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Artwork: jessejzette - The 7 Generations of Hokage - Find jessejzette on deviant art.
A NEW WORLD – DEADLOCK
The Hidden Leaf Hideout
Minato's continuous teleportation is a great nuisance to any opponent he fights. Previously he was at least limited by his own chakra, but since his discovery of divine energy, his reserves have been virtually unlimited. Continuous, unstoppable and intolerable, the yellow flash has become harder to fight against than ever before. Very few people can fight at such high speed, but his opponent is just such a man, Hatake Kakashi.
Kakashi moves slightly to the side and lowers himself, slightly improving his control of his own centre of gravity. He concentrates his senses and waits for any hint of an incoming attack from his teacher. Right now, all these flashes of gold are merely distractions, smokescreens from the inevitable real attack. Fighting against an opponent of superior speed there is one thing he absolutely cannot allow to lapse, that is his mind.
Minato stops teleporting, coming to a halt some twenty paces before Kakashi. He has observed the body language of his pupil from every angle and knows for certain that any weak attack would be intercepted. If he is going to break through Kakashi's defences, there is only one way to do it. He must attack from the front, striking as hard as he can.
Kakashi watches as his teacher begins to place one foot in front of another. Nothing has changed, even without teleportation Minato is incredibly fast. All he has to do is react in time. His hands rise slightly as if flinching and a dozen 'lightning' kunai appear around him. Kakashi has flicked a switch in his brain, activating a technique he prepared just moments previously. With a click of his fingers the electrocuted weapons spread in each direction.
The 4th Hokage watches the kunai head towards him. Surprised that Kakashi was even able to react in such a short period of time, he mentally praises him. The silver-haired Hokage has come a long way since he joined his team all those years ago. Minato takes two steps quick succession, pushing downward with both feet to flip himself neatly over the incoming sheet of 'lightning'. He's airborne now, and therefore has less control. He decides it's time to introduce the element of randomness. He teleports towards Kakashi, picking a random adjacent position to bamboozle his student.
The second Minato arrives at his destination, a cyan coloured skeletal hand slaps him from the air and down into the ground. 'That was a Susano' he realises as he hits the ground. Kakashi's mind is his most important asset in this battle and he just understood something that had been shut from Minato's mind. There is no randomness in a battle of this speed, there are only snap-decisions, there is only habit.
Upon hitting the ground, the Namikaze clansmen immediately brings one of his marked kunai into his hand and throws it at Kakashi. He may have habits, some of the predictable, but Kakashi also has habits. Minato knows that he has definitely spent more time analysing the habits of his adversary than vice-versa. Kakashi's way of tackling an attack like this is identical to what Obito's was, and that makes it weak.
Kakashi allows the kunai to pass through his head, just according to plan. Minato teleports to his student's rear and opens his hand to prepare a rasengan. 'What worked on Obito will work on you'. Chakra and divine energy begin to flow along his arm towards one hand and the other closes around the kunai. Buzz! His hand immediately clamps onto the kunai with a furious tightness. He finds that for a few excruciating moments he can't let go. 'He electrocuted it'.
Indeed, Kakashi's mind continues to be his most valuable asset. He didn't simply let the kunai pass through him, he used his divine energy to change it.
Minato concentrates. It doesn't matter what sort of tricks Kakashi has up his sleeve if he can hit him with a strong enough attack. He ignores the pain in his kunai hand and focuses on the channelling of energy to the other. He quickly forms an ever expanding rasen-shuriken and pushes it towards Kakashi's back.
The latter was turning from the moment the kunai passed through him, well aware of the decision that Minato would make when he found the kunai to be electrocuted. He still has an action to take, one last precaution against any immediate harm. He turns just far enough so that he can see the glowing blue and white mass and then activates an old technique. 'Kamui' he calls in his mind, just quick enough to teleport the rasen-shuriken away.
Minato teleports backward, creating a bit of space between them as he calms down. It doesn't usually go like this in fights. His abilities as a spacetime jutsu user almost always put him at a mental advantage where he can conceive strategies his opponents wouldn't even begin to think of. Kakashi is different though, a genius of combat who sees through all the possibilities the second they arise. He decides that if he is going to win he must get everything he can out of the few advantages he has, so he scatters his array of kunai across the battlefield.
'I need to quicker' the 4th Hokage tells himself.
Kakashi's eyes roam the battlefield, taking in the exact position of each kunai. 'If I can't outmanoeuvre you, I need to outthink you, sensei'.
