Kaguya leaped with blinding speed, targeting Shikai with a punch charged with her immense power. But Shikai, with an agile backward jump, dodged the attack, his feet sliding slightly on the fractured ground of Iwagakure. He formed a mudra with one hand, and a golden mark illuminated his body: the Yang stigma.
A fierce heat radiated from him, and his chakra intensified, vibrating with the powerful energy inherited from the Senju and Uzumaki clans. Kaguya paused for a moment, her ivory eyes analyzing this new force.
"Interesting," she murmured before launching herself at him again.
Shikai had no time to retaliate as she was already upon him. She delivered a swift circular kick aimed at his head. He bent just in time, letting the wind of the attack brush his hair, then blocked a punch directed at his abdomen by crossing his arms. The force of the blow made him stagger back several meters, his feet leaving furrows in the ground.
"Impressive," he said calmly, raising his eyes to meet her gaze.
Kaguya remained silent, immediately following up with a series of attacks. She aimed to disorient Shikai with a combination of rapid and powerful strikes.
She spun on her axis, her heel targeting his temple. Shikai blocked with an arm strengthened by Yang chakra, but the impact made him grimace. Before he could recover, she delivered a knee strike aimed at his ribs. He slid to the side to avoid the impact, but she unleashed a punch so fast that he had no choice but to retreat again, barely dodging.
Kaguya gave him no respite, charging at him with deadly precision. Each blow she landed was calculated, targeting Shikai's vital points.
"You're putting in a lot of effort," he said, a smile forming on his lips, "but you're only testing my reflexes. Do you really think you can tire me out like this?"
Kaguya clenched her teeth, frustrated by his calm demeanor.
She feinted with a kick, but at the last second, she pivoted and launched a punch towards his throat. Shikai anticipated, tilting his head to avoid the impact, but he felt the air compress around him due to the brute force of the attack. He continued to evade, his movements precise and fluid, refusing to counter-attack.
After ten intense minutes of fighting, Kaguya accelerated her pace. She jumped into the air, spinning before unleashing a rapid and devastating barrage of spikes. Shikai, focused, dodged each strike, his feet dancing on the ground with supernatural grace.
As they exchanged blows, Kaguya summoned a bone from her arm and, with a swift movement, threw it. The bone cut through the air at a terrifying speed and lodged itself in Shikai's shoulder. He staggered back under the impact, a groan escaping his lips.
Kaguya walked slowly towards him, a satisfied smile on her face.
"It's over."
Shikai, with a trembling hand on the bone protruding from his shoulder, raised his head and smiled despite the pain.
"You think so?"
He raised his hand, which suddenly turned into black ashes before clenching into a fist. A multitude of gigantic roots burst forth from the ground, speeding towards Kaguya.
She immediately activated her Byakugan, releasing shockwaves to destroy the roots before they reached her. But they kept appearing, as if the very earth conspired against her.
"You dare to use Mokuton against me? Pathetic."
Kaguya simply uttered "Flame," and a torrent of fire consumed the roots, reducing them to ashes.
But Shikai was already in front of her, binding her with adamantine chains. He delivered a powerful blow that she barely managed to deflect by crossing her arms, easily breaking the chains as if they weren't there in the first place. Seizing the opportunity, she struck her palm against his stomach.
The explosion of chakra was so powerful that the ground beneath them fractured into a complex web of cracks. Shikai was violently thrown back several meters, colliding forcefully with the ground.
Before he could get up, Kaguya appeared above him, an sharpened bone in her hand, ready to finish him off. She plunged the weapon directly into his abdomen, her eyes triumphant.
Shikai, lying on the ground, spat out blood. His body seemed to crack, as if it was disintegrating.
"You should have known that you can't kill me so easily..." he murmured weakly.
Suddenly, his entire body burst into a cloud of black butterflies that took flight, leaving Kaguya stunned and, most of all, immobile.
"What...?" she thought aloud.
The Nara jutsu infused with Meiton.
She concentrated to absorb the illusion and the darkness binding her, but it was at that precise moment that another Shikai appeared behind her, a blade of dark energy induced in his hand.
*Meiton: Raiknife*
With a swift movement, he sliced her right arm.
Kaguya screamed in pain, leaping back to create distance. She glared at Shikai with rage, holding her bleeding stump.
"You'll pay for this..."
Shikai threw the severed arm to the ground like a worthless piece of trash. His eyes shone with an intense and threatening red glow as a second mark appeared on his body: the Yin stigma.
"Now, Kaguya, let's see what you're truly capable of."
Kaguya narrowed her eyes, recognizing the new pupils. They were Mangekyo Sharingan.