Reality

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Prologue – Arc 1: The Soul Robber

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Chapter 8: Reality

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It's the afternoon in the village of Ryuka. Everybody in the village is living its life as calmly as this place allows them to, away from Konoha and the ninja's problems and conflicts. In the Minamoto mansion, standing in the middle of the village, a bit away of all the other houses and buildings, two young girl's voices screaming can be heard from outside.

Tsubai who was just in front of the door, ready to enter his home, stops and looks around to guess the origin of this sound. Not finding any answer, he shrugs his shoulders and raises his hand to open the door. Just as he was going to grab the knob, the door suddenly blasts open. Himari appears running from behind and hits Tsubai right under the ribs with her shoulder. Still running, she lifts him up and pushes him to follow her away from the mansion.

As he's being dragged away, Tsubai looks behind Himari, in front of him, and sees Saori, his little sister, running and following the dynamic young girl calmly. Looking back to the Mansion's door, he sees his mother looking at them. She puts her open hand next to her mouth and shouts to them:

"BE SURE TO STAY AROUND. DON'T GO TOO FAR AWAY!"

"SURE!!!" yells back Himari, even though miss Minamoto's order was clearly not directed to her.

Tsubai looks at Himari difficultly carrying him and then looks around to see they're already near the beach. He lowers his feets to touch the ground, interrupting Himari's run. As she's still head down holding his hips to try pushing him back and fail, he grabs her by the waists and lifts her, to carry her upside down.

"AAHAHA! STOP IT! YOU'LL SEE MY PANTIES!" screams Himari unable to contain her laughter caused by the sudden change of position.

"No problem. Not looking." simply answers Tsubai who takes her further on the beach with his sister still next to him.

Once they're far enough of the rest of the villagers, Tsubai puts Himari down. She's trembling in excitement for no reason, unable to stand still. Saori however, is still calm by her side.

"You need to put your damn energy levels all the way down, young girl." says Tsubai. "So what is up?"

"We Were UHH Goin' T'Your Da's Offish' An' Look Fo' Da Vaze U Kno ? An' Ya Mam Arra… !"

"Hey Hey Stop!" he interrupts. "I didn't understand a damn thing of what you said."

Himari pauses a moment to catch her breath before going on, still in her euphoric state, but now understandable.

"We Went To Your Dad's Office To Try And Get The Blacky Misty Jar So We Could Find Out What It Is, But We Didn't Find It And Your Mom Came In And Scared Us. So We Ran Away And You Was There So I Took You And Damn You're Heavy!"

Tsubai just looks at her while processing what she said and turns to his sister who's still standing there quietly.

"Are you really enjoying these dumb things she does or why are you with her?" he asks her in a monotone bored voice.

"She took me with her, I was just following." answers the calm young girl. "But I agree, Big Brother, that's really a dumb way to pass time. Also I already know Dad always takes this jar with him when he leaves."

Himari puffs her cheeks and tries to grab theirs with her hands. Too small to reach Tsubai's face, she just pinches his arm and Saori's cheek and looks at them right in the eyes.

"Hey! It's not dumb, it's fun. Fun can't be dumb! Fun is always dumb! Therefore Fun is Never Dumb!"

"Makes sense." say Tsubai and Saori at the same time, both in an ironic tone.

"Of Course It Does!" answers Himari still feeling excessively entertained.

"Yeah cool, but I was going home actually, So have a good night, girls." says Tsubai.

"Himari already said Mom that I'll stay here with her tonight." adds Saori with the same bored tone as her brother.

"Ok, see ya tomorrow then." he answers.

Tsubai walks away from the beach to head back and join his mother home. Himari looks at him going, steps forward to him a bit and takes a deep breath.

"TSSUUUBBAAIII!" she screams out loud. "YOU'LL SEE LATER WHEN YOU LEAD THE VILLAGE! YOU'LL PAY ME TO DO THESE! IT ACTUALLY ENTERTAINS PEOPLE!"

"Yeah… damn right…" he quietly answers, so that Himari doesn't hear him at all.

"SEE YA TOMORROW!!" she screams, waving her hand in the air to Tsubai.

As he looks at her from the distance, Tsubai slightly smiles… before his vision fades to black.

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He now opens his eyes, lying in a bed. He stands up to sit on the bed and looks around to understand what happened. He's in a hospital room, in Konoha. Realizing it was all just a dream, he lies back on the bed and tries to go back to sleep.

"Finally out of your flashbacks?" says something in his mind, Daikoku.

"Ah, you…" answers Tsubai before pausing for a few seconds, thinking about what he just dreamed about. "This day… A few hours later, something landed and caused a blast near the village. The village was almost completely destroyed and half of the villagers died. Himari and Saori were safely sleeping on the beach, but her parents, my mother and I weren't. We were in the affected part of the village. The mansion and Himari's house were destroyed with us inside. They died, Mom died, but somehow, I lived."

"… I know…" answers Daikoku. "And your father wasn't there. He was in some other place, where he obviously took his sealed jar with him…"

"Of course… He's never there when something happens."

"At least this time, I mean this last week, he got your sister away with him."

Tsubai, getting his mind back to reality, recalls to himself the events of the last days and everything that happened since he met Sasuke. The fight with the giant bear, the quiet times with the Konoha-nins at Ryuka, The attack of that dragon, his training with miss Ino, and Katashiki's arrival. He met a lot of people this last week, among who there are kind people, and also very useful people. He discovered things he didn't even know about himself and the world. But what concerns his mind the most currently is the last things he remembers. She's gone. He lost her, and forever.

Why was she the only one who came to help from the so close village? Where were all the ninjas? And the Hokage? No. Blaming anyone else is pointless. He knows Katashiki blocked their way and Himari was the only one who managed to get past his trap only because he didn't notice her. He knows Naruto and Sasuke were kept busy on purpose by the enemy. Thinking back at what happened, he feels like she had to give her life away only because he couldn't fight or flee properly. It should have been him. She got involved only because she had to save him.

"It's all my fault…" Tsubai says in his mind, in a depressed voice, but not his usual monotonic voice this time. A real saddened and lifeless voice.

"That's not the right way to see it." answers his Tengu immediately. "I know whose fault it is. And anyway, the guy's not around anymore. You avenged her, and saved your loved ones, maybe even the world."

"So why do I feel so much like dying?"

"She didn't waste her life. She succeeded. You're still alive, as she wished. You should focus on live to accomplish what she wanted you to do. Get old, have kids, lead the clan and protect Ryuka."

"Is it worth it?"

"Well, she thought so."

Tsubai doesn't say anything more. He gets up on the bed to sit again and looks around to find the time. How long has he been there? He doesn't know anything of what happened after the fight.

Lost in his train of thoughts again, He's interrupted by Ino, Sai and Naruto coming in the room to check on him.

"Oh! You finally woke up?" asks Sai.

"How long have I been there?" asks Tsubai, still wondering.

"It's been three days since Katashiki Otsutsuki was defeated." says Sai. "In case you don't remember me, I'm Sai. The ninja who welcomed you when you first came to Konoha."

"Don't worry, I remember" he answers to reassure Sai and turns to Ino getting closer with a sorry face.

"Tsubai, I'm really sorry for what happened" says Ino who firmly looks at Tsubai in the eyes in a saddened tone.

"…thank you…" answers Tsubai quietly. "What about Sasuke? Where is he?" he adds, turning to Naruto who's just standing next to the window and didn't say anything.

"Oh, he's doing well." answers Ino instead of Naruto.

"He finally entered the village and spent a whole day there with us until Sakura woke up" adds Sai.

"Yeah." finally says Naruto. "He finally spent some time around here. The villagers didn't even mind him this much. But he thinks they acted nice only because I was with him. Alsohe's waiting for you outside the entrance of the village."

