A pillar of flame had risen ahead of him, but Kenta had sped forward knowing that he could take a little heat, especially with enough chakra gathered around him to endure it. As long as he wasn’t standing directly in it, passing through it might mean a few minor burns here and there, but the Akimichi doubted that a boy as young as that could use incredible fire ninjutsu like Natsumi. If it was her fire, he might’ve taken extra precaution; you didn’t get the title of ‘Phoenix’ for nothing. In a surprising turn of events the young man hadn’t used it to try and encourage Kenta to steer in another path, but instead miraculously ran through his own fire, something he only heard of Natsumi doing, and was bracing himself for impact! 

[i]‘What the hell is this kid thinking!?!’[/i] he thought, cutting back on his momentum only a little. Enduring a direct attack like this from a man double his size and three times his body weight was suicide. If Kenta intended to kill him, a direct blow like this would’ve done the trick, but with how he had slowed up he would suffer some broken bones. He thought that Uchiha were geniuses, Katsu was proving otherwise, and quickly. Thankfully someone, the loud girl who was quick to take a hit but not deal one, had shouted some words designed to upset him before creating a barrier between Katsu and Kenta. Although at full strength a barrier like that would prove nothing, slowing down had allowed him to collide with the wall and cause it to crumble slightly from impact but halted him altogether. Emerging from his expanded ball form, Kenta prepared for what came next. 

[b]“A little girl like you wouldn’t be able to understand why I’ve done what I have; to pretend otherwise is just that, pretend!”[/b] Karela hadn’t proven the most intelligent out of the small combatants thus far, and so anything he attempted to explain might not have been understood nearly enough. All that came from yelling at her was more yelling back. Her next jutsu involved surrounding him in stone, to which the Hyuga he had dealt with earlier came charging towards him as the walls surround him closed. 

…

Well, that was it. Effectively shutting him into a tight space with no chance of gaining oxygen, the attack might have had greater effect if there was a combination of techniques that benefit the enemy. Instead, in the effort to protect Katsu Karela had limited his ability to see beyond the wall, and not only that rid herself and the others vision of him. Taking advantage of the mistake, Kenta had utilized the Hiding like a Mole technique, sinking underground to escape the prison and effectively make any follow-up Dren might have had even more useless. Her attack appeared to have mattered, but in reality the Akimichi had emerged behind Katsu and thrust an enlarged fist towards his back, intending to send him crashing through the crumbling wall that had stopped his initial attack on the boy. 

By taking advantage of Karela’s carelessness, Kenta intended to punish her comrade for it rather than her, if only to show her the error of her ways. Not only did she make any follow-up Dren had useless, but she had also robbed two of the Uchiha beside her of vision they would have needed to be most effective. The only one who might’ve known he submerged was Dren but beyond that he couldn’t have possibly known where he went, which made it more of a mystery.