Chapter Thirty-Six - Kage Summit
"Well then," Naruto said simply as he stared at his girls after they recounted their actions yesterday. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
At the blonde Prince's sighed comment, the girls were shocked by his willingness to not only believe Karin's newfound Divinity but everything that happened to them. They were there and they had trouble believing it! Karin herself had trouble with her Divine name over her birth name but with the Box now in her possession, hovering above her right shoulder with the size of her fist, she is able to discern the two different aspects of herself.
He cocked an eyebrow at their looks and chuckled softly with a small smirk. "I guess since Karin is now a Demi, I guess I can share more of what is happening in the universe."
The girls cocked their heads in curiosity and gave varying degrees of confusion and interest.
"So to begin, the gods of our world are many. Each has a domain over various worldly aspects and sometimes these overlap. Gods of life against goddesses of death. Gods of destruction against goddesses of creation. The night against the day. Peace against war. The list goes on." Naruto took a breath when he noticed a question on Tayuya's face. "Yes, Tayuya-chan?"
"Our clan has used our connection with the Shinigami to control many aspects of death and resurrection, but you said the goddess of death for a reason."
Naruto now understood the confusion. "The Shinigami is the aspect that many of us mortals recognize but he is not the only one. The other goddess of death is Hel, who resides in one of the hells, as well as Hades who is another god of the dead."
Naruto realised how quickly this would get complicated and groaned. "Ah, shit, this will be tough as I've had the entire few years to understand this. Let's simplify this. The main gods you need to be concerned about are three and one emissary. Each are very powerful and very real entities that have at one time or can currently walk this world and as such many cultures worship them around the world."
"First is the emissary who represents the voice of the Father and Mother of existence to our world. Her name is Uriel the Wise, also known as the Sun of the Father and the Angel of Salvation. She is a powerful woman who represents the Father and Mother in what is essentially a heavenly council with the other godly beings."
"Why does this Father and Mother not rule themselves," Zoya questioned with a calculating stare.
"When you create something and give it free will, you do not speak lest you cause fanaticism," Naruto answered swiftly. "It's the same reason I do not always speak on any foreign policy or action as it could sway not only the opinion of my people but of that of others as well."
He then continued his explanation by saying, "so the first of this heavenly council is Amaterasu-no-Okami, also known as the Divine Empress. She is a primary goddess of many faiths across our content, but she is also speculated to be the ancestor of the royal family in Demon country hence why the Priestess holds so much sway over her people and the Future Cult."
"Second is Odin, the god of knowledge, wisdom and healing. He is also known as the Warrior King and the All-Father, and he is primarily worshipped in Gaal countries Claw and Wolf. He presided over a kingdom known as Asgard where warriors of his faith go and prepare for their doomsday prophecy. He is often represented as an elderly man with a beard and thinning hair, one good eye, a wooden staff, cloak, and two crows."
"Third is Zeus the god of sky, lightning, law, and order. He is the King of his siblings and their children from a place they call Mount Olympus. He's a selfish bastard if I've ever heard or met one and his faith is primarily worship among city-states further east of Gaal. He is primarily represented as a middle-aged man with an excellent physique that fits a more youthful appearance and is otherwise seen with his master bolt, which he uses to control lightning strikes during bad weather."
Naruto took a breath and exhaled roughly. "Karin-chan's mother is the goddess of destruction and creation under Zeus' pantheon, specifically the child of Hephaestus, making her a second generation goddess of the same domains. I however have fallen into a fifth category because of my extraordinary circumstances," Naruto took a sip of his drink before continuing. "I am a Child of Prophecy created by the Mother herself and as such my divinity is equal to the Chief gods. However, my unique existence means that I am an outsider that can be a threat to the perceived balance of the world."
The girls heard the hint of annoyance in the blonde's tone but decided to not say anything as it would only prolong what he was trying to explain.
"Each pantheon varies in size of perceived deities but they have their own worlds beyond us and that is considered their Heaven and some either have a Hell controlled by fellow gods or by demons. This is to allow a more systematic distribution of different faiths so as to not clutter, which happened in the far past and was a very hazardous occurrence when different faiths began warring with each other in the afterlife."
"As I mentioned, Odin presides over Asgard where the warriors of his faith who die in battle will pass on. This place is called Valhalla and is where the warriors of the faith will rest until their doomsday which they call Ragnorak. For the people who betray their oaths and sacred laws, they will find themselves in Helheim which is their hell. This place is controlled by Hel, the goddess of death, famine, and despair, and it is in her world that these souls are consumed by the Nidhoggr."
"What in the fuck is a Ned-hogger?"
"Nidhoggr," Naruto corrected Tayuya with a chuckle. "It is a dragon that feeds on the roots of the World Tree, which is how they perceive the heavens, worlds, and hells in their faith."
"Now for most of our world, those who do not follow the teachings of the Sage follow the words of Amaterasu. Her Heaven is Takamagahara and is the smallest of the divine realms. The hell is Yomi and is a reflection of our world and cultures, which is where all of the dead continue on with a gloomy existence."
"You have Zeus with the gods in Mount Olympus but that place specifically is where the gods and goddesses preside. Their dead continue on to a place called Erebos, which is overseen by Hades, the god of death, wealth and riches. Many places exist here for the dead depending on how the lived their life and if you visit the lands of this faith you may hear of places like Styx, Elysium, Tartaros, and others."
"The only unique place is the afterlife for the last faith. The Heaven of this faith is called Paradise and Celestia interchangeably, and is overseen by the Archangels. The good go here where they fill the ranks of the angels and they follow the doctrines of the Father and Mother whom they serve forever. However, the evil go to a place of ash and fire called Pandemonium. This is where the fallen angels and demons torture the mortals they see as inferior. The Demon Masks in Konohagakure, Samael and Beelzebub, are the masks embodying two of the many rulers of Pandemonium."
Naruto scratched his chin in thought as he was spacing out during his explanation. "Now most of the time when a second generation divine being is born, the gods and goddesses convene to decide whether to kill you or mark you as a champion. The latter is done to force you into their service, forever doing what they desire of the mortal world until your death."
Naruto saw the look of horror on Karin's face and grabbed her hand with a squeeze of assurance. "No need to worry, Karin-chan, the gods and goddesses will do nothing with me around. You are mine before you are any of theirs. I can promise you that you will be safe so long as I exist."
"So what will happen?" Zoya asked while thinking over what she and the others just learned.
"Nothing, most likely. But this could also mean that there are more second generations being born in our world," Naruto said with a shrug but what he didn't show was that would make things difficult. "None of you have anything to worry about but I felt it needed to tell you everything is true when it comes to the various faiths in the world. However, do not go telling that when a dispute over faiths happens. The gods like to use us as proxy wars between pantheons to determine the more powerful faith."
"That's bullshit."
Naruto chuckled at Tayuya's statement as he personally agreed with her but there was nothing he could do about it. Yet.
Later
Naruto was preparing his report to the Kage Summit that will happen in three days, his complete statement coming to nearly forty pages long that detailed every flaw and happenings during his stay. He also did not keep what occurred with Mui silent as it would need to be explained what the man did and why he is now dead - as well as over three-quarters of the prison guards. Kiwako Makina is serving as temporary Lady Warden until a new one could be found. But Naruto had an idea on what he would propose to the various Kage.
Signing the last page of the document before sealing it away onto his jacket storage seal, the blonde pulled out a new scroll from his pouch and laid it on the table to reveal a prison seal. Making sure to activate a privacy seal that made his immediate area invisible, he pulsed chakra into the prison seal and entered the cell.
Sitting with a large plate of sweets and a colouring book, Shiro was happily eating while drawing. To anyone else it would look like a young girl enjoying her time by herself. However, he could still feel the true personality was awake and when the girl turned to him her eyes were dark with suspicion. It seems that it was not so much a dual personality as it was just who she was to protect herself in Deadman Wonderland.
"What do you want, fox boy," she asked with a hostile tone.
"I think we can gain more by talking to each other rather than keeping you locked up in here, don't you think?" Naruto sat a bit away from the bars of the cell that are powered up to prevent the girl from using her blood powers to attack him. "I think we can be friends now that you are free from your previous predicament."
The girl huffed and took a large bit of her pastry. She pointed it at him and spoke with the food in her mouth, "Moving from one leash to the next does not equate freedom. No matter the slack you give to use me."
Naruto understood the girl's accusations and feelings on him in particular, he may even say he would agree with her point of view. "I know words don't mean as much as actions, so that is why I would ask if you would give me the chance to prove my honesty?"
Shiro's pink eyes peered at him with barely hidden disbelief but after a while she rolled her eyes. "Let me get vengeance on that old bastard and I will consider believing you."
Naruto grinned and slapped his knee softly. "Done. Anything else?"
Shiro blinked at the boy's lack of hesitation and turned to regard him with a shocked look. She is silent as she looks him over, looking for any hint of a lie, before she swallows the rest of her cookie softly. "I want-… I want to be complete."
Naruto's enhanced hearing caught the soft request that he was sure was not meant to be heard and his grin softened into a kind smile. He got to his feet and dusted himself without looking at her. "I will do my best. Let's fulfil that first request, yeah?"
Naruto flashed a grin before he exited the prison seal. He was back in his chair in the real world and he deactivated the privacy seal just as Ryuzetsu entered the room. She saw him and immediately made her way over, standing on the opposite side of the table without speaking or taking a seat.
The blonde sighed. After finding her sister alive and taken from the facility by his clone, she had been acting strange. She had been around more, awkwardly standing nearby whenever he was around and it was slowly starting to get on his nerves. "If you have something to say, just say it."
Ryuzetsu tensed for a moment before speaking with a formal tone. "I have been wanting to thank you for finding and saving my sister. I've heard the things she went through down there and it makes my blood boil. But I heard you killed and arrested those responsible so it is thanks to you I have the last of my family back with me."
Naruto looked up and he caught the glimmer of unshed tears in the girl's eyes. He did not say anything and just let the girl continue.
"After the death of Muku, I clung to my sister for a long time. She was there for me and was stronger both in spirit and body. She fought for us and always said she would take care of me. But while I was in the academy, she disappeared without a trace and it was thought she died on a mission. I had started to give up and thought that I was destined to lose everyone I love."
She wiped her face after that and she couldn't help the few sobs that escaped her lips. "Thank you so much, Uzumaki-san. Nothing in this world I can provide will be enough to repay you."
She gasped when she felt arms wrap around her and she opened her eyes without moving to find the blonde holding her softly. He rested his chin on her head and said nothing, just breathing while waiting for her to calm down.
"There is nothing needed to repay what is right," Naruto told her softly, quietly. "I am glad I could bring back someone for you. Knowing you got your family back is enough to reward me with happiness."
Ryuzetsu squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around the taller male, listening to his heartbeat as she enjoyed the embrace.
"Prince-sama."
Ryuzetsu jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice and she pushed herself out of the blonde's arms to get a look at who entered the room. It was that former Iwa-nin, Maya, that always served the blonde hand and foot.
"Yes, Maya-san?"
"The bodies are prepared," Maya bowed with the scroll outstretched towards him.
"Good, I want you to deliver it to them," he told her with the silent command of who and where he meant. "I want you back by this evening."
"Understood, master," Maya answered before disappearing in a shushin.
With that done, Naruto turned back to the white-haired girl and gave a grin. Closing in on her before she could react, he ghosted a kiss on her cheek before proceeding to leave the room. She froze with wide eyes at his action.
Amegakure
Rain, the country that never sees sunlight beyond two weeks out of the year. The land gained fame in the Second Shinobi War when Hanzo the Salamander faced and named the Third Hokage's students as the Densetsu no Sannin. Even now, the land honours the former leader by wearing gas masks in similarity to the man's own.
