The previous chapter continues here.
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A few more years went by, and Aya's 15th birthday arrived—the age of majority in Sunagakure. Her little sister, Sahara, was 14 that year. As usual, Aya's birthday was a national festivity, but this was not the reason why it was important.
With her coming of age, Aya's official hunt for Mount Myōboku would begin. She would venture outside and personally search for the toads.
"Onee-chan! This is not fair! I want to go with you! If you don't take me with you, by the time you return, I will have turned into a clan member!"—In Sunagakure, turning into a clan member was equivalent to becoming a delinquent. As expected, this was too grave a threat!
"My dear Imouto, no means no. Just wait a year, and you'll come with me, I promise."- Aya said.
Aya had grown into a beauty with long, cascading deep green hair. Her arms, legs, neck, and chest were covered in scripture of Lucian's design. She wore a deep green toga and went about life barefoot, since she normally floated, so this was not a problem for her.
"But that rule is stupid. No one is stronger than you! You can protect me. There's no need to wait for my 15th birthday."—In Sunagakure, you could only step out after reaching the age of majority, and never alone, always in squads of at least five members.
The only exception to this rule was when you were reverse-summoned to your summons' home.
"If I had to wait for my 15th birthday, so will you. Besides, you'll have Mom and Dad to yourself."- Aya had a mocking grin at the end.
"I hate you! You know what those two will do."- Sahara said, knowing she and Aya were both victims of Kaede and Yuudai's inappropriateness.
"It won't be for long, Sahara. Just 11 months more, and then you'll come hunting with me. And it's not like you won't see me until then—I will return every month."—The passing of time for the people of Sunagakure was different; to them, a year or a decade might feel the same.
"Ugh! I'll miss you, Onee-chan."- Sahara conceded with a pout.
The sisters exchanged warm hugs, and finally, Aya flew to the rendezvous point. She wasn't traveling alone—the village wouldn't have allowed it.
Aya was traveling with four Hashshashin. These operatives, unlike the rest of the villagers, were trained specifically for assassinations and protection. Normally, they stood in the shadows of the village leader and the council members, but four from their scarce numbers would shadow Aya.
The Hashshashin discarded their names the moment they joined the brotherhood. Instead, they used numbers as their identifiers. Task Force 141—the one assigned to guard Aya—was composed of 47, 007, 39, and 13. These would have been very famous numbers with long lists of names trailing their bloody steps if they weren't as good as they were at what they did. No one knew who these shadowless numbers were, but Lucian told Aya he had a good feeling about them.
Aside from the Hashshashin, Aya was accompanied by Sasaee (Sah-sah-eh), the eldest daughter of Asahi. Sasaee, as the daughter of the village leader, was trained from a young age by Asahi, the former strongest in Sunagakure before Aya arrived.
Sasaee was two years older than Aya. She was a soft pink-haired girl with a lithe build, inherited Asahi's light grey eyes, and had a calm disposition.
The last member of Aya's entourage was Kahoi (Kah-oh-ee), a black-haired 18-year-old with amber eyes. He was the current leading genius of the village, and were it not for his lack of interest in politics, Asahi would have been training him by now to take his place as the next leader.
"Aya-sama."- Sasaee acknowledged her with a courteous but subtle bow of her head.
"Hey, Sasaee! That respectful tone of yours will probably get tiring soon during our expedition."- Aya said, used to the way villagers referred to her.
When she was cute and cuddly, they had no problem calling her Aya-chan. As she started to grow up, they transitioned to simply Aya. By the time she hit puberty, they all called her Aya-sama.
She didn't understand where they drew the line. For example, her parents worshipped the figure of 'Aya-sama' as much as any villager, but even if they acknowledged that Aya-chan and Aya-sama were the same person, they always treated her as their daughter. She wasn't complaining about this, but the villagers were sort of similar—they all knew that both Ayas were the same person, but when she was a baby, they cooed at her just like any other baby. As soon as she started to show a semblance of physical maturity, they switched to Aya-sama. This switch was something puzzling to her.
"When it does, I will stop, Aya-sama."- Sasaee said, ignoring Aya's implicit request to drop the formalities.
"Aya-sama, are we ready to depart?"- Kahoi asked in a formal tone, though somewhat more relaxed than Sasaee's.
"Yes, Kahoi. All seven of us are here."- With Aya's approval, the teenagers looked around to see if they could spot their shadows, but the Hashshashin's figures remained as elusive as their nature.
"I see the praise my father gave their name was not undeserved."- Sasaee remarked.
"Let us depart, then."- Kahoi said.
He bit his thumb and slammed his palm into the sand. With a cloud of smoke, a sandworm of light grey coloration appeared. This was one of Sunamushi's descendants. This juvenile sandworm was about as long as two 18-wheelers placed one after the other.
"Kagemushi, we are ready."- Kahoi spoke to the sandworm.
"It will be my pleasure to escort Aya-sama out of our sands."- The sandworm responded, earning Aya's smile.
"Just like that, years of partnership were swept away by the winds, and now Kagemushi doesn't even acknowledge my presence."- Kahoi said overdramatically.
"Don't be a crybaby, Kahoi. Don't trouble Aya-sama with your erratic behavior."- Kagemushi replied as it lowered its body for its passengers.
The teenagers boarded the Worm Express, and Kagemushi felt like the teens were at least four people heavier than it expected, but it dismissed it as a misjudgment.
"Kagemushi, take us to the One-Tails first. I'm going to deal with this little business before going out of the sands."- Aya requested.
"As you wish, Aya-sama."
After a three-hour journey, Kagemushi brought the expedition to the biggest chakra signature some of them had ever felt.
The One-Tails, upon sensing them, didn't waste time and responded with a bijudama. Ever since that frightful day, he had been hunted by the maniacs of the sand; it was now an instinctual response of his to answer with a bijudama if he felt them approaching. This was no different.
The purple orb of destruction flew toward the sandworm with the intention of annihilation.
"Keep going, Kagemushi."- Aya ordered and the sandworm faithfully followed her command.
