Game of Kings and Queens Pt_2_A Irregular and a hard place

Crown game site

As the third round started, the participants came out of their rooms.

'Now that the lizard came off the throne, everyone is coming out. But it doesn't matter. In this round, without the crown having an owner, it is a game of speed, a question of who gets it first. My wand has the power to create shinsu. If I use it properly, I can easily retrieve the crown from a distance. I'm sorry for you all, but this round is ours.' Rozéal, one of the feminine participants, displayed the common and overconfident thoughts that the majority of the participants of the round shared.

Aguero watched with a smirk as the competitors gathered up in front of him. He knew that the smirk they all had on their faces meant that they had their eyes fixed on the crown and probably were confident that they could get it before each other, but he was optimistic that his speed exceeded theirs...

All the regulars recklessly charged at the crown, expecting to grab it before the others. However, before they could do so, a gust of wind pushed them back.

"Oof! Now this feels better." Aguero spoke after suddenly appearing beside the throne, taking his rivals by surprise who questioned how he could be so fast.

"Would the game be over if I were to sit here with this crown? But that would be too boring. Fight me, you weaklings. If you beat me, I'll give you the crown." He announced, provoking his rivals.

"Hmm, that Khun is quite smart. If he sits on the chair, the next round will be tough. Everyone knows that the weakest of his team is Baam. Baam had to sit on the throne to win the next round, or they had to win while in possession of the crown. But before that, they have the power to defeat all the other teams. They have confidence in their strength to survive this round even with the disadvantage of Baam on their team?" Shibisu asked out loud, but neither Hatz, who was resting his back against the wall with crossed arms and closed eyes, nor Anak, who was sitting alone in an open and comfortable position in the bank in the back of the room spoke; they were still in a bad mood.

"Disadvantage, huh?" Naruto murmured while focusing on the development of the game. He watched as Khun suddenly threw the crown to the middle of the arena to make everyone fight amongst themselves. 

"You misjudging them, tracksuit. I've seen what they can do before, and let me tell you, these guys in front of them have no chance." Naruto spoke.

"Huh? How can you say that? They are struggling to defend themselves, look." Shibisu replied as he watched Aguero get tagged by a guy with a compression weapon in the shape of a bat.

"Just watch," Naruto responded. 

Aguero and Rak were capable of defending themselves quite well. Suddenly, he spotted a black blobby creature moving around the arena with one of the participating teams. "Is that a Umi Bozu?!'"He spoke surprised, imagining if he could get his hands on that rare species of the legends.

"Umi... what?" Shibisu asked with curiosity.

"Have you never heard of the legendary creature, Umi Bozu? They appear and disappear in the oceans, often at night, and it is thought that they would suddenly appear on what was previously a calm sea surface as a giant's black head and destroy wandering ships. Although they are seen as quite large, there are also tales about relatively small ones; often a few meters to a few tens of meters in length. I've seen ones that are so huge that they reach the skies in a place called the Florian Triangle!" Naruto spoke with enthusiasm.

"Florian Triangle? Where is that in the tower? You seem to know about some interesting stories." Shibisu asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. 

"Uh...Yeah, I've been to a lot of different places. Where is that in the tower? Well... I'll tell you once I remember; It's been a long time, haha." Naruto spoke nervously, trying to throw the matter under the rug.

"Ok, but I'm holding you to that," Shibisu stated.

 Naruto's hopes for getting a mascot were cut short as he saw Aguero's briefcase eat the blobby creature up. 'There goes my Umi Bozu...' He thought, saddened. 

Aguero turned his knife into a long sword and dealt with some of the attackers as Rak kicked away some adversaries. This seemed to have infuriated them since the girl with the wand and the guy with the rifle readied themselves to shoot with everything they got.

"Rage, shinsu!!" Razéal spoke as she lifted her wand and shot a shinsu blast.

"The easy one first!!" The guy with a rifle shouted as he aimed and shot at Baam. The guy with the bat took the chance and got ready to attack with his decompressed bat.

"They're done for," Shibisu spoke, presupposing Baam's team's situation.

However, before the bullet could hit Baam, Aguero slapped the bat guy with his bag, sending him flying with incredible strength, and Rak deflected the shot with his fist, which backfired at the shooter and destroyed his rifle, astonishing their opponents.

"Told you," Naruto spoke, and Shibisu's mouth was left hanging open.

"W-wait! They might survive to the last round if they are this strong!" Shibsisu spoke, scared.

"Frightened? But you have already participated; you shouldn't be worried."

"But Naruto Aniki, you still...!" Shibisu spoke worriedly.

