Chapter Nineteen: The Drawing of Lines

"Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."
― Rick Riordan, The Sea of Monsters

Three weeks before the Kage Summit, underneath the Hokage Monument Mountain.

Underneath Konoha stood a dormant volcano even though most didn't know about it and those who did didn't really worry about it as its size and location would mean that even if it became active it wouldn't really damage Konoha and the cost of moving the village away from it were to large when considering that a small team of earth and water users could easily advert any damage. This explained the lack of any heavy security in the massive lava made underground caverns that everywhere but underneath the mountain were transformed into sewers,- and why nobody had noticed a small stream of water suddenly picking up and releasing a relatively large amount of water that upon hitting ground began morphing to the form of the blonde Water Lady. In the middle of the chamber stood a single obsidian block which strangely formed a perfect cube and it was there that she strode and with an inhuman grin she shattered it with a flex of her enormous Supernatural power.

Red light flooded the cavern as thousands of symbols flared in the lava walls but quickly lost power as an even greater power rose against them and due to their lost cohesion were unable to stop the being sleeping underneath Konoha. The volcanic rock superheated as from underneath the shattered remains of the obsidian cube a column of blue fire sprang before coalescing in the form of a human being with grey hair starting to cross into snow white color, amber colored eyes, wearing a uniform of the ancient generals of the empire only this one was entirely red even though he clearly didn't need the armor as the heat his body generated was more than enough to melt metal even a meter away from his body.

"Tsukiumi" the man croaked, his face contorting in mild irritation as is voice failed him after the centuries he had spent in his prison/ bed chamber "thank you for releasing me from my accursed sleep"

"Oh my dear Iroh" Tsukiumi spoke softly as she caressed the bearded face of the Fire Lord "you know that I would do anything for you"

"So our friends have suffered the same fate too?" he asked, his power flaring slightly and all the water in the vicinity became super-heated steam and even the water lady seemed uncomfortable underneath the flare of power "sorry my dear, I have seemed to have lost much of my vaunted control in the centuries since I last walked the surface of this shattered world"

"That worries me not, my love" she whispered resting in his embrace "what worries me is that our patrons are silent, our sister Sairzul is dead at the hands of the new Heir and even though our deal with the Second Emperor we were still imprisoned and the Heir has yet to move to help us"

"What you suggest is treason my princess" Iroh frowned.

"Only if the young heir becomes the Emperor" she said, hate evident in her voice "if he were not to become our oaths wouldn't be worth anything and we would be free to make our lives away from the treacherous humans"

"Stronger and more resourceful beings than us have tried to kill off the Otsotsuki and have failed" he commented.

"Who said anything about us going after him" she said slyly "we send the other not heir Otsotsuki after him and we make sure that the enemies of his family find an ally in him or are you telling me that you the Iroh the Ashbringer, Scorch Emperor etc. are afraid"

"You are treading very close to the words of Starlight, woman" Iroh warned "I would hate to do to you the same as Blacklight did to his brother"

"Don't worry about that, you know that Starlight was infected with the Corruption of Apophis and Apophis is no longer" she retorted "besides it was the Otsotsuki's who first broke our deal"

"That is true but I feel uncomfortable with making such a decision without our friends" Iroh said.

"And I would never ask such of you" she assured him "I already have found clues to the whereabouts of our brother in Wind Country"

"Ironic considering he is the Wind Lord" Iroh chuckled.

"Yes it would seem that our power even bound as it was has enhanced the humans elemental affinities and they have named their countries to reflect their main affinities" she explained.

"So it should be easy to find our remaining brothers" Iroh mused.

"Not so easy, their defenses make our approach very difficult" Tsukiumi explained "if it wasn't for the neglect of this chamber by the humans in these fast few generations, I wouldn't have been able to weasel myself here, so no it will take weeks and months to free our friends even if we know exactly where they are"

"it is to be expected" Iroh shrugged "to have used any less secure means would have been demeaning of our power and position"

"Arrogant as ever" the Flood Princess smirked.

