On Tsuki.
"Well." Naruto declared, wiping the blood from his face. "I believe that they fled."
Karin confirmed.
"Deserting, then?" He asked, letting out a weary sigh. It had been a long day already and his body was feeling heavy. "We're only half-done here."
If he was tired, he could only imagine how Karin felt. He took a look at her. Her eyes were droopy and her posture slouched. In spite of her obvious fatigue, she was determined to finish the task at hand.
Naruto pushed a small smile away. He felt a surge of admiration for her; her resilience.
"I don't know." She said. "There is still that large chakra up here, up on the red moon."
"It's a palace. And yeah… I see."
He glanced upward, toward one of Tsuki's moons.
Through the memories he had gotten from Sanchira, he knew exactly where that palace was. Karin would not be able to perceive it with any more clarity, but there were people up there.
It seemed so distant from here. Unreachable.
And it was, thanks to its barrier. Except for the people that had been selected, which included the Generals.
As well as people able to bypass such pesky boundaries, of course. And...
The crowd of Ōtsutsuki were still watching.
"Well, first things first." Naruto said. Karin just nodded.
Using chakra to enhance his voice, he was heard by the gathered audience. Naruto asked for someone who spoke their language. No one stepped forward. If anything, they seemed to cower.
He pursed his lips.
Whether that was because of the display or because no one did on the homeworld, he didn't know. Either made sense to him, because what use could they have for that language…?
Earth was just a nice place to have a snack for them, likely.
"Gods." He muttered. "That is a half-cocked plan."
Karin laughed wearily. "Indeed."
"…I guess they'll get the message — Probably."
"Two aliens came by, warped our world away, sealed half our Guardians away. Then they left, screaming.'" Karin noted. "Confusing message."
Naruto frowned. "My mother used to say that if you have nothing nice to say, you might as well not speak at all."
"…Did she really?"
"How should I know?" Naruto chuckled. "Never met the woman."
"You—" Karin breathed out in frustrated laughter.
He couldn't help but smile.
"…Should we do something about the rest of them, then…?" She asked.
Naruto shrugged. "Nah. No point in that, the Ōtsutsuki should be sufficiently cowed. Too much and we're just going to rouse their spirits." He frowned. "They have souls, right…?"
Karin stared at him, nonplussed. "Didn't you just try to pull one...? Also, I do have a few useful suggestions, when it comes to your cowing "protocols". For next time, I mean."
"Really?" He asked, with a slight smile. "Why is that? That went well, I'd say. No permanent deaths here, no innocents harmed…"
"Whatever." She grumbled. "Let's go home."
"Sure thing." He nodded. "Just…"
"…Yeah?" Karin gave him a dubious look.
Naruto looked away. She often seemed to see right through him. Like any of his wives — and Toru, but Naruto couldn't think that out loud — could, really.
Karin pursed her lips, scowling. "…I assume you have one more thing you want to do, then…?"
"Yeah." He smiled.
"I'll come with you, then." She decided.
"Nope." He laughed.
"You stupid—"
"I have no chakra to feed you —" He shook his head.
"That's exactly why you shouldn't go alone."
"Besides… I'm faster." He shrugged.
"Faster to die? More foolish, maybe? Why should I even let you go alone?"
"Because someone needs to make sure Earth is still doing fine? The others are there, I mean." He laughed and she cursed.
…
It took a little bit more convincing, but Karin did leave, in the end.
"If you die—" She began, sounding as frustrated with him as she could get.
"Yes." He smiled. "You'll find me and make me wish I went to Enma's. I know." He pressed a kiss in her hair.
She warped to someplace else in the same world first. Just in case someone was watching.
Then she went home.
Naruto didn't.
On Earth.
The fighting was over.
Well, that was what the ruined fields told her, at least. Karin realized that Toru, Hanabi and Ino were missing and pursed her lips. She thought she knew what had happened here, too.
First, she went to the three Uchiha — who were likely to have been dragged into this unholy mess.
"Sorry, guys." She apologized — because she knew the others wouldn't — as she began healing Shisui.
"…I don't think I'm blaming you." He muttered.
"The others, though." Sasuke scowled. "…Yeah, that's a different story."
