Chapter 10: Twin Blades of Destruction

"…Agreed."

As soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, the remaining swordsmen gathered their comrades and crept back into the mist with smirks on their faces. The mist itself seemed to get thicker and surround the two combatants.

The sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath followed soon after as Kentaro slowly took out a katana. The basic structure was of any other Japanese sword. But that was where the similarities ended. The blade was dark blue, almost violet in colour and the surface seemed to shimmer, like that of water. The guard was circular in nature like that of any katana, but the on the end of the hilt, a small sapphire stone was embedded. The sword itself was four feet in length.

The two opponents stared into each others eyes for the longest time, trying to find any sign of weakness in the other's style. A flash of irritation passed through both their eyes upon realizing that there was none. With an unspoken signal, the two clashed.

The ground split from underneath them at the force of the collision, forcing the two to leap back. Being younger, Naruto was the first to recover and renew his attack. Punches upon punches were thrown at Kentaro, forcing the man to put all his concentration towards dodging the fast appendages. After twenty seconds of continuous dodging, Kentaro finally got enough room to bring his sword into the foray, with barely a twist of his wrist, three thin lines appeared on Naruto's flak jacket, which was the only thing which stopped the sword slashes from cutting skin.

With a mighty leap, Naruto put some distance between them.

'That was fast! I barely saw him move his wrist. Who knows what would have happened if he had used his entire arm for the slashes!'

Naruto barely had another moment to spare before Kentaro thrust his sword into the air, increasing its length to almost ten times its length. Before he had the time to mount a proper defense the sword had pierced through his stomach. Crimson blood gushed out of Naruto's mouth before he collapsed.

"Never think that you out of reach of a master swordsman child. Perhaps you'll remember that…"

Kentaro was cut off by a kunai on his throat, "And you'd do well to not underestimate me Kentaro-san."

The 'Naruto' he had been fighting dissolved into dark wisps.

"Good strategy, you couldn't have been using kage bunshin from the start because there's no place to hide the bunshin. So, that means you created a shadow clone without seals without announcing its name, and immediately had him replace you with a seal-less Kawarimi, I'm impressed. But where did you hide in all of this?"

"Shadows Kentaro-san…"

"Clever…I've heard rumors of you, the Iwa shinobi call you the Crimson Shadow, the man who single handedly wiped out an entire base filled to the brim with ninjas in one night. Perhaps you're worthy of a sword after all…"

Before the two could continue, Naruto felt a sword protruding out from his back, but strangely he felt no pain, or the loss of blood. In his confusion he barely noticed the sword leave his body, along with its owner.

"It seams you are confused Naruto-san, then let me clear your mind…the name of my sword is…Illusion." Said Kentaro with a wave of his sword.. "I never thought that I'd have to use its abilities, but you've proved to be an interesting opponent."

His sword seamed to ripple slightly, but before Naruto could show his surprise, Kantaro burst forward at a speed unimaginable, his old speed paled in comparison to this. But that was not what drew Naruto's undivided towards the man. Five Kentaros were running towards Naruto, almost as if they were Kage bunshins

Readying himself Naruto braced himself for the inevitable attack. Lashing out, he kicked the first Kentaro that came within his range. Only to find that his foot passed straight through. Before he could recover from his shock, two deep gashes appeared on his forearms.

Grimacing as the cuts started to heal; Naruto said "Those aren't normal bunshins are they?"

"So you noticed…you impress me yet again Naruto-san." That is a special bunshin which can be produced only through this sword. A normal bunshin in all aspects except that it has a shadow and produces sound when it runs."

"Genius…then I have no choice, be proud Kentaro-san, for you'll be the first person to feel the fury of shadow fist."

As soon as Naruto finished his words, a bunshin materialized through a plume of smoke. "Come…"

Both the Naruto's extended their hands, taunting the elder man to take the bait. He didn't need to however, because Kentaro once again began running towards him. As soon as he took a step forward, the air besides him rippled and four more Kentaros appeared behind him. Thus began the true battle.

Naruto soon figured out that it was next to impossible to determine who the real swordsman was as the illusions completely surrounded him and were flawless. As a result of this he used the strategy of switching with his clone right when he was about to be hit with a sword. The clone would burst into shadows and reform again once the weapon had been removed, giving Naruto a lock on the real Kentaro.

The battle lasted for an hour before Kentaro called a stop. Both parties were panting and had their share of bruises. The older swordsman was sporting bruised ribs and a black eye whereas Naruto's clothes were ripped in various places from the slashes he had received. His injuries however, had been healed by the fox demon.

"You did well Crimson Shadow," panted Kentaro, "had we continued, I would have been forced to use my jutsus."

