Chapter 27: The Sol Empire

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.

A/N: Wow so it's been a while. I'm sure many of you thought I was dead, but no need to mourn my passing as I am still alive.

I want to apologies to everyone for it taking me this long to update but something have been happening in real life that take priority over writing. Nothing too bad just some minor inconveniences that's made me unable to write for a while.

We'll I'm sure you've waited enough, here it is.

Chapter 27

Laying face down on the pit of sand, Kenji couldn't help but give an emotionless chuckle at Kaguya's sadistic mind.

Despite it being pitch dark, Kenji had no trouble seeing his surroundings. They appeared to be in some sort of passageway with parallel walls that went on for hundreds of feet.

His clone and Anko had miraculously survived the fall without injury, largely due to the slime suit. The sand shinobi on the other hand, looked to be in a great deal of pain as he lay motionless on the ground, giving off only a few pitiful groans to indicate that he too was alive.

Kenji had to give him credit though, even with chakra reinforcement that fall would have killed most shinobi. The only reason why he was unharmed was because he entered Sage Mode mid-fall granting him superhuman durability.

Dusting himself off, the small boy crouched over to the man and place a hand on his chest. He activated the yang mark on his shoulder and let the healing chakra wash over the man. It only took a moment to full heal him.

It wasn't out of the kindness of his heart that he did it either, but seeing as they were still trapped inside the dungeon he needed as many meat shields as possible.

"Well shit, there goes our only way out," Anko summarized lighting a flare, bathing their surroundings in an angry red hue.

"At least we're still alive," Master Shu offered, as he dusted himself, retrieving his umbrella sword.

Sktskssksk.

"What was that?"

They weren't given even a moments breath as they heard the sound of skittering.

Anko turned around fast and shone the light on one of the stone walls, where the noise was coming from. Looking closely, they saw as the stone chip away as two pincer-like mandibles carved their way outward.

It was a centipede, only it was the size of a human arm. Worse was that hundreds of similar holes began to appear along the entire length of the walls, some the size of grapefruit while others the size of beachballs.

Gulping, Kenji called forth Akame from her hiding place.

Without a moment to lose she 'regurgitated' Draco from her shadow.

Kenji unceremoniously threw the injured Suna shinobi over the velociraptor's back before also jumping on.

"Move!" he shouted just as the walls gave way to a moving sea of black armored insects.

Drago shot off like a bullet, quickly followed by Anko. His clone on the other hand lagged behind, just enough to throw some explosive tags behind them.

The explosion took out hundreds in an instant, but it didn't even seem to make a dent in their numbers.

They managed to distance themselves in the narrow corridor before Kenji felt his instincts flaring up and pulled on Drago's muzzle causing the large reptile to stop suddenly. Anko who couldn't stop as fast was pulled backwards by Kenji's outstretch arm before she could go any further.

She didn't protest however as she quickly found the reason for their sudden stop. A razor thin wire was placed at neck level an inch away, threatening to decapitate her.

Tossing the light, they saw that the entire corridor beyond them was filled with dozens of similar wires.

Hearing the stampede behind them, they didn't waste any time jumping into the web of wires, showing an impressive amount of acrobatics as they avoid touching even a single one.

Now more cautious they exited the trap, and not a moment too soon as the first centipede ran into one of the wires causing a hidden mechanism to activate.

The walls suddenly began to close in on them.

"Well fuck," Anko cursed, as they continued running.

They cleared hundreds of feet in seconds, yet there appeared to be no exit in sight. Worse, the walls were starting to press in on them to the point where their shoulders where touching each wall.

Luckily Kenji managed to spot another of Kaguya's hidden messages. Pressing himself against the wall he pushed a brick causing a hidden lever to appear. He pulled it and a hidden passageway emerge a few feet away.

With a last spurt of speed, they managed to clear the distance just as the two walls slammed together.

The three looked at each other before falling boneless on the ground.

"I hate Suna so much right now," Kenji stated.

"It's just one thing after another," Master Shu agreed with a groan, panting from all the running he had to do.

Anko was also panting but it seemed more to do with the adrenaline running through her body, "Boy, there's never a dull moment huh?"

Sitting up Kenji rummaged into the folds of his sleeves, "Where even are we?" They had taken so many twist and turns, that it wouldn't surprise him if they were back to their original starting point.

