Still in his dragon form, Rito hastily soars through the air, making his way back the group; he does not fully understand why, but he has this inkling feeling gnawing at the back of his head, a premonition that something terrible is about occur, and that his brother, Jin is at the crux of it. With his excellent vision, the genius quickly spots who he was searching for and quickly dives toward her.
“Ayanami!” Rito lands before her with a loud thud.
“Rito, there was a HUGE tremor,” The blind kunoichi wobbles as her friend scoops her up in his large, scaly hand. “Like, only a few seconds ago. What was that?”
“Jin’s had a blue with Toneri, and a bloody gnarly one at that.”
(Author’s note: Apparently, ‘blue’ is Australian slang for ‘fight.’)
While explaining their current situation the storm village engineer hurriedly but gently lifts up his friend to the back of his neck.
“Why are you in such a rush? Where are you taking me?” Ayanami asks while carefully climbing onto the nape of the dragon’s neck.
Rito answers with, “I don’t know why exactly, but I have this sinking feeling that the big one is about to happen.”
Ayanami sighs, “Jin?”
“Jin.” With a nod, the genius confirms, curtly.
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“NNOOOOOOOO!!”
Jin quietly stands over Toneri who’s screeching due to having the eyes plucked from his sockets; he looks down on his defeated enemy writhing in agony, with his dreams and ambitions shattered; he should feel some semblance of triumph. Instead, all the storm ninja feels is rage.
“Y-You dare…?!” The Otsutsuki youth growls, gritting his teeth.
With a cold expression, the Onikage gets on top of him while discarding his sage transformation. “Yes, yes, I do dare.”
Keeping his knees on the downed Toneri’s arms to prevent him from fighting back, Jin leans over him and uses the Asura Path; two extra pairs of arms sprout from his body, the lower pair of arms seize hold of the Otsutsuki’s neck, strangling him while the upper pair pummel his face with no sign of stopping; each time he pounds away at his foe, the ground shakes briefly.
“The world will be better without you.” Jin coldly remarks as blood splatters onto his face. Nobody threatens MY home and lives! Nobody…!
The man beneath him put Jaeger in the hospital, he kidnapped Ayanami and mutilated her, he tried to wipe out all life on the planet. Jin’s blood. Jin’s bones. Jin’s brain. They’re all screaming at him to make sure that this deluded piece of alien garbage is not a threat to anyone ever again; every fiber of his being wants nothing more than to drown Toneri in a pool of his own blood.
The young Otsutsuki struggles to the best of his abilities but is ultimately fruitless. He stops fidgeting, but the Storm Shinobi can still feel his throat fighting to open its windpipe.
Paradoxically, there is a momentary pause, but only briefly; a quiet Jin ominously raises his bloodied fist only for it to ignite with chakra; a brilliant blue current of electricity courses throughout his hand. Death by asphyxiation, death by beating, death by Chidori; there really isn’t much difference. However, the thought of using Sasuke’s signature technique to finish off this scum feels more satisfactory to the Onikage.
“Wait!” A familiar voice says from behind. “Don’t kill him.”
Appalled, Jin looks back and sees Rito and Ayanami.
“And why should I? This piece of shit tried to destroy the planet. That’s attempted mass genocide AND Mundicide.”
“We need him alive. He may still have info on the Otsutsuki Clan.” The genius argues, adamantly.
“No, he doesn’t,” The village leader refutes, coldly shaking his head. “Until Momoshiki comes to Earth, this idiot will honestly believe he’s the sole surviving member of the clan. If you go and tell me I’ll be no better than he is, I will hit you.”
Taking a step forward, Rito goes on to expound himself by saying, “This one’s different, I can just feel it. I’m afraid this kill might turn you into Sasuke back when we attacked the 5 Kage Summit! Ayanami, back me up.”
Lingering tensions rise as the brothers’ anticipating gaze falls on the blind kunoichi; they silently and eagerly wait for the contemplating Hyuga to give her opinion on the matter; the suspense has become thick enough to drown someone.
“I can’t make you do anything, it’s your choice,” Ayanami finally speaks up. “Just make sure it’s a choice you can live with.”
