"Me... me?!" Tayuya pointed a trembling finger at her own chest, her eyes wide with shock.
Why did people become shinobi?
For power?
For ideals?
For Tayuya, it was simple: money, status, and the freedom to do as she pleased. And what was the pinnacle of that?
Becoming the Kage of a village! The Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields would have to fund her! She'd have legions of subordinates, an endless budget… She'd be set for life!
A wave of dizzying, undeserved flattery washed over her.
"I-I will not fail you, Lord Orochimaru! I will go through fire and water!" she declared, puffing out her chest.
She and her three companions—Jirobō, Kidōmaru, and Sakon & Ukon—had no inkling of the storm that was about to descend upon them. Had she known the "ignorant, weak ninja" were students of the Namikaze Raimon, the man who had turned her lord and master's posterior into a botanical exhibit, her enthusiasm would have evaporated faster than a water droplet in the Sunagakure desert.
"Tayuya," Orochimaru continued, his voice a silken, sinister whisper. "A small group of foolish, overconfident Konoha ninja are about to trespass upon Otogakure. Take Kidōmaru and the others… and exterminate these nuisances for me."
****
Namikaze Raimon led his three young charges to the forested outskirts of what passed for Otogakure. Before them lay an entrance that looked less like a hidden village and more like the maw of a neglected tomb—dark, crumbling, and radiating an aura of cheap villainy.
"Uncle… this is a ninja village?" Naruto's voice was thick with disdain as he scrutinized the dismal gateway. Compared to the vibrant, walled splendor of Konoha, this place was a dank cave. It lacked all dignity.
Raimon had to agree. For a man with Orochimaru's ego and resources, the aesthetic was severely lacking. If he were building a secret evil lair, he'd have a grand, imposing gatehouse, maybe flanked by statues of Hashirama and Madara locked in eternal, decorative combat. That would make visitors bow in awe before they even entered.
"Consider this the final exam for your recent training," Raimon announced, his body flickering to a high branch in a nearby tree. He settled in, crossing his arms. He had no intention of intervening. Between Naruto's Kyuubi-boosted chaos and Sasuke's… specialized new skill set, this so-called 'village' should be little more than a playground.
****
"Heh… just three Konoha genin?"
Tayuya swaggered out of the gloomy entrance with her team in tow. Seeing the trio of young faces—two boys and a girl, all wearing Konoha's leaf insignia—her confidence soared. Lord Orochimaru was practically handing her the Kage hat! This mission was a formality.
"Halt! This is Otogakure territory! Surrender now and your deaths will be quick!" she proclaimed, hand on her hip.
Then her eyes narrowed, focusing on the spiky blond hair. A cold trickle of déjà vu ran down her spine. That hair… it reminded her of the reports, of the monster who had…
"Jirobō," she said, her voice dropping its bravado. "Stay alert. Cover our flanks."
"Pfft. Three brats? You're getting jumpy, Tayuya," the massive Jirobō grunted, cracking his knuckles.
"Don't underestimate Konoha's genin," Tayuya hissed back, her instincts screaming. In other villages, genin were cannon fodder. In Konoha, they were often prelude to a catastrophe.
"Is this all Orochimaru has to offer?" Sasuke's voice was ice, dripping with contempt. He didn't even bother to hide his disappointment. His Sharingan spun to life, casting the world in shades of red and grey. Beside him, Sakura Haruno fell into a defensive stance, shuriken held ready between her fingers.
"Be careful with the Uchiha," Tayuya ordered. "Lord Orochimaru wants his body intact."
She scanned the tree line, her unease growing. Where was the yellow-haired one? The real threat?
"Insignificant pests. Tell Orochimaru to come out and face me himself," Sasuke demanded, his pride stung. He had once seen the Sannin as a mountain. Now, after training under Raimon, the mountain seemed more like a speedbump.
"You arrogant little—!" Tayuya began, but her retort was cut short.
"Sasuke! Show 'em who's boss!" Naruto yelled, adopting a 'Senpai' posture that was both ridiculous and somehow fitting.
"Watch me, aniki!" Sasuke's lips curled into a predatory smile. The perfect test subjects had arrived.
He didn't waste time. Chakra surged, coalescing into a shrieking mass of blue lightning in his palm. But this wasn't a standard Chidori. This was his masterpiece, his magnum opus of posterior-focused warfare.
"Raiton Hiden: Chidori Senbon – Shi o Yobu Rōga Chō Shūshuku Yari!" (Lightning Release Secret Technique: Thousand Bird Needles – Death-Invoking Wolf Fang Ultra-Retractable Spear!)
