Author Notes- Hello fellow readers! I don't even know what to say about this late update. I really thought I would update on time, but there were minor things which were keeping me busy.

So, this chapter shows the transition as to which path the story will be taking in the future and the fact that, there will be people who are stronger than Naruto than he is now. Also, I will be completing both my stories. I may not be updating them regularly, but I will complete them. It's just that, it's summer now and I will mostly be punctual once fall starts.

[Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.]

Anyway, let's continue with the story

Chapter 12: The Instigator

Karasu quickly glanced towards Tora, Usagi, Neko and Washi and nodded his head. Their team had worked on several strategies and ways of fighting a group of enemies together on several occasions in case the need ever arose.

Neko, Usagi and Washi quickly jumped ahead of their own team and went through a few hand seals at an alarming speed. Karasu dissolved into several crows and disappeared from the views of enemy shinobi, while Tora seemingly vanished too. Tora, Usagi and Washi were by far the most advanced in the use of Shunshin no Jutsu in the Anbu.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon)" Naruto said promptly. In less than a second, a forty feet long water dragon with menacing yellow eyes materialized above team Ro Han and spiraled up swiftly, towards the incoming members of the Exploding Corps. Meanwhile, Usagi, who was among the best users of raiton ninjutsu in the village, supplied the large water dragon with raiton natured chakra which made the dragon look further ominous.

"Doton: Ishi no Yari (Earth Release: Earth Spears)" Neko said quickly, as extremely sharp spears about twelve feet tall rose from ground all around team Ro Han.

All the shinobi of the Explosion Corps were wide eyed and horrified upon seeing the large electrified water dragon charging towards them. In the blink of an eye, the water dragon tore through the shinobi, who were too slow to make a move, along with destroying few of the surrounding trees instantly. Gari, the leader of the Explosion corps unit along with twelve other members had quite luckily escaped using the Shunshin no Jutsu at the very last second. As the water dragon impacted its targets with a tremendous force, eight of the Iwa shinobi were pushed high into the air like a rag doll- the result of which made their already unconscious bodies to freefall towards the ground after a few seconds. By now, Neko, Usagi and Washi had left their spots and regrouped with the rest of their team.

The Iwagakure shinobi who had escaped the suiton ninjutsu assault now stood on the tree branches with extreme caution. They still could not comprehend that such a young shinobi could utilize that high level of suiton technique so effortlessly.

As their gazes moved towards the ground in search of the Konoha Anbu team, fear and horror were the emotions that were clearly visible in their pale eyes. What was once a plain ground, was now littered with the bodies of their comrades, with earth spears sticking out of their bodies. The water from the prior attack flowed red due to the copious amount of blood flowing through the dead bodies of the Iwa shinobi. That fear and horror however turned to hatred and rage as they witnessed how brutally their comrades had been killed.

'To be able to use the water particles in the atmosphere. I haven't heard of anyone do that except of the Nidaime Hokage. Who the hell is that kid?' Gari thought irritatingly as he grinded his teeth.

"Dammit. Fucking eight of us are already dead due to those three Anbu." yelled one of the Iwa shinobi furiously as he smashed his fist against the bark of the tree he was standing on. The others too agreed to the statement. It was hard for everyone to believe, eight of their own team were taken out so quickly.

"This is no time to be whining. We have our orders from Tsuchikage. Focus on the enemy Suzaku!" Gari stated firmly.

"H… Hai Taichou!" replied Suzaku, the newest recruit of their group with uncertainty.

Signaling to his team through hand signs, the remaining alive members of the Explosion Corps quickly jumped onto the ground that hadn't been turned into spears by Neko. The very next second however, he had to swiftly jump back as he barely dodged the chokutō held by the Washi masked Anbu. However, he clicked his tongue in pain as a sudden pain jolted through his right arm and upon noticing he realized, it was cut slightly. Disregarding the pain and looking straight ahead, he analyzed how the other four Konoha Anbu were strategically standing to their ten o'clock and two o'clock position.

