Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Kakumei – Arc 1: The Consumer of Worlds

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Chapter 39 - Momoshiki's hatred

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Naruto Uzumaki, the 7th Hokage, is in his office standing as technician ninjas from Kumo finish the installation of the new Kage council communication device. His mind is busied by something else. When they're done, he thanks them for coming, and accompanies them to the door.

Ready to follow them to the entrance of the building, he hears a noise behind him. A falcon landing on the perch that stands next to his desk. Looking there, he sees the bird waiting for him.

"Konohamaru, show the way to the exit to our friends there." he says to his bodyguard as he rather goes to take the scroll attached to the bird's back.

Konohamaru does as asked and leaves with the Kumo-nin. The Hokage opens the scroll and lays it on his desk, to see its content. It reads:

The Otsutsuki are here. They attacked Kiri and resurrected the Daitengu.

Tsubai is alive. His son is alive.

The enemy hides in and rules over Shin no Kuni. They killed Gozen Tomoe. It has been a month since. Don't send anyone there. Too Dangerous. I am leaving to find exclusive intel. I'll be back this week.

Sasuke

Naruto reads the message over and over again, to process the information. He already knew that these guys could be here, but for them to attack a village? Does Sasuke really expect him not to do anything, even now that one the Union's village has been targeted?

He reads the note again one last time, and is bugged by a little detail. He wonders who Gozen Tomoe is. Judging by the phrasing, she's probably an important person who lived in Shin no Kuni, but he doesn't know much about these lands. He thinks… and leaves the note lying on his desk. He now wonders where Sasuke is, to find this exclusive intel he mentions.

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In another dimension, at the place where Sasuke, Tsubai and Kobo fought against Momoshiki, Kinshiki and their partner a month ago, the Uchiha wanders. He's looking for what he came to find the first time he was there.

After crossing the still devastated battlefield of his last battle here, he reaches a castle that appears to be in ruins. Going through these ruins, and then deeper down in what appear to be catacombs under the castle, he gets to where he intended to go the first time. A library that belonged to Kaguya Otsutsuki. A place where she kept personal notes. The kind of notes that Sasuke has been collecting for the past 10 years.

Long ago, after finding Katashiki Otsutsuki research papers in his hideout, Sasuke came to know that the Otsutsuki clan members usually take notes of their important excursions or plans to keep their millennia long memories safe. In this place, He hopes to find more information about how Momoshiki also came to find this place that he believed was conceived by Kaguya, and what he was looking to do here in the first place.

Soon enough he understands what the Otsutsuki's goal was that day. Most of the papers have disappeared. Momoshiki probably took them for himself or destroyed them, either to keep anyone else from finding it, or for his own information. Since Kaguya had been on Earth before, it could be that Momoshiki was looking for data about this world to understand it before his invasion.

While exploring the library, looking for any note that could have been left behind, Sasuke finds a scroll that fell off a shelf and rolled to under the furniture. He collects it from the ground and opens it.

Inside, it is written in the same odd alphabet than all the other notes he found. It is very similar to the one used for the Uchiha tablet. With his Rinnegan, he's able to decipher it enough to get a meaning. But since the scroll is very damaged, and only a few words remain. Sasuke still reads what he can:

My treason,

… … … the one fruit of Shinju, that I was meant to bring … for myself… … obtained power, true power. But sadly not enough… … Still, I have no regrets … … …I couldn't leave this world's people to destroy themselves… … … I hid my world until now, but the dimensional seal wore off… Now, they must know where I am.

… … … Momoshiki … will come for me. For him I have prepared. I wonder if… … … strong enough, and not alone. Maybe, with Hagoromo and Hamura… … I have to take their chakra, consume them… and carry the Curse of Divine Blood… However, … no hope,… … Still can't dare to oppose… need to escape from Quee…ther.

To my f…ily, if one of you were to find this letter.

Mother… … … … … … …

F…her, I am deeply… but I do not… May you one day find… … … forgive me and reunite in the pure land.

Brother, I am certain that you still love me, that… … … … … …

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This is all that Sasuke can get out of it, and it's already a lot. In this writings, Kaguya does mention at least Momoshiki that he knows. It seems like she was preparing to fight him, before her death. It appears that, at some point she considered herself ready for it, which, to Sasuke, seems odd.

