Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
Kakumei – Arc 2: The Curse of Time
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Chapter 60 – Kakumei
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In the village of Konoha, at the Sarutobi leader's house, Saori Minamoto sits on the couch next to Konohamaru. Kokoro, Kaori and Yukiko stand before them, Takeshi is not there, currently out with Boruto and Izuna. The team is waiting for Saori's instructions, since their mission is still to get her safely back home.
"So, I've asked for you to come, not because I'm ready to leave, but because I have a new request." says the Minamoto Princess.
"A request?" asks Kaori.
"You've been sent here to protect me, and then escort me back home, is that so?" explains Saori.
"Yes… What will you suggest now?" demands Kokoro. "A desired change of plan?"
"Exactly… I'd like for you to go to Ryuka,…" answers Saori, taking a moment to think before making her decision. "… And inform Natsuri Yokawa, the hotel's manager, that I am not coming back. I'm staying here in this village."
"What?" exclaims Konohamaru. "Who's gonna lead the village then?"
"Natsuri will. I'm sure she wants to, and is definitely able to." simply arguments Saori.
"But… Where are you going to live?" he adds, a bit confused.
"Well… Here, with you." she simply replies.
Konohamaru raises his eyebrows and stays silent, happy but confused. He doesn't object to this, but feels awkward about this backward invitation. Kokoro, able to sense the love in the room, smiles. Kaori and Yukiko, who see their sensei's reaction, smile as well. Yukiko even quietly claps.
"We gladly accept this new mission." joyfully says Kokoro. "Thank you for helping us while we were here, Sarutobi. And congratulations to both of you. You really fit together well!"
"What? Fitting? What do you mean?" says Konohamaru, even more confused, turning his head to look into Saori's eyes. "Is that it? Like, we're a couple now? We live together and all?"
"… Y-Yes… Why? You don't want to?" hesitatingly asks Saori.
"No! I mean, Yes I'd love to… But…" explains Konohamaru, at loss of words. "You know… I've had plenty of relationships before and none of them lasted… Certainly, I've known you for longer than I was with most of these other girls, but, as you always say, you'll probably get bored of me in a few more months…"
"Well, let's enjoy it while it lasts." she says, relieved by her boyfriend's complaints. "I don't care for how long. Right now, I feel like staying with you forever. I escape all my boring routine, my village, my job, and I get to live with someone I love."
Konohamaru listens, understands and gladly smiles. He's all up for it, but was just trying to be reasonable. He now gives up the play and accepts to be happy with it. He raises his hand, and Saori catches it to hold with hers before he can put it anywhere. The two clan leaders share a passionate gaze, silently expressing their trust. Feeling awkward, like they're too much in the room, Kaori speaks up discreetly.
"We should probably leave these two alone, Sensei." she says. "Let's find Takeshi and go to this other village."
Kokoro, still smiling, looks at Kaori like she just woke her up and nods. She pats on the two young girls' shoulders and leaves.
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Still in Konoha, Takeshi Minamoto is chilling with Boruto Hyuga and Izuna Uchiha who just got out of the academy. They're walking to their homes and chatting about their day and life. Boruto is telling about what happened earlier in class, when some kid insulted Izuna's family.
"In the end, I didn't hit that guy. Lee held me back." tells Boruto. "Instead, Rebekka punched him in the face, but Iruka-sensei ignored it."
"… Who's Rebekka?" asks Takeshi.
"Some crazy girl. She's even older than you." answers Izuna. "But whatever… This story isn't relevant."
"Yeah you just tryna make us forget how it started." says Boruto. "Remember your question? You didn't even get an answer."
"Stop messing with me, Boruto. Or I'll beat your ass!" yells Izuna.
"No, I'd beat your ass. And you know it." answers Boruto, and Izuna doesn't answer, as if he agrees.
"What? For real?" asks Takeshi, surprised by Izuna's silence. "Even with your Sharingan, you can't defeat this pineapple?"
"I don't even know how to use these eyes. I have no training at all, and my Mom prefers to ignore that I have them." explains the Uchiha boy. "All I know is that sometimes when I get angry or stuff, my eyes get red and I suddenly see very well."
