Naruto had so many questions that he could not remember a single one.

He stared at her, never once releasing his sword. Her golden eyes were fixed into his, not breaking contact. There was something ethereal about her, something he could not define.

"You have changed since last time. Haven't you?" Shachi asked.

"…Where did you come from?" Naruto asked. "How did you get here?"

"The same way you did, I presume." She said wryly.

This evening, Naruto didn't really feel like dealing with this sort of riddle.

"…Who are you?"

"You know exactly who I am, deep down."

"I don't." Naruto spat. His blood was boiling already. Was this all just another stupid game to her…?

She frowned slightly but stood up. "Well, I shall tell you, then."

"…"

"But first, there is a place you wanted to go to, didn't you?"

The sword never left Naruto's hand. She came closer, and for a moment, he considered simply killing her. Then he'd be done with it, with all these games.

It would be so easy, too. He didn't know how strong she was, but there was almost no one in the Elemental Countries that could match his speed, at this point. Except, of course, a few of the people he needed to get rid of. Was she one of them?

Her golden eyes roamed over his face, and he was reminded very uncomfortably of Orochimaru. His worst aspects.

"You can put this sword away." She said. "I am not here to fight."

"Then you mean to manipulate me, instead." Naruto began. "There is no difference, to me. I am no one's puppet."

"Manipulate you?" She frowned, the expression looking so honest that Naruto almost wanted to believe it. "I have no intention of doing so."

"And what is that you're doing now?" His voice started to rise. Naruto was more in control of himself usually, but — No. He used to be more in control. Not now, not anymore.

"The same as always. Helping you."

"Your help brought me nothing but Yasu's death!" Naruto roared.

Shachi froze. Naruto froze. He felt strange. He had said the words, yes. But he did not even understand who he had been talking about.

Shachi seemed to realize it, too and regained her countenance.

Well, she could pretend to be as composed as she wanted. It was obvious that the words had rattled her.

"I can help you, if you let me." She repeated.

Naruto snorted. "It's pretty clear to me that you're not somebody whose help I want."

She closed her eyes for a moment, in something that might well have been sadness, on someone else. Naruto ignored it. He spoke.

"I was looking for you, yes. But now… I'm not sure why I thought I would get anything in the way of answers from you. I'll ask you one. Where is Uzushio?"

She gave him another long look.

"You won't find it. Not alone." Shachi said at last. "But I can bring you there."

"How convenient." He growled. "What do you intend to do to me?"

Shachi shook her head. "Nothing."

"Do not lie to me."

A wry smile spread on her lips.

"I am not lying to you. And I won't harm you, either."

Naruto could feel no lie. But then again, he was not as good at this as Karin was.

The silence stretched on for a long while.

"…Where are we?" Naruto asked instead. Depending on her answer, he would either leave... or stay to listen a little bit longer.

"This... is the Isle of Yoisen." She began. "Most of it drowned in the tidal wave that followed the fall of Uzu."

"…Yoisen?" The name rang somewhat familiar to him, like something he had heard in passing, long ago.

"It's an island from the Uzu archipelago. It saw a lot of trade back when Uzu still lived." She smiled lightly, lost into memories.

"You… have lived for too long, haven't you?"

Shachi gave him a slight smile.

"Tell me the truth…" Naruto began. She was about to speak, and he interrupted her. "No. I don't care about your age. How was this island destroyed?"

"The same way Uzushio was destroyed." She simply said.

"By Iwa and Kiri?"

"In a way." Shachi nodded. "Because rather than let the invaders destroy them and leave, Uzushio called a tidal wave. It swept everything. Including its own people, the twin cities… and the enemy forces."

Naruto stood silent for a while.

Nobody had ever bothered to tell him about this, apparently. Not that Uzushio was talked about much.

"Could a tidal wave have destroyed the town so… completely?"

Shachi gave him a grim smile. "Yes. The Uzumaki, who were most of the island's inhabitants, had a strong affinity for water. Combine this with their seals and desperation… and well… You're looking at the results."

Not for the first time, Naruto wondered what it was that made him feel so far removed from the Water element. She didn't seem to have any intention of attacking him, so he continued.

"…And why do all the buildings look so similar?"

"Uzushio and the surrounding islands were all designed and planned by a single person."

"…Really?"

"Yes. They named the island after her."

"Yoisen?"

"Yes. Of course, there were some that felt the Uzumaki clan was too privileged, considering Uzushio itself was named after them already. But they were the founders."

"She was an Uzumaki then?"