'These Anbu are more trouble than I had realized. It's no wonder Tsuchikage-sama wanted to get rid of this particular Anbu team in the beginning.' Gari thought as he analyzed the enemies around his team.

"Don't fear for your life men. We serve the great nation of Tsuchi no Kuni. No matter what may happen, no matter what the obstacle in front of us, we must make the Tsuchikage proud. These Konoha men must fall today, no matter the cost!" Gari yelled.

"Hai Taichou!" shouted all the men as they readied their kunai or tantō.

"Bold words coming from you Gari-san. Are you that assure of your victory against us?" Karasu asked flatly who was standing beside Usagi to the Iwa shinobi's ten o'clock.

"We don't wish to fight. If you let us leave without any more trouble, your men won't have to die in vain." Usagi stated discordantly as she gripped her tantō in anticipation. She wouldn't lie to herself, she wanted to slaughter these men, but that was not something her village or her parents had ever taught her.

Before Gari could stop his men, two of them jumped straight towards Usagi and Karasu, their tantō sharply pointed at their abdomen and jugular vein. Reacting quicker, Usagi took out two kunai from her pouch with her free hand and coated them with raiton chakra. Before the two Iwa shinobi could realize what had happened, the two kunai were already lodged in their forehead, as blood poured out of their bodies. Each of the Iwa shinobi remained still as another one of their own fell dead on the ground.

"Why do you still fight?" asked Washi a bit sadly. The question had been bugging him since the time the two teams had encountered each other. Naruto didn't even flinch when the two lifeless bodies of the Iwagakure shinobi fell to his right.

"What will you get out of this fight?" asked Washi again.

"Don't be naïve kid! Konohagakure and Iwagakure have never looked each other eye to eye. Even after the end of Great Clan Wars, when the villages were formed, it was Madara Uchiha who broke off the alliance between Iwagakure and Konohagakure. Then it was his damned son, Minato Namikaze, who killed thousands of our people in mere seconds! Konoha shinobi have never shown us anything but contempt or abhorrence. Between our two nation, there can be nothing but endless war and hatred until either one of us is destroyed!" Gari stated as a matter of fact.

"So, does that mean you must kill even those who are innocent and have not wronged you?" Washi asked flatly as he clenched his fists tightly.

"In a war, it's only natural to kill your enemy- be they shinobi or harmless civilians. If they are your enemy, the only place they belong to is in their grave!" Gari stated impassively as he started going through a long series of hand seals. Karasu, Tora, Usagi and Neko became slightly alert and readied themselves, even though they knew that their youngest member will be able to hold himself just fine.

"Raiton: Rensa Raikou no Jutsu" Gari said, as electricity started crackling in both of his hands and launched a continuous stream of lightning towards the blond haired Konoha Anbu.

At that moment, Naruto understood an inconsequential fact as he gazed into those eyes filled with contempt. Out of love, sacrifice is born, out of sacrifice, hatred is born and we come to understand pain. The sort of pain that dims one's view of reality. Just as the stream of lightning was within a foot of the young Anbu, Washi focused his right eye solely on Gari. The very next second, the stream of lightning scattered and Gari flew back with an enormous force and crashed into several of the earth spears which were formed earlier roughly.

In the past few months, Naruto had learnt to control the range of his gravity manipulation and had gotten the hang of how much chakra had to be molded. Hence, he could now use his attacks either on a large scale or on a small scale depending on the situation.

Upon seeing his taichou pushed around so easily, Suzaku immediately ran toward the blond Konoha Anbu with his tantō pointed at him in a fit of rage.

"YOU bastard!" hollered Suzaku fiercely.

However, he halted midway as a muffled scream escaped his lips. He tilted his head down to see a chokutō sticking out of his heart. Looking slightly up, all he saw was the glowing red and silver eyes of the Washi masked Anbu.

"Wh… Wha… What are… you?" Suzaku asked fearfully as he gurgled up blood from his mouth.

