Naruto: The Chosen Undead

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Chapter 136 The Witch and the Darkness

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Naruto dropped to one knee and focused. His chakra flared, spiraling toward the familiar pain points Hinata had once sealed. Muscle memory took over.

One finger... two...

He formed a simple cross seal with just his left hand, index and middle finger.

Puff.

A shadow clone appeared beside him, one handed like its creator. No time to celebrate. No time to speak. Their gazes locked, and they moved.

Each raised their left hands, combining mirrored seals together, fast and fluid.

More smoke. More clones. Five. Then ten.

Drake Swords sang from their hilts and together they struck. With a roar, Naruto and his clones slashed downward in perfect sync. Their blades arced like the talons of a giant beast, slicing the air with such force that it created a shockwave.

Wind howled. Trees buckled. Soil tore open.

Stone knights shattered in place, their shields cracked, bodies broken. The Ents that had been closing in were caught mid lunge, torn apart by the storm of chakra charged steel. The forest itself split beneath the impact, a wide scar carved into the ground like a canyon birthed in a single breath.

[ You have acquired: ]

[ 5000 Souls ]

[ Stone Greatshield ]

[ Stone Greatsword ]

[ Blooming Purple Moss Clump ×3 ]

Naruto exhaled hard, swiping a line of sweat from his brow. "Wow."

He looked at the glowing tally in front of him and let out a low whistle. That's... a lot of souls.

But then he saw it—just past the cracked remains of the stone knights and the charred trunks of shattered trees. A corpse, slumped beneath a fallen tree. At first it was just shape and shadow. Then he saw the armor. His breath caught.

Elite Knight Armor.

Naruto's steps slowed. His hand trembled as he reached down, brushing aside a patch of ash from the breastplate.

It was not Oscar. But it was someone like him. Another knight of Astora. Another soul who came to Lordran. Another who sought the bells. Another who walked the same cursed path.

Naruto's throat tightened.

He stared at the lifeless body for a long moment before whispering aloud, "What will happen when I finally ring the bells of awakening?"

No one answered. With a quiet breath, Naruto reached down and looted the remains.

[ You have acquired: ]

[ Elite Knight Helm ]

[ Elite Knight Chest ]

[ Elite Knight Gauntlets ]

[ Elite Knight Leggings ]

Naruto could not just leave the body to rot. With a nod to his clones, he began digging a shallow grave beneath a towering, gnarled tree. It did not feel like enough, but it was something.

Now for the serious stuff, he thought, turning toward the edge of the clearing.

At its base, beneath a crumbling archway, stood a figure, half hidden in shadows.

As he approached, slow and deliberate, pale blue orbs of light flared to life, casting the entryway in an eerie glow. The figure stepped forward. She looked about his age, clothed in a long coat embroidered with strange, ancient patterns. A wide brimmed, worn hat drooped slightly at the edge, and in her hand, she carried a jagged staff of twisted wood. Her face remained shrouded in shadow, but her presence was undeniable.

Naruto dropped his Zweihander to the ground and raised his hands in peace.

"Who art thou, wanderer, that dost tread upon this cursed glade unbidden? By what right dost thou disturb its solemn stillness?"

Naruto blinked, brow furrowed. What did she just say? Judging by the tone, she wanted an introduction. Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Squire of Oscar of Astora."

Her gaze shifted to the clones quietly burying the Elite Knight. "I am Beatrice, daughter of the sorceries of olde, keeper of forgotten rites. By the stars and moon above, I bid thee heed—know thy place, knight of Astora."

Naruto squinted. "Beat-rice? Why the hell would I beat rice for? How do you even get into a fight with rice?"

Her eyes narrowed, grip tightening on her staff. "'Tis Beatrice, thou witless knave! How dost a land of knights send forth such fumblers of wisdom?" She sighed. "And yet thou dost wield magicks most curious. Whence dost thou conjure thy sorcery, lacking even a mage's catalyst? Speak, that I might discern this mystery."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, hopelessly lost. "Uh... I have no clue what you're saying. But thanks for saving me. I would've died without your help."

Beatrice tilted her head, her wide brimmed hat casting a shadow over her face as she studied him. When Naruto pointed to his mouth, then to her, shaking his head to signal confusion, she gave a small nod. Her staff tapped softly against the earth, as if acknowledging the language barrier.

But before either could speak again, the Way of Focality screamed within him.

Naruto did not hesitate. Chakra surged into his legs as he lunged forward, closing the distance in a blink. He wrapped his arms around Beatrice, twisting midair to shield her from what his instincts already knew was coming.

Naruto's use of the Drake Sword had drawn the Moonlight Butterfly's wrath.

