Naruto: The Senju After the Age of Gods

Faced with the sudden slash, Hikaru remained completely calm.

He had been through too many battles by now. A surprise attack at this level was nowhere near enough to shake him.

More importantly, he could clearly sense that there wasn’t much killing intent behind the blade.

With a slight shift of his body, he evaded the strike with ease, then pulled back a short distance without immediately counterattacking.

He wanted to see what these two were after.

"Pretty quick, aren’t you?"

A voice sounded from behind him. A figure landed neatly at his back, cutting off his retreat.

At the same time, another ANBU appeared in front of him, boxing him in from both sides.

The one standing before him wasn’t very tall and seemed rather young. From the build, it was probably a woman—but among shinobi, male and female meant little. They were all weapons of war.

"Who are you?" the female ANBU asked, her voice muffled and sharp. "Why are you sneaking around here in the middle of the night?"

"I’m here to find someone," Hikaru replied after a brief pause, smiling faintly. "A friend of mine is inside the Kaguya compound up ahead. Speaking of which, what exactly is going on? Why is this place—"

"Take off your mask."

The woman’s tone turned cold. She leveled her blade straight at Hikaru’s chest.

"Enough pretending. Who are you? I’ve never seen that mask before. Why are you here?"

"Didn’t I already explain?" Hikaru sighed, still sounding mild. "I’m looking for someone. And wearing a mask isn’t strange. The Kaguya Clan is famously hostile. I figured it would save me some trouble."

There was nothing obviously wrong with that explanation.

After all, the Kaguya Clan was notoriously violent and xenophobic. Getting noticed by them could easily cause problems. And even if they didn’t attack on the spot, they were still shinobi. Once they remembered your face, you’d have a much harder time moving around the village later.

But the moment Hikaru finished speaking, the female ANBU thrust her sword at him again.

This time, the killing intent behind it was unmistakable.

She was genuinely trying to kill him.

Hikaru leapt lightly to the side and dodged, then looked at her with open curiosity.

"Now that’s strange," he said. "Why are you attacking me?"

"You’re still acting?" the female ANBU said, remaining on guard. Behind Hikaru, the male ANBU had already raised his weapon as well, ready to close in with her at any moment.

"You’re too calm. Your excuse is too polished. I’ll admit that. But someone as calm as you is the most suspicious of all. Especially in the current state of Kirigakure..."

She trailed off there.

And immediately, Hikaru understood how he’d been exposed.

He shook his head with a trace of helplessness.

The problem was simple: he looked too normal.

Too composed.

Kirigakure was in chaos. Everyone here lived on edge. But Hikaru had moved through it all with the detachment of a bystander. Even when confronted by ANBU, he remained relaxed and unbothered.

That alone set him apart from the people of this era’s Mist Village.

"So that’s it."

Hikaru spread his hands.

"Thanks for the reminder. You’re right. This village is in terrible shape, and I was in a hurry, so I didn’t bother adjusting properly. Sloppy of me."

"So you really aren’t from the village," the female ANBU said, her gaze sharpening as chakra started to rise around her. "You’re not even from the Land of Water."

She gripped her sword tighter.

"Who are you? I’m not giving you another chance. Talk now, or I’ll drag you back to ANBU."

"ANBU, huh..."

Hikaru smiled, as if he wanted to say something, then gave up and shook his head.

"Forget it. I was planning to come in quietly, find my target, and decide what to do afterward. But now..."

His smile thinned.

"...I guess I’ll have to change plans."

"Arrogant fool. Move!"

The female ANBU shouted, immediately signaling the man behind Hikaru.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

By standard ANBU procedure, they should have fired a signal by now.

Especially with other ANBU squads nearby.

Their behavior didn’t match any normal operational protocol.

But a moment later, something amusing clicked into place.

These two weren’t with the other ANBU units.

Back before entering Kirigakure, Hikaru’s original plan had been simple—kill an ANBU operative, take his place, and move around the village under that identity.

Because in a village with two separate ANBU systems, it was entirely possible they didn’t all know each other. Konoha was similar in some ways. ANBU didn’t necessarily know Root, though Root usually knew ANBU.

His luck hadn’t been particularly good before. He’d stayed attached to that original squad for too long, and by the time he had the chance to move independently, there hadn’t been enough room to maneuver.

So he had destroyed that identity instead, while taking the opportunity to disgust Obito a little.

But now he’d run into two more ANBU operatives.

And judging from their behavior, they were likely from a different chain of command.

Which meant—

They were much more useful.

The previous identity would have required him to wipe out the entire squad first. But he hadn’t gathered enough reliable information on those people to pull that off safely.

These two, on the other hand, seemed to be operating independently.

If that was the case...

