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Chapter 7: A Light Spar

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, something curious happened to Kroqgar. His shoulders tensed slightly, betraying his nerves, and for the first time since he had arrived in this reality, the slightest trickle of combat-fuelled adrenaline began pervading his system. By no means was he scared, he was almost fearless by nature and he knew that Kakashi wouldn't do any lasting damage, but he was most certainly wary. It was this first, small amount of combat-readiness, leaking through his body and creeping into his brain that unlocked yet another sealed store of knowledge.

To the senior shinobi, all that Kroqgar did was stiffen slightly, and get a brief look of vacancy on his face, before snapping his focus back on to Kakashi with an admirable level of intensity. The genin slowly lowered into a stance, sliding his right leg forward and resting most of his weight upon it, while bringing his right arm low in front of him and his left high and back. Kakashi sighed upon seeing the younger ninja grin. It did not take a genius of his stature to realize Kroqgar had just had a very advantageous addition of knowledge.

The brief flash of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu information, coupled with the electric tingle that ran through his body as it gained muscle memory it didn't remember earning, unnerved Kroqgar briefly, but as with all his previous deluges of Naruto-related knowledge, he quickly became accustomed to it. And it was time to try it all out.

Kakashi's voice accelerated his heart rate. "Start!"

Normally he would wait until an opportunity to attack, but seeing as how this was not a real combat situation and was entirely to test his abilities, Kroqgar simply decided to go all out. He leant forwards microscopically, transferring ninety percent of his weight to his front foot, before digging the point of his boot into the ground and pushing forwards with all his might.

To Sakura and Naruto, watching from the sidelines, Kroqgar simply disappeared, leaving only buckled earth and an almost explosive dust cloud in his wake. Kakashi's Sharingan eye was still able to track him, if not easily, then without too much difficulty, leading the jounin to believe that even without it he would still be able to follow his opponent's movements. Even so, the speed with which the genin was able to move, and that was without chakra augmentation, momentarily stunned the Copy Ninja. And a moment was all Kroqgar needed.

Flipping over in mid-air as he flew towards Kakashi, Kroqgar channeled a fair amount of chakra to his feet, far more than what was needed for the tree-climbing exercise. As he came into contact with the jounin, he simply exploded back the direction he had come, repulsed by the wave of chakra he had unleashed from his feet. Kakashi, however, was much worse off, being caught completely off-guard. He tumbled head over heels backwards, two smoking, boot-shaped holes in the front of his flak jacket. In a flash of brilliance, Kroqgar devised his next move.

As his feet came into contact with the ground, he used chakra to stick to it, preventing himself from sliding backwards. His momentum ensured that he was still bent backwards at the knees, but by tensing the muscles in his legs he was able to slow down his fall enough to slam a hand into the ground beneath him, causing a small depression in the hard earth. In a puff of smoke, however, he was gone. And in his place was Kakashi.

Kroqgar, bent over backwards in the exact same place Kakashi had been not a second ago, quickly rose to his feet to see whether his hastily tested theory was correct. Seeing a silver-haired blur hurtle towards him, he grinned. It turned out that when you used a Substitution Jutsu, both objects retained their momentum. Exploding into a sprint to add power to his blow, Kroqgar brought up his leg and in a perfectly executed kick drove the edge of his foot into Kakashi's lower back as hard as he could. The jounin's mask darkened as he coughed up spit and some small amount of blood. He was folded backwards over Kroqgar's foot for an instant, before the force of the blow transferred and he was once more sent flying, this time into the forest at the edge of the clearing, passing through several trees on the way.

Naruto and Sakura were utterly speechless, mouths agape. This new ninja, this genin, this supposed beginner was thrashing around Kakashi Hatake, The Copy Ninja, like he was a civilian. If either of them knew just how badly Kakashi was taken off-guard when Kroqgar struck, they would have been much less stunned, but as it was it was all they could do to refrain from drooling as Kroqgar settled once more into a ready stance, eyes roving the tree line around him.

Kroqgar himself was similarly marveling at his own ability in a small corner of his mind, but for the most part utterly focused on his surroundings. He was determined to do his best in this test, and he knew he couldn't afford to make a mistake against an opponent like Kakashi. So it was that when the earth several feet in front of him began shifting, his attention immediately snapped to it. In seconds the ground became like liquid, bubbling and shifting. Kroqgar spared barely a second to look around him once more for anything threatening, all senses on alert. The tension was unbearable.

Suddenly, an arm thrust from the bubbling earth, a flesh and blood arm, and began clawing at the still solid ground around it. Kroqgar, in a brief agony of indecision, hesitated as he tried to decide whether to retreat or attack. That hesitation cost him.

