Article VIII: True Names
A Kami might be summoned using their True Name, relying on an offering of energy. Cosmic, Earthly ("natural"), perhaps even human chakra, serving as both a beacon and an anchor, calling them from the celestial plane to the physical one. As of yet, we do not know more.
Time's Ember
Yoisen, who has seen a thousand sunrises and a thousand sunsets, carries the weight of time like a fragile porcelain teacup — fissures creeping across its surface yet never causing it to shatter.
She's been led astray, a puppet on strings, and fell victim to one who sought to use her resourcefulness for his own purposes.
Because of it, she has watched civilizations rise and crumble, dust to dust, their glory and grandeur ephemeral.
The embers of hope still flicker within her, a stubborn flame refusing to be extinguished.
The spark of a dream, much like the fires she wields — passionate, relentless, and enduring.
A dream of creating something lasting, a city that would defy the cruel march of time, that would remain unbroken and beautiful, unlike the fractured teacup she sees herself as.
By her side is the man she holds dear.
He is not the same man she used to admire, so long ago, and perhaps this transformation is what allowed her to truly love him. He sees beyond her years, beyond her burdens.
He looks at her and sees not a timeless entity, but a woman - full of dreams, sorrows, love.
In spite of herself, Yoisen dares to hope.
Highstorm
Naruto opened his eyes to a blurry, muddled world.
His ears were ringing, a deafening, high-pitched wail that drowned out all other sounds. The taste of dust and metallic ash filled his mouth.
The only thing he could recognize through the haze was Yūshirō's wailing, coming from the bundle in his arms. But he was safe, entirely safe.
Naruto's hair faded to blond again.
The world around him was unrecognizable.
Naruto stared.
Umi was a wreck.
He stood there for some time, and there was no living presence besides his son's and his own. But he had done his part. Hopefully…
He continued to stare.
Two runes upon his body were on fire, and all of them seemed to be reacting in some way. Aside from Ryū and Tengu. Then again, they never had, when faced with kami.
And they had always felt a bit different.
Now…
The twin presences in the sky were definitely kami. And the spear in the sky was fading, having spent what seemed to be half of the world's natural energy.
His body felt impossibly heavy as he began to move. His limbs felt slow to respond, each motion an intense effort. There was an intense heat radiating off the concrete floor beneath him. The sickening warmth probably made it difficult to breathe for Yūshirō.
Naruto took a few moments to soothe him, staring at the twin serpentine dragons in the sky wordlessly.
He did not bother looking once more at what had once been familiar structures, but now was only rubble and wreckage and ash and dust.
Everything seemed to be a dull-gray hue, as eerie as the thick clouds above, in which the dragons twirled, lazy and mocking.
The usual background noise of the palace was absent, as well as the normally ever-present sounds of the ocean. There was only this eerie silence.
Naruto did not find it in himself to break it.
He did not find it in himself to do a great many things.
Almost unbidden, his hair faded to white once more. A clone appeared, equally soundless as the place that had been a bustling city just moments ago.
The clone took the howling Yūshirō away, cradling him with great care.
There was a terrible tearing sound as Naruto's chakra boiled off his body. It gathered in his hand, shaping itself into a pale blade that he split in two.
That was when he pushed off the wreckage, reaching the heavens in a mighty leap.
To greet old friends.
The wind howled, blurred, and the thunder crashed past him as Naruto rose.
And then he passed the clouds, which were dense enough for him to walk upon. He flipped through the air, leaving a void where he passed, and landed upon the sea of clouds in a crouch.
The two forms were clearer here.
From the swirling winds, Fūjin-Yami emerged, its form a shifting silhouette of shadows and gusting air.
From the blinding lightning, Raijin-Kaminari stepped forth, electricity dancing around itself.
Fūjin-Yami's voice was a whisper, a breeze that brushed past Naruto's ear, laden with something that was too close to a sickening fondness.
Naruto felt his jaws clench, felt the cold shiver that went down his spine.
This one spoke, then.
"Aaah." It let out a pleased groan. Fūjin-Yami didn't smile, because its great maw didn't seem to allow for it. Naruto felt it in his bones, nonetheless. "Young one, the one who offered us prayers in ignorance."
There was a long silence, only punctuated by the great rumbling sound that came for the kami.
"It has been quite some time for you, hasn't it?" It asked.
Naruto didn't grace it with an answer.
Kami, by nature, were something the humans had tentatively guessed to be each other's enemies at worst, neutral nuisances at best.
The two, however, seemed… to be on good terms, for lack of a better word.
Raijin-Kaminari's voice, rumbling like the roll of distant thunder, echoed around them. "I see our dear friend has grown." It warbled. "The boy, now… a man. Standing tall in our presence."
The great rumbling went on.
"Become part of us." Fūjin-Yami exhaled. "As it should be."
Flesh rippled, until a sinuous thing seemed to slither out of their long bodies.
Each of them grew a single arm.
Wind gathered; Thunder coalesced. In each of their respective kami's gnarled hand, weapons of divine might.
Pale light, around Naruto.
The first sword swing aimed at him cut through the clouds.
Fūjin-Yami
They are the deity of wind and shadows, and they are like the twilight.
Fūjin-Yami, born of Izanagi, moves with an elegance that can only be compared to the fleeting dance of shadows in the dusk.
Like the wind they symbolize, Fūjin-Yami is untethered and free-spirited. Their existence is characterized by constant movement and change: the transient nature of the wind.
They journey across realms, carried by gusts and gales, their whispers echoing in the rustle of leaves and the howl of the wind.
But within their ephemeral existence, there lies the solemnity of shadows.
Fūjin-Yami embraces the unknown, the unseen, the parts of the world shrouded in obscurity.
A testament to the unseen's power, a reminder that not everything is revealed under the light of the sun, that shadows hold their own form of silent wisdom.
Their influence seeps into the lives of their followers, imbuing them with the power to manipulate wind and command the shadows.
Under their guidance, the faithful learn to move with the same liberty as the wind, to slither with the quietness of the dark.
They are Fūjin-Yami, deity of wind and shadows, they are like the twilight.
Raijin-Kaminari
They are the deity of thunder and tempests, and they are like the hurricane.
Raijin-Kaminari, born of Izanagi, is as formidable and majestic as the tempests they represent.
Like the thunder that rolls across the sky, Raijin-Kaminari's influence is impossible to ignore.
