Naruto uchiha

chapter 15

After completing his assigned task, Naruto had immediately left the small town and steadily made his way back to Konoha. Knowing that he would be free for a few days after he gave his report, he was in no rush to reach home. Hence, he had decided to take a rather slow pace on his way back. It had been a little over four hours since he was on the road and it was relatively peaceful for the blond. He rarely got any time for himself amidst all the missions he was sent on. But he never complained about any of that. He loved his village far too much and loved serving his country. Despite his love for Konoha and the Land of Fire, he couldn't ignore the slight distant feeling in his heart. Having travelled to several different parts of the Elemental Nations since he joined the Anbu, the amount of sorrow, misery and hatred he had come across- it was truly terrifying. It had changed him in ways he himself couldn't describe. He earnestly wished for all the conflicts between the five villages to subside. But, since the dawn of the shinobi, peace always seemed like an impossibility among them.

As he was walking in the dense forests of Hi no Kuni in the late evening, a sudden gust of wind suddenly hit him, and he came to an abrupt halt. He casually looked around, as if looking for someone. While his face still portrayed an impassive look, his mind was highly alert of his surroundings. It was very subtle, but he had felt the extremely potent chakra, even if it was for a second. He took a step forward but noticed a strangeness in the wind and trees around him.

'It's as if time itself has frozen. But, somehow it doesn't seem to affect me.' Naruto thought cautiously. He was familiar with jikukan ninjutsu, but he had never heard or come across anything such as this. He flared his chakra, but nothing seemed to happen. Trying it for a few more times, he eventually settled down and looked to his right from here he had felt the chakra.

"You may as well show yourself. It's no point hiding. I know you're here." Naruto called out, seemingly to no one. There was no response for a few minutes before he suddenly turned around and jumped back. He saw a strange looking pale skinned man. He had medium sized light colored unkempt hair which he wore in a ponytail. He wore a long sleeved, light colored suit with a sectioned apron over it, along with a sash. But the most mind-boggling feature Naruto noticed were the horns that grew from the back of his head that covered his forehead along with the red colored rinnegan in both his eyes. Naruto eyed the man warily, having already sensed the immense power that the man held. He was sure, even if he gave his all, this was a fight he wouldn't win. His own chakra reserves felt like a droplet of water compared to the man's endless ocean of chakra.

"I must say that I'm impressed... young Otsutsuki prince." Announced the man with a weak smile. Naruto's eyes significantly widened on hearing the name Otsutsuki but remained calm nonetheless.

"Otsutsuki?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow. By now he had realized, there wasn't much he could do to get out of this jikukan ninjutsu either. He wasn't ever sure if it was ninjutsu to begin with. With his rinnegan he could see that the flow of time itself had stopped and it baffled him completely. He couldn't even speak to Kurama for that matter. And the fact that the man before him called him the Otsutsuki prince confused him greatly. His knowledge about the Otsutsuki Clan was very scarce and in fact whatever he knew about them, he had learned that from Kurama.

"I'm not surprised that you don't know about us, young Naruto. It has rather been some time since our clan has associated with any beings from this dimension." Replied the man formally, his words intriguing the blond greatly.

"And who might you be?" asked Naruto flatly. The man chuckled seeing the expression on the young boy's face. "I am one who stands above everyone else. But if you insist, you may call me Takeshiki Otsutsuki." The man said, quite humbly.