Arc XII Chapter 30

    XII

    ━━━━━━┓???┏━━━━━━

    Arc XII Chapter 30

    ━━━━━━┛???┗━━━━━━

    Confused and confuzzled, Tobi turned around, unaware of the awaiting danger. Tobi tilted his head. “Hmm, what is ... this ... Wuah!!!! Awww!!! Waahhh!!!” Tobi dived into safety, wailing and flailing, barely able to dodge in the nick of time before being crushed alive by a rolling boulder of human flesh. It was a trademark Akimichi clan technique.

    The Akimichi boy had increased his size and weight, turning his entire body into a living weapon. Much to Tobi’s relief, Choji missed, shooting right past him before taking a sharp turn. The meat boulder returned. The Akimichi boy went for a second attempt, his determination evident.

    “Phew!” Tobi sounded relieved, brushing his invisible sweat from his nonexistent forehead. “This was close! Tobi was almost a goner ... Huh?”

    “Awww!!!” With a startled yelp, Tobi leapt into action, narrowly dodging the Akimichi’s second attack. Tumbling midair in an overly dramatic fashion, he landed on his feet only to immediately face her. His mask locked onto her.

    “Asami-senpai! What’re you doing?! They’re ganging up on poor, innocent Tobi!” Tobi wailed, his voice in equal parts incredulous and accusatory. “Aren’t you supposed to watch Tobi’s back?”

    “I am.” Unbothered, Asami took a slow sip of her tea, her every movement measured and deliberate. Her lips curved into a faint, amused smile. “In theory.”

    Tobi threw his hands in the air, groaning in protest. “In theory?! What’s that supposed to mean? Tobi is risking life and limb, and you’re just sitting there ... sipping tea?! Some senpai you are!”

    “...” Asami remained entirely unimpressed, slowly raising her cup again, armed with an encouraging smile. “And yet you seem to be doing fine~. Even without me~.”

    “... ... ...” Tobi’s muscles tensed up, his instincts kicking in. His body moved in an instant, retreating to gain distance. The attack had been subtle, but not subtle enough to escape his attention.

    “...” Asami smirked over the rim of her cup. So he had noticed after all. The shadow was creeping towards him, hiding amidst rocks and the cave’s dim light, but Tobi had spotted the approaching danger. Good for him. The consequences of not having done so would have been rather ... unpleasant.

    “Eeeek!” Tobi shrieked as the shadow pursued him, darting towards him like a serpent. He scrambled, twisted, narrowly managing to avoid the shadow’s grasp.

    “Go, get him, Shikamaru!” Ino cheered him on from the sidelines. “Pin him down! I need to get a lock on him”

    “Tch, I know. I know, Ino. You don’t need to tell me”, Shikamaru grumbled, his hands forming a seal. “But all easier said than done. The guy is slippier than he looks. What a drag.”@@@@

    His shadow twisted and bent in all directions, meandering across the entire cave. Yet to no avail. In the end, his shadow had exceeded its effective range.

    “Tsk, dammit.” Shikamaru frowned, his annoyance evident. “Too slow.”

    Lee moved with superhuman speed. Guy had distracted Tobi long enough to provide an opportunity. It was now that Tobi realised that he had miscalculated. Lee was coming directly for him and Tobi would be unable to change momentum. They were about to collide ...

    Although her knowledge of taijutsu might be limited, even she understood that this was going to hurt. Significantly so.

    “AAarrghHHH!!!” Lee approached. He approached fast, with his fist clenched and all his strength behind the blow, Tobi directly in front of him. “AAAaarrggghHHH!!!”

    His fist never connected. The moment Lee was about to strike with all his might, his whole body phased right through Tobi. Lee passed through Tobi’s incorporeal form, crashing into the rock behind with full force. The stone cracked and the cave’s wall collapsed with boulders falling around him. It was a spectacular display of strength, yet the fact stood, Lee’s attack had failed. Evidently so.

    ...

    ...

    ...

    Unharmed and unscathed, Tobi landed on his feet, his black coat fluttering in the air as he descended. “... ... ...”. Her partner remained unfazed by what had transpired, even when his voice had fallen silent ... How unusual for him ... He had always been a talkative one.

    ...

    ...

    ...

    The world stood still and the silence continued. Everyone stared, gaped, watched in shock and disbelief, unable to process what they had seen with their very own eyes. Shikamaru, Guy, Lee, Ino, Tenten, Choji. Even her teacup hesitated for the slightest of a moment before resuming its course. It would be a lie to say that the turn of events did not take her by surprise.

    ...

    ...

    ...

    “...” Ino gulped, her voice stuck in her throat and incredulity written across all of her face. Yet she was the first to gather the courage to speak. “Shikamaru, what ... what just happened?”

    “Tsk.” Skikamaru clicked his tongue, his annoyance audible. “Give me a moment, Ino, I’m thinking ...” The gears in his head went into overdrive, analysing, calculating, strategising.  “ Whatever it was, this guy is going to be a real fucking pain in the arse.”

    For once, Asami agreed. Recent developments had proven to be most curious indeed. To think that Tobi would vanish and rematerialise under her very eyes. To think such was possible ... How fascinating~.

    “Hehehe~...” Asami chuckled in secret, her teeth flashing a vicious smile. Her purple eyes narrowed dangerously from behind her teacup, filled with a dark, glistering, insatiable curiosity. Her eyes observed the man named Tobi, analysing, studying his every movement like a hunter her prey, keen to uncover the secrets that now lay bare to see. She only hoped that her pawns would play their part.

    ━━━━━━┛???┗━━━━━━