Naruto's response was a textbook example of what not to do, instantly drawing Kanon's ire. At this moment, she didn't need Naruto to save her at all. Why did this guy always insist on trying to drag her back into that abyss?!
Kanon could no longer endure Naruto's naivety. She raised her Kusanagi Sword and delivered a sudden, blinding strike with the back of the blade. In that heartbeat, Naruto leapt high, narrowly evading the blow.
As the blade swung, Chiyo and Kakashi lunged from both sides. The battle unfolded in a flash.
"Chidori Current!"
A massive discharge of lightning instantly blasted everyone in the vicinity backward. Following through, Kanon slashed toward Kakashi. The strike, a concentrated burst of blue lightning, sent Kakashi flying in an instant.
Boom!
A terrifying explosion rocked the forest, but the Kakashi sent flying was merely a clone. The real Kakashi erupted from the earth, thrusting upward toward Kanon's chin.
Kanon's reactions were peerless; she brought her Kusanagi Sword up vertically to parry. Kakashi's kunai collided with the blade, sparks showering the air, a testament to the blistering pace of their exchange.
However, Kanon's taijutsu had long since reached a state of mastery. Utilizing Kakashi's own hand as leverage, she wove signs for a Great Fireball Technique and leaped backward.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A colossal sphere of flame, resembling a fallen meteor, roared toward the four of them.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!" Kakashi slammed his palms down. A stone wall adorned with sculpted canine heads rose, shielding them from the massive inferno.
But the Mud Wall was already crumbling. As expected, Kanon struck. Lightning began to gather in her slender palm.
"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
Crack!
The earthen wall shattered instantly. Hindered by the debris, Kakashi's Sharingan only barely caught the trajectory of the spear, but his body couldn't react in time.
The Chidori Sharp Spear pierced through Kakashi's chest, driving deep into his body. The excruciating pain caused cold sweat to pour down his face. He had been careless, he hadn't expected Kanon to be so intimately familiar with high-level combat. The terrifying electrical current left his body paralyzed.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out. After a moment of internal struggle, she charged toward the fray.
"Stay back!!!" Kakashi shouted, but it was too late.
With a flick of her hand, Kanon retracted the Chidori Sharp Spear and spun in mid-air. As Sakura rushed in, Kanon drove her Kusanagi Sword half an inch into the ground to anchor herself, then swung her slender leg directly at Sakura's face.
Thud!
The speed was overwhelming. Sakura took the full force of the heavy blow to her face; her vision spun as she was sent tumbling, snapping a large tree upon impact.
"Sakura!" Kakashi roared, but his limbs were still locked in paralysis.
Now, only Chiyo and Naruto remained standing.
"An Uchiha?" Chiyo's expression turned grim.
"Old lady, I have no desire to strike the elderly. Please, step aside," Kanon murmured.
"Kanon! Just what did you go through to become like this?! Why join the Akatsuki?" Naruto watched Kakashi and Sakura lie incapacitated, his expression twisting into one of agony.
A state similar to his battle with Sasuke began to surface. Naruto's blue eyes were gradually replaced by red, slitted pupils. Behind him, a single tail of crimson chakra flickered into existence.
Seeing Naruto enter this state, Kanon's expression faltered for a moment before turning ice-cold. She flickered in front of Naruto in a single bound, her three-tomoe Sharingan flashing as she met his gaze.
"Kanon! What are you doing?!" Kakashi gritted his teeth, struggling to stand.
Inside Naruto's inner world, he lay before the massive cage.
"Heh heh heh... this is a golden opportunity, Naruto."
"Tear off the seal completely. Do that, and I will entrust all my power to you."
"I'll help you bring that girl back."
Hearing the Nine-Tails' words, Naruto lunged to his feet. "Shut up and disappear!"
"Roar... you think you can make me dis—" The Nine-Tails suddenly froze.
Behind Naruto, a delicate and beautiful face wearing a fox mask emerged. Kanon had actually entered Naruto's mental landscape!
"You are..."
"So, you're the one who has been protecting Naruto," Kanon said softly.
"Kanon!" Naruto turned around, shocked to see her standing beside him in his own subconscious.
"I see. So it's the Uchiha girl. I've heard Naruto mention you often."
"But me protecting him? Uchiha brat, don't make me laugh." The Nine-Tails' tone was laced with irritation and disdain.
"Regardless of what you say, I'm grateful to you for protecting Naruto in his moments of crisis," Kanon smiled, her three-tomoe Sharingan spinning slowly.
"You've certainly grown, haven't you?"
Naruto remained stunned. This was his inner world, after all. "How can you...?"
"It's natural for my Sharingan to see the Tailed Beast within you, Naruto. Perhaps you've been looking at this the wrong way."
"What do you mean?"
"You aren't necessarily enemies. You may have many things you wish to protect, but the one who has always protected you... is him."
Kanon murmured the words with a hint of melancholy. Since she was a child, she had relied solely on her own efforts to reach her current heights. She had no one to lean on. If she didn't work hard, she simply wouldn't survive. Looking at him now, she felt a pang of envy toward Naruto. At the very least, he had been safe in Konoha, constantly finding new people to bond with.
"To be able to see me within Naruto... that Sharingan of yours truly is the power of a cursed clan," the Nine-Tails laughed.
"It seems this isn't the first time you've faced the Sharingan," Kanon whispered. "So, you are the Nine-Tails."
"That visual prowess... and that chakra, as ominous as the hatred hidden within light and warmth... you remind me of Madara Uchiha. Yet, you are different. You are far more complex than he was."
"Thank you for the analysis, but please, disappear for a while."
"I couldn't care less about someone who's already dead!" Kanon clenched her hand, and the Nine-Tails' chakra was instantly suppressed.
"To think that at only fifteen, you can already suppress my power, Kanon Uchiha."
"Perhaps this is the last time we'll meet. I'll tell you one thing: do not kill Naruto."
"Or you will regret it."
Returning to reality, though much time had passed in the inner world, only five seconds had elapsed in the physical realm.
A Lightning Blade streaked through the air, forcing a break in the connection between Kanon and Naruto. Kanon leaped back, returning to her original position.
Just moments ago, she had placed a portion of her chakra within Naruto's subconscious. Now, her expression was calm. She looked at the recovered Sakura and Kakashi, her gaze turning cold once more.
However, Chiyo stepped to the front.
"It has been a long time since I've fought an Uchiha," she said, her expression steady. "But there is no need for alarm."
"There are several tactics one can use against those eyes."
Naruto asked hurriedly, "What do we do?"
"One-on-one, you must flee. Two-on-one, take them from behind."
"Does the old lady truly wish to fight me?" Kanon asked curiously.
"Don't let my age fool you, little girl. You might find yourself at a disadvantage."
"I certainly won't be careless."
As Kanon spoke, her three-tomoe Sharingan began to revolve slowly.
————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]