Chapter 26.5- One Thousand Hands

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He woke up to darkness. That was strange. When had he fallen asleep? Even more confusing, when had his bed become so wet? Or so soft even? He slept on a futon, he knew. His eyes snapped wide open as he realised what he had been doing before waking up. His byakugan came to life in the space between seconds and said eyes rolled to the back of his head as he blanked out.

“Stop screaming, Gaki” He heard come from around him and his mouth shut itself instantly. He was in a whale’s mouth. He was in a fucking whale’s mouth.

“Good. Now, I can feel your spirit is back nice and strong so come on out let’s talk” he heard again and without even a second to brace himself, he found himself shot out of the whale’s mouth and into the wider ocean. I formed a horse seal to focus my chakra and breathed out of my nose for a few seconds, creating a bubble around my head that allowed me to breathe freely in the water. The jutsu was both water and wind release and had taken me several months of work to come up with. It had only taken Tobirama an hour to improve it into a version that could actually be usable in combat. I kept the original version active for now though. It took less focus to activate and something told me I’d be needing focus for this conversation that was to come.

“What happened to you?” The Whale asked first of all.

“My injuries?” I asked, even as I began examining my body and realised that I was fully healed. Even my chakra. I was positively brimming with the stuff. It felt like I had just had a full meal after a very relaxing day.

“Yes. I’ve seen few of your kind, but rarely have I seen one so taken apart” He said, voicing ringing in my head.

“Well, I was fighting in a war, you see”

“War, huh.” I could hear the distaste in his voice.

“Yes. A war. They were invading my family’s island. The one we’ve called home for generations. I could not stand aside.” I began defensively, but he was already interrupting.

“Yes, there is often no choice but war for your kind. Show me your wars, Gaki.” He said.

“Show you?” I was confused now.

“Surely you realize that my words are being ferried directly into your mind. You have memories of your war. Show them to me. Just merely think back to them and I will see what I need” He said, making me freak out for a second about another creature having access to my mind. Of course, that did not last long. If he was asking me to show him, then it meant he couldn’t just plunder my mind at will. Besides, I’d been unconscious in his mouth for God knows how long. Whatever he wanted from me, he could easily have already gotten.”

“Alright then” I said, acquiescing to the request and doing as he bid.

He was silent for what felt like an eternity before he spoke again.

“I see. An attack of that scale. I apologize, Gaki. You were right-“

“I know I was, now please send me back. I don’t know how long I’ve been gone for” I said to him, cringing at my badly placed interruption as he seemed about to continue but not regretting it. What had happened while I slept?

“I see your haste, Gaki. I understand it. Be gone for now, but do not forget to return to me as soon as able. A summoner must sign the contract, after all” he said.

I nodded, and with a puff I found myself standing in the centre of an apocalypse.

“What the hell?” I wondered, staring all around me. It was nothing but bare rock like the top of the land had been scoured off. A blip in the corner of my vision made me focus all of it into one area.

I could see it. The Eight tails. What was it doing out? I wondered even as I began running towards it. Right before my eyes, the eight tails began to shrink and morph into energy as it was shoved into a body. A very familiar body. Kushina?

I body flickered thrice to cross the distance and when I arrived, it was to a mess. There were people everywhere. Bodies as well. I paid them no attention, turning to focus on the little red haired girl. Tobirama was next to her.

“Granduncle” I shouted as I ran to him.

He looked like he’d aged a decade in the time since I’d last seen him.

“Shori” He gasped back.

In a second, I was next to him as his body slumped down on mine.

“My boy, you’re alive?” He asked with a gasp.

“Yes I am” I said, feeling tears ache at my eyes. I knew what I was seeing. The Byakugan did not lie. His chakra was leaving him at a rapid pace.

“Tsunade” I screamed her name. Why was she there crying? Why wasn’t she doing something?

“She can’t help with this one, Shori.” He said with a chuckle that turned into a series of coughs.

“Don’t talk” I whispered back, reaching out with the mystic palm trying to stave his death. Trying to quicken the embers of his chakra with my own . Anything.

“I am so proud of you, my boy. I...” The words. Whatever would have been the true last words of the Second Hokage of the Village Hidden in Leaves were lost to the ether as he breathed his last.

“Tsunade” I wanted to say I screamed her name, but it was more of a pitiful cry. She had her hands around Orochimaru as she wept from where she was. I felt myself come undone.

A/N; Did this come out of nowhere?