Alright, I'm back guys.
Title: Ending.
…
Hah! Hah! Hah!
Nagato took deep and labored breaths as the earth shaking battle going on outside came to a calm.
"Why did you push yourself to make it that huge?" Konan asked as she observed the asteroid sized moon hovering above in the skies.
"My opponent is the Kyuubi…I cannot ease up, " Nagato replied. "The Sage of Six Paths is said to have created the moon. This is nothing in comparison. Regardless, I have now captured the Kyuubi."
…
Minutes Earlier.
—Naruto's Mind-scape—
Naruto's POV
Why did it come to this…?
-"How would you confront the hatred in order to create peace?"- Tendo's question resonated within his mind.
How should I know…?
It hurts…
I hate this…
I don't know… How am I supposed to know?
I don't know anything anymore!
Someone…Help me!
Give me the answer!
"Destroy Everything!" The answer came. "Erase everything that hurts. Give me your body and I will save you from your suffering."
"Huh..? Kyuubi…" Naruto muttered as he looked up to see two gigantic eyes staring back at him.
"Heh. Is what I'd like to say…but I have better things to be doing right now…butz before I leave, there's something someone wanted me to tell you." Kurama said as his gigantic figure disappeared and in his place, a red haired youth with pointy elf ears.
"Huh? Kyuubi you…"
"I think it went like…The answer to peace isn't something that is gotten through understanding alone. Peace or rather , harmony is achieved when understanding and empathy are nurtured. Ummm. What's the rest…?"
The young man that became the Kyuubi closed his eyes as though to remember something, after a few seconds, he said. "Can't remember the details. I just know that forgiveness is also a key component somewhere along the lines. Well then… I've got some place to be."
After saying that, to Naruto's astonishment, the young man disappeared. Naruto knelt there, not knowing what to make of the young man's words.
He knew the young man was Kyuubi, but how was Kyuubi the young man? That didn't make sense, and wasn't the Kyuubi a demon? How could he understand anything about peace?
Was this all an illusion?
[NOTICE: INDIVIDUAL NARUTO HAS MET REQUIREMENTS TO MEETS INDIVIDUAL MINATO]
"Wha-"
[ESTABLISHING LINK…]
[PROCESSING…]
[LINK ESTABLISHED!]
[INDIVIDUAL NARUTO AND INDIVIDUAL MINATO…WELCOME TO GOD'S DOMAIN]
"What?"
But before Naruto could make sense of what was happening, he was interrupted by a bright flash which caused him to close his eyes, and when he did open them, he found himself in an unfamiliar environment.
"Huh? This…isn't part of the arrangement I made…" A voice muttered in confusion right beside him.
Naruto shot his head to his side only to see a very familiar figure standing right beside him.
"You're…Fourth Hokage…"
"..."
"I worked it into the seal so that I would appear in your psyche, should the seal be broken to the point where you'd sprout the eight tails. I really wanted to avoid that... However." The figure said before looking around.
"I don't see the Kyuubi anywhere. Did something go wrong?" Worry could be seen marring his previously calm face.
Seconds later, he let out a deep sigh before smiling at Naruto. "Then again, I did look forward to seeing my son as a young man. So I'll count it as a plus."
He said with a wink. "Don't you feel the same, Naruto?"
"You... Father..." Naruto, still speechless, didn't know anything to say in reply.
'Calm down. Calm down. Calm! Calm!' Naruto screamed internally as he tried to navigate and process the feelings he was going through right now.
[NOTICE: FOCUS INITIATED!]
Immediately, a sense of calm washed over him as he looked back at Minato with calm eyes. They both stared into each other's eyes for a good while before Naruto said.
"I don't even know what to say."
"Haha. Me too. But from the looks of things, Shun did bring you up well." Minato said while scratching his head.
He was actually looking forward to meeting his son, but seeing his son act calmly seconds after their meeting kinda caught him off guard.
"Where are we?" Naruto asked.
