The Journey — (Naruto x Solo Leveling Fanfiction)

I don't own solo leveling or Naruto

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Sasuke stared at the piece of slightly burnt Ogre meat in front of him. Jeaha, San and Bora had brought food and other supplies but there wasn't enough to go around for almost 10 of them. So, they had harvested the corpse of a nearby Ogre, taking out the essence stones it dropped and cutting up its flesh for meat that they would consume.

Monster corpses —depending on the rank— went for millions so the profits would be a little less but not significant enough to be noticeable.

He sat by the campfire that was started by Jeaha's fire spell, sitting in between Yon and Kim. The heat of the flames were warm against his skin as the night sky came along with a cold wind. He frowned at the ferocious way that Yon tore into the meat, his savagery in stark contrast to Kim's more reserved manner.

"If you keep staring at the meat, it'll get cold. I know it's a little burnt but it ain't that bad." Yon grunted, his mouth still full of meat. From the arrogant pretentious way he carried himself before entering the dungeon Sasuke thought he would've frowned upon anyone he ate the way he was right now.

"I'm not hungry." However, just when the words left his mouth the unmistakable grumble of his stomach reached their ears.

Yon gave a knowing look. "Right." he drawled.

Sasuke just huffed and bit down into the meat. It was tough even after being softened by the flames but he tore through it regardless, mostly to hide from his embarrassment by having his mind focused on this task. When he was done he felt a strange fleeting lightness overcome him for a second before it vanished. In its aftermath he felt his chakra reserves jump up the slightest bit.

'What?'

He grabbed another stick of meat from the fire and chowed down. He could practically hear Yon smirk next to him, "Look who isn't hungry anymore?"

"It tastes like beef." he commented, going for another stick of Ogre meat. Each bite he felt a small pinch or spark in his belly, while slowly replenishing his chakra reserves.

"Hehe, you should slow down and save some for the rest of us, Uchiha Sasuke. I know Hei-ran's cooking isn't that good." Ji-oh laughed from across the fireplace.

"Speaking of Hunter Hei-ran, what's up with him? He's been out of it for a while now." San commented, his grey eyes spotting the armour clad figure roaming around the treeline on guard duty.

"I'm not sure. He's my cousin and I know him the best but I've never seen him freeze like that ever." Ji-oh replied solemnly.

Tae Shik scoffed from his perch atop the Ogre corpse behind them. "It's probably the first time he's seen a human die in front of him. Greenhorns like you go into the dungeon expecting danger but never consider that people might die."

"Hey, that's not-!"

Ji-oh moved to retort but was interrupted by Bora's calm voice. "He's right. Hei-ran's probably replaying in his mind how those two got crushed. It'll weigh on his mind and decrease his combat effectiveness drastically if he doesn't sort himself out soon." She explained.

"And if he doesn't then he'll just end up getting killed or one of you killed. If he doesn't adapt to the pressure soon then there's really no need for someone like that." Tae Shik finished off coldly.

Ji-oh's features grew distraught looking at the downtrodden figure of her cousin. "He's going to come right, okay! You two don't know what you're talking about!" she cried angrily.

"I certainly hope so." Bora closed her eyes in a silent prayer.

Sasuke watched Ji-oh stomp off in the direction of her cousin likely to confront him about what was going on with him. Sasuke didn't think it was a good idea so he moved to stop her.

He caught up and grabbed her by the arm. She turned back angrily at being halted, her eyes glowed with fury. "What?"

"I don't think it would be wise to confront about this."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Just let him stew in his regret and likely get himself killed? Fuck that."

"An aggressive approach won't work and certainly not from someone who doesn't get what he's going through."

Ji-oh paused to process his words, her voice going soft when she did reply. "You've seen people die? But you're so young, how could you possibly have seen such things?"

Sasuke didn't respond immediately but instead looked in the direction of Hei-ran. 'What am I doing?' he wondered to himself. Being considerate, sparing other people's feelings, comforting someone. This wasn't something he did or ever planned on doing when he made the decisions he made, but he couldn't stop himself for some reason. But the pain of others who didn't deserve it never sat right with him.

