Chapter 14: 1 1 …?
The ice spike shot directly at the clone's head. The clone quickly fell forward slipping off the end of the previous spike as the other cut some of his hair as he hit the ground. The previous head of Koori no Senshi melted into the ground as another head grew out of its body. The clone rolled on the ground and turned to face Koori no Senshi and noticed the head had grown back in the short amount of time that had gone by.
"If removing the head doesn't kill it, how do I actually have to destroy the entire body or is there some sort of weak point I can hit?" Yuki's Clone thought as he held his chest revealing a little blood
"Oh? So this so called clone was actually the real one, huh?" Koori no Senshi asked as the first spike retracted covered in blood as the snow from the Ice Enclave jutsu fused with its body.
"Tch, so I was found out." Yuki thought glancing towards his clone sitting on the ground when its eyes suddenly opened and charged at Koori no Senshi. "Now it's time to use the more advanced clones since those last ones were too weak." He thought putting his hands together.
"The other one is charging at me?" Koori no Senshi thought turning towards Yuki's real clone as it charged at it with a kunai. "Foolish human, you should know by now those direct attacks won't be enough to defeat me!" It shouted launching an ice spike directly at the clone shattering the kunai and piercing the clone through the chest rendering it to a pile of snow.
"Damn, I won't be able to set up for the ice enclave anymore if I use this jutsu but it wasn't working in the first place so there's no other choice." Yuki thought making the hand seals: Serpent, Bird, Tiger, Ram, Boar, and Dog when suddenly three bodies of snow formed next to Yuki.
"What's this…? How pathetic, more clones won't help you, human." Koori no Senshi said brushing off the appearance of the new clones.
"I wouldn't take them lightly. These aren't ordinary clones like the ones before were – those were level one clones, the ones that would be easily destroyed and had weak combat strength. These ones are level two, they… well, just find out for yourself." Yuki said with a smirk as the three clones slowly started to copy him.
"Don't get cocky, human! Those pitiful clones will do nothing but slow your defeat!" Koori no Senshi shouted rushing forward with the ice sword it had before aimed directly at Yuki's heart.
"Don't think you'll get past us so easily!" Yuki's First clone stated with an ice sword formed in hand blocking Koori no Senshi's sword.
The Second clone was across from the first with his sword making an "X" between the two blocking the attack. The third was at Koori no Senshi's side stabbing it through the side with his ice sword.
"What!?" Koori no Senshi shouted in shock of what had happened. "How did they stop me while also being able to attack in just one movement?" It thought while glancing over at the third clone. "Do you really think that thing could pierce my body?" It asked looking directly at the third clone.
"It really didn't pierce, his body!?" The Third Clone thought shocked looking at the ice sword to see the blade had shattered.
"Didn't I tell you all that it was useless?" Koori no Senshi asked as a spike shot out of its side heading directly at the Third Clone.
"Did he gain this ability through absorbing the ice enclave!?" The Third Clone asked jumping back when the ice shard slashed his shoulder.
"Pitiful clones are always so weak..! What!?" Koori no Senshi shouted when it noticed the clone hadn't turned to snow when it cut his shoulder but instead there was a little bit of snow coming out of the wound was white powder.
"We're not those weaker clones you've faced before!" The Second Clone shouted tightening his group on his sword.
"So, don't you dare look down on us or humans!" The First Clone shouted as he and the Second Clone pushed together sending Koori no Senshi flying backwards through the air and into a tree.
"That wasn't enough to defeat him. I have to finish that jutsu soon but my chakra might not be enough with the three clones… but if I only had two I don't think they would be able to handle...!" Yuki thought watching the clones when the Third Clone appeared next to Yuki hold its shoulder.
"You need more chakra for 'that' don't you? Don't worry about the other two, they should be enough to handle him – just believe in them." The Third Clone said releasing itself and turning into a pile of snow.
"You two better hold that thing off or I'll have to take you both down myself!" Yuki stated while sitting on the ground while holding his wound on his chest. "The wound is worse than I had thought but I'll have to endure it to finish this jutsu. But why didn't my wound start freezing? Could it be that since the spikes were absorbed his ability didn't transfer over?" He thought closing his eyes to concentrate.
"Maybe we won't just hold him back but defeat him instead!" The First Clone stated confidently ready for a fight.
"That isn't a problem, right?" The Second Clone asked glancing back at Yuki.
"No, by all means, but I don't think it'll be that easy. You two should know that yourselves." Yuki said with his eyes still closed.
"Would you quit underestimating me!?" Koori no Senshi shouted exploding with rage as the dirt around it shot into the air and started swirling around it.
