It had been almost a week since Wendy and Lapis arrived in the ninja world and became Leaf ninjas.
Thanks to the training with Naruto, Wendy became as fast and powerful as when she used her enhancement spells, as well as having developed new techniques.
Also, thanks to the medical training with Tsunade, she was able to learn in which precise points she should concentrate her healing magic in certain cases instead of using it on the whole body all the time.
Lapis wasn't far behind, as, thanks to training with Hinata, she became as fast and strong as the sky dragon slayer, as well as developing her own techniques.
Sometimes, the two were sent on a mission, either with Naruto's team or with other teams, allowing them to hang out with them and get to know them better.
Some of those missions ranged from taking care of bandits to a protection mission or in a few cases, minor missions like searching for a lost pet, much to Lapis' annoyance.
Maybe the two were still waiting to find their way back to their world, but until that happened, they would take advantage of the time they had in that world to get better and stronger.
At that moment, the two were walking leisurely through the natural grounds of the village, resting from their latest mission.
"I still can't believe we were sent to help in a veal restaurant. We're ninjas, not waitresses!" said Lapis complaining about the subject of the mission they performed.
"But it's our duty to help whoever needs it. Besides, you looked really cute in that waitress outfit." said Wendy causing the water dragon slayer to blush.
"S-Stop talking nonsense! The next mission better be more interesting." said Lapis crossing her arms.
"I've never seen you so eager for a mission before. I can tell you're changing." said Wendy.
"It's not that! It's just that the more missions I do, the more money I get!" said Lapis with a slight blush and acting like a tsundere.
That made the sky dragon slayer chuckle, happy to see that her partner was opening up and improving little by little.
Suddenly, the two dragon slayers stopped as they felt something in the atmosphere and, looking up, saw a hole open up in the sky.
"What's that?" asked Wendy.
"It looks like a portal, but I'm not entirely sure." said Lapis being cautious.
Before anyone could ask anything else, something fell out of the hole and hit the ground half a distance away from them.
Shortly after that, the hole closed.
Filled with curiosity, the two dragon slayers headed towards the object that came out of the hole and, when they got close enough, gasped in surprise when they saw that, in front of them, there was a white-skinned woman with a kimono, long hair and horns on her head, unconscious on the ground and looking quite injured while breathing heavily.
"Who the hell is she?" asked Lapis.
"Oh, no. She's injured!" said Wendy in horror before kneeling down beside the woman.
"She doesn't seem to have much chakra left. If we don't do something soon, she could die." said Lapis remembering what they were told about chakra in that world.
"You go get help! Quick! I'll stay and keep her stable!" said Wendy.
Lapis didn't want to leave her alone with that mystery woman in case it was some kind of trap or illusionary technique, but that woman's condition was worrisome, so she gave the sky dragon slayer a nod before quickly running off in search of someone.
Once she was gone, Wendy got down to business.
"Concentrate, Wendy. Remember what Miss Tsunade taught you. Focus your magic on the key point." thought Wendy before placing her hands over the woman's heart area.
Soon after, her hands began to glow, which made the woman begin to breathe more relaxed.
"Lapis, hurry up. I don't know how long I can hold on like this." said Wendy concentrating on her task of healing this mystery woman.
Quite a distance away from where the mystery woman had fallen, Naruto and Sakura were walking around the grounds.
"You should see her, Sakura. Wendy is getting better and better." said Naruto.
"That's because you're helping her. It's very noble of you to do that for her." said Sakura with a smile.
"Of course. Because the two of us are friends." said Naruto with a smile.
"I dare say you two seem more than that." said Sakura before letting out a slight laugh.
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Naruto with an arched eyebrow.
Sakura was about to answer when...
"Naruto! Sakura!"
The two ninja looked ahead to see Lapis running towards them.
"Lapis, what's wrong?" asked Naruto.
"You need to come with me quick, there's a strange woman injured." said Lapis.
"A strange woman injured?" asked Sakura.
"Yes and she seemed to be very serious. Wendy stayed with her to stabilize her." said Lapis.
"Well done." said Sakura.
"Out of curiosity, what do you mean by 'strange'?" asked Naruto.
"Well she didn't look human at all. She had white skin, wore a very elegant white kimono, possessed very long hair... Oh, and she had a pair of horns on her head." said Lapis describing the woman she and Wendy encountered.
Suddenly, as soon as they heard the description, Naruto and Sakura's faces turned to utter horror, as there was only one person they knew who matched that description.
