Foreword: Here we are, at long last, at world's end in the dimension of Zero. Timing, as it has been said, is everything. Remember, however, that Zero is simply the point as defined between the past... and the future. No sooner do you reach it than you are already above what was, and beneath what will be. If above and below are your choice of dimensional reference. We could easily flip that to within and without - left, or right.
You will find, as we go, that the more fundamental the math, the higher the order of understanding.
"Let's begin with a question. It might sound simple to you, at first, but I pray you to think about it. What distinguishes a free man from a slave? For now, however, let us start this story where another one ended..."
Suzaku: Briefing Complete, Ready Five.
Byakko: CAT 1
Seiryu: CAT 3
Genbu: CAP 40k, Heavy Hime
Fiat Justicia Ruat Caelum
Pro Aris Et Focis
Four
Three
Two...
17: Caelum
Inoichi's eyes frosted like sapphires upon sunbathed snow. "I knew Danzo's forces were rogue... but this..." He swept his hand across the records Shikaku had unsealed "How can any of this ever be made public!? The relationship with the Sand could crumble overnight!"
"Hmm..." Choza rubbed his chin. "This information is certainly dangerous, and there are factions who would use it to try and do our nations damage. I do not, however, think that people would hasten to war as quickly as we fear."
Shikaku rocked his jaw back and forth against his teeth. "The other possibility to consider is whether or not we have the option to not make this public, at least as far as the heads of prominent clans are considered." He gave a sigh. "We must maintain a clear mind and consider what best benefits the stability of the nation and the alliances. Any faction who could also have access to these records, including Danzo himself in the future, could leverage these records against our trust and honor. We do not want to give others the ability to use our inaction to portray us as not being forthright with our allies and constituents."
Inoichi pinched his brow with a rub. "The Kazekage does seem like the one least likely to turn hostile. The Mizukage is also not likely to use the situation to leverage too hard, given her nations' history with split and rogue factions." He sighed. "The Tsuchikage will likely use the opportunity to lecture us from on high, but his traditional lack of cooperation can't really get any worse. It's the Raikage who will probably insist he be a part of any kind of criminal justice proceedings and use the situation to leverage in any kind of dispute."
Choza sat with his eyes closed for a few moments. "Therein lay the danger with announcing this. How many families have lost loved ones or, more likely to cause problems - positions of power - because of Danzo's clandestine actions? The Raikage can be dealt with as he always has any time he has asked or demanded too much and he will choose, as he always has, between not getting what he wants and sending people to fight for it. Many families, however, have supported Danzo's actions and his Root foundation. Many others have opposed it. When families who lost their heirs due to Danzo's machinations come up against families who supported Danzo's actions who still have their own heirs - it will be nearly impossible to dispel the suspicion of conspiracy." He focused in on a glass on the table. "Worse, from our standpoint, how can we justly deal with the families who supported Danzo? No amount of punishment or apology can bring back the dead. No amount of appeasement will satisfy the schemers who smell blood in the water."
Hanabi looked up from the scrolls related to her sister. "We are out of time." She shot to lean over the table "Danzo has certainly been attacked at the Kage Summit. If the Akatsuki get a hold of her, it's over."
Tsunade tilted her brow toward the Hyuuga. "I know I just woke up, but weren't the Akatsuki after Naruto?" Was this some kind of a... what were they called... isekai? She didn't recall seeing a truck.
"That is what we were originally thinking, yes." Shikaku sighed. "The Tailed Beasts certainly played a role in whatever it was the Akatsuki were up to, but everyone except the group too paranoid to say anything missed the other part of this."
"My clan are space aliens." Hanabi's voice was as flat as a book dropped to the floor. "We were formed under the sister of the Sage of Six Paths and the Akatsuki want Hinata to reawaken the Goddess Kaguya."
The room fell silent. "...What?" Tsunade froze, cup of sake poised in front of her cleavage.
[ v=xbKIwR3UWTI ]
Konan met Kakashi at the door as the cold swept into the building, bloody ninjas and stretchers in tow. Most of them were avoiding eye contact. A familiar mop of blonde hair bobbled in one of the stretchers. "Kakashi..." She started toward the Jonin.
"It's... not good." He sighed.
The Raikage strode in behind him. "See to it that the Leaf Ninja are treated and supplied." He bellowed to one of the Lightning ninja. "Kakashi," He turned to the ninja "I'll recognize you as the senior Ninja from the Leaf. Take a few minutes to get composed, but we need to move quickly on what we know."
"... Yeah." Kakashi gave a nod. He turned to Konan, his eyes seemingly not able to focus on anything.
"Hey..." She put a hand on his shoulder and gave a squeeze. "Just go wash your face and get a drink. I'll go watch over your team." It was just for a moment, but he made eye contact and focused before nodding and heading toward the lavatory.
Konan swiveled to make good on her word, trailing the medical ninja rushing toward the stream of incoming wounded. The Leaf had certainly been the tip of the spear in this battle, and that tip took a hell of a beating. Sakura was unconscious, which allowed injuries to compound. Naruto and Tenten were the most damaged among all of them and they were all suffering severe chakra exhaustion after consuming pills to overdrive their metabolism.
"I'm telling you!" A young woman's voice shouted from the doorway "It would be faster if I helped!" A tangled, bloodied mess of red hair strained in her restraints. Karin Uzumaki, if the intelligence on her was correct. Konan was familiar with the rundown on Sasuke and Orochimaru's crew. No doubt, she likely was a splendid medical ninja... for all the wrong reasons. The girl was ushered further down the hall, certainly to be detained.
