44: Original Character, Do Not Steal

Seija heard the distant crackle of electricity at the same time as her senses picked up another attack being launched from somewhere on the hillside.

It was another blade of lightning, just as before. And just as before it was aimed directly at her.

Seija tried again to find her opponent as she ducked under the blade, which gouged out a wide crescent in the village street behind her.

'Whoever they are, they're damn good at hiding. That might be 'Chakra Suppression', a technique that allows its user to hide their chakra at the cost of being unable to cast Jutsu while using it. This guy would have to be a serious pro if he's able to switch it off and on so quickly, deactivating it and then launching an attack before activating it again to hide his location.' Seija thought as she crossed her fingers and summoned a quartet of shadow clones.

She sent three of them to help guard her fleeing allies. Those Genin might be skilled, but if the Jonin targets them, they're done for. She kept the last one with her, and she commanded it to Flicker into the hills to track her target.

As for her, she didn't just remain out in the open. In the time it took to summon her clones, she'd sprinted into cover behind the chief's house where she'd started from, since it was the largest barrier she could place in her way. Sure, she could've used Earth Style to create a wall, but Lightning Style holds the elemental advantage over Earth. She couldn't trust a wall made from Earth to block an attack like the ones being launched at her right now.

Barely two seconds passed since her plan was put into action before her Byakugan caught a flash of movement. Behind an outcropping of rock, for the tiniest instant, she saw the chakra-flow of a figure gripping a sheathed sword at their waist. An instant later, the rock was split, her target had dashed into a different cover, and her shadow clone was killed by the flying slash.

'I was right. He is indeed hiding his chakra right until the moment he strikes. And he's attacking by cutting through the rocks, which means his body remains hidden too until the attack is launched. Clever. But I know where he is, now.'

Seija's theory was proven correct. And with the Jonin having had to Flicker into new cover before masking his chakra, she knew which rock he was hiding behind, even if she couldn't sense him.

'I'll take inspiration from you, then.'

She leapt out of her hiding spot after weaving the hand signs of her technique. As anticipated, the flying blade of lightning streaked through the air towards her. But she jumped over it, high into the air, and brought her hands together in front of her.

[Lightning Style: Thunderbolt]

Her own lance of lightning tore through the rocky hillside and she watched through her Byakugan as the man appeared behind the boulder she'd targeted, his eyes widening for a moment before his gaze hardened with determination and he drew his sword again.

This time he did not perform a slash, but held the blade out in front of himself, bracing with one hand on the back of the blade itself as the Thunderbolt tore through the solid rock and connected with his weapon. The man grit his teeth as he was pushed backwards, some of his chakra flowing down to his feet in an effort to stick him in place and maintain his balance.

Her attack ended and the man let out a slow breath before sheathing his blade once more.

"You surprise me. You wield a level of power most children your age could not hope to match. What is your name, girl?" He called out to her, his back straight and his left hand at rest on the hilt of his sheathed sword.

Seija landed from her jump just a short distance away from him and tilted her head. Was this guy serious?

"Why are we suddenly talking now? You just tried to kill me." She accused.

The man's expression did not change as he responded.

"Yes. And I will continue to do so in but a moment. I simply wish to know. That is all."

Seija's eyes narrowed behind her mask. Looking at him up close now, the man seemed different from any shinobi she had seen before. For starters, his clothing. While he did indeed wear the standard Kumogakure headband, his armor was completely different. The standard Kumo armor consisted of a slim, white flak vest pinned over the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder exposed.

This man, however, was dressed very differently. He instead wore a suit of metal plate armor, not unlike the kind that was favoured two wars back, during the First War and the days of Tobirama Senju. 

His eyes also had an unusual pink tone to their irises, but she could not recognise this trait as anything more than an interesting pigmentation.

Slowly, a picture of the man's identity was forming in Seija's mind. He wasn't a named character... or if he was she didn't remember him. But she felt like she knew where he was from.

"Do you want to honor me after I die or something? Looking at your armor, fighting style and overall attitude... You're a samurai - not a shinobi - aren't you? Why don't you tell me your name, instead? I'm pretty sure the samurai of the Land of Iron are supposed to be neutral in this conflict." Seija asked.

The man's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected his attire and Iaijutsu to be recognised by a child, of all things.

"Hm. You are correct. I am a samurai. But the Land of Iron is not my home anymore. My name is... or rather, was... Saboten Kurogane. You will not recognise it. I performed no great feats during my time in the north. I am just a fool who tried to overthrow our leader, Mifune, when I believed him too weak to rule.

Swiftly defeated and exiled, I turned to Kumogakure for work, and developed new skills under the leadership of the Raikage. You killed my subordinates. And thus I must kill you. That is all."

