Naruto: The Chosen Undead-Chapter 132 Naruto

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Chapter 132 Kindled Shadows

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Sasuke arrived in a gust of wind and leaves, the scent of sea and blood thick in the air. The area around the house was swarmed—bandits with rusted blades and desperate eyes, surrounding the structure like vultures.

Team 8 held the line with grit carved into every motion.

Hinata moved like water, her Byakugan flaring as she slipped between enemies, her fingertips glowing with chakra. She struck with purpose. One hit to the ribs, another to the neck—dropping attackers with surgical precision. Her breath came hard, but her focus never wavered.

Kiba was pure aggression, claws slashing through the air as he ducked low, launching into a spin with Akamaru beside him. "Fang Over Fang!" he shouted.

Two more bandits were sent flying, their weapons shattered, their bodies crashing into trees.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Shino stood at the center, calm as a storm. His cloak twitched and then erupted. A dark swarm of kikaichu poured out, latching onto blades, faces, throats. Bandits screamed, collapsing mid-sprint as their chakra was drained dry.

Then a glint. A sword raised high. A bandit charging from the rear, aiming to break the defense.

Sasuke appeared before him in a blur of motion. His heel struck the man's jaw in a clean tornado kick, snapping the neck on impact. The body crumpled, lifeless, never knowing what hit it.

"Sensei. Please," Sasuke said, voice tight. "Check her condition. She just went through severe burns."

"Judging by her state, Naruto healed her."

"He did. But he's not sure it's stable."

Kurenai didn't argue. She just stabbed a kunai backward into a charging enemy's throat, never breaking eye contact with Sasuke. "I understand."

"I'll take your place," Sasuke said, Sharingan already narrowing on the bandits. "This won't take long."

Kurenai flickered away with Sakura, disappearing into the treeline.

Sasuke turned. One of the bandits screamed and ran. Sasuke drew a nodachi from a corpse's hand, spinning it once in his grip. His stance shifted. High guard. Exactly like Naruto's.

Lightning chakra danced up the blade as Sasuke lunged. In a blur of steel and sparks, bandits fell one by one.

It was a sight Team 8 would never forget.

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Meanwhile, Naruto explained the situation to Kakashi, showing him the small, curved receiver the man had been carrying—a portable short-wave radio, slick with sweat and rain.

"I didn't think Gato's men were using tech like this," Naruto muttered, turning the device over in his palm. "He's more prepared than I thought."

Then it crackled and a voice poured through the speaker. "Still breathing, are we?"

The man beside Naruto froze, lips pale. "Gato sama..."

Naruto's fingers clenched around the receiver. "I saved him, you bastard."

A pause. Then came the laugh—calm, indulgent, almost bored. "Saved him?" Gato said. "Saved a man who willingly boarded a ship packed with explosives? You must be new to this world. Or stupid."

"I'm neither," Naruto said flatly. "Just angry."

"Mmm... how dramatic," Gato mused. "Let me guess. One of those little Konoha heroes, here to teach us a lesson?"

Naruto didn't answer.

"You want to kill me, don't you?" Gato's voice dropped an octave. "I can feel it. That trembling in your breath. That little growl in your chest. You won't be the first, and certainly won't be the last."

"Is that why you planted the explosives on that ship for us?"

"Of course I did," Gato replied, casual. "Do you think I'd waste my precious warships on some civilians? The warship was to bait you out. You die to the explosives while my men kill that damn bridge builder."

"You're sick."

"Don't flatter me. I'm just... efficient. You shinobi waste so much effort pretending you're different. But when push comes to shove, we all use the same coin—fear and blood. I'm just better at the math."

The man, trembling beside Naruto, finally found his voice.

"What about me?" he stammered. "And my family?!"

Gato's voice didn't change. Not even a flicker of pity. "Your family? Mm... I remember now. Sweet little daughter, wasn't it? Don't worry. You'll see her again... if you make yourself useful."

"You promised you wouldn't!"

"And that's the problem with promises," Gato cut in. "They're for people who can afford to believe in them. You want your family? Then run. North dock. Supply ship. Deliver my message to the shinobi villages. If you're fast, maybe there's still someone left to save."

The line crackled again. Then paused. "Oh, and one more thing."

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Tell your little savior there," Gato continued, mockery thick in his tone, "that I had the rest of the crew's families killed as soon as the ship launched. Just in case they got any ideas about being heroes."

Naruto didn't say anything. His jaw tightened. His knuckles went white. "You killed them all..."

"Naturally. You think control comes from words and paychecks? It comes from certainty. If you defy me, everyone you love dies screaming. If you obey me, they might not. It's simple. And it works."

"You're not a man," Naruto muttered. "You're rot wearing a suit."

"And what are you, boy?" Gato's voice dropped lower. "You think I didn't hear what happened? You tore through that crew like they were straw dolls. Most of them couldn't even lift a sword properly. Just scared old men. But you killed them. Efficiently. Brutally."

"I did what I had to."

"Exactly. Just like me." The voice was silk now. Persuasive. "Don't delude yourself. You and I... we're not opposites. We're reflections. You just haven't realized it yet."