Karin couldn't help feeling curious. "…What did they do, exactly?"
Itachi answered that one. "They lost their minds." He summed up, laconic as ever.
"Ah." Karin sighed. Likely fighting it out, then. "Sakura, right?"
"No."
"I think she slept through it." Sasuke added.
…
"It went well." Orochimaru confirmed, as Karin restored him.
"I know you." Karin muttered. That could mean anything, with him.
"It really could have gone worse." Kage muttered.
Privately, Karin was pleasantly surprised that none of their antics had gotten the man — who was likely the best of them — killed.
Holding back a sigh, Karin motioned at the field of dead aliens - as well as Kaguya, who was in the process of stabbing one. Some of Orochimaru's snakes were working on putting the bodies into a neat pile. And… Karin was pretty sure the snakes were making a game out of it.
"You call this… going well?" She asked.
"Yes." Orochimaru nodded. "I used a non-lethal poison. No one died today."
Karin blinked in incredulity.
She looked again. Perhaps their chakra were just suppressed…? She wasn't that familiar with Ōtsutsuki yet.
"…Huh." She nodded slowly. "That's… surprising. Well, I guess that even you can change—"
The child-man chuckled.
"I was only jesting." Orochimaru smiled. "They are dead. Nearly all of them — except for a few test subjects, of course. I made sure of it. Oh, one's lacking her soul, but her body is alive."
Karin hissed. "Yeah. Figures."
On Tsuki's Moon.
The Ōtsutsuki in the feast hall wore white.
So Naruto did as well, hidden under his disguise.
There were many things he had picked up from his wives, over the years — Yugito, as well.
Such as some of Ino's skill with disguises.
The Rinnegan and assuming another's body language would do the rest.
After all, why would they assume he would be foolish enough to step into their territory…?
A fine white robe spun out of thin air, a created white powder to whiten his darker skin tone, hide his distinctive whiskers and he could pass for an Ōtsutsuki easily. Turning his hair ash-pale and silky was another easily accomplished task.
Chakra could be hidden even from the Byakugan's cursory examination - somewhat. If it came to a fight… well, then it would come to a fight anyway.
Naruto walked through the palace's crowds.
No one seemed to notice his disguise. Nor did they seem to know anything about what was happening on the planet, if their good mood was any indication.
Either they had not realized, or they assumed that whatever issue had risen, someone would take care of it.
...Perhaps they simply did not care.
They certainly looked as though they did not.
Whatever it was Naruto had imagined from the aliens, this… was not it. Many Ōtsutsuki danced, drank strange waters, ate strange foods and clapped. He passed several of them that seemed so intoxicated it was a wonder they were on their feet still. Some lounged in midair, wobbling from whatever it was they had consumed.
Naruto moved from the great halls to the sides of the rooms, lowering his head to pass under arcs of lazy flames that lit up the place. And speaking of arcs and arches, there was no way these buildings had been made the old-fashioned way. Although that was the wrong term to use, as their civilization predated the humans'. They must have transformed it out of raw material.
The Ōtsutsuki men were tall and thin, for most of them. And so were the women. Both wore fine dresses, paler than even their skin.
Their equally pale hair was braided in elaborate patterns or worn loose, usually. Fine ornaments adorned the top of their heads, and some of the nobility wore veils.
Perhaps it meant something, Naruto didn't know or care, right now.
He was no stranger to excess — as some would attest.
But some people were more susceptible to it than others. The so-called nobility, for one. Without any need for any form of labor… or need itself, they tended to indulge a whole lot.
And these people certainly were noble. With the riches and the high birth came power. And power was only too easy to abuse.
Naruto ignored the rhythm of the strange instruments they played. There was some interest in him, but now truly was the worst moment for it. So he just passed by the musicians, without glancing at them. The Ōtsutsuki's equivalent to drums continued to sound.
The music was becoming wilder, and at times, it was almost drowned out by some of the roaring Ōtsutsuki. The heirs that sat at their tables were at least as intoxicated as some of the people dancing in foreign ways in the great halls.
He ignored the noise and the women who gave him inviting looks, as well. (He knew Toru would not believe it.) Naruto knew he must have looked pretty… exotic here. He might have turned his skin pale, but his very… human features stood out still.
