Oddly, as I gaze upon the dying light of my kin, amidst the ruins of worlds we once called home, I find solace in the inevitable. Even after all we have seen, all we have endured at the gods' hands, solace.
Our end is but a beginning, a return to the cosmic dust from whence we came. Though our stories may fade into the ether, our essence will ignite new stars, new life. In this cycle of creation and destruction, I see not the end but eternity.
Even as the last of my kind, I am not alone.
For in the silent watch of the universe, I sense a distant presence, an eternal witness to our existence. It whispers of destinies unfolding, of two seeds born from the ashes of our extinction. Descendants, our legacy.
The first race, hidden from the divine gaze and seemingly unnoticed by the gods, inherits our sacred horns. My hope, though modest, is deeply held: they will traverse the realms unseen. Without the gods' scrutiny, they will forge their own destinies.
The second lineage, marked by our reddish skin, faces a distinct challenge. Lacking the ability to harness the Power, the sacred force that once flowed through us, they will seek strength elsewhere. Their path is one of exploration, discovering potency in the ordinary.
As the last ember of the Otsukami fades, I am at peace. For I know, in our passing, we give rise to new beginnings. These two seeds, divergent in destiny yet equal in their right to exist, will carry forward the legacy of the cosmos.
From our ashes, new legends will rise, and the cycle of creation and destruction that the gods themselves started will continue.
Let this be our legacy: not that we ended, but that we paved the way for beginnings yet to dawn.
It is my hope, my belief that some day, our descendants will meet again.
— Tsuruyominowakahiko — Legacy of the Last Celestial
KIN/THOSE WHO FIGHT
A couple seconds after Susanoo-Arashi's barriers shattered, Toru was doing his best to press his own intestines back into place.
That ice shard had the unfortunate effect of causing him to bleed out, internally. Of course, he hadn't realized that much when he had seared himself shut to prevent the more external sort of bleeding out.
Orochimaru's musings on the redundancy and poor placement of human organs might have held merit, after all. Spitting blood as he gritted his teeth, Toru seared the wound shut again — it was faster that way, although he had gotten an earful or two from the Healers back home about this being his first resort when he couldn't heal fast enough.
It wasn't the wrong choice, he felt, though. He could barely see straight, but that was fine, too.
Hanabi, who appeared to pick him up in a flash, with more care that he thought she had in herself, could do that well enough for two. Just this once, while he healed.
Besides, he knew she had to hate not being able to fight up close and personal, for once.
A couple seconds after Susanoo-Arashi's barriers shattered, Hanabi was doing her best to pool her waning strength.
She put her hand in front of her face and thought that it trembled. It was a pretty bad sign, she supposed, along with the rest. Perhaps chaining Shinjutsu, especially considering how rough of a shape she had been in, especially solo ones… hadn't been the wisest of moves. Without it, however, Hanabi was nearly sure that monster would have found a way to break out.
She helped Toru stand up instead of ruminating on her sudden bout of permanent weakness, because there was not much to be done about it, really.
And she had never enjoyed moping around too much.
"That was some pretty good group jumping." Toru said, by way of thanks. "A solid nine out of ten, I'd say."
It was just the sort of dumb joke she needed right now, she thought.
"Yeah?" Hanabi chuckled. "What's a ten to you?"
"Me, of course."
"Hmpf." She made a derisive noise. "I saw that one coming, really."
There was a brief silence.
"Hanabi, you're…" Toru began, then hesitated, as though he had wanted to say something else but didn't. "…Your chakra. It's not—"
"That's permanent, yes." She acknowledged, eyes on him. "I'd say that I'm left with less than half of it, if we're talking capacity. What of it?"
"…Are you fine with that?"
Hanabi chortled. "Well, I suppose it should bring me closer to your level."
"Go fuck yourself." Toru grunted. "Also, I did see that one coming."
He was laughing, however. The sound was slightly strained, and not because of Hanabi's brand of humor, that he privately enjoyed.
A couple seconds after Susanoo-Arashi's barriers shattered, Naruto helped steady Sasuke and Yoisen.
"Will you two be okay?" He asked, his voice falsely calm as he struggled to keep his worry under wraps. At that moment, she coughed harshly, a spray of blood staining the ground before her.
"…I suppose so." Yoisen said, voice faint, as he released the hair he had held for her. Her eyes were on Hanabi.
"It's not like there's much to do about it." Sasuke grumbled. He seemed in better shape, although Naruto had rarely seen him this pale, aside from a bloody night both the two of them and Shisui tried not to remember too clearly. "Bring everyone else here."
For healing, then.
Naruto shook his head. "No. That's too early—"
"Nonsense." Sasuke cut him off. "There's no time to waste — No matter what happens from there."
"Sasuke is right." Yoisen agreed with stubbornness that could not be ignored. "We will restore them."
With a weary sigh, but knowing in his soul that they were right, Naruto nodded.
A couple seconds after Susanoo-Arashi's barriers shattered, Karin jogged to Orochimaru.
"Yes, I am rather fine, Karin, thank you." Orochimaru's voice sliced through the silence, as calm and unperturbed as if he'd been discussing an interesting book rather than their recent brush with cataclysm. "Trapping a god in a black hole is not an experience one has often. I find myself curious about the catalyst for our success this time. Was it a surge of unparalleled power, or perhaps the chaos sown by his own divine energy? A trap on the god's part…? Maybe it was Ino's unique ability. So many questions…"
Karin let his words hang in the air, for a while.
"…Right." She said at last. "Think it's going to be enough?"
Orochimaru only shrugged, if a bit wearily. It wasn't something anyone who wasn't as close to the man as he allowed them to be would have noticed. "While I do hope so, I do not count on it. Besides…" He stared into the distance, where Amaterasu-Yoake's large form had shimmered into visibility once more. "I do not believe Susanoo-Arashi will be our only problem today."
"Yeah." Karin nodded, as she forced her thoughts away from visions of being the sole survivor. "That's what I'm worried about too, too."
A couple seconds after Susanoo-Arashi's barriers shattered, Sakura was going through an impromptu interrogation. Or it felt like it, at least.
"Eye?" Ino asked.
"Fine."
"Both of them?"
"Yup."
"Arm?"
"Good." Sakura rotated it in demonstration. "…Are you not going to ask about my other one? Because it seems to be missing."
"Legs?" Ino continued, ignoring the sort of joke she had had years to get used to, her gaze dropping to Sakura's lower limbs, searching for signs of injury or strain.
"Strong." Sakura planted her feet firmly on the ground. "I do my squats."
"Concussion?" The question was softer this time, Ino's eyes meeting Sakura's.
"If you're not trying to insult me… Nope." Sakura then paused. "I might have to get myself checked for psychic damage once we get home, though."
There was confidence in her words that Ino had apparently not expected.
"…Absolutely."
"Thanks for that little psychic trick, by the way." Sakura acknowledged. "Probably saved my ass, down in the hole."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, dear."
"Thought so." Sakura grinned. "Are we done here?"
Ino seemed as though there was much more she wanted to ask about Sakura's hypothetical injuries. She relented, however, because Hanabi awaited.
"I guess, for now."
A couple minutes after Susanoo-Arashi's barriers shattered, as far as the eye could see, Takamagara still looked like nothing more than a smoldering ruin.
The damage extended far into the distance, and if the part of the realm they were fighting in was a continent, there was no doubt that they had signed its ruin. The kami that could be seen, aside from Amaterasu-Yoake, kept a wide, wide distance between themselves and the humans.
Amidst the ruined world, the group of nine formed a circle, a ring of unity in the midst of devastation; as they huddled together, Sasuke and Yoisen stepped forward, weaving intricate seals and chants together smoothly; as their hands moved with deliberate precision, the air around them shimmered with a warm, golden light; the ground beneath their feet and the sky above seemed to converge upon them.
"Shinjutsu." They called, together. "Supernova."
In response, a sphere of fire burst into existence around the nine of them, its flames not the devouring kind, but warm, encompassing, like the embrace of a phoenix's wings was said to be. A blaze of rebirth and healing, enveloping them completely.
Within this incandescent cocoon, the heat, rather than scorching, acted as a catalyst for regeneration; each flame a gentle touch that soothed wounds and restored chakra levels. The fire danced around them, and their bodies underwent physical rebirth: injuries healed at a pace visible to the naked eye, scars fading into nothingness.
Perhaps meeting and subjugating the King of Hell had been good for something. Minor things such as breaking humanity free from the endless death and rebirth cycle aside.
And the flames gradually receded, they left behind no trace of their inferno save for the healed bodies of the nine.
Aside from the sort of damage they could do nothing about.
Ino, for one, was less than thrilled about Hanabi's condition.
"Don't play dumb! It's not just your chakra levels!" She said, looking her wife in the eye. "…Can you even use your Mangekyō Chakra Mode—"
"It's called Tenseigan." Hanabi said evenly. "Like reincarnation and stuff."
A vein throbbed on Ino's forehead and Toru inched away from her slightly. Her mood, even then, had a slight tendency to alter others' emotions. "You've called it that for years and now—" She took a deep breath. "No matter. Please answer me."
"Kinda bad." Hanabi looked away. "I can't count on the Byakugan. And even my normal vision is compromised."
This complication might come from the fact that for a Hyūga, the Byakugan's influence on sight was constant, whether active or not. The result was the same: Hanabi had trouble seeing things she had always taken for granted.
