The newer Kage summit

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Kakumei – Arc 2: The Curse of Time

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Chapter 47 - The newer Kage Summit

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A week after the disastrous remote Kage meeting attempt, ninja technicians of Kumo went to every nation in order to properly test and fix the communication gears. Now, the five Kages assembled again to try a new online council, and this time, it went as should.

The Mizukage, who declared this as her personal last Kage summit, shared details about her wedding and properly invited all of the council. Chojuro, who's going to take on the mantle as the 6th Mizukage in a few days, also assists to this summit. Mei Terumi also warned the rest of the council about Takeshi Minamoto's interaction with Sojobo. From there on, the Hokage went on. No further discovery were made about the Daitengu, as Sasuke went to the land of Gods, then to the Sojo mountain and didn't sense any recent trace of the monster's chakra.

Inevitably, the discussion progressed and returned to the topic of last week's fight. Naruto, this time, presented Sasuke's report and observations in detail. The Kage are worried about his latest discoveries, but reassured by his positivity.

"And so, why isn't Sasuke there this time?" asks Gaara. "Was the failed attempt of last time too annoying for him to return?"

"I asked for him to be here, but… He got places to be…" answers the Hokage.

"Surely he does." says the Raikage. "After such discoveries and revelations, the only thing for him to do is to keep going with the investigations."

"Um… He's actually on a break, and the place he got to be is his home." answers the Hokage. "He deserved this break."

"He deserves it, but he shouldn't stay in it too long." says Kurotsuchi. "He's the only person with the power to take on his quest. Whether he wants it or not, against this threat, he's the sole protector of the ninja world."

"Sure, but this also makes him an obvious VIP." says Gaara. "As the only ninja who really threatens them, he could easily become a target for these Otsutsuki."

"Otsutsuki, huh?" wonders the Raikage. "Excuse me for pulling the conversation backwards,… But this last report about them invalidates the theories we had about their nature. They aren't former humans who consumed fruits like Kaguya, but actually a whole species of humanoid aliens who are simply far superior to humanity… Still, we have to find their connection to the genesis of our world and history."

"Sure, there's a lot of questions to answer." says the Mizukage.

"Let's just wait for Sasuke Uchiha to resume his travel and find answers." suggests Chojuro. "Until then, thinking about it is pointless."

"Good suggestion." says Darui. "We should leave this problem to him and concentrate on enemies in our range, like the still ascending mercenary ninja order."

"What about that?" asks Naruto.

"Nothing new,…" answers the Raikage. "A lot of low graded rookies were killed or captured in the last ten years, but the big names are still the same: Crow, Killin' Kiss, Ripper, Voodoo."

"Ripper? Isn't he the dude who was working with Isami Kurama?" asks Naruto. "Is he still out there? Didn't we stop him at some point?"

"He's probably hiding in Shin no Kuni." says the Tsuchikage. "A lot of them do this to avoid the ninjas of the shinobi union."

"About that place… Does anybody of you know anything about a certain Gozen Tomoe?" asks the Hokage, suddenly remembering Sasuke making mention of this name in a message.

"Gozen Tomoe?" says Darui. "The ruling queen of her land?"

"The strongest kunoichi in the world." adds the Kazekage. "She ended the war in the sub oceanic continent and united it under her command."

"Strongest kunoichi?" asks Naruto, confused. "I thought this was Granny Tsunade… I mean the 5th Hokage."

"The 5th Hokage's reputation was based only on this continent." answers Gaara. "Lady Tomoe's legend says her power is such as it could rival that of the First Hokage."

"… Not bad." notes Naruto. "But unfortunately… She was reportedly killed in an attempt to defend her territories from Momoshiki."

"This is bad news." says Darui. "As a leader, she may kept her distances from our continent, but her charisma and strength was keeping the nation together. Now that she's gone, nothing will stop mercenaries on the run to form alliances. Such things could become dangerous for us."

"Honestly, Naruto, when you first suggested adding new countries to the union, I immediately thought of her." says Gaara. "I got to meet her in person once, during an exchange through the sea. She would have been a precious ally."

"Well, now all we can do is wait for the nation to recover from this tragedy and invite them then." suggests the Mizukage.

"Whatever… Hokage, what about the land of Rain?" says Kurotsuchi. "Aren't they supposed to be the first to join the union?"

"Oh, he refused." answers Naruto, embarrassed. "The rebellion succeeded and took over the country. But now, the new leader declined my offer to join us. He says union and alliances are the same, they're made only by great nations to profit from smaller ones in warring contexts."

"Kinda pessimistic." comments Kurotsuchi.

"He's not all wrong." says Gaara. "Even if he had agreed, we would have needed the Daimyo's approval to sign him in. And this way of thinking is probably the only that would make them accept."