As she scanned the faces present, it dawned on her that the Hyuuga was missing. Considering this was a fight with a tailed beast... her heart sank. It was a simple gesture, but she decided to use her ninjutsu to make several bouquets of paper flowers. Ino, in particular, seemed to brighten at the mâché bouquet. "I'll make some displays for when they wake up."
By the time that was settled, the Kage and Kakashi were rallying for a meeting with Mifune, motioning for her to join as well. The group slid into a rough circle, exchanging glances. "What the hell happened?" Raikage crossed his arms.
"Sasuke," Kakashi pulled his eyes up to level from the floor "has acquired some new Sharingan-related ability. I will have to draft a full brief, later."
"Perhaps" Mei shifted her brows "I am beginning to understand the fear my nation had of blood line abilities. It is absolutely absurd that this boy could stand up to a tailed beast and a team of ninja."
That was putting it rather mildly, Konan reasoned. There again, Nagato was on a higher tier, still. The entire battle had been rather calm compared to what happened after Nagato... stabbed... Hinata. She searched Kakashi's eyes for more answers.
"Hinata Hyuuga was captured by Tobi after a meteor was deflected using ... honestly, I don't know what, but I have to imagine you all saw it." Kakashi closed his eyes. "Honestly, I do not know how Naruto will take it."
"Surely, the Leaf Ninja have seen worse outcomes than this." Onoki bobbled from his perch on the table.
"I", Konan cleared her throat "was present when Naruto fought the one called Pain. The event just prior to Naruto losing control of the tailed beast was seeing Lady Hyuuga stabbed."
The air went thick as minds realized the reconfigured landscape nearby was from a very modest and controlled release of the Nine Tails. "We will keep sealing arts specialists near the young man at all times." Mifune stroked his beard. "We will consider sedating him until he has completed physical recovery unless the Leaf objects and wishes to escort him to another territory."
"Time..." Tsunade looked at her hand return to its youthful state "is such a weird thing." The ship creaked and rocked beneath her. With barely a noise, an owl appeared in the window, the morning's star burning against the rising glow of the dawn.
Shikaku retrieved the message tied to the bird before it assumed a roost in the room. A few moments passed, his eyes darting along the scroll before he slid it shut. "The other Kage agree to remain at the summit grounds and await our arrival. The teams have largely recovered, Naruto is still unconscious and tracking teams have been unable to find a trail for Lady Hyuuga. Trails belonging to the remaining members of Takka have been located and teams dispatched."
"Very well..." Tsunade squirmed her feet. Nothing was actually well. Danzo's records were … something the world both had to know, yet the truth so treacherous that most would seek revenge before knowing the full of it. And then the truly unusual research into blood lines, histories, and ninja origins... if Hanabi hadn't been able to damn near confirm every theory independently using the Hyuuga's own archives - the whole thing would have been dismissed as Danzo going insane. Certainly, I'm in some kind of alternate world after dying. That's all this is.
"I think" Choza presented a cup of tea, "you're overthinking the situation and underestimating people." He sat back to a reclined position. "We've been struggling with how to handle the situation for days, now. I have the privilege of working with the common people day in and day out. They all know they are pieces in a much bigger game - that is why they care so much that they can trust the people moving those pieces." He took a sip of his own tea before setting it down in a different spot. "I don't think it would be a good idea to just drop this information in their lap and expect them to make sense of it, but I do think they are more than capable of absorbing it in time. The darker parts of it will be harder for the young and idealistic to process, but such types always have a crisis of faith at some point."
Tsunade simply stared at the ripples in her tea. "I suppose we will look into... some kind of reveal, later." She caught Inoichi's eyes. To probably take a page out of Orochimaru's book, the Yamanaka could run some trials to check how people respond. Now that records were unsealed and there were people investigating, it would only be a matter of time until something leaked at some point. "Do we know how much time we have left, assuming Tobi can be believed?"
Shikaku shifted his mouth into a bit of a grimace. "We can confirm that there will be no eclipse anywhere in the world for the next two full lunar cycles. However, we are trying to project the path of the eclipse on the third cycle." He let out a groan. "This character seems to enjoy messing with our heads. We've found no indication of the proclaimed Akatsuki-backed rebellion, other than some internet groups trying to uncover criminal networks using art galleries."
She perked her brow. "You believe that to be connected?"
"We know it is." Shikaku passed over a report. "We were able to break down some of the code names used by the Akatsuki once we could match them to financial transactions recorded by Danzo. Apparently, the family name Jabami is a front for miss Pomegranate, who seems to be acting as a chief financier of the entire Akatsuki organization when expenses exceed revenue. Sources tied to Jabami also seem to have extensive influence over a number of media outlets and we even suspect a number of authors are paid to publish ghost-written works."
"Pretty clever." Inoichi stretched. "Everyone assumes ghost-writers are lowly interns when some of that stuff is probably directly penned by Homura, herself."
"Precisely," Shikaku nodded "Although this actually seems to get relatively little traction among the ... independent researchers." He passed by a couple choice terms in the report "Apparently, a number of criminal syndicates like to boast of perverse acts or abuses via their choice in artwork, and it has provoked the ire of these groups." He pointed to a depiction of human sacrifice. "Their methods have actually been rather reliable for identifying criminals, though most courts don't allow for it as evidence and actually prosecuting is turning into a challenge."
There was a section of the report detailing human trafficking and sexual crimes uncovered. "You know," Tsunade flipped past the rest of the report "we could just have the anbu make them disappear."
"That's a moral argument for another time." Choza had straightened his posture. "I'm still having difficulty understanding the goal of the Akatsuki - or Homura, for that matter."
