Over the following weeks, Naruto refamiliarized himself with the nations. That they had enacted a new law that the ninja villages are now separate from the respective daimyo and neither Kage nor Daimyo are allowed to order an attack on the other was big. Combined with the law of the now fixed borders and trade picking up he had hope for a lasting peace. There will always be those who are greedy and want more or are envious of others. While he will try to mediate time will come when he will pick his weapons back up. Not that he had not trained daily in an empty dimension. With his new power, it was easy to traverse between them. If the other had an idea what he could do now they would be scared. Well, some are already.
Naruto had left Karin with some of his clones to start the preparations for their wedding ceremony. He moved to his war room and stood in front of a big table he had created out of the air. On it was a complete map of the elemental nations. A grid with a coordinate system was drawn on the map. On the side of the table were small Naruto figures. Each of them was a representation of a complex tracking system that Naruto had developed over the last few weeks. A collection of seals were placed in strategic locations. These would then scan their area for chakra signatures. If this signature was at the level of the Kage, it would appear as a dot on the map. The first stage of Naruto's plan is to ensure security. Know where those who could be dangerous to others are.
With the help of his new understanding of chakra, which he had apparently gained during his year-long sleep, he managed to isolate the pattern of the Otsutsuki. Thus, all those with too close a resemblance were highlighted as a flashing dot. Using the master map, he was then able to fill it with more information and assign a color to the dots.
In addition to this type of database, the seal also included a way to use a Hiraishin to teleport directly into the bit. The rest was done by a kind of compass. He hoped to be able to detect any Otsutsuki action quickly and avoid damage.
Nobody but him knew about this system. A very weakened version was in use to ensure the safety of the inhabitants of Uzushio, the full version he had placed in a bunker far below his office. It was a room that was otherwise hermetically sealed off from the outside world. All input signals from the search matrices would first arrive in a dummy system. There they would be transferred to one of Naruto's pocket dimensions where they would be forwarded back to the final location. In the bunker-like room where Naruto had set up this system, there were dozens of chakra shielding barriers. Only a hole for the pocket dimension allowed the chakra to get in and out of the room. Through this tunnel, it was also possible to supply a small seal on the palm of Naruto's hand. New potential Otsutsuki would appear here, allowing him to jump into his war room to plan further steps.
With the overwatch system in place, the only challenge left was to bring every section online. For this, he made specific clones that had enough power to deal with that task. He would have loved to set some of them up themselves but Karin would have killed him. With the number of clones he could make and the time needed to bring one zone online it may take some months but that was better than to feel the wrath of his soon-to-be wife because he dodged to help with the wedding. Why did she get so good at sensing his clones?
Three weeks into the hunt with the hunting party. Nagato meditated he had summoned some help from the animal path. Itachi and Shisui also used their summons and got to hunt for some additions to their meal. Mikoto and Sasuke had joined in the mediation while Konan prepared some food. Nagato opened his eyes. "I think I found him." He said slowly. Konan looked up from the pot and was joined by Sasuke and Mikoto. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.
"How far away is he? You tagged him?" Sasuke asked calmly. Something that was such a natural thing now. Gone was the hotheaded boy who searched for power and wanted to prove himself. In his place was a collected young man who mostly enjoyed peace and serenity. Doing art or poetry in one of the many gardens of Uzushio.
Nagato looked at the youngest member of their squad and smiled. "Yes, I tagged him. He is about one day at normal speed away. We should establish a parameter before we rush in and he gets away again. Also, I would want to ask some questions before you get your revenge Uchiha. While Konan and my part precedes yours I can understand that he was one of the two that initiated the near genocide of your clan and as such you want to punish him." Nagato showed off his three-ringed Rinnegan. "But all revenge aside intel I will manage to get us. I can feel the path close and it wants to be unleashed."
Sasuke looked at his mother who nodded once. "I will inform Itachi and Shisui." To Nagato she said. "You need his head don't you?" It was said with such a calm expression one could think they were talking about the weather.
