Spear & Shield

Spear and Shield
Chapter 9

By three PM, and the entire training area had been leveled.

The air buzzed with chakra. Gai’s impressive brow shone with sweat, but he was no worse for wear. 

Yasu was in similar straits, fine by all means except mentally. 

‘He won’t stop!’ her brain screamed in frustration, ‘He just won’t stop! No one’s ever lasted this long before!’

At the very least, Gai should be tired. Hours crawled by and the battle remained just as heated as when it began. He should have realized what a massive waste of time this was and gone home. 

But his resolve to defeat her remained through every hit. He continued the onslaught, showing no signs of fatigue or even slowing down! 

Yasu's one and only talent had finally met its match. She finally found someone who could outlast her in battle. And he ran around in a green jumpsuit.

“Try it again!” he shouted across the gravely field they created, “Channel the chakra into your backfoot when you launch the attack!”

Her fists clenched by her sides, “We’re not training. Stop giving me tips!”

It had been hours. He doled out hits that should have broken bones, yet she took them all in stride. When he managed to land a direct hit, she took little to no damage. The worst he was able to do was knock her off-balance or change her line of direction. It was like beating on a training dummy; like no matter how many times he hit, Yasu remained standing. Yet she was never able to fight back with formidable force. It was perplexing… 

He hadn’t been exaggerating when he said her evasion and dodging had improved. She was still far from where he wanted her to be. They would do speed drills, he decided. But first, he had to defeat her.

Meanwhile, Yasu was panicking. He's been dishing out powerful blows for hours and showed no signs of slowing down. A normal person would have given in by now. He should be out of energy, strained, and low on chakra reserves.

He had barely worked up a sweat.

“I must say, Yasu-chan… Your endurance surprises me,” he called across the field as they circled one another. The first bit of sweat trickled down the side of his face. It had been a while since someone besides Kakashi had posed this much of a challenge for him. He had never fought someone who matched him quite like this. It was… enthralling. 

By all means, Yasu looked like she had taken a licking. Her hair was a frayed mess. Leaves, twigs, and dirt stuck to her like a second layer of skin. She bore a few scrapes, and only one bad bruise on her right arm, but was no worse for wear.  No matter what attack he used, she was able to absorb every hit as though it didn't even register. 

There was something strange about how she fought, and he wanted to figure out her secret.

Her own hits were paltry at best, especially against him. He could see her giving a greenhorn genin a run for their money, but she could never actually defeat the great Maito Gai.

And yet there she was, getting right back up after each hit he doled out. He had knocked her six ways to Sunday already, but she did not waver. 

Gai truly believed he had finally met his match in endurance.

He had already opened the Third Gate, barely managing to ignore the sharp strain of chakra in his system. His heart beat fast and hard, his brain flooded with a mix of adrenaline, frustration, and admiration. 

It was a nostalgic sort of feeling he didn’t want to soon forget.

But he still wanted to win. And seeing as Yasu wasn’t showing the same signs of exhaustion he was… Well, he’d have to use a last resort.

Yasu watched her opponent keenly, breath hitching as he closed his eyes and focused his energy. He had been using speed to his advantage, flying into her blind spots before she would have a chance to react. He was fighting dirty, landing far more blows than necessary. Her extremities were swollen and red, joints sore and over-exerted. She wanted to go home and take a nap, but knew that was not an option until Maito Gai admitted defeat.

They both knew concession was not an option. 

Yasu continued to stand firm. Her eyes shone with determination. A stark willpower only found in a Konoha shinobi. She was ferocious. 

Something stirred deep in Gai's gut. 

He wanted more of this. He could do this forever. He was under the spell of the challenge. Could he even hurt her? He's barely left a bruise. Gai had managed to put past opponents in the hospital with a single hit. He's ended fights against much stronger enemies in minutes, where Yasu was hours into it already.

He couldn't let her walk away from this. She had too much potential.

Gai took a deep breath through his nose.

Yasu stared, wide-eyed and waiting with baited breath for Gai's next move.

“REVERSE LOTUS!”

She never stood a chance.

Hits came from all angles, so fast that she felt them all as one consuming blow. Her feet gradually left the ground, causing her stomach to drop and all the air to leave her lungs as he pummeled her like a ragdoll.

Her chakra thrashed through her system like an earthquake, rumbling and fracturing in every direction, trying to absorb the many strikes. But it was too much, too fast, and she was spread too thin. She was completely at his mercy. 

Her defense technique was failing. The ace up her sleeve folded and she was done for.

The final blow got her right in the solar plexus. The last thing she remembered before passing out was the horrified look on his beet-red face.