The new Kage summit

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Kakumei – Arc 2: The Curse of Time

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Chapter 46 - The new Kage Summit

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In the emptiness of space, millions of kilometers away from Earth, a recently born black hole suddenly vanishes along with the life of its maker. As it disappears, it releases all the light and power it absorbed, and frees the being that it was holding out of time: The Daitengu.

Free from this trap, after nearly 3 days of struggle that, to him, felt like just a few seconds, Sojobo looks around and tries to understand what happened. Since the singularity that was trapping him disappeared, he supposes that something must have happened to the Otsutsuki who captured him.

Unable to find his own explanation for this, he relies on the senses of his descendants, the Minamoto clan.

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On Earth, in the village of Kiri, the young Takeshi Minamoto finally meets with his ninja teammates and sensei. Kaori and Yukiko, the two young girls that were genetically engineered to inherit the Kekkei Genkai chakra natures of respectively Bakuton no Gari and Shakuton no Pakura, are his new teammates. And Kokoro, the yamabushi of Kawahime, the last reborn Tengu, is the team leader. In the young Minamoto's inner world, Tentoki seems oddly glad of this meeting.

"What's up?" asks Takeshi to the tengu. "Looks like you're happy about the team."

"Takeshi…" answers the white creature. "I just happen to know your sensei. About 10 years ago, my previous yamabushi took her as a protegee."

In front of Takeshi, the two young girls and their new sensei are all staring at Takeshi who seems lost in his thoughts. Feeling something odd, Kokoro addresses the young boy.

"Takeshi, something in you feels really… familiar." she says. "Are you… Tentoki?"

"See, she recognized my chakra!" says the tengu.

"It's funny seeing you this excited!" remarks Takeshi, smiling. "You're usually just boringly explaining stuff when I need it and keeping it quiet the rest of the time. To see you bring up your past is somehow… heartwarming."

Takeshi, with his real face, smiles to his team and looks to his sensei.

"Yes, it's him, and he seems happy to see you." he says.

"I see… Did your father pass him on to you?"

"He did, when I was still a baby."

As the two yamabushi socialize together around the subject of what inhabits their bodies, the two young girls, Kaori and Yukiko, look at them confusingly. Yukiko, a shy young girl with brown long hair and pale eyes, doesn't say anything and just stays close to who she considers her sister.

Kaori, who's a blonde, black eyed and shorter girl, is more extroverted than Yukiko, but also way more serious. She speaks up and brings the focus back on the team.

"Not to break the chemistry, but we're supposed to have a team meeting, Kokoro-sensei."

"Right!" answers Kokoro, who stops her conversation with Takeshi. "Did you three already get to meet each other?"

"Yes… I did some kind of internship at their training camp." says the boy.

"Great… So all of you three know how a team goes, and are prepared to work together." she notes. "Takeshi, will you be affected in any way, in terms of efficiency, by the fact that you're many years younger than your teammates?"

"I don't think so… I actually prefer this than people my age. They aren't really on par with me."

"Well, just a bit arrogant, aren't you?" says Kaori.

Kokoro turns to look at her, noticing that she doesn't seem very happy about the boy's presence in the team. Yukiko, still quiet, gasps and watches, surprisedly, at her friend. Takeshi and Kaori have a short stare down, before he answers.

"I'd like to simply say you're right… But really, I'm just being honest. There is obviously a reason why I was put in an older team."

"Right… The Mizukage's favorite, huh?" adds Kaori.

Kokoro steps in between the two young ninjas and speaks up to stop their discussion.

"Of course, Takeshi was put on an older team, but you two, Kaori and Yukiko, were also specifically put with him." she explains. "About 20 years ago, the people and government of Kiri feared and demonized Kekkei Genkai users. Nowadays, we can form a three way team with only young ninjas who have such powers. And to complete the team, I, your sensei, also use a Kekkei Genkai. To Lady Mizukage, this is an evident proof of progress."

"What's it?" asks Takeshi to Tenkoki in his inner world. "What's her abilty?"

"She's the yamabushi of Kokoro." answers Tentoki. "I don't know much about her powers, but one of them is to read your heart."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that Kawahime can sense your feelings for others." says a different voice that Takeshi doesn't notice. "How much you love or hate them. She can also impersonate the one you love by using a genjutsu that appears different to everyone's eye. The strength of the illusion depends on the strength of your feeling toward this person."