Holding a talisman above his head, he activated it, lighting up the entire room.

Kenji felt the air be sucked out of his lungs. Even Anko couldn't hold back a gasp as they stared at mound and mounds of gold treasure.

Gold coins littered the ground like grains of sand, statues dozens of feet high made out of solid gold loomed over them like judgmental gods, trinkets both big and small looked to be made out of only the finest jewels.

Taking out more light talisman, Kenji sent them in every direction to get a better estimate of the size of the room. It did not disappoint as he estimated the entire room to be about as big as a football stadium.

"Gasp!" came an unexpected sound from behind them.

The three turned around with weapons in their hands, only to realize it was just the Sand Shinobi from before, having completely forgotten about him.

"Sigh. Alright, everyone stick together," Kenji ordered taking command of the situation, his mind already working on a way to bring all of this treasure back with him.

They didn't know if there were any more traps but if the last few minutes were anything to go by, it was better to be safe than sorry.

With the four shinobi and the two chakra beasts made their way around the room, making sure not to touch any of the gold mounds.

"Centipedes the size of dogs you say," the Suna shinobi said as Master Shu explained their resent escape. "Wow, what is that?" he said having caught sight of what could only be described as a large golden sarcophagus laying in the middle of the room on top of an elevated alter.

(Scene change)

Rasa cursed himself for getting distracted in mid-combat, receiving a cut on his forearm.

Without a moment's hesitation he cut off his arm at the elbow with a wind jutsu and jumped away.

The arm was mummified in seconds. His eyes momentarily flickered toward the mummified corpse of one of his men that was unlucky enough to be run through by one of the monster's weapons.

With a grunt he used one of the few fire jutsu he knew to cauterize the wound.

The jackal's weapon was giving off a sinister black light, as it bared its fangs at the Kazekage.

For the umpteenth time, Rasa sent a barrage of sand daggers at them but they either dodged or didn't care as they exploded into black sand only to reform seconds later.

They were losing and he only had himself to blame.

A wave of black energy was launched at his legs causing him to jump and land on the ceiling.

The monsters didn't let that stop them however as they too jumped up, using their claws to stick to the stone surface.

Hearing another yell behind him he witnessed as one of his men was bisected at the waist, either too slow or too low on chakra to use the substitute jutsu.

The last of his guards also wasn't fairing much better, barely managing to hold back the attacks. An accidental slip on some sand was all it took for the golden blade to decapitate him.

They surrounded him and just he was sure that it would be the end of him, the ghostly man still sitting on the throne spoke, "Stop. Capture him alive. He will be a worthy sacrifice to our Queen."

The monsters responded by dismissing their weapons into black sand, as they jumped at Rasa like a pack of hungry wolves.

(Underground Tomb)

"Riiight, well we'll just be avoiding that for now," Kenji said as a sea of purification talismans sprang out of his sleeves.

"128 Purification Array," he said the name of his newly developed technique, the paper slips glowing white as they floating around the sarcophagus making a cage.

"We should look for an exit," Shu told the others as Kenji continued to added trap after trap.

The two adults nodded, with Anko biting her thumb and going through a few hand seals trying to summon a snake scout only for nothing to appear. "Well damn, looks like we can't summon."

"Worse," the Sand Shinobi added looking shocked as he held his hands in the ram hand seal, "we can't use any outside jutsu either."

"I can still use my priest techniques though?" Kenji said taking out a jar of purifying salt and making a circle around the coffin, "Aaand that should do it. It's a good thing I stocked up on materials before we left."

Looking around the room the small boy had a frown, actually worried for once, 'Just how am I supposed to take all of this gold back with me?' If any of his teammates heard this, they would have slapped him on the back of the head.

"Looks like we're going to have to do things the hard way," Shu said with a sigh.

Using improvised lanterns, they began to look around the room, being extra careful not to touch anything.

"I think I found something," Kenji called out as he shone his light onto a wall that had a picture of Kaguya looking down on some kneeling humans.

As the other joined them the Sand Shinobi took a closer look trying to memorize the image, "Do you think you might be able to decipher it Yamamoto-sama."

"I'll try umm," Kenji paused realizing he didn't know the man's name, "you?"

