Chương 122

"No, he didn't ask me first." Rei's voice was dangerously calm, though the fury beneath it was unmistakable.

"Because he fucking knew I'd reject him. He only preys on people whose minds are broken." Rei took a step toward Sasuke, his eyes burning with disappointment.

"And you, my idiot Sasuke... walked straight into his trap." Sasuke's jaw clenched.

"You think I'm insane for wanting vengeance?" he shot back.

"You think I should just forget everything? Forget my clan?" A thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth where Rei's punch had landed, but he didn't even bother wiping it away. Rei let out a harsh, humorless laugh.

"Vengeance?" His voice rose.

"You stand there talking about vengeance after making a deal with a God?" He pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke.

"Do you honestly think your brother made some bargain with gods or devils to obtain the power he has?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"You are an even bigger fucking idiot than I thought." Sasuke frowned.

"... God?" The single word escaped his lips almost involuntarily.

"What God?" Naruto blurted out. Everyone's attention shifted to Rei. Even Jiraiya, who had remained silent until now, narrowed his eyes.

"... God?" Tsunade had finally recovered enough to stand beside Shizune after overcoming her crippling fear of blood, thanks to Naruto's determination against Kabuto. Yet even she couldn't hide the confusion on her face.

"What exactly are you talking about?" she asked. Rei slowly looked around at all of them before his gaze settled back on Sasuke.

"You all think I'm the only one capable of traveling between dimensions?" His question hung heavily in the air. The words alone sent chills down both Naruto's and Sasuke's spines.

"You think I'm some special exception?" Rei continued, his voice quieter now, making it all the more unsettling.

"That whenever things go wrong, you can simply run to another world and be safe because I'll always allow it?" He stared directly into Sasuke's eyes.

"Sasuke..." There was no anger in his voice anymore.

"I expected better from you." Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. Until this moment, he had always believed Rei would eventually help him become stronger. Rei had never directly granted him power, but becoming Moon Knight had happened because of the path Rei had unknowingly opened. Somewhere in the back of Sasuke's mind, he had convinced himself that Rei would always be there as a safety net. But Rei's words shattered that illusion. Naruto looked between the two in utter confusion.

"Hold on." He raised both hands.

"Back up a second. You keep saying 'God.'" His expression became serious.

"Does... does an actual God exist?" The battlefield fell silent as everyone's eyes turned back toward Rei, waiting for his answer. Rei closed his eyes for several long seconds before slowly exhaling. The fury that had consumed him moments earlier gradually settled, though the disappointment remained written plainly across his face. When he finally opened his eyes again, there was an exhaustion within them that none of them had ever seen before.

"... Yes." That single word froze the entire battlefield. Naruto stared blankly, convinced he had misheard. Sasuke's expression became increasingly conflicted, while Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged uneasy glances. Neither of the legendary Sannin sensed any deception in Rei's voice.

"There are beings," Rei continued quietly, "who exist beyond what we understand. Some call them gods, some call them cosmic entities, and others worship them under different names. Whether they're truly gods or simply beings so powerful that humanity mistakes them for gods... doesn't really matter." His gaze settled upon Sasuke.

"What matters... is that one of them has taken an interest in you." Jiraya was almost close to laughing, along with Tsunade, but what they have seen a couple of minutes didn't have an explanation. Thus they wanted to see what Rei was going to do. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"No more questions." Rei finally said.

"Not here." Without another word, a familiar parchment materialized in his hand before three identical copies appeared beside it. The documents floated gently toward Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shizune.

"I need all three of you to read this." Jiraiya caught one first, immediately frowning.

"... A contract?" Tsunade accepted hers with equal suspicion while Shizune carefully unfolded the final copy. Strange clauses covered every page, far more detailed than any summoning contract they had ever encountered.

"... Half Contract Authorization..." Tsunade read aloud before looking up.

"What exactly is this?"

"It allows me to inherit half of your talents, abilities, skills and physical compatibility without taking anything away from you." Rei answered honestly.

"You lose nothing. I simply gain the ability to learn from your gifts perfectly. In fact you can choose to inherit one of my ability/technique of your own choice after you sign it."

"What?" Tsunade was dumbfounded, as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You must be kidding?" Shizune asked.

"Does this looks like a joke to you all?" Rei replied and in the next second all of them had their eyes wide open as they saw Sharingan on the eyes of Rei.

"What the hell?"

"Oh my god!"

"What..."

"You.. You.. Sharingan.. How?" Jiraya asked.

"Because Sasuke signed the contract and I got the Uchiha bloodline. So take this contract seriously." Rei replied.

"Is this some kind of kekkei genkai?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes. You can think of it that way." Rei replied.

"But we still have questions..." Jiraya said.

"Because I don't understand what is going on."

"I know." He looked toward the sky before speaking again.

"I can answer those questions... Just not here." All three frowned.

"I can take you somewhere." Rei continued.

"A completely different dimension. Once you're there, you'll understand why I've kept so many secrets. After seeing it yourselves, you can decide whether trusting me today was the right decision."