Shachi nodded. "Yes. But since the emperor of Eastern Fire at the time was struck by the uniform beauty of the town, there was not much to be done here."

She looked at him, unreadable.

"Shall we go to Uzushio, then?"

"…We?"

"I don't think you will be able to reach much by yourself." She shook her head.

"I will find it on my own, if I have to." He grunted.

"Finding it is not going to be the only trouble." Shachi smiled lightly.

Then without waiting for his answer, she leaped to the ocean. There, she hovered, suspended slightly above the water, that churned into a spiral under her feet.

"…Again, who are you?"

She smiled lightly, and let her chakra flow freely. The sheer weight of it reminded Naruto that as strong as he might have become, he still wasn't at the top of the food chain. Her chakra prodded at him, almost protective in its nature. Naruto didn't let it come too close to him.

"I was one of Indra's companions, long ago. The last living one. I was sent to watch over his descendants, without interfering with their fate before they are ready."

Something hot and angry churned in Naruto's gut.

"You're… one of his allies?"

"I was." She said. "Indra is long dead. Yet he still lives, through you."

"…Once he takes over my body, you mean." Naruto spat.

"Yes. You will be reborn as him." She said with certainty, as if she were talking about the weather.

Something cold and angry churned inside him.

"You think I'm going to let him… let you both do this?"

"I'm truly sorry for you, but… I don't think you're going to have any choice in the matter." She said quietly.

"I will oppose it; every step of it. I will fight him."

"It is not a matter of fighting him." Shachi shook her head. "Because it won't be a fight."

Naruto stood still, despite the voice chuckling in his head.

"…Why do you say this?"

"It is unavoidable. And even if you were to try to fight it… To fight him. It would change nothing. It is still his chakra. And in all previous incarnations, fighting it caused insanity, over time."

"Including Uchiha Madara."

"Of course." She almost smiled. "For all of his strength, power, he lost his mind decades before his body followed. He spent most of his time alive lost in this madness, hiding in a cave, making up nonsensical plans."

"…Why does it happen?"

"Indra's chakra has an unusually strong affinity for Yin. And unbalanced Yin leads to the corruption of the mind. Just like unbalanced Yang leads to corruption of the body. His descendants inherited part of it, and even in them, the curse runs strong. There was no one whose chakra was strong enough in Yang to handle it."

He knew where she was going.

"Until you came along."

Naruto closed his eyes.

"I wouldn't say I'm managing." Naruto muttered, finally breaking the long silence.

Shachi lifted an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"…I hear some of their voices. The ancestors. I see their memories, too."

"Several of them, too?" She said softly. "That is a good sign. Well, not for you. But you are strong enough to carry Indra's will, then."

"…Why…?"

"Indra's touch alone was enough to drive the other descendants irremediably mad. Most, before they reached your age. And never this long after they started hearing."

That was a deflection, and he knew it.

"No wonder." He muttered.

She smiled. "That is why I'm saying you're managing well."

Naruto said nothing for a while.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I won't let hit happen." He said evenly.

Something like pity passed through her eyes. "I am sorry, but again, there is no other eventuality."

Naruto glared at her.

"What if I simply ended it right now? My life."

"You really are spirited — just like he was."

"Answer me."

"It might work for this life, but now that his soul knows what sort of body makes for a better host… It is only a matter of time before he comes back. Besides… you and I both know you will not accept to die."

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"So everything I do is for nothing…?" He spat. "Why should I believe this?"

"With every passing reincarnation, the chakra contained within Indra's soul becomes stronger. There is no way for you to fight it, as it is now. Once you start hearing the past voices… You're lost already. If the memories are coming to you during your awake hours, as I believe they do…"

She let the sentence hang.

"It is too late. It won't be a fight, Uzumaki Naruto." She said. "You probably have a few months left. Weeks, maybe."

Naruto was breathing hard; inside, the voice was taunting him.

"…I will kill them."

"Who shall you kill?" Shachi asked him easily.

When he looked up, there was no hatred on his face. It was something deadlier, instead. Indifference.

"Every single person descended from Indra, if needed." Naruto said. "And I will make sure anyone closely or distantly related to the brothers won't be able to have children. That should do it."

Shachi paused. "You won't have the time."

He gave her a grim smile. "I wouldn't bet on it."

"I don't think you quite realize how short your remaining time as yourself is."

"I think I know already." Naruto spat. He had felt it; tried to ignore it.

"Besides… You would still be alive. And if you were not… who knows where the chakra would go, with no one suitable to reach…?" She let the sentence hang in the air. "Somebody less suitable, perhaps? It will just be a delay. And you won't be able to find all of the people descended from the Sage. It is a fool's errand."

