Samurai Showdown With Kakashi

A green sculpture stood before me. His muscles wrapped among themselves, as fire was lit on every pore of its hard skin. Its face was one of experience. It reminded me of some of the old samurai paintings the ancient tomb used to have, with their exagerated expressions and legendary armor. I wonder if the samurai of old summoned beings like this around themselves, or if the paintings simply depicted the wrong people. It didn't matter. My only focus now was to eliminate the man secured within it. I'll tear through any samurai legend to get to him.

Shisui looked at me with a disoriented look. He had taken some significant damage from our earlier struggle. Good, it's better to have the advantage, but still I had to be cautious. I couldn't just move towards the being's constant flames recklessly, even though that would definitely be my first plan. Time for my second one.

- What do you think you're doing? Take responsibility for what you did! Fight me hand-to-hand!

- I know what you're trying to do. It's not working. - Shisui said between inhales. Susano'o can't be a simple technique to use. - You need to understand, Roderick. I did what I had to do. Your father was too much of a menace to your land. We didn't have any other choice...

- And what about my mother? What about my life that you ruined? - I had been able to maintain my cool through the fight, but whether it was the fourth gate's strain or my overflown head, I had to respond back.

- How can you say that? - Shisui seemed truly devastated with my reaction, but an attitude doesn't mean much coming from the master of illusions. - Look, at your life. You have friends, teachers, power. How can you say I ruined your life?

- These past five years I've dreamed of nothing more than my own parent's death. All because you stuck it to me. I can't believe I was grateful that you freed me from these nightmares, when you were the one who inflicted them. - Shisui seemed undecisive on what to respond. He had to choose between his duty and his pride, and since he had always been too humble...

- Fine then, Roderick. Hate me. Despise me with all your being. But you won't be able to do a thing. You can't beat me like this, no one can. - A spacial eye emerged from the Susano'o stomach, as a wave seemed to encompass the entire area.

The trees became glaciars, the ground, a crumbled ruin, the sky, a purple crescendo of stars.

- What is this? - I asked, though I could guess the answer.

- My genjutsu, the Kotoamatsukami doesn't only affect the living. It can dictate the form the environment around me takes, whether it is an ice cold barren wasteland or a thriving molten forest, I can creste my own world. You see now, Roderick? There's no point in fighting me. Nothing escapes my control when I wield my Susano'o.

- You're lying. - I wasn't dumb enough to fall for his trick. In front of me was a massive crumbling hole. - You didn't mess with the environment at all. - I took a step forward as I walked past the void, but I didn't fall. Like a bird doesn't fall off the air when his wings stop, the hole didn't affect me while I stood still over it. - You're a master of illusions, but you can't trick me. - With my fourth inner gste open, I swiped the air, and the illusion reverberated until cracks appeared, and it broke. - Your genjutsu doesn't work on... - Before me was now his Susano'o with four flying balls of earth and lava, as they menacingly floated in the air.

From afar, Inoue was amazed, as she said without a second thought:

- What am I looking at right now? Did the grass just...

- Turned to ruined stone? - Lai finished her sentence.

- I can't believe how powerful are they? How is Roderick keeping up? - Lai shrugged in disturbance.

- It's because he is a Samunashi. He's not easy to kill.

- A Samunashi? - The samurai with them repeated. - Weren't they hunted down to their last descendant?

- We thought so, apparently Shisui spared one and is now suffering the consequences. To think Roderick is one of them... - Lai hit his own face. Lately he had been put through a lot of pressure, but he was never as unsure of himself as he was now. - What do I do?

Shisui stared at me, piercing my soul with his scarlet vision. He threathened in a grave tone:

- If you approach me anymore, I will use these.

- Balls of lava? You can't scare me with that. I can just dodge them! Try as you like murderer, but I'm going to pierce through every one of your techiques to get to you if I have to.

- Then, you leave me no other choice. - Thr lava balls vanished into nothing, more illusions I presume. - I think it's time to undo my genjutsu. - Shisui snapped his fingers, as my entire body shriveled in pain.

