Chapter 29: No Name

Roy and the bald man charge at each other. Head on...

Suddenly, the bald man changes direction, going straight to diagonally right. This catchest Roy off-guard and then the unknown ninja attacks Roy in a piercing motion Thanks to Roy's fast reaction, he manages to swing his sword, hitting the spear and missing him completely but barely. The clash of their weapons put some distance between the both of them.

Roy starts breathing heavily. Roy then wipes off the sweat on his forehead and gets back to his stance. Roy's opponent did so as well. This time, Roy lunges in first, and in the offensive. Roy steps on the ground hard, and the earth swallows his opponent's feet.

"Flame Style: Flamethrower!", Roy yelled and pointed the sword at him.

The Demonic Saber then gets engulfed in flames and shoots its fire at the bald man, but the unknown ninja spins his spear, imitating an electric fan, defending himself from Roy's attack. The unknown ninja then pierces the ground using his spear and pulls himself out of the ground and kicks Roy, making Roy skid back. The unknown ninja continues and with 1 full swing using his spear, pushing Roy so far back because Roy blocks it. Roy has to backflip to recover from that. Roy's arms start to shake from the strength of the man but fix it a couple of seconds later. Roy then starts breathing heavily, but his opponent barely breaks a sweat. Varari sees this and starts running towards them but Bakin halts her by grabbing her arm.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!", Varari yelled at him.

"No. I won't let you interrupt this fight. This is his fight to finish.", Bakin said.

"Don't you care about him? He's your student, your nephew!", Varari replied.

"I know he is! But... I don't want him to be too dependent on me. Not to mention, he isn't even done yet.", Bakin said firmly.

"What?", Varari blurted out.

"You heard me; Roy's still got a fighting spirit left and he won't be done until he decides so.", Bakin proudly boasted Roy.

Roy stops breathing quickly and soon calms down. Roy gets to a different position and closes his eyes.

"Determination Drive!", Roy shouted.

A crimson aura appears, surrounding Roy's body. Roy opens his eyes revealing a crimson tint on both of them. Then, Roy disappears. Not actually, Roy just moves so fast that it seems like he vanishes. Roy sprints towards the unknown ninja and raises the Demonic Saber, jumping to the air and crashing down the enemy.

"Thunder Style: Single Strike!", Roy shouted.

Roy's sword electrifies as a bolt of lightning and Roy brings it down to his enemy. A huge gust of air suddenly blows everyone in the vicinity away and a very bright light illuminates the whole area when Roy's attacks connect. As well as clouds of dust from the ground flying in all directions. Varari uses her spear to anchor herself from the ground and closes her eyes due to the blinding light and the clouds of dust. Bakin just stands there, just only using his legs to push back against the wind, and closes his eyes too. Alvin, Yua, and Sara hug each other, and the tree while they cover their eyes.

When the light disappears, and the dust disappears, what they see surprised them. They see that the unknown ninja blocks Roy's attack using his spear. The spear doesn't even appear to be damaged All of a sudden, a dark aura appears to be engulfed by the enemy. Then...the unknown ninja pushes Roy back and starts attacking. Block, block, dodge, block, block, dodge. Roy does the same pattern over and over again, unable to attack due to the sheer barrage of the unknown ninja's offense. The unknown ninja then pushes Roy back again. The unknown ninja's spear starts to darken, putting his dark energy within it. Roy knows what will happen next.

'He's about to throw a Shadow Spear at me!', Roy quickly thought.

Just like what Roy says in his mind, the unknown ninja does throw a Shadow Spear. Roy quickly strikes it with the Demonic Saber. It's much stronger than Varari's Shadow Spear, but he manages to barely deflect it. Barely. However, the unknown ninja isn't done just yet and throws the multiple Shadow Spears at Roy.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7!", Roy quickly counted.

Roy quickly grips the Demonic Saber with both hands and then his sword gets engulfed by fire again.

"Flame Style: Burning Strikes!", Roy exclaimed.

