Dosu Kinuta adjusted the metal amplifier on his arm. The forest was quiet, but it was a deceptive silence. He knew there were teams hiding in the bushes, terrified, waiting for the predators to pass.
"This is taking too long," Zaku Abumi grumbled, kicking a mushroom. "Orochimaru-sama said we just had to wait for Sasuke Uchiha to be weakened. We heard the explosion. We should go in for the kill."
"Patience," Dosu hissed, his singular visible eye narrowing behind his bandages. "We are the clean-up crew. If we rush in while Orochimaru-sama is still playing, we die. We wait until the target is vulnerable."
Kin Tsuchi twirled a senbon needle with a bell attached to it. "I'm bored. Can't we just kill some randoms? I saw a team of leaf ninja hiding near the river."
"Focus on the mission," Dosu ordered. "We find Sasuke. We confirm the Curse Mark status. If he resists, we kill him. If he submits, we extract him."
They moved through the canopy, silent shadows loyal to the Sound Village. They were confident. They had their unique sound-based jutsu. They had Orochimaru's backing. They felt invincible against mere Genin.
They reached a clearing.
Dosu held up a hand. "Stop."
"What is it?" Zaku asked.
"I hear... footsteps."
Dosu knelt, pressing his amplifier toward the ground. He could hear the vibrations of a beetle crawling three miles away.
But this sound was different. It was a heavy, rhythmic thud. Sandals on dirt. It wasn't the frantic scurry of a ninja. It was the casual stroll of a man who owned the forest.
"One person," Dosu analyzed. "Moving toward us. No attempt at stealth."
"An idiot?" Zaku grinned, raising his hands. "Let's blow him away."
"Wait," Kin whispered. "Look."
From the shadows of the trees, a figure emerged.
He was tall. Ridiculously tall. He wore loose pants with a floral pattern and sandals. A black cloak hung over his shoulders, but his left sleeve was empty, pinned up. He had vibrant red hair that seemed to catch the minimal sunlight filtering through the leaves.
He stopped ten meters away from them.
He looked at them. His face was blank.
"Are you the Sound Team?" the man asked. His voice was deep, a rumble that Dosu's sensitive ears picked up with startling clarity.
"We might be," Dosu said cautiously, standing up. "Who's asking? A cripple?"
Zaku laughed. "Look at him, Dosu. One arm. No headband. He's probably a lost civilian. Hey, old man! Drop your money and maybe we'll let you live!"
The man didn't react to the insult. He just looked at their forehead protectors. The music note symbol.
"Sound," the man repeated. "Orochimaru's lackeys."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Dosu felt a cold sweat break out on his neck. The mention of their master's name was casual, disrespectful even.
"You know Lord Orochimaru?" Dosu asked, his hand hovering over his amplifier.
"I just met him," the man said. "We had a disagreement. He left in a hurry."
"Liar!" Zaku shouted. "Lord Orochimaru runs from no one! Especially not a one-armed nobody!"
Zaku thrust his palms forward. Air tubes implanted in his arms hissed.
"Decapitating Airwaves!"
A blast of supersonic air pressure and sound fired toward the red-haired man. It was powerful enough to shatter rock and pulverize bone.
The man didn't dodge.
He raised his right hand—his only hand.
He slapped the air.
SMACK.
It wasn't a jutsu. It was just a backhand slap against the empty space in front of him.
But the force of it created a counter-shockwave. A dense wall of air pressure collided with Zaku's blast.
BOOM.
The sound blast was reflected. It was shoved back down Zaku's throat.
"GAAH!" Zaku screamed as his own attack blew him backward, slamming him into a tree trunk. He slid down, groaning, his arm tubes smoking.
Dosu stared. "He... reflected sound with physical force?"
The red-haired man lowered his hand.
"I'm in a bad mood," Shanks said.
He took a step forward.
Kin threw her needles. The bells rang, creating a disorientation genjutsu.
Ring-a-ling-a-ling.
Shanks didn't even blink. He kept walking. The needles hit his black cloak and bounced off as if they had hit a steel wall.
"Your tricks are annoying," Shanks said.
He looked at Kin.
He glared.
Just a fraction of Conqueror's Haki. A tiny, focused needle of Willpower.
Kin's eyes rolled back into her head. She collapsed instantly, foaming at the mouth.
"Kin!" Dosu shouted.
He was the only one left standing. He realized, with dawning horror, that he was out of his depth. This wasn't a civilian. This was a monster.
"You..." Dosu trembled. "Who are you?"
"I'm the guy who's going to give you a message for your boss," Shanks said, stopping right in front of Dosu.
Dosu tried to attack. He aimed his amplifier at Shanks' ear. "Resonating Echo Drill!"
If this hit, it would liquefy the inner ear and destroy the brain.
Shanks moved.
He didn't strike Dosu. He grabbed the metal amplifier.
With one hand.
CRUNCH.
Shanks crushed the solid steel device like it was an empty soda can, while it was still attached to Dosu's arm.
"AAAAHHH!" Dosu screamed, falling to his knees, clutching his mangled gauntlet.
Shanks looked down at him. His eyes were shadowed, the scars glowing faintly in the dim light.
"Tell Orochimaru," Shanks said quietly. "If he sends any more of you after those kids... I won't just break his toys. I'll come to his village and I'll tear it down, brick by brick."
Shanks released the crushed metal.
"Now, pick up your friends and get out of my sight."
Dosu didn't argue. He didn't think. His survival instincts took over completely.
He grabbed the unconscious Kin with one arm and dragged the moaning Zaku with the other. He ran. He ran faster than he had ever run in his life, abandoning the mission, abandoning his pride, desperate to put distance between himself and the Red-Haired Death.
Shanks watched them go.
He sighed, the intimidating aura vanishing. He rubbed his neck.
"Man," Shanks muttered to the empty forest. "Being scary is exhausting. I hope Zabuza saved me some lunch."
He turned and walked away, leaving a silence in the clearing that no bird dared to break for hours.