Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
The Shinden Saga – Arc 4: The Otsutsuki War
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Chapter 142 – Earth as Prey
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On the great planet of Takama, the original homeworld of the celestials, the soul of Ayaka Otsutsuki contemplates the statues of her ancestors with remorse. As her summoner, Uchiha Sasuke, was forced to leave her as is, she patiently waits for him to visit her again. However, as she sensed the arrival of an uncommon presence on this planet, she understands that her conversation with her human descendant won't be given a chance to continue.
Ready to receive this new visitor elegantly, she elevates herself in the air, to float before the statue of herself. At the entrance of this majestic yet ruined corridor arrives her last successor, the sovereign of celestials, the god of knowledge, nature and balance, the Ryu Shinsen, Yamitsuki Otsutsuki.
Only hours after his battle against the mightiest of all ninjas, he comes to settle what was left behind here by his fellow masked Shinden known as Tokubei Otsutsuki. Unlike Ayaka, he comes in humble presentation, calmly walking along the destroyed decorations toward the statues of his predecessors. Ayaka, meeting him for the first and only time as a living, descends. Unwilling to let her wait, Yamitsuki hovers to join her mid-air.
"It is unexpected, but also certainly an honor to meet you, second Ryu Shinsen." the former goddess declares, making sure not to taint her respect for her own son, the first Ryu Shinsen Enotsuki.
"I return this greeting and compliment to you, queen-sister Ayaka Otsutsuki, the last righteous of your glorious lineage." Yamitsuki replies to flatter her respectfully.
"The last righteous? Hmhm!" Ayaka giggles before standing still, face to face with her interlocutor. "Frankly I don't deserve such praise. I am conscious of how villainous I've been. Is it not my crimes and those of the Mominoki and Oenki sovereigns that are the source of all your problems?"
"Yet unlike your descendants, you rightfully paid for your deeds, and this in time." the dragon sage answers to reassure her before digging up unsaid feelings. "I sense disdain in your tone."
"Not disdain. But contempt for sure." Ayaka coldly replies before letting go of any negative emotion to calmly continue the conversation. "Despite your rank and might, to me, you are still the one who robbed my son of his title and power, and caused the end of his reign."
Yamitsuki refuses to argue with this reply. Judging from this reason, she may not be able to spy on the Ryugu-jo, realm of the Dragon Emperor, from the pure land. He knows that what really happened can't be described in such a way. Yet, he forgets about it and moves on to the main reason for his presence.
"May I let my most sincere apologies be known for the troubles brought upon your resting soul." he says.
"Oh it was no trouble. Actually, it was entertaining." Ayaka replies. "And if I required an apology, it's certainly not you I'd expect it from."
"You mean to accuse the fellow I sent to chase your summoner?" Yamitsuki asks, thinking of Tokubei. "You may have taken too much of a liking for Sasuke Uchiha. Not that I could care any less, but I am aware that you provided him with information about myself."
"And why would I not? He is the grandson of my granddaughter after all." Ayaka argues. "Human earthling or not, all that differentiates him from us is the seemingly so endless kalpa."
"Interesting." Yamitsuki comments. "It is quite instructive to hear your opinion on the consequences that came with the betrayal of Kaguya."
"Kaguya, the second." Ayaka corrects him as she gazes at the statue of the first queen-sister of her clan, who also had that name, and makes sure to show her respect. "But anyway, Yamitsuki, you are surely here to release my soul. Let me at least be of crucial assistance before doing so."
Hearing her suddenly worried tone and seeing her serious face, the Ryu Shinsen slightly tilts his head. Considering that she acquired knowledge about him from the pure land by watching over her clan's legacy, she very likely knows at least the Shinden like personally. And coming from the afterlife, she may have found out something about one of them in particular.
"It is about the troublemaker you sent to hunt Sasuke Uchiha from here." she starts to tell. "I have to warn you about him. He is not realyl…"
"You need not to speak any more words." he promptly interrupts to prevent her from saying what she wants out loud.
Abruptly silenced, Ayaka backs up a bit and squints to stare at Yamitsuki in a mistrustful manner. He doesn't seem to be any curious about what she has to say. On the contrary, she quickly understands why he doesn't want her to speak.
"You… You actually know the truth about him?" she guesses, to which the dragon sage shows no reaction. "You share and keep the same lie. Of course you do! Only someone like you could have made this possible."
To stop her aloud theorizing, Yamitsuki speaks louder than her and avoids the topic while keeping a straight face.
"Ayaka Otsutsuki, it has been a pleasure to meet you but I have to undo your summoning." he says.
She stops talking, stares with disgust at the one who occupies the same role as her, and calms down. Knowing that she will soon return to the pure land, she should not let the affairs of the living bother her too much. Yamitsuki, after raising his hand to dismiss Sasuke's Gedo summoning, pauses as he remembers what the 7th Hokage told him.
From this ruler to ruler conversation, he rediscovered Naruto Uzumaki's indomitable will. He recalls how this true leader's mind answered his most haunting question, being the dilemma of his own kind's extinction. He thinks of one thing to ask the former queen-sister, to free his mind from worries.
"Before you go, goddess of flows and stars, I would like your assistance about something else." he says. "After all, even you could find fulfillment and peace in this quest."
"I know what you mean to ask." she calmly answers. "It is about the Taikyo, the Absolute Spirit, right?"
"Speak quickly, Queen-Sister." he says. "In the afterlife, if free of will and as honorable as you should be, you must have made contact with a woman named Ohirume Otsutsuki. If so, I am certain that she knew something that she did not have time to tell us."
"I know who she is, Yamitsuki." Ayaka declares. "She didn't share such knowledge with me, at least not frankly, but I still have my own answer to your question. About what became of the true mind of the Beast, the Biju, the incarnation of the Taikyo."
With his hand raised, Yamitsuki uses Okuninushi, his Tenjo Sharingan's ability, to reproduce Sasuke Uchiha's summoning and set Ayaka's soul free. By doing so he leaves her just enough time to give her reply. The answer that she didn't have time to give to Sasuke's last question. The one information to connect all the pieces of the larger puzzle of fate. Fate of the celestial kind. Fate of the ninja world. Fate of all. Fate as a whole.
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On Earth, precisely in Konoha, two days after the Dragon Sage left Konoha, Sasuke Uchiha abruptly wakes up and sits to look around. He is in his bedroom, and his wife Sakura is lying by his side. As he looks at her, he remembers what happened. After he was knocked unconscious and nearly killed by the Ryu Shinsen, she took care of Naruto and him and got them to leave the hospital after just one day. Yesterday evening, still confused by his latest fight, he quickly fell asleep at home.
Sitting on the side of the bed in underwear, as he rewinds the battle against Yamitsuki in his mind, he leaves these thoughts aside and focuses on all that he learned from Ayaka Otsutsuki. Interrupting him, he feels the warm touch and smooth skin of his wife's hand against his abdomen and looks back to see her slide on the bed to come closer.
In the dark of the room, Sakura barely sees him but still distinguishes the many scars on his naked body, left by his fights with divine opponents. Most notably, on his left shoulder, she sees the scar left by the scythe of Tokubei Otsutsuki. The wound he received to save their son, Oshio.
"You almost died… again." she sadly says as she massages him with one hand.
"I have the means to survive. Don't you remember?" he replies out of stubbornness, referring to his own plan for resurrection.
"This wasn't like you planned." she argues calmly. "Boruto wasn't with you. Naruto was, but he's been defeated just like you."
To this, Sasuke doesn't answer. He stays silent out of guilt, as he should. He admits to himself that he indeed acted impulsively. He had been warned by Ayaka about Yamitsuki, but still couldn't contain his arrogance and hatred after learning of the possible extinction of this kind. To be able to decipher the enemy's powers during the fight made him even more confident, but he now realizes how hopeless it was. If he'd wanted to, Yamitsuki would have killed them both within the first minutes of the fight.
Feeling him get tense as she rubs her hands to his back, Sakura sits up and embraces Sasuke with her arms. She lays her chin on his shoulder and whispers in his ear.
"Stay here. To rest." he begs him.
Sasuke raises his only hand, rubs along his wife's arm and holds her by the cheek. He tilts his head to make eye contact with her.
"I-… I can't." he reluctantly says before looking away and letting his arm down. "I need to pursue my mission. I need to continue, until…"
For a moment, he stays silent and thinks of what he wanted to say. Now in the pleasant calm of home, in the presence of the one he loves, he feels at peace and isn't disturbed by the same murderous intent and spirit of vengeance that the Dragon Sage called out.
