Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
The Shinden Saga – Arc 4: The Otsutsuki War
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Chapter 156 – Konoha's delay
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Today, the 4 other nations of the Shinobi Union join forces to free their allies in the land of Earth from Yasona Otsutsuki. In the morning in Iwagakure, Fuyuko Yamanaka discreetly makes his way through the village to the ninja academy. He's been inside enemy territory for a few days already and carefully progressed toward this moment, all while maintaining regular communication with the imprisoned Tsuchikage.
Right now, after several days of thorough analysis, he finally got unseen past the ninjas guarding the desert academy. Since these men yielded to their new queen rather than staying true to their Kage, Fuyuko wouldn't have minded killing them. Yet, Kurotsuchi requested that he make no victim because, in her own words, "I would never have kneeled to that hoe, but that's only because I'm extremely strong in mind and body. I can't blame my weaker ninjas for this. It's a basic survival instinct at that point."
Anyway, the lost prisoner managed to do as she asked and make his way into the academy. However, after looping around the hallways and rooms of this building many times, he stops in front of where there should be a staircase and stands still, embarrassed. To explain himself, he awkwardly gets in touch with the Kage.
"Miss Tsuchikage, I think it's fucked…"
"What do you mean?" she answers with her mind, the only thing working in her.
"I just spun around that place 10 times in a row, and there's absolutely no way to that underground where you're locked. All paths are sealed."
"What?… Did you check the ground? Can you dig your way through?"
"Even with Doton, that would take way too long." he answers as he holds his hand against the floor to feel what's under his feet. "She also did some shit to the ground. It seems super dense."
"What other options do you have? Get through before she finds you!"
"Oh… too late…" Fuyuko says, as he hears something behind him.
He undoes his connection to the Tsuchikage's mind, leaving her questions and requests unanswered, and slowly stands up. He hears a soothing voice speak in his back.
"My, my… What do we have here?…" it says, as can now also be heard the sound of high heel steps. "You didn't think I really hadn't noticed you messing around this place these past few days, right?"
Fuyuko, confused by the oddly appeasing sound of this voice, turns around to satisfy his curiosity. There he sees her. An image surely worthy of a title such as goddess of beauty and temptation. Mostly, he is astonished by how enormous she looks. To see a 7 feet tall woman is what he was mostly curious about, and this doesn't disappoint. But what he didn't expect is for her to look so boundlessly, infuriatingly, … attractive.
"Hm? Did I leave you speechless?" Yasona asks him as she gets close enough.
Fuyuko gets startled by this suggestion. For him to be quiet sounds out of character. He gotta find something to say.
"Mommy!" he instinctively exclaims just to end his silence. "I mean… What the fuck? Why does it feel so obscene just to look at you?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm magnificent. Get over it… Or don't?" Yasona tells him as she bends over to let him see her from up close.
"… You're like… an embodiment of all the weird kinks I didn't know I had." Fuyuko comments, trying to stay faithful to himself.
"Well, you'll have all the time you need to contemplate your fetishes if you accept to become my servant." she answers before gently catching his chin with two fingers. "Would you like that, young man?"
"I'd love to…" he slowly replies before shrugging and taking a slight step back, not out of her reach. "But I have to decline your offer, madam. 'Cuz like, really, I'm not supposed to be free. I just wanna go back to jail."
"You can be my prisoner all you want." the goddess answers while discreetly letting her aura make its effect.
Just like the Iwa ninjas trapped below with the Tsuchikage, Fuyuko has all his senses becoming blurry, only to focus on one single entity: Yasona. His eyes only see her. His ears only hear her voice. His nose only smells her fruity breath. His body only feels her fingers on his face. And his mind only senses her intense chakra. He tries his best to stay conscious by thinking of a joke or reference to crack now, until this captivating pressure abruptly stops.
Yasona, suddenly distracted by something she feels near the village, steps back and looks away with her Byakugan. With her godly hearing, she listens to the drumming sound of the Shinobi Union's armies marching toward the village. Fuyuko, after a few seconds, also feels the chakra of thousands of ninjas coming close.