When I was fighting the reapers, getting hit with Planetary Devastation, using my first gate to its maximum, I felt pain, but it was numbed out. When I finished fighting Kakashi and was laying on the ground, from all the kicks, punches and water dragons he had thrown at me, I was grueling in it. Well, it never was this bad. My entire body felt like it was ripping apart Any breath, any slight movement caused millions of spikes to hit each of my vocal cords, each of my tendons. Before I even tried to ask, Shisui explained:

- When you were sent to the hospital bed for having your arm cut off, they saw the need to use a sedative. There are no known morphines, no other way to reduce its effect except by the use of genjutsu. Roderick, you think it's normal for someone to barely notice they had their arm cut off after they restitched it? Just like when we first met, I am the morphine to your pain. - I grabbed my sword and pointed them forward. - You're still trying to fight?

- I can't... - It was too difficult to even talk. - Can't... - I looked down as my arms trembled, exerting themselves just to stand straight, and for what? To engage against a Susano'o? - Give up.

- Good, Roderick. I'm glad you came around. - Shisui undid his Susano'o. He never intended to use it to fight. It was merely his shield, his way to intimidate me. He walked towards me, with as kind of an expression as he could manage. - There's no point in fighting anymore, Roderick. Focus on the life you have, not on the one you lost. What happened to you was terrible, but you shouldn't let it ruin who you are. - Shisui was now a few meters in front of me. - Drop your swords. Let's take you back to your land to heal.

- Dou... - The air escaped my lungs. - Double... - My chakra wavered. I may be in unimaginable pain, but I still kept my fourth gate on. - Laidõ... - Plan B worked. - Explosion!

The swords I had in my hands proppelled forwards, leaving behind them a trail of blood. If I were to launch my swords while theh were still in the scabbards, only the handle would hit him, but by exploding through my hands, I was able to shoot them without the use of any extra acessories. However, I now think I'd prefer my hand not to look like a donut.

As my situation kept getting worse, there was one thing that gave me comfort. The swords I launched had perfurated Shisui's abdomen. In all the pain, I let out a laugh, as I fell to my knees and closed the four inner gates. The reduced strain didn't make the overwhelming pain leave, but it helped.

- You... - Shisuu coughed some blood. - To think you'd go this far.

I kept myself awake, but moving was out of question, as blood flowed downwards from the stitches in my arm, from the holes in my hands.

Lai seemed to make a decision once he saw me and Shisui like that and approached immediately. He got right between us, commenting:

- This is what happens when you don't complete your assignment like you are supposed to. Consequences. - Lai grabbed one of the swords that pierced Shisui.

- What are you doing? - He asked with terror in his eyes as Lai seemed to infuse the sword with some chakra. - I'll die if you remove them.

- Not if you do it right.

Lai c.a.r.e.s.sed the sword as he started to remove it slowly. A bright light came from the place it perfurated Shisui. Lai started to explain:

- You know something I learned from teaming up with ninjas? Medical jutsu.

- How predictable. - Shisui said ironically, in a grunt of pain.

- It's not as random as it seems. To be a proper samurai you need to learn to concentrate your chakra in a single spot, to increase the power of your slices. - Like a skilled cook, Lai removed one of the swords as Shisui's insides were perfectly sealed. He focused on the second one. - That principle is oddly very similar to the one of medical jutsu. Concentrating your power in a single spot of someone else's wound. It's interesting how certain techniques meant to cause pain, are also capable of soothing it. - Lai removed the second sword, allowing Shisui to move.

He wasn't fully healed, obviously, but it was enough for him not to bleed out. Lai then said:

- We're leaving. I'll pick you up and bring you to our Land. - Shisui didn't seem too pleased with the idea.

- What about him? - He said pointing at me, as I looked at him with my eyes barely open.

- Let him bleed out. After everything we've been through, I'm not capable of killing him. - Lai mentioned, as if disappointed with himself for it. Shisui seemed mad. The pain made him more unstable.

- So you're just leaving him to die? A man who gained power even after it's source was taken away from him? Someome who has served your land dutifully?

- You know who he is, right?

- He's the son of his father, but he is also so much more than that. - Shisui was truly standing up for me. - I may have taken the blame for everything, but it doesn't make me regret my decision.

- Look at what he has done to you. - Lai pointed out, aiming at his massive cuts.

- And I took all of this just to protect your land.

- You're the one who decided to take the blame when you let him live. You had specific orders! - Lai was getting angry.

- From a man who doesn't order around my land. You know what? I regret it. I regret ever going to your land! If you want to talk about consequences, then I'll show you what it's like to be the target of such hate. - Shisui put his hand on my head. - I'll show him the whole truth.