"I know how Dojutsu work." says Takeshi. "Tentoki likes to tell things, even when I don't care. Sometimes, I actually listen and learn stuff like this. I can teach you what I know if you want to. But not this time, I'll probably have to leave soon."
Izuna, walking behind his two friends, stares at the taller and older one. He's amazed by this innocent but helpful proposition. He steps a bit forward to get between the two, and inhales to answer. Before he says anything, he's startled when he sees Inoue Yamanaka cross their road. She simply passes by a way that meets theirs, and doesn't come in their direction.
Timidly, Izuna steps back and forgets about what he was going to say. Inoue notices them in the distance, simply stares, and then waves to say hello. Takeshi, who guesses that this greeting is addressed to him since she already saw the two other boys earlier today, waves back. Boruto notices Izuna who, as soon as Inoue leaves their sight, stares angrily at Takeshi.
"What's up, kiddo?" mocks Boruto. "You jealous that she didn't notice you?"
"Shut up, pineapple!" adds Izuna.
"You have a crush on her?" asks Takeshi, very quickly figuring out his friend's discussion. "Odd. She doesn't really look like Miss Sakura. Does she behave like her?"
Izuna doesn't understand the point of this question, and just raises a single eyebrow. Boruto cringes at this suggestion and, almost angry, calls him out.
"What the hell?" he exclaims. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's just another thing Tentoki says." answers Takeshi. "Generally, someone would tend to build his type of woman around what he likes about his mother."
"So what? You're into tall black heads with fat breasts and booty?" exclaims Boruto again.
Just as he finishes his violent interrogation, the Hyuga heir is suddenly hit in the stomach far too quickly for him to see it happen. Too rapidly for him and Izuna to realize anything, he's sent fluttering through a street they pass by and lands on a tree, over 30 meters away.
Takeshi, who just did this by pushing him with his leg as a reaction to this rude comment about his mom, lowers his leg and puts his hands back in his pockets. He then gets in front of Izuna again and keeps walking like nothing important happened.
"Your home is this way, Boruto." he says, calmly. "See you tomorrow."
Izuna looks around to find where the Hyuga disappeared. Finding a gap between the leaves on a tree, he guesses what happened, and deduces that his friend must be buried in that plant now. He shrugs his shoulders and casually waves goodbye at the tree. He runs to get back to Takeshi's side. As soon as he reaches him, Takeshi brings up the earlier topic again.
"You should stop being so… grumpy." he gives as advice. "Inoue would probably find you more approachable if you do."
"… Noted…" timidly answers Izuna, who's annoyed but trustful.
"… So about that question you asked in class… What was it?" asks Takeshi, acting a bit more personal now that Boruto left.
"Oh… This… Nothing important."
"… Anyway… Boruto said you didn't get an answer. Don't you need one?" the Kiri-nin says, not insisting further.
"Well, yes maybe. I'll just ask my mom about it." Izuna replies, trying to keep his dream a secret.
"So how's she doing?" Takeshi questions, about Sakura. "And how's your sister? And your dad?"
"Everyone's fine. Except for my dad, I don't know about him."
"Your dad, huh?" says Takeshi, reminding himself of 2 months ago, when this man came to find his father to ask him a favor. "Last time I saw him was a few weeks after this thing with the Otsutsuki people."
"Otsutsuki people?" asks Izuna.
"Yes. It's what they call the dudes who screwed up the prison of Kiri." explains Takeshi. "They're the same who kidnapped your Hokage, and took the whole Kage council to be defeated."
"Yeah. I see who they are. It's… when I awakened my Sharingan." says the Uchiha boy. "Momoshiki it was, the one who killed Teru's dad."
Takeshi doesn't answer. He just keeps it quiet for a minute to pay respect to Kobo Uchiha. After a few more dozens of meters without a word said, Izuna speaks again, and changes the topic.
"So, you said you'll leave soon. How was that mission?" he asks.
"Tough,… basically expecting nothing at first, but having to fight my super god ancestor the next day." answers Takeshi.
"You mean the thing that Lord 7th beat up on the main square?" wonders Izuna, giving praise to the Hokage as always.
Takeshi slowly turns his head to look at him and doesn't answer the question again. He stays quiet until they reach another cross path.
"You go this way." he says to Izuna. "I'm going straight, and you're going right."
"Yeah… I guess." says Izuna, unsettled by this end of discussion. "Good bye then?"
"Hopefully, Aunt Saori told Kokoro-sensei that we can leave." says the Minamoto. "In this case, I'd leave tomorrow morning. I'll pass by to see you before going, but after that, there'll be a while before we meet again."
"No problem. I get it." says Izuna who taps on his elder's shoulder and goes his way. "Next time, let's do that Dojutsu training you talked about."
"Sure… Don't forget to ask your mom about that question of yours." answers Takeshi who goes straight and leaves.
While he walks to the Sarutobi house, to find his teammates and aunt, He breaks his loneliness by chatting with his tengu instead.
"So, I fought the Daitengu… It surely means I'm ready. How about handing over Koton now?" he asks Tentoki. "Didn't I prove myself enough?"
"Haha! Keep dreaming." simply answers bright tengu before getting serious recalling the last things that happened.
"Seriously? Guys, you're not helping." complains Takeshi. "Three idiots in one body but only one actually uses his skills."
"Three?" wonders Tentoki, before recalling who the 3rd person is supposed to be. "Ah yes… That other tengu that only you can see… Did it tell you about his abilities yet?"
"Not at all. Actually, he never said a word." he complains again.
Tentoki looks around, still totally unable to see the tengu. He must be similar to Kawahime., appearing only to the yamabushi and Sojobo himself. About him, the Daitengu most likely knows about his abilities and already makes use of them. Now, Tentoki's thoughts bring him back to Sojobo's last words. With a hand raised toward Takeshi, he suddenly vanished, as if he had stopped time to do something before dying again. How did he even die this time? Why did he suddenly turn into wood?
"Takeshi, Do you feel any different since you met with Sojobo?" he asks, out of curiosity.
"I felt oddly fine, I feel more alive. More than ever before actually." promptly says Takeshi.
"I mean in your mind. In your heart, precisely." corrects Tentoki. "Sojobo seemed to esteem you more than any other Minamoto. Do you have any idea why? And how do you feel about it?"
"Honestly… I don't know." he explains. "Deep inside, somehow, I knew all along that he wasn't gonna hurt me or my aunt. I'm even sure that the tengu he planned on putting in her really wasn't Ryutoki. I just didn't agree with him acting as if he was entitled to us… Whatever, in the end it seems like uncle Naruto knocked some sense into him, so he should be good the next time we meet."
"Next time? Ah! It's true that he apparently is able to come back to life again and again." says Tentoki. "Well, don't wait for it too much."
The young Minamoto just nods, and stops simply walking. He jumps to the nearest roof and hurries through the village to quickly reach his aunt's house.
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At the same time, nearly 3 months without giving any update, Sasuke Uchiha keeps going with his research on the Otsutsuki clan. As Naruto advised the last time they met, he finally sets foot inside the hollow moon, to meet a certain someone.
These last months, the wandering ninja has been busy going through all the places he could find by following Momoshiki's traces. He lurked to find any clue about who the kid with the Rinnegan he met could be. But he didn't find anything. Certain that this kid is related to Momoshiki's last words, he keeps looking for everything he can about the celestial and his clan.
As he steps out of a portal and walks on the ground of a giant forest, he looks up to see a floating castle, no longer hidden in an artificial sun. He simply keeps walking through the woods, waiting to be noticed. Suddenly he feels movement farther in the forest, and sees a small army come running toward him. After a closer look, Sasuke recognizes that they're only just puppets being controlled by classic chakra strings.
Amaterasu
Without any movement, he gets rid of all the puppets by setting them on fire. Before they all burn away, he follows the strings that manipulate them and localizes their master. Toneri Otsutsuki, who stands on a hill far away, senses his tools being destroyed. At the same moment, he feels the tip of a blade against his back.
"I was expecting you to come, but you still surprised me, Sasuke Uchiha." says the blind loner.
"You expected it, uh?" says Sasuke. "Then you know why I'm here."
"It's been far too long since my last encounter with someone from Earth…" says Toneri. "So you're surely not here to speak about what I did last time."