"I'll speak with you later. Just wait here." she says with a flirty voice as she rises to stand, ready to leave. Yet, before going, she makes sure not to let the Yamanaka roam.
Ohoma Gatsuhi
With her Hijutsu, she curses all senses of Fuyuko and turns off his body to put him in the same state as all the others who opposed her. She then quickly flies away, making her way to the sky above the village. Still in the range of her jutsu hiding Iwa, she witnesses the armies gathering.
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They come to circle around the village. Kiri from the west, Kumo from the north, Suna from south. While the countless ninjas get in position and wait for orders, the leaders, the Kage themselves with their closest subordinates, gather to settle the action plan. Darui, with his daughter Aoki, and Chojuro, with Takeshi Minamoto, join Gaara and Shinki analyzing the surroundings with the Third Eye jutsu.
"I hope this plan goes better than our last." the Raikage remarks, referring to their failed attempt at destroying the moon with the Hokage.
"All the divisions seem to be in position…" the Mizukage says as he takes a quick look around, before staring at his colleagues, bothered by a massive detail. "But where is Konoha? We didn't start yet, but we didn't anticipate them being any later compared to you, Raikage."
"Something went extremely wrong…" the Kazekage says with a panicked voice, catching all their attention. "I don't see them anywhere near on the way. And I mean almost as far as the frontier of this land, there is no trace of Konoha."
"Really? Maybe Sasuke Uchiha plans on using Space-Time Ninjutsu for a surprise entrance." Chojuro suggests.
"No, there must be a mistake." Aoki answers. "We stood in contact with Konoha's intelligence division along the way. Their last message was that they've reached the land of Earth. So they should be here by now."
"Here she comes!" Shinki interrupts this discussion as he sees the goddess of mischief emerge from the dome she's closed around Iwa. As she reveals herself, all the ninjas who made their way to this place are suddenly startled, shaken and frightened by her chakra that she intentionally sets out on full display.
There, in the sky, she finds and catches the floating sand eye of Shinki and holds it between her fingers like a camera through which she stares right at the Kazekage's son. The Kage look at each other in confusion and embarrassment, worried about the absence of one of their villages and most importantly the absence of the chief commander of this operation.
Takeshi Minamoto, as curious as others, looks toward the unseen to seek an answer. He stares by his side where within his soul he sees the Daitengu standing. The creature seems calm, unbothered. Is it because it just goes along with what he knows of the future? Are Kumo, Kiri and Suna really meant to fight a Shinden without the help of the ninja world's greatest hope? Most importantly, does Sojobo know what is keeping Konoha away? Did something happen to Izuna and the others?
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Meanwhile in Konoha, the ninjas selected by Sasuke and the honorable council are only now getting gathered at the entrance of the village. Yet they seem to be in no hurry. Rock Lee and his Suicide Corps, part of the operation, are in ranks. Ninjutsu specialists of the Sarutobi clan, led by Konohamaru, are here with the Aburame clan. Further away, The Ino-Shika-Cho trio has gathered their clansmen who stand with a small Hyuga elite. Rihetsuki, the retired celestial, is also here with a few Fuinjutsu specialists.
Izuna Uchiha stands atop of the gate and looks over the army with Kakashi Hatake. Down at the entrance, Sarada is with Shizune and her classmate Mitsuki. Sakura is giving instructions to her for how she should handle the house while her parents are gone. Further away, the chief commander Sasuke Uchiha is standing in balance on top of a tree. With his Rinnegan, he is gathering natural energy to prepare himself for the coming battle.
In the crowd, Shikamaru and Inoue leave their part of the division to Choji and join Kakashi and Izuna, ready to set the group going.
"Ino will stay here and keep coordinating the communication between all villages. Lord 6th, you should look after her division." Shikamaru says. "From her information, Suna's army will depart in the following hours, Kumo's army just reached the land of Iron, and Kiri's battalion will soon set sail on the west."
Izuna looks at Inoue and nods trustfully. From their perspective it all seems to be going smoothly. The only blurry part is what's about their teammate and their sensei, Boruto and the Hokage. Rihetsuki also leaves his rank and joins Sakura at the entrance. He speaks his mind aloud, making sure that the others on top of the gate hear him too.