Roy then quickly deflects some of the Shadow Spears and dodges the rest but Roy doesn't account that the enemy would charge at him and try to pierce Roy with his spear. Roy is in an awkward position after deflecting the last Shadow Spear. Roy isn't able to defend himself fast, so he has to lean to the left very quickly. Roy does avoid the attack and prevents himself from getting pierced anywhere vital. Unfortunately, Roy's right arm, where he holds the Demonic Saber, gets scratched. The armor Roy has on there fails due to the sheer power of this man. After that, Roy immediately throws an energy ball using his working left hand. They both jump away from each other to dodge it and the ball explodes when it comes in contact with the ground, creating a crater between the both of them. When the dust settles, they all see Roy clenching his right arm, where the wound was. Roy is bleeding as well. Roy could barely hold the Demonic Saber, let alone swing it. Then Roy's crimson aura disappears.

Seeing this Varari looks at Bakin with the serious determination of saving Roy. Bakin just shakes his head.

"He isn't done yet...", Bakin said to her.

"What do yo-"

"Just watch! And have faith in Roy.", Bakin interrupted Varari.

When Varari hears this, she drops her resistance. Varari looks at Roy, praying for his victory.

Roy staggers a bit, trying to adjust his footing, looking at his bleeding arm. Roy then looks at his enemy and starts a conversation with him.

"So, you're stronger than I thought. I underestimated you. Mind if I know your name?", Roy asked.

The bald and bearded man shakes his head.

"I don't have a name. I wasn't given one.", he replied.

"Are you serious?", Roy asked again.

The unnamed ninja nodded seriously. Roy isn't expecting this, so he changes the subject.

"Why did they send you here? Is it because to get the Demonic Saber again?", Roy asked.

"Yes, but also to regain the pride of the Violent Darkness Clan. Ninjas from all over are laughing at the fact we couldn't defeat 1 teenage boy but now they won't laugh anymore. They'll see that we are the superior clan against all that exists. Not to mention, I'm here for my revenge… So, let me ask you this question, Ultimate Ninja?: What are your last words?", he asked sinisterly.

Roy stays silent for a moment and then lets go of his right arm. The wound from that arm seems to disappear. Vanished. Finito. Roy is buying time by talking. Then, Roy holds the Demonic Saber with 2 hands and breaths in.

"Determination Drive II!", Roy shouted.

Roy is surrounded by a large crimson aura, nothing like before. Roy then charges quickly towards the no-name ninja that the ground breaks. The unnamed ninja manages to block it but is pushed back significantly. Judging by the expression on their face, the no-name ninja is surprised by Roy's sudden powerup and strength.

Roy taunts the unnamed ninja by using his free hand and signaling them to come and attack him. Seeing the disrespect this kid is giving to him, the no-name ninja gladly does so. The unnamed ninja charges in a piercing position, intending to pierce Roy's heart but Roy moves aside and using his right arm, hit the no-name on the shoulder, launching them off in that direction for a second. The unknown ninja then rolls on the ground but anchors soon enough. The no-name ninja then looks at Roy with anger in his eyes. Roy just stands there and smirked. The unnamed ninja then decides to use his full power. The no-name ninja's already dark aura gets even darker. Then, a magical circle appears out of the ground.

"Come forth, my shadow animal! Elephant, rise and crush this boy!!", the unnamed ninja yelled.

Suddenly, a huge elephant appears. Its skin is as dark as the night, its eyes are red as blood, and its tusks appear to be surrounded by a dark mist. It lets out a battle cry and starts charging at Roy. Its speed... it's as fast as a lion, leaving very obvious footprints behind. Turning its head to the right, it swings it towards Roy. Roy blocks it using the Demonic Saber and pushes the elephant back.

"Wind Style: Whisper in the wind...", Roy calmly said.

Suddenly, a fog appears, surrounding the whole vicinity. The elephant perks up its ear, trying to hear where Roy is. Unfortunately, a random Fiery Slash appears, targeting its left ear. The elephant screams in pain. A few seconds later, another one appears, hitting its right ear. Now losing 2 ears, it is now deaf. The elephant then uses its eyes to find where Roy is. A Fiery Slash hits the elephant on its body on the right side. The elephant looks in the general direction of where that Fiery Slash comes from. Another one hits its body again but on the opposite side. It doesn't stop there though. A bunch of Fiery Slashes hits the elephant's left leg, right side, head, bottom. Fiery Slashes starts appearing out of nowhere but everywhere at the same time, barraging the elephant with fire. It then yelled and blows a gust of wind through its trunk. When they do this, everyone is surprised at the sight. Everyone is shocked seeing that they are more than 1 Roy on the battlefield but most of those Roy appear to be shadow-like. They look the same as the elephant. Dark skin, red eyes, but is shaped to be like Roy.

"Is he using shadow clones? I didn't know he can use the power of darkness.", Varari thinks out of her mind.

"Yes, yes he is.", Bakin replied.

The multiple Roys is holding a red-glowing sword. Except for one who is standing in front of the elephant, he's the original Roy since he's the only one holding the Demonic Saber. Then, all of a sudden, their swords are engulfed by different elements. Flame, Water, Ice, Wind, Nature, Thunder, Earth, Dark, and Light. Every single clone had an element. The original Roy just stands, doing nothing for a few seconds until Roy raises his left hand and snaps.

SNAP!

"Flame Style: Burning Strikes!"

"Water Style: Waves after waves!"

"Thunder Style: Stormy Attacks!"

"Wind Style: Air Spin!"

"Ice Style: Icy Combo!"

"Nature Style: Flower Moves!"

"Earth Style: Soil Swings!"

"Dark Style: Shadow Strikes!"

"Light Style: Heavenly Strikes!"

All of the Shadow Clones except for Roy start attacking the elephant at the same time. A flurry of elemental attacks happens. It's too much for the elephant to defend. It got weaker and weaker, and then it falls to the ground. The clones of Roy then disappear. Still in his Determination Drive II state, Roy finally finishes it by slicing horizontally through the weakened shadow elephant. The elephant then puffs up in black smoke and dissipates.

Roy then looks at the infuriated enemy, the no-name ninja. The Crimson Aura soon fades away and Roy points the Demonic Saber at him.

"Give up now, or else I'll have to go back with the promise I made for myself.", Roy said threateningly.

After that, Roy starts breathing heavily after doing such a feat. The no-named ninja notices this. Again, Roy lets out a deep exhale and a deep inhale. Seeing this, the unnamed ninja hatches a plan. The no-name ninja looks at his surroundings. His men, who have all been knocked out a few minutes ago, are now standing and watching the battle from a distance. The no-name ninja grins, finally having an idea of what he'll do next. The unnamed ninja suddenly points towards Yua, Alvin, and Sara...

"Attack them!", the no-name ninja yelled.

All 5 of them charge at Alvin, Yua, and Sara but Roy is soon there to protect them. However, Roy senses a huge spike in magic. Roy looks past the ninjas to see the no-name ninja charging up a magic blast. A dark magical circle appears out of the air and pointed in the general direction where Roy is.

"Get out of there if you want to live!", the unnamed ninja warned.

Then the no-name ninja fires a dark magic blast at them. A large beam of laser shoots out of the magical circle. The unnamed ninja's subordinates barely dodge the blast but it kills 1 of them, disintegrating into ashes. Roy quickly casts a magic barrier, which shields him and his students. Roy takes a quick glance at Yua, Alvin, and Sara behind. All of them are too afraid to move. Roy sighs and decides to let the no-name ninja taste their own medicine. Using the Demonic Saber as a magic wand, Roy draws a white magical circle using the tip of the Demonic Saber on the air. Roy then stabs the center of the circle. Suddenly, a bunch of magical patterns appears out of the center and onto the edge of it, and then...

"Light Style: Ray Of Hope!!", Roy yelled.

BWWWOOOOOSSSHHH

A massive light beam exited the magical circle, destroying the barrier Roy makes earlier and pushing back the dark blast that the no-name ninja made. However, it couldn't push furthermore. Roy couldn't go past the halfway point.

'I don't think I could outlast him at this state. I've used too much of my mana and ki, I need to make this quick. Which means...I'm going to use my other technique...', Roy thought silently.

Roy then closes his eyes. Roy takes a deep breath and breaths out through his nose. Roy then inhales and exhales. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. And then!

"Kyōka suru x2!", Roy exclaimed.

Roy is suddenly enveloped by a blue aura. Roy then opens his eyes, showing aqua-colored eyes. Roy stands up properly and holds the Demonic Saber with both hands.

"HuuuaaaaaAAAAGHH!!!", Roy yelled at the top of his lungs.

The light beam increases in size, doubling than before, pushing back the dark blast even so.

