Before long, Naruto's eyes finally touched rays of light, natural light that he didn't just produce with chakra. The light was at the end of the tunnel and he could see it growing larger as he flew. He could almost taste the change in the air, and soon it wouldn't just be an almost. In his excitement, he was accelerating little by little, like a rocket escaping the suffocating atmosphere of the planetoid.

3… 2… 1… YEEESS! He counted down in his head, until he'd finally escaped into the open. His teeth parted from a smile to a wide open mouth, as he took in as much fresh air as his lungs could absorb. The air was cool, neither cold nor warm, many times better than the ice dimension to be sure.

It felt wonderful to be out, even if he didn't spend all that long inside of the massive meteorite that now laid behind him. Being trapped at all was something he really didn't like. Outside, the sky was still green, and on the ground there was nothing but reddish stone that proved he was still in one of Kaguya's dimensions. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky that he could see, or any water or life for that matter. It was a shame though. While rather bland, the environment wasn't particularly difficult or dangerous. If there was some dirt and water, then maybe life could start to develop in this barren landscape.

That aside, even though he was still in another dimension, a step forward was a step forward.

While still floating he turned around, and for the first time, he saw the full form of what he and Sasuke helped create. It was truly massive. From where he was, he couldn't see the ends of the spherical seal. It was like he was standing at the base of a mountain, or at the top and looking directly down. He could probably see it even if it was shot straight into space. The one that Nagato made to hold him was impressive and the meteorites Madara tried to drop on him were even larger, but this made them look like pebbles. With that in mind, he impressed himself by how quickly he must have flown, and how far he could extend his reach through his six paths power.

He smiled for a moment, proud of himself and how cool he'd become, but his pride was quickly and abruptly cut short.

"I said, PUT ME DOWN!" Kaguya suddenly screamed, sending a wealth of negative emotions into Naruto's sixth or seventh or eighth sense, as well as an invisible force that felt much like Nagato's almighty push.

It felt like a punch to the gut, and the face, and the sides, all at once, even though his cloak protected him from any serious damage. He was so caught up in the moment, he managed to forget that he was holding Kaguya herself like a kid would hold a toy or doll.

Naruto quickly descended towards the ground, not wanting to get hit again but also not wanting to simply drop her. When he and the Rabbit Goddess were about half a meter off the ground he let go, and saw her feet touch the ground. Her face was no less irritated with him, and his confused expression did nothing to help.

"See? We made it out just like I said." Naruto boasted as he touched down.

Kaguya scoffed, and turned away from Naruto, putting the moon-sized seal behind her head. "Yes, you've returned me to one of my own domains. Do you expect gratitude from me for an incomplete task?"

"Of course I know we're not done!" Naruto shouted and turned away with a huff. "Jeez, this is what I get for helping an old hag out?"

"Help? I will ignore your insult, but in what manner do you believe you've helped? None of this would be, if not for you and your brother!" Kaguya shouted. Naruto could feel that she moved from where she was standing, a bit closer to him in fact, and that she was pointing an accusative finger at him.

Naruto brushed her hand aside and started looking around. He wanted to see if there was anything he could use to help them, but to no avail. Everyone else well and truly was gone from this dimension. He then had a thought, in particular about Kaguya herself, and turned back to talk to her. But as he did, he heard a frustrated sigh escape her lips. She looked annoyed about something, very much so, but she wasn't looking at him this time.

"What're you upset about?" Naruto asked skeptically but curiously.

"The divine tree… I can't draw chakra from the divine tree. What has happened?" She mumbled.

"Beats me, but Sasuke probably freed everyone from it. You won't be turning any of my friends into White Zetsu." Naruto declared happily.

"Foolish boy, without the Divine Tree, the chakra I require will forever elude me. You may have broken my son's seal, but we remain trapped here." Kaguya said with a disgruntled look.

"Why not just build up your chakra here? You've got plenty of time." Naruto asked.

"Have my eyes failed, or have yours? Do you see a Divine Tree within this space?" Kaguya said sarcastically.

