Chapter no.23 Dark souls.

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Chapter no.23 Petrus of Thorolund.

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Naruto sighed, bored out of his mind in the empty classroom. Everyone else had already left, their senseis having taken them away. A few had given him strange looks, but he didn't know how to feel about that. He used to do anything to get their attention. But now? Now that he finally had it, he didn't even need it anymore.

"Precept the Ninth: A knight's deeds are done not for praise, but in faith."

He muttered it under his breath, as though it could explain why he'd stopped caring. But honestly, he still didn't get it.

Faith in what, exactly?

Naruto stared at the reflection in his shiny gauntlet, his hand outstretched in front of him.

Was it because of the old man? Because Hiruzen had revealed all those lies that everyone seemed to know but him? Did that make him stop caring about people who'd lied to him for so long? Maybe. Maybe he was just disillusioned now.

He sighed, trying to shake the thoughts away, but they stuck like glue.

Then there were his two new teammates. He didn't know how to feel about them.

Sakura Haruno… his crush? He blinked, realizing how ridiculous that sounded now. Why did he even like her?

She wasn't the prettiest, definitely not the kindest, and she'd always been so rude to him. Every time he'd asked her out, she'd hit him. Why did he put up with that? What did he even see in her? He glanced at her, noticing how she flinched when their eyes met.

He looked away. Whatever.

As long as she didn't treat him like before, they'd be fine.

And then there was Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto had always seen him as his rival, even after everything that had happened to him. Why was that? He couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was because Sasuke felt like someone he had more in common with than anyone else.

No, that wasn't it.

He still saw Sasuke as his rival because he represented something Naruto couldn't overcome before—the old Naruto couldn't beat him. If he could overcome Sasuke, then he'd know he'd truly gotten stronger.

He stared at his hand, lost in thought. Iruka-sensei was right. He had gotten smarter. Dattebayo.

Was it because of everything he'd been through in that other world? Or was it something else? Naruto summoned his system window, his eyes drifting over the stat numbers. Were these numbers the reason for all of this? Did they have something to do with how different he felt? The thought nagged at him, but he shook it off as he glanced at the clock.

Naruto stood up, causing Sasuke and Sakura to glance in his direction.

"Naruto, where are you going? Sensei could arrive any minute," Sakura said, raising an eyebrow. Sasuke just grunted his usual Hn.

"Gotta take a massive dump," Naruto said without hesitation, watching the disgust on Sakura's face. She didn't say anything, though. He guessed he'd earned a little more respect these days.

Should've beaten Kiba sooner if I knew I'd get this kind of respect, Naruto thought, smirking to himself as he walked out the door.

He made his way to the bathroom, making sure it was empty before locking himself inside a stall.

He pulled out the Darksign, feeling the familiar weight of it in his hand.

"Take your sweet time, I know I am… Dattebayo," he whispered to himself.

And just like that, a bright light flooded the stall.

Naruto blinked against the brightness, trying to adjust as the warmth of the bonfire washed over him. The familiar crackling flames brought a sense of comfort, grounding him in this strange world. He looked around, taking in his surroundings, when—

"Welcome back."

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin, spinning around to find the Crestfallen Warrior standing there, just staring at him with that dead expression.

"Don't do that! You scared me!" Naruto muttered, clutching his chest. His heart was still pounding.

The warrior didn't even react, just pointed toward the side.

Naruto's eyes followed his gesture, and that's when he saw it—a giant glob of souls hovering there, and… an apparition of himself.

He'd seen his clones plenty of times before, but this? This was different. It was creepier, like staring into a ghost of himself. Naruto didn't even like ghosts.

"What… What is this?" he asked, unease creeping into his voice.

"Soul drop," Alexander said flatly.

Naruto turned back to him, waiting for more of an explanation. The warrior just shrugged.

"You die, you drop that."

Naruto gave him a deadpan look. Seriously? That's all he's got?

Seeing the warrior wasn't going to elaborate any further, Naruto reached out and grabbed the soul drop, and the moment he touched it, he absorbed all 11,000 souls.

Suddenly, he felt… full. It was a strange sensation, like something inside him had just grown stronger, but he couldn't put his finger on how or why. Then he remembered something Oscar had told him before—souls could be used to strengthen oneself.

"Hey, how do you use souls to get stronger?"

The warrior paused, as if contemplating whether to tell him or not. Naruto started tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for an answer.

"I'll tell you if you do something for me," Alexander said after a long moment.

Naruto groaned. Of course, there was a catch.

