After the destruction of the Chunin Exam’s stadium, the disquiet Jin finds himself pacing back-and-forth, just outside a hospital room for what feels like an eternity; head hanging low, his silence speaks volumes. The muscles in his arms tense up while his fists clench to the point of bleeding.
“Jin, sit and rest a spell.” Rito says, gesturing for him to come over. “No need to drive yourself crazy.”
The genius engineer sits patiently on a nearby bench, along with Ayanami, Jaeger, and his two children; all are eagerly awaiting for the medical ninja to come out and give them news on Takato’s wellbeing. The Onikage has already become so lost in thought that Rito’s words never even registered to begin with; the world around him has transformed into one blurred, giant echo for his thoughts.
The Gentle Fist master, Ayanami, puts one leg over the other and adds, “You’re going to scare the kids. Stop.”
With his breathing becoming more and more rapid by the second, Jin comes to a gradual halt and buries his head in his hands; his eyes start glowing red as he begins to hyperventilate.
I will hunt down every last Otsutsuki--I swear to God. Jin’s Rinne Sharingan activates due purely to the rage and fear he feels; the pupil rapidly dilates as chakra courses through it. I’ll kill them, ALL of them! Tear them from limb to limb!!
His thoughts drift toward the game series, Mortal Kombat, for inspiration; he imagines putting Momoshiki, Kinshiki and Urashiki through every single fatality from MK9 to 11. As his mind seeps deeper and deeper into a dark place, Jin feels a tug on his sleeve; he glances down to his right and sees his beautiful daughter, Mai.
“Here. Takato will be alright, I just know it.” she says, curtly.
The young kunoichi has a blank expression, but her eyes convey a deep level of concern and fear; she puts on a brave face and holds out a lollipop to Jin. The anger melts away, replaced by a profound warmth from deep within as he takes the piece of candy; he kneels down, quickly pulling her in for a loving embrace.
“Th-Thank you, my little cupcake,” A smiling Jin says, calming down. “I’ll… be okay.”
*Click*
*Whirrrr*
*Thud*
Everyone's attention turns to the door the moment it opens; the Onikage releases his daughter and stands up; out steps none other than his cousin and head of the Yamanaka Clan, Ino, who happens to be looking down at her clipboard.
“Give it to me straight, Ino. H-How… How is he?” Jin stares intently, putting on a brave face to hide the lingering anxiety.
The sensory ninja looks up from her board and gives him a reassuring grin. “Fortunately, all the intruders did was drain Takato’s chakra. He’s going to make a full recovery, he’s fine.”
Upon hearing those words, the Storm Village leader breathes a sigh of relief, massaging his right temple; Ino gives him a comforting pat on the shoulder. Everyone in Jin’s groups expresses a mixture of relief and immense elation at the news; Rito laughs, Jaeger gives a deep breathe a smiles, Ayanami gets up from her feet a does a backflip, and Satoshi, Kurama and his teammates all fist pump and give each other high fives.
An excited Mai begins performing small, quick jumps; her eyes sparkle with joy. “I told you Takato would be alright!”
“And there are no words to express how glad I am that you’re right.” Oh, thank God…
After recomposing himself, the Onikage goes around Ino and speedily enters the room; he notices there are several beds and dividing curtains with each one accommodating a patient. Taking several steps, he walks past who he assumes to be, based on their voices, Hinata and Himawari.
With Ino and Mai trying to match his brisk pace, they make it to the end of the room where an exhausted-looking Takato is, sleeping next to the window. A silent Jin reaches into his robe and pulls out a vial of purple liquid.
A now concerned Ino asks, “Jin, what is that?”
“Medicine.” The Storm Village leader curtly responds before opening the vial and drinking it.
As he downs the vial’s contents, a pitch-black tendril grows out of Jin’s elbow.
“Is that… who I think it is?” Raising a brow, Mai’s head tilts to one side.
The tentacle slithers onto the unconscious Storm Shinobi; it seeps into the body without causing harm, pumping the fluid from Jin into Takato.
The Red-Haired ninja stirs, “U-Ugh… …nyegh…”
Jin watches, overjoyed, as his son slowly sits up and rubs his eyes; he leans forward and gives him the biggest hug.
“D-Dad is that you…?” Takato weakly queries. “You’re cr-crusing me…”
“Sorry,” Jin whispers, loosening his grip; the tendril quickly recedes back into his body.
“Wha–?! What’d you do? What was in that vial?” Ino questions, befuddled; her eyes have become as wide as saucers due to the shock and amazement.
Rito enters the room along with the rest of the group, carrying bundles of more serum. “Like Jin already said: it’s medicine.”
