brewing under the surface, threatening all that he held dear.
"If they're being so aggressive already, shouldn't we take the fight to them?" Naruto thought out loud.
"Mizu is a nightmare to invade; they are surrounded on all sides by bodies of water. We'd lose too many men, and then ultimately lose our home in the Fourth World War that would follow our attack. The only way we win is if we win covertly, countering their subversive maneuvers with tricks of our own."
"Holy shit."
This sounded like an impossible situation; Naruto could visibly see the stress Tsunade was under: the dark circles under her eyes, the creases of her forehead, the aged wrinkles on her cheeks. Even her deceptive Genjutsu was showing the signs of her aging, which spoke volumes to what Tsunade was dealing with at the moment.
"Still, I have a feeling that old coot's up to something as well; he has a tendency to do things first and ask for forgiveness later." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Especially if he feels like it was necessary."
There was too much on her plate; maybe it would be best if he joined Root.
"What if I do join and provide you with information on Root, so you won't have to worry about that front as well?"
"Absolutely not, it's pointless." Tsunade disagreed. "Danzo puts a seal on his operatives' tongues, which prevents them from talking."
"Wait, that's perfect?" Naruto questioned. "The Kyuubi's chakra will burn away any harmful seal placed on my body, just like it removed Orochimaru's Cursed Seal. If the Kyuubi can remove Orochimaru's seal, I feel like it can definitely remove Danzo's as well. This sounds like a mission only I can accomplish."
Naruto had decided he was the perfect man for the job; he could help put an end to this war before it began. This war would cost millions of lives, and the Jinchuuriki would be coerced to be weapons once more, enslaved and forced to dance for their masters. He could even figure out how Mizu was using the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi, and Naruto would get a chance to connect with another one of his Jinchuuriki family.
Furthermore, he could finally unravel the mystery of Uchiha Shisui, his dear friend. It just never added up in his mind; the type of person Shisui was, he would not just jump off a cliff into the Naka River. Naruto tried desperately to recant his memories, pouring over every interaction with the kind hearted Uchiha to see if he had missed something. No matter how hard he tried, Naruto did not find anything to explain the Uchiha's sudden shift in demeanor.
He had to do this.
Tsunade hummed, deep in thought; Naruto was right. However, would not Danzo have realized this? What was his angle?
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Tsunade heaved a great sigh, feeling disgusted at herself for allowing something like this. But what choice did she have?
"Fine, then. I'll draft up the paperwork." Tsunade shot him a weak smile. "You holding up okay, gaki?"
"Don't worry, Tsunade." Naruto returned the smile. "It'll take more than that to put me down."
"Good. You're dismissed."
Hours later, Naruto was just enjoying a cigarette on his balcony – deep in thought – only to be interrupted by Sasuke appearing beside him. Wordlessly, Sasuke took a seat and joined him, and neither of them spoke a word, content to just let the silence drag on, only interrupted by the sparks of Naruto cigarette as he pulled on it and the sounds of him exhaling the smoke.
"So, that's two massacres we've been a part of now." Sasuke commented.
"Sheesh, Sasuke." Naruto could not help but let out a bewildered chuckle. "That's too dark, man."
Sasuke shot him a wry grin, bundled with much heavier emotions underneath it. Their bond transcended a massacre, as they had already lived through one already. It was just the sheer number of people that they killed that really threw them off; neither of them reveled in the act of killing. They understood it as a necessary measure, but that did not make it any easier to take lives. However, given enough time, they emerged the other side all the same; they would not be crippled by something like that.
Life goes on.
Sasuke was initially disgusted at how similar to Itachi the massacre had made him seem and feel, and he had spent most of his time alone wondering if that was what he was fated to become. Just like his brother, he would have to dirty his hands with the blood of men, women, and children until he could no longer recognize himself. Was this what Itachi felt like? No, it was undoubtedly worse for his brother, Sasuke decided, as he killed his entire family.
Sasuke recalled looking into the mirror, only to be met by his brother's face instead of his own.
