Naruto : Gamer System

Chapter 59 - 59 : The day I become Shura

Haruto Itsuki, who hadn't slept for several days, finally got a good night's rest. When he woke up in the morning, he found Naruto was there. Lately, he and Sasuke had been waking up earlier than each other, so they rarely saw one another. They were already gone.

"Morning, Naruto. Why didn't you go to practice today?"

"Ah! Boss, let me tell you! I summoned Toad Gamabunta yesterday! The lecherous sage said he has nothing more to teach me for now and told me to practice on my own. I'm not being lazy—I didn't come back until almost dawn!"

Haruto didn't need to think too hard; he already had a good idea of how Jiraiya trained Naruto—probably pushing him to his limits.

"I didn't mean to accuse you of being lazy. I believe in you, Naruto. I've always seen your progress."

"Hee hee," Naruto laughed brightly at Haruto's words. "As expected of the boss. No one believes in me like you do."

"Naruto, are you free today?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"Then walk with me."

After breakfast, the two strolled together down Konoha's main street.

As they walked, people kept greeting Haruto along the way.

"Haruto! Haven't seen you in a while. When are you coming over?"

"Oh, it's been so long, little Haruto. Come try an orange. Don't be shy, dear."

"Isn't this our little sunshine?"

Seeing Haruto being warmly greeted everywhere they went, Naruto was filled with envy.

"Boss, you're so popular. I wish I had even half of your charm—just half!"

Haruto ruffled Naruto's hair. "Don't make that face. I've always believed your day will come. Didn't you say you want to be acknowledged by everyone and become Hokage?"

"Hmph! Of course! One day, I'll get the same respect!"

Suddenly, a voice called out, "Boss Haruto! Boss Haruto!"

"Naruto, why are you calling me?"

"...???" Naruto looked puzzled. "I didn't call you, Boss."

A boy with short hair suddenly appeared before Haruto.

"Boss Haruto, do you remember me?"

"You are...?"

"I'm Sagi." He struck a pose. "Swish, swish, Flying Thunder God Technique! I used to tag along with you when we were kids!"

"Oh! It's you. I haven't seen you in forever. You've grown a lot."

"Yeah. After I was found unfit to learn ninjutsu, my family sent me to the Land of Craftsmen as an apprentice. I rarely got to see you. Now I've returned to Konoha for good. No matter how long I stay away, it never feels like home. That blacksmith shop over there? It's mine now. If you ever need anything, just come to me. My craftsmanship's solid, and it's free for you."

"You've made something of yourself. I'll definitely come to you—but I'll pay, and you're not allowed to refuse. Otherwise, I won't go."

After parting ways with Sagi, Haruto felt a pang of sadness.

"I wonder what the other kids who used to follow me are doing now. I haven't heard from them in ages."

"Hey! Isn't this Grandpa Chunsuke's house? Boss, we used to come here for fruit!" Naruto ran up and knocked.

A middle-aged man opened the door.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

Naruto's expression darkened. He whispered, "No... sorry, I got the wrong house."

They walked silently for a while before Naruto murmured, "I forgot... Grandpa Chuansuke passed away at the beginning of the year."

Haruto lowered his voice. "Time flies. It feels like just yesterday we were over here scooping watermelons. Sasuke refused to come, even if we begged. We had to drag him here. Thinking about his expression still makes me laugh..."Haruto's voice trailed off.

Though they spoke cheerfully, neither could laugh.

A familiar house came into view not far ahead.

Naruto lit up and ran to knock again."Grandma Hisako! Haruto and I came to see you!"

A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl opened the door and quickly held Naruto back.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down. Grandma Hisako just fell asleep."

"You are...?"

"I'm Reiko. The village assigned me to care for Grandma Hisako. She's not been in good health lately, so please don't disturb her."

Just then, an old voice came from inside.

"Who is it? Naruto?"

When Haruto and Naruto saw Hisako, they could hardly recognize her. Once vibrant and full of energy, she now sat frail in a wheelchair, her white hair dry and skin shriveled. A heavy sense of twilight surrounded her. Anyone could see her time was nearly up.

They stood in shock. Just a month ago, she was still energetic. How could this happen so fast?

"Is that Haruto and Naruto? Come, give me a hug."

She stretched her hands out weakly. "Where are you? I can't see clearly anymore. I don't even know what you look like now... I'm so old..."

Haruto and Naruto each hugged her from either side, their eyes red with tears they tried not to shed.

"Let me guess—the left one is Naruto, and the right is Haruto?"

"Grandma Hisako... you really can't see anymore?" Naruto asked tearfully.

