Naruto: The Chosen Undead-Chapter 134 - no. Dark Souls

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Chapter 134 Training Under a Dying Sun

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A tense quiet had settled in the house, the kind that crept into the corners and settled on shoulders like dust. Kakashi had just finished explaining Gato's likely next move, and the air in the room had not quite returned to normal since.

Tazuna finally broke the silence. "How long do we have before Gato sends more shinobi?"

"If we consider that one of Gato's men has to travel out of the country, commission the contract, negotiate terms, and the ninja then have to mobilize and cross borders... I would estimate anywhere between ten to twenty days. Less if he already has standing contracts."

"Depending on the village," Shino added from where he stood near the back wall. "Some villages are known for quicker deployments than others. If he goes to Hidden Mist, we have more time. Hidden Stone or Cloud? Maybe less."

"Well, if we know he's coming, why don't we just go and kill the bastard?" Kiba asked, Akamaru growling softly at his feet. "I mean, we have an amazing tracker team. Strike first, end it."

Kakashi shook his head. "I tried. While cleaning up Naruto's 'mess'"—he gave the boy a dry look—"there was barely, if any, lead to track. Gato does not leave his bunker. Does not send written orders. It is all radio. Shortwave signals, tight bands. Nothing we can trace in time."

"So we do not even know where he is?" Sasuke asked.

"Correct," Kakashi replied. "And given how many losses he has suffered, I doubt he will surface again anytime soon. He will hole up. And there is a good chance that bunker is not even in the Wave anymore."

"So what now?" Tazuna asked, his voice tight. "Just wait for more assassins to show up?"

"No," came a voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned. Naruto stepped inside, the door creaking shut behind him, Tsunami trailing quietly after him. "We prepare," Naruto said simply.

Inari ran to his mother, hugging her waist. Oscar, the crystal lizard, skittered across the floor and leapt lightly into Naruto's arms. He cradled the creature, rubbing under his chin.

"What's on your mind?"

Naruto did not answer. Instead, he set Oscar down, stepped forward, and began peeling off his shirt. "Can you use the Shadow Clone jutsu, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes."

"Hinata. I need your Byakugan. Check the chakra flow of Kakashi and then align my tenketsu."

Hinata hesitated. "Naruto-kun, what are you suggesting?"

"Remember how we managed to do the substitution jutsu. Same method, different jutsu."

Hinata looked at Kurenai, uncertain. The jonin woman studied Naruto for a moment, then gave a small nod.

Hinata stepped forward, her fingers gentle yet precise as she pressed into Naruto's ribs, blocking specific chakra points just enough to let him feel the pattern now etched like a map across his body.

"Use the clone signs with me. I cannot form them alone."

Kakashi frowned. "This will hurt."

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"So does everything worth doing."

The two met hands, mirroring half of the Shadow Clone signs each. Chakra flared tight, compressed, and with a sharp puff of smoke, a clone of Naruto appeared in the room. A bruise bloomed across Naruto's ribs almost immediately. He swayed slightly.

Kiba let out a low whistle. "That looked like it hurt."

"Internal backlash," Shino murmured, adjusting his glasses. "He forced the clone formation through a blocked network. This is dangerous."

"Again," Naruto said.

Hinata's hands trembled slightly. "Naruto-kun, you shouldn't..."

"It's fine. I'm an Uzumaki. I heal fast."

"You say that," Hinata replied softly, "but you are still bleeding internally."

Naruto's eyes met hers. "What's the fear? I have my Estus to heal me."

Kakashi and Sasuke exchanged a glance, neither speaking, but both wearing the same tight expression. They knew Naruto did not have an Estus Flask left. They also knew he was pushing himself far past what was considered sane. But neither said a word. Because in a way... they understood.

Hinata resumed her work in silence, pressing gently into Naruto's tenketsu with the faintest touch of her chakra.

"What exactly is the goal of this... training?" Shino asked.

Sasuke answered. "He is trying to master one-handed hand signs. By using shadow clones to train, he can gather weeks' worth of experience in a single day. Every clone that dispels feeds him new progress. This... this is brute-forcing evolution."

There was a pause as the weight of what that meant settled over the room.

Again and again, Kakashi and Hinata formed signs and stabilized his chakra, creating clones. By the fiftieth, Kakashi had dropped to one knee, his breathing shallow. Even with Naruto suppressing his chakra to match, it was too much. But nothing compared to what Naruto endured. The boy's skin was mottled with bruises, black blotches forming around his ribs and spine—damage to his organs from chakra feedback. His hands trembled, but his eyes never wavered. And still, he asked for more.

In the corner, Kiba watched in silence, his usual cocky energy absent. Akamaru comforted Oscar quietly beside him.

"I have never seen someone fight themselves like that," Kiba muttered.

"I have," Kurenai said softly, eyes never leaving Naruto. "But never this young."

The silence stretched until Naruto finally stood, body trembling, covered in sweat. A scroll was handed to him—his clones packed inside.

"Don't die out there, idiot," Sasuke muttered, raising a fist.

Naruto bumped it with his own. "Not planning to. When I come back, I will be twice as strong."

Kurenai stepped forward. "Where are you going?"

"Forest," Naruto wheezed. "Peace and quiet. Cannot have these guys arguing over who gets the last rice ball while I'm trying to learn Wind Release."

"You will train alone?" Hinata asked, almost a whisper.

"That's the plan."

Naruto paused, noticing Oscar pawing at his heel, eyes alert and ready to follow.

"Kurenai-sensei," he said quietly, "can you put him to sleep? Just for a while."

She gave a small nod and cast the genjutsu. Naruto laid his buddy down with care, brushing a hand over the scales. "Sorry, buddy," he whispered. "But this next part... it is too dangerous for you."

As the door shut, a quiet filled the room.

Kurenai turned to the remaining genins. "Now then," she said, her tone sharpening, "we have got a window. Let's not waste it. Let's talk about what each of you can do to prepare."

While Kurenai discussed her plans with her team, Kakashi glanced at the lone student. "Sasuke... there is a lightning technique I have not shown you yet. High risk. High reward. You interested?"

Sasuke tilted his head. "Is it lethal?"

"Very."

Sasuke's lips curled into a slight smirk. "Good."

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Naruto opened his eyes, staring into the bonfire as its radiant flame danced within the ruined church. The light flickered against his face, and for a moment, he said nothing. Only the gentle crackle of embers and the hum of the flame filled the space.

Then he reached into his pouch, pulling out the shattered Estus flasks and setting them before the fire.

As if recognizing them, the bonfire pulsed, tendrils of golden flame reaching out, licking at the broken glass. The cracks sealed. The flasks refilled, glowing faintly with liquid light.

"Second order of business," Naruto muttered, breaking himself from the spiral of thoughts. "I need to level up."

[ Name: Naruto Uzumaki ]

[ Level: 26 ]

[ Souls: 5000 ]

[ ReqSouls: 4581 ]

[ INT: 13 → 14 ]

The moment he confirmed the upgrade, he felt the shift. The mental fog he had not even noticed began to lift. Pathways opened in his mind, and a flood of tactical possibilities surfaced—contingencies, backup plans, control, all more accessible than before. Satisfied, Naruto stood and made his way down the ancient spiral stairs, boots echoing against old stone. Andre was not in his forge. He found the old blacksmith sitting on the steps outside, ladling steaming mushroom stew into a clay bowl.

"I see you have returned," Andre said without looking up. "And from that fire in your eyes... I take it you're after more than rest."

Naruto did not waste time. He quickly laid out what had happened in the Wave, what was coming, and what he needed to prepare for. "So, what's the plan now? Swing that big sword till everything in your way breaks?"

"Actually," Naruto said, "I was thinking of Weapon Ascension. Can you do it?"

Andre raised an eyebrow. "Now that is a rare request. But no, at least not yet. I don't have the kind of flame needed to ascend a weapon. You want to truly awaken a blade, you need something special. A forging flame attuned to divinity, or fire, or whatever weapon path you are trying to go on."

"You are not just telling me that for trivia, are you?"

Andre smirked through his beard. "You have got good instincts. There are rumors of a divine blacksmith who still lives deep within the land. Hidden in the old sanctum past the basin."

"Divine ascension?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe. If he still lives. If he will even help you." Andre shrugged. "All I know is, you will need power soon. And that is one path."

Naruto nodded slowly. Then pulled out a storage scroll and unfurled it across the cracked stone floor of the old church hall. With a puff of smoke, fifty clones appeared. "All right!" he shouted, voice echoing off the high ceilings. "You know the drill. Pair up. Practice the transformation jutsu. Work on refining the flow for one-handed signs like Kurenai-sensei taught us. Start simple. Iterate. Break and rebuild."

"Dattebayo!" came fifty simultaneous cries.

Naruto stepped back, watching them move like a coordinated machine. He knew the truth... this would not be enough. Even with the edge of so many clones, one-handed seals were not something mastered in days.

And even if he did master them... there were still giants to slay.

Zabuza had been toying with him in their last battle. That was clear now. If Naruto wanted a shot at surviving Gato's next move, he could not rely on guts and instinct alone. He needed an edge. Several.

That was where Lordran's cursed time dilation came in. Three-to-one. One day in his world meant three in this place. If Gato waited even ten days to make his next move... Naruto's clones could squeeze in a full month of training. Maybe more.

It would have to be enough.

The church echoed with grunts and the distant crackle of chakra as the clones threw themselves into drills. Their hands blurred. Some failed. Some succeeded. All of them learned.

Naruto turned back toward the stairs, ready to begin his own journey.

"Be careful," Andre called from the archway.

Naruto paused, half-turning.

"Lordran offers many things," the blacksmith continued, voice steady. "Power. Knowledge. Shortcuts. But that kind of power... it is never free."

His eyes met Naruto's.

"Don't become the kind of thing you set out to destroy."

Naruto gave a faint smile. "I won't," he said.

But oh... how false that promise would prove to be.

He had told Gato he would show him what a true monster was.

And now, here he was—diving headfirst into the heart of a cursed world for more power. Lordran would give it. And in return... Lordran would take. Because when chaos meets calamity... an everlasting monster will rise.

Heheh.

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word Chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 64, since that's where this Chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!