"How bad…?"
"It's inconsequential. I did set Seeing Arrows for you." Hanabi said, as though any of them could peer through them with anything near her usual, no, her previous clarity. As though that was the problem. "I've prepared for such a scenario — I have trained for this. I can fight without the Byakugan as well as any of us."
"Hanabi, that's not my point." Ino shook her head. "It's a permanent thing — You damaged your soul—"
"I'm well aware, yes." Hanabi said. "It was a risk I was willing to take. I have no regrets." She glanced away. "…Please. Let me do that much. It already feels as though I never get anything that matters right."
Something soft passed through Ino's eyes. "Hanabi…"
"I don't really like pity, Ino."
Ino shook her head. "It wasn't pity."
Sasuke was chiding Toru, too.
"Don't do that." He said sharply. "Stop fucking searing yourself. You knew we'd heal you properly the moment we escaped."
Toru scowled, because he never really had enjoyed being parented. "Yoisen does it and no one says anything to her."
"That is entirely different." The woman in question said.
"How so?"
"She knows what she is doing, for one." Sasuke said.
Sakura snorted. "Depends what we are talking about."
"Did you mean anything by that, Sakura?" Yoisen asked her, with a frown. "You know it to be true. I do know what—"
"Doesn't not make it a bad idea." Karin grumbled. She eyed Hanabi and Ino, who were standing further away, with growing worry. Orochimaru and Naruto were talking in hushed tones, too, which rarely was a good sign.
"Not everything can always go according to plan." Toru said, as though anything at all had. "Sometimes you have to improvise, too. Adapt and overcome, whatever."
"…And sometimes I think something is really wrong with your brain." Sasuke muttered.
"Sure. Thank you for healing me, Dende." Toru smiled.
"Don't call me that!" Sasuke bristled. He didn't even know what the word meant.
"I think we might have bigger concerns than dear Toru's mental health." Orochimaru said softly. He was glancing into the distance, still. "Escape still seems out of reach. Which likely means that the conditions for a win still haven't been met."
"Great." Naruto said wearily. Susanoo-Arashi had said something interesting about divine souls before, offhandedly. Something that they hadn't been entirely sure they could plan around, before the battle had started. Now, however… "Time to take a gamble, then."
Akaishi-Kawa, a kami of lesser renown, stared into the inky blackness that was held captive within the confines of another domain.
His senses did not allow him to peer through it, and so it remained impenetrable: a darkness so profound, so absolute that it seemed to swallow everything that dared approach its perimeter.
And the way the nine humans seemed unbothered by it, as though it were nothing but a daily occurrence, did nothing to assuage him.
This void was not simply absence of light; it was a presence, an entity ensnared behind an invisible barrier that marked the boundary of another world. The barrier itself was no ordinary construct; it bore the unmistakable touch of divinity, woven from the threads of cosmic power and sealed with a decree that seemed to echo from realms beyond.
Akaishi-Kawa could venture a hesitant guess, as much as it went against his very nature.
His heightened senses, keen as they were, faltered at the edge of this darkness. The barrier defied his attempts to perceive what lay beyond, keeping the void a mystery, impenetrable and silent. He was not deterred by the inscrutable nature of this phenomenon. With a contemplative gaze, he entertained a notion most unsettling, a hypothesis that went against the grain of his divine intuition.
Could it be…?
"A realm?" Akaishi-Kawa's whisper barely broke the profound silence, his words cautious, as if wary of disturbing the tenseness that had shrouded the area. "A domain not unlike our own? So it was true…?"
These "Shinjutsu" were bad enough. But one could delude themselves into pretending they were not truly divine… This, however?
Birthed from divine will?
The thought of it. Oh, the very thought of it felt like treason of the highest order. But one thing was undeniable. Susanoo-Arashi, although it must be temporary, was gone. Gone to human hands, however, and the implications of it were so staggering, far-reaching that A kaishi-Kawa's mind felt as though it were becoming cosmic dust.
And that sword.
That sword Uzumaki-Naruto had called Zanseiken. It bore the unmistakable touch of the sacred artifact hidden with the Earth. The one the very same man had mentioned in the same breath: Amenonuhoko.
There wasn't much that was even half as revered. The mortals had twisted one of the kami's most holy artifacts into something that they could use against them. One that had been carelessly revealed to the humans through Agehachō-Yosei's machinations. Perhaps there was some irony there.
A sword to Lock. To entrap.
That was what the mortals had made of the Heavenly Jeweled Spear that had been used to create their homeworld, Earth. A sacrilege, and one whose full potential still remained unknown.
Zanseiken.
Akaishi-Kawa rolled the name through his mind. It seemed a slight thing, as it shimmered, close to the boundary of the pitch black void, — or perhaps he shouldn't even call this black, as it was closer to no light — it was the only thing that separated them all from that engulfing abyss.
Trepidation. That was what Akaishi-Kawa felt. Without immediate intervention from the other deities, who had gathered, to most's great surprise, to witness this anomaly, the void might threaten to consume everything—
Akaishi-Kawa blinked, and dread settled in.
They were at the humans' mercy, weren't they…? Uzumaki-Naruto had proven to be swifter than any kami he could think of. It would take him so little effort to simply remove the boundary that he had helped shape.
And then, the same emptiness that had swallowed Susanoo-Arashi and trapped him within its confines would be unleashed. Perhaps the humans would summon more of it, even. The Old Gods would have to shield the rest of them, but would they…?
However, Uzumaki-Naruto wasn't doing that.
If anything, he seemed to be waiting. What for? As he stood there, lost in contemplation, Akaishi-Kawa felt a stirring within the depths of his being.
He didn't quite know what to make of it.
"Amaterasu!" Came the bellow, Naruto's voice echoing over a long distance through the means of chakra.
Amaterasu-Yoake, in all of her incandescent glory, remained as still as the stars that had watched over countless ages.
But she wasn't the only being here who could think at a higher pace.
Her stillness was one thing, Naruto thought. The one that came from the many kami spread around what they had made of Takamagahara was another. A more tense one. Although, even Amaterasu-Yoake seemed relatively wary, now. Or perhaps furious, even. It was hard to tell, in her case. But the way she stared at Zanseiken… Oh, that was rather amusing.
As for the other kami, their thoughts were rather easy to divine, through Naruto's Negative Emotion Sensing:
Fear.
That was an emotion he was rather familiar with, as well as all that flowed from it: anxiety, apprehension, nervousness, dread, fright, wariness, and panic.
It was a large part of the emotion he had felt aimed at Susanoo-Arashi, and it was now aimed at them.
Good.
Kami were powered by faith, by belief. Faith from mortals, faith from other kami, as well, apparently. With each passing moment the mortals didn't die, and especially now that Susanoo-Arashi had been made to fail, the belief in the kami of storms' near omnipotence, and by extension the gods', had waned.
Naruto thought he could see it in the false stars' changing brilliance, too.
It wasn't some metaphorical statement: shinsei tended to obscure the stars.
This phenomenon had been noted multiple times. From their first meeting with a kami-touched being in the form of the sea dragon days away from Umi… to the frozen outer realm of Takamagahara, where the gleaming lights in the sky, that looked like stars at first glance, in truth, weren't.
The Celestial Ring, as a whole, was the only exception, possibly due to its human-crafted nature. Or perhaps they simply didn't know everything. Perhaps it was a just simplification to say that the divine energy behaved as though it thought it was the only star in the universe, as well.
But it would be rather fitting of what Naruto thought of most divine beings.
The Bath, which coursed with more of the divine energy than many places on the Ring put together, was no exception to the rule. No stars could be seen from there, in spite of all the human chakra coursing through it. It had been part of its purpose.
Certainly, the Bath acted as a crucible for chakra synthesis: the mingling waters, saturated with both chakra and shinsei, had taught them the blending and enhancing of chakra in a period of time that years alone would not have — Yoisen could attest to that. For the few who could withstand it, it acted as a catalyst to exceed the limitations of traditional shinobi arts.
And certainly, the Bath allowed one to familiarize themselves with the kami's power. All to better resist it. Fighting fire with fire could be considered a good move, even outside of Uchiha clan feuds, when it was possible to train your body to fight it.
Over time, they had taken that knowledge and expanded that concept of defending against something to create better, more efficient defensive techniques, of which several were entirely automatic. Like Naruto's own, Karin's… Toru's.
Still, no answer came from Amaterasu-Yoake.
That was fine, too. She wasn't the only entity here, and of the others, any were going to be easier to use, if they were to stand a chance. And games of power were something he had a decent understanding of. Of the many lessons he had learned over the years, some had stuck. They were the sort of tactics Kakashi would have used on his students, Naruto thought, strangely enough.
(Use your enemies.)
"As far as I can see it…" Naruto declared. "Susanoo-Arashi fell for a simple trap!"
Time, however, held little sway in the realm of gods, and what seemed like an eternity might be nothing but a mere pause for Amaterasu-Yoake.
Perhaps it was why she still didn't reply.
But although he had spoken to her, she wasn't the one he had expected to react. They had an audience, after all.
However, to his slight surprise, Amaterasu-Yoake did react. Eventually, the sun deity's presence shifted, the light that emanated from her flickering with a disquieting intensity. It was as if the dawn itself grew cold, casting shadows that sought to envelop all in their reach.
