“Hinata. Neji. Do either of you see anything?” Shikamaru asks, rubbing snowflakes out of his hair.
Hopping through the trees, the strategist leads a team composed of Naruto, Hinata, Neji, and Ino on a mission to rescue Hanabi from a mysterious figure with pale skin and white hair; they are currently traversing through a forested area, covered in snow due it being the Winter season. The group had just passed by a waterfall.
Upon hearing the next head of the Nara Clan’s request, the Hyugas activate their Byakugan, greatly enhancing their field of vision; the veins around their eyes bulge and the look in their eyes become much fiercer.
“I see a cave just up ahead.” Hinata reports.
Neji adds to the report with, “And I see a glowing spring at the bot–!”
A perplexed Shikamaru watches as both sensory shinobi wince, reeling back as they massage their temples; both look as if they just had a massive migraine.
“What’s wrong?”
“It felt as if someone just entered my mind and… dug through my memories.” Hinata describes what she just went through.
“I felt the same thing,” Neji says, squinting his eyes. “But I was able to see into their mind, and what I saw was–”
“RAAAAAAAWWWRRR!” Something ominously releases an earth-shattering roar from behind the group.
The team all look back and are shocked to see a massive dragon flying just above the forest canopy. It has glistening white scales; the creature would blend in perfectly with the snow if it wasn’t for its glowing silver markings. The eleven horns on its head are positioned in such a way that they resemble a crown. There is what appears to be a large, blue, pearl-like scale just under the center-most horn, between its majestic blue eyes.
What is even more shocking is that there is someone actually riding on the back of this dragon of light; this pale-skinned individual wears a black cloak with a red cloud pattern.
Shikamaru silently watches in awe as the dragon zips right past them.
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Inside the dark cave, Jin treks through the cavern; stalactites can be seen covering the entire cave ceiling, except for the kanji stone carving at the vaulting center. The only sources of light are from the Light Genryu which walks right behind him and this ethereal spring; the water's blue-green glow reminds the Onikage of the gelel ore his village has been mining in the Land of Wind for the past year and some change.
“You can power down anytime now.” Jin informs; his Rinnegan glow red with his rage.
“Oh, yeah,” The Dragon replies. “Hang on a sec.”
The reptile begins to shrink in size; its wings, horns, and tail all retract, receding back into his body and he takes on a more mammalian appearance, a more human appearance. It is Rito.
“Being a dragon is actually pretty gnarly.” The young genius remarks, pleased with himself.
It’s at this moment when both storm shinobi feel something grab hold of them tightly. However, what’s strange is that it doesn’t feel like it has any real substance to it; they both look down and see an entirely separate shadow has connected to theirs, holding them in place. They look back and are underwhelmed by who they see.
“Shadow Possession complete,” A crouched Shikamaru smirks; he’s weaving the Rat hand sign. “It’s been a while… What’s up?”
To no one’s surprise, the rest of the strategist’s team appears at his side; due to this unexpected meeting, they are unsure of what to do next, but the young Nara continues to hold the seal. Tensions have slowly started to rise.
“Don’t interfere!” The Onikage coldly leers.
Neither Jin nor Rito move, there is no need to as the Onikage simply flexes his chakra; the shadow binding them turns into black glass and shatters instantly, disappearing into nothingness.
“I’m very irritated right now… Don’t. Test. Me.”
Rito claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Before someone (Naruto) does something stupid, let’s compare notes. Jin and I are here because some idiot went and kidnapped our friend, Ayanami.”
“We’re here because someone kidnapped Hanabi.” Naruto shares. “Maybe we’re all after the same person. We should join forces.”
So, Toneri went after Hanabi anyway, but… why would he go after Ayanami then? The only reason I can think of is…! For a brief moment, Jin’s eyes widen, his anger intensifies. “…I’m willing to cooperate, so long as you don’t get in my way.”
“So, we’re headed to whatever’s on the other side of this water?” Naruto asks while he walks up to Jin and stands at his side.
Just as the hero takes off his green scarf, out of the corner of his eye, the Onikage notices Hinata’s head drooping with sadness.
“That scarf… A keepsake from your mother, Kushina?” Jin queries, making conversation; his gaze remains fixed on the mysterious water.
Naruto nods his head, smiling. “Yeah, it is! Konohamaru found it in Lord 3rd’s things.”
Through his peripheral vision, the storm ninja can see Hinata brighten up some; she smiles ever so slightly.
“Jin, how do you know that…?” A suspicious Ino questions with a raised eyebrow.