"That woman..." began Naruto in shock.
"I-It can't be." said Sakura in shock.
"What's wrong? Do you even know her?" asked Lapis in confusion.
In the next instant, Naruto put his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her with a panicked face.
"Did you say Wendy was left alone with that woman?!" asked Naruto.
"Y-Yes. So I said. Why...?" asked Lapis before Naruto let go of her and ran off at full speed to where Wendy was. "What's going on here?"
"We'll explain later, now we have to save Wendy!" said Sakura before following the jinchuriki.
"Save her?" asked Lapis before following the ninja.
Wendy kept her concentration on her healing magic, doing her best to keep her stable until reinforcements arrived, which she was succeeding for the moment, as the woman was breathing calmly.
"D… D…" the woman began to mutter as if trying to say something.
"Please don't talk. You need to rest. Help will be here shortly." said Wendy, but the woman kept mumbling something until...
"Demons… Dark Guild." said the woman before falling unconscious again.
Wendy was very confused and shocked.
Hearing the word 'Demon' was something universal or, in that case, multiversal, so it wasn't worrisome.
However, the last word, 'Dark Guild', was suspicious to her, since there were no guilds in that world and that concept only existed in that world.
There was no way those two words were related, unless…
"WENDY!"
Wendy startled at the call of her name and turned her head to see Naruto running towards her.
"Naruto, thank goodness you've..." started Wendy glad that help was already arriving, but then...
"Get away from her!" exclaimed Naruto grabbing Wendy and pulling her away from the mystery woman, causing the healing magic to stop and the woman to gasp again.
"Naruto, what are you doing?!" asked Wendy alarmed that the process was interrupted. "There's that...!" said Wendy trying to get closer to her, but Naruto blocked her way with his arm.
"Don't go near her! She's dangerous!" said Naruto just as Sakura and Lapis arrived.
"Dangerous? How can you say that? She's very serious!" exclaimed Wendy in disbelief.
"It could be a hoax." said Naruto not trusting that woman.
"I'm afraid not, Naruto." began Sakura kneeling down next to the woman who was still breathing rather heavily. "I clearly sense that her chakra levels are at a very dangerous level." said Sakura.
"Exactly, if we don't do something soon, she'll die! Please, Naruto, we have to help her." pleaded Wendy wanting to save the woman.
Naruto didn't trust that woman at all given the history he had with her.
His first thought was to leave her there, but Wendy's pleading look made him reconsider, since, if he did that, she would never forgive him in life, so he had no choice but to heed her request.
"What do you say, Sakura?" asked Naruto seriously.
"For the time being, take her to the hospital in a stealthy manner to be treated ONLY by Wendy. I'll go tell Lady Tsunade to take care of the rest." said Sakura.
"Very well." said Naruto.
Sakura left at full speed to report the situation to the Hokage while Naruto, Wendy and Lapis stayed behind and carried the woman to take her to the hospital, where only Wendy would treat her.
It was clear to the dragon slayers that this woman was a very serious matter if she made Naruto and Sakura act that way.
They only hoped that after taking care of that, they could resolve their questions about it.
As ordered by Sakura, the jinchuriki and the dragon slayers carried the unconscious woman to the hospital in such a way that no one else would notice her. Afterwards, they took her to a completely private and isolated room where Wendy continued her treatment to keep her stable.
Soon after, Tsunade arrived at the ward and thanks to her medical knowledge, she was able to make the woman's condition improve to such an extent that she was already breathing normally without any problems.
After that, the five went to the Hokage's office where, to the dragon slayers' surprise, Kakashi was waiting for them with a very serious expression.
For a few minutes, an awkward silence reigned in the room.
"Well, that's enough. Will someone please explain to us what's going on here?" asked Lapis fed up with so much silence.
"I don't get it. Why are you like this because of that woman? Do you even know her?" asked Wendy.
"You could say yes." said Naruto.
"So who is she?" asked Wendy.
"Her name is Kaguya Otsutsuki and she is about the first person in history to possess chakra." said Kakashi to the dragon slayers impression.
"The first person to possess chakra?" asked Wendy.
"Are you saying that woman is like your ancestor?" asked Lapis.
"Pretty much." said Sakura with a shrug.
"But if she is your ancestor, why are you acting that way for her?" asked Wendy confused.
"Because we have our history with her." said Naruto.
"And what is it?" asked Lapis.