Takeshi makes a confused face, then smiles and turns around to see Tentoki who he think is the one who spoke.

"Well, I thought you said you didn't know much!"

When he notices the bright tengu's shocked face, he understands that he just mistook this voice for his. The young Minamoto looks back in reality where Kokoro is speaking with the two girls, and searches for the person to whom this deep but appeasing voice belongs. The girls didn't notice anything strange. He keeps looking around and finds the one who answered his question. Sojobo is there, right next to him, crouched on the ground but still having to look a bit down to see his last descendant.

"Don't worry, I'm not actually here. I'm only in your mind." says the Daitengu.

"What are your doing here?" yells Tentoki. "What did the Otsutsuki revive you for?"

Kokoro senses a strange feel of hate coming from Takeshi and worriedly look to see him. She can't see or feel the Daitengu who, as he just said, only appears to Takeshi's eye. Sojobo stands up in front of the kid and kindly speaks.

"Takeshi, it's a pleasure to meet you in more normal circumstances than last time. You obviously already know who I am, don't you?" he asks.

"I do. Daitengu." answers Takeshi.

"Hm! Just so you know, I am not your enemy, and you are not mine. With you, I'd like to go on good bases, not like with Tsubai or the Uchiha. I have to make myself clear on this, because you were obviously forced to believe the opposite by…"

"Don't listen to him!" yells Tentoki, who's name the Daitengu was just about to say. "He is nothing but an enemy!"

"Oh, Tentoki…" quietly says Sojobo, before addressing to Takeshi again. "This, my child, is what we call fear. Fear doesn't need a reason to be. But fear makes you violent…. For as long as I lived. I've only had other's fear and disgust. Never have I felt love, or innocence… You, my child, must surely know a lot about Fear, don't you?"

Sojobo bends over and stares right in the boy's two eyes with his three. Takeshi doesn't flinch, and doesn't emit any feeling of anguish or panic. Sojobo lightly laughs.

"As expected…" he says. "The master of one feeling wouldn't fall under its influence."

The Daitengu stands up and steps away. He turns around and stares at the raining sky. He remains silent for a moment. Kokoro, who feels Tentoki's hate but also the love of an unknown person, comes closer to Takeshi.

"Takeshi, is something happening?" she asks.

The young Minamoto doesn't answer and just waits for Sojobo to speak again. Still looking at the sky, the Daitengu finally asks the question he came for.

"Tell me, Takeshi, do you know anything about what happened to the two beings that brought me back to this form?" he says. "You know, this short long haired man, and this cubic muscular old one?"

"Yes I know…" speaks Takeshi aloud. "Uncle Sasuke and the Kages defeated them. They're dead."

Kokoro looks at him awkwardly and a bit frightened.

"Who are you talking to?" she asks.

"It's…" Takeshi starts to say, but stops when he sees Sojobo sign him to stay silent.

Kokoro stays confused and looks around, trying to understand the situation. Oddly, Takeshi doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. He just calmly stares in front of him and doesn't say anything.

"So they managed to defeat such beings…" adds Sojobo. "Did I over estimate these Otsutsuki? Or did Indra become stronger?… Losing to them doesn't feel that humiliating after all…"

The Daitengu stands there quietly and thinks. He then turns back to see the young boy.

"Takeshi, you have to tell me what's going on!" asks Kokoro again while shaking the kid's shoulders.

Sojobo looks at the panicking woman and gently laughs, as if he was smiling with his mouthless face. Kaori and Yukiko, also worried about the situation, walk through the image of the Daitengu and come closer to Takeshi. The young Minamoto still quietly stares at the creature as Tentoki holds his words.

"Thank you for your answer, my child. May we meet again, some day, in person I mean." says Sojobo before his image starts to vanish from the place.

"Wait!" yells Tentoki in Takeshi's mind, aware that Sojobo can hear him. "Where are you? I mean your physical form? You didn't answer to my first question! Why did the Otsutsuki bring you back?"

"They wanted my power, but fortunately, it looks like they died before they could take it, leaving me there, alone, in emptiness…" answers the Daitengu as he disappears.

Now completely gone, he leaves the genin team and its sensei lost in their confusion.

"Takeshi!" yells Kokoro again.

Takeshi finally wakes up from what felt like a daydream, and breaks his silence. He stares at his new sensei and tells her the truth.

"It… was Sojobo." he quietly says.