“Call it a lucky guess.” Jin responds just before jumping into the spring. Hmmm… It seems Naruto didn’t tell them about how they’re all fictional…
The rest of the group dives in after him. As they descend, Jin takes flight and Rito grows a pair of white, draconic chakra wings and flies while the leaf ninjas all swim; the two make sure to avoid coming into contact with all the massive green orbs they pass by as they are a genjutsu trap that uses one’s own memories as a weapon.
The Onikage takes one look back and sees that Naruto and Hinata have been caught in one of the orbs; the two are unconscious with kunoichi’s red scarf wrapping around the hero.
Can’t believe I’m playing Cupid. These fucking people… Jin mutters as he sprouts a pair of chakra arms.
The Onikage drags them both out of the orb and injects the two with chakra; he claps his hands together and has some of his chakra flow into them, disrupting their chakra flows; Naruto and Hinata eyes pop open, confused as to what just transpired.
“Don’t touch the orbs,” Jin says, warning them. “They house a genjutsu that turns your own memories against you, trapping you in the process.”
“Thank you, Ji--Lord Jin.” Hinata bows politely.
“You can thank me by helping me save the others.” With a blank face, Jin points back with his thumb.
The two lovebirds look past the Onikage and see that the rest of their party has each been caught by the orbs.
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Hella weird that we’re not wet despite swimming through that water… Jin thinks to himself as reaches the other side. …Freaky.
After rescuing the team from the genjutsu orbs, Naruto and fell behind to talk while the rest of the party went on ahead; they find themselves on the other side of the spring which turns out to be another spring. However, the mystical body of water is surrounded by what appears to be dormant genjutsu orbs.
Now… Where IS that area guardian? The Onikage ponders while scanning the area. ♪…Oh, gatekeeper, where are you…? ♫ Oh, there he is!
*BOOM* *CRASH*
Like clockwork the creature that guards this area, a giant blue fiddler crab with red splotches on the larger of its asymmetrical pincers, erupts from the ground; it takes several steps forward, spewing forth a violent stream of bubbles from its mouth in a waterfall-like fashion.
While leaping out of the line of fire, Shikamaru shouts, “Don’t pop the bu–”
“Oi, Jin! Let’s go with that combo!” Rito yells to his friend as he infuses chakra.
“Yeah!”
Charging toward the giant crab, the Onikage creates a single shadow clone; the two Jins around the beast in opposite directions, keeping it distracted by throwing black rods.
While this is going on, the genius punches the ground, channeling chakra into the entire area; the top layer of rocks and the piles of bubbles all turn into individual quartz particles, sand. Rito has the sand erupt, uppercutting the crab into the air; the sand covers the creature while keeping it airborne, gradually taking the shape of a sphere with multiple cracks and openings. The Jins get into formation, circling around it.
“Fire Style: Searing Migraine.” One Jin opens his maw, unleashing a giant firestorm into the openings.
The crab is scorched alive as it is engulfed by the intense flames; it thrashes around wildly in the air as the sand continues to smother it.
“Wind Style: Divine Down Current.” The other Jin thrusts his hands forward, shooting off a vortex of wind.
The wind jutsu blasts the gatekeeper, fanning the flames into a blazing inferno; the giant crab screams in an agonizing panic as the sand covering it proceeds to melt, turning into a lava-like substance. The molten sand completely covers the giant crab, taking the form of a giant floating orb; the orb glows several shades of red and orange due to the absurd heat it is emitting.
The Storm Village engineer clenches his fist dramatically. “Crystal Style: Burning Sand Coffin!!”
The ball of molten sand instantly shrinks in size, it now resembles a very small sun; it detonates in a brilliant fashion, resembling the climax of a fireworks display.
Descending back to the ground, Jin dispels his shadow clone; the leaf ninjas are amazed by how quickly the beast was defeated. The village leader turns and sees his friend, Rito, standing next to him with the biggest smile.
“Don’t ya just LOVE a good collab?” The genius scientist holds out his fist.
Maintaining a cold stoicism, the Onikage reaches out and fist bumps his best friend. “We need to rescue ‘Nami… oh, and Hanabi too. Let’s move on.”
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A day later, the party has stumbled across some ancient ruins, a city that must easily be centuries old if not a millennium by this point; Shikamaru had made the suggestion to split up and take a closer look.
If it were under different circumstances, Jin would be marveling at the scenery and architecture, he probably would have found a muse. The Onikage is currently trekking through an underground passageway as if he’s been here before; he sends out chakra with each step he takes like how a bat uses echolocation to see, giving him a three-dimensional map of the ruins.
