It’s a dark and cold night, Jin finds himself traversing the frozen ruins of an ancient castle, which belong to a long-defeated foe. As the Onikage of the Hidden Storm Village, this isn’t something he would normally do, but the one who requested his presence couldn’t be ignored.
“If I’m being honest, I wasn’t entirely sure you’d show up.” Sasuke says, breaking the ice.
The one who called for him was none other than his former teammate and leader of the Taka, Sasuke Uchiha; the duo are cautiously walking down the corridor of Kaguya Otsutsuki’s palace, within her ice dimension.
“Like I told you before, all those years ago: call and I’ll come running…” The Onikage shrugs; his breath takes the form of a warm mist. “Besides… we’re family.”
The former rogue shinobi continue trudging along, making their way to the end of the hallway and into a fairly large room; it appears to be an archaic sanctum with an altar of some sort at its center, and on the altar, lies a single scroll.
With no hesitation, the Hidden Storm leader cautiously walks right up to the altar and takes the scroll; he unravels it and cringes at what he’s seeing, complete gibberish. Not even his Rinnegan can make any sense of it, none at all.
Sasuke walks towards him, asking, “Well, what is it?”
“No idea, my Rinnegan can’t read it.” The Uzumaki replies, handing the scroll to his friend and ally. “Take it. Something tells me the Leaf Village’s facilities are better suited for deciphering the text.”
Just as the Uchiha pockets the roll of writing, the former Taka members are put on high alert. They suddenly detect two powerful chakra signatures from out of nowhere, and they’re heading right for them; one is, in fact, hurdling down on them.
*CRASH!* *rumble* *rumble*
Jin and Sasuke swiftly jump back, evading their enigmatic assailant just in the nick of time; he leaves a small crater where he crashes. Sensing the rising tension, the Onikage begins infusing chakra.
“I didn’t think anyone besides us could enter this place.” He mutters.
Their attacker has pale skin with short spiky blue-grayish hair, a full beard, and a long horn above his left eye; He has a large pair of hands, and a burly physique accompanied with a towering height that reaches over two meters. He wears a pale blue shirt with back cuffs and a high collar over which he dons another darker appendage with a gray sash wrapped around his waist; he also adorns gray pants and black, flat shoes on his feet which were upturned at the toes. Jin immediately recognizes him.
“How odd, I don’t recognize you,” A voice says from behind. “The only other member of our clan stationed here should be that Toneri fellow…”
The shinobi both glance back and spot the source of the other chakra signature they were sensing; he’s directly addressing the Onikage. The other new arrival has grayish-blue unkempt short, spiky hair which he ties in a ponytail; like the other larger one, he has brown horns that grow from the back of his head and wrapped around to his forehead, with a small gap in-between them; He also has the typical clipped eyebrows as a symbol of nobility. He dons a long-sleeved, light-colored suit with a sectioned apron over it, along with a sash.
Producing what appears to be a fishing rod made entirely of red chakra, the new arrival bows while sneering, “I am Urashiki Otsutsuki.”
“And I am Kinshiki Otsutsuki,” The larger one also introduces himself, creating a pair of weapons made of red chakra. “…En garde!”
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A mysterious third figure hovers, ominously in the sky; with distant yet mildly amused expression, he watches a fierce battle being waged below him, on a castle belonging to his clansman, the Rabbit Goddess. Four bolts of light--red, purple, and two blue--can be seen streaking on the ground, travelling all across the surrounding area; each time they clash results in the creation of powerful shock waves, and sparks are sent flying in all directions.
Like his two subordinates, he has pale skin, and pale-blue hair which he keeps in a long ponytail; his hair is parted down the middle in a zig-zag pattern, and his head is adorned with a pair of flat, curved horns which resemble a bull's horns; he has delicate facial features and his eyebrows are cut very short as a symbol of nobility. He is dressed in a traditional nobleman's attire consisting of a white kariginu hunting robe, baggy pants, a pair of tengu-geta, and a single black glove on his left hand; he also wears a transparent hagoromo veil over his head.
“How peculiar…”
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*KRA-KOOM!!*
Jin grits his teeth, bracing himself as he is knocked through a mountain of ice. Just before he can hit the ground, the Onikage recovers and crash lands into the snow, causing a small seismic event underfoot; he quickly uses his chakra to manipulate the surrounding frost to create a longsword of ice.
The Onikage immediately swings upward, parrying an attack from Urashiki, and causing the crater he’s standing in to grow deeper and larger from the sheer force of their clash; he can feel his arm straining as he pushes back against his attacker.
