The two of them reappeared near the Uchiha compound with a shockwave that turned grass to overturned, shattered rocks.
Countless eyes bore witness to their arrival, including those of Madara. And however much he tried to hide it…
Madara could not help but flinch.
Naruto was still howling, head turned toward the sky. His chakra was a terrible thing, something that burned and conveyed his rage in a way that even his voice couldn't.
Toru winced. Apprehension rippled through the Uchiha clan as they cautiously slowly backed away from them. Perhaps his newfound Rinne-Sharingan, which happened to be real, after all… only served to heighten the tension.
Toru wiped his face and tried to slow the crazed spinning of his thoughts. He felt drawn and weary.
With swirling thoughts, he glanced at the Uchiha clan briefly, taking in their expressions of fear. On another day, he would have tried to do something about it.
But he didn't.
And then the two of them were gone.
They reappeared next to Sasuke and Chōji with a crash, staggering to their feet.
Sasuke whirled around when he felt their presence.
He went to punch Naruto, but that was before he saw his terrible expression, his pale face.
"…Everything alright?" Sasuke asked instead, with more concern than he himself expected.
"Let's go." Naruto said, in between clenched teeth. His voice sounded like barely contained fury, something that Sasuke knew was not aimed at himself. "Now."
"Now wait—"
"You heard me." Naruto snapped.
Sasuke was muttering something about dangerous assholes, and Naruto didn't care enough to say anything about it. Toru decided he'd explain everything… later.
Once he stopped shivering.
It took a long time for either of the two to feel half-decent again.
They spent most of that time in Shade's Realm, first waiting out the remaining Jūbi influence, then sleeping for a while. The nightmares were vivid, of course, but they were something they were not entirely unused to.
Most, they did not remember when waking up, but the aimless feeling of dread was not much of a step up, really.
They sat in silence, mostly, feeling clouded with confusion, until they recovered some.
Once Naruto woke to see Toru's face was wet. He reached out to wrap an arm around his shoulders and squeezed, saying nothing.
Once Toru woke to find Naruto seemingly gone, only for him to come back long hours later, eyes still bright with blue lightning.
They slept, they rested until they recovered enough to spar again. The relief that came with it was an almost physical thing.
The thoughts receded, and so did the dreams. Appetite came back first.
And soon enough, their time here was over; the outside world waited for no one.
They rose, and carefully hid the worst of the experience from their faces.
"Back already?" Ino smiled at them when she came home.
Time was always very relative for them, especially when experimenting. To her, it had only been a few hours since they had left, Chōji and Sasuke in tow.
Toru and Naruto were quietly sipping on tea.
They both looked pale, though. And Toru's normally cheerful expression was nowhere to be seen.
"…Are you guys alright?"
They exchanged a look.
"Yeah."
It came out suspiciously synchronized, as though they had rehearsed it. Ino frowned. Naruto stood up, and she knew for sure that something was wrong with them.
He decided to cook something for the three of them — or more, because the others were bound to return soon too.
Or perhaps because he wanted to keep himself busy.
…
"…What the hell?" Ino asked in disbelief. "How can you still eat this much? You're not a teenager anymore."
Naruto stiffened.
He called chakra to himself, in massive amounts. Enough of it to send several things flying through the room.
"Okay." Ino snapped. "First of all, what the fuck?"
Naruto looked around him, glanced at Toru who shook his head as though he were saying no. Naruto deflated, dragged a hand through his hair; he seemed a bit wild around the eyes.
The others noticed. Hanabi gave him a look of concern. Sakura slammed her book shut.
Ino's eyes softened. She pulled herself closer, wrapping her arms around him. As always, her mere presence soothed him. He relaxed some.
Toru averted his eyes from the very public, shameful display of affection, of course. Hanabi and Sakura drew closer to them, — looming, really — and Toru glanced toward the exit.
"I…" Naruto muttered, from the human dog pile in which he was almost buried. "This can wait — We're okay."
Maybe not entirely, because long illusions always came with some paranoia. Toru himself was checking for signs, anything that was out of the ordinary — a bad trait, really.
"Yeah, I don't believe you." Ino stated. "Just… take it slow. Whatever you want to say can wait for a bit."
Naruto relented.
Toru and he still told them the big lines, for now: they had had the distinct pleasure of meeting kami.
And trying to fight it, to no avail.
"…There's more to it, isn't there?" Ino asked, frowning.
Naruto rubbed at his temples.
Rather than explaining, he showed them their memories.
...
Ino looked close to tears. "Naruto…" She let out. "I had no idea."
Naruto frowned. "…Please. I appreciate your concern, but I don't want any pity, and I'm sure Toru doesn't, either."
"He's right on that one." Toru said softly.
Hanabi was staring at them, very quietly. "…Is there anything I can do to help…? Before we get to it."
"Not really." Naruto said.
Toru made a dismissive gesture, and it looked more like a pale attempt at levity than anything else. "We took the fight, we lost it. We had some time to rest, anyway."
