THE BATTLE FOR THE EARTH – A FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
Sarada and Sheer's Starting Point
Sarada looks to her left and then her right. The situation is not good for her. She has gone from battling Sisto in a one-on-one fight to a much harder battle. Now she has to fight in a two-on-one situation, she must fight against Sisto and Sheer at the same time.
The wind and water users circle ominously around the 9th and incumbent Hokage. Even as they travel into her blind spots she knows exactly where they are, building up a full picture using every one of her senses. Even then, her rinnegan facilitates a far greater system of vision than a normal shinobi. Yet, despite knowing exactly where the enemy is, she feels little comfort in this situation.
She stops sending out her chakra pulse. 'I've sent out the signal, now all I have to do is hold on until Boruto gets here'.
She naively thinks this, not realising what Boruto has done. Boruto had turned to face her, he had reacted to the signal but once more he had reacted with his head and not with his heart. He had chosen absolute power and continued towards Hashirama. He has doomed Sarada to a two-on-one fight.
Sheer changes direction as she activates her wind elemental cloak, switching to anti-clockwise circle while Sisto maintains his previous clockwise path. Sarada knows that the moment they reach one another her fight will begin. Her hopeless fight.
A smile is shared between Sheer and Sisto as their approach comes to its climax. The two Colonels stand facing one another with their eyes locked firmly on Sarada. Sheer raises her hand, placing it on Sisto's shoulder before they disappear.
With a gush of wind the duo of Colonels appear at Sarada's side. Sheer is the first to attack, she coats her palm in a dense layer of wind as she attempts to slap Sarada's face. While the 9th Hokage is successful in dodging this attack, she had not anticipated that Sisto would be ready. Her eyes widen as they fix on watery Colonel's palm.
BOOM!
A high-pressure jet of water leaves Sisto's hand, slamming straight into Sarada's chest. She tumbles backwards as the water continues to push her along the ground. It is only when she has been pushed a suitable distance that she is able to escape from the beam and regain her balance.
'There is no way I can fight the two of them at once' Sarada notes, 'This coordination they have is incredible'.
The Uchiha clanswomen is quick in realising just how impressive the teamwork between this duo is. They did not exchange more than a few words prior to attacking her but they knew exactly what each of them would do. Sisto knew how Sheer would attack to set him up and Sheer knew exactly how to set Sisto up.
'It's as if they have fought together for a lifetime'.
Unbeknownst to Sarada, her thinking here is correct. It's more than correct. Sheer and Sisto have known each other for longer than Sarada has been alive. They have worked together more times than she has given an order. For hundreds of years they have battled as a team, using practice to strike up a coordination that nobody could hope to match.
Once more, Sheer teleports herself and Sisto to Sarada's side, looking for another opportunity to execute a joint attack. This time it is Sisto who attacks first, he creates a whirlpool in his hand which seems to have an attractive effect. This whirlpool pulls Sarada towards him, the Hokage's feet dragging along the floor as it does.
"Amaterasu" Sarada calls as she fires the black flames into the whirlpool.
The combination of the black flames and the whirlpool proves to be deadly, the trigger for an explosion of steam and smoke. 'Use this opportunity' Sarada tells herself, 'See through the smoke, your superior vision will be the difference'.
Using her rinnegan, Sarada has a unique advantage. Indeed, she can see the enemy through this smoke, while they cannot see her. Her rinnegan has other powers though, she uses the first of them, the comet form, to burst to Sisto's side. As she arrives next to him she combines her gravity manipulation powers with her keen chakra control, knocking Sisto as far away as possible.
'There, a moment where they are apart' Sarada encourages herself, chanting in her head, 'Now take advantage of it'. Again, the last of the Uchiha uses her comet form, this time flying to Sheer's side before returning to her human form. She quickly begins to gather solar energy on her fist. As her hand shines, brighter and brighter the smoke begins to clear but it no longer matters, she has got the separation she had wanted.
She has won.
Or so she had thought.
As Sarada throws her solar punch towards Sheer, the purple-haired Colonel holds a palm parallel to the attacking fist, firing a high-speed gust of wind at it. Sarada's uncontrollable momentum combined with the sheer power behind this gust of wind forces her arms sideways, causing her to miss Sheer.
The Colonel smiles maliciously, "Sorry Sarada, I won't fall for that again".
Sheer grabs Sarada by the throat, viciously slamming her down into the ground. Sarada coughs blood onto the Colonel's hand, the deep red colour not that different from her own Sharingan. She feels as if her throat is about to cave in having been slammed so hard. Truly, this is the cruelty of a two-on-one situation.
"You taught me an important life lesson" Sheer confesses as she looks into the mauve eyes of the shinobi, "Because of that I don't want to kill you". Who would have thought, the woman who resurrected Sasuke would learn a lesson from his daughter in overcoming the impossible?
Unfortunately for Sarada, she only taught that lesson to one Colonel.
In a moment, Sisto surfs to the pairs side.
As Sheer lifts Sarada up by the throat, Sisto looks into the dying shinobi's eyes. "It's a shame though, I have no problem killing you".