They are an undeniable force, a reminder of the power of the natural world. They strike with the might of thunder, and their roar resonates in every corner of the realm.
Their tempests are not merely destructive but also transformative. They reflect the nature of life itself, the cycles of creation and destruction, the constant flux between calm and chaos.
Their tempests, while daunting, are a crucial part of the natural order, a necessary upheaval that leads to renewal and growth.
They bless their followers with the ability to command lightning. Under their patronage, they learn to brave the fury of the tempest, to understand the balance of destruction and creation that their tempests represent.
They are Raijin-Kaminari, deity of thunder and tempests, they are like the hurricane.
Uzumaki Naruto
In the center of these celestial forces stands a man.
Not as mortal as most, his eyes do not hold the carelessness of the indifferent wind, nor do they echo the thunder's warbling laugh.
Now faced with beings much greater than he was, he moves like the wind he faces, swift and unpredictable, dancing through the shadows with the same skill as his blade.
Now faced with beings much greater than he was, he strikes like the thunder he faces, mighty and unyielding, holding off the tempests with the same fury as his blade.
He is Uzumaki Naruto, and he is like the storm.
Naruto dashed to the left, and the air hummed with chakra.
His mind felt as though it was free, and soaring, too. In spite of the terrible odds, the stakes. As it always did, when his entire being was awash with the powerful energy, with the roar of battle.
Lightning! Wind! Fire!
He disappeared, becoming nothing more than white sparks in the sky.
Faster than thought.
He reappeared, and his left hand dragged his long sword up and away from his hip. His right hand, of which two fingers loosely held the blade itself, summoned even more of Lightning.
With a terrible sound, a wave of electricity surged from the clouds.
Fūjin-Yami's gnarled hand rose. It reached into the twilight air, summoning the silent whisper of the dusk.
With a swift movement, the kami released a gust of cool, shadow-laden wind. It sprung forth, spiraling toward Naruto.
The world darkened, and even his legendary eyes were disoriented by the blended wind.
Raijin-Kaminari extended its hand, as well.
The clouds under them began to rumble, and there was light coming from the void of space, as well. The air filled with electric tension.
Then came the thunderclap, striking indiscriminately.
The battlefield lit up, and whatever it was that struck Naruto, his body locked up for an instant.
The shadows began to coalesce around him, dancing amidst even the yellow lightning and the swirling currents. Fūjin-Yami stretched the shadows' arms outwards, and they spun, howled.
Naruto focused his chakra, and the Rinnegan gleamed, like purple tracers in the dark sky.
The Deva Path's ability roared into existence.
This wasn't Shinra Tensei.
Not exactly. It was something that made the powerful ability look like a child's fumbling attempt at playing god.
The thunderous wave, tinged with pale lightning, split the heavens open.
The clouds, unnatural as they were, gathered to fill the sphere-shaped hole once more, but Naruto was already gone.
Cloaked in an aura of pale lightning, Naruto soared high, fast. Above Fūjin-Yami. Head facing down, he bent his legs. They were seemingly pushing against nothing but air; a pale glyph, manifested.
His quadriceps bulged, and his hamstrings tensed.
He held his hand out.
There was an explosion of smoke and mighty chakra. When it cleared, a monstrous dragon, bearing Rinnegan eyes, began to rampage forward, headed toward Fūjin-Yami itself.
From the kami, a wave of winds, shrouded in darkness, tore through the summoned creature as though it were made of paper, and not scales that most blades couldn't cut through.
But it bought Naruto a short moment.
He pushed off the half-physical platform.
It broke with a shattering sound. Naruto shot down, a roaring ball of fury, twisting through the air, falling sword-first.
Fūjin-Yami aimed at him directly, and the chilling winds cut at Naruto.
They swept across the battlefield, carrying the coldness of shadow. The way they were sapping at Naruto's strength, he understood that the chill they carried was not just for show.
Naruto didn't slow down.
Fūjin-Yami, realizing it, summoned the power of the gale, roaring. The winds gathered, forming a nearly opaque shield in front of the kami.
Naruto didn't slow down.
At last, he saw surprise in the kami's eyes.
He slammed right through the wall of deadly winds, feeling his body tear itself apart, from muscle to bone to tendon. More chakra flared to life, just enough to keep his body together.
Fūjin-Yami finally decided to dodge. Its massive body slithered out of the way.
Not fast enough, however.
Like a furious comet of blinding light, Naruto's blade managed to slice through its eye and part of its face. Fūjin-Yami howled its displeasure.
The sword that caught Naruto's midsection in retaliation nearly cut him in two.
But a near-miss was still that. A miss.
By the time he crashed through too dense clouds, Naruto had already mostly healed from his previous wounds. He stood up, covered from head to toe in both his and dragon blood.
Fūjin-Yami looked enraged.
If anything, Naruto looked more furious than before. They dared to intrude... and the kami was taken aback when he retaliated?
Raijin-Kaminari, on the other hand… was laughing.
It echoed through the battlefield, a thunderous laugh that sent ripples through the air. Its eyes, full of lightning, were locked onto Naruto, amusement and anticipation dancing within them.
"Entertain us!" Raijin-Kaminari roared.
The tempests around the kami intensified, casting a dark, foreboding shadow over the clouds.
Naruto glared at them both, his Rinnegan glowing fiercely. He stood strong, and his anger roared hotter than the Jūbi's chakra.
He channeled power, preparing for the next onslaught. Pale lightning arced around him.
Fūjin-Yami, nursing its wound, glanced towards Raijin-Kaminari, then towards Naruto.
Its expression was unreadable, the shadows deepening around its form. It joined Raijin-Kaminari, the two kami standing side by side, forces of nature ready to unleash their fury.
Their arms twisted around their bodies languidly, in a way that no arm should. Fūjin-Yami and Raijin-Kaminari became near perfect reflections.
Thunder on the right, Wind on the left.
Kami that fought together.
He had hoped to be wrong, of course. Naruto took a deep breath, and gathered his strength. He was outnumbered, sure, but that had never stopped him before.
Not when he had faced monsters as a fearful thirteen-year old.
Not when it had been him and his friends against the entire world.
Not when Nagato had decided to take over.
The form of Naruto's weapon shifted seamlessly, the single blade splitting into two shorter ones with a soft, metallic whisper.