The Uchiha is convinced that Momoshiki is more powerful than Kaguya. Is he underestimating her? Or did Momoshiki simply get stronger than before, since these scrolls must be from over 1000 years ago? Otherwise, could it be that Kaguya was in reality better than when she returned during the 4th war?…

Moreover, she also mentions her sons, the Rikudo-sennin and his brother. She seems to give a reason for her wish to take their chakra, but he can't understand it. What is the Curse of Divine Blood? So many new unanswered questions, and this even regardless of the note's second half that seems to be addressed to Kaguya's close relatives.

With this however, Sasuke understands that Momoshiki has been after Kaguya's chakra for a long time. There must have been something that kept him busy during over 1200 years, and could explain why he only shows up now. Momoshiki probably found this dimension like Sasuke did, while following Kaguya's traces through higher perspectives than just 3 dimensions. For now, he decides to keep this scroll safe and goes looking for more.

As he walks down the halls of these catacombs, he notices an odd chakra accumulation against an empty wall, that only his left eye can see. After getting closer, he places his hand against the wall that seems more recent than the rest.

Doton – Retsudo Tensho (Tearing Earth Palm)

With this simple jutsu, Sasuke shatters the wall without affecting any other construct. He now sees the messy invisible chakra mass, and his Rinnegan, not to absorb it, but just to stabilize it together by pulling it to him. At his surprise, it results in the formation of some sort of space gate filling the hole he just digged.

Confused, he walks through and finds what appears to be an actual library containing documents of knowledge, that are longer, more detailed and better decorated. It seems like someone who recently came here tried to hide this place away. There are very few scrolls left, but among those that are still there, one title catches Sasuke's attention: To kill an Amatsubito. Sasuke takes this scroll and immediately opens it to see its content.

Suddenly, an odd feeling hits his mind. Looking around, he feels observed, like something else than him is there. He closes the scroll, puts it in his bag and walks around, carefully, to find what is upsetting his mind. Having troubles to walk around because of the lack of lighting, and feeling more and more unsafe, Sasuke makes one extreme move.

Chidori

He uses the jutsu's flash to light up the surrounding, but is only startled as soon as he sees by a half destroyed statue, standing right in front of him. This piece of art represents a thick and pointy haired tall man with two giant bull horns on the sides of his head. This statue sure looks menacing, but it isn't what was disturbing Sasuke. Gazing around, still looking for it, he doesn't seem to feel anything anymore. Is it gone, or simply well hidden? Was something even really there?

Not sensing any presence anymore, Sasuke still finds it wiser to leave the place and read this scroll somewhere else. He'll come back later to see the other documents. He slowly goes back to the portal that serves as an entrance to this library and escapes.

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In Shin no Kuni, in the middle of the night, Kinshiki joins Momoshiki in the throne room of the castle and finds him lost in his thoughts, alone in the complete dark. For a moment, he just stares at him in silence. Standing completely still, it looks like Momoshiki just fell asleep, out of boredom or will, until he moves his head to gaze in front of him. The two Otsutsuki clan members just exchange a look, seeing through the darkness with their Byakugan, before Kinshiki breaks the silence.

"All the future hosts are sleeping…" he says.

"Sleeping… What an inconvenient need that inferior life forms have." says Momoshiki, with an extremely bored voice.

Kinshiki observes his partner, and notices his apparent bad, unmotivated mood.

"Did you foresee our fate again?" he asks. "Did it change?"

"… Not at all." answers Momoshiki quietly as he sits up on the throne. "Not even a bit. It is still the same as yesterday,… or than a year ago… or than a decade ago."

"… Then… We should hurry and proceed to the next step of your harvesting plan." suggests Kinshiki.

Momoshiki doesn't answer and, even though he just sat up, lets himself fall on the chairback again. He lacks hope, faith. Kinshiki stays quiet, and waits for Momoshiki to say something. It isn't the first time he has this kind of loss of motivation. It happens every time he checks on his own fate. Seeing that his partner is waiting for him to speak, the Consumer of Worlds does.

"I… simply hate…" he starts to tell. "I simply hate the idea that I, and have to, fight for my life,… that I fight to survive."

Kinshiki tries to speak with him, in a try to motivate him. To cheer him up, he attempts to create adversity.

"Still, we have to do it, for our… for your sake. However, we should be careful." he says. "After all, the princess Kaguya was killed not once, but twice by these beings."

"I wish I had killed her myself." answers Momoshiki, which Kinshiki didn't expect. "I hate this weak whore… I hate all of you… All of them. Every single person from the clan. I'll kill them all… Her brother, This fragile aunt of yours, That undying freak, This overconfident planet breaking bitch,… the Dragon Sage…" he adds at last, with a hesitant voice.