"Your death…" whispered Washi darkly. Soon enough his dead body fell on the ground with a resounding thud.

Gari who shakily stood up on his spot glared at the Washi masked Anbu. Now that he noticed the young Anbu, his blond hair did look eerily similar to the Yondaime Hokage. He was aware about the Yondaime Hokage having a kid, but it was still unclear to him whether the Anbu in front of him was that man's son. Ridding himself of those thoughts, he went through a few hand seals and gathered large amounts of chakra in his left hand which began to give off a reddish and orange glow.

"Everyone get back!" Karasu ordered hastily who had taken notice of Gari. He knew that much amount of chakra upon contact with the ground would no doubt cause a large explosion. Tora, Karasu, Usagi, Neko and Washi immediately shunshined about eight hundred meters away from Gari.

The other eight shinobi of the Explosion Corps shook off the cobwebs off their mind and promptly jumped further away from their taichou to not get involved in the explosion.

"Bakuton: Jiraiken" yelled Gari as he punched the ground. As his fists contacted the earth, a gigantic shockwave passed through the ground. Several trees were subsequently uprooted along with ground to shatter and large number of debris to fly around. Due to the explosion, the visibility around the area also reduced as result of the dust particles which were scattered in the air.

"EVERYONE, ATTACK FORMATION Z!" commanded Gari murderously. The remaining eight members of Explosion Corps looked towards their leader with shock momentarily. That type of formation had been chosen to be used only when they had exhausted all their other options.

Even though, he had lost several members of his team today, the only hint of emotion visible on his face was that of pure hatred. All he wanted to do right now was butcher these Konoha Anbu, especially the blond haired one. Because of Konoha, Iwagakure had suffered a lot humiliation in the past few years. Because of Yondaime, thousands of Iwagakure shinobi were killed in a span of two minutes and there was no Konoha shinobi he despised more than the current Hokage. He was prepared to die today as long as he took down these Konoha scum. He would do what was asked of him by his Tsuchikage, no matter the cost.

As the dust particles in the air began to settle down every member of team Ro Han steadied themselves for the bloodbath that was about to follow. The remaining eight members of the Explosion Corps then surrounded the five Konoha Anbu from all directions.

"Doton: Sando no Jutsu" yelled the Iwagakure shinobi ferociously, pumping the rest of their remaining chakra into this highly destructive jutsu. Four enormous rocks walls about eighty feet in height started closing in on the team of Konoha Anbu from all four directions with tremendous force, destroying everything that laid before its path.

Each member of team Ro Han's eyes widened on seeing the scale and the destructive force of the jutsu. However, before they could make a move, they heard the shout of Gari, who was now standing directly above them on one of the walls which coming towards them quickly.

"Doton: Doryuudan" Gari shouted, forming a large mud dragon with white glowing eyes. Suddenly, he climbed atop the tail of the mud dragon and gave a dark smirk to the Konoha shinobi who were staring at him. Both his hands started to glow a reddish-orange color as the mud dragon began descending towards team Ro Han.

Karasu, Tora and Usagi's eyes widened dramatically as they realized what Gari was about to do.

"Washi, will you able to stop the stop the walls advancing towards us?" Karasu asked urgently.

"Hai. Leave it to me taichou." Washi said curtly. Washi immediately made four Kage Bunshins of himself. All of them immediately jumped in the directions of the incoming rock walls and clasped their hands, taking in the nature energy that was in the atmosphere.

"HAHAH! It's no use! You're all going to die now!" shouted Gari madly upon seeing what he thought were the futile efforts to get away from their technique.

These combinations of techniques were the most efficient and devastating technique his group possessed. While, surrounding the enemy from all four directions with rock walls moving towards them with tremendous force kept the enemy mobilized to a limited spot, his mud dragon along with his bakuton ninjutsu from above provided the perfect attack. All he needed to do was provide the mud dragon with his bakuton natured chakra as it got within twenty feet of the enemy and it would explode destroying everything near itself. And, with him standing at the end of the mud dragon, gave him the opportunity to escape, albeit briefly.