And he did much of the same with himself, calling upon his clones.
Nearly half his and the Jūbi inside's chakra.
A single instant could mean failure, and there was no holding back.
They burst to life around him, each radiating an aura of pale lightning. They held identical twin blades, poised for the clash that was to come.
A moment of stillness settled over the battlefield, a silence so deep it drowned out the sounds of the tempestuous winds and the distant rumbling thunder.
It was the calm before the storm, a moment of respite before chaos unfurled.
...
Then, with a sound like a thousand thunderclaps, the quiet was shattered.
Naruto's clones burst into action, rushing towards Raijin-Kaminari with blinding speed.
The kami of thunder found itself at the center of their onslaught, because its attacks seemed more geared to a single target.
In the midst of this coordinated assault, Naruto blurred into motion—
A vertical blade of dark wind nearly took his arm off.
It was the handiwork of Fūjin-Yami, their hand still outstretched from the attack. But Naruto was swifter. He twisted in mid-air, narrowly dodging the wind-blade.
In retaliation, he unleashed an arc of energy, a mingling of azure blue and ghostly white, hurling it at Fūjin-Yami with speed unmatched by anyone on the physical plane.
Here and then, Naruto hoped it included the kami.
This gigantic arc surged forward like a rampant river. It cut through the dense air, leaving a trail of crackling energy in its wake.
Shadows and sickly green light coalesced inside Fūjin-Yami's mouth.
It poured out like dark, roaring fire, and smothered Naruto's attack. Then more of it, like a tidal wave of power, until the entire sky was painted black.
Naruto barely had the time to understand that he had been wrapped inside a cocoon of it before he was slammed with a wall of unbearable pressure and dragged under.
Outside of it, Fūjin-Yami chuckled derisively.
Such was the difference in strength between a human and a kami.
As strong as that man was, the kami mused, there was no way to bridge that gap—
The dark prison shattered.
The kami's good eye narrowed.
The clouds parted; chakra rose.
Just as the last vestiges of the dark prison crumbled, the torso of a colossal, white Tengu-like being rose.
Standing inside its open hand, eyes burning a rich purple color, was Uzumaki Naruto.
"Is that all?" Naruto's voice carried a biting edge as he leveled his gaze at the celestial being.
A silence followed his words, even the tempestuous winds and swirling shadows of Fūjin-Yami stilled momentarily.
"…Oh?"
The response slipped from Fūjin-Yami like a threat, a tacit acknowledgment of defiance.
Naruto's lips curved into a smile. "I asked you if that was it?" He asked again, a brittle laugh escaping him, tinged with anger. "It is much easier to destroy than to create, isn't it?"
And that was what they were brought here to do, weren't they…?
"There are things you will find harder to destroy." Naruto finished, his voice firm with promise. A conviction born out of lifetimes of battle.
Fūjin-Yami's form rippled, and silence fell.
When the deity spoke, its voice was a low murmur, like the rustling of ancient, forgotten leaves. A sound as old as time, touched with a cold anger.
"Presumptuous." The voice was a whisper on the wind. "I have seen men walk the earth since dawn." It chuckled. "They come, they go. And nothing they do ever stays."
The cool derision in its tone froze the blood and stifled the air. The voice rose.
"A fleeting spark dares to challenge the eternal darkness? A gust of wind dares to contend with the hurricane?"
A harsh, chilling laugh reverberated. It was the first time Fūjin-Yami itself had laughed since its arrival.
It was not a pleasant sound.
"You speak of things beyond your grasp, young one. You speak in human tongues… of the unbreakable…" It paused. "Do you not know that even the brightest of your kind's flames will eventually extinguish…?"
Fūjin-Yami's words were as cold and unfeeling as the wind that blew through a winter's night, its anger chilling, ancient… and patient.
"You hold onto these illusions… these fleeting concepts of hope and strength… and you dare to challenge us? With nothing to show for it but your waning flame…?"
Another silence.
"Presumptuous."
The deity's final word seemed to stretch on forever, a frigid wind carrying its tone across the battlefield.
It was a low murmur, more a threat than a question, hanging heavy in the still air.
Thunder rolled, and Raijin-Kaminari glided through the air, coming to a stop near them. Most of the clones, he had decimated already.
"We shall see, mortal. We shall see what stands, and what falls." It said.
The twin dragons hovered in the air, almost lazily.
Raijin-Kaminari was the first to move.
Clad in the swirling tempests, it erupted into an explosive torrent of lightning, tearing through the sky. Its voice, rumbling like the very storm it commanded, resounded with an undeterred wrath.
Fūjin-Yami, unfazed by the mighty onslaught, moved with an unearthly elegance. The deity conjured a vortex of darkness around itself. Its solitary, piercing eye glinted in the chaos, a cold, unyielding ember amidst the shadowy gale.
Then, like the deafening roar of a storm, they charged.
Naruto, standing steadfast in the hand of the giant, answered in kind. He threw himself off it.
Light shimmered in his hands, and two swords became one again.
As Naruto jumped from his perch, he became a streak of iridescent energy. The wind swept around him, carrying with it a whirlwind of pale lightning and flame.
Each element came together to form a formidable storm, swirling around the single, long blade he wielded.
The Tengu followed its master, the ethereal sword in its hands pulsating with a vibrant energy that mirrored Naruto's.
They swung their swords.
To meet the gods'.
...
Fūjin-Yami watched them soar, its face deformed by an ugly sneer.
Its dark aura twisted and writhed, the surrounding winds picking up to match the intensity of the raging storm around them.
From the shadowy vortex emerged an elongated blade of pure darkness, with an ominous presence that threatened to devour the light.
Raijin-Kaminari was not idle either.
Its sword elongated, becoming a spear, and the long shaft crackled with wild electrical energy.
The four weapons met in the middle, a titanic clash that sent shockwaves rippling across the landscape.
Light and darkness, fire and lightning, wind and shadows.
The sky was lit with the kaleidoscope of their conflicting energies, a terrible spectacle.
A shockwave followed, and the very heavens seemed to ripple and quiver, as though they could barely contain the magnitude of power.
The four of them were forced apart.
Across from Naruto and his giant, Fūjin-Yami brandished its shadowy blade, the darkness around it coalescing into a monstrous entity. From the abyss emerged a massive serpent of pure shadow, as elusive as the deity itself.