The current power structure of the shinobi capital, Amegakure, is vastly different after Hanzo has died. Many don't know how the man went but most speculated he just died of old age as his health was in decline for a few years. The current ruler is an unknown man who is simply known as the God of Rain as he has been known to stop the occasional flood and even held the rain at bay when needed. The face of the leader, however, is the Angel; she appears with messages and decrees from the God but also handles village affairs.
The village has noted but otherwise ignored the new faces that have begun appearing in the village; rogue ninja of other villages with various powers but none below the rank of A. The reason nothing has been said or there is no worry is because they wear the cloaks of their God and Angel. So clearly, the newcomers are working for their beloved God.
Maya wore a dark charcoal cloak with the red Uzumaki swirl on the back, protecting her from the rain as she travelled the streets of the industrious shinobi village. She got a few stares from various civilians and even some shinobi that tailed her but she continued her trek to her destination; the capital building in the centre of the village that pierced the dark cloudy skies.
"Stop!"
Maya paused and turned to where the shout came from to see a masked man and three Jonin. The masked man had a blank black mask that covered his face from the cheeks up to his forehead while the nose and mouth was covered by a black gas mask that has a single filter over the mouth. To Maya, he was clearly this village's version of Anbu special operators.
"State your business this far into the village."
Maya did not answer the man immediately, instead turning to look back at her destination. As she took a step forward to continue on, she spoke in a monotonous tone, saying, "I have business with your leaders."
"I did not tell you to continue!"
Maya stopped as she found her way blocked by two more operators and three Jonin.
"We will have to detain you and confirm your identity."
Maya sighed and she tensed, her mouth twitching into an annoyed scowl. She scoffed and unsheathed her katana gracefully. "I am an emissary of Uzushio, sent personally by Prince-sama. If you choose to prevent me in my tasks, I will treat you as hostile. Choose your next actions… carefully."
Her blade superheated into a bright orange light, causing a fog to erupt around her as the falling rain evaporated from the intense heat. This set even the operators on edge as the rain that falls is now seen as tied to their divine God. It should not be possible for it to be deterred in such a way.
Just as a huge fight was to break out, the rain stopped suddenly and a type of flapping can be heard. The shinobi quickly got to their knees, confusing Maya for a second, before they all simultaneously shouted, "Angel-sama!"
Maya looked up to see a woman approaching with large white wings but as she looked carefully she could see the wings were made out of paper. So she can control paper? Does that mean she has a lesser form of Wood Style?
Maya was unsure what it was but as the other woman landed she could tell that she had appeared for her. "I am assuming you are this Angel I have heard about. Prince-sama saw you at the Chunin Exams three years ago."
"I remember," Konan nodded her head. "Please, let us talk in private."
Maya agreed by nodding her head and followed the woman the rest of the way to the centre skyscraper.
It wasn't long before they arrived and once inside Konan led the way further into the building. Maya took note of the various cloaked individuals that they had passed and most of them she knew. A-rank ninja that blurred in the back of her kind with her master's knowledge but the S-rank she can name along with their nicknames. Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara the Mad Bomber, the young girl from the Chunin Exams Ajisai - who seems to have grown extremely powerful in the last three years -, and a few more no-named individuals.
"God-sama is in here," Konan spoke as they approached a wooden and iron door. "He felt your approach when you first stepped foot in Amegakure land."
"Maybe it would have been better if you came to meet me instead of trying to put on a little show," Maya couldn't help but snark back.
Konan ignored the woman and instead knocked on the door. She got a rough "enter" before opening the door.
Maya looked at the man that sat at the desk and found an orange-haired individual with countless face piercings. Despite being the leader of his village, his ninja headband is slashed to signify him denouncing his allegiance. Interesting.
"Greetings, foreigner," the man greeted.