"Alive would help too. I found my clan and try to live by our rules now." He could use the Kinjutsu of the Uzumaki to unlock the Gedo path that he was sure of. But. That would not only cut his remaining years in half, but Naruto had made it perfectly clear, that even if they had the ability only the Shinigami could decide if somebody would get back out of Limbo and not them.
Mikoto nodded and got to do her part to call back the best Uchiha tag team since Madara and his Izuna. Those two, Itachi and Shisui, would not betray each other though. Sasuke looked at Nagato. "If I understood Sakura, a head will stay alive for ten seconds if it is cut off with a sharp blade. You don't need this long to activate your Jutsu right?" Nagato caught up quickly and nodded. "Well, if so I think there won't be a problem to get both. We have a strict kill order for that monster and I won't fail my first mission after getting back on active duty." Sasuke said and smiled.
Nagato had to chuckle. Like his big brother. Those Uchiha could be intense sometimes. "Of course Sasuke. He won't get away." Commenting this with only one nod of his head Sasuke moved away. In the dawn of the next day they had finalised the last preparations. A barrier was set up and all had taken up their positions around the lone cabin inmidst of the woods.
The door of the cabin opened slowly and supported by his cane Shimura stepped out.
"So you are here right?" He said slowly. "What do you want to achieve?" He looked at the six of them. "Revenge? For your friend?" He looked at Konan and Nagato before his gaze moved to the Uchiha. "Your family? I pity you." The Shmiura said. "It had to be done. Any of those deaths had a meaning. A purpose. You close-minded fools would never be able to understand my vision." Shimura looked at them still leaning on his cane for support.
Shisui and Itachi said nothing, Konan had hate written all over her face. Under the feet of Nagato, the ground began to split. Mikoto looked the most calm as she turned to her youngest. Sasuke opened his eyes showing off purple eyes with six rings and tomoe all over them. "All those empty words. What do you think will happen? You can't think of having the slightest bit of a chance."
Shimura looked at Sasuke and smirked as five wood clones grew out of him. That smirk died very fast as he looked down and found a katana sticking out of his stomach. It disappeared and Sasuke appeared right in front of him and winked before everything turned as his head was cut from his body. He saw his body from the ground perspective. Before he noted his head being picked up and tossed towards Nagato. Then nothingness.
Nagato did his part and a moment of satisfaction could be felt by all people around. Nagato had something to say after he had gone through Shimura's memories though and his expression was deadly. "That slippery excuse of a human being. He changes his appearance and is now on a hunt for a portal, but nobody knows if it exists."
Sasuke raised a brow. After he got into his inheritance and was gifted with his new eyes he gained some of his predecessor's memories. "It does exist. It was buried deep in a temple in the north. Long before our time, the kami had allowed for the travel of some beings between the different realms. Shortly after the fight between Indra and Ashura though the kami decided that this realm got too violent again and measures had to be taken. When Danzo uses the portal after nearly dying to activate it he will encounter one of the kami, and be judged. If he is that stupid he won't be much of a problem for us anymore. He will be like a dead person. Yes, I know that does not help with some things." Sasuke looked at Konan and Nagato respectively. "But, if I can conquer those emotions you will be able to do so too."
The two leaders of Amegakure looked at Sasuke for long seconds before they nodded. A Moment Mikoto used to clap her hands. "Great, now let's get back home and report. If you ask me my days on the road are numbered I like my fixed onsen times." With a wink at Konan the two elder women took point and were followed by the four men who tried not to think about it too much Mikoto was one of the ones who wanted that mission the most and now was the first who wanted to get home.
Meanwhile, the person they had been looking for moved towards a stone portal. The journey here had been arduous. Deep in one of the northern mountains was a path full of hidden dangers, listed in the ancient archives of the clans he had seized. Danzo Shimura had made it. He stood in front of the portal from the old writings. Several golden chains with talismans warned him not to go through the last sheds, that the gods had created this path and maintained it. Also, they had blocked the path. But Danzo knew better. His modified body would be able to muster enough chakra to summon the portal. After that, he would probably be worshipped as a god, like The Sage of the Six Paths in this new world. He would honor his brother's sacrifice by making their dream come true.
