Summary: Light and Darkness. Ying and Yang. Two individuals who were reborn into a new world. One stands for light and the other for darkness. What happens when those two meet one another? Would they form an alliance, or would they fight each other? No one knows the answer. One thing is clear: Nature always has a way to balance things out.
"Speech."
'Think.'
"Technique."
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Eminence in Shadow.
Naruto sat in a carriage with his two parents on the way to the Kagenō family. He smiled and said "Yes. It's been 2 years since I met Claire and Cid." His father had just asked him how long it had been since he had seen the children of the Kagenō family.
It had been a month since the incident with Alpha, Natsume and the man and he had done a lot in that time. He had been trying to find out more about the Demon Possession and came across the story of the three heroes. There were only small hints, but through a lot of reading and studying ancient languages he was also able to read ancient books and documents.
The runic language was very old and only a few knew it. But Naruto had learned the runic language so that he could really get any information. He didn't know exactly how deep the hole was where he was currently about to fall into. But he would risk it and look over the edge so he could get clarity. He had tried every now and then to find other girls who were affected by the Demon Possession.
But so far, he hadn't found any in the surrounding area. He planned to explore the area to the north where there was permanent fog. He didn't know exactly what it was, but his intuition told him he should go there. His intuition had never failed him in this world.
"Don't you even want to duel Claire? I'm sure you'd give her a good fight." Kushina said with a smile.
"Gladly! I would like to see how far I am and if I could beat Claire. I wasn't good enough 2 years ago, but I trained a lot!" Naruto said determinedly. 'I could definitely have beaten her two years ago, but I held back at the time and lost.' Naruto thought.
"Cid, are you awake?" Claire asked Kagenō. Claire was a young woman with a tall, slender build, as well as long black hair and red eyes. She wore a white shirt, a brown skirt and brown shoes. On her left side was her sword attached to a brown belt.
She stood in the hallway and knocked on her little brother's room. She heard a few noises behind the door and was satisfied that her little brother was at least awake in time today.
"I am, Nee-san." Cid's voice came from behind the brown wooden door, bored as usual. She just smiled and lifted one foot. She pushed her foot forward and kicked the door down, causing her little brother to be hit by the door and sent flying halfway across the room.
Claire simply walked into the room and stood over her brother's prone form. Her red eyes stared into Cid's black ones. "How was that Cid?" Claire asked in a sweet voice and eyes closed.
"I'm awake, Claire. I'm sorry you had to wake me up again." Cid said in a normal voice.
Claire nodded happily and went out of the room again. Cid straightened up and blew a strand of hair out of his face. He watched his sister leave and sighed briefly before getting up and brushing himself off.
'That's right, the Uzumaki are coming over today.' Cid thought. Cid was a slim young man with a muscular frame, short dark hair, black eyes, and facial features often described as generic and frail. He wore a simple white shirt with brown pants.
Cid had only one goal in life, to become the eminence in the shadows. Ever since he was little, he wanted to become a hero in the shadows, punishing evil and exerting influence from the dark side. This was and is his only true nature. Everything else around it was just there to help him achieve his goal.
But before he could make his big appearance as an eminence in the shadows, he would have to continue acting as a typical normal civilian. As an eminence in the shadows, it was important to come across as a completely normal person to the outside world. He had already trained in a few secret techniques that could help him improve his acting.
He had rescued and recruited the first member of his own organization, Shadow Garden, a few months ago. A month ago, she had come back with another girl, and she told him about Naruto Uzumaki and his abilities.
Alpha had suggested Naruto Uzumaki join the ranks of Shadow Garden. Cid didn't think much of it and rejected the suggestion. As a male main character, as an eminence in the shadows, Naruto's abilities would be completely out of place! Cid would have to do a lot of checking today before he could actually implement certain plans. But Naruto would be the perfect candidate as the typical male lead who got all the attention and so Cid could hide behind Naruto in his normal role and emerge in the shadows as an eminence when the time came.
This would be a good option for Cid, but first he would have to go to his sister. Otherwise, she would come back and really wake him up with cold water or other tools.
Naruto watched his parents take down some robbers. On the way, some robbers appeared and tried to kidnap his family. Of course, the robbers had no chance against either of his parents. He held back because he didn't have to do anything here. Although both of his parents now lived in seclusion in the provinces, both were still famous sword masters who had each won a major tournament and thus became famous. They had both even managed to obtain a noble rank through their successes.
At the moment he was just standing in front of the carriage and watching his parents. He didn't even know that there were such large gangs of robbers. About 30 robbers had stopped the carriage and wanted to kidnap Naruto, Minato and Kushina.