"Hehe, I appreciate the concern but don't fret over it," Naruto replied with a smile.

"Hey!" Hatz spoke suddenly, breaking out of his silence. "Shouldn't you be taking this seriously? You are our last chance to go straight to the next floor." 

"I know. I've got this."

"You're being overconfident. Khun's team managed to handle all those guys attacking simultaneously, and there's still the matter of the other teams who still hadn't come out yet; we don't know their strength either." Shibisu rationalized. "Remember that you'll have to fight while protecting the crown since you'll be by yourself! I call this a suicide mission! Even if you are strong, this is too much for you! You should forfeit this match; this is just an extra test anyway. So just forfeit this test Naruto, we can keep climbing together regardless!"

'Hmm... he seems strong, but It might be too much for him to handle by himself...' Anak thought while sitting alone in the back of the room. 'Well, it's not like I'm worried. He can get kicked in the next round for all I care!' She thought while clicking her tongue and averting her gaze to the side.

"What are you saying now? He is the one who fooled the test Admin to get us here with a team of four; let him deal with the consequences." Hatz spoke coldly. 

"What?! You're forgetting that you also accepted that so how can you say that!!" Shibisu retorted. 

Naruto's smile faded; he paid no attention to the conflict beside him. He wasn't sure if he should win or lose in this round. If he won, his team would get to the next floor immediately, but that also meant that Baam would stay here and persist in chasing Rachel even though she didn't seem to want to meet him...

Meanwhile, the crown game proceeds with Aguero outsmarting their rivals by cloning the crown and summoning extra allies. Baam had already taken the throne and was responsible for protecting his position. It didn't take long until Aguero and Rak swept all the incomers and won the round.

"Since all the other participating teams cannot fight, the round goes to the team of Baam, Khun, and Rak!!" The test Administrator announced through the speaker. "And now for the final round, those who wish to participate, please press the buzzer!!"

And so it was time. All four remaining teams pressed the buzzer and started entering the stage.

Shibisu, Hatz, and even Anak opened one of her eyes discreetly to observe what Naruto would do. The blond simply readied his needle and pressed the buzzer, entering the stage. 

"Sigh. I guess there is nothing I can do to stop you, right? I wish you luck, so good luck, Naruto Aniki." Shibisu spoke, and Naruto gave him a thumbs up as a sign of appreciation.

Anak watched him enter the arena with curiosity. 'Let's see what you can do; I hope you live up to that attitude, so don't disappoint me.'

Khun Aguero Agnes observed as his new contestants entered the arena. He knew the time had come to see what the remaining teams could do. The team from the other districts was also there. Since they'd been hiding until now, he had estimated that they would all be average. He suspected that the cloaked ones were the most dangerous team but...

...there was one thing that kept troubling him during this game. That moment when Naruto arrived before the test Administrator to stop Anak Jahad was a feat he couldn't let slip. Unless the ranker wasn't trying to stop Anak from possibly dealing a lethal blow to Baam, there was no way he couldn't but worry about the possibility that the blond was hiding his true power. And there is the fact that it was he who sent those guys from the previous test after them. According to his very own words, he sent them to test them. If those goons that he sent were that strong even when taking it easy on them, how strong would be their boss? God, he really wished that these teams would beat each other up, but that was unlikely. It would be wonderful if he could claim victory here for Baam, but all he could do was count on uncertainty.

Naruto had stopped on one of the sides of the arena and rested the Nuibari on his shoulder. He started to think about which path he should take.

On one side, Shisbisu didn't seem to care whether he won or not as long as they got to climb together, Hatz had declared that he wanted him to win and proceed to the next floor, but Anak hadn't spoken to them since the bet. He questioned if that was the right thing to do...

... on the other side, Baam was acting as he used to. It was dangerous for him to blindly follow Rachel like this; he could lose the things he was conquering here. This could be a chance for him to get a real life and move on. He could not let him lose these tests and return to that cave; the poor boy deserved better. If he let him win here, he could go to the next floor and continue to climb with his friends, and Rachel would be left behind. She could climb too, but at least they would be distant from each other regarding how much each advanced on the tower. Like this, she wouldn't distract Baam from living...

'Am I being too selfish by deciding what path others should take? No... no one deserves to waste their life following after someone who chooses to abandon them willingly...' Naruto thought while frowning, tightening the grip on Nuibari.

Naruto's reasoning was short-lived; two teams went straight to finish him off.

Aguero carefully observed this development. 'Of course, he is the only one here without a team. I should've known they would go straight for him. Now let us see, what can you really do...' He thought, focusing on the situation. 