As the blade came at him head-on, Hikaru’s eyes narrowed. Something colder and more dangerous entered his gaze.

Then his body twisted sideways, and at the exact instant he dodged the sword, his hands formed a seal.

"Earth Release: Earth Spears!"

A forest of stone spikes erupted from the ground, curving past Hikaru and driving straight toward the female ANBU.

At that same moment, the male ANBU lunged from behind.

Strange chakra gathered around his hand, and he stabbed directly into the rising stone.

"Water Release: Blue Dragon Piercing Hand!"

The concentrated chakra lanced into the weakest points of the spikes, shattering them one after another.

Hikaru noticed that immediately.

"Compressing chakra into the fingertips and striking the structural weak points?"

He was genuinely surprised.

Not by the principle itself—he knew plenty of high-precision, high-concentration chakra techniques.

What caught his attention was the accuracy.

Breaking one spike might have been luck.

But striking every weak point in succession?

That wasn’t luck.

That meant he could see too much.

And that, combined with the woman’s earlier reaction, told Hikaru exactly who these two were.

At the same time, he sensed movement from the other hidden ANBU units. They had noticed the disturbance and were beginning to move this way in waves.

That wasn’t ideal—but not disastrous either.

This wasn’t the center of the village. It was already near the outskirts, close to the Kaguya district. Even if support came, it wouldn’t arrive instantly.

Then, in his perception, Hikaru sensed another response.

The Kaguya Clan had noticed the commotion too.

Well, of course they had.

If they were this close and still failed to notice, then they truly deserved whatever happened to them.

At that thought, Hikaru made up his mind.

This situation wasn’t what he wanted—but against a sensory user like this, there wasn’t much he could have done better.

And so, his chakra stirred.

In an instant, a pale golden aura flared to life around him.

Since he had already decided not to use Flying Thunder God too casually and wanted to preserve his mysterious "other identity," the fastest way to end this was obvious.

Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

"This is—"

The male ANBU suddenly froze.

His body locked up.

And through the Byakugan in his right eye, what he saw nearly made his heart stop.

"Nine... Nine-Tails? The Nine-Tails? Impossible! Impossible!"

Hikaru turned slightly to look at him, truly intrigued now.

"So you’ve either seen the Nine-Tails before," he said, "or you can see it right now."

"Move!"

The female ANBU suddenly shouted from behind.

In the next instant, Hikaru sensed danger.

"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"

A torrent of scorching, corrosive liquid surged across the ground like molten rock.

The stone spikes Hikaru had raised dissolved almost instantly under the acid and heat.

Hikaru’s reaction, however, was even faster.

He vanished from where he stood and reappeared safely outside the spreading attack zone.

Then his gaze landed on the woman.

And his expression turned thoughtful.

"So that’s who you are."

If this was who he thought it was, then everything made sense.

That lava-like acid could only be one thing—

Lava Release.

And the man’s ability to perceive too much—

That was the Byakugan.

"Terumī Mei... and Ao."

Hikaru looked between them.

If it really was them, then this situation had suddenly become much more interesting.

Mei had already withdrawn to Ao’s side, eyes filled with confusion.

She couldn’t understand why Ao had frozen like that. Yes, the masked intruder was dangerous—oppressively so—but not enough to paralyze a veteran shinobi in the middle of battle.

"What happened?" she asked under her breath.

She even checked Ao’s chakra flow, suspecting genjutsu.

But his chakra was perfectly stable.

"It’s the Nine-Tails..." Ao swallowed hard. "The Nine-Tails! There’s a Nine-Tails inside him!"

Mei’s eyes widened.

"That’s impossible! The Nine-Tails is in Konoha! And when jinchūriki use tailed beast chakra, it doesn’t look like this!"

She had seen jinchūriki before.

That red, violent chakra. The way it tore at their skin. The way they had to fight the tailed beast’s will.

This golden cloak was nothing like that.

It radiated danger—but not madness.

Still...

Ao had the Byakugan.

And if he was saying it, there was no easy way to dismiss it.

Inside the Kaguya compound, the clan’s protective barrier had already alerted them.

Kaguya leader Kaguya Shigemori sat inside the main hall, irritation plain on his face.

"What’s happening outside?"

Someone quickly answered that it seemed to involve ANBU activity.

Shigemori’s expression turned even uglier.

"ANBU."

The contempt in his voice was naked.

Then his eyes hardened.

"Anyone daring to skulk around here deserves to pay the price."

The skinny clansman kneeling nearby lowered his head and said nothing.

He was weak. Frail. Despised within the Kaguya Clan for lacking their monstrous physique and ferocity.

But unlike them, he thought.

He remembered.

He observed.

