Chapter 13: Crushing Naruto, Uzumaki Bloodline

  Indeed, this was the first time Izayoi had been matched against Naruto Uzumaki.

  Between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, it seemed as though some power of destiny or cause and effect was constantly at py. Out of ten Taijutsu sparring sessions, the two of them were matched together about half the time. Izayoi simply couldn't get matched with Naruto.

  Fortunately, his ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red) granted an extremely vast amount of chakra, simir to the Sage Body (Red). Otherwise, Izayoi wasn't sure how he would manage to acquire Naruto's Sage Body trait.

  Now that he was finally matched against Naruto Uzumaki, Izayoi felt incredibly excited. This signified that his luck today was exceptionally good. Since his luck was this good, could he perhaps obtain a valuable trait?

  Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Izayoi stood up and walked to Iruka Umino's right side. Looking at Naruto, who walked to the opposite side, gritting his teeth, unwilling to give up, Izayoi raised his right hand, extending his index and middle fingers, and smiled slightly. "Naruto, please look after me."

  Hearing this, Naruto Uzumaki was momentarily stunned. His initially tense mood suddenly rexed. Gazing at Izayoi opposite him, a wave of warmth surged through his heart.

  Different! This guy's eyes are different from everyone else's. There was none of the adults' disgust, none of his peers' rejection, only an equal measure of goodwill. Apart from Iruka Umino, who had acknowledged him st term, Izayoi was the second person who treated him differently.

  At this thought, Naruto suddenly felt an urge to cry. But he suppressed the emotion, nodded forcefully, and grinned back. "Yeah, please look after me too!" After speaking, Naruto also raised his index and middle fingers. His blue eyes, the same color as Izayoi's, now held a steely determination.

  Iruka Umino, taking in this scene, couldn't help but smile with gratification. Immediately, he stepped back several paces and shouted loudly, "Seventh match, begin!"

  The moment his voice fell, Izayoi and Naruto charged towards each other.

  Naruto's attack pattern was extremely simple, repetitive, and utterly cking in adaptability. Upon closing the distance, he threw a punch straight at Izayoi.

  Although Izayoi didn't possess the Sharingan, his perceptive abilities were such that the moment Naruto raised his shoulder, he knew what his opponent intended to do next. Before Naruto's fist even shot out, Izayoi had already gathered his power. With a quick upward block using the back of his left hand, he struck Naruto's wrist, deflecting the straight punch, and simultaneously unched his right fist.

  Thump! The fist nded squarely on Naruto's left cheek. The powerful force sent Naruto crashing to the ground in a single blow, his cheek already red, swollen, and bruising.

  "Oww, oww..." Naruto gasped sharply from the pain but wasn't knocked out by Izayoi's punch. He quickly scrambled to his feet and charged at Izayoi again.

  However, every punch and kick was anticipated by Izayoi. They were either blocked, dodged, or neutralized before Izayoi countered. Izayoi could easily handle Hinata's pressure point strikes, which were as fast as the wind, imbued with a chakra aura, and carried the sound of tearing air. Naruto's haphazard attacks not only cked power but were also riddled with openings.

  Punch after punch, kick after kick nded on Naruto Uzumaki. The Son of Destiny's clothes quickly became dirty, and his face was covered in injuries, presenting a sorry sight. In contrast, Izayoi remained completely unharmed, even spotless. Even a three-year-old could see the vast difference between them.

  Yet, despite being beaten one-sidedly, Naruto Uzumaki didn't choose to surrender. Initially, he had gasped with each blow, but now he endured the hits without uttering a sound. His expression was intensely focused, and his attacks gradually became less random.

  He's growing, Izayoi noted, even though he'll probably revert next time. But right now, he was indeed getting stronger through combat.

  Spotting another opening, Izayoi decided to end the fight. He bent his knees, quickly ducking under Naruto's attack, and used the momentum for a leg sweep, knocking Naruto off his feet. Then, giving Naruto no chance to get up, he threw a punch downwards, stopping it just inches from Naruto's face.

  Seeing this, Iruka Umino immediately announced loudly, "Naruto Uzumaki has lost the ability to fight! The winner is Izayoi!"

  Pop! Almost at the exact moment Iruka's voice faded, around Naruto Uzumaki's body, one of the Purple bubbles visible only to Izayoi suddenly burst. Immediately, a beam of purple light flew towards Izayoi, seeping into his body. Following that, a tiny bubble reappeared around Naruto. This newly formed bubble was extremely small, transparent rather than colored White to Red, and contained nothing inside.

  Izayoi had seen this phenomenon more than once. He knew this bubble represented a trait currently in a cooldown state. Once the cooldown finished, the transparent bubble would revert to its Purple color, and the trait within would reappear. At that point, Izayoi would have another chance to obtain that same trait. Yes, traits could be obtained repeatedly, though Izayoi hadn't yet managed to get the same trait twice from the same person.

  Recognizing the Purple trait he had just acquired, Izayoi felt extremely excited. However, he didn't immediately summon his personal status screen. Instead, he extended a hand towards Naruto Uzumaki and smiled. "Naruto, you're strong. Let's fight again sometime."

  Naruto, who had given his all only to be thoroughly beaten, was initially filled with bitterness. But seeing Izayoi looking at him sincerely, without a trace of contempt, Naruto, who usually only felt unreconciled defeat when facing Sasuke Uchiha, instantly felt relieved. He grasped Izayoi's hand, used the leverage to stand up, and grinned back. "Izayoi, you really are amazing! But next time, I won't lose!"

  "Your improvement is very obvious. I look forward to our next match," Izayoi said with a smile, extending his index and middle fingers towards Naruto again. Naruto mirrored the gesture, hooking his fingers with Izayoi's.

  This was the Seal of Reconciliation, corresponding to the Seal of Confrontation used before the fight began, symbolizing that even ninjas with the greatest barriers between them could reconcile. In the original story, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha used the Seal of Reconciliation to end the millennia-long battle of destiny between Ashura and Indra's reincarnations. If the reincarnations couldn't reconcile, their chakra would continue the cycle indefinitely. This thousand-year fated battle was why Naruto and Sasuke, even without external conflicts or Sakura Haruno's involvement, couldn't stand each other. Naruto could naturally shake hands and make peace with Izayoi but couldn't bring himself to form the Seal of Reconciliation with Sasuke Uchiha.

  However, none of that concerned Izayoi.

  After exchanging the Seal of Reconciliation with Naruto, Izayoi returned to the group of students. While perfunctorily responding to his cssmates, he summoned the light screen visible only to him and simultaneously responded to the system prompt that had sounded in his mind as the light beam entered his body.

  "Ding! You obtained Talent Trait [Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)]. Fuse or Decompose?"

  "Fuse."

  The next moment, a new talent trait appeared in his trait list: Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple).