img: HhQdtKe png
Earlier on. Umigakure.
Naruto, Karin and Anko stayed behind.
Yugito too, of course, but considering her water was currently breaking, coming had never really been an option. Matatabi was currently standing very close to her.
Naruto breathed out. It didn't still his pounding heart, nor did it untangle the knot in his chest.
"…All right." He muttered. "Let's go, Yugito. Prepare yourself, Karin. At the very least, it can't be any worse than giving birth during the clan wars."
Then again, sanitation was a bit of a problem, back then.
"That's very reassuring!" Yugito raged as he warped all four of them away.
They appeared in the Den. More specifically, they appeared inside the room they had specifically prepared for this express purpose, one that was identical to the one they also built in Umi. He summoned a clone in the next beat.
Hanabi and Sakura were already gone.
Naruto grasped one of Yugito's hands. Karin put her hand on Yugito's stomach, making sure that nothing was out of the normal parameters. Not that there were any known normal parameters in this specific case.
"Ready?" She asked.
"…Is this a serious question?!"
Karin shrugged helplessly. "…Let's do it — mostly you, let's face it. Just like we practiced — don't stab him!"
…
It was rather anticlimactic, really.
The Asura Path allowed for the body to change in many, dramatic ways. That was just one of them, one that they had practiced beforehand — at least theoretically.
The whole birth was fast, in the end.
Very fast, hard and still painful. Not very unlike a particularly bad stomach cramp, in a way, Yugito would later say, when asked. Or passing a kidney stone.
Her whole stomach felt raw even with Karin's Healing touch and her hips ached.
"You've got this — Nearly there!"
There's a shift, of sorts, and there's a loud wail; a child sobbing…
Oh. It's hers, then.
…Theirs.
"It's a boy, I'd say." Karin nodded, once they were done cleaning the child.
"Thanks, Karin." Yugito breathed out with a soft laugh. "Now, gimme."
"Of course." Karin smiled, lifting the tiny thing to set him upon Yugito's chest.
Naruto, who was standing by her side, couldn't help but smile at the sight. He felt a strange knot in his throat as he gazed at them.
Yugito was staring at the squirming baby, as though she couldn't believe it.
Not that Naruto was faring much better, honestly.
No one broke the silence, aside from the child.
"Hold him." Yugito said at last.
"…Me?" Naruto muttered. He didn't trust his hands, and not only because one of them had been burned raw, and healed by Karin already.
And considering everything he had done... They didn't really feel like something he would want to hold a child with.
Yugito just laughed, holding the tiny person out to him. He took him gently, carefully supporting him.
He… looked pretty goofy, honestly. The way most newborns did. Strange thing, really. Well, he looked a fair bit older than he could remember newborns looking, too. Maybe it was a jinchūriki thing... maybe a cat thing.
Well, he guessed that once the hormones kicked in—
Ah, yes. There it was. Strong kick, too.
"Yeah." He said, voice a bit thick. "…Definitely got my good looks."
"…Are you crying?" Yugito asked softly.
Naruto laughed. "Of course not." He said, blinking suspiciously fast. "That's just Anko, over there."
Anko looked away, and Karin was grinning proudly. Matatabi just watched on, with some curiosity. The baby… had dark eyes, and light blond hair. Two curved scars on each of his cheeks.
And an impressive hold on his heart already, apparently.
"Say. What's his name?" Karin asked. "You never said."
Yugito and he shared an amused look.
"We do not know yet." She shrugged.
Karin and Anko exchanged a bemused look.
"Well…" Naruto began with a twinkle in his eye, in the same tones that made Yugito worry about a future of dad jokes. "I was pretty much sold on Madara the Second, or something about thunder, but…"
"That's why we haven't decided yet." Yugito nodded in agreement.
"So…?" Karin asked.
Yugito turned toward Matatabi, and so did Naruto. The Bijū turned toward the exit.
"Matatabi… Will you name him?" Yugito offered.
Matatabi stiffened.
"…What? Why?"
"For… services rendered." Naruto acknowledged with a small grin. "Back then. It was a pretty... rough time, but without your help, I'm sure things would have gotten much worse."
"…Hmpf. I am surprised that you even remember." The Bijū grunted. Matatabi looked away, sighing. "…I suppose I could do it."
They waited.
"Fine, if you wish for me to name him, I shall do so. Do not complain if you do not like the name afterward."
"Do you have something in mind, then?" Yugito smiled.
Matatabi didn't answer at first. "I… met a man, long after Father died. He was still a man, of course… But no so bad. His name was Shirō. I shall start there."
…
"Nii Yūshirō, then." Naruto nodded, watching over their sleeping son. Of course Matatabi would go with the two people she apparently cared about. "Very well."
Karin looked at Yugito expectantly. She opened her mouth—
"No." Yugito laughed. "Nii it is."
Karin closed her mouth.
"As you wish." She sighed. "Naruto and I will help you bathe."
