The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the wide glass windows of Tharion's villa, painting the room in soft gold. Aster was nestled in Tharion's arms, small fingers gripping the edge of his father's shirt, his breaths soft and rhythmic. The world was peaceful — for the first time in years, Tharion had begun to believe that perhaps the gods had finally granted him a true ending.
He rocked Aster gently, his thoughts drifting between the calm waves of contentment and the echoes of all he'd endured — the leagues, the wars, the dreams, the memories of lives before this one.
Selene was resting on the couch nearby, reading through a small holo-tablet of company reports. She was glowing again — stronger, serene, her smile soft as her eyes lifted to watch Tharion cradle their son. "You're staring again," she teased lightly.
Tharion smiled faintly. "I still can't believe he's real."
Selene laughed quietly. "You said the same thing yesterday."
"Yeah," he replied softly, "and I'll probably say it again tomorrow."
He leaned down to kiss Aster's forehead. But just as his lips brushed the baby's hair — the system's chime echoed in his mind.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]New Quest: "The Night of the Leaf."Objective: Protect the couple whose deaths will alter destiny.Location:Hidden Leaf Village (Elemental Nations)Reward: Divine Mark Advancement + 1 World Key.Failure: Permanent erasure of target souls from reincarnation cycle.
Tharion froze. The soft hum of the room faded, replaced by that familiar, ethereal tone. He looked down at Aster — still sleeping peacefully — and then back up, eyes hardening with the gravity of what he'd just read.
Four years. Four years of silence. Four years without a single divine call or intervention. He had truly thought his purpose had ended when peace had found him in this world. But now… the gods had sent another mission.
He exhaled slowly, his heart sinking as realization dawned.Hidden Leaf Village.He didn't know much, but the name resonated — another world. Another timeline. Another chance… or another storm.
Selene noticed the change in his expression immediately. "Tharion?" she asked softly, setting aside her tablet. "Is it… the gods again?"
He hesitated, his jaw tightening before he nodded slowly. "Yeah. A mission."
Selene's face softened, though she already knew what that meant. "How bad is it?"
He sighed, glancing toward the window, where the light of the setting sun painted the world in shades of amber. "Protecting a couple. The system didn't say who, but… it's not here. It's another world."
For a moment, silence. Only Aster's small breaths filled the air. Then Selene rose, stepping toward him, her eyes filled not with fear — but resolve.
"Then you have to go."
Tharion blinked, surprised. "You're not even going to argue?"
She smiled softly. "What would be the point? The gods didn't choose you for nothing. Every time they've called, it was for a reason — and you always came back."
He looked at her, guilt flickering across his face. "Selene, I don't want to leave you alone. Not now. Aster needs—"
She gently pressed a finger to his lips. "Aster needs a father who listens to his heart. And I… can handle things here."
Her voice was steady, calm, almost radiant. "The company, the hotels — they'll manage. You've already built a system for it. My Pokémon and yours can guard the villa, and I can stay with Delia if I need extra help. She's lonely since Ash left for his journey again, and Aster could use some company, too."
She placed her hand on his cheek. "Don't worry about us, Tharion. Just promise you'll come back… like you always do."
He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to hers, feeling the warmth of her soul intertwine with his once more. "I promise," he whispered.
Aster stirred lightly in his arms, making a soft noise before returning to sleep. Tharion smiled faintly, his fingers brushing the tiny tuft of his son's hair. "I'll be back before he even realizes I was gone."
Selene chuckled, tears glimmering in her eyes. "You better be. Or I'll come drag you back myself."
He laughed quietly — but beneath that laughter was the heavy thrum of destiny.
He gently handed Aster to Selene, lingering just a moment longer before stepping back. The system's faint hum grew louder in his mind, the air around him beginning to shimmer faintly.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Dimensional Gate Ready]Confirm Departure: Y/N
Tharion took a deep breath, eyes locked on Selene and their child. "I'll see you soon."
Selene nodded, her voice trembling only slightly. "Go. The world's waiting."
The light enveloped him.
For a brief second — he saw flashes. Storms, fire, blades, and the familiar red moon of the gods. And then — the sight of a village hidden beneath trees, lanterns glowing faintly under the night sky. Screams. Flames. And two figures — a man with wild, spiky hair and a woman with long red locks — holding a crying newborn.
The vision vanished.
[Location Anchor Locked: Hidden Leaf Village]Quest Initiated. Protect the Couple.]
Tharion's last thought before disappearing into the portal was simple — heavy, but determined.
Even if fate demands I walk through another war… I will protect them.
And as the portal sealed behind him, Selene stood at the window, Aster in her arms, whispering softly, "Come back soon, my star."
Outside, the winds shifted.The next chapter of Tharion's divine journey had begun.
The world spun. The golden light of his home faded into the blackened chaos of another night — a night lit by fire and screams.
When Tharion's vision steadied, he was standing on a shattered street. The sky above burned crimson, the full moon glinting against swirling clouds of chakra. The air trembled with killing intent. Buildings were in ruins, the ground quaked beneath his boots, and in the distance — a monstrous roar split the heavens.
"RAAARGHHH!"
The Nine-Tails — a beast of pure hatred, its tails thrashing and destroying everything in their path — loomed over the Hidden Leaf Village. Every sweep of its massive tails sent shockwaves through the streets, hurling debris and dust into the air.
Tharion clenched his fists. So this is the Leaf…
Before he could process the full chaos, the system pulsed inside his mind.
[Quest Objective Updated]Targets Identified: Minato Namikaze & Kushina Uzumaki.Condition: Both must survive until the sealing process is complete.
His eyes snapped upward. In the near distance, he could feel two life signatures flickering — faint, but powerful. He dashed forward, his aura flaring to life. Blue sparks of energy flickered across his body as he blurred through the broken streets, his steps echoing like thunder.
