Naruto: The Chosen Undead

Read advance chapters of all my works or want to support me.

https/www.p.a.t.r.e.on/Adamo_Amet

Join us on discord:

https://di..scord.gg/h3kDw7ma

••••••••••••••••••

Chapter no.50 Time Dilation

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Naruto walked down the hall, the path twisted a few times until it opened up to a narrow pathway. Just up ahead was a bright red ladder leading upwards, but four hollows stood in the way, looking about as mindless as the ones from back in the Northern Undead Asylum. His fingers itched to get moving. Those hollows had been perfect target practice back then, and honestly, he was feeling kinda nostalgic.

"Alright," he muttered under his breath, cracking his knuckles, "time to see if all that kata training pays off."

He took a step forward, and like clockwork, two of the hollows charged him, swinging their jagged daggers all over the place. Their moves were sloppy and wide open. This was gonna be fun. Naruto shifted his weight slightly, grounding himself, and prepared for the first strike.

The first hollow lunged, aiming its dagger right at him. Kata one, he thought, sliding his right foot back as he twisted his torso just enough to let the blade zip by. His left hand shot out, grabbing the hollow's wrist and pulling it forward, just enough to throw it off balance. Then, without wasting a second, he brought his knee up hard, driving it into the hollow's gut, making it stagger backward. Naruto finished it off with a punch straight to its throat. Quick, brutal, and satisfying.

First down, three to go. Not bad, huh? he thought.

The second hollow wasn't far behind, coming in with a sloppy overhead swing. Naruto ducked low, shifting his stance to his left, sliding his foot forward to close the distance. As the hollow brought the dagger down, Naruto moved in close and went straight for its jaw with an elbow strike, snapping its head back. In the same breath, his other hand shot up, catching its dagger hand and twisting the wrist until it let go of the blade. Then, he drove his knee into its thigh and shoved it back to the ground for good measure.

The last two hollows looked at each other like they were trying to come up with a plan. One circled to his right, while the other closed in from the left. Alright, alright, so these guys are actually trying now? Naruto shifted his stance, lowering his center of gravity, and took a deep breath. If they wanted to play it smart, he'd just have to be smarter.

The hollow on the left jumped first, exactly what Naruto was counting on. Kata three, he reminded himself, stepping right into the hollow's reach instead of backing off. He blocked its strike with his arm and went straight for its throat. Then he twisted, pulling it forward with his momentum, and it stumbled right into his sweep as he kicked its shin out from under it. As it dropped, he brought his fist down on the back of its neck, making sure it was down for good.

The last hollow froze for a split second, just long enough for Naruto to size it up. He straightened up, exhaled, and locked eyes with it, daring it to make a move. It took the bait, lunging in a clumsy rush. Kata five, he thought, sidestepping to the right to dodge the blade. With one quick motion, he grabbed its wrist, twisted it, and forced it to drop the dagger. Naruto punched it hard in the ribs, making it gasp, then slammed his knee into its face, watching it drop like a sack of rocks.

Straightening up, Naruto rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, feeling pretty pleased with himself. Those katas Kakashi drilled into him? Yeah, they weren't flashy, but they got the job done. Every move was smooth, no wasted energy, no frills. Just straight-up efficient.

"Thanks for the warm-up, guys," he muttered to the fallen hollows, turning his gaze up to the red ladder.

Climbing up the ladder, Naruto pulled himself onto a rooftop and spotted a corpse nearby clutching a handful of throwing knives. He quickly scooped them up, stashing them in his inventory. Taking a look over the edge of the roof, he realized he was right above the bridge where that dragon had been.

Glancing at the alarm clock Naruto had brought along to keep track, he knew he had to wrap things up fast. With a deep breath, he jumped down from the roof and headed back to the bonfire, ready to cash in some souls.

[ Name: Naruto Uzumaki ]

[ Souls: 1500 ]

[ Required Souls: 900 ]

[ Covenant: Way of White ]

[ Level: 10 → 11 ]

[ Souls: 666 ]

[ Attributes: ]

[ Strength: 16 → 17 ]

Naruto took a deep breath, feeling his body grow stronger as the power surged through him.

The boy felt ready to head back to Konoha. Unfortunately, there was one glaring problem.

[ Souls: 600 ]

He frowned. If I die, there's no telling which hollow might snatch them up, and I really don't want to come back to find some upgraded hollow using my souls against me.

Naruto sighed, scratching his head. Man, maybe I should've gone for intelligence instead of strength. Come on, brain. Think, think!

His mind raced for a solution until an idea came to him.

[ Item: Ring of Sacrifice ]

[ Description: This mystical ring was created in a sacrificial rite of Velka, the Goddess of Sin. Its wearer will lose nothing upon death, but the ring itself breaks. ]

He held it up, frowning. One-time use only. Sure, it would work for now, but what about the next time… and every time after that?

If only there was a way to keep it from breaking each time, he thought, the gears in his head spinning. Then, like lightning, an idea struck.

"Alright, let's test this."

He slipped the ring onto his finger, then made a shadow clone. Sure enough, the ring appeared on the clone's finger too. A grin spread across Naruto's face as he threw the original back into his inventory.

Without giving himself time to second-guess the plan, Naruto jumped off the ledge.

[ You Died ]

[ Through sacrifice, no souls were lost. Ring of Sacrifice shattered. ]

The messages flashed in front of him as his vision blurred and he jolted awake in his room back in Konoha.

The first thing he did was yank open his inventory, and there it was—Ring of Sacrifice, good as new.

"Yes!" he yelled, his face breaking into a triumphant grin. Before he knew it, he was spinning around the room, doing a goofy dance.

"Yatta, yatta! Found a loophole! My souls are safe, dattebayo!" he sang, practically skipping around his room.

Naruto flopped back onto his bed, the wide grin still plastered on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. The rush of success still buzzed in his veins. He reached for the clock on his bedside table and froze.

"Wait—what the—?!"

It had only been 40 minutes here in Konoha, but he'd just spent two hours in Lordran. His eyes widened as realization struck.

That's insane. Two hours there, but barely any time passes here? I could train so much... get stronger way faster.

A grin crept across his face again, but he quickly shook the thought away. Focus, Naruto. First mission with Team 7 is coming up. You've gotta crush it.

As he walked to meet his team, his mind drifted, daydreaming about all the wild possibilities.

Maybe we'll cross the sea to hunt for treasure... fight some pirates... or rescue a lost princess from a society of soul-reapers. Yeah, that'd be awesome!

Naruto puffed out his chest.

"Today's mission: Collecting honey."

Naruto felt like a balloon that had just been popped.

"...What?" He just stared at the mission scroll Kakashi was holding, the reality of it crashing over him like a bucket of cold water.

Sakura leaned over, her brow furrowed. "Wait, really?"

"Yep. Collecting honey. Exciting, isn't it?"

Naruto's eye twitched. I should've stayed in Lordran…

"Collecting honey is pretty awesome, Naruto-kun!" Sakura chirped, clearly trying to be optimistic.

Naruto turned to her, his face deadpan. He began clapping—slow, sarcastic, deliberate. "Wow. Incredible. Truly inspiring."

"Well, excuse me for trying to make the best out of it!"

"And here I thought you'd appreciate the finer points of this mission."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, I think you're confusing me with someone who cares," Naruto grumbled.

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in amusement. Without another word, he strolled over to a nearby tree and, to their shock, began walking up it—horizontally. Like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura whispered, her jaw dropping. "He's—he's walking up a tree!"

Naruto just squinted, his tone flat. "We're in a genjutsu."

"Again?"

Kakashi chuckled from his place high in the tree. "No genjutsu this time, you two. Pay attention!"

They both looked up at him, still perched casually on the tree trunk.