At least the One-Tails knew that his bijudama's explosion would keep them away for a while. He planned to use this opportunity to sink into the sand and swim away.
Yet, things were different this time. As the bijudama came into range, Aya lifted her left hand—her script glowing softly—and it stopped. It hovered peacefully in the air, and Kagemushi passed below it, not minding it.
While Kagemushi moved closer to the shocked chakra beast, the bijudama resumed its flight path, eventually resulting in an explosion that decorated their background.
The explosion caused a bright flash, followed by a tsunami-like wave of sand and a shockwave of wind.
Sasaee's scripts glowed, and gold dust seemed to evaporate from her tattoos, creating a golden fog. The fog of gold dust grew larger until it solidified into a golden wall behind them.
The shockwave crashed into the solid gold wall, and the wave of sand followed. But nothing went over it. The wall returned softly to its fog-like state and then it rushed back into Sasaee's script.
'Don't run. I come in peace. If you run, I will capture you and seal you forever. And don't think about hiding with that massive chakra signature of yours; stealth was not, and never will be, your thing.'- Aya broadcasted to the chakra beast's mind.
As if carrying no concern for their security, the teens and the sandworm got closer to the spooked One-Tails.
It stood shocked yet ready to fight recklessly. He was prepared to take down the monster of a girl with him if possible.
"Hello, my name is Aya Futagami. What should I call you?"- Aya said in a cheery tone.
"... You people call my esteemed self One-Tails."- It said curtly.
"That may be the case, but didn't Hagoromo name you and your siblings? I don't think he was heartless enough to name you by the number of your tails, was he?"
'Though, in the end, he was unrecognizable to me, so maybe he was as heartless with them as he was with us.'- Aya thought.
"How do you know that?!"- The One-Tails demanded.
"Do you not recognize my last name? Did Hagoromo never mention a Madi Futagami?"- Aya asked with some incredulity.
'Even if the twins didn't like me in the end, as a formidable enemy, they should have at least passed down my name in warning, right?'
|Maybe they assumed you'd never return, or they were trying to deny your existence.|
'That's just sad and plainly stupid.'
"No! Who are you?"- The One-Tails demanded, stirring his chakra aggressively, pressuring the humans and sandworm.
"It doesn't matter, then. If your father didn't bother to pass down my name, then I won't bother retelling my story. Just know that my name is Aya Futagami and that I once knew your father. So, do you want me to call you One-Tails?"- Aya slowly waved her hand, and the rioting chakra in the atmosphere stilled.
Just as the tailed beast's heart did in fright.
"... Shukaku."- Aya's display of power both intimidated and frightened Shukaku. What difference was there between him and the chakra in the air that the girl had just controlled? He asked himself.
"A name that suggests a guardian role—that's a nice name to have, considering the nigh-impenetrable defense my people told me you bear. Nice to meet you, Shukaku. I come today with an offer."- Aya said with a pleased and friendly smile.
"For my chakra?"- Shukaku spat; he couldn't forget the decades he was used as a battery by her people.
"No, I don't have any use for your chakra. I have my own."- Aya's chakra suddenly became noticeable, but contrary to the usual burst that most people present when they press another with their chakra, Aya's felt like stilled water.
As if suddenly they all found themselves in the middle of a tranquil lake. The water pressed them from all directions, but not aggressively—just with enough weight to let them know it was there.
Leaving aside the lack of violence in her chakra, what Shukaku immediately noticed was the size of her chakra pool. It dwarfed his.
"As you can see, I don't need yours."- Aya's chakra, as if dispelling an illusion, disappeared.
"What do you want, woman?"- Shukaku asked, still confrontational but to a lesser degree.
Was there even a way to confront this monster?
"I want to purify your chakra. In exchange, my people and Sunamushi will leave you be. Since you initially approached Ryūmyaku seeking strength to defeat your fox sibling, I will have my people teach you our way of handling chakra and scripture. You should know that scripture is the bane of your kind's existence, right?"- Aya offered and asked.
"..."- Shukaku nodded in reply; he had experienced the effects of the enslaving scripture himself.
"What do you mean by purifying?"- He asked, uncertain of what she meant.
"Don't you feel a certain... heavy feeling to your chakra, like an aggressive side to it even when you are at peace yourself?"- Aya asked, trying to explain what Kaguya mentioned the corrupted chakra felt like.
"Do you mean the hatred?"- Shukaku asked.
"Hatred... Maybe you are not so far from the truth. If I was Earth and suddenly a being started to suck my blood and there was nothing I could do to stop it, hatred, hopelessness, rage, and disgust would be my predominant feelings. So maybe that's the origin of the God Tree's corruption—maybe it's not its corruption but Earth's."- Aya said while considering Shukaku's wording.
"You even know that, woman!"- Shukaku exclaimed. He was still doubtful she knew his parent, but her knowledge at least indicated that she knew about the era of the Apogee.
"Yes, Shukaku. So what do you say? I take the hatred away, you get peace as long as you are peaceful, and as an additional, I will have you trained into a menace that will trample your fox sibling just like my people trample you. Deal?"- Aya extended her hand.
"Wait, woman. Why are you doing this? What do you get from this?"- Shukaku asked suspiciously.
"Let's see... If in the future you're fused back into the God Tree along with your siblings and Kaguya is unsealed, I don't want her to go on a rampage and destroy the world because the corruption overwhelmed her. Your father and uncle sealed her before they got to experience a rampage from her; they only fought her while she was pulling punches. Even then, the world almost crumbled, and your father and uncle were left speeding to the end of their lives as a consequence. Can you imagine what would happen if she is unsealed and fully corrupted?"- Aya painted an apocalyptic picture without saying that she was wishing for Kaguya's release.
"..."- A shiver waved through the sandy body of the tailed beast as he pictured what Aya said.
His uncle had once told him that even while fighting them, Kaguya was softer with them than with Isshiki. So Shukaku had no doubts that the world would come to an end if the woman's words became a reality.
"I agree, woman. My word is my bond. If you stop your people's hostilities, I will stop mine and won't covet the sage worm's Ryūmyaku."- He accepted the deal.
