Naruto: The Forest's Chosen (Mori Mori No Mi)

The old man, the Sage of Six Paths, was never that simple. Naturally, he had a backup plan.

Hovering above the bottomless pit, Naruto smiled faintly.

"I get it now. No wonder I always felt like something was missing."

With that, he flew downward.

The massive crater narrowed quickly.

It shrank until only one person could pass through.

Though it was said to be bottomless, what lay before Naruto now… was clearly the bottom.

Why would it connect to Fishman Island?

The answer became clear the moment Naruto saw the plow-shaped turtle.

There was lingering chakra—Otsutsuki energy… and a strange blend of divine and demonic power.

Naruto leaned in, his gaze landing on the dormant Space-Time Ninja Tool, 犂 (the Plow). It had run out of chakra and entered a deep slumber.

This was different from what he'd encountered in the Shikkotsu Forest.

This plow wasn't capable of initiating time-space travel on its own.

Yet the traces of Otsutsuki and ghost-god energy remained.

That could only mean one thing:

The Sage of Six Paths had already discovered this place.

And more than that—he knew about the Plow.

So why didn't he take it?

Why did fishmen and mermaids occasionally appear here?

Naruto had a guess.

The Sage had harnessed the power of the ghost-god realm—the realm of Yomi—to create a Pure Land-like space.

Clearly, this wasn't his first time attempting something like this.

Kamui was also a type of space-time ninjutsu.

With Kamui, one could enter the Kamui Dimension—a world of one's own making.

Just like Kaguya's Amenominaka, which allowed her to shift dimensions freely.

If such things were possible, then surely the Sage had experimented similarly.

The Plow (Rii), symbolized a form of time-space traversal.

Driven by chakra, it could move through time and space.

But what if… it could also be powered by ghost-god energy?

Or perhaps a fusion of chakra and ghost-god power?

Chakra enables space-time traversal. The ghost-god power enables creation.

Naruto smiled again.

He walked over and picked up the little turtle-shaped Plow.

He injected a trace of Otsutsuki chakra.

Nothing happened.

"It's been tampered with a bit… but the traces are faint now."

"Still, it's a high-grade ninja tool—self-repairing."

"Wait… this place… it has a barrier that blocks seawater."

"But the barrier is weak. So… the convergence of three energies must've triggered something."

"Maybe it's even linked to the barrier above the Shikkotsu Forest, creating a connection to Fishman Island."

Naruto silently infused three types of power into the Plow.

It might be usable once or twice more. If so, the modifications could be completely undone, restoring it to its original form.

The Limited Tsukuyomi was different from the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

The former was more grounded. More real.

In other words, the Limited Tsukuyomi could very well be a real world—a created realm.

When Obito used the Limited Tsukuyomi, the barrier vanished, and he drifted along the ocean currents, absorbing the natural energy of the ninja world.

Later, he was retrieved by Konoha.

The creation of the Limited Tsukuyomi realm likely coincided with the final battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

The Sage of Six Paths probably knew of Black Zetsu's existence.

To prevent things from spiraling out of control, he may have created a backup world.

Later, perhaps he refined that idea into the Pure Land.

All these preparations suggest one thing:

He knew the Otsutsuki would come to the ninja world.

But he wasn't entirely certain.

Kaguya used living beings—White Zetsu—as soldiers.

The Sage, on the other hand, used dead ninja who already possessed chakra and skills.

The Limited Tsukuyomi was his contingency plan.

And it was passed down through the body.

Later, when Obito entered it, he met the ever-loyal Uchiha Itachi, who promptly ran away.

That wouldn't have happened if it were the Infinite Tsukuyomi world.

After all, the caster should be the one in control.

Naruto shook his head, chuckling.

A bright light began to glow.

And then—Naruto vanished into the depths of the pit, clutching the Plow in his hand.

At the same time, in the real world, the bottomless pit and the seawater-blocking barrier vanished.

Suddenly, seawater surged in.

Filling the void.

In the Pure Land.

The Sage of Six Paths sat with his eyes closed.

He raised one hand—weakly, as though it might fall limp any second.

Slowly, very slowly, his fingers formed seals.

An invisible force burst forth—

It left the Pure Land...

And reached the ninja world.

Following the faint traces of chakra the Sage had left behind.

Soon, it arrived above the sea region protected by the Land of Water.

A blurry figure gradually emerged.

Twin horns sprouted from its head.

Brown hair flowed behind him.

He wore a white robe adorned with six black magatama on the chest and a red spiral symbol—an Uzumaki crest—on the back.

Beneath the spiral: a grid of nine magatama, arranged in rows of three.

This was the projection of the Sage of Six Paths.

He sat cross-legged in the air, with several Truth-Seeking Orbs floating beneath him.

He glanced down at the pit, now filled with seawater.

He raised one hand.

A Four Red Yang Formation appeared.

Once again, the bottomless pit was sealed.

Boom. Boom. Boom—

The world around Naruto was pitch-black.

He could hear his own heartbeat.

Louder. Faster.

As time passed, it intensified.

Then—the time travel completed.

A sliver of light pierced the darkness.

And Naruto—

Was bathed in light.

....

When he opened his eyes again, Naruto found himself in Konoha.

More precisely, in a small, abandoned park. A familiar one.

He had arrived in the Limited Tsukuyomi World.

Glancing around, Naruto wasn't surprised. This place was always the entrance. Fixed, like a pre-set gateway. Just like the one on Fishman Island.

But what truly mattered now—was that the people in this world weren't illusions conjured by a genjutsu.

They were real. Living. Breathing.

