Ten ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village tangled up Miyamoto and the others.
Yugito, who had entered half–Tailed Beast Transformation, was like walking into a land with no people. Relying on the tyrannical Tailed Beast cloak, she rammed open all obstacles in front, charging straight past Sasuke.
She wanted to end the battle quickly and decisively.
"Don't you dare touch my friends!"
Naruto shouted, gripping a short kunai and charging at Yugito.
He was blasted flying away, but that brief delay gave Sasuke enough time to form hand seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
A number of fireballs spewed out from Sasuke's mouth. A layer of Ripple wrapped around the fireballs, and under the manipulation of Ripple's power, each fireball seemed to gain life, attacking Yugito from every angle.
BOOM! BOOM!
Yugito could not dodge in time, taking several hits directly. Yet she did not feel annoyed, on the contrary, her eyes grew even more excited, 'This is the 'Ripple'! To let a brat, with just a beginner's ninjutsu, unleash several times the power!'
She broke through the encirclement of fireballs, stretching out her claws.
But Sasuke did not dodge at all, instead, he drew the long sword from his waist. Ripple's power surged into it, and on the unsharpened blade edge, a layer of extremely thin edge appeared.
Yugito did not understand, could it be Sasuke didn't know that she would seize him first with her claws?
At this moment, the sound of air tearing came.
A long whip covered in fine scales swept in from the distance, precisely wrapping around Yugito's wrist.
She turned her head and saw Rei, one hand waving the whip, the other hand clinging tightly to an electric pole.
Yugito's clawing movement paused for a moment.
And at that moment, 'Not good!'
Sasuke's gaze became incomparably focused as he stared at Yugito.
"Ninjutsu Nullification: Activate!"
The Tailed Beast cloak on Yugito's body suddenly exploded apart, scattering into countless blue light particles.
She was completely exposed under Sasuke's gaze.
Clearly, the opponent was just a child not even ten years old, yet at the instant their eyes met, Yugito's mouth went dry, her heart pounding wildly, her eyes seeing nothing but the longsword raised high.
The longsword came slashing down.
At the instant the blade was about to touch Yugito's forehead, dozens of poisonous snakes suddenly burst out from the ground, blocking the blade. Borrowing the obstruction of the snakes, Yugito at the last moment pulled away from the strike's range.
Thud! Thud!
The cut-in-half snakes fell to the ground.
Yugito gasped heavily.
This was Ninjutsu Nullification, a full negation of a ninja's power.
According to intel, Sasuke should not be able to use this ability consecutively.
The Tailed Beast cloak reappeared.
"It's time to end this struggle."
Yugito said coldly, once again pouncing forward.
"I told you, don't touch, my, friends!"
A surging wave of chakra burst forth, and it was a Tailed Beast's chakra, one Yugito was very familiar with!
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of an orange-red figure roaring toward her, behind the figure a huge fox phantom, and behind that phantom one, two, three…
'Nine tails!'
Yugito stared in astonishment at Naruto crashing into her chest.
'The Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails!'
'No, that's impossible, has Konoha gone mad?!'
'Sending their own Jinchūriki to another village to study?!'
Yugito was blocked carelessly by the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto. When she looked at Sasuke again, an ice mirror appeared behind him, and Haku stretched out a hand, pulling Sasuke into the mirror.
"Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
Sasuke, Rei, Haku, and Naruto.
The dignified Two-Tails Jinchūriki Yugito was actually stopped by four little brats.
Given time, she could absolutely take them all down, but what she lacked now was time.
———
Meanwhile, in a velvet bathrobe, Kamihara Hayato was rummaging through the room.
"Damn it! Where did I put it!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the battlefield outside the window.
Naruto's Nine-Tails transformation, plus Yugito's group underestimating Miyamoto as merely a samurai, the battle seemed locked in a stalemate.
But with Hayato's eyes, he could tell, such so-called variables would not last long.
This was the gap of hard strength.
He had to contact the outside immediately.
"Found it!"
Hayato pulled out a scroll, opened it, bit his finger, and slapped his palm down.
'Summoning Jutsu!'
Three ninja mice appeared.
"Quick! Quick, get the message out! The Hidden Cloud came to kidnap children!"
The ninja mice straightened up, saluted Hayato, then vanished with a puff.