"…Thanks." Yugito nodded softly. "I think I'll take the help."
img: XIIsGM7 png
It wasn't long before Yugito was sleeping, as well.
Naruto was standing over both of them. He kissed her forehead and gave his son a long look.
It felt a bit surreal.
"Well, damn. Time for me to go, then." He laughed. "After all the shit I've talked about my own father. And I'm still giving you the family special." He shook his head. "Gods, I'm the worst."
"Obviously." Matatabi purred.
"Don't give me that look, Matatabi. There's plenty of room in my son's belly." He frowned, ignoring her glare.
Well, they'd actually be safe here.
Naruto nodded at his clone.
He himself changed into battle armor, in case anything happened. Orochimaru was confident in his ability to obtain the Ōtsutsuki homeworld's location. If he couldn't… well they would at least get rid of the invaders.
Karin nodded at him, equally ready.
"Well, let's go to Umi, then." She said. "And then... Let's settle the matter."
"Yes." Naruto nodded resolutely. "Let us."
Matatabi was watching over Yugito and their son protectively, he noticed. Anko was not showing any indication that she was about to move either.
"Staying here?" Naruto asked. He still left another clone around, for good measure.
She snorted.
"…You think I trust these idiots with not letting the Earth be destroyed?" Anko asked dryly. "Even Sensei gets carried away, with you around — not that he needs much incentive. I'm still carrying a child. I'll resume the time flow here. Come get me when this is over."
Naruto laughed.
"As you wish."
Umigakure.
"Well…" Naruto said. "I half-expected the Ōtsutsuki to come straight to us. No one's there, though."
Karin shrugged. "If they didn't detect us coming back, I guess they found out about the whole dimension-hopping with another method."
They sat down cross-legged on top of Orochimaru's spire, waiting.
It was a simple plan.
If the aliens were friendly, which most of them doubted, considering Kage's stories, they would try to build a working relationship.
If the aliens were hostile… Orochimaru had assured them that he would find out about the Ōtsutsuki homeworld's location. Somehow. Then they would send a probe out there, in order to adjust. And finally, they would warp over there. Release the expanding Sphere they had created around the planet, composed of ninety-nine Rinnegan, all of them interconnected. Warp the entire homeworld away.
A simple plan.
…Perhaps not easy, though.
It did rely on the rest of them extracting the coordinates of the alien's homeworld, though. So there was that. If they couldn't, well they would have to get rid of the five potential invaders.
A signal came.
'Hostile.' Orochimaru confirmed, through the link he had built himself with his Spire — something so megalomaniac that Naruto wondered why he hadn't done so earlier on. The damn building was closer to a living being, by now. 'Stand by.'
Naruto pursed his lips.
"…Well, there's that." Karin shrugged. "The devil you know… and all that."
Naruto chuckled. He could count on her to see the bright side of it.
Ino chose this moment to cut in.
'Tsuki is found within the Silvery River, still.' She sent. 'It—'
'That's the public channel, pig.' Sakura laughed.
'Hush. It is… far away, found in the system named… Uh. Whatever. Let me show you, instead.'
And she did.
'Thank you, Ino.'
Karin and he reached for Amatsu-Mikaboshi's strange flow.
The first probe was sent through a rift right away.
They missed Tsuki entirely, it seemed, because there was nothing out there but the icy emptiness of space.
It felt like swimming in a bottomless ocean and trying to open your eyes, with no real indication that what you were doing was working on top of it.
Naruto frowned. Kaguya's memory couldn't possibly be wrong.
The planet had moved, of course. They would have to adjust, then.
They drew upon their chakra more deeply, and sent another probe.
Followed by many more.
…
Another signal came, in the form of a thought sent through by Toru.
'Me and Kage are gonna fuck the aliens up! You can watch.'
Naruto palmed his face.
"See?" Karin grinned. "Everything's going decently. No need to be worried for our child, the world will be okay."
"…Our child, huh." Naruto laughed.
"Yūshirō is the group's love-child, after all." Karin smiled.
"Ah. Yes… How could I forget?"
They debated their next step.
'Toru.' Naruto called.
There was no answer for a while.
'Yeah…? Jokes aside… Kinda busy, right now. Is everything good?'
'Yes. Could you send me an imprint of the chakra signature of the Ōtsutsuki you're facing?'
'…Goddamn, in the middle of a battle?' Toru muttered. 'You're asking for more and more, but… Sure. Let me do that—'
'Also, what does their warping jutsu look like? In case we need to sneak in.'
'…'
'Did you manage to copy it or not? We'll find another solution if not.'
'…Yeah.' He admitted. 'Of course I did. I'll show you.'
'Thanks.' Naruto nodded gratefully. 'It's very clear to me now that you have the best Sharingan around—'
'You're goddamn right.'
Stroking Toru's ego aside, Naruto also had the feeling Sakura would have gone for the strongest opponent she could find. Better to ask him, really.