Naruto, on the other hand, detested killing as a whole, and he always preferred to solve his conflicts with a good old-fashioned beat down and some truthful heart to heart instead. However, that simply was not an option when they raided that base; it was kill or be killed. He made peace with it as best as he could, but he was beginning to think that he really was the weapon they always made him out to be. Oddly enough, he thought it was better that way; his guilt helped him cling on to his fading humanity.
"You thought about Tsunade-sama's offer?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah, I did." Naruto sighed. "There's a lot going on under the surface, Sasuke."
Naruto divulged Sasuke with all the information he had recently learned, who digested it with a quiet seriousness. This situation was looking more dire than he had ever imagined it to be.
"So, I'm going to join Root and try to deal with this hybrid-Jinchuuriki problem, and maybe uncover some intel about the Uchiha Massacre along the way."
"Alright, then I'll join ANBU and work on these human nukes." Sasuke agreed. "Keep me posted on the Shisui thing, by the way."
Naruto and Sasuke both nodded at each other; they each had a lot on their plates as of this moment. Together, however, they felt like even an insurmountable task like this could be overcome; the two teens had never been in a situation where they could not come out the other side as the victors. As naïve as this line of thinking was, even this Mist situation was the same.
Together, they could accomplish anything.
"Shogi?" Sasuke questioned while Naruto grinned.
The time for serious business had passed.
"You're on, teme."
And so the night progressed, Naruto and Sasuke simply enjoyed each other's company, not bothering to talk about the perils that awaited them. They just commented on the game and each other's poor move choices, hurling insults when they felt it was necessary.
All par for the course, for Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.
"It's getting late," Naruto commented. "I'm gonna' cook dinner soon."
"Hn?" Sasuke glanced at the clock, activating his Sharingan to look through the foggy glass. "I should be going, then."
There was something about the way he said it that piqued Naruto's interest.
"You don't want to eat here?"
"No." Sasuke hastily replied, then paused for a while. "I… Sakura's cooking me my favorite dish today."
Sasuke looked away while Naruto smirked.
"Tsundere."
Sasuke did not humor him with a response, instead nodding a goodbye and taking off to the rooftops. He sped through the night without so much a whisper, and soon enough, he found himself eyeing their apartment from a distance. He stopped in front of the door and knocked.
"Hey Sasuke." Sakura greeted with a smile. "Come in."
Sakura had mellowed out over the last few months, not acting as clingy or annoying, and Sasuke actually found it to be a welcome change. She would not repeatedly hit on him to the point of being obnoxious, and she would even join the group when they were teasing him. She stopped showering him with preferential treatment, which was one of the main reasons Sasuke used to hate being around her. Nowadays, he would even find himself seeking out her company – her food was to die for.
And she always loved cooking for him.
"Food's just about done, just give me a couple of minutes." Sakura announced, motioning for him to head inside.
"Nah, I'll help."
Sasuke 'helped' by munching on tomatoes while Sakura finished cooking diligently, preparing some rice balls paired with skip-jack tuna.
"You're so weird, Sasuke." She shook her head at how he devoured the tomatoes, one slice after another. "That just looks disgusting."
That was another thing that somewhat… bothered him. She had dropped the -kun suffix on his name, which made him feel a weird rise up of emotions he could not quite place. One of things he really hated was her special treatment, to the point where she would turn a blind eye to his faults, so he should be glad that she stopped.
One thing he knew for certain – whatever he was feeling about that, it was not happiness.
"Hn." Sasuke masterfully ignored her statement. "Where's Ino?"
"She hit the hay early, she just came back from a mission." Sakura smiled. "Just the two of us, tonight."
Sasuke did not exactly understand why, but he liked it better that way.
"As I suspected," the War Hawk nodded as he watched the last remnants of his seal fade away. He was keenly aware that the Kyuubi Chakra had a unique property that allowed it to destroy foreign seals like the Cursed Seal. However, one needed to keep up appearances, and now that he was sure that all other avenues were exhausted, he could use his technique with a clear conscience.
Kotoamatsukami, the ability to create false experiences. It stood unique among all other Sharingan Genjutsu, allowing the user to bend any person to their will even without eye contact. However, it was not an easy technique to execute by any means. Despite appearances, it was rather difficult to implant one, two, or even three false experiences in the victim's mind in order bring them to the user's line of thinking. It essentially involved manifesting an idea into their brains and making them think it was their own will being acted out.
