Naruto: Crimson Vault

Chapter 3

Arashi sat in a training field by himself, meditating. He needed the time to think.

Was I wrong to kill him? No... no I dont think so. He was a killer, so I killed him. That's fair... that's justice... thats what a hero does, and I am a hero, the chosen one.

"There you are, son, I was looking for you, I think it's about time we had a training session just you and me." Minato said as he approached Arashi, who turned and smiled at him.

"Awesome, gonna teach me any powerful jutsu?"
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Naruto went deep into the forest, so that when he reappeared he wouldn't pop up in front of anyone.

When he thought he was alone he summoned his katana and slashed the air, then stabbed, then slashed again, "How the hell do I open the Vault?"

He kept trying, eventually his advisor asked, You just aren't going to ask me? Your advisor?

Naruto looked at the black ring on his middle finger, there was an intricate design of an eye carved into it.

Sky sighed, You're a stubborn one. Your not attacking the air, picture in your mind a paper wall in front of you and that the Vault is on the other side, then slowly cut the paper.

Naruto did and when he pushed the blade forward he felt slight resistance before the blade dug into the air and started cutting a red line. He could see the Vault through the cut and grinned.
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"Honestly, Hokage-sama, without a murder weapon, I'm at a dead end trying to figure out who the killer is." Anko told Minato in his office. He cursed, the Uchiha clan was jumping down his throat to find the perpetrator, and on the verge of rioting.

"No excuses," he told her, crossing his fingers, "We need this matter resolved sooner rather than later."

She nodded, unsure of what to do. Whomever had done it hadn't left very much evidence.
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Naruto stood in front of a man with white hair, "Hello, may I try and complete the room?"

"Sure, all you gotta do is dodge." The man replied cheerily, as a black metallic bow appeared in his hands. "Good luck." He pulled the string back and an arrow made of light appeared.

Naruto had barely a millisecond to dodge.

Duck stupid!

He sidestepped, taking the arrow in the shoulder for his troubles. It ripped through his body and sent blood out his back.

What did I tell you?!?!

Naruto put a hand on his wound to stop the bleeding and the white haired man notched another arrow.

Jump!

This time he followed directions and jumped, dodging the arrow by the skin of his teeth, though it still cut into his clothes.

Okay, dont move!

He notched three arrows and took aim.

Naruto felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek, "Are you sure?"

Trust me. He closed his eyes and then he felt the wind tickle him on the outside of both arms and through his hair.

"Very good, this room was to teach you to trust in your advisor. You pass." The white haired man smiled. Then tossed Naruto a leather water pouch that felt empty. "Its got the essence of Hermes in it, it let's your mind go into overdrive so you can see and react faster than normal, it makes you faster too."

Naruto put his mouth to the opening and breathed deep, pulling st the essence with his lungs. The essence was cold and made his lungs feel like he was breathing in air from a freezer, but it wasn't too uncomfortable.

As he left the room he spotted Emiya strolling deeper into the Vault and called out to him, "Hey, how many rooms are there in this place?"

Emiya looked back towards him with a grin, "No idea, when you hit your seventh room, things get weird. No two paths are the same, we will probably encounter very different rooms, but my father used to say the Vault is an endless piece of reality created from the greed and hunger for power of the strongest Uzumaki to ever live."

He turned to Naruto, "Kai Uzumaki was known simply as the Kami Koroshi." Then he spotted the bloody wound on Naruto's shoulder and pointed at it. "You should go to the kitchen and grab an apple, fix you right up."

Naruto looked towards the front of the Vault, "Why an apple?"

"Idunn Apples speed up the healing process. You earn them by completing rooms, trying rooms, or gaining skill here. You've more than earned one of the golden fruit. Eat it here though, it'll lose power outside the Vault."
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Hinata waited diligently, sure that the blonde boy would reappear soon. She wasnt disappointed when he appeared with torn clothes and a bloody spot on his shoulder.

She nearly went to go check on him, but couldnt bring herself to do it. She bit her lip in embarrassment and frustration.
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When Naruto got home he collapsed into his bed and let exhaustion claim him. He shucked off his bloody jacket and looked at his shoulder, there was a small pink indention there, but just an hour ago there'd been an arrow in there.

He smiled at the mark, the Vault had some awesome powers.
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Emiya was struggling, in a room deep in the Vault he fought a massive chimera.

It stood fifteen feet tall with massive muscle and had the body of a lion. It's upper body and arms were of a man, but with impossibly powerful muscle and sharp claws coming from each finger. A thick lion's mane surrounded its head and its teeth were thick as fingers and sharp as knives. Red eyes watched him as it circled him. A scorpion tail came from behind it and dangerous acidic poison dripped from the tip.

The chimera roared, if you could call it that. The roar was so great, so very powerful it created a shockwave that vaporized the grass of the room around it.

Emiya drew deeply on his Steel and Essence, the world slowing to a crawl, then bolted forward, the ground ruptured from the force of him kicking forward.

He unsheathed his sword and attacked in one beautiful motion, but the chimera attacked with his tail at the same time. Sparks exploded from the contact against the edge of his blade, and Emiya rode the force to flip toward the chimera and whip his sword out.

Unfortunately the massive creature was deceptively fast and threw his head back to let the blade pass and used its powerful hand to swat Emiya into the ground so hard it made a crater and he bounced, several bones breaking. If he hadn't had Steel flowing through him his bones would be powder.

"Unfortunately you fail, Emiya. Try again tomorrow." The chimera told him, then strolled further into the massive room, leaving a groaning Emiya in a crater.