THE EMINENCE OF THE SHINOBI WORLD

Naruto and the eminence in shadow belongs to mashashi kishimoto and daisuke aizawa.

After leaving the Hokage's office, Naruto teleported to the head of the Fourth Hokage, then began walking towards his home. Twenty minutes later, he stood in front of a rustic wooden gate adorned with the Uzumaki clan crest, marking the entrance to the compound. The gate was flanked by two stone lanterns, their soft golden light casting a warm glow over the surrounding area. A winding path, lined with carefully manicured bushes and cherry blossom trees, led visitors to the main house.

The main house, with its traditional Japanese architecture, was a marvel of simplicity and elegance. The roof, tiled with curved dark gray tiles, was adorned with a delicate golden finial shaped like a spiral, the Uzumaki clan symbol. The walls, made of natural wood, were adorned with sliding doors of rice paper that allowed an abundance of natural light to filter in. As he entered, he found his sister, Akane, with her long, curly red hair and piercing green eyes. She was slightly taller and more athletic than Naruto, with a toned physique honed from years of training in swordsmanship and martial arts. Akane wore a traditional Uzumaki clan outfit, complete with a red haori and a forehead protector bearing the Konohagakure symbol, along with a Konoha Chunin flak jacket.

Seeing him, she ran towards him and hugged him tightly. "Are you alright, Naruto? You didn't get hurt during Orochimaru's assault, did you? I didn't have time to see you while I was fighting the invading forces."

"Don't worry, Akka-nee, I'm not hurt anywhere," Naruto replied, reassuring her. "Some Oto shinobi tried to attack Sakura and me, but Kakashi-sensei came in time to save us and assigned us the task of protecting civilians and taking them to emergency shelters."

"Phew, I was very worried about you, Naruto-chan. Okay, go freshen up. I'll arrange the dinner table. We both need some rest, and tomorrow the Third Hokage is calling a gathering for shinobi and civilians to mourn those who were martyred while protecting Konoha and to give condolences to their families."

"Okay, Akka-nee, I'm going for a bath. I'm all sweaty and dirty," Naruto said as he headed towards his room.

Naruto's room, located on the second floor, was a cozy, intimate space reflecting his personality. The walls, adorned with posters of his favorite ninja teams, were a deep, rich blue, matching the color of his eyes. A small wooden desk cluttered with scrolls and ninja tools stood in one corner, while a comfortable futon-style bed occupied the other. He took off his clothes and walked towards the bathing room.

Located in a quiet corner of Naruto's room, the bathing room was a serene oasis that invited relaxation and rejuvenation. Designed in a traditional Japanese style, the room featured natural materials and subtle lighting that created a calming atmosphere. The bathing area was situated at the far end of the room, surrounded by a low wall made of polished wood. The deep, rectangular tub made of gleaming copper was adorned with intricate, hand-hammered designs that reflected the light. The tub was filled with warm, crystal-clear water scented with subtle herbal essences.

Adjacent to the bathing area was a small shower space, separated by a sliding screen made of translucent rice paper. The showerhead was a traditional Japanese-style showerhead, with multiple small holes that created a gentle, soothing spray. A small, low-slung washbasin was situated near the entrance of the bathing room, made of the same polished wood as the walls, adorned with a simple, hand-carved wooden faucet that added to the room's rustic charm.

The bathing room was lit by soft, warm lighting that created a relaxing ambiance. A few candles sat on low tables, casting a gentle, flickering glow over the space, while small paper-covered lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting a soft, diffused light over the bathing area.

Equipped with a range of amenities, the bathing room catered to Naruto's needs. A small, woven basket sat near the bathing area, filled with soft, fluffy towels and a selection of herbal soaps and shampoos. A few comfortable, cushioned stools were near the washbasin, providing a place for Naruto to sit and relax while he washed up.

Overall, Naruto's bathing room was a peaceful, rejuvenating space that invited relaxation and tranquility. The traditional Japanese design and natural materials created a calming atmosphere, while the range of amenities and subtle decorations added to the room's comfort and charm.

After a refreshing bath, Naruto emerged, feeling revitalized. He donned a comfortable and cozy kimono designed for lounging around the house and sleeping—perfect for his downtime. The kimono featured a vibrant and bold color scheme, with a unique blend of red, orange, black, and yellow hues. The main fabric was a soft, silky material with a subtle sheen, dominated by a deep, burnt orange (known as "kurenai" in Japanese). This warm color evoked feelings of comfort and relaxation.

Striking accent colors added depth and visual interest to the design. The sleeves and hem were adorned with bold, red stripes (known as "aka" in Japanese), which injected energy and vitality into the overall look. The black trim (known as "kuro" in Japanese) around the collar and cuffs added a touch of sophistication and elegance, providing a nice contrast to the vibrant orange and red hues.

