'Normal Speech'

'Thoughts'

'Bijuu/Summons/Gamer/Techniques'

'Bijuu/Summons/Thoughts/Techniques'


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Gamer, or any series for that matter. If I did the last thing I would do is write fanfiction for your amusement. I am also way too lazy to come up with new creative and funny disclaimers to post on every chapter, so I'll be copying this one and pasting it on every chapter. I've got better things to do with my...

(P.S. Did you guys know I like fanfiction?)


Chapter 29

I snapped open my eyes and cracked a few joints in my neck before I sat up from my meditation. After rotating my shoulder a few times, I henged into my Anbu gear without the mask and looked down to my legs to see Levia asleep while coiled up like a spring.

After meeting Mei, the next couple of days had been relatively peaceful. Every once in a while, I would find the occasional shinobi spying my way which now didn't surprise me. Usually, I couldn't care less as long as they made no moves. It wasn't like I had done anything noteworthy in the past few days anyway. However, those who showed large amounts of hostility while spying on me…I made sure to remove any physical traces of them from this planet. This usually applied to Iwagakure shinobi and, surprisingly, some small shinobi villages such as Amegakure, and even Kusa…Were they all so jealous of my looks? Or was my bounty really that enticing? Maybe they were promised something from Iwa considering that two of them bordered that country.

Breaking from my train of thoughts, I gently ran my finger across Levia's scales, rousing her from her sleep. "Let's go."

She flicked her tongue and wrapped up around my arm before resting her head in my shoulder.

Since a few days ago, I had simply been in meditation. The primary reason was just to pass time since I had nothing better to, though secondarily, I was trying not to focus on the image, (that had been imprinted in my mind thanks to Eidetic Memory) of Mei's fine a-

"god fucking dammit."

hiss

I rolled my eye. "Yeah yeah, language."

With that failure, I stood up from the couch and in my energy & emotion radar, I sensed that Kabuto and Itachi had already been roused from sleep and were more or less ready. I had no idea where Orochimaru had disappeared off to since he hadn't come back last night. It wasn't like he actually needed to be here anyway, so I didn't really care much.

In a few moments, Itachi and Kabuto were prepared and ready to go, so we all flickered to a featureless building somewhere near the edge of Sunagakure. We were immediately greeted with a bustle of activity from the numerous genin (and not so genin) teams of the various villages, big and small.

It didn't take long for our group of 3 to enter the building where we were immediately greeted by a desk manned by a few Suna shinobi, each one having a line that led to them. We got in line and waited for a moment until it was our turn.

"Name and affiliation." The desk man asked disinterestedly without even looking up from his paper. It seemed like he was already tired of doing this shit.

"Kabuto, Itachi, Yorudan."

He paused and looked me in the eye before his expression flashed for a brief moment-one which I captured thanks to Empathy. "Team 10." Saying so, he handed me a small circular metal emblem with the kanji for the number 10 (十) inscribed on it. "Keep this on you at all times. If you lose it, you'll be disqualified."

Using Magnet Release, I twirled it on my finger for a moment before gripping it tightly. "Thank you."

He nodded and gestured behind him. "Past those doors and to the backyard."

Keeping the emblem safe, we followed the directions given to us and found ourselves in a large clearing. There were numerous teams who were already milling about, some keeping to themselves and others blatantly eyeing each team that came by.

Oddly enough, when my team walked by, the area became somewhat quiet as they looked at us…or was it me?

"Is it my good looks I wonder…" I muttered, though seeing the strange expressions on numerous individual's faces, I hadn't been quiet enough.

Not that I cared.

"Yoru!" A familiar voice called out, breaking the awkward silence.

I turned to see Mei along with the other two people that had been with her yesterday that I now identified as her teammates. She waved at me with a charming smile on her face.

I smiled back in kind.

Mei then placed her right hand's index and middle finger to her lips. With a light kiss, a ball of lava in the shape of a heart formed above those two fingers before she blew it towards me.

Sensing no danger from the attack, I didn't move when it appeared in front of me and created a heart-shaped burn on my clothing another where my heart was.

My mouth was slightly agape.

I had no idea she was so bold as to do this in public…

The silence now became so uncomfortable that it somehow became deafening.

Itachi gave me a knowing look and smile.

"…Let's just go to a corner." I stated, bringing Itachi and Kabuto with me to stay at a relatively inconspicuous part of the clearing. Though with me here, nowhere we went would be inconspicuous enough.

The silence slowly dissipated as the teams did their own thing, though I could still sense many gazes directed at us.

I idly fingered the heart-shaped hole on my henge clothing and smiled before repairing it with a thought.

I looked across the clearing at Mei and her team.

Perhaps somehow sensing my gaze, Mei turned to look at me for a brief moment before winking in my direction.

"Mei Terumī. Age 18. Has dual Lava and Boil Release Kekkei Genkai. Proficient in Water, Fire, and Earth Release nature transformations. She was demoted to genin on the premise of failing an important mission assigned to her by her Kage." Kabuto stated, adjusting his glasses and causing the sun to glare off of them.

I blinked and looked at him. "How did you…?"

"I'm very good at this." Was all he replied.

I raised a brow and looked saw him in a new light. "Then, what about her teammates?"

"The one with Kubikiribōchō is named Zabuza Momochi. Age 18. Proficient in water release and has high Jonin level capabilities. He became a genin under the same pretense."

I rubbed my chin in thought and narrowed my eyes on the last guy. "And him?"

At this, Kabuto's voice became low. "Utakata. Age 16. Proficient in water release. Most importantly, however…" Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "He is said to be in possession of the 6-Tails and has some measure of control over its power."

"I thought so…"

I then looked around and paid attention mainly to the shinobi from the other great villages. What next caught my attention were a group of three shinobi from the Stone Village who was eyeing me intently. One of them had a calm and collected countenance, another looked at me murderously, while the last one, a kid about Itachi's age, just seemed excited. "What about that lovely trio?"

Kabuto slightly furrowed his brows. "The one with the spiky light-brown hair is Gari. Age 19. A user of the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai. Proficient in Earth and Lightning Release and a member of Iwagakure's Explosion Corps. Next to him is Ittan, age 18. He's a decently high leveled shinobi who is proficient in Earth Release. Finally, there's Deidara, age 11 and wielder of the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai, also…"

Here, he paused and adjusted his glasses before speaking in a hushed tone. "My sources and investigations have concluded that he was granted access to Iwagakure's Kinjutsu on behest of the current Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi."

I tilted my head. "What relation does Kitsuchi have with Deidara?"

"None that I could find," Kabuto stated. "But he did have a relationship with the previous Tsuchikage as he was Onoki's stepson."

I kept that information to heart and scanned around the area before I found a trio of Kumo Ninja hanging back, the same trio I had seen yesterday. Now that I was looking at them up close, that blonde woman was really attractive…

"What about her?"

Kabuto blinked for a second before explaining. "Samui. Age 16. Proficient in using Lightning Release and bladed weapons, more specifically, tanto."

I kept her in mind and looked for Sunagakure before I found their team. I, of course, only paid attention to the woman in the group. "And She is?"

"Maki, age 15." Kabuto began. "Proficient in sealing techniques and uses a binding cloth to ensnare her enemies. She was trained by Pakura of the Scorch Release, so she should be highly skilled."

Interesting.

Interesting indeed.

With that, I observed for a moment longer until it seemed like all the teams who were going to participate came by. With just a glance, I counted about 52 teams of three meaning a total of 156 genins and 'genins'.

Then, it began.

"Alright, settle down because I'm not going to repeat myself." A guy said as he walked out of the building and stood in front of us. His visage painted the image of a guy who would rather be anywhere else than here, but who had to take this unassuming position because he had no choice in the matter.

"Let me make it clear: 90% of you are trash and some of that 90% will die within the first two portions of these exams because you are cannon fodder. If you have an issue with this, please leave. It would really make this entire process faster."

He scanned the crowd and after seeing no movement apart from a few teams, he shrugged. "Suit yourself. Now, I'll explain the first portion of the exam so listen and listen well. The first portion is all about Survival." Reaching into his pocket, the examiner took out an emblem similar to the one I had received at the desk. "This here is necessary for the first two portions of the exams and if you've already lost it or you don't have it out of any sort of storage seal by the time I'm done explaining the test, then you'll automatically fail and I won't have to deal with you."

I saw many teams shuffling to get them out of whatever storage seal they had kept the emblem in, while I simply floated mine above my palm with Magnet Release.

The proctor continued. "In this first portion, you'll be transported, by a reverse summoning jutsu, to the Korin Mountain Range nearby, a mountainous area filled with many hills, ridges, and valleys. That place will be surrounded by a barrier that will be visible to you and all it does is notify us when a team's emblem has lost its signal. That goes without saying, if you leave the barrier, your team is disqualified; If your emblem's signal disappears for even a second, your team is disqualified, so don't think about hiding them in storage seals and whatnot; if it's destroyed, you're team is disqualified. Any questions? No? Really? Great!"

He then put the emblem away and sighed in annoyance. "Your objective is to survive until only 10 teams are remaining. When there are only 10 emblem signals registered by the barrier, obviously not including signals that disappeared and reappeared, the barrier will automatically be removed. At that point, you and your team need to reach one the exit point located at the north end of the mountain range in no less than an hour. If at least one of you don't get there with the emblem on time, your whole team will be disqualified. If only one or two of your teammates make it, the one(s) who didn't make it will be disqualified. Once you get there, the shinobi in charge will check to make sure you have your team's emblem and they'll reverse summon you back here using the same array."

He then walked past the team's and made his way to the door before he stopped for a moment. "Also, your teams will be teleported to completely different areas of the region and you'll have to survive there for as long as it takes. The sooner you guys kill each other off, the sooner you'll be able to get back and the less time you'll have to spend foraging like wild animals." He then snapped his fingers and walked out the door.

Instantly, the ground beneath everyone here shined brightly, the light forming an intricate pattern. The luminosity of the light sharply increased in intensity for a brief moment and obscured my vision.

When the light disappeared, I found myself in a barren area surrounded by thin tall rocky structures that would make navigating this terrain a nightmare. The sky had a light purple hue which must have been a result of the barrier the proctor had talked to us about. Both Itachi and Kabuto beside me as surveyed the area.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Quite frankly, the most appropriate course of action with our lineup would be to get rid of as many teams as necessary as quickly as possible."

Itachi nodded.

Levia hissed in agreement.

"Then how do you propose we get it done," I asked.

Kabuto explained. "How far can you detect chakra signatures?"

"About 20 kilometers," I stated. "It doesn't cover the full area of this barrier's range, but I already have a lot of enemy chakra signatures in my radar."

"Then this should be fine." Kabuto then went on to explain. "If you create some clones and have them scout out, they can take care of all the necessary teams. All we have to do is stay put and wait for the barrier to disappear."

I raised a brow. It was a simple but very effective and efficient plan. Even though shadow clones inherently had low durability, I could increase the durability of my own with a bit more chakra. Additionally, my clones were just as powerful as I was so they wouldn't have trouble handling anyone here. That being said, I didn't just want to stand around. After all, there were some people I wanted to take care of.

I took out the emblem I was keeping and floated it towards Itachi who took it with a questioning gaze. I explained, "I'll leave a clone with you guys as well. I want to do my part to hurry this along."

As Itachi fiddled with the emblem, he gave me a knowing look. "You just want to see Mei again don't you?"

Why was this the conclusion he came to…?

Apparently taking my silence as agreement, he nodded in approval. "Well, don't keep her waiting. The sooner you get with her, the sooner you can stop hitting on my mom."

No, that would never happen.

I rolled my eyes and didn't bother to explain. "Whatever. Just keep it safe till I get back." With that, I created numerous clones with a puff. One stayed here with Itachi and Kabuto while the remaining ones dispersed throughout.

I turned to Kabuto. "Just in case, give me your hand."

Blinking, he did as I asked. I grabbed his hand and implanted my Natural Healing mark on him. "Since you're a Medical ninja that Orochimaru has taken an interest to, you'll be able to use that technique effectively. You already know what that is, don't you?"

Somewhat wide-eyed in surprise, Kabuto nodded. "Mystical Healing. An improved upon Mystic Palm Technique that incorporates natural energy in order to improve the effectiveness of the technique and regrow lost appendages. It was thought to be created by Jiraiya of the Sannin but…" he adjusted his glasses. "I have my doubts about that."

"Orochimaru told you didn't he."

"…"

"I thought so," I said, shaking my head. "In any case, stay safe and Itachi…" I began, turning to face him. "Don't be afraid to go all out if necessary. Both my clone and Kabuto can heal any damage you receive."

Itachi nodded.

With that, I used Steel Release to coat my arms and legs in the chakra-based substance before I took to the skies with Magnet Release. By utilizing Magnet Release on myself while my body was coated with Steel Release, I had much better and much faster control of my flight. It was much simpler than manipulating the wind around me. The only downside, however, was that I couldn't just Magnet Release regular humans unless they either used Steel Release like I did, wore a suit of armor or something, or they, for some reason, had large amounts of metal inside their body. Like if they had metal coated bones or something.

But who would be dumb enough to inject metal into someone's bones?

With those strange thoughts, I made my way towards the area where I could sense a few chakra signatures. As I flew above the sky, I looked down below and eyed my targets before plummeting down rapidly. My feet cratered the ground as I landed and I turned my gaze up towards the surprised visions on my targets who were panicking.

I quickly noticed the Suna headbands on their forehead, but they weren't the same Suna team I had paid attention to earlier. In a blur of motion, I appeared in front of one of them and before he could even comprehend where I had gone, I chopped the back of his neck. He slammed face first into the ground, his body leaving an imprint on the solid surface.

I knew he was out cold so I instantly appeared next to the second person who had just barely recovered. I slammed my knee into his gut and he puked. Holding his stomach for a moment, he lost concentration and fell to the ground unconscious.

I then turned towards the last person in the group who was eyeing me in severe trepidation and walked towards him. He stepped back in fear, but in a single step, I was already upon him. I reached out my hand towards his person-

"P-Please don't-!"

-and grabbed his team's metal emblem. I could use Magnet Release to sense metals in the environment and since all the emblems were made of the same kind of metal, they were easy to detect.

He opened his eyes as he noticed that he was still alive before he stared at the emblem I had in my hand, sweat dripping from his brow.

I smiled and spun it in the air with my control over magnetic metals. "I'll be taking this off your hands. I hope you don't mind?"

