Hey there! Sorry for the ridiculously long wait - life, exams, school and basketball got in the way of updating... -_- Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed, and the people who wished me luck on said exams (Eugh... Results... Dreading them...) I appreciated all your comments and views, positive and negative! Thanks!
Also, just a little explanation - to those who asked (and those who didn't too) did you really think I would let Sakura just cruise through it all? You wound me, really. Sure, this story is all about the fact that she is in fact, stronger than in the original story-line, but honestly? A fight like the one she had against Lee would leave even Kakashi a bit 'out of it'. Thus, I hope to have explained the reason for this chapter's title - ''Roadblocks' :D
Finally, Google said that 20000 yen is about £130, for those who don't know. It'll be mentioned later on.
Enough Author's Rambling - Here's the story! Enjoy!
When Sakura woke up, it was to soft sheets, worried faces and too-white walls.
The faces were blurred, but even in her drugged state, she still recognized the unmistakable red and brown heads of her teammates. Sakura tried to sit up, tried to move her hand up to wipe the sleep from her eyes, but found that she couldn't. Instead, a jolt of pain shot through her, pain so overwhelming that she immediately stilled and whimpered.
"Sakura-!" Akane jumped forward, trying to help but not knowing what to do.
Kaoru saved him from having to do anything. The brunette stepped up and gently nudged the rosette back onto the pillows and rested his hand on her arm.
"It's better if you try to stay still, Sakura-chan." he said quietly.
Sakura obeyed, but had a curious expression on her face. "Why, Kaoru? Why can't I move?" she didn't miss the discreet glance Akane sent the brunette as she asked that and tried to stifle the immediate assumption that there was something they weren't telling her.
"Don't worry about it. You must still be sore from that battle, and you did lose a lot of blood." Kaoru explained, his tone soothing and strangely pacifying.
Sakura was about to question the brunette some more, but a disbelieving, derisive snort interrupted her.
"For God's sake, when will you stop lying to her?" Sakura snapped her head in the direction of the speaker, and was surprised to see Neji standing by the window, gazing at them with a look of contempt. But when Sakura narrowed her eyes and looked deep enough, she could see the obvious look of worry and relief beneath his mask.
Now that the surprise wore off, the rosette turned her tired eyes to Neji and actually saw him: his hair was out if its ponytail, visibly disheveled and there was a hint of black bags under his lilac eyes. Sakura was suddenly seized with a feeling of gratitude for the Hyuuga; it was obvious he'd been there for quite a while. But that would have to wait; she needed answers.
"What are they lying to me about, Neji?" she asked softly. Neji sighed and opened his mouth to reply, but Akane stopped him, and his tone sent chills down Sakura's spine.
"I don't think so, Hyuuga. Sakura is our teammate, and she had just woken up from a tough battle. I'm not going to make her any more uncomfortable than she is now." the redhead declared heatedly.
"I'm more uncomfortable not knowing what you two are talking about." Sakura observed quietly.
For some reason, Akane sent her a hurt, almost betrayed look that only served to confuse Sakura, but the redhead's features hardened almost immediately and the rosette found herself staring at an expression she never wished to see on his face; a cold mask of detachment, lips set in a firm line and eyes cold.
"Fine. Tell her. But do so without me." he turned on his heel, but stopped just before. "I suppose I'll see you once you've been discharged. If that moment ever comes, that is." and with those words, he strode out, slamming the door behind him.
Silence reigned in the room.
Sakura was too shocked to react, too busy staring at the space where her teammate - her happy, cheerful, carefree teammate - had been standing just seconds before.
Finally, Kaoru, who was fidgeting slightly due to the awkward air, cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
"I better go after him... Who knows what he might do." the brunette turned to walk out, but just before he reached the door he stopped, walked back, leaned over Sakura's bed and pressed a soft kiss to the rosette's forehead, hands smoothing out her hair. "Get better soon, Sakura-chan." he murmured, before he too turned on his heel and left the room.
Sakura turned to the only other person left in the room, her lip trembling slightly and Neji swore he'd never seen the rosette more confused.
"Would you like to explain to me what just happened?" even her voice trembled, and Neji decided he'd wring her teammates' necks next time he sees them.
The Hyuuga sighed and pulled a chair close to Sakura's bed. "You've been unconscious for four days." he started simply. The rosette's eyes widened and Neji smiled bitterly. "They were besides themselves with worry, but they didn't want to tell you the truth because they thought you'd be uncomfortable or even freak out. They don't know you as well as I do." an almost melancholy look seemed to pass across his face, but it was gone in less than a second. "We've been arguing about it for pretty much the whole time you were unconscious."
Sakura scrunched up her brows, confusion and agitation marrying her features. "You still haven't told me anything though. I have no idea what exactly Akane and Kaoru were trying to keep from me, nor why I still can't move!" she paused, and took a deep breath, wincing when her chest ached. "What exactly happened to me, Neji?" her voice was so quiet, so pained, that Neji could do nought but cave in and answer.
"When you collapsed for the second time, everybody was sure you wouldn't be getting up. But you did, and you won the match. Yet something happened, and you fainted. They got the medics to you as soon as possible, but both, you and Lee were in such a state that they could not risk keeping you in the makeshift hospital at the Tower and they transported you here." Neji noticed Sakura's expectant gaze and sighed. "Sakura. Your arm was shattered, four of your ribs broken, the others fractured, your muscles were shredded when the medics got you here, and you were suffering from severe chakra exhaustion... Also..." and for the first time since Sakura'd known the teen, Neji trailed off, lost for words.
"Also what, Neji?" Sakura demanded sharply. Yet her tone was not that of despair like one would expect after getting such news, but cold and demanding, and, if Neji heard right, filled with uncharacteristic acceptance and… just a hint of resignation. Like she already knew what he'd told her was only the tip of the metaphorical iceberg.
Neji took a deep breath, schooled his face into its typical mask of aloofness, and spoke only after he deemed himself prepared himself for the shattered, disbelieving expression he was bound to get after his next words. "Your chakra reserves have been depleted severely." Neji swallowed audibly. "So severely, in fact, that the medics do not believe they will refill anytime soon. I'm... sorry, Sakura."
Sakura did not say anything for a while, so when Neji looked up - when had he looked down?- he was surprised to see a single tear slide down the rosette's cheek. Sakura raised her eyes and gazed at him with such a broken-hearted expression that it broke through all of his defences and pulled at Neji's heart strings, bringing forth emotions he'd been trying to bury deep down since his father's death.
As such, Neji felt perfectly justified when he clambered up onto Sakura's bed and wrapped his arms around the petite rosette.
Sakura had never believed herself to be particularly emotional. But, when Neji embraced her and began muttering sweet nothings into her ear, and reassuring her that it'll be alright, that her chakra won't be gone forever, and that no, he'll never abandon her, Sakura allowed her walls to fall.
She allowed herself to act her age, and let the tears flow, wrapping her arms tightly around Neji and burrowing as deeply into his warmth as possible, gratefully accepting the comfort when she so needed it.
And as she called on her chakra, hoping against hope that what Neji said wasn't true, that it was just a bad dream and she would wake up soon enough, there was nothing there. A weak blue glow surrounded her finger, like a dying flame, before it flickered out of existence and Sakura was left feeling like an empty shell. Useless.
So she cried. And cried and cried, because she needed it. Needed the relief. Because she had passed the preliminaries, but what of it? At what cost? She had defeated Lee, but now she would be the one defeated, because without her chakra, she was nothing. A nobody. Without her chakra, Sakura wasn't the leader of the Demon Siblings, she wasn't a prodigy or whatever it was the villagers believed her to be.
She was but a child with a dream, and no means to make that dream come true.