"Yes, just go back to the fire. I'm going to talk to him and I don't want you there." he said very rudely and walked past her.

When he reached Hei-ran he glanced back to find that Ji-oh hadn't moved but she wasn't moving forward either. 'Good.'

"Come to relive of watch? This would be your second shift, I can't overwork a kid like that."

"I'm just here to talk."

Hei-ran gave him a once over before looking back into the quiet woods. "You don't strike me as the type to just want to talk."

Sasuke would relent to that. He wasn't.

"Why did you freeze up earlier?"

His question caused the tall man to tense up, "You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"So? I'm willing to hear you out." Sasuke said neutrally.

"What are you, a shrink? I'm not sharing my feelings with a kid." Hei-ran scoffed, arrogance creeping in for the first time since Sasuke met the man.

Sasuke sighed. He really didn't want to do this.

"A long time ago, a lot of people close to me died and their deaths still weigh heavy on me to this day." Getting that out was easier than he thought.

"What? But you're so young, how did you go through something like that?" Hei-ran said, shock being present on his face at the confession. "Was it a dungeon break?" he asked softly.

Sasuke shook his head. "There are sick bastards out there that don't care about anyone but themselves. But this isn't about me or them right now. If you don't get out of your own head soon then you could end up dying or get someone close to you killed."

"Of course I know that!" Hei-ran's features were full of pain and anger. "But everytime the images of their dead bodies come to me, their anguished screams are something I can't ignore. How do you block out their cries for life?" he turned to him desperately.

Sasuke faltered a little seeing the pain in the man's eyes. "I don't block them out, I can't. I just think about what they would've wanted and pursue that with my entire being."

"What they… would have wanted?" the words coming out slowly from Hei-ran's mouth.

"Yes. It could've been many things but for me it's justice. The people that died in front of me want justice," Sasuke said, firmly. His mind flashing back to that hellish nightmare he was subjected to so long ago.

"I don't know what they would have wanted… They probably wanted to be alive right now." He said, his eyes distant and mind elsewhere.

"I'm relieving you of your watch. Tell Kim that he's up next." Sasuke said, an authoritative tone taking his voice.

"What? No way, kid. I'm going to finish my shift. I don't cut corners." Hei-ran countered firmly.

Sasuke's onyx eyes shifted to the ruby red of the sharingan as he gave Hei-ran an intimidating look.

'Why's he scary all of a sudden?' The tank gulped nervously, a trail of sweat going down his face.

"I said go. There's someone else who wishes to speak with you and they want you very much alive." Sasuke motioned his head to direct their attention behind them.

Hei-ran saw his cousin's saddened and concerned expression and realised just how much in his own head he'd been. She probably focused on other things and to give him the space he needed. He didn't like seeing her so sorrowful, he wanted that face to be happy and goofy in that childish way he always chided her for.

He turned back to the Uchiha and nodded his head, a little grateful, "I'll tell Kim that he's on watch." He smiled and made his exit.

Sasuke saw Ji-oh's face lift when Hei-ran approached and they walked together to the campfire where the rest were waiting. A small smile crept up onto his face and he turned his back to the camp so that no one with good eyesight would be able to spot his expression. He couldn't let people see him smile, it was too much of a hassle when they found out he could.

He gazed into the dark woods up ahead with the sound of rustling leaves and loud chirping of crickets which gave the forest a foreboding and irky vibe. He squinted his eyes and landed forward when saw the gleam of something behind a couple trees. He widened his eyes a fraction when the gleam grew brighter dashed towards him at frightening speed.

He pulled out his sword and blocked the weapon that was thrown at him. The force it was thrown with strained his muscles and caused him to dig his feet in the ground to stop himself from flying back. He barely managed to deflect the spear and he groaned from energy he had to exert just to do so. 'What threw that?'

"What the hell was that? Another monster?"Kim appeared by his side in seconds, his red blade drawn and ready for action.

"No clue, but it's not friendly." Sasuke replied.

They were interrupted by the rumble of the ground as the trees in front of them groaned as they were visibly pushed or bent to the side. Sasuke had to crane his neck up when he came face to face with a giant Ogre.

