Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy

"OOMPF! U-UGAAAH!"

SPLATTER!

After battling Kabuto Yakushi's teammates, Rei fled the area, continuing to let his "compass" guide him. Having already traveled several kilometers, his sprinting was put to halt when a sudden pain struck his stomach. Locating a large boulder to provide some shade from the blistering heat of the sun, Rei began to vomit

Oddly enough, it wasn't food that came out, but a strange black substance...

"This stuff, it's the same as the time I completed my first physical purification with the Black Scroll. Which means I'm barfing impurities right now, but at such a level...it has to be poison. Cheh! If I see those two again, damn the consequences, I'm gonna...!"

Easily putting two and two together, Rei confirmed the attack he received from the "Demon Brothers" as a result of defending Iruka Umino, was in fact a poisonous one

Due to the effects of the Black scroll's first lock, Rei's immune system had reached entirely new levels. Any foreign factors would immediately be targeted and dispatched by his white blood cells. However, this feature, along with others required chakra to work properly

At the moment, he was dangerously low from not only his most recent fight, but all the other unknown confrontations that took place when he lost consciousness, and "Neo-Rei" took control

"Now I know why I can't knead chakra properly, the energy is being diverted to fight off this...urgh--annoyingly persistent poison! Sigh...those Mist assholes must've really wanted me dead hu--uhack! Honestly, I'm getting sick of worrying about this Ripple shit!"

SPLATTER!

Despite everything Raymond Parker acquired during his tenure in this supposed, "fictional" world, his greatest asset has always been the knowledge of the future. While he was free to let them form, it meant throwing the "plot" off course, thereby causing him to lose this advantage

His new life as "Rei Sano" could also end up potentially compromised, but after this recent debacle, his patience had nearly reached its limit. For years, he'd spent more time worrying about the timeline than improving his abilities...which got him into his fair share of trouble and grief

TING!

"Uh?!" {Oh, that's just perfect!}

Unfortunately, his troubles were nowhere near over...

{How many? 1, 2 , 3...10, 11 chakra signatures?! That's an odd number, and why are they headed in my direction?!}

ZWISH!

His rest would have to wait, for new enemies were hot on his trail!

Rei took off at full speed, knowing he had no time to think about the situation. Being outnumbered and weakened, this was not a fight he could win in his current state

Left, Right, Left, Right...his feet kept moving! Despite his legs feeling like jelly, they continued to push off the ground, carrying him forward! A normal human would've collapsed from total exhaustion at this point

FLING! BOOSH!

"?!" (Rei)

Annoyed with chasing him, the enemy teams began launching a series of long-ranged attacks. Blades and ninjutsu, all launched at the Genin from Kumogakure, who continued to weave and dodge everything thrown at him! But even mountains fall overtime, and Rei's stamina wasn't getting any better. His speed started to drop, and the gap between them shortened until he eventually tripped and fell to the ground

"D-Damn it... this isn't good!" (Rei)

"Didn't expect to run into you so soon! You're not looking so good, Kumo bastard!"

{These guys...they're from Amegakure¹Hidden Rain Village, Kusagakure²Hidden Grass Village, and...some smaller villages I don't recognize. None of them are from the "Big 5"} "Who the hell are gu-Ooof!" (Rei)

BAM!

At Rei's confused attitude, a tall male wearing a headband indicating his allegiance to Amegakure stepped forward. Appearing to be the one leading the group, he proceeded to kick an already downed Rei in the stomach, sending him tumbling away. The others giggled and laughed in amusement, and satisfaction

"Don't pretend you don't know what you did! There's probably not a single person in this damn canyon who hasn't heard about some Kumogakure ninja randomly brutalizing every squad in sight!"

"?!" (Rei)

"There was only one squad from your treacherous village that arrived in this exam, everyone knows about it. The perpetrator was male, traveling alone, and wore his headband on his neck as opposed to the forehead..."

"The most recent attacks were around this area, don't pretend it wasn't you!"

"Son of a bitch, my brother was one of your victims! Forget the exams, I don't even know if he'll be able to continue as a ninja!"

{F**k! How much damage did I do?! How long was I out?!} (Rei)

Yells and screams of anger reverberated from the mix-matched group, all calling for retribution! Genin from villages who should be against each other in this exam, had banded together into a single unit, through a bond of hatred...for the sole purpose of hunting down Rei

BAM!

Kicking Rei away again, the one in charge raised his had to silence them. He then addressed the crowd in a self-grandiose manner

"We, who hail from the smaller villages, have all suffered by you arrogant ones of the so-called, Greater nations. This kind of arrogance is just what we should all expect from a ninja like him, who hails straight out of the five!"

CLAMOR!

The others began shouting in agreement as this Genin addressed them

{Great. Now I have to listen to some cliché monologue from a background character, someone please kill me now. Who knows, maybe that's how I finally get out of this stupid manga...} (Rei)

Despite everything, Rei was only concerned with himself and how he could escape this current predicament. Subtly scoping out the area with his eyes to see if there was anything he could use. His chakra was nearly depleted, all of the running used up all the energy he received from his battle with Kabuto's teammate, Yoroi

The Ame-nin removed a kunai from the holster on his leg before holding it to Rei's neck. The latter disgusted with the twisted look of glee practically shining on his face

"You don't get to die an easy death. You're going to be the first to help us in this exam, that is... helping us send a message to the bigger nations! The message being, we're no longer putting up with your unjust dominance anymore"

"Pfft!" (Rei)

"?!"

