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[—NTLS—]
Chapter Forty Eight: Sun Wukong Part II
The stadium went dead silent.
Naruto felt the Black Flash amplification of his senses overcome him. His senses were in overdrive, and every drop of chakra felt in tune with his soul.
He slammed his fists together with a loud smack. "Let me show you just how strong your future summoner is, Sun!"
He's strong!
That was the first thing that Naruto noticed. In return for the ample amount of strength, was the physical motility that was missing in the large body of Enma's doppelgänger. The huge body swung their giant fist towards Naruto, forcing him to retreat backwards in fear of the massive blunt force threatening to take his life.
Activate Gokēn Taijutsu!
The knowledge of the Taijutsu of a particular green-clad boy filled his mind. Naruto rushed forward with newfound purpose, eager to inflict his own pain on the enemy before him. He jumped over a sweeping kick, and transformed his movement into a flying kick that aimed straight for Sun's head.
Obviously, it wouldn't just be that easy.
Taijutsu fights at the highest level were like a board game, Shogi, for example. It was a miniature war of minds, with the participants having to try and predict the next move of their opponent's while simultaneously moving at the same time.
So when Wukong opened his mouth and bared his fangs towards his soaring foot, Naruto couldn't do much but panic for a brief moment,
[Iron Skin!]
CLANG!
Teeth sank into his right foot, but didn't budge any further. Sun's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing merely milliseconds later.
While Naruto had managed to avoid the shearing pain of incredibly sharp objects piercing into his skin, he was now in a very precarious situation.
He hung helplessly in the grasp of Wukong.
Two, thick paws swung inwards, trying to end the battle with one strike by utilizing the immense power that the form of Enma gave the prodigious monkey. Naruto pulled upward with his core, finding the space to evade the first strike. Sun had clearly expected some movement, and timed his second strike to perfection, clubbing Naruto in the side of his ribs.
He gasped in pain as his body recoiled at the sudden impact. Blood trickled in the inside of his mouth. FUCK! I CAN'T EVEN USE SHADOW WALK WITH EVERYONE WATCHING! FUCK!
Naruto used the searing pain as a conduit to keep his focus square as he tilted to the side to avoid a collision with Sun's knee that rose quickly to end the fight once and for all. Not on my watch. He focused chakra into the palm of his hand, urging the energy to churn and rotate as fast as possible. In record time, there was a Rasengan in his hand.
A vicious hook landed straight onto Naruto's face, comically turning his face to the side with the force that it applied.
At the same time, however, Naruto had swung his own hand forward. The ball of destruction made contact straight into Sun's chest. He unfortunately did not have the time to actually push deeper with the jutsu, but it was enough to finally get out of the killer hold he was in.
Naruto spit out the blood that was pooling in his mouth to the side, relishing the taste of iron that filled his mouth. His face was swollen on one side from the hit. Regardless of the burning pain, he managed to bring out a smile. "That hurt, didn't it?"
Sun touched his chest where the Rasengan had hit by instinct before snarling back. "Hmph. I can't feel a thing! Truth be told, I thought you were ugly before I hit you in the face. But now…good luck with the ladies!"
"I'm fine with the ladies!" Naruto retorted.
Wukong nodded knowingly. "That's what they all say, don't they?. It's fine, not everyone can have both killer looks and amazing fighting skills like I do," he tutted exaggeratedly, wagging his finger. "Though, it is a shame that you have neither."
Alright, enough of this conversation! I don't think my pride can handle any more of that.
Naruto surged chakra through his entire body, exerting his presence into the real world.
Wukong's tail went still in alertness, his eyes widening once more. "How much chakra do you even have?"
The Jinchuuriki grinned. "More than you."
He pushed on his left foot, launching forward with great velocity as he pulled on the well of energy in his body that was begging to be released. Fighting Sun's Enma form was getting easier. It seemed as if Sun wasn't too comfortable with the form, or was using it more as a form of show if anything. He was large, clunky, and somewhat slow compared to the normal Wukong. Nevertheless, Naruto was forced to be on his toes to prevent any serious damage to his body in case he got hit even once.
A burst of fire released from Sun's mouth after a series of quick hand signs, forcing Naruto to respond with a jutsu of his own. "Water Release: Surging Sea!" A tidal wave of great volume erupted from his figure, encapsulating the fire and turning the once monstrous flames into sizzling fumes of steam that had no effect other than covering the air with steam.
A pole pierced through the wall of steam and straight for Naruto's face.
