Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
The Shinden Saga – Arc 4: The Otsutsuki War
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Chapter 169 – Battle of Gods II
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Below the land of Earth, north of the land of Wind, deep in the forests of the savage lands, where no human lives and animal ninjas used to rule, nearby the sacred Shikkotsu forest, torn clothes are hanging from a tree. They are the remains of Toneri's cape, sent flying toward the forest by the action of the Hokage's fight. This battle was taken to another dimension that, just a moment or eternity ago, was completely nullified by divine colliding forces.
On this damaged cloth, a symbol remains. The spiral of the Uzumaki. The mark of a jutsu inherited from the yellow flash.
Tenraishin (Heavenly Thunder God)
Suddenly, next to this tree appears Boruto Hyuga, holding his father's 3 identical bodies. At the last possible moment, right before certain annihilation, they fled from the doomed universe via the Hyuga's perfected Hiraishin which allowed them to return to Earth safely. This was the last of his efforts. Exhausted from his numerous contributions, Boruto is now totally out of power and collapses to the ground, supported by his dad.
For an instant, it feels like the battle is finally over, until they hear the voice of the Dragon Sage break their peace again.
"You are actually mad!" Yamitsuki yells, getting Naruto's attention.
He managed to escape the imploding universe before its end exactly like his opponents, with a well-timed space-time jutsu, and is still shaken by the surprise of Naruto's approach to undo his previous strike.
"You are too quick to think, Naruto. What if I had lied to you, and there really had been living beings in that universe?"
"I know you well enough by now to know that you're not a pointless liar." the Hokage replies, which seems friendly but confusing to the Ryu Shinsen.
Yamitsuki doesn't answer. He just stares blankly at Naruto to absorb this answer and steps forward, knowing that this battle has been long enough and has to end now. Boruto, out of strength, sees and feels the final threat of the Dragon Sage stepping forward to his father, and tries his best to stay conscious. But he's done too much in this confrontation already. Totally out of power, he collapses, unsure of whether or not he will wake up to see tomorrow.
Naruto, having sensed his son faint, is glad that he can finally get to rest. The 3 perfect clones stand together, ready to take on the Dragon Sage one last time.
"Only 3 of you. Do you think this is enough?" Yamitsuki provokes the Hokage who replicates immediately.
Gudodama
All 3 clones waste away most of the energy they still have to create as many black orbs as they're allowed to, which comes to 30. They directly send these balls to rain down on the Dragon Sage who skillfully avoids damage but is surprised by them all detonating into black gas clouds sinking into the air and in his clothes. Blinded, he uses Byakugan to see Naruto's next move coming.
Kage Bunshin
Hundreds of old-school regular clones appear and jump into the black mist to assault Yamitsuki all together. Of course, the mist isn't intended to cover the Otsutsuki's sight. As it makes the Gudodama merge with the air, it allows even regular clones to bypass Yamitsuki's Moshirikara and hurt him.
The Dragon Sage is well aware of that, so he carefully ensures his safety and pulls out Ameno Ohabari to take down his enemies while maintaining distance. He slowly spreads the mist away with each swing of this blade and, using its true power, bisects clones who immediately erupt into lava and molten metal. These eruptions take out all the clone army, except the originals who protect themselves.
Yoton Chakra Mode
Using the power of Son Goku, Naruto makes his bodies immune to fire and lava, allowing them to withstand the eruptions. Seeing that the mist is flowing off, one of them brings it partly back to him and shapes it into the Kongosen Shakujo right as he swings it to slap the Ohabari blade out of the Dragon Sage's hand. Disarmed, Yamitsuki hurries to take away the Hokage's weapon as well.
Kandakoro
He quickly makes a wormhole that swallows Naruto's staff and seals it away in another dimension. Then, he uses Bansho Ten'in to pull his black sword back to him and take down the remaining bodies of his opponent. But the sword's handle is first caught by a Naruto's Biju chakra limb that tries to push the blade into the Otsutsuki's abdomen. Yamitsuki catches and stops it, but is abruptly pushed forward to be stabbed by another Naruto in his back with a shield made from the remaining condensed black gas.
Startled, he hurries to dispel the black sword before grabbing the chakra limb that was holding it. Using it as a rope, he smashes this one Naruto into the others, but they very quickly get up and back in action. To avoid being circled again, Yamitsuki makes 10 Gudodama for himself and turns them into a large range of needles and rods that fly toward the Naruto's. While they all dodge the projectiles, the Dragon Sage uses another copied eye power to take down at least one of them.
