CRASH!
In the sky, the flying beast landed somewhat awkwardly beside the man and woman.
"Ran, what happened?" the woman asked, her voice low and serious as she looked at the disheveled Ran and his equally battered flying beast. As she spoke, her gaze had already shifted to the distant horizon. Far off, she could already see a colossal figure rapidly approaching their position, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and smoke in its wake.
Beside her, the androgynous man asked, "What is that thing?"
Hearing the man's question, Ran replied, his voice strained, "It's that little brat's summoning animal."
Hiss~
Hearing Ran's words, his two companions both drew in a sharp, surprised breath. According to the intelligence they had gathered, weren't the three brats accompanying their master's target just recently graduated Genin from Konoha Village? Looking at the imposing aura and sheer size of the approaching creature, could such a powerful summoning beast truly be summoned by such a young, inexperienced kid?
For a moment, all three of them began to doubt the efficacy of the Chimera Technique Hiruko had used on them, the technique that was supposed to make them superior.
In front of the entrance to the round, pot-shaped building, Hiruko also looked up, his gaze fixed on the rapidly approaching blue snake in the distance.
Swoosh~
His figure flickered, and Hiruko appeared beside his three subordinates. Gazing at the colossal blue snake speeding towards them, his eyes held a mixture of shock and eager anticipation. Such a powerful summoning beast… it would make an absolutely perfect fusion material! If he could use this blue snake as a base to create a new fused summoning beast using his Chimera Technique, how incredibly powerful would it be!
At this thought, Hiruko's hands formed a specific seal. Below, on Kakashi's forehead, the red light of the Puppet Curse Mark immediately began to flash intensely. Feeling Hiruko's will attempting to seize control of his body, Kakashi, with a subtle flick of his right wrist, tossed a kunai a short distance away from himself.
Just a few seconds later, Kakashi's eyes were completely suffused with a crimson glow; he had utterly lost control of his own body. He moved stiffly, almost like a puppet, and with a single leap, arrived beside Hiruko.
At this moment, Naruto and Sasuke, riding atop Seiryu's head, finally arrived at the scene.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Seeing Kakashi standing beside Hiruko, Naruto shouted, his voice filled with alarm. However, Kakashi gave no response whatsoever.
"Naruto, it looks like Kakashi-sensei is being controlled by them!" Beside him, Sasuke quickly grabbed Naruto, who was about to leap down, and warned him in a low, serious voice.
"Sharingan? So, it's a little brat from the Uchiha clan, is it?" Seeing the crimson Sharingan with its single tomoe spinning in Sasuke's eyes, Hiruko remarked softly, a hint of interest in his voice. Faced with Seiryu, which radiated an aura of immense power, Hiruko showed not the slightest trace of fear.
"Seiryu, take them down!" Seeing this, Sasuke immediately commanded Seiryu to attack Hiruko and his subordinates.
Seiryu whipped its massive tail, smashing it down towards the spot where Hiruko and his four companions (including the controlled Kakashi) stood. Hiruko and his three original subordinates flickered and retreated, leaving only Kakashi standing alone in the path of the attack. Seiryu's tail changed direction in mid-air, continuing its devastating strike towards the four of them.
BOOM!
The four of them dodged again, and the massive snake tail slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up an enormous cloud of dust and debris.
Seeing Hiruko and his three subordinates driven back, Naruto and Sasuke were overjoyed. They immediately leaped down from Seiryu's head and rushed to Kakashi's side.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
However, as Naruto and Sasuke approached, Kakashi suddenly drew a kunai and attacked them. Faced with Kakashi's unexpected assault, both boys were completely unprepared and were instantly caught off guard. In just a few swift exchanges, both Naruto and Sasuke were kicked away by Kakashi.
