Chapter 110:
– Haru –
I stood in the forest just before sunset. The sky above the trees was orange and fading fast. The air was still and heavy. My hands hung loose by my sides as I locked eyes with the creature standing in front of me. It looked like a deer, but it stood over ten feet tall. Its fur was patchy and crusted with dried blood. Its antlers were thick and jagged like they had cracked from smashing through stone. Its eyes glowed red, and its body pulsed with raw chakra just under the skin.
I had seen normal deer before, but this thing was no longer anything close to natural. In this world, too much exposure to natural chakra could twist regular animals into something monstrous. Their size increased. Their minds degraded. Even herbivores became carnivores because their new forms demanded much more calories to survive.
Most people who got caught off guard by one of these things did not live to tell about it. Only ninja or samurai trained to use chakra could take on these things.
It stared at me for a second longer before it roared. The sound ripped through the forest and echoed between the trees.
"Come on then, try it."
The deer lunged forward, lowering its head to try and drive its antlers straight into my chest. I raised my arms at the right moment. I caught the antlers in my hands and held them in place. Its momentum pushed against me, but I did not budge.
The beast snarled, trying to shake me off. I could feel the force of its body straining against my grip. Its muscles flexed, but I was not struggling.
Compared to me, it was weak.
I narrowed my eyes and locked onto its glowing red stare. All I saw was rage and hunger. There was no thought, only hate and hunger.
My ten tails moved slowly behind me. I leaned in slightly, holding its antlers tight. "I am sorry this happened to you," I told the creature. Despite chakra being a part of the naruto world for over a 1000 years, people tend to forget that it wasn't natural to this world.
It wasn't always a good thing.
I twisted my arms to the side. There was a sharp, sickening snap as the beast's neck broke. Its body dropped instantly, all tension gone. I let go of the antlers and stepped back, watching the corpse slump to the ground in front of me.
"We'll definitely get a few meals out of you, at the very least."
…I made it back to the small camp by the river just as the last of the sunlight began to fade. When I stepped into the clearing, I saw Naruko and Kushina seated near the fire. They looked up from their conversation as soon as they heard me.
Naruko stood quickly. Her fox ears perked up and her nine fluffy red tails swayed behind her in wide, excited arcs. She beamed at me, "You're back, Haru! Did you get us dinner!?"
Kushina pushed herself to her feet. She brushed off her skirt and walked toward me. Her expression shifted from curiosity to surprise as her eyes focused on the size of the carcass. "Damn," she said with a low whistle. "Look at the size of that thing. I don't think I've ever seen a deer that big." She circled around the body and crouched beside it.
"It was a chakra beast," I said. "They are normal animals that have absorbed too much natural chakra over time. Eventually, they lose their minds and become monsters."
Kushina nodded slowly as she stood up. "Makes sense," she said. "I didn't get to see many of them back in my timeline. The elders kept me locked in the village most of the time. Said it was for my own safety."
Naruko stepped up beside me, her purple eyes studying the carcass. She leaned in slightly and sniffed the air. "Is it safe to eat?"
I looked at her and smirked. "Not usually. Most people would get sick or worse. But for a chef with MY level of skill, it is not a problem!" I bragged and nodded with pride.
Naruko gave a snort and lightly slapped my arm. "I'm glad my boyfriend is so humble..."
"Don't forget handsome too!" Kushina said with a grin as she stepped in close to me. Before I could say anything, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek. Her lips were warm, soft, and deliberate.
I froze in place, not expecting it at all. My face tensed slightly, and I turned my head toward Naruko without thinking.
I scanned her face carefully. Her eyes narrowed just a little, enough that I caught it. Her expression tightened, and her ears twitched once. Her nine tails stopped swaying for a second.
But she did not say anything disapproving about what Kushina just did. Her posture stayed relaxed.
That was—a big improvement.
Kushina pulled back with a satisfied smile and gave me a wink. Then she turned around and walked back toward the fire. Her hips swayed as she moved, making no attempt to hide the confidence in her stride. She reached the log near the fire, dropped down onto it, and leaned back slightly. She rested one arm along the top of the log and stretched out her legs in front of her.
