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, fragnts 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 re arm’s length away. So close, and yet so far.
“...” Sakura glowered at her, now realising that her attack had failed. “...”
Amused, Asami welcod her newest guest with a saccharine smile. “Are~ are~, the customs of this ti and age, to attack an innocent maiden when I wasn’t even finished talking ... Such uncivilised tis. 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 ti with little to no effect. Her shield didn’t budge. Her chakra reford, 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 re 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.
“Aarghhhh!” Naruto was pitched backwards, only to be hurled across the grass until his rolling body ca to a halt.
Sa 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 ti 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 aid 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 mont, passing right before her eyes. Delicious. The tip approached her, a slender blade with her na.
“...” Asami smirked, dark glee crossing her lips. It was over ...
Asami rolled sidewards. Her instincts forced her to dodge. With unwelco consequences. Her aim was thrown off. Her thrust failed. Her strike missed.
Her kunai pierced Sakura’s shoulder, the intense heat lting flesh and bone alike. The sheer montum of her thrust hurled Sakura through the air like a re 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 ant 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 ca without warning. Quick. Sudden. Violent. Out of nowhere. The attack by passed all of her defences. By passed all of her periters. 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 imdiate. 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 displacent ... Noticeable effect ... Considerable potency ... Instant ... Invasive ... Quick manifestation ... Swift execution ... Minimal delay ... Minimal warning ti ... Directed ... Planned ... Coordinated ... Aid 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 arrangent of three black razors. A mangekyou ... So this was how he had done it.
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