"Oh, and Choji, Shikamaru and Hinata came back this morning too." adds Ino.

After she finishes her sentence, Ino pulls out a bouquet of flower and leaves it on the nightstand next to Tsubai. Tsubai just looks weirdly at it for a moment before Sai explains.

"Ino was a florist before the fourth war." he says. "So she's used to always offer flowers when she visits the hospital."

"I see. No problem." answers Tsubai in a blank voice.

"This was a family business, but it was destroyed with the village and we didn't rebuild it." adds Ino.

"But she and I were thinking of reopening it, since it's really important to her." completes Sai.

"Good thing." he answers with the same voice. "Are you two a couple?"

"We're good friends." answers Sai.

After hearing what Sai said, Ino puffs her cheeks and turns to Naruto who just makes an embarrassed face and shrugs his shoulders. In Tsubai's hospital room, they stay together, talking about what happened lately, until the nurses come to allow Tsubai to leave.

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At the same time, in the Hokage's mansion, the Hokage is gathered with the Konoha council, which includes his predecessor Tsunade, the leader of the Nara clan Shikamaru, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. They are discussing about the information that Sasuke brought back from his exploration of Katashiki's hideout.

"So according to Sasuke,…" says Kakashi. "… Katashiki Otsutsuki is from the same clan as Kaguya and the Rikudo Sennin. He shares a connection with them that doesn't seem to berelated to the Juubi."

"More importantly,…" adds Tsunade, "Even with this one sealed away, there is apparently at least two other Otsutsuki clan members that Katashiki knew and are possible threats."

"Threats to the ninja world, or Konoha you mean?" asks Homura.

"Katashiki Otsutsuki was a threat that only Naruto and Sasuke can face nowadays." answers Kakashi. "Without these two, all of the shinobi alliance would have to go against such an enemy to have the slightest chance to win."

"We have their names. These two are a certain Inashiki Otsutsuki and a Momoshiki Otsutsuki." says Tsunade. "Considering Sasuke's report, one of them, Momoshiki, is described as some sort of God Tree collector."

"We still have no explanation for what this could mean, but it at least clarifies one thing: They could also be after the Biju and all of the chakra in the world, since the god tree can be used to absorb all the chakra from a planet and can be summoned only if you became the ten-tails jinchuriki." completes Kakashi. "But this man's surname… It could mean that there are many God Trees."

"Hokage." says Koharu. "You're among the only people who saw Kaguya Otsutsuki in action. First, do you think Katashiki Otsutsuki was a threat of the same level?"

"I don't think so." he answers. "But considering what Naruto and Sasuke had to do todefeat him and his multiple jutsus and options, I'd say we should be glad that both happened to be against the enemy at the same time. It's possible that one of them wouldn't have been enough, unlike with Toneri Otsutsuki."

"Toneri Otsutsuki?" asks Koharu again. "Ah yes. So there was already another Otsutsuki menacing the world."

"He's not the same." says Shikamaru, breaking his silence. "Toneri is called Otsutsuki because he's a descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki, one of Kaguya's sons. You should consider him more like a Senju or a Uchiha."

"You're not very talkative today." says Tsunade to Shikamaru.

"Yes sorry about that. It's just that I came back to the village only a few hours ago and was informed of a murder within my clan before coming to this meeting."

"A murder?" asks Kakashi suspiciously. "Do you have to resolve that case?"

"No. And that's the problem. We already know the murderer, and he supposedly committed suicide right after killing my colleague, since we found his body on the same place".

"So what's the issue?"

"Well I don't find this version of the story believable. The supposed killer was an immigrant from outside the continent, but a very close friend to the victim."

"Excuse me?" interrupts Koharu. "Could we come back to the main subject please? Moreover, solving crimes isn't part of your work, mister Nara."