Kenji shook his head, as he activated Sage Mode, to read the hidden words underneath. "A long, long time ago…"

(Rasa)

Rasa struggled in his bindings as he was shackled to a stone slab, glaring hotly at the ghostly man.

"If you're going to kill me, then just do it?" he said angrily.

The man barely paid him attention as he mixed a batch of different ingredients into a large ceramic pot, "Your time will come human, there is no need to hurry it. But do not fret for your sacrifice will go to a great cause."

Rasa stopped pulling on the chains as that caught his attention. Seeing a chance to get more information he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Tell me human, what do you know of the Great Sol Empire?"

"Sol Empire, I've never heard of it," Rasa said simply, causing the apparition to briefly stall in his work before continuing.

"Then allow me to enlighten you. Thousands of years ago, before the Age of Man, was the Age of the Moon, but before that was the Age of the Sun. It was a prosperous time, a world where everyone lived in perfect harmony. The earth itself sang with life and every creature was without need. Humans at the time were still crawling out of the mud, but it was thanks to the spirits, born from the earth herself that guided the first men. They clothed, sheltered and feed them and all they asked in return was our worship."

Now Rasa was interested, even the oldest history books only traced back a few hundred years ago. The biggest mystery however was what historians called the Blank Period, a time where no written records could be found.

The other man continued, "So we did just that, we built temples, statues, monuments to show our gratitude, and with every prayer they grew more powerful until they could be called Gods. For centuries this went on, it was thanks to their will that we learned to harness the energies of the universe, we called this art-"

"Cultivation," Rasa guessed.

The translucent man raised an eyebrow, "How curious? You claim to not know about the Golden Era yet you know of our most sacred tradition."

"Lucky guess," Rasa uttered blankly, his mind racing trying to remember what he knew about the subject.

"No matter," the ghost said turning back to his task, "as I was saying, we learned to cultivate our energies, to break free of our mortal coils. Some of the lucky few managed to obtain Godhood and join the other spirits in the Celestial Plains while others only managed to extend their lives by a few centuries. Kingdoms sprouted, and mighty warriors took the responsibility to maintain the balance."

Rasa recalled the books by Kenji Yamamoto and realized with start that they might actually hold some truth to them. "But seeing as they aren't here any longer I guess they didn't fulfil their roll," he said mockingly.

The ghost turned to him and glared, and despite himself Rasa felt something heavy press against him, an invisible force pressing on him.

"It should not have become like this. If it weren't for 'Her' then the glorious Sol Empire would never have been reduced to this pitiful state. To be stricken from the records and left to drown under the sands of the desert."

"H-her?" Rasa asked even as his breathing became labored.

"An abomination, that came from the heavens one dark night. It planted a devil tree that sucked out all the Earth's energy, like parasite. We were wholly unprepared for her and her monster kin as they slaughtered our warriors. Worse still was she dared to proclaim herself a Goddess all the while corrupting the very earth itself, causing the end of cultivation as a whole. The spirits tried to fight her as well but through foul means she was able to strip them of their power and seal them into the very earth itself. Only a few managed to slip away, like the guardian lioness that guarded the entrance of this tomb."

A chill ran down his spine as the Kazekage suddenly had a bad feeling, "Those lion things were the 'spirits' you talked about?"

"Yes, something in the earth has caused the spirts to start awakening."

That sounded very bad Rasa thought, "Won't they be sealed once more though?"

The ghost smirked, "How can they since the one that originally sealed them, was herself betrayed by her own sons and sealed away. Though I can still sense some of her cursed energy in your body."

'What?'

"I must thank you human, for bringing me the key, even if unknowingly."

"What do you plan to do with it," Rasa questioned.

"There is no need for you to know," the man said finishing his concoction, "Simply go knowing that your life will usher in a new era."

The spirit then pressed a hidden lever and the room began to move as the sound of gears could be heard. The room was slowly being lifted upwards. The ceiling parted to show that they were now stand on top of a flat pyramid with what looked like a sacrificial slab next to a standing sarcophagus. Below them he could see hundreds of those jackal-like monsters kneeling on the ground.

(Tomb)

"Wow, didn't expect that," Anko muttered as she gave the pictures more attention after Kenji's explanation, "So this tomb serves as a sort of prison for an evil Spirit."

"Worse, if what Yamamoto-Sama said is correct, it houses an army of chakra beasts, and with them so close to the village it's a matter of great urgency," the Sand Shinobi said biting his thumb in worry.

Kenji on the other hand was smiling, "On the bright side, the treasure here isn't cursed like I initially thought."

The others deadpanned at him.

Shu suddenly called out from the other side of the room, "Hey, I found the exit."

"Great, then I say we haul ass, and get out of here before anything else happens," Anko was the first to respond.

"For once I agree," Kenji said as he was tired of all of this sand. Once they were in the safety of the village they could send someone to collect all of this treasure. He was owed 5% of any treasure found on this trip and he was ready to get paid. Still that didn't mean he hadn't already stuffed as much treasure as he could carry in his storage rings while no one was looking.

No sooner had they decided that, did they hear the sound of thumping.

As one they all turned to look at the sarcophagus, even Akame and Drago who had been hiding inside of Kenji's shadow jump and stood on either side of him donning their armor.

A louder hit was heard as it started to rattle.

They armed themselves with their chosen weapon as they slowly made their way backwards. Kenji took out his dragon canon and aimed it at the coffin. Shu took out his umbrella sword while Anko and the Sand Shinobi took out a kunai each.

The top of the coffin was blown up as thousands of white ghostly hands reached out for them.

Unfortunately, without chakra, they were unable to get away in time as they were quickly being dragged toward the open casket.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Shu cursed.

"Hey, no touching!" Anko squawked as she felt one of the hands brush against her inner thigh.

The Sand Shinobi couldn't even do that as a hand covered his mouth.

Kenji on the other hand had a dead look in his eyes as things unfolded.

(Rasa)

"…Ra, bestow upon us your blessings. We trade this life for another," the ghostly apparition said holding a golden staff with a large glass orb suspended between two white curved horns.

Rasa struggled in his bindings as the chanting from the monsters was steadily growing louder.

From what he could guess, they were going to use him to bring back someone back from the dead. Worse was that they planned to unleash their army on the Sand Village, something he couldn't let happen at all cost.

Suddenly the coffin began to rattle, as the ghost began to grin as he kneeled on one knee. "Mortal Goddess, Ruler of the Four Winds and the Sol Empire, Queen Rafita!" he shouted in excitement.

However that was not to be as instead of the ghostly queen what came out was the tangled form of Kenji and his companions.

Rasa looked shocked and even the ghostly priest stood frozen in place.

Kenji took stock of the entire situation in a manner of seconds as he entered Sage Mode once more. 'The heck happened when we split up? Why is the Kazekage missing an arm? And why is he chained to a wall?'

Finally it seemed that the ghost was able to pull himself together as he stood up, a furious expression on his face as a deadly aura enveloped him, "You, what have you done to our Qu-"

That was as far as he got before Kenji sprung to his feet and jumped at him, punching him in the face with a Qi enhanced fist.

"Oof," the ghost said as he was thrown off the side of the pyramid.

The others were quick to jump to action as Shu and the Sand Shinobi worked together to untie Rasa.

"Kazekage are you okay?" the sand ninja asked.

Rasa glared at him for asking such a stupid question. "Of course, not you fool," he said before turning to Kenji, "But we have more pressing matters."

"Let me guess they have an army of chakra beast, that they plan to unleash on the Sand Village in order to raise an army of undead servants to concur the entire Elemental Nations," Kenji asked pointing his cannon down the side of the pyramid.

Rasa nodded his head slowly "Yes, exactly, but how did you know."

Kenji pulled the trigger on the canon's handle, causing the Dragon talisman inside to activate, sending a large fire ball into a pack of Jackal creatures that were running on the side of the pyramid, "Lucky guess.

Shu was also doing his part as he unsealed his Elemental Bow and used it to shoot down any jackals with homing arrows.

Kenji tossed the dragon cannon to Anko, "Here, keep firing at them, while I tend to the Kazekage."

She looked shocked as she caught it before gaining a predator grin, "Will do boss."

He knew he was making a mistake but he had more urgent matter.

Kneeling beside the injured man, Kenji placed a hand on the bloody stump. "This is going to hurt," he told the Kazekage as he activated the yang seal.

"That's doesn't matter," he said tiredly.

Rasa grunted as bone sprouted from the stump, followed by blood vessels, muscles tissue, and finally skin. It was pale in color too, but for all intend and purpose he had his arm back.

