Chapter no.46 Naruto vs Kakashi
Afternoon sun burned against the waves, casting long reflections over the small, remote island just off the coast of the Land of Waves. Wind whispered through sparse trees, and the distant cry of gulls rang through the sky. It was peaceful. Two full genin teams stood in a loose circle. Team 7 and Team 8, along with Oscar crouched dutifully beside Naruto.
In front of them, Kakashi and Kurenai stood with uncharacteristic seriousness. Even Kakashi's usual lazy slouch was absent.
Kurenai gave Kakashi a nod, and he stepped forward. "This afternoon's sparring session will be... different."
He surveyed the gathered genin, his lone visible eye scanning over their faces, measuring not just their readiness but with conviction, confidence and fear.
"Think of it like a battlefield simulation," he continued. "You'll be fighting against us."
A ripple of shock passed through the teams.
Sakura raised a cautious hand. "Wait… like a full team fight? All of us versus the two of you?"
"Yes," Kakashi said flatly. "You'll fight as a team, all of you together. After a day of rest, we'll hold one-on-one matches. But for now... this is war."
"Consider this a tactical exam," Kurenai added. "No lectures, no drills. You have five minutes to prepare. Use it wisely."
Before anyone could ask another question, both Jonin jumped into the treeline.
BAM!
The instant they moved, Naruto flickered behind where Kakashi had stood, his Zweihander already mid-swing in a brutal upward arc meant to pierce through any lingering presence. Simultaneously, Sasuke materialized in front of Kurenai, delivering an upward kick that cracked the air. It was eerily reminiscent of Rock Lee's opening taijutsu.
Poof. Poof.
Both targets burst into smoke. Clones.
Naruto and Sasuke froze.
"Damn," Sasuke muttered.
"They planned this," Naruto said, scanning the treeline with his Hawkeyes.
Meanwhile, Sakura had already flung out her hands, her fingers flashing through seals. A moment later, a glowing pyramidal barrier of chakra rose around them all.
Inside, Hinata activated her Byakugan. "They're gone. Nothing within five hundred meters."
Sakura wiped sweat from her brow. "Then they gave us five minutes… but they're not wasting any time."
Tension filled the barrier.
"We need a leader," Kiba said. "Now."
All eyes shifted.
Sasuke and Sakura looked to Naruto.
Kiba and Hinata looked to Shino.
Two names. One decision.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. Shino adjusted his glasses. Their gazes locked.
"If we want to survive this," Shino said calmly, "we need someone who can provide cohesion and battlefield awareness."
"I've got experience," Naruto replied without any heat, just certainty. "I've led more battles than anyone here."
"In what capacity?" Shino asked. "How many squads have you commanded? How many victories rely on your leadership, not just your strength?"
Naruto's voice dropped. "In killing."
A pause.
"That has merit. But we're not killers today, we're a unit. You're powerful, Naruto, but you move like a lone wolf. I can coordinate all of us through my insects and sound-mimicry bugs. We'll have shared intel across the battlefield, no speaking needed. You'll act faster. Cleaner."
He raised a hand and released small green grasshoppers. One landed on each genin's shoulder or collarbone.
"These are communication scouts," Shino said. "They'll resonate when I signal commands."
Naruto tapped the one on his shoulder. It chirped back.
"Alright, Bugman. You're in charge."
Shino blinked. "You yield that easily?"
Naruto gave a shrug. "I like winning more than leading."
"Thank you for your trust," Shino said with a slight bow.
Oscar chirped, suddenly agitated. He clawed at the dirt below them, digging fast and desperate.
Naruto frowned. "Hinata, check below us."
Hinata's eyes narrowed. "Nothing. No tunnels, no movement…"
Naruto's hand reached for his sword. "Oscar doesn't lie."
Shino's grasshoppers twitched then bit down in unison, sharp stings at every neck and collarbone. The sudden pain snapped them out of the genjutsu as everyone realized.
There was no barrier. No protection. Just open air and silence.
Hinata's eyes flared as she activated her Byakugan. Her breath caught. "MOVE!"
The ground erupted beneath them.
Stone spears tore skyward in a deafening, splintering crash, throwing up dirt, dust, and debris. Their formation shattered. Sakura shouted a warning but it was too late. The shockwave hit like a punch to the chest.
Naruto landed in a crouch, rolling into the dirt and grinding to a halt beside a jagged pillar of rock. His cloak billowed around him, ash and soil still falling like soft rain. Beside him, Hinata skidded down the incline, her palm digging into the dirt as she came to a stop.
Across from them stood Kakashi Hatake, his ever-calm gaze unreadable behind his headband and mask. One hand in his pocket, the other resting casually on the hilt of a kunai.
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said softly, already settling into her Gentle Fist stance. "What do we do?"
Before he could speak, a tiny buzz resonated against the side of Naruto's neck. The sound mimicry grasshopper Shino had planted earlier.
"Everyone, report in," came Shino's calm voice, modulated into the insect's wings.
"Sasuke and I are engaging Kurenai," Sakura's voice crackled through. "She's using audio genjutsu and damn good one."
"Kakashi for us. Kiba, Shino?"
Kiba said in confusion, "We're also stuck with Kakashi."
Naruto paused. His eyes narrowed. "Wait… what?"
He looked up at the supposedly lone figure of their teacher ahead. Kakashi stood perfectly still, as if waiting for something.
"Clone!" Naruto shouted just as the man blurred forward.
Naruto rolled left and drew his Zweihander one-handed, the massive blade arching up just in time to clang against a descending kunai. The shock rippled through his wrist and shoulder. Kakashi's weight pressed down for an instant and then vanished.
A second Kakashi appeared above them, already spinning into a heel kick. Hinata intercepted, palm out, redirecting the blow to the side with a burst of chakra. The moment she touched him,
poof... another clone.
"He's trying to confuse us," Hinata said, scanning the surroundings. "I count three more chakra signatures nearby."
"And one behind us," Naruto added grimly, just as another Kakashi stepped from the shadows, spinning a shuriken on one finger.
Then he threw it.
It whistled through the air and behind it came four more, crisscrossing in a staggered spiral pattern meant to curve, deceive, and trap.
Naruto was already moving.
He yanked three shuriken from his inventory and flicked his wrist, hurling them forward to intercept. Each of his shuriken struck Kakashi's mid-air with a
ching of metal on metal, ricocheting into the trees.
But it wasn't over.
From the trees behind him...
fwip fwip fwip fwip... more steel screamed through the air. A feint within a feint.
Kakashi's voice echoed from behind them. "I hope you've improved your projectile game, Naruto."
"I did," Naruto said, flipping his blade over his back to block incoming steel.
Hinata rotated, both palms glowing faintly with chakra. She struck two shuriken out of the air before they reached her neck, and dropped low, sweeping another away with a flat palm.
Naruto flipped over a falling log, twisting mid-air, and launched a trio of shuriken in rapid succession. Each one curving at a different arc thanks to a subtle touch of wind chakra. They spiraled through the battlefield in a chaotic pattern.
Kakashi ducked the first, blocked the second, and parried the third with the flat of his kunai, but that moment of distraction gave Naruto the window he needed.
From the ground beneath Kakashi's feet, a shuriken burst upward using a ninja wire, hidden in the shadow of one of the projectiles.
Kakashi twisted—too late. The blade grazed his shoulder.
Poof.
Another clone.
Naruto cursed under his breath.
"He's testing our coordination," Hinata said, scanning again. "Not just our strength."
"Yeah… and we're wasting energy on clones."
Just then, a faint buzz touched his ear again. Shino's voice: "Adjust. They're baiting aggression. Think in formations."
"Alright, Bugman."
He pressed his back to Hinata's. "Ready to flip the game?"
Hinata nodded as from all sides, more shuriken flew towards the duo.
"That was a poor move," Kurenai murmured, her gaze following Sakura as the girl sprinted toward Shino and Kiba. The ease with which she had shattered the genjutsu didn't go unnoticed. And Sasuke had just sent her away.
"You've isolated yourself," she added, turning her eyes back to him. "And that," her voice lowered like a blade drawn in silence, "was a mistake."
Sasuke took a slow step forward. His Sharingan spun to life, tomoe circling like blades. "It doesn't matter," he said flatly. "I'm enough to handle you."
Kurenai's expression didn't change.
Whistle.
A soft, melodic sound laced the air. Not from her lips, but from a small metal ring affixed to her earring, vibrating just slightly. The tone spiraled outward, unseen and unheard to most ears.
Sasuke flinched, then instantly jammed a senbon into his own ear—
pop!—blood rushed down his neck as his eardrum ruptured.
Kurenai blinked. "You deafened yourself?"
"Naruto will heal me after," Sasuke said coldly, his voice perfectly steady. He drew the claymore from the seal etched into his glove. The blade glimmered with a subtle blue shimmer of lightning chakra, flowing faintly along the edge.
"You're bleeding from your ears… and your weapon is too slow."
Sasuke didn't reply. He lunged forward and cleaved through where she stood but only passed through mist.
Whistle.
A kunai slashed his cheek from behind. Blood splattered the leaf-covered ground. He turned—Kurenai stood with a faint smile, her kunai spinning in her fingers like a needle.
"Sloppy."
She vanished again as the world fractured.
Sasuke stood in a forest of glass mirrors, but each one showed a twisted version of himself. Some were younger. Others older. Some were crying. Others burned alive. One simply stared back… with empty, hollow eyes.
The sky turned crimson. The trees wept blood. His breath fogged into smoke.
He gritted his teeth, slashed through the nearest mirror—
CLANG—three illusions shattered into violet mist.
But nothing changed.
Kurenai's voice echoed from the sky.
Mind's Garden Jutsu.
Then she stepped forward. Three of her. One to the left, right, and center. All smiling. All speaking at once. "You know what they say about mirrors, Sasuke… They show who you really are."
He turned too late as Kurenai's hand was inside his chest. Blood exploded from his mouth as his heart was crushed in her fingers.
Before his mind could go into shock, a jolt, sharp and searing, ran through Sasuke's arms as his fingers clenched the hilt of his claymore. Lightning chakra, no longer under his full control, snapped violently across the blade and bit back into his nervous system. His muscles spasmed. His teeth grit as Kurenai moved for a frontal confrontation.
Kurenai's style was a ballet of illusion and precision. Her body flowed like wind, but her steps carried weight. Every shift of her shoulders, every flick of her hair, was laced with
Subtle Bloom—a genjutsu that didn't overwrite the senses but tilted them just enough. To the Sharingan, it was like watching twelve copies of her at once—perfect mirror phantoms layered into her real movements. Phantom slashes danced beside her actual strikes, each one forcing Sasuke to question his responses. Was the kunai real? Was her pivot true?
Sasuke didn't panic.