"And you used to love it" Iroh smirked back at her as they both disappeared in flashes of blue and red light.

The day after the Kage Summit.

Deep inside the Village Hidden in the Sand

Deep inside the Hidden village existed a cave system carved through the eons by the power of the desert wind or so it was believed by most people though the truth was far from it. The cave system was in fact created in a battle between two powerful beings whose control over the winds was even to the day unmatched. Of those two, one was … well not dead but his essence was dispersed all over the planet so it was very close to death while the second one was petrified within the main chamber of the whole cave system, encased by the raw power of the nearby Ley lines,- in a prison to powerful for even him to break. That was about to change as the very Ley lines intersecting beneath the cavern shook as the power of two Elemental Lords washed over them temporarily diverting the very lifeblood of the planet away from the cavern. That was enough as a soft green glow filled the cavern and the earthen pillars in the room crumbled and the earth overhead sank and with it the overhead Kazekage tower collapsed and broke as well as a part of the village as the entire cave system collapsed.

A few miles to the north of the village the two Elemental Lords were watching the events transpire through their ability to interact with the world on an entirely different level of awareness but still it took them by surprise when Kazuma materialized next to them. Their reaction time, however was impeccable as dual blasts of water and fire headed toward him, merging midway to produce super heated steam hat would have destroyed anyone but the Wind Lord who merely arched backwards never removing his hands from their place behind his back. Righting himself a few milliseconds after the blasts flew overhead, he smirked down at the two Elemental Lords as he took flight… well he hovered though if you paid attention you would notice subtle millimetric moves of his body while floated in the omnipresent desert winds.

"Slow" he said looking over them with bored eyes. As he slowly touched upon the ground the Wind Lord seemed to suddenly grow taller and more imposing as his grey eyes grew from bored to sharper than steel in a few moments "I shall not help you with you schemes Water"

"I have not even said anything to you yet" Tsukiumi spoke, signs of anger seeping through her calm demeanor.

"You need not speak, child" Kazuma replied calmly "the wind spirits have kept me informed of all that happened as I slumbered"

"Brother please listen?" Iroh almost begged.

"I find myself suddenly curious of the reason behind the great Scorch Emperor's betrayal of his duties?" Kazuma asked directing his sharp gaze over his brother in arms.

"I have not. They betrayed us first" Iroh pleaded, impending dread coiling in the pit of his stomach as he saw his bother in arms ready himself for war.

"They did not. Hei did… after a fashion" Kazuma said "his research was actually into how to imprison some of the most powerful upper-class Slidders"

"And you think that the Emperor's never knew about it or didn't know how it could be used?" asked Tsukiumi.

"Of course not" Kazuma shrugged "but they are dead now and we are free and as my mentor often said that we are products of our past but we don't have to be its prisoners"

"And that's what we are asking of you" insisted Tsukiumi.

"No you are asking of me to change my path, to betray my oaths not only to those who saved me, fed me and taught me everything I know but also to betray the trust of my friends " Kazuma raised his voice for the first time which made Iroh tense "and you know that if there is one thing that wind never does is change once it has decided on a path"

"Fool" hissed Tsukiumi "you would condemn us to be slaves when we could be kings"

"Mayhap but if I am a fool then you are insane" Kazuma shrugged.

"Why would I be insane" asked Tsukiumi incredulously.