Sakura… was not making any cutting remarks.
"…You two fought — Together." She began, hesitantly, as though she did not fully believe it. "And… lost?"
The implications were bad.
"…We did." Toru said faintly.
"…We're in deep shit, aren't we?" She muttered.
There was a lull in the conversation.
"…We'll manage." Naruto said at last.
"…Are you saying this for us?" Hanabi asked.
"No, I mean it. We will." Naruto shook his head.
"…Well." Sakura muttered. "Just so you know, I'm not planning on running away to… let's say, a safer world."
"I am not worried about this part, for any of you." Naruto said, softly. "And I am with you."
Ino tried for a grin. "That's why you're not worried."
Naruto smiled. "Maybe."
…
A distant, unoccupied world.
"You have a great understanding of seals, Karin." Yoisen said, nodding in approval.
Karin shrugged. "I guess I had to learn fast — making sure Naruto didn't kill all of us experimenting, y'know?"
The ghost of a smile spread upon Yoisen's lips. "It's a regrettable characteristic passed down from my sister's lineage. Whether it's on her or Asura remains unclear to this day and age."
"I'm not exempt from it either." Karin chuckled. "…As you might have noticed from our latest attempt," she added with a grimace.
Yoisen dismissed her concerns. "Regardless of the outcome, it was a commendable effort. Persuading a kami to reveal itself, even if only to mock us, is an impressive accomplishment."
"…Yeah?" Karin tilted her head. "The way you presented it, I assumed they just roamed the world, back in… days of yore."
"Far from it."
Karin shrugged helplessly. "In any case, that guy was not really helpful — and kinda… dickish, too."
"Many tend to be."
"That's sort of inconvenient." Karin muttered. "I just wish we could go back to them ignoring us… us ignoring them."
Yoisen didn't say anything.
"Right." Karin winced. "Shouldn't have put ourselves in the spotlight by making offerings with some good old-fashioned skin carvings, then."
"Probably not." Yoisen said evenly.
"Ever done it?" Karin asked.
"…I'm not quite this reckless."
Karin let out a long suffering sigh. "Well, one man clearly was."
"Naruto, you mean?" Yoisen asked, noticing Karin shaking her head. "Not him, then? He was young at the time, it is true. How did that saying of yours go, again?"
"Thanks, Orochimaru."
"Yes." Yoisen nodded sagely. "That was it."
Karin was about to say something, right before she blinked.
"I think we're summoned home." She said.
"We?" Yoisen asked dubiously. "Is your psychic wife going to try her hand at murdering me?"
Karin laughed. "Of course not — She keeps the murder attempts for sparring."
"I had the impression, yes."
"I cannot blame her, in truth." Yoisen said.
"Because you'd do the same?" Karin laughed.
"I have no idea what you are implying."
They left this mostly empty world entirely, passing through a dark portal.
Karin hummed a tune as she entered her house first, if only to reassure Yoisen there were no traps set in their door frame.
"Guys, I'm home!" She called out.
No answer came. '…Fuckers.' Karin thought. She walked up the stairs.
Naruto greeted her with a tired but warm smile that she returned… Before she paused — not because he looked to be in a shitty mood, though.
"…Why are you two hugging Toru?"
"Because Akemi has a day job." Ino said.
"Why is he crying…?"
"I'm not — Let go of me." Toru muttered. "They're very insistent — I'm fine, though."
"…I've heard that before." Karin said, hesitantly.
Toru groaned when she came closer. "…Please, not you, too."
…
"Well." Karin muttered, once the two were done telling the newcomers their tale. "That's fucking bad any way we look at it, isn't it…?"
Naruto smiled in a humorless way. "That's fucking bad, yes."
"…I would assume that to be the reason you're compulsively checking yourself for any signs of an illusion." Yoisen said softly, firmly seated at their table; she looked pale.
Idly, she realized it was the first time she had actually been invited here.
"Of course it is. And that's warranted." Ino hissed. "My husband is not paranoid."
Yoisen gave Naruto a glance.
There were definitely some circumstances in which he could be. He noticed and she could see some weary amusement in his eyes; in the subsequent shrug.
"Paranoia would be warranted." Yoisen said quietly. "After making contact with Inari, the two of them might be a risk."
"We might be." Naruto said, in agreement.
They had spent time in isolation already, but who knew if that even mattered.
"And you might also not be." Yoisen dragged her hands through her hair. "We shall do our best to make sure you are not being tampered with still, then."
Naruto nodded. "…As far as I can tell, the kami could only do that while manifesting. A few days before it truly breached, at most."
Yoisen looked at him for a long moment. She smiled a bit thinly. "Let us hope so."
Naruto's face was calm. Either he was under the kami's influence, or he wasn't. It meant that all of his choices might be the wrong ones. But that was something he had made his peace with a while ago. And he wasn't alone.
He had others he could rely on.
"If we're here, we have a chance." He said. "And we were warned… A few times, now."
Yoisen's eyes wandered idly.