"What if none of us sign?" Tsunade asked. In response Rei's Senjutsu transformation took over and within a second his whole body changed shape and soon turned into what looked like a demon. A demon with canons in his hands.

"Then I am sorry to say that I will seal you all here until my death." Rei replied. This made both Jiraya and Tsunade angry and before they could utter a word of anger, Rei continued.

"You might think I am too young to even think of that, but trust me, my senjutsu and Sharingan are just one of the powers. You think mine and Sasuke's body strength was just a fluke and chakra control? Or did you think I didn't ask others and have been secretly collecting signatures for my kekkei genkai, like Kakashi-sensei. Your Hundred seals technique and Jiraya-sama's senjutsu would still be failing under my powers.

I might not have the instincts and battle knowledge like you guys, but what I do possess is immense endurance. To fight for days and nights, which clearly both of you don't have." This made Tsunade and others dumbfounded. They didn't expect this person to even know about their strongest techniques. Jiraya had always thought that there was something different about Rei, and today he got to realize that he was a hidden master.

Jiraya wasn't in some delusion to think Rei was some kind of traitor just because he was hiding his strength. Most of the shinobis did that. But hiding this degree of his strength was a first and that too such an absurd kekkei genkai. But he could understand why Rei never spoke of it to him before. Tsunade didn't know Rei that deeply but seeing that Jiraya wasn't accusing this genin of anything untoward to the village meant this person was probably a safe person.

"Kid, are you really sure you can seal us just because we know some of your secrets."

"I am sorry Jiraya-sama but I will have to. What you have seen today is not something that could be spoken to others." Rei insisted.

"And the contract will make sure that none of us speak of what we have seen?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes and in exchange you can get any ability or bloodline of your choosing. Including the Uchiha bloodline." Rei said. This made every one, including Shizune gulp down their throats. The three exchanged silent glances. Several minutes passed before Tsunade finally sighed. The temptation Rei gave was too much. Besides she, just like others, wanted to know what Rei meant by Gods.

"You are one quite bold, brat... but if this is some elaborate prank, I'm going to break every bone in your body."

"It isn't." Rei replied as he took back the sage transformation and showed his actual face. She signed. Jiraiya laughed helplessly before shrugging.

"If Tsunade's signing, I suppose I've got no excuse." His name soon joined hers. Shizune hesitated the longest. After looking from Tsunade to Rei several times, she finally smiled faintly before adding her own signature beneath the others. The instant the third signature was completed, all three parchments dissolved into golden particles. A tremendous surge crashed through Rei. His chakra reserves expanded violently.

Countless medical techniques, chakra control, sealing theory, anatomy, summoning experience and many jutsu flooded into his mind all at once. It felt as though entire lifetimes had suddenly become his own.

"... Incredible..." Rei whispered. Even without using them yet, he could already feel the difference. Tsunade's monstrous chakra control. Jiraiya's vast ninjutsu mastery. Shizune's refined chakra. All of them had become part of him. Thankfully by that time the summons of Jiraya and Tsunade had already vanished so it was fine to speak about the contracts. Naruto meanwhile was very happy to see them signing as it meant he could finally talk about his secrets.

"... Did it work?" Rei slowly smiled.

"... Better than I expected." He extended one hand.

"Everyone, get ready."

"What are you doing now?" Tsunade asked.

"You wanted answers...." Space distorted. The next moment, all six stood beneath an endless blue sky upon a quiet ranch surrounded by wooden fences, modern roads and strange metal vehicles parked in the distance.

"... Well here are the answers." For several long seconds, nobody spoke. The cool breeze drifted across the sprawling ranch while birds chirped peacefully overhead, creating a surreal contrast to the battlefield they had occupied only a heartbeat earlier. Jiraiya slowly looked toward the paved road in the distance, Tsunade stared at the unfamiliar metal machines parked nearby. In the next moment Rei with the power of his contract called upon Sakura and Kakashi.

As the others had question marks on the faces, Sakura and Kakashi appeared.

"... Rei?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Why am I being called? I was happily practicing.." As she was about to say more she saw Jiraya and Tsunade. She had seen portraits of Tsunade before so she knew who she was. Meanwhile, Kakashi greeted Jiraya and Tsunade after seeing them and smiled at Rei as it meant he had gotten more signatures and just became more powerful. He was really happy for his student, but he also noticed the very weird attire of Sasuke. He had questions but that could wait. The sound of a wooden door opening interrupted everyone.

Daniel and Laura hurried out of the ranch house after sensing Rei's arrival. Upon seeing the growing crowd, both of them smiled knowingly rather than looking surprised. They had already become accustomed to Rei occasionally bringing visitors from another world, though this was by far the largest group they had ever welcomed.

"Welcome." Daniel said warmly.

"I know you have questions so let us help unwind them over cookies. Myself Daniel Harris and this is my wife Laura Harris. And we again welcome you all to planet Earth."