"She's probably looking to revive her mother." Hanabi spoke for the first time since they gathered.
And then there was this. "Assuming that's even possible" Tsunade stretched her hand out across the table of reports "I don't understand all of this effort. It's insane. If it were me, I would either enjoy eternal youth as a nameless commoner or become some kind of eternal priestess ruling over a nation - why all the cloak and dagger?"
"Perhaps," Inoichi pinched his chin "it has to do with the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage is a legend among legends - but there is almost literally no mention of a mother or his sister. The only mentions of a person like Kaguya exist as if they are completely different legends."
"It does seem as though some infighting has erupted within the Akatsuki." Shikaku nodded. "Although with Nagato's defeat and the defection of Konan, the Akatsuki seem to have lost a great deal of their organized and proxy resources."
"And what of this Jabami group?" Senju stabbed at a paper. "Homura ... or Pomegranate... or whatever is funding the Akatsuki but also ... whatever this is?" She waved at the collection of affectionately termed investigators. "Is she on our side or what?"
"I don't think..." Hanabi seemed to be frozen except for her mouth "our existence is really relevant to her. How many thousands of us has she seen die just as normally as we are born? She remembers a time we don't even realize we've forgotten and even the most popular of her contemporaries faded from our minds and history. Asking if she is on our side or not is like asking if an Aburame is on the side of his insects - even if the answer is "yes" - The Aburame's consideration for their insects would be like the concern an Inuzuka has for their ninja hounds in comparison."
The Hokage eyed the Hyuuga for a moment. Leave it to a reportedly peerless student to contemplate an even more peerless entity.
"Hmm..." Choza patted the girl's shoulder "I see an eternal Chuuni who misses her parents. Even if she is some kind of immortal ancient, there are some common threads to us all as humans and people. If she doesn't see us live and die, then it's because closing her eyes is less painful than watching - not because she is someone who can't be understood."
[ v=xeQbLmDigZg ]
Kagome ducked her head into one of the new shops erected in the developing commercial district. A gentle tone played from a music box somewhere in the room, crafts in various states of unpack around the room. What had been placed, first, however, were a series of pictures hung around the entire room. At first glance, they all seemed to be individual shadow art paintings - something Sai would have no doubt seen as familiar. As she looked closer, however, each painting seemed to transition from the painting on its right to the painting on its left as a storyboard made its way around the room.
It started with a young woman holding a fruit in her hand, which was tossed into the air, and caught by a witch, who devoured the fruit on her way to a religious building. When she dropped the remains of the fruit, it became a woman adorned with the moon, holding a book, who scolded a demon for shattering a teacup, which became a rogue dagger, itself transformed into a vampire caught between light and dark - cleaved in two by a hero when it sided with dark. An Uzumaki sat beneath the tree of life and death, fanning the cherry blossoms falling in the breeze, each of whom were a hero wielding a scythe on a journey, the blade being the divide between light and dark as rulers sought to slay the darkness.
It was around this time, Kagome heard a voice singing from the back room of the shop. The language was broken - as if the woman were foreign and using her culture's expressions in their native language. However, the song seemed to be related to the Magus character and the Twins in the next panel. Earlier incantations had indicated a repeating cycle and suffering. As she contemplated the options available to her - she wondered if she would even have a place in an enlightened world; of what would become of the world if she were to destroy everything to end the cycle; and if a world saved from the cycle would have any meaning. Performers and bunny girls battled it out in the artwork before an eye appeared, transforming into the umbrella of the women wielding fans. Between them, a girl with the wings of an owl wrote into a book, before tossing the quill she was writing with and it transformed into the horn of a dragon girl. The dragoness was shackled to a gourd from which she was drinking - and found it insufficient to quench her thirst. From the last drop of that knowledge, a child fell away from her mother, dashing through the darkness to plunge into the Abyss, becoming enlightened within it - and greeted by the women holding the fans - who presented the girl with an umbrella, which transformed into the scythe of the reaper.
"Oh, I see you find our pictures quite fascinating!" The voice from the back, now having form, stood from the back doorway. Kagome was actually surprised by how... normal... the woman looked. She half expected a witch-looking woman. She could have been any generic shopkeeper in any generic town.
"Well, it seems like there is a story, here." Kagome shifted her gaze across the pictures. "And it seems to have rather special meaning to you, since it's the first thing you hung up."
"Ah!" The woman gave a chuckle with her swoop forward. "And tell me what this story must be about!"
"Well, the first part seems to be about a fruit which ... teaches right from wrong. The witch built the religions and scolded the demon." That was rather straight-forward. You simply weren't paying attention if you missed that. "But... the middle is a bit more confusing. A lot of conflict and indecision. The twins - one with the horns of a demon, the other with a flower on her head - choice between good and evil." That seemed to be a bit too flat, though. It made more sense if the song was meant to be part of the pictures... but... that was assuming too much. "The women with the fans, seemingly watching everything... they put their knowledge in the works of scholarship and the thirsty can't get enough - finally leading them to the ultimate knowledge and becoming heroes... I think." If both the art and the song were from someone like Pomegranate... the whole thing would make far too much sense.
"Hmm..." The woman seemed to be peering through Kagome. "And are you thirsty?"
Kagome wasn't really sure if the tingling in her stomach was excitement, terror, or perhaps pissing herself out of either. No matter what happened, she had to maintain some semblance of sanity - or at least a bookmark of where she left it behind. "Uh..."
The woman laughed. "The Ocean may rise and fall with the tide, child, but it isn't going anywhere. Limited time deals you can't afford to miss out on are for cash retail, remember that." She winked with a wag of her finger.