These words hit Jin like a shot in the arm, making him lower his fist, reluctantly; his mind races, questioning on why he wants to put Toneri six feet under. Memories flood his thoughts; he sees Sasuke running Karin through in order to kill Danzo, Kratos tearing Greece apart to get to Zeus, and Zemos murdering whoever it took to break up the Avengers.
No… I won’t let my rage consume me. Not like them…! The Onikage takes a deep breath, composing himself; his Rinnegan return to their usual purple hue. “If I really do go off the deep end… I’m trusting you guys to stop me by ANY means necessary.”
To Rito and Ayanami’s shock, a now calm and collected Jin suddenly raises up his Chidori-infused hand once more, winding it back; he slams his fist down with great force, punching a hole clean through the Otsutsuki’s head; when he pulls his hand out of Toneri’s skull, chunks of squished gray matter stick to his knuckles.
“Ayanami…” Rising to his feet, the Onikage closes his eyes and takes another deep breath. “Sorry in advance for any discomfort you may experience.”
Confused, the kunoichi’s head tilts to one side. “Hmm? Discomfort…? What are you--what the–?!”
Unbeknownst to the group, Jin had used the Naraka Path to summon the King of Hell who startled the Hyuga by latching onto her with his tongue; he opens his maw wide and drags her in with Jin tossing her eyes in along with her. The deity begins chewing.
“Y-Y-You just… k-killed him when I asked you n-not to...” The genius stutters in disbelief; his eyes are wide like an owl’s.
“Yes, I put Toneri down, but not in anger… I WAS going to kill him for what he did, what he planned on doing, but Ayanami changed my mind on why. So, instead, I killed Toneri to protect our home, our people… Besides, Urashiki was just gonna seal him away when he gets here anyway.”
*PTOO!*
The King of Hell spits out a mortified Ayanami and immediately vanishes, returning to whence it came. The experience seems to have left the kunoichi shaking profusely with an expression of horror; closing her eyes, she quickly claps her hands together and performs a series of breathing exercises.
Now massaging her temples, Ayanami takes a deep breath and says, “Jin, thank you for restoring my sight… But PLEASE never do that again. That was awful.”
“Noted. Sorry about that…” Jin awkwardly scratches the back of his head as he stands up and steps away from the corpse. Hmm…?
Their conversation is interrupted by everything suddenly being engulfed in shadow. The reincarnations look out into the distance and are frozen in awe upon witnessing something that makes their jaws drop, a blue and green celestial body. That’s home, and on it is everyone they have ever known. Every human being that has ever lived—lived out their lives; the aggregate of all their joys and sufferings—Many religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines. Every hunter, and every forager. Every hero, and every pariah; every creator and destroyer of civilizations. Every king, and every common man. Every young couple, in love; every hopeful child. Every mother and father; every inventor and explorer. Every teacher of morals; every corrupt politician. Every superstar and supreme leader; every saint and sinner in the history of the human race lived there, on a mote of dust, suspended in the infinite cosmos.
I-I… I don’t even have the words… The speechless Onikage thinks while committing this spectacle to memory; he is truly gob smacked.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
*sniffle*
Hearing something, Jin and Ayanami glance to the side and see Rito rubbing his watery eyes; this confuses them.
“We just saved the world, why’re YOU crying? You sick or something?” The Storm Village leader asks, perplexed.
His brother turns away. “No, I’m not sick.”
“Then why the waterworks?” The curious kunoichi queries.
Sensing that they won’t stop with asking, Rito relents. “You’ll think it’s silly, but… Star Wars is the reason I wanted to be an engineer in the first place. I wanted to make traveling to other solar systems a reality. I wanted to see the stars.”
“No, that’s not silly. Not silly at all.” Ayanami encourages. “It’s a wonderful dream!”
“Yes. Yes, it is. So… How does it feel to achieve it?”
Through the tears, Rito smiles warmly. “Bloody epic.”
The storm shinobi all take a few minutes to simply enjoy their victory and admire the vastness of space.
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“It’s a shame Toneri couldn’t see the error of his ways,” A compassionate Hinata says softly. “I’m certain that everyone on Earth would’ve welcomed him.”
“No, we wouldn’t have. Don’t speak for me.” Raising a brow, Jin curtly blurts out he is somewhat annoyed by the assumption.
The Onikage and company have regrouped with the squad of leaf ninjas and are making the trek back home. The group stands under the glowing green, watery portal that connects to Mother Earth with Jin in the lead; he has his hands relaxed behind his head.
Naruto chimes into the conversation. “C’mon, Jin, the guy’s gone. There’s no point in holding a gru–”
Rito rolls his eyes, interrupting him by saying, “No one’s holding a grudge, but that doesn’t mean we have to forgive him either. The wanker tried to kill us. Everyone we’ve ever known and loved. The whole PLANET.”
“Hey, what happened to Jaeger? He was with me when Toneri first attacked.” Ayanami asks; her voice is full of concern.
“Oh, he’s fine. The wounds looked bad, but the doctors assured us that he’d make a full recovery.”
“That’s good to hear.” The storm kunoichi breathes a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go before a couple of somebodies get kidnapped again.” Shikamaru takes command of the situation.
Everyone jumps up and enters the portal and flies through its passageway, making sure to avoid all the genjutsu orbs in their way. To the Storm Village leader’s surprise, Naruto zips right past him while holding Hinata close like a gust of wind; he’s using a Rasengan to propel themselves forward.
When did I start shipping them again…? Was it the Chunin Exam Preliminaries? Or was it during the Part 1 filler arcs? Jin smirks, watching them from behind. “Yo, Rito, ‘Nami… Let’s go home.”
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““♪ Have a holly jolly Christmas, it’s the best…! ♫”” Jin and Rito sing together while they walk, celebrating both their victory and the most wonderful time of the year. ““♪ Oh-ho, the mistletoe is hung where you can…! ♫””
The jovial trio are currently making their way back to the Hidden Storm Village, trekking through a densely snow-covered forest; just over the horizon, the night sky gradually dissipates with the light of the coming dawn, a new day has arrived; they would’ve gotten home sooner, but, at an adamant Ayanami’s “request,” they stopped at a hot spring to bathe.
““♪ …And in case you didn’t hear–””
“♪ Oh, by golly have a holly jolly Christmas this year! ♫” Suddenly, Ayanami joins in and finishes the song.
“Well… And here I thought you didn’t like Holly Jolly Christmas.” The Onikage jokingly remarks.
Giving a playful smile, the kunoichi shrugs, “What? It’s infectious.”
“Oh, we should throw a party to celebrate!” The genius suggests. “We’ve been working hard these last couple of years.”
“After killing Lieutenant Bastard Toneri, I’d say we’ve more than earned it.”
“Should I go ahead and invite Pakura, too?” Rito teases, elbowing his brother’s arm.
The village leader’s smile quickly fades. “Wait, you know like her?”
“EVERYONE knows,” Ayanami grins, mischievously; she struggles to keep from laughing. “You’re terrible at hiding it. It’s the worst kept secret in the whole village.”
FUUUUUUUUUCK… A now silent Jin facepalms; his face has turned bright red.
Still walking, the three friends are bathed in the morning sun’s light; its warm rays are a most welcome and comforting sensation.
“I see them!”
“Look! There they are!”
The Onikage stops in his tracks; he is paralyzed with a fusion of amazement and confusion by what lies before him. Coming out of the woods, just outside the Storm Village, the three are met by a crowd of hundreds of eyes staring back at them; every one of them is cheering them on, excitedly.
“Welcome back!”
“I knew you could do it!”
“Wha…?” Jin is flabbergasted.
“We’ve all been waiting for your return, Father.” Mileena says, suddenly and mysteriously appearing at his side; she kneels before him with great reverence.
The wide-eyed Onikage does not know what to do with this; he has gotten so used to being feared and hated that the mere thought of having thunderous applause cheering him on has become a completely foreign concept.
A small group of rambunctious children run toward Jin; they surround him with Itsu standing at the forefront; they all grab him with their tiny hands, swarming him with questions.
“Did you really walk on the moon?”
“Did you get any cool battle scars?”
