35 Chapter 34 (1/2)
It took me two days but I reached Konoha in time. I wasted no time and made my way towards the Hokage Office. There was Shikamaru, Naruto and someone I didn't know were bickering back and forth with Fukusaku-sama and Senpai. When I reached the windows, I heard them.
”I'll train you in magic on the strange tree mountain if you don't mind learning the same way I beat it into Jiraiya-chan,” Fukusaku-sama said. Holy shit, he was practically wanted to teach Naruto Sage Jutsu himself.
”And I'll really be able to beat Pein that way?!” Naruto demanded the fire had burned in his eyes once again.
”Just do it, Naruto! Sage Jutsu is the strongest arsenal I have, remember? Senpai, you know this is true,” I said, announcing my arrival.
”Yeah, of course. Naruto, you better work hard,” Senpai encouraged my best friend.
”Training in these arts are harsher than you could imagine! Think you can do it?” the toad challenged. Huh, you could see it in his eyes, he was more than ready.
”That Ero-Sennin could do it, couldn't he?” Naruto said and determination could be seen in his eyes. ”then, there's no way I can fail either! I'll do it!”
With that, the blonde went out of the office to get ready for his trip. We all chuckled at his behaviour, sometimes he was too mature and sometimes he was back to his usual demeanour.
”Where did you go? I didn't see you for two whole days?” Shikamaru asked me. I nodded and I carefully placed the scroll containing Jiraiya-senpai onto the table.
”I went to Amegakure to retrieve him. It is confirmed that that is their base,” I said and senpai was shocked as her hands were trembling as she grabbed the scroll that I had placed on to the desk. ”I request a mission to infiltrate and eliminate the remnants of Akatsuki.”
”Very well. Yamato and Anko were out on a wild goose chase searching for Kabuto, meet up with them and brief them,” Senpai shakily said and I immediately brightened at the name. I shunshinned to the gate at once afterwards.
”Shit!!” Izumo and Kotetsu cursed. ”Don't appear out of nowhere, baka!”
I laughed and went at their desk to converse with them.
”Sorry guys. I am heading out again, this time bringing the fight to the Akatsuki,” I said.
”Hikari-kun, you just got back and now you're heading out already?” Kotetsu asked worriedly. Well, those two were part of the TNI team and they surely hypothesize why I was doing it.
”It's for Naruto,” I said, sullenly. ”Well later, guys.”
I bid them goodbye before taking off. The journey wasn't going as fluidly as I like but, I could manage it for now. I knew that we didn't have the element of surprise, I just had to get to them in time. The thought of bringing the fight towards the Akatsuki had considerably eased most of my worries.
*
”How are you doing?” Tenzou asked implying to my recent loss when we were resting for the night after a whole day of running. Anko was cooking the fish that she had caught from the nearby river. I made it just in time to caught their team before they went too far off from the route to Amegakure the day before. Since the order came from the Hokage, they got no choice to comply.
”I'm good. Don't worry,” I answered. The man wisely didn't press more information out of me. I took the chance to continue my sleep.
The next morning, we continued our journey. The night prior, an uneasy feeling crept up my bones. That usually meant that something bad is going to happen. Regardless, we had a mission to do. We're in enemy's territory now.
”Hey, you've been awfully quiet. What's bugging you, brat?” I heard Anko asked. I shook my head.
”Nothing, I got an uneasy feeling,” I said. We were close to the borders of Amegakure when I saw an ink bird chasing us. Oh, no. I withdrew a scroll and the bird jumped inside.
”Konoha's under attack, multiple enemies. Come back at once.”
”Fucking... We're turning back,” I gritted stopping our pace.
”What? What's wrong? We're so close,” Anko protested and I glared at her. ”Uhm... okay, easy there.”
”They won't be there, Konoha is under attack,” I said simply before I took off back to where we came from. Please, please make it in time. I prayed, non-stop.
”Hikari-kun! Please, hear the voice of reason. Don't break formation,” I heard Tenzou calling from behind me at a slower pace. I realized that they were running as fast as they can and thus I slowed my pace.
