311 302. Herald of Abyss

"You can put it that way, but not exactly!" Kurama shakes his head.

"The Abyssal creatures feed on dark energy generated by the negative emotions of other beings through the various spatial tunnels.

Dark chakra is produced when a human with chakra or Nature energy is consumed by negative emotions.

They invade other worlds and set up an altar to transfer the dark chakra of a world to their dimension. Usually, these creatures will stay low key and act only in the dark, but for some odd reason, they are quite insistent on invading the Shinobi world."

Kurama recounts the events from his memories.

"Back then, the Sage of Six Paths discovered one such altar of sorrow, which was trying to open up a permanent rift in our world. The Sage acted hastily and sealed the passage with a powerful seal.

On his deathbed, he instructed his youngest son, who inherited his chakra, to guard the seal. Soon after his death, the seal was cracked open by a few humans who were enchanted by the whispers from the Abyss.

It corrupted their mind and converted them into demons by altering their physique. They look humane on the surface but with the infusion of dark chakra they will morph into demonic beings."

Kurama draws a few figures on the floor.

Hmm…

Izuna curiously inspects the figures as he ponders.

'In the original Naruto, there was not much information on the origin of demonic beings. They were said to be intruders from otherworld but now it makes sense for them to be from a specific dimension meant for them.

I wonder which of them is stronger, Otsutsuki or the Demons. Have the two groups fought against each other in the past? Then there is also that purple cloaked guy with his grimoire and that unknown race of otherworldly beings who helped in the creation of the Uzumaki clan.'

"Damn! So many mysteries."

Izuna clutches his forehead. He turns towards Kurama and asks him.

"Then how is this all related to the Zero-tails?"

"Hear me out, brat! Don't be so impatient."

Kurama builds up the suspense.

"…"

Izuna rolls his eyes.

"Just spit it out already. It's not Sherlock Holmes Sunday Suspense!"

He impatiently glares at Kurama.

Ahem…

Kurama clears his throat and answers.

"The Abyss sent a very powerful demon to invade the Shinobi World. However, the younger son Asura sensed its presence before it could cause any major havoc.

He fought a deadly battle with the spirit for ten days and nights. We tailed-beasts also lent our power to him and finally, Asura was able to slay the demon for good."

Kurama pauses and stares at Izuna, who nods his head.

"Or that's what we thought! Asura successfully destroyed his physical body, but the spirit of the demon escaped. It took shelter with the demon clan and nourished itself from the dark chakra of the world.

However, the damage from the previous battle was too great for its spirit. It lost its sense of being and transformed into a mindless spirit.

Sensing the condition of his representative, the Lord of Abyss Kishin transferred some of his dark powers to him and transformed him into a malevolent spirit.

But the Abyss Lord was not pleased with the failure of the demon. So, he sealed him into a person and banished him to the shinobi world."

"Oh!"

Izuna nods his head in understanding.

"So, later Zero-tails found an opportunity and assassinated Asura."

"Yes!" Kurama nods his head.

"Asura was exhausted and heartbroken after his battle with Indra. Both brothers fought for fifteen days and nights and finally, the battle ended with the defeat of Indra.

Asura had tears in his eyes when he dealt the final blow to his elder brother Indra. We tailed beasts witnessed this battle with our eyes."

Kurama sighs helplessly.

"The Sage of Six Paths envisioned a future where both brothers will co-operate with each other and lead this world to great heights. But the elder brother Indra went astray from the path of righteousness. Sigh…"

Kurama shakes his head as he blankly stares at the space.

Izuna silently stares at Kurama.

'I don't know if I can understand your sentiment. Indra and Asura were like elder brothers to you tailed-beasts and both of them died in front of your very own eyes.'

Sniff…

Yin Kurama wipes his tears and continues.

"The host of the Zero-tails ambushed Asura in his weakened state, hoping to exact his revenge. But in the end, both of them perished in that battle."

"I… I see!"

