Chapter 33: The Dark Side

(Land of Lightning)

Kimimaro Otsutsuki watched the ninja army charge towards him under the leadership of the Dragon King. For the first time, the Otsutsuki was unnerved and eager at the same time. He could feel that power, that unending hatred and pain all buried deep in one wounded heart. Waiting to explode...

He looked at his half burnt body which was a stark legacy of that hate and pain.

A grim smile graced his lips as he gave the command making the legions of dead charge forward with a thunderous war cry under the command of his Otsutsuki fighters.

He watched his adversary shout out commands making many ninjas with powerful chakra signatures take up command of the ninja army.

And then their eyes met.

Kimimaro's smile widened considerably when a wave of very familiar dark flames set on fire hundreds of his warriors creating a clear path towards him.

The warrior of Dawn marched towards him. This time he had no golden armor, no crown or no one by his side as his supporters were busy clashing against Kimimaro's pawns. But none could stop this man.

Those dark red eyes burned with madness, hatred and unforgivable fury.

It brought back fond memories of the time when Indra had fallen to the dark side. The fool would have been a useful pawn if the love for his brother had not overwhelmed him in the very end and rob the world from true peace. This boy was much more stronger, much more vengeful and was everything Kimimaro's queen had ever dreamed to gain from an Uchiha.

It was why he allowed his minions to let the King reach towards him while blocking all his other supporters from interfering. The Otsutsuki however winced when he saw the Kyuubi unleash a Bijudama massacring thousands of dead. The beast was going to be a problem but a minor one at best if Kimimaro succeeded in his mission given to him by Hinata.

They now stood before each other.

"We meet again" greeted Kimimaro with an amused smile,

"Yes" answered Naruto frostily, raising his ancestral weapon in defiance.

"You're different now. I can feel it...your power is so great and dark. The pain in your heart so unbearable...your soul so broken" whispered Kimimaro, and was not surprised when the King winced.

"You made me this way. It is befitting I end you for that" declared Naruto bitterly,

Naruto narrowed his eyes when a sudden chill enveloped the area around them. The aura was so dark and full of misery that it threatened to suck away every last memory of happiness from his heart. It was then the whispers began...

A language he thought lost in the sands of time.

A tongue he learned only because of his ancestor.

Words full of darkness and evil.

Shraenar, valar lo daherys.

Yami no sekai tai mi si ta mizuro.

Kimimaro smirked savagely as he saw recognition dawn in the King's eyes as Naruto whispered the last words of the saying in the ancient tongue.

"Men shall never defeat the children of the stars"

A lone tear fell from his eyes as he saw nine ethereal shadows rise from the ground. They surrounded him completely like wraiths of despair inflicting on him the dark emotions they must have felt when they were consumed in the end by the soul stealing dragon. They were once human, people with dreams and ambitions.

Not anymore.

It was more evident than ever as he gazed into a familiar pair of dark eyes that had always been full of love and affection for him but now held no emotion in them.

Naori Uchiha.

The blank soul stared at him lifelessly and it felt like a dagger being brutally stabbed in his heart. He looked at the others and could not help but be further saddened as he remembered who they once were before being consumed in darkness.

Itama Senju.

Ayato Uzumaki.

Shin Aburame.

Nahiro Uzumaki.

The last four ghosts all shared very similar facial looks and dark eyes. Traits which they inherited from their father, Indra.

"Men are doomed to die, King Naruto" said Kimimaro calmly,

The lone monarch could not help but watch sadly as the ghosts raised their ethereal weapons. Each and everyone of them had at some point of time had their souls consumed by the demonic statue reducing them to haunting wraiths bound to the Otsutsuki. Indra had warned him that this could very likely happen but nothing could have prepared him to see his beloved aunt be reduced to this horror standing before him.

Flashes of her smile, her laugh, her teasing, her tender kisses all flashed before him and then be suddenly ripped away as he watched the vision where her soul was consumed just as life left her body.

He watched his brothers die before him again and again tearing his heart to shreds.

He saw his father and eldest brother be surrounded by an army of darkness before being vanquished forever.