"Still... Did you mention that the five greatest nations of the world are already in this union?" adds the Tsuchikage, addressing to Naruto.

"I told him I'll prove him wrong." says the Hokage. "He still said he won't be joining us for now. If I can, I'll keep you updated about this."

"Then so be it." says Darui. "Hokage, keep us informed about Ame and about Sasuke Uchiha's discoveries. Mizukage, do the same for the Minamoto's situation with the Daitengu… Does anyone have anything to add?"

"I don't…" says Gaara.

No one else says anything.

"Well, Can we at least congratulate Kumo's technicians for not messing it up again?" suggests Kurotsuchi.

"Glad to know you're satisfied with a working communication system, Tsuchikage." says the Raikage. "I am too. So I propose we keep using this for next summits. Real life meetings should still occur, let's say once or twice a year."

"I agree." says Naruto. "So until then, Good bye and we'll see each other at the Mizukage's wedding."

"Can't wait to see you there!" says Mei, smiling.

All of the Kages disconnect from the call, with no issues this time. Once he's logged off too, Naruto lays back on his chair, tired of politics and formalities. Shizune, who's still standing in the office and assisting the Hokage as usual, notices his boredom.

"Hokage, you should take a pause." she says. "I'll take care of the office until you're back."

"Thanks Shizune." says Naruto as he stands up and thinks of where he could go.

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Still in Konoha, Sasuke is sitting on top of a pillar, the same place where he stood to contemplate the village when he first returned during the war. He's holding his infant daughter in his arm and watches the landscape silently, thinking about his life, and, again, about Momoshiki's last words.

His wife, Sakura, is working at the hospital and his son, Izuna, is currently attending classes at the academy. Tsunade came to his house earlier to take care of the baby as usual, but Sasuke dismissed her, and brought her back to her home. He decided to take care of his daughter himself for once. After a hard morning of baby sitting, he went out with Sarada to take a pause. The baby and her father are quietly looking over the village, to the Hokage faces carved in the mountain.

Their peaceful time is suddenly interrupted by the 7th who appears, standing horizontally against the pillar under them.

"Enjoying a pause?" says Naruto.

"Not anymore." answers Sasuke, still keeping his eyes on the land, a bit annoyed by his friend coming to break the comforting silence.

"Alone with the girl? Is Sakura working?" adds Naruto.

"Yes she is. For once, I'm the one waiting for her at home." he says while looking down to see his daughter peacefully admiring the view.

"You're lucky. I won't get to feel like a house-husband until I retire." says the 7th. "And this ain't close to happen."

"Well, while you're on a pause, you should go to your wife and daughter too, and stop bothering me." carelessly says Sasuke.

"I'll do, I'll do…" answers Naruto who leans down to sit on the pillar, still horizontally. "But first I have a few questions."

"I'm listening." says the Uchiha.

"It seems like all the Otsutsuki clan members we met had Rinnegan." starts Naruto. "But you don't mention it as a common trait in your report. Why?"

"They didn't all have it." answers Sasuke. "The Rikudo-Sennin did, and he is the reason why Madara and I have it too. Katashiki had a pair. Momoshiki had his orange version. And Kinshiki surprisingly had one on his forehead. But when I first fought these last two, they were with a third Otsutsuki that only had Byakugan. Kaguya's other son also didn't have a Rinnegan."

"Yes, Hamura had Tenseigan." adds Naruto. "That's what Toneri said, at least… About that, do you know anything about this eye?"

"Not really." says Sasuke. "I could go and ask this Toneri Otsutsuki on the moon about it… But jut from assumptions, I guess Tenseigan is what someone can awake when he is born with both Rikudo Chakra and pure Byakugan."

"You think… So it may be possible that someone else has it…" wonders the Hokage. "Also, you forgot to mention Kaguya. Didn't she have a Rinnegan too?"

"What Kaguya had was more than a Rinnegan. She called it Rinne-Sharingan." he answers.

"Ain't that what you have?" suggest Naruto. "A Rinnegan and a Sharingan at once."

"My left eye is just a Rinnegan that can also use the abilities of my Mangekyo Sharingan." explains the Dojutsu expert from what he knows of his own abilities. "The Rinne-Sharingan is more than just a fusion of these two eyes. It has more powers. Powers that we, surprisingly, didn't see her use. This eye can only be obtained through the Juubi."

"Well,… Ok. I guess Dojutsus just aren't my kind of power." awkwardly says Naruto.

"You already have any other form of jutsu and abilities." says Sasuke. "About that, I didn't bring this up to you earlier, but it seems like you recovered your Rikudo Sage Mode. Not only that, but you're also far better with it than years ago."

"You too, man. You truly surprised me out there." exclaims the Hokage. "Like… Using the Susanoo to reinforce my Biju Modo, using the Susanoo's wings on your body's scale, or that moment when you switched our whole giant armor with Momoshiki's lava monkey by using your left eye power. That was awesome! I didn't know you could do that… Just imagine if we had all this during the war."

