Three Heads and Six Arms

A few days later, Aragaki Yasushi and the others had entered the Land of Whirlpools and were steadily making their way toward Konoha's camp there.

The place was near the sea, as expected. The air was so damp you could wring water out of it, and their clothes clung clammy against their bodies. It was miserably uncomfortable.

The mornings were always foggy, too, with visibility ridiculously poor.

Aragaki Yasushi and the others had been traveling deep into the Land of Whirlpools for two days. They were more or less used to the damp, foggy conditions, but today was especially strange.

It was nearly noon by their reckoning, yet the fog showed no sign of clearing. Instead, it grew thicker and thicker, completely obscuring the sun overhead and leaving everything dim.

As far as they could see, everything was shrouded in fog. They could barely see their hands in front of their faces; all around them was an endless expanse of white.

Even though Aragaki Yasushi and the others stood together, they had to get very close to make out one another's faces.

Just then, Kakashi abruptly stopped, his brows knitted tightly. "Something's wrong," he said gravely.

Aragaki Yasushi nodded and warned the others, "Stay close. Don't fall behind!"

"This should be the Hidden Mist Technique. The Kirigakure ninjas must be nearby."

As he spoke, he couldn't help feeling worried.

His sensory abilities weren't particularly good to begin with. In fog this thick, he might as well have been blind.

The Horse Talisman could heal his injuries, but if someone crept up and slit his throat, he'd still be dead. He couldn't afford to be careless!

With that in mind, Aragaki Yasushi didn't waste a moment. His form blurred, and he transformed into a Paper Person.

The advantage of his Paper Person form was that he had very few vital spots. Unless he was burned to ashes, even having his head chopped off wouldn't kill him outright. At most, he'd be badly injured, and with the Horse Talisman, he'd heal in no time.

Even after transforming into a Paper Person, Aragaki Yasushi wasn't satisfied. His paper body folded rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, he took on the form of Three Heads and Six Arms.

He flexed his six paper arms and twisted his three heads. Now he felt at ease.

Heh. Let's see how you sneak up on me now!

With three heads and three perspectives, he could observe in every direction without a blind spot. Apart from being unable to see through things or far into the distance, his field of vision was almost as good as the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.

He was even better than those branch-family ninjas!

After all, the Byakugan of branch-family ninjas still had a one-degree blind spot. His had absolutely none!

With the observation problem solved, Aragaki Yasushi turned to Asuma and called, "Asuma, try using Wind Release to blow this damned fog away!"

Asuma knew Fire Release, but he was actually more familiar with Wind Release.

At Aragaki Yasushi's words, Asuma didn't hesitate. He quickly formed Hand Seals, took a deep breath, and blew hard.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

A powerful gust burst from his mouth and swept toward the dense fog around them.

In an instant, the wind tore through the mist, clearing a large area and improving their visibility considerably.

A figure appeared right before them.

It was a Kirigakure ninja, dressed like a Chunin. The moment the fog dispersed, a look of shock flashed across his face.

Kakashi's gaze sharpened, and he immediately moved to draw his blade, but Aragaki Yasushi was faster. The Energy Scroll appeared in front of him in an instant. He didn't even need to form Hand Seals; he activated it directly.

A zero-frame start. Say goodbye!

A blinding green light flashed, moving at an absurd speed. The Kirigakure Chunin didn't even have time to react before the light swallowed him whole. He vanished into nothing, without a trace.

But when the Kirigakure ninja died, the fog around them didn't clear. It only grew thicker.

The patch Asuma had blown away was instantly filled in again, the fog even denser than before.

Then a voice filled with hatred came from all around them. It was impossible to tell where it came from, and it sounded chillingly sinister.

"You despicable little Konoha brats! You dared to kill my comrade. I'll make every one of you pay with your lives!"

"Ah!"

As soon as the voice fell silent, Obito let out a piercing scream that made everyone's hearts clench.

The fog was far too thick. No matter how hard they strained their eyes, they couldn't see Obito. They could only hear his voice.

"Obito?!" Nohara Rin panicked instantly.

"I-I'm fine!"

Obito's voice came in broken bursts.

"Someone attacked me from behind and cut my arm."

Aragaki Yasushi immediately gave his orders in a low voice. "Asuma, get over there and stand back-to-back with Obito. Protect him."

"If he gets attacked again, he probably won't make it!"

"Kurenai, you and Rin stand back-to-back, too. Watch your backs and don't let them take advantage of you!"

"Useless!" the sinister voice rang out again, dripping with scorn.

"You little Konoha brats can do nothing but helplessly watch as I kill your comrades one by one. Go on, savor your despair!"

The next moment, steel clashed with a sharp ring. Then the sound vanished into the fog as quickly as it had come, too fast for anyone to react.

Kakashi's voice cut through the mist. "The enemy isn't that strong. I just cut off one of their arms."

"But there are two of them. The other one hasn't made a sound and keeps attacking from the shadows. Watch your backs when you engage them. Be careful..."

Before Kakashi could finish, the head on Aragaki Yasushi's left spotted a gleaming greatsword silently emerging from the dense fog.

Aragaki Yasushi couldn't help sneering.

That's your idea of a sneak attack?

Do you even know who I am?

Three Heads and Six Arms. Ever heard of it?

I've got eyes and arms on my back, too. That won't work on me.

Faced with the oncoming greatsword, Aragaki Yasushi neither dodged nor flinched. Instead, he charged straight at it, choosing to trade injury for injury.

The greatsword came down hard on his paper body, scattering scraps everywhere.

At the same time, two of Aragaki Yasushi's other paper arms turned into sharp blades and plunged into the Kirigakure ninja's chest, piercing a vital spot.

"How... how could you..."

The Kirigakure ninja stared at him in disbelief. Before he could finish, he saw the gash in Aragaki Yasushi's body rapidly fill with scraps of paper. In the blink of an eye, it had healed without leaving even a mark.

Aragaki Yasushi snorted, yanked out his paper blade, and glanced at the Kirigakure ninja's body on the ground with a faint smile.

How many lives do you have, to trade blows with someone who has the Horse Talisman?

But Aragaki Yasushi had no time to waste on the body. Even looking at it for another moment felt like a waste of time.

Looting the corpse was what mattered.

But before he could crouch down, he sensed a disturbance.

Sure enough, while Aragaki Yasushi had been dealing with his comrade, the other Kirigakure ninja had emerged from the dense fog on the opposite side, launching a shameless sneak attack.

Unfortunately for him, Aragaki Yasushi had one of his heads facing that direction, too.

Aragaki Yasushi couldn't help sneering.

Can't you see I've got Three Heads and Six Arms and no blind spots?

You can't even pick the right place to launch a sneak attack. What are you still alive for?

Looking closer, he saw the Kirigakure ninja was missing an arm and clutching a Kunai. He was probably the one Kakashi had just disarmed.

As soon as the one-armed Kirigakure ninja charged over, he saw Aragaki Yasushi's bizarre form with three heads and six arms. His face turned pale and his pupils shrank. He knew he was done for, and immediately turned to flee.