This Ogre was twice the size of the ones before with similar grotesque features and a necklace made from unknown monster's teeth.

"That's gotta be the boss…" Kim murmured in awe of the creature before them. Sasuke had to agree. With just the glance of his sharingan he could tell that the magical energy coming from the thing was greater than the Ogres that he'd managed to kill.

The Ogre roared, the force of its shout sending them flying back but they easily recovered with a couple of flips.

"That thing's not gonna mess around," Tae Shik commented nonchalantly with both of his daggers drawn.

"Well, we won't either!" The crystal ball on Bora's staff glowed with power and shot out a beam of light at the boss Ogre.

[Summoning: Worm Bind]

The light formed into a worm and wrapped around the Ogre trying to squeeze it. However, the summon wasn't effective because the boss just raised its arms and flexed the poor thing off, roaring all the while.

Bora stared aghast, mouth agape at the display of power, 'This thing is not normal! Is it even A-rank!?' she thought terrified.

[Discus Flame]

[Gale Strike]

Jeaha conjured up two disks in his hands made from fire and threw them in combination with San's wind attack that boosted the flames to high degree.

The boss blocked the attack but not without some of its skin getting charred. Other than that, though, it didn't have much of an effect. It instead grew with rage as green mana swirled around it and it went charging forth.

"Get out of the way!" Sasuke warned. He jumped to avoid the Ogre running at him like a bull seeing a red bullseye.

Jeaha and San weren't able to react in time but Hei-ran was able to jump in in the nick of time and tackle them out of danger. The Ogre stopped its charge and slammed its fist on the three, aiming to crush them.

[Empower]

Hei-ran grunted when he blocked the heavy blow with his axe. His feet dug into the earth as the pressure gradually increased on him. "Move it, you two!" He screamed at the two behind him to scarm and they scampered away very quickly.

"I need a buff spell!" Sasuke shouted at Bora and snapped her out of her stupor.

"What? What are you talking about? A buff spell won't be enough. You can't take that thing! You're a B-rank!" she yelled, desperately trying to reason with Sasuke about his chances against the beast. "We need to regroup and come up with a plan of attack together!"

"There's no time! Someone's going to die in front of me and I'll be damned if I let that happen!"

Drawing his sword he went off running to help Hei-ran. He knew that even with Chidori blade wouldn't be able to perceive the boss, but with a strength buff he'd get damn close. He just hoped that Bora had his back.

[Buff: Physical Defense]

[Buff: Physical Strength]

Sasuke felt a flood of foreign energy flow into him and empower him and coat his body in a shell of golden energy. He was grateful that she did back him up.

Once again, however, he felt that spark in his belly.

When a hunter buffed another hunter the increase usually wasn't significant enough to battle monsters in a higher rank and this was no different for Sasuke Uchiha. However, he had another trick up his sleeve that he could use.

'It's time.'

He released a wordless breath and felt his visual prowess increase, his chakra flow more explosively as black tattoos spread across his body. He pushed the curse mark transformation further as his hair grew longer and turned a dark shade of blue, with fangs making themselves present, flesh grotesque hand wings protruding from the deliberate openings at the back of his armour, and skin turning into a dark-gray in colour.

'There it is!' Tae Shik thought. 'He seems to have truly gotten stronger. I can't sense mana, but I know that he's on a completely different level compared to that other time.' He flashed back to the Screaming Hellbeast that Sasuke managed to take down single handedly, a feat that would give him some trouble. 'Now he's taking on a Boss Ogre and they are high to mid-level A-rank monsters.'

"What's this?" Yon said with sweat dripping down his forehead because of Sasuke's transformation.

"Such pressure…" Kim started in fear and awe at Sasuke.

The attention of the monster shifted to his form when it felt his overwhelmingly vile and powerful presence. It swung its arm to swat him away but Sasuke was able to fly over the blow. He raised himself high in the air and weaved a couple of signs together.

[Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu]

4 fireballs slammed into the back of the boss and managed to aggro it onto him. "Come on, you ugly beast!" he taunted, flying off further to draw the monster away from everyone else.

