Chapter 104: Original's best!

Meanwhile...

[Kaede POV]

"Huh, where's everyone?!" I asked with alarm.

I sat up and tried to find a trace of my friend. Suddenly, I heard a low growling sound and I felt a slight vibration on where I was sitting. I glanced below me and yelped as I met face-to-face with a nomu.

The monster roared and shook me off. I used the nomu as a stepping stone and leapt off of its back. I drew my sword and with an upward slash, the monster was slain.

I sighed and gathered my thoughts. I was forcibly teleported into a random cave probably somewhere on the island. I could return to the city with Kamui however, by doing so I couldn't come back here.

This must be AFO's trick and I'm worried that I wasn't the only one that was taken. If I leave now, I might also miss the chance of finding AFO. Ultimately, I decided to explore and marched deep into the tunnels.

I eventually found myself in a massive empty cavern, what was weird about the place was the large mirrors implanted in the walls, floors and ceiling. In front of me was another set of pathways but there was a weird creature blocking it.

I looked closely and frowned, the only description that could fit this thing was a silver mud monster. The only thing that indicated that it was a nomu was the exposed brain connected to two eyeballs on top of its body. I unsheathed my katana and entered my fighting stance, however, the nomu didn't make a move and continued to observe me.

Suddenly something strange happened as the nomu has begun to change and morph into a smaller shape. The monster transformed into a feminine figure with black hair, and a slim body, wait hold on...

"Is that me?!" I exclaimed in shock.

The nomu have transformed into me! My skin crawled as this unnerves me extremely. It's even copied my exact clothing down to the tee. The silver liquid extended onto its palm as it formed the shape of my katana.

The monster mimicked my posture and it entered the same stance.

"What are you?" I muttered.

"W~what ~are~ you~?" Pseudo Kaede repeated in a coarse voice and touched its throat.

I felt goosebumps and shivered from the creepiness. Pseudo Kaede continued to say that same sentence and with every word, the sound of her voice began to match mine...

Pseudo Kaede's pupils turned red and copying my Sharingan I gritted my teeth: 'Please don't have Mangekyou, please don't have Mangekyou, please don't have Mangekyou....' I prayed.

I took a deep breath and glared at my opponent: "Bring it on!"

With a flash, the nomu charged. Its speed was insanely fast equal to my own. I blocked the blade and grunted from the force. We locked blades and stared at each other with our Sharingan: "Freeze!" x2

I felt the genjutsu being cast on me and I flinched for a brief moment. The nomu and I instantly broke out of the genjutsu and continued our assault. Pseudo Kaede, knelt down as she performed a low sweep. I defended with Kamui as her leg fazed through my body and I counter-attacked with my sword.

Pseudo Kaede pushed against the ground and she dodged my strike: 'Looks like she doesn't have Mangekyou?'

I sighed with relief as one of my worries seems to be for nothing. However, I couldn't be careless, she's still a very difficult opponent. From our location alone, I couldn't use my Rinnegan or Susanoo of the fear of the cave collapsing on us. Also, I don't know what other arsenal Pseudo Kaede was hiding.

Pseudo Kaede gripped her sword as she was abruptly covered with a blue aura and electricity cackled throughout her body. My opponent's strength and speed increased tremendously and she attacked with unrelenting force.

I cursed and quickly followed along and also activated Lightning Chakra Mode. Sounds of blades clashing resounded throughout the whole cavern. It may seem like an equal match but with my Daikoku, I was gradually sapping away her strength and gaining the upper edge.

Finally, I noticed Pseudo Kaede's speed begin to drop and I used this opportunity and pounced. I dashed towards her and unleashed a frenzy of swings, aiming for Pseudo Kaede's vital points.

Grey metallic blood splurts off of my doppelganger and its limbs disconnect with its torso. Unfortunately, as much as I want to, the fight was far from over, the silver blood instantly rejoined with the rest of the body parts as they reconnected.

I frowned as Pseudo Kaede's body fully healed in a blink of an eye. The scene reminded me of an old movie I saw in the past about a killer robot that travels back in time or something. I didn't give up and continued my onslaught. During one of Pseudo Kaede's healing processes, something shiny caught my eye.

It was a small pink orb where its heart should be. The metallic blood seemed to be gathering around the little pearl: "Is that pink rock it's the heart? I muttered, "In that case!"

The trajectory of my blade changed and I directed my katana at the orb. Suddenly, Psuedo Kaede's body seemed sparkling and before I knew it...

*BAM*

Pseudo Kaede's body shined a harsh white light like a flash grenade. I screamed in pain as my eyes were blinded by the light. It also didn't help when I realised the mirrors built in this room increased the intensity of the flash.

I leapt back to create distance and rubbed my eyes in discomfort. My eyes felt extremely dry and there was a sharp ringing noise buzzing in my ears. I cursed, the only time I didn't wear my mask...

I tried opening my eyelids but immediately shut them when I felt a stinging sensation. It's like someone was constantly spraying pepper spray into my eyes. Panic started to creep in and my palms were covered with sweat. I was blinded and could no longer use my Sharingan or Rinnegan, let alone see!

Pseudo Kaede charged and desperately defended myself from her. Cuts spread across my body, and my clothes were slashed as blood leaked down my arms.

I panted and held my sword tightly: 'Calm Down!' I yelled at myself.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. My vision was slowly returning, unfortunately, it was still on the stage akin to seeing underwater but multiplying it by ten. I might as well remain blind, not that I want to.

I concentrated and focused on my other senses, my eyebrows furrowed as I was in intense attentiveness. I patiently waited: 'Don't be afraid, you got this...' I reassured myself.

My ears twitched when I suddenly heard movement coming from my left. I rolled to the side and felt the wind whizzing past my face. I then felt the disturbance in the air above me: 'Now it's up!' I raised my katana and parried the sword that was coming for me from up above.

I sensed Pseudo Kaede's blade brushing past my body and I whimpered. I pushed against the nomu and it stumbled back from the sudden tackle. I swung my katana and felt my blade cut into Psuedo Kaede's chest.

If I manage to destroy its core then I win! I angled my blade and carved across her body to locate the orb. However, Psuedo Kaede smacked the flat side of my sword, knocking it out off its course.

I noticed Pseudo Kaede was extremely wary of my weapon and I smirked. Based on experience I learned that sometimes, what makes a person dangerous wasn't the tools they're using!

I let go of my katana and it was still stuck in Pseudo Kaede's body. Sure enough, the nomu was more focused on the katana rather than me as lightning chakra gathered in my palm and the sound of thousands of birds chirping could be heard.

Pseudo Kaede tried to react however, it was too late and I jabbed Chidori into its body. I dug the pink sphere out of its chest and crushed it between my fingers. Pseudo Kaede roared as its voice became distorted and reverted back to its original muddy form before finally melting into a wet puddle.

"Phew..." I sighed with relief and fell onto my knees.

Thankfully, my vision finally showed signs of healing and I could see normally now. The battle was more nerve-wracking than I expected. Luck really helped me out there, if I was just a bit slower in my predictions, Psuedo Kaede would've cut me up.

"Hmph, I won't allow myself to get defeated by a cheap ripoff!" I declared with pride and patted my chest confidently.

Suddenly, the entire cave rumbled as if an explosion went off somewhere inside these caverns. Does that mean there's someone else fighting other than me? I sheathed my blade and glanced at the tunnel Pseudo Kaede was defending.

With a groan, I reluctantly stood back up and sprinted into the passageway, hoping to regroup with any heroes I find...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoy it