Hey everyone! Thunderito here and welcome to the ninth chapter of Naruto: The Shadow Blade! This chapter features the battle against the 75th Boss and good ol Kayaba! Enough said. On with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sword Art Online. They belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 9: The Fall of a Reality

Boss Room

Naruto and Asuna, in their respective outfits, were standing in front of the Boss Room, alongside numerous other players. Next to them was Kirito, Klein and Agil, who wore a green shirt, black pants and a steel Gladiator Chestplate, along with a steel Two handed Battle Axe. A few feet away was Heathcliff, in his red armour, along with the KoB group. Behind them, were players from many other guilds. They had all come, to see Naruto defeat the Boss and if he fails, to do the job themselves.

After Yui's transformation into an object, Naruto and Asuna spent their time in their house. They befriended a dozen or so players who were in that floor, as Naruto tested fishing. They had particularly enjoyed the time with a middle-aged man named Nishida. With him, Naruto caught a kingfish, which was a Field Boss. They enjoyed their time there, but sadly, it was time for the raid. Even if Asuna worried, Naruto told her he will be fine. He also ordered Agil, Klein and Kirito to take care of her.

They turned to Heathcliff, who stood in front of the door, Naruto approaching him. He stabbed his shield to the ground "Ahead lies the boss Room. Naruto, the Shadow Blade, shall fight the boss on his own. We are to attack only if he fails. Let us do this. For victory and to return home!" he said, as many roared, cheering Naruto. Naruto took a breath, before opening the Doors and walking inside, the players slowly following him. Once all were inside, Naruto told them "Scatter. Go into those tiny islands. Leave this part for me alone." he said, unsheathing his Tachi. They nodded, as Kirito, Asuna, Klein and Agil went into the one with the best view, along with Heathcliff. Naruto took a deep breath, before looking up and yelling "Come out, Skull Reaper !". Suddenly, the floor glowed red, as the Boss fell down to the floor. It was a large centipede Skeleton, made of metal, each of his legs a sharp curved blade. It had an elongated skull and blood red eyes. It roared, charging at Naruto at fast speeds.

Naruto smirked "Ukifune." he muttered, slicing the Boss from left to right diagonally. The Boss roared, hovering over the air for a few seconds, as Naruto sheathed his sword, saying " Tsujikaze ." he said, slicing the boss at speeds the normal eye couldn't see, forming a large scar on the head of the Boss. The boss roared, rushing at him. Naruto jumped high in the air, as the Reaper raised part of his body, sending his two forward legs in a forward thrust. Naruto yelled " Tsumuji Guruma! " before spinning in a full circle, hitting away both legs, as he hit the Boss again in the head. He fell to the ground, as the boss roared, having lost one of his five HP bars. "I don't want to waste Health or Energy on you, so I will end this quickly." he said. He raised his sword in the air, as it glowed a black colour. " Mugetsu. " he whispered, disappearing as a black light beam appeared in the Boss's body, as it roared in pain, losing almost all of his Health, his last HP bar going to the yellow. Naruto smirked "I'm surprised you survived that. Mugetsu is the Ultimate Katana Skill. It can kill a Level 80 Boss in one attack. But, it's still over. Zekku ." he said, sheathing and unsheathing his blade in a quick motion, as a large scar appeared on the Head of the Boss. It roared, before vanishing in green particles.

Naruto sheathed his blade, as the Boss Room opened, the red light replaced with normal natural light, as he turned to the Raid Group, grinning at their wide eyed looks. Soon cheers erupted, with people yelling that taking down this Game would be easier now. Naruto however didn't hear them, instead focusing his gaze on the back of Heathcliff. Narrowing his eyes, he yelled "Gatotsu!" appearing behind Heathcliff, as he barely turned, only to get his neck pierced. However, that would be the case, if an invisible barrier didn't protect him, with a purple icon saying 'Invisible Object' appearing. Naruto frowned, jumping back, Asuna appearing next to him "A system-granted invulnerability?" she asked.

Naruto sheathed his sword "This man is protected by the system. His HP will never drop into the yellow zone. I always wondered 'Where is he observing this world from?'. But I almost missed something obvious, something I know better than most. There is nothing more boring in the Gaming World, than watching others play an MMORPG. Am I correct, Kayaba Akihiko?" he asked. Heathcliff raised an eyebrow "For future reference, how did you find out?" he asked. Naruto crossed his arms "Whenever an important event or a raid happened, I returned in disguise to watch over Asuna. I was present in your match against Kirito. Kirito, you can attest that for one second, Heathcliff moved beyond the speed his Level, Armor and statistics give him." He said, Kirito nodding with a frown. "That was a mistake from my part. Kirito's attacks overwhelmed me, so I used the over-assist mode of the System." he said with closed eyes.

