Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Diplomacy ❯ Chônôryoku ( Chapter 14 )

      No! Hinata thought, I can’t let him do it! I have to dodge! Evade! Something!!

     But it was no good. No matter how hard Hinata concentrated, she could not move anything save her fingers and toes. In less time than it would take to blink, he was in front of Hinata, and slammed his upturned hand directly into her chest.

     Hinata’s body was knocked down onto its back, still in the same position of battle readiness it had been in when the jutsu had struck her, as though a statue had fallen over. Taiki stood up straight and surveyed his victim, he noticed no movement, even the automatic rising and falling of the torso caused by breathing.

     Satisfied he had emerged victorious, he looked outward. He saw Tsurukawa and Kiriko engaged in battle. He saw Hanabi moving alone. He saw the Hyuga clansmen and women heading directly for them. He pondered his options. With the Hyuga coming, they were few. He could aid Kiriko. He could see she was using her best jutsu to face Tsurukawa. Fearing the damage that jutsu could do, his strongest instinct was to go to her, end the battle, and flee. He knew, however, that would not satisfy Kiriko.

     We have come this far, waited so long, he thought to himself, And all we have to show for it is the death of the “inferior” heir. My path is clear.

     From a pouch at his belt, he removed a kunai. There was simply no longer time to fulfill their objective as planned. Knowing Kiriko would want some form of revenge completed before it was too late, Taiki decided only one thing could be done. He would track down and kill Hanabi.

     Before he left, he looked to Hinata’s body, her limbs beginning to loosen as the Hebi no Nirami he had performed began to wear off. What he had done was only a short burst, performing the jutsu with the most minimal chakra he could without detection. Far weaker than the jutsu in its full form, it created only a momentary opening. All he’d needed to land his fatal shot. He gave the girl a nod of acknowledgement, before setting off, to finish the mission he had begun.

     This isn’t possible!! Chie thought to herself. Yet it was happening. Despite having every tactical advantage, Kiriko somehow seemed to be the one who was winning.

     What is it about that jutsu? she asked herself. The Chônôryoku jutsu seemed to have given Kiriko some advantage Chie couldn’t figure out. No matter what Chie threw at her, Kiriko evaded and countered. Chie withdrew two shuriken from the pouch tied to her raised ankle.

     “Shuriken Bunshin no Jutsu!” she cried as she let the weapons fly. As they left her hand, the shuriken suddenly multiplied into several dozen. However, only the two she had thrown would do any damage. Should they fail, the stars Chie pulled out and threw into the cloned blades should connect.

     Kiriko made no move to dodge, no move to counter. The small swarm of ninja stars flew past, over, and through her. The woman moved only twice. Two grabs in the air with both hands, each yielding two ninja stars. The four real ones Chie had thrown. Kiriko held them up, her mad smile and pulsing forehead frustrating and disgusting Chie. Suddenly, the woman vanished.

     Chie reacted just in time to duck under a chop by Kiriko to her right. That dodge placed her right into the path of Kiriko’s knee, which brought itself up into Chie’s face. Chie’s head was kicked upward, and Kiriko grabbed it in her hands, intending to snap her neck. Chie’s hands began weaving signs immediately.

     “Bakufu Chûjô!!” she called out through gritted teeth.

     Kiriko let go and got away just before a sudden blast of water erupted from directly below Chie. Bakufu Chûjô, the “Waterfall Pillar,” was a defensive jutsu that, when successful, would have hit the enemy with an upward jet of water, sending her into the air and setting up a second attack to counter. The fact that Kiriko dodged the move entirely did not deter Chie. There was a follow-up to the Pillar for just such a situation. As water sent upward to the sky began to fall back down, Chie brought her hands into the sign of the Pig.

     “Suiton: Hari Furi!!”

     What would have otherwise been just a gentle rainfall suddenly turned into a rain of needles. The Needle Rain’s obvious intent was to skewer any enemy who dodged the Bakufu Chûjô. And yet again Kiriko evaded, halting the chakra flow to her feet, her body immediately sank into the lake they fought upon, the Hari Furi fell harmlessly as true rain upon still water. When Kiriko re-emerged from the water, she wore that self-satisfied smirk on her face once more.

     Dammit how?! Chie thought in frustration, How does she know what I’m going to do!? It’s like… she knows… what to…

     That’s when it hit her.

     Of course! Chônôryoku! The word refers to extrasensory perception… she’s somehow increased her awareness of her surroundings. To the point she can somehow predict what will happen around her! But… the only way to create such an effect in one who lacks it naturally…

     “No… ;” Chie muttered aloud, looking at the veins in Kiriko’s forehead “It can’t be.”

     “Finally got it?” Kiriko asked smugly.

     “You mean… you actually… you’re channeling chakra directly into your brain?!!”

     “That’s right.” Kiriko responded.

     “Are you insane?!” Chie demanded, “Do you have any idea what kinds of effects doing that can do?”

     “Of course.” Kiriko answered, “Chônôryoku is a Kinjutsu. A forbidden art. The slightest mistake in chakra manipulation, and the brain can be permanently damaged, rendering the user a mindless vegetable.”

     Not to mention the effect on a person’s mental health. Chie said to herself, thinking that it explained a great deal of Kiriko’s behavior.

     “You’d risk that… do that to yourself… for what?”

     “You should know as well as anyone, girl.” Kiriko replied, “Revenge. The Hyuga killed my Shun. I perfected this jutsu as a way to counter the Byakugan. The freaks’ skill comes in being able to attack the bodies in ways impossible for a normal human. But if I know where that attack shall go, then countering is simple. As I have been demonstrating.”

     Chie looked at the woman before her, far more shaken than she had been entering this fight. The woman who had put her life and health after her hatred for a few individuals. A voice echoed in Chie’s mind. A voice of the past. The voice of her mother. Chie’s mind repeated the words over and over. Her last words. Tsurukawa Sadako’s final words to her child.

     “Chie, if I die, promise me something. Promise me you will never seek revenge!”