The Future: Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 36

THE DARKEST SHADOW

Outside the Temple of Jashin

Dan is in terrible condition with his lower abdomen having been punctured by Shinki's hand. Blood pours freely from his wound and shows little signs of stopping any time soon. The only thing that is stop him from bleeding to death is his own application of pressure. Normally, this would mean that the Hidden Leaf has lost, that they are down and out, that it is over. Dan is shaking. He is not shaking because of his wound, he is shaking because of what he just saw Shinki do.

At the beginning of the fight, Dan was stronger than Shinki. His abilities as a shinobi put him at a similar level of power to a low-level Kage. Combining this with the power he now has, to the power to control fire, as well as the basic physical strength boost that comes with understanding the invaders' power, he had a power similar to a low-level Colonel. Shinki started a bit below this, he started with the power of a high-level Kage but since the fight has started, his power has just increased and increased. This is a testament to Jashin's incredible power.

"Shikadai" Dan calls weakly to the man who just saved him, "Just now… did you…".

"I went to another place" Shikadai explains, interrupting his fellow Hidden Leaf shinobi. "I saw what he saw, I saw what you must have seen".

Just a moment ago, Shikadai fell into a trance, he was unmoving despite the repeated attacks of his opponent. For the next few moments, Dan had to protect him, Dan had to defend him while he was in this state where he could not defend himself. He had no idea at that time that this was what was happening. It is a ray of hope in a world of darkness.

Dan coughs as he struggles to maintain his vitality. That doesn't stifle the curve of his lips. He is smiling. What seemed like a hopeless situation just seconds ago now seems OK.

Shikadai has understood the invaders' power!

"I see" Dan says as he smiles. He doesn't get complacent though. He realises that there is still a job to be done, the man standing across from them is the Kazekage. A Kazekage who has been brainwashed by an evil-god. "I can still use my technique but I can only do it once otherwise I will die. I can't fight though, I will have to leave the rest up to you".

"Yeah" Shikadai nods confidently as he approaches Shinki. He walks closer without any visible caution or hesitation, his struts up and acts like he does with most other things in life. He walks up like it's a drag. "You don't have to worry. He's my cousin, I will take responsibility for saving him".

As Shikadai closes the distance between them, he holds a hand out to his side.

A dark substance forms in Shikadai's hand.

Dan gasps as he feels the power coming from Shikadai. He doesn't know what element The Circle's administrator has understood, nor does he know to what degree he understood it. What Dan does know, is that the power he can feel coming from Shikadai is of high quality.

He knows Shikadai is strong.

"Shinki, he has understood an element as well" Jashin's voice speeds up and raises in pitch as he explains this to his thoughtless servant. "Kill him, kill him quickly".

The deity is right to be concerned. Every single person who understands this power that the invaders use is destined to be strong. Most captains are a handful for low-level Kage, defeating a colonel has proved impossible to even the mightiest of shinobi until recently. However, if an invader did not understand any element, they would be weak, yet a shinobi would still be strong. Given that, if a shinobi understands an element, just how strong does that make them. Invariably, it makes the stronger than their invader counterparts.