"Before you say anything like 'I told you so'—" Ino continued.
"I wasn't about to." Yoisen shook her head. "How could I even feel vindicated, in such circumstances…?"
"Told you." Naruto muttered to Ino. She chose to ignore him.
In any case, Yoisen was not entirely sure about them, but she had been training harshly recently. In Shade's Realm, where she could practice freely, without having to deal with a certain woman's constant suspicion of her motives.
Anko, who had joined up too in spite of the other's insistence that she didn't need to be here and that the worry might be bad for the baby... smiled slightly. "Sure you weren't."
"…Were the situation entirely different, I may have thought it." Yoisen admitted.
Hanabi tilted her head. "What could we have done, anyway?" She asked, sounding frustrated. "We trained, as ever. But there's only so much that training can do."
"That is true." Yoisen acknowledged. "Very much needed, still."
Toru gave them a tired glance. "…So all of you were preparing, after all? I thought…"
"No." Sakura lied. She had, though. In Shade's Realm, where no one would worry needlessly about why she felt the need to actually push herself. Sakura continued. "But I just might, since you just got a nice power boost just for being born into a fancy eyes clan."
Toru blinked. "…For real? Me?"
"Yes." Sakura nodded. "Half the eyes I own…" She sighed. "I had to gouge from people's faces."
Toru's nostrils widened. "If you think bravado—"
"Not now." Naruto's eyes narrowed when he cut them off. Whether Sakura was trying to cheer Toru up — in her own peculiar way — or not did not matter. And they both kept quiet.
Yoisen didn't say anything about the matter, but there was a clear leader here, loathe as they were to admit it.
"Any suggestions, then?" Anko asked, with the ease of someone who had been in charge, didn't want to be anymore… but still acted as though she was when it suited her.
"Well…" Naruto ignored it; he drummed his fingers on the table, looking grim. "A few assumptions we made were wrong, first of all." He said. "Whether we keep our chakra bound or not doesn't seem to matter."
"…Baiting them is out." Toru muttered. "We don't even know if it worked at all… or if it was just a matter of bad timing."
"That's my fault." Karin stammered hastily, looking particularly displeased. "I thought a kami manifested using a powerful chakra source as a channel — I'm so sorry."
Toru shook his head. "Nah… It sucked, but it's not on you." His expression grew a little painful. "I decided to try it out—"
Before they could share more of the blame, Sakura chose to speak.
"It was not entirely implausible. And it made the most sense at the time." Sakura shrugged, as though the fact that a kami could seemingly manifest anywhere, anytime didn't mean terrible things.
Yoisen thought about her next words.
"We are still unsure whether they are native to our world, and able to follow you through… or simply… multiversal beings." She said, addressing Naruto. "As of now, that makes them very unpredictable."
Powerful and unpredictable made for a significant threat.
"Given these… uncertainties and the need for a better understanding of the kami, we might need to conduct further research."
"Studying the kami's manifestations, then?" Sakura asked. "…Attempting to communicate with them?"
Karin shook her head no. "I'm done with that avenue." She said, rubbing her arms, as though to warm herself up. "Last one tried to possess my body through the channel."
"Not that, then." Sakura said easily. "What about defending? Chakra suppression barriers?"
"We're still not sure whether what they use is even connected to chakra in the first place." Toru intervened.
"…Kami sealing jutsu, then?" Sakura tried. "Where are we going to find one?"
"…Uzushio?" Karin deadpanned.
Sakura chuckled ruefully.
"Fair enough."
Yoisen shook her head, slightly amused in spite of the situation's seriousness. "There are none, and no, summoning the Shinigami doesn't count."
"…What about more specific countermeasures…?" Ino asked the group. "Something tailored to each kami's unique powers or traits."
"…There might be too many of them." Yoisen winced. "But that is a start, in any case."
"And we might need better teamwork, too." Karin stated.
"Our teamwork is good, though." Ino shrugged. "We've been together for years."
It was true for them. Yoisen politely looked away.
"…That's not entirely true, we have a newcomer." Karin said, noticing it — and Ino hid a frown. "Besides, Orochimaru is off doing his own thing again."
"…Where is he?" Naruto asked tiredly, ready to roll his eyes.
"Nobody knows." Karin shrugged.
"He took my lover with him, though." Anko said. "…And his own," she added, under her breath.
Yoisen nodded. There was someone who understood.
"Detection first, then." Sakura said.
Naruto nodded his approval. That was what he had thought too, but being unsure whether or not he truly was thinking freely, hadn't bothered saying it out loud.
"...Back to Shade's Realm until we can make it work, then." Sakura added, under her breath.
Yoisen glanced around the room, taking note of the different expressions on each person's face.
There was worry, and hints of fear, too. Determination. "Gathering intelligence would be the most logical second step, then. Collect historical records, legends, or firsthand accounts of previous encounters."
"We could simply try and find people who already killed gods in other worlds." Hanabi said easily.
Yoisen blinked.
There was silence.
