144. Forest of Death (4)

(Warning thereuse of very bad words up ahead I will put a pointer.)

(PoV Hinata)

"Come out, you cannot hide from my eyes."

Hinata stopped, the reason being simple: she felt she couldn't proceed, at least not until she dealt with the people blocking her way.

"Indeed, what a troublesome eyes."

With a sinister voice, a grass ninja casually emerged from behind a tree. It was clear he had anticipated Hinata's arrival, so this was likely an ambush.

Moreover, "a" grass ninja clearly didn't match the actual number the people she could sense.

"How long will you keep up that ridiculous Transformation Jutsu? Show your true selves, let me see who has the guts to block my path."

Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly. She vaguely remembered: indeed, although Orochimaru had attacked Sasuke's Team Seven alone in the original story, it didn't mean he was truly alone. He had at least two subordinates disguised as victimized grass ninjas with him, but now it seemed... there weren't just two average subordinates.

"Hmph, as you wish."

Seemingly understanding that disguise was pointless, the grass ninja in front of Hinata sneered, then formed a hand seal and dispelled his Transformation Jutsu with a puff. As the smoke cleared, two distinct figures appeared before Hinata.

Sure enough... they were indeed two of Orochimaru's five dogs from the early stages.

Confirming her thoughts, Hinata slightly lowered her stance. While she didn't believe she would lose, it seemed winning wouldn't be so simple.

--Bad Language start--

"What an irritating bitch, that arrogant look makes me want to puke!"

The incredibly vulgar words were spoken in a surprisingly crisp, girlish voice. A slightly darker shade of red hair couldn't hide her ostentatious arrogance, and her attire, similar to Orochimaru's, along with her iconic flute, identified her as Tayuya, the North Gate of the Sound Four!

"Now, now~ Tayuya, don't say that~ She's a strong girl just like you, can't you two just have a nice chat?"

The boy standing beside Tayuya was extremely peculiar. Three sets of arms growing from his ribs gave him a deformed appearance. He was Kidomaru, the East Gate of the Sound Four.

Interesting. Although she knew Orochimaru wouldn't be foolish enough to take on the Konoha Nine Rookies' team alone, she hadn't considered that he would send his henchmen to split up the team. However, this also indirectly showed that even Orochimaru believed it wouldn't be easy to face Hinata's current team by himself.

"You red-haired bitch, and you crappy deformed freak, this isn't a charity for beggars where I hand out porridge. Have you to the wrong place?"

Hinata maliciously raised an eyebrow. Since she knew who these guys were, there was no need to be polite.

"What?! You just got lucky being born in Konoha, you shit eating bitch!! I'll tear your fucking mouth apart!!"

Tayuya was enraged. As the foul-mouthed member of the Sound Four, her verbal etiquette was clearly the worst, which must have been related to her upbringing.

"Then come on, you fish fucking wretched whore who smell like piss alley of red district. I'll rip your other mouth even wider to make it easier for you to spew out your filthy dung!"

"You!!"

Hinata coldly sneered, returning Tayuya's taunt without any pressure. This made Tayuya's teeth click loudly, and her face immediately turned a mixture of green and red. Clearly, she hadn't expected Hinata's verbal abuse to be even stronger than her own, and she was momentarily speechless.

"Tsk~~ How scary. You're a princess from a prominent family, yet you curse worse than Tayuya~"

Kidomaru clearly wasn't bothered by Hinata's insults. As the most calculating strategist among the Sound Four, he was more interested in Hinata's intentions: "While your immediate angering of Tayuya is admirable, it's regrettable that our orders are to keep you here, so~ if you stand still, we can pretend nothing happened, okay?"

?!

The information Kidomaru deliberately provided clearly wouldn't be ignored by Hinata. There was no doubt; these two's purpose wasn't to kill Hinata, but to delay her.

Tayuya, who could release sound-based genjutsu, and Kidomaru, who could use spider webs to restrict enemy movement—their ninjutsu were undoubtedly specifically designed to counter the Byakugan. This was why Hinata had thought that even if she didn't lose, winning wouldn't be easy.

Considering the orders Orochimaru gave, it was clear that he didn't intend to kill Hinata. The only reasonable explanation was that some powerful friends had already spoken to Orochimaru beforehand.

--Fighting Starts--

"Interesting. It seems you two dogs have orders from your master not to bite, right?"

Hinata slightly clenched and unclenched her hands, her tone suddenly filled with undisguised aggression: "Too bad!! I'm in the mood to play with dogs today!!"

With a cold tone, flames burst from Hinata's right hand, and then a brutal and swift "Dark Sweep" struck towards Kidomaru and Tayuya. Since she didn't intend to be stalled here by these two, a fight was inevitable.

This probing attack naturally couldn't succeed. Kidomaru and Tayuya both jumped away. The "Dark Sweep," trailing sparks, slammed into a tree trunk with a thud, immediately erupting in a shower of sparks and smoke, obscuring the surrounding air!

"Tch! That bitch!"

Tayuya, forced to dodge, angrily cursed under her breath. However, Orochimaru's orders clearly forbade her and Kidomaru from harming Hinata's life. So, no matter how unwilling, the female Sound ninja deftly leaped onto a nearby tree branch, intending to move away and cast her sound-based genjutsu. Although Hinata's Byakugan could see through most visual genjutsu, it was useless against sound-based ones. Even later, Itachi in his Edo Tensei state and Sasuke with Mangekyo Sharingan activating Susanoo could be affected by this sound-based genjutsu, demonstrating its power.

