Disclaimer: No I do not own Naruto.

Wings of the White Angel

Chapter 25: Elemental Gods; the Watanabe battle

Kirin glanced over at Lee. "Sensei…"

Lee sighed as well. "Who am I to stop you from having some fun…go for it."

Kirin's face lit up with happiness. "Alright, let's do it cousin!" His hands started to move.

Kin's hands started to move as well. Both finished at the same time.

"Katon; Akahonoo Oni no Jutsu!"

"Fuiton; Shirakaze Tenshi no Jutsu!"

And then the entire courtyard was filled with conflicting energies, both wind and fire. Wisps of silky white air brushed against the faces of some of the spectators, while some of the others flinched away from the searing embers that stung them.

And in the center of all of it, there were two beings covered completely in these auras.

"I wonder just how much you have improved, dear cousin…" Kirin's teeth flashed, and he appeared to be a demon straight from the depths of hell.

Kin would have appeared an angel, but when he sneered his fangs bared themselves and everyone in the surrounding area felt a sudden forceful push at their bodies. "How much I have improved? I wonder how long it will take me to beat you to a living pulp." He slid into a fighting stance, right leg constantly shifting at nearly impossible speeds to burn off the excess chakra before it exploded out of him like a bomb. "Unluckily for you, your kind of inhuman strength and endurance are exactly what I was working towards defeating during my training sessions."

"Then let's see if your training has paid off…dear cousin!" Kirin disappeared, leaving only the slightest wisps of red fire where he had been standing.

"He disappeared!" Ayumi nearly gasped, but then the air was blown out of her as a forceful blast of chakra rocked the entire courtyard.

Kirin smiled slightly, standing behind Kin and his fist resting on his cousin's shoulder. "You shifted out of the way to stop yourself from getting knocked out in that first hit…impressive."

Kin ignored the bloody welt on his cheek where the force of the blow had nearly crushed his face inwards a few inches. Instead, he sneered again. "Perhaps, but the sheer force of that attack hurt me, even though it missed." And then he was gone.

Kirin punched the ground and a huge cloud of dust and debris filled the air around him. "You fool! Don't think I'll make it easy for you to just run around me like a madman. I'll kill you before it comes to that!"

Yurei threw up one arm to block out some of the dirt. "What's going on? They're telegraphing their moves like crazy…"

"It's part of their stupid showmanship…" Kai shook his head and pushed his sunglasses higher up on the bridge of his nose. "Idiots, the both of them. This is more like a play then a fight."

Another explosion rocked the courtyard, and then another. A minute later both Kin and Kirin stood in the same place they had been before, except both were no longer covered in those auras.

Kirin sighed and shook his head. "You can't run forever, Kin. Eventually you will run out of speed, while my endurance will make me impossible to defeat quite that easily." Slamming his fist into his palm, he smiled calmly. "Come."

Kin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Kirin…"

"Are you going to do what you always do? Are you going to give some lame excuse and try to wimp out of our battle between men?" Kirin extended his hand out to the ground. "You can't even hope to match…"

"…don't die." Kin's eyes opened. "Burst Self!" And then he was gone.

Kirin stopped in mid-word, his eyes widening. ("He didn't disengage his technique…he delayed it?") And then he was flying, a fist striking his face. But something was wrong…the blow shouldn't have hurt that much. As Kirin was sent into an insane slide towards the wall, his eyes opened slightly and he instantly stopped himself. Wiping an arm across his cheek, he narrowed his eyes at what he saw. ("Blood? He drew blood in one hit?") The stinging in his cheek said otherwise.

Kin appeared twenty feet away from the wall Kirin had nearly gone through. "Cousin…I'm not the same boy you remember…not by a long shot." His eyes started to glow molten red.

Everyone, Team Eight included, all took a couple of steps back.

Kirin stood up and smirked. "I'll figure out how you did that..." His hand slid up into a fighting stance. "Come…"

Kin's eyes continued to burn. "Burst Self!"