"Hurry up and cook, Haru," she said loud enough to make sure I heard her even if I didn't have super fox ears. "You have two hungry kunoichi here, and one of them already kissed the cook!"
I started carving up the deer, using steady pressure and slow, controlled strokes as I worked through the thick muscle. The blade in my hand was sharp, and each movement peeled back another layer of hide and meat. I placed the cleaned portions of flesh on a flat stone beside me. I took my time to avoid any remaining traces of corrupted chakra near the spine. The smell of iron and forest filled my nose.
Behind me, Kushina and Naruko had gone back to talking. Their voices were low but clear enough for me to follow their conversation.
"So why did you want us to come all the way out here and camp tonight?" Naruko asked. "We could've just eaten at one of the restaurants back in Konoha."
Kushina took a few seconds before answering. "I wanted Haru to cook," she said. "And I needed some space. The stares I get back in the village are too much. People still look at me like I'm back from the dead. I get that they're shocked, but it's exhausting."
Naruko gave a short laugh. "Technically, you are back from the dead."
Kushina chuckled. "Yeah, well, I'm not interested in living under a microscope every day. Out here it's quiet and I can breathe. Nobody's whispering behind my back. Plus your brother won't be crashing the party randomly…."
I cut into the hind leg and separated it from the joint. I used my thumb to push muscle aside as I slid the knife between bone. I made clean work of it before lining the cut with a thin trail of salt from my ingredient storage space to start the curing process. Of course that would take a while normally, so I cheated a bit and sped it up using my skill.
We were not just eating meat either. I made sure to prepare a separate pot for the vegetables. I had picked some wild mushrooms earlier while moving through the forest, and they added the right depth and richness to the dish. I also threw in some leafy greens and a few roots I had gathered near the river.
As the meat cooked over the open flame, I let the vegetables simmer in their pot with a light broth seasoned with salt, wild herbs, and a touch of spice from a dried pepper I kept in my pack. The smells rising from both pots blended in the air, thick and savory.
The juices sizzled, and the fat dripped off into the fire.
About thirty minutes later, we were sitting around the campfire. The light from the flames cast a warm glow across Naruko's red hair and Kushina's face. Each of them held a wooden bowl and a set of chopsticks. They picked up slices of meat and vegetables and began eating. The sounds that came from them were not subtle.
"Mmm... gods, this is so good," Naruko moaned, chewing slowly as her eyes fluttered closed.
Kushina let out a deep, satisfied sigh and licked a bit of juice from her lips. "Seriously, Haru. I am going to start dragging you out here every night!"
Naruko squirmed in place and adjusted her seat, clearly overwhelmed by the taste. Her tails curled behind her, twitching with each bite. "How the hell do you get meat like this to melt in my mouth? That chakra beast was all solid muscle! Which was kinda horrifying considering it was originally a deer. Although, I bet that's exactly the kind of monster the Nara clan would love having in their personal forest."
Kushina set her bowl down on the flat stone beside her and cleared her throat. Her eyes shifted between me and Naruko. Her usual playful energy was still there, but something more serious sat behind her gaze. She adjusted her posture and sat up straighter. "We might as well talk about why we're all out here in the first place," she said.
I paused mid-bite and looked up at her. Naruko raised an eyebrow but said nothing at first.
Kushina took a slow breath and let it out. "Both of us fucked Haru," she said. Her voice was firm, but a blush started to creep up her neck and spread across her cheeks. Her eyes did not leave mine.
Naruko choked on a mouthful of rice and immediately coughed. She set her bowl down and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Her face turned red, and she avoided looking at me or her mother.
"Do we really have to talk about this so openly?" she asked, her voice shaky and full of embarrassment.
"I think we do," Kushina said. She looked directly at Naruko now. "If we want things to stay healthy between the three of us, we need to be clear about what this is and where it's going. Pretending it didn't happen or trying to ignore it will only make it more awkward later."
"Fine," Naruko said, her voice tense as she shot me a quick glare. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her tails flicked once behind her. "I am not happy with it. I did not exactly want to be another Sansa and Catelyn. Or another Irene and Erza."
Before she could continue, I raised a hand and cut in. "Nothing has happened between me and Erza. Not yet."