“Not bad for an inferior creature.” The patronizing Otsutsuki remarks, struggling to force the Earthling into submission.
Jin glares, coldly. “Underestimate a ninja at your own peril, alien.”
The allows Onikage allows the enemy shatter his ice blade so he can pivot out of the way and form a Gelel Rasengan; he slams his violently rotating sphere of green chakra into the enemy’s right side, launching him away; he hurries after him, but the extraterrestrial has already recovered.
Urashiki brandishes his weapon and sneers, ”While this encounter has been amusing, it’s time for you to die. Ameno Subaruboshinomikoto!”
Using his chakra-made fishing rod, the Otsutsuki launches a barrage of multiple hooks. However, the Onikage rapidly weaves Snake, Rat, Dragon, Monkey, Tiger, and Dog hand signs for the Ice Style: Twin Dragon Blizzard jutsu. The surrounding ice converges and morphs into a pair of ethereal black dragons, which quickly merge into a massive, miasmic tornado and knock all of Urashiki’s hooks off course, scattering them to the wind; the sly Uzumaki takes advantage of the chaos and vanishes into thin air.
“Like I already told you, you loquacious twit--don’t underestimate me!” Jin coldly growls, reappearing directly behind his foe.
To his surprise, Urashiki whips his head around to see the Onikage swinging at him with a fire sword; he ducks, narrowly evading the attack, but still loses a horn. Jin quickly follows up by conjuring a Susano’o arm and slams his opponent with a devastating right hook, sending him hurtling into the cliffside; he hurries after him with black receivers protruding from both his palms, fully intending to run the alien through. However, just before Urashiki is speared; the Otsutsuki’s eyes turn blue with concentric circles covering the eyeball and completely disappears.
“Oh, that’s right… his Rinnegan can rewind time by a few seconds!” A frustrated Jin quietly mutters to himself while cautiously scanning his surroundings. …Above… …Front… …Left… …Rig–?!
The Onikage jolts upon feeling a sudden, sharp, and intense pain digging in from behind, he immediately looks over his shoulder to find a red string of chakra piercing his lower back. Urashiki and his fishing rod can be seen on the other end of the string, in the distance; with a hefty pull, the Otsutsuki swings him around like a ragdoll; the snowfall stings his eyes.
*KRA-KOOM* *WHUMPH* *RUMBLE*
Jin is slammed hard into a mountain peak, resulting in a massive avalanche crashing down and thoroughly submerging Kaguya’s castle under tons and tons of frost. Slightly dazed, the Onikage flies into the air, coughing up snow; his teeth curl and his tongue goes numb from the whole ordeal.
“I am… unimpressed.” Arms folded, the Storm Village leader squints his eyes.
Building up chakra, the Onikage charges toward the extraterrestrial, who holds aloft his weapon, preparing to cut him down. However, Jin uses the Body Flicker technique to vastly increase his speed, disappearing and instantly reappearing above the shocked Urashiki, winding his leg back for a roundhouse kick; he uses the Earth Style: Super Weighted Boulder Jutsu to further add to the power behind it.
The back of the Otsutsuki is slammed hard by the kick; the Onikage can feel the rest of his foe’s horns shatter against his foot; he immediately follows up by producing the Celestial Prison Flame Sword and using the momentum from his kick to spin and slash at the alien, but the village leader doesn’t stop there. Jin proceeds to continuously spin, rapidly, like a scorching Beyblade, assaulting Urashiki with a violent barrage of kicks and sword strikes; each hit is more devastating as the last.
Parting the clouds and lighting the night sky ablaze, the Uzumaki sends the Otsutsuki rocketing down as if he were a meteor with one final blow, crashing right into Kinshiki, and causing a colossal seismic event; Sasuke teleports out of the way by using his Amenotejikara to instantly swap places with a nearby statue.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Don’t tell me THIS is the true power of the ‘mighty’ Otsutsuki Clan?” A pompous Jin sneers, descending from the heavens above; just as his feet touch the ground, the lone Uchiha appears at his side.
A scuffed up Kinshiki stumbles back onto his feet. “Such power…”
“*Grrr*… You lower lifeforms…” Burned and bruised Urashiki snarls while coldly glaring, getting back up; his entire body shakes with rage. “How dare you touch me!!”
“Heheheheheh… You were careless… Kinshiki… Urashiki…” Says a voice familiar to Jin.
