Captain Blues: A new chapter is upon us so let's cut the foreplay and let's get to it!


Champion of the Dark Moon
Chapter Six: Piercing through the Moon's Veil


It was nightfall when the group of shinobi came across this small village that sat beneath a plateau and the group was exhausted.

"Yeesh, what a long day of traveling," Fū groaned as she leaned against a panting Naruto and Hinata, her arms slung around their shoulders.

"I-I feel faint," Hinata stammered out.

"I'm about to drop," Naruto groaned.

"Did we have to go full tilt for two hours straight to make it here? We couldn't sleep anywhere else?" Kiba panted out as Sakura leaned against him.

Shino and Sasuke were still upright, but they were both heavily sweating.

"We made a lot of progress between Konoha and Taki, team," Kurenai announced as she ignored the complaints from the Genin. "We'll stay here for a night, and then we'll complete our travel to Taki, understood?" Kurenai asked.

"Understood, Kurenai-sensei," The group wearily replied.

"Why don't you guys stay here and search for a place to eat while Shibuki, Kurenai, and I look for a hotel? Afterward, we'll meet you there. Deal?" Kakashi asked.

"Deal," the group groaned out.

Kakashi and Kurenai exchanged a dry look before they and Shibuki darted off into the village. "Well, since we're left to our own devices for a bit," Naruto began as he recouped his energy. "Let's do what Kakashi suggested and find a restaurant around this place."

"Who died and made you leader, dope?" Sasuke questioned.

"My stomach did," Fū remarked as she hooked her arms around Naruto's left arm and Hinata's right arm. "Now come on. Let's go find something to eat!"

The group began to migrate deeper into the village. However, as the group made their way through the streets of the village, Naruto noticed that all of the villagers had pale skin, snow-white hair, and two red dots over their near-non-existent eyebrows.

They all wore black cloaks with chainmail dresses that stretched to their ankles and they all had a wolf beside them. But they were all happy, roaming around with a flower crown made of an unfamiliar dusky-yellow flower and red berries. Naruto then noticed that in the street, there were tons of stands either with small carnival games or food.

"What did we walk in on?" Sasuke muttered with a slight frown.

"Seems like a festival of sorts," Shino answered. Naruto looked around and in the distance, he could see a large banner that read "Albinauric Festival" in big white kanji.

Sakura must have seen it too because she read, "Ah, the Albinauric Festival. Not a festival I'm familiar with…"

The moment Sakura finished speaking, a woman walked up with flower crowns as she cheerfully greeted, "Ah, visitors! Welcome to Shirahana no Ya. Please, enjoy your stay. Everything on the night of the Albinauric Festival is free. So eat, sleep, and be merry!" The woman placed a crown on each of their heads, and despite the musky look, Naruto found that the flower had a pleasant smell.

"Thank you," Fū replied with a wide smile. "We sure will!"

"A-Ano, what can you tell us about this festival?" Hinata asked.

"It's an ancient tradition since the village of Shirahana no Ya was founded," The woman explained. "It was named after the findings tablet that told of the journey of a huntress warrior named Latenna and her faithful Wolf companion, Lobo. Latenna was what was called an Albinauric and from what the tablet explained, was fighting to keep her race alive."

The woman swept an arm at the various men, women, and children that enjoyed the festival. "Much like my clan, she strove for the impossible. And while we do not know if she succeeded, it gave us hope, and so, we celebrate the day we found the tablet every year."

"That sounds so awesome," Fū breathed, her eyes bright at the knowledge she had just attained. "But, what's with the clothes?"

"Ah, in the tablets, it spoke of Lady Latenna wearing his type of garb, so we honor her by wearing it as well," The woman explained. The woman laughed and said, "The chainmail dress is quite heavy and doesn't insulate well, but it is a small sacrifice for the hope her tale has given us all."

"Thank you for s-shedding light on the festival," Hinata said as she bowed in thanks.

"Please, enjoy yourselves on this wonderous night," The woman said as she walked away with her companion.

"I never heard of a legend like that," Shino noted.