"I can't see, but I can feel. Naruto's hands are warm. Haruto's hands are cold. That's how I know."

They both quietly cried, hiding it as best they could.

"Reiko, bring those cakes I made. I've been saving them, waiting for you two."

After eating the cakes, both Haruto and Naruto cried openly.

"Hey, why the tears? Everyone has to face this day eventually. It's out of our control. I was fine just a few days ago—still baking cakes. Who knew I'd decline so suddenly?"

"I just regret... not getting to see you two get married... have children... become Hokage..."

She kept talking, sometimes repeating herself, sometimes mumbling nonsense. Haruto and Naruto sat quietly, listening until she finally fell asleep.

Reiko whispered, "She's been thinking about you all this time. The doctors say she won't last more than two weeks. Please visit her as often as you can. She's very lonely."

As they left Hisako house, Haruto and Naruto walked silently.

Naruto was crying uncontrollably. Haruto was quietly sobbing. They moved slowly toward home.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned, his eyes red. "What is it, Boss?"

"There are some things we can't protect, no matter how much we want to... But I will never let others take away what I can protect. I love this village. My family, friends, my love—they're all here. Every corner holds my most important memories. I'll do anything to protect those things. That's why you need to grow stronger, Naruto. The enemies ahead are far more dangerous."

"Boss... I don't quite understand what you mean."

"It's okay. You will someday."

Haruto looked off into the distance. Tomorrow is the Chunin Exams. The day of the Konoha destruction plan. The day I become Shura. Anyone who dares threaten what I love... I will kill them all.

After breakfast, Haruto took Naruto to the Chunin test site.

"Naruto, haven't you seen Sasuke?"

"No, he's always been acting alone during this period of time, and he doesn't know what he's doing mysteriously."

Looking up at the sky, Naruto complained unhappily: "Why is the weather so cloudy, will it rain later? I don't want to fight in the rain."

Haruto looked up at the gloomy sky and responded: "There is nothing wrong with raining, maybe it will be our advantage."

Naruto shook his head: "Why, I'm the worst at fighting in this environment."

In a tall building in the east of the village, a strange tower-shaped building was shining with a strange light. More than 20 Konoha ninjas were quietly surrounding the tower, constantly passing chakra through the huge seal method on the ground. The array was transmitting energy to the tower.

"Okay, let's go here first. It's almost enough to keep the clouds at this scale. You should take a good rest first. You will really need to exert your strength later." Haruto looked at the thickness of the clouds in the sky and turned his head to address everyone.

"Yes, Miyazaki-sama."

The corners of Haruto's mouth twitched when he heard this name. In order to control his subordinates more conveniently and prevent others from despising him because of his age, Haruto had to put on a mask and use another identity. Except for a little inexplicable sense of joy, everything went on very smoothly.

At the same time, in Konoha's four different buildings in the east, west, north, and south directions, similar scenes were happening repeatedly. These were all dispatched by Haruto's shadow clones, just waiting for the war to start.

In the stands of the Chunin Exam auditorium, the Third Hokage was greeting the Kazekage.

"The journey is tiring, thank you for your hard work." The Third Hokage smiled.

"Where is it? After all, you are old. If you travel far away to my place, I am afraid that your body will not be able to bear it. I think it is better for you to choose the candidate for the Fifth Hokage." The Kazekage's words carried the smell of gunpowder.

"Hahahaha, don't treat me like an old man, I want to work for another five years."

The eyes of the Third Hokage suddenly became sharp: "It's time. It's time to start the competition. I think the content of today's exam will be very exciting, don't you think?"

The Kazekage smiled, and said pointedly: "Yes, today's exam will be very exciting."

"In the first match, Neji Hyuga will fight Haruto Itsuki. The match begins now."

Neji gently raised his left hand, made a soft fist gesture, and looked at Haruto vigilantly.

"I have heard about your genius for a long time. I have been looking forward to this battle with you. I think you will be a very good opponent."

Haruto gently pulled out Murasame and put the blade back into its sheath a moment later.

"Have you been looking forward to a fight with me? Heh, what a ridiculous idea. I have never taken you to heart. I don't even need to use a sword to deal with a guy like you."

"You!" Neji suddenly felt greatly insulted and glared at Haruto.

"Heh, don't you always talk about fate? Then I want to tell you that your fate was already doomed when you were drawn into a group with me. That is... to lose."

"What are you talking about? The fate I see is that you lose!" Neji finally couldn't bear it anymore and rushed toward Haruto.

When Haruto saw Neji step forward, he calmly formed hand seals:

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."

Immediately, flames filled the entire arena — not only due to their wide range, but also because of their amazing power. The air was even slightly distorted. The audience sitting far outside the arena still felt a scorching heat that made it difficult to breathe.