"Trapped?" The voice of Amaterasu-Yoake finally broke the silence, imbued with a disdain that chilled the very air. "Your vision is clouded, mortal. Susanoo-Arashi's chains are but illusions, and your complacency is going to feed his storms."
Complacency…? Was that what she believed?
(Conceal your intentions.)
"I thought you'd say something like that."
"And I believe you forgot the terms of the contest."
He hadn't. None of them had, in fact.
Obliteration.
And it seemed as though being subjected to becoming the epicenter of a black hole, along with some of the most ruinous arts Naruto had ever witnessed, hadn't done the trick. Susanoo-Arashi still lived. Unless something fouler was at play.
"It works both ways, doesn't it?" Naruto's gaze sharpened as he spoke. "If that wretch aimed to prove his strength with this fight, he's only shown his lack of wisdom. It's a massive waste of our time. But then again..."
He paused, letting the silence stretch for a beat longer.
"Maybe his plan is to bore us to death. We're only human, after all." A restless murmur spread among the crowd, mingled with anger. "So, where has your god vanished to? Is he biding his time, licking his wounds in order to stand a chance against us? Or did he run?"
Rising fury.
"I believe I can tell you what I know." Naruto smiled. "Your dear Susanoo-Arashi simply cannot escape us. Or else he would have done so already."
(Create a compelling show.)
The message was a simple one and yet, it sowed seeds among the assembled kami.
As any of Naruto's group knew it would have: divine beings who thrived on the certainty of their power and the predictability of mortal failure did not take too well to arguably the strongest of their race being tricked and possibly trapped.
He then sighed. "Yes, perhaps we should wait for that thing some more, then."
In that moment of unrest, Naruto, with a grace that belied the gravity of the confrontation, lowered himself to the ground, seating himself with an air of casual defiance.
The act, mocking in its nonchalance, showed clear contempt for the threat looming over them all, a visual taunt — and a clear message that mortals would not be cowed by the might of the gods. Not now, not anymore. A new era was looming.
"If any of you wants to try their hand at doing what he couldn't, before he finally manages to come back, feel free to do so. It will prevent us from cooling down."
…This, however, was a direct taunt.
(Limit their options.)
There was too much of a risk that the remaining kami would be scared off into inaction, he knew it well. The battle against Susanoo-Arashi had cowed the great majority of them. Letting that fear grow could mean terrible things for humanity, if let to fester.
The only way out was through. As always.
He knew there were enough clues up in the air for the kami to believe that retrieving Zanseiken was the key to freeing Susanoo-Arashi, or to prevent that black hole from possibly spreading.
Further infuriating the angriest of the bunch was a deliberate plan, too. They were the ones least likely to believe, to accept, that a human technique might be of danger to all of them, at once.
Not with their pride so wounded. Not with several other Old Gods here.
And speaking of pride…
Amaterasu-Yoake was not Susanoo-Arashi. She did not, would not fall for such bait, for a mere attack upon her pride. Not even in front of the other kami. Not when she believed she would sully it more by tangling with mortals.
But among the others, many of them were not Amaterasu-Yoake. And most had rarely met derision. Never at the hands of humans. Naruto knew all too well how the most hotheaded of the deities would take this. Badly.
(Appeal to their desires… or to their follies.)
They took the bait.
Many more kami than he had expected did, in fact. Perhaps most of them were rather simple-minded, after all. Amaterasu-Yoake, who remained aloof to his provocations, like the other few Old Gods they had noticed, did nothing to prevent other kami from attacking.
Many of them, being kami, did not simply move — they transcended the very concept of distance.
In the span of a heartbeat, they crossed the space between them and Naruto in an instant, from kilometers to dozens of them to hundreds of them. The air itself seemed to warp, the fabric of reality bending to accommodate their wrathful descent.
(Make them come to you.)
As they approached, their forms became clearer — each kami seemed a distinct manifestation of the divine elements they embodied, if they wielded one at all. Flames that burned without heat, winds that whispered of ancient storms, and waters that flowed with the weight of the deep ocean coalesced into avatars of destruction, along with more esoteric notions that perhaps Hanabi's eyes might have understood, were she not currently—
Later. Worry later.
This convergence of divine will and power did not herald a battle; it promised obliteration.
To witness such beings, each a force of nature unto themselves, align against a single foe, or nine, was to observe the very essence of war.
Naruto remained seated, his expression one of calm defiance.
As the kami neared, their intent clear and their power unleashed, the air around the nine of them crackled with tension. This was the storm after the storm; the storm before the storm.
They crossed the War Domain. Only then, upon the battlefield, were kami permitted to channel their powers to try and crush them.
The fastest of all the incoming kami tore through the air, and blinding light glinted off his jeweled blade. It reached, closer and closer by the instant, until it came so close to Naruto's left eye that all he could see was its deadly point—
"You should not have done that." Naruto said, without rising. "Or you should have paid more attention, really."
(Keep them reactive instead of proactive.)
The jeweled blade shattered.
Or rather, it met Naruto's Form I, which he simply had not bothered to deactivate. It was, after all, a technique that functioned autonomously, and required no direct intervention from him once initiated.
It was a simple technique, which comprised three distinct steps, each designed to neutralize threats efficiently.
One: employ an advanced Negative Emotion Sensing technique, complemented by Naruto's enhanced senses, to identify any approaching danger, consciously or otherwise. Two: use Yin chakra to manipulate the trajectory of the incoming attack, applying an opposite motion, effectively bringing its momentum to a halt, or simply negating it; this process could be automated, depending on the need. Three: if necessary, launch a lightning-based counterattack towards the source of the aggression. This final decision, like the second, could also be delegated to the technique's autonomous judgment.
This entire process, of course, happened at a level so fast it might well be called instantaneous.
…It was a simple technique, not an easy one.
The kami who had attacked Naruto reeled back as its body did what the sword had done: it disintegrated entirely, with a flash of thunder so swift it was nearly unnoticeable.
(Strike with boldness.)
Of the hundreds of kami that had decided to attack, none even slowed down when the one named Mizu-No-Sasayaki was sundered.
Perhaps they didn't understand what had happened entirely, perhaps they simply assumed Naruto had just moved faster. Perhaps there was no such thing as compassion between these. Several of them met with Karin's liquid Steel barrier, and Yoisen cut them down without missing a beat.
"Uchiha Clan Hidden Susanoo Art: Face-Shattering Fist Barrage."
A teal orb shimmered into life above Toru, barely larger than himself. From it came an innumerable barrage of punches, fanning out with precision that bordered on the impossible, slamming into each god within reach. All of the Susanoo's size, focused into elongated punches that radiated outwards, each striking with the pinpoint accuracy of a master martial artist.
And all of the Susanoo's power, too. Shattering gods with a single strike, or several when it was needed.
Sasuke unleashed a devastating sweep of his sword, and at the edge of the War Domain, dark flames ignited in an inner dome, engulfing legions. Those few who withstood his inferno found themselves facing Orochimaru and Hanabi, who efficiently dispatched most of the survivors with blades of wind that led back to the fires, further expanding their range. Any remaining adversaries were swiftly eliminated by Sakura, if not by her then by Yoisen, who effortlessly cut them down; both of them eschewed any show of flamboyance for direct, lethal efficiency. And they worked well together. Of the unlucky few who didn't suffer that fate, none escaped with their souls, courtesy of Ino.
Punch. Cut. Stab. Cut. Cut. Slash. Burn. Cut. Crush. Punch. Slash. Ignite. Sweep. Stab. Dodge. Cut. Burn. Stab. Slash. Crush. Cut. Punch. Slash. Burn. Cut. Stab. Crush. Slash. Crush. Crush. Crush.
It was a simple dance, this dance of shinobi; nine steps, and easy to remember.
Soon, there was no one left in the War Domain but them.
(Make it seem effortless.)
"Anyone else?" Naruto asked the gathered kami, as he remained seated. "Is there no one else?"
There was no answer.
"Those few were the best you had to offer?" Naruto's challenge sliced through the heavy air, his gaze sweeping across the desolate battlefield, seeking out the kami. His question, rhetorical, echoed in the ensuing silence. "Were those the only ones still daring to stand against us?"
The silence that followed was thick with the weight of unspoken fears and shattered convictions. Within that silence, still, Naruto sensed the stirrings of unrest, the simmering of pent-up rage and desperation. Something that yet had to find its voice.
It was almost laughable.
And in fact, Naruto's laughter, dark and filled with contempt, shattered the silence.
"Pathetic."
He allowed this disdain to linger, needling them. Then, his tone shifted.
"I'll give you one last chance."
The words were barely out before he declared the terms, his voice cutting through the thick tension.
"Five seconds."
The announcement was a challenge, a provocation. Something that invited any who dared to defy them to step forward.
"I extend our Oath of battle to allow for any of you to step in for five seconds. To Susanoo-Arashi's benefit.
"To retrieve this divine sword we used.
"Stand with him now, as his ally, not his replacement, and attempt his liberation. Take back the weapon of creation that you say is yours.
"Let's see if your numbers make a difference."
Amaterasu-Yoake, a being of far greater power and mystique than any of the gathered audience, observed with detached interest. "That is not something that is for you to decide."
