Naruto: The Chosen Undead

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Chapter no.67 Shimmering Secrets

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Naruto stared at the crystal lizard cradled limply in his arms, its tiny body gleaming faintly even in its unconscious state. He couldn't believe it had worked.

He had used a storage seal to trap the creature, tossed the scroll into the inventory, died in Lordran, and woken up back in his room. Now, here it was—a living thing from another world, safe in Konoha.

"Man, I actually did it," he whispered, marveling at the shimmering creature. The triumph was short-lived as his gaze flicked to the clock on the wall. His stomach sank.

He was late. Kakashi-late.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

He looked back down at the crystal lizard, its faint shimmer a stark reminder of what he'd done. A weirdly cute, otherworldly creature—brought here through sheer stubbornness and recklessness.

Naruto scratched his head, letting out a long sigh. I really shouldn't have brought you with me, he thought, shaking his head. "Now I'm in such a pickle."

The lizard twitched faintly in his arms, and Naruto couldn't help but smile wryly. "Welcome to Konoha, buddy. Let's hope I don't regret this."

The lizard, of course, sparkled faintly in its unconscious state, as if even passed out it wanted to make things difficult.

"What am I supposed to do with you?" Naruto groaned. He couldn't just waltz into a team meeting with a crystal-covered lizard. How would he even explain this? Oh yeah, found it chilling in a barrel in some creepy tower. Totally normal.

But then he paused. "...Wait, no one's actually asked about my armor or the fireballs I've been throwing around. Maybe they won't question this either?"

The lizard didn't respond, which was probably for the best.

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, no. This is way too shiny. You're gonna attract all the questions."

Naruto flipped the lizard over, holding it up by its tail. "Alright, let's see if you're a guy or a girl. No balls. Huh." He tilted his head. "Do lizards even have balls?"

The lizard flopped in his grip, its unconscious body still managing to look vaguely annoyed.

"Not important," Naruto muttered, flipping it back over. "Okay, what do I do?"

After a moment of thought, Naruto puckered his lips in a dramatic aha! expression and summoned a shadow clone.

"You. Take care of it."

The clone saluted. "Got it, boss."

Naruto handed the lizard over, but as he turned to leave, the clone snorted. "Wait, this thing's kinda cute. What're you gonna name it? Sparkles? Crystie? Ramen?"

Naruto froze mid-step, his eye twitching. "Don't give it dumb names!"

"Oh, so we're calling it something cool like 'Shiny Tail the Destroyer,' huh?" The clone smirked, wiggling the limp lizard in Naruto's direction.

Naruto facepalmed. "Just—just shut up and don't let it run away, okay?"

"Sure thing, boss." The clone grinned, cradling the unconscious lizard like it was a royal baby. The lizard, for its part, stayed unconscious, which was probably for the best.

Naruto shook his head, already regretting everything about this morning. "I'm surrounded by idiots… and I am the idiot."

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Naruto appeared in the training ground, the familiar clearing surrounded by trees. The morning sunlight streamed through the leaves, creating shifting patterns of light and shadow on the grass. He immediately spotted Sasuke, sitting by the lake, focused on painting the serene lakeside view with careful, deliberate strokes. A few feet away, Sakura was seated on a mat, her head bent as she practiced calligraphy with a brush, the smooth movements of her hand leaving precise strokes on the parchment.

"Kakashi isn't here."

Sakura glanced up, blowing a stray strand of pink hair from her face. "Give it a few minutes," she replied, returning to her practice.

Naruto nodded, then took a few steps closer, peering at her work. "So… what are you guys doing?"

"Practicing," Sakura said, gesturing to the page in front of her. It was covered in evenly spaced kanji, written in neat, consistent strokes. "It's a homework assignment from the Barrier Corps. I'm learning the basic calligraphy styles of fūinjutsu."

Naruto squinted at the characters on the page. "Oh…" he muttered, scratching his head. "Looks like a bunch of squiggles to me."

Sakura frowned but didn't rise to the bait. "That's because you don't understand the precision needed for seals," she said matter-of-factly, continuing her strokes.

Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke, who hadn't said a word. "What about you, teme? What're you doing?"

"Wasting my time," Sasuke replied bluntly, not even looking up as he continued painting, his brush moving with quiet focus.

Naruto stared at the canvas. It wasn't half bad—the way Sasuke captured the reflections on the water was impressive, though Naruto would never admit it.

Feeling restless, Naruto wandered over to the far side of the training ground. If Kakashi wasn't here yet, he might as well get some training in. "Alright," he said to himself, rolling his shoulders. "Let's see how much I've improved."

He formed the cross hand seal, and with a puff of smoke, five shadow clones materialized in front of him. Each one wielded a Zweihander just like his own, resting the massive swords on their shoulders with casual confidence.

