Chapter 116 - 108: The Expedition Team

3 days later, the elite team of shinobis that he, himself, picked for their first expedition in another dimension has been assembled. The team he picked consisted of Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, Kimimaro, Minato, and a clone of himself that has all of his chakra. Turns out, a clone can travel to another dimension, or universe, but not the real one.

They all wore his most powerful spare sets of equipment. He gave both of his lightning and flame katana to Sasuke and Itachi, respectively. Kakashi got himself Onikiri and Ubadachi, blades that used to belong to Kamui, one of the black hands. He gave Minato the Gotthard Twinswords, which once belonged to Gotthard, also one of the black hands of the king. He gave Kimimaro a Black Knight's Halberd, which was also upgraded to +20. The Halberd is strong enough to cut a whole mountain in half, and separate seas with a single wave.

His clone didn't need any equipment, it might get lost there once it puffs out of existence. But his clone is very powerful, his strength is enough to lay waste on any planet. After all, the clone has 10% of his physical strength and all of his chakra. He has enough chakra to put the tailed beasts to shame, he hasn't been slacking after all.

He wanted to give them some armor sets, but they refused, saying that they're more used to their clothes. They are shinobis, after all. They don't need some heavy equipment that will hinder their movement.

Hikaru just agreed with them with a sigh, and just gave them rings that would boost their overall strength by 1000%. All of them were already prepared, and are ready to go.

(Scene Change)

"I'm going to open the portal now." Sasuke said as he activated the rinne-sharingan in his right eye and opened a portal right in front of them.

Right now, they were just outside of Konoha's gates. The 6 of them wore rings that had red glowing gems on their fingers. That's the ring that boosts their strength, and they had another ring on their other hands. This ring, however, is different from the last one. Hikaru has been studying time and space magic in this 4 years, and is now able to bend it to his will. He can make time slower, control space magic, and use it as weapons. This ring that he made himself is a space ring that can store stuff inside, even living beings.

He gave them those rings so that they could use it to capture those Otsutsukis for experimentation. He named the ring "Storage Ring" and it can store an entire city in it. It's also impossible to break it because he made the ring itself from titanite ores, and even the strongest Kage cannot break it. But if the ring indeed broke, it would become something akin to a black hole. That's why he specifically requested that they bring back those Storage Rings to him, since it is dangerous if it lands on the wrong hands.

"Are you sure you won't say goodbye to your son and wife, Sasuke?" Itachi asked his little brother.

Sasuke shook his head and said, "I have already said my goodbyes. Besides, it wouldn't take us that long to save another world. We'll be back before we know it."

"C'mon you kids, let's go. We have a world to save." Minato said quite enthusiastically.

"It's an honor to team up with the two previous Hokages. Hikaru-sama said that the two of you are very strong, and I would like to see it on the battlefield." Kimimaro said in a very polite way.

"Yare, yare, why did Hikaru have to pick me? It's going to be a pain in the ass to do this." Kakashi said lazily while taking out his favorite p.o.r.nographic novel. Even though Jiraiya is already dead, his legacy still lives on… through his books.

"Stop complaining, Kakashi. You're easily one of the strongest shinobis in the village, since we have already implanted two perfectly functioning sharingans in your eyes. And those sharingans once belonged to Sasuke, making them very powerful." Hikaru's clone said.

Sasuke has already gotten his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, after receiving his brother's eyes. Itachi, meanwhile, got his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan after getting his father's eyes. Fugaku, his father, had the ability to see the future of the choices made by someone close to him. That's the reason why Fugaku and Mikoto knew about the Uchiha Massacre before it even happened, his father had seen through the future of Itachi's choice, and that was for the Uchiha Clan to redeem itself through Sasuke.

But even then, there is still his mother's eyes. Sasuke plans to give them to his son after he awakens his Mangekyou Sharingan, which he hoped he wouldn't. Awakening those eyes means losing someone very close to him, or an extremely traumatizing situation. No good parents would want their children to be traumatized just to awaken a power.

After getting his brother's eyes, Sasuke also awakened his rinne-sharingan in his right eye after the Sage Of Six Paths visited him and Azumi in the war. Turns out, the Sage Of Six Paths had two daughters, Indra and Akura. He was Indra's reincarnation, while Azumi was Akura's reincarnation.

Hagoromo, though, wondered why Sasuke was a boy. But Madara and Hashirama were also men. The Sage just shrugged and forgot about it. But Sasuke didn't know what to feel that he was supposed to be a woman, that's a very weird thought.

(Scene Break)

Finally, after a few minutes, they entered the portal that goes to Boruto's world. Hikaru wished them good luck before they disappeared.

"Hmm, now that they're gone, I have to prepare for my fight with the olden god after they return. From what Deus told me, Chaortos is 100 times stronger than me. I can defeat her very easily, and I would do just that. But Deus still hasn't told me all of her ability, and he seems stubborn about keeping it a secret." Hikaru thought out loud.

Chaortos, The Mother Of Darkness, is supposed to be stronger than that. She is supposed to be an olden god that could control the darkness in every universe with a single wave of her fingers. But she is not that strong right now, because of the seal she is in. The seal nerfed her powers and abilities by 99.98 percent, making her just 100 times stronger than him. He can easily counter that with rings that could boost his overall strength by 10,000 percent, and he has plenty of that.

But this made him wonder, how strong were the Olden Gods in their prime? Could they create universes with a single snap of their fingers? Kill an entire universe with a flap of their eyelash? That's a very scary thought, and it also amazed him to an extent.

While is strong, he is not THAT strong. He is weak, he mused, and he knows that. But there is an important question here, how strong are the current gods? Are they as strong as the olden gods? Or severely weaker than the olden gods? But from what he had seen from those pathetic gods and goddesses he'd met, he chose the latter.

Kami, Yami, and Shinigami are a lot weaker than him. He can probably take on hundreds of them and still not break a sweat. He is many times stronger than them, he can say that he is more than 1000 times stronger than each of them. It is simply unreal how weak they are.

Also, Deus, the disembodied voice, told him that there are people who use these "Systems" throughout the multiverse. They are basically like the Dark Souls System, but a lot, lot, lot, lot weaker. Deus told him that if any of those "Systems" comes close to the Dark Souls System, they will be absorbed into the Dark Souls System, no matter how strong they are. Meaning, their functions and other things will be absorbed into his system, thus making new options.

Now that he thought about it, didn't he read those wuxia and xianxia novels back then? Maybe he will be able to visit those kinds of worlds. He didn't like those novels, but he also didn't dislike them. Their concept is great but repetitive. Like, every wuxia and xianxia novel always have similar plots and choices of words.

Anyway, we're getting off topic here.

The systems he absorbs will be added to the Dark Souls System, and he is already getting excited about meeting these "System Users". He can't wait to see how strong they are, and how he would slaughter them.

He has developed a love for good battles. Call him a psychopath but killing enemies stronger than him makes him feel good, or in other words, proud. But maybe this is just because he knows that he cannot die permanently, and thus challenging enemies that are way above him. But that's why he wouldn't challenge the olden gods in a fair fight, because he knows that they have the ability to kill him permanently.

Hikaru stood there, outside the gate, musing to himself. Then he disappeared silently, without anyone seeing how fast he had gone.

(Scene Change)

It is now nighttime in Konoha, multiple houses had their lights turned on as families ate their dinners in peace and harmony.

At their dinner table, Hikaru and his family ate their food while talking to each other. He doesn't have to eat food, but sharing a meal with someone is a very special thing.

"Ne, ne, papa, Senichi and Shikanori played with me today. But Senichi is a real meanie! He kept beating me in the games we played!" Emiyo whined while pouting cutely.

"That's just because you suck at those games. Games for intelligent people are not really for you. Imagine playing shogi with Shikanori, daughter of our godfather, Shikamaru-san. Do you know how unwise that is, sister? And you played kunai with Senichi, son of another of our godfathers, Sasuke-san." Taiyou berated her.

"Waah! Big brother is bullying me, papa!" She got down from her chair and ran towards Hikaru, who was watching the scene in front of him with amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes.

"Pfft, big sister really is a cry baby, aren't I right sister?" Riko said to her sister.

"Yes, indeed, sister. Big sister is a cry baby, unlike us." Rina boasted without much emotion in her voice, just like Riko.

"Stop running around and talking while we're eating, otherwise I'll get angry." Hinata said in a fake angry voice.

This shuts them up, and even Emito ran back to her seat.

"Now, now, don't get angry at them, Hinata. They're just playing. Now children, eat your foods, and brush your teeth after. And we'll tuck all of you in bed later. And then we'll have a story time with each other, how about that?" Hikaru said.

"Really, papa!? Yay!" Emiyo shouted, excited for later.

Even the usually cold Taiyou had a happy glint in his eyes after hearing his father say that.

"Hear that, sister? Papa will be showing us those fantasy worlds again." Riko said.

"Yes, you're right, sister. Papa will be showing us those dragons and monsters again." Rina replied.

Seeing them excited warmed Hinata's heart. This is a family she always wanted, a family without much bickering, or cold-blooded clan members saying what they should do. It's unfortunate that Azumi is not here, she is busy with her Hokage jobs again. But that's what Hinata was hoping for, she'll be able to get Hikaru just for herself tonight. Azumi is always hogging their husband whenever she is home, but this time, Hinata will be enjoying herself.

It was also unfortunate that Kushina, her mother-in-law, isn't here. She is too busy showing Boruto around the village, the moment she learned that he is her grandson from another dimension.

Hikaru, meanwhile, was contemplating whether he should leave for another world, or just stay here until the seal breaks. But if he can't defeat Chaortos, he'll be stuck in this power level for all eternity. Unless he defeats Chaortos, he wouldn't be able to level up and grow stronger. But if

he wants to protect his family, then he will have to grow stronger. He has taken into account that there is a chance that a godly being might just invade this universe, and if he is still this weak by that time comes, then his family will die but not him. Call him paranoid, but there is a chance that could happen.

So, with a heavy heart, he decided to defeat Chaortos and travel to another world to grow stronger, stronger than he is right now to protect his beloved family.