"Here drink these, they should help you regain some of your chakra," Kenji said handing them to the men, "I'll just add them to your tab."

Rasa looked ticked off but still took them anyways.

Together the five of them battled against the on slaughter of chakra beasts. Only chakra artifacts and talismans seemed to be doing any permanent damage however, and they were quickly running out of the later.

"Enough!" a loud voice boomed as the ghostly priest floated in the air above them, releasing a strange green aura.

The sky quickly darkened as thunder clouds blocked out the sun.

"You wretched beings dare to interrupt this sacred ceremony! For this you will pay!"

Kenji didn't take his eyes off the ghost even as he called out to the Rasa, "Kazekage?"

"What is it?" Rasa said launching a sand avalanche down the side of the building.

"I hate you."

"Dully noted."

The man pointed his staff up into the air, causing the earth to rumble as geysers of sand erupted on all sides of the pyramid to reveal four giant centipedes the size of a boss summons.

"I really hate you," Kenji said reaching into his ring's inventory to take out a staff that gave off an icy wind.

"Again, noted," Rasa grunted as he began to gather sand to fight them.

The last thing Kenji did before jumping toward them was summon a shadow clone and a number of Shinigami servants.

(Kenji's Mind)

Kaguya gave a smile as she watched the battle ensue. She had done her best to craft that world, serving as both a test to the shinobi as well as herself. Kenji might be a little annoyed but she was sure he would enjoy his prize all the same.

All around her were floating glass orbs showing her what was happening in the real world.

They were used to monitor her chakra beast nests as well as human settlements.

One of the orbs showed a battle between a group of shinobi wearing red uniform and a mole chakra beast that shaped the earth with a flick of its claws. It was slowly making its way toward a large village, completely ignoring their attacks. It got halfway until an attack from above disintegrated it.

Another showed an goat ramming people off the side of a mountain.

However, most of the orbs were dedicated to would be cultivators.

A snap of her fingers and one of the orbs flew towards her to show a creature with a venus fly trap for a head hiding under the sand just a distance away from the Sand Village.

"The board is set, and the players have gathered, all that's left is to ring the starting bell," she said with a smirk on her lips.

(Scene change)

Jumping over a centipede's charge, Kenji landed on its steel-like chitin and began to run along its back, trailing the end of his staff on along the length of its body, causing ice to spread along it's exoskeleton.

Chakra: Chunnin

Chakra Points: 3,433/10,002

Cultivation: First Stage

Soul Points: 203

Channeling Qi into his palm, he slammed it into the head of the centipede. He did this multiple times, injecting his energy into every attack, before being thrown off.

He adjusted his fall to land behind Anko and used his staff to block an attack aimed at her back. With a twirl he stabbed the jackal turning it into an ice statue before following through on his spin and smash it to bits.

The centipede had finished recovering as a purple energy began to build in its mouth, aimed at them.

However just as it was about to open its mouth, Kenji stuck out an arm and made a squeezing gesture, causing the qi inside it to detonate, destroying it from the inside out.

Without a moment to waste he tossed his staff in the air and caught a falling Shu, before turning on a dime and throwing him back toward another giant centipede.

"Yamamoto-Sama! We need better weapons," the Sand Shinobi shouted as he ducked another sword swipe from a jackal soldier.

Kenji reminded himself to find out what his name was but complied anyway as he reached into his space ring and threw him a metal chain that had a snake head at the end.

Metal Snake Chain +12

Quality: Mid-human

Attack: 400

+700

10+: Can grow to any length up to a mile long.

12: 10% chance of piercing armor.

Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 430

"Here!"

The shinobi didn't waste any time as he slashed at the insect, causing cracks to appear in its chitin.

"What about me?" Rasa said appearing next to him in a swirl of sand.

Kenji was tempted to tell him to go to hell before begrudgingly realizing that they would need everyone. So, he tossed him a sword.

Steel Sword +8

Quality: Low-Human

Attack: 360

+400

Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: 30

There was no need to waste anything better since that would be enough to deal with their current opponents.

They jumped away as a bolt of lightning hit where they were courtesy of the ghostly priest.

"He's going to be a problem," Rasa commented as he sent a wave of gold dust at a centipede to blind it.