He rapidly shook his head.

"Good," I said as I snagged the emblem from the air and crushed it. "Be safe."

With that, I launched into the air once more and focused on reaching my true destination. Along the way, however, I came across two groups of shinobi who were fighting each other. Seeing as they weren't my enemies or anything of the sort, I decided not to simply blow them up.

I dropped down from the sky on top of two shinobi who had been fighting each other. My feet slammed into their heads and knocked them out cold. The remaining shinobi stopped what they were doing and looked my way, their bodies turning tense.

Swift Release

In a blur, I appeared in front of one of the remaining four ninjas and grabbed his face. Utilizing another burst of Swift Release, I rammed the back of his head into the face of another shinobi before he could react.

Only two more were left.

By the time I turned to look at them, Spears of water and bolts of lighting shot out towards me from them.

I took a single breath.

Majestic Destroyer Flame

The water was vaporized and the lighting overwhelmed from the energy of my attack. They screamed as they were engulfed by the flames, but I adjusted it so that they wouldn't die. They weren't my enemies, so I had no reason to kill them off.

This was just the chunin exams after all.

I walked towards their bodies and plucked the emblems from their downed forms before crushing them.

With that, I took to the skies once more.

I could sense intense fluctuations of chakra coming from my destination, fluctuations that I was familiar with, and in a few moments, I saw who was fighting.

From below, I noted Mei and was facing off against Samui in a confrontation of lava and Lightning. Mei seemed to have the upper hand in the confrontation, but I found it odd that people from two powerful teams would meet and fight each other so early in the game. The surface area of this mountain range was extremely wide and the odds of any two teams finding each other this quickly was quite low.

It made me wonder if our appearance here was as randomized as we were told.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to ruminate as I sensed foreign concentrated chakra signatures on their bodies. With Instinct telling me that they were dangerous, I quickly dashed towards the two fighting women in flight and landed on the ground right between them.

I augmented my free hand with Steel Release to intercept Samui's Lightning coated tanto from above while I simply placed my palm over Mei's mouth to block the corrosive mist that was eating at my hands. Their eyes widened in shock at my sudden appearance.

"!"

I didn't get even a moment to explain as my hands blurred and grabbed at the foreign chakra concentrated objects that had been hidden on their bodies. They appeared as small white spider-shaped objects, but I didn't delve any further.

My hands coated in Steel Release, I enclosed the objects into my fist, just before they detonated violently. I didn't flinch from the sting of pain as smoke emerged from my palms and quickly moved once more.

Before the two women could comprehend what was going on, I grabbed them both and took to the skies.

The ground abruptly ruptured.

In a terrifying explosion, the radius of the blast encompassed over a kilometer of land and vaporized all of the landmarks that were in the way near instantly.

Soon after, there was silence.

"What…?" Mei asked incredulously as she looked at the devastation beneath her.

"You both were being targeted," I explained. The chakra signature of the explosive white spider and whatever explosive had been planted underground was a familiar one that I had met not too long ago.

It was from one of the Iwagakure ninjas…

Gari of the Explosion Style.

"…So not cool." Samui stated coldly before her face slightly warmed up as she looked at me, though her expression still seemed quite aloof. "Thank you."

"Thank you Yoru~!" Mei stated as she happily wrapped her arms around my neck before she looked at me questioningly. "Though I have to ask why you came all the way over here…Don't tell me you already missed me so much?"

I shook my head. "My Instincts warned me there was someone that could be dangerous to me here so I hurried along. Meeting you here was a coincidence."

Mei pouted. "You know, when a woman asks you that sort of question, you're supposed to agree."

"Is that so?" I stated while my brows furrowed as I looked above me and saw a white bird circling the sky. I hadn't sensed it earlier because it had been outside my detection range, but now that I was more elevated, it was clear to me now. Those bombs seemed to be made from Gari's chakra, however, I was unaware of any technique that could concentrate explosive chakra in such a manner.

"…Is that him?" Samui asked as she looked up.

I nodded before inquiring, "Why are you two so far away from your team? Traveling with them would be a much safer option than traveling alone."

"Just like what you're doing right?" Mei asked with a teasing smile. "I was just supposed to be a scout but then I found her."

"Likewise," Samui replied. "We were too focused on each other to realize the dangers around us, so I once again thank you, but…" she narrowed her eyes. "Why did you save me as well? You seem to already have a relationship with her so that is understandable, but we have no such thing. I doubt most Konoha shinobi would save someone from Kumo…What are you after?"

"!"

I tightened my grip around their waists and performed evasive maneuvers as the sky became blanketed with small, white, explosive chakra bombs. The mini-bombs began to move towards me with a humming sound and looking behind me, I noticed they appeared to be little hummingbirds.

Numerous thoughts flitted through my mind. "They appear to be concentrated blasts of Explosion Release which is a combination of Earth and Lightning Release. How about…"

From my open mouth came a large number of dense storm clouds that crackled with electricity. The clouds propagated around us and spread towards the white explosive hummingbirds. As soon as they came into contact with the storm clouds, the hummingbirds began dropping like flies. They plummeted towards the ground as electricity flickered off their form before they landed uselessly on the earth.

I looked at Samui whose expression was wide-eyed. "Believe it or not, I don't really have any feelings either way towards Kumo." The only problem I had had with them was with their decision-making body, hence the reason I got rid of them and didn't just nuke the entire city.

Yugito was a different situation…

I actually hadn't wanted to kill her but Sage Yoru was a different story. My original idea was to blindfold her or use some other method to prevent her from seeing my face before questioning and releasing her.

I personally had no grudge with her in particular.

Unfortunately, Sage Yoru would never stop people from "Witnessing the magnificence of his presence" and he disdained to hide his face from people. As a result, Yugito saw our face and he killed her.

"…That form of Storm Style." Samui muttered before staring at me seriously. "Where did you learn it?"

"I picked it up along the way." Was my reply. I didn't feel like explaining how I allowed Hiruko to absorb the bodies of the other Five Great Ninja Village's shinobi so that I could profit at his expense…

She obviously didn't seem to buy it, though Mei seemed to find it interesting as she whispered closely. "How many secrets are you hiding I wonder?"

Before I could answer that (not that I would have) the flying bird above began to drop before I heard a voice from it. "I'm not sure whether I should be thankful towards you…If not for your existence, I never would have obtained the opportunity to use my village's kinjutsu." Gari said as he looked down from above his bird construct. He outstretched his hand, showing off the extremely out of place mouth on it that seemed to be chewing something. "My Kage really wants you dead."

I looked at him intently.

My Instinct was telling me that something was off with him.

I wasn't going to take any chances.

Sage Transformation [Mode]!


Pristine white scales covered the outer portions of Yoru's face, neck, and body.

A white chakra shroud formed around him, portions of it turning into ethereal snakes.

Two horns grew from the top of his head.

His irises turned golden.

His pupils were slit.

With a thought, iron sand clouds appeared out of Yoru's inventory and formed into an imposing glittering throne which Yoru sat on, the women in his hands sitting on either side of him: Mei on his right and Samui to his left. He placed his arms around their waists and dragged their bodies closer to his own before crossing his legs.

"Rejoice, you have the distinct honor of sitting by my side."