The genius sets the armfuls of vials down on a nearby table, save for two: one green and one purple.
“The green one heals injuries while purple restores stamina and SOME chakra,” The engineer casually explains while walking towards the Leaf Kunoichi, holding up the ampuls. “You can have your patients drink them or give it to them as a shot--doesn’t matter--it HAS to enter their bodies.”
With her jaw dropped, Ino takes the flasks and looks at the group with astonishment. “Th-This is… revolutionary. How did you come up with–”
“We don’t have anywhere NEAR as many doctors or medical ninjas as the other Great Nations.” Ayanami interrupts, joining the conversation; she speaks with her hand over her chest. “We were forced to find ways to compensate.”
*Click*
*Whirrrr*
*Thud*
“Pardon us, we were kind of listening in your conversation…” Says a soft and vaguely familiar voice. “I sincerely apologize for intruding on your family time, but…”
A cautiously curious Jin releases his son and looks back to the front of the room. The ones who’ve just entered are none other than Darui and Chojuro; The Mizukage gives a curt yet polite bow while the Raikage folds his arms.
“We need to talk.” Darui interjects.
Sighing, the Onikage’s smile fades, replaced by a serious expression. “Fine. But let’s take this somewhere private.
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Minutes later, Jin finds himself with Ayanami and the other two Kage, outside on the roof of the Hidden Leaf Hospital. Hands gripping the edge’s railing, he surveys what’s become of the Leaf and finds it depressing; thick clouds have darkened the sky, the streets are filled with medical tents as well as countless injured, and everyone has a personal cloud over their heads due to the seeming loss of Naruto. The Onikage, however, ultimately feels disconnected from all the heartache and the pain.
“So, what did you want to discuss?” Jin asks, still watching the Leaf’s turmoil.
He notices Boruto burst out of the hospital’s main entrance; the young genin stumbles and trips before bolting in the direction of the Hokage’s Office all while discarding the scientific ninja tool like a piece of trash.
“Don’t pretend like there isn't a big elephant in the room,” Arms still folded, a stern Darui rolls his eyes. “Not only do those Otsutsuki look a lot like you, Lord Onikage, they even referred to you as one of their own. Why is that?”
“Shortly before the 4th Great Ninja War started, I went through a massive change… if that wasn’t obvious enough; I became an Otsutsuki, down to my genes--just like them--after consuming a chakra fruit, but the only difference between me and them is that I was born human and raised on human values.”
Interest piquing, Chojuro continues the line of questioning with, “But how were you able to even get your hands on one in the 1st place?”
“It was a… perfect storm of events that led to the acquisition of a chakra fruit.” Jin elaborates. “Now, is it possible for a similar sequence of events to occur again? Yes, but I wouldn’t bet money on it.”
The Storm Village leader purposely keeps his answers vague as to avoid unwanted attention. Should word ever get out that he is in possession of a functioning time machine; numerous people would nag for him to change countless events in history and Jin would be plagued by an infinite number of theft attempts. The Onikage knows he’ll have to tell the whole truth to the other 5 Kage someday, but it will not be today.
“We aren’t remotely satisfied with your answers.” The skeptic Raikage says.
“You’re just gonna have to trust me.”
“I’m sorry, but trust just isn’t enough to go on…” The Mizukage replies.
Jin raises a brow as he turns his gaze toward the Kage. “Is this about what Sasuke and I did at the 5 Kage Summit all those years ago?”
(Author’s Note: Jin is talking about what happened all the way back in Chapters 20 and 21)
The Could and Mist Village leaders give each other an awkward look before returning their attention to the Onikage
“Uhh… No, while that particular incident may indeed have some influence on our decision-making, that’s not the real issue here…” Darui cumbrously answers, scratching the back of his head.
“What do you mean…?” The Storm Village leader squints his eyes.
“Both you and your village have largely kept to yourselves for nearly a decade, and have only just recently joined the Shinobi Union,” The Raikage clarifies. “We haven’t yet fully adjusted to the new status quo, not to mention that aside from Sasuke and to a lesser extent Lord Hokage, none of us have any kind of rapport with you.”
Oh, yeah… The Shikamaru light novel said everyone became buddies during the 15-year time skip, building up the Union. Jin shrugs, wearing an aloof expression. “Ah.”
Chojuro puts a hand on the Raikage’s shoulder. “As frustrating as it is, I doubt we’ll get any more intel out of him. C’mon, we need to go rescue the Hokage…”
“And here I thought I would have to be a buffer.” With her hands on her hips, Ayanami breathes a sigh of relief.
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“If you’re wondering where Itsu the kids are, I had them help Ino and the medical ninjas with the health and stamina potions.” Jaeger says, shadow boxing.