"I... what are you offering?" Kagome was curious, but, frankly, had no idea what she was getting into.
The woman simply pointed toward the panel with the women in the Abyss, forming the scholar with owl's wings. "It's truly peerless. People like yourself will find it, eventually. Danzo was quite infuriated that we would not let him in."
Sasuke clenched his eyes shut, groaning and growling in fury at the darkness that persisted even when his eyes were open. Of all the things he understood about the world - the science and math which he studied under Kabuto and Orochimaru - none of it would prevent him from calling upon some form of magic or divine favor to restore sight to his eyes. Perhaps what made the whole deal even more sour was how shocked he was at the way his own damned techniques worked - or how little he bothered considering their mechanics. It was absurd to believe that eyes gave one an enormous amount of chakra … it was so obvious that the Sharingan's powers were rooted in, basically, being able to cast genjutsu upon reality, itself, including everyone in it. Yet, it completely blindsided him. … Blind... Yeah, there was that, too. Powers he used to have.
"Well, what did you expect?" Tobi's voice crawled from his left. It was more obvious to Sasuke, now, how sound echoed off the floor, off of walls, and disappeared into fabric. "You went up against a tailed beast in its raw state, for a remarkable length of time, I might add, and lived to tell the tale. Very few can make that claim, and most lost far more than their eyes when they did."
"I don't need you, of all people, to blow sunshine up my ass." Sasuke glared in the direction of his knees while sitting on his bed. Where even was the rest of his team? Karin was likely apprehended by the alliance. Jugo and Suigetsu… where the hell was he, even?
"I fear that would only be increasing the mass of a black hole at this point." The rustling of fabric indicated Tobi now stood. "I made sure to have your brother's eyes preserved for you in the event this came to pass. I cannot comment on Itachi as a family member, but having observed him for some time, I believe it very likely he would want you to have them."
Sasuke gritted his teeth. There was something... something revolting not just about the idea, but about how much sense it made. "I … don't want it. At the same time... I can't afford to remain blind." Why he was vocalizing his thought process, he didn't fully know. "It's... disgusting."
"Hmm..." Tobi gave more rustling of fabric before sounding as though turning back. "In the past, there were many Uchiha who valued power above all else. Power is a means to an end. Those with no power can't achieve their end goal. So, shouldn't those who have the most power be able to achieve their end goal? To you, your path to power may appear to be one of great horror and tragedy, but in the grand history of the Uchiha, yours is one of the more noble."
"You..." Sasuke gave a snarl "have no right."
"Perhaps not." Tobi rustled a turn. "However, I will say that for the last remaining Uchiha, concerned with the legacy of the Uchiha, you seem to pay yourself little attention. I will leave with a question. Do you believe Naruto Uzumaki to be a fool because he often lacks technical understanding - or because he sees value in you?"
The door shut before Sasuke could provide a response.
Sasuke felt his lips go numb, as if smacked by the question. Sasuke… took pride in being articulate and knowledgeable not as himself, but an Uchiha... his motivation, not for himself, but for the Uchiha... the Uchiha... the Uchiha... a thing he never truly knew and had taken away from him. Tobi was posing a very simple, yet very profound idea... Sasuke Uchiha had absolutely no idea what Sasuke wanted or cared about.
[ v=SZ2pblqpikc ]
Hanabi led the group toward the Hokage summit, Byakugan flaring. "Everything is as the reports described." She called back behind her. There was... something, though. Her Byakugan seemed to continually direct toward a retail shop - she recognized one of the women staffing it - someone from the Leaf - Kagome, if memory served. "I would like to request leave to take a look at something." She looked toward Lady Tsunade.
"That is fine." Tsunade motioned to Konohamaru, "I kind of consider you two a package deal, so keep our grounded astral being from causing an interstellar incident."
Sarutobi met Hanabi's own eyes, as if searching for her approval. It wasn't a question Hanabi realized needed asking until now... why were her and Konohamaru suddenly inseparable? She wasn't opposed to his presence, really, but she'd never truly relied on anyone. Just … what was Konohamaru to her, all of a sudden - and what did it mean?
A thing happened, apparently, and she was now walking automatically with Konhamaru at her side. That was another question... for someone with the Byakugan, able to see the very fabric of the world, she certainly seemed to be disappearing inside her own head quite frequently, only to awaken into a world that had gone on, even just a few moments, without her. "So, where are we going?" Konohamaru drew her back into said world.
"I just … noticed something a little strange among these shop setups over here." She replied behind the strain of activating her Byakugan. Kagome was still near the stall, showing off various masks, one of which was a Kyuubi. "Do you remember Kagome?"
"She was the self-appointed unofficial president of the Naruto fan club - why?" He seemed to take an extra couple large steps.
"She is currently handing out fox masks at an interesting stall." The masks were using some interesting symbols, old names of gods and goddesses. Perhaps it was simply her own mind looking too deep, but it was all hitting hard on themes only found in the deepest of mythologies not commonly found among the lay folk.
"Maybe she really is the president of the fan club at this rate." Konohamaru raised his eyebrows.
"I'm... not so sure." They ducked through lines of people picking out groceries and the stall came into view.
"Well, then..." A woman wearing a blank, white mask turned to her, hair done up into buns. The mask didn't hide her face from the Byakugan - the woman could have been in her 40s, though her body didn't outwardly show it. "I've been waiting for you, Lady Hyuuga."
Konohamaru stepped forward, lowering his center of gravity "What do you mean?"
The woman only briefly looked at Konohamaru before returning her gaze to Hanabi. "Or do you even know why you're here?"
