Chapter 18

Clone Assault: Fire and Earth

The sound of heavy breathing emanated from the center of the room. The loud, pained breaths were barely audible above the sounds of crackling fire scattered throughout the area. As the dark smoke attacked his lungs, a harsh cough forced its way from Neji's throat. The Hyuga boy tried to settle his throat as his eyes continued to scan the surrounding area. With veins bulging from the sides of his eyes, the byakugan surveyed the space all around him, eventually detecting a newly launched attack.

Neji jerked his body around and blocked the speeding fist with his right palm. He quickly jumped back as a kunai was lunged toward his chest. Before a counter attack could formulate in his mind, the kunai was dropped to the ground and his eyes caught on to a few all too familiar handsigns.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

"Damn it!" Neji jumped high into the air to avoid the speeding fireball aimed to scorch his body. He clenched his teeth when he noticed that a strip of fire covered the area where he intended to land.

"Time to burn, Hyuga!" Gako appeared right above the leaf ninja, aiming a powerful kick to his enemy's face. Instead of his foot connecting with the Hyuga's face, he found it being repelled by the concentrated chakra being released from Neji's cheek. Neji quickly wrapped his hands around the foot and swung his foe downward into the fire below, simultaneously giving himself enough force to swing aside and avoid the blazing heat.

Neji landed on a small piece of land that had yet to be covered in fire. As another cough was released, his byakugan once again scanned the surrounding area. 'Fire covers a majority of the floor in this room. The only exit is the door in which we entered through.' He tried to clear his throat only to find himself coughing more. 'Too much smoke is being concentrated in this area. Without my byakugan I wouldn't even be able to see, but with my breathing impaired its obvious who has the advantage here.'

"Heads up!"

Neji pushed himself off of the ground just in time to dodge the sphere of fire being hurled at him. He forced chakra to his feet and clung to the side of a wall. 'Not only can he somehow see and breathe in this dark smoke, but he can also move freely within the fire and attack. I have to somehow take away those advantages…' His train of thought was broken as he entitled his head to the side to avoid a powerful punch. His quick reflexes allowed his left palm to quickly fly towards Gako's chest, but a few steps back kept the attack out of range.

Both ninja clung to the side of the wall, staring the other down. Neji's face remained intent and steady, though Gako's could only remain serious for seconds before breaking out into a wide smirk. "C'mon Neji. You're a jounin so you know what kind of situation you're in. This smoke and fire doesn't faze me one bit, but you won't be able to take it for much longer will you?"

Instead of uttering a reply, Neji charged the sound ninja and readied another assault. Before the distance was completely closed, Gako jumped off of the wall and landed on a bare piece of land. Neji jumped down after him, his palm already charged with chakra. The strike was forced at Gako's face, but the enemy smirked and quickly jumped backwards into the blazing flame. Neji landed on the bare ground and his byakugan quickly found his target approaching.

Gako descended from above, a kunai ready to pierce his foe. He grinned as he glanced at the fire burning all around Neji. "There's nowhere for you to run!"

Seconds before the attack could pierce his skull, Neji jumped backward directly into the fire. Gako landed on the ground with a smirk as he watched Neji's body get enveloped by the flames. "And that's the end."

"Hakke Kuushou!"

His eyes widened when he heard the voice, but before he could brace himself, a powerful wave of air crashed into his chest, sending him flying back and sliding onto the ground. He quickly jumped back onto his feet and wiped dust from his cheek. "Why won't you burn!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Neji's palm slammed into Gako's back, sending a wave of chakra into his chakra system. Gako stumbled forward onto another piece of bare land. He tried to ignore the constricting of his muscles and the fluctuation of his chakra as he stood straight up. In front of him, Neji slowly emerged from the fire. The sound nin's eyes narrowed at the blue glow that soon faded from Neji's body.

"How did you…"

"As a member of the Hyuga clan, who are known for their superior chakra control skills, it was not hard to figure out." Another cough was uttered, but this time it was from the sound ninja. Gako clenched his teeth at the blood that was coughed onto his palm. "You emit chakra from your pores and use it to repel the fire. For a ninja with normal chakra, like me, it takes a large amountof it to keep the shield and maintain it. For you, however, you use fire natured chakra to repel the fire more efficiently. My version of your skill is imperfect, but it still serves its purpose."

