Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy

 

"Come on Sensei!" (Rei)

"So eager today!" (Tango)

Charging towards Rei, Tango seemed to notice something different about him

{Let's see how the "new one" holds up against a Jonin} (Rei)

Rei, wearing the standard Kumo shinobi attire, seemed to be missing the typical arm guards. Now replaced by red bracers on his forearms with strange "marks" inscribed on them

BOOF!

"Ah!" (Suzu)

"That's..." (Tai)

Touching one of the marks, a black bō staff appeared out of thin air

{So he got himself a new weapon...but those bracers...} (Tango)

"Humph!" (Rei)

Not wanting to give Tango time to think, Rei engaged him from the front

CLANG!

The two ninja clashed with great momentum, not wasting time, they immediately began trading blows

"Nice, you've gotten much better!" (Tango)

"It'll be 'nice' when I'm able to make you get serious!" (Rei)

BOOF! FLING! Small black rods appeared in Rei's hands before he threw them at Tango

{What strange weapons...but the technique he's using to call them...that's no ordinary weapon summoning} (Tango)

As they watched from the sidelines

"Geez, just how fast is he gonna get? I don't know of a single Genin who can fight so well against a Jonin in Taijutsu. I don't care how young Tango-sensei is...Rei is just ridiculous" (Tai)

"He's obviously gotten better...so why has he been so desperate for more improvement lately?" (Suzu)

"You're kidding. He's always been like this, always training" (Tai)

"True but this...this is different. He always didn't know when to take a break, but now it's like he doesn't even know HOW to take a break. Always training, but for what is my question" (Suzu)

"Well...he did tell us his goal is to be strong enough for whatever comes his way in the future" (Tai)

"This is more than just a 'fear for the unknown'...there's something else going on..." (Suzu)

WHACK!

"Ooof!" (Rei)

Tango knocked Rei back to gain some distance

"Phew! You're no joke Rei, I was starting to get a little tired!" (Tango)

"Liar, you can still do more" (Rei)

"True, but constantly blocking your attacks was getting tiresome. Speaking of which, those red bracers of yours..." (Tango)

"Yeah?" (Rei)

"It's the 'Kuchiyose: Raikō Kenka'¹Summoning: Lightning Flash Blade Creation right?" (Tango)

"?!" (Rei)

"Don't be so shocked, have you forgotten I'm a member of the Intelligence Division?" (Tango)

"Damn Sensei, and here I thought I'd keep you guessing during the fight"

{Spent all that time in the library, just so I could rip off one of Sasuke's techniques only, for you to see right through it at first glance} (Rei)

"Raikō Kenka...is that some kind of Raiton²Lightning StyleJutsu Suzu?" (Tai)

"No, the 'lightning' part of it's name simply implies the speed of the technique. It's actually a unique 'Kaifu no Jutsu'³Unsealing Jutsu" (Suzu)

"Kaifu...wait...that's just taking items like shuriken out of a scroll or something. What makes this one so unique?" (Tai)

"The space inside a typical scroll isn't unlimited, the more weapons you have, the bigger it needs to be. This 'ninja tool summon' mark connects you with another 'vessel' that holds tools, so you don't have to lug around a giant scroll wherever you go" (Suzu)

"Hmm...it eliminates the need to carry a bunch of scrolls and equipment because you can put those marks on your clothes. Are those marks on Rei's bracers connected to some scroll holding his weapons elsewhere?" (Tai)

"Probably, and as a bonus, the summoning is instantaneous and he doesn't even have to weave hand seals for them" (Suzu)

{That's very handy...especially for me. That Jutsu would be a big help for carrying around my unique oils} (Tai)

"Okay, let's see you handle this Sensei!" (Rei)

{What else are you gonna show me today?} (Tango)

FWIP! Rei formed several hand seals

"Suiton: Orca!⁴Water Style: Orca" (Rei)

SPLOOSH! Rei spat out a surge of water that spread in all directions after coming in contact with the ground, engulfing the area. Tango, Tai, and Suzu jumped above ground to avoid getting hit by it

"A massive wave of water to restrict my movements...not bad...but that's not enough to beat-!" (Tango)

After landing on the water, he used chakra in his feet to avoid sinking down, only to realize he'd lost sight of Rei

{A diversion? Where did he...uh?!} (Tango)

Looking up, he saw Rei coming down from above him

{Go easy on this one...can't risk another panic attack!}

"Katon: Homura!⁵Fire Style: Blaze" (Rei)

SCORCH! Rei shot out a ball of fire this time. Tango dodged as the flame blast came into contact with the water, vaporizing it into wide cloud of steam

{So THAT'S your move huh? Be rude of me not to play along!} (Tango)

Tango ran into the cloud of steam intent on bringing Rei down

"Vaporizing a Suiton with Katon to act as a smokescreen...did you come up with that idea Tai?" (Suzu)

"No, that's all him...though he probably took a few pages from my book when I was helping him with his Suiton development" (Tai)

CLANG! CLANG!

"Ugh!" (Tango)

Tango was constantly attacked from all sorts of angles. Rei, who was a sensor-nin, had the advantage in this steam cloud that impaired vision

{Attacks from multiple directions...he's probably using shadow clones. In that case...} (Tango)

Tango took out a kunai with a small sphere of paper attached to it

"Humph!" (Tango)

FWIP!