In a blur, the earth rose on either side of him in a triangle shape, melting and reforming around each of his wrists, before sinking back down into the earth, and dragging his arms with it. Kroqgar tried to kick at the earthen shackles, attempting to shatter them, but found that his feet had sunk into the ground almost to the tops of his boots. He fought with all his strength against the downward pull, but the chakra-reinforced earth was simply too strong. He was forced to his knees, arms pinned to the ground at his sides, and there was nothing he could do about it. His mind raced as he attempted to think of a way out his situation before the attack in front of him struck. He raised his gaze to the bubbling earth before him, to see what had dragged itself out of the depths, and was momentarily stunned to see a perfectly normal patch of ground in front of him.

A shadow covered him. "Yo."

Looking straight up, Kroqgar saw Kakashi standing over him, gazing down at him in amusement. "How do you like my Earth Style: Executioner's Jutsu?"

The jutsu's name was not very reassuring. "Executioner's...?"

Kakashi laughed at his discomfort. "Your neck is at the perfect height for a killing blow, from a sword or axe or something. This jutsu is perfect for incapacitating someone for a quick, silent kill."

"Ok, fair enough," admitted Kroqgar, nodding somewhat sheepishly. "You got me pretty good. But what was that arm in front of me?"

Kakashi's mirth only increased. He was enjoying this. "Genjutsu can be very distracting. For you."

The jounin's laughter abruptly stopped as he felt a massive arm across his throat and a kunai's point barely touching his neck. Kroqgar, pinned to the ground, suddenly grinned, and with a hasty "Cya!" disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Shadow Clone. Impressive. I didn't even know you could perform that jutsu." He felt more than saw Kroqgar smile behind him.

"Isn't that the whole point of this spar, that you want an opponent you know nothing about? Well, here I am!"

By this point Sakura and Naruto, while still not really knowing what happened in the earlier parts of the fight, had seen enough to know that Kakashi was at Kroqgar's mercy. Though they had known Kakashi longer, you simply had to root for your teammate over your sensei.

Naruto's shouts of encouragement were easily audible. "COME ON KROQGAR, HE'S YOURS NOW! TAKE THAT KAKASHI-SENSEI, WE HAVE A WINNER!"

Kroqgar's smiled widened upon hearing Naruto. "You know Kakashi-sensei, at the risk of sounding arrogant I've got a piece of advice for you."

"Go for it, a good ninja always seeks to better himself."

"Never reveal the secrets of a jutsu to an opponent, even if you think they are dead, or even if it is just in a friendly spar. If it's the latter, wait until afterwards; then you can still use it again."

Kakashi nodded, taking it in, and feeling the cold point of the kunai slide up and down his neck very softly. "Good advice. I've got some for you as well."

"Sure, a good ninja always seeks to better himself," laughed Kroqgar, parroting his teacher's words in a friendly fashion.

"Never assume that an opponent only has one line of defense." The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Kroqgar felt a hand grab his shoulder, and a kunai tip press against his neck.

Looking over his shoulder Kroqgar saw Kakashi standing there, looking relaxed as anything. "In hindsight, I should have seen that one coming."

Kakashi smiled. "Yes, you should have. Do you give up?"

Kroqgar smiled right back. "Nope." Once more, he exploded into smoke, and Kakashi was placed at kunai-point.

"One thing I've always noticed from reading the books about this world," Kroqgar said, making sure to keep Kakashi secure, "is that most ninja of jounin level, and that know the jutsu, have the option of making what, ten shadow clones without it being too strenuous? Yet you only ever seem to make the one when attempting this maneuver. I have no doubt that even though I'm pretty damn focused on you, you'll find a way out of this that won't tax you much at all, but if I was at your level then you'd almost certainly be finished."

"That's a good point," conceded Kakashi, nodding. "I suppose every ninja just tends to only do this once, but it is obvious that you could easily gain an advantage if you performed it multiple times. I'll keep that in mind in the future. But for now..."

Kroqgar tensed, holding Kakashi tightly, every sense on high alert. He still thought Kakashi would escape him, but he wasn't going to make it easy. The Copy Ninja did nothing however; he simply appeared to be standing there. Training Ground Three was utterly silent, every occupant completely focused. A tingle in the back of his head was Kroqgar's only warning. His eyes widened.

In a supreme display of chakra control, Kakashi channeled his chakra to every point on his body in contact with Kroqgar, and with one directed thought, released it all at once. Had Kroqgar been caught by the attack, he would have been blasted backwards, and judging from how much chakra Kakashi expelled flung clear into the forest. Instead, he simply burst into smoke.

Kakashi sighed wearily. "Another clone?"

"Bingo." Kakashi turned to see Kroqgar emerging from the tree line.

