Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

The Shinden Saga – Arc 3: The Dragon Sage

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Chapter 136 – The Fire Ant

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Somewhere in the universe, far away from Earth, and far away from Ashihara, is a small planet covered with nothing but sand and, in some rare regions, oases and waterfalls. Deep in the largest desert covering this world's surface, is a gigantic pit. Standing on the border of this massive canyon is the mightiest being alive. The Ryu Shinsen. Yamitsuki Otsutsuki.

Contemplating this hole, he thinks of the reason that brought him here. This planet, of all the asters in the multiverse, used to be the favorite of a former student of his. As he stands there, his presence and aura alone are causing the dunes and formations of this desert to slowly reshape, according to the new magnetic field of the region, transformed by his uncontrollable emission.

This phenomenon has drawn the attention of the natives of this world. Or rather, the new natives. Behind Yamitsuki arrives an army of men on reptile mounts, sent by their empire to find the source of this change. Leading the army is a huge male wearing an armor of scales and a golden spear.

"Attention, white man!" he yells. "Ye are in the presence of me, Great Major Kuala. Supreme leader of the army of the Empire. The Empire of her majesty Empress Cleo. Do you know where you are, right now?"

The Dragon Sage sighs out of slight disappointment, while still not acknowledging the army. Centuries ago, there was a divine tree planted here. No other vegetal life form could develop in this world because of the dryness of the soil and burning heat of the atmosphere. But the Shinju does not care about these limits. It could make its roots fit anywhere, as it finds its fuel, natural energy, everywhere.

This world, unlike all others that used to carry divine trees, was not destroyed. Contrary to these other planets, it wasn't found by the consumer of worlds, Momoshiki Otsutsuki, and therefore wasn't dried from all its energy and reduced to ashes. Instead it is a former student of Yamitsuki who, seeing that the people of his favorite cradle were warring over the benediction of this godly plant, destroyed it.

Now, hundreds of years later, it seems that, brought to believe their god left them, the people of this planet didn't stop their war. At least one side didn't. They massacred their enemies, took over the world and now reign in terror. The man called Kuala is a living proof that inferior beings cannot exist without their violent and perverted instincts. The one he called Empress Cleo, is nothing but a slave that they pretend to have as a ruler, only to direct the people's hatred toward someone else than the evil Major.

If Yamitsuki's student was to find this world again, he would certainly eliminate this warhead. But himself, he should not intervene in the history of descending life forms. So he will simply ignore them, no matter what they do. Instead, he gets back to what busied his mind earlier. He wonders where the student who used to love this world is at the moment. He is the first of all the subordinates he failed. This one turned not against the Shinden but the clan's justice, and life itself.

"White man! Ye were warned." the warlord of the desert yells after several unanswered calls as his army raises flamethrowers and bows. "Be punished for trespassing the territory of the Empress!"

Yamitsuki stands still as fire and poisonous arrows rain on him, which the army throws away as if they were trying to massacre an entire village. When they stop their rampage, the ground under the intruder's feet was obliterated, but he is still at the same place, floating. There isn't a single scratch or burn, not even on his clothes. It's like none of their flames and arrows even reached him.

Unbothered by their offensive, Yamitsuki keeps thinking about his student and his possible whereabouts, as he is considered a target and even a rival by the Tenshin. Suddenly a voice resonates within his mind. The voice of his beloved goddess of purity, Naobi.

"There you are." she says telepathically before focusing to identify his location. "You're on Sakyu? Reminiscing about Shitsuki, are you?"

"What is it, Naobi?" he asks, ignoring her question.

"You're required to take action." she tells him. "Your laws have been broken."

"Shall I repeat myself once again?" he immediately replies, upset that his quiet reflection was interrupted. "I could not-"

"You'd prefer to intervene this time." Naobi interrupts him. "It's Aritsuki. He ignored our orders. He will soon reach Earth and erase their memories."

This announcement leaves Yamitsuki confused. Aritsuki should be loyal, obedient and, overall, understanding. Why is he doing this? The Ryu Shinsen is bothered, for Naobi is right. He won't be able to let this pass. For once, he can't pretend not to care as he usually does.

"Naobi… Know my gratitude." he answers, thankful that she didn't take care of this herself and warned him. "Prepare a council of the Shinden. I will bring him."

This insignificant show of concern for once feels oddly arousing for Naobi. Last time he agreed to step in was when he helped the ninjas of Konoha to stop Momoshiki's vessel. This, however, she believed was only for her, as it was partially her fault that Oshio Uchiha could rise. But that he accepts to step in himself now means it's for another reason. Likely the same as now.

Behind Yamitsuki, the army is quiet, afraid of a man who didn't even make a single move. They whisper their thoughts, believing he's a ghost, or a mirage. Their leader, more stubborn and arrogant than anyone else, lets his lizard mount step forward and raises his golden spear in anger.

"By Heavens! WHAT ARE YOU?!" he yells before being suddenly interrupted by a flash in his memory.

Sharingan

Without any eye contact, the Ryu Shinsen casts a basic illusion on the entirety of the army behind him, only to blind them for a second. When they open their eyes, not only do they not see anyone around anymore, but they also have completely forgotten about what they just encountered. To them, they were sent into the desert to find a source for the change in magnetic field, but will return home thinking it was only of natural cause.

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At the same time, inside of the moon revolving around Earth, Boruto and Toneri have just returned from the space prison of Watsuki and immediately killed him as they returned, causing the wrath of Aritsuki.

"I will possess your will, and make you accept punishment!" the blond haired god yells at Boruto, before looking at Toneri. "And you will DIE!"

Senjutsu

After these words, he manipulates nature to attack them before they have time to physically react to his declaration. Under their feet, The ground splits in two and quickly opens like a wide mouth, resulting in a massive slit across the hollow moon connecting the inside to the surface. Having lost their support, Boruto and Toneri are left to fall in reverse toward the outer atmosphere of the moon.

As they fly, pressured between both the gravity of the moon and its hollow inside at once, Toneri holds his trainee, still tired from his inter-dimensional effort. As they try to resist the pressure and are suddenly forced to fall back to the inside of the moon, Toneri thinks of a solution, seeing that Boruto, even though he was forced to deactivate his Chakra Mode, still has his Tenseigan active.

"You think you could use Silver Puppet Reincarnation?" Toneri asks.

"Um… But I tried and failed that this morning…" Boruto complains, tiredly.

"You didn't fail. That puppet came to life. She just didn't turn into an ally." Toneri explains. "Anyway. We don't have much of a choice." he adds as he takes off the cape on his back and shows a large kanji written on its back. It means "Puppet".

Kuchiyose

Aritsuki, still floating in the sky inside the moon, notices a strange life energy being emitted from where he sent Toneri and Boruto. Seconds later, he sees them promptly emerge from the pit on the back of a giant puppet crow. As soon as they show up, they fly away. Not willing to let them go, he prepares to follow them but is stopped by a massive army of puppets that comes from the pit and gets between his targets and him.

These are the puppets of Toneri's guard. All those who remain after Yamitsuki Otsutsuki destroyed thousands of them 2 years ago. Unlike the last time Toneri used them, they're not controlled by himself through remote puppeteering, but are animated by Boruto's Tenseigan. These puppets, unlike the one Boruto used as a test earlier, have a will designed to follow their masters.

Toneri, shielding his tired student, stands behind their army with his flying mount and looks at the puppet army unleashing their chakra cannons on the Otsutsuki. To escape their first offensive, Aritsuki simply flies away from the trajectory of all their projectiles while carefully analyzing what put these things under control.

Quite easily, he senses the will in their body and, unfortunately, it is just what he needed to turn that against their masters.

"Fragments of the same soul that each respond to their own will?" he shouts, for the summoners to hear. "Just what I need to possess."

By flying through the puppet army and spreading his chakra, Aritsuki casts a Jujutsu that Boruto already heard of in the past.

Hyoishi

The Kekkei Genkai of the Onikuma clan of the lands of Heart. The jutsu that was used to let Seiki infiltrate Konoha without raising suspicions, which led to Kawaki stealing his father's Kyubi. With this same possession curse, Aritsuki corrupts the inherited will of all the puppets and replaces it with his own, causing the army to follow his intentions instead.

