Chapter 19

"The White Dragon"

Hua Shan - Dugu's Cavern

White eyes met blue.

"Nine years." She answered for him. "Three thousand, one hundred and sixty seven hours. To be exact."

"Hanabi." Naruto breathed. "I thought..."

"That I was killed, perhaps?" She answered plainly. The woman brushed her bangs aside and stalked over to him. Naruto could only watch her every movement. Hanabi was someone he had prayed for, grieved for, and ultimately - accepted as somebody who he had been responsible for. A loved one.

"Master." The words were uttered in all but a whisper. But Naruto could hear her loud and clear. "I am very much alive."

"How?" He asked. "They hunted you all down. They sent me your parts in a box. You...Yagura and Darui."

Hanabi walked right up to him and stared right into his eyes, unflinching.

"Yes, they did send assassins." Hanabi admitted. Then a cruel smile marred her face. "I'm afraid that I must take credit for quite a few of your previous 'confirmed' kills, Master."

Her face darkened. "When they killed my elder sister," She refused to meet his eyes. "I lost it. I...I was so consumed by my anger. I killed as much of them as I could. Every. Single. One."

Hyuuga Hanabi. Former ANBU Captain, residing within Konoha's Hunters Division. As a child, there were three people that she admired more than any other alive. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Itachi and Hyuuga Neji. The three warriors who were considered the next generation of Konoha's martial superiority. The ones that would carry them onto greatness and beyond.

Two of the three would eventually turn against the organization. The third disappeared into the mists.

"Something we have in common, I suppose." Naruto could not count how many people he had killed in the name of vengeance. All he remembered was the emptiness it had lead to in the end.

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"How could I?" She retorted instantly. "It was a dark time, Master, as I'm sure you know. I spent...so long in despair. I spent five years hunting down Konoha dogs." And she was far more effective than her Master at doing so. As a lifetime trained Hunter, it was her specialty in tracking down prey. "Not to mention, it was not long before, that you disowned me as a student."

"You know why I had to do that, don't you?" He asked rhetorically. She looked at him, smiled, and nodded. Naruto regained a warm feeling. "After all this time?"

"Always."

Not including Honoka, it had always been Hanabi who had been his most gifted student. She had been the most attentive, determined and eventually, the most successful. Hanabi never missed a single moment of training and even on her off days, she would dedicate them to absorbing everything he ever taught her. The two were strikingly similar - which was why it had been so easy to train Honoka.

After all of this time, even Naruto could recognize with pride, that Hanabi had achieved the level of Mastery she had always sought.

"I've been keeping myself out of the limelight. And the world is much larger than people believe. It's not a surprise that you couldn't find me." Hanabi began. "As for Unryuken, anyone that I've ever shown it too, did not live much long after to tell the tale."

"You've chosen your fights well." It was not an insult. In their line of profession, being able to differentiate between winning scenarios and losing ones was absolutely critical.

"Thank you." Responded his old disciple. "You've taught me well."

"What have you been doing all this time? As a matter of fact, how did you know of Dugu's Cavern?"

She sighed and turn back to the hieroglyphs.

"I heard rumors of a legendary map that resides around these parts. But what I see here is something else, I'm afraid." Hanabi explained to him. "Have you ever heard of the Hachio Danzaiba (Eight Shining Sin Severing Blades)?"

"Of course. Some consider them the most powerful group of Masters ever assembled. Rivaling even Ryouzanpaku and One Shadow Nine Fist. Led by Oganosuke Yogi-dono, Lord of the Two Skies."

She nodded, confirming everything he said.

"I have been commissioned, under an Alias, by Edeltraft von Schiller to recover a great weapon known as 'Durendal'. There have been rumors of it's reappearance within the past four years. Schiller, I'm sure you know, is one of the Hachio Danzaiba. He's offering quite the hefty reward." Hanabi smirked. "Unfortunately-"

"You have no intention of giving it to him even if you find it." Naruto understood her mirth. Authentic legendary weapons most likely went for far more then what Schiller was willing to give for it. He doubted Hanabi feared being hunted down. "All you wanted was the information he had. Clever."

Hanabi nodded. "He was wrong. That fool. This is obviously something else. The entrance was quite tricky - I almost didn't catch it."

Naruto walked up to the hieroglyphs, facing them alongside his old student. He had not seen the carvings in decades. Dugu wasn't a literate man - Kurama had told him that only those with the correct mindset could understand the glyphs. Dugu's stances, his ideas, patterns, philosophy...they were all written as such. And spread throughout Hua Shan in multiple caverns, canyons, rifts. Hua Shan was his home and he simply wrote whatever he saw fit anywhere he could.

"This is Dugu's Cavern, named after Dugu Qiubai, the loner who sought defeat. These walls are simply his thoughts, his muses...among other things. They say that his secrets are spread all throughout this mountain, that if you wander around here long enough, you will come to understand some greater meaning to the Sword."

He noticed the jian at her hip. "I see you've picked it up along your travels."

"Yes." Her hand caressed the blade. "I always remembered that you carried a blade. I've never really seen you use it."

He merely smiled.

"You were lucky to come here on this day." He said. She quirked a brow so he explained. "This is the home of a man who goes by the name, Kurama. Had you encountered him...I cannot say what would have happened."

"The Sword Devil...!?" A chill wrought down her spine. "I never knew. Perhaps it was I who was the fool, now that I think about it..."

Naruto frowned. "Hm." That was certainly a possibility. He narrowed his eyes and immediately bolted out of the cave. Hanabi, who understood a mere second later, raced after him. A shadow caught Naruto's eye once they he made it to the exit. "Such incredible skill! To hide their presence so masterfully."

"Are they?"

"Yes." Naruto responded without wasting a breath. "They managed to get this close to me without being caught. I'm impressed."

"I let my guard down." She bit out angrily. "To have been set up so easily. My hubris would have been the end of me."

"None of that." He smiled. "Let's go. They're on the move!" He jumped into the forest, hopping tree to tree, with Hanabi quickly in rout. He was impressed that she was managing to keep up. This would not have been the case ten years ago.

As they raced by the trees, Naruto unknowingly missed another presence who had been leaning against the base of a tree, his arms crossed and eyes closed. A small, reddened leaf, delicately dropped to the ground. He looked down at the fallen frond and smiled as the autumn shower came.

"Welcome home..."

A flash of wind picked up and more leaflets began to dance in a wonderful show of red and gold.

"Kit."

Koryou

Saori released a soft sigh as she finished up with breakfast. "Honoka! Dear, breakfast is ready!"

By the time she turned around, her beautiful daughter had already been at the table eating her scrambled eggs and toast. She was fast - Saori could have sworn she had heard her upstairs not even a few seconds ago. "Thank you mom!"

"You're welcome dear." The mother smiled. "Dear, how is everything? We haven't really talked recently. How is school?"

Honoka began scratching her chin with a single finger, slightly bemused as to what to say.

"I'm doing well. I'm ahead of everything." She would soon be starting Kenichi's grade-level in the coming semester. "I've been hanging out with Kenichi after school. It's fun, watching him train at the dojo. He's doing fine. I should get him to come by for dinner now and then."

"Could you...?" She was beginning to miss her son. "Thank you. I guess you should get going."

Honoka nodded and grabbed her gear.

"Ok, bye Mom."

"Goodbye, Dear."

Honoka closed the front door. As soon as she left, a chill went down her spine. Honoka froze immediately and eyed a bush far on the hill. "I feel like...someone's following me." The girl frowned. It was a bit too close to home for her liking.

She didn't like it. Something was off. Nonetheless, she continued on to school.

The day had passed just like any other. Honoka was an advanced student so she spent most of the day tutoring those who needed it. She had already passed the test to move up two grade levels. She allowed herself to go into auto-pilot, so to speak, to get through the day.

Many hours later, she found herself walking home alone.

Three girls wearing similar uniforms stood in her way. They were on a side-walk adjourned by a nice view of the river. "I'm guessing these three are about to ruin my day." Honoka stopped just a dozen paces before them.

"You're the one who fought Fenrir, we heard. I am-"

"I don't care." Honoka cut in. "What do you want?"

The girl twitched but managed to calm down her initial reaction. "We've come to an extend an invitation."

"No." Honoka almost scoffed. But she's become used to the outright foolhardiness of the fodders.

"I'm afraid we can't take that for an answer."

"Freya-sama!" The three girls bowed before their superior.