'Too fast!' he gritted his teeth when he barely avoided the Ogres' attempt at a grab. He weaved underneath another wild haymaker and slipped behind it and launched a spinning back kick into its spine with all his might. The Ogre roared and increased its ferocity to launch a barrage of attacks that Sasuke was forced to block, each strike rattling his bones despite the increase in strength.

His guard was eventually broken and fist landed square on his jaw, sending him dribbling off the floor. He groaned, shaking the dizziness in his head and saw the huge shadow of the Ogre—its huge figure blocking moonlight shining down —descending onto him with incredible speed. He dived out the way but the shockwave caused by Ogre sent him flying once again, this time his back splintering multiple trees.

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"What are you doing?" Tae Shik shouted in panic. He grabbed Yon's arm to stop him from drawing his bow. "Are you trying to get us killed? You're not gonna scratch that thing unless you get buff spells!"

"Well then, someone should buff me cause I ain't watching that thing tear apart the kid right in front of me!"

"Yeah! You can bet on that!" Ji-oh shouted in agreement, watching the battle unfold.

Hei-ran arose from the small crater he made and Cha Binna quickly reached his side to cast a healing spell on him. A green light from her enveloped the tank as feeling returned and relief came over his limbs.

"Cha Binna. We're going to need your buff spells on as many of us as you can manage." Tae Shik ordered. He'd read her profile on Bora's device and was quite impressed with her stats. She was the ideal support hunter with her powerful healing magic, C-rank strength and speed, and powerful magic output buffs.

"Bora, you stop buffing the kid and buff Yon instead. I saw your combination in the earlier battle and we're going to need that." he commanded. He saw her hesitate for a moment before dropping her magic circle.

"Kim. Ji-oh. Hei-ran." They all stood at attention at his call. "You're all higher ranked than me so I'm not going to be much help, but I am fast so I'll move in as a distraction. Ji-oh, Hei-ran, you two work on taking down its legs or keeping its movements minimal. Kim, you'll back me up while we distract the thing." He turned to the rear guard. "Yon, Jeaha, San and Bora. I need you guys to blast that thing to hell and back. Take out its eyes first though. So, is everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

"Then, let's go!"

He sped forward on full tilt with Kim matching his pace alongside him. He had a smile on his face. "What are you smiling about?" he asked.

Kim shook his head, "Nothing, it's just that's the first time you've said everyone's names." He explained.

"Ugh, whatever." Tae Shik rolled his eyes.

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He gasped in pain, getting up after being thrown several yards away, "I might be…outmatched here…" he lamented on his hands and knees. He felt the buffs given to him by Bora wane along with some of the feeling in his body. 'If I keep fighting this thing I cou-' He didn't get to finish the thought as a bunch of vines wrapped around his arm. He tried resisting their pull but when he noticed the Ogre charging at him like a bull he decided to let the vines drag him.

He used his wings to protect him from the multiple trees he was dragged through before slicing the vines apart with his sword. More vines moved to ensnare him again but he ran an electric current off his body that made vines shrink back or burn from the heat that was produced.

'It's not coming after me anymore?'

He looked ahead to see the path of devastation he'd wrought by being drug through a mass of trees and saw no Ogre pursuing. He flew high above the treeline and saw the Ogre rushing back to attack the group once again. "Damn it!"

He wanted to fly down and intercept the beast but more vines shot up towards him, aiming to grab him. He used his sword to slice through the vines but more and more sprouted. They were enough to swarm him.

'Why are these vines reaching so far out of the forest now? They're far more aggressive too!'

He hacked and slashed whilst using his fleshy wings to maneuver in many different directions trying to lose the vines. However, the number of vines became too overwhelming and clamped his limbs in their grasp. He was suddenly plummeting to the forest floor at high speed and his body cratered the ground upon impact.

"Ngrh! Shit." he moaned out the curse. A little woozy from the impact.

His body was lifted up, completely cocooned in the vines from the neck down. He wondered why he hadn't been crushed until he felt his chakra being siphoned off at an impressive pace. "Wha?" he bowed his head, groaning as his curse mark retracted back into its sealed state.

