XII

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Arc XII Chapter 9

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Naruto charged her in his mindless rage, foregoing any sense of finesse. How utterly predictable of him.

 

“...” A smile crept across Asami's lips. Of course, he would. Though, Naruto might have matured, deep within, he remained the foolish boy he always was. He should have better listened. Doing so would have spared him a painful lesson.

 

“Aaaarghhhhh!!!” Naruto closed the distance, his pulsating rasengan in his palm. He was fast. His speed increased.  

 

Asami raised her umbrella and braced herself, her chakra fortifying her legs. At least some defensive measures were necessary for a frail girl of her physique. Melee had never been her forte.

 

His jutsu connected. His Rasengan met her umbrella, his chakra against hers, his blue against her purple. His Rasengan clashed against the thin purple layer of her chakra, shielding her and her umbrella against his attack. Her chakra stood fast with all its might, resisting Naruto’s onslaught. His Rasengan ground furiously against her purple shield, sending bursts and sparks of chakra flying in every direction.

 

“Aaaarghhhhh! Aaaarghhhhh!!!” Naruto pressed his assault, increasing the pressure. More and more chakra fed his insatiable rasengan. It grew. It swelled. It expanded. All to no avail. Her defence stood, unyielding, unflinching, unbreakable.

 

Dainty and undisturbed, Asami stood her ground, her feet firmly planted onto the soil, unwilling to budge even in the slightest. Her umbrella blocked his attack, the outcome never in doubt, but rather ... a foregone conclusion.

 

His chakra ... It was ... feeble, at best. A chakra lesser, inferior, imperfect, unlike hers. His chakra possessed passion, will, even ambition, yet it lacked discipline, order, a firm hand to guide it.

 

Naruto lacked skill. He lacked control. He lacked finesse. Instead, he relied on the brute force of his prodigious chakra to substitute for what he lacked. It was a mistake only too common. Naruto mistook plentitude for strength. Unsophisticated both in form and shape, his rasengan was hardly worth her attention. His brutish ways might work on others, but not on her. Neither in her former lifetime, nor in this.

 

His rasengan faltered, its momentum finally diminishing. The sphere warped. The spirals faded. That was her opportunity.

 

An evil smirk surfaced on Asami lips. “Naruto-kun, ... watch and learn, my friend.” A few steps sufficed. Asami sidestepped. Her wrist tightened, and her hands angled her umbrella sidewards, deflecting his rasengan. Naruto stumbled, his balance thrown off, his defence broken. His forward momentum made him fall. It was the oldest trick in the book.

 

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. “What ...”

 

Her umbrella folded, and her body rotated perpendicular, her leg accelerating. Her chakra hardened her bones and tensed muscles beyond the limits of human durability. This would hurt. A roundhouse kick. Her shin crashed into his unprotected stomach, right into his guts with full force. Her chakra drove her momentum higher and higher.

 

“Hah ...” Naruto gasped, his lungs deflated. The force of her kick travelled through his entire body. Now the finish.

 

 

Her kick hurled Naruto through the air like a mere rag doll, his motionless body skipping across the ground like a pebble across water. Only a tree and the splintering wood stopped him. His body finally came to a halt.

 

 

“Naruto!” Sakura shouted, panicking. Yet her worries were misplaced. A little bit of pain wouldn't kill her old friend and favourite jinchuuriki, would it?

 

...

...

...

 

Silence followed. Kakashi, Sakura, Temari, the old woman, they all looked at her with unease, with a trace of sudden new found respect. Did they happen to underestimate her? How foolish of them~.

 

 

“Hehehe~. Hehe~. Hehehahe~.” Asami chuckled, veritably amused, her umbrella unfolded again.

 

Temari hardly approved of her reaction. Her fist clenched. Her teeth gritted. “What's so funny, you wench?”

 

“Oh, nothing~.” Asami deployed her best smile, taunting her further. “It is just ... All this big talk of yours before ... In the end, however, you are only all bark, no bite. Rather comical, wouldn't you say …?”

 

A series of furious wind blades cut her short, trying to kill her. Fortunately, her umbrella shielded her against the barrage. The wind blades were simply deflected, not even scratching the surface layer.

 

The attack subsided and Asami reappeared from behind the safety of her cover with a smile on her lips. “Ara~ ara~, what a dangerous jutsu~. Careful, Termari-chan, otherwise you might even end up hurting someone~.”

 

“You ...” Temari veritably fumed, her war fan clutched between her hands. “You fucking bitch! I will kill you!”

 

“So you say ...” Asami beamed, her fingers playing with her umbrella. “You are welcome to try, Temari-chan, but just among us, you wouldn't be the first one.”

 

Fortunately for her, Kakashi intervened, his arm blocking her way. “Temari, ... don't. Don't fall for her trap. This is exactly what she wants. She is trying to taunt us.”  

 

Temari grumbled, “I know, but ...”

 

Kakashi interrupted, “No buts. You saw what happened to Naruto, Temari. Trust me, Asami is ... a dangerous enemy. You mustn't fall for her provocations. Don't lower your guard.”

 

Temari clicked her tongue, grudgingly agreeing, “Tsk, I understand.”

 

“Hehehe.” Asami giggled, her gaze focused on the former ANBU. “Looks like we have here someone who can think, but I shouldn't have expected otherwise from you, Captain Kakashi.”

 

“...” Her words were left unanswered. Ever the old ANBU, Kakashi showed no reaction, his eyes narrowed.

 

In the meantime, Naruto returned, standing again on his feet after rising from the dead.  He took quite a beating, yet it wasn't enough to take him out. Not by a long shot. He was made from stern stuff.

 

Naruto brushed the dust from his face, his spirit unbroken despite all bruises and dirt all over his body. He would heal quickly enough. “She is ... strong, ya know. Asami packs quite a punch.”

 

“As is to be expected”, Kakashi commented. “Asami is strong. We can't attack her head on. It won't work on her. We need a plan. We need a strategy.” 

 

“...” Asami furrowed an eyebrow. A plan? A strategy? They were quite late to realise so, but better late than never.

 

“Right”, Naruto agreed.

 

Sakura followed, “Sounds good.” 

 

Temari merely nodded. “...” They all agreed because they knew that he was right. Their need for a plan was painfully apparent.

 

Kakashi exchanged a few quick glances, a plan already taking shape and form in his mind, “Then listen well, ...”

 

“Son of the White Fang, ...” the old woman chimed in. Silent before, the woman now raised her voice for the first time. “There is a question I want to ask you.” 

 

Everyone turned, looking at her with confusion, even Kakashi. The jonin simply stared. “...?”

 

The old woman spoke, her glance studying her. “This girl ... Asami ... You know her, don't you?”

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