"Yes sorry madam" says Shikamaru. "What were we saying?"

"Sasuke Uchiha provided us a quite consistent file about the last threat's jutsus and allies." Tsunade says. "So we know about it and could use it for our own progress possibly."

"What about his body?" asks Homura. "Weren't we able to retrieve it? Because a pair of Rinnegan is what destroyed this exact village 2 years ago, and also what caused the fourth great ninja war and made it go so far. Understand that we can't possibly miss an opportunity to get our hands on this."

"We didn't find his body" answers Kakashi again. "Naruto says that the enemy was sealed away and is supposedly impossible to retrieve, but still assures he didn't kill him."

"This Naruto Uzumaki!" exclaims Koharu. "He must be the most important ninja in the world currently. We definitely can't afford to lose him."

"Yes. I find it funny that you're the one saying this, miss Utatane." says Tsunade. "After all, you and mister Mitokado were the two who suggested to give him away when the Akatsuki came for him."

"Please, Tsunade!" says Homura. "We're not here to rehash the past, but to discuss the future. And almost everyone in Konoha hated that young boy and changed their mind when he saved them."

"Of course" she says.

"Finally, Sasuke gave information about the Minamoto clan and their Tengu." explains Kakashi after a few seconds of silence. "Their existence, origins, powers, rules and particularly, their leader."

"What does this mean?" asks Shikamaru.

"The Minamoto clan leaders all wield what they call a Tengu, which makes them Yamabushis. These Tengus existed for as long as the clan existed and originated from something called the Daitengu. Sasuke and I have decided that he'll investigate this before the Otsutsuki clan."

"So we're really sending Sasuke Uchiha to do such an important work?" asks Koharu. "As if we could certainly trust him."

"Honestly, I trust him." says Kakashi. "and he's the best person to do such a job."

"Also…" adds Shikamaru. "Sasuke Uchiha is the one who provided us these information. So it's all natural that he investigates it for us."

"Still, He killed a Hokage." argues Homura. "And he also attempted to kill the other Kages as well as Naruto Uzumaki."

"Kakashi Hatake is the sixth Hokage." responds Tsunade. "Danzo Shimura's Hokage time was only a precipitation from the Daimyo of Fire. And lately, Sasuke Uchiha saved the village, my student Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. So even if you don't trust him, you must recognize that he'd be good at the job."

"Anyway." says Kakashi. "This isn't debatable as I already commanded Sasuke to go on this mission. He told me he had a clear idea of how to get over this Daitengu problem."

"But of course he didn't provide any detail." says Homura.

"I didn't ask for any." answers Kakashi "That's his business and I trust him enough with it. This meeting is over. Lady Tsunade, you can go back to the hospital. Shikamaru, you can return to your business, and you two, you know what to do."

The Hokage leaves and returns to his office.

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A few hours later, Tsubai Minamoto was authorized to leave the village. Once he reaches and crosses the gates, he keeps going straight forward, waiting to meet Sasuke who should be waiting for him in the area. Having no idea where Sasuke's supposed to find him, he just goes straight and expects him to show up at some point.

"You're finally there." says Sasuke, standing on a branch above Tsubai.

"Oh, Yes." he answers with his blank voice while looking around to find him.

"I have instructions for you."

"And I guess I can't do anything else than comply."

"I'm sorry for Himari's death. I feel guilty about it just as much as you…" says Sasuke with a compassionate voice before putting on a straight serious face. "But I won't let this worry me too much. I have serious job to do and you'll help me. I'm not asking you to quickly get over it, just to stay ready."

Tsubai doesn't say anything and just looks at him, waiting for more precise instructions.

"I'll go after something that still relates to you. It actually only relates to you. All I need you to do for now is get back to Ryuka and avoid problems."

"Again? I'm getting sick of round trips."

"It's the last route you'll have to go on alone." answers Sasuke to convince his interlocutor.

"…And then what?"

"Wait until I come for you. I have to do something first and I'll join you there."