"Such, such, such…"

He looked up to see a live, animated tree walking up to him. The tree dwarfed him in size — likely similar in size to the Boss Ogre — with glowing yellow eyes, sharpened tree barks in its mouth for teeth, and beefy arms and legs.

"Well, this is certainly something."

"Such, such, such…" the tree chimed again. Its voice was raspy and scratchy despite its size. Sasuke knew it wasn't speaking any common tongue around the world, rather this was the tongue of monsters he could understand for whatever reason.

"If you're gonna kill me then get it over with." he said, rolling his eyes.

The tree creaked when it took steps towards him, each step drumming the ground. He took the time to think about the last time he heard a monster speak to him like this and suddenly an interesting detail from that banter popped into his head.

"I wonder… Can you hear voices in your head too?"

The tree took a pause in its stride. "Such, such, such… Voices… Must kill humans… Must protect the forest… Must purge the forest of evil…"

"Evil?" He murmured. "Are you talking about humans?"

It didn't answer. Only raised its arm out and formed a wooden spear.

"Such, such, such… Vile energy…" it rasped.

His breath caught in his throat when the wooden spear was aimed towards him. A familiar fear stabbed his heart. The fear of death.

The wooden spear approached at an agonizingly slow and mocking pace like the tree monster wanted to relish in his fearful expression. However, he felt a little bit of relief when the spear stabbed his shoulder, but immediately regretted the thought when a white-hot pain overcame him, making his vision go blurry.

He glanced at his shoulder, hearing the raspy voice of the tree fade in the background. There was a purple hue coming from his shoulder — the shoulder with the curse mark — and his head suddenly started feeling light with ringing accompanying the lightheadedness.

Chakra was leaving his body, his skin was turning paler than it already was, his body growing weaker with every second that the vines shrouded and the spear pierced him.

'I'm going to die.'

He thought despondently. Heart rate dropping. Eyes droopy…

A spark, he saw.

'Just like that other time.'

He repeated. Struggling to breathe. Colours and shapes were the only things visible to him as he thought back to that horrible night…

A spark, he saw.

'I'm going to die!'

The vines slowly loosened around him. Almost all his chakra drained. His body fell forward but was held in place by the spear still lodged in his collarbone…

A spark, he saw.

'Please! I don't want to die!'

Those were his thoughts when the image of his older brother's sick twisted smile played in his mind, but…

A spark, he saw still.

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Kim pulled him out of the way just in time to avoid the fist that cracked down in front of him. He flipped back and wiped the blood coming down his forehead.

"Too close," he muttered. "Thanks greenhorn!" Tae Shik patted Kim on the shoulder.

[Starlight Barrage]

[Vortex Tunnel]

A combination of Yon's arrows and San's wind magic crashed into the back of the boss Ogre. The buffed output of their attacks was so great that the arrows pierced its hide and the vortex managed to make it stumble.

[Empower]

[Shatter Step]

Hei-ran and Ji-oh capitalized on this by using his axe to hack into its body and lifting the ground under its feet to make it topple over, respectively.

With the Ogre lying flat on its back Kim and Tae Shik simultaneously bounded high into the sky. Tae Shik grabbed Kim's arm and spun him around to launch him at the Ogres head. Kim motioned his red blade in a downward stab intending to take a page out of Sasuke's book and stab the monster's eye out.

[Red Blade Afterglow]

His short sword extended exponentially in length with an increase in piercing power. It was a blade worth 30 million won that he'd gained by chance during a trip overseas. The red blade met resistance trying to sink into the beast's eye but was ultimately successful in the end.

It cried and thrashed on the ground moving to tear the blade from its eye socket which forced Kim to abandon the short sword to avoid getting squished.

"Nice!" Ji-oh cheered. "Now, let me deal the next blow!" She launched herself in the air and powered up her gauntlets to the size of two small boulders in terms of magical energy.

[Meteor Bash]

She yelled coming down on the boss Ogre with a hammer fist locked and loaded. The moment she made contact the shockwave produced from the strike cratered the giant beast into the ground and made it spit out a lot of blood.

"Remind me to never get her mad." Kim whispered to Hei-ran.

"You wouldn't excite her enough to pull out that move." He replied.

"Eh? Is that an insult?" Kim questioned, slightly offended.

