Tayuya's First Blood

Setting aside Shisui Uchiha's situation, on another battlefield, the fight against the Kaguya Clan had reached a fever pitch.

"Earth Release: Earth Shore Return." Jirobo slapped both hands against the ground. A huge slab of stone flipped up in front of him, blocking the bone bullets fired by two Kaguya Clan elites nearby.

The stone slab not only protected Jirobo from the enemy's attack but also shielded Tayuya and the others.

"Tayuya, it's your turn. Get moving," Jirobo urged, hoping she would attack the two Kaguya Clan members and ease the pressure on his defenses.

"Stop rushing me. I'm already forming Hand Seals." Though Tayuya sounded annoyed, she and Jirobo actually got along better than any of the others.

"Summoning Technique: Doki."

At her current strength, Tayuya could summon only one Doki.

When the Doki appeared on the battlefield, it made quite an impression. It stood over five meters tall, wore a green ninja outfit, and carried a thick wooden club.

"What the hell is that thing?" The two Kaguya Clan members stared at the Doki. Its long hair covered its entire face, making it look bizarre yet powerful.

"Demonic Flute: Phantom Wave Manipulation." After summoning the Doki, Tayuya drew her special bone flute. Through its melody, she controlled the Doki as it charged forward and swung its thick wooden club at the two Kaguya Clan members.

"Dodge!" The two elites split to either side, and the Doki's first attack missed.

"Try this, you freak!" One of the Kaguya Clan members pulled a rib from his chest and turned it into a bone blade, slashing at the Doki's arm. But things didn't go as he'd imagined. His blade didn't cleave through the Doki's arm. It only cut through the Doki's tough skin and sank about a foot into the flesh before the powerful muscles clamped down on it, stopping the blade from going any farther.

"Raaagh!" The Doki howled in pain and swung its other arm at the Kaguya Clan member.

"Thud!" He didn't have time to dodge. The Doki's palm smacked him and slammed him into the ground.

But the attack didn't cause any lasting damage. The Kaguya Clan member who'd been hit quickly got back to his feet.

"Whew, that was close. Good thing I hardened my bone membrane ahead of time. It absorbed most of the impact."

"Damn it. The Doki specializes in Taijutsu, so it's naturally countered by ninjas with enhanced bodies." Tayuya had thought she'd scored the first kill on the battlefield, but she grew furious when she saw her opponent rise unharmed.

At her age, Tayuya couldn't summon three Doki at once. Her genjutsu skills also hadn't been developed yet, leaving her with a limited range of attacks.

But the two Kaguya Clan elites weren't just up against Jirobo and Tayuya. Taking advantage of their opponents' unsteady footing, the Sakon and Ukon brothers closed in.

"Multi-Punch."

"Multi-Kick."

Working together with perfect coordination, the Sakon and Ukon brothers attacked with four fists and four legs at once. Even a Shikotsumyaku user skilled in Taijutsu couldn't block every attack.

"Pfft." Ukon's flying kick found a gap in the enemy's defenses, sending the Kaguya Clan member flying.

The Doki rushed over under Tayuya's control. Its thick wooden club landed squarely on the enemy's chest, sending him flying over a hundred meters like a bowling ball and knocking several of his comrades aside along the way.

The impact was so powerful that even the hardened bone membranes couldn't stop the force from reaching their internal organs. Several of the injured men fell to the ground, unable to get back up and no longer able to fight.

"All right! Great work, Doki!" Seeing the Doki she controlled perform so well, Tayuya was thrilled. It was her first time on a battlefield.

"Isn't it a little too early to celebrate?" Another Kaguya Clan elite had somehow appeared behind Tayuya and Jirobo. In his right hand, he held a sharp, sturdy bone sword. Its white surface gleamed like polished jade, a sign of his exceptional talent with Shikotsumyaku.

"Die!" He thrust the bone sword at Tayuya's back. Jirobo had no time to defend her.

"Tayuya, watch out!" Jirobo saw the bone sword about to pierce her and panicked. He glared furiously at the Kaguya Clan member, but he couldn't move in time.

Just as Jirobo thought Tayuya was about to be killed, he witnessed something unbelievable. The Kaguya Clan elite seemed to have been frozen in place by a Binding Technique. He still held his bone sword in mid-thrust, but his arm couldn't move forward another inch.

"What's happening to me? Why can't I move?" The Kaguya Clan member had never faced such a bizarre situation. He strained with all his might to escape, only to find that some powerful force had pinned him in place. He couldn't move at all.

"This is..." Tayuya, the one closest to the scene, saw it most clearly. Fine, crystal-clear threads wrapped around the enemy's wrists, arms, and legs, holding all four limbs fast. Even more threads crisscrossed his torso, all leading back to a tree trunk nearby.

Tayuya followed the threads with her eyes. Their source was their teammate and captain, Kidomaru. Dense webs extended from his six arms, leaving his legs free. Their other ends were attached to the Kaguya Clan member's joints. Kidomaru controlled every part connected to a web.

These weren't ordinary threads. They were produced by Kidomaru's bloodline. Reinforced with chakra, they were as hard as steel while retaining the flexibility, strength, and malleability of spider silk. They made for a formidable chakra weapon.

The countless threads controlled the enemy's muscles and joints, eventually taking over his entire body. No matter how hard the Kaguya Clan member struggled, he couldn't break free.

"Don't let your guard down on the battlefield. You might not be so lucky next time." Though Kidomaru scolded his teammates, he was always keeping an eye on their safety. Otherwise, he wouldn't have laid webs around them from the start. If an enemy approached, they would inevitably catch one or several threads—and the threads were difficult to spot.

That way, if a teammate ran into danger, Kidomaru could send the threads in his hands shooting rapidly toward the ones already attached to the enemy. The threads would coil tightly around the enemy's body and bring him under control.