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Chapter 198 Minato's Legacy in a Flicker
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A minute later, Naruto found himself by the side of the stream, scrubbing stubborn stains from his armour. He dunked his overgarment roughly into the cold water, scowling the whole time.
"Need any help?" Kakashi asked, holding a drowsy Oscar in his arms.
"No," Naruto grumbled, his voice clipped as he wrung the cloth out hard enough that droplets sprayed.
Jiraiya crouched nearby, watching with his arms folded. His sharp eye roved over the Elite Knight set, taking in the craftsmanship. "That is some armour you've got there, brat. A proper composite set unlike the samurai's armour. Mail hauberk with plate reinforcement, leather straps keeping the weight in place, and even a textile surcoat. Not something you see every day."
He raised a brow as his hand caught the red cape drying on a rock. Jiraiya picked it up between his fingers and smirked. "You know, you should not wear a cape. On the battlefield, someone could grab it and send you flying. Out in the woods, it will snag on branches and slow you down. Shinobi gear is supposed to be compact, efficient."
Naruto set his jaw and scrubbed harder, deliberately ignoring the advice.
"Jiraiya-sama is right," Kakashi said mildly. "But if I recall correctly, your armour did not come with a cape in the first place."
Naruto hesitated, ears turning red. "…I added it."
"Where from?"
"Stole it from the Balder Knights," Naruto muttered, cheeks burning.
Jiraiya blinked. "The who?"
Kakashi nodded as though he understood completely, sparing Naruto the trouble. "I see. And why exactly did you add it?"
Naruto's shoulders sagged. "…Because it looked cool."
Jiraiya burst out laughing, loud and unrestrained. "Hah! You really are something else, kid."
"Shut up, you pervert! I do not need advice from someone like you!" Naruto snapped, pointing at him as if he were scolding a cat.
Jiraiya raised his hands in mock surrender. "All right, all right. But for the record, if you wore something more streamlined, the ladies would be lining up. With that body of yours, no cape is needed to impress them."
Naruto's irritation faltered, replaced with a sly grin as he flexed one arm. "You think so?"
Oscar covered his face with his tiny claws and let out a groaning chirp.
"Wait… hey!" Naruto pointed, half-flustered. "I know what you are trying to do. You cannot trick me into forgiving you for your crimes with compliments!"
Oscar chirped again as if to say then stop flexing, but Naruto defiantly flexed harder, striking another pose.
"Oh, come on," Jiraiya said with a scoff. "So your armour got a little stinky from some intestinal juices. Big deal."
"You are a shameless bastard," Naruto shot back, his mood souring. He scrubbed harder, muttering loud enough for them to hear. "A man like you should be castrated."
"Now, now, brat. That is too far. Do you know how many women would mourn if that happened? The economy of the hot spring towns would collapse overnight!"
Kakashi noticed the vein on Naruto's forehead throb and spoke evenly. "Jiraiya-sama, I will be reporting your behavior to Lord Third."
Naruto's glare did not waver. "Tell him to stay away from the people I protect."
"Jiraiya-sama, please behave yourself. The Hokage will reprimand you if this continues."
Jiraiya raised both hands in exaggerated surrender, forcing a laugh. "All right, all right! Let us not act like I am some criminal dragged into court. I just happened to be… appreciating the view."
Naruto's voice dropped into a venomous mutter. "Bastard thinks he can get away with crime just because he's strong."
The words stung sharper than any kunai. For a heartbeat, Jiraiya's grin faltered. Then, unwilling to let the brat dictate the mood, he straightened his spine, clapped his hands together, and said loudly, "Well, it seems we skipped a proper introduction. Allow me to correct that little mistake!"
He slapped his palm to the ground. Chakra surged outward, etching a massive seal into the dirt in bright lines of ink.
Summoning Jutsu!
With a thunderous poof of smoke and a quake that rattled the trees, a gigantic red toad appeared beneath him.
Perched proudly atop its head, Jiraiya struck a flamboyant pose, one leg bent high, white hair spilling dramatically behind him. He raised his hand skyward, his teeth flashing in a grin that gleamed unnaturally bright.
"I am the holy hermit sage of Mount Myōboku! Master of the Toads! Behold, the great Toad Sage… the Gallant Jiraiya!"
His voice boomed with such gusto that birds took flight from the nearby trees.
Oscar gave a single confused chirp.
Naruto did not even blink. He just muttered, "No."
The armour he had been cleaning shimmered and vanished, dissolving into light as if erased from existence.
Jiraiya's jaw dropped so far his pipe nearly fell out. "No? What do you mean no?! And what in the hell was that?! Kakashi! Did you see this?"
"I saw."
"And you're calm about it?!"
"I have seen stranger with Naruto."
Naruto ignored both of them and stood up. "Me and Oscar have been planning a way cooler introduction. I throw him into the air, he transforms into his Ravenous Crystal Lizard form, drops down like a meteor, and I strike a pose beside him. Then we announce ourselves together. That's how you do an entrance."
Both older shinobi sweatdropped.
Oscar gave a long-suffering chirp.
"Fine, fine," Naruto muttered. He lifted the little lizard into his palm with a tug of telekinetic pull.
Jiraiya's stomach turned as he caught sight of the strange eye glaring from Naruto's palm. His instincts screamed at him. He looked at Kakashi, silently demanding, Are you seriously fine with this?
Kakashi, of course, remained perfectly unruffled.
Jiraiya hopped down from his toad, shaking his head. "Brat, listen. If you are going to make a dramatic introduction, you need rhythm. Brevity. Impact. You need to strike a line that makes women swoon, men shiver, and enemies second guess fighting you. Something like—" He raised his arm again, grinning. "The Gallant Jiraiya!"
"That's lame. Sounds like a discount kabuki play."
"What did you say, brat?"
"You heard me. Ours was way better."
Oscar puffed his chest in agreement.
Kakashi's eye curved in a quiet smile. "Naruto, introductions won't save you in a real battle."
"Yeah," Naruto muttered. "But they'll make me look cool doing it."
He yawned wide. "Okay, sensei, I'm going to sleep."
"Sleep? It's barely five in the morning."
"Yeah, so?" Naruto grumbled as he took out a shirt from his inventory. "I haven't slept at all. Sleep doesn't catch you when you're busy fighting gargoyles, killing scammer cultists, joining the God of War covenant with my sunbro, and learning how to go invisible."
The words hit Jiraiya like a kunai to the forehead. His eyes went wide, and he slipped right onto his ass in the dirt. "Wait, wait, wait… what did you just say?! God of War? Gargoyles?! What kind of nonsense—"
"I think you should get some sleep, Naruto," Kakashi said smoothly, unbothered.
Naruto clicked his tongue in irritation. He liked when Kakashi raised an eyebrow or gave him that sharp stare at his Lordran stories. Now the jōnin was too calm, too indifferent, and it made all his adventures sound ordinary.
And Naruto hated that.
Now as the duo walked back into camp, Naruto's mind wandered to the strange ball of chakra Jiraiya had used in the fight. The memory burned in his head like a spark he could not let go of.
Maybe I should ask him to teach it…
Naruto stopped the thought cold, his jaw tightening. No. I do not want to owe that pervert anything if I can help it.
Instead, he clenched his fist, eyes narrowing with determination. I will figure this out. It looked simple enough. Just chakra control. Rotation. Power.
He held his palm out, chakra welling in his hand. Guided by his high intelligence stat and sharp memory, he recalled the motion: a swirling cyclone that Jiraiya had conjured effortlessly.
A faint spiral flickered into existence. The chakra twisted, spinning like a flickering candle in the wind. It built up, pressure mounting, but then shuddered violently. With a small pop, it sputtered out, leaving nothing but a tingle in his palm.
Naruto shook his hand with a hiss. "Tch. Close, but not close enough."
Behind him, both Kakashi and Jiraiya froze mid-step, staring.
"Oi, brat!" Jiraiya nearly ripped Naruto's shoulder off as he spun him around. His eyes were wide, his voice sharp. "Where the hell did you learn that?"
"I just tried to recreate what you did. Looked easy."
The silence that followed could have swallowed the whole area. Both Jiraiya and Kakashi's jaws dropped.
"Brat!" Jiraiya barked, shaking him once. "Do you have any idea what you just tried to pull off? That jutsu is one of the Fourth Hokage's legacies! It is called Rasengan! A high-level, A-rank ninjutsu! It took him three years to perfect it!"