A maddening scream left his lips as he saw Otsutuski warriors storm a very familiar temple butchering everyone of its inhabitants to the last child. One of them being a very familiar dark haired priestess lying in a pool of blood, her lifeless eyes staring back at him, her womb torn apart with two half formed human infants lying dead nearby.

"You see it now. Everything you love and cherish will soon fall to darkness. Whether through the swords of my people or those of the one true enemy...their fate is sealed" revealed Kimimaro,

"What are you saying?" asked Naruto in despair, those dark visions were too much for him to bear.

The ruin of his house, the death of his family, his daughters...it was just too much.

Kimimaro gave him a sad glance which actually had a shred of sympathy mixed in.

"The real Otsutsuki are coming. The ones who consume worlds like this earth and destroy every life before moving on to their next conquest. No clan, no king, no shinobi, no samurai, no man can stop them. They are a force beyond the power of men, empowered with the energy of the thousands of world they consumed across the galaxy. Experienced in war than any other race after their countless conquests. They are legion, an enemy you cannot fathom to defeat even in your most hopeful dreams" explained Kimimaro honestly,

"Is that why you started this war? Why did you wait for so long then?" demanded Naruto, but Kimimaro had either not heard his questions or simply decided to ignore them as he continued.

"When they come...mankind shall perish. They are masters of chakra and the shinobi will be the first to fall to their power. The power of my people is a fraction of what those warriors are capable of. They shall first turn the shinobi, then the Samurai and use them to conquer mankind. After that, they shall harvest this world and its people from all forms of energy leaving behind nothing but a dead world"

Naruto trembled as he saw visions of a legion of white haired warriors arriving on earth. He watched them conquer nation after nation, turning the shinobi and samurai against their own people, he watched them burn cities and villages, slaughter everyone that stood in their way until the world was consumed by darkness leaving behind a wasteland.

The world of men destroyed.

Everything and everyone he loved massacred to the last person.

In that dream, he saw the helplessness of his race, watched them all fall one after another until there was nothing left anymore.

He fell to his knees consumed in despair and grief as tears spilled from his blood red eyes.

He looked up when a pale hand was outstretched towards him by Kimimaro himself.

"You can still save the ones you love" said Kimimaro calmly,

"How do I know you're not lying about the return of the true Otsutsuki? How do I know that anyone can even defeat them if they are truly what you are showing me?" asked Naruto hesitantly,

"I am Kaguya's son and my mother for all her faults and mistakes only wanted to protect humanity. Her ways were harsh but they were necessary for mankind to have any hope of standing against the Otsutsuki. Mankind was never supposed to have chakra or risk being corrupted by the Otsutsuki who will use that power against them ruthlessly. Only a selected few descendants of Kaguya can stand by her side and defeat the one true enemy. If mankind is to survive then they must follow us in the final war and for that we need you, King Naruto" explained Kimimaro seriously,

"Why me?" questioned Naruto,

"I'll admit that I once thought you weak, a part of me still believes so. But there is something about you that makes my queen believe that you are the chosen one. The finest of men, one that shall do anything necessary to save his people, his family, his children" said Kimimaro confidently,

"I am just one man" countered Naruto, making Kimimaro smirk.

''True. But you have the power to change the destiny of your race. Join us...and save the ones dear to your heart before it's too late. For Tajima, For Madara, For Tsunade, For your friends and clan, for your daughters...and for your son"

Naruto glanced across the battlefield to see his race fighting desperately. Hundreds were dying with each passing minute and it would only be ten times worse when the Otsutsuki came to earth. He watched his friends fighting fiercely against Kimimaro's Otsutsuki's subordinates, he saw Tsunade and Mito fighting bravely against legions of dead. His eyes widened as he felt the faint new life within his wife. She glowed so brightly like a roaring sun in this eternal darkness making his heart swell with pride and fear. He didn't know how but he also felt the faint lifeforms of his daughters burning brightly within Shizuka waiting to experience the world. One which they shall never see if the true Otsutsuki came to earth...

He looked into Kimimaro's eyes and searched the man's emotions for any sign of deception but found none. The older man was speaking the truth...

If he managed to defeat Kimimaro and his group would he still be powerful enough to stop the Otsutsuki when they came to earth? Would he be able to save the ones he loved?

Doubt and fear plagued his heart like a storm of dark clouds making the dark visions play out in his mind again and again.

