Rise Of The Uzumaki Clan (CH 18) (Patreon)

A/N: This story is rated M for mature content not suitable for children.

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Chapter 18: The Divine General’s Adaptation

The air in the center of the colony didn't just feel cold; it felt heavy, as if the very atoms were being crushed under the weight of an ancient, malicious presence. Across the shattered pavement, Ryomen Sukuna stood within the stolen skin of Megumi Fushiguro. Behind him, looming like a mountain of pale flesh and divine indifference, was the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Divine General Mahoraga.

The wheel atop the creature’s head gave a slow, sickening click.

"Naruto," Maki said, her voice a low, dangerous rasp. She shifted her grip on the Tuning Fork sword, her muscles coiling like steel springs. "That thing... it’s the one that killed the heads of the Zenin and Gojo clans in the past, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied, his blue eyes hardening as he activated his King Piece. The chess piece radiated a massive surge of cursed energy that made his blonde hair flicker like a candle in a gale. "It adapts to any and all phenomena. If you hit it once and don't kill it, you might as well have handed it the manual on how to beat you."

Sukuna’s laughter was a sharp, grating sound coming from Megumi’s throat. "You talk as if knowing the secret will save you, brat. Most men die before the wheel turns even once. Let’s see how many revolutions your 'royalty' pieces can withstand."

With a flick of his wrist, Sukuna signaled. "Go."

Mahoraga moved with a speed that defied its massive bulk. It didn't run; it simply existed in a new space, its blade-arm swinging downward with enough force to cleave a skyscraper.

"Rook! Knight!" Naruto bellowed.

In an explosion of cursed energy, the King-Enhanced Rook appeared, his bare chest glistening. He threw his arms wide, projecting a series of hexagonal energy barriers. The divine blade struck the first barrier, shattering it like glass, then the second, then the third.

"Knight, now!"

The King-Enhanced Knight blurred into motion. Her single katana sang through the air, aimed directly at Mahoraga’s neck. The strike was clean, a flash of purple light that should have severed the head of any living thing.

But Mahoraga didn't flinch. The blade bit deep into its neck, drawing black, viscous blood, but the creature simply stood there.

Click.

The wheel turned.

"Maki, back off!" Naruto warned, but it was too late.

Mahoraga’s arm-blade glowed with a faint aura. It swung horizontally, a counter-slash that ignored the Rook’s remaining barriers as if they were mist. The Knight barely brought her sword up to parry, but the force of the blow sent her skidding back, her dress tattered and her energy flickering.

"It’s already adapted to the Rook’s defensive frequency," Naruto gritted his teeth. "Rook 2! Queen!"

Hanami’s reborn form, the green-haired Rook 2, slammed her hands into the earth. Massive, gnarled roots exploded from the concrete, wrapping around Mahoraga’s legs. Simultaneously, the Queen stepped forward, her adult form radiating a sense of absolute authority. She pointed a finger, and a beam of void-energy shot toward Mahoraga’s chest.

The beam hit. A massive hole appeared in the General’s torso. For a heartbeat, it looked like victory.

Click.

The hole began to seal instantly. Not through Reverse Cursed Technique, but through a fundamental rewriting of its own biology. The roots around its legs withered and turned to ash as Mahoraga’s body began to emit a counter-pulse that neutralized the plant-based cursed energy.

"Damn it, it's too fast," Maki hissed. She lunged forward, using her superhuman agility to vault over the General’s head. "If it adapts to energy, let's see it adapt to raw iron!"

She swung the Tuning Fork sword with everything her Heavenly Restriction offered. The high-frequency vibration of the weapon met Mahoraga’s shoulder. The sound was deafening, a screech that shattered every window within three blocks. The General staggered, its form flickering as the vibration disrupted its internal cursed energy flow.

"Good! Keep the pressure!" Naruto joined her, his fists coated in dense cursed energy as he looked for an opening.

While Naruto and Maki engaged the Divine General, Sukuna remained on the periphery, watching with cold detachment.

"Entertaining," the King of Curses murmured. "You're feeding it different types of phenomena to confuse the adaptation. Cursed corpses, high-frequency sound, raw physical force... but you're forgetting one thing, Naruto Uzumaki."

Sukuna clapped his hands together. "Cleave."

A flurry of invisible slashes tore through the battlefield. Naruto sensed the danger a millisecond before it hit, twisting his body. One slash caught his shoulder, opening a deep red gash; another sliced through the Queen’s shoulder.

"Naruto!" Maki yelled, but she couldn't stop. Mahoraga had regained its footing and was now swinging its sword with a new, jagged rhythm. It had adapted to the 'vibration' of the Tuning Fork. The next time the blade hit the General, it thudded harmlessly against skin that had become as dense as lead.

"I'm fine!" Naruto shouted, instantly applying Reverse Cursed Technique to his shoulder. Steam hissed from the wound as the flesh knit back together. "Queen, get back! Rook 2, protect Maki!"