Kinshiki doesn't say anything, and just lets his partner speak and externalize his thoughts. When he's done enumerating those he wishes to terminate, the old man steps back and takes the lead on the mission.

"We should go on. Now that we have the Daitengu, we need to revive the Trees. Currently, It must be day time in the land of Fire. I will go first, to scout around, and encounter the next target."

Chimatakami

A portal opens behind him, and he steps through, leaving Momoshiki alone in this dark room, to think and find the motivation to stand up.

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In Konoha, still daytime, around midday, Naruto is on a lunch break at Ichiraku ramen. This last month, he took the habit to go with some of the academy kids. He is with his son, Sakura's son, and Rebekka Tabiki (the war orphan, much older than her classmates).

All sitting at the counter, they chat and laugh together as Naruto tells an old story of when he once thought he failed the first part of the Chunin exams only so he could look cool in front of his now wife Hinata. Boruto loudly mocks his father with Rebekka while Izuna tries to defend him.

After a good half hour spent at the restaurant, Ayame, the owner of the place, comes to get the bill. Naruto takes out his toad wallet to pay for everyone, which Rebekka notices.

"Nah, Is this for real, Hokage?" she asks, still laughing, when she sees the wallet. "Is that really where you keep your money?"

"Uh? Hey, don't say anything mean about Gama-chan, 'kay?" responds Naruto, going along with her mockery.

"He's serious!" she yells while turning to look at Boruto, who's also laughing his ass off.

"He's had this wallet since he was a kid." says Ayame. "I find it kind of cute."

"Isn't it?" adds Naruto, kind of proudly.

Ayame simply smiles at the laughing kids, and at the Hokage, who deposits the money on the counter and packs his wallet back in.

"Well!" says Ayame, who claps her hands. "Nice to have you around, as usual, Hokage! But you should head back to work now I think. And you kids should go back to class."

"Right! Right!" says Naruto who gently pushes the kids out of the restaurant with him and leaves. "Good afternoon, Ayame!"

Once out, he heads to the academy with the kids, to drop them off before going back to his office. As they walk through the streets, Izuna asks a few questions.

"Say, Lord 7th, why do we never go for a table upstairs at Ichiraku? With you, we always just stay at the counter."

"When I was a kid, there wasn't a second and third floor." he answers. "There was just the counter. I'm just used to it. Also, there's always an empty spot ready for me there when I pass by."

"There was no upstairs?" asks Rebekka. "How did so much people get in, at the time?"

"There wasn't so much people." says the Hokage. "The shop kinda became popular because of me."

"My mom says ramen is unhealthy." comments Izuna. "I like it, but I can have some only when I'm with you or Lady 5th."

"She's right, you know. I'm sort of fueled by ramen, but without a good and healthy meal a day, I'd be dead by now."

"Thanks mom, isn't it?" adds Boruto.

"Yeah! Thanks Mom!"

As they walk, they meet Rock Lee who's walking, on his hands, with his son to the academy. When they pass by the village's main square, they find Sai with Inoue, his daughter, also going for class. Naruto greets them all. Around them, on the square, a lot of other Naruto clones are helping or simply hanging out with villagers. Inoue looks around, to count the clones of the 7th and evaluate how much of them he can do. Sai sees her counting.

"Don't bother doing this." he says. "This isn't even close to his limit."

"Wanna see his limit?" adds Lee, with a youthful voice.

"… We should go to class, for now." she answers, wisely. "Lord Hokage, you could show us your limit later."

"That could be fun!" says Rebekka.

"But is there enough space for this in the village?" asks Metal Lee, Rock Lee's son.

Naruto laughs at this suggestion, before suddenly stopping still when he senses something odd. There is a strange chakra that can be felt filing the air, that only he seems to notice. He looks around to find what makes him uncomfortable.

"Up there, Naruto." says Kurama, in his body.

The Hokage looks up, and sees a black circle in the air, with a tall and wide man, with white skin and clothes, floating in front of it and looking down on the village. More precisely, staring down at him. Naruto lets go off the hands of Rebekka and Izuna that he was holding.

Sai and Lee notice his focus on the sky and raise their head to see the problem. Every Naruto clone on the place gaze at each other as to express agreement. Naruto nods at Sai and Lee, and they both get the order. They take the kids and run away. The clones do the same and help evacuate the place.