"I take it the street is not a good place for this." A few eyes had already been drifting toward the unfolding scene. She put her hand on Konohamaru's shoulder and felt him ease his posture a bit.
"A reasonable assumption made during an unreasonable time." She turned and motioned to a set of seats. "In a world of lies, the truth is so absurd it can be spoken without risk of being known."
"Lady Mokusei likes to think she's mysterious." Kagome dipped into the conversation. "She really, REALLY loves masks." She almost danced toward where they were going to sit.
"How did you even get here?" Konohamaru twisted his brow at the girl.
"Well, I took up a free lance job to go to the Uzumaki island, but then I encountered some really interesting people and they really like masks, too - and so I followed." Her eyebrows shot toward her hairline.
"Keep in mind" The woman, now Mokusei, gestured for them all to sit "that deception can be as bright as the sun and sweet as licorice." She motioned toward Kagome "Could you spot her lie, Lady Hyuuga?"
She'd been lying? "I didn't notice any..." Yet, clearly, there had to be more to all of this.
"You are here because of these, right?" Kagome pointed toward the symbols naming old deities scrawled across the masks. "That's also why I'm here."
Konohamaru shot Hanabi a glance - she tried to furl her own brow in something to the effect of 'it's okay'.
"Perhaps it is better to start elsewhere." Mokusei panned her mask across the group. "Do you think Jiraiya made his intelligence network, or that the intelligence network chose him?"
"I did always find it kind of funny that he had an ultra-amazing intelligence network." Konohamaru clasped his chin.
"Do not underestimate the work Jiraiya put in." Mokusei was quick to respond. "The world of ninjas, that of shadows and deception, has been around since long before most can even read, let alone remember. For a few, however, something stands above the call of individual nations or ideologies. A call to find something of an absolute truth, an absolute justice. Buried in the past is a truth which must, at some point, come to light. It is a conflict which makes our various arguments over land and lives rather petty as it underwrites our very origin as beings."
"I'm... not sure I follow." Kagome tilted her head, flipping her fox mask over to inspect its décor.
"The Akatsuki thought to bring about an era where a weapon reigned in the power of nations. Certain factions think they are to awaken a lost goddess. However, for all of us, to include Lady Hinata, this is to be the last chapter in a trial protracted far too long." Mokusei panned across the group, again.
Hanabi felt her brow tighten. "What do you mean by including my sister?"
"Is it not obvious, by now, that Lady Homura does not, in the slightest, fear discovery of her identity by members of the public? Have you never wondered why she leaves such deliberate cues in everything she does? She wants to be found - wants to be known, and we are those who have, in our own ways, found her." Kagome almost bounced up from her seat.
"You're saying … Pomegranate actually runs Jiraiya's intelligence network?" Konohamaru quirked his brow. "She seems quite busy."
"I am not sure I understand what you mean by a trial, though." That was the part that had Hanabi worried.
"Obviously, not everyone in the network knows everything. Many are very focused on the day to day machinations of nations and have little idea of what they are a part of. You are, however, missing the point that Lady Homura does not want to be known." She produced a folding fan and flipped it open. "Your focus, Lady Hyuuga, has been almost exclusively on Kaguya, your sister, and the Hyuuga. You are, however, aliens to this world and must remember that there is another component to what is at play. Homura is as much an Uzumaki as she is an Otsutsuki and Hyuuga as their warrior caste. Do you know what it was that ultimately turned the life of a descended goddess into one of tragedy and deception?"
"You know, if Homura is still alive" Konohamaru interjected "why isn't the Sage of Six Paths? Wasn't he supposed to be her brother or something?"
A flip of Mokusei's fan sent a breeze over the two. "Indeed. Wouldn't it only be natural for an immortal goddess's children to be practically immortal, themselves?"
"Are... you saying that the Sage of Six Paths … somehow betrayed Kaguya and Homura?" Hanabi had to admit, it had been something of a blind spot. The stories she'd read had only focused on the efforts to contain Kaguya as her powers ran out of control.
"Kaguya was beyond any power you are likely able to imagine." Mokusei gestured with her fan toward some artwork depicting cataclysm. "Hagoromo came to the conclusion, much as many of the Uzumaki elders had, that Kaguya was disrupting the natural order of the world by remaining in it - by remaining attached to the world and to her husband. He believed that if he could somehow seal away her compassion for the world, she would return to be with her people. He was sorely mistaken."
"Wait... he could do that?" Konohamaru looked to each person.
"The sealing arts of the Uzumaki are able to operate not just on the fabric of what we understand as reality, but also the elements of a being's soul. Perhaps, in a way, they are truly more horrifying than aliens from the stars. But, yes, Hagoromo was able to develop a way of sealing away a person's compassion, even a goddess like Kaguya."
"But... rather than making her disinterested..." Hanabi was beginning to see where things went awry. None of what Hagoromo did changed Kaguya's goals, just how she went about them...
"Kaguya had already expressed a deep desire in bringing peace and prosperity to the world she … could no longer love, but could own and command as her own." Mokusei snapped her fan shut.
"Wait... wait... wait..." Konohamaru shook his head. "So the Sage was a bad guy?"
"Hagoromo, as Homura would describe him, was a man eternally bound in a sort of fundamental hypocrisy he was never able to see. No matter how good and earnest his intentions were, nothing ever played out quite like he wanted it to. He was obsessed with the proper utilization of power to the point that he could never not utilize that power, always believing he had developed a way to except himself from the reason it was a bad idea." Mokusei kept her fan closed. "He was a tragic man more so than a good or bad one, and while Homura often clashed with her brother, his aims were never cruelty or destruction."
"So... why'd he die?" Konohamaru flipped his palms upward.