"HAHAHAHA!!" (Rei)

Expecting him to tremble in fear or plead for mercy, everyone was thrown off when Rei suddenly burst out laughing. Attitude, demeanor, and even his expression indicated he couldn't care less about their feelings. Which he blatantly reiterated after telling them the truth straight from his mouth. Going on about how...

He didn't care about their grudges...

He didn't care about their dreams...

He didn't care about their villages...

He didn't care about their past or future...

He didn't care about their families or friends...

He didn't even care about their very existence...

And as for why?

"Because you lot aren't people. Hell, you're not even characters! You're just f**king mobs! Background images! I shouldn't care, I won't care, I don't care! The mission, MY mission, should be the only thing that matters! AND YET!" (Rei)

"?!"

TAK! CLING!

The Genin from Amegakure was caught off guard when Rei grabbed the hand holding the kunai and pulled it closer to his neck!

"W-What are you-?!"

"WHY? Why do I feel concern, if not outright guilt for some of the things I've done while I was out for the--cheh! YOU! How many days are left in this exam?! How much time?!" Rei screamed as he pointed to another in the crowd

"U-Umm...about twenty one hours?" The Genin timidly replied

"Right, over four days of God knows what acts of cruelty I've committed! I shouldn't concern myself with an exam where ninja are EXPECTED to try and kill one another! I definitely shouldn't let that bother me, and yet, I'm feeling SYMPATHY?!?! TOWARDS ALL THOSE SCRUBS?! WHAT THE F**K?!" (Rei)

Rei was on a complete rant as he used his one free hand to clasp his head in confusion. Whether it was the situation, poison, stress, or irritation at the Ame Genin's monologuing... he was having a complete meltdown!

"And YOU guys! You stand here bitching about being stepped on, but don't act like you've never done the same! How many other villages did you have to abuse or destroy until yours were formed! Everything has to be built on something, especially shinobi villages! You're nothing but a bunch of whiners who can't even find the balls to take on an actual team! Seriously, eleven vs one?! F**K OFF!" (Rei)

"!"

In that moment, everyone simultaneously forgot their anger, remaining flabbergasted in silence as Rei continued his self-discovering rant...

"Have I actually come to care about this crappy world...bullshit! As if! So please, before I turn into a total sap, or get brain cancer from another one of this idiot's shitty, hypocritical speeches...just end it for me! Because death would be a mercy at this point! As for anything else, my response is, I JUST DON'T GIVE A F**K...in case you had any doubts" (Rei)

VWOOOOO...

"..." (Everyone)

"..." (Rei)

Aside from the wind, the only sound heard was the thudding of Rei, who willingly fell on his back. Arms spread wide open, not showing any signs of resistance as he gestured for them to hurry up and do what they came here to do

While everyone else showed hesitancy, the leader of the group tightened his grip on the blade in his hand. In truth, he was actually afraid of the ninja hailing from the "Five Great Shinobi Nations", just as Rei believed. Choosing to use the smaller nations distaste for them as a means of creating a larger group in order to survive and pass this exam

Backing out now would prove Rei's point, and the groups unity would fall apart. If they all turned on one another, his team, which only consisted of two...would have the least chances of survival

"Tsk! You really know how to run your mouth! Fine! I'll do you a favor and end it!"

KASHINK!

Withdrawing another blade, he lunged at Rei in anger with the clear intent of killing him. The target in question didn't even bother to move, instead, his thoughts were focused on something else as this moment in time seemed to slow down to a crawl

{Sigh...in truth, I'm the one who's full of shit. Mabui--no, nee-san, my team, and various others I've met in Kumogakure. They're all important to me, whether this is all just an illusion, a work of fiction, these people are material...not characters. I wish I could've shown them how I truly felt, in this world and the last, if I'd just been more trusting, more caring...things might've been different. I've made the same mistakes twice...} "Hehe, wow...that poison is really making me delirious" (Rei)

"Die you ba-GUOH?!"

BOOSH! WOOO!

Out of nowhere, a violent burst of wind met the area, blasting the Genin from Amegakure away!

"What?" (Rei)

"Huh?! What just happen-EH?!"

VWOOO!

There was no time to react as a dust cloud enveloped the entire area, knocking everyone else off their toes

"What in the world is going on? Ooof!" Rei wondered as someone abruptly grabbed and carried him away!

When the dust settled, there were two figures standing between him, and the group of enemy Genin. Both of whom were wearing similar attire to his. When his vision cleared, he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, even considering the poison in his system was causing him to hallucinate...!

"Hey man, long time no see! You look like road kill!"

"Don't just stand there looking at him, get to work, I'll handle the rest"

After several days in the treacherous lands of Rengoku no Kyōkoku³Purgatory's Canyon, Rei had finally been reunited with his teammates!

Tai and Suzu had arrived!

"Heh...hehe...hahaha! Guess this is the universe giving me a third chance, HAHAHA!" (Rei)

"Whoa, have you lost it?" (Tai)

"Nah, just glad to see my...friends" (Rei)

"?!" (Suzu)

 

 

"Yeah...you've definitely lost it" (Tai)