Naruto frowned and raised his voice in irritation. "Chakra doesn't need to come from your stupid trees lady! You watched me mold chakra myself, and I'm definitely no planter or farmer."

Kaguya was silent at his response, like she ran out of words to say, and in the next five seconds there was silence yet again between the two. Gears were turning in Naruto's head in the meantime, until he had yet another realization.

"Do you not know how to get chakra without that tree?" Naruto asked, almost unable to believe he had to ask such a ridiculous question. Even animals, not the ones who knew senjutsu, knew how to gather chakra. Akamaru was a prime example.

But the fact was that the nearly all-powerful Rabbit Goddess that stood before him didn't deny his question. In fact, the silence spoke volumes of how correct he was even when he doubted himself.

"I am an Otsutsuki, and we are very different from you humans. Our techniques differ from yours, as do our capabilities and requirements." Kaguya said in her usual tone, but this time it felt less like mockery and more just a simple explanation.

"So your clan never bothered teaching you how to get your own chakra, just make one of those chakra-sucking trees and get it from those?"

"My clan developed many methods of obtaining chakra, but your method is… not among them." Kaguya admitted.

Naruto almost felt a shred of pity for the alien woman. It was hard to believe that her entire clan, or maybe her species, was all about taking from others rather than making anything themselves. It was a terrible mentality and one that could only lead to bad things. Then again, here they were.

"Alright, I'll teach you then before we go." Naruto said as he sat down. "Make sure to use those Byakugan to watch, because I'm not good with explaining things in words."

Kaguya did as he asked, and the veins around her eyes bulged. She observed his chakra network carefully, like she was studying for an exam. She listened to his organs as well, his heart and lungs especially. The currents in his chakra network were rising as his body remained steady and tranquil. Each long breath he took in, he amassed a little more chakra. She began to understand more and more, what was happening, what he was doing, and how he did it. So, she followed suit, taking her seat and assuming a comfortable posture.

Naruto was staring at Kaguya as well and watched her in turn. At first, it was obvious that she was an amateur at something like this. But she didn't stay that way. Even though it was her first time building up chakra on her own, she was quickly getting used to it. He could feel her chakra level rising, and since he'd only done it a little as a demonstration, was able to sense the difference in their pools growing steadily. Still, it wasn't even close to the speed that she gained chakra when she was revived the first time. Of course, comparing the method one single person used to gather chakra against taking chakra directly from millions upon millions of people, was an absurd idea.

"I see now, but it is too slow." Kaguya said, matching exactly what Naruto thought she would say. She and Naruto both stood up then, but Kaguya seemed dissatisfied. "It will take too long to return to my proper self… but I will admit, it is useful as a measure of desperation. It is probably more than sufficient for the weaker ones of your race."

"Hey, just because most of us don't have the chakra you do, doesn't mean we're weak. We have lots of techniques and stuff you've never imagined, so don't ever look down on us Shinobi, you got that?" Naruto said demandingly.

"Your techniques are born precisely because of your weakness. My clan's techniques are proof of the strength we've obtained, and they're not so boorish as to be easily copied by anyone else like yours. Each is to their creator, and them alone. Those are the greatest differences between your ninjutsu, and Shinjutsu." Kaguya lectured again, apparently having regained her superiority complex.

"Yeah? Let's see what your fancy Shinjutsu can do then without stealing chakra from others." Naruto dared with a mocking tone.

"I have no need to prove myself to a mere child… but I will make a single exception for my grandson's reincarnation. Witness true power and savor the experience." Kaguya declared.

She raised both of her hands and them against each other. Chakra circulated throughout her body and into a growing gap between the palms of her hands. It was raw and undiluted chakra, untouched by elemental affinity and undivided by the mind or body, or even negative and positive. It was what few Shinobi knew as the fabled and rare, but very much real, Yin-Yang release.

Naruto saw a tiny black dot appear between her hands. It was the size of a grape, but it was beginning to grow with each second. Naruto quickly deduced what it was, as there were few options to the identity of a black spherical object made of very powerful chakra through Yin-Yang release.

