Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 90

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

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 90

"Eiji?" Yugito called and his red eyes darted towards her instantly. He could tell that she was nervous, but he didn't much care. The picture of the house that Deidara had blown up was still fresh in his mind. The specific arrangement of the rubble into a mocking grin glared at him. The burnt bodies of the victims, a family that had nothing to do with the whole mess they were part of.

They hadn't been ninja. He didn't remember ever coming across them. They were just a run of the mill family. Normal people with normal worries that had the misfortune of choosing to live in a Hidden Village. The child they had was young too. 'Too young,' He thought.

Eiji shouldn't have been surprised, he guessed. However, part of his mind just couldn't help but assume that Akatsuki's problem was solely focused on their objective of gathering the Bijuu. He hadn't been able to realize that everyone was in danger because of them, that they were Missing Nin in the first place for a reason.

'I'm a fucking idiot,' He growled to himself.

"What is the plan?" The Jinchuriki of the Two Tails asked then, after a moment of pause. Eiji wondered if that had been because she was scared of him.

"First things first," He said, crossing his fingers in the Shadow Clone hand seal. Immediately, he punched it to dispel it. The thing could have done that without violence at all, but he needed to vent at least a little or he would do something stupid. Hell, he couldn't even really do it that way at all, he'd just dispelled it when his fist was about to hit.

[Shadow Clone Technique has gone up a level.]

'That's nice,' Eiji thought, although the words sounded hollow even in his own mind. He didn't have it in him to be happy like he usually was with such a screen.

[Shadow Clone Technique - Lvl 12

B-rank technique with which the user can create solid clones of themselves that dispel when damaged.

Maximum number of clones - 12

Hand Seal - 1

Consumption - Chakra divides equally between the user and all Clones.]

'I really need to max this,' He thought neutrally. 'Even if the backlash sucks.'

A second later, clones that he'd had guarding the surroundings dispelled too. Then came the aforementioned side-effect. The splitting headache hit him like an A rank technique, but he soldiered through it. He needed to process that information quickly.

"That was a bad idea," Hachi commented idly, but he could tell that she was already going over what they were learning too. Meanwhile, Kage grunted something that Eiji was sure meant 'You are an idiot' or something along those lines.

"Eiji-"

"Shut up," He told Temari. "Get ready," He said then, his mind still processing new memories that he had no business having. "One way or another, we are going after Akatsuki right fucking now. I've told you about them, you know what to do."

"Sir yes, sir," Tayuya replied mockingly, but she had actually listened and would do as she was told.

Eiji barely paid them any attention once they started moving.

[}-o-{]

"Thank you, young man," The old man told him kindly.

"No problem. Glad to help," The clone replied with a smile as he set the last box on the floor. It was almost like being back in Konoha, really. Actually, it was better. At least here, under a Transformation Technique, nobody could look at him and see the brother of the Demon. He liked to think that they wouldn't even react to his normal appearance if he didn't wear his headband.