Toru sent the requested memories over.
'Thank you.' Naruto nodded.
'Hey, say, what do you think about us making up an ultimate—'
'I think the connection's cutting, Toru.'
'Uzumaki fucking shit—'
Naruto chuckled, and Karin sent him a quizzing look.
"Nothing much."
Karin continued to peer through the probes, dismissing most of them entirely.
So did Naruto. They went as fast as they deemed safe.
"Ah! I think — Yeah. That's it. I have visual of their homeworld." She stated. "…From outer space."
"Are you certain?"
"It's hard to miss the feeling of a planet full of Ōtsutsuki." She muttered.
Naruto nodded, steadying himself.
"Perfect."
"Sync with me?"
With a nod of his head, he stood up, just as Karin did. Naruto let her guide the process. There was a flash of purple, a flash of red, and a gateway of dark light opened in front of them.
It led to the cold void of space.
With a few hand seals, Naruto summoned a pocket of air around them. Raging gales of Wind became a perfect sphere, encompassing both of them.
Karin summoned Fire to shield them. A roaring wave of power that shrouded them.
They stepped into the gateway.
"Interstellar distances are something the human mind is not well suited to ponder — yes, even mine, Yoisen.
Luckily, the whole ordeal can be sidestepped with one measly application of space-time ninjutsu. Well, pretty advanced, technically.
How does that actually work…?
Lock on to the destination. That's what the multiple probes are for.
Make sure you can survive in the void of space in case anything goes wrong. Most human beings also struggle with this part.
Get ready to send a few clones with a particularly weak constitution down to the new planet. See if they die a horrible painful death. If they don't, things might be safe. Or it probably is something you will be able to fix later with a careful application of godly power. Hopefully space radiation or its more… scientific equivalent doesn't prove to be too much. If it's even a thing at all.
Open the portal.
Step into the portal.
Done?
Well. You're done. Welcome to Tsuki — or wherever, assuming someone actually went through with the terraforming stuff, by now. He should be glad we paved the way for him, but he definitely didn't give us any heartfelt thanks.
Now. From the void of space at least, Tsuki looks very much like… a planet."
Uzumaki Naruto - 'Space Travel and Other Assorted Things — Letters to my penpal, while she's gone.'
Tsuki was, in many aspects, a planet similar to Earth.
In most aspects that mattered when comparing planets, that was.
A more accurate comparison would paint a grim picture. A planet similar to Earth, if larger; left alone in the dark.
Because Tsuki had no sun.
It was a cold world, a crust of ice covered the oceans. The very atmosphere was mostly frozen, aside from a thin layer of gas.
With no sun, and no photosynthesis, there was likely not enough oxygen for complex life to be sustained. How the Ōtsutsuki had lived to this day was a question Naruto had never really wondered about before today.
Whatever it was, Tsuki's internal energy, the heat that came from its core… maintained water in its liquid form under the ice. Under the frozen oceans.
'Do the Ōtsutsuki even need water?'
"…This place is so strange." Karin muttered, as they touched down to the frozen ground.
There were still clouds in the lower atmosphere, which meant water. The upper one was clear, and cold too.
And down here… It was dark.
Starlight was apparently not enough to pierce the thick gaseous layers. Reddish lightning fell from the heavens and lit the emptiness sporadically.
The twin moons the planet had did provide some light as well.
"Gods. No wonder they're playing space invaders." Naruto muttered. He could breathe, and he knew Karin could as well, but they were so far from normal at this point that they might well be taking in another gas entirely.
Karin nodded noncommittally.
"Ah." Naruto smiled slightly. "Having second thoughts?"
"It's just…"
"Feeling bad about leaving the Ōtsutsuki to live here?"
Karin chuckled. "…Yeah."
"They won't be entirely stuck here."
It was the truth. The world they intended to transport this planet to was a mostly empty one, one with only very few habitable — and that was a pretty generous way of putting it — planets.
If the Ōtsutsuki wanted to harvest Fruits there… More power to them. They would just have to be very patient.
It wasn't as though they actually needed to do that stuff — he had made Orochimaru inquire about that already.
"And if they ever… I dunno. Decided to stop…?"
"We'll see then, I guess." He shook his head. "Besides… They have access to the Rinnegan and vast amounts of power already. If they want to build something nicer… That's up to them, frankly."
Karin spoke quietly. "Well, let's hope for the best, then."
"Let us." Naruto nodded. He slammed his hands together, calling his chakra forth. "Multiple Shadow Doppelgangers."
There was no way the Ōtsutsuki wouldn't notice them, now. But that didn't matter. The Shadow Clones warped away, each of them carrying a single Rinnegan — all of the eyes linked to him so that he could recall them to himself.
Karin summoned her own jutsu. Most of her arsenal was more suited for defense, and always had been. She played to her strengths.
"Seven Heavenly Rings."
Chains extended from her hands, wrapping around Naruto's original body, and covering both of them with seven layers of iridescent barriers. Too many for anyone to go through fast enough to stop him.