"To get some inspiration when it comes to the methods, I mean." She shrugged. "Not for fun."
"Yes, we got that part." Toru muttered.
"That's… a good idea." Anko agreed. "Which makes it all the more surprising considering it's coming from you." She then sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately, I can't follow—"
Hanabi blinked. "That's funny. I don't remember asking you for anything."
"Fuck you, white-eyes." Anko frowned.
"That's a slur."
"You called me a snake stealing whore the other day." Anko muttered, not feeling particularly offended.
"Yes, but I didn't mean it, and it was a reference, too." Hanabi shook her head.
Anko paused. "Make it clearer, next time. I thought it was about the sand castle—"
Naruto glared at them both.
They shut up.
"I agree with the idea." He cut in at last, nodding thoughtfully. "We'll need to divide our efforts, then. Clones, Shadows, too. Some of us can focus on research and gathering information, while others work on developing new techniques. And… as Karin said …improving our teamwork might help."
"Oh." Ino said, somewhat dryly. "Right. Let me get the teamwork coach, then." Toru frowned, trying to recall whether they had one or not through the haze of intrusive thoughts.
And then, the incoming footsteps became louder.
That's when Sasuke, whose presence had been felt and ignored, came into the room, looking to be in a foul mood.
Somehow, his presence lifted the tense mood some.
…In a way.
"Oh, Sasuke, you made it—" Naruto began.
"Never again — I'll take you up on that Rinnegan offer." He said, by way of greeting.
"Uh… Okay?" Sakura blinked. "You should know it's not exactly that straightforward to use, though."
"She has a point." Naruto reaffirmed.
Toru nudged Sakura and muttered: "Give me your Rinnegan, dobe." Sakura choked on her tea.
Sasuke glared at Toru, at Naruto… looking incredulous. "For real?" He asked. "After your stupid ideas got me kidnapped by my—… by Senju Tobirama?"
"You weren't in any real danger." Toru argued, rubbing his temples. He had said the same thing in at least three different illusory loops. "Naruto didn't bother taking any of the Rinnegan-invisible amulets for himself but you two—"
"The what now?" Sasuke scowled.
"They're undetectable to people without the Rinnegan — And the fact that you don't even remember that must mean it's working."
"Do you honestly think I'm that dumb, Toru?" Sasuke hissed.
"…It's here, around your neck." Sakura sighed, rolled her eyes, and summoned it to her hand. "See?"
Sasuke, who was only now noticing it, remained silent.
"Come on, man." Toru shook his head wearily. "Did you really think we'd put you at risk?"
Sasuke paused. "Do I have to answer this one?"
"…No. I guess not."
A brief pause ensued, during which Naruto feigned interest in his teacup.
Sasuke sighed. "Warn me next time. No more so-called hidden safety measures."
"…Next time?" Hanabi inquired. "Really? Are you joining—"
"...You're too weak, right now." Sakura said, not bothering to sugar coat it. "Membership's only for Tiers… Which Tier is right above him, Toru?"
Sensing Sasuke was about to lose his temper, Karin butted in. "I'm sure Sakura only meant to say that it's a very risky thing, especially now."
"No." Sakura frowned. "I meant exactly what I said."
Ino kicked her shin and she yelped.
"Especially now?" Sasuke asked, eyes looking a bit worried. Still angry, though.
Toru was muttering to himself.
"...What was that?" Sasuke asked.
"What if the kami made us go there in the first place?" Toru asked, sounding exhausted. "What if they controlled us and still—"
"Then we're fucked either way." Naruto said, dryly. "No matter what we do. Isn't that right?"
"…Right. It was on us back then, then. Wasn't it…?"
"Yes." Naruto concluded. "If they could make us do things outright… Well, you get it. It would be over already."
"…Kami? What…? What is happening, exactly?" Sasuke snapped.
"…Did no one bother to tell him about the kami?" Yoisen asked. Sakura looked away — he was too weak to be involved, still.
"…The what." Sasuke asked flatly.
They filled him in.
...
"Are you for fucking real?!" Sasuke seethed.
"—it's a wonder you didn't see our mighty battle with Inari." Naruto said, in a falsely grandiose tone. It was the sort of distraction he could really use, right now. "It's the sort of stuff that becomes legendary in under a decade."
"You honestly expect me to believe you fought a god and lived to tell the tale?"
"I mean…" Hanabi shrugged. "You don't have to."
"Ask Uchiha Madara." Toru shrugged tiredly. "Or that other Senju Tsunade with purple eyes."
Sakura stiffened.
Ino picked up on it. Before Sakura closed her mind, she managed to glean enough information about the subject matter. "Oh no, you didn't."
Naruto checked himself for any trace of a genjutsu again.
"I'm entirely unsure what you're talking about." Sakura said innocently.
Toru checked too, both eyes flashing deep red, before turning back to black and purple — he'd figure that one out... at some point.
"That woman was Senju Tsunade." Ino announced.
Karin picked up on her tone. "…The one from our time? Kage's time, I mean…?"
Sakura winced as Ino continued. "She—" Ino said, pointing at her. "—brought her there."
"…Seriously, Sakura?" Naruto scowled.
Sakura let out a long-suffering sigh. "She insisted on coming." She ended the sentence there. Naruto picked up on it.
"…Why?" He asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose; he had to stomp down on his frustration. Now, really? Out of all days?
There was a moment of silence.
"…Because I took Sarada there."
"…To the Clan Wars." Naruto said flatly.
"…She insisted." Sakura finished. "Also, I'm not sure there's that much you can say about it, right now."
Naruto massaged his temples.
"I thought you knew already — I told you guys back in that civilian world." Sakura tried.
"I wasn't listening — That was why you were being secretive…?" Naruto asked.
"Secretive how?"
"That's it." Ino stated, glaring at her pink-haired wife, quite menacingly. "You are attending therapy. Starting today."
Sakura frowned. "I don't need it."
"That's obviously a lie if you thought this was a good idea in any way and if you still—"
"I didn't, but she insisted."
"You — are — going." Ino repeated.
Sakura began glaring at her just as fiercely.
The tension in the room built up. And then it fizzled out when Sakura glanced at her husband's expression.
He didn't look angry, or even disappointed. Just tired.
"…Maybe you're right." Sakura conceded, deflating slightly. "…I suppose I should go, then."
"Yes."
"…I owe Kage and his entourage some apologies." Naruto muttered.
"…Nah, that's on me." Sakura admitted. "I kinda thought it was a risky move, but hey. I'll say sorry to Sarada."
"Really?" Ino snapped. "What about her dad, her mom? Everyone else? I'm sick and tired of having to clean up your messes — of having to be the bitchy one."
Sakura looked at her as though she had sprouted a second head. "Jinsuke…? What does Jinsuke have to do with this? He's more like a sperm donor."
Both Sasuke and Yoisen — who was beginning to suspect something truly was wrong with their priorities — noticed the conversation spiraling out of control.
"…I can assist you with your Rinnegan concerns." She offered.
"They're not concerns, I just don't have it." He muttered to himself. Then, louder. "Thank you."
"Do not thank me." Yoisen smiled slightly.
It wasn't because he reminded her of Asura, — which evoked a mix of welcome and unwelcome memories of her sister — but because she had the impression she would need some help to keep this motley crew on track. Even Karin, who Yoisen was starting to think was usually level-headed… succumbed to the local madness when around them.
The same applied to Ino, but Yoisen didn't usually get to see much of her good side.
Yoisen paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "The fact that the both of you encountered Inari — or Inari-Kitsune, then — and survived means that the delicate balance among the Greater Kami might be shifting."
Toru blinked, as though he were coming out of a long dream. "Why is that?"
"A lesser manifestation it might have been, compared to a Kami's full power, but… That it bothered manifesting at all, even when doing so left it more vulnerable to the other Kami, suggests that it is seeking for something."
"…Okay, why?" Anko frowned. "I think I'm missing something here."
Sasuke sent her a grateful nod. He didn't get it either — mostly because he had been left in the dark entirely.
"To influence the physical world, a kami needs to manifest here." Naruto said. "At least partially. Of course, the stronger the manifestation… the stronger their influence… or their abilities, I suppose."
There were a few nods; the rest of them knew it already.
"Most Greater Kami's power is comparable." Yoisen elaborated. "And they're said to frequently… disagree with one another — although that could just be hearsay, legends. In any case, navigating the balance between them is a challenging concept. If any of them were to overextend, they would risk being overtaken by another. As a result, they might have been locked in a standoff for centuries, perhaps longer."
Naruto scratched his head, looking weary.
"And I assume that even a... modest increase in power, such as a... mortal capable of traversing dimensions, could tip the scales for any of them. Or, at the very least, it's an advantage they don't want the others to obtain."
"Precisely." Yoisen nodded.
Naruto closed his eyes in consternation.
Anko left. The rest of them settled in Shade's Realm, where Ino and Karin began to work on them.
"…I will stay in Umi for the foreseeable time, then." Naruto stated. "I have a few… satellites to place."
A kami's full manifestation was noticeable.
If it came down to it, he at least would be able to warp their homeworld away. Hopefully that would be enough... because that was the best they had, right now.
"It's time we check everyone else for possible kami mind-infestation, too." Ino suggested. "Starting with us, then Umi as a whole and… Yeah."
"They don't use chakra." Naruto stated.
"So what?" Ino shrugged. "I'm pretty familiar with what your soul looks like. And Karin said there were traces of something clinging to you, too. She showed me… and I think I know what to look for. It's just a start… But the best we'll manage for now."
"We'll devise a method." Karin added.
And they did exactly that, over several hours, perhaps more.
Most of them left right after, yawning. Ino still had some tests to run on them, but she could do that on her own.
Karin stared back at Toru as she left. "Let's go do something fun with Akemi — It should be today still, right?" She asked. "The three of us — Naruto is going to be busy, I think."
