Pierrot the Dark Jester

"Parrot? What kind of name is that? You aren't even a bird!" Naruto's words made Pierrot want to slap himself.

'This is the child I was told to test? Old man, you owe me for this.' "My name is Pierrot, insolent child! How a brat like you possesses great power is beyond me…Especially the power of darkness." Pierrot whispered mostly to himself.

"Brat? Sorry, but you don't get to call me that!" Naruto was ready to go, only for Choza and Shibi to stand in front of him.

"Sorry kid, but he's ours. You don't know how dangerous he is, his minions were only small fries." Choza was an experienced warrior and knew that Naruto could not challenge a man like Pierrot…..yet.

"Ah, Choza Akimichi. I heard about you and your great strength. But you are a fool to think that I only brought mere foot soldiers with me." Pierrot's shadow extended and a large arm appeared beneath it. Choza and Shibi moved out of the way as a man who towered above Choza came out of the ground. He had neck long, black curly hair, and overly muscular body with a gladiator-type attire. "Where are my manners? Meet Raze." Naruto wasn't too impressed, Lee thought he looked strong, but Choji and Shino felt fear.

"Shibi! I'll handle Pierrot, you handle that Raze guy!" Choza rushed at Pierrot who turned into a shadow, running way from the fight, but Choza gave chase.

'I heard of you. Over 10 years ago, you were imprisoned for fighting in illegal tournaments and brutalising your opponents. You were caught, but not before killing 10 people. You were given the name Raze, Raze the Butcher.' Shibi summoned his insects to attack Raze, only for Raze to slash them with his hands. 'Tiger claws?'

"Shino! You and the others get the townsfolk to safety. Do not fight this man, he's far too dangerous for yo…" Shibi did not finish his command as Raze already appeared in front of him. Shibi made an insect shield and jumped back.

"What should we do, Naruto?" Lee asked the blonde, who looked serious.

"You guys get the people to safety, I'll back Shino's dad up. Besides, I feel like punching something." Naruto told them with confidence, his fists covered in darkness. Lee then realised something.

"You just want to fight him!" Lee accused his leader, who smiled at him, before rushing towards Raze and Shibi. The other three looked at each and began evacuating the townspeople.

"Tiger Claw!" Raze was incredibly fast despite his size.

"Swarm fist!" Shibi held out his open palm and released a swarm of insects which were shaped like a fist. Unfortunately, Shibi's attack was avoided as Raze was too fast for him and almost slashed his chest if Shibi had not manipulated the insect swarm which formed his fist into a makeshift shield. 'This is situation is undesirable. His physical abilities exceed my own by a large degree and no doubt his magic is enhancing those said abilities. His hands resemble tiger claws, meaning he may be using a form of Transformation Magic?' Shibi was analysing his opponent for any weak points. He noticed that Raze's legs were that of a tiger too.

"Shibi Aburame. You do not stand a chance against me." Raze's body glowed and changed into a humanoid tiger. "Your fighting spirit is weak!" He began to overpower Shibi's insects.

'He's became a beast! His bloodlust…..' Shibi was pushed back and sent flying but Raze was not done and followed him using his superior speed. 'His physical strength has increased significantly!'

"This is the end!" Raze was about to strike Shibi, only to be hit face first by a darkness-enhanced fist. Naruto had joined the battle. Shibi managed to rebound because of Naruto's timely save.

"W-Why are you here?" Shibi was surprised to see Naruto here.

(Play My Hero Academia OST-Bakugo Theme)

"Sorry old man Shibi, but I couldn't stand back. Don't worry, I told the guys to get the people to safety. And I'll be the one to beat this tiger-guy up!" Naruto readied himself Raze, who was still disorientated from Naruto's surprise attack from earlier.

'That attack packed quite a punch.' Raze spat out a bloody tooth. 'Darkness?' Raze looked at Naruto and grinned ferally. "You're dead brat!" He moved fast and would have struck Naruto if not for Naruto releasing a beam of darkness which split into several smaller beams, only for Raze to move past them.

"Got you!" The beams Naruto released turned around and hit Raze. This only slowed Raze down, who managed to almost tackle Naruto if not for Shibi sending a swam of his insects to push Naruto out of the way.

"Thanks, old man!" Naruto annoyed Shibi, but the experienced wizard had just used these moments to analyse Raze.

(OST End)

'This form of his gives him increased strength, speed and durability. However, he has still taken damage and his movements were sluggish at that moment. Clearly Naruto's attacks have some effect.' Shibi began to strategize.

