"You're either with me… or you're my enemy."
— Anakin Skywalker
--
Konan hovered, analyzing.
His throws were too precise and his earth was too responsive.
She needed to push harder.
Paper swirled behind her, folding and stacking into a massive, wing-like structure that blotted out the light.
Otis sensed the spike in chakra and moved instantly.
He slammed both palms on the ground.
'Earth Release: Mother Worm'
The street split open in front of him. Stone and soil surged upward as a massive circular maw erupted from the earth, jagged rocky edges grinding together as it lunged to swallow Konan mid-dive.
Konan reacted without hesitation, her body dissolving into flowing sheets of paper that slipped between the stone fangs just as the mouth snapped shut.
Otis wasn't surprised she escaped.
Her voice whispered behind him.
"Too slow."
Otis spun…
Just as a barrage of paper shuriken screamed toward him, he snapped his forearms up.
Earth crawled over his skin like living armor, layering itself into thick, overlapping plates of stone… the armor finished forming at the exact moment the blades struck.
SHRRRK!
The paper cut shallow grooves into the stone, sparks flashing as they scraped uselessly across the surface.
Konan was already moving.
She darted around him in a blur, paper folding and stretching into two long, blade-like extensions. She slashed from opposite sides in a perfect pincer.
Otis stomped.
A pillar of earth erupted beneath his feet, launching him upward just as the blades cut through…
SHRRK
Konan sliced the pillar apart mid-motion, rubble raining down as dozens of paper spears folded into shape around her and launched toward Otis in the air.
Otis sprang from the collapsing pillar, twisting midair as his hand closed around the axe. He hurled it forward with full force.
The axe tore through the incoming spears, shredding paper and chakra alike as it screamed toward Konan.
She dissolved instantly.
Her body scattered into a swirling mass of paper sheets, the axe passing harmlessly through before embedding itself in the ground far below.
Konan reformed behind him.
Her palm pressed toward his back as paper surged forward.
'Paper Bomb Explosion'.
Otis reacted a millisecond before detonation.
The earth burst upward beneath his feet, and he used the sudden rise as momentum, throwing himself sideways as the paper bombs detonated behind him…
BOOM!
The explosion scorched the ground where he had stood.
Otis rolled across the dirt as he dug in to stop himself.
"You're durable," she said. "Like some stone."
Otis rose with a grunt.
"You talk a lot."
Konan smiled faintly.
"I prefer my enemies to hear their last words."
She pressed forward.
Paper wrapped around itself, folding and twisting into thick chains that spiraled toward Otis from multiple angles.
Otis ducked beneath the first volley, then slammed his palm into the ground.
'Earth Release: Earthen Spikes'
Sharp stone pillars erupted in a spreading circle, forcing Konan to rise higher to avoid being skewered.
Otis followed instantly.
Another pillar surged beneath him, launching him upward like a cannon.
Konan's eyes widened slightly.
He's faster than I expected.
She scattered into paper again, avoiding his rising fist by inches, then reformed behind him midair.
Paper blades snapped into shape and closed in on his back.
Otis flipped midair and swung his shield like a hammer.
BANG!!
Explosive seals detonated on contact. The shockwave hurled Otis away.
He landed hard, sliding across the earth, fingers digging into the soil to stop himself.
Otis raised one hand.
A tiny pebble formed between his fingers.
Konan narrowed her eyes.
He flicked it.
The pebble shot toward her so fast it snapped the air.
Konan barely twisted aside as it grazed her cheek, slicing a thin line of blood.
Her amber eyes widened.
He almost hit me… with a pebble? Tch… impressive aim.
Otis was already forming more.
Konan's expression hardened. Paper surged behind her, folding and layering into massive, angel-like wings reinforced with dense chakra, forming a shield in front of her.
Otis didn't care.
He flicked pebble after pebble.
Each one struck the shield with concussive force…
THUD!
CRACK!
THUD!
Fine fractures spread through the chakra structure with every impact.
Konan felt the pressure.
His power is inferior to mine… but his aim is dangerous. One mistake, and I'm hit.
This is getting annoying…
Chakra flared violently around her. Paper surged behind her like a tidal wave.
"Enough!"
She unleashed a storm of explosive papers all at once, more tags than most jōnin would dare use.
The sky bloomed with blinding light.
Otis braced.
He slammed both hands into the dirt.
'Earth Release: Iron Coffin'
(Pic)
A massive dome of compacted stone sealed around him just as the explosion hit.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The detonation swallowed the battlefield whole.
Shockwaves tore through nearby buildings, flattened trees, and rattled rooftops. Dust and fire rolled outward.
Far away, villagers stared in horror. Most fled. A few stayed behind, drawn by the battle, uncaring of the danger to their own lives.
High above the inferno, Konan hovered, her expression unreadable.
He should be dead…
The rubble shifted.
Konan's brow lifted.
A slab of stone slid aside, and Otis emerged from the shattered earth coffin, coughing dust as fragments fell around him.
His hair hung loose and wild, his cloak in tatters, a thin line of blood trailing from his left shoulder.
But he wasn't dead.
He wasn't even limping.
Konan stared...
"You survived that…?"
Otis spat blood and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"That all you got, paper lady?"
Konan's eyes narrowed
"You are troublesome."
Otis flexed his fingers, earth chakra humming through them.
"You haven't seen troublesome yet."
Konan spread her paper wings wide.
Otis steadied himself, shield in one hand as his axe tore through the air and slammed back into his grip with a heavy THUNK.
The wind howled between them.
Konan whispered,
"Let's end this."
Otis replied,
"Gladly."
The air around him snapped.
The chaotic chakra of a giant erupted from Otis's core in a violent surge, not flaring outward, but compressing inward with crushing force. The ground beneath his feet fractured, spiderweb cracks racing across the street as the earth responded to his will.
Earth Release: ...TITAN SHELL
The earth answered.
Chunks of rock tore themselves free from the ground and rose into the air, grinding together as they slammed around his body. Layer after layer, plate by plate, locking together until his entire body was sealed inside living armor. There were no gaps. No exposed joints. Not a single inch of flesh remained visible.
The armor resembled an ancient Japanese Ō-yoroi, the style of armor that became prominent during the Heian period and peaked during the Genpei War, thick, overlapping slabs reinforced by flowing chakra that stitched them together like molten veins. Heavy shoulder guards snapped into place, turning his silhouette into something massive and inhuman.
Then the helmet formed.
A Viking-like helm shaped from solid stone formed around his head and snapped into place with a thunderous CLACK, completely sealing everything. No eye slits. No openings at all.
Darkness swallowed his vision.
(Pic)
The finished armor stood taller, less a man now and more a walking fortress. Dust and debris rained down around him as the armor settled, the sheer weight of it making the ground groan beneath his feet.
Inside the helmet, Otis exhaled slowly.
…Great, he thought dryly. I can't see a damn thing.
Paper struck the armor immediately, relentless impacts echoing through the stone shell.
But that's fine.
He pressed his senses outward instead.
The chakra flowing through the earth.
The vibrations traveling through stone.
The impact points where Konan's paper struck his armor.
The shifting pressure in the air as she moved.
There you are.
Inside the sealed darkness, Otis sighed.
I like her, he admitted to himself, almost annoyed. Strong. Calm…
Then his jaw tightened.
But she's in the way.
The pressure inside his body spiked.
I've already burned more than half my chakra…
This is it.
A bitter thought flickered through his mind.
Either I take her down here…or she kills me.
A humorless huff echoed inside the armor.
Hah… I really hate this.
Images flashed through his mind… Kibana Village. Blood. Screams.
It's always like this, he thought… It's like someone keeps messing with my life at every turn. First that damn Kibana village… and now this.
--
(A/N)
Yeah… who would do something like that?
..Please ignore the author whistling in the background. (￣▽￣)
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