Thanks goes to R. J. Niner for beta'ing this chapter as well as FosterFarms and ShadowRChaos for their feedback!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the cover image, Highschool DxD, or any other elements that I decide to randomly throw in here.

XoX

The Moon has always been viewed as a beautiful sight, one of nature's true beauties that many would argue for. Its heavenly glow lights up the dark at night, allowing us to indulge in its presence. When one gazes upon the Moon under the dark sky, they find their troubles gone: disappeared without a trace. A sense of calmness overcomes them, like a Mother embracing her sad child.

At least, that was how the Moon was supposed to feel.

Ever since the Fourth Great Shinobi War, things were never the same again. When people gaze upon the Moon under the dark night, they are reminded of the battle that was fought, a battle that decided Humanity's fate: one in which countless lives were lost and left the Earth forever scarred. And then, they remembered what was born out of those Dark Times.

Peace.

For the first time in history, there was Peace. What was once held as a fantasy became a reality. It wasn't just a couple of nations banning together but everyone in the entire world. Countries were no longer fighting, enemies became allies, and the bonds forged during the time of war grew even stronger. Mankind finally stood together as a whole, and the great Evil lurking in the darkness was purged from their homeland.

The Moon, once seen as a thing of beauty, then the Bringer of their Demise, is now a symbol of what is to come and what has yet to pass.

As it shone under the night filled with many distant stars, it appeared almost normal: almost as if the countless eras of bloodshed had never happened, that it had never hosted a goddess inside its core capable of wiping Humanity off of the face of the Earth with a snap of her fingers.

It was laughable.

And to all it was.

Such is the paradox known as life.

XoX

Unseen to even the greatest of eyes on Earth, a figure began to slowly emerge from within the surface of the Moon, appearing almost transparent. The head appeared first: two horns, silk-white hair, and femininely shaped. Next came her body, donning a white robe radiating royalty with purple and yellow edges. The sleeves were baggy, not constricting her arms. The robe reached her feet and beyond, appearing almost endless.

The figure opened her eyes, revealing pupil-less white eyes. She stood still for a moment, as if processing something. She blinked once, and when she gazed upon the Earth, her face twisted into one of rage. The very air around her was distorted: twisting and bending in ways never thought possible. Cracks began appearing on the moon surface as her power fluctuated wildly, waiting to be unleashed at a moment's notice.

The figure was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Rabbit Goddess.

Or at least, that was who she was supposed to be. Now, she was nothing more but the remnants of her former self: a hollow shell left behind as a failsafe to raise the original once more should something happen. And unfortunately something, or rather two somebodies, did happen. The reincarnation of Asura and Indra, sons of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, her own grandsons of sorts managed to seal her inside of a moon, just like their father and brother before them.

Naruto Uzumaki of Asura and Sasuke Uchiha of Indra.

The snarl on her face deepened at the mere thought of those names, those two boys who managed to stop her. Had they sealed her while within the Earth dimension, she wouldn't have been so upset; in fact, she would have bided her time once again until she was freed. After all, time was nothing to an immortal.

But therein lay the problem. They didn't sealed her there: they sealed her within one of her own dimensions, a place where only she herself had access to. The only reason the Traitor Obito managed to access those planes was by backtracking her own energy signature. However, with his visual powers now gone and dead, there was no one whom she could manipulate into freeing the main body. And she very much doubts the Descendant of Indra would agree to help her should his eyes ever mature.

Which meant all those years of planning were gone.

All those years of waiting, gone.

All because of a bunch of upstarts.

There was no way of becoming whole again.

And no way of reclaiming what was once hers.

Kaguya's spirit looked down at her hands with a frown, already seeing them becoming a little transparent. With her main body in a different dimension, the link that provided her with a constant energy source was severed. The longer she waited, the weaker she'd become until she herself would disappear as well, becoming nothing more than a distant memory.

Not to mention the stronger the reincarnations would become…

She spread her senses out, feeling out two distinct signatures. One was halfway around the globe; the other was relatively closer. The hollow shell had no doubts that the way she was now, she wouldn't be able to beat the two of them at once, especially as she grew weaker and weaker the more she waited and exerted herself.

If she was going to disappear soon…

…then she would bring one of them down with her by whatever means necessary.

XoX

Naruto got up with a yawn and stretched wildly as the morning sun came into view, popping his limbs to relieve the stiffness in them. Turning toward the window, his face broke out into a wide grin. Despite being in a hospital gown and in an actual hospital, he really couldn't find himself to be all too upset.

A part of him reasoned it was because he was so used to being put into the hospital that he just didn't care anymore.

And as traditions go, a classic window escape was due soon.

"The sun is really nice this morning. Don't you think so Kurama?" Naruto asked no one in particular as he got out of bed, leaving it in a messy state, and began working out the kinks from within his body, starting from his feet and ending with his hands.

Yes, hands.

He looked at his prosthetic right arm which was wrapped in bandages: moving it around, checking the fingers, opening and closing his palm. It seems the operation was a success and Granny Tsunade managed to make sure his new arm, filled with Hashimara's cells, didn't start randomly growing trees out of it.

Apparently that was how what-his-face, Dazno or something, was defeated. The guy grew a freaking tree out of his arm, losing said arm in the process, and then some other stuff that happened which he had forgotten about.

Talk about anticlimactic.

Nevertheless, as he gazed upon his new arm, it felt almost surreal. The price for ensuring Peace in the world had been nothing more than his own arm.

During the final battle against Sasuke, Naruto had thrown his heart and soul at him and more. The battle was more than just winning but rather whose ideals was worth fighting for, and would be used to guide the Shinobi world into a new era. The Descendant of Indra and Asura had fought to the near death once again with everything at stake. At the end, Naruto came out on top and managed to bring Sasuke back, thus ending the cycle of reincarnation and hatred.

The brotherly feud that devastated the landscape and caused countless bloodshed since the very beginning was finally over. Sasuke had returned to the village, now pardoned for all of his crimes, and was traveling the world to rediscover himself.

A dark and slightly demonic yawn echoed from within his mind, snapping him out of his musings and signifying that his tenant and partner was finally awake.

'Can you kept it down brat? I still have several hours left to go,' the recently-recombined Kurama stated rather sleepily.

"You've been asleep for 3 weeks," Naruto said out loud with a slight twitch of his eyebrows as he went for his clothes which were lying in a neat order nearby.

'Your point?' the kitsune shot back. 'I'd say this is a well-deserved vacation.'

"Lazy ass," he muttered but still smiled nevertheless.

Kurama in return muttered something incoherent before going back to sleep, snoring loudly all the while.

Naruto shook his head in exasperation. As much as he wanted his partner to do something besides napping for once, even he had to agree they deserved a break; even more so since the war was finally over and the emotional rollercoaster that came with it. After tossing the hospital gown away and then redressing in a white t-shirt with black pants, he quickly made his routinely window escape and scattered before anyone realized what was happening.

As he walked around the village, he noticed the smiles and happy mood everyone was in, causing him to smile as well. Several greeted him with nothing short of gratefulness, something he noticed and returned. It was hard to believe it has several weeks since Kaguya was sealed and the war finally ended. Every nations, whether large or small, were still recovering from the near apocalypse and judgement day. The mourning of the dead had already passed, and even though there were some still coping with their lost ones, himself included, life must go on.

People worldwide were celebrating, not only because the war was over but also due to global peace becoming an actual thing. The hardships each and every one went through, and the sacrifices that were made, ensured them that humanity still lives on; now more united and even stronger than ever. As he walked around the village, he could see several people from the different villages mingling with each other: chatting, trading, laughing, and jibing each other like old friends.

The cycle of hatred that had plagued the world since the very beginning was finally broken.

Naruto felt a pang of sadness from within him as memories of Jiraiya resurfaced but he knew the old pervert would have been proud.

'No use thinking on the past,' he reassured himself. After all, his Godfather (he still couldn't believe the old pervert never mentioned anything of the sorts to him) had entrusted him with a legacy and he completed it and went beyond.

If only he could find someone to carry out the other legacy, one involving the Icha Icha series, then the old Toad Sage may finally rest in peace. He'd do it himself, but he was pretty sure Tsunade and Sakura would skin him alive, heal him, before repeating that several times over.

