Naruto: Uzumaki Yuji [EN]

Chapter 29: Chapter 029 - The forest of death [3]



For Yūji, at that moment nothing was more important than his comrades, who cared whether he passed or failed the Chūnin exam! To hell with the rank! If in his previous life he managed to kill the one they called the king of curses, even at the cost of his own life, in this one, rank is only a simple title.

Behind his thick bandages around his eyes, he scanned the surrounding area at a chilling speed; he could only do so for a few moments, as although his six eyes had a considerable range of vision, they couldn't see very far.

He moved a few meters away and eventually managed to perceive a small form of chakra; it was so weak that when he got close to the area he became very worried, " ¡Suiren! " That small form of chakra belonged to his silent companion; seeing her on the ground in a state that, although it appeared pitiful, when he touched her body to support her, he realized something.

Those chakra networks that he had always observed now seemed, at several key points, to be... blocked?

He tried to calm his sinister aura; seeing that Suiren wasn't moving and was barely breathing made him boil, as he thought that that damned team had perished from his technique.

He hoped so.

" s-sister Suiren, calm down, I will help you, I promise, I have to look for sister Ajisai now "

With ease, he slung Suiren onto his back, trying to adjust her; carrying her that way was not a problem for him.

And returning to his initial search, he began to move at an unusual speed; he was so fast that he barely appeared as a blur, firmly holding his sister Suiren in his arms. Holding Suiren's body on his back with his small hands, he needed both to be able to calm her down; his nerves wouldn't let him think clearly, and for that reason he also wanted to hurry, since his sister Suiren might be suffering from not being able to circulate her chakra.

He doesn't know how they managed to block those chakra networks, but he will heal both.

With his eyes scanning at that admirable speed as he moved, he managed to sense that unusual energy; a giant frog with a somewhat macabre appearance appeared in front of him. Its attitude, which at that moment was cold, smiled with palpable emotion, " ¡Sis Ajisai! ¡you're good, alive! " Noticing her wet eyes was not enough, his sister Ajisai had hidden within her summoning, and when she heard her companion's voice, she managed to emerge a bit from the foul‑smelling mouth of her summoning.

She wasn't going to deny it; at that moment she was only worried about them. " ¡Yūji! " she emerged from her summoning with a relieved, though tired, smile, showing that sense of discomfort; having spent half an hour inside her summoning was painful, and on top of that, her reserves were already nil, she was about to feel like she would faint.

But seeing that the little one had Suiren unconscious on his back did not quell her concern, " ¡¿How is Suiren!? " In all those years, she had never addressed Suiren and Yūji by name; it was very uncommon.

Because when she said it, it signified her true affection for them both and her weakness.

" d-don't worry, sister Ajisai, I will heal you both "

At that moment, the red‑hair remembered that Yūji had healing genetics, something that made her look at the child with concern.

" a-are you sure? " he murmured very softly as if he himself did not want that secret to be known.

" don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you both, I will help you " he whispered softly; he no longer cared whether he got the scroll or not, he only wanted his companions to recover.

" then... first heal Suiren " he murmured softly; she was the one who seemed to have suffered the most in the fight; Ajisai thought the same as Yūji, although she wanted to bring honor to Amegakure, at that moment she didn't believe it was possible to obtain the scroll.

Unless they recovered in less than two days, it was possible that they still had a chance.

" what happened to you, sister Suiren? " he murmured softly, adjusting Suiren's position by removing some bandages from her arm to free it; seeing that his sister Suiren was barely regaining consciousness made him hurry.

" sister Suiren, bite, I'll help you recover " Suiren barely had any consciousness of herself; she heard a thin, worried voice.

" Yū... Ji? " her voice was so weak that even she didn't recognize it.

" don't speak, you're weak, just do that " the boy murmured, still worried.

She could only open her mouth at the moment when Yūji removed her mask, feeling as if something soft was placed in her mouth; in her weakness, she bit the arm that Yūji had positioned for her.

The boy lifted the bandage from only one eye, no longer having his six eyes active, and, looking at Suiren's terrible state, his grimace was so sad because Suiren was so pale and sickly, with dried blood on her face and visible bruises. It was evident that the blows she had received were terrible.

When Suiren bit the boy's skin, it was tender; she had to bite it to such an extent that she ended up hurting him, but Yūji didn't even flinch. The little redhead pulled down the bandage from his eye to re‑cover the only eye that had been uncovered; he had to check if Suiren's chakra networks were healing, as the damage in those areas was terrible.

