Naruto: A Blade in the Shadows

2

Chapter 3: A Game of Shadows

Mizuki sneered, his confidence swelling despite the presence of Naruto's ominous scimitars. "You think some flashy weapons are going to scare me, brat? You've got no idea who you're dealing with!"

Naruto tilted his head, giving Mizuki a lazy smile. "You know, sensei, I was hoping you'd say that. Makes the game more fun."

Game?" Mizuki asked, his sneer turning into a confused frown.

Naruto pointed one of his scimitars at him. "Yeah. I'm a big fan of games. Let's start with something easy

"Shall we start with something simple? A game of spinning tops."

Mizuki's confusion was evident. "Spinning tops? What are you talking about?"

Naruto raised one of his blades and gave it a lazy twirl, a gust of wind emanating from the motion. "This game is called Bushōgoma. It's simple: I spin, and the wind does the rest. Let's see how well you can keep up."

Before Mizuki could respond, Naruto began to spin in place, his blades held at opposite angles. The motion created two arcs of wind that quickly merged into a vortex, forming a massive spinning circle of air. The wind howled as it charged toward Mizuki, who barely leapt out of the way in time.

The vortex changed direction midair, homing in on Mizuki like a living entity. It struck the ground near him, erupting into a tornado-like storm that pulled him into its grasp. Mizuki shouted as he fought to keep his footing, his weapons useless against the powerful winds.

Hidden in the shadows, Shikaku narrowed his eyes. That's no ordinary technique. Where did Naruto learn this?

Naruto stopped spinning, his swords returning to rest on his shoulders. The winds began to die down, leaving Mizuki disoriented and battered. "Not bad," Naruto said casually. "But I think you'll like the next game better."

Mizuki stumbled to his feet, glaring daggers at Naruto. "Enough of your stupid games! I will kill you brat?"

Naruto ignored him, lowering his swords. "This one's called Kageoni. It's a shadow game. The rule is simple, whoever gets their shadow stepped on loses."

Mizuki's eyes darted to the ground, where the moonlight cast their long shadows across the clearing. His lip curled into a sneer. "Shadows? That's all?"

Naruto's grin widened as he melted into the shadows at his feet, disappearing from sight. "Not quite. You see, I can hide in shadows... and control them."

(Naruto hides the fact that Mizuki can also hide in the shadows and control them during the game)

Suddenly, multiple shadow clones of Naruto emerged from the surrounding darkness, their blades drawn. Mizuki spun around, his eyes wide as he tried to track them all.

"Which one's real?" Mizuki snarled, swinging wildly at the nearest clone. The shadow clone dissipated into darkness, only for another to appear behind him.

As Mizuki turned, Naruto's voice echoed from all directions. "Careful, Mizuki-sensei. If I step on your shadow, it's game over."

Mizuki growled in frustration, slashing at another clone, only to realize too late that his own shadow had begun to stretch unnaturally. The real Naruto emerged from the darkness, stepping squarely onto Mizuki's shadow.

Mizuki froze as a sharp chill ran up his spine. He tried to move, but his body refused to obey. "What... what is this?"

"You lose," Naruto said, his voice calm but cold.

Mizuki screamed as the shadow beneath him twisted unnaturally, rising up like tendrils to constrict his arms and legs. One tendril lashed out, slamming into Mizuki's side with enough force to send him stumbling backward.