"Because only an insane man or woman does the same thing over and over again and hopes things will happen differently" said Kazuma "for you forget that while you were the front liners I was the whisper in the darkness, the wind that reaped all those who conspired against the security of the Empire and the only reason you still leave is that you never crossed that line but now that you have there will be nowhere you can run that I cannot find and destroy you"

"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Tsukiumi mockingly "last I checked both Iroh and I far outstripped you in terms of power"

"Shit" Iroh face palmed "you had to say that didn't you"

"Oh but my dear you see power is meaningless to an assassin" Kazuma said in a monotonous voice tone "and I'm the best there ever was"

Tsukiumi never had a chance to respond as she was blown from her feet as Kazuma's right foot impacted her stomach. With a spin his still outstretched foot hit Iroh's head or tried to as it meet an arm on flames as the other man had already anticipated it. What Iroh never expected however was the impossibly fast head but that broke his nose and sent him flying for hundreds of meters, much like a skipping stone on water only this was on dunes of sand. Teal colored beams of energy rained on Kazuma's location raising a massive dust cloud as an angry Tsukiumi unleashed her power which while weakened in the middle of the desert was still massive. A kick to the back of her head however had her face planted in the sand once more. Iroh joined her soon after the only difference being that he was on fire when he did. She quickly composed herself into a fighting stance drawing upon every ounce of power that she could as her human form wavered as her power made her glow with teal colored light so intense that she was visible only as a humanoid blob of pure power. At her back stood what one might call an avenging angel, Iroh clad in fire as massive wings of white hot fire spread from his back and a massive claymore of blue fire was clenched in a hand of blood red fires.

"You little…" Tsukiumi spat out before her mouth was sealed by a kick to the teeth which hurt her even through her shroud of power.

"Kazuma stop this madness" Iroh snarled his sword sweeping the surrounding dunes and turning them to obsidian with their impossible heat "we don't have to do this"

"But you see my brother, we do" Kazuma's voice came from all around them, tinged with regret "like all magnificent things its very simple Iroh, we swore oaths long ago, oaths that I obey not because my own power and magic forces it on me but because I believe in what I swore to do"

"Even if you have to kill your brother and sister in all but blood?" asked Iroh.

"You think I like to do this?" asked Kazuma, his voice laced with uncontrollable rage "you know how easy it is to kill a man, too easy brother. It is after all the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

"What light?" Tsukiumi asked spitting out a globule of blood and saliva "we were left to rot for almost two thousand years and you go quoting some long dead human filth"

"And there she shows her true face brother" Kazuma laughed a hollow laughter "I hope that she is infected by the Scourge of Aphopis for I fear to think how twisted one might need to become to think of other so beneath them as to be willing to commit genocide…. But then again truth is rarely pure"

"Or simple" sighed Iroh.

"You would turn against me?" asked a stricken Tsukiumi "because he said a few nice-sounding lies"

"Of course not, Iroh would never do that but he would distance himself enough from you that I can remove my hands from my back and end this fight" Kazuma chuckled as a sandstorm picked up around them.

"Brother, no" shouted Iroh, his entire being rippling as the heat of his flames increased to match the heat of a star going into supernova.

"Let him" Tsukiumi nodded grimly "and I shall end his miserable existence.

Kazuma obliged her request and speed forward his hands sliding from his back and glinting slightly as he went for the kill. Tsukiumi called forth forbidden power as she used "Eleventh Rebirth" to augment her own powers considerable to the point that for a few precious seconds she was the strongest of the three gathered Elemental Lords. Iroh had had enough of death of his loved ones and used "The Song of the Dying Star" to stop the foolishness of his brother and sister and remind the world why he had earned the title of the Scorch Emperor. The world went white for a few seconds and when it came back to its normal state, a new massive crater of obsidian adorned the desert for hundreds of meters from where they clashed and was deep enough that they could feel the pulsing of the leylines right below them.

Tsukiumi vanished in a flash of blue light, the deep gash in her chest convincing her that she wouldn't be capable of surviving for more than a few seconds without Iroh's intervention. Iroh stood on his knees, his right arm missing from the elbow and down, while a slightly singed Kazuma was standing next to him his hands overflowing with the golden light that signaled to the world that one of the most complex healing spells in the world was at work.

