Unknown Pov:
"I was fairly certain that your kind had become extinct. But then again. You Shinobi were always good at staying hidden."
Pulling out two Kunai one in each hand, Raito started off with with a straight dash as his opponent watched impassively.
"A straight line. How foolish young one..." the old man sighed regretfully.
Interesting techniques or not, it seemed experience was still invaluable.
Only to slightly widen his eyes in surprise as he observed his opponent suddenly accelerate as he drew close.
The pair of Kunai stabbing towards his kidneys.
'Chakra reinforcement needs more work.' Raito suppressed a wince as his leg muscles throbbed in pain.
In a sudden motion of his cane, the old man was holding a sword which blocked both daggers and in a harsh clash, and locked them in place.
It was a Katana with a gleaming blade modelled to fit within a walking stick in order to serve as a hidden weapon.
Sharp with strange undecipherable [Inscriptions] on the flat ends.
Sparks flew as the weapons clashed.
All at once, Raito's momentum was stopped.
'Feels like hitting a steel wall.'
He felt the strain on his arms. Making sure to keep the Kunai gripped he pushed on.
'Didn't budge at all. Seems like my suspicions were correct. I have to get away NOW! Preferably before he stops underestimating and starts swinging.' Raito thought worriedly
Bringing up his feet and using the interlocked weapons as a launchpad, he leaped backwards abandoning the Kunai, grabbing more to throw at the old man as he performed a flip taking him back to his initial position. Landing in a crouch with the [Tiger seal] already formed.
The old man merely watched in amusement while deflecting the thrown projectiles.
Not attacking but eagerly waiting for his opponents next action.
*Clank* *Ding*
Sparks flew with each collision as each Kunai was successfully batted to the side.
*Tsss*
But then, a sound caught the old man's attention. looking sideways, he observed one of the Kunai he had deflected was attached by a thin thread to a strangely designed Talisman which was now smoking and emitting a hissing sound.
'Is that a-'
"Ha!"
*BOOM* a deafening explosion rocked the area interrupting the old man's thoughts as the ground shook and debris flew in every possible way.
Smoke and Char ascended freely, the conflagration dying out.
But Raito was no fool.
'Good enough for a distraction. Now,
[Bunshin no Jutsu].'
Smoke enveloped his figure, joining the already forming haze that enveloped the area.
Eight Raitos emerged from the cloud of smoke and dashed dashed off in different directions in the next moment all heading for the trees.
"Your techniques impress me young one." A familiar voice commented as the haze slowly settled.
Revealing a shimmering but otherwise unharmed old man. Right sleeve of his Kimono partially burned but skin nevertheless unblemished.
"However..."
The old man commented slowly sheathing his katana before finally taking a IAI stance.
"You are still very much unpolished.
[Daoist Way of Movement: Flowing Steps]." And the old mans figure vanished.
*Fwish*
*Boom*
A deafening sound not unlike the previous explosion, once more rocked the area as a crater now formed where the man once stood.
'Wha-?!'
Mid-escape through the treetops, a flash of pain surged through Raito's body as all clones faded like a mirage and he was thrown downwards and into the ground.
*Bam*
*Crash*
Roughly bouncing off the ground once, Raito ignored the pain and stabilized his body mid-air, landing in a crouch before leaping backwards once more just in time to avoid his opponent crashing on his previous position.
~Weave~
Hands came together forming a sequence of gestures.
~Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.~
Completing the sequence, twisting in the air and landing sideways on the trunk of a tree, Raito inhaled and cupped a hand over his mouth.
"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!"
With an exhale, a large fireball travelled towards his opponent.
It proved useless as his opponent somehow sliced the fireball in two. Both halves travelling a short distance before crashing against two unfortunate trees, setting them ablaze and exploding. Illuminating the darkening evening sky.
*Boom*
Ash seemed to fall from the sky along with burning coals as smoke ascended upward.
Yet.
The old man still seemed amused. And more than a bit excited.
Seeing the attack failed, he then began to plan.
'What now, Genjutsu? Showing the Sharingan is only an invitation to Bloodline theft. Do I really have no other option?' Raitos eyes darted in different directions seeking for any possible means of escape.
Finding none viable, he finally decided.
