Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Shinden Saga – Arc 1: Kimera

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Chapter 121 – The Chimera II

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Almost 30 years ago, in the land of Water, not long before the end of the age of the Bloody Mist. Kisame Hoshigaki had just deserted the village that discovered his implications in many traitorous plots. An elite of ninjas was sent after him to retrieve the stolen Samehada, but their track was lost. To settle this, Kiri had sent a reinforcement troop.

In this squad was Hideo Kotobuki, a 19 year old chunin at the time. Following the rest of his squad through the forest on the way, he was silently wondering about the future of his village and its collapsing government. One of his teammates, his best friend, interrupted his wonders and joined him to quietly discuss in the back.

"What's up Hideo?" she asked. Her name was Fubuki. She was a thin looking young woman with mid short black pointy hair, and had been friends with Hideo for over 5 years at that time. In fact, she considered him the closest person she knew and shared her deepest secrets with him.

"Just thinking, Fubuki…" the blue haired, green eyed, young man replied before making sure no one else was listening. "The beast, Zabuza Momochi, betrayed Kiri and stole the Kubikiriboccho, Raiga Kurosuki did the same with the Kiba, and now Kisame Hoshigaki takes the Samehada. Not even mentioning that catastrophic mission in the land of Fire that led to half of the swordsmen's death, including Kushimaru-sensei."

"Yeah yeah! It's all been going downhill for the village since Miss Ameyuri and Mangetsu's passing…" Fubuki answered.

"With all these assassination attempts targeting him, the 4th Mizukage won't last long." Hideo added, speaking quietly to her only. "When it's over, do you think a new era will begin, that will let you freely reveal your power?"

The kunoichi made a surprised face, warmed by his concern. In fact, Fubuki was born with the ability to use Deiton in the era of the Bloody Mist that antagonizes and persecutes Kekkei Genkai users. To survive, she hid her secret her whole life, and only revealed it to one person, her best friend, Hideo.

"I-I… I don't think it's all just about Lord Yagura…" she quietly argued.

"But imagine if someone more tolerant takes his place?" Hideo hopefully replied. "You know… with the swordsmen out of scope, his successor could be Mei Terumi. Despite her Kekkei Genkai, her strength earned respect. If she becomes Mizukage, she could bring peace to others like you."

"… I guess so… Haha!" Fubuki laughed to stay positive and agreed with his point. "Yeah! You're right! I'm sure that's how it'll go!" she exclaimed before going serious again. "But until then, it has to stay a secret. You swore to it, Hideo. You have to stay true to your words as long as I'll be… And maybe if you do, I'll let you have a date with me when we get home!"

"What? I'm not interested!" he said. "You know I don't have this kind of feelings for you."

"Oh! You don't?" she jokingly replied.

Their conversation was cut short by Ao, the leader of the troop who was using his stolen Byakugan to inspect the surroundings.

"Focus, everyone!" he warned. "There's a problem… It looks like Kisame has an ally in this. We'll have to split into two groups. Everyone in the back, go left. The rest will continue straight forward."

Following these orders, Hideo and Fubuki went after the potential ally of Kisame. The first half of the troop, led by Ao, couldn't find Kisame and only rushed all the way to the sea, to find that he already had left the land. On the other hand, the second half did run into an enemy. It was a man with an orange mask who intercepted them.

Unfortunately, not a single ninja made it out safely from this encounter. In the heat of the action, Hideo was targeted first as a medic. He took a fatal injury to the chest, leaving his heart in a failing state. This ending, Kotobuki was ready to accept it. He knew that it was the only point of a ninja in his village to fight until dying for the order. But nothing ever goes as planned in such a cursed world.

To his surprise, he woke up a few days later in a hospital in Kiri, lying next to Fubuki. Through the intervention of Kiri's medic elite, his life was saved. But unlike him, Fubuki could never wake up. When he saw her torso cut open and heart out, while his injured heart seemed brand new, he understood what kind of operation had been conducted.

