A man looked into outer space, the body of his foe bleeding right behind him. His hand reached out, clenching his hands as if catching one of the stars many light years away.
"It's so sad - this is our fate in the end." The man right behind him coughed up blood, a giant hole in the center of his chest. His face was pale, his life quickly leaving his human body.
"I guess the world is truly unfair. We have no real freedom in such a lifeless world." He moved towards the dying corpse, sitting down right next to him on the pool of blood. Around them were other dead bodies.
"Truly a cruel world we live in."
~~~
Naga stood underneath the fine moon, the moonlight shining down upon him, a grin appearing underneath his mask.
All around him were wood and entangling roots from a dragon that were but made of wood. His mind raced at his exponential growth in power.
But, underneath this peerless grin, was the thought of still not being able to catch up with Naruto's level of growth.
He and everyone else could tell that Naruto has grown stronger. Over the last 8 months were times of dread due to the decrease in activities that Naruto committed during these months.
That only meant one thing.
Training.
He has only gotten much stronger, and that struck fear in everyone. It was frightening and brought great amount of torment inside of everyone's bones.
"You seem to be doing well," Obito said, appearing in front of him from the endless abyss that were the trees and roots from Naga's jutsu's. Sweat trickled down Naga's neck, his eyes piercing down Obito's every movement.
"Tch. Do I sense sarcasm?" Naga sneered.
"No, I'm being serious. Strength is all that matters when it comes to defeating a greater foe." Naga felt discomfort with his words, lightly shivering.
"I don't need your praises. Go fuck off and do other shit." His way of speaking was aggressive, anger oozing from his being. He felt nothing but unrivaled anger.
He saw the damage on Obito's arms, noting that the only thing that he has been doing was using his new ability:
Hebunrikoru.
That's what Obito had called it. And for the past 8 months, he has been only using the ability, honing it to the best of his ability. And as a result, all other types of training was neglected so he could perfect Hebunrikoru.
Naga onced wondered why this was the case, but had come to the realization.
Obito was massively confident in his ability to wield the Hebunrikoru. And it absolutely infuriated Naga to unfathomable degrees.
The complacency that Obito now held due to holding endless amounts of power was unwavering, combusting like fire.
That bothered Naga, disgusted being under someone who did not further themselves to their absolute limits.
Obito had once told him that the limit in power that each being from his Hebunrikoru was 15 percent. Naga voiced his complaints, but Obito silenced him.
"No, 15 percent is more than enough. All I need to do is make sure that I can manifest a being so strong that not even Naruto at his strongest can defeat it at its weakest form."
In theory it was rather simple, but it reality, Naga had actually no real way of knowing what was going through Obito's head as he plotted his next few moves.
Was he going to manifest God? No, that's rather far-fetched. Reaching for something so infinitely far was not possible for someone like Obito.
He's been reading those books that contained legendary figures that were either real or made up. Naga had read some of the books and didn't quite understand how they managed to become "real".
The timeline was rather unclear, speaking of ambiguous nations that were foreign to him. He was sure that they weren't timelines of the past, since everyone would for sure would be able to confirm such things.
So, even when there were signs of it being false, Naga couldn't help but be slightly convinced at the possibility of them all being true.
The authors were rather persuasive, Naga took note.
These legendary people were Obito's only real hope in defeating Naruto, and he was extremely confident in such things.
Naga had no choice but to follow Obito's action in curiosity.
~~~
"What are you making?" Satsuki asked, looking at the invention that Naruto was creating as he relentlessly worked.
The smell of hard work loomed in the air. Naruto wiped off a bit of sweat off his face. He looked towards Satsuki with a gentle look.
"I'm making a televisions that react to my chakra. I'll make it so I can access them through the use of my chakra network. Every time I use chakra, I'll be connecting my chakra to these televisions." Satsuki grew puzzled at such words.
"But, wouldn't that mean the televisions would go off if you stop using chakra? And what about the instances when you do you chakra? Wouldn't the television malfunction due to the influx in chakra?" Naruto nodded at her words.
"Yes, that's why I have planned out the intricacies of it all." Naruto showed her the inside of the very large television that seemed to be extremely large in length and in width.
"I made a seal acts like a door. The mark will contain a tremendous amounts of chakra that I will be pouring in constantly that will be enough for one television to be powered for a whole month." He pointed at the seal.
"I then have another seal at the center of chest. I have linked the seal with the seals on the televisions. This means I can transfer chakra in a single snap. Literally." With fashion, Naruto snapped his fingers, making the more smaller televisions flash into life.
"I can control the amount of chakra being poured into the seal. By rubbing my two fingers together, I can make the televisions blurry and malfunction temporarily just incase I engage in a conversation that I do not want to be heard." Naruto rubbed his thumb and his middle finger, making them fuzzy.
"His clothes were as white as snow."
"What are you using these televisions for?" Satsuki asked, sitting on the metal table right behind Naruto.