Outside the Hidden Mist Village, ninja mice scurried through the sewers, spreading the news of the attack.
In less than ten minutes, the entire sleeping Mist Village woke up.
Mei Terumi, still in strawberry-bear pajamas, came to the barrier, shouting loudly, "Ninjutsu Squad! Prepare to unleash the combined ninjutsu!"
"Yes!"
Dozens of ninja stood in a line, hands forming seals at the same rhythm, no slightest difference among them. Their chakras fused into one, finally twisting together like a hemp rope, "Water Release: Water Iron Cannon Jutsu!"
A two-meter-wide water cannon, comparable to a missile, blasted at the barrier.
The invisible barrier covering dozens of meters shook violently, cracks spreading across it.
"Again!" Mei shouted.
———
[On Another Side of the Battlefield]
Asuma, Guy, and Ebisu looked at the barrier.
"Should we act?" Asuma asked.
Ebisu shook his head slightly, "This is a conflict between the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Mist. We, as a third party, I don't suggest getting involved. The best choice is to find a way to rescue Naruto and withdraw as soon as possible."
Asuma knew he wasn't wrong, but, "I'm going in."
Might Guy stepped forward, turning back to his two companions, "I'm not as smart as you two, I don't understand politics, villages, all that big-picture stuff. But what I do know is these days, it was the Mist Village people who treated us, who treated us as guests… no, as friends."
"If friends are in trouble, and I don't even dare to help, how can that still be called youth!"
Having said that, Guy no longer cared for his companions' words, howling as he charged forward.
———
[Inside the Barrier]
The two snake princesses' relaxed, carefree expressions finally changed.
Ichikishima-hime shouted hoarsely, "Hurry! Don't hold back, don't worry about exposure anymore!"
From ambush, to forced assault, and now if they kept delaying further, it would turn into all-out war with the Mist Village.
Yugito turned her head, looking at the barrier about to shatter. No need to conceal her chakra anymore. Who would have thought, what she thought was just "Ryosuke's follower," could be this troublesome.
She took a deep breath.
"ROAR!!"
Dozens of meters tall, her whole body burning in blue flames, a two-tailed cat demon with heterochromatic yellow-green eyes appeared.
The Two-Tails, Matatabi, was fully unleashed.
Matatabi opened her mouth wide, a blazing fireball forming inside, blasting downward.
The shockwave spread outward, the high temperature melting away all the Ice Release mirrors Haku had created.
The balance of the stalemated battle was completely broken in one blow.
Crack!
The sound of the barrier shattering came.
Matatabi opened her mouth again.
"Konoha Dynamic Entry!"
A size-44 foot, whirling, whistling, smashed onto Matatabi's nose. She cried out in pain, swinging her claws wildly.
Might Guy, like an agile monkey, twisted and leapt in the air, dodging the claws.
Yugito scanned the surroundings.
Mei Terumi, Zabuza, Ao, and the Mist ninjas.
Guy, Asuma, and the Konoha ninjas.
And more were still rushing over.
She had to go, if not now, she really wouldn't be able to escape.
She shouted to the two snake princesses hidden in the air, "Target me, use the Heavenly Transfer Technique!"
With that, Yugito lunged at Sasuke.
This time not to attack, her Tailed Beast chakra spread outward like a great cloth, about to wrap Sasuke within it.
Mei saw through her intent.
Yugito wanted to trap Sasuke in her chakra, abandon her comrades, and escape alone.
"Stop her!"
But a berserk Tailed Beast, if it could be stopped so easily, then how could a Tailed Beast be a strategic weapon?
Yugito abandoned all defense, relying on the vast chakra, tanking every attack, even risking serious injury, just to take Sasuke.
As Sasuke was about to be engulfed by chakra, Takeshi, Rei, Naruto… all of them leapt toward him.
"Got him!"
Matatabi's chakra enveloped Sasuke.
The two snake princesses came beside her, opening a sealing scroll.
Heavenly Transfer Technique, activate.
Two snakes and a cat, their figures flickering, about to vanish. Just then, a green figure flashed in like a ghost.
'Might Guy!'
"Morning Peacock!"
Fist winds like peacock feathers fanned out in an instant.
Sharp screams followed.
