XII
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Arc XII Chapter 24
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“...” Asami retracted her umbrella in a single fluid motion, extracting her parasol like a lance of old after having performed its gruesome work. Naruto’s blood dripped from her silken umbrella, each droplet staining the dusty ground red.
It was over for him. Naruto’s unconscious body hit the ground, falling over like a lifeless puppet. The blood loss was significant, not to mention, his injury. He was pierced right through the abdomen, right through his guts. Unsurprisingly, the shock of the trauma had made him faint, even with Kyuubi’s chakra alleviating the worst of the damage. And yet his wound was already stabilising, his body already regenerating at an astounding rate considering the extent of his injury.
As it turned out, her suspicions were correct. For reasons inexplicable, the Kyuubi sealed inside Naruto was ... incomplete. The Kyuubi’s chakra lacked any trace of yin. The yin component was entirely missing. The seal restraining him testified as much.
The inscriptions. The formulas. The lines. The formations. The arrays. The structure. The way it was anchored to Naruto’s soul. The seal was potent without a doubt, albeit more reliant on brute force rather than finesse, but it was apparent that the seal was constructed for the sole purpose of containing the yang portion of the Kyuubi. Even when the execution left much to be desired, to put things mildly.
It was obvious that the sealing procedure had been exceedingly rushed, not to say improperly implemented. Despite all the years, the essence of the Kyuubi had hardly integrated, had hardly fused with Naruto’s soul, barely subject to any control. The essence of the Kyuubi remained entirely foreign in nature, an alien entity so completely different from his unsuspecting host.
Neither the chakra of the Kyuubi, nor Naruto’s soul had been woven together with proper care, time and consideration. Instead, they were violently, hastily stitched together without the slightest sense of caution. What should have taken weeks, if not months, was rashly done in a matter of minutes, with precipitous methods no less. The seal hoped to compensate with force what it lacked in finesse, but its shortcomings, its deficiencies, its flaws inevitably showed.
The consequences were disastrous. The Kyuubi retained his own consciousness, his own agency, even his own free will. His essence was seething, raging, violent, defiant, adversarial, hostile to the highest degree. His chakra wild and uncontrollable, only ever serving under the threat of coercion. No wonder that Naruto was unable to access but a mere fraction of the Kyuubi’s true strength, even after all these years. But perhaps such was the intention, considering his particular case ...
The Kyuubi had been sealed inside Naruto upon his birth. Nobody knew what happened that night 16 years ago, but circumstances must have forced the Fourth’s and Kushina’s, his wife’s, hand to take such desperate measures despite the risks. To seal the Kyuubi inside a child, a newborn child, no less ... It was insanity beyond madness. The mere fact that he survived the entire ordeal, that his soul was able to sustain the burden, was nothing short of a miracle, when he should have, for all intents and purposes, ceased to be. His feeble soul fractured, splintered, ripped, torn apart by the essence of the Kyuubi. Yet he didn’t. Naruto defied the odds. He lived.
Perhaps that was the reason behind the essence of the Kyuubi having been split in half, and as to why only the yang portion had been sealed inside him ... To reduce the strain placed upon Naruto’s soul ... To lessen the detrimental side effects of their rushed sealing ... It certainly made sense, and it would explain much. Why the boundaries of the seal were set so strong. Why the essence of the Kyuubi and Naruto’s soul had never merged. The Kyuubi was never meant to cease. They were never meant to fuse.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The only question left now, where was he? Where was the other half? Chakra ..., mana ..., energy ..., they didn’t just disappear. It was not how things worked. His other half ... It must be somewhere. A signature of his scale and strength cannot be concealed. His presence alone must leave traces. So where was he? Where was he hiding? So many questions for her cute, little head ...
Her instincts acted. Once again, they served her well. Asami raised her umbrella, blocking Kakashi’s chidori despite him approaching from a dead angle. Kakashi knew his métier.
His attack connected, and her parasol took the brunt of the force. The impact forced her back, making her concede ground, more ground than she would have liked.
Her body absorbed the impact, gliding through the air before her toes touched the ground with practised ease and grace.
