Kakashi had just been nodding off to sleep when his mental warning bells suddenly went off. Immediately alert again, he hadn't had to look long to find the man behind the disturbance.
He didn't know who this man was, but the jōnin knew that people like him, with such little regard for others' lives, were one of the most dangerous opponents to have around. And the least forgivable.
"Don't just stare at me," said the strange shinobi, swinging his katana carelessly. "Show me what you've got!"
Kakashi obliged. Sending chakra into his feet, he propelled himself like a bullet towards the man.
His opponent's violet eyes widened in surprise as his foot connected squarely with his chest. Letting out a grunt of pain, the man flew backwards and careened through a row of gangly trees.
The jōnin raised his hitai-ate, revealing the three tomoe of the sharingan in his left eye, and lowered his hand: "Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)!"
As he channeled his lightning chakra towards his hand, the deafening sound of crackling chakra filled the garden, and a focused ball of swirling blue materialized.
The silver-haired shinobi was still dazed from impact, and Kakashi saw with his sharingan that he would not have enough time to move out of the way. The instant his Raikiri was ready, the jōnin lowered his head and shot towards the stirring man, tearing up the earth behind him with the sheer aftershock.
However, just before he reached the man, there was a flicker of movement he hadn't anticipated. Kakashi, to his shock, sensed a much smaller and weaker chakra suddenly being thrust between him and his opponent.
His hand was already moving towards the man's heart however, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop even if he had to go through the child.
A surge of roiling yellow chakra – Naruto – was already moving towards them, and Kakashi, with all the strength of his will, managed to inch his crackling chakra slightly upwards. Naruto tore the boy out of the man's grasp, and to his relief, evaded his hand.
However, the brief instant it had cost him gave the other man enough time to recover and leap backwards. Kakashi's hand instead slammed into the ground; the earth exploded, throwing up a huge wave of dirt. Nevertheless, taking advantage of the wave, the jōnin followed under its cover and aimed a quick kick at the man.
"Whew, that was close!" said the man, blocking with his katana, and then swinging it at Kakashi. Slipping under the blade, Kakashi attempted to sweep the man off balance, but he nimbly leaped over the jōnin and slashed downwards.
Though evading the sharp edge, the side of the katana crashed into the white-haired ninja. He skidded backwards, the heels of his feet creating furrows in the earth. The man raised his katana once more and flipped into the air, prepared to finish off the jōnin.
However, having read his movements ahead of time with the sharingan, Kakashi rapidly channeled his chakra into his hand once more. As the man dropped down on him, unable to dodge, the jōnin plunged the shrieking lightning towards the silver-haired man.
It could only be a testimony to the man's skill that he managed to get his katana up in midair, but it was no use. Kakashi's Raikiri pierced the blade, shattering it into dozens of deadly steel splinters that were sent flying through
YOU ARE READING
Tale of a setting sun
FanfictionNaruto was born with hair as red as his mother's, but with a face and intellect that paralleled his father, the Fourth Hokage. Will the revolution he brings be the world's salvation or destruction? This is not my story. It was written by PK samurai...