Then the two of them linked their chakra together.
The ninety-nine clones spread around the planet evenly. Through them, Naruto accessed the Eyes.
The ninety-nine Eyes linked to each other, threads of blue chakra appearing through the skies, illuminating Tsuki.
On any other day, he would have gone himself to see what sort of technological marvels the Ōtsutsuki had achieved, how their societies functionned.
Not today though, there were other things he had to attend to.
And hopefully, his clones could still do a bit of that anyway.
He and Karin reached for the Ten-Tails' chakra.
Naruto called upon his ability, the one the Ōtsutsuki had named Amatsu-Mikaboshi.
"Six Paths: Planetary Displacement."
There was a flash of dark light.
On Earth.
Momoshiki was the first one to notice.
"Impossible." He muttered, staring at the void of space, far beyond what could be seen. "That's impossible. Tsuki—"
He barely managed to duck under a sword strike that left his hair a little bit shorter.
(Toru apparently had no particular qualms about trying his best to kill aliens.)
An uppercut, delivered by a golden fist, smashed directly into his chin instead. It possibly broke a tooth. He should have been able to dodge that. He should have been.
"Is it really?" Kage asked, nonplussed.
Momoshiki whirled around, streaks of lightning and fire snapping to life, directed by his hands.
"Tsuki?!" He roared. "You warped Tsuki away?! There is no way that—"
"It's just a planet." Toru muttered, catching lightning with his bare hands.
"It's not just any planet, you odd-eyed monkey, Tsuki is—"
"Well, it must be a planet." Kage nodded. "If other-me just took it away."
Momoshiki laughed angrily, it was an ugly and dark sound.
"Ah. Don't worry." Kage continued helpfully. "Your people are alive and well — I always try to make him consider less… genocidal plans."
"…I don't think this is helping." Toru muttered.
(It wasn't helping.)
The alien's face was turning red, and it wasn't a transformation of any sort. Unless anger was a superpower.
"How dare you…?" Momoshiki asked tightly.
"What?" Kage blinked. "Look man… Ōtsutsuki, whatever. I was only trying to help—"
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
The Nine-Tailed Fox laughed within Kage, deep and ancient — by human standards. Toru winced as Momoshiki shouted his rage. "That guy is loud."
"KINSHIKI!" He roared, reverting to his native tongue.
Momoshiki's lightning shattered the ceiling of the cave. He rose to the skies, turning his Byakugan off entirely as he prepared to reach a higher state of being. To eat three of them, he would need the full strength of his Rinnegan.
"TO ME!"
Momoshiki howled. "To me! Come to me at once, my Guards!"
After a few instants, Hachikazuki appeared next to him, head bowed.
Momoshiki barely spared her a glance.
She seemed on the verge of unconsciousness, covered in bruises and wounds, chakra levels siphoned from battle. Her face must have been something unsightly, because he felt more chakra pooled around there, undoubtedly healing her.
It was no wonder. Kaguya, for all that he cursed her name and actions… was strong.
And she apparently had taken her sweet time here. Momoshiki cursed her under his breath.
"Open a rift. Let Kinshiki through." He snapped.
"Yes, my lord." She whispered. "It shall be done right away."
"Urako." Momoshiki spat. "Where is Urako?"
Hachikazuki didn't look up at him.
"I said. Where is Urako…?" He asked tightly.
"I…" She licked her lips. "Urako has been killed. Courtesy of the yellow-haired ape and the child-ape."
"WHAT?!"
"The child stabbed her throat. It shouldn't have been enough, but he injected her with… something that made her slower. I—I then saw the female human apply her hand on her head and… Then Urako was gone entirely. I… do not know if she used the Rinnegan or…"
"Urako has been defeated…? By these hairless monkeys…?" Momoshiki asked in disbelief.
"…It seems so, my Lord."
Further down, Kage turned to Toru.
"What do you think they're talking about? They seem agitated."
"Probably Orochimaru." Toru shrugged.
"Oh… Do you think Ino and he killed them already?"
Toru shrugged, with only the slightest touch of distaste to his words - it was not a good time for squeamishness. "…They did, according to Ino. I guess she was afraid of Naruto realizing he had no Ōtsutsuki lover. Yet."
Uchiha Sasuke was not having a grand time.
Once more, he had come to battle already pre-exhausted — taking care of his children, then taking care of more children, before taking care of grown children.
Once more, he had had to deal with shit that had been directly stirred by Naruto's hands — a tradition that had started about a millenia ago.
Once more, he had gotten himself thrown out of a fight by his former teammate — not Naruto this time, no. Rather, it had been Sakura.
And the worst part…?
She had actually saved him from a stupid death.
So no. He was not having fun.
Oh, he did enjoy a good fight, and this Kinshiki was as good of a fight as it went. But that didn't do much about his bubbling frustration.
The battle itself was… as sudden and violent as any battle.
Particularly because fighting with Itachi usually meant that the fight would end abruptly, cut short when his brother's trusty sword cut through vital organs.
Now…
Sasuke knew he was fast, shrouded as he was in pale flames. Faster than either Shisui or Itachi were; probably a blur that only their Sharingan could follow.
Sasuke knew he was strong, blessed — and cursed, in a way — as he had been with such a powerful constitution. A stronger one than any Uchiha was supposed to have.
Sasuke knew his eyes were powerful, too.
…Then why the hell was he stuck into this pocket dimension, the same way Itachi had been, months and months ago?!
Speaking of the man, his brother didn't seem to enjoy the nostalgia trip in the Kamui realm, if his tight face was any indication. No wonder. It must have been a long month.
Still.
Shisui and Itachi were twin streaks of light, pushing the Ogre with a deadly display of swordsmanship.
He matched them blow for blow, spinning with a grace and precision that belied his imposing size.
They continued to trade blows, fighting at a level that Sasuke knew far exceeded the other Kage.
And in the midst of the sounds of clashing steel, of sparks flying, they gave him an opening.
Sasuke's Palefire Rasengan found its way into Kinshiki's back with a terrible sound.
Flesh burned, roasted and ruptured under the powerful jutsu.
Still, the beast of a man whirled around.
Sasuke raised his other hand, eyes tight. Chakra winked into life, shaping itself into roots around the Ōtsutsuki's legs… as well as a shield.
Kinshiki summoned crimson energy to his hand, and a heavy club shattered part of Sasuke's partial Susanoo. The ogre of a 'man' pressed on, heady from seeing the Sharingan's ultimate defense weaken.
It was not to be. Sasuke withheld a small smile as the pink chakra formed around Kinshiki's hand, trapping it within.
He was stuck, no matter how hard he tried to wrench his arm out. Sasuke's admittedly shabby Mokuton still trapped his legs.
Kinshiki roared in fury, pulling.
He had the strength of several men.
And he had no leverage.
Sasuke's Sharingan knew he was about to sever his own arm to remedy the situation.
Itachi and Shisui were upon him before that.
Twin sword strikes found their way into Kinshiki's skull.
Black fire burned along Itachi's sword, and Shisui's own weapon was more akin to a drill of green chakra.
Sasuke had expected it, really.
And still…
The Ōtsutsuki managed to speak.
This… Sasuke didn't expect.
"Forgive me, my Lord." He muttered. "Let me be of use to you, one last time."
Then he roared, flesh parting as he exerted himself one more time, and he transformed into a wisp of chakra. That same wisp was summoned through a waning rift.
The three Uchiha were left alone in the darkly lit, cold and unwelcoming place.
"…What was that?" Shisui asked.
Neither of the other two had the slightest idea, honestly.
"...How do we get out?"
Silence.
"First him, then you." Momoshiki stated.
Recalling his servant's essence to him was only too easy. What had once been Kinshiki but now was nothing more than a reddish fruit was firmly grasped in his hand.
Hachikazuki nodded, head still bowed.
Momoshiki brought the Kinshiki-essence to his mouth.
…
Down below, a few people were staring.
"Ah." Toru mouthed. "That's what you meant by eating."
Kage just nodded.
"He's going to become pretty strong, actually."
"Yes." Toru squinted, Sharingan spinning. "He's getting there. He just went past Tier 1, I'd say."
"Indeed." Kage nodded solemnly. "He's getting into Tier 0."
"Yup." Toru nodded. "49… 50… Still rising."
They tried to fight the slight, excited smiles that rose upon their lips at the prospect.
Finally, a real fight.
…
Momoshiki devoured the fruit. It was an ugly sight.
His power began to soar and he laughed, and laughed. He also stopped paying any attention at all to his other servant. His skin shifted, and something golden began to emerge from his forehead.
Hachikazuki stabbed Momoshiki through his spine.
The alien froze entirely, with an incoherent scream of pain. "Hachikazuki." He gritted out, barely managing to turn around. "You miserable wretch — What… is the meaning of this?!"
"Perhaps you should bother taking a closer look at your… servant, for once. I knew you would not, you arrogant fool."
Hachikazuki's hand rose to her face, where she applied chakra carefully. She peeled the skin back, like one would peel a particularly grisly onion.
Revealing Kaguya.
…
"Huh." Toru muttered. "There goes our fight worthy of legends, I guess."
This latest development had someone's stink all over it.
He could almost picture Orochimaru nodding at Kaguya proudly. His latest world-endangering experiment to date.
"Gods, that jutsu…?" Kage stared, as he powered down. "He's… Not that different from our Orochimaru after all."
"…Maybe she has a point, though. We probably shouldn't let them power up for a good fight, away from home or not." Toru stated. "Maybe Shisui is right and we Umi people truly bring the worst out of each other."
"…You think Kaguya did it because of practicality?" Kage asked, shaking his head. "I can feel her emotions right now. She's enjoying this."
…
"Kaguya!" Momoshiki raged. His transformation was still ongoing. "I will have your head for this! Do you think — DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL BE ENOUGH?!"
Kaguya just flashed him a mocking smile.
"I do not know." She said. "Will it be?"
Around the area the bone sword had pierced his spine, flesh was already beginning to crumble.
Momoshiki realized it as well.
"No!" He roared. Fury made way for sheer terror. Here was a caged animal. One that had realized what fate held for him.
He tried to move.
"Did you think I would not prepare for you…?" Kaguya asked quietly. "How I longed for this moment, Momoshiki. A thousand years' worth of longing. I thank you for eating Kinshiki as well." She smiled. "It made things all the more easier for me."
"NO!" He roared.
Momoshiki tried a last desperate move.
"Too late." She cackled. "Far too late."
Kaguya cut his head off and held onto it.
Her chakra gathered to her hand and Momoshiki's head transformed into a red fruit, just like Kinshiki before him. Kaguya consumed it.
The rest of his body fell, crumbling to ash.
Before it even reached the lava down below, there was nothing left of Momoshiki.
A golden Rinnegan grew on Kaguya's forehead.
…
"Huh." Toru muttered again. "Shouldn't we be more worried about this? Not just the cannibalism, I mean."
Kage shrugged uneasily. "Probably. You talk to Orochimaru."
"…I'll try, yeah."
Kage stared. Toru stared, too.
There was a moment of silence, as both had the same thought running through their minds.
"…You think she'd be willing to spar with us for a bit? Once this is over. Since she might be in a good mood after killing these two." Toru asked. "If she didn't turn entirely evil, I mean."
Kage hesitated, still. "What about the others?"
"The others?" Toru blinked. "Ino and Orochimaru are done, and I'm sure Shisui and my cousins managed, since that guy came back in pieces — ah, perhaps we should go and get them back."
"…And the leader? How did they even manage to take him away…?"
Toru chuckled. "Well, he's with Sakura and Hanabi, isn't he? They're pretty stubborn."
Isshiki was, in fact, with Sakura and Hanabi, in yet another realm.
"It doesn't matter what you try." He said evenly. "I am recovering my strength, and close to full power once more."
Neither Sakura nor Hanabi were truly listening.
'Is this the moment you pull out your trump card and start gloating?' Hanabi asked her.
'I wish.' Sakura winced. 'But I'm afraid I'm not exactly ready to use that Slug Sage Mode thing. What if I fuck it up and my eyes start to protrude from my head, on top of eyestalks…?'
'Ah.' Hanabi nodded. 'That could happen. Perhaps you'd… drip with slime, too.'
'Would I become hermaphrodite?' Sakura frowned. 'What if my arm regenerates against my will…? Would I have to cut it off?'
'Well, you've got good chakra control, right?' Hanabi shrugged. 'Maybe it would work.'
'I just wish I had more time.' Sakura sighed. 'Real time, I mean — not being stuck inside the timeless hell.'
'That's what you get for trying to ask a Senju for tips, I guess. Watch out.'
Isshiki's foot slammed into Sakura's hip.
Hanabi immediately burst alight with power.
"I warned you." She said, as her entire body became incandescent.
"Yeah." Sakura grunted in reply. "I saw it coming, too. Turns out it doesn't help that much when you can't move fast enough."
"Can't relate." Hanabi shrugged, as chakra formed into a majestic lilac cloak around her. Dark marks appeared under her eyes.
Nothing became something; several orbs of dense black chakra shaped themselves behind her.
One shaped itself into a bow, a second into an arrow.
Hanabi grinned.
Sakura knew this expression all too well. "Oh, fuck me—" She darted into the sky, just in case this particular Art had some unwelcome properties.
Hanabi released the arrow.
A pillar of radiance and unbearable heat rose where the arrow hit, before it turned into equally deadly heat.
"Huh." Hanabi blinked. "Okay…?"
Isshiki didn't seem so amused anymore.
"These eyes." He said softly. "What are they…? I thought you possessed the Byakugan, tainted blood or not."
Hanabi smiled. "That's just an evolved version of it."
"There is no such thing."
"…Yeah, that's what Kaguya said, too." Hanabi shrugged. "It's not for you guys, I guess."
"A mutation caused by your inferior blood, perhaps…?" Isshiki's eyes tightened. "Hmpf. No matter what it is, I won't let you—"
Isshiki tilted his head, letting the mostly physical spire of water Sakura summoned pass him harmlessly.
"…You do realize I can see around myself?" He asked dryly.
She shrugged, entirely unashamed. "It was worth a try, right?"
"That's not entirely true anyways." Hanabi corrected. "That's something only the Mangekyō Byakugan can do."
"It's the same." Sakura muttered — ignoring the fact that Hanabi previously said that only Neji's Byakugan was incomplete. "How would anyone even use a one degree gap anyway…? That's just not possible."