All four combatants look up to see another, Momoshiki Otsutsuki, hovering in the sky. A tense and uncertain quietude fills the air as Jin and Sasuke both stare down this veiled figure with stoic yet ice-cold glares, readying themselves for their enemies’ next plan of attack.
“…Oh? The Rinnegan and…” The veiled Otsutsuki breaks the silence, assessing the two; both his expression and the air he gives off is cold, distant, and imperious. “…one of our people…? Tell me--just what is it you’re searching for here? And where is Kaguya Otsutsuki?”
Head tilting to the left, the Onikage smirks, “Heh… So, her fate eludes you?”
“Kaguya is long gone now.” The composed Shadow Hokage answers, vaguely.
The Uzumaki’s smug grin grows into a twisted smile due to him bearing witness to the Otsutsukis’ reactions; hearing that their clansman is no longer here appears to hit them like a shot in the arm; their expressions all tense up, becoming sterner.
“You’re going to tell us everything you know about all of this.” Momoshiki speaks as if he is stating a fact.
“No, no…” Still smiling, ominously, Jin shakes his head. “I don’t believe we will, Momoshiki.”
A wincing Sasuke glances over. “We’re at a disadvantage.”
“Yeah, what was your first clue? Just follow my lead.”
“Don’t you dare run!!” Urashiki snarls
Kinshiki roars, “You won’t get away!”
Determined, the two servile extraterrestrials lunge forward only for the dismissive Onikage to send them flying back with an Almighty Push. The former Taka members immediately turn tail and run with the Uzumaki taking the lead; gathering chakra into his Rinne Sharingan, Jin claps his hands together, and he and Sasuke vanish in a flash of radiant blue light.
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In a burst of azure illumination, they reappear in another time-space, Kaguya’s desert dimension. However, something is peculiar about this dimension; the air is noticeably cooler and there are numerous clouds spread across the sky.
“Oh, hey, guys.” Says a friendly and familiar voice.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Jin relaxes and looks over to his right to find a waving man walking over to them; he has black hair and blue eyes with a pair of goggles, hanging around his neck; he is around Jugo’s height and has a similar build to the bipolar ninja as well.
“Hey, Rito.” The Onikage greets, waving back. “How’re things going with the experiment?”
“So far, so good.” The genius scientist replies.
Sasuke asks, “Is that really you, Rito? You look so different.”
“Yeah… It’s me alright!” Puffing out his chest, the grinning prodigy responds. “A lot can happen over 13 years.”
“What’s going on over there?” The inquisitive Uchiha points into the distance.
Their former teammate is referring to the obvious mountains of ice just sitting on the horizon; they gleam, brightly, from the scorching sun’s rays. From the looks of it, it'll be quite some time before they completely melt away.
“Oh, THAT? That is a side project Jin and I are conducting,” proudly says Rito.
“We’re trying to see if we can terraform this wasteland into an… ‘Earth-2’ of sorts.” Jin goes on to explain. “And all it starts with taking tons of ice from the snow dimension and placing it all here.”
Stroking his chin, the stoic Shadow Hokage queries, “But WHY though?”
“Insurance… just in case some deluded fool manages to destroy the Earth.”
“I see…” Sasuke turns and walks away. “Well, I’ll be off then.”
“See ya later.” Rito waves goodbye.
Jin calls out, “Say ‘hi’ to the niece and nephew for me. Oh, and take Ino out on a date or something--she gets lonely when you’re gone for so long.”
“That’s none of your concern.” Using his Rinnegan, Sasuke portals home.
“Shouldn’t you be heading back home since your little excursion is over now?” The prodigal engineer asks.
Jin cocks his head to one side, raising a brow. “Why? I’ve got everything covered.”
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Meanwhile, back on Earth, Jin is in a state of great perturbation due to a suffocatingly awkward tension filling the air. At the request of all five of the great villages, both he and Ayanami are currently in the Hidden Leaf’s Hokage Mansion, attending a Five Kage Summit; although no one has spoken to him or even looked in his general direction, he can easily discern that his presence is controversial issue.
The Hokage’s chief aide, Shikamaru Nara, adjusts his eyepatch while sighing, “Alright. Let’s beg–”
(Author’s Note: The reason for Shikamaru’s eyepatch happened back in Chapter 75.)
“Uhh… Before we begin the Summit, I’d like to address the elephant in the room.” The seated Onikage raises his hand; his confusion and anxiety are masked by a poker face.
“Why exactly are we here? I’m not officially recognized as a Kage--the Hidden Storm isn’t even the neutral location hosting the Summit. Honestly, I felt like I HAD to attend (mainly) due to the fact that each of you sent a letter soliciting my appearance.”
