Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Shinden Saga – Arc 1: Kimera

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Chapter 116 – Chimera's goal

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On the way back to Kiri, Takeshi's mind is busied by the thought that he took the same path but the other way around earlier with more pleasant company. He was genuinely interested in Sakitsuki, but doesn't really seek to learn about Naomi Yuki. The former mercenary, bothered by Takeshi's obvious distant behavior, engages in a useful conversation.

"Tell me, Minamoto, what do you know of the Chimera's intentions exactly?" she says.

"I know enough. And don't call him Chimera." he coldly answers.

"I doubt you know enough." she replies. "And I know him by this name, so this is how I'll call him."

In Takeshi's mind, his white tengu Tentoki tries to convince him that their new acolyte is worth their trust.

"She certainly knows more than us about Kotobuki's true self." he says to his yamabushi. "You should at least listen to what she has to say. And, by the way, getting along would be fine as well. You're supposed to help her get redemption."

"Hm…" Takeshi muffles before turning around to ask Makura's opinion. "What do you think about this?"

"… We need to kill Kotobuki." the wooden statue simply says, which is enough of an answer for Takeshi.

Naomi, ignoring the young man's cold answers and silence, goes on to say what has to be said.

"You know he's become the Daimyo of this land, and I guess you know why he needs that." she starts. "Sure, he believes that leading a feudal order can get him control over this continent, but there's more to it than just politics. What do you think he wants to take the power of that Otsutsuki kid for? You do understand that no one would crave such immeasurable power for fun?"

"… I'm not sure…" Takeshi decides to discuss it. "Karasu told me that any employer who could do a mercenary's job will seek to surpass his need for hires. I suppose that's what this is about for Kotobuki."

"Crow told you that?" Naomi remarks. "Were you two friends or something? Did he also have plans to turn against the Chimera? Seems like he lost at this game anyway."

"Or maybe he thinks it will get him to the Hokage's level." Takeshi adds about Hideo, ignoring Naomi's comments on Karasu.

"Hm… That's a valid reason, but not the one I know of. Let me tell you something." she explains. "To him, having control over the ninja world has no more value than ruling over what we call our underworld. The mercenary business. This network spreads through the whole world and all nations are connected through a single main investor. In this land, the investor is the Chimera. He's somehow the Mizukage of bounty hunters. Crow and I had roles similar to Suigetsu Hozuki or Sasuke Uchiha as his right-hand. But the thing is, the Chimera's control doesn't go past the frontiers of this land."

"So he's just another power hungry asshole?" Takeshi remarks. "You make it sound like it's actually just about politics and ego."

"That's not all. The underworld isn't exactly the same as the Shinobi Union." she goes on to reply. "The Kage rule over their armies and serve, or at least used to serve for most, the feudal families. The highest instance of power are the feudal lords and they still only control their lands. In our business, every nation's main investor is made to believe that he is in total control. And at his land's scale he is. But he has no power over other lands. The Chimera used to tell me about something he and other main investors ended up noticing. It felt to them like, despite all having equal exchanges and relations, they unknowingly depended on someone among them. The Chimera personally believed someone in this worldwide criminal order was actually sitting at the throne above everyone else."

"So, based on this theory, he wants to find that person and take its place?" Takeshi comments.

"Keep listening. That there was someone above, he may be the only one who knew it." Naomi continues. "But his colleagues and rivals noticed his ambition to take control of everything, and so a conflict of interest started between all these people who seek the same thing. One person came particularly close to significant progress at some point. It's the land of Lightning's Blood Master. He was close to secretly getting control over Kumo, but was fortunately stopped before someone else had to intervene, by Kumo's ninjas. The Chimera is now more advanced in this goal than the Blood Master was. He's at a point where the Shinobi Union can't technically oppose him directly if he doesn't attack first. The good part of this at least is that it means his rivals will also try to stop him. I know that the Sandman of Iwa, and Killin' Kiss intend to get in his way. But unlike us, they aren't aware of the Otsutsuki kid's existence."

"So other sick minds want to stop him, I get it." Takeshi questions this tale. "But what does he need the celestial's powers for? From what Saki told me he's capable of, he seems powerful enough for the task. I doubt that any of these other crime lords can rival him."