Karasu glanced towards Tora, Usagi and Neko and was glad that the three understood him well enough even in these situations.

"Susanoo!" Tora whispered as large quantities of chakra exploded out of the eldest Uchiha of team Ro Han. Thereafter, a large green humanoid skeletal structure with a torso formed around himself. Usagi and Neko who were also inside the Susanoo were simply amazed as it was their first time witnessing a technique of the mangekyō sharingan.

Karasu stood alongside Washi as they both eyed the mud dragon and Gari who approached them from above.

"Let's do it taichou!" Washi whispered. Karasu simply nodded showing his acceptance.

As Naruto focused the rinnegan in his right eye on the mud dragon while forming the ram hand seal, Itachi's own pair of eyes turned to the mangekyō sharingan which resembled three spiraling black curves around the red pupil.

"Bakuton: Chikyū o bakuhatsu sa seru" cried Gari as he poured the remaining of his chakra into his palm and rested them on the surface of the mud dragon, which began giving off a white glow.

"Enton: Kagutsuchi" Naruto said as he focused his right eye's gaze at the head of the mud dragon.

"Amaterasu" said Itachi. As soon as Naruto casted his jutsu, the black flames of Amaterasu took the form of an arrow and speedily rushed towards the mud dragon. The black flames brought forth by Itachi further added to the destructive nature of jutsu casted by Naruto.

"Senpo: Kami no Te" yelled the Kage Bunshin of Naruto's as they punched the walls with the chakra manifested around their left arm, that were about thirty feet away from them now. The force behind the punch was such that, the rock walls broke into several of smaller pieces and flew back towards the eight Iwa shinobi who were appalled at the strength shown. The debris from the broken rock wall subsequently fell atop the eight Iwa shinobi who were too shell shocked to make any movements. The Susanoo surrounding Shisui, Neko and Usagi protected them from any of debris that were flying around while Naruto easily deflected any debris around Itachi and himself by manipulating the gravity around themselves.

Tora, Usagi and Neko watched with anticipated eyes as the arrow made of black flames approached the mud dragon. Gari who's mind was consumed by the hatred and rage he felt towards the Konoha shinobi continued forward instead of even trying to dodge the black arrow or look around himself to notice that his team was already down. As soon as Naruto's and Itachi combined jutsu contacted Gari's jutsu, the entire mud dragon lit ablaze with black flames and changed its trajectory due to parts of dragon falling apart continuously.

"Let's get out of here quickly, before Gari does something else." Karasu stated, although a bit painfully as he coughed a little. Using the mangekyō sharingan was affecting his health and body, which was not missed by either Naruto or Shisui.

Gari however, managed to fend off the black flames by jumping away at the last moment. While in midair, Gari smirked wildly and said, "Katsu". And whatever was remaining of the mud dragon exploded, causing a huge gust of wind which ended up destroying a small portion of the land.

However, the momentary distraction caused by the black flames of Amaterasu consuming the mud dragon had given the Konoha Anbu team ample time to make an escape from the blast radius. As the dust started to clear from the area, Gari was seen to be lying unconscious in the crater that was created due to the explosion that took place. All around him were the cut down parts of trees, large and some pieces of rocks and especially the dead bodies of all his other team mates.

A few minutes later, a plant like creature emerged from the branch of a tree a few miles away from the battle area. While half of its body was black, the other half was entirely white. It had two Venus-flytrap like extensions that emerged from their sides, enveloping their head and upper body as a shell.

"The Kyubi child is strong!" exclaimed the white half of the creature.

'He's going to be trouble in the future if he keeps progressing at this rate. He already has quite a bit of control of his Rinnegan's prowess and his mangekyō is different too. Even from this far, I could feel it.' Thought the black half a bit worriedly.

"We have to take Gari's body back to the base as per Leader-sama's orders. That fool of a leader of the Explosion Corps was easy to manipulate. Once the Tsuchikage hears about this, I don't think he's going to leave Konoha alone. War between the two nations will be inevitable after this event." Said the black half with a sinister smile.

Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato

Minato stood with his hands behind his back beside his chair and looked upon the village through the window in the Hokage's office. The village where he grew up, he always admired it for its everlasting beauty. He frowned as he thought about the stain that covered his home.

Ever since Danzo had fled Konoha, Minato had appointed a separate team of Anbu to investigate all the hideouts of the Root Leader. And to know that the old war hawk was colluding with the Tsuchikage and Orochimaru along with conducting experiments with Hashirama Senju's cells as the research material made him wonder where he went wrong in his role as the Hokage. If actions such as those went unnoticed by him, what other treacherous moves did Danzo take that slid right past him.

He sighed tiredly as he finally sat down on his chair. Even though the village looked serene and peaceful, his job wasn't. The massacre of the Uchiha clan had put a heavy dent in the military power of Konohagakure no Sato. Most of the available shinobi take extra missions to keep up with the demands that are sent to Konoha. Another matter which had him worried was Iwagakure. Jiraiya's last message stated how Onohki is making his shinobi advance steadily towards the Land of Fire. An all-out war with Iwagakure no Sato would be disastrous for Konoha. Despite Sunagakure being an ally to Konoha, the minor tension between the two villages haven't subsided since the end of the Third Shinobi War. And with Kumogakure being the opportunistic village they are, their part in the war would be uncertain. The only solace Minato had was the fact that neither Sunagakure or Kirigakure would go against Konoha.

The Hokage was jerked out of his thoughts as he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in". Minato said.

Iruka, carrying several documents with himself walked into the office and kept all the documents on Minato's desk.

"Are those all of the reports that I had asked you to prepare, Iruka?" Minato asked.

"Hai Hokage-sama." Iruka said a little uncomfortably, which did not go unnoticed by Minato.

"Speak your mind Iruka. Is there a matter troubling you?" Minato urged.

"It's just, I believe the things are moving too fast for the academy students now. I mean, we are in a time of peace currently. So, to increase their graduation age so they could learn advanced topics in ninjutsu along with basic knowledge of other fields seems a bit ahead of time. It just seems as if, you are preparing the students for something extreme in the future." Iruka confessed. Minato sighed upon hearing the academy teacher's viewpoint on his decision. He knew while there were those who readily agreed to his decision, mainly shinobi clans, there was also a faction of people who doubted his way of thinking.

"You are correct Iruka. But it is for their own good as well as for Konoha's welfare. The better prepared our shinobi are, the better chances will be." Minato said.

"Prepare for what Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked with a sense of foreboding.

"The current generation of graduating students haven't seen war like we have. Shinobi like you and I were born during war time and have seen how grotesque it gets. We have seen the deaths of those we held close and know the feeling of hatred. But these kids, they don't. They need to be prepared for what will be coming. It will be inevitable in the future Iruka." Minato said with a sigh as he rested his chin on his hands.

Iruka's eyes widened as he understood the meaning behind those words. He cursed himself for thinking the peace that settled in the Elemental nations would last. A look of realization and sadness came upon his face as several things began making sense to him.

"Is that why Naruto was taken out of academy early, Hokage-sama?" Iruka questioned.

"You are a wise man, Iruka. I'm sure the students have learned well under you in their first three years." Minato said with a small smile. Iruka simply nodded and left the room without saying anything further. Minato rested back on his chair as his eyes lingered on towards the ceiling.

It was a sad fact indeed. Because of who Naruto is and because of the power he holds, his life will be as far away from normalcy.

A few minutes later, Minato released a chakra burst and soon enough four Anbu belonging to the Hokage Guard Platoon appeared in front of him, from seemingly nowhere. Since the foundation of the Anbu organization by the Nidaime Hokage, chakra bursts have been used a means of communication among the higher rankings ninjas of the Hidden Leaf village.

