Naruto the Scarecrow

Chapter 5

A crackling sound of electricity behind him was the only warning Naruto got before feeling a sharp pain on his back. Stumbling forward, Naruto turned around trying to get his opponent in sight before another attack could be launched.

"Lightning Release: Static Shock!" the cry came before Naruto could fully regain his senses. He threw himself to his left, feeling heat pass him by on his right. Rolling back up to his feet Naruto thrust his right hand out in front of him in the general direction of his attacker.

Flames burst out from his palm, fanning out in a narrow arc. Naruto focused and the arc became wider. 'If I don't know his exact location, I have to hit a large area at once to give myself some time to think,'

Naruto sustained his attack for another couple of seconds before cancelling it and moving to another spot in the pit. 'Gotta keep moving, Kurama said that staying in one position too long just makes you an easier target.' Running back towards his right, Naruto saw a small shield made of lightning disperse, his opponent looking around frantically for Naruto. Seizing the opportunity, Naruto raised his right hand again and concentrated. A small compact ball of flame shot out at high speed, as fast as Naruto could manage. Before his attacker knew what had happen the fireball had connected with his chest.

The size of the attack meant that it had no real chance of ending the fight but it was quite distracting. The poor kid was desperately trying to fight through to pain knowing that Naruto would soon be upon him. Once again drawing upon Kurama's fiery chakra, Naruto launched a small torrent of continuous flame. It cooked the boy quite quickly but not fast enough to kill him instantly. His dying cries of agony reverberated around the pit. Naruto focused on increasing the intensity of his fire, trying to end the fight as quickly as possible; however, with his anxious efforts to end it quickly, he flew passed the temperature he had aimed for and vaporised all the water inside the boy. A disgusting, dehydrated corpse fell to the ground and applause sounded.

xXx

With the fight over, Naruto found his pumping blood cooling, quickly over taken by his usual numbness. Although Naruto had no idea how long he had been at The Pit he knew that it had to have been at least two years. Kurama believed it was closer to three but it really wasn't that important. What was important was that he was far stronger than the weak, scared boy who let himself be caught in an arm hold. Naruto had not counted how many people he had killed but he knew it was high. Every month or so, new kids would show their faces in the mess hall. Most of them didn't last long.

Ever since that strange numbness had begun, Naruto had found it easier to fight. He no longer felt horrible about himself although he didn't really feel much of anything these days. He couldn't afford the luxury of being disgusted by his actions; he needed to train so that he could uphold his promise.

Naruto had learned quickly from his first week here. The most important lesson was that quiet was good, silence was better. After receiving a rather painful but not major injury at a meal time had resulted in his involuntary howl of pain, Naruto was subjected to another brand, right next to the first one. Naruto had taken to simply whispering all of his conversations and biting his lip when in pain to prevent another mark being given. Even within his mindscape, Kurama had not heard Naruto's true voice since. Naruto also never tried to gain attention or acknowledgement; that could only lead to more suffering.

xXx

After being locked in his cell once again, Naruto sat down, resuming his training from where it had been left off. Focusing on Kurama's chakra, he converted it into fire and then tried to wrap his body with it. His previous efforts had resulted in burns all over his body but this time Naruto tried to shape the fiery chakra to reflect the heat outwards. He could see that this time he had more success. Instead of jumping the gun and turning up the heat, Naruto stood and made sure that his whole body was completely covered and then focused on sustaining the mode for as long as he could while moving his body through some basic exercises.