Healing Factor
“You are welcome, by the way.”
I knelt there with one knee to the ground and held on to the wound in my side. I tied my belt around my midsection to stop the bleeding and tried to catch my breath. I knew that I should have been killed by the last blow I received and I hated the fact that Rei was the only reason I was alive. In my stubbornness, I refused to give her the satisfaction of a response.
“I’m not sure if you are looking to die today, but I still have things to do. Get off your ass and dodge next time please.”
As she tried to bait me into losing my temper, I could feel the blood clotting and the wound beginning to seal. My rigorous training had something to do with that, but I realized that it had more to do with the regenerative powers Rei had bestowed on me.
“If you would keep quiet, we might both live much longer and peaceful lives.”
Adrenaline Rush
I got to my feet only to hear someone running behind me. As I turned, I was knocked off my feet and thrown into a nearby tree. It appeared that one of the Akazora had hung back during the fight to blindside me. The sad thing was that it worked.
“I’m getting far too old for this,” I mumbled to myself.
As I gathered myself, I quickly weighed my options. I had exhausted myself already and if my enemy was a skilled shinobi, I was a dead man. I could summon Rei’s strength, but in my weakened state, I could lose control completely, and that was unacceptable. Before I could have another thought, I was hit again and thrown into yet another tree.
“What part of dodge was too difficult for you to understand?”
As Rei finished her question, I saw a blade coming right at my left eye. My body and my chakra was spent, but though sheer will and adrenaline, I just managed to get out of the way. I realized that this second wind would be short lived so I needed to end the fight quickly.
Concentrated Focus
My enemy’s greatest advantage was his speed. As if he was not fast enough, I was old and tired. I did not accept my age as an excuse, but there was no arguing that my stamina had been taxed.
“I need to slow him down if I’m going to have a chance,” I thought to myself.
“Why not tell him a story? That usually puts me right to sleep.”
“I told you before, we’ll both live longer if you would just shut up!”
“Temper, temper old man.”
Rei’s interruptions were not helping so I took a breath and cleared my mind to block her out. Just then, my opponent lunged at me, once more. With but a look, I used a tried and true ANBU jutsu to bind him in his tracks. He stood there before me frozen in time. His will was strong, however, and I could feel him fighting my hold over him. I could also hear Rei’s muffled comments in the back of my mind but I forced her away and tightened my grip. The sweat dripped down my brow as I held him through sheer will.
Jutsu Mastery
My opponent seemed to favor taijutsu, but that was never my strong point. It always seemed like the more simplistic and barbaric of the shinobi disciplines. Anyone could learn to swing and fist of a blade, but the same could not be said for ninjutsu or genjutsu. Through my decades of study, I learned how to conserve my chakra. I always used just enough to complete the task at hand, and no more. That was the only reason I still had it in me to fend off this backstabbing coward.
“I hope I have enough left to finish this,” I thought, as I readied my attack.
Elementalist
Years of focusing on ninjutsu had made me extremely skilled with many elemental jutsus. Learning a specific jutsu was not very difficult, at all. The real skill was in manipulating a jutsu to fit the situation and one’s style of fighting. That process could take a lifetime and I had dedicated most of mine to such pursuits. Kneeling to the ground, I sent my chakra into the earth below me. I used more chakra than usual to add potency to the jutsu, but I deftly controlled how much was actually needed for that effect. Still bound, my opponent could not evade the spike of earth that ripped through the ground under him. My bind was broken, but he fell to the ground clutching his sword hand in pain.
Jutsu Creator
My last jutsu and my opponent’s injured hand had bought me some time. As he gathered himself, I prepared to end the fight right then and there. Again, I called upon my years of training and combined two jutsus to strike one devastating blow. He stood to charge at me again, but I shook the earth beneath his feet and split the ground open. He fell in injuring his legs just as the second part of my assault lit him on fire. With his legs and hand in pain and his body on fire, I was the least of his worries.
Willpower
My second wind was beginning to fade, but I felt as if I had the fight well in hand. I began to walk towards the man to finish things but I soon began hearing a very familiar voice. To my surprise, the voice was not Rei’s but my own.
“Is that the best you can do? He’s about to get up and kill you old man. You know that you have nothing left.”
I quickly realized that the voice was a product of my opponent’s attempt at genjutsu. I smiled at him and dispelled the voice by willing it away.
“I’ve fought demons my entire life. If you plan to use genjutsu on me, you had better do much better than that,” I chastised.
It was over and we both knew it. I picked up the man’s sword and ran him through.