“That’s one of our topics of discussion, actually.” The Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, smiles; his tone is confident yet sincere. “We’re to officially recognize you as a Kage, and the Land of Ogres as the 6th Great Shinobi Nation.”
Jin squints his eyes; his apprehension quickly turns into skepticism. “I’m not complaining, but… what brought this motion into being.”
“Is it really all that surprising? The overall strength of your village has quickly become comparable to any one of ours, IN SPITE of it being so young.” The Fifth Raikage, Darui, answers with a relaxed and casual demeanor.
While listening to the Cloud Village leader speak, Jin, through his peripheral vision, spots the Raikage’s aide, Buryu Lee; he stands quietly behind his leader. The cloud jonin’s drying sweat tells the Onikage that he too feels the weight of this tension, which gradually diminishes as they continue conversing.
Holding up one finger, the Sixth Mizukage, Chojuro, goes on to add, “Not to mention, your scientific and technological advancements, alone, have already made your country into a superpower, in the eyes of many.”
“There’s also the simple fact that you already have political clout,” Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, says with open palms. “The one you call, ‘Jaeger,’ proved that when he, along with Nagato and Lady Koyuki, made their stand.”
The Hidden Storm leader purses his lips. “So, what’s the catch? This feels TOO GOOD to be true…”
“You’d have to join the Shinobi Union. This is non-negotiable.” Shikamaru says with a stern tone.
The room goes silent while the tension escalates, becoming more serious. All eyes are on Jin, who quietly leans back in his chair, putting all his fingertips together. With a glance, his gaze scans the room only to see the suspense buried deep within the black of everyone’s pupils.
“So, in other words… you need us to cement your club’s legitimacy?” With a look of disinterest, Jin clasps his hands behind his head.
A vein on the austere Leaf Strategist’s forehead bulges. “Lord Onikage, you really shouldn’t be so presumptuous–”
“Shikamaru, there’s no need for pretext,” Jin interrupts, a smug grin creeping onto his face while he leans forward, opening his arms. “Most of you have already acknowledged my village as a power comparable to your own. And if that truly is the case then… most if not ALL the smaller villages have as well. If even one power refuses to join the Shinobi Union, it sends a message that the union is a waste of time, and you can’t have that.”
“No, it’s not like that at all,” the Hokage insists, sternly.
“I know your words are sincere, Naruto. However, the same can’t be said for the other leaders.”
Hearing enough, Ayanami steps forward from behind Jin, and leans down to whisper in his ear, “I think it’s best if you stop playing games and give them and agree. You know they’re just going to keep asking like they have for all this time.”
The kunoichi’s referring to how the Five Ninja villages have been inviting them to join the union for the past thirteen years, and every time the Hidden Storm has declined the offer; recently, they’ve begun sending gifts, to the Hidden Storm’s annoyance, in order to entice them into joining.
Well… There’s no real reason to refuse them at this juncture, and they can’t sanction us for the weapons we’ve developed because we weren’t a member at the time… Jin acknowledges her with a nod while taking a moment to really think it over. …If I’m being honest with myself, we’d have more to gain by joining up than remaining a holdout…
For a brief moment, the Storm Village leader’s thoughts drift to the Land of Rain and the Land of Snow, the two other members of their triumvirate. Over the course of the last ten years, they gradually affiliated themselves with the Shinobi Union until they became full members in their own right.
Returning to the present, the Onikage scans the room once more; at a mere glance, he notices the suspense in each of the five Kage’s eyes as they eagerly await his response.
“Very well… The Village Hidden in Thunderstorms hereby joins the Shinobi Union.” The Onikage speaks with a polite yet firm tone, his smile fades and is replaced by a more professional expression; sitting up straight, he has his left hand raised while having his right over his heart.
The Kazekage, Gaara of the Desert, nods his approval of Jin’s decision while Raikage Darui, languidly, pushes back against his seat; Chojuro, the Mizukage shrugs as Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi gives a reluctant smile. Though still and silent, the Kage aides all relax as things finally de-escalate.
To the storm ninja’s discomfort, Naruto Uzumaki stands up from his chair and bows his head. “Thank you. I promise you won’t regre–”
“Stop bowing--it’s weird.” Jin interrupts, hiding his shudders.
“*Ahem*,” Shikamaru coughs, gaining everyone’s attention. “Now that THAT matter is dealt with… Our agenda regarding final preparations for the Chunin Exams…”