Naruto: Snow Cold

You're not getting away!

I sensed his chakra rising—he was coming out of the ground.

Opening my palm, I condensed my chakra to form water and quickly manipulated it with my Ice Release, shaping it into a thick sword made of solid ice. My grip tightened around the hilt, and I swiftly spun around to deflect an oncoming kunai, causing a sharp clang sound as it went off-course.

When I tried looking back for him, he wasn't in the same location I had sensed him in.

Fighting intent. Behind me!

Almost instinctively, I swung my sword behind me, parrying the swing of a kunai.

Then, I pivoted into a backkick, hitting the shadowy figure behind me.

"Gah!" He gasped out in pain.

"Your Frigid Compass thing is such a cheat," Sora grunted, before backing off once more and disappearing into the mist.

I didn't respond, and instead formed one singular hand sign.

'Wind Release, Great Breakthrough!'

A torrent of wind exploded right out of my mouth, forcing to scatter the surrounding mist into many directions. Not only did it clear the fog, but the few poor unsuspecting trees caught in the crossfire were completely stripped of their leaves and covered with wounds, both deep and jagged.

This is what I've been cutting all those copper wires for. Thank the lord Tobirama-sama for creating the Shadow Clones, otherwise I wouldn't have managed this much!

Not quite to the point of uprooting them, but I could probably do it if I supercharged the whole thing. Maybe 15% of my chakra would do the trick, but that's too wasteful.

I shifted my sight to Sora once more who was now visible, standing just beyond the clearing. What are you going to pull now?

He shifted into a combat stance.

Guess he wants to engage in Taijutsu. I threw my sword away onto the ground, causing a clattering sound, and I fell into the Flowing Fist stance.

Without another word, we both charged.

Except—I didn't attack first.

I waited for his fist to shoot towards my face, and at the last second, I did a fast turn, letting the attack just graze past my cheek.

Then, using the momentum from my turn I threw a hook kick at his side with my left leg—he ducked, damn it.

He followed up with a backfist, which I barely managed to stop by taking a hold of his forearm, making use of my Frigid Compass.

I pulled him in by force and drove my knee into his gut, causing him to gasp out in pain. Wasting no time, I performed a front kick that knocked him away.

Clap.

Another flicker of chakra?! I tried to move out of the way, but it was traveling way too fast, even for me and my senses.

Crap, crap, crap! Substitution, again?!

The next thing I knew, I was the one rolling onto the ground. I aimed my palm at the ground while rolling, and used Gale Palm to propel myself up, forcing myself back to my feet with a burst of wind.

You know what? Screw it!

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a puff of smoke, two clones appeared beside me, the both of them ready to throw hands. He stood where he was, surprised.

"Jump this motherfucker!" I shouted, and with no hesitation, they rushed in.

"Are you serious?!" He asked, sporting a weird grin on his face. Is this guy really enjoying the fight? Don't tell me he's gonna turn into some kind of battle-maniac in the future!

The first clone used the Gale Palm to propel itself up into the air, aiming for an axe kick.

Sora merely raised his left forearm, coating it with chakra and blocking the momentum of the clone's attack. Without breaking a sweat, he forcefully grabbed the other clone by the wrist mid-punch, lifting it with just his raw strength and smashing it against the other clone Hulk-style, causing the both of them to dispel in a puff of smoke.

Using the smoke as a distraction, I pulled back my arm and willed forth a couple of ice shards, hovering just above my palm at my fingertips

In quick succession, I threw them at him. Recently, I've discovered that instead of just using something like the propulsion of the wind, I could just apply the same concept for when I held water.

As long as my chakra still adhered to the shards, I'd have control over their momentum, direction and speed before release. Noticeably more difficult than water since it was a solid. Why? Liquids are obviously fluid and chakra easily penetrates them, latching onto each molecule, thus allowing one to manipulate the liquid.

Solids aren't the same, especially stuff like stone. My ice can only be used with such precision because it is a crystalline solid, with an open structure.

This allows the chakra to easily permeate their surface, giving me the control I need. It wouldn't work with dirt, rock or any other material with a dense or closed structure.

It was also why you didn't see ninjas just using budget telekinesis on everything. You'd need something like Gaara's inherited Kekkei Genkai, Magnet Release—yes, not Sand Release, because that isn't a thing. He used this to control sand, in a similar way to his predecessors, like Rasa, who used the gold in sand in order to control it.

How? I dunno. I like chemistry, not physics.

Clank, clank, shatter.

"From what point could you use your Ice Release like that?!" He said with frustration, his kunai still in hand as she stared at the shattered remnants of each shard.