“Uh, Jin?” A familiar voice says from behind.
The storm ninja looks back only to see his cousin, Ino Yamanaka; based purely on her facial expression, he detects a mix of concern and awkwardness.
“Whatever’s on your mind, walk and talk.” Jin gestures by cocking his head.
The two silently begin to walk together down the chasm of ruins, an awkward tension fills the dust-ridden air; a full two minutes pass before she finally says something.
“I found something in my house,” Ino explains while rummaging through her bag. “And though you should have it. I thought it’d cheer you up.”
The kunoichi hands over an old photograph to Jin who looks at it; he sees a red-headed man and a blonde woman brimming with love and happiness as they hold their baby. If the Onikage was truly part of this world and not a reincarnation, he would have jumped with joy at the mere sight of this pic, but Jin is not, and he doesn’t; all he sees are two complete strangers that just so happen to be the ones who brought him into this world.
Ino continues with a smile. “Don’t worry so much, we’ll get them–”
“Worry? WORRY? Worry is far too small a word for what I am; one of my friends was sent to the hospital, another friend was kidnapped, and the world might end, again… The Earth’s surface area is nearly 200 million square miles; if the word ‘fear’ were engraved on each and every picometer of those hundreds of millions of miles, it would not equal 1 billionth of what I feel at THIS instant. Were I a weaker man, I think… I would die of it…”
Consumed by his emotions, Jin had unknowingly let down his walls, allowing Ino to see a piece of who he truly was inside, but before he can continue his monologue, he feels Ino swiftly wrap her arms around him tightly; her warm embrace stuns him, leaving him absolutely speechless.
The Onikage wraps his arms around her, returning the hug. “Th-Thank you, and sorry.”
“You got nothing to be sorry about.” Ino says reassuringly; she looks at him with eyes full of compassion and determination. “We’ll save Ayanami AND the world, together.”
“Together.”
“Well, isn’t THIS just a wholesome display!” Rito says, appearing out of nowhere; he leans against the wall with arms folded, wearing a coy grin.
Jin releases his cousin and takes several steps back: his face blushes despite him wearing a poker face. “Way to ruin the moment, bro.”
“While you two were in the middle of your ‘moment,’ Shikamaru and the others found something. Let’s go!” The smug genius makes air quotes. “Some puppet-man called Hinata the Byakugan Princess!”
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“...I said I love you.” Naruto reiterates.
A day later, at night, the hero confesses his newfound affection towards the kunoichi of the Hyuga Clan; the bright full moon along with the fireflies hovering about makes for a romantic ambiance. Unbeknownst to them, Jin and Rito hide in a tree, waiting patiently to strike.
Any second now… Jin quietly broods, cringing.
The Onikage watches the two ninjas silently look each other in the eyes; he can feel a subtle tension rise between them. Hinata tightens her grip on the scarf she’s been knitting for the entirety of the mission.
Naruto wears a strong yet weak expression as he leans in closer. “Hinata…”
The alert Jin detects a foreign chakra signature coming their way, but something about it feels oddly familiar. To everyone but the storm ninjas’ surprise, a platform ominously descends with a pale-skinned young man at the helm; Jin can’t help but find his advent to be quite gauche.
“Toneri! Or are you just another puppet?!” Naruto growls, balling his fists, ready for a fight. “Where’re Ayanami and Hanabi?!”
The Otsutsuki opens his eyes, unveiling the piercing-blue gaze of the Tenseigan. “Silence. I came to hear Hinata’s--”
“--No one gives a flying fuck about what YOU want, asshole!” A snarling Jin interrupts, making his presence known.
With glowing red Rinnegan, the Onikage suddenly appears at the hero’s side with Rito getting in front of the elder Hyuga sister; his expression to abject horror and disgust when senses the chakra coming from Toneri’s dojutsu, Ayanami’s chakra; his blood becomes ice-cold.
“Where’d you get those eyes from? Where’s Ayanami?!” Jin questions in a low growl, scowling; his entire body shakes with rage and his Rinne Sharingan opens. “You WILL answer me!!”
One of the Otsutsuki’s puppets comes out of hiding and makes a dash for the Onikage who doesn’t bother to move; the marionette winds back its arm and throws a mighty punch only to make contact with a brightly glowing golden-yellow rib cage; Jin has just activated his Susano’o.
