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Chapter 13
Kakashi vs. Haruka The Spiritualist 
The battlefield was eerily silent as Kakashi stood facing Haruka Ueno. Her presence exuded an unsettling calm, her figure illuminated by the shifting glow of elemental chakra and spiritual energy. Haruka moved with a serene grace, as though the battle itself was beneath her. Kakashi, by contrast, was tense but focused, his Sharingan spinning slowly as it tracked her every movement.
Haruka’s voice broke the silence. "You carry the weight of many lives on your shoulders, Copy Ninja Kakashi. Yet, your gaze is clouded by hesitation. Why do you fight? To atone? To protect? Or simply to survive?"
Kakashi said nothing, his hand tightening around his lightning-charged tanto. His stance spoke volumes, he was ready for anything.
"Silent as the grave," Haruka murmured. "Very well. Let us see if your resolve matches your reputation."
Haruka’s hands moved fluidly, forming intricate seals that seemed to blur together. A gust of razor-sharp wind surged forward. Kakashi leapt back, his Sharingan predicting the attack’s trajectory, but the wind changed course mid-flight, slicing toward him like a living blade.
"Raiton: Raikō Ken!" Kakashi’s tanto flared with lightning as he slashed through the wind, dispersing it with a burst of energy. He dashed forward, closing the gap between them in an instant, and brought his blade down.
Haruka raised her hand, and a wall of water rose to meet the attack, solidifying into ice just as Kakashi’s blade connected. Sparks flew as the lightning clashed against the ice, but before he could press the attack, Haruka melted into the water, her form flowing across the ground like a river.
Kakashi spun, his Sharingan tracking her reformation behind him. He was already moving when she unleashed a volley of fireballs, dodging the first two and countering the third with a water jutsu of his own. Steam hissed and billowed around them as the fire and water collided.
"You’re quick," Haruka said, her voice echoing unnaturally through the mist. "But quickness alone won’t save you."
---
Kakashi barely had time to react as chains erupted from the ground, glowing with spiritual energy. He flipped backward, avoiding the chains as they lashed at him like whips, but one caught his arm, searing into his skin with a burning heat.
Gritting his teeth, Kakashi formed a one-handed seal. "Doton: Doryūheki!" A massive earthen wall rose between him and Haruka, forcing the chains to retract. 
---
Haruka didn’t wait for him to recover. She clapped her hands together, and a glowing sigil appeared beneath her feet. The ground rumbled as jagged pillars of stone shot upward in a wide radius, forcing Kakashi to leap and weave through the treacherous terrain.
Kakashi retaliated with a flurry of kunai, each one wrapped with explosive tags. Haruka deflected them with a wave of water, but the explosions obscured her vision for a split second, long enough for Kakashi to close the gap.
He appeared behind her, his tanto glowing with Raikiri’s deadly power. "Got you!"
But his blade passed through empty air as Haruka dissolved into fire, reappearing several meters away. She smiled faintly. "A commendable effort, but predictable."
Kakashi didn’t falter. He reached into his pouch, pulling out ninja wire, infusing it with chakra. In a blur of motion, he flung the wire toward her, the strands weaving into a complex trap that encircled her.
"Predictable, huh?" Kakashi smirked as he tugged on the wire, activating the chakra embedded within it. The trap pulsed with electricity, sparking violently as it closed in on Haruka.