Chapter 046

Reacting quickly to the dark assassin glaring down at him, the blonde bent backwards even more, slamming a hand into the ground and performing a flip, at the same time spearing a kick straight up to his foe's chin. The samurai leant away from the attack and lashed out with a glancing blow. The youngster slipped away and made a hasty retreat.

Naruto swore he had never backpedaled faster than he ever had in his life when the samurai came dashing after him, easily catching him with his ungodly speed. "Son of a bitch, he's REALLY fast! How the fuck is someone wearing a bathrobe able to move that fast?" Grinning briefly at the prospect of the fight, Naruto leant back to avoid another incoming slash, ducking low a split second later when the man returned with a second strike for his head. The dark assailant pursued him left and right when the jinchuriki attempted to shake him off in his fallback with a zigzagging motion, but the older warrior was persistent. He stuck to him like his shadow and lashed at him at every given opportunity.

Side-stepping a full circle, Naruto freaked out when another blow came from below and he was forced to jump away. He hit the breaks the moment both feet slammed into the ground and he skidded to a stop several meters away. Though the blonde managed to buy himself a few valuable seconds of air, it wasn't long till the light on his feet Crow came charging at him again, katana at the ready.

"Okay, running isn't going to get me anywhere and trying to shake him off is doing me nothing. His speed is great and he's got good eyesight. Damn it." Naruto gritted his teeth, stepping back little by little as the man advanced. Arms hanging at his sides, the jinchuriki began awkwardly swaying his upper body from side to side, picking up the tempo as he took into account his opponent's footwork. "He likes using that sword of his. If that's all he knows, then let's test the waters."

Crow lashed at him with another strike, but Naruto returned fire by ducking under it and throwing a swinging hook. The swordsman elbowed his strike away and fell back, lashing upward at the kid with his blade, only to see his nimble little opponent leap right over it, enter his defensive circle, and slam a right kick straight into his stomach. The blow caused a loud crunching sound to echo out, which sent the samurai blasting backwards. Though it looked like a clean blow, his sudden flight away from his opponent was mostly out of surprise.

Upon sliding to a stop, the masked samurai looked up sharply. Even though his face was covered and he didn't utter anything audible, his actions still clearly conveyed his shock.

Hands still hanging at his sides in a wide stance, Naruto smiled and began swaying again.

"He's ridiculously fast, but I can match his speed with my tricky moves. I knew all that running around would pay off one day," Naruto thought happily before charging at the samurai, who immediately rushed at him in kind, sword cocked. The blonde frowned as he closed the distance, ducking low when he telegraphed a swing aimed for his head. "I need to land some body blows. That'll stop his feet."

The blonde rammed into the man's stomach with a shoulder tackle, sending the fierce Crow off his feet and sending him through the air with an unconventional battering technique. Naruto traveled with him and hammered several body shots into his gut, seconds before the samurai countered by bringing his sword over his head and striking down. The small attacker rolled right out of the way when the weapon speared the ground, getting back to his feet and going airborne when the samurai followed with a sweeping slash immediately afterwards; the sword missing him by inches.

While in the air Naruto spun around and tossed a barrage of shuriken at his target, the projectiles separating and converging on the warrior moments later. Certain of a hit, Naruto's grin widened…

But shock overcame him instead when the samurai suddenly vanished in a shadowy blur.

"What the hell?"

The moment Naruto's foot touched the ground the swordsman reappeared right in front of him with a downward stabbing blow. Eyes widened further as the child swung his body around to meet his opponent.

"Son of a bitch, this again?!" the jinchuriki thought while ducking. After avoiding the attack, he backpedaled quickly, dodging and weaving under flashes of katana coming after him. The streaks of the sword slicing through the wind at high speed filled the air around the blonde in a terrifying display of cutting speed as he swayed and leapt away from the warrior. The assault was so fast there wasn't even any time to blink or breathe. Naruto was forced into a fallback state with a frustrated look on his face. "Shit! Shit! When do I counter? HOW! He's gotten even fas-WHOA!" Even his thoughts were cut short when more attacks came pouring after him.

Upon being pushed back several yards down the dam, the jinchuriki drew a kunai from his pouch and began blocking hits. Sparks flew through the air when he traded parries with the samurai until Naruto was violently thrown back by a full-power swing that connected with his guard. He flew a good distance, flipped a few times to gain control of his flight before eventually skidding to a stop when he managed to slam both of his feet into the concrete road.

"Bloody hell," Naruto gritted his teeth, his legs shaking from taking the hit. "His swings aren't just blindingly fast, they're also unbelievably heavy. He'll cut clean through me if I stop for even a second, but he's not giving me any time to weave hand seals." He looked down to see his knees trembling, barely keeping him up despite his adrenaline rush. "The damage is already getting to my legs. I have to end this quick or I'll be in trouble!"

Another explosion rocked the dam they were standing on as another outlet for the water in the lake behind them was formed. Little by little, the massive swell being held back started feeding directly into the land once more, but in spite of this tremendous success, the whole liberation plot that Naruto was going for would mean nothing if he didn't defeat the final element of the village's despair.

The swordsman, once again prepping himself for another attack, was the long-arm of Gato's force here. If the weapon of the tyrant used to deal physical pain upon the villagers remained, then the people would never be free of this nightmare. It would continue to come back to haunt them again and again, until there was no one left. This vision of a future filled with pain and torment, was a future Naruto was not going to allow. He was determined to finish his opponent right here and now.

Baring his teeth, Naruto charged in. "Let's punch it out! COME ON!" He tossed his kunai, which was swatted away by his foe before the boy leapt at him with his right corked back.

The moment the jinchuriki came in swinging, the samurai sliced right into him with a sideward blow, carving right through his waist. Naruto passed by the warrior with a shocked expression and his eyes glazed over, a spray of blood occurring moments later. However, when the assailant was certain he'd killed the boy with the decisive blow, the falling child suddenly went up in a puff of smoke shortly before a log fell to the ground out from the cloud, cleaved in two.

The clattering of wood had Crow's attention immediately fixed on the replacement in alarm, a distraction long enough for the real Naruto to suddenly drop down at him from above, kunai in hand.

The boy cried out when he landed on the samurai's back, straddling his shoulders before ramming the knife into his neck. The tussle that followed involved the robed assassin attempting to throw the little hitchhiker off of him, while Naruto continued to bury the knife deeper and deeper without pause. The sound of squealing could be heard all around as the blade drove home, a grin coming across the boy's face before he was suddenly grabbed by the hair and thrown across the dam.

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