Chapter 2- Fighting the strongest parahuman

Ren Uchiha POV

His body careened through half a dozen metallic walls before finally settling atop the crushed corpse of a middle-aged woman.

He felt a momentary pang of guilt for killing someone else as a collateral damage in his fight.

But Observe revealed that the woman beneath him had been a serial killer prior to her incarceration here. And with that revelation, any trace of remorse dissipated.

Glaistig Uaine emerged from the breaches in the wall, her body being supported by a dozen tiny shards of forcefield created by one of her Shadows while the other two shadows rushed at him.

The Changer/Brute Shadow tried to punch his head off, while the one trailing behind unleashed a relentless onslaught of tree trunk-sized lasers.

He dodged the Brute's attacks effortlessly. This Brute shadow possessed immense strength, capable of rending through layers of metal as if they were mere paper. However, its speed barely surpassed that of an average human. Evading the lasers proved more challenging; they twisted and turned mid-air, tracking his every movement.

This cat-and-mouse game continued until he cleverly maneuvered the homing lasers toward the Brute. The resulting explosion caused the Brute/Changer shadow's form to flicker in and out of reality.

Glaistig Uaine swiftly replaced it with a smaller shadow, resembling a preteen boy. Observe revealed that it was Shaker who—

Suddenly, his world spun, and his vision blurred as everything around him vibrated. Metal, plastic, human flesh—everything within the Shaker's range—began to disintegrate on a molecular level. It felt as though space itself was tearing apart under the force of the boy's power.

His Gamer Screen flooded with damage notifications, his health plummeting by a third in an instant. He felt as if his entire body was unraveling. He immediately flared out his chakra, creating Hiraishin markers all around him, and teleported to the furthest one from the powerful Vibration Shaker.

Thankfully, putting that much distance between them was sufficient to evade the Shaker's power. He promptly activated his Sage Mode, Strength of Hundred Seals, and Chakra Cloak, his body emitting a radiant white glow as he refused to underestimate Glaistig Uaine any longer.

The loli, on her part, appeared surprised by his survival of the attack. Understandable, given that everything else around them seemed to be falling apart, as if reality itself had taken a day off.

It was only then that he noticed her Blaster Shadow charging a powerful attack, a ball of plasma hovering above its form, steadily growing larger and larger.

Instead of waiting to be hit, or dodging and watching it destroy the entire prison, he decided to become proactive.

He threw a dozen kunai in her direction. They ricocheted off walls or each other and struck at her from unexpected angles. The Forcefield generator shadow managed to stop most of them, but one of them got within an arm's distance to her. Seizing the opportunity, he teleported to its location.

The loli appeared surprised by his sudden appearance, then shocked as he punched through the multiple layers of forcefields her Shadow created, and grabbed her by her throat.

He could've killed her then and there if he wanted. But... crazy as she was, she was still a Tier 8 waifu. He didn't want to kill her in the hopes that she would grow less crazy in the future and become someone he can take out on a date.

Opting for a different approach, he activated Kamui with the intention of transporting her to the familiar pocket space filled with the cube-like world. However, his plans were thwarted when he realized he couldn't access it anymore. Determined, he infused more chakra into the technique until he sensed the presence of a nearby dimension, choosing to take both of them there instead.

As they tumbled out of the swirling tear in reality, they landed atop a lake in this new world. His grip remained tight around her throat, her hand resting atop his own. She appeared focused, attempting something by touching him, though her frustrated emotions indicated it wasn't yielding the desired results.

Using his free hand, he delivered a firm slap across her face. Not hard enough to liquify the lower half of her face like he had done to Acidbath, or even break her jaw but definitely hard enough to leave a noticeable bruise.

Her head recoiled, and she gazed at him with a mixture of confusion and shock, as though being slapped were a completely foreign experience to her.

"Oi, idiot. Don't cause unnecessary collateral damage in your fights. I get that inmates are horrible people but do you really have to—" His words were cut short as a Shadow materialised beside her, rendering her intangible and allowing her to slip from his grasp.

He wasn't particularly bothered, having already tagged her with a Hiraishin seal. He would've stamped her even, had he not been aware of the Tier 9 Simurgh.

Two more Shadows replaced Glaistig Uaine's former Forcefield Generator and Blaster. One was a Hydrokinetic, assisting her in standing atop the lake while also seizing control of all its water in an instant. The other was a Master that—

He sensed a relentless assault on his mind, as if someone were attempting to hammer into his thoughts. But before it could take hold, Gamer Mind kicked in, nullifying whatever influence the Shadow had been attempting.

A dozen spikes of water, the size of giant trees, rose from underneath him, intending to skewer him. He was tempted to use Kamui and use his own intangibility to taunt her, but that ability was a Trump card of his, and not something to be used so casually. So he flew away from the attacks instead, dodging all the water spikes with relative easy.

Glaistig Uaine switched her Master Shadow to a Trump, and suddenly, the water spikes accelerated, gaining incredible speed as they pursued him. Even the water in the air condensed into razor-sharp needles, hurtling toward him with lethal intent.

One of the spikes grazed his arm and… did nothing. His own Physical Resistance make attacks of such levels useless against him.

Capitalizing on the moment, he flared out his chakra, infusing it into the lake water, claiming it as his own. However, when he attempted to wield this water against Glaistig Uaine... he failed.

Which was shocking to him as he is usually able to command the sea on a whim, creating giant tsunamis or stilling the entire ocean with a glance. Meaning that whatever power the Hydrokinetic Shadow held was on a magnitude above his own.

That was... worrying. Because it meant that whatever these Shards things were, that gave the parahumans their powers, they were incredibly powerful.

Feeling a barrage of water needles bouncing off his body, he decided that enough was enough.

"Scorch Release: Super Nova," he intoned. Instantly, every droplet of water in his immediate vicinity vaporized, leaving a vast void in the lake beneath him as if scooped up by an invisible hand.

The surroundings were swiftly engulfed in a dense fog. And he could feel Glaistig Uaine replace her Intangible Shadow with one that quickly started to 'eat up' the fog, clearing her vision of the battlefield once more.

Without hesitation, he teleported beside her, savoring the shock and fear in her expression before his hand moved forward and...

Smack!

Slapped her in the ass.

Glastig Uaine's expression of sheer incredulity at getting spanked in the middle of a battle was one that he would cherish forever.

The look of sheer rage that immediately replaced that expression? Not so much. Then she replaced her shadow once again, this new one was a preteen boy that made the world around him go grey for some reason.

He smiled. "I promised you that I would spank you—"

The world flickered.

He smiled. "I promised you that I would spank you—"

The world flickered.

He smiled. "I promised you that I would spank you—"

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

He frowned. "A time loop? What an annoying po—"

The world flickered.

He frowned. "…I really don't like being cut off mid sentence like-"

The world flickered.

He frowned. "-this…. Okay this is staring to be—"

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

Flaring out his chakra, he dispersed Hiraishin seals into the air around him, teleporting to one of them and effortlessly breaking free from the time loop's grasp.

But before he could let out a sigh of relief, the world flickered, and he immediately found himself in the middle of the time loop once again.

Switching tactics, he activated Kamui to escape to another dimension.

"Whew, that was a scary powe—"

The world flickered, and he found himself trapped in the loop once more. He glanced at Glaistig Uaine, who looked back at him with a hint of relief. One of her Shadows had transformed into a Healer, diligently working to heal her ass that he'd spanked raw just now.

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

"You don't think that this little power of yours would—" he began, flying forward toward her, only to be yanked back into the time bubble as the world flickered once again. "—hold me here for long, do you, Ciara?"

"On the contrary, Audience. This timeloop you find yourself under will last till the end of times," Glaistig Uaine replied in her strange, reverberating voice.

He raised an eyebrow. "End of times? A bit of an exaggeration—" The world flickered. "—don't you think?"

"Perhaps. But you would be out of—"

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

"—my way regardless, Audience," she said, her expression turning strangely melancholic. The world flickered. "It was... an experience, battling you, Audience." The world flickered. "You are strong. I acknowledge that. But in the end—" The world flickered. "—there is only so much a peasant can do against royalty."

The world flickered, and he promptly teleported behind her to deliver another spank to her ass.

Then, with another flicker, he found himself back within the time bubble, watching with great amusement as Glaistig Uaine's attempt at a regal demeanor was immediately shattered by a look of enraged embarrassment.

"—so... you were saying?" he asked, thoroughly entertained even as the world flickered once again.

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

"The dying throes of a captured beast," Glaistig Uaine remarked, while the shadow healer beside her diligently tended to her bruised ass once again.

Despite her efforts to maintain composure, attempting to exude regal grace, he could sense her frustration, which only added to his amusement.

The world flickered. He felt himself exerting some resistance against the time bubble before being forcibly returned to his original position once again.

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

"Are you sure about that, Ciara?" he questioned, then promptly teleported behind her to administer another spank. However, her Hydrokinetic Shadow swiftly erected a thick wall of water around her, shielding her rear from his divine punishment.

Alas, the wall of water wasn't strong enough to stop him and the sound of his palm meeting her soft flesh echoed across the battlefield once more before the world flickered, and he gave some resistance, barely halting the effect for a moment before he was dragged within the time loop once again.

