Chapter 91.4- One Thousand Hands

I dodged past the blade, and then his chakra snapped in, lengthening it in an instant, just as the blade was right in front of my neck. I’d seen him kill many a shinobi with that trick. I snapped my head downwards even as my foot lashed out, aiming to kick his hand upwards. He retreated with his blade, and then snapped forwards again. I allowed the blade pass to my side as I closed the distance along with him. My fingers stretched out to block his network and then the blade was back again, blocking the hit and nearly taking two of my fingers with it. I danced backwards as he slashed out again.

If the context was different- that is to say if he wasn't clearly aiming for a killing blow, this would have felt like a spar more than anything else as we danced past each other. I knew how Sensei fought almost as well as I knew how Uzume and Toshiro did, and that was why I could tell he wasn’t all there. Sensei was a careful fighter. He never dove heedless into battle, preferring to keep his fights as more like chess games when he found himself up against an equal foe. In this case, he was doing the opposite. He was attacking, heedless of the openings he left behind.

And he only defended non-fatal blows. I could see the game Chiyo was playing here. Force me to kill my Sensei first, and then attack in full force while I was either tired out from it or while I was mentally out of it. Not a bad plan all tings considered, but sadly for her, I had outgrown such tactics years ago.

I allowed natural energy flow through my body. I tweaked the ratio to 50:50 almost instantly, and then all of Sensei’s moves seemed to happen in slow motion. He lashed out wit his blade again. This time I tracked it perfectly with my byakugan but instead of dodging, I caught it in my grip. I had sent so much chakra to my hand that it glowed like a sun to my eyes. And even then I could feel the chakra saber begin to cut into my skin. That wouldn’t do.

With a twist of my chakra, there were three of me. The other two dove in. And even with his blade in my grip and one of his hands busy fighting that battle, Sensei managed to react in time. He dispelled one with a kick and a knife hand dug into the neck of the other, but they had been a distraction and nothing more. Forcing him to abandon his solid stance meant I could pull the blade towards me.

And it showed that Sensei was not the one in control because instead of letting go of the sword, he came towards me with it. He aimed a knife hand right for my neck. Foolish. I hardened my neck with earth release chakra and tapped him twice in his chest. Once to disturb the control of his chakra and make the knife hand far less potent, the other to apply my newest jutsu on him. He sank to the floor, now weighing more than a mountain.

“Is that the best you can do, Chiyo?” I asked. I couldn’t see her in truth. I’d bluffed about the trap thing because I’d felt my instincts triggered by the Kazekage’s words. But her seals for blocking the Byakugan, much to my chagrin were perfect. I would have loved to find out how she figured that out. Because if she had made the seal herself, then that meant Suna had a byakugan in their possession.

Kurama might have been able to talk me out of razing the village for revenge. But for that afront? That one was worth a dead village.