Kakashi Hatake vs Batman

The Arena

A villain’s experiment tore open a gateway into the Hidden Leaf, and Batman came through it chasing the villain, straight into a forest where a silver-haired man was sitting in a tree, reading a small orange book. Kakashi Hatake looked down at the stranger in black, then went back to his book. “You’re trespassing.”

Batman did not have time for introductions. The villain was escaping. He threw a batarang to knock the book out of the stranger’s hands as a distraction. The book never moved. Kakashi caught the batarang between two fingers without looking up.

Round One

Batman closed in, and Kakashi finally closed his book. They fought in the trees, both moving in silence, both trained to strike from the shadows. Batman was the stronger hand-to-hand fighter, and his first combination drove Kakashi off the branch.

Kakashi landed on the ground, and it was not Kakashi at all. It was a log. Shadow clone substitution. The real Kakashi was behind Batman, and his kick sent the Dark Knight into a tree trunk. Batman got up, analysed what had happened, and adjusted.

The Turn

Batman was a superb tactician, setting traps with smoke bombs and explosive gel, using the darkness and his detective vision to track Kakashi’s position. He landed several hard strikes and nearly caught the ninja in a cable trap.

Kakashi lifted his headband. The Sharingan spun in his left eye, and suddenly he could read Batman’s every movement before it happened, copy his fighting style and see through his smoke. Batman’s next three attacks were countered perfectly, as if Kakashi were reading his mind.

The Finish

Batman did not panic. He switched to unpredictable, improvised attacks, things he had never done before, so there was nothing to read. It almost worked. He landed a blow to Kakashi’s jaw that rang his teeth.

But Kakashi was not relying only on the eye. He made three shadow clones, each one attacking from a different angle, and while Batman dealt with them, the real Kakashi crouched with lightning crackling in his hand. Chidori. He drove it into the ground beside Batman’s feet, and the shock threw the Dark Knight into the air and left him stunned on the forest floor.

Kakashi stood over him, pulled his headband back down, and reopened his book. “You’re good,” he said. “Very good. But you’re late, and so is your villain.” He pointed into the trees, where his own clones had already caught the escapee. Batman, despite himself, almost smiled.