[NOTICE! INDIVIDUALS NARUTO AND MINATO ARE IN GOD'S DOMAIN]
"What? God's domain? What's that?" Minato asked as he looked around to find the location of the voice.
[GOD'S DOMAIN IS GOD'S DOMAIN. YOU DO NOT POSSESS THE REQUIREMENTS TO KNOW MORE AS YOU'RE BOTH INCOMPLETE IN A SENSE.]
"What?" Naruto asked while touching himself all over. "I'm very much complete, thank you!"
Minato, however, frowned before coming to a realization. "I see. We're indeed incomplete."
"Huh? What are you talking about dad?" Naruto asked casually, causing Minato to freeze.
"... I'm listening.."
"Y-You..."
"What?" Naruto asked, frowning.
"You called me dad."
"Yeah...I just noticed." Naruto replied, still locking eyes with Minato. "So..?"
"Yeah, well, I'm a soul, an incomplete one at that, and you are a soul with a still functional body, so assuming this is 'God's Domain' we need to be complete in order to move on."
"Is that right, Voice-san."
[INDIVIDUAL DOES NOT MEET REQUIREMENTS TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOD'S DOMAIN.]
The voice replied coldly, causing Minato to smile proudly.
"What's with that look?"
"Of course it's me being proud." Minato replied.
"Why?"
"I just showed off in front of my son, isn't that something to be proud about?"
"She didn't say you were correct."
"Heh, in our line of work, once someone makes a correct assumption on a situation, and their superior doesn't want them to know they're correct, they'll use this same reason." Minato said.
"And you know because..."
"I was the Hokage."
"Heh, For less than two years." Naruto snorted, seeing the increasingly prideful look on his father's face.
For some reason, he just found it annoying, however, his rational mind prevented him from acting on that annoyance.
"So... how have you been?" Minato asked as a table and two chairs appeared. 'Oh? I guess I was right...This is still the Mind-scape, although... superior to the one I'm aware of...Shun's work i assume.'
…
Present Time.
"What incredible strength." Tendo observed as he tried to hold the asteroid in place.
"He's crawling out of the Chibaku Tensei... I must increase the size..."
"Huh?" Tendo muttered in confusion as the lashing chakra of the Kyuubi suddenly came to a halt, as though the previous corrosive flames burning the surface of the little asteroid was nothing but an illusion.
"The Kyuubi...is gone?"
Squinting his eyes, Tendo was momentarily shocked as he saw Naruto, back to his human form, well clothed and in sage mode, glaring at him from that high in the air.
"Impossible. His doubts...they're gone." He noticed as he clearly saw the clarity in his eyes. "What happened? Does he now have control over the Kyuubi? Hm?"
Nagato, who was controlling both Tendo and the Chibaku Tensei began coughing due to excessive chakra draining, causing the hovering asteroid to crumble.
RUMBLE!
"Hmm?" Naruto hummed as he leaped from one rock to another as he descended to the ground.
'Kyuubi's transformation disturbed my chakra. It made me lose my shadow clones. I can only use the Senjutsu Chakra left inside of me...Less than Seven minutes it seems.' Naruto thought as he came to land right in front of Tendo.
However, as soon as he did, his eyes widened in horror as he saw the aftermath of his rampage as well as the absence of a few chakra signatures.
"What the..? That's where the village is. What happened?" Naruto wondered.
"My God! For a moment, I thought I would die for sure." Katsuyu said as she drilled out from Naruto's clothes.
Looking over to the village's location, she said. "You did it, Naruto, when you were in the Kyuubi state."
"Wha..!" Naruto shook as his eyes widened in horror. The memories of what happened before his rampage immediately found its way back into his mind.
'I killed Hinata-chan and the people of Konoha?' he thought as his heartbeat began rising. He grabbed his chest as his breathing became uneven. However...
"She's alive! I can sense Hinata's chakra!" Naruto said. "Although it's faint, I can still feel it." He said with relief.
"That's wonderful. I was worried, however, no casualties resulted from your assault in the Kyuubi state. We were lucky." Katsuyu said.
"I see. That's Great. Thank Goodness." Naruto said, a heavy load leaving his chest as he wiped away the tears falling down his face.
With renewed vigor, he glared at Tendo who was actually wondering how Naruto is still fully clothed while he was half naked.
(A/N: Like, for real, what's with all the MCs having their full gears after a rampage while the antagonists remain tattered?)
"It's time to settle this... Have you come to understand what pain is? Unless you know the same pain, you cannot truly know another. And even if you get to know others, there can be no understanding."
"That is the Truth!"
"Take me to where the Real Pain is. I want to speak face to face." Naruto said after listening to Tendo's words.
"Hmm...So you figured that out. Jiraiya-sensei, and now you...You Konoha ninja are quite impressive." Tendo said as a metal rod flew out of his sleeves.
"However...our discussion is over. Talking with you will change nothing. "
"Let me talk to him." Naruto insisted.
"Sage Mode..." Tendo began as he walked towards Naruto slowly. "Seems like you can only throw two of those nasty chakra shuriken. Isn't that so..?"
"After that, you'll run out of Senjutsu Chakra."
"I guess I have no choice but to fight you..." Naruto nodded
"If both shuriken misses, you shall lose. I will give you no more chances. All that's left is to dodge your attack and bring your half dead body back with me." Tendo said and began a slow jog towards Naruto.
"You leave me no choice then, I'll just look for the real pain myself." Naruto said, totally confident if winning in terms of close quarter combat.
"Eh? But how?" Katsuyu asked and Naruto replied. "Don't worry, I have an idea."
At that moment, Tendo reached him and went for a stab at the Jinchuriki. Naruto however, covered his hand with Senjutsu Chakra and held onto the rod before changing his center of gravity, raising Tendo into the air and punching him to the side.
It all happened too fast for either Tendo or Katsuyu to notice, and by the time Tendo hit a rock snowman, Naruto already had a broken rod in his hand.
Without sparing Tendo an eye, he stabbed the rod into his arm with a grunt, and with a little application of reverse tracking with natural energy, located Nagato who was 10km away from the village.
In the treetops far from the village, Nagato opened his eyes in shock. "He reverse tracked me using Sage Mode..."
"What? He can do that?" Yahiko, who had been silent, was surprised by this.
As far as he knew, anyone who came in contact with the rod had their chakra sealed, or rather disturbed. In doing so, they would be unable to use their chakra.
"So it seems. Sage Mode, huh?" Nagato muttered and closed back his eyes.
"You bastard." Tendo said as he stood up.
"Humph, I have no time for you now." Naruto snorted and threw away the rod. Crossing his fingers, he summoned two clones.
One immediately threw a smoke bomb while the other helped him create a Rasenshuriken.
'Here it comes.' Tendo thought in anticipation. With this, he was one step closer to acquiring Naruto.
"Shinra Tensei!" He said and dispelled the rasenshuriken, only to hear.
"That settles it..."
'Wha-' Before Tendo could react to the voice from his back, he was suddenly punched and sent flying.
"Seems like you only watched out for the rasenshuriken that you forgot my speed." Naruto said as he stood where Tendo once stood.
"Give up. You can't beat me. I've already severed and blocked your chakra from controlling the body. You can still hear me though."
"You bastard! Someone like you who has no answer..."
"I do not have the answer." Naruto interrupted. "That is exactly why we must come together to fight for it. It isn't something that one man alone can achieve. And did that, I need to meet your real body."
"Why..?"
"Because my Nii-san once said that three things make up communication. Words, body language and the eye. Right now, I've only heard you, that's why I need to meet you face to face. That way, we can truly communicate."
...
"I... don't know what to say." Shun said with teary eyes as he watched the final words Naruto left for Tendo before leaving.
"For the first time today, I agree with you, although I feel we both have different reasons for being speechless." Jiraiya replied.
"I doubt. I just find it awe inspiring that Naruto actually remembered and used a quote I said years ago."
"..."
