"Tch. Old man is not exactly taking it easy, is he?"
Azula didn't even bother finishing the thought before she was on her feet again.
Lying down? He would've turned her into a charcoal sketch the second her back touched the floor.
Her Lightning Release Chakra Mode wasn't going to win any contests against the Raikage's flashy aura, sure. But she was also still in one piece, breathing, and very much well.
The moment she stood, he was already barreling toward her like a bull on steroids.
Alright, warm-up's over. Time to get scientific.
She'd thought about something interesting about his whole electric mode. It made her remind her who she truly was.
Before she was a ninja, she was a bender. And not just any bender, she was the kind of prodigy that made other prodigies cry into their pillows at night.
Lightning Redirection was basically baby stuff. You catch the lightning, you let it flow through you like you're hosting a very aggressive houseguest, and then you show it the door, preferably in someone else's direction.
And the beautiful part was the technique didn't care if the lightning came from some angsty firebender, natural lightning or probably a rage-filled Kage with a superiority complex; game was game.
So here was her working theory: touch the Raikage's lightning, let his it flow through her like she's a human extension cord, and see how it will work, if it can disturb his Chakra Mode.
In the worst case? Azula would switch to the Fire Release Chakra Mode, heal herself and annoy him from the sky.
The Raikage clearly couldn't read her mind and he charged to press his advantage.
And then Azula did something that made every Kumo-nin in the vicinity question their career choices.
Instead of dodging, which she'd been doing all fight because honestly, it's polite to let the elderly tire themselves out first, she planted her feet.
Her Sharingan spun so hard it actually stung, with a little blood trickling from her eye.
New experience. She'd add it to the list.
Her left hand came up, palm open, fingers slightly curled. To the watching shinobi, it probably looked like she was trying to catch a cannonball with a butterfly net.
His fist connected with her palm.
And then she glitched reality.
Not literally, though the sound that followed could've fooled anyone. The impact didn't send her flying or crack her bones.
Instead, her arm gave, folding with the kind of practiced grace that made master calligraphers look like toddlers with crayons.
Instead of blocking the force, she welcomed it. Her body became a circuit, not a wall. His lightning surged into her—
And found an exit.
Her right hand swept up in an elegant arc, like she was brushing aside a curtain or waving goodbye to someone's dignity. A torrent of blue electricity—his electricity, mixed with the crackling remains of his chakra mode—erupted from her palm.
Okay, she didn't have the time to aim it at him, but around him? Absolutely.
The blast hit the stone floor like an angry god dropping a hammer. The CRACK split the air, sent Kumo-nin stumbling backward clutching their ears, and carved a crater big enough to host a small picnic a few meters from the Raikage's dumbfounded face.
Azula wanted to take advantage and attack him when he was dazed, but as a Kage, he reached a point where he could even fight unconsciously, let alone when he was awake.
His instinct took over, and he defended himself from the instantly formed Rasengan that Azula launched on him.
After defending, he jumped back, retreating for the first time because he had a question.
Azula didn't follow him, taking the time to analyze what had happened while watching his face cycle through confusion, realization, and the particular shade of purple men get when their entire understanding of physics gets mugged in an alley.
Excellent, it's time to mess up with his mind. She flashed that smile that meant someone was about to wish they'd never learned to speak.
"What's wrong, Raikage?" Her voice dripped with the kind of syrup they use to coat poison. "Don't tell me the big strong Kage is having an existential crisis because a girl not even half his age reverse-engineered his signature technique in the time it takes to enjoy a good tea?"
A's eye twitched, which she only enjoyed.
"I mean, they call you 'The Lightning Axe,' right?" She tilted her head, all mock curiosity. "Very intimidating title, just a shame about the whole... swings a dull blade thing, though."
The Kumo-nin around them shifted uncomfortably. Nobody talked or breathed at the Raikage like this.
"All that power. All that speed. And you're just..." she made a gesture with her hand, vague and dismissive, "... A one-trick pony who can't even house-train his own electricity."
"But I get it. When you're used to bulldozing through walls and enemies, you never really learn the finer points of the game, do you? Let me give you some advice. Free of charge, because I'm generous like that."
Her eyes flashed red with her Sharingan.
"Raw power without control isn't strength; that's a tantrum. And you, Raikage..." she paused for everyone to get it, "...are throwing a spectacular one right now."
A's fists clenched so hard his knuckles went white. The ground beneath his feet spiderwebbed with cracks.
"You..." His voice came out rough, like he'd been swallowing gravel. "You arrogant little brat."
Inside his head, chaos reigned. I knew the Uchiha were the most annoying bloodline to deal with, but how do they produce someone this insufferable?
But he couldn't punch her right now. He couldn't even frown too hard, because thirty feet away, half his village was watching.
The Raikage doesn't get to lose his composure so openly. The moment he let her get under his skin, the moment he played her game, he'd look like exactly what she accused him of being: a child throwing sparks because someone broke his toy.
Since taking office, A had built his legend on one simple truth: when problems appeared in the ninja world, he appeared too.
He isn't anything like the other Kage, waiting for reports or sending subordinates. The Strongest Spear went where the fighting was, and people believed that nobody could take a full hit from him and stay standing.
And then this girl child had not only taken his hit, but caught it, played with it, and thrown it back like yesterday's garbage.
Now she was insulting him.
And he had to stand here and take it, because the moment he retaliated emotionally, he validated everything she said.
On the inside, A was a supernova trying to be patient.
On the outside, he snorted. The sound carried across the training ground like thunder.
"Hmph." He straightened, rolling his shoulders with deliberate casualness. "You think I don't see what you did?"
"It's a clever trick. Miracle, even, I'll give you that much. Absorbing my lightning, redirecting it, something probably no one in the ninja world can do apart from you. But here's the thing about miracles, girl."
He raised one massive hand, and lightning crackled between his fingers. "You redirected one attack from one direction. What happens when I hit you from everywhere at once? What happens when lightning comes at you from angles you can't see, from strikes you can't predict?"
The Kumo-nin behind him stirred with hope flickering back into their eyes.
Yes, how could defending against the Raikage be so easy? If so, why didn't she do it since the beginning?
Interesting, it seems not one who can become a Kage is a fool. She thought, admiring how he analyzed what he did, but then she remembered their somewhat questionable decision, and remembered a certain Hokage. Well, it shouldn't be too big of a compliment, right?
(END OF THE CHAPTER)
Bruh, the network is so bad the past few days I could literally do nothing, sorry