"Great! Then let's get this over with."- Aya said excitedly.
The team set up a few tents inscribed with climate control and made camp.
Aya went to Shukaku, sat on his shoulder, and started the taxing task of separating the deeply ingrained hatred from the chakra.
Aya first absorbed a portion of his chakra and cycled it through her chakra pathways for Lucian to pull the hatred from it and consume it. Then she would return the chakra to the temporary script she had inscribed in Shukaku's belly. The script would then keep the purified chakra from mixing with the corrupted one.
She had to go through this cycle until, a week later, all of his chakra was pure and light.
"This is... freeing."- Shukaku commented as he enjoyed the new sensation of his body. Like a weight he had grown used to was no longer there.
"I told you... it was... a good... deal."- Aya said between breaths.
Because the purification was done in one breath, she hadn't eaten or drunk water for a week. This emaciation, added to the heavyweight Shukaku's chakra bore on her pathways, made her condition worse.
"Aya-sama. It's time to rest."- Sasaee said in a non-negotiable tone.
"... Right... take me... to... bed."- Aya passed out, and Shukaku lowered her onto a bed of sand.
Aya slept for a whole day, and Sasaee put her on an IV drip to hydrate her.
While she slept, Kahoi sent Kagemushi to report to Sunamushi, and Sasaee called her father to have one of the grandmaster scribes start Shukaku's training. Luckily, they were still within the reception area of their radiowave communications tower, so Sasaee literally called him.
Shukaku was moved closer to Ryūmyaku, and there was some reluctance in his eyes about leaving Aya without the appropriate goodbyes. Of course, he would never admit it.
When Aya awoke, Kahoi—the designated chef—had prepared a nutritious but light meal for her. After a day of rest, she was as good as new, and they resumed their journey north, to the fort bordering the Land of Birds.
After dismounting Kagemushi at the northern fort and preloading their recall script, the duo of teenagers, the serial reincarnator, and the four shadows set out for the Land of Birds.
Aya had very few—if any—clues about the toads. She knew they currently had no contractor. The snakes—despite their eagerness to help—couldn't reveal the toads' location, but they were tentative allies.
So, Aya signed the summoning scroll of Ryūchi Cave and had their younglings spread across the continent to gather information about the toads. She only needed the mind of a toad or a contractor to find the location of Mount Myōboku.
With the location in hand, her plan was to storm it with overwhelming force and read the mind of the so-called prophet toad. However, getting there was the tricky part.
In the meantime, while the snakelings hunted for the toads, she would travel across the continent, casting her psionic sense like a net to fish out any clue about them.
She knew it wouldn't be easy, especially since Sunamushi had told her that Katsuyu said they could go centuries without selecting a contractor.
But that was alright. In this life, Lucian had given her a longer lifespan. In this life, she was determined to hunt for the toads and purify as many tailed beasts as possible.
The first month went by, and after visiting village after village and even the capital of the Land of Birds, they found nothing. This was not much of a surprise. What they did find was death, sickness, and pain.
It turned out that a clan dispute over a supply line with four other clans had escalated into a five-way war. In the process of annihilating each other, one of the clans, in its final moments, polluted the main water source of the country with corpses, unleashing a plague reminiscent of the Black Death.
Medicine was one of those things not inherited from the Apogee due to its complexity and the loss of reference materials. The meager level of medicine humanity had outside of Sunagakure was the result of centuries of accumulation after The Fall.
And hypocrites as they may appear to be, Sunagakure rarely interfered with matters outside their desert.
This wasn't due to Aya's orders. Shortly after her death, Sunagakure had tried to connect with outsiders, only to have their efforts trampled by clans greedy for their knowledge and resources.
This happened repeatedly until Sunagakure realized that only under capable leadership would their efforts bear fruit—which the clans lacked since they were not united and everyone only cared about themselves. Thus, a policy of non-interference was established—a policy that held little weight now that Aya had returned. So, they had no qualms about sending assistants to help Aya and the teens set up quarantine zones and establish proper health centers to try to curb the pandemic.
It took them and a capable team of 70 assistants six months to make the plague manageable, though not without challenges.
During the second month of treating the sick, one of the clans attacked them because they were healing everyone, including members of enemy clans. Coincidentally, someone important to a rival clan was being treated.
The attack amounted to little. Unexplainably, the attackers' heads rolled to the ground. No one saw what happened—they simply lost their heads and died.
The next day, Aya found a report on her desk about the disappearance of a certain clan.
This happened twice more until only one clan remained—the Tsuru clan.
Having won the war but lost countless lives and resources, the Tsuru signed a pact with the nobles in the capital.
And so, the first six months of her journey passed. Aya left the Land of Birds pleased that, with no other major clans left aside from the Tsuru, they wouldn't see another armed dispute for a long time.
Or so she thought. Four months later, while in the Land of Storms escorting merchants in exchange for information, she received news that another clan had settled near the Tsuru, sparking another war.
The quarantine zones they had established were destroyed during the conflict, and the pandemic spread, resulting in a 60% loss of the population. Aya was beyond enraged—she was close to flying over there and killing everyone since they seemed so eager to die.
She then understood why Sunagakure didn't involve themselves with outsiders.
Aya's mood was down for a few days, but with the help of Sasaee and Kahoi, she recovered and decided to ignore the clearly self-destructive fools. Out of sight, out of mind.
The next two months were spent escorting merchants to establish a competent information network. By the end of this period, Sahara joined their travels, and Aya visibly perked up.
Sahara had grown into a beautiful red-haired girl with bright green eyes. Unlike her elder sister, she kept her hair tied up.
Sahara brought much-needed joy to the team after over a year of dealing with outsiders.
With their new addition, the team carried out their mission for several years. They traveled from land to land, escorting merchants and expanding their information network. This network wasn't personally Aya's; she was just the face, while the elders from back home managed it.
The network's operation was simple. Everyone involved had access to information centers that Sunagakure built along the most common trading routes.
In these centers, merchants could exchange information. It could be information about rates, clans, brigands, taxes, nobles, resources, and just about anything a merchant cared about. The initial management was in Sunagakure's hands, but over time, the task was passed on to outsiders as the sand people returned to their desert.
