The moonlight shone beautifully in the dark night, as the sound of wind blew peacefully throughout the leaves and the river nearby; a subtle ripple forming throughout. The water's reflection of the black haired boy, Sasuto, was shown silently studying himself as he sat down on the wooden dock. The only thing disturbing the silence was the occasional chirping of crickets.
"You can come on out, Inari. I'm not going to bite." The fusion said jokingly, as he continued to face his reflection with a solemn look on his face. The sheepish figure of the boy began to emerge from behind a nearby crate, a slight blush forming on his face.
"What are you doing all by yourself, Naru… I mean Sasuto? It's late out and it's cold… you're going to catch a cold." Inari asked innocently as he tilted his head to the side; genuinely curious as to why the Genin was all by himself.
A small chuckle escaped the older boy's lips as he tapped the plank next to him, indicating to Inari that he could come sit next to him so they could talk, "You know, just because you're growing up doesn't mean you can go about lecturing your seniors, twerp."
Inari pouted furiously before pointing to the boy, "For your information, I'm eight years old!" This only served for the other boy to laugh, causing Inari to blush sheepishly in embarrassment.
"Well, for your age, you surely are mature. Inari, what you did earlier wasn't anything short of brave. Gathering the villagers must have been tough." Sasuto said before relaxing into a warm smile, signaling with his arm for the boy to come over. Inari did as he was requested, sitting down next to the fusion.
He would gasp as he felt a hand rest gently on top of his hair, ruffling it slightly. Sasuto did so with a smile as Inari watched up at him; the latter shocked before breaking into his own smile.
"I'm proud of you, Inari."
(Flashback: 8 hours ago)
Gathered together, in a small crowd, were the company of Haku and Zabu along with the Konoha ninja; Tazuna being a few feet away. It was silent, a tension almost seemingly building up between the two factions before Sakura broke the silence, clearly confused and wanting to ask something, "Um… Are you Sasuke or are you Naruto?"
The attention of everyone would be directed to Sasuto as a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead, a sheepish expression formed on his face, "Well… I'm actually both of them."
Everyone would just look even more confused before Kakashi decided to speak up, "How is that even possible? I've never heard of two people becoming one before. Could you explain what happened so we can get a clearer idea of this situation."
Sasuto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, combing through this black hair with his fingers, "Well I'm not too sure myself. You see, Naruto found a pair of earrings the same night he stole the Forbidden Scroll. While it's true he learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu from there, he also discovered these strange earrings that promised power in times of need. As a result, he decided to keep them along with him in case of a rainy day, and funnily enough… that was today when we fought Haku." The boy said, tapping the golden earrings, earning a laughter out of himself from the sheer anxiety that he felt at that moment.
"I see, could I just take a look at them if you don't mind? Maybe I can study them with my Sharingan." Kakashi said as he pulled up his headband, revealing his gifted eye, before reaching out to Sasuto's earrings. However, a wave of pressure would build up, stopping his hand from advancing no more than two inches from Sasuto's ear. Suddenly, a spark of what seemed to be electricity was conjured from them, forcing Kakashi to pull his hand back in caution.
"Those earrings, it seems that they're sentient to some degree, considering they prevented you from touching them," Haku responded, carefully monitoring the earrings out of interest as Sasuto glanced at him in mild confusion, "Sasuto, have you tried removing them?"
Sasuto grinned sheepishly before shaking his head, "Well you see… I kind of tried a while ago, but it seems that they're stuck to my ear too." This would earn a gasp from everyone present.
"So does that mean Sasuke and Naruto are stuck together forever?" Sakura asked with a fearful look in her eyes. Secretly, Sakura was fuming on the inside at the reveal of this, "Gaargh! I can't believe that stupid idiot, Naruto, and my beloved Sasuke are stuck like this forever! What should I do? I clearly can't love Naruto but he's half Sasuke too! This is horrible, I really hope this is just a nightmare!"
Off to the side, Sakura continued to have an internal conflict to herself as everyone tried their best to ignore her while trying to hide their cringe as best as they could. Zabuza cleared his throat, pushing past the amount of second-hand embarrassment he felt, "So what's going to happen to us now, kid?"
"Well, I think the best thing to do is for us to depart in a few days after the bridge is finished. Our mission hasn't finished yet so we still got to protect Tazuna. After that, you and Haku can join us back to the Leaf Village, and I'll try to reason for you to live there in peace and under the Village's protection. Don't worry, under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be so easy but I think I can use my newly found situation as leverage." Sasuto replied before pointing to his earrings.