"If the plan goes all right as expected, barely any of these people would have anything to do."
Sakura slowly nods, knowing exactly what it means and what the plan is. She looks up to see her son who stares back. As the most powerful people here, they will be expected to lead the battle. Izuna, more informed about the context, also expects his best friend Takeshi Minamoto to lend a hand. He's looking forward to fighting alongside him. Also, he's still wondering about his older brother Oshio, and if he could play a role as well.
Suddenly, Inoue, who was silently admiring her boyfriend's thoughtful face, abruptly turns around, troubled by a certain energy she just started to feel. Izuna, Kakashi and Shikamaru notice her gesture and wait for an explanation. Sakura also sees it and focuses on figuring it out. She rapidly catches the same feeling, simultaneously with Rihetsuki.
"A terribly massive chakra just appeared." Inoue says with a dramatic voice.
"It must be her…" Sakura adds.
In the land of Earth, Yasona Otsutsuki did indeed just reveal herself to the armies of the Shinobi Union. Slowly, all the ninjas of Konoha capable of sensing sage chakra notice this as well and have mixed reactions. Sarada, focused on her dad in the distance, sees him look to the west with squinted and concentrated eyes. The Uchiha leader sighs, leaps off his tree and almost instantly appears next to his wife. There he quickly gazes at his daughter and then speaks to all the ruling minds.
"We've been fooled. All of us. We've fallen victim to a Genjutsu."
Izuna and Sakura, yet both relatively resistant to this type of jutsu confusingly stare at each other. Shikamaru and Kakashi get down the gate to join the commander and wait for more details.
"Even now that you know, you can't break free from it. Only I can attempt it with my left eye." Sasuke adds. "It seems… We've all been trapped for days. And not only us. But the whole world… The other Kage probably thought we were on the way."
Everyone listens, agape, to what Sasuke manages to figure out with just the power of his left eye's sight. Rihetsuki, realizing that, as it stands, they must have been delayed in some way, frantically looks around in an effort to see through the illusion. He obviously understands who is responsible.
"Of course she wasn't going to stay back and let things unfold!" he exclaims. "It's Naobi! The goddess of creation. The other nations must already be facing Yasona by now. Sasuke Uchiha, we need to hurry! Use Chimatakami, and transport your army directly to Iwa. The others are doomed otherwise!"
All the ninjas step closer to the gate where Sasuke is, to get ready to be carried into action, but also to seek some kind of security next to the most powerful person present. They all feel anxious from the idea that, all trapped in this illusion, they can't know what reality currently is. The veterans among them are even feeling emerging traumas.
A Genjutsu so powerful that only Sasuke's Rinnegan can notice, and so absolute that it captured every living mind on Earth… This reminds them of the Mugen Tsukuyomi. Sakura, agreeing with Rihetsuki, steps forward and holds her husband's shoulder, to push him to take action. Sasuke, disturbed by how this diverts the original plan, is still confused by the absence of the caster so far. For now, he follows Rihei's advice.
Chimatakami
He creates a space rift that grows as large as necessary, approximately twice the size of the village's main gate. Yet, just as it reaches the desired diameter, its black misty shape gets engulfed in a blue energy that shrinks the portal and forces it to close. Sasuke, unlike everyone else, recognized the counter-spell to his jutsu, that any other user of Chimatakami can use to close another's gates.
That blue color suggested that the person who just did so can summon portals from a different color, so summoned with another Dojutsu. If it was black, it would be from a Rinnegan. Dark red would be from a Tenjo Sharingan. But blue is another eye that can use this jutsu. A rare eye that no human ever wielded. An eye that combines the powers of 2 of the three great Dojutsu into something divine. The Sharin-Byakugan.
Kami Musubi
Just as he comes to this conclusion, Sasuke and everyone else see the world transform around themselves. The illusion is being dispelled and reveals an evening sky where the moon is rising, replacing the fake morning sky. From the shape and position of the moon, Rihetsuki guesses exactly what day and time it is.
"It's been… over 2 days?" he roughly guesses.
