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Blood waters (Chapter 20)
🕑 Added 2023-08-29 12:03:57 +0000 UTCChapter 20
Utakata looked around and grimaced as he felt dozens of shinobi surrounding him. The Mist should be on the move by now, so Utakata has no choice but to grab attention even from more shinobi. Yet he was more concerned about the girl before him. It would be difficult to defeat her. Utakata could tell that her control over her tail beast was better than his.
“Is those are your last words?” The girl with blonde hair asked.
“They are not, for I won’t die today,” Utakata replied.
The shinobi didn’t take it kindly as the girl moved forward. The rest quickly followed. Utakata couldn’t help but smirk at the fools. Maybe they were underestimating Utakata, or they were inexperienced. Either way, they made a mistake in rushing at an unfamiliar shinobi, especially at a jinchuriki. Utakata didn’t move from his place and waited for them to get closer.
When the time came, and Utakata could sense all the shinobi around him, he dropped his arms, and from his sleeves, smoke bombs dropped on the ground. It was too late for them to react when they saw the bombs. They barely managed to shield their eyes before the bombs exploded before them. The whole area was not covered in thick smoke.
Utakata, with his closed eyes, unbuttoned the pouch on his belt and took the kunai into his hands. As he sensed the shinobi around trying to find their way, Utakata threw his kunai at them. Screams of agony quickly filled the area from every direction. Utakata didn’t need to kill them. It was enough as long as his kunai hit them. Dozens of kunai were thrown before Utakata heard someone yelling out.
“Wind Style: Wind Gust Jutsu,” The Cloud shinobi used the wind to blow the smoke out of the way, but he succumbed to a coughing fit as he inhaled smoke into his lungs.
A noble sacrifice, Utakata thought as he threw kunai at his eye. He couldn’t even react before he fell to the ground. Neither could he see five men dead around Utakata or a dozen or so shinobi clutching their wounds as they bled. The blonde girl looked around horrified, only confirming that the girl wasn’t experienced in real battlefields. But it wasn’t over.
“Seal release,” Utakata moved his hands before the girl into a hand sing.
It was too late for them. The seals on the kunai Utakata thrown react to his chakra. From the farthest to the nearest, explosions rang. Before they reached Utakata, he created a water shield to protect himself. Utakata never took his eyes away from the girl as blood and body parts splattered around him. A puddle of blood soon formed under his feet.
“You!” The girl was frantic as she looked at all the dead around her. She protected herself with the chakra of her tailed beast, so she was relatively okay. “You monster!”
“Monster?” Utakata asked. He was thankful that the girl was willing to help him stall for the time. “Pot calling the kettle black. You are as much of a monster as I am. A weapon created to kill the village’s enemies.”
“I am nothing like you,” The girl gritted her teeth.
“No, you are worse than me,” Utakata agreed. “This is your first battle, isn’t it? A real battle, I mean. You were hiding in your village or behind the frontlines for all the war. Unlike you, I was born in this hell. I grew up in this hell. I was trained to kill and then be killed. Unlike you, I have accepted my destiny. You only have yourself to blame for being weak, for not realizing what your actions would bring.”
“What is your name?” The girl's eyes became cold as more shinobi came to the sight.
“Utakata.”
“Listen well, Utakata of Blood Waters, I, Yugito Nii, shall kill you,” The girl didn’t yell, but her voice echoed.
“Then come,” Utakata replied.
The blood before Yugito started to steam. Utakata could see blue flames emerging from her. Foolish girl, she thought that showing off her power would be enough. Utakata drew his tanto blades and got into stance. It wasn’t a defensive stance. He wasn’t taught to defend. He was taught to kill. Utakata's expression was a mixture of determination and caution as he faced his opponent.
Yugito's blazing chakra manifested around her in a feral display of power. Her eyes held a fierce intensity, reflecting the raw might of the Two-Tails. The ground beneath them quaked from the sheer force of her presence. Without a word, the clash began. Yugito unleashed a torrent of blazing flames, a testament to her mastery over fire-based jutsu.
Utakata knew he would only waste his chakra trying to block the blue flames. Even if they didn’t hit, the heat coming from them would still burn him. He used his tiny body to dodge the attack and move around Yugito. Utakata's hand signs blurred with practiced speed. Water surged forth, forming into serpentine tendrils that lashed out at Yugito.
They did nothing. The water evaporated as soon as they touched the blazing chakra surrounding her. But it was fine. Utakata expected this outcome. Utakata continued to use various water-style jutsu to hit her, but she was too skilled to get hit. She responded with a fury of fire-style jutsu. It was causing the water to turn into steam.
Utakata smiled as his plan worked. The steam was hot, and even though the chakra from the six tails protected him, he still could feel the heat. So, one had to wonder how the rest of the shinobi would react to the steam. Seeing that no shinobi from the Cloud could get close to them, Utakata concluded that the steam was too much for them.
