Shinigami in the Ninja World

The sudden, unexpected turn of events caught everyone off guard.

In the sky, Madara Uchiha lowered his gaze, staring at Naruto with a mix of shock and realization.

"The price..."

So this was the price.

From the beginning, Naruto had seen it.

He was right. The power had blinded Madara, transforming him from a brilliant strategist into a fool.

Something began to stir deep within Madara's soul.

With a low hum, Madara's body expanded and then burst apart, like a balloon filled to its breaking point. Yet, his soul didn't leave his body. Instead, it transformed into something new—his soul and consciousness became the nourishment for "something else." That being, which had been sealed in the moon, was reborn but didn't linger in the "Infinite Tsukuyomi" world. It disappeared in an instant before anyone could even glimpse its appearance.

"What was that?" Hashirama Senju asked, looking up.

Some ninja, such as his student Kakashi Hatake, had collapsed unconscious, while others remained standing, just like him and a few others.

This didn't seem related to strength. Kakashi was an elite ninja, comparable to the Third Hokage in his prime, yet many of those who remained conscious weren't as strong as Kakashi.

"She's been resurrected," Kurama murmured.

Naruto wasn't surprised. He raised his hand and, with a light touch, gathered the power of the Six Paths at his fingertips, tearing open a dark rift in space—a portal to the "real world."

Just as Naruto was about to step through and leave this world, Minato called out.

"Naruto, can I call you that?"

Naruto turned back, silently watching him.

Minato took a deep breath. "Can you tell us what's really going on?"

Naruto shook his head. "There's no time."

"But..." Minato paused, extending his hand. The void pulling at this world seemed to stir the winds and clouds at his touch. "Once this is over, you'll all know the truth."

Minato nodded, smiling softly. "Alright."

Naruto didn't linger any longer and stepped through the portal.

The cocoon enveloping him quivered slightly before tearing open. Naruto emerged, but the power that had restrained him in the Tsukuyomi world didn't carry over into reality.

He reassembled his body and surveyed his surroundings.

In the short time he had been gone, the world hadn't changed much, though the God Tree had grown stronger. The sky remained dark, with the Rinne Sharingan, bearing nine tomoe, still hanging high in the heavens.

A woman with long hair floated in the air beneath the moon. Like Madara, she bore a blood-red Rinne Sharingan on her forehead, but her eyes were Byakugan.

She was the one sealed in the moon, the mother of the Sage of Six Paths—Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

In her sleeve, a mass of black ooze, Black Zetsu, spoke incessantly. "Mother, this man, Naruto Uzumaki, is the final obstacle. Be careful! He's powerful, wielding a force unlike any ninja."

Black Zetsu recounted everything it had learned over the years, detailing Naruto's strange abilities—the odd sword, the unique techniques far removed from chakra.

Kurama emerged from behind Naruto, radiating white light, his expression grim. "Madara was nothing compared to her."

"So, this is the source of all chakra?" Naruto asked, gripping his sword, Vortex.

His gaze fell on the black mass hidden in Kaguya's sleeve.

That presence... He had felt it once before, long ago. It was when he had first met Karin and left Konoha, heading to the Land of Whirlpools. The same presence lingered on that beach.

It was none other than Zetsu from the Akatsuki organization.

So, it called this woman "Mother."

Zetsu had schemed behind Madara's back, deceiving him. Its true identity was Kaguya's child? How unbelievable.

"A power unlike chakra?" Kaguya's gaze shifted to Naruto, especially to his feet. "Does it also come from outside this world?"

Veins bulged around her Byakugan as she scanned Naruto's body. Yet, there was no flesh, no chakra pathways, nothing she could see.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, catching a key word—"also"?

What did that mean?

Had she, too, considered that chakra, like his power, might have come from another world? But there was no other evidence, aside from its sudden appearance, to support that theory.

"No matter," Kaguya said coldly, raising her hand. "This land is my most precious garden, and I won't allow it to be destroyed further. Let me end you."

With her words, the space around them began to warp and twist. In the blink of an eye, the world turned inside out, as though they were trapped in a pocket dimension.

Ice and snow blasted against them.

Kurama shivered, glancing around. "An illusion?"

"No, it's real," Naruto said, immediately sensing the difference. He wasn't affected by genjutsu since he didn't possess chakra, and the spatial distortion was unmistakable.

"Freeze," Kaguya commanded, clenching her fist.

The icy winds intensified, freezing the air around Naruto as frost began to spread.

Naruto loosened his grip on his sword. "Disrupt it, Vortex."

The blade whipped up a storm, shattering the layers of ice.

However...

In this space, things were different. The ice and snow were under Kaguya's control. Naruto's Vortex had to fight her for dominance, only managing to claim control over a portion of the wind.

"Our battle area is shrinking," Kurama observed, attempting to summon the power of the Six Paths from within the sword. But much of the tailed beasts' chakra recognized Naruto rather than Kurama, so the fox couldn't access it. "Naruto, I need your help."

Kaguya squinted as she studied the wind currents Naruto had seized. Even her Byakugan couldn't see through that energy.

Naruto raised his second sword.

"Bankai, Second Form."

"Three Evils, Three Virtues: Maha Six Paths."

The power of the other eight tailed beasts, stored within the blade, surged and poured into Kurama.

Unlike the Bankai mode used in the Tsukuyomi world, this time the power wasn't for Naruto's own use.

Kurama laughed, leaping off Naruto's shoulder. Its body expanded until it stood over a hundred meters tall.

Like Naruto in the Tsukuyomi world, Kurama underwent a transformation. It was now clad in a golden robe, with broad sleeves and six tomoe adorning its collar and cuffs, radiating a dazzling brilliance. The Uzumaki Clan symbol was emblazoned on its abdomen.

"I've been branded by you, huh?" Kurama grumbled, touching the symbol on its stomach before drawing its own sword.

Naruto remained silent.

"That's... Hagoromo's power," Kaguya's expression shifted dramatically. "You plan to seal me away again like before, don't you?"

From within her sleeve, Black Zetsu hissed, "How dare a child betray his mother like this!"

"This time, I won't allow it!" Kaguya's voice cracked with fury as she glared at Kurama. "Chakra belongs to me!"

With a flick of her sleeve, black tendrils shot out, wrapping around Kurama's massive body.

Kurama paid no mind, as the attack seemed insignificant compared to its size.

But unexpectedly, the moment those black tendrils coiled around one of its tails, Kurama's entire body froze, paralyzed with a tingling sensation. Chakra was being siphoned through the tendrils, flowing directly into Kaguya.

Naruto raised a finger.

"Hadō #4. Byakurai (白雷, Pale Lightning)."

A bolt of white lightning severed the tendrils, freeing Kurama.

The black tendrils writhed before retreating into Kaguya's sleeve.

"Damn you!" she snarled at Naruto, spinning around and lifting both hands. "You will die! You won't interfere with my plans anymore."

Her fingers twisted unnaturally, reminding Naruto of Kimimaro, Orochimaru's subordinate with the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit.

With a sharp crack, bone arrows shot from her fingertips.

"All-Killing Ash Bones."

They flew at blinding speed, cutting through the air.

Naruto swung his sword, Vortex.

But this time, things were different. Kaguya, as the source of all chakra, wielded a power greater than anyone Naruto had ever faced.

Vortex worked, eroding the bone arrows.

Yet the bones continued to press forward, their speed barely slowing, their size shrinking but still maintaining momentum. The distance between them was too short—within a second or two, they had already closed in on Naruto.

By the time the All-Killing Ash Bones reached him, they were still about a third of their original size.

Golden light flashed.

"Flying Thunder God Technique."

Naruto had no intention of taking the attack head-on. The technique activated, and he vanished, leaving an afterimage in his place. The bone arrows struck the mountain of ice behind him, instantly reducing it to dust, vaporizing it into nothingness.

Kurama lunged, raising its massive Zanpakuto, slashing down at Kaguya.

The blade whistled through the air, carrying unstoppable force.

Kaguya glanced up, and behind her, a rift in space appeared, much like a Garganta. She slipped into the rift and disappeared.

"Yomotsu Hirasaka."

This was the spatial teleportation ability of the Rinne Sharingan with nine tomoe.

Kurama's blade struck the ice, spreading cracks like a spiderweb.

"Where did she go? Does she have abilities like the Hollows?" Kurama grumbled. It had fought Hollows before, and nothing was more annoying than their Sonido—an instant teleportation that made them hard to track.

Naruto said nothing, standing on Kurama's shoulder, before turning his head sharply.

Space rippled behind them.

Then, a faint trace of Kaguya's presence emerged.

Naruto moved, using Shunpo, and unleashed the force of Vortex.

As the portal of Yomotsu Hirasaka opened, Kaguya seemed to walk straight into Vortex's force.

The wind, sharp as a blade, cut through her body, eroding her flesh. Her face was the first to disappear, followed by her arms and torso.

Even her chakra began to dissipate, scattering bit by bit.

Kaguya let out a pained cry, raising her hand to open Yomotsu Hirasaka once more.

But the interference with her chakra prevented her from succeeding for several attempts.

She glared furiously as her body rapidly dissolved, vanishing in an instant.

"Did you kill her?" Kurama turned to look, surprised.

This...

It almost felt too easy, especially considering the overwhelming power she had displayed at the start, far surpassing Madara.

"No," Naruto shook his head, scanning the surroundings. "Kurama, check again."

Kurama hesitated, then its eyes widened in disbelief.

Kaguya had vanished.

But within the fifty-meter radius surrounding Naruto, her presence was everywhere.

She wasn't there, yet she was everywhere at once.

"Has she fused with this space?" Kurama immediately recognized what had happened, lowering its voice. "What now? Do we destroy this entire dimension?"

Naruto turned his gaze in a specific direction.

Kaguya reappeared, her eyes burning with hatred as she glared at him.

If looks could kill, Naruto would have been shredded into pieces a thousand times over by now.

"How painful," Kaguya muttered softly. "To possess such power."

"But it's useless against me."

In the blink of an eye, her body had almost fully recovered, with her flesh regenerating and her limbs restored.

"It seems none of this is effective against you," Kaguya raised her hands. "Let's move to a different place."

The space twisted in response to her words.

The pocket dimension flipped once more, but they didn't return to the real world. Instead, they entered another space, a landscape of deep green, like jagged blocks stacked unevenly.

Gravity intensified, pulling them down with brutal force.

It took more of their spiritual energy or chakra just to float.

"Naruto, your attacks don't work?" Kurama asked in disbelief, astonished by the situation.

Despite Vortex hitting Kaguya directly, it had been ineffective.

Naruto pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I was wondering why the Sage of Six Paths sealed his mother."

"I thought maybe he couldn't bring himself to kill her."

"But now I think it's because, as the source of chakra, as long as chakra exists, she can't die."

~~~

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