"I didn't expect a child like you to already have this level of strength. But my Beast Magic more than triples my strength. So, make it easy on yourself!" Raze had a bloodthirsty grin on his face and looked like he could eat the two in front of him.

"Sorry, taking the easy way out ain't my style. And I haven't even started yet." 'Can I finish him off with Dark Blitzkrieg? At my level now, it's much more powerful. Or I could use Dark Drill?' Naruto could feel Raze's bloodlust and instead of fear, he felt excitement. 'This guy's got nothing against Bluenote.' Naruto had the image of large man with a ponytail in his mind.

"Naruto. Please allow me to handle this, he is an animal who will have no qualms in killing you." Shibi warned the blonde, who looked at him seriously.

"I know, but unless you have an attack that can take him out, then I'll be the one to fight him." Naruto then felt an attack coming from Raze and channelled darkness through his feet to propel himself to the air. Raze then spun and leaped towards Naruto's location.

(Fairy Tail OST-Salamander)

'That attack! It's like Tsume's Fang Over Fang! But it is much faster and presumably more powerful!' Shibi was quick to action and fire a swarm of insects like cannon shot and they hit Naruto out of the way. Shibi then repeatedly fired another using his other hand.

"Annoying bugs!" Raze tore through the swarm, only for the insects to explode upon contact. However, it was not enough, and he turned his attention to Shibi. Raze spun much faster and smaller slashes showing. Shibi then created a large wall of insects to protect himself, using whatever magic he had left. Raze began to tear through Shibi's defence.

'This is bad! I'm even utilising my poisonous insects and with the dosage, even they aren't slowing him down. No, he's taking them out before they can infect him!' Shibi then focused on making more layers of insects

'Old man Shibi needs help!' Naruto made several dark blasts from his hands to propel himself towards Raze and Shibi. As soon as Naruto got closer, he surrounded his entire body with darkness. 'Well, let's try it out! Dark Drill!' Naruto spun around and hit Raze dead on, causing a shockwave which blasted Shibi back.

'NOOOOOOO!' Raze was overpowered and taken down, his helmet shattered, and he reverted back to his human form.

(OST End)

'This boy…he defeated a seasoned wizard like Raze without a scratch. He underestimated Raze a few times but he could have defeated him by himself. He's reckless but he has potential.' Shibi was exhausted and took his time to recuperate.

"That's one down and one to go!" Naruto breathed heavily for a few second before he sat down. "Just five minutes and we'll go find the other guy."

"Apologies, but I'm afraid I don't have the strength for another battle." Shibi told Naruto that he was at his limit. 'If this was 10 years ago, I would have been fine, however, I am no longer in my prime or anywhere near it. I have become rusty compared to Choza.'

"Alright, I'll head on out and find old man Choza." Naruto was excited to see Choza battle after hearing about him from Lee.

"If you intend on fighting, perhaps stop being so reckless. You have immense power for your age, but you are reckless. You underestimated your opponent and could have gotten hurt if not for my insects." Shibi was blunt.

"Nah, I had under control. I could block his attacks or moved out the way by myself. But you did go to all that effort and I did make it seem like I was in trouble. Besides, a few scratches won't stop me." Naruto had sparred against tougher people than Raze and he was much stronger than when he fought that wyvern.

'He propelled himself towards us and used a powerful offensive spell to defeat Raze. That means he could have used his powers to escape. Not to mention he was able to cover his body in darkness to minimise the damage from Pierrot's shadow….perhaps I did underestimate him.' Shibi then stood up. "I apologise for my assumption. Then I request that you help Choza out, Pierrot is much stronger than Raze." This made Naruto excited.

"You can count on me. But first I have to find them." Naruto was then answered by Shibi.

"From the direction they headed, it would be north of here. Carry on that way and you may find them." Shibi told him.

"Thanks. And I'll make sure to punch that Parrot creep for you." Naruto ran north and only made Shibi sigh.

'His name is Pierrot….that boy, he is reckless and not the brightest, but he reminds me of you old friend.' Shibi had the image of a familiar person on his mind. The image of Minato Namikaze.

(Choza vs Pierrot)

"Hold still!" Choza grew in size and was now a giant. However, he could not hit Pierrot due to his shadow form. He was now behind Choza's left ankle.

"Oh my, Mr Akimichi, I did not think you would become this angry." Pierrot remerged from the shadow and summoned several sharp tendrils which pierced Choza's left ankle.

