Naruto - Azure Awakening

Raiga moved through the thick fog with slow, deliberate steps. The mist clung to him like a shroud. His grip on the twin blades tightened, the familiar weight grounding him. These swords — his swords — were more than weapons. They were power. His reputation. His survival.

And he knew what people whispered. That without the swords, he was nothing.

[Let them think that.]

It didn't matter. In the end, he was the one still standing, and they were the ones left in pieces.

His gaze locked onto Mei. To him, she was just another target. Another soon-to-be corpse. Nothing more, nothing less.

Though, if he was being completely honest…

There was something thrilling about snuffing out the life of a beauty like her. Watching their eyes fill with despair in those final, fleeting moments. He'd never say it out loud, of course. But the truth? He enjoyed it.

Mei stood her ground, unmoving. Her eyes tracked Raiga's every step through the fog. 

She wasn't afraid. No, Mei knew her own strength. She trusted it. But she wasn't foolish either — Raiga had the advantage. His swords weren't just tools; they were extensions of him. A living, crackling force of nature.

[This will come down to strategy.]

She flexed her fingers ever so slightly, preparing herself. The moment he slipped — even a fraction — she'd strike.

Raiga's voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"You seem nervous, girl." His tone dripped with condescension, a mocking smile curling at his lips. "Why don't you just surrender? Maybe I'll let you live if you give me a good enough reason."

Mei didn't flinch. She didn't even blink.

Instead, she smiled — a cold, calculating smile.

"You seem to be imagining things, fake swordsman. Maybe it's you who's nervous."

The words hit their mark. Raiga's smile didn't falter, but his eyes sharpened.

And then, he chuckled. A low, rumbling sound.

[Unbothered. Of course he is.]

"Fake, huh?" he murmured. "If you survive this… maybe I'll entertain that conversation a little longer."

Then, without warning, Raiga surged forward.

His twin swords ignited with a blinding white light, sparks of lightning dancing along the blades. The fog hissed and as he closed the distance between them in an instant.

Mei tensed, her hands flowing through a sequence of hand signs.

"Lava Release: Lava Wall!"

The ground rumbled as molten rock surged upward, forming a glowing, crimson barrier between her and Raiga. Thick steam hissed from the lava, filling the air with a burning, metallic scent. The heat radiated outward, distorting the air between them.

Mei kept her distance. She wasn't foolish enough to engage Raiga in close combat — not when he wielded the Kiba blades, legendary weapons crackling with lightning chakra. Getting within arm's reach would be suicide. No, her goal was simple: bait him, test his reflexes, and figure out his fighting style from a distance.

[He's reckless. Confident. That's good.]

If Raiga were the cautious type, he might have noticed that Mei was keeping her distance. He might have questioned her tactics.

But Raiga wasn't cautious.

To him, this wasn't a battle of wits or strategy. It was just another hunt. A matter of when, not if. His victory was a foregone conclusion in his mind.

The molten wall brought his charge to an abrupt halt. Raiga skidded to a stop, sparks crackling along his twin swords. He tilted his head, grinning through the haze of steam.

"Little girl's scared of fighting a big boy, huh?" he taunted, his voice cutting through the sizzle of lava.

In a blur of movement, Raiga flickered to the side, reappearing around the edge of the wall. His swords crackled with raw electricity as he closed in on Mei, who was already retreating, her feet barely touching the ground as she leapt backward.

Mei's lips curled into a smile.

"Is there someone else here? I don't see a big boy."

Her words were meant to taunt, but there was a strain in her voice. Her focus was split — she needed to buy time to prepare her next move.

Raiga chuckled, closing the distance faster than she anticipated.

"Running won't save you," he said, his voice low, almost amused. "I'll catch you soon enough."

Mei's hands blurred again, weaving seals as she landed on a rocky outcrop.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

She inhaled deeply, chakra surging through her body. Then, with a powerful exhale, a torrent of water blasted from her mouth, crashing toward Raiga like a tidal wave. The roar of rushing water drowned out all other sounds as it surged forward.

Raiga's grin only widened.

"Got you," he muttered.

With a sharp swing of his left-hand sword, a bolt of lightning exploded from the blade. The arc of electricity crackled through the air, meeting the wave head-on. For a moment, the water hissed and steamed as the lightning coursed through it — but the sparks didn't stop. They traveled with the wave, using the water as a conductor, hurtling toward Mei with blinding speed.

Her eyes widened.

[Too fast!]

She leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the electrified wave as it crashed into the rocky ground behind her, shattering the terrain. The residual sparks danced across the wet stone, crackling menacingly.

Raiga didn't let up. He flickered forward again, closing the gap.

"Give it up," he growled, raising both swords high. Lightning danced along the blades, illuminating the foggy battlefield. "It's over."

But Mei wasn't done.

She slammed her hands together, forming another set of seals.

"Lava Release: Lava Dragon!"

The ground trembled as molten rock coalesced into a serpentine form. The dragon's molten body twisted and writhed, glowing with intense heat as it lunged toward Raiga, jaws wide open.

Raiga cursed under his breath, swinging both blades to intercept. The lightning-infused swords sliced through the dragon's head, splitting it in two — but the molten halves exploded on contact, sending chunks of burning lava flying in every direction.

Raiga shielded his face with his arm as the debris rained down, hissing and sizzling on the wet ground.

"Persistent little b*tch," he muttered, lowering his arm. His eyes narrowed as he spotted Mei through the haze.

She was already moving again, darting between rocky outcrops, her hands a blur as she formed more seals.

"Water Release: Water Cannon Jutsu!"

A sphere of water surged toward Raiga. He saw it coming and leapt into the air, twisting mid-flight to avoid it — but Mei wasn't aiming to hit him either.

She was positioning him.

The moment his feet touched the ground, another jutsu followed.

"Lava Release: Lava Shot!"

A glob of molten lava shot from her mouth, sizzling as it arced through the air toward Raiga. The heat from the attack was palpable, even from a distance.

Raiga's reflexes kicked in. He swung his second sword, cutting the projectile in half mid-air. The two halves splattered harmlessly to the ground on either side of him.

"Nice try, sneaky girl," he muttered, his voice lower, less mocking now. "But it's not enough."

Mei smirked.

"Are you sure?"

Raiga's eyes narrowed. There was something off about her tone.

A flicker of movement caught his attention to the left.

His head snapped to the side just in time to see Mei's clone rushing toward him. The clone wasn't avoiding his blade. It was charging directly at him.

"What the—?"

Raiga swung his sword, slicing through the clone — but instead of dissipating, the clone embraced his arm.

The realization hit him too late.

"Damn it—!"

The clone ignited in an instant, exploding in a violent burst of molten chakra. Lava debris shot out in every direction, scarring the ground and sending Raiga flying backward.

The explosion wasn't massive, but the impact was devastating.

Raiga hit the ground hard, skidding across the rocky terrain. He gritted his teeth, clutching his left shoulder, which was now charred and smoking.

"What… is this technique?" he hissed through clenched teeth, his voice laced with pain and anger. His left arm hung limply at his side, useless.

Mei landed gracefully a few paces away, her eyes locked on him.

"This?" She smiled coldly. "This is a little girl's secret."

Raiga struggled to his feet, his right hand still gripping one of his swords. His breathing was labored, his confidence shaken. The smug arrogance was gone, replaced by something colder.

"You'll regret that," he growled.

Mei didn't wait. She charged forward, her hands already forming more seals.

"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"

The ground beneath Raiga began to bubble and melt, turning into a pool of searing hot lava. Raiga cursed, jumping to the side — but Mei was relentless, closing in fast.

[Time to finish this.]

Mei's hands moved swiftly, forming a new sequence of seals.

"Lava Release: Lava Shot!"

A chunk of molten stone launched from her mouth, sizzling as it cut through the air.

Raiga's eyes narrowed as he tracked the projectile — but something felt off. His senses sharpened, and then he felt it. A faint fluctuation of chakra behind him.

His instincts screamed at him to turn.

Pivoting quickly, he spotted Mei charging toward him at full speed, her hair flowing behind her, eyes locked on him with fierce determination.

[Another lava clone, huh?]

His lips curled into a snarl.

"I won't fall for the same shitty move twice," he hissed.

Without hesitation, he charged at Mei who just shot lava stone, electricity crackling along his remaining sword. The molten stone hurtled toward him, but he sliced through it with a single swing, the molten fragments scattering across the ground, hissing as they cooled.

Raiga's chakra flared wildly, sparks dancing along the blade. The sheer force of his lightning made the air around him hum with energy. Even injured, his speed was overwhelming. He closed the distance between them in moments, each step sending cracks through the ground beneath his feet.

Mei leapt backward, trying to retreat, but she was too slow. Her chakra reserves were dangerously low, her movements sluggish. Raiga could sense it.

[It's over. She's running on fumes.]

Despite his battered state, Raiga's confidence surged.

[It was more difficult than I expected… but I'll still kill this b*tch.]

His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword as he closed in, raising it high. Sparks crackled around the blade, the electricity dancing like wild snakes in the air. As he swung downward, the side of his blade arced toward Mei's chest, a monstrous wave of lightning following its path.

The blade hissed through the air, mere inches from her heart.

But something was wrong.

Raiga's eyes flicked to Mei's face — and saw it.

A smirk.

Time seemed to slow as his brain caught up with what his instincts were screaming.

[Shit. She tricked me.]

The body in front of him shimmered, twisting into familiar crimson. The form collapsed into molten lava, and before Raiga could react, the clone detonated.

The explosion wasn't as large as the previous one, but Raiga was in no shape to defend himself. The blast sent him flying backward, his body slamming into the ground with a sickening thud. Smoke and molten debris rained down, sizzling as they hit the wet rocks.

As the smoke began to clear, Mei stood motionless, watching.

Raiga's body lay sprawled on the ground, twisted and mangled. His left arm was completely gone, torn away by the blast. His flesh was scorched, his once-pristine robes now little more than charred rags clinging to his broken frame.

But he was still moving.

With sheer willpower, Raiga crawled across the scorched earth, dragging himself toward his remaining blade. His fingers scraped against the ground, leaving bloody streaks in the dirt.

It was a pathetic sight.

Mei's eyes followed his desperate attempt. There was no pity in her gaze, only quiet resolve.

[Even now… he's still trying to fight.]

Raiga's trembling hand stretched toward the hilt of his sword, fingertips brushing against the metal.

Before he could grasp it, Mei lifted her hand. A small chunk of molten stone formed at her fingertips, glowing with lethal heat.

"One down," she murmured, her voice soft but firm. "Six more to go."

With a flick of her wrist, the molten stone hurtled through the air.

It hit Raiga's head with a sickening crack. His body stilled instantly like a puppet with its strings cut. Smoke rose from the point of impact as the molten rock seared into his skull.

Silence fell over the battlefield.

Mei stood there for a moment, unmoving. Her expression remained cold and composed. The fog swirled around her, hiding the bloodied ground beneath her feet.

But inside, her thoughts churned.

[Kiri is dying.]

The thought gnawed at her.

Their true enemies weren't outside their borders. They weren't foreign invaders or rival villages. No — Kiri was killing itself, tearing itself apart from within. The civil war, the bloodshed, the endless cycle of violence…

It was all self-inflicted.

Mei let out a slow breath, her gaze lingering on Raiga's corpse.

[This isn't a victory. It's survival.]

Without another word, Mei turned and walked away, the mist swirling around her, shrouding the battlefield in silence once more.

But she didn't leave empty-handed - she had Kiba Blades.

**

A/N - If you are enjoying the novel please comment and give it a review, it will help me a lot.

I like this version of Mei better — she's hot-blooded, but also calculative, cunning, and kind. She'll play a key role in this story, especially since the starting point is the Land of Water.

You've probably noticed that I've started shifting the timeline already. This will continue as the story progresses. Rather than rehashing slightly altered versions of familiar events, I want to offer a unique perspective and original story. I'm not changing everything — major characters, groups, and most key events will stay relatively intact. But this novel will tell a different story, built within the Naruto universe.

If you have suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments! Even if you don't, just letting me know what you think would be super helpful. ^_^

Character Notes:

Kaoru - Still MC - "I'm supposed to MC, but Maki and Mei get all the attention"

Mei - First Big Fight - "This was too close, If he had a brain I'd be dead now"

Raiga - RIP - "GIVE ME MY BLADES BACK!"

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