Kushina turned her head toward me slowly. Her mouth curved into a wide grin. "Haru, you just said the word 'yet.'"
I froze for a second. I realized it the moment she pointed it out. My head dropped forward slightly, and I groaned. "Damn it."
Naruko rolled her eyes and grabbed her bowl again. "Unbelievable," she muttered, stabbing a piece of meat with her chopsticks.
Kushina let out a short laugh. "You are really bad at this, you know."
"I know," I muttered, still not lifting my head.
The fire popped loudly between us, the sound filling the silence that followed.
Kushina shifted again and leaned forward, setting her bowl aside with deliberate care. She pulled her knees up slightly and rested her arms across them. Her expression changed again, becoming more thoughtful, more serious. She looked between the two of us and spoke clearly.
"I've been thinking about heading to Rimuru and Milim's world. Maybe as soon as tomorrow," she said.
I looked up at her, surprised. Naruko paused mid-bite and slowly lowered her chopsticks.
"Seriously? That soon?" I asked.
Kushina nodded. "Yeah. I'm tired of being a Jinchuriki. I never wanted it in the first place. The village shoved it onto me without asking. They told me it was for the good of Konoha, for my safety, for the future. But it was never about me. It was always about control."
Naruko kept quiet, her expression tense. Her eyes flicked toward the fire.
Kushina continued. "If I go there, I can have it removed forever and have no more angry voice in my head. I want to be free of it. I want to be transformed into a kitsune like my children. Like Naruko. Like Naruto. I want to belong somewhere again. Not just exist in the shadow of the past." She turned to Naruko and gave her a small smile. "Besides, I have been totally jealous of the ears and tails! They are so fluffy and soft! Plus the moans she lets out whenever someone touches them makes me think they're really fun in the bedroom!"
Well, she wasn't wrong about that last part…
Naruko's cheeks turned red. She looked away quickly, covering her mouth with her hand. "You're ridiculous, mom," she muttered.
Kushina grinned and leaned back again, proud of herself for getting a reaction.
The image hit me before I could stop it. Two stunning redheads, fox ears twitching and nine swaying tails brushing against me from both sides, arms linked around mine. The thought alone made my tails thump against the ground without thinking.
I did not bother to hide the grin forming across my face.
Kushina noticed instantly. She tilted her head slightly and smirked.
Naruko gave me a full pout, her cheeks puffing out. She picked up her empty bowl and without hesitation, tossed it straight at my head. The wooden bowl bounced off my forehead with a light smack and dropped to the ground beside me. "Stop being a perv," she snapped, crossing her arms under her chest. "You are not allowed to fantasize about me and my mom like that."
I was about to respond, but my ears twitched as I caught the sound of approaching footsteps. For someone to get so close without any of us noticing—even if the three of us were distracted—they must be some high level ninjas.
"Oi, oi, Kakuzu, are we hearing this right?" a rough, mocking voice shouted from the treeline behind us. "These freaks have some way to kill tailed beasts and turn themselves into animal hybrid freaks? Is that why the big boss started losing his shit and ordered us to drag the Leaf Village bitch back as fast as possible?" The tone was crude and arrogant.
I immediately turned toward the voice and spotted two figures stepping into the clearing. Their black cloaks with red clouds were unmistakable.
Kushina stood up behind me, her stance already shifting, her body lowering slightly, prepared to react. She had been through a literal war and obviously could sense a fight coming.
The taller man with the stitched face gave his partner a quick glance before speaking. "Shut up, Hidan." His voice was deep and measured. Kakuzu turned his attention fully to Kushina. "Kushina Uzumaki," he said flatly. "To think you were alive and hidden all these years. What a shame they canceled your bounty when they thought you were dead. You would have been worth a lot. Still, the boss will reward us when we bring you in." He took a step forward, his eyes narrowing. "Once we capture you, we will extract the Nine-Tails from your body."
My voice came out in a low growl. "You idiots should not have come here. Kushina is not going anywhere with either of you."
Naruko moved in beside me, her teeth bared. Her red fox ears laid back and her tails flared wide behind her. "You are not touching my mom, you freaks!"
Hidan laughed like a lunatic. "Hehe, you two are some feisty little animal freaks. Jashin will love it when I offer you both up to him!"
His threat set Kushina off first.
Golden chains erupted from Kushina's back with a sharp crack. Over a dozen of the chains shot straight for both of them. Kakuzu moved fast, jumping to the side and flipping away to create distance. Hidan did not move. He stood there with his arms open like he was welcoming it. The chain wrapped around his body instantly, binding him from his shoulders down to his ankles.
"Hehe, kinky," Hidan said with a twisted grin.
A second later, Kushina's hands clenched, and the chains tightened. There was a brutal snap, and Hidan's body was torn into several pieces. His arms, legs, and torso were violently yanked apart. Blood sprayed across the clearing. The pieces of his body dropped to the ground with dull, wet thuds.
But his head was still intact. It rolled to a stop a few feet from his partner. "Hahaha, it hurts so good," Hidan cackled, his voice shaking with pleasure.
Kakuzu groaned in annoyance. Black threads shot from under his sleeves and slithered across the ground toward Hidan's remains. The moment they reached the body parts, they stabbed in and began stitching the limbs and torso back together with surgical speed. I watched as bones reattached and muscle reformed like a grotesque puzzle being solved in real time.
I personally could have stopped it and incinerated both of them at any time, but I had to admit I was a bit curious about Hidan's immortality.
The gods and demons in the Naruto world were never talked about in depth. If they were, it usually ended up being filler material or just vaguely mentioned. I had never put much stock into it. But standing there, staring at the pieces of Hidan reattaching like stitched meat, I felt the need to know more.
I narrowed my eyes and increased the flow of magicules through them. My vision sharpened. Colors deepened. Layers of energy peeled open in front of me. That was when I saw it. A thin red aura surrounded Hidan's form. It pulsed steadily, even as his body reassembled. The aura clung tightly to him, wrapped around his chest, arms, and head. It was holding his soul in place. That was why he could not die. That was the source of his regeneration. No matter how much damage he took, the aura restored him.
Then I looked up. The red aura did not end around his body. It stretched. A strand of it extended high into the sky, passing through the clouds. I tracked it for as far as my eyes could reach. That energy was connected to something beyond this world.
"Huh," I muttered under my breath. "So maybe Jashin is real after all."
I grinned as the idea came to me. If I could sever that connection, what would happen? Would Hidan die? I needed to know.
Hidan's body was mostly back together now. His chest rose and fell. His laughter had died down to a low chuckle. He rolled his neck and cracked it loudly. Then he pointed at Kushina and smirked. "You really thought that was enough to kill me? That was cute. I'm going to enjoy returning the favor!"
"We can't kill her dumbass," Kakazu pointed out.
Hidan frowned for a second before that frown turned into a smirk. He then pointed at Kushina and licked his lips. "That's ok, Lord Jashin prefers death, but he also is a fan of his believers bestowing fates even worse then death on non-believers every once in while. I'll make sure to leave her alive so we can get the tailed beast but her mind doesn't have to be intact, right Kakazu?"
"That is acceptable," his partner grunted.
Naruko growled beside me and bent her knees. Her tails flared wide again, and her claws extended slightly.
"I'm gonna tear him apart," she said through clenched teeth.
I raised my arm and placed it gently in front of her. "Wait," I said. "Let me try something first..."
Naruko's eyes flickered rapidly between red and purple. Her breathing had grown heavier. Her nails twitched at her sides like she was a second away from lunging. I could feel the chakra and magicules pulsing off her body.
Kushina stepped in and reached for Naruko's arm. "I am incredibly furious as well, Naruko," she said. Her voice was calm but forceful. "But let's let OUR man handle this if he wants to."
Naruko froze at the phrase. Her cheeks flushed bright red. Her ears twitched, and her tails hesitated mid-motion. "He's not our man, mom!"
"Yes, he is…" Kushina chuckled despite the tense situation. She gently pulled Naruko—who was currently very volatile—closer to herself.
Hidan stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders as if none of the dismemberment had ever happened. His gaze locked on me. His lips curled back into that same infuriating grin. "And what the fuck are you gonna do to me, freak?" he shouted. "You think you can kill the immortal Hidan, you handsome fox bastard? Guys with pretty faces like yours make me sick. I'll make sure to carve yours up real nice before I sacrifice you!"