Kinshiki Otsutsuki just watches as the place is being emptied, and then focuses his attention on the Hokage, who stays and walks forward. "Hokage, an enemy entered the village." Naruto hears in his mind. It is Ino Yamanaka, working at the security center, who warns him.

"I know." he thinks. "If you can hear me, please contact Shikamaru, and order an evacuation of the neighborhood, and the preparation of a sealing barrier around the area."

"Roger that." she answers.

Naruto walks closer to the floating old man that slowly gets nearer to the ground, but still keeps his distances.

"A giant, wide, man with a broken horn…" he says. "You must be Kinshiki Otsutsuki… I was told about you, but you're not the one I was told to worry about."

Kinshiki doesn't answer and just stares down, like he's analyzing the Hokage.

"I didn't even introduce myself." adds Naruto, wanting to save some time for the evacuation and making of the barrier. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. 7th Hokage of Konoha. But there's a strong chance that you're here for my friend. So I'll introduce him too. His name is Kurama, also known as Kyubi."

"I know how you are, Uzumaki." suddenly says Kinshiki. "I've heard of you."

Naruto is surprised by this comment, and doesn't answer. He's flattered but embarrassed by the fact that people from another world know of him. He just awkwardly smiles and keeps walking forward.

"You… are not like I imagined." adds Kinshiki. "I knew of you as a lone boy, avoided by his fellow villagers, quietly hated for his nature, growing up without a mother… without the attention of a father…" he keeps saying, with a sad voice.

"Well… Time flies, doesn't it?" carefully says Naruto, unsure of his friendly strategy.

"It sure does." answers the old man, slightly starting to smile, out of compassion. "You don't seem to care much about other's opinion."

"Doesn't really matter, does it?"

"May I ask you something, Uzumaki?" says Kinshiki, who goes on after Naruto slightly nods. "This people, this world… It rejected you, hated you. How did you make it go in you way after all?"

"As you said…" answers Naruto. "The people's opinion doesn't really matter. It can change. It isn't their fault if they think poorly of you. But if they keep thinking this way, it becomes yours. You're the one who did nothing about it."

"… You really have much in common with him." quietly says Kinshiki. "So similar, yet so different."

Naruto doesn't say anything, waiting to see if Kinshiki is willing to say more. In the distance, he sees the chakra barrier being pulled up. The Otsutsuki looks around and also sees the cage being built, but doesn't do anything. Since the invader isn't saying anything more, Naruto decides to stop the foreplay.

"If you're here to pick up a fight…" he says, seriously. "… It's safe now. There isn't anyone around anymore. So I'm ready."

"Do you wish for a fight?" asks Kinshiki.

"I wish to resist whatever you're here to do."

Behind Kinshiki, at a slightly higher altitude, another space rift appears and widens up. From inside, a resonating voice, hard to hear, speaks.

"Then resist as much as you can, fox."

Momoshiki Otsutsuki comes outside the portal just before the barrier closes and locks the three men together. Naruto looks up at him.

"You really don't look as nice as your friend." he says. "… smaller, thinner, long gray hair, two curvy horns… You certainly are Momoshiki… I thought you were a guy." he adds, confused by this person's feminine look.

"I'm no guy. I'm a god." says the Otsutsuki, with a perfectly clear voice.

"Oh, ok. You are definitely a guy." comments Naruto, surprised by this very manly voice, contrasting with his looks.

"And You are definitely gonna join your parents very soon." answers Momoshiki.

Naruto raises an eyebrow, surprised by what this intruder knows about him, but doesn't let it bother him. He stays calm and doesn't respond. In his mind, he and Kyubi get ready for what's coming.

"Maybe, you should try to keep the conversation up a bit longer." suggests Kurama, unsure.

"I'll try." answers Naruto.

Face to face with Momoshiki, he tries to do as Kyubi said.

"Sorry, you didn't confirm. Are you Momoshiki? Do you happen to have eyes in the palm of your hands, like I heard you should?"

Momoshiki doesn't answer and just stands still as Kinshiki gets out of the way, between he and Naruto. The Hokage, understanding that this one has no intention of chatting around, gets to the point.

"Sigh… I suppose you're here for Kurama, aren't you?"

"I'm here for you, just as much as for the fox." finally responds Momoshiki. "The fox alone represents half of Kaguya's fruit. But you… You're more than that. What I sense standing there is nothing like any human. Even the Rinnegan seems small compared to this. It's just what I need to flourish my garden."

