Chapter 18: First Undead Legion Test, Root Ambush, and Sharingan Awakening
This was the first time Naraku used the Undead Legion skill. His consciousness entered the Shinigami Hall.
There, he saw two ordinary-looking middle-aged men standing blankly inside. Naraku attempted to summon them.
Back in the real world, Naraku looked at the two vacant-eyed chūnin in front of him and directly ordered them to fight each other.
The two suddenly began sparring seriously. They started with the classic ninja shuriken exchange, then moved into close-quarters taijutsu. Midway through, they used Body Replacement or Clone Techniques to disorient each other.
Chūnin A executed Earth Release: Rock Cannon Technique—spitting a small stone from his mouth that rapidly grew in mid-air into a solid cannonball smashing toward Chūnin B.
Chūnin B responded with Earth Release: Earth Shore Return—slamming his hands to the ground, flipping up a massive stone slab to block the incoming attack.
Three minutes later, both figures suddenly vanished and returned to the Shinigami Hall.
Naraku was quite satisfied with them. Although they seemed to have lost intelligence, their combat instincts remained sharp. The only drawback was the short duration—just three minutes. He wondered whether stronger ninjas would behave differently.
After finishing the experiment, Naraku stretched lazily and decided to grab a late-night snack. He found a scenic spot outside the clan grounds—perfect for moon-viewing—and started grilling more Sea King meat.
Suddenly, a figure dressed as ANBU wearing a monkey mask appeared in front of him.
Monkey ANBU: "Naraku! The Hokage-sama has business with you! Come with us!"
Naraku looked at the ANBU in front of him and increasingly felt something was wrong!
First, Hiruzen shouldn't have any reason to summon him at this hour. Second, their style felt off—they looked less like ANBU and more like Root!
Naraku said to the man: "If the Third really wants me, where is the Hokage's seal?"
The monkey mask naturally had no such order. He spoke in a threatening tone: "Uchiha Naraku! I advise you to come with us!"
Hearing the threat, Naraku was now 90% certain—this was Danzō's men.
Naraku thought to himself: he was probably in no real danger, but if that old schemer Danzō lost his mind and resorted to coercion, threats, or even assassination... who could he turn to for justice?
Naraku said to the monkey mask: "Can I finish my barbecue first?"
Monkey Mask replied coldly: "Don't make the Third wait. Last warning—come with us!"
Rage surged in Naraku's chest. That damn Danzō was truly disgusting!
Without another word, Naraku hurled the entire barbecue grill toward the Root agents and drew the toy knife he had forged earlier in one smooth motion.
Channeling chakra to stimulate his body, he charged at the monkey mask using Hatake swordsmanship.
The monkey mask never expected Naraku to explode so suddenly—he couldn't react in time and desperately used Body Flicker to dodge the fatal slash!
As a special jōnin of Konoha, the monkey mask was no ordinary shinobi. Though caught off-guard, he quickly regained composure. His figure flickered like a ghost, instantly executing high-level Body Flicker to evade the deadly strike.
Despite successfully dodging the blade, his arm was still grazed. Blood immediately gushed out. He gritted his teeth against the pain, rapidly channeling chakra and applying medical ninjutsu to stop the bleeding and begin healing.
With both hands forming seals, a powerful surge of chakra gathered at the wounded arm. Under its influence, the cut gradually closed, and the bleeding slowed to a stop.
The monkey mask said in a cold voice tinged with anger: "Since you refuse to cooperate—don't blame me!"
Naraku felt a twinge of disappointment that his surprise attack hadn't killed the enemy. But he also knew that although he had already reached advanced mastery of Hatake swordsmanship, he lacked Lightning Release, so he couldn't achieve the true blinding speed. Combined with his still-insufficient raw strength and lack of proper practice with the Hatake style, he couldn't display its full power.
Still, Naraku had no intention of giving up. He formed seals—Shadow Clone Technique!
Naraku and his three clones exchanged glances, then all charged at the Root agent with blades raised!
Two shuriken plus one punch—the monkey mask cleanly dispatched Naraku's shadow clones.
Facing Naraku's lethal slash, the monkey mask showed no fear. He met it with his own ninja blade.
Clang! A loud ring echoed as the monkey mask's blade shattered, losing a huge chunk of metal.
This time, he didn't retreat. Instead, he used Body Flicker to appear behind Naraku and delivered a powerful, heavy punch.
Naraku had no time to dodge. The blow sent him flying a great distance.
After taking the punch, Naraku felt as though his internal organs had shifted. He lay on the ground for a long time, unable to stand.
The ever-arrogant Naraku—who had always relied on being a transmigrator with a golden finger and treated Konoha with casual indifference—finally felt the village's dark side up close and personal!
Strength. He still needed strength! His purity was too low! Even though he had gained some status in Konoha through forging, those things were illusory. In this cruel ninja world, only strength held in your own hands gave you the right to scheme.
Without the power to protect his own life, the higher he stood, the more miserable his death would be!
Naraku refused to surrender. He struggled to his feet.
He knew no one could help him now. That peeping Third Hokage never used Telescope Technique after 10 p.m. The barbecue spot he chose was too remote—no way to call for help.
This time he had been careless. From now on—until he had real strength—he would never act so recklessly again!
Two choices:
Go quietly to Root and endure Danzō's manipulation and brainwashing.
Fight like hell. He was certain the man in front of him wouldn't dare kill him—he could use that to turn the tables!
He didn't charge. Instead, he summoned the two blank-eyed Iwa chūnin and ordered them to attack.
The monkey mask saw two unmarked strangers and assumed they were Naraku's hidden guards. He quickly formed seals—Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
A massive barrage of shuriken rained down. The Iwa brothers simultaneously used Earth Release: Earth Shore Return—slamming hands to the ground, flipping up huge stone slabs to block the storm.
By now, the monkey mask knew the mission had failed. But he made one last attempt.
He formed seals—Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique! A continuous stream of fireballs erupted from his mouth.
Using the flames as cover, he Body Flickered behind one of the Iwa brothers and slashed.
The blade connected—yet no blood sprayed. The struck body crumbled into mud.
Too late to react.
The Iwa brothers used Earth Release and raw physical strength to lock the monkey mask in place.
Naraku showed no mercy. One clean slash cleaved the Root agent in half.
Blood and organs spilled across the ground. Naraku quickly stored the corpse in his system space.
He immediately recalled the Iwa brothers to the Shinigami Hall and sprinted home.
Back inside the Uchiha compound, Naraku panted heavily, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
A single small tomoe had appeared in his eye.
Naraku knew—he had awakened the Sharingan!
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