And people wondered why he never became a pervert…

No, that time in the hot springs with Sai and Yamato while looking for Orochimaru never counted. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you asked, Yamato stopped him before what he committed what could be called suicide by peeking on Sakura.

Naruto paused mid-step. Maybe he was a pervert after all… In his defense, all of his male role models were perverts so that didn't exactly leave a good impression.

Iruka was sent flying whenever he used the Sexy Jutsu.

Ebisu was a damn closet pervert who was too high strung.

The Third Hokage reads smut in private (he highly doubt the old man knew that he knew about the secret stash behind the drawer).

Kakashi wouldn't stop reading his smut wherever he went (he was half convinced the old scarecrow would cuddle with his books at night).

Killer Bee couldn't stop staring at Granny's chest and thought the reanimated Yugito flashed him.

And then there was Jiraiya who was the self-proclaimed Super Pervert with no fears and would shamelessly peak on women whenever the chance arises.

…

…

Why the hell were all of his teachers a bunch of perverts?!

Naruto nearly ripped his hair off in frustration, making bystanders look at him weirdly.

'And then you went and taught the little monkey how to change into a naked girl, thus starting the trend of Perverted Teachers onto someone else,' Kurama happily chimed in.

'Screw you Kurama!' He gave the kitsune a mental bird. 'Aren't you supposed to be getting your beauty sleep?'

The fox snorted. 'Your midlife crisis, as amusing as it is to see you think for once (Oi!), was too entertaining to pass up.'

Naruto's eye twitched. 'I'm glad you found entertainment in my pains.'

'I live for those moments.'

Damn foxes.

Why the hell did he keep the overgrown furball again?

Shaking his head, he decided to get back on track. His mind wondered to what he had to do today. With everything done and over with, and the operation being a success, he could now resume his goal of becoming Hokage.

By, Naruto shuddered, studying.

"There are no shortcuts to becoming the Hokage boss!"

Screw you Konohamaru! Studying is torture! Expect a box full of exploding paint and a live chicken by the end of the week!

But at last, it was true. The Hokage had to be more than a genius in battle: he had to be one when it came to politics as well. One cannot lead a nation correctly by just brute force: they must be well-balanced and knowledgeable in many subjects. So with a slight slump, he made his way toward the academy to begin his lessons for the day.

*Growl*

…

Maybe after breakfast. Haven't had Ichiraku Ramen in a while. Nodding his head at his new goal, he turned and went down the old route he memorized by heart to the place that served the best ramen in town.

Naruto took no more than five steps before his instincts screamed and he quickly moved out of the way as an unknown object smashed into the spot he was moments ago, causing a huge cloud of dust to appear.

He coughed and shielded his eyes from the sudden interruption. "The hell?" His body tensed as he prepared for a possible fight while the civilians panicked and started seeking shelter in a hurry. He could make out several blurs nearby, no doubt the others leading the civilians while notifying everyone of what was happening. 'Who would attack at a time like this?' Everyone was at peace and was allied with each other. To attack them would be a declaration of war to all of the Five Great Nations plus many of the smaller nations as well. Who was dumb enough-

Suddenly, out of the dust cloud came the angry form of Kaguya, glaring daggers into Naruto's head while making an attempt on his life. Time seemed to stop as his body froze and his eyes widened as he stared at the familiar face of one of the strongest beings he had ever encountered and presumed gone. His heartbeat began beating harder and faster as a few sweats begin to gather on his face. His throat seemed tighter and he felt Kurama waking up once again and also experiencing what he was going through.

Luckily, despite what his initial reaction was, Naruto was able to recover and swiftly move out of the way by a hair length as Kaguya's hand went past what was undoubtably his head. However, that was short lived as she quickly twisted herself midair and launched what was unmistakably the All-Killing Bones.

Quickly entering the Six Path Sage Mode and gaining the familiar yellow glow with black designs, and wincing at the pain it caused due to his body not fully recovering yet, he managed to speed out of the way as projectiles whizzed back and embedded themselves on the wall behind him, degenerating it in an instant.

'Kurama! Why the hell is Kaguya still alive?!' Naruto nearly shouted within the confine of his mind while preparing himself for a follow up. Without waiting for a clear response, he engaged Kaguya in a taijutsu battle, attempting to draw her away from populated places and to buy time for help to come.

