Will of Fire: Kakashi Hatake

Chapter 27

"You're not as smart as I thought you'd be," she taunted.

She jumped away again as Juzo buried his sword in the wooden railing once more.

"What's going on up here?" A voice cried from the stairwell. Akira hardly looked at the two men standing there staring at the ensuing chaos before she threw both of her kunai at them. THUNK! The kunai found their marks in the men's throats. Then she had to jump again to avoid Juzo's swing.

"For a swordsmen, you look like an amateur right now, Juzo."

Juzo growled and swung his sword at Akira again, who had backed up toward the second mast. She ducked as his blade sliced through the air, cutting through the mast. That one, too, toppled over and into the water with a crash.

Akira pulled her sword and formed three hand signs. "Wind style: faithful wind blade!" She swung her blade in Juzo's direction and a huge blade of wind followed the arch, flying at break neck speed toward Juzo.

Juzo jumped to the side, avoiding the wind blade. It instead collided with the hull, slicing off half of the back deck and sending the wood careening into the water. The ship shuddered, shaking beneath their feet.

"Hidden mist technique," Juzo said, forming hand signs. The deck was suddenly shrouded in a thick mist, so thick that Akira couldn't see more than just a couple of feet in front of her. Her heart rate picked up in fear. She was blind to any attack that he threw at her now.

But not to his whereabouts.

Akira could still sense where Juzo was, she could feel him moving through the mist behind her. She turned in a slow circle, following his movements. So she was just able to block his attack with her sword when he suddenly swung at her again.

"I see, you're a sensory type," he crooned. "Well then, this might just be a bit more fun than I anticipated."

He swung at her again, and Akira deflected his blade. But it caused her to stumble to the side. Despite still being able to sense where he was, it didn't help her defend from his attacks much. He was still very fast with his blade.

She was able to deflect and block a few more blows from him before his blade finally slipped past her defenses and glanced off her forearm protector, but grazed her upper arm. Pain seared through her arm from the wound, and blood hit the deck below her feet. Akira jumped backward, hissing in pain. But in her surprise from getting hit, she almost jumped straight off the edge of the boat where she had destroyed it earlier with her wind blade.

"Dance, little leaf, dance!" Juzo cackled. Suddenly, he was running at her. Akira barely had time to lift her blade in front of her, but it did little to stop his attack.

She was able to deflect his blade somewhat, but her own sword shattered on the impact. Akira screamed. Agonizing pain flooded her system from her shoulder and her chest.

She fell backward off the boat and hit the water on her back, which knocked the wind from her lungs. She could hear Juzo laughing as she went down, sinking through the dark water. Blood streamed from her body as she sunk.

She could still see the vague outline of the boat through the blood and bubbles that surrounded her body. Akira's left elbow bumped against a large chunk of wood and sent a piercing pin erupted in Akira's shoulder. Akira flinched and cried out, grabbing at her injured shoulder.

But the pain had also jolted her to her senses. Akira glared and raised two fingers up in front of her. She extended her chakra below her until she came in contact with the sandy sea bottom, far far below her. With an enormous amount of effort, Akira summoned a thick tendril of quicksand and sent it flying through the boat above her. The quicksand knocked her to the side as it flew upward, causing another wave of pain to sear through her shoulder.