Larry's POV
Larry found himself in an unfamiliar place. Initially, he thought he was dead, but the experience was unlike anything he expected. Instead of the coldness of death, he felt warmth and comfort. Staring into the white abyss around him, he wasn't even sure if he was completely nude. Suddenly, he heard a voice that made him turn his head, and he saw a golden figure approaching. It wasn't walking in the traditional sense; it seemed to float towards him, simultaneously flowing like a liquid and a gas. Larry sensed solidity in its form.
"I've been watching you, Larry," the figure said in a deep, calming voice. Larry felt an unexplainable relaxation, despite the alien nature of the situation.
"Who are you, and where are we? I want answers now," Larry demanded, uncertainty evident in his voice. The situation was entirely foreign to him, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was meeting God or something else.
"Who I am, even if I wanted to tell you, you wouldn't be able to comprehend it. Plus, it doesn't matter, not yet at least," the golden figure responded. Its eyes scanned Larry, taking in every detail, making him shiver for reasons he couldn't explain. In response to Larry's second question, the figure explained they were in between, not dead but not alive either – a state known as limbo. The figure assured Larry that he wasn't one of those undead beings.
Larry found the situation oddly amusing. "Limbo, huh? Not dead, not alive. Makes me laugh. My life has always been nothing, so I guess this fits perfectly," he said with a smile.
The figure expressed curiosity about Larry's life. Larry dismissed it as uninteresting, describing it as the most boring life imaginable. The figure disappeared, stating that Larry needed to confront his demons and find peace within himself to leave this place and reunite with his daughter and the boy. Larry was reluctant but understood the gravity of the situation.
As the figure vanished, Larry noticed the environment around him changing. It felt different, and a faint recognition of the place stirred in him, like a lost memory resurfacing.
Naruto's POV
Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see his friend Emily in the doorway of the meat locker. He smiled, got up, and immediately hugged her. The rest of the group, except for Lee, shared in the surprise and smiled as well.
"I missed you, my friend," Naruto said, relieved to see her. As he hugged her, he realized she was covered in blood. When he questioned her about it, she assured him it wasn't hers, alleviating his concern. The rest of the group was also curious about what had happened to her.
"I'll tell you after I get some rest," Emily said, starting to fall to the ground. Naruto quickly caught her and carefully laid her next to the wall inside the meat locker. Grateful for Emily's help, Naruto expressed his thanks, saying, "Thank you, my friend, for getting us out of here."
Kenny, unfamiliar with Emily, asked, "Who in the hell is this?" Naruto introduced Emily as his friend and the daughter of the St. Johns. He warned the group not to have any funny ideas, assuring them he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"Don't worry, Naruto. We're not going to do anything," Mark assured, looking at Kenny. Kenny, although disappointed, acknowledged it and walked out of the meat locker.
Naruto, curious about Emily's belongings, noticed a bag on her. He took the backpack off her and checked it. Excitedly, he exclaimed, "Holy s***, guys! You should look at this. Emily did just get us out of here; she Might have saved us," Naruto said, elated. Lee agreed, expressing gratitude to Emily. They discovered various weapons in Emily's bag – a hammer, a wrench, two Glock 19 handguns, a bow and arrow, a hay hook, a monkey wrench, a taser, a handgun, and a sickle. Each member of the group armed themselves, preparing for what lay ahead.
"Now that we're armed, what's our game plan?" Mark asked, voicing the collective nervousness about their chances of survival.
"The only thing that matters now is getting my family out of here," Kenny declared, determined.
Lily, still harboring resentment towards Kenny for his actions, confronted him. "That's sweet coming from you, trying to kill my dad. You're only out for yourself, Kenny. I hope you can live with yourself, you piece of s***."
Kenny defended his actions, stating that he did what he had to do. Lee intervened, quelling their bickering. Clementine chuckled at the exchange, finding humor in their dispute.
Lee proposed a plan, dividing it into two teams. Mark and Lily would provide cover, while Lee, Kenny, and Naruto would confront Andy and the mysterious vampire man in the house. Before executing the plan, Lee asked Clementine to keep an eye on Emily and Larry, instructing her to use the hammer in the bag if needed.
"Okay, Lee. Please be safe and be lucky too," Clementine said, offering words of encouragement. The group positioned themselves around the door, with Lee and Kenny peering inside to see Guard and Danny waiting outside. Recognizing the safer option of just two people being inside, Lee decided to sneakily approach and take them down.
"Let's do this quietly. We knock them out, or we kill them if necessary," Lee explained as the group prepared to execute their plan.
Lee and Kenny executed their plan, sneaking up on Danny. However, Naruto became anxious and closed the door, worrying that Lee and Kenny might need backup. When Naruto cracked the door open, he witnessed Danny aiming a gun at Lee. Before Naruto could react, Lily and Mark intervened. Lily hit Danny with a wrench, causing him to stumble and get caught in a bear trap.
Everyone surrounded Danny as Mark shut the barn doors, a smart move considering the danger. Kenny, furious, demanded to know the whereabouts of his family. Danny resisted, revealing that they needed a vet. The group heard a gunshot from outside, and Kenny anxiously shouted for Katjaa.
Mark calmed Kenny down, assuring him they would rescue his family after dealing with the current situation. Lee seemed internally conflicted, and Naruto hoped he wouldn't lose his humanity in the process.
Danny tried to justify his actions, claiming it was necessary in the harsh world they lived in. Lee, aware of Danny's crimes, expressed anger. Naruto sensed the rising tension and hoped Lee wouldn't succumb to his anger.
When Danny admitted to killing the woman in the woods, Lee became furious. Danny, claiming that keeping him alive was essential for the group's survival, pushed Lee to the brink. In a fit of rage, Lee plunged a pitchfork into Danny, ending his life. Mark promptly handed Lee a gun, and he shot Danny in the head to prevent reanimation.
Despite the satisfaction of eliminating a threat, Naruto couldn't help but feel uneasy about the dark turn of events.
"Let's go, guys," Lee said coldly, sending shivers down Naruto's spine. Lee had never sounded this cold before. Naruto noticed Lily and Mark looking at the lifeless body with disgust, while Kenny flung open the barn doors, ready for action. Lee and Naruto nodded in understanding.
"Know your jobs, Lily and Mark. Keep them off us. I'm counting on you guys," Lee instructed, showing his trust in his friends. The trio – Lee, Kenny, and Naruto – ran out of the barn. Within minutes, they heard gunshots and voices in the distance, but none seemed to be heading their way. Naruto could only hope that everyone would make it out alive.
Lee POV
As Lee, Naruto, and Kenny make their way towards the front door of the house, they stop near the gate and hear the screams of Katjaa, as well as Brenda, saying something that makes Kenny impatient.
"Alright, Kenny, here's the plan. Naruto and I will go in through the front. You must enter through the back so we can catch them off guard. The element of surprise will be our key in this situation. You hear me?" Lee said, wanting to be firm with Kenny.
"Okay," Kenny simply replied. He walked over towards the side. Once they entered through the gate, they split up. Now, it's just Lee and Naruto. They quietly walk over towards the door, hearing mumbling and Coach's screams and worries.
"Andy? Danny? Is that you?" Brenda said. They did not know if they should respond to what Brenda said.
"What good would it do him to be out on us? Where are Katjaa and the kid?" Lee decided not to be discreet at this point. They made this even more clear by just walking over there without sneaking this time.
"Oh my God," Brenda said, horrified. "Come here," they heard Brenda say.
"Let me go!" Katjaa said in distress. They walked towards the front door, which had a black screen door. Lee opened the door, allowing Lee and Naruto to enter the house.
"You had to come and snoop around, did you?" Brenda said, clearly scared.
"Let her go, Brenda," Lee said, trying to talk Brenda down. Naruto was beside him, putting his finger on his mouth, giving him the sign to be quiet. "I'll handle this," Naruto immediately understood.
"And don't take another step," Brenda said, pointing a gun at Lee and Naruto. They immediately stopped in their tracks.
"Brenda, come on. Now you know you don't want to do this," Lee said, sounding as non-threatening as possible.
"Just go and leave us be," Brenda said, going up the stairs a few steps while pointing a gun near Katjaa's head. This prompted Lee and Naruto to move slowly.
"Stop right there, I mean it," Brenda yelled, pointing a gun at Naruto and Lee again. "Think about your husband, Brenda. Would he have wanted his diary to be turned into a slaughterhouse?" Lee asked, leaving it looking like he was getting through to Brenda, if not fully, a little bit.
"I'll kill you," Brenda said, going up a few more steps again. That's when Naruto and Lee noticed someone was up there. It did look like a walker, though, but someone was up there. They decided to put that out of their mind. They needed to focus on making sure Katjaa got out of there alive.
"Don't do it," Katjaa said, fear in her eyes. "Stay back, don't do anything stupid," Brenda said, pointing the gun at Naruto and Lee again. Lee noticed Naruto was starting to get fed up with this. In his relief, Naruto was still taking his approach, which did say a lot.