"Careful, they're onto you, Naruto!!" Shibisu yelled worriedly from inside his room.

"Haha, you're an easy target, whiskers!!" A guy who resembled a roman or greek guy dressed in a yellow toga shouted as he tried to smash him with his fists. Among them, there were different races such as a humanoid canine-like being with grey fur, a large guy who had a number of eyes surrounding his head wearing only brown trunks, humans, and so on.

"Greeks, aliens, werewolves; the tower is full of varied races, huh? But what would one expect if we already have bunnies and alligators who can talk?" Naruto spoke as he jumped into the air; his feet stepped at each one of his enemies' heads until he landed on the ground on the other side. 

"But still, that was so rude, interrupting my thoughts like that!" Naruto spoke in amusement at their audacity.

"Why you little... stop playing around! How dare you make a fool of us!!" They spoke as they went for another attack.

"Coming to attack me in such a straight line? You asked for it!" Naruto had found the perfect spot to counterattack. His eyes beamed as he saw the ideal and most accurate spot to pierce and bind all these fools together. He ran straight at them with the Nuibari in his hand, and when everyone thought that they would crash at each other, Naruto sent the needle straight at them. He then suddenly appeared beyond them and caught the needle with his hand. The weapon had a wire attached to it that extended up to the bodies of his opponents. There were shoulders, arms, bellies, and chests pierced by the wire that had stitched them together.

"Argh, you bastard!!" They shouted as they felt a sharp pain upon being perforated by the Nuibari.

"By acting like such poor weak-minded savages, you didn't realize who you were up against," Naruto spoke and released a smirk.

"I can't believe it. It was truly a needle; it even sewed them together..." Hatz commented, flabbergasted. It must take some skill to create a human-sized needle reproduced as precisely as this. I wonder where did he get that? He didn't seem to know about even the most common weapons used in the tower..." He spoke out loud.

"I don't know, but one thing is certain, I overreacted worrying so much if he trashed those guys like that," Shibisu spoke, sweatdropping from the anti-climatic scene that just occurred before him.

"Now for the final touch..." Naruto ran in a circular motion around the regulars and tied them into a massive human ball. He detached the wire from his needle and then took a little distance.

"Release us now, you bastard!!" The regulars yelled as they struggled to release themselves from the wire.

 He pulled back his leg to get an impulse and then, he let it go at once, kicking one of them in the butt, sending them to crash against one of the empty rooms of the crown game's arena at high speed, causing a tremor from the impact.

"Goal!!!" He shouted in delight from the perfect strike as he made a victory sign.

"Mr. Naruto is quite strong..." Baam spoke with astonishment from his seat on the throne. He hoped he hadn't to fight him.

"No kidding... it would take a lot of strength to send all those guys flying at such speed with a simple kick. But that's to be expected if he's able to give them such a one-sided treatment..." Aguero replied, releasing a small drop of sweat; his anxiety about the game increased by the minute.

"Alllllll right!! I found a turtle worth hunting! I'll take on that whiskered turtle next! I wanted to return to him for making me dream with that fake lion turtle anyway!" Rak spoke as he was about to move but was interrupted by Aguero.

"Hold your horses, Gator! If you move from here, I'll be isolated and unable to watch over the throne!" Aguero stated which made the alligator grunt in disappointment.

'It looks like he's not just a pretty face, he's got some strength to back it up...' Endorsi giggled, delighted by the display. "Huh...?" She uttered, suddenly taken out of her thoughts. She witnessed as her giant teammate, Akryung, started to become restless; the giant began to growl without a clear motive.

Hwa Ryun, who was assuming the identity of Yuto, felt that this was no ordinary regular, the feeling she had back in the first test had suddenly come back to haunt her and she wondered if this was the person behind it but she had no more time to waste, she needed to accomplish her mission; stop the irregular from climbing for the sake of F.U.G's goal. In a burst of speed, she went straight for the throne.

Naruto dropped his victory sign when he saw someone in tights quickly approach Baam's team accompanied by other two people who he presumed to be, its teammates. He decided to watch for now and act only if the situation gets out of hand and Baam's life is in danger.

"Damn it!! Crocodile, it's coming!" Aguero warned as he readied his knife. 

"I know!" Rak replied. "I'll tear you to pieces!" He shouted as he tried to attack the person in tights with his spear but it was useless, the latter was very agile and started doing stunts in the air using its golden staff, managing to stay afloat as it jumped on top of it.

"What's all that?!" Aguero questioned while watching the movements of the unidentified acrobat in the air. He guessed that the golden staff was made from suspendium of high purity if it was able to float on shinsu like that.

Hwa Ryun landed in front of Baam, which paralyzed the boy.

"That jerk... Baam!" Aguero yelled worriedly, rushing to his side but was stopped midway by a man with a pair of swords.

"This team also has three, brat." The man stated with a smug, making the blue-haired member of the Khun family curse under his breath from the feeling of impotence.

Hwa Ryun pointed her staff at the chestnut boy. "Put the crown down." She demanded.

"...I'm...protecting the crown until the end!" The boy stated with all the courage he had but the person in tight had no time for his nonsense and raised her arm for a strike which made Baam cross his arms in a defensive position with the black march. But to everyone's surprise, something got in the way of the staff, stopping it from possibly causing head trauma. It was two decompressed black and orange pins that acted as shields, making Hwa Ryun immediately back off, annoyed by the interference.

"Don't you feel embarrassed from wearing that outfit? That leotard is so unsightly." Endorsi Jahad spoke while making her presence known.

"Y-you are...!!" Baam uttered in surprise.

"Be careful Baam!! She is our enemy" Khun warned while he fought the swordsman. 

"Don't worry, we won't take the crown," Rachel spoke as she stood beside the throne, taking Baam aback. 

'R-Rachel!!' Baam thought.

Hwa Ryun stared at Endorsi with a frown under her mask. She needed to find a path that would help her properly approach the situation next.

"What are you gazing so intensely at? Am I that pretty?" Endorsi asked jokingly but it wasn't taken kindly as Hwa Ryun immediately went for retaliation for she threw her staff at her.

Endorsi blocked the attack and threw a few red needles at her adversary which it dodged. In a burst of speed, she went for an attack from behind which was answered with an upper kick but she managed to duck the attack and in an overconfident move, she went face to face with her enemy. 

"Look closer if you want!" She spoke, staring directly at Hwa Ryun who immediately took distance and retrieved her staff, both returning to square one in their combat.

Naruto watched with amusement the awkward exchange between the two. "Ha, that horned girl sure is cocky but she is cocky with style; I like it." He stated with a giggle. He gave a side glance in the direction of the throne and saw that things were still under control.

"Rachel, it is you right...?" Baam asked but only received silence in return. 'Why didn't she answer? Did she not hear me?' He asked himself. He was going to try again but was interrupted by the huge and intimidating announcement of the presence of her other teammate, Akryung, who growled as he stepped in; the intimidating act stopped the boy from further action.

"Hey, blue turtle! Did you also bribe those turtles with capes?" Rak asked as he fought a guy dressed in white.

"No! They seem to be from the other test district. It is my first time seeing them too." Aguero replied.

"Then, why are they helping us?" 

"I don't know but one thing is for sure, they are not interested in the crown!"

"Why? Why aren't they stealing the crown?" Shibisu asked as he watched the development of the game. "If they're not going to take it, then why did they join the game in the first place?"

'Who cares about that? I want to know why the hell that cocky idiot doesn't take advantage of their distraction and take the crown!' Anak thought, losing her patience.

"I told you, your attacks won't work! You can't get past me, tights." Endorsi stated with confidence but Hwa Ryun was not having it, throwing her staff at her and once again, being blocked by her pins. 

Endorsi then had to block a kick that was aimed at her face. "Hey! How can you kick a girl's face like that? Are you crazy?! I'll smash that mask and ruin your face!"

Aguero, hearing those background monologues could only think, how immature. But he couldn't drive his thought off of the whole situation. He directed his gaze at the lone and immovable figure in the arena, Naruto, who seemed to not want to interfere in the current game. 'What is he thinking? He could take advantage of this situation, couldn't he?' He asked himself with curiosity, having already defeated the teammates of the person in tights. 'And these ones were not as strong as they stated. Was it only the person in tights who was strong? But I wonder... what are those guys thinking?' He thought as he gazed at the figures standing by the throne.

'Who is this? Is he their teammate? He's huge. This monster and Rachel are on the same team... they're not a good fit... maybe Mr.Naruto was wrong. This can't be Rachel, right?' He asked himself, confused.

Endorsi continued to exchange blows with Hwa Ryun. Their fight seemed to not reach a conclusion."Good defense, but it was a mistake to aim at my face so now it is time for your punishment, leotard!" Endorsi yelled as she went for a decisive strike on her enemy but unfortunately, one of her heels suddenly broke. "Whoa!" She uttered as she stumbled, falling hard on her sexy, butt. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Hwa Ryun's eyes shone with anticipation as she saw a window of opportunity to attack. She immediately took the chance and ran for the throne. The path that she had foreseen before, she had to follow it now, quickly. She jumped in the air and was ready to strike at the blond girl, which would trigger the irregular to leave the throne, which would inevitably make him lose and stay on this floor. Yes, that would be it, there is no other outcome, just no other, right...? Then why was she feeling this overwhelming sense of dread in her heart as her staff was about to collide with this girl's forehead?

