True Art

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LAST TIME:

Deidara threw clay figurines towards the five ninjas.

'I guess the battle's begun.'

NOW:

"Sakura, it's a bomb! Dodge!" Hanara yelled, moving to the right as Sakura moved to the left, letting the bombs explode behind them.

'Clay... clay bombs. What would be its weakness? It's a jutsu... Isn't clay made from mud? Soil? Something earthy. Earth is weak to lightning! Yes, Kakashi-Sensei is great at Lightning Release and can handle Naruto. I'm long-ranged but would do nothing against a bomber. Sasori however... my skills match his so much, it's almost insane! I mean, with my use of chakra threads, I could destroy his chakra system in two moves.'

"Deidara," Sasori growled, "Don't destroy the base with those pyrotechnics of yours."

"Respect my art!" Deidara demanded.

"You call those monstrosities, art? True art is eternal!" Sasori exclaimed.

"Art is fleeting; a transient beauty that fades after a moment, hmm." Deidara said.

'They take way too long to plan... but I can use this to my advantage. Gaara's still there. Ten minutes, is my guess... We need a quick way to get him out of here. Pho! Yes, and cha– no! The replacement jutsu!'

Once again, she signed, and hoped to Kami that her squad saw it.

Replacement. Target.

Her hands moved in a blur, and she performed the Summoning Jutsu. The moment she saw a puff of smoke that was bound to get her opponents' attention, Hanara performed the Replacement Jutsu, replacing herself with Gaara.

"SAKURA, GET HIM ON PHO AND GO!" Hanara yelled, dropping a few smoke bombs and Body-Flickering as fast as she could to escape from the very upset holograms of Akatsuki members.

"Deidara... Sasori..." one of the holograms growled threateningly.

Nodding, Sakura carried Gaara's unconscious body and climbed onto Pho, who, sensing the urgency of the situation, immediately flew out of the cave.

Hanara saw Sasori using his chakra threads to try to grab Pho, but immediately cut them with her Gentle Fist. Pho went full speed after that and was out of a normal person's sight in half a minute.

"Deidara, follow them," Sasori commanded.

Rolling his eyes, Deidara complied.

"Kakashi-Sensei, lightning. That should be a weakness, if I'm right. Take Naruto and handle the bomber," Hanara whispered.

Kakashi-Sensei didn't acknowledge her words, instead opting to signal Naruto, who was calming down now that there wasn't any immediate danger.

The two of them followed the bomber, leaving Hanara and Lady Chiyo to take care of the puppeteer.

Studying the man closer, Hanara realized that the figure on the outside wasn't a man at all. In fact, even on the inside, he wasn't completely human.

"My Gentle Fist..." Hanara gasped, "It's useless!"

"That's right, girl," Sasori said, "If you even managed to break my shell, I don't have nearly as many chakra points as a regular person."

'Dammit, why did I send Sakura away? I think, for the first time, I'm actually scared for my life... I– I know I've died before, and– and that hurt. I never thought that I'd be afraid of death again since it's no longer an unknown but... I have things here. I got attached, and while that gave me Pho... it's made me fear things I hadn't before. I don't want to lose them again, but this man. He's– he's merciless. He's– something about him, it isn't right. He's scary in ways I didn't– he gives me bad vibes... Deep breaths Hanara. Sending Sakura was necessary. She's the only person that could make sure that Gaara didn't die on the way back and the only person that would know what's wrong with him. So what if your Gentle Fist is useless? You can cut him apart while keeping the distance you need so that you aren't poisoned. Besides, she gave Lady Chiyo three antidotes before... Alright, you can do this Hana. If you die, it's only cuz of chakra exhaustion or poisoning! I didn't even have the foresight to bring a mask even though I knew that one of these guys specialized in poisons. It's okay, you can do this, Hanara. You. Can. Do. This.'

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐘𝐔𝐆𝐀 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍Where stories live. Discover now