With a measured step, he crossed the golden chains before wiping the dust off a stone pedestal with his hand. Beneath it, the central seal kanji was visible. He summoned a clone and infused it with enough chakra to open the portal. One by one, the various stone sigils, written in a language no human could read, lit up. The earth shook and with it the mountain in which the portal was located, but Danzo was undeterred. Not even when the two stonier Zuijin used their stony hands to pull out a piece of reality. Not even when the pulling apart created a crack behind which only white could be seen. On the contrary, he was delighted and laughed exuberantly. He never approached the portal before he stepped into the endless white. His head was full of ideas and dreams. But as soon as he was in the endless white, he heard a cool voice in his head and froze.
"Surely you thought you could escape your fate, Danzo Shimura. Or your death by changing your body so that you would live longer? But no one escapes my sister or me! But I must congratulate you, she was very pleased about the possibilities that your arrival in this reality has opened up and asked me for a little respite," the emotionally cold voice spoke to him.
Danzo, still trapped, realized that he could speak, but in all his years his silver tongue had never faced one of the kami as an opponent. "Noble kami, I did not wish to flee, only to discover the borders."
"Ha. You amuse me Shimura. They've already sent your brother to me and they know about the little charade you thought you were playing. But, with all the god-like power given to the Uzumaki, they know of one rule they abide by." Replied the Shinigami, his voice sounding amused.
Slightly irritated Danzo answered. "And what is that? And why them?"
"And not you? You mean." The Shinigami chuckled a deep laugh before he appeared in front of Danzo's field of vision. "They don't try to be us. They never impede on our domains without getting our approval first. Not even the brashest of them all. As he got the idea to save the Biju by giving them their own domain he came to a shrine and prayed. As it was a good way to prevent those parasites to get easy access to methods to challenge us it was easy to allow this. You though.., You wanted to claim something that does not belong to you. I wanted to reap your soul when you entered the in-between. My sister managed to convince me that you are of use to help me with a problem of this realm you would be entering. I listened and I agreed that it could help." He took a short break before his tanto opened another rip in reality just in front of him. showing him something that looked like a fisherman's village. Quite a busy one if Danzo could make out the details from his position. Bigger than most villages he knew of from the nations. "You will be punished but I think you will realize that you can find some peace after the punishment. As my sister will be the one in charge of leading your path after your punishment I can only say that comes time I may even allow you into the pure lands when accomplish your mission. Farewell Shimura."
With those words, Danzo was accelerated towards that second rip and thrown right through.
The next moments he tried to orient himself. He stood in front of a big concrete building, a hospital. The next thing he heard was the sound of a big explosion. He looked around and the next thing he saw was a mushroom cloud. He wanted to call up his chakra to use a Shunshin to get away, but something was not working as usual. He could his chakra but he felt different. He could feel the shockwave and heat of the explosion incoming and with his veteran instincts, he willed a barrier in existence. This time his chakra reacted and as he willed it to be wooden shells surrounded him. One after another. As the explosion's aftermath impacted his shells. They got destroyed and his chakra rebuilt them right after that. Time after time the wave had washed over him. This quick but intense repeat of building up the wooden shell and getting it evaporated had an impact on Danzo's body. His pathway burned out and he felt the pain before he lost consciousness.
Days later he was found by a hidden party of people that looked for survivors of their kind. With some burns on his skin, Danzo was one of them.
Back in Uzushio some days after the Shimura Hunter Squad had reported back the village started with the preparations for the marriage of the leader of the Uzumaki clan to his intended. The intended, Karin, was not in Uzushio though. She had been called into the summoning realm of the Biju by one of the Kitsune. Now she was sitting in the main burrow of the Kitsune clan. Kurama had excused himself as his mate had called for the meeting and he was not needed in her words.
