Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 22: The Price of Rebellion
The transformed Mizuki was a nightmare that had somehow been given flesh.
His body had swollen to nearly twice its original size, muscles bulging grotesquely beneath torn, blackened skin.
The transformation had ripped through his clothes, leaving only tattered remnants clinging to his misshapen form.
His skin had taken on a sickly grey-black hue, like rotting flesh, with dark veins pulsing visibly beneath the surface.
His face was the most horrifying part.
His jaw had elongated, splitting at the corners to accommodate rows of jagged, razor-sharp teeth that glistened with saliva.
His nose had flattened, almost disappearing into his expanding skull.
His eyes had become hollow pits of burning crimson light, with no trace of the man he’d once been…only hunger, rage, and madness.
The cursed seal on his neck had grown, spreading across his throat and chest like a spiderweb of black, pulsing veins.
It glowed with a sickly purple-black light, feeding his monstrous transformation with dark energy.
His arms had lengthened, ending in massive claws that could tear through steel.
His legs had become thick, powerful pillars that cracked the earth with each step.
The creature that had been Mizuki no longer spoke in words.
It communicated in snarls, growls, and guttural sounds that barely resembled human speech.
The man who had taught at the academy was gone.
What remained was a monster driven by rage and the cursed seal’s dark influence.
Sho stared at the monster before him, his blood running cold.
‘What is this thing?…
This isn’t Mizuki anymore.
This is not even human.’
Iruka stood beside him, his face pale with shock but determined.
“Shokuhi, take Naruto and run.
Get help.
I’ll hold him off for as long as I can.”
“I’m not leaving you!” Sho shouted.
“You have to!” Iruka’s voice was desperate.
“I’m just a chunin.
You’re a fresh genin.
Naruto hasn’t even graduated.
We can’t beat this thing together.
But if you get help-”
“We’re not leaving you!” Naruto’s voice cut through the night.
“We’re in this together!”
Iruka’s expression twisted with frustration and fear.
“You don’t understand-”
“I understand that you’re my sensei!” Naruto shouted.
“And I’m not abandoning you!”
The transformed Mizuki let out a guttural roar, his voice distorted beyond recognition.
He lunged forward, his massive claws aimed at Iruka’s chest.
Mizuki’s transformed body moved with terrifying speed, his claws tearing through the air like scythes.
It became evident very quickly that this creature was far beyond something they could handle.
Iruka had to immediately go on the defensive just to stay alive for a bit longer.
Sho threw rocks, kunais, or anything he could get his hands on, but nothing seemed to penetrate that thick skin.
Suddenly, Mizuki changed directions, and instead of going for Iruka, he went for Sho, as this one was trying to collect some shurikens from the ground.
“Move!” Iruka shouted.
Sho did try to dodge.
He even attempted to use his Substitution Technique to stay alive, but the beast was just too fast, and his attempts were not good enough.
A massive claw caught Sho in the shoulder, ripping through his flesh and bones, sending him spinning to the ground.
He screamed while his blood tainted his clothes; the pain was blinding.
‘He’s too strong.
We can’t win this.’
“Sho!” Naruto’s voice was distant, muffled by the roaring in his ears.
Sho forced himself to his feet, his body screaming in protest.
His shoulder was a mess of torn flesh and blood.
His vision was starting to swim.
‘I can’t…
I can’t keep this up…’
He watched as Mizuki lunged at Iruka, his claws aimed at the sensei’s chest.
Iruka blocked with his kunai, but the impact sent him flying backward.
And then Naruto was there, throwing himself at the beast with reckless abandon.
“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” Sho tried to warn his friend.
This was too much for him.
Naruto’s punch connected with Mizuki’s face, but it was like hitting a wall of stone.
Mizuki barely flinched.
His massive hand closed around Naruto’s throat, lifting him off the ground.
The beast growled, and something resembling a smile appeared on his face.
Iruka lunged forward, his kunai aimed at Mizuki’s arm.
“LET HIM GO!”
Mizuki swung his other arm, catching Iruka in the chest and sending him crashing into a tree.
The sensei collapsed, blood pouring from a gash on his forehead.
“IRUKA-SENSEI!” Naruto screamed, clawing at the beast’s hand.
