Sword of God -- A Naruto Fanfiction

| 13 | Anathema

In the dim light of the moon, a lone figure steps into a clearing, all signs of life having receded into the nearby fauna and flora, asleep.

The moon shines overhead, great silver beams of it barely illuminating the figure as trees part overhead to allow it to do so.

He has red hair, beautiful azure eyes that any would kill for. Two features that seem to glow in the moonlight.

His right palm outstretched, he pours chakra into it. Specifically, the Seal of the Dragon, a storage seal shaped in the form of a sun.

With the presence of the moon, it seems to become paler, shocking Naruto as his blade, Blacklight, forms; at first, it is an outline but slowly, it colours, gaining shape and texture as it does so until it is finally whole.

Naruto admires its beauty, running his fingers on the length of the sword that lies flat on his palm, not even making it droop under its weight, for it is so light.

"Teach me," Naruto breathes, captivating by it. "Teach me the art of illusions."

It glows a white light in response, visions filling his mind of the other wielders utilising a technique and it transpiring from the victim's point of view.

"The first technique is named the Mirror Image. In essence, your form disappears and in place, you reappear at the intended location. You can manipulate your movements but that takes work."

Naruto nods. Nothing is ever satisfying without it requiring a pretence of work to support it.

Holding out the sword, he calls out into the night sky: "Mirror Image!"

The process is twofold.

Firstly, he bends the resident light around him with a hefty amount of chakra that makes him pant, warping it to render him invisible.

It's a complex process, involving the constant projection of something like that of a chakra construct, except withheld from physical form.

Secondly, a requirement to place the Mirror Image at the intended space.

Light travels, meaning that to make the Mirror Image stationary would make it flicker between unpredictable locations, forming nothing but a blur.

That could be useful for making someone dizzy, Naruto notes mentally.

Hence, the projection would have to be removed when it is even the slightest bit out of focus or positioned incorrectly as to provide little to no suspicion by the victim of the illusion.

This translates to a constant need to delete projections and update them for a split second before repeating.

Eventually, Naruto completes it with a strenuous minute of concentration in which he is able to create the Mirror Image and sustain it for ten seconds without becoming visible to the naked eye.

"Mirror Image!" He repeats, casting it once more for a fusion of endurance and skill training.

This time, the initial cast time is reduced to fifty seconds, yet the survivability of the image is higher, a contrast to the typical negative correlation between cast time and sustainability time.

"It's all a matter of getting used to it," the booming voice in his head that acts as his mentor states.

Naruto nods, continuing his practice. Throughout the night, the potency of the technique strengthens to the point where the illusion physically manifests at midnight.

So these sets of illusionary techniques maintain a connection to the moon. Interesting, considering that I got this sword at the Shrine of Ryujin, who is a primordial god of the oceans. The moon's pull attracts the water to it. Could it be...?