Once, there had been a war. Ootsutsuki Kaguya, who had given humans the power of chakra in the age of Myths, had been reincarnated and become an enemy to all shinobi. The battle that took place at that time been far more intense, severe, and full of suffering than any ninja could relate in words. In the midst of that fight, there had been two heroes. One was a man who had become a hero while Konohagakure was collapsing. Uzumaki Naruto. The other was an aloof man who had been born into Konohagure's renowned Uchiha clan, and walked a vicissitude path because of an unfortunate turn of fate. Uchiha Sasuke. Their fight assured victory for every shinobi. In the far off past, shinobi had descended from a single ancestor, but broken apart despite that, and fought against each other. In that victory against Kaguya, it was possible that the people called shinobi had obtained their first Union. However, the story didn't end there. Those shinobi's battle wasn't over. It was terribly dark...like everything was covered in ink. The man was running through that darkness without the slightest bit of hesitation. His eyes weren't that of an ordinary person. His eyes held a complex pattern, proof that he was person of lineage to a restricted bloodline, the holder of a doujutsu. Besides, for this man, things like the dark weren't enough to scare him. The man's name was Uchiha Sasuke. He was a shinobi whose muscles were like a steel wire that had been forged out of the best steel, and then tempered overall. That said, it wasn't pointless sinew. His muscles were practical in the same way a leopard or lion's would be, with some faint softness of fat remaining. So this is Ootsutsuki Kaguya's castle, huh... In the past, Sasuke and his comrades had defeated Kaguya. It was because Kaguya had set out to have all shinobi sacrificed to her, and to absorb their chakra. It was obvious that they'd show no compassion to that sort of clan. However, it was a fact that a great mystery remained after her defeat. Where had the Ootsutsuki come from? What had they set out to do with the artificially made shinobi, the white zetsu? What would be the meaning behind harvesting chakra fruit? It boiled down to the fundamental question: what were shinobi? It was a shame, but the chance meeting between Naruto and Sage of Six Paths had been a once in a lifetime thing, and the information they'd gotten from the lone member of the Ootsutsuki who now lived on the moon was very little. That was why Sasuke had spent this past ten-odd years investigating that mystery. It was because shinobi were beings who existed to gather information. Just ending a matter when its details were still unknown was unthinkable. And now, Sasuke had finally stepped foot on the historical ruins of what looked to be the Ootsutsuki Castle. ...There aren't any traces of anyone having lived here fora long time. Looks like it's best to think of it as an abandoned base. He wondered how far they had walked. Sasuke spotted a lone scroll inside the darkness. It wasn't placed in a way that stuck out. Amongst countless rotten scrolls, it was the only one intact. Someone without Sasuke's rare skills of observation wouldn't have been able to spot it. Sasuke carefully took the scroll into his hands, and while making sure it's outside wasn't eroded, tied it to his belt. A document that had been treated so it could withstand the passage of time had to be some confidential piece of evidence. Outside the window, lightning cut through the shades of black upon black. And, simultaneously, a slashing attack approached. An enemy, huh. This was Sasuke's thought process as he dodged the blow: This attack couldn't be from a group of friendly troops who were in the middle of conducting strategy tactics. It definitely couldn't be any ordinary citizen. Then, it had to be an enemy. Who the enemy was, or why they were trying to kill him, such analysis would be better left to when things were calmer. The naked blade that had swung down on him had been bloodthirsty, but he had dodged and was still alive. For now, that was more than enough. Chidori! Sasuke tempered his chakra, accumulating it in his right arm. His lightning release took on the form of plasma in his hand, striking against the ions in the atmosphere. The chi-chi¬ chi sound released almost had the same feeling as the sound crows made. The two men's attacks intersected. The enemy were ogres. Like something that would come out of a children's book, they were two men with horns growing out of their heads. There was one giant man, and another younger, incredibly beautiful man who was being carried in the giant's hand. The way they moved showed that there was no mistaking that they were shinobi, or perhaps samurai, but in that moment, Sasuke remembered something. Kaguya! The Ootsutsuki clan. They had horns. You could say it was one of the biggest differences between them and their human descendants. Two men with horns growing out of their foreheads were here, in Kaguya's castle. That could only mean one thing. "You aren't Kaguya, are you?" The young man raised his voice in a manner that asked for Sasuke to identify himself. He had slashed at him, so the young man probably was carrying out a confirmation. Sasuke kicked against the ground and leaped up. It looked like his opponent was disturbed by their encounter as well. I don't know what kind of paranormal techniques they can use, but... If he panicked, his techniques would be useless anyway. Kaguya had died. In this world, there wasn't such a thing as immortality. I just need to aim for their heads! Without hesitation, Sasuke was leaping upwards with the intention of aiming at the back of the giant's neck. Sasuke didn't expect the man to take action later than he did. It was just that Sasuke was fast. When people are about to move, their muscles will tense slightly in preparation for the movement. Sasuke's eyes never overlooked that "source" of imminent movement. That was why it was possible for him to move before his opponent did. Thunder's blade cut through the dark. My attack was too shallow! The giant's horn spiralled in mid-air. However, it wasn't a fatal wound. The giant stumbled backwards, then pulled out a broadaxe for a counterattack. They have the position of advantage here. While showing that he could leap back to avoid the blow, Sasuke leapt up. The battleaxe skimmed underneath him, cutting a huge rift through the floor. It was terrifying strength. It couldn't be thought of as simple muscle power. It had to be that the giant was strengthening his muscles with some kind of jutsu. Physical combat is a bad idea. He'd managed to obtain information. Sasuke didn't have any thoughts of it being cowardly to turn his back and run here. For shinobi, carrying out your mission was for more important than anything else. Right now, Sasuke's mission was to work to get information relating to Kaguya to the bitter end. He'd obtained the scroll too. He'd also understood that people of the Ootsusuki bloodline were making a move. That being the case, he had no reason to linger here for long. If he ended up getting himself killed, he wouldn't be able to pass on the info to Naruto and the others. And so, Sasuke ran. Sasuke's sprint was so fast that the average shinobi couldn't possible hope to keep up. But, the two ogres kept up with him. As expected, they weren't average beings. The castle had started crumbling after that last blow, too. But Sasuke's feet didn't falter. Sasuke's steps didn't falter even inside darkness. Sasuke exited the castle. The statues that stood outside it told tales of how this place once prospered. Sasuke kept running. Running was his duty as a ninja. "You can't run away!" The giant roared, shortening the distance betwen them. A battleaxe flew towards Sasuke. Chop! But, the thing that the giant's battleaxe had cut hadn't been Sasuke's neck. It was the stone arm of a statue that, only a moment ago, hadn't been there. "A statue?!" The Ootsutsuki exclaimed, "He switched places!" The giant, as well as the young man who had run behind, both had surprise painted bare on their faces. "The rinnegan, is it?" The young man said, and his beautiful lips curved into a blood red smile. There was no such thing as eternal peace. This was true in much the same way as how there was no such thing as eternal war. However, that didn't mean that fighting for peace was pointless. Rather, the opposite. It wasn't pointless, because no matter the circumstances, people always guarded against war even when they were at peace, and prayed for the fighting to end even when they were in war. Because people, shinobi, they had that sort of final bit of wisdom in them. Wisdom like, for example, knowing that you couldn't escape the karma from your previous battles...
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