-Yoru: Gamer-

Inside a small earthen made shed courtesy of Yoru's clone, Kabuto's hands blurred rapidly as he shuffled a deck of cards, the sun's glare from the partially exposed roof reflecting off his glasses and preventing Yoru Clone and Itachi from seeing his eyes.

He then stopped.

"Cut."

Itachi fiddled with the red colored plastic card he held in his hand, his sharingan fully activated. With a simple flick, the plastic card shot out and vertically spun across the air towards the deck before it cleanly slid into the stack of cards in Kabuto's hands.

Kabuto then moved the cards above the cut card to the back of the stack. The cut card was then reinserted into the stack of cards by him at a pre-defined position.

His glasses gleamed. "Place your bets."

"1000 Ryo" Yoru Clone stated as he slid the appropriate amount of money in the betting circle in front of him. The table they were playing on was created with precision to match an actual blackjack table; it's ridges and grooves mimicking the betting circles.

"1500 Ryo" Itachi claimed as he placed his bets forward.

His eyes still hidden behind his glasses' glare, Kabuto dealt a single card face up inside the betting circle starting from Itachi to Yoru then to him. He then dealt another round of cards clockwise around the table: From Itachi, Yoru, and then to him. This time, however, Kabuto's second card was face down.

Yoru Clone narrowed his eyes as he stared at the cards dealt. "Kabuto has an Ace face up, Itachi has a pair of 5's, and I have a 5 & 6…"

"You can place an insurance bet," Kabuto stated.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Hit me."

Kabuto slid another card face up from the deck and placed it face up on Itachi's side.

"A 10 for a total of 20" Yoru muttered as he looked at Itachi's hand. He then pointed at his own deck of cards, signaling Kabuto to hit him as well.

Kabuto slid him a card.

"A 9 for a total of 20…" Itachi stated as he looked at my cards. He seemed to struggle for a moment before he shook his head. "I'll stand."

"Likewise." Yoru Clone stated. The probability of Kabuto having blackjack was very slim…

His glasses gleaming, Kabuto flipped his face down card.

Itachi's eyes widened.

Yoru's pupils constricted.

"Ace counts as 11 plus the 9…"

"…We each have 20" Itachi concluded after Yoru's statement.

With a sigh, each of them took back their money.

"Another round?" Kabuto asked.

Yoru and Itachi nodded.

Kabuto began shuffling.

"…Something's been bothering me." Itachi began as he looked at Yoru Clone as his sharingan spun. "Where exactly did you get your money from? Yoru didn't hand any to you before he left and you keep pulling out more from somewhere…actually, where did you even get these cards?"

Yoru blinked. "Maybe your sight isn't as good as you think it is…?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"Round two," Kabuto stated as he began to deal out the cards…

"!"

Yoru Clone's expression drastically changed. "Move now!"

Even while saying that, Yoru had already been in motion as he secured them within this grasp before ramming through the shed's walls.

Following his sudden movement was a spiral distortion of space that encompassed the entirety of the shed they had just been in...

Before everything vanished.

With his ability to fly, Yoru quickly stabilized himself mid-air before softly landing on the ground with his teammates in hand. His gaze carried such vast gravity that both Kabuto and Itachi looked ahead intensely, neither saying a word.

"This chakra signature…!" Yoru Clone thought as a bead of sweat dripped down his face. "Why the hell is he here now?! The boss couldn't have picked a better time to ditch us…"

"It seems like he did his job…The signal led me to the correct team after all." A deep voice tinged with indifference spoke out from within the smokescreen of the attack. Footsteps echoed loudly throughout the canyon as a man stepped out from the smoke. "30% should be enough to get rid of you…oh?" The masked man stated as he looked at Itachi. He had long, black, spiky hair that reached down past his shoulders and wavered slightly in the wind. He wore an orange mask with tiger-like stripes running across it and an eye hole for his right eye. On his body, he wore blue robes, their appearance similar to those that Uchiha typically wore.

Yoru Clone's expression turned ugly as his eyes glowed. "Obito…and he is much stronger than before." He thought while noting how similar Obito now looked like the murals depicting his predecessor, Madara Uchiha. If he hadn't already known who he was before, Yoru would have been inclined to believe he was the real deal.

Itachi froze. "You…"

"What a surprise." The Masked Man said, though his apathetic tone belied any feelings of true astonishment. "The information told me an Uchiha was part of the team but I never would have imagined it to be you…"

Yoru frowned. "Itachi, you know him?"

Itachi's sharingan began to transform. "He's the one…" he said as the tomoe in his eyes fused and formed into three spiraling curves around his pupil. "The one who killed my teammates…!"

"You've developed such nice pairs of eyes…Itachi." The Masked Man stated as he stepped forward-

Itachi's right eye began to bleed, red veins visible in his sclera.

Amaterasu!

A pitch black flame instantly formed on the body of the Masked Man, its appearance causing Yoru Clone's instinct to prickle with danger. However, instead of burning his body to ashes, the Masked Man immediately phased out of his burning blue robe, leaving him with his blue skin-tight, long-sleeved, collared, shirt.

His robe turned to dust before it dissipated in the wind. "I don't mind getting myself an extra pair."

Yoru yelled. "Itachi!"

"Susanoo!"

A large orange, half-body skeleton formed around Itachi.

Muscle grew on its bone.

Flesh covered its muscles

Armor protected its flesh.

"Hoh?" The Masked Man stated before he rapidly dashed towards the Uchiha.

Itachi reacted quickly and brought up his Susanoo's right hand, an orange ethereal blade in its grasp.

Totsuka Blade!

He brought it down with staggering momentum and slammed it into the ground, a vast shockwave of force tearing through the canyon wall.

Obito emerged from the dust unfazed as he a blitzed towards Itachi causing the latter's eyes to widen.

"Physical attacks won't work on him yet!" Yoru yelled as, from his Inventory, he pulled out four rods of ice formed from his Ice Release.

"Yet?" Obito thought for a brief moment before he focused on his target and outstretched his hand as he phased through Itachi's Susanoo.

Time seemed to slow as his pointer finger and thumb inched closer towards Itachi's widened eyes…

Yoru shot a single kunai into the air.

Amenotokotachi!

In a flash, Itachi was transferred out of his Susanoo while the kunai occupied his previous position.

Yoru Clone narrowed his eyes. "Explode."

The kunai flashed…

Before it burst.

An earth-shattering explosion lit up the inside of Itachi's Susanoo and spread past it causing turbulent winds to buffer the three people.

His eyes squinted from the wind, Yoru maneuvered the four poles of ice in his grasp to shoot out towards the four cardinal directions around the 4 people in the canyon. No sooner had they gotten settled did a clear, visibly rippling cuboid barrier encompass the four of them.

Kekkai Fūin (Barrier Seal): Space Lock!

This was what Yoru had been working on for most of his time after fighting Obito nearly 3 years ago. It was based on a principle similar to the barrier around Konoha which prevented someone from entering the village using a spacetime technique. What was better was that it was portable in the form of the Ice Release chakra rods Yoru made.

Its only downside was that in order for the barrier to be portable, it had to be made simple. This meant that Yoru was currently unable to program the barrier to specifically allow him to use his spacetime techniques while he was inside.

Despite this…

"This evens the playing field," Yoru stated as he stood beside Itachi, Kabuto right behind them. "While this will definitely disqualify us from the chunin exams since it isolates space, it's much better than the alternative."

