Chapter 2: An Inverted Dance
"...Though, considerin' your reputation, maybe ya have." Naruto finished, Sakanade still twirling lazily, the faint, sweet-smelling pink mist continuing to diffuse almost imperceptibly from its five holes.
Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja, renowned for his composure and his Sharingan that had seen (and copied) a thousand jutsu, was, for a rare moment, genuinely thrown. A genin, the supposed "dead-last," had just produced a weapon that transformed in a way he couldn't categorize, and was now exuding an aura that felt... different. Not chakra, not in the conventional sense. It was something finer, sharper.
"Reputation precedes me, does it?" Kakashi finally said, his voice regaining its usual languid tone, though his single visible eye was narrowed, intensely focused on Naruto and the bizarre, spinning blade. He wasn't underestimating this kid anymore. Not by a long shot. "And what reputation would that be?" He shifted his weight, ready for anything.
Naruto grinned, that prominent upper-teeth grin. "Oh, ya know. 'Kakashi of the Sharingan.' 'The man who's copied a thousand jutsu.' Pretty impressive stuff. Makes a guy wonder if you've got anything original, or if it's all just... borrowed." The taunt was delivered with a playful, almost innocent lilt, but the edge was unmistakable.
Before Kakashi could retort, Naruto moved.
It wasn't the explosive burst of speed Kakashi expected from a Body Flicker. Instead, Naruto simply... wasn't where he had been. One moment he was ten paces away, Sakanade a blur of silver; the next, he was to Kakashi's right, the strange sword arcing towards Kakashi's exposed flank in a smooth, deceptively casual slash.
Fast! The thought flashed through Kakashi's mind. He reacted on pure instinct, his body a blur as he leaned away, the edge of Sakanade whispering past his flak jacket, missing by a hair's breadth. The sweet scent of the mist was stronger now.
"Too slow, sensei," Naruto chirped, already spinning away, Sakanade flowing around his hand like a living thing. "Or maybe... too fast? It gets confusing, doesn't it?"
Kakashi didn't reply. He was already analyzing. That sword... it wasn't just the transformation. The way Naruto wielded it, spinning it by that ring, was unorthodox, unpredictable.
He drew a kunai. "You're full of tricks, Naruto. But tricks don't win fights."
"Tricks?" Naruto tilted his head, Sakanade's spin slowing for a moment before resuming. "Nah. This ain't a trick. This is just... how things are. Or how they're gonna be, for you, anyway." He took another step, the mist subtly thickening around him. "Tell me, sensei, feeling a little... off balance?"
Kakashi narrowed his eye. He did feel a little strange. A faint, almost imperceptible dizziness, like the world was tilted just a degree or two off its axis. He dismissed it as a trick of the light, or perhaps the unusual scent.
"Let's see what else you've got," Kakashi said, pushing off the ground, kunai leading. He aimed to close the distance, to use his superior skill to overwhelm the boy.
Naruto met his charge, not with a direct block, but with a bewildering series of evasions. Kakashi would thrust, and Naruto would somehow be just outside the kunai's reach, Sakanade twirling, creating a disorienting visual shield. Kakashi feinted left, then struck right, and found himself punching empty air as Naruto smoothly sidestepped, Sakanade now aimed at Kakashi's wrist.
He's not just dodging, he's... leading me, Kakashi realized. The boy's footwork was impeccable, always keeping him at an awkward angle. And that damned mist... the slight vertigo was becoming more pronounced.
"Ya know, for a guy who's seen a thousand jutsu," Naruto said, his voice seeming to come from Kakashi's left, even though Naruto was clearly on his right, "ya seem awful surprised by a little change in perspective."
Kakashi gritted his teeth. The disorientation was undeniable now. When he looked up, the trees seemed to lean at an odd angle. When he focused on Naruto, the boy's movements had a subtle, nauseating shimmer. Genjutsu? But he hadn't seen any hand seals.
"What is this, Naruto?" Kakashi demanded, backing away slightly to try and clear his head.
"This?" Naruto chuckled, Sakanade's spinning mesmerizing. "This is Sakanade's world, sensei. The Sakasama no Sekai. The Inverted World. Up is down. Left is right. Forward is backward." He took another casual step. "And what ya think you're seein'... well, that's probably wrong too."
Inverted World? Kakashi's mind raced. Such a concept... it was absurd. But the growing nausea, the way his own body felt clumsy and uncoordinated as he tried to track Naruto...
"Tryin' to figure it out in your head?" Naruto taunted, his voice now sounding like it was coming from above. "Good luck with that. The more ya fight, the more your reflexes kick in. And your reflexes? They're gonna betray ya every single time."
Kakashi decided to test the theory. He lashed out with a kick aimed at where Naruto should be. His leg connected with nothing but air, and the momentum almost sent him sprawling. He felt like he was fighting on a ship in a storm.