Sho tried to move, but his body wouldn’t respond.
His legs were trembling, his vision fading.
‘I can’t…
I can’t…’
Mizuki raised his other hand, his claws aimed at Naruto’s chest.
Iruka staggered to his feet; his body was covered in blood, but still…he threw himself at Mizuki one last time.
“NARUTO!
GET DOWN!”
[System Warning: Health Critical]
Health: 12%
Endurance: Intermediate (Level 1) – ACTIVATED
Temporary pain and fatigue suppression: 30 seconds
Sho felt the warmth spread through his body as Endurance activated.
The pain faded slightly.
‘Come on.
move!.’
He tried to force himself to his feet, his eyes searching for his friends.
And then he saw it.
Mizuki’s claws had pierced Iruka’s chest.
The sensei hung limply from the beast’s hand, blood pouring from the wound.
His eyes were open, staring blankly at the sky.
“Iruka…
sensei?” Sho’s voice was barely a whisper.
The beast pulled his hand free, and Iruka’s body collapsed to the ground.
He didn’t move.
Iruka was dead.
Sho turned to look at Naruto.
His friend was frozen, his eyes wide, his face pale.
His mouth was open, but no sound came out.
“Iruka…
sensei…”
And then the scream came.
It was like nothing Sho had ever heard…raw, primal, filled with agony and rage.
The sound echoed through the forest, shaking the leaves from the trees.
Naruto’s body began to glow with a sickly red aura.
His eyes flickered, turning from blue to a burning crimson.
The air around him grew heavy, oppressive.
The beast Mizuki took a step back, his expression shifting from triumph to fear.
‘Oh no…Naruto…’
Sho felt himself collapsing, his body finally giving out.
His shoulder was a mess, and he was losing blood way too fast.
‘I can’t…
I can’t see…’
His vision was blurring, the world swimming in and out of focus.
He could hear Naruto’s scream, the beast’s roar, the sounds of combat.
And then a familiar presence appeared in his mind.
[Unlocking Skill ⍧⌾⎾⍲⍴⎎⟟☊⅁ ⎎⍑⍲☈ From Niwan Genesis Vault…]
[ERROR: ACCESS DENIED – REQUIREMENTS NOT MET]
[RETRYING…]
[CRITICAL ERROR: VESSEL CONDITION UNSTABLE]
[VITAL FUNCTIONS WILL SHUT DOWN IN 52 SECONDS…]
Sho felt a sharp pain explode through his body as if all his bones were being torn apart.
His body refused to obey.
The pain was overwhelming, consuming every thought.
[VESSEL INTEGRITY REACHING CRITICAL POINT: TRANSMIGRATION PROCESS INITIATING]
[VESSEL 347 – TRANSFERRING CORE FUNCTIONS…]
[VITAL FUNCTIONS WILL SHUT DOWN IN 31 SECONDS…]
‘What…
what is the system saying?’
Sho struggled to focus, to make sense of the words appearing in his vision.
‘Transmigration?
Vessel?
It’s…
it’s trying to leave me?’
He tried to move, to scream, to do something.
But his body wouldn’t respond.
‘Oi…
I’m not dead yet…’
[VITAL FUNCTIONS WILL SHUT DOWN IN 16 SECONDS…]
‘Is this…
is this how it ends?’
He thought about his short journey.
He had only just graduated… he got his life back and was about to start to live as a ninja…he was going to make them all proud…
[VITAL FUNCTIONS WILL SHUT DOWN IN 8 SECONDS…]
‘I’m sorry…
Hinata…’
His sister’s face appeared in his mind.
Her smile.
Her kindness.
Her unwavering belief in him.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t…
I’m sorry…’
[VITAL FUNCTIONS WILL SHUT DOWN IN 4 SECONDS…]
And then, a warmth spread through his body.
Not the warmth of Endurance.
Something else.
Something deeper.
Something that felt like…
power.
[Quest: Stop the Village’s Traitor…
COMPLETE]
[Reward: 5,000 Experience Points
Level Up!
Level: 5 → 6]
[System Notice: Vital Functions Stabilized]
[Health: 15%
Healing in progress…]
Sho gasped, his eyes snapping open.
