Despite it All

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Choji's POV (Nearby Chakra Anchor - Western River Plains)

Evening

Leifazu continued cackling from within the water, her shrill laughter nearly deafening and still growing in volume. The river churned faster in turn with her laughter, as if her presence alone was causing the water to boil in disturbance. It sent chills down Choji's neck, the fact that she had survived a blow that should've shattered all her bones and even seemed amused by it. It was intimidating, and the woman seemed entirely insane and more concerningly determined to be their end. How the hell did someone survive a full on, off guard, blow from a giant?

"So what are we in for Lee?" Choji asked worriedly. He was not blind to the fact he was weaker than most of his peers. In fact, even with his recent power growth due to the Master, he was sure it hadn't changed. When Choji had detected the multitude of his friends fighting it had been hard to choose where to go. But he had sensed Lee was not only locked in a one on one battle, but against what felt like an absurdly powerful opponent. Leifazu's killing intent seemed to passively ooze from her body, unfocused but potent all the same. Helping Lee, a friend of his that had saved his life against Mizuki, had been an easy choice, but only now did it occur to him this may have been a bad idea. "This lady seems positively nuts, and based on the fact you seem pretty beat up, she isn't a joke. How did she survive that, though? I nailed her with the hardest kick I could manage; there should barely be anything left."

"I cannot be certain of the how, but it seems this woman bolsters herself physically and her hatchets to an absurd degree. Her durability makes anything less than the hardest blows worthless damage-wise. Her Kenjutsu and Ninjutsu are sharp as well. I am certain she is, at the very least, Jounin level, nearly as fast as my own sensei. Even together, I fear our combined youth alone would not be enough to close the gap between us. However, if you could buy me a few seconds, I could open the third and fourth gates. I'm confident this would allow me to close the gap, perhaps give us a fighting chance." Lee gave a breakdown of his current plan.

"Hold her off… Alright, screw it all or nothing now! You can count on me Lee!" Choji swore, fear was most of what he felt now, but he wouldn't shame his clan by retreating!

"BREAKS OVER!" Leifazu's voice peaked out before suddenly the river erupted outwards, the waters being parted by dozens of glowing blue chakra slashes. "Uzumaki Style: Beheading Wave Spray!" The chakra slashes closed in towards the two. However, Choji reacted quickly, grabbing Lee and wrapping him up in his giant hands for protection. He debated shrinking back to increase his odds of evading the attacks. But his giant form allowed him to protect Lee on the go, which he decided was more valuable. Molding chakra around himself, he dropped into the ground, and his body became even more rotund and circular. His hair grew out and began to cover his body and harden. Forming razor sharp lines of hair spikes.

"Spiked Human Bullet Tank!" Choji roared as the giant ball that was his body rolled forward at impressive speeds. He grit his teeth as prepared for the impact; the slashes were powerful, but in Human Tank form his body was more durable. Many of the slashes hit and even caused superficial cuts. But Choji grit his teeth as he continued his roll through them and to where Leifazu had been. Crying out in part a warcry and in part a cry of fear he closed in, hearing Leifazu chuckle as he drew close. Unable to see, Choji wasn't sure how she countered, but hearing her yell made him flinch as he realized she wasn't evading him as planned.

"Uzumaki Style: Dual Raging Waves!" Leifazu's voice broke out his focused charge and was the predecessor to the pain. Feeling two attacks rush over him on his left and right, Choji screamed and flew back from the blows. His skin was burned and bruised throughout the attack, and he deballed, falling back as a giant as the now free and focused Lee fell free from him as well.

"Big boy started out alright, but it'll take more than size for me." Leifazu snarked as she spun her hatchets in her hands excitedly. "Let me get rid of you so Lee and I can have a true fight!"

Lee, however, interrupted as he yelled out himself. "Youthful Aura: Life Awakening!" His hair began to stand up at its ends, turning his regular bowl cut into a wild mess of gravity-defying hair. His skin began to turn red, and his veins violently bulged appearing on the surface of his skin. His pupils disappeared, eyes becoming pure white pools of determination, and the water around him hissed from the heat he was exalting from pure chakra output. "This form was the limit of my power before; now, it is merely another escalation," Lee informed. "Let me show you the vigors of youth!"

Choji hit the ground with an airless cry, watching Lee closely all the while before he noticed something Lee was standing on thin air. Allowing himself a moment to breathe and adjust to his pain, Choji let himself shrink. In that instant, a boom sounded as Lee managed to close the gap between him and Leifazu. Amazingly, Leifazu avoided the punch that Choji could scarcely see. Twirling around it and chopping at Lee's head. Choiji flinched as Lee barely reacted but audibly gasped as the hatchet stopped a mere inch from his head as if lodged in the air itself. Lee used the shock of them both to suddenly go for a loose leg kick. Leifazu, seemingly unconcerned with the basic strike, ignored it, slashing once again for Lee's neck this time. However, instead of the painful but undramatic leg kick Choji came to expect, the blow launched Leifazu from her feet, leaving her twirling in the air in front of Lee. Lee merely offered a light jab and sent Leifazu careening back. The woman stopped her flight with her hatchets and raced back again as Lee did the same.

Choji blinked in shock. That exchange had been flurried and back-and-forth, yet Choji had scarcely caught it all. If any of those attacks had been aimed at him, he would've been helpless to stop it. All the same, Choji raced forward in standard size. Lee had said he wanted the fourth gate open, suggesting he was certain the third gate's ability alone couldn't overcome her. Lee was fighting to keep Choji from being torn apart, but still needed an opening to open the next gate. Though Choji was unsure how he could, he was determined to provide it.

All the same, in the time it took for Choji to get close, their second violent exchange had begun. Leifazu threw both hatchets directly for Lee's face, who tanked the blows with a grunt, using the moment to draw in fully close. Lee ducked a wild haymaker from Leifazu and offered a straight kick to the ribs. However, Leifazu caught the blow and smiled cruelly as she swept his legs out and caught them in the air with her hands. She laughed as she twirled with the helpless Lee before launching him away into a tree headfirst. The violent sound of wound snapping and Lee smashing into the hard ground behind the tree was sickening to Choji.

Choji cursed as he raced forward, desperate to stop Leifazu from pushing her advantage. He leaned forward as he made the signature hand sign of the Akimichi. Partial Expansion was his go-to jutsu; while basic and limited, it simply felt comfortable and easy for him. But during his time as an unwilling servant, he came up with a new way to use it. "Partial Expansion Jutsu!" His legs suddenly grew, launching himself forward like a missile, which Choji was ashamed to admit with his big-boned nature, he made for an effective one. He smashed into the shocked Leifazu, smacking her away and causing Leifazu to bow a tree from her impact with it.

His second blindside attack proved as effective as the first. Lee had only needed a moment to recover from the throw. And zoomed in at ridiculous speeds. Leifazu, to her credit, recovered, and her hatchets raced in; only their whistle alerted Choji to the fact he was their target. Diving to the left, he saw one fly by but cried out as the other stabbed into his right shoulder with crushing force. All the same, Choji managed to grip the hatchet, stopping it from pulling free of him with one hand. Choji panted in pain as he watched Lee come within striking distance.

Lee closed in with a wild flying kick; Leifazu attempted to dodge it but was shocked as Lee kicked the air mid-flight and adjusted his path to catch and smash the woman through the tree, driving her into a deep gouge into the earth. Lee merely kicked off pursuing her doggedly to push his own advantage. Leifazu clawed desperately, attempting to rise to her feet, but the mud was slick and slowed her down. Lee appeared behind her, and when Leifazu suddenly lashed out with a backward kick, he turned with her to maintain his position behind her. Choji flinched as the still free hatchet drew close and aimed at Lee's back, having no time to even warn him. The blow knocked Lee off balance, causing him to stumble forward into a flying knee to the chest by Leifazu for a devastating combination; this time, the blade had even drawn blood, causing a thin line on Lee's back. Lee, however, merely tanked the blow and, using both hands, pushed her knee back to unbalance her and offered a flurry of punches so quick to her face that Choji could scarcely see it. She stumbled back, Lee snapping forward in front of her low before kicking her into the sky with a double kick.