"I'm getting there." Naomi complains before finishing her tale. "The Chimera never considered the Sandman, the Blood Master or anyone else as his enemy in this. He is the only one who believes there is someone above. And to him, for this person to still be a complete secret to those he controls, they have to be insanely powerful. All the power the Chimera collects is in hope to find and surpass this entity."

Takeshi raises an eyebrow, surprised by how absurd this motivation sounds. It seems to him like Hideo is actually just paranoid. Naomi, knowing more than she told so far, continues to explain the Chimera's mindset.

"It is when he found out about a regular orphanage that was secretly training future elite mercenaries that he first got this idea." she says. "The people trained here end up as essential assets for all the crime lords, but it was impossible to connect this establishment's activities to any name or person he knew of. That's where his theory comes from. There had to be someone in charge of that place, and that someone's identity must be special… To find clues about this person, the Chimera stood close to this orphanage and used it to grow stronger. The kids trained there all have innate talents that make them naturally better than the average jonin. He adopted many of them only to collect their hearts and acquire their Kekkei Genkai."

At this disturbing fact, Takeshi genuinely tweaks, angered by the lack of humanity that someone he trusted actually shows.

"However, this little farming came to an end when Momoshiki Otsutsuki arrived." Naomi finishes her long tale. "For an unknown reason, the orphanage had to be deported and the kids were loaded on boats to different destinations. At this time, the Chimera had just adopted a little girl from the same clan as me, and I was asked to deliver her to him. But the boat she was on was attacked by Momoshiki who came to kidnap one of the kids. At the delivery location where I had to wait, I found Shimo, the girl I had to get, but also Yukai, the kid of Kumo who defeated the Blood Master. Someone who escaped from the boat must have brought them to the shore before running away. Since Kumo ninjas were coming to the place, I only took Shimo and escaped. I never delivered her and cut my ties with the Chimera from there on…"

Takeshi just thinks it through and doesn't comment. Naomi adds one more detail about the place she spoke about.

"That orphanage necessarily doesn't exist anymore nowadays, but for the short time it existed, it made the best mercenaries of this era." she says. "Yukai, Kawaki from Kakumei, and others like White Claw supposedly came from there originally, and they all became incredibly strong. Karasu Komori was actually one of the first prodigies to come out of this place. Those kids are taught to be machines, soldiers, weapons who only obey their employers' commands."

Takeshi takes a moment to think this through again. Karasu stated this ideology many times before, and this is where he must have gotten it from. He also knows Yukai as the teammate of Aoki, the Raikage's daughter, and as the boy who also has Koton. It's odd to learn that he's been raised in the same place and context as Karasu and Kawaki. Yet, he's bothered by one other fact. Naomi has been working for Hideo all along and only decided to betray him at the very last moment.

"All the kids who died because he took their powers are dead because of you, you know that?" he calls her out. "Same goes for Kobo-sensei's mother. Saki told me Hideo got his Sharingan from her heart. I assume you got it for him on the same mission during which you met Sasuke. How would he feel if he learned about this?"

"… Sasuke doesn't have to know." she says, guiltily. "And trust me, I know how bad what I did was, but I couldn't have considered things differently. I forgot to say, but the Chimera saved my life by taking me as his disciple. I was just a renegade for this land, trying to make a living. He gave me a life, a purpose."

Takeshi doesn't argue with this and stays quiet. It seems like Hideo Kotobuki is actually quite good at manipulating people. Naomi seems like just another person that he fooled. He doesn't speak any more and accelerates to shorten the travel. Naomi shuts it down as well, thinking about Takeshi's last call out.

When Takeshi notices that Naomi's hardly keeping up to his speed, he slows down and tries to speak again to cover the boredom of such a slow travel.

"Kotobuki is heading for the land of Lightning apparently." he says. "He planned a meeting with a Daimyo over there."

"I see." Naomi says, before taking a break to breathe, worn out by the hurry Takeshi forced her into. "I think I know exactly what he'll be doing. We'll head there right after we're done in Kiri. I'll explain later."

After this remark, Takeshi nods and accelerates again, recognizing the surroundings as not far away from his village.

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In Kirigakure, Ashi Rinha, director of Kiri's medical department, is handling the case of the 6th Mizukage who's been taken care of since his return from his fight and victory against Crow. Before letting himself in the hands of his medic-nins, he confided to the intel division the few clues he got from his opponent.

At the national prison for hunted criminals, Tsubai Minamoto is interrogating Oji Tatari, the one formerly known as Voodoo, as advised by Chojuro. This establishment has been rebuilt since Kinshiki's attack and Isami Kurama's escape. It is still not tough enough to resist a celestial strike, but it was made more resistant to outside threats.

In this prison, Voodoo is jailed alone in a cell apart from other inmates for two reasons. First is that other prisoners could be after him for his reputation and the many deeds he accomplished in his life long career. The second reason is that in case anyone actually tried to attack him, Oji would become a danger to the others.

Tsubai, not used to interrogatories in such a context, stands outside of Voodoo's cell and is desperately asking questions to no answer. The former bounty hunter doesn't feel trustful enough to cooperate.

"Come on dude! I just need one damn name." Tsubai complains. "Don't make me get the answer by force, please. Just tell me who the hell is the Chimera or something."

"I can tell you that." says someone who just arrives in the hall.

Voodoo, not sure to recognize this voice, waits for the person who spoke to step into his field of view. He sees Naomi Yuki, followed by Takeshi Minamoto and Suigetsu Hozuki who led them here.

"The Chimera is Hideo Kotobuki." she says in front of Tsubai, Suigetsu and Oji. "He's the director of the scientific department of this village. Isn't that right, Voodoo?" she adds, looking at the prisoner sitting alone in his cell.

"… Couldn't have said it better." Oji confirms, a bit confused. "I didn't know you were involved, Frostbite."

"Wait wait wait! What you say?" Suigetsu exclaims, only now learning about this. "Kotobuki is the bastard we're after? The Daimyo is the Chimera?"

"The Daimyo?" Oji asks. "What the hell happened?"

"Long story, Voodoo." Naomi replies. "Let's just say Chimera found a way to conceal all his lives and goals as one."

"Oh boy… Chojuro's gonna be mad." Suigetsu comments, thinking about this revelation.

"What's this all about?" Tsubai asks his son. "Where were you? And is that girl with you? By the way, Long time no see, miss Yuki."

"Yeah yeah, I didn't miss you, Minamoto." Naomi says. "Kid, I'll let you explain this to Voodoo and your dad. I have some business to handle with the village's direction."

"Since Chojuro is unavailable, I guess you should ask the honorable council." Suigetsu says. "Lady Mei should be there."

Naomi nods and leaves, following Suigetsu to the Mizukage's mansion. Takeshi worriedly looks at her as she leaves.

"Are you sure it will be okay?" he asks her.

"Don't worry. It's not my first time negotiating with the 5th Mizukage." she replies confidently. "I'll just say it was Sasuke who led me here, like last time."

These two leave, leaving Takeshi alone with his dad and the S-rank mercenary he captured 4 years ago. Tsubai looks at his son, expecting him to explain what's going on. Takeshi speaks for both Oji and his dad to hear.

"It's a long story." he says. "To make it short, I found out about Kotobuki's true identity, met Naomi and Sasuke while looking for more clues, and it turns out she's after him as well. So now she's helping me and expects to defect to Kiri in exchange."

"Makes sense, but how did you find out about Kotobuki?" Tsubai asks, finding this part a bit rushed.

"Oh, this is way too complicated to tell now." Takeshi says, thinking about Saki. "I'll explain it later. But it's true. He really is the Chimera."

Tsubai makes a perplexed face and stares at Oji who's just confusingly listening.

"Why couldn't you just say this from the start?" he blames the prisoner.

"Frankly, I didn't think I was allowed to speak." Voodoo replies. "If it was just me, I would have told this when I first arrived but the Chimera had a way to buy my silence."

Takeshi looks at the jailed bounty hunter and steps forward. He opens the door to his cell and comes to sit face to face with him. Tsubai comes by his side hesitatingly and listens to their conversation.

"I guess everyone believes you were defeated and captured by a bunch of kids." Takeshi says, remembering that the hunter surrendered on a mission where he met Izuna, Boruto and Inoue.

