Chapter 234: The Strongest Fire Type Zanpakutō!
"The strongest fire type Zanpakutō in Bleach?"
For once, Asuramaru could not hide his excitement.
He immediately opened his personal panel.
[Host: Alex]
[Templates:]
[Asuramaru: Fully Unlocked]
[Azakana: Fully Unlocked]
[Demon Sword Thousand Fragments: Fully Unlocked]
[Ryūjin Jakka]
[Swordless Spirit Form]
[Template Abilities:]
[Onibi]
[Unlock Cost: 10,000 emotion points]
[Allows the user to gather chakra through the sword and release it as an offensive strike.]
[Fuzan]
[Unlock Cost: 10,000 emotion points]
[At the moment the sword is drawn, chakra is concentrated along the edge before being released through a powerful slash.]
[Shikai: Ryūjin Jakka]
[Unlock Cost: 300,000 emotion points]
[Once released, the sword becomes enveloped in overwhelming flames.]
[Release Command: All things in the universe, turn to ashes, Ryūjin Jakka!]
[Requirement: The Sword Master must possess sufficient strength and physical endurance. The Sword Master must also comprehend the release command personally.]
[Bankai: Zanka no Tachi]
[Unlock Cost: 1,000,000 emotion points]
[In Bankai, the heat produced by the sword reaches a level comparable to the core of the sun.]
[Warning: Even the Sword Master may be unable to withstand this power. Exercise extreme caution.]
[Requirement: The Sword Master must personally comprehend Bankai before activation.]
Asuramaru stared at the final two requirements.
His excitement disappeared.
"So after I spend my emotion points to unlock the abilities, the Sword Master still has to comprehend them personally before he can use them?"
His eyebrow twitched.
"Are you bullying an honest man?"
The system immediately tried to explain itself.
[Ding! Host, I understand that you are anxious, but please do not be anxious.]
Asuramaru's expression darkened.
The system continued.
[This restriction is an inherent characteristic of the template. The system is unable to remove it.]
[However, the restriction does not apply to the host. Once an ability is unlocked, the host may use it directly.]
Asuramaru stared blankly ahead.
"You might as well have said nothing."
He checked his remaining resources.
Seven million emotion points.
After a moment of consideration, Asuramaru decided against unlocking everything immediately.
Naruto was still an infant.
There was no need to throw a Bankai hotter than the sun at him yet.
"Unlock Onibi, Fuzan, and Shikai."
[Ding! Consuming 320,000 emotion points.]
[Congratulations, Host. Template abilities Onibi, Fuzan, and Shikai Ryūjin Jakka have been unlocked.]
Asuramaru nodded in satisfaction.
As for the remaining abilities, he did not even bother looking through them again.
His attention shifted toward something far more addictive.
"System."
"Give me a ten pull."
[Ding! Consuming 100,000 emotion points.]
[Beginning ten pull.]
[Thank you for playing.]
[Thank you for playing.]
[Thank you for playing.]
[Thank you for playing.]
Asuramaru's face darkened with every result.
Four in a row.
His blood pressure was already rising.
Then the fifth result appeared.
[Legendary Buff: Trial]
[Effect: Allows the Sword Master to train within the mental world. All cultivation progress obtained inside the mental world will be reflected upon the physical body.]
Asuramaru paused.
That was useful.
Extremely useful.
Especially for Naruto.
The system continued.
[Thank you for playing.]
[Thank you for playing.]
[Thank you for playing.]
[Thank you for playing.]
[Thank you for playing.]
Silence.
Asuramaru stared at the results.
Nine failures.
One reward.
If that single Legendary Buff had not appeared, he was fairly certain someone would have had to die today.
Either the system.
Or whoever had created it.
Still, Trial alone made the draw worthwhile.
"With this, training Naruto will be much easier."
Asuramaru turned his attention back toward the outside world.
Naruto had already been carried back into Konoha by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Inside the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage stood in his office with the infant in his arms while issuing one order after another.
The village had suffered devastating losses.
The Nine Tails attack had ended, but the aftermath had only begun.
ANBU moved throughout Konoha.
Medical Ninja treated the wounded.
Shinobi searched through collapsed buildings.
The entire village remained tense.
Not long after Hiruzen finished giving his orders, the office door opened.
A solemn middle aged man entered.
Bandages covered much of his body.
Shimura Danzō.
His visible eye immediately settled upon Naruto.
"Hiruzen."
There was no greeting.
"Hand the Nine Tails Jinchūriki over to me."
Hiruzen's expression hardened.
Danzō continued.
"I will personally oversee his training."
"With Root's methods, he can be raised into a proper weapon for Konoha."
The refusal came immediately.
"No."
Hiruzen's voice carried no hesitation.
Danzō frowned.
"Hiruzen."
"I said no."
