Chapter 16: Kamui vs Yugao
"Alright you two, go at it with everything you have. I'll personally stop the match if it goes too far. Ready? Start!"
With that, Kamui suddenly took off into the air, a compressed cloud of sand lifting her into the sky. Seeing that, Yugao's eyes widened into saucers and she wasn't the only one. Everyone present was surprised. Controlling sand was something the Kazekage's of the sand village were known for. For Kamui to have this ability just shifted the battle massively in her favor, especially in this terrain. The only one who wasn't surprised was Minato. Although Kamui may not have noticed him, he was present to witness her combine many of the basic elements in secret this past year. At first, he was surprised, but he eventually gave up and decided to wait till she explained herself on her own time. It was the benefit of being her father all her life. He didn't have to worry about any loyalty concerns. He also knew the reason she was so secretive; her power could start a war and she was just recently getting strong enough to protect herself. In a year's time, she'll probably feel comfortable telling him the full story. At least that's if he's reading the situation right.
"I'm really glad she was born in this village." Minato muttered to himself.
While this was happening, Yugao was sprinting across the sand, while avoiding sand tendrils grasping for her limbs.
'I should have just picked the leaf simulation area.' She thought as she started realizing that this was the worst area she could have chosen. If the academy reports on her were right, then the water simulation area would have been similarly bad. At least in a forest, she wouldn't be able to use her fire and lightning styles to their full potential for fear of burning the place down.
Then, Yugao heard something that filled her with dread.
"Scorch Release: Sun Fire Tsunami." Kamui shouted as six burning six white hot balls of flame gathered between the two of them. Two seconds later, each of them shot out wide cones of liquid fire towards the general area around Yugao.
Seeing the incoming sea of death, Yugao prepared to substitute, but quickly realized something dire; she couldn't. The jutsu wasn't working. Thinking fast, she quickly pulled out a barrier scroll. Once she poured her chakra into it, a glowing orb of chakra appeared around her and protected her from the incoming wave of liquid fire. This was a scroll the Hokage gave all members of her particular anbu team. It contained a one-use barrier seal that can protect against anything short of a tailed beast ball. Soon, the fire made contact. Yugao was realizing that this location had been a very bad idea. If she was on a mission, she would have retreated and came back under more favorable circumstances. She wasn't though; she was evaluating a genin, so that wasn't an option. Looking down, she saw the sand being glassed upon contact. A rough, partially reflective surface was created that went pretty deep into the earth beneath them.
'Did she make a mistake or did she just give me a chance?' Yugao thought to herself as she realized that this glass surface gave her a fighting chance, especially with Kamui landing from her airborne position.
Touching the ground, Kamui appraised her new sensei.
'She's quick on her feet, that's for sure. These are really unfavorable conditions for a swordsman. An elementalist like myself is probably her worst match up, especially in an environment like this with no fear of collateral damage.' She thought to herself. She had honestly considered staying airborne for the full fight, but that wouldn't help anybody. This wasn't just a spar; it was a skills assessment. Nuking the area and winning that way wouldn't really achieve the primary objective.
As she thought this, the braces on her arms glowed in a soft silvery-white light. With that, a thin layer of scorch release chakra covered her hands to her elbows.
"I'm ready for the next phase sensei. I hope this isn't too boring for you. I'd hate to waste your time." Kamui stated in a bout of childishness.
Chuckling at the comment, Yugao pulled out her sword. "You've certainly made this interesting. You're right though. It's time to move on to the next phase. I'll show you why we jonin are respected."
With that Yugao was gone. In a flash, she was in front of Kamui with her sword coming down vertically. Capturing her movements with her sharingan, Kamui lifted her arm to lightly parry the incoming strike with her left forearm bracelet, which was still coated in scorch release. Seeing this, Yugao smirked. Suddenly, she accelerated and Kamui would have sworn there were multiple swords coming at her at once. With a thought, Kamui flashed and appeared behind Yugao, coming for a counter attack with a swipe of her hand.
Having hit empty air, Yugao launched herself forward to get some distance before any counter attacks could hit her. She needed to form another plan for the new move Kamui just displayed. It's not the first time she's faced teleportation; the fourth regularly spars with them to hone their skills. She just hadn't expected Kamui to be capable of it. With this, they were once again at their starting positions.
"You can teleport?" Yugao asked with wide eyes. Kamui nodded.
"I can. I can move anywhere I can see at the moment. I've also learned my dad's technique, though I don't like using it too much. I don't like having to rely on external objects for my techniques." Yugao nodded. Most ninja wouldn't have this complaint, but for someone with her abilities, it would make sense. She had a choice to be completely self-sufficient and she took it.
"I have to say, you're fast. I really didn't want to use teleports in this match. Once we were in close range though, I couldn't physically keep up with you. While I could see you, I couldn't move fast enough to counter. Teleportation was my only option at that point." Kamui didn't mind explaining this point. This wasn't a mission; it was a skills assessment. Yugao being her sensei needed to know her limitations for the missions going forward.