'No time for hesitation. [Sharingan]' Raito's eyes instantly turned form onyx to an eerie scarlet with two Tomoe revolving around each pupil. Plans brewing in his mind as the world seemed to slow down and become clearer.
Grabbing two kunai, one in each hand, Raito dashed towards his opponent this time reinforcing his body with Chakra as much as he could.
The old man observed the changes and obliged with a smirk
He then did the same except increasing his speed just a little bit more than before and they both met in a shower of sparks.
*Clang*
Strangely the man seemed to have no intention of using his blade for offence it's only use was to block kunai strikes he then retaliated with his hands.
Raito ducked as his opponent swung his fist, the old man had amusement in his eyes as his limb brushed by Raito's cheek almost deliberately slow.
'His purpose is not to kill.'
Now with clearer vision, Raito observed while spinning and slamming his foot into his opponents chest. Greater force this time.
'How can I use this to my advantage?'
The old man minutely frowned before glowing and once more, Raito felt like he was hitting a steel wall.
'That's definitely not Chakra.' Raito took note for the first time during this conflict.
MC POV:
'Speaking of Chakra, this must end soon.'
Although I was no Uzumaki, I had my own fair bit of Chakra. However, using a newly learned Jutsu twice along with the other uses during these last few minutes is starting to take its toll.
'I had hoped to have shaken him off by now, but there's that weird energy...
And [Daoism]? What are you doing in Japan?'
Although I knew it was there because of the glow, it appeared almost transparent to the [Sharingan] with no defined colour. However, the Sharingan was picking up SOMETHING. It wasn't clear but it was there. Could this be because of a lack of understanding of this strange energy?
'What is it?' I wondered as I ducked another punch.
'It can't be [Senjutsu] otherwise I wouldn't be able to see it.'
I weaved around another strike trying to retaliate, however his attacks although still casual, seemed to get even faster.
Now I was really under the pressure.
After taking a few hits finding out that I couldn't keep up, I purposely took a particularly nasty hit to the gut and flowed with it.
Using the force to jump backwards and gain some distance.
Skidding to a stop,
He didn't follow. A minor relief.
And then I frowned.
'...Ow.'
I would feel a warm liquid dribbling down one corner of my lip.
I hadn't taken any hits to the face so far therefore I knew it wasn't a bruised lip.
I wanted to panic, but that wouldn't solve anything.
I increase Chakra supply to the Sharingan forcing it to work overtime.
Almost like it had a mind of its own, it absorbed the energy, taking it in greedily in order to clarify what it was seeing. It seemed quite interested in this energy that it was observing.
'Come on... observe. Something! Anything! Flow, colour, shape.'
After a moment's delay, the old man charged once more this time at a faster speed.
Probably deciding that he had seen enough, a knockout strike was coming next.
'Come on anything!' I almost pleaded while preparing to tank the next hit. Reinforcing myself to my current limit.
The fist drew closer and I could already make out its very detailed outline.
Time slowed...
An itch in both eyes.
Followed by a feeling of understanding as suddenly something seemed to "Click" into place.
And then I moved.
'I can see...' Although I was able judge the timing accurately, it was a chore twisting backwards in a makeshift backbend to avoid the incoming jab.
However,
With this one movement, the blow was avoided altogether.
General Pov:
The old man took note of the change almost immediately.
The attack that he had judged would end the entire farce of a session was avoided altogether in an impressive show of flexibility.
Committed to the blow, he had overextended.
Almost immediately Raito's feet came up. catching the old man in the abdomen and slightly lifting him off the ground.
The hit did nothing as usual however the old man continued onwards with the momentum of his dash.
Being unable to stop midway and finding no traction, the old man continued into the the trees.
Completing the motion and feet planted steadily on the ground, Raito began to plan.
'I should have just enough to pull it off.'
~Weave~
'[Bunshin No Jutsu].' smoke enveloped his figure once more hiding him as the old man twisted and landed on a branch a distance away.
A strange look of approval on his face.
Old man POV:
A third [Tomoe] had emerged in the youngers eyes. Causing him to have a "Second wind".
Regardless, getting tossed by those not even a tenth of your age or experience was the shame of any Samurai.
'It's only the result of a convenient power-up. Therefore my mistake can still be excused.' he reasoned.
He then ceased the observation session.
Having made up his mind about something, he then spoke.
"Conventional means would not work it seems. Accept this blow as a token of my recognition."