However, things went awry. Just as she tried to escape, a flash of fire suddenly appeared in front of Tayuya. A fist engulfed in flames was already slamming towards her face!

"Wha...!"

Caught off guard, Tayuya only managed to barely raise her left arm to defend, but the next moment, after that punch landed on her left arm, intense pain and burning sensation instantly made cold sweat bead on her forehead!

Hinata's lips curved into a cold, vicious grin. She knew the power of her punch. Even Kakashi would be injured if he took it head-on, let alone Tayuya, whose strength was far inferior to Kakashi's, and she was blocking in a hurry. Hinata felt her fist was like smashing into a sugarcane; after a brief hardness, there was a soft, mushy feeling like something breaking!

"Ugh!"

With a suppressed cry of agony, Tayuya's jaw instantly tightened. There was no doubt that Hinata's punch had cleanly broken the bone in her left forearm. After all, she wasn't the type specializing in defense like Jirobo or Kimimaro, so her physical toughness was certainly limited. Moreover, she had been extremely dismissive of Hinata before, so having her arm broken by Hinata's premeditated punch was entirely reasonable.

"Got you!"

Hinata revealed a vicious grin. After breaking Tayuya's left arm with a Rough Sweep(a variation of Dark Sweep), she followed up with a Progressing Elbow Drop(a variation of Wild Fang) aiming fiercely at Tayuya's collarbone. If it landed, Tayuya's upper body would likely be crippled on one side.

"Damn it~~!"

Fortunately, Tayuya's extensive combat experience saved her in time. Realizing she couldn't dodge, the red-haired Sound ninja decisively lay down on the ground. While avoiding Hinata's elbow strike, she suddenly extended her right leg to kick Hinata's side. In their brief exchange, she had already judged that Hinata's agility surpassed hers, and even if she wanted to escape, she couldn't.

She could only grit her teeth and fight Hinata head-on, waiting for Kidomaru's support.

Ninja Art: Spider Web Bloom

With his vision obscured by the smoke from the explosion, Kidomaru's movements were undoubtedly slower. However, upon hearing Tayuya's scream, even he, if he were any dumber, would have known that Hinata had played him. Because the Byakugan could ignore obstacles like smoke, Hinata's attack had officially begun almost simultaneously with the "Dark Sweep" explosion, and she had directly targeted Tayuya, who was not skilled in close combat.

Kidomaru, instinctively feeling a hint of caution, didn't get angry. Instead, he simply and efficiently used his unique ninjutsu: a thick, viscous spider web sprayed from his mouth, directly covering both Hinata and Tayuya, who were still entangled in combat!

It proved that the Sound Four being elite in the Hidden Sound Village was not without reason. Even though Tayuya's taijutsu was no match for Hinata's, she managed to delay being knocked down by Hinata with her almost no-holds-barred dodging. And Kidomaru's AOE-style spider web forced Hinata to stop her "Wild Fang" attack towards Tayuya.

Instead, she spun around in place, and the flames surrounding her hands, like a ring of fire, directly burned through the incoming spider web. But in that brief opening, Tayuya, enduring the pain, suddenly rolled sideways and escaped from Hinata's close-range.

"Oh dear, oh dear~~ I really underestimated you, Lady Hinata~ If it weren't for us, others would probably be defeated by you directly."

Reaching out to grab a nearby tree branch, Kidomaru's tone carried a hint of belligerence, while the escaping Tayuya spoke, angry and in pain: "That damn bitch! You just wait for me!!"

!!

With Tayuya's painful roar, her chakra suddenly surged. Wisps of strange black markings spread across her body like tattoos. Undoubtedly, this was the power granted to them by Orochimaru, the forbidden cursed seal simulating Sage Mode!

"That's how it is, Lady Hinata. Orochimaru's order was indeed not to harm your life, but it seems now~ to complete this mission, we might have to break your legs~~"

Kidomaru's body also rapidly activated his cursed seal. From the display of Hinata's skills just now, Kidomaru didn't believe his ordinary form could contend with her.

However, through this brief encounter, Hinata had already gained an understanding of the Sound Four's strength. They were absolutely not enemies that could threaten her! In fact, if it were a one-on-one fight, Hinata was confident she could kill them here with absolute certainty!

"Hmph, two mere small fries trying to boost their power like pulling hairs. Show me whatever abilities you have."

With a wild laugh, Hinata decisively gave her answer.

"Let me see if you two can defeat my first form now~"

---

Auther Notes:

(PS1: Hmm~ o(￣▽￣)o~ Hinata has fire-attribute attacks plus a flawless Byakugan. Beating Kidomaru, who uses spider webs and sneak attacks, is no problem~ Hinata has a Byakugan with 100% targeting, plus the ultimate summon Suigintou. Beating Tayuya, who uses genjutsu and summoning jutsu, is also no problem~~)

(PS2: So, the only question is~~ Tayuya's doujinshi are good~~ Tayuya is prettier than Sakura~~ Tayuya is very suitable to form a red-haired duo with Karin for a 'double-teaming' session~~ Eek... What did I just say?)