"Isn't that the reason for your speechlessness?" Shun asked, not knowing that he had rendered the man speechless once again.
"Heh, we really are alike it seems. Not to mention. Naruto actually defeated someone with those eyes. It'd be a step forward. Wouldn't you agree?"
"That's exactly what had me speechless, but I guess the student's duty of surpassing their teacher has been fulfilled." Jiraiya muttered.
"Yeah no shit. I actually thought you'd be the one to defeat him though." Shun said. 'after all the nurturing you went through. But I guess having Ria teaching him back then brought balance back.'
"But really... This has been a wholesome experienc-"
Ring* Ring*
"Hm..?" Shun turned to the wristband he was wearing on his hand. "What would make Kimizu contact me at this time?" Shun mused.
Shrugging, he tapped the wristband causing it to light up as Kimizu's figure appeared on the screen.
"Finally. Where have you been? And... where are you even? Who's that beside you? Why is it so dark?"
Kimizu trailed off as she observed Shun's surroundings.
"Why'd you call? I told you. This is for emergencies only. And I doubt there's anything worth my attention at the moment." Shun said with a bit of annoyance.
He was having the moment of his life watching the Very scenes he so hoped to watch in 3d...well, semi 3d. And the interruption was very much unappreciated.
"It's the Raikage. He called for a Kage Summit. Apparently, the Uchiha kid you're so fond of attacked his village and kidnapped his brother. He even threatened war...sigh. He's like a rabid dog right now." Kimizu reported with a bit of annoyance in her tone.
"...So? I still don't see the need to call me?"
"Well, you're the Tengoku clan de facto clan head and it's the Uchiha we're talking about. Not to mention...the whole village knows how much you like the kid...and the Uzumaki."
"I...have a question. Very important one actually." Shun seriously asked.
"Yeah?"
"When...?"
"Hmm?"
"When did I become the clan head?"
"That's...the important question?"
"Yeah. I mean, you can't just give me a post and expect me to take it up can you?"
"Well, didn't Keshiro-dono and Hayashi-san give you the option of Kage or Clan head?"
"Yeah...they did."
"And you said, and I quote; I'd rather die than be the Kage.+
"That still doesn't answer the question."
"But it does. Since you rejected being the Kage, you accepted being the Clan head."
"..."
"..."
Shun and Kimizu looked at each other for a good while before Shun asked
"How long ago was this?"
"When you were appointed captain."
"That's...two years ago?"
"Yes."
"Then who's been taking care of clan affairs? I haven't picked up a document concerning the clan since I knew what documents are."
"It's your mom and sister, Shun."
"My God...me... myself! Damn."
"..."
"Well, since it's a war he wants, let there be war, but let's first hear what he has to say at the Kage summit. Have Kaito-san know about this. I'll be following him to the Summit. When is it?"
"In a few days time."
"Then it's all good. Thanks for the notice." Shun said and disconnected the call.
"Damn. What a hassle, am I right?" Shun asked and Jiraiya nodded.
"I'm glad we see eye to eye on something...being Kage...is a definite no." Jiraiya said with a serious expression as he popped a Popcorn.
Meanwhile, during his time talking with Kimizu, Naruto and Nagato had just finished their debate about life...No, it's peace. Yup, peace and conflict. Leading to the mass resurrection of the dead Konoha citizens.
"Damnit! Look what she made me miss! And it wasn't on record!" Shun screamed as he watched the green light containing a faint trace of the laws of life and time showering on Konoha.
For a moment, he considered rewinding time, but gave up the idea soon after. "Tch, guess it's time we prepared for war."
***
A/N: sorry for the delay guys. As you can see, I'm currently trying to rush the entire thing. I'm currently working on my final year project as a mechanical engineer. Weird right? A scientist writing a novel. Anyways, I'll be writing my first semester Exams starting today till the 26th of this Month.
I'm offering like 8 courses so it'll be spread throughout the month. Wish me luck and keep up the support. This is mechanical engineering we're talking about. Everything about this project is money so...
Enjoy the chapter though.