Chapter 320: It is Time
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 320: It is Time
"No!! You can't do this!" Kaguya screamed as she saw all her energy leave her body at a fast rate, leaving her weak and unable to defend herself.
"It's over, fake goddess whose name I will soon forget. Your chakra belongs to me now," Naruto said coldly.
"You… you…" Kaguya saw her body becoming translucent. Her entire being was made of the chakra that she had been given by her children. Now that it was all being taken away… nothing was going to be left behind.
Her mind went blank, and she was unable to speak or even think any longer. The last thing she saw was the imposing figure of Naruto standing over her with his golden aura still flaring up… and taking everything that was supposed to be hers.
It took him several minutes to finish absorbing the last drop of energy.
"Phew… that was exhausting…" Naruto muttered.
The fight had been difficult...probably the most difficult he had faced since his soul awoke in this world, but Naruto knew that this was nothing compared to what was coming next.
Without moving from the spot, Naruto sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
The amount of chakra he had just absorbed was tremendous. It not only included the last two Bijuus, but also the chakra of the last few members of Akatsuki, Madara, and everything that Zetsu had been collecting for a year and storing in the God Tree.
He could not delay this. It was simply too much for him to contain inside his body unless he properly assimilated it and made it his own.
When he ventured into his mind palace, he saw the torrent of energy trying to break free as if it had a mind of its own.
And it probably did. After all, the Bijuus were sentient masses of chakra, and there were two of them inside that mass. The goddess he had just killed was not much different, as she too, was composed entirely of this energy.
He wasted no time in wrestling control of the raging chakra. Inside this space, he could use his will to control everything within it.
Naruto used this to move it where it needed to be, while at the same time, he began to use his cultivation method.
His body and soul were like a well-oiled machine. Everything had a function, and it all worked together to fulfill a purpose.
The newly acquired chakra passed through his Golden Core to be refined before it was allowed to join his reserves of chakra, which were now forming a massive lake in the middle of his mind palace.
The Golden Scripture was, as usual, floating above this lake of pure energy as if it were observing the proceedings.
Naruto got into a rhythm, processing and refining the wild torrent of chakra that had entered his body and making it his own.
He lost track of time, but his cultivation continued to rise higher and higher. The peak of the Spirit Transformation Stage approached, and without slowing down, Naruto broke through it and continued.
He was finally one of the few selected cultivators who had reached the Immortal Ascension Stage.
The last stop before one was allowed to ascend to the Heavens and discover what lay beyond the realm of mortals.
There was still plenty of energy left to process, and now that he had broken through, he had to refine all of his chakra one step further.
According to the information he received when the Golden Scripture bestowed upon him his cultivation method, in order to complete his ascension, Naruto was going to need to refine his own 'Divine Energy' out of all the chakra he had accumulated.
This process was going to take a very long time, although he wasn't sure exactly how much.
Naruto's eyes opened in the real world, and as soon as he did, his Divine Senses seemed to expand even further, until they covered the entire continent of the Elemental Nations.
He could now feel everything and everyone in this small world, and his body was brimming.
This was great, because he was about to need everything he had left in just a moment.
His golden eyes looked up at the sky.
"Already here, huh? The Heavens seem eager to stop me now," Naruto said.
The sky had turned pitch black despite the fact that it should still be around midday.
The sounds of thunder resounded everywhere, and sparks of light would occasionally flash across the heavens.
He still had much that he wanted to do, as he hadn't even finished absorbing all the energy he acquired from Kaguya. But that would have to wait.
The Tribulation was already here.
The aura around Naruto grew in intensity as he released more and more of his power.
This time, he had no plan… no ideas on how to surpass this obstacle. All he could do was give everything he had and hope that it would be enough.
"I suppose that counts as a plan." Up until now, he had done everything he could to create the most perfect body and soul, and he was using a method he acquired from a mysterious Divine Artifact.
His current strength had to be enough to survive this.
"And if it isn't… at least I'll go knowing that I tried my best."
Bolts of lightning began to impact the wastelands, some of them striking the roots of the God Tree and blowing them to pieces.
Those little bolts were of no concern to Naruto. A big one was approaching.
The clouds in the sky parted in a very unnatural way, as if they were giving passage to the wrath of the Heavens themselves.
Naruto opened his hands and began to form two spheres of rotating energy.
"It is time."
He then flew into the air.