With this, he crouched right hand on his sword. The blade partially unsheathed.
The youngster seemed to sense something. A premonition of danger.
Likely deciding that escape this way was unlikely, he quickly adjusted his plan.
Smoke then enveloped the area once more hiding his form.
Moment's later several copies of the youngster leaped out of the smoke cloud.
Three dashed towards him succeeding in stopping him and beginning a frantic skirmish while the rest fled into the trees.
The old man had attempted to give chase but was surprised to find out that these three clones were solid instead of the previous illusion.
Quickly defeating then was impossible as they now seemed perfectly able to keep up dodge attacks.
Plus they had annoyingly small forms further disturbing his ability to land hits.
What caused them to change so much?
'Is it truly those eyes?...' he wondered observing how each copy sported identical eerie glowing eyes.
*Clink!*
Disengaging, and having already learned his lesson, rather than block, the old man leaped backwards to avoid those Kunai with the strange talismans attached.
The copies gave chase. They moved with eerie coordination and surrounded him.
'He's actually doing quite well. Finally decided to stop running it seems. Wise.'
He could previously tell the youngster was on fumes.
Even if his attack somehow missed the youngster, there was nothing stopping him from delivering a sequel to the assault. Therefore delivering a crippling blow before escaping was a good strategy as any. Even if it didn't kill, It would ensure he couldn't follow.
The clones all skidded to a stop having completed their encirclement.
They then began performing a strange sequence of hand gestures.
~Weave
-Ninpo: Shuriken shadow clone Jutsu
The tens of Shuriken curving through the air suddenly duplicated.
-Raiton: Electromagnetic Murder
The Shuriken became enveloped by a layer of electricity becoming temporary magnets and forming a lattice connecting them together. Displaying a net like formation as they flew through the air.
-Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu
Each Shuriken became enveloped by a layer of fire heating up the metal and adding to it's lethality.
[Combination Jutsu : Tri Linked Net!]
The copies commited into the attack pouring as much Chakra as they could into it while carefully paying attention to control.
The old man watched in wonder for a moment.
He then responded in kind setting into a crouch once more.
MC POV:
Meanwhile, a distance away, one Shuriken had been embedded on a tree the opposite direction from where the clones fled.
The Shuriken then released a puff of smoke.
Revealing the real Raito after the have cleared.
'Misdirection complete. Let get out of here.' Fighting the exhaustion and forcing down the urge to puke, Raito took off.
Arriving at the base of a sturdy tree, he crouched and then leaped into its vast canopy. Making his way through the branches.
While doing this, he reviewed his scheme.
Performing the [Bunshin Justu] in conjunction with smoke bombs allowed him to make it look like he was among the clones who fled.
He then performed the most Chakra intensive Jutsu so far: The [Shadow Clone Jutsu] and almost passed out immediately after.
Only willpower and discipline allowed him to keep his consciousness after that.
'Three shadow clones are my limit huh?'
'Lets get this over with.'
Using the remaining available dregs to perform a [Henge] and turn himself into a Shuriken. He then allowed a clone to throw him, during the earlier scuffle.
The old man dodged him and he ended up embedded on a tree.
Through this, he created an opportunity for escape.
The Shadow clones along with the "Pain in the butt" old timer constantly moved.
Covering distance and leaving the scattered weapons behind.
The real Raito then used that timing to make his escape, zooming through the treetops in the opposite direction from the illusory clones.
Pondering on improvements as he went.
'I still have a lot of work to do. It's quite Chakra intensive than transforming into something as disproportional volume-wise as a Shuriken. Calories and exercise balanced out by meditation is what I Need. Wasn't prepared at all for confrontation today.' Temporarily allowing his mask to crack and wincing at the pain caused by the now near debilitating Chakra exhaustion, Raito almost stumbled.
However he managed to regain his balance.
'I also need to practice that Jutsu more.' Raito decided before diverting all his focus on his escape thereby covering distance steadily.
////Meanwhile....
Old man POV:
The burning, crackling weapons organised in a net-like lattice zoomed towards him.
They all curved in the air like homing missiles.
Each eerily trained on multiple vital parts.
Jugular, Gut, Femoral Artery. Showing a profound knowledge of the human body. Yet somehow spread apart to cover all angles to prevent escape.