"You really enjoy using those don't you?"

"Of course! Who wouldn't? They are so useful and versatile, and to be honest, I just enjoy using them. I think they're cool. "

In the distance, a shout of "So do I!" could be heard from Naruto.

Kroqgar laughed at the blonde's exuberance, before saying, "But don't worry about it, this is the real me."

'Well, I must say, so far the real you has been quite impressive. You've managed to pull over a few on me, and I don't mean to brag but that's not easy to do. Let's see how your Taijutsu is. No tricks, no deception, just straight combat."

"Alright," said Kroqgar, nodding, "Sounds good to me. Ready?"

Kakashi laughed. "Bring it on."

Instead of the dramatic, earth-shattering push-off he had performed at the beginning of their spar, this time Kroqgar sprinted forwards, unguarded, simply attempting to reach Kakashi as quickly as possible. The jounin, prepared this time, tracked him, watching the other come closer and closer, still not preparing any sort of attack. He was mildly unnerved - so far the genin had been full of surprises. He had his guard up, but was unsure of the good it would do him.

When Kroqgar was feet from Kakashi and still had yet to show any sort of form, the older shinobi finally clued on to the general gist of what he was planning, but by then it was too late to do anything about it. Kakashi however still had time to think, "He's almost as unpredictable as Naruto!"

On the final step before he reached Kakashi, Kroqgar dipped low in his stride, and pushed forwards and upwards with all his might. The blunt force behind his attack would have shattered Kakashi's hands had he tried to block, and it was only reflexes honed through decades of practice that saved his life. As Kroqgar's fore head slammed into his own, Kakashi was able to lean back, making the blow lose a lot of its force by striking him on an angle instead of head on. Still, the attack was powerful enough to knock him off his feet, but he responded in kind, planting both his hands on the ground and using the momentum of Kroqgar's own attack to swing his legs up and connect a powerful kick to Kroqgar's chin, lifting the younger shinobi off the ground.

Moving the position of his hands and spinning on the spot, Kakashi was able to change the direction of his swing, and attempted to bring his leg down on Kroqgar's head in an axe kick, but the genin crossed both his forearms above his head, blocking the blow. Still airborne, the force of Kakashi's kick forced Kroqgar to the ground, and he bent his legs as he landed, softening the blow. He grabbed Kakashi's ankle with one hand, and placed his other forearm just above the jounin's knee. Kroqgar's sheer size truly benefited him as he slid out one leg to knock one of Kakashi's hands out from underneath him, before pulling down on the jounin's ankle and pushing upward with his other arm.

As the Copy Ninja saw what was happening, his eye widened and he attempted to twist out of the hold, but Kroqgar's grip was just too strong (he even began to suspect that without chakra the genin might be physically stronger than he was). The only way to avoid having his leg broken was to push off his remaining hand with all his might. He bent slightly at the elbow, already beginning to feel the strain along the back of his leg, before thrusting upwards with all his might. Though he succeeded in preventing a broken leg, there was no way Kakashi was able to avoid the back-breaking collision with the unyielding earth.

Kroqgar, utilizing raw brute strength, gripped tightly onto Kakashi's ankle and began to spin, at first dragging the dazed jounin in a circle around himself, but as he picked up speed flinging him in a wide, aerial spin. The Copy Ninja proved exactly why he was so feared when he bent over into the spin, and was able to reach Kroqgar's hands. By pinching a nerve in the younger shinobi's wrists, he was able to force the other to release him, but he did not release Kroqgar. Gripping the other's momentarily stunned wrist in his hand, Kakashi was able to flip his body like a diver in midair, and bring his feet to the ground. He immediately started spinning, reversing Kroqgar's attack whilst retaining its momentum, and finally released his grip, flinging the younger ninja into a sturdy tree. They connected with a resounding thud.

As Kakashi stood up straight, his eyes narrowed in thought as he regarded the genin rising unsteadily to his feet in the distance. There was no doubt about it, he was strong. Stronger than any of his new teammates, that was for sure, unless they happened to unlock some sort of demonic energy inside of them. Smart as well, resourceful...and he still had no idea just really what this guy was capable of. Or what his moves were. His fighting style so far had been unpredictable, to say the least. "Oh well," thought the jounin, "Time to test his basics."

Kakashi waited until the instant Kroqgar's guard reasserted itself, before he shunshined directly in front of him, an arm's length away. The genin didn't even flinch. In that infinite instant as they stood regarding each other, Kakashi's opinion of the other rose. There was absolutely no way he could have been unsurprised by Kakashi's maneuver, but in the heat of the battle he was able to completely isolate any signs of that surprise, and not allow them to interfere.

Kroqgar glimpsed a black blur heading towards him, the only sign of Kakashi's right punch. As he began moving his arm to block, the disguised, upright triangular ears on his head detected the faintest crunch as Kakashi's left foot raised from the ground. He didn't make the mistake of thinking; there was no time to think, only to move.

He moved his head to the right, tilting his body as he did; just enough to feel the edge of Kakashi's glove scratch the itch on the tip of his nose. At the same time he caught Kakashi's knee is his hands, blocking the jounin's strike to his gut. Were he a bit shorter, Kroqgar would have worried, but his reach allowed him to brace himself against the blow. In an unorthodox movement, he opened his mouth wide and leant back towards Kakashi's arm. The older shinobi's eye widened as he realized just what his opponent intended, and he brought his arm wide to avoid being bitten.

And left his guard wide open. Kroqgar, hands already at the level of Kakashi's midsection, pushed Kakashi's knee down, and used the force of the push to bring his now closed fists into the jounin's stomach. Kakashi, determined to force the genin to use chakra before him, knew he didn't have the strength to block a blow with this kind of force behind it, so instead brought his left hand down and grabbed the combined front of Kroqgar's two fists. By keeping his arm rigid, he was able to move back with the blow, and kicked off with his right foot, bringing it up and around, to strike Kroqgar in the back of the head.

The genin barely dodged the blow, hair ruffling as Kakashi's kick bypassed him. As the other shinobi touched ground, Kroqgar went for a punch to the back of his head, but Kakashi's preternatural awareness showed as he dodged the blow, before reaching up and grasping it. Leaning forwards, and sliding back a leg to kick Kroqgar's balance off, Kakashi threw the genin bodily into the air.

Kroqgar flew some distance, flipping over several times in mid air, and landed perfectly before blasting towards Kakashi. The Copy Ninja did the same. They met with a dull thud.

Sakura and Naruto were understandably gob smacked. This new guy... he was something else! His moves were unique, his style unpredictable, his blows bone shattering and his speed blinding. They each knew the incredible prowess of their sensei, but in the deepest corners of their minds they began to privately doubt that he could win this fight.

Block, dodge, strike, move. The entire existence of Kroqgar and Kakashi narrowed down to these four words as they fought, each seeking to gain an advantage over the other. Though younger and stronger, Kakashi's speed, experience and consummate skill began to show, as he landed a blow here, a blow there. Kroqgar managed to strike Kakashi every now and then, and each of his blows was more fierce than Kakashi's, but steadily the older ninja was wearing him down. Gritting his teeth, he knew he would have to mix things up a bit if he hoped to emerge victorious, or at least not be beaten too badly.

Deciding to go for an old favourite, he sought an opening to use the Substitution Jutsu, and swap places with Kakashi to throw the older shinobi off guard, if only for a second.

"Wait... Wait..." Kroqgar blocked one of Kakashi's strikes, sending the jounin's arm wide. "THERE!" Kroqgar couldn't hold back a grin as he focused his chakra and performed the Substitution Jutsu...

...only to have his chin slam into Kakashi's outstretched palm with all the force of an avalanche. His vision went white. His head bent backward an unnatural amount.

"Substitution Jutsu..." The calm voice cut through the haze. "Essentially a two-way shunshin to swap places with another object, in this case me. Useless against an opponent expecting it."

Even through the roaring in his ears, Kroqgar was able to pick up the sound of Kakashi rushing towards him. In his mind's eye he could see the other's fist pulling back, ready to deliver a finishing blow.

Something surged inside of him. His body moved of its own accord.

Sakura and Naruto, still wincing in sympathetic pain of the blow Kroqgar had been dealt, were stunned to see the larger shinobi suddenly centre in his stance, regaining his balance. The slight glassiness in his eyes revealed that his vision was still clouded by Kakashi's palm strike. He slipped around the stunned jounin's outstretched fist, feet never leaving their position as his upper body turned and bent. As they watched, he brought his open hand towards their sensei's gut, almost as if he intended to grab it. His other arm went wide, and his entire torso spun with the movement, giving it power. Just before he made contact, they were both stunned to see a ball of something appear in Kroqgar's hand. It filled his palm, and glowed a bright golden yellow, almost forcing them to look away.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he as he glimpsed the strange apparation. "It's almost like my Rasengan..." he thought, "But there's something off about it..."

Kakashi barely had time to glance earthward before the orb in his opponent's hand came into contact with his midsection. Several sensations flew through him in a fraction of an instant. First, it was warm. The small sphere actually felt pleasant to the touch. Second, it seemed not entirely solid. As he moved, millimeter by millimeter further forward, the ball's shape warped slightly, flattening out a little against his stomach. Third, it blazed white-hot. He didn't even have time to widen his eye. Fourth, he felt Kroqgar's actual hand come into contact with him, reducing the space between them to zero.