He realized he couldn't keep 'feeding' Mahoraga different attacks. The creature was becoming a perfect counter to his entire Chess set. He needed a one-shot kill, or he needed to lock the wheel.

"Maki, the Tuning Fork! Pass it to me!"

Maki tossed the weapon. Naruto caught it and slammed his other hand onto the metal. "Seal: Five-Element Restriction!"

The Tuning Fork didn't just vibrate now; it glowed with deep purple sealing scripts. Naruto wasn't trying to cut the General. He was trying to bind it.

He charged, his speed enhanced by the King Piece. He dodged a massive swing from Mahoraga and drove the Tuning Fork into the ground directly beneath the creature.

"Seal: Grand Palace of the Iron Cage!"

A massive seal array erupted, forming a box of light around Mahoraga. The wheel on its head spun frantically, click-click-click, trying to find the frequency to negate the seal.

"It’s working! It’s trapped!" Maki shouted, raising her soul-cutting sword. "Let’s end this!"

"No, Maki! Look at Sukuna!" Naruto warned.

The King of Curses wasn't worried. He was smiling. In his hands, a sphere of fire was beginning to form, focused through the Ten Shadows' power.

"You've pinned my shikigami," Sukuna said. "A noble effort. But a pinned piece is just a target."

Sukuna didn't aim at Naruto. He aimed at the Queen.

"NO!" Naruto screamed.

The fire arrow streaked across the park. The Queen raised her hands, her 'Absolute Erasure' field flaring to its maximum, attempting to delete the fire before it touched her.

But the arrow was too powerful. The explosion didn't just burn; it consumed. The Queen was engulfed in a pillar of black and orange flames. Naruto felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his soul as his most powerful piece, the one he had spent months perfecting, was forcibly unsummoned, her spiritual core cracked.

"You bastard!" Naruto’s rage boiled over. The King Piece in his pocket pulsed with a violent, dark light. The Uzumaki with his massive pool of cursed energy and the sheer weight of his Sealing Technique attacked.

"Maki, the sword! Now!"

Maki, seeing the look in her husband's eyes, didn't argue. She threw him the soul-cutting blade. Naruto caught it, and instead of just holding it, he bit his thumb and smeared his blood across the steel.

"Maximum Output: Uzumaki Soul Binding!"

Naruto didn't run; he blurred. He ignored Sukuna entirely, focusing every ounce of his energy on the trapped Mahoraga. If he didn't kill it now, it would adapt to the cage and kill them all.

He plunged the soul-cutting sword into the center of the General's chest. But he didn't stop there. He used his own body as a conduit, pumping his cursed energy through the sword and into Mahoraga’s soul.

"I don't care if you adapt to the blade," Naruto hissed, his muscles bulging as he pushed. "Adapt to having your very existence overwritten!"

The sword began to glow with a blinding white light. Mahoraga let out a soundless scream as the soul-cutting properties of the blade, combined with Naruto's high-level sealing energy, began to tear its spiritual form apart.

Click.

The wheel turned, but it was too late. The soul was being erased faster than the body could rewrite the rules. With a final, massive explosion of light, the Divine General Mahoraga shattered into a thousand shards of shadow.

When the light faded, Naruto was on one knee, gasping for air. The soul-cutting sword was cracked, and his hands were burned.

Sukuna stood on the rooftop, looking down at the empty space where his strongest shikigami had been. His smirk was gone, replaced by a look of genuine intrigue.

"You destroyed it," Sukuna noted, his voice calm. "To kill Mahoraga without a Domain... you really are a special one, Naruto Uzumaki."

"I told you," Naruto rasped, looking up with blood trickling down his face. "It wasn't going to be a walk in the park."

Sukuna looked toward the horizon where the ice sorcerer, Uraume, was struggling against Yuta's interference. He seemed to weigh his options. His current output was still being suppressed by Megumi’s soul, and Naruto had just proven he could kill a General.

"Enjoy your small victory, brat," Sukuna said, his shadow lengthening as he prepared to leave. "The Culling Games have only just begun. I have a 'bath' to attend to."

With a swirl of shadows, Sukuna and the ice sorcerer vanished.

Naruto slumped forward, his forehead hitting the concrete. He felt Maki’s strong arms wrap around him.

"We did it," she whispered, though her voice was thick with the cost of the fight. "We saved Tsumiki, and we stopped that thing."

"But the Queen is broken, Maki," Naruto said, his voice fading. "And Sukuna... he's only going to get stronger."

"Then we get stronger too," Maki replied firmly, pulling him into her lap.

In the distance, the Culling Games roared on. Naruto had won the battle, but as he looked at the shattered remains of his King Piece, he knew the real war was just beginning.

Chapter End

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A/N: The battle for the ages is over! Naruto and Maki managed to destroy Mahoraga, but at the cost of Naruto's Queen piece and his sword. Sukuna has retreated to finish his 'bath'. What will happen next as the Culling Games enter the final phase?