There even seemed to be a few skilled swordsmen among the robbers, but they still had no chance. His father was nicknamed Yellow Flash because he was so fast. His raw speed was hardly unmatched by other sword masters.
Naruto heard a whistle in the distance and looked in that direction out of curiosity. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a black figure at the edge of the forest. The figure wore a purplish black suit with golden accents. His face was hidden by a dark shadow formed from his hood. This outfit consisted of a long coat with open neck lapels and high boots. Under his coat, he wore a tight vest and belt.
The figure looked at Naruto, he could feel it. Naruto looked at his parents and saw that they were still busy disarming the robbers. They didn't kill them because they wanted to capture the robbers.
Naruto looked back at the figure and saw it turn around and disappear into the forest. Naruto could now just stand in front of the carriage and not get dragged into anything. He thought about how to handle the situation. He didn't know exactly why, but he could sense a similar magic from the guy as from Alpha. Naruto had an idea that he could learn more about the Demon Possession and other things from this figure. He looked briefly at his parents and then at the edge of the forest.
He closed his eyes and suddenly sprinted from a relaxed stand. He kept an eye on his parents so he wouldn't be seen by them. Within 2 seconds he had disappeared from the carriage and was in the forest. Naruto sprinted through the forest at superhuman speed, following his senses.
He ran past dozens of trees and saw in the distance the place where it all began. The abandoned village where he had killed the robbers and found Natsume and healed her after several weeks. It had taken him 8 minutes to complete the entire route and was now standing at the edge of the forest, still fit and without any sweat on his body. His clothes and hair still moved a little due to the quick movement.
He could see him, the man in all black. He stood in the middle of the deserted village, in the shadow of a house. Naruto slowly walked from the edge of the forest to the abandoned village, paying attention to the guy's every reaction. One thing was clear: the guy wasn't much older than Naruto. He was even a little smaller than him, but he still radiated power. He could control his magic well, and Naruto could feel that directly.
When he was 10 meters away from the guy, he stopped and didn't say anything. "May I know what you brought me here for?" asked Naruto.
"My name is Shadow; I hide in the shadows to hunt shadows." Shadow said, while in his right hand a sword appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't a normal sword made of steel; Naruto could see that straight away. It had the design of a broadsword, but the material appeared to be the same as the material of his suit.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, only son of Kushina and Minato Uzumaki." Naruto said. He drew his sword from its sheath and held it next to him. Shadow looked at Naruto's sword and commented, "A mithril sword."
"Oho? You can tell I have a mithril sword, even though it looks like any other steel sword, I'm a little impressed." Naruto said. He had forged this sword himself when he found mithril from some robbers a few months ago.
No matter how good your magic control was, certain steels have different conductivity efficiency. For iron it was only 10%, for steel 20-30% and for mithril 50%. Naruto wanted a weapon that met his needs. Conductivity efficiency of 50% was enough for him. He also didn't know of any other materials that had even better conductivity efficiency.
Shadow and Naruto just looked at each other and kept their weapons at their sides. Nobody said anything and a strong wind began to blow through the deserted village. You could immediately feel the tension in the air.
"I've learned a lot about you, Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm curious if you're really as good as they say," Shadow said. His voice seemed far too deep for his size, but that was nothing special. Naruto could at least influence his own voice, which he did now.
Naruto could see Shadow's arm twitching, holding his sword. Naruto simply raised both arms and grabbed his sword by the hilt and held it next to his head. "Let's find out."
In a fight someone found out more about an opponent than many people thought. It was just like back in the Elemental Nations where he fought with Sasuke. In the middle of the fight, someone could understand his opponent better. It was similar to where he locked fists with someone. It couldn't be explained, but you could understand the person opposite better and find out a lot about him.
Shadow got into almost exactly the same basic position as Naruto, with his legs positioned slightly differently. He seemed to smile when he saw Naruto's stance. Naruto didn't make the slightest movement at the moment. His eyes locked on Shadow and nowhere else.
Naruto and Shadow just stood there and didn't move until they both suddenly disappeared briefly and appeared in front of each other. A loud clang noise could be heard. Both had crossed swords and Naruto could immediately confirm that Shadow was strong. He hadn't wasted a bit of magic in his attack. His control over his magic was very high.
Naruto and Shadow crossed their blades again 4 times in a row, all the while producing yellow sparks and loud clang noises. Naruto jumped back a little and dodged a horizontal sword slash. Naruto and Shadow now stood a few meters apart and just looked at each other.
You could see something strange, even though both of them had only crossed their blades 5 times so far, both seemed to be smiling. Naruto's eyes turned blood red and his pupil became a slit. Naruto couldn't see it clearly, but he could see 2 red lights in the shadow of his face.
