The 12 universes were strange places. A multiverse of oddities nestled within one reality, each with their own unique peoples and places. Twelve separate demonic realms, twelve separate afterlifes, twelve different sets of minor and major deities.
Atop all of these sat one all powerful ruler. Nestled atop a massive jellyfish like creature at the very peak of this reality sat a lavish palace. A palace fit only for the most powerful of all gods. The chief of this multiversal pantheon. The creator of all things in these twelve universes, and the being with which the continued existence of all of them depended on. Multitudes of gods and demons alike bowed to this being, none daring to even speak out of turn in his presence. In the past, entire universes were erased on a whim, stricken from history, only remembered by himself and the angelic host that serve him.
"I'm so bored. Boring boring boring boring. Grand Priest, find me someone to play with!"
The grand priest, a short (albeit taller than the child sized god of everything) blue skinned man, sighed fondly at the Omni-king's antics. The blue halo resting just above the crown of his head of white hair made it clear this man was an Angel. In fact as his name suggests, he is both the leader and progenitor of all angels. All of the angelic attendants of the gods of destruction looked to this man as their father.
"The Omni-king is getting restless again. I need to find something to entertain him with"
Peering into his ornate staff he saw a black haired teenager training diligently. The man was going through various martial arts forms, committing them to memory and further honing his martial prowess. Despite both his face and his orange gi being slick with sweat, the man's wild, gravity defying spikes of hair still stood tall. Proudly defying all known laws of physics.
"Son Goku still needs years to develop before he's ready to appear before my lord. His nature and attitude will be perfect to befriend Zeno-sama. Still, he needs to at least break into the realm of gods before he's ready."
Indeed, at only 19 Son Goku was a far cry from the god like figure he would one day become. Having only just bested the so called "Demon King's" reincarnation the previous year, Goku was currently spending his days as a newly wed training by himself. Kami had since ran out of training for the martial prodigy, and with Goku's power now far out pacing the aging namekian there was little left for Kami to aid his student in.
For now, Goku's power would plateau. Between having no enemies he needed to train towards, and the demands of his wife Chi-Chi, he would spend the next four and a half years essentially maintaining his current level. He knew, of course, of the prophetic dream universe seven's god of destruction had received. A warrior of unmatched power, the super saiyan god. Looking into the past, he had seen the first of these warriors. He had also seen how his will still lingered in the universe, waiting for circumstances to be met to bestow his power on another pure hearted saiyan.
"It will be some time by mortal standards before he is ready. I'll need to find something to hold his attentions in the meantime. I wonder if I cou-:
Thoughts suddenly interrupted, his head snapped upward. With Zeno's palace being so close to the edge of their reality, it was easy to sense any disturbance in the void between realities. Something strange had happened. Some fool had destabilized the fabric of their reality. How had they managed that? A small tear had opened into the void. Through it, everyone at the grand palace sensed something slip through. A Soul, no, two souls. One weak, likely damaged by its exit from its home reality. One strong. At least compared to the average strength of a mortal soul.
"Hey hey! Grand priest you sense it too right!" Zeno exclaimed, "Something new! We've never had visitors from that dimension before!" Clapping, Zeno began standing from his throne.
Just then something else strange happened. The tear widened.
Back in Neji's native reality, Shibai Otsutsuki was displeased. Not only had Isshiki fallen to the traitorous Kaguya, but his habit of abusing both the kama and karasuki had began to de-stabilize the walls of this reality. Things had degraded to the point that under the influence of a ten tail's chakra even Kaguya's pathetic Yomotsu Hirasaka could open small tears. Worse yet, the soul of a Hyuga, descendents of one of that cursed woman's progeny had slipped through.
This was unacceptable.
No trace of his glorious Otsutsuki existence would be allowed to escape his grasp. He had allowed Hagaromo's clever little scheme of the so called "pure land" to persist only because it made a convenient storage space for his snacks. Indeed, to a being who ascended through devouring the very life force of entire planets like they were appetizers, what would the small bundle of energy known as a mortal soul be but a delightful hors d'oeuvre for when he was feeling peckish. Mustering a bit of his strength, he reached out through the tear, intent on reclaiming the small spark of divine essence that existed in all Otsutsuki descendants. The pathetically weak soul he sensed attached to the Hyuga soul would be a bonus. Surely a soul foreign to this multiverse would make for a rare delicacy.
Meanwhile at the Omni-Palace.
Zeno had just began to reach for the foreign soul when Shibai's hand appeared.
"Eww gross. You stink like time travel" he complained with a scrunched nose.
"A god?" the grand priest pondered before his eyes hardened. "No... a parasite. No wonder those souls managed to slip through the cracks. This fool had been devouring timelines before creating new ones to dwell in before he repeated the cycle. That entire dimension is one massive paradox now. Any dimensional fluctuations accompanied by a sufficient output of power could wound the fabric of reality"
As he pondered he came to a conclusion. This must be a remnant of universe 15. Those foolish Otsutsuki parasites had proliferated time travel across 6 different universes. They sought to become strong enough to overthrow lord Zeno by devouring entire universes, then using time manipulation to restore them and repeat the cycle. The issue was that as more paradoxes compounded it began to unravel the fabric of those 6 universes. If left to fester it would spread like a poison, eventually collapsing the entirety of the multiverse.
Who would have thought those fools could have hidden away for so long? Looking at Zeno he realized that he likely knew, simply not caring. The dimension they were relegated to was infinitesimally small compared to the universe they originally inherited. Added, he had made sure anyone who knew the truth of the multiverse and the Otsutsuki's original plan was erased.
By now lord Zeno had pulled the souls just inside of the multiverse. The insolent parasite's hand seemed to be paying no heed to trespassing. Getting ready to breach their domain to retrieve the souls.
"My lord, If I may?" he called out to get Zeno's attention. "You sense this disgusting thing's nature as well, yes?" At the mention of Shibai's misdeeds a rare flicker of true anger passed through the usually cheerful Omni-king's face. "Usually it seems you tolerate this foolish thing's existence, but it seems they have again been overstepping ." he continued, "But it seems the offending party is kindly delivering themselves to us. " He trailed off, a sinister smirk forming on his face.
The Omni-king let out a delighted laugh as the offending appendage entered his realm.
"Ha ha! I don't like you," He proclaimed
In his own pocket dimension Shibai stilled. Something far older and immeasurably stronger than him dwelled here, and in his hubris, he had invaded its dominion.
"Bye bye now!" He heard in a deceptively playful tone.
As he desperately tried to pull his hand back, he felt his very existence begin to unravel.
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Hagaromo Otsutsuki watched from the pure land as his mother was sealed once again and let out a sigh of relief. He knew all too well how she compared to the rest of her clan. If his children's descendants had failed to stop even her, then all hope was truly lost. As things stood, he knew no being currently stood a chance at defeating the so called Otsutsuki god. It's why he created the pure land to begin with. To harness the powers of the ninja world's people. When the time came for his descendants to confront the clan's deity, he would funnel all of the collected power, his own included, into them. It wouldn't guarantee victory, but it would give them a fighting chance.
Suddenly.
A deafening scream echoed through the spiritual realm.
The universe wept with joy.
"Impossible..." muttered the sage. "He's... dying? For real?"
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Zeno giggled. The gross guy's essence was gone now. No more time travel. No chance for a multiverse collapse. Now it was time to investigate his prize.
"So, who are you?"
A searing pulse stood out in the darkness of the void. The two fragments — one proud shinobi, one dreaming mortal — twined and tore, memory and will tangling into something new.
"Oh dear," murmured the Grand Priest, peering into the shimmer. "You're quite the knot of contradictions. Two worlds' worth of delusions — and potential."
Zeno tilted his head, eyes wide. "Can it play?"
"Oh, most certainly," the Priest replied, smiling faintly. "Though, he'll think of it as life."
With a motion like drawing breath from creation itself, he lifted his staff. The fused soul flickered, light bleeding into form. "You'll remember enough to make things interesting," he decided. "But not enough to be boring."
Then, with a careless gesture, he hurled the spark into the spinning portal.
The void screamed — or perhaps it laughed — as the light fell, becoming a star streaking through a silent night over a blue world.
Far below, a lonely desert wind stirred, as if sensing something divine descending from the heavens.
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(A/N. And there we have it. Neji's soul and the hitchhiker he unwittingly picked up have arrived at the Omni-king's abode. Shibai has been deleted from existence for using time hax, and we are probably done with the Naruto world. There may be a few check ins here and there, but this is a Dragon Ball story! Next chapter: A Baffled Bandit!)