Toru shook his head. "I don't think now is the time."
Karin gave him a mirthless smile. "I know you — now's the most important time. You're going to bottle shit up until you burst."
"I don't even…" Toru muttered. "Whatever." He smiled tentatively. "Thanks."
"That's the spirit." Karin grinned. "Later."
Only Naruto, Toru and Ino remained behind.
"No possession, then." She said. "I'm more worried about your minds, as of now. No going off on your own for the time being."
They nodded.
Ino stared at them.
"You guys really are the biggest fools." She said.
"Sorry." They chorused.
"Morons, even."
"Sorry." They repeated.
Ino couldn't help but smile. "Well, whatever. It would have happened at some point, then."
"Probably." Naruto acknowledged.
"It was my idea." Toru muttered, looking contrite. "Well… Karin's, technically—"
Ino hugged both of them.
"It must have been terrible." She said.
Naruto chuckled lightly, holding on to her smaller form. "…It wasn't all that great."
…
"Naruto, a word?" Yoisen asked, once she noticed him leaving his house.
Toru and Ino were there too, apparently, and out of Shade's Realm. Naruto glanced at her, tugging on the rope that bound his shirt. There were strange burns on his body, and that they had not healed fully yet was worrying enough on its own.
"Yes?" He asked quietly. "You were right about the kami — and this went… Yeah."
"Perhaps. I am glad you managed to come back, in any case."
Naruto looked away. "I don't know if it's about anything we did." He said. "You warned us about them, and when the time came… we still were caught off guard."
"…Are you well?"
Naruto paused. "I… I know everyone says it when they're feeling like shit, but… I'm fine. Well, no. But I'll be. Right now… I'm feeling smaller than an ant."
Yoisen opened her mouth… and realized she didn't know what to say.
Vulnerability was something someone like Indra had never allowed himself to show, for one.
That Naruto was willing to admit weakness was something she appreciated… and also didn't quite know what to make of.
"Uh…" Yoisen let out, quite eloquently.
Naruto laughed shortly and she felt her face burn. "Don't worry about it too much. It's just some mindrape." Seeing her expression, he went on. "From what you told me, I assume Tsukuyomi itself… — herself? — would have been much worse."
Yoisen mumbled something.
"…What was that?" He asked.
"I said, what of it?" She shook her head. "This is no suffering contest."
There was a pause. Naruto stared at her, something like surprise in his eyes. Had she said something outlandish…? Too different from what was her norm…?
"…Right." Naruto smiled at last. "That's what the Chūnin Exams are for."
"The…?"
"This contest my nephew is currently taking part in. The finals will take place very soon, — tomorrow, I believe — but I don't think I'm going to be able to attend, this time."
"I… see?" She tilted her head.
"You see?" He repeated, sounding amused.
Naruto smiled, and she smiled too. She looked away, and they walked in comfortable silence. Yoisen glanced at him.
Naruto looked back and chuckled low in his chest, it was entirely unamused.
"I'm… afraid." He admitted.
"Of what is coming?"
Naruto shook his head. "Not only."
She waited for him to speak.
"That I'll always be causing trouble for the people around me. Not because of that stupid plan, I mean… but because several of the kami seem to be after me specifically. By the time we left that realm… It's been a long time since I saw Toru cry for real. He's always… Well, you met him, now. It's easy to forget he has his own shit to deal with. We got out, but…"
Naruto rubbed his palm against his face. "It could have gone so much worse."
Yoisen just nodded.
"…That's only something you get the opportunity to worry about because you made it back, both of you." She said.
He smiled mirthlessly. "I know that well. I suppose I shouldn't complain. Many people never got the chance to even… live. Plenty, because of me."
"…That goes for both of us." She said softly.
A fleeting lull in conversation ensued.
"I've been around for centuries." Yoisen said. "Continuously," she added, somewhat amused, knowing he was about to compare things that were not entirely the same. "After a while, it becomes… challenging to keep your empathy."
Naruto nodded, looking distant.
"It is not that I do not care about other people." She continued. "It is more that… it becomes harder to relate to their problems. They can seem so… insignificant, as cold as it sounds.
"Empires rise and fall, people live and die… and the same cycle of short-sightedness seems to repeat itself. All of this makes it difficult to form deep, meaningful relationships." She paused. "It's… as though you're always holding back, afraid to truly connect with others because you know they won't be around for long.
"I have seen so much death. The last of my friends from youth, the ones who survived what the world threw at them, grew old and died in what felt like the blink of an eye.
"I have lost count of the number of friends and relatives I have outlived. I never became a day older, and in a way… the hurt never did, either."
"…And time never stops." Naruto said softly. "The world changed around you, too."
"Yes." She smiled thinly. "I find it quite hard to keep up and adapt. I feel like a relic from a bygone era, in all honesty." Struggling to find her place, too.
