Path Of War

Jasper knew he couldn’t stay here long. He needed to find a way out. Yet to do so, he had to get past Toneri.

Not to look weak, he challenged, "Go ahead and try."

Then immediately, the two engaged in a quick taijutsu fight.

Jasper went for a low sweep, which was easily dodged. He tried to capitalize by throwing a series of palm strikes toward Toneri’s chest, but Toneri dodged to the side before responding with a swift sweep that knocked Jasper off balance.

The latter was quick to recover; he spun into a low stance and unleashed another flurry of palm pushes and elbow strikes. Toneri blocked a few, then sidestepped and responded with a palm of his own that landed in Jasper’s ribs, pushing him back.

Jasper was familiar with combat, but Toneri’s movements were far different than those on earth. Despite the latter missing his eyes, he seemed to anticipate Jasper’s attacks.

"I’m not done yet, punk!" Jasper said, throwing more punches and kicks.

Each one met with a block or dodge. When Toneri felt another opening, he went straight for Jasper’s eyes but was immediately thwarted with a well-timed smack against his hand.

"That was a good block," Toneri praised. "But how long will you last?"

As the fight raged on, Jasper realized that Toneri had the advantage. His opponent’s senses appeared to extend far beyond normal limits, which made Jasper’s focus split between attacking and defending at poor intervals.

His muscles had also ached from the previous fight with Orochimaru, and his chakra was running low.