"Well, since you've seen her, there's no need to hide it from you." began Kakashi. "You see, a long time ago, before there were ninja clans and elemental nations, the world was divided into various clans and land. At that time, a meteorite fell and from it emerged a gigantic tree that was known as Shinju. That tree bore a single fruit known as the chakra fruit."
"Are you saying that the chakra you ninja use comes from the fruit of a mysterious tree?" asked Lapis surprised by that information.
"So we understand." began Sakura before continuing the story. "However, for the people of that time, both the Shinju and the fruit were something sacred and therefore forbidden. One night, a strange glowing object fell from the sky. A group of people went to investigate and were surprised when they found a very beautiful woman."
"That woman was Kaguya?" asked Wendy.
"Yes." began Naruto before continuing. "Shortly after finding her, they took her to the nearest land to the Shinju, where she was introduced to their emperor, Tenji. Eventually, he and Kaguya fell in love for each other, but that changed."
"What happened?" asked Wendy sensing something bad coming.
"It turns out that her beauty was desired by other people, especially the emperor of an enemy land." began Kakashi continuing the story. "One night, he sent some men to capture her, but she fought back, killing them all in the process. That made the emperor declare war on Tenji's land unless they gave him Kaguya's head and he agreed."
Wendy let out a gasp of horror, unable to believe that this person was willing to kill the person she loved most in exchange for peace.
"Faced with betrayal, Kaguya escaped to the Shinju, where she had no choice but to eat the fruit, thus becoming the first person to possess chakra. After that, Kaguya took revenge on those who betrayed her and decided to create a world of peace together with the children she was going to have." continued Sakura.
"I have a feeling she didn't do that very well, did she?" asked Lapis.
"That's right." began Naruto. "Kaguya may have ruled the world peacefully for a while to the point where people saw her as a goddess, but possessing so much chakra, the power caused her to go insane to the point where people considered her more of a demon than a goddess."
"In the end, her own children couldn't tolerate her ways of ruling and rebelled against her. The battle lasted several days, at the risk of never ending because of how powerful Kaguya was. So, as a last resort, the two sons decided to seal her and succeeded, sealing her into something that became the moon." said Kakashi.
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you telling us that the moon was created as a sealing method for that woman?!" asked Lapis in shock.
Wendy was also in shock.
She may not have been an astronomy expert, but in her world, the moon was known to have been created naturally, but apparently in that world, that wasn't the case.
"Yeah, but that's not where it ended." began Sakura. "Before Kaguya was sealed, her will manifested an artificial being known as Black Zetsu. For many years, it roamed the world, manipulating events for a single goal, to free his 'mother'."
"Which came to pass during the Fourth Great Ninja War." continued Naruto surprising the two listeners by learning that a powerful enemy had been released. "Kaguya's plan was to absorb all the chakra that was on the planet even at the risk of killing us all. Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and I fought her with all our might and in the end, we managed to seal her back on another moon in another dimension."
"If in the end, you sealed her again, how come Wendy and I found her in the middle of the field and badly wounded?" asked Lapis.
"That the issue at hand and a very troubling one. The seal that Naruto and Sasuke put on her was supposed to be so strong that even the 9 bijuu couldn't destroy it. Whoever did that must surely be very powerful, especially if they left Kaguya in that state." said Kakashi crossing his arms.
"Okay, now that that's clear, let's move on to the main matter." began Tsunade sitting at her desk with a very serious expression. "What do we do with her? As you told me, she poses a danger to all mankind."
"In that case, the most advisable thing to do would be to kill her. Especially now that she's in a very weakened state." Kakashi said giving the most logical solution.
"You can't do that!" said Wendy suddenly, drawing the attention of the others.
"Wendy, what are you saying? Didn't you hear what they told us? that woman tried to wipe everyone out!" said Lapis.
"I know, but I... I..." began Wendy unable to find the words to back up what she said.
They may have been right that Kaguya tried to wipe out everyone, including her new friends, but while the others saw a cruel woman who wanted to hurt everyone, she saw a woman hurt by the betrayal of the people she cared most about and corrupted by power.
Besides, she wasn't the first person to commit terrible acts because of tragic events in the past that she knew about.
"*Sigh* Wendy, I understand that you don't want us to kill a woman unable to defend herself, but you have to understand the situation. If we leave that woman alive, as soon as she recovers, she will try her plan again and the world will go to war. We were lucky with the last person who committed serious crimes against the world, but I don't think it will be the same with her." said Tsunade remembering a certain rebellious ninja who did many terrible things, but they came to forgive him in the end.