He later found out that she'd been injured as well, but could clearly have survived. The medical team who took care of this must have been made aware of her special abilities and, judging her as a monster, decided to waste her life to save him.

By this experience, the little faith Hideo had in his village was reduced to nothing. It is only a year later, after the death of Yagura Karatachi, that Hideo discovered his sudden ability to use Deiton, and that the Kimera mark on his chest appeared. Even to this day, he doesn't know if this mystic ability originally comes from his genes or Fubuki's heart, but it never mattered to him.

Staying true to his promise, he kept it a secret. From this grief also came wonders. Powers like his aren't meant to be discriminated against. They're meant to rule. The man who almost killed Fubuki and him, Obito Uchiha, was the secret leader of Akatsuki. This organization had control over the land of Rain,over the rogue bounty hunters roaming this land and even over the fate of the world, all from the shadows.

When the reign of terror of Kiri came to an end and the 5th Mizukage changed everything as Hideo foresaw, it didn't heal his pain but birthed an intense frustration. It was all happening too late. Fubuki had already died. Instead, he took it as a wake up call. If Lady Mei could make Kiri start over with her power, so could he if he had more, but not as a Kage. A role like Nagato Uzumaki's is more fit to control.

And so started his lifelong quest for control and might that led to who he is today. A secret ruler with much more influence than any of the Kage.

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Standing in the devastated center of the Land of Lightning's capital, Kotobuki stares at the young Minamoto, who's thin face, black hair and figure reminded him of the female friend he slowly stopped thinking about.

Along the years, his ambitions were fueled by new motives and enemies. He manipulated the fates of countless people to reach his goals and lost consideration for human lives. He even inspired others to take the same path as him. Regardless of who stands in his way, be it a Kage, the young Minamoto, a god or the one from the shadows, he won't step back.

Looking at Takeshi before him, he feels disappointed that the Onikuma clan's jutsu didn't work. If it did, he'd be serving him like the Kumo-nins who were battling their brothers a minute ago. But after all, being too strong for this ability to work on him isn't the most surprising thing about the heir of the Minamoto.

"It's three to one then." The Chimera comments, looking at Minaa and Aoki, back on their feet.

"Yes, if we don't count all the people to whom your powers belong." Aoki yells.

"It's not about finding out who's the strongest, mister Kotobuki." Takeshi says. "It's solely about who deserves a beating the most."

As the Minamoto finishes his sentence, Hideo understands that dialogue is pointless. Takeshi made his intentions clear many times, and he's too bright to be manipulated. KNowing that violence is the only way out, Kotobuki promptly brings his hands together and starts a series of hand signs. Takeshi, after his last word, immediately grabs Aoki's hand and spins around before swiftly throwing her toward the enemy. The kunoichi, who was already gathering electricity in her arm, strikes.

Lariat

Propelled by the Kiri-nin's speed of movement, she hits the Chimera with her forearm before he can complete his jutsu. Still seeing it coming, Kotobuki stopped his hand signs and crossed his arms to take cover, which prevented colossal damages but didn't cancel the repelling effect of this strike.

While he's pushed away, Minaa rushes in his back at full speed and pushes both her legs to kick his back. To not let him flutter away so soon, she grasps him with toe claws that stab through and around his ribs. Once she holds him, she folds herself, with her head and shoulders on the ground, to force his skull to collide with the soil. Right after, she lifts him back up and lets go of him to throw him to the sky where Takeshi takes on.

Koton – Shunshin

Enhancing his speed with light, he gets in Hideo's trajectory and kicks him back toward the ground, to Aoki who punches him in the stomach after he bounced in front of her, sending him to Minaa who slaps him with her feet, then pushing him to Takeshi who hits his chin with his elbow, and to Aoki, and so they keep going.

