บท 51: Naruto: Sacrifices Absent Of Consequences? Part 3.
During her infancy in her first life as Aya, she had to deal with the aftermath of The Fall. Her infancy in her second life didn't even last five minutes before she had to possess Sunamushi. Her third infancy was explosive. In her fourth, the ladies at the orphanage did well, but it was still an orphanage during an era of strife.
In her fifth life, she had to raise herself and Haruna. In her sixth, the people at the temple raised her as if she were in an orphanage, even though she was pretty sure she was the child of one of the priestesses and not an orphan, but she never confirmed it. In her seventh, she was raised in a clan of warmonger osteomancers; her bones killed her faster than expected.
Her eighth life was the safest of them all, but she had to deal with the zealotry of Sunagakure. Lastly, in her ninth life, her mother left her to the bachelor wolf Shinkuro to raise.
So being raised in the Senju Compound by Mito Senju was indeed the most sabbatical infancy she's had... The only problem was the milk.
As a connoisseur of breast milk, Madelyne had standards more rigorous than those of the usual newborn. Even if she had been a baby who survived six months on blood and milk in her past life, she felt fussy about the quality of the milk she was given.
"Why are you such a pain?"- Tsunade asked with a scowl. She'd been taking some free time from missions and the ongoing war since Eiko was added to her household.
'Tsuna-nee, you don't understand! I'm the easiest baby to raise: I don't cry, I don't get sick, I can communicate telepathically, take care of other babies, learn by myself, and even explode—advantages only a baby like me could have. So, if I have the chance, I'd rather have some A5-quality milk! It's the least you could ask for!'
"It's not! We are at war, and most shinobi aren't allowed to get pregnant during wartime. You should appreciate the milk we get you from the civilians!"- The first war was so intense that the village couldn't afford to lose kunoichi to pregnancy, hence it was forbidden for them to get pregnant during wartime.
'But the civilian milk is not as good!'- Eiko whined like the telepathic baby she was.
"You! You're an annoying baby! Not at all like the well-behaved baby I remember!"- Tsunade pointed reproachfully with the baby bottle at Eiko.
'That's different! You don't see a destitute person acting picky about the food they can get, do you?'- Eiko objected as if she were speaking common sense.
"What does that have to do with this?"- Eiko's tone of voice was getting to her.
'Obviously, it means that in my past life, I was an indigent baby and couldn't complain about what I was given! But now... now it is different! I'm Eiko SENJU! Isn't that basically royalty around these parts of the world? Don't they call you Tsunade-Hime? Am I not Eiko-Hime?'- Eiko said with all the haughtiness she could muster.
"Can't you just drink it like a good baby, please?"- Tsunade implored, circling the baby bottle's teat around Eiko's closed mouth.
'No!'- Eiko vehemently declined.
"Where am I supposed to get you your stupid milk? Should I go to a mother and ask her to let you try her milk first, and then buy some if it meets your stupid standards?"- Tsunade was sure that Eiko was making things difficult for her. The proof was that she drank milk just fine when Mito was the one feeding her.
'You have a point... for which I have a solution.'
"You do?"- She couldn't imagine what solution a baby who needed to be carried around could provide.
'I do.'- Eiko said with some satisfaction in her voice.
"... I'm afraid to ask, but what's your solution?"
'I have a sister...'
"... And what?"- Tsunade imagined a centuries-old woman as Eiko's sister—and she was not mistaken.
'... She will lactate for me if we send her a request.'
"... Aya-chan... Didn't I ask you not to become a pervert like Jiraiya?"- Tsunade forgot to call her Eiko and had to stop mid-sentence to put her thoughts in order and alleviate her aching head.
'This has nothing to do with perversion; it's all about the milk.'- Eiko insisted, contradicting Tsunade's perception.
Coincidentally, for Sahara, it had nothing to do with the milk.
"... No, and that's final! Drink your milk and go to sleep!"- Tsunade was inclined to leave Eiko without milk for the rest of the day if she kept annoying her.
'... Fine!'- Eiko relented after getting a feeling that Tsunade was about to do something rude if she kept pushing.
"... Weren't you supposed to be a centuries-old goddess or something?"- Tsunade asked in disbelief.
'So? Isn't it everyone's dream to be spoiled rotten?'- Eiko asked as if Tsunade were foolish for asking something so obvious.
"... Forget I asked."- For her sake, Tsunade also forgot she had asked.
'How's the war going?'- After a few minutes of silence, Eiko asked.
"After the fall of Uzushiogakure, everyone was scared of similar massive explosions happening in their lands, so the war paused for a while. Then it resumed, with even more drive this time. A rumor started that the 'Treasure of the Uzumaki' was lost in the desert, around the border with The Land of Rivers."
'That's stupid.'
"After I learned what Grandma knows about you and your people, I can see why you would say that. Regardless, due to the rumor and the fact that Kumo-nin and Iwa-nin were found snooping around that land, Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure started to fight for dominion over The Land of Rivers and The Land of Storms."
'Why The Land of Storms? I blew up in The Land of Rivers.'- Eiko said, and there was a huge crater left as proof, she was sure of that.
"Iwagakure was planning to use it as a forward operating base. Konohagakure got in their way, a guy named Hanzo joined the fight, things escalated, and so on."
'Idiots. There's only sand and death awaiting them in my desert.'- Eiko mentioned offhandedly.
"... Can't you tell them to scare the shinobi off?"- Tsunade asked, referring to the sand people.
'Why?'- Eiko asked with interest.
"So that the shinobi are not sent to die looking for something that doesn't exist."
'It wouldn't work.'- Eiko lost her interest. She knew better than most how shinobi thought.
"Why?"- To Tsunade, it made sense. If you can't obviously defeat an enemy, why would you go to your death to fight it?
'If they see the people of the sands coming out, they'll assume it's because they are hiding something. So more shinobi would be sent to their death with fervor, thinking they will be the ones to discover the treasure and take it from the sand people's hands.'- Eiko explained.
"What if you intimidate them with a show of power?"- Tsunade retorted.
'Then they would send more shinobi, then the Kage, then the jinchūriki, and so on and so forth until the death tally would be monumental... Not that it would reach that point.'
"What do you mean?"
'If the ninja villages send their Kage, Sunagakure will take it as an act of war, and just like during the Immortality Crusade, they will make thousands disappear to the sands.'- Not only that, Eiko was sure they would expand the desert and claim land from the offending parties—not because they needed the land, but because they would do it to cause more damage to the offenders.
"Immortality Crusade?"- This was a term Tsunade had not heard before.
'Just a stupid campaign from a few centuries ago. The nobles paid the clans to go to my desert and look for the key to immortality. They were wiped out.'- Sometimes she forgot how bad the outsiders were at keeping records of their history.
