Two clouds of white smoke burst from the shinobi caught in the trees.
Shadow clones.
The trees themselves were part of Kurenai's genjutsu, but she had only managed to trap decoys.
A hand suddenly settled on her right shoulder.
The point of contact turned black. The discoloration spread rapidly down her arm and across her body—
Then she, too, vanished in a puff of smoke.
Neither side had committed their real bodies to the opening exchange. Against unfamiliar enemies, even a brief moment spent testing an opponent could mean the difference between life and death.
But the enemy's precautions told Naruto something.
They had detected him and Kurenai before the attack.
One of them was a sensory type.
And Naruto already had a good idea who they were.
These two had followed his group, circled around them, and reached Sakura first. The Sound uniforms were disguises meant to conceal their true affiliation.
Root.
The insects living inside one man reminded Naruto of Shino. That alone narrowed the possibilities considerably.
Torune Aburame. One of Danzō's bodyguards.
To avoid revealing his clan, Torune had used a shadow clone instead of an insect clone.
Against Naruto, the effort was wasted.
The other man's identity had been less obvious. But if Torune's partner was also a sensory type…
Fū Yamanaka?
There was a chance he was someone else, but Fū was the most likely answer.
Naruto rose into the air, putting himself beyond the reach of Torune's venomous, microscopic insects.
Through his senses, he could tell that the second shinobi was already moving away with Sakura. Torune had remained behind to delay their pursuers.
The mission came first. That was how Root operated.
"Kurenai-sensei! The other one's taking Sakura that way. Go after him!"
Naruto pointed through the trees.
Once Kurenai left, he could fight without holding back.
"Understood!"
She immediately changed direction and gave chase.
Hinata quietly followed her.
Torune moved to intercept them, only for several wind blades to slash across his path.
He stopped and looked up at Naruto.
His situation was getting worse. With his opponent staying out of reach, the insects that made him so dangerous were of little use.
"Wind Release: Wind Wall!"
Naruto brought his hands together.
A circular wall of churning wind sprang up around Torune.
He tried to escape before it closed, but the wind moved too quickly. Within moments, he was completely surrounded.
Torune remained composed.
Beneath his feet, insects gathered into a tightly spinning drill and began boring into the ground.
If he couldn't pass through the wall, he would go beneath it.
Naruto wasn't particularly surprised.
Shino's insects can form bridges. A swarm digging a tunnel isn't so difficult to believe.
These were clan techniques, after all. Torune hadn't become one of Danzō's bodyguards by relying on a single trick.
Unfortunately for him, Naruto could sense exactly what he was doing.
Lightning chakra poured into the Sky Thunder Sword.
The blade crackled with electricity before Naruto hurled it point-first into the earth.
Lightning spread through the ground.
The insects tunneling beneath Torune were electrocuted almost immediately.
Raiga had used a similar method during their battle.
Torune's expression tightened beneath his mask.
His escape route was gone. Worse, he had to leap off the ground to avoid the electricity spreading toward his feet.
That left him suspended inside the wind wall.
An easy target.
"Wind Release: Hurricane!"
Violent gusts erupted within the enclosure.
Countless wind blades tore through the swirling air, catching Torune before he could land. His body was thrown about like a leaf in a storm, then cut apart.
Naruto followed with another barrage of lightning.
He kept it up until the remains were blackened and charred.
Only then did he unleash a wave of dragon-shaped flames, burning everything to ash.
"There. That should take care of the insects."
Naruto smiled.
A small whirlwind lifted the Sky Thunder Sword from the ground. Electricity still flickered along its blade as he guided it back into his hand and secured it across his back.
He never touched the ground.
Instead, he flew straight after Kurenai.
[Ding! One jōnin killed. Reward: 100 points.]
His smile widened at the notification.
Torune's abilities were lethal. Those insects were ideal for assassination and surprise attacks. One careless touch could decide a fight.
Danzō had good reason to keep him close.
But Naruto could sense his movements, stay beyond his reach, and attack with several chakra natures.
Torune had faced an opponent perfectly suited to killing him.
…
Kurenai pursued the shinobi carrying Sakura through the forest.
The Sound uniform and his apparent attempt to take Sakura to Orochimaru had convinced her that he was one of Orochimaru's men.
She had never considered that he might belong to Root.
Nor was she prepared to encounter one of the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques.
A strange scarecrow suddenly dropped from a tree ahead of her, swinging a sickle.
Kurenai drew a kunai and caught the blade.
Then she saw her attacker clearly.
A scarecrow? A puppet?
As a jōnin who specialized in genjutsu, close combat wasn't her strongest area. The unfamiliar opponent made her hesitate for an instant.
That was enough.
The seal on the scarecrow's face vanished.
Kurenai's vision went black.
When she could see again, her own body was standing in front of her.
"What…?"
She tried to move.
Nothing happened.
She was looking out through the scarecrow.
Fū had no intention of giving her time to understand.
Controlling Kurenai's body, he quickly arranged the sickle into a simple trap, positioning its blade to catch her throat.
Then he forced her body to leap toward it.
He only needed to withdraw his consciousness just before the blade severed her neck. Kurenai would die, and he would return safely to his own body.
Trapped inside the scarecrow, Kurenai finally understood.
The Yamanaka clan…!
This wasn't an ordinary puppet technique.
Her opponent had exchanged their consciousnesses.
But recognizing it now changed nothing.
Her own body was already moving toward the sickle, and she couldn't stop it.
Despair gripped her.
…
At that moment, Naruto reached the tree where Fū's real body was hidden.
He stopped a short distance away.
Fū had concealed himself inside a deep hollow, but Naruto's senses had located him immediately.
There was also a trap guarding the approach.
Using the Mind Puppet Switch Cursed Seal Technique left Fū's real body helpless. While his consciousness occupied another body, he couldn't see or respond to anything happening around his own.
Normally, a teammate would protect him.
This time, he had been forced to rely on traps.
To quickly eliminate Kurenai before her companion caught up, he had accepted the risk of leaving his body unattended.
He hadn't expected Naruto to arrive so soon.
How could he have known Torune would be killed that quickly?
And even if Naruto caught up, Fū had counted on his hiding place buying him time.
Naruto's sensory ability had made that precaution useless.
The trap was his final safeguard.
Anyone approaching carelessly would be injured or killed. Its activation would also warn Fū's distant consciousness, allowing him to return immediately.
But Naruto had already detected it.
He looked toward the hollow, a faint smile appearing on his face.
A skilled shinobi. He would make a useful subordinate.
Unfortunately, Fū's loyalty belonged to Danzō.
"Then I'll have to kill you."
Naruto raised the Sky Thunder Sword and aimed its tip at the hidden body.
A thick bolt of lightning erupted from the blade.
It blasted through the trap and struck the tree hollow, destroying Fū's body in a single blow.
Far away, the consciousness controlling Kurenai felt what had happened.
A moment of terror.
Then nothing.
Fū Yamanaka was dead.
Both of Danzō's bodyguards had been eliminated.
[Ding! One jōnin killed. Reward: 100 points.]
Kurenai's consciousness snapped back into her own body.
The sickle was already at her throat.
She twisted desperately.
The blade missed her neck and drove into her right shoulder instead.
Pain shot through her, but she was alive.
Cold sweat covered her forehead.