"Hm. Indeed. No one is aware of the Hokage's involvement." Oji replies.

"… So tell me." Takeshi insists. "How did Kotobuki keep you quiet?"

"Do you remember what first happened when you came back to Kiri with me?" Oji starts. "Where did you bring me first?"

"… To the scientific department…" Takeshi remembers.

"And you accidentally left me alone with him." Oji says. "At the time, I fell victim to a trap that he set up with Killin' Kiss. A bounty was put on an investor of the land of Waves. Meinu Imai found an agreement with the Chimera to save this guy for personal interests. Since he needed a way to get rid of me before I retire by myself, he used this. He hired me to take down this target, but Kiss leaked the contract to Konoha. On a mission that should have been safe, I was stopped by the Hokage himself. Your presence there was likely set up by Kotobuki as well. He had everything in place for me to be brought to him."

"Disturbingly well thought out." Takeshi comments. "I guess you already knew who he was at the time. What did he tell you?"

"That he was responsible for this, and that he had my daughter." Oji says. "I was ready to retire for her, and he found this out. So he used her to blackmail me. If he ever found out that I spoke to ninjas about him or any associate, he'd kill her. To make his point, he put a bounty on her mother, but ordered to spare her."

"… Yeah sounds like something the guy I've heard about would do." Takeshi shows his comprehension.

"Where is your daughter now? Maybe we can get her to safety." Tsubai suggests.

"Her name is Mado Tatari, but unfortunately, I have no idea of what became of her since I'm here." Voodoo sadly says. "I received information that her mother died, as expected, but nothing about her."

Takeshi looks aside to his father and they think this through together, without a word. Oji, noticing the silence and knowing that this interrogation will soon be over, makes a request.

"We now have a common interest." he says. "Seeing the Chimera die would obviously please me. Not only would it ensure safety for my daughter, but it's also out of grudge that I want him dead. After all, he's the one who got me here, with Killin' Kiss."

"Alright." Takeshi declares, agreeing to do this for him. "I'll go to Kumo now. This is where I'll find him." he adds, looking at his dad.

"Fine. I hope you get along with Naomi better than I did." Tsubai replies, standing up to leave with him, leaving Oji alone in his cell again.

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Later, Takeshi is waiting for Naomi at the entrance of the Mizukage's mansion. In the meantime, he listens to a few reflections that come to Tentoki's mind.

"Despite having the same job, we can see how their origins make Voodoo and Crow different." he starts. "Voodoo is a former shinobi. He had a place in the ninja world, and even has a family. These are many reasons to hold on to life. Crow was an orphan who found himself in the wrong place. Instead of actually having a chance to be adopted, he was just trained to be the weapon he described himself as… To think that Yukai from Kumo could have had the same fate… This got me wondering about that White Claw guy everyone talks about as well. No ninja ever met him, but Crow mentioned him as the next number one, and Naomi said he likely comes from the same place."

Takeshi just quietly listens and doesn't argue. He doesn't think as fast as him, so he didn't make all these connections. The white tengu's reflections are interrupted by Naomi who comes out of the building. Takeshi stands straight and looks at her, waiting to know what happened. As a reply, she just shows a thumb up and a confident face.

"Lady Terumi's mad now." she says. "Her disappointment in Kotobuki could have made her accept anything that would go against him."

"I understand." Takeshi says. "She maybe feels partly guilty for this, I guess. She's the one who let him go after the 4th war and put him in charge of the labs later."

"Well that guilt comes in handy for us." Naomi adds. "I had to tell her where we were headed to now, and she tasked that swordsman with gathering a reinforcement team to help us."

"Wait, does it mean we have to wait for them?" the Minamoto asks, upsettingly.

"Nah! We're going first and they'll jump in as quickly as possible." Naomi exclaims. "Anyway, now that I know I have a valid retirement plan, let's go to Kumo."