"... Was it there?"- Tsunade asked with interest, her curiosity piqued.
'What? The key to immortality?'
"Mhmm."
'There is one immortal being in this world, and a really hard-to-kill woman. Neither of them is in the desert.'- Eiko said. Although the 'key' to immortality was not in Sunagakure, the key to an extended lifespan was.
"You and the progenitor of chakra?"
'No. Lucian and the progenitor of chakra. I'm only eternal because Lucian wants me to be.'
"... Ugh, everything is so complicated."
'Complicated and stupid. Tsuna-nee, try to stay away from the battlefield as much as possible, okay?'
"..."- Tsunade stared at Eiko with a complicated look.
'I don't hear a 'yes, dear Eiko!'.'- Eiko said in Tsunade's mind with a heavy tone.
"... I'm a shinobi of Konohagakure."- Tsunade looked away to avoid Eiko's pointed look.
'... Why do I even bother?'- Eiko resigned herself to accepting the foolish mentality of the shinobi.
And so, Eiko's sabbatical infancy continued.
She was raised with Nawaki as her elder brother and Tsunade as her elder sister. Kushina also lived in the same house, but she was considered their distant cousin—not that they treated her any differently from a sister.
At six years old, as is standard, Kushina started her ninja school life. By the time Eiko was added to the family, Kushina had already been attending classes.
Kushina would take care of feeding Eiko after classes. Sometimes, Kushina would look into Eiko's eyes and tear up a little, but she was gradually getting over it.
One evening, while Kushina was playing with her, they were called to the living room.
|The Hokage is here.|- Lucian spoke in Madelyne's soul.
Kushina carefully picked up the baby and walked obediently after hearing her name and Eiko's being called.
'Think he is here for me?'
|Probably. Although the Senju's surveillance has diminished, there are still a couple around.|
"Yes, Grandma Mito?"- Kushina asked after walking in.
"Kushina, bring little Eiko here. This kid wants to meet her."- Mito said softly.
"Old man? Are you here to bully my little sister?"- Kushina asked defensively, hugging Eiko softly yet firmly, as if afraid Hiruzen was going to take her away.
"*Cough* No, Kushina-chan. I'm not going to steal your little sister. I'm here to meet her, nothing more."- Hiruzen wondered since when he had earned a reputation for kidnapping newborns.
"Mmmmmm, okay."- Kushina agreed, but she passed Eiko to Mito, not Hiruzen.
"Meet Eiko Senju... my adoptive daughter."- Mito introduced her, using Eiko's legal status.
Hiruzen felt baffled when he met Eiko's white orbs. He had heard the reports, but as they say, seeing is believing.
He would never forget those detached and otherworldly white orbs he saw in the baby known as Aya Uzumaki eight years ago. The same white orbs he met in the Land of Rivers, yet at that time, they had turned demonic black with a slitted white pupil.
"She's..."- Hiruzen trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"... She has beautiful eyes; they remind me of someone I knew."- He settled for this.
"I know! She has the same eyes as Aya-nee!"- Kushina smiled proudly. There was some sadness in her voice, but she didn't let it control her.
"She does, indeed."- Hiruzen brought his hand close to Eiko to pet her cheek.
'Keep him away, I don't trust him.'- Eiko said in Mito's mind.
"Is that what you came here for, kid?"- Mito asked as she subtly pulled Eiko away and passed her to Kushina's eager arms.
Mito gave Kushina a signal for her to leave the room, which she was happy to oblige, as she would rather play with Eiko than stay and listen to boring adult talk.
Back in the room, Hiruzen watched Kushina take the baby away in silence.
"Is she blind, or is it the same kekkei genkai?"- Hiruzen asked, getting straight to the point.
"..."- Mito stared fixedly at him.
"~Hehehe! Kid, did Aya-chan's final performance impress you that much?"- Mito said in a condescending tone.
"... It... it was impressive, Lady Mito... The type of impressive I've only seen in some of Sensei's jutsu."- Hiruzen took a slow sip of the tea Mito had served him.
An explosion so powerful that his defensive jutsu barely held on; a crater so large a few Konohagakures could fit; a temperature so hot the ground was left molten or glassed; the air so scalding he had to run with his students, afraid that the act of simply breathing might have burned their lungs; the expansion and contraction of the atmosphere were so volumetric that the weather changed for over a month.
"I can only imagine... It's the same kekkei genkai."- Mito remembered some of the scenes Lucian and Madelyne had shown her.
"What does it do?"- Hiruzen asked shamelessly.
"I don't know."- Mito said plainly.
"You don't know? How is that possible? Aya-san spent six months with you."- Hiruzen asked with emotion in his voice.
"When she was half a year old, how many traits of a kekkei genkai do you expect a newborn to manifest?"- Mito glared at him.
"... You're right. I apologize for my intrusiveness, Lady Mito."- Hiruzen recognized his disrespectful precipitation.
"I don't mind, kid. What I've been able to discover is that they are uncannily smart, and they can fly... Just like the woman of the sand could."- Mito's glare dropped.
"The ruler of the desert..."- What a shock it was for Hiruzen when he read the Hokage-exclusive scrolls and found out that there was a being who made all the first-generation Kage tremble. The same being who apparently shared a kekkei genkai with Eiko, just as she had with Aya.
"Yes. You can ask Eiko-chan when she grows up. Aya had to leave for Uzushiogakure, but Eiko is not going anywhere. We will have time to uncover more about what may possibly be the strongest dōjutsu."
'Well, about as much as she would allow.'- Mito thought as the apparent distrust Eiko had for Hiruzen surfaced in her mind.
After a few minutes more of 'pleasant' conversation, Hiruzen returned to his duties as Hokage, and Mito walked to Kushina's room.
There, she found Kushina aggressively cuddling Eiko like she was a plush toy.
'You know, the only reason she doesn't kill me is because I am me, right?'- Eiko said from inside Kushina's bear-grip style of cuddling.
"Eiko-sama, you have a soft spot for Kushina. I don't think you mind."- Mito said as she skillfully released Eiko from Kushina's grip.
'That I do. She reminds me of my sister. Talking about my sister... Please say '47' out loud.'
"... 47."- Mito hesitated for a second before repeating out loud what Eiko said.
In total silence, a shadow appeared in the room, and a Hashashin materialized, kneeling and presenting a scroll.
Mito had to control her heart and regulate her chakra. She was a sensor, probably the best sensor in the village after Eiko, and even with the man showing himself in front of her, she could not feel him.
"Aya-sama, Sahara-sama sends this. She apologizes for not coming to retrieve you, but she's busy with the task you assigned her."- the Hashashin whispered, but it sounded perfectly clear.
Marking souls with the Key Aya had given Sahara took chakra and time. This is why, even after all these years, Sahara had yet to complete her task.
'Accept it and open it.'- Eiko spoke with uncanny seriousness.
Mito felt a heaviness in Eiko's tone and carefully opened the scroll, flowing chakra through the script. Mito felt her heart palpitate, wondering what could be in the scroll to make Eiko so serious...
*Poof!*- In a cloud of smoke, a baby bottle filled with milk appeared.
'Yes!'- Eiko exclaimed.
Mito's eyes turned dead. She didn't even notice when 47 disappeared.
She then came back to reality and checked the contents of the scroll and wondered if Eiko's sister was a cow—there was enough breast milk to last Eiko at least six months, all safely stored in the scroll.
"Your people located you in less than a month, and your sister prepared this much breast milk for you. They infiltrated my home and delivered this scroll... all to get you the milk you whined so much about?"- Mito's voice carried both amazement and disbelief.
'Why do you think I kept nagging Tsunade?'- Eiko acted smug.
"I can't believe you! You wanted her to say out loud that you wanted better milk so that your people would hear her and then act to fulfill your whims."- Mito was shellshocked.
'This life, I shall be a spoiled princess!... I deserve the best milk! My sister and Kaede-kaasan have the best milk. I needed my message to be delivered somehow. Tsunade is less careful than you when she answers my telepathy, often doing it out loud.'- Eiko explained.
Mito just looked at her with a dead-eyed gaze and brought the baby bottle to Eiko.
'This is it! The recipe perfected by Kaede-kaasan, inherited by Shara-chan—centuries of absolute perfection!'- Eiko felt exalted after a sip.
Mito accepted and embraced reality for what it was that day.
The infancy of the spoiled princess continued. Now, with the heavenly milk in her grasp, there was nothing to complain about. She would sometimes have Tsunade take her on strolls; other times, Mito would strap her to Kushina's back like she once did Aya to Tsunade.
But Eiko wasn't the only toddler in the family; there was Nawaki as well.
'This one is cute too.'- Eiko commented as she crawled to Nawaki's side of the crib.
Eiko had her own room and bed, just as Nawaki had his own room and crib, but in the living room, there was a shared crib where they would place the babies while the rest of the family went about their business.
|Yes, his soul is very shiny. I like it.|- Lucian added.
'I've noticed you have a fixation with babies' souls. Do we have to worry about you regaining your memory and discovering you were a baby-eating eldritch terror?'
|It's highly unlikely, given that I don't like the taste of souls, but it's not entirely impossible.|- Lucian replied, recalling the taste of Mōryō's soul.
'Well... I won't say it would be a deal breaker between us, but we'd definitely need to see some kind of eldritch psychiatrist to get you treated if you turn out to be that way.'
|That's acceptable. I would find it a tragedy to devour such bright and shiny souls.|
"Aheikho."- Nawaki exclaimed, trying to pronounce Eiko's name while reaching out with a chubby hand.
'Well, hello to you too, Nawaki-nii.'- Eiko thought to herself, amused by his babbling.
Nawaki brought his little fingers to Eiko's black hair and tangled them around it.
'Agh! This brat is mistreating his sister! Help!'- Eiko broadcasted to Tsunade, who was the only one within range.
Tsunade looked at her and gave a smile that seemed to cast a shadow over Eiko's future. Then she looked away.
"Maybe give him some milk to calm him down."- She muttered.
'Betrayal!'- Eiko exclaimed.
|Not so cute anymore.|
Five years went by, and Eiko continued living her best life as a spoiled princess.
She would float around Konoha, and the villagers would greet her with a playful bow. Not because they were truly genuflecting to her, but because they enjoyed playing along in the mock performance of Eiko's princesshood.
She normally floated around followed by Nawaki or Kushina, but recently, Kushina had become busier with her shinobi studies since she had entered the final year at the academy. Nawaki, on the other hand, had just started his academy years.
So, Eiko went from regularly being followed by her siblings to simply floating through the village alone. She didn't mind, though.
"Salutations, Lord Teuchi. This princess comes to partake in your heavenly ramen on this beautiful day."- Eiko announced as she levitated inside Ramen Ichiraku.
"If it isn't little Eiko-Hime!"- A jovial teen exclaimed upon seeing his most peculiar customer.
"It is I, here to grace you with my royal presence."- Eiko smiled widely.
"How grateful I am, my princess."- Teuchi said, giving her a deep bow with a pleased smile.
"Hehehehehe! Give me today's special, Teuchi."- Eiko floated down to a high seat Teuchi had made specifically for her.
It was well known in the village that Eiko didn't use honorifics unless she was playing her part as a princess. As she was officially Mito's adoptive daughter, no one made a big fuss about it.
"As you wish, Eiko-chan."- Teuchi replied. As peculiar as she was, she brought money to his wallet, and she was cute, so he enjoyed her company.
A few minutes later, Teuchi came with a bowl of steaming ramen.
"It's hot, Eiko-chan."- He warned.
Eiko made her ramen float from the bowl to her mouth, using a gentle breeze to coil around it and cool it just enough to eat.
"Yummm! Perfect as always, Teuchi."- Eiko congratulated him. Eating ramen was one of the things she inherited from her time as Aya Uzumaki.
"Eiko-chan, you have to teach me how to do that! Imagine how many bowls of ramen I could make at a time if I could work without using my hands!"- Teuchi commented on Eiko's use of telekinesis.
"Mmmmmm, I'll think about it!"- Eiko gave him a noncommittal answer.
After adding the cost to Tsunade's tab—as usual—Eiko floated to the Hokage Rock to enjoy the view and wait for Nawaki and Kushina to come out of their classes.
"007."- Eiko said, and her shadow wiggled as if answering her.
"How is the situation with the war?"
"Aya-sama, the war in the Land of Storms has intensified. It went from being a disputed location due to Iwagakure's intention to make it a forward operating base to simply being contested because all forces have already invested too much to back down. The Land of Rivers has become the main battlefield for Konoha, Kumo, and Kiri shinobi. In the lands north of Konohagakure, Kumo and Iwa shinobi occasionally fake attempts at invasion to force Konohagakure to reroute forces from the other two battlefields."
"Weren't they supposed to be fighting for 'the treasure of the Uzumaki'? Why does it seem like they all forgot about it?"
"Initially? Maybe. But they sent infiltration teams to the desert and found nothing a few months after the fall of Uzushiogakure. Yet, they kept the war going because the other villages initially wanted to deplete Konoha's power."
"Initially?"
"Initially, it was a team effort by Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri, starting with the fall of Uzushiogakure."
"Oh! They betrayed each other after I blew myself up, and it became a free-for-all."
"It is as you say, Aya-sama."
"This Hanzo guy, is he as dangerous as they say?"- Eiko asked, recalling the name she'd been hearing continuously for a few months now.
"For the average shinobi, he might as well be a demigod."
"Concerning..."
"There have been rumors about Kumogakure recalling their forces from the Land of Storms and signing a ceasefire and tentative peace agreement with Konohagakure."
"Was it because of the daimyō?"
"Yes. Initially, the daimyō supported their cause because they wanted to appropriate the resources of Uzushiogakure. That failed due to the island blowing up. The daimyō would have stopped the war at that point—"
"—But the rumor was born."
"It is as you say, Aya-sama. We suspect one of the three war initiators spread the rumor to keep the daimyō funding their cause."
"How stupid. Thank you for the report, 007."
"For you, always, Aya-sama."- Her shadow wiggled again.
Aya spent the following hours enjoying her day and the coolness of the breeze.
'This is the life I deserve. Hehehe!'
|No responsibilities, no concerns, and money to spend?|
'Exactly!'
|The Hokage is coming.|
'Tch!'
Eiko tilted her floating body at an angle, facing a tree to her right.
"Aren't you too old to play hide and seek? Not that I'm complaining, but I should warn you that not even my dearest mother can find me when I don't feel like it, so you're bound to lose if we play."- Eiko smiled mischievously.
"Ah, Eiko-chan, it's bad for the Hokage's reputation if a little thing like you can spot him that easily."- Hiruzen said, emerging from behind the tree and walking toward Eiko with a disarming smile.
"I can see that happening. After all, you're supposed to be the head of this assassins' gathering."- Eiko nodded sagely.
"An assassins' gathering? Is that how you see this village?"- Hiruzen asked, masking his displeasure while gazing fondly at Konoha.
"The village is the village, the shinobi are the shinobi."- Eiko explained her point of view.
"So we are the assassins..."- Hiruzen said with a self-deprecating smile, knowing she wasn't far from the truth.
"Yes, it's in the description of the job, no?"- She knew shinobi had other tasks aside from assassination, but when one thought of shinobi, killing often came to mind.
"Eiko-chan, a shinobi is more than an unfeeling weapon. Our job is more than just killing."- Hiruzen said in an elderly tone.
"An unfeeling weapon? Who's talking about that? You can be an assassin and still keep your emotions."- Eiko countered, understanding what Hiruzen was getting at, though she thought his wording was wrong.
"So you don't deny that there's more to a shinobi than the grittier part of the job."- Hiruzen replied with a pleased, somewhat smug smile.
"Of course, there's more. Look at that guy who keeps sending his men to my house. After so many of them lost their minds while stalking me, you start to wonder if he has a problem with his thinking department—or lacks such a department entirely... But then I discovered the answer... He enjoys doing it. See? That's a perfect example of a shinobi going beyond their task, a shinobi that transcends logic!" Eiko smiled mockingly, directing it at Hiruzen but actually meaning it for the shinobi who had spent eight continuous hours listening to random 'nyaa' sounds.
"... I can see you don't like us very much, Eiko-chan."- Hiruzen said, looking at her somewhat sadly.
"Not really. I like you just as much as I like any random villager down there. I'm especially fond of the guy who sends me so many playmates."- She replied truthfully. To her, it was all a game.
"*Sigh* I will leave him as your playmate then, but could you stop driving my shinobi mad?"- Hiruzen now understood that Eiko didn't tend to lie. If she said she enjoyed the 'playmates' Root sent her, she meant it.
It worked for him either way. Lately, Danzo had been more power-hungry than usual, so having Eiko restrain some of his men was beneficial. The problem was his ANBU getting caught in the crosshairs of their 'playdates'.
"Why? It passes on its own in a few days. I don't see it as such a problem, do you?"- She was careful never to cross a certain line.
"During wartime, it's preferable if all shinobi are available. I can't have shinobi locked in cells while we wait for the aftereffects of your genjutsu to pass."- Hiruzen explained his primary reason for visiting the 'princess'.
"That makes some sense. In that case, make sure that only shinobi from that funny friend of mine are assigned to my stalking. You can take your ANBU away, and I'll stop messing with them. Deal?"- Eiko smiled widely, as if catching a naughty child.
"... Deal."- Hiruzen said, his eyebrow twitching.
"Then you can have this Onee-chan back."- Eiko said as the shinobi walked out of the shadows with a lost gaze.
"*Sigh* Another one."- Hiruzen said with palpable resignation in his voice.
"She was better than the previous ones. She lasted eight hours; that's a new record. You can congratulate her in this princess's name!"- Eiko said, looking as haughty as a highborn.
"I will compliment her. I'm sure she'll shed tears of joy..."- Hiruzen sighed again.
"Eiko-chan, next year you'll turn six. Are you excited about going to the academy?"- Hiruzen tried to change the subject to a sunnier topic.
"Ah, Hokage... I don't know how to tell you this... But I'm not going."- Eiko said, feeling a bit bad about crushing the Hokage's dream of talking about something pleasant.
"May I know why?"- He took a deep breath to respond calmly.
"I can perform any chakra technique just by seeing it and having enough chakra for it. I never forget, and I can learn fighting styles just as easily as jutsu. It doesn't sound like I need to go to the academy, does it?"- Eiko waved a hand, and a small 'Fireball' flew into the distance, striking a big boulder and leaving scorch marks as evidence of the fire's intensity.
"Eiko-chan, the academy is more than just learning about fighting."- Hiruzen reminded her, aware of her abilities. Eiko never bothered to hide her 'dōjutsu'.
"I don't believe you. The academy is literally about gaining the skills needed to be a shinobi—that's verbatim in the name. The other aspect is the 'Will of Fire'."- Eiko was sure of this; the war had made it so.
"Do you already know about it?"- He raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, I do. The propaganda of the Will of Fire is everywhere."- She said, pointing to the village and the Hokage faces carved into the mountain below them.
"Do you see it as simply that? Propaganda?"- Hiruzen shook his head in disapproval.
"Maybe it wasn't in its foundation. But at this point, it's about 75% propaganda... I don't think it's wrong, for the record."- Eiko added, clarifying her view of the Will of Fire.
"You don't, Eiko-chan?"- Hiruzen felt as if he was seeing light at the end of a cave.
"I don't. Humans, like cattle, need a form of control. Whether that is a whip, the feed, the threat of a greater power like the Hokage, or the sense of belonging and self-sacrifice the Will of Fire brings, it doesn't matter. But I do believe it's better to control your cattle with cattle feed than with a whip, just like how shinobi are more easily managed with the Will of Fire in their hearts than with brute force from your power as the Hokage."- Hiruzen felt as if the light he saw was a firefly playing a prank on his hopeful heart.
"I can't deny that there are some hard truths in your words, Eiko-chan. But I can also tell you that I would die for you, as that is the way of the Will of Fire."- He said, full of resolve.
"That makes sense and I believe you. You're the Hokage, and I'm your villager. I can tell you this: while I don't care about most humans, I care about 60% of the humans I've met in this village. I wouldn't lay my life for them, but I would go to extreme lengths to ensure I don't have to. Deal?"- Eiko extended her hand.
"It's the most I can ask, Eiko-chan. Deal!"- Hiruzen said with a pleased smile, shaking Eiko's little hand.
"Eiko-chan, take a look at Konoha's next great Shinobi—Jiraiya the Toad Sage!"- Jiraiya jumped forward with a big, bright smile. Tsunade and Orochimaru, behind him, were already tired of his pompous behavior.
Ever since he lucked out with the summoning jutsu about a year ago, they had been hearing him call himself that at least once a week.
"Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!"- Eiko began to laugh with a mad glint in her eyes.
It wasn't a cute laugh; it was the kind of laugh concerning enough to knock Jiraiya out of his groove, put Orochimaru on alert, and give Tsunade a bad feeling.
But it made sense: Aya had spent centuries searching for clues about the toads or their contractor, all without success. And here he was, walking around proudly and telling her about it so openly. She was ecstatic.
"E-Eiko-chan?"- Jiraiya asked. His smile twitched with concern. This wasn't the cute little girl he remembered who liked to pretend to be a princess.
"~Jiraiya..."- Eiko said in a singsong tone that seemed to eerily echo in the room.
Orochimaru could see trouble from a mile away.
Tsunade was already positioning herself out of the line of fire, just in case.
"E-Ehm, yes?"- Jiraiya asked, feeling a cold sweat run down his spine.
"If you summon a toad and release the summoning right now, I'll give you a prize. One no man on earth has earned before."- Eiko said with a wide grin.
"A prize?"- Now, this was something that caught Jiraiya's attention.
"A prize. One that, in my name as Eiko Senju, I promise won't let you down."- Eiko floated over to him and softly placed her hands on his cheeks, as if trapping him.
"Eiko-chan? What are you planning?"- Tsunade asked, worried about the abrupt change in her little sister's behavior.
"Tsunade, don't you trust your little monster?"- Orochimaru stepped up to hold Tsunade back from intervening. It was unclear if he was doing it out of curiosity or because he thought Jiraiya would suffer.
"Orochimaru! Don't call her that!"- Tsunade reprimanded him.
"I accept!"- Jiraiya's shout cut off any retort Orochimaru had.
"Jiraiya!"- Tsunade exclaimed. She was getting a bad feeling that something awful was about to happen.
"Just a small one will do, Jiraiya."- Eiko said softly, her tone like that of a succubus enticing a married father of three to her bed.
And lo and behold, Jiraiya summoned a toad that still had a tail, then released it. He looked at Eiko, as if asking where his reward was, only to be met with a very pleased smile.
"Oh, Jiraiya~ You don't know how happy you just made me."- Eiko lowered herself, and for the first time in years, touched the floor.
She began to manipulate her chakra, and in doing so, stopped concealing it. The three shinobi felt chakra reserves that shouldn't be felt from a five-year-old.
At this point, Jiraiya started to think that maybe this hadn't been such a great idea.
"Shadow Mirror Alter Body Changing Method."- Eiko muttered. Using her chakra and a dab of natural energy as a medium, script-like characters appeared on the floor, forming several non-concentric circles.
Ribbons of light wrapped around Eiko's body, covering her completely.
The Shadow Mirror Body Changing Method was the original transformation technique, developed in the Land of Demons. During her life as a priestess, Eiko had acquired this technique and modified it to remove the downside of permanently transforming her body.
The "Alter" version of the technique would last a few hours with the amount of chakra Eiko was currently using, but that was enough.
As the cocoon of light slowly subsided, a tall, mature woman with ghostly pale skin, flowing silver-white hair cascading down her back, and crimson-red lips stood proudly in a black hanfu with a deep V-cut.
"Transformation?"- Orochimaru asked with interest.
"Similar. It's a true transformation of the body; the chakra just isn't affected."- Eiko explained.
"Eiko-chan, what are you planning?"- Tsunade asked.
"I need this form for something, but it's also useful to reward that perverted kid."- Eiko said, pointing at the blushing Jiraiya, who was holding his nose up to try and stop the bleeding.
Eiko walked over to him and gave him a cheeky grin.
"Consider it a reward for bringing to my doorstep the gift I've longed for a very long time."- Eiko grabbed him by his shirt and violently joined her lips with his.
His arms seemed to want to push her away for a fraction of a second but soon lost the battle of wills and dropped lifelessly to his sides.
Tsunade was about to jump on Eiko and pull her away, but Orochimaru stopped her. Although he wanted Jiraiya to suffer, he was still a bro, so he held back Tsunade... or was he?
*Muach!*- With a suction sound, Eiko separated their lips and let go of Jiraiya.
*Thud!*- He passed out, heavily bleeding from his nose, with a goofy smile on his face.
"Tsunade, we have to report him. Your little monster may not be human, but she is definitely underage."- Orochimaru said as if he hadn't just enabled the crime.
Tsunade didn't know what to say. She knew Eiko was centuries old, but she wasn't going to start explaining that now. She was also shocked by Orochimaru; for a moment, it had looked like he was assisting Jiraiya, but maybe he wasn't and just wanted the crime to happen so that he could rat Jiraiya out to the authorities.
"I'll be back for dinner."- Eiko said before imploding in a soft light, leaving behind a residue of white sand.
Orochimaru stared at the residue, then looked back at Tsunade.
"What?"- Tsunade asked.
"Is her ability to teleport related to Aya Uzumaki? Or is it because they share the same dōjutsu?"- He had seen the same sandy residue when Aya teleported Sato's letter to Tsunade.
"It is because they share the same dōjutsu."- Tsunade said as she walked over to Jiraiya and kicked him a few times, but the only response she got was a perverted laugh.
"Leave him there. Jiraiya will certainly enjoy it when Lady Mito finds him in that state in her house."- Orochimaru suggested, pointing at Jiraiya's condition.
"..."- Tsunade thought about it for a second. She was going to object on his behalf, but then she remembered how annoying he'd been ever since he signed that contract and decided to let him be.
"Let's go for some barbecue, Orochimaru."
"... It's interesting how you're not concerned about your little monster's safety."- He commented with a faint smile. He knew there was more to the girl than what Mito and Tsunade shared.
"Don't call her that... And I'm not concerned because she is a little monster."- Tsunade replied.
_________________________________________
Mount Myōboku
Mount Myōboku wasn't exactly how Eiko imagined it. It was full of natural energy, which she had expected—along with the aftereffects of its abundance, such as the overflowing nature and life.
What was strange about this place were the waterfalls that seemed to emulate showers, with rivers falling from rock formations shaped like the curved tails of some colossal armored bug. The hundreds of toad statues—obviously human in origin, to Eiko's eyes—made a strange yet harmonious and macabre contrast with the landscape.
Eiko followed the flow of natural energy, walking in the direction from which she felt the highest concentration of senjutsu chakra.
It wasn't long before she encountered the first inhabitant of Mount Myōboku—or, more accurately, before they found her.
A huge rusty red toad appeared, wearing a blue happi vest with a massive dosu blade at his hip.
"How did you find this place, girl?"- The toad asked in a harsh tone, suspecting she might have arrived through the summoning technique.
"Gamamaru invited me."- Eiko replied and floated to the toad's eye level.
"Ōjiji-sama didn't invite you! Don't lie, intruder!"- The toad's eyes narrowed, and he grumbled. The elder toad, known to them as Ōjiji-sama, spent most of his time in bed these days, often waking up alarmed or shaking in absolute terror. The only respite he had was when Jiraiya appeared, which confirmed to him that his initial prophecy was in place—or so he believed.
To the inhabitants of Mount Myōboku, Gamamaru suffered from a tremendous drawback due to his gift of prophecy, and he hadn't had a single night of peaceful sleep for centuries.
"Ehmmm, but he did! Tell him that Madi Futagami is here, you'll see how he will call for me."- Eiko playfully complained.
The huge toad scrutinized her, not caring to mask his suspicions. The human seemed to have lied to him, but she was willing to wait for him to confirm it, which didn't make sense to him.
"I can wait here if it's better for you."- Eiko added, noticing the other toads masking their presence and observing her from a distance.
"Don't move, intruder."- The toad ordered. But he didn't move away either, instead choosing to stay with her as he waited for one of the observers to report to Ōjiji-sama.
A few minutes later, a smaller yet still huge toad returned and confirmed that she was to follow them to Ōjiji-sama.
"See? What did I tell you?"- Eiko said with a smirk.
"Don't mock me, girl!"- The red toad exclaimed.
Eiko stared at the rude toad, feeling her patience run thin.
"... Little tadpole, I'm older than your Ōjiji-sama. Why don't you shut your trap and guide me to the decrepit toad before I show you true terror?"- Eiko's playful demeanor dropped, and a cold feeling crept into the toads' hearts.
It felt like a nail, frozen in the Arctic Circle, had somehow lodged itself in their thoracic cages, and with every beat of their hearts, the tip of the nail was touched—cold growing from the inside, yet feeling like their bodies were boiling.
Eiko then ceased her bloodlust, giving the only conscious toad a friendly smile.
"Be a dear, tadpole. Guide me."- She demanded.
The red toad coughed a few times and hopped in the direction of their Ōjiji-sama, while Eiko followed by floating, observing him from behind.
|He is having a panic attack.|- Lucian observed from within Medelyne's soul. He had mixed some of his bloodlust with Madelyne's, resulting in this effect.
'He is doing better than Sunamushi.'- Eiko noted internally.
|That's because I controlled the output this time.|
'Oh! That makes sense.'- Madelyne reflected, realizing that her sandworm friend was stronger than the toad, which is why she had thought it strange that the toad was faring better.
After a few minutes, they reached the place where Gamamaru awaited. He was outside, surrounded by two smaller toads—older than the rusty red toad who had led Eiko, but younger than Gamamaru.
Eiko hovered closer to Gamamaru.
"Aren't you a shitstain hard to find?"- Script began to cover Eiko's body, and the natural energy in the area became turbulent.
"Ah, Monster. There's no need for any of that. I accepted my end before I approached your children."- Gamamaru raised his hands in submission.
"Well, well, well! Haven't you gotten smarter ever since... It's a shame you weren't smart enough to avoid messing with my stupid twins... But your behavior makes me believe you don't know what awaits you."- Her covering of script paused its progress.
"I've made my peace with the endless suffering that awaits me, Monster."- Gamamaru replied, looking down at his heirs, both of whom were glaring at Eiko but restraining their hateful impulses. He had taught Shima and Fukasaku everything he could and had also left a book of prophecies to them.
"Suffering?"- Eiko asked in confusion.
"... Yes, I've dreamt of it. I've lived every single night since over 900 years ago, dreaming of the suffering that awaits me. I know there's no escaping you, and that if I try, you'll kill every one of the tadpoles in our home."
He had plotted multiple ways to respond to Madelyne's possible approaches, trying to find a path that would lead to his salvation or their mutual destruction. But for reasons he could never understand, his predictions were faulty when it came to her. He couldn't find a single path where she would lose. So he gave up and chose the path with the fewest victims.
"I know of the darkness that lives freely in your heart and will be unleashed on my body... and I've made my peace with it. I don't regret my actions, just like you would go to unmeasurable distances for your loved ones... I did. For the future of my toads, I became what I am that day when I approached your children."
"Aren't you afraid that I would take my hate out on the object of your protection, Shitstain?"- Eiko eyed the tiny toads and the red rusty toad.
"... For all the monster that you are, you won't if I surrender myself. Which is what I'm doing."- Gamamaru believed she only went to undesirable extents when he resisted, as seen in his dreams.
"Hehehehehehehe! Oh, Gamamaru, you and I are so similar... yes, I would have condemned another species for the sake of my people, just like you did humanity... and just like I did the Ōtsutsuki."- Eiko laughed and gave him a pleased smile.
She could see that much. Actually, what she did to the Ōtsutsuki was worse than what he did to humanity.
"I know, Monster. Few would understand my actions, but I know you do."
"I do, indeed. I don't know what future you believe you saw that made you act, but I didn't even need to see a future to act in the interest of my friend and children..."- Eiko nodded her head, a dark understanding passing between them.
But there was a glint in her eyes.
"But you're mistaken about something, those dreams you had about your so-called future suffering are mistaken."- She stopped nodding.
"What do you mean, Monster?"- Confusion apparent on Gamamaru's face.
"Those dreams are about what I would do to you..."- Eiko pointed at her heart while smiling.
"... Not about what Lucian would do to you."- Eiko pointed at her head, her smile dropping and her overall demeanor turning 'impassive'.
Script finished covering her body in an instant. Dust and specs of light seemed to evaporate off of her body. Lucian—controlling Eiko's body—waved his hand, and something ineffable clawed its way through the fabric of reality and grabbed Gamamaru.
A terror of unspeakable levels spread across Mount Myōboku, causing the younger generation of toads to die of shock. Some older ones took their lives, unable to cope with the unnameable dread and overwhelming existential insignificance they experienced. A few had their minds shattered, finding madness to be their only refuge in this tempestuous reality of flowing laws and shifting rules.
The thing grabbing Gamamaru pulled him as he seized and foamed in desperation. The speck of Lucian's main soul that pulled Gamamaru closed the wound it left behind in reality.
Eiko's body collapsed and teleported to the Senju compound before hitting the ground, her transformation forcibly ended.
_________________________________
Konohagakure, Senju Compound.
In the Senju household, things became hectic. Mito Senju found her adoptive daughter covered in cracks of light and unconscious on the master bed.
After settling Eiko in her bed, Mito spoke with Jiraiya, asking him to visit Mount Myōboku to find out what had happened, as she assumed that was where Eiko had gone.
When Jiraiya returned, he relayed what the elder toads, Shima and Fukasaku, had narrated. Mito understood the situation because she and the Nine-Tails were the only ones who knew most of the truth about Eiko.
Jiraiya felt guilty about what happened at Mount Myōboku, even though the elder toads and Mito had shared little with him. With Mito's and Tsunade's encouragement, he recovered quickly, knowing their respite from the battlefield was coming to an end.
While Eiko remained unconscious, time moved on at its usual pace. The war intensified—something many thought impossible—and one of those war-ridden days, Eiko awoke. However, what she said upon waking was not uplifting.
"You are dying?"- Mito asked.
"Yes, I have a couple of years at most. Channeling Luci was beyond what this body could handle. I even injured my soul; I'll need to spend a few decades in the Pure Lands at the very least."- Eiko explained, discomfort evident on her face.
"I... I don't think I'll be here to welcome you in a few decades."- Mito said, aware that the time to transfer the grumpy Fox was approaching. Although she believed she would survive the transplant, she was certain her lifespan would be overtaxed.
"Mito, do you want to reunite with your loved ones in the beyond?"- Eiko asked, looking unnervingly serious.
"Is this about marking my soul?"
Eiko nodded in confirmation, having explained some things about Abeyance to Mito in the past.
"... I do want to meet my loved ones. I'm sorry, Eiko, but I don't want you to mark my soul."- Mito said with an apologetic smile as she petted Eiko's head.
A silence of acceptance followed from Eiko.
"But can you do me a favor and mark your siblings?"- Mito asked.
She knew this would mean she wouldn't see her grandchildren in the afterlife, but she was alright with that. Since Hashirama's death and witnessing the outcome of her husband's dream for peace, she had realized that this world would never find peace. She wanted her grandchildren to continue their lives in Abeyance, where Eiko ruled as a goddess.
"... I will."- Eiko agreed, seeing her shadow wiggle. She understood that 007 went to contact Sahara to mark Nawaki's, Kushina's, and Tsunade's souls.
After her soul injury, Eiko was not very active; she slept about 18 hours a day and spent most of the time in Mito's arms. Mito had made a habit of spending more time with Eiko after their conversation.
In such a peaceful setting amidst the turmoil of war surrounding Konohagakure, time passed.
One day, while in Mito's arms, Eiko opened her eyes in alarm. Mito looked at her, startled by the girl's expression.
"Snake and Pervert kid are here... They carry Tsunade's corpse."
Not long after Eiko's dreadful revelation, Jiraiya and Orochimaru arrived. Their tear-streaked faces were a clear indication of the truth of Eiko's claim.
When they saw Mito's ashen face, they realized that words were unnecessary.
They went to the living room, where Orochimaru—the one who could muster the will to speak—explained how they had encountered Hanzo on the battlefield.
The confrontation lasted for a few hours, but it soon became clear that they were facing their end. Orochimaru was running on fumes, Jiraiya was injured, and Tsunade had spent most of her chakra curing their poisoning with every new toxin Hanzo introduced.
With all their exits closed, Tsunade opened the Gate of Death—an action that forced Hanzo to retreat with more than half of his body crushed. Unfortunately, Tsunade's body wasn't prepared for the technique; she only lasted one move and couldn't finish Hanzo off.
The technique, regardless of the outcome, took its toll, and Tsunade died. Hiruzen arrived at the front shortly after, took over, and assigned them the task of delivering Tsunade's body to her family.
"..."- Mito stared at her granddaughter's broken body.
The wails of Nawaki and Kushina in the background did nothing to soothe her breaking heart.
Jiraiya, unable to contain his remorse, blamed himself, his heart filled with guilt and gratitude for the life that had been sacrificed to save their own. Orochimaru was no better, but he was putting a front of impassiveness to cope with the death of his friend.
Amidst the heart-wrenching scene, a calm voice spoke.
"It was a nice life. Thank you very much, Mito Senju."- Eiko said. Mito's eyes widened, understanding the gravity of those words—a farewell.
Eiko hovered over to Kushina, hugged her, and kissed her cheek. She repeated the same actions with Nawaki, leaving the two confused.
Mito walked to her and shed some tears while hugging Eiko.
"... Thank you, my goddess."- Mito said softly. Eiko kissed her cheek and smiled sweetly to calm Mito's hurting heart down.
Mito understood she would be losing someone today, no matter the outcome.
Eiko softly landed on Tsunade's chest, and their bodies were instantaneously covered in Script, just as the room was.
Above the scripted figures, a portal of purple flames opened.
'Make sure Sahara marks her soul this time.'- Eiko instructed 007, her shadow wiggling in confirmation.
A green, formless soul exited and merged with Tsunade's body. Eiko's body decomposed into light and dust, Tsunade's body healed, and only the soul of Madelyne remained. She looked at the shocked mortals and soundlessly waved her hand in goodbye before flying into the portal.
The purple flames contracted, and the portal closed.
*Gasp!*- Tsunade breathed.
And so, Eiko's tenth life ended.
____________________________________
Pure Lands
'*Yawn!* I feel like I just slept for a few decades.'- Madelyne's soul stretched—even though it was unnecessary—and looked around to locate her partner.
|Because you did. Based on the flow of souls, the Second War ended, there was a period of peace, then the Third War began, lasted a few years, and finally ended. In here, it's been a few centuries, but you know how time works around these parts.|
'Right, time here is as reliable as a wheel of cardboard on a carriage.'
The damage Madelyne sustained, coupled with Tsunade's resurrection, dealt a heavy blow to her soul. Lucian put her to sleep while she was healing in the Pure Lands.
Initially, he thought it would take a few thousand years, but some of the older generation in Sunagakure passed away and arrived in Abeyance, which provided much-needed strength to Madelyne's soul. Thus, only a few centuries passed.