Rotating her umbrella, Asami turned her attention to her assailant, a saccharine smile on her lips. “Ara~ ara~, not a single moment of respite, Kakashi-san~, not even for a fair maiden of pure heart. Such treacherous times, indeed.”
“... ... ...” Kakashi ignored her teasing, all pretences of friendliness gone. His iron glare and the chirping chidori in his palm were response enough. “Temari, ... how is he?”
Temari had rushed to Naruto’s side, her hand feeling his neck, checking his pulse. “He is alive, Kakashi! He is breathing!”
“Naruto!!!” Another girl came to the rescue. It was Sakura, back on her feet, soldiering on, despite her injured shoulder. Chiyo flanked her. They both came rushing in, immediately joining Temari.
Losing no time, Sakura sprang into action. A gentle green glow surrounded her palms. It was the characteristic green of medical ninjutsu, much to Asami’s bewilderment. So it appeared that Sakura had mastered the skills and arts of healing.
“Damn it!!!” Sakura’s chakra flared up and her healing intensified. "Naruto! Hang on! You can’t die here!” Her pleas, however, went unheard. His consciousness had long since faded.
“...” Kakashi redirected his gaze at her, his dispassionate façade all but gone. Deep within, his eyes harboured a murderous intent, chilling and unnerving, yet controlled. “... ... ...”
Asami tilted her head, mustering a cheerful smile. “Oh my~, what have I done to merit such scorn?”
“...” Kakashi raised his chidori, his eyes narrowed, his crackling lightning masking his face. His posture left no room for discussions. No love was lost between them. “You are still asking? As if you wouldn’t know.”
...
...
...
“Hehehehehe~. ”Asami giggled, her hand covering her lips with a sense of magnanimity. “Fair enough, Kakashi-san~. The question was rather rhetorical, ... admittedly.”
“Anyway~, ...” Asami tilted her head, her fingers caressing her lustrous lips, her devious smile boring into him. “Are you going to avenge your beloved student, Kakashi-san~? Although I must wonder how~?
Unless I am mistaken, Naruto lies unconscious, incapacitated. Sakura cannot fight in her current state. Temari has exhausted her chakra reserves. And Her Ladyship Chiyo has already played her cards. And you, Kakashi, you are reaching the end of the line. So, tell me, what are you going to do~?”
“... ... ...” Much to his credit, Kakashi remained entirely unmoved, not even batting an eyelid. It was a testament to his professionalism and iron discipline. No matter the odds, he and his azure chidori continued to defy her with every fibre of his being. As long as he drew breath, he would fight. “... ... ...” Such a shame ... It was time for the last act, for the grand final. She would not disappoint.
Asami’s hand reached for her scabbard, gripping the hilt of her sword, her thumb resting on the guard. Her motion put Kakashi immediately on guard. His sharingan monitored her movements, anticipating her next move.
“...” Asami grinned, her thumb extracting her blade from the scabbard. Her sword popped. For one last time, her gaze fell on her enemies, wandering across their ranks, Kakashi, Sakura, Chiyo, Temari. The animosity in their eyes hardly went unnoticed, but such was life. “Unfortunate as it might be, but the time has come for us to part~. It was a pleasure to revel in the good old times~, although I suspect that our paths will cross again.”
Her words served little to assuage their suspicions. Quite the contrary. They put Kakashi and Temari on the edge. Not that she cared.
Asami giggled, presenting her most sincere smile. “Now then, until later.” In a single motion, her sword was drawn, in a fraction of a mere moment, too fast for them to comprehend what was happening before their very eyes. As if she would ever give them the satisfaction of victory ...
“...”
“...”
“...”
Silence. Nothing but total silence amidst the gentle sound of the blowing wind. The shock, the disbelief, the confusion were written across their faces. Lost for words, Kakashi, Sakura, Chiyo, Temari, they stared at her, their eyes wide, unable to understand.
Her blade had pierced her body, claiming her own life. Her blood stained her kimono red, accompanied by the tender pain of dying. At last, this poor excuse of a body had served its purpose.
And thus Asami’s vision faded. The fight had ended.
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