"Not at all. But just to be sure, you better not get any similar ideas again." threatens Sasuke.
"Don't worry about this. I can't possibly try to awaken the Tenseigan again." answers Toneri, to reassure his guest. "There is a detail about this Dojutsu… It is that only one person from the lineage can inherit it at once."
Sasuke simply frowns, unsure of what this means. Does Toneri mean that someone else currently possesses these eyes, or the power to awaken them? Before he can ask about it, the lone lunarian tries to guess the reason for the Uchiha's visit.
"You must want to ask about them, then?" he suggests.
"Them?" asks Sasuke, suspecting that Toneri knows more than he thought.
"Yes. The Otsutsuki." he says. "Over 10 years ago, not long after my encounter with your blond friend, a group of three horned people came to me and asked about what happened to this world. One of them spoke as if he personally knew Hamura's mother."
"Kaguya?" wonders Sasuke. "This must have been Momoshiki."
"So Earth knows about the celestial beings too now?" remarks Toneri. "I only told them what they wanted to know. They asked about the Biju, the Juubi, and you. Your eyes were what captivated them the most. Of course, I felt heavily overwhelmed. Not sure of how it could turn out for me, I cowardly gave away everything I knew. I hope you can forgive me for this."
Sasuke sighs, and decides to let go of it. Any bad that Momoshiki could do is done already. Blaming anyone else now is pointless, and he doesn't have the will to do so anyway. Still he's surprised by how long Toneri just said it's been since then. Over 10 years?
It means Momoshiki had been preparing to consume Earth for a while when they first met. And as Toneri just said, preparing for Earth was getting to know about Sasuke. This must be why he said that he was well prepared to face him. Oddly, this time, 10 years ago, coincides with Katashiki's attack. Are these two events linked?
"They're not the only celestials I've met of course." Toneri adds, interrupting Sasuke's train of thought. "Not more than a month ago, a young little lady… What am I saying, 'young'? She was probably hundreds of years old like all the others. Anyway, she came to me and asked about the ninja world. And you, Sasuke Uchiha, what do you know about the Otsutsuki?"
Sasuke only now puts his sword back in its scabbard and thinks of all the names he's heard.
"Kaguya, her sons, Katashiki, Momoshiki, Kinshiki, another one with a fishing rod, and two others called Inashiki and Saraya." lists Sasuke. "All these ones should be dead. But I heard of other names, nicknames especially. Most notably, there seems to be relatives of Kaguya. A brother, a father, and most importantly a mother. A mother that even she, who called herself the mother of chakra, feared. She seemed to consider her own power as only a tiny fragment of what her mother had. She really makes it seem like this woman is absolute, and all-mighty."
"Hmhm!" silently laughs Toneri as he turns around to face Sasuke. "Fortunately for you, this all-mother is no more. And this since over a thousand years ago. Even before Hamura defeated his mother with his brother. Kaguya learned about her death long before she was sealed. And it may even be the reason why she started to call herself the mother of chakra."
"I see…" says Sasuke, relieved but curious. "However, there is a problem with what you're saying. Kaguya was given eternal youth by the fruit. If all she had was a tiny piece of her mother's power, this woman certainly was as immortal as her daughter. Kaguya was unkillable. The only way to end her was to seal the tree's power inside of her. How did her mother die then?"
"Good observation." says Toneri before turning around towards a hole in the ground that lets Sasuke see the night sky outside the moon. "There are more of them. A whole society actually."
"Must be all the nicknames Momoshiki called…" says Sasuke. "A golden-eyed one, a masked man, his aunt, judges or something, and a dragon lord?"
"The great Dragon sage." Toneri remarks. "The queen, Kaguya's mother, didn't die of any natural cause. As unbelievable as it sounds, she was defeated. And those who killed her are still alive. They rule over the clan and the whole universe in her place now…"
"Tell me everything you know." asks Sasuke, frightened by this menacing fact.
"Well, it's a lot to take, so you may want a cozier place to hear all this." says Toneri who raises his head toward the Otsutsuki castle, the heritage of his clan, the descendants of Hamura.
Sasuke looks up to see the floating islands. He sighs, quite anguished by what tale he is about to listen to.
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Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Sasuke's son finally gets home. Expecting to find no one, he carelessly kicks off his shoes and runs to the living room, but stops when he notices he didn't hear the sound of his shoes hitting the wall or ground. Behind him, he sees his mother who caught them mid-air, looking at him menacingly. He gently smiles, trying to ease her, but it doesn't work. Instead, he tries to speak.
"How was your day?" he naively asks.
"Long. 'Lord 7th' is finally back to his office." she answers.
Izuna brightly smiles at this news. Sakura leaves the shoes on the ground and walks past him, gently hitting him on the head with her fist. Izuna stops smiling and rubs his head. After a long moment, he decides to ask about a less happy topic.
"And how's granny Tsunade doing?" he says.
"Good news actually." says Sakura, at her son's surprise. "Well not really. She may actually still be able to use chakra. Not a lot, but at least enough to channel it through her body. She's healed but still suffers some of the illness' side effects. She should be able to leave in a week or two… However, one thing's for sure. She won't be looking after you kids for me again."
"So is it bad or good?" asks the boy, confused.
"We expected far worse… So it's okay." she answers. "It's the best we can do."
Sakura goes upstairs to get her daughter that she hears whining. Izuna goes to rest on the couch. His mother comes back and goes to sit next to him. As she prepares to breastfeed her daughter, she asks about Izuna's day.
"So what did you do at the academy? Except daydreaming about Lord 7th and Inoue."
"Nothing special… A surprise test." answers Izuna, calmly. "I nailed it, don't worry. We just had to unseal a pen from a scroll."
"Ok…" she quietly says, surprised that he didn't act grumpy about her provocation. "Is that all?"
Izuna remembers the lesson of today, the history of the title of Hokage, and what happened with Boruto and Rebekka. He also recalls Takeshi's latest words to him, about the question that caused the feud to begin in class.
"Say, mom…" slowly says Izuna.
"Yes, honey?" asks Sakura, who's attentively watching her daughter being fed.
"What does it take to become Hokage?" he asks.
Sakura raises her head and turns it to look at her son lying on the couch next to her. Surprised, she wonders why this question suddenly pops up.
"Do YOU want to be it some day?" she asks, carefully.
"I don't know. It seems like an impossible job. I don't think I'll ever be good enough for it." complains the kid.
Sakura smiles, and laughs. She calms down and remembers all the Hokage she knew.
"I've known 3 of them personally." she explains. "The 5th was my master. Honestly, before you were old enough, she used to hide her real face behind a transformation jutsu that made her look younger. Even as the Hokage, she often ran away from her office and went to grab some booze. She's also totally addicted to gambling, even though she always loses. She even earned her nickname out of this: The legendary sucker."
"Is that for real?" asks Izuna.
"Wait, I'm not done. As the Hokage, her addictions even influenced the village's economic balance." adds Sakura. "And the others aren't any better. The 6th was my sensei. He arrived late to every meeting he planned himself, and always gave a stupid excuse. Before becoming Hokage and getting married to Shizune, he always carried a book around. And it was always some adult novel."
"Adult novels?" exclaims the boy.
"Forget it." continues Sakura. "And the 7th! He's the worst of them! He was my classmate, then teammate. At the academy, he was the worst student. Failing every single exercise. He spent most of his time running around the village, craving for attention and annoying Lord 3rd. And when he wasn't causing trouble, he'd always be at Ichiraku Ramen. As a ninja, and as a kid, his only accomplishments were to piss people off. He also was extremely stupid, and nasty."
"AAHH!" yells Izuna, covering his ears. "Why are you telling me this? I don't want to know all that!"
"It's to tell you who the Hokage actually are." she says. "I mean, you heard me right? They aren't as great and perfect as they seem to be. They're even all pretty petty… If THEY could become Hokage and nail the job, why couldn't you? Do you really think you can't do as good as an alcoholic, an adult novel fan, and the most problem kid of all problem kids?"
Izuna gets up on his ass and sits next to his mom. He thinks about her point, and smiles, amused by this new vision of his heroes. Then, he frowns, disturbed by one tiny detail.
"But if they all are so goofy, why didn't any better person take the role?" he asks.
"Oh, being Hokage has nothing to do with being serious." answers Sakura. "There was concurrence for the role. And a lot, but those people were chosen because they're those whose ninja way most fits the role and responsibility of the Hokage. It's all about dedication and honor."
"Dedication and honor? Yeah. I could do that!" exclaims Izuna, before suddenly remembering what answer he got the last time he asked about it. "But, could I, even if I'm an Uchiha?"
Sakura widens her eyes, shocked by this unreal complaint. She looks at her son, who looks dead serious and worried about it. Not knowing what to say, she gives a vague answer.
"Well… Uchiha and Konoha always had a complicated relationship." she says. "Many Uchiha clan members had the same ambition as you… But they didn't have the luck you have. They all met a terrible fate. Some of them could have been. They had the spirit and all, but simply were unlucky."
"Really?" asks Izuna. "Could you name an example?"
"Your father." she promptly says, with a little smile, as she knows Izuna won't believe it.
"What? No! No way!" yells Izuna. "Him? Hokage? So it was him or Lord 7th? What made him give up?"
"Oh… For him, it's not only fate. He didn't really have the best idea of what a Hokage should be." explains Sakura. "Naruto kind of defeated him on a psychological aspect."
"What was his vision of it?" asks her son.
"It was at the end of his deserting phase. He came back with this idea." she explains. "He believed that the leader, the Hokage, had to be a person, stronger than anyone, who stands above the world. As a threat, he'd unite everyone and ensure peace. A bit like some people he knew did before, the plan was to sacrifice himself to become the pillar that holds peace in place. He called it Revolution!"
She stops speaking and sighs, a bit embarrassed by how her husband used to be. Izuna sits back and thinks about how his dad used to think. He sure is glad that Lord 7th won in the end. Not saying any more words, he just rests his head on his mom's shoulder. Sakura looks at him and smiles.
"So hear that?" she says. "It's up to you to break this curse, ok? You gotta be the Uchiha who becomes Hokage, and proves everyone who thought those two were natural enemies wrong."
Izuna smiles and gently nods. Sakura lets her head fall and lays it on her son's. Together, the family rests in the living room, calmly waiting for dinner time.
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Simultaneously, in Hikari, in the lands of Heart, Oshio Uchiha stands on the great balcony of his castle before all the people of the village gathered in front of him. Behind him, the two Yamanaka twins, Meinu Imai who just returned from her mission, Kawaki and Minoka who was invited to join the group after Suto's defeat. They all stand proudly and listen. The leader of the group speaks up to the villagers and explains how he'll apply what Meinu told him. How he will serve as the new leader of these lands and more.
"The world we live in is not made to be owned by money and notoriety." he shouts. "This world is made to be ruled by the strong. People with true power don't have to lay under people with fake importance and invaluable man-made matters. This land knows it well. Gozen Tomoe, who was still leading this country a few months ago, made it clear to every feudal lord who owned a part of it before her. That Might is the only rule this land needed. And now, my might is the only thing that will save it!"
The crowd cheers, feeling nostalgic of the glorious times they've lived with the Tomoe clan.
"So I, Oshio Uchiha, with those who were chosen like me,…" he says, looking back to see his friends. "… Will give to this land the greatness it deserves. And bring to the world the balance it needs. We'll make our might the leader. We'll make our might the enemy of the cowards who think they can own and control those who surpass them… Those they fear. Our might will put an end to their age. Might will come over arrogance. Because Might is what truly makes, and should make Right. What our Might will bring to this land, to the great ninja continent and to the whole world… Is a Revolution. Therefore it is what we will call ourselves, as the power that will unite the world under Might… Kakumei, The Revolution."
And so, having lost all motivation and will to live, the mysterious Uchiha decides to devote what he still has to live to the causes of others. Inspired by Kawaki's passion for power, Meinu's anarchism, Fuyuko and Akiko's hatred for wealthy weaklings, and his own love and affection for his people and them, Oshio baptizes their group Kakumei.
The group who seeks to become the mightiest instance in the world and unite everyone in peace under the right made by their might.
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End of Chapter 60 – Next Chapter: The Pillars of Peace
End of "Kakumei – Arc 2: The Curse of Time"