A bomb of blue light exploded against his back, hurling him and Beatrice through the forest in a blinding flash. They tumbled through dirt and moss, Naruto taking the brunt of the impact as pain carved fire into his spine. His Elite Knight armor lay in tatters, shredded by the magical explosion. Blood seeped from the gaping wound along his back.

Blue orbs of energy howled through the air, crackling like lightning. Naruto barely had time to glance up. He recognized them immediately: a defensive spell. One Beatrice had likely cast the moment he approached her. A passive ward... now locked onto him.

Her horrified gasp said it all—she could not cancel it.

The first orb struck. And then another. A final pulse of light, and the last orb detonated against his back.

[ You Died ]

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Sakura was drowning in fire.

The world was an endless, devouring blaze; red and black, seething and roiling like the breathing of some ancient beast. There was no sky. No ground. No horizon. Only an infinite, collapsing heat that licked at her mind as much as her skin. She ran, though there was nowhere to run. She screamed, though the fire swallowed her voice.

Her body folded in on itself as she collapsed, wrapping her arms around her head like a child hoping the nightmare would pass.

"You need some help?"

Sakura looked up. Standing over her was a figure outlined in lines. A shape traced in white ink across a writhing, black canvas.

It was her. Or something that wore her face.

The blackness around the figure pulsed, stretching in every direction, and as it expanded, it devoured the fire, not quenched, but consumed, like ink blotting out a flame on old parchment. The entity, her mirror self, smiled—a smile too sharp, too wide.

Inside its hands was a single ember. No, not an ember. A thing... a trembling drop of black, shuddering liquid that hummed with silent, unseen mouths.

"A gift," the figure said, and its voice came not from its mouth but from the holes between seconds.

Sakura hesitated, then reached out. As her fingers brushed the trembling droplet, the world shattered.

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Sakura woke up gasping.

Her body felt heavy. Too solid. As if she had been packed into flesh too dense for her bones. Something pressed against her lips... a cool glass of water. She drank greedily before her blurry eyes focused on the masked face above her. "Kakashi-sensei...?"

"You're awake," he said softly, relief obvious despite his lazy posture.

Sakura sat up groggily. "What... happened?"

"Lot of things," Kakashi said, ruffling his hair as he gave her a brief rundown.

Sakura sighed, the reality settling in. "Are shinobi missions... always this brutal?"

Kakashi gave a chuckle. "No. Normally, you would be chasing a simple bandit group or babysitting some merchant's caravan." He tucked his hands into his pockets. "You pulled through a real nightmare, Sakura. Most would not."

She smiled proudly, flexing a bit—only for the glass in her hand to suddenly crack with a sharp pop.

Time seemed to slow.

Sakura watched, almost detached, as thin spiderwebs of fractures raced across the glass. Tiny shards began to lift, shimmering like drops of frozen rain. Her body moved on instinct, trying to twist away, but she was already too late.

The sudden surge of strength she barely understood kicked in, and instead of simply dodging, Sakura launched herself backward. She sailed through the air like a cannonball, smashing clean through the thin wooden wall behind her in a splintering eruption of debris.

Kakashi looked through the hole she left in the wall and sighed again, deeper this time.

"Sensei...?" Sakura asked, dazed, pulling herself to her feet.

"Well..." Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I may have... left out an important detail."

Sakura blinked at him.

"You were... dying," Kakashi said, speaking carefully. "Naruto did not have an Estus Flask left. So he used something else... something that was not meant for humans."

Sakura lifted her hand experimentally and immediately felt it. Her chakra, once neat and precise, now flooded her pathways like a tidal wave barely held in check. She tried to gather it and a deep mauve chakra ignited in her palm.

Sakura shivered.

"Sensei..." she managed, forcing a nervous laugh, "I think I'm going to need to relearn... everything."

Kakashi smiled warmly behind his mask. "That's fine. You will just get stronger."

But inside, his Sharingan spun quietly, studying the dark, thrumming chakra coiling inside Sakura's muscles, bones, and nerves like a living thing. She was stronger than any genin now, physically someone who could even contest with some low grade chunin level shinobi. The realization made Kakashi's mind whirl. Had Naruto used multiple of those humanity items to become this strong himself? And if he could just hand them out casually...

Honestly, with the way legendary items seemed to keep appearing around Naruto, Kakashi would not be surprised if entire wars could be fought over what the boy carried.

No. Kakashi clenched his fist. He could not let that happen.

He had already failed to protect Naruto once as a child, trapped by his own fears and hesitation. But now? Now Naruto was his student, his responsibility. This time, Kakashi swore to himself, he would do whatever it took to shield him until the boy could protect himself from the world that would one day come hunting.

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 64, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!f