Maya bowed her head in greetings simply for appearance but she knew that this was all some dramatic farce. They did try to kill her master, after all, so her arrival can either be the start of war or a sue for peace. She had to prepare her desummon back to her master in case things went south.
"What brings you to my country," the man asked.
"My master wishes to give you what belongs to you as well as a message," Maya pulled out a scroll as well as an envelope as she spoke. "The scroll is yours, but my master asked that I personally read the letter addressed to you."
"Very well," the god said as he set the scroll on his desk and sat back to listen.
Maya cleared her throat, clearly exaggerating, as she opened the envelope by breaking the Uzumaki seal. "To the esteemed country leader, I believe this is the first time I have to address a family member so formally. It is a testament to Uzumaki's ability to always gain power no matter where they are. I would be proud if it wasn't for the blatant attack by your organisation on my life."
The duo tensed in the room at the accusation and Maya had to fight back the proud smirk that threatened to form. The man turned to the scroll and he grabbed it and immediately released whatever was inside. In two clouds of smoke, the heads of his shinobi - Hidan's bloodied one and Kakuzu's charred other - appeared on his desk,
"I'm sure it is sad to hear that your undying ninja could not kill me but the opposite occurred. If this was anyone else, they would say this is the start of war between our two nations. While I hear you are known as a god in your village," Maya made sure to say that with as much sarcasm as allowed, "I believe that it would do for us to strive for peace rather than war. Do not take this as me being fearful of you or your organisation, I guarantee you that is far from the case. If you do not want to have peace I will level your village like Yukigakure."
Maya did not react in time before she was sent flying through the door from an unseen force. She righted herself and slid down the hall, passing many rooms that had the organisation members. I guess diplomacy ends.
Maya blocked the paper shuriken with her superheated katana, her dark eyes glinting with excitement as the purple-haired woman approached down the hall. "I guess there is no need for niceties anymore. Master did mention you guys might attack me."
"Ame's god has taken your leader's message as a provocation for war," the woman declared with a small tinge of disappointment in her tone.
"Ah, but sending assassins after my master isn't a provocation of war?" Maya slid her katana in front of her and prepared to face the woman. "One of our masters is a fake god, so this war will decide who is truly blessed with divinity."
Do not fight them.
Maya froze at the command from her master and grit her teeth in frustration. Yes, master.
Konan watched as the woman sheathed her sword before disappearing in a gust of ash. After a few seconds, she quickly turned around and made her way back to her leader before asking, "where did she escape to?"
The god is silent for a few moments before shaking his head. "She is no longer in the country. Whatever she did was long distance transportation. Zetsu, can you tell where she is?"
A shadow approached from the far wall and a walking Venus flytrap formed before them. "No I cannot. She seems to have disappeared completely after her technique. Although, I doubt it was a technique but probably had more to do with seals considering the country she is representing."
The god is quiet as he thought about this. He had not learned about his clan's specialty after gaining the Rinnegan and he had to simply trust the possibility presented by his recon specialist. "It is concerning that Kakuzu and Hidan were killed by the Nine-Tails so easily. Beheading has not taken them out before."
"There might be Uzumaki techniques that killed them," Konan suggested lightly. "If I'm free to speak, Leader-sama, I believe it would have been more tactical to meet the Uzumaki Prince before declaring something as serious as war."
"Why is that, Konan?" The god turned to his purple ringed stare at her. "He threatened our people with a fate like Yukigakure. You know the reports about what happened. Do you really wish to allow someone like that around those we are meant to protect?"
"He is your family-"
"This village is my family, not some clan that refuses to stay dead. If my clan are ones to go around threatening innocent people's lives then that is not a family I want to be part of."
"You attacked the messenger, a personal servant of a foreign leader that you fear will kill our people. If you wanted to not have him set his wrath on us then you should not have attacked her. You should not have snuffed his message."
Konan looked down to see the discarded letter and wondered if there was more to be said. She picked it up and skimmed over the words before finding where the messenger left off and there was one last paragraph left.
