Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another chapter of The Trials of Destiny! Today, I'm doing something a bit different, though I won't spoil it here. Some of you will likely figure it out because it's not something anyone on the site has done before, as far as I'm aware (hell, the entire premise this story uses as a foundation hasn't been done before), but either way, let's get into it!
Chapter 16: The Snake's Head
Friday, April 24, CCY 3381
"Now listen well, Naruto, for I do fear that this may one day come to pass."
"Of course, Hagoromo-sensei." Naruto sat down on the bed next to the cushion Hagoromo had chosen to rest himself on.
"It's time I educated you regarding the hierarchy of the Otsutsuki clan. This is a very important matter because over the many millions of years we have existed, outsiders have been brought into the clan before, whether they were able to inherit the blood or not. You are of the latter variety, and by receiving a portion of my chakra during the Fourth War, the Otsutsuki blood in you was awakened.
"The lowest members of the clan are the servants. They have comparable chakra reserves to your average jonin and can perform basic manipulation, though their jobs do not require it. Most of these servants either willingly cater to higher members of the clan or are chosen by another to suit a specific purpose. Many of these servants can be found in the court of higher members of the clan or serving as intragalactic messengers, utilizing advanced fuinjutsu and lightspeed travel to safely deliver messages in the fastest time.
"The next… tier, so to speak, are the diplomats. We Otsutsuki are very much influenced by our baser desires, but the ones who are not as inclined to fighting and needless violence serve as diplomats to other worlds, and the task of peacefully integrating other worlds into the system that has been established falls to them. My mother was supposed to be one such, but due to a complication, she failed miserably, and as a result, the Kaguya you know from history and your own personal experience was born.
"Above they are the warriors. As you might have guessed, the warriors in the clan are responsible for handling matters the diplomats are unable to solve peacefully, though contrary to what you may believe, the clan as a whole does not wish to partake in needless violence, even though they do condone it. More than that, they are also responsible for the handling of the next generation. All Otsutsuki begin their formal training at age two, because an Otsutsuki's body matures much faster than most other mortal races.
"Above the warriors are the scholars. This sect is made up of the researchers, mathematicians and other more intelligent members of the Otsutsuki clan, and they devote their time to studying and understanding the nature of the universe. They are responsible for developing new ways to use chakra and youki, implementing the regimes used for warrior training based on each prospective warrior's abilities and strengths, and studying the interactions of the quantum realm, beyond the lowest scale in the universe.
"Above the scholars are the nobles. The nobles watch over and guide each sect of the Clan. There are five hundred twenty-seven sects throughout the universe, and each one is headed by a noble. The nobles, in addition to being responsible for their individual sects, also communicate their individual findings from the lower echelons of their sect to the other nobles and to the leader. The nobles are the main method of transmission of information in this manner, which is why the Otsutsuki Clan is aware of almost everything that goes on in the universe.
"Finally, above the nobles are the royal court. The royal court is composed of the greatest Servant, Diplomat, Warrior, Scholar, and Noble of the current millennium, and the royal court is responsible for organizing the Clan in times of war and overseeing the interactions of beings in the universe. The Diplomats answer directly to the Executive Diplomat and only them, because the royal court is also responsible for determining what planets of the universe the Clan will contact.
"The end goal of the Otsutsuki Clan is not only to protect the universe, contrary to what you have seen, but to search for their new Leader. The Leader, while not technically a tier, is the highest-ranked member of the Clan, and the only way to become the Leader of the clan is to defeat the current Leader in open combat. The reason the Clan searches for a new Leader is because of a curse that was inflicted onto the Clan by an angry god two hundred million years ago.
"The Leader of that time had tried to face the god of destruction in open combat, and had grown arrogant in his power. As a reminder for mortals to be aware of their place, he placed a curse on every future Leader. When one becomes the Leader, their mental state will slowly deteriorate the more power they use. If they don't use any power, their normal personality will be bared for all to see, but as they use more of their chakra, they become more and more fixated on destruction. Their emotions become tainted by darkness, and they become lost in their twisted ambitions. The Otsutsuki clan has very nearly faced extinction many a time over the passing eons because of the Leader becoming so corrupt in their power and desire that their original personality is completely destroyed.
"The prophecy goes that he who can defeat said god in combat will break the curse, and lead the Clan to a new age of prosperity. That prophecy is what formed the entire Diplomat echelon of the clan hierarchy. Members like Kaguya were sent out across the universe to find the rumored one to defeat the god in combat, but none have been successful in the two hundred million years since the curse was inflicted upon the clan. Because of the curse, the Leader is both the most respected and most feared member of the clan."
"And just how often does one become a Leader?" Naruto asked, once Hagoromo finished his explanation.
"The Leader is defeated, and the new Leader anointed, about once every one thousand years. We are at the very edge of the next change of hands, so to speak, so a new Leader will rise within your lifetime, likely within the next decade. The Leader, by the workings of the curse, also becomes an Immortal, a mortal with a body unaffected by the ravages of Time. Many Otsutsuki, even the Servants, live for two hundred years or more, the Warriors for four hundred years, and the Nobles, for several thousand, but because of the curse, each Leader lives effectively forever. The reason there aren't two hundred thousand former Leaders freely roaming the universe is because every fight in history has led to the previous Leader's death. Combat is the only way to kill a Leader."
Naruto leaned back in his seat. "Huh. I didn't know the clan was so big, or so powerful. Trying to take on a god… I can't fathom that at all. Žiara beats me every time we spar, and even though I'm almost constantly getting stronger, I can tell she's holding back massively. She's using an almost inconsequential amount of her power, and it's still more than I can match. It's actually insane."
"Žiara is a goddess, so it's to be expected. She is tens of thousands of times stronger than myself and Hamura, and the other gods of the universe are likely much stronger than her."
Naruto fidgeted around. "I'm going to go train now." Hagoromo nodded, and Naruto flashed away.
Hagoromo chuckled. "Might he actually be nervous? This is new."
Tuesday, April 28, CCY 3381
Naruto collapsed in pain onto the endless black floor. "…ow."
The eerie, booming voice of the Death God chuckled. "I SEE YOU ARE NOT HAVING THE BEST OF DAYS."
Naruto tried shrugging his shoulders from his new position on the ground, but ended up wincing in pain. He didn't try again. "Eh, not much of a big deal, Shin-sama. I just have a little chakra exhaustion and quite a bit of internal and visible damage, is all. Let me tell you, this Absolute Clone was a bitch to perfect." Naruto's voice cracked halfway through the sentence as a testament to how much he was holding back the urge to moan in pain.
"THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ATTEMPT TO ALTER YOUR OWN LIFEFORCE. YOU COULD HAVE PREMATURELY ENDED YOUR VERY EXISTENCE."
Naruto chuckled himself. "Don't I know that. And in the end, it isn't even much benefit. I did succeed in making the type of clone I need to continue my training, but only being able to make one without running the risk of killing myself isn't a very good tradeoff. Also, I have a question, Shin-sama."
"REMEMBER THIS LESSON NEXT TIME YOU DARE TO ALTER THE PROPERTIES OF YOUR EXISTENCE. GODS HAVE BEEN ANNIHLATED FOR LESS. WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION?"
"Can you control the gravity here in the Realm of Judgment?"
"I CAN."
"Could you start slowly raising the gravity here while I'm training? I'm thinking I can train under increased gravity, and I'll become stronger, faster, as a result."
"YOU WOULD BE CORRECT. AND I CAN, THOUGH BE AWARE I WON'T BE ALLOWING YOU TO REST DURING SAID TRAINING. USING MY REALM DOES COME WITH A PRICE."
"Thanks, Shin-sama, I'll keep that in mind. Just gotta lay here for a few more hours now and let my chakra do its thing." Not ten seconds later, Naruto was unconscious on the floor, his chakra working overtime to repair the damage he'd caused it in his latest experiment.
The Death God chuckled as his voice faded away. "THOUGH I COMMEND YOU FOR YOUR AUDACITY AND DETERMINATION. THIS WILL BE A LEARNING EXPERIENCE."
He faded back into his own little escape in his realm and found Žiara standing next to his desk. "Hm? What do you require of me now, Žiara?"
"Not much, I just need to see how the other one's training is doing and whether he's finally come around to our side."
"Be my guest then. I do not wish to deal with him; I refuse to respect the plagiarized nature of the Rinnegan."
"We're gods in an abandoned universe, what else do you expect? The rest of the gods wouldn't touch him either if they knew what his motivations were, but the good in him isn't completely gone, which is the whole reason I decided to ask you to revive him despite what he's done. If I didn't think he was capable of change, I'd have intercepted his soul and personally dragged it down to Hell before you had a say in the matter." Besides, after finally restoring the tablet to display its original text, I'm sure he's had a change of heart. If it weren't for Indra fucking up something that worked, I'm sure we wouldn't even be in this position right now.
"Fair enough, I suppose. Well, enjoy your visit there. After all, it's not often I allow a soul to remain in Purgatory, especially with its body and lifeforce still attached."
"Of course. And you have fun judging the dead, Shin-kun." Žiara opened a portal to the part of the Realm of Judgment that only gods could access, and it quickly shut behind her.
If you were the one in this position, I doubt you'd be making poorly disguised jabs. Being the Death God isn't dandelions and roses. It's backbreaking, exhausting work that no other god would bother to dirty their hands and honor with, so they slapped the responsibility onto an Immortal instead, that way they didn't have to worry about the consequences. Though I'm sure the actual gods never expected an Immortal to ascend, but that's neither here nor there.
Žiara stepped into the gray void and closed the portal behind her, looking around for the person she'd come here to find. She found him staring at her, a neutral expression on his face. His black hair had been trimmed from its wild look to a shorter length, and its spiky nature had been combed into a straight ponytail. A single bang hung in front of his left eye, and the Rinnegan gazed back at her from the right eye socket. He may have changed after all. The Rinnegan only appears in an Uchiha's eyes at the end of a powerful shinobi's lifespan or if feelings of extreme love are realized. Since he's not dead… well, anymore, it must be the latter.
Sure enough, the young man she had come to find stood an indiscernible distance away, his Rinnegan fixed on her in a blank look, before it became more inquisitive.
Žiara stepped over to him and examined him for a moment. His posture is much looser and he seems to have lost the spark of rage that was always in his eyes before. Did the modified Time Dilation actually work?
Her question was answered for her when the man spoke in a voice that sounded like it hadn't been used in a month. "Thank you, Lady Žiara."
"For what? I'm sure I've done nothing to earn such gratitude."
"For breaking me free of my own petty grievances. I was so focused on revenge my entire life that I never considered what I'd do if I ever actually got it, and when it finally happened, instead of trying to actually start some kind of life, I shifted my anger onto people who didn't deserve it. For that, I have to thank you. I guess now I finally understand those feelings I tried to push away after the death of my mother."
Žiara's eyebrows raised briefly in surprise, before she schooled her features. I'll be damned, it actually worked. Well, guess there's nothing for it. She took another moment and used her abilities to look into the man's soul for any traces of taint, and while there was none, there was still a storm of darkness trying to push itself to the surface. That's something he'll have to deal with on his own. No one else can help him there. "Well, in that case, since you seem to have turned over a new leaf, let's get you out of here. I have to introduce you to my other student now."
"I didn't know you had another student."
"The gods work differently than mortal races. We typically keep our disciples separate from one another as a matter of policy unless both are training at the same time. It's to prevent any unfortunate… accidents." The man nodded after a moment's hesitation.
Žiara stepped through the portal, the man following behind.
When the two arrived back in the Realm of Judgment proper, they found Naruto training against his Absolute Clone. The clone attacked Naruto with a shortsword, which Naruto blocked with a pair of kunai before jumping back and returning to a stance. The man's eyes widened when he looked into Naruto's eyes and found, instead of his ocean blue pupils or even the altered coloration as a result of his various transformations, a silver, vein-less Byakugan in the left eye and a Mangekyo Sharingan in the right.
A moment later, the man stumbled briefly, his body having registered the effects of the increased gravity. Žiara chuckled. "What's going on here?" he asked in a strained voice, his body unused to the increased gravity.
"I HAVE INCREASED THE GRAVITY IN THIS REALM TO ASSIST IN NARUTO'S TRAINING."
The man froze in primal terror like many before him, hearing the Death God's voice for the first time. What was weird, though, when he recovered, was that Naruto hadn't been affected by the voice at all, and didn't show that he even heard the Death God. He just continued training like nothing was amiss.
He turned to Žiara, a question in his eyes, and she looked at Naruto, a hint of admiration in her eyes that the man was unable to find. "I believe the current gravity is two point five times Earth's gravity at surface level."
The man nodded, using a lot of his strength to hold himself up. Well… I might as well get this over with. Time to die again.
He slowly walked toward the two Narutos as they trained, using his sword sheath as a weight support. Once he was within range, Naruto sensed his chakra and narrowed his eyes. That's not possible. I watched Kurama annihilate him.
He turned toward the signature, and the man he wanted to see the least for the next hundred years stood there, only now his hair was in a ponytail, a bang covering his left eye and his right evolved into the Rinnegan. "Sasuke."
And that's the chapter! I dropped hints throughout the chapter toward the reveal at the end, for those who are aware enough that they'd be able to figure it out, but what do you guys think?
Starting now, I'm revising my update schedule to reflect the fact that every chapter of The Power of Us has been very large, and instead of trying to condense the chapters, I'm letting the chapter be nice and beefy, because the way the Pokemon verse works, large chapters provide better and more thorough content than smaller chapters while also covering canon events more easily.
So from here on, I will still post two chapters of The Trials of Destiny, each half a month apart from the other, but when I work on the chapter of The Power of Us afterward, I will instead allocate an entire month to ensure the quality of the chapters is the best it can be.
With all that said, see you guys next time!