He flipped me off with both hands for extra effect…
I raised my arm and spread my fingers out flat. "We're about to find out," I said.
I swung my hand to the side in a wide arc. A sharp wave of blue foxfire burst from my palm, slicing through the air in a clean horizontal line. It rushed just above both Hidan and Kakuzu's heads.
Neither of them bothered moving away of course since I wasn't aiming at them.
Hidan laughed and clutched his sides. "Hah! You missed, you retard! Is that all you've got? Pathetic!"
Neither he nor Kakuzu had noticed what I had really targeted. They could not see it with their normal vision. But I could. My foxfire had passed directly through the glowing red strand that stretched from Hidan's body up into the sky. The very thread that connected him to the so-called god keeping him alive.
I focused, watching closely to see what would happen next.
The results did not disappoint. Hidan suddenly twitched. His body jerked violently. His arms spasmed. His legs bent and buckled beneath him. He fell to one knee and let out a sharp breath.
"What the fuck is happening?" he shouted. His voice shook, and panic had already crept in.
Kakuzu turned toward him with a look of irritation. "Stop fucking playing around."
"I'm fucking not!" Hidan yelled back. He glanced down at his hands.
We all saw it at the same time. The tips of his fingers had started to disintegrate—turning to literal ash before our collective eyes.
"What the fuck!" he shouted again, louder this time, his voice full of disbelief and fear.
His palms broke apart. His lower arms followed. The ash continued upward across his biceps and into his shoulders. His body did not explode or burn. It just came apart slowly, piece by piece.
I let out a low whistle. "Okay. So that's what happens when he loses his immortality..."
Hidan let out one final shriek, throwing every curse he had left into the air, but it did not matter. His head turned to dust with the rest of him. Within seconds, nothing remained. Only a dark spot in the dirt where he had stood and a thin cloud of ash drifting into the evening wind.
"That was crazy, Haru. What did you do?" Naruko asked as she latched onto my left arm. Her grip was tight, and I could feel the tension still running through her fingers.
I smiled at her and nodded once. "I cut off the connection to his evil god," I explained. "That thread linking him to Jashin or whatever it really was. I severed it. No connection, no immortality."
I turned my head toward Kakuzu, already preparing to ask if he was ready to die next?
...But he was gone?
Huh. That was—not unexpected actually. The bounty hunter was a known coward. There was nothing but broken twigs and disturbed grass where he had stood. He had already taken off, running full speed through the forest without a word.
Kushina scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable. That stitched bastard was acting all smug before, and now he runs like a coward." She turned to Naruko, her expression lighting up. "Hey Naruko. How about some mother-daughter bonding time? Want to go hunt down that stitched freak together!?"
Naruko let go of my arm. She cracked her knuckles. "Let's go," she said with a vindictive grin.
I watched them both take off without hesitation, vanishing into the trees side by side. I let out a quiet chuckle and smiled. "Good luck, Kakuzu. You're going to need it..."
The night sky above me shifted without warning. One moment it was the usual deep black with scattered stars. The next, everything overhead turned blood red. The air grew heavier around me. The stars themselves stopped twinkling and began glowing a harsh crimson.
A voice boomed across the sky. It was deep and raw, echoing in every direction. "Who dares destroy my chosen champion? Who dares sever the sacred tether and block his soul from reaching the afterlife prepared for him?"
The sound shook the trees. Loose leaves rattled on the ground. The campfire flickered, and a few small stones vibrated across the dirt. Despite the volume and fury in the voice, I stayed still.
I tilted my head back slowly. My tails flicked once behind me. I narrowed my eyes and stared directly up into the red sky. The clouds had parted above me. A spiral of crimson light circled above, trying to focus its presence on me.
I let out a slow breath through my nose and spoke with a flat, clear voice.
"That would be me."
I did not shout. I did not raise my voice to match the volume of whatever was above. I simply answered calmly, not interested in appeasing some overblown god throwing a tantrum. Especially an evil god that loves murder and bloodshed.
XXX