Chapter 129: Strength Still Requires Real Combat

Sasuke's House

Kimimaro saw Sakura's two shadow clones depart and immediately launched two finger bones from his fingertips. But it was too late; Sakura's clones had already vanished.

"Looks like I'll have to deal with you," Kimimaro said, a bone jutting out from the palm of his left hand. He grasped it with his right hand and yanked it free.

"Hmph, I was thinking the same thing," Sakura replied, a shiver running down her spine at Kimimaro's unsettling action.

Both of them wanted to leave, but neither could. Kimimaro needed to intercept Sakura's clones to prevent information from spreading, while Sakura needed to find Sasuke. The situation was clear: one of them had to be taken down before the other could accomplish their goal.

"You must be Haruno Sakura. It seems Kabuto's intel was incorrect," Kimimaro said, gripping his bone blade and assuming a sprinting stance. "But it doesn't matter. I'll finish you off quickly, for Orochimaru-sama!"

"So much talk..." Sakura muttered. Before Kimimaro could finish his sentence, she launched a sudden attack. A beam of laser-like chakra shot towards him.

It wasn't that Sakura didn't want to use other techniques, but her Storm Release was currently limited to this one attack. At best, she could control the laser's direction, hoping to catch her opponent off guard.

After all, she had only recently synthesized Storm Release, and she was still using it in a way similar to her Water Release: Water Blade. Although Storm Release was more powerful than Water Blade, Sakura hadn't yet tested its upper limits.

Sakura didn't believe Storm Release's power was limitless. Until she developed a better ninjutsu to harness its full potential, she was stuck with this basic attack.

Kimimaro swiftly dodged the laser with a sideways movement, his bone blade thrusting towards Sakura. But Sakura wouldn't let him have his way; the laser followed close behind. However, Kimimaro had already figured out Storm Release's characteristics, so the laser missed its mark.

Seeing her surprise attack fail, Sakura tried to change the laser's direction again, but Kimimaro had already closed the distance, swinging his bone blade at her.

It wasn't quite accurate to call it a "bone blade." The bone Kimimaro had pulled out wasn't sharpened; only the tip was pointed. Any strikes would be blunt-force trauma. It was more like a bone spear than a bone sword.

Kimimaro's speed was incredible. By the time he reached Sakura, she had no time to redirect her Storm Release attack.

The blade aimed for Sakura's heart. She quickly activated her Lightning Release Chakra Mode and shifted to the side. But Sakura was not, ultimately, a taijutsu specialist, and the gap between her and a bloodline-limit taijutsu user was impossible to bridge.

The bone blade grazed Sakura's armpit, and blood immediately streamed from her left ribcage. Ignoring the searing pain, Sakura clamped her left arm around Kimimaro's still-extended bone blade, momentarily halting his movement.

Seizing this brief opportunity, Sakura clenched her right hand into a fist, unleashing a monstrous-strength punch. But just as her fist was about to connect, she abruptly pulled back. Even so, her fist was still pierced.

Kimimaro had, in that instant, sprouted a cluster of bone spikes from his ribcage. The spikes were incredibly fast, and Sakura's punch was equally swift. Despite pulling back at the last moment, her fist was still impaled by the bones.

Breaking off the engagement, Sakura released her grip on the bone blade and rapidly retreated. Close combat with Kimimaro was clearly unwise.

Instead of using Creation Rebirth, Sakura used the Mystical Palm Technique to staunch the bleeding from her wounds, her eyes fixed on Kimimaro, who was bristling with bones.

Sakura's head throbbed. Kimimaro's bloodline limit was based on taijutsu, while her ninjutsu arsenal was primarily long-range.

Logically, she should have been able to keep Kimimaro at bay, but their previous clash revealed that he was actually pressuring her.

Although Storm Release manifested as a laser, it wasn't true light. It still contained the properties of water, so it couldn't hit its target instantaneously.

This meant that the farther away she was from a skilled taijutsu user, the harder it was to hit them. Sakura needed to predict her opponent's movements, but she didn't have the Sharingan, nor did she possess particularly sharp combat instincts. This was proving incredibly difficult.

Kimimaro had been caught off guard by Sakura's first Storm Release attack due to a lack of information, but a second surprise attack was less likely to succeed. Once Kimimaro closed in, she was trapped in his attack rhythm. Sakura wasn't without close-range options, but Kimimaro was covered in spikes like a hedgehog. To land a solid hit, she'd have to trade injury for injury.

But Kimimaro didn't give Sakura time to strategize; he charged again.

Sakura fired her Storm Release laser, but as expected, Kimimaro dodged each one. It seemed she really needed to develop new applications for Storm Release after this. It was frustrating to possess a bloodline limit but be unable to utilize its full power.

"Dance of the Camellia!"

Faced with Kimimaro's relentless attack, Sakura could only fight while retreating, trying to create distance.

But Kimimaro stuck to her like a magnet, refusing to give an inch. Gradually, more stab wounds appeared on Sakura's body.

"This can't go on. I need to find a way," Sakura thought. After blocking another wave of Kimimaro's attacks, she retreated sharply and fired her Storm Release laser at the bone blade in Kimimaro's hand.

Sakura had expected to slice it clean through, but it didn't break. A deep groove appeared on the blade, indicating it was unusable; another hit would shatter it.

Sakura took note. It seemed the bone blade Kimimaro held was significantly tougher than the bone spikes protruding from his body. She had already sheared off many of those spikes with her Storm Release during their close-quarters fighting. Clearly, bone density varied.

Having created some distance again, Kimimaro didn't immediately rush forward.

"You're strong, but that's all," Kimimaro said, raising both hands towards Sakura. "Dance of the Clematis: Flower!"

Seeing Kimimaro raise his hands, Sakura was on high alert. When she saw his fingers open, revealing the bones within, she suppressed her discomfort and poured more power into her Lightning Release Chakra Mode, dodging frantically.

Ever since she started using Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Sakura had stopped using her Earth Release: Hardening Technique. Because lightning counters earth, the Lightning Release would reduce the Hardening Technique's defense. Sakura had to choose one or the other.

In Sakura's view, the best defense was to avoid being hit. Therefore, she decisively chose Lightning Release Chakra Mode. She wouldn't dare test the power of Kimimaro's jutsu on her own body.

Her choice to dodge rather than endure was correct. After Sakura evaded the ten finger bullets, the projectile bones, having lost their target, slammed into the ground. The massive impact created ten deep craters.

Looking at the craters, Sakura was incredibly relieved. But her relief was short-lived; Kimimaro closed in again.

Sakura had no choice but to parry. Lightning Release Chakra Mode was just a temporary measure. Tsunade- sensei's words echoed in her ears: to avoid lasting damage, she should minimize its use until her nerve cells were fully repaired.

Besides, the situation wasn't yet dire. Her two clones had already delivered the message; the Third Hokage would undoubtedly dispatch people to pursue Sasuke. The one who was truly anxious right now was Kimimaro.

Although Sakura couldn't defeat Kimimaro, he couldn't defeat her either. Sakura decided to treat this as an opportunity to improve her combat experience. She rarely had the chance to hone her practical fighting skills even with Tsunade- sensei; this was a golden opportunity.

__________________

patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls