Red Butterfly

Chapter 107, With Grace of Fire and Lightning

"Let's be real here...", Shisui began, his eyes were fixated on the raging Naruto, "we've already used up too much chakra up until we got to this point"

I simply let a breath loose as I tried to cope with the burn on my back silently. Naruto was raging all over the place, which caused the ground to cave in even more.

"At this rate, the Nine-Tails will eventually unleash", Shisui gritted his teeth together as his body tensed stiff at the whole migraine of the situation.

I let my damaged blonde hair flail over my shoulders again as I regain my composure and steady myself accordingly. Itachi was worried as usual, which is why I let him keep a hand on my back.

"The terrain of the mountain wall is starting to dismantle", Itachi informed, which put Shisui on his nerves again, "we have to try generating the Susano'o humanoids again or else..."

"No", Shisui interjected sternly, "you were right Itachi, we can't just stand back and watch him set this place ablaze, generating the Susano'o will just replenish your chakras quicker, and we can't afford that", he hissed the last bit, making me hold tight onto my breath.

The greenery of the terrain was spiralling everywhere around us. The tails were causing more havoc than Naruto was. This demon entity raged on as we remained cemented under the grace of Shisui's Susano'o.

"Hanabi", Shisui turned around towards me and inquired, "can you manage with that wound of yours?", his tone was careful and concerned.

I knew that if my reply to that question was a 'no', then they'll falter with the task at hand. I'll simply be dead weight if I allow them to know how burning this wound really is, and so with a steady breath and a determined stare, I state my reply, "yes, I can"

Shisui's eyes scrutinized my determined face for any trace of doubt or contradiction, which I didn't allow to show. Itachi simply fanned his breath in my face as gesture that my white lie didn't go unnoticed by him.

In return, I snaked my hand to where his hand was rested and grasped his wrist firmly before giving him back his hand, "I you told I'm alright".

A wound like this will never refrain me from fighting for the sake of those I care about most.

"We have to stop him on the count of his four tails", I asserted, stepping away from Itachi, "the terrain of the mountain wall is crumbling as it is"

"Too bad", Shisui informed, "he's already generating his fifth tail".

"We can't attack him with basic Ninjutsu attacks, he'll take the damage and return it twice as hard", Itachi remarked.

"In all integrity, nothing comes to my mind", Shisui admits, his tone was stern and serious, "it might come down to us evacuating this place completely. It's getting way more risky"

I let my lips seal together as I unwillingly accepted that possibility. He has managed to generate five tails out of nine, which makes it all the more complicated. His fifth tail emerged and began to sway with the rest.

Naruto had stopped attacking us all together, instead, he beagn to focus in his place.

"What's he trying to do?", I asked no one in particular.

"Whatever it is, it can be good", Itachi replied.

I scrutinized Naruto's current state, the more my eyes bore onto him, the more unsettling I felt in my stomach. I couldn't quite make out what he was aiming to do, which is why the atmosphere felt even more eerie as time passed by.

The luminous light of the crescent moon hung loose on us. Shisui was trying his best to keep up the Susano'o, so we remain protected.

Yet through is unsettling circumstance, I refrained from asking the question on my mind due to the intensity of this whole situation. It'd paced through my mind back and forth, but I'm still unsure of the accurate answer.