Naruto's eyes went wide. The name hit him like a hammer. "Three years? Just to spin chakra in a ball?"
"Not just spin it!" Jiraiya snapped, his voice fierce now. "It is a technique of compression and rotation. Pure chakra, condensed to the point of explosive impact. No hand seals. No elemental crutch. Pure control. A sphere so dense that it tears through anything it touches. That is why it is considered one of the most advanced forms of shape manipulation in existence. Most jōnin cannot even form it."
Naruto swallowed, his breath quick. A technique like that… yes, he could feel it in his bones. A jutsu that could rival his Lightning Spear miracle. His heart thumped faster with excitement.
Curious, he asked, "So… how do you know it?"
Jiraiya straightened his back, his chest puffing up with pride. "Because I was the Fourth Hokage's teacher."
The declaration rang out like thunder.
Naruto gasped. "Wait. You trained the Fourth?"
"Damn right I did!" Jiraiya grinned proudly. "That genius brat was my student. The Rasengan was his masterpiece. One of his finest creations. You should be honored just to see it in action."
Naruto's head spun with the revelation. But then a thought cut in, nagging, bitter. "Then what was his relation to Artorias?"
"Who?"
"Artorias," Naruto repeated, confused. "You know, Knight Artorias?"
Jiraiya turned to Kakashi for backup. The jōnin shrugged. "Never heard of him."
Naruto's brow furrowed. A pit of frustration built in his gut. How could the teacher and student of the Fourth Hokage not know of Artorias? Did the Fourth keep his time in Lordran secret? Why would he hide something like that?
The unanswered questions gnawed at him until his temples ached. Finally, the boy clutched his head and shouted in exasperation, "Es reicht! I just want to sleep!"
"...What language was that?"
Neither Jiraiya nor Kakashi understood that Naruto had accidentally shouted in Catarina dialect. A habit he had picked up from Siegmeyer during their training sessions. Naruto did not bother explaining this as he just wanted to sleep.
"Wait!" Jiraiya jogged after him. "What about the Rasengan?"
"What about it?"
"You want me to teach it to you, don't you?" Jiraiya's grin returned, sly and hopeful. This was his chance to reel the brat in, to start earning his respect.
Oscar chirped from Naruto's shoulder, the sound almost like a snicker. The lizard's body language screamed, Say no. Shoot him and go to sleep.
"Nein," Naruto said bluntly, swatting at Oscar before he could nip his fingers.
Jiraiya's face fell. "What? But—"
Naruto waved him off, already vanishing in a flicker of motion. "I'll figure it out myself after I get my beauty sleep."
And just like that, he was gone.
The toad sage stood dumbfounded, his jaw slack. "...Did that brat just refuse me?"
Kakashi walked past, hands in his pockets, eye curved in a faint smile. "Seems like it."
Jiraiya whirled on him. "Kakashi! He tried to recreate the Rasengan on his first attempt! Do you know how insane that is?"
"I do," Kakashi said calmly.
"Then why are you not freaking out?!"
Kakashi tilted his head. "Because that is just Naruto."
Jiraiya honestly had no words as he rubbed the back of his wild white hair, sighing. "The brat's… something else. He's got Minato's talent, Kushina's fire. A prodigy with that calm control, then the next second, pure storm. Spitting image of his mother in the face, but carrying his father's features."
Kakashi gave a quiet hum, one visible eye narrowing in thought. "On the surface, yes. But Naruto's not just his parents put together. He's his own person. Different from them, yet he reflects both of them at the same time. Like a mirror bent at an angle... you see the same image, but it comes back at you in a way you don't expect."
"So, Hatake… do you think the boy's ready? To know the truth about them?"
Kakashi didn't hesitate. "Physically, he's more than ready. You saw what he did to you earlier. Emotionally?… I think he deserves the truth, whether he's ready or not. If it were my choice, I'd have already told him. Keeping him in the dark only makes the burden heavier."
Jiraiya's brows drew low. He rubbed his chin, thinking. "Hmph. Maybe. I'll test the waters. If your read on him's right, maybe I can mend things with him first before I try and drop the whole mess of his heritage on his head."