Raijin-Kaminari, the storm embodied, thrust its electrified spear forward, releasing a tempest of roiling clouds and thunderbolts. From the tumultuous storm, a massive, electrified bird formed. Its thunderous cry echoing across the landscape, resounding with wrathful energy.
Naruto was swift as he flew, maneuvered through the onslaught, his Rinnegan tracking the movements of the deities with eerie precision.
Left to right to up to right to left to right to down to left—
Dropping under the snake, Naruto deflected the spear of Raijin, the edge of his sword leaving a trail of pale lightning in its wake. Naruto's weapon broke and a second, identical Thunder Edge appeared to replace it.
Simultaneously, the great Tengu parried Fūjin-Yami's shadowy blade, their swords colliding with a booming crash.
The lightning bird slammed into the spectral giant, forcing its movement to a halt.
Naruto's remaining clones reared their furious heads once more.
They fell and rose from the smoky haze, around the twin dragons, innumerable spheres of dark light swirling around them. With identical roars, they launched all of them in a barrage.
And there, around the kami, they hung, these dark orbs.
The simultaneous exertion of gravitational forces from all the Chibaku Tensei created an auditory nightmare, as if the universe's own laws were being ripped apart, causing reality itself to shudder and waver around them.
In the heart of the chaos, where light met shadow, and fire met storm, a new color was born. It was a collision of spectrums, a whirl of chromatic brilliance. The earth far below seemed to splinter, the sky threatened to collapse.
The convergent gravitational pulls, working in unison, would have been enough to tear any man or creature apart entirely.
It only slowed the kami down.
But that was enough for the Tengu's massive sword to reach.
Fūjin-Yami displayed a brief flicker of amusement.
That was before the eruption of the Outer Path's Demonic Chains from within the chakra-infused blade. Under layers of opaque white, beneath the chakra-formed Tengu shape, was the imposing statue.
Naruto roared and pulled, straining against the almost unbearable force.
He opened his hands with great difficulty and the chains, buried within the dragon, latched onto its seemingly infinite soul.
Naruto realized he wasn't going to manage.
And that it wasn't a soul.
Ah.
Raijin-Kaminari's massive blade slammed into him with a violence.
It also overpowered the clones in a burst of power. For a fleeting moment, the world darkened as Naruto lost consciousness.
When awareness returned, he was hurtling toward the oceans down below, nearly on fire.
The great Tengu was nowhere to be seen, carried off by the furious winds.
Chakra gathered to his hand. Then, more of it, until it exploded off his body. The rich purple hue of his Rinnegan bore witness to a shifting cosmos, reflected in their depths.
"Tengai Shinsei!"
Dark shadows rose over the ocean's surface.
As he fell, he reached out to the heavens, pulling on immense celestial bodies, forcing them to hurtle towards earth.
From outer space, they came.
The atmosphere crackled as a true swarm of meteorites pierced the heavens, with the promise of cataclysmic devastation.
Light twisted around them, wreathing them in electrical fire, and illuminating the dark clouds.
Then Naruto pushed off the very air, flipping backwards at a too high speed still, until he managed to forcefully land over the water, skidding.
Up in the skies, there was wind, smoke and thunder.
Then flame, falling from the shattered rocks like lava plumes.
Naruto stared at the twin dragons that emerged, and they towered over the storm-laden heavens like the ancient horrors they were.
Their scales glimmered in the fiery light, eyes burning like distant stars. One of them bellowed, a sound like thunder itself, that echoed through the night, causing the water beneath Naruto's feet to ripple.
Naruto steeled himself.
Before he could fling himself upwards towards the storm sky, they moved, twisting their enormous bodies in the air to face him.
They rushed him, slamming into the water with terrible strength, and the soaring waves drenched him as they did.
One of them was before him, pushing him backwards, generating gusts so fierce they clawed at his skin, biting into his hands, his arms.
The other was beneath him, a dark, sinuous form just visible in the swirling depths. It only truly revealed itself when lightning tore through the water, rising up to the sky, its forked brilliance revealing the monster's location.
They were a true dual threat.
And it was too much for him to deal with, he could admit as much.
Pressure bore down on him from above, while an equally strong force surged upwards from below. Bolts of golden lightning ricocheted around him, stunning him into momentary immobility.
They were doing their best to crush him in between their massive, lumbering forms.
Naruto howled, mustering his strength, eyes glowing bright. The Deva Path's ability shimmered around his form as he pushed. Harder than he ever had.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The seas parted; the kami were forced apart.
It only bought him a short moment, and he thought his nose was bleeding. His breath felt like burning smoke.
But a short moment was just enough time for him to slip through their sinuous bodies and fling himself toward the skies again.
It turned out to be a mistake, and a streak of angry lightning lashed out, slamming into him. Coursing through his body, rendering him temporarily paralyzed.
Naruto plummeted again, and the twin dragons unfurled their bodies, launching themselves back into the stormy heavens.
His heart sank as he fell, his body nearly limp, the wind rushing past him. He couldn't help but think he had miscalculated disastrously.
Already, the kami were moving in for the kill, the next attack, whatever it was they wanted from him.
And then, there was something else.
Perhaps the first good news in a while.
A massive ball of fire exploded against one of the dragons.
It had come out of nowhere. The sky lit up with a brilliant inferno, the dragon's roar of surprise echoing through the night.
And there, amidst the sea of flames, was a woman.
Fearlessly, she mounted the dragon, her hands gripped tightly around one of its large, spiked scales. Her hair whipped around her face, illuminated by the firelight, her eyes burning.
She finally had reached.
Her arrival gave Naruto the reprieve he had needed. Feeling. It was back, starting from his fingers, his toes, spreading until he could move again.
'Faster.' He nearly begged of his body.
There was a flash of power when the dragon roared.
With the sky still illuminated by the fierce explosion, the woman was forced to begin her descent.
Like the divine spear's antithesis, Yoisen, a beacon of furious red and white, plummeted from the heavens.
She crashed into the waves with none of her usual grace, and steam rose as she did. To stand on the seas. A broken dragon scale was still clutched within her bloody hand, and she stored it away.
Naruto was at a loss to recall the last time he'd witnessed such fury blazing in her eyes, an intensity mirroring the rage that simmered within his own heart. There was the smell of burning wood around her, as her chakra flared.
She assumed a stance slightly ahead of him, a silent pledge of protection, as though her slender form could be a barrier between him and the kami.
Naruto had many questions to ask her, and they remained unvoiced, heavy.
They had no time for that. The tightness of Yoisen's expression spoke volumes; the answer would not be pleasant.
Sakura was not here. And he was almost certain she was alive. Which...
That was bad.
Naruto attempted to offset the tension with a smile, though the strain behind it was palpable.
"…I am glad to see you." He said, his relief nearly as tangible as the raw power crackling around them.
Yoisen responded with silence, her guilt pronounced in the hardened lines that carved her face into a solemn mask.
"Whatever happened with Sakura, I... know it's not your fault." He said. "…We're going to find her, wherever she is."
Her shoulders quivered, nearly imperceptibly, something he would never have noticed were he anyone else. A minute tremor, betraying a depth of emotion she struggled to restrain.
He did not comment on it.
There were many things he wanted to ask her. He settled on one.
"Are you able to fight?"
She tilted her head slightly. "…I wouldn't be here if I weren't."
...
It was not a full truth and he probably realized it.
He was not entirely sure where she had come from, but her chakra was weaker than it normally was, and her exhaustion was clear. She looked as though she had been fighting just moments ago.
He wanted to send her away.
He found that he couldn't afford to.
Closing his eyes, he gave her a tight smile.
Together, they stepped forward, their energies blending in a brilliant fusion of lightning and flame.
The time for words, as short as it had been, was over.
Raijin-Kaminari and Fūjin-Yami hovered in the air, judging the human's efforts and finding them lacking.
Naruto and Yoisen prepared to rise to meet them—
"I tire of this."
It came from Fūjin-Yami.
The dragon rose higher.
With a sudden shrill sound, wind and shadows gathered around the kami. Then more, until even the darkness itself could not hide how brightly the kami was gleaming, as energy sparked off its skin.
"By all means." It said. "Evade this one."
They could, likely. But Naruto realized the problem at the same time Yoisen did.
There was no telling what would happen to Earth if they let this fall into the sea. Naruto had seen the effects of the kami blights before, and this promised to be much worse.
With a laugh, Raijin-Kaminari joined its kin.
"Submit." It commanded. "To us, to change."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Something about the last word rang all too familiar. As though it held a different meaning than words allowed for, and only his subconscious mind picked up on it.
Energy erupted from the kami's body. The dense clouds became pure lightning, gathering with the winds, which now swirled like a hurricane.
They roared.
A beam of startlingly heavy light fell down from the heavens.
Naruto could only curse.
He knew it at once, just as he knew he would try anyway.
They were going to die like this.
First would be him, followed by Yoisen. Then, their companions would fall. Then everyone else.
There was no way he could stop that.
Did he genuinely presume he could do the unthinkable, to stand steadfast before the might of the kami, and stand true? Did he believe himself so extraordinary? Did he not consider that if such a feat were within reach, someone better than him would have grasped it already?
And...
'Ah.'
He saw the look Yoisen gave him. Faith. She believed he could, that they could.
Naruto closed his eyes.
He tightened his aching fists, dismissed his swords.
He opened his eyes. Then he held his hands out, and they were bright with chakra. So did Yoisen, at his side.
A large dome of translucent energy shaped itself around them, burning as the raging wave of divine power impacted it.
As the wave of energy clashed with their shield, they strained against its relentless fury.
The difference in power was painfully clear – the kami were stronger.
Naruto's palms were scorched in an instant, his skin turning an angry shade of black from the intense friction. Yoisen's knees buckled, her strength waning. Their arms trembled, struggling to hold firm against the unforgiving onslaught, but they just had to hold a little bit longer. Just that, in spite of their muscles tearing.
Their combined roar filled the air as the sea evaporated around them.
In answer, the kami roared back, the resulting shockwave amplifying the attack bearing down on them.
Naruto forced more chakra into his trembling hands.
And he coiled more within his body, folding it upon itself. At his side, Yoisen followed suit. Her chakra, fierce and fiery, blended with Naruto's, the combination glowing brighter still.
The dome shuddered under the relentless assault, but it held. Lines of stress spider-webbed across its surface, crackling ominously, but it held.
Their vision blurred, dark spots danced before their eyes… they gritted their teeth.
The kami pressed on, confident in their victory.
Naruto and Yoisen released the coiled chakra, in a surge of bright power.
Chakra met cosmic energy, and it drove back the all-encompassing power.
The force of the release sent both Naruto and Yoisen hurtling back, and the sea swallowed them entirely.
Cold waters enveloped them, and the near silence of the depths contrasted with the cacophony of the battle below.
Only for a moment, however, as it was followed by the kami's angered roars, which echoed through the water.
Naruto tried to right himself in the water as he was driven deeper, his body instinctively adapting to the ever growing pressure. He wasn't entirely sure how deep they were, but from the darkness around him, that was too deep already.
And the shadows were driven away when the kami broke the surface of the water, their serpent-like bodies streaking through the night, headed toward Naruto… or Yoisen.
Illuminated by their brilliant light, the underwater took on an eerie sort of beauty, beams of light casting their glow on the sea life that was darting away in terror.
Naruto saw and felt Yoisen spin, blade flashing around herself as one of the snakelike shadows darted around her.
Down the abyss, Yoisen maneuvered herself with a dancer's grace, slicing through the water itself.
And Naruto could feel her fatigue. She had come here exhausted already, and he had no idea what in the world could make her hold on.
With a sudden eruption of heat, a massive plume of fire emerged from her weapon, causing water to shudder and boil, smoke-like. It fell under her… No, she was facing the other way. It rose in large bubbles toward the surface.
Naruto extended his hand and a surge of lightning erupted from his fingertips, spreading more than it would above ground. It crackled and danced, cut through the water with a blistering energy that lit up his own surroundings.
The kami darted around them and something slammed into Naruto's back, nearly causing him to let go of his weapon.
He assumed it was a tail, mostly because he was still conscious. And Naruto realized that the kami suddenly were more careful with using their powers.
As thought they had heard him, the gods swam and switched positions, and the spear of lightning made the seas turn nearly gold with a terrible arc of thunder.
Submerged beneath the briny depths of the ocean, they found themselves in an... unfavorable position, directly in the path of a looming thunderstorm's fury.
He could not let it happen.