"I hope that as a family we can meet on equal terms. To me, family means everything. Even the family you do not share blood with. I hope to hear an answer from you, cousin, but it must be the real you."
Konan gave a glare at the god man before leaving the room with the letter, not giving a glance back at her leader even as he called out for her. If her leader won't do what's needed for their village and for the peace they desire so much then she will. She's sure her former team will join as well, especially Ajisai as the girl seemed to always be in the loop whenever the blonde was mentioned.
Three days later
Naruto was back in his home nation after finishing up taking care of business in Grass. Thankfully Mui's body was mostly intact and he could hijack his soul to gain his knowledge. With that knowledge, he was able to know who the other members of the inner circle were and which ones authorised or supported the reopening of the Box.
Needless to say, there was a justified purge with the backing of the more peace-seeking faction that Ryuzetsu worked for.
As for the Deadmen, they were all given roles as the new prison guards. Shiro got her revenge against Hagire, killing the elderly man. She was also given a blood transfusion by Naruto so as to complete her fractured genetics. This made her the Mother of Sin that Hagire sought for so long but now it was under the protection and control of Uzushio.
Shiro started to look at Naruto like a big brother in a short amount of time and that had to do with him giving her as much reason to believe him. He did what he promised and he did not question her or restrict her like Hagire did. She felt like she was in control of her life for once, and she agreed without hesitation to become the new warden of Hozuki prison if it was approved by the other Kage.
That means that the largest shinobi prison will be under his control.
But while that was nice, his main concern is the fact that Ciri is nowhere to be found. Apparently, she left during his time at Hozuki Castle and hasn't been back since. His first thought was that she went to Spring and was visiting Koyuki but the Daimyo had not seen or heard from her in a while either.
"Master."
Naruto was stirred from his thoughts and he glanced to see Kimi enter the room and bow. "What is it, Kaguya-chan?"
"The Kage are here."
Naruto nodded his head and stood to his feet. As he made his way to the meeting, Kimi in tow behind him, he thought about the aftermath of the meeting with his cousin. The man has been bolstering his borders and actively patrolling all of Rain, but it seems there were some people who did not agree with his actions.
Konan and her team were among those trying to contact him for a neutral meeting for the safety of their village. They wanted to speak on behalf of not only their leader and organisation but for their people. Then there is the unknown writer who works directly under the leader who wishes to meet them in time. A foreboding letter against the letter in pursuit of peace and he was unsure what to do about either.
He wants his cousin on board and if not then he had long ago decided what he will do to the family that decided they were not going to bow to the new Uzushio. No matter their self-proclaimed titles.
"Greetings, honourable leaders," Naruto smiled at the gathered Kage. "I'm glad you all made it here safely and I hope the accommodations given were up to your standards."
"Greetings, Prince Uzumaki," most of the people gathered answered.
While Naruto can say he is on good terms with everyone in the room, there is one certain individual who refuses to even be cordial with him. Onoki the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. The man still looks at him with disdain after the border dispute all those years ago but unlike his subordinates in the village it isn't with hate for who his father is.
"I assume everyone was given a copy of my report of the prison?" He glanced around to make sure that everyone had the packet before he continued. "In short, there had been an internal war going on in Grass between the two ruling factions. Mui was part of the party that wished to once more weaponize the Divine Object known as the Box of Eternal Bliss. While I had nothing concrete to arrest him until the end, he did die after forcing the Box to awaken by sacrificing the lives of three-quarters of the prison guards."
"Under the prison is a facility that was known to Mui, as the main overseer of the facility was also a financial backer of the prison. Inside the facility they did experiments on certain random prisoners for something they labelled the Branch of Sin. Long story short, these individuals can use their blood in exceptional ways and because of them being written off as deceased they are known as Deadmen. They are cooperating after being freed from their torment, especially Patient Zero who has the ability to transfer these Branches of Sin to others."
Naruto flipped the pages a few times more towards the end before landing on his desired page.