He stepped into a modified Fool's Guard, his claymore low, blade off-line, his posture open and inviting the strike.
Kurenai lunged in, illusions crashing forward like a wave of blades. Sasuke's eyes traced every possible thread, but at the last second, instinct spoke louder than analysis.
There.
He rotated into a crooked, rising slash meant to unbalance rather than maim. The blade caught Kurenai's kunai hand mid-motion, twisting her elbow sharply. Her breath hitched as the angle forced her back, but only for a second.
Crack.
The world splintered again as Sasuke's mouth was filled with the taste of blood. He'd bitten his own tongue on purpose to jolt his nervous system.
"How did you catch that?"
"I'm not stupid enough to think I can parry a jonin that easily," Sasuke said, lunging forward into a controlled strike. But Kurenai closed the distance with frightening precision. In one swift motion, she tackled him, driving him to the forest floor with a solid thud. Her knees pinned his arms, the kunai in her good hand pressed just above his collarbone.
Then Sasuke pointed to the side.
Kurenai followed his gesture and froze.
The real Sasuke stood motionless, eyes glowing with calm intensity. Kurenai froze as she was the one trapped now, ensnared in his genjutsu.
A true genius, she thought, then her breath caught.
Lightning crackled to life in his palm, the sound of a thousand birds rising. Her blood ran cold.
"But Kakashi said you weren't ready for that jutsu."
Sasuke's smirk widened. The forest glowed with bolts of raw lightning dancing across his skin.
"First time for everything."
Sakura skidded into the clearing, her boots digging furrows into the damp soil. The sharp scent of scorched earth filled her lungs. Smoke and steam coiled from shattered stone and charred bark.
Ahead of her, chaos.
Kiba was a blur of red and brown, his body spinning violently as he launched another Fang Over Fang toward Kakashi. The air howled in his wake.
But Kakashi's movements were faster. Minimal. Efficient.
He shifted his weight by inches, angled his stance just so, and Kiba tore past like a missile with no target, slamming into a tree trunk hard enough to split the bark. Splinters flew. Akamaru barked in frustration.
"Fire Style: Fire Torch Jutsu."
A focused stream of flame exploded from kakashi's mouth. It was not a wide wave, but a narrow, precise cone of compressed fire. It slammed into Shino's approaching swarm, forcing the insects into disarray. The few that survived scattered, the rest left as ashen carcasses.
Shino grunted, leaping back with a flicker of movement, just barely clearing the blast zone.
Sakura's eyes flicked between her teammates.
Her brain went into tactical overdrive.
Kiba was too direct. Shino needed space. And she—Sakura reached into her pouch and flicked a kunai through the air toward Kakashi's blind spot. Just enough to draw his attention.
He didn't even turn.
Clink.
He caught it between two fingers.
"Nice try," he said, with the laziest smirk imaginable. And then he flicked it—hard—toward Shino.
But that had been the plan.
Sakura's mimicry grasshopper whispered across the frequency:
Take it.
Shino's hand snatched the kunai from the air without hesitation.
He moved as Sakura whispered a plan to him which caused the young Aburame to blur forward, hand already glowing with compressed chakra as he went in for taijutsu battle.
Palm strike—deflected.
Low sweeping kick—dodged.
Backfist—caught mid-swing.
Kakashi's grip tightened on Shino's wrist and, with a twist of the arm, flung him up into the air. Shino flipped midair, prepared for a counter, but Kakashi was already gone.
He reappeared in a flicker above Shino, twisting in the air, and drove a knee down into his stomach like a hammer.
THUD.
Shino crashed into the dirt, but there was no cry of pain. Only a violent burst of insects as his form crumbled into a thousand writhing bugs.
Kakashi's eye narrowed. "A bug clone… impressive."
But even before he could reposition, a shout caught his attention.
"SHANNARŌ!"
Sakura was already there, mid-air, descending with her battle axe raised high. The air warped around the edge of the steel, the force of her swing strong enough to generate a pressure wave. It tore a shallow trench in the earth even before it hit.
Kakashi dodged just in time, tilting his head as the blade screamed past, slicing a tree in half behind him.
He smiled. "Naruto again, huh? Lending out weapons like snacks these days…"
But even as he quipped, his Sharingan eye whirled into motion. He weaved hand seals with impossible speed.
"Genjutsu: False Foe Perception."
Sakura's eyes met his. The technique fired off silently, subtle as a whisper. He expected to see her chakra flare erratically, to see the telltale signs of a mind falling under influence.
But nothing happened.
Sakura blinked. Her stance didn't falter.
Kakashi's brow furrowed.
That genjutsu
should've hit. He was certain her chakra hadn't spiked. No resistance seal. No counter-jutsu. No external reinforcement.
So why didn't it work?
She smiled slightly, something cold behind her eyes. "Maybe humanity gave me more than just physical strength."
Kakashi had no time to ponder further.
From the treeline, another kunai whistled toward him.
He spun and deflected it.
Only for Kiba to appear behind it, catching the blade mid-air with his teeth and slamming it into the dirt at Kakashi's feet.
Chakra detonated outward in a spiraling ring as Sakura's axe crashed down again, this time aimed to anchor the seal.
Simultaneously, Shino threw a final kunai upward.
At first, it seemed random until the chakra threads revealed themselves, interlocking with the previous ones. In seconds, a pyramidal cage formed—four kunai, four corners, four threads laced with binding chakra.
The moment the seal clicked into place.
Whirrrrrr.
A low hum began.
From every inch of the earth within the trap, Shino's swarm erupted, black tides of biting, stinging insects that consumed the earth beneath Kakashi's feet. Still, he stood motionless.
POOF.
Another clone.
Sakura's mouth tightened. "Damn it."
Shino adjusted his glasses. "He's splitting our resources."
Kiba growled. "We need to find the real one."
Sakura nodded. "Time to regroup."
The mimicry grasshoppers buzzed to life.
"Everyone check in. We lost track of the real target."
A brief silence, then Sasuke's voice came through. "Kurenai's using illusions in layers. This isn't just suppression—it's sensory warfare. I am holding my own. Just barely."
"We'll handle her, Sakura said. Kiba... support Naruto. Shino, you're with me."
They nodded.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't adding up.
Too many Kakashis.
The young knight had been through enough real combat to know one thing: that amount of chakra output didn't track.
Sure, Kakashi was strong. But even he had limits. Why hadn't he ever used this level of clone spam before? Had he been hiding his full potential? Was it precise chakra control?
Or…
Genjutsu.
Naruto's eyes flicked to Hinata beside him. Her eyes were darting around, confused. A subtle sign. Then to the small green grasshopper perched at her collar. A chill slid up Naruto's spine.
What if Kakashi used genjutsu on the grasshoppers too?
"Only one way to know," he whispered.
His hand brushed over his eye, and
Soul Sight flared to life. The world peeled away like melting paint.
The army of Kakashi clones evaporated into wisps of unreality.
And buried deep in the forest canopy, half-obscured by branches and shadow, was the real one.
Naruto let no sign cross his face. He dropped back as if overwhelmed, playing his role. His hand dipped into his inventory pouch. A silent click. A crossbow bolt shimmered into place.
He fired.
The bolt whistled through the air. An explosive seal on the arrow flared—
BOOM. The treeline ignited in a violent burst of orange flame. Kakashi flickered out of the fire, visible at last.
"Smart," Kakashi admitted, brushing soot off his flak vest.
Naruto was already beside Hinata, severing the subtle chakra strands locking her into the illusion as he whispered something to her.
"Nice trick, Sensei," Naruto called while he motioned Oscar towards Hinata to follow his plan. "But it won't work twice."
"Guess I'll have to take this seriously."
He formed a hand seal.
Earth Style: Dust Blade.
A kunai in his grip bulged with chakra. Hardened earth coiled around the steel, shaping itself into a jagged longsword of stone.
Naruto lowered his center of gravity. He dismissed his Zweihander into his inventory and brandished the gleaming
Balder Rapier.
"You're using my moves," Naruto said, almost smirking. "So technically, you owe me a jutsu."
"What if I already paid you with this beating?"
Naruto didn't wait for the bell. He vanished, a little too eager to put to use the swordsmanship he'd picked up just by watching and killing the Balder Knights.
A silver streak formed as his rapier lunged in a
Fleche, a classic fencing thrust aimed at Kakashi's chest.
Kakashi leaned just out of range, letting the tip whistle past his ribs. The
Dust Blade countered with a powerful diagonal sweep. A cut that would've torn through a lesser sword, but Naruto was already gone, bouncing off a tree trunk mid-air and redirecting for a thrust at Kakashi's flank.
Riposte.
Kakashi blocked with the flat of his blade, only to wince as the wind chakra coating Naruto's rapier sang with cutting force, leaving shallow slices in his jacket with every graze.
"You're not bad," he admitted, ducking under a lightning-quick lunge and retaliating with a horizontal slash that forced Naruto back. "But this isn't a duel. It's a test."
Naruto moved like lightning. The rapier flicked out in an
envelopment, deflecting Kakashi's sword wide before darting for the ribs again. The speed and fluidity were frightening—one clean hit, and a Chunin would drop.
But Kakashi wasn't a Chunin.
He rotated mid-deflection, stomping the earth.
Earth style: Earth Pulse Technique. The ground beneath Naruto trembled, forcing his stance to falter. A half-step hesitation.
Enough.
Kakashi's blade met Naruto's with a
Bind, locking the weapons together. With his free hand, Kakashi jammed a palm into Naruto's shoulder and flipped him over his back, slamming the boy to the dirt.
Naruto rolled, kicked up and went for a thrust that was too slow.
Kakashi's
Dust Blade came down like a guillotine.
CLANG.
Naruto caught it on the flat of his rapier... barely. Sparks danced. His arm screamed from the pressure.
"Yield yet?" Kakashi asked casually.
Naruto just grinned.
"Not even close."
From the treeline came a loud yell.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Kiba and Akamaru erupted from the underbrush, spinning in tandem like a flaming tornado. A combo of
Fire Fang and rotational momentum wrapped them in a vortex of heat and claw. The flames curved in a corkscrew pattern, spiraling toward Kakashi.
"Distraction," Naruto muttered, scrambling back.
Kakashi jumped, flipping mid-air, barely avoiding the flaming drill of death. He landed lightly on a nearby branch. Only for Oscar to launch from the bushes, unleashing a concentrated crystal beam that lanced toward him like a sniper's shot.
Kakashi dropped from the treetops just in time to see it. Naruto's greatbow drawn, the arrow notched, humming with chakra.
Foom.
The arrow blurred forward with a shriek of compressed air, slicing through the atmosphere at mach speed. Kakashi's Sharingan caught the projectile clearly, yet its speed gave him no margin for error. He prepared to dodge or deflect with a substitution when Kiba came hurtling in from the side, spinning like a flame-wreathed drill.