Hei-ran's brow rose, "How's it an insult when I'm being honest?" Kim was strong sure but Ji-oh's ultimate move was a kill strike and she was a superior combatant to Kim in all aspects but speed.

"I liked it better when you were moping around." Kim deadpanned.

She jumped away and joined the not too soon after dealing her finishing move. "Did you guys see that? I totally knocked the brakes off that thing!" she said, giddy like a little kid. There was an imprint of her giant mana fist gouged out in the monster's gut.

"I definitely felt that, Ji-oh. Very impressive." Kim complimented, feeling a phantom pain in his stomach just from looking at the injury.

"Yeah nice, Ji-oh! No way it's getting up from that!" Jeaha celebrated. Him and San high-fived each other and quickly dragged Yon and Binna into a massive group hug. Yon shouted and tried to shrug them off but they didn't budge. Binna just went along with it, but was also a little uncomfortable with it. Bora had given them the death glare to make sure they steered clear away from her.

Their cheers, however, were interrupted by the sudden rumbling ahead of them as a mass of birds flew overhead. When the group turned to the noise they saw waves upon waves of vines breaching past the woods toward them.

"Give me a freaking break…" Tae Shik said, aggravated.

"No way!"

"Seriously?!"

"Is there no end?!"

They cried out in frustration when they saw the abundance of vines that sprouted out of nowhere and hunted them down.

Bora yelled at them to retreat, an order they didn't deliberate on for a second. But strangely the vines stopped their pursuit to surround the downed Boss Ogre creating a vortex of vines around the beast. They watched in horror as each vine penetrated every opening, tear and orifice of the monster, almost ripping it apart. It looked like it was being torn from the inside out as they watched it roar in agony. Its limbs coming loose in a spray of blood but then being reattached by a mass of vines that spill from its insides. Once the horrific transformation was completed, the monster had become an amalgamation of green fleshy vines and Ogre skin and bones.

"That's a nightmare." Cha Binna gasped with a look of horror on her face. Tae Shik couldn't agree more. He wouldn't have been able to conjure such an entity even in his worst nightmares and worse still… It seemed like the monster had grown stronger.

'Is it even an A-rank monster anymore? Can we even kill this thing?' Tae Shik fretted.

The beast took a single step and immediately a multitude of vines shot out at high speeds and snatched up Ji-oh, Hei-ran, Kim and Tae Shik simultaneously. They tried resisting but we're being dragged closer and closer towards the entity.

[Starlight Barrage]

Yon shot multiple of his arrows through the vines and broke them free from their bonds. But then, he was forced to retreat when vines started coming his way which overwhelmed even him and he was caught.

[Gale Strike]

San used his wind magic to create a slash of pressurized air and send it cutting through the many vines surrounding Yon.

[Summoning: Worm Bind]

A stream of light flew from Bora's staff and segmented through multiple vines encompassing her and Jeaha who used his fire magic to create a ring of fire around them that the vines couldn't get through thanks to the intense heat of the flames he produced.

Tae Shik saw all this go down and cursed at how effective the vines were at keeping them occupied, preventing them from regrouping and coming up with a plan of attack. He spun and twirled around in a dangerous dance to avoid getting caught again. He was doing his best but this battle was getting far too dangerous for him to survive much longer.

They needed a lucky break soon or they would be done for.

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Ten minutes earlier

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Time seemed to have halted as a man that walked with an ethereal grace laid his dark eyes — with blue markings around them — on a near death Sasuke Uchiha. The man had long, luscious brown hair cut short on top. Two locks wrapped in bandages framing either side of his face. His eyebrows were cut short — a symbol of his nobility. He wore a high-collared, light-coloured kimono held closed by a dark sash. The collar of the kimono was adorned with magatama. He wore a black full-bodied suit underneath.

"How unsightly, incarnate of mine." he spat with a sneer on his regal looking face.

"W-Who…?"

Sasuke seemed to have awareness, somewhat, even in this stopped time.

"Who am I? Someone from a long forgotten past, incarnate. The strange energy that has infected you seems to have brought me to being, in a way."