Minato reverts to his holding pattern, teleporting between the surrounding kunai as quick as he can. For all but Kakashi it looks as if he is in many places at once, such is his speed of movement. Like a circle of clones, all behaving identically. There is only one clue as to which Minato is the real one, that is that his actions are a fraction of a second quicker than the others.
Kakashi tries to track the location of the real one, his eyes circling while his fingers cross one another so that he can create a clone. The second the clone comes into being, Minato has made his move, arriving directly in front of Kakashi. The 6th Hokage was prepared to react in such an eventuality, having predicted it in advance, but even then, his reaction is too slow. Kakashi throws a series of three punches at Minato but finds that each of them is dodged. For his next trick, he throws an electrified kunai at his teacher but is outperformed in terms of reaction time.
Minato teleports to Kakashi's rear, this time content with the knowledge that Kakashi's reaction was overzealous and that he has been left with an opening for a single powerful strike. Minato's fist drives into the small of Kakashi's back. He pushes it up and up until his student's feet lift from the floor, such is the power of the blow.
Kakashi spins through the air, turning deliberately through every axis. 'All I need to do is find the spot that you will choose. Then I can hit you, sensei'. With this determination in mind, Kakashi creates his own rasengan in hand, knowing full well that he is dealing with the man who understands the technique best. He prepares for the critical moments of their skirmish.
Minato throws four kunai at the airborne Kakashi, positioning them at four key points around his path.
'Pick one Kakashi' the 6th Hokage tells himself. 'Just pick one. Pick the correct one, which one will he go to?'. With his decision made, Kakashi pushes his right-arm outwards, and slams the rasengan towards his kunai of choice. 'A subconscious habit that he missed, it's this one'. He has found a key difference between this one and all the others, an irregular path. This is surely the one Minato chose, right? Wrong!
Minato picks the opposite kunai and teleports to it. He creates an enormous rasen-bomb in hand, the most lethal attack he has ever developed and looks at the back of his student. Attacking from behind is not the way he wanted to win but he will end it any way he can. 'Sorry Kakashi, I win again'.
That's what he thinks.
He is wrong.
A rasen-shuriken strikes Minato in his back. He looks over his shoulder to check what just happened. Kakashi's clone couldn't possibly have executed that attack, could he? No, of course not, and there is no clone there. That attack wasn't performed by one of Kakashi's clones, that attack was performed by Minato. 'Of course, the one he sent away with the kamui earlier. He brought it back!'.
Even behind the black and red of Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan, Minato can identify the raw determination possessed by his student. He must take the villagers away, he is certain of his own cause. Kakashi turns mid-air to face Minato, using the distraction the rasen-shuriken provided, and slams his own 'lightning' rasengan into Minato's chest.
With this Hatake Kakashi finally defeats Namikaze Minato.
Kakashi walks over to his teacher and kneels down at his side, wanting to check that he is alright before moving to help any of his struggling comrades. Minato's face is a state, but he seems all OK, likely just immobile for the next hour or so.
Minato laughs a croaky semi-conscious laugh. "Looks like you finally beat your old sensei, Kakashi".
"Thank you. And I'm sorry, Minato sensei, I just have to do what I think is right".
"I won't hold it against you, you have my word".
Kakashi nods, looking around his various shinobi allies before gesturing to the now open space behind him. "Everyone! Please, come this way to…".
He stops when something catches his eye, just off in the distance. The last person he thought he would helping. Tobirama is struggling in his fight to protect Hiruzen from Brooks. When a fourth consecutive strike lands on the 2nd Hokage, Kakashi's priorities change instantly from the escape of the villagers to the protection of his friend.
"Kakashi, to me!" Minato yells as he stretches his hand out.
Kakashi instantly understands, grabbing Minato's hand and disappearing as his teacher use the flying thunder god technique to send him away.
The Hidden Leaf Hideout
Brooks adrenaline is flowing fast, it's a battle of speed but her extensive experience is serving her well. She has fought against fast opponents before in captained-six contests. She has battled users of transcendent elements and while she has always failed, the practice only serves to improve her chances in situations like this. That is why she feels so gleeful as she moves to land a fifth successive blow on Tobirama. Defeating one opponent is a success for her group, defeating two would be truly praiseworthy.
The fifth strike does not land, as she herself is struck first by the magically appearing foot of Hatake Kakashi.
For a moment, separation is created between all three of them.
"Another one!" Brooks curses. "Dammit, I'm not getting any luck today".
"Kakashi, how did you get here?".