"Stop the sweet talk already. Sure, I improved, but not as much as you." says Sasuke, now with a serious face. "If I were to fight Kaguya alone nowadays, I don't know how it would go, but you… You'd definitely be too much for her. You clearly surpass her in everything you have in common at least. You're faster, stronger, tougher, maybe even smarter. You… obviously surpass me. I don't know if I'd stand a chance against you today… Honestly, I missed this version of you."

For a moment, Naruto doesn't answer. He's flattered by his friend's words, but also feels his lack of self confidence.

"You… you still have plenty of ways to improve, if it's what you worry about." says Naruto. "How about sage chakra? Or Rikudo Chakra. I worked my ass off and upgraded my own nature, but you could do the same in some way, don't you think?"

"I'll see…" says the Uchiha as he slowly stands up, still holding his daughter.

"About Toneri Otsutsuki…" says Naruto, changing the topic. "Do you think he knows anything about the true Otsutsuki clan? The one Kaguya and Momoshiki came from."

"Maybe he does. I should pay him a visit when I hit the road again." answers Sasuke. "But before, I need to get a new sword. I lost mine a while ago against Momoshiki in Kiri."

"Would any sword be fine, or do you need a special one?" asks Naruto, ready to make a suggestion. "Because Tenten has a weapon shop down in this street. She probably has swords."

"No thanks." answers Sasuke as a black portal appears behind him. "I already ordered a new one from the blacksmiths of the land of Iron. I'll get exactly the weapon I need… Now, you should go to your wife. That's what a pause should be for."

Sasuke gets taken in the black rift that closes around him and transports himself with his child back to his home. Naruto, gets up and steps up to stand on the pillar, facing the Hokage monument and his village. He looks in the distance for a moment, and leaves, in direction of his home, to go spend some time with his family in person rather than through a clone, just like his best friend advised.

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In the land of Heart, in the capital, the hidden village of Hikari, a light falls from the sky and lands on the roof of the sovereign's castle. When it touches the ground, it shakes the monument and wakes everyone inside. Now on the roof, out of this flash of light, Sojobo comes out. After nearly 10 days of travel at hyper speed through the emptiness of space, he reaches the ground of Earth again. Standing on this castle, he decides to find a place to hide.

Mutai

He lets his body phase through the ceiling and goes hiding inside the throne chamber of the castle. In this room, he leaves his giant body to fall on the royal seat. With his three eyes closed, the Daitengu rests for a moment and tries to feel the body he took over and used to reincarnate himself. Isami Kurama is the name of the soul that once inhabited it. Now owning this physical form, Sojobo is able to access all its past memories.

Digging through the wanderer's life, he finds out about his quest to steal his descendant's powers. This futile wishes make him lightly laugh. He also finds out about the man's associates. A scientist who thought he could manipulate a body into accepting a Tengu's power, and a mercenary swordsman. These two men, they seem interesting to him, for an unknown reason.

As he's exploring the deceased Kurama clan member's mind, he's brought back to his senses by the door of the throne room being violently opened. 4 children and a young woman come in, surprised by the noise that the Daitengu caused with his landing earlier. Sojobo recognizes these 5 kids as those who were being trained by one of the two Otsutsuki when he was first brought here.

Quietly he stays sitting and watches, as the 5 of them come closer and get confused. They expected to see Momoshiki and Kinshiki return, but instead find this creature that they thought was already dead. Sojobo doesn't pay attention to them for too long and tries to get back in Isami's memories, but is like waken up when he feels a familiar presence in the room. He opens his eyes and looks around to find the source of this feeling. He doesn't find anything, and looks at the children who're still just surprised by his presence.

One of them, one of the two twins with black hair, steps forward and takes a closer look at the Daitengu.

"What the hell are you?" asks the kid. "An alien?"

Another boy, the brown haired one with his hair cut short on the sides but long on the top, gets closer too.

"Nah, he's some kind of… living statue." he says.

"Akiko-Bro! Kawaki! Don't get too close!" yells the second twin, who has blond hair unlike his brother.

Sojobo suddenly stands up and stares at the kid who just yelled. Just by observing his face, he tries to guess the appearance of his parents, and his grandparents… Promptly, he raises his hand, and points his finger towards this child.

"You, and you…" he says, while moving his hand to point it to the other twin brother. "You are from the Yamanaka clan, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" asks the black haired kid.

"I can tell just by looking at your face, young boy." answers the Daitengu.

Standing behind the boys, right next to the door, the 16 years old mercenary, Killin' Kiss, steps forward, in front of the kids and gives a serious look to Sojobo.

"Where is he? Where is Lord Momoshiki?" she asks, in a worried voice.