Kakashi gave a small nod. "That's fair."
Jiraiya cracked a grin, patting Kakashi on the shoulder. "But I'll give you this... you've done damn well with him. Kid fights like a beast. I can't even imagine what kind of forbidden tricks you taught him to turn him into this."
"Nothing like that," Kakashi replied coolly. "I gave him guidance where I could. The rest… Lordran shaped him."
Jiraiya's face sobered at that word. Lordran. He'd heard the name from Kakashi already, a place that felt like half nightmare, half proving ground. "So that Lightning Spear of his. Yours, or theirs?"
"Lordran," Kakashi said simply. His gaze went distant. "That technique… it's something else. Pure speed, power compressed into a single strike. I honestly don't know if my Raikiri could stop it. If the two collided, I'm not sure which one would cut through."
Jiraiya let out a low whistle. "Now that's a thought. A real clash of lightning."
That did bring up an interesting thought for the white-haired man.
Should I teach Chidori to Naruto? Kakashi wondered, his single eye narrowing as he pictured it. The boy already had that monstrous long-range power in the form of the Lightning Spear, but what he lacked was a close-range finisher. Chidori could be the answer, a blade of living lightning in his hand to complement the spear he hurled across the battlefield.
But the Sharingan user knew better than anyone that Chidori was a double-edged weapon. Its speed was both its strength and its curse. The technique drove its wielder forward in a blur, so fast the world collapsed into a tunnel. That narrowed focus made the strike devastating, but also left the user blind to counters. Without the Sharingan, without the ability to read and predict movements in that tunnel, the jutsu could be suicide.
That was why Kakashi had hesitated to teach it outside the Uchiha.
But then his thoughts turned back to Naruto. The brat was not normal. He had those eyes… Hawkeyes.
A hawk did not simply dive. When it locked onto prey, it could see the shimmer of scales on a fish beneath rushing water from a hundred feet above, even as the ground tore past in a blur. Hawks folded their wings tight and let gravity hurl them at speeds beyond thought, yet even then, their vision remained sharp, wide, alive. They could track not only their target, but the movements of the world around it, adjusting with subtle flicks of their wings. A hawk in its dive was not blind; it was focused, alive to every twitch of its prey, every gust of wind.
Naruto's eyes might give him that same gift. The tunnel vision of Chidori could become a predator's tunnel, not a weakness but a refinement. He would not just be charging blind; he would be hunting, reading the smallest shifts, correcting his angle in the blur. If any shinobi without a Sharingan could make Chidori his own, it was the boy with the gaze of a hawk.
Kakashi let out a slow breath. The possibility was there…
"You're a little too deep in thought there, kid. What's rattling around in that masked head of yours?"
Kakashi exhaled softly. "I owe three jutsu to Naruto already. It has me wondering… what would happen if I taught him the Chidori?"
That made Jiraiya blink. Then he barked out a laugh and shook his head. "That's a stupid idea." He jabbed a thumb at Kakashi, half amused, half serious. "The brat can't even use a complete Rasengan yet. Chidori was born from a failed attempt to add lightning chakra to the Rasengan in the first place. Teaching him a jutsu that can get him killed. That's reckless, even for you."
Kakashi didn't flinch. He kept his calm tone, though there was an edge of conviction to it. "I am aware. But even a failure can lead to something great. Chidori may not be Rasengan, but it's still a technique strong enough to stand beside it. If Naruto can wield both… if he can refine them together… maybe he could succeed where I failed. Maybe he could truly add lightning to Rasengan."
"That's some daydream you're spinning there. Mixing oil and water. You're betting a lot on a kid who still blurts out whatever's in his head."
"I wouldn't underestimate him. Naruto is the number one most unpredictable ninja for a reason. He has a way of turning impossibility into routine."
For a moment Jiraiya just stared at him, weighing the conviction in Kakashi's voice. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face, toothy and proud. "Heh. You really believe in the brat, don't you?" His eyes softened just a little, as if remembering another blond-haired knucklehead from years ago. "Well, if that's the case… then I look forward to seeing it too."
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Author Note:
1 – Why did Naruto speak German?
