Chapter 322: The Pass of 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 322: The Pass of Time
3 Years Later
In the barren wasteland, at the bottom of the hole where he had once met the Goddess called Kaguya, was Naruto, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed...just as he had been since the day of the tribulation.
His body had not moved one inch in all this time, not even for drinking, eating, or sleeping, and a thick layer of dust had accumulated on his old robes, skin, and hair.
The reason he had to remain here for so long was not just because of the injuries he sustained during his encounter with the Divine Tribulation, but because he also had to stabilize and absorb all the energy he had acquired.
He had to deal with not only the remnants of Kaguya's chakra, but he also used his cultivation method to absorb a good amount of energy from the tribulation.
This one would be especially deadly to leave alone, so Naruto had no choice but to start his meditation immediately and couldn't even move to a different location like his personal cave...he had to remain here the whole time, much to his displeasure.
But with no other choice, he did just that. He stood here and cultivated. Assimilating all that wild energy and turning it into his own, making himself more powerful in the process.
At the same time, he took the chance to begin creating his own Divine Energy, since chakra was no longer going to be enough for the next step, no matter how pure it was.
Transforming pure chakra into divine energy was a tedious and lengthy process.
During these last three years, he had only been able to create something akin to a handful of drops. Although even this little progress had granted him tremendous benefits.
Using his personal divine energy was much better than making use of the one he acquired from the Golden Scripture.
Today was his twenty-fourth birthday.
"Mmm…" His mouth felt dry as he tried to mutter some words.
His eyes finally opened for the first time in three years.
The Rinnegan had transformed. His eyes now looked more human, like the ones he had before. Only his irises were now golden, and they contained an endless spiral within their surface.
But even if their size was smaller, their power was exponentially greater than before. Naruto felt that if he wanted, he could bring the entire Moon down to Earth, or create a new one to keep it company.
He could see every detail for miles and miles around him. He could even see the molecules that formed every element of this landscape, and particles of chakra that all living beings were constantly emitting.
He could also see the many layers of dust that had accumulated on his clothes, hair, and skin.
"This is why people choose to cultivate in closed caves…" His mouth was so dry.
Naruto raised his hand and pulled all the molecules of water in the immediate area, forming a small pool above himself and slowly lowering it.
"Gulp gulp…" He happily drank some of the water while allowing the rest to clean his body and clothes.
"Ahh… much better." He now felt completely refreshed.
Naruto pushed the water away and stood up from the spot.
"I feel so sore…" It was going to take a bit before his muscles grew accustomed to moving again.
"How much time has passed?..." He wondered for a moment before remembering what he had to do.
Right before going into his long cultivation session, Naruto did one last thing to prepare.
He knew he was going to be away from the people he cared about for quite a long time, so… using most of what little chakra he had left after facing the tribulation, he created as many clones as he could.
Naruto wasn't sure about the number, but it must have been less than a hundred.
The clones were meant to make sure that Hinata, Ino, and his new daughter were taken care of. And if possible, they were meant to keep up with any important developments that he needed to know after waking up.
"Okay, let's dispel them and learn what happened." A torrent of information rushed into his mind.
This was three years' worth of knowledge from almost one hundred sources.
"Three years…" Naruto muttered when he realized how long he had been meditating.
It was a long time, but he still felt glad he hadn't been away for fifty or even one hundred years, with everyone he knew already dead.
The Elemental Nations were now enjoying their long period of peace, so at least no new wars had started during his absence.
Konoha was thriving, as more and more people had moved in and more businesses had started there.
There were many new ninjas he had never met.
Kakashi, Hiashi, and Shukaku were still Elders of the village and were currently more used to their position, while Tsunade remained as Hokage.
Most of the people that he had met and interacted with during his life in this world were still there.
Shikamaru had moved to the Sand Village and married the Kage there, a blonde girl called Temari, who was the sister of Gaara.
He barely remembered her from the Chūnin Exam, but they did visit Konoha a few times and interacted with some of his clones.
Kiba had finally become a Jonin, which was quite unbelievable, and Choji opened his own restaurant.
Things had changed, but thanks to his clones, Naruto didn't miss anything this time and was able to experience everything.
Then there were Hinata and Ino… there were so many memories of them.
Naruto stood there in the same spot for hours, processing all these memories, not wanting to miss any important details.
Once he was done, he opened his eyes again.
"It is time to go back home."
He disappeared in a bolt of lightning.