Shadow took a step forward and suddenly was no longer there. Naruto didn't move or look around. ,I am impressed.' Naruto thought as he held his sword behind him and blocked a sword slash from Shadow. Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw no one. He held his sword to the side and blocked another sword strike from Shadow. 'That he can also do such techniques.' Naruto thought to himself.
This time it was Naruto who suddenly disappeared. Shadow just stood there and now the roles seemed to be reversed. Shadow stood on the spot and blocked Naruto's 3 attacks, which seemed to come out of nowhere. Both used a simple principle in attack.
Naruto called this technique Trackless Step. He used breathing techniques and footwork to slip into his opponent's subconscious and thus briefly disappear from his perception.
Shadow knew a similar species, but he used magic to hide his presence. Naruto used a pure martial arts technique, without magic. He had developed this technique himself in his old life and since this technique did not require magic or chakra, he could of course use it in this world as well.
Naruto appeared directly in front of Shadow and swung his sword vertically. Shadow blocked the attack and both of them started a wild sword fight where a normal human would only see glowing lines around the two and yellow sparks. The ground began to crack, and a strong wind emanated from the two as they continuously crossed swords with each other.
Both made no unnecessary moves and countered the other using the most efficient method. Naruto and Shadow smiled the entire time they attacked or blocked.
The strong wind caused by the two of them kicked up a lot of dust. More and more dust gathered around Shadow and Naruto as both of them continuously crossed blades. It was almost as if the world didn't want anyone to be a part of the spectacle.
The two's blades met and this time they rubbed against each other, trying to push each other away. A lot of yellow sparks could be seen as the two opponents tried to push away. Shadow's purple magic began to appear around him, and Naruto's gold magic began to appear around him. The black-purple sword began to glow a bright purple and Naruto's sword flashed gold.
The ground beneath the two was torn up and the cracks widened on the ground. "NAAAAHHHHH!" They both screamed and were thrown back by a shockwave. Both disappeared into the swirling dust and could no longer be seen.
Naruto landed safely in a crouch and slid slightly across the ground before coming to a stop. He stood up and jumped onto a nearby tree. He had already found out a lot about his opponent in the wild fight. He could tell his control over magic was very strong.
He had already partially figured out his beliefs and he didn't like them. Although the two had barely spoken to each other before, the two had had a long conversation during the fight.
This type of conversation was only possible between two opponents who were at the same level of strength or had already achieved a certain level of strength. Naruto had been surprised that Shadow had appropriate answers to his reactions.
'He wants to do everything in the shadows, much like Sasuke.' Naruto thought to himself. It was truly amazing how much 2 warriors could learn from each other in just one fight. They didn't reveal their innermost secrets, of course, but they learned enough about the other person to understand their goals and the background behind them.
'Shadow had always dreamed of being a hero in the shadows. That was all that mattered to him. He would fight anything and anyone if it stopped him from being the hero in the shadows.' Naruto thought a little irritated. He had seen this kind of thinking often enough. Be it Itachi, Sasuke or other shinobi from the Elemental Nations.
Itachi Uchiha had sacrificed his entire life and even at the end only a handful of people knew about his heroic deeds. Sasuke also initially wanted to do everything alone and, in the shadows, while he was with Orochimaru and grew stronger so that he could one day hold his brother accountable.
What happened when he made it? He only fell deeper into the darkness and instead of being a hero from the shadows, he became a criminal and killed countless people. Naruto had almost lost everything more than once because he wanted to help Sasuke.
It could well be that Shadow could become a criminal as well.
In this life he had both of his parents and Naruto's first priority was to protect them. They could of course take care of themselves, but if someone ever appeared and attacked them, Naruto would fight that person. No matter who it may be. His family had always been the most important thing in his life.
In his old life, his family was the village of Konoha and all the friends he had made on his journey to become Hokage. In the new world, his family was both his parents and his family's employees.
Naruto looked around and just waited for the dust to slowly settle. He had realized one thing straight away when he fought Shadow: he would have to get stronger faster. He didn't know if he was as strong as Shadow or if Shadow was stronger than Naruto.
Neither of them had fought with their full strength. However, he would have to train much harder from now on so that he could continue to protect his family and the people who were important to him in the future.
So far, he has been able to enjoy his life and bask in the peace he had. But from now on he would become more active again. He heard Shadow's voice as it slowly grew quieter.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I look forward to our next dialogue," Shadow said. Naruto couldn't see him anymore as the dust completely disappeared. He jumped from the tree and landed in a crouch and then stood up. He sheathed his sword and looked around.
