Naruto and the rest travelled back to the town, where they inquired about the burial grounds that the hooded men spoke of. It was the location where the chosen person will be taken, and buried alive.
The reason is still unknown to the town, however, just hearing about this sickens them.
"That sick b*stard" Lee clenched his fists, and uttered a curse that he rarely said.
The others understood his anger, Raiga suppresses this town with utter fear, and nominates random people just to get buried alive. No matter the reason, they could see that he was beyond redemption.
"Let's go" Lee said in a low voice, he no longer carried his usual cheerful smile at this moment.
They headed for the burial ground, which they saw was a massive pit where numerous burial mounds were located. From the sheer number of such mounds, they could tell that dozens of town folks have been buried alive already.
"What do we have here" A creepy chuckle came from within the pit
*Bzzt*
Neji and Lee quickly pulled Tenten back, while Naruto charged at the source of the voice. A streak of lightning shot out, shooting past where Tenten initially stood, leaving her slightly shaken.
"Prepare for combat!" Neji yelled, snapping Tenten back
Lee followed behind Naruto, and Neji's byakugan activated.
"He's just below the pit, to the left mound!" He yelled as he saw chakra signatures using his byakugan.
Naruto's eyes sharpened as a rasengan was formed on his hand, exerting a powerful suction force in which he threw towards the location Neji pointed out.
*Swoosh*
A lightning coated blade slashed across, dispersing the rasengan with a single swift movement.
"Lee!" Naruto yelled
"Got it!" Lee ran past him
"Dynamic entry!" He yelled as his body spun, throwing a powerful kick towards Raiga
Raiga chuckled as he coated his blades with lightning once more, before striking it down at Lee, who spun his body mid air and kicked the side of the blade.
*Bzzt*
The lightning shocked him, but he gnashed his teeth and went through with his attack, pushing his arm back while Naruto appeared behind, and pressed five rasengans towards Raiga.
However, it was as if he could see it all, Raiga shifted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike from behind before throwing a wave of lightning at them both.
"Duck!" Tenten yelled as dozens of weapons rained down on Raiga, who looked up and brandished both blades in hand.
"Hehehe" He licked his lips as a sinister grin appeared on his face
*Ding*
*Clank*
The weapons that rained down were knocked aside with ease, causing the area around to be littered with weapons.
Naruto grabbed one of the fallen weapons and threw it at him, in which he raised a blade to knock it away.
But the moment he knocked it aside, a golden seal appeared on the hilt where Naruto grabbed, and he appeared in place of the blade.
!!!!!
This took Raiga by surprise, but despite this, the strike Naruto prepared wasn't able to land, and even avoided with ease.
"I knew it, I thought you looked familiar" Raiga pointed one of his blades at Naruto as he chuckled
"You're that brat from last time, on the rooftop, your clone was quite interesting" He said
Naruto stood up straight
"Yeah, and you look like sh*t no matter how many times I see you, were you dropped as a kid? Cause your face looks messed up" Naruto stuck out his tongue and spoke
Raiga chuckled
"Your little insults won't get to me" He shook his head and said
"Insults? Hah, sorry b*tch, but I only speak facts, and here's a fact, by the end of this, I will have you six feet underground" Naruto said with a gaze filled with mockery.
Raiga scoffed
"You think I'm scared? Your group may be skilled, but it's not enough" He said as he slashed his blade towards Tenten, who was above.
A wave of lightning shot towards her, in which she barely dodged by leaping to the side.
He laughed
"How funny, to think a few kids were sent to stop me, it's truly laughable" He smirked
Naruto frowned, and decided to stop probing him. He activated sage mode, and three tails worth of chakra from Kurama. Seeing the tails sprout from him, Raiga narrowed his eyes as he found those to be rather familiar.
"You....you were that beast as well" He muttered
He still remembered how destructive the beast bomb that was shot towards him was, it was a power he felt he could never contend with.
However....instead of feeling dread, a smile rose on his face, as his heart began pumping even faster. He shifted his gaze to the other three members.