Kirin didn't even have time to feel pain. The blow hit so hard he only felt the wind as he was sent twenty feet into the air. ("An uppercut…but it couldn't have hurt. Kin's punches at that speed are only light taps, because if he tried a full punch then he'd wrench his shoulder out of place…what is he doing differently?") The boy's eyes snapped open. "I'll crush…" A gasp left his lips.

Kin was in the air right in front of him. "No, you won't." His fist rocketed in and pounded right into Kirin's gut.

Tightening his stomach muscles, Kirin got ready for Kin to get repelled so that he could counter-attack. But the repel never came. Pain spiked through his insides, and he looked down at his stomach to see a small indent in the flesh where the blow had landed. "Impossible…"

Kin hammer-fisted his cousin back to the earth, and then disappeared in mid-air. "Believe me, it's possible."

Kirin slammed into the earth, but instantly stood up. ("His strength…is minimal? Right?")

Kai had to bite his tongue to contain his statement about what he had seen. ("Interesting idea, mediocrity. By striking Kirin's stomach with at least…") He tried to estimate how many low punches he had caught, but he was still unsure of the number. ("A flurry localized to one spot…a way to beat someone who has supernatural endurance. I'll have to remember that trick for later.")

Kirin had the breath blown out of him as Kin punched him in the side. ("He's too fast, I can't track him! However…") Fire started to line his form. "I'll break your resolve to be so cool, foolish cousin!" His fist slammed into the ground and his red fire demon aura lit up again. "Now come!"

Kin tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but you're stupid." Then his foot shot up, catching Kirin in a straight line up his back. "And your posture's bad too."

Kirin stumbled forward, and a dark smile crept across his face. Turning around to face Kin, he licked a bit of blood from his lips. "Come and get me, ear-boy."

"I'll make you eat those words!" And then they both disappeared in a huge tornado that filled over half the school yard.

Kai had to brace himself to prevent himself from being drug into the tornado. ("Amazing…such amazing power. Is this really Kin's strength? How can he build up such a powerful White Wind combo with no running start?")

"Shirakaze Rendan!" And then the tornado drilled right into the earth, leaving a huge crater big enough to be called a swimming pool. It began to rain chunks of soil and rock over the whole of Konoha.

Kin stood at the edge of the crater, his eyes closed. "Well? If that took you out then you haven't improved at all."

"Improved at all?" Some dirt shifted and Kirin stood up from center of the crater. "I never left the ground, stupid."

Kin's eyes widened. ("He…but I felt him…") A memory flashed into his mind. "You…used a replacement technique on me right before I began to combo?"

"Exactly." Kirin cracked his knuckles. "Now then cousin, let's polish off your face with a single hit." He held up one finger. "In one blow, I will end this. And it won't be a complex blow either." His fist closed. "One straight jab to the face. That's all it will take." The flaming aura sprang to life. "Ready?"

Kin kicked off the ground, and felt another crater appeared next to the one he made as Kirin appeared where he had been standing, fist in the earth. ("He's quick!") Without the White Wind Angel technique, all Kin could do was either run or get hit. And when Kirin made a declaration, he did everything in his power to follow through with it. If he said he would end it with a straight jab… ("Then he'll try to end it with a single straight jab.") Though Kin never considered himself physically strong, his speed made up for it. However, because he was a Watanabe he possessed a body that could take intense amounts of pressure or blunt damage without much of a problem. ("The only problem is…") Rolling away from another explosion, Kin snarled and kept rolling. ("Kirin's a Watanabe too…and he's built to damage.")

"So cousin…where are you going?" Kirin smiled coldly and began to approach his fallen opponent. "Is it over so soon? Just one jab can't hurt that much, right?"

Kin leapt to his feet and snapped his hands up. "I'd agree with you…if it wasn't for the fact that I know your true technique…you're…" He felt it. It was like a building force of destruction that was just out of his sensory range. Though he didn't fully sense it, it was so huge that he could understand its existence. ("The bloodline limit of the Watanabe clan…the dragon seals.")

"That's right." Kirin clenched his fist tightly and leapt. "Grey Iron Knight dragon seal, the Kinetic Reprisal!"

("I thought it might have been…") Rock Lee frowned at his student's lack of brains in this situation. ("I can calculate the power of that technique…it's too much energy. The Kinetic Reprisal, by nature, is dangerous because even the user doesn't understand how much energy he has gathered for it. Every blow he takes lets him store some of that strength away in his body. When the time comes, he can unleash his enemy's own power on them in one single blow. Hence that single straight jab will most likely kill Kin if it connects.")

Kin slid out of the way, his feet trailing in the earth. It was like dancing, as he always thought. ("I'm fine…the Blue Water Dolphin gives me the ability to fluidly move out of harm's way. Even when it is not active, I can use its bonus to avoid death at Kirin's hands.")

Kirin followed after his cousin, swinging punch after punch in rapid succession. ("Eventually you will grow tired Kin, and the moment you do I'll hit you so hard that our ancient ancestors will shed tears of blood for your death.") His eyes burned with the passion of battle. He would not hold back anymore against his cousin. "Watch closely…Kin." The flaming aura grew red hot. "The fire dragon seal…"

Kin's eyes widened in recognition. ("The fire dragon seal lets the user push their body into overdrive by pumping their chakra into every muscle they have. It's called the improvised paradise technique.") He braced himself for what he knew was coming. Kirin was already nearly too fast, and now his reaction time would be up as well as his running speed. ("When that blow lands…I'm not going to be able to stop it.")

Rock Lee felt a single bead of sweat form on his forehead. ("This is bad! If Kirin does this…he can't though…") He was about to move…but then he felt it. ("This chakra…it could only be…")

Kirin bent at the knees, his whole body nearly consumed by the fiery aura. "It's the end for you…" Then he appeared behind Kin, body in mid-punch. "…cousin!"

Kin turned on one heel. "Forgive me, but I can't pretend anymore."

Kirin's fist stopped and he simply stood there. His eyes were looking at the ground, and the fiery aura had died out completely.

Everyone in the courtyard stared in confusion at this.

Yurei looked over at Kai to ask what had happened, but by the fact that his teammate was trembling gently he could understand he would find out in just a moment.

Kin stuck out an arm across Kirin's chest and braced himself. "Cousin…it's over."

Kirin coughed up a few drops of blood and then collapsed across Kin's arm, completely limp.

Rock Lee stood there is mute disbelief. ("One…no two…no three…it was at least four hundred blows…and they were faster than humanly possible. All of them took exactly a millisecond to land against Kirin.") He felt his heart pounding in his chest. ("Is this the power of the Watanabe family? Or is this the power of the demon's influence? How could Kin have moved that fast?")

Setting Kirin on the ground, Kin turned and started to walk towards the building. Everyone in the crowd scattered to get out of his way immediately.

Kai and Yurei both stood there, and both of them felt cold from somewhere deep down in their hearts…at what they saw. It was something that left everyone in the crowd confused and unsure what to think…

Kin's whole body was emitting an aura of chakra that was a strange white color. But unlike the White Wind Angel technique's aura…this one formed simply to create wings on Kin's back.

Off to the side, Pain snickered and glanced over at Hatred. "What do you think?"

"What's there to think?" Hatred yawned. "Konoha apparently is easily surprised by flashy tricks…"

Wrath kneeled down next to his son. "Indeed…they actually fear this boy's power? If so, then I can understand why they shun us like so…because if he is their angel, we are their nightmares."

The tall cloaked man watched Kin's back silently. ("So I see…now I remember you. The first child I've ever seen who unlocked the second level of the White Wind Angel when you weren't even old enough to drink. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself…but I believe that I remember you from recently…") Then he disregarded it. It was only a minor thought, barely within his mental process.

To be continued…