So a reader left me a very interesting review saying they wanted to see more small stuff bleed over from Lordran into Naruto. The big things are obvious – his knightly ideals, his new weapons, his power-ups – all of that has already shaped the plot in pretty dramatic ways. But the reader pointed out that little quirks and ticks would be fun too, because those are what really show that Naruto is being shaped by this other world on a personal level.
And I couldn't agree more. That's why I added the German gag. Basically, if Naruto is frustrated, tired, or just too emotionally wound up, he'll sometimes blurt out German phrases that he picked up from Siegmeyer. It's a little detail, but one I think adds flavor.
Now why is Siegmeyer speaking German in the first place? Pretty simple. His name is inspired by Siegfried, a hero from Germanic mythology. In fact, Siegfried's family line is full of "Sieg" names; Siegmund, Sieglinde, and so on. That's why I leaned into it. In my interpretation, Catarina is basically "the Germany of Dark Souls," so Siegmeyer speaking German fits that cultural flavor.
I also want to clear up something before anyone asks: "Wait, how can Naruto understand Siegmeyer if he's speaking German?" The answer is the system. The status screen and system functions automatically translate between them. Naruto is speaking Japanese, Siegmeyer is speaking German, but both of them hear the other in their own tongue. The system is acting like a universal translator in the background.
That being said, the system doesn't erase the fact that Siegmeyer is visibly speaking German. Naruto can still read lips and notice the structure of the words. So, over time, he's been picking up bits of the language naturally. That's where the gag comes from. When he's stressed out or tired, he accidentally defaults into phrases he's heard a hundred times from his onion senpai.
So what do you guys think of this little trait? Do you like it? Does it add some flavor to "Dark Souls Naruto"? Would you want to see more of these kinds of bleed-over details? I'm talking small things, nothing too massive; just little habits, ticks, and quirks that show Lordran is rubbing off on Naruto in more ways than just "big flashy power-ups."
If you've got ideas for small traits I could add, drop them in the comments. I'd love to hear what you think would be fun, subtle, and true to both worlds colliding.
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2 - Should Naruto learn the Chidori?
That's the big question I want to throw at you guys. I had Kakashi bring this topic up because, honestly, I'm on the fence about it. On one hand, Naruto having the Hawk Eyes means he could potentially overcome the Chidori's biggest flaw: tunnel vision. Hawks are predators that dive at incredible speeds, yet still adjust mid-flight to track and kill prey. If Naruto applies that same predatory focus with his Hawk Eyes, then in theory, the biggest weakness of the Chidori might not even apply to him.
But then I wonder… should Naruto even have it? Chidori was born as a failed attempt at combining Lightning Release with the Rasengan. Minato dropped it because it was incomplete, but Kakashi perfected it in his own way. Would it be fitting for Naruto to inherit this jutsu as well, or would that feel redundant given he already has Rasengan and other unique tools from Lordran?
So I'm throwing it to you all: Do you want Naruto to learn Chidori in this story?
And here's a follow-up question. If you say "yes," then what would a Lightning Style Rasengan look like? We know Wind Style leads to the Rasenshuriken, but what about Lightning Style? Would it become a piercing drill of chakra? A storm that tears through defenses? Or something entirely new? I'd love to hear your theories.
Now, as for why Naruto was able to recreate an incomplete Rasengan after only seeing it once: that comes down to his Intelligence stat.
And I really want to thank you guys for the feedback on that point. A lot of you said you love how "Dark Souls Naruto" feels smarter than canon Naruto, but in a way that still feels organic. The system boosts his intelligence, yes, but it doesn't erase who he is. He's still Naruto: reckless, emotional, sometimes boneheaded. But when his intelligence stat is raised, he gains the ability to analyze, observe, and attempt things he couldn't before. His growth doesn't feel like an instant cheat code—it still takes effort, trial and error, and a lot of his personality shines through in those attempts.
That's why I wrote the Rasengan scene the way I did. He didn't just unlock it by seeing it once. He only managed a wobbly, unstable swirl of chakra before it collapsed. It shows that he's grown, but he's not suddenly perfect. He's got the intelligence to break down the mechanics, but not the skill to master it instantly. That distinction matters to me.
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That is it for now.
As always, thank you to everyone who reads, comments, and throws questions my way. You make the ride worth it.
Adam
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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 92, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.
To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!