Deep in the forest, Sasuke knelt on one knee, breathing heavily.
He looked at the five Shadow Clones of Naruto that had quietly appeared, his heart churning with complex, unspeakable emotions. A sense of relief surged uncontrollably; he found that whenever he was in danger, just seeing that orange jacket brought him a nearly instinctive feeling of safety.
This discovery brought him a moment of ease, but also a more intense feeling of humiliation.
Why was it him again?
Why was it always this guy who came to clean up the mess, every single time he pushed himself to his limits, thinking he could prove himself?
Even if it was just his clone.
"It's you... It's you again! Perfect, I was afraid you wouldn't come!"
A frenzied roar interrupted Sasuke's thoughts. Gaara, now a monster with half his body covered in sand, looked at Naruto's clones with eyes that intertwined the fear left from the preliminary rounds and a morbid excitement. He didn't care about these clones; he only recognized the aura that made him tremble and yearn.
He wanted to prove himself, to this man who made him feel "existence," to prove his worth.
"Then come."
Gaara abandoned his last suppression of the monster within him, forming a hand seal.
"Feigning Sleep Technique!"
His consciousness sank into darkness, completely surrendering control of his body to the sealed beast.
Sand shot up into the sky.
It wildly condensed and reshaped on Gaara's body. Bones, muscles, skin—all formed from rapidly flowing yellow sand. A complete, gigantic tanuki monster roared into existence in the forest.
Ichibi, Shukaku.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
A mad roar shook the entire forest, and a massive wave of Chakra blew the surrounding trees backward.
At the exact moment Shukaku fully formed, five more Naruto Shadow Clones silently appeared from various parts of the forest. They merged with the first squad, totaling ten individuals, forming two standard five-person tactical teams, one in front and one behind, creating a pincer movement that surrounded the colossal Shukaku in the center.
"Target has completed 'Demonization' transformation."
One of the clone captains calmly issued the command, his voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"First Squad is responsible for frontal containment, cutting off its limb attack capabilities. Second Squad is responsible for mobile support, searching for core weaknesses."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Chainswords in the hands of the five members of the First Squad simultaneously let out a deafening roar.
The five Shadow Clones, with a synergy beyond human limits, charged simultaneously from five completely different angles. The sword blades, infused with Wind Release Chakra, spun at high speed, and arcs of electricity flickered on their serrated edges, aiming directly at the joints of Shukaku's sand-formed limbs.
"Bugs!"
Shukaku roared with laughter. It didn't care about these tiny attacks at all. A giant sand arm, carrying a whistling wind, slammed down fiercely towards a Shadow Clone directly in front.
That Shadow Clone didn't retreat; instead, he accelerated forward.
Just before the sand palm was about to strike, he pushed off with his feet, his body sliding sideways in a manner that defied combat common sense.
At the same time, the other four Chainswords, from the other four directions, precisely struck the joints of Shukaku's two legs and another arm.
"Screech!"
The high-frequency vibrating sawteeth easily cut through the high-density sand, and one of Shukaku's arms was cleanly severed.
The severed sand arm disintegrated in the air, turning into countless grains of sand, but almost simultaneously, more sand surged from Shukaku's body, and the severed arm rapidly reformed.
Seizing the moment of pause in Shukaku's attack, the Second Squad moved.
They did not participate in the attack but moved at high speed to Sasuke's side.
A Chainsword in one clone's hand hummed as it flashed, precisely severing the last strand of sand binding Sasuke's ankle.
"Retrieve Uchiha Sasuke."
Another clone bent down, grabbing Sasuke's clothes on his back with one hand as if picking up cargo, and directly hoisted him up, his Chakra depleted. In a few leaps, he retreated to a safe distance a hundred meters away.
Sasuke was dizzy from the rough handling, and an intense feeling of shame made him grit his teeth, his ears burning red.
The clone casually put him down, handing him over to Shikamaru, who had a troubled expression.
"Watch him; he's important assets."
The clone dropped this sentence, then turned and rejoined the battle, not sparing Sasuke another glance throughout the entire process.
"Hey, hey, at least be a little gentler..."
Shikamaru complained with a yawn, supporting the swaying Sasuke.
"I don't need your help!"
Sasuke struggled, growling at the clone's retreating back.
"Is that so?"
Shikamaru glanced at him, realizing there was something to talk about.
"Then you almost got flattened just now. Stay quiet, and don't cause us any more trouble, Uchiha genius."
Shukaku, with its arm severed, was thoroughly enraged.
It opened its massive mouth, inhaling sharply, and its chest and abdomen visibly expanded.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
Countless sand particles compressed to the extreme, mixed with Wind Release Chakra, transformed into dense projectiles that shot out indiscriminately in all directions.
Each Drilling Air Bullet possessed the power to easily pierce steel.
Facing this area-wide attack, Naruto's Shadow Clones demonstrated astonishing adaptability.
The three clones at the very front instantly crisscrossed their positions, and the Chainswords in their hands spun at an even higher frequency, forming three temporary shields made of rotating blades.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"
The dense Drilling Air Bullets struck the sword blades, erupting in dazzling sparks, but they couldn't penetrate an inch, all being deflected to the sides.
The other seven clones, using this momentary cover, either dodged or used thick tree trunks as cover, evading all attacks with minimal movement.
After the hail of bullets, the ten Shadow Clones were completely unharmed.
On the other side, at the edge of the forest.
Kankuro watched Gaara, who had fully transformed into a Tailed Beast, and knew that the plan had completely spiraled out of control.
"Temari, let's go! Retreat first!"
He called to his sister, preparing to leave this dangerous place. But before retreating, he cast a dark glance at Sasuke, who had been rescued in the distance.
"He can't be allowed to return alive."
His fingers twitched, controlling his puppet "Crow" behind him. Several arms of Crow silently extended from beneath the black cloth, aiming in Sasuke's direction, dozens of poison-tipped senbon ready to fire.
Just as he was about to shoot the poisoned needles, a faint buzzing sound arose.
Countless black insects appeared out of nowhere between him and Sasuke, forming a thick, constantly writhing black wall.
"What?"
Kankuro's movement froze.
A young man wearing a high-collared trench coat and sunglasses stood silently on a nearby tree branch.
Shino Aburame.
"Your opponent is me."
Shino pushed up his sunglasses, speaking calmly.
"You just tried to attack my comrade, so, just because you forfeited doesn't mean you don't have to fight.
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