The sun-scorched sand crunched beneath Kakashi Hatake's feet, his Sharingan gleaming beneath the shadow of his mask.
In front of him stood a Doton jônin, a tanned-skinned colossus, staring him down, eyes glinting with challenge. His clenched fists radiated raw chakra, and the ground already trembled under his feet. No words. Just a sneer.
On their way to the second location Temari had pointed out, they stumbled upon a group of five masked ninjas—those guys really seemed to populate the desert.
Kakashi ordered the other two to continue while he dealt with the intruders. Unfortunately, there was also a jônin among them who gave the same order to his subordinates: pursue Naruto and Sakura.
"So, are you going to just stand there and watch?"
The jônin charged, surprisingly fast for his size, fists aiming for Kakashi's chest. Kakashi sidestepped, sand bursting beneath his sandals. He countered with a knee strike toward the ribs.
The jônin blocked with his forearm—there was a crack—but he didn't flinch. Kakashi followed up, his right fist grazing the giant's jaw, making him stagger back, spitting a glob of sandy blood. Sweat beaded on their faces, the burning air making each breath feel acidic.
Though his body was protected by a stone guard shield, Kakashi cloaked his fist with chakra as a countermeasure.
The jônin spun, sweeping his foot across the ground. Kakashi jumped, but the treacherous sand slowed him down. An uppercut narrowly missed his chin. He rolled backward, just dodging a crushing heel strike that left a crater in the earth.
With a leap, Kakashi struck the jônin's sternum with his elbow. The colossus grunted, winded, but retaliated with a punch to the face, which Kakashi blocked with his forearms—the pain radiating into his shoulders.
Sand flew everywhere, sticking to their sweat-drenched clothes. Unlike the others they'd faced before, this guy was clearly skilled in Taijutsu, and his sheer size gave him a big advantage over Kakashi.
"Not bad, Kakashi Hatake of the Thousand Techniques," growled the jônin, wiping a bloody smear from his lip. "But you'll still die."
"Doton: Stone Spear!"
He struck the ground, and the earth responded. Jagged spikes erupted, arcing toward Kakashi. The Sharingan spun, analyzing every angle. He weaved between them—one nicked his side, blood dripping onto the sand.
Wasting no time, he formed a seal. A shadow clone appeared, charging at the jônin from the left. The colossus, cunning, summoned a Stone Guard—rocky shield blocking the clone.
But Kakashi had anticipated this. He sprang from the right, kunai aimed at the throat. The jônin dodged, the blade slicing his shoulder, crimson trickling down his arm.
"Doton: Stone Golem!"
A three-meter-high monster of rock emerged, fists bristling with spikes. Unfazed, Kakashi activated his Chidori.
Lightning crackled—a thousand birds screaming in the desert. He dashed toward the golem, but the jônin, anticipating, raised a mud wall to intercept him.
"Pathetic," Kakashi thought.
The Chidori pierced the wall, but weakened, barely scraping the golem's side. Mud splattered Kakashi, clinging to his mask, obscuring his vision.
"You're slow!" taunted the jônin, using the Hiding Like a Mole Technique. He vanished beneath the sand, the ground trembling.
Kakashi, fully focused with his Sharingan, closed his eyes briefly, sensing the vibrations. He hurled a kunai laced with an explosive tag to where the jônin would surface.
BOOM
The explosion rocked the desert, sand and debris flying. The jônin burst out, burned, a bloody gash on his chest—but still standing.
"Bastard…" he growled, unleashing a spike-filled mud torrent.
Kakashi dodged, his Sharingan tracking every projectile. One spike slashed his thigh, blood soaking his pants. He winced, but immediately countered with a Raikiri, a more precise version of the Chidori.
Lightning roared as he lunged at the jônin, feinting a direct hit. At the last second, he pivoted, aiming for the flank.
Caught off guard, the jônin summoned a partial Stone Guard, but the Raikiri cut clean through, slicing into his abdomen.
Blood sprayed, muscles torn open—but the giant held firm, punching Kakashi with a chakra-charged fist. The impact hurled him into a dune, the sand barely softening the blow.
His ribcage throbbed, metallic taste in his mouth.
Kakashi stood, panting, Sharingan pulsing.
The jônin, covered in blood, began sealing a combined jutsu. The golem charged as a stone dome rose to trap Kakashi.
Cleverly, he summoned two shadow clones. One lured the golem, dodging its blows, while the other hurled shurikens to distract the jônin.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Kakashi slipped beneath the dome, his Raikiri recharged. The jônin, foreseeing this, dove underground with the Mole Technique—but Kakashi had seen through the ploy.
He planted an explosive kunai in the ground, forcing the jônin back to the surface, disoriented.
Kakashi leapt, Raikiri aimed for the heart.
Desperate, the jônin summoned one last golem—but a shadow clone rammed into him, throwing him off balance. The lightning struck, piercing through his chest.
A wet crack echoed, blood erupting in crimson arcs. The colossus collapsed, chest split open, bones shattered, a choking gurgle dying in his throat.
"…you…you…"
The golem, masterless, crumbled into rubble, sending a cloud of dust skyward.
Silence fell, heavy.
Kakashi then headed toward a nearby crevasse to catch his breath. The fight had left him not only physically exhausted but with barely any chakra left.
Anyway, his students weren't just anyone—it was obvious they could handle four ninjas, provided they were only chunin-level.