Under the control of the Puppet Curse Mark, Kakashi was only able to utilize less than half of his true taijutsu prowess, yet even so, he was still far stronger than the current Naruto and Sasuke. Because they were afraid of seriously injuring Kakashi, neither of them dared to use powerful ninjutsu like the Rasengan or Chidori. With their hands tied like this, they were immediately forced into a passive, defensive position, taking a beating.
Watching the tragic scene of master and disciples being forced to fight each other, a look of smug satisfaction appeared on Hiruko's face. Beside him, his three subordinates also wore cruel, sadistic smiles.
Hiruko's satisfied expression didn't last long. Not far away, Seiryu, recovering from the earlier attack, whipped its massive tail towards him again.
"Hmph!" Storm Release Secret Technique: Demon Storm Dragon! Hiruko let out a cold snort. While rapidly leaping back to evade the attack, his hands blurred through a series of complex hand seals. As Hiruko completed his seals, a vast, swirling vortex of black thunderclouds rapidly formed in the sky above. Then, Hiruko clasped his hands together, and a pillar of crimson light immediately shot upwards from him, connecting with the center of the rotating black thundercloud vortex.
BOOM!
A colossal beam of purplish-red lightning descended from the thunderclouds, striking directly at Seiryu.
HISSSSSS!
The massive beam of energy slammed into Seiryu's body, causing the giant snake to let out a piercing, agonized hiss.
"Seiryu!" Sasuke, who had been teaming up with Naruto to fight Kakashi, saw this and quickly disengaged, his worried gaze snapping towards Seiryu. The purplish-red pillar of light dissipated, and Seiryu's aura instantly weakened considerably.
This was Hiruko's strongest ninjutsu. Hiruko, having fused with four Kekkei Genkai, possessed strength that was already well within the Kage level. That last attack was his most powerful offensive technique.
Seiryu's eyes blazed with a fierce, untamed light, and it struggled, about to activate its cursed seal state to retaliate. Seeing this, Sasuke glanced up at the still-lingering black thunderclouds above Hiruko's head, then his hands quickly formed a series of seals, and he directly dispelled the summoning technique.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted, and Seiryu's massive form vanished from the battlefield. This was a summoning beast entrusted to him by Teacher Tatsuya; Sasuke didn't want anything untoward to happen to it here.
"Let's go!" After dispelling the summoning, Sasuke no longer hesitated. He turned back, helped Naruto force Kakashi back for a moment, then grabbed Naruto and turned to flee.
Being pulled along by Sasuke, Naruto didn't struggle. Looking back at Kakashi, who was still pursuing them, an expression of anguish appeared on his face. Kakashi-sensei was being controlled by the enemy! Teacher Tatsuya's summoning beast had also been defeated! They had utterly failed! Given the current situation, it was uncertain if they could even escape with their own lives.
Swoosh~
Just as Naruto and Sasuke were desperately fleeing, the sound of air being cut echoed behind them. A figure flashed, appearing instantly between them and the attacking Kakashi. The newcomer's left hand blocked Kakashi's incoming attack, then their right hand shot out like lightning, pressing firmly against Kakashi's chest. However, this palm strike didn't send Kakashi flying. Instead, in that instant, a complex sealing formula was inscribed onto Kakashi's chest.
Evil Sealing Method!
As the seal formula formed, the crimson glow in Kakashi's eyes rapidly receded, and clarity returned to his gaze.
"That… that really wasn't a pleasant feeling," Kakashi said, looking at the person opposite him with a wry smile after regaining his senses.
And the person standing opposite Kakashi was none other than Tatsuya.
"Teacher Tatsuya!" Behind him, Naruto and Sasuke, sensing the change in the situation, stopped their retreat. When they clearly saw Tatsuya's figure, they immediately cried out in joyous surprise. "Kakashi-sensei!" they exclaimed, rushing to his side, their voices filled with concern as they looked at their instructor.
In the distance, the smile on Hiruko's face froze. His Puppet Curse Mark… had been sealed! Who… who could have done this? Hiruko looked up, his gaze fixed on the direction where Tatsuya and the others now stood.