Royal Road
Arc XII Chapter 15
Arc XII Chapter 15
XII
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Arc XII Chapter 15
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Chiyo clicked her tongue, dismissing her gracious advice outright. “Or what, little princess? What are you going to do ...” Chiyo’s eyes widened, years, decades of combat experience kicking in. Her reflexes screamed danger. Her instincts sensed danger. Her old bones moved with the speed of times long gone. They moved like never before in her life, with a sense of urgency never felt before.
It happened in a mere moment. Asami raised her hand and commanded with a mere flick of her wrist. Her chakra obeyed. A purple javelin answered her call. A javelin of pure concentrated chakra, condensed into an instrument of her indomitable will. It was time to teach the woman a lesson to remember.
Her javelin was fast. Her projectile crossed the plain, closing the distance in a blink of an eye. Her enemy was hardly able to react, yet she did. Chiyo survived. The woman dodged her projectile, rolling sidewards, throwing herself into the dirt. Whether due to skill or mere luck was impossible to tell.
Her javelin missed, shooting past her after obliterating one of her puppets en passant. Her chakra shredded the wooden puppet into pieces, simply atomising everything in its way in a cloud of misted purple. The puppet never stood a chance, but such was hardly a consolation. A miss was a miss.
“What a splendid performance, Lady Chiyo.” Asami offered her best smile, clapping her hands sardonically. “I am truly impressed. To think that you would actually survive! Just among us, I considered such an outcome highly unlikely.” Chiyo’s response was gelid. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t take kindly to being nearly murdered. Nobody did.
The woman’s eyes hardened, glaring at her with murderous intent despite her ragged breathing, despite the exhaustion of her shock. The woman lived, her right hand reaching immediately for her wounded left arm. Her coat was torn apart, shredded. The red stain of blood covered her entire arm. The stench of burnt, cauterised open flesh was in the air. Her javelin might have missed, but its raw energy grazed her arm, which was enough. The power, the sheer heat ruptured her skin like a thousand razors, scorching her entire arm like the singed grass below. It must hurt. It did hurt.
Chiyo gritted her teeth, defying her to the utmost. “You ...”
A cataclysmic explosion cut her short from behind, from inside the forest at her back. Violent, thunderous, torrid. A roar crossed the plain as a blinding flash of light tore through the canopy, flattening everything. Trees splintered and shattered. Trunks and branches snapped like brittle bones by the hand of a vengeful god. The ground trembled under the might of the shock wave before a column of dust and smoke surged skywards. Her javelin had struck a target.
Asami tilted her head, her index finger caressing her lips. “Are~ are~, the dangers of stray ammunition.”
Everyone turned their stares at her, once again in the centre of their attention. Naruto gulped. Kakashi observed. Sakura clenched her fists. Temari stood her ground. They had gained a healthy dose of respect. They knew this could easily have been them.
Chiyo narrowed her eyes, a gentle green glow engulfing her pal to tend to her wounds. “This is bad ...”
Sakura came to her assistance, appearing before her with a look of concern. “Lady Chiyo, do you need any help?”
“Hmm, I am fine, Sakura.” Chiyo grumbled under her breath. “I am old, but I can still take care of myself. This is just a minor flesh wound. I have seen worse during the war.”
Sakura appeared to disagree, yet said nothing. “...”
Chiyo directed her attention at her. “I am more worried about her, though. What was her name? Asami? The girl is the real deal. She is powerful. She is strong. She is fast. She is experienced. She is dangerous. She is crafty. She strikes hard. She hits hard. The way she moves. The way she behaves. Her reflexes. Her skill. Her chakra control. They are all exceptional. At such a young age, too. How annoying. The girl is clearly not an ordinary enemy. Kakashi was right, we need a plan if we want to win.”
Temari cut in. “And how?”
“...” Chiyo started pondering. “Her umbrella. Have a look at it. Did you notice how she was using her umbrella to create her barriers to stop our attacks? She was using her umbrella to channel and solidify her chakra. It was always her umbrella that blocked. That deflected. She always moves with her umbrella. She even used it to attack. It must be some kind of special ninja tool of hers. I am sure.”
Naruto nodded. “Now that you say it, Granny Chiyo, I think you are right.”
“...” Asami raised an invisible eyebrow. Her umbrella? A special ninja tool? Her umbrella was certainly special in the sense that it was on the more expensive side of umbrellas made of the finest silk. An umbrella befitting her station. But otherwise? It was just an ordinary umbrella. An accessory for the sake of aesthetics.
Sakura listened. “And how exactly does that help us?”
Chiyo elaborated. “No matter how skilled she may be, her umbrella can’t be everywhere at once. We must take the initiative. We must force her on the defence. We must restrict her movement. If we attack from multiple directions at the same time, we will get her. She can’t take all of us on at the same time. One of us will get through.”
Attacking from multiple directions ... How creative. Not the most refined method, but solid nevertheless.
Kakashi joined in, voicing his doubts. “Easier said than done, Lady Chiyo. It was not as if we weren’t trying. Asami is strong both at range as well as in melee. It will be difficult to pin her down, not to mention synchronise our attacks. Our margin of error is ... slim.”
“I know”, Chiyo conceded. “But we must. I won’t back down. Not here. Not now. Not when I have come so far. Not when I am so close. I still have a few scores to settle with my wayward grandson.”
Kakashi merely nodded. “I understand ...”
Asami listened, her fingers playing with her umbrella. Her wayward grandson? Ah, yes ... Now that she mentioned it. This promised to be interesting ... “You know, just among friends, it is generally considered ill advised to discuss your tactics in front of the enemy.”
Chiyo clicked her tongue. “Tsk, how modest of you. Look, if you are even half the kunoichi you claim to be, then you should have been able to tell them regardless.”
“...” Asami smirked, hardly able to disagree. “True enough.”
“Then let’s start. Everyone! Prepare!” Chiyo started rummaging through her pockets, only to produce a black scroll. Her hands formed a quick succession of seals. “Black Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Collection of Eight Puppets.”
A cloud of smoke popped up and dispersed, revealing eight menacing puppets, each armed from teeth to toe, each intent to murder her. What a pleasant surprise.
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