XII
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Arc XII Chapter 17
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Sakura crashed into her. The girl struck with all her force behind her punch. The girl hit with the brute, undiminished force of an illiterate barbarian, with raw, unrelenting, savage strength.
Her fist shattered her purple shield, smashing through layers upon layers of solid chakra. Her barrier yielded, fragments of dispersed chakra flying in all directions like shards of glass. Her first layer broke. Her second broke. Her third broke. Her fourth broke. Not her fifth. Her resistance hardened. Her fifth layer refused to succumb. Her fifth layer stood. With the strength of her attack abated, Sakura’s fist was halted right in front of her face, a mere arm’s length away. So close, and yet so far.
“...” Sakura glowered at her, now realising that her attack had failed. “...”
Amused, Asami welcomed her newest guest with a saccharine smile. “Are~ are~, the customs of this time and age, to attack an innocent maiden when I wasn’t even finished talking ... Such uncivilised times. Where have your manners gone, Sakura-chan? You were always such a well behaved girl, weren’t you?”
Gritting her teeth, Sakura snarled, her blood veritably boiling. “Shut up!” Her fist struck again. And again. And again. Each time with little to no effect. Her shield didn’t budge. Her chakra reformed, restored, repaired.
“Dammit!” Sakura scowled, fuming. “Why?!”
Kakashi’s eyes widened, his sharingan warning him. Nothing escaped them. His eyes sensed the danger. His eyes saw the danger. Kakashi braced himself. “Sakura, Naruto, disengage ...”
Sakura glanced sidewards. “What ...” It was too late.
Filled to the brim, the air was saturated with her residual chakra, saturated with untapped, unused potential. Her chakra was her weapon. A mere command sufficed.
Her chakra hardened, solidified, instantly expanding outwards. The pressure increased and the air receded. Her manoeuvre produced the desired effect. Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, the blast hit them point blank.
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“Aarghhhh!” Naruto was pitched backwards, only to be hurled across the grass until his rolling body came to a halt.
Same with Sakura. The shock wave sent her flying, making her kiss the ground. “Aarghhhh!”
Kakashi took the brunt of it head on, yet he was quick to recover. Years of experience allowed him to regain his balance even in a pinch. He shifted his weight, his feet gracefully sliding across the ground.
“...” Kakashi raised his head, his eyes defiant, once again ready to strike. “...”
There was no time to lose. This was her opportunity. Asami unholstered a kunai and counterattacked, her umbrella folded. She rushed Sakura. Still shaken, still disoriented, her defence broken, the girl was easy prey.
“...” Asami accelerated, sprinting. Vibrant plasma coated her kunai, producing a purple chakra blade.
“...” Kakashi’s eyes widened, his panic painted across all his face. “SAKURA!!!” How quaint.
“...” Sakura forced herself up, rising to her feet despite having taken a beating. “Aargh, what was this ...”
Asami had closed the distance. Her blade aimed for Sakura’s head. She put her faith in a thrust.
“...” Sakura turned, realising only now what was about to happen. The looks in her eyes. The fear ... The dread ... The angst ... The desperation ... All her life condensed in a single moment, passing right before her eyes. Delicious. The tip approached her, a slender blade with her name.
“...” Asami smirked, dark glee crossing her lips. It was over ...
Asami rolled sidewards. Her instincts forced her to dodge. With unwelcome consequences. Her aim was thrown off. Her thrust failed. Her strike missed.
Her kunai pierced Sakura’s shoulder, the intense heat melting flesh and bone alike. The sheer momentum of her thrust hurled Sakura through the air like a mere rag doll. Her blade entered and exited her back, cleaving straight through her body under agonising pain. Yet Asami couldn’t care less about such trifling matters of secondary importance.
“...” Gravely displeased, Asami narrowed her eyes, all of her senses swept the area with only two questions in mind. What was this? Who was it? She wanted answers. She demanded answers.
Her coat. Her sleeve. It was torn apart, the black and red fabric was shredded to pieces. Even her precious kimono beneath, her precious silk was damaged in the process. Unforgivable. The attack was meant to claim her arm. The attempt had failed.
Asami didn’t understand. It was an attack that she didn’t see, nor sense coming. Even when she should have. It should have been impossible to miss such a dense concentration of chakra invading her field, and yet she did. The attack came without warning. Quick. Sudden. Violent. Out of nowhere. The attack by passed all of her defences. By passed all of her perimeters. A concentration of chakra where none was before. As if created out of thin air.
Her instincts saved her, and the minimal delay in execution. The chakra had to manifest before taking effect, forcing it to reveal its presence. It did. The chakra manifested. The effect was immediate. Instant. Her senses felt it. The foreign chakra, jutsu warped, distorted, corrupted all surrounding space, if not the very fabric of reality itself.
It was a jutsu, no doubt. Spatial displacement ... Noticeable effect ... Considerable potency ... Instant ... Invasive ... Quick manifestation ... Swift execution ... Minimal delay ... Minimal warning time ... Directed ... Planned ... Coordinated ... Aimed to disrupt her thrust ... Not Naruto ... Not Temari ... Not Chiyo ... Kakashi ... The direction aligned ... The chakra signature corresponded ...
The pieces finally fell into place. Asami turned and the answer to her question greeted her. Her gaze fell on Kakashi’s left eye. “Ocular.” His sharingan ... His eye had changed. His three black tomoe had vanished, replaced by an arrangement of three black razors. A mangekyou ... So this was how he had done it.
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