Naruto worked his way through the room, knowing exactly where he was headed to.
The crowd was making so much noise that he knew almost no one paid any attention to him. Some men howled and pounded on furniture, as if in a trance. There was something going on in the middle of a group, and Naruto didn't have access to their Byakugan to see it. He ignored it as well.
The drums continued to resound.
He passed a doorway.
More intoxicated Ōtsutsuki. One man jeered at him, and he had the particularly irritating expression of one looking for a fight.
Naruto didn't react, mostly because he did not understand the words.
He forged ahead, passing strange murals depicting creatures of myth and imaginary — or real, perhaps — Ōtsutsuki figures.
Among them, the Twelve, if the eyeless faces were any indication.
The ornate hallway ended up in a curving stair, and Naruto stepped up. He began climbing. Toward the King's chambers.
Pale fires lit up the way, hovering in midair.
There was a rush of air, and four spears at his throat.
Naruto stopped moving, only to close his eyes. He let out a weary sigh. He would have been surprised if it were this easy.
One of the four guards growled something at him.
Naruto didn't understand nor answer.
A spear slammed against his cheekbone. Naruto didn't flinch. He kept on staring ahead—
He reached for his chakra.
The spears' sharp edges were headed for his throat. Wreathed as he was in Lightning, they might as well take forever to reach. He spun through the air, twin kicks slamming into twin faces. Blades flew from his sleeves.
Before he fell back to the floor, the four men had already fallen. He bound them. There would likely be enough death today.
One out of four.
He reached for the unlucky one's soul and pulled.
Most of the walls were laden with chakra, and now he knew for sure which ones hid what — who — he was looking for.
Well, he was likely seen already. He took a deep breath, and Wind joined Lightning. It always felt like a jolt to the brain; to the heart. As though he became more… alive.
Naruto blurred through sets of corridors with renewed certainty.
He slammed into a particular set of doors with the strength of the raging storm.
The men waiting behind the doors didn't get the chance to complete their attacks. Seven blades flickered to life and were thrown in seven throats in less time than it took them to gurgle their surprise.
As the guards had known, King Shibai was waiting in his quarters.
As the guards had not known, there was an array spread throughout the room.
One that held Naruto and his chakra in place. He didn't seem to be able to reach for it, Rinnegan or not.
Nor was he able to disable the array.
'Well, fuck.'
Naruto kept his reaction entirely contained.
The King spoke. His chakra, heavy and cloying, extended in a strange way, one that allowed Naruto to understand his words.
"I have been expecting you." He had a strong voice.
"…So you have. I did not come here to fight you, though." Naruto answered.
There was a natural nobility to this Ōtsutsuki. Older than most, but powerfully built. Long white hair drifted behind his back lazily, and curved horns looked like a crown atop his head.
He was wearing robes as well. They barely covered his tall, statuesque shape though. He was sitting still, legs crossed.
Naruto felt six other presences in the room.
Well, that told him where the Generals had gone, then.
"Indeed, monkey." The King smiled. He waved his hand and something in the air changed, revealing the remaining Generals. "We are not alone."
Boar, Dog, Sheep, Snake, Tiger and Ox.
The King continued, darkly amused. "You have had the pleasure of meeting them already."
Naruto didn't bother gracing him with an answer. The more he tried to loosen his bindings, the stronger they seemed to become.
"Kubira, their Divine Commander. Basara, her Pursuer. Anira, Warrior of the Sun. Indara, the Serpent of Flame. Shindara, Wooden Prowler. Shōtora, the Wave Wrangler."
Indara…? Idly, Naruto wondered what sort of bedtime stories Kaguya was telling the Sage, for him to give his son a name so close to that particular one.
And where they had seen a Sun - unless that was a translation quirk.
"And I... am Shibai, King of the Ōtsutsuki." He finished, letting the words hang in the air.
"Fantastic." Naruto said dryly. He had known this already. "I'm Naruto, then. Monkey-King of Earth."
Shibai barked a laugh.
"Laugh as you please. You see, my tail was cut off at birth." Naruto nodded.