"Creating life… The old man—Six Paths Sage—he's not that omnipotent. This must be the work of time-space forces," Naruto muttered.

He looked up.

Hanging high above was the moon, dyed scarlet and etched with magatama—just like in Tsukuyomi.

He raised his hand, curling his fingers into a fist.

"You expected me to come, didn't you?" he said quietly. "But this world isn't truly yours. Even if you created it, you built it using the Plough's power. You don't hold absolute authority here."

Naruto closed his eyes and injected chakra into the little turtle—the Plough, a time-space ninja tool.

A moment later, the faint resistance vanished completely.

A slight smile tugged at his lips.

Of course, the Sage of Six Paths wouldn't leave just one contingency.

Naruto looked at the scarlet moon again.

"The pillars of this world… are up there," he muttered. "We'll deal with them later."

He closed his eyes once more.

The echoing thud of his heartbeat still hadn't calmed.

But this time, the corners of his lips rose.

"I get it now… No wonder things have felt off lately."

He opened his eyes.

Boom-boom-boom—

The heartbeat grew louder, faster.

"You were cautious, old man," Naruto whispered.

He pressed his palm to his chest.

"The chakras of Asura and Indra can reincarnate endlessly. That means… your chakra is still here."

"It's because of the bloodline of the Ninja Clan, right?"

"I've already absorbed Indra's chakra from Sasuke."

"And I took in Asura's chakra from your body."

His gaze lowered.

"But… one thing was overlooked."

Naruto tore open his shirt.

Purple veins pulsed from his chest, spreading outward from the heart.

"My own chakra—Naruto's chakra—is also that of Asura's."

"And whenever I absorb someone else's chakra… a sliver of it always embeds itself here, in my heart."

"Whether it's Asura, Indra…"

"…or even you."

He paused.

"So now you want to take over my body?"

A smirk formed.

"You've underestimated me, old man."

Within Naruto's chest, three distinct chakras pulsed together: Asura's, Indra's, and his own.

Each containing a trace of the Six Paths' power.

At first, Naruto had only focused on Asura and Indra. He had overlooked one thing.

Himself.

All three—hidden within his heart—now sought to override him.

To gain control.

"To absorb me, huh?"

"You think you can?"

Naruto relaxed his will, releasing control of his body.

He didn't use the draining ability of the Mori Mori no Mi.

Not yet.

Instead, he simply waited.

Now, within his perception, the three chakras surged—intertwining—attempting to dominate the core of his being.

Far away, in the real world—

The Sage of Six Paths' projection sat above the ocean barrier, his ancient face calm.

Then, slowly… a faint smile tugged at his lips.

A mix of pride. And sorrow.

But suddenly—

BOOM—!

His eyes snapped open.

"…How?!"

His voice cracked with disbelief.

But that disbelief quickly turned into confusion.

His connection to the Limited Tsukuyomi World was severed.

Completely.

Inside the Limited Tsukuyomi world—

Naruto stood still, staring at his chest, as though seeing straight through flesh and bone to the beating heart within.

His right hand rose.

His left side—already overwhelmed by the invading chakra—glowed. His left eye…

Rinnegan.

Power surged through him.

The will of the Mori Mori no Mi awakened.

The strength of nature. The power to take.

SPLURCH—!!!

Without hesitation, Naruto drove his right hand into his own chest.

Sizzle——!!!

He ripped outward, and—

BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!

In the palm of his hand, his heart pulsed violently.

Blood spilled.

Veins tore open.

POP—!!!

A sickening, unnatural sound echoed.

Blood splattered across his face.

But Naruto's expression didn't change.

Emotionless, composed—he stared at the heart crushed in his own grip.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

But…

He had taken back full control of his body.

His right eye flared open—also a Rinnegan.

Moments later, both eyes turned brilliant blue. Twin Rinnegan.

Naruto looked down at the shattered remains of his heart.

And smiled.

"Just for a performance, you're going to pull out all these tricks?"

Naruto shook his head.

The next second, he activated his dōjutsu power.

Time Reversal.

The ability allowed him to rewind time. But only the world around him turned back—while his own timeline remained unaffected.

It was as if Naruto, in his current state, had jumped a few seconds into the past.

Boom boom boom——

The sound of a heartbeat returned.

Of course, this wasn't the original heart. Naruto's body had regenerated a new one, just as it always did.

He glanced at his right hand. The heart itself hadn't been restored yet, but the three distinct chakras that had once been hidden within it had reappeared.

Naruto clenched his fist.

In an instant, the three chakra strands were forcefully sealed within his grasp.

Boom boom boom——

The sound of his heart echoed again.

"I'm guessing the Menma of this world is one of your backups too..." Naruto murmured.

He smirked. Even without Obito's manipulation, Menma would still have fallen into darkness... Just like how Madara used Obito, the Sage of Six Paths used him too.

So now the Sage wanted to see which Naruto—from which world—would prove stronger?

Naruto casually tossed aside the newly formed heart, the one that contained the merged chakra of three souls.

The seal on it was undone.

The blood-soaked heart suddenly jerked in the air as if it had a will of its own—and then shot off into the darkness, disappearing without a trace.

Naruto watched it vanish and sneered, "Fine. I'll play your game."

"It won't take long before the fusion completes... And when it does, I'll absorb everything."

Just as he finished speaking, Team 8 appeared at the edge of the park.

"Ajisai?" Kiba called out. "What are you doing over there?"

Roar—!

Before Kiba could react, Akamaru suddenly barked loudly and lunged at him.

"AH!"

Chomp!

Kiba yelped in pain, his butt getting chomped on by his own partner.

"It hurts!!"

…

TN:

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