"The war will happen in a few months. Many casualties will happen. People will search for cover - a way to become safe. It's only natural for the place they will find as the best option, contain some of these televisions." Naruto smirked, his eyes glancing towards Satsuki for a moment before she realized something.
"Naruto." He hummed at the call for his name.
"How many are you trying to make?" She asked. Naruto stopped, furrowing his eyes before answering her question as truthfully as possible.
"By estimation, I'll need about 20 of the very, very, very large ones - about 30 meters in height and 60 meters in length. I'll need a few hundred of the smaller ones." Her eyes bulged out of her head.
"And how are you getting all these materials." Naruto yawned lightly, continuing with the more larger televisions.
"There are a lot here. I've sent clones to search for the hideouts of the late Orochimaru. I've also sent some of my clones to steal from civilians houses." Satsuki calmed down before sighing at the last part mentioned.
"How long before everything is finished?"
"About a month from now if I don't use clones. If I do use clones, then maybe less than a week or so. These are rather time-consuming." Naruto continued making the televisions as Satsuki went away to train on the fields.
"When are you going to tell her?" Kurama asked, making Naruto perk his body up from the sudden question from his partner.
"Tell her what?" Naruto feigned ignorance.
"Don't play dumb with me. You haven't told her about the letter." Naruto shrugged, unsealing a letter from his forearm.
"To think they have found where I was residing. It's rather obvious they'd find me sooner or later, but I am impress due to the pressure that is rather profound." Naruto looked at the letter one more time.
"Meet us at the Mountain's Graveyard 6 days from now at 9 PM - Konoha"
Naruto crumpled the paper, burning it into ashes as he finished the last touches on the next television before getting up from his seat, shaking off the tiredness around his body.
The black bags under his eyes were much apparent, the blackness being very profound.
He hasn't slept for the past 20 days, relentlessly tiring himself out from training, creating, and planning.
"You should've listened to her while you had a chance. You might lose due to being too tired." Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at Kurama's words.
"I won't lose just because of some minor problem. This is nothing more than a meaningless handicap on both our ends." Naruto walked towards the exit, his teal cloak fluttering from behind.
~~~
"Don't mistake your decisions as free will - they never were."
Their hearts thumped out of their chest, nervousness washing over their bodies. The fruition of their training will be the outcome of this one mission.
Shikamaru, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Shino, Ino - they were all ready for this. They were tasked with sealing Naruto inside a single item.
A cube made of the mysterious crystal.
"The Tsuchikage calls it Kisshoten," spoke Sakura, her eyes glancing at the beautiful cube made of the crystal that had been uncovered recently.
The crystal was almost unbreakable, but they were extremely malleable - it could take form of almost anything.
This item was valuable, but they all knew it themselves.
This object right in front of them would become nothing more than a common material to them now, the beauty that has been sealed away for centuries becoming nothing more than your normal crystal that you could find.
"He does? I heard some religious monks got their hands on the crystal after the equal distribution that was made." Everyone grew curious at Ino's words.
"Yeah, they're rather quiet in their affairs. The digsite at the Land of Crystal has grown considerably." The Land of Iron no longer had snow, now being dubbed as a land full of materialistic crystal.
People were paid handsomely due to how dangerous it was trying to obtain the Kisshoten. They were much harder to find because of Naruto destroying more than half of the remaining crystals.
The Kisshoten that had been obtained first were used to create protective gear so people wouldn't burn to death and were able to resist the burning temperatures.
They nodded in agreement.
"The others will be arriving soon," declared Neji, his eyes staring at the hot fire right in front of him. It was only now that they realized that they were in the Mountain's Graveyard, waiting for the others so they could fight Naruto.
And to seal him away.
"Gahh... I'm getting cold feet," announced Shikamaru, letting out a dry laugh that was full of tiredness. These 9 months of training was gruel and tiring.
"Is it bad that I'm scared?" Asked Sakura, her hands trembling. "We've fought him numerous times before, but I've only realized now how unlikely we'll leave this one." They shook their heads in response.
"No, it's only natural for you - for us - to be scared of dying to him," said Tenten. They didn't say his name, acting as if the name was a forbidden word that they swore oath to not speak.
"Feeling afraid is fine - everyone else here is feeling thing," commented Shino, the bugs hidden transmitting their fear to him. Sakura sighed, sitting back, her back hitting against the bark of a tree.
"Hey," Sakura looked at them, smiling solemnly. "If we die here today, then I hope you all know that I love everyone here." She could feel every fiber of her body shouting.
"Now, and even after death - I'll always love you guys."
~~~
Hinata sat, her body in a tranquil state as she kept her eyes closed in complete silence. Her heart beat was slow and calm, almost in a state of perfection.
Her body was scarred, bruised, and was full of bandages that entrapped her body like a mummy from stories. Breathing in and out, she heard Unmei walking from the wooden steps.