The man cast a momentary glance at the oak-borne creature using a spear to pierce Sasuke's neck. The purple energy coming out was violent and erratic even when it was frozen in time.

"Orochimaru is a vile creature but this mark has provided the necessary chain for me being here," he commented.

"Haaa… Wha?" Sasuke gasped.

"It would seem you're still out of it. That's fine. Rest for now, incarnate and when you come to it will all be over."

The man rested a palm over Sasuke's neck and a blanket of white came over him, basking him in a strange addictive warmth that stimulated every cell in his body as he sank into a trance.

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Time began to flow normally once again. Sasuke's head shot up and he graced the monster in front of him with a sick smirk. He grabbed the spear stabbing his shoulder and snapped it in half with pure brute force.

"Such, such, such… vile energy!"

The creature exclaimed. Its face contorted into a terrifying expression of anger and rage, but Sasuke didn't seem to be the least bit fearful.

"How unsightly to be brought to our knees by such a disgusting creature. I am disappointed incarnate." Sasuke sneered, but it wasn't his voice speaking but rather the voice of a man much older.

Sasuke raised his hand and thrust forward an open palm to send the tree creature flying off and tunneling the ground.

[Chidori Stream]

"You've come up with some interesting jutsu, incarnate." Sasuke remarked.

Arcs of lightning sparked off his body and protected him from the multitude of vines that sprang forward to ensnare him again. He glanced up nonchalantly when the monster recovered and came crashing down on top of him.

He made it effortless with the way he evaded the rampaging beast. Leaning side to side to dodge the slashes of its spear formed hands. He grabbed the spear when the monster overextended and snapped it in half once again before placing his palm on the creature's abdomen area.

"I must say that a hulking form like yours moves quite well, creature. Before you go, however, let me try and remember what it was you said," he placed a finger on his chin. "Ah! Purge the forest of evil, was it? Hmph! I am not evil!"

Crackles of lightning were the start before the song of one thousand birds danced on his palm.

"I am the son of a god! Indra Otsutsuki!" he declared.

[Chidori]

He thrust his electrified palm forward and burst open a significant portion of the monster's torso. Its glowing yellow eyes dimmed to an inky black as it toppled over lifeless as a corpse.

Indra sighed, relishing the feeling of blood pumping in his veins, the feeling of the cool night air on his skin, and the quiet ambience of the forest surrounding him.

"This wasn't supposed to happen, but thanks to you I have managed to manifest once again. If only for a moment." he bowed, paying respect to the lifeless creature. He felt a quiet numbness in his right arm and he knew that his incarnate was waking up from his slumber very soon. "A strong will to live you have incarnate. Keep it that way." he smiled softly.

Suddenly a light shone forth from the creature's corpse and a bunch of tree roots and vines shot forward to encompass it completely. "What?" he widened his eyes when the vines split and beeline straight for him but he recovered from his initial shock and grabbed Sasuke's blade off the ground, cutting through each one effortlessly.

There was a rumble at his feet when a wave of vines moved to encompass him completely but he jumped into the air to avoid it. He was raced up a tree by the vines looking to enrapture him but sliced them all down by the time he reached the top.

Once he was able to rest he gazed into the distance and spotted the flood of vines that attacked the attack squad that Sasuke had entered this dungeon with. The vines had taken forceful possession of the dead Ogre boss that they had defeated and was now being used to overpower them.

"It's certainly a precarious situation going on down there for those people, incarnate."

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There we are done with Chapter 25! It was a challenge as I deliberated on a lot of stuff multiple times while writing this. Sorry, if it seemed all over the show, but I tried to make the group battle coherent and easy to follow while including every character. It's not easy.

Yes, I introduce Indra Otsutsuki and it will be explained in the next chapter how he was able to manifest which Indra eluded to himself. I love the whole reincarnation narrative that happened at the end of Naruto and I thought it was really cool and Indra looks cool asf too.

Initially planned to have Orochimaru appear from the curse mark and form a connection back to the Shinobi world but I decided to go against it because I felt that would make things way too messy and give me too many characters to juggle. For now the Shinobi world will remain isolated for the foreseeable future.

Comment your thoughts and feelings on the chapter pls.