Naruto - Azure Awakening

Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón @ for +20 chapters

[ https://www̧̧.patreón.com/azureawakening ]

The link is also in the synopsis

A/N - Thank you, Sascha Hasic, Toyo, and Alnatura for becoming Azure Awakening Patreóns!

<<<>>>

The moment Maki received confirmation that Fuguki Suikazan had finally appeared, she moved immediately. She had already finished her training and had been waiting. 

The breakthrough she had been striving for wasn't about physical training or creating a new jutsu, it was about mastery of a concept. And the source of said concept was none other than Tsunade.

Maki had already been using her chakra to enhance her physical abilities - that was the core of Predator's Pact. However, her efficiency was terrible. The amount of chakra she could handle was little, so most of the chakra distributed by her Suijingan was simply wasted.

She had the power but no control.

And that was where Tsunade's expertise in chakra manipulation and medical knowledge had come in.

"There are three reasons why my punches are as strong as they are," Tsunade had explained after demonstrating her devastating power.

"The first, and the most obvious reason, is that I'm physically strong. I was born that way. But that alone is nowhere close enough to exert this much force."

"The second reason is that whenever I punch, I release a massive amount of chakra from my limbs at the moment of impact, creating devastating force."

Maki understood that. She had also been born with an exceptional constitution and while her strikes weren't on Tsunade's level, they still sent shockwaves damaging the target's whole body. The concept wasn't new to her.

But then Tsunade had moved on to the final point.

"The third reason and the most important one for you to master is reinforcement. You need to use your chakra efficiently, not just to enhance your attacks, but to strengthen every cell in your body in real time."

She had paused then, studying Maki carefully.

Maki had been doing that as well, however, her efficiency was terrible and she was hoping Tsunade would be able to teach her a more effective method.

"I'll teach you the core method, but instead of just learning it, I suggest you make it your own. The theory is adaptable to anyone, but the results will be far greater if you develop your own version of the technique."

At the time, Maki had struggled to understand why. If the method worked the same for anyone who mastered it, why did she need to modify it?

But despite her uncertainty, she had followed Tsunade's advice.

That was what Maki had been working on all this time. She had been developing her own method and if she succeeded, her combat power would skyrocket.

<<<>>>

Maki approached the Kiri squad she suspected was led by Fuguki Suikaza.

She expanded her sensory field, searching through the battlefield, ignoring the flickers of weaker presences as she picked up on one chakra signature that dwarfed the rest.

Her lips curled into a smile, but it wasn't the usual bright grin she wore, instead it was something sharper and colder.

'I will finally kill you…'

If there was one person she truly hated, it was Fuguki Suikazan.

Everything that had happened to her family and to the Takime Clan, had started with him. His false accusations of Masaru Takime.

She had waited for this moment for years. And now when she was close to achieving her goal her rage surged and she lost control of her emotions for a brief moment.

'Maki, don't lose focus.'

She exhaled sharply, forcing herself to rein it in. Rage was fuel, but if left unchecked, it would burn her along with him.

Her eyes locked onto a massive figure standing in the middle of the Kiri formation, towering over the shinobi around him.

His long, orange hair spilled down his broad back, a thick forehead protector strapped over his large, shark-like face. His body was built like a fortress, the thick muscles and heavy frame making him seem impenetrable. 

His chakra reserves were so monstrous that someone unfamiliar with him might have thought he was in a different class altogether, standing apart from the others in sheer presence alone.

But Maki knew better.

Fuguki was strong, but he was not a powerhouse, he was not even as stong as Mangetsu, who she defeated with ease.

'I'm glad it's not Mangetsu leading this army. I'll kill the commander and have my revenge at the same time.'

Her eyes burned, but unlike before, they weren't wild with anger. They were sharp and precise.

Maki and Takimura did not know Mangetsu's whereabouts, they knew that he had been missing since the negotiations, but did not know for sure if it was fake information leaked by Kiri or not.

Then Maki flickered forward.

The glow of her Suijingan intensified and her pupils shifted into vertical slits.

The air around her twisted, the sheer pressure of her chakra hissing against the battlefield, distorting the space around her.

Fuguki felt it immediately.

His instincts flared and his head snapped toward the presence rushing toward him. His jaw dropped slightly as he got a better look at his opponent.

'A kunoichi whose aura is more beastlike than human,' Fuguki analyzed Maki as she was charging straight at him.

Her dark blue hair flowed behind her, nearly reaching her waist, her shinobi jacket hanging loose over a cropped top, exposing the defined muscle of her midsection. Her pants were looser than standard, built for speed, and the weapon in her hands was far too large for an ordinary person to wield efficiently, but she carried it like it was an extension of herself.

More than her appearance, it was the sheer presence around her that sent a shudder through the shinobis nearby.

The way the air hissed, the way her chakra curled and coiled, the way she moved with terrifying force…

It was something they had never seen before.

"Stop her!" Fuguki barked.

But his men didn't need to be told.

They had already moved, however, no matter how hard they tried It didn't matter. Maki cut through them like they were nothing. Every movement was brutal and efficient as her giant weapon tore through flesh and bone with monstrous force.

Bodies fell one after another, torn apart by overwhelming strength.

Some of them tried to counterattack, but she was too fast.

One Kiri nin swung a blade at her back, but Maki twisted her body effortlessly and severed his arm before the strike could land.

Another shinobi tried performing a jutsu. But she closed the distance instantly, Samehada crushing his ribs before he could even finish the hand seals.

Panic settled in quickly.

The strongest among them braced themselves, trying to hold their ground.

The smartest hesitated, realizing this was not a battle they could win.

And the weakest ran.

"I… I can't! She's too strong!"

"RUN!"

"Save yourselves!"

"STOP RUNNING, YOU COWARDS!"

Some yelled for retreat, others cursed their fleeing comrades, and a few, either out of desperation or rage, even tried to cut down their own allies for abandoning them.

But despite their reactions, every single one of them thought the same thing.

'She's a monster.'

<<<>>>

Kaoru sat cross-legged in his tent, his breathing steady as he focused on meditation, trying to recover his chakra as quickly as possible.

The premium soldier pill was still in effect, accelerating his recovery, but even with its benefits, Takimura didn't have the time to wait for him to fully replenish his reserves.

While Kaoru wasn't among the strongest shinobi in Takimura, he was still far stronger than most. His role in the war was crucial, especially since his techniques were highly effective against large numbers.

He had already been meditating for an hour and was surprised he had been allowed to rest for this long. Just as he was considering reminding Akura that he was ready, the tent flap moved and Yuji's head popped in.

"You're summoned, Kaoru," he said.

Kaoru stood, stretching briefly. "You can meditate here if you'd like."

Yuji shook his head. "It's fine. I'll join the others. I prefer company right now."

Kaoru studied him for a second. Yuji was still shaken. This was the first time he had seen a comrade die in battle, and he was still struggling to process it.

Kaoru considered saying something to comfort him, but instead, he simply nodded.

"I'll get going then."

Unlike Kaoru, Yuji wouldn't be rejoining the battlefield anytime soon. Premium soldier pills were rare, even with Kaoru donating some of his personal supply. The village couldn't afford to waste them on chunin, so Yuji had been given a standard soldier pill instead, which meant his recovery would still be faster than normal, but nowhere near Kaoru's level.

<<<>>>

Kaoru entered the main tent, bowing slightly as he stepped inside.

"Akura-san, you asked for me?"

Akura glanced at him with a strange smile.

"Yes," Akura said, exhaling slightly. "I've got a new order for you. You'll be roaming the battlefield, assisting any struggling squads."

Kaoru blinked.

So now they were ordering him to do exactly what he had done against orders before.

'Hehe, this is interesting…'

It didn't bother him. If anything, it meant the council acknowledged how effective his approach had been.

"Alright then," Kaoru said. "Where should I go first? Should I be around Shin's squad or Mei's?"

That question had been a major point of debate among the council.

Meruem had been adamant that Kaoru should immediately reinforce Mei, arguing that her squad was fighting against the strongest foes. However, others suggested a more balanced approach, positioning him in the center of the battlefield, where he could be deployed to any direction as needed.

In the end, they compromised as everyone understood that Meruem was not completely wrong.

"Head toward Mei, but take these with you."

Akura handed him two small paper seals, each marked with a different color - one red, one blue.

"These are communication seals from Yko Uzumaki," he explained. "If the red one disappears, it means you must retreat immediately. If the blue one vanishes, you are to reinforce Shin's squad immediately."

Kaoru turned the seals over in his hand. 

'Simple, yet effective.'

He slipped them into his pouch and nodded once.

"Understood."

Without wasting another second, he turned and flickered out of the tent, heading straight for Mei's battlefield.

<<<>>>

Maki had already cut down more than half of Fuguki's squad, yet the commander himself had yet to make a move.

'Does he not care that his men are dying for nothing?'

By now, it should have been clear to everyone that she was on an entirely different level, and that ordinary shinobi stood no chance against her. Fuguki knew that too, but he wasn't acting out of hesitation, he had a plan in mind.

'They just need to stall her a little longer. I need more time… and besides, she can't fight like this forever.'

He wasn't wrong in thinking that Maki couldn't sustain this condition indefinitely, but what he failed to consider was that she didn't need to fight forever.

Not that she needed to push herself yet. Maki had barely spent any chakra at all.

She didn't have to.

She was simply too fast, her reaction time too sharp and her force too overwhelming. Her enemies weren't even landing attacks. She was hunting them down like a predator among prey, moving through them with calculated savagery.

But Fuguki had also overlooked another critical fact.

Kirigakure was already on the verge of rebellion.

Yagura's rule had drained the loyalty of many shinobi, and none of the remaining Seven Swordsmen held true influence.

They weren't respected leaders, they were feared, resented, and hated by the ordinary shinobi who suffered under Yagura's reign.

And so, despite what Fuguki thought, the Kiri nin weren't going to throw their lives away just to stall Maki.

Why would they?

Why die for a war they didn't believe in?

The moment it became impossible to ignore just how much stronger Maki was, the battlefield crumbled.

Almost every remaining Kiri nin turned and ran, abandoning the fight, leaving only a handful of Fuguki's most loyal warriors behind to face Maki's rampage alone.

Maki watched them flee, but she didn't care. She wasn't here for them.

Her grip tightened around Samehada, her eyes burning with fire as she took a step forward.

"I'll kill anyone who dares to stand in my way!" she shouted, not as a warning, but as a final demoralizing blow to those who were still hesitating.

The truth was, she would have killed them all anyway.

The moment her voice echoed across the battlefield, she flickered forward, Samehada held tightly in her grasp.

But instead of targeting the remaining chunin, she appeared beside Fuguki himself, her weapon already swinging. She was aiming for a clean kill, ready to end him in one strike.

But just before her attack could land, an unseen danger pricked at her senses.

Her body reacted instantly, instincts screaming at her to move.

She twisted mid-motion, barely avoiding an attack that sliced dangerously close to her neck.

**

----------------------------------

If you can, please support me on P@treon

pat reon.com/azureawakening

(no space)

You can read up to 20 chapters ahead on P@treon!

The link is also in the synopsis

----------------------------------

When weekly Power Stone number reaches 200 I'll upload a Bonus Chapter! Currently 11/200