Fifth, the golden sphere exploded.

A massive cloud of dust burst into being, a charred and smoking Kakashi rocketing out of it. Sakura and Naruto, as if in slow motion, were clearly able to see the crater burnt into their sensei's stomach. However, though trained ninja both, neither of them were quick enough to see two black blurs fly into the cloud.

Kakashi crashed into a tree at the far end of the clearing and slid to the ground. Concern for their sensei overrode all else, and both genin ran to him at high speed. Just before they reached him, Tsunade and a masked ANBU, hands clasped, appeared in a burst of smoke in front of them.

Tsunade was not the Hokage for nothing. Even as she sprinted to Kakashi, she was flying through hand seals so fast that (Naruto and Sakura's jaws dropped) they couldn't even tell what seals she was making. And even as she performed that incredible feat, Tsunade had enough presence of mind to yell over her shoulder "Secure the prisoner!"

The comment caused both members of Team 7 to start. Turning, they saw two ANBU supporting an unmoving Kroqgar between them.

...

Whisper flipped, hands feet hands feet, over and over, each time hearing something (presumably a sharp object) embed itself into the ground behind her. She was fast approaching a large standing stone. Retreat was no longer an option.

As the ground rushed to meet her, instead of catching herself on her hands, she let her arms fold beneath her and tucked her head in, going into a roll. By kicking with her still-outstretched legs in the air above her, she was able to turn her roll into a spin on her back, and watched with incredibly focused eyes as a kunai flew between her two legs.

That was the signal to avoid the next one. Planting both her hands on the ground behind her head, she pushed off, and arched her back to bring her feet to the ground. She felt the displacement of the air as yet another kunai flew through the arch her body had created. Just as her feet touched ground and she felt the first vestiges of balance, she heard the whistling of air that presaged another kunai. "Shit, she must have thrown two at once!"

With no options left, Whisper spun once on the spot, before bringing her right arm directly into the path of the incoming projectile. The armour on the outside of her glove served its purpose well, as Whisper swung her protected forearm at the kunai as hard as she could and sent it spinning back to her opponent. A slight tilt of her arm, and Whisper also managed to reflect not just the kunai but the rays of the sun, directly into her opponent's eyes.

Kurenai Yuuhi blinked furiously, the unexpected assault distracting her from the genjutsu she was about to cast. She thought she'd had the genin right where she wanted her, and it was a good thing too; she was long out of kunai, and a fair few of the ones she had thrown had been illusions anyway.

She jumped aside as the reflected kunai flew past her, spinning wildly. She spared a moment to glance at her team, more out of concern than anything else. That kunai was heading right for them, fast. Kiba and Hinata jumped aside, avoiding it by a wide margin, but Shino did not move, didn't seem to breathe as it flew toward him. A black cloud boiled out of his coat, streaming out the collar and sleeves. Kurenai released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as Shino's kikaichu absorbed the kunai and deposited it directly into Shino's outstretched hand.

Kurenai was not a jounin for nothing, and easily leant aside to avoid the surprise strike from behind. Pivoting on her supporting leg, she lashed out with a perfect side kick and struck Whisper directly in the abdomen. As expected, the genin burst into smoke.

Another Whisper seemed to faze into existence before Kurenai, unbuttoned shirt streaming behind her and dust kicking up around her. If there was one thing that the jounin had so far learned about the younger shinobi, it was that the girl was fast!

Before Whisper's shirt even fell back into place, another Whisper appeared to her right. A third to her left. And Kurenai's currently-chakra-enhanced hearing detected a fourth behind her. The brief moment of concern for her team had cost her. Whisper had her thoroughly cornered. The only way out was... "UP!"

She didn't get her guard up in time. The clasped hands of the clone above her slammed into her head, forcing it downward. The power behind the blow made the clone dispel on impact.

Kurenai's face slammed into the raised knee of the clone directly in front of her. Her head snapped back up, her vision swimming, as once more the clone burst out of existence. Her body bent backward slightly, leaving her completely exposed. The clones on either side of her each delivered a punishing blow, directly onto her ribs, sending her backward. Stars appeared before her as a heel slammed into the back of her head.

The smoke from the clones blinded her. She deemed a tactical retreat was necessary, and melted directly into the ground. When the smoke cleared, the only person standing there was Whisper herself, slowly rotating on the spot as she sought Kurenai. The disguised vixen grimaced as her plan backfired; the smoke was supposed to hide her attack, not Kurenai's retreat.

Although what they had just seen was about on par with everything else the members of Team 8 had already witnessed, they were still stunned. "Where did she come from? How did she get there without any of us noticing?" For the first time in a long time, Hinata wished she trained a lot harder. She had run out of chakra for her Byakuugan ten minutes ago.