"Did his chakra just rise…?" The First Clone asked surprised by what he was seeing.
"Not just that, it's becoming visible!" The Second Clone stated pointing at the blue chakra swirling around it.
"Now, you all die!!" Koori no Senshi shouted instantly appearing next to the First Clone kicking him in the left side while sending him flying in front of the Second Clone.
"His speed increased…!?" The Second Clone thought shocked when in an instant Koori no Senshi appeared directly in front of him and stuck him in the gut with its right knee sending him flying up into the air. "He was able to blindside me that easily…!?" He thought shocked by the speed when suddenly he was hit from behind heading straight into the ground.
"Don't forget there are two of us!" The First Clone shouted catching the Second Clone before he hit the ground.
"Thanks… but how are you not frozen… or myself for that matter…!?" The Second Clone asked surprised to see he hadn't been freezing like before.
"No time for talking!" Koori no Senshi shouted while standing behind the Second Clone. "Now if you want to save your other clone so badly then take him!" It shouted kicking the Second Clone in the back sending him flying towards the First Clone.
"Don't think I'll try to catch him again!" The First Clone shouted dodging the Second Clone while making a full burst charge at Koori no Senshi but when he thrust his fist up where it was last nothing was there.
"So slow – how dare you think you're an equal to me with such pitiful speed?!" Koori no Senshi shouted in the air above the First Clone as it came down with its right leg on the First Clone's back slamming him into the ground. "Don't make me laugh!" It shouted as the Second Clone dove at it with a kunai when Koori no Senshi suddenly grabbed his arm.
"How did he know…!?" The Second Clone thought when Koori no Senshi turned and kicked him with his right leg sending the Second Clone flying into tree. "Ugh!" He uttered in pain as he spit out some powdered snow from his mouth.
"You shouldn't take us lightly yourself, Ice Style – Ice Forest!" The First Clone shouted from beneath Koori no Senshi when dozens of ice shards shot out of the ground aimed directly at Koori no Senshi.
"These pitiful shards will have no effect on me!" Koori no Senshi shouted as the ice shards smashed into it unable to pierce it.
"The objective wasn't to pierce you but to hold you in place!" The First Clone shouted getting up while glancing towards the tree where the Second Clone had been. "I hope this works." He thought when the two clones bother performed the hand seals: Horse, Boar, and Rat with Koori no Senshi looking at the both of them.
"What did you two just do!?" Koori no Senshi shouted unable to move from his spot when it saw a large mass of ice shoot out of the ground with what appeared to be an extremely sharp tip. "That thing will never…!" It started to shout when the large mass shot directly at it at a high speed breaking through Koori no Senshi's chest leaving it shocked. "How…?"
"Looks like you weren't as strong as you thought you were." The First Clone said with a smirk.
"Too bad, I thought we were insignificant to you – that we weren't even worth of being your opponents." The Second Clone said walking towards Koori no Senshi while wiping his mouth clearing away the snow.
"Ha…ha-ha…ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, do you really think I would fall for such weak Genjutsu? This is a small child's level at best – don't make such a mockery of me!" Koori no Senshi shouted shattering the ice shards holding it in place just as the illusion vanished.
"Damn, the Genjutsu didn't work after all!" The Second Clone thought annoyed when Koori no Senshi appeared behind him and forced its hand through his chest.
"One less annoyance to worry about now!" Koori no Senshi should while laughing.
"As if I would let myself die by the likes of you!" The Second Clone shouted when he suddenly exploded with enough force to push the First Clone a few feet back.
"Damn, now it's only me…!" The First Clone thought looking towards the cloud that was created by the explosion revealing a shadow.
"What a meaningless thing to do – it didn't even have any effect on me at all. It polished my ice coat pretty nice though." Koori no Senshi said stepping out of the cloud revealing its ice coat to be sparkling as if being pelted by the dirt and powdered snow had polished it.
"I-Impossible! That explosion didn't even harm him at all!?" The First Clone thought in a state of shock when Koori no Senshi suddenly vanished in a blink of an eye.
"Next it's your turn." Koori no Senshi whispered into the First Clone's ear as it stood behind him ready to stab him through the chest when suddenly he was sent flying through the air.
"What…?" The First Clone asked slowly turning around to see Masakatsu standing there with a smirk on his face.
"Hey, Yuki, it's been a while." Masakatsu said glancing over at the First Clone.
"'It's been a while'…? It hasn't even been that long! But good timing never the less." The First Clone said noticing Masakatsu clinching his teeth while trying to keep a straight face. "Hey, are you sure you should be fighting? You don't look too…!" He said when Koori no Senshi appeared behind Masakatsu.