Kakashi's foot shifted to counter, but he froze. From the opposite flank, another Oscar emerged, mouth glowing with a crystal-charged laser.
A shadow clone? he realized.
Smart.
Kakashi dove low to avoid being pincered only to sense it, the trap snapping shut.
Boom!
From beneath the earth, a third Oscar burst upward, mouth wide with energy. Kakashi had only a split second as he rammed a kunai into its side. The clone dispersed in smoke.
But the smoke was the real cover.
From behind the veil of white, Hinata struck.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms!"
Her palms hammered against his ribs and side in a perfect, rapid rhythm as the chakra nodes slammed shut, one after another. His body seized up, internal flow collapsing. Kakashi grunted, vision swimming, barely able to counter before...
BAM!
Kiba's fire-covered form smashed into him, driving the Jonin back with force that splintered the trees behind them. And in that final moment, Kakashi looked up to see Naruto standing over him with a sword to his neck.
"What happened to the arrow?"
"I attached storage seals to the shafts with these tiny plates I etched myself. Mid-flight, I activate the seal, and
poof... the arrow vanishes. That way, I get the impact, the pressure… without actually skewering anyone."
Kakashi let out a quiet breath.
Clever.
He glanced toward the treetops where Oscar's lingering crystal trails had carved lines into the forest canopy, and felt a cold realization settle in.
If this had been real… Oscar's laser. Naruto's arrow. He would be dead. And not just him. Every one of them had risen above themselves today.
He hadn't retrieved the summoning kunai. He hadn't even touched it. But as he sat in the shadow of his student, Kakashi realized something else. He was proud of how far the next generation had come.
"You lose, sensei."
Kakashi coughed, smiling under the mask. He raised a thumbs-up, even as his legs gave way and he slumped back, breathing hard.
"Hell of a plan," he muttered.
The team didn't stop moving. Their eyes were already turning to where Kurenai's battle still raged. They arrived to see the battlefield torn apart. Deep trenches carved the land, the aftermath of Shino's insect artillery and Sasuke's lightning strikes.
Kurenai stood in the center, face shadowed by exhaustion. Even her illusion-weaving brilliance had limits.
Then she saw them.
Oscar snarled. His gun mechanisms unfolded with a hiss, glowing with the beginnings of another attack.
Kurenai looked at the squad of Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Sakura, Shino and Sasuke. All battle-worn but coordinated and ruthless. Like a true unit.
She raised her hands. A smile pulled at the corners of her lips. "Well, Team 7. Team 8. You win this round."
With that, the spar concluded. The forest grew quiet again, save for the rustling leaves and the fading hum of residual chakra. The two Jonin gathered their teams.
Kakashi stood with his arms crossed, relaxed but observant. Beside him, Kurenai's expression brimmed with pride. "I must say," she began, her eyes sweeping over the six genin, "you all genuinely surpassed my expectations."
The genin straightened, standing a little taller beneath the weight of praise.
"Not only did you immediately appoint a leader without hesitation, but that leader played a pivotal role in coordinating the victory."
All eyes turned to Shino, who remained still and expressionless until Naruto clapped a hand on his shoulder with a wide grin.
"Dude! You were awesome! Choosing you as leader was the best decision we made!"
"Thank you, Naruto-san," Shino said simply, though the slight uptick in his posture spoke volumes.
Kurenai nodded, then turned to Naruto. "And you... recognizing his value instead of pushing yourself forward… that's maturity."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, nonchalant. "I mean, I could have done it. But if I fought both of you alone while everyone just watched, wouldn't that miss the whole point of a team battle?"
He said it so casually, so matter-of-fact, that Kurenai paused.
Was he serious? Before she could press the thought, Oscar chirped loudly and butted his head against Naruto's side.
Moving on.
"Amazing support from you three," Kurenai continued, glancing at Hinata, Sakura, and Kiba.
Hinata gave a respectful bow. Sakura smiled, composed and proud. Kiba puffed his chest, confident and beaming. Akamaru barked once, though his bark was muffled by the helmet Naruto had strapped onto him.
"And a powerful show of skill from you two," she said, now addressing Sasuke and Naruto.
Sasuke offered a cool nod. Naruto, meanwhile, was too preoccupied with fastening Oscar's armor onto Akamaru's back, since the little puppy wanted to try out his friend's stuff. Unfortunately, the helmet was crooked, and Akamaru couldn't see properly. The pup stumbled blindly, yipping and spinning in circles like a furry, armored missile. The genin burst out laughing. Even Shino let out a subtle exhale that might have been a chuckle.
Kurenai glanced at Kakashi with a quiet smile. "I'm glad," she said.
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad I get to see Konoha's next generation grow like this."
Kakashi turned his head slightly, watching her for a moment too long.
"…What?"
"Nothing." He looked away. "Let's get some rest."
"Yeah," Kurenai said softly, the faint trace of a smile still on her lips.
They walked together, teams in tow, the sounds of the village ahead of them. And though most of the genin were exhausted, the idea of fighting the Jonin one-on-one lingered in their minds like the echo of a promise.
By nightfall, all of them were back in the training grounds, bodies aching but spirits burning.
All except Naruto.
He left a single note behind:
Gone for a few days. Training with Oscar. Don't wait up.
Three days later, the island had become a quiet battleground.
Most of the genin had already finished their spars against the Jonin. The outcomes were predictable. One-sided matches, humiliating but survivable. The Jonin never needed to go all out. The genin barely held their own.
But today was different.
They were all waiting. Not for another spar. For
the spar.
For him.
A gust of wind stirred the trees, and in a flicker of motion, Naruto arrived at the edge of the clearing.
"Sorry I'm late," he said, calm and smiling. "Needed to squeeze in some last-minute training."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You and 'last-minute training' are starting to worry me."
Sasuke stood beside her, arms folded, watching Naruto walk. He said nothing for a moment, then finally: "Good. I was starting to think you'd miss the fun."
His voice was even, but anyone paying attention could hear the anticipation under the surface.
"You two, positions." Kurenai's voice cut through the chatter, calm and clear.
Naruto and Kakashi moved apart, coming to a stop several meters away.
Then, without hesitation, Kakashi reached up and pulled his hitai-ate up, unveiling the Sharingan.
A quiet murmur spread through the crowd.
Sasuke's brow furrowed.
Even I had to force him to use it... and he's starting with it against Naruto?
"How long do you think Naruto lasts?" Kiba asked, half-joking.
Kurenai turned toward Sasuke and Sakura. If anyone could give a real answer, it was them.
Neither answered right away.
Sakura's gaze lingered on the two figures in the clearing. She finally said, "He held off Zabuza."
"Tch," Sasuke scoffed. "Zabuza wasn't serious. He was toying with him."
"Maybe," Sakura said, "but Naruto didn't break. And he's changed since then. He's grown."
Sasuke didn't argue against that.
"Logically speaking," Sakura continued, "Naruto's chakra reserves and stamina are far above Kakashi's. Physically, Naruto's stronger too. Kakashi can match him with chakra-enhanced strength, but… if it comes down to endurance, Naruto has the edge."
Sasuke nodded. "It all comes down to speed. If Kakashi ends it quickly, he wins. But if the fight drags on… he's in trouble." He looked out over the battlefield, eyes narrowing. "Naruto's like his name... a maelstrom. The longer you stay inside, the harder it is to get out."
Kiba stared at them like they were mad. "Wait! You're actually saying Naruto can go toe-to-toe with Kakashi-sensei?!"
Even Shino seemed uncertain.
Only Hinata didn't question Team 7's judgement. Rather, she believed.
Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, then turned back to Team 8 with matching smirks.
"Get ready," Sakura said. "You're about to see why Naruto's the most unpredictable ninja in Konoha."
Sasuke added, "Try not to blink."
It wasn't the words that landed. It was the certainty behind them. The unshakable confidence.
Meanwhile, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "So… what's your wager in all this?"
Naruto gave a lazy shrug, gently setting Oscar down at his side. "I'm not betting. I'm planning to win."
"Confident, huh?"
Naruto's gaze didn't waver. "No. Certain."
Kakashi chuckled beneath his mask. "Good. I look forward to it."
What none of them knew was just how much Naruto had taken advantage of Lordran's time dilation. In the last three days, he had done a week's worth of training. A full week spent hunting beasts, mastering techniques, reforging gear with Andre and Rickert. Every hour, every moment, honed him sharper.
He exhaled slowly and opened the invisible screen only he could see.
[ Name: Naruto Uzumaki ]
[ Covenant: Way of White ]
[ Level: 42 → 48 ]
[ HP: 616 / 616 ]
[ Stamina: 93 ]
[ Equip Load: 42.8 / 51.0 ]
[ Stats ]
[ Vitality: 12 ]
[ Attunement: 12 ]
[ Endurance: 11 ]
[ Strength: 24 ]
[ Dexterity: 16 → 20 ]
[ Resistance: 12 ]
[ Intelligence: 20 ]
[ Faith: 18 → 20 ]
[ Humanity: 0 ]
[ Armor ]
[ Head: Elite Knight Helm → Elite Knight Helm +4 ]
[ Chest: Elite Knight Armor → Elite Knight Armor +4 ]
[ Hands: Elite Knight Gauntlets → Elite Knight Gauntlets +3 ]
[ Feet: Elite Knight Leggings → Elite Knight Leggings +3 ]
[ Weapons ]
[ Right Weapon 1: Prosthetic Arm ]
[ Right Weapon 2: Unusable ]
[ Left Weapon 1: 309 (Zweihander +5) ]
[ Left Weapon 2: 300 (Drake Sword +5) ]
[ Defense ]
[ Physical Defense: 168 (73) → 216 (86) ]
[ VS Strike: 165 → 212 ]
[ VS Slash: 183 → 237 ]
[ VS Thrust: 168 → 216 ]
[ Magic Defense: 125 (83) → 155 (98) ]
[ Flame Defense: 117 (72) → 145 (84) ]
[ Lightning Defense: 111 (76) → 137 (89) ]
[ Resistances & Other Attributes ]
[ Poise: 86 ]
[ Bleed Resist: 97 ]
[ Poison Resist: 78 ]
[ Curse Resist: 30 ]
[ Item Discovery: 100 ]
[ Attunement Slots: 2 ]
Naruto adjusted the prosthetic arm while raising his left hand to form the sign of confrontation.
Across from him, Kakashi mirrored the gesture with his single hand, the other hovering just above the scroll strapped at his side.
He's planning something, Naruto thought.
Kurenai gave the signal.
Kakashi moved instantly, slamming the scroll into the ground.
"Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique!"