The information centers benefited all merchants, so they took care of maintaining them. Aya and Sunagakure were only interested in creating the foundation for these ventures so they could use it later, and they succeeded.
This took a few decades, but to the long-lived sand people, a few decades were like a few years. They lived in such a way that it was normal for them to go about their first half-century without forming meaningful romantic relationships—something inconceivable to outsiders who bore children shortly after their first decade of life—sometimes before the first decade.
But life expectancy was so short among the outsiders that very few suspected the sand people were long-lived, and almost no one had proof or cared enough to seek it.
The outsiders lived such despondent lives that they had no time to care whether the helpful but annoying 'savages' of the desert lived longer than they did. Who could care? No one had the leniency to do so. Everyone was too busy surviving or killing each other to worry about whether the sand people lived longer or not. At least, most of them were.
During these decades, Aya encountered the Three-Tails, Isobu. His mild-mannered temper made it hard to believe he was brothers with Shukaku. Aya had no difficulty explaining to him why she wanted to purify his chakra, and he agreed.
Aya and her team stayed near Isobu's lake for about a year because Lucian was studying how Isobu was bound to a personal dimension. After the year it took Lucian to find a dimension for themselves and create a link to it, they departed, saying their goodbyes to the timid but friendly turtle.
The four of them—plus the four Hashshashin, although no one other than Aya could see them—became somewhat of a famous missionary team. This led to Kahoi gaining a reputation as a harem young master, given that he was accompanied by three beauties.
The thing about Kahoi was that he was the type of homosexual who showed no mannerisms of being one. Although his team members were aware of this, outsiders could easily misinterpret the relaxed behavior of the girls around him.
Kahoi's sexual preferences aside, the fame they garnered was unwanted. By that point, they had been wandering the continent for more than 70 years, and people started asking questions.
Which was not good.
A few years later, the inevitable happened: the nobles gathered as many clans as they could and launched an inquisition into the desert, seeking the key to immortality that the sand people supposedly held. It was named the Immortality Crusade.
Yes, "crusade" in the singular—because it only lasted one.
Sunagakure recalled all their people to the sands, and the forts were self-destroyed. By the time the crusade reached the borders and began exploring the desert to find Sunagakure, it was already too late.
One night, as they all rested, Sunamushi's children and a few snakes had the feast of their lives.
There was no epic battle, no confrontation, no opposing bands staring menacingly at each other, no duels of honor, no geniuses born from the "war," no stories of mighty combat, no unsung heroes, no sung heroes, no scheming commanders, savvy nobles, no love stories, no stories of camaraderie, no flashy confrontations—just one night when everything went to ruin. Ninety percent of the lives were lost. The remaining ten percent were carefully selected to survive so that the story would be passed down, ensuring that no other mortal would dare to invade the holy lands of their Goddesses.
With the official disappearance of the sand people from the outside world, an era came to an end.
No longer were the helpful sand people, who assisted for fair pay, around. No longer were the sand people who helped during public health crises present. No longer were the neutral sand people, who mediated disputes among merchants, available.
This didn't mean that the sand people were entirely gone. If they had been visible before, it was because they had nothing to hide and didn't bother to conceal themselves. But now, since they had become public enemy number one, they found ways to camouflage the script they were famous for and changed their clothing when they ventured outside.
Logically, the number of villagers from Sunagakure roaming outside diminished considerably. But with their information network already firmly established, they no longer needed as many personnel outside.
Aya had no part in the annihilation, aside from observing the slaughter from above. However, her thoughts kept returning to how, no matter how much good they tried to do, the outsiders always found more creative ways to lead themselves into self-destruction.
'It's like they're wired to self-destruct if they're not killing each other.'
|It's because they don't have a leader they both fear and respect.|
'I know. They only care about their personal interests, and there isn't a deterrent to curb their greed. But why couldn't Sunagakure be that leader?'
|There are multiple reasons. After having their efforts spat on so many times, Sunagakure has developed an ingrained dislike for outsiders, as you know and have seen during the latest 'Immortality Crusade'.|
'Yeah, I know. The fact that they disrespected my efforts only made this dislike worse, especially since my people respect me highly.'
|That's correct. I don't see a way to overcome this recent spat. Let me give you my perspective as objectively as possible, given my almost total lack of emotions, Madelyne.|
'Just shoot. I can take it.'
|There are several factors preventing Sunagakure from assuming the role of leader over humanity. The most glaring are the following:
The difference in lifespan.
Their dislike for outsiders.
The fact that outsiders are the same species as the humans from Sunagakure.
The difference in religious faith.
These are the main factors, but the first one is the most consequential, as it exacerbates the others.|
|If the average human from Sunagakure didn't have such a long lifespan compared to the average outsider, they wouldn't feel like the last time the outsiders disrespected their efforts was so 'recent'. To the average villager of Sunagakure, the outsiders first spat on their efforts during their grandparents' generation, and now they've done it again. You see?|
'Yes, to my people, these events that happened centuries apart feel like recent news.'
|Exactly. Now, let's consider how the difference in lifespan affects everything else. If the sand people were long-lived but of a different species from humanity, the outsiders would have an easier time accepting it. Similar to how Elves are accepted as long-lived by humans—because they have no other choice; it's just the way it is.|
|But since the sand people and the outsiders are both human, it inevitably sparks jealousy and greed among the outsiders, who wish to gain the same blessing. However, because the outsiders have disrespected the sand people's goodwill so many times, the sand people won't trust the blessing their goddess Madi Futagami gave them with the outsiders. This creates an irreparable gap between the two groups.|
'…Continue, please, Luci.'
|Lastly, consider how the difference in lifespan affects the difference in religious faith. The average outsider only worships strength, war, their clan, money, or the 'Sage of the Six Paths'. The last one's existence is a direct affront to Kaguya, the leading goddess of Sunagakure's religion.|
|This wouldn't be that much of a problem if—again—for the average sand person, the betrayal of the twins didn't feel like it happened so 'recently'. Of course, the fact that you exist, and that they are aware of Kaguya's imprisonment, doesn't help bridge the gap at all.|
'…So, there's no chance for peace?'