"Agh! That hurst you little…." Choza tried to keep his balance.

"All you did was make yourself a bigger target. You may have great strength and normally your power is enough, but I am no mere grunt you can push around." Pierrot smiled at Choza's misery, only to feel a force pulling him out of the ground. 'W-What!?' Pierrot was pulled out and flung by Choza. 'Shadow Guard!' Pierrot used his shadow to summon tendrils which joined together and formed a sphere around him. This would protect him from Choza's oncoming fist.

"I'll flatten you!" Choza declared and his giant fist hit Pierrot's Shadow Guard. The sphere hit the ground with splat, Pierrot was back to normal except for some dirt and crack on his mask.

'That was close!' Pierrot moved out of the way from Choza's right foot, which would have no doubt crushed him to death if Choza didn't held back. 'Let me show you the true power of my shadows!' Pierrot saw Choza's right fist come at him and he created a large shadow spike which pierced Choza's forearm before his fist could hit him. He quickly dissipated the shadow spike before Choza could use his strength to pull out of it. He went back to targeting Choza's ankles.

'This size isn't helping me. It relies on brute force and I am too slow to react.' Choza's speciality was overpowering his opponent, but Pierrot was a nimble and tactile-type fighter. Choza swung his staff instead and slammed it, causing the ground to break and make Pierrot lose his balance, who then quickly turned back into a shadow and travelled through the giants rocks Choza created. As Pierrot neared Choza and stepped out of his, the man called the Great Yokuzuna shrunk back to his regular size and enlarged his left hand to the size of a boulder. He hit a palm strike, making Pierrot fly back. However, Pierrot had used his shadow to defend himself.

"You know, I'm wondering why you turned up to this town? And why are you leading bandits? Our town hasn't got much to offer in comparison to others, so why?" Choza asked the masked person, who stood back up.

"I see you could tell that I am no ordinary criminal. What gave it away?" Pierrot's masked cracked even more and the left side of it fell, revealing his yellow eyes.

"A big name like you was a big clue. Shibi told me on how strange an infamous dark wizard like you was coming here. No, you're here for something, or is it someone?" Choza glared at him as Pierrot started laughing, almost maniacally. His shadow was moving on its own until it separated from Pierrot, though Choza did not notice this.

"To test someone. Attacking this town was just a diversion to drag him out. That blonde child, Naruto." He stopped laughing but retained a smirk behind his mask after seeing Choza's shocked expression.

"And what do you want with him?" Choza's eyes narrowed at this.

"Me? Nothing. Someone he knows wants to test his progress. Of course, destroying this town was just us my subordinates having fun." When he said that, it infuriated Choza. "But I did not expect to see someone like you here, I simply thought that this was just a regular town. You are much sharper than your friend Shibi Aburame."

"Shibi has not been in combat for a long time but fighting in festivals prevented me from getting rusty. But back to business, you won't get a chance to test Naruto!" Choza then noticed that Pierrot's shadow was no longer connected to him. "Your shadow…Crap!" Choza was too late as he was stabbed in the back and on his knees now. Choza turned and saw Pierrot's shadow, its silhouette was shaped exactly like Pierrot and its eyes were simply holes that you could see through the other side.

"Oh, forgive my rudeness. Meet Shadow Pierrot, he has a mind of his own." Pierrot took out some throwing knives. "Now let us end this so I may finish my task."

"Dark Bullet!" A voice shouted out and knocked Pierrot's knives out of his hands.

"Ouch! Who dares!?" Pierrot and Choza heard the person's voice.

"Yo! Thanks for making that noise, made it easier to find you. Plus, you know, not many giants here. Thanks for that old man Choza!" Naruto had his right hand in a gun motion.

"Kid! You shouldn't be here!" Choza was worried now. 'He has no idea why this clown is here…..dammit! he's fallen for his trap.'

'He came here. What splendid luck!'

End. Sorry for the shorter chapter, but hopefully you enjoyed this one. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone too. Also, Raze was just a test character, Pierrot will be Naruto's first stepping stone you could say.

Naruto could take on Raze easily, considering he defeated Lee, but Shibi was being too overly cautious. And no, Shibi is simply reminded of Minato and his confidence. You see, Shibi knows Minato and so does Choza, but right now they have not connected the dots completely, mainly because Naruto is different to his father, only sharing a few similarities, like their confidence and fighting spirit. Also, whilst Naruto looks similar to Minato, he does not completely look like him and his personality is different.