"Sorry, I got caught up with work" Kazuma apologized "you know me and work"

"I do and that is why I'm not throttling you right now for trying to kill Tsukiumi" he said fuming "that and the fact that I might have lost my entire arm if you hadn't redirected the blast of power upwards"

"Meh it was nothing" Kazuma smiled "you are rather rusty and she wasn't in the proper mindset to properly harness all her power"

"I need to be going now, brother" Iroh stood abruptly "the Emperor Heir is almost here and I don't want to get caught in your little power plays until he wears the Crown, until then farewell brother"

"Damn it you bonehead" cursed Kazuma as his brother flashed away "ah well nothing to do here but cleanup"

A white Ivory wand popped in his hand it suddenly seemed as time was rewinding as Obsidian once more became sand and the crater disappeared as every particle suddenly found itself drawn back to where it was before his siblings had decided to throw a pissing contest around there. It was a few minutes later that he sent the wand back to the realm from he drew it in the first place and raised his hands in the universal gesture for surrender as a blond man came forward , running his hand through his thin beard.

"It doesn't suit you, you know" Kazuma started.

"Yeah, I know" sighed the man "I look like some young fawn, all spotty. I guess it will get better once I'm older"

"Or you may never grow one" Kazuma shrugged "you know I tried it myself, of course I tried to mimic Dyeus's beard, never managed to do it, I always resembled a preteen trying to look older so I did some autotomy on myself"

"I don't quite think that is the correct use of the word" Naruto pointed out.

"And you are entirely to serious" Kazuma chuckled "I swear that joke never gets old"

"No, I merely like concinnity in my subjects" Naruto shrugged.

"I'm not your subject… yet" Kazuma reminded Naruto.

"Do you think I'll fail?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"No but I have been wrong before" Kazuma shrugged "I thought that Madara might do it. No offense to the First Hokage but he was too soft to be an Emperor"

"No offense taken, I personally think so to." Naruto smiled slightly "he would have never been able to deracinate the corruption and the war frenzy that has taken over our world since we cracked it open"

"Harsh, man" lightly chastised Kazuma "he did after all convince Madara to create the first Shinobi Village"

"Well he did beleaguer him with his habit of always leaving him alive while he tore the other Uchiha's apart" Naruto conceded "and it was only after he died that wars truly began on a massive scale"

"See it was not so hard to give praise. Even if I bet this kind of moments are evanescent in your life" Kazuma spoke and began walking as a small sandstorm enveloped them both "but the thing is you need them to become a better man and not succumb to the lure of absolute power"

"What absolute power, I can fight Tailed Beasts and create cities and perhaps even give the Sage, another Otsotsuki, crazy powerful,- a run for his money" Naruto laughed in a self-deprecatory tone "but I am supposed to go against Gods and Eldritch monsters on my own power"

"True but you are never alone" Kazuma said as the sand disappeared and they found themselves in the shadows of a giant flying city "opulent place you have there and also full of people who care and will stand by you, like the stars that accompany the moon, less bright but without them the sky would be dull, no matter the brightness of the moon"

"You seem to know a lot for a sealed Elemental Lord" Naruto commented though Kazuma recognized it as a order hidden as an innocuous inquiry.

"I am a Tenth level Seal Master as recognized by the Order of the Scribes" Kazuma dropped the bomb "it was quite useful in my line of work and when I was imprisoned by the seal I lessened it enough to be capable of hearing the wind outside of my prison but not enough to be fully free"

"Why?" He asked interested.

"The shinobi have scarred this world enough as they are, think what would have happened if the secrets of mana were stolen or wrestled away from us and it would have happened if we stayed" Kazuma explained "Hei recognized it and that's why he too allowed himself to sleep"

"Interesting" Naruto mused "to think that one can put his pride aside for the good of all people, most of them, if not all,- that could be considered inferior to yourself"

"If there is one thing that I know is that humans survival is sempiternal as is, one could argue- their ability to conquer and rise again and again" Kazuma replied "they did destroy the great cosmic conquerors, Dragons while even the gods were struggling against them and while their unity and strength was evanescent, they still made damn sure that they went out like a supernova"

"There is nothing more that I would love to discuss than the perceived superiority of human beings but the time has come," Naruto said "the time for the end to come"

"The end. Hmmm" Kazuma made a show of thinking very hard "ohhh you mean the end of the world, interesting"

"And somewhat scary" Naruto agreed "but the world needs a bit of an end before it can start anew"

"Just be careful not to get… shall we say overzealous" Kazuma advised.