"Whatever it is…" Isshiki said. "I won't let you leave here alive."
"You said that already." Sakura remarked. "Can we just skip to the part where you tell us about your unbeatable shrinking ability already?"
Chakra exploded out of Isshiki.
He released part of it in weird patterns. A bit like a signal, really.
"Guess not." Hanabi muttered.
…
Sakura's viselike arm appeared in Isshiki's very same cone of blindness she had talked shit about, one minute ago.
Isshiki shrunk himself.
He moved at his full speed, still. Hanabi's eyes were upon him, all-seeing. He reappeared in the air in front of Sakura. Before she could react, he shot twin black rods at her.
She phased through it, of course.
But she hadn't been his target.
Hanabi's hand rose up to slap them away. She absentmindedly remembered she could use these fancy orbs for that.
Sakura's real hand shot out like a whip, each finger covered in miniature, deadly maelstroms of water.
Isshiki waited until the last possible moment.
She would become physical to attack again.
Sakura noticed what he was waiting for. So she just shot the water as five deadly jets instead.
Isshiki shrunk again.
One of the black orbs of chakra behind Hanabi shaped itself into a fly swatter. She didn't miss the Ōtsutsuki when she struck.
"Seems like he can't shrink this." Hanabi noted. "Also, the hit made him revert to his normal size."
"So you can just nullify Ninjutsu, now? That, too?" Sakura muttered. "What's next, prescience…?"
Hanabi just shrugged.
"If you're so mad, why don't you just… use your Rinne-Sharingan to make it so that we're in a world where you're not mad anymore?"
"Fuck you."
"Maybe later."
"So you're not going to be fighting us, then?" Toru frowned at Kaguya.
"Hush, child." She snapped. "I have no time for your games. Not while Isshiki still lives."
"Not for long." Kage waved her worries off.
Naruto just nodded. "If you get both Sakura and Hanabi to work on the same goal, their petty rivalry ensures that you're going to get what you wanted."
"…Are you talking about something in particular?" Kage asked.
Toru muttered something disparaging about overheard roleplay, something called the lusty branch member maids. Something about ongoing nightmares, too.
Naruto just smiled, sage-like. Good times.
Orochimaru came by, a severed head in tow. Shisui growled — and he wasn't particularly happy about seeing Naruto around, either. "Please don't make this a habit."
"What, this?" Orochimaru asked, lifting Urako's head up.
Toru scowled. "…Is she still alive…?"
"Barely — she will die soon if I do not do anything about her lack of… a body and vital organs."
"But Kaguya said she was dead—"
"Kaguya is an apt liar. This Ōtsutsuki must have formidable life force, even by their standards, to survive such a thing." Orochimaru mused. "Unless… Do you mind terribly if I take her with us…? I guess not, since you devoured the other one, but one can never be too sure…"
Kaguya scoffed. "Do as you wish. I only care about seeing Isshiki, Momoshiki and the others dead or incapacitated forever."
'Wow.' Sasuke shook his head. No wonder the Sage never spoke about his mother, he thought.
Then, turning toward Naruto. "You sure took your time."
"Oh?" He lifted an eyebrow. "I'm very sorry. Things such as warping an entire planet do take some time, even for me."
Shisui froze.
Sasuke frowned. He had heard this from Toru already. "That was just a bluff to get the aliens unbalanced. A good one, though."
Naruto chuckled. Sasuke stared.
"…Please tell me it was a bluff."
"Well… Once astronomers figure out how to see stars and planets outside our galaxy, they might be able to confirm what happened today." Naruto shrugged.
"Once the light reaches." Orochimaru corrected, as he sealed the head in a pocket realm outside of time in order to keep it alive. "In thousands and thousands of years."
"Whatever." Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Where is the real you?" Ino asked.
"I assure you, I am very real—"
"Stop." She cut him off.
Naruto shrugged. "Since I can't establish a link, I assume he's still out there."
Ino frowned.
"…Are you sure everything went well…?"
"Well, unless he just so happened to stumble upon some Ōtsutsu-king, I'm sure he's fine." Naruto chuckled.
Toru just shook his head. Not at the pun, though it was offensively bad.
"Have you learned nothing about jinxes already…?"
Naruto snorted. "That's not a real thing, my reality-bending powers are more specific…"
He paused.
Toru was staring behind his shoulder, pursing his lips.
So were most of the others. Except Orochimaru, who seemed as nonplussed as ever.
"You're seeing them, now…?" Naruto frowned. "I assume they're close, then."
"Very." Orochimaru nodded.
"Yeah, that's… no jinx on my part." Naruto just said. "They were here before, but far away, up in the atmosphere. I just didn't want to worry you needlessly."
"These are likely some of the Ōtsutsuki that were left behind in our universe. Once your… creator warped their homeworld away." Orochimaru stated. "They might be angry."
"Might."