'Did I get stronger?'
|You did. In terms of the power system I use, you've ascended to divinity.|
'Why do I feel not so divine, then?'
|Because there's no divinity in this world. But if you move to another that allows for divinity, you will ascend immediately.|
'Okay, that's cool! I got my soul damaged and then powered up like an anime protagonist!'- Madelyne was elated by the news.
'What do you think my divinity is?'
|Based on your control over souls, I would say Goddess of Souls and the Limbo.|
'Limbo?'
|Abeyance.|
'Ah! You're right. Though I thought I would get something related to reincarnation.'
|I reincarnated you; you never had control over that. Abeyance and souls are where your control excels.|
'But you bound Abeyance to me. Doesn't that make it unrelated to my possible divinity? It sounds more like your achievement than mine.'
|It's your dimension, not mine.|- Madelyne accepted that answer.
'Let's go! I want to see what's changed!'- She said, forgetting that as the lord of the dimension, she could instinctively know what had changed.
A few new souls were here and there, eager to meet their goddess.
Well... there was a change Madelyne didn't know how to feel about...
"Nawaki-nii... how did you die?"- Madelyne, in her silver-haired persona, asked the grown man who stood awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
He had turned into a handsome man, having been in Abeyance long enough to adapt to their culture. He was now also wearing script on his skin.
"Damn, so Grandma and Nee-sama weren't lying when they said Eiko-chan was a goddess."- He said.
Madelyne, to make things simpler for him, changed into her Eiko persona.
Nawaki had already made peace with the fact that the residents of this place called their goddess Madi, Luci, or Aya—names that matched those Mito had used in the stories of Eiko.
"I'm indeed a goddess, Nawaki-nii."
"Shouldn't I call you Onee-san, then?"- Nawaki understood that his 'little' sister was older than even his Grandma.
"Don't mind the small details. Nawaki-nii is Nawaki-nii."- Eiko said, waving her hand in the air, telling him to act as usual.
"If you say so!"- He said with a radiant smile and walked over to embrace Eiko in a tight hug.
"Ah, sister, you were missed so much! Our lives were not the same after your sacrifice. Nee-sama blamed herself for a while, just as much as Orochimaru-sensei did. Jiraiya tried to process his feelings on the battlefield. Everything was a mess, and only Kushina and I were left to help Grandma with the clan and the pressure from the council."
"The war made things worse. Before I knew it, I was forced to graduate early because Konoha was lacking manpower. Kushina was spared from enlisting because she was the next vessel for the grumpy fox—as Grandma called him—but I was not. Nee-sama pulled some strings and assigned me to Orochimaru-sensei. Sensei and I became an unstoppable duo on the battlefield for years, and that caught the attention of the other nations."
"We had little time to react when the Raikage and Tsuchikage ambushed us."- Nawaki made a displeased face.
"Wait! Why would they do that?"- In Eiko's mind, Orochimaru and Nawaki didn't warrant such overwhelming force.
"On my fifteenth birthday, I awoke Wood Release. Someone leaked the news, and the Kages took action."- The fear of Wood Release was deeply ingrained in every Kage's mind.
"Oh, you did? How?"- Eiko knew that for a regular shinobi, Asura's chakra was needed for that.
"I studied some of the scripture you left behind. I wasn't very good with the natural energy part of it, but with what I knew of chakra-controlling script, I took inspiration from Grandma's Strength of a Hundred Seal. I made a script seal on my chest to forcibly shift my chakra's natural balance to match the balance needed for Wood Release."
"That's smart. So the Kages got you?"
"Yeah, the combination of unmeasurable speed and Dust Release did us in. I don't know how you held them back for so long in your life as Aya Uzumaki... but I think Sensei escaped. At least, I tried to give him an opportunity to do so with a final kamikaze attack—I blew my body up."
"Attaboy! That's the way to go! Blowing yourself up is cool, no matter what they say!"- Eiko congratulated him with a couple of head pats and a beaming smile.
"Hehehe! I knew you would understand!"- Nawaki said proudly.
"After that, I got some news from the newer residents in Abeyance. Apparently, Grandma went berserk and used Granduncle's teleportation jutsu without the village's permission. She went to Iwagakure and Kumogakure and dropped a few tailed beast balls."- Nawaki exuded pride for his Grandma.
"From what I understand, their jinchūriki died, and more than half of their villages were destroyed by Grandma's attack. The war ended shortly after. An elder from the Futagami clan told me that Grandma's body gave up after that. The Grumpy Fox was transplanted to Kushina, and Grandma died."- He said the last part with sadness etched on his face, Mito had already told them that she would not meet them in the afterlife.
"What a fucking mess!"
"Yeah, tell me about it. The bright side is that I get to play with my little sister goddess before the rest!"- Nawaki said cheerfully. He had been living in Abeyance for a few decades now; he no longer cared about his death.
"Hehehe! I'm sorry about your death, but I'm happier about it than sorry."- Eiko said and hugged Nawaki tightly.
Time passed, and despite fully healing, Madelyne refused to reincarnate, even though this was meant to be the last reincarnation needed to heal Lucian.
She was disappointed and tired. Everything pointed to the Shinobi World never accepting peace.
War this, war that, war he, war she, war them, and just to be sure, war us. Everything revolved around war.
Babies were born for war, babies died for war.
Children dreamed of war, children had nightmares of war.
By the time they reached adulthood, they were eager to bring war for their children, and so... the cycle repeated.
War. If she had to summarize her experience in this world, that would be the word.
Kaguya ascended to stop war.
The Parasites brought war wherever they went.
She brought them a war of annihilation.
The Shitstain brought war back to Earth.
The twins inherited war to their descendants.
The descendants found different ways of waging war.
Nine hundred years of basically non-stop war, and she had to live through them all.
Tiredness was a healthy response because more than a few times she felt an impulse to start one last war to end them all and annihilate all the outsiders, leaving only her precious sand people alive.
|I'm not in a hurry; we can wait.|
'Thank you, Lucian. I feel like I'm failing at my only task, so... I'm grateful for your understanding.'
|Madelyne, I never intended to make you suffer to speed up my healing. Take a few sabbatical years; I will reincarnate you when you're ready.|
'Thank you, Love.'
__________________________________________
{A/N:
So, about the changes to the timeline, like Kushina being older than Nawaki, Tsunade being younger than her counterpart, and so on. These were explained through the length of the chapters and the previous ones. If it gets too complicated to understand just think of them as a result of the butterfly effect or me just making the story in an AU Naruto world.
I try to keep time passage very vague because the timeline of the original Naruto before the start of canon is messy, so I'm making my own using the original mess as a reference.
The next chapter starts with Madelyne and Lucian's final life, like I said before it will be an Uchiha, I won't spoil more!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter that turned into three 10K chapters. My carpal tunnel suffered!
}
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