“Stop pushing. One at a time.” The Onikage awkwardly fidgets; beats of sweat begin running down his face. Too much attention! It’s making my skin crawl…!
“I knew you’d save Big Sister Ayanami.” Itsu says, smiling up at him with pride and admiration; she eagerly holds out her fist.
Grinning, Jin responds by getting down on one knee to meet Itsu at eye level and gives his surrogate sister a fist bump.
“Ayanami!!”
Alerted to the call, the group diverts their attention to an elated Jaeger forcing his way through the rooting masses, eagerly dashing toward them.
“Jaeger!” Ayanami excitedly shouts in return.
The Onikage smiles as he watches the two run towards each other and tightly embrace; from the looks of it, it appears as if neither one will ever want to let go.
“U-Umm… Father?” Mileena speaks.
The village leader looks back and sees the symbiote is wearing a serious yet surprisingly meek expression; she strokes her chin while she tries to formulate what exactly she’ll say.
“I-It… It pains me, deeply, to interrupt your moment of triumph…” The symbiote articulates. “But there’s still work to be done.”
Smile dropping, Jin sighs, “Right… No rest for the wicked, I guess.”
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“So… someone mind telling me what’s on the agenda?”
Shortly after the warm welcome, Jin finds himself back in his office; he sits at his desk with Akari at his side while Mileena and Mecha-Naruto stand before him. The Onikage detects an incredibly positive tension hanging in the air; he finds it very odd.
“Your victory has legitimized us in the eyes of the world,” Akari briefs him on what happened while he was away. “You, working with Naruto to save the world has garnered us the support of the surrounding nations.”
“Word is spreading fast. Even though it’s only been a few hours, new mission offers have come pouring in by the dozens. Also, the Land of Rain and the Land of Snow wish to strengthen our alliance.” Mileena adds to the briefing, puffing out her chest. “Even your staunchest of enemies have no choice but to shut up.”
“And what is the current state of our village?” Jin asks, twirling a pen between his fingers. “Some of those space rocks had to have come raining down on us.”
“MASTER RITO’S GELEL DOME HAS LARGELY FUNCTIONED AS INTENDED.” Mecha reports.
Jin’s head tilts to one side. “What do you mean ‘largely’?”
“OCCASIONALLY, THERE WERE SOME LARGER METEORS, AND WE WEREN’T CERTAIN IF THE DOME COULD WITHSTAND THEM,” The robot double clarifies. “SO, JAEGER AND I WOULD GO OUT AND DESTROY THEM.”
“I see… Mecha, you’re dismissed. Oh, and go make sure Rito hears this.”
“UNDERSTOOD, MASTER.” The machine gives a salute before turning towards the door and exiting the room.
So far, so good… for now at least. Whoo-hoo! The Storm Village takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” Akari reaches for her clipboard and pulls out a letter. “Before you arrived, we received a message from the 5 Great Nations.”
The Onikage takes the envelope and opens it up, quickly skimming through its contents. For a brief moment, his eyes widened with surprise; he was not expecting a request like this to happen so soon.
“What does it say?” A curious Akari queries, staring intently at him.
“It’s an invitation,” Jin raises a brow as he begins reading the letter in earnest. “To join their Shinobi Union.”
A smile forms on Hikari’s face. “That’s great! With this, we can--”
“Yeah, we’re not joining them.” The Onikage interrupts with casual indifference; he tears up the piece of paper and, for good measure, reduces the shreds to ash with fire chakra.
“B-B-But… WHY?! Not only would this heighten our political power worldwide, but it will also open up more opportunities.” Taken aback, the aide stammers in protest; she accidentally snaps her clipboard in twain.
“Joining their ‘little club’ would force us to follow treaties that limit military expansion,” The village leader explains, dusting his hands off. “Sandbagging us from the completion of our mission.”
Perplexed, Akari’s head tilts to one side. “Mission? What mission?”
Not answering right away, Jin calmly holds out his hand to Mileena, who excitedly grabs hold of it and bonds to him; the loyal symbiote seeps into his skin, entering his body.
“Our mission is THE mission. Summon Malice and Amaru, so I can fully explain it to all three of you. And… tell them to bring along a box of vials too.”