"What happened, Brenda? Your family obviously was smart. How did it come to this?" Lee wanted to know. Ever since he found out they were cannibals, he wanted to know why they came to this point.
"Just stop!" Brenda yelled in distress. She went up the stairs again. "Brenda, please!" Katjaa begged. "I don't want to kill you, Lee," Brenda said. The gun was shaking in her hand as she was pointing it at them again, but Lee's words were shaking way more than originally.
"Please, it came through to her. He just needs to push a little harder," Lee thought to himself. "This dairy was your pride. Look what you've done to it!" Lee yelled. For this, her hand shook even more when he spoke those words.
"Stop, I mean it!" Brenda said, shaking her head in frustration. They then went up a couple of steps. When Leonardo got to the staircase, Brenda went up again, and then unexpectedly, she got bitten, not by a walker, but by the vampire guy. He started sucking her blood, and something truly horrifying happened. Brenda's body started shriveling up like all the blood was being drained from her. When he was done, she was just a husk, just a skin. He did rip her to shreds.
"That is such a good meal. I've been waiting for a meal like that. Maybe I should thank you, but I'm doubting you're going to thank me," Jackson said, calm as always.
Without any warning, Jackson immediately, one second was on the top of the staircase, the next second he was right in front of Lee, trying to claw his face. "Rasengan!" Naruto called out, and a big ball of Energy slammed into the vampire, and he flung through the house to the outside. "Please don't worry. I'll deal with this. You go find Andy," Naruto said, completely serious. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. Before we could say a word, Lee just smiled at him.
"All right, I guess I'll go find Andy," Lee said. Then he heard a voice from outside. Lee immediately went out to go and deal with Andy.
Mark's POV
When Mark saw Naruto, Lee, and Kenny start sneaking towards the house, a bunch of Bandit guards spotted them. Mark and Lily began shooting, and they were pretty good shots, managing to kill the bandits with precise headshots. They quickly took cover as more bandits arrived, shooting back.
Mark made sure to stay calm in these situations, understanding the importance of keeping a level head. When he heard the bandits shooting, he shot back effectively, killing three of them before they threw a Molotov cocktail, setting their cover on fire. Both Lily and he started splitting up.
Mark, having no cover, started shooting and spotted a nearby tree with a swing. If he could get there, maybe he could have a better advantage. Luckily, he didn't get shot, but he did come close. He made it to the tree and saw three bandits near a silo and a tractor, unaware that he was behind the tree.
As he was about to shoot one of them, two of the three bandits got shot and died. It wasn't his bullets; he didn't notice it was Carly and Doug. They were in the cornfield, shooting the bandits from the silo.
"At least you got back up. Now, I better think," Carly said after they got out of this. Mark smiled to himself. He then shot the last bandit, and this gave him a perfect opening to go towards the silo.
He remembered the fence was electrified, so he had to figure out a way to shut down the electric fence. He also heard a big explosion and saw smoke from the side of St. John's house. "F*** it, everything's going to hell anyway," he thought. He aimed at the generator near the gate of the barn, shot a few times, and everything exploded, shutting down this part of the electric fence. He jumped over the fence and quickly ran towards the silo and the tractor.
Carly and Doug had the same idea. "Mark, are you okay?" Carly asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, just a little disoriented. This entire situation, f***," Mark said to himself.
"You're telling us. You don't know what we had to do to get you guys out of there," Doug said, relieved that Mark was okay.
"Where's everyone else?" Carly asked.
"It's a long story, but I'll give you a short version. It turns out these guys are cannibals, and they work for the bandits. Their leader is a vampire guy. I know it's pretty crazy. Me, Lee, Kenny, Clementine, Larry, Lily, and Naruto, they are all stuck in that meat locker. Luckily, this girl Emily came along, and now we're in the situation we are in now," Mark explained.
"Okay, that girl Emily, she also talked to us. We helped her get inside to help you guys. So it's true, there is a vampire. F****** insane," Carly said, still unable to believe what she had heard.
"Are you two the only ones who came here? What exactly happened at the Motor Inn?" Mark asked, concerned.
Doug grimaced when he mentioned the Motor Inn, which didn't help Mark's nerves at all. "Well, the Motor Inn got attacked. Almost everyone made it out alive. We only had one person who died, which was that dude David, the dude that knows her saves back in the forest," Carly explained.
"Holy s***, damn. David was such a nice dude, though. I guess it can't be helped. So what about Travis and that Ben kid? Where are they?" Mark asked, curious.
