Arc XII Chapter 26


    <b>XII</b>


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    <b>Arc XII Chapter 26</b>


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    So it was like this ... As usual, his instincts did not fail him. The whole time, he had this strange feeling, this strange premonition. They had both proven correct. He knew it. He knew that there was something wrong about her. Even if he could not tell what exactly. Until now. From the very beginning, the entire fight had been nothing but a sham.


    Kakashi narrowed his eyes, his gaze was fixed on her supposed corpse. Motionless, lifeless, the bodyy before them on the ground, at their feet, the fresh blood staining the ck coat red. Her de had been fatal. Yet the corpse in question was not hers. Instead, the sight of a ck haired man greeted them, his face distinctly Sunagakure. This was not her. This was not Asami.


    “...” Temari gulped, her tongue stuck in her throat. Her eyes stared wide open, inplete disbelief. “This is ... This is impossible! This can’t be!!! Why ... What ... Why is he here? What is he doing here?”


    “... ... ...” And so did Chiyo, her disbelief written all across her face, inly to see. Despite all of her years, herposure had been deeply shaken. “...”


    Kakashi turned to them. “I gather you know the man ... Who is he?”


    “...” Temari bit her lips, clenching her fist. Her initial confusion had faded, only to be reced by fire and fury. “...”


    “...” Chiyo steeled her resolve, regaining herposure. Her voice rung heavy. “This man ... His name is Yura. He is ... He was a jonin and a trusted member of the vige council. He was a loyal supporter of Gaara ... To think that he of all people would turn traitor ... I never thought it possible. But here we are ...”


    “I see ...” Kakashi understood. Another betrayal. Another unsolved mystery.


    Sakura joined in, “So it was him whom we fought all this?”


    “Yes.” Kakashi gathered his thoughts. “I have no idea how, but he must have served as some kind of substitute body for her. Which exins a lot. Her constantints. Her slower reaction times. Her fighting style. Her overall defensive posture. And yet she was still ying with us ...”


    “What?” Temari protested in disbelief. “Are you serious? She was ying with us? You call all this ying with us? ”


    “...” Kakashi fell silent. “Unfortunately, yes. Think about it, not even once, she drew her sword. Instead, she was fighting us with an umbre ... It’s obvious that she didn’t deem us an adequate threat.


    “GGGRRrrrrrrr!!!” Temari clenched her fists in a fit of rage, her pride struck. “This ... This ... This fucking little bitch!!! Who does she think she is?”


    The answer was obvious, in Kakashi’s opinion.


    “...” Kakashi ignored Temari’s little outburst. It was not helpful, but at least her morale remained high and fighting spirit undiminished. Which was better than nothing.


    Kakashi formed a hand seal, channelling his chakra. “Shiba!!!” A white cloud of smoke erupted before dissipating. His loyalpanion and ninken answered his summon. Before him, stood a <spanng="en-gb" xmlng="en-gb">grey furred ninja dog. It was Shiba. The fastest and most agile amongst his ninken. He had a mission for him.


    Shiba presented himself on his paws. “You have called for me, Kakashi.”


    “Shiba, I have a mission for you”, Kakashi borated. “Go and find Pakkun. Unless I am wrong, Guy and Shikamaru should be with him. Inform them that we have encountered ... some issues along the way. We can’t continue the mission. Not in our current shape. We need to rest. Tell them to link up with us as fast as possible. Together we will resume the mission tomorrow.”


    “Understood.” Shiba nodded before sprinting off, running off into the distance.


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    Guy. Lee. Neji. Tenten. Shikamaru. Ino. Choji. Both of their teams were on the move, following Pakkun’s lead. His stubby legs were leading the way, guiding them.


    Trees, branches, leaves, twigs flew by, only blurred silhouettes apanying them. They had crossed forests, hills, mountains, rivers, and yet they pressed on. They pushed onwards, day and night, without respite. Their movement was swift and fast.


    “...” Shikamaru nced up, his annoyance apparent. His irritation was directed at a certain individual in a green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers. Had the idiot gone insane? Had he lost it, or what? What a drag. Guy’s enthusiasm and inexhaustible stamina were noted, but his breakneck pace was beyond reasonable, not to say counterproductive. They had gone four days without barely any sleep or rest. Shino, Choji and he, they were all struggling to even keep up. And yet the idiot kept pushing them harder and harder ... Things couldn’t go on like this. Not any longer.


    Shikamaru called out, his voice carrying far, “Oi, Guy-sensei!”


    Guy turned his head, his typical grin on his lips, together with an raised thumb. He hade to hate both of them these days. A mountain of luggage towered on his back. He and Lee had insisted on them taking all of their luggage to add extra weight for “training purposes”.


    “Yes, Shikamaru?”


    “...” Shikamaru grumbled, venting his grievances, “Listen, Guy, can’t we slow down? This pace is unsustainable. Ino, Choji and I, we all need a break.”


    Guy frowned, thinking for a moment. “Hmm, well, you might have a point, but the me of youth burns brightest when we push beyond our limits! Don’t forget that Kakashi is counting on us.”


    “...” Shikamaru clicked his tongue. “Yes, Kakashi is counting on us, but he needs us still in one piece! Look, Guy, the me of youthand all that stuff ... well and good, but it’s far more important to get there alive. Not half dead ...”


    Pakkun halted, settling down, his tongue lolling. The rest of them followed suit,ing to a sudden halt on arge tree branch together.


    Ino and Choji panted heavily, nearly about to drop dead, judging by their pale faces. Tenten wiped her forehead, heaving a grateful sigh at Shikamaru. Neji merely nodded, tacitly approving of his measures in the face of Guy’s incorrigible ways.


    “...” Pakkun started sniffing in the air, his nose picking up a familiar scent. “Heh? Shiba, what are you doing here?” His voice sounded surprised.


    As Pakkun predicted, another ninken emerged, his fur grey and a Konoha headband hanging around his neck.


    The dog responded. “Kakashi sends me. He and his team have encountered serious resistance.”


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