Chapter 261: Shadows

The pale mouth-spirits swept across Shikamaru. Their teeth tore away a mass of physical energy, and the stolen vitality flowed back into the Doki under Tayuya's control. Shikamaru weakened at once.

Nearby, Kiba and Akamaru struggled against Sakon and Ukon. Once the brothers activated their Cursed Seals, the Inuzuka pair could no longer match the number and force of their attacks. Bodies and limbs exchanged places through the Parasitic Demonic Demolition Technique, turning every opening into another strike.

Kiba landed a punch upon Sakon's ribs only for Ukon's arm to emerge from the same torso and catch his wrist. Akamaru attacked from behind; a second face opened across Sakon's back and warned him before the claws arrived. The brothers required no spoken signal and wasted no motion changing which one controlled their shared body.

Kiba saw Shikamaru falter.

"Damn it. Akamaru, now!"

Smoke engulfed them. A giant two-headed wolf emerged with a roar.

"Fang Wolf Fang!"

The enormous body began to spin. Air compressed around it until the surrounding branches bent away.

Sakon understood that merging into Kiba's body would be impossible inside the high-density current. He formed seals.

"Summoning Technique: Rashōmon!"

A gigantic demonic gate crashed into the wolf's path.

"Orochimaru's strongest defensive technique," Sakon said with a sneer. "You cannot—"

The spinning wolf swerved before the collision.

Sakon's expression changed.

"Tayuya!"

Kiba's true target was the flutist.

Tayuya saw the attack too late. Her melody changed from controlling the Doki to a genjutsu aimed directly at Kiba, filling his senses with a false world meant to halt the charge.

"Too naive. Tonbo trained me."

Kiba and Akamaru shared the transformed body. When the illusion caught one mind, the other disrupted its chakra. Scent supplied direction through the false images, and Fang Wolf Fang never stopped.

The high-speed rotation also gave Tayuya almost no time to change melodies. Her Doki moved to intercept, but their large bodies could not cross the distance before the wolf curved around Rashōmon. The flute note that should have trapped Kiba broke when the gale reached her hands.

The rotation struck Tayuya.

Her body came apart beneath the cutting wind. Flesh and blood scattered across the forest; only part of her head remained recognizable when it struck the ground. The Cursed Seal faded, and the Doki vanished with her.

Shikamaru's stolen energy no longer fed the spirits. He bent forward, panting, and raised one thumb toward Kiba.

Just in time.

Sakon and Ukon stared at Tayuya's remains.

"Damn you."

The two-headed wolf turned upon them before they could reorganize. Fang Wolf Fang tore across the clearing again. Shikamaru understood Kiba's intent and stretched his shadow around the side of Rashōmon, cutting off the brothers' retreat.

Even with the strength of the Cursed Seal and two bodies attacking as one, Sakon and Ukon could not answer both techniques. Shadow Possession caught their hesitation. The rotating wolf crashed through them and reduced both bodies to bloody fragments.

Kiba and Akamaru emerged from the transformation exhausted. Using Fang Wolf Fang twice had consumed nearly all their stamina.

"Well done," Shikamaru said. He handed Kiba a military ration pill. "Now we support Naruto."

Kiba swallowed it and nodded.

They found Naruto's secret trail marker and departed with Akamaru leading.

Tonbo stepped from concealment after they were gone.

He found the largest remaining part of Sakon's head and placed one hand upon it. The Mind Reading Technique searched the final memories preserved in the damaged brain. When he finished, he repeated the process with what remained of Tayuya, though the destruction there left far fewer coherent fragments.

Tonbo collected several pieces of Sakon and Ukon's flesh and sealed them in a scroll. Their cellular merging resembled a kekkei genkai created through combined nature transformations. That was exactly the kind of ability his research required.

The memory fragments added the brothers' habits, the limits of separating Ukon from Sakon, and the way the Cursed Seal supported the technique. Much of the information was damaged beyond recovery, but the tissue preserved questions that memory alone could not answer.

Tayuya's Doki had already given him most of their useful data during the fight. Their last attack converted pure spiritual chakra into a force capable of devouring Shikamaru's physical energy. Tonbo's Eye-Opening Hand had begun with principles he remembered from Tayuya's original ability. Seeing the complete technique confirmed the connection.

The contrast between the two enemies interested him. Sakon and Ukon altered physical structure until two bodies could share flesh; Tayuya shaped spiritual energy until it could attack the body's vitality. Together their remains and memories covered both halves of chakra from opposite directions.

Neji caught up with Shikamaru and Kiba farther along the route. After exchanging short reports, all three resumed tracking Sasuke.

Neji described Kidōmaru's death without boasting. Shikamaru reported the two battles they had just survived and the last direction Naruto traveled. Their team had scattered across the forest one fighter at a time; reforming even three members restored options none of them possessed alone.

Shikamaru could not hide his concern for Chōji.

"Didn't you say he was strong?" Kiba asked with a grin.

Akamaru barked in agreement. His nose had sensed the power released behind them.

Shikamaru smiled. "He is."

Three dark figures crossed another part of the forest.

"They split up," Temari said. "We should do the same."

Kankurō nodded and chose one trail. Temari took another.

Gaara watched his siblings disappear.

"Naruto..."

Sand carried him toward the strongest disturbance.

A green figure moved at high speed from Konoha. Lee checked the broken branches and footprints at each junction, chose a direction, and accelerated again.

Kabuto, following behind Kimimaro, sensed the different pursuit lines closing.

"Konoha's young shinobi are more capable than expected. No wonder Orochimaru felt uneasy."

Naruto remained far behind Kimimaro. Kabuto judged that his escort was unnecessary.

"I will cover the rear."

His outline blurred, became transparent, and vanished into the forest.

High in a tree, a pitcher plant opened from the trunk.

"What an exciting chase," Zetsu said.

The spiral-masked man appeared beside him.

"An Uchiha has that many companions pursuing him. Unexpected."

"Sasuke is one of the last Uchiha. Are you comfortable leaving him to Orochimaru?"

"Itachi will not allow his brother to die inside Orochimaru's ritual."

Zetsu chuckled. "You pay a great deal of attention to Itachi. Is he truly so dangerous?"

"Compared with Itachi and Orochimaru, Nagato is easier to manage."

Zetsu found those human calculations difficult to understand, though Tonbo's genjutsu had given him a few unpleasant human sensations he would never forget.

"Did we come to kill Orochimaru? Even for us, that may be troublesome."

"No. I wanted to see whether Itachi's brother had potential. Sasuke's ability to draw others after him may already exceed Itachi's. Hatred and revenge will provide the foundation for his strength. That is what Itachi intends."

"He would not enjoy hearing that everything serves your calculations."

"If he knew the full calculation, neither would we."

The masked man understood why Itachi joined Akatsuki: to watch the man behind the Uchiha massacre and the Nine-Tails' attack. Itachi, in turn, knew that his purpose was understood. They observed one another while pretending cooperation.

Sasuke mattered because both sides believed the surviving brother could influence Itachi. Orochimaru wanted his eyes and body. Itachi wanted his hatred sharpened. The masked man wanted the possibility of using that hatred later. The boy running through the forest had become a piece in several plans without hearing any of them.

"We have seen enough."

Remaining away too long might convince Itachi that the time had come for mutual destruction. The masked man still needed Sasuke as pressure against him.

He and Zetsu disappeared while the chase continued below.