"Besides, what would we gain by leaving her alive?" asked Sakura.
Wendy had to admit that they presented very good points.
There was nothing she could do or say that could prevent this woman's death, but there had to be a way to save her.
TOC-TOC
It was then, when someone was heard knocking at the door.
"Come in." said Tsunade.
The door opened and it was revealed to be a Leaf ninja.
"Hokage, Lady Temari from the Sand has just arrived. She says she has something very important to tell and it can't wait." said the Leaf ninja.
Seeing that it might be a matter of utmost importance, they all decided with a glance that they would leave the conversation for later.
"All right. Let her pass." said Tsunade.
The Leaf ninja gave him a nod before leaving.
Soon after, Temari entered the room, sporting a cast on her arm, something that surprised the jinchuriki and the pink-haired girl.
"Temari, what happened to you?! Are you okay?" asked Naruto with concern.
"I will be. In fact, that's why I came to talk to the Hokage." said Temari.
"What happened?" asked Tsunade.
"A few days ago, a strange individual entered the territory of the Hidden Sand Village. We sent a squad, but they all perished, so Kankuro and I went to take care of that individual. Only to find out something terrible about him." said Temari explaining the situation she experienced.
"The what?" asked Kakashi narrowing his eyes, sensing that this was something very serious.
"That individual... he wasn't human. He had no chakra, but he had a strange energy. He had so much that it could be compared to that of a Kage. If Gaara hadn't appeared to help us, I wouldn't be here telling you this." said Temari remembering her fight against the demon.
Hearing that, the listeners were surprised and worried to learn that there was a strange being who wasn't human and had power on the level of a Kage.
"Do you know who that individual was?" asked Tsunade.
"Yes. He called himself Arustis. He said he was a demon from the dark guild, Death Hand." said Temari.
Wendy wasn't able to help but let out a huge gasp before she froze as she trembled slightly.
Naruto and the others noticed and wanted to ask about it, but now they were on to a more important topic.
"And that's not the worst of it." began Temari drawing the attention of the others. "When Gaara confronted him, he unleashed his full power and I'm terrified to say that he possessed far more power than I imagined."
"How much are we talking about?" asked Kakashi.
"The same level as Madara Uchiha." said Temari.
The four ninja's eyes widened at the revelation.
It was one thing if he was the same level as a Kage, but the fact that he was the same level as that man was tremendously worrisome.
"That's not all." said Temari continuing the explanation. "Before he died, he said that there were more like him and their leader was more powerful than him."
That sent the four ninja into a state of shock.
"If one of them can reach Madara Uchiha's level, then, the situation is more worrisome than we thought." said Sakura.
"How is Gaara doing?" asked Naruto worried about his friend.
"He's better off than I am, but considering the situation, he can't take a break. That's why he has sent some people to report the situation to the other villages so they can be prepared in case one of those demons appears." said Temari.
"Okay. Thanks for the heads up, we'll keep an eye out in case one of them shows up." said Tsunade.
"Just one more thing. Don't underestimate them at any time. They may be more powerful than you can imagine." said Temari before walking away, leaving the six present alone in the office.
"Wendy, I can tell you know something about the situation, right?" asked Kakashi remembering the reaction of the sky dragon slayer when Temari mentioned the demon.
"Well… it's just a guess, but... Lapis, do you remember those hooded men we encountered in the ruins?" asked Wendy.
"How could I not? I still owe them one." said Lapis remembering that she almost lost to them.
"Now that you mention it, didn't you say they were with you when the portal took you to our world? Does that mean they came to this world too?" asked Sakura.
"Yes and I think those hooded ones were demons and one of them was the one that girl faced." said Wendy.
"I thought you were done with all the demons when you faced Tartaros?" said Naruto remembering the story the sky dragon slayer told him.
"Tartaros?" asked Sakura confused.
"It was a very powerful dark guild in our world. Their members were demons who intended to wipe out all magic on the continent. My friends and I managed to defeat them, but it took a lot to be able to do so. We were lucky to survive." said Wendy.
Lapis got a little nervous.
She knew how strong Wendy was, but knowing that she faced a demon and nearly died made her quite worried.
"But I guess there were more demons on the loose than I thought." said Wendy.
"Okay. In view of the situation, we need you to tell us everything you know about demons." said Tsunade with a very serious expression.
"For starters, they don't use magic, they use curses." said Wendy.
