A strange new life

5.12

The battle didn’t wait for deliberations on my part. The preparations, even if it took little to no time, was time the enemy used. Without Yamato-Three to provide protection, Sai was left vulnerable to the creature’s living hair. Yamato-One tried to compensate, creating even more roots and branches, but the chimera’s huge Guts sword swung like a kid’s toy was more than enough to cut off the attempt. Yamato-Two was still busy keeping the other arms busy. I understood it very well, if that thing started to toss shurikens and kunais on top of everything Sai was done for.

Distraction-Chan took to her task with gusto. She leapt into action, explosive kunais soon followed by smoke bombs. It still wasn’t any of my special supply—Sai and Yamato were too close for that— but the explosion impact, followed by choking clouds of smoke, served to distract and obscure the creature’s view. Meanwhile Seal-chan flitted around the battlefield, placing barrier kunais around the enemy.

The enemy response was a howl. Many overlapping voices screaming in what sounded like pure agony. It reverberated through the air, made my skin crawl. From inside the cloud of smoke, I heard something cutting through the air, then wood breaking and splintering.

Hayase moved, hands flashing with seals. Globules of water shot towards and into the smoke. I knew that jutsu. It was the same Zabuza used after tricking me to leave that drunkard bridge-builder from the Waves defenseless. A shudder of phantom pain spiked on my shoulder. Damn that man, how was the missing-nin and Haku doing? Had they managed to reach an agreement?

I shook my head. Had my part to play. I didn’t think getting close and personal with the enemy was the way to go. I wasn’t afraid of getting injured, but I also wasn’t the best in close quarters combat. I’d leave that for Yamato. No, my goal was to provide distractions and bail the team out if needed. My hands flashed into seals: Tiger, dog, snake. My chakra, already divided between three, myself and the clones, tanked.

Manipulating the wood clone jutsu to create the transmission seed wasn’t easy. The way Yamato taught me was to create a clone, then morph the clone into a seed. I did similar, but instead of allowing the clone to form, I twisted it into a wooden kunai, used Shikoku Fūin to imprint the beacon into the formed hardwood.

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A kunai wasn’t a mandatory shape for my Kuro Raikou no Jutsu (Early access, alpha version v0.1). I could very well have used a shuriken, a katana, a frisbee or anything else, but if I was going to style myself after the Yondaime and his overpowered jutsu, I would god damn well use a kunai. Fangirl-sama demanded it, sue me. I didn’t throw it, however. Yamato’s orders were still clear in my mind. Mokuton was a last resort measure, and the situation didn’t call for it yet. Even if I really wanted to use my jutsu. I mean, I needed to start my own legend at some point, right? Right?

Another roar took me back to the now. I stashed the wooden kunai; a secret weapon should remain secret, even if I really wanted to use it and be awesome.

More explosions followed. Smoke already dispersing. Most of Sai’s ink summons were gone, the boy was paler, not sure how that was even possible. Hayase kept harassing the enemy with water bullets, but hadn’t had the opportunity to extract the injured Sai. I threw exploding kunais. Had to explo– I mean, help with the battle.

The battle was a blur of chaos, frantic attacks and defense. It was hard for me to keep track of everything that was happening, which cost me a bit of initiative. I shook my head, now wasn’t the time to reflect on that. If I couldn’t keep track of everything at the same time, I just needed to focus on what I could do. I dashed in towards the enemy. I held a single kunai. It was a calculated risk, but one I was willing to take.

Meanwhile, the enemy wasn’t idle. Roots and branches snared the creature to the ground, preventing it from moving. The huge sword moved faster than the eye could see, each time it did, it cut the roots ensnaring itself, even if more kept growing to trap it back. Meanwhile, the living hair changed focus. It left Sai alone, changing targets to Yamato-Two. At the same time, the hands in the chest threw the fuma shuriken at Distraction-Chan. Other hands threw kunais and shurikens at everyone around.

I moved out of the way, my clone ducked down, Hayase conjured a water shield; Sai’s ink animals jumped in the path of the incoming projectiles. Yamato-One raised a small wooden barricade to block the thrown weapons.

That barrier seemed to be the opening the monster was waiting for. It threw, not a kunai or shuriken, but the Guts sword the oversized arm was weaving around like it was a children's toy. Yamato-One, now hidden behind the wall, had his vision blocked and didn’t dodge.

A scream tore out of my mouth. “Look out!” I tasted blood, felt the pain.

It happened too fast. The sword pierced the barrier like it wasn’t even there. Impaling the hidden Yamato behind it. At the same time, Seal-chan unpopped herself. A deluge of information, and where she’d placed the barrier flooded my mind, the communication between her and Yamato-Two. Distraction-Chan moved in, close and personal, holding a single kunai.

I knew what came next. Distraction-chan’s eyes were wide and manic, the smile unhinged. I flickered in front of Sai, hands flashing, forcing my still in progress and unnamed jutsu into play. A clear, force-like barrier sprang to life. The world shook, turned white, thunderous noise hit me. More information flooded my mind. The explosion impact hit the barrier and the barrier broke like it was glass. It hit me too, threw me like a rag doll. I didn’t resist, I moved with the impact, twisting in the air, and positioning myself above the injured Sai.

The ringing in my ears told me I would suffer for a while. A quick glance showed me that Sai, still alive, was now unconscious. A disheveled Hayase popped nearby. He said something. I shook my head, pointed to my ears. He nodded, walked closer, knelt, took Sai in his arms and fled.

I turned my attention back to the still ongoing battle. Yamato, two of them now, double tagged the enemy, herding it toward the area Seal-chan prepared.

Blood poured from the enemy’s many injuries. Patches of skin were burned and cracked. One of the heads, the one with green hair had stopped screaming, it was now a listless dead face. Some of the creature’s arms were missing. Even hurt like that, the monster hadn’t stopped.

Yamato’s hand, clone or not I couldn’t say, flashed into seals and a huge closed fist sprang out of the ground. Without the sword in hand, the chimera couldn’t cut the wood and prevent the attack. Like a plasticized boxer delivering a left hook, it hit the enemy, throwing it back— and into the trap Seal-chan prepared. A shade of a smile came unbidden to my face. I don’t know if my heart was beating faster because of the anticipation or the battle.

The result was a bit anticlimactic, in a way. When the enemy crossed the perimeter, the barrier came to life. The explosion tags, set in each of the corners were of my special supply. There was a muted thump and thunder, one I could feel on my bones. The barrier held, which I guess would make it worse for whatever would be trapped inside. 

When I was sure the explosion payload had ended and the barrier wasn’t going to break, I moved closer, another kunai in hand. Yamato and his clone also approach.

It took a while for the dust to clear inside the trap. When it did, there were only unmoving, partially charred corpses. Five of them. One, I noticed, looked like a young girl, maybe my age, or a bit older. The bits of hair that had survived the explosion was orange.

Linlin’s smiling, sparkling eyes, gushing about her amazing older ninja sister came to mind. “Shit.” I cursed. I didn’t even mind the pain and blood in my mouth. It felt deserved.