NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 92
Jin watches closely as Kaguya charges through his and Naruto’s horde of shadow clones, she mows a number of them down one-by-one; the sound of their clones' continuous destruction reminds Jin of bubble wrap. However, he does not care in the slightest about that, what he’s truly observing are the Otsutsuki’s movements; all of her attacks may be simple and straightforward, but they are all extremely swift and powerful even for the two Uzumakis as they are now.
“C’mon, guys! We’re not gonna let some space broad push us around!” One clone yells.
Another clone argues, “Quick! Flank her from all s–”
The shadow clone was interrupted by Kaguya’ sudden appearance. The Rabbit Goddess pierces him with an Ash Bone as she flies by, maintaining her cold, emotionless demeanor; the unsuspecting clone slowly disintegrates before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Keep your cool, Jin, and think. Think, analyze, and then move… Jin coaches himself as his eyes dart across the snowy landscape. Watch for the pattern. And pick your moment…
“““HRRAAAAAARRRGH!!””” Scores of clones release a battle cry as they charge their opponent.
The only reason the Onikage is even able to take the time to assess the enemy’s skill is because he has safely hidden himself; he hides in plain sight among his many clones in the background at the edge of the battlefield. The Rinnegan-user’s Truth-Seeker Orbs are currently in possession of one of his shadow clones at the forefront of the battle; to sell the deception, scores of clones protectively surround the Imposter-Jin.
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The shadow clone currently posing as the real Jin hovers in the air surrounded by many of his siblings; he watches Kaguya tear through dozens of clones while cautiously waiting for a golden opportunity to strike. With powerful swings from her Ash Bones, the Otsutsuki continues to cut down clones as she gets ever closer to her intended targets, but everyone remains undeterred.
Stroking his chin, the Jin-clone ponders what to do next. …Maybe I should say something that would throw her off her game? Hmm?
Sensing the sudden appearance of several chakra signatures, several familiar chakra signatures, the shadow clone takes a quick side glance back and is relieved by what he sees; Echo has returned with Ayanami, Rito, Sasuke… along with Obito and Sakura. Ayanami and Sasuke proceed to sprint into action, hurrying towards the fight.
“They’re here!” Naruto shouts in excitement.
Poised to strike, the Jin-clone patiently watches as Kaguya eerily and immediately closes the distance between herself and Naruto, entrapping the chosen one with her long hair; Naruto struggles to break free. The Mother of All Chakra wastes no time in stabbing Naruto with one quick thrust of her Ash Bone. To everyone’s befuddlement--aside from the reincarnations--Naruto disappears in a puff of smoke before he can even finish breaking down into ash; the orbs return to the real Naruto.
Here’s my chance! Jin glares intensely, readying himself.
The clone rockets towards the still bewildered Otsutsuki at faster than light speeds with his right leg winded back; he laces it with chakra for one mighty blow; he keeps silent as to not alert the celestial being, not daring to even grunt or growl.
Just as the Jin-clone is about to close the distance and land his attack, in a flash, Kaguya whips around and pierces the clone with one of her Ash Bones. As the decay slowly spreads throughout the clone’s body, he gazes at her grimacing face; a smug grin forms on the clones cracking face from ear-to-ear for his kick did connect… with her crotch.
“Heheheheh… Hurts, doesn’t it?” The chuckling clone sneers before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
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“Really, Jin? This isn’t a bar fight. Show some class.” Ayanami facepalms; she shakes her head with disapproval.
“What? It was the clone's plan, not mine.” A smirking Jin simply shrugs. “Besides… Only dead men fight fair. Hey, did you guys kill Moryo by any chance?”
Ayanami responds with, “No… We left him stran--Ggh…!!?”
Just as the real Jin calls back his orbs, there is a sudden shift in dimensions; the landscape has completely changed from a frozen, mountainous tundra to a barren wasteland with small pyramid-shaped terrain on the ground and tall plateaus in the distance; the tundra air is replaced by an intense pull of gravity. All of Jin and Naruto’s shadow clones are the first to fall; they each dissipate the instant they make contact with the ground.
C-Can’t… stay… a-airborne! Jin grits his teeth as he struggles against his increased weight.
Jin watches as his and Ayanami’s Truth-Seeker Orbs fall to the ground; they all hit the ground like anvils, each leaving a small seismic event. Not long after, Jin and Ayanami follow their orbs and hit the ground with loud thuds; the pyramid-shade terrain digging into Jin’s backside reminds him of certain scenes in anime where a character is forced to kneel on triangular wedges and stone slabs are placed on their lap.
The two shinobi hear Naruto exclaim, “What h-happened?! I-I can’t levitate… a-anymore…”
I-I… didn’t… n-need to… know how that… a-actually felt… A struggling Jin winces from the crushing, sharp pain.
With veins bulging and muscles straining, the Onikage tries to get back up, but the gravity is simply too strong. The best he can manage is getting on all fours while Ayanami is able to get on one knee.
“Look alive, Jin!” Ayanami shouts.
Jin’s attention falls back onto Kaguya, he finds the Mother of Chakra on her knees as she can’t handle the intense gravity either; she has her All-Killing Ash Bones aimed directly at Jin and Ayanami. The two downed ninja quickly begin to mold their chakra as they watch the Otsutsuki fire her projectiles.
“Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!”
“Earth Style: Mobile core!”
A massive tree sprouts from the ground in front of Jin and Ayanami; due to the gravity of the dimension, the tree grows crookedly, bending to one side. The Ground directly behind the tree rises, forming a two-meter-thick wall of solid rock; the wall sinks back in some because of the increased weight caused by the dimension.
Blood roars in Jin’s ears, he can feel his blood run cold and his body tremble as he narrowly evades death; he sees Kaguya’s Ash Bone nearly drilled straight through their makeshift defenses and is currently mere centimeters away from his left eye; their barrier worked if just barely. He looks back and sees Ayanami trembling too but is still very much alive.
“Oh, thank God.” Jin sighs with relief.
The two shinobi hear Naruto shout, “Quick! Dodge ‘em, Sasuke!”
Jin and Ayanami come to the conclusion that since Kaguya is unable to get them because of their barrier, she has switched her focus back to Naruto and Sasuke.
“…I’ll stop you! Grh…” Obito groans.
*SPLUGCK!*
Jin can’t see what is happening, all he hears is the sound of flesh being punctured followed by an eerie silence. Each passing second feels like hours to the Rinnegan-user as he waits for someone to say something, anything.
“Earth Style: Mobile Core.” He feels his neck hairs rise with suspense.
As the wall Jin erected lowers back down, his eyes first dart towards Rito and Mecha-Naruto; they are seemingly unharmed. The Onikage’s gaze then falls on Echo who also seems to be okay. Finally, Jin turns his attention to the main cast…
A shocked Kakashi asks, “But why? We…”
Everything’s going along as it should… A relieved Jin tunes them out as he’s already seen this before many times. Almost at the finish line… Thank God.
“Good riddance.” Ayanami quietly mutters with venom in her tone.
Eyebrow raised, Jin looks to his side and sees Ayanami staring at Obito with a cold and callous look in her eyes; he sees her lips almost forming a smile.
“Good riddance? Ayanami, that’s something I’d expect from… well… me.”
Her cold gaze turns on Jin while articulating, “I died back in 2004, remember? I didn't finish reading Naruto until recently when I saw your memories. My exposure to the Akatsuki was all first-hand experience from the Kazekage Rescue Mission to Pain’s Assault.”
“Say no more.” Jin is quick to drop the subject.
Kaguya breaks the stalemate by shifting the dimensions once again. They’re all in the gravity dimension no longer, but what Jin knows to be her root dimension which links all her dimensions together; the sky in the Otsutsuki’s core dimension is greenish-yellow in color while the terrain itself is mountainous.
Almost finished with this little scra--Oh, crap. Jin senses the sudden appearance of a familiar yet unwanted chakra signature.
From far away, to his west, he hears a thunderous, cold voice screech, “Gale Style: Laser Circus!”
Jin looks to his left only to see a volley of laser beams coming right for him and Ayanami. Without thinking, he immediately reaches for his friend and leaps to the side, pulling her with him. The Onikage grits his teeth as he feels one of the beams graze his right cheek; the sound of two things, hitting the ground in the distance, distracts him from the burning sensation. And Jin soon realized who had just attacked them. It was Moryo.
“Why won’t you die?!” The Onikage yells.
“No!”
After crashing into the ground, Jin hears a high-pitched gasp coming from beside him; he whips his head around and finds Ayanami covering her mouth; tears trickle down her eyes which are full of shock and pain; terrified of what he is about to see, Jin slowly looks back.
Rito and Sakura are both spread-eagled on the ground in the distance. There is a gaping hole in Rito’s chest and two holes in the medical ninja; one in her chest and another in her head. They are dead.
For one single second that feels like an eternity, Jin stares into Rito’s face, at his open blue eyes, blank and expressionless as the windows of an old, abandoned house, at his half-open mouth, which looks slightly surprised.
“No! This isn’t happening!! This isn’t happening!! THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!”
Jin’s mind reels from the shock, unable to accept what he had just seen. With tears running down the Onikage's face, he feels his heart grow so heavy that it feels like it will explode; his hands begin shaking violently; his now trembling legs lose their strength, leaving him to fall to his knees. The dam breaks and all the trauma that Mileena had suppressed earlier comes rushing back like a flash flood, overwhelming his psyche.
“Oh, but this IS happening. And everyone else is next! Nyah ha ha ha…!” Moryo sneers, pompously.
Upon hearing the demon’s laughter, Jin turns his pained gaze on him; his glare is so intense it could stop a planet from spinning. Beneath all of his grief and agony, he feels a fierce frenzy of rage from the depths of his soul; the fury Jin feels simmers as it bubbles up to the surface.
“What’s the matter, boy? Does seeing that child die upset you that much? Don’t worry, you’ll be joining him soon enough.” The smug demon continues to taunt with a sinister cackle.
Jin snaps. With a scorching fury, he roars, “I’LL KILL YOU!!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!”
The Onikage explodes with chakra bursting out of every single one of his chakra points like geysers; the explosion is so sudden and violent that it forces Ayanami to jump back on pure instinct. However, something is most unusual about Jin’s chakra; its appearance quickly changes from a faint blue flame to translucent red shroud and then into a large mass of spectralon-white, viscous fluid.
This white chakra rapidly spreads across Jin’s body, ominously enveloping him.