Naruto drew most of it to himself at a great cost; the same way Yoisen was giving it her all to draw Fūjin-Yami away.
The water around them roiled, currents shifting in turmoil as the sea itself seemed to protest against the brutal powers.
The beams of light refracted wildly off the moving bodies of water, casting a chaotic strobe of shadows and light.
Naruto and Yoisen moved as one, their swords flashing in tandem with their elements, and so did the kami.
Naruto moved, as fast as he could ever remember going, barely slowed down by the waters at all. His sword hissed, swept and roared around him, fielding every single one of Raijin-Kaminari's assaults.
To any other observer, the only thing they would have seen of his weapon's furious dance… was a sphere of nearly opaque light, shaped around him. The trail the Thunder Edge left behind itself.
Each stroke was carefully calculated; each stroke was filled with raw desperation.
They did not manage to drive the kami away, and they were pushed further into the depths, as the sea churned around them.
Deeper and deeper.
In the icy void, the struggle continued.
A brutal swipe from Raijin-Kaminari struck true. It sent Naruto spiraling away, his body convulsing as a burst of electricity coursed through him.
With clenched teeth, he righted himself, and delivered a sharp palm to the dragon's flank in retaliation.
Pushing with the Deva Path's ability, there was nothing so gentle about the palm strike. It left a large dent in the massive body, just as it pushed it away from him.
Not too far from him, Yoisen danced around Fūjin-Yami's flurry of attacks, and each parry, each counter she executed was met with a surge of heat.
The kami were relentless in their pursuit.
Amidst the fierce dance, Naruto could only focus on one thing.
He was sure of it, now. The kami were expanding less of their power.
As he stared at the furious light emanating from the kami, something seemed… off. There was still overwhelming power there, yes…
But it didn't feel quite as limitless as it had on the surface. And he understood why he had thought briefly of Shade's Realm before.
The kami were creatures that did not exist on this plane, and a manifestation required a great gathering of power.
Naruto and Yoisen crossed paths, and their eyes met for a brief moment. A silent understanding passed between them. Yoisen's thoughts — and how rare it was, for her to actually use the bond that way — confirmed it.
Natural energy.
That was how they had manifested, using that spear, blending Earth's power with their own.
They were not relying on their own strength, but using the world itself instead.
It was how they had come so quickly.
So far deep beneath the oceans, the kami were cut off from the planet's surface, where the energy could be found in much larger amounts.
Even with their monstrous wells of energy, they were, in this place, operating on a more finite supply. Their awe-inspiring power, which had seemed limitless under the open sky, was more grounded here.
It had all become clear because of their arrogance in coming down here.
Each attack the kami unleashed, each devastating blast of energy, would be a drain upon their reserves.
The realization was like a beacon of hope in the dark depths.
And it could mean a few things.
Naruto felt a surge of renewed energy, and his fatigue was momentarily forgotten. Perhaps—
With a battle cry that echoed through the water, Naruto plunged back into the fray.
His sword carved a path of lightning through the water, meeting the kami's attacks head-on.
Beside him, Yoisen's movements grew more aggressive, too. Her fiery sword fended off Fūjin-Yami. She nodded, when Naruto motioned to her.
Abruptly, they ran away from the kami.
...
Darting around the sea floor, Naruto and Yoisen forced the kami to expend more energy.
They led them on a furious chase, and their movements were as calculated as the terrible situation allowed.
The undersea world transformed at their command, answering to their chakra, to their command.
Rocks thrust upwards, rising like monoliths, clones emerging from seemingly every direction, halting the kami's warpath as much as they could.
The clones surged forward, and the sea floor shifted, creating ramps and barriers that should have complicated things further. But the kami merely swam in the heart of the chaos, untouched.
They were blurs, flashes of energy; effortlessly dispatching clones, destroying rocks, barriers and weapons with an ethereal grace.
Their swift, destructive course was a dance of domination they enjoyed.
But all of this was only a smokescreen.
Whether the kami grasped the full extent of their ploy was uncertain, and they did not seem worried about the humans' realization at all.
On the contrary, there was a twisted delight dancing in their celestial eyes.
Perhaps they deemed the humans' plan as futile, privy to some information Naruto and Yoisen were ignorant of.
Perhaps he was wrong.
Perhaps he was misguided.
And perhaps he had no time for doubt.
Lighting crackled within his hand. Lifting his weary limb, he reached deep into his Mindspace.
He pulled out a strange looking item, halfway between a bracelet and a chakram. The Thunder Glove.
Today, it had one purpose.
Naruto slipped his hand into the tool, and reached for his chakra.
He extended his hand to the heavens.
As always, the trouble started from Umi.
There were many who saw the strange light in the far, far distance.
There were more who saw the celestial lights raining down upon the cities.
The Shadow of the city of Nasui knew his role from the moment he was born, of course.
He was not Kaitaro, and not even Hotaru.
From the moment he had been created, he had known that he was a mere part of a bigger whole. A fragment of something that was required for order.
That was why he had never bothered with human attachments, content to stay a remote figure to all.
The memories, the feelings, the very essence that shaped Naruto were part of him as well, but diluted, distant - like viewing a reflection in rippling water.
Every Shadow knew that its existence was transient, bound by the chakra that gave them form.
Yet, most Shadows bore this knowledge without the fear of mortality that often plagued sentient beings. Sure, there were a few wayward exceptions, but their existence served a purpose, a singular mission, to aid their creator in his endeavors.
And their role had never been more crucial.
This Shadow would complete its role, and as its second-to-last action, it clenched its fist. Light crystallized.
His assistant, a dutiful, stern woman, took it without question. In her eyes, he thought he could see a bit of pity. Or perhaps it was compassion. It had been too long for the nameless Shadow to know for sure.
She was a fair woman.
Perhaps his memories would be inherited by the next, if there was one.
Perhaps he would live again.
Perhaps it did not matter.
He left.
Each Shadow left their position, and they warped through time and space, using their limited power.
They reappeared at different locations across Earth.
Their only necessity for them was to find empty land, devoid of people. That meant the oceans, as well.
Nasui's Shadow reappeared near a river, and he knew he was entirely alone. He lifted his eyes to the sky, extended his arms.
They had been made to rely upon natural energy; to natural energy they would return.
Nasui's Shadow drew upon the world's energy until he felt full.