That was how Kaoru and Akane found her once the brunette had convinced his teammate to stop fuming and apologize to Sakura. They found the rosette curled up on the hospital bed, wrapped around Neji with tear tracks visible in her cheeks and the Hyuuga's arm swung protectively around her shoulders. Akane stiffened, but quickly relaxed and walked towards his teammate.
It seemed that over the two years they'd been together, Sakura had developed a sixth sense for when her teammates were around, as not a second later, her eyes opened, revealing slightly dazed emeralds. Her eyes sharpened the moment she spotted them and she tensed up, no doubt recalling the last time they were in a room together.
Akane cursed himself as he noticed a certain wariness in the pinkette's eyes, one that had not been there before. He heard Kaoru sigh beside him and knew that the brunette had noticed too.
The redhead smiled reassuringly and sat down beside Sakura. Carefully, so as not to rouse the Hyuuga or injure his teammate, he wrapped his arms around the rosette and cradled her to his chest.
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." He whispered into her hair. "I was being an idiot."
Sakura smiled lightly. She was slightly apprehensive when she first saw the duo, but now, held in Akane's arms, she relaxed. "It's fine, Akane. You are a baka, after all." She teased.
The redhead chuckled.
"Though, could you please tell me who I'll be facing in the finals?" Sakura asked curiously. During her talk with Neji she had somehow forgotten the most important question. "And what happened to Lee?"
The relaxed atmosphere melted away as quickly as it had come, and Akane tensed. "Uh, about that… You've been put up against the Uchiha, Sakura-chan."
Kaoru had his eyes trained on Sakura, curious of what her reaction would be. To his surprise, the rosette seemed only thoughtful, then annoyed. "And Lee?"
Akane gulped discreetly. "Lee… Sakura-chan, he… I don't think he'll ever be a ninja again…"
The statement hung in the air for a few seconds, and Sakura's eyes widened comically. "You mean, he… I… his wounds are too severe for him to…?"
Kaoru nodded, eyes never leaving Sakura's. The rosette sighed, and slumped back against the Hyuuga. "I thought so… I knew it was my fault. Eugh. I need to think."
The redhead made as if to step towards Sakura, but she raised a hand to stop him, cutting off the lecture that was sure to follow. "I need to think about who I can train with, Akane. I'm not going to wallow in grief, so you don't have to worry."
Akane seemed almost indignant at that. "We can train together like we always do! Why would you need new sparring partners?" he exclaimed.
Sakura shook her head, smiling slightly. "No, Akane. You know my condition, probably better than I do myself. I need to train so I can find out how to defeat the Uchiha without chakra. If I do so with you, I will only slow you down. You need to train so you can come up with some new tricks for whoever you'll be facing."
"I'm facing the Aburame kid, and Akane's got the puppet master from Suna." Kaoru replied to the implied question. "Though there is something else, Sakura-chan. The redhead from Suna… he passed as well."
The rosette raised her eyebrow in a mute And?
"And the winner of your match with Sasuke will go against him."
Sakura regarded the brunette with calculative eyes, before she smirked bitterly. "Ah, I see. You want me to intentionally lose my match against the Uchiha because you're afraid of what will happen if I go against Gaara." She snorted. "I thought you knew me better than that."
Kaoru winced openly when she said that. They knew her, maybe even better than she knew herself. Was it so bad that they wanted to protect her? That they cared for her?
"We do know you, Sakura-chan." Akane defended, his eyes portraying the hurt he felt at the rosette's words.
Sakura grit her teeth and forced her muscles to respond, pushing the pain to the back of her mind. With much effort, she sat up, and using her teammates' surprise to her advantage, she snatched a kunai from Kaoru's pouch.
"Then you should know that I am not to be underestimated." She fingered the kunai almost fondly, and looked up at the two. "With or without chakra, I will make sure to make mine and Sasuke's battle," she closed her eyes, and with a miniscule frown marrying her features, threw the kunai at the hospital wall, and even without chakra, the kunai embedded itself hilt-deep in the wall, and there was a loud noise before a crack travelled all the way down the wall from the kunai, splitting the stone. "his worst one yet."
Akane smiled, realising that Sakura wasn't angry at them, just annoyed at her predicament, and was simply projecting this annoyance more than usual. He was still worried, but then, he supposed he would just have to deal with his worry. He knew Sakura didn't like to be babied. "And here we were, worried of how you would take it. God, we were idiots." He smiled reassuringly at the pinkette and nodded. "If you wish to train by yourself, then do so by all means. But know that we are always here for you if you need help. Got that, pinky?" he teased.
Sakura grinned lightly and moved to elbow Akane, but she suddenly hissed in pain, clutching her chest. Blood bubbled from her lips and flowed down her chin. Akane's smile faded, eyes widening in alarm.
"Sakura?" but he received no response apart from more blood dribbling down the rosette's chin and her eyes becoming dazed. He panicked. "Kaoru, get the medics!"
Sakura decided she'd had enough of waking up in too-white rooms with needles sticking out from her arms. Thus, with no small amount of pleading and threatening, she managed to convince Neji to help her escape. They chose to do it between the medics' rounds, and Neji carried Sakura out, then snuck back in to fake a discharge signature.
Then they (or rather, Neji) walked to Sakura's house and the brunette deposited her on the bed. Of course, Sakura being Sakura decided that she would not stay in the bed. And for reasons unknown to anybody but him, Neji insisted on staying with her.
A week passed, and Sakura slowly but surely regained control of her body. She could walk, sit, eat, run, and move around, but all without the aid of her chakra. She grew to really understand the meaning of 'You never fully appreciate something until it's gone'. Many times she'd caught herself trying to use her chakra for the simplest of things, such as trying to reach for something on the top shelf, or speed up her walk, or silence her steps, only to end up disappointed and in pain when nothing happened.
The Hyuuga had stayed with her through it all, not leaving her house since he'd somehow managed to convince Hiashi-sama that he would be 'training'. So Neji was pretty much living at her house. Speaking of Neji, Sakura heard the front door open, and in he walked, carrying a bunch of scrolls in his arms. The brunette dumped the scrolls on the table and turned to face Sakura.
"These are all scrolls on chakra-less combat. Covering everything from basic katas to poison and weaponry combos. The choice is yours." He explained.
Sakura was suddenly seized with the urge to hug the Hyuuga.
So she did.
He'd been nothing but nice and caring ever since she was 'discharged' from the hospital, and she was eternally grateful to him for that.
"Thanks, Neji-chan." She whispered to the surprised teen. "If you need anything, tell me, OK?"
Neji nodded, slightly stunned, but quickly collected himself. "Actually, there is something. The ancient Hyuuga style, passed down the Main House. I have come into contact with the scroll detailing how it should be executed, but I would appreciate some… assistance. Especially considering the fact you had pretty much managed to recreate it by yourself."
The next week and a half was spent working tirelessly to achieve perfection. Neji had almost mastered the Hakkeshou Kaiten, while Sakura found a style that suited her, one that didn't involve chakra and pretty much defined her fighting style. The Hyuuga made the closest sound to a snort she'd ever heard come from him once she showed him the scroll she picked.
"'Explosive tags, motion-activated flash-bombs and poison.'" He raised a brow at her over the scroll. "I always knew the meaning of 'subtlety' was lost on you."
Sakura smirked. "Glad we have cleared that one up."
Neji regarder the rosette with an almost analytical eye. She was coping, yes. But she still wasn't fully recovered from the loss of chakra. He could tell from the way her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly whenever she saw him, or other shinobi use it. Jealousy? Neji would never know. What he did know was that she grew more bitter and sarcastic with every day that passed, and Neji was worried.
He wanted the old Sakura back, as impossible as it sounded. The petite pinkette he met three years ago, one who, while not new to death, had not a single drop of blood on her hands. He wanted the young, still slightly child-like girl. Because Sakura, like himself, had had to grow up too much, too quickly, and he saw it every day, now that he knew what to look for…
BANG!
