Light and Dark

The moment Naruto was born, before he had developed any consciousness of his own, the system selected him.

The system possessed an ancient codename: Light.

Opposing Light was another system, codenamed Dark.

Light needed to bond with a host to activate mission mode and fulfill its purpose.

Dark, however, only needed to bond with a host to modify them with mission-based powers; its sole mission was to erase every trace of Light.

The host bound to the Light system was an ordinary college student from the new era.

Together, they had experienced many host selections; despite the enhancement of system powers, they still struggled to complete their ultimate mission.

What was the ultimate mission?

Light inferred that it was related to the chosen host.

The host knew there was no standard answer.

Effort was the only answer.

Dark was also an ancient existence; it was not inherently evil, its only goal being the destruction of Light and its host.

Dark bonded with existences across space and time, adapting and growing rapidly. Whenever it reached a fifty-one percent certainty of success, it would go all out to fight to the death against the host chosen by Light and its host.

It happened every time, and every time, it failed.

It was as if they were trapped in a futile cycle.

The waves surged, and the seawater was salty.

Between the blue sea and the blue sky.

A radiance flickered between Naruto's brows, yet he still could not judge to what extent Dark had developed the host's abilities.

"I can feel that you are afraid!" Dark calmly raised her right hand, slowly forming a Chakra Blade: "Naruto, it is time to end the cycle of fate between us."

The system's remaining power was reserved for life-saving restarts; Naruto would not waste it on a battle with Dark.

With the ninjutsu and taijutsu gained through missions, Naruto felt he had enough to defeat Dark.

Naruto flashed away: "Just a little nervous, after all, your bloodline combustion ability is truly formidable."

Dark rushed forward, caught up to Naruto, and performed hand seals with one hand: "Water Release: Water Severing Wave."

A high-pressure water jet sprayed from Dark's small mouth, transforming into a sharp blade that pierced Naruto's right leg.

Naruto pulled his body away, preventing the water jet from severing his leg entirely: "Morning Peacock."

The sky-filling flames resembled a peacock's feathers, staining the heavens red.

Dark's figure suddenly vanished, dodging the Morning Peacock's attack, only to reappear strangely on Naruto's left, pressing right against him.

"This is!" Naruto tilted his head to the left: "Flying Thunder God?"

"Water Release: Water Blade Slash."

The sharp kunai was saturated with water-natured chakra that had undergone complete nature transformation; even the slightest touch could sever anything.

Dark struck from above, intending to decapitate Naruto without hesitation.

A palm-sized wound was carved into Naruto's back, but with ample chakra, his flesh was constantly knitting itself back together.

"When did you carve the Flying Thunder God formula onto me?" Naruto was immensely puzzled.

No wonder he couldn't shake Dark even when moving at the speed of the Sixth Gate.

Dark remained silent, shifting behind Naruto once more: "Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade."

A vortex-shaped high-speed javelin formed in Dark's hand, spinning in layers with increasing velocity, piercing directly through Naruto's chest.

Naruto could barely parry, spitting blood as he locked eyes with Dark and grabbed her arm: "Though I haven't figured out how you did it, there is still a solution. I won't let go; if you want to move, I'll move with you."

Dark sneered: "I won't trade injury for injury with you. That last attack was just an experiment; it seems ordinary ninjutsu cannot kill you. Your self-healing ability is truly impressive."

Naruto threw a punch at his opponent, filled with rage: "Then what else can you do?"

"I can seal you." Dark pressed her palm against Naruto's chest: "Death Seal."

Naruto felt his soul's reactions grow sluggish. Gray, murky sealing patterns spread rapidly from his chest across his entire body. If they covered him completely, Naruto felt his soul would truly be trapped in a state between life and death.

Their powers clashed, and Naruto couldn't even throw his punch.

Notification!

Host, Dark's Flying Thunder God formula has been cleared.

Where was it?

A trace of Dark's aura remained on the host's right shoulder; it is inferred to have been picked up during the initial battle with the Ice Release girl.

Dark could only succeed this once by catching me off guard. If my movement speed does not continue to increase, I may not be able to track Dark's movements.

I have no idea how far Dark can travel using the Flying Thunder God.

Naruto thought in distress; if there was no way to restrict the Flying Thunder God, it would be very difficult to catch Dark.

The system's uniqueness has a limitation: Dark's Flying Thunder God travel distance does not exceed fifty meters.

This Seat, Dark's system energy is more abundant than mine; otherwise, the Flying Thunder God, which belongs to space-time ninjutsu, could not be used at all.

Naruto made a decision in his heart: he had to burn his bridges now.

Opening the seventh gate, the Gate of Wonder.

Dark felt her Death Seal loosening, and her delicate face furrowed into a frown: "The host you chose is indeed different. It is as if most of the luck of this space-time is concentrated on him. To be able to break through again under these circumstances, there is no justice in heaven."

BOOM!

The power of the seal was shattered.

Without a word, before Naruto had completely shaken off the sluggishness brought by the Death Seal, Dark slashed down with the kunai in her hand, severing the hand Naruto had used to grab her arm.

"Ah!" Stimulated by the pain, Naruto completely activated his body. In an instant, he dropped down to catch the severed hand and reattached it to his arm: "The Gate of Wonder is open. Let's see if you can withstand my full-force attack."

Dark steadied herself, prepared for both offense and defense: "Is that so? You think I haven't made preparations? To achieve my goal, the missions I completed were not just simple check-ins at certain locations. I consider my taijutsu to be no worse than yours."

"Bloodline Boiling."

SWISH!

Naruto charged across: "Daytime Tiger."

The air between the two was compressed, and a fierce tiger formed in front of Naruto's fist, striking Dark's chest in the blink of an eye.

"Dark Night!" Dark narrowly used the Flying Thunder God to dodge, but the high pressure generated by the Daytime Tiger still wounded her abdomen.

Darkness spread out as if night had fallen; in reality, it was Dark's palm strike.

"Water Release: Torrent Rasengan." Naruto sensed Dark's position, intercepted her left side with a Rasengan, and then suddenly kicked out: "Second Stage: Daytime Tiger."

Continuous shockwaves.

Dark crossed her arms to block the Daytime Tiger, the immense impact turning her arms bright red.

"Such powerful taijutsu; even my chakra cloak can hardly withstand his attacks." Dark began to dodge.

The two chased each other in mid-air.

Wherever they went, gale-force winds erupted.

The wind whipped the sea into a frenzy, continuously pushing the wooden boat carrying Kakashi and the others further away.

The two maintained a high-intensity taijutsu battle, and surprisingly, no victor was decided immediately.

Naruto grew increasingly alarmed, for he was running out of options.