The barbed, pulsating lance of lightning shot forward with a sound like tearing metal.
"Child's play!" Tayuya scoffed, though the bizarre, drill-like appearance sent a fresh chill through her. It looked… familiar in a deeply unpleasant way.
"Sakon! Ukon! Now!" she barked.
The twin brothers bit their thumbs and slammed their hands to the earth. "Kuchiyose: Sanjū Rashōmon!" (Summoning: Triple Rashōmon!)
Three colossal, demonic-faced gates erupted from the ground, forming a layered wall of legendary defense between Sasuke's attack and the Sound Four.
BOOM! The first gate shattered into splinters under the spear's impact.CRACK! The second gate groaned, holding momentarily against the piercing tip.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Not enough? Then… rotate!"
He poured more chakra into the technique. The barbed spear began to spin violently, a whirlwind of crackling lightning and sharpened malice.
GRIND—CRUNCH—BOOM!
The second gate lasted less than three seconds before being drilled through. The spear spent itself against the third, but the message was sent.
"Why… why does that technique seem so… personal?" Tayuya muttered, the horrifying memory clicking into place. The reports… Orochimaru-sama's injury… the drill…
Seizing the momentary pause, she yanked her flute to her lips. "Onkyōton: Matoi no Fue – Gen'on Kusari!" (Sound Release: Demonic Flute – Illusionary Sound Chains!)
A haunting, dissonant melody washed over Sasuke, designed to shackle his mind in auditory torment.
Sasuke didn't even flinch. "Heh. This is your genjutsu?"
The disdain in his voice was palpable. After surviving nightly sessions with Yūhi Kurenai's layered illusions and the innate, dream-based kekkei genkai of Yakumo Kurama, Tayuya's flute song was a mild irritant, a mosquito buzzing in his ear. It was less than one-tenth the agony of a single glance from Itachi.
'I still need to master the Flying Thunder God,' Sasuke thought coolly. That was the key to cornering his brother. His current chakra reserves were the main limitation. That massive spear technique had drained him significantly… but he had a solution.
"Aniki! A quick charge!" he called over his shoulder, darting back to Naruto.
"Go nuts, little bro!" Naruto grinned, clapping a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Instantly, a torrent of thick, potent, red-tinged chakra—courtesy of a supremely annoyed Kyuubi—flooded into Sasuke's coils.
"Enough! That's plenty!" Sasuke gasped, feeling the exhilarating, almost painful swell of power. He turned back to the Sound Four, a truly wicked smile spreading across his face. "Now… let's see how you like the full experience."
Lightning cloaked his body. He became a blue streak.
Tayuya's eyes widened. "So fast—!"
It was too late. Sasuke was already behind her, the air humming with malevolent energy.
"Raiton Hiden: Chidori Senbon – Shi o Yobu Rōga Chō Shūshuku Yari!"
This time, at point-blank range.
"Guh—!" The initial piercing sensation was sharp, but manageable. Then, the secondary function activated. The barbs along the lightning spear extended, anchoring themselves deep within. Tayuya's eyes shot open in shock and dawning horror.
"Now for the finishing touch," Sasuke murmured. He willed the spear to pulse.
THRUM-THRUM-THRUM-THRUM!
Like a jackhammer of pure lightning chakra, it began a rapid, punishing series of concussive extensions and retractions.
"GYAAAAAHHH—!" Tayuya's scream was raw. She collapsed forward, braced on her hands and knees, her body convulsing with each brutal impact.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three shadow clones appeared beside the original Sasuke. In perfect, horrifying sync, they thrust identical, barbed Chidori Sharp Spears towards the defenseless backsides of Kidōmaru, Jirobō, and Sakon & Ukon.
A chorus of agonized shrieks filled the clearing as the Sound Four fell in unison, reduced to writhing heaps on the forest floor. They had been so confident, so dismissive. They hadn't even activated their cursed seals. And now, they were undone by a technique of such specific, cruel ingenuity.
"Not bad at all," Raimon mused from his perch, a teacher's pride warring with mild concern for the future of the shinobi world. "The kid's a natural."
Through a haze of blinding, soul-deep pain, the final piece of the puzzle clicked for Tayuya. The yellow hair. The drill-based technique. The sheer, overwhelming humiliation of it all. Tears of agony and realization streamed down her face as she lay broken in the dirt.
She turned her head, a sob wrenching from her throat as she cried out towards the hidden entrance of her village, her dream of being Kage shattered into a million painful pieces:
"Lord Orochimaru… I don't… I don't want to be the Kage anymore!"