25Sasuke battleAI Model: gemini-3.0-flashChapter 25: The Battle for Sasuke
"...Me?"
Hearing Tayuya's command, Kin subconsciously shivered.
Yesterday, that yellow-haired guy had left a massive psychological shadow on her.
The scenes were still vivid in her mind; Kin naturally didn't dare to risk herself.
"Scared?"
"What a disgrace, you useless thing."
Tayuya took a step forward.
Before her voice had even faded, her toes lightly tapped the ground.
She leapt up like a bird, and after gaining momentum a few times, she arrived beneath the tree trunk where Sakura was hiding.
Just as she was about to step onto the trunk—
Hum!
An abrupt pulling force suddenly came from beneath her feet.
Steel wires as thin as hair suddenly snapped taut!
"!"
Tayuya's body was forcibly jerked off course in mid-air, her ankle entangled, and she slammed hard against the tree trunk.
Crack.
The bark shattered.
Several exploding tags were pulled out simultaneously, and flames ignited.
Boom—!
"Did... did it work?!"
Sakura, up in the tree, widened her eyes.
This was a trap she had set in a very short amount of time.
Using steel wires and exploding tags, as long as the opponent approached, they would—
"Really..."
Amidst the smoke and dust, Tayuya's voice suddenly rang out.
"Naïve."
Bang!
Sakura didn't even have time to see the opponent's movements clearly; she felt a blur before her eyes.
In the next second, a massive force suddenly came from her abdomen.
She was kicked off the tree, slamming heavily onto the ground and rolling several times. A heart-wrenching pain radiated from her back and shoulders.
"Cough... cough..."
Her vision was blurry, and her ears were ringing.
She forced herself to look up, and the figures of the other two Otogakure ninja had already appeared before her eyes.
"Got him."
Tayuya returned to her companions' side, carrying the unconscious Sasuke with one hand.
The boy's body hung limply, his black hair obscuring his face.
"Honestly, he's too weak. This isn't fun at all."
Jirobo then asked, "Where's the other one?"
"Don't know," Tayuya shook her head. "Didn't see him. He probably abandoned his companions and ran away alone."
Ran away?
Hearing the news that the yellow-haired guy wasn't here, Kin visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, what do we do with this guy now?"
Tayuya threw Sasuke onto the ground and then stepped on his chest.
She bent down and slapped Sasuke's face.
"Hey, wake up!"
Orochimaru had told them to suppress and humiliate this boy named Uchiha Sasuke as much as possible to force him to use the power of the Cursed Seal.
But now, the opponent was completely unconscious and couldn't give any response at all.
"Tsk, out that cold?"
She applied a little pressure with her foot.
Crack.
Sasuke's body made a sound like something breaking.
The black Cursed Seal on his neck seemed like a startled venomous snake, wriggling slowly for a moment before quickly falling silent again.
"It's no good," Tayuya curled her lip. "Not enough stimulation."
"How about I try?"
Jirobo flexed his thick arms.
"No, if you break him, Lord Orochimaru definitely won't forgive us."
Tayuya flatly refused.
Just as she squatted down, leaning close to Sasukeand thinking about whether to try another form of stimulation—
"Stay away from him!"
A tearful shout came from the side.
Tayuya paused and turned her head.
Not far away, Sakura propped herself up from the ground and stood up shakily.
"Oh? Forgot there was another one here."
Tayuya narrowed her eyes, only just remembering.
She stood up, her figure blurring.
Sakura didn't even have time to react before she felt her scalp tighten.
Pain exploded.
Tayuya grabbed her hair and lifted her entire body up.
"Tsk, your hair is quite smooth."
With a casual tug, she dragged Sakura over to Sasuke's side and threw her on the ground like trash.
Bang.
Sakura fell heavily, her forehead hitting the dirt. Her vision went black, but she still desperately raised her head.
"Uchiha~ Uchiha brat..."
At that moment, Tayuya suddenly bent down and grabbed Sakura's hair again.
She forcibly pulled her close to Sasuke, forcing their faces to be almost touching.
"What is she to you? A companion? A friend? Or... a girlfriend?"
"It doesn't matter what she is. If you don't wake up soon—"
"This pink-haired little girl is going to have a bad time, okay?"
Still no reaction.
"Seems like it's still not enough stimulation. Jirobo..."
Tayuya beckoned to her companion behind her.
The latter grinned and walked over, reaching out his thick arm.
A moment before his fingers touched her, a flash of determination crossed Sakura's eyes.
