Chapter Nine

Birth of Heroes

"She...she's the one..."

Leaving the site, they were all in the forest even though it was getting pretty late. But she felt like she was going to pass out, and she stumbled upon the nearest tree she could find close to the town, the lights like twinkling amber sparks to the fire. Except all they did was add to the embers blazing within.

Old Man Six Paths told them all that he and his brother, Hamura, fought their mother after confronting her with the truth about the God Tree, even learning their own father had been one of the past victims who was now one of the White Zetsu ready to be set upon the world. The twins had no choice but to seal their own mother away, using a powerful spell which made her the center of attraction as pieces of the earth which surrounded them were yanked by force to make way for her, covering her in so many layers that it became none other than the moon. And after that, Hamura chose to be the one to head to the moon and guard the remains left behind of a monster with ten tails that had been from their mother's power...

...but what had been left of the Divine Tree was guarded and kept anyone from ever approaching it the way it used to be, for even after its main harvester and protector was gone, its power was immense and deadly in many ways. It did suck the life out of anyone who touched it, and it also once nearly drained the life of its surroundings, diminishing over time and just sleeping for thousands of years - until a year ago, apparently.

The ten-tailed demon the Sage of Six Paths battled...now they knew where it came from, but who the hell would believe them if this long-lost piece of mythos was presented to the world without evidence?

Hamura Oosutsuki eventually died, and upon that, the Gedo Statue - the remains of the ten-tailed monster - fell to the earth, which began what Hagoromo had feared, thus bringing Naru and her friends into this. This can't be a coincidence.

And neither could the disappearance of Tsunade. That, coupled with the flash of light and the so-called earthquake which followed...and now this, a year later.

Which also brought them to a certain woman in their lives when the ancient sage told them the name of his mother: Kaguya.

His mother, whom Naru took to calling the "Rabbit Granny", had returned to the earth upon the death of her other son but didn't attack yet because she was not yet at full power. It would take three more years at most until the next blood moon. Not only that...

Kaguya...it's the same name of the one we know. She's still a mystery except for what she told us. About her two children she said she lost - could it be what I think it is? Is she the same bitch who nearly exterminated humanity for the chakra fruit?!

If it was the same one, what the hell did she do to Granny Tsunade?! Naru swore that by the time they were all strong enough, she'd kill the witch herself.

"Kaguya - she's YOUR Kaguya." Neji made it sound like a statement and a question at once, given he was conflicted as much as they were. "But how do we even confirm it before she catches onto us?"

Something inside Naru snapped, making her glare up at the group from her half-standing position, Sasuke behind her and supporting her. "What the hell does it matter? If she is the same one Old Man Sage says she is, then damn her to hell! She shows up in our lives and blends in with the crowd just to toy with all of us, and who knows if she knew we were Tsunade's family - or if she knew who she was! I thought we could TRUST her after all the time we spent with her, right, Sasuke?" She turned and threw herself onto him, arms taut around his shoulders and not wanting to strangle him to death. Her body painfully wracked inside and out as she sobbed breathlessly, cursing Kaguya Oosutsuki for everything she'd done in the past and much worse in the future.

Gaara looked down at the ground, which she noticed through her burning, half-blind eyes. "Perhaps she'll reveal herself if she senses that the chakra has awakened within the both of you, and eventually the rest of us. Even if Lord Hagoromo is right in that she's still recovering from thousands of years' worth of lockdown, there's no telling she won't attempt to take us down anytime in the next three years."

Hinata sighed and looked at him sadly. "But at least we are all in this together. I hate to say it, but I look forward to being safely away for a while. I want to make myself up to her level even if it takes every breath in my body." Her expression hardened then and there. "Kaguya deserves to go back to where she came from."

And NARU was supposed to be the bigmouthed talker of the group; it was a little scary to see her best friend this determined, but also welcoming. Gaara's eyes shone, Neji smirked and folded his arms across his chest, and Sasuke released Naru to grunt noncommittally.

"Yeah, let's get right on this. See if we can steer clear of her until the day comes."

~o~

Weirdly, they didn't get to see Kaguya today, and Jiraiya gave them the response: Kaguya simply had some things to do, and on this day, he came over to chill with them and Orochimaru, catch whatever was on the television. "This means we're safe for now," Naru whispered to him when they retreated to the kitchen for the snacks. "But still...I've been trying to think of what to do if she catches us unawares -"

"Let's not worry too much until we see her again," Sasuke told her, having to call this off for now because there was enough trouble as it was. If we are lucky, she might not want to kill us because she wants our chakra - if she notices on her own. And Hagoromo said she's not yet at full power; there's three more years to come. They had time and patience - as well as intense learning to go through. Nothing would be a cake walk.

"Good, because if I see her again, it might be the last and save us the trouble, whether we are strong enough or not. She'd be prevented from casting her spell on all of us, but what would we do with her body if we can...kill her?" She lowered her voice then and there in case her guardians heard. Thinking of them made Sasuke's throat tighten into a lump. If only they could warn Jiraiya and Orochimaru for their own safety, but how do you explain in what way?

Oh yeah, I see it: your new "girlfriend" is really an ancient goddess who wants everyone's life-force for herself, intends to enslave the human race by turning them into mutated plant soldiers. What then? Orochimaru might consider it but find it too big a stretch. Jiraiya might do a one-eighty and say we're making a story up just because we still don't trust her after all this time. Not only that, but we'll be risking revealing our identities, which we can't do.

Speaking of which, Hagoromo gave them three important, explicit rules for them to follow above anything else:

Never use your powers for personal gain.

Never escalate a fight unless your enemies force you to.

And NEVER reveal your identities to anyone other than a close circle.

Said close circle was so far the old man and Itachi. If only Jiraiya and Orochimaru could be accounted for. They could all get into trouble if the men learned of them sneaking off to the closed-down mines, risking arrest. But right now, in answer to Naru's question... "We'd have to come up with a damned good way to cover our tracks, but we're not psychopaths. We don't want to take any chances, and what if she had a way to cheat death - and overpower us because we pushed the wrong buttons?" Sasuke pointed out.

"...you're right," she said bitterly. "But I still say if we have to, we should. Old Man Sage knows her better than we do."

~o~

She really needed to be away from them to dwell on her life with these people - with disturbing possibilities.

I've done what I never should have: I've grown attached to this family.

Which made her decide the possibilities of saving them from their fate of joining her soldiers' ranks and erasing their old memories, along with others so that there would be enough familiarity and peace guaranteed. In her time here and having a life with the musical industry as a manager, she considered living JUST like them full-time rather than above their heads like the old days.

"Mother...are you having second thoughts?"

Black Zetsu with his more genuine understanding than her own sons ever would have given her. "It's difficult - more than I could have prepared myself for. I have gained myself a new family..." Against her control, her eyes burned with tears as she thought of the two who reminded her more of Hagoromo and Hamura than the others. "...but I don't wish to erase their existence."

White Zetsu blinked. "Why not? What's the point of this concept called 'family'?"

Despite possessing enough intelligence to absorb information, this Zetsu - just like his much older brethren - really still did not understand everything around him and had to rely on Black Zetsu, although he was just a few days old now. "A family involving a legacy to pass on, but I made that mistake a long time ago. You have to be wary about who to trust with your innermost beliefs and plans for the future. And when you are opposed, you deal with the enemy accordingly," Kaguya stated frostily, leaning back in her sitting lotus position deep in the heart of the tree, safely away from the outside world. "And I've rectified it..."

"I wish I could agree with that. We have grievous news to give you, and it means we still have no choice but to wait until the moment comes to deal with them."

Kaguya narrowed her eyes, her heart simmering with fiery rage and loathing.

~o~

Finally did the five of them leave Konoha and for Tokyo, but they had a means to keep in touch with Lord Hagoromo. You could call it a telepathic connection, but he said it was due to the chakra link they shared. It surprised the group, but they learned to get used to it after one too many surprise calls.