|There's no chance as long as the outsiders don't have a representative with enough power to make them feel that they aren't so far beneath Sunagakure.|
'Why? That wouldn't change anything.'
|It's related to a phenomenon called 'Shared Responsibility'. For the average clan member who only cares about their clan, they see a stark difference between their clan and Sunagakure. They feel pressure to narrow this gap because they perceive it as directly related to them on a personal level. They see the monster known as Sunagakure and tremble in fear and despair when they compare their clans to it.|
|But if they were part of a bigger organization, let's say the Honogakure (Village Hidden by the Flames), they would see the gap between Honogakure and Sunagakure and think: 'The village should do better to narrow that gap'.|
'…They wouldn't personally feel the pressure to narrow the gap because now it's 'Shared Responsibility'. It's not my problem, but the problem of the organization known as Honogakure, right?'
|Exactly, Madelyne. But they won't unite under an organization without a figure they both respect and fear. They need a strong leader, which they don't have. It doesn't even have to be someone who could match Sunagakure's might; as long as it's someone significantly stronger than them, it would suffice.|
'…Fuck.'
|Indeed.|
'Fucking humans! I hate them! I love them, but I also hate them!'
|Understandable.|
'It wouldn't even make a difference, yet because of the fucked-up way they're wired, it would mean everything to them! Fuck!'
|That's how it works.|
'…Fuck.'
|There are other options, like using the Infinite Tsukuyomi to mind-wipe them, similar to what we did before. We could also set up a shadow organization to control the outsiders without their knowing. There are a few other, less morally grey ideas that come to mind.|
'Luci, do you think it was my fault?'
|Because you facilitated the longer lifespan in Sunagakure?|
'Yes.'
|Madelyne, I think you can do whatever you want, and if, in the end, there are consequences that make you sad, it would be the world's fault.|
'... You're too extreme! Like a yandere boyfriend!... or father? I don't know!'
|Why would it matter what those humans think? Why would it matter if their lives are easier or harder because of your previous actions? To me, it doesn't matter, because only you and Kaguya matter to me. The rest of the world might as well be a stage play for my Madelyne and my Kaguya to act in, and for you to do as you please.|
'Since when did Kaguya become yours like me?'
|Since your rage awakened mine. I felt rage because of her fate; she made me feel something, so she's mine now.|
'... That makes sense.'
|It does.|
'...'
|...|
'I think I've reached a decision!'
|I'm listening.|
'I will go back to my previous objectives and stop focusing on the outsiders and their plights.'
|Purifying tailed beasts and hunting for the toads?|
'Yes. It's also about time we visit Kaguya and feed her some chakra. Is this the last time?'
|No, we are missing four more. We died too young twice and spent too long with Sunamushi.|
'That's alright then, in this life, we will have time. By the way, Luci, how is your healing doing?'
|I paused it because of the emotional outburst, that was dangerous, if all that rage had been felt by my main soul, the feedback we would have received would have at least cracked this world.|
'So you won't send the soul resource back to the main soul until you are ready to heal it all at once?'
|Yes, Madelyne. Imagine if I awaken love and then I start to love humanity.|
'Ugh, that's a nightmare. Keep it only for me and a tiny bit for Kaguyis, okay?'
|As you want.|
'Okay, that's how it's meant to be! On another note any ideas about what to do with this?'- Madelyne teleported to the dimension they had bounded to Madelyne's soul when Lucian was studying Isobu's dimension.
It was an empty dimension of asteroids with a dwarf star of greenish light.
|Terraform it?|
'But we don't have planets here, just a wide belt of asteroids.'
|We can gather the asteroids into planetoids, and then terraform these planetoids.|
'I don't know, it's not clicking with me... I want something more... unique?'
|I'll think about it, in the meantime, we can still gather the asteroids into planetoids, and we can decide later what to do since I don't think we'll have much use for a dimension of only asteroids, you can't even rest here without risking a collision with an asteroid.|
'Okay, then let's do that. Let's make a bunch of planetoids of sand, then will make some underground cities filled with life and then we'll think about how to make it more unique!'
|Like Sunagakure?|
'Exactly like that, but with a bunch of Sunagakures!'
|As you wish.|- Lucian took control and started to overheat the asteroids to the melting point and create cores for the different planetoids they were going to have in Madelyne's dimension.
As such, a few centuries passed, and the only tailed beast remaining to be purified was the Nine-Tails. Aya still had no luck with the toads or a possible contractor, but she knew from the beginning that it was going to be an endeavor of possibly a few lifetimes. At least she did manage to confirm with Shukaku that Hagoromo and Hamura used to talk about a prophecy.
Things on the outside remained as disappointing as always: death, child soldiers, famine, war, plagues, destruction, and overall no progress whatsoever. It was as if for over 900 years, they were stuck in the same dilapidated film of existence.
So Aya decided to stop her immortality and allowed her body to start aging; she was not going to wait for a leader to emerge anymore. It was time to move on to her next life and gather soul resources for Lucian.
But when she was getting close to her last years, things began to move under a new wind.
"So these Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha made a village? Together? Senju and Uchiha?"- She asked Sahara. Her sister kept looking as youthful as ever, but this was normal; the lifespan of the sand people really went beyond a few centuries.
"Yes, Onee-chan. I had it double-checked a few times. I sent Kahoi to create a nomad clan to join this village. He is the one who sent me the report."
"...Well, I'll be damned! I'll hold on for a few more years to see what will happen!"- As if catching a second wind, her body reverted to its youthful appearance.
"That's great! That way I won't have to go hunt you down after you reincarnate!"- Sahara said cheerily.
"...No one likes a yandere Imouto-chan."- Aya said when she noticed the seriousness in her sister's eyes.
"~Hehehehe!"- Imouto-chan laughed as if she were just praised. Considering they were century-old women, it didn't make it cute.
So Aya waited. She gave the new rising power a few years to see if they were going to be the leaders she was looking for and the ones this world needed, or if they were just another bust. Over the following years, she would receive reports from the Futagami clan of Konohagakure, the clan Kahoi had founded to infiltrate the village.