Daruma
By focusing the gaze of his only eye on one of them, he forces him to stand still, frozen in the air, unable to escape the blades and bullets piercing through all his limbs and organs. The two others felt this one's death as well, and vengefully leap forth to strike the Dragon Sage with two bats made of Gudodama. Repelled, Yamitsuki gets back on his feet and gathers his Gudodama into orbs near him again.
Standing face to face with the two Naruto's, he uses this little moment of respite to fully heal his wound left by his own blade earlier. Naruto, seeing this, is reminded that any strike on this opponent is pointless if it isn't the final one. He has no clones left to provide him chakra, and even all the Biju helping him have exhausted their resources. Left only with his two bodies and the few black orbs he has, he decides to finish this battle for good.
He gathers all his remaining Gudodama into his hand letting them spiral as gas. As this is way more difficult to handle than a regular Rasengan, the second Naruto helps him to focus the chakra just like his shadow clones used to when he first learned the Rasengan from Jiraya. Brought to shape by this process is his ultimate jutsu: the Uchuu Rasengan that he used earlier on the moon in a first attempt to take down Yamitsuki.
The Dragon Sage quietly looks at this jutsu and thinks. Naruto previously used it hoping to eliminate him and prevent him from ever being able to copy it. However, Yamitsuki had witnessed it and survived, before losing his eye and the power of Okuninushi. Therefore he can replicate and turn this final strike into a confrontation.
Uchuu Rasen Ryugan
Using the Gudodama he still has left, combined with the unique nature of his natural energy, Yamitsuki creates an equivalent to Naruto's jutsu, learned in a simple gaze. Though the concept of this orb is clever and takes a lot of resources, it isn't difficult to adapt to for the Dragon Sage who now looks at the 2 Naruto's and makes sure to turn this into a face-to-face.
Kandakoro
Using this jutsu again, he makes the assisting Naruto vanish in a wormhole. Too worn out to move, this clone simply lets it happen, leaving the rest to the only Naruto remaining. They are now alone in the forest with nothing to interrupt them or save him. The outcome now entirely relies on the wit put in the jutsu they're holding.
"We are both new to this jutsu, since you invented it only recently, solely to take me down." Yamitsuki says as he slowly walks forward while handling the power orb in his hand. "It seems like we are to end this fight, Naruto. One last wrestle. A duel of spirits. And the winner takes it all."
Facing this call for challenge, Naruto reconsiders his motivation and resolves for a moment. He has to remember what brought him here and what he still needs to achieve. Right now, he has no idea how the battles went in Iwa or in Konoha. He can only hope that Takeshi, Izuna, Sakura and Sasuke are safe and victorious. To find out what's real, he needs to make it out of here. Back to his village. Because if he doesn't, what happened to everyone else doesn't matter. It would quickly be changed by the Dragon Sage.
Here alone, without his son and Toneri's support, without Kurama and the other Biju's voices, without his clones and extensions, he is in doubt. He doesn't know if he can make it out alive. He is unsure he can survive this last face-off, but this is no different from the last month. At no point had he felt confident about defeating Yamitsuki and going home like any other day. His task remains the same.
No matter what happens next, for the sake of everyone else, he just needs to make sure of one thing: that the Dragon Sage doesn't walk away. Whether he dies now or not, he has to eliminate Yamitsuki at the very least. So as the celestial sovereign just said himself, the winner takes it all.
So he steps forward to match the pace of his opponent and accepts this final clash. Hardly walking, his fatigue is illustrated by the troubled shine of his chakra mantle. In front of him, Yamitsuki is worn out too, but it doesn't show. He walks straight, shoulders up, and when they are close enough, he bends his body over to instantly close the little distance between them and force their final jutsu to duel.
The opposite spins of the essential energies held in both their orbs shake the universe on a level beyond space and matter. Anyone conscious enough to mind their own soul, from the ninjas of Konoha to the celestial gods on duty hundreds of light years away, are kept in suspense by the shock of this confrontation. As these orbs try to break through each other, it is Yamitsuki's divine dragon force that shows superiority.
The nullifying glow of these energies are deflected toward Naruto. While he struggles to support his attack with both arms, his gloves and sleeves are ripped and disintegrated. His skin and muscles melt and petrify as the effect of this ultimate loss catches up on his body. Seeing the pain and relief take over the Hokage's face, Yamitsuki sees victory at hand. A victory that comes with no surprise, but with an unexpected feeling of grief.
