Otogakure's Anomaly

"Weak and covered in blood, facing death yet still arguing... what a joke."

Dosu's teammate, Zaku, couldn't help but sneer as he looked at Naruto, Kazeka, and the other six covered in blood:

"Are Konoha ninja really this clueless about danger? It seems they're nothing special!"

"They must have caused that commotion earlier. To be so ruthless to their own comrades, is this how Konoha operates?

Truly, you can know a person's face but not their heart..."

The only female ninja in the Sound Ninja squad, Kotone, clearly misunderstood Kazeka and the others' situation, thinking they had turned on each other:

"Although they look like they have little resistance left, we shouldn't let our guard down.

If they all happen to have the Scroll of Heaven, that would be terrible. We need to be prepared to conserve our strength!"

"Seeing how confident you all are, you think you've got us cornered?"

Kiba Inuzuka sneered at the Sound Ninja:

"We have two squads here. Just how confident are you?"

"I already disliked you guys during the first exam.

Back then, even when you were at full strength, I wasn't afraid. How could I be afraid now..."

Dosu's words were filled with disdain as he charged at Kazeka:

"Being from a great ninja village doesn't guarantee strength.

On the contrary, we'll use your corpses to make a name for our Otogakure!"

"They've completely underestimated us, but since it's come to this..."

Kazeka met the battle-hungry Dosu:

"Let's fight!"

"Buzz!"

Just like when he fought Kabuto Yakushi before, Dosu formed a hand seal before attacking.

Then, his massive right arm, made bulky by the special device attached to it, swung towards Kazeka's left ear.

"Ugh..."

Facing the attack, Kazeka raised his left arm to block just in time.

However, while he blocked the attack from Dosu's arm, the device on it suddenly emitted a sonic wave.

Kazeka felt like his brain had been punched hard. His footing faltered, and he knelt directly on the ground, a trickle of blood involuntarily flowing from his left ear!

"So this is a Konoha ninja. As expected, their reputation is all talk. A loser who falls in one exchange...

Dosu clenched his right fist and brought it down heavily towards Kazeka's head:

"Just die already!"

"Is your understanding of combat this shallow?"

Kazeka's voice rang out. To Dosu's astonishment, Kazeka, who should have been unable to move, actually blocked his attack again with his left arm.

And in the next second, something even more shocking happened to Dosu.

Kazeka reached into his clothes and pulled out a syringe with a ten-centimeter needle, stabbing it directly into his own temple!

Despite this potentially fatal action, Kazeka showed no discomfort. Instead, his eyes instantly regained clarity.

After pulling out the syringe, he threw a punch, smashing it fiercely into Dosu's chest!

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking branches echoed as Dosu pushed away the large broken branches pinning him.

He looked at Kazeka with a stunned expression. The severe pain in his chest was secondary; what truly puzzled him was that he had no idea what Kazeka had done!

"You seem surprised?"

Kazeka leaped down from the branches and approached Dosu step by step, raising his left arm:

"After simple nerve modification, I can make my arm counterattack autonomously even without brain commands.

And that syringe just now, while looking dangerous, allowed my brain to instantly regain clarity.

After all, I figured your sonic wave attack was specifically designed to target the brain!"

"You've prepared quite thoroughly..."

Taking advantage of Kazeka's explanation, Dosu finally recovered. He reassumed a fighting stance, staring intently at Kazeka:

"In that case..."

"You're going to ask me why, if that's the case, I didn't avoid being hit by your attack from the start. That would have been easier, right..."

Kazeka interrupted Dosu's words and smiled at him:

"Because I'm very interested in the effects of your attacks!"

"So you're a masochist, huh..."

Dosu's originally relaxed expression finally became a little more serious.

Seeing Dosu's reaction, Kazeka shook his head in dissatisfaction, then revealed the sinister grin of a deranged scientist:

"I think you just don't understand. For experiments that interest us, excellent researchers will personally experience the process and results.

Even when facing dissection, modification, or even experiments on the soul, they will welcome it all without hesitation, even with joy.

Regardless of whether the sensations are wonderful or terrible, even excruciating, they are irresistible.

Only with such a yearning heart can an excellent researcher continuously advance!"

"I understand..."

Looking at Kazeka's twisted appearance, even the cold-hearted Dosu couldn't help but frown:

"It seems I've encountered a lunatic with a terrible personality!"

"I told you, I'm an excellent researcher..."

Kazeka didn't mind Dosu's mockery at all. Instead, he spoke very seriously and pointed to Zaku, who was fighting not far away:

"Look, under my experimental modifications, your teammate has already shown some changes!"

"Do you think babbling nonsense can disrupt my state of mind?"

Dosu snorted coldly, seemingly not believing Kazeka's words at all.

But despite his terrifying appearance, this guy actually cared a lot about his teammates.

His gaze couldn't help but drift towards Zaku. However, it was this glance that made him gasp:

"What happened to Zaku!"

The perspective shifted back to Zaku's battlefield.

In Dosu's impression, Zaku had always been a tough guy, a ruthless individual who would fight regardless of his own life, full of machismo.

In fact, the current battle did align with his personality.

In the fight, he faced Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba Inuzuka. Although he was suppressed at first, he could still barely maintain the fight.

Furthermore, with a mutual destruction strategy, he actually made the three of them a bit hesitant.

However, despite fighting Orochimaru, the three of them still retained a good portion of their combat power. Their injuries were mostly superficial, making them look a bit disheveled.

If nothing unexpected happened, the scales of victory would soon tip in favor of Naruto and the others.

However, if nothing unexpected happened, the unexpected still occurred.

For some reason, as time went on, Zaku's combat power suddenly surged.

At first, it was a stalemate, but gradually, he began to suppress Naruto and the other two!

"Damn it, growing further under pressure, I've only seen this kind of thing in novels..."

While dodging Zaku's attacks, Naruto shouted irritably:

"How can someone actually do this in real life!"

"You have the nerve to talk about others..."

Kiba Inuzuka glanced at Naruto, inwardly complaining, then spoke again:

"But, have you guys noticed? Although his combat power has increased, I feel like his personality has become 'girly'!"