Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 32

Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

_______

Hikaru slowly made a series of handsigns to Naruto, who slowly copied. They'd worked on the Gale Surge for the past few days and Naruto had somewhat gotten the hang down- he no longer blew Hikaru into trees. Which was a plus, as Hikaru had to invest in more bandages because his wounds had started healing slower- which was odd, for Hikaru at least.

Naruto pushed chakra into his hands, and Hikaru quickly made sure to get as far away as possible. Training with the blond was mildly destructive- especially when he'd ripped a training post out of the ground and it almost hit Sasuke. Naruto had laughed for an hour after that, doubled over while Sasuke yelled at him.

"Wind Style: Retrieving Wind Technique!" Naruto shouted. A nearby bush flew towards him like a tumbleweed, and he deadpanned. "Uh, Hikaru-sensei, is that supposed to happen?"

"Yes, Naruto, it was." Hikaru said, walking closer to Naruto. "What did you think was going to happen?"

"The ground would rip up, dattebayo! Then I would use Gale Surge to douse Sasuke in the dirt! Dattebayo!" Naruto laughed, adjusting his forehead protector and glaring over at Sasuke. Sasuke just huffed, sticking his nose in the air and away from Naruto. 

And, like that, Naruto's attention was divurged and Hikaru went back to Sakura. Kakashi had pawned his students off on Hikaru to do a quick mission- or, as Kakashi had put it, 'a vacation'.

"Sakura, how's it going?" Hikaru peeked at her work. The kanji was neat and almost exactly like Hikaru's practice scroll that he'd laid down next to it.

Sakura glanced up at him, a small smile on her face and ink somehow smudged on her cheek. "It's going good, Hikaru-sensei. I think I finally got it down- the first five times they exploded or didn't work. I've got a good feeling about this one."

Hikaru smiled slightly, before nodding at her. "Try it." He said simply. 

Sakura placed her finger on the scroll, pushing chakra into it. Hikaru grabbed a leaf and placed it onto the kanji, watching as the seal did absolutely nothing. 

"Hm. You read the books I gave you last time, right?" Hikaru raised a crimson eyebrow at Sakura, who nodded. Hikaru quickly glanced behind them as yelling started- Sasuke taunting Naruto. A sigh slipped past his lips. 

"Work from the main elements to the side, like from the center to the ring around it." Hikaru explained. "Don't rush. You'll get it soon, okay Sakura?"

She nodded, a determined look in her green eyes as she turned back towards the seal. Hikaru turned around, watching silently as Sasuke and Naruto had a shouting match. 

He regretted agreeing to train all three genin. But, like this, he could help them be an actual team. And while it may not be the greatest dynamic still, it was still much better than his original timeline. 

___

He couldn't breathe as he faced the man in front of him, trying not to show the overwhelming fear. His cheek still burned- blood having dried with almost no time to wipe it off. He'd gotten faster in the days that he'd spent against this man, heart racing, jumping at the slightest movement. 

Madara twitched. Naruto's mind came up with a hundred ways to counter any jutsu that he would throw- but the only problem was that Naruto was still too slow. He couldn't quite keep up and sometimes Madara was a blur, and there was this insistant feeling that he was only being toyed with. 

He'd kept Madara busy for a few days, at least. Reinforcements should arrive soon- or at least Naruto hoped. 

He'd gotten everyone in the nearby area to safety before he arrived- still somewhat bright eyed and hopeful. He'd achieved his goal, and if this was how it ended, Naruto's name would be a legend.