They keep balling him around to each other and beating him up while all he can do is concentrate to let Hashirama Senju's healing factor do its work. He tries many times to bring his hands together to perform a jutsu, but his hands are always kicked down. When he turns his arms into wood, it's simply broken before he can use it.

Helpless, he looks around to see his opponents moving. Aoki is using Raiton Shunshin. It makes her fast but not as much as Minaa, who seems even faster than the 4th Raikage. He can still see their moves with the Sharingan, but even by enhancing its sight with the 1st Hokage's power, he can't catch a glimpse of the Minamoto. This one's speed is on a whole different level, greatly surpassing even Minato Namikaze.

He knew he'd be the most troublesome. He knew he was beyond human, but is still surprised by how unreal it seems. Even though they're obviously hitting to hurt him more than to take him down, Takeshi is still beating him faster than he can heal. And added to that, he isn't even allowed to perform a single jutsu.

Sick of this, He waits to be sent toward someone other than Takeshi and lets his chakra burst out without any hand sign.

Yoton – Rakuseiha

A sudden eruption of acid comes from his body and burns Minaa who was just about to tear his face off with her claws. Her lightning strike mode slightly limits the damage and prevents it from being too serious, but she's still seriously injured. Taken by surprise, she leaps back and away. Aoki and Takeshi had enough time to get out of range, but Kotobuki is now left free to move.

Ranton – Koga Kaisetsu (Diffraction Light Fang)

With his fingers held together in front of his mouth, the Chimera expels a straight lightning beam that passes in between his fingers and is diffracted in consequence, causing it to split in many rays going in different directions, toward both Takeshi and Aoki.

Koton – Light Catcher

Before these beams can reach Aoki or him, the Minamoto coats his hand in a bright light gauntlet and swiftly passes by to catch all of them in his palm, letting the water that composes them splash away. As soon as he catches it, he throws the remaining electromagnetic rays back to the sender but accelerates them up to Koton speed. They abruptly hit and pierce Kotobuki's shoulder and make him fall to his knees, out of surprise.

Koton – Raiko

Immediately after that, Takeshi unleashes a flop of white solid lightning bolts that surround the kneeled enemy's body and trap him between their bars to restrain his movements. Just as Hideo is about to break free from it, Takeshi appears just a meter away from him with his hand raised forward and fingers spread apart.

Mokuton – Takkei

The Kiri-nin's fingers turn into dark tainted wood claws that get wider and longer. They capture the Chimera until having him immobilized, arms spread apart and palms pierced by the claw tips. Imprisoned in wood and solid light, Kotobuki struggles to make even a muscle move.

Aoki goes to check on Minaa and leaves Takeshi alone, face to face with the opponent. Due to the healing factor working on its own at such an important rate since this fight began, Hideo lost a lot of chakra, to achieve nothing.

"I told you earlier on the seal phone, didn't I, mister Kotobuki?" Takeshi tells him in a serious tone. "I'll make you see hell, without any Genjutsu."

Hideo clenches his teeth and angrily tries to look around. He sees Aoki, Minaa and other ninjas of Kumo come closer, leaving all those defeated that he possessed with his will behind.

"Tsk! There is really no limit to you, young Minamoto." he says. "Just when I thought I figured you out, you show just how wrong I was."

"Now that you're standing still and unmasked, I can clearly see through you." Takeshi replies as he takes a step closer. "You believe your only fear is whatever person from the shadowsl you think you're up against, but you're mistaken. What you fear is just to lose. And I won't need any illusion to make this real to your eyes."

This provocation hits Hideo's nerves. Powerless, he wonders again why his Hyoishi didn't work on him. But he quickly washes off these thoughts. Now is no time for regrets. He's currently in a losing position and he can't stand it.

"AAHHH!" he screams while trying to move, before starting a monologue. "I won't go down this way! You won't have me like the Blood Master!"

All the ninjas of Kumo look at each other, waiting to see what trick he thinks he still has up his sleeve. The Chimera goes on.

"I… I have traveled the world, in and out of this continent, both physically and spiritually! I have seen more than any of you! I have made business and cooperated with countless great names of this underworld! Kakumei! Orochimaru! Suto! The Bloody Mist!… I've obtained genetic material from dozens of clans and individuals! I've collected Kekkei Genkai from different ages, territories and natures! All the powers that your villages have fought over! Sharingan! Byakugan! The might of the 1st Hokage! The Onikuma clan's curse! And… The Kurama clan's Genjutsu!"

Just as he finishes this speech, he breaks the curse he lied on the possessed ninjas and recovers the chakra he had spread around. Using this new found energy, he combines the might of his two Dojutsu with the last Kekkei Genkai he mentioned.

Magen – Seishin Sekai

Everyone present sees the world slightly change color to become colder overall in appearance. Takeshi is caught in this, just like anyone else. Very quickly, a dense rain storm begins. To make it worse, the rain drops falling from the sky, instead of just splashing on his skin, push him down as if they were hundreds of times heavier than they're meant to be.

"What's that?" he exclaims, asking his tengu.

"Damn it! It's the Kurama clan's ultimate illusion!" Tentoki replies.

Hearing this, Takeshi immediately tries to break it like a regular illusion, but Tentoki interrupts him before he does.

"This won't work!" he warns. "You're actually the only person here who can break out of it. All the others are done. Only an exterior source of chakra can break you free."

Hearing this, Makura doesn't waste a second. He immediately extends his presence all within his host's spirit and attempts to take over his body, like some other tengu can. His attempt fails, due to Takeshi's singular nature as a host, but it still got him out of the illusion.

As soon as woken up, the Kiri-nin trembles and abruptly stands up. Around him, everyone is standing still, paralyzed. Looking around, he sees Kotobuki, free from his bind, calmly walking toward the crowd of trapped ninjas. Determined to end it, he concentrates electricity in his hand.

Shiden

In a dash, he pierces him with his lightning blade, but unfortunately finds his hand stuck inside. It wasn't Hideo, but just an ice clone meant to lure him.

Hyoton – Hyogan Misshu Domu

The clone expands into a dense full ice semi-sphere that traps Takeshi inside. Sharp icicles start to grow out around him and slowly stab through his limbs. As if this wasn't enough, they also suck his chakra out. The real Hideo arrives to stand before the ice prison and looks at the one inside.

"Your abilities are stronger than mine for sure, young Minamoto." he says. "But they are far less. I told you before, we'd be perfect only together."

Takeshi feels the pain of the sharp ice picks piercing his limbs, and stares at Hideo who now lies his hand on the dome to absorb the stolen chakra. Trapped, he blames himself for not killing his enemy as soon as possible. He promised that he'll eliminate him for Saki who must have already saved Tojiki. How will he get out of this now?

Just when it seemed over for him, the visit of Naomi to the Mizukage's office finally reveals its use. He senses tens of new chakra that reach the capital.

Shunshin no jutsu

Suddenly, under the Chimera's eyes appear dense misty clouds that evaporate and reveal the new players. The express reinforcement of Kiri, promised by the 5th Mizukage. Takeshi senses the presence of Kaori, Yukiko, Suigetsu, and many others among them.

The medical team of this squad immediately gets on the move to help the trapped Kumo-nin. But most importantly, they free their former colleague, Sana, and help her get done with healing Yukai and the Raikage. The rest of the present ninjas, led by Suigetsu, step forward to face their Daimyo and scientific department director.

"So all of this was true!" Suigetsu exclaims, seeing Hideo. "You damn scum!" he adds before pulling the Kubikiriboccho from his back and running forward with his army.

Kotobuki frowns and briefly looks at Takeshi in the ice. It seems like, besides their abilities, a definitive advantage of the Minamoto is that his allies are also friends. People willing to help him, unlike him who only had associates who turned against him. But he doesn't care. He doesn't need anyone except himself.

Mokuton – Kannon Renge O

To oppose the newly arrived army and the waking ninjas of Kumo, he summons a massive wooden statue with a hundred hands on its back. It is a reduced version of Hashirama Senju's Shinsu Senju that doesn't use Senjutsu.

"Uh? Crap!" Suigetsu says as he stops running, recognizing the same statue he saw in action during the 4th Great War.

Juuton Dairendan (Ten Release Great Combo)

From 9 faces carved on the forehead of this statue, along with its main face, Hideo expels a wave of each of the 10 elements he can use. Wind, dirt, mud, fire, water, lightning, storm clouds, wood spikes, acid, and a blizzard all unleashed upon the opposing army.

Suiton – Tate Eboshi

To cover his allies, Suigetsu turns into a massive water shield, helped with the Suiton of his subordinates. With this, he stops the fire, water, mud and acid waves. But the others are left to rage on the rest of the army who has to handle it by themselves. Fortunately, Suigetsu's shield is covering Sana and her patients, just as one of them seems to wake up.

To break the great water cover, Hideo orients his lightning stream toward it and shocks the holder who's using his own body to make it work.

Takeshi, spectating this carnage from inside his ice hold at the foot of the wooden Kannon, clenches his teeth, worried for his allies. Tentoki and Makura, analyzing the situation, try to figure out something.

"We have to break free." Makura simply orders his yamabushi.

"What can we do?" Takeshi replies.

"We don't have to stand still and wait to be freed." Tentoki starts, ready to explain a helpful move. "You see, Ice in this shape has a multi-refracting effect on light that could be an advantage."

Takeshi nods in his mind, and lets Tentoki stream his chakra in his body.

Koton – Kagayaku

His body starts to shine bright, and the emitted light passes through the ice that sends it brighter in every direction. Its shine blinds everyone it reaches, the closest being Hideo on top of his Kannon's head. Blinded, the Chimera is troubled just long enough for a surprise attack to come from below.

Raiton – Black Dragon

Going against the lightning stream of the elemental disaster is a black lightning dragon that pushes through and cancels it. This black monster then butts into the Kannon's face and punches it with its teeth. Hideo, troubled by the shock, does his best to stand still. Under him, with the Byakugan, he sees Yukai in the black lightning, pushing the jutsu and almost making the statue trip over.

As he concentrates to stand still, Kotobuki suddenly receives a supersonic projectile in his shoulder. Looking aside, he sees Kaori who's been tossed there by Suigetsu. Taking inspiration from what she saw 3 years ago in the chunin exam during Boruto and Iwabe's fight, she uses her Bakuton as a detonator to push kunai tips like supersonic bullets through the air and pierce a target.

"Goddamn brats!" Hideo rages and unleashes the hundred arms on his back. With two of them he catches Kaori and Yukai. "You two were just meant to be consumed and feed my power! How dare you use these abilities in front of me!"

"It's not just us two!" Kaori and Yukai speak together.

Shakuton – Kajosatsu

Tossed downward by Suigetsu, Yukiko was sent to Takeshi. As he looks down, Hideo notices her just as she uses her Kekkei Genkai to melt and evaporate the ice prison in which Takeshi was trapped, freeing him. In panic as his toughest opponent is free again, Hideo and his statue take a leap away.

Before the ice has fully melted, Takeshi jumps out, determined to end it. His pupils have taken the reptile shape of his tengu's eyes. His hair is glowing in white. And all his heritage's chakra is being gathered as a power bomb in his palms, taking shape as a chakra ball.

Tengudama

Using the ability he absorbed from Ryutoki for the first time, he shoots a quickly made but massive chakra orb to the face of the statue that brings its hands forward to contain it. This projectile stores an unexpectedly raw and savage might. As he desperately tries to hold it back, Hideo realizes how powerful it is. Such a level of condensed chakra… It is on par with a Bijudama. It is nothing like what Ryutoki's yamabushi could do.

