Yagura's staff passed close enough to my face that I felt the air move across my cheek, and I leaned away before catching the shaft with one hand. I tried to use his momentum to pull him off balance, but Yagura released the weapon without hesitation and drove his foot into my stomach instead. The hit forced the air from my lungs as I stumbled back, and he caught the staff again before it could fall, spinning it around his body and forcing me to jump over the hooked end as it swept towards my feet.
I grinned despite myself as I landed on the edge of the rooftop. We had been fighting for less than a minute, and I was already beginning to understand why Yagura had been chosen to lead the coup against the Third Mizukage. Without a Tailed Beast inside him, he did not have the overwhelming chakra or raw power that I remembered from canon, but he was still fast, technically skilled, and irritatingly difficult to read with that strange staff of his. More importantly, he was not holding back nearly as much as I expected him to.
I may have glossed over the details when I suggested this plan, but it just made things more interesting. A few of my clones were off making distractions for his main force with orders to keep the destruction and casualty count to a minimum, which freed us to battle our way through the heart of the Village. Even if I was still restricting a number of my abilities, it was a rare chance for me to fight seriously against a single, powerful opponent, so I was enjoying it in a twisted way.
Yagura's hands flashed through several hand signs, and a stream of water erupted from his mouth and ripped across the rooftop, tearing tiles free as I flipped over it. I twisted in the air and formed my own signs, creating several Ice senbon that shot towards him from above, but Yagura spun his staff in front of his body, shattering most of them and slipping past the rest. He immediately rushed towards me again, and I landed just in time to block the end of his staff with my forearm before his leg swept low towards my knees. My chakra flared for a moment as I activated my Yang Chakra Enhanced Strength just before his kick landed. I did not budge, then I twisted my arm to grab his staff and yanked him towards me as I drove my knee into his gut.
He stumbled back several steps, releasing his staff unconsciously, which allowed me to spin it through my fingers. Before I could point it at him, though, he made a one-handed sign and summoned the staff back to his empty hand. Without missing a beat, I chuckled as I punched out, releasing a weak burst of fire, which I followed by a spinning kick and a wind blade fired from my toes. The two attacks combined into a wave of fire that flew towards Yagura so fast that he had to swipe his staff at it as he jumped backwards and landed on another rooftop with the end of his staff lightly charred.
For a moment, neither of us moved as we stared each other down. Then I heard a window slam open somewhere below. A civilian stared up at us from a building across the street, frozen in place as they realized exactly who was fighting above their head. Someone pulled them back inside a second later, and the window slammed shut again.
Yagura glanced toward the window before looking back at me. I smiled, and his expression immediately soured.
"Don't look at me like that; we're at war," I said, my grin only getting bigger.
"I am beginning to understand why your own allies find you irritating."
"They don't find me annoying... well, at least, the ones I like."
Yagura attacked before I finished speaking, flashing through a series of hand signs. He spat out several globs of water that formed into water sharks which chased after me even as I tried to dodge. I did not have time to wonder how he was using one of Kisame's signature techniques, but I launched my magnetic-core shuriken in different directions with a single hand sign and teleported between them, allowing the shark bullets to crash into the roofs and a wall.
His eyes followed my shuriken cautiously as I recalled them then I smirked when I saw a flash of relief in his eyes. I flashed through a series of hand signs then pointed both hands at Yagura, firing several Laser Release bullets that flashed neon red in the night. He tried to dodge, but the beams were simply too fast and left a charred gash on his left shoulder and right hip. Whether it was his skill or mine was a tale for others to tell.
He gritted his teeth in pain but still shot towards me with determination. His staff came down with enough force to shatter the tiles beneath my feet when I stepped aside, but the hooked end curved towards my shoulder before I could counterattack. I ducked beneath it and drove my fist towards his stomach, only for Yagura to catch my wrist with his free hand. Water immediately coiled around my arm, and I felt him pull me forward as his knee rose towards my chest. I strengthened my body with Yang chakra and tanked the blow, so that I could slam my forehead into his face.
He released me with a grunt, and I kicked him away before the water could tighten around my arm. Yagura landed several meters back, blood running from his nose, though he immediately raised his staff as I followed him across the rooftop. We exchanged another handful of blows before his weapon caught me across the shoulder, tearing through my clothing and leaving a shallow cut along my upper arm. I answered with a kick that struck his ribs and sent him sliding backwards, and we both jumped away as the damaged roof began to collapse beneath us.