"Your team will be your downfall, even if you are a monster" He said
Naruto's lifted a brow, and somewhat understood what he meant by that. He isn't saying the others are weak, rather, he has experienced first hand how destructive Naruto's beast bomb was, so he knew Naruto couldn't use it with the others around.
However, due to this, he gradually began underestimating the entire team as a whole.
Naruto jumped back and regrouped with the others
"Guys, his lightning jutsu..." Naruto said with a serious expression
"What? Did you figure something out?" Tenten asked
"It's....quite shocking, no?" He asked
"....was that a pun?"
Naruto turned back to face Raiga
"Yeah....I didn't know what to say about it, but then...it struck me" He said
"...if we make it out of this safely, I will punch you" Tenten said
"It is well worth it" Naruto grinned
He glanced at Lee and Neji
"One of you stay back with Tenten, and Tenten, keep throwing weapons when you see an opening" Naruto said
Tenten's fists clenched, as she knew why he asked one of them to stay with her...she was too weak.
But Naruto patted her shoulders
"Your weapons are more useful than you think" He said
"H-Huh"
"I'll stay with her" Neji replied
"Alright, Lee, let's go" Naruto patted Lee's shoulders before he dashed down towards Raiga, whose smile widened as both blades were coated with lightning.
"Three of you were a little tricky, but only two? Hah!" He swung the blades, causing lightning to strike everywhere.
Amidst this, Naruto began focusing on Raiga's swinging motions, and gradually, began comparing them to what he has learnt from Zabuza.
'He's not swinging randomly' The lightning that struck around cuts off any possible way of them sneaking up on him, and forced them to stay at a distance.
Each swing was calculated, and the power behind them were dangerous, especially for Lee and the others.
"First gate, gate of opening!"
Lee clenched his fists tightly
"Second gate, gate of healing, open!" He yelled as the air around him began to shift.
His muscles tightened, and he burst forth with immense power. The boost in strength was grand, allowing him to weave through the lightning strikes.
'So that's what the gates look like in action, Lee, you're incredible' Naruto's lips curled into a smile as he followed behind, not any slower than Lee.
"Huh? Not bad" Raiga raised both blades up, and slammed down, causing a massive column of lightning to strike down.
The strike was aimed at Lee, so fast that Lee was almost hit despite opening the first two gates.
But the moment he used to avoid, Raiga appeared next to him, and slashed down at him.
*Whoosh*
A golden glow appeared on Lee's shoulder, which was where Naruto patted before engaging with Raiga. The next moment, Naruto appeared in front of Lee, with a condensed rasengan in hand that he pressed forth to defend against the blade.
*Bang*
On impact, they were all blown back, and Raiga had to embed both blades into the ground to stabilise himself.
*Whoosh*
Without giving him time to breathe, Tenten launched a bombardment of weapons down onto him from above.
!!!!!
Raiga turned around and summoned a massive column of lighting that struck down on the weapons, scattering them around the field.
"I was waiting for this, Lee, boost me" Naruto grinned
"On it!" Lee appeared behind Naruto, who jumped off the ground. Lee clasped his hands together, letting Naruto step on his hand, and pushed forth as hard as he could.
Naruto shot out like a canon, and created a rasengan with strong repulsion force in one hand, propelling himself even faster.
Raiga at this moment, shouldn't have time to react, yet despite this, he somehow realised the attack from behind, and dodged to the side, whilst Naruto landed a bit further down, with the rasengan destroying the ground when he landed.
His unnatural reaction speed left them all stunned
Neji narrowed his gaze, and soon realised something was off.
"There's...a second chakra signature from the bundle of clothe on Raiga's back" He muttered
Naruto grabbed some of the weapons that Tenten threw out, and began throwing them.
"Useless tricks" Raiga smirked as he waved his blade, striking the weapons down, while sending strikes towards everyone else.
Neji stepped in front, and using his rotation, dispersed some of the incoming lightning, just enough to avoid being hit.
