I Became a Demon Sword and Traveled the Anime Worlds

When Naruto opened his eyes again, everything had changed.

The endless sea was gone.

The boundless sky had vanished.

He found himself sitting upright in a small bed, his breathing uneven as though waking from an impossibly long dream.

Naruto looked around the familiar apartment.

For some reason, his mind felt empty.

Something important was missing.

Someone important.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember what it was.

Asuramaru had disappeared from his memories completely.

Naruto was once again the lonely child he had been before meeting him.

The next morning, he walked through the streets of Konoha alone.

People noticed him immediately.

Their expressions changed.

Disgust.

Fear.

Hatred.

"That demon fox is out again."

"Stay away from him!"

"The Third Hokage is far too merciful. Why is that monster even allowed to live in the village?"

"If it were up to me, they would have thrown him out years ago."

"Keep your children away from him."

Naruto kept walking.

Every word sank into him.

He did not understand.

Why?

What had he done?

Why did people look at him as though his very existence disgusted them?

Naruto eventually entered a small shop.

He picked out something he wanted and approached the counter.

Before he could even speak, the owner's expression twisted.

"Get out."

Naruto blinked.

"What?"

"I said get out!"

The shopkeeper shoved him backward.

"I'm not selling anything to a demon fox like you!"

Naruto stumbled.

The surrounding customers stared.

Some laughed.

Others looked at him with the same familiar disgust.

The hatred around him seemed endless.

It gathered from every direction, pressing down on him until the entire world felt like a dark pit with no way out.

Naruto clenched his fists.

He still did not understand.

What did I do?

Why does everyone hate me?

Then a voice entered his mind.

Soft.

Seductive.

Patient.

"It isn't you who is wrong."

Naruto froze.

"The world is wrong."

The voice continued.

"They hate you despite everything you have endured."

"They insult you."

"They reject you."

"They make you suffer for something you never chose."

"Why should you be the only one forced to endure this?"

A sword appeared in Naruto's hand.

Its edge gleamed beneath the light.

The villagers around him continued shouting.

"What are you staring at?"

"You brought a weapon now?"

"Who are you trying to scare?"

"If you have the courage, then use it!"

The voice whispered again.

"Kill them."

Naruto stared at the sword.

"Slaughter everyone who ever hurt you."

"Didn't you say you wanted to change this world?"

"Then change it."

"Why should people like them be allowed to live happily while you suffer?"

The darkness surrounding Naruto grew thicker.

Hatred pressed against him.

Anger began clawing at his heart.

The sword felt strangely natural in his hand.

One swing.

That was all it would take.

One swing, and someone who hated him would disappear forever.

Naruto remained still for a long time.

Then his fingers loosened.

Clang.

The sword fell to the ground.

Naruto grabbed his head with both hands.

"Enough!"

The voice stopped.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut.

"Stop talking!"

His breathing grew ragged.

"I don't want this!"

He opened his eyes again.

Pain and stubborn determination filled them.

"I don't want to kill everyone just because they hate me!"

"I want to know why!"

"I want to know the truth!"

"And then I'll prove myself to them with my own hands!"

Crack.

The world fractured.

A web of cracks spread across the sky.

The villagers vanished.

The streets disappeared.

The darkness shattered like glass.

Naruto opened his eyes.

He was back at the boundary between sea and sky.

For several seconds, he simply stood there, breathing heavily.

Sweat covered his forehead.

The memories of the illusion remained painfully vivid.

Then he noticed someone approaching.

Asuramaru.

The moment Naruto saw him, everything he had forgotten returned.

His childhood.

Their training.

Their arguments.

Their years together.

Naruto stared at him.

Asuramaru's lips curved slightly.

"It seems you passed."

Naruto continued breathing hard.

Then a bright smile appeared on his face.

"So I passed."

"You did."

Naruto straightened.

"Then I'll leave the rest to you."

His expression became serious.

"Asuramaru, please lend me your power."

Asuramaru did not answer immediately.

Instead, he gave Naruto one final warning.

"You passed the trial and gained my recognition."

"But that does not mean my power is safe for you."

Naruto listened carefully.

"Using it carries a price."

"Not even you are exempt."

Naruto's eyes remained firm.

"Please."

There was no hesitation.

Asuramaru stared into those blue eyes.

Then he laughed.

His crimson eyes seemed almost luminous within the mental world.

"Fine."

He raised one hand.

"Take my power."

His smile widened.

"And go make a scene."

"Let this world know that I exist."

Naruto's consciousness slammed back into reality.

His eyes snapped open inside the Water Prison.

A violent surge of power erupted from within him.

Light purple markings spread across the side of his face.

His right eye changed as well, turning a pale purple.

Then something emerged from his forehead.

A demon horn.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

Sakura stared.

Even the Water Clone maintaining the prison hesitated.

Inside Naruto, Asuramaru examined the transformation.

He frowned.

"Even this amount of Demon Power causes this much Demonization?"

Naruto's body was still too weak.

The power he had received was far beyond what his current physical condition could safely endure.

Asuramaru immediately warned him.

"Naruto."

"You have one minute at most."

Naruto's expression sharpened.

"If your body fails before then, the Demonization will continue."

"You'll become a complete demon."

Naruto tightened his fists.

"I understand."

Demon Power surged from his waist.

A pitch black sword emerged.

Ryūjin Jakka.

Naruto closed his hand around the hilt.

At the same moment, the Water Clone swung Kubikiribōchō down toward them.

The enormous sword descended with enough force to cleave through a human body effortlessly.