"No no no NO NO NOOO!!!", the no-name ninja said before being blasted off.

Then the light beam disappears, revealing the destruction that happens.

"Oh my Kami...", Alvin commented what happened.

The beam destroys rows of trees after trees. Even leaving its burning prints on the ground. Then at the end of it all, is Roy's opponent laying on a pile of fallen trees. Breathing... The light magical circle disappears, leaving the breathless Roy holding up the Demonic Saber mid-air and then... Roy looks away from his enemy, determined to spare the no-name ninja's life. Bakin who sees all this is surprised. Bakin is surprised to see Roy actually sparing an enemy, and he is proud of it and is also relieved. Looks like Bakin's worries are soon to be rested at this rate.

Roy looks behind him and then he sees the three of them, Yua, Alvin, and Sara, hugging each other, shaking in fear.

"You know, you could have moved away from that position, right?", Roy suggested to them.

They don't say anything. In fact, they are still shaking. Roy just puts his hand on his face and sighs.

"Looks you were too afraid of moving after almost seeing your lives flashing before your eyes. We've gotta work on that...", Roy commented.

The 4 remaining dark ninjas stand up in shock, seeing their most powerful member defeated. Roy looks at them with a terrifying look. Then Roy moves his head to the side, signaling them to leave. They gladly do so. One of them then heads toward their knocked-out comrade, a female, carrying him with all the strength she got, but it wasn't enough. The female ninja has black hair and eyes, and having an apple haircut, and wearing a bandana as well.

Even seeing killing one of his own, the female ninja still chooses to carry the no-name ninja. The other ninjas see this. They all first hesitate but choose to help her out, walking away and carrying the no-named ninja. Then they disappear into the darkness...

Roy sees this and ignores them. Varari then approaches Roy, checking his wounds. Especially Roy's right arm where it got pierced. When Varari looks at Roy's right arm, she finds nothing. Nothing but a ripped open armor on Roy's shoulder. Only signs of bleeding here and there but the wound that Roy had is already gone Varari is relieved by this but Roy is still breathing heavily, tired at the battle he had today. Roy decides to cut the mood.

"Do you know that man?", Roy asked.

"No...well not at first. When he said he doesn't have a name, I remember an old rumor. A rumor, about 2 boys that have been turned into a weapon. It must be one of them.", Varari replied.

"So, you didn't know him? Is he not in your village?", Roy quickly changed the subject.

"No. How do you think we've stayed hidden from the rest of the world, including other clans? It's because, unlike the rest, we decide to split into small villages. So, believe me, when I say, I don't know him.", Varari didn't know the no-name ninja.

"I see...", Roy said, sheathing the Demonic Saber.

Roy crosses his arms and looks around. Varari does as well. Their training ground has been compromised.

"It was stupid and reckless for me to decide we should train where we fought them.", Roy said to Varari.

"Mhm... Although I'm partly to blame as well. So...now what? Where should we train?", Varari asked.

Roy closes his eyes and thinks. Roy tries to think of a solution to solve this dilemma until Roy's master comes in.

"You guys want somewhere to train, how about we train at the place I'm camping at? It's also in the forest", Bakin suggested.

"You mean, the principal never gave you a house?", Roy asked.

"He could do that? Wow... That was a missed opportunity. Then again, I have nothing to give him. I just told him that I'm here to look for you so yeah. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't permanently live here.", Bakin replied.

"Oh yeah, I forgot... Forgive me for asking a stupid question. So, where do you live, master?", Roy asked.

Bakin then points in a certain direction.

"The opposite of where this part of the forest is. Follow me!", Bakin said in response.

Roy looks at his scared students. They seem to calm down. Varari places his hand on Roy. Roy looks at Varari.

"You go ahead and do your boy talk with Johnson and your master. I'll be doing some girl talk with the 2 of them. That would probably calm them down.", Varari said.

Roy nods, agreeing to this. Then Roy calls Alvin.

"Alvin, mind talking with us?", Roy called him.

"Oh uh...yeah sure, bud- I mean...master!", Alvin replied before catching up to them.

The three girls are the only ones left. Varari then advances towards her juniors and wraps her arms around them, pushing both Yua and Sara to walk with her. Yua and Sara start walking on their own soon. After that, Varari decides on a question that is on her mind all these times.