One day, she received an interesting report, but not from Kahoi.
"Hahahahaha! So, Onee-chan, Shukaku found an empty dimension of energy, and he attempted to link to it, but he forgot to set a regulation script and he—HAHAHAH! Pffft! Sorry!—and he blew himself up! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"- Sahara was rolling on the floor.
"Hehhehe! Pfft! That idiot!"- Aya laughed.
Shukaku had developed an interesting relationship with the village and Ryūmyaku. Shukaku was created with curse seal markings along his body, which made him incredibly suited for scripture and fuinjutsu.
When the scribes saw this, they awoke their inner mad researcher. They taught everything they could to Shukaku and had him try and participate in experiments to discover the limits of his curse seal markings.
Eventually, Aya intervened and commanded the mad scribes to leave Shukaku alone. Shukaku was grateful... until Lucian took over and started to teach Shukaku his secret techniques.
After a century or more of accumulated practice between the mad scribes and Lucian, Shukaku was allowed to be free.
|I taught him everything he could learn from me.|- Lucian said the day he set Shukaku free.
And what a terrifying reflection that was!
Fast forward a few years later, Shukaku had developed an interest in experimenting with his own techniques. The poor tanuki had been taken under the wing of so many mad researchers that he lost himself in the vice.
Aya had to intervene again and told him to be careful not to summon spirits, demons, or anything else dangerous. Her warning came out of the fact that she had received several reports of the crazy Uzumaki trapping a shinigami in a mask, trapping demons inside doors, or simply opening the way to hell for shits and giggles.
Shukaku responsibly agreed to be careful.
But from time to time, a report would make it to Aya that Shukaku had killed himself while experimenting with a new technique. Such was the case now, but this was the first time they received a report of him blowing his body up, like a balloon.
"That idiot is just as bad as the grandmaster scribes."- Aya muttered.
Time waited for no one except Lucian, and eventually, Aya heard news of the so-called leaders.
They had a falling out, the Nine-Tails was spotted being controlled by the Uchiha and later sealed by Mito Uzumaki (Senju). Hashirama Uchiha apparently went mad after killing his best friend and captured the other tailed beasts, the unlucky and recently revived Shukaku included. Now Hashirama was making a call to all the other Shinobi villages to sell these tailed beasts in the name of peace.
The unlucky Shukaku had the bad luck of resurrecting in the part of the desert that bordered the Land of River. Apparently, Hashirama's brother had teleportation markings all over the continent, so he moved his brother to the resurrection site the moment the chakra abnormality was sensed. Shukaku didn't even have a chance to fight back the ambush.
'How is he so unlucky?'
|Maybe one of the twins intervened, or someone with enough power.|
'Them? But why?'
|It's just a possibility, or it could be the prophet toad. It was too well coordinated. As if they knew he would revive there.|
'Fucking shit! Do you think someone awoke the Rinnegan and is now collecting the beasts?'
|I initially thought so, but it appears the Asura reincarnation is giving the chakra beasts away, which makes no logical sense.|
"Hey, Sahara. This has to be a joke, right?"- Aya asked her sister after putting down the report.
"... I honestly don't know what's wrong with this reincarnation of Asura, but the Uragirimono were never known for their sanity."- Sahara commented.
"But it doesn't make sense... Why would you give your enemies the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction? Wasn't he a pacifist? Is he plotting to have the continent razed to the ground by starting a different scale of war?"- It didn't make sense to Aya.
"What will we do?"- Sahara asked.
"Nothing. I will go alone and retrieve Shukaku and figure out if the guy lost his mind or what."
"Ah, okay."- Sahara simply said.
"What? That's it? No denials and tears, begging, and emotional manipulation? What have you done with my yandere Imouto-chan?"
"I know you'll return Shukaku and then move on to your next life, right?"
Aya nodded.
"I'm not even past a third of my lifespan; I will just look for you in your next life. You'll be all weak and defenseless, kidnappable. I bet I won't even have to wait 100 years before I have you back in my grasp."- Hearing a grown woman say that was not as endearing as one might imagine.
"... You and Lucian are soul mates or something like that."- Aya said, used to dealing with Sahara's yandere urges; this was not even close to the worst she had seen or heard from her.
"Make sure to give your goodbyes to father and mother. Then again, you'll see them soon enough."- Sahara ignored Aya's comment.
There was a huge departure festival, but the general feeling was that they wouldn't have to wait much to see her again.
Aya flew northwest, to the Land of Iron, where the First Four Kage Summit was going to take place.
Upon landing, the forces of the other villages and their Kages were waiting for her outside a building, since she didn't hide her monstrous chakra.
"What a way to welcome someone."- Aya said in a relaxed manner.
Pupils shrank, shivers went down their spines, and hands had to be fisted to mask the trembling, but overall, the shinobi were a step away from having a flight-or-fight response.
In this life, she had lived so long that she housed more chakra than the Nine-Tails. Way more.
The tranquil lake that her chakra once was had now become a 'Pacific Ocean', and the shinobi felt a pressure in their bodies as if they were standing below this ocean and bearing its weight.
It was understandable that no one spoke and that they referred to their Kages in silence.
"Who among you is the idiot who sealed my tanuki?"- Aya asked before anyone could speak.
All eyes moved, as if it were a great effort, and pointedly stared in desperation at Hashirama Senju, as if imploring him to speak up.
"... Ehm, lady. It was me."- Hashirama said, all his easy-going attitude he was known for was lost.
"~Hoh... And who gave you the right to enter my desert and steal my tanuki?!"- Aya increased the pressure of her chakra. A few shinobi passed out instantly, and a couple went for the fight response, but their minds blacked out before they knew what happened, the same with the others who went for flight.
"... I thought it would be better to seal the rampaging beast like the others when its chakra was detected. Doesn't it cause damage in your village?"- Hashirama replied, growing uneasy with the pressure of Aya's chakra and trying to fight it back with his own, just like the others, though it was a poor effort.