"Until nothing." he concludes. "I just have to keep fighting. For you, for Sarada,… For Oshio."
Sakura, for a moment, stays quiet and hides her disappointment. Yet she remembers what Yamitsuki told her before leaving.
"That guy… The Dragon Sage… He said that nothing will keep his clan back from coming to us now." she says. "You know what that means."
"… That it's now or never." Sasuke naively answers.
"Stop acting so unfazed!" Sakura exclaims, before pulling on her husband's shoulder, forcing him to face her. "Oshio told me all I needed to know. You're not a hunter now. You're a target. He saw someone. A masked man. One of them who aims to kill you. If what the Dragon Sage said is true, then this man could come for you anytime."
"I know." Sasuke promptly answers. "I hate to admit it, but for once I am the target. Yet this is exactly why I need to keep fighting. Yamitsuki is right. I am an avenger. But I shouldn't be. I need to wash off this violence. I need to protect you."
"Oh don't!" Sakura stands on her knees, startling him. "Stop omitting me! I spent my whole youth training to surpass the burden I was for you, and I got over it. It's not about keeping me, or Sarada or anyone safe. It's about saving you, and Oshio. And we're gonna do both together. Got it?"
Sasuke stays quiet for a moment and looks at the green eyes of his wife through the dark. How old are they now? He lost track of time these last years. But no matter her age, no matter that she just woke up, she looks just as perfect as ever to him. In his mind, he admits her right. Izuna and her are clearly strong enough to help him. They aren't just values to protect anymore.
And it is together that they shall surpass these challenges. No matter what he unleashed by opposing Yamitsuki Otsutsuki, his task is still the same. It may seem desperate, considering the answers of Ayaka, but he can't give up on Oshio. And judging from the Dragon Sage's words, Tokubei Otsutsuki will very likely come to settle their rivalry for good. As he thinks of this man, Sasuke wonders about the mystery surrounding him. It's like there is much he still doesn't know about him and his connection to Indra.
While he's deep in his thoughts, Sakura does one last thing to get him down to Earth and make him comply to rest at home. She lets herself fall on him. Pushed down, Sasuke is laid back down on the bed, he looks up at Sakura's face hidden in her hair hanging down. She lies down on him and gets cozy, having convinced him to stay. Sasuke, at this moment, has just one last anti-climatic question.
"Where is Naruto?" he asks, about their common former teammate, breaking the intimacy of this moment.
"Ugh?… He left for an emergency Kage summit." Sakura awkwardly answers. "About all that happened. Um… And he's expecting a report from you before his return."
Sasuke, obviously noticing her embarrassment, doesn't ask more. He will write this report later. Before letting go, he focuses on sensing the chakra of Boruto within the village. Along with Toneri. Freed of his current worries, he gets at ease and submits to Sakura's desires.
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Meanwhile, on Ashihara, in the domain of Tokubei, the masked man sits at a table and is enjoying a regular dinner with his family. Despite the absence of hunger and need of nutrition for survival, these traditional meals, typical of the cultures of many inferior populations, are a regular ritual for this celestial household.
Yet, at this table, Tokubei himself never consumes anything. His wife Fureya, and his son Taiyoshiki do, but he doesn't and therefore never removes his mask. He's let both of them catch glimpses of his partially unmasked face by the past, but never at the same time.
Today, the table is particularly quiet. The latest news on this planet has been the decision of the Ryu Shinsen following his visit to the new Rikudo. Taiyoshiki and Fureya both know how this benefits Tokubei's ambitions. Yet, for two days, no action was taken. Willing to escape an awkward silence, Fureya initiates a simple discussion.
"Tell me, Taiyoshiki, where is your student, Seimei?" she asks. "You know that she's always welcome to our dinners. It certainly serves us better than loneliness."
"… She went to visit her uncle Aritsuki." Taiyoshiki replies. "Well… She went to find him first, but she just intends to ask a few questions about what he experienced on Earth's moon."
"To find him first?" Tokubei gets into the conversation. "She could have just asked. If you want to know, Yasona has elected to send him to Hathoru. An inhabited planet that she received as a gift from him a long time ago. He will stay among the people of this world until Yamitsuki-sama decides otherwise."
"Is he at least pretending not to be a celestial, or does he stay in his beast form?" Taiyoshiki asks out of curiosity about how Aritsuki's presence could affect the culture of the local population.