'I don't know!' Kurama was equally frustrated as well as partially nervous as he stared at what was undoubtably the Rabbit Goddess. 'She should be sealed inside the moon you created!'

'Well she's here now!' Naruto grunted as he blocked a strike that caused his bones to vibrate. 'Goddammit, I thought we finished this already!' As he blocked the first strike, Kaguya immediately lashed out and delivered a kick right toward Naruto's center, knocking him through several buildings. Tossing the debris aside and making it clash into the ground, he glared at her with confusion and a little bit of fear.

Last time, it took both him and Sasuke to defeat Kaguya. Now, it was just him since Sasuke has already left the village some time ago. And he was injured to top things off.

Not to mention he couldn't go all out without possibly killing others in the crossfire, something she undoubtably noticed.

"How are you still here?! We sealed you!" Naruto demanded, hiding a wince. The kick dealt a lot of damage, not because it was stronger, but rather because his body isn't fully healed yet meaning right now, he's at a disadvantage.

In response, Kaguya made the All-Killing Bones appear out of her hands, intending to make blocking further strikes impossible.

"The Dead should not speak."

She then charged.

XoX

"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki has been sighted in the village. She is currently engaging Naruto Uzumaki."

Those were the words the messenger gave after they barged into the room. Those were the words that filled everyone with a pit of dread.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Rabbit Goddess, the Progenitor of Chakra, had returned.

Almost immediately, the room descended in chaos with everyone demanding answers. What had started as a peaceful conference turned into what could be described as near-unadulterated madness. If it weren't for the situation, Kakashi would have found his battle-hardened Shinobi running around like a bunch of headless chickens to be extremely amusing. Sadly, it was a seriously situation.

"Enough!"

The words of the Hokage silenced everyone immediately, showing just why they were called Shinobi, as they all brought their attention toward him, awaiting guidance.

'Only three weeks in and I already want to retire. Dammit Naruto.'

Number One Hyperactive Unpredictable Ninja indeed.

"Now isn't the time to lose your heads," Kakashi stated sternly. "I want the civilians escorted to safety immediately and sit reps on what's happening now." Several people nodded and immediately went to work. "Notify all able Shinobi and set up a perimeter around the battlefield. Naruto will have a better chance of fighting back when he's not focused on protecting us." Several more nodded before carrying out the order. "See if you can reach Sasuke: he might be halfway around the world but I'd rather he knew of the situation and hurry back just in case as opposed to not knowing at all."

They nodded. "And you, Hokage-sama?"

Kakashi stood up, his face deadly serious. "Get me Lady Tsunade and Sakura as well as Shikamaru. Tell them it's an emergency."

XoX

Kaguya clicked her teeth as Naruto stubbornly refused to die. Every time she struck, he would dodge and retaliate with a strike of his own, which she had either blocked or dodged. It was frustrating as the brat never stood still and always on the move. On the chance she did managed to land a blow, it would always turn out to be another one of those damn shadow clones.

'This is going nowhere.'

The battle had gone on for nearly 10 minutes and the others had arrived. The two had caused a trail of destroyed buildings and roads in their wakes but she saw how much he wanted to avoid that. The others had encircled them but had made no moves whatsoever. The mortals were no doubt planning a counterattack at the moment which meant she should wrap this up before they interfered and made this much harder than it should be.

She took a quick moment to assess both her and Naruto's statuses. They were both weakened, that much she could tell. He tried to hide his injuries but nothing could hide from her eyes. However, even weakened, he was still able to avoid all of her attacks. Both of them were slightly panting and covered in cuts and dirt; but neither had landed a fatal blow. Her remaining chakra was slowly depleting while his remained almost constant.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more of an advantage he'd have.

She could just use one of her techniques to rain destruction upon the area; however, memories of the fight between the main body and him told her he'd survive nevertheless which meant her efforts would be futile.

Kaguya glanced toward the side, feeling some stronger-than-average chakra signatures approaching. A sense of anger nearly overcame her. This was her chakra, something she never gave to any of them. She returned back to Naruto and felt her anger increased tenfold as she gazed upon his form, burning brightly with what was hers.

