Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 80

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

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 80

"Have I said how grateful I am that you guys waited for me here?" Eiji said, grinning widely as he scratched Shirakumo between her eyes. As if to prove how worried she had been, the small white spider wasn't even complaining about the treatment she was receiving. Granted, most of the time it would have been a mere token protest, but she wasn't even giving much that right now.

"It's the least we could do, Eiji," Kumohoshi declared from where she laid some distance away. "You've upheld your end of the deal. Kidomaru and Orochimaru have been dealt with. A stain in the honor of the Spider Clan has been erased thanks to you."

"It was my pleasure, Chief," Eiji replied with a grin. "Honestly, we would have been doomed without your Clan. I think we can call it even." There was a moment of silence then, and he wondered if he'd surprised the gigantic spider or something of the sort.

"The Elders will be pleased that was your response," Kumohoshi said then, sounding proud. "I think, however, that we've been here for long enough. It's good to see you awake, Eiji, but it's time for us to go back."

"Do we have to, mum?!" Shirakumo whined, completely breaking the noble character she liked to act as. "Can't I stay for a bit longer?"

"Let her stay, she can watch me train for a bit and then I'll send her back. Does that sound good, Chief?" Eiji asked, moving the smaller spider down to the ground. He'd have settled her on his shoulder, but, with what was soon to follow, it wouldn't be safe for her to be so close to.

"Ok then," Kumohoshi accepted eventually, prompting a small cheer from her daughter, who tried to salvage her image a little a second later. She failed, of course, but nobody was going to point that out to her. "Once more, it's good to see you well, Eiji. Take care of yourself and don't hesitate to call if you need us," With that, the gigantic spider disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"So, are you ready, brat?" Anko asked Eiji when he stood up and stood in the middle of the clearing.

"I am," He replied with a nod, as his face remained the picture of focus. There was a lot he had to prepare, a lot he had to train, and he had so little time for it. He wasn't completely healed, but that wouldn't stop him from training. Once he was fully healed, he'd have to leave which really didn't help the situation.

"Then, good luck," His teacher told him. Anko looked remarkably subdued, probably because there was little she could do to help him. He'd left her behind for real this time, which left him feeling bitter.

How would his life have been if he'd led a more normal life? If he never befriended Naruto and left the plot develop as it should have? Would he have managed to get her as his teacher? Would he have been happier without having to worry about the butterflies he created?

That didn't matter in the end. It was what it was and he'd just have to make the best of it. No use dwelling on could have beens or should have beens.

"She's ready, Eiji," Hachi informed him and he nodded.

"First things first," Eiji said, crouching slightly. "Project Wolf Spider."

"Let's go, Tsuchigumo," He called, and received a wave of excitement from the Chakra Beast. That was quickly followed by a more literal wave of Chakra that flooded his body. Dark blue chakra, almost midnight blue, started pouring out of his body as a cloak spread over him.

"Cloak, working and safe," He noted to himself. "Let's up it a bit, yeah, girl?" He called mentally and he could hear the bark in his mind. More chakra flooded him, power filling him with a sense of invincibility. That was not all though, far from it. Behind him, he felt a familiar sensation.