"So...Ichika, what were you and Roy were talking about?", Varari asked.

Sara is surprised by this. Yua is also curious as well.

"Yeah, what did you talk about with Roy?", Yua asked in a teasing manner.

"Private matters! Something that he and I prefer to stay quiet about.", Varari answered.

Sara looks at Roy. Roy is looking back at her as well. Then Roy turns his head forward.

"I see...well then I won't push on this matter if he doesn't even want us to know about, but! But I'll ask you another question....for the both of you.", Varari said.

Yua and Sara look at Varari in anticipation of what's she's going to ask. Varari giggles seeing their eager faces and asked them.

"In your opinion, what is Roy to you?", Varari asked.

This surprises both Yua and Sara, but Yua immediately answers.

"He's a good man! A great master! And a caring guy! All in all, Roy's a great friend!", Yua proudly said.

"I see... So, you only see him as a friend?", Varari asked again.

"Yup!", Yua answered.

Varari then turns her attention towards Sara. Sara looks away momentarily. Yua also looks at Sara. They both are quiet, waiting for her response. Sara exhales.

"For now, I see him as a trustful man. I just hope that will keep his word about what I told him.", Sara answered.

"Ok, what did you actually talk about between the 2 of you? It's making me curioussss.", Yua whined.

Sara looks at her with worried eyes and then she looks down.

"It's something personal. I would appreciate it if you don't ask more questions about it.", Sara responded.

Yua, seeing Sara down like this, ceases herself. Yua embraces Sara, comforting her.

"You know that I'm your best friend, right? You could tell me anything, even if it's weird, I would promise to keep it a secret, ok?", Yua tries to comfort Sara.

"I know...", Sara started feeling a little bit guilty.

Varari decides to go back to the subject, not wanting Sara to feel like this any longer.

"So, I take it that all of you see just see him as a trustworthy friend?" Nothing else?", Varari asked.

"Why are you asking that kind of question?", Sara answered with a question.

"Well, my dear Sara, I was just checking if I have any... "competition" to fight against with.", Varari replied.

Sara's eyes widen, then looks at Roy and quickly changes gaze towards Varari again. Sara just nods and looks forward. Yua however, is oblivious.

"Competition? Are you entering a contest or something?", Yua asked.

Varari giggles at her obliviousness and gives Yua a head pat.

"I guess you can say I am... and the prize is something that I desire the most.", Varari looks at Roy.

Still, Yua doesn't understand and keeps asking questions.

"Can I join the contest as well? What is it all about? What are the rules? Where does this take place? Also, when? Also, also, what is the prize?", Yua asked a barrage of questions.

Varari chuckles loudly again and hugs Yua, squishing the innocent Yua against her bosoms.

"You're so precious, Yua. Never change, my sweet child. Never change.", Varari sweetly said.

This causes Yua to blush at her words and Yua hugs her back, loving the hug that Varari is doing.

Roy sighs at what he hears behind him. Bakin then nudges Roy on the shoulder. If Roy can hear what the girls were talking about, then definitely his master can.

"You hear that Roy, someone got a cru-", Roy quickly covered his master's mouth.

"What was that?", Alvin asked.

"We can hear information from a faraway distance. Put 2 and 2 together and you understand that-", Roy was then interrupted.

"That you were listening to what the girls were talking about! Aw, you sneaky dog, why didn't you tell me early?

Anyway, what did Kage-senpai say? Did she talk about me?", Alvin asked.

At this point, Bakin understands the situation and decides to stay quiet about it. Roy intends to tell him something else.

"They were definitely talking about girl stuff. Something that I would rather keep a secret about.", Roy tried to hide it.

"Is it that sensitive, what they're talking about?", Alvin asked again.

"Yes and no, believe me, I'm doing you a favor.", Roy replied.

"Alright, bro. Whatever you say.", Alvin said in response.

Alvin then wraps his arm around him and brings him closer. Alvin then smiles at Roy. Roy smiles as well. However, Roy's mind wonders and soon he starts to feel anxious about the future.

Roy then looks at the sky. Thinking about something. Thinking about what happened earlier. Thinking about what could happen next. Thinking about his friends and family. At this point, Roy knows he needs to be careful. Otherwise, Roy might lose something important to him.