"You are the chosen one, Naruto Uchiha. The strongest of your race, you grew up with almost nothing yet but still went on to become the greatest of his race, the strongest of his people, gained the loyalty and trust of people. You brought peace to the world of men. You are the chosen one, the one who shall bring balance to this world and save it from its imminent destruction. I see it now...that is your destiny" whispered Kimimaro, his hand still outstretched towards the king.

The final choice.

Time seemed to have stopped for Naruto as he glanced around. Even Indra had not denied the possibility that the original Otsutsuki clan would one day come to earth for the power it held. His ancestor wanted Kimimaro and Hinata dead, but what if killing them was just not the perfect solution? They atleast had an idea about the coming enemy and were doing everything necessary to stop them.

If shinobi were doomed to fall to the Otsutsuki, then was it correct to let them become the destroyers of the world of men?

He knew what joining Kimimaro meant. He would have to eliminate shinobi completely from this world so as to deny the Otsutsuki any pawns. He would have to revive Kaguya and the Juubi subjecting human race to the ancient woman's leadership again for she was the only one strong enough to stop her estranged clan from destroying this world. He would have to go against everything he once stood for...but it could save his people, his family, his children.

He looked at the ghosts around him, especially at Naori. He could not bear to lose any more of his family, would not survive any of his children meeting a similar fate or worse.

For them to survive, he had to surrender to this darkness and let himself be consumed.

It would break his heart...but atleast this way the ones he loved would survive.

In this world, you either die as a hero or live long enough to become a villain.

Kimimaro watched the King stand back up on his feet. The boy's eyes were still closed and he looked to be deep in thought but Kimimaro didn't interrupt him. He still waited as Naruto opened his eyes and looked at him and the offered hand.

"I never wanted to be King, you know? Too much work and pressure" said Naruto nostalgically,

Kimimaro didn't know how to respond to that. Being the leader of his people was an honor and responsibility he was glad to accept. But Naruto was different and it was why he would always be weak.

"But there are a lot of morons in this world who believe someone like me can do something. That I can leave this world in a better state than the one I was born in. Men are doomed to die and yet we still struggle till our last breaths. Maybe we cannot defeat the Otsutsuki and our world shall be destroyed eventually. But I refuse to turn on my people, I refuse to wipe out half of mankind in the hopes that the other half shall survive the upcoming enemy" said Naruto fiercely, as he raised his sword.

"What?" asked Kimimaro furiously, was this boy an utter fool?

"I'm not the chosen one, Kimimaro. I am just a stepping stone for the future of my race. Let the Otsutsuki come! Men shall live and die as one. As long as the line of Naruto Uchiha survives, there shall always be a King that shall rise to defend the world of men!" declared Naruto,

"YOU FOOL! You shall doom this world!" yelled Kimimaro furiously, as his unleashed two long white spears from his arms. The nine ghosts stepped closer and surrounded the King from all sides, yet he smiled.

"Just as the ones before me believed in me...I shall believe in those who shall come after me. That is my final choice" declared Naruto, as a bright light glowed from Dawn.

"Then you shall all die!"

Kimimaro's roar was the final command required for the nine ghosts to leap at the King who grinned one last time.

Nine ethereal swords came down at him making him defiantly raise his own weapon unleashing a tornado of dark and light sparks as the dark and light chakra from Dawn and its counterparts clashed heavily. Kimimaro was momentarily surprised by the defiance and could not help but be impressed when Naruto twisted the weapons of his ghost enemies as if they were mere children. The intel about the boy's swordsmanship might not be an exaggeration.

Deciding to intervene, the Otsutsuki king launched both his spears followed by unleashing a volley of bone shards at the engaged dragon king. To his utter surprise, the entire army of projectiles went right through the Dragon king as if he was never there and instead hit Kimimaro's ghost allies.

Naruto swiftly turned and plunged his sword clean through the heart of one of Indra's sons. The soul screamed in agony but was quickly consumed in Dawn being finally released from its captivity to rejoin its father. The remaining ghosts jumped back on seeing one of their own be destroyed.