For a while, everyone looked at Haruto standing in the field in shock — especially some famous dignitaries from various countries who didn't know much about ninjutsu. They directly classified Haruto as the strongest ninja.

In fact, Haruto hadn't even reached Jonin level in terms of fire-style mastery alone. But with the fire affinity boost from the Uchiha bloodline (+0.5) and the full attribute enhancement from Jugo's bloodline, his fire-style proficiency was pushed to Jonin level. Combined with the unlocked advanced version of the fireball technique, it created this amazing scene.

The Konoha ninjas watching on the sidelines were even more shocked. On one hand, they didn't expect Haruto to have such fire-style ability.

Naruto yelled: "Boss, how can you do this? Even if Neji has a grudge against you, he's still a member of our village. How can you try to kill him?"

The other rookies also looked at the field with fear or worry. Hinata clenched her fists tightly, watching this scene tremblingly.

Hearing the comments of the rookies, Haruto didn't take it seriously. This kind of power is enough to kill an ordinary ninja — but to kill Neji? Not likely.

Generally, ninjas of the same level rarely use such large-scale ninjutsu in one-on-one combat. It's too wasteful. You launch an attack that covers 100 square meters, and the opponent only needs to move 1 meter to dodge. Unless the gap between the two is massive, such techniques are mostly used for clearing out mobs. Even if Haruto's fireball hit its mark, it couldn't kill Neji, who was already at Jonin-level.

Sure enough, as expected, Neji reappeared in front of everyone a while later. Except for some light burn marks on his clothes and a disheveled appearance, he had not suffered much damage.

Neji panted and looked at Haruto, who was still standing calmly. A trace of fear flashed in his eyes. The fire's high temperature and the suffocating feeling as oxygen was drained had made him feel like he might die there for a moment.

After a while, Neji, having regained some stamina, cautiously circled Haruto.

"Long-range battle is no match. My only chance should be to rush in close, and I have to be careful with his ninjutsu. Maybe I can create an opening if he lets his guard down..." Neji thought silently.

Neji was carefully planning how to deal with Haruto, but Haruto didn't care about Neji at all. The gap between the two was just too large. Complete attributes, a massive library of jutsu — he had top-level techniques like Flying Thunder God, Kirin, and even Reaper Death Seal. Attribute-wise, he completely overwhelmed his opponent. With Haruto's current strength, even facing a Kage he could fight for a while. Dealing with Neji — who was barely a standard Jonin and not even close to an elite — was bullying.

In fact, if Haruto wanted to, he could finish Neji in an instant. But he used flashy jutsu for another reason.

This exam had gathered most of the daimyos and dignitaries from around the Land of Fire. It was the best chance to become famous in the ninja world. For someone like Haruto who aspired to become Hokage and promote his ideas internationally, fame was essential.

Since he was going to show off, he might as well make it spectacular.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." In an instant, four shadow clones appeared behind Haruto.

"From the angle of the Jonin who got impressed earlier — what they really saw was the combined ninjutsu power of multiple users. With collaboration, the power exceeds that of a Jonin. I can try the same — it might be a little weaker, but the visual impact is perfect. Just choose flashy ninjutsu for the best show."

Neji looked at Haruto, puzzled. Is shadow clone even useful in such a match?

He couldn't understand what it was like to have so much chakra to spare.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire."

"Wind Style: Gale Force Pressure."

Flames and gusts of wind roared in. Neji dodged awkwardly but noticed that the power of this technique wasn't even close to the earlier fireball.

"Is this an illusion?" Neji wondered.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique."

"Lightning Style: False Darkness."

Under the action of electricity, a blue-tinged water wave rushed toward Neji. Just as Neji tried to dodge, Haruto used yet another jutsu:

"Earth Style: Earth Spear."

This time Neji didn't completely dodge and took minor injuries.

Though injured, Neji was increasingly confused. Why do these techniques feel like they're just for show? If he had just kept using the technique from the start, I'd have no way to fight back.

No help for it — Haruto knew how to use them, but wasn't that proficient. The combo's power wasn't even as good as the original fireball, but visually? Perfect. The village leaders and daimyos were stunned. Too intense — who wins by crushing with this many elements? It didn't look like chakra at all — more like some divine being showing off. And he's clearly full attribute. Is this Konoha's strength? Such a terrifying genius.

For a moment, everyone was shaken by Haruto's power and deeply remembered his name.

Looking at the reaction of the people in the stands, Haruto nodded in satisfaction: "The performance was perfect. I give myself full marks for this forceful display."