Chapter 50

Finishing up with the meeting, Naruto decided to meet with his friends/subordinates. It was a weird feeling but such was the role of a leader.

Everyone seemed to be doing exceptionally well, except for Kiba. His loss during the mission and his perceived worth had taken a toll on his spirit. He seemed to be lost as all his hard work amounted to just being a regular shinobi in his eyes.

Naruto found Kiba in his were-form, he had combined with Akamaru to gain a boost in stats. It was the ultimate jutsu of the Inuzuka clan, and Kiba was one of the rare few that could do it.

However, the power equal to the Hokage before the war wasn't enough anymore.

Naruto found Kiba running alongside Akamaru with heavy weights on their body, even their chakra was being used to provide a burden to the body. It seems everyone was looking for a path towards the ultimate power to avoid becoming a burden.

Watching the duo rush through the woods of the new Forest of Death, Naruto saw the improvement his friend had achieved. However, the desperation and frustration was visible on his face.

"Naruto…." Kiba stopped and looked towards him, as Naruto hadn't tried to mask his presence and stood clearly on top of a tree.

Kiba seemed conflicted when he saw Naruto. The feeling of worthlessness was eating him from inside as he couldn't find a way to bridge the gap, and only saw himself becoming irrelevant over time. He wanted to find a path on his own, and relying on Naruto again after the last power up just made him want to off himself.

However, he wanted to help. Burying his feelings, Kiba seemed resolved and asked for help.

Naruto saw the conflict inside his heart, and allowed Kiba to sort out as he was unaware of what to say. The only thing he could do was to give him some time to think.

"Hey man, I guess you heard about what happened."

"Yeah, I was surprised that there were still people that could fight a Jinchuuriki. It really shows that we can do anything if we put our mind to it." Naruto replied as he floated down to the ground and stood in front of Kiba.

Kiba stared at the ground like he was very interested in the ants moving around as he listened to Naruto.

"Do you really think so? You know, I feel like as we go further along this road. The less I feel about myself. Naruto, am I just another….. nobody?" Kiba barely kept his composure as he shared his insecurities. To him life was all about being at the top, and now he couldn't help but see that he was just another faceless soldier in the army of mankind.

Kiba hadn't shared such thoughts with anyone else since they wouldn't understand him, and he was ashamed of sharing such weakness with family that could actually understand him.

People like Shikamaru and Shino were logical, and wouldn't care if they were at the top. However, he knew Naruto was like him.

"There are many paths that you can take, but all of them will put you on a level close to the average Shinobi." Naruto connected with the Universe and felt for Kiba's destiny. Brushing past the average futures, he searched for the true end.

The path that mattered. The path that was relevant to their current state of the world, not some alternative future.

"Except one path, focus on your roots and enhance them. Grow the path of the Inuzuka clan, and do not let your mind wander. Adapt everything to your way, instead of letting it warp your style… Hunt, Hunt, Hunt beasts of power and drink in their essence, it is your destiny." Naruto saw Kiba's shadow prowling and running, cutting through giant beasts filled with humongous life force. With each kill, it seems that his body grew in power.

The Kiba of the future seemed like a predator that gave off a dangerous aura that was incomparable.

Kiba hung on each word and saw Naruto looking beyond him, muttering in an eerie tone as if he was speaking from far away. Naruto took hold of his shoulders and stared into his eyes with eyes of gold.

Naruto let go as the world was reacting to his snooping and beings beyond could start noticing his presence.

In the darkness of the unknown, he noticed eyes of gold staring at him with amusement and he saw the unknown shadow mouth some words.

Why don't you follow your destiny? What a hypocrite.

Snapping out of the trance, Naruto felt fear and pain as he threw up blood as the millions of possibilities had contained too much information for his mortal self along with the actual resistance of the world. His brain had almost burst and his eyes were bleeding.

Kiba took hold of him as Naruto collapsed and laid him down so that his friend could recover. Seeing his state, Kiba had no idea what just happened and was worried.

"Naruto, what happened? Is it an enemy?" Kiba sounded urgent and almost contacted others for help when Naruto took hold his hand and shook his head.

"It's okay." Naruto muttered with difficulty as the damage was severe and not even his fast regeneration was helping as the world seemed to slow it down.