"Alright, you losers," the real Naruto said, hefting his own Zweihander. "Let's see if I've got what it takes to beat myself."

The clones didn't waste time. The first one dropped into the high guard, with the sword resting above its shoulder, angled for a heavy downward cut. It charged with a burst of speed, bringing the Zweihander down in a brutal slash aimed at Naruto's head.

Naruto braced himself, his own blade rising to meet the attack. The clash of steel echoed through the training ground as he blocked, stepping into the momentum of the strike. His grip adjusted instinctively—one hand on the guard, the other on the pommel, giving him precise control over the blade's leverage. With a twist of his hips, Naruto shoved the clone's blade aside and retaliated with a quick horizontal slash.

The clone jumped back, smoothly transitioning into the low guard. Its blade was held low but pointed forward, ready for a defensive thrust. Naruto smirked.

"Not bad," he muttered, lunging forward. His Zweihander swung in a tight arc, aiming for the clone's exposed side.

The clone countered, stepping back just enough to parry the blow, its blade gliding against Naruto's in a controlled motion. Before Naruto could press the attack, two more clones charged in, one moving into the high forward-pointing guard, while the other shifted into the fool with the blade held deceptively low.

"Crafty bastards," Naruto muttered as the clone darted forward, its blade feinting toward his midsection. Naruto didn't fall for it, pivoting to his left to avoid the trap. He adjusted his grip into a sliding motion, his left hand loosening slightly as he brought the Zweihander across his body in a sweeping arc.

The blade connected with the clone's sword, deflecting it upward and leaving the clone wide open. Naruto followed through with a heavy downward slash, dispelling the clone in a puff of smoke.

The next clone took advantage of the opening, thrusting its blade toward Naruto's chest. He barely had time to parry, his blade scraping against the clone's as sparks flew. The force of the thrust pushed him back, but Naruto quickly recovered, stepping into the clone's guard with a short, controlled thrust of his own. The Zweihander's tip struck true, dispelling the clone.

Two clones remained, both circling him with synchronized movements. One stayed in the high guard, its blade ready for a powerful cut, while the other kept its guard low and poised for a thrust.

Naruto tightened his grip, raising his Zweihander. The high guard gave him a clear view of both clones, his blade angled forward like a predator waiting to strike.

"Come on," he taunted, his eyes flicking between them.

The clone moved first, bringing its blade down in a crushing diagonal slash. Naruto sidestepped, his blade whipping downward to deflect the attack. But the other clone was ready, thrusting its blade toward his exposed side.

Naruto cursed, pivoting just in time to avoid the thrust. He dropped into a low stance himself, using the stance to parry the follow-up attack. The clash of steel echoed as he twisted his blade, throwing the clone off balance.

Seizing the opening, Naruto surged forward with a sliding grip, his Zweihander moving in a brutal upward slash. The clone didn't stand a chance, dispelling in a puff of smoke.

The final clone hesitated for a moment, adopting the fool's guard.

"Not gonna happen."

The clone adjusted its stance, switching to a high guard. Without warning, it lunged forward, its Zweihander slicing through the air in a powerful, deliberate cut aimed directly at Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto sidestepped, angling his own Zweihander to intercept. Steel met steel with a resonating clang, the force of the clash sending shockwaves up both their arms. The clone immediately twisted its wrist, disengaging the blades and spinning into a follow-up slash aimed for Naruto's legs.

But Naruto wasn't about to be caught off guard. He leapt over the attack with ease, using his elevated position to swing his blade downward.

The clone, quick on its feet, substituted at the last second. Naruto's blade connected with a wooden log—except this wasn't just an ordinary log. It was a clone-created decoy, and it poofed into a plume of smoke upon impact.

The clone emerged from the smoke, its Zweihander cutting through the mist in a wide, sweeping arc aimed at Naruto's side. Without hesitation, Naruto summoned the Force miracle, releasing a controlled shockwave of energy. The blast deflected the clone's blade mid-swing, throwing it off balance.

Naruto seized the moment and delivered a punishing riposte—a powerful, spinning kick that connected squarely with the clone's chest. The clone popped instantly in an explosion of chakra smoke.

Unfortunately, Naruto's momentum carried his kick straight into the massive tree behind the clone. His leg smashed into the trunk with devastating force, and the tree groaned loudly under the impact.

Crack!

The sound of splintering wood filled the clearing. The enormous tree tilted, its shadow growing larger as it began to fall… directly toward Naruto.

"Uh-oh," Naruto muttered, looking up at the descending behemoth. His instincts screamed at him to move, but instead, his mind raced with a reckless idea. What if I catch it?