He saw how the tiny bit of Suiren's chakra began to circulate; an unbridled and abundant lake was replenishing her reserves, her vitality; he saw how her own chakra stimulated her networks.

To his immense relief, it worked; her chakra was so potent that the blocked networks reopened and began circulating quite frequently, and the aggressiveness calmed down until it normalized.

To his relief, an immense relief, Suiren was finally healed, but the weakness did not leave her; she had to rest.

It seems that his sister Ajisai thought about that, " we don't have much time, we have to find a place to hide, it's not safe to be here... "

" bite my arm " the boy spoke calmly as he let Suiren rest; it was the same that he had noticed in the green‑haired girl: Ajisai's chakra reserves were extremely low, almost non‑existent.

He could only admire his sister Ajisai even more for enduring being right in front of him.

" ... " the girl looked silently at Yūji, forming a small grimace, and turned to see the terrible wound that Suiren had made by biting him, but now she sighed; she did it mostly because she did not want to be a burden, if Suiren were sleeping, there wouldn't be two.

Upon taking Yūji's small arm, she bit it just enough to barely penetrate his molars, without noticing a grimace on the little redhead.

Now he understood why those ninjas from Kusagakure had sought Yūji and his sister; their chakra worked wonders!

The small reserve that barely kept her conscious began to circulate, as if that flame were lively again; the heat in her belly and the wounds she had were healed at an incredible speed, although she still felt fatigue, she was basically like new.

When he separated, he looked at his own body in surprise, but he would leave that for later; he got up carefully and carried Suiren on his back. " walking at this moment, if we have time, maybe we'll get a scroll, but now it's dangerous " What happened in two days was exhausting; Yūji didn't say a word, remaining ever alert.

Thus, the Ajisai team set off in search of an area to rest; Ajisai dismissed her summoning because it consumed a lot of chakra for her, and she wanted to conserve at least what Yūji had given her when healing her; she didn't want to waste anything.

The silence was eerie, too eerie, as that meant there could be an ambush, or simply that most of the teams had already died.

" stay alert to your surroundings " the red‑haired one murmured as she was looking for a hidden place resembling a cave; the few mountains in the Forest of Death were scarce, but she believed that they would soon be near protection.

Yūji thought the same; he wanted his companions to recover, and when they were hiding, he would go out to fetch that scroll they still hadn't obtained.

But…

His path was obstructed; he saw a ninja who looked strange, and Ajisai stopped, so he did too.

" wait, Yūji, this ninja... " Ajisai almost always obeyed her instincts, and her instincts were rarely wrong; she half‑closed her eyes at that moment, analyzing the ninja.

But her legs began to tremble a little, that ninja...

He had a ruined face; from afar, it was apparent that his very skin was falling off.

' what... what is this uncomfortable sensation in my body? Why does my body react so instinctively with protection toward that ninja? ' That was the only thing Ajisai could think while the ninja, who seemed to have a sound seal on him, made a funny grimace.

Yūji was also tense, that same damned energy.

It is the same damned energy from that woman at the beginning of the Forest of Death exam; judging by her physiognomy, which did not deceive him, it was her, so he did not move from his place.

" I have been looking for you for some time, oh, little Yūji‑kun "

" Who are you! How is it that you know my name? " he spoke rather loudly, clenching his fists in front of him in case he had to act against that woman.

He had noticed her face falling apart, but he really didn't care much; after what his team had faced before, he would no longer take those exams lightly, he would react with ferocity.

" I have been watching you since you arrived, little Yūji‑kun, your genetic heritage will be a great asset for me and my research " a long tongue emerged, licking his lips, his eyes somewhat ecstatic at being able to have in his hands such a unique specimen of an Uzumaki.

He already had several Kekke Genkai at his disposal; the only thing missing from his precious collection was the Uzumaki heritage. In all that time traveling, he had not found a living Uzumaki, not an adult, not even children, they all disappeared after the fall of the Land of Whirlpools. Now he had a unique opportunity! As if it were served on a silver platter in these exams was his prized and coveted Sharingan, as well as the great asset he desired to use as his main body, Uchiha Sasuke, but there were also two children who, because of their strong red color, were of Uzumaki genes; he must not lose such precious assets!