"Isn't it time for you to say why Kotobuki intends to go there?" Takeshi asks.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot about that." she inhales to explain. "His motivation for meeting the Lightning Daimyo must be to curse him with the Onikuma clan's Hyoishi like he did for most of his other allies so far. This way, he'll technically be in control of the two remaining feudal families with a Daimyo. I don't know if you're aware but the feudal families all together have control over the continent of the lands of Heart. Since the Daimyo are still the most influential people in these families, controlling the Daimyo of Lightning would actually get him to rule over the land of Lightning and the lands of Heart. And that last territory is very advantageous to control when it comes to criminal activities."

"He certainly knows what he's doing." Takeshi comments before a question pops up in his mind. "By the way, I gotta ask something. If he can use that Hyoishi jutsu, why didn't he use it on you or Karasu?"

"Simple answer." she promptly replies. "I hardly ever met him in person. And the rare times I did, I stood aware and didn't give him a chance to do this. Karasu likely did the same. We generally communicate with this tool here instead of meeting."

Just as she points it out, by coincidence, the device she mentioned starts ringing again, just like earlier when they were still in front of Rihetsuki Otsutsuki's home. This time again, she doesn't take the call and lets it ring. Takeshi looks at her awkwardly and asks about it.

"You're not picking up?" he says.

"Why would I?" she quickly replies before walking away and letting it ring until it stops. "Let's go. And don't get me tired again."

Takeshi squints, intrigued by who the people calling her could be. What consequences would there be to picking up? When the beeping stops, he calms down, shrugs and follows her once again, eager to get to Kumo.

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The same day, far away from Kiri, far away from the 5 great nations, an old enemy of Earth spends time alone in his floating castle. In the center of the moon, Toneri Otsutsuki is manually building a new puppet. This is how he's been spending most of his time since his attempt to destroy Earth. Since a lot of his puppet servants were destroyed by the Hanabi rescue mission squad back then, he made a hobby out of making new ones.

While he's alone there, focusing on the details on the face of this puppet that he makes as human-like as possible, he suddenly senses a mysterious disturbance that deranges the calm of the moon. It's as if the natural energy surrounding the castle was rearranging itself in harmony with a sudden factor. A presence more complex and haunting than anything Toneri's ever met before.

A presence that is making itself clear on purpose. The lone Otsutsuki feels observed. Observed by someone he can locate only thanks to the dynamic he causes in the environment, as Toneri is unable to sense or picture its chakra. Outside of the castle, the Ryu Shinsen, sovereign of the Otsutsuki clan, levitates above the main balcony on which he expects to meet the owner of this palace.

Having come unannounced, he is considered a threat. From the reversed surface of the moon surrounding him, and behind the castle, the celestial king sees the complete army of puppets of the Moon's hidden clan ambush him. Thousands of artificial soldiers flying on bird mounts plunge on him and shoot chakra orbs all simultaneously to hit the target together.

All the projectiles collide and provoke a volatile cataclysm that illuminates and rips the inner night sky of the moon, all with the intruder standing still in the middle. After this first strike that should have certainly destroyed the target, the soldiers all raise long deadly spears and their flying mounts head down to the same target, to collectively impale what may remain.

Toneri comes out of the castle to witness the scene from up close and raises both eyebrows, surprised by what he senses. After this double uninterrupted offensive, the effect of this presence is still intact. From up close he even feels like a distortion in space and air emanating from it.

The birds all fly through the chaos resulting from the colliding projectiles of earlier and get back to circulating around the target. The aftermath settles and the Ryu Shinsen is in the same position, not even bruised.

"How is this possible?" Toneri questions his mind. "Did these attacks even land? Is the intrusion even real?"

The puppets keep plunging toward the stranger and attempt to hit one after another, but they all just pass right through him like a simple image. This troubles the Moon's prince, who's certain that this isn't just a projection but an actual being. And he's still confused by the fact he can't sense any kind of chakra that it emanates.

"A quite chaotic greeting." the intruder breaks his silence. "Or should I apologize for the intrusion? It seems you have mistaken me for an attacker."

Toneri is startled by the voice and trembles, now having confirmation of someone's presence. The straight swastika symbol in the dragon sage's pupils turns white as veins swell around his eyes, letting him see the chakra circulating through the offenders.