"I really don't understand, you clearly have more effective methods, why are you simply throwing these things at me" Raiga asked as he deflected the weapons
*Whoosh*
However, he also found something was off, many of the weapons thrown weren't even landing near him, rather, it went around him.
"Are you even trying to hit me?" He asked, barely deflecting any of the total weapons Naruto threw.
His actions confused his team as well, but with how he usually acts, they felt he must have a reason, and didn't interfere.
"Nah" Naruto replied
"Huh?"
Naruto grinned
"It's done" He clasped his hands together, and the weapons around Raiga began glowing.
Well, rather than the weapons that were glowing, it was strange marks on them, and the weapons formed a circle around him.
*Shing*
"Budget Uzumaki style, unreasonable chaotic chain blades seal" Naruto shouted as chains shot out from the marks on the blade hilts.
????
"The f**k is that name?" Raiga exclaimed as the chains shot out and bound his limbs.
"Lee, Neji, now!" Naruto yelled as he held the formation
Neji jumped down, and Lee dashed for Raiga, who was tightly bound, and unable to move due to the seal.
It was only now that Raiga knew how much he had underestimated them. He didn't expect Lee to have such explosive powers, he didn't expect the blades to become a seal, and he didn't expect a child to be this proficient in seals.
He gnashed his teeth
"Ranmaru" He yelled
Suddenly, ghost like entities slowly appeared around him, obstructing Neji and Lee's view. It wasn't anything they have ever seen, so Lee immediately attacked, only to have his attack go right through.
Neji on the other hand, was experiencing something he has never seen before. He tried to use the byakugan to find Raiga, however, the moment it activated, his vision was completely obscured by numerous other chakra signatures.
Using this moment, Raiga lifted the blade and started to hack at the swords that formed the formation. He knew that the chains were tough as it bound him tightly, but the swords that were used to form around him were simple weapons.
*Clang*
Naruto frowned upon realising that the seal was about to break
"Yo Tenten, throw some more weapons at him, I'm currently chained down" He called out
Tenten was about to help, but she froze up suddenly
"W-Was that another-"
"Yes, now help!" Naruto shouted
"Urgh, I swear, I will end you some day" She muttered as she rained down another volley of weapons, however, Raiga was able to break out of the chains in time, and avoided the incoming strikes.
Tenten clicked her tongue, she wanted to help up front, however, it can be seen that Raiga's physical abilities surpass her so much that she'd only be a burden.
Naruto threw down a smoke screen, blocking Raiga's vision before he jumped over to Neji and Lee, pulling them out of the pit.
"Cigarette, all of you" He said
"Right"
They all lit the cigarette and Naruto threw down numerous small beads.
"Now, it's a battle of attrition" He said
The beads exploded into purple mist, covering the area densely. Raiga leapt out of the pit with a livid expression. Lightning wrapped around his body like a barrier, which seemed to have blocked out most of the poison.
"I admit, I underestimated you lot, even that girl became more of a headache than expected" He spat as the lightning around him dispersed.
He stared at Naruto
"So, how's your brother doing?" He asked
The moment Haku was mentioned, Naruto's expression darkened
"I slashed at his throat before leaving, but it seems he somehow avoided being beheaded, but did he survive?" He said with a smile
Naruto's hands clenched tightly, and the others finally knew why Naruto was so eager to take on this mission with them. This man harmed, and potentially killed his brother...
"Ah...such a pity, he was a valiant person, I would have loved to bury him myself, and proceed with a funeral" Tears ran down the side of his face as he thought of it
"Sad, I'm truly sad" He wore a twisted smile, but the expression he made was that of genuine sadness, which served to baffle them.
