Fantasy Realm — Naruto: Blood-Mist

Alex wakes up, his eyes slightly bothered by the sun shining through the window.

The first thing he sees is Menchi's green, moss-like hair—almost fairy-like, especially lit up by the morning sun. She opens her eyes, smiling at Alex. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she says with a satisfied grin, patting his head.

Jewel gently strokes his head with her legs as well.

Good morning, Soulmate!

"Well, good morning, you two… this certainly is a nice way to wake up."

When will I get used to this?

Slowly, they get ready for the day, and Alex visits Kakashi, who lies in his futon, surrounded by the others.

"Morning! So, how are you doing, Kakashi?" Alex asks, clearly interested in his condition.

"Quite good, actually. Thanks to your help, I should recover in just a few days—at least to the point where I can walk. I've already told my students that they'll train once I'm mobile again. Surely you realize this mission isn't over?"

"Yeah, Zabuza and his masked child soldier will probably return soon. However… they're both badly wounded. They probably need time to recover…. Also, Zabuza seems to have misplaced his little toy, hehe," Alex says with a mocking smile.

"You and your wife, along with your pet, are quite surprising. You definitely saved us. I also assume you dealt with that other person? He seemed to know you," Kakashi says, his expression unreadable as always.

"Yeah, you can forget about him… what was his name again? I don't remember," Alex says with a smile.

"He was a fool. I'm honestly disappointed," Menchi pouts. "Thanks to him, I could barely contribute to the fight. I can't believe he died instantly. A total lightweight!"

"He looked rather formidable," Sasuke says, eyes showing renewed surprise.

"Battles aren't about physical strength or even skill. If your enemy is a total moron like he was, there's always a simple way to beat them. Alex, in particular is very cunning and is a master at cheap surprise attacks and unfair tactics. He never stood a chance! The most important thing is using your head in battle," Menchi explains, raising a finger staring at Sasuke with a knowing grin, who begins to blush slightly.

"Stay away from Sasuke!" Sakura says, stepping between them, clearly worried.

"Oh? Your girlfriend doesn't seem to like me. I guess that's all I'm allowed to teach you then," Menchi teases.

"She's not his girlfriend!" Naruto yells.

Sakura blushes, her opinion of Menchi visibly shifting.

Alex sighs, uninterested in the teenage rom-com playing out around him. "Well, Kakashi, focus on healing up then. I'll use this time to train a little," he says.

"Can't you train us?! At least as long as Kakashi-sensei recovers," Naruto suddenly asks.

Alex shakes his head, replying calmly, "Naruto, we're not ninjas. I can't teach you about chakra, jutsus, or anything like that. Even our combat styles are totally different—I specialize in weapons. Swords, bows, and claws."

"Haven't seen you use a claw yet," Sasuke comments, seemingly intrigued.

"Please!!" Naruto begs, clasping his hands together.

To Alex's utter shock, Sasuke suddenly joins him, whispering, "Please… I need to get stronger."

"Really?... I mean, Kakashi, what do you say?" Alex asks, clearly thrown off.

Please say no!

"Usually, I'd agree with you, Alex—you're not a ninja. However, you seem experienced in real combat, and you're clearly strong enough to expose and exploit their weaknesses. This will certainly be a learning experience for them, so please do it. At least for a few days, until I recover."

Well… I could just refuse. But I sense an opportunity here.

"Okay, I'll teach you for a while, but the training starts tomorrow. Today, I want you to rest a little. If you're bored, then do some basic chakra exercises!"

"There are exercises?!" Naruto blurts out, completely clueless.

"Okay, change of plan. Sakura—you seem smart and like a good student. Teach them all about chakra, including the basic exercises. I'll quiz you tomorrow. If you can't even answer the questions of a non-ninja, forget about me ever training you. Frankly, that's embarrassing," Alex says, clearly annoyed, his glare fixed on Naruto, who turns around in shame.

Alex crosses his arms, looking at Kakashi.

"I guess what you're saying is true… I focused on teamwork first. It's a good idea for them to learn a little now. I'll continue from there once I'm feeling better," Kakashi says, sounding defeated.

"Good. One more thing. Protect Tazuna and his men—so do your study session at the bridge, okay? I'll see you tomorrow," Alex says, gesturing for Menchi to follow him.

"Sigh, sorry for that," Menchi sighs, "Looks like my husband wants to have sex all day again. He can't get enough of my feet, either," she says with a mischievous grin.

Alex turns around, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Shut up… and no, that's not what I intend to do today!"

Everyone—including Kakashi—stares at the two as they leave. Menchi waves, hand resting firmly on Alex's hip as they exit the room.

Princess Jewel does not appreciate these jokes and will not let her Soulmate engage in this behaviour—at least not with anyone but her. Also, Princess Jewel's legs are far superior and more aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, Menchi's feet have a noticeable body odor!

Jewel! Stop engaging with that bullshit.

Menchi laughs. "Hehe, Jewel, you have much to learn. That smell is what excites him and makes it interes—"

"I swear, if you continue I'll turn your joke into reality and spend the rest of the day slapping your butts until you beg for mercy!" Alex retorts, fed up.

Menchi and Jewel both fall silent—though Menchi keeps grinning, and Jewel just looks confused.

Princess Jewel lacks a noticeable body odor! A fatal flaw. The human sense of smell is too pathetic!

Alex slaps his hand against Jewel's body.

"You are both very naughty… Look, this is not the time for jokes! I am actually awakening a real desire to punish you—that feels strange. Anyway, the mission may look finished, and things seem bright, but we have to think ahead and make the best of it," Alex says with a serious expression, walking outside.

They follow him quietly for a while, both still smiling, until they're far enough from the others to talk freely.

"You both seem like this mission is over. Am I right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be acting this silly," Alex asks, giving them an expectant look.

"Isn't it? Zabuza and Haku are wounded, and the enemy player is dead. I don't see how we can fail at this point. We could even leave right now. It's just about following the story and helping Team 7 beat them—which they even managed without our help under worse conditions in the original story," Menchi explains.

Princess Jewel agrees! We nearly killed Haku, and as long as we work together, we can definitely take him down. Kakashi can easily defeat Zabuza, especially without his sword.

"Yeah, all that's true… but the more desperate your enemy gets, the more creative they become. This is a new situation and the outcome might look clear, but in fact these changes can also cause changes that will harm us! We can't take that risk. Look—in the anime, Zabuza and Haku were confident and underestimated their enemies. Now they'll be way more careful."

"True," Menchi nods, suddenly a bit more thoughtful.

Alex continues, "Look, I've been thinking... Zabuza's seriously wounded. He'll probably take way longer to recover than Kakashi. We shifted the balance—Kakashi's still injured, sure, but we lightened his burden and hurt the enemy even worse. And Haku—he's badly injured too. You hit him with your knives twice, and some of my arrows landed too."

Menchi's tone sharpens. "What's your point? Do you really…"

Alex nods. "Of course. Why the fuck should we wait for them to recover? This isn't some damn anime where we need a training arc. I mean—it is—but we don't have to be as dumb as most protagonists and play by this world's silly rules."

He then raises his voice:

"I say we kill those fuckers now.

I want all the rewards. I want extra rewards.

I want to kill Gatō too. I want maximum rewards!"

Menchi and Jewel stare at Alex, clearly excited.

"Well… speaking of rewards, let's open those two green chests. There's also the [Bloody Chest R2] from that idiot!" Alex says, pulling out the [Bloody Chest R2] from his inventory.

Alex pauses for a moment, thinking.

"I'm considering using a [Blood Essence] to raise my LUK, but that would weaken me for a while. Also, those essences are rare and precious. My LUK is already high enough, I think. Sometimes the system pushes item quality to the limit anyway—so it might not help. I'll open them without activating the effect of my [Drakul's Vitality]. After that, we scout for Gatō's hideout. No need to wait around."

"I guess that makes sense," Menchi says, handing him the two green chests in her possession.

Go ahead, Soulmate! Princess Jewel is curious!

Fine… 

Alex opens the [Bloody Chest R2].

You received Soul Crystal (Small).

You received 10,000 FC.

You received Ditto's Corrupted Essence.

"The fuck is this? Anyway, aside from that weird item, it's a nice haul. Nice!" Alex says, clearly satisfied.

"Let me see!" Menchi leans in, intrigued. "Who is Ditto?"

"It's a Pokémon… that can transform into other Pokémon," Alex explains simply, feeling a little awkward talking about Pokémon.

"What's a Pokémon?" she asks.

Alex blinks, then stares for a second, stumped. "… I remember we went through most of the popular worlds—you should know. Those monsters that battle each other. You even met Misty—one of the characters from Pokémon—in the Realm."

"I see. Okay, whatever. Show it to me!" she says, a little embarrassed.

"Fine…!"

[Ditto's Corrupted Essence]

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