Chapter 90.2- One Thousand Hands

“Pfft. What’s she going to do? Somehow figure out a way to kill me or escape? I highly doubt that.” I scoffed.

“And if she uses a suicide technique to take you with her when she realizes she’s got no chance?” She asked.

“Flying thundergod, of course” I retorted easily, unsealing the Tsuchikage’s unconscious form. I tapped her neck first, placing a hiraishin marker on her to ensure that she couldn’t ever escape me and then injected the antidote to Inoken’s poison while dispelling the genjutsu that kept her unconscious. She shot up, a punch aimed straight at my face. I leaned backwards. How interesting. This time, instead of choosing to feign unconsciousness for longer, she decided to attack straight up.

Now I just needed to motivate her into using the technique. One month of practice with shadow clones still hadn’t managed to yield anything other than frustration. I dodged the next kick, turning with the movement and smashing a kick of my own into her midsection, sending her sprawling backwards across the ground. She turned with the force, weaving two seals even as she rolled along the ground. When she came to a stop, spike rose from the ground, coming towards me. I sent my chakra into the ground beneath my feet, stopping her from lifting any of the spikes close to me.

She adapted well. Twisting into another seal, and the spikes that had risen shot at me like missiles. I lifted my hand. Eight trigrams: Vacuum palm, I said mentally as I used the Hyuga jutsu to shatter the spears that came close to me. I winked at Uraume even as I did so. I hadn’t had much cause to use that one in a long time. I stayed still, watching to see what she would do next, keeping full attention on her chakra as I did so.

I couldn’t miss a thing when she eventually was pushed far enough to use the technique. She slammed her fists into the ground. They were submerged up to her elbow. When she lifted them, each of them was covered in a thick stone gauntlet. And then her chakra did something(?) I could see her visibly ease as the strain from supporting the gauntlets disappeared. So that was the lightweight rock jutsu then.

She shot across the ground, moving faster than earlier. But I’d fought the Raikage. If this was the best she could do, then she wouldn’t be lasting long today. I twisted out of the way of the punch and kicked her straight to the face this time. She slid backwards, sent flying even further this time. I hadn’t even felt the impact of that one. Probably the lightweight rock jutsu.

It meant I hadn’t been able to transfer all that much force to her so she stood just as easily. This time, she took a more circuitous route. Two clones of her rose from the ground as she moved. All three of them moved to encircle me, each of the clones doing the same twist with their chakra that I identified as the lightweight rock jutsu. I bobbed and weaved out of the way of their attacks, dodging out of the way of all three of them like they were genin and I was their jounin sensei or something. I watched the determined expressionon her face give way to pure unadulterated rage, and then I decided to toss her a bone.