Water gathers from the surroundings, from the cracks in the earth, from the leaves on the trees. It gathers from all directions and gathers next to Sisto's hand. In less than two seconds a weapon forms, a full-length sword made fully of water. Despite the unnatural positioning of the water it sticks tightly to itself, not splashing onto the floor, such is Sisto's power.
The blonde man takes hold of the water sword and shoves it violently through Sarada's chest.
Far away from here many shinobi shout in surprise as they watch Sarada get impaled by a sword. This is the 9th Hokage, a woman who has led them through thick and thin, a woman who has been there for them since the very beginning. Is she really going to die like this?
Sarada's left eye changes, reverting from a Rinnegan to a Mangekyo Sharingan. The tomoe in her eye suddenly begins to spinning around.
CAW! CAW!
Sarada bursts into a group of crows. Startling both Colonels, Sarada's jutsu forces both of them to cover their eyes as the birds' flock around them. This technique is taken straight from Sarada's uncle Itachi. It is a technique designed specifically to fluster an opponent.
Sarada's body finally reforms behind Sheer and Sisto. 'Use your mother's strength' she tells herself as she pulls both fists back, 'And hit them as hard as you can'. That is just what Sarada does. With two punches to the Colonel's backs she propels them forwards, it is not a fatal attack, one that the Colonel's quickly recover from but it did some damage. Against two people of this level, that is more than Sarada could have dreamed of a few months ago.
Sisto snaps his head to the side. "Sheer, she is only one woman, why are we struggling to defeat her?".
"Relax, it is because she is a technique user" Sheer answers, "But, she was on deaths door just then, she is surely out of techniques now. Have you memorised all of them that she has used so far?".
Sisto simply nods.
"In that case we won't fall for those tricks again, right?".
"I suppose not" the blonde man answers.
'They're right' Sarada trembles as she realises that she is nearing her end, 'I can't beat them alone but I do have one last life-preserving technique'.
'Come, let me show you what the 9th Hokage can do'.
"Are you ready" Sisto asks as he turns to his fellow Colonel.
"I'm ready" Sheer takes a deep breath and focuses on Sarada. Quite frankly she does not wish for Sarada to die, this is a woman who has taught her a lot, a woman that she would have made every effort to befriend if this was another world. It is not another world though, there are some harsh realities about the world she lives in, she doesn't have the luxury of choosing her friends. She does however, have Sisto as a friend. That is something she wants to protect. "Let's win here and go home".
Both Colonel's launch towards Sarada to attack once more.
'I'll just try to survive' Sarada determines this as she raises two fingers before her face.
A powerful yellow chakra manifests around Sarada. It grows and grows, towering above the trees and the surrounding landscape of her battle. The chakra starts off erratic, unstable and dangerous. She calms it down though, this is the incredible power that only a truly powerful Uchiha can use. Only four Uchiha have ever used this power, Madara, Obito, Sasuke and now Sarada. It is the complete-body Susano.
The Susano swings its foot forward towards Sisto and Sheer. However, the invaders easily dodge the attack. Sarada refuses to give up though, after her Susano misses with the first attack, she creates a pair of swords for it to wield in its hands. The Susano swings these swords time and again, missing with each attempt.
"Hey, hey, is she serious" Sisto asks incredulously, "She is never going to win like this".
"She is not doing it to attack, she is doing it to defend" Sheer answers with a smile, to use a method like this means that Sarada must be on her last legs. "She thinks that we can't break through it".
That brings a smile to Sisto's face, he loves a challenge. "Well then, let's show her a thing or two".
Sheer raises her hands in the air, clasping them together before rapidly spreading them apart. This creates a torrent of wind, blowing Sisto and Sheer in opposite directions, one on each side of the Hokage.
Sisto does the opposite. He raises his hands in the air to his sides before clapping them together. The result is not one tidal wave but two, pushing the two Colonels back together, with Sarada in the middle.
'This is the end' Sarada realises.
BANG!
The Susano shatters. As Sheer punches the right side and Sisto punches the left, it implodes leaving Sarada defenceless.
This is a good enough opportunity for Sisto to pounce upon.
He fires a high-pressure beam of water towards Sarada. This beam is much stronger than the ones used previously. It is obvious that this is intended to be the killing blow and it is more than likely going to work.
Sarada closes her eyes and resolves herself. 'Mom, Dad, sorry… I lost'.
But the water never comes.
She opens her eyes as she feels a hand on her back. It is not a strike, not an attack and not a jutsu. It is a catch.
A tinge of green signifies what she had hoped for has come.
"You came" she says with an emotional smile.
"Of course" the newcomer answers.
This can naturally be only one man.
Uzumaki Boruto.
This is the closest that Sarada has seen Boruto using Tenseigan chakra mode. 'The bright green colour is truly beautiful' she muses as she contemplates his appearance. Then she focuses on the most important thing. His chakra, though it has only increased in volume a bit it's entirely different before. The quantity is similar but the quality cannot be compared to before. This Boruto is likely on par with herself.
"So this is the eye Shikamaru called the Tenseigan" she asks.
"Yeah, I'll admit that I haven't fully mastered it yet" Boruto lowers his head and focuses his eyes on the opponent. "But I can still fight".
Sarada smiles at Boruto, realising that she has yet to take her own weight from him. She rebalances herself and emulates him, focusing on the enemy and any moves they make. Though, to escape the sight of this shinobi pair would be almost impossible. The Tenseigan and the Rinnegan, the two best possible tools for observation.
"We're against two colonels, a few months ago I would have said we don't stand a chance" Boruto admits.
Sniggering, Sarada replies, "Things are looking a bit different, now right?".
"Yeah, how's your condition?".
"I can still fight".
"Then let's do this".
At this moment the two Colonels are greatly shocked. Neither had sensed Boruto coming. That is not because they cannot, merely because they had genuinely not been expecting him. In battle they had very little chance to see Boruto fight, he is largely an unknown to them. However, they do know one thing, every single Colonel had sensed a terrifying power from within Boruto. He is definitely someone to be feared.
"Sisto, that is Martin's opponent, right?".
Sisto nods. "Yeah, his technique is impressive, though for Martin to run away because of this… it's pathetic".
Without speaking a word, Boruto and Sarada dash simultaneously towards Sheer and Sisto.
"A team attack" Sheer is stunned for a moment before collecting herself, "Of course, they do not understand how long we have been fighting together".
"Then shall we show them?".
The Colonel's attempt to counter-attack and it seems to go well at first. Though, something is wrong they feel. As this fight between pairs is progressing they should be dominating but that is not happening at all. In fact, as the fight progresses, it begins to favour Boruto and Sarada more and more. Despite hundreds of years of fighting together, of understanding each other's styles, Sheer and Sisto's unity does not seem to outstrip the Hokage and Shadow Hokage.
Boruto dashes in front of Sarada, obscuring the sight of her to Sisto. While doing this he fires a golden wheel reincarnation explosion at Sheer. As the Colonel is left with no choice but to create a wind shield and block Boruto's attack, the blonde shinobi moves away from Sarada's front. While he has been obscuring her from view, she has fully charged a solar punch!
Sarada slams the solar punch into Sisto's gut as hard as she can. While he is sent flying back though, she does not rest, immediately preparing yet another solar punch.
As the fight has progressed, the two teams have become more even. This should not be put down to unity though. Boruto and Sarada had near perfect unity before the fight began, what has changed in this fight is Boruto. His understanding of his own powers is improving.
He uses one of the Tenseigan's abilities, pulling Sisto back towards him with its attractive power.
'I have to block that punch or will hit Sisto' Sheer shouts in her brain as she prepares to run towards her partner.
She is cut off though, Boruto's form gives him a series of truth-seeking balls. Naruto's son fires a trio of these balls towards Sheer. They do not connect, but the time it takes her to dodge is all he wanted out of this attack. This forces a sneer from the purple-haired Colonel, 'It's like they know exactly what we are going to do before we do it'.
While Sheer is distracted, Sarada finally throws her second solar punch at Sisto.
It connects with his face, knocking him unconscious.
'How…' Sheer cannot understand what is happening as she floats wide eyed, observing her opponents, 'They can't be more than a tenth of our age… so how could their teamwork be on such a high level'.
She is given no more time to think, Boruto creates a silver wheel reincarnation explosion and swings it towards Sheer. The Colonel only manages to dodge at the last moment before retreating at full speed. She is certain of one thing, if she could not defeat these two with Sisto's help she won't be able to do it alone.
'Dammit' she curses, 'Don't worry Sisto, Sarada definitely won't kill you. I'm sorry to leave you but I have to put winning this contest first. It's for our own survival'.
With that Sheer disappears over the horizon.
In this battle, Boruto and Sarada have won
The Hidden Leaf Hill
The hill is euphoric. This doesn't mean that they have won this match but it is certainly a huge step forward in the battle. It signifies something more than that though, something truly important to the hearts of many. Boruto had turned around, Boruto had gone back for Sarada. If only for one moment, he had chosen his friend over the path of absolute power.
"Mitsuki" Hanabi calls excitedly. "When did you guys achieve such a high level in teamwork".
Mitsuki cannot contain his smile. What he has just seen has restored his faith in Boruto, it has reminded him of why they are friends, why Boruto had the ability to change him. He shakes his head though, "This isn't a level we have reached as a team".
As Hanabi starts, Minato approaches the third team member, "What do you mean Mitsuki?".
"We're a good team sure but we have never had teamwork on such a high level. That combination was a result of Boruto and Sarada's understanding each other so well".
"For years, they have known one another. They have experienced the same pain, they had the same problems and they have worked to solve them together".
"Those two" Mitsuki smiles, "Their teamwork is on a level that could never be reach through practice. It's like destiny put them on the same team, those two were born to fight together".
"Good job, Boruto, Sarada, I am proud to be your teammate".