The target must actually believe the experiences to be true, or else they could, in theory, recognize it as artificial. As such, it is somewhat risky creating multiple false experiences, as each would have to be nearly flawless to fool the victim. Shisui's mastery with the technique was undoubtedly unparalleled, and he was most likely the only person who could use it to its full potential. In contrast, Danzo had to use it much more sparingly and only resorted to it when he felt it was absolutely necessary.
This qualified as one of those situations.
Having Naruto loyal to him would effectively kill two birds with one stone. The Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox was simply too powerful to have as an enemy, and Konoha was not in the position to weaken its image any further. Shinobi suitable for Root's work were few and far between, and there were not exactly scores of Shinobi trying to sign up. Between the invasion and their excursion into Mist, their forces were spread pretty thin, and Danzo had to make sure his personal army had the fire power necessary to carry out such high-profile missions.
He knew that Naruto only signed on as a double agent for Tsunade; in fact, he was counting on it. Using the technique on the Jinchuuriki from the get go would have raised too many questions, but having his presence in Root being sanctioned by the Hokage herself would lay any suspicions to rest. Neither Tsunade nor Naruto were aware that he possessed this ability, giving him a distinctive edge in this game of shadows. Moments from now, Naruto would be under his thumb.
His plan was slowly coming together.
Naruto stood across from Danzo with a neutral expression on his face, attempting to mask his satisfaction at foiling the war veteran's plans. He was not naïve enough to think that the Yami no Shinobi only had one trick up his sleeve, however, and he waited with baited breath to see what his next move would be. To his surprise, Danzo did not seemed bothered at all.
Sparing the blonde one last glance, Danzo Shimura activated the technique. He would have no idea what hit him.
"Kotoamatsukami."
Naruto was suddenly whisked away into a dreamlike state of mind, coming to in his apartment, only it was not the one he was used to. The paint on the walls was a bit too fresh, some of the furniture seemed out of place, some spots of the walls seemed empty – like there should be a photo or two hanging there. It was his apartment, only it was what his home looked like seven years ago.
What was he doing here?
"Naruto-kun!" Danzo's voice was gentle and soothing to the boy's ears. "It's your birthday, right? I brought you a gift!"
Who was this?
"It's my birthday?" Naruto's voice sounded very childish to his ears.
So, this was a memory?
"Did you forget again, you goofball?" Danzo chuckled, handing him a wrapped box. "Here, open it."
Naruto felt that innocent glee rise up in his chest, excited beyond reason as he tore into the gift wrapping. He unveiled the box, looking at the orange jacket with white half sleeves that he would wear up until he was ten years old. Before he had outgrown it, this was his favorite piece of clothing.
"Woah!" Naruto's voice had an undecipherable waver to it, refusing to believe what was in front of him. "I love it!"
Suddenly, a brick shattered the window near them, and Danzo immediately rushed towards the boy and brought him into his protective embrace, ensuring nothing would happen to the boy. Naruto watched the brick with curious eyes, a bit slow on connecting the dots, but he realized it all the same. It was his birthday, after all.
The villagers would be especially mean on this very day.
He nuzzled his face into Danzo's chest, feeling the pricks of tears build up at his eyes, but he refused to cry. Uzumaki Naruto was stronger than this, dattebayo!
"There, there, Naruto-kun." Danzo whispered. "I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you."
Suddenly, Naruto remembered exactly who this was. This was his grandfather figure, the only one in the village who would truly give him the time of day and brighten up the dark loneliness that dominated his existence. In a flash, the photos that were missing appeared in his apartment, showing him and Danzo posing happily in a variety of circumstances. Danzo made it his personal mission to ensure Naruto was well taken care of, and Naruto found himself shooting a big childlike grin at him.
"Thanks, Jiji!"
Yami Naruto awoke with a start, instantly feeling something was not right. He knew this sensation quite well at this point; once was more than enough. Someone was poking around in their head again, but this time it was different.