Overpowering the statue, the Tengudama breaks through the hundred arms and smashes the Kannon's face before exploding. Kaori and Yukai are freed from their hold, but are blown away by the explosion. Before they land on solid ground, Kaori is caught by her sensei, Kokoro, and Yukai is received by the Raikage, healed as well just in time.

Since he was standing on the statue's head, Hideo took the nearly full power of this attack as his Kannon was being obliterated by it. He lands abruptly in the ground further away. Barely conscious, it's just his primitive instincts that drive his body to still try to stand up. Mutilated, worn out and stunned, he gets on his knees. He doesn't even have the strength to use his Dojutsu anymore.

As he tries to understand what happened to him, he feels a cold hand under his knee. Looking down, he sees the corpse of Naomi Yuki that was brought there by Takeshi, and next to which he just coincidentally landed. Confused, he falls on his butt and crawls away. Before he can snap out of it, the Minamoto flashes in for the final blow.

Shiroden (White Electricity)

Combining the white lightning of Koton with his Shiden he elaborates a stronger and faster version of this blade. With this new jutsu, he pierces through the chest of the Chimera destroying his ribcage. It went so fast that Hideo barely felt it happening. It is a second later that he looks down to notice the resulting wound and falls on his back, next to Naomi.

Alone on this hill of debris, Takeshi gazes at Naomi, and at him. He remembers all the reasons he had to fight, and lets his anger out.

"You damn traitor!" he yells at the defeated mastermind. "I thought you could understand me!… Why did you have to do it this way? Why did you have to let Karasu become my friend just to dispose of him? Why did you have to make me feel special?"

"Because you are special!" Hideo yells back, barely breathing. "I wanted you by my side. Why did you have to resist the Hyoishi's will curse, young Minamoto! It would have been so much simpler if you just had been under my command!"

Takeshi frowns, steps back, and stays silent, knowing that Hideo has more to say.

"It didn't work on you." the Chimera now quietly adds. "Neither did the Perfect Demonic Illusion. Neither did anything. You are the hero that Kiri never deserved. You are all that others like Fubuki couldn't be… You're the most unique human to have ever been born. All we would have needed is the Otsutsuki child's genes, and we would have been the incarnation of everything. We would have been above the gods. We would have been above the one in the shadows."

"This was never meant to happen." Takeshi replies. "You're just insane. Delusional. That person from the shadows you're imagining is just a personification to justify your unfair ego and appetite."

"I am not insane!" Hideo angrily replies, coughing blood. "With me gone, this secret ruler will have no conscious opposition. They will rise and take control of everything. They may already be. History belongs to them. We have to take it back!"

Takeshi, tired of arguing, just looks pitifully at the defeated Daimyo and ends the discussion.

"Whatever you're talking about, you were never meant to stop it." he says. "You could never have obtained this little girl's genes. Even without me, Naomi, Karasu or anyone in the way. The gods would have punished your deeds by themselves."

Just as he says this, a rainbow light flashes through the sky over them and reveals Sakitsuki Otsutsuki, holding the hand of Tojiki, levitating on her own. Hideo, seeing this image in the sky behind Takeshi, wildly opens his tired eyes and concentrates to see the faces of these people.

He sees the incomplete Sharin-Byakugan of the child, and quietly mourns the power he'll never have. Then, his attention is caught by the golden glowing eyes of the strange goddess with her. He doesn't know who she is, or where she came from. But her image and energy… is exactly what he wanted to reach. This level of divinity is what it takes to break free of all control.

Hovering in the sky, Tojiki sees the ninja in black standing before two mortified bodies. A man with a sinister mark on his chest and evil eyes, and a woman with pale skin and a sad aura. To her disappointment, the one who still emits life is the wrong one.