"It is my will." Naruto countered, and his voice echoed with something unnatural, only heard to him, as he focused on his conviction, on reshaping his inner reality. His belief. He heard Ino's voice echo through his mind — do not try to stretch it too far! — but simply wiped his nosebleed away, unconcerned.
"Five seconds. Any who choose to fight under these conditions, now, are under Susanoo-Arashi's command. Until they fall, just as he will, his defeat remains incomplete."
"I do not agree."
"Again, that choice is not yours." Naruto declared, his will unyielding as he turned to address the other kami again. His eyes briefly shone with something the kami of the sun might have noticed. "Attack now, and be recognized as our enemy, any of you. Perhaps together, you can succeed where Susanoo-Arashi failed."
That was his Intent.
(Make yourself a god in their mind.)
There was only silence.
And their lack of unity showed.
"Anyone who decides to attack might achieve what even Susanoo-Arashi could not." Naruto continued, offering one last opportunity to the gods. "Act now, or lose your chance forever."
Now. Before most of them truly considered just how well Susanoo-Arashi would take to his kill being stolen.
Now. Before Amaterasu-Yoake and the other Old Gods reconsidered their apparent inaction and their new, subtle wariness of them.
Now. While the others kept their senses extended for any sort of divine trick that might give them trouble after all.
The tension was palpable, and it enveloped the battlefield as Naruto began his count.
"Five."
No movement. Perhaps their pride was not as great as he had thought, or their caution too great.
"Four."
If the kami didn't choose to come to them willingly, they would have to do things differently.
"Three."
No move. Could it even work…? They had thought that stretching the Intent, the Oath of battle this far was possible, as long as it could fit within the initial conditions, especially taking into account Susanoo-Arashi's previous conjurations within his Domain, but perhaps the strength of his Yin alone could not…
"Two."
Amaterasu-Yoake didn't forbid it. But nothing happened. Had even the most foolhardy of the kami seen through it…?
"One—"
No, they hadn't.
A dark grin spread upon Naruto's face as he felt their negative emotion reach a peak.
The enemy thought they would only be in danger the moment they crossed the War Domain.
But they were considered a true part of the contest, this time.
An impossible number of miniature War Domains rose around the great many kami who decided to attack, instead.
There were many powers at work, he was sure of it: from chronokinesis to cosmic manipulation to reality warping to elemental fusion to aether control; many more.
Naruto had felt their emotions, however. Known what they had intended to do: waiting until the last moment to move. And the very moment they did so, paradoxically, they became vulnerable. The importance of Intent had been clear to them, and Amaterasu-Yoake wasn't the only one who could play such games.
Besides, Naruto had always believed his greatest strength lay in one thing: his sheer speed.
'Karin! Ino!'
Karin didn't bother answering him, simply frowning in concentration. Her chakra sensing ability, which she had channeled for the past few moments, and which she had been ready to deploy at full intensity, expanded in a flash, covering a range that surprised even herself, revealing to them each and every single one of the attacking kami.
Ino bound her sensing ability to his mind, to his soul, with perfect accuracy. Naruto was seeing the world through Karin's ability. That was the simple, perfect technique Ino deployed, huffing from the effort, even as Yoisen did her best to offload some of the mental charge.
It was an impossible number of attackers, thousands upon thousands. Karin's ability revealed all of them to him, the same way Hanabi could have on any other day, and as her chakra bathed the area, perhaps some of the incoming kami realized their folly.
(Keep them in a state of suspended terror.)
That was a wide range, spanning dozens and dozens of kilometers. But range was rarely a problem. Precision wouldn't be either, not with Karin's sensing ability marking all of them for him, allowing his own Negative Emotion Sensing to ricochet off them, to separate neutral kami from the enemy a second time, in case the War Domains proved not to be enough.
Naruto was standing, now, single blade at the ready. He raised his other hand in half of the Snake seal.
When it came to his Lightning Repudiation, the first step, Form I could be considered an anti-personnel technique. A technique with no weakness, aside from the god of gods. Form II, however, had a different purpose.
"Shinjutsu." Naruto called out with bared teeth as he became the thunder. "True Lightning Armor."
A brilliant burst of deep blue; an electric pulse, rippling.
(Crush them entirely.)
Twenty-three thousand seven hundred fifty-eight.
That was how many kami Akaishi-Kawa felt surging forward; all of them converging onto a singular plane of existence to attack, to free, to retrieve.
Twenty-three thousand seven hundred fifty-eight kami.
Each of them were formidable, or seemed like it, at least, their power eclipsing what Akaishi-Kawa ever dreamed of attaining. Or perhaps it was that simple concept that made one find anything done by a group appear much more impressive — No, he realized. They were formidable—
An imperceptible moment.
In a fragment of time so fleeting it escaped notice, they were all annihilated by lightning arcs. Perhaps it was Uzumaki-Naruto in motion, or perhaps he was invoking electricity with a precision that defied logic, casting it across distances unseen to the naked eye.
One thing was certain, however:
That could only be the work of a thunder god.
Not just any deity, but specifically Susanoo-Arashi, Akaishi-Kawa surmised with a certainty that bordered on knowledge. Others in the pantheon could scarcely dream of wielding such might.
In less than a heartbeat, the conflict was resolved; twenty-three thousand, seven hundred and fifty-eight kami lay defeated, their essence scattered by the divine storm that had swept through them.
Sundered.
Naruto became corporeal again, and he let out a breath that was closer to searing vapor.
The first assault had been meant to make it seem possible to reach them, with superior numbers, with superior strength. There was nothing so restrained about this one.
Everything ached. From the roar in his temples to the weariness in his bones, and the ache in his heavy arms. But that was Form II, an anti-army Art. He could not afford to show them weakness now, although he himself wasn't entirely sure who he meant.
He wiped his bloody nose again.
That was one step.
A thousand three hundred and forty four kami souls littered the Heavenly Plain. The others had been too brittle to endure his assault, and had broken entirely. Hopefully the remaining ones would help them defend against the indefensible.
In the distance, Amaterasu-Yoake remained unconcerned.
"Fools." She let out a displeased sigh. "Could you not see he was baiting you?"
Amaterasu-Yoake hadn't said it before, and something in Naruto told him part of the god must have been trying to unravel their plans with no risk to herself… or simply too far above it all that, so far beyond that she would be offended by the idea that any plans made by a group of humans were of any danger to her at all, and that any kami who bothered with these lowly games deserved what befell them. As though grains of sand that had started bickering about which one of them was more meaningful.
Susanoo-Arashi wasn't so different from her, if so.
Aside from his wrath, which they knew could be provoked.
The great majority of kami might have realized it was a terrible idea to attack or involve themselves by now, Naruto thought. Perhaps they were afraid enough not to bother attacking again.
Not that they could, without Naruto's accord: the entire point of this temporary, five-second condition had been to limit their time, both of reflection and preparation. That offer was rescinded, already.
Unless Amaterasu-Yoake truly could alter the conditions of the death match, that was. In that case, there wasn't much they could do about it all.
The eight others slowly took their stances around Naruto, spreading over a wide distance.
'Is it time, then?'
Naruto looked toward the west, where Zanseiken was still stuck into the ground. In the vast domain it isolated, he thought he had felt some slight disturbance. Toru and Sasuke confirmed it.
As for Hanabi, she said nothing at all, and that, in itself, told him everything he needed to know.
Naruto's stomach seemed to knot instantly. It confirmed what he had thought.
"…Oh, Hanabi." He turned to face her, lowering his voice so that only she could hear.
No answer came. She knew this tone, likely. He didn't mince his words.
"You're entirely blind, aren't you?"
It was nearly unnoticeable, both because her eyes had not changed colors, and because the way she could stare him in the eye had not changed at all. In fact, he could almost trick himself into believing he was wrong. Especially when she raised an eyebrow at him. But he knew her all too well.
"Hanabi."
"…Yes."
Naruto closed his eyes.
"Ironic, huh?" Hanabi let out a humorless chuckle. "I can't see anything."
Naruto didn't have a word to spare, and didn't find it particularly funny. And so he said nothing. He simply nodded tightly, and Hanabi's expression relaxed some. Perhaps she had expected him to hesitate because of it. But he couldn't.
"I think it's permanent." Hanabi eventually said. Naruto tried not to see it as a failure on his part. "Soul damage. Don't tell the others right now, it might throw them off, and it's the last thing we need. Ino—"
"You're not that good of an actress." Naruto said, surprised at the hoarseness of his own voice. "She knows already. I think they all suspect it."
Hanabi paused entirely. "…Ah."
But Ino thought Hanabi was strong. The others, too. Strong enough to be able to hold her own, even then. Naruto thought he saw Hanabi's lip quiver for a second, then she shook her head.
"I—"
All eyes suddenly turned to the same location.
The first crack.
"…Ah. Well." Hanabi said, extending senses that weren't, couldn't be anywhere close to her vision.
Already, she was struggling to recall sights her mind had understood on a higher level before, almost instinctively. Without her eyes, there was nothing of the heightened detail in everything, the colors that shouldn't be possible, or the way that time seemed to show her inklings of the past and present, the way she understood the nature of things with a glance, the superimposed images she could see behind everything, the flow of energy and tension that felt like atoms shifting.
Hanabi couldn't see anymore, and so she relied upon her other senses. No one, however, needed a sight nearly as sharp as hers had been to understand that something was happening.
The second crack.