"Hehe…that wouldn't have been a problem old man…I hadn't even released my gravity seals yet!"

For the first time in his life Kentaro was stumped, he had drawn a match with a kid who hadn't even been fighting at full power. True even he himself hadn't use his arsenal of genjutsus, ninjutsus and kinjutsus but still…had that boy released his weights, he might have just lost.

"You impressed me…that's for sure. Meet me here in two weeks for your swords."

With those parting words, Kentaro disappeared into the mist, followed by the five dark human like shapes…the remnants of the once great organization of Kiri, legends in the shinobi world, reduced to nothing more than vagabonds and refugees.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (2 weeks later) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks had passed since Naruto had been promised a sword by the greatest sword maker who had ever lived, and it had been seven hours since Naruto had been sitting on a hard rock waiting for the said sword maker.

Finally through the mist Naruto saw the figures of three men walking towards him, in the center was Kentaro with a bundle on his back with two swordsmen wearing shinobi armor and cloaks by his either side. Upon reaching where he sat, Kentaro gave a goofy smile, which almost made Naruto lose his composure and hit that old man…hard.

"Here are your swords…as I promised. Before I give them to you, I must tell you how I made them, each sword I have ever forged was made after I had fought its soon to be wielder, the Nidaime was highly unpredictable in battle and had a lot of talent for water jutsus, thus I forged for him the Raijen, a sword capable of channeling lightening, thus giving his jutsus an extra kick. Orochimaru was like a snake, dexterous and slippery…I gave him the kusanagi, a sword as tricky as its master and capable of producing a potent poison on its own. The same is for every member of the Seven Swordsman. The swords I have made for you, will suit you perfectly. You are stealthy and silent, yet when forced, you are more devastating than any force of nature. You prefer to avoid killing, but when you have no choice, you choose the method which involves little pain. However if someone was to threaten your precious people, you would obliterate him in the most painful way possible. This is why I present you with these blades."

Kentaro unstrapped the bundle from his back and placed it on the ground in front of Naruto. He lifted the cloth, showing Naruto the first glimpse of his new twin swords. A single look was enough to make the jounin gasp in surprise. The hilt was a bit curved and had a customized black grip made especially for Naruto's hands. The cross guard was triangular in nature, while the blade itself was double edged and extremely sharp. The same was true for its twin.

Once Naruto had taken a good look at the blades, Kentaro spoke up again, "The hilt is slightly curved so that you can perform slashes faster. The tip of the blade is pointed and sharp so the sword can stab as well. The blade itself is only slightly broader than a regular katana; it's just the right size for you to perform fast dexterous moves without it being a hindrance."

Naruto had just opened his mouth to comment on the blade before Kentaro cut him off, "That's not all, like all my creations, these swords will never dull and will never ever get notched. Now as you already know, each and every sword that I have forged has a special property. Now, pick up your swords and strike at any tree that catches your fancy,"

Doing as instructed, Naruto picked up a sword, taking pleasure in the way the hilt seemed to meld with his hand. Choosing the thickest tree he could find, Naruto struck the trunk with a powerful stroke and to his surprise, the blade had sliced through half the trunk before coming to a stop.

"Now, channel some of your chakra into it." Ordered Kentaro

Doing as he was told, Naruto pushed a sliver of his chakra into the hilt, only for a small explosion to rock the tree, blasting the trunk of the tree apart. Dumbstruck, Naruto turned towards Kentaro for an explanation

"There is a small chakra sensitive crystal embedded in the hilt of both your blades, it converts chakra into explosive chakra, forcing the new potent chakra out through the blade. Now imagine, the same thing, except for a human as a target."

Words escaped Naruto as he looked at the beautiful blade in his hand and on the ground. He had expected an ordinary blade from the sword smith, never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would forge something so magnificent. Humbled, Naruto kneeled on the ground and muttered, "Arigato Gozaimasu Kentaro-san."

"There's no need for that child. I sensed your potential the moment I locked fists with you. A wise man once said that two experienced fighters can read each other's minds when their fists meet. Now as per our agreement, I'll teach you about kenjutsu until I feel that you're worthy to wield your swords in battle."

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A/N: Once again I'm sorry for the late update but my parents suddenly decided to go to a hill-station without any prior planning. Luckily they allowed me to carry my laptop and I was able to write a couple of chapters in that time. Expect to see another chapter come up within 3-4 days. Also I need suggeestions for the name of Naruto's twin swords. Also if you have a hard time imagining the weapons, think of a gunblade, except for the gun position there's a triangular cross guard. The hilt is of the same shape, except the grip is customized for Naruto. The blade itself is like a normal katana blade, except it's a bit broader and shorter.

I thank you all for the reviews you've been leaving. They really make my day.

Next Chapter: Partners