So fast!
Tayuya was startled and immediately leapt back.
At the same time, the tune of her flute changed, and the three Doki suddenly increased their speed, charging at Sasuke. One swung a massive wooden club, another slashed with bony claws, and the last, wrapped in bandages, launched itself forward to body slam him.
Compared to those monstrous figures, Sasuke looked like a child. A head-on clash was impossible.
But he was faster. With a flicker of Raiton Shunshin (Lightning Body Flicker), his short blade was already at Tayuya's throat.
Eyes wide in shock, Tayuya instantly activated the first stage of her cursed seal. Black, jagged markings spread across her body as her speed surged.
With a few swift backflips, she narrowly dodged Sasuke's blade.
Her flute never ceased playing, its melody now distorted and eerie, drilling into Sasuke's ears and muddling his mind.
But Sasuke was sharp. He immediately activated his Sharingan, and the dissonance in his mind faded rapidly.
He sneered, "Trying genjutsu on an Uchiha? That's insulting. Even if it's a genjutsu through sound, in front of the Sharingan, all illusions are useless."
Tayuya fell silent, changing her melody again.
She had to admit she'd underestimated Sasuke. Her Demonic Flute: Illusion Harmony had no effect whatsoever.
And she had been forced to activate her cursed seal's first stage just to dodge his strike. If she'd been a second slower, her head might've been rolling on the ground.
Sasuke himself secretly exhaled in relief—he had nearly fallen for her genjutsu.
Luckily, he had followed Natsuki's advice and kept a calm mind. The moment he sensed the sound was off, he activated his Sharingan, neutralizing the illusion. If he'd been caught in a sound-based genjutsu, his pride as an Uchiha would've been shattered.
At the same time, he realized how strong the Sound Four actually were.
Just this girl, Tayuya, was already hard to deal with. The other three wouldn't be any easier. And the cursed seal's second stage? That was still an unknown.
"Hmph, Natsuki's intel wasn't detailed enough. This could get messy..."
Natsuki (somewhere off-screen): "Hey! Don't blame me!"
Honestly, it wasn't Natsuki's fault. All that intel came from memory, and the Sound Four were just early-story side characters—details were fuzzy at best. He had only managed to write down the most critical points, just enough to keep Sasuke's team from being completely blindsided.
And besides, a true shinobi was someone who could gather intel mid-battle and still come out on top, right?
—
Elsewhere, Shino was relentlessly attacking Jirōbō with waves of insects.
Jirōbō was constantly forced to dodge, sometimes using Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall) to try and block. But Earth Release was clearly less effective against bugs than Fire or Lightning Release. He dared not let them touch him — he knew all too well that the Aburame clan's insects drained chakra.
He could drain chakra too... but the problem was, he couldn't even touch his opponent!
"Damn it! If you've got the guts, come fight me one-on-one! What's the point of hiding behind bugs!?" Jirōbō roared in frustration.
"Heh. Empty rage," Shino responded calmly, completely unfazed by the taunts. The Aburame clan fought by commanding insects, not throwing fists. Why brawl with a meathead?
Also… didn't Choji hate being called a fat pig?
So Shino smirked slightly and spoke, "That's all you've got, huh? Fat pig."
Fat pig. Fat pig. Fat pig.
As expected, the taunt shattered Jirōbō's composure. Face dark with rage, he used Doton: Doryō Dango (Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling), drawing on chakra to lift a massive boulder and hurl it at Shino.
Shino dodged easily and used the opportunity to swarm him with insects.
Jirōbō cried out as his chakra was drained rapidly.
But Shino stayed alert — he knew it wasn't over yet. And sure enough, the next second, Jirōbō let out a furious roar, blasting all the insects off of him.
Dark markings appeared on his body, linked in triangular patterns. His chakra swelled with an ominous, sinister feel. Even the insects writhed uncomfortably.
"This chakra… is that the cursed seal's power?" Shino grew wary, directing his bugs to strike again.
But Jirōbō just sneered and stomped the ground, exploding forward with a burst of speed that shocked even Shino.
"Got you! Die!"
Jirōbō's punch ripped through the air, aiming to smash Shino into pulp.
Yet Shino remained unfazed, his hands flashing through seals. Just as the punch was about to land, he turned into a thin sheet of paper, drifting aside on the wind.
Henge no Jutsu: Kami-e! (Transformation Technique: Paper Drawing)
Jirōbō was dumbfounded. He kept punching and kicking, but the paper-like Shino was simply blown around by the wind, immune to the strikes.
Meanwhile, Shino's bug swarm caught up again, forcing Jirōbō to retreat.
Returning to normal, Shino stood calmly in place, as unreadable as ever.
"You can't hurt me. But I can keep attacking with my bugs. You can't win."
His voice carried a trace of smugness.
This technique was one of the Rokushiki (Six Styles) Natsuki had specially taught him—to make up for his weakness in taijutsu.
Now, no matter how strong or fast his opponent's fists were, they couldn't touch him. After all, brute force alone wasn't enough to harm a sheet of paper.
Jirōbō's face twisted in frustration. This opponent was his natural counter!
—
Meanwhile, Kakashi was fighting a two-on-one… or rather, a three-on-one.
Sakon and Ukon were conjoined brothers, and with Kidomaru in the mix, it was essentially a three-man assault.
Kidomaru, the spider freak, had already leapt into the trees and was continuously spitting webs to trap Kakashi.
Kakashi had to keep dodging—these webs were sticky. If he got caught, he'd be wide open for the others to attack.
Just then, Sakon and Ukon's taijutsu assault began. With four arms and four legs, the twins unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks. Normally, two fists couldn't beat four—but this time, they were wrong.
Kakashi had already trained under Natsuki's Four Demon Technique, so dealing with multi-limbed combatants wasn't new to him.
Realizing they were getting nowhere, Ukon suddenly detached his head and launched it at Kakashi, attempting to burrow into his body.
But Kakashi, already warned by Natsuki's intel, had been on guard. He used Shunshin no Jutsu to instantly evade the attack.
Though Natsuki didn't remember every detail about the Sound Four, he definitely hadn't forgotten the important stuff!
Especially the image of Kiba getting parasitized by Ukon's head — that was burned into his memory!
(End of Chapter)
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