"Naturally, he tried to seal away his eternal life so as to live a natural one where he died." Mokusei tapped her fan to the mouth of her mask.
"... Which is completely unnatural for him to do..." Hanabi extended the statement.
Mokusei gave a tilt of her head and tipped the closed fan, as well.
"Kaguya's partner... her husband" Hanabi held her gaze into a nearby table "What happened to him?"
Mokusei's fan flipped open. "That is a question even Homura would like to know. She always was something of a daddy's girl, even after eons." Her voice trailed off. "Regardless" her voice snapped back "Hagoromo claimed to have sealed him along with Kaguya. Homura doubts the accuracy of this claim. If her mother was a goddess, then her father was a god. To hear Homura tell the story, one would think Kaguya was merely a mortal playing at being a god next to the true god all along. He was the embodiment of the Uzumaki's role in keeping The Tree and conducting a trial of all who sought its fruit. Whatever happened had to have been according to his design."
Hanabi felt her eyes darting back and forth more than she perceived their shifting view. "If... then... when Kabuto healed my sister... Neji had damaged part of … Hagoromo's seal?!" That had to be it. Somehow, Orochimaru knew or suspected all along. "Then, the purpose of the Hyuuga…"
"Has been fulfilled. In one sense, at least." Mokusei snapped her fan shut. "But that is only where their mission begins."
[ v=j4D_J4Q1Eko ]
"Well..." 'A' stepped up to his shade-clad brother "This has been the most insane reunion we've ever had."
"It's not looking all that bright and is not a pretty sight." Bee returned.
"Knock that shit off." 'A' gave Bee a rib.
"It's a habitual coping mechanism, I think. If I do it, don't let it push you to the brink."
"If you're going to do it, at least keep your metering right." A scowled.
"So..." Bee suddenly dropped his smile. "How bad is it?"
The two looked over at the blonde being kept sedated for the time. "We've got a fix on a location that meets the criteria around one month from today."
"So how is that not good?" Bee nodded toward some of the Leaf ninja gathering nearby.
"It's in the Grave Mountains region." A grunted, seeing Tsunade sweep over toward her assembled ninja, likely having a similar discussion with them.
"So nothing but jagged rocks and river canyons, then." Bee scratched at his forehead. "Some of our specialists won't have much trouble, but getting everyone else caught up..."
"That's not counting supplies and provisions." A saw a wave of cringed looks sweep across the Leaf ninja. "There's nothing really to forage for up there and so we will be completely dependent upon the supplies we can carry and supply lines that can keep people fed. We are deploying some advanced scouts to the region to place the area under reconnaissance, but we are assuming this Tobi character is going to stick to his word."
"Hmm..." Bee seemed to stare off in the direction of the Leaf ninja, as well. "That Hyuuga girl, what's her role in all of this?"
"Which one? The one here?" A waited for Bee to gesture in the affirmative. "She's hesitant to share information, but our operatives did pick up a trail on her as soon as she came into the area. The Leaf seem to think the Hyuuga are related to an ancient goddess and there would appear to be a network of agents working outside conventional channels who do, as well. I'm not going to share all the details of rumors from shady figures, but she has been rather forthright with the Kage about what she thinks she knows - spare a few details that could very well be disinformation."
"You think they are just desperate to believe something?" Bee's expression was still unrevealing.
"Well, if it's true, there isn't much I can do about it. Even if it's false, this Tobi character certainly seems to believe it, and will act as if it's true. Up until now, we have held few ideas of what his motives could be since the near complete dissolution of the Akatsuki." A shrugged. "What is more interesting is some buzz that all of Danzo's records from his foundation have become declassified and the Leaf are in something of a predicament about how to handle them."
"Well, they certainly seem to live in interesting times." Bee stretched.
"We all do." A would prefer things be a bit less interesting at the moment. "Well, I need to brief the rest of our forces. You take care, Brother."
[ v=aj4M1HorkzU ]
Sakura landed a solid hit into one of Kankuro's puppets, the wood splintering into pieces. As it fell, she caught sight of a puppet closing in on Tenten's back. Behind-Thank you - Tenten rounded simultaneously to batter the machine with a flurry of tonfa strikes. It had taken a considerable amount of practice, but the team was now responding intuitively to what the others perceived through Ino's arts.
"You all are getting much better." Konan approached from the sidelines of the makeshift arena.
"I think..." Ino released her jutsu "I have something pretty solid that will work with almost anyone. I started off trying to share way too much between everyone, vision, smell - and it was just too much for everyone to deal with."
"So, can I try?" Kankuro finished sealing up one of his puppets. "What's it like?"
"Well," Sakura brushed her arms "I don't know how it will be for someone completely new to it, but like when Tenten or Ino sees something, I know it is there. If they smell something, I know what they smell and where it's at. If they have a mental map of where they are at, I know what that map is and can place myself in it. I don't need to think about these things - they are just... there."
"That sounds pretty wild." Kankuro handed some of his sealed puppets over to Tenten. "You wanted to try some new materials for them in combat? I'm curious to see what you can do."
"I've got all kinds of ideas!" Tenten held the seals triumphantly. "I can't really touch the puppet mechanisms, though, so I'll just be building off of what's there."
"Well," Inoichi came raised his eyebrows from the sidelines "do you mind if the InoShikaCho give it a try?"
"I could use a good stretch." Bee chimed in from behind his shades.
"I..." Ino sent a look toward Sakura. Sakura heaved a small laugh before sending her a nod of approval. "Yeah, let's give it a shot!" It was funny to Sakura to see Ino faltering in her confidence. It was not unreasonable, though, Ino didn't quite know what the sensation was like on others' end.
"I'm quite curious about what it is you've managed to develop, Miss Yamanaka." Shikaku nodded toward her. "And no snooping inside my head." He chuckled before striding into the arena.
Kakashi came up beside Sakura as Ino activated her jutsu. "I'm impressed with how far everyone has come."
"It's... all we can think of to do, I guess." She sighed. It was the proverbial white elephant in the room. They weren't training for nothing. As much as it was to prepare for combat in the future, it was also to keep their mind off of what lay ahead.
"We are going to wake Naruto up, tomorrow." Kakashi raised his brows.
"He's been sedated too long." She grumbled. "His muscles have already started to atrophy, I'm always having to turn him over because the nurses won't do it - do they understand what happens when fluid pools in the back too long?" She stopped herself. She'd ranted a hundred times on the same subject and, in all honesty, she was probably being too nitpicky. "He's... going to have to train hard just to get back to where he was in such a short time."
"It's not your fault, Sakura." Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's just... we don't know if he's even going to wake up. Ino thinks he will, but from a medical standpoint, we don't even know why he was unconscious to begin with. Chakra exhaustion? Trauma? Something Tobi did before he left? We have no idea. And if he does... we've been ... treating him like some kind of rabid animal or something and think he's just going to hop straight to being our pivotal weapon!?" Sakura clenched her fist and flexed several times. "I don't... What are we even doing!?"
"You know..." Gai dropped into the scene. "There are many things life hands us that are outside of our control. We said our piece about what to do about Naruto and the people in charge made their decision. Naruto understands this better than you may think."
"I know..." Sakura sighed. "I'm going to go take a shower." No matter how hot the water or how hard she scrubbed, however, something about her would still feel dirty about it all.
"Did you ever wonder..." Tobi glared at the mask held in his hand "just where the Shinigami spirit came from?" The figure's Sharingan locked onto her eyes.
"I've never seen it." The Hyuuga never really put much thought to it, either. Although, given its importance to Naruto, perhaps that was a research oversight on her part.
"When Izanami fell from the heavens, she embraced the underworld as the goddess of death and fate. Out of ignorance, her heart was ripped from her body and entombed on the world she could never depart. Out of spite, her grave was desecrated in order to create... this." Tobi presented an old mask of Uzumaki origin. "The Uzumaki developed, long before Kaguya, the ability channel... to become possessed... by the chakra of the Tree or of the will of the cosmos, itself."
The Uzumaki created the Reaper Death Seal using ... "Kaguya?"
"What a time that must have been to live in... to desecrate a goddess to craft the ultimate weapon against her hideously misguided child..." Tobi's posture shifted sharply as it fidgeted through the statement.
Hinata's brows tightened down. "What does this have to do with me?" The Akatsuki were supposed to be after the power of the Tailed Beasts.
Tobi stared off into the valley below. "There is a point in Kaguya's story where your dreams stop, isn't there? One last memory of her son, if I am correct."
There was... it was her first dream after reading the tablet. "One... became two..." She swallowed at a lump in her throat. It wasn't incredible that Tobi would know of her dreams, but it couldn't mean anything good.
"I think you already know where this is going... why Orochimaru would order Kabuto to save you, and why you are here instead of Naruto." Tobi circled behind her. She considered using her Byakugan to track, but, somehow, found herself believing it should be this way. "Naruto's visions continue to a time after your dreams have signaled an end."
Hinata felt her heart beat into the pit of her stomach. The voice of the adult Homura paused awkwardly in her mind 'mohter... she used to...' - the voice of a woman who had survived countless eons to stand before the faint echo of her mother. Then, the Temple... "The Hyuuga..."
"The cost of wearing the body of Kaguya is to be dragged back into her grave in a futile gesture to satisfy the hunger of a heartless god." The stones ground sharply beneath the ground just behind Hinata as the shadow of Tobi chilled her shoulder. "The only thing that can fill the body of a god, is its heart. Neji's destined strike, and Nagato's clever deduction ... the seal over the heart's tomb is undone, the stone rolled away."
The Hyuuga tried to still herself, to divine a means of escape. "I see... but I am not Kaguya." She noticed something... the sun seemed to be getting dimmer even though it was high in the sky.
"Kaguya was never supposed to be part of this world. While the wish of a God may be constrained by the Dragon of its arbitration... the will of a God is absolute and becomes the very reality it absolves." Tobi circled around to the front.
"I don't-" She tugged at her restraints as the figure closed in with the mask raised.
"The Trial must continue." The world plunged into black as the mask came down over her. It... was somewhat like the dream of Kaguya that one time, her own breath and heartbeat hammering into her ears as time, like the warmth of the sun, wore steadily down.
[ v=MbiVn7vhov8 ]
Sasuke slapped his hand against the wall. He was still somewhat weak, but he could see, now. He had to find out where he was. Some kind of cavern fashioned into a hideout? He pushed forward toward sounds of water. The tunnel opened up into a cavern containing a lake. A shift in the sounds let him know Tobi now occupied an area near him.
"It is time for us to leave, Sasuke." Tobi strode toward him.
"I am done being pushed around." Sasuke flipped around to stare at the masked man.
"I understand your concerns, but this is really not the time." Tobi spoke... urgently? Sasuke couldn't place the difference in Tobi's voice.
"What is going on?" Sasuke narrowed his brow and threw his weight forward. He was done being a tool or toy to be deployed when convenient.
"Indeed, o great leader..." the voice of Black Zetsu dripped from the walls. Sasuke shivered and flipped to face the abomination which had come to inhabit a White Zetsu. "How is the eye of the moon plan going?"