And beneath that bowed head, resentment twisted coldly in his chest.

He had long since decided that one day, this clan would learn the value of the very things it mocked.

But not yet.

Not yet.

Outside, another group had also noticed the commotion.

A Mist ANBU squad hidden nearby came to a halt.

They had been monitoring the Kaguya Clan for some time, receiving secret support from an internal informant.

Until now, the operation had gone smoothly.

Too smoothly.

Because of that, they had failed to notice that others had been watching this place too.

"Wait," their squad minister whispered. "The Kaguya are moving as well."

One subordinate suggested sending a signal.

But the minister shook his head.

"If we fire a signal now, we’ll only make them more suspicious. We move in quietly."

The squad obeyed and advanced carefully.

Then—

They felt it.

A chakra pressure that carried something dark and malicious.

And before they could react, a golden figure appeared in front of them like a phantom.

Back at the original battlefield, Mei stared at Hikaru in disbelief.

"So it really is the Nine-Tails?"

Hikaru walked toward them slowly, his body covered in golden chakra. His gaze moved across them both with lofty indifference.

"Done talking?" he asked. "If so, then die."

"Are you a Konoha shinobi?" Ao asked suddenly.

"Nine-Tails jinchūriki are supposed to be in Konoha. And according to all our intelligence, the jinchūriki is an Uzumaki..."

He didn’t finish.

"Ignorance is a deadly thing," Hikaru said calmly. "Has the Land of Water’s isolation reached the point where you can’t even get basic news anymore?"

"The Nine-Tails in Konoha is still an Uzumaki, yes. Though there was a small accident."

He tilted his head slightly.

"As for my Nine-Tails—who told you there were only nine tailed beasts in this world?"

"Only nine?" Mei repeated, her face changing. "You mean... there are more? And the reason no one knows is because those other beasts are in your hands—or your group’s hands?"

"You can understand it that way."

Hikaru smiled.

"You’re ignorant, but at least you’re not stupid."

"Then why tell us any of this?" Mei asked.

Hikaru looked at her like she had asked something childish.

"Do you think adults care what children know?"

Then his voice turned colder.

"And you’re stalling for reinforcements, aren’t you? Trying to draw information out of me while you wait. Seems I judged you too highly."

His figure vanished.

Golden light flashed.

In the next second, he was already in front of Mei, driving a punch straight into her abdomen.

She had no time to react.

She was launched backward instantly.

At the same time, Hikaru drew a kunai and slashed toward Ao.

Ao reacted with the reflexes of a seasoned veteran. He dipped his body low and barely avoided the strike.

"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"

Even while flying backward in pain, Mei forced her hands into seals.

A strange mist, born from the union of fire and water, gushed from her mouth and spread rapidly toward Hikaru’s position.

Ao moved at once, rolling back and forming his own hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

A great mass of water surged up around Hikaru, trying to trap him in place while Mei’s corrosive mist closed in.

The coordination was sharp.

Unfortunately—

Not sharp enough.

Hikaru flickered away with a Body Flicker, reappearing in a safe area beyond the trap.

"Oh? Two kekkei genkai?"

His eyes lingered on Mei with genuine interest.

"How amusing."

Then he shook his head.

"Too bad. If your bloodline power were stronger... if your casting were faster... if your teamwork were cleaner... then maybe I’d actually be worried."

No sooner had he spoken than he attacked again.

This time, his target was Ao.

The moment he recognized the Byakugan, Hikaru had already made up his mind.

That eye—

He wanted it.

The Sharingan and Byakugan had always interested him, but opportunities to acquire them were rare.

The Byakugan especially.

In Konoha, branch family eyes were useless because of the Caged Bird Seal. Main family eyes were nearly impossible to obtain.

But now—

Ao stood right in front of him.

Why would Hikaru let that chance go?

As for Mei...

Alive, dead—it made little difference.

In fact, alive might be better.

A survivor could spread the wrong story.

And misinformation was often more useful than corpses.

Ao’s reflexes were excellent.

He shifted and raised his kunai, barely blocking Hikaru’s strike.

But Hikaru pressed the attack without pause.

Metal rang out in a rapid storm of clashes.

Ao’s technique was refined.

His reactions were superb.

But Hikaru’s speed and strength were overwhelming.

Then—

With one sharp metallic crack—

Ao’s kunai snapped in half.

Hikaru twisted and drove a brutal kick into Ao’s chest.

Bones cracked audibly.

Ao was launched backward and slammed into Mei, sending both of them crashing to the ground.

"Looks like this is over."

Hikaru gave his kunai a casual twirl and walked toward them, his voice once again calm, aloof, and disdainful.

"You two are just that small."

◇ One bonus Chapter will be released for every 150 Power Stones.

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