"So back to Ryuka? What if my dad's back?"

"Uh?" says Sasuke, surprised by Tsubai's oddly normal way to speak. "Uhm Aren't you different from the Tsubai your father was after? You clearly have what it takes to survive now. But you should still avoid troubles as I asked."

"Sigh. Ok. See you there…" answers Tsubai who isn't okay at all but still goes to the right direction.

"… Also,…" adds Sasuke. "I'll bring Himari back to Ryuka myself. Don't worry about it."

Sasuke uses the Shunshin no Jutsu to quickly vanish from Tsubai's sight, leaving him alone on the road after saying these few words.

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Meanwhile, in the Ryuka village, Sir Riku Minamoto, the head of the Minamoto clan, is indeed back to his home village. Since he found the hostel and mansion both completely destroyed, he's currently living in a mobile home installed by the Daimyo's shugonin (guardian ninjas).

In this mobile home, the young miss Saori Minamoto, who was accompanying her father until now, is taking a shower at the moment. In the main room, a tall man, around 1.90 meters tall, with neck-long hair going behind his ears and a half gray strand falling on his forehead, wearing a long black vest going down to his knees closed by a range of silver buttons, black boots, and a red pair of glasses is standing against a table in the middle of the room. His name is Riku Minamoto, and he's the current patriarch of the Minamoto family. He is talking with one of the men he hired to dispose of his own son: a mercenary ninja from the land of Hot Springs that people of the mercenary field call Voodoo.

"I'm giving up the contract, sir." says the mercenary. "I can't risk to assassinate a person who's now covered by Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha themselves."

"Come on, Voodoo." reacts Riku. "I never mentioned the contract had an easy exit door."

"You never mentioned the opposite neither. You won't be able to play me, sir. I've been around since before Akatsuki was a thing. And if there's one thing I know, it's that the secret to live long with this job is to avoid danger as much as possible."

"Akatsuki?" interrogates Riku. "Were you one of them? Is the Mugen Tsukuyomi part of your fantasy?"

"Most people in Akatsuki were in for different reasons. I was offered to join them. I could have been paired with the century old undead, Kakuzu, but suggested they take a real immortal instead. And it seems like I made the right choice. I outlived each of their members except Hidan until now. As I said, avoiding danger. There's no amount of money that will keep me going with you."

"Please, I only have you left!" he exclaims with an embarrassed look on his face. "My life depends on my son's death, and I feel like I don't have much time left. Just get rid of him. If you ever meet one of the two big boys, just tell them it was me, right? I'll take care of it."

"You don't seem to understand." answers Voodoo. "The Kyubi's Jinchuriki and the last Uchiha fought a giant dragon who flooded the village and pierced the mountain right here. Even your son is totally different from when he left the village. I can't afford to face him neither at this point. And I can't afford to stay involved with you."

"So Tsubai's different? Could it be that he awakened it? If so, I'm definitely out of time."

"I'll be going now." says the mercenary before leaving the place with the Shunshin.

Riku Minamoto is now alone in the main room, alone with his thoughts. There's no more mercenary who's willing to offer him his service. Looking at his reflection in the window before him, he notices that his hair strand has almost completely gone white, as well as of his hair who look grayer than before. Worried for his life, he thinks. He has to find a way to eliminate his son by himself. But still, he's fighting for his safety, he wouldn't put his life on the line even just a bit.

Riku Minamoto very quickly finds out, that he actually doesn't need the help of any mercenary. He has all it takes to kill his son available around him, he thinks while standing in front of the bathroom's door, where his daughter just got out of the shower and is drying herself off. Turning around he goes to a cabinet where he hid his precious jar that's still leaking black smoke. He takes the jar in his hands and gets ready to entrust his last hope to what's inside.

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End of Chapter 8 – Next Chapter: The Corpse Stealer

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End of Prologue – Arc 1: The Soul Robber