Angered words emerged from Gako's throat. "Damn you!" His hands quickly formed handsigns and rose to his mouth. "Katon: Goukakyuu!" Neji jumped to the side into more fire to dodge the fireball soaring towards him. "So what if you found out my secret!? That means nothing!"

"It means everything."

Gako's eyes widened once again as the voice resounded from only inches behind him. He clenched his right fist and spun around, swinging it at Neji's face. The leaf jounin ducked to dodge the attack. As he crouched down, his arms extended and his feet moved into his special stance. "Your skill is chakra based. Therefore, your abilities mean nothing once your chakra is sealed."

A low growl was uttered and Gako's fist prepared to clobber Neji's face. Before the blow could connect, more determined words were spoken. "Hakke Rokujuuyonsho!" Neji dodged the strike aimed as his face, and with blinding speed, he extended both his index and middle fingers and proceeded to thrust them into his opponent's chest. "Two palm!"

Gako took an involuntary step back, and before his mind could even register what happened, Neji's blows began connecting with his chest once again. "Four palm." As he imagined the Eight Trigram Symbol imprinted below his feet, Neji let himself go, his fingers almost instinctually finding his opponent's chakra points. "Eight palm. Sixteen palm. Thirty-two palm." Gako slowly felt his body going numb. His muscles refused to respond, the chakra being forced into his system sealing off his strength. Blood began leaking from his mouth, though he didn't have the strength to wipe it away. "Sixty-four palm!" One last hit was forced into Gako's body. Even though it was only two strikes, Gako felt his chakra points being struck in multiple places. His body fell back as he desperately searched for the strength to stand. Neji watched as his foe fell back and was consumed by the flames.

Laughter echoed throughout the room. The loud, condescending tone pierced the leaf ninja's ears, sending waves of anger flowing through him. He tried to overcome his heavy breathing as he rose from his knees. He clenched both his fists and ran toward his enemy once again.

"Looks like the doggie doesn't know when to play dead," Gako said with a smirk.

"Gatsuga!" Kiba jumped into the air and spun around to create his familiar flying tornado. Gako didn't move an inch as the attack crashed into his body. He smiled as the jutsu tried to bore into him, but found no success. "Damn it!" Kiba released the jutsu and jumped away just in time to dodge a powerful swing of Gako's arm.

"Are you giving up yet?" came the sound nin's witty response.

The dog nin clenched his teeth as he looked at his opponent's wide smirk. "Just like your damn brother," he murmured. He remembered how the sight of Koga's condescending eyes would throw him into fits of rage. Unfortunately, he was getting the same feeling from the twin.

A loud bark came from his side. Kiba looked down at his lifelong comrade. "Are you okay?" The memory flashed in his mind when Gako's arm smashed into Akamaru's body and sent him crashing into a wall. Luckily, an energetic bark told him all he needed to know. "Okay then…" His eyes fell upon his target. "We have to figure out a way get through his iron defense."

"Can you find a way?" Gako yelled as he dashed forward towards the leaf duo. Kiba ducked under a quickly launched punch. Simultaneously, Kiba aimed a kick at one of the boy's leg and Akamaru prepared to sink his fangs in the other. "Aian Mamori!" Kiba winced as his leg connected with what felt like an iron pole. Akamaru howled in pain as his teeth also failed to sink into his prey. Gako prepared a strong kick to the dog's chest, but Kiba quickly grabbed his partner and jumped away from the attack. "Darn, so close."

As he landed on the ground, Kiba set down his partner and gave him a pat on the back. "C'mon Akamaru, we can't let up. We have to keep fighting until we can come up with an idea. Can you keep it up?" A determined growl gave him his answer. "Alright then, let's go." Kiba clapped his hands together and after a puff of smoke, a clone of himself appeared as Akamaru. They both formed their high-flying tornadoes and flew top speed at their foe.