"..."
"Don't touch me!!"
Using all her strength, she pulled a Kunai from her ninja tool pouch and slashed hard at her long hair, which was being held by Tayuya.
Swish—!
This long hair had once been what Sakuratreasured most.
At this moment, she cut it off with her own hands.
Strands of hair scattered in the air, but she also broke free from Tayuya's control.
"I won't let you..."
"...hurt Sasuke anymore!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Sakura formed a seal with one hand and gripped her Kunai tightly with the other, charging at Jirobo.
In this moment, she was no longer the girl who only knew how to hide behind her companions.
In this moment, Sakura burst forth with unprecedented courage.
"Watch out, it's a Substitution Jutsu."
Tayuya gave a lazy reminder.
"I know."
Jirobo raised his foot.
In the next second, he captured the hidden real body.
Bang!
Sakura's body was stomped hard by Jirobo's massive foot. She arched her body in pain, tears flowing uncontrollably from the agony.
"Brat, your companion is about to be stomped to death by me!"
Jirobo sneered, shouting toward Sasuke's direction.
But Sakura still clung tightly to his ankle.
As long as she didn't let go, Sasuke would be their next target.
She dug her nails deep into his rough skin.
Jirobo frowned, looking at this girl clinging to his foot.
Just as he was about to end this farce, a roar came from behind him.
"Enough!"
The Team 10 Ino-Shika-Cho Trio had originally just been tracking Naruto and had accidentally arrived here.
Hiding in the grass, they had witnessed the entire process.
They hadn't wanted to interfere.
Until Ino saw Sakura's blood-covered appearance and her refusal to give up; she finally couldn't take it anymore.
She and Sakura had been best friends since childhood.
It was only later, because they both liked Sasuke, that they gradually drifted apart.
But that bit of awkwardness was completely insignificant at this moment.
"Let—her—go!!"
Ino couldn't hold back any longer and rushed out from the grass.
"Ino?"
Sakura's pupils shrank, her voice hoarse, "Don't come over!!"
Shikamaru cursed under his breath about the trouble, but he could only stand up too, sighing.
"Honestly... even if we're going to help, we should have done a sneak attack. Who shows up so openly? Ino, you idiot..."
Choji swallowed hard but still stood beside the two of them.
"Oh? A few more coming to die?"
Jirobo curled his lip, his tone dismissive, "Konohabrats, each one is more..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a whistling wind in his ear.
Crack!
Accompanied by the sound of shattering bones, Jirobo felt an irresistible, massive force kick him from the side.
His robust body actually flew out like it had been hit by a cannonball.
"Jirobo?!"
Tayuya spun around. A figure was already standing steadily in place, helping Sakura up.
Green jumpsuit, bowl cut, thick eyebrows.
The newcomer was Rock Lee.
"How dare you hurt Young Miss Sakura... unforgivable!"
Just as Tayuya was about to pull out her flute to deal with the guy in front of her, a low voice suddenly rang out.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm!"
Boom—!
A palm wind carrying Chakra hit her back with lightning speed, sending her flying.
Hyuga Neji slowly walked over to Rock Lee's side and looked at Sakura in his arms.
"Where is that guy?"
Sakura didn't snap out of it for a moment.
"...Who?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, the Dead Last, the scum, the orphan."
"I, I don't know either..."
At that moment, Tenten landed beside Sasuke and picked him up.
After the recent battle, Sasuke's body was already covered in wounds.
Feeling Sasuke leaning limply against her and catching his warm breath, Tenten chuckled.
"As expected... following the Byakugan is never wrong. Neji is actually reliable at critical moments!"
Just as she was about to take out her bandages to treat Sasuke—
A Wind Release attack suddenly came at her!
Tenten instinctively dodged.
A dark shadow appeared from another direction like a ghost, snatching Sasuke from Tenten's arms with incredible speed.
"Sasuke?!"
Tenten was shocked.
The shadow, carrying Sasuke, landed steadily on a high tree branch after a few jumps.
"Another enemy?"
Rock Lee was about to rush up when Neji stopped him.
"Wait, I'll take care of this one."
Tayuya and Jirobo, who had finally gotten up, were also uncertain, not understanding why a third party had suddenly appeared.
On the tree, the dark shadow finally revealed her form.
Sandy-gold short hair, a tall figure, and a Sunagakure headband around her neck.
Temari lifted the boy in her hand and examined him carefully.
"Uchiha Sasuke..."
"Sure enough, that wild boar-head bastard was you!"