At these words, Kokoro lets go on her student's shoulders and falls back, on her butt. Shocked, but also frightened by this revelation, she feels the memories of her time by Shibata's sides emerge again.

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Back to his real senses, the Daitengu is still alone in space. However, he now knows for what reason he's been freed. Still, he's surprised. For Naruto and Indra to defeat that horned man must mean that they got considerably stronger. He's also, oddly, happy. Meeting his last descendant and not feeling any hate or fear from his heart was… reassuring.

For now, all he wants is to set foot on solid ground again. Looking around, he finds Earth, far away, gigameters away with the moon. After a few seconds, he figures out a way of moving and reaching the soil again. He unleashes the chakra wings of Tenshi. Already aware that flapping them won't make him move due to the lack of matter, he decides to fix this problem. From all around the wings, he emits wind using Futon and can push his wings and body against this air.

This way, he very slowly gets closer to the planet. Reaching the ground could take many weeks, or even months, but it's no problem for him. He's the curse of time. Time isn't an issue for him. He could just freeze it until he reaches the ground, but the only perspective that matters to him, is his own. And right now, he doesn't feel in a hurry.

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Later, in the village of Konoha, two days have passed since the Hokage's return from his outer space battle. Right now, Naruto is in his office, with Shizune and Sasuke. He and his assistant are trying to get the communication device that Kumo-nins installed to work. Sasuke just stands aside and waits for the Kage meeting to begin. On the screen, 4 squares appear and the portraits of the 4 other Kages show. Naruto looks at them, wondering if they can see him. He can, however he sees their lips moving as they're speaking but doesn't hear anything.

"I can't hear your voices." says Naruto, but none of them reacts.

"Hokage, your microphone isn't plugged in." says Shizune who takes a random cable and plugs it where it can go.

Now, Naruto can hear Gaara and Kurotsuchi chat while the Raikage is calling him.

"Hokage, we can't hear you. You have to plug your microphone in." says Darui.

"Didn't you just do that?" asks Naruto to Shizune.

"Um… I don't know I just took a random cable." she answers. "Looks like it was the sound output, not input."

"Hokage… We still can't hear you. You have to take the red cable and plug it in the red outlet." adds Darui. "There's a little microphone symbol over the outlet. You can't miss it."

"Where's the symbol?" Naruto says to Shizune, as if she could provide an answer.

Behind them, Sasuke gets bored of waiting. He sighs and gets to the desk.

"Naruto, I could just have transported all of you to a council room." he says. "It would take just a few seconds. Why do you need to use this gadget?"

"I don't know man. It's the Raikage's stuff." says Naruto.

"Hokage, Do you think that red dot with a helmet is the symbol that the Raikage is talking about?" asks Shizune.

"I don't know, is there a red outlet with it?" questions the Hokage.

Sasuke sighs again and grabs the red cable. He directly plugs it in where it should be.

"What are you doing?" asks Naruto, upset by his friend stepping in.

"Ah, Finally!" says Gaara. "Naruto, we hear you now."

The Hokage stares at the screen and sees 3 of the Kages. Sasuke and Shizune step away from the camera, leaving the Hokage alone in his council.

"Great, it works! But is it normal that I don't see the Mizukage?" says Naruto to his colleagues.

"What now?" asks the Tsuchikage, who's starting to get annoyed by the wait.

"I'm here, everyone." says the Mizukage. "It's just that I don't see you. My screen looks like it's off."

"Well just plug it back in." says Darui.

"Oh Raikage, I'd like to… But there isn't any cable attached to the screen." she answers.

"What? How's that possible?" asks Naruto.

"Sigh… I'm sorry about these issues." says the Raikage. "I'll send engineers to your desks as soon as possible for those who need it. They should have better tested the gear before leaving. I'm sorry."

"You said you're sorry twice." says Kurotsuchi.

"Whatever!" yells Naruto. "Let's just start the discussions."

"I'll start." says Sasuke. "Just let me speak and leave. I've got places to be."

"Ok, Sasuke who's right there with me, has explanations to provide about the events of the god valley." tells Naruto to the council.

"God valley?" asks Kurotsuchi. "So we're calling it God valley now?"

"It's the name for the place where we fought them? The name fits… I guess." says Gaara.

"So, Hokage, tell Sasuke Uchiha that we're listening." says Darui.