"…I guess that's something to discuss later."
And then, a third.
Everyone's focal point wasn't the black hole, which remained as tranquil as such a thing could be, trapped within Zanseiken's ability—
Reality shattered.
That was how a god escaped the inescapable, Naruto supposed. With the roar of the sea as a backdrop, flooding the world with frigid waters.
It happened as terrible events often did: with dreadful suddenness. A convergence of celestial storms and warping realities, melding into a singular, ominous echo. A harrowing blend of cosmic fury and the shriek of bending space, trailing behind the rising shadow.
Nine minds joined deeply once more, in spite of the danger it posed, working ever faster to try and unravel the worst sort of enigma.
First, to observe. There was silence, then, and the cacophony of interstellar winds and a celestial body moving went away entirely.
Energy patterns shifted, new pathways between realities opened, and the fragile balance of power teetered on the brink of recalibration. A storm of divine energy; a tumultuous manifestation of electromagnetic, gravitational forces at once. Fueled by the god's control over atmospheric and cosmic energies, warping space-time fabric around the hole it emerged from.
As the storm reached its peak, the kami of storms and change seemed to warp into pure energy. Attuning itself to the very essence of the cosmic storm it had unleashed, merging its power with the storm's chaotic forces.
Orochimaru supposed that Susanoo-Arashi had done the very same thing to escape the singularity in the first place: using a nuanced alteration of the black hole's gravitational and energetic dynamics, and then leveraging the storm's energy to reshape the singularity's pull. The amount of power it must have required, he decided, must have been staggering. Toru, on the other hand, didn't care much for calculations: he just wanted to go home to Akemi and sleep for days on end.
Sakura supposed that Susanoo-Arashi had used the singularity itself as a catalyst. The god, perhaps a being of almost pure energy and storm then, might have coalesced the chaotic forces into a concentrated beam of energy directed at the singularity. Transforming it into a cosmic bridge — a new wormhole, one formed from the god's energy, the storm's power, and the singularity's manipulated essence. Hanabi wondered about it, as well, but unfortunately, remained unable to see whether that was the truth of it or not.
Through this cosmic bridge, Yoisen thought, building upon Sakura's theory, that the god might have propelled his energy form out of the black hole's grasp. The bridge, stable only for a moment due to the immense forces at play, had been the god's pathway to freedom, emerging far from the black hole. Once safely distant, the god had reconstituted a new physical form, the one they saw now, having not just escaped the black hole but having mastered it, bending the universe's most extreme conditions to their will.
It didn't necessarily mean that the kami could reproduce the phenomenon in any useful sort of manner right away. No, if they had been convinced such a thing was possible for him, he would likely have learned how to produce equally dangerous phenomenona through the eons he had lived.
Ino, on the other hand, watched the kami reappear with rapt attention, foregoing theories and placing her trust in the judgment of others. There were other things she needed to understand.
The battle resumed with abrupt certainty.
What was certain as well, however, was that they could not give Susanoo-Arashi the time to reflect and learn from that experience. Or from any sort of experience.
Akaishi-Kawa watched. Susanoo-Arashi's latest incarnation towered with a majesty that commanded the skies, earth and oceans alike.
A monumental dragon, weaving through the heavens with the grace of ancient serpents and the ferocity of the storms from which it borrowed its name — or perhaps it was the storms that borrowed their names from him. Long, serpentine, adorned with scales that shimmered like jewels, under sun, moon, and nothingness alike.
Massive beyond compare, Susanoo-Arashi's presence was a spectacle that dwarfed mountains and clouds.
In spite of its fearsome appearance, it carried no weapons this time, no Heavenly Storm Blade, nothing; it seemed to need none.
Yes, perhaps it was that: the dragon's very presence was a force of nature, its power emanating from within, a storm unleashed by its will alone. His shinsei output had resumed: it seemed nearly as high as it had been at the beginning of the battle.
DIVINE TERRITORY. Susanoo-Arashi ground out between his now elongated fangs, the first thing he said as he emerged once more. INVERSION.
Vast oceans were summoned from the ether, cascading into reality with a force that reshaped landscapes and redefined boundaries. These boundless waters, powerful, relentless, and cold, surged. Flooding Takamagahara in an instant.
No one intervened, not even Amaterasu-Yoake.
Akaishi-Kawa hoped. Hoped that the waters that flowed at the behest of the dragon were not merely destructive but would serve as bearers of life, renewing the earth even as they shattered it.
He hoped, but couldn't truly bring himself to believe.
Pink, blue, teal, purple… lilac, gold, bronze, purple, and purple again.
Nine spectral guardians rose at once.
Perhaps they could be called Perfect Susanoo, particularly if some of their wielders were ready to admit such a thing. Because unfortunately for Naruto, in this case, there were a few uses for this particular technique. Fighting a massive opponent was one.
Susanoo-Arashi twisted in the sky, and even though his thunder could not crash, not with Naruto's ability active, his seas flooded the world.
A single beat of silence.
Then, with a unity born of countless battles and an unbreakable bond, the nine warriors propelled themselves into the heavens, meeting the beast of all worlds in a resounding clash.
Susanoo-Arashi glinted, as though myriad constellations were found within his dark, massive body. The kami didn't bother with defense, he simply threw himself forward with indescribable force, shattering Karin's guardian with all of his weight.
Karin toppled into the sea, skidding to a violent halt after breaking the sound barrier and the surface of the water with equally sharp impacts. As pillars of divine power began to erupt from the sea, stretching the War Domain so far it became nearly impossible to discern it, Karin jumped away from the water again, pushing from metallic platforms, kickstarting her healing process. Black chains erupted from her and buried deep into the water, trailing after the god with blinding speed. The Perfect Susanoo, if it could be called that, reformed around her at the same time. Her eyes burned, her core burned, everything burned.
And still, just like the others, she pushed some more.
With bared fangs, Susanoo-Arashi came out of the sea once more, riding the crest of a massive wave, shattering the earth below and drowning all sound. His target was Karin again, and Naruto took note of it.
'Why?' He wondered. 'And that form… it's different. Is it his true shape?'
Naruto, in spite of his thoughts, chose that moment to attack.
He appeared in between the two, slamming twin massive swords of pure lightning into Susanoo-Arashi's flanks with a violence. The kami's tail rose from behind Naruto's guardian, shattering most of it with one single mighty blow.
A spark of blue, iridescent and nearly invisible thunder rose from between Naruto's very own hands, and with an ominous growl, he crashed it into the tail, reducing the first layers of jeweled hide. Susanoo-Arashi snarled, and a plume of fire nearly vaporized Naruto, in spite of his True Lightning Armor.
He was adapting to that one too, Naruto realized, not without some trepidation. The only way to prevent that adaptation, if only for the shortest of instants, they knew already. But…
'The shortest of instants.'
Naruto blinked. In this moment, and entirely accidentally, Naruto realized that there was another way to slow down adaptation.
Coincidentally, he realized it at about the same time Sakura did, and they rushed over each other to relay their impractical solution to get around that, as if any of them would ever have the time to make use of it. Which of them could even make it work on such short notice…?
No, better to go for the practical solution. They just had to make it count, because it would likely be the one and only time it would work.
And where was the Heavenly Storm Blade…?
The kami had clearly been able to summon the waves that were related to his Domain — it only seemed too likely he could summon that damned weapon again. Then why…?
At that moment, Karin's chains seized the beast, yanking it back into the sea with an even greater struggle than before, as her great spectral guardian anchored itself into a sea that wanted to tear them apart. Susanoo-Arashi was adapting to the chains.
Yoisen fell upon him in a flash of gold, sword sweeping in so many contradictory arcs at once it seemed as though she was flying in a sphere of fire. Cutting deep gouges into Susanoo-Arashi's body, never slowing down until cutting arcs of water sliced through her arm entirely and forced her to retreat. To these strikes too, the Old God adapted.
Hanabi appeared then, much slower than she should have been, her guardian's extended fingers forming into a two-fingered strike that didn't fully manage to reach the divine beast. Neither did Orochimaru's sword, which halted after breaking skin, as Susanoo-Arashi rolled with the blow.
The ocean froze over suddenly.
This time, Sakura's jutsu didn't even slow the kami down. If anything, Susanoo-Arashi seemed to accelerate in answer; perhaps Ice was too close to the powers he commanded. With a vicious snarl, a joyful glee, a blast of shinsei erupted, coursing through the air, blowing a hole into Sakura's stomach, and her Susanoo fell away instantly.
Naruto, holding down onto his burning fury, stopped in the middle of his attack just long enough to go, recover her, forcefully feed her some of his power, use Yin release to halt the wound's progression, to give her to people who could truly help her. That was all he could do here.
Sasuke and Yoisen gathered around her; Naruto, Toru and Karin attacked; the others recovered.
The entire time, Susanoo-Arashi's eyes were upon the healing process that Sakura underwent, Naruto was nearly sure of it. The sword of Kusanagi pierced his hide, this time: as he appeared in a flash that Hanabi had commanded, Orochimaru managed to pin the kami to the ocean floor. The next instant, Hanabi stiffened and began to fall forward. Orochimaru let go of the blade and caught her, cursing in a rare moment of emotion.
