***Daiken's POV
I didn't have time to think.
The moment I felt that chakra signature closing in, I moved. My legs pushed off the ground on instinct, closing the gap between me and the Badger. He must have sensed me too, because he burst from cover like a thunderclap, blade already drawn, lightning flickering along its edge.
Figures. He's the fast one.
No room for clever tricks. Not this time. If the Mole caught up before I finished this, my odds of survival would drop to almost nothing. No backup. No miracles. Just a torn-up battlefield and one half-dead war dog trying to outlast his kill order.
So I made the only choice I had left.
I went for the kill.
We clashed mid-air. His blade came down, and my kunai flashed up to meet it. Lightning cracked against the metal, jolting pain through my wrist and slicing my kunai in half. But I didn't flinch. I twisted, shoved his arm aside, and drove my knee into his ribs.
He grunted. Good.
Fast, but not a taijutsu specialist.
Once we touched the ground I followed through with a sweeping kick, forcing him back. He flickered low, trying to reposition, but I stayed on him. My hand slammed into the dirt as I channeled just enough chakra to keep it controlled without wasting more than I could afford.
"Earth Style: Earthen Spike Barrage."
Thin stone pillars shot up around him. Short, sharp, fast. Not meant to kill, just enough to trap him and stop any hand signs. I kept the pressure tight.
It worked. He was boxed into a narrow path, and I was already there, waiting.
He spotted me and moved again. He was fast, and his blade was now fully charged with lightning. I ducked under the strike, let it pass over my head, then I slammed a fist into his gut and followed with an elbow under his chin and a kick to the abdomen, sending him flying across the clearing.
"Stay down," I muttered, already stepping in with a kunai ready to finish it.
Blood dripped from beneath his mask. I was already close. Maybe he could dodge, but not before I landed a solid hit. He hadn't expected me to ramp up the pace like this. That gave me this real shot to end it.
A few meters behind the Badger, the Mole flickered in, hands already blurring through a final hand seal.
"Water Style: Water Fang Bullet."
The ground between me and the Badger rippled with sudden moisture. In the next breath, water surged upward in a violent spiral, forming a series of tightly packed, rotating drills made of pressurized liquid. The fangs burst from the ground like summoned beasts, each one spinning fast enough to carve through stone. They shot forward with deadly precision, tearing through the air in a tight barrage, each jet whistling with razor-sharp force.
This jutsu didn't just hit. It drilled in and shredded whatever stood still. Sharp, efficient, and relentless. The kind of technique meant to end a fight in a flash of water and blood. And I knew it well.
High pressure. Tight chakra control. Lethal if it landed, especially when aimed at joints or weak spots. One of the better Water Style techniques for hunting someone through cover. He was trying to force me out or break through.
Water was fast. But earth was solid.
I slammed my palm down.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall."
The ground buckled, then rose in a thick slab of hardened earth between us. The water drills hit less than a second later, slamming into the wall with sharp cracks and violent bursts of spray. It held. Barely. Cracks spread across it like spiderwebs, but it stayed standing.
"Cute trick," I muttered. "But I've seen worse."
Before I could catch my breath, I felt it.
Another chakra signature spiked. The wall hadn't even finished cracking when it happened.
The Mole had softened my defense, and now the Badger was aiming straight. He used my own wall as cover.
"Lightning Release: Arc Needle Flash."
The bolt shot out from just beside the Mole, tearing through my already weakening mud wall like a spear. Thin, sharp, and fast. It came at me with brutal speed, giving me barely a moment to react.
I twisted to dodge, but the jutsu was too quick and I didn't have enough time.
The lightning struck low, clipping my hip. Pain exploded through my side as chakra burned across my nerves, locking up the muscles on my left.
The lightning strike hurled me through the air. I crashed into a nearby bunker, smashing through the weakened concrete and skidding across the floor. Dust billowed around me as I finally came to a stop. Pain shot through every nerve, and I groaned in agony, wishing I had even a moment to catch my breath.
But they weren't going to give me a moment to recover.
They would keep coming until I was dead. But that was fine by me. I could use their eagerness against them, especially since their injuries and exhaustion had to be catching up.
I coughed, blood splattering my palm, and forced myself to steady my breathing. My body screamed in protest, battered and broken, but I was still on my feet.
One last trick. One final play.
The Mole and the Badger came through the broken entrance, moving slow and stiff. Every step showed the damage I'd done.
I stumbled backward, exaggerating my weakness. In the next heartbeat, I formed the fastest hand signs of my life and slammed my palm down onto the cracked stone floor.
"Earth Style: Sealing Dome."
The ground shook, stone slabs bursting upward around the bunker. The ceiling cracked loudly before sealing shut, chunks of rock slamming together heavily. Dust and dirt fell from above as the bunker trembled beneath the strain. For a brief moment, it felt like I had buried the entire world.
No way out. No backup coming. No mercy.
Gathering the last burst of chakra I had left, I quickly formed more hand signs maintaining the same speed.
"Fire Style: Ash Scorch Wave."
Chakra surged from me, flooding the sealed bunker with fine grey ash. It spread over every surface, coating the walls and floor in a thin layer that glowed faintly like dying embers. Even the air shimmered with a dull orange haze, the suspended particles pulsing with unstable heat. The faint glow came from my chakra holding the ash at the edge of combustion, just stable enough to keep it from igniting on its own. My lungs burned as I breathed in the sharp grit, but I forced myself to stay steady.