"Travis and Ben are on the farm. I think they're actually the reason why we had this huge fire that the bandits quickly put out," Carly said, probably referring to the two boys.
"I guess I'm glad we took those boys," Mark said, smiling to himself. "We should probably go and find them, right?" Doug asked, concerned about the two boys.
"Sadly, I can't. Hope you guys search for them. I'm supposed to give Lee, Kenny, and Naruto cover. So when you guys find Ben and Travis, can you give us some backup?" Mark said, going out of cover and seeing some bandits overwhelming Lily. He started shooting some of them down, leaving Lily in a tough struggle, which also prompted some of the bandits to shift their focus towards the tractor and silo area.
"All right, we'll do what we can. Just hold tight; we'll come," Carly promised.
"Quickly, go. I don't know how long I can keep these guys occupied for," Mark ordered, prompting Carly and Doug to quickly run towards where Ben and Travis went or, at least, attempt to find them.
Lee POV
Lee made his way out of the house and saw Andy holding Duff at gunpoint. Kenny was in front of Andy and Duck. In the distance, gunshots were making the situation even more hectic than before. Lee quickly got to where the two men were.
"Let him go, goddamn it," Kenny said, quickly rushing towards Andy.
"That ain't gonna happen," Andy said, emphasizing his point by shooting Kenny in the chest. Kenny crumpled to the ground, clutching his bullet wound. Any intent of saving his son was foiled by just one shot of that gun.
Lee knew he had to deal with Andy, not only because he was the only man standing, which was another reason, but the real reason was that he brought everyone here. This was his decision, and Lee went away to himself if he didn't feel guilty putting everyone in the situation. Lily was right; they should have just stayed at the Motor Inn where it was safe. But his decision was made, and now he needed to deal with the consequences, which Lee was glad to do.
"Andy!" Lee yelled, putting his arms up, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible.
"Who in the f*** Do you think you people are? Look at what you've done!" Andy gestured to the carnage happening behind the two men, or specifically, behind Lee. The shootout was happening behind them, and it looked like the bandits were slowly losing ground, which made Lee more confident that his group would make it out of there. "You brought this on yourself," Lee said. The St. Johns asked for this outcome. There's one thing you don't mess with, and you don't mess with his group. There are no circumstances that prompted something like this. Cannibalism is not the answer. Lee would keep that conviction to his grave, so yeah, they did have it coming.
"No, uh-uh. You did this. All we wanted was some little gas to keep ourselves safe," Andy yelled. Lee could tell Andy couldn't even see his hubris or even how stupid this entire plot was, even with all the help from the bandits. It was flawed from the start.
Andy then got shot in the ear, which ripped his earlobe, as well as some of his ear. Lee quickly looked back, and it was Emily, the girl, as well as Larry beside her, also aiming where Naruto was fighting that vampire dude Jackson. Lee had more pressing issues to deal with. He ran towards Andy, using the opening to get close and personal with him.
Naruto's POV
Naruto surveyed where his opponent was. He was surprised at how much of a hole he created. He was even pushing a lot of chakra into that Rasengan. A little bit more chakra, and he would have destroyed the entire house. He was glad that Doxie had drilled in some more chakra control training because if he hadn't, both Lee and maybe himself would have been dead.
Naruto spotted Jackson, or at least that's what he thought his name was. Yeah, he did say his name was Jackson. He blasted through the rubble with a monstrous roar, yelling. This dude is not human.
"Kid, you should really think about your next move here," Doxie said, right next to Naruto, surprising him. "How are you here?" Naruto asked, surprised.
"Do you think we really have the time to talk about this? It's not like in our mindscape where time is dilating. We're actually talking in real-time. It looks like he's rushing at you," Doxie said quickly.
Naruto was able to dodge out of the way and grab his hand, surprising the vampire. "How could you react to my speed? Only a certain amount of people could ever have done that, and all of them are dead," Jackson said, surprised but not afraid. He was more curious than afraid.
"I guess I'm just one of those humans that you thought you killed," Naruto said, confident in his voice.
"Don't get cocky, brat," Doxie said. "We don't know what this dude's true abilities are. Remember, you need to analyze. You must read his abilities and attacks as you're battling him. The more you get a better scope of his abilities, the better."
"Man, you're such a nagger, aren't you? But you are right. I need to really focus here," Naruto thought. They were talking telepathically.
Naruto brought his fist back, just like Granny Tsunade. He pumped chakra into his fist to give him the super strength ability that Granny had, as well as enhance his speed. Jackson couldn't react; he got punched straight in the face and was sent flying into the nearby countryside. This prompted Naruto to quickly run after him, speeding off past all the bandits. It was a few miles away from the dairy, and Naruto intentionally wanted this so nobody would get hurt.
