Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 79

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 79

Today was the day.

Things had definitely been accelerated, which made Eiji more than a little nervous. However, the situation was far from ideal. They just couldn't afford to wait around.

Thus, he was going to get the Cursed Seal modification that would make him a proper Jinchuriki. Jiraiya had been honest with him, he wasn't hundred percent sure it would work, but he was still very sure. Apparently that had been enough to push for it to be done. Iwa wouldn't wait forever and the threat of Akatsuki grew with every day that passed.

On that last note, Eiji agreed. It was the only reason he agreed with the process, even if it probably didn't matter if he did. From what he'd been told it was probably never going to be a sure thing. The Cursed Seal was too complex and the Jinchuuriki seal even more so. Especially since they wanted to replicate the one that Naruto had.

Hachi and Kage had reluctantly agreed, mostly because the issue would be forced anyway. Tsuchigumo, however, had reacted to it in an interesting way. The Chakra Beast had been a mix between excited and nervous ever since the announcement had been made. It was weird, but it also helped Eiji deal with the situation a little better and he really needed that.

'Everything will be fine,' He told himself. 'The game will help.'

"Worrying now won't do anything, Eiji," Hachi said, not really being reassuring as much as stating a fact. The boy sighed, acknowledging the point. He didn't like it, but it was what it was.

He needed to get out there before Iwa lost its patience. He needed to get out there before Akatsuki made another move. He needed to get out there before it was too late.

"You ready, kid?" Jiraiya asked him as he sat in the middle of a huge room on top of a fuinjutsu circle. 'No,' Eiji wanted to reply. Instead, he nodded stiffly. "Good," The Sage nodded back with an understanding, sad smile.

"We'll be fine," Kage said in his mind. Surprisingly, that did reassure the boy a fair bit. The Orochimaru Shard had as much to lose from this as he did. Even more so, really, since even if it worked, it could very well erase his existence. They had some theories suggesting that he might survive anyway because of the changes Eiji made in his Mindscape and some others.

"We'll be fine," The boy repeated to himself and to the others in his mind.

That was when Jiraiya got to work. It was a painful affair for Eiji, really, but not because of the actual sealing, at least not at that moment. The pain came from the fact that he had to sit shirtless on the circle so that the Sage could draw the seals around the Cursed Seal. The Chakra Beast energy coursing through his body made everything ache, a sensation that got progressively worse with every second. For that alone, he wanted this whole thing to get started as soon as possible.

'How I wish I could use Iron Will,' He thought to himself. Not only did he have to hide that, but he also didn't want to be unfeeling during the process. He'd been told to tell them if anything out of some expected things happened, and for that, he needed to be able to feel, unfortunately.

The brush against his skin felt like needles being dragged harshly against his skin. And then, the seals started taking effect, slowly. That, unexpectedly, didn't make things worse. It just made things... different. He could feel things shift inside him. Energies within him moved, changed, in ways that he hadn't thought possible. Interference seemed to appear between Tsuchigumo and himself, something that made the Beast panic momentarily.