A veritable net of death crashed towards his position.
A silence enveloped the area as time seemed to slow.
A beat.
Then two..
Then tree....
"[IAI]- Sakura."
And the blade was released from its sheath.
*Slash*
The outcome was decided in an instant.
*Poof*
*Poof*
*Poof*
*Shing*
MC POV:
One second I was zooming through the trees, the next was agony and then creeping darkness.
Only strict discipline and a bite to the tongue allowed me to keep consciousness.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed.
It had seemed like I was in a trance. A fatal mistake in any fight.
That amount for pain would suggest a crippling wound.
This caused me to look for the expected injury along my side. After searching I found it.
However I was surprised when it wasn't deep enough to be fatal.
A large bleeding gash? Yes. But I wasn't going to die. Not from this.
'It's nothing a soldier pill wouldn't solve.'
I was about to reach for a scroll when...
"I used the blunt side." a voice commented from above.
Hearing the now familiar voice, and remembering my predicament. I then tried to rise to my feet but was stopped by a sharp sword along with agony that accompanied the attempted movement.
"You lost." the old Samurais commented.
" I did." I replied. My eyes did not lay on the weapon, but stared him straight at him. Meeting his gaze.
It was true. I was unable to move, sporting different bruises and pains all over, a few strained muscles but thankfully no broken bones. However fact remained. I was very vulnerable at that moment.
The old Samurai frowned.
What displeased him I wondered.
"You lost." he repeated
"That is so." I said seemingly unconcerned.
'Whats next? Interrogation? Worst case scenario, I die.'
Killing intent suddenly permeated the area. It was certainly frightening however, I did not allow myself to flinch.
I met his gaze steadily.
However I saw something for the first time.
Shock turned into Rage mixed with a hint of Pity.
His expression was still schooled but that was certainly there.
With a sigh, his composure returned. Katana still pointed, he continued on.
"Where are you from? Which faction sent you to spy on the Samurai?"
'Factions? Samurai?' I ponder. None ring a bell.
Carefully schooling my expression, he is met with silence at those questions.
However, he somehow seemed to sense confusion at the mention of "Factions".
Under my unflinching watch, he becomes a bit less tense.
For some reason, his shoulder seemed to sag in a bit of relief.
'What was that about?' I wonder.
He then moved on to the next question.
His visage momentarily morphed into one of rage before it was carefully hidden once more.
"Why are you not afraid of your own demise young one?" he questioned/demanded.
Is that what really irked him?
If so, I was a bit disappointed.
True I wasn't as bothered as I COULD be.
Why?
I haven't really thought too deeply about it.
However, I think I knew the answer.
'Oh,' I contemplated the entire scenario from a bystanders point of view.
An elderly man probably a bit past his sixties holding a seven year old at sword point.
A big deal for 'Honourable people.'
'The Goody two-shoes Samurai. They are probably the kind that would watch as a thief got away with their wallets. Also explains the holding back. I'm quite surprised he fought me at all.'
I wanted to keep silent, however he kept on waiting for my response.
A minute.
Then two.
Then ten.
The old Samurai still waited despite the fact that I was slowly getting my strength back and I could probably get my body to run now.
Of this, I'm certain he knew.
However he still patiently waited.
(Sigh.)
I decided to humour him.
"It's because I don't really have much to lose.
If I died and you looted my residence, I wouldn't lose much and you wouldn't really gain anything you don't already have."
'That's why... I think.'
I gave him an answer while at the same time emphasizing the lack of benefits in murdering me.
Because if anything, I would miss my warm Tiger skin blanket.
The old man seemed to ponder on something.
There was a pause and then a sigh.
With one swift motion, the katana was sheathed.
"A bit tight this year but..."
The old Samurai assumed a more passive stance while mumbling to himself hand on chin.
"Desks, clothes, brushes..." he trailed off again
I had no idea what he was talking about, but
I took that as a sign that I wouldn't be losing my head today and I was permitted to get up.
I had just managed to drag my self onto my feet when the old man's cane suddenly blurred into motion.
A speed that I could not hope to follow with my Sharingan still deactivated.
*Bam!*
I felt a whack across the head.
Too fast to feel the pain.
"Fear not young one. By lord Hachiman, we'll find a place for you yet." was the last thing I heard as the world faded into black.