Naruto's shadow clone was sneaking up behind the masked Akatsuki member.
There was absolutely no way that it would land a hit, but we would at least be able to study the man's movements and fighting patterns.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Or lack thereof. He hadn't even moved, and yet somehow he dodged the blow? Or was it a clone- a normal clone, with no physical presence? Naruto's attack had somehow gone right through the Akatsuki member.
"You're too full of yourself!" the man laughed gleefully as Naruto went after him once more. "What's a kid like you going to do?"
Hinata gasped as Naruto hit the water of the river. I ignored her and Sakura's subsequent chiding, instead studying our enemy closely. He might be acting childishly, but his movements were succinct, well practiced, and full of power. He was a strong opponent.
"What now?" the man questioned. "Are you trying to analyze my abilities now?"
"He's either so stupid or so confident that he's stronger than us that he doesn't care what he reveals about himself or his abilities," I murmured. "And I have to say: I'm leaning towards the latter."
"I agree," Yamato nodded. "He easily managed to dodge all of Naruto's attacks."
"It's like he's toying with us," Kakashi added. "But what does he want?"
"He's not attacking us," I replied. "Only defending, slowing us down... for some reason, he doesn't want us to catch up to Sasuke."
Kakashi sent me a sharp look. "But why would an Akatsuki member care about that?"
I pressed my lips together. "My theory? Itachi is waiting for Sasuke, and he doesn't want to be interrupted by anyone."
"We have to get by him," Yamato said.
"We'll split up," Kakashi decided. "There's no way he can stop all of us at once."
Despite his words, he didn't look too sure.
"Alright everyone, we'll go with formation B!" Yamato declared. I nodded. Distract him with an attack, and then try to get by him. It was a good plan. I doubted it would work.
Naruto joined us, wet but determined. "Got it!" he exclaimed.
"Looks like you're getting serious!" the man mocked. "I'll get serious then, too!"
For our sake, I hoped he didn't.
The moment Naruto was thrown I took off, trying to get by the Akatsuki member. With a sinking stomach I watched him dodge every attack, and then listened as he stopped Kakashi, Yamato, Shino...
I jumped to the side before the man could pop out in front of me, smoothly continuing my sprint. "Ahahaha!" The man laughed. "You're a tricky one, aren't you?"
I dodged again, guessing when and where he would appear, but before I could even land to dodge a third time the Akatsuki member popped up from the ground, swiping at me and halting my progress. I landed and retreated back to Kakashi.
"Unless we defeat this guy, he's not gonna let us through," Kakashi observed.
"Obviously," I nodded.
"Damn it," Naruto mumbled, rubbing at where he'd been scratched by the Akatuki member's attack.
"Well well well, what do you want to play next?!"
"Battle formation A," Yamato ordered quietly. I took a step back, choosing instead to observe. I didn't have a part in this attack, anyway. It was all normal until Naruto passed through the man. There was no way he'd replaced himself with a clone; somehow, he could make himself insubstantial to avoid blows.
How could you win against someone who you couldn't land a blow on?
"Pull back!" Kakashi ordered.
"My counterattack!" the masked man declared, standing upside down on the tree branch. We all tensed, preparing to avoid whatever deadly attack came our way. "Frill necked lizard!"
And then, he allowed his cape to drop , hanging around his neck like the lizard he had named.
Everyone was silent, waiting anxiously for the attack.
I snorted.
Everyone turned to look at me, disbelief clear on their faces. "What?" I defended myself, "It was funny."
"He's just messing with us!" Naruto growled.
"Yeah, and I can appreciate the joke while still being irritated with his general existence," I replied. "By the way, what did it feel like, Naruto?"
"What?" He asked, surprised.
"The timing of the attacks were spot on," I told him. "You guys should have been able to land a hit at some point. But somehow, he... dematerialized himself so the blow wouldn't land. So, I'll ask again: what did it feel like when you passed through him?"
"Uh," Naruto stuttered, surprised. "Nothing. It didn't feel like anything. Like passing through normal air."
"Maybe it's a clone," Sakura replied. "Or a genjutsu that forces us to see images of him."
"No way," I replied. "I kept a close eye on him: it's not a clone. But there's an easier way to tell if it's a clone or genjutsu. Hinata?"
Hinata confirmed what I'd said, and I returned my full attention to the Akatsuki member.
If he was dematerializing parts of his body in order to avoid our blows, could he land attacks when we couldn't?
And where was his dematerialized body going? If it was possible that he could remove parts of his body like his chest or shoulder, from the physical world, but let his other parts remain...
I pulled out my twin daggers and advanced with a picked pace. He'd already proved that he could keep up with my pace, but could he keep up with a Claw's pace?
To a normal eye of a chunin or below, I had disappeared. I focused on his eyes below the mask, and could sense them tracking my every move. My every breath.
Damn. This guy had presence.
I hit him with a stream of attacks, Claw attacks, barely regarding my own body in the forms I was using. It would be worth any cost to even land a hit. Well, almost any cost.
I swiped, kicked and furiously attacked, giving no room for defense, focusing all my energy into the Claw mindset. No one. Nothing. Tool. Weapon. Deadly.
I could feel it. I was pushing him back. There had to be some limit. He dematerialized. He dematerialized again. Then he blocked. He avoided. He was forced to attack and the kick made contact.
"Go!" I heard Yamato shout.
Then the playful attitude was all gone, and for a split second I could feel his power increase tenfold as he suddenly took me seriously. Our kunai clashed, our faces inches apart, and my eyes widened as they locked with his. How...?
Of course it was a kekkei genkai. Of course. A sharingan to be precise. But how? Who? The Uchiha were extinct, save Sasuke and Itachi at the present moment.
Then again, Kakashi had a sharingan. Although he was widely known for it. This guy...
I shook the question out of my head. It wasn't priority at the moment. The priority was figuring out his a jutsu, his power, and a counterattack.
Couldn't Kakashi's sharingan transport objects?
If he could transport parts of himself with his eyes, and he had full control of that, that would make him a very dangerous opponent. And by the looks of what he'd already displayed...
We we're screwed. There was no way we were prepared to fight this enemy. And he was taking us seriously now. It had been a mistake to push him.
"It seems you are a larger threat than I originally perceived," he said, his voice completely changed. "I don't know of any Konoha ninja who fights quite like you."
I noticed the blood drip from my stomach before I felt the searing pain. He had slashed upwards and in a moment, distracted me with the change in character and kicked me back so that I was flying in the air.
I ignored the pain and slight dizziness and flipped myself against a tree, advancing forward again. I had been trained to fight, endure and keep fighting. That was the way Claws were meant to fight. It's what made them so dangerous. Nothing would stop a Claw except for death.
I prepared to continue my advance but was pulled back to the ground by Kakashi. Meanwhile, a new man appeared—he appeared to be partly plant—and announced that the fight was over: Sasuke had won. The two Akatsuki members retreated almost immediately.
"Why did you stop me?" I questioned. "You were to slip past the enemy and continue the mission while I distracted him. We must not fail the mission."
Something about what I said or the way I spoke made Kakashi blanch, and he carefully took a step back, hands up in a placating gesture. I suddenly realized that I was still gripping my weapons tightly, and carefully slid them into my sleeves. My part in the fight was over.
Kakashi answered me carefully. "I won't abandon my comrades. Haven't you heard of the phrase "never leave a man behind?"
"You stopped my attack, Kakashi," I accused, and he seemed to relax slightly at the use of his name.
"You were injured."
"I was in the middle of a fight. Ninja get injured in fights. You do what you must to accomplish the mission. I shouldn't have to tell you, of all people, this," I replied, annoyed.
"You were fighting like a Claw. You don't think I saw that?" I half turn away, ready to dismiss the matter, but Kakashi continued. "Cashile, I fought you when you were the Claw. I remember the way you fought, and how little regard you had for your own body. You would have died to take him down in that mindset. You were injured. I took you out of the fight," Kakashi explained, strangely gentle.
"You're not my teacher anymore Kakashi, and this isn't training or the chunin exams. This is the real world, and sometimes you have to accept an injury for the completion of the mission," I snapped back, wincing internally as I held my injury. I didn't know medical ninjutsu. Thankfully Sakura was here.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about! That isn't Cashile talking; that's the Claw!" Kakashi shouted, exasperated. "Since when have you ever been okay with sacrificing your life for someone else?"
Silence falls around us, and Kakashi immediately looks taken aback as he realizes just what he'd said.
Well, wasn't this the perfect moment for me to play up the false sacrificial lamb card that occurred three years ago? He still didn't know that the Rising Phoenix had forced me to stab myself, and if I had it my way, he never would.
"Right, Kakashi," I replied quietly. "I would never sacrifice myself. Just like you would never leave a comrade behind."
I only allow myself a moment to savor the pain ridden, guilty look in his eyes before turning away.
"Cashile—"
"We should move out. We need to reach Sasuke's first," I interrupted as Sakura began basic treatment of my wound. "Let's go."
"Alright, team," Yamato finally spoke up. "Move out."
***...*.*.
"I can smell them!" Kiba exclaimed. "They've already made it to where Sasuke is!"
I stopped running. "Cashile, what are you doing!?" Naruto shouted, slowing slightly. When I didn't start running again, everyone stopped.
"Cashile?" Kakashi questioned.
"There's no point in going to where Sasuke was," I explained, emphasizing the past tense. "They got there ahead of us. We should focus on anticipating their next move."
"We might still get there in time!" Naruto yelled, frustration evident in his voice. "We can't just give up!"
"Our energy would be best used in trying to figure out where they're going next, not on chasing shadows," I argued.
"They might just be picking up Itachi's corpse," Yamato pointed out.
I shook my head. "He showed way too much interest in Sasuke. There's no way. Besides, the man has demonstrated that he can teleport away, and on the off chance that he can't take a passenger, the rain will wash away any tracks or scents left behind. We should start searching for Akatsuki hideouts in the area, instead."
"We have to cover all our bases," Kakashi determined. "No loose ends. Come on, let's keep going."
I pressed my lips together, shook my head, and obeyed. But I knew.
Sasuke was gone.
We had failed the mission.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_***...***...*.*.*.
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