"Tell Kakashi, Tsunade-sama, Asuma, Kurenai and Genma to come to my office early tomorrow morning." Minato ordered.

"Hai Hokage-sama." Said the four in unison before they once again disappeared from the office.

'I will have to call for another council meeting soon enough.' Minato thought, a bit irritatingly. He was never fond of them, since a lot of times it involved him listening to other people bickering in front him.

Later at evening, Hyūga Compound

"Again." Said Hiashi firmly.

"Hai tou-sama." Hinata replied in a curt tone, appropriate for the heiress of the prestigious Hyūga Clan. Keeping her right arm slightly bent upward, she pushed her left arm back and kept it at a right angle, a few inches below her other arm.

"Hajime!" Hiashi stated.

With a determined gaze, Hinata sped towards the training dummy that stood twelve feet in front of her. As soon as she came close to it, she swiftly moved her left hand's index finger to hit the marked points on the training dummy which symbolized the tenketsu points on a human being. However, the challenging aspect about this training exercise was that Hinata had to hit 150 points on the training dummy in less than 5 seconds.

And it was absolutely mesmerizing. Each one of her strikes were precise and the motion of her left arm was simply aesthetic. The fluidity and swiftness she displayed looked akin to an eagle soaring high through the free skies. Hiashi gave a rare smile upon seeing the progress her daughter had made in the past few months. While she was still beyond good for her age earlier, Hiashi believed she lacked focus in her eyes, which is significant for a shinobi to possess. But gazing into her silvery-white eyes now, he could see a glimmer of purpose and a sense of responsibility. He briefly wondered if it was due to the Hokage's kid, but didn't dwell on it too long.

It made him proud and sad at the same time. Contrary to popular beliefs Hiashi isn't always strict, firm or indifferent all the time. His two daughters and his wife have always been the center of his world and he cherished all three of them dearly. But the position of the Clan Head did demand him to be often stern, cold to even his own family and made him spend less time with his own children.

"That was better Hinata. You hit all the marks in about four seconds this time. Remember this, the more experienced you are in using gentle fist without the aid of your Byakugan, the better your skills will be when you do use your Kekkei Genkai amid a battle." Hiashi said wisely. Hinata simply nodded, rather than saying anything. She had been practicing this form of exercise to better improve her taijutsu in Gentle Fist.

"Are you tired?" asked Hiashi with hands folded over his chest and slight intimidating eyes.

"I can train more tou-sama." Hinata replied firmly. Hiashi felt immensely proud to see the kunoichi her eldest daughter was turning into. Easing himself, he rested his left hand on Hinata's head and ruffled her hair gently. Hinata's eyes widened a little but she kept her emotions to herself. However, her hands did shake a little from the gentle pat on her head. She could count the moments her father had shown her affection in her two hands. Even though her father seemed cold to her on a lot of occasions, she cherished the moments he showed her affection.

"Do you want to go sit for a while?" Hiashi asked gently.

"Uhuh." Hinata mumbled softly.

The father and daughter walked to the porch in the garden and sat quietly. A few minutes and none had spoken any words. Hinata absent mindedly looked at the moon which was shone brightly in the darkening sky. The moon often reminded her of Naruto, because of the silvery glow of both the moon and his right eye. She grimaced a little as she realized it was quite ironic.

Both were beautiful, yet surrounded by darkness and loneliness.

"Something the matter, Hinata?" Hiashi asked as he saw the strange expression on her face.

"It's nothing tou-sama…" Hinata replied, a bit embarrassed at being caught.

"They say, daughters tend to be really close to their father. I may not be the ideal father you may desire, but I do wish to know." Hiashi said honestly. A sad look came upon Hinata's face upon understanding pain behind those words.

Inching closer to her father, she hugged embraced him lovingly and rested her head on his left arm. Closing her eyes, she sighed contently as she felt his warmth.

"You're growing to be a fine shinobi…" Hiashi stated as he put his arm across Hinata's small body and pulled her closer.