Normally, it was rather easy for him to shake off any foreign presence simply by willing it so, but that method proved ineffective this time. There was no doubt that he was the king of this domain; he spent all his time here after all. No one knew every nook and cranny of Naruto's mind better than he did, and navigating through the maze of memories and thoughts was second nature to him. Thus, being unable to dispel this outside force from Naruto's mind was concerning to say the least.
He hastily transferred himself to the area in front of Kurama's cage, hoping to find some answers. To his surprise, the abrasive fox had nothing to say at his arrival, which was a first. In fact, the Bijuu simply laid there with his eyes wide open, completely motionless. It was then Yami Naruto noticed the signature pinwheel design of a Mangekyou Sharingan present on the Kitsune's iris.
Things were much worse than he thought.
"You gotta' be kiddin' me." Yami Naruto sighed. "Wake up, you stupid fox!"
He knew it was pointless, of course, but he attempted it anyway, hoping to prove himself wrong. However, Kurama did not even stir at his voice, still locked in that same trance, a thousand-yard stare dominating its features. It seemed as though it was up to him this time; he would have to do things manually, without the Kyuubi's power.
Deciding to not waste any more time, Yami Naruto allowed himself to start sinking into the water that was the floor of the sewer, the physics of Naruto's mindscape shifting to accommodate his will. It was time for some good old-fashioned investigating.
"I need to get to the bottom of this."
Yami Naruto traced the origin of this sinister feeling, transporting himself to where it was happening. To his surprise, however, he found himself on top of the Hokage Monument, overlooking a Konoha created by his mind's eye. He could tell this was an artificial recreation, some of the buildings were out of place from his recollection; in fact, there were a couple of buildings that were replaced long ago by new construction projects.
This was a Konoha of the past.
He narrowed his eyes as he came to a stark realization; whoever was behind this was attempting to implant a false experience in their shared childhood. Suddenly, he remembered just what was going on; they were meeting Danzo to accept his Root invitation. He hastily made his way down the mountain, noting curiously that the people were celebrating something, and it all seemed so familiar. All the paraphernalia and carnival games had a single unifying theme: the festival celebrating the Kyuubi's death.
It was their birthday.
He made a beeline for their apartment, knowing that was the only possible place they could be at this time. Naruto had never dared to wander outside on this special day, a sinister foreboding in their gut from the looks the villagers would shoot them. Instead, Naruto played it safe, cooped up in his apartment while he waited for the day to pass, quietly singing 'Happy Birthday to Me'.
He reached his door in record time, opening it with a furious frenzy.
"Thanks, Jiji!" A young Naruto exclaimed as he hugged Danzo tighter.
"Wake the fuck up!"
Before he could say anymore, however, an ephemeral, transparent hand clamped his mouth, and multiple others appeared out of thin air, grabbing onto his body and pulling him away. Yami Naruto squirmed and attempted to scream, while young Naruto watched with terrified confusion. Yami Naruto tried to grab onto the doorframe, but the wood splintered and gave away as he was hurled back and out of young Naruto's sight.
"What…?"
"Don't worry about that, Naruto-kun, it was just one of those villagers." Danzo smiled down at him. "How about we go get some ramen?"
"Yatta!"
Yami Naruto found himself waking up in a dark void, illuminated by a reddish glow all around him. He shook his head to get rid of the cobwebs, squinting in confusion as he tried to recollect what had occurred. Suddenly, he shot up, instantly jolting alert as he noticed ungodly figures surrounding his form.
These dark, humanoid beings contorted at odd angles, each of them sporting a single red eye in the middle of their forehead, gleaming within the darkness. That was where the red glow originated from, Yami Naruto thought with grim understanding. Some had missing limbs, while others had extra ones, and they looked like faceless beings that floated in the darkness.
This just got a lot more complicated.
Yami Naruto tried to conjure a Rasengan in his palm, however, he was shocked when he noticed he could not channel chakra in this place. He turned his horrified gaze back to the monsters, noting their slow approach towards him. No matter, he would destroy these things even without his chakra.
He immediately punched through one of the beings, noting how soft they were to touch as their flesh just gave in to his attacks, splitting into two halves with each strike. Yami Naruto continued his barrage as the fiends surrounded him, tearing through his enemies with reckless abandon. However, each piece that split off regenerated into its own eldritch being, standing back up and slowly marching towards Naruto.
The numbers eventually grew too large, and Yami Naruto yelped as one managed to trip him, a broken arm that was lying at his feet regenerated its upper torso. The demon grabbed one of his legs in a vice grip, hugging it to his body while the others jumped on Naruto from various angles. He tried to resist, but it was futile as the weight eventually knocked him down to the ground. He could feel the sick manner in which the beings conformed to his skin, turning into a sticky goo that restricted his movement and drained his energy.
His face was half covered in the black mass at this point as he opened his mouth in a silent scream before it overtook him.
For a moment, all Yami Naruto knew was darkness.
Was this really how it would end? Forced to live in the conjured world Danzo had created, while his partner was none the wiser? What would these things even do at this point, knowing that he knew the jig was up? Would they somehow destroy him? Had he failed?
No.
He refused. This was his mind, god damn it, and he called the shots here. Yelling a furious battle cry, Yami Naruto felt his chakra return to him as a fierce blast of pure energy threw the fiends off of him. He conjured roots from the ground, entrapping each of them and holding them into place. Slowly, the roots began to drag the monsters into the ground as Yami Naruto took back control, and he made quick work of the ones that managed to dodge, utilizing his Shunpo to mash a Rasengan into each and every single one of them.
He did not let them regenerate, willing the roots to drag them into the void he was stuck in.
Yami Naruto panted as he looked around for any signs of the bastards, noting with satisfaction that none dared to challenge him anymore. He tried to focus, listening to voices in the back of his head – murmurs of the conversation Danzo and his younger self were having, and he traced the direction he heard it from.
There.
Up in the air, there was an eerie red orb that shone bright as a sun in the void, and Yami Naruto could feel the power it possessed. The pinwheel in the orb whirled when it noticed Yami Naruto looking right at it, attempting to put him to sleep as he slowly started to get drowsy, but he quickly snapped himself out of it.
That would not work, not in his domain.
Willing his mind to do so, Yami Naruto floated up to the gargantuan eye, noting it was about twenty feet in length, its single pupil was roughly half the size of his body. With a roar, Yami Naruto plunged his arms into the pupil, slowly tugging on it to pull it apart. Ever so slightly, the eye began to give as an opening formed in between, white light shining through it and momentarily blinding Yami Naruto. Without thinking too much, Yami Naruto shoved his face into it.
Young Naruto was enjoying his Ramen with his Jiji when he peered into the bowl, only to be faced with an older reflection of himself, who was snarling at him.
"There's no way you're buying all this horseshit!" Yami Naruto strained against the eye. "Remember, damn it!"
The eye closed in on Yami Naruto as the young blonde stopped eating, tilting his head in confusion.
"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Danzo asked, concerned.
"…Nothing."
Yami Naruto cursed as the eye shut him out, only to be blinded by another burst of white light. He shielded his eyes with his arms, as the entire void became illuminated by light, and he could hear a high-pitched ringing bursting his eardrums as the environment drastically shifted.
Blinking, Yami Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in Konoha again. Only this time, a couple of more years had passed, and there was a huge commotion in the streets, shinobi were frantically moving to and from the Hokage Tower. He tilted his head in curiosity as he got closer to the people to hear what they were saying.
"The demon brat stole the Scroll of Seals!"
"What!?"
"Alert the Hokage, now!"
Yami Naruto instantly recognized which day it was, desperately racking his brain to remember just where they had gone to escape the shinobi. Eventually, Hiruzen had found Naruto with his crystal ball, simply shaking his head ruefully as he coached Naruto on how to perform the Kage Bunshin. The Sandiame was not even mad when he found him, demanding an explanation with a level, authoritative voice, and Naruto had explained his plight.
And the Third shot him a warm smile; Naruto could distinctly remember that scene, the way the sun shone on the old man, the deep greens of the forest cascading around him.
'Let's fix that problem of yours, eh?'
The forest!
He quickly made haste to his destination, pouring chakra throughout his body to increase his speed with the Shunpo. However, Kotoamatatsukami would not allow him to break it so easily, and since he had defeated the beasts the Genjutsu had sent, it would try something else.