Naruto's breath hissed out. "I'll find you," he said coldly. "And when I do, I'll show you what a real monster looks like."

A beat of silence.

Then Gato chuckled. "I hope you do, boy," he said, like a man savoring the promise of blood. "I do love watching heroes break."

Click.

The line went dead.

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"Naruto, are you okay?" Kakashi asked, voice quiet beneath the soft hiss of rain.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, a little confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Most people don't react this calm after realizing they've killed innocent people."

"You mean the men Gato forced onto the ship?" Naruto asked. His tone didn't change. Just a simple question.

When Kakashi gave a small nod, Naruto shrugged. "I guess I'm frustrated I only found out after the fact," he said, glancing at the scorched remains of the warship. "That I could only save one guy."

"But...?" Kakashi prompted, waiting for the emotional weight to follow.

"But nothing. That's it. I don't feel guilty about killing them."

"...Is that okay?" Kakashi asked softly. "Not feeling guilty?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was level. Thoughtful, but without remorse.

"The gang members I killed... they had families too. I heard it a lot... Please, I have a child, or my wife's waiting for me... all of that. And while I walked from one hideout to the next, I thought about it. Does having a reason make a bad thing okay?"

He paused.

"And the answer is no. A bad thing's still a bad thing, no matter the reason. Those men chose to hurt someone else's child, someone else's mother. So I did what I had to."

Kakashi nodded slowly. It was the right answer—logical, pragmatic. But that was the problem. Human beings didn't always run on logic. They ran on guilt. On fear. On heart. And Naruto... Naruto was beginning to sound like someone who'd burned those things away to survive. "But that's different."

"I know. That's why I said I'm frustrated I could only save one guy. But I don't feel guilty... because in that moment, I did what I thought was right."

He glanced down at his hand, still slightly blackened from the humanity's use. "I was wrong. And now... all I can do is take responsibility."

"How?"

"Prepare," Naruto replied without hesitation. "Gato's going to retaliate. Probably ninjas from other villages. And we still have Zabuza to deal with. Plus... whoever's helping him."

"I was thinking the same thing," Kakashi said, but then added, "That's the future. What about the present?"

Naruto gave a small smile. "I'm going to help the people here. As the Archer."

"And Tsunami?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded. "I'll find her. Make sure she's safe. Bring her home."

There was silence, then Kakashi gave a small chuckle and turned to leave. "I'll let the others know what happened. Try not to start a revolution while I'm gone."

Naruto smirked faintly. "No promises."

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Naruto ran until the trees blurred past him, his lungs dragging in wet air. Then he stopped beneath a twisted oak, chest heaving, hand pressed to his inventory.

"Darksign," he muttered.

The world shuddered.

In a blink, he stood again at the edge of the bonfire. He didn't waste a second. Dropping to his knees, he pulled out his Estus flasks and began pressing them, one by one, into the flame. The fire licked at their mouths, golden liquid swirling like sunlight caught in glass.

One.

Two.

Three.

By the fifth flask, the fire dimmed. No longer a beacon—just a pale orange whisper, flickering weakly in the ash-stained stone. "Come on," Naruto hissed. Nothing. The flame didn't even twitch. He stood abruptly and stormed toward the forge. "Andre! The bonfire... it's fading. It only gave me five flasks before stopping. What happened?"

"Ah. Been away too long, lad. Bonfires grow cold when neglected. You'll need to kindle it."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Kindle?"

"Aye," Andre said with a nod. "Reverse your hollowing. Feed it a bit of humanity. That'll coax it back to life. You'll get ten flasks, maybe more if the flame's feelin' generous. But it takes time to recover between draws. Even fire has limits."

Naruto's fists clenched. "I don't have time."

Andre lowered his hammer, sensing something deeper in Naruto's voice, as Naruto explained everything that had happened and Naruto's grand plan.

When Naruto finished, the only sound was the hiss of the forge behind them. Andre finally exhaled through his nose. "Then... dilute it."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

"Estus is lifeforce. Bottled heat. A living salve," Andre said. "Cut it with water. You'll lose potency, aye... but it'll still close wounds. Stop a burn from spreading. Keep someone from tipping over the edge."

Naruto felt something unclench in his chest. He gave a small, grateful nod. "Thanks, old man."

He turned to leave, but stopped. One question had been sitting in his throat since he left Sakura. "Andre... do you know what humanity is? Really?"

"Can't say for sure. But I met a scholar once. Strange fellow. Deep eyes, deeper thoughts. Said humanity was a shard. A splinter of the Dark Soul."

Naruto's forehead dampened. "The one the Furtive Pygmy held."

Andre nodded slowly. "That's the one."

A beat of silence passed.

Naruto's voice lowered. "Do you know what it does to someone... if they are already human?"

Andre shook his head. "Sorry, lad. That's beyond my forge."

Naruto's jaw tightened. He remembered what happened the last time two forces clashed inside a body—when pyromancy met chakra.

And now... Sakura.

Liquid humanity flowed through her. Through her veins. Through her chakra network.

He didn't know what it would do. What it could do. "I hope it's nothing," he muttered but the fear lingered.

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[ 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 63, 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!