Zabuza and Haku nodded slowly, seemingly not too convinced, but also weren't against the suggestion either. Haku blinked, "Well I guess we'll just have to go back to our hideout and tend to Zabuza's wounds until then. We'll try to keep a low cover, we still do not know if Gato's men might be around."
Suddenly, a cluster of footsteps would ring through the air, catching the attention of the entire group. The shock would ensue before Tazuna was the one to speak up, "Inari, what are you doing here?"
The little boy with the crossbow arrow would glance around before finally catching his words, "Well I came with the villagers so we could take back our island from Gato… but I guess you guys already cleaned up by the time we got here." He said as he gestured to the pile of Gato's men a few meters away from them, a sweat drop awkwardly appearing from everyone.
"Well it could not have happened if it wasn't for the work of our two buddies here, right Zabuza and Haku? We make a good team, you know?" Sasuto chuckled as he slapped the back of the aforementioned mercenaries, getting a gasp from Haku and a growl from Zabuza.
"Don't push your luck, kid. I know you're helping us out but next time you try that, you're losing that arm of yours." Zabuza threatened menacingly in a hushed tone as Sasuto weeped in fear at the image of that happening.
"I see… Well thank you Mr. Zabuza and Ms. Haku for saving our island. Is there any way we can repay you?" Tsunami asked innocently, earning a small chuckle from Sasuto and a sheepish look from Haku.
"Uh, as much as that would be appreciated, we're alright for now. Thank you for the offer, however." Haku said before bowing slightly. Tsunami nodded before looking over at Sasuto.
"Oh my, who are you? You surely look like Naruto and Sasuke, but where are they exactly?" Tsunami asked as she cocked her head to the side slightly in curiosity. This earned another embarrassed look from Sasuto as he glanced over to the side awkwardly.
"Well you… I'm actually both of them right now." This would earn a gasp from the villagers, Zabuza face palming himself in frustration.
'Why do I have to be stuck with these idiots right now?' The blade wielding mercenary questioned mentally in agony.
Things would go normally from there. Haku and Zabuza said their temporary goodbyes as they made their way back to their hideout. The villagers and Kakashi's group would return back to the town where everyone celebrated their new independence. A massive street party would take place, Team 7 finally feeling the rewards of their long and tiresome mission. There they would be treated almost like royalty during the celebration.
This would take place for many hours before everyone settled and returned home to rest after such a long fought battle. Eventually, Inari and Sasuto would do the same as they headed back to the house. There, the fusion would sprawl out on his bed, drool flooding from his bottom lip about half an hour later. However, he would start turning and tossing in slight discomfort a few minutes into his well-deserved rest.
A white landscape would be the first thing that flooded Sasuto's vision, as he squinted his eyes sleepily. Confused, he would look around and try to comprehend what the situation at hand was.
"Well hello there." A voice would echo throughout the area, Sasuto jumping forward in shock as he simultaneously spun around as he heard it come directly from behind. There he would see a strange figure in a white kimono staring back, the man in a cross-legged yoga stance.
The strange part was that he was actually levitating while doing so. He had spiky, shoulder-length brown hair which was braided only by his left ear. His goatee was of matching color, falling right down to his waist by how long it was. The strangest features of his were his horns, the red spiral symbol on his forehead, and the purple eyes that had several rings throughout.
"Who… no… What are you?" The boy asked in shock, not sure what to comprehend about the strange being in front of him. The man only stared back intensely before his facial features suddenly softened; his mouth breaking out into a small smile.
"Well you can start off by saying that I'm your father." The man said with a small chuckle as Sasuto only froze in shock before pointing to him, slightly shaking while doing so.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that you're Naruto's dad?" The fusion asked, slightly horrified but also elated at the idea. The man would only shake his head in response. This would cause the fusion to stand back firmly as he solemnly looked down; a bit sad that he guessed incorrectly.
"I'm actually the father of both of you, Naruto and Sasuke… or should I say Ashura and Indra?" The elderly figure responded as he took delight in the priceless look that formed on the fusion's face.
"Wait, you're meaning to tell me that Naruto and Sasuke were brothers all along? So does that mean Sasuke's dad and Naruto's mom were together at one point? Also who's this Indra and Ashura?" The boy questioned in a panicked fashion, grimacing at the idea that Fugaku always lived a second life in disguise.
"Well, it's a long story. You see, I'm actually the founder of the ninja creed. I'm not sure if you've heard of me before, but I'm the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki. I had two sons, Indra and Ashura Otsutsuki, throughout my lifetime. However, things get way more complicated from there. In fact, I was honestly not expecting this to happen. You actually mitigated many issues that came from my two sons." Hagoromo mused as Sasuto just listened in silence, unsure of everything that he was hearing.
"You see, my mother was once a Princess who came to Earth many eons ago. There, she consumed the fruit of the God Tree, a godlike entity that many praised and worshipped. She gained immense power from it, basically becoming a Goddess in her own right. She ruled over this planet undisturbed and had two children; myself and my brother, Hamura. However, things came to a bad turn when we discovered how cruel she was. As a result, to atone for her sins as her children, we battled her. This is not the important part to you however, it's just a brush up for future reference." Hagoromo began, solemnly sighing.
"There was a huge difference between my sons; one possessed powerful genes containing my chakra while the other did not. The younger brother, Ashura, was the dunce who nothing ever went well for him from the time he could walk on his own two feet. He needed the co-operation of others to aid his own immense efforts. Meanwhile, his elder brother, Indra, was exceptional in the talent gifted to him; he possessed strong ocular powers from birth and was a genius. He always did everything by himself, knowing that he was better than everyone due to how special he was, and perceived that power could attain everything that he ever wanted."
Sasuto only nodded, mentally making notes, 'Wow, that does sound exactly like Naruto and Sasuke. Even though Ashura was the son of the Sage of Six Paths, he really did end up like Naruto.'
"While Ashura struggled through his training, a newly discovered power bloomed within him, putting him on equal footing with his brother. He came to understand that he was able to become strong thanks to the cooperation and help of those around him; nature included. He learned of the love for those around him raised from thinking deeply about them; nourishing the bonds he formed and perceived that it was love that can achieve everything. This power was none other than Wood Release, a power that seemingly branched off from the God Tree mentioned earlier that neither my brother or I possessed, but only Ashura received." Hagoromo continued his tale.
'Wood Release… that means that tree from earlier was a result of me using Ashura's power… but wait a second,' Sasuto mused before speaking up urgently, "Wait, you said Wood Release was Ashura's power… but I learned that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, also possessed similar power. How is that the case?"
Hagoromo only chuckled lightly in response, "I took heed that Ashura's ideology was the true one, and I granted him the new leader and guardian of the Ninja Creed. I thought that together, Indra and Ashura would come to an agreement, however, this was not the case. Indra did not accept my decision and thus, from that day on… An interminable conflict began."
"Even after their flesh perished, the chakra from the two honed continued to reincarnate across time without vanishing, repeatedly. Hashirama Senju was Ashura's reincarnation just as Naruto Uzumaki was; Madara Uchiha was Indra's, just like Sasuke Uchiha was. However, with the fact that you two are now merged; you hold both their spirits in tangent. This means that you awakened both their powers within you; Mokuton and Sharingan." Hagoromo said, as the illusion of Indra and Ashura appeared behind Sasuto temporarily.
Smiling, the Sage of Six Paths cleared his throat with a cough, "Well Kurama, you can come on out now. Your father is here." Sasuto only looked confused as he turned around curiously.
"Kurama, who's that? Isn't it only you and I in this place?" This only resulted in a smile from the elderly sage as he tapped his staff onto the void's floor; the environment shifting to that of a wet and eerie cellar. There, Sasuto would turn around and stare into the darkness behind multiple bars of a cage. Even he was a bit terrified of what could be behind there; an overwhelming pressure being felt.
"I guess you've come back to pay me a visit after all these years, father." A deep voice bellowed throughout the room as a pair of red slit eyes and a mouth of sharpened teeth filled up the darkness in front of Sasuto.
The boy would only take a step back, unsure of what to comprehend exactly. For him, this was just one confusing and terrifying nightmare.
A/N: Well, that's the end of this chapter. I know I kind of left it off at an uninteresting note, but I was kind of running out of time to post this chapter. As noted, Mokuton was a result of Ashura's Chakra. I just found it strange how in canon, Hashirama - and consequently the White Zetsu - were the only persons who possessed that ability when Naruto himself is a reincarnation. I supposed that would have made Naruto a bit too strong in canon.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. Also, the new episode of Boruto was pretty entertaining; Baryon Mode versus Isshiki being the best fight I've seen the franchise produced in a long time. It actually motivated me to put out these chapters every Sunday too. Leave your suggestions and thoughts in the reviews, and I'll see you guys next week!