And then he drew upon more of it. More, and ever more, as though he were quenching a thirst he could not sate. His skin felt as though it were sparking.
He drew upon more.
Thunder cracked above him, and the wind howled.
The energy rose from the earth into his body; fell from the heavens down through the earth.
He was chakra, he was life.
He thought he could finally, truly feel the World's Pulse.
It felt like going home, even through the veil of searing pain.
The Shadow roared, letting himself fade away.
For once, he was not alone anymore; every other leading Shadow was undergoing the same process.
This now was to be their sacrifice, their most important role - to drain the world of its natural energy.
Depriving the two kami of their vital resource.
Nasui's Shadow thought of his assistant, and he was unsure why.
And then he was gone entirely, and where he had stood was only a mountain.
A spark of darkness shaped itself in front of Fūjin-Yami's mouth.
It grew instantly.
Naruto, howling, seized it and began to press down on it, hands seemingly made out of lightning aiding him.
They pressed down upon it until it dispersed in a swirl of raging waters, forcing Fūjin-Yami to back away slightly.
When Fūjin-Yami came back, the Demonic Tengu fell from the heavens, parting the waters with such strength that they might as well not have been here at all.
It sank like a rock, and dragged the kami with itself, deeper into the darkness.
Behind Naruto, Yoisen slammed into ocean rock and her head bounced with a sharp crack that made Naruto's heart race. She was recovering slower and slower, and she barely managed to drag herself out of the hole this time.
This moment of distraction cost him.
Raijin-Kaminari's spear went right through him.
Yoisen moved again, pulling on strength he wasn't entirely sure he understood where she was getting.
Naruto had been stabbed several times before.
Too many times to count.
A flame-covered knife into his side had been bad enough.
Indra had been terrible.
It had nothing on this.
Pain exploded from within him, from every single part of him as the heavenly thunder spread.
Electrifying, inescapable pain. It seared him, from his bones to his soul. Naruto howled, tried to reach for his body—
It diminished in intensity, entirely too abruptly.
Raijin-Kaminari growled as it turned away from Naruto.
A blinding light erupted from atop the kami.
There, through the sword that connected her to it, Yoisen became a lightning rod. Her fingers clenched tightly around her weapon as the great dragon whipped around to try and seize her.
Naruto realized instantly why the pain had diminished. He could feel Raijin-Kaminari's power coursing through them both, instead of just him, threatening to overwhelm Yoisen.
But she fought back, channeling her own chakra in a great pyre to fight the god. It couldn't be called battle of wills, because of the sheer difference in scale at play here.
It was grueling, the kami's power monstrous.
Yoisen held on, her grip unyielding, her spirit unwavering.
And Naruto was unsure whether she would let go at all.
Her body was at its limits, her energy nearly depleted, but she didn't let go.
With a final surge of her remaining strength, she pushed through, her weapon piercing deeper into Raijin-Kaminari's form.
It didn't endanger the kami anymore, but it would give Naruto a chance to escape. It was her intention.
He refused to.
Naruto gripped his blade, reached deeper for the last dregs of his chakra—
He let go of it.
Because something had changed.
...
In the dark abyss beneath the sea, the gods' brilliant light began to flicker.
Their relentless attacks slowed down, too.
An undercurrent of confusion rippled through them as they felt Earth's energy waning.
Fūjin-Yami's shadows dimmed in their intensity.
Raijin-Kaminari's thunder weakened.
Their serpent forms writhed, their fury grew.
Yoisen fell off and Naruto blurred to her side.
The kami tried to draw upon Earth's energy, their instinctive response to the depletion, but found little to grasp.
The world had been drained, emptied of the energy they needed to sustain their physical forms.
Because they needed massive amounts, and what was left simply was not enough.
A harsh roar echoed from Fūjin-Yami, a sound of outrage and defiance.
"You…" For once, Raijin-Kaminari seemed unamused.
It was seething, even. It reared its massive head, and knew there was no point in trying to fight with the last of its waning energy.
Their bodies began to turn back into particles of light that slowly faded away. Even as they did, the gleam in their eyes did not falter.
"You consider this a solution, Uzumaki Naruto?" Fūjin-Yami asked. In its voice, there was dark amusement. "Draining the planet dry…?"
Naruto, who had dragged himself to Yoisen's nearly broken form, glared at the kami.
"The planet will recover." He spat.
Raijin-Kaminari laughed. "And we shall return once it replenishes itself."
"Do you think you have won, Uzumaki Naruto?" Fūjin-Yami asked.
"I have bought us the most important thing. Time." Naruto met their gaze directly. "And if that's what it takes — If needed, I will take chakra away from people."
Raijin-Kaminari laughed, and laughed. "You would doom all of them just to live on?"
"No."
The word rolled out of Naruto's mouth, like a stone cast into a still lake.
He had seen worlds without natural energy, and knew it didn't have to mean doom. "I will ensure there's a world for people to live in, no matter the cost. No matter how hypocritical. That's it."
Fūjin-Yami's massive eye was unblinking, its cold light bore into Naruto. It seemed to scrutinize, to gauge, to judge.
Beside him, Yoisen's body tensed. Naruto only realized she was trying to pick up her sword again a moment later. Her every movement screamed defiance… but she was at the end of her rope.
"Do you think you can run forever…?"
Fūjin-Yami's words were chilling, its tone mocking.
To Naruto, if anything, it seemed that the dark promise within these words would come sooner than later.
All he felt was anger, boiling slowly within him.
"You bear our marks, our boons." It continued, its voice oozing scorn. "You are a conduit to our power, Uzumaki Naruto."
A bolt of fury cut through Naruto like a lightning strike.
"Your boons…?" His voice was a low growl, simmering with barely restrained rage. "They have brought me nothing—"
"How else do you think you have reached this far, human?!" Raijin-Kaminari's thunderous roar cut him off. His words carried the force of a tsunami.
It took more than a kami to shut Naruto up, at this point.
"They were crutches!" Naruto roared back, his fury peaking. "Crutches I have outgrown!"
And it was the truth.
The kami had long since severed his link to their power, hoarding their precious 'boons' like the miserly relic keepers they were.
But Naruto's chakra had adapted, grown, evolved with them. By now, his powers were entirely his own.
But right now, a realization dawned on him.