"Isn't this country aware of the news?" asks the Daitengu. "Momoshiki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki were killed in battle a week ago."

At these words, the two kids who stepped closer, Akiko and Kawaki, step back and make shocked faces. The blonde twin and the last kid, look at each other confused. Killin' Kiss, however, when she hears the news, breaks down. She falls to her knees and cries out, like she just learned about the passing of a loved one. All the kids and the Daitengu look at her, waiting until she calms down.

"WHO? Who did this?" she yells to Sojobo, while crying in anger and sadness. "He's a god… He is God. Who dared to lay a hand on him? And who could have defeated him?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asks Sojobo. "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, the same who defeated me 10 years ago."

"NOO! Naruto Uzumaki? This bastard again?" screams the young woman. "Why won't he let the world die in peace!"

Behind her, the blonde kid stares, curiously, at his friend, the only kid who didn't say a word yet. A dark pink haired boy who keeps his left eye closed. This kid walks over to Killin' Kiss and gets on his knees next to her. He pats his hand on her back as to reassure her. Kawaki, the brown haired kid, joins him and hands his arm to the woman, to help her stand up.

"Come on sis, this ain't nothing of an elegant pose." he says, with a compassionate look on his face. "Momoshiki lost. Maybe he was simply not the strongest."

"HE WAS THE STRONGEST!" yells Killin' Kiss. "They cheated! They outnumbered him. Those damn cowards!"

Kawaki grabs the girl's hand and helps her up, even though she still didn't calm down. The dark pink haired boy steps back and stares at the Daitengu, who stares, unimpressed, at the scene taking place. Sojobo rises from the seat and stand up. He walks past all the kids and reaches for a wide window laying on the wall to watch out and see the village of Hikari. Behind him the kids get all back together.

"Fuyuko dummy, come here!" says Akiko to his twin brother.

The two twins join their two friends by Killin's Kiss' sides, and together, they all watch, unsure, in Sojobo's direction. The Daitengu, seeing a broken village with a depressed people. Using the abilities of the tengu he created, he senses some of their emotions. This village is full of fear and, not hate, just a lack of love.

"Seems like the Otsutsuki caused nothing but pain to this people." he says out loud, while watching through the window.

"This isn't your people." says the pink haired kid behind him.

The young girl, the twins and Kawaki all turn to see him together. Sojobo turns around and looks at him too. He sees the small boy, looking around 9 or 10 years old, with dark pink hair, black eyes with one kept closed, and a somehow familiar face. This kid seems to act instinctively in defense of the people of this place. Fortunately, the Daitengu has no reason to oppose him on that. He walks away of the window and goes to sit on the throne again.

"No worries, kid. I don't care about this village or his people." he says. "Nor do I care about you, whoever you are. You can have the village, and the land."

"What do you care about then?" asks the boy.

"… What I care about…" wonders Sojobo.

The Daitengu finds this question oddly challenging. He tries to remember his past life, and what he was being hunted for. Sasuke Uchiha had put together a team to stop his reincarnation, but failed. In the end he reached his original form and could initiate his endless cycle of reincarnation. So even though he lost the battle 10 years ago, he managed to win over Sasuke's objective. But one thing the Uchiha and his team managed to do, is to destroy his family. They killed Akashita, and forced him to absorb Tenshi and Ryutoki. He lost 3 of his children because of them.

As long as he lived, Sojobo always just wanted to be in peace. His own nature is very vague to him, but at least, when he creates other tengu, he gets to feel less… alone. His tengu are what he cares for the most.

"… Family…" says the Daitengu. "What I care for is my family. I want it united. I want it by my side. I want it complete."

Right now, it is clear to his own mind, what he'll first do with this new life. Before trying to understand his nature or his odd connection to the Biju's chakra, he wants his family back. Fortunately, despite losing 3 of his children, he knows that he can revive them anytime they die. All he needs is proper human hosts that will bear their power until their rebirth. And this is where the former allies of Isami Kurama could be of help.

"This castle may serve as my rest place, until I can return to my mountain." he says out loud, for Momoshiki's 5 hosts to hear.

"You're staying? Are you taking Momoshiki's place?" asks Kawaki.

"I said I don't care about this village or land. It's yours, do whatever you want with it." answers the Daitengu. "Just allow me to stay here, away from the rest of the world's gaze."

All the kids turn around to look at the pink haired kid, as if they all came to the consensus that he should be the one to speak for the group. Sojobo notices this odd respect that they all seem to have for this boy.

"The land is yours, boy." he says, assuming that this one will do as he suggested earlier. "Just leave me in silence, hidden in this castle, and let's try to avoid each other from now on. What is your name?"

"My name…" says the kid. "Oshio. I'm called Oshio. And I agree, Daitengu. You can stay here, but stay away from the people."

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End of Chapter 47 – Next Chapter: The Ripper and the scientist