Toneri stares in confusion as the puppets he made with his own hands suddenly turn around and attack him with the same violence they would use against any invader. Having no other choice, he hurries to get away and flees, on the back of the only puppet that still follows his lead.

"That bastard!" Boruto yells. "So he meant it literally when he said he'll make me accept to follow him…"

"Boruto, with you in your current state, I have no chance to win this." Toneri honestly says. "We need to flee. How can we get out of this?"

"… To the passage!" Boruto exclaims. "I sent a message to my dad. By now, he should have received it, or soon will. We have to go toward him."

Toneri nods and leans forward, making his puppet crow go as fast as possible to the said location. Aritsuki, seeing them go toward the hidden cave he learned about an hour ago, gets frustrated.

"You dare to go on!" he screams to be heard. "You will be punished! I will kill you! I will… devour you!"

Senninka Henshin (Sage Transformation)

By draining all the natural energy surrounding him, Aritsuki gets enough chakra to forcibly transform his body with the ancestor jutsu of the Sanmai clan's Kekkei Genkai, the clan of Tenbin no Jugo. In the distance, Toneri and Boruto see him take the shape of a monster. A monster that resembles an ant. A gigantic fire ant. Gigantic enough to make a Biju seem small in comparison.

Distracted by this transformation, Toneri almost gets hit by one of his puppets' chakra beams. Triggered by this risk, he counterattacks. Using the same chakra orbs to project beams toward his pursuers, he intercepts their shots and takes them down one by one. There's way too many, so he certainly won't have time to eliminate them all, but it seems like, as they were animated by Boruto, they couldn't inherit Toneri's mastery of the skills he inputted into them.

Suddenly, all the puppets that were following them are forcibly annihilated by a massive fire breath that covers the sky and almost reaches their mount. It is Aritsuki, in his monstrous form, who rapidly crawls behind them on the ground, stepping over the empty villages and forests of the moon with his 6 insect limbs.

Toneri aims toward him and fires a range of chakra orbs and beams to strike the ant monster. His attack lands successfully but does no damage at all. All he managed to do is bring the Otsutsuki's focus on him.

Katon – Hiari Gekirin

The ant shoots burning flocks of venom toward the sky, from which one hits directly one of the wings of the puppet crow. Unable to go on flying with this mount, Toneri embarrassingly keeps going with it as far as he can. But a second shot of ignited venom abruptly strikes the second wing of the bird, making it crash down immediately. Forced to give up on it, Toneri carries Boruto on his back and waits until the last moment to jump off the puppet's back.

He lands just hundred meters away from the giant ant, in between two cliffs that carve a path to the entrance of the cave they're aiming for.

"Hold on, Boruto!" Toneri shouts as he runs as fast as possible. "There should be something that can help us here."

"Look out!" the ninja yells just as he shakes his sword to block another projectile fired by Aritsuki who shows himself above the cliffs, looking towards the fleeing humans.

"You won't get away!" he screams with an echoing voice emanating from his mandibles.

He keeps crawling over them while carving his way down into the path and constantly shooting small fireballs. To avoid the projectiles, Toneri leaps to run on the side wall of this way and holds a hand sign to continuously create a defense.

Doton – Renga

Above him, he makes an earth barrier that shields them from the fire projectiles that easily destroy this protection but are successfully intercepted before reaching the target. While doing so, Toneri holds on long enough to reach the small entrance of the cave in which he hurries to jump, hoping to finally get away from their pursuer. But Aritsuki still makes his way through.

Ari Zutsuki

In the large cave, Boruto and his master are suddenly startled by the loud sound of a collision, and then a screech, and a landing. Aritsuki, who dug through the stone with a violent headbutt, lands behind them in the closed cave, leaving them trapped to its mercy. But Toneri isn't afraid. They reached just the place they needed to be, and this loud sound must have just alerted what he needed.

Suddenly, emerging from parallel paths of the cave between them and the ant monster, 3 colossal crabs arrive and attack the invading monster. They are the children of the crab who lived there over 20 years ago, when Naruto Uzumaki and his squad from Konoha crossed the passage that lies in this cave.

