Chapter 254: The Gloomy Days Ahead

Disclaimer:

Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 254: The Gloomy Days Ahead

For the next few days, the village of Konoha fell into a somber state.

The funeral for Jiraiya was held just the day after the visit from the Toad Elders.

The news about his death was shocking to everyone, as Jiraiya was held in great esteem as one of the remaining legendary ninjas. For the common folk, it was hard to imagine who could kill such a being.

If that wasn't enough, rumors about an upcoming war began to spread. There were people claiming to have seen armies from the Cloud and Rock, marching towards Konoha from the furthest reaches of the Fire Country.

These two things combined managed to create a very gloomy atmosphere around the village.

Although it also had an effect on their view of Naruto.

When he arrived in this world, most villagers were treating him like a pariah, despised and feared by all.

Now that they knew he might be their best chance to survive an invasion, he was treated like royalty.

The villagers greeted him with smiles and bows as he walked through the streets. Some even offered him free samples of their goods, followed by a polite, "This is for you, Lord Uzumaki," or, "Please, Lord Uzumaki, take this offering."

For his part, Naruto continued to treat the villagers with the same indifference as before. He never cared for their opinion, and that was something that didn't change.

In the days that followed the funeral, Tsunade and many other ninjas of Konoha worked hard to decipher the code left behind by the Sannin, as well as to understand more about their enemy by examining the corpse they had acquired.

Naruto did learn one thing of importance. The eyes with the remnants of Divine Energy were called the Rinnegan and were supposedly originated from the Sage of the Six Paths.

Of course, the ones inside the corpse were nothing more than an imitation, but one that was made by the original. The energy that Naruto had felt was just scraps left behind by its creation.

This meant that the real Pain was in possession of the actual Rinnegan eyes.

According to all the records studied by his clones, these eyes were the predecessor of both the Sharingan and the Byakugan and offered the user near godlike abilities that surpassed both of those previous ones combined.

Now Naruto had one more reason for wanting to meet the Leader of Akatsuki.

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"You seem distracted lately…" Hinata lifted her eyes to look at him. She was sitting on a comfortable-looking cushion in the middle of the Cultivation Cave that Naruto had created.

"It's dangerous to let your thoughts wander while you're training with natural energy," Naruto reminded her.

"Isn't that why you left this clone with me? To make sure I don't end up turning into a rock?" Hinata asked.

"How can you be so sure I'm a clone?" Naruto asked her.

Hinata's eyes emitted a white glow while looking at him. "Since I started training to become a Sage… my eyesight has become sharper. There are minute differences in the way your chakra moves compared to your clones."

"Is that so? I thought I made them perfectly."

"Your clones are perfectly made. Their chakra system looks exactly like it's supposed to," Hinata said. "It's the original Naruto who is different from everyone else. He always has this strange flow of energy that differs from the normal chakra paths. It all converges into a single point, like a vortex that wants to eat everything around him… I… I suppose it's a bit hard to explain what I see, but it gives me the feeling of wanting to devour everything. The clones don't have 'that,' so I can tell them apart."

"Mmm… not bad. It seems like the natural energy has allowed you to enhance your eyes and peer into my Mind Palace. An ability like that would be considered exceptional even in my old world."

"Your Mind Palace? Isn't that?..."

"My soul, well… the original Naruto's soul, at least."

"I was looking at your soul? I didn't know the Byakugan could do that," Hinata said.

"Just a superficial glimpse, but if you continue to refine your skills, you could have a pair of eyes capable of seeing through everything in existence. People with that kind of skill were called 'The All-Seeing Ones'..."

"You think I can go that far?" Hinata stared into his eyes.

"With all the resources you're being given and your natural talent, you can go as far as you want. You can become a force to be reckoned with across the entire continent. Even the mightiest figures in the land will have to step aside when you walk by."

Hinata grinned. "You're making it sound like I'll become a tyrant."

"You'll become only what you wish," Naruto extended his hand to her. "Now come, we must return. This training can only be done for a short amount of time to avoid side effects. We can return tomorrow for more."

"Right…" Hinata stood up. "When is Ino coming back? It's more fun to train when she's also here."

"She should return from her mission in five days or so," Naruto responded.

Hinata grabbed onto his hand. "Let's go back home then. I promised my father I would visit him today."

Naruto nodded and activated the Flying Thunder God, aiming at the marker he left at their new house.

As soon as they arrived, both of them began to hear a loud banging on the door.

"That sounds urgent," Naruto commented.

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