He opened them again, talking with a changed voice "I am Kayaba Akihiko. And if I may add, I am the Boss of the 100th Floor." he said, as multiple gasps were heard. "That's a twisted scenario. To turn the strongest player into the Ultimate Boss." said Kirito. Kayaba smirked "But it's interesting don't you think? I figured it would be you Kirito-kun who would stand against me in the Final Floor. The Dual Wielding is given to the player with the fastest reactions. It was meant for that player to fight the Demon King. But your strength is greater than I imagined. Then, we have Naruto-kun." he said, smirking even more. "Your love for the woman next to you, your unbreakable will, it helped you survive the Floors single-handedly. Kirito's power is well below yours. It was quite unexpected for a player to reach such a Level. On the other hand, MMORPG's are enjoyable for that reason." he said, before tapping some buttons on his menu, as every player except Naruto and Kirito fell to the ground, paralyzed. Naruto grabbed Asuna, holding her, as he looked at Kayaba "Bastard." he growled. "So, will you kill us to conceal the truth?" asked Kirito. Kayaba laughed "Of course not. That is not reasonable. I will simply abandon you and meet you again at the Ruby Palace on the Final Floor. It will be a shame to leave the KoB and the Clearers group midway, but I'll manage. But I believe you two deserve a reward." he said, getting raised eyebrows.

"The reward will be this. One of you has a chance to defeat me here. I will of course take off my immortality. If you defeat me, the game is cleared and all players return. But you two must choose who will do it." he said. Asuna yelled "Don't do it Naruto-kun!" she yelled. Kirito turned to Naruto "Let me do this. Think of her." he said. Naruto looked at him for a moment, then at Asuna, before taking out a bottle of water "For good luck." he said. Kirito nodded "Thank you." he said, drinking it. He was about to walk forward, only to fall to the ground 'Paralysis?' he thought. Naruto unsheathed his sword "Your welcome. But this is my fight." he said, as Asuna screamed not to fight. He approached Heathcliff, stopping a few feet away. He turned to Agil "Agil, thank you for supporting the swordsman Class. I know your profits go to training players in the middle floors." he said, Agil crying lightly. Naruto then turned to Klein "Klein. I am sorry for not hanging out with you longer. I will miss your personality." he said. Klein cried "No Naruto! I won't forgive you! Only if you take me out for food!" he yelled. Naruto nodded, before turning and smiling to Kirito "Sorry pal. But I will never let a friend die. And if you fight him, that's what will happen." He said, as Kirito started crying. He then smiled at Asuna "Don't worry. We will meet each other again. Soon, I promise." he said, before his eyes became cold.

He turned to Kayaba, who had disabled his immortality and sent him a duel request. He tapped it 'This is not a duel. This is a fight to the death. And he will be the one who will die.' he thought. The moment the timer hit zero, Naruto roared, rushing and swinging his blade 'I can't use normal attacks. His Unique Skill will stop any and all attacks. I must use real life techniques, force him to submission. And for maximum effects, time to use that." he thought. He swung his blades at high speeds, as Kayaba blocked each with his shield. The moment he swung his own blade, Naruto ducked, before jumping and spinning, swinging his sword, as Kayaba narrowly blocked with his shield, his rear wide open. But what he didn't expect, along with everyone else, was for a second sword to appear in Naruto's arms, and slice Kayaba's side, getting his health a bit above yellow. He jumped back, as Kayaba's eyes widened in shock "How! You can't have that?" He said. Naruto smirked, twirling both blades. His new sword was a Katana, it's blade pure white. It had an oval guard, with the handle made of white and black materials. A dragon was carved around the guard. " Yamato . The sword of the 90th Floor's Secret Dungeon. But if you got that then-" Kayaba asked, as Naruto nodded. "Indeed. I defeated that boss enough times to craft this. My Nito-Ichi skill, given to the player with the best hand-eye coordination. The strongest Tachi in the game, coming from the Boss meant to give the items necessary for the Final Battle. The strongest Katana in the game, coming from the only Boss whose power is similar to the Final Boss's, yours. I wouldn't fight you without knowing I can win. And I can win!" he yelled, rushing and beginning using both swords at once. Kayaba tried blocking as best as he could, but Naruto was naturally better. His style was unpredictable, unblockable, unstoppable. However, that wasn't the end of it. Slowly, a red aura formed around Naruto, his power rising with each attack. At one point, Naruto's eyes became red with slits, as he slashed in half Kayaba's shield with one strong strike. Kayaba looked in shock, before smiling, accepting his destiny. Naruto roared, thrusting Juuchi Yosamu, as a spirit dragon appeared above Naruto, roaring. A 'quelch' was heard, as Naruto's tachi pierced Kayaba's heart. He saw Kayaba's health going to zero, before blowing up in a million particles. The particles moved through all of Aincrad, before an announcement was heard. 'As of November the seventh, at 2:55 PM, SAO is cleared. SAO is cleared.' it said, before everything turned into light.

Naruto opened his eyes, checking the area around him. He was high in the air, standing on top of a barrier, his blades gone. He could see clouds below him. He then heard a sound of "Naruto-kun." and turned, noticing Asuna. He smiled, approaching her, as she rushed and kissed him. He returned the kiss, before letting go and pressing his forehead with hers "I did it." he whispered. She smiled, pointing down "I know." She said. Looking down, he saw Aincrad getting destroyed. They both looked sad when they saw their house torn in half. "Quite the view isn't it?" they heard. Turning, they saw a man with short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a white lab coat above a black shirt and brown trousers. "Kayaba." said Naruto with narrowed eyes.

"As we speak, the SAO mainframe's memory banks on Argus's HQ, are being purged of all data. In ten minutes, the game will cease to exist." he said. "What of the players?" asked Asuna. He checked a log list "Don't worry. All 6147 players successfully logged out." he said. "And the 4000 who died?" Naruto asked. "They died. No matter the world, the dead stay dead." he said. Naruto clenched his fist "Why?" he asked.

"Why? To be honest, I don't remember. I always wanted to build that castle, where no boundaries exist. That was my dream since I was little, while I was building the Full Dive technology. And now, someone surpassed my laws. You see, the one meant to defeat me had to bypass my shield, not by breaking it, but by being faster than it. It was never meant to be broken. Yet, you gained a skill that bypassed the Power of the Cardinal System. I don't know how, but you did." he said, as Naruto and Asuna widened their eyes. He turned back to the destroyed Castle "You see, Naruto-kun. I still believe that this caslte exists somewhere." he said, getting nods from Naruto and Kushina. He turned, walking away "Until we see each other again." he said, disappearing.

Naruto and Asuna sat down, looking at the sun shining upon the vanishing Castle. "Next time we meet, it will be with our true bodies." he said. She nodded, turning to him "But before that, can you tell me your name?" she asked. He nodded "Naruto. Namikaze Naruto." he said. "Namikaze Naruto. Eighteen Years old since last month." he said. "Namikaze Naruto-kun. You're older than me." she smiled "I am Yuuki Asuna. I am seventeen." she said. Naruto grinned "Yuuki Asuna. I will remember that name. And I will get to know you again, in the real world." he said, getting closer. "And I will get to love you again, in the real world." she said. They shared a kiss, before the world around them exploded.

Tokyo Hospital

Naruto groggily opened his eyes, looking around in an unfamiliar room. Suddenly, his senses went haywire, as the smell of the hospital, the sounds of the life support system and the feel of the bed were new to him. He instantly rose "Asuna!" he yelled, panting. He looked around, before his hands went to the Nerve Gear. He took it off, placing it at his sides, giving it a good look. He tore off the IV's from his arm, as the machines started to beat. Suddenly, two nurses entered the room, seeing him rising. He turned to them "Inform the doctor I am awake. I need information." he barked out, as they instantly rushed away. He tore off the upper part of his pajamas, as he looked his body in the mirror. His muscles were tense, lacked exercise and looked weak. He still maintained his muscle type, but he looked weak. He clenched his fist, but he couldn't see his muscles tightening. He frowned, before checking a small decoration, that looked like a sword handle. He held on to it, smirking as he saw veins unconsciously appearing on his fingers. "Looks like I need practice. Only my fingers remember. And yet, they still feel numb." he thought. He turned to the window, looking at Tokyo. Turning at the sky, he smiled, before going back to his bed "I will meet you soon, Asuna-chan." he smiled.

D-O-N-E! I am so happy with this chapter! Hope you guys liked it! Sorry that it is short, I didn't want to show the real life. Naruto kicked both the Boss and Kayaba's ass, revealed two unique skills and woke up like a boss. Pretty good in my opinion. Now, I won't say anything. Next time, will be Naruto's life after SAO and the preparation for the move to ALO. Until next time, Thunderito out!