"I don't think it matters." Fureya answers. "Knowing him, Aritsuki likely takes as much advantage as he can from the weak-minded. Not that it would bother the Ryu Shinsen. Only Earth is to be kept out of our domains,… at least it was, so far."
By this obvious statement, she reminds everyone of the latest case of Kaguya's world, and the unfulfilled goals of her husband. Noticing the heavy silence taking over again, the masked Shinden decides to address it.
"Go ahead, ask your question." Tokubei says to break the silence. "Taiyoshiki, my son, I know that something busies your mind. Ask."
"… Um… There's more than one thing that busies my mind." Taiyoshiki answers, playing dumb as he doesn't like to have this type of discussion in front of his mother. Fureya, however, isn't as patient.
"What are you waiting for, dear?" she asks frankly, now that Tokubei brought it up. "For the last 25 years, you've been constantly preoccupied by this newer Indra. Now that you're allowed to take action, why didn't you get over this yet?"
"Oh my amber goddess…" Tokubei says with a passionate voice. "The answer is simple." he adds, looking at Taiyoshiki as he knows that this question is more his than hers. "I know that Yamitsuki-sama didn't actually allow me to act so carelessly. I was told he has a mission for me. If he said that I have to wait for his instructions, it means all action by me has to be suspended until then. But no worries, I will most certainly be done with Sasuke Uchiha before Yasona or others get the best out of the new rules. Patience. I've waited for 25 years. I can wait a few more days or weeks. For now, I am grateful that Yamitsuki-sama spared this man's life after their battle."
"What happened on Takama?" Taiyoshiki suddenly asks, out of the blue. Fureya makes a troubled face, curious about that question as well. As an answer, Tokubei just shrugs his shoulders.
"Pretty much nothing…" he simply answers, to escape the topic. He prefers not to tell about the summoning of a former queen, and the potential secrets that Sasuke unveiled with this mystic meeting. For not even his wife and son know the secrets that he keeps with the Ryu Shinsen.
Taiyoshiki, who was there when Yasona and Naobi took notice of the problem, stays thoughtful. The one who found the former home of the celestial kind could only be Sasuke Uchiha, and Tokubei must have come in contact with him. That he refuses to tell about him cannot simply mean that he let Sasuke go. It seems like he had an encounter with his enemy, but has no prideful tale to tell. Could it be that the Uchiha bested him this time?
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Currently, in a little village of the land of Fire, a small insignificant home place for a few boar hunters and butchers, the honorable council of Konoha has booked the summit place of the village's direction for the Kage council. This summit was organized in a hurry to discuss the massive but discrete battle that occurred involving the best of both worlds: ninjas and celestials.
At this council, Naruto Uzumaki came only with his sensei, Kakashi Hatake, and his star student, Izuna Uchiha. The other Kage all came with reliable guards, doubting the safety of the chosen place and the intensity of the topic. The Mizukage, Chojuro, came with Suigetsu Hozuki and Kokoro, joined by Takeshi Minamoto who was already in Konoha.
The Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, is here with Akatsuchi and his two twin students Abachi and Genki. Her husband, Daisuke of the land of Iron, stayed in Iwa to look after their son. The Kazekage, Gaara, is sitting with his brother Kankuro and his son Shinki behind him. At last, the Raikage is guarded by his partner in arms C and his daughter Aoki.
After the context was stated by the 6th Hokage, and apologies were presented to the Kazekage for the hurried exit of Naruto during his last visit, Gaara is trying to make sense out of this.
"I find it truly hard to admit…" he says. "That you, Naruto, even together with Sasuke, could be defeated by a single enemy is unbelievable. What is this supposed to mean for us? For the world?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but I feel like there is much missing information here." Darui says before Naruto can answer. "It seems like your Uchiha agent acquired a lot of valuable intel during his long absence. Enough to make him feel confident at first about such a fight. This summit should have taken place after he shared his knowledge with you. Why are we rushing it? Is there something we still don't know, Hokage?"
Naruto, after hearing this remark, takes a while to think of it. The most important part is the Dragon Sage's declaration against peace. As he thinks through the current menace, he comes to a certain train of thought. The Mizukage, meanwhile, gazes toward his friend the Tsuchikage whom he finds oddly quiet. She usually is the one to take advantage of such silence to crack a joke. Instead, she just seems worried about something.
Distracted by the rising confusion he senses in his colleagues, Naruto looks up and first meets the eyes of Chojuro, being the only one not seemingly focused on him. Seeing Takeshi standing behind him, he thinks of the partner of this ninja.
"Takeshi… How's Sakitsuki?" Naruto asks, which slightly tickles the mind of the ninja in black, remembering the same question being asked by the Ryu Shinsen. So, he gives the same light positive nod as an answer. "I see…" Naruto adds before addressing the Mizukage. "I know that she's in no way under your jurisdiction, but could we still have her help with some topics?"
"What should we ask about?" Chojuro demands.
"… About a group or organization of the Otsutsuki clan called the Tenshin." Naruto says before reconsidering his own question when he notices the confused look on the Raikage's face. "No, forget it for now. There may be more important things to discuss right now… To answer your question, Raikage, I fear we might soon see the Otsutsuki's invasion of Earth get terribly worse."
"… Let's take things slowly and in order." Darui suggests, to optimize the conversation. "What should we know about that Dragon Sage to understand who he is, or in case we're forced to meet him."
Behind Naruto, Izuna slightly squints and looks at his master. For him, Yamitsuki Otsutsuki is the figure who appeared to him in a dream and helped him defeat his brother. To the Hokage, it is different. He is bothered by the last part of the Raikage's question.
"Raikage… There is nothing you have to know, because you won't meet him." Naruto frankly declares. "The Dragon Sage will meet only one of us, Kage. And it's me. I'm the only one he'll see, and the only one he'll fight."
After these bold words, he stares at Takeshi and concentrates, trying to feel the Daitengu present within his soul. He obviously doesn't sense anything, but still knows of his presence. So, as if he was there listening, he speaks to him.
"I saw that future, Sojobo." he says, to everyone's surprise and confusion. "I recognized it. I faced it. One of my many deaths. Yet, once again, like with Kawaki, I survived."
Takeshi standing still, notices the Daitengu revealing himself once again to him. The mystic being tilts its head and stares at the Hokage with slight admiration. He then speaks, also as if the Hokage could hear him, only letting Takeshi witness his reaction.
"Oh but Naruto, well aware are you that my visions are absolute in all but truth. You have encountered this enemy, but you have not overcome him yet. If I say you'll die from his hand, it means you will. I'm curious to see how you'll counter fate this time."
"… What do you know of the Dragon Sage?" Takeshi asks to the Daitengu, only within his soul.
"It is not your battle, Takeshi." Sojobo says to reassure his heir. "I don't know if I serve a purpose to him, or if he serves one to me… But his fate and that of the universe, along with that of Naruto, are tightly tangled."
Troubled and unsatisfied by this ambiguous answer, Takeshi doesn't share it with his other stages of consciousness. Instead, he just lets an awkward silence follow the Hokage's question. Izuna Uchiha, worriedly staring at his sensei, guesses what he was referring to with this mystic question to the unknown. As his right hand man, he was made aware of the visions that Naruto was shown by the Daitengu. Unlike him, none of the Kage know of it.
Unable to comprehend the Hokage's odd behavior, Darui gets embarrassed and tries to reorient the discussion without upsetting the mightiest of them.
"I see… Sorry then. I didn't understand your intentions." he says, not very faithful. "If the menace that this clan represents is set to grow, is there at least any other of them that you could tell more about?"
"I recall there is another of them who made you and Sasuke feel inferior before." Gaara remarks, remembering what happened in Kiri a while ago with Hyakki Otsutsuki, and what prevented the involvement of the Hokage.
"You mean… Naobi Otsutsuki?" Chojuro guesses, as his troops are the only ones who could meet this goddess and see her perform the slightest action. Unknowingly, just by spelling this name out, regardless of the security and secrecy put in practice for this council, the Mizukage spoils the Kage summit's privacy.
Izunome
As an answer to the simple mention of her name, the goddess of order, creation and purity appears. Naobi Otsutsuki, second to none other than the Ryu Shinsen himself. Using her space-time jutsu, she arrives in the room levitating above the round table. The first to notice her is Takeshi Minamoto, clued in by the voice and gaze of the Daitengu. When he sees her, he gets startled and takes a loud step back, leading everyone else to look up and see her right before she speaks to introduce herself.