"See?" Naruto's voice, now seemingly from behind him. "Your body knows where I am. But your eyes, your brain... they're tellin' ya somethin' different."
Meanwhile, hidden in the dense foliage, Sasuke Uchiha watched with narrowed eyes. He couldn't hear the words clearly, but he could see the fight. Or rather, he could see Kakashi looking increasingly... clumsy. Naruto, the dobe, was actually holding his own, moving in a way Sasuke had never seen, that weird sword dancing around him.
Sakura, hidden nearby, was equally perplexed. "What's Naruto doing? Is that some kind of special taijutsu? Why does Kakashi-sensei look like he's about to fall over?"
"Hn. The dobe is doing something," Sasuke muttered, a flicker of grudging acknowledgment mixed with intense curiosity. "Kakashi isn't taking him seriously... or maybe he can't."
Back in the clearing, Kakashi decided he'd had enough of this disorienting dance. He needed to end this quickly. He flashed through hand seals, his movements still precise despite the vertigo. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
The ground beneath Naruto erupted, Kakashi's hand shooting up to grab his ankle
Or where his ankle should have been. Naruto wasn't there. He was now perched on a low-hanging tree branch above Kakashi, Sakanade resting on his shoulder, looking down with an amused smirk.
"Missed me, sensei! Or did I miss you? Hard to tell in this kinda situation, eh?" Naruto then said, his voice doing something truly bizarre. ".oot uoy roF .gnisufnoc s'tI" (It's confusing. For you too.)
Kakashi's brain stuttered. Did Naruto just speak... backward? The disorientation spiked. Not only were his senses of direction and perception inverted, but now even language was being twisted.
"This is getting ridiculous," Kakashi muttered, pushing himself up. He finally reached for his headband. "Alright, Naruto. Playtime's over." He revealed his Sharingan.
The world sharpened for Kakashi, the Sharingan's heightened perception cutting through some of the sensory fog. He could see the flow of... whatever that energy was around Naruto, see the minute details of Sakanade's spin. But the core inversion remained. Up was still down. Left was still right.
"Ooh, the famous eye! Finally breakin' out the big guns, huh?" Naruto said, his voice normal again. He hopped down from the branch, landing lightly. "Let's see if that pretty red eye can make sense of this."
Naruto dashed forward, Sakanade a silver streak. Kakashi, relying on his Sharingan's predictive capabilities and his own combat experience, moved to intercept what he perceived as an attack to his left.
Thwack!
Sakanade's flat smacked harmlessly against Kakashi's right shoulder.
Kakashi grunted, more in surprise than pain. His Sharingan had told him left. His body had moved to block left. The attack came from the right.
"Still not gettin' it, are ya?" Naruto tsked, twirling Sakanade. "Your fancy eye can see all the details, sure. But it's still seein' 'em all wrong."
He pressed the attack. A flurry of slashes, spins, and feints, each one designed to exploit the sensory mismatch. Kakashi found himself constantly on the defensive, his Sharingan, usually his greatest asset in predicting and copying, now a source of conflicting information. He'd see an attack coming from above, brace for it, only for Naruto to slide in low from what felt like behind. He'd try to counter a thrust to his chest, and Naruto would lightly tap his leg.
It was infuriating. It was like fighting a reflection in a warped mirror, a reflection that was actively trying to trip him.
At that moment, Sasuke decided he'd seen enough. This wasn't just Naruto getting lucky. This was something else. "Sakura, let's go!" he hissed, bursting from the trees. "We're not going to let the dobe show us up!"
Sakura, though still utterly confused, followed him. "Sasuke-kun, wait!"
They charged into the clearing, kunai drawn, aiming for Kakashi who seemed oddly off-balance.
Naruto, mid-twirl as he evaded another of Kakashi's increasingly frustrated lunges, caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye. A wide, mischievous grin spread across his face. Oh, this was just perfect.
"Well, well, look who decided to join the party!" Naruto called out, his voice echoing strangely. "Took ya long enough! Sensei here was just startin' to have all the fun!" He then did something unexpected. He deliberately lowered the intensity of the pink mist emanating from Sakanade, just slightly. He wasn't dispelling the Inverted World for Kakashi, but he was ensuring his teammates weren't immediately caught in its full, disorienting effect if they got too close to the source.
Kakashi, seeing his other two students charge in, felt a surge of exasperation. This was turning into a complete circus. "Stay back! You don't understand what's"
But it was too late. Sasuke, driven by his rivalry, lunged at Kakashi, aiming for the bells. Sakura, flustered, followed suit with a less confident attack.
The Copy Ninja, already struggling with one perception-bending opponent, now had two more predictable, but still distracting, gnats buzzing around him. It was, to put it mildly, a mess. And Naruto, Sakanade still spinning, just watched the unfolding chaos with a look of pure, unadulterated amusement.