When she had gotten pregnant with her sons, she gifted them with her chakra while inside of her womb. She raised them and taught them how to use their powers to defend themselves if only slightly. She had hoped they would be obedient little boys that always did what they were told.

But she was wrong.

Against her warnings, they stumbled upon something they would have been better off not knowing: the creation of an army of White Zetsu. She knew Hagoromo had fallen for that girl; but in her mind, if that army didn't exist, then the others in the Ōtsutsuki Clan would have killed them all when they came.

In the end, she valued her sons' safety over their happiness.

Which led to her demise.

The gift of chakra she bestowed upon them was then used against her.

And then Asura and Indra, or rather their reincarnations, her grandsons, imprisoned her once more with the same blasted technique!

Kaguya let out a breath to calm herself. Losing herself to anger at this stage would mean all of her work would be gone. She wasn't surprised that he had yet to make a move while she was busy reminiscing. She knew Naruto was using the time to think of something as well as recover some strength. And with a time limit on the clock, she herself needed a plan to defeat him before the window of opportunity disappeared.

She instantly willed several clones of herself into existence, putting Naruto on guard. She hid her wince as she felt her chakra drained significantly. Each clone had enough to ensure they kept everyone else away from this battle.

But that also meant she could no longer use her All-Killing Bones for an extended amount of time since that would just drain her reserves at a faster rate.

A gust of wind came by, causing their clothes to sway. Readying herself, she then launched at Naruto who blocked her punch, causing a small shockwave to erupt and to grunt at the force exerted behind the strike. However, just because it was blocked didn't mean it was stopped. The force behind her strike began pushing him further and further back, leaving marks on the ground and digging up the terrain. She eyed him closely as she felt her clones disappeared from sight while still maintaining the pressure.

From what her memories told her, he valued his people and his home. Kaguya supposed she could try and kill all those he held dear to him; however, knowing Naruto, he'd rush in and save them while also fighting back stronger than before should she go down that route. While it could lead to his demise, the chances of him actually falling for her tricks was almost zero.

Not to mention such act was beneath her.

Several of his clones appeared on her flanks, cutting off her train of thoughts and intending to take the heat off of the main body. She leaned her head to one side, narrowly dodging a kick before side-stepping to avoid a jab aimed for her chest. Jumping back, she dodged another one of his attempts while raising an eyebrow at how he finally chose to use his Truth-Seeking Balls as weapons against her. Instead of fighting unarmed, he now wielded a 2 feet long black chakra rod capable of neglecting everything but Senjutsu.

She watched as two more orbs went toward his two clones before transforming into identical 2 feet long chakra rods. As the 3 were now armed and slowly encircling her, she knew she could no longer block his assaults without the aid of her full power.

It seemed he was getting more creative the longer they fought, which spelt bad news for her.

Kaguya knew she was out of options; and by creating those clones to run interference, she limited herself even further. There wasn't much time left before she fail to achieve her revenge.

'Not to mention they'll arrive soon...'

The Ōtsutsuki Clan, her clan: a clan of nomads wandering from planets to planets harvesting the fruits to increase their power while killing all those within the vicinity, regardless of kinship or not. A family full of Barbarians for lack of better terms that took what they wanted and only answered to those with power. A clan that was getting closer and closer to this planet as the years passed and would undoubtably be here soon.

…

…

Wait…

With her main body sealed up once more, the only ones who could possibly stop them were Naruto of Asura and Sasuke of Indra. Those two together were a force to be reckoned with, not to mention how they were able to bring others along to help them. If she could get rid of one them, then her clan would be able to finish off the rest with less oppositions. Neither of the two had to die (she doubts she could kill them at this point): one of them would just have to be gone when they arrived.

Getting rid of the one world's saviors so said world could be destroyed?

She neared smirked at that but held herself back to prevent him from being on guard. Refocused on the battle, Kaguya saw another attempt at her life. The Naruto in front of her charged forward, attempting to push her back to the other two. After the fifth swing, instead of moving, she quickly grabbed one of his wrists and snapped it in half (she took in a small delight of happiness at the yelp of pain considering how much pain he had caused her). She then kneed him hard in the stomach, making him vanish in a puff of smoke and the chakra rod to hit the ground.