The rib cage sprouts an arm which grabs hold of the puppet, bringing it closer to the vengeful storm shinobi. “I will end you!”
A small army of puppets make appear out of nowhere, surrounding the group. Jin forms a Rasengan while Naruto and Rito leap to safety, carrying Hinata away; the Onikage shoves his jutsu into the captured enemy just as the other puppets swarm him. However, the storm ninja’s attack detonates on impact, engulfing all the marionettes in a massive, spiraling explosion.
With the Body Flicker technique, Jin enhances his speed and vanishes, quickly reappearing right behind Toneri, in the air; he throws a roundhouse kick, but the Otsutsuki raises a fist and blocks it. However, Toneri’s eyes twitch ever-so-slightly as if they are in pain, and Jin takes notice of this.
Oh, RIGHT… the bastard only just got the Tenseigan… A devilish grin forms on the Onikage’s face; he takes great satisfaction in knowing this. …Good. That’ll make killing him much easier…
While Jin has their foe’s attention, Rito brandishes a crystalline ax and lunges for him. However, Toneri holds out his right hand which has begun to glow cyan-green; it produces a green orb of chakra that is fired directly at the genius.
“DON’T LET IT TOUCH YOU!!!”
The hero, Naruto, comes flying into the action and immediately shoves Rito out of the way; he counters the orb with a Rasengan, but Toneri’s attack casually absorbs Naruto’s and then goes straight through him, taking a large portion of his own chakra with it.
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“Everyone! Don’t panic! We’ve prepared for this!”
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Mileena is shouting toward the panicked masses who run for shelter, trying her best to calm them down; they are all terrified as chunks of the moon have just broken off and are currently falling toward the planet as a giant meteor shower.
Fear, confusion, and hopeless anger have taken hold over the people; little children can be seen crying as the scared adults shove their way to safety.
The symbiote reaches out with the Mind Transmission Jutsu. “Bando, the time has come. Activate the defenses!”
“Yes, Lady Mileena. Your will is my command.”
*VWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM*
The crowd is dead silent with confusion as a mysterious and intensely loud, low hum reverberates throughout the entire village; the ground vibrates gently like a smartphone; the outer village walls suddenly light up, charging with energy.
*KZZT* *KZZT*
*ZZZOOOOOOORRCH*
A bright veil of bluish-green energy is emitted from the tips of each of the outer walls’ towers, shooting out over the entirety of the Hidden Storm Village; this energy blankets the village and all its residents in a hermetically sealed dome; only voices and low energy photons can pass through it.
In the night sky, raging-hot meteors come streaking in, entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Under normal circumstances, this phenomenon would be perceived as a beautifully majestic spectacle, but not this time; all these falling stars bring are the end of days.
*KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM*
Each shooting star slams hard against the barrier, shattering into pebbles. Seeing the dome hold, the people have stopped panicking; they are left in awe as they feel the weight of the meteors crash and shatter against the shield.
*KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM*
“DO YOU SEE?!” Mileena shouts, getting everyone’s attention; she’s perched on a tower so that all can see her. “THIS IS THE PRODUCT OF ALL OF OUR EFFORTS--EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US! YOU ARE SAFE HERE! YOU ARE ALL SAFE HERE!!”
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“What are you doing up?!” Amaru, the doctor, chastises. “You should be in bed with those injuries!”
“I heal fast.” Jaeger replies curtly as he watches the barrier in action. …Reverse engineered Land of Sky tech, powered by the gelel mineral… Tough stuff to reckon with.
As the blonde reincarnation watches the massive shield protect the village from the oncoming meteors, he is quick to notice that the other mechanism isn’t being deployed; he reaches for his phone and makes a call.
*KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM*
“HELLO?” Mecha-Naruto answers on the other side of the call.
“Hello, it’s Jaeger.”
“OH, MASTER JAEGER! IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU’RE AWAKE! MASTERS JIN AND RITO WILL BE PLEASED WHEN THEY RETURN!!”
*KRAKOOM*
“Yeah-yeah-yeah… I’m looking outside from a hospital window, and what I want to know is why aren’t you putting the Gelel Laser Cannons to use?” Jaeger's voice is filled with worry and frustration. “Isn’t that the whole reason you and Rito scavenged the Land of Sky’s Ancor Vantian?”
“WE ONLY HAD TIME TO GET ONE UP AND RUNNING. JIN GAVE THE ORDER TO FOCUS ON THE BARRIER FOR THE TIME BEING.”
*KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM* *KRAKOOM*
The storm ninja sighs, “I see… Huh?”
The village is suddenly blanketed by a light source more intense than that of the shield. The reincarnation looks up with wide eyes to find a giant meteor headed right for them; this falling star easily dwarfs all the previous ones that came before like something out of a disaster movie; everyone can feel the air become warmer as it gets closer.
“Mein Gott! Are you seeing this?!” The storm shinobi asks with horrified awe.
“YES, YES, I AM. UNFORTUNATELY.”
“Do you think the barrier will hold?”
“UNKNOWN. I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO MAKE AN ACCURATE CALCULATION, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”
Not saying a word, Jaeger hangs up his phone; the storm ninja makes the Tiger hand sign with one hand, building up his chakra; he searches deep within himself, digging up even more chakra from a second source.
♦♦♦♦♦
“Uhh… WHICH Pokémon?” Jin asks, leaning against one of the columns with his arms folded.
Eleven months ago, the two took some time off of training and traveled to the ruins of Roran in the Land of Wind; they are currently beneath the kingdom ruins, in an underground chamber where the Ryūmyaku Ley Line, an ancient source of chakra, resides.
The area is as pitch-black as night with the only light source being a deep violet glow which originates from the ley line itself and the chamber’s altar; the near-infinite chakra of the ley line flows like a river. Mukade, a rogue sand ninja, reactivated the Ryūmyaku when he undid Minato’s seal, but Echo kept it open to harness its power.
“I don’t… know what its name is in America,” Jaeger says, scratching the back of his head. “But what I do know is that it was in one of the earlier Pokémon movies. It was also the title character for… What was that game again…? I dunno… Silver?”
The Onikage stands straight up after hearing that word, giving Jaeger a sinister grin; he holds up both hands, his left glows red with yin chakra while the right glows blue with yang chakra.
The Uzumaki takes a step closer with sparkling eyes. “…Silver? You mean Pokémon: SoulSilver? OHHH… I know exactly who you’re talking about now!”
The whole reason they are here is because the clever Jaeger had the bright idea to use Roran’s chakra ley line to make their own tailed beast; the taijutsu expert is going to be the jinchuriki due to the fact that it was all his idea.
♦♦♦♦♦
“C’mon! Wake up and lend me your strength…!” Jaeger communicates with the beast lurking within. “…This is your big chance to make your father proud. Our time is now… Lugia!”
By tapping into his tailed beast’s chakra, the new jinchuriki feels a surge of power coursing through his entire body, boosting his power several dozens of times: a dense shroud of translucent purple chakra forms across his body with bubbles, reminiscent of boiling liquid. However, instead of growing tails like the other tailed beast cloaks, Jaeger’s sprouts two wings with large, finger-like feathers, giving the appearance of hands.
The jinchuriki bursts out the window and flaps his chakra wings, taking flight; he ascends higher-and-higher, heading straight for the gelel barrier.
Since Jin and Rito are gonna save Ayanami, I’ll do my part and keep the village safe…! The storm ninja grits his teeth, infusing chakra. “Shadow Style: Shadow Down!”
The determined Jaeger holds out his right hand, unleashing a wave of dark, miasmic chakra that temporarily weakens a small area of the barrier; the storm ninja soars and punches straight through the weakened portion of the dome and continues to make his way upward.
Like a comet, Jaeger streaks through the sky to meet the colossal meteor; the surrounding air temperature gradually gets hotter and hotter as he gets closer; the ninja stretches his fists out in front of himself, and keeps his mouth shut tight.
*THRAKKA-BRAKKA-BA-DOOM!!*
The jinchuriki rams into the meteor as hard as he can, breaking it clean in two; one half shatters into countless pieces while the other is still on a direct course for the Storm Village.
“Scheiße!” Jaeger swiftly whips around and weaves the Bird seal. “Typhoon Style: Aeroblast!!”
*FFWWOOOOOOOSSSH!!*
A raging wind funnel surrounds the storm shinobi who thrusts his hands forward, firing off a powerful and destructive, storming vortex; he watches with great satisfaction as his tornado jets out, slamming into the meteor and grinding it into pebbles.
“Whew… Like I’d let some glorified space rock get the better of us.” The storm jinchuriki breathes a sigh of relief.
Now that the immediate threat has passed, for now, Jaeger takes a moment to gaze longingly at the moon; he feels an influx of emotions while he stares at the large satellite--rage, worry, and determination to list a few; blood drips from his fists due to clenching them so tightly…
“Please save her. Jin. Rito… Ihr beide solltet besser nicht versagen.”