Undetermined to take this as the final moment of his rival, he waits for the light of his hope to come bright again. And as he foresees, in this confrontation where he dominates in strength, wisdom, power and spirit, the superior wit of the Hokage lets him catch up.
Knowing that there has never been any moment more decisive than this one, Naruto Uzumaki puts all his remaining strength into his palm. The full aura of his mantle, the life energy that keeps him awake, even the pure RikudoShinsen nature that animates him and merged in his true form. He gambles it all in this instant, making him go back to the shape of a simple human.
All this energy, embodiment of humanity's hope, fuels Naruto's Rasengan and supports its rotation. In the form of satellites, it revolves around the main orb in the manner of a planetary orb, and blocks the nefarious energy of Yamitsuki's jutsu, mirroring it back to the sender in a blast.
Tagen Uchuu Rasengan (Multiversal Rasengan)
The Dragon Sage looks in amazement at the new jutsu that Naruto invented on the go, and acknowledges the heavy toll it holds on the user. Missing one of his eyes, he cannot mimic it with Okuninushi, and so the strategy of the Hokage finally comes into effect, victorious in this battle. As his dragon universal orb is overtaken by the yellow fox's will, Yamitsuki sees his clothes succumb first to this demise. Calmly he looks into the tired, humane, blue eyes of Naruto and sees in this gaze the same fulfillment and sorrow that he felt a moment ago.
Then suddenly, as the Hokage is deep in this ultimate effort, it stops. The energies of their orbs washes off, as if no blast happened, and lets them face each other in silence. Confused, Naruto looks at Yamitsuki who stands straight before him.
"Thank you, Naruto." the Dragon Sage says to break the silence, making Naruto wonder if he's hallucinating, or even still alive. Yamitsuki goes on. "After twelve centuries, I finally see the prophecy of the one being that I willfully knelt to come to truth. The dragon emperor of time, Ryujin, has repeated this warning as his last words to me, and to all of creation. I have been waiting for you since then. I have lost hope, reason and the trust of my fellows in this wait. I have let so much go for the sake of our encounter. And now as we are, I come to realize that I am sacrificing so much more even by just finally letting it happen."
Naruto stays silent, unsure if this conversation is physical or spiritual, and even less sure whether the Dragon Sage is genuinely thankful or giving a cold warning. In fact, Yamitsuki is expressing both, but more emphasis is to be put on what is to come. So he continues.
"Despite the negativity I have birthed in the hearts of many others, my presence among the living has always ensured something pure, something serene, something peaceful. With my absence, as you were warned, it is your role to fix what I will not. It is your responsibility to heal the infection of creation that will be caused by the wound of my demise. You have to be the pillar of peace."
Hearing this coming from the mouth of the Ryu Shinsen feels absolute to Naruto, like the ultimate calling. A burden that he inherited, a mission that he engaged in when he took on his challenge. Still silent, he lets Yamitsuki finish.
"You have defeated me, the most powerful being to have lived free of the corruption of the Biju, free of sin against the Absolute Spirit. Therefore you cannot allow yourself to lose to anyone else. You fought to protect your world and you won, as you said you would. And so will you in the future. It is your nindo after all, right? Tell me one last time."
"… To never go back on my words." Naruto completes, with a tear running down his cheek. On the face of Yamitsuki, he sees what seems to be a genuine smile for a second before the mighty god of nature vanishes, carried by the wind.
The 7th Hokage is left alone, standing on a cleaned battlefield and looking up to the sky before being hit by the weight of his effort. He collapses, falling to his knees and aside with his shoulder to the ground, and loses consciousness, in shock and torment but with the satisfaction of knowing that his family and friends may wake up to see tomorrow.
Beyond this empty valley, atop of the hills surrounding the forest, Izuna Uchiha finally arrives, a second too late, to the location of his sensei. After Torushiki, the celestial he was pursuing, vanished, and after he was struck down by the planetary cataclysm caused by the Ryu Shinsen, he tracked down the site of the final battle, but was delayed by the changes of setting. He now reaches it to find his passed out teammate lying by the remains of a forest, and the worn out body of his sensei, marked by victory with a fresh stigmata in the palm of his hand.
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Many days later, after the end of the last raging battle on Earth, the Shinobi Union tries to return to its normal functioning. In Iwa, the 4th Tsuchikage reclaimed her role right after the battle and her village was freed from the hold of the Goddess of temptation. She was reunited with her son who was led back from the land of Iron to his home, and she now has to face the reality of Yasona's warning.