Neji's head snapped in the direction of the noise so quickly he heard it click. To his surprise, Sakura ran out of the bushes, waving her arms and grinning madly, though bleeding quite badly from her arm.
"Run, Neji! Run!" And for the first time in ages, Neji heard genuine laughter come from the pinkette. As she neared him, she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along, dragging him through the streets of Konoha, all the while Neji admired the pure childish glee visible on her face. He regained his footing and ran along-side her, asking; "Where are we running to?"
"Doesn't matter! Just away from the poison!"
Neji arched his eyebrows in disbelief at the explanation, but followed along nonetheless. Somehow, they ended up on the Academy roof, same place where they met three years ago. Neji recovered from the surprise and managed a rather convincing frown. "Why were we suddenly running?"
Sakura grinned impishly, a rare sight in itself, and explained. "I didn't know how to spread the poisons I got from Shirani-san on a large scale, so I experimented. Tried pretty much everything I knew, but then I ran out of the harmless poisons, so I had to take out the slightly more dangerous ones when I decided to replace the smoke from a smoke bomb with the poison. It worked! But it was also the reason we had to run so quickly!"
Neji was torn between amused and disbelieving, and was about to criticize the rosette for her carelessness, when suddenly another ninja appeared close to them, identical lilac eyes gazing into Neji's with self-assured superiority. "Neji-san. Hiashi-sama is asking for you."
The rosette noticed how Neji's shoulders tensed, and could think of only one reason for his suddenly sour mood. Main House.
"Hai. Tell Uncle Hiashi I'm on my way." The messenger-nin nodded and disappeared almost as quickly as he came. Neji sighed. "I have to go."
Sakura nodded in understanding, though her smile was mostly gone now. "I'll see you at the finals then."
Kaoru and Akane were sparring when she approached them on Training Ground 13, just like she knew they would be. Kaoru spotted her first, and easily blocked Akane's attack, motioning towards her instead. The redhead caught on and quickly flash-stepped to Sakura, enveloping her in a tight hug.
"Sakura-chan! We missed you!" he released her, giving Kaoru the space to give her a hug as well, though much gentler one. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
Sakura smiled slightly. "Better. Definitely better. And you?" she replied awkwardly, never one for small talk.
"We're great! The Aburame kid and that Sand prat won't know what hit them!" Akane enthused, grinning madly. "And what did you come up with?"
The rosette fidgeted slightly, a movement which didn't go unnoticed by Kaoru. "I've settled for poison and explosives." She stated carefully.
Akane chuckled. "That is so different than your usual style, Sakura-chan, that it's almost funny."
Sakura shrugged, smirking. "Perhaps. But my dad once said that he'll do everything in his power to make me the best ninja this world has ever seen. And I'll do my best to make sure his work doesn't go to waste, and if that means stepping out of my comfort zone, then so be it. "
Kaoru nodded understandingly, while Akane grinned. "Good! But how will you take the prat down with only poison and kunai?"
At that, Sakura faltered, as that was the same question that was plaguing her mind as well. "I don't know." she settled for honesty, because even if there was only one thing she was sure of, it was the fact that she could trust these two. "Which is why I came here. I need advice." And something to take my mind off the guilt. She thought to herself. And somebody who will tell me honestly what I need.
"I can confuse the Uchiha with common poisons and projectiles, or engage him in hand-to-hand combat, but he will always have the advantage of chakra enhancement. I don't know how to overcome that. I would feel more confident if we were on equal grounds, both of us without chakra, because then I would know that my taijutsu is superior. But right now… I just don't know…" she trailed off with a tired sigh.
Akane and Kaoru stayed silent for a few seconds, both silently vowing to never allow the rosette to look this helpless ever again. Suddenly, the redhead spoke.
"Then why don't you make him run out of chakra?"
Both, Sakura and Kaoru stared at him in surprise, contemplating his idea. Sakura grinned inwardly, amazed. When she thought about it, it was so simple, and so plain obvious. She mentally congratulated the redhead for his spark of genius.
Unfortunately, Akane seemed to take their silence as a disagreement and defended his point. "I mean, he might be an Uchiha, and he may still have chakra, but he is still a genin. And a rookie at that. So if he acts like the self-confident brat he is, he will try to show off with chakra-consuming jutsu. And even without chakra, you're quick on your feet. So you can evade and conserve your energy until he is running on fumes and then attack." He looked from Sakura to Kaoru for a few seconds, then shrugged sheepishly. "It made sense in my head."
At that moment, Sakura jumped forward and hugged the redhead, burying her face in his chest. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chanted. She let go, and turned on her heel. "I need to check something, see you soon!" and she sped off, disappearing between the trees.
Akane and Kaoru stayed behind, gazing at the space where she was a few seconds before. Finally, Akane spoke, and alien sort of seriousness in his voice. "So, did she notice? And did you find out anything useful?"
The brunette shook his head, sighing. "I don't think she noticed the genjutsu. But I didn't get anything. Her mind is even better protected than her body."
His teammate frowned, disbelief marring his features. "How can you protect your mind? Isn't that like, nearly impossible?"
Kaoru shrugged and slumped on the grass. "I don't know. But it was almost like her thought and feelings were locked away, like something was guarding it. Like a separate consciousness responsible for keeping the mind locked up, blocking all access."
Akane joined the brunette on the ground, gazing at the setting sun above them. "Then I suppose we have no choice but to pay the Hyuuga a visit."
I ran off, and idea blooming in my mind. Not even caring about the incredibly slow pace I was limited to, as it gave me more time to think everything through. Akane's suggestion brought forward a spark, one that initiated everything and provided me with what appeared to be the fool-proof solution.
Finally reaching my destination, I burst through the door. "Shirani-san, I need your help!" luckily, the shop was empty as per usual, so there was nobody to witness my bizarre entrance.
"What is it now, kid?" the shop-keeper asked with his usual tone of minor irritation that I was used to and knew not to take seriously.
"I need a chakra-absorbing armour!" I exclaimed.
Shirani-san stared at me weirdly before he snorted. "You can't be serious, kid. That is way too serious weaponry for brats like you to be messing around with. Besides, it's too expensive for you anyway."
I smirked and threw 20,000 yen on the counter, my smirk growing considerably when his eyes widened. Ah, the beauty of high-paying A-Ranks…
I schooled my features to portray perfect innocence. "I hope that will be enough to cover the cost, right, Shirani-san?"
He nodded wordlessly, still somewhat awed, but stepped out from behind the counter and led me to the very back of the shop. "What kind of armour do you need, kid?" he asked, finally recovered.
"Well, I need it to absorb a full-chakra attack, probably lightning, or fire-based. Thin enough to go under my shirt or cloak, and undetectable. Also, I want to be able to use the chakra it absorbs. Do you have something with this criteria?" I asked calmly.
He sent me a calculating glance and gave a slight smirk. "Funny how you have it all figured out, kid. You really are like your father."
I shrugged. "I know what I want. Is that really so bad?"
He didn't answer, but turned to the racks. With a sigh, he started sifting through everything, until he pulled out a simple chest and back piece. It looked innocent enough, and totally inconspicuous. I raised an eyebrow.
"Don't go judging it with those pretty eyes of yours, kid. Just watch." He snapped his fingers, and chakra gathered on the very tip of his middle and forefinger. He flicked his fingers at the chest piece, and the chakra was sucked out of his fingers. The armour appeared to buzz with the energy, and it cracked and sizzled with sparks of blue chakra. I stood, amazed, unable to say anything.
"Now, watch." And he laid his hand, palm down, on the chest piece, and I watched as his brow creased, and slowly but surely, the chakra from the plate crawled up his hand, until it encased his hand in a soft baby-blue glow.
"I need that." I stated, eyes looking longingly at the armour. It would solve most of my problems if I could use the Uchiha's chakra against him.
"Now, now, don't get ahead of yourself." Shirani-san must have noticed the excited gleam in my eyes. "There is one downside to this. You can't absorb foreign chakra back to your reserves. You can only manipulate it, and that requires great control."
I smirked. "Shirani-san, my entire fighting style revolves around chakra manipulation outside the body. This will be a piece of cake, so to speak."
And to my surprise, Shirani-san mirrored my smirk. "It better be, cause I expect to see a good show when I come watch your fight against the Uchiha brat."
I couldn't fully mask my surprise at the almost friendly comment. "You know?" I finally asked.
He chuckled. "Kid, practically the entire village knows." He said, snorting. "The last Uchiha vs. the Leader of the Demon Siblings. It's the talk of the Village." I couldn't help but be amused by that fact. It was also quite… humbling.
"That's… good to know." I replied hesitantly. "Thank you, Shirani-san. How much is this armour?"
Shirani-san regarded me with an expression which I couldn't decipher for a few seconds, but then he suddenly turned on his heel and marched back towards the counter. "You're lucky, kid. It will be easily covered with the amount you gave me. But, I can offer you something else as well." He disappeared for a few seconds, but came back with what seemed like a black curtain in his hands.
"You'll like it." He sounded so sure of himself I couldn't help but be curious. I raised an eyebrow, clearly challenging, and he smirked. "Come here."
I obeyed, and watched as he organised the cloth in his hands and held it out for me, and I belatedly realised that it was a cloak. I let him put it on for me, and sighed as the soft material made contact with my bare forearms. I was soft, but felt thick at the same time, yet the material was impossible light. Just as I was about to fasten it, Shirani-san caught my arm and gave a secretive smirk.
"I said you'd like it, didn't I? Actually look at it, will you?" he chastised. More than a little confused, I looked at the lining, expecting to see nothing special, but I gasped in surprise at what I saw.
Inside, camouflaged by the thick folds of the cloak, were tonnes of small pockets and compartments. I could recognise holsters for kunai and shuriken, little pockets for smoke bombs, and small holders for scrolls, and explosive tags. All possible nooks and crannies one could imagine were there.
I grinned at Shirani-san. "I will win that battle. Even if I do so merely to thank you for this amazing cloak."
"Don't mention it, kid. People might think I'm actually kind." He joked, though his tone remained serious.
My grin morphed into a smirk. "Now that would be a sight to see."
The following few days were spent working over schematics and strategies, acting out all the possible scenarios with Akane and Kaoru. I mastered the ability to fight with the chakra absorbed from their attacks, the armour becoming an inseparable part of me. Akane and Kaoru also learned that explosives, regardless how small and innocent-looking, should never be underestimated.
All in all, I had my new, chakra-less fighting style, down to the last detail. And frankly, in a battle of endurance, I knew I would still win, chakra or no. Which was why I instructed my teammates to come at me with everything they had, apart from genjutsu. I needed to see how much I could dodge, how quickly, and how long I could last.
Because Akane's suggestion was really the masterpiece behind my plan. The chakra armour was just a useful piece in a big game of shogi, but Akane's idea was the King; the most important piece.
Which was how I planned to deal with the Uchiha – play around, dodge, let him use all the new attacks he'd undoubtedly learned, then wait for the wonderful, inevitable moment when he runs out of chakra. And then, like a coiled snake ready to strike, I would make my move.
And it will be amazing.
Overall, there was one thing I was absolutely certain of;
I was ready.
And here it is. Finally. Done. The next chapter will be the Finals and the Konoha Invasion, as well as GAARA! Whoop!
I'm going on a basketball camp tomorrow and a tournament later on in the month, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update, but I'll try my best to put it out for you guys earlier than this one was ^_^
Thanks for reading, please share your views in a REVIEW!