"Oh, you would make for a fine jester." The King smiled. "Eternity can become… dry. I am immortal, as they are." He said, motioning toward his Generals.
"Incredible." Naruto nodded politely.
The King scoffed. "An amusing one indeed, monkey." His expression was derisive. "Unfortunately… One that has aimed its fangs at the moon."
"Ah. There wasn't much up there, aside from trouble." Naruto shrugged.
"Oh…?" He asked.
"Not that you will ever find out, since I won't let you get back there." Naruto smiled.
Something in Shibai's expression tightened for a short moment. His hand twisted and Naruto fell to his knees with a roar of pain.
"I do not believe you are in any sort of position to give orders to anyone, least of all to me." Shibai said evenly.
Ancient eyes were fixed upon Naruto; portals to eternity.
Naruto's heartbeat picked up. He breathed and waited for him to drone on.
He didn't.
"Well..." He grunted. "You won't get my eyes." Naruto managed to shrug despite the lingering pain and his bindings, which went deeper at his gesture. "You may try, though."
Veins tightened around Shibai's eyes. Not in anger, but simply through his use of the Byakugan. Admittedly, it was an impressive sight.
"I see." The King stated. "Whatever it is you have done to these eyes, they look… faded. As though Impressed on, even. Real… But usable only by you, I presume."
Naruto simply nodded. His mouth was feeling a bit dry.
"If you kill me, you will never obtain the power they hold. Easy as that."
"This may be true." The King said. "However, that does not mean we will need to extract them from you."
"Oh?" Naruto lifted a mocking eyebrow.
"You may be of more use to us alive after all." The King laughed.
Naruto made a weary sound.
"You are assuming many things, here."
"Whatever it is you have done to cut our link with our World Trees will be unmade, as soon as we extract the knowledge of what you did exactly from your mind. It wouldn't do to simply… muck about, in this case."
Naruto blinked.
Then he blinked again.
That man thought that he had erected an isolating barrier around Tsuki…? Had Momoshiki... or Isshiki not warned him?
Oh, he was assuming a lot of things, then.
And he likely was not aware of Amatsu-Mikaboshi at all. Which would explain the carelessness with which he approached the entire situation.
Naruto chuckled, in spite of himself. He lifted his head and stared at Shibai.
One of the Generals — Sheep — sucked in an angry breath, and flames rose as she bristled.
The King lifted his hand and she stopped.
"…So there's something left of their identity, then." Naruto stated. "Angry one?"
"That is beyond you. You cannot fathom it." The King replied, disinterested. "I rule over them all. This includes their minds, and I am gracious enough to give them some leeway."
"Right. Like this court of drunk fools I just passed, then."
"They are fools." The King mocked. "But then again… so are you. I shall live until the end of time, and so will you, bound under me."
A half-smile pulled at Naruto's lips.
"I can't say I'm interested."
"I am afraid it doesn't matter." His chakra roared so hot that Naruto felt his face dry. So did the sweat running down his neck. "You will serve me."
Naruto grunted something in answer. His jaws were clenched tight.
"Speak clearly." The King commanded.
Some of the pressure fell away.
"…I have seen through a guard's memory." Naruto said, only half as thoughtfully as he had hoped. "You seem to be thought of as a god, down there on Tsuki."
Shibai smiled.
"What of it?"
"Some say you have ascended to a higher plane, even." Naruto mused. "Any truth to that?"
Naruto watched him, waiting.
The King's expression did not change. His mismatched eyes seemed to glow in the pale light.
"Any… opinion to share, monkey…?" He asked softly.
"Well, just a question… Why would such an omnipotent God bother with guards in the first place…?"
Shibai smiled slightly. "Eternity can become monotonous, can it not…? You shall see, in any case."
"Perhaps. Personally, I just think that you're just not all that almighty."
"Fascinating theory." The King chuckled.
"Now, I do believe there must be a reason why you recalled your Generals here." Naruto nodded. "Feeling worried? About my… barriers?"
Tiger's eyes expressed her rising anger. Shibai raised his hand for silence again. And for the others not to intervene, either.
"Hardly." The King smiled. "I understand that if you were able to isolate Tsuki from our satellites, there is not much they could do to stop you. I had them fight you and analyze both yours… and that woman's abilities. These are strong barriers, indeed."
"…And still, you let me in." Naruto said in a clear voice, in spite of the pounding in his chest. There would be one only opportunity, likely.
"Yes. I expected you to come." Shibai smiled. "That you have managed to find your way to our world is commendable. So I acted in answer. I was right in doing so, as you seem to be able to bypass most of our barriers. This, as well as whatever it is you did to our planet beforehand. Your ability is one that I will find great pleasure in dissecting. I do hope this is a mystery that won't disappoint."
"…Sounds like a bit of a dangerous plan, doesn't it…?"
"Does it...? To me, it sounds as though you are bound already." He said softly; a mirthless smile curled his lips. "Of course, we did notice your… duplication jutsu. As fascinating as it is problematic. However, I do know you are not such a duplicate."
His Generals had made sure of it, Naruto assumed.
And they were the ones currently holding his chakra bound, he was almost certain of it.
"That is true. However—" Naruto admitted, trying to reach deep within him.
Paper-like ropes sprung from the floor and bound his hands. They became something harder than metal; as malleable as rubber.
"However, nothing. It is over, human."
…
"I always wondered, you know." Naruto said quietly.
Shibai didn't interrupt him, so he continued.
"Whether or not you guys would come up with more advanced uses for chakra, considering you simply have so much power at your disposal." He said. "Now I know. But… Not even a mere clone jutsu… Art? Whatever you call it? Only the powers gifted to you by your birth and devouring Fruits?"
Shibai raised an amused eyebrow.
"Oh…? What of it?" He laughed. "Only something as pathetic as a human would resort to such cheap tricks."
Naruto snorted. "You know what I think…? I think you have no idea what sort of things humans came up with over the years. At all."
"Perhaps not." Shibai admitted. "I have no use for monkeys' limited methods and minds."
"Then I don't think you're so different from them."
"A lesser being would feel rather insulted." Shibai said softly.
"Do so if you wish. And thank you for telling me." Naruto managed to nod. "I was afraid I would have to dig through your memories."
This time, the King laughed.
"Ah, yes. But a soul as protected as mine is far beyond your reach."
"Shame."
A soft smile.
"We have been watching you since the moment you set foot in my palace. There was not a single thing you have done I haven't allowed you to do."
"…Weren't these your men?" Naruto asked, some dark amusement shining through his voice. "The ones that just died?"
"Any of my subjects may die for me."
Typical.
"In any case, you proved to be a decent match for… some of my generals." Shibai said evenly, only giving them a cursory glance. Apparently, that was enough chiding for Boar to drop her head in deference. "Unfortunately, that is as far as you shall go."
Naruto took a long time to answer. He was feeling suffocated.
"…I assume that if you ate half as many of these Fruits as legend has it… you would just stop me anyway."
The King just smiled placidly.
"That much is clear."
"But I told you already." Naruto said flatly. "I did not come here to fight you."
"Oh…?" Shibai's voice asked coldly. "Do tell what your intention was, then. I have been wondering, ever since you layered our world with your barrier."
Naruto did not answer.
The King seemed close to a true smile. "No matter." He said softly. "I do enjoy curiosities."
He drew himself up proudly.
It was clear that he had grown used to his role a long time ago.
With each step, Shibai's presence grew and filled the room. The air shimmered around him, rippling with power.
The Generals did not move.
With a wave of his hand, Naruto was pulled to him.
Shibai's hand slipped in between his ribs with a sudden burst of strength. Naruto felt blood well up in his mouth.
"See…?" Shibai asked, removing his hand just as casually. "I have seen through you. One of your duplicates would not be able to survive this."
Naruto's blood was spilling from between his exposed teeth. The words came out a bit garbled.
"…That's true." He croaked.
Shibai seared the wound shut with a dismissive wave of Fire, the power of which left Naruto feeling awed.
"Now." Naruto continued in spite of it. "Let me ask you this…"
Shibai's eyes were fixed on his. Naruto smiled.
"Why did you believe I could only create such shabby duplicates…?"
A portal of dark light opened behind the King, courtesy of the very real Eyes the Shadow was bearing. It was something the King hadn't accounted for. And something that had been opened from elsewhere, bypassing the array almost entirely. The same way the Shadow had come in.
To be more precise, part of the array was pulled into the portal as well.
And it began to pull, inescapable.
"I'd say it's because you keep on overestimating yourself." Naruto said.
Or underestimating everything that wasn't Ōtsutsuki, really. Which was the same thing.
"A gate…?" The King asked softly, holding himself to the floor and in place. The Guardians moved, and he motioned for them to stop.
Silver chains exploded out of the gate, through Naruto's Outer Path's ability.
Shibai sounded angry, this time.
"You dare use our birthright against me?" He snarled.
His chakra shone bright, and the chains were dismissed.
That was a first. He wouldn't say it out loud, but Naruto was surprised.
Shibai held his ground, unmoving, in spite of the pull.
"Is that the limit to your ability, monkey?" He mocked. "This will not suffice. Not now, not ever."
His own chains sprouted, of a chakra density Naruto had never seen. Nor did he believe he would ever see it again. Shibai's chains broke the floor, anchoring him down.
Immobile.
"Gods, you really never stop." Naruto muttered.
A second portal opened around Naruto's Shadow.
There was a flash of iridescent light.
A Radiant — Fire, Wind, Lightning — arrow flew out of the gate, aimed at the King's head.
"I have you." Naruto smiled.
Shibai's hand flew up. He grasped the arrow with an amused grunt. "You cannot win."
Only then did he notice what the arrow carried. Another portal opened around it.
The Generals moved.
This time, a heavy, very human arm pulled the King in.
Too late.
The Shadow detonated himself, as well as the Eyes it had been bearing. It was irremediably lost to the Ōtsutsuki.
And so was Shibai.
Naruto's arm released Shibai immediately.
His left hand's fingers throbbed with ethereal agony, even though there was nothing left of his arm. Most of it had crumbled away to dust, up to his bicep.
Shibai's chakra was a dangerous thing.
Rather than taking the risk of seeing the rest of his body undergoing the same fate, he had cut it off at the shoulder himself. And he would need to close that wound quickly, too.
He and Shibai reappeared in the middle of nowhere.
The Void Between the Stars.
"A fight?" Shibai jeered, chakra pouring out of him in roiling waves. He really hadn't listened.
Thunder, Lightning and Ice.
"Resistance is futile, monkey." Shibai smiled. "I shall engulf the void of space itself—"
Naruto disappeared the next moment.
The King stared.
The only thing that was left of him was a new Shadow Clone, also missing his arm. One that was also wreathed in the Storm Cloak. And the shield of Fire and Wind that gave him some time here. One that bore no Eye and was simply here to deliver a message.
And there was Shibai, too.
The King blinked.
There was nothing quite so restrained in his expression.
"I told you it wouldn't be a fight. That's it." Naruto's clone nodded at him. "Good luck out there."
"Silence." Shibai answered icily. "Do you think this can hold me?"
Naruto ignored him.
He knew it would.
"…I wonder how much of the trouble on Earth can be directly linked to you." Naruto mused. "How many people died because of your plans. And Kaguya herself, as well."
And she was a topic his creator would have to discuss with Orochimaru.
"I said silence."
"Well…" Naruto shrugged. "It is done, anyway. And I'm not that interested in what you have in store for the future. Perhaps once I figure out a way to extract your memories, I shall come back for you. Perhaps not. We can find our own way, I don't believe much of your… sacrifice-based technologies will be that interesting for us to base our future upon."
"Outer space…?" Shibai continued, looking around him. "That is your plan…? I can survive even this."
Neither of them was listening to the other — perhaps it was a tyrant thing, Sasuke had once said.
"I may have some mercy for the general Ōtsutsuki population." Naruto said. His smile turned sharp. "You, on the other hand… Not so much."
"I will go back to Tsuki." The King said flatly. "And then to your planet. Earth, you said...?"
"You won't." Naruto shook his head. He still didn't think that the King understood his situation. "Not with all the power in the world."
"Do you think this is the end, monkey?" Shibai laughed. "I am immortal—"
"Yes." Naruto nodded, feeling some pity. "Hopefully you can fix that at some point."