Without the support of the goddess' curse, Onoki's condition caught up to him too suddenly, and the only favorable outcome remaining is euthanasia. It is a loss that Iwa faces united, choosing not to remember an old dying man, but the legacy of the longest running Kage of the ninja world, and the personification of a village's whole history, from its foundation to peace.
Besides the Kage, all other ninjas who were present and injured during the battle of Iwa have recovered or will soon. While the leaders and elite of the Union's ranks were healed by the white rods of Oshio, the Uchiha prisoner refused to provide more help for the rest of the army. Instead he warned that Momoshiki's influence on him grows stronger with each drop of energy he spends, which limits his ability.
This comment has sparked controversy among medical and intelligence divisions, and Oshio was sent back in confinement. His involvement, also debated, is blamed by some on Takeshi Minamoto, who stays numb to the criticism. His other bold initiative, which was to also call on Fuyuko Yamanaka's help, is more appreciated, at least by the Tsuchikage. While the Yamanaka is jailed in Iwa, awaiting a transfer back to Konoha, she hopes to negotiate his case with the Kage council.
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Now, in Konoha, Boruto Hyuga abruptly wakes up from his coma in the ninja hospital. He's sitting on a bed in a shared room, where the other bed is empty. His last memory being moments before he fainted where his father and the Dragon Sage ended their battle, he takes a moment to reconnect to the present before noticing someone else in the room. Standing at the window, Sasuke Uchiha is there, looking at him in silence. He seems to be in a correct shape.
"Sensei? What happened?" he asks.
Sasuke sighs and slowly walks to face his student's bunk while starting to explain.
"You fainted during battle, right? Izuna arrived shortly after it concluded and brought you back to the village with your dad."
"With my dad? So is he…"
"He made it. He's alive, but still recovering."
"Oh he is?" Boruto sobs loudly, hardly believing what he just heard, before suddenly wondering about everyone else. "What about Konoha? What about you, sensei? What happened here?"
"As you must know, Naobi Otsutsuki made things easy for us by seemingly killing herself. Then Yamitsuki made it even easier by forcing all the other celestials off our world. In Iwa, they apparently got the help of Oshio and freed Iwa to defeat Yasona with little to no casualties. And I… defeated Tokubei."
"Really? So what about him? Did you find out what he was hiding? Is there really something behind his mask?" the Hyuga questions.
"I did not see his face. I did not find out who he really is. I just barely could confirm that I wasn't just paranoid. But that's why I didn't kill him. I still need him to answer my questions."
After this reply, a short silence. Boruto just looks down and thinks, which lets Sasuke bring up something important.
"I'm sorry for your loss." he directly says, surprising Boruto. "About Toneri. I assume he served well. You owe him your life. And so does Naruto."
Boruto doesn't answer. He just stays looking down sadly, mourning the master with whom he spent 2 years in isolation. Feeling the low mood in the room, Sasuke decides to give some time to his student for now.
"I'll see you later. You still have to tell me everything." the Uchiha says as he goes to the door. "All that happened during this battle."
Before he can step out, Hinata arrives rushing in the room with Himawari and Hanabi. With her husband and son still recovering, Hinata was staying here, waiting for them to wake up, her sister and daughter kindly stayed as well. Having just noticed Boruto's chakra awakening, his mom and sister hurry to see him and tightly hug him. His aunt stands back and acknowledges Sasuke on his way out. Seeing the ronin walk out and her nephew in good shape, she comments about Boruto's other master.
"Toneri did a good job." she simply says.
"I can't believe what happened." Hinata says, crying of grief and happiness. "But I'm so thankful that he saved you!"
Boruto just hugs her and gently pats her back to show that he is feeling well, and has fully recovered from his exhaustion. At the door, Rebekka Tabiki walks in. She was also waiting near the hospital but didn't want to make it seem like she was here for Boruto so she was keeping her distance.
"Finally up, piss head?" she says with a playful tone to get his attention, which makes him smile.
Now that the room's mood seems to be allowing a lighter attitude, Himawari, who stepped back from the hug, starts to brag about her father and what seems to have happened about him.
"So Boruto, you know what's up with Dad now? It's kinda weird that he's sharing a room with himself."
"When Izuna went to get you, he also found your Dad. But two of them." Hanabi thinks Boruto might need an explanation. "One was worn out but still breathing. The other was definitely dead."
"When they figured out what it was, Sasuke suspected there might be another one." Hinata completes, drying her tears and sitting up. "So he went looking for your dad and also found him in another dimension. So there's now two Naruto's here, being healed."
"Ah of course…" Boruto comments, remembering his father's spectacular new cloning technique and its consequences. "What about Izuna? Where is he? And Inoue?" he suddenly asks, looking at Rebekka for no reason.
"Your friends are in Suna." Hanabi answers instead. "With the Hokage here, they're covering for him at the Kage summit.
"I see… I guess the Union has a lot to discuss after all that." Boruto says, surprising his own self with this phrasing.
Just as the topic moved to Izuna, his mother Sakura Uchiha walks in. She was alerted of Boruto's awakening by Sasuke on his way out, so she comes to make sure the visitors don't tire him out too fast.
"Welcome back Boruto." she says, getting everyone's attention.
"Miss Sakura! How are you? You didn't get injured?" the Hyuga asks.
"Don't worry about me or Izuna. We did get involved in the battle, but we have the resources to never need lying in a hospital bed." she jokes. "Same can't be said for you though. We found you pretty dried out. But at the same time, as you were recovering, you seemed in better form than ever before. How are you feeling?"
"I am… okay?" Boruto says. "And my dad?"
"Which one?" Sakura first jokes again before giving a more serious answer. "They need some more time to recover. One of them was taken in only yesterday. Sasuke found him lost in unbearable weather. Honestly impressive that he could resist this long. For the other one it's more complicated. His body seems to have lost a lot of regenerative capability. He's even back to looking like the good old Naruto we know." she comments, looking at Hinata. "But he'll be fine. He just needs time. I'd say in a week, they'll both be back on their feet, with clones at every corner of the village."
This positive message cheers everyone up. Satisfied with the general mood of the room, Sakura gets back to work.
"Anyway, even though you just woke up, I'm sure you'd like some little rest, to reconnect with the present, right? Hinata, I'll walk you out. You can come back later this evening, but for now, leave Boruto to me. We have some work to do here."
Hinata gently nods, smiles at her son while holding his hand and stands up to walk out, guided by her daughter. Hanabi waits for her sister before walking out. Sakura, standing by the door, lets them all out and insistingly stares at Rebekka who should also follow to send her a signal. With quick steps, the kunoichi comes as well and goes after the medical expert.
Boruto is now alone in the room, taking a little time to think of Toneri again. As Sakura said, he made him different with his gift. He surely feels stronger than before. It is just a shame that his first battle was no occasion to display himself, as it barely made a difference against the Dragon Sage.
As he gets comfortable on the bed, he's startled by Rebekka's head appearing in the door frame again. She looks behind herself to make sure she wasn't followed and stares at Boruto with a smug smile, silent for a moment, just appreciating his presence. Before it feels too intimate or serious, she says what silly reason brought her back.
"Umm I didn't want to say anything with your mom and sister in the room cuz it would have been awkward ya know? But I just wanna tell… You're allowed to touch my boobs."
"Huh? What?" Boruto confusingly says, surely not expecting to be told this right now.
"Well what? You fought that guy, you won and you came back." Rebekka answers to refresh his memory. "I said that, right? If you manage that, I'll let you touch my boobs. Though if you don't wanna it's okay. You're the one missing out."
"Ah no! I mean yes! Not about missing out! Just that I remember!" Boruto exclaims, to show that he remembers but not to be misinterpreted.
"Sure sure, bro. Well… I'll see you later!" Rebekka winks and hurries to leave before this gets embarrassing for her too.
Boruto calms down while looking where Rebekka's face was a second ago. In a moment of realization, he lies down and stares at the ceiling in wonder. Rebekka did say that. And he did it. He came back. He is alive. He went to fight the most powerful being in all of creation, and won. Or rather, he survived.
Lying there, he smiles, thinking of what this achievement is for his father. Never has there been a tougher challenge in all of this world's history. He doesn't know how this battle could have come to an end, but the last standing was Naruto Uzumaki. Yet, even though there will never be a greater enemy than the Dragon Sage, Boruto doesn't feel any safer.
On the contrary, he knows that Yamitsuki, despite killing Toneri and trying to destroy Earth halfway through the fight, was ultimately a superior spirit of good will, whose action can't simply be understood. Rather than safer, it feels like his demise has only set free greater evils.
Boruto wonders at most what it feels like for his dad. The 7th Hokage, new Rikudo-Shinsen, hero of the ninja world, has been challenged by the mightiest of those honored, the god of nature, knowledge and balance, the great Ryu Shinsen, and won. How will Naruto Uzumaki endorse the responsibility that comes from killing not only a god, but their sovereign?
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End of Chapter 169 – Next Chapter: Absolute and Serenity