"Of course not" Naruto looked offended "who do you think I am"

"An Otsotsuki" Kazuma replied with a sweat drop "and the last time one of you said that we had to deal with a Hydra pack and it took two centuries to finally get rid of the stench"

Land of grass, one of the hidden bases of Otogakure.

Sasuke Uchiha had grown, no longer was he the foolish child that followed four unknown shinobi outside of the security of his village and committed the ultimate act of betrayal by stabbing his best friend with a technique he was entrusted with to help protect him. Looking back, Sasuke was sure that had Kakashi caught up with him he wouldn't have survived that day, Sharingan legacy be damned. He was no longer a foolish child but perhaps arrogance had taken its place as he now stood face to face with the proof that he wasn't untraceable neither were his hidden fortresses impenetrable to infiltration. The hooded man… women, he couldn't really tell was calmly standing next to the pretentious throne he had inherited after Orochimaru died fighting one of the Akatsuki, presumably their leader since he was the only one he knew Orochimaru went all out to avoid fighting.

"Who are you?" asked Sasuke, his body tensing for a fight, a fight he very well knew he could end in his death.

"That is a silly if appropriate question, from your point of view" the hooded being spoke, its voice smooth and free of any recognizable accents or tonalities "though I think you can do better than that if you put that brilliant mind of yours to work"

"You have a … proposal" Sasuke stated after thinking about for a few moments "and are not interested in a fight"

"Very well, though using you Sharingan however briefly, is not fair to us common folks" the being chided.

"I doubt that you are anything normal" Sasuke almost snorted though he would never accept it after all he had his Uchiha pride to think about.

"Family, my dear child is such a complex concept" the Being spoke, after pausing for a few seconds "tell me child do you know of your families origin's"

"We are descendent of the Sage of Six Paths" Sasuke answered perplexed and with a hint of pride "part of his power lives through us and our powerful ocular abilities"

"True enough but what about the Sages own family?" the hooded Being asked "what of the deeds that they accomplished that sound so far-fetched that today scholars debate if our world never had any moon before the Sage formed one on his deathbed"

"You speak of the tales of the Empire and their repeated destructions and rebuilding of the moon" Sasuke scoffed at the notion "Orochimaru was enamored with those tales and sought their secrets but I doubt that their ability to draw power from the spirit was anything but tales meant to explain the early and rough forms of chakra manipulation"

"A reasonable explanation for one such as yourself capable of seeing the energies that flow in the world around us and thus you inability to truly see the power of the Spirit is tantamount to it not existing" the Being chuckled sinisterly before a feeling of unrestrained power washed over Sasuke and he was floored "but I assure you it is real and I can yield it very easily as can you, the blood flowing in your veins making sure of that"

"W-what d-do y-you w-ant from me" Sasuke asked.

"A host, a partner" the Being shrugged "depends on the point of view really"

"You're like Orochimaru" Sasuke accused.

"Not even close child" the Being replied and Sasuke couldn't help but imagine a macabre grin plastered on a face remarkably similar to Orochimaru's "I am far, far more powerful… and yet far more constrained on my choice of hosts"

"Why?" asked Sasuke, his curiosity piqued by that last comment.

"Because my power is so vast that only a handful of humans in this world can withstand it without their body Vanishing" the Being explained.

"And you think I can resist it" Sasuke concluded.

"Oh I know you can, after all the Emperor's gift enhances both the mind and body of the user even if it never awakens" the Being explained and then it stopped for a moment before adding " oh so you weren't told, were you?"