The rooftop he was standing on suddenly shifted sideways, the world turning on its heel as Naruto free fell into the side of a building. Gravity had essentially shifted so that this was the new ground, and Naruto wobbled as he tried to get up. As soon as he did, however, the world shifted again, knocking him on his ass again.
"Fucking shit!"
He swore as he channeled Chakra to his feet to keep him stuck to his current surface, realizing this would not be as easy as he had hoped. He started to run towards his destination again, trying to keep track of his path even as the world shifted around him. Yami Naruto jumped off of the floor as the world turned again, a building rising up from thin air as Naruto burst in through the window.
He kept running, even as pillars of earth rose from the tile floors of the building he was in, dodging them with his Shunpo. A wall rose up to stop him, but Yami Naruto grinded through it with a Rasengan, undeterred. He jumped out of the window on the other side, looking down to see there was black fire running along the streets of Konoha now.
He hastily stuck to the side of the building, jumping to another roof as the world shifted gravity again, shooting streams of fire up in his general direction. Yami Naruto formed a dozen shadow clones and charged through the chaos, narrowly dodging errant spikes and avoiding the unpredictable flames that would shoot up like geysers of death. Naruto pressed on regardless, utilizing his Shunpo to speed himself up and substituting with a clone whenever it would be too close for comfort.
He finally made it to the Forest where Danzo was coaching young Naruto through the Kage Bunshin technique.
Suddenly, the natural forces out to get him stopped their machinations, not willing to distort the original Naruto's experience with fantastical elements like these. Yami Naruto began to run towards his counterpart, eyes narrowed as he finally figured out just what to say.
"That's not Jiji!" Yami Naruto called for the child's attention, who looked at him in confusion. "Sarutobi Hiruzen! Remember!?"
The young boy's eyes widened as a flood of memories rushed through him, breaking the spell the technique was weaving. The sound of glass shattering echoed in his mind as he realized what was going on, and what he had to do.
He remembered everything.
Danzo waited with bated breath for the Technique to finish, about five seconds had passed since he cast his Genjutsu. Now, he could not actually enter the victim's mind himself; he could only make suggestions on what the false experiences should be. Shisui's Mangekou took care of the rest, shifting the world using the victim's memories to form picture perfect recreations or alterations of a scene, further amplifying the effects of Kotoamatatsukami.
Suddenly, Naruto's eyes snapped open as he tried to keep a blank face.
He said nothing for a long while.
"Do you remember now, Naruto?"
"Yes, Jiji." Naruto bowed his head, concealing a smirk.
"Welcome to Root."
A/N: And we're back!
So, we're guessing this will be somewhat of a controversial chapter. To be honest, we always felt as though the Kotoamatsukami was way too powerful and vague in cannon. It's defined as the ability to create false experiences, but in cannon, it almost works as an absolute command, bending the victim to your will completely (similar to Lelouch in Code Geass if you've seen it). The mechanics of the jutsu were never clarified, so this is basically our take on it. Taking certain liberties when writing is what fanfiction is all about.
Either way, we felt as though this rendition of the technique made it slightly more balanced and realistic, as an ultimate command which does not require eye contact and cannot be dispelled is way too overpowered for a random Mangekyou Sharingan.
Besides, it was only possible through Yami Naruto's intervention, and maybe it's just me, but I feel like if you try to fuck with a mentally unstable person's mind like that, unpredictable stuff happens. There's also one more reason we feel this is justified, but that will be revealed in the chapters to come.
Also, hopefully this chapter cleared up some questions about Isshin's power scale. We were honestly rather surprised when you guys mentioned that you felt he was not strong enough; we thought he was way too overpowered. You guys will get to see how strong Isshin truly is as the story progresses.
I guess this was not clear in the scene we wrote, but the Uchiha Massacre went differently in our story. As a whole, we changed 4 things: Naruto was there, Itachi had to stop him in his Kyuubi state, so Sasuke did not get Tsukiyomi'd and he remembers his brother crying. If anyone was subjected to a Tsukiyomi at that age, there would be no saving them. We feel as though Itachi would know this, but either way, he does not get the chance.
Let me know what you guys thought!
~Ja ne