He arrived just in time to see Kushina Uzumaki, her long crimson hair stained with blood, clutching a newborn — baby Naruto — while the Nine-Tails' massive claw came crashing down toward her.
Minato was on the far side, badly injured, chakra almost depleted as he struggled to form another seal. There was no time to think.
Tharion's body moved on instinct. His aura burst outward — the same raw force that once leveled battlefields.
"Not on my watch."
He leapt, his fist blazing with concentrated aura energy, and punched straight into the oncoming claw.
The impact thundered through the air.The ground cratered.The Nine-Tails' massive limb jerked back, shock rippling through the beast as the explosion of energy blasted dust and chakra across the clearing.
Kushina stared in shock — her breath frozen, the child in her arms still crying softly.
Tharion landed between her and the Nine-Tails, the ground beneath him cracking under the pressure of his aura. The crimson light of the beast's chakra reflected off his sharp eyes.
"Who… who are you?" Kushina managed, panting, still weak from the extraction of the tailed beast.
Tharion turned slightly, his expression calm but alert. "I'm a distant cousin of Minato," he said smoothly, the lie rolling easily off his tongue. "I arrived late… too late, it seems. I'll hold it off while you finish the sealing."
Her brows furrowed, confusion flickering. "Distant cousin? I— I didn't know—"
"Long story," Tharion cut in, his gaze flicking back toward the beast. "But we'll save that for after you survive this."
The Nine-Tails let out another roar, its mouth glowing red with building chakra — preparing a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Back away!" Tharion shouted. He slammed both palms onto the ground, his aura flaring crimson and gold as glowing blue runes formed beneath his feet — a pattern reminiscent of a summoning seal, yet nothing the shinobi world had ever seen before.
[AURA FORGE: TITAN'S BARRIER]
The ground shuddered. From the seal rose a translucent dome of golden energy, wrapping around Kushina and the newborn.
The Tailed Beast Bomb detonated — a wave of destruction tearing through the forest, scorching everything in its path. But inside the barrier, not a single leaf stirred.
Kushina stared wide-eyed, the sheer energy of the attack shaking her to her core — yet the stranger before her remained unmoved, standing tall, his right arm raised to reinforce the shield.
When the light faded, Tharion exhaled slowly. The barrier disintegrated in glowing shards. "That should buy us a few seconds."
Minato appeared beside them in a flash of yellow light, the Flying Raijin kunai still glowing faintly in his hand. He looked at Tharion, recognition and confusion flashing in his sharp blue eyes.
"You—who are you?"
Tharion didn't miss a beat. "Distant relative," he said again, this time with a faint smirk. "From the Uzumaki side. Heard the commotion and decided to help before the whole village got flattened."
Minato frowned slightly but didn't press — time was slipping away. His instincts screamed that this stranger was no enemy.
"Can you keep it occupied for a minute?" Minato asked. "I need to prepare the final sealing!"
Tharion nodded, rolling his shoulders as golden aura flared again. "Leave the fox to me."
Kushina looked between the two, torn between disbelief and relief. "Please… save Naruto."
Tharion smirked slightly, his voice steady. "That's the plan."
He turned toward the raging Nine-Tails as its tails whipped and lashed at the sky. His aura shimmered — but this time, it shifted. The light around him turned from gold to dark blue, the air humming with otherworldly resonance.
He moved his fingers in a sequence, deliberately mimicking the shinobi's hand signs — a trick he'd developed by studying their energy structure as he arrived. "If I'm going to blend in, might as well make it look convincing…"
[AURA TECHNIQUE – VOID EDGE ART: CELESTIAL SLASH!]
With a burst of motion, Tharion vanished — reappearing above the Nine-Tails' head. His hand extended into a blade of compressed aura, and with a single sweeping arc, he slashed through one of the beast's tails.
The Nine-Tails roared in agony, slamming its paw upward to crush him — but Tharion vanished again, leaving behind an afterimage. He reappeared atop the fox's snout and slammed his foot down, knocking the creature's head into the ground with a thundering crash.
Minato's jaw clenched in disbelief — that wasn't ninjutsu. It was something else entirely.
Kushina's chakra flickered as she formed the final sealing chain. "Minato! Now!"
Tharion backed away as golden chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Nine-Tails once more. Minato's hands blurred through seals, the Reaper Death Seal taking form as his soul began to merge with the Shinigami's.
The light intensified. The Nine-Tails howled.
And Tharion — standing behind the sealing circle — whispered under his breath, "Rest easy, heroes. Your world won't lose its light tonight."
The sealing completed. The beast was drawn into Naruto's small body, the cries of the newborn echoing into the night sky.
Minato fell to his knees beside Kushina, his chakra fading. She was weak — both near their limit — but alive.
As Kushina's eyes fluttered, she looked up at Tharion, voice trembling. "Whoever you are… thank you."
Tharion smiled faintly, his aura dimming. "Let's just say… the gods owed you one."
She blinked, confused — but before she could speak, she fainted from exhaustion. Minato, equally drained, looked at Tharion once more — searching for something in his face.
"I don't know who you really are," he said weakly, "but… I'm grateful."
Tharion crouched beside them, eyes gentle. "You don't need to know. Just rest — both of you. Your son has a long path ahead."
The night quieted. The fires dimmed. The Nine-Tails was gone.
And as the moonlight touched the still earth, Tharion stood alone amid the ruins, cloak fluttering in the soft wind.
[Quest Progress: 80%][Objective Remaining: Ensure stabilization of target life signatures.]
He glanced up at the stars, exhaling slowly. "Hidden Leaf… you've already suffered too much tonight."
As he turned to watch the ANBU and the Third Hokage rush toward the scene, Tharion disappeared into the smoke — his presence fading into myth before dawn.