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

"Do not take my name!" Glaistig Uaine shouted, her composure slipping as she transformed her Healer Shadow into a female shadow with a Blaster power.

The Blaster unleashed sonic blasts in his direction, her power distorting the world as it pierced through the time bubble and struck him.

The attacks inflicted some damage, but nothing particularly noteworthy.

The world flickered, and he exerted even greater resistance this time, nearly breaking free from the effect before being yanked back into the time loop once more.

Again, he confronted the sonic blast, but this time, it wasn't the cape who unleashed the attack—it was the time loop itself.

He immediately grasped the sinister intent behind this attack.

If his pain resistance wasn't so high and he wasn't already on the verge of escaping the time loop, then he would be suffering from that sonic blast till the end of time.

For him, it was merely a minor inconvenience. But for anyone else trapped within the time loop, unable to break free, it would be an agonising existence for however long it lasted.

Once more, the world flickered, and he came close to breaking through the time effect before being looped back once again.

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Time Manipulation!​

"Cease your resistance, Audience. It is futile. No one has ever escaped this power before."

He immediately teleported behind her, but she had changed the Hydrokinetic shadow back to the Shadow that made her intangible and his arm went through her body… before the time loop tried to drag him back inside it and… failed.

"Well, I suppose there's always a first time," he remarked, watching with amusement as Glaistig Uaine's expression shifted to one of shock. With a swift motion, his hand blurred and obliterated the shadow named Gray Boy, as his Observe had informed him.

Why did this shock her so much? Was the Gray Boy supposed to be a Trump card of hers? He could definitely see it. People without his Gamer System would have no way of escaping the Time Loop. Being stuck inside it for however long it lasts.

The world flickered and the Gray Boy Shadow managed to heal itself back up once again. What a useful, if terrifying power.

"You are deserving of your Queenly title, Ciara," he acknowledged before fixing his gaze on her and embedding a weak Genjutsu attack into her mind.

The people of this world differed from those of the Naruto world. Their souls were peculiar, lacking the spiritual energy necessary for a mindscape. Despite this, he could still employ his mind reading abilities on them. Genjutsu was also possible, albeit less effective than against someone from the Naruto world.

Glaistig Uaine flinched, her hand reflexively returning to her rear once again, only to realize that the ass spank she had just experienced was mental rather than physical.

He smirked.

Glaistig Uaine's fists clenched and her face distorted in anger as all three of her Shadow changed once again before the battle resumed.

—————

An hour later.

He and Glaistig Uaine found themselves amidst a blazing forest, the once verdant woodland now resembling a hellscape due to their intense battle.

He employed the Greater Regeneration Jutsu to heal his lost limbs once again, his attention focused on the Shadow whose strings could bypass his Physical Resistance and slice through his body effortlessly.

Initially, the attacks were devastating. However, through repeated exposure, he had developed a significant resistance against Spatial Erasure attacks, enduring the strings slicing through his limbs time and time again before healing himself.

This entire battle had been... incredibly beneficial to him, granting him resistances to damages he hadn't even thought could exist.

Truly, Glaistig Uaine deserved her Tier 8 classification. She might have even reached Tier 9 if she were allowed to utilize all her powers simultaneously instead of being restricted to three. But that limitation was what made facing her so enjoyable.

"Stop," he interjected, somewhat surprised when Glaistig Uaine actually paused instead of pressing her attack. "I think I've had enough of a beating for today. It was entertaining gaining resistance to your attacks, but I'm not a masochist, you know. How about we continue this fight on another occasion?"

Glaistig Uaine scrutinized him, attempting to discern if he was genuinely serious or simply jesting. He didn't miss how one of her Shadows moved behind her, protecting her ass from being spanked once again.

"Are you serious, Audience? Do you truly believe you can insult me without facing the consequences of your insolence?" she demanded, her narrowed eyes and resonating voice causing a shockwave to ripple around her.

"Yeah. I think we both know that I've been holding back all this while. I could've taken your head just as easily as I slapped your ass. You know that right?" He asked, being serious for once.

Glaistig Uaine's fist clenched in anger and it looked like she was about to send her Shadows to attack him once again. But then, a long moment passed and her shadows didn't attack him.

In the end, she released a sigh and nodded.

"If that is what you want, then I accept your request of ceasefire, audience."

He grinned. It seems that despite her general weirdness, Glaistig Uaine wasn't actually stupid and capable of making logical and tactical decisions.

"My name is Ren Uchiha, not audience." He said with a roll of his eyes before he teleported to her side, and watched with some amusement as her Shadows immediately went to protect her ass. "Say it. Ren Uchiha."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Do not presume to tell me what I can or cannot do. But very well. I acknowledge you as my equal, so I shall accept your name, Ren Uchiha."

