The Crystal Serpent [Naruto X Oc] |Book 1

Chapter 92:The Crystal Serpent's Strike

The air was thick with tension as Kei and Kaito prepared for the next wave of attacks from the Rouge siblings. Akira lay incapacitated, holding her shoulder from the earlier strike she took to protect Kei. Kenji trembled in fear behind a rock as he bandaged up Akira's wounded shoulder. The tension was heavy like a calm before a storm.

"It will be alright Kei and Kaito won't taken down that easily," Akira said glancing at Kenji, her voice strained but determined."We might still be young, but Kei is one the most intelligent and skilled of my classmates back when we were in the academy rivalry of the brains of another classmate named Shikamaru, so you can count on her to come up with a plan to take them down."

Kei and Kaito exchanged an understanding nod. They needed to act quickly and put an end to this.

Kei narrowed her eyes gripping her sword tightly as she scanned the area. The forest loomed ominously, shadows from the sun dancing among the trees, making it difficult to pinpoint Sora's location. "We need to keep them from double attacking us," She said voice low and firm."And we have to draw Sora out of hiding, and take him down before he can attack us off guard again."

Kaito nodded, determination flaring in his."I will keep Menma busy and try to lead Ayame away why did you try to sense Sora's location," Kaito muttered as he rushed forward at Menma with his sword firmly in his grip.

Kei nodded as she focused on Sora Charka's signature just Ayame lunged at her with a kunai."You're done for!" She exclaimed.

Kei's instinct kicked in. She slashed her sword forward, clashing against Ayame's kunai. The impact sent a shockwave up arm, she gritted her teeth refusing to give up.

"You think you can outmatch me?" Kei challenged, her eyes narrowing as she pushed against Ayame's blade."You've got another thing coming."

Ayame twisted her kunai, trying to gain the upper hand."You're, I'll give you that," She said panting slightly."However, that bravery won't save you."

The two moved in a deadly dance, weapons clashing in a flurry of strikes and parries. Kei felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she focused on maintaining her ground against the relentless attacks.

Meanwhile, Kaito was locked in battle with Menma. The Rouge Chunin was swift and agile, dodging Kaito's powerful strikes with a smirk plastered across his face."You swing that sword like a tree branch!" Menma tasted, his kunai flashing in the dappled sunlight.

Kaito grunted as he feigned left before suddenly lunging right aiming for Menma's exposed side."Maybe you should try dodging instead of talking!" He shot the blade narrowly missing Menma as he sidestepped.

Ayame's kunai was a blur as she pressed forward, each thrust, and slash aimed to disarm Kei."You're strong, but you're done for!" She exclaimed, launching a series of quick strikes and hitting Kei.

Ayame's eyes widened as what she thought was Kei turned into a pile of mud."A mud substitution," She commented.

"Nice try," Kei said as she appeared above Ayame and swung her sword making a stance ."Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Slash!" Her sword took the form of a jade-green crystal as she aimed directly at Ayame.

Ayame's eyes widened in surprise as she barely managed to leap out of the way, the sword making contact with the ground where she originally stood."Nice try almost had me," she said with a faint hint of awe mixed with exhaustion. But I will not lose to you that easily, kid."

The two females circle each other, both calculating their next moves. Just then, a flicker of movement caught Kei's eye and narrowed her eyes knowing she needed to end this soon before Sora could take advantage of the distraction and attack from the shadows.

Kaito's voice broke through her thoughts."Kei! Keep your guard up!" He shouted, his sword colliding with Menma's in a dazzling display of skill.

"You shouldn't get distracted kid!" Menma laughed, pressing his advantage as he countered Kaito's strikes almost knocking him over.

Kei sensed that Sora was lurking somewhere close, waiting for the right moment to strike. She glanced around, focusing her charka to hone in on his presence. Suddenly, she felt a spike of energy behind her.

"There you are," She whispered under her breath, quickly spinning to face Sora, who emerged from the shadows of the trees like a ghost.

"I got you now," Sora sneered, throwing a handful of shuriken toward her. Kei reacted instinctively, channeling her charka as she summoned snakes to intercept the projectiles.

Kaito's fight with Menma continued, and as the two exchanged blows, Kei felt the weight of the situation. They couldn't afford to be overwhelmed not with Akira down and Kenji relying on them for protection."This game is over," Kei said rushing over towards Sora with the movement of a serpent and slash her sword directly at Sora's midsection knocking him down.

Sora stumbled back, catching himself just in time."Impressive speed you have skill for the child of a Sannin, but you're still a kid. You don't stand a chance against us, even though you're lasting longer than I expected," He retorted recovering quickly as he stood up.

"You underestimate me," Kei replied."I have someone to protect and a goal to achieve I will become a shinboi greater than my father Orochimaru!" She sated.

"That big talk little girl, but do you and your friend are done for it three against two!" Ayame shouted making her presence known again as she charged toward Kei.

"I don't think so this match is over," Kei muttered making rapid hand signs as she turned into a pile of mud just as Ayame landed her attack on Kei.

"She is gone," Sora muttered as he realized Ayame's distraction failed to allow him to sneak back into the shadows of the trees again.

However, before Sora and Ayame could react a large swarm of purple snakes appeared from underground and grabbed Sora and Ayame pulling them roughly to the ground."That's the end of that," Kei said as she appeared from under the ground the snakes vanished and fell to her knees panting.

'That new just still needs work. I still use too much charka.' Kei thought weakly as she glanced over at Kaito.

"No!" Menma exclaimed worried about his siblings.

"That was awesome Kei!" Kaito​​​​​​ yelled as he took advantage of Menma's distracted state and landed a powerful blow with his sword knocking Menma crashing back into a tree."You shouldn't have lowered your guard."

"Excellent job," Kei said getting back on her feet."We should get going before they attempt to get back up," Kei stated.

"Right I will carry Akira," Kaito said heading over towards where Kenji and Akira were hiding for safety.

"I wouldn't think this is over you kids," Sora commented from his position on the ground.

Hey, lovely reader here we have chapter 92 of The Crystal Serpent. In this chapter, the battle between Kei, Kaito, and the Rouge siblings continues. The tension between the sides is palpable as Kei and kaito are pushed to their limits. Kei's determination to protect her teammates and Kenji as well as her resolve to surpass her after, Orochimaru shines through in her battle with Sora and Ayame and reveals a new just she has been working on mastering and taking them down, with Menma using the distraction to defeat Menma, but Sora claims this isn't over yet. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the final mission arc soon this arc will come to a close after a few more chapters, and soon we be at the end of this book.

Thanks for reading!

Question of the chapter: What do you think will happen next?

word count: 1,358