Chapter 346: A Sense of Powerlessness
"Let's test him a little," Kakashi thought, watching the man before him. An unknown outsider, silently slipping into the heart of the Leaf Village with overwhelming strength he had to be here with ill intentions.
Kakashi's fingers moved in a flash, forming five hand seals in less than a second.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball roared to life, intense and searing. Kakashi had unleashed a powerful jutsu one capable of killing any ordinary person. But Ye Wen remained unfazed, seemingly unbothered as he watched the oncoming flames.
"This fireball reaches around 400 degrees," Ye Wen mused, "but it lacks density in chakra control. It'd kill an ordinary person, sure, but any trained shinobi with decent physical conditioning could withstand it. This jutsu, then, isn't meant to kill."
The sound of crackling electricity suddenly broke from behind. Kakashi had used his Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Ye Wen, his gaze hardened behind his mask as he prepared to strike with his signature Lightning Style: Chidori.
Yet as Kakashi closed in, he hesitated. Ye Wen was simply standing there, not even trying to block the fireball coming toward him like an ordinary person frozen in fear.
"Could I be mistaken?" Kakashi wondered. "Even a Kage would avoid an attack like this."
The next instant, though, Kakashi's assumption was shattered. The Great Fireball, blazing its way toward Ye Wen, dissipated into harmless wisps of chakra the moment it neared him, vanishing into thin air.
"What…?" Kakashi had no time to analyze before instinct took over, urging him to strike. His Lightning Blade flashed forward, aiming at Ye Wen's back but something inexplicable happened again.
"What's going on? Why can't I get closer?"
Kakashi's Chidori dispersed the instant it neared Ye Wen, and his hand seemed frozen, unable to move a millimeter closer. It was as if the short distance between them stretched infinitely.
The other ANBU members, sensing something amiss, rushed forward to engage. In the shinobi world, knowledge was power, and every battle was first and foremost a battle of information. The ANBU knew that Kakashi's initial Fire Style had failed, and now suspected ninjutsu might be ineffective against this target. They readied their weapons for close combat, uncertain if it would fare any better.
But as each weapon kunai, blades, and more neared Ye Wen, they too stopped abruptly, halting an arm's length away as if held back by an invisible barrier.
Ye Wen raised a hand and scratched his head in mild frustration. Just that small gesture made the ANBU freeze in terror, every instinct in their bodies screaming danger.
Ye Wen sighed, looking tired. "I didn't want to cause a scene. But it seems we're past that now."
Realizing the severity of their situation, Kakashi shouted, "I'll hold him off! Report back to the Hokage! We have to "
Before he could finish, a giant barrier encased them all, cutting off their escape. One ANBU looked up in disbelief, muttering, "Impossible! He set up a barrier this size in an instant?"
Ye Wen gave them a soft smile. "Calm down, everyone. I mean Konoha no harm."
But the ANBU remained skeptical; for them, the Leaf was surrounded by threats, and a powerful intruder was nothing less than a danger.
Kakashi, maintaining his composure, instructed, "Focus on breaking the barrier. I'll handle him. Move fast."
Ye Wen shook his head, clutching his temple in slight exasperation. "Typical shinobi they won't listen to reason. Straight to the hard way."
Kakashi's Lightning Blade struck out again, yet, just as before, it failed to land even a scratch.
"It's useless," Ye Wen remarked, his voice weary. This was hardly the fight he'd been expecting. The shinobi before him were powerful in their own right, yet their strength seemed almost trivial in his eyes.
But Kakashi was undeterred, his instincts honed to respond to all threats with caution and resilience. Immediately forming another seal, he created an earthen wall between them, featuring his signature carving of canine faces on each slab.
"Oh, wow!" Ye Wen chuckled, admiring the intricately carved wall. Kakashi's dog face Earth Style had always been a small highlight in the series. Still, Ye Wen couldn't resist wondering why a ninja with so little chakra would invest in decorative details like this.
For Ye Wen, this battle felt more like playing with children, yet for Kakashi, it was a struggle for survival.
"Lightning Blade!"
Kakashi's voice roared as he leaped high, thrusting his hand downward in a last ditch attempt to bring his Chidori onto Ye Wen. But just like before, the jutsu was neutralized, and his hand remained unable to reach the target.
"Still ineffective!" Kakashi's frustration and desperation flashed in his eyes. When was the last time I felt this helpless? he wondered. Kakashi prided himself on versatility, having mastered a thousand jutsu and earned the title of Copy Ninja, but every strategy he tried here felt useless.
For Kakashi, with his "Jack of all trades" skillset, to face such a versatile opponent was an unusual and devastating challenge. He knew the harsh truth: studying countless techniques would never match the strength of perfecting a single path.
End of Chapter
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