His sensory powers went off in alarm warning in him time making him jump away just as another volley of bone shards destroyed the position he was standing in previously. He looked back and narrowed his eyes when he saw Kimimaro floating in the sky, the enemy leader's entire body now covered in dark yellow chakra mixed with black marks. The sheer amount of chakra being generated and transformed was insane which further unnerved Naruto. Most importantly, his attention was focused on his opponent's former pale white eyes that were not turning slightly blue with a flower in the center.

"Dark Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"

A gigantic sword of dark chakra almost as great as a Biju was unleashed by Kimimaro which headed straight for Naruto. The entire battlefield was momentarily stunned by the sheer amount of power being fired and that was when the explosion happened sending massive tremors across the battlefield.

Ash and dust rained down upon the lands like a torrent of heavy rain. When it finally settled, there was a massive crater that was several hundred feet wide and lot more in depth. But in that was also a strange figure.

Kimimaro clenched his fists when he heard a familiar roar.

He dodged just in time as a volley of dark flames was unleashed by the dark beast that soared through the dark skies like a raging missile. Breathing a sigh of relief, he could now finally see the monster that was standing before him now.

Almost more wide and tall than the Kyuubi itself, the beast towered like a firm mountain across the battlefield dwarfing both the living and dead.

It had the body of a fully armored man that was covered in dark flames. One of its hands held a brightly glowing sword of light and the other a shield made of dark flames. On its back were two large dark wings but the most frightening aspect of the monster was the face of a...

A dragon.

Its primal roar deafened the battlefield once and for all, momentarily stopping both armies in their brutal battle. The monstrosity flexed its long sword unleashing a bright beam that instantly slaughtered thousands of dead warriors reducing them to ashes.

The fully scaled dragon head glared at Kimimaro with its dark red eyes and from within the creature, the Otsutsuki king saw Naruto glaring at him murderously.

Instead of being terrified, Kimimaro smiled as he clasped his hands together.

Naruto narrowed his eyes when within seconds an army of bones were unleashed from the enemy's body and soon enough it transformed into an exact same replica as Naruto's own Susanno. The only difference being the fact Kimimaro's was made up of bones and glowing with pure yellow chakra and had the face of a man and not a dragon. While Naruto's beast was covered in the flames of Amaterasu, both monster forms had wings on their backs alongwith large swords and shields.

The Dragon Susanno raised its sword which emancipated a beam of pure energy that tore through the skies and dispersed all the dark clouds and even made the rains stop their torrent.

A part of Naruto was astonished by the sheer amount of power flowing through his veins at the moment. Even in his wildest dreams he had never imagined something like this, his father would be so proud.

Father!

He clenched his fists tightly as he remembered the Otsutsuki were probably ravaging across his nation and butchering his people. His father was the last capable and official commander left who would have to face those monsters. The Otsutsuki had already took a lot from him...not anymore!

When the dragon charged...so did its enemy.

Both monsters flew across the battlefield to meet each other in a fiery clash as their monstrous swords greeted each other. A treacherous shockwave tore through the land alongside a massive earthquake that created further chaos and damage through the battlefield.

Kimimaro raised his own giant's shield that sparked with yellow energy.

"Enlightenment!"

He grinned when a dangerous and large ball of pure yellow lightning burst from his shield but was disappointed when Naruto's Susanno raised its own shield and absorbed the blast. However, it was that moment when the trick was revealed.

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration as he felt his own control over his Susanoo be hampered as he tried to battle away the surge of foreign energy in his own form. Kimimaro used that momentary advantage fully to strike forward with the intent to deliver the killing blow.

What the Otsutsuki was not prepared for was the thunderous roar of a pissed of fox before it sent the white haired warrior and his monstrous form flying away by colliding straight into them. The fox glared menacingly even as the Otsutsuki crashed gracelessly before his eyes settled upon the surprised gaze of his friend.

Guilt and regret were ever present in Kurama's eyes...while Naruto's gaze was one lost in remembrance of a cherished past. One that was gone but still desired by his heart.

"I won't leave you...not this time" whispered the fox,

His heart had stopped beating for several long moments as he glanced longingly at his only friend. The Kyuubi was not a being of many words...neither was the King. Their miraculous friendship had developed because they both could understand the other even without words and Kurama hoped his friend understood what he really wanted to say in that short promise.

