XII

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Arc XII Chapter 12

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Naruto dodged, evading the volley of incoming kunai. He retreated, both of his arms shielding his face. Her kunai were fast, and her attack caught him off guard, but he didn’t train and study the last three years under the Pervy Sage for nothing. Asami would have had to get up earlier to catch him. It wasn’t over, though, ya know. Not by a long shot, ya know. The battle had just begun. Things started badly.

“...” Naruto narrowed his eyes, sharpening his senses. A dozen explosions shook the ground, each in quick succession. The rising dust and smoke blocked his vision. They covered her tracks. They covered her movements, which was probably her intention.

“Stay alert, everyone!” Kakashi warned, his calm unshakeable. “She is using the explosionsto create an improvised smoke screen ... Watch out!”

“What ...?” Naruto’s eyes widened. Asami ... closed the gap between them in an instant, appearing right before him in a blur. Swift and elegant. Silent and soundless. A ghost on the battlefield. The girl targeted him directly, her folded umbrella clutched in her hands. Asami struck head on, thrusting her umbrella like a lance.

“Fuck! Shit!” Naruto muttered under his breath, immediately bringing up his arms to intercept her thrust. He braced himself. His training, his reflexes served him well. It was the correct response. His crossed arms protected his torso.

Her umbrella connected, hitting his elbows with the force of her purple chakra. His arms withstood her strike. Though they refused to yield, the blow he took was heavy, shaking him right down to the very bones. It was as if he had taken a punch in the guts. Yet he stood. Yet he soldiered on. Because this was his way. Because this was his nindo! He never gave up after a single blow! He never backed down!

“Aargh!!!” Naruto gritted his teeth, mustering all his force, mobilising his chakra. He resisted. He fought. He even managed to push her back, slowly but surely. He gained ground, much to Asami’s apparent displeasure. “Aaaaarrrrrrgh!!!”

“...” Asami narrowed her eyes, a frown crossing her lips for a fraction of a moment. It came. It vanished. “Such strength ... Yet so little finesse ... How utterly deplorable.”

“...” Naruto glared, ignoring her obvious taunt. He wouldn’t fall for her cheap tricks ... Dammit!

“...” Asami smirked, capitalising on his lapse of attention. His concentration had faltered for a single moment. His error proved to be fatal. His negligence was punished swiftly. The slightest of a moment was all that Asami required.

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The girl dropped her umbrella and Naruto tumbled forwards. He was played once again. Just like that. Shit! Fuck it! It was the same trick all over again!

“...” Asami slipped past him, circumventing his defence. His posture was broken. His flank now exposed.

“...” Naruto bit his lips, well knowing that this would hurt. Prior experience told him as much. He was right. It did hurt.

Asami turned, circling, driving her fist into his unprotected abdomen, ramming her knuckles deep into his body. Her punch hit true and hard, staggering him. “You are slow, Naruto-kun ...”

Asami spun, her hand grabbing her airborne umbrella for the finale. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good, at all.

“...” Naruto paled, realising the danger. Asami broke his defence. It was too late ... He ... He wouldn’t be able to defend himself.

Asami grinned, fully aware of her advantage. The girl propelled her umbrella, accelerating her lance. “...”

“Not with me here!!! Aargh!” Sakura roared, her savage fist saving him in the nick of time. Sakura arrived in full force, threatening Asami’s flank, forcing her to react.

“...” Asami diverted her umbrella to fend off her attack. Unfolded, her parasol took the gargantuan force of her punch without flinching. Sakura’s raw physical strength clashed against her purple chakra. Asami prevailed, not without repercussions, though.

Her shield resisted Sakura’s powerful strike, but Asami was forced back by her sheer physical force, her feet sliding across the ground, forcing her to shift to defence. Against Sakura’s brute force, even Asami’s shield relented, budging ever so slightly.

“...” Asami didn’t appear to be pleased with recent developments, loathe to face the two of them at once. Quite the contrary. Her countenance showed as much. The frown on her lips. The profound irritation in her eyes. They were proof enough. Sakura’s timely assistance displeased her in more than one way.

“...” Sakura grinned in victory, cracking her knuckles, all fired up. Another of her punches was in the coming. “Quite the neat umbrella you have there, Asami. Seems that you are a tougher nut to crack than I thought. But seriously, a smoke screen? That is the oldest trick in the ninja handbook. I expected more from you. This isn’t the academy any more, Asami.”

“...” Asami narrowed her eyes, her glare sharper than obsidian. If looks could kill, then Sakura would be dead on the spot. “...”

Naruto sighed in relief, rising to his feet. This was the moment of respite that he needed. “Thank you, Sakura-chan. I owe you.”

Sakura merely smiled. “No need to thank me, Naruto. I have got your back. We fight and stand as one.”

“You are right, Sakura-chan!” Naruto nodded in full agreement, clenching his fists. “Yes, we fight and stand as one!”

“...” Asami rolled her eyes in open dismissal, her hands offering a round of hollow applause. “How touching ... I am truly moved beyond words by your display of such camaraderie ...”

In a blur, Kakashi appeared behind her. The blue, chirping lightning of his chidori gathered in his palm. “You talk too much.” His chidori struck, his lightning blade slicing through the air.

Yet, her umbrella protected its mistress once more. Her umbrella answered her call. Asami giggled, highly amused, her parasol slung over her shoulder to cover her back without the barest hint of effort or strain. Her purple chakra stopped Kakashi’s chidori dead in its tracks. “Oh my, sneaking up on an innocent maiden of pure heart ... From behind, no less. Are these the devious ways of Konoha these days? I hope you do not harbour any licentious thoughts, Kakashi-san.”

“...” Kakashi narrowed his gaze, his chidori still unable to penetrate her shield despite his lightning attribute. Sparks and light flashed in the air, his blue chakra chirping furiously. Yet his chidori failed to pierce the barrier that covered the surface of her parasol. “Still as prideful as ever. They always said that your pride will be your undoing.”

Asami chuckled. “They did ...” A kunai appeared from her sleeve and the girl spun around her axis, the blade nearly slicing Kakashi’s throat by a hair’s breadth. The touch of cold metal coated in purple passed his skin.

Kakashi dodged, only to back off immediately to put distance between him and the girl. “Still as lethal as ever ... Not that I have expected otherwise.”

Asami tilted her head, beaming. “I am glad to oblige.”

“...” Kakashi grabbed a kunai and they both clashed in melee, their kunai interlocking. Kunai against kunai. Steel against steel. His chakra against hers.

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