Itachi's eyes became more focused.

Suddenly, a light blue ethereal skeletal arm shot out from the dust cloud and slammed towards the three genins.

Itachi froze for a fraction of a second, however, his shinobi training allowed him to quickly contain his turbulent emotions and form his Armored Susanoo to block the attack. The blue skeletal chakra arm bashed against Itachi's chakra avatar and sent it skidding backward across the ground.

As Yoru and Kabuto were inside Itachi's protection, they hurried to stabilize him before sliding to a halt.

"…How." Itachi asked as the dust parted and in view appeared the masked man with an ethereal skeleton of energy surrounding his body. The man's skeleton soon began to form strands of muscle and was composed of everything that would make up a normal human body's upper half but lacked legs.

"Itachi, about this ability of yours…" Yoru began as his gaze turned even more serious. "How does it manifest? Does it require both your eyes or can it be used with only one?" Yoru Clone remembered that Obito hadn't had this ability the first time they fought…it would have been a useful one to have back then.

Itachi didn't answer and instead stared deeply at Yoru. "Who is he….? You seemed to already know about his ability so you've met him before…How does he have my clan's ability?"

Yoru grimaced. "He's a ghost that should have been exorcised a long time ago."

"What have you done, Yoru…?" The Masked Man muttered to himself as he looked down at his hand and found himself unable to use his Kamui. He then stared at the group of three. "It seems like my decision to preemptively get rid of you was well-founded …you're dangerous."

Kabuto suddenly stated. "He's coming."

The Masked Man suddenly appeared in front of the three Konoha shinobi before slamming the fists of his ethereal muscular avatar into Itachi. Quickly raising the shield on his hand, Itachi was barely able to intercept the attack as his feet sank into the ground.

The collision between the two titans sent shockwaves that caused the entire mountain range to tremble. Deep cracks spread throughout the canyon while heaps of boulders fell down as some places were already falling apart.

"About my question Itachi?"

"…You didn't answer mine." Itachi stated while he raised his Susanoo's sword-bearing arm. With a short shout, he brought it down against his opponent.

Right before the attack connected, the Masked Man widened his eyes and moved to dodge, but not before the Totsuka Blade sliced off one of the arms from his muscle form Susanoo. As the energy from his Susanoo's arm was sucked into the gourd located on Itachi's Susanoo, the Masked Man created firm distance between him and us. "That blade…is dangerous."

"Don't think that sort of cryptic answer will do it. Who. Is. He?" Itachi asked once more, his gaze severe.

Yoru Clone looked profoundly at Itachi before turning back to look at the Masked Man, noting that the enemy's chakra avatar was now evolving and growing skin. "His name is Obito Uchiha…a former shinobi of the leaf and a member of your clan."

-Yoru: Gamer-

Sage Yoru's sat somewhat disinterested as he looked above at his would-be opponent.

Samui shuffled slightly in embarrassment as Yoru hugged her close while her face reddened slightly, though her expression remained relatively calm

Mei simply looked interested and amused. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you've never felt the touch of a man before?" She teased as she stared at Samui. "I find that hard to believe."

Samui slightly grimaced. "…For some reason whenever I meet a man, they seem to forget where my eyes are. I tend to lose interest after that."

"I think I can understand why…" Mei stated as she stared at Samui's ample chest before looking at her own with a scowl. "Even though she's younger than me…"

"It's their loss…truly a shame." Yoru said as he stared into Samui's eyes. "Afterall, you are one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever laid eyes on…besides myself of course."

The severity and sincerity of Yoru's gaze and his attractive visage caused Samui's face to heat up, forcing her to turn away. "…Thank you." She said quietly. Though she felt it would have been perfect if he didn't say that last part…

Gari's eyes narrowed. "Is he really flirting at this time?" The mouth on his palm stopped chewing. "Well, whatever."

The oral cavity on his hand spat out a small globular white substance that he tossed up to the sky. In a puff, it transformed into a large white clay dragon on which Gari jumped. The bird he had been previously using as a mount flew through the air towards Yoru whose attention was wholly focused on Samui.

"Yoru!" Mei yelled in more irritation than fear.

Without even looking, Yoru waved his hand sending a gale of sharp wind that shredded up the clay bird, Parallel Processes having taken over Yoru's body while he was…preoccupied. Immediately, Yoru's metallic throne dashed backward at Mach speeds and no sooner did the clay bird explode, sending a shockwave that caused the winds to churn.

"Is my face that unpleasant to look at that you'd turn away?" Sage Yoru asked.

Samui froze before turning back towards him. "…No that's not it, I just…" she paused and stared at his luminous golden eyes, noting how they never deviated from her own. She reached up with her hands and stroked Yoru's shimmering white scales. "I think you're cool…" she said as she lost herself in his gaze…

Mei looked on in interest at how easily Yoru had captivated an enemy kunoichi and this form…he seemed to have some sort of magnetic charm that could trap people within…it was clearly unnatural.

"You damn child…!" Gari exclaimed before he raised the clay dragon higher into the air as its mouth bulged before it released three smaller sized clay dragons, each of which aggressively charged towards Yoru. Never had Gari met an opponent so infuriatingly arrogant as to continually and actively flirt during combat.

The clay dragons gilded towards Yoru's flying throne and rapidly spat out small white clay bullets.

Yoru only said one word, his eyes never leaving Samui's: "Levia."

The snake snapped open her eyes.

Her vertically slit pupils constricted.

She immediately uncoiled around Yoru and shot into the sky before her body rapidly expanded.

Two horns grew out of either side of her head.

Intricate golden lines formed on her body.

She roared.

Sage Mode!

Coating her now 20-meter long body with Steel Release, Levia utilized Magnet Release to float in the air and intercepted the bullet bombs with her body. They exploded on impact but left no injuries on her person and instead only served to irritate the powerful beast.

Levia took a breath.

Sage Art: Storm Style-

Dense blue energy coalesced within her maw as she stared down at the three clay dragons charging towards her.

Gari's pupils shrank as his honed instincts warned him of impending danger causing him to immediately fly out of the line of Levia's mouth.

Leviathan's Breath!

It was instant.

At the speed of light, a tremendous beam flashed from Levia's mouth and completely erased the clay dragons from sight.

They simply vanished.

Before anyone could notice, the beam parted the clouds and flew out into the atmosphere…

Mei's body trembled.

That snake…

It was too strong.

She hadn't even really noticed it before as it had always stayed quietly coiled and asleep around Yoru, but after seeing it in action…

Cold sweat dripped down both her and Gari's forehead while the latter distanced himself before taking a breath. "It seems I have to take it one step further…" he stated as he climbed higher into the air.

Levia, seeing as she had completed her task, exited Sage Mode and flew back towards Yoru. She shrank down into the size of a finger before she nestled into Yoru's flaming hair.

Mei stared at the Snake for a moment. "Yoru, where did you find-" She paused as she realized that his attention was still preoccupied.

"Ahh, my apologies," Yoru stated as he looked up above. "It appears that something requires my immediate attention." He concluded as he saw a gargantuan white clay statue falling towards them.

Yoru uncrossed his legs and stepped forward, his body hovering in the sky.

"Levia my dear, watch them for me will you?" Yoru stated as his gaze became disinterested as he looked up at his opponent.