Naruto took in a deep breath, then let out a faint, cold, laughter
"Ah, don't worry, nii-san is alive and well, but that doesn't mean I won't do anything I can to make you regret even laying a finger on him" Naruto smiled
He pointed at his back
"On you, there's someone else, isn't there? You shouted Ranmaru, and those ghostly figures appeared" He said
"Heh, and how'd you figure that out?" Raiga smirked, not denying it
"The first time we met, you struck your own body with lightning to empower your jutsu, yet I don't see you doing it now, so I guess this Ranmaru guy is quite precious to you, huh?" Naruto said calmly
Raiga maintained a smile, though his wariness of Naruto grew
"Like me, you can't use certain attacks because of those around you, quite a hypocrite you are" Naruto laughed
Raiga's smile slowly lowered into a frown
"Then I guess it's time, huh?" He slowly unwrapped the clothe behind him, and a blue-haired bow, no taller than they are, slowly got out.
His eyes glowed red as he stared at the group, causing a sense of unease to crawl from within.
"He...he's the reason my byakugan isn't working" Neji exclaimed
!!!!!
The others were shocked, this boy could even block the byakugan's abilities?
"My dojutsu isn't something your byakugan can compare to" The boy said, wearing an emotionless face as he walked forward.
"You three, be careful with the kid, I'll hold Raiga back" Naruto said
"Are you sure?" Neji asked
"Rather than worrying about me, I should be worried about you" Naruto shook his head and said, the feeling Ranmaru gave him was unsettling.
He felt that the other three won't have an easy time against him.
Naruto glanced at Raiga
"So, wanna switch locations?" He chuckled
"If you insist" Raiga didn't reject it, he was fully confident that Ranmaru will be able to handle the other three.
If it were Naruto, he would be worried, but against those three....
He chuckled in his heart as he stepped to the side with Naruto.
Lee, Neji and Tenten stared at Ranmaru warily, whilst he simply stared back with a blank expression.
"Hah! Dynamic entry!" Lee rushed Ranmaru, however, as he got close, Ranmaru's figure became a blur to him.
His attack then went through, as if he kicked air, and ghost like figures began emerging once more around them. Ranmaru's figure was nowhere to be seen, and Neji couldn't even use the byakugan to determine his location either.
"What are these things" Tenten frowned
"From what's happening, it seems to be illusions, but my byakugan can't see through it at all" Neji said with a dark expression.
His words came to them as a shock, as even the byakugan was useless against this. Ranmaru stood not far from them, however, none of them could determine his location, despite how close he is.
'I just need to stall until Raiga-sama is done' He thought
On Naruto and Raiga's side, Raiga pointed one of the blades at Naruto and smiled.
"Now, you don't need to hold back that power anymore" He said
His pose was stable, showing no fear of the beast bomb, rather, he had confidence that Naruto won't use it.
Naruto chuckled
"Are you talking about the beast bomb? As much as I want to just blast you with it...it's too easy on you"
'I knew it' Raiga smirked
He knew Naruto sought his death, but not in a normal way. The way he looked at him, it was the look of a killer who wish for their victims to die a brutal death.
Naruto snapped his fingers, and dozens of blades dropped next to him. These were the very blades he left a flying raijin mark on as Tenten threw the weapons.
He grabbed a long sword
"I have yet to properly use this in combat aside from my battles against sensei, but...I think you will be the perfect opponent" He said as he brandished the blade towards Raiga.
"Heh, kenjutsu? You do realise who I am, no?" Raiga laughed
"One of the seven mist swordsmen, I know" Naruto replied
"And you still wish to fight me with kenjutsu?" Raiga twirled the blades in his hand and struck lightning next to Naruto, missing him intentionally.
Naruto smiled
"I've been practicing" He replied
"How long?" Raiga asked
"A few months"
Raiga let out another laugh
"Then let me see your form" He dashed towards Naruto, and swung both blades at him as he spun his body.
Naruto lifted the blade at a slight angle. Under normal circumstances, a normal blade such as this would break upon impact against Raiga's blades, however, before impact, a faint blue coat of chakra covered the blade.
Constantly moving, clashing against itself, sharpening and extending.
*Clang*
The blades came into contact, and the angle Naruto placed the blade allowed for him to block, and cause the two incoming blades to slide upwards.
Taking that chance, he slashed down with the blade, forcing Raiga to retreat. A streak of blood seeped down from the side of his cheeks, and his eyes narrowed.