But that only made him desire it even more.

At that moment, Yūji made a grimace of disgust upon hearing him speak. He didn't know what he meant by heritage, but he didn't need to listen to any more of his words.

" then you are an enemy. " Yūji whispered; he was a threat who had come after him.

" Yūji, wait! " Ajisai couldn't say any more when she saw Yūji disappear before her eyes.

The ninja with the sound protector sharpened his snake‑like eyes, and to his surprise, if it weren't for his years of battle and his ample combat experience, he could have been sent flying by such a fierce blow from such a small body.

But even so, he was dragged along the ground, even though he had his feet embedded with chakra, the child had the strength to drag him!

Opening his eyes wider, he was surprised, but his now excited smile appeared, ' this overwhelming strength, it's so similar to Tsunade's ' the man thought, keeping his arms covering the blow, which the child had delivered with a powerful punch.

" you have sharp senses, Yūji‑kun " Something that the enemy ninja did not overlook was the fact that that little Uzumaki had launched directly into an attack with his eyes bandaged. " are they just sharp senses? " he wondered, questioning everything like an investigator.

Something he had deduced from what he had seen in the child was that it was possible that unique secrets were hidden in his body, a child should not possess such overwhelming, destructive strength to the point of causing such enormous havoc.

Possibly he had found a treasure that hadn't been polished.

Yūji thought that he wouldn't be able to defend himself, but his surprise was not evident: " what? He managed to stop my blow? But he doesn't seem overwhelmed, he seems... accustomed "

He quickly put some distance between them, taking caution as he saw that the ninja was not only smiling, but appeared as if he had found a treasure that no one else had discovered.

This ninja might be more dangerous than he had thought.

But what alarmed him even more was that that ninja pulled out an earthen scroll.

It was the only thing they needed to get out of that forest.

" I have come prepared to make use of this; haven't you obtained your scroll yet? " his voice sounded mocking despite the roughness of his tone.

Ajisai clenched her jaw; she did not want to leave Suiren alone, who was still on her back. But she also did not want to spend chakra to summon her demonic toad again.

" damn it " she glanced sideways at Yūji, " what kind of leader would you be if you only sent the younger of the two directly to face that ninja who looked repulsive? "

She hurried to pull out her summoning scroll again, moving quickly, and by slapping her hand, her demonic toad reappeared.

The enemy ninja only seemed amused by that situation; she didn't even show much concern.

Ajisai left Suiren with her summoning; the toad wrapped the sleeping girl with its long tongue, not needing an order to know that it had to protect her.

" I came to this place exposing myself to find you, Yūji‑kun; I had a very exciting and happy fight before with a very curious group, I hope you give me the same thrill as they did " the voice of the sound ninja was chilling, at least that's what Yūji perceived.

" Ajisai, don't plan to fight, take Suiren to a safe place, I will fight, I will finish this quickly, I promise " the boy's voice sounded quite mature.

" no way! I will help you right now, Suiren is now well protected "

The deformed face of the opposing ninja now looked even more amused, " what tender prey, trying to look like someone strong, it's a pity " he spoke serenely, " then... begin your trial, Yūji‑kun, do not disappoint me "

At the moment of saying that, the boy stayed in place; everything fell into such an abrupt silence. He saw that his enemy's chakra was mobilizing quite a bit, but upon hearing agitated sounds and as his companion began to get agitated, it made him turn around in surprise.

Ajisai didn't have a good expression; her whole body began to tremble, saliva started coming out of her mouth, it seemed that her eyes couldn't fix on any point.

With his six eyes, he had seen that that ninja had mobilized his chakra, but he was able to repel it instantly; dismantling another ninja's chakra was simple and he didn't feel anything strange.

" You...! " the boy thought that his friend was under a Genjutsu, even though that kind of jutsu is never used on them; he knew that when someone was in a trance or showed a hint of disorientation, it was that.

He did not hide his courage; he approached that ninja without caring about anything and began to attack him with punches and kicks enhanced with cursed energy, he had always been in fights where he came out victorious or was very strong.

This was the first time he saw that his attacks enhanced with cursed energy were blocked one by one; they hadn't done him any damage at all! He only smiled and stuck out that chilling tongue!

" Yuji‑kun! You have an extraordinary physique "

Contrary to what he thought, that ninja was only experimenting with him!

He gritted his teeth even harder; his taijutsu wasn't working, every punch he threw was leaving a disaster behind; the part of the forest in which they were had disappeared, with only large trees scattered down the slope.

Ajisai couldn't break free from the Genjutsu; she had seen death so vividly, Yūji, she, and Suiren were dying, even though she wanted to do something.

She couldn't; her body wasn't responding.

' m-move, damn it, move! ' Her body wouldn't stop trembling from terror, sweating coldly; her hand could barely move, but the agitation didn't disappear. Seeing how the little one was fighting with that ninja, she had confirmed within herself that Yūji was more powerful than anyone, and that ninja didn't even seem overwhelmed by the child's best blows!

The destruction they were leaving behind was immense; at least Yūji was the one leaving that devastation in his wake, the sound ninja dodged while the redhead struck the logs in their path, causing them to split into multiple pieces, a unique explosion.

In the end, the little redhead stopped, his breathing heavy, his trembling eyes fixed on that man, although he only saw his translucent features; now he was beginning to think that it would be necessary to use jutsus, something he had never deemed necessary because he thought he was powerful.

It is possible... that he might start to get serious.

The enemy ninja appeared amused, once again sticking out his tongue and licking his lips, as he wanted to see how his prey would choose to defend himself.

" perhaps I can't do much damage to you, how will you protect your friend? " he asked in a soft voice as he drew blood from his thumb and placed it on that seal imprinted on his arm.

Yūji could barely react when he turned in the direction of Ajisai, not knowing what to do to break free from that Genjutsu, it was too powerful for her, as she was weak in that kind of attack.

A unique silence; just as a second passed, " Summoning Jutsu! " was heard.

" Ajisai! " he shouted in worry, leaping to take his friend in his arms.

An enormous snake the size of those trees had appeared! It was so large that the sound ninja couldn't be seen properly; fortunately, Yūji managed to hold the girl in his arms and leap elsewhere to help her.

" react, Ajisai! This is dangerous " He didn't know what else to do to get the girl to come to her senses; he thought and thought while trying to find a place to leave her on the ground.

A slap to the face was given.

And Ajisai reacted by slapping the boy on the nose; it seemed that to break free from that damned Genjutsu, she had to hurt him.

" we have to escape, this ninja is dangerous, Yūji " Ajisai murmured softly, not really believing that they could do anything; what she experienced was one of the worst horrors, she still felt her breath ragged and her hair on end, " now don't try to act tough, j-just run! " she got off Yūji to try to escape, hoping that the boy would follow her footsteps.

Yūji tried to look for other areas; the snake was following them, which made him very nervous, not for himself, but for his friend; he had never seen Ajisai react in that way.

He moved his hands to form a seal; he planned to unleash a fire release in order to cook that animal.

A huge blaze erupted from his mouth; the sound ninja was surprised and appeared even happier upon seeing that the boy was putting up a fight, as he was pleased with the display of power from the Uchiha he so desired.

' yes, keep showing your reluctance to be food, my precious prey, so tender, wanting to survive ' he thought, observing everything proudly; the snake he had summoned was cooked by those powerful flames, so much so that from where he stood he could feel the terrible, fiery heat.

When Yūji finished, he looked at the dead snake, panting; a little blood fell from his throat, having hurt it as he released that terrible flame.

But it seemed that the enemy ninja was not done yet; he appeared eager to continue his moment of fun.

" t's not good! " the agitated boy saw that Ajisai was very far from her position, all because the girl wanted to escape the place.

The sound ninja laughed through his teeth as he finished forming his seals at an impressive speed—Dragon → Tiger → Hare; his hands didn't even blur as he made those seals.

" Earth Style: Earth Dragon Projectile! "

Several projectiles came out swiftly; what was a basic attack from that sound ninja turned out to be far worse, thousand times worse than Yūji imagined.

Yūji panted as he looked at the girl; the boy was not quick at forming seals, so he had no choice but to use Dismantle, moving his hand at a speed driven by the fear that Ajisai might get hurt. The "world‑cutting" strike was a thousand times worse than a normal jutsu; Ajisai was in total panic as the speed of what would be a basic jutsu was a thousand times more terrifying. The girl could do nothing as she watched those projectiles approaching.

But in a moment, they disappeared as if they had never existed; the girl was left panting in her place as she turned to look at Yūji, who was also somewhat agitated, not from fatigue, but from the fear that his friend might get hurt.