Seija blinked at him. She hadn't exactly asked for the man's entire life's story. She guessed it was just so she could remember him in the case that she slew him, rather than the other way around. She decided to play along out of courtesy.

"I see. My name is Seija of the Akatsuki. I and the three Genin who came here with me were sent to remove the enemy shinobi from this village. We've killed all of them besides you, and my allies are retreating, wary that you would try to hunt them down. Our goal is merely to defend the Land of Rain, which you are invading. That is all."

She shifted into her combat stance as Saboten chuckled at her words.

"Thank you for obliging me, Seija of the Akatsuki." His cheerful gaze hardened as he drew his blade once more, "Do not hold back."

- - -

*Clink*

In an instant, Saboten was upon her. His electrified blade met the kunai of a hastily-summoned shadow clone. The shock traveled through the weapon, causing the clone's muscles to spasm and tense, but it wasn't enough to break the durable clone for good. 

In the moment that the two blades clashed, Seija summoned another duo of clones to attack him from the flank as she retreated. Before they reached him, he easily finished off the first clone with a quick cut to the arm and once more returned his blade to its sheath.

Seija heard the muttering whisper of his technique on the wind as she kept her distance and observed.

"[Lightning Iaijutsu: Thunderbolt Flash]"

*Crackle*

The two clones were both beheaded by a wide, sweeping blow. One had raised their kunai to block the attack, but the tiny blade had been sliced straight through, barely slowing the lightning-clad katana down.

'I have to keep my distance. Close quarters may be my specialty, but I don't know how much cutting power that blade has. Even my own durability has its limits... I'll need to test him more before I even think about getting close.'

Her hands began to blur between hand signs, forming-

"I told you not to hold back, Seija of the Akatsuki."

He did not give her the chance to complete her Jutsu. In under a second he crossed the entire distance between them with a Body Flicker and slashed at her. 

'Shit!'

Her Sharingan kicked into overdrive as she read the trajectory of the blade. It was fast, and it was aimed straight at her head. The best she could do was put an arm up in its way to try and block it, then brace for the impact.

The man was right, she had to stop holding back. She had gotten too used to sparring with either Jonin who were holding back against her, or Genin who were weaker than her. She hadn't faced a foe who was genuinely faster and stronger than her like this before.

*Clang!*

Saboten's eyes widened in shock as his blade met solid steel where there was none before. 

Seija loved that feeling.

Her hands blurred as she weaved the handsigns for her Landmine Fist faster than she ever had before.

Saboten felt his chest nearly cave in as her fist struck him right in the center of his chest plate, the combination of Seija's Steel Release with her Explosion Style working in tandem to absolutely launch the man across the rocky landscape, shattering his armor in a single blow.

*Boom!*

He crashed into the hillside in a burst of dust and debris and a clatter of broken armor as Seija took the short moment to assess the damage to her arm. Her whole right side felt numb where the Lightning had channeled through her arm into the rest of her body, but she felt the feeling receding fast. No-doubt thanks to her regeneration.

Regeneration which currently couldn't help her with the actual damage she'd sustained to the arm itself.

'Man... that's going to fucking sting later. I'll forever be thankful that I can't feel pain in that arm while Steel Release is active.'

A deep gash had been cut into her steel flesh, as deep as the breadth of his blade, and several times as long at the furthest point. If her arm were made of natural flesh right now, the bone would be visible at the deepest point of the cut.

She'd managed to buy herself one clean hit with two Kekkei Genkai at once, but she could see through the dust with her Byaku-Sharingan and she could tell he wasn't down yet. Bruised and now partially disrobed, but far from broken. She had to switch tactics, fast.

Saboten stood once more, in his favourite stance.

'Here he comes!'

"[Iaijutsu: Decapitation]"

Her hand whipped forwards as his movements blurred and time seemed to slow in her Dojutsu's vision. Her steel fingers clasping around the edge of the blade right at its tip, as it streaked towards her neck-

*Fwip*

-before flicking the blade upwards, redirecting its pathway over her head. Saboten recovered from his surprise more quickly this time, stepping back and attempting to sheath his blade again, but this time it was his turn to be interrupted as Seija stepped in closer again and jabbed him in the shoulder with her outstretched fingers. The strike carried significantly more force than Saboten had expected, a chilling numbness spreading down his right arm like it'd been dipped in cold water.

He was forced to adjust his style to match the sudden change in his opponent's. She'd seamlessly switched from her previous punches and blocks to a series of swift, flowing finger-jabs, deflections, and palm strikes. It was an extremely famous style that he had never personally encountered before, but knew of its infamy, especially among the other shinobi of Kumogakure.

'This girl is using Hyuga Taijutsu! Where- Ugh!' As his mind grappled with the realisation, the momentary lapse in concentration caused another of her strikes to slip through, the low jab striking his right thigh and causing a similar numbness to before as he deflected the following strike.

He had no time to wonder how a Hyuga had found her way into the employ of the Land of Rain. He needed to fully commit to switching his tactics, or she could end him here and now.

While he had managed to cut deep into her arm with one of his strongest techniques, her rapid jabs were forcing him to keep his long, unwieldy katana unsheathed. This was preventing him from building up the proper momentum required to actually damage her body, as even though she was matching his blade's current strikes with only her slender, childish fingers, she was only suffering minor scratches from the assault, while Saboten's stamina was slowly being worn down with every strike.

Seija, from her own perspective, wasn't doing as formidably as her foe had been fooled into believing, either. For the first time in a very, very long time, her chakra regeneration was being significantly outpaced by her expenditure. Between her three Kekkei Genkai that she was using at once - her Byakugan, Sharingan, and Steel Release, - along with her Gentle Fist techniques which also consumed chakra with every strike, both to repel and counter the Lightning infused into Saboten's blades, and to intrude into his body with every successful hit she landed, her supply was draining fast.

All in all, neither of them were going to last if one of them didn't gain a clear upper-hand over the other, soon.

The one that took the first bite was Saboten. He waited for just the right moment - when Seija made another low strike - and instead of attempting to awkwardly block it like before, he turned his body sideways and tanked the hit with his right hip. He grimaced as he felt the cold numbness in his thigh spread further up into the new wound, slowing the movement of his leg, but his gaze was locked into a look of fierce determination.

He used the moment to re-sheathe his blade, barely even taking an instant to focus and charge as he poured his chakra into his next attack. Seija saw the chakra flow into his blade, as always, but the pattern suddenly shifted in a way that baffled her. She couldn't decipher the nature of his strike and she was forced to hurriedly put her arms up in the way of the cut that she knew was coming.

Or rather that she thought was coming.

Saboten drew his blade, but the position and grip of his hand was all wrong. It didn't make sense to her, and clearly her shock must have shown even through her mask, as Saboten grinned and launched his hand forwards... under her guarding arms, and towards her stomach.

It was a pommel strike, not a cut!

"[Iaido: Rupture!]"

Seija hardened the chakra in her core muscles, converting it to more steel as the attack hit. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her, and she was launched away by the immense shockwave of the attack. The half-formed metal of her abs cracked under the pressure, resulting in her second serious injury of the duel; a spray of blood leaking through the cracks before they could be hastily sealed over by yet more steel flesh.

*Bang!*

She tumbled across the battlefield for a moment as her senses caught her foe running to catch up, but she'd learned how to handle this situation from Jiraiya well. She gripped the ground with her chakra sticking to the soil - following the same principle as the Tree Walking exercise - and her momentum halted in an instant. Her opponent stopped a short distance away from her and returned his katana to his sheath.

This time though, he let go of the hilt entirely and let slip a tired breath as he reached towards his yet-untouched weapon pouch.

"Seija. You have proven yourself a mighty and cunning foe, able to match and counter my primary fighting style in just a few moments-"

Seija didn't wait for him to finish and scrambled to her feet to close the distance again before he could take the chance to use another Iaijutsu. But clearly, that's not what he was going for.

Saboten pulled a small, hand-sized scroll out of the pouch and unfurled it in front of him, revealing a pair of storage seals inscribed on the cloth's surface. A haze of smoke briefly burst around Saboten's hands as Seija once again struck forwards with both hands in rapid succession...

*Clang Clang*

But both hands were suddenly deflected and Seija was forced to back off a few meters.

With the smoke cleared by the exchange, the reason for the attacks' deflection was clear.

Seija's foe stood tall, with his katana now left forgotten at his hip. In his hands now sat a pair of wakizashi, the shortened cousin of the longer katanas. 

"-But with these blades, I can keep up with your impressive Taijutsu! Come, Seija! Face your end with dignity!" He shouted as he pointed one of the blades at her and flicked the tip up; a taunting gesture unfitting for a samurai such as him.

Seija couldn't tell where the sweat running down her back started or where it gave way to the rain falling from above. She stood parallel to her foe, now far more wary of his quicker blades. In an instant, she sent a mental command.

Elsewhere, two of her three shadow clones - the pair guarding Daibutsu and Kie - burst into nothingness, returning their chakra to their creator. She felt her chakra supply refilling by about forty percent, and flexed her now thoroughly scratched and chipped hands and wrists.

Despite herself, and despite the desperate situation...

Seija couldn't stop the mad grin from spreading across her face.

"Very well, Saboten Kurogane! Show me that you can keep up! One way or the other, THIS ENDS HERE!"

And the two dashed forwards to clash once more.