His quick reaction time saved him, moving his head to the right at the last possible second. The pole then continued to the right, albeit with not as much speed. The pole could obviously only extend forward and backward with such quickness, and any medial or lateral rotations would have to be done with Sun's own strength.
An idea forming in his mind, Naruto grabbed the crimson staff as fast as he could, applying his chakra onto it.
Sun pulled his pole back, wondering why it felt somewhat slower than usual.
"WOOHOO!" A grinning Naruto shouted as he surfed on the retracting pole with both feet as he received a one way ticket straight for Sun.
What the hell is wrong with this guy? Sun couldn't help but think as he hastily stopped the retraction of his pole. Quickly switching from retraction to elongation was the toughest part of the monkey staff, and something which he had practiced for many hours. Currently, the switch took around one second for him to do, the fastest time among his peers.
However, one second was simply too long.
Too long for shinobi who were able to accurately analyze the weakness from a single bout and use it to their advantage.
Too long for shinobi like Naruto Uzumaki.
He was already running forward on the pole, showcasing perfect balance as he glided across the weapon. Exactly before a second was over, he jumped onto ground once more, now in close proximity of Sun who had no other option to drop the weapon for the time being.
The monkey raised his arms to block—
"BLACK FLASH!" Naruto shouted as his fist bludgeoned into the blocking arms of Wukong.
Black sparks didn't fully develop, but the punch was more than effective, breaking through Sun's guard and busting up his nose. The monkey's transformation disappeared differently to how Naruto's henge would. It wasn't like there was a large eruption of smoke or anything of that sort. It was almost like some hidden mist which slowly evaporated away to reveal the true form of Sun.
Naruto looked at his bloody fist with a frown. I should have landed that Black Flash…the fight would definitely have been over by now. That's what happens when you depend on a skill that doesn't have a full chance of success. What should I have done there better? Rasengan is the only other option, but the issue is the time taken for it to form. Sun would have had a better blocking position with more time to prepare for the hit.
[Scanning…]
Eh, what is it scanning now? Naruto wondered curiously. He shook his head. Whatever, doesn't matter right now.
There was a sudden change in the atmosphere,
Naruto felt the air on his forearm rise.
It was the same transformation jutsu as before. Energy continuously poured into Wukong's form as he closed his eyes, filling his body with ethereal chakra that Naruto couldn't quite identify. This time, Sun's form grew smaller and smaller. His back arched forward and his height decreased tremendously. The youthful skin on his face grew wrinkles and folds that were previously absent. The flowing mane of fiery hair that was present on his face receded and was drained of color.
This was…the Keeper from before. The first monkey Naruto had seen in this place.
The small figure of the Keeper looked comical in front of Naruto who had just fought against the fortress that was Enma. Regardless of that fact, the blond was wary. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. The younger Naruto would have laughed in the face of his opponent who didn't look like much, but with experience Naruto knew to never underestimate your opponent. The smallest of adversaries could be your biggest problem.
Sun rolled his shoulders. "Ah…it's been a while since I've been in this form. It's weird being this small, hehe."
He brought a hand to his mouth, forming a single hand sign with his fingers. Naruto immediately went on the defensive. The monkey ballooned his cheeks, and slowly pushed out air. The expired air slowly morphed into a thicker, darker mist that quickly took the given space it had. It didn't continue further up once it reached Naruto's height, meaning Naruto could still see the ceiling clearly. Everywhere else was fair game for the smoke, however, and Naruto quite literally couldn't see a thing.
WHOOSH!
A kick struck him directly in the stomach, his reflexes bringing his hands to his tummy an instant later.
He's quick!
A small fist struck his back afterwards from behind.
When did he—
An elbow found itself digging into his ribs.
"Urgh," Naruto exclaimed with pain as he pushed his body backwards.
He began jumping backward as high as possible, getting out of the viscous mist that plagued his vision. Unfortunately for Naruto, Wukong was too short to be seen. That jutsu is perfect for him. That's probably why he took that form. This was an eye-opener for Naruto. He had to assume the Keeper created the jutsu to serve him specifically. Zabuza had a technique of his own which created mist which functioned similarly. The difference was that Zabuza's technique used more chakra and was more vast. Also, there was still some degree of visibility in the rogue ninja's mist. On the other hand, this was near zero.
How would Naruto counter this?
I need to focus on listening to him. Naruto thought carefully, closing his eyes.
His opponent had to be making some sort of noise with the type of propulsion he was making.
Naruto looked over at the shouting monkeys in the audience. "EVERYONE, SHUT UP!"
The stunned silence was enough.
Nothing.
Nothing.
NOW!
Naruto jumped upward as he heard the sound of movement filled his ears. Something whizzed through the place he was standing just a second before from underneath him.
Yes!
As Naruto began landing downward once more, a familiar crimson staff erupted from below and extended straight towards his falling body. There was nothing he could do but accept the pain. Maybe if he was allowed to use shadow clones there was a possibility of pushing himself to the side with the clones, but that wasn't a possibility with the conditions he had agreed to.
The only thing he could do now was to minimize the damage as much as possible. He rotated his body so that the staff grazed the right side of his shoulder, the iron aspect of his body trying its hardest to absorb as much damage as it could. The staff hit hard, revolving his body as he landed without even a modicum of balance.
Sun wouldn't stop there, however. It seemed as if the monkey wanted to end the fight here and now.
Another barrage of hits rained upon Naruto, who took it as best as he could. Jumping upward was a no-go, as having to avoid the pole was an even worse experience.
How?
HOW?
HOW DO I SENSE HIM?
There has to be a weakness somewhere. Something that I can exploit! Naruto thought, his mind racing a thousand miles per hour as he tried to avoid another hit to the side of his gut. Sensing…how did the Hokage sense me that one time? How is it that they are able to do so? It has something to do with chakra. Everyone's chakra is unique to their own being—no one can have identical chakra signals. That's basic academic stuff. How do I—Naruto groaned as the staff struck his knee. How do I expand that to sensing?
Beaten up, bleeding, and suffering with several wounds all over his teared up clothes, Naruto suddenly had an epiphany.
He let go of all the chakra in his body.
Naruto knew he was incredibly susceptible at this moment. But he couldn't care less. His chakra seeped into his surroundings, taking the shape of a large sphere. Similar to the Rasengan, specifically. Every second, the chakra around him dissipated, forcing Naruto to continuously fuel the sphere of energy around him. For anyone else, this would be an idiotic thing to do, draining them of their chakra in seconds, but not for Naruto.
He closed his eyes.
Sun Wukong charged forward, fast as ever. He trudged forward. This fight should end soon. He thought with a small frown. Sun was at odds with himself. Why would he be sad that the fight would be concluding now? He should be excited to be winning! But the nagging thought that maybe this Naruto brat was a worthy summoner was pestering the corner of his mind.
Whatever.
I'll end it here.
The warrior monkey surged chakra into his fist as he reached Naruto, who still had his eyes closed for some strange reason. He aimed straight for the blond's temple with efficiency and speed, knowing that contact would end the fight right here and then.
Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes.
A shade of blue that Sun wouldn't forget for the rest of his life entered his vision.
Naruto caught the incoming fist, with the palm of his hand.
Because whenever something entered his sphere, he felt it.
Hiruzen stood up from his seat, his hand clenched tightly against the rail in front of him. An ear-to-ear ear smile was etched across his face.
This kid…
The blond smiled crookedly as he let go of the sphere surrounding him, allowing the remaining chakra to enter his body with immense influx.
He raised his other fist.
BLACK FLASH!
Sun's breath caught in his chest as the black flash streaked toward them, impossibly fast, its edges shimmering like a tear in reality. The air seemed to warp, sound fading into a terrible, suffocating silence. He tried to move, to raise their weapon, but it was like fighting against the weight of the entire impact came before he even registered it. A searing, unnatural force slammed into his core, sending shockwaves of agony through his body. It wasn't just pain—it was like a part of them was being unraveled, their strength and resolve pulled apart thread by thread. The world around him twisted, his vision fracturing into shards of light and shadow.
Sun staggered, his knees buckling under the sheer weight of the attack. His breath came in ragged gasps as an icy numbness spread outward from the point of impact, gripping his limbs and stealing their warmth. He reached out instinctively, his fingers trembling as they struggled to keep hold of the fading edges of consciousness.
Time slowed. The crowd around them faded into a distant hum, drowned out by the pounding of their hearts and the crackling void left by the strike.
The last thing Sun Wukong saw was sparks of black and red.
[Ding!]
[You have created a user-unique skill.]
[What shall you name it?]
[end]
My Pa tre on is back online for those who want to read THREE chapters or THREE WEEKS ahead (chapters 49, 50, 51) and support my endeavor to become an author. So if you can't wait for the next update—check out:
P a treon . com (slash) PaladinKaladin
That's the end of the Wukong fight! Hope you liked it, xD.
Question of the day!
What's your favorite fight in Naruto? Mine personally was Bee vs Sasuke and the rest, regardless of how short it was.
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