"You're progressing quite finely," Unmei said softly, trying not to interrupt Hinata from meditation. Refusing to not give in, Hinata continued to sit down in her lotus formation.
"Indeed I am," Hinata responded, voice full of gentle confidence as she kept her eyes closed, refusing to let go of such meditation.
"It seems that boy's inevitable death is a great motivator for you." The Hyuga wanted to retort, but knew that doing such a thing would be a great hindrance to the meditation.
"The same goes for everyone. The newspapers are useful for things such as gathering information." She had managed to get her hands on newspaper, sometimes seeing the names of her friends on the list.
From their achievements to their rampages across the entire nations. She knew that they were looking for her tirelessly.
She was surprised that they haven't found her whereabouts for a total of 8 months. It confused her, becoming an anomaly in her mind.
"How many?" Unmei asked, her smile dropping for a moment as her eyes pierced Hinata's eyelids, scorching them with a fiery look.
"6 of them." They exchanged vague words, acting as if they were talking in morse code. Unmei nodded at the response.
"If you continue forward, please make sure you don't make a mess of this place. It'd be very unfortunate if you break things that aren't yours." Hinata didn't show it, but the last few words made her want to shiver.
"I'll take note of that." She couldn't see it, but she could feel each movement that Unmei made, and every step that she took was clear to her ears.
"My husband would be very proud of your resolve." Her ears perk, catching her gentle tone that was shrouded in mysterious intent. Unmei stopped moving for a second, speaking a bit more.
"Do you know why this world is so cruel? On why this world focuses on only strength and nothing more?" Hinata felt her body shiver, threatening to knock her off the tranquil state that she was in.
"It's because God is cruel. God isn't a person, but an entity that has stood above everyone since even before everything was created." Unmei took one last glance, her voice taking a considerable dark and cold tone.
"We exist because of creation. Such omnipotent abilities have been wasted by such an entity. Everything is merely a plaything for God." She slid open a door, walking inside the dark room right in front of her. Her voice was quiet, not letting Hinata hear her last few words.
"But don't worry - everything will be alright. A new world will be created - the exact antithesis of the world that God had created in its vision."
"A perfect Earth."
~~~
They stood on a wide valley with a forest right beside them.
"We're risking a lot of lives here," said Rock Lee, using his index finger to scratch the side of his head. His heart pounded, seeing 400 Jonin-level Konoha-nins right in front of them.
"Our lives and theirs are expendable to this undeniable cause. As long as Naruto is alive, humanity is not safe." Kakashi had said this in a tone full of resolve and determination.
"Still, it bothers me how Hokage-sama is okay with all these people risking their lives for a singular person." They silently agreed, but they knew that 400 Jonin-level Konoha-nins weren't enough to put Naruto down.
"This is our only chance. If they die then they die and there's nothing that we can do about it. It saddens me as well that they are throwing their lives away, but they were people who agreed to do such a thing." The Konoha 10 - excluding Shikamaru - listened attentively to Jiraiya's words.
"Is Shikamaru in position?" Asked Ino, looking towards Kiba.
"Yep. He's ready all right." Their hearts were pounding like a lion roaring to the top of their lungs. The moon shined down upon them, the time closing in on the 9 PM.
"Get ready everyone. Things can go bad, but no matter what: don't ever fucking give up." Sakura's body was full of trembling nervousness. Everyone else could relate.
"Right. Don't let your guard down. We need to follow the plan exactly to the tee. Failure is not an option for us." Everyone nodded to Neji's words, knowing that even a single mistake to this plan was detrimental for them and their lives.
Around them, were bones on both the ground and on the side of the rough sides of the valley that reached all the way up to the sky.
They were at the level that they could attempt the sealing technique: "Binding of Judgement."
It frightened them that they were doing a final gambit - one that could become a frenzying hazard that could go all wrong.
They were scared, but they had no choice but to move forward.
They were rising their lives for humanity and for everyone that they love.
Their success rate?
Less than 1%.
Suddenly a tyrannical pressure washed over them, making them wide their eyes in terror. Kakashi looked in front of them, his eyes becoming sharp.
"He has come," he announced, his left eye morphing into the Mangekyou Sharingan. Everyone readied themselves, their guards all the way up in the air.
From afar, his body was clad in a long-sleeved button-up and a flexible black pants that stopped at the top of his combat boots.
His teal mantle fluttered, flitting from behind as he moved forward. In his hand was the translucent blade that was made of the most beautiful crystal.
His face was devoid of recognizable emotion, leaking not even a single thought to his foes. The boy stopped about 70 meters away from them.
Their eyes met, sending him a glare.
The fate of the future was not clear, becoming more blurry than ever before.
The Strongest had arrived to the battlefield.
~~~
Done. With this chapter ending I have accumulated 3000+ words this chapter. It's shorter, but this is purely an interlude for the following next chapters.
Nothing major is going to... happen. Things are being set up rather beautifully.
As always, ty for reading Grace.
But until next time.
CYA!