rebirth
vltra
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Only a few hours had passed since the morning sun crested the Hokage Rock, bathing the beautiful Hidden Leaf in rays of golden yellow. Today was a new day in many ways, and Naruto Uzumaki was excited for everything that would come next.
A lot had happened in fifteen years. His proudest feat was of course becoming Hokage, something he'd worked all his life for, but he had also gotten married and had two amazing children. Konoha, as well as the world at large, was flourishing under the new peace brought after the war's end. Businesses that had been around since the village's original foundation were able to open for 24 hours at a time; condos housing hundreds of people were constructed, which then allowed immigration, shelter for those in need, and a sharp increase in Konoha's population; and the village had become, to an extent, no longer dominated by shinobi.
But still, despite not being primarily shinobi, they did still exist—Naruto and Kakashi had both made sure of that. Their jobs may have been less exciting, their roles oftentimes reduced to glorified keepers of the peace or errand-runners of the general population, but they still trained and employed full-fledged ninja. The academy still existed, teams were still trained each year, the Chunin Exams were still hosted and funded. The Jonin lining the interior of the Hokage's gathering room proved this; dozens of them stood at full attention, while eleven sat cross-legged on small floor mats in front of the short stage Naruto stood upon. His eyes scanned over them all, admiring the organization, the respect for this ceremony. After spotting the Jonin Council located behind the ones who were sitting, Naruto gave a quick smile, then removed his hat and held it at his side.
"Another year has passed," started Naruto, "and that means another wave of students have graduated the Ninja Academy. They'll soon be assigned to teams under your care, signifying the passing of a torch from one generation to another. Instead of being entrusted to, as we have been, it's now time for us to be the one who entrusts to this new generation of shinobi." He took a moment to pause and glance to the side. Shikamaru shook his head slightly with a smirk on his face, and Naruto took it as a sign to keep going before looking back to the gathering of shinobi. "This new generation may be different from the ones before, but that doesn't mean you should be less hard on them! Bring out their strengths, weaknesses, and let them do the same to you, 'ttebayo!"
A big grin spread across his face and his eyes closed. Naruto had often got carried away during his work as Hokage; he'd only been in the position for six whole months, and though he did a good job filling Kakashi's shoes, he wasn't completely used to the formality. His grin turned into a normal smile and he crossed his arms before speaking once more. "I'll list off the Genin teams now, and then their Jonin sensei."
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Shinakichu had never been one to question her father's choices, especially as Hokage. She didn't understand politics, or how to run a village, or many things about ninja or the Will of Fire or most of the stuff he talked about, but hearing what team he'd assigned her to was a bit nerve-wracking. Haruka Uchiha, and that quiet kid with pink hair, not to mention she'd never even heard of the Jonin who was going to be in charge of them. Did her father deliberately choose people he knew she'd be anxious around?
Haruka had always been intimidating, at least to Shinakichu. She had been outgoing and more along the lines of an extrovert for as long as Shina could remember, and it was often awkward when the Uchha would say something to or mention the other in conversation. For this reason, she mostly avoided Haru, though didn't dislike her at all. Shina had even felt bad at her brother's funeral, and tried to give her condolences as best she could. But Ryūji? She didn't know a thing about him. He was mostly quiet during school except to defend his clan's name, from what she'd caught—something that Shina found odd, since he didn't seem to have one. That was really all she'd picked up during their time together in the academy.
Maybe it wouldn't be all bad. Sure, Haruka was outgoing and loud and liked to express her opinions; sure, maybe Ryūji was quiet and possibly easily upset, but as long as Shinakichu didn't do or say anything that would put her at odds with anyone, maybe she would be able to make friends with them. It wasn't like she could just get away with avoiding them for the whole time. After all, from what she could tell, these types of teams usually lasted until the next Chunin Exams, which was almost exactly a year away. Taking a deep breath, Shina let it out slowly, and looked back to her homeroom teacher. It would feel odd not being instructed by Shino-sensei anymore.
She leaned forwards, pressing her cheek against her hand with her elbow on the table and continued listening to her teacher list off the new teams for this year. The main thing that concerned her was the fact that she had practically no skill as a ninja. Would they make fun of her? Haruka was an Uchiha—the daughter of aunt Sakura and the infamous Sasuke, while Ryūji was one of her class's top students. They were on another level than Shinakichu, who had cared more about making friends and maintaining relationships than learning skills to pass the graduation exam.
To put it bluntly, she wasn't very excited about being assigned to Squad 7, or meeting her new teammates.
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Some say that the flames of Hell burn cold. Sasuke Uchiha didn't believe in this rumor personally, but he understood what the saying meant now.
When he'd first started this journey, it was a way to atone. To redeem himself to some extent, repent from the sins that he'd done and the people he had hurt. He wanted to right his own wrongs, explore the world and experience it in a new light; protect everyone from behind the scenes, like his brother had tried to do many years ago. It had gone well, all things considered, but his journey of atonement was sidelined for the Ōtsutsuki. He couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that another one of Kaguya's kind could invade his planet, hurt his friends and family... not to mention the fact that she had an army of Zetsu ready to wage war for an unknown purpose.
Now here he was, in another of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's dimensions. Unlike the ones Sasuke had been to before, this one was entirely coated in snow and ice, and not even the layers of clothing or the scarf he wore dulled the cold. The place was unforgiving, without any patch of warmth or forgiveness, but from what he could tell, this was the last dimension under the control of the Ōtsutsuki Team 7 had sealed during the war. If there wasn't anything here, then that would end his investigation, and he would return empty-handed with none of the information he sought.
While trudging through the snow, Sasuke's entire body felt like it had developed a sheet of frost. He'd allocated some Chakra into warming himself up, but if he used a Fire Jutsu and there happened to be someone—or something—else in this dimension with him, he would run the risk of being detected. If combat ensued, then Sasuke would be at a disadvantage; he was shivering, and several inches of snow coated the ground, rendering him almost completely immobile. It would end before he could react.
As long as he kept funneling and heating his Chakra at a manageable level, he would be confident in his own safety. Thankfully, whatever it was that he'd managed to sense earlier seemed to be nearby; Sasuke estimated only a few more miles before arrival at whatever it was. He hoped this had all been worth it, but even if it wasn't, at least he would be satisfied knowing he did all he possibly could. Either way, Sasuke Uchiha's journey was coming to a close.