Naruto turns to Sasuke and nods his head. The wanderer breathes in quietly and starts his report.

"So as you know, since you were there, these enemies have shown us that there are things that can surpass even the threat of Kaguya. First, they summoned not one but 5 God Trees like the one Tobi had. They may weren't as full and alive as the tree from the war, but they were one step away of consuming all the world's chakra in a few hours or minutes.

"Also, The enemies both had pairs of Rinnegan, a dojutsu that seemed unique to the Rikudo-Sennin at the time of the war, and Momoshiki even had a different version of the eye that was more powerful than any other. By absorbing his father and then transporting us to a different planet, he showed us a whole new level of power that this clan seems to possess. On this new planet, he showed enough raw power to completely destroy the surface. He also reincarnated the Daitengu and left us with possibly one more threat to handle. All this incredible strength we got to witness aren't all bad news. Actually, he served to prove us that we too have such might. We defeated him. So there is no reason for us to be afraid of the others…"

Sasuke stops for a little and thinks of what he said so far, before going on about the future.

"This little trip to another world led me to think that the hypothesis of the Otsutsuki being from another planet is more realistic than being from another dimension. Momoshiki and others also seemed to consider this world, or dimension, as the main one. So I think the Otsutsuki clan must be hiding in another world, in this universe… Finally, Naruto and I got to hear Momoshiki complain to what supposedly are other Otsutsuki clan members. One of them, the 'Golden eyed brat' as he called them, seems to be capable of spying on us at any time according to his words. Momoshiki also yelled out to someone nicknamed the Dragon Sage, towards whom he seemed to have a certain hatred."

"This Dragon Sage is also mentioned in many notes from Kaguya and Katashiki. He seems to be the real big deal. Someone that Momoshiki was trying to reach. Someone that he was afraid of… To end this report, I'd add that a bigger conflict seems closer than we think. The Otsutsuki clan is already involved with us more than we think.""

"What do you mean with that last part?" asks Naruto.

"Just before we came to your rescue, I visited a library that contained written notes taken by Kaguya. In there, I found clues about her connection to Momoshiki. The two of them seemed to be preparing for each other. I also found information about Kaguya's family. She has a father and a brother, but also a mother that she considered impossible to escape. She feared her mother way more than she feared Momoshiki. She actually was confident about defeating him, but was hopeless about opposing her mother."

"Hmm… Momoshiki felt kinda easier than Kaguya to me." says Naruto. "But can you get to the part where the clan is already involved with us?"

"Yes. All these information is what I got from the scroll I took, but there was a library full of Kaguya's notes. Just this morning, I went back to the place, hoping to collect what was left, but everything vanished. Something, or someone, totally emptied the library. I suppose that this someone is trying to keep me from getting more data about them."

Naruto blinks many times, a bit unsettled by this news, and looks at the screen to see the other Kage.

"So, what do you say about it?" he asks.

"I'm sorry, Hokage…" says Darui, embarrassed. "But Sasuke Uchiha is way too far from the mic. We could barely hear anything from what he said."

Naruto leans back with a surprised face. He gazes at Sasuke and crosses his pissed off and annoyed look. The Uchiha turns around and hurries to the door.

"Just tell them what you remember. I don't have time for this." he yells as he leaves and slams the door.

"Well… at least we heard that." says the Tsuchikage.

Shizune looks at the door and then at Naruto, also embarrassed.

"Should I ask him to come back?" she gently says.

"Uh… No, let go. I'll summarize what I remember." answers Naruto, as troubled as his assistant.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" says the Mizukage, who sounds completely off the train of the discussion.

All the other Kages facepalm and sigh.

"Oh! I heard you all sigh together. What is happening?" she adds.

"The Mizukage seems to be best friend with Kumo's technology." says Kurotsuchi.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. I'll just pass all these problems on to Chojuro and run away." says Mei.

"What do you mean by this, Mizukage?" asks Gaara.

"Wait, didn't I tell you?" says the Mizukage, with a happy voice. "I quit, because I'm getting married!"

"What? Really?" yells Naruto. "Like for real?"

"Yessss!" she adds.

"Since when did yo decide on that?" asks Gaara, worrying about something that just occurred to his mind. "You certainly had this planned before our last battle, which means you accepted to participate in a fight that could have been your last. You were this close to throw everything away, so close to realize a dream of yours."