There would likely be no reasoning him, here. His fault for not taking any precautions. Naruto shrugged.
Shibai was already extending his chakra, undoubtedly trying to warp… somewhere. Somewhere where there was life.
"Well… My teacher taught me a lot of things, Shibai." Naruto continued.
"Hush, now." The King muttered, looking further beyond.
"Something about a dramatic monologue to make you feel absolutely terrible about your demise, too." Naruto scratched his chin.
"What of it, monkey…?" Shibai asked, uncaring. He likely knew that the moment he tried to reach for the clone, whether that was for his memories or chakra, he would dispel. So he did not bother.
That, or he was very confident in his ability.
Perhaps both.
Naruto shrugged.
"Unfortunately… I forgot."
Shibai ignored him entirely.
"Goodbye, Shibai."
The clone dispelled.
He struggled for a long while, but never made it back to Tsuki.
He created life, became a god of his own making. But the appeal of something that he himself had created faded away after eons, as well.
There was no end.
There was no way back either.
He spent the rest of his existence drifting in space, lost in between false stars and planets that he himself had created. Lands that held nothing for him to take.
It was entirely pointless.
Shibai never died, of course, but eventually…
He stopped thinking.
That was it for King Shibai of the Ōtsutsuki.
On Earth.
Naruto reappeared in his homeworld.
Once the memories of the clone he had left here reached him, he crossed time and space a second time.
"Hey." He greeted them.
Sasuke glared at him.
This time, Naruto did not even try to understand it.
"Not on me." He said, without blinking. "I was… tying up loose ends."
"Oh, I'm sure." Sasuke growled, very sarcastically.
"Well, glad to see we're on the same page."
"Naruto!"
Karin came over with a relieved smile. It turned to a mildly disgruntled expression at seeing his missing arm.
"…"
"Yeah, sorry." Naruto chuckled.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, right as rain. Was there any trouble?"
"Nope." She shook her head. "It was over when I arrived. Except… Our wives — and Toru are missing."
Naruto sighed.
A kick slammed into Hanabi's guard.
She grabbed the following punch, twisted, and let Toru's momentum carry him away from her.
Ino fell upon her, and their dance resumed.
"I can't believe you would agree with… that snake!" Ino raged.
Hanabi shrugged. She believed in practicality. Isshiki and Kaguya would have cleaned up, anyway. No real danger here.
"Who cares? I was here, anyway." She said, instead.
"How can you be so… so…" Ino bit out.
"Self-centered?" Hanabi shrugged. "I wouldn't know about that, but you guys keep on repeating it anyway, so…"
In spite of herself, Ino grinned. Hanabi grinned back, anticipation shining through.
Toru spat a fireball at them.
This would be nothing more than a brawl to relieve tension in order to avoid a potential disaster. Blowing off steam—
And then suddenly, Naruto was here.
As well as a falling wave of near freezing water that submerged all three of them with nearly identical shrieks.
"Alright gang. Show's over, it's time to go home." He called, sounding somewhat weary.
The three of them stared at him. Angrily.
"Freezing water?!" Ino began. "Really?!"
"Heard you guys reached your boiling point." Naruto shrugged.
"And just why…" Toru spat. "Do you always think you can order us around like this…?"
Hanabi just smiled mockingly. "He might be a fool, but… he's right. Do you think you're in charge, perhaps…?"
Naruto tilted his head. "Am I not, when it comes to real emergencies…?"
Ino breathed in deep, trying to vent her own aggression. "Why the fuck did you stay there, then…?"
Naruto sighed. The Ten-Tails seemed like more trouble than it was worth — sometimes. There was still an echo of the same overpowering, domineering feeling burning in him.
But well, if Indra had lived most of his life feeling in a similar way… That was reason enough not to heed it.
"I mean, if you insist, we can fight some more." Naruto grunted. "But frankly, I'm tired. Also…"
"Also, what…?" Ino asked tightly.
"Well…" Naruto smiled. "Yūshirō was born earlier on. Thought you idiots might want to say hi."
That did it. They settled down slowly.
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(Shibai's Sponsored Space Trip)