Chapter 25.5- One Thousand Hands

This time, when he moved, it was all I could do to get out of the way, he was somehow even faster now. Hisarms lashed out in a series of punches that I just barely managed to remain ahead of. Kagami’s attempts to separate us failed as they all was he against his armour to no effect. Even the wind release jutsu were avoided without a second’s hesitation as he was just simply too fast for anything Kagami sent. That meant I was the only one with any hope of competing with him and while my armour did give me a modest speed boost, it was nothing compared to the lightning armour and he seemed keen on making sure that he drove that fact home today.

I slapped aside a punch and tried to counter with a palm thrust but his arm was already in the way, lifting up any palm and ending the threat before lashing out with a gut punch that had me coughing up blood. The second and third punches that followed were straight to the head and if I didn’t have the famous Uzumaki thick skull, then I would already be out of the fight. Instead, I got the rare pleasure of trying to dodge attacks while my head rang like a bell. I snatched my feet out of the way of a stomp and distracted my that, I didn’t see the other leg come up and kick my knee in.

I fell gracelessly to one knee and it was all I could do to lift both hands up to block the raised knee that would have surely broken my nose. The punch that followed it landed with no opposition and I found myself spitting out a tooth without even realising it.

“Like I said boy, you fought well” The final chop did not land as Kagami body flickered between us. Still with only one hand in the fight, he managed to land a spartan kick against the Raikage’s broad chest. The man did not even move. Kagami used him as a platform to launch himself upwards and fired a set of shuriken that multiplied in mid air into hundreds. The Raikage took a diagonal path to avoid all the shurinken but still be close enough to launch himself right at Kagami once the man landed.

They exchanged blows for a few seconds, but even the threat of Kagami’s wind release kunai was not enough to keep the Raikage at bay for long, monster of sheer power the man was. I tried to force myself to my feet, but a look at my knee told me that was a terrible idea. He had shattered my kneecap. There was no chance of me healing that. None at all.

I fiddled with my armour and just about managed to unseal my spare bow and quiver. The first arrow flew just in time as it forced the Raikage to retract the hand that had just been about to smash through Kagami’s guard.