"Too good maybe? Why would be because of that last attack my clone did, wouldn't it? I'm surprised you're still standing but it won't be for much longer!" Koori no Senshi shouted thrusting its right hand forward towards Masakatsu's chest but he dove to his right just getting stabbed in the back on his right side just below the shoulder blade.
"Well, what do you know? It seems all sections of my body have finally been cut – now I turn to ice, right?" Masakatsu asked rolling over to the First Clone while favoring his right side.
"No, for some reason it seems like he's lost that ability but increased all his others. He's open for melee attacks but now he's too fast and his defense is way too high to even make a dent." The First Clone said keeping a close eye on Koori no Senshi.
"So, close combat is okay, huh? Good, I would like to try my hand at him." Kazuki said walking next to the First Clone with Ayaka right behind him.
"Kazuki…? Weren't you abandoned in the woods somewhere?" Masakatsu asked when Kazuki quickly glared down at him.
"That's right – I was abandoned until that explosion just a little while ago. Ayaka finally came to her senses and healed me." Kazuki said with a smirk.
"Actually, Kosuke finally woke up and she's looking over Takeo so I figured we could use another punching bag to help over here and decided to heal Kazuki." Ayaka said cheerfully with a smile on her face.
"Ayaka… how mean…" Kazuki said dropping his head with tears rolling down his face.
"Enough rambling on!" Koori no Senshi shouted charging forward allowing them to see it.
"Why is he moving slow...?" The First Clone thought confused when he noticed Koori no Senshi was charging directly at Kazuki.
"Go now punching bag! Do what you were healed to do!" Ayaka shouted pointing Kazuki forward as he pulled out his Ninjaken.
"Right…! Hey, I'm not a punching bag!" Kazuki shouted turning his attention to Ayaka. "Kazuki, he's too much for you, get out of here with Ayaka while you still can!" He shouted looking at Kazuki and Ayaka.
"Not a chance – we have to defeat him at all costs, right?" Kazuki asked charging forward into Koori no Senshi.
"Idiot, don't be rash, he's just toying with you!" The First Clone shouted while trying to tell Kazuki that Koori no Senshi wasn't using his full power.
"Don't worry too much – the kid was able to beat one of those clones single handedly." Masakatsu said standing up while trying to heal his wound on his back.
"What…!?" The First Clone asked surprised while looking over at Ayaka to see she was virtually unharmed without even a single scratch.
"Yep, he was amazing too." Ayaka said smiling while Kazuki meet Koori no Senshi head-on with his Ninjaken – the two blocked one another's attacks as if they were equals.
"Not bad for a kid but it looks like that power you had when you defeated my clone is no longer with you!" Koori no Senshi stated with a smirk.
"What was that…?!" Kazuki asked surprised by what it had said.
"Don't forget – certain clones are able to inform the original of what they've seen once they are destroyed or are released." Koori no Senshi said forcing its right hand down on Kazuki's Ninjaken.
"Then he knows about…!" Kazuki thought shocked losing momentum and slowly being pushed back my Koori no Senshi.
"If I'm mistaken the thing that unlocked that enormous potential was here, was it not?" Koori no Senshi asked while swiftly moving its left arm around and destroying the mamori that was tucked under the grip.
"No…!" Kazuki stated noticing what had happened while Ayaka noticed what had happened as well.
"Kazuki…! This is bad, real bad…!" Ayaka stated sounding frightened after remembering what had happened before.
"Ayaka, what is it?" The First Clone asked looking over at Ayaka.
"We should get out of here and now!" Ayaka shouted while the First Clone and Masakatsu looked at her confused.
"Ayaka… is there something you're not telling us?" Masakatsu asked looking over at Ayaka to see her frightened expression.
"I… cannot say but I know we have to get out of here and I mean…!" Ayaka shouted when suddenly there was a sudden burst of wind and Koori no Senshi was suddenly being pushed back by the Ninjaken.
"What is this…!?" Koori no Senshi shouted confused by how it was being pushed back. "Those eyes… they're glowing just like what the clone saw." It thought noticing Kazuki's eyes starting to glow a pale turquoise.
"I didn't expect to see you again after what happened last time. You have my thanks for releasing me and for that I'll spare you." Kazuki said in a cocky tone.
"'Spare me'? You obviously don't know who you're dealing with, do you? Well, I'll enlighten you a little!" Koori no Senshi shouted releasing its power that it had been holding back and suddenly its right arm stopped being pushed back.
"Oh? So you want to die after all? That's fine by me because I could use a warm up before I go after that group over there." Kazuki said motioning towards Ayaka, the First Clone, and Masakatsu.
"Ayaka, you know something don't you? What exactly is going on?" The First Clone asked in a serious tone while watching Kazuki.
"His Ninjaken has something sealed inside of it and if the mamori that is tucked in the grip of it is destroyed or removed then whatever was inside takes over Kazuki." Ayaka said while the First Clone turned towards Kazuki quickly surprised by what he had just heard.
"Then that's what happened back then…? I was wondering what happened but I figured it was something to do with the area. Damn, to think it was something like that – I've got to stop this!" The First Clone stated fighting against the strong winds Kazuki and Koori no Senshi were producing.
"Yuki, count me in." Masakatsu said with his wound visibly healed.
"I'm in too. We've got to get the mamori back under his grip!" Ayaka stated showing Yuki a mamori she had tucked away in her pouch.
"Fine but it'll be dangerous." The First Clone said forming an ice sword in his right hand while approaching the Kazuki and Koori no Senshi.
"So, you think you can challenge me since you have this new power? Don't think I'm as weak as my clone!" Koori no Senshi shouted appearing behind Kazuki in an instant and quickly thrust its right fist forward when it suddenly hit Kazuki's Ninjaken.
"Don't take me for a fool either – I despise anyone who underestimates me!" Kazuki shouted putting two hands on the Ninjaken and quickly turned around swing the Ninjaken at Koori no Senshi's left side but it blocked with its left hand while swinging its right fist at Kazuki's head.
"Not so fast!" The First Clone shouted blocking the attack with his ice sword.
"Don't interfere!" Kazuki shouted kicking Koori no Senshi back with his right leg while swinging the Ninjaken at the First Clone.
"Kazuki, you need to come to your senses! You're letting that Ninjaken control you!" The First Clone shouted trying to snap Kazuki out of it while blocking the Ninjaken with his ice sword. "I don't think I'll last long against him!" He thought getting pushed back easily by Kazuki.
"How dare you look down on me?!" Koori no Senshi shouted charging forward with its right fist aiming for the First Clone while its left foot was aiming for Kazuki.
Kazuki threw the First Clone back with his Ninjaken making him be missed by Koori no Senshi while he quickly turned and blocked the left foot of Koori no Senshi with his Ninjaken. Kazuki appeared behind Koori no Senshi instantly swinging the Ninjaken down towards its left arm while throwing three kunai towards the First Clone. Masakatsu slid under Koori no Senshi and Kazuki as the Kunai flew over his head and he proceeded to attempt to trip the two of them with the two kunai in his hands aiming directly for their legs. The First Clone quickly reached into his cloak and threw three kunai knocking the three of them away while Koori no Senshi and Kazuki pushed away from one another avoiding Masakatsu.
"Fire Style – Fire Bolt Jutsu!" Ayaka thought making the hand seals: Tiger, Bird, Ram, Tiger, and Ox and suddenly balls of fire shot towards Koori no Senshi as she appeared out from behind a tree near Kazuki and rushed towards him trying to put the mamori on the grip as quickly as possible.
"Don't even think about it if you want to live any longer! I know you're back there and that you're the girl from before!" Kazuki stated slightly glancing back with a smirk while Koori no Senshi was dodging the fire balls.
"Now Masakatsu!" The First Clone shouted when Masakatsu put his hands together.
"Wind Style – Sonic Explosion Jutsu!" Masakatsu thought making the hand seals: Dragon, reverse Ox, and Tiger and quickly punched toward Kazuki's left leg followed by the right leg.
"Do you really think that would…!" Kazuki started to say when suddenly he was knocked face first into the ground.
"Ice Style – Ice Shard Forest!" The First Clone thought making the hand seals: Snake and Bird with his hands separated.
Suddenly ice shot out of the ground and wrapped around Kazuki holding him to the ground as the Ninjaken flew through the air. The Fist Clone and Masakatsu watched it as the twirled by them and straight into Koori no Senshi's hand. Ayaka suddenly stopped in place after she had been running after it with the mamori in hand.
"This is the Ninjaken that…!" Koori no Senshi started to say when it suddenly stopped in midsentence.
"Hey! Could someone get these things off me?" Kazuki asked pinned down under the ice.
"Yuki-sensei… what are we going to do now?" Ayaka asked when suddenly Koori no Senshi's eyes started to glow a pale turquoise color.
"We have to prolong this fight as long as we can to give myself more time." The First Clone said trying to grasp the situation.
"Yuki, by 'myself' are you saying you're a clone?" Masakatsu asked walking over to Ayaka and the First Clone while Koori no Senshi was still motionless.