Whisper's mind whirled over her options, as she still sought Kurenai with all her senses. The Naruto database imprinted in her brain found and eliminated possibilities at the rate of a sprinting Might Guy. "She couldn't have shunshined out, I would've seen her...same with the Substitution Jutsu... She can't have transformed herself into anything here... She didn't jump out... Maybe sh-!!" Whisper's legs tensed infinitesimally, she crouched incredibly slightly.

Not fast enough. Kurenai burst from the ground directly in front of her, and slammed her raised knee into Whisper's jaw. The power of Kurenai's earthen jump propelled her over the stunned genin. She flipped in mid air, and caught herself on her hands as she hooked her feet around Whisper's neck. Using the momentum of her jump, as well as a quick tensing of her gut and legs, Kurenai lifted Whisper and threw her bodily into the air. The genin slid as she landed, her hands and feet digging channels in the earth as she shook her head to clear her vision. The moment she looked up, Kurenai was upon her. Whisper, still dazed, barely raised her arm in time to block.

They fought back and forth across the training ground, each seeking the smallest of holes in their opponents guard. There was no doubt that of the two of them Whisper was the faster, but Kurenai was simply more skilled, her moves crisper and overall better. Whisper was good, but she was getting tired, fatigue beginning to creep into her bones. Her muscles ached slightly from the exertion of keeping up with the older shinobi. Slowly, Kurenai was beginning to overpower her.

Each of Team 8's original genin was stunned in their own way. Shino, stoic as ever, merely expressed his disbelief in the raising of his eyebrows. Even so, at one stage Kiba had glanced at him to comment on the fight, before turning back to continue watching, only to do a massive double take and express his concern for Shino's well being to Hinata.

The Inuzuka himself was shocked into (mostly) silence at the display before him. The shock was doubled because he honestly didn't think his sensei could fight this well. If he had seen Whisper perform her skills by herself, he would have picked her to be the eventual victor.

The genin frowned. For the first time in his life, he was beginning to realize he undervalued his sensei because she was a woman. Or, in his admittedly still childish mind, a girl. He supposed he always thought of girls as being weaker than boys. It annoyed him that he just unconsciously thought that, and as he watched the two skilled ninja fight before him he silently promised himself he would never judge someone based on their gender again. Because it was clear to him that the slight girl they were putting on his team who he was sure he could kick up and down the field with his eyes closed less than an hour ago would absolutely dominate him, Akamaru included. It didn't hurt that she smelled so... familiar.

Thought of the small dog made Kiba cast his eyes to Hinata, and smile warmly for a moment. The small puppy was lying on his back on her lap, limbs splayed, tongue hanging out and eyes closed, fast asleep. The little dog began to growl at a phantom dream cat, before Hinata lowered a hand and started scratching at his belly. The growling stopped immediately as his back leg started going crazy.

The Hyuuga heiress herself wasn't even aware of what she was doing, transfixed as she was by the dance taking place before her. Each of the kunoichi fought so well, melding grace and power into one deadly art. Whisper was fluid, and moved like lightning, seeming to be everywhere at once, but Kurenai seemed to be more solid, making sharp, precise movements that wasted very little energy. Though perhaps not the best fighter, Hinata was certainly no fool and could tell that her sensei was steadily gaining the upper hand, but that Whisper was even able to hold her own this long was amazing.

As she watched her teammate and sensei spar, she felt a small hurt in her chest. Though she hid it well, she was sad because she thought she would never get to that level. Her father's harsh words flashed across her mind, before she shook her head and focused on the fight again. With an all too rare defiant expression, she reactivated her Byakuugan, even though it stung her eyes, and continued watching the fight, ready to jump in and help if anyone got hurt.

Whisper, mirroring Kroqgar's thoughts, realized that she had no hope of winning a prolonged taijutsu battle with a jounin of Kurenai's level, and that a change was in order.

She gritted her teeth in preparation for the blow she was about to receive. Even as fast as she was she knew there was no way she was going to get through Kurenai's guard to stun the other shinobi long enough to try something without taking a blow herself.

Her chance presented itself rather quickly. Kurenai leant in to deliver an elbow strike, which she was able to dodge around, and lean forwards herself. She winced as she felt her sensei's free hand bury itself in her stomach, but knew that the jounin came off worse when she slammed her armoured forehead into Kurenai's. The older kunoichi staggered back a pace.

Whisper immediately jumped backwards, opening up a large distance in an instant. This was all or nothing. She knew she couldn't beat Kurenai through the normal methods, so it was time to pull out the stops. The Ninjutsu she learned instantaneously seconds before the match was about to come in handy.

