I, Your Father, Carry a Big Stick - Chapter 123

After listening to Sasako’s story to the end, Hiruzen had a somewhat grim expression on his face as he said, “So, to summarize…there is a ‘Goddess’ sealed within the moon, and this ‘Black Zetsu’ is trying to resurrect her by tricking the deceased Uchiha Madara and the Akatsuki into assembling and fusing the Tailed Beasts. If they succeed, the world will succumb to a Genjutsu that traps everyone within a dream. Furthermore, this Kaguya is but a single member of the Otsutsuki Clan, and there are countless others who travel around to any planet capable of sustaining life, absorbing the Natural Energy within to convert it into Chakra Fruit…effectively ending all life in the process…is that about right?”

Nodding her head, Sasako supplemented, “We have defeated a total of eight progressively more dangerous Otsutsuki members back in my world. Kojin is the latest and strongest member to appear, stating that our world is to be made an example of by having its existence purged across Space and Time. Because of her tremendous power, we suspect she has already consumed several Chakra Fruit before coming to us…”

Since she had failed to explain it, Hiruzen asked, “And how is it you came to be here? What happened to the world you came from…?”

“…”

As the last thing she had witnessed before chasing after Kojin was an ever-expanding Truth Seeking Orb threatening to consume all of Konoha, Sasako didn’t want to think about the fate of her own home. All she knew for certain was that they ‘had’ to fix things. If it turned out their world had already been destroyed…she would become like her former self and never rest until the Otsutsuki Clan had been erased from all realities…

Interpreting Sasako’s silence to mean the worst, Hiruzen closed his eyes and muttered, “I am sorry for your loss…”

As if Hiruzen’s words had confirmed the truth she was unwilling to face, Sarada’s eyes suddenly morphed from a three-tomoe pattern resembling a five-pointed cherry blossom before she abruptly collapsed. Unlike when she had caught her mother, Sasako just adopted a pained expression as she watched her daughter collapse to the ground, unconscious.

Instead of trying to pick Sarada up using her single arm, Sasako placed it on her hip as she turned to face Hiruzen and Wu, asking, “Is there a place we can rest and recuperate? My injuries are not light, and-”

Before Sasako could finish, Wu pulled out an innocuous-looking peach as he said, “You can stay at my Senju Clan Compound. It’s where most of the future powerhouses of this world have gathered. If not there, you could try the Uchiha District. I’m certain Sasuke would appreciate having other Uchiha around.”

Following his words, Wu tossed the peach in his hand to Sasako, adding, “Eat that. The energy within isn’t enough to recover your arm or eye, but it should treat any minor injuries you have. I don’t trust you enough to heal you completely. Not after you tried to place my clone in Genjutsu…”

Staring at the peach in her hand, Sasako made no effort to conceal her doubt as she asked, “You treat injuries in this world with peaches…?”

Shaking his head, Wu cheekily replied, “That’s all me, sweet cheeks. With more potent versions of the peach, I can even revitalize the cells within a person’s body, restoring lost limbs and making them appear younger with no adverse side effects. Once you’ve proven you can be trusted, I’ll mend that eye and arm of yours.”

As she had witnessed some fairly ridiculous powers over her 22 years as a Shinobi, Sasako set aside her disbelief and bit into the peach. It tasted as good as it smelled, but she only managed to take a single bite before the rest of the peach crumbled to dust. More importantly, the injuries on her body healed instantly, replenishing her Chakra along with it.

Seeing a silver lining in their exceptionally dire circumstances, Sasako formed her hand into a fist as she muttered, “Incredible…” Then, with a serious expression on her face, she met Wu’s gaze and asked, “And you can mass produces these peaches…?”

Taking some of the wind out of Sasako’s sails, Wu immediately shook his head, revealing, “It takes time. That peach only took a few hours to grow and saturate with Natural Energy. A genuine Revitalizing Peach can take anywhere from a several days to several months to produce. Their effects also make them incredibly coveted, to the point even a 1-year Revitalizing Peach fetches around 3,000,000 Ryo in the market.”

Nodding her head, a faint smile adorned Sasako’s face for the first time as she asserted, “If they can truly regenerate my eye, those peaches may be our trump card in the war against the Otsutsuki.”

Adopting a smile of his own, Wu corrected, “Your trump card is standing right in front of you. I’m not sure how strong you and that Kushinada chick are, but I’ve been going toe-to-toe with Kage since I was ten. I’m also the source of the peaches, so don’t go putting the cart before the horse.”

Supporting Wu’s claims, Hiruzen added, “Wu here, using his own strength, is close to unifying the Elemental Nations in their entirety. He is currently training the future Five Kage and has already distinguished himself as the standard bearer of the current era. I may be the Hokage, but I dare say I wouldn’t last more than three minutes against my young friend here, and that’s if he went easy on me…”

Though she found Hiruzen’s words difficult to believe, Sasako didn’t try to refute them. Instead, she gave Wu an appraising look, smiling wryly when the wild-looking youth abruptly struck a pose. He appeared to be around 14-16 years old, just a year or two older than her daughter. However, what truly stood out about him was the purity of the Natural Energy in his body. She was intimately familiar with both Natural Energy and Senjutsu, so she could tell that Wu wasn’t just blowing smoke from his ass. He was the real deal, a natural-born Sage.

