~~~
A week had passed, and the news of Naruto being unsealed gave birth to calamity. The world had once again been thrusted into a wave of chaos once more.
"The Devil Freed! And a New Earth in Midst of it all!"
Due to Naruto being freed during the same hour, people naturally assumed that it was Naruto who had created the Earth that floated right next to them.
But they did not know of the person who had truly created it - Uchiha Madara.
His existence was unknown, but he was there, watching over them in the empire that he had created through Buddha's power.
It had been already a week, and Madara still couldn't use more than 8% of Buddha's power. Things were tightening, and things were getting strained.
"When will you commence with your plan?" Buddha asked, already knowing the answer but wanted the answer to come out of the person who was forging it.
"When Naruto comes back, challenging me once again, I'll beat him a second time. If he dies, then he dies; but if he lives, he'll come back again." Madara stood confidently on the Moon, suppressing his power so the people of Earth won't be able to sense it.
As if they were able to sense it anyway.
But he couldn't be so cautious. After all, his mere presence was very dangerous, swaying from all angles.
"And he'll come back over and over and over again, his power increasing as time goes on. But it won't be able to compare with my future strength." A terrible grin appeared on his face.
"And he'll fail each time, his hopes and resolve crushed underneath my palm. And without a doubt, he'll be broken for all eternity. He'll eventually turn over his ideals over to me." Buddha remained stoic, his body radiating majesticness.
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then I will make him cease to exist." Buddha nodded, seeing as that was an acceptable answer for him. It was a rather sadistic plan, but it may work if Naruto breaks.
"But that won't be possible if he reaches Nirvana. What will you do then?" He asks, also already knowing the answer to it all.
"Ah, but that won't happening because I won't let him reach such a state. Can't you just seal his memories once more?" Buddha shook his head.
"It seems you have forgotten - that breaches the contract."
"It seems my memory was rather foggy... I've only been revived for about a week so mistakes often happen due to foggy memory." Buddha stayed silent, watching the two Earths from afar.
"But, nevertheless, I assure you - Naruto won't reach Nirvana. No matter how close he is, he is still too far away."
"'Cause he is missing the most important thing." He understood what needed to be done to achieve Nirvana.
But he couldn't achieve Nirvana even if he understood the concept of it.
By liberating oneself from the concept of rebirth, one is extinguishing their desire, their reason for staying in this realm.
Madara could never do such a thing to himself.
His desire was a fuel to move forward. He wanted to live and not die. He didn't fear his previous death due to him knowing that he'd eventually come back to life.
But he isn't that much of simple person.
He, like Obito in some ways, wanted to be the epitome of everything. They don't want a virtuous kind of peace... not even the slightest of form.
He wanted to rule, but not in the same way that Obito wanted to rule. Obito wanted to be perceived as an almighty being who is held by a pedestal, worshipped by everyone.
Madara would create order and it was a simple as that.
To stand above all of creation, he will be the one who shall instill the concept of power to those who desire to live on the second Earth.
And he will be their ruler, and will guide them for all eternity.
That was his idea of peace.
~~~
"That's your 10th cup of ramen already. Slow down." Naruto continued eating, ignoring Satsuki's words altogether as he continued to eat the cup of ramen.
Naruto shook his head.
"I'm hungry. I haven't eaten in awhile." Satsuki narrowed her eyes, nodding her head slowly.
"Yeah... I can see that. You've eaten more than I've ever seen you eat days." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, humming in agreement.
Satsuki sat right beside him, drinking her coffee. She took a glance at Naruto as he ate his ramen. It had been awhile since they were like this since Naruto was sealed for quite a long time.
She took in his features.
Satsuki was puzzled.
Naruto was without a doubt a handsome person, but the word "handsome" doesn't really fit how Naruto looked like. His face wasn't exactly that of a handsome man.
It was rather difficult since she never perceived Naruto as the handsome type - it didn't fit how he truly looked like.
If one were to look at him out of battle, one could truly see the type of face he held with such overwhelming confidence and power.
He was pretty.
And it wasn't too far off to say that he was indeed beautiful.
"So... your grandfather has come back alive." Naruto nodded his head, his body seemingly remembering the brutal experience that he had when Madara beat him close to death.
"And you don't think you can beat him?" Naruto, while displeased, shook his head to the question being held on the platter.
"No... no matter how unfortunate it is - I can't beat him even at my strongest state. To overcome his strength, I'll have to train constantly." Sasuki grew slightly curious.
"How many clones are you using to training right now?" She asked, wondering on the lengths that Naruto would go to achieve Madara's power.
"A few thousand and counting. I won't waste any time at all. I'll close the gap between the two of us in the following 2 months we have left." He was concerned if he was able to do it or not.
Satsuki saw the uneasiness on his face.
She squeezed his shoulder.
"I'll be here every step of the way, Naruto." He softly smiled at her words, touched by her kindness and tenderness.
But she too had a troubled look on her face.
"Are you going... to follow through with your grandeur plan?" She asked, her fingers and body tensing as Naruto looked at her.