"I'm just good like that!" I shouted back, preparing to throw a couple more of them.

I flicked my wrist once more, and the projectiles shot in his direction.

He clicked his tongue in response, and got ready to deflect them with his own weapon.

Cling! Cling! Cling!

Right after, he flickered towards one of the trees, and... What the fuck?! He's using the surface to jump off and use the momentum to travel in conjunction with Tree Walking and the Body Flicker!

Sora ricocheted off the trunk like a fucking pinball or something, then moved on to the next at a ridiculous speed. Sure, I could still see his movements because of my improved vision and my chakra field, but...

Again. Over, over and over again.

Only one style makes use of the environment like this, and that is...

The Wild Fist.

This prick must've been learning it in secret. It's a style that relies completely on unpredictability and using everything around you.

Most ninjas don't learn it because it simply doesn't fit the whole stealth-oriented nature of their job, even though it's perfect for combat.

In short, to people like the samurai, it would be dishonorable. Ninjas? You've got no balls if you use it. Kind of like the lightsaber technique in Star Wars that was basically just turning the saber on and off to stab your opponent without effort at all.

Wait, above!

I put my arms up in defense, coating my forearms with ice chakra to decrease the force of the blow. His knee drove right into my defense and shattered it, pushing me off the branch I was on.

The adrenaline rush is just insane!

It's like the world is fucking spinning. Airborne, I aimed my right palm right at the ground in an attempt to save myself from the fall.

Gale Palm!

Heavy, powerful winds shot out of my open palm, pushing against the air just enough for me to turn and safely land onto the ground.

I looked back up, and there he was. Sora's gaze was fixed on me from the tree, and it seemed like he had around 75% of his chakra left.

Wait, 75%? The Body Flicker shouldn't consume that much chakra, even while being spammed. He didn't use much jutsu during our fight either! So then, what gives? Something was seriously wrong.

Then, a smile appeared on his face. You cocky littl-

"Got you."

I felt a tap on my shoulder. What the absolute fuck?!

Turning around, I realized a shadow clone had sneaked up behind me. Why the hell did my compass not take notice of it? Or hell, even my chakra field should've detected it!

"Your cheat thing works by picking up fighting intent, right? What I did was form a clone while you were mid air, too focused on breaking your fall. Chakra Concealment does wonders, too."

Chakra Concealment? I gotta learn that soon.

"So by having your clone be devoid of emotions and approach me without the intent of attacking me, you somehow managed to bypass my Frigid Compass? Is that what you're saying?"

He casually waved his finger with a half-grin. This guy...! "Ding, ding. You got that right."

Without knowing, I'd let out a deep exhale I didn't even know I was holding, probably relieved that the fight was over.

My heart was pumping like mad, and adrenaline was still coursing through every single part of my body. Going all out really did a number on your body.

"So..." I started. "How do you think we'd stack up against other people?"

Sora shrugged, hopping off the tree branch. "Dunno, I should be the one asking you that. You know more about the series than me, after all. Although, if I had to take a guess..." He trailed off for a moment.

"Maybe borderline Chuunin? We do have decent chakra levels, you have amazing control, and we have plenty of techniques in our repertoire. I think we are pretty much more than ready for the graduation exam."

"Huh. You're probably right," I agreed. God, my hair is a mess. I really have to cut it down to a short length later, and get a new style. "Sorry for cutting your cheek earlier."

He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "It's alright. Can't improve if we hold back, can we?"

I know that, you absolute buffoon.

"At least let me treat it. I think we've got some alcohol and some gauze in my storage seal?"

He took a step back, his expression slightly twitching. Fear? "N-No, you really don't need to do it!"

"Come on, are you really afraid of alcohol? It's just gonna sting for a moment. You're supposed to be like four years older than me mentally, y'know."

Finally, he surrendered.

"Fine. Since when do you bring that stuff, anyway?"

I stared back at him, my face completely deadpan. "I bought it at the nearest Konoha Hospital. I like to have random stuff just in case."

"I really, really hate alcohol," Sora grimaced, "It burns and hurts like a bitch each time you put it on a wound."

"Man, stop whining," I shot back, activating the storage scroll on my wrist. Smoke appeared, and in my hands was some small gauze, cotton and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "You're supposed to be a man, and a future soldier just like me. So, man up!"

With the most evil smirk I could muster, I advanced with both the cotton and alcohol, menacingly.

Sora could only curse his luck.

'Why me?!' he thought, incapable of forming any other excuse to avoid his demise.

Why not?