"I would hope so. Speed and control are a swordsman's best friends. I may not have aerial mobility, but I'm pretty adept at ground combat" She replied with a smile. This was definitely going to be interesting. She certainly wasn't fighting a genin level combatant. Even if you discount that scorch style technique she performed, the reaction time needed to perform that teleport in the time she started her technique is impressive. That and the tactical decision to escape rather than try a parry she wasn't sure would work.
"Alright, let's continue." Kamui nodded in agreement.
Yugao was about to re-engage, planning to use her speed to overwhelm the girl at close range, when the earth quaked. In her vision, tens of sand mounds rose from the earth. Soon they towered above her and started shaping into massive sand giants half the size of tailed beasts. Their eyes came to life in an eerie glowing yellow.
'Isn't this a little much?'
With a swing of its hand, the one closest to her created a crater at the spot she was just standing. Yugao gulped as she realized that it would be really bad if one of those hit her. Deciding that she needed to get towards the jutsu's caster, she sprinted toward the direction Kamui was standing in. There was a problem though, she wasn't there. Yugao couldn't see her anywhere. With that, she decided to search for her through this group of golems.
Yugao ended up running through the host of sand golems, while dodging a constant stream of attacks, looking for Kamui.
These golems were made of sand, so they didn't have to watch out for each other. They would throw their fists on mass and collect their limbs for their next attack. It was basically a game of cat and mouse.
Before the match could go any longer though, she heard the Hokage's voice.
"I think that's enough." Once this was said, Yugao saw something that actually shook her confidence a bit. The massive golems suddenly turned white and scattered into a wave of flower petals. Those petals were quickly caught in a whirlwind, which centered around the Kamui's previous position. Then the petals gathered to reform her body.
"It was a genjutsu?" She asked incomprehensively.
"It was." Kamui confirmed shortly. The time it took for her father to end the match gave her the time to catch her breath.
"When? I didn't detect anything." Yugao couldn't believe it. That could have been fatal if it happened during a real mission. If Kamui had been her enemy with that move..."
"It was a multi-stage genjutsu. When you looked into my sharingan after taunting me, it started. I didn't do anything with it, so your chakra wasn't changed, but the connection was built between us. I then reinforced my hold over you with the earthquake, letting me add more layers to the genjutsu. The quake itself was the first time I used my eyes to influence you; it was actually much smaller in scale than you perceived it to be. It was a disguise to let me quietly layer a genjutsu on the vibrating air. That influenced your senses of touch and hearing. The final nail in the coffin was your own belief."
At the strange comment, Yugao confusedly asked, "Belief?" But before Kamui could answer her, her eyes widened in disbelief.
"The ninjutsu demonstration. You used my shock of the sudden unknown to disturb my awareness. I didn't even consider it may be a genjutsu because you really could do something like that and being as young as you are, I thought wasting so much chakra for that move was a realistic play for you."
Kamui nodded simply. "Exactly."
Then, her smile gained a pensive element to it as she scratched her head in slight embarrassment.
"Truthfully, I'd long known about you. Your hair color's a dead giveaway to who you were in the same manner as Kakashi. You being a frequent trainee under my parents made it easy. So, I knew from the beginning that close range combat against you would be an immediate loss."
Sighing, Yugao smiles and walks to Kamui. Upon getting close enough she reaches out her hand in the unison sign. Smiling, Kamui returned the gesture.
"Looks like I lost. I'm really looking forward to your apprenticeship over the next year. Between the two of us, there won't be a whole lot of missions we aren't capable to completing." Yugao said, recognizing that she just received a jackpot for a student.
"Indeed. I'm going to have so much fun rubbing this into Naruto and Sasuke's faces." Kamui smiled brightly as she couldn't wait for their family dinner tonight.
Yugao chuckled. "I bet. I was surprised you were able to perform so many bloodline limits though." That was an understatement. Any village would covet someone who could use just one of those bloodlines and Kamui could use multiple of them quite proficiently.
Kamui shook her head. "It's not that I have a bloodline that allows me to fuse elements; my chakra increases my control over the elements, which allow for an easier time fusing them. Anyone can fuse elements together. It's just that some bloodlines naturally make the fusion happen without input. Kurenai is an example. A couple of years ago, she discovered light release and has already started using it to make new types of genjutsu. She didn't have a bloodline for that. She just had an idea and experimented till it worked. Unlike her though with her busy life as a shinobi, I've had eight years of uninterrupted training time with an ocean of well-controlled chakra at my disposal."
Hearing that, Yugao's eyes raised a good amount. She had no idea that had happened. She had been on mission after mission with her anbu unit during that time period. She had heard a few rumors, but she had assumed her friend had a bloodline she wasn't aware of. It just flew in the face of the common understanding of how change in elements worked.
"I'll have to ask her about that later. Well, that's all for now. Go join your friends and enjoy the night. Be at the Hokage's office at 0700. From there, we'll get our mission and set out." Yugao said.
"Yes Sensei" Kamui acknowledged. With that, Yugao walked over to the other Jonin. They were all going to dinner tonight. Hayate was even planning on joining them. Thinking about her beloved boyfriend, Yugao smiled with contentment. This was nice. Now that she retired from the anbu, they could really begin living with each other and once Kamui becomes a chunin, start a family. Thinking about this and her interesting new charge, she began to really appreciate the Hokage's offer.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone