Yugito thought her expectation of Naruto's original dimension would be accurate: a completely decimated planet, scarce with life and nutrition, unsustainable to all. She could have been further from the truth. This place was very much alive. At least in plant life.
Verdant, gleaming leaves stuck out in all directions. Trees were decorated with emerald foliage. A shade of emerald green and brown encapsulated most of her vision. The ground beneath her was littered with leaves. Beetles, ants, spiders, flora and fauna danced around her feet. The rainforest was teeming with life.
"It's lovely," she commented. She made out the sweet chirping of parrots, macaws and hundreds of other bird species.
"That's what you think? I hate spiders," Naruto stomped on a spider. She ignored the act, and they drifted off into silence for an uncomfortable two minutes.
"Isn't it peaceful?" Naruto finally said, plucking a sanguine nectarine from a tree, biting into it. Figuring it probably wasn't poisoned, Yugito reached out and plucked one too. Mainly because she was hungry.
"Where are the people?" She asked. She bit into the nectarine. Naruto went still. He didn't outright admit anything, but she could work with a wild implication. Yugito swallowed, unsurprised.
"It's funny how humans covet peace," she said, "When true peace is most likely achieved in a world without humans." She took another bite.
Yugito trudged forward, dodging the vines and branches as she aimlessly wandered around.
"Which way?" She asked, looking at Naruto. He tilted his head eastward, motioning for her to follow.
After approximately fifteen minutes of wandering, they reached what must've been the remnants of Konohagakure. Buildings remained practically unscathed. Shoots of various types of vegetation webbed the buildings. There was no sign of life except wildlife. She strolled through the village, spotting Ichiraku Ramen. It too was dead.
"Everybody," Naruto clarified proudly. That was shocking.
"You mean you spared nobody?" Yugito asked, taken aback. Should she be scared? Suddenly, she was questioning why he even brought her here. If he was planning on killing her, then there was probably very little she could do to physically stop him. He was most likely stronger than her. Yugito internally cursed her stupidity.
"Why'd you bring me here?" Yugito decided to be upfront and ask him.
"Boredom. Do you want to go back?" He asked back. She shook her head, continuing to stroll around the village. She walked into the Hokage Tower, dodging the vines and making her way up to the office where the Hokage usually was.
As expected, there was only one remnant of life: ashes. The person who used to sit here - presumably the Hokage - was burnt and reduced to a pile of ashes.
"I used a jutsu that exterminated all human life, so the buildings and animal habitats were left unscathed," Naruto told her calmly.
"Why?" She simply asked. Naruto's gaze shifted towards the pile of ashes.
"They deserved it," he admitted vaguely. Yugito refrained from unleashing a flurry of curse words at him. Sure, maybe the world was better off without humans. Still. Who the fuck gave him the right to decide whether humanity deserved mass extinction or not?
"I had the power to do this, and I did," Naruto continued. His eyes were now entirely empty. He stared at the scene emotionlessly. She was starting to get seriously creeped out.
"How'd you get this ability anyway?" Yugito asked, trying to seem nonchalant. It irked her to be asking so many questions. She couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness. However, as long as Naruto was answering, she'd ask as many questions as she could.
His blue eyes reverted back to hers. He scrutinised her face. Yugito tried to clear her expression of curiosity and suspicion. What he thought of her would affect the answer she received.
"Personally, I started by absorbing the Kyuubi. Bijuu are ethereal, timeless creatures. So absorbing one grants you this ability. If you're a Jinchuuriki beforehand, it gives you some pretty sweet abilities." His answer was more detailed than she expected.
"It's quite easy. Anyone can do it. It's happened in quite a few dimensions with Madara, except he never knew about the ability to dimension hop, and got defeated subsequently anyway," Naruto further elaborated. His elaboration was a pleasant surprise. Unless he was planning on killing her afterward.
A slow, malicious smile spread onto Naruto's face. He tapped her temple with his index finger.
"You know, you've got a Niibi to spare. If you really wanted to, I'm sure you'll figure out how."
Yugito slapped his hand away.
"I'm not absorbing the Niibi," she immediately declared, albeit more out of self-preservation than a moral obligation. If she let the thought linger for even a second in her mind, then the two Matatabi within her would no doubt combust, leading to her slow death.
"Why are you telling me this anyway?" She retorted, levelling a glare at him. Naruto was expressionless.
"You're like a doll," he told her, "You even look like one. Dumb, naïve, powerless, needy, clueless. I wonder what would happen if a toy was offered power."
Yugito sacrificed her pride in order to pick at his logic and analyse his reasoning.
"Let's go back," she changed the topic. Naruto rolled his eyes, grabbed her wrist, but before he teleported them back, Yugito had a sudden thought.
"Actually, let's stop by somewhere else," she murmured, almost inaudibly and very ominously. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but complied.
"I hate how you're telling me what to do, but here we are, per your request." Naruto stated. The Gedo Mazo loomed over them. Yugito stared at it, bewildered.
"This is the place you had in mind, right?" Naruto asked, but they both knew the answer. Somehow, he had read her mind and they had wound up in the perfect place.
She facepalmed. When did she become this power-hungry? For all she knew, this could come with dire consequences. But if great power was dangled right in front of someone, within arm's reach, only a saint would refrain. It was simply a fact of life that humans were liable to temptation and greed. Yugito wasn't an exception.
"I thought you said you wouldn't absorb-" Naruto started.
"I said I wouldn't absorb the Niibi. Never said anything about the other eight," she interrupted.
"You sly, conniving bitch," Naruto chuckled.
Yugito, Matatabi's voice rang out inside her head. Shit. Yugito had half-hoped Matatabi would just be quiet, or napping. She zoned out, and into her mindscape to reason with the Matatabis.
Niibi 2 (though they were both identical, one of them just liked to bare fangs more) glared at her vehemently. Yugito gulped. This was bad. The only way she was getting out of this alive was by offering them something. She knew what she had to do.
"I'll free you!" She immediately yelled, before either of them could combust. Because in some cases, Bijuu could just kill their host; they didn't because it killed them too, albeit temporarily. There must've been more to it, because their freedom after being dead for a few years should've been a good deal.
"You'd be permanently killing one of us," Niibi 2 said scathingly. Yugito was about to counter that argument when Niibi 1 opened its mouth, roaring.
"It's a small price to pay for freedom. I say you do it." With that, Yugito left the two to argue, zoning back in.
She stared at the Gedo Mazo.
"Um, how do I-" Naruto rolled his eyes, guiding her through a step by step process.
Sasuke was donning a black bandana, covering the lower half of his face. He analysed the scene before him tensely. Hopefully, the fact that he was wearing a sort-of mask wouldn't draw any unwanted comparisons to Tobi. He tried his best to suppress the majority of his chakra levels, blending into the Shinobi Alliance. Sasuke even picked up a hitai-ite for extra camouflage.
Naruto and himself were currently acting tough and beating up whatever vermin came their way. He watched with increasing fascination. Sasuke supposed that the fact that he could see a dumber, younger version of himself right in front of him was a sign that he had disconnected from this world.
By now, Tobi's true identity as Tobi was finally revealed. Cue the immense shock, especially on Kakashi's side. Obito warped Kakashi into Kamui and they were probably stuck in an intense fight. Then the fucking Ten Tails emerged. What the fuck?
With much skepticism, he watched the fight, until he felt it was getting dangerous to blend in with the other ninja, and isolated himself into a shadowy corner of the battlefield. Lots of interesting developments ensued, such as Sakura. Who knew she'd learn the Byakugou seal? Now she had a cool diamond-shaped tattoo on her forehead.
Sakura was viciously beating up mini Ten Tails. That was a major improvement, at least. He couldn't exactly applaud her for it though, considering everyone else was doing something equally commendable. Naruto, old Sasuke and Sakura were standing back to back. He eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Don't drag us down, Naruto," old Sasuke said. God, what an arrogant, emo brat.
"He's right. Keep complaining, and I might just grab the title of Hokage away from you!" Sakura yelled. Sasuke stilled in second-hand embarrassment. He couldn't figure out whether he should laugh, cringe or pity her. If only she knew. Maybe there was a parallel universe out there where Sakura was omnipotent.
Sasuke rubbed his aching temples. He was getting increasingly tired of this. If Iwa hadn't have pulled him into their dimension, this is what would've become of him. The thought disgusted him. He was indescribably glad that he didn't become like this angsty, whiny version of himself.
"I wouldn't say that," a disembodied voice behind chilled him. Sasuke didn't dare turn around. He never heard this voice in his life, and yet, the intonations felt like they should've been familiar. Ignoring his internal protests, Sasuke mustered up enough courage to turn around.
Despite never having seen their face before, Sasuke recognised the person almost immediately. He could say with absolute surety that he was terrified.
Why was the Sage of the Six Paths here?