On the back of the kimono, just below the neckline, was a small, intricately designed Uzumaki clan symbol, rendered in bright, sunny yellow (known as "ki" in Japanese). This symbol was embroidered with fine, black thread, creating a beautiful contrast with the surrounding orange fabric. The kimono's simple yet elegant design featured loose, flowing sleeves with a slight bell shape at the cuffs and a subtly curved hem that flared at the bottom. The loose fit draped elegantly on Naruto's body, making it perfect for lounging.

The kimono came with a matching obi (sash) made of the same soft, silky material, featuring a subtle, repeating pattern of small yellow Uzumaki clan symbols. The adjustable obi allowed Naruto to customize the fit to his liking.

Overall, this kimono was a unique and comfortable addition to Naruto's wardrobe, ideal for relaxing at home and sleeping. The bold, vibrant colors and striking design elements made it a standout piece that was sure to turn heads.

As he returned to the dining hall, a warm and inviting space, the Uzumaki clan's dining area embodied traditional Japanese culture. The room featured a raised seating area with soft tatami mats and low wooden tables, surrounded by sliding doors made of translucent rice paper. A large wooden counter for food preparation and serving ran along one wall, equipped with traditional Japanese cooking utensils. The room was adorned with hand-painted scrolls, intricately carved wooden panels, and soft, warm lighting from paper-covered lanterns. A traditional Japanese garden was accessible through a sliding door, and a Japanese-style hearth provided warmth during the winter months.

As he sat at the dinner table, Naruto's mouth watered at the sight of the meal prepared for him. A steaming hot bowl of Japanese noodle soup made with rich pork or chicken broth, topped with sliced pork, boiled egg, and green onions awaited him. Alongside it was a small bowl of hot, fluffy Japanese rice and a small dish of pickled cucumbers or daikon radish, served as a palate cleanser.

"This looks delicious!" Naruto exclaimed, and both he and Akane said, "Itadakimasu!" before starting to eat. After dinner, they headed towards their rooms. As Naruto re-entered his room, his demeanor changed. He made a half ram seal and created a wood clone, instructing it to sleep in the bed, ensuring that if Akane came to check on him, she wouldn't realize he was not there.

Once the clone was settled, Naruto activated his Rinnegan, its purple hue adorned with three black rings and nine magatama—three in each ring. He clapped his hands, and his Rinnegan glowed for a moment, causing a Japanese-style gate to appear. He stepped through the gate and found himself in a dimly lit chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling that seemed to disappear into the shadows. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment, smoke, and a faint hint of ozone, reminiscent of the aftermath of a fierce battle.

The walls, adorned with intricate, swirling patterns that seemed to shift and writhe like living flames, were lined with towering shelves packed with ancient tomes, mysterious artifacts, and strange, glowing orbs. In the center of the room, a massive, ornate desk dominated the space, its surface scarred and battered from countless experiments and trials. The desk was surrounded by a halo of soft, pulsing light that emanated from the very walls, casting an otherworldly glow over the area. At the center of it all was a throne colored in purple and black, connected to this entire sub-dimension, which Naruto named the Celestial Citadel.

As he sat on the throne, his mind reflected on the past, recalling the day when everything began.

FLASHBACK - 7 YEARS AGO

Naruto Uzumaki walked through the forest at six years old, sent by his sister to collect herbs for an academy project. The sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow over the trees, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers. Naruto breathed in deeply, feeling at peace in the natural surroundings.

As he turned a corner, he overheard a hushed conversation between several individuals. They spoke in low tones, but Naruto 's keen ears picked up on the words "kidnap" and "Uzumaki." His eyes narrowed, and he crept closer, trying not to make a sound. He didn't recognize the symbol on their masks—it was the mark of "Root," a group loyal only to Danzo Shimura, but he didn't know that they were a threat to the Hidden Leaf Village.

"...and once we take out Akane Uzumaki, the village will be ours for the taking," one of them said, a sneer in their voice. "Danzo-sama will manipulate the weapon to his will and become Hokage of Konoha."

Naruto's anger flared, and he prepared to strike. He had always been fiercely loyal to his village, and the thought of anyone threatening its safety was unbearable. But before he could attack, one of the figures noticed him and alerted the others. They quickly turned on Naruto, drawing their weapons.

"You're a bit too curious for your own good, ninja," one of them sneered, charging towards Naruto. "You're going to pay for sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong."

Seeing them, Naruto tried to run, and they chased after him. After thirty minutes of running, he entered the forty-fourth training area of Konohagakure no Sato, a place that frightened even high-ranking shinobi. The forest was extremely misleading and full of unique creatures. A rumor circulated among the ranks of the shinobi of Konoha that the forest hid something that could lead to the end of the hidden villages, and Hashirama Senju had isolated part of the forest with the help of the Uzumaki clan using several seals that not even the current Hokage could break.