Naruto glanced at her, as though he knew what she was thinking. "You—"
"I am not saying this only to depress you." Yoisen laughed briefly. "Nor for you to pity me. You are not alone, and hopefully, you will never have to experience some of these—"
Naruto shook his head. "You won't either. Not anymore."
Yoisen hesitated. "I…"
For a moment, quietness prevailed.
"…In any case." She managed. "You are likely dealing with some similar moral quandaries. I assume that you became used to this feeling of… near-omnipotence. When everything comes effortlessly, your motivation fades away, and the satisfaction of overcoming a challenge does as well—"
"…I don't think I'm depressed." Naruto said dubiously. "Ino doesn't think so either."
But he was not cleared to go, either. Neither was Toru.
Yoisen laughed. "That is not what I am saying. But the aforementioned matters, added to the burden of responsibility upon your shoulders, paralysis of choice, lack of fear and true consequences…"
Naruto gave her a humorless smile.
"…To think I used to believe I learned from Indra, from Madara's examples." He shook his head. "I managed to stumble into the exact same pitfalls. I got suckered in by my own power and became overconfident. The kami might have known exactly how to get me to lower my guard, or maybe it was just my own doing. If that's the sort of stuff we can expect, now…" Naruto winced.
"I do not know for certain." Yoisen said. "Perhaps. Perhaps not."
"…I suppose I should count myself lucky enough to realize it, this time. Before I could make any tragic mistakes."
Yoisen smiled warmly, and she kept quiet.
"I knew I should have left the job to Anko." He sighed. "Is there a way around this… little lack of grounding?"
Yoisen shrugged. "No easy one that I've found, at least. Personally, I needed a purpose."
"…A purpose…? Your projects, you mean?" Naruto pretended to be offended. "Well, Umi is no fixer-upper."
"Says you." She smiled.
"…Thanks, in any case." He said quietly.
Yoisen blinked. "What for?"
"For telling me. All of this." He knew just how private she could be.
She just waved it off. "It was nothing. But…"
"Yes?" Naruto asked.
Yoisen's hands twisted her tunic's sleeves. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked. "In regards to what actually happened out there. Surely there is something I—"
"Probably not." Naruto said lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "You did enough, in any case."
"Hmm?"
"Ino told me you helped with the whole kami thing." Naruto said wryly — getting Ino to admit that had been like pulling teeth from a dragon. "That you spent most of your time killing off yokai around our world."
Yoisen nodded, and not only because it beat spending time around an angry wife. "I did — someone had to. And the Rinnegan does make it a less… daunting sort of task."
A small smile curved Naruto's mouth. "You're downplaying it." He said. "Ino was able to identify what a kami's touch upon a human feels like, because of it."
"…It was a pretty long day or two… that is all I will say on this matter." Yoisen admitted, with a wry expression.
"I owe you thanks." Naruto bowed his head, grinning. "It's something I should have done myself, truly — but last time I acted hastily, people that could possibly have been saved… died." He paused, and pushed the memories of Nagato's mindless slaves away, before his smile went away with it. "If there's anything you want or need, feel free to ask. We are friends, and allies, too."
"You owe me nothing." She said.
"I insist."
"I said—"
"I insist."
Yoisen thought about it, then shook her head.
"…If you must — Yes, I suppose an embrace shall be enough." She said, quite magnanimously. "We are friends, after all."
Naruto blinked.
Yoisen forgot propriety, dignity and reserve.
"…May I embrace you?" She asked again.
"Sure." Naruto said, sounding a bit bemused. That was a trend today. Did he look that sad…?
Naruto wrapped his arms around her, and her head pressed against his chest. He smelled of sea salt and wood.
"…Thank you." She muttered.
"…What for?"
Later on, when they practiced, Yoisen kept her focus on her sword stances, because her mind was drifting.
…
"…That sleazy homewrecker." Ino muttered. "Patient, her? My ass. She's on the move. And he's too dumb to notice or care."
"…She's fumbling." Toru declared, shaking his head.
There was, after all, not much privacy in Umi.
"I can't fucking believe him." She said. "We were making sure his mind was not kami possessed five minutes ago."
Toru stared.
"…Okay, I can believe it." She muttered. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"…Come with Karin and us tonight?" Toru offered.
"Trying to take my mind off these two…?" Ino frowned. "What, you're his wingman now, Toru?"
Toru smiled a bit. "Hardly. I'm trying to restrain him."
"…Just shut up." Ino muttered, somewhat amused in spite of herself. "Well. Let's make sure you're out of trouble. And yeah, I'll take you up on that offer."
…
"Bro!" The young Naruto screeched. "You're back!"
Sasuke — the one that was their older brother, not the scowling child — smiled patiently. It was an expression of hidden pain, of ruptured eardrums.
"Yes." He said. "It was… a long few days."
"Guess what?" Uchiha Naruto asked, quite eagerly. "Guess what!"
"…How should I know—"
"I JUST GOT MY SHARINGAN!"