Boruto looks back, amazed, at the 3 giant creatures that come to their rescue, but his joy is rapidly ended. Unfortunately, Aritsuki effortlessly stabs the first one with his antennas and throws it away, dead. He poisons and incinerates the second one with a deadly breath, and imposes his superior height on the last one before crushing its shell under his strength and weight. In less than 10 seconds, he eliminated Toneri's last line of defense.

The Otsutsuki of the moon, who had stopped running to witness the fight from a nearby rock, panics but hides his disappointment. He hurries to get back running, but is stopped too soon. With a swift movement from one of his legs, Aritsuki smashes the boulder they were standing on and sends them fluttering to a dead end.

They both violently land, several meters apart. Boruto, landing head first, can't even stand up after this fall. Toneri, who landed on his back, painfully stands up and goes toward Boruto again. However, Aritsuki has a different plan for the two of them. So he lies one of his massive limbs in between them to stop Toneri and force him deeper in the dead end. With Boruto harmless hidden under his legs, the giant ant throws its face forward and locks Toneri between its mandibles.

The trapped Otsutsuki looks around for a moment to realize his end, just before Aritsuki starts to close its mandibles to crush him dead. Boruto, looking up from where he is, raises a hand and tries to scream for help, but nothing comes out. He can only stare as the celestial monster does exactly as he warned he would.

Yet, thankfully, right on time, Toneri is saved by an unmatched savior. Before the mandibles come together and reduce their target to nothing, they're forcibly stopped and frozen by huge yellow chakra hands that hold them apart. Under Aritsuki's eyes, standing before Toneri, is the 7th Hokage, the yellow fox, Naruto Uzumaki, in his original form, with his orange sage cross eyes.

Toneri stares agape at his savior, who happens to be the same man who defeated him 22 years ago. Naruto, looking with disgust at the giant creature, notices his son lying barely conscious under him. He makes another Biju chakra arm that plunges toward the frightened face of the ant but doesn't hit it. Instead it goes down to grab Boruto and simply carries him back to his master's side.

Frustrated by this godly intervention and ashamed of the intimidation he felt from the chakra arm coming toward him, Aritsuki rages on and puts all his strength in his mandibles to close them. But the Hokage keeps holding them with no difficulty. To get rid of his 3 targets stuck in close range, Aritsuki pukes out a puddle of burning venom. But Naruto and Kurama once again stop it effortlessly.

Biju Otakebi (Biju War Cry)

The voice of the nine-tailed fox is heard as Naruto shouts out. This scream causes a strong wind that repulses the venom and sends it right back at the sender, which burns his eyes and face and makes him lighten the strength in his mandibles. Seeing his enemy blinded and inattentive, Naruto raises a single hand, open with his palm facing the enemy, and gathers Yin and Yang chakra in an orb.

Bijudama

In a second, he forms a chakra bomb that's half his own size, and fires it without a word toward the ant's face, intending to neutralize it in a single shot. However, just like Toneri and Boruto were saved by an unexpected hero, someone steps in to save Aritsuki in time.

Kandakoro

Out from a wormhole next to the orb comes a being whose chakra alone is enough to make even the 7th Hokage feel anxious. He can't see his face or silhouette clearly due to the emission of the Bijudama. This person, as soon as here, strikes the chakra bomb passing by his side with his elbow and, to Naruto's astonishment, sends it flying away, out of reach, to go accurately through the hole left in the cave by the ant's break through. Toneri, Boruto and Naruto see the Bijudama explode in the inner sky of the moon, and look back down at who stands before them.

Naruto seems to recognize this man. He may have seen him in Sojobo's illusion 10 years ago. He remembers the description made by Sasuke, Izuna and Shikamaru about that same being, and finds it matching. He looks exactly like a figure he saw before. The reaction of Toneri, who also recognizes this person, settles Naruto's confusion.

"Otsutsuki Yamitsuki…" Toneri whispers to himself.

Aritsuki, in his giant ant form, only now sees who arrived, and his reaction confirms Naruto's doubts.

"Uh?! Ryu-Shinsen-sa…" he starts to say before being promptly interrupted by the newcomer who simply raises his hand toward the monster's face.

Tsurane Haki (Unison Cancelling)

With a mysterious jutsu, he forces Aritsuki back into his original form and, due to the sudden extraction of the overload of natural energy, makes him pass out, lying by his superior's side. Now calmly standing in front of the 3 humans, including Boruto who has no clue who he is, the mighty Otsutsuki looks at Naruto, who's sure about his guess now that he heard Aritsuki say it. It is the Dragon Sage. The ruler of his kind.

"I know you." Naruto quietly says. "I've seen you before."

To this, the Ryu Shinsen doesn't answer. He just stares at the Hokage with no visible emotion. He also notices the frightened look on Toneri's face, and the confusion of Boruto. Naruto, after taking a better look at this man, gets the odd impression that he knows him from somewhere else than Sojobo's vision. As if he actually met him in person in the past.

"Are you… an enemy or an ally?" he says to the Otsutsuki sovereign.

"… You have seen me before." Yamitsuki replies calmly. "So, how do you remember it?"

Frozen by this question, Naruto takes a moment to analyze his opponent again. His chakra is unlike anything he's ever felt before. Compared to it, Kaguya or Sojobo seem standard. Not even Momoshiki was on that level. He supposes that this is what Sasuke must have felt like when he met the one called Naobi Otsutsuki, which Naruto can't really say objectively, as he still didn't meet her.

Yet he somehow remembers this chakra as far more crushing from Sojobo's illusion. Something else that bothers him is the lack of concern he feels in Boruto. He feels his confusion. He feels Toneri's fear. But he doesn't feel any anxiety from Boruto. Does he not sense that man's terrible chakra? Now that he thinks of it, Not even Kurama seems as intimidated as he is. This silence is interrupted by the Dragon Sage who hides his embarrassment and prepares to leave as quickly as possible.

"Lord Hokage, I apologize for the deeds of my fellow." Yamitsuki calmly says before catching Aritsuki by the toga to carry his passed out body. "You need not to worry anymore. You will not see him again anytime soon."

After these few words, he vanishes, swallowed by another wormhole, while maintaining a confusing eye contact with Naruto, who's just so full of questions but is glad about this apparent cooperation. Once alone in the cave, he is woken up by Kurama's complaints.

"Who even was that guy?" Kurama asks. "You're right. I think I've seen him before, but… a long time ago."

"Wait a minute… Kurama…" Naruto says. "His chakra was… unreal. Why didn't you react to that?"

"His chakra? Now that you say it, I don't even think I sensed anything." the fox replies, to his host's confusion. The Biju however quickly brings up a more important topic at the moment. "Anyway, we should first hear about what Boruto is doing here."

Naruto looks at the two men behind him and only now raises his eyebrows in surprise. His son, whom he hasn't seen in 2 years, turns out to have been on the moon all along, with none other than Toneri Otsutsuki.

"I… guess it's been a long time…" he says, to break the ice with his former enemy.

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Back on Ashihara, in the black crystal palace of Izumo, the Shinden are gathered in their council room as demanded by the sovereign who only now arrives. As soon as he sets foot in the room, he tosses Aritsuki, who suddenly becomes conscious again, on the table. The blond god looks around to see the masked Tokubei, the wise Naobi, and the beautiful Yasona at the table around him. Right as Yamitsuki gets to his seat, Yasona doesn't hold back on a little sassy comment.

"That's way too many Shinden summits for the last few years." she mocks. "Shouldn't we take a break from these meetings for a little while?"

None of them acknowledges this joke. Aritsuki, understanding the situation he's in at the moment, tries to stand up, ready to explain himself. As he stands to raise his head, facing Yamitsuki, he's forced back on his knees by Naobi.

"Stop this!" the Dragon Sage yells at his beloved, sick of her habit to force respect toward him, to which she calmly complies and lets the wrongdoer stand up. Judging from the looks on the faces of the Shinden, Aritsuki doesn't dare say a word. Besides, he doesn't want to state his motivation, especially in the presence of Yasona, who's the one for whom he was acting. To break the silence and state the situation, Yamitsuki invites his woman to speak.

