Chapter 68: The Showdown with Kakashi

With Ino safely out of the way, the clearing was now a stage set for a duel between the Copy Ninja and the prodigy who had fooled them all.

Ding! The System’s voice, silent for so long, suddenly chimed in his mind. Mission Issued: Defeat Konoha’s Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake. Mission Reward: 10,000 Points. Mission Failure Penalty: Deduct 10,000 Points. Do you accept?

A mission? Ren almost laughed. This is just free points. I was going to fight him anyway. “Accept the mission!” he confirmed internally.

“Alright,” Ren said aloud, his voice echoing slightly in the suddenly tense space. “It’s just the two of us now. Let’s see what the famous Konoha technician is truly made of.”

“Is that what you want?” Kakashi replied, his lone eye narrowing. “You’ll see.”

Kakashi’s hands moved in a blur, weaving through hand seals with practiced ease. In seconds, he slammed his palms onto the ground. “Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!”

The earth rumbled and groaned. Massive walls of compacted soil erupted from the ground in a perfect square, shooting upwards to enclose the two of them in a makeshift arena, cutting them off from the outside world.

“Heh~ Using this to keep me from running?” Ren mused, looking at the imposing barriers.

“Be prepared,” Kakashi stated, his voice calm but firm. “You are our mission target. Letting you escape would be… problematic.”

“Oh? You’ve really got me cornered. Well, prepare yourself for a nasty surprise. You might just bite off more than you can chew.” Ren’s smirk was back, a mask of cool confidence.

“Lightning Style: Chidori!”

Blue-white electricity crackled to life in Ren’s palm, the screech of a thousand birds filling the enclosed space.

“Chidori? You learned it from Sasuke? But trying to use the Chidori against me is naive. No one understands this jutsu better than I do!” Kakashi didn’t retreat. As Ren lunged forward, Kakashi moved with fluid economy, sidestepping the thrust with minimal movement. His hand shot out, clamping like a vice around Ren’s right wrist, stopping the Chidori mere inches from its target.

“Got you!” Kakashi grunted, applying pressure, intending to break the wrist and end the fight swiftly. A broken bone could be healed later; a escaped rogue ninja was a bigger issue.

“Really?” Ren’s voice was unnervingly calm. Despite his captured wrist, his expression showed no panic, only that infuriating smirk.

Huh? A spike of alarm shot through Kakashi.

“It should be me who’s got you!” Ren shouted. His left hand, hidden from Kakashi’s view, swung around. In it was a fully formed, violently churning Rasengan. He had formed it without any seals, without any visible effort.

Nani?! Kakashi’s eyes widened in shock. He tried to disengage, but it was too late.

The Rasengan connected solidly with Kakashi’s abdomen. The force was immense, lifting him off his feet and hurling him backward like a ragdoll. He smashed into the earth wall behind him with a sickening crunch and slid to the ground, motionless.

“Heh. Is it over?” Ren scoffed, allowing the Chidori in his right hand to dissipate. His triumph was short-lived.

POOF!

The Kakashi lying against the wall dissolved into a cloud of white smoke. A substitution log clattered to the ground where he had been standing.

A shadow clone!

Ren’s eyes darted around the enclosed space. Where’s the real one?!

The answer came from beneath his feet. The ground erupted as a pair of hands shot upwards, grabbing his ankles with an iron grip before he could react.

“Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!” Kakashi’s voice, muffled by the earth, was unmistakable.

Ren was yanked downward with brutal force, the earth swallowing him whole until only his head remained above the surface, trapped and immobilized.

“Tch! Careless!” Ren grunted, straining against the compacted soil, but it was useless. He was stuck fast.

Kakashi emerged from the ground a few feet away, brushing dirt from his flak jacket. He walked over and crouched in front of Ren’s trapped form. “Well? Can’t move, can you?” The source of this content ɪs N0velFire.ɴet

Ren merely responded with a cold glare.

“Your skill is impressive,” Kakashi admitted. “Not only did you master the Chidori, but the Rasengan as well. Two A-rank jutsu. But you lack real combat experience. Though, I suspect you’ll learn quickly.”

“Do you really think you’ve won?” Ren spat, a strange glint in his eyes.

Huh? Kakashi’s instincts screamed at him. He jerked his head up, looking skyward.

Another Ren was falling from above, a Rasengan already roaring in his hand, aimed directly at Kakashi’s position.

In the air! Then this one… Kakashi’s gaze snapped back to the trapped Ren.

POOF!

The head in the ground vanished in another puff of smoke. Another shadow clone.

There was no time to process the deception. Kakashi threw himself to the side in a desperate dive. The real Ren’s Rasengan slammed into the spot where he had been crouching, exploding the earth and sending chunks of soil flying.

“Tch! You dodged it,” Ren landed smoothly, retracting his hand from the crater. His scarlet Sharingan was fixed intently on Kakashi, who was now scrambling back to his feet a safe distance away.

“So, that’s it,” Kakashi breathed, understanding dawning. “The Sharingan. You copied my Shadow Clone Technique the moment I used it.” Even his most subtle movements, meant to conceal the real body, had been perfectly read and replicated by those cursed eyes.

“Indeed, you’re not simple. It seems I’ll have to get serious.” Kakashi’s hands came together again, beginning another sequence of seals.

Across from him, Ren’s smirk returned. His own hands mirrored Kakashi’s movements exactly, forming identical seals at the same incredible speed.

Hmph! Trying to copy my next move again? Kakashi thought, a plan forming. Then try this on for size!

“Lightning Style: Lightning Hound!” they shouted in unison.

From both of their hands, a surge of lightning chakra took shape, morphing into the form of a ferocious, snarling canine made of pure electricity. The two hounds launched at each other, crossing the short distance in a flash of blinding light.

They met in the center of the arena with a deafening CRACK-BOOM! The collision of pure lightning energy was catastrophic, filling the enclosed space with a searing, white-hot light that forced both combatants to shield their eyes.

When the light and the echoing thunder faded, both techniques had canceled each other out, leaving behind only the smell of ozone and scorched earth.

The afterimage of the blast was seared into Ren’s vision, causing a momentary blindness. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his sight.

It was in that split second of vulnerability that Kakashi made his move.

By the time Ren’s vision cleared, Kakashi was gone from his line of sight.

The attack came from behind.

“Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!” Kakashi’s voice rang out, cold and decisive.

Ren whirled around, but it was too late. A massive dragon, conjured from the moisture in the air and the ground itself, was already upon him, its maw open wide to swallow him whole. The real battle had just begun.

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