Kenji nodded, truth was that only he was equipped to deal with the spirit, the problem was that every time he tried to get close it would either avoid him by flying higher or direct a gust of wind to knock him back down.

"At this rate, we'll be overrun," he commented.

"Any ideas," the Kazekage asked while making a protective dome around them to guard them from the poisons chakra needles that one of the centipedes spit at them.

"One actually. From what I gather it looks like we are currently trapped inside a pocket dimension of some sort. To get out we need to get a hold of the key guarding this place."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Yes. See that orb on top of the spirits staff? If we can destroy it, we'll be able to escape."

"My sand allows me better mobility in the air, I'll get it."

"Okay. I'll see if I can hold him long enough for you to strike," Kenji said before they both hopped away to fight again.

Akame and Drago were currently holding their own against the other two centipedes.

However, a rumbling from the pyramid showed that things were far from over as hidden pathways slid open and mummified corpses began to tuple out by the dozens.

They looked like something straight out of a nightmare as they gave a horrifying scream before throwing themselves at the sides of the pyramid, showing an impressive amount of liveliness using each other to climb the almost vertical surface.

"Boss, I'm out of ammunition," Anko said appearing at his side.

Kenji tossed her his staff, "Forget about that for the moment. I need you to guard me for a second."

Kenji looked at the incoming hoard and clicked his tongue. He looked over at his clone that had taken refuge inside the sarcophagus. It nodded its head as it tossed a bundle of recently made talisman.

The floor under him cracked as he channeled all of his Qi into the slips of paper and spoke the 'holy words', "Mother of Chakra, Goddess of the Crimson Moon, Weaver of Destiny and Fortune, let your brilliant light shine upon this earth. In the name of-"

The ghost put on a shocked face as it stared at Kenji, something that Rasa didn't fail to catch as he waited for his moment to strike, "Y-You, how do you know those words?! You not supposed to- Are you one of the monster's followers, but how?!"

"-Let thy will be made through this vessel and bless the land in your name. 128 Red Moon Mass Purification Formation!" A part of him felt like it died as he recited the stupid name of the technique.

The talismans turned a brilliant gold before they shot up into the sky where they formed a circle large enough to cover the entire pyramid. They slowly began to rotate, picking up speed with each turn until it looked like a giant golden ring.

With a final gesture Kenji slammed his hand on the ground.

The world seemed to slow to a crawl as a beam of gold energy fell upon them.

The light from the technique proved harmless to the shinobi, but the same could not be said for the jackals and the mummies. The jackals disintegrated upon contact turning into black dust that scattered in the wind. The mummies on the other hand stopped in their charge as the golden light burned away their corrupted bodies, leaving behind spectral images behind before slowly ascending into the sky.

The Sand Shinobi that had appeared at Kenji's side gasped as he stared at one particular spirit that was wearing an old shinobi uniform, "Grandfather,"

Now that he was looking closely, Kenji spotted several shinobi among the ghosts, 'So she gathered all of the resentful spirits in Suna here just so that I could purify them? I don't know if I should call that extremely compassionate or extremely selfish.' With every spirit that was purified Kenji could sense his overall Qi increase.

So immersed was he that he didn't even notice as Anko dropped to her knees behind him, clutching at the curse mark on her neck. She looked to be in extreme pain as the patch of skin began to bubble until finally a small white snake emerged. The purple haired kunoichi looked stunned before realization hit her as she inspect her shoulder only to see that the seal that had been a source of self-loathing for years was now gone. Without a moment to waste she tried to stab at the snake but it proved to be much quicker than it seemed as it easily slipped past her and into a crack in the floor.

However, it didn't get very far as Master Shu appeared and stabbed his hand into the ground, pulling it up by its tail. It tried to bite him but he simply tossed it into the air, his blade flashing as it was cut in half.

Anko looked startled as she stared at him. Suddenly she hit with a sense of fatigue, causing her to collapse on the ground, her eyes growing heavier and heavier. The last thing she saw was Kenji's back as he stared at the sea of spirits.

Kenji felt a shiver run down his spine but ignored it for the moment.

Rasa didn't waste any time as he created a platform made of sand and flew toward the spirit, who flickered in and out of existence as if fighting to not be purified.

He launched a tendril of sand that wrapped around the middle of the staff before pulling it towards him.