The boy went towards her, but that sound ninja was so fast that he attacked him with a kick; it was so painful and fast that he couldn't pay attention! Although he managed to block the blow, it didn't prevent him from being lost in the vastness of the forest.

" Yūji! " Ajisai finally reacted, her arms trembling, now with a rather unique courage in her, " damn it! " she shouted furiously to run directly toward that ninja who had attacked her comrade.

But he didn't seem interested in the girl; he was only playing with her for a moment, as it seemed that the Uzumaki had affection for them, somehow he was protecting her. The little redhead got back up; his wounds were healed with RCT.

He couldn't leave his comrade alone; she was no match for that ninja!

" damn, she had to go alone! I can't unleash all my potential because I might hurt her " he grumbled, his most dangerous attacks being very uncontrolled, if he attacked, it would be to kill.

When he arrived, he saw that the ninja had his comrade by the neck; he clenched his fists and shouted, " you are a damned coward! Let go of my comrade! " to the point that his throat hurt; he couldn't attack, for he might end up using Ajisai against him.

The girl once again seemed to be in a trance; her eyes were vacant and unresponsive, her complexion abnormal, and her arms were already bruised; possibly she had been poisoned and put into another Genjutsu.

" what will you do now, Yūji‑kun? You interest me, you entertained me very well during this time; I used almost the same methods with the previous team, and you are the only one who isn't afraid of me. I invite you to come to my side, Yūji‑kun " she licked her lips again desirously; that child undoubtedly had something that aroused her interest.

" I've said let go of my comrade! Damned, I'll never go to your side, I won't " he murmured, clenching his fists; he didn't want to use any more cursed techniques because if he did, that ninja with snake‑like behavior would surely push him to the limit.

He saw how the ninja grew rather somber, " I feared as much, which is why I have something special for you... if you don't want to come with me "

" maybe this person does want to "

For Yūji, who was blinded by his brash emotions, seeing another ninja with a sound protector on his forehead slowly emerging from another point, his eyes behind the bandage tensed; time was passing so slowly that it was a pure shudder.

In the arms of that ninja, that red hair, just like his, he saw her body with multiple wounds, so deep that blood kept falling, and her beautiful glasses were no longer in place; her legs were broken, it seemed done intentionally. Fainted and defeated.

Her simple body expressed all the torture she had endured.

Karin was in the arms of those damned ones; her heart started pounding so hard that her chest ached with every beat.

The opposing ninja smiled amusedly, " do you know her by any chance, Yūji‑kun? It seems that you care so much that your aura is now killer " he began to get excited.

He planned to use that Uzumaki girl as bait.

Because Yūji no longer answered, everything around him was exuding a strong aura, a killer and bloody aura, which made even the ninja holding Karin in his arms shudder.

It was something he had never felt until that moment.

Everything fell into a rather unique silence; the enemy ninja's snake‑like eyes narrowed when he finally saw the reaction of the silent, unexpressive child.

He launched into attack; his speed remained incredible, which only made the opposing ninja smile. The boy couldn't think of anything else, he couldn't see anyone other than his sister, who was very wounded in the arms of those damned ones.

For that reason, the sound ninja made a hand seal and, with such a fearsome speed, lunged in attack; both Yūji and that ninja moved at similar speeds, because when Yūji landed a blow that destroyed that ninja's head, it exploded like a balloon from a pinprick.

That ninja had already bitten Yūji's neck forcefully, while he held his older sister in his arms.

By that moment, the redhead began to feel a horrible pain that he never thought he would feel, he felt as if his soul and being were being attacked! " HAAAAAAAAHHHH! " His screams began to tear out, so much so that surely the entire Forest of Death would hear his rending cries, despite the pain and his suffering, it was something strange.

As if his body were mutating at an incredible speed, his cells dying and healing again, his chakra networks being destroyed and coming back together.

One

And another

And another

And again.

Despite the suffering, he hadn't let go of his sister; he had fallen to the ground with Karin in his arms, saliva and tears clouding his vision alike.

And amidst all his screams.

He blacked out again.

Not without hearing that damned voice again; he didn't want to faint just from hearing it.

But it was already too late.

' sleep well, Yūji... '

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[there is no illustration at the moment, I had a hospital appointment! Thank you for waiting ♡ it's difficult to create action fights and sorry if some words are repeated]


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