Flying through hand seals at an impressive rate, Whisper yelled out "Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave Jutsu!" before raising both fists above and behind her head and slamming them down into the ground as hard as she could. A veritable flood roared out of them, rushing towards Kurenai. The jounin blinked in mild surprise at the wall of white foam rushing towards her. Now this was impressive.

Whisper was far from done. As she saw Kurenai sprint around the wall of water, she once more took aim, and started forming hand seals, before yelling out "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" and spitting out a firestorm.

The massive wall of flame hurtled towards an impressed Kurenai. The jounin wasn't worried, at this range she could still dodge it, but that the girl could perform these techniques at all, and at this level...

Even a jounin loses a bit of situational awareness when confronted with two summoned natural disasters. So it was that Kurenai didn't notice Whisper running through an entirely unknown set of hand seals at a much faster pace than before, before muttering "Wind Style: Windwall Jutsu."

Hinata, Kiba and even Shino were on their feet, staring at the elemental carnage taking place before them. They had rarely even seen jutsu of this level performed, but to see them done right in front of them, by someone only a few years older than them? Their new teammate? Though he would never admit it, beneath his collar Shino's jaw had dropped.

Even though her technique was, to the best of her knowledge, entirely new to the Naruto world, Whisper knew without a doubt that it would work perfectly. However even with that knowledge she grinned in satisfaction as she saw the wall of water she had summoned suddenly slam into something and change direction, hurtling towards Kurenai from the side.

Kurenai herself, preoccupied with not being burnt alive, didn't notice the steadily approaching wall of water before it was almost too late. "Should the rushing of that water still be so loud?" she thought to herself. Sparing a quick glance at the incoming wave, she was stunned to see it almost right on top of her. "How?!"

The Genjutsu Mistress didn't know how the genin had done it, but now the Exploding Water Shock Wave Jutsu was right on top of her. A single look revealed that Whisper had not moved, so she couldn't have summoned a second wave. How did this one change direction?

Questions could wait. Channeling chakra to her legs, Kurenai exploded forward as fast as she could, aiming for the steadily closing gap between the fireball and the water wall.

Whisper watched from afar as Kurenai played right into her hands. Though panting slightly from the exertion of using such powerful techniques, the genin prepared herself for more. She smiled in triumph as her two techniques collided, Kurenai barely escaping the initial collision, feeling one sleeve signed and the other dampened. The jounin was about to discover what happens when fire meets water.

Kurenai, still silently wondering how exactly the genin pulled that one off, would later kick herself for her mistake. She should have expected it, but was caught unawares when a massive cloud of steam boiled forwards from directly behind her, quickly encompassing her and effectively blinding her. She was instantly soaked, her hair and clothing weighing her down. Mentally, she applauded Whisper. That was a damn good move.

Whisper prepared to finish the attack. She summoned thirteen shadow clones, and they all began to sprint towards the steam cloud at high speed, save one of them. The thirteenth clone disappeared immediately, a small rock taking its place as the genin thought to herself how much she loved the Substitution Jutsu. She reached into her weapon pouch and drew out a kunai.

Kurenai ran as fast as she could, trying to find the end of this accursed steam, before she heard a slight scraping on the ground somewhere in front of her. Immediately she drew out a kunai and snapped into a defensive stance, not taking any chances this time. Unfortunately she left herself completely open to an attack from the rear.

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu!"

Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. The voice coming from directly behind her surprised her. The name of the jutsu terrified her.

"A Thousand Years of DEATH!"

Kurenai shot forwards as she felt herself attacked in a place no one wants to be attacked. Though they'd kill you if you said anything about it, it was considered the ultimate shame among the Konoha jounin to be struck by this technique. Hands clasped to her backside, the kunai she held not a moment ago lying on the ground long forgotten, she had no defense against the sudden assault from the front. Or at least... she thought it was an assault.

Whisper appeared before her in the steam and in a flash wrapped her arms around Kurenai, holding the jounin's arms behind her. Kurenai tried to shrug the younger kunoichi off, but Whisper had her hands linked behind Kurenai's back, and the chakra current running through them made her grip as unbreakable as Naruto's head.

She was nearer the edge of the steam cloud, and the slight breeze that had pervaded the day was helping visibility, so it was that she saw another Whisper place a hand on the shoulder of the one holding her. And link hands with another behind her. And another. And another.

Kurenai saw that they were forming a long line, still in contact with each other, reaching beyond the steam cloud, pointing towards... what? Something was shimmering in the distance. She narrowed her eyes and leaned forwards, trying to get a glimpse of what it was. A sudden gust of wind blew just enough steam away.