Utakata continued to weave his hand signs with precision as the steam billowed around them. He formed intricate seals, channeling his chakra into the surrounding mist. He manipulated the vapor with a surge of water-style jutsu, causing it to condense and thicken even further. He took control of the battlefield. This was now his domain.
Her control over the Two-Tails' power was formidable, but even she couldn't escape the stifling effects of Utakata's tactics. The thick water vapor completely obstructed her vision. She could only continue to use her chakra mindlessly, trying to reach Utakata with her blue flames. Utakata wouldn’t be surprised that her rage blinded her more than the steam.
The girl couldn’t think rationally. Utakata was more than happy to exploit her weaknesses; his job was to get the attention of the shinobi, and he accomplished it. He only needed to bide his time and wait until Mei Terumi succeeded or failed. Utakata didn’t need to kill the girl or anyone else; he was too happy to waste their chakra so they wouldn’t be strong enough to catch him when he escaped.
“Enough!”
Utakata hated how his heart skipped a beat or two as he heard Yugito’s rage-filled shout. The blue flames around Yugito got bigger and bigger. Utakata could only watch as a massive beast with two tails made of blue flames formed before him. Its roar dispelled the steam. It made Utakata tremble in fear as the beast looked at him with raging eyes.
“THIS IS THE END!” The beast said as the ground shook.
“No,” Utakata returned to his bearings and raised his tanto blades. “I refuse to end it here.”
Utakata threw his tanto blades, letting the steel wire pass through his hands, cutting them. The beast swatted the tanto blades into the ground with its claw. Catching the steel wires in his hands, Utakata pulled them back. The wires emerged from the ground all around the beast. With another pull, the wires caught the beast.
Utakata's muscles tore as he tried to tighten the wires to cut the blue flames forming the beast. His hands started bleeding as the wires cut deeper and deeper into his hands. But he didn’t let them go, even when the beast roared in rage and pain. Utakata had to force the tails of his chakra cloak to pierce the ground to hold himself in place as the beast trashed around, trying to free itself.
Two minutes. Utakata held on for two minutes before the wire started to snap around the beast. But it was more than Utakata had expected. Utakata could sense that Yugito couldn’t hold her transformation any longer. She still wasn’t a perfect Jinchuriki, so as soon as Utakata’s tailed beast chakra collapsed, so did Yugito's.
“You're stronger than I thought,” Yugito's breathing was labored as she looked at him, a mixture of frustration, respect, and fear in her eyes.
“I could say the same,” Utakata looked at his bleeding hands. He wouldn’t be able to form hand seals for now. “But at least you have comrades to rely on.”
A score of Could shinobi surrounded Utakata. They didn’t dare to rush at him. After seeing what he did previously, they still were wary of him. Even when Utakata was weaponless and couldn’t use his hands, they still were ready for anything. Utakata sighed in defeat; he could try to escape but didn’t think he could break through the encirclement.
“It is over, Utakata of Blood Waters,” Yugito said.
“Before I die, let me give you advice, Yugito Nii,” Utakata was calm as he addressed the girl before him. “Don’t rely too much on your power or your village. In the end, you will be on your own when you face opponents way stronger than you. Nobody will come to save you. Nobody will be able to protect you.”
“I don’t need advice from a monster,” Yugito replied. “Kill him!”
Utakata sighed. The shinobi rushed at him, and Utakata accepted his death, but it didn’t mean he would give up so easily. He held the steel pipe his master had given him. Gathering all the chakra left in his mouth, Utakata blew the pipe. Hundreds of tiny bubbles emerged like a barrage. They exploded when making contact with the shinobi.
The bubbles were too weak to hurt them, but they kept them away from him. As he dodged the shinobi weapons and jutsu thrown at him, Utakata continued to blow the pipe until he couldn’t feel any chakra inside himself. His vision was blurry, his senses became dull, and he could tell his legs wouldn’t support him for much longer.
“Won’t you just give up!” Utakata heard Yugito’s yell as kunai and shuriken struck him.
But even then, Utakata held his arms up to protect himself. He could feel his blood freely flowing down his body. But he refused to die. Even though he didn’t see any way to escape with his life, Utakata still refused to surrender, to give up. He has worked too hard and survived this hell for too long to give up and die. They will have to break him first.
“Water Style: Water Dragon!” Utakata heard a sweet voice, and he collapsed to the ground.
He felt water surrounding him and heard the cloud of shinobi screaming. He lost too much blood and strength to tell what was going on. But he felt hands around him lifting him. He heard a voice speaking to him but couldn’t comprehend the words. He soon felt the wind against his skin as he was carried away.
Comments
that_dude13
Nice chapter