Levia hissed in affirmation and flew out of Yoru's hair before she grew slightly longer and nestled on Samui's lap. Seeing the creature on her body, Samui merely began stroking her scales while a light smile made its way on her usually indifferent visage.

Yoru flew the throne away from him and stared up at the rapidly approaching bomb and realized that this sort of attack could potentially damage his scales…

Sage Art: Lightning Style-

A small white nucleus crackling with electricity formed on Yoru's palm before he gently sent it up to contend with the bomb.

Limelight!

It burst.

In a brilliant flash of light that could be seen from dozens of kilometers away, the electric nucleus detonated with such devastating force that its blastwave it encompassed an area over 5 kilometers in diameter. The thick cumulonimbus clouds in the area that had started to gather immediately dispersed from the attack.

Gari's pupils shrank, however before he could even think of his next move, a hand clasped around his neck.

"You've amused me for long enough," Yoru stated as he stared at the man in disregard.

With sweat dripping down his face, Gari grimaced with a tsk and clasped his hands together.

The giant clay dragon beneath them halted in mid-air before it lit up.

It exploded with colossal force sending plumes of smoke all around the atmosphere.

Yoru suddenly shot out from the smoke cloud and dashed towards the earth over 30 kilometers below in less than a second. He slammed Gari's back into the ground causing massive deep cracks to spread across the landscape over a hundred meters around. The man coughed out globs of blood and pieces of his internal organs as his body lay unmoving beneath the rubble.

"I commend you for your efforts," Yoru stated simply while one of the ethereal snakes coiling around him opened its mouth towards Gari. "Rejoice; you have the distinct honor of dying by my hand."

Gari chuckled before his chuckles turned into full-blown laughter. "Kid, you're going to die a horrific death."

"Is that right?"

Sage Art: Storm Style-

Gari simply smiled while his body became transparent, black veins clearly evident throughout his form. The veins immediately condensed into a sphere around Gari's heart. "Since the moment I found out you were here, I was prepared." He laughed. "I told you, you will die a horrible death."

"!"

Never before had Instinct screamed at him as loud as it did now.

Sage Yoru's expression changed greatly.

The grin never left Gari's face. "Boom"

In a flash of light, an astronomical explosion enveloped Yoru and rapidly spread, the blast wave instantly vaporizing every piece of land it came across. The eruption of energy formed into a large conical shaped explosion with two "arms" that could be seen in the distance, its height easily surpassing hundreds of meters.

On the metallic throne, Levia instantly took control of it with Magnet Release and lengthened her body before wrapping around the entirety of the chair. Using Steel Release to fully augment herself, Levia protected Samui and Mei from the edge of the shocking blast.

Powerful gale force winds rocked Levia and the Throne while the expressions of the two women within were exceedingly grave.

After a moment, everything stopped.

Levia uncoiled herself from the throne and shortened her size before looking down at the now bare expanse of land 25 kilometers in diameter.

Samui's and Mei's eye sharpened at the scene before they stared at each other for a brief moment. An attack of such magnitude was virtually unheard of. They could not comprehend someone surviving from something like that…

Samui's gaze tightened.

Instantly, the throne was brought down towards the ground by Levia before it landed safely on the bare dirt. Up ahead, the three could see Yoru's upright form and the hideous state it was in.

His scales were ruptured and he had numerous burns on his skin. Both of his horns were broken and his skin was splitting at numerous areas, yet despite this, he still remained standing.

"Is he…" Samui began to ask.

Mei frowned before looking at Levia to gauge the snake's reaction. Seeing the generally disinterested look she appeared to have (though it was hard to tell since she was a snake…), Samui wondered if they really had such a poor relationship… "Wait, that can't be right."

Levia slithered over to Yoru and hissed in displeasure.

"I…have…nothing to…admit." Sage Yoru stated slowly, each word taking incredible amounts of effort.

In the deepest recesses of his mind, he realized that he had gotten slightly complacent, yet his arrogance would never allow such a thought to even fully conceptualize before it was destroyed.

Hearing his voice caused the two women to look at each other in shock. They had no doubt they would have been vaporized by the attack, yet not only was Yoru relatively in one piece, but he was also still alive.

"How strong do you have to be to survive something like that…?" Mei thought seriously as she re-examined Yoru.

Levia hissed.

"I apologize…for making…you…worry…" Yoru stated before he slowly turned his head towards her. "However…my dear…I…require….your…assistance."

Levia…scoffed? Before she slithered up Yoru's body. She opened her mouth as soon as she got to the nape of his neck before she sank her fangs into him. Immediately, vast amounts of senjutsu chakra were pumped into Yoru's body, accelerating his healing his already incredible healing.

Due to the fact that Levia had been gifted with Yoru's blood when she was just a newborn hatchling, her energy signature was almost completely identical to his own. As a result, she could safely transfer chakra and senjutsu chakra to him should the need for it ever arise.

Suddenly from the distance, footsteps rapidly made their way towards this area.

Samui's and Mei's eyes narrowed seriously as they prepared to face any enemies. The amount of noise that had been made in this direction no doubt had drawn the attention of whoever was stupid enough to come near a battle zone of such magnitude.

The world had no shortage of idiots.

"Miss Terumi!"

"Samui!"

Utakata and Cee yelled respectively, following behind which were their teammates.

Both Mei and Samui blinked before they slightly relaxed their guard.

In a few moments, the two teams coming from opposite directions reached the center where Yoru was getting treated and where Mei and Samui were located.

"Miss Terumī, are you ok?! What happened here!" Utakata asked as he stared at the now blank vast expanse of what used to be a mountainous terrain. "Who could have done this…" Utakata paused before he finally noticed Yoru who was recovering in between Mei and Samui. "Who is-"

"Yorudan!" Cee stated as he stopped in front of Samui and stared at the boy behind her. "What the hell happened? What caused this and why is he here?" He asked in rapid succession. Seeing as Yoru was so heavily injured, he grabbed the tanto from his back, sweat dripping down his brow as his knuckles turned white. "Whatever the case, now is the best-"

"Stop." Samui declared simply. "He saved our lives. I would appreciate it if you didn't repay that by trying to kill him."

"But Samui-!"

"I implore you to do give it a shot," Yoru stated as he turned to face Cee, his body now 40% healed thanks to Levia's ministrations. "However, if you fail to kill me in my weakened state, the cost will be your life." He finished as his pupils constricted murderously while looking at the blond male Kumo shinobi.

Cee took a step back from the severity of his gaze while his breathing became heavy.

"Yoru," Samui said softly as she touched his arm and shook her head.

He stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes. "As you wish. Regardless, my presence here is no longer required."

Saying so, Sage Yoru reverted back to his normal condition, his scales and horns disappearing along with his slitted eyes and white chakra shroud.

His eyes opened, his irises now silver, before he sighed.

"I owe you an apology," Yoru said with a bow as he faced Samui.

She blinked. "…For what?"

"When in that state, I tend to do and say things I normally would not. If I made you uncomfortable, I'd like to apologize for that. I would understand if you would like to keep your distance from me."

Cee frowned. "Oi, what did you-!"

"Cee," Samui said coolly.

He twitched but remained silent nonetheless.

"Your wife will definitely wear the pants in your relationship," Darui stated blandly from the side, a toothpick in his mouth.

Veins protruded from Cee's face.