At the same time, Takeshi and a ninja mouse carrying a scroll rushed forward, seizing Sasuke's hand, trying to pull him out.
But it was too late.
The Heavenly Transfer Technique had already activated, their figures flickered unstably, about to vanish.
"Catch this!"
Mayuri shouted, pulling out Orochimaru's ninjutsu disc from her chest, throwing it toward Takeshi.
Takeshi raised a hand and caught it.
The next second, light flashed, two snakes and a cat, with Sasuke, Takeshi, and the little ninja mouse, disappeared.
The battlefield fell silent.
"Did we fail?"
Mei's heart was in chaos.
She didn't know, when Ryosuke returned, how to face him.
"We haven't failed yet!!!"
A head popped out from a second-floor window.
Hayato shouted, "My ninja mouse carrying the summoning scroll, at the very last instant before their teleport jutsu activated, released a summoning to interfere with their coordinates! I don't know where they got sent, but absolutely not back to the Hidden Cloud!"
Zabuza scratched his head, "But… the enemy doesn't know, we don't know either! How do we rescue them?"
Mei reacted, "Ryosuke! He has a mysterious little vine, so long as he knows, he can find them. The problem now is, how do we contact Ryosuke?"
Guy, ending his "Gate Opening" stance, said, "About Ryosuke… he should already know."
Guy and Kakashi were close friends. Just earlier, he had contacted Kakashi's ninja dog, Pakkun had already delivered the message to Ryosuke.
"We can't rely on Ryosuke entirely," Mei said.
Ryosuke was still on his way from the Land of Hot Water. Even if he knew, it would take time to arrive. They had to act simultaneously.
———
At the same time, in a forest, Yugito appeared out of thin air, crashing heavily onto the ground, her Tailed Beast cloak full of wounds.
Sasuke, Takeshi, and the little ninja mouse also fell.
Yugito released her transformation. She had tanked Morning Peacock, the Heavenly Transfer, and many ninjutsu, her chakra drained too much. If she didn't want to lose control, she could not re-enter Tailed Beast form for now.
However…
She slowly stood up, rubbing her wrist.
To deal with Sasuke and an ordinary villager, it was enough.
Sasuke held his sword, his gaze quickly scanning around.
Forest, a vast forest.
No trace of human habitation.
He quickly judged, "The message that we were taken away, most likely already reached Brother Ryosuke. With our power, even together, we can't win against a Tailed Beast Jinchūriki plus two Ryūchi Cave snake sages."
Fight, they couldn't win.
Run, they couldn't escape.
The only way to win was to bet on Ryosuke showing up.
The Hermit's Purple could perceive the target's actions, from there locating their exact position.
"But around us are only trees. That won't do, Brother Ryosuke can't find us like this."
"I'll hold them off. Takeshi-nii, you head for higher ground. As long as you find any landmark for Brother Ryosuke to know our location, we win!"
This was Sasuke's best strategy.
Takeshi shook his head, stepped forward, placing Orochimaru's disc back into his chest.
"Their target is you. If you stay, you won't delay anything. If I stay, I can stall them. Besides, "
Takeshi grinned.
"I'm an adult. How could I let a child protect me?"
Sasuke thought for half a second.
Rationally, Takeshi was right. Sasuke was faster, could find clues more quickly, and if Ryosuke used Hermit's Purple, he would definitely target Sasuke.
"I understand."
Sasuke turned and ran quickly toward the mountain peak.
Yugito's wounds healed swiftly under the snakes' healing. She looked at Takeshi's stance, rough, crude, but in those black-and-white eyes burst endless fighting spirit.
"Heh..."
Yugito chuckled lightly, "Just you, want to stop me? Do you know who I am?"
Takeshi didn't know, and didn't care.
Tailed Beast, Jinchūriki, even if the Raikage himself appeared, it didn't matter.
His life was one picked up from the dirt. He had witnessed too many tragedies. It was Ryosuke who gave him new hope, who let him live like a person again. He would not allow anyone to destroy this hope.
Back at the Factory, he followed Ryosuke out of fear.
But now, Takeshi no longer needed anyone's lead.
He stepped forward, fists clenched, Ripple's glow spreading across his skin, courage in his chest turning into power, "Come!"
"Before I die, don't even think of taking a single step past me!"
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