The female Kistune with the white fur and the eight tails looked at Karin. "The date of your marriage to Naruto comes closer." She said while Karin nipped on her tea and nodded. "As far as I understood Kurama your husband does not intend to look for an apprentice in the near future. He intended to pass that to one of your kits?"
Karin nodded once again. "Yes, we spoke about this, and well, even with all the preparation seals the amount of chakra needed to balance that of Kurama is something only a small percentage could manage at all. The only ones with the genetics for it would be the Senju or the Uzumaki. Naruto was not inclined to mark the offspring of one of his teachers so he decided it would be better for that role to stay in the family so to speak." She was as calm as Kirika.
"He mentioned it yes. But, with you being the wife to the summoner I think there some concessions that could be made" Kirikia said with a foxy grind as one of her white tails flicked in the air.
"You mean I should sign the Kitsune contract, even if I won't be able to summon Kurama?" Karin said with slightly wide eyes. "I thought that was one of the requirements to even sign the contract? That I would be able to summon him?"
Kirika chuckled. She showed a foxy grin. "It's not like you will sign the full contract." She stretched one tail out and Karin held her hand out as the tip touched her hand it was like a short burn before a summoning tattoo formed. She looked at his hand and back to Kirika.
"You should be able to summon me with that if the need arises. Or if you want to chat and are too far away from the portal. Obviously, I can also reverse-summon you here if you want to save some travel time."
"I don't know what to say but thank you?!" Karin said a bit baffled. Kirika smiled and nodded before she waited if Karin wanted to say something. As Karin did not she picked up the conversation.
"With that thing off the table. Let's talk about the wedding. Will we be invited? What will you wear?" Kirika started to explain. Karin and Kirika started with something some would label girl talk. She would take her time to get back to Uzushio.
While his wife-to-be had her girl talk with Kirika Naruto was quite near and had all the nine Biju assembled. This time with their Jinchuriki. The only one that was missing a companion was Son Goku. Naruto stood in the central plaza of the central building All of the nine sat on their places in a full circle with Naruto in the middle.
"First of all thank you all for taking the time to assemble for our first meeting. I have to say that seeing my vision fulfilled of all of us here in peace and unity is very nice. I am still in negotiations with the bounty hunter guild to take over the Bingo Book system for a much-needed overhaul. The Kage currently is working on a system to rank their ninja and have some friendly competition. Like the Chunin exams for Jonin. Going for a kill straight from the start will be against the rule but at the Jonin competition, it can happen. Let's face it the population needs their excitement and as long as it stays this way and they stop fighting wars that impact the innocent I am all for it."
Naruto took a short break to look around. The Biju all nodded. Their partners nodded too. They all had seen enough bloodshed for their respective ages. Guardians like Haku and Utakata only agreed as they were now peacekeepers and not Shinobi who could be ordered to kill. Naruto looked at his notes and continued. "I think you all agree that it would be a good idea to meet here for all internal affairs. There are not many people that could listen in here, and all of them I hold in the highest confidence." Again nods and the occasional smile. "Thank you all. Now, as you may all know I started to look for the missing Otsutsuki in the nations. Currently, my system is not ready to cover all of it but I am sure that I will manage to sniff him or her out and prevent him from starting another war just for his fun. To be honest the next Otsutsuki I am gonna meet I will rip him or her apart. I am sick of their methods and I think you agree so if you have some suspicious activity don't be afraid to ask for assistance I will lend it for a cup of ramen" Naruto winked and got some small chuckles but again, they agreed. All of them had seen what an Otsutsuki could mean for their world. They don't want a repeat of that.
"Okay, guys. That's me done for the moment. Anything to report?" He looked around and his eyes fell on Gaara.
Gaara looked up from his spot on Shukaku's head. "Well Naruto, you have everything in hand I would say. Suna is flourishing and enjoys quite the increase of tourism. I think slowly but surely we managed to get a hold of our human trafficking problem throughout the desert routes. Also, we started our work on the rebuilding of Shukaku's shrine so nothing that we could not handle."