"So you weren't just talking sh*t when you said you practiced" He said
"I don't talk sh*t, but you, you'll become sh*t" Naruto spat as he slashed at Raiga
Raiga began to take a more defensive measure as he began probing Naruto's skills and fighting style. The two of them began clashing at high speed, and lighting struck around, destroying the land whilst Naruto used Kurama's chakra to block it.
Neither side sustained many injuries, and Raiga soon noticed that Naruto lacked actual combat experience despite his decent posture and techniques. He was making up for the lack in skills with his overwhelming strength from Kurama's chakra.
"Your technique isn't bad, but you're too green" Lightning struck down once more, but this time, it struck Raiga as he pressed down on Naruto with his blades.
The two Kiba clung onto Naruto's blade using the fang like protrusions, and Naruto felt the blade get twisted out of his hand.
Raiga then slashed at him with the blades without giving him any time to breathe.
Naruto clicked his tongue as he teleported the blade back into his hand, and infused it with chakra once more to block the strike.
"Interesting technique"
Naruto smiled
"It'll become more interesting soon" He grinned
Raiga laughed, the type of battle he is having with Naruto was not something he had anticipated, but even if it was only for a slight moment, he felt as if he wasn't a rogue Shinobi, but a mist swordsman, facing another swordsman.
It ignited something in his heart, something he felt that he had been searching for all this time.
*Bang*
Their blades clashed, and his strikes became more ferocious, targeting vitals. It forced Naruto to fall into a defensive position, but he didn't back down.
"Raiga, you're truly a cut above the rest of the opponents I have faced thus far" Naruto said
"Of course, I-....I can't help but feel you're making a joke" Raiga's smile slowly lowered into a frown
"Ouch, to think you'd accuse me of making jokes in battle~, me? I wouldn't dare, or I won't make the cut" Naruto grinned
"...is this what you mean by more interesting?" His lips twitched as he asked
"Wha~t? I'm offended, your statements are cutting, it came to me as quite the shock" Naruto responded as he continued to defend against Raiga's relentless attacks.
Raiga's expression stiffened
"Would you shut up and fight properly" Hs growled in a low voice, as he felt the fleeting feeling earlier fade away under Naruto's playful remarks.
"Aw~, did that make you angry? I guess I can cut you a break" He grinned
"Enough, it seems you think this fight isn't anything difficult, huh? Then, shall I increase the pace" He said roughly as he coated his entire body with lightning.
*Bang*
Naruto felt the impact behind each strike from Raiga intensify instantly, as the speed at which he struck increased tremendously.
He jumped back and threw down a metallic orb that burst into purple smoke. Raiga scoffed at the sight of this, and created a massive wave of lightning that swept the smoke away.
Naruto took this chance to place a cigarette in his mouth
"What's this? Smoking during a battle?" Raiga smirked
Naruto smiled back
"Want one?" He chuckled
"I'm good" Raiga replied
"Well, let's try sensei's techniques then" Naruto said as he crouched slightly, and placed the blade over his shoulder.
*Bang*
He exploded forth with a strong burst of movement speed, and swung his blade in a clean arc that was aimed at Raiga's neck.
Raiga frowned a little as he blocked the strike, and returned with a thrust using his other blade.
Naruto spun his body, and struck down with his blade, blocking the incoming thrust, and delivered a kick at Raiga, causing him to stagger a little.
Naruto's change in stance made his movements more unpredictable, and his style changed so much it caught him off guard. It was entirely different to his previous techniques, which seemed like an amateur's. Now, his blade had proper trajectories, aiming for specific results that slowly forced Raiga into a more passive position.
"That technique...." He clenched his fists tightly as he struck as hard as he could against Naruto
"It's quite familiar" He said
Naruto chuckled
"Well, I learned from quite a famous person after all" Naruto smiled as he hung the blade over his shoulders.
His stance now became more familiar to Raiga
"Z-Zabuza? Did you learn from him?" He asked
Naruto chuckled
"Spot on, Zabuza is my sensei"
Raiga's eyes widened from shock. He knows Zabuza's infamy, yet this child claims that Zabuza had taught him sword techniques?
Not to mention, Naruto is a proper Shinobi under Konoha, while Zabuza is a missing nin, a rogue Shinobi! How is it possible that he is Naruto's teacher? It simply didn't make sense! But how can he explain Naruto's swordsmanship?
"Your correct guess is rewarded with....a sneak attack" Naruto pointed the blade behind Raiga and said
Startled, Raiga looked back, but there was no one there. It was then that he realised he was tricked, and turned around, but Naruto was already in front of his face with a fist clenched.
He dropped the sword, and went for a direct punch across Raiga's face, throwing him across the ground.
"You fell for the oldest trick in the book, dumba*s!" Naruto crackled like a maniac as he created five rasengans and threw them at the fallen Raiga, and using his free hand, he threw a kunai in the mix.
Raiga's pupils shrunk as he raised his blades to block, but was still struck by two that made it past, sending him rolling.
*Psht*
The kunai that he threw after, struck Raiga as he tumbled, embedded deeply into his shoulders.
The moment it landed, a golden mark appeared on it, and Naruto appeared next to him, wearing that maniacal smirk on his face as he created another rasengan and bashed it into his guts.
The three tails behind him squirmed, shooting out and grabbing Raiga's arms, lifting him into the air. Raiga's blades dropped to the ground as blood soaked his face, he would never have expected that his defeat came from such a pathetic reason.
But Naruto has been so quirky, that he believed he really would announce a sneak attack just to mock him, resulting in this tragic loss.
He sucked in a cold breath
"You...hah, Zabuza will be disappointed in a student like you" He chuckled as his head swayed slightly
Naruto laughed
"You're not entirely wrong, as a swordsman, he is indeed not fond of me, but as his student, he's rather happy" He said with a smile
Raiga let out a deep sigh
"To think, of all people to root me out, it would be the student of a fellow mist swordsman, I have few regrets in this regard"
Naruto stepped closer
"Then, what are your few regrets?" He asked
Raiga's gaze lingered on Naruto, then towards the direction where the others were
"All my time, I sought a reason to live....only after fighting you, did I realise, what I truly wanted was to relive as a swordsman, even for a little bit, and pass down a legacy like Zabuza had done" He smiled bitterly
"But it seems I won't get a chance to do so"
He slowly looked down towards the pair of blades in Naruto's hands
"Take good care of them" He muttered
Naruto chuckled
"Naturally, sensei has been sparing with me with the executioner's blade all this time, while I can only use a kunai, now I have proper swords to use against him" Naruto said
Raiga laughed
"That sounds just like him, he's a strict man, living with strict rules...."
He began coughing, the rasengan that struck his stomach had dealt serious internal damages to him, and he felt his organs churn.
"Hah, I have one last request"
"What?"
"Ranmaru, that boy fighting your team....like you did with me, show him a reason to live for" He said
Naruto lifted a brow
"Oh, so you want me to..."
"Yes" Raiga nodded
"Beat him half to death like I did with you, and make him realise he wants to live, before killing him" Naruto shot him a 'I got you' expression as he winked
"...."
Naruto felt Raiga's expression darken dramatically as visible anger started to show
Naruto laughed
"I can kill him in front of you as well, but where's the fun in that? No, I will kill you, and you will die wondering, did I kill Ranmaru afterwards? Hahaha, did you think we were having a heart to heart?" Naruto held his stomach as he laughed maniacally
His eyes curved into a crescent shape
"I told you, you will die a painful death, you will die with regrets! You WILL regret not fighting with your life on the line, thinking I'm kind enough to spare a brat just because you asked!" Naruto grabbed Raiga's neck
"And I will drag your lifeless body to him, and have him mourn for your death before I kill him as well" Naruto growled in a low voice
His pupils were blood red, and his long nails caused blood to seep out of Raiga's neck.
Raiga's heart shuddered upon meeting Naruto's eyes
"M-Monster"
"Yeah, that's what they all called me" Naruto smirked
*Splat*