"I assume you considered the weaknesses that chakra strings implied and surpassed them." he tells the castle's owner while looking at the chakra orbs he sees enclosed within each puppet. "With such a jutsu, you manipulate these objects with only your thoughts… Yet, it does not compare to what the Tenseigan of Hamura could do. These eyes gave life and consciousness to non living objects. Not even a thought was needed for them to serve him."

Toneri just listens to these words, impressed by this man's deductive abilities, and startled by his comment on his ancestor implying that he may have known him. It seems he is receiving the visit of another celestial being. Just now, Toneri supposes that this man used the Byakugan to analyze the puppets, unaware that he only has a pair of very unique Sharingan.

The dragon sage looks down to see the prince on his balcony, raises a hand and grows dark claws on each finger. When the countless soldiers around him get in a right position for him to move, with a simple hand movement, he rips through the air and slices every single puppet in half. As soon as slit through, they all catch fire in deep purple flames and turn to ashes in a matter of seconds.

Toneri takes a step back, frightened by what he just witnessed. The entirety of his army was taken down in just one movement by an opponent they couldn't even touch. In time to finally introduce himself, the celestial calmly comes closer to the balcony where every servant puppet in sight is hurried inside to hide. The prince stands still, unsure of his fate.

"My name is Yamitsuki Otsutsuki." the intruder kindly says. "I am the leader of the council of the Shinden, which rules over the Otsutsuki clan. I believe you have met a few of my fellows before."

"Twice indeed." Toneri says, getting at ease, but still feeling uncomfortable. "All of them wanted information about Earth. Are you here for the same reason?"

"I am not. I know well enough about this world." Yamitsuki replies. "I have come to inform you of a very possible outcome to the latest implication of my kind with the ninja world."

Toneri doesn't reply and just lets him go on.

"I foresee that the guardians of Earth and myself will soon be forced to meet each other in unwanted conditions." he explains. "In such an occurrence, depending on their reaction, the Otsutsuki clan will quite possibly have to momentarily install itself here on the Moon, the closest possible it can to this planet. Before this comes, I require that you leave."

"… I don't understand." Toneri argues. "Is there no way to prevent this scenario? Even if there isn't, why would you have to choose the Moon?"

"It seems you do not understand my point very well." Yamitsuki says, suddenly closer to the prince, making himself clear. "Whether it can be avoided or not, I could not care less. At the moment, my will is to settle the ground for it. Therefore I am claiming this territory, and you are demanded to leave."

Toneri is willing to step away again, but can't get his legs to move for some reason. He stands still, certain that the one he can't see or feel is just next to him. Yamitsuki gently lays the tip of one claw on the loner's forehead for a second and slowly rises to float away again.

"Over ten centuries ago, I came to this same world and interrupted a battle between your ancestor, Hamura, and one of my fellows." he tells as he floats away. "He demanded that we do not approach this place again. I conceive that what may be to come implies to reject this request for good. As an apology for these future troubles, I offer this simple gift to you, last inheritor of his people. I acknowledge your remarkable sensitive abilities, but agree with your own thoughts as well. No matter how precise the representation of reality that you obtain through your senses can be, it doesn't equal the simplicity of sight. There are, as well, things that can only be witnessed by sight."

After this last sentence, Toneri interrogates its meaning in his mind and slightly raises an eyebrow. By doing so, he unintentionally lifts his eyelid as well and trembles when he notices the perfectly clear image of the Ryu Shinsen's silhouette in the sky. He opens both eyes, his original pair of Byakugan that he sacrificed for the Tensei no me long ago, returned to him in a single touch by this visitor.

After this modest gift, the celestial king vanishes, having told everything he had to inform Toneri about. Left alone, the prince reminds himself of what this meeting means. He has no intention to subdue his clan's heritage to the celestial clan of Kaguya. But the surreal power of who just visited him doesn't leave him a choice. He couldn't even understand a single thing about the nature of these abilities.

If this man actually returns to Earth, none other than Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha would stand a chance. In that case, he needs to make this encounter possible and safe. Also, if this clan is coming to the moon again, Toneri has to be ready to defend it. He needs power, the same kind of power that he worshiped his whole life, to have a chance against any celestial who'd come for him. A power he once tasted and knows where to retrieve.

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End of Chapter 116 – Next Chapter: Emergency in Kumo