Kage looked somewhat tense, this time. He was staring. Not only up at the sky, but also at Kaguya. He could feel the negative emotions brewing in her gut and knew what to expect.
"Kaguya." Orochimaru began. Then he continued when she didn't grace him with an answer. "Do tell. Since when can Ōtsutsuki call for backup…? Pure curiosity on my part."
"…Less than a thousand years, I would say." She said at last. "This is… new."
There were ten of the aliens, this time.
And many more were coming, called here from their respective seed-worlds.
…
One of them called Kaguya's name.
It didn't come as an order.
Rather, it came as a question. Or an invitation, perhaps.
Kaguya and the Ōtsutsuki exchanged words in their native tongue. Their meaning was lost to the humans entirely, of course.
One thing was clear, though.
The newcomers were not as averse to making a deal with their former clan member as Momoshiki and Isshiki had been. Kaguya seemed to be considering her chances with either side.
And… it seemed as though she was favoring the Ōtsutsuki.
Five Ōtsutsuki appeared next to Isshiki.
"More of them…?" Sakura frowned. "How fast can these guys even reproduce…?"
Hanabi's eyes scanned them. "They came here following that guy's chakra. His elite guard, likely. I would assume that there are more of the aliens close to that Momoshiki guy."
Ino confirmed it through their link.
"Well…" Sakura muttered. "Let's kill them, then. This changes nothing."
Isshiki's hands shot out, burying themselves into two of the newcomers' backs. They didn't look surprised at all — unlike both Umi women. Simply resigned. Isshiki pulled.
All that was left of the two others were small, brilliant fruits; they fit into the Ōtsutsuki's palms.
Before either of them could even think of asking about what the whole point of this was, Isshiki gobbled them both.
Sakura whistled. "Look at him work that throat."
"…I don't think it's a good thing, his chakra is changing." Hanabi said. "…It's pretty impressive, though. I'll give him that. I bet he was very popular, back on his home planet."
"He looks like a goat with that horn, too. A... throaty goat. Throat goat Isshiki?" Sakura mused.
Isshiki grew a Rinnegan on his forehead. Black and red markings spread like inky flames upon his exposed skin. His horns elongated.
Sakura and Hanabi shared a look.
"Yeah. That's probably bad." Sakura concluded. "I'll take care of the three pasty ones."
"Sure."
"Find a way to share your eyes, while we're at it. I'll share my own."
"No way — I don't even know how, I mean." Hanabi frowned.
"I guess you'll be the one pulling me out of Hell this time, then." Sakura said sweetly. "I heard the weather's pretty much the same as last time I went there, so… burning hot? Ah... I'm really not looking forward to the next brand of torture..." She sighed.
"…" Hanabi grumbled. She then sighed, too. "There really are better moments to figure this sort of thing out, you know. Why don't you just go for your own shit?"
"Eh." Sakura frowned. "The eye...? No, that chakra…? I don't really like using it. Makes me feel strange. Somewhat scatterbrained and too… rash."
"…Unlike the very strategic sort of fighting you were doing right now?" Hanabi snarked.
"Yes, exactly." Sakura nodded, as she threw herself toward the three nameless Ōtsutsuki. "Get my cloak ready, please."
On Tsuki.
The sky was alight with foreboding.
And something was there, too.
Karin noticed it first. She asked Naruto a silent question. He shook his head.
"…You may go if you want." He said. "Me… I'm staying, at least to speak to them." He said mirthlessly. "I do believe we at least owe these Ōtsutsuki some explanation about why they're in the middle of… nothing, don't we?"
"…That's not entirely wrong." Karin admitted. "I'll stay too, then."
"You sure?"
"Well, of course." Karin smiled. "When did I ever not indulge in your tendency for dangerous improvisation…?"
"Hard to say." Naruto smiled, too. "It's been years."
"Don't tell me you're regretting encouraging me during these exams." She laughed.
"Never."
The black shape high above them split into twelve white ones.
Twelve looming figures released their wings, and they glided down to the frozen Sea with silent grace.
Above them, the green moon seemed to shine brighter.
The Twelve white giants fell onto the ice, shattering part of it.
Their wings retracted into their backs.
They let out howls at the Moon, identical wailing cries that sounded like nothing he had heard before. Something from entirely beyond the Earth.
Their white flesh bubbled, rippled… and then shrunk until they were only twice as tall as them.
Twelve humanoid figures stood, eyeless and staring.
"Now… That's pretty interesting." Naruto smiled, but Karin's expression was grim.
"Is it…?" Karin muttered.
Twelve moonbeams descended upon the frozen seas, each eerie glitter grasped by the creatures to form solid matter.
"Ah. Weapons, of course." Karin remarked.
Naruto almost sighed.
He extended his hand. The heavens parted when thunder struck it; gold and purple shaped itself into a blade imbued with Storm.
"Figures." And it had been going so well, too. "Well. This… really isn't going to earn us much goodwill with my distant relatives."