Chapter 120: Cat, Monkey, Leopard, Bird
"Summoning Jutsu — Great Monkey King!"
A towering figure appeared before them all.
Konoha headband. Long white hair flowing freely. A powerful, imposing frame. A thick, sinuous tail swaying at his back.
The moment he materialized, every instinct in Yugito's body went on alert.
This summoning beast's name echoed across the entire ninja world. It was this very creature who had stood alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi and carved out the title of Shinobi God. Half the legend of that name belonged to the monkey in front of her.
"Sakura." The Great Monkey King crossed his arms and swept the room in a single glance — Kumogakure ninja, Konoha kids. "Trouble again, I see."
"Yes, Lord Enma."
Sakura rose from the rubble, eyes steady on Yugito looking down at her from the second floor.
End this fast. The thought was clear and urgent.
And something still didn't sit right. Even granting that their spy had been turned — the timing was too clean. Konoha's internal meeting had barely ended, and Kumogakure had immediately moved to use a fake supply depot as a killing ground.
Nobody was buying that as coincidence.
"The Two-Tails jinchūriki, you say."
A battle-hungry grin spread across Enma's face, sharp canines on full display. He looked like a beast on the edge of going feral.
It had been a long time since he'd fought a real war. He'd been summoned twice recently to deal with Orochimaru, but before that — nothing since Hiruzen became Hokage.
As for whether they could win — Sakura and Enma had already reached the same silent conclusion.
The Two-Tails?
Not a concern.
"Sharp eyes on that one," Yugito said from above. She didn't seem troubled by having her identity exposed — she'd used the Rat Spheres already. The signature was unmistakable.
"But a little girl and a dead monkey think they can beat me?"
"How adorable."
Her words said dismissal. Her body said otherwise. She'd dropped to all fours, blue-black chakra blazing across her skin like flame, two chakra tails trailing behind her.
"Looks like we're being underestimated, Sakura."
Enma's grin widened. He looked savage and delighted in equal measure.
"A little, yes."
Sakura held out her palm. An iron staff appeared in her hand — jet black along the body, gold at both ends. Her green eyes carried something cold and fierce.
One lazy swing. The air sang with the sound of displaced metal.
"Want to beat me?"
She pointed the staff.
"Come back in five hundred years."
"Better yet — send the Eight-Tails."
BOOM.
The ground cracked apart under her feet as she launched herself forward — a human-shaped force of nature driving straight at Yugito's tailed beast chakra form.
Every step she took shattered the floor beneath her.
"ROAR—"
Yugito met her head-on.
"Well, well. Looks like the two girls have gotten started over there."
Darui deflected another slash from the Uchiha boy with the same expression a man uses to swat a fly — lazily, without much investment.
"Honestly? I hate fighting."
"What do you say we sit down, have some tea, and watch the ladies go at it instead?"
The breezy suggestion came with a sudden, sharp counter that forced Sasuke back two steps.
"Shut up."
Sasuke studied him, expression flat and cold.
He could feel it. This man wasn't even trying. And even holding back, he was difficult to crack.
So this is what a Great Ninja Village jōnin looks like.
Is Kakashi actually this weak, or was he sandbagging all along?
He held back on Chidori — his chakra reserves couldn't sustain more than four uses at full draw, and the soldier pills only bought so much. He needed to be careful.
Besides—
This man was not easy to hit.
If raw power wasn't the answer—
The crimson eyes ignited. Two tomoe spun in their depths.
"Hm? The Sharingan—"
Darui caught the gaze on reflex. His expression shifted.
Bad.
Now.
Sharingan — Golden Binding Genjutsu.
No hand seals. The moment their eyes met, it was already done.
Crack.
The Darui in front of him turned into a log.
Substitution?!
When—?!
Sasuke's mind lurched. Everyone knew the rule about Substitution: it was a technique for when the gap in ability was enormous. Against someone in the same range, or only one tier below, using it was like dancing on eggshells — one wrong read and you handed over your entire advantage on a plate.
Darui had used Substitution mid-fight against Sasuke.
It was the equivalent of slapping him twice across the face, then spitting at his feet.
Low damage. Maximum disrespect.
"My, my. That was close." The lazy voice drifted in from directly behind him. Sasuke turned.
Darui stood there — and hadn't attacked. Even with Sasuke's back wide open, he'd done nothing.
"Not taking that opening," Sasuke said, voice like ice. Blue-white lightning began crawling up his blade. "That's going to be the worst mistake you make today."
"Lightning Release..." Darui glanced at him and picked at his nose with one pinky, unbothered. "Not really my thing, if I'm being honest."
Sasuke stopped talking.
He moved.
Full speed — more than he'd shown yet — straight at Darui.
Darui's black-and-white eyes tracked him. His hands flashed through seals with blinding speed.
And right as Sasuke was about to close—
Storm Release: Black Panther.
Storm Release — born from Water and Lightning fused into a single kekkei genkai. It carried Lightning's explosive power and cutting force, combined with Water's malleability and the property of growing stronger the more chakra fed into it.
A black-and-white lightning leopard erupted into existence and lunged.
"What—!"
Sasuke's pupils snapped to pinpoints.
On pure reflex, Chidori surged into his blade.
Lightning leopard and Chidori blade met in a collision that shook the walls.
The leopard's shriek and the Chidori's screech tore through the air together.
"Which is why I keep saying..." Darui watched Sasuke straining at the impact point with a mildly interested look. "Lightning Release really isn't my specialty."
(Chapter End)
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