Without wasting a single beat and driven by a surge of resolve, Naruto collided with Susanoo-Arashi, unleashing a tempest of fury. Around him, a maelstrom of lightning and wind blades whirled into existence, their ferocity escalating until they shimmered iridescently, transforming into pure, unleashed plasma that detonated in a wild expanse of energy.
The Cloud Clearer jutsu roared to life, summoned again and again by the relentless force of the Raiden ability, each pulse stronger than the last, breaking the skies and the land and the ocean itself, something more intangible…
When it came to Susanoo-Arashi, however, just as impossibly as anything involving the god, the damage turned out to be minimal.
Naruto blurred away once more, and then took in Hanabi's shivering state as Orochimaru left her in his arms, as he observed her stiffening body. Trying and failing to keep his mind clear, then realizing there was nothing he could do for her at all and hating himself all the more for it, Naruto threw himself into battle once more. Karin rushed to her aid instead, because Yoisen was restoring her own shattered legs. Sakura was nearly cut in half.
It took only a few more clashes to confirm the situation truly was taking a turn for the worse.
His Lightning didn't do much to the god anymore, Naruto realized, over the constant fear he felt for all of them.
Just like Sasuke's flames had trouble burning Susanoo-Arashi, too. Neither of them were sure even the Blazing Heavens Shinjutsu would, at this point. If the worst came to happen, perhaps the art would only allow Susanoo-Arashi to adapt to the black flames entirely. Their options were getting more and more limited.
Naruto could see that, already, the kami's Storm was slowly beginning to crash again, as he adapted to the essence of Naruto's Form II technique. Traitorous thoughts began to form inside his mind. At this rate, they would—
'Tch!'
He forced his mind back on track. Susanoo-Arashi's adaptation left out most of his arsenal, certainly, as most of his techniques were based upon the same principles, the same core power as Form II. In fact, most of what he thought might work, in other circumstances, would likely only make this process of adaptation even faster.
All nine of them came to similar conclusions.
All of them discarded their elemental techniques entirely, for the time being. Instead, they opted for pure chakra reinforcement, gathering all of that output and channeling nearly all of it into each Susanoo to increase their pure physical strength, with a roar.
"Susanoo Sage Art: True Thousand Hands!"
A massive statue, and Sasuke fell down from the heavens. Gigantic wooden hands erupted from nothingness, slamming down upon the kami in a rain of open blows, relentlessly. This amount of physical force seemed to be the one thing they had noticed the kami couldn't truly adapt to — it didn't matter much that the statue the blows came from technically was shaped from elemental chakra. Sasuke went on the offensive.
Susanoo-Arashi's maws opened wide, and thunder resumed its course, the very moment Naruto's ability was willingly disabled. Sasuke was forced to slow down. Of the Thousand Hands, Sasuke redirected about half the blows toward the lightning strikes. The bolts met the great hands with unerring precision, shredding the statuesque palms with each clash. With the smell of burning wood; nature was being shattered.
The kami then threw himself forward wildly, stretching his jaws even further, aiming to swallow both Sasuke and his now burning statue; an eerie display.
Yoisen's blade cut through the air with a sharp sound, just as Orochimaru's Kusanagi did, once more. But when they did so, it was to prevent the great maws from closing upon Sasuke. The sword of Kusanagi, at last, shattered for good. So did Yoisen's nameless sword, the one Naruto had painstakingly crafted for her two years ago, the traditional way. The god laughed at both happenings, although for different reasons. The two humans were soon on the defensive, if it could be called that.
Ino and her own spectral guardian shimmered into light from shadows below Susanoo-Arashi, and thick darkness rose to impale him, her Yin powers manifested. They only succeeded in reaching him for a short instant, before the kami learned from them, too.
The god weaved in between these attacks and the next; Karin's massive rock fists, Sakura's attempts to rend his hide apart with six hands. His body slammed into Toru again, shattering his Perfect Susanoo in just a moment, in a spray of blood. Yoisen caught him, blurring away to let him recover.
There was strange purity in that sort of raw, furious battle, some of them thought, in spite of themselves.
The battlefield was a storm of shinsei and chakra, where every strike, every maneuver was an act of war stripped of mercy; the most cruel of dances.
Blood and smoke mingled in the air, painting the sky in the hues of battle. The sound of bones breaking, flesh tearing, and warriors' cries filled the air, a symphony of violence that knew no bounds.
Yin, halting motion and keeping death away for a moment longer.
Fire, Water and Earth, healing.
Yang, creating, bolstering flesh that couldn't take any more.
In this maelstrom of destruction, each of them pushed, were pushed, beyond their limits. They were not just fighting Susanoo-Arashi anymore, it seemed. They were battling the very notion of impossibility, challenging the limits imposed by their own natures.
Each impact, seemingly breaking something that should never have had to give, with a shattering sound; like glass breaking in a thousand jagged pieces. Each step, seemingly bringing the promised doom closer, inescapable; like fate marching towards an inexorable calamity.
And so the fight raged on, as they tore, shattered and healed; a display of indomitable will, a relentless pursuit of victory at any cost.
It was a clash not of powers or techniques, but of sheer, unyielding spirit against the immovable object that was Susanoo-Arashi. There was no room for half-measures.
And of course, as inevitable as the setting sun, something had to give.
It turned out to be Susanoo-Arashi's patience.
It was not to say that he was weakening, far from it. But under the constant onslaught that it seemed neither side would win for a long while, and likely because of his furious pride, the god switched tactics.
To break the standstill, Susanoo-Arashi focused more of his power output into further reinforcement of his body, of his physicality. In other words, he decided to imitate them.
And they knew exactly how to play a copycat.
'Now!'
Karin and Orochimaru let go of their chakra entirely, allowing Sakura to seize both sources of power, even as they fell into the water.
Only she had the fine skill necessary for this. With a sudden surge that left even her reeling, Sakura slammed three chakra together. Theirs were close enough to hers not to instantly fry her; Water and Wind in essence, mainly, and all too familiar. Three Compounded sources, merging together, rising into something the kami hadn't seen yet—
"Kamui!"
This one, the kami knew all too well. He had had a month to dismantle it. And considering the amount of power behind the perfected, likely altered technique, it was worth adapting his defense to it—
Susanoo-Arashi blinked when dozens of spectral hands slammed right through him instead, brimming with too much power not to tear at pieces of whatever it was that they touched.
It wasn't Kamui.
No. It was just a simple trick, the sort that Sakura particularly enjoyed. Calling out the name of a jutsu and going for something else entirely: in this case, the Ghost Hand technique.
Being torn apart as he was, already, Susanoo-Arashi halted his offensive change nearly entirely, redirecting more shinsei toward his adaptation—
The hands faded away, and Sakura only gave the god a mocking, sheepish grin as she fell. She hadn't managed to maintain it for long, and simply released it before the inner damage truly got to her. Impossible chakra control.
Susanoo-Arashi snarled.
They were going for a physical sort of assault again, then. That was what he thought as he watched Karin's summoned Jūbi-like Earth giant nearly burst with coiled strength.
But even as that thing slammed into the kami and managed to hold him off for all of three seconds, Susanoo-Arashi knew it wasn't the real threat. No, that one came from Sasuke.
Sasuke, who had slammed his hands together with a crashing sound. Yoisen and Sakura warped all nine of them in close proximity, even as Hanabi seemingly began to fall in and out of consciousness.
All nine of them pooled their chakra together.
While not a true Compounding, it was still a merging that simply wasn't done.
Sasuke, with a deep, grounding breath, forced himself not to wonder if the Sage himself would have been able to do such a thing. He summoned forth the ultimate manifestation of their power. Chakra, dense and palpable, swirled around him, coalescing into a towering figure that dwarfed the combatants and the landscape alike.
That monstrosity, to Sasuke at least, was a culmination of every bond, every struggle, every failure and every triumph that had led them to this moment. An ethereal warrior, radiant and imposing, that stood as the manifestation of their collective strength, gleaming with an array of colors that danced and merged in the light.
They stood together at its core, all nine of them, and in Sasuke's eyes, all Naruto could see was an unspoken understanding: a recognition of the forking paths they now walked together.
Without a word, the ultimate Susanoo took a shattering step forward, leaping forward to meet the god of storms.
Under that single, shattering step, the sea split, and Susanoo-Arashi, who was never one to back down from a direct challenge, surged forward.
It was then that light shimmered to life within the avatar's hand.
Rage: it was all that could be seen in Susanoo-Arashi's dark eyes.
"Born of the divine Amenonuhoko…" Naruto began, pooling his strength within the artifact, just as the others did.
Except for Hanabi, who finally lost consciousness for good. Except for Sasuke.
The latter, instead, was gathering all of his strength, even as he held the Yang avatar together. Layering it. Seven elements upon seven—
What came out of Susanoo-Arashi's mouth wasn't just a snarl. It was a promise.
YOU WILL DIE HERE!
The kami didn't slow down, in spite of the newest threat. He never seemed to do so, in truth. Perhaps it never had had to before.
Instead of trying to escape the blow, instead of slowing down, Susanoo-Arashi threw himself forward even faster, letting his output soar. He was aiming to slip under the deadly blade born from Amenonuhoko and crush both Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and their fragile construct in one single, overpowering attack.
Yes. The kami's thoughts likely went along these lines:
The avatar that Uchiha Sasuke had summoned had six arms. Two of them held the sword of night and flame above its head, undoubtedly channeling that single, obliterating strike.