Ignoring them, Samui turned to face Yoru. "…Please stand up."

Yoru straightened his posture and stared into Samui's eyes.

She looked back at him with her usual chilly gaze.

They stared at each other for many moments.

Samui's expression softened. "Even now he's still looking at me." She thought before asking. "Then, What you said…"

Yoru blinked. "Ahh, I meant what I said. I just normally wouldn't be so forward about it…"

"I see." She said as she smiled lightly before she turned back towards her team with her usual chilly gaze, either ignoring or uncaring of their frozen expressions. "Let's go. We still have to survive until this exam is over." With that, she walked past them.

Cee's mouth hung low as his eyes nearly bulged.

Darui's toothpick fell out of his mouth as he gaped slightly. "Huh…I never would have thought she liked them younger-"

He immediately dodged a tanto that sliced at his face, the wind from the blade cutting off a few strands of his hair. "That thing is dangerous Samui…"

She gave him a disinterested glance. "Pick his jaw up and let's move."

"Hai, Hai," Darui stated as he closed Cee's jaw and carried him away with Samui towards the distance.

Looking at Samui's disappearing behind, it was times like these that Yoru thanked Empathy that he knew enough about her emotional state to know what to say. If he's apologized for all that, she definitely wouldn't have decided to come over…

"Isn't that great Yoru?" Mei asked with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You seem to have found a girlfriend."

Yoru bowed once more. "The way I disregarded you before was completely unjust and for that, I apologize. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me, but I understand if you do not want to remain acquainted."

"What exactly happened…" Utakata asked in bafflement.

Mei ignored him and looked at Yoru before her expression crumbled. "Get up, please. I really can't stay upset at you." She stated as Yoru looked back at her. "I do have to wonder though why you did act that way? You seem to have some conscious understanding of your actions while in that…state."

Yoru scratched the back of his head. "It was to make you jealous so that you'd want me more."

Mei blinked.

Utakata gaped.

Zabuza picked his ear and flicked his pinkie.

Mei stayed silent for a moment before she began to laugh. "That other side of you is really devious. That being said…" she cupped Yoru's face into her hands. "I can't say I dislike it."

"Will anyone explain to me what is going on? Context and what not? No?"

Utakata went ignored.

"Don't worry Yoru, I'll still be acquainted with you." She stated before separating herself from Yoru and turning around. "Let's leave before this place is flooded with idiots too curious for their own well being." She said as began to walk away.

Utakata immediately followed behind her.

Zabuza watched them go for a moment before staring at Yoru. "So you're the kid that got sent into the bingo books as an S-Ranked threat at only eleven years old?" Zabuza stated as he scanned Yorudan up and down. "This is the first time I'm seeing you up close. There's a nice bounty on your head you know?"

"I know," Yoru stated simply while Levia coiled around him and rested on his shoulders. "Do you want it?"

Zabuza chuckled and shook his head. "I think I like living for now. If I ever feel like dying, I'll let you know."

Yoru nodded. "I'll be around."

With a nod his direction, Zabuza turned away from Yoru and walked towards his team.

Yoru sighed and shook his head at this entire situation before he noted that the purple barrier in the sky suddenly rippled and disappeared.

"Seems like my clones took care of it huh Levia?"

hiss

Yoru stroked her gently. "I wonder how Itachi and Kabuto are doing…I need to meet up with them anyhow."

Suddenly, Yoru froze as a torrent of memories flooded his brain.

His eyes widened. "How the hell...!" Yoru thought as the clone that was with Itachi and Kabuto granted him it's memories. "Obito…"

Yoru's gaze then turned severe at the last few scenes. "A Suna council member huh…?"

-Yoru: Gamer-

[Minutes Prior]

Itachi's body froze. "Obito Uchiha…That can't be possible. He's supposed to be-"

"Dead? Yeah, I know." Yoru Clone replied. "That's why I called him a ghost…that and his bullshit ability to phase through all attacks for who knows how long."

"Oya, Oya, this is quite the twist," Kabuto stated as he adjusted his glasses.

Itachi shook his head as he gazed at Obito who was beginning to evolve his Susanoo to the muscle stage. "Even if he's still alive, how can he manifest Susanoo? Wasn't his other eye with-"

"Kakashi." Yoru completed. "But the village is protected by a spacetime barrier so there's no way he could sneak in and steal his sharingan. Even if Kakashi had gone out for a mission, he's an Anbu Captain right now. The missions he obtains are granted directly from the Hokage so it's near impossible for them to be intercepted." Yoru turned to face Itachi. "That's why I was asking if it was possible to do that…" he said, gesticulating at Obito's Susanoo, "With only a single one of your bullshit eyeballs."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "No. In order to first unlock Susanoo, both Mangekyō Sharingan have to be in the owner's possession. He should be unable to use it with only a single eye."

Yoru Clone thought for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh. "A mystery for another day."

Right at this moment, the Masked Man's Susanoo regrew it's lost arm as skin fully covered its previously muscled form.

He flipped through a hand seal, his chakra avatar mimicking his movement.

"Kabuto, stabilize Itachi with your medical ninjutsu. This thing takes a toll on his eyes!" Yoru stated while he grimaced and placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Itachi, I'm going to help you out, so attack!"

As he said that, Yoru's pupils turned slit as he activated Sage Transformation, but instead of using the senjutsu chakra for himself, he siphoned it into Itachi's Susanoo. The giant orange avatar began growing ethereal white scales on the outer portions of its body causing Itachi's eyes to widen from the influx of powerful energy.

"Focus!" Yoru stated as the Masked Man released a horrifying stream of fire towards the trio.

Itachi's expression became calm as he raised the Yata Mirror located on his Susanoo's left hand and negated the devastating fire attack. Immediately after, Itachi flipped through some handseals and inhaled, his avatar following suit.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!

A massive ball of flame was emitted from Itachi's Susanoo and flew towards the Masked Man's own in blazing fury.

Obito and his Susanoo flipped through a few handseals before his chakra flared and the ground trembled.

Bird → Hare → Serpent

Wood Style: Tree Wall Barrier!

Countless wooden branches sprung up from the ground at high speeds and formed into a wall that the roaring ball of fire clashed against. The barrier began to splinter apart from the intensity of the attack while the flame dispersed on either side, its heat melting the solid earth and walls of the canyon.

Suddenly, a shadow was cast down upon the Masked Man causing him to look up above at Itachi's airborne Susanoo, both Yoru and Kabuto still present within. As it came down with surging ferocity, the Masked Man immediately leaped back and created some distance before the Susanoo slammed into the ground with overwhelming force. The canyon shook as a crater rapidly propagated from the point of impact while Obito softly landed some distance away.

Yoru narrowed his eyes. "The way he's been fighting…" it wasn't really notable at first, but Yoru began to realize that Obito almost seemed to be…restricting himself. It was an odd thought, but that was the general feeling he got, one that was amplified soon after Obito had upgraded his Susanoo to its skin form…

"Are his eyes becoming a burden or is it something else…"

Regardless, Yoru has also found a weakness to Obito's seemingly impenetrable defenses. "Itachi," Yoru called, gathering the Uchiha's attention. "We need to get him in the air, even if it's just for a second. Distract him for just a moment."

Itachi nodded seriously before in his Susanoo's hands, three ethereal magatamas bound together by a single, circular thread formed.

