Naruto: Stormbreaker

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: The Hunt Part 5

Sena POV

I smiled at the small cuts I had opened on Heron. They were stepping stones toward victory. The fog I released forced him to stay close, kept him inside my range, and that suited me. I glanced toward Kaen, then cut the look short. Heron always capitalized on any distraction, so I stopped watching them and focused on my own fight.

Heron noticed the fog thinning and took the chance to make space between us without losing me. ”I am going to wipe that smug smile off your dead body, you stupid bitch,” he snarled as he began weaving hand seals. I started mine at the same time.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Heron exhaled and a powerful air current tore at the ground, mixing fog with dust and debris. I slapped my hands to the earth and formed a quick Earth Release: Mud Wall Barricade. A small wall rose in front of me and collided with the wind. I used a compact version that barely covered me, because the chakra distortion was bleeding my reserves. It was annoying to be stuck here, but I could not abandon Kaen and leave. Well, to be honest, I could have. According to my parents, I should have. My life takes priority after all, and that would have been the smart decision. But I did not want to abandon my team. It was stupid, yes, but it was my decision. Moments where I actually get to make my own choices are rare in my life, and when one finally presented itself, I decided to trust my instincts instead of my calculating side.

Wind Release: Razor Current. Heron fired a concentrated blade of wind at my barricade. It sliced through my jutsu and my thoughts, as I realized, with a tightening in my chest, that I was up against a powerful chunin while I was at a disadvantage. I jumped to the side to avoid the wind blade and shot forward. Heron sent a few kunai my way. Wind Release: Gale Palm. He used wind to increase the speed of the thrown weapons. I leapt above them, surprised when their trajectories shifted in midair. I sighed and began a new set of hand seals.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. The blades met a powerful gust, but the effect was limited and meant only to counter the kunai. I dropped to the ground to close the distance, getting even closer to Heron. He cursed. ”You demonic brat, how many chakra natures can you use?”

I did not answer. The truth was messy, private, and not for boasting. My parents spent a fortune after I declared I would pursue the shinobi path. They paid the best instructors, bought me access to teachers who would never train a normal student. Those instructors poured their invaluable experience, lifelong shortcuts, and battle tricks into me. I learned Water and Earth until I became decent with them. I am passable with Fire and Wind. I have no affinity for Lightning at all. I was a jack of most trades, master of none.

I imagined Noa standing beside me now, one eyebrow lifted, delivering the same unique response the moment he saw my expensive and customized ninja tools. He had called it ”pay to win” once, and I had laughed at the time.

I was almost there when Heron weaved through hand seals, Wind Release: Gale Palm, shortening his jutsu cast time and its effect. I was already weaving through hand seals as I expected him to use wind once I came closer to try and push me. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. A small-scale fireball came from a compressed breath out of my mouth, consuming the wind jutsu and igniting even further as it shot toward Heron, who was surprised. He then used the wind to augment his movement and he kept moving back, away from the growing fireball. With distance, it grew smaller and was about to extinguish, which made him lose his guard for a fraction of a second. I burst through the dying fire, causing some burns on my clothes and body and losing some fine hair. However, since I jumped through it at the last moment, the damage wasn’t so bad. I sliced toward Heron’s neck, who evaded using wind, but I was able to draw blood, making a shallow cut on the side of his neck and sealing his fate. He then sent another wave of wind, pushing me back as he jumped, creating more space between us.

I started to weave through hand seals right away, slowly and deliberately, as it was a hard technique made even harder within this chakra distortion area. I practically had only this jutsu to perform before I would be low on chakra. Heron was puzzled for a breath as to why I was going through such a long hand sign sequence, as if he would let me. He started to move toward me before his body froze. He stumbled a bit, barely catching himself as his eyes widened behind his mask. His hand trembled as he stretched them out, as if making sure they still worked, before shouting, ”You used poison on me!”

He then chuckled for a bit as his hand started to slowly come back under his control. ”We are trained to counter all poisons. I can sense that you are very low on chakra. Time to die, little girl.”

Of course I knew that. Small doses of poison were administered with each cut I made, and seeing how slowly it affected him told me he had built a strong resistance to toxins. So, with the slice I made to his neck, I introduced a bigger dose, close to the blood flowing to his brain. As it began to take effect, I knew it wouldn’t last long, but a few moments were all I needed.

He approached, slowly but surely regaining his speed and strength, while I went through the last hand seal. As he slashed at me with his tanto, I completed the final seal and put my trust in Owl’s misunderstanding of why I had collapsed and in Kaen to protect my vulnerable body if Owl realized what had really happened. Heron sensed the sudden chakra shift and shouted on instinct, ”Owl!” but it was already too late for both him and me.

Mind Body Switch Technique.

The world folded. A hot current slid from my chest, up through the back of my skull, and poured like water into the target in front of me. The room changed temperature. I smelled metal and sweat and the iron tang of someone else’s breath. Muscles that were not mine tightened under my command. For a dizzy instant I was everywhere at once and nowhere at all. Then I was him.

Heron’s body moved with memory I had not earned. It felt heavier, colder. His mask sat like a foreign moon on my face. The first thing I did was feel his hands, the calluses, the way his fingers flexed around a blade. He had used the blade for a lifetime. Now that life was mine to steer.

I used his own tanto, and with a single thought, his arm jerked. I twisted the wrist still locked around the hilt and dragged it inward, forcing his grip to work against him. The motion felt raw, almost instinctive. The blade, once aimed at my collarbone, swept toward his neck in a tight arc his body could not stop. The edge bit into his skin with a wet tear, then carved deeper as his muscles strained uselessly. Hot blood burst out in a sharp spray. The steel slid through his throat, grinding for a moment against cartilage before it pushed past, leaving his breath trapped in a thick, choking gurgle.

Owl, a step behind, blinked at the sudden flash of crimson and the way Heron’s posture changed. Without hesitation, he aimed at my fallen body and fired a Rock Bullet. The mass of stone hurtled toward my unmoving, collapsed form. I forced Heron’s body forward using the last of his strength, which resulted in him falling directly into the projectile’s trajectory. The rock hit him square in the face, crushing the mask and the skull beneath it.

The moment of impact tore me back into myself. My consciousness snapped into place like a violent whip, the world spinning before my eyes. I gasped for air, pain flaring through every nerve as the link broke. Kaen’s movement filled my vision as he slashed down with his kunai, the strike catching Owl’s shoulder and forcing the masked operative to stumble back.

Owl reacted fast, retreating several paces as he steadied himself, his chest heaving. Blood seeped across his chest, his eyes wild behind the mask. He looked at the pool of blood spreading from Heron’s broken head and neck, then froze for a second, his anger bleeding into raw killing intent that made the air heavy.

Kaen stood with that same reckless grin plastered on his face, his Sharingan spinning faintly in the dim light. I sighed, feeling exhaustion settle into my limbs as I moved toward him, my chakra nearly spent.

Owl stayed perfectly still, trying to calm his breathing, rage simmering under every motion. His gaze flicked between Kaen and me, deciding who to strike first. The distorted air still hummed faintly around us, carrying the echoes of Heron’s final breath.

I ignored Kaen’s dumb smile, not in the mood to decode whatever nonsense was running through his head. There was only one thought left clear in my mind. Owl was still alive, and until he wasn’t, this fight wasn’t over.

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A/N: As requested, a once in a blue moon Sena POV, and during a battle nonetheless. I cannot wait to see your comments and feedback regarding her always unique POV and how the battle is going so far. So do not be shy ;)