"Greetings, rulers of this continent. My name is Naobi Otsutsuki. I sit at the council of the Shinden, yet you must have all heard of me, unfortunately."
Be it because her arrival was too sudden, simply out of shock, or just professionalism, the Kage and their guards do not react. They all stay sat and quiet, looking at her as if they subconsciously agreed to have her on this council. This peaceful reaction is likely a reaction to her calm and reassuring aura that seems to contrast with all the other Otsutsuki they know of so far.
"I won't eternize my presence here, Kage of the ninja world." she tells them, staring directly at the Hokage. "The recent visit of our sovereign to the village of Konoha will soon reveal terrible consequences for your world. For as long as your kind has had chakra, the Otsutsuki clan was kept away from this planet by a contract of peace between Hamura Otsutsuki, son of Kaguya, and the Dragon Sage, Yamitsuki. This agreement will no longer be enforced by my clan, and therefore your world will become prey to the vile intentions and interventions of celestial beings. This may sound like nothing new to you, but I can guarantee that the isolated cases of Katashiki, Momoshiki and the mission of Hyakki were nothing compared to what may be to come."
After this short sum up, Takeshi Minamoto loudly breathes, trying to contain a sharp pain in his heart that surfaced when the name of the god of destruction was mentioned. Sitting at the table, the Kage look at each other to quietly select the one to speak. Naruto, feeling like this task obviously falls on him, prepares to answer but is preceded by Kurotsuchi, suddenly gaining interest in the council.
"Thank you for the summary, but we were kind of already aware of that, and just about to discuss it. There may be an imbalance in how we perceive time. You said you won't eternize yourself here."
"I myself, as the goddess of order, was given a mission to take advantage of this chaos to protect the future of creation." Naobi goes on with her explanation, ignoring the legitimately grumpy remark of the Tsuchikage. "Yet I just can't accept this orchestrated disorder as a fatality. Uzumaki Naruto, for the safety of your world, you shouldn't consider the great Ryu Shinsen as an enemy that can be opposed and beaten. He is unlike even the treacherous apostles of the Juubi that you have met before. You certainly realized that already. He has warned your village that the next time he sets foot on this planet, he will destroy it. This is not an empty menace and has to be taken literally. Simply setting foot on its soil is enough for him to completely annihilate a world within seconds."
All the Kage stare at the Hokage, unsure if this absurd statement can be trusted. Naruto, seeing that this conversation is oriented toward him, brings his hands together and calmly maintains eye contact, ready to hear what she has to propose. Naobi, before doing so, explains her interpretation of her lover's decision.
"Yamitsuki, for a reason I ignore, seems to have expected this outcome. Actually, he never would have anticipated that you would accept his offer. The way he presented his demand, and the reply you gave, likely went exactly as he wanted."
The Kage and their guards all look at each other confusingly. Meanwhile, the Hokage, his sensei and his student make intrigued faces, realizing that they may have completely misunderstood this character.
"Now… this may upset him, but I have to ask you to reconsider your reply to his deal." Naobi finally comes to her own proposition. "I certainly didn't want it to come to this at any point, but there is not much else to do to save order this far… Council of the Kage, I demand that you comply with giving up your criminals and let me clean your world of celestial awareness and worries."
"Sorry, Lady Naobi, but I won't give a different answer to the same question." Naruto declares. "I've discussed it with Yamitsuki Otsutsuki before you. He told me about these Tenshin. No matter the answer we give, Sasuke and my son will be targeted by these guys, and they'll become aware of this world's whereabouts. We were warned about the conflict it could bring, and no reason for us to comply was found. As you said, Yamitsuki probably made this offer, expecting it to be refused."
Naobi frowns, just now finding out about how much Yamitsuki actually told to the Hokage. What upsets her the most is to hear that he indirectly warned him about the potential menace that one of them, the prince of Darkness, represents. This makes it obvious that the Dragon Sage's intentions are not in correlation with her own mission of order. Yet, she doesn't give up, as her plan stays different.
"Who said anything about the Tenshin, Naruto Uzumaki?" she remarks, to point out his mistake. "My proposition is that I am the only one you deal with. No Tenshin, no other Shinden. I will get you rid forever of the worries that the Tenshin represent, of the mischievous intentions of my fellow celestials, and of any past grief. I can prevent your extinction while offering true peace."
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End of Chapter 142 – Next Chapter: Trading Lives