A burst of smoke exploded beneath Naruto's feet. He didn't need a Byakugan or a Sharingan to see it... his
way of Focality, enhanced by the
Hawkeyes, slowed the moment down. The summoning seal spiraled out in a massive glyph, and from it, dozens of Kakashi's ninken burst forth, snarling and snapping, coming not just for his legs, but for his throat.
Naruto didn't flinch. With a thought, a small talisman appeared in his palm, glowing white.
Force Miracle.
A dome of white detonated from his position. The shockwave slammed outward in a perfect sphere. The hounds were flung back mid-lunge, vanishing into white smoke mid-flight. But Naruto wasn't relieved. He knew the
Force Miracle couldn't damage someone enough that they needed to leave.
This was obviously a distraction. But for what?
A sharp, high-pitched chirp snapped his head towards Oscar just in time to see his companion vanish in a puff of chakra, tail coiled around the tiny pug, Pakkun.
"What kind of jutsu..."
"Summoning and Reverse Summoning," Kakashi said calmly. "I couldn't risk letting Oscar intervene, especially with how dangerous his skill set is. Don't worry, he'll be safe."
Naruto's jaw tightened.
That jutsu... it could pull someone out of a battlefield remotely. That would be perfect for getting Oscar out of Lordran if things went bad.
The blonde boy gave a nod, that familiar gleam in his eyes, the kind that always meant trouble. "Well, sensei… remember last time, when I said you owed me a jutsu? Since, y'know, you copied my sword style?"
Kakashi blinked, already regretting not brushing that off back then. "…Yeah?"
"Well, you're going to teach me the Summoning Jutsu."
Before Kakashi could even think of the implications of that sentence, Naruto moved.
He closed the distance in a single step.
Kakashi barely raised his forearm in time as Naruto's fist came in like a battering ram.
BAM.
Even blocking, the shock traveled through Kakashi's bones. He rolled with the blow, bringing a kunai around in a low arc aimed for Naruto's ribs. But Naruto had already stepped inside the arc, slamming his shoulder forward like a piston, armor grinding against armor.
Kakashi staggered. It was like being hit by a young Might Guy—not just speed, but power wrapped in precision. He retaliated fast, twisting Naruto's arm and attempting to bring the kunai up under the boy's jaw.
But Naruto wasn't there. He'd dropped low, crouching into a boxing stance so tight it almost looked lazy.
Kakashi moved in for a quick strike—jabs to the body, a slice across the chest but every hit struck reinforced armor. His fingers stung from impact. It was like punching a moving wall. And then Naruto retaliated.
A body hook to Kakashi's side, the metal knuckles of his
caestus ringing against flak vest.
A rising uppercut, his real hand exploding upward toward Kakashi's chin.
The Jonin spun away, deflecting the worst of it but just barely.
He landed a solid kick to Naruto's side.
Nothing.
Naruto didn't even flinch.
Kakashi had copied the stance. He mimicked the form. But even in perfect replication, he lacked what Naruto possessed: armor and physicality.
The way Naruto twisted his hips into every punch. The way his weight dropped like a hammer before every strike.
Kakashi ducked a jab and countered with a shoulder throw, trying to use Naruto's own weight against him.
It worked.
Almost.
Naruto rotated mid-air, driving a spinning elbow down at Kakashi's temple. The Jonin barely caught the blow on his forearm and even that staggered him backward.
They circled again.
Naruto feinted left and launched a cross with his prosthetic, then stepped in for a body blow. Then another. Then an overhand punch cracked the air like a thunderclap.
Kakashi ducked low and swept Naruto's legs in a blur of movement, but Naruto, already anticipating, dropped into a one-handed handstand, his momentum twisting mid-air. With brutal force, he drove his heel downward, slamming into the ground where Kakashi's shoulder had been a heartbeat before.
They broke apart.
"Impressive skills, Naruto. But out here... power's nice. Dexterity is flashy. But what really wins a fight..." he vanished, "...is speed."
Naruto barely had time to blink.
Kakashi blurred through the treeline, each pass a gust of wind and steel. Kunai slashes kissed the edges of Naruto's armor, sparking and scraping along the blackened pauldrons and vambraces. One swipe went for the ribs and another for the neck. Both glanced off reinforced plating. Even when Kakashi funneled lightning chakra into his blade, the energy crackled uselessly across Naruto's gauntlets and breastplate.
He'd been struck by dragon lightning in the Valley of Drakes. A jolt wasn't going to slow him down.
Still, the pressure was real.
Naruto stayed low, blocking and angling his movements, using short bursts of movement and pivots to ride out the flurry. His
Hawkeyes tracked each blur with chilling focus. He didn't flinch. Didn't snarl.
He thought like a predator in the sky.
Calm. Always calm.
"You know," Kakashi said as he flickered behind him, "I expected more from someone who wants to be the next Shisui Uchiha."
Naruto didn't bite. Instead, he turned with his back exposed just long enough to be tempting.
Kakashi's kunai flashed through the air and pierced clean through an afterimage.
"Well, sensei," Naruto's voice echoed from a dozen directions, tone playful yet eerily calm, "I'm not Shisui. Can't body flicker without hand signs… yet. But I'm getting there."
Then the air shifted.
Twelve Narutos stepped out from trees, branches, shadows, walking in eerie unison. Each held a black rapier, their blades howling with compressed wind chakra so dense they shimmered like heatwaves.
Kakashi's Sharingan flared. He didn't blink. His lone visible eye flicked from blade to stance to ripple of chakra.
Afterimages? No. Too tangible.
Shadow Clones. Laced into the illusions like venom in water.
They struck.
A coordinated pincer attack from seven angles. One went high, two low, three stabbed straight-on while the last spun in from behind with a feint into a full-body thrust.
Kakashi moved like smoke made flesh.
He pivoted, ducked under one blade, caught a clone's wrist mid-stab, twisted it into the path of another rapier—
dispelled. He weaved through the blades with millimeter precision, Sharingan predicting each micro-shift in Naruto's clones' weight, stance, and intention.
But they were evolving and adapting.
One clone feinted a thrust and retracted instantly, pulling Kakashi into overextending.
Another clone slid in low with a fencing-style lunge in perfect form. Kakashi dodged, but wind chakra bit into his flak vest, slicing it open.
"Lightning Style: Fang Bolt Flash!"
A whip of lightning crackled in a spiral, shredding the air with a deafening crack. Three clones fizzled out, electrocuted mid-lunge, their forms vanishing in curls of smoke and steam.
When the haze cleared, only one Naruto remained kneeling in the smoking crater. He tilted his head slightly, whispering under his breath. "En garde."
He lunged so fast that it pierced through Kakashi's eye.
A clean hit. Only… it wasn't.
The body dissolved in a burst of static lightning, unraveling like a pulled thread. It was a
lightning clone.
Naruto popped a beat later, dissipating into smoke.
Both fakes.
Kakashi emerged from the ground and said, "You're still behind Shisui. A dozen afterimages? Shisui could make hundreds."
The real Naruto, now perched high on a branch, hummed in reply. His boots dangled for a moment before he dropped down, landing with a deafening crash, a crater forming beneath him from the sheer force of impact. As the dust rose around him, he equipped the
Zweihander in one fluid motion. "Then let's get serious."
Meanwhile on the sidelines, Kurenai and the genin squad were frozen, eyes wide, caught between awe and disbelief.
"How long has it been?" Kiba asked, his voice low, like he didn't want to interrupt the spell the battle had cast.
"Ten minutes," Shino replied, watching without blinking.
"And how long did we last against the Jonin during our best spar?"
"Five."
"…Then how the hell is this even possible?"
"It's his taijutsu," Hinata said softly, eyes tracking every move. "His strikes release shockwaves that disrupt the opponent's nervous system. That's why Kakashi-sensei keeps hesitating. And Naruto's armor, his attacks just bounce off."
"And now," Sasuke added, "he's using the
Fist of the Flickering Peregrine."
The others turned to him.
"It's Shisui's technique. A body flicker form so refined it creates real afterimages, not illusions. If I had wind chakra, I could probably replicate it with my Sharingan… but he's already mastered it."
Sasuke's voice wasn't jealous. It was impressed.
Kurenai, however, crossed her arms. "Impressive… but it ends soon."
On the battlefield, Kakashi suddenly weaved a long sequence of signs.
Earth Release: Earth Flow River!
The ground beneath Naruto's boots liquefied into a churning river of mud. The force swept his legs out instantly, dragging him backwards, armor grinding against the shifting terrain.
Kakashi followed up before Naruto could recover.
Earth Release: Mud Dragon Bullets!
A great maw of earth rose from the river like a serpent breaching the surface, its eyes hollow, its fangs made of jagged clay. It roared as it launched globs of compressed mud like mortar shells.
Naruto countered in the same breath.
Wind Style: Wind Bullet!
He fired rapid bursts of compressed air from his mouth, detonating the incoming mud balls mid-air. At the same time, two of his fingers twisted mid-jutsu. A small puff of smoke and two clones, kneeling behind him with bows already drawn.
They loosed.
Two chakra-forged arrows screamed forward like lightning bolts.
Boom!
The dragon's head exploded into shards of earth and wind pressure, mud splashing across the field in molten arcs.
Kakashi's hands were already moving.
Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld.
The ground rippled and then sank. The archers vanished, sucked down into the hungry earth as if they never existed.
Water Style: Mud Dragon.
From the river of churned earth and chakra-infused muck, a second serpent erupted. Unlike the earthy construct before, this one was slick, wet, and thrashing—its body not just stone but mud turned molten, its breath steaming with heat. The serpent coiled and launched itself forward, its jaws stretching unnaturally wide. Mud hissed along its body like boiling oil, and the very air rippled with steam.
The next sequence of events left everyone watching in stunned silence.
Naruto stared down the charging mud dragon and instead of running away, he lifted his talisman and summoned the miracle gifted to him by Siegmeyer.
Emit Force.
A white orb of compressed energy swirled to life, pulsing like a heartbeat in the air before him. With a flick of his wrist, he launched it not like a blast, but like a parry.
The orb struck the dragon head-on.
BOOM!
A shockwave rippled outward, tearing the construct apart in a spiral of sludge and light. The force didn't just cancel the jutsu—it overwhelmed it.
And Naruto was already moving. He flickered forward, black
Zweihander drawn, crashing through the mud wall Kakashi had thrown up as cover. Clay splintered in every direction as he sliced through the defense like paper.
But Kakashi was gone.
What...!
A hand grabbed him from behind. A sphere of water enveloped his body in an instant.
Water Prison Jutsu.
The world turned cold. Heavy. Silent.
A drowning sphere of stillness locked Naruto in place, water pressing against his chest and limbs like a vice. The liquid wasn't just suffocating. It was chakra-dense, crushing his muscles and slowing his thoughts.
Most shinobi would panic since they couldn't make a ninjutsu with both hands to escape. However, Naruto raised one hand as his fingers danced. Dozens of clones burst into the prison in a spiral of motion, overwhelming the technique with sheer volume. The sphere shattered like glass, water exploding outward in a violent burst as Naruto's clones surged forward,
Zweihanders raised. Kakashi barely landed a step back before he was forced to react, weaving between the towering blades aimed to turn him into a pincushion.
Ninja Art: Poison Fog.
A cloud of thick white and purple mist burst from his mouth, engulfing the area.
The clones dropped instantly, vanishing mid-step—some not even making it to the ground before dissolving.
Kakashi landed lightly on a nearby branch, staring into the churning haze.
The spar is over, he thought.
That's a high-grade nerve agent. ANBU operatives trained in poison arts collapse within seconds of exposure. Naruto won't last a moment more.
His instincts screamed as he dodged just in time.
CLANG!
Naruto's
Zweihander impaled the exact spot where Kakashi had stood a heartbeat ago, cracking the tree bark with the force of the blow.
Kakashi narrowed his eye.
How?!
He scanned the mist again—this time, he saw it.
Naruto stood in the drifting haze, helmet gone, steam rising faintly from the blackened steel of his pauldrons. Between his lips, a long, slender smoking pipe rested. An ornate length of dark-polished wood and brass, carved with winding dragons and tiny clouds along the stem. The mouthpiece gleamed faintly, shaped like a bird's beak, and the bowl at the end burned with a soft purple ember.
Thin tendrils of lavender smoke curled upward in slow, elegant spirals that shimmered faintly in the mist, mixing with the purple cloud Kakashi had conjured—devouring it from the inside out.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
Of course Naruto had something like that.
Naruto exhaled slowly, releasing a ring of smoke so perfect it hung suspended in the air before dispersing. "Like the pipe? I made it."
Kakashi blinked. "I really shouldn't have let you hang out with Asuma."
Thunk!
An arrow slammed into the ground between them, nearly impaling Kakashi's torso.
It wasn't normal.
A timer on the storage seal along the shaft opened, revealing a flash bang. A blinding burst of white light consumed the world for an instant, washing out all edges and shadows.
Naruto stood in the middle of it, calm as ever, taking one last drag from his pipe.
Meanwhile, the spectators were still frozen in disbelief.
"What… what are we even watching?" Kiba muttered.
Hinata's
Byakugan flared to life. "Naruto has clones stationed… six hundred meters out. In every direction. All of them have bows drawn. They're… they're waiting for the right moment to snipe Kakashi-sensei."
"What?!" Sakura gaped. "How's he even aiming that far?!"
"It's his
dōjutsu," Sasuke said as he tapped his palm with a closed fist. "Hawkeyes."
Hinata turned to him, stunned. "Dōjutsu?!"
"I didn't believe him either," Sasuke said, gesturing toward the chaos. "He told me once… that he lived like a hawk. Then… something happened, and now he sees everything."
They turned back to the battlefield.
"Naruto-kun is… amazing," Hinata whispered.
The
clang of steel shattered the silence.
Kakashi had caught the
Zweihander mid-swing with his bare hands, encased in stone.
Earth Style: Rock Gauntlet.
The impact cracked the earth beneath him, dust exploding outward from his stance. "The most important rule you should learn. Never look a
Sharingan user in the eye."
Their eyes met and Naruto froze, trapped in the illusion.
Kakashi took a moment to breathe. His lungs burned. His limbs felt heavier than they should have. But he pushed the fatigue aside. Just a little more. One last technique to end this. His chakra swirled as he prepared the genjutsu—subtle, precise, engineered to make Naruto throw away all his remaining kunai and finally fix his mistake.
Then his
Sharingan twitched.
It had tracked something.
An arrow that was moving at him at mach speed.
Earth Style: Mud Wall!
He slammed his hand to the ground, and a barricade of thick, armored earth jutted up in rapid succession. Three walls, then four, just in time to intercept the incoming projectile. It slammed into the final wall with a seismic thud, cracking the surface but stopping short.
Kakashi exhaled sharply, sweat sliding down the side of his face. That shot would've pierced clean through a normal shinobi. He'd done too much. Burned too much chakra.
And then a voice in his ear. "Want to see a magic trick?"
No. Kakashi spun, eye wide, instinctively seeking Naruto. There he stood—mid-field, unmoving. Cloudy-eyed. His expression slack, his posture rigid. Still caught in the genjutsu.
Perfect. Or so Kakashi thought.
Until a staff in Naruto's hand lit up with a faint blue glow. Magic surged into its core and
SNAP. A bolt of condensed energy exploded from the tip, slamming directly into Kakashi's forehead with enough force to fling him backwards through the air.
He rolled, slid to a stop, gritting his teeth as his thoughts recalibrated.
That attack… that's just like Oscar's… of course. Naruto's their summoner.
Another bolt came screaming through the smoke.
Kakashi twisted, dodging mid-air, but the projectile curved shifting its trajectory in mid-flight.
Impact.
It struck his chest, shredding through his Jonin vest. The fabric disintegrated as the concussive blast slammed into his ribs, leaving his shirt in tatters and a deep, violet bruise blooming across his side.
He hit the ground with a grunt.
He's still in the genjutsu, Kakashi realized,
but he can see me. He can fight through it. How?
He didn't have time to figure it out. Another bolt was charging.
Kakashi flickered forward. The move came fast, borrowed from Guy, driven by sheer instinct. His boot connected with Naruto's torso, sending the boy flying into the underbrush with a crash of leaves and snapped branches.
Meanwhile, the genin stood in frozen awe.
"He's still in a genjutsu," Hinata murmured. "But he's… still fighting perfectly."
"I know," Kurenai said grimly.
"How is that even possible?" Sakura asked.
"I… don't know," Kurenai admitted, tension in her jaw.
Then everyone's instincts screamed. The air grew heavy. A pressure settled over the battlefield, thick and suffocating. A single point of danger. All eyes snapped back to Naruto.
Not him.
His sword.
The Drake Sword.
He stood up slowly, holding the blade with one arm—his other prosthetic resting on the grass where it had fallen. He'd discarded it without a second thought, as a golden light from the Estus Flask faded around his waist. His cursed arm had regenerated, steaming as charcoal muscle and sinew stitched themselves together in real time.
But no one noticed that.
All they saw was the sword.
[ Item: Drake Sword +5 ]
[ Description: This sword, one of the rare dragon weapons, is formed from a Wyvern's severed tail. Seen as undeveloped imitators of true dragons, but they are likely distant kin. While drakes may only mimic the majesty of the everlasting dragons, feeding this weapon dragon scales has awakened a sliver of ancient power within. Though still far from the might of a true dragon, each swing now echoes the force of the Everlasting Dragons; a glimpse of their overwhelming strength, carried in a single strike. ]
It vibrated faintly, like a creature barely restrained. Each pulse from its core warped the air, distorting light and sound. The pressure rolling off it felt… ancient. Primordial.
Kakashi felt it in his bones.
He didn't think just moved.
Lightning surged into his hand. The
Raikiri came to life with the cry of a thousand birds rising into a scream. His
Sharingan narrowed to a pinpoint, and every nerve in his body told him this was the only moment.
Now.
Kill or be killed.
The clones stationed around the island readied their arrows. They would liquefy Kakashi if he dared to move.
It came down to a single decision. A clash of inevitabilities.
If Kakashi was faster, then he would land the
Raikiri and win.
If Naruto was faster, then he would swing the Drake Sword and cleave Kakashi in two. And if he survived, the clones would shoot him down.
This was no longer a spar.
Then… flowers bloomed. Delicate petals. Pink, white, and violet. They burst from the ground like brushstrokes across a war-torn canvas, rising through scorched soil, drifting in the air. The chakra signature hit them all at once.
Genjutsu but not for harm. A gentle reminder.
Kurenai stood in the space between them, arms lifted. "Enough."
Her voice didn't rise. It didn't need to.
The field froze. The lightning in Kakashi's hand fizzled out. Naruto's swing halted inches from execution, the Drake Sword humming—desperate for release.
"This is a spar between student and teacher," Kurenai said quietly. "Not a death match between enemies."
The petals continued to fall.
Kakashi exhaled, shoulders slumping as the
Raikiri faded from his hand. He glanced at Naruto—eyes still cloudy, but burning with intent beneath the surface.
Naruto blinked. Once. Then again. The genjutsu unraveled like threads pulled from a tapestry. The weight in the air lifted. The battle was over.
Whether it ended in a tie or a loss, no one could say for sure.
But everyone knew this much: it would be a very, very long time before anyone underestimated Naruto Uzumaki again.
The messenger waited in silence.
He stood at the edge of the fortress, its jagged towers rising like broken teeth through the mist. The island—no name, no landmark, only coordinates whispered by a terrified sailor—sat adrift in a sea perpetually gray, wrapped in a fog that never lifted.
Above, the sky had remained unchanged for ten days. Monochrome. Heavy. Watching.
The man clenched the scroll tighter, the parchment slightly damp from the sea air and sweat. His fingers were pale and trembling beneath its brittle edges. His sandals were worn through the soles. He hadn't eaten properly in four days. Drank salt-thin broth when it was shoved into his hands. Slept sitting up with one eye open—not that sleep came often.
He wasn't a shinobi. Not a spy.
Just a merchant.
A father.
Gato had come to his home with a smile that didn't reach his eyes and a knife that did. Pressed it to his wife's throat and spoke calmly, softly:
"Deliver this scroll. Wait for a reply. Return. Or don't return at all."
That had been ten days ago.
The shinobi assigned to guard him hadn't spoken once. None of them had. They wore masks and robes in unfamiliar styles. Their symbols didn't match any of the Hidden Villages he'd traded with over the years.
And it wasn't just the silence that haunted him.
It was what he saw when no one was supposed to be watching.
Children. Dozens of them. Collared. Muzzled. Some barely old enough to walk. Herded between buildings by shinobi that moved with military precision—but not care.
He'd seen one boy try to escape during the fog-choked dusk of the fifth day.
The screaming that followed hadn't been loud. Just... meticulous. Rhythmic. Like someone tuning an instrument rather than punishing a child.
The merchant tried not to think about it.
Not to breathe too loud. Not to look too long at the walls that seemed to shift when he wasn't watching them. Or the pale-eyed man who occasionally passed his window with hands that didn't seem connected to his arms.
"Excuse me," he said into the gray. His voice cracked. "How long do I have to wait for a response from your master?"
The shinobi beside him said nothing.
What the merchant didn't know was that Orochimaru had not been seen for nearly a month.
He had been summoned by the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave.
And what waited there wasn't a summons.
It was a warning.
Fire Country, Tochigi Prefecture.
A sleepy town in the midlands had, for a few weeks, become unexpectedly wealthy. Not from harvests. Not from trade.