”Faster,” I pleaded to them as a teardrop escaped my eyes. I had matched our pace and we were making critical time back home as we were still quite far from home. Another bird was seen and I withdrew a scroll and it merged into the scroll.
”Target; Naruto, Assailant; Pein.”
”It's Akatsuki. They are coming after Naruto,” I announced.
”He should be safe right. I mean, Naruto is at Myoboku-zan,” Anko-san said.
”Anko-san, are you really a shinobi of Konoha?” I asked and she snapped back at me.
”Naruto is a shinobi of Konoha. I am sure, if he was in our place, he would instantly return to the village and attack them head-on,” I said. They all seemed to get the message, I think. Naruto was one hell of an impatient knuckleheaded idiot. He may have shaved off the knucklehead part but the impatient part, no siree! Then I felt a faint chakra spike before it disappeared completely. The birds were running away from that direction, Konoha. I increased my pace subtly. The uneasiness was greater now.
Unaware of it, Rinne-Sharingan opened and it increases my Byakugan range. Right then, I could see it, Konoha was already destroyed, Naruto was being held down by Pein and Hinata was fighting him. She was using her new technique Juho Soshiken against Pain but he countered with some type of jutsu and with it, Hinata was...
”No!!!!” I immediately ran at my speed.
”Hikari, wait!!!!!” Someone from behind me called. I didn't bother to care anymore I made my way towards Naruto because right then, he was being overcome by the Kyuubi. He went straight into six tails. Gritting my teeth, I cursed myself for not learning the jutsu from Tenzou. I just had to slow Naruto down until Tenzou reached my best friend. I watched closely as I ran, Pein was getting a whooping from Naruto. I knew that wasn't Naruto right now, still, he was really badass taking on the leader of Akatsuki on his own, the enemy got Rinnegan for kami's sake! Pein was luring him out of the village and he sent a heavy ball of chakra into the air. A Chibaku Tensei?! I began gathering natural energy. The ball of chakra began to suck everything into it even my best friend.
”Hang in there, Naruto,” I said between breath and out came the eighth tail. ”Fuck.”
I immediately went into Divine-mode and increased my pace a lot faster. When I reached to him, the ninth tail was already out. Ignoring the enemy, I jumped up to meet this fox face to face. When our eyes met, I was already inside Naruto psyche. I saw that he was close to ripping out the seal.
”Naruto, stop!!!!” I yelled and then a hand stopped him from doing so. Yellow-haired, taller than us both, wearing a white robe with embroidery that clearly said 'Yondaime Hokage'. The man pulled Naruto along to get away from the gates.
”The seal is set so that if eight tails are released, I'll appear within your consciousness. I didn't want that to happen, I never wanted to see you again Nine-Tails,” he said with the strict air of a Kage, ”but, I looked forward to seeing how my son had grown, so I guess you could call it even.”
I let out a breath of relief and they noticed me.
”Huh, who are you?” Yondaime-sama asked and Naruto looked at me too. Though it took him a while, he recognized me. Well I was in my Divine mode, was I?
”Hikari-kun?! What are you doing here?” Naruto ran at me and brought my head into a headlock. I had no choice but to laugh. My best friend was still here.
”Grrr!! Yondaime!!” The Kyuubi yelled, I instinctively went in front of them and glared at the fox.
”Sit down. Mutt,” I said and the fox stopped and kneeled down scared.
”I'm sorry, Rikudou Sennin. Have mercy,” he mumbled and I sighed.
”What is it with you guys tailed beasts? I am not my brother and mercy is not in my book. Though, I could kill you now for harming my best friend,” I monotonously said and the fox continued begging for mercy.
”Uhh, who are you, really?” Yondaime-sama pressed and Naruto hugged me over the shoulder.
”This is my best friend, dad. Hyuuga Hikari.” He grinned.
”Oh, nice to meet you,” Yondaime-sama greeted me. ”Wait, you know me, Naruto?!”
”Yeah, Ero-sennin told me all about you and mom too. Which reminds me.” Naruto immediately punched his dad's guts after he said that. ”Why did you seal the damn Kyuubi in your own son?! Do you know how tough it's been living with that?! I'm happy, I'm pissed as hell, I dunno what to feel!”
”I guess I missed that moment. Naruto, how old are you now?” Yondaime asked and Naruto said sixteen. ”Sixteen, wow, I've caused you a lot of pain, Naruto. I'm sorry. I've caused you nothing but grief. Some father I am, all I can do is apologize.”
”I sealed half of the demon fox's chakra inside you because I knew you'd learn to use it someday because you were my son,” he continued. ”I had a very good reason for it, sixteen years ago when it first attacked the village, I learned something. Someone was hiding in the shadows and controlling the Kyuubi's every move.”
”Don't tell me,” I said seeing the connection.
”Yeah, Hikari-kun was it? The man who controlled the Kyuubi and unleashed it onto Konoha when you guys were a baby was the one who wore the mask from Akatsuki,” Yondaime said and his eyes were sad, ”my student, Uchiha Obito.”
”On that night, he saw through every move I tried to make. He became an exceptional villain, I'm almost positive that he's giving pain orders as well,” he added.
”I agree, Yondaime-sama. But, he is not the real enemy. I stood firm with my belief that Obito was being manipulated by someone. The real one pulling the string is the black part that was on the plant thingy that was an Akatsuki member,” I interrupted.
”What do you mean?” He asked.
”Are you familiar with the tale of the Rabbit Demon, Otsutsuki Kaguya?” I probed.
”She was the progenitor of chakra who gave birth to the Sage of Sixth the founder of ninjutsu. What of it?” Yondaime said.
”The story goes, the lady ate the chakra fruit bore from the god tree which gave her the power of chakra. She went mad one day and her sons had to seal her off in order to save humanity.” I began. ”That isn't entirely true. Kaguya came from a different place into this land. She was guarding the God Tree against the evil that her family was fighting her own kin's greed for power. Unfortunately, the tree had corrupted her and she ate the chakra fruit from the said tree before giving birth to two people; Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Otsutsuki Hamura. The first was the founder of Ninjutsu while the latter was the founder of the Hyuuga clan. One bad day later, Kaguya merged with the God Tree to form the worst thing that this land had ever encounter, the Juubi. After sealing off their mother, Hamura stayed on the moon to guard the shell of the Juubi while Hagoromo stayed on this land and split the Juubi Chakra into nine parts called the tailed beast.
”The thing is, just before being sealed, Kaguya gave birth to another child, it isn't a full being or rather a halfling said to be the incarnation of her will. This thing manipulated people from Kami's knows when for one sole goal. To revive his mother, the black Zetsu, had been attempting to gather the tailed beast and manipulating the Uchiha so that the can awaken the Rinnegan to perform the right jutsu to complete his goal. He is nearing completion.”
”Who are you? That eye isn't one of Hyuuga Dojutsu,” Yondaime-sama asked.
”It's about time Naruto know who I really am. My real name is Otsutsuki Hikari. I am the eldest son of Otsutsuki Kaguya,” I bowed at the late Hokage and his son.
”You can't be immortal, so, a portal?” he ventured, knowing that he also saw me dead.
”Correct,” I smiled, ”the one who sent me to the future was really my mother herself. It was before she went mad and ate the chakra fruit. You see, my family was a peacekeeper, we protect worlds from being destroyed by our greedy kin. My mother fell down the dark path because she had to send me somewhere she couldn't get me back, to protect me at the time. The jutsu was underdeveloped when she used it so I was sent here to the future.
”I was then briefed by my late brothers about the danger that was coming to this land when I was half dead fighting Momochi Zabuza. The shell of the Juubi had been summoned from the moon. It was about the time before they went for the tailed beast. So, I had to plan carefully. Right, now, most of his plans were intervened.”
”I see,” the Yondaime was silent as he thought my stories through.
”Wait so, how old are you?” Naruto asked.
”Technically the same as you. But generally, Hitori said that she had been searching for me for 10 millennia already,” I explained and then I pointed at my chest. ”It's not important about who I was, right now I am a Konoha Shinobi and I am here because the will of fire burns brightly within me. Right now, we are fighting to save Konoha and in turn, keeping the world's peace.”