"Told what?" demanded Sasuke, briefly forgetting about the massive amount of power the Being before him possessed.

"That you are as much entitled to the power that surges from your soul as is your cousin of sorts, Naruto Uzumaki" the Being explained with a delighted tone.

"So that is what made him strong enough to destroy two of the Great Five on his own" Sasuke exhaled, thinking about the implications of him possessing such power and quite possibly his brother.

"No, not really, the power is very dangerous, as is anything coming out of the soul" the Being answered "the Spirit is more malleable, it is in fact the accumulated if Supernatural representation of your accumulated experiences, growth and personality but the soul is the seed of all that you are and far more powerful and complex than even I for all my power and knowledge can create or manipulate"

"But he can use it and can't, why?" asked Sasuke.

"Because you are not thinking large enough, your ambitions lack the power and intensity that the Uzumaki's held even if they were sub-conscious at that part of his life" the Being answered in a mocking tone "Pitiful really that you cannot and perhaps never will be capable of accessing, lacking as you are of the mindset"

"Do you think that will stop me from accessing it?" Sasuke countered.

"Yes" the Being answered bluntly "but it is even better as it will not conflict with my possession of your body or the power you will be imbued with before and after my temporary residence"

"At what price?' he asked, his genius mind making connections much faster than 99.99% of all living humans on the planet.

"This world" the Being explained "it has escaped my grasp for far too long but with you as my host I will be invincible as this world is swallowed into oblivion"

"Why, should I do this?" Sasuke asked, obviously unnerved.

"Because the power you will be imbued with will allow you to survive the death of your pitiful world and make you stronger than any of your so called gods" the Being explained his disdain of the 'gods' he spoke of, apparent.

"Why destroy the world, why not rule since you think yourself so powerful?" Sasuke asked, probing the being in front of him.

"I would explain if that didn't make your brain melt, that is if you could even understand the Languages needed to explain the fuel behind my everlasting hunger" the Being answered.

"What if I decline?" Sasuke asked.

"Then I would leave from here and you won't remember anything" the Being laughed "and in another millennia or two one of your descendants or those of your annoying cousin will succumb to the lure of my power and this world will fade away to nothingness"

"Very well but I need time to think about this" Sasuke nodded thoughtfully.

"I didn't expect anything less from you" the Being nodded "and if time is what you need time you shall have"

And with those last ominous words the Being just faded away as he never had stood there in the first place and yet Sasuke became aware of the putrid stench of decay and death that now permeated the air around him. A quick Fire Release jutsu saw the office and the entire hidden stronghold burned down and those few shinobi not quick enough to escape the roaring green fire that had originated from Sasuke's former office, well they weren't really worth the effort to save them if they were that worthless, or that's how Sasuke saw it.

As the sun fell that day many weird things began happening around the world. In Kumogakure a fierce thunderstorm stroke the mountain-nested village but it was around midnight that the main event happened as a force older than the village and even older than the entire practice of using stolen godly chakra, awoke for the first time in almost two thousand years. A strange sight greeted the Raikage as multiple lightning bolts hit the exact center of the village… at once. A column of light burst forth from the ground and hit the clouds which grew even fiercer in their discharges of electricity towards the mountain. A massive boom echoed moments later as a being shot out of the ground unseen by the half blinded humans and the mountain shock as the sealing chamber collapsed and with an ancient and previously well warded temple. Many would attribute this to an attack by the Uzumaki Kagekiller, as the devastation and deaths caused by the storm and the unnatural column of light would cripple Kumo's shinobi's forces for quite some time.

In an entirely different continent a long dormant volcano awoke and from its smoking tip a humanoid figure arose, lava dripping from his body as if though it was water and not super-heated molten rock. The chestnut hair colored man rose his piercing blue eyes toward the heavens and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. A moment later a pair of massive black feathered, wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and he shot towards the sky, while causally breaking the sound barrier.