"Ah, you know these small villages," Kiba shrugged. "They always gotta have a backstory, y'know? But I gotta say, I dig it. I mean, look at all the wolves. I haven't seen this many since my family and I visited Tetsu no Kuni. This is my kind of place."

"Why would you go to Tetsu no Kuni of all places?" Sasuke dryly asked.

"Tetsu no Kuni?" Fū questioned.

"Y-Yes. That is a country that heavily relies on S-Samurai as a military power," Hinata explained. "One of o-our Tokubetsu Jōnin, Gekkō Hayate, c-came from there."

"Ah, that's pretty interesting," Fū mumbled. "I've never seen a Samurai before."

"The closest we've seen of Samurai was Zabuza, and that's due to Zabuza and Samurais using bladed weapons as their main way of combat," Sakura explained. "The reason we don't see them, from what Iruka-sensei taught us, is because of the pact shinobi and samurai made a long time ago."

"Yeah. Basically, Samurai are super tough and can fight shinobi on equal ground so we made a deal to keep far away from their land and them from ours," Kiba summed up with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Wow. They must be really strong," Fū breathed.

"D-Did your academy t-teach you about that, Fū-san?" Hinata politely inquired.

Naruto noticed Fū falter for a moment before she laughed and replied, "Nah, Taki doesn't teach us much about all of that. They just teach us how to fight."

"I wish ours did that," Kiba admitted. "All we learned was boring tests. You wouldn't believe the number of times either Naruto or I, or even both of us fell asleep in class during those boring lessons."

"That still doesn't explain why you went there, Inuzuka," Sasuke said.

"Oh, to visit family," Kiba easily answered.

"You have family in Tetsu no Kuni?" Shino asked.

Naruto attempted to pay attention to the conversation that was going on, but as he began to turn to ask Kiba what it was like, he caught the image of a ghostly woman riding upon an equally ghostly wolf in the distance.

The ghostly woman wore the same attire as the villagers around them, except she had a chainmail hood over her head and she had a glowing bow and arrow strapped to her back. He also noticed that the woman had two other wolves beside the wolf she was riding on and one behind it.

"Hey, Naruto?" Fū questioned, concern heavy in her voice as Naruto watched the woman turn her head to look at him. She then motioned to the ruins of a building on a platform in the distance, with a rickety wooden bridge that connected the main village with the platform.

The woman offered Naruto a small nod as she, and the wolves, slowly faded away with silver sparkles and gray mist. Had Naruto seen that right?

Fū poked his side with her index finger, which jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? What?" Naruto asked.

"Where did you go?" Fū asked as Hinata watched him with concerned eyes.

"N-Nothing. I thought I saw something. That's all," Naruto answered. "Now, how about that food?"

Both Fū and Hinata stared at him for a moment and then nodded but Naruto's eyes glanced off at the distance at the ruins.


Night soon fell on the village and Hinata found herself on the balcony of her shared hotel room, her right index and middle fingers picking at the orange rubberband around her left ring finger.

Dinner had been weird but nice, in her view. For the first time in a long, long time, she was able to interact and talk to Naruto without Kō or her father interfering.

Sure, she had to handle the exuberant girl, Fū, being there as well, but Hinata didn't mind Fū being there.

When she first met Fū in Konoha, there had been a brief burst of jealousy on her end, but after spending time with her on the road and even at dinner, Hinata found herself really liking the orange-eyed girl.

She reminded her so much of Naruto before his mission to Wave. It felt…nice having someone with so much positivity around her, especially since Naruto seemed so much more subdued since his return.

And who could blame him?

Naruto had found a girl to love and that love was ripped from him, as Ino had explained when the girl passed on what Sakura had told her. Hinata had felt sorrow for him for suffering through something like that.

So much so that Hinata didn't even realize how much it hurt her that Naruto fell in love with someone else until later that night. And it did hurt. She cried her heart out for what felt like an eternity. But at the same time, she knew she only had herself to blame.

Naruto was her friend until her father ordered Kō to rend that friendship asunder. He had been alone for all these years, while she stood in the shadows, unable to do anything due to the threat of instant sealing had she been seen with him. He deserved to be happy, and yet…she wanted him to be happy with her…

A part of her wished that she dared to be with him. To renew the friendship that she was forced to discard. To be the light that Naruto needed during this hard time. But all she had left of them was an orange rubberband and a red scarf…

'Naruto-kun…' Hinata thought to herself as stared at the moon. 'There must be a way to close the distance between us. There must be something I can…" Hinata drifted off as she noticed the object of her thoughts walking out of the hotel's front doors.

'Naruto-kun…Where are you going?' Hinata asked herself as she watched Naruto dart off to the left. For a moment, Hinata thought of waking Sakura and Fū, who she shared a room with, but instead, she shook her head.

No.

She would do what she always did and watch after him from the shadows.

She would keep him safe.

Hinata vaulted over the balcony railing and to the ground, where she landed with a crouch and silently chased after Naruto, unaware that someone had seen her movements.


After he walked across the rickety old bridge, Naruto found himself at the ruins of what looked to be an old church, where those dusky yellow flowers seemed to come from, as many of them sprouted within the green grass.

He also noticed two other things.

The first was a statue that stood in the middle of the far end wall, but it was heavily damaged, leaving Naruto unable to see what the statue was.

And like in his dream, there sat a beautiful shard of glowing pale-blue aura of light, with motes of frost-blue lights drifting around it.

Naruto looked around the church and shouted, "Here I am! Why did you tell me to come here?!"

Silence.

Nothing but silence.

"I have asked you here," A female's voice whispered, which prompted Naruto to turn around to see that same ghostly figure, sitting on the larger wolf that sat in the middle of the three smaller ones. "Per the request of another…"

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Latenna. An Albinauric," The woman revealed. "I, and my other half, Lobo, with his siblings, were asked to bring you here, to the Church of Elleh."

"By who?" Naruto asked.

"By me, Naruto-kun," A familiar voice answered.

Naruto whipped around and there, beside the shard of light, stood Haku, in all of her ethereal beauty, holding a katana with a Frost-blue sheath with both of her hands. "Haku," Naruto breathed as he quickly approached.

"Stop, Naruto-kun…" Haku rebuffed, which caused Naruto to stop with a look of confusion and hurt on his face. "Please, do not make this harder than it already is…"

"But why?" Naruto asked.

"I do not have a lot of time, Naruto-kun," Haku told him with a trembling voice. "I have only come to gift you a weapon and an item that Renna-sama wishes for you to have."

Naruto frowned. "I don't want anything that she is giving me," Naruto told her with narrowed eyes. "Not when she has your soul captive."

"But you must," Haku urged. "If…If you wish to free me, you must take these items. Adula is a powerful being that cannot be taken down by just guts and unpredictability alone."

"I can make do," Naruto stubbornly muttered.

"Please…" Haku whispered.

Naruto sighed. "Fine…" he acquiesced. "What is it that she wishes to give me?"

Haku bowed her head and slowly approached Naruto until she was right in front of him. It would be so easy for Naruto to take her body into his own, to kiss her as he's longed to do for so long, but he couldn't force that on her.

Not when she had just denied him.

Haku motioned to the katana as she said, "This is Moonveil. A weapon that Renna said her mother used during her travels to complete her mother's task…Now…Watch why she is giving you this weapon…"

Haku turned her back to him and motioned to the statue. She held the sheath at her side, and gripped the hilt as she ground her right foot against the ground. With a speed Naruto had not seen since their battle on the bridge, she unsheathed the blade, revealing its blade.

The blade looked like it was carved out of black ice, but within it, there was a shimmer of beautiful light that reminded him of the beams of light from the Moonlight Alter.

The light within Moonveil flared and Naruto watched as an arc of sparkling frost-blue energy flew from the blade as Haku swung it and slammed against the statue not only carving a gash into its marble surface but also freezing it.

"This weapon was altered by Renna-sama's mother to gift to her consort during their travels amongst the stars," Haku explained as she sheathed the blade, turned around, and held it out to Naruto. "It served her mother well during her travels. It shall now serve you in conquering Adula…"

Naruto frowned and grasped Moonveil, only to feel a burst of foreign energy enter and mingle within him. Had Naruto not been so taken aback by the burst, he would have noticed his veins pulsate with cobalt blue light that immediately faded.

"It will take time for it to acclimate to your body," Haku whispered. "However, when it does, if you channel chakra within it, you will be able to do as I did and fire a beam of Renna-sama's very power from it…."

Naruto sighed and held Moonveil in his left hand.

"The second gift is this…" With a flourish of that sparkling blue light and mist, Haku summoned a silver bell. "This is the Spirit Calling Bell. It served Renna-sama's mother well during her time. With this, you can summon spirit ashes to battle alongside you…" The bell then morphed into a seal, which Haku placed on Naruto's right forearm, causing him to wince as the cold chill of foreign energy melded within him.

When Haku moved away, Naruto got a look at the pale-gray seal which consisted of a thin circle with the kanji "Spirit Caller" written within it. He then watched as two smaller circles appeared around the seal, each one with kanji written within it. "What was that?" Naruto asked.

"That is how you will summon The Lone Wolf Ashes and Latenna," Haku revealed. "All you must do is touch the larger seal, followed by the smaller seal to summon who you wish to summon."

"And this is the only way to help free you?" Naruto asked. "By taking these gifts?"

"Yes…" Haku answered. "I know you think unkindly of Renna-sama, but please understand—"

"I can't," Naruto harshly interjected. "I get that she gave you and your clan her power at the cost of their souls and your own, but if she shouldn't lord that over you. Over me!"

"She's doing what she feels is right, Naruto-kun," Haku told him. "The things that she has shown me. The creatures amongst the stars. They are dangerous and more powerful than anything any of us can imagine. If this being manages to collect all of the pieces of the golden fell star, it will spell the end of our world."

Haku then reached out and touched his cheek for the first time. But unlike before, where there was warmth, there was nothing but a bitter chill that touched his soul. "I don't want to see you fall to them. And I don't want to see the world I find so beautiful returned to the torture that awaits it…"

Haku hastily removed her hand, as if she was burned by touching him. And that broke his heart just a little bit more. "Naruto…It may be harsh, but my clan, and I, had a duty that we failed to carry out. She's doing what she has to do to keep us from being beneath their thumb once again," Haku told him. "So please, do not think harshly of her…She's only fixing the mistake my clan and I caused by being killed…"

Haku then stepped away from him and turned to Latenna. "Latenna…I know that you were given rest by the Elden Lord. But thank you, for offering your service once more. After this, Lady Renna promises to leave you, and your other half, at peace."

"I owe my lord for achieving my wishes," Latenna whispered. "Her will, and thus the will of your master, Renna, will be done. We will serve under her champion until the bitter end…"

Naruto tasted ash at the woman's words.

"Thank you," Haku told the spirit, who nodded before she and the wolves vanished in the silver mist and sparkles. "I must go. Until we meet among the Moonlight once more, My Naruto…." Naruto watched as Haku faded away once more.

And as Naruto stood in the middle of the Church of Elleh, he felt more lost and heartbroken than he had before…


Captain Blues: And that is that. So, a lot of things were just revealed but for those who did not play Elden Ring, let me give you a bit of information.

The Spirit Calling Bell is a Key Item in Elden Ring. The bell allows the Tarnished to summon all types of beings. You get this item by talking to Ranni (Who goes by the name Renna) at the Church of Elleh.

The weapon Naruto received was the Moonveil. Its unique skill allows the user to draw the weapon at great speed for an instant slash attack and fires off a wave of light. Now, I altered this somewhat from its canon look so its blade is reminiscent of Ranni's gift to her consort and added the frostbite statues onto it.

And I decided that the first two spirits for Naruto were the same two spirits I wound up getting when I played Elden Ring, which was Latenna and the Wolves (The latter being an automatic choice). As for a well-known summon in our baby Jellyfish, she will come. Also, since I'm going off the canon of my Elden Ring run, My tarnished was a female who wielded Moonveil as her sole weapon, alongside Ranni's gift and a shit ton of magic, that's why I refer to the tarnished as a woman.

With this chapter, is my first major change, and that is the implied survival of the Kaguya clan. Will that come into play? Maybe. So, until the next chapter!