The kami hadn't just cut off their flow of power; they had been siphoning his energy today, slowly but surely. It was an insignificant amount, not anything he would have noticed without Fūjin-Yami's slip of the tongue.
A conduit to their power.
Naruto felt rage boil inside him. It wasn't so slow anymore.
"You can return to the miserable void you came from!" He ground out.
Raijin-Kaminari's laugh echoed in the abyss, a mocking, scornful sound that stoked the flames of Naruto's fury.
"So we shall." It said dismissively. "However, you shall take heed. We are not the last ones to come. And the next shall be your last."
Fūjin-Yami continued. "Mortals have let the memory of the Old Gods fade away. Some of us believe it is also time to… jog this memory, to cut back on your overgrown numbers."
"A culling is in order."
Of course they would.
Naruto felt a visceral, crimson rage take over his vision. "…Deliver them my message." He commanded, his voice cold as winter frost. "Whoever it is who intends to come next."
Fūjin-Yami regarded him with blatant disregard.
"Tell your fellow godlings that the next time any of you dares to tread on our world will be your last!" Naruto hissed. "That goes for any of them — Those that gave me their precious help." He spat. "Ryū, Tengu, too!"
There was silence.
For a moment, Naruto thought his anger, which had taken him by surprise… had pushed the kami into peals of silent rage of their own. But that wasn't the case.
"Ryū?" Fūjin-Yami asked, slow and contemplative. "…And Tengu, you say?"
A terrible, earth-shaking sound echoed, reverberating around them. It took Naruto a moment to identify it — it was the derisive laughter of the kami.
"Oh." Raijin-Kaminari said, a chilling hint of fondness creeping into his voice. "You never realized."
It felt as though Naruto were missing something important. As though he were crawling through mud.
Off to the side, Yoisen let out a groan of pain, shifting as if to rise, to do something, anything, in the face of this maddening, cryptic laughter.
But all she could manage was a weak grasp at her sword, which slipped through her fingers. It sank deeper into the darkness and dispelled on its own.
The same anger rose through Naruto again, and it was even more aimless.
"If any of you have anything left to say, now's the fucking time!"
The kami, who were already vanishing, dissolving into ethereal wisps of light, did not bother. They were laughing.
He thought of Sakura.
Naruto's rage ignited like a wildfire, consuming all rationale.
He gave them his parting words, just before they disappeared.
"Tell them all! Those I made a pact with, those I ignored! Takemikazuchi! Takeminakata! Susanoo! Agehachō-Yosei! Omoikane! That bastard Inari!
"And the fence-sitters can take heed, too!" His voice rang out, resonating with his unrestrained fury.
"Mark my words, godlings! I will tear the chakra from your very wings, and crush your divine might into nothing more than the stardust you emerged from!"
…
Naruto let out a long, ragged breath once they disappeared for good.
He summoned a conduit of dark light, and went through it with Yoisen, leaving the dark abyss.
His chakra cloak, which had been shrouding the both of them fell off, as well as the adrenaline, and he finally felt the weight of his injuries. As well as his exhaustion. In his muscles, in his bones, in the very marrow of his being.
And it was the same for Yoisen, as well. A quick diagnostic jutsu revealed that she was in an even worse shape than his own. She was silent and still, her body as lifeless as a puppet with cut strings. She had faced a kami on her own, and lived to tell the tale.
His hand glowed with soft green light as he hovered over her.
The Naraka Path would likely be overkill, in her current state. Something that would do more harm than good. He pushed Biwako's words about his healing abilities aside. A warm, ethereal glow washed over Yoisen, her pallid skin bathed in a green hue.
Naruto's hands moved with only average precision, mending ruptured tissues, sealing off internal bleeding, and bolstering her fading lifeforce.
The process was slow, taxing, and tedious. It required every ounce of his focus, which he was almost grateful for, considering the direction of his thoughts; it also made a long night seem even more tiring.
Gradually, Yoisen's breathing grew steadier, her pulse stronger under his touch. Her wounds began to close, the raw, damaged skin knitting together with an almost miraculous speed.
Naruto retracted his glowing hand, sighing.
The sight of Yoisen, her pale skin stark against the darkness, her vulnerability raw and open, tugged at something in him.
Both of them needed rest.
The Den…? No, perhaps not. Leaving her alone in there… leaving anyone entirely alone anywhere… was dangerous now. Should he wait there with her...? He was still weak.
One of her safehouses, then.
The next day would be grueling.
Kaitaro's message had reached him while he was healing Yoisen:
Kaitaro had managed to warp the people away, using both Naruto and Yūgao's power; guiding it. They had prepared for it: the people came first.
But the entirety of Umi lay in ruins.
And whether or not they had the exact plans of it, down to the last house, down to the last day, thanks to Orochimaru's near-obsessive projects…
Rebuilding would take a substantial amount of time.
And that was just one of many looming issues.
He was almost certain which kami could influence worldly events enough to reach for this spear-like artifact.
It had the right motivations, the power to do so, and apparently… the help of a few 'weaker' others.
The butterflies' near constant manifestation told him as much.
The kami of change, Agehachō-Yosei.
The one he had seen in Tokyo already, under the guise of an old man.
The one he had planned to—
No. If these two truly were its underlings, that was a plan he should discard. Much too powerful.
Naruto pushed his thoughts about the kami aside. Yoisen first, and then he would make sure nothing like today could ever happen again.
Naruto's senses alerted him, and his eyes flickered open.
Something echoed through the still night, breaking the serene silence.
Naruto heard whistling, a jaunty tune.
"Oh, you're both here. I couldn't come through for a little while, was wondering what this was about." Naruto heard. "Good I brought enough food for three, then — I know you eat enough for five people, man, so it might still be a bit… — Where are we…?"
The sentence cut off abruptly, followed by a clattering noise when the newcomer dropped what he was holding.
"What the—"
That was Toru's voice, of course. Toru, who now was staring at the ruin that had been Umigakure, hands messing his hair up nervously.
Naruto glanced at him. Toru, his eyes wide in disbelief, closed them abruptly, reaching out to Akemi through their bond. None of the others were here, in any case.
Toru's sagging relief was palpable when he found her, alive and well.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned to Naruto. Naruto, who didn't even have the strength to tell him to fuck off.
"I can't fucking believe it." Toru let out. "I left you alone for… what…? A few days…?"
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i/Jnpxrz : Companions