And a few seconds later, Kaguya had created a new Truthseeker Orb. It wasn't massive nor constantly expanding either. It was just like the ones that floated behind Naruto's back. It was an impressive sight to behold, since Naruto knew full well just how useful those small black balls of chakra were. He didn't know how they were made before, but seeing the creation of one before his very eyes helped him understand. The fact that only those with the chakra of the Ten Tails had them, suddenly made more sense to him.

"Wow, so that's how these things are made. But super gramps has his own, did you give him them? And what about mine, or Obito or Madara?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"If only you would listen better." Kaguya groaned with dissatisfaction. "Truthseeker Orbs are my Shinjutsu, created through my chakra. What do you think allows your kind to use my Shinjutsu?"

"Oh… right." Naruto mumbled as the gears in his head clicked. The common thread was the Ten Tails, or rather its chakra, and the Ten Tails was Kaguya herself.

"Now, do you see the truth of your kind's inferiority? How many of you can hope to create or even rival just this one orb?" Kaguya asked, playfully lifting the orb up and down without ever actually touching it.

"We Shinobi have plenty of people who can do things most others can't. The first Hokage could control trees and plants and no one else could." Naruto argued.

"And how was this Hokage viewed? As one amongst you, or something far greater?" Kaguya asked, almost letting a smirk form on her face.

"That's besides the point! Just because you do something unique doesn't mean you're automatically better than everyone else. What makes someone awesome is how they make strength and techniques their own and how they use it. I bet there's a lot of people who can do things that even Shinjutsu can't. Like this!" Naruto said as he put his fingers together again. He initiated a jutsu, but suddenly, he felt a sharp prick in his shoulder, and his jutsu didn't activate.

Naruto paused, and looked around in confusion. He then looked at his shoulder where the pinching feeling came from, and there was a white needle sticking into his shoulder. It was the same kind of needle that Kaguya shot at Sasuke before. It didn't hurt really, but it hit one of his chakra points and stopped his jutsu. The one who shot it, was of course, a very flustered Otsutsuki.

"Use that deplorable technique in front of me again, and I swear that I will tear you to pieces, chakra be damned!" Kaguya shouted, with her face finally gaining a color other than white.

"Ugh, whatever." Naruto said with an annoyed expression. That hair thing's pervy sage's jutsu y'know.

"If you are going to show me anything at all, then it should be how you enhance your chakra with that peculiar energy." Kaguya all hut demanded.

"Enhance?" Naruto repeated to himself. Was she talking about natural energy? She probably wasn't talking about Tailed Beast chakra, which left Sage Mode as his other way of boosting his strength. "Wait, what do you mean peculiar?"

"I mean it is strange. You are adding that strange kind of energy to my chakra, that power that makes animals talk, and making it stronger than the amount and potency you possess should have. How else do you think you have been able to harm my body with my own chakra, which should do nothing to me." Kaguya explained, letting out a slight hint of eagerness to hear his answer.

"It's not weird. It's natural energy. It's a super amazing thing I mastered that's helped me out of a lot of bad spots." Naruto answered. He pointed at his cross-slit shaped pupils, although he had no way to know that his eyes weren't exactly indicating just Sage Mode.

"That much is obvious. Tell me how you control it." Kaguya followed up.

"Hm? Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea." Naruto said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"Why not?!" Kaguya exclaimed indignantly.

"We're still enemies first off! Just because we're free doesn't mean we're pals now " Naruto shouted back. Of course, there were other reasons, but this fact was the most important.

"Then become my subordinate and teach me!"

"You want me to be your lackey?! You're the one asking me for something here. You should be calling me Sensei first!"

"You're but a child, and you think that you can stand as my equal, let alone my superior?!"

"Talking like that is probably what made your kids want to leave in the first place you know!"

"..."

"..."