"…and a fine lady, Hinata." He whispered. Hinata smiled as she heard the last part as her eyes watered a little.

"Tou-sama, I have a request." Hinata said, looking firmly in her father's eyes as she sat up straight again.

"Go on." Hiashi said.

"I wish to learn elemental ninjutsu. Kakashi-sensei made us find our chakra nature in the academy yesterday. I know our clan favors taijutsu more, but I want to be versatile. I want to be adept in various field, not just in taijutsu." Hinata explained. For a few seconds, Hiashi intently looked at Hinata which made the young girl fidget a bit under those stern eyes.

"What is your chakra nature?" Hiashi asked after a moment.

"Katon and Raiton, tou-sama." Replied Hinata.

"Two chakra natures?" asked Hiashi extremely surprised. Hinata merely nodded answering her father's question.

"The Hyūga Clan values its taijutsu form of combat above everything else, Hinata. Because of how our taijutsu varies from other clan's and depends on our Kekkei Genkai, we have never needed the use of elemental ninjutsu. Do you understand what I'm trying to say Hinata?" Hiashi asked with a serious look on his face.

"Does that mean I am not allowed to learn ninjutsu?" Hinata asked in confusion.

"You can, Hinata, if you honor the Hyūga Clan's juken. Tomorrow, I will tell you about the founder of the Hyūga Clan. That information is passed down from every clan head to the next clan heir or heiress." Hiashi stated calmly. Startled by her father's statement, she stared at him for a good few seconds. She came back to her senses as she heard her father chuckle lightly.

"Tou-sama?" Hinata asked with a comical look on her face. It was exceedingly rare for her to see her father laugh and frankly, it was refreshing for her to see that.

"It's nothing Hinata. Don't worry about it." Hiashi said with a wave of his right hand. As the winter breeze flowed through gardens of the Hyūga Compound, the tree leaves rustled and small ripples formed on the pond's surface. Hiashi and Hinata quietly sat there in the garden's porch and enjoyed the fresh breeze of the frosty season until they both heard a loud voice.

"Nee-sama! Tou-sama! Kaa-sama is calling us for dinner!" called out a young voice. Hinata smiled on hearing her sister's loud voice while Hiashi simply shook his head. Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi Hyūga was quite the handful. Though only five years old, she seemed to have endless energy and stamina for someone her age. It was sufficed to say she was what brought joy to their life even during these times.

Late at night deep within the Forests of Land of Fire (Northwest of Konoha)

"It's a pity that a human's reality is so fickle. A mere emotion such as hatred or love can cause the most unconceivable of tremors in their life. My dear Kaguya, must you have run away from the clan, all those years ago? What is it that you would have said, had you the chance to look upon your world again?" asked the figure to himself solemnly.

A man with medium sized greyish-blue spiky stood on top of a tree with his eyes fixed at the moon. He wore pale blue shirt with back cuffs and a high collar over which he wore another darker appendage with a grey sash wrapped around his waist. He also wore grey pants and black, flat shoes on his feet which were upturned at the toes.

Turning his head to his right, he gazed into the depths of the forests in the direction of Konohagakure no Sato.

"You have grown well… my young Ōtsutsuki prince. Our paths shall cross soon and when they do, I shall only hope that you are prepared for what is to come." Said the figure. Clicking his fingers, a blackish purple portal opened beside him as he stepped into it, as his presence completely disappeared from this world.

So, that's a wrap for this chapter. I'm not going to mention next date of update. I feel bad when I do mention and don't update it then. Unfair to readers also. I will try updating as soon as I can though.

I have a really interesting plot regarding the person who was mentioned at the end. The person is related to the Otsutsuki Clan. It's neither Momoshiki nor Kinshiki. They will be involved in the story. But, not now. Also, with the Tsuchikage learning that Konoha shinobi attacked his own shinobi for no reason, it's definitely going to rile him up.

Once again, I really appreciate the reviews for the story and thank you to all, who are reading the story. Please do Follow, Favorite and Review if you come to like the story!

Until next time!