Here's @riojiyo131, your trusted writer.
You can now get early access up to Chapter 147 of Re: Naruto Uzumaki on my Patreon.
Up to Chapter 10 of Marvel: Star Wars System is also available on my Patreon. Each chapter averages 5,000 words.
patreon.com/riojiyo131
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The first 5 chapters of Marvel: Star Wars System are now available, completely free on my Patreon!
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"What a weakling..." Reika muttered upon returning, completely unscathed and without a single wrinkle on her clothes.
"Eh? Weakling, you say?! I thought he was amazing!" exclaimed Rock Lee, his eyes shining with excitement.
Clearly, they didn't share the same opinion.
"He depended on external means to become strong. That, to me, is for losers," Reika replied sharply, with no intention of softening her words.
As she explained, during the fight, Setsuna was losing, so he desperately resorted to the Dark Serpent implanted in his body by Yomi.
The creature emerged, tearing through his flesh and slithering out of his chest. Once exposed, Setsuna ripped off its head and drank a dark, dense liquid from inside it, specifically created to instantly boost Chakra and physical strength.
As soon as he did, a massive purple lightning bolt shot into the sky, engulfing his body as he began to mutate into something far more powerful...
"The idiot thought I'd stand still while he transformed," Reika commented with a mocking chuckle. "I used the technique of my left Mangekyō, Amaterasu, and incinerated him to death before he could finish."
"That's kind of sad..." Naruto murmured, lowering his head in disappointment. "You should've let him finish transforming... Like they do in Power Rangers..."
Reika rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I still don't understand your obsession with those ridiculous costumed guys. Garish colors, absurd poses... it must be the worst show ever made."
Naruto looked at her as if she'd just insulted him.
"Take that back," he demanded with a frown, hurt—though he was clearly being dramatic.
But Reika simply crossed her arms and looked away, completely indifferent.
"When you told me about it, I looked it up, but I never found a show called Power Rangers..." Hinata murmured absentmindedly, her index finger on her lip and her gaze lost in the sky, as if she were still trying to solve the mystery.
Naruto froze for a second, an imaginary sweat drop sliding down his temple.
He deliberately chose to ignore her.
Clearly, he couldn't tell her that Power Rangers was a show from his other life, one that didn't exist in the Ninja World.
Sakura, who was walking behind the group, suddenly came to a dead stop. A vein was pulsing violently on her forehead.
"I can't take this anymore!!!" she shouted, with a mix of frustration and desperation.
Everyone turned around, surprised. Shion, still riding on Sakura's back, was completely calm, arms crossed and a look of annoyance on her face… as if the situation was the world's fault and not hers.
"Please! I want to get rid of this spoiled brat right now!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing furious glares at Shion. "She hasn't stopped yelling, kicking, whining, and giving orders since we left! I feel like I'm going to lose my mind!"
Shion placed a hand on her chest, surprised by her words, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you talking about me? How disrespectful. I'm the Priestess of the Land of Demons, Shion, the only one who can seal the demon Mōryō and save the world—you should show me more respect!"
"Well then let the world end!" Sakura exclaimed, carefully setting her down on the ground despite her words. "Let someone else deal with this walking nightmare..."
Shion landed softly on her feet and lifted her chin, not losing her composure.
She looked directly at Naruto and pointed at him dramatically.
"I won't allow anyone but him to carry me! He's my chosen guardian!" she declared, as if that settled everything.
After witnessing Naruto's overwhelming display of power, Shion had decided that he would be her only protector during the journey.
She refused to accept anyone else to escort her, defend her, or—least of all—carry her. To her, only Naruto was worthy.
But Naruto didn't even turn around. He just raised a hand in farewell as he kept walking.
"Great. Then walk."
One by one, everyone resumed their march, completely ignoring the priestess's indignant shrieking.
Shion blinked, surprised to see that they were actually leaving her behind.
"What... what kind of escort dares to disobey me...?"
But no one responded. Not a glance. Not a word.
With an offended huff, Shion crossed her arms and plopped down on a nearby rock, inspecting her nails as if she didn't care.
"I'm not taking a single step! They'll come begging eventually..."
...
Shion woke up several hours later, blinking heavily, as if emerging from a deep sleep. But the first thing she noticed was that her entire body was hanging upside down… and that something hard, like bone, was pressing into her stomach.
"What's going on here?!" she shrieked upon realizing her abdomen was resting on someone's shoulder, with her arms and head dangling gracelessly toward the ground.
"Oh, you're awake," said Naruto calmly, carrying her like a sack of potatoes without even bothering to turn his head.
He walked along peacefully, as if carrying a complaining priestess on his shoulder was the most normal thing in the world.
"This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted you to carry me! Put me on your back! No...! Carry me like a princess!"
Naruto let out a tired sigh and rolled his eyes, completely ignoring her and her demands.
"Don't ignore me! And I don't remember falling asleep! What did you all do to me?!"
Her voice rose with indignation, but everyone in the group simply turned their gaze to Neji. He, with his arms crossed, merely raised an eyebrow without the slightest remorse.
"A gentle strike to the right pressure point. Sorry if the silence was too pleasant," Neji said coldly, not even bothering to hide his disdain, glancing around at the others.
In the end, while Shion was unconscious and after a brief discussion, everyone agreed that the most practical option was for Naruto to carry her. That way, they could avoid a scene when she woke up.
Naruto, resigned, had no choice but to accept his fate and carry her while they walked.
"Kidnappers! This is outrageous! You're supposed to protect me, not knock me out and abduct me!"
Naruto rubbed his temple with his one free hand, trying to soothe the headache her constant screeching was causing.
With Shion awake and yelling non-stop, Naruto finally gave in. Not out of kindness… but from pure mental exhaustion.
Without a word, he carried her the way she wanted—in his arms, like a princess.
Shion immediately looked at him with an arrogant smile, proud of her victory. She settled into his arms like she was born for it.
But her moment of glory was short-lived.
"Oh, we've arrived," Naruto announced, emotionless.
And without any extra effort, he simply let her go.
Shion fell flat on her butt with a dull thud that made her flinch.
"Ouch! That hurt!" she complained, glaring at him.
Naruto simply stretched his shoulders, indifferent.
"I carried you like a princess, just like you wanted—but I never said for how long..."
While Shion continued screaming and complaining about absolutely everything, Naruto completely ignored her, focusing on what truly mattered: the entrance to the Sealing Temple.
There, in front of them, stood the structure where Mōryō's body was imprisoned.
Just as Naruto had predicted, the Ghost Army serving the demon Mōryō was not there.
It was impossible for them to have returned from the battlefront, where they were still fighting their way through the Five Great Ninja Nations.
After all, unlike in the original story, Naruto had acted swiftly, bringing Shion to the Sealing Temple as soon as he met her, without wasting time on pointless strategies or overblown defensive measures.
In the original version of events, several days had passed in the Land of Demons while Taruho gathered all the available men to protect Shion during the journey.
All that, just for Taruho to end up accompanying them alone...
Yomi—and by extension, Mōryō—hadn't had the opportunity to gather his stone army.
"There's someone inside," Neji reported, with the veins of his Byakugan pronounced around his eyes.
Naruto smiled, confident.
The moment had arrived.
It was time to end all of this, once and for all.