"No, and he pays for whatever he breaks."- Aya looked at him like he was stupid.
"What?"- Tobirama asked, forcing his body with great effort to utter a single word, incredulous at what he just heard.
Not only he, but the other Kages were in a similar situation.
"... You... Perhaps you didn't know they were sapient beasts?"- Aya asked in realization.
To her, at least the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyūga, and Kaguya clans should have records of the origin of the chakra beasts.
Several heads, with great effort, shook in denial.
"What about you, Uzumaki?"- Aya addressed Mito Senju.
"No."- Mito Senju replied curtly. Not because she was being rude, but because the pressure wasn't allowing her to vocalize anything else.
Aya didn't see any Hyūgas present, but at least she was sure the royal branch of the Hyūga knew.
"How come? The progenitor of your clans created them. How come none of the Senju, Uzumaki, or the now-deceased Madara Uchiha knew?"- Aya asked, lessening the pressure just enough for the more capable to speak.
"The progenitor of our clans?" Tobirama Senju asked.
"Yes. Your Sage of the Six Paths. Did none of you try to talk with them?"- Aya asked for confirmation.
The revelation left most of them dumbfounded.
"... No."- Hashirama replied. 'Were they supposed to try and communicate with a rampaging beast?' he thought.
"..."- Aya held her covered eyes on him for a second before looking at Mito Senju.
"Girl, bring the seal containing my tanuki."- Aya commanded.
Mito Senju didn't move but looked at her husband for confirmation. She was not resisting; she simply couldn't move.
"Can't we talk about this?"- Hashirama asked, not wanting the meeting to develop into an armed confrontation, even if he knew they stood no chance.
"That's what we are doing. Why do you think you are still breathing, idiot?"- Aya said in an emotionless tone that made the skin crawl of those present.
Aya waved her hand, and a container flew from one of the tents on the Konohagakure side.
"It was just a formality, anyway."- Aya said.
The shinobi didn't move to intercept the container because their instincts warned them. These were battle-hardened shinobi, those who had survived the Warring States era that followed after the failure of the Immortality Crusade. If there was one thing they all trusted, it was their instincts.
And Aya appeared like a blazing sign of danger to them. She exuded transhuman dread, as if she was a monster outside of humanity's level of comprehension and was taking the shape of a woman to mess with them.
Aya placed a hand on the container, and it crumbled, releasing Shukaku.
"What the—"- Shukaku said before looking at the angry-looking Aya.
"Ehm, I'm sorry, Aya. Was there any property damage when I blew up? Is that why you're mad? You know I pay for my messes, right?"- Aya didn't answer; she just looked at the dumbfounded shinobi.
Yeah, Shukaku had now learned manners. He was taught not only scripture and chakra techniques. Shukaku was such a scholar that sometimes he paid for the property damage his experiments caused by teaching a class or two about scripture... Yes, he was a scientist of sorts. Some children even called him 'Shu-Sensei'.
"Where are we, by the way? And who are these people?"- Shukaku stared at Hashirama Senju, feeling as if he recognized his chakra signature.
"The Land of Iron. These are shinobi, clan members, outsiders, uragirimono—take your pick."- Aya said.
"Aren't we a bit too far away from home? ... Aya, is that guy the one that captured me?"- He asked while pointedly looking at Hashirama.
"Yes. How did that happen?"
'Answer me in your mind.'- Aya spoke to Shukaku's mind.
"I got careless while I was in the middle of reviving."
'I think my father intervened. I'm not sure; it felt like him. What happened?'
"Carelessness at your age? Isn't that funny?"
'Your siblings were captured by Asura's current reincarnation, and now they are being sold off for peace. Do you have any idea why Hagoromo would do that?'
"Hey, you are older than me, Aya. I don't think you should speak about others' age!"- Shukaku faked outrage.
Real surprise and astonishment were going through the shinobi's hearts. Most were thinking about how the key to immortality was really held in the heart of the desert, but none thought about facing this monster-turned-girl to get it. Others were surprised about seeing the colossal beast they thought unthinking talk with the human-sized monster woman.
'He said something about a prophecy once; maybe it had something to do with that. Should I seal myself back? I don't really want to pause my research, but I also don't want to mess with father's plans.'
"Behave yourself, kid."- Aya commanded.
'If the prophecy was real, then it took into account my actions, meaning you should go back to Ryūmyaku and continue with your research.'- Aya tricked him; she knew that whatever prophecy it was, it couldn't take Lucian's actions into account.
"Fine, fine. But really, what was that Senju trying to achieve by sealing me? I haven't even met a Senju in the past few centuries."- Shukaku glared at Hashirama.
'Great! I will return when we are done with this farce. Will you unseal my siblings as well?'
"The idiot believes that by selling you and your siblings off, he could achieve peace."- Aya joined Shukaku in glaring at Hashirama—as much as her eye cover allowed for glaring.
'No, just you. I don't want to interfere that much with Hagoromo's plans.'- Aya lied again.
She was close to her death, and she had a feeling that there was more at play. She preferred if the tailed beasts were secured inside of humans, like the Nine-Tails was inside of the Uzumaki. Given that the humans would zealously protect their weapons of mass destruction.
She preferred it this way because she didn't trust the other beasts to be capable of facing a bearer of the Rinnegan, at least Shukaku had his script and the backing of Sunagakure.
"Did he hit his head or something? Giving your enemies my kind will only invite a new level of warfare, that's obvious, right? Or are they making a soul pact through a script to force all sides to follow an agreement?"- Shukaku was well-versed in those, it was a topic part of the teachings of Lucian.
Lucian had taught him a lot, and decades of interaction with Sunagakure had changed him. Gone was the temperamental tanuki, welcome was the mad researcher scholar tanuki.
'I guess lucky me and unlucky them. Can I go now?'
"I honestly don't know. I had him pegged for a pacifist, but maybe he is a psychopath who is trying to rank as many victims in collateral damage as possible with this 'solution' for peace. But I believe he is just an idiot."- Hashirama was still cautious around Aya, so he was controlling himself, and no one present would resent him for it. Her presence was unnerving at best, but it did bring existential fear to all.