The Third Hokage tightened his hold on Naruto.
"Give up on that idea, Danzō."
"I will never hand Minato's child over to you."
Danzō's expression grew colder.
"You are still too soft."
He stepped forward.
"If the Jinchūriki is not brought under strict control while he is young, there is no guarantee that he will remain loyal to the village."
"Hiruzen, sentiment has no place when dealing with the Nine Tails."
Hiruzen turned.
For the first time since Danzō entered the room, the old Hokage looked directly into his eyes.
"Enough."
His voice sharpened.
"Shut up, Danzō."
The atmosphere in the room changed.
Hiruzen's gaze was no longer that of an exhausted old man.
It was the gaze of the Hokage.
"I am the Hokage."
The message could not have been clearer.
This decision was final.
Danzō's face twisted with anger.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen."
He turned sharply, opened the door, and left.
The room fell silent again.
Hiruzen looked down at the sleeping infant in his arms.
Only then did the strength leave his face.
A long sigh escaped him.
He seemed to age several years in a single night.
Very few people could understand how much Hiruzen had lost in the space of a few hours.
The Nine Tails had devastated Konoha.
Countless villagers and Shinobi were dead.
And Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, had died together with Kushina Uzumaki.
The system chimed within Asuramaru's mind.
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.]
[Gained 20,000 emotion points.]
Asuramaru barely paid attention.
His focus had shifted elsewhere.
Inside Naruto's body, apart from the Yang half of the Nine Tails, he sensed something far subtler.
A peculiar chakra.
It had buried itself deeply within Naruto.
Asuramaru observed it with interest.
"So this is Asura's chakra?"
He studied it for a moment.
"Is Naruto's future personality influenced by this thing too?"
The system immediately seized the opportunity.
[Ding! Would the host like to seal Asura's chakra?]
[Price: 10,000 emotion points.]
[The system guarantees such a complete seal that even Asura's father would be unable to interfere.]
Asuramaru considered the offer.
He had no particular reason to let an ancient reincarnation influence the child he was supposed to raise.
"Fine."
"Seal it."
[Ding! Consuming 10,000 emotion points.]
[Asura's chakra has been completely sealed.]
[To remove the seal, an additional 10,000 emotion points will be required.]
Asuramaru froze.
His eyebrow twitched.
"You motherf"
Twelve years passed.
Konoha Year 60.
Morning sunlight had only just begun to reach the Hidden Leaf Village.
On the upper floor of a roadside duplex stood Naruto's home.
Unlike the cluttered apartment one might expect from a boy living alone, the interior was clean and neatly arranged.
Everything had its place.
Inside the bedroom, a twelve year old boy sat cross legged upon the bed.
Short blond hair framed a handsome young face.
Three whisker like marks stretched across each cheek.
Uzumaki Naruto.
He wore a simple black shirt and sat with his eyes closed, steadily circulating chakra through his body.
His physical body remained motionless.
His consciousness, however, was elsewhere.
At the boundary between an endless sky and an endless sea, Naruto was fighting for his life.
A giant Mantis Monster lunged toward him.
One of its scythe shaped limbs cut through the air.
Naruto twisted aside.
The strike passed within inches of his chest.
"This guy is seriously annoying!"
His feet touched the surface beneath him.
His hands immediately formed seals.
"Clone Technique!"
Smoke burst around him.
Three Narutos rushed out in different directions.
The Mantis Monster reacted at once.
Its first scythe pierced through one Naruto's chest.
The body vanished into smoke.
A fake.
The second clone attacked from the side.
The Monster spun and impaled it as well.
Another burst of smoke.
By then, the real Naruto was already in front of it.
His sky blue eyes sharpened.
One hand closed around the sword at his waist.
The sword left its sheath.
"Fuzan!"
Chakra surged along the edge.
Naruto stepped forward and swung.
The slash crossed the Mantis Monster's body.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the Monster split cleanly in two.
Both halves collapsed.
Naruto exhaled and returned the sword to its sheath.
Then he turned toward the distant figure watching the entire battle.
Asuramaru stood with his arms folded.
Naruto immediately smiled.
"I won, Asuramaru."
The expectation on his face was painfully obvious.
Praise me.
Asuramaru looked at the defeated Monster.
Then at Naruto.
"It was only a Tiger level Monster."
Naruto's smile faltered slightly.
Asuramaru continued.
"But you have gotten stronger."
Naruto's expression brightened at once.
"Thanks for the compliment!"
Asuramaru clicked his tongue.
"That was barely a compliment."
"I'll still take it."
Naruto stretched his arms behind his head with a grin.
Then he seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right."
He looked toward the distant horizon of the mental world.
"Today's the Ninja Academy graduation exam."
Naruto turned back toward Asuramaru.
"I should get going."
A confident smile spread across his face.
"See you later, Asuramaru."
....
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