How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

The evil and powerful chakra caught Naruto's attention, and he instinctively turned to look, his expression filled with concern.

Shikamaru, walking beside him, said, "Even if you're worried, we can't stop. What we should do is believe in them."

Naruto paused, then nodded heavily.

Meanwhile, Sakon frowned as he looked back. "Why did Kidomaru immediately activate his curse mark after just one fight? Is the enemy really that strong?"

"Heh, it's because that guy is too weak," Tayuya scoffed mockingly. "Looking at their chakra, they're just a bunch of Genin. Kidomaru couldn't stop them on his own, but as soon as he met them, he opened the curse mark. It's clearly because he met a 'strong enemy.'"

Tayuya's words were full of sarcasm.

Sakon was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and turned to Tayuya. "Tayuya, go stop them. Jirobo, we'll keep moving."

Tayuya nodded, a cruel smile forming on her face. Without hesitation, she turned toward Naruto's direction. Jirobo said nothing. After all, in their team, Sakon was sort of the leader, and outside, they generally listened to him.

As Tayuya turned away, feeling the chakra energy getting closer, she didn't charge directly like Kidomaru. Instead, she took out her flute and began to play.

The sound of a flute made Shikamaru halt his steps, signaling for everyone to stop. "This flute sound is probably the Genjutsu that Lady Shizune mentioned, cast by a girl. The best approach would be for Hinata, Shino, and Kiba to handle it. But if they go, our team will be left without any sensory ninjas."

All three of them were sensory ninjas. Hinata's Byakugan could see through Genjutsu, Shino's bugs could disrupt his chakra to break the illusion, and Kiba and Akamaru could work together to avoid being controlled by Genjutsu.

Genjutsu ninjas often fight from the shadows, casting Genjutsu to trap their enemies and then launching a surprise attack. The three sensory ninjas could clearly pinpoint Tayuya's hiding spot, which would limit her fighting style to the maximum.

Theoretically, they were the best solution to deal with Tayuya.

But if the three of them left, the team would lose its sensory ninjas. Ino could temporarily take on the role, but her sensory technique wasn't fully developed yet. Her current ability to sense was barely useful.

Naruto, hearing Shikamaru's words, gave a thumbs-up and smiled. "At this distance, I can already sense where they are."

"Great." Shikamaru was surprised that Naruto could sense ninjutsu, 

but it wasn't the right time to ask about it. He looked at Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. "Then we'll leave this enemy to you three. Is that okay?"

Kiba proudly lifted his head. "Genjutsu ninja? I wonder how I compare to Lady Kurenai."

"No way you can compare to Kurenai-sensei." Shino adjusted his glasses. 

"If you want to know why, it's because Kurenai-sensei is the Genjutsu master of Konohagakure and one of the most famous Genjutsu ninjas in the entire ninja world. If we lose to her, it would be embarrassing for Kurenai-sensei."

"Hmm." Hinata took a deep breath, her Byakugan eyes focusing on Naruto's back, determination in her gaze. "We won't lose."

"Then it's up to you three, Kiba, Shino, Hinata." Naruto gave the three of them a thumbs-up.

"And Akamaru too." Kiba pointed to Akamaru, who was perched on his head. Akamaru gave a playful bark in response. "Woof!"

Shikamaru smiled slightly at the scene. Then they prepared to bypass Tayuya. "Let's go. Genjutsu attacks usually have a large range. To avoid being blocked, it's best to go around."

With that, he, Naruto, Ino, and Chouji turned to the left and began running, planning to circle around Tayuya.

Tayuya sensed their movements. Her expression darkened as she blew on her flute. "Three Genin think they can take me on? Who gave you the confidence to try that?"

She quickly made hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu—Three Demons!"

Three giant monsters appeared in front of Tayuya, each wielding a club, sporting bone claws on their wrists, and wrapped in bandages. After summoning them, Tayuya blew her flute again, taking control of the creatures and sending them after the four who were trying to bypass them.

However, as soon as the three demons began moving, two massive tornadoes suddenly appeared from the distance, swirling together like intertwined storms. They smashed through countless trees in their path and charged directly toward Tayuya.

"Beast Mimicry Jutsu—Fang Through Fang!"

Tayuya's pupils shrank, and she quickly turned to avoid the attack. But "Fang Through Fang" wasn't something you could just dodge. The tornado, controlled by Kiba and Akamaru, could change direction. After missing, it turned back and went after Tayuya again.

"Damn!" Even Tayuya had to admit the situation was tricky. The enemy clearly knew her combat style, but she knew nothing about them. The difference in information could lead to disaster—she could be outsmarted and lose even though she was stronger.

No wonder Kidomaru immediately activated his curse mark when they first met. The Jonin who had escaped must have shared their intel with the pursuing ninjas.

But... is sending three Genin to deal with me a bit too arrogant?

Tayuya didn't hesitate and blew her flute. The three demons, who were moving away, immediately turned around at the sound and charged back. Using their great physical strength, they blocked the attack from Kiba and Akamaru.

Kiba and Akamaru's attacks missed, and the two dogs canceled their Ninjutsu, landing on a nearby tree with confident smiles on their faces.

Hinata and Shino landed on the other sides, and the three of them surrounded Tayuya like a sandwich with cheese, trapping her in the middle. Shino adjusted his glasses, and black mist rose from his body, floating toward the distance.

It was only then that Tayuya realized her three summoned beasts had been surrounded by bugs!

Her expression darkened. "You brought me here to force me to recall my three demons and then control them with insect jutsu... but how? Your chakra shouldn't be able to reach the demons. How did you get the bugs to them?"

Insect jutsu also follows certain principles. Bugs can't understand human speech, and the Aburame clan's insect jutsu relies on chakra to control the bugs. Without chakra set up in advance, it's impossible to control the bugs from a distance.

Shino adjusted his glasses again, extended his right hand, and a very small insect slowly crawled across his fingers. "The female parasitic bugs emit a scent that only the same species of males can detect. I just need to place three female parasitic bugs on your summoning technique, and the male bugs will automatically crawl to them."

"My parasitic bugs grow by eating chakra, so when they encounter chakra, they'll automatically start feeding, consuming the chakra of the summoned beasts. As long as there are enough of them, even a tailed beast can be controlled."

This wasn't a lie, but as Shino said, it only works if there are enough bugs. With the few bugs Shino had, forget about a tailed beast; even a slightly larger summoned beast would be too much.

"I'm not a genius, and I can't compete with real geniuses, but I'm not weak," Shino lowered his right hand, his eyes serious behind his sunglasses. "If you want to know why, I'm one of the people who entered the third round of the Chunin exams."

"Huh?" Tayuya frowned slightly, seemingly recalling something. "Was there someone like you in the third round of the Konohagakure Chunin exams?"

Shino paused in adjusting his glasses.

Kiba almost laughed out loud beside him.

Hinata kindly comforted him, "It's okay, Shino. We know you made it to the third round of the Chunin exams. Teacher Kurenai is happy too."

Shino: "..."

Thanks for that, Hinata.

Your comfort just makes me feel more pitiful.

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