Everything came at a cost, and he was doing something that was not recommended for him. The future would always remain unknown as none could see the true path of the world, but with this ability Naruto was finding clues towards the true future to help accelerate the growth and avoid the costs that were too extreme.

'You will die before the fight even takes place if you continue being this reckless.' Kurama advised as he compared the damage Naruto had received from the previous trances. The damage was growing with the usage and some readings gave worse injuries.

'Yeah, I can see that.' Naruto snapped back sarcastically as the pain made him aggressive.

Calming down and healing a bit, Naruto talked with Kiba about his problem as his friend was still confused. For guidance Naruto also spoke with Hades, and the man told him the answer they were seeking.

Let him hunt and survive in the realm of hungry beasts. It was a dimension filled with beasts of all kinds that had power but didn't develop higher intelligence, instead increased in their predatory instincts.

"Are you sure about this?"

Kiba could feel the worry in Naruto's voice as the destination was extremely dangerous. There were even creatures stronger than Naruto in that world, so he could die within few days if he was unlucky.

"Yes, but don't worry. I won't hurry and jump into the pit of wild beasts without preparations. I will go after a few months and adapt what has been found, and what will be released within these days. I am not an idiot, okay.' Kiba assured him but Naruto still looked at him with doubt.

"Are you sure?"

"Dude, that was just rude. I have never done anything stupid…..Oh, okay I promise I won't jump into another world without your permission." Kiba was about to prove his control when he remembered that he had done a lot of stupid things during the war and even before it.

"It's a promise." Naruto laughed as he hugged Kiba and promised to keep him safe by sending a clone behind him. It wasn't perfect but it was something or the worry wouldn't allow him to let his people leave his sight.

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Leaving aside Naruto, Hotaru Uzumaki the current host of the Phoenix was contemplating her choices. As the host of a primordial force representing the life force of the universe she certainly didn't have much to worry about, but at the moment one Naruto Uzumaki was a problem at her side.

Even though she was blessed with ultimate power and knowledge, her body had reached its limits and it wasn't enough. As the host, she had only received a small percent of the power and for further growth she needed to prove her worthiness.

The Phoenix always tested its host and if it found them unworthy, they would die. For each growth in power, the host had to complete a test and all of these tests were extremely difficult.

Her first test had come to her when she was only 10 years old and she was commanded to defeat one of the strongest summons of the Uzumaki clan. She had completed the task but ended up dying from the injuries.

However, she was revived since the task was complete. Her second task had been to defeat her father along with his elite squad. She had killed everyone of them except for her father, whom she begged the Phoenix to spare.

The force didn't understand nor care for such petty things. However, it granted her desire as she had passed the test.

That had been when she was 14 year old and now she was 18. Her new task was to leave the planet and search for a being called Piccolo from the Namekian Race. It was obvious there were more races beyond humanity, but she was certainly surprised to know that the Otsutsuki were not their only problem.

They might have to face the tyranny of Emperor Freeza or Darkseid. The future was unknown so who knew what would end humanity, but she would never allow such a thing to happen while she was alive.

No matter what she had to do, Hotaru's desire was to keep the world peaceful for the sake of her family. They meant everything to her, and for that she needed the world to follow her lead.

However, Naruto was being an annoyance towards that goal. It should have been easy to takeover the world once they were out, but he had to receive the artifacts of the Sage.

It would have been fine, if he was willing to takeover the world as he was a suitable person to work with. However, he wished to let everyone do their thing and not interfere.

"Haah, what a pickle?' Hotaru muttered with a sigh.

What is the ideal path? Should I just kill all of our enemies and make Naruto our enemy? That isn't an ideal ending. He is important for the survival of our world.

A way to keep him on our side.

Hotaru's thoughts led to her using Naruto's path of life against him. She chose Leader of Star City as her vessel of destruction that would lead Naruto to the real world, and snap him out of his delusions. Once Naruto understood that there was no other way, he would take over the world with the Uzumaki clan on his side. When she returned, it will all fall into her hand as no matter how much Naruto struggled it was all pointless in front of the primordial force.

"I am sorry for what you will have to face, but this is the only way." Hotaru spoke silently as she wished to voice her emotions. She didn't desire to torture Naruto, but the state of the world had forced them against each other.