A wry smile graced Naruto's lips even as his eyes twinged with his ever present spark which Kurama dearly cherished.

"I am doomed to die, fox" teased the King, repeating Kimimaro's prophesied words from before.

"Then I shall die with you" promised Kurama without hesitation,

A tired sigh left the King's lips but the faint smirk on his lips did wonders to elevate Kurama's hopes as the young monarch extended his Susanno hand towards the beast.

As Kurama used his tails to reciprocate the gesture, Naruto's words would forever be engraved in his heart.

"No matter what happens or how much things change...don't ever lose faith. Not in yourself, not in your friends, not in your family, and not in this world" insisted Naruto calmly, as he glanced at the thousands of former bitter ninjas now fighting together as comrades for the survival of mankind.

"What if there is no hope?" asked Kurama hesitantly, as he could not help but remember how good the world once was under the Sage and then what it became afterwards.

Yet, Naruto still smiled.

"There is always hope"

Kurama's eyes widened even as a lone tear fell from his eye. For those simple words had shown him a truth that had eluded his grasp ever since his creation.

He had lost faith in everyone.

His friends: Indra and Ashura.

His family: Biju.

His world: The race of men.

Duty kept him moving forward but his heart was frozen under a never ending ocean of ice until a bright flame ignited it again. It burned so brightly that it restored emotions the fox thought were long lost, made his interests and wishes be reborn again and most of all made him feel alive again.

Made life worth living!

The era of darkness and hopelessness was burned away in those bright flames. It was as if someone decided to end a miserable chapter of life to give birth to a brighter one.

In that moment, Naruto was the epitome of that hope for Kurama and one which made the Biju make the commitment that he had never imagined himself ever making to anyone.

Naruto smiled and realigned his Susanoo as Kurama stepped beside him just in time as Kimimaro was starting to get ready.

"For the world of men"

Kimimaro hurriedly raised his ethereal shield as he sensed the massive buildup of energy from the united fighters in front of him.

The Kyuubi formed a gigantic tailed beast bomb instantly before launching it mercilessly at the lone Otsutsuki warrior. Naruto took to the skies with the help of his wings even as Kurama's attack nearly eclipsed Kimimaro's entire warrior completely.

When the blast died down, he was surprised to see thousands of bones were fully vaporized but already they were being replaced at an alarming pace and for all intents and purposes...

Kimimaro looked pissed!

"Forest of DEATH!" roared the Otsutsuki madly, as he clasped his hands together.

Kurama howled in sheer pain as white shaped spears more taller and broader than his own size burst out of the ground beneath him. The beast pummeled a few, dodged another dozen more but Kimimaro had apparently turned almost half the battlefield in his death trap and thereby managed to impale the Kyuubi grievously in multiple locations.

The ancient man's eyes widened when a shadow swooped in from the skies and grabbed his form by the throat. With a furious roar, Naruto threw the bone warrior several hundred feet high in the air as his shield finished his next move.

"Kamui Shuriken!"

The Dragon Susanoo threw its shield at its sailing target at monstrous speed and much to everyone's surprise in midflight the holy weapon divided into a dozen more dangerous shuriken shaped projectiles marred in black flames. Very quickly the attack hit home and mercilessly tore away large chunks of Kimimaro's large bone warrior before making those torn parts disappear in quick portals forever.

As the shurikens vanished, the broken form of Kimimaro's bone warrior started falling towards the ground.

"Naruto, watch out-"

Kurama's warning was a little too late as the falling bone debris were suddenly transformed into a dangerous whip by the furious Otsutsuki. With its shield used up for the moment, the Susanoo and its wielder were not fully prepared for the moment when the bone whip wrapped around its neck.

A choked scream escaped Naruto's lips as he not only felt his chakra but also his life-force be sucked away by the whip as it choked the air out of him. It was then he saw the ancient dark seals engraved in those bones and that was not even taking into account the fact that the Otsutsuki warrior had large sums of Ten Tails chakra flowing through his body. It explained why the Otsutsuki warriors were so powerful and why no ordinary weapons could match their bone shaped spears in battle. There was no power greater than that of the Ten Tails, a fact which Naruto realized a little too late.