Just now noticing their presence, Takeshi turns around and looks up to see Sakitsuki in the sky. He lets himself fall on his ass between Naomi and Hideo and looks at her. She stares into his eyes, in which she can read all the pain and guilt he's felt since she left him. She sadly looks at Naomi's corpse, and thinks of what she was promised. It appears she won't be able to have her retirement in Kiri, or her reunion with Shimo Yuki.

Takeshi follows her gaze and looks at Naomi as well. He thinks of having to reveal this to Sasuke. To reveal that he failed the mission he entrusted him with. The little girl, Tojiki, after analyzing the scene, looks up to Sakitsuki.

"But the man with the mark is the evil one, isn't he?" she says. "The blonde woman was on your side?"

"The one with the evil mark is who wanted to take your power." Sakitsuki replies. "The woman, Naomi, was your ally. She wanted to stop this man."

"Why are you talking in past tense about her, but not him?" the child asks.

"This is because, in this world, it is customary to speak this way of the dead." the golden eyed goddess explains. "Here, the dead stay dead. The man, however, is not yet done with the living."

"Was she done with the living?" Tojiki asks about Naomi.

"… Certainly not." Saki replies. "She was just forced to an end."

"… It's sad… I'd prefer it if it was the opposite." she says. "The man is evil. He wanted to hurt me. And now he lost, so he's done. But if you say Naomi still had to live, it should be the opposite. She should live and he should die."

Sakitsuki, after this remark, gets to her knees to keep her feet at the same level as Tojiki's but also balance their faces. She stares at her with honest eyes, and advises her.

"You'd prefer it, you say?" she starts. "How much do you want it? Does it need to be changed for you?"

"… Mh… If it can be changed, it has to, yes." Tojiki says.

"What if it can't?"

"… I don't want that. I want it to be possible." the girl declares, slowly getting confused by this interrogation.

"Well,…" Sakitsuki says as she stands up again. "Not only is it possible, but it is also your choice to make. If you really want it to be true, you just have to imagine it, portray it, and figure it out."

Tojiki, intrigued, nods and does as commanded. Takeshi and Kotobuki who've been trying to read their lips, make unsettled faces, not sure they understand. It takes less time for Hideo to figure it out however. Seeing the tomoe in the young girl's Byakugan become more and more opaque, her veins inflating around her eyes, and blood tears slowly building up, he lightly smiles and closes his own eyes.

In parallel to how he was made to survive 30 years ago thanks to an unwanted sacrifice… It is only fair if his life serves the same purpose as Fubuki's. He empties his mind, and gives up on life, as one of the tomoe of Tojiki vanishes.

Kami Musubi

For a timeless instant, the minds of every living soul in all of creation are caught in a quiet thought. Takeshi, still confused, looks up in confusion, still not having figured out what is to happen. Like anyone else, he didn't even notice what just occurred. He suddenly feels a slap on top of his head that wakes him up.

"You damn idiot! You picked up a call with my device!" a familiar voice says.

He looks aside, and sees Naomi, sitting up, perfectly well, as if nothing ever happened to her. She looks at him, not realizing the setting for now and keeps messing with him.

"Wait? I touched you didn't I?" she adds. "Not so fast now, huh?"

Unable to believe it, Takeshi bounces up. He questions his tengu, but no answer is found. On the other hand, Hideo Kotobuki's body is completely inert, lifeless. As he steps back, Takeshi trips and falls in Sakitsuki's arms, standing there to catch him.

He looks at her, and at Naomi who stands up and confusingly goes next to the Chimera's corpse. Undecided about whether he should believe what is happening or not, he fondles in the goddess' arms and satisfies himself with her body warmth.

For the first time since the founding of the ninja world, the clueless eyes of a human mind have been exposed to the true potential of chakra. A deed of almighty worth only of higher beings that transcend any human or celestial that ever lived on Earth, without exception.

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End of Chapter 121 – Next Chapter: A little longer