Chapter 296: You Need a What?

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 296: You Need a What?

"Give me another bowl, Teuchi," Naruto said, raising his hand.

"Right away, Naruto. Pork ramen coming up." The old chef got to work, assembling another bowl for him.

"I'd also like another one…" Hinata asked shyly.

"You're eating a lot today…" Ino gave her a suspicious glance. "Are you pregnant?"

Hinata snapped the chopsticks in her hand. "What?! No! Why would you ask that?"

Ino shrugged. "I mean, it wouldn't be impossible. Those pills are very effective, but nothing is infallible. And I know you got a lot of action the other night." She gave the other girl a playful wink.

Hinata's cheeks turned bright red. She wasn't as shy as she used to be, but talking about these things in public still made her uncomfortable. "Not now, Ino…"

"Hoping to get some action soon myself." Ino looked at Naruto, who was just starting his fourth bowl of ramen for the night. "When are we going to visit those hot springs I mentioned the other day? None of us have any missions right now."

"Missions have been suspended for the time being. We're still waiting to see how the other nations will react to what happened during the war…" Hinata explained. "Is too risky to venture outside the country right now."

"I don't know if you can even call that a war… although people are already calling it the One Day War," Ino said.

"They're also calling Naruto the One Man Army," Ayame joined the conversation while handing Hinata her food.

"Do the clones not count?" Naruto asked. "Because if they do… then I had the numbers on my side."

"I don't think they count," Hinata said.

"And what about the… you know who? Did you get them?" Ino whispered in his ear.

Naruto scoffed. "Please, Ino. Speak normally. Do you think I'd keep secrets from my favorite ramen chef?"

"Ehm… yes?" Ino raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Teuchi is still a civilian. I hope you haven't been sharing classified information."

"He does do that…" Ayame confessed. "Sometimes…"

Teuchi laughed. "Don't worry, Miss Yamanaka. My daughter and I will always be loyal to Konoha, even if we're only civilians."

"I wasn't trying to call you untrustworthy, but…" Ino made a complicated expression.

"Were you talking about the Bijuus? There were two Jinchurikis on the battlefield, right?" Hinata asked.

Naruto nodded. "Indeed. I took care of absorbing them both. It was a very worthwhile battle." He had a satisfied smile as he said this.

"I don't really notice any difference in your chakra. Did you really absorb them?" Hinata commented. With her new eyes, she could perceive the totality of Naruto's chakra, even if he held it inside himself. So she assumed it would be obvious if Naruto had gained the chakra of two more Tailed Beasts.

"Did you gain another stage in your cultivation? What was the name of that one? Something about spirit…" Ino looked unsure.

"Spirit Transformation. And no...I've contained the two beasts, but I haven't assimilated their chakra into myself yet," Naruto commented.

"You haven't?…" Hinata found it strange. So far, Naruto hadn't wasted any time progressing his cultivation, so it struck her as odd that he'd wait now.

"I do have, of course, a good reason for this. When one breaks through the final stages of cultivation, an event called Heavenly Tribulation occurs. This is the Heavens' attempt to prevent mortals from ascending to godhood and gaining immortality. It goes against the nature of the Universe, and as such, the Heavens act as defenders of these Universal Laws."

"For you to be wary of this tribulation… like, how dangerous is it exactly?" Ino asked, concern in her eyes.

"Mmm… well, to be fair, it'll be my first time encountering something of this magnitude. But if I had to guess… it could definitely decimate the entire Land of Fire, if it's not stopped or contained," Naruto said calmly.

"What?!" Teuchi rarely lost his composure.

"The entire country? Not just the village?" Ayame looked shocked.

"I assume you have a plan to deal with that. You always have a plan," Hinata pointed out.

Naruto chuckled. "Of course I do. But I don't want to talk about it now. Just wait until tomorrow, and you'll see it with your own eyes."

"How reassuring…" Ino muttered.

"Well, if Naruto says he has everything under control, that's enough for me." Hinata didn't look very concerned. Her trust in her husband was absolute.

"And you really won't tell us anything about this plan of yours?" Ino asked.

"Tomorrow," Naruto said simply.

"Urgg..." Ino groaned. "Did you at least warn Lady Tsunade? She's had enough shocks lately… and she's been drinking more than usual," She commented.

"Oh… now that I think about it, I'll need to speak with her. There's something I require for my plan to work," Naruto said.

"What do you need?" Hinata asked.

Naruto glanced at them for a moment before speaking again.

"I require… a sacrifice."

<><><><><><><><>

It was the early hours of the next morning. The first rays of light crept through the tree branches, beginning to illuminate the empty field below.

Naruto was sitting cross-legged at the center of a patch of forest devoid of life.

This was the location where he had ended the life of Pain, the former leader of Akatsuki.

Back then, he had used one of his strongest fire techniques and burned away a massive circle, where nothing but ash remained.

He had precisely selected this location because it had already been destroyed so that he wouldn't damage even more of the forest surrounding Konoha. He had done that a lot, lately.

His senses picked up the presence of several individuals approaching.

"Naruto…" Tsunade jumped down from a tree and landed close to him.

Two ANBU agents arrived right after her, holding a large man in chains and prison rags.

Ino and Hinata appeared just a moment later.

"We brought you what you requested…" Tsunade glanced at the prisoner before looking back at Naruto. "Now… can you tell me what this is all about? What are you planning to do now?"

"You may want to stay and watch this," Naruto said, standing up.

"I am going to kill the God of Death."

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