"Flourish your garden?" asks Naruto. "Isn't it usually with fertilizers and seeds that you do stuff like that?"

"I have the seeds already. Your chakra serves as the fertilizer." responds Momoshiki. "I'd just like to have a taste of this energy, before I take it all and put it to use."

"Not sure I'm ok with that." answers Naruto who raises his hands, ready for a fight.

"I am not asking permission." says Momoshiki who raises one hand one hand toward the jinchuriki, with the eye in the palm open.

Gakido – Kyu

Naruto suddenly feels his chakra leave his body, and is startled by this odd feeling. Momoshiki, without getting any closer, is vacuuming the Hokage's chakra with his Rinnegan to have a taste of it. Naruto makes a pissed off face, unsettled as it is the first time he sees Gakido being used in a such efficient way. But he stands his ground. Despite the surprise that this caused, he stays focused and prepares to engage.

Kurama Chakra Modo

He turns on his shining yellow chakra cloak and raises a hand to counter attack, while Momoshiki's still vacuuming his chakra.

Rasenshuriken

He throws a shuriken orb that is following the vacuum and heads to Momoshiki. Far enough, with plenty of time to react, the Otsutsuki stops his absorption and raises his other hand, with which he easily absorbs the shuriken. While's he sucking in the jutsu, Kinshiki lets himself fall to the ground in front of Naruto, with an ethereal mallet in his hand. He leaps forward and goes to engage physically.

The Hokage, prepared to receive, dodges all of the weapon's swings. Seeing that this weapon isn't efficient enough, Kinshiki lets it go and creates a light but long sword instead. He now goes much faster, with a still as long range as earlier. To increase his lethal power, he pumps up his muscles and accelerates his arms and legs' movements with Lightning. Naruto now finds it difficult to dodge everything. At the top of speed that his Biju cloak allows alone, he struggles to escape all of the blade swings.

Kinshiki notices that he's taking the advantage, and leaps a bit forward to tighten the interval between each strike. Naruto gets worried, and understands that he's losing this. As it's still being sent back and forth to him, the sword slightly cuts him once on the shoulder, a second time on the thigh, a third time on the torso, cutting his cape's necklace off and sending it to fly off in the air.

"He's going too fast." says Kurama to Naruto. "We don't have any time to counter attack, and it's hard even just to dodge it all."

"Yeah…" answers Naruto, who oddly smiles. "You thinking like me?"

"Ha!… Yeah!" answers the fox. "It's finally time to go all out!"

As he keeps giving all his speed and strength to put Naruto down, Kinshiki takes a closer look at his opponent's face, that he sees smiling. Unsettled, he just keeps attacking and getting closer. The Hokage calmly breathes out. The cloak that surrounds him changes its pattern, all his exposed skin gets back to its original color, the whiskers on his cheeks get thinner and spiky, and his eyes turn into the crossing of those of a toad and a demon.

Rikudo Sennin Modo

The 7th Hokage now easily dodges all of Kinshiki's hits, at his opponent's unpleasing surprise. Getting faster and faster, Naruto manages to, suddenly, catch on the sword that is dancing around him and firmly holds it. He tightens the black claws that he now has on each finger until the blade cracks and breaks. The wide giant looks shocked at his shattered weapon, and doesn't notice the Hokage already making his next move.

Rasengan

With his other hand, he lands a spinning chakra orb right in the Otsutsuki's abs, and pushes him away, lifted up in the air and falling in reverse toward his partner. Momoshiki moves to avoid the wide fluttering body. He watches Kinshiki go by, higher in the sky and difficultly coming back to his senses and equilibrium. He then watches back down to take a good look at the fox's new appearance.

Naruto Uzumaki completely changed his form. His shirt and pants are all black, except for a golden magatama circle around his neck and a circular shape on his stomach. His hair, who shaped into two horns, and his mantle shine in gold, and are covered with multiple black symbols and patterns.

On his back, a symbol representing the Rinnegan, with 3 ranges of 3 magatama appeared. He looks exactly like he did after his encounter with the Rikudo-sennin, except he has more black markings on his mantle, and the whiskers on his face aren't thick traits anymore, but thinner and pointy mustache-like marks. He has returned to his best form, for the first time since the fourth war, but now fully mastered all its powers, better than anyone he's seen using them before.

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End of Chapter 39 – Next Chapter: The Hokage's resolve