Another teenager also entered the scene. Freya had been walking along the same road as Honoka. She wore her hair short and brown, her eyes were blue and she wore a sleeveless blue shirt, dark blue spandex and an orange leather jacket.

"A staff user." Honoka had observed during one of her spying sessions. "She's hiding the separate sections in her jacket."

"We've done our research on you, girl. To be able to fight off Fenrir was impressive. He's a new member, but he did crush Loki." Freya revealed.

"Loki was trash." Honoka shrugged. "His title is ill-fitting. Try to be more considerate before naming yourselves after Norse Gods."

"Hmph." Freya nodded to her Valkyries. They proceeded to charge. Honoka kept eye contact with Freya until the very last moment before flipping high backwards to avoid the charging girls. She then kicked the air and appeared behind the three in mere seconds.

Honoka stood still ominously behind the girls - glaring at them with such ferocity that even Freya began to show slight bits of concern for her subordinates. The three underlings all jerked instantaneously and jumped back once they realized where she was, not knowing how she got there.

Freya began gripping tightly onto a section of the staff she was holding behind her back.

"Such hate in those eyes." A small bead of sweat dripped from the side of her temple. "Is that what they call Sakki (Bloodlust)?"

"I will not repeat myself." Honoka growled. "I will give you one chance. Walk away. Now."

Freya's breath hitched. Her subordinates didn't catch the dark undertones and recklessly charged. "St-" The scene that unfolded before her did not fail to make goosebumps. She could only watch helplessly as her top three Valkyries went at the younger girl. The battle ended before she could even command them to stop.

"Tonfas, a flail and a pike." Honoka observed briefly. She dodged the sharp end of the pike that had been thrust at her by the smallest of margins - just before stepping into the girls guard and disarming her with a quick chop down the pole. In the same breath, Honoka kneed the girl in the stomach and grabbed her head, putting it in the way of a wild swing from the flail user. The weapon had connected right to her face with a crunching sound, causing a splash of red. A few tips of the splash of blood had sprayed onto Honoka's face.

She didn't like the taste.

The tonfa user froze at the sight of the blood giving Honoka an opening to connect a spear thrust to her gut. The girl coughed and proceeded to faint standing. Honoka allowed her body to drop to it's knees.

"Do you expect sympathy?" Honoka sighed noticing the look of fear on Freya. Regretting the mess the skirmish had turned out to become. "Do you have any idea just what you have taken part of? The mess you've made in this city? The disgrace you have wrought to Martial Arts?"

Freya connected her staff and held it in position to fight.

"I wouldn't bother." Honoka scoffed. "I'd beat you like a drum, skank. Put that toy away. That one down there just got clobbered by a flail. She needs medical attention."

The younger brunette turned her back on the older girl and began walking away.

"Get them to a hospital."

For the first time in a long time, Freya was forced to swallow her pride as a fighter. Haruka, the girl who had been absolutely destroyed moments ago, looked to be in awful shape. Freya looked at the flail user, Hibiki, and yelled. "Help me!" The girl nodded shakily, wiping a small tear from her eyes. She had also frozen once her weapon had struck her comrade.

Honoka heard the two scramble to carry the two knocked out girls. She sighed and pulled out a phone. "Hello? Haku. Yes...I'm sorry, I need a favor. There are two girls who need some help. One of them is wearing an orange jacket. They're headed in the direction of your building. Yes, the hospital is a bit far. I'm responsible yes." Honoka waited for her friend to complete lecturing her.

"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry. I'll buy you dinner. Wherever you want." A pause. "Uzushio's? B-but-" She waited for Haku to complete his point. "...Ok." Uzushio's Sashimi was the most expensive spot in Koryou, unfortunately for her.

She wiped the blood from her uniform. It would be difficult to wash off.

"Tsk..."

Perhaps home could wait for a while. Stopping by Ryouzanpaku sounded more preferable.

Hua Shan - Mountain Ravine - Clearing

The forest finally came to an end and a clearing came into view. Hanabi jumped from the last tree and landed right behind her old Master. "It seems..."

"Yes." Naruto sighed. "Well, it is to be expected."

"I'm starting to get flashbacks." She muttered. "Honestly, we reunite for a few minutes and it's like we've never been apart."

"That's harsh."

"Master. You are a trouble magnet." She deadpanned.

They found themselves surrounded by a few groups. Naruto recognized a few of them for certain. Yang Zhen was right around the corner with his lover, Huang Mai. This time, they were accompanied by what seemed to be other Yang family members. To his left he spotted Kaiser Chien, a lesser known Chinese Master who lived in Russia. They had also brought a few underlings here and there.

"Yang Zhen." Naruto blinked. "We meet again. I assure you, I am not in your territory this time."

"Cut the humor."

"Shame." Naruto deadpanned. "Humor is such a good way to open up a path of dialogue to avoid conflict."

There were a few hushes between a few of the Yami fighters.

"We did not plan for you to be here." Yang Zhen gritted his teeth. "Nothing went according to plan."

"On what planet does a single plan go perfectly?" Naruto mused.

Hanabi would giggle if the current predicament were less serious. He truly hadn't changed one single bit. The situation seemed quite dire but he still maintained a facade of calm. There were quite a few Master level fighters around.

Then all of a sudden, she felt a massive presence appear in the clearing.

One she recognized easily.

"Schiller." Hanabi growled.

Edeltraft von Schiller. He was a well-dressed, well-groomed man. Schiller wore a long tawny brown overcoat and a suit of violet beneath. Around his shoulder is a large sword strap holding a two-handed Zweihander.

"If one swain scorns you, you will soon find another." Schiller quoted with a shrug. "You're lucky that the Sword Devil was a no show. Fortunately for us, another fly managed to get caught in the web." His eyes were pinned on Naruto.

"It was not a fly that you 'caught'." Hanabi smirked. "But rather, a Dragon."

"I suppose we will find out, darling." Schiller drew his Zweihander. "It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be."

"One man excels in eloquence." Naruto started. Schiller sighed and pointed his sword at the blond Master. Naruto also drew the blade on his back. It was no fawn he would be fighting now, quite the opposite in fact. Schiller was widely considered one of the greatest warriors in the World. One of the Eight members of the Hachio Danzaiba.

A sports fan could call them, a marquee match up.

"Another in arms." They said in unison.

"Enough words." Naruto continued. "Shall we dance, Performer of Armistice?"

"I've not yet slain a Dragon. Songs will be sung once I take your head, Aukuang."

And then all of a sudden, the atmosphere of the clearing seemed to intensify a hundred-fold. "Incredible!" Hanabi thought to herself. Even Schiller's subordinates looked shaken. She couldn't blame them. The killing intent of Schiller clashing with her Master's sheer will to do battle made the very air itself suffocating to stand. It goes to show that despite achieving what they call 'Mastery', her Master and his current opponent were still in a totally different realm.

"His Seikuken is outrageous!" Yang Zhen observed of Schiller - the Sei technique of his covered nearly 18 meters, something unheard of. His wife had clenched her hands so tight that she was nearly drawing blood. "I must show courage!"

Huang Mai eyed the bait they had cast for the Sword Devil. They knew her as the White Dragon. She wouldn't be an easy opponent. "Husband. We must subdue the woman. She seems to be familiar with Aukuang. Lovers, maybe?"

"It matters not. The plan was to take her in anyway." Yang Zhen looked to the rest of the crew they brought. "Surround the White Dragon! We'll be taking her with us. Let Schiller handle Aukuang! Back up will be arriving soon..."

Hanabi frowned. Three Masters and nine expert fighters. She eyed the enemies around her, arms crossed. "I'm in trouble. It'd be tough to take on just that one Yang, but the woman and that other Master behind me to the left is also a factor. Fighting head on would surely end up in my defeat."

"I must take out the experts first. But to do that..." She turned back to the forest. "I must separate and crush them individually."

"I don't wanna get caught in the titanic battle these two are sure to have. So...catch me if you can, scum!" She would regret not witnessing the epic battle. But it was more important to protect her life as well. Hanabi did not want to end up as a hostage.

She jumped and retreated back to the woods, watching as all of the others followed her. They were quite slow compared to her. Good. Having speed advantage was critical in a twelve on one situation.

"Fools." She seldom ever held pride for this once certain fact. "Only an idiot trails an ex-Konoha shinobi into the woods!"

Koryou

The sun had fallen.

Honoka stood still in the middle of the Koryou street. Before her stood the boy that had fought her not too long ago. Hatake Kakashi had one of his hands in his pocket and the other held an orange book. Honoka did not judge what a man read on his own time but - frankly - the boy seemed a bit young to be reading such erotic material.

"..." Honoka had a feeling she knew why he was here. But would it be as a Fist of Ragnarok or as a shinobi of Konoha?

He closed his book after a few more moments.

"I'm afraid that you will die soon." He sighed and his eyes closed. "If it means anything, I apologize. I had no idea."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your family. They will come for them tomorrow." Kakashi couldn't make contact with her eyes. "They will use them to lure you out. Unfortunately, they will also kill them."

"Who...?" Honoka's hands were shaking.

"The Leaf, of course." He replied cordially. "I don't have anything against you. You are the first person to have ever defeated me and I respect that."

Nobody his age had ever beaten him. In fact, he had beaten many people several years older then him. But she was the first to have done what she did. Whatever people may think of him, Kakashi respected strength. Shirahama Honoka was somebody who fought him with respect - whether it was as herself or as Xinku, like he suspected. He no longer cared if they were connected.

The plan his superior had for her was as cowardly as it got. Despite the fact that he was an assassin, despite the blood that he had shed, despite all of that - he had honor. Respect. There should be honor amongst the thieves, the assassins.

He regretted reporting her to his superiors.

"See you around. As of today, I will be deserting the Leaf. As a treat, I'll let you in on this piece of information." Kakashi said as he was walking away. "Shimura Danzo will not stop until your line is dead. It's best to just kill him and be done with it. The Ryouzanpaku Masters can help you but they are more merciful to their enemies. Kill Danzo. Don't let him live. You will regret otherwise."

He paused briefly.

"We will have our rematch one day. I don't care how. Whether it be as Xinku or Shirahama Honoka-" She widened her eyes. "I will defeat you the next time we meet."

Honoka's hand shook as she watched him leave. "..." His words rang in her head. But the first thing that came to her mind was family. Her mother and father were in danger!

"Fuck!"

Hua Shan

Uzumaki Naruto (Katsujinken) vs. Edeltraft von Schiller (Satsujinken, Hachio Danzaiba)

They were alone now. He couldn't afford to be afraid for Hanabi - it was up to her to survive this battle. Schiller was a world-renowned Warrior and Naruto would respect his strength here and now. He had even drawn Moyie, his jian. The surface of the blade was as white as the snow, it's guard was silver and the handle was violet.

"Your sword is beautiful." Schiller admitted in a melancholic voice. "I will happily add it to my collection."

They were calmly pacing against one another, looking for an opening. Both were Sei fighters by nature - and holding up massive Seikukens (Control of The Air Sphere). It would be difficult for either fighters to gain the upper hand.

"I confess. It's been many years since I've fought a man of your caliber, von Schiller." Naruto began. "Please excuse the rust I must shake off."

"Same here."

And then in a flash, they moved. Naruto was not fool enough to clash Moyie against that tremendous Zweihander. From what he remembered from Schiller's profile, the blade was named 'Verführer'. Schiller waved and thrusted the two-handed blade with speed so great that he might as well have been holding a stick. He dodged the furious storm of cuts - each single thrust and slice threw the wind behind Naruto slicing off branches that were even kilometers away.

A testament to this man's incredible strength.

"Braver!" By the smallest of margins, the blond dodged the Zweihanders downward swing. Behind him the very ground split all the way up to the edge of the woods - cutting anything in it's way.

"I'm impressed. I've not met a man who could throw their slashes so powerfully since my own Master." Naruto commented. "Allow me to follow up." He reversed the grip on his blade and swung it from his hip.

"Sheji Liuxing (Shooting Meteor)!" One single wave of air split into seven separate ones shot at Schiller at incredible speeds. They were ranging in speed, direction and quality - he managed to dodge three of them and swing at the others, dispersing the slicing attacks. Without another moments notice, he used the Zweihander to block a light swing from his top left side, and the fight went on as such.

The chaotic battle between the two would be unwatchable to the naked eye of regular people. All they would be able to comprehend were sharp cuttings winds wound up in a tornado of speed. The ravine they fought in began to collapse from up top. Some time during the exchange, Naruto managed to land a clean kick on Schiller sending him backwards into the small crack in the Earth.

Quickly following up, he jumped in after, kicking the very air and constantly switching directions mid air and moving around his opponent like a straight line razor. One moment he had been to the side and in another he had already made it to Schiller's blind-side, forcing him to go on the defensive. Mind, Schiller was incredibly annoyed that this was all happening whilst falling in mid-air - in the seconds of battle. "A Dragon Lord indeed."

"I'll have your head on a pike, Aukuang! It will be my greatest kill to date! They shall call me the Dragon Slayer!"

Schiller's eye followed Naruto's pattern and predicted his movements. "Fool! If you're going to attack my blind-side all the time, I will know where you will be next!"

He waited just for the right timing then quickly jerked in mid-air at the exact moment he thought Naruto would appear in his blind-spot. He had caught him unawares, if the blond's slight widening of the eyes revealed anything.

"Sterben Vergil!" This time it was an upward-swing that was thrown at Naruto. However this time, his single slash was also thrown in multiple directions. By reflex, Naruto had been able to kick back in an instant but was unable to completely avoid damage. One of the strikes had gotten him in the shoulders, leaving more than a nick. "Feh! You were holding back another gear of speed."

"Of course." Naruto replied. "You thought I was so foolish as to show you everything from the get go?"

"It matters not." Schiller swung his sword with the flat end, propelling him to the side of the ravine where he stabbed his blade into. He then stood on top of it hanging off the edge by the flat of his boots.

Naruto used quick little kicks of SDS (Sky Dragon's Steps), holding his spot in the middle of the ravine, on top of the very air.

"You're quite proficient with such a heavy weapon."

"I enjoy the beautiful sound of a head being lopped off!" Schiller grinned. "Or the sound of a body being cleanly split into two. Are we not the same, Dragon?"

"Perhaps once." He admitted. "I must punish you for harming someone that I love."

"Do your worst, Dragon!"

Schiller grabbed the large sword by the handle and began running up the wall, dragging it as he went.

"Tch." Naruto grunted. His opponent had landed a clean cut on his shoulder. And in rather fantastic fashion as well. "I haven't landed a single cut on him and he's gotten me once already. The Hachio Danzaiba are quite formidable. If this man is just a mere member."

He watched the man climb up the ravine. "If you want to take this battle to the top, then that's where I will head." He immediately jumped from where he had been floating with incredible speeds.

For the both of them, it was probably the most fun they've had in years.

Hua Shan - Abandoned Monastery

Hyuuga Hanabi (Satsujinken) vs. Huang Mai (Satsujinken, Yami)

Hanabi dropped another head she had decapitated along the way. It was that of the third Master, Kasier-something, that had been part of the group of twelve. He was good enough to not get killed in one-hit, not like the other experts, but even a second would have made a difference in a death battle. So far she had killed all of the experts and now this third master.

"That should make things much easier." The fools decided to split up and find her like she predicted. The Leaf had trained her to use the woods since birth - as did her Master. It was a terrain advantage unlike any other.

He heard somebody approach from the front of the monastery.

"We're idiots." Huang Mai breathed out with exasperation. "That idiot Husband of mine. He's so hopeless. I'm afraid that we're alone here. He went to search for you back at the Cavern."

"You are idiots." Hanabi agreed. "You shouldn't have brought experts to a battle of Masters. They will only get in the way."

"You're not wrong." Mai was a dark haired woman who wore black fighting robes tied with a white sash. "I see you've killed all of my comrades already. Well done. You knew we'd want to separate to gain more ground. My husband is the impatient type - he didn't want the experts to slow him down. That was a mistake."

"Yes, you're correct." Hanabi confirmed the woman's thoughts. Those were Hanabi's exact thoughts when she decided to fall back to the woods. "And now there are two."

"I will be taking you back to the base. Dead or alive." Huang held her hands like claws. Hanabi watch her hands sharpen and glow white, a technique she was not familiar with. It certainly looked dangerous.

Huang started with a slow stalk but her appearance began to spread into multiples. "She's using her ki to split her presence. Interesting." Then all of a sudden they moved in conjunction.

"Illusions." Hanabi muttered. But still she opted to dodge all of the attacks. While gliding continuously backwards she calmly assessed Huang, using Kakei to deflect any of the ones she believed were real. She blocked perhaps eighty percent of the real hands and let one or two land on harmless areas such as her elbow or upper arm.

"She Jiao Dian (The Serpent Glides)? How elegant." Huang's voice was soothing. Mocking. "Don't insult me! Fight back!"