Moving to the side, she saw another Naruto attempt a sneak attack from above but missed. Exerting more than enough force to shatter several mountains, she delivered a strike to the back of his neck, causing him to dispel as well. Her eyes wandered around, looking for the original and quickly jumping in the air as he came bursting out of the ground, Rasengan forming instantly the moment he broke the surface.

She didn't bother hiding her smirk as she absorbed his technique, slightly increasing her reserves while watching in satisfaction at the look of horror on his face as he realized what he had just done.

"Dammit," he swore as he quickly disengaged and made some room between them. "I forgot you can absorb any and all Ninjutsu." His brow furrowed into one of concentration and determination with a slight of curiosity. She could see the gears in his head working overtime to fabricate a plan of action. He then opened his mouth and said, "Aren't you going to talk? You were chattier the last time we met."

She failed to recall ever speaking more than 10 sentences during their last encounter. But since he insisted…

"Thank you for your chakra."

Naruto nearly face-faulted. "Oh great," he muttered as he picked himself up. "I can see where Old Man Sage got his sense of humor from."

Kaguya decided to ignore him before she lashed out and then be caught off guard. Back to her previous train of thoughts, the only way to truly achieve her revenge was to send him to a place where not even she herself would have access to, a place where Sasuke of Indra would reach him was by chance and chance alone.

A one-way trip into the unknown if you will.

Or in her case, creating an unstable portal with a mind of its own.

'Yes.' She inwardly smiled at how she'd get her revenge. With him gone and with no way of ever saving him, their world will be destroyed. 'That will do quite nicely.'

She mentally cursed as she felt one of her clones disappear thanks to a mortal with a lazy expression and black, spiky hair coordinating the attack. Her window of opportunity was slowly closing.

It was now or never.

XoX

Naruto eyed the still form of Kaguya warily. He had no doubts she was up to something but he couldn't go charging in without a plan. The Rabbit Goddess wasn't someone who should be taken lightly, even if she was a hollow shell of her former self.

Yes, Naruto realized, or rather Kurama realized, that the person in front of them was just a fragment of their greatest foe. However, even weakened, she was still as troublesome as he had remembered her to be.

Their fight started in the center of the village, something that spelt doom for Naruto since he had to hold back his full strength. Even though he couldn't use his full arsenal, he made it up with his speed and reflexes when engaged in close combat. He attacked fiercely, pushing her back and giving her no openings as he led her further and further away from the village.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

She refused to be pushed back on more than one occasion and had no restrictions, except world-wide devastation as he had noticed. Kaguya's spirit neglected him from gaining the full advantage and made deadly usage of the All-Killing Bones to stop most of his attacks dead cold. This in turn caused him to push himself even further, despite his wounded state.

He really hoped Granny Tsunade wasn't too mad about the state the village was in or else he might just let Kaguya have her way with him.

…

…

Goddamn you Pervy Sage! It's your fault my mind went straight to the gutter on that one!

'You're an idiot.'

'Not now you damn fox!' Naruto shouted back. 'Unless you have a plan of sorts?'

Kurama grunted. 'Sadly I don't,' he admitted, which didn't surprise Naruto. 'Unless you're willing to blow this continent kingdom come to defeat her?'

'Of course not!' There was no way he would do that when he could potentially kill his friends and countless innocents in the process.

'Thought so.'

The blond inwardly groaned but refused to take his eyes off of his opponent. His body has taken some damage and it still pain him to remain in his Six Path Sage Mode. He could feel his chakra coils flaring up, burning from the inside out. They had yet to recover ever since the hectic, nonstop battle that took place several weeks ago.

It was just like the time he first created the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken in which he damaged the chakra coils in his entire right arm to the point it was almost unhealable, which it was: to a normal being anyways. It was only thanks to his Uzumaki longevity, having Kurama sealed within him as well as being healed by the renowned Medical Ninja Tsunade that his arm had been restored to its original state.

What he had done during the war, throwing several high-ranked techniques one after another and fighting for nearly a week as well as being in an empowered state for extended periods of time, pushed his chakra coils to the very limit and beyond.