"You're smarter than what I give you credit for. You proved me wrong again," Doxie said, surprised at her tenant's intelligence.
Travis's POV
Travis and Ben were running through the forest, not sure how far they were from the farm, but Travis could deduce that they were probably a couple of miles away. They had to stop running because they were so winded that they fell on their backs, just panting.
"Are you okay, Ben?" Travis said, panting, but he was still standing. After Ben and Travis collected themselves, they started thinking about what they were going to do now. They had pretty much just ditched everyone, and Travis felt guilty. He wanted to go back, but what could both of them do? They were just kids; they couldn't survive something like that. Travis thought to himself.
He then heard Ben speak, "I'm fine, Travis. What should we do now?" Before Travis could speak, they heard a high-pitched whistling sound. It was like a rhythm, but he didn't know where it originated. From what Travis could tell, it was coming from everywhere; there was no specific point he could pinpoint.
Suddenly, a man with an ax emerged from the foliage. This man was African American, with dark black hair, hazel eyes that looked dead inside, and black skin drenched in blood. Travis couldn't tell if it was from walkers or humans.
"Ah, fresh meat. It's been a while since I've been able to go on a killing spree," the black man said, reveling in the idea of slaughtering both Ben and Travis. The two boys were frozen with fear; they couldn't move.
Without warning, the African American man lifted a strangely familiar ax and swung it, attempting to decapitate both of them. They quickly ducked out of the way. Travis tried to grab his shotgun, but then he felt a pain in his back—a medium shriek of pain. The man had slashed a gash through his back, and it hurt like hell.
Travis heard Ben yell, "No, Travis!" as Ben tried to punch the man. The man, however, deftly ducked and retaliated by punching Ben square in the face, making him fall to the ground, dazed.
This gave Travis an opening, and he took it. He grabbed his shotgun, aiming it towards the murderous man. But before he could shoot, the man swung the ax, going straight through Travis's leg. At first, Travis didn't feel it, but then he felt an ungodly sharp pain, something he had never experienced before. He shrieked in absolute horror, pain, and disbelief—his foot was detached from his body.
Travis couldn't see clearly; the world was being consumed in darkness. The only thing he could see was the man looming over him.
"I'm glad this is going to be painful. I want you to feel every single pain. I want your death to be as painful as possible. I hope you can feel it in your dreams," the man said sadistically, smiling.
Everything went dark
Emily's POV
Emily woke up and could see a hazy figure as she opened her eyes. She brought up her hands and rubbed them, clearing up her eyes to see an old man.
"Are you okay, kid? You're not hurt, are you?" Larry said, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just felt so tired that I wanted to take a snooze, nothing more," she tried to shrug off Larry's concern, but he wouldn't have it.
"Kid, where are you going?" Larry asked, turning towards the red-haired girl that he had just met today. No, he didn't meet her today; he saw her at the dinner table.
Emily walked out of the meat locker. She was shot, and there was so much blood in the next room, probably human too, which made Emily disgusted if she wasn't already; she certainly was now.
"Holy s***, what the f*** Is this place?" Larry said, absolutely horrified at what he witnessed inside this room. Emily didn't notice Larry; his expression turned into one of messed-up nostalgia like something happened in his past that was sort of like this. She quickly walked out of the slaughter room, and if she thought the slaughter room was bad, what she saw next was even worse.
She saw her brother, pitchfork straight in his chest, dead. Emily didn't know how to feel. If she was being honest with herself, she was kind of weirded out by her older brother. He always did the weirdest s***, but still, he was her brother, and she loved him all the same. She started tearing up; first her father, and now her brother. But she did ask for this, didn't she? She knew the risk.
Emily then noticed a hand on her shoulder; it was Larry. He had a somber expression on his face. "He was your brother, right?" Larry asked, respecting his voice.
"Yeah, he was. He was so stupid, but he knew how to get stuff done. That was what he knew best," Emily said, reminiscing on good times. She leaned towards her brother's corpse and started rummaging through his pockets until she found a handgun, a revolver. He always kept a revolver just in case; his favorite weapon was gone, which would never happen. Danny always said he would rather die than let that happen, which is what it took because she could tell his gun was gone.
She exited the barn and was immediately drenched head to toe. But the thing she was focusing on was her brother, who was still alive, also holding one of Naruto's friends at gunpoint, a black African American, whom she thinks Naruto mentioned to be Lee. Lee looked like he wanted to end this peacefully, but Emily knew when Andy was angry, he didn't think about anything; he just thought about winning. He was always competitive that way, and to know what her family has become, as well as the farm falling apart, it doesn't matter anymore.