"Clang!" That was the only sound everyone heard as their minds couldn't process what happened at that moment.

From the moment they fixed their eyes on the throne, without even having a chance to blink once, suddenly, their pupils caught the sight of a white cape, the collar had three magatamas on each side. On the back, a larger, black Rinnegan marking with a pattern of nine magatamas arranged in three rows of three, was beneath it. And last, but not least, the footer of his cape, was a flaming pattern depicted, a mark of the convoluted past of the village that followed the will of fire and a memory of his late father.

"The name is Naruto Uzumaki; I know, it is your pleasure to meet me." The blond figure spoke, releasing a wide grin.

"Mr. Naruto!!" Baam shouted in surprise and genuinely happy for him stopping the person in tights before he left the throne.

'N-Naruto?' Rachel thought, surprised by his sudden appearance.

Hwa Ryun tried to process what just happened. When did he get here? How did he get here? Those were two questions she didn't know how to find an explanation for. She turned her head to look back to where her team was and noticed that both were knocked out. She was surrounded and her predictions were left in shambles. How did things get to this? She was silent for a moment; the confusion getting to her. This wasn't the fate that she had predicted for this test. Not once she saw a path where she would be stopped by this individual.

'Hunsung Yu had told me to watch out for possible unseen outcomes but this is just...' The masked redheaded thought, unsettled. Returning to her act as Yuto, she slammed at him with her staff.

"Violent, aren't you?"Naruto spoke as he blocked and parried the gold staff's slams and jabs with thrusts with his needle.

"You know, you did quite well dealing with that genin I've sent to fight your team in the first test; you maneuver yourself quite well with that golden staff. It seems quite versatile if it can even help you float... is it made of a special material that I'm unaware of? And there's something that caught my attention, your movements during the test were very coordinated to the point it seemed to me that you were aware of exactly you needed to go and how and where to attack; do you possess some sort of precognition ability? I'm sorry if you did because I needed to see what you were capable of without that sort of ability so I could have blocked you off." The blond asked with genuine curiosity.

The speech caught the female redhead's attention. She immediately recalled the weird incident where, during the first test, trees filled the testing grounds, and her team got attacked by a man with unusual abilities. 'So, he could really be the one who's been hindering me. The same thing that happened during this game, happened during the first test... how is he doing this?'

Not hearing any replies from his foe, Naruto sighed."Only interested in the fight are you? Then let's test how much that staff can handle," Naruto spoke as he imbued Nuibari with a lower tier of hardening haki, the blade taking a black metallic-like sheen tint as he did. He retreated his arm with Nuibari, reading himself for an attack.

'What is that black tonality...? It doesn't look like anything I've seen before...' Hatz doubt was one that everyone who observed shared in their minds as they observed the match. 

Hwa Ryun didn't know what that change to that needle was, but she knew she had to defend herself at any cost, and this time, it wasn't any future sight ability that told her that; it was pure instinct. She got into a defensive position using the staff to block an incoming attack.

Naruto then, simply thrust the needle forward, poking the gold staff right in its middle, immediately bisecting it, making the person in tights lose her balance and fall onto her back from the unexpected outcome.

 Hwa Ryun had her eyes widen under the mask. All that she had foreseen for this game just went down the drain.

"Now, as the prize, let me see who is behind that mask!" Naruto thrust the Nuibari, stabbing right in the middle of the mask with enough force to make it create cracks, making the mask split into four, revealing a shaken, gorgeous red-headed girl with gleaming red eyes.

'Oh! It was a girl, huh? I should've known that those hips and that elevation on the chest could only mean a female. If I was still in my home world, I could easily mistake her for a pure-blooded Uzumaki. It's been quite a long time since I don't see such a red-haired beauty; at least not since mother, Karin, or Sāra...' Naruto thought, momentarily stunned. But once again, he couldn't distract himself without getting knocked out of his thoughts by someone; a black and orange disk had almost hit his face. He turned his face to see who had attacked him this time, and all he saw was that cloaked girl who was fighting with this girl in tights before, crossing her arms disapprovingly and giving an unamused face. 

"Oh, you want some attention too?" Naruto spoke in a playful tone. Maybe that magnetism with women that his master always talked about was on the money again; he surely would be proud. But this time, the situation seemed to concern something else for the cloaked girl, although blushing; seeming not to discard the offer, did a motion with her chin, signaling him to look under him which the blond felt confused.

Naruto looked back to where he was standing and saw that he found himself in a very suggestive position with the girl, so he quickly stepped back.

Anak's face was seething. Absently, she voiced her anger."That idiot... why is he fooling around for?! If he's so strong, then why doesn't he win this game already!!" Anak yelled, not noticing that she spoke her thoughts out loud.

Shibisu and Hatz turned to look at her slowly. The expression on their faces was that of slight stupefaction. Her sudden outburst was pretty anti-climatic since she had been silent during the entire match.

Hwa Ryun slowly got back on her feet. "I had enough; I forfeit." She spoke as she retreated from the arena, surprising the spectators. She did all she could. All she could do now is hope that "it" would take care of this.

"Huh? What's wrong with that red turtle? Why she suddenly gives up like that?" Rak asked out loud.

Aguero, from hearing the question, got out of his daze. He slowed moved his mouth and answered, "W-well, I guess she has no other choice; her only weapon was destroyed..." He replied, still shaken up.

"Humph! That red turtle has not enough guts to hunt that whiskered turtle; let me at him!" Rak spoke, getting into a fighting stance.

"Do I need to repeat myself? You can't leave this position. There are still three opponents. We don't know what they are capable of nor what their true intentions were, so just stay here for now, or do you want them to steal the black turtle from you?" Aguero teased.

Rak growled. "No one takes my prey..." Rak spoke as he tightened the grip on his spear, getting into a defensive stance.

Aguero smugged. 'Good, he's angry. That Naruto is strong, but he can't fight all of us without at least getting tired. If we can at least make him exhaust his energy fighting those three remaining opponents, we should be able to...' But his thought process was seen interrupted when the area around the throne seemed to shake and almost knock him onto his back. "What the hell?!" He turned his face towards the commotion and saw the giant cloaked monster attacking the blond incessantly.

"Wow, you try to kill people out of nowhere like that? You could have slaughtered someone with the strength you've put into those punches." Naruto spoke, taking a few steps back to dodge Akryung's fist, which cracked the arena's ground.

Rachel watched wide-eyed as her guardian went on his own accord to fight the blond. 'Why is he attacking Naruto? He was supposed to stay beside me and protect me!' Rachel thought as she watched her supposed protector, given by Headon, attack the blond mercilessly.

'This one doesn't seem to be a living being... his aura is the same as the dead; what in the...' Naruto thought as he analyzed his opponent and dodged the punches from this seemingly unstoppable opponent. 

"Oh... you've got quite a defense there. Let's take a look at what is making you so resistant." Naruto amassed a significant amount of oxygen through his lungs, or that was his intention. When he expelled it all at once, he released a giant blue fireball through his mouth, covering Akryung's whole body. The hungry fire not only hit its target, but it unintentionally expanded towards the sides and the front, taking aback Naruto and the spectators alike, who felt the intense heat of the looming flames.

"Blue turtle!!" Rak yelled, waking Aguero who watched the fight between the two colossi stunned, as he saw some of the flames approaching the throne.

"Eat it, Manbarondenna!" Aguero spoke as he opened his briefcase and absorbed some of the flames that went in their direction but some of the flames managed to hit the bag in certain spots, starting to burn it slowly. "Damn!! Put it out, put it out!" Aguero shouted as he tried to put out the flames.

'An elemental technique of such a degree? But that requires discovering one's shinsu quality first but that's unheard of from just a regular even if it is from a child of the ten great families...' Lero Ro thought with surprise as he watched the spectacle.

'Tsk... Using some of my techniques has become risky...' Naruto spoke, sweatdropping from the unexpected effect.

He wasn't still used to the fact that in this tower, the oxygen was being replaced by shinsu, and his techniques were being altered and releasing unforeseen derivatives. The Rasengan and the fire techniques seemed particularly affected; other abilities, such as the Kamui and the Mokuton and haki, have not shown any apparent changes.

When the flames died down, everyone witnessed the cloak that covered the giant's body crumbling to ashes, and what could be seen was only the victim in a crossed-arms defensive position as the lone survivor on the blazing flames.

The flames, having finally died down, revealed an unharmed Akryung who seemed to be wearing what looked like feudal Japanese warlord armor. "Nice piece of armor; where did you get it?" Naruto asked with admiration, but the giant only growled in response.

As soon as Akryung opened his arms, Lero Ro, who was watching the fight from the control room, was mesmerized as he noticed very peculiar symbols on its armor. "Those symbols on his armor, it couldn't possibly be..." He pondered. 

Very irritated, Akryung drew his giant cleaver and advanced at Naruto, creating small tremors as he moved.

Naruto blocked the attacks from the giant but he felt that he seemed to put considerably more strength into his attacks than before. It was actually getting harder to defend and parry using only a low amount of busoshoku haki. He didn't know if shinsu was playing a part in this, thing's strength or not.

'Something is definitely fishy here. This guy's strength is abnormal for regulars to deal with. This is giving me the same vibes as when Orochimaru disguised himself to infiltrate the chunin exams long ago. Why would such a monster be accompanying Rachel of all people though? Something is wrong here...' He thought suspiciously as he blocked the attacks from Akryung.

'Time to take this a little more seriously...' Naruto thought and once again, he imbued his needle with haki but this time, he intended to use a more advanced form.

 He did many quick thursts in the air as if he was hitting his target directly but those who watched thought that he was getting crazy their expectations were broken as they saw many large holes in the same quantity of the air stabs that were given, appear on the body of the blond's opponent. The truth was, that Naruto was using emission, an advanced form of busoshoku haki, and strike his enemy by imbuing the blade with it, not needing to make direct contact to damage the enemy. 

The damage was significant since it seemed to make the giant fall on one knee from the injuries. 

'Good, now for the final...!' He couldn't finish his thought. He was taken by surprise as the wound he provoked to the armored creature started to regenerate through some sort of purple energy. 

"What in the...! It's regenerating!" Shibisu shouted as he watched in astonishment.

"Even after such lethal strikes..." Hatz uttered wide-eyed.

'Ugh...! That monster...' Anak thought, getting genuinely worried for the blond. 

'This "creature" or whatever this thing is, truly wants me dead. It's not some ordinary regular that's for sure. My calculations tell me that he could easily kill all the regulars present in this arena; I better stop him before he causes any harm here or in other tests...' He thought, changing his composure to a serious one. It was a waste of time trying to pierce something so huge that can regenerate. If he wanted to cause some substantial damage, he would have to attack with something genuinely destructive. Situations like this require a more strict approach...

Naruto's needle disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving those who watched in awe and puzzlement.

"Is he crazy...?! Why did he discard the only way of defending himself? He can't fight that giant cleaver with punches!" Hatz spoke, incredulous to who once, he thought was an intelligent fighter, seemed to turn into a stupid lout. 

'What's his problem? He couldn't possibly be this stupid...' Anak thought, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

"That thing, whatever it is, seems pretty resistant. It can regenerate and it resisted that blue fire. I can't but fear the worst." Shibisu held his heart in his hands, puzzled by his blond teammate's actions. He hoped he had another ace up his sleeve.

Saying that Khun Aguero Agnes was bewildered was an understatement. He already understood that the blond "regular" was abnormal, but all this was getting out of hand. This no longer seemed like a fight between regulars, it was a fight between monsters. He simply didn't know what to think of this situation his team found itself in had become anymore...

"This... this...this is an outrage!!" He unintentionally spoke out loud, catching his teammates by surprise with his sudden outburst of indignation. 

 It was an evil thought, but he knew that the only hope his team had was if these two ended up destroying each other.

"As I imagined, you are like an armor that carries the body, spirit, and soul of someone. That's why I couldn't feel any signs of life in you. And that regeneration of yours must be a spell that was cast to keep you from falling apart. Now tell me, why were you trying to kill me?" Naruto asked in a stern tone but not actually expecting an answer.

"Stop..." Akryung murmured between growlings.

"Huh, what? I couldn't hear you." Naruto asked. 'So, it can talk...' He thought.

"...interfering..." The armored giant murmured once again. Having finished regenerating, he launched a wide beam of purple shinsu at high speed from point blank but Naruto had seen it coming and managed to avoid it safely.

"You can shoot beams too? But let me warn you; if you gonna insist on attempting to murder me, I'll have no other choice but to destroy you." Naruto warned. He then averted his gaze toward Baam's team. He couldn't let them get caught in this. "Hey!! You guys! Get out of the arena, now!!" He yelled to Baam's and Rachel's team, getting them out of their stupor.

"What?! Why should we?" Aguero asked, irritated by the demand.

"Yeah, why should we?!" Rak also questioned.

"I don't know what's going on, but this monster is determined to kill me. I intend to use a powerful technique to exterminate this monster and I don't know what the outcome will be; I can't guarantee your safety," Naruto spoke as he dodged attacks from the giant samurai's cleaver.

Aguero gritted his teeth. 'Damn, do we have no other choice?.' He thought questioningly.

"I don't know what is going on either, but It's not a request; it's an order. It's possible that you'll all die if you stay there once I launch my technique."

Aguero looked down in frustration; a bitter taste of helplessness was left in his mouth. 'It's difficult to accept it, but right now, Baam's safety is the priority.' He thought calculatingly. "C'mon Baam, Gator. This test is not worth our lives; let's retreat, for now." He hated the fact that he had to give up the game but the blond's abilities were mind-boggling. Staying here in the middle of these two monsters would be asking for death.

Baam gave one last glance to Rachel but was no longer in the arena; she had already left with the other girl to their respective room. 'At least, Rachel is safe...' He thought as he removed the crown and left it on the throne, jumping down from it and following after his team.

Naruto observed as Baam's team left the arena. 'Looks like Anak have won that bet, huh? What I can do now is to stop this thing, or whatever it is from causing more trouble and win the game for my team.' He thought with determination. In a burst of speed, he caught the crown and wore it on his head, taking the lead in the game.

Naruto started creating a Rasengan, and yet again, the shinsu gathered around it as if the technique had created a small whirlpool in that small space. Since that source of energy was still a mystery to him, he thought that maybe both chakra and shinsu couldn't occupy the same space but they could work together in another sense, even like this. Shinsu was acting as a sort of mixer, an enhancer, or in this case, the Rasengan, as a deadly supercharger. The jutsu that had become one of his signature techniques had become an even more dangerous gamble than before but since he was dealing with some sort of undead monster or spirit, he didn't feel like holding back.

'I can't shoot this from this spot otherwise, I'll end up causing unnecessary destruction and harming the bystanders.' Naruto brooded. "Hey, moron, over here!" Naruto called as he took flight towards the ceiling of the crown game arena. He glued his feet using chakra in the ceiling, positioning himself upside down in the arena.

'Flying is a rare skill for regulars to possess; even rankers have trouble with it due to how much it burns shinsu. How is this regular, which is supposed to only be able to use a fixed amount of shinsu without a contract with the Guardian, use it? And that orb in his hand seems to form something that in my conception looks like a baang or an orb but, how is he holding something with such density in his hand? That's not how a baang works and what about that ring of shinsu? It's almost like shinsu being looped in a cycle at such tremendous speed, but that wouldn't make sense; that's just not possible... Just who are you, Naruto Uzumaki?' Lero Ro asked internally, being caught completely off guard by the blond's stunts.

Akryung growled as he aimed the purple shinsu attack upwards.

'The way those two are manipulating shinsu is dangerous. It might even hurt the bystanders. I need to stop at least one of them...!' He thought as he left the room at high speed.

"Alright, here goes nothing!!" Naruto declared as he bent his legs, getting ready to launch himself from the ceiling. He noticed that, above his enemy, a larger and larger amount of what seemed to be purple shinsu, gathered itself like into what seemed like the eye of a storm until it shaped into a sphere. "I don't know what that does, but there is just one way to find out! Taaaaake... " He muttered as he jumped from the ceiling towards the incoming attack.

Naruto blinked in shock as the Lero Ro appeared on the ring. 'Damn, I can no longer stop!!' He thought, panicked, as he already unglued his feet from the ceiling of the arena. 

"...this!!" He yelled as he made contact with the purple beam of shinsu. The contact between them shone as dangerously as its incoming destructiveness.

Both techniques connected with each other, and before Lero Ro could interfere, everyone was blinded by the light generated by the impact.

"Urgh!!" Lero Ro groaned, covering himself with his arms; his hair was sent backward and he collided with a wall of the arena from the strong shockwave that had been released from its center. The collision of the two techniques created a whirlwind of shinsu who fought ferociously as it whirled for dominance which destroyed everything in the area. 

Those who watched were sent to the back of their rooms; each teammate falling on top of each other for they couldn't keep their grip on the bars that kept their rooms locked. Naruto was seen forced to go intangible to protect himself from the shockwave between chakra and shinsu.

'Damn! I can't keep this up!' He thought as he let go of the Rasengan, it increased in power as its core ate more and more of the shinsu that was within that space, disrupting the purple shinsu, piercing through Akryung's Shinwonryu, and ending up hitting him right in the chest. The hungry rotating sphere created more and more cracks in the creature's armor until it destroyed every inch of it until there was not a single particle of dust remained...

...but that was only the beginning. 

The orb had hit the ground, and as if it had gained mass, the impact created an earthquake in the arena with an explosion that sent debris in every direction, throwing those who were regaining their balance, to fall once again to the ground.

As the dust began to clear, the blond Uzumaki could only think as he saw the trail of destruction, 

'I'm not paying to have this fixed.'

End of Chapter