And just like that, their exchange screeched to a silent halt. They were left staring at each other, and Naruto had no idea of what to say next. He didn't want this kind of fight in the first place, but he also didn't want to do as she told him to. They weren't friends or allies, and it was obvious to Naruto why she wanted to learn Sage Mode. She would use it to try to help her put everyone under genjutsu and take their chakra just like she did before. She only saw him and the rest of humanity as livestock or plants to be eaten, and that wasn't the kind of thinking Naruto would ever support. He'd rather die a hundred times than condemn his friends to a fate like becoming White Zetsu, and he would absolutely deny a monster like her any opportunity to do so.

But that being said, why did she look so… shaken up? She wasn't getting violent like Sakura, but she was definitely upset by him. Was it what he said about her sons?

He had to change the subject, he thought, and shifted gears into something else.

"When I get back, I'm going to be Hokage, which means I'll protect my village from anything, so I can't teach you if you're just going to destroy our world, or whatever you see it as." Naruto said, much more calmly than the shouting match they'd just had.

"I must prepare myself and this world for what is coming. I need chakra to protect humanity." Kaguya muttered.

"Protect from what? Aliens from outer space? You were already super strong, what is making you scared?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"You are ignorant to the affairs of my clan, and rightfully so. It hardly matters now, and your precious wish to become this Hokage you speak of, will be for naught. When my kin arrive, all will be lost."

"Your kin? So others in your clan are coming to earth too?" Naruto all but shouted with teeth and rage bare to see.

"And they are not as kind as I am. I had done what I could to hide my world, so that I could prepare for their arrival. Now, they will destroy my precious world when they find it."

"Hide? You're not making any sense, lady. You were just talking about how great your clan was, just like one annoying bastard I know, and now you're saying you're on different sides or something?" Naruto complained in exasperation.

"You have quite the audacity to demand elaboration while refusing me in turn. I should expect nothing less from a mere brat who cannot see beyond their own footsteps." Kaguya chastised.

"Then how about this? You explain to me what's going on, and I'll give you a hint on how natural energy works."

"Do not try to extort me, child. If any kind of agreement is to be made, I will accept no less than I am offering. I will expand your mind, but you will give me what I seek. Am I understood?" Kaguya asked, pushing her finger into his face.

"Ugh, fine whatever!" Naruto swatted her hand from his face. "Then start from the beginning, because I have a lot of questions, but also make it quick because I don't know how long it's been since I was out. For starters, what are you and your clan and where did you come from?"

Kaguya, having heard his acceptance of their agreement, felt a tinge of satisfaction. She took a breath, one of unceasing irritation stirred on by her only conversation partner. If all she had to do to obtain control over that power he and her son used was talk about her clan, then it was an acceptable deal. It wasn't like knowing about it would do any good for him anyways. Although as a courtesy, before she gave her answer, she waved her hand at the ground. The stone shook a bit, before a set of chairs rose out of it. She sat down in one, making sure to brush her hair aside so that she didn't sit on her own, and then waited for Naruto to take the other. He looked hesitant to sit down, like he expected it to be a trap on her part to backstab him. However, Naruto couldn't sense any intent to harm coming from her.

"You asked for the beginning, didn't you?" Kaguya asked.

Naruto stayed still for a moment, before agreeing, and taking his seat about a meter or two from her. She cleared her throat and began to talk.

"We are the Otsutsuki Clan, and for countless generations, we have sought immortality."

"Aren't you immortal now?" Naruto asked.

"Don't interrupt me! It's disrespectful." Kaguya exclaimed immediately, but regained her composure. "I am indeed powerful, and unable to die in some respects. You humans had worshiped me as a Goddess, but I am not invincible, as I have been frustratingly forced to learn. The end that my clan seeks to achieve is greater than this, one which does not tire or wane in strength, and is completely invincible. That is what we have sought for thousands of years. Compared to that, your shinobi history is the impulse of a single dream."

Naruto let out a mix between a grunt and a groan, hoping she would continue without the unnecessary bragging.

"Members of my clan seek worlds that are rich in chakra, and use the Divine Trees to gather that chakra into edible forms. With greater chakra, greater forms, we should become gods. That is the belief of my clan, and that was the reason that I had come to this world. It, unlike many I have witnessed, is far more plentiful." Kaguya explained, and took a moment to breathe and let Naruto process what she said.