"That's a good girl." He said and raised his hand to pat her head, only to lose that arm to the string Shadow.

Ding!

You've gained +1 Resistance to Spatial Erasure!​

"Do not touch me." Glaistig Uaine said, glaring at him.

He regenerated his hand and shrugged.

"Mah, mah. And they say that men are more violent." He said placing his hands in his pockets.

The two of them lapsed into silence for a few moments before he realized she wasn't going to speak and decided to continue. "So, what's next, Ciara? Do you want me to take you back to Earth Bet? Because whatever this place is, I don't think humans live in it."

One of her Shadows flickered and transformed into a Thinker, surveying the world below before Glaistig Uaine nodded. "You're correct, Ren Uchiha. This world lacks the essence of faerie dreams or living props."

He still had no clue what any of those terms meant, but he was beginning to piece together some guesses.

"Just call me Ren. Saying my whole name is a bit of a mouthful," he suggested. "So... ready to head back to Earth Bet?"

Glaistig Uaine remained silent for a moment before nodding. "I will accept your assistance... Ren."

"Alright then," he replied, taking her arm. With a swift motion, he invoked Kamui, transporting both of them back to the dimension where Earth Bet resided.

They found themselves floating high up in the sky, above a large mountain range.

So… Birdcage was nestled within one of these mountains, he assumed.

"So… where to next? Do you want to come with me or set out on your own?" He asked, not minding either way. She was powerful but her weirdness was a bit too much for him to consider dating her.

"…I would go back to the Birdcage."

He stared at her. "...you want to go back to that prison. Why?"

Glaistig Uaine looked into the distance for a long moment before she said. "It's the only place I have."

The words were said in her actual, childish voice. None of that voice reverberation thing that she was so fond of doing. But for once, he couldn't bring himself to make fun of her. Hard to do so, when her words were tugging at his heartstrings.

She was a child, he realised. Despite having lived long enough to be considered an adult, the absence of a nurturing environment and companionship meant her mental age had never truly progressed.

Man, he was feeling like such an asshole now. But he was also glad that he hadn't decided to kill her when she first attacked him.

"I understand. If that's your choice, I won't intervene." He said, extending his hand toward her. "But before you leave… wanna be friends?"

Glaistig Uaine furrowed her brow, eyeing his hand as if it were a foreign object. Then, tentatively, she raised her own hand and shook his. "Since you consider me your equal and not an enemy, I... accept your offer of friendship, Ren. Though, I'm uncertain what friends typically do together."

Man, she was really pushing all his sympathy buttons here, wasn't she?

"Don't worry. I'll return back to the Birdcage from time to time and teach you." He said with a genuine smile before leaning in to embrace her.

Glaistig Uaine stiffened in his arms, unsure of how to respond, her Shadows appearing unsettled behind her. He released the hug and stepped back, maintaining his smile.

"Until next time, Ciara," he said as he began to fly away. "For now, I'm off to explore this world."

Glaistig Uaine nodded, and he flew away, swiftly departing the area before he was forced to confront the Triumvirate.

He wasn't afraid of them. In fact, he was eager to fight them. Just... not right now. Perhaps another day. For now, he simply wanted to explore this world, as he had promised.

Then, he felt his Company Device vibrate in his pocket and took it out.

He unlocked the screen of his Company Device and discovered that the mission titled 'Project: Flight to Freedom,' which involved surviving and escaping from the Birdcage, had been completed successfully, awarding him +50 points.

Furthermore, he received a bonus reward for managing to escape within a week, earning an additional 10 points for this daring feat. This brought his total points to 60 (50 + 10).

Upon checking his Catalog, he frowned as he realized that his total points were now 86. This meant that prior to this, he had only accumulated 26 points within the Catalog.

As he pondered this, the realization dawned on him.

He had divided himself into 32 bodies, sending one to this world. Therefore, the version of himself in this world only received 1/32 of all the points he had amassed. He could be wrong but he was pretty sure that this was what happened.

Nodding in understanding, he shifted his focus to the other options available in the Waifu Catalog that he could purchase with these points.

It didn't take him long to find the perks he desired.

Mapper, purchased for 10 points

Target Tracker, purchased for 10 points.

Bounty Tracker, purchased for 50 points.

16 points left​

Well, there went 70 of his points, leaving him with only 16 points.

But now he knew the location of every single waifu in this world. The Mapper revealed that most of them were in the USA, particularly concentrated in the city of Brockton Bay.

He assumed that Brockton Bay was the Konoha of this world, where most of the canon story unfolded.

Well... at least he now knew his next destination.

—————

AN: That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

8 advanced chapter in Patreon for those interested in reading ahead or supporting me.

Have a nice day.