Naruto looked at her.
"Yes. It's inevitable and is the only way to ensure peace."
"This is a dangerous game you're playing - be careful." Naruto nodded his head, giving a slight peck on the lips before getting up from the chair.
"I will. This plan will work." They exchanged looks, their eyes reflecting off of each other. The two both understood each other with just simple contact.
They understood their concerns and feelings.
"Going somewhere?" Naruto nodded his head, putting on his teal mantle over him. He looked back towards Satsuki.
"I'll be meeting someone that I haven't met in a long time. Ask some of my clones to train you while I'm gone." Naruto soon disappeared from Satsuki's sight.
Satsuki huffed.
"You're a damn idiot."
~~~
"You all should be fine now - you'll be able to go by the today," Tsunade said, gaining nods from Kakashi, Rock Lee, and Hinata. They had severely hurt by Naruto's abilities.
Naruto had completely desolated Konoha, terraforming a lot of the village into pure trash. And, no matter how long, she hated how powerless she was during all of it.
Tsunade was trapped, having to heal everyone due to people dying left and right. The constant downpour of chakra had caused people to die, and they struggled to save those who were chosen to live.
Each time chakra had been poured down, the situation grew worse and worse, the medical abilities of those expert in the fields having to bring more than just their best to save those closest to them.
And, even then, their will to resist the dangerous chakra was low, overpowering them each time. Thus heightened the mortality rate to high levels.
Over half of Konoha's civilian to Genin-level population was annihilated due to pure chakra alone. It had destroyed them from the inside out, their bodies unable to bear with the extreme exertion of chakra.
She only disappointment.
Not to the people of Konoha and the Shinobi that resided within it - but at herself, for being unable to save everyone.
She was their Hokage... their leader.
But she failed her duty to protect them all in midst of danger due to inadequate abilities. She couldn't save everyone.
She couldn't save Jiraiya.
"She watched as she saw one of the people she treasured most, laying on the ground, his head shattered, and everything inside of it was weeping and soaking the ground with crimson."
She sometimes questioned if becoming Hokage was truly the best choice for her - this was one of those times. No matter how much she tried, only failure lurked behind her.
It terrified her.
The others saw the solemn look on her face as she walked out of the room, leaving them to their bottomless thoughts.
Kakashi clenched his fists.
"We failed... again." He could feel his own burning anger bleed into his body, fueling him with unrefined rage. The other two stayed silent, quietly agreeing with him.
They had failed miserably once again.
His strength was far to oppressing for them to comprehend. They had regained their consciousness many minutes after Naruto had disappeared, fighting Obito.
Although Kakashi seemed to have been the only one to know that Naruto had been fighting Obito.
But he knew better than to believe that the man who was once a comrade was still that same comrade with the same ambitions.
And things have changed... so many things changed.
Obito had most definitely died fighting Naruto. He didn't necessarily know how much stronger Obito was, but he went off the bases of how strong Naruto was.
He was unbelievably strong.
And they were sure of it, because Naruto was and still is a persistent man. Not to mention that there was not only a new Moon shining down-
But also another Earth glaring at them from afar, paralleling their own Earth with such similarities. Their views and ways of perceiving the future had now been warped even more than before.
Was there even a chance for humanity to prevail against such a monster? If there was, that chance was nothing more than a small grain of sand amongst the salt.
They wanted to overcome Naruto, but they didn't have the abilities to overcome Naruto.
Naruto was proving to them that he was indeed untouchable to human norms. It was unreachable for them and the gap between them will widen.
But they had no choice but to strive forward.
Because that's the only thing they can do - to move forward and let the stream of time flow through them, letting the river take them to their destination.
Whether they fail or not will be determine how much they persevere.
"We need to get stronger," said Hinata, breaking the silence between them. The other two quietly nodded their heads, agreeing with her even if it was a shallow attempt to lift up their spirits.
The only way to gain enough strength to at least stand a chance towards Naruto would be to not necessarily train, but to make it so where their powers make leaps and bounds in a short amount of time.
I'm still so inefficient when using it. Hinata thought, thinking back to her times back at where Unmei resided in.
She was getting stronger.
Her technique with taijutsu was improving.
And as she elegantly fought against the air, Hinata was treading lightly, getting closer to the epitome of martial ability.
While she can't hit as hard as Rock Lee, her technique and prowess at using Taijutsu were reaching his level - soon becoming just as good as him.
And similarly, she was closing in on same type of ability that Rock Lee possessed.
"Lee... please... teach us how to properly use the Eight Gates."
To be truthful, Hinata had already knew how to access at least 5 Gates out of the full 8 Gates in total.
But it simply took too long for her to activate them. She didn't have the experience that Rock Lee or Guy had when entered Gates.
Her's was merely a byproduct of her impatience.
It was the only way, she thought.
To reach a higher level of power, this was the only way to overcome such a large margin of the gap between them all.
A desperate attempt this was.
But a rather good method.
The only question was:
Can they do it?
~~~
Yu stood in front of Kabuto, his mask on as they face-to-face. The latter had a face that resembled a snake, and a tail that hovered from behind.
Yu had someone unconscious in his grasp.
"I got what you need. Here." He threw the person towards Kabuto, the body crashing down before rolling to his side.
Even though it was rather dark, one could decipher who the person that had been kidnapped by Yu.
Mitarashi Anko - the old student of Orochimaru; and a bearer of the Curse Mark.
People who had the Curse Mark were rather important.
Not only were they one of the few that managed to live through the entire process, but they were also people who held a bit of Orochimaru's consciousness.
This meant that, if prepared, someone can essentially bring back Orochimaru from the dead through the use of the chakra that is left behind through the Curse Mark.
"Do it as quickly as possible," Yu ordered, pointing towards the unconscious Anko.
"How impatient you are. To think someone who used to be below me is now ordering me around like some kind of servant." Kabuto turned towards Anko.
His tail slithered right in front of him.
Outstretched his arm out, grabbing the tail that hovered right in front of him - and he ripped out a large amount of flesh.
He took the flesh and pressed it against Anko's neck.
The flesh attached itself to Anko's skin, sticking to it as if the flesh was a part of Anko's body. The Curse Mark reacted to it, the mark glowing an orange-red.
Kabuto put his hand on her neck.
"Evil Releasing Method!"
A flash of red appeared, and a snake that was abnormally large appeared, its mouth opening as it extended forward.
There was sign of movement inside of the snake once they could hear something that was akin to squeezing jelly begun making itself known.
Yu's face distorted, disgusted by the sound.
"Ahh... finally... free." Orochimaru slithered of the snake's mouth, his entire body covered in a mucus-like substance.
Yu's disgust grew.
He crashed on the ground, soon getting up as he looked around at his surroundings. Orochimaru saw the two perpetrators standing a bit away from him.
"If it isn't my two trusty pupils. How nice of you to bring me back from my death." The two stood, staring at him for a prolonged moment.
His tongue lathered his lips with saliva.
"Well... what can I do for you two? You've brought me back because you need something from little old me. What is it?"
Yu walked forward, taking initiative.
"I want you to revive the 4 previous Hokage."
A small smirk appeared on Orochimaru's face, looking at Yu's words with an eerie silence. He eyed the two of them before answering.
"What makes you think I can do that?"
"It doesn't matter - can you do it or not? That's all I need from you." Orochimaru wasn't threatened by his words by a bit.
"Of course, I am a person who has studied such things."
"Then I want you to do it." Yu gestured towards the exit of the dark cavern. Orochimaru creepily smiled, not budging even the slightest.
"What makes you think I'll do it? I'm free now, and I don't have to follow anyone's orders. What makes you think I'll follow yours?" He did not move.
Yu narrowed his eyes.
He conjured a wooden spike from his body, throwing it towards the snake that stood defiantly in front of him.
Orochimaru narrowly dodging it, a slight sweat droplet tricked down his forehead.
"This is an order, not a request. I don't care if I have to use force, I'll make you submit and you'll do as I say. Do I have to remind you that I'm no longer a spy under your terrible care?" He asked, glaring at Orochimaru profusely.
"While that is most certainly true, there is something missing: will you be able to make me submit to your power? Your will?" He smirked, challenging Yu's declaration.
But Yu was not deterred even the slightest.
"I'm not the same as before - your power is trivial." Yu glared, outstretching his arms to create a wooden spike that rose from the ground, stopping inches away from Orochimaru's neck.
"So I suggest that you follow my orders."
~~~
Unmei stood outside of her estate, seeing the barrier washing over her territory. It was very translucent, but could be seen if you look deeply enough.
Good. Now that the barrier is up I'll be safe again. Unmei mused. She had managed to put up the barrier up again a day or two after the events of Naruto's unsealing.
She deeply sighed, relieved that she managed to put up the barrier again before she could be caught red-handed.
Closing her eyes, Unmei turned around, letting the kids play outside in the field as the sun shined down upon them.
Sliding the door, Unmei kept her eyes closed as she entered the room. With her eyes still closed, Unmei turned around to close the door.
Turning back to the inside of the room, Unmei opened her eyes.
She froze.
"To think you were alive after all," a voice said. Unmei stood, frozen as she stared at the person who sat on the chair in front of him.
"I had thought your corpse was taken away; but it seems the kunai wasn't thorough enough to pierce your skull, considering how you managed to save yourself from death." The person outstretched his arm, using his index finger to point at Unmei.
He was pointing towards her forehead.
"But that leaves the question..." Their voice trailed off.
The light shined down on his face, magnifying his features. It was a boy with azure eyes that sat on a chair with a light gaze.
"Naruto," Unmei muttered, shaking herself off of the trance that she was currently in. A small smile that was full of mystery and hidden motives was sent towards her.
"How have you been, Yukari-san?"
~~~
Done. Wanted to keep things slow for now before the war arc begins. Next chapter will probably the last interlude before the war arc officially begins.
With the last arc impending, I do think Grace was and still fun to write.
But, this is where this chapter ends.
Until next time.
Cya!