As they discover the real world again, they also all get their senses drowned in the feeling given by another tremendous chakra. A chakra so impressive that it makes Yasona feel oddly small in comparison. Yet, it is so complex that they can't figure out its position. Mirai Sarutobi, standing with her cousin, is the first to look further up and away from the village. And so she is the first to see the source.
"There!" she exclaims, making everyone follow her gaze and see the one responsible. The goddess of creation and purity. Naobi Otsutsuki. They see black pigments and the symbol of her clan vanish from her face as she deactivates her Shinsen Kata.
"I ought to admit that I'm impressed, Sasuke Uchiha." she says to everyone, addressing the commander. "Last time I held you captive in a dream, it took you months to escape. This time, even enhanced with Shinjutsu, my Genjutsu couldn't fully trick your sight. Though it is not to neglect that without Yasona's disruption, you wouldn't have noticed either."
"Naobi Otsutsuki!" Sasuke exclaims as he steps forward. "What was this illusion?"
"You must be familiar with that use of Genjutsu, as a user of Tsukuyomi. By enslaving all your senses, I have disrupted your perception of time. While most of the world was still seeing time flow as it should in the illusion, I precisely selected those who would be on a different clock. And this includes all of Konoha. The other villages are almost 3 days ahead of you."
After this explanation she hears the mixed reactions of the ninjas in the unorganized crowd below her floating feet. Knowing that more questions will be asked, and hoping to shorten the discussion, she provides further explanation to Sasuke.
"I couldn't make the same mistake twice and sit back again as another Shinden falls to the ninja world. With you, your wife and your son involved, Yasona wouldn't have stood any chance of survival. May I say, it would even have been an unfair victory for your side. Now that you are out of the equation for her, Yasona shouldn't be at risk."
Sakura, standing behind her husband, feels disturbed by the fact that this woman is only staring right at Sasuke. She didn't even acknowledge or notice her former fellow, Rihetsuki. Willing to make her see more than just the commander, she steps forward, before Sasuke.
"You're here to stand in our way. So you're our enemy." she exclaims.
"See me as such if it pleases your mind." Naobi answers, not even slightly bothered by her intervention. "My goal here is to hold you back. I should have no trouble doing so."
"I wouldn't be that sure, ya know!" the troops of Konoha hear a familiar voice addressing Naobi.
The goddess follows the gaze of the ninjas upon where they hear this voice from. Here they see their hero, their ruler, their hope, their 7th Hokage. Naruto Uzumaki appears just now on top of the village's gate, by the side of his students, Inoue and Izuna. With him are Boruto Hyuga and Toneri Otsutsuki. All three look packed up, ready to go.
For most, it is the first time they see their leader in weeks. So this entrance along with his son obviously causes cheers. It is Rebekka Tabiki, among the Fuinjutsu elite, who starts the move.
"Hell of an entrance, Bro!" she exclaims, more captivated by Boruto than the Hokage, and starts a loud acclaim of the people and army to their Hokage.
Izuna and Inoue, amused by this scene, smile uncontrollably as they feel the mystic aura of their sensei and former teammate next to them. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi look up with light smiles as well. For the Uchiha, it is the fulfillment of his friend's promise. Naobi, however, is not one to cheer, nor to feel lost. She stares at him, unimpressed, as she was obviously expecting this. But to the ninjas it is unclear if she still thinks she can win.
Naruto, who actually heard her explain her Genjutsu in which he was trapped all along like anyone else, speaks with her, waiting for a reaction.
"Maybe I've been tricked by your illusion too, which isn't the first time, but I think I should be thankful. That time perception thing you did actually came in handy. You gave me just the bonus time I needed to complete my training."
"So it seems, indeed, Uzumaki Naruto…" she calmly answers, now with a sad stare down. "Yet you know just as well as me that I am in no time or place your opponent."
Just after these words, purely as a coincidence on her part, space is deformed next to her, giving shape to a wormhole that implodes and then dilates to a human-sized disruption.
Kandakoro
Warped to Earth appears the god of nature and knowledge, the Ryu Shinsen, Yamitsuki Otsutsuki, levitating next to his beloved goddess of creation. This entrance causes the abrupt silence of the crowd. Naobi doesn't even look aside. She already sees him clearly in the range of her Dojutsu's field of view.