"No!" the ghost shouted as it flew after the staff, but it was already too late as Rasa stabbed at the crystal with the sword Kenji had given him. It split down the middle as a white light engulfed them all.

The last thing the Kazekage saw however was the hazy image of a familiar woman smiling at him as she too joined the sea of souls.

(Hiruzen)

"Thank you, Maple-kun," the old Hokage said petting the red hawk on the head as it brought him the latest reports from the Leaf village. It gave a gracious bow before it disappeared in a cloud of ash, traveling back to the Leaf.

Kenji had managed to tame a number of chakra beasts before departure from the Leaf, something that the Hokage was extremely grateful for as it made his work easier.

Unsealing the package, Hiruzen began to go over the different reports, "Looks like the number of exorcisms has finally dwindled down. Hmm, the Kurama clan has requested that Kenji look over one of their members for demonic possession. Might want to ease him into it later. The civilian council wants to restructure the academy to include lessons on chakra beasts. That's surprising proactive of them, though I suppose it will be necessary in the future."

Times were changing, and the old Hokage couldn't help but feel his age catch up to him. It already felt like he was a relic of the past with everything happening so far. "If only Kenji-kun was less focused on making money and more on his shinobi carrier I could safely hand him the position of Kage in a few years."

Of course, he knew it was only a pipe dream, but the Third still dreamed of retirement, to enjoy the days playing with his grandson and his pseudo-grandson and not have to worry about the stability of the village at every waking moment.

Looking out of the window, he took a puff from his pipe only for it to drop a second later.

A giant dome of light could be seen on the horizon, a beam similar to the one that had appeared a few days ago extended to the sky.

Seeing the direction it was coming from, the aged shinobi didn't waste any time as he disappeared from the room in a swirl of leaves.

(Treasure Room)

"Ohhhh, my aching everything," Kenji moaned as the recently gathered Qi tried to settle down in his spirit roots.

The others didn't fare much better as they laid sprawled apart on the treasure room floor.

Kenji spotted the priest's staff a few inched from him and reached for it. The orb was gone making it look like a two-pronged spear.

As soon as his hands made contact with one of the spear heads, his eyes widened in shock at the information that his ability gave him.

Kaguya's Horn

Quality: Legendary

Description: Unknown

Chakra Points Until Next Upgrade: ?

'Oh damn,' Kenji thought as he looked around himself to see that no one else was looking before taking the two horns for himself. His mind raced as it tried to imagine the amount of power that a weapon made from the horns of a Goddess could wield.

Compared to this, the gold in the room seemed to lose some of its luster. Though that didn't mean he would simple leave it behind either.

'…hahahahahaha!'

The sound of maniacal laughter echoed in Kenji's brain in that second as Akame hopped into his vision, "Why are you laughing."

She didn't answer as she simply laid down four tennis-sized chakra beast crystals.

It took a moment for Kenji to connect the dots but when he did, the blood in his face drained, "No."

'Yes! You remember the deal. I collect 4 second-grade chakra beast crystals and I can make a Sect.'

The thought of more super powered bunnies hopping around his compound caused him to nearly spit out blood.

(Hiruzen)

The old shinobi arrived at the outskirts of the ruined city accompanied with an army of Sand shinobi.

"Spread out," the Suna commander ordered. The shinobi turned to Hiruzen and gave a small incline of his head, "Don't worry, we'll find them Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded his head before also beginning to search the area.

It was only a few minutes into their search when a loud explosion rang from the side of the pyramid took their attention.

A cloud of smoke obscured most of it, but they could see a small figure walking out of a newly made hole.

"Cough. Cough. What the heck? I was sure we were underground."

"Oh god, fresh air?" a feminine voice rang out.

"I could use a bath, also stop leaning on me."

"Ow. Boss, Shu is being mean to me."

"Deal with it, now let's hurry and get this job done. The faster we get away from this desert the better."

Hiruzen smiled at knowing that all of his people had returned.

The sand ninja's also gave a cheer as they spotted their Kazekage come out of the pyramid, though now sporting a completely white arm.

The aged Hokage reminded himself to ask for a full report later once everyone was well rested.

(Sand Village)

It was during midday when Kenji and the rest finally arrived back in the village.

The villagers had been properly informed to clear a path as they walked through the streets followed by teams of shinobi each carrying piles of treasure. The people cheered as Rasa stood tall soaking in their praises.