Badger froze mid-sign. Mole cursed quietly. They finally understood.
"I wouldn't move if I were you," I rasped. "One wrong spark, and we all die."
Badger's fingers twitched uncertainly.
"I'm serious," I growled softly. "I'll ignite it myself before I let you kill me."
They hesitated, and that was all I needed.
"Damn it," Mole muttered. "No lightning." He said to the badger before continuing "How is he still standing, still using jutsu? He's a monster… but he's a badly injured one. Let's finish him with taijutsu."
As Mole moved forward, Badger was already forming hand signs for a Wind Jutsu, trying to shift tactics. I didn't give him the chance.
I surged forward, boots scraping harshly against the stone floor. Before he could react, my elbow slammed into the Mole's throat. He was too slow to defend, never expecting I still had that speed in me. He stumbled back, choking and gasping for air.
Badger reacted instantly, cutting off his hand signs in one smooth motion. He dropped low, dodging my flying fist, and swept my legs out from under me. I crashed down hard, but rolled with it and kicked out as he stepped in. My boot caught his knee, making him stumble. I used that opening, surged up, and slammed my elbow into his ribs, then grabbed his mask before he could recover.
"You two thought I was just some tired old war dog?" I snarled, gripping his mask tighter. "Too bad you picked a wild one."
The Mole tried to strike from behind, but I twisted at the last second. He crashed into me instead, and the force sent both of us slamming into Badger. All three of us hit the dirt hard, fists and elbows flying as ash filled the air around us. No jutsu. No chakra tricks. Just pain and raw willpower. And when it came to that, I was the better fighter, and they were under pressure, locked in a fight for their lives inside the death trap I had built with my own hands.
I twisted as I pushed up from the ground, using the momentum to swing a heavy punch toward the Mole's head. He was still down, dazed and slow to react. But just before it landed, Badger cut in with a sharp kick, knocking my arm aside. Pain shot through my forearm, but I didn't stop. I spun with the force of the block and brought my leg around hard, slamming it into Badger's ribs. He crumpled with a choking cough, dropping to the floor.
Without missing a beat, I stomped down hard toward the Mole's chest just as his hands started weaving seals.
"Water Release: Binding Current Snare."
Smart and fast. He used a stripped-down version of the jutsu, just enough to trap me with an element that wouldn't ignite the ash. A whirlpool surged, binding my legs tightly. I struggled fiercely, feeling Mole pour every bit of chakra he had into holding me down. His hands were locked in the sign, knuckles white, so he could keep the jutsu stable and contain my strength. He knew he needed every ounce of control to keep me pinned.
I realized what was happening. He didn't need to defeat me himself. He only had to stall.
The next instant, danger shot through my senses. I shifted my body with every bit of strength I had left, but Badger's blade still drove into my back, punching through my chest just above my heart, missing it by a hair. His eyes widened in shock, then narrowed as he shoved his weight behind the sword, trying to force it down and finish the job. My bloody hands shot up and clamped around the steel where it jutted out of my chest. I held on with everything I had, gritting my teeth as I fought to keep him from pushing it down.
For a brief, painful moment, time stopped.
I remembered my students, the way their eyes shone with potential, their stubborn determination through every hardship. We put so much pressure on them, yet they always rose to the challenge, becoming the strongest class the Academy had ever seen. Especially Noa, whose potential might one day match that of the Fourth Hokage. I used to dream of bragging to my old comrades about teaching someone who became Hokage, laughing as they bought me drink after drink. I imagined raising a glass to his success with pride. A small smile crept across my face. I was grateful to have taught such remarkable kids.
Memories of my aging, diminishing yet cheerful clan filled me next, even in this terrible moment.
However, it all turned to regret. I regretted that I would never see them again. That I'd never share another quiet moment with them, never laugh or drink with my old friends while remembering the ones we lost. I wouldn't get to watch my students grow into the legendary shinobi they were meant to become.
And then a deeper sadness came, heavier than my injuries. I couldn't protect Konoha anymore. My greatest regret was that I wouldn't be there when the village needed me most. Would they forgive me? Would they understand why I had made this choice?
"I'm sorry," I whispered softly, to all those I cared about, praying they'd forgive me.
Time rushed forward again.
And with all that I had left, I slammed my forehead protector down onto Badger's blade, steel grinding against steel. Sparks burst through the darkness.
"No!" they shouted together.
But it was too late.
The ash ignited instantly.
A massive explosion tore through the bunker. Fire consumed everything, shattering stone walls into blazing rubble. The reinforced ceiling disintegrated, blasting upward through the ground above, opening the earth like a volcano. The shockwave flattened trees, scattering birds and wildlife in panic. Dirt, smoke, and burning embers filled the air. Heat roared outward, igniting bushes and dry grass around the crater instantly.
For a moment, the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then came silence.
Where the bunker had been was now a smoking, blackened crater. Flames crackled softly around the edges, smoke drifting into the sky.
Three shinobi had entered.
None walked out.
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A/N: That concludes my first ever high-level fight. First time writing one, so now that it's wrapped up I would really appreciate hearing your opinions. They'd be nice to read during my day off.