"So you guys just go from place to place stealing chakra from others so you can live longer." He said bluntly.

"I told you, it is not to live longer, it is to become eternal. Surely, even you should be able to grasp the value of being able to mold all things like clay in your hands. You would need no such thing as a body, or food, only your mind and your will." Kaguya reminded him with a defensive tone.

"Well, then why'd you go and hide the world like you said? Why didn't you just suck up all the chakra and move on or whatever you were gonna do?" Naruto asked skeptically. Her motives didn't make sense. If she wanted to become even stronger, then she could have gotten more fruits from the earth. It wasn't like she drained it dry.

"Because, after repeating this process several times, I saw no change. Stronger, certainly, but never did any of my clan escape the need for the chakra in their own bodies. Even I must take chakra into myself before anything is to be done. But when I came to the world that would become mine, I had discovered something strange. Some of the world's creatures were capable of using strange abilities, but they did not possess chakra. I wasn't able to find them, though." Kaguya explained, sounding a bit disappointed at the end.

The toads? Even you couldn't find them? Naruto questioned in his head. Was Mt. Myoboku that well hidden?

"And that power is exactly what you have brought to arms against me."

"Wait, then why didn't you just drain that too?"

"Chakra fruits do not possess it, obviously!" Kaguya said, annoyed by his cluelessness.

"Oh, right, that makes sense… but wait a minute!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing a demanding finger at Kaguya. "I've sensed Ten Tails before. Kurama said it's just one huge blob of natural energy. So what, the tree gets it but doesn't add it to chakra?"

"It would seem so, which is why I had elected to not extract all of the life of this world. When I discovered the existence of this energy, I wished to study it and obtain it for myself. I was confident that if I could claim that power, it could become another path towards my clan's dream, and entire worlds would no longer have to be sacrificed for us."

It started to make sense, at least somewhat. If she destroyed the world, she would lose her chance to learn about natural energy, but if she didn't do it, she would upset her clan and they would probably do something about it. Clans were annoyingly strict about how their members conducted themselves for multiple and dumb reasons. Whether it was the Hyuugas and their branch system that made Neji's life so much harder, or the Uchihas that Sasuke never stopped bragging about. She hid the world so she could study it, like how Jiraiya-sensei hid and used peepholes to do his "research".

Naruto was surprised, though, about her motives. Her reason for wanting to learn to master nature energy wasn't a completely selfish one, although personal gain was pretty clearly one of if not the main reason. He might have even commented on that. But then, Kaguya turned away from Naruto. He saw her head tilt slightly downward, and her voice became quiet and faint.

"I was so sure I found the answer."

Naruto could tell that she was upset, but it definitely wasn't directed at him. She was… disappointed in herself. She was angry at herself and her own failures. He saw her wipe her hand across her face, but since she wasn't facing him, he didn't see why.

But come to think of it, was she actually wrong? Her clan, according to her, was looking for a way to be immortal without needing a body, basically a ghost that still existed in the physical world and could do things like they did when they were alive. It would be like being an Edo Tensei, except without the weakness of being sealed. That kind of thing seemed completely absurd.

But then not long ago, Kakashi-sensei was able to use Kamui and create a Susanoo even without any sharingan, as if Obito himself had come back and given them to him, but Obito died just a few minutes before that. Naruto watched him die right in front of him. Kakashi-sensei was even able to hurt Kaguya like he and Sasuke could. As a matter of fact, he and Sasuke too, when they were on death's door, met the Sage of Six Paths himself, and he gave them both a giant supply of chakra. But the Sage of Six Paths was just a ghost, and it wasn't like he was alive and fighting alongside them. Yet despite being dead, he could still affect the real world. None of it was a hallucination or fever dream, all of it was real, and the connecting factor was Six Paths power.

Six Paths power was what she was looking for. It was exactly what she and the rest of her clan must have been searching for. As he realized that, a perfect storm robbed his mind of the other thoughts in his head, and Kaguya then spoke again.

"Now then, if that is all you wished to know, then I expect you to honor our pact." She asked.