The Dragon Sage stands still and moves his eyes to gaze through the army. Rihetsuki, seeing the gaze of his wise Dojutsu get near him, steps back, deeper behind Sasuke. It is the first time he sees the sovereign in person since he allowed him to leave, and he gets an odd feeling of freight, or forbidden respect, from this meeting. Yet when Yamitsuki looks upon the gate of Konoha, he only acknowledges his challenger and his allies standing atop.
"Greetings to you, Naruto." he breaks the long silence.
Izuna and Inoue, perplexed by this man's presence, feel the uneasy posture of their friend Boruto and his sensei. Sasuke, standing below, swallows his saliva and looks at his best friend worriedly. Naruto, who had over a month to think about this moment, obviously gets nervous now that he's there, but approaches it with no apparent weakness.
"Greetings to you, Yamitsuki." he answers respectfully, which tickles everyone's mind, as they notice the two absolutes of their kinds calling themselves simply by their first names. Seeming sure of himself, he helps Boruto and Toneri to feel better as well.
"I see that your world has decided to oppose the goddess of mischief." Yamitsuki says. "Though it is for an understandable and noble cause, the Union going all out against one single opponent seems both cowardly and weak."
"Quit that bullshit!" Sasuke exclaims, getting everyone's attention. "There's no way your kind ever feels unfairness from us. This kind of operation is the union's way of playing it fair. See it as balancing the odds. See it as, our answer is team work." he adds at last, making Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi smile.
"… Such measures only to take down one of us… Sasuke Uchiha, were you not the one to bark about our wished so-called genocide?" the Dragon Sage answers with clear spite in his tone. "Should you not be hiding to prevent your anguish from leaking through your organs at my sight? Should you not be bowing, showing due respect and acclaiming myself for allowing you to live?"
Hearing this brutal call back to reality, Sasuke feels like a lump in his throat. Sakura, Sarada, Izuna and everyone close to him are frightened by what it implies. Yet, there is no lie in the Dragon Sage's words. It is the feeling that he left the Uchiha with after terribly beating him and not even bothering to finish him off.
Naobi, intrigued by this statement, widely opens her eyes and stares aside to her sovereign. These are the same words she heard him say to two certain false friends in the past.
"Yet I see your point. Balancing the odds, you say." Yamitsuki continues, but staring at Naruto. "But I would not consider it fair to your rules, with you all present against Naobi alone. May I suggest to set you on equal ground?"
Naobi, next to him, is just as confused as all the present ninjas by this question. Far beyond the sky, the last of the Shinden hears this as a signal, and comes in to settle their confusion.
Yomotsu Hirasaka
Behind the two gods appears a terribly large portal that cannot be closed by anyone with a counter jutsu. Out of it emerges, to everyone's surprise, every member of the Otsutsuki clan that was currently on the moon.
The three subordinates of Yasona, Chishiki, Kuboshiki and Torushiki come first. Then Sakitsuki, along with Hebemi, the new goddess of youth. Taiyoshiki, son of Tokubei, is next with his pupil and friend Seimei. They all set foot on the ground in the middle of the gathered army.
Finally, the masked Shinden who summoned this gate arrives, followed by his wife Fureya. They stand together, floating below the Dragon Sage. The ninjas of Konoha all step away from the celestials who landed among them, shocked by this turn of event and suddenly hoping that no battle will have to start. The members of the honorable council are all as shocked as the rest, but Sasuke isn't. He looks right at Tokubei who stares back. Naruto isn't afraid either. He stays focused on Yamitsuki, who pursues with a declaration.
"There is now not a single soul left to trouble on the surface and hollow of the moon."
Boruto and his father squint, curious about what this means. Toneri, next to them, clearly understands it as the invitation it is. The Dragon Sage is provoking him, waiting for him to claim back his territory. Though he doesn't feel ready, he knows that he doesn't have much of a choice.
Sasuke, who understood it as well, looks up to his friend, his student and his student's master above, and speaks to them.
