·Chapter 13: Crushing Naruto, Uzumaki BloodlineTue 18:58ShareThis was the first time Izanami had been matched with Uzumaki Naruto.
Between Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, it often felt like the power of fate was at play. In ten Taijutsu duels, almost half the time, these two would end up facing each other. But Izanami had never once been paired against Naruto.
Fortunately, with the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red)—similar to the Sage Body—he possessed an immense amount of Chakra. Without it, Izanami wouldn't have known how to draw out Naruto's latent power, the Sage Body. But now, he was finally matched with Naruto, and the excitement in Izanami's heart was hard to suppress.
He believed that this rare opportunity could yield something valuable—perhaps even a powerful Talent Entry.
Suppressing his excitement, Izanami stood and walked to Iruka Umino's right. Opposite him, Naruto approached, teeth clenched and clearly unwilling to give up.
Izanami raised his right hand, held up his index and middle fingers, and smiled. "Naruto, please guide me."
Naruto froze for a moment, stunned. His tense mood softened. Looking at Izanami, a warm feeling surged in his chest. This was different.
The look in Izanami's eyes was unlike the scorn of the adults or the rejection from other children. There was no hate, no mockery—only genuine, impartial kindness.
Since Iruka had acknowledged him last semester, Izanami was the second person to treat Naruto like this.
Overcome with emotion, Naruto nearly teared up but managed to hold it in. He nodded vigorously, flashing a grin. "Mm, please guide me!"
He mirrored Izanami's gesture with his own index and middle fingers. In his blue eyes—eyes the same color as Izanami's—there was a newfound resolve.
Iruka, observing the scene, smiled in relief. He stepped back and shouted, "Seventh-round duel, begin!"
At his signal, Izanami and Naruto rushed forward.
Naruto's attack pattern was simple and repetitive—he lacked adaptability. He threw a straight punch at close range. But although Izanami didn't have a Sharingan, his observational skills were honed.
The moment Naruto lifted his shoulder, Izanami anticipated the move.
Before Naruto's punch connected, Izanami stepped forward and used a left upward swing to knock Naruto's wrist aside. Then, with his right hand, he delivered a clean punch.
Bang!
Naruto took the blow directly on his left cheek and was knocked to the ground. His face was already swelling and bruising.
"It hurts so much…" he gasped but quickly got back up.
Despite the pain, Naruto pressed forward with another flurry of attacks. But none of them landed. Izanami either dodged, blocked, or redirected every blow with ease.
Even Hinata Hyuga's lightning-fast attacks, powered with Chakra and sharp intent, were easily handled by Izanami during previous matches. Compared to her, Naruto's attacks were chaotic and full of openings.
His fists and kicks lacked technique, strength, and strategy. Before long, Naruto's clothes were torn and filthy, and his face was battered with bruises and cuts.
Meanwhile, Izanami remained untouched, not even a speck of dust on him. The difference between the two was obvious, even to a child.
But to everyone's surprise, Naruto refused to surrender.
Initially, he had winced and gasped at every strike. But now, even as blows landed, he remained silent, focused. His attacks, while still flawed, gradually improved. The chaos in his movements began to fade.
He was growing in battle—even if he might revert later, at this moment, Naruto was becoming stronger.
Seeing this, Izanami decided it was time to end the match.
He bent his knees to duck under Naruto's punch and used the momentum to sweep Naruto's legs from under him. Naruto fell hard, and before he could recover, Izanami raised his fist for a final blow—but stopped inches from Naruto's face.
Seeing this, Iruka immediately stepped in.
"Uzumaki Naruto has lost the ability to fight. The winner is Izanami!"
Pop!
The moment Iruka's voice fell, a bubble—visible only to Izanami—suddenly burst around Naruto's body. It was one of the purple bubbles Izanami had been monitoring.
A purple beam of light shot out and entered Izanami's body. Then, around Naruto, a new bubble formed. This one was transparent, smaller, and empty—a cooldown bubble.
Izanami had seen this scene before.
He knew that once the cooldown ended, the bubble would turn purple again, and the entry inside would reappear. Talent Entries could be obtained repeatedly, although he had never gotten the same one twice from the same person.
Still, this time, he saw clearly what entry the burst bubble had contained—and it thrilled him.
But Izanami didn't open his panel immediately. Instead, he extended his hand toward Naruto and smiled warmly.
"Naruto, you were amazing. Let's fight again sometime."
Naruto, still sore and bruised, had been feeling bitter. He'd gone all out and lost, again.
But Izanami's genuine expression—free of contempt or arrogance—softened Naruto's heart. It wasn't like his usual frustration when losing to Sasuke. This time, he didn't feel belittled.
Naruto reached out and grabbed Izanami's hand, using it to pull himself up.
Grinning through his swollen face, he replied, "Izanami, you're amazing. But next time, this big shot won't lose!"
Izanami smiled. "Your progress is clear. I'm looking forward to next time."
Then he raised his index and middle fingers once more.
Naruto mirrored the gesture, hooking his fingers with Izanami's.
This was the Hand Seal of Reconciliation, used after battle to symbolize peace and mutual respect. It mirrored the Hand Seal of Opposition, formed before combat.
In the original Naruto story, Naruto and Sasuke ended the thousand-year cycle of reincarnated conflict between Asura and Indra with this very seal.
As long as those two could not reconcile, their chakra would continue to reincarnate.
Even if Naruto and Sasuke had no personal conflict or romantic rivalry over Sakura, fate would still pit them against each other.
Naruto could shake hands and reconcile with Izanami—but with Sasuke, it was different. The seal never formed between them.
But Izanami didn't concern himself with that.
After completing the Hand Seal of Reconciliation, Izanami returned to his team. While casually responding to his classmates, he summoned the glowing light screen only he could see.
The system's prompt echoed in his mind:"Ding! You have obtained the Talent Entry: [Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)]. Merge or Disassemble?""Merge."
A second later, the new entry appeared in his entry bar:Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple).
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