"The prison is now functioning as intended with Assistant Warden Makina serving as temporary Lady Warden. She has no desire to run the prison for long so I had put in the suggestion that we allow Patient Zero, birth name Shiro. She and most of the Deadmen are willing to serve as guards and Warden and will report to the Kage with monthly reports and paperwork if they are to be instituted."
The room is quiet as the leaders look over the report themselves. A was having his female assistant review the pages for him as he was already getting a headache.
"And what happened to the Divine Object?"
Naruto looked at Onoki when the man spoke. "The Divine Object is in safe hands."
"Your hands I'm guessing?"
Naruto slowly began to grin at the elderly man. "No. The Divine Object is in the hands of the goddess that made it. Her daughter, to be exact."
"Who is that, Prince Uzumaki?" Kakashi flipped through the pages from front to back a few times. "I don't see anything about where the Box is. While I do not accuse you of stealing the object, I am concerned if it can possibly be stolen by this Grass faction."
"It is in the hands of Anesidora, which is the divine name of the individual who now controls the Box. She wishes to be anonymous so as to not put a target on her back so I will respect those wishes." Naruto pointed at one of the pages when he finished speaking. "There were some interesting developments, however, that I want brought to everyone's attention. How many of you know of the organisation called Akatsuki?"
The leaders had varying degrees of surprise but the only one who showed confusion was Mei.
"Who are they," she asked.
"Akatsuki worked as a bounty hunting organisation based out of Amegakure, and I found out it is because their leader now controls the village after killing Hanzo the Salamander. Their members are primarily A-rank with their main circle all being S-rank. Members included rogue ninja such as Hidan from Yugakure, Kakuzu of Takigakure, and even Orochimaru of Konohagakure at some point. The only village not involved with the organisation, coincidentally, seems to be Kumogakure as they have hunted their rogue shinobi effectively and also believe in collectivism more than others."
Naruto cleared his throat. "Kumogakure is also the only village to not have hired the services of Akatsuki against their rivals. They have been employed by Danzo prior to his death," Naruto glanced at Kakashi when he said this, "as well as having connections to inner council members of Sunagakure, and having orchestrated some of the violent attacks in Water during the Civil War."
"However," Naruto tapped his finger a few times as he turned his attention to the elderly leader from Iwagakure. "No one employed them as much as Iwagakure. Not even against their own civilians."
Everyone turned to Onoki in shock but the elderly man did not raise his head from the packet in front of him. He did not look up when he spoke, either. "What proof do you have?"
Naruto smirked as he stared at the man. "Uzumaki sorcery, seals, or I swallowed their soul and learned of it; you can choose but either way, the how does not matter as you did not even attempt to not only deny it but prepare to excuse your actions in front of your fellow Kage. I would think you would try to save face in front of rival villages, especially with how much you used Akatsuki to hinder them."
"Prince Uzumaki, what kind of hindering do you know?" A asked roughly and barely concealed anger. "What has the Tsuchikage done?"
Naruto stared at the elderly leader with a small sneer before it morphed into a sadistic smirk. "Why don't we watch the memories of Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu?"
Meanwhile
Fifty miles from the border of River country, 30 miles from the shore of Hanguri Gulf, a Suna patrol stopped near the resting point for their shinobi. It used to be a checkpoint before reaching a long lost city that has disappeared but about twenty years ago the technological city just disappeared overnight. They used to be allied to Sunagakure and made advancements in puppets they called 'golems' which were cheap to manufacture and versatile for many scenarios. No one knows what happened to the city for sure, but one night there was a bright light that pierced the sky - a phenomenon that could be seen for hundreds of miles.
People in both River and the border of Konoha kept saying it was as if night had suddenly gave way to morning for the briefest of moments. Some said it was the Sage coming back to the world while others said it was an experiment gone wrong.
When a joint force of Suna and Konoha shinobi arrived, there was nothing not even a single ruin to show there used to be a city there. The river remained but no one would go near it was it had gained a putrid smell to it. Ever since then, it's been believed to be a cursed land and many patrols avoid stepping near the area.