Shukaku agreed with a nod before he added. "My right hand will mostly stay at the place and keep his eyes open for anything and will oversee the first steps of the trials if Gaara finds a potential candidate" Gone was the insanity. Being able to talk with his siblings daily and having the peace and serenity of this dimension had done much good for all of their moods.
Matatabi continued. "My new friend is still learning and building up her reserves. For the moment we don't have any trouble in the area. My scouts are looking for a suitable place for a possible location of a shrine but nothing came up at the moment."
After that, she looked to Isobu who looked like he slept in his shell and so the hellcat looked at Haku.
Haku noticed and with a smile on her face began to speak. "Well, we take the training slow and everything. We only do some passive reconnaissance with the smaller summons as it is still around Kirigakure. Their patrols are sufficient and the borders are calm at the moment."
All looked at Son Goku the big ape who looked slightly moody at the moment. Nonetheless, he gave his report in a growling voice. "The stones are still rumbling but for the moment it is looking peaceful." He ended very quickly and Naruto looked at him with a hint of concern Son, as far as he knew was a bit miffed, that he could not find someone that matched his ideals at the moment.
Even now Han could be found drinking tea while he sat on his buddy. He looked at Naruto after Son had finished. "I asked Kokou to send out summons like Haku and Isobu did. With the same results. For the moment nothing suspicious to report." He took a sip of his cup before he continued. "We may need to look for a successor in the foreseeable future as I am not that young. So we started with the process."
"Yeah. Utakata has that cute apprentice now. She is mighty fine if you ask me" Saiken said and Utakata sighed a bit but said nothing. "For the moment I can agree with Team Isobu. Which is good if you ask me!" Said the excited Saiken who looked at Utakata who just shook his head a bit now.
Flapping her wings Fuu got the attention of everyone. "Uhh.. us next! So Shino-kun agreed to help me out here. He is such a good man you know… " She blushed slightly as Shino just adjusted his glasses. "The hives of his and the summons are really good friends and everything. Oh and also we managed to send out scouts into all the regions where bugs can prosper. Don't want to hurt them you know. Because they are our friends and everything."
Shino looked at Fuu and gave just one nod and Chomei looked proud of their achievement. Before he looked toward the eight tails and his partner. Bee looked solemn and nodded at the Hachibi so he knew that he should take over for him. Something that was not missed by Naruto. But, the leader of the nine would observe the situation and not interfere. "Bee and I did some looking into potentials for an apprentice position. Mostly in Kumo, as the Raikage and his council are afraid, that they could lose the connection to Bee and me if we would look outside of Kumo. At the moment we have no solution to that and don't want to provoke more tension. As it is no pressing matter we will take a wait-and-see approach. The same approach the Kumo seems to take with the whole peace situation." Gyuuki paused for a moment looking at Bee as if he wanted him to say something. As Bee was still silent The Biju continued. "At the moment the both of us don't think those tensions are reason to be concerned. We will observe and continue to look out for a potential student."
Naruto nodded thankfully. "Thank you. Every one of you. I know it is still new but I hope we can keep the peace." All agreed and after Naruto invited all of them to the ceremony they closed the meeting officially.
One boy looked at another person who was lying in a bed and had a bad cough. Though he looked without using his eyes. Both of them had their eyes closed. "Listen to me, my son…" He coughed again. "You… remember the decree?" On the young man's nod, the older one smiled. "Forget about it… we served long enough…" He coughed again. "Go down there and find friends, companions, and love. Help them…" He had a bad fit and even spat up some blood. "We are the last of the honorable descendants of Hamura-dono. We have been put in charge to keep the peace. Keep the peace my son…" With those words his lips closed for a last time with a contend sigh.
Falling to his knees the young man put his hands upon the face of his deceased father as he felt his chakra stilling. "Mankind misused their gift, Father. I will look for her and after that, I will deal with that problem so our Ancestor's vision of peace can be achieved." He opened his eyelids showing off empty sockets as he looked in the direction of the earth.