He found himself waking up in a clearing alone. His orange and blue striking jacket was completely destroyed, leaving him in torn pants and a black shirt with the red swirl symbol of the Uzumaki clan—though Naruto didn't know that little detail at the moment. If Naruto were anyone else, he would have died from the wounds he received fighting against the Root members or from the fall of several meters he suffered, but he was from the Uzumaki Clan, famous for their long vitality and regeneration, and he was also the Jinchuriki.

"Where's Inu-neesan? What about Jiji's ANBU?" he wondered, feeling lost and alone. "Did they leave me? No... they can come here anytime... I'm very hungry."

His faith in his precious people made the thought that they had abandoned him incomprehensible. In his daydreams, trying to understand what had happened and the immense hunger resulting from using too much of his chakra to recover, Naruto did not notice the sealed papers in the trees that he passed—papers that seemed to have been there for years.

"Oh, how I wanted a big bowl of ramen!" he exclaimed, exasperated, not realizing that he had inadvertently crossed a barrier that no one had passed for centuries.

If it were another shinobi, the barrier would have prevented him from pursuing, but that particular barrier had been made jointly by the Shodaime Hokage and the leader of the Uzumaki clan. When the barrier was created, the Shodaime had taken precautions that only one chakra equal to his would be accepted within the barrier. However, the Shodaime's chakra was the same as that of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's youngest son, Ashura. Since Naruto was another cycle of reincarnation of Ashura, the barrier accepted his chakra as if it were Hashirama's own.

"Wow, that's pretty big roots, dattebayo!" exclaimed Naruto, seeing roots as large as his apartment around him. "Hm, if those are the roots of this tree, how big should the fruit be?" He then got lost in reveries, thinking of a giant fruit he could devour.

Soon, Naruto arrived at the center of the crater where the tree was, and without even realizing it, he stayed in the same place where, a thousand years ago, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had partaken of the forbidden fruit of the Shinju.

A few moments later, Naruto's body lay on the ground, blood flowing into the forest of death. Unaware that his blood was the necessary nutrient for the Shinju tree to finally create a new fruit, a sphere the size of an apple, so bright that Naruto thought he might go blind, descended from the tree branches and stopped in front of him.

"What is it? It's so brilliant... Why do I feel so tempted to eat?"

The blonde looked closely at the bright fruit floating in front of him, feeling hypnotized. Without much thought, he took the fruit in his hands and bit into it, enveloped by a silver glow soon after. After a millennium, Naruto Uzumaki became the second person to taste the forbidden fruit of the Shinju sacred tree. The moment he consumed the fruit, the thick roots of the tree completely enveloped his body, forming a cocoon. Through the cracks between the roots, three different chakras mingled: one silver like moonlight, one red as blood, and one blue as the sky.

Inside Naruto's body, the nine-tailed fox, Kurama, stared in despair as the sewage in which it had been imprisoned for twelve years filled with the same roots that enveloped its host.

"Scum-bag, what did you do? And what is this feeling?" the kitsune wondered, beginning to feel something he hadn't felt in a while—fear. Kurama tried to release his chakra to combat the invading energy, but the seal placed on his Jinchuriki intercepted his efforts.

The fox only had time to widen his eyes before the roots entered the bars of the cage that held him, enveloping his body just as they had with Naruto.

Deep inside Naruto's soul, a lone figure thought, "What is this disturbance? Did something happen?" He was a tall man with a kind face, a left bang hanging to the side of his face. As he sat in a dark room, his other features remained hidden from view. Being the master of nature energy, he spread his senses across Naruto's body, bypassing all seals.

He sensed a disturbance to be a small in Naruto's body. He couldn't go any deeper than just a few blue lines, which confused him. Though he was a soul using Naruto's body as a host, he was not an ordinary one. He was Ashura Ōtsutsuki, the second son of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, and the father of modern-day Shinobi and Ninshu.

Ashura had been with Naruto from the moment he was born nearly thirteen years ago, and the bond they shared was deeper than what Naruto shared with Kurama, one of Ashura's brothers. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't influence Naruto, as the addition of his father's chakra was needed to bring his chakra out, which was very deep in Naruto's soul. But just being in Naruto, he could not influence him, as he had a very strong and durable body, chakra, and passive healing ability.

Ashura followed the blue lines, which led him to Naruto's mindscape, the level where Kurama was sealed. He saw the Kyuubi fighting against strange tree roots. After some time, he thought that since he had some Sage of Six Paths chakra left inside him, he should use it. So he concentrated on his Six Paths chakra to summon Hagoromo's consciousness. After some time, he successfully summoned his father and explained everything to him.

After listening, Hagoromo thought, "It was good that the tree was not too big; otherwise, the world would not have been saved because it sucked all of its chakra."

Hagoromo lifted his staff, and with a flare of his chakra, he entered Naruto's mindscape, using the powers of his Rinnegan to stop the tree roots for a time. He then summoned Naruto and Ashura to the mindscape.

Suddenly, Naruto found himself in a strange place. It was a dark room filled with water to his ankle length, resembling a sewer. Then he saw three figures: the first was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, a tall, imposing figure with a strong and wise presence. He had a distinctive appearance that reflected his incredible power and wisdom.

Hagoromo was extremely tall, with a muscular build that showcased his incredible physical strength. He had long, flowing white hair that fell down his back like a river of snow, often depicted as wild and unkempt, giving him a rugged appearance. His eyes were deep, piercing purple with three rings that seemed to bore into the souls of those he looked at. His face was strong and chiseled, with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline, and he wore a simple yet elegant white robe that reflected his connection to the spiritual realm.

The second figure was Ashura Ōtsutsuki, a tall, muscular figure with long, flowing black hair and black eyes. He wore a white robe and often wielded a chakra-infused sword. His expression was usually stern and determined, reflecting his strong sense of justice and compassion.

The third figure was a giant fox with nine tails, struggling against some tree roots. Naruto realized it was Kurama, but Yondaime had killed the Kyuubi six years ago, which meant he was also dead. Panic set in as he thought about how he could save his sister and how he could become Hokage.

Sensing his thoughts, Hagoromo called out, "Don't panic, my child. You are not dead; you are still alive." He then explained what had happened six years ago, detailing the birth of both twins and how an Uchiha had extracted the Kyuubi from their mother, leading to their father's sealing of half of the Kyuubi into both twins. Naruto began to understand why everyone hated them and why Hokage Jiji was so protective of them.

"Hagoromo, listen to me," he said, "the tree where you ate that fruit is called the Shinju tree, and its only purpose was to absorb all chakra from the earth and cultivate a chakra fruit, which you consumed. It contains every person's chakra, genetic data, and memories of those who walked the earth for the past thousand years, granting you powers greater than mine."

"Now I understand, but who are you?" Naruto asked, still trying to grasp the situation.

"Oh, my apologies. My name is Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, known as the Sage of Six Paths, and this is Ashura Ōtsutsuki, my youngest son," he gestured to Ashura. "And this fluffy fox is Kurama, my eldest on the Bijuu side, whom I created by distributing the Jubi's chakra."

"Okay, I understand everything, but how are you here?" Naruto inquired.

After Ashura explained that Naruto was his reincarnation and the rivalry with his brother, Indra, he asked Naruto what he would do next now that he knew everything.

After some thought, Naruto replied, "After saving my sister from those goons, I will create a world of true peace—a world where no children are hated and where a Bijuu is not sealed inside a kid." As he spoke, he looked at the three figures, and they were shocked by his words and his eyes, which were no longer cerulean blue but dark red, adorned with three magatama.

After listening and seeing that Naruto was slowly adapting to his powers, Hagoromo told him about Kaguya and gave him the Sun and Moon seal, along with some of his chakra, which he planned to give him at a later date. He then instructed Kurama to absorb the Shinju tree and become the new Jubi, explaining that after the fruit was gone, it would convert to the Jubi and destroy the planet to recover its chakra.

Hagoromo flicked his finger, and two chakra orbs appeared in his hands—one yellow and the other red. He handed them to Naruto, explaining that they contained his parents' chakra, which he could take later. With the power of his Rinnegan, he unlocked the seal and helped Kurama absorb the tree. After absorbing it, Kurama grew taller, dark red stripes appearing on his body, and his eyes changed from black slitted to red with three rings and nine magatama, along with a third eye that appeared on his forehead, resembling a Byakugan.

Seeing this transformation, Hagoromo decided to return to the Pure Land, but unfortunately, Ashura couldn't go to the Pure Lands right now because Naruto was his reincarnation. Until this cycle of reincarnation ended, he couldn't leave. So, Ashura returned inside Naruto's soul.

After some time, Naruto awakened, noticing that his attire had changed. He first changed back into what he had worn previously. Then he realized he could sense everyone in the world, including all five Kage in their offices, the locations of all other Jinchuriki, and even people on the moon.

Focusing his senses on the Root members who were still searching for him, he realized that all the trees in the forest were like parts of his body. He concentrated on the trees surrounding the four Root members and buried them alive. After ensuring their demise, he decided to return home, planning to think about the entire fiasco the next day and to never mention this incident to anyone.