I landed on the next building while Yagura dropped into the street below, landing in a shallow pool left by his earlier techniques. Several Mist shinobi were visible at the far end of the road, but they remained well outside the fighting as they hurried a pair of civilians into a nearby alley. I was glad to see that Yagura had made arrangements to keep his people out of our way, which was nearly impossible in the center of the Village, and part of the point. Yagura needed to cement his reputation, and I needed to look a lot less dangerous than I was.
Yagura slammed his staff into the water at his feet, and I felt his chakra surge as several thick tendrils erupted towards the rooftop. I jumped over the first two, but the third curved around behind me as I dodged and struck my back before I could stop it. The impact knocked me from the building, and I twisted in the air as I made a few hand signs. My chakra latched onto the water that had struck me, easily wrestling control as Yagura's faded, and turned it all into hot steam that shot towards him. I landed on my feet, though the force also cracked the stonework and sent a cloud of dust rolling through the empty road.
As I prepared another jutsu, Yagura appeared through the dust with his staff already swinging. I was forced to abandon the jutsu as I caught the shaft, but he immediately released his staff and struck me across the jaw with an open palm. I stumbled sideways, and he immediately reclaimed his weapon before driving the hooked end towards my ribs. I twisted away from the strike and grabbed his shoulder, using my enhanced strength to throw him across the street and into the wall of an empty building.
Stone fractured beneath the impact, and Yagura disappeared through the collapsing wall as I wiped blood from the corner of my mouth. I did not know how much he was holding back, but that staff technique was nastier than my father's, and his water jutsu was getting annoying, even if I would try to steal a few ideas. Even without the Three-Tails, his strength was impressive, and without relying heavily on Flying Thunder God, it would be difficult to defeat him outright.
A torrent of water exploded through the ruined wall, and I barely managed to jump clear of it before it swallowed the street. Yagura emerged behind it, riding the rushing current as he formed another series of hand signs. Several Water Bullets shot towards me, forcing me to retreat across the rooftops while I countered with Wind Bullets of my own. The techniques collided in bursts of spray which I turned into ice senbon that fired at him, now chasing after him.
Our fight continued across Kirigakure for several minutes, carrying us through narrow streets and rooftops, and I began to understand just how dangerous he could become when fighting in a Village filled with canals. Neither of us escaped the exchanges without injury. I managed to strike him across the face hard enough to split his lip, and another Yang-enhanced punch left him favoring his right side whenever he moved. In return, his staff opened a shallow cut along my thigh, and a particularly vicious blow to my ribs left me wondering if I had cracked something. I was beginning to lose my patience with this long, drawn-out fight, but so was Yagura.
Eventually, we found ourselves separated by one of the larger canals running through the Village. I landed on a rooftop overlooking the water and watched Yagura settle onto the opposite bank, his breathing noticeably heavier. Blood stained his chin and the front of his clothing, but his expression remained focused as he planted his staff against the ground and began forming hand signs.
I recognized the opening sequence of the Water Dragon Jutsu immediately, though my confidence faded as he continued through considerably more seals than I expected. The canal began to churn violently beneath us, and water surged upward in a twisting column that rapidly grew wider as Yagura poured more chakra into the technique. By the time the enormous head began taking shape, the construct was already towering over the surrounding buildings, and I could feel the tremendous amount of chakra holding it together.
I stared upward as the dragon continued to grow, its serpentine body twisting above the rooftops while water poured from its open jaws. I had seen plenty of Water Dragon techniques over the years, but this one was on an entirely different scale. Without a Tailed Beast supplying his chakra, I had not expected Yagura to produce something quite so impressive, especially after the amount of energy he had already expended during our fight. It seemed that he was ready to end this fight for good.
I smirked as the enormous dragon turned towards me, just as I finished a series of hand signs. Ice spread across the rooftop beneath my feet before surging upward to meet the descending water, freezing the dragon's lower jaw and rapidly climbing along its neck. I poured more chakra into the technique, forcing the ice farther through the construct until nearly half of its massive body had become a frozen sculpture suspended above the buildings.
For a brief moment, I thought I had stopped it completely. The enormous head hung motionless above me, and the water behind it seemed to hesitate as the frozen portion resisted the force driving it forward. Then a deep crack echoed through the night, and I watched several fractures spread across the dragon's neck.
Instantly, I knew that I was going to lose this exchange; there was simply too much water behind the frozen portion. I could have strengthened it, but I knew the smarter choice was to teleport away. There was one of my hidden seals nearby, so I teleported down to the street.
Chunks of ice crashed into the rooftop where I had been standing, while the rest of the dragon surged down the alley towards my new position. I barely managed to reinforce my body with Yang chakra before the torrent slammed into me, throwing me through the wall of the building behind me and leaving me aching. The building began to fall on top of me, but I launched a magnetic shuriken out a window and teleported out of the way. I coughed up a mouthful of blood as I scanned the area and locked eyes on Yagura.
The majority of the water had already begun draining towards the canals, and debris was scattered throughout the street. Yagura stood a short distance away, breathing heavily with his staff held in one hand, and I could tell that his enormous technique had taken a significant portion of his remaining chakra. He was still standing, though, and had a satisfied look on his face when he saw me emerge from the wreckage looking considerably worse than I had before.
While I could keep on fighting, defeating him was never the point of this fight. The new Mizukage had his chance to show off his strength, and I had enough wounds that it should be convincing to most people. I dismissed my other clones then summoned Chrono and Lava, though Yagura tried to stop me by firing a Water Bullet at me. I dodged the attack as Chrono and Lava appeared where I had been standing. Lava immediately prepared a jutsu while Chrono teleported to my side. I only saw a stream of molten stone shoot towards Yagura, blocking my view of him, before Chrono took me away from the Village with a series of jumps before using Sage Mode to take me directly back to the ship.
I appeared on the boat in a silver flash, drawing everyone's attention. There was no hiding my injuries and the fact that I was completely soaked, but I gave a small smile and thumbs up as Chrono dispelled. "Mission accomplished. Let's head back home."
"How badly are you injured?" Inoichi asked with concern.
"A cracked rib or two is the worst of it," I replied. "Let me bandage my wounds and change my clothes before anyone but Kurenai comes down."
"Of course," he agreed.
Kurenai and Shisui looked the most concerned about my appearance, but that was not surprising. Shinpei Arakawa and Renji Hyuga looked slightly more concerned than Fugaku and Inoichi as they had seen my healing factor personally. I still could not match Tsunade's Byakugou Seal without using my fusion Sage Mode, but I was getting close.
No one stopped me as I headed below deck, though Kurenai did follow me after a split second of hesitation. I did not say anything and just took off my flak jacket like she was not there. Tossing it onto an extra hammock, I pulled a storage scroll from the cubby above my own bed and summoned out a spare set of clothing, some bandages, and a med-pack.
"Let me help," Kurenai said softly as she walked up to my side.
"No lecture?" I asked with a light chuckle, handing her the med-pack.
"I've seen you survive worse," she retorted with a weak smile.
"I don't know if that is a good or bad thing."
She chuckled, shaking her head, as she prepared a couple of alcohol rags to clean my cuts. I pulled off my shirt and threw it over with my jacket before I sat on the edge of my hammock. Her eyes scanned my body, focusing mostly on my injuries, but a bit of red brightened her cheeks. She placed one of the damp cloths over the gash on my thigh then used the other to clean the cut over my eyebrow.
"Do you think Yagura will keep his word?" Kurenai asked quietly as she worked.
"For a time, I think. He knows that I was holding back in our fight, and I have direct access to his Village if he decides to renege on our deal. It's in everyone's interest to end this war."
"Where do you think we'll be sent to next, if the Mist end the war?"
"Possibly back home... The Cloud and Stone have taken some heavy losses themselves, so with the Sand and hopefully the Mist, they will either negotiate for peace, or slink back to their territory and try to disappear... though my demonstration with Kirigakure should make them think twice about that."
She finished cleaning the cut on my shoulder then moved to grab the bandages and softly asked, "Then what happens... with us?"
"That depends on you. I was your sensei, after all. If you want to pursue things with me, I would be more than happy to... but there will be complications due to my reputation. The people closest to me are likely to be targeted and manipulated, so there are some risks that come with being close to me," I chuckled then sighed.
"I know you were my sensei, Akari... But I'm not your student anymore, and I haven't been for a while. I know what I want."
"And what exactly is it you want?" I asked with a teasing smirk.
Kurenai blushed, but instead of looking away like she normally would, she stared right at me. I nearly thought I had gone too far, but she leaned in and kissed me suddenly, dispelling that idea... and every other thought in my head. For a split second, I was too stunned to react, but my brain kicked back into gear, and I returned her kiss.
When I moved to cup her cheek with my hand, the boat and hammock shifted with the waves. It was not much of a movement, but it was enough to remind me of my cracked ribs. I pulled back with a soft hiss and pressed a hand to my purpling side, making Kurenai look at me with concern.
"It's a bit more noticeable now that the adrenaline from the fight has faded," I said with an apologetic smile.
She smirked, shaking her head, and flashed through the hand signs for the Mystic Palm technique. I removed my hand, and she replaced it with her own, glowing green with chakra.
"Better?" she asked.
I looked into her ruby red eyes and smiled. "Much."