Throwing it in the air, the paper sphere exploded into a cloud of powdered paint

"Gah!"

"Ugh!"

"Gweh, it's everywhere!"

{Judging from the sounds and moving paint, he made three clones. Time to end this} (Tango)

VWOOSH! Tango dashed towards the moving figures, now visible thanks to the paint on them

"Huh? Gah!"

POOF!

{So that one was a clone. Two more left and the original!} (Tango)

BOOM! Not letting up, Tango continued his assault

"Guhack!"

"Ooof!"

POOF! POOF!

"Those were clones as well which means..." (Tango)

GRP!

"Agh!" (Rei)

Tango grabbed the last one just as the smoke cleared

"You're the original. Game over Rei" (Tango)

"..." (Rei)

"It was a good strategy though, you've improved quite a bit" (Tango)

"...Heh!" (Rei)

"Hm?" (Tango)

Rei didn't say anything. He simply pointed his finger at Tango, or rather, what was behind him

TAK!

"?!" (Tango)

"Got you!" (Rei)

{A fourth shadow clone?! Still...!} (Tango)

POOF!

The clone Tango was holding disappeared as Rei appeared from behind, about to strike when...

BAM!

"Guh!! Ah...so close!" (Rei)

...Tango kicked him down

{So he didn't make three, but four shadow clones? He progressed further that I would've imagined} (Tango)

"Ngh...not bad sensei" (Rei)

"Same to you, but I don't intend to lose just yet" (Tango)

Rei smiled again

"Are you sure?" (Rei)

SHING!

"?!" (Tango)

Before he noticed, there was a black stake held by his throat

"What?! Five shadow clones?! H-Huh?" (Tango)

PSSSHH

Just as he surprised at the sudden reversal, the Rei he had just kicked down faded away

"No...not a clone. Genjutsu! Forget five, you never even made four clones! The one that suddenly attacked me from behind was an illusion! But when did you-?!" (Tango)

"When you grabbed me and I pointed towards you...that's when I cast my Genjutsu on you. The image of me in your hands disappearing like a clone was also apart of the illusion. You should have noticed something was off when the last one had no paint on him" (Rei)

{He casted a Genjutsu on me with just his finger? Amazing...} (Tango)

"Game over Sensei" (Rei)

"Heh...hehe..." (Tango)

"Sensei?" (Rei)

Tango looked at Rei

"You're as incredible as ever. But remember Rei, you always have to..." (Tango)

"?" (Rei)

"...READ BETWEEN THE LINES"

"?!" (Rei)

SHING! PSSSHH

A kunai was pressed at Rei's throat from behind as the Tango in front of him disappeared

"Like I said, game over Rei" (Tango)

"Was that a clone? No...how did you?!" (Rei)

"It's called 'Genjutsu Gaeshi'⁶Illusion Technique Reflection. I'll teach it to you some day" (Tango)

"Reflection..." (Rei)

Tango withdrew his kunai from Rei's throat. Stunned, Rei fell on his bottom

"I did notice the illusionary 'you' had no paint on him. That's when I turned your jutsu against you. Your mistake was assuming I didn't notice, and you know what I've always said..." (Tango)

"Assumption is the mother of all failure..." (Rei)

"Bingo" (Tango)

{Damn, I'm still not...!} (Rei)

"During that entire fight, that was your only slip up. But just one mistake can have disastrous consequences on a mission. Don't forget that" (Tango)

Getting up, Rei clapped his hands

POOF! POOF! POOF! The black stakes he had thrown all over the place disappeared in smoke

{So he can summon them back as well, beats taking the time to pick them off the ground} (Tango)

That's what Tango assumed, but Rei inscribed all his weapons with a sealing formula for recalling them back as a means of preventing his technology from falling into the wrong hands

Turning towards Tango, he bowed

"I will take your words to heart, thank you for the lesson Sensei" (Rei)

"I am merely doing my job, now,  you can sit down and watch from the sidelines as I teach Suzu and Tai. Come on you two!" (Tango)

Suzu and Tai entered the zone as Rei got out

"Huh? Both of us?" (Tai)

Rei sat down by a tree and proceeded to observe

"We're low on time for today, I'll explain later. For now, take a minute to prepare yourselves" (Tango)

"Alright, alright, just give us a sec" (Tai)

As Suzu and Tai prepared themselves, Tango glanced at Rei

{What a monster. I may have made it sound easy, but breaking and reversing his illusion was no joke! As a member of the Intelligence Division, I've naturally been trained to resist Genjutsu and interrogation yet, I struggled to break through the illusion of a kid who's gonna turn nine in a few days. If any of my colleagues heard about this, they'd probably laugh it off as a joke. Seriously, Inton, Katon, and Suiton...and with that sharp, creative mind...it's the kind of line up you'd expect from a veteran shinobi, not a kid! The only area he'd be lacking in would be experience} 

"He could probably take on a high level Chunin by himself now...maybe even win..." (Tango)

"What was that Sensei?" (Tai)

"Hm? O-Oh, uh, nothing! Are you two ready?" (Tango)

"Ready and waiting!" (Suzu)

"What she said" (Tai)

"Good. Come on!" (Tango)

Rei observed the group, taking in any and all information he could use to improve himself

 

 

 

 

 

"I need more experience. Haaa...I hope a mission comes soon..."