Devil Ninja

Chapter 47

Naruto frowned as he gazed at Yami in the distance. The world around them was an endless void mixed with iridescent colors that swirled and clashed. In some ways, it reminded him of the swirling nebula of stars he used to look at when he was a kid in Konoha. In other ways, it felt a lot like looking through a kaleidoscope. As the surroundings blurred and meshed together, he felt a vague and fuzzy memory pierce the back of his mind. He knew this place.

"Do you remember this place?" asked Yami as he gestured to the unique space they were floating in. "This is the Dimensional Gap, the void between worlds. During our battle with Kaguya Ootsutsuki, we traveled through this space, which tore apart our body, ravaged us from the inside out, and left you crippled. I was split off from you in that moment and wandered through this endless void of nothing, until one day when I felt power flow into me again."

"It was... the first time I used Sage Mode," Naruto said at last.

Yami gave him a malicious smile. "That's right. The first time you used Sage Mode was the first time I felt power flow into me—along with the hatred and rage of an entire world. The more you used Sage Mode, the more powerful I became, and the more hatred I took in." Vicious red irises surrounded by black sclera glared into Naruto's eyes. "These intense feelings of loathing surging through me are all your fault, you know."

"I know." Naruto neither ran nor hid from this fact. He accepted that this entire situation was his fault. "But that's all the more reason I have to be the one who stops you. I'll take responsibility for what happened with my own two hands."

"Take responsibility?!" Yami threw his head back and laughed. "If you have the means to take responsibility for your shortcomings, then by all means, do so! However..." The laughter died down as Yami's vicious expression of mirth became cold and malevolent. "You should not say something like that so lightly. I'm stronger than you. I have more power than you. You cannot take responsibility for what happened to us. If you really want to repent for what happened, then you can die!"

Yami rushed forward as he made a cross-shaped hand seal. Several Yamis suddenly appeared next to him—three—and they all branched off into groups of two. Two of the Yamis stuck out their hands and created a Rasengan. Then the other two channeled wind chakra into the pair of Rasengans. Before long, a loud ringing sound filled the void as the Rasengans turned pure white with four spinning blades twirling around them.

Naruto did not create a Rasenshuriken to counter Yamis two-pronged attack. He began a series of hand seals. At the same time, a magic circle appeared in front of him. The magic circle rotated clockwise, then released a powerful burst of fire magic just as he finished his hand seals.

"Fuuton: Reppusho (Wind Release: Gale Palm)."

Naruto clasped his hands together, compressing the wind and transforming it into a powerful gale force, which slammed into the fire created by his magic circle. He pumped more chakra into the technique than was necessary. When it hit the burst of fire, the blaze exploded as though someone had tossed gasoline into it.

An enormous cylinder of flame barreled toward the four Yamis. They moved out of the way, but Naruto created several magic circles along the path the cylinder was taking. The cylinder of fire suddenly curved and slammed into two of the Yami clones. Such a weak attack might not have been enough to do any damage to the real Yami, but clones were still just weak creations that became disrupted from a single punch. Both of them dispersed as the cylinder swept over them.

"I see you can use more than just chakra!" Yami roared as the clone beside him dispersed of its own accord.

Naruto sent his dark half a small smile. "Rossweisse has been teaching me a bit more about magic. She thought it would be good if I had more techniques up my sleeve that you can't use."