"Naobi, may you spell out the committed deed?" he suggests.

"Aritsuki Otsutsuki, god of control and memories,…" she says. "… You have broken the laws of the Shinden and the orders of the Ryu Shinsen. You attempted to spread your influence over Kaguya's former territory and came in contact with her descendants…"

As she is speaking, she's suddenly interrupted by Yasona who notices something worrying.

"Wait!…" she exclaims to stop Naobi's tirade. "Ari… Where is Watsuki?"

Naobi and Tokubei stare at Yasona confusingly. It's true that neither of them saw him these last few days, and that he is usually always with his master Aritsuki. Yamitsuki squints and waits for the one in the middle to answer the question.

"He… He is dead." he responds to everyone's disappointment. "He fought against the yellow-haired man with the Tenseigan, and was murdered."

Frustrated by this turn of events, Yamitsuki looks away to contain his reaction. Why would Aritsuki, who's always been a loyal and obedient citizen, suddenly ignore his laws and go forward to a plan that would result in such a tragedy? He has a good idea for why he did that, but prefers not to ask the question or express his thoughts, to avoid any conflict in the room.

He just quickly stares at Yasona an instant and crosses her gaze, which almost never happens, only to let her know that he knows she could be held responsible for this. Yasona notices it, and stays as silent as him. She however isn't as good as him to stay unfazed, and lets her lower lip tremble lightly, both from sorrow for Watsuki, and fear of the Ryu Shinsen.

"Tokubei…" Yamitsuki says while still thinking of an appropriate way to handle this news. "Choose a punishment for Aritsuki."

"… Being kept away from his fellows and any chance to repeat his mistake is appropriate, I suppose." the masked man suggests. "I will select one world among his territories, where he will have to stay until the sentence is lifted. In the meantime, Yasona, you could keep him imprisoned in your dimension."

Yasona nods and immediately proceeds. She stands up, steps on the table and joins Aritsuki who stands in the middle. But before she leaves with him, she stays to hear the conclusion of the Ryu Shinsen. Boruto Hyuga has killed a celestial. This makes 2 humans to have committed deicide, and therefore to become targets for the Tenshin, and for Shitsuki, depending on who finds them first.

But most importantly, this second god slayer is no other than the Hokage's son, which makes it personal. And this time, he didn't kill a pariah or anyone that Yamitsuki would prefer dead anyway, but a young resident of Ashihara. Could this be the lever to finally bring upon his meeting with the yellow fox? After all, he was just forced to cross his path a minute ago. And meeting the Hokage, as he avoided so far, is the way for the Dragon Sage to find his answer. Is Naruto Uzumaki really who he's been expecting?

"This… cannot go unnoticed." he announces to his fellows. "I will present myself to Earth, and make them aware of the current situation. I will discuss an agreement with them."

"What about Sasuke?" Tokubei brings up his interest at the right time.

Yamitsuki, before answering this question, stares at Yasona, making her feel like he already figured out what she had planned for this person in her machinery. She looks away before showing any weakness. The Dragon Sage then looks trustfully into Naobi's eyes to seek her wisdom. She makes a compassionate face, lightly shrugs and nods.

"If he is still on Takama, Tokubei, you are free to chase him from that universe." Yamitsuki cedes, to the masked man's enjoyment.

In the room, Aritsuki looks up to Yasona, waiting for his sentence. The goddess of mischief is standing still, unbothered by the Dragon Sage's announcement, waiting for the right to leave and get away from his frightening aura. Naobi is thoughtful. To her it is close to settled. Tokubei is now allowed to encounter Sasuke Uchiha. Whether this is their last meeting or not depends on him.

And Yamitsuki, after 40 years spent watching from here, will finally present himself honestly to Naruto Uzumaki. The modest sovereign of everything and the savior of the ninja world. Will this meeting initiate an era of peace, as intended by the yellow fox, or a war, as wished by the last Uchiha?

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End of Chapter 136 – Next Chapter: Boruto's sweet home