From Tsunade Senju.
The legendary sucker had graced the town with her presence, dragging behind her a trail of bad bets, broken ledgers, and stunned casino owners. She had blown through a small fortune in a matter of days, her reputation alone drawing crowds eager to watch the spectacle. But recently… she'd vanished.
The gambling dens were left with swollen registers and unpaid debts. Loan sharks circled like vultures, only to find that Tsunade hadn't actually left town.
She simply stopped appearing.
She hadn't left the inn for alomst a month.
Most assumed she'd run. Fled her debts. Slipped away under cover of night. But then there was the problem of her assistant.
Shizune.
The fair-skinned woman was of average height, slender build, and a silent storm of composure. Her onyx-black hair, straight and shoulder-length, framed a deceptively calm face. She wore a deep bluish-black kimono with pale white trim, cinched neatly at the waist by a cream-colored obi. Her sandals were quiet on stone. Her movements, quieter.
Loan sharks who came knocking quickly learned that collecting on Tsunade's debts was more complicated than it sounded. Some left limping. Others were carried away.
They never came back.
Shizune sat on the steps of the inn now, exhaling slowly. Her knuckles ached from the last
conversation. She rubbed her wrist absentmindedly.
"I swear, Lady Tsunade…" she muttered to no one in particular. "You said it would only be three days."
Oink.
A small, pink pig trotted into view. Tonton's coat was soft, her cheeks darkened by the faintest natural blush. A pearl collar clinked softly around her neck. She wore a tailored dark red jacket, neat and clean, better cared for than most shinobi uniforms.
"Thank you, Tonton," Shizune sighed, standing. She forced a smile. "Let's get something to eat. Maybe she'll be back tonight."
What Shizune didn't know was that each of the three Sannin had been summoned by their respective sage clans for a revelation.
A message so profound it threatened to reshape not only the fate of their world…
But of another entirely.
"So how did you get so strong?" Kiba asked, sprawled out on the living room floor, arms behind his head.
The rest of Team 7 and Team 8 were gathered around, watching with barely contained disbelief as Naruto and a handful of clones quietly stitched up Kakashi's torn jonin vest.
"I trained," Naruto said simply, eyes focused on the stitch he was threading. "A lot."
Kiba scoffed. "That's not training, that's magic."
Sakura elbowed Kiba out of the way and leaned forward, serious. "When Kakashi-sensei trapped you in that genjutsu… how come you were unaffected? You didn't even flinch."
Everyone in the room stilled, turning toward Naruto.
"Oh, genjutsu affected my perception of reality," he said casually, "but not my soul."
"…Your soul?" Sakura asked, blinking.
Naruto nodded, still focused on the stitching. "Yeah. I saw through the genjutsu with my soul."
There was a long, strange silence.
Sasuke slowly turned his head toward Kakashi with an expression that said,
is that even possible?
Kakashi hesitated. "Well… there are a few ancient techniques involving the soul. Very rare. Rarer than most Kekkei Genkai, even."
"Where the hell did you learn that?" Kiba asked.
"From my masters," Naruto said, handing the now-pristine vest back to a stunned Kakashi. "Andre. Rickert—though he's more of a 'maybe.' And Siegmeyer. They all taught me stuff."
Everyone stared. Kakashi's jaw tightened slightly as something clicked into place.
If Naruto was summoning from another realm… then Oscar was likely from that same realm. It made sense. And it meant Naruto wasn't just fighting or training.
He was learning from them.
"So…" Kurenai said with a sly grin, "are these masters of yours better than Kakashi?"
Naruto tilted his head, considering. "Mmm… maybe. Kakashi-sensei's kind of at the bottom of the teacher list. But I can bump him up a slot for the right price."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You want a jutsu?"
"If you're offering," Naruto said with a grin.
"Maybe when we get back to Konoha," Kakashi replied. His tone turned serious. "For now, we stay alert. Enemy shinobi could make their move any day."
"Ah, that reminds me," Naruto said, looking around the room. "Do any of you need anything? Armor reinforcement? Weapons? I can make or upgrade stuff for you. I want you all to come back alive."
"That's thoughtful, Naruto," Sakura said, smiling. "But I'm good."
"Hn," Sasuke added with his usual detachment.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said.
Kiba scratched his head. "I mean… a weapon does sound cool."
"I've got spears, swords, halberds, clubs…"
Kiba made a face. "Ugh. No way. I'm not just gonna carry around some generic weapon. Someone like me needs something
unique."
Naruto stared at him, deadpan. Then turned to Oscar and muttered,
"This... fucking... guy."
Oscar made a low grumble. Akamaru barked softly in agreement, ears drooping with shared embarrassment.
"How about a dart rope?" Kakashi suggested suddenly, his voice innocent.
Naruto raised a brow. Kiba's reaction was a low snarl under his breath, and a quick glance away. Naruto turned back to Kakashi and asked with a knowing tone, "
Dart rope? Really?"
The implication was clear:
You know why he's acting like that, don't you?
But before the conversation could continue, Kiba stood abruptly.
"Oi, Sasuke," he said, pointing accusingly. "Weren't you gonna ask Naruto about that weird dojutsu thing? Ask him!"
And with that, he stormed toward the door. "I'll guard the house."
"…That was smooth," Sakura muttered.
"So…" Naruto said, dragging the word out while looking at Sasuke. "What was it you wanted to ask?"
"How do you have a dojutsu?"
"Oh, you mean
Hawkeyes?" Naruto snapped his fingers like he'd just remembered a grocery item. "I used a tonic to absorb the soul of a hawk into my eyes. Since the soul can reshape the body, I ended up with enhanced vision. Boom.
Hawkeyes."
Everyone stared with jaws dropped.
Shino looked like he forgot how to blink.
"You… just casually grafted a hawk's soul onto yourself?" Sakura asked, voice cracking.
Naruto shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, it sounds weirder when you say it like that."
"Wait a minute!" Naruto suddenly pointed at Sasuke and Hinata, eyes wide with excitement. "What if I gave you two the
Hawkeyes tonic?"
Sakura nearly jumped out of her seat. "Are you going to
mess with their souls too?!"
"No, no, no," Naruto said quickly, waving his hand. "That's way too dangerous. If they botch the soul grafting process, they'll end up with the brain of a hawk. Actual
birdbrains. I'm not joking."
Oscar made a rattling sound that might have been a laugh.
"But," Naruto continued, "if I give them the tonic
without the soul infusion, it'll still strengthen their eyes. Especially since they already have dojutsu. It should enhance their vision safely."
"…That actually makes sense," Sakura admitted, glancing at Sasuke.
Sasuke's eyes gleamed. The possibility of evolving his Sharingan clearly had him hooked.
Hinata, however, hesitated.
Sakura stepped in, frowning. "Naruto, is this really a good idea? Hinata's part of a prominent clan. If the Hyuga find out about this tonic…"
"Eeh?" Naruto tilted his head.
"I mean, what if they accuse her of corrupting the Byakugan?" Sakura looked to Kakashi and Kurenai for backup.
Kakashi rubbed his temple. "How sure are you about these effects, Naruto?"
"Oh, totally sure," Naruto said. "The
Hawkeyes have been around for thousands of years. Worst case, I'll just heal them. No biggie."
"I'll do it," Hinata said quietly, her voice firm. "And I won't tell anyone. Not my father. Not my clan."
"Perfect. I'll go set it up." Naruto hopped up and jogged to the kitchen. "Tsunami-san! I'm borrowing your pots and pans again!"
A short laugh cut through the tension.
Hinata turned to Sakura. "Sakura-san, would you… accompany me to the powder room?"
"Um… yeah. Of course."
Once the girls stepped out, Kakashi and Kurenai exchanged glances and followed suit, exiting into the hallway.
"What do you make of all this?" Kurenai asked.
Kakashi exhaled, long and slow. "Naruto just reminded us...
again that he's carrying enough power in his bag, and in his head, to start a war."
"I'm more worried about what that tonic might do to the Byakugan," Kurenai said. "The last thing we need is the Hyuga elders knocking on the Hokage's door."
"I'm more worried for
them," Kakashi muttered. "If I'm right about Naruto's summoning clan…"
"You found something?" Kurenai asked, her voice low.
"I think they specialize in soul manipulation," Kakashi said. "During the spar, Naruto's bolt bypassed my chakra defenses and hit something deeper. And now he's talking about soul vision like it's just another technique."
"Combine that with his willingness to experiment on himself…" Kurenai stated. "It's like we're watching a slightly less deranged Orochimaru."
Kakashi gave a dry chuckle, but his eyes were heavy. "I'm not sure how the Third is going to handle this."
Meanwhile, the two kunoichi walked side by side toward the small wooden outhouse nestled near the edge of the property, the grass crunching softly beneath their sandals.
"Thank you for bringing up my clan."
Sakura offered a smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Well… I just don't want Naruto to get into trouble."
Hinata glanced at her, the corners of her gaze narrowing ever so slightly. The words were kind. The tone was polite. But something beneath the surface felt off.
Was she really worried about Naruto… or was she trying to stop me?
After a moment, Hinata spoke softly. "Sakura… I don't think we've had much history together."
"Yeah. I guess not."
"So… if I've ever done anything to offend you, I want to apologize."
Sakura blinked. "What? Hinata, no, you haven't done anything wrong. Why would you think that?"
"I'd appreciate honesty," Hinata said. "I admire you, Sakura-san. You're an amazing kunoichi. Strong, smart, and brave. But I'd like to be seen with the same respect. If I've done anything wrong… tell me."
Sakura was quiet for a beat, jaw tight.
"You like Naruto, don't you?"
Hinata nearly tripped over her own feet. "W-what?! I—uh—um—"
"Relax. I'm not judging. Just asking."
Hinata's face flushed as she looked away. "...Yes. I like him."
There was a moment of silence between them.
Sakura sighed, a little smile fading from her face. "Well... just so you know… Ino likes him too."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
"Yeah, me neither. It surprised me," Sakura said. "I think they've gone on a few dates."
Hinata lowered her gaze. "That's… nice," she said after a moment, her voice soft.
"That's all? 'Nice'? Aren't you gonna… I don't know... fight for him or something?"
Hinata stopped walking and turned toward Sakura. Her face was calm, but there was a firm light in her pale eyes.
"Sakura-san," she said gently, "are Naruto and Ino together?"
"...No. Not officially. Not even unofficially, really."
"Then," Hinata said, "there's no reason to fight. I'll just… keep trying. I'll keep being by his side, and if that turns into something more, that's wonderful. If it doesn't, then I'll still be happy because Naruto is my friend and that means something to me."
"I don't get you."
Hinata tilted her head. "What's there to get?"