Sasuke sighed. "Naruto… We only talked about this a million times." He put a hand on his shoulder, ready to see the same familiar disappointment — it didn't seem as though this Naruto had the best focus… or memory. "This is not something that is going to happen naturally—"
"But I really have it." Uchiha Naruto said, scrunched his brow in… Sasuke blinked. Frustration…?
"…He does." The young Sasuke confirmed. "…He has it, somehow."
Sasuke's lips felt dry. "I… Show me."
Naruto did. His eyes bled from blue to red.
Three tomoe, too.
There was a throbbing behind his eyes; Sasuke felt his headache redouble. If he closed them, he would likely still be able to see color. Three specific ones, in fact.
Blond. Black. Pink.
World #626 — Warring Clans Era
"As I sit in the wretched darkness that has become my solace, I feel compelled to share with you the harrowing experience that has befallen me.
For I have gazed upon the visage of a cosmic deity, and the terrifying encounter has shaken me to the very core of my being. It is only in the desperate hope of preserving some fragment of my sanity that I commit these words to paper, lest the weight of this knowledge consume my mind entirely.
A letter, in other words. Addressed to you, nonetheless.
The events that transpired remain vivid in my memory, as if etched with the burning touch of a nightmare. On a night the stars shone bright, all too bright, I beheld an enormous idol that defied all logic and reason. A monstrous being with incomprehensible form, tails writhing from its grotesque form, eyes that glowed with an eldritch malevolence, and a malign presence that pervaded the very air. This terrifying visage was beyond the grasp of human understanding. Or mine, at least.
I could feel the boundaries of my fragile reality unraveling as the god's malignant influence seemed to seep into my soul, like a cancer gnawing at my sanity. This nightmarish entity, whose very existence transcends the fabric of time and space, seemed to regard my insignificance with an indifferent, cold detachment. In its presence, I understood the insignificance of humanity and the feeble nature of our existence in the face of an unfathomable cosmos.
Now, haunted by this experience, I feel as if I am teetering on the precipice of madness, gripped by a fear that threatens to engulf me in the inescapable darkness. And yet, despite the terror that now consumes my every waking moment, I find myself drawn to that monstrous deity, mesmerized by its very essence and the dreadful allure of the unknown.
And this nightmarish landscape I depicted remains incomplete.
I must share with you the disturbing revelation of two monstrous beings that further shook my resolve. Hidden beneath the guise of human form, one of these I mistook for your kin. These sinister creatures slithered amongst us, their insidious intentions veiled by the skin masks they donned. Their twisted visages, once revealed, betrayed a horrifying amalgamation of man and beast. Cruel eyes glinted with malevolence, their mouths lined with gleaming teeth, and unnerving, corded limbs writhed beneath their eerie garments.
Their mere presence filled the air with a palpable dread, a chilling reminder that even amongst our own kind, merciless as it is… true darkness lurks in the shadows. With each encounter, the line between human and monstrosity blurred, eroding the foundations of our perceived reality. These abominations, haunting manifestations of mankind's darkest fears, exposed the fallibility of human nature and the unsettling truth that the boundaries separating us from the horrors that reside in the abyss are tenuous and fragile.
I beseech you, in the name of our former friendship, heed my warning and resist the temptation to venture into the shadows of this vast, indifferent universe. For there are truths that humanity was never meant to discover, and the price of such knowledge is the annihilation of all that we hold dear.
Yours in fear and trembling,"
The pen halted.
Madara's pale face lifted from the letter he was writing when he heard footsteps.
As he had thought, Izuna's head slowly appeared behind the sliding door.
"…Are you fine, brother…?" He asked.
Madara kept his silence for a long, long while. He knew that his brother was not faring any better than he was, in truth.
There was no point in hiding.
"…No, Izuna." Madara shook his head. "I'm not fine."
…
The next day.
Senju Hashirama finished reading the letter that had just been delivered to him. He sighed.
"Bad news?" Mito asked.
"No." Hashirama shook his head. "Well, maybe. I don't know. It's confusing."
"What is it?"
"Madara."
"Oh." Mito let out a long-suffering sigh. "Have you two been in touch secretly…?"
"No. Not in years." Hashirama shook his head in incomprehension.
And it was not because he was pretty sure that Madara's purple sort of prose's sole purpose was to rub in the fact that Hashirama had once admitted to him that he was terrible at writing anything remotely formal, and that Tobirama was usually the one helping him draft letters.
"That's what makes it really weird." He said.
"Is he proposing an alliance—" Mito asked tentatively.
"No."
"Is he being dramatic again…?"
"No." Hashirama said, automatically. Then he thought about it. "…I really don't know. Maybe?"
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Madara's Letter
AN:
Hey there!
Have to reupload and relink everything on lensdump cause of the Imgur deletion thing, it won't change much for you, normally - but it's a bit of a pain in the ass hahaha
Also, I got covid, so it took me a while to write, draw, outline a few things - if something doesn't make sense... assume it's the brain fog! (but it's probably just me, honestly)
"And so Naruto and Toru were humbled and enlightened on this day."
Hopefully the lesson sticks...