"Minato sensei used your spacetime jutsu" the 6th Hokage explains to his friend. "He sent me here when he realised that you were in trouble".
Brooks calms herself and considers all the factors she will need to account for in this battle. These two are a horrible combination to fight against. One has almost complete control over the split between two dimensions and the ability to avoid any attack that isn't very high-speed. The other has the ability to teleport to any marked location, potentially to any location he has touched since the start of the fight or perhaps even before then. This is no longer a battle that can be won with power alone, she must concentrate.
Brooks begins to dash towards the two of them, using the 'ice' floor to her advantage. Hiruzen may have mastered manoeuvring on this surface but these two have not.
"Why did you save me? You know that I have no intention of allowing the villagers to leave" Tobirama reasserts his position.
"I know that" Kakashi responds. "But right now, I also have another desire. I want to make sure that you survive this".
Kakashi uses his kamui, bringing a kunai from the other dimension and placing it right next to Brooks' head. Without keen skills of observation, many, including Brooks miss the most important thing about this kunai, but Tobirama detects it in instantly. This is a marked kunai.
Tobirama teleports to the kunai, placing him in the air just in front of Brooks. He lifts his foot, catching her just beneath the neck and then uses a mixture of his leg muscles and gravity to push her back down into the ground.
Kakashi runs forward while Tobirama attacks and arrives just as the back of Brooks skull smacks against the ground. She is reeling, this is a golden opportunity to attack and put her down permanently. So, Kakashi pulls a blade from his pocket, electrocutes it with his divine 'lightning' energy and stabs it down towards Brooks.
Catch!
Tobirama grabs hold of Kakashi's descending arms. "I'm afraid I cannot let you do that Kakashi".
"Tobirama, why?".
"I cannot let either of you die, otherwise this alliance will be broken off and we will never achieve peace".
The peak chaos of the entire war is achieved by this declaration. This is not the battle where Tobirama and Kakashi team up to fight General Brooks. This is the battle where Tobirama, Kakashi and Brooks all fight one another with different goals in mind. Three people with excessive mobility and talents that make them perfectly suited to this situation, it's a testament to the three of them that they can follow one another at all.
Brooks takes advantage of Tobirama's block and uses both of her feet to kick Kakashi in the chest. Not only does she knock the 6th Hokage backwards, but she also continues the momentum to flip her off of her back and onto her feet.
Tobirama, seeing Brooks back on her feet, throws a marked kunai over her shoulder. The default move in situations such as this is put yourself behind your opponent, make it impossible for them to strike you.
Kakashi waits until the kunai goes over Brooks shoulder before activating his kamui. The air swirls as dimensions tear and the kunai disappears just as Tobirama is about to teleport to it. This is the timing he uses to begin his run, converging on the two of them once again.
Brooks watches Tobirama's confusion for an instant as he tries to teleport but finds himself unable to do so. 'Chance!'. She throws a volley of punches at Tobirama, each of them connecting with either his torso or his head. Each of these punches will tell, and while Tsunade contributed nothing to wearing Tobirama down, Brooks has already set the process in motion.
Tobirama does have another destination for his teleport. He teleports to Kakashi's rear, remembering that he has marked his fellow Hokage previously. Upon appearing behind Kakashi, he kicks the Hatake clansmen straight between his shoulder blades. This forces Kakashi to lose control of his run and trip forward, straight towards Brooks.
Brooks notices that Kakashi has been stunned. With the speed they are converging being so fast, this is a chance to attack him before he can let his self-defence technique activate. She raises her child-like hand just high enough to catch Kakashi in the chest. She raises him an inch off his feet and then drives him down into the icy plane below. Using the other hand, she recreates the 'golden ice' sword she had previously and stabs it down towards Kakashi.
Kakashi knows he is about to die. Still to stunned to react with his body, he uses his eyes, the only way out he has left. 'Kamui'. He brings another marked kunai from the other dimension, sending it up towards Brooks' head.
Brooks just has time to stop her attack and dodge the kunai. Even then she cannot completely dodge the kunai as it's cold steel surface catches her and lightly cuts her cheek.
Another flash tells her that is not all she needs to worry about. Tobirama teleports into the path of the marked kunai, catching it and throwing back towards the rear of Brooks' head. 'If it won't hit you from one direction I'll make it hit you from the other'.
Brooks dodges to the side, getting well away from the projectile. 'As if I would fall for that again'.
This leaves the kunai heading straight for Kakashi. The 6th Hokage only just manages to avoid his own death in time. He uses Obito's power and lets the kunai he summoned pass through his chest. He then gets up and immediately strikes Tobirama once again.
As the strike connects, Tobirama scuttles backwards along the 'ice'. That's him out of the way for a moment. Kakashi creates a divine energy enhanced chidori and runs at Brooks. He must use every chance he has when Tobirama is out of the way, otherwise killing Brooks will prove to be impossible.
Brooks is of the same mind, brandishing her 'golden ice' sword from before, she charges at Kakashi. Both of them are ready to exchange what they deem should be the fatal blows.
Tobirama is not ready for that. He gets to his feet and uses a high-pressure beam of 'water' to push Kakashi away from Brooks. His attack stops when Brooks reaches the beam though. She touches it, freezing the length of it in an instant. She both stops Tobirama in his tracks and begins to glide along the beam towards Kakashi.
With Brooks darting along the beam towards him, Kakashi sees his chance. 'Kamui'. He sends the central part of the beam to the other world and with perfect timing sends Brooks crashing down into the ground.
Tobirama teleports to Kakashi's rear, grabs him by the shoulders and kicks his legs out from under him. 'I've got you marked, Kakashi' the 2nd Hokage thinks as his friend hits the ground. Now all that he has to do is land that one punch to the head, then, with Kakashi out-cold, he need only focus on keeping him safe from Brooks.
Brooks throws her 'golden ice' sword through the air towards the two Hokage as hard as she can. This forces Kakashi to push Tobirama out of the swords way. The 2nd Hokage fears that Kakashi has sacrificed himself for a moment but is relieved when Obito's power makes the sword pass through Kakashi's head. Safe again, Kakashi uses the distraction to flip Tobirama to the ground. Now it is his turn to try the knockout punch.
Brooks rushes towards the two of them. In the conclusive moment of their fight she may get the chance to win by herself.
Tobirama flicks a marked kunai up in the air and waits as Kakashi's punch descends towards him. He waits for what feels like a year as the punch descends and then he catches Kakashi's wrist.
Tobirama teleports both himself and Kakashi to Minato's side. He then releases his grip on Kakashi and teleports back to Brooks alone.
Tobirama and Brooks both prepare powerful elemental attacks and charge at one another. With Kakashi out of the way, this is the ideal moment to settle things.
Nearby, Minato yells out to Kakashi. The student and teacher quickly repeat their action from before and as their hands connect, Kakashi is teleported back to Tobirama's side.
Kakashi appears at the opportune moment and sees a golden chance. He uses his powers of 'lightning' to enhance Tobirama's attack beyond its current power, determined that he can force Brooks death by doing so.
Tobirama teleports away, back to the kunai he threw last. By the skin of his teeth, he manages to save Brooks life and any hope they may have of an alliance between the two factions.
This is the chaos that this three-way battle brings to the battlefield. With the three of them fighting with their respective styles, with their respective goals, victory is virtually unobtainable.
The mighty general. The teleporter. The man who cannot be hit. The three of them enter into an unbreakable deadlock.
The Hidden Leaf Hideout
Elliot reels from Hinata's attacks. Never, he never feels like this in a fight. Even when he lost to Mirai, he could at least hazard a guess to what was happening. At least there was some logic that meant Mirai could fight on par with him. Hinata is different though, her power isn't natural, no, it's impossible. There is definitely no way that she could have this sort of power with her talent and training.
'OK Elliot, her element is 'water' and yours is 'cold'. There is no reason to fear this battle' he tells himself calmly. 'In terms of power, I should have an advantage. In terms of element, I should have an advantage. So, why? Why do I have this lingering fear in my heart?'.
Hinata takes a single step, spreading dread instantly through Elliot's mind.
The second step isn't seen by Elliot as her speed increases at an explosive rate beyond what he calculated to be possible. How can he work under these circumstances, he's fighting a warrior whose every movement defies the laws of reality?
'Here she comes' he says, dropping into a fighting pose.
At the half way point between their starting positions, Hinata kicks the earth beneath her feet. By simply kicking the ground, she removes a chunk of the earth beneath her feet and sends it like a boulder towards her opponent.
'It's coming fast but…'.
Elliot feels a momentary confidence as he punches the incoming boulder. It looks like it's moving slow. In retrospect he has no idea what he was thinking. His knuckles collide with the stone and he instantly regrets that confidence. He feels the starting of crimson flowing down his hand from his knuckles as the power of the incoming rock becomes very obvious.
Elliot does manage to destroy the rock but only to realise that Hinata was using it as cover. First, she lands a punch into the side of his head. He feels and hears a series of collisions as he could swear his brain crashes into the sides of his skull. Next Hinata lands a strong forward kick to his shin. Elliot is made to be thankful for his own fighting pose, otherwise that kick would have broken his leg.
Stumbling backward, Elliot is given on reprieve. Hinata leaps up above Elliot and uses a powerful beam of 'water' to push him down into the ground. Lara's second-in-command screams win agony as he is pushed deeper and deeper into an ever-widening crater. It is a few year-long seconds before he stops cursing the pain and instead uses his powers of 'cold' to freeze the beam of water, mimicking Brooks move in her fight previously.
Elliot tries to pause for a moment but Hinata, in this state, isn't so reasonable. If she can't send 'water' down, she will send it upwards. She points her hands into the air, using 'water' to propel herself down, directing a knee towards Elliot's head. It forces yet another evasion from Elliot, who quickly scrambles to his feet.
The two of them are stood right next to one another, the worst possible position for Elliot, not that he has fared well in any other. He decides to use Hinata's previous series of attacks against her, first striking her in the side of the head and then kicking her as hard as he can in the shin. Unlike him though, Hinata doesn't even flinch as this pair of strikes connects.
Now it's her turn. Hinata jumps about a foot into the air and then punches Elliot diagonally down across his face. He sways dramatically as a result of this blow, managing incredibly to stay one on knee rather than losing consciousness right then.
Elliot thinks, he thinks as quickly as he can. There is no dignified way left that he can fight here, he will have to result to any dirty tricks that he can. He grabs a hand full of dirt from the floor and throws it into Hinata's eyes. As the Hyuuga begins to use 'water', clearing her eyes in an algorithmic nature, Elliot moves to her rear. If nothing else, a b lind spot attack will work.
Himawari watches on nervously but knows that Elliot has just made a mistake. 'That's not a blind spot for the Hyuuga'.
Hinata reaches backwards, catching Elliot's now-bloodied hand and crushing it until she feels something crack. His renewed screams prompt her to release her grip and turn around. It is using this chance, that Elliot leaps back as far away from Hinata as he can get.
'Mom' Himawari says in her mind. 'Just where did you get such power?'.
"That does it" Elliot yells.
This is it, his greatest attack. He gathers all the 'cold' energy he can and super-freezes his surroundings. He drops the temperature down as close to absolute zero as he can reach. He takes it down so that it is colder than anyone present has ever experienced, the very limit of Elliot's powers. The air around Hinata freezes and the Hyuuga is trapped with frozen air itself. This is the attack that killed Dan.
"You are 'water' user" Elliot proclaims boldly. "Let's see you get free from this".
Elliot issued the challenge. He never expected it to be accepted. 'Water' begins to rise from the earth, from the ground itself. What starts of as small groups of 'water' gather into bigger groups. When the groups are large enough, they form into high-pressure jets. The jets of 'water' begin to drive powerfully into the frozen air, carving a shape from it with perfect accuracy.
Elliot takes another step back. "That isn't possible!".
That shape is Hyuuga Hinata.
Hinata begins to walk forward again, emerging from the frozen air.
"That isn't possible!".
Hinata cares very little about what Elliot believes to be possible. With another burst of speed, she arrives before him and delivers a powerful blow into his gut. This time he has lost the will to stand and falls not onto his knees but onto his back. This does not inspire mercy in Hinata. The Leaf shinobi kneels down over Elliot and throws a single mighty punch into his chest.
Elliot once again has blood forced from his body, this time he is forced to spit it onto his own pristine uniform. His golden cloak disappears, and the reality of his situation is made apparent for all to see.
He looks up. Hinata is just stood over him, no longer attacking. It's like she knows he is done for.
"There… I never had a chance, did I?" Elliot asks rhetorically, knowing that Hinata will not respond. "That power, it's too much for me, it's beyond what I could ever match. So, tell me, just what is it? What is your power?".
Elliot looks into the deep white of Hinata's eyes, eager to know, desperate to hear her secret.
But the focus returns to Hinata's eyes.
The winner of this fight collapses, with the energy from her body totally exhausted.
A group of shinobi surround Elliot and bind him, making sure it is impossible for him to attack Hinata in her weakened state. He knows that he wouldn't be able to though, his injuries are too great.
Everyone still wonders what happened to her though.
What power could defeat a transcendent general so easily?