Standing stock still, her arm held high and back, was Whisper. In her grip was a kunai, wreathed in brightly glowing lightning. The electricity surged along the blade, glowing even in the bright morning sunlight, and highlighting Whisper's features in deep shadow, making her seem terrifying.

Whisper, nearly blinded by the light the kunai was giving off, screamed at the top of her lungs, "LIGHTNING STYLE: CHAIN LIGHTNING!!" before leaning forwards and throwing the kunai as hard as she could, augmenting her throw with chakra. The air sizzled as the lightning kunai sliced through it, flying towards its target at an incredible rate. By the time she figured it out, Kurenai's face barely had time to register shock.

The kunai embedded itself into the stomach of the first clone, transferring the lightning to it. The electricity surged through the clone, lightning it up like a torch for a moment before moving on to the next as the clone popped out of existence. Down the line it went, each clone burning brightly for a brief moment before transferring the power to the next and dispelling.

When the current reached Kurenai, she let out a brief cry of pain as the lightning momentarily illuminated her, before dropping to her hands and knees as the clone holding her disappeared. She was panting, heavily. It had taken a good chunk of her chakra to protect herself from the worst of the lightning; at the moment standing was a bit beyond her.

That the this girl she had just met, even with her incredible background, had been able to pull off something of that power, that effectiveness, that... that sneakiness was nothing short of amazing. Kurenai was comfortable enough to admit to herself that at the moment she was completely incapacitated. She had no defense as the thirteenth clone came out of nowhere to deliver a punishing kick to her ribs, sending her some distance and dispelling itself in the process.

Hinata, Kiba and Shino went to run to her, concern for their sensei evident in every line of their bodies, but a gesture and a command from Kurenai stopped them in their tracks.

"Wait!" The jounin shakily rose to her legs. She shook her head, dusted herself off and cracked a few of her joints, before looking at Whisper appraisingly. "I'm very impressed. I didn't expect anywhere near that level of skill." The sentiment easily came through in the jounin's voice, her words warm and her expression kind.

Whisper smiled at the praise, happy that she was able to so impress the woman she had just met, yet knew so much about.

"But..." Kurenai laughed softly for a moment, before coughing and clutching her ribs. "Oof, I shouldn't laugh, that was a good kick. But my guess is that you used up almost all your chakra to perform that last maneuver."

As if on cue, Whisper's legs shook beneath her. She grinned sheepishly. She could barely stand.

"This is where we really find out what you can do, when you're against the ropes and under pressure. Some people crumble. Some rise to the occasion." Kurenai got into her stance and readied herself for combat. "Let's see which type you are."

Whisper, staggering slightly, lowered herself back into her stance and got ready to go down fighting. The wind whistled through the flooded, singed and scorched field, as both combatants stood perfectly still, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

So focused was Whisper that when an ANBU appeared in a poof of smoke right next to Kurenai she was so surprised she fell over. Glowing like the sun, she rubbed at the back of her head and raised her gaze to her sensei and the ANBU. The masked ninja didn't say a word, merely handing Kurenai a scroll and nodding to her before disappearing once more.

Curious, Kiba, Shino and Hinata ran over. "What's up sensei?" inquired Kiba, getting an affirmative yip from the small puppy once more perched on his head.

The Genjutsu Mistress's unusual red eyes scanned the scroll, before looking down at Whisper and smiling. "Looks like we are going to have to finish this another time Whisper, the Hokage wants to see you. It's about Kroqgar."

Whisper's face went blank. None of them could tell what she was thinking. It grew uncomfortably quiet.

"Ummm... Kurenai-sensei?"

"Yes Whisper?"

"...Can you help me up?"

...

Well, here's Chapter 7! We are slowly getting through it, and DING DING! Take THAT 50k words! New personal best!

Well, as always, I have a couple things to say. Firstly: even though this is now a fully fledged chapter, their powers will probably shift around a little. It felt right when I was writing it, but they seem a bit off now, so I'll give it another look, and when they get in a real combat situation, we'll see how it pans out. Also, the Windwall Jutsu! That will be explained next chapter, as will a few other bits and pieces.

Speaking of the next chapter, I suppose this is the first cliffhanger of the series isn't it? Geez, it's been a while, I barely recognised it. Well, hopefully this makes a couple more of you stop and give me a review, if only to hurry me along!

And speaking of once more, reviews! I need to get your opinions, guys! I don't know how I'm doing or what I can change without them, and I could just stop if I don't get enough. Do you want that? Huh? Do ya? Thought so. In all seriousness, please, I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this story, but if you can spare just a couple of minutes at the end, if only for a thumbs up and a "good job" or a thumbs down and a "get fucked", you have no idea how much that would help.

As always, until next time,

~Kroqgar