Uchiha Mai knocked aside Kakashi's incoming slash, his torso tilting slightly to the right as he slipped past Kakashi. He spun instantly, driving an elbow straight into the back of Kakashi's head.
Thud!
Caught completely off guard by Mai's superb taijutsu, Kakashi took the blow head-on.
A heavy strike to the back of the head sent his brain into momentary shutdown - his reactions lagged by a beat. His body slipped from the tree branch and pitched forward toward the ground.
Si - Wei - Shen - Hai - Wu - Yin.
Mai's fingers flew as he formed seals at blinding speed. The moment Kakashi was about to hit the ground, the seals were complete. Mai raised his left hand to his mouth and exhaled a fireball a full meter in diameter.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Blazing, crimson flames surged toward Kakashi. The so-called "benevolent technique" came terrifyingly close to breaking its curse of never hitting the target.
At the last possible instant, Kakashi sensed the heat wave behind him. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself alert, slammed his left fist into the ground, and performed a desperate donkey roll, tumbling several times to the right.
The fireball grazed the edge of his clothes before slamming into the ground. Exploding sparks splashed onto Kakashi, igniting his outfit.
Are you kidding me - he dodged that too?!
Mai cursed inwardly. That elbow strike had definitely been a solid hit - blood flowing from the back of Kakashi's head was proof enough.
That area housed the brainstem, responsible for breathing and heartbeat. A heavy blow there could cause anything from unconsciousness to death - just as lethal as a strike to the temple.
Yet Kakashi acted like nothing had happened.
A cockroach that just wouldn't die. His willpower was absurd.
Still, it didn't matter.
Kakashi was undeniably affected, while Mai had only spent some chakra and suffered no real damage.
The advantage is mine.
Mai bent his knees and launched himself upward, leaping above Kakashi. His not-so-tall figure blotted out the sunlight. Chakra gathered in his raised right leg before it came crashing down.
Outer Form · Crushing Axe.
Shrouded in shadow, Kakashi forced himself to respond. He raised his short blade to meet Mai's leg - using offense to force defense.
Maybe you'll knock me down,
but that leg of yours will be done for.
Mai's kick was blindingly fast - so fast that when sparring with Guy, even with the First Gate open, Guy sometimes couldn't react in time.
The fact that Kakashi could still counter after taking a heavy blow to the head spoke volumes about his strength.
Left with no choice, Mai withdrew his leg, abandoning the killing strike. He switched to other, more conventional techniques from the Mai-style ancient martial arts, unleashing a storm of punches and kicks.
The momentum shifted.
Kakashi - who had originally held a slight edge - was now the one being suppressed.
Relying solely on his short blade, he adopted a damage-for-damage strategy, repeatedly forcing Mai to abandon offense, dragging the fight into a battle of attrition.
Outside the forest, Namikaze Minato watched with shock.
Uchiha Mai's rate of improvement was… absurd.
During yesterday's test, Mai had taken down three genin-level kids in under a minute. Impressive, yes - but Minato still hadn't believed Mai could face Kakashi head-on.
At the very least, he thought it would take both Mai and Guy - teaming up in a righteous two-on-one - to fight Kakashi to a draw.
Yet here it was.
Mai was pressing Kakashi back.
Granted, Mai had first feigned weakness, dulling Kakashi's guard, then stunned him with a surprise elbow to the back of the head - damaging his combat ability.
But whose fault was it that Kakashi fell for it?
Because of his ingrained assumptions about the Uchiha, he'd stepped right into Mai's trap.
Kakashi was experienced, smart, and battle-hardened - but Mai was simply too cunning, his acting too flawless.
Even discounting Kakashi's injuries, Minato believed that if they fought head-on today, the matchup would still be something like a seven-to-three split.
To grow this much stronger overnight… it was downright unbelievable.
Inside the forest, Kakashi struggled on. Beneath the mask, his breathing was ragged, never granted a single moment of rest.
Every time Mai was forced back, he clung like a parasite, determined to finish the fight with a smooth, relentless combo.
One misstep led to eternal regret. With a disastrous opening, Kakashi's condition worsened by the second. His mind grew hazy; several times, he narrowly avoided being outright killed.
I can't drag this out any longer.
Shaking his head, Kakashi clearly sensed the widening gap between their states. Prolonging the fight would only seal his defeat.
He had to gamble - risk everything for a sliver of hope.
After forcing Mai back with another slash, Kakashi ignored the openings in his own defense and stepped in close.
His wrist snapped at extreme speed. The short blade traced dazzling arcs through the air - three phantom slashes forming a spinning pinwheel, spiraling toward Mai's chest.
Hatake Blade Art · Secret Technique · Mikazuki Munechika!
Legend told of three peerless swordsmiths before the Warring States era - one of them being Sanjō Munechika.
His masterpiece, Mikazuki Munechika, ranked among the Five Great Swords of the world. Said to be the most beautiful of them all, it was hailed as the sword among legendary blades.
The Hatake blade art was forged for killing. Refined and perfected through generations, it distilled into five ultimate techniques - each named after one of the Five Great Swords.
Mikazuki Munechika was the most beautiful of them all.
Unfortunately…
Kakashi should have used this move much earlier.
Mai's Sharingan flared to life. He dropped his center of gravity, crouching low. Even as the blade carved a bone-deep gash across his back, he didn't flinch.
Spotting the opening Kakashi exposed, Mai channeled chakra to harden his fingers and lunged upward, clawing toward Kakashi's throat.
Kakashi snapped his blade back and leaned away, narrowly evading the grab.
As if he'd foreseen it, Mai fluidly shifted his hand, plunging toward Kakashi's chest instead.
Rip!
Five fingers struck like five daggers, tearing through skin and muscle into Kakashi's chest. The index, middle, and ring fingers - longest of the five - were buried up to the second knuckle.
For an instant, it felt as though a slight twitch of Mai's fingers would let him touch Kakashi's ribs… even the organs within.
Mai twisted his fingers with a bizarre burst of force, then ripped them free - tearing blood and flesh as he used the recoil to fling Kakashi away.
Mai-Style Ancient Martial Arts · Outer Form · Reverse Flay!
Pff!
Kakashi spat a mouthful of blood as he slammed onto his back. Five bloody finger holes gaped in his chest, blood pouring out like a faucet that couldn't be shut.
I can still fight.
Clinging to that thought, Kakashi overcame the haze in his mind and the searing pain in his chest, trying to rise.
Before he could, Mai descended from above - striking a classic superhero landing squarely onto Kakashi's body. The hardened knee shattered several more ribs.
It's over.
Author's Note:
The specific names of the Hatake blade techniques are my own secondary creation - hope everyone understands. plz :)
(End of Chapter)