"Listen up," he called down. "For the next two weeks, we'll be handling simpler missions around Konoha. But don't think of them as boring. Every one of these tasks will tie into your training one way or another."

With that, Kakashi reached up into a beehive, swiping a glob of honey as effortlessly as plucking a flower. Then, with an easy hop, he landed right in front of them, holding the honey like a trophy.

"See? Collecting honey is pretty awesome."

Naruto stared at the honey in Kakashi's hand, then at Kakashi's unbothered face.

"How did you do that?" Naruto asked, eyes wide. Already his mind was racing with possibilities. Imagine sticking to walls, scaling cliffs, or even hanging upside-down on the ceilings of Lordran. That kind of ability could change everything.

"Simple, Naruto. Chakra control," Kakashi said matter-of-factly.

Naruto's eyes lit up, a mix of excitement and confusion. Sakura had that serious look she got when she was analyzing something, like she was already memorizing every word Kakashi was saying.

"You see," Kakashi began, "this is what we call chakra control. For something like tree climbing, you've got to focus your chakra at the soles of your feet. Too much, and you'll push yourself off. Too little, and you'll slip. It's all about balance and precision. The soles of your feet are one of the trickiest places to manage chakra, so learning to do it here helps improve your control overall."

Sakura's eyes gleamed with understanding. "Oh! So this is like an advanced version of the leaf-sticking exercise we did at the academy."

Naruto groaned. "I suck at that stupid leaf thing! Either the leaf falls off, or it gets stuck and won't come off at all."

Kakashi raised a hand to stop him. "That's because you're not balancing the flow properly, Naruto. This exercise is all about control. If you don't have good control, you'll drain yourself too fast in a fight or waste chakra where you don't need it."

Naruto frowned, processing the information. Kakashi could see his brain working hard, so he broke it down even further.

"Chakra's made up of two parts," he explained, holding up two fingers. "Physical energy, which comes from your body, and spiritual energy, which comes from your mind. The better you control both, the less energy you waste. Master this, and you'll use chakra more efficiently. You won't tire yourself out so quickly, which means you can stay in a fight longer. Make sense?"

Naruto nodded.

Without warning, Kakashi tossed two kunai toward them.

"Use these to mark how far you get up the tree," Kakashi instructed. "The goal is to get to the top and back down without falling. Once you can do that, we'll go collect the honey."

"So, Kakashi is using training as an excuse to make us do chores," Naruto shot back. "Next thing you know, he's gonna have us 'polishing weapons' to practice strikes or 'painting fences' for arm control. Bet it's all a scam."

"We get paid for this, Naruto."

Naruto blinked at Sakura's words, then looked at Kakashi. "Wait, really?"

Kakashi nodded, his expression as casual as ever.

Naruto crossed his arms. "You should've started with that."

"Any other questions?"

"Yeah… where's Sasuke?"

"Sasuke? Oh, he's on a different mission today."

The white-haired cyclops cast a brief glance at the nearby bushes where he knew Sasuke was hiding, his presence giving away his stubborn insistence on being part of the training despite needing rest.

Naruto shrugged, clearly not caring enough to pry. "Whatever."

As Naruto and Sakura got to work, Kakashi scribbled a quick note on a piece of cardboard: Go home and rest, Sasuke. He tossed it lightly toward the bushes, where he heard a quiet, irritated "Hn." Kakashi shook his head. Stubborn as ever.

A loud thud pulled his attention back to the clearing. Naruto was lying flat on the ground, face-first in the dirt, his armor practically embedded in the earth.

"Wow," Kakashi said, tilting his head upward. "Looks like Sakura's already halfway up her tree. Nice job, Sakura."

Sakura's laughter echoed down from the branches. "This is easy! Just like the leaf exercise!"

"Help me, I am stuck!"

Kakashi stifled a laugh, shaking his head. So that's what the Hokage meant, he thought, when he said the greatest joy of teaching is watching your students fall on their butts while learning chakra control.

This was going to be a long night, but at least it was entertaining.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[ 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 24, 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!