252. Lead

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Sasuke's situation was… interesting.

He was about to be kissed.

A red-haired woman in a crimson outfit sauntered towards him, her gaze aggressive and predatory. "It's rare to meet such a handsome young man. How about it? Want to become part of my collection?"

Sasuke pulled out a kunai. That look in her eyes was it killing intent? No… it felt different from the enemies he had faced before.

The woman, Fūbun, twirled a lock of her hair and chuckled. "Oh my, don't be so cold. How do you like it? I mean… a kiss."

Fūbun wasn't just captivated by Sasuke's looks. She had a jutsu Shikigami Kiss that allowed her to drain an opponent's chakra through a kiss, leaving them as nothing more than a husk.

And as she mentioned, she "collected" corpses, using them to acquire various chakra natures.

Even if she suffered fatal injuries, it only meant losing a body she would simply switch to another.

Her true form, however, was her hair. Only by damaging her hair could one harm her actual body.

So for Fūbun, the saying held literal truth: My blood may spill, my head may fall, but my hairstyle must remain immaculate.

Sasuke remained unfazed by the mature woman's teasing. He responded with two kunai instead.

"You're no fun," Fūbun pouted, her form gradually turning transparent until she vanished completely. "Earth Release: Rock Camouflage Jutsu!"

"Disappeared?" Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan. "This kind of trick won't escape these eyes!"

Taking a moment to flex his prized red eyes, he followed up with a jutsu that matched his dramatic entrance.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball roared forward.

Fūbun reappeared, forming quick hand seals. "Water Release: Wicked Maw!"

A surge of water, shaped like a serpent, spewed out, extinguishing the fireball. She smirked. "So you're a fire-type, huh? Lucky for you, big sis here has the perfect counter~"

Sasuke, unimpressed, narrowed his eyes. That's supposed to be a Water Release? Looks like something Kakashi would teach.

Something was off. Through his Sharingan, he could see that her chakra changed entirely with each technique she used. And when he had subtly tested her with a genjutsu earlier, she showed no reaction at all.

If that's the case… Sasuke decided to probe further.

Fixing his Sharingan on her, he wove a new jutsu. "Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon!"

Dozens of electrified senbon shot toward Fūbun.

She remained calm. "Wind Release: Petal Dance!"

A small cyclone materialized, scattering the Chidori Senbon before they could reach her.

"What a pity~" she teased. "Wind Release just so happens to counter Lightning Release too~"

Sasuke scoffed. This Wind Release was nothing compared to Naruto's.

And now he was certain every time she switched elements, her chakra signature completely changed as if she were a different person.

"In that case… Release!" Sasuke placed his hand on the seal on his forearm, summoning his Lightning Blades.

In a flash of lightning, a diagonal slash appeared across Fūbun's chest.

"Shikigami Rebirth!"

Immediately, she abandoned the wounded body and switched to another. The fresh body was completely unharmed. She lashed out with a kick. "Losing one body is fine… I'll just take yours as a replacement!"

Sasuke dodged the strike and retaliated. His right-hand blade stabbed into her abdomen, while his left-hand blade slashed off a portion of her hair.

Fūbun screamed in agony.

Her hair extended and coiled around Sasuke's neck and limbs, tightening to strangle him. "You… You actually dared to harm my hair!"

"Chidori Current!"

A surge of electricity erupted from Sasuke's body, burning the hair to a crisp. He smirked, Shinten Assist-style.

"Hmph. I've already figured out your jutsu. Your body changed four times, but your hair remained the same. That means… your hair is your true form!"

He mentally added, And your hair jutsu is nothing compared to Naruto's stupid Rasenshuriken.

Fūbun's screams grew weaker as the electricity continued to incinerate her hair.

Satisfied, Sasuke sealed away his Lightning Blades. Remembering Naruto's habit of finishing the job, he spat out a Fireball Jutsu, reducing the scattered hair on the ground to ash.

Then, he looked up toward the wall.

"Have you all seen enough?" he called out.

He had noticed his teammates watching from the start. And since none of them interfered, he had no complaints.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura had been quietly spectating the latter half of Sasuke's battle, keeping their presence minimal.

Of course, their chakra signatures stood out like a sore thumb under the Sharingan.

Sakura was the first to leap down, grabbing Sasuke's arm excitedly. "Sasuke, that was amazing!"

Sasuke gave a quiet "Hn" in response.

Kakashi casually praised him. "Nicely done. Your mastery of Lightning Release has come a long way."

Naruto, however, smirked as he watched Sasuke's ego inflate. "Too bad you were the last one to finish your fight. I was squatting up there so long my legs went numb."

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped, irritated but unable to refute it.

Sakura pouted. "Don't say that, Naruto! Sasuke's opponent was really tricky."

Naruto pointed at Sakura, still clinging to Sasuke's arm, and rolled his eyes. "Wow, Sakura, you totally ditched us for Sasuke."

"What? That's so unfair! Don't make it sound like that!" she protested, but… she still didn't let go of Sasuke's arm.

"Oh, my bad," Naruto deadpanned before adding, "Hey Sasuke, were you thinking about me during that fight?"

"Why the hell would I?!" Sasuke shot back, though his voice wavered slightly.

"Well, I kept feeling like I was about to sneeze the whole time," Naruto muttered. "Maybe you were talking crap about me."

"…"

Sasuke stared up at the sky.

"Alright, our mission isn't over yet," Kakashi interrupted. "I just managed to extract some intel the bodies and coffins have already been moved to their leader. They should be where Pakkun and the others are tracking."

Since Naruto had sent a shadow clone with Pakkun, they had a lead. Naruto turned to Kurama. Mind passing the message to my clone?

After receiving confirmation, Naruto spread his hands. "Alright, everybody on board."

---

At that moment, Pakkun and the others had stopped at the base of a mountain. Naruto's shadow clone caught up with them.

"Hold up a sec," the clone said. "The main team is heading over."

After leaving a tracking marker, the clone picked up Pakkun.

"Quick, Pakkun! Bite my neck! Otherwise, we won't make it in time!"

Pakkun:?

By the time the real Naruto arrived with the others, the first thing he saw was Pakkun standing there, jaws open, about to chomp down on the shadow clone's neck.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

Naruto immediately dispelled the clone with a punch to the head. Like hell I'm earning an achievement for 'Death by Dog Bite.'

The now-corpse-free Pakkun flopped onto the ground, suddenly questioning his entire existence.

That pink-haired girl uses dog shampoo…

This blond kid enjoys getting bitten by dogs…

And Kakashi's students are all kinda… off.

…I wonder what weird habit the black-haired one has?

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