"Fine. What do I need to do?"

A minute later, Naruto found himself walking up a set of old, ruined stone stairs, the grass brushing against his legs as he moved. The ruins stretched out before him—an old, decayed place filled with overgrown greenery and a lifeless tree. The walls were crumbling, archways half-collapsed, and the air felt thick with age and abandonment.

The temple ruins loomed ahead, their stone surfaces worn and covered in moss. Under the massive branches of a gigantic tree that seemed to grow straight out of the mountain itself lay what remained of the dome of the temple. The structure was barely recognizable, but it was impressive in its own right. Near the dome, he spotted the gigantic crow—the same one that had brought him here.

Naruto hummed to himself, trying to make sense of it all. Alexander had sent him to talk to some guy in the temple ruins. Why? The warrior hadn't said. He just wanted Naruto to go and talk. Simple enough, he guessed.

As he continued up the stairs, his eyes wandered to a second path leading to another part of the temple. Unlike the decayed ruins of the first area, this section had a roof and a building that still stood, despite being covered in moss.

"This is where I need to go, right?"

He glanced at a third path and made a quick decision. Summoning a clone, he sent it off to check out that one. No point leaving any stone unturned, right?

Focusing back on the task at hand, Naruto continued climbing the stairs, his boots thudding softly against the old stone.

At the top of the stairs, Naruto stopped in his tracks. Ahead was a platform, with giant pots lined near the back. But what really caught his eye was the man standing to the left, near the wall.

He's bigger than Choji.

Naruto took a few cautious steps forward, getting a better look. The man was stocky and heavily armored, looking like he could crush a boulder without breaking a sweat. His armor was made of layered, metallic plates, and he held a spiked mace in one hand. His shield bore a colorful, intricate design. But what nearly made Naruto laugh was the man's ridiculous blonde bowl-cut hairstyle and his huge nose.

The man seemed unaware of Naruto's presence at first, too busy reciting something that sounded like a prayer. So, Naruto did what any sensible person would do—he sat on the stairs and waited for him to finish. Alexander had sent him here, but the longer Naruto waited, the more it felt like some weird prank.

"Hello there. I believe we are not acquainted? I am Petrus of Thorolund. Forgive me for being cautious, but I must ask that you maintain a respectful distance," the man said, his deep voice breaking the silence.

Naruto blinked, caught off guard. "Uh… right. Sure," he muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"Do you have business with us?" Petrus continued, his tone calm but tinged with caution.

"Well… I don't actually know," Naruto admitted. "Alexander sent me here. I thought you might have something for him?"

Petrus stood there, staring at Naruto—not at his face, but something else. His eyes lingered on Naruto's armor, narrowing slightly.

The silence dragged on, and Naruto felt unease creeping in. "I could go back and ask him what he needs from you," Naruto offered quickly, realizing that Petrus might not trust him or thought he was wasting his time.

Petrus's gaze shifted to Naruto's armor. "That armor… belongs to the knights of Astora," he said slowly. "You are quite young to be an elite knight."

Naruto stiffened. "No, no, it's not mine. It belonged to my master, Oscar. I'm just his squire. I wear it because… he passed away."

The weight of Naruto's words hung in the air. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to explain himself, but something about the way Petrus looked at him made him want to justify why he had Oscar's armor.

Petrus's lips curled into a small grin, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. It wasn't unkind, but there was something calculating behind it, as though he was weighing Naruto's words.

Without warning, Petrus reached into his pouch.

"Here," he said, tossing something gently to Naruto, who caught it out of reflex.

Naruto blinked, looking down at the coin in his hand, unsure of its value or significance. He started to raise his hand to give it back. "Uh, thanks, but—"

Petrus shook his head. "No, go ahead. It's for you."

Naruto stared at the coin. It felt solid in his hand, its dull surface catching the light faintly. He rubbed his thumb over the worn markings. "What's it for?"

Petrus smiled faintly, a softer expression than before. "It's a small funeral gift, something given to warriors of the Way of White. A tradition. We offer these as a sign of peace and to ensure the soul finds its way to the Flame."

"Thanks, but what do you mean by 'warriors of the Way of White'?" Naruto asked, still trying to wrap his head around the explanation.

"Well, your master was an elite knight of Astora, so he must have been a warrior of the Way of White," Petrus explained, his tone calm and assured, as if this was something Naruto should have known all along.

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out at first. He didn't want to admit how little he knew about Oscar's traditions. Instead, he asked, "Can you tell me more?"

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 13, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!