Returning her hand to her hip, Sasako replied, “Then me, my daughter, and Kushinada will be in your care for the time being. I intend to check on the Uchiha District, but moving them someplace safe takes priority.”

Since it was Wu’s decision to make, Hiruzen remained silent as the former nodded his head, smiling as he said, “You are welcome to stay for as long as you like. However, there are rules that everyone living in the Senju Clan Compound must follow. Once you recuperate, I’ll be expecting the three of you to train. If this Otsutsuki Clan is as powerful as you say, we’ll need to whip you into shape before I can trust my back to you.”

Though she found it difficult to believe that Wu could teach her anything she wasn’t at least tangentially aware of, Sasako supplied a nod before activating her Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, manifesting a skeletal purple arm, and scooping up her daughter. Wu was initially planning to carry the unconscious girl, but as a father, he could understand why Sasako would go out of her way to use the Susanoo to do it herself. Not that it affected his plans for the trio of time-traveling Kunoichi…

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After Sasako sent one of her Shadow Clones to pick up Kushinada from the Konoha Hospital, Wu took her to the Senju Clan Compound. Before they got anywhere near the main house, however, a large group of girls intercepted them, compelling the raven-haired woman to softly mutter, “Sakurada…Inosuke…Hinata…Tenojin…”

Understanding that Sasako was referring to Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten, an amused smile adorned Wu’s face. Hinata was a unisex name, so he correctly assumed all four girls were boys back in Sasako’s version of reality.

Noticing Sasako’s presence(it was kind of hard to miss due to the purple rib cage and skeletal arms surrounding her), Sakura took the initiative to ask, “Who are these people, Wu-kun? This girl looks ‘a lot’ like Sasuke…”

Though the others might not have noticed it, Sakura’s past as Sasuke’s greatest fangirl allowed her to draw the connection between Sasako and her former crush in an instant. Her second guess was that Sasako was the reanimated form of Sasuke’s mother, but she couldn’t be sure as she had never met the woman.

Preempting any additional questions, Wu stated, “I’ll explain the situation once everyone has gathered. It’s a ‘very’ long story, so I’d rather not have to repeat it multiple times.”

Nodding their heads in affirmation, the girls formed a loose encirclement around Wu, Sasako, and her two unconscious companions, joining them in their short trek to the main house. The raven-haired Uchiha couldn’t help thinking there was something ‘very’ wrong with the group’s dynamic, but she opted to remain silent and simply observe…

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After putting Kushinada and Sarada to rest in an adjacent room, Wu had everyone present within the compound, including Hashirama, sit in on the explanation. If they were dealing with potentially world-ending stakes, he didn’t give two shits if the information found its way to the other villages. Besides, at this point, he was fairly certain he had Kuro, Temari, Karui, and Aya wrapped around his dick.

Upon hearing Wu’s explanation, the general response from the girls was disbelief. They ‘knew’ he wasn’t lying to them, but the existence of time travel and multiple realities was a lot to take in. The only people to believe Wu outright were Kushina, Hashirama, and Kaia. The first two could sense the functionally identical Chakra Signatures of Naruto and Kushinada. As for Kaia, Wu could tell her the sky was purple, and she would believe him wholeheartedly.

Getting straight to the heart of the matter, Tsunade, still cradling Momo, asked, “How long do we have…?”

Shaking her head, Sasako admitted, “I’m not sure. However, one of the weaknesses of the Otsutsuki Clan is that they cannot replenish Chakra on their own. The attack used by Kojin before she fled our world should have left her considerably drained. If she hasn’t left the planet to recuperate her Chakra elsewhere, she will most likely attempt to seek out the Tailed Beasts, fusing them into the Ten-Tails so that she can harvest this world’s Natural Energy.”

Directing her gaze to Wu, Sasako appended, “When Lord Senju’s clones showed up, Kojin fled without attempting to face him. If I had to guess, she sensed the threat he posed to her and decided to retreat off-world. We won’t know for certain until she appears again…”

Furrowing her brows, Tsunade groaned, “An enemy that can just flee the planet whenever they please? How annoying…”

Contrasting the grim expressions of nearly everyone present, Wu had a relaxed smile on his face as he asserted, “This is the kind of thing we’ve been training for. Instead of fretting over what might happen, we should focus on improving ourselves so that when Kojin ‘does’ show up, we can beat her down and gather info on the remaining Otsutsuki. If they’re able to traverse through space and time, there’s no reason we can’t also. Once we figure out the method, we’ll take the fight directly to them.”

Approving of Wu’s words, Sasako nodded her head, adding, “Lord Senju is correct. Our greatest mistake was failing to prepare for the arrival of other Otsutsuki Clan members despite knowing of their existence. We permitted peace to dull our senses and suffered as a result. Now, our only choice is to wage war against the Otsutsuki Clan. So long as they remain, no world will ever be safe. A species that survives by harvesting the Natural Energy of entire worlds cannot be allowed to persist…”

Though many of the people present were cowed by the seriousness of Sasako’s statement, Wu just narrowed his eyes slightly. Others might be terrified by the thought of aliens that ran around devouring entire worlds, but he felt excited. He had been worried that no amount of effort would permit him to raise others to his level, so he was relieved to know there were even greater heights to ascent. If not for Momo being present, he might have flown off into space right then and there…

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(A/N: You thought the main plot was going to be limited to the Elemental Nations? Think again…!)