XII
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Arc XII Chapter 21
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“...” Kakashi’s left eye widened. His sharingan saw what could not be concealed. He was the first to notice the extent of her weakness, the first to grasp the opportunity.
Kakashi’s voice hardened, his senses sharpened, his fatigue all but gone. “Temari, Naruto, prepare yourself. I don’t know why, but her chakra …, her aura ... are wavering.”
“... ... ... What?” Temari looked up, staring at Kakashi in disbelief, her arm still leaning on her war fan. “Her chakra is what?”
“...” Naruto shared Temari’s doubts, his scepticism written all over his face. “What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei?”
“No time to explain.” Kakashi cut them short, his voice cold. “We must strike now. We must strike as long as the iron is hot.”
Kakashi reached for the holster strapped to his leg. A kunai was his response, reverse grip. Chirping lightning coated his blade, the steel of his kunai vibrating. “Temari, Naruto, listen, I will engage her in melee. I will keep her busy. You, Termari, ... throw everything at her, you have. You must cover me. I will need it.”
“Understood.” Temari complied, nodding firmly.
Kakashi glanced sidewards, his gaze wandering to his student. “Naruto, ... you know what you have to do. We are counting on you. Strike when the moment comes. Use it well. Strike hard. Strike fast. Put everything in it that you have. You will need nothing less than all your strength to defeat Asami.”
“... ... ...” Naruto gulped, yet his will remained unshakeable. He clenched, his eyes blazing with conviction. “Got it, Kakashi-sensei, I will.”
“...” Kakashi merely nodded before returning his attention to her, his eyes scrutinising her. “Now ... Go!!!”
In a blink, her enemies vanished, separating. They were once again on the move, their blades turned against her, much to Asami’s open amusement.
“...” A dark smirk crossed Asami’s delighted lips despite her weakened state. It appeared that her friends had still not learned their lesson. Against better judgement, the three of them dared to tempt fate once more, to challenge her one last time, even now when her poor excuse of a body failed her and time was in short supply. Of course, she was glad to oblige.
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Kakashi stormed ahead, his body accelerating, his kunai raised high, tightly clenched in a firm grip. The fleeting blue shimmer of lightning accompanied him, sparks dancing along the blade of kunai. True to his word, the ANBU of legends rushed her, hitting a second wind. Nevertheless, his pace had slowed considerably. His fatigue, his exhaustion, his depleted chakra reserves, all the accumulated stress had begun to show. Fortunately for him, the current state of her body wasn’t much better either, barely allowing her to move, to react, to defend herself.
Kakashi moved, closing the distance before he ... ducked ... Out of nowhere, the former ANBU changed course, ducking. He shifted the entire momentum of his body, lowering his head, barely giving her any time to react. In theory.
“...” Asami gripped her umbrella. This move was planned. The sly fox he was, Kakashi had baited her. His manoeuvre had cleared the line of fire, allowing a certain Suna kunoichi to take aim, her war fan always eager to strike. The mischievous grin on her lips did not escape her. Temari hated her guts. The girl had been only waiting for this exact moment, which didn’t surprise her considering all the bad blood between them. In fact, it was rather ... logical.
“...” Temari was quick to exploit the opportunity granted to her, her arms swinging her giant fan. “Time for payback!!! Take this, bitch!!!” Her wind blade raced across the plain, her green chakra cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter, sailing right over Kakashi’s head with deadly precision.
Temari’s attack forced Asami to act. Her hand raised her umbrella in defence, resisting the incoming strike. Once more, green and purple collided in the midst of battle with unrelenting fury, with neither side willing to cede any ground. Temari struck hard and fast. Considerably harder than she had previously anticipated. Considerably harder than she had previously given her credit for. It appeared that irritating her must have done wonders.
Temari’s wind blade was eating through her chakra, capitalising on her declining defensive capabilities, but of course all of this was just a mere ruse meant to distract her, to cover his approach. It was the oldest trick in the book. Kakashi closed in from the flank, his kunai in his hand. Their manoeuvre would have even succeeded against lesser opposition. Not against her, though. Kakashi should have known so.
Her resolve steeled, Asami responded, shifting, rotating, her umbrella to counter them at the same time. Her angled parasol diverted the wind blade, redirecting its force, before blocking Kakashi. They both clashed, both lightning blue and her serene purple.
Kakashi rammed his kunai into her shield, sending sparks of gleaming chakra flying everywhere. He even penetrated her outer layers, yet her shield stood, unmoveable, unbreakable, unyielding as ever.
“...” Kakashi glared, the feeling of frustration, of annoyance palpable in his eyes. His thoughts lay open like a book. He knew ... that he had failed.
Yet he attacked again. And again. And again. His kunai struck the same point over and over again with increasing vigour in an attempt to tire her chakra through sheer fatigue. Obviously, he knew what he was doing. As expected of him, the old sly fox.
Fortunately for her, Kakashi was running on his last reserves as well, his chakra having long since lost its former sharpness. No matter how well he was trying to hide it, he was at the end of his rope.
“...” Asami giggled, her lustrous lips forming a smile. Her parasol shifted ever so slightly, allowing their eyes to meet. His vivid red met her imperial purple. His mangekyou and her purple eyes, both of them staring at each other, gazing deep down into each other’s souls. They were born unequal. He, a mere pretender to a power not his own. She, the true heiress to an ancient legacy. Yet, they met as equals at this very moment, the moment his kunai and her umbrella crossed. “Kakashi~, enlighten me, how long are you willing to continue this charade?”
“...” Kakashi maintained his stoic facade, unwavering, his stare defiant, “As long as necessary.”
Asami chuckled, mildly amused. “As long as necessary~. Yet we both know how this will end, Kakashi~, don’t we?”
“...” Kakashi glared, his eyes narrowed. “We will see, Asami. Naruto! NOW!!!”
It was his sign. The sign he has been waiting for. Naruto circled her, rushing in from behind with two of his shadow clones at his side, accompanying him on the move. The two clones were weaving their chakra, channelling all of their power and, perhaps unconsciously, the last vestiges of the aura of the Kyuubi into his attack. His rasengan grew in size and strength, his blue sphere ever bulging.
His clones dissolved into a white cloud, and Naruto charged, immediately going on the attack. He charged with his rasengan in his arm and a single goal, a sole purpose in mind, to defeat her.
Naruto gritted his teeth, his blue eyes filled with both fury and determination in equal parts. “Aaargggggghhhhhhhh!”
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