Emily lifted the gun towards Andy, and time just slowed down. She focused on the place she wanted to shoot, and like a zoom-in from a camera, she was able to see the ear that she wanted to hit. She pulled the trigger, and it hit the mark dead in the center. That's when Larry came out, really surprised. From his perspective, Emily immediately walked out of the barn and then shot a gun, and he didn't know what happened after that. Emily didn't blame him, though; she didn't notice Naruto and the vampire named Jackson going towards the countryside, so she decided to follow them.
Before she went, she made sure she got her screwdriver as well as the cross around her neck. She also dropped the backpack that would just weigh her down. The final thing she did before she left was to give Larry the revolver, which Larry was more than happy to receive, but he was surprised. He thought she would just run with it. He was so speechless that he didn't do anything or even follow when she ran towards where Naruto and that vampire guy were going. He didn't even register that part yet; he was more occupied with something else. But Emily focused on that now. She knew she must help her friend; she must at least try to help her friend. She realized she was going way faster than she thought she was, and it looked like she wasn't getting tired either. Emily didn't know what was happening to her, but it felt like her body had changed in some way.
Lee POV
Lee quickly ran and grabbed Andy's gun. When he did grab it, Andy tried to shoot Lee, but thanks to Lee grabbing the gun, it discharged, luckily not hitting Lee. They started struggling for the rifle, and Lee was able to knock the gun above Andy's lip. Both of them lost their footing and started rolling down the hill, crashing through the white picket fence around the farm's main house.
Lee tried to get up and get his bearings, but unexpectedly, Andy kneed him in the chin, making him fall on his back. His jaw and back were hurting, but despite all the pain, he got up. Andy got right on top of Lee and started beating his face. Lee tried to block as best as he could, but Andy continued beating him. This went on for about 3 minutes until Andy started to get tired. He decided to roll out of the way, successfully avoiding Lee's attacks. However, Andy quickly grabbed Lee's collar, and Lee struggled to get out of his grip.
Unnaturally strong, Andy pushed Lee towards the electric fence, positioning him to potentially get shocked. Lee leaned near the fence, anticipating the shock. Andy then started pushing him towards the barbed wire, and Lee struggled to resist. He was just one inch away from getting electrified when he saw Larry.
Larry pulled up a revolver and shot it at Andy, hitting him in the shoulder and making him fall on his back. This allowed Lee to start pounding Andy's face. Lee didn't care anymore; he just kept pounding, releasing all his aggression, anger, and rage. It felt like the same time when he found his wife sleeping with the senator – unbridled rage. How dare Andy think that they could be killed? What did he think he was, wanting to eat other people – an absolute monster? Lee wasn't even controlling his fists, giving Andy time to duck and avoid a direct hit. Lee continued his assault until Andy was on the ground.
Naruto's POV
Naruto and Jackson stared at each other in an intense staredown. Jackson made the first move, rushing toward Naruto with blinding speed. Naruto phased, avoiding Jackson's punch aimed at his face. He caught Jackson's fist in his palm, then elbowed him in the nose, followed by a powerful kick that sent Jackson flying into a few trees.
Confident, Naruto exclaimed, "This is a piece of cake. This dude can't even get through my guard. See, Doxie, this is going to be a cakewalk. I just know it."
Jackson exploded debris off himself, clearly annoyed and angry. Wondering how a mere human boy could be stronger than him, Jackson questioned his strength. Naruto, still in a defensive stance, was ready for Jackson's next attack.
As Jackson sped towards Naruto, Naruto dodged each strike with precision. However, Jackson shifted his approach, becoming more strategic and precise in his attacks. Naruto was surprised by the change, allowing Jackson to land a few strikes on him. Despite the pain, Naruto quickly recovered.
Switching to the offensive, Naruto wielded his sickle and attempted to slash Jackson's chest, but Jackson skillfully evaded the attack. Naruto then aimed for Jackson's feet, attempting to cut them off, but Jackson effortlessly jump-dodged the attack. Jackson delivered a powerful kick to Naruto's face, sending him flying and breaking a few trees in the process.
Mocking Naruto, Jackson said, "Is that all you got, kid? Your arrogance is going to be your undoing. You can't even hope to defeat someone like me. Vampires are better than humans in every way – stronger, faster, more intelligent. I'm not sure why God had so much faith in humans and didn't put all his faith in us. But I don't question the man upstairs, not yet, at least, not until the red moon is."