Before he could act on his madness, something yanked him backward. Chakra strings coiled tightly around his leg, pulling with incredible force and dragging him out of the tree's path just as it came crashing down.

BOOM!

The ground trembled violently, shaking loose leaves and sending splinters flying in every direction as the trunk slammed into the earth. Naruto stumbled and fell back, blinking at the mess of debris. He turned his head to see the frayed chakra strings snapping one by one, their energy spent.

"That… was awesome," Naruto said, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Awesome? Are you insane?" Sakura's voice cut through his daze, sharp and furious. "You almost got yourself flattened like a pancake!"

"Nothing to worry about. What's the worst that could happen?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Death," she said flatly, her tone dripping with exasperation.

"So?"

The boy's time in Lordran had long since dulled his fear of mortality. Death wasn't an end to him; it was just a minor inconvenience—he'd simply wake up back at the bonfire. No big deal.

Sakura stared at him, dumbfounded. "Can you believe this guy?" she snapped, turning to Sasuke for backup.

Sasuke didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the fallen tree, specifically on the spot where Naruto's kick had landed. The trunk, a solid mass of wood that had likely stood for decades, was obliterated. Jagged splinters jutted out from a gaping hole in the bark, the sheer destruction a testament to Naruto's raw physical power.

A lazy voice interrupted the moment. "Looks like my genin are having an eventful morning," Kakashi drawled, appearing behind them like a shadow. His single visible eye scanned the scene, lingering on the shattered tree.

Then, without missing a beat, Kakashi added dryly, "Naruto, you're planting a new tree."

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! It's just a tree!"

"That you destroyed."

Naruto grumbled under his breath, but Sakura's stern look kept him from arguing further.

As Naruto sulked and began brushing himself off, the rest of Team 7 gathered around.

Kakashi hid behind his usual mask of nonchalance; however, his thoughts churned like a raging storm.

What in the world did I just watch?

He had arrived long before Naruto's training session began, intending to keep up his reputation as the perpetually late sensei. But then Naruto had started sparring with his clones. Kakashi's plan to saunter in fashionably late fell apart as he decided to remain hidden, silently observing.

And what he saw left him baffled.

Naruto's stance, the way he wielded the Zweihander, screamed precision and skill—skill that Naruto did not have just yesterday. His movements were sharp, deliberate, and refined, a far cry from the chaotic, unpolished mess Kakashi had seen during the bell test.

And then there was the raw physical strength.

The way Naruto demolished that massive tree with a single kick wasn't something you could chalk up to chakra enhancement, at least not in this case. Kakashi's Sharingan had been activated for a brief moment to confirm his suspicions, and what he saw sent shivers down his spine.

There was no chakra enhancement.

It was all pure, unfiltered physical power. And it was terrifying.

How? What? Huh?

He felt like every time he started to unravel the mystery that was Naruto Uzumaki, the boy threw something new at him, shattering every conclusion Kakashi had pieced together.

The realization crept up slowly, but when it hit, it was like a hammer to the chest: Naruto is pretending.

Kakashi swallowed hard. Everything Naruto had shown them during the bell test had been surprising enough—a level of cunning and determination that far exceeded expectations. But now? Now Kakashi was sure the boy had been holding back, deliberately masking his true capabilities.

During the bell test, Kakashi had concluded that Naruto's abilities were strong enough to go head-to-head with a competent chunin, maybe even win with some luck. But what he was seeing now?

If this Naruto fought a chunin, he wouldn't just beat them—he'd toy with them like a cat does with a mouse.

The paranoia crept in, uninvited and impossible to shake.

Was this why Naruto had asked to be trained in kenjutsu? Not because he wanted to learn, but because he wanted an excuse to show off more of what he already knew?

Then there was his raw strength, which was far too great for someone of Naruto's supposed level.

The only comparison Kakashi could think of was a teenage Might Guy. But even Guy, as freakishly strong as he had been, hadn't displayed this level of power at such a young age. Naruto had the advantage of chakra enhancement if he ever chose to use it, but the sheer fact that he didn't need it spoke volumes.

Kakashi's throat felt dry.

There was no way Naruto had simply increased his strength and skill overnight. That wasn't how training worked. The growth Kakashi was witnessing—if it was even growth—was unnatural. No, it wasn't growth. It couldn't be.

Naruto must have been hiding it all along.

How much had he hidden during the bell test? How much was he hiding even now?

The thought made Kakashi's head spin. His initial assessment of Naruto's abilities was no longer reliable—everything he thought he knew had been turned on its head. The boy's competence wasn't just an outlier. It was a mask.

And if Naruto had gone to such lengths to hide this much, what else was he keeping secret?

Kakashi's mind raced with questions he didn't have answers to.

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[ Author Note: How strong do you think Dark Souls Naruto at the current moment? ]