It’s been over a decade since I killed Toneri; we’ve been training like crazy since then. We can do this, *I* can do this… Jin turns from side-to-side, popping his back; he then reaches for his toes. “I see… Okay then.”
On the roof of the Hokage office, all four reincarnations are collecting their wits, preparing for the inevitable battle with the Otsutsuki Clan; Ayanami is a few yards away stretching her legs while Rito is preparing a few special items.
“Urashiki and Kinshiki are the ones we can fight like we normally do, right?” Ayanami asks, now stretching her arms.
“Yeah--it’s Momoshiki we have to worry about.” The Onikage reaffirms, performing a few light jumps to warm-up. “Until his right hand’s Rinnegan is destroyed, we ABSOLUTELY can not use ANY ninjutsu against him.”
*trudge* *trudge* *trudge*
*trudge* *trudge*
*trudge* *trudge* *trudge*
Hearing footsteps, everyone’s attention falls on the staircase, it’s Sasuke and Boruto followed by the other Kage, Kakashi, Sarada, Shikamaru, and Shikadai; the Leaf Genin is wearing Naruto’s Part 1 jacket and Sasuke’s old headband.
Perplexed, Ayanami ceases her warm-up. “Sasuke, why're you dragging a kid into this fight?”
The young Uzumaki meekly looks away due to hearing the question.
“Boruto is Naruto’s son, and my pupil.” The stoic Uchiha stands firm in his choice. “There’s a reason why I’m bringing him along.”
Unconvinced, the Gentle Fist Master argues, “And what reason is–”
“It’s fine, ‘Nami.”
The one who interrupted is Jin, himself; with his arms crossed and a deathly serious look on his face, he exudes a cold stoicism.
“There’s no point in arguing with Sasuke Uchiha; you know how stubborn he can be.” The Onikage explains. “It’s fine if you want to bring Boruto along, but know that he will, in no way, be necessary.”
“Now, if there are no more objections…?” Sasuke swiftly makes his way past the reincarnations towards the center of the roof, where he activates his Rinnegan.
With his ocular powers, the Shadow Hokage creates a portal directly to Momoshiki’s dimension; it’s a swirling vortex of ominous shades of black and purple.
“We’ll use this to get to them.” Sasuke informs the party.
One-by-one each member of the group walks up to the portal and jumps in. Jin is one of the last in line, waiting for his turn.
“““DAD!!!”””
The Storm Village Leader looks back to see his kids had just arrived, huffing and puffing; the hospital isn’t very far from here, but they still ran hard enough to be out of breath.
“You got this!” Satoshi yells.
“Dad, I believe in you!” Shouts Mai.
“Send those Dregs back to WHATEVER HOLE THEY CRAWLED OUT OF!!” Takato roars.
Jin, very briefly, drops his cold demeanor just to give his children a warm and confident smile. “Hmph.”
Almost immediately, the Onikage runs toward the vortex and jumps into it with his brother and wingman, Rito, right behind him. However, the portal isn’t instant; they find themselves flying through what appears to be a dark-violet tunnel.
“Hey, I know this ain’t the time, but… WHY did you teach our genin that Beyond and 2099 slang?” Rito queries, mildly curious.
“Because it’s funny.” The Storm Village Leader responds before changing topics. “Oh, Mileena…? It’s TIME.”
Suddenly, a black, viscous liquid leaks from every orifice of Jin’s body, but it does not drip off; it clings to his body, quickly wrapping around him until he resembles Symbiote Spider-Man.
Mileena forms a gaping mouth, filled with razor-sharp teeth, on her father’s abdomen and chuckles, “Heh heh heh heheheh… Finally, the wait is OVER! We’re gonna make the Otsutsuki scream.”
“Damn right, we are,” Jin agrees, coldly.
“Ready yourselves, I can see the end of the tunnel.” Sasuke warns the group.
Not even a minute has passed when they reach Momoshiki’s dimension; aside from the divine tree all that exists here is a dark maroon sky and a rocky terrain that goes on for miles.
Sasuke and the other Kage divebomb the tree, rescuing Naruto, but the ruthless Jin has other plans in mind; he uses his Powers of Six Paths to take flight while, simultaneously, using the Earth Style: Super Lightweight Boulder Jutsu in conjunction with the Body Flicker Technique to vastly increase his speed.
“There you are!”
Using this combination of jutsu, the Onikage pulls an Ulquiorra on Urashiki; he instantly closes the distance between himself and his chosen target, grabs the unsuspecting Otsutsuki by his face, and flies away, forcing the hated alien away from his clansmen.