Tobi could be heard clenching his fists within his gloves. "It is going well, Zetsu."
"Is it, really?" It slurped from the side of its host. "I can't help but notice that it's been months since we even tried to make any progress regarding the Ten Tails' unsealing."
"In the pursuit of world peace, patience is an invaluable virtue." Sasuke suddenly had Tobi grabbing him and pushing him toward another tunnel.
"The fuck are you-" Sasuke struggled against Tobi as Black Zetsu began to form an orb of chakra over its extended palm.
"I was originally going to wait until you had the Ten Tails unsealed, but I'm having my doubts. Perhaps I should go pay the Hyuuga Heiress up top a visit?" Zetsu croaked as Tobi went rigid.
"Seriously!" Sasuke jerked away and began flowing chakra into his Sharingan. "Someone had better start talking sense around here."
A series of explosions shook the cavern and Tobi suddenly stood in front of him, a few ninja tools scattered across the floor. Did... something just happen?
"Sasuke, you must leave, now. I must keep this thing here." Tobi simply began withdrawing ninja tools from inside pockets. "Your friends from the Leaf will be able to pick you up, shortly."
That made even LESS sense. He glared toward the Zetsu. "I should probably try these eyes out on something..." He began to focus for an Amaterasu flare on the offending ... thing.
Before he completed the technique, however, he suddenly found himself airborne, clutched tightly by Tobi, as the ground beneath him erupted into an explosion. "Foolish boy, if that thing gets a hold of you..." Kisame appeared, half of his body cloaked in Black Zetsu's shadow. "... Haori Genbu."
The world seemed to split on the edge of an infinite abyss as a cloak of some variety of chakra 'fell' through the world around Tobi - or... mask, hood, and garb removed, what currently held him was a woman with ivory skin and hair that was dark enough to envelop stars. In her hand was a bow formed of chakra in the shape of arched tree branches, itself as dark as the void she seemed to stand and be wrapped within. In one eye shone a Sharingan, in the other the Byakugan. It was the same woman who had met them outside the Hokage summit. The scene was being taken in by his mind, but not exactly processing into anything intelligible. Sasuke wasn't entirely sure how she fired the bow in her hand, but in any event, Zetsu-Kisama was peppered with a series of shots from her bow, each seeming more like a bolt of lightning than an arrow.
"Well, I wondered where you had been hiding all this time, Homura." Zetsu laughed. "I can't believe you were right under my nose this whole time!"
The fact the thing seemed to have all its questions answered by what just happened flooded Sasuke's bones with the urge to destroy it. Fuck that thing for knowing more than he did. "What-?" He began.
"No time." The woman looked up at the ceiling before shooting the both of them off down a tunnel.
[ v=UE0vafA1nVg ]
Naruto squinted his eyes toward the Sun. At first, it didn't look like there was anything in front of it, but after he looked away, the after-image in his eyes had a chunk taken out of the left side. His stomach twisted at how far away the summit of the mountain was. He simply had to make it, and yet the base of the mountain still had to be over twenty kilometers away. "Damnit... we are running out of time!" He grunted to his team as they bounded through the river canyon.
"Calm down, Naruto." Kakashi- called. "We don't know that anything is going to happen on the eclipse."
Naruto's gut twisted, again. He'd been telling himself that time and time again. It didn't matter how many times it was said, or how true the statement was - something deep within him knew that there was no coincidence and that this was the time for ... something. The world was beginning to slip into darkness as over half of the Sun faded behind the Moon. Ten kilometers. They managed to cover nearly ten kilomters since the last time he checked the Sun.
"There are some clashes of chakra, ahead." Shino sounded unusual when giving a bellow. "They seem to be within the mountain. Very large."
"Naruto," Sakura came up alongside him for a time, "You just go wherever you think Hinata is. Let us deal with the rest."
It was all Naruto could do to nod. By the time the true base of the mountain came into view, the Sun was just a faint glow wrapping around the shadow of the Moon. In that moment, Homura exploded from a cave at the base with Sasuke Uchiha dangling by the collar. From the summit of the mountain, a scream that was as loud as it was shrill pierced through his skull.
Space, itself, seemed to ripple and the mountain erupted into a shower of boulders. It was a force very similar to what he encountered while fighting Pain - except this was as if it was unleashed by a Tailed Beast, throwing mountain and human alike as if it were nothing. As he was sailing through the air, he noticed that enormous roots began to burst from the ground. He was unable to recover his orientation, and slammed through several of the outstretched roots before everything went blank.
[Mission Timer: T + 00.01 ... 05 ... 10 ... ]
Reality seems simple at first, doesn't it?
What is a corona?
What is a king?
As The World Turns
Vs
The Day the Earth Stood Still
v=uI0-4oJlm_Q
"This is the story of someone who wanted to be free."
Timing... as they say, is everything. Follow the fire. Everything for a reason.
[ Yeah... I know... it's been a while. Combination of deliberate and my own laziness - the timing is deliberate... but... I've been putting off pushing through writers' block on some of this for a while. A lot of ground to cover in a single chapter and a lot of moving pieces to put into place. The problem with any large ensembles of characters is dealing with their stories and outcomes - if, for whatever reason, this were the canon storyline, then a thousand fan fictions could be strung together just to cover each character both mentioned and unmentioned by myself to fill in where they were, what they were doing, etc - and there's a part of me that finds it rather sad that so many characters simply can't be explored in detail. But, at long last, here we are... where the story actually begins. Believe it or not, everything up to now has been weaving the plot through fuinjutsu to set the groundwork for the story about to unfold. ]