Kimimaro flew downwards wrapping his entire body in glowing yellow chakra while his hand yanked the whip mercilessly making Naruto's Susanoo flip over before crashing on the ground with a thunderous crack.

"Gentle Strikes!"

Small mountain sized chakra hands were unleashed by the Otsutsuki King that started mercilessly pounding on the fallen Susanoo's chest.

Naruto screamed and coughed blood as each strike felt as if he was being crushed under heavy mountains. With every hit, more and more of his chakra nodes suffered massive damage depleting his supply to maintain the Susanoo. Once it was destroyed...

He roared in pure defiance and conjured all his rage and hatred he had for this man.

"Amaterasu"

His eyes bled and pain was all he felt but he didn't care as his dragon headed Susanoo screamed in fury as it unleashed a torrent of dark flames like a raging tsunami. Kimimaro started flying away rapidly but the dark flames didn't relent in their pursuit. So blinded was he in evading this attack that he barely registered another greater danger approaching towards him.

It was out of sheer luck or fast reflexes that Kimimaro managed to avoid getting hit directly by the Bijudama launched by the wounded fox. However, it still went off quite close to his position delivering a tidal shockwave that made Kimimaro come crashing to the ground. He coughed blood and felt every bone in his body shatter due to the terrible impact. Thankfully, he could create and repair as many of those as he wanted so long as he had chakra.

He glared at the wounded fox and flicked his wrist making the Biju scream in even more agony as this time more monstrous spears impaled his neck and one of his eyes. The important fact was the presence of binding seals on those spears that had immobilized the dangerous beast apart from wounding it very badly.

With one of the two threats neutralized for now, Kimimaro diverted his attention.

To find no sign of the Susanoo warrior or its master.

Kimimaro stretched every last one of his senses in order to discover where the bastard king had went but came empty handed every damn time.

Until...

The ground beneath his feet vanished as a dark portal opened up and sucked him in.

Dark red eyes greeted him and from the darkness of space he saw the massive dragonhead Susanoo about to consume him. The beast's mouth waiting to melt him in a volcano of dark flames.

Knowing there was no escape now, Kimimaro didn't fight against the force pulling him downwards towards the approaching dragon. The beast opened its mouth full of dark flames and Kimimaro coated himself in his own chakra. Yet the cursed flames consumed his own energy like a hungry dragon tearing apart its prey, but the move gave Kimimaro what he needed.

He saw his accursed enemy right in front of him.

Naruto hastily brought up Dawn and blocked Kimimaro's white shaped spear. He could not help but be impressed by his enemy's power and willpower that allowed him to push through the dragon's mouth to reach the Susanoo's heart where Naruto was stationed. But this small victory came at a terrible price...

Kimimaro's body was being consumed in the endless and merciless flames of Amaterasu. The only thing stopping him from melting instantly was his own ancient power and the chakra of Juubi in his veins. Yet his flawless skin was slowly getting destroyed and it won't be long before Kimimaro was destroyed as well.

His arrogance and over-confidence in his invincibility being the cause of his defeat.

Yet the only thing admirable about the Otsutsuki King was his tenacity and fanatic belief which still gave him the strength to fight on despite knowing that his end was near.

He did not curse Naruto for the trickery nor cry out in rage.

Kimimaro only stared at him with cold eyes that promised only one thing.

Death.

Kimimaro charged and held back his scream as Naruto's Mangekyo swirled again shrouding his entire body in a flameball of Amaterasu heat.

Blood erupted from Naruto's eyes and he fought back the pain viciously as his vision started to turn slightly hazy. Yet his senses were working perfectly which gave him the necessary warning.

He slashed Dawn forward and destroyed the few bone shards launched by Kimimaro followed by the final bone sphere launched by the dying man.

His eyes widened when using the last of his strength, the burning Kimimaro appeared right before him.

CRACK!

Kimimaro weakly grinned as the dark flames burning his body died away instantly just as his chakra powered fist collided right over Naruto's heart.

Shock and pain were the only two emotions in the King's eyes as he felt nearly every muscle around his heart be targeted not to mention his prized blood pumping vessel giving out a horrible cracking sound.

"All...men...must...die...but...I...curse...you...to...die...of...a...broken...heart!" whispered Kimimaro,

He was surprised when despite the direct lethal strike to heart, Naruto roared in fury before plunging his ancestral sword straight into Kimimaro's own heart.

