Battles raged in the darkness of the forest, each confrontation a brutal test for Konoha's young shinobi. Shikamaru's team, though outmatched in large-scale mortal combat experience, made up for it with their wits and a desperate need to retrieve their friend.
Neji Hyuga was the first to encounter his opponent, Kidomaru. The spider user was an elusive foe, his ranged attacks and ability to harden his web making him a living fortress. Neji, with his Byakugan, dodged the deadly threads, his Juken seeking out the enemy's chakra points.
Kidomaru activated phase two of his Cursed Seal, transforming into an even more monstrous creature, endowed with a third eye. The battle was a lethal ballet of swift movements and precise attacks. Neji, despite his injuries, pushed his Byakugan to the limit, predicting Kidomaru's movements and sealing his chakra points one by one.
It was a paltry victory, won at tremendous cost, with Neji on the verge of collapse.
Further ahead, Choji Akimichi encountered Jirobo, the burly and hungry member of the Sound Four. Jirobo fed on the chakra of his opponents, making him a particularly dangerous threat.
Choji, initially doubtful of his own strength, was driven by memories of Shikamaru and Naruto. Seeing his friends' determination, Choji made the difficult decision to use his clan's Tri-Colored Pills. The last pill, the Chili one, transformed him into a giant chakra butterfly, unleashing devastating power. His Super Bullet Tank Slap was unstoppable, pulverizing Jirobo, but leaving Choji on the brink of death, his life hanging by a thread.
Kiba Inuzuka, along with his loyal Akamaru, faced Sakon and Ukon, the conjoined twins who could separate and fuse. They were a coordinated threat, their combined attacks and ability to parasitize their opponents' bodies making them lethal. Kiba, with his heightened sense of smell and Akamaru's tactics, fought ferociously. Desperation drove him to unleash the Man-Beast Technique: Fang on Fang, a whirlwind of combined attacks that ultimately overwhelmed the twins, but the victory was only just.
Kiba also fell exhausted, Akamaru at his side, both at the end of their tether.
Shikamaru Nara, the lead tactician, encountered Tayuya, the genjutsu expert who wielded a flute-playing demon. Tayuya's music created terrifying illusions and controlled three demons. Shikamaru, with his sharp intelligence, was forced to think about every movement, every shadow.
He used his Shadow Possession Technique in innovative ways, but Tayuya was a formidable opponent. Desperation led him into a trap that activated her Cursed Seal. Just when it seemed Shikamaru's shadow would dissipate and Tayuya would finish him off, a figure appeared out of nowhere.
Gojo Satoru, who had been watching from above, had allowed his students to fight, to feel the true taste of despair and bittersweet victory.
But the system wouldn't allow the death of a major character at this point. With a swift, silent movement, Gojo appeared behind Tayuya. He didn't attack her. Instead, with an almost imperceptible touch, he applied a small amount of his Infinity to divert the flow of chakra from her demons and create a micro-distortion in the air around her flute, breaking Tayuya's concentration.
Tayuya coughed, her genjutsu faded, and the demons writhed and disappeared.
"What the hell was that?!" she screamed, looking around, unable to see Gojo.
Shikamaru, seizing the unexpected opportunity, extended his shadow once more, trapping Tayuya. "Shadow Strangulation Technique!" he shouted, and the shadow tightened around Tayuya's neck, rendering her unconscious. Shikamaru fell to his knees, gasping, but alive.
Gojo watched. A small push at just the right moment, he thought. Not a direct intervention, just a reality adjustment to keep the plot moving. It's almost art. She vanished again before Shikamaru could even perceive her presence.
While the others fought, Naruto Uzumaki continued on his way, relentlessly pursuing Sasuke. Fury and grief at his friend's departure drove him beyond his limits. Sasuke's presence felt closer, a mixture of chakra and the energy of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, his voice echoing through the forest. "You will not leave with Orochimaru!"
Finally, he found him. Sasuke was in a rocky valley, standing on a pile of boulders, his Cursed Seal activated in its first phase, black lines snaking down his body. His Sharingan glowed with a dark, painful intensity. The Sound Four, except for Orochimaru, who had escaped, were either scattered or had been defeated, as already seen, by the other members of the team.
"Naruto..." Sasuke said, his voice cold, lacking a trace of the friendship they once shared. "You're late."
"I won't let you go!" Naruto insisted. "You're my friend! I'll bring you back to Konoha!"
Sasuke laughed, a bitter laugh. "Konoha means nothing to me. Only power. The power to kill Itachi. And Orochimaru will give it to me."
The final battle was about to begin. The confrontation between the two friends, the two rivals, that would decide Sasuke's fate and Naruto's future, and would be the ultimate test of everything Naruto had learned, even from his peculiar sensei who watched him from a distance, time and space bending to his will.