17 Chapter 16 (1/2)
Note: Third Person POV
The morning came after some tranquillity at night while Otsutsuki Hikari or as he is now formally known as Hyuuga Hikari slept on the floor. On his chest, laid a glowing, shoulder-length golden-haired woman who was his original family's longest patron and dubbed by the toads of Gama no Kuni as the ruthless Phoenix Sage. Never in his own mind would be considered that such an eccentric character had lived for Kami's knows how long. What was better yet, she was promised a prince to be wed by for all he knew, his long since dead grandfather. A fact his mother had really failed to mention. He could use a little warning beforehand. Not that he minds, that is. The said Sage was a restless sleeper as she was originally sleeping on the bed. Whoever that woke up first will have the most awkward start in their day. A day that seemed to be undergone by Hikari.
As his consciousness began to creep back into existence instead of an incoherent display of colours, memories or whatever anyone would saw in a dream, he noticed that someone was on his chest. That someone felt really pleasant, warm and welcoming despite the cold snowy mountain they reside in. He opened his eyes and confirmed his suspicion while he looked over her bed and noticed that the sheet was a mess.
”Huh, a restless sleeper?” his mind wondered. He didn't wait for an answer as he hesitantly reached and brushed her glowing hair. He wondered how was her life had been all alone for those ten millennia. He suspected that she had visited a few countries over the years and those sages on a few secret occasions throughout the century scaring them off her mountain or on a pure whim. No one dared to cross her because they knew that she was the most powerful being in the world. That much he could figure out and he assumed that such things were in a sense shared a similarity to Naruto's quest for attention--she did long for a long lost soulmate. He could not help but felt unworthy for such affection as he was unwillingly sent to the future for his weakness. His mental ramblings were interrupted by the girl's slight stir into consciousness. When she was wide awake, she immediately pulled out and sat a few feet away from him.
”Sorry, I am not good at staying still in my sleep,” she said and her cheeks were pinked with embarrassment. Hikari managed to stare at her and a few moments passed when he finally said something.
”I,” Hikari nervously said. ”I didn't mind, Hitori-san.”
She blushed even redder than the previous and hastily stood up. She made her way to the bathroom after giving him a bow. Hikari sighed and stood up to stretch his body. He found that the air was starting to get colder by the minute. He assumed that it was snowing last night. Hitori-san came back from the bathroom and sat on the floor.
”Baths are heating up as we speak, you may want to take it first and changes of clothes are in the closet,” she began to say. ”Training will begin after breakfast.”
Hikari nodded and went to the bathroom. He wondered how could she start a fire that fast. He shook his head and reasoned that it's must have been a fire jutsu of some sort. Nothing is impossible in a shinobi world and with all the time she had, he wouldn't be surprised that she could sneak into a village and learned a few. Hell, she might have taught them in the first place anyway. He shrugged as he entered the bathroom.
After the good long and inviting bath, Hikari wore a robe similar to his mother's that was filling the closet. This robe had inadvertently brought back sad memories but it didn't pain him as much now. He decided to leave his third eye unprotected as there were only the two of them were present there. He made his way to the kitchen and found that she had already sat there waiting for him. Hikari chose to take a seat next to her.
”I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Hitori-san. This smells delicious,” Hikari said after he breathed in the aroma from the dining table. She just chuckled and pour him a cup of tea. Hitori had cooked some plain noodles to be eaten with a seaweed broth. As he dug into the food he once again overwhelmed by the taste.
”This is good stuff. Honestly, you're a great cook,” he mumbled between bites and she laughed.
”As good as it may be, please eat slowly, you're going to choke on the food,” she said. ”You looked good in those robes, why didn't you wear them in Konoha?”
”Ah, the robe might tell someone who I really am and there might be people who would come to see it as a sign of power and they might come to collect it. I did that for the sake of the people of Konoha,” Hikari explained and she smiled.
”I can see that she passed on some of my teachings to you. I was once her teacher, you know. She, albeit the only one but she is a promising one until...” Hitori did not finish the words as sorrow could be seen in his eyes and she knew that the subject shouldn't be brought up. ”Sorry...”
”No, I didn't mind much now. So, how could one gather nature energy?” He asked, changing the subject. She nodded and smiled.
”To be a Sage is to learn to feel the natural energy around us and to have the ability to pull the energy into our body. In order to obtain such a feat, ones will have to be completely empty of thought, unmoving and as still as a rock sitting on the ground,” she began. ”Now, having the Rinne-Sharingan meant that you have readily absorbed nature energy unconsciously, which would explain your abilities to be magnified and harder to control or less effective because you didn't know how to manipulate nature energy.”
”So basically, I can already use it? The senjutsu chakra?” Hikari wondered.
”Not quite, you are barely scratching the surface of it which means, you could be a sage that is stronger than your brothers ever was. The distinction lies in your eyes. The Rinnegan that Hagoromo-chan had didn't had the chance to bloom into a full-blown Rinne-Sharingan as he didn't have as much chakra as Kaguya-chan,” Hitori explained. ”He chose not to, a good move for him because he had to killed his brother to get the Rinnegan and Kami's know what will he had to undergo to complete it.
”You, on the other hand, had completely awakened it involuntarily without going through Sharingan and Rinnegan state or eating a chakra fruit which made you the strongest Otsutsuki in fifteen generations since the last one if I remembered correctly.”
”I don't need all of that crap, you know. This eye is only a huge hassle for me,” Hikari grumbled and she laughed.
”I'm so proud of you. You wield the greatest Kekkei Mora in the Otsutsuki and want nothing to do with it. But it is your family's history,” she quipped. Hikari rose a questioning eyebrow.
”The first Otsutsuki that manifested the eye predates my involvement with them. It is said that he went through the greatest despair, losing his wife and son due to the dispute for the possession of a chakra fruit from the Otsutsuki's only Great Tree with his brother. His chakra and his sorrow evolved his Byakugan and body to manifest the Rinne-Sharingan without the help of the chakra fruit as anybody usually went through. This made his eye permanent unlike before, the Otsutsuki needed to continually consume the chakra fruit to maintain their power level and longevity. The man used his powers to prevent his brother along with the sympathizer from harvesting other Great Tree and destroy the worlds that had them. The Otsutsuki refers to the abilities awaken with the chakra fruit as the Kekkei Mora. Kekkei Mora transcends all Kekkei Genkai or Touta as the brat from Iwa called his Jinton. It enabled you to use all chakra nature simultaneously. In turn, it grants one an ability that rivalled God himself. Hagoromo-chan able to split and create souls from the Juubi chakra. Imagine what you can do,” Hitori elaborated. It sounded like she was testing him but the irritation that he felt was that he resented all of this possibility he has. Hikari slammed his hand on the table.
”I don't need all of that! I have enough already and I hate it!” Hikari was clearly pissed. He stood up and made his way to the doors. He wasn't here to play god. He inwardly cursed his brothers for this predicament perhaps this was their idea of a joke.
”Stop,” she clipped and he obeyed. ”I had to be sure, I don't want you to fall like her. Otsutsukis could never shake off that thirst for power. You are clearly different. The one who wields chakra will forever damned to seek for more. But there is one thing your mother or your forefathers had failed to learn--the key was 'balance'. You can't have one without the other. Peace and chaos, the loud and the quiet, the yin and the yang. Understanding that will guarantee you power like no other but with it the wiseness of not using such things without the need for it. To quest only when it was required. You would do very well in life. Come, let me teach you how to be the Phoenix Sage.”
They arrived at the place where she summoned him the first time and Hitori sat atop the rock. Hikari watched her intently.
”Observe me with your third eye,” she simply said and closed her eyes. Hikari instinctively opened his Rinne-Sharingan and closed his eyes. He immediately saw a body of golden chakra in a sitting position in the darkness of his sight. That was not the only thing that he saw. Slowly, he began to see some sort of flames or waves of energy everywhere. The said energy was pulled into the golden chakra making it more and more bright. It gave him the notion of her chakra was multiplying by the second. Her original level was already high enough, fitting for the Sage title but now it was greatly enhanced.
”The eye granted you the ability to see energy itself instead of just chakra,” she announced. When he opened his eyes, he saw red rings formed around her eyes along with a red circle with a red dot in the middle of it on top of her forehead.
”Your eyes...” Hikari mumbled.
”These rings are a sign of Sagehood for humans. I wouldn't have these if I was in my true form. You will sit here, meditate until you can achieve Sage Mode. After that, we will move on to the next stage,” she ordered. She wasn't in a mood to be quarrelled with as her whole demeanour has changed since they got out of the house. He merely nodded and took her place on the rock.
”Remember, be absolutely still. Clear your mind and be one with nature. I will come back to you when you succeed,” she said and then transformed into her Phoenix form and flew away. Hikari wisely closed his eyes and started to meditate.
It took him a few days, but when a few black balls appeared on behind him. Hitori was just a few miles away watching him in a distance.
”He is better than I expected,” she thought. She was back in her human form and walked towards Hikari slowly. When she was close enough to see him clearly, it was apparent that not only he did achieve Sage Mode, he was clad in a black Otsutsuki chakra robe with the Gudoudama behind his back.
”Black robe of Otsutsuki? My Hikari, You've succeeded in exceeding my expectation,” she said. Hikari opened his eyes and it wasn't the Byakugan in his. Instead, it was her red eyes.
She said, intrigued, ”Interesting. It seemed you've retained some aspect of the Phoenix Sage Mode.”
”What do you mean?” Hikari was puzzled.