Uzumaki Naruto directed two of the lower arms to hold the remnants of the Heavenly Jeweled Spear. Channeling an attack that would likely be as troublesome as the previous one had been.
Which attack would fall first? And in the wretched artifact's case, what would it do…? Susanoo-Arashi, in spite of all his power, couldn't read the future. His only certainty was that if they bothered pulling these two techniques out at such a time, they were either as desperate as he thought they were, or they truly believed the combination to pose a threat of some kind to him. They were willing to bet their short, miserable lives on it.
As for the last two remaining arms, they were directed by someone else, then. Likely Uzumaki Ino, who was weaving signs, and who had caused him a fair amount of trouble earlier on. Perhaps the white-haired woman, who was doing the same.
Which was the limiting factor of their combined assault?
Time. That was what Susnaoo-Arashi decided. He realized that whatever that attack Uzumaki Naruto was readying was, the weapon needed more time to gather power. He took another decision then: to destroy the other half of Amenonuhoko before anything else.
Susanoo-Arashi continued to accelerate, now on a true warpath, rampaging toward his target, both Takamagahara and the War Domain continued to shatter around him.
Uzumaki Ino's technique was still about halfway through completion. She didn't release any sort of jutsu. However, she shot the kami a dark grin, and whether it was under her command or not, it happened all the same: the avatar launched something with a sudden motion of its left hand.
It took Susanoo-Arashi a little moment to realize what it was.
The pale-faced snake had been the one to do the honors. Answering his command, the six-armed giant, in a movement too fast not to be enhanced by wind, threw Uzumaki Naruto forward like a projectile. He was carrying that twisted sword, as well.
Susanoo-Arashi blinked.
What was the meaning of this…? That attack was still incomplete. There simply was no way it would accomplish anything, aside from killing Uzumaki Naruto himself. Unless he meant to use that art to reverse motion, perhaps—
Another tensing. Susanoo-Arashi likely noticed it then. The fallen divine souls, the ones buried underwater in his waves, that he had ignored before. Glinting, suddenly.
The answer to that riddle was rather simple, and the kami understood what was happening nearly instantly. By forcefully drawing upon the shinsei still contained within the divine souls through an artifact that was equally divine in origin, Uzumaki Naruto accelerated the entire charging process.
But try as he might, Uzumaki Naruto still wasn't a kami: the resulting energy, a blend of shinsei and chakra, was much more volatile.
Too volatile, in fact.
Susanoo-Arashi realized it, too. Such a thing was as likely to kill Uzumaki Naruto as he himself was. The very moment the attack connected, the mortal would likely die in a terrible conflagration. The kami, however, would likely survive it.
It made no sense.
Uzumaki Naruto was moving too fast, drawing near Susanoo-Arashi with speed that couldn't be ignored. A point of light. Snarling because he couldn't understand this foolishness, the kami braced himself for impact, shinsei rising even higher…
If Uzumaki Naruto wanted to die even earlier, he would grant him that wish.
Uchiha Sasuke's chakra rose even higher, Uzumaki Naruto drew closer and closer, releasing his grip on the sword for a reason Susanoo-Arashi couldn't possibly fathom—
And then he disappeared.
Susanoo-Arashi blinked again. The chakra avatar was losing nearly half of its intensity. Had it been nothing but a distraction…? The one catching the sword, the one holding it, right now, was—
"Break." Uchiha Sasuke called out, soaring forward with all of the speed that Uzumaki Naruto had gathered for him. "Bakuseiken."
Around him, shaped from seven elements upon seven, a shroud of dark flame held, in the shape of a tanuki.
Uzumaki Naruto was where Uchiha Sasuke had been, Uchiha Sasuke was where Uzumaki Naruto had been. A switch.
It felt familiar, but Susanoo-Arashi couldn't remember why. Perhaps he had not truly paid any attention to the mortal, back at the time he had used this, if he ever had. Within the avatar, Uchiha Toru's eye stopped spinning its tale, and he brought his hand to his eye with a wince.
"Blazing Heavens…" Uchiha Sasuke called out, feeling himself tear from the strain of holding two techniques that were not meant for a mortal to wield. "…Shroud of Flame."
Susanoo-Arashi realized it:
Uzumaki Naruto could not survive this attack.
And Uchiha Sasuke had apparently decided that only he himself could survive his own flames. But this was something entirely different from the Nature-based defense from before. To shield himself with the most destructive of flames…? Did he have a death wish?
No. Was it a suicidal attack after all—
Another layer of barriers wrapped around Uchiha Sasuke, courtesy of that white-haired woman — the same one Susanoo-Arashi had seen before, that shield of fire. That was what she had been preparing, once more. Because she didn't believe Susanoo-Arashi, who had adapted to this technique already, would be able to cause more harm to Uchiha Sasuke than he himself would.
Roaring, Susanoo-Arashi knew he had adapted to both techniques: neither would be enough to destroy him. However… There were dark sparks glinting around the sword Uchiha Sasuke was holding.
These were not flames.
In the sky above, Susanoo-Arashi observed the gathering darkness, knowing he had not yet adjusted to the kind of lightning it was poised to unleash. It was rather unamusing.
At around the same time, Uzumaki Ino managed to complete her art.
"Heavenly Light." Uzumaki Naruto called out with bared teeth, having forcefully gathered the power to use such an art with speed that no mortal was ever supposed to reach. "Dark Storm."
There was a flash of something blacker than night in the sky, something that was aimed at the sword in front of Susanoo-Arashi, the one held by Uchiha Sasuke.
One moment before the pillar of dark light fell, Bakuseiken slammed into the kami. Ripping through his adaptive shield, popping it like a bubble.
Bakuseiken, the sword to Break.
Susanoo-Arashi understood it at once: they had meant to use that one to shatter his Domain from the inside.
They didn't get the chance to do so, and never would. Susnaoo-Arashi's Ocean fell away from his control all the same. And so did his Adaptation, for the shortest of times.
The next instant, black lightning collided with equally black flames in a horrifying burst of power, and all was blown apart.
So was Susanoo-Arashi's body destroyed, along with the seas he had brought forth, and most of the Heavenly Plain.
In a pillar of dark light.
It was the twilight of a dying world, beneath skies torn asunder by the wrath of a tempest deity.
The last days of this world's Otsukami. The storm god, in his blind fury, had unleashed a cataclysm not seen since the world's birth — raging winds that tore mountains asunder, lightning that set the seas aflame, and waves that drowned life itself.
The land was rended in grotesque mutilation; forests that had stood for eons were uprooted, their ancient sentinels cast down as if they were mere twigs. Villages that once teemed with life were now silent, their inhabitants erased from existence, leaving only shadows etched into the ground as a silent testimony to their final moments.
The storm god's laughter, a horrifying cacophony, echoed across the realms, a sound as piercing as the lightning that fractured the heavens. It was a declaration of his dominion over destruction, of his unbridled power, of his disregard for the life that had once flourished.
A few of the Celestial race bore witness to the antithesis of creation: the unmaking of a world, the unraveling of lives and dreams, leaving nothing but void and silence in its wake.
Neutrality was a privilege the Otsukami could no longer afford. The screams of the vanished echoed in the living's hearts, a call to action against the tyranny of gods who wielded their power with reckless abandon.
Karin's gaze swept across the vast emptiness before her, where once the Heavenly Plain sprawled in majesty.
The kami was gone, and still, they had no time for celebration.
Straining her senses, she sought Sasuke's chakra signature amidst the chaos, but it eluded her, lost in the tumultuous energy that filled the void. The thought crossed her mind, of course.
But… no. She didn't think this was it and dismissed it quickly. It was more likely his energy was too faint, much like Hanabi's, undetectable to her strained senses. If only she was awake, she could—
What the hell was she saying…?
Their reliance on Hanabi had been too heavy, and the toll it took was now clear for all to see. Resolute yet weary, Karin moved toward the void, following the path the others had taken, her eyes clouded with exhaustion.
Toru zoomed past her, flying into the distance before anyone else.
Even the stars, in their unyielding luminescence, eventually met their dusk.
Dawn was breaking when the mightiest of them all fell, her life force ebbing as the golden rays of sunrise set the sky aflame.
The lake, once a silent witness, now cradled her in its gentle embrace, mirroring the cosmos' grief. She and her warriors had dared to challenge the cruel storm god and found him unparalleled.
This was the lament carried across the realms:
A single star's light could not hold back the night.
Sasuke panted, the last flickers of his waning chakra fading across his body.
It hurt.
Everything hurt, and he felt feverish, cold.
What sort of monstrous power was Naruto packing in his every blow…? If they hadn't spent years getting used to each other's chakra, in spite of his mostly improvised defense, Sasuke was pretty sure he would have managed to get himself blown apart. More than he had.
Anyone else would have died, he knew, and it wasn't arrogance on his part.
Sasuke glanced up as he felt somebody approaching him at a high speed. Dread rose, because he simply couldn't fight anymore—
Toru appeared next to him with an easy, tired grin.
There were many things he could have said.
"That was so dumb that I have trouble believing it wasn't my idea." Toru said. "Good job on destroying Heaven, bro. You two really are two sides of the same coin."
Sasuke couldn't help it.