The group learned firsthand not only the three rules of being the world's saviors, but what elements they each possessed. As they knew, the five major elements of the world were fire, wind, water, lightning and earth. Nothing was in stone or within their control, just that it was what it was, and each of them were as following:

Sasuke's major component was Fire Style, though he also had the underlying other four. Something he and Naru shared, though her main element was Wind. Fire and Wind together harmonized, canceled each other out, and devastated everything in their wake.

The others were different in that the Hyuuga cousins possessed Fire, although Neji would be an Earth and Water user on a minor level while Hinata had Lightning in her system. Which left Gaara on an even more unique level, given he'd been the final to join the group and was once an outsider who had no place...

Earth, Wind and Lightning he had, though the former two together formed a rare ability known as kekkei genkei, which Hagoromo explained was an anomaly of abilities primarily seen within certain families and ninja clans back in the day. Gaara's would be known as Magnet Release, applied to other textures for different purposes, thus his powers would most notably compose of SAND, given he originated from the desert-dominated Suna.

Speaking of kekkei genkai, three of the members had such abilities which stemmed from Hagoromo, his brother and their mother, going into the explanation: the Sharingan and the Byakugan. Sasuke Uchiha discovered he and his brother possessed the former now, while Neji and Hinata Hyuuga shared the latter - which had been the appearance of their family's eyes all this time through the ages.

The Sharingan was one of the great three doujutsu - alongside the Byakugan and the Rinnegan - and independently manifested from Kaguya Oosutsuki down to her grandson, Indra. It stemmed from the brain due to both powerful and negative emotions, whether it was loss and anger or desire to protect someone, and the chakra was released straight to the eyes...turning the irises to red with three tomoe which would show up one at a time in stages. It was known for seeing through enemies' moves, even copying down to the tiniest detail to use against them. You could use it to cast illusions over people, called genjutsu, and take them into that illusion which seemed so real but was not. Talk about dealing with everything with near-perfect efficiency.

As for the Byakugan, it was known as the eye which saw everything, from every angle and far-off parameters. You could say it was above the Sharingan, but the Rinnegan was the godlike reign over the two. The Byakugan was primary in Hagoromo's family, as clearly seen in the man himself...and obviously his mother who had been in the friends' midst all this time. This great power saw through everything: glimpsing past walls as well as underground, into a person's body channel, but it didn't mean the sights were limitless. A great deal of training would be needed to improve your limits.

Aside from their powers to harness, they would also be granted summoning animals - a technique to bring forth a creature which would help you in times of great need. But first, you needed a contract, and not only that, but Hagoromo granted the five young men and women their individual animal familiars, and not only was a scroll or a tattoo required, but your blood and special hand signs like all the other jutsu.

Beginning with Neji and Hinata, they would have the twin lions - male and female respectively - which were for power and strength, having long been statues at places of worship all throughout Japan, to fend off wicked spirits.

Sasuke would have the hawk - a wise, prosperous and also strong creature which acted as a messenger and a guide, ironically having the clearest of visons and connected to several of his chakra elements.

And while Gaara never did cause any kind of trouble, he still received the otherwise mischievous racoon dog, called tanuki, which was also known as a master of disguise and brought good fortune. Why he was granted this spirit remained to be seen.

Last but not least, Naru was the kitsune - the fox spirit, a clever trickster who also served as a guardian and messenger. Adaptable, wise and carefree.

All in all, all five would serve and protect. Now they needed a group name to complement their harmony and goal, but it had to be different than their musical group identity to avoid dots being connected.

The three major rules for our heroes come from the 2017 Power Rangers remake and the original shows. :)

The five friends now have their powers and elements to master, and also have summoning animals at last. The lions and racoon dog info came from " Japanese Symbolic Animals and their Meanings" on the web The Japanese Shop. Sasuke's hawk intel derives from "Hawk Meaning Totem Animal" on Thrive On News Spiritual Magazine. And the fox is well-known throughout Japan for mentioned reasons.

EEEEEEE NOW IT BEGINS. :D Let's see how it progresses into the next chapter! Please leave lovely reviews!