Naruto: The Tale of an Otsutsuki

On a sunny morning, Kirito sat on the sofa in Naruto's living room, sipping tea while watching sparrows chirping outside the glass window.

It was another peaceful day in Konoha Village, a tranquility Kirito hadn't experienced in what felt like an eternity.

However, his moment of peace was interrupted as his sharp eyes caught sight of the damaged lawn. The traces of the recent battle between Ishiki, Naruto, and Konohamaru were still visible. Those scars served as a grim reminder that the village wasn't safe yet and that greater challenges lay ahead.

Kirito sighed. His keen senses often made him hyper-aware of his surroundings—a trait that sometimes felt more burdensome than helpful.

He turned his attention to the bookshelf in the living room, noticing the neatly arranged books, decorations, and photo frames. With a simple motion of his hand, several photo frames floated gently toward him.

In the largest frame was a wedding photo of Naruto and Hinata, surrounded by baby photos of Boruto and Himawari. Another frame displayed a group picture of the "Twelve Konoha Genin," now grown up. Despite their smiles, Kirito noted how time and hardship had taken some of them away. There were also family portraits of the Uzumaki family and photos taken with Hinata's relatives.

"Be careful not to break those," Kawaki muttered groggily as he entered the living room, his face haggard from a sleepless night.

Kirito put the photos back in their place and asked, "Shouldn't you rest a little longer? You don't look like you got any sleep."

Kawaki grumbled, grabbing a cup and drinking deeply. "Hard to sleep when someone's sitting awake next to you all night."

He wasn't exaggerating. The presence of Kirito had weighed on Kawaki's mind ever since he learned about the Ōtsutsuki connection. The psychological trauma inflicted by Ishiki, combined with his own Karma mark, made him constantly vigilant.

Kirito, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the unease he caused. Unused to the comforts of modern life, he spent most of the night reading and composing music in the room. Kawaki, unable to trust a stranger so easily, had stayed awake, watching him warily.

Even when Kirito tried to help by concealing his chakra entirely, Kawaki's sharp instincts made him even more restless. Having someone so powerful nearby, yet invisible, was almost worse.

As morning broke, the rest of the household began to stir. Even Hinata was surprised to see Kawaki in the living room so early, as he was usually the last to wake.

After breakfast, everyone went about their day. Boruto left to meet Mitsuki and Sarada, Naruto split his time between home and the Hokage Office with a shadow clone, and Hinata started cleaning.

Soon, the living room was left with just Kirito, Kawaki, and Himawari.

Kirito noticed Kawaki crawling on the floor, searching for something. "Are you looking for something? Need help?" he asked.

"No, I've got this," Kawaki replied curtly.

Himawari, however, placed a cracked vase on the table and said proudly, "He's looking for the missing piece of this vase. He's already reassembled most of it!"

Kawaki's history with the vase was well-known in the household. Early in his time with the Uzumaki family, he had accidentally broken the vase Himawari had gifted to Hinata. In an attempt to make amends, he painstakingly glued the shattered pieces together. The imperfectly mended vase became a symbol of his efforts to fit into the family.

But Kawaki still hadn't found the last missing fragment, a piece he'd searched for even when Ishiki tried to abduct him.

"Still can't find it…" Kawaki admitted, giving up for the day.

Himawari smiled and reassured him, "It's okay, I'm already happy with it as it is!"

Kirito examined the vase and noticed that while the glue held it together, the gaps between the pieces were too large. Over time, those cracks would worsen, making the vase unusable.

"Would you like me to fix it?" Kirito offered. "I can seal the cracks and restore the vase completely."

Kawaki scoffed. "You can't fix everything. Leave it alone."

But Himawari's curiosity won out. "Really? Can you do that?"

Kirito explained, "It's simple. I can expand the fragments slightly to fill the gaps, then compress them back together seamlessly. The cracks will be invisible, but I can leave the pattern intact if you'd like."

Himawari turned to Kawaki for approval. "What do you think?"

With a reluctant sigh, Kawaki said, "Fine. Do it."

Kirito smiled and began channeling chakra into the vase.

A soft cracking sound filled the air as the vase began to shift. The fragments expanded and realigned, the glue dissolving as the edges fused together. The gaps disappeared, and the vase looked as if it had never been broken.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Himawari exclaimed, examining the restored vase.

Kawaki, too, ran his fingers over the smooth surface. The once-rough cracks were now as smooth as pencil-drawn lines.

"It's like it was never broken," Kawaki murmured, placing the vase back on the table. He then turned to Kirito. "Are all Ōtsutsuki this powerful? Can you really do anything?"

Kirito shook his head. "No. If we could do anything, Ishiki wouldn't have needed to implant Karma in you. And this world would've already been consumed by the God Tree. Fixing a vase is simple—it's just something I can do."

Kawaki looked thoughtful, but before he could ask more, Himawari spoke up. "Is that really a horn on your head?"

Kirito chuckled, removing the small, cat-like creature resting atop his head. "Curious? Want to pet it?"

The creature transformed into its true form—a round, fluffy creature resembling a miniature leopard.

"This is Little Leopard," Kirito said with a smile. "It's my pet. In this world, it would be called a Ten Tails."

Himawari's eyes widened with both awe and hesitation, torn between curiosity and fear.

Meanwhile, Kawaki and even Naruto, who was leaning against the hallway wall listening, stared at the creature in disbelief.

(End of Chapter)