"How is magic different from curses?" asked Lapis.
"I don't know exactly, but as I recall, curses arise from negative emotions and work the same way as magic." said Wendy.
"What else do you know about demons?" asked Kakashi.
"They have something called 'etherious form' that makes them unleash their full power and reveal their true form." said Wendy.
"That would explain why Temari said that at first she had the level of a Kage and then the level of Madara Uchiha." said Sakura.
"I've heard that name many times. Who exactly is Madara Uchiha?" asked Lapis confused by that name.
"Madara Uchiha was considered one of the most powerful ninja of all time. Only Hashirama Senju was able to rival him in power. Their fights were so powerful that they changed the terrain on which they fought. Both were so powerful that they were considered gods among men." said Kakashi.
"During the Fourth Great Ninja War, he managed to come back to life. A huge army fought against him, but he was able to take them all down without suffering any injuries." said Naruto remembering their fight against him during the war.
Wendy and Lapis trembled in fear hearing that there was a man so powerful that he was considered a god and the worst part was that there was a demon that could surpass him in power level.
They both hoped that there were no such people in their world.
In a certain kingdom far away from Fiore, a certain black mage and his group of 12 god-like powerful mages sneezed as if someone was thinking about them.
"If what Temari said is true, then we must put the village on high alert. I'll order them to increase surveillance and alert any sign of suspicious energy no matter how small." said Tsunade getting up from her chair.
"Wait, what do we do with Kaguya in the end? We can't leave her like this." said Naruto remembering the former goddess they had locked up.
At that moment, a small memory related to that woman flashed through Wendy's mind and that gave her an idea that could benefit everyone, including her.
"Wait." said Wendy getting the attention of the others. "I just remembered that, before Naruto arrived, she told me something that worried me a little."
"What exactly did she tell you?" asked Sakura.
"She mentioned 'demons' and 'dark guild'. At first I didn't know what she meant, but after hearing from that girl that there are demons in this world, it's clear to me now. It's possible that she had contact with them before she came here." said Wendy.
"Or that, maybe, she is allied with them." said Lapis suspiciously.
"It's possible, but if she was their ally, she wouldn't have appeared before us in that state." said Sakura.
"Surely it was the demons who released Kaguya from her seal." said Kakashi understanding who it was that released her from a powerful seal.
"Why would they do that?" asked Naruto.
"Probably to recruit her, since she's the most powerful opponent we've faced and, as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but seeing Kaguya's state, she surely refused to ally with them and that was the result." said Kakashi.
"Where are you going with this, Wendy?" asked Tsunade.
"We know there are demons in this world, but we don't know what they look like. Kaguya was the last person to see them and maybe she'll tell us everything she knows about them so we'll be more prepared." said Wendy telling her idea.
"It's certainly a good idea." said Kakashi before crossing his arms. "But what makes you think she'll tell us what she knows about them?"
"He's right, for all we know, she could lie to us or trick us into letting her go." said Lapis.
"I know, but we don't have a choice, do we?" asked Wendy.
Tsunade began to debate the situation.
On the one hand, they needed all the information they could get about the demons roaming the world and Kaguya was the only one who could give them that information, but on the other hand, they were talking about Kaguya Otsutsuki, a woman with enormous power with which she could kill them all at the first moment if they let her live even if it was just to ask her the time.
She had to decide who was the most important enemy to stop.
Whether a goddess who wanted to absorb all the chakra on the planet or a group of otherworldly demons that are like an army of Madara Uchiha.
After a few more seconds, she made her decision.
"Very well. Since stopping those demons is more important right now, this is what we will do. We will lock Kaguya in a special prison where her chakra will be completely nullified." said Tsunade to the surprise of the others.
"Are you sure, Lady Tsunade? Is it really a good idea to lock that woman up despite everything we told you about her?" asked Sakura.
"I'm afraid we have no choice. A group of demons possessing a level of power equal to Madara Uchiha's is much more worrisome than that woman." said Tsunade.
"Thank you, Miss Tsunade. I'm glad that..." started Wendy thinking she had saved that woman, but then.
"Not so fast." said Tsunade interrupting the sky dragon slayer. "We will lock her up and interrogate her, but in case of any lie no matter how small, we will kill her, understood?"
Wendy got a little nervous knowing that they would kill her without hesitation in case she lied, but she had a little hope that she wouldn't lie and they would let her live after that.
"It's okay. I understand." said Wendy with a serious expression.