Yasaka Magatama!

The Shuriken-like attack was propelled towards the Masked Man who ducked under the attack.

At that very instant, Yoru clone slapped his hands on the ground and sent a surge of energy through the earth before the ground beneath the Masked Man began to split. With his momentum already thrown towards the ground, the Masked Man was unable to react as he and his Susanoo were launched into the sky by a gigantic pillar of earth.

"Now!" Yoru thought as the metallic particles located throughout the canyon began to surge before they gathered into the shape of a hand which pulled the Masked Man out of his Susanoo. Yoru promptly dashed out of Itachi's sphere of protective before a voluminous amount of energy gathered on the palm of his hand.

A blaring screeching noise echoed throughout the battlefield as a Rasengan with four large points around its core, reminiscent of a Fuma Shuriken, formed on Yoru's hand.

Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!

The winds churned intensely from the mere presence of the attack before Yoru siphoned senjutsu chakra into the attack…

And threw it.

In an instant it appeared in front of the Masked Man and bombarded him with overwhelming force, sending his body rocketing backward at high velocities.

Before it burst.

The central sphere of the Rasenshuriken detonated with cataclysmic intensity, producing a vortex of wind in the immediate area. Within the vortex, countless microscopic wind blades were created that ruthlessly pierced through the Masked Man's body which was floating in the center of devastating wind vortex.

Seconds passed as the Masked Man was continuously assaulted before the wind vortex lost its energy.

The Masked Man plopped to the ground motionlessly.

Silence covered the battlefield.

"Did we-"

"Don't say it," Kabuto stated as he cut off Itachi. He adjusted his glasses. "Your only asking for something worse to happen." He turned to Yoru. "What do you sense?"

Yoru Clone nodded. "We should be alright. I can't sense any chakra off of him."

With that affirmation, Itachi dispersed his Susanoo. Despite the fact that he had been using it for much longer than he otherwise should have, he felt fine thanks to the regenerative effects of Mystical Healing.

The three Konoha 'genin' slowly walked towards the downed form of their opponent before they stood above him.

Their expressions immediately distorted.

"Who the hell is this?" Yoru asked as he saw some middle-aged man on the floor. He wore the same clothing that the Masked Man had worn…except for his mask.

The glare reflected strongly off of Kabuto's glasses. "He is Yuura, one of Sand village's council members and a very influential member in Sunagakure."

"…Then why is he here? What happened to the Masked Man?" Itachi asked as his brows slightly furrowed.

"Some kind of technique? Maybe…" Yoru began to think for a moment.

Obito's conservative way of fighting…

And the thing he said earlier that Yoru had barely picked up and hadn't really paid much attention to.


"30% should be enough to beat you…"


"I'm not sure…" Yoru began before he stated his hypothesis. "But it seems like somehow he somehow took over this guy's body and used his abilities through him…?"

"Is such a thing really possible?" Itachi asked.

"That's the only thing I can think of given the amount of information I have," Yoru stated. "That being said…" he continued as his gaze turned dark. "The Masked Man said he had received information about our group. He most likely tracked us down through the emblem Boss left you. The only question now is…"

"Whether he stole it," Kabuto stated as he looked at Yuura.

"Or whether he received it from a voluntary source…" Itachi concluded.

Yoru stayed silent for a moment before he took back his Ice Poles and placed it in his inventory.

"You said that we would be disqualified because of that barrier?" Itachi asked.

Yoru nodded. "That's right, however, I already have a plan to keep us in the game…but this is the Boss's problem." Yoru Clone said before he looked up at his two teammates. "Later."

He puffed.

"…"

"…"

-Yoru: Gamer-

In a plain concrete-floored room lit by dim flickering fire on its walls, Obito regained consciousness and opened his eyes before he simply sat on the ground silently.

"Did you complete it?" A man with short spiky orange hair asked, his ripple patterned purple eyes boring straight into the eye hole of the Masked Man's mask.

Obito stayed silent a moment longer before he completed said. "…It was in good judgment that I went after him when I did. If not, I would have been more unfortunate than fortunate the next time we met."

"What do you mean?" The purple-eyed individual asked. "Was he truly worth us wasting such a valuable asset? It is not simple to obtain people with such high positions in their village."

"Believe me, it was worth it," Obito said as he stood up from the ground. "If we do not get rid of him now, he will definitely become an obstacle."

"To us or to you?" The purple-eyed man asked succinctly.

Obito's gaze bore into that of the man opposite him. "Believe me when I tell you that if he catches wind of even a fraction of our plans, he will pose a threat just as, if not greater than, any of that a Kage could pose…even to you."

"You think he can stand up to the power of a god?" The man asked as he stepped forward towards Obito, looking down upon him with severity in his gaze. "No one shall disrupt my plans…everyone must experience true pain."

"You suppose yourself a deity," Obito stated as he stepped forward threateningly. "But we both know that in reality, you have the fragility of a child…your true self is merely a man, Nagato."

"Do. Not. Test me." The purple-eyed man stated as out of the shadows came the forms of 5 other individuals, each with rippling patterned Purple Eyes.

Obito stared down at the Yahiko corpse Nagato used as a medium for his Path of Pain before he stepped back. "Very well, but I'll leave you with a piece of advice," he stated as space began to vortex around him. "If you ever come across Yoru and you fail to kill him…" he paused as his gaze intensified. "Be prepared."

He vanished.


Alright, I've thought up of a game plan. I think I'll have Yoru go to Naruto (Shippūden) for just a bit before I'll promptly shuttle him into the MCU. It would be good for him to see what kind of impact he has had on the world before exposing him to technology up close and personal. With that out of the way, I already know about what time period I'd drop him in Naruto (Shippūden), but I now need to decide what period in the MCU timeline I'll drop him…

Author's Note: if you guys remember, Pain used something called the Shapeshifting Technique to create 30% chakra clones of Kisame and Itachi during the very beginning of Shippūden when Gaara was having his Bijuu drained.

Secondly, I found out that the Author of the fanfic "The Root of Darkness" followed my story which made me kinda happy. If you all haven't read it yet…why are you still here? Go. Read it.

Have any of you watched the Netflix show Lucifer? That's basically how Sage Yoru interacts with women he finds attractive. (If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend you do.)

Does Mei know how old Yoru is? And is it weird for an 18 years old woman to be sexually attracted to a bordering 14 years old (even though he looks a couple of years older)? Yes to the first and no to the second. This is the shinobi world so their rules and morals are very different from our own here on 21st Century Earth. And you know the saying: "old enough to kill; old enough to drink; old enough to f-"

Jom Ghost: not everyone has a vendetta against Yoru, most are just curious about a child who was able to have his name and an S-rank bounty placed on him in the bingo book. Only Iwagakure and possibly some of Kumo have something against him. After all, a prodigy like him means another ace for the Leaf and not many people like that.

Ekmah: I've read all of Noodlehammer's Naruto Fics and loved each and every one of them…especially the smut.

EyeofSoren: When Yoru absorbs people, he gets a portion of their stats and possibly some ability they own…More will be explained in the final chapter.

Ittehgaps: read above…

Jordisk: also read above…it should give you hints as to the answers to your question.

Kroz Phantomville: Nope, no one has any idea he committed it. They might speculate based on the bingo book, but even then, to them, it would be a stretch.