Izuna pats Kurama's giant head to console him.

"I am… I am alright!"

Kurama shakes his head.

"You are a thousand years too young to console me!" He adds.

"…"

"Fine!" Izuna grunts and ignores him.

"Back then, the zero-tails perished with its host, but the power of the Abyss Lord Kishin was too great. The Zero-tails reformed itself using the dark emotions generated through countless wars over the years.

It grew so powerful that it was threatening to destroy the world. We tailed beasts had to join hands to kill it again."

A shiver runs down Kurama's spine as it narrates the incident.

"Five out of us nine died in that battle. Shukaku was the first one to die in that battle."

Kurama has mixed emotions as he recounts this.

"Since I had the most tails, and I survived the battle, I judged Shukaku as the weakest of us all with his One-tail. It's the part of the reason he hates me to till this day." Kurama chuckles.

"You are so mean to your younger brothers, you know." Izuna rolls his eyes as he adopts the posture of a caring elder brother.

He curiously stares at Kurama as a question pop into his mind.

'Back when they were born, these tailed beasts were in their chibi form. Now they have grown into their adult forms. Do they also grow like humans or other animals?'

Unable to hold his curiosity, he questions Kurama.

"Of course, we grow like you humans, but our growth is slightly different!" Kurama nods his head.

"Unlike your body of flesh and blood, we are sentient beings of chakra. You humans absorb nutrients from your food to grow, we tailed-beasts passively absorb a little amount of Nature energy to sustain ourselves. Over these years, by slowly accumulating Nature energy and influencing it with my will; my chakra reserve has grown a lot from the day I was born.

Unlike you humans, we chakra beasts won't die unless our consciousness is destroyed. The Sage of Six Paths used a very powerful technique to create us.

It's because of that technique that our consciousness and will is preserved even if our physical bodies are destroyed." Kurama proudly praises the Sage of Six Paths.

Hmm…

Izuna nods his head.

'Creation of All things is surely a very powerful Yin-Yang technique. Back then, I used its reverse application to destroy Danzo's soul for good. Destruction is easy, but creation is hard. Even with my Rinnegan, I am not proficient enough to create anything useful. I am limited by my body and chakra.'

He helplessly shakes his head.

Honk… Honk…

His conversation with Kurama is interrupted by the sound of a horn.

Izuna's consciousness exits the space of Sin Seal and stares at the sea.

A giant boat is sailing towards them.

"Sensei!"

The girls surround him as they curiously stare at the boat.

"Don't worry! Our ride is here."

Izuna ruffles their hair and turns towards the boat.

"Hey! Izuna-kun!"

A woman in a sailor uniform with a bandanna on her forehead is waving at him. Her two large mounds sway up and down as she waves her hand.

"Izuna-kun! It has been a while. I missed you!"

"…"

Izuna sweat drops at the enthusiasm of the woman.

Ziii…

He feels a sharp glare focused on his back.

Izuna turns around and notices Ayaka glaring holes at his back.

"Nii-san?! Who is that woman?!"

Ayaka points towards the Sailor Girl.

"Ayaka she is…"

Swoosh…

The boat reaches the coast and docks near it.

Whoosh…

The sailor woman jumps from the boat and dashes towards him.

"Izuna-Kyun! I missed you a lot!"

The woman tightly hugs him and squeezes his face in her chest.

Ah!

Ayaka and the girls blankly stare at Izuna and the woman.

"Nii-san! Are you cheating on Mei Nee-san?"

Ayaka grinds her teeth as she glares at Izuna.

Haah…

Izuna pushes the woman away and turns to Ayaka.

"Ayaka, it isn't what you think it is? Kanami is just a friend of mine.

Izuna tries to explain to Ayaka.

"Just a friend! You betrayed me Izuna!"

Kanami glares at Izuna.

Sigh…

He helplessly turns to Kanami, who purses her lips with a smile.

"Don't make things worse for me!"