The Otsutsuki didn't scream or grunt but only gave out a weary sigh that finally marked the end of his long life. Even as the holy power from Dawn destroyed him, there was no remorse or regret in those eyes.

Until the very end, the flame of conviction burned in Kimimaro's gaze before it was extinguished from the world and plunged into the eternal darkness of the dark portal.

Naruto spat blood and felt his control over the Susanoo start to be disrupted. Clenching his chest that was burning in immense pain he brought Dawn closer to himself and relished the pure energy that seeped into his body, one that momentarily halted the pain and allowed him to summon his chakra.

Even as the Susanoo vanished and the last trace of the Otsutsuki King were consumed in the endless dark portal, Naruto used his Mangekyo to teleport away.

He opened his eyes again when he felt himself land upon solid ground.

A bizarre sight awaited him.

Thousands of souls could be seen departing from earth as the dead corpses they were anchored to started falling apart as the dark power that bound them no longer existed with Kimimaro's death.

He saw Hashirama and Tsunade bid a tearful farewell to Itama as he vanished away.

Thousands of more ninjas were doing the same for their lost friends and family.

Kurama was gingerly rising out of the now disappearing field of spears that had previously wounded and trapped him. With Kimimaro's death their power had also vanished giving the beast his freedom. But he looked heavily wounded and was barely able to limp until Hashirama and Tsunade alongside several more healers came rushing towards him.

The remaining Otsutsuki warriors were all hanging from tall branches of a monstrous tree as a stark proof of Hashirama's rage over the killing of his beloved brother. To make it worse, all those ancient warriors appeared to be beaten to a bloody pulp by Tsunade before she commanded Katsuyu to drench their dead bodies in acid making them barely unrecognizable.

Ours is the Fury.

Whoever developed the words of the Senju clan knew them better than anyone else.

He collapsed to his knees as fatigue washed over him. It was less physical than emotional as he remembered the things he discovered about the world and more importantly...about himself.

Kimimaro didn't want him on the Otsutsuki side just for his power. He had wanted Naruto to join him for he knew the Dragon King would cross every boundary to protect the ones he loved. He was not the strongest fighter in the history of mankind but he was one of the most smartest and creative ones.

There was a great darkness lurking deep inside of him...waiting to be unleashed.

He might have resisted it this time but to think that he even thought about the idea of turning against his own race if only to protect his own family...unnerved him.

Being a King was not something he had wanted...but now that he was one a lot of people depended on him.

And he almost failed them today.

He looked up when he felt the presence.

Time stopped for him as he watched her bathed in her familiar light and warmth as she knelt before him. His pain and fears were easy enough for her to see through his troubled gaze.

"Naori..." he whispered sadly, as he tried to touch her cheek only for his hand to go through her earning a look of longing from him but she gave him a small smile as she sent tingling sensations across his cheek by making her ethereal hand pass through it.

"You did well today" she said in proud but faint voice, and it was then he saw that she was fading away just like the other souls that were freed from the Otsutsuki's control.

"No!"

He lunged for her shoulders in order to grab her but only went through her and crashed on the ground. Naori looked at him with a sad but firm gaze.

"You have to be strong...no matter how much it hurts" she insisted, earning a heartbreaking look from him.

"I...cannot...watch...the...people...I...love...die...before...me. I...can't...let...them...go...away" he confessed sadly, and she felt his desire to go to any lengths to stop that from happening.

Naori knelt before him again.

"It is never easy for anyone, not even you. But it is not the end...remember our clan's last words for our departed?" she asked gently,

Naruto blinked.

"From the ashes we shall rise again" he whispered,

Realization dawned on him just as she looked at the skies where another portal had emerged. There were many people with Uchiha features looking down at them. Naruto didn't know any of them but Naori had tears of joy falling from her eyes as she stared at them.

She looked back at him one last time and despite his own sadness, he could not help but give her a reassuring smile when he saw the happiness in her eyes.

"I go to my father's...where I shall find peace again"

Her words whispered in the air like a final breath of fragrance as her soul vanished away towards the portal.

Naruto stared at the vanishing form of her light until she disappeared completely.

"Farewell...mother''