"Naruto, stay true to yourself. Toneri, I count on you too. Boruto… look after your dad for me."
"Izuna, …" Naruto hurries to say to his student next to him. "I entrust the village to you." he says, leaving him flabbergasted right before his father takes action.
Ameno Tejikara
With this jutsu, Sasuke brings Boruto's sword to his hand and immediately sends it piercing the air toward Yamitsuki. Tokubei lets it fly by, knowing that a simple object can't touch the Dragon Sage who also lets it come. At the gate, Boruto hurries to grab his master and father by their sleeves.
Hiraishin
He transports himself on the mark left on his blade to appear right before his target and grabs the handle of his weapon before swinging it in an attempt to bisect him. Obviously, the sword just phases through Yamitsuki's Moshirikara. Boruto and Toneri fly through the Dragon Sage as well and fall behind him, toward and into the still opened portal to the moon.
Once they leave his sight, Yamitsuki sees Naruto come at him with a rapidly made Rasengan in his hand. He first lets him come, unbothered, before noticing something at the last moment. The needed rotation and gathering for this Rasengan have been completed in a split instant, meaning they were most likely skipped. Or that this Rasengan was brought to shape immediately ready. The only way to do so for Naruto would be… to create it from a transformed Gudodama.
Susanoo
Right before the orb hits him, Yamitsuki summons and raises a condensed wing of his silver Susanoo between Naruto and himself and blocks the strike that, as he expected, lands and propels him backwards into the same portal as Boruto and Toneri.
Naruto leaps in to follow and, right as he gets past into the gate, Tokubei closes it to trap them all on the other side. Izuna and Inoue get startled and tremble when they see this happen. Sasuke looks mistrustfully at Tokubei and Naobi, the two strongest individuals left here as opponents for them. Shikamaru behind him looks at those on the ground and closes his eyes to focus in his mind.
"Ino, are you still with me?" he asks.
"Yes… What should I do?"
"Since the illusion was dispelled, you should be able to get in real contact with the Kage." he says, now looking at Naobi. "Tell them that we've been delayed."
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On the moon, Yamitsuki crashes on the ground, then quickly and smoothly lands back on his feet. In front of him, he sees Naruto set foot before Boruto and Toneri, all standing ready for a battle. Toneri looks around on his territory, and activates his Byakugan while making sure to stay near his student. Boruto takes a deep breath in, activates his Tenseigan along with his Chakra Mode and unleashes all his Gudodama.
Kurama frees his chakra to activate his host's Biju Chakra Mode as Naruto fully unleashes his superior Rikudo Sage energy. Yamitsuki stays the same. He analyzes the Hokage curiously and wonders what makes him more confident. Last time they met, he had no Gudodama left yet he just used one. So he at least knows one thing he figured out this month.
"From now on, either no one, only I, or only some of you three will get to leave this place alive. Are you certain that you can make it different this time, Naruto?"
"Just wait and see." Naruto confidently answers as he pulls out his headband that he symbolically puts on his forehead.
His mantle, lifted by his aura, expands into the 9 tails of Kyubi. He holds his arms up and hands down as he concentrates chakra in his palm. To Yamitsuki's surprise, he sees not one, but 10 Gudodama suddenly emerge one after another from the Hokage's hand. Naruto's unreal presentation shadows over Boruto, who is also standing ready, blade held forward and Gudodama scattered around him, infused with purple chakra.
The black orbs of Naruto circle and dance around him as they get in harmony with the 9 chakra tails in his back. Toneri stares, astonished, as the one who defeated him shows once again how much more he's become. The Hokage lightly smiles and completes his reply to the Ryu Shinsen.
"Don't be impressed yet. As I am today, standing here is my prime. I feel it."
"So you cannot portray yourself going further beyond." Yamitsuki answers. "Therefore if you still do not match me, you will admit not only your defeat, but the demise of your world."
"I don't care if I surpassed you or not. You may be the strongest, but you're not the first opponent stronger than me that I face. There won't be any demise for my kind. Neither will there be one for yours. The only thing ending today is the war between our worlds."
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End of Chapter 156 – Next Chapter: Your only opponent