Chapter 22: Kakashi vs. Mammoth!
Mammoth was fast. Kakashi had barely had time to react to any of his jutsu. Even with the Sharingan, he was struggling to be able to follow all of Mammoth's attacks. He had been beat up pretty badly. His left arm had a cut and was bleeding profusely, the result of a lightning blade that Mammoth had deflected. Kakashi wasn't sure what he could do to slow Mammoth down. He needed to find some way that Mammoth would not be able to recognize.
Mammoth closed in for a punch. Kakashi replaced himself with a Lightning Clone, which took the hit. Mammoth was thrown by the explosion when his fist made contact. He tried to get up, but he was still paralyzed from the jutsu. Kakashi now had an advantage. He closed in with a Lightning Blade, striking Mammoth in the heart. He withdrew his arm, only to notice that the giant hole he had made in Mammoth's chest was already healing up.
"What?"
"Heh heh. Sorry, but that won't work on me. As long as I have chakra, my body will continue to heal itself."
"Then I'll just have to run it down."
"Good luck with that."
Kakashi blasted Mammoth with a fireball, but Mammoth had regained his movement and dodged it. He countered by kicking Kakashi in the face. Kakashi flew into a nearby building. He got up rubbing his back. He really was too old for this. He formed hand signs and sent his Lightning Beast Running jutsu straight at Mammoth, who slapped the beast aside.
Kakashi knew this would be trouble. He had tried to find some kind of opening, but because of Mammoth's size and skill, he had failed. He had used some of his best jutsu, minus his Sharingan powers, early on, trying to find some opening, but all to no avail. He decided he would have to use his new jutsu if he wanted to survive. He activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Take this! Amaterasu: Kakashi Style!"
Immediately, a beam of black fire erupted from his eye. The beam struck Mammoth and knocked him back. He was severely burned. Kakashi collapsed after using his most powerful jutsu. His strength and chakra were gone, poured into that last attack. If Mammoth were to get up from that, it would truly be over. He watched Mammoth, whose body was still smoking. He waited for some type of movement, but saw none.
After two minutes, Mammoth's body finished healing, and he struggled to get up. His body was healed, but he could tell that another blast like that would end him. He got to his feet and stared down Kakashi, who was on the verge of unconsciousness. Kakashi stared back. Mammoth smiled. He knew Kakashi had lost. He moved in for the kill, only to be swept away by a giant Water Dragon.
Kakashi was awestruck. Who could have saved him? No one else in the Leaf knew that jutsu. He watched as Mammoth rose once more. What would it take to kill this guy?
Then, Zane appeared before him. Zane wore his brown monk robes, but with a dark gold cloak over it. He removed these to reveal a skin tight black suit, much like ninja wore, only tighter, and without a jacket. Zane's eyes showed his determination, and his contempt for Mammoth and his allies. Mammoth only smiled.
"Finally," he said. "A real challenge."
"You will die today, Mammoth," replied Zane.
"No. It is you who will die."
"We shall see."
Mammoth ran at Zane, who stood perfectly still. Mammoth raised his fist to punch Zane in the face. He swung for Zane, who disappeared. He reappeared behind Mammoth, a longsword in his hand. He slashed it across Mammoth's back. The gash immediately healed. Mammoth backhanded Zane into a building.
Immediately, out of the smoke, four dragons, one fire, one water, one mud, and one sand, flew out to fight in his place. The four dragons crunched and tackled Mammoth, who appeared to be keeping up just fine. Zane was now on his feet, watching as his dragons worked away at his opponent. Mammoth had defeated the fire dragon and was now facing the other three. Zane began forming hand signs for another jutsu. Once he finished, his left hand began to glow, each of the fingers forming dragons. He ran toward Mammoth, who was still preoccupied. Zane moved in, weaving around the dragons, and struck Mammoth in the face with his glowing hand.
Mammoth screamed in pain and tried to pry Zane's fingers from his face, but it was no use. Smoke was now rising from Mammoth's face. Zane threw Mammoth to the side. Mammoth didn't move. It didn't matter how much he tried to heal himself. It would never work. That was Zane's power. He had used a special jutsu that had irreparably burned Mammoth's face and his chakra network. He only had one more mission…to take down Vallen.