"You're not jealous. You're not scheming. You're not angry or dramatic or anything. If you really like him, then why aren't you trying harder to win?"
Hinata's eyes softened. She walked past Sakura and paused by the door, placing her hand on the wooden frame before turning slightly. "I will try, Sakura-san. But I don't see Naruto as a prize to be won. This isn't a competition. I've seen him since the academy. That boy who sat alone. Who smiled when no one talked to him. Who kept showing up, no matter how many times life told him not to."
She looked away, voice barely above a whisper. "I regret not having the courage to stand beside him back then. But I have that courage now. And I want him to be happy. Whether it's with me… or not."
Sakura didn't respond at first.
Hinata turned fully to her. "His happiness is the only prize I want to fight for."
That silence was heavy. Sakura stared at the floor, shame and admiration tangling in her chest. Then, in a small voice: "I'm sorry."
"Pardon."
"I was being childish," Sakura said, forcing out a chuckle that didn't quite land. "Thinking I could play matchmaker, like love is some kind of game. I thought I understood how people feel. But you… Hinata, you understand something deeper."
She stepped forward and held out her hand.
"I was wrong. And I'm sorry."
Hinata stared at the hand for a second, then smiled softly and took it. "Thank you, Sakura-san."
"But…" Hinata added, "if it was a competition between Ino and me… I'd win."
Sakura blinked. "Wha—?"
The door clicked shut behind her.
Sakura stood there for a beat, stunned. Then she laughed. Full, genuine, surprised laughter. "That… was badass," she murmured, a hand on her hip.
She looked at the hand she'd offered Hinata and smiled to herself. The quiet, shy girl from the academy had just drawn a line gracefully, kindly, and confidently.
"People really do change," she said under her breath. "Not just in power. But in who they are."
Then she looked to where Naruto's silhouette moved around the cauldron, Oscar still perched protectively nearby.
"Ino, you've got competition. And honestly? I'm not even rooting for you anymore. I'm rooting for Naruto."
She smiled.
May he find someone who truly sees him.
"Can you… please do this outside?" Tsunami asked, hand covering her nose as she peeked into the kitchen. "The smell... Naruto, whatever that is, it's fermenting the air."
Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry. The tonic doesn't smell great without the hawk soul. Just kind of… simmers into a bubbling sludge."
He kicked open the back door and moved the pot out into the garden. The contents of the cauldron were a churning, viscous blend of moss greens and sulfurous yellows, glowing faintly.
Hinata and Sasuke stood before it, quiet.
Naruto looked between them. "I know it looks scary. But if anything goes wrong, I'm here. You'll be fine."
He placed a steadying hand at the back of Hinata's head, fingers curling gently into her hair. She stiffened for half a second... then leaned into the touch, hiding a blush.
"I trust you," she whispered.
Naruto smiled. Then, without ceremony, he shoved her head into the pot.
Bubbling sludge frothed around her as she thrashed. Her white eyes wide behind the surface tension. Arms twitching like she was being drowned.
"I can't tell if he's helping her or assassinating her," Sakura muttered in horror.
"Hn," Sasuke replied stoically and dunked his own head in, activating the Sharingan as he did.
A low hum pulsed out from the pot. Not from the liquid, but from what it triggered. The ingredients in Naruto's tonic were magical on their own but something within Sasuke and Hinata responded.
Sasuke was the first to rise.
He pulled himself back with a sharp breath, globs of sludge trailing from his face. Sakura rushed over, already holding a wash basin. She poured water over him, scrubbing fast and froze.
"…Sasuke?" she whispered. "Your eyes…"
"What?"
Kakashi stepped forward and silently offered him a mirror. Sasuke took it, eyes narrowing, then widened as he looked at his own reflection.
The Sharingan spun in its familiar three-tomoe pattern, but veins, thin and crimson, spiderwebbed outward from the eye socket. They extended across his temples and down his cheekbones, pulsing faintly beneath the skin.
"It's the same Sharingan… but it's not," Kakashi said, voice low.
Sasuke turned his gaze downward and flexed his fingers. "It's like I'm… seeing through myself." He closed his fist slowly. "I can make out the layers. Muscle, tendon, chakra lines. It's like I'm wearing the Byakugan underneath my skin."
Kakashi sucked in a breath through his teeth. "The Sharingan awakened the traits of the Byakugan…"
Everyone turned toward Hinata as she knelt beside the basin, wiping sludge from her face. She rose slowly, the white of her eyes glowing faintly. Only now, in the center of her Byakugan, sat a new mark.
A small, bud-shaped pattern hovered in the core of her pupil, almost like Hinata's Byakugan had formed tomoi of the Sharingan.
"My Byakugan… it feels different."
"How?" Kurenai asked, concerned but unable to hide her awe.
"It's faster," Hinata murmured. "Smarter. My thoughts don't need to catch up to what I see anymore. It's like my brain already understands the chakra before I do. Before, it felt like I was watching a river. Now… I am the current."
"Insight…" Kakashi whispered. "That's the Eye of Insight... the Sharingan's trait."
Everyone felt the shift in the air. Something sacred had just been tampered with. The Uchiha and the Hyūga were clans that had spent centuries guarding their bloodlines, isolating their legacies, which now stood here, changed.
Their gifts weren't exclusive anymore.
They were merging.
The Uchiha now carried the anatomical precision of the Hyūga's all-seeing eye.
The Byakugan now danced with the intuitive, anticipatory foresight of the Sharingan.
No scroll in the Hyūga compound had ever acknowledged the Uchiha as kin.
No Uchiha doctrine had ever done more than look down on the Byakugan.
But standing here, far from the sanctity of ancestral shrines, Naruto's bubbling, foul-smelling tonic had cracked a truth no clan would willingly admit: their dojutsu were never separate. Only different sides of the same mirror.
Sasuke looked at Hinata. She returned the gaze.
"...What does this mean?" she asked, voice quiet but steady. A ripple beneath the surface.
Sasuke didn't answer. He was still staring at the flow of chakra under his skin, something his eyes were never meant to see.
Meanwhile, the source of all this chaos blinked at them in confusion. "Wait, wait, wait! Why do you guys get immediate results?"
"You shoved their faces into bubbling sludge!"
"But the tonic isn't supposed to work instantly!" Naruto pointed out. "It's meant to slowly stimulate ocular nerves and..."
"I believe I understand," Shino interrupted, stepping forward.
"Your tonic didn't cause the transformation," the Aburame said. "It acted as a catalyst. Their bloodline chakra reacted to the ingredients... triggering the awakening of a deeper layer. You didn't give them this power. You unlocked what was already there."
"...Huh. Neat." Naruto blinked, scratching his head. "Guess I don't have to brew this nasty stuff for you every day now."
He muttered to
himself," Unfair, honestly. I have to use this sludge and absorb multiple souls for months for my stuff. They sip it once and boom... god vision."
Shino walked over and gently patted Naruto on the shoulder. "You are… appreciated."
"Thanks, man. But what about you?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you need anything from me?" Naruto asked. "Armor? Weapon? Dojutsu? Emotional support?"
Shino shook his head calmly. "My strength lies in my kikaichū, not in tools or enhancements."
"Can your bugs inject toxins?"
"...Yes," Shino said slowly, uncertain where this conversation was going.
Naruto's grin widened. "Perfect. That reminds me of something disgusting I found in entrance of Blighttown."
Everyone turned toward him at once.
"Blight... what?" Sakura asked.
Naruto dropped his scroll pack, opened a side pouch, and carefully unwrapped a tightly sealed cloth bundle. The moment he opened it, the air soured with an unholy stench.
Naruto gagged. "Ugh... there it is."
He dropped the item onto the grass with a grim
plop.
[Item: Dung Pie]
[Description: Atrocious fecal waste material. Throw at enemies to build up toxins, but also builds up your own toxicity. The stench makes it difficult to carry, but turning an enemy toxic inflicts high damage over time.]
"What… what is that?!" Sakura cried, stepping back in horror.
"This," Naruto said with pride, "is my gift to Shino."
Sakura burst out laughing. "Sorry-sorry... I can't! I get humanity upgrades, Sasuke and Hinata evolve their eyes into mini-gods, Kiba gets a spiked collar for Akamaru, and Shino gets a literal piece of crap?!"
But Shino… lit up. "This is amazing," he said, voice rising for the first time anyone could remember.
Everyone blinked in stunned silence.
"The toxins in this specimen are unfamiliar. Completely alien to anything in the Aburame compound archives. If I breed a line of kikaichū to survive contact with it, I could produce a specialized strain that delivers exotic neurotoxins to targets without harming itself. This... this could redefine my entire approach to poison-based warfare."
"Glad you like it," Naruto said, grinning through the smell and covering his nose.
Sakura wiped her eyes from laughing. "Naruto… I don't want to sound ungrateful, but doesn't it feel like we're just taking advantage of you?"
"Nah," Naruto shrugged. "I want you all to be safe. And it's not like I'm giving you guys the real stuff. This is just the basic gear."
The stuff that nearly shattered everything they thought they knew about chakra, dojutsu, and biology... was what Naruto casually called
basic?
"Well, if you're just handing out basic stuff," Kurenai said, tilting her head ever so slightly, "can I expect something too?"
She meant it playfully. A gentle prod. Just to see how far Naruto's generosity extended.
Naruto didn't even hesitate.
"I can give you my pipe," he said with a bright smile. "And my weed."
Kurenai froze.
The courtyard went completely silent. Sakura choked on air. Sasuke looked away. Hinata looked ready to faint. Even Shino's glasses seemed to fog slightly.
Kurenai blinked. Normally, that kind of phrasing would earn someone a Genjutsu-induced period pains. But looking at Naruto's face, she quickly realized he was being completely sincere. "...What did you mean by that?"
Naruto pulled a slender, polished pipe from his pouch. The dark wood shimmered faintly along the stem. The bowl at the end was packed with a pale green herb that gave off a slow, cool burn.
"This one's a prototype," Naruto said, holding it out. "Hand-carved from Lordran pine. It's packed with Green Blossom. It's a rare moss-weed hybrid that slowly restores chakra over time."
Kurenai took it slowly, her hand trembling ever so slightly. "Thank you," she murmured. "For your pipe. And… the weed."
Naruto beamed. "You're welcome!"
Off to the side, Kakashi gave a low chuckle.
Kurenai's eyes narrowed instantly. "Don't say it," she warned.
Kakashi gave her a sidelong glance, visible eye crinkling with mischief. "You know, Kurenai... Naruto's a little young for you, isn't he?"
He was already flickering away before the last word left his mouth.
"You're dead!" Kurenai shouted, chakra flaring as she bolted after him.
Naruto blinked, watching them vanish into the trees. "...What was that about?"
Oscar chirped innocently, tilting his head in sync with Naruto's.