"Come on, Kazekage. This sense of duty is a common thing among us isn't it?" jokingly says Mei, not willing to realize the sacrifice she almost made.

"Well Congratulations! May I ask who's the significant other?" asks the Raikage.

"Oh, I'm not gonna say too much, or I'll end up monologuing for too long." answers Mei. "To make it short, he's a young salesman that works at a shop where I buy dresses. Thanks to the peaceful times and Kiri's opening to the world, I got to spend more time with people that aren't ninjas. And I met him…"

"That's a good story." says Naruto.

"How old is he?" asks Kurotsuchi again.

"Oh, he's a young man, about your age, Tsuchikage." says Mei.

"Waits what? He's like… 12 years younger than you!" she yells.

"Got a problem with this, Tsuchikage?" asks Darui, menacingly, as he also feels insulted by Kurotsuchi's jokes, since he is also married to a woman who's a bunch of years younger than he is.

"How old is your husband, Tsuchikage?" asks Naruto, knowing very well that she doesn't have one.

"I'll kill you, Hokage." responds Kurotsuchi, unamused by this joke about her celibacy.

"So!…" yells Gaara to stop the Kage's childish clashes. "Mizukage, I guess you're going to pass on the mantle and go to fully enjoy a retired married life, is it?"

"Exactly…" she answers. "You know… Freeing the land of Water of dictatorship, warring against zombies and gods by your sides, and now fighting inter dimensional beings… I think I deserved a break."

"Sasuke just said they weren't from another dimension… But anyway…" the Hokage comments, being the only who heard what his friend said.

"Well deserved retirement, Mizukage." says Darui, leaving the question of Sasuke's report for later.

"Thank you, Raikage. I think it's you who just spoke." says Mei. "You're all invited to my wedding of course."

"We'll be there!" says Naruto. "… Um, also, y'all noticed how catastrophic this summit is? Except for the wedding, we didn't learn anything from each other so far we spent most of this time listening to a report that only I could hear."

"Hokage, do you feel like summing up Sasuke Uchiha's report now?" asks Darui.

"Not really,…" answers the Hokage. "All I remember is the mega threat stuff with the super Dragon Sage Lord that would obliterate any of those we met, and a few details."

"Was his report really that negative?" asks Gaara.

"Not at all. It's just that it's the first thing I recall." responds Naruto.

"I'm back everyone." says Kurotsuchi. "Dunno why but I wasn't hearing you for a moment."

The Raikage looks at the Mizukage's live camera turned off, then at the Hokage unwilling to redo a report that didn't get through the microphone, and finally to the Tsuchikage who is apparently also having issues with the gear.

"Everyone, I think we should give up for now. I am sorry about this." he says. "I'll send engineers to your villages to fix all the issues and we'll do a new proper council when we'll all have working set ups."

No one answers this suggestion. There's just an awkward silence following the Raikage's words.

"Did you hear what I said?" he adds.

"Yes, Yes, we heard you." says Naruto. "It's just that… You're right. We should do this. I'll ask Sasuke to make a written report so we'll analyze it together."

"Good Idea, Naruto." says Gaara. "So I guess this means we leave now and virtually meet again in about a week?"

"Great suggestion, Kazekage." says Darui, just eager to leave. "Let's say same day same hour same place, next week. Good Bye!"

The Raikage is the first to disconnect from the call. The four others stay there in silence.

"I think Kumo's tech lab director is going to have some troubles." jokes Kurotsuchi.

"How do you leave the call?" asks Mei. "Is anyone still here?"

"Just plug it out!" yells the Tsuchikage right before she leaves too.

"Well… Good bye Mizukage, and good bye Naruto." says Gaara before disconnecting.

Naruto just sits there, disappointed by the summit's results. He and the Mizukage, who doesn't know a proper way to disconnect, are the only ones still online. Just when Naruto prepares to disconnect and say good bye, he hears a loud noise come from the sound output, like a door was brutally opened in the Mizukage's office. After a few seconds of nothing, he hears Mei's voice.

"Well… Ok. Is anybody still there?" she asks.

"Um… Yes I am. The Hokage, it's me." says Naruto, curious about what just happened.

"So… It seems like the young Minamoto Takeshi just met the Daitengu." she says.

Naruto sighs, and looks towards Shizune as to indicate that now, yes, she should go and bring Sasuke back to the office.

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End of Chapter 46 – Next chapter: The new new Kage Summit