'Yes, do me a favor and get out of here via sanddoor. I want these idiots to see what you're capable of.'
"Father's descendants were always strange. I will go back; I don't feel safe being close to these many stupid humans. Goodbye, Aya."
From Shukaku's feet, sand flowed into a wall the size of him, and the curse seal markings on his body moved to the wall. The markings created a rectangle reminiscent of a door, and then, with a subtle vibration, the door opened, and the desert became visible on the other side.
"Goodbye, kid."- Aya waved.
'I'll reincarnate today, so I'll see you in a few years.'
'Okay, see you later, Aya.'
*Poof*- The sanddoor disappeared after Shukaku closed it, leaving behind only a small pool of sand.
"Senju kid, there you have it. Sapient and sentient. What do you plan to do with the others now that you know this?"- Aya asked, faking indifference.
"..."- Hashirama didn't know what to say now, so he looked at his brother for help.
"We've come to this point for peace, Elder Brother."- Tobirama replied, implying his stance.
Hashirama looked at Mito, his wife, and she nodded in support.
He then looked at the other Kages, and he saw the desperation they felt at him rescinding his part of the deal, but he also saw the mad drive to continue fighting if that happened.
They were all tired of the wars; they all wanted to rest, and this was their chance. There was no doubt in their hearts that it was peace or total war, and they craved peace, even if it was only momentary. And then, by their own hands, they would spark another war; such was the nature of complex humans.
"The shinobi villages will strive to create a relationship as friendly as the one you had with the One-Tails with their respective tailed beasts."- Hashirama said, his answer implied in his statement.
And with that, all interest she had in him was lost.
"..."- Aya stared at him, this time removing her eye cover so that he and everyone present could see her disappointment.
Many were surprised about her eyes, but none thought she was blind.
But the one who had the biggest surprise was the fox inside the Uzumaki, he had seen eyes like those before, and from what he just heard this woman had been alive for over 900 years. There were too many flags for him not to build a solid case on the identity of this being.
Yet... He was behind bars, nailed to a rock and his jinchūriki was his enemy, what else besides seething in rage could he do?
"I had high hopes for you and Madara Uchiha. I believed I was seeing a light at the end of a cave when I first heard of you. Finally, these clans of savages were going to unite under a single banner, and finally, all the senseless killing would stop. But it was all an illusion, no?" Aya hid her chakra and dismissed the pressure she had been keeping on the shinobi.
A few of them collapsed, leaving only the most seasoned and battle-hardened ones standing.
"We are doing this for peace. After we sign the agreement, the senseless war will end. The tailed beasts will serve as both a form of security and a deterrent to the villages. Our children will no longer have to stain their hands in blood. This will earn us a future!"- In Hashirama's eyes, Aya could see that he was being truthful. He believed what he preached... He was an idiot.
"Hey, kid, your friend, the Uchiha—he wanted to use the tailed beasts to force the other villages under your banner and unite the shinobi world, right?"- Aya asked, ignoring the previous idealistic nonsense of Hashirama.
"Yes, Madara wanted to use the beasts and fear to dominate the other villages."- Hashirama replied, his voice tinged with pain. It wasn't clear whether it was due to his friend's way of thinking or because he had killed his friend.
"Why didn't you support him?"- Aya spoke with the same disappointment in her face and the flat tone of voice she had used before. Those who knew her would know that she wasn't really interested in the answer.
"Because peace built on fear is not peace, but coercion."- Most shinobi thought Hashirama was naive and idealistic. Aya knew this because she was reading their surface thoughts.
"I see... Well, best of luck, kid."- Aya floated as she prepared to leave.
|How contradictory—the pacifist had the idea of peace that would elevate war to the next level, while the warmonger had the idea of peace that would have given the world a chance for true peace.|
'It's disappointing.'
"Wait! Why don't you join us? You can be a part of this. With your participation, our peace will spread further!"- Hashirama spoke with the same determined eyes as before.
"My desert doesn't need your peace. We've been at peace for over 900 years."
'I don't invest in obvious sinking ships'- Aya thought to herself.
"This..."- Hashirama and the others didn't know what to make of that. Nine hundred years of peace—some of their clans didn't even have 50 years of history.
"I wish you the best, Hashirama Senju, 'The Strongest Idealist'. I hope your peace lasts long."- Aya said the title with a mocking undertone that was missed by most of those present.
'You should also see a doctor; you have less than two decades of life.'- Aya said in his mind before disappearing as if she were an illusion.
|At least there will be some semblance of order now that the shinobi villages have been founded.|
'And there will be peace while that kid breathes, probably way less than two decades.'
|So, a bit of both?|
'Yes. Disappointing Order—that's the result. The idiots will be controlled by the daimyos, and that will at least keep casualties away from the capital cities... They were the true winners of this outcome.'
|Yeah, the losers will be the shinobi and the small lands that separate their villages.|
'Sigh... Let's just not think about it. I'm going to feed Kaguyis our chakra, and in this life, I will die in her arms, just like I promised her initially.'
|I will mask you so that the Ōtsutsuki Clan won't bother you. After this, it will be just one more time, and Kaguya will be ready to be freed.|
'That's great. How many more times do I have to die to heal you?'
|This one and three more.|
'Finally, then we'll return to wherever you come from. Hopefully, I won't have to deal with this type of nonsense anymore. I'll enjoy a retirement life with Kaguya!'
|... Hopefully.|
Aya dispersed into dust and light later that day and died after spending some time with her friend.
__________________________________________________
Purelands
'Lucian, I think I know what uniqueness I want in my dimension.'
|What?|
'I want to make it a hybrid of the Pure Lands and Sunagakure!'
|It's possible, but we'll have to spend a few years here so that I can study this place and create something similar in your dimension. Luckily, it's bound to your soul, so we can access it from here.|
'Great! I knew it—you were the best!'
____________________________________________
{A/N:
That's it for this chapter, almost 20k words. The next chapter will get us closer to the start of canon (Hopefully), it will be her Uzumaki and Senju life, and by the end, she'll be starting her Uchiha life.