As night fell over the quiet compound, most found comfort in sleep. Seeking a few precious hours of peace from the storm that was Naruto Uzumaki.
But in his room, Kakashi remained seated, unmoving. The candle beside him flickered, shadows dancing across the scar beneath his eye. Pakkun sat on the tatami, watching silently.
"You failed the mission," the hound said at last.
Kakashi didn't answer right away. He exhaled slowly, pressing fingers to the bridge of his nose. Then, quietly, he nodded. "Yeah... I did."
He stared at the wall, as if looking beyond it—beyond the compound, beyond the Hokage's orders.
"I think it's time I come clean to the boy."
Pakkun raised an eyebrow. "Why the change of heart?"
Kakashi looked down at his hands. "The Hokage and I... we assumed Naruto would guard his secrets like a shinobi should. We thought he'd cling to them, weaponize them. That he'd hide them out of fear, paranoia… survival instinct."
He shook his head, bitter with shame.
"But… he shared everything. With all of us. Without hesitation. Without conditions. He gave Kurenai chakra-regenerating herbs, gave Sasuke and Hinata access to power their clans could only dream of… gave me my vest back, better than before and so much more."
Kakashi's voice dropped.
"He gave freely. Because that's who he is."
"Because he's not like a shinobi," Pakkun said, voice soft. "He's open. Childlike. Hopeful."
"Yeah…" Kakashi murmured. "He's not hardened. Not cold. He doesn't manipulate to gain ground or calculate for advantage. He just… believes in people."
He clenched his fist.
"And I didn't believe in him. I thought I could hide things 'for his sake.' Keep control of the situation. Preserve our relationship by burying my betrayal deeper. But that wasn't protection. It was cowardice."
He looked at Pakkun.
"If I want to be his teacher… I have to be honest. Even if it breaks things. Because lying to him... that breaks them worse."
Pakkun stared for a long moment, then snorted lightly.
"Well," the dog muttered, "guess getting your ass handed to you was the wake-up call you needed."
Then he froze.
"Kakashi," he said quietly, fur bristling. "The kunai. It's out."
Kakashi's heart stuttered. "Where?"
"Forest. Northwest quadrant."
They didn't wait.
Both vanished in a flicker of chakra and motion, the night swallowing them whole. Moonlight filtered through the leaves as they darted through the forest, the chill of dread settling into Kakashi's spine.
Then they found him.
Naruto stood beneath the trees, bathed in pale silver light. The marked kunai sat in his hand like a relic dug up from a grave.
He didn't move. Didn't speak.
When his eyes finally met Kakashi's, the older ninja felt the breath catch in his lungs. It wasn't anger in those eyes.
It was betrayal.
"Naruto," Kakashi took a step forward, his voice strained, nearly breaking. "I—I didn't want you to find out like this. Just… please, let me explain."
Naruto's fingers closed slowly around the kunai. A low, soundless hum began to vibrate through the air.
"Wait!" Kakashi lunged but it was too late. Naruto warped away with Oscar. The jonin's hand cut through nothing but cold air, and then he was gone.
"I'm sorry," Kakashi whispered, knees sinking into the moss. "I never wanted it to end like this… Please… just give me a chance..."
But the forest didn't answer. Only the moon watched in silence as a lone man bowed beneath the weight of regret.
Somewhere far beyond the veil of their world, Naruto returned to Lordran.
And the next time they saw him...
He would not be the same boy Kakashi once knew.
He would not be human.
He would be something else.
Something forged in chaos, and calamity.
Something this world was not ready for.
Something that Lordran was not ready for.
Hehehe.
Author's Note:
Holy shit, that was an intense chapter to write. I actually had to boot up Dark Souls 1 and play through some sections just to get Naruto's stats, gear, and scaling right. But man, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.
1 – Naruto vs. Kakashi
I've received a ton of feedback and I'm honestly so happy you guys were this invested in the fight.
So what did you think? Let me know in the comments!
Now, the main question:
Is Dark Souls Naruto on Kakashi's level?
The answer is:
fuck no.
Kakashi was clearly holding back. He wasn't trying to kill Naruto—he just wanted the summoning kunai and set up these spars to retrieve it. He's not the kind of guy to go all out and seriously hurt his student over something like this.
Yes, toward the end, Kakashi did get serious for a very real reason:
the Drake Sword terrified him.
His instincts took over. He stopped thinking and moved to kill before his mind even caught up. That's how dangerous Naruto looked in that moment. If Kurenai hadn't stepped in, things could've gone somewhere neither of them could walk back from.
Still, this isn't to take away from Naruto's growth. He's come a long way, fought through hell, and played smart in this battle. He gave Kakashi a proper fight—even if he didn't win outright. I hope that balance came through.
2 – Kakashi's Chakra Spam
Why was Kakashi able to use so many jutsu without falling over like in canon Wave Arc?
Remember Naruto healed him with the Estus Flask.
That gave Kakashi a massive boost. No more chakra bleeding from the Sharingan, and with his reserves topped off, he could go all-out—showcasing the
Copy Ninja we've all heard legends about.
I wanted to live up to the hype that Kakashi has a thousand techniques at his disposal. Writing him bouncing from style to style, countering Naruto's Dark Souls moves, was incredibly fun.
3 – Fight Structure & Perspective Shifts
I structured the Kakashi vs. Naruto fight with frequent cuts to Team 7 and 8 watching and reacting. I did this intentionally—to give you guys breathing room between intense exchanges and to ground the tension in how the others perceived it.
I rewrote the sequence a few times to make sure those perspective shifts were smooth and didn't confuse anyone. Hopefully, it came across as natural and added emotional weight.
Let me know if it worked for you or if it didn't!
4– The Sannin & the Sages:
Remember how Jiraiya's currently missing from the Wave Arc because the Great Toad Sage summoned him for a new prophecy? Well… turns out the other sages have noticed something too. The Snake and Slug Sages have called Orochimaru and Tsunade with a message that might shake not just this world but another.
The next few chapters are going to get wild. Buckle up.
5– Naruto Empowering His Team:
This was something I really wanted to do. It's not about making the side cast overpowered or letting them overshadow Naruto—it's about showing growth, progress, and how Naruto's presence changes everyone around him.
For those worried Naruto's sharing too much: he's not handing out miracles, pyromancy, divine weapons, or top-tier gear like Black Knight Armor or the Channeler's Trident.
Everything he's given are
basic items... things he can literally farm in hundreds.
But these basics? In the right hands, they spark growth.
Here's a breakdown of what everyone got—let me know your thoughts!
Kakashi: Healed by the Estus Flask, which removes the chakra sync issue with his Sharingan.
Kurenai: Gets Naruto's prototype smoking pipe and Green Blossom. As an ex-medic, expect her to explore what Green Blossom does to the average shinobi body—which could cause ripple effects in the world.
Sakura: Receives a humanity buff and a battle axe. Enough said.
Sasuke: Sharingan enhancement, Claymore, and swordsmanship buffs.
Hinata: Her Byakugan gets a unique upgrade, and more importantly, she gets a confidence boost.
Shino: Gets… a piece of shit. But if you read carefully, this
"shit" might be more valuable than most ninja tools.
Kiba: Akamaru gets a spiked collar. Maybe the dart rope too.
Side note: Why do you think Kiba reacted so negatively to the dart rope?
6– Sharingan & Byakugan Buffs:
One of the coolest things in this crossover is exploring what happens when power systems mix.
We've already seen what Naruto can do by fusing chakra with magic and pyromancy. Now it's the dojutsu's turn.
Here's the logic behind the changes:
Tobirama stated that the Sharingan is awakened through special chakra released by trauma.
The Hawkeyes tonic might trigger this reaction—forcing the release of a different chakra
without trauma.
Since both the Sharingan and Byakugan come from the same Ōtsutsuki lineage, it made sense to me that exposure to certain stimuli might cause cross-traits to emerge.
Design Details:
Sharingan with red veins: Inspired by the iconic Byakugan veins, but not a copy-paste. The red veins resemble Ghoul Eyes from
Tokyo Ghoul, giving it a darker, more visceral look.
Byakugan with a closed bud pattern: A nod to the Sharingan's tomoe and the Tenseigan's floral aesthetic. Think of it as a dormant flower. A bud waiting to bloom.
Can Hinata unlock the Tenseigan from this? Yes but not just because of the tonic. She'll need to fulfill its conditions. The Hawkeyes simply nudged her Byakugan onto a new path.
7 – Romance:
Okay, real talk for a second. I've always rolled my eyes at the trope where the male character has to
"win" the girl like she's some prize or worse, where two girls fight over a guy like it's some kind of shipping war with no real emotional weight.
Think canon Sakura vs. Ino over Sasuke. It just makes the love interest feel like… a quest item. No agency. No nuance. Like Sasuke
had to pick between just those two instead of, y'know, maybe not being into either?
That's why, for this story, I'm treating romance with more respect.
For example: Hinata discovering Ino also likes Naruto and her response isn't jealousy or possessiveness. It's
compassion. She wants Naruto to be happy, even if it's not with her. That? That's powerful. That feels in character for Hinata. It shows growth, respect, maturity, and that romance isn't about
"winning," but about caring for someone else's happiness.
That's the kind of emotional depth I want in this story. Let me know your thoughts on this approach.
5 – The Wave Arc Isn't "Too Long" (And Here's Why):
I've seen a few comments asking things like:
"Wait, we're still in the Wave Arc?"
"Isn't this taking too long?"
So let's address this clearly: Stop thinking of this story through the lens of canon
Naruto. This isn't a 1-to-1 retelling. This is a crossover. A fusion. A new journey.
Canon's Wave Arc was a short, early arc. But in
Naruto: The Chosen Undead, this version of the Wave Arc is crucial. It's the first major turning point that will ripple into the Chūnin Exams and far beyond. This arc isn't just about protecting a bridge. It's about exploring Naruto's
soul, showing the impact he has on others, and reshaping the world with every battle, gift, and revelation.
For context:
Arc 1 was Naruto's awakening in the Northern Undead Asylum and his bond with Oscar.
Arc 2 was Team 7's formation and their growing dynamic along with the side cast and their development.
The Wave Arc is Arc 3, but it's so much bigger than canon because
everything changes here.
I've planned this story. I know where it's going. And while most of you have been amazing, this is for the few still expecting a canon timeline beat-for-beat:
Please treat this as a new story, not a fanservice checklist.
Thanks to everyone sticking with me and getting invested in this dark, wild, emotional crossover world.
It means everything.
Now then what did you think of this chapter? Drop your thoughts below!
That's It… For Now.
And if you can't wait for the next update, the next chapter drops on
June 15th! You can read ahead to Chapter 92 on
Patreon.
Thank you all for your support—you make writing this story such an incredible journey! As always, thanks for reading.
—Adam