He laughed, hurting his ribs, too tired now to move, and nearly fell on his ass. Toru caught him gently. Sasuke stared at the destruction they had wrought; at what he could only assume was reality, now collapsing in front of his eyes, and wondered if this was the cost of peace, after all.
Everything felt so distant, and the same thing went for his heart.
He glanced up, then. Naruto walked toward them with a weary smile, along with the others. Hanabi, who was carried by Karin, was looking even paler in her unconsciousness, and Sasuke knew they had to go. Now.
His eyes were closing against his will. He didn't think he had anything left in him, and thought that if anyone could have seen his chakra system, right now, it probably wouldn't have looked much better than hers.
Sasuke struggled to keep his eyes open, the world blurring at the edges. His voice, when it finally came, was barely above a whisper, heavy with exhaustion and relief.
"We... did it, then?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto stopped before him, an echo of a smile lingering on his lips. "Yeah, we did." He glanced around at the chaos surrounding them, a testament to their hard-earned victory. "Thanks to you."
Toru, still supporting Sasuke, gave a chuckle. "But don't let it go to your head."
"I'm not him." Sasuke managed a faint, lopsided smile, his gaze drifting to Hanabi. "How is she?"
Karin shifted Hanabi slightly in her arms. "I… don't know."
"I should be able to stabilize her, once we reach home." Ino said, and to Sasuke, her voice seemed to come from far away, as if from an incomprehensible distance. "She has to keep holding on. And so do you."
Sasuke nodded wearily.
He stood like that for a while, holding onto his cousin, and trusting Naruto, or any of them really, to take them out of here, the very moment they could—
Dark light.
It took Karin just a moment too long to react, busy as she was with Hanabi.
A moment was an eternity, here.
Silent as a grave, but screaming with an intent so dark it chilled the bone, a shadow emerged from the cracks of existence.
It moved with a grace that couldn't be human, carrying in its hands a blade that gleamed with a malice all too familiar to them. Sasuke's Sharingan was gone, but he recognized the weapon all the same. The same way he recognized the technique that thing was using to move at such a speed: it was Naruto's.
The blade cleaved through Karin first, then through Orochimaru, with sorrowful precision.
Before they even hit the floor, nearly in four parts, the blade moved again, now gathering dark power.
Its target was clear: Naruto, drained of strength after summoning both Bakuseiken and a Shinjutsu, followed by his Lightning, at maximum output. Naruto, who could only watch, dumbstruck, as death came for him. He reached for his chakra, even though he knew it was pointless.
Yoisen, alight with a desperate resolve, stepped forward. Her movement, though swift, was far too slow, a tragedy unfolding in slow motion. Sakura's Kamui wouldn't reach fast enough without preparation. Ino's shadows wouldn't allow for Naruto's safe passage, not in time. Toru could not think of anything that could help right now, but he threw himself forward all the same.
Sasuke, witnessing the impending doom, felt his resolve steel within him.
There was no Sharingan, but time seemed to slow down for him all the same as he made his choice. With a heart heavy with unspoken words and a silent apology to those he held dear, Sasuke invoked his bonded ability once more.
In a breath, he and Naruto reversed places.
Perhaps there was some humor to be found in that, he thought, in this choice born of love. After endless centuries of incarnated feud, he would choose to do that for Naruto…?
Yes, Sasuke thought. Perhaps in other circumstances, Toru could appreciate the joke. Right now, he simply seemed too horrified by either possibility to see it. A shame.
The blade found its mark in Sasuke, cleaving through the air with a finality that echoed in the void. Sasuke's eyes met Naruto's for a fleeting moment, silently.
In Naruto's eyes, there was only utter disbelief. He stilled.
"A protector to the end." Susanoo-Arashi, although he now seemed far too humanlike for that beast, said evenly. "I imagined you would do that, Uchiha Sasuke."
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, with a voice that sounded far too weak for the man he knew.
'My bad.' He wanted to say, but found that he couldn't. Only a croak escaped him.
There had been times in which Sasuke had wondered what he would think of Naruto, when all was said and done.
There was too much to be said with mere words; lifetimes of memories, unfurling between them.
Days of their youth, a time of rivalry and bloodstained discord. He thought of their battles, as fierce as they were unforgiving. A feud spanning eons. He remembered the two of them, causing each other's death. Destroying everything the other held dear.
This, however, was something else.
He recalled the laughter they shared, the unguarded smiles, and silent promises made under the vast, unending sky, sitting quietly atop the World Tree. These memories, to him, glittered all the brighter against the darkness of the abyss he knew he would die in.
All he could see in Naruto's eyes was familiarity.
"You won't be able to use your power to revive yourself, Uchiha Sasuke." Susanoo-Arashi said, with dreadful calm. "Neither of them."
In Toru's eyes, eyes that he barely dared to look into, what Sasuke saw, however…
Ah. No. Please. Sasuke thought. Don't lose yourself. Not now.
But Toru had always been like that: simmering darkness bubbling right under a cheerful surface. Dying yourself was probably easier. Sasuke had lost him before, and he could imagine how he felt now: all blood between teeth, aching eyes in spite of their already complete evolution, lungs that wanted to release the fire they held. A realm shattering around them, his brother in all but blood dying. Madness, lurking. Despair. Fury.
Red was the color of the Sharingan. Right now, however, it seemed as though the color of rage was teal. Bubbling angrily around his cousin's form, reflected in his wide eyes.
And the more that kami talked…
"You seem surprised." Susanoo-Arashi said, in a moment suspended in time. Knowing that at their slightest move, he would end Sasuke's life, no one moved. "None of your attacks ever came close to ending me. I merely gave you the impression I was limited to manifesting a single form."
And true to the kami's words, a great creature was rising into the distance. A similar beast to the dragon they had destroyed just before. Coiling through the sky, and howling with Susanoo-Arashi's dark wrath, his joy.
There was no good decision to take.
"It was the reason I aimed to eliminate your sensors, at my earliest convenience. Of course, things played out rather slowly, but the end result is the same." Susanoo-Arashi continued. "Your fires burned hot, Uchiha Sasuke."
There was no good decision to take.
"As for your soul arts, Uzumaki Ino, although they are the reason you were able to damage either of my bodies to this extent... I was wrong in thinking they might cause any potential issue. They are, in the end, painfully mediocre." Susanoo-Arashi said. "For that reason alone, you will die next."
There was no good decision to take.
"As you may have noticed by now, there are limits to flesh and bone, Uzumaki Naruto." The god said. "Limits that don't affect me. And so, I thought I would sunder you so, using the same form your race finds such comfort into."
There was no good decision to take.
"Goodbye, mortals." Susanoo-Arashi smiled. "Rest, knowing that your futile efforts have allowed me to learn and grow stronger."
There was no good decision to take. Sasuke saw it in Ino's tearful eyes, in Naruto's still form. Even Orochimaru seemed to hesitate. This was why shinobi were supposed not to get too attached to teammates, back then.
There was no good decision to take, so Sasuke took it for them.
He let Fire rise, one last time. All of his waning strength, he summoned; gathering it into a searing blast that would leave nothing of him but white ash. If he was to die anyway, perhaps Ino would see the necessity of going through with what he knew she now understood to be the only solution. Naruto would manage to pull the impossible off, in spite of his current state. As he always did. Sasuke thought he knew it to be so, although he hoped it wasn't the blind conviction one had in their older brother. That he wasn't simply dooming them all with misplaced faith.
With a final, lingering look, Sasuke offered his kin a smile, a silent message.
Sasuke's thoughts drifted to those he held dear — his children's faces, Itachi's enduring presence, and his mother's gentle smile. He thought of his family, both those bound by blood and those who had become family through shared battles and bonds. His friends, who had stood by him through darkness and light. And Hinata, whose quiet strength had often been a beacon for him.
These thoughts brought him a semblance of comfort.
It was a reminder of what they had fought for, the peace they sought to secure not just for the world, but for all they each cherished. Of what he was dying for.
Despite the pain and the exhaustion, there was a grounding realization in that. In knowing that they had each other, that they were not alone in this aftermath. That he himself was not dying alone, although he thought it terribly selfish.
He hoped for a future where their children could grow without the shadow of endless conflict enveloping them — it was these thoughts that buoyed Sasuke's spirits as he let himself burn. Nothing but white ash.
Hinata—
The Heavenly Storm Blade called forth the thunder, and Uchiha Sasuke was no more.
"They died like this." Susanoo-Arashi stated, his voice carrying the weight of inevitability, with the same eerie calm. "You might have risen beyond their limits, mortals, but whatever soul art you are attempting to do now, I assure you—"
"Divine Territory!" Ino roared. "Inversion!"
The god only had time to blink in incomprehension as both his humanlike form and Uzumaki Naruto disappeared together. In the sky, the dragon continued to roar, its presence a looming reminder of the unfolding horror.
The next instant, Ino dropped down to the floor, blood bursting from both her ears and eyes. Yoisen and Sakura caught her, if only barely.
The rest was up to him. The thunder crackled into the distance, as though echoing the shattered bond, and they knew they would have their hands full on this side, as well.
"First, let's see if they are—" Sakura said, and her voice only trembled slightly. Someone had to keep it together. Then she paused, a sudden realization striking her.
"…Where is Toru?"
lensdump
i/OqXane : White Ash
Glossary
Bakuseiken One half of a pair. The sword to Break.
AN: Pretty long, huh!
Next chapter: Light and Shadow