That's not to say Sasuke was in any better condition; but since he didn't have a Tailed Beast sealed inside, it just meant his recovery was longer than Naruto's.

However, if Naruto kept dragging the battle out, the time it'd take for him to recover would increase as well.

Why couldn't he live a normal life for once?

'Focus brat.'

He sent a mental 'thanks' back at his partner for keeping him on track. Spreading out his senses, he took in the situation at hand. The Kaguya clones that disappeared some time ago were keeping everyone away from the battle. As much as he wanted to help his comrades, he knew he needed to have his full attention here or else she would defeat him.

And if he was defeated here, the others would undoubtably be next.

That, and he took what Itachi said to heart, about placing his trust in others' abilities to pull through: to not shoulder the burden all by himself.

He smirked as the Uchiha's saying was correct as he felt one of the clones disappear, no doubt thanks to a lazy Nara leading the charge to rescue him.

Schooling his expression, he eyed Kaguya closely. He noticed that as the battle dragged on, the more transparent she was becoming. At first, he thought it was the trick of the light; however, after Kurama realized the person they were fighting was not the original they sealed, and some long winded explanation about her making a failsafe for this purpose, Naruto realized she was just a fragment of her former self.

That in turn bred good news as well as bad news.

The good news was she wasn't at full strength: which would have been bad for him since he was still injured. The bad news, however, was that she was still able to match him blows for blows.

That just reminded him how far out of league she was compared to the rest of them.

Suddenly, without any warnings, she clapped her hands together and began building up a massive amount of chakra. He watched with wide eyes as the very air around her distorted, twisting and bending as the ground was uplifted before them. Her body began fading at an even faster rate with what was undoubtably her last ditch effort. However, Naruto only paid idly attention as he immediately charged forward, a chakra rod in both hands.

But it was too late.

A purple portal opened up right between the two and Naruto widened his eyes at what seems to be an endless darkness. Cursing, he instinctively stabbed the rods in the ground, preventing the portal from sucking him in even further. He tried to free himself but it seemed the portal was fully intent on dragging him into whatever hellhole that was placed in there.

'Hang in there Naruto!'

If it weren't for the situation, he'd make a sarcastic remark about that entire statement.

Sadly, now wasn't the time.

Pumping as much chakra as his coils could handle and beyond, feeling his entire body burning up in the process, he held onto dear life, refusing to give in. He felt the Kaguya clones around him disappearing, and his friends rushing toward his position the moment they were able to. He could hear their distant voices right now, shouting his name.

'Just a bit longer!' He told him as he gritted his teeth while thinking of how to get out of this predicament.

A feeling of dread appeared in his stomach as Kaguya appeared in front of him, as transparent as a ghost and quickly fading. On her face was a triumphant smirk. Knowing this might be the end, he refused to give her the satisfaction of his fears and instead glared with as much force as he could muster.

She then spoke the words that would forever be embedded in his nightmares.

"Farewell, Naruto Uzumaki."

Right before she faded, she delivered one final kick at his body, causing him to lose his grip and get absorbed in by the portal.

His last image was his body entering the darkness as it quickly closed, his comrades shouting and rushing toward his location only to not make it. He could make out the horror-filled faces and some tears as they knew they weren't going to make on time.

He could remember Kaguya standing at the entrance, disappearing from sight but still smirking knowing that finally, after the entire battle-

-Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had finally gotten her revenge.

XoX

Author's Notes: When Kaguya was sealed the first time, she created Black Zetsu in order to plan for her resurrection. Kaguya isn't stupid: if she was sealed once, who's to say she wouldn't be sealed again? Thus, here, she left behind a small portion of her spirit and power on the moon as a sort of failsafe in the chance she was sealed again.

However, since she was the only one who could travel between dimensions, and was sealed in one of her own dimensions, not to mention the fact her spirit couldn't last forever due to the energy link being severed, it decided to send Naruto elsewhere while it still could since it didn't have enough power to kill him.

That's about as original as I can get with a crossover transition.

… Although 'evil-spirit-of-villain-appears-to-reap-revenge' sounds vaguely familiar…

This story will be divided into two parts. This is just the beginning of Part One.