The two had destroyed some of the ground in front of the abandoned village in the fight. He heard his father's voice in the distance and that was his cue to get out of here. He was about to leave until he saw long golden hair. He turned to one of the many trees and could see the two of them again.
Alpha and Natsume stood there and looked at Naruto. They just looked at him and said nothing. Naruto could hear his father's voice again. "I assume Shadow saved you, Alpha. Whatever you and Shadow do in the future, I will protect my family." Naruto said. He then turned around and stormed away. Everything in his field of vision became blurred due to the high speed at which he was moving.
"Beta, have you made your decision?" Alpha asked. She looked at Beta, previously called Natsume, and waited for her answer.
Beta watched Naruto leave, remembering everything he had done for her. It wouldn't be now, but eventually Shadow and Naruto would fight again. She simply owed everything to Naruto. He was the one who pulled her out of the darkness and gave her hope again. When she came to herself, he was with her and didn't take advantage of the situation. He had helped her and comforted her. He could have done something else with her and yet he wanted nothing in return.
"No," Beta said.
Alpha just nodded and then looked back in the direction where Naruto had disappeared. She just hoped that Shadow wouldn't decide that Naruto would become an enemy of Shadow Garden. Otherwise, she would have to fight Naruto in the future. For one thing, he saved Beta and for another, he didn't seem like someone who would do anything bad. When you were near him you felt a certain calm and clarity. She wasn't sure how to describe it. She had already noticed it back then.
He was the kind of person who helped without asking and didn't want anything in return. She had been watching him from afar for the past month. She had learned a lot about him, and nothing suggested that he was an evil person. The only question was whether he knew everything about it. So far, he had shown no signs of knowing about the cult or anything else.
Naruto blocked a sword slash from Claire and then took a step to the side and dodged a vertical upward slash from Claire's sword. Naruto swung his own sword and Claire blocked the sword blow but was pushed back a little by the force.
Naruto stood ready as Claire rushed at him again and attacked him. The fight between the two had started a minute ago, but Claire and Naruto's parents could see straight away that Naruto was no weaker than Claire. He was able to block every single attack and countered effectively.
Naruto raised his sword and blocked a sword slash from the right, then from the left and then he took a step to the side and dodged a thrust attack. 'She definitely uses more advanced techniques.' Naruto thought to himself. Claire's sword style relied more on advanced techniques rather than the basics like his own sword style.
There was nothing wrong with learning a sword style where more advanced techniques were learned. Such a style of sword suited people like Claire better because she was a genius and learned these techniques quickly.
In a few years, she would definitely be a well-known sword master. Naruto was sure of that as he countered Claire's coming sword slash with his own. The loud sound of metal on metal could be heard before both opponents moved away from each other.
Cid was currently drinking a cup of tea and watching the fight, somewhat bored. He had learned a lot about him in the fight with Naruto. He even smiled slightly at the memory of his fight against Naruto. His abilities were exactly as Beta described them and as he imagined. He also had high magical power and high control over his magic.
The dialogue he had with Naruto was the best he had so far. With Naruto he hardly had to hold back, and he was actually able to have a real dialogue with someone who could give him appropriate answers.
He liked his sword style, which was based on the basics just like his own. The way he wielded his sword was precise and had no unnecessary movements. Naruto was a warrior, just like himself. He never imagined that there would be anyone else in this world besides him who would be so strong at such a young age. He even had a mithril sword, which was much more effective than iron or steel swords.
However, this could also cause problems in the future. Naruto was the complete opposite of Cid. He had no intention of walking in the shadows, but rather walked in the bright light. His golden mana color further supported this statement. He was like the sunlight, while he himself was like the shadow in the darkness.
Cid always wanted to be the eminence in the shadows, a hero in the shadows. But if there was already a hero in the light, would people even want a hero in the shadows? He couldn't imagine it and that's why he would watch Naruto in the future. If he got too much recognition and was celebrated as a hero, people wouldn't need "Shadow" at all and so his role as an eminence in the shadows wouldn't come into play at all.
However, this all remained open, and he would decide when the time came. So far there has been no reason to worry. After all, there was no major organization threatening the world. He had only made up the Diablos cult and had never heard of a real criminal organization before.
You could see Naruto knocking the sword out of Claire's hand and winning the duel. Cid just watched and continued drinking his tea.
Only the future could tell what would become of Cid and Naruto's union. Would the two become friends or would the two become enemies?
(A/N I hope you all enjoyed the third chapter of Golden Spellsword. I wish you all the best and would appreciate a review! Stay strong, smile and laugh a lot with your family and friends!)