Naruto drew Ryūjin Jakka.

"Fuzan!"

Chakra flooded along the sword's edge.

Naruto slashed.

Clang!

For the briefest instant, the two weapons collided.

Then Kubikiribōchō broke.

The massive sword was severed cleanly in two.

There was barely any resistance.

It was like cutting through something soft.

Zabuza's Water Clone had no time to react.

Ryūjin Jakka continued forward.

Slash!

Its head separated from its shoulders.

The clone exploded into water.

The Water Prison collapsed with it.

Naruto landed on the flooded ground with Ryūjin Jakka held in one hand.

Power surged through every part of his body.

His strength.

His speed.

His reactions.

His chakra.

Everything had risen dramatically.

For one brief minute, Naruto felt like he could command strength far beyond his ordinary limits.

Behind him, Sasuke stared.

Confusion filled his face.

But beneath that confusion was something else.

Longing.

Power.

That was what Sasuke had spent every waking moment pursuing.

And Naruto had just revealed yet another kind of strength he had never seen before.

Kakashi was equally stunned.

His Sharingan focused on Naruto.

The horn.

The markings.

The altered eye.

The black sword.

This was not the Nine Tails.

Kakashi was certain of that much.

So what exactly was it?

And where had that sword come from?

Naruto gave him no time to think.

His free hand moved.

Several three pronged kunai shot through the mist.

One toward the left.

Another toward the trees.

Another behind Zabuza.

More scattered across the battlefield.

Naruto vanished.

Flash.

He appeared beside one kunai.

Then another.

Flash.

Flash.

Flash.

Golden hair flickered through the mist from one position to the next.

Under Demonization, Naruto's physical abilities had increased across the board.

Even his use of the Flying Thunder God Technique had become smoother.

Faster.

More precise.

To those watching, his movements truly resembled flashes of golden light crossing the battlefield.

Zabuza immediately created another Water Clone.

It moved to intercept Naruto.

That moment of divided attention was all Kakashi needed.

Inside the original Water Prison, Kakashi's Sharingan sharpened.

Now.

He forced his chakra outward.

The prison ruptured.

Water exploded around him.

Kakashi burst free.

Zabuza's expression changed.

"What?"

Kakashi was already moving.

A kunai drove into Zabuza's abdomen.

Blood spilled.

Zabuza grunted.

"You broke out?!"

Pain tore through his side.

He immediately swung the damaged Kubikiribōchō.

The massive weapon cut through empty air.

Kakashi was no longer there.

Neither was Naruto.

The Water Clone disappeared in a burst of water.

Naruto appeared directly before the real Zabuza.

Zabuza's pupils contracted.

Ryūjin Jakka was already moving.

"Fuzan!"

Chakra gathered along the sword.

Naruto slashed.

Zabuza raised Kubikiribōchō to block.

It was useless.

The remaining section of the massive sword split apart.

Ryūjin Jakka continued through.

Slash!

Blood sprayed across the mist.

A deep wound tore across Zabuza's chest.

His eyes widened.

Naruto twisted his body.

His foot slammed into Zabuza.

Bang!

Zabuza was launched backward.

He crashed into the water and disappeared beneath the surface.

Naruto landed.

Then his body trembled.

One minute.

The limit had arrived.

The purple markings began fading.

His altered eye returned to normal.

The horn disappeared.

The crushing power coursing through his body vanished almost at once.

Naruto staggered.

His breathing became heavy.

His fingers trembled around Ryūjin Jakka.

He could barely keep hold of the sword.

The difference between the power he had possessed moments ago and his ordinary body was overwhelming.

Fortunately, Asuramaru immediately activated Healing.

Warm power spread through Naruto.

His exhausted body slowly began recovering.

Across the water, Zabuza resurfaced.

He struggled onto his feet.

Blood poured from the terrible wound across his chest.

Each breath seemed to make the pain worse.

Even so, he forced himself upright.

His eyes remained locked on Naruto.

"That power..."

He coughed.

"What was that just now?"

Naruto did not answer.

Kakashi stepped forward.

Zabuza was badly wounded.

This was the perfect opportunity to finish him.

Kakashi raised his kunai.

Then something flashed through the mist.

Senbon.

Several needles struck Zabuza's neck.

His eyes widened.

His body went limp.

Splash.

Zabuza collapsed.

Everyone turned toward the source.

A figure stood atop a nearby branch.

Loose clothing covered their slender frame.

A mask resembling those worn by the Hidden Mist ANBU concealed their face.

They looked no older than Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

The masked figure studied Zabuza's motionless body.

"It seems he really is dead."

Their voice was calm.

"My patience was worthwhile."

Kakashi immediately became wary.

He examined the newcomer.

That mask.

That method.

He understood what the person was presenting themselves as.

"A Hunter Ninja from the Hidden Mist?"

The masked Shinobi looked toward him.

"You recognized me?"

Then they glanced at Zabuza.

"Thanks to all of you, I was finally able to eliminate him so easily."

The figure jumped from the branch.

They landed beside Zabuza's body.

Without paying much attention to Team 7, the masked Shinobi bent down and lifted the supposedly dead Zabuza onto their shoulder.

Naruto watched quietly.

Inside him, however, Asuramaru had already recognized the newcomer.

Haku.

So the original sequence was still unfolding.

His gaze shifted toward Zabuza.

Then back to Haku.

He remembered enough of their story.

Their lives.

Their ending.

Their tragedy.

Asuramaru fell into thought.

Should he simply kill them here?

Or let them leave?

....

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

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