"Yes, the level ones didn't last long against Koori no Senshi – even the Ice Enclave failed to stop him. So he summoned three level two ice clones but he needed more chakra for the jutsu he's planning so he had to reduce the number to two. The other clone was destroyed in that blast earlier – it blew itself up rather than being killed by Koori no Senshi." The First Clone explained while keeping a close eye on Koori no Senshi.
"This Yuki-sensei is a level two clone…?" Ayaka asked confused about the level two portion of what they were saying.
"Yeah, we don't get destroyed as easily as the pervious ones but Yuki doesn't like using us because we don't leave as much snow to do the Ice Enclave surprise attack." The First Clone explained further.
"I see. Koori no Senshi must've been a lot tougher than I had thought but what jutsu is Yuki planning to…!" Masakatsu started to say when there was a large explosion of raw power coming from where Koori no Senshi was.
"Hey, quit playing around and let me out of here all ready! I can help – I'm the punching bag remember?" Kazuki asked trying to get out from under the shards when they finally lifted off him.
"Listen, Kazuki. Take Ayaka away from this area and the two of you leave now before this gets too out of hand. This fight is going to be on a level higher than the two of you can reach in your current states – hell, it's even higher than what Masakatsu and I can handle so you two need to get away before it starts!" The First Clone shouted as Kazuki looked up at him with a blank stare, completely confused about what he was talking about until he spotted Koori no Senshi with the Ninjaken.
"But…!" Ayaka started to say when she was cut off by Masakatsu stepping in front of her.
"He's right - this battle has become a lot more complicated than it was before. Not only does Koori no Senshi possess his own power but also now that of the thing that the Ninjaken harbors. It is too dangerous for the two of you to even be near this area so leave now before it's too late." Masakatsu said standing next to the First Clone watching Koori no Senshi's chakra swirl around it as its power began to rise.
"No!!" Kazuki shouted displeased with what the two of them were saying.
"What…!?" Masakatsu and the First Clone asked surprised by Kazuki's outburst.
"Kazuki…" Ayaka said surprised as well while looking at Kazuki as he clinched his fists tight with his head down slightly.
"I've been called so many different things over the past few years mainly because of my inability to do hand seals correctly but one thing I won't be called is a coward! I will not run from a battle – I am a ninja after all and it would be pathetic to run while my friends and teacher stayed to fight to the death! I cannot do such a selfish thing to survive!" Kazuki shouted resolute about his decision to stay and fight.
"And I'm with Kazuki on this!" Ayaka stated looking at Masakatsu and the First Clone.
"Amazing – to think that the one that I thought to be the weakest among them turned out to be one of the strongest… you remind me of a certain someone long ago." Masakatsu said with a smile on his face while laughing lightly.
"Do whatever you wish but don't say I didn't warn you two." The First Clone said turning to face Koori no Senshi again.
"Don't count us out either! We don't plan to run until this job is completed!" A voice shouted from behind Kazuki.
"Takeo, Kosuke, what are you two doing here? You both haven't healed enough to fight!" Ayaka stated as the two of them stood there with bandages wrapped around them from their previous injuries.
"We're fine, besides didn't he say that Yuki needed more time to prepare a jutsu?" Kosuke asked leaving the First Clone with a surprised expression.
"How long have the two of you been here?" Masakatsu asked surprised by what Kosuke had said.
"Just since the clone started talking about the plan." Kosuke said cheerfully with a smile.
"I was about to say something but it looks like the idiot covered all the things I was planning to say so I just kept quiet." Takeo said shrugging while stepping forward. "So, how should we take care of this overpowered egomaniac?" He asked looking towards Koori no Senshi as the wind started to calm down.
"Kosuke, Shikamaru told me about your ability – would you be able to use it against this guy?" The First Clone asked looking towards Koori no Senshi.
"He did, did he? Well, I should be able to use it but I can only see five seconds in advance so it is limited and with him being as powerful as we've all seen I doubt it would make a difference." Kosuke said a little irritated that her ability was made public.
"That is not a problem – we just need to slow him down, not defeat him. Even getting close to the Ninjaken in order to put the mamori on it will be helpful enough. I have a plan in mind but I'm going to need everyone's help and it has to be precise or someone could die." The First Clone said as the six of them gathered together to plan their next attack.
Author's Notes:
Took longer than expected but it's out now! I'm looking as the next chapter as being the end of the battle. I was planning on ending it in this chapter but another idea hit me and I changed the plans. Leave feedback whenever possible, it helps to improve the story overall.
-Steve Masters