"Damn, patrol sucks while Gaara is handling Kazekage shit," Kankuro sighed as he dropped onto the cot left in the shinobi rest point. "I still can't believe what happened at Hozuki prison. Naruto really doesn't relax in changing the status quo."
"I don't think that's the right term to use, Kankuro," Temari sighed as she sat down in her cot with her fan across her lap. "But I understand what you mean. It makes our loss all those years ago a little less embarrassing."
"Speak for yourself," Kankuro grunted even as their two patrol teammates came in. "I want a rematch with him. I'll be prepared this time."
"The power gap is too large at this point." Temari snarked with a smirk. "He will wipe the floor with you."
"Yeah, right-!" Kankuro didn't get to finish as he felt the building begin shaking. "What the fuck?!"
"Earth Style: Granite Wall!"
Everyone began taking cover under the summoned slab of granite as pieces of the building began crumbling and falling on top of them.
"We don't get earthquakes! What the fuck is this?!"
"Are we being attacked?"
"No! Look!"
Everyone followed where Temari was pointed and through the building, they could see a sandstorm kicking up into the sky. Purple electricity began rumbling and shooting through the storm, even striking the dunes around them.
Their eyes began to widen as the storm began expanding and making its way to them.
"Cover the window!" Kankuro shouted as he prepared to reinforce the walls with a ninjutsu technique. "All I wanted was a simple patrol! Why does this have to happen?!"
Well this chapter came pretty quick to me so you get another one (lowkey got a quarter of the next chapter done but that's because I may or may not combine two together for a long ass chapter. The ending to this chapter leads into the next arc and where we are going and don't worry it's a doozy. I hope y'all stick with me for a bit longer because soon we will be having a showdown between two Uzumaki gods; one with the power of the Sage and one with the power of Prophecy.
Krieger Techpriest: You have NO idea how confusing this heavenly tree gets. I have a whole separate document of notes just about the gods, their generations, et cetera. But really, the gods walk among us and the beginning hints exactly to that. Naruto knows more than he shares but that's because it's on a need-to-know.
WindCitySlayer1: Thank you :D
Primarx: gods need names and Karin was a name given to her by her father as her mother was not allowed to see her. Anesidora is an alternative name in greek mythology for Pandora but I felt it good to be the divine name of Karin when she eventually has to deal with other divines.
WhateverPlus: Thank you I hope this one was almost as good haha xP
The beginn of Red Dawn: We don't acknowledge Boruto here. We like some elements but no that show holds no place in my heart. This I felt is an attempt by taking a common Naruto idea and adding a different spin to it. The ninja of this world aren't into dealing with secrets or assassinations but they're like the modern-day PMC where they work for the highest bidder. Also, if you think about it, if the Uzumaki were strong, especially with how strong they are in this story, then it is easy to see how confident Naruto is with not denying him rebuilding his home nation. He doesn't confirm, but silence equals confirming in the eyes of many which is what I tried to show a little bit. Ive not seen Release the Witch so I will look at it but it might come up in the next parts later on.
TigrezzTail: Shiro's backstory has been hinted at but considering how I know the plans I have for her backstory it may not seem so obvious. It will be interesting when it unfolds in the future.
Unnatural Reader: I'm glad to hear you liked it and yes Karin is important now with future events especially when we start going into divines and demigods. Deadman is a very underrated anime that doesn't get a lot of appreciation.
Conrad299: Hahaha the term "ninfo card" used to be common quite a few years ago when I first got into reading Naruto fanfics but it seems to have died out for more "edgy" stories and all that (and with the advent of Boruto ;-;).
Guest: Satori is a demon with no gender and can take any form it wants but back many thousands of years ago, Pandora was always more comfortable around other women. As such, Satori takes the form of a female when she wants to make people comfortable around her (being her default gender because of her previous mistress' desires) and takes the male demon form to be intimidating. So short answer is; kind of.