"It's like you've never fought a counter-fighter before." Smiled the white-eyed girl. Although it was not of the kind nature. "Have some patience. You will be meeting your ancestors soon enough."

"I will be honored by my colleagues once I defeat you." Huang said. "I have forgotten about bringing you back. I'm going to kill you. Defeating the White Dragon will bring me glory."

"What a cute dream." Hanabi then suddenly grabbed the real Huang, dispelling the illusions. "You gave me enough time to calculate just which of the presences were real, which were not. I determined that there was a 93 percent chance that this hand was yours."

"You're just pulling those statistics out of your ass!"

"But are you not impressed?" She smirked and kneed Huang in the stomach. "I admit, that hand technique is scary." She held up her arm.

There were deep cuts on it - formed from the sharpness of Huang Mai's chi formed hand.

"Jiu Yin Bai Gu Zhao (Nine Yin White Bone Claw)!" Huang re-focused her chi upon her hand.

"I should end you before the Spear User comes by." Hanabi said. "They call me the White Dragon, yes. But without shame, I will grace you with the name of your future executioner. My name is Hyuuga Hanabi, disciple of Uzumaki Naruto, heir to Yunlongquan (Cloud Dragon Fist). And with this palm technique, I will end your life."

"Such arrogance." Huang spat some blood. "This battle is far from over." She charged with her arms connected forward.

"Naive." Hanabi side-stepped and elbowed her arms into an angle, knocking the woman off balance. "You were defeated the moment you challenged me."

With a sharp upwards kick to her gut, Hanabi launched Mai into the air. She jumped and kicked up until she reach higher than the woman's elevation. "Uzumaki Jin Zhang: Zai Long Shen (Uzumaki Forbidden Palm: Severing of the Dragon God)!" Delicate white chi infused into the tips of her fingers. Hanabi struck Huang multiple times all over - using a clawed hand - on the woman's open undefended spots, destroying every bit of her insides quickly, efficiently. All the while moving like a flash of white using the SDS. In seconds, Huang Mai resembled a splat of blood that had just dropped from the sky.

Huang landed on the ground with a deafened thud mere moments before Hanabi landed on her feet. The woman had died in the air. Upon inspection of her corpse, there would be multiple small holes in her body punching past her skin and into her innards.

"And then..." Hanabi took a cloth and wiped the blood from her hands. "There was one."

END

You might remember Huang Mai and Yang Zhen from one of the Naruto chronicles. They have crossed paths once before in this story. I also mentioned them in a scene with Honoka and Hakubi.

Hm. It took me a bit longer then I thought. The thing about Master level fights...they have to be epic. Duh. Lol. Kenichi Master level fights are all over the top, entertaining and plain badass. I wish I could draw. The fight I made in my head...it's hard to put to words.

Everytime I describe Naruto, Honoka or Hanabi to be 'kicking up' or 'kicking the air' I'm referring to the SDS (Sky Dragon Steps). It's just the best way for me describe it without sounding horrible. Obviously, Naruto and Hanabi are seasoned Masters and I showed it here. If anyone has watch One Piece, it's pretty much Geppou. But imagine that Naruto and Hanabi are able to use Soru and Geppou at the same time, but Honoka is still like Sanji, who can only kick the air but not move super fast at the same time.

Pretty much, Naruto and Hanabi can move and change directions in mid-air like a razor, moving at super high speeds. But Honoka can only just kick and move but by comparison she is walking, and the other two are like race cars. She's still slow compared to them.

Schiller is a real character in Kenichi. He's one of the Hachio Danzaiba so I decided to introduce them and him in this chapter. They were always meant to be apart of my story. The Hachio, Chikage and so many others. I want to get to everything but I must be patient in my writing and how I develop the story.

Kakashi's situation is something I will explain another time if you like. It's...I guess it's supposed to be a plot twist but I'm certain anyone could have seen it coming. I'm not a drama writer. I'm not good at plot twists. When the red wedding happened, I was shocked like anyone else.

I got many encouraging reviews. And I would like to sincerely thank all of you who are still around and are still reading. It does mean a lot to me. I hope I continue to write a story you will continue to enjoy.

Please, have a good one. And Happy Mother's Day to all wonder mothers or soon to be mothers.

- EnP