"When will you two come up with something different?" The duo smashed into both of Gako's shoulders, but the sound ninja didn't even flinch. "Sooner or later, I'll have to end this game!" He swung both of his fists at the duo but they each stopped their attack to avoid it. They both crouched down on all fours and made a grab at both of their foe's ankles. "Think my ankles are my weak points?" Both claws struck his ankles but there was no response to the attack. "Think again!" Gako raised his left leg and prepared a kick to the target on his right.

"Akamaru!" Kiba jumped forward and intercepted the blow. He grabbed Gako's foot and pulled with all his might, trying to give his comrade an opening. Concern flashed onto Gako's face as he lost his balance and was pulled forward, his body completely leaving the ground. Akamaru slashed his claws at Gako's face before the sound nin's fist crashed into Kiba's chest, causing him to bump into Akamaru and send them both flying backward. Kiba rolled back and rose to one knee. Akamaru moved towards him and snuggled to his master. "Thanks, I'm alright."

"Damn it!"

Kiba looked up to narrow his eyes at his enemy, but instead he found his eyes slightly widening. His eyes fell onto Gako's cheek, the claw marks and dripping blood clearly visible. "What's this? The iron bastard is human after all."

Gako quickly wiped the blood from his cheek. His tone was now far less playful. "How dare you two…" Before the sentence could be finished, Kiba and Akamaru were already speeding towards him.

'How did Akamaru's attack damage him? We have to figure things out before he can launch a counter attack.' Kiba's claws clashed into Gako's cheek, causing no response. "I kind of expected that." He ducked under Gako's left flying fist and kicked at the boy's left foot. Still no response. Akamaru quickly moved and slashed at Gako's other foot.

"Damn you pests!" Gako raised his right foot to attack, before quickly returning it to its original spot and decided to aim a punch at Akamaru's head. The dog quickly dodged the attack and clawed at the other ankle. Kiba followed suit and aimed at the same ankle. 'Damn they are going after my legs.' Gako raised his right leg to kick the duo away.

"Gotcha." Just as the attack was launched, Kiba lunged straight into it. The foot crashed into his chest and stomped down onto it fiercely. Instead of howling in pain as Gako would like, Kiba smirked and tightly embraced the foot on top of his chest. "Go for it, Akamaru!" Gako clenched his teeth as he lost his balance and was pulled onto his one foot that stood on Kiba's chest. Horror flashed in Gako's eyes as Akamaru jumped and slammed his claws into his chest. A small yelp escaped the sound nin's lips as he fell back onto the floor.

Kiba smirked as he slowly rose to his feet, all the while holding his chest that was previously stomped upon. "Looks like I found your secret."

Gako growled in anger as he quickly jumped to his feet. He stared daggers over at Kiba.

"The key is the ground. Whenever we attacked you and your defense was up, at least one of your feet were also firmly planted onto the ground. That first time Akamaru attacked you, I pulled your leg and for a brief second your other leg left the ground to try and regain your balance. The second time, you stomped on my chest and I pulled you up until you were standing on me only. You're vulnerable whenever your feet lose contact with the ground, am I right?"

For a moment, only low growls were audible through Gako's mouth before finally words emerged. "Don't think you've won now that you know how my jutsu works. At least you should now know that if I never move my feet from the ground, there's nothing you can do to attack me!"

"I disagree with that," Kiba said with a smirk and Akamaru barked beside him. "If you won't lift your feet from the ground, then I'll have to rip the ground from under your feet!" The leaf duo charged once more and formed their twin flying attacks once again. A hint of panic emerged from Gako when he noticed the attacks aiming downward and blowing away chunks of earth as they approached the ground beneath him.

"Damn it!"

Gako was forced to jump into the air as the tornadoes ripped by underneath him. They both immediately rose up and flew at the airborne ninja. The sound ninja's mind couldn't conceive a plan fast enough. Both attacks slammed into his chest and midsection, this time causing damage. Gako yelled as the attacks pushed him back and drove him into a wall, causing a resulting crash.

A/N: Yeeeeaaaah. Ummmm…here's a chapter (ducks and covers)