It was true. A thousand years was just too much time. Naruto's expression darkened. He looked into her eyes, searching them.

"…Maybe you're right." Naruto admitted, pushing down on his raging emotions. "But the chakra can only leave on death, is that right?"

"…" Shachi pursed her lips.

"Is that right?" He asked in clipped tones. It seemed she had no choice but to tell him the truth.

"…It is." She finally said.

Naruto smiled.

"Then it is quite simple. I won't kill myself. I won't die either."

Shachi stayed silent.

"I will find a way to trap myself for all of eternity. Sleeping."

Shachi closed her eyes.

"Let's see what Indra and his machinations can do about this."

There was a long silence.

It stretched on.

"You are just as devious as he was." Shachi said, with a hint of wistfulness. In her, it seemed to be a genuine emotion.

"…I am his spiritual heir, am I not?" He asked, folding his arms.

"I should trap you and wait until the madness consumes you. Then Indra would take you."

"…But you can't." He lifted an eyebrow.

"…"

"You wouldn't have let me run free for so long if you had any choice in the matter." Naruto said, now amused.

Another pause.

"Did you take a vow, maybe? Did he force you to?"

Her lack of an answer was an answer in itself.

"…That does sound like the man I've seen in my memories. He doesn't trust anyone, does he?" Naruto asked.

"…He was different, before." She sounded bitter. "That is the man I want to bring back."

"That man is long dead." Naruto spat. "What is left is a corpse hanging on to life desperately."

"He is not." She denied vehemently. For a moment, something like anger, or maybe despair, crossed her face.

That was something he could use.

"Then you know it as well." He pressed on. "A man who forced you to obey his commands cannot be the man you swore your loyalty to."

"You do not understand how it happened!" She called out.

"He bound you to him. And as his shadow, he bound you to me, too."

She said nothing.

"Is this the man you want to bring back?! Or are you forced to?!"

Her chakra flared, pressing down on him. Naruto gritted his teeth, but didn't move.

"Stop it." She said, looking imperious again.

He had lost his momentum. She was guarded again.

"Let us go. To Uzushio." Shachi said, her tone hard. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

His face closed off, as well.

"It is."

She flew away, floating slightly above the sea. Naruto followed, shrouded in lightning.

After what felt like hours of running, dashing and jumping over water, she came to a halt brutally.

"We're here." Shachi said.

They were seemingly in the middle of the ocean. Thunderstorms raged far away, and besides the rain and the dark, churning waves he was trying to keep his balance on, he could see nothing in sight.

Naruto thought he understood, now.

She came closer to him and he tensed.

"Stay inside. It will prevent decompression sickness when we come back up, too." She said.

"What?"

A bubble of air and chakra enveloped them. Naruto suddenly got a terrible feeling about this. And it was confirmed one second later.

They dropped through the water.

Fast. Naruto barely held on to a scream.

His stomach was steadily rising through his body, it seemed. The water turned from light blue to greenish blue, to dark and muddy to pitch black.

And it must have been near-freezing, because Naruto felt the cold through here, even as he was shielded by the bubble.

Naruto thought he could see something in the distance, somewhere under them.

And then they slowed down, before he threw up.

His feet touched soft muddy ground and he looked around in darkness. There was no life, nothing at all. No fish, no sponge, no snake-looking thing whose name he could barely remember right now.

Shachi's left hand moved and light shone.

What she had said earlier had not been entirely true. A tidal wave had been summoned, yes, but this was likely the cause of it.

The entire city of Uzushio had been sunken, along with the island it had stood on.

Naruto could only gape.

He could see cliffs in the distance, and pieces of strange wood-like substance that might have trees once. How had they turned into this…? It gave him shivers, just to see and think about it.

Shachi looked at him, and motioned for him to walk with her.

The city of Uzu itself looked… almost untouched. The buildings were still in the same pristine white color he had seen in Yoisen. And the architecture was the same, as well. He could now see how tall the buildings had been, and how elaborate the walkways that spanned throughout the place were.

Everywhere he looked around was white, and in the darkness of the sea, something about it terrified him. From the sheer marble walls to the intricately carved arches that loomed over them. And the attention to detail that was put into anything, from the smallest carvings to the vaulted ceilings and open chambers let a feeling of stunned awe blossom in his stomach.

It was a beautiful place. Or rather, it must have been, back when there had been life.

And it was a hollow one. Seeing it so empty of life made something in Naruto want to cry.

And there were a few scattered memories, too.

He could remember children running down these streets, narrowly dodging through civilians and amused shinobi under the bright summer sun.

He could remember the smell of the sea, the city of pristine white that was considered the jewel of the Eastern Sea.

Friends and families smiling, laughing, living. Different people, different pasts, different ambitions.

But all he could see now... was a drowned treasure. And the only fate these people had in common in the end... was this.

Naruto said nothing for a while. He had never felt any real connection to his mother's side before, but he couldn't deny that the raw longing was painful.

"There used to be gardens around here. They were alight with flowers." Shachi said.

"…I know." His voice was raw. Not by the weight of his longing, but the few memories he had of the place. "I know."

"Seals were woven through the very stone of this place. It was an ancient, lost art."

Not as lost as she thought.

"…And that's why they still look the same after half a century. And why there are no animals around." Naruto finished.

She smiled lightly.

They continued to walk along the streets of the underwater city, in complete silence.

After a while of this, Naruto had enough.

"Let's leave here."

"Haven't you found anything of worth?"

"There's nothing waiting for me here, besides regrets that I am not sure are mine." Naruto shook his head.

"I would at least suggest taking a look at the archives." Shachi offered, way too casually.

Naruto frowned. Was there one…?

"What are you hiding…?"

"I told you." She smiled slightly. "I'm only trying to help. The knowledge might be lost forever, otherwise."

'Do you want them for yourself, or for Indra…?'

Well, she was quite obviously manipulating him into doing something. But truth be told, he was now simply too interested in Uzushio's library to pass on the opportunity.

It had been too long since he really had learned something new when it came to the sealing arts, considering the fact his knowledge had outgrown most shinobi on the planet. And he wanted a big library, quite simply. He would also need to devise a system to file the books, at some point —

He followed her into the building.

It was very late and the library was a dark, silent and empty place.

Of course, it might mostly be because they were deep underwater and the only people around were found in the form of skeletons.

The library in Uzushio was impressive. There was no doubt about it. It was hard for Naruto to decide what to pick first. Obscure tomes on the intricacies of sealing loops...

Books on rituals were a given. He had some unanswered questions.

The woman helped him plunder the library for all its worth, making sure he didn't just end up with soggy scrolls once he unsealed them from their different sections.

To put it simply, he took everything.

As far as he was concerned, it was his birthright.

"Well… I think that's about it." Naruto nodded in satisfaction.

He looked toward Shachi, who seemed somewhat amused by the whole thing. Somewhat nostalgic, too. He still didn't trust her at all, but it really seemed as though she had no immediate intention to act against him. Which really didn't mean much, considering he had willingly gone underwater with her as his only buffer against the sea.

…Maybe Ino was right, he could be pretty dumb.

"Let us go, then." She nodded. "I'm sure you have plenty more questions. It is the least I can do for you."

The place started shaking slowly.

Naruto frowned. "Are you doing this…?"

"No." Her face tensed. "Quiet."

He extended his chakra senses, but there was nothing he could feel around them.

"…Did we trigger some ancient protection?"

Gods, he sure hoped there was no divine creature set to guard the library. One sea dragon had been enough.

"That's not it."

The rumble became louder.

The pressure over them increased, until the bubble of air strained.

"…I think we're... falling? No, rising — No, the city is rising — How?"

"I do not know for sure." Shachi said, with a tight expression. "But that is not good."

"Is the city able to do this?"

"No." She cut him off sharply. "It's not. I would know."

"What is it then?" He asked, holding on to his balance.

"There are not so many things in this world that have power over gravity. The Rinnegan is one of them." She hissed. "We might have led Nagato straight to the city. Or he simply didn't like us coming here."

'The Rinnegan, then?' Naruto wondered. She seemed to fear it. He filed the information somewhere.

"Well, let's leave, then. I'm not about to wait to face Nagato… or whoever's doing that." Naruto extended his hand to her, unsure why he was doing it in the first place.

She seemed just as surprised as he was.

Ten seconds later, they disappeared in a crack of thunder. They reappeared next to Yoisen, and watched with bated breath.

Several thousand people saw it.

Far out at sea, something lifted out of the waves.

An extremely large white structure, of which the infrastructure was formed out of intricate looking pillars and columns of an equally pristine color rose from the sea, where Uzushiogakure used to rest.

It lifted slowly, smoothly, rising towards the skies. The ascent continued, unimpeded.

And then…

It hung in the heavens.

And from the heavens, one man spoke of the coming end.