"I do hope he doesn't forget that 5% of that is mine," Kenji grumbled on top of Draco.

The aged Hokage smiled as he ruffled the small boy's hair, just happy he was back in one piece.

The celebration that ensured lasted for three days before order could be restored giving the Leaf team enough time to rest up.

"Here," Kenji said tossing the old man a domino sized piece of jade, "I forgot to give this to you. It called a jade slip, I filled it with my memories of what happened during the expedition. Thought it would serve better than a written report." Of course, he made sure to leave out any incriminating evidence out.

"Ah yes, the fabled jade slip, from your novels. I was wondering when you were going to get around to making them, the research department has been petitioning me to ask if you could make them. They should prove most useful for the upcoming meeting."

"Where's my clone?" Kenji said noticing the absence of 'Master Shu'.

"I saw it leave a while ago to get some supplies. Anko is in her room practicing her Alchemy judging by the fumes coming from under the door."

"Well then I guess I should also get ready to leave."

It took two more days until they could leave, as the Sand's financial department had finally finished recording the treasures value. Kenji made sure to supervise as he didn't want to be cheated out of a single Ryo.

The total amount was startling to say the least. With 25% of the treasure going to the Leaf Village, even Danzo would have nothing to complain about. The Hokage had estimated that with the new funds, they would be able to pay off all of their debts within the next year with some still left over to reform the Academy.

Kenji's cut was smaller but even with just 5%, it put him in a league of his own. His fortune even outstripped the wealth of some nobles living in the Fire Capital and way more than any one clan in the Leaf Village. He expected to get marriage proposals as soon as he stepped foot back in the village but even that future headache couldn't wipe away the large smile plastered on his face.

"It was a pleasure to have you stay with us Hokage-sama," Rasa said with an incline of his head.

"Ho ho, the pleasure was ours," the Third said politely.

"A shame you could not stay longer and enjoy the festivities, but I'm sure you are eager to return home."

"Perhaps another time."

"Where is Yamamoto-san, by the way?" Rasa asked when he didn't see the boy. There was still a lot of questions that he had over what had happened, and something told him that Kenji was at least partially involved.

"Kenji-kun is just saying good-bye to some friends," the Hokage lied, as even he wasn't sure where he was at the moment, as he had slipped away when no one was looking.

"…I see," the Kazekage said with a fake smile.

A distance away from the Sand Village, Kenji stopped and took out a scroll. He looked up into the sky, where the semi-visable form of the moon rested, "Really? Are you sure about this? I get that we need more allies but- …fine."

With a sigh he threw the scroll as hard as he could into the dessert and turned around to go back to the others.

In the same direction, a black hand sprouted from underneath the sand and retrieved the scroll. The form of Zetsu emerged as he stared at the unmistakable energy surrounding the paper, "Mother?" It sent a look at the retreating form of the small human before slinking back into the sand.

"Ready to leave Kenji?" Hiruzen asked when Kenji appeared next to him.

The small boy nodded, "Yes."

"Then let's get going."

Kenji couldn't help but look in the direction of the pyramid ruins and all the changes that would soon happen.

A/N: Yes, finally finished.

Now I'm sure you all have questions. So I'll try to answer some here now.

First, the inside of the pyramid was a huge maze that constantly moved around as if alive. When the team split up, Rasa's group actually entered a separate dimension, think of the pocket world from the movie Road to Ninja. The tomb acted as a well of souls, or portable that others could use to travel dimensions. Inuyasha fans will know what it is.

Second, Kaguya is finally flexing her goddess powers, using her rabbit minions to scout the world.

Third, the entire setting was created by Kaguya for the sole purpose of raising her and Kenji's power in the way of purifying all of the ghost in the sand village.

Well I'm sure you have more questions, so feel free to comment.

I'd also like to announce that after this chapter, the story will skip to the start of the series. So a two year time skip. Naruto is currently 10 and Kenji is 11 older by a few months.

But before that I'm going to go back and correct some of my mistakes, just small inconsistencies I found as I was re-reading it, nothing that will change the story but just to make it easier on the future readers.

I also plan to focus on my Harry Potter fanfic as I hope to finish book 1 before the year ends, so Kenji won't be updated until next year.

Well, I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. Until next time.