Ignoring Jackson's arrogant words, Naruto shrugged off unnecessary questions about the red moon. He focused on winning this fight and didn't let Jackson's taunts affect him.
"About being human, you gave up your humanity a long time ago, it seems, which is completely disgusting. Giving up your humanity for power is the most despicable thing you could ever do. Well, there are way more despicable things, but I wouldn't even be surprised if you have done even more repulsive things. Indeed, you are a monster, that is for sure. But at least humans have a choice to be evil or good. It seems you monsters are only evil to be evil; you have no choice," Naruto said, expressing disgust but also feeling empathetic for the creature that was Jackson.
This angered Jackson to no end. In an instant, Naruto blinked, and Jackson was gone. The next moment, Naruto found Jackson right in front of him. With only a few seconds to react, Naruto leaned his back backward, performed a free fall, spun, stretched out his arm, and grabbed dirt, creating a big dust cloud that blocked Jackson's view. Annoyed, Jackson just blew away the dust by clapping his hands.
When the smoke cleared, Jackson almost got his head split open by the sickle that Naruto threw. He quickly dodged it by weaving his head out of the way. Naruto rushed in, attempting to punch Jackson's face, but he got his guts spilled out by Jackson's claws – at least, that's what Naruto thought. In the confusion, Jackson heard another pop behind him and quickly looked back. The real Naruto, sickle in hand, tried to slice his head, managing to catch a few strands of his hair. Jackson punched Naruto straight in the gut, making him fly a few feet above the tall trees.
Naruto then saw Jackson disappear from the ground, and he felt a huge force pounding his back. Luckily, Naruto's body was durable enough to handle Jackson's attacks. If it were any other man, their spine would have been broken. Naruto fell to the ground, creating a small crater. Jackson landed next to the crater, saying, "I guess my job here is done, and no human could survive something like that."
He said, truly believing he won. He turned his back, walking away towards the farm. However, what Jackson didn't know was that multiple figures were coming out of the smoke behind him. When Jackson finally noticed, it was too late. He was then punched and kicked. First, he was kicked in the air, and he heard, "Uzumaki secret technique: Uzumaki Barrage!" Many clones, like 2,000 of them, started pounding on Jackson with their legs and arms. Jackson felt his bones crack.
Jackson turned and quickly clawed some of the clones, but with 2,000 of them, he just started going on a rampage, tearing them apart. However, more clones kept coming, overwhelming Jackson. He tried to use his senses to fight them – hearing, smell, taste, and feeling – but even this wasn't enough. He was forced to use his sixth sense, a time-slowing ability he could only use once a day. He quickly killed all the clones in 10 seconds flat, but only one second passed in real-time.
From Naruto's perspective, one moment all the clones were gone, and the next moment, Jackson was going for an attack. Naruto narrowly avoided it, with Jackson only getting a few strands of hair. "You are truly a worthy opponent. Indeed, I have never had to use this ability in hundreds of years. I have never felt this alive before. I can't wait to sink my teeth into you. You will be such a treat," Jackson said, eager to kill his most formidable opponent in 100 years.
Naruto decided to get some help, so he bit his thumb and performed the hand signs for the summoning jutsu. "Wait, Naruto! We don't know what will happen if you use that jutsu, or in another world, who knows if the toads can even come here? Besides, you'll just be wasting chakra if you do that," Doxie warned, regretting reteaching Naruto that jutsu. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.
"We won't know until we try, Doxie. You know this better than I do," Naruto argued and added, "We don't have any time to argue." Doxie had absolutely no footing in this argument; now she just had to wait.
Doxie said, "Well if you die, it won't be my fault," concerned but not trying to show it. Naruto knew that she was concerned, so he tried to summon the chief toad, Gamabunta. However, he ended up summoning Gamakichi, and Naruto facepalmed.
"You kidding me?" Naruto said, which made Jackson stop. "Seriously, this kid summoned a tiny toad to help him fight. What a stupid move! Are you serious? The only thing you can summon is the Chief Toad's son!" Doxie yelled in total disbelief at Naruto's absolute lack of control over his chakra.
"Oh, hey there, Naruto. If you have any candy for me?" Gamakichi said, not understanding the situation or caring, but quickly getting all the toads.
Naruto and Gamakichi had to quickly dodge out of the way when Jackson jumped up and tried to punch them from the air. His landing even formed a crater that Naruto was slammed into.
"On second thought, maybe I should leave, Naruto," Gamakichi said, getting scared.
"Oh no, you're not getting off the hook so easily. You know what I had to do to get you here. You're going to help me, and it better be a good help. If it's not, I'm going to whoop your ass after I kill that dude over there," Naruto threatened the toad.
"Fine. So what is this dude all about? What are his abilities so far? Heck, tell me anything. I need some information here," Gamakichi said. Naruto gave him a quick rundown of what happened over the past months.
"Okay, the only thing I could use that could be useful is my toad fire breath. So, that's not really that strong," the toad said. Naruto frowned in dismay; he thought it would have better luck than this.
"All right. If I give you chakra, will the blast be stronger?" Naruto offered.
"Actually, yeah. That would really help a lot. If you and my chakra can sync together, we can use a collaboration jutsu that blasts this guy into whatever crevice he came from," Gamakichi said. Naruto was surprised by this.
plan. It's well thought out, more than Naruto initially thought. Personally, Naruto thought he was pretty dumb and a crybaby, but his opinion changed. They were forced to put their plan into action when Jackson came a few feet from them. Naruto placed his hands on the back of the toad, channeling his chakra.
"Hurry up, he's coming," Naruto urged, trying to synchronize their chakras.
"Don't rush me! I don't quite remember the hand signs. If you stop yelling in my ear, I can remember better," Gamakichi yelled. Naruto was angry, but he knew that if this collaboration jutsu worked, it could help them defeat Jackson.
Jackson was getting closer, making the toad and human more scared and urgent. Gamakichi was able to do the hand signs in time, and Naruto connected his chakra to his. They released the jutsu, creating a huge fireball, even bigger than what Sasuke had used against Naruto during the Valley of the End. Jackson was directly hit by it.
After the jutsu, Naruto felt winded but far from chakra exhaustion. He still had enough for a few Rasengan. Gamakichi, on the other hand, was severely chakra exhausted and couldn't even move.
"Thank you, Gamakichi. I can take it from here. You can dispel yourself if you want," Naruto said, rushing towards the flames to find Jackson. Naruto estimated that after such an attack, he'd need to put way more effort into taking Jackson down.
Naruto found Jackson with his clothes burnt off, revealing ripped muscles. Scorch marks covered him, but it looked like he was physically capable. Naruto charged a Rasengan and rushed at Jackson, who stood his ground. Jackson tried to counter, but Naruto dodged and planted the Rasengan on his back, creating a huge crater.
Jackson had a hole through him, but Naruto saw his organs regrowing rapidly. In just a minute, Jackson was fully healed. Naruto was stunned and tried to make two Rasengans. However, when he looked into Jackson's eyes, he felt an inexplicable urge to go towards him and hug him. He couldn't resist it and was knocked out of his daze when Doxie punched him in the head.
"What the hell just happened? I'm confused and scared," Naruto said.
"Pull yourself together. I don't know what he did to you, but it might be some sort of genjutsu. I don't sense any chakra from this man, so it might be something else related to the mind. Be careful, don't look at his eyes. I've only seen one pair of dojutsu that could do that, and I was a victim of it a long time ago. Trust me, it's not fun being controlled," Doxie said seriously.
kind of serious. Naruto didn't know what the place was, so he decided to focus on not looking at Jackson's eyes.
"Fine, I guess I'll start getting serious now. You have really pushed my buttons, boy. Let me show you the true power of a vampire!" Jackson exclaimed.
He transformed into a bat with tremendous speed, reappearing as a human in a flash. Naruto got punched in the face, and then Jackson transformed into a bat again, appearing behind Naruto and kicking him into the air. Jackson continued transforming between human and bat forms, unleashing a barrage of attacks until they were a few feet up in the air. In the moonlight, Jackson finally said, "I can taste your juicy blood."
He grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, who was weakened at this point, and bit down on his neck, sucking everything he was worth. Naruto could only see a blur, and even his sight wouldn't help him, as he could only see the trees below him. Despite his weakened state, his other senses allowed him to hear a yell.
Arthur notes
Writing that chapter was challenging for me. I had to think about the implications of the fights for the rest of the story. I had to switch between old and new story ideas, but I believe this is probably my best work yet. I may be a little biased, and that's why I have you guys to set me straight. That's pretty much it for my thoughts. Episode 2 will end in like two or three chapters. The thing I do know is that it's going to end soon, and I can't wait to get to episode 3. I will give episode 3 a completely different name. The episodes going forward will have more differences throughout the first season. I do want your thoughts about this episode. Did you like it? Were you indifferent, or are you even calling it pure fanfiction trash? That's all I wanted to say see you in the next chapter