Naruto Uchiha: the Last Sage of the Six Paths by JH17

Chapter 14: An Ethereal Warrior

"Takami." The world paused around him. Naruto tried to move his body forward to walk, but found he was rooted in place.

"A time-based jutsu? Strange, I've never heard of anyone in the history of the Uchiha having such a power. I've only heard of genjutsu that alter time for a person, perhaps this is a genjutsu as well?" Naruto stopped the flow of chakra in his eye and within a moment things began to move normally again. Naruto paused and shoved more chakra into his right eye, forcing things to pause again. The same thing happened, leading Naruto to the conclusion that the amount of chakra he used in that eye would affect the amount of time he had to, well, "pause" the world. His mind began to reel at the versatility of such a power, ranging from preparing to cancel an enemy jutsu or perfectly reading his opponent's movements. He could easily defeat any enemy he came across with this, but he acknowledged his chakra uses. It was extensive, even for a jinchuriki like him. He knew that the Kyuubi certainly wouldn't be lending much chakra any time soon as Naruto heard him declare that he was too reliant on the Bijuu's chakra. He knew that he would have to push his chakra reserves further if he wanted to use his newfound power more effectively. Having decided that, Naruto moved to his left eye.

"Kamui." Naruto felt his body swirl and distort, sending a mild panic through his body as for the first time in his life he had absolutely no idea what was going on. It would have terrified him if he hadn't found himself in such a strange place. He knew that this must be the power of his right eye but whether or not he understood what this place was a different story. All he could see were strange strange blocks made of a pure black material. They gave off a kind of silvery light, giving the area a gloomy and terrible atmosphere. Glancing at his feet he saw that he was standing on an extended platform of these bizarre blocks. Kneeling down, Naruto pressed his hand on it and felt nothing but a freezing sensation. It seemed that the surface of the blocks were colder than anything he'd ever seen or felt. Strangely enough though, only direct contact appeared to cause this. He decided that it was time to try and return to the world he knew and so he thoughtlessly spoke the word again. "Kamui."

Kakashi was beyond concerned now.

By the time Naruto had gotten up, he was gone again. He disappeared in something eerily similar to his own dojutsu. Kakashi calmed himself and within a minute later Naruto had returned in the same way as he had gone. Kakashi watched him fall to his knees and let out a vicious coughing fit. Leaping over to him, Kakashi helped him stand before Naruto pushed him away. Naruto walked shakily before turning to him. "Kakashi, where's our opponent? I'd like to repay him." Naruto grinned and spun his new eyes maliciously. Even Kakashi was surprised by this, watching the bizarre pattern cycle. It was a strange 8 pointed, rounded star with an even stranger design in the center. The only thing he felt he could really compare it to was...a cage. It then hit Kakashi "He must have unlocked it while he was out. What happened?" "Naruto...what happened to you?" Naruto turned slowly, allowing his eyes to fall back into their natural color. "It's simple, Kakashi, your mentor put some of his chakra into my seal. Imagine my surprise when I find him there, waiting to deny the Kyuubi from ever taking my body." Naruto snorted in amusement. "It's funny, really, that he'd deny my path to power only to open up a new one." Kakashi was stumped to say the least. He wasn't really sure what exactly Naruto meant until something clicked in his mind. He recalled something that an old acquaintance in the Anbu had told him.

"The Mangekyou is awakened from a traumatic loss, like killing your best friend or brother"

Shisui's words had never proven truer to him than now. Shisui was the only person he even remotely trusted other than Minato-sensei and Tenzo. Tenzo was just a subordinate though, someone to train and impart a little wisdom to, while Minato was, well, his teacher. Shisui's explanation helped Kakashi to put two and two together and figure out what exactly Naruto had meant by his words. "Naruto...would you have been able to keep him around any longer?" Naruto shook his head "the fox was the only thing keeping him around in the first place. When I realized that his chakra was fading, I finished it off." Naruto began to walk the path again, summoning a new clone to carry their tied up bounty. "We should start moving again, it's getting close to night and I'd like to have a decent rest." Sasuke and Sakura, both completely and utterly confused, turned to their sensei for approval. Kakashi simply gave them a nod and followed after Naruto. "It's just like Minato-sensei to leave a contingency plan for his own son. If only I could have talked to him...just for a moment..." "Old man, get up here and lead us to your house." Kakashi was brought out of his brief musings to hear Naruto bark an order. Tazuna hurried to the front in a nervous manner, beginning to guide the group towards his home. Within a few hours they had arrived.