I Became a Demon Sword and Traveled the Anime Worlds

The roulette wheel stopped.

A young man appeared within the selected section.

He had a lean, streamlined build, wore a distinctive combat suit, and carried a sword at his waist. His expression was cold, almost indifferent.

The moment Asuramaru recognized him, even he fell silent.

He had made every result on the roulette wheel equally likely.

There were thousands upon thousands of possible opponents.

And yet Kurama had landed on this one with his very first attempt.

What kind of luck was this?

Asuramaru stared at the result for several seconds.

Could this fox actually be the chosen one?

Seeing his prolonged silence, Kurama grew increasingly uneasy.

He looked at the young man displayed on the wheel.

"Is he strong?"

This was Kurama's first time seeing him.

Until now, the strongest opponent he had ever faced in Asuramaru's strange trials had been a monster nearly a hundred metres tall that could use a variety of martial arts techniques.

That creature had treated Kurama like a toy.

He still remembered it vividly.

Asuramaru considered Kurama's question.

How exactly was he supposed to answer?

After a moment, he simply nodded.

"I genuinely don't know whether to call you lucky or unlucky."

Kurama's expression darkened.

Asuramaru gestured toward the figure.

"You drew one of my former Sword Masters."

"His name is Speed o' Sound Sonic."

A faint smile appeared on Asuramaru's face.

"He was also known as Black Flash."

Kurama froze.

"Black Flash?"

For some reason, his first thought was the Yellow Flash.

Minato Namikaze.

The man who had once teleported around him faster than he could properly react.

But Kurama quickly dismissed the association.

This was clearly someone else.

Still, if Asuramaru had gone silent after seeing the result...

Kurama suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Just how strong was this former Sword Master?

The answer came almost immediately.

Several colossal swords descended from the sky and embedded themselves in the ground.

One of them began to tremble.

Then Sonic stepped out from within it.

The instant he appeared, an oppressive presence spread across the mental world.

Kurama's breathing stopped for a moment.

His enormous body stiffened.

Even before the battle had begun, something primal within him was already warning him to flee.

Kurama swallowed.

This was bad.

Very bad.

Before either side could attack, Asuramaru waved one hand.

The mental world changed.

The endless boundary between sea and sky transformed into a vast wilderness, creating enough space for the coming battle.

At the same time, Asuramaru reached toward another part of the mental world.

Naruto, who had been deeply focused on perceiving space, was abruptly pulled from his meditation.

His eyes opened.

He looked around at the unfamiliar wilderness in confusion.

"Asuramaru?"

Naruto spotted him nearby.

"What are you doing?"

Asuramaru pointed toward the battlefield below.

"I'm going to show you what the Flying Thunder God Technique looks like when used properly."

Naruto immediately became interested.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Asuramaru nodded toward Sonic.

"The person demonstrating it is one of my former Sword Masters."

Naruto's sky blue eyes lit up.

He turned toward the battlefield and focused completely.

Below them, Kurama could no longer tolerate the pressure Sonic was giving off.

His jaws opened.

Chakra gathered rapidly inside his mouth.

Black and red energy compressed into a dense sphere.

A Tailed Beast Ball.

Kurama fired.

The sphere tore through the wilderness toward Sonic.

Sonic's expression did not change.

If anything, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Then he moved.

Naruto barely saw the motion.

A black flash crossed the battlefield.

The incoming Tailed Beast Ball split perfectly in two.

Kurama's eyes widened.

It did not explode.

The two halves simply stopped in midair.

Some invisible force held the unstable chakra together.

Sonic raised one hand.

His fingers closed.

The divided Tailed Beast Ball compressed violently.

Smaller.

Smaller.

Until the enormous mass of destructive chakra vanished completely.

Kurama stared.

His heart sank.

This was worse than the previous opponents.

Much worse.

How was he supposed to fight something like this?

Fortunately for Kurama, Asuramaru had no intention of letting Sonic kill him immediately.

He wanted Naruto to learn.

Under Asuramaru's control, Sonic slowly reached for the sword at his waist.

The Demon Sword Thousand Fragments left its sheath.

Naruto leaned forward slightly.

Then the sword shattered.

Countless fragments separated from the weapon and floated around Sonic.

With a single thought, they scattered across the battlefield and surrounded Kurama from every direction.

Naruto watched carefully.

Then Sonic vanished.

A black flash appeared beside one fragment.

Then another.

Then another.

Sonic continuously crossed space between the scattered sword fragments, appearing and disappearing so quickly that even Naruto struggled to follow him.

Flying Thunder God.

Naruto's eyes widened.

So this was what the technique looked like when mastered.

Kurama saw something else entirely.

For a moment, the sight reminded him of Minato Namikaze.

That cursed teleportation.

That impossible speed.

But the man in front of him felt much more ruthless than Minato ever had.

A black flash appeared beside Kurama's head.

Sonic punched.

Boom!

Kurama's enormous body was launched hundreds of metres across the wilderness.

Before he even hit the ground, Sonic appeared in front of him again.

Another flash.

An uppercut struck beneath Kurama's jaw.

His gigantic body shot upward.

Then the beating began.

Black flashes appeared around him from every direction.

Sonic struck from the left.

Then the right.

Above.

Below.

Kurama could not even orient himself before another fist landed.

The impacts came like rain.

Naruto stared at the scene in silence.

Eventually, Sonic appeared directly above Kurama.

He drew back one fist.

Then drove it downward.

Boom!

Kurama's body exploded in midair.

His enormous form dissolved into a mass of crimson chakra.

Naruto winced.

"That looked painful..."

Asuramaru merely snapped his fingers.

The entire battlefield vanished.

The wilderness returned to its previous state.

Kurama reappeared behind the seal, completely restored.

His body was unharmed.

Physically, it was as though the fight had never happened.

Mentally...

Kurama stared blankly ahead.

He could still remember being beaten apart.

Every punch.

Every teleportation.

And the moment his body exploded.

The system chimed within Asuramaru's mind.

[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from the Nine Tails.]

[Gained 10,000 emotion points.]

Asuramaru stared at the reward.

Only ten thousand?

Kurama had literally been beaten to death.

Then again, Asuramaru had been tormenting the same fox for more than a decade.

There was only so much emotional value left to squeeze from one target.

He sighed.

Beside him, Naruto hesitated.

"Asuramaru."

"What?"

Naruto glanced toward Kurama.

"Don't you think that was a little cruel?"

Kurama slowly turned toward Naruto.

For perhaps the first time in his long life, he felt that a human child was unbelievably kind.

Asuramaru waved dismissively.

"I was already holding back."

Kurama's eye twitched.

Holding back?

Naruto looked unconvinced.

Asuramaru pointed away.

"Go back to your training."

Naruto sighed.

"All right."

He returned to his meditation and resumed trying to sense the structure of space.

The rest of the night passed quietly.

Morning arrived.

Naruto opened his eyes in the real world.

After washing up, he left home and made his way back to the Ninja Academy.

He entered the classroom and took his usual seat.

Almost immediately, he noticed someone watching him.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke sat a short distance away, repeatedly glancing toward Naruto.

His expression suggested that he wanted to say something, but he kept holding himself back.

Inside Naruto, Asuramaru noticed as well.

His thoughts immediately shifted toward the mission.

Naruto had to defeat Sasuke.

And the stronger Sasuke became before that defeat, the greater the final reward would be.

That meant Asuramaru could not allow Sasuke to remain ordinary.

He needed an opportunity to give Sasuke power as well.

The problem was timing.

It had to happen naturally.

Asuramaru quietly began considering his options.

Before long, Iruka entered the classroom.

The remaining chatter gradually faded.

Iruka looked over the newly graduated students with a smile.

"Congratulations."

"Starting today, all of you are officially Shinobi."

Several students immediately straightened with pride.

Iruka raised a hand.

"But don't get ahead of yourselves."

"You are still only Genin."

The room settled again.

"From now on, you will operate in teams of three."

"Each team will be assigned a Jonin instructor who will guide you and lead you on missions."

That immediately caught everyone's attention.

Sasuke's gaze shifted toward Naruto.

Nearby, Ino Yamanaka leaned toward Sakura with a teasing smile.

"I wonder who's going to end up on the same team as Naruto and Sasuke."

Sakura kept her expression deliberately neutral.

"Who knows?"

Inside, however, she was praying with everything she had.

Please let me be with them.

Iruka began reading the team assignments.

One group after another was announced.

Then he reached the one everyone was waiting for.

"Team 7."

Several heads turned.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto remained calm.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke's attention sharpened.

"And Haruno Sakura."

Sakura almost reacted aloud.

Iruka continued.

"The three of you will form Team 7."

"Return to this classroom tomorrow. Your Jonin instructor will come here personally to meet you."

Naruto showed almost no reaction.

Sasuke, however, was quietly pleased.

So was Sakura.

Once Iruka finished the remaining assignments and left the classroom, Naruto stood.

He had no reason to stay.

Before he reached the door, Sasuke finally made his decision.

He stood quickly and followed.

Sakura hesitated for only a moment.

Then she followed as well.

Naruto had already stepped outside the academy when a voice came from behind him.

"Wait, Naruto."

He stopped.

Naruto turned.

Sasuke stood several steps away with his usual cool expression, though there was a trace of tension beneath it.

Naruto looked at him curiously.

"What is it?"

Sasuke remained silent for a moment.

Then he finally spoke.

"I want to fight you again."

....

[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]

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