There was no hesitation.
Nor was there room for it.
From the very first exchange, the Sound shinobi revealed their full intent.
"Boom!"
A violent surge of chakra erupted outward.
The ground trembled beneath Jirōbō's feet as dark markings from the Cursed Seal spread across his body. Without restraint, he activated the first state immediately, muscles swelling with amplified strength.
"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"
With brute force alone, Jirōbō drove both hands into the earth and ripped upward. The soil split violently as a massive boulder—dense and compacted—was torn from the ground.
He hoisted it overhead as if it weighed nothing.
Then hurled it forward.
The trajectory was direct.
Oppressive.
"Scatter!" Shikamaru shouted instantly, his voice cutting through the chaos.
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
Naruto, Neji, Kiba, Shino, Chōji, and Lee dispersed in perfect reflex, springing outward in different directions moments before the enormous projectile smashed into the earth.
"BOOM!"
The impact cratered the ground, dust exploding skyward.
But the assault did not end there.
High above
Kidōmaru had already drawn his specialized chakra-forged bow.
The string tightened.
Multiple arrows materialized, formed from condensed chakra.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
The projectiles sliced through the air at terrifying speed.
These were not attacks ordinary genin or even average chūnin could easily evade.
"Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
Neji reacted first.
His Byakugan flared, veins bulging near his temples as he spun, releasing a perfect sphere of rotating chakra. The arrows deflected with metallic shrieks as they were repelled outward.
At nearly the same moment
"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!"
Shino extended his arms as a dense swarm of kikaichū erupted outward, forming a living barrier that absorbed and diverted the incoming barrage.
"Clink!"
"Thud!"
The attacks were neutralized.
Jirōbō and Kidōmaru exchanged brief glances.
Surprise flickered in their eyes.
It was not arrogance it was assessment.
Few shinobi had blocked their coordinated opening so cleanly.
And these opponents were barely in their teens.
"Are they planning to stall us?" Shikamaru muttered sharply, reading the situation almost instantly.
They had already crossed most of the Land of Fire.
The border was close.
If Sasuke was taken beyond it, pursuit would become diplomatically and tactically far more dangerous.
We have to intercept them before they leave the country.
Shikamaru's gaze hardened.
"Neji! Shino! Chōji!"
The three immediately understood.
The enemy intended to divide and delay.
Then they would counter in kind.
"We'll hold them here," Neji said calmly.
"Leave it to us," Shino added, tone steady.
Chōji clenched his fists. "We won't let them pass."
This configuration made tactical sense. Neji's close-range precision, Shino's battlefield control, and Chōji's brute force created the best counterbalance against two Cursed Seal users.
Shikamaru did not hesitate.
"Let's move! Naruto, Kiba, Lee!"
They broke formation at once, circling wide to pursue the remaining two.
Kidōmaru clicked his tongue.
"You think we'll let you through?"
He shifted to intercept
But Chōji moved first.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
He expanded partially and rolled forward at high speed, forcing Jirōbō backward with sheer impact.
Simultaneously
"Insect Sphere!"
Shino's kikaichū swarmed forward in suffocating density, cutting off Kidōmaru's firing line.
Neji closed distance in a blur of footwork, Byakugan locked on.
Jirōbō and Kidōmaru were forced into engagement.
Naruto's group slipped past.
Kidōmaru's irritation flared visibly.
"Damn it… I'll crush you!"
Dark chakra surged violently.
"Cursed Seal: Second State."
The markings spread completely, his body mutating into its second form, skin darkened, additional limbs emerging, spider-like in silhouette.
Jirōbō followed suit, entering his own second stage transformation, muscles expanding grotesquely as power multiplied.
The air grew heavy.
Oppressive.
Even Neji's expression turned solemn.
The chakra density had increased dramatically.
The battle in that clearing intensified instantly.
Explosions of chakra.
Shattered earth.
Roaring impacts.
Meanwhile
Far ahead.
Naruto's team continued pursuit.
Thanks to Kiba's heightened sense of smell and Akamaru's tracking ability, they maintained clear direction toward the fleeing pair.
"They're just ahead!" Kiba shouted.
Naruto increased speed, chakra flaring around him.
Up ahead
Sakon sensed them closing.
His expression darkened.
"They're persistent."
Tayuya glanced back, irritation clear. "What are Jirōbō and Kidōmaru doing?"
They burst from the forest line
Emerging onto an open plain.
No cover.
No terrain advantage.
Sakon calculated instantly.
At this rate, they would be caught within minutes.
He stopped abruptly.
"Tayuya. Take Sasuke. I'll hold them."
He removed the wooden barrel containing Sasuke and handed it over without hesitation.
Tayuya understood the terrain immediately an open field limited her flute-based genjutsu's positional advantage.
More importantly
Four pursuers were closing in.
They could not afford prolonged engagement.
"I'll move ahead," she said sharply.
She leapt away at full speed.
Sakon remained.
Dark markings spread across his body.
"Brother… time to wake up."
The Cursed Seal expanded.
A grotesque bulge formed along his back
Then split.
A second figure emerged, peeling outward from his body.
Ukon.
The twins' parasitic fusion ability manifested fully as they entered Cursed Seal Second State.
Their form transformed, skin deepened in color, limbs sharpened, chakra thick and malevolent.
A low, feral growl escaped them.
Moments later
Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee arrived.
They skidded to a halt.
Their eyes widened.
Before them stood what appeared to be two identical shinobi split from one body.
Shikamaru's pupils contracted.
So that's their ability…
The battle
Was about to escalate again.
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