The pain in his shoulder was fading, replaced by a strange numbness.
‘I’m…
I’m alive?’
He tried to move, but his body was too weak.
He could only lie there, staring up at the sky.
And then he saw it.
Naruto’s clones.
Hundreds of them, no…thousands.
They swarmed around the transformed Mizuki, overwhelming the beast with sheer numbers and tearing it to pieces, one by one.
“Give me back Iruka-sensei!” Naruto’s voice echoed from every direction.
“GIVE HIM BACK!”
Sho watched, his vision still blurry, as the clones piled onto the beast that had once been Mizuki, burying him under a mountain of pure rage.
And then…
silence.
[System Notice: Transmigration Canceled]
[Error resolved.
Vessel 347 is stable.
Continuing operations…]
Sho’s eyes fluttered closed, the darkness claiming him.
<><>
He woke to the smell of antiseptic and the sound of distant voices.
Sho’s eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry.
The ceiling above him was white…too white, like the walls of a hospital.
The room was clean, sterile, and empty.
‘Where…
where am I?’
He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his shoulder stopped him.
He gasped, falling back onto the pillow.
He remembered the warmth he felt after seeing the notifications.
He had leveled up by completing the quest, and the System had attempted to heal him.
‘The System couldn’t fully heal me.
I was too close to death.’
So even the System had a limit.
But at least he was alive.
He lay there, trying to piece together what had happened.
The fight with Mizuki.
Iruka’s sacrifice.
Naruto’s transformation.
The system’s strange messages.
‘Transmigration.
Vessel 347.
What was that about?’
The door slid open, and Sho tensed.
A ninja stood in the doorway, their face obscured by an animal mask.
They wore a dark jumpsuit, a flak vest, and metal arm guards.
The ANBU uniform was unmistakable.
‘ANBU.
The elite forces of Konoha.
What is an ANBU doing here?.’
The masked ninja stepped into the room, their voice calm and professional.
“Stay in bed, Hyuga-san.
You’re not cleared to move yet.”
Sho swallowed, his throat dry.
“What happened?
Where’s Naruto?
Where’s Iruka-sensei?”
The ANBU agent was silent for a moment.
“Someone will be here shortly to explain things to you.” The ANBU agent turned to leave.
“Stay in bed.
That’s an order.”
The door slid shut, leaving Sho alone with his thoughts.
He didn’t have to wait long.
The door opened again, and Sho felt his breath catch in his throat.
An elderly man stood in the doorway, dressed in the robes of the Hokage.
A white hat sat upon his head, and a long pipe hung from his lips.
Despite his age, his eyes were sharp, piercing.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stepped into the room.
“Hyuga Shokuhi,” he said, his voice warm despite the gravity of the situation.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake.”
Sho stared at him, his mind struggling to catch up.
“The…
the Hokage?
You’re…
you’re here?”
“I wanted to see you myself.” The Hokage settled into a chair beside Sho’s bed, his expression serious.
“You’ve been through quite an ordeal last night.
I think it’s time we had a conversation.”
[Status Update – End of Chapter 22]
Name: Hyuga Shokuhi
Level: 6 (↑ from 5)
Title: The Unbreakable
Stats:
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Vitality: 6
Perception: 6
Chakra Capacity: 7
Chakra Control: 8
Available Stat Points: 6 (3 from Level 5 + 3 from Level 6)
Status Effects:
Chakra Vein Constriction (Mild) – Permanent
Brittle Bones (Mild) – Permanent
Byakugan Inefficiency – Permanent
Major Wound (Shoulder) – Healing (15%)
Emotional Trauma (Witnessing Iruka’s Death) – Temporary
Passive Skills:
Endurance: Intermediate (Level 1)
Shuriken Throw: Novice (Level 7)
Quick Learner – All skill experience gained is increased by 15%.
Active Skills:
Clone Technique: Novice (Level 7)
Transformation Technique: Novice (Level 8)
Substitution Technique: Novice (Level 8)
Gentle Fist: Novice (Level 9)
Desperate Strike
System Functions:
Inventory – 10 Slots, 50 kg
Quests Active:
None
A.N: