Rumble rumble.
Hearing the continuous loud explosions ahead, Ryuzetsu and Chino exchanged glances.
"It sounds like a massive battle broke out up there!"
Chino tried to peer into the distance, but the dense trees of the Forest of Death blocked her view, making it impossible to see clearly.
Ryuzetsu nodded. "Yeah, for some reason, the chakra over there feels… evil. I don't know who's fighting!"
Chino's face lit up with curiosity. "Should we go check it out?"
Ryuzetsu pondered for a moment before nodding. "Let's go take a look!"
Their current path followed the direction Kurotsuchi had pointed out, where the fake Shigenobu Tera had fled. If they continued, they might catch up to him.
Plus, Ryuzetsu was confident in her and Chino's speed. Even if they encountered a strong enemy, they could escape by relying on their agility.
…
On the battlefield, ravaged as if a hurricane had passed through, Tayuya's summoned Three Demons lay defeated: one sprawled face-up on the ground, another slumped motionless against a tree.
The last one crouched, arms wrapped protectively around Tayuya, who was panting heavily inside.
On the other side, Jirōbō, missing an arm, hid behind his summoned Clay Doll, his face ashen.
As for Sakon, who had been blinded by rage, he had followed Ukon's fate, his head smashed and his body lost somewhere in the wreckage.
Sasuke, meanwhile, was only slightly out of breath, unscathed.
Tayuya shouted in desperation, "Kidōmaru, if you don't make a move, we're done for!"
Jirōbō echoed, "This guy's a monster!"
The surrounding trees remained eerily silent, as if no one were hiding within.
Sasuke shook his head lightly. "It's not that he doesn't want to act—he just can't find an opening!"
Tayuya frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"If he hadn't been lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush me, you'd all be dead by now!" Sasuke paused, then looked up and called out, "You're smart, knowing that staying hidden keeps you a threat. Once you act, you're useless! Too bad your teammates are just worthless trash who can't even force me to slip up!"
Jirōbō roared in anger, "You bastard!"
Tayuya quickly interjected, "Calm down! His mastery of the Cursed Seal isn't as refined as ours. If we drag this out, we'll win!"
Sasuke glanced at Tayuya faintly.
She wasn't wrong. Though his chakra remained plentiful, his body was starting to feel out of sync.
His instincts screamed that he needed to end this fight quickly and exit the Cursed Seal state, or the consequences would be more than he could bear.
With his resolve set, Sasuke formed hand signs and unleashed a Fireball Jutsu toward Tayuya.
Using the flames to obscure Tayuya's vision, he flashed toward Jirōbō.
The Clay Doll guarding Jirōbō reacted, swinging its massive fist at Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't engage the Clay Doll head-on. He'd already shattered it several times, only for it to regenerate each time. Instead, he leaped high, soaring over the Clay Doll from above.
Jirōbō, who had been wary of Sasuke flanking from the sides, was caught off guard when Sasuke chose to vault overhead. Forced to abandon the traps he'd set on either side of the Clay Doll, Jirōbō retreated hastily.
But with one arm gone and heavily injured, how could his speed match Sasuke's? In just a breath or two, Sasuke closed the gap.
"Damn it!"
Jirōbō's eyes filled with panic.
Swish. At that moment, a golden arrow shot from an angle, perfectly positioned to block Sasuke's path to Jirōbō.
But Sasuke seemed to have anticipated it, deliberately slowing his pace to dodge the arrow. Then, with a tap of his foot, he accelerated abruptly, lunging at Jirōbō. His hand, crackling with dazzling lightning, pierced Jirōbō's chest in an instant! Jirōbō coughed up blood, gasping, "You… you knew he'd shoot?"
Sasuke, having impaled Jirōbō with Chidori, didn't rush to withdraw his arm. Instead, he used Jirōbō's body to block Kidōmaru's line of fire before speaking slowly, "An archer without dojutsu—how high can their ceiling really be?"
Seeing Jirōbō fall to Sasuke, Tayuya's face twisted in dismay. "Is this what a Mangekyō Uchiha is?"
Early in their clash, Sasuke had sliced her flute in half. Though she could still use her flute's sound to cast genjutsu, its effectiveness was greatly diminished.
Because of this, she keenly felt Sasuke's extraordinary combat instincts and terrifying perception, which left her schemes with nowhere to hide!
As if realizing something, Tayuya shouted, "Kidōmaru, run! We've already lost!"
Sasuke froze for a moment, then flung aside Jirōbō's lifeless body and charged at Tayuya.
To him, the Sound Four would either surrender or die—no one was escaping easily!
Tayuya spread her arms wide, as if giving up resistance.
Sasuke's brow furrowed, his movements hesitating slightly.
Swish. At that moment, the familiar sound of an arrow cutting through the air rang out again! Sasuke's Sharingan darted left and right, searching for the incoming golden arrow. But his expression soon froze—he couldn't find it.
Just as confusion set in, Tayuya, standing before him, was pierced from behind by a golden arrow with a whoosh. The arrow's momentum carried it straight toward Sasuke.
"!?"
Caught off guard, Sasuke barely managed to avoid a fatal hit, but the arrow pierced his shoulder! Though struck, Sasuke didn't lash out in frustration. He merely stared coldly as Tayuya, a faint smile on her lips, slowly collapsed.
Undoubtedly.
Tayuya's earlier call for Kidōmaru to flee and her act of spreading her arms in surrender were all to deceive Sasuke, creating an opening for Kidōmaru's critical shot! Even though that opening cost her life!
With Tayuya down, only Kidōmaru remained of the Sound Four. Sasuke clutched his wound and looked toward the direction the arrow had come from. As an expert archer himself—his Susanoo's weapon was a bow, after all—he had already roughly pinpointed Kidōmaru's location based on the two arrows.
"I don't know what you've been through to care so little for your comrades' lives, but it doesn't matter. I'll send you to join them soon enough!"
Ignoring his injuries, Sasuke sped toward Kidōmaru's position.