Fighting Tayuya

After training for so long, Hui had realized that Orochimaru really had an enormous collection. The number of ninjutsu she knew kept growing, but his scrolls seemed endless.

At last, Hui Youling was no longer a punching bag and could hold her own in sparring matches with Kimimaro.

Whenever Kimimaro used Bone Bullets, she was still completely helpless. His more polished techniques also constantly caught Hui Youling off guard.

Injuries were a regular occurrence, and Qingsi's workload had grown because of Hui. He was always complaining to her. For example:

"How did you get this weak?"

"Could you stop coming to me all the time?"

"You've learned all that Wind Release, but you still can't stop his Bone Bullets?"

And Qingsi's favorite thing to say was, "So you're just a little kid. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?"

But Qingsi was a perfect example of someone who talked tough but had a soft heart. Although he often complained about Hui, he was always meticulous when treating her and took surprisingly good care of her.

In his eyes, Hui seemed like a little kid—one who was a bit of a handful, at that.

Hui Youling was actually afraid of pain. But ever since she began learning from Orochimaru, she had understood that the outcome of a fight could turn on a moment of fear or hesitation. Seizing that one second could make all the difference.

Whenever Qingsi treated her, his disdain was plain to see. Looking at him like that, Hui couldn't help smiling.

The green chakra was so warm. It eased the pain in her body and seemed to soothe the hurt in her heart as well. Having someone heal her after she'd been beaten into such a sorry state really was a wonderful thing.

When had she started thinking that getting hurt didn't matter, since Qingsi would always patch her up? Besides, she had no way back. If she was going to stay here, she could only give everything she had to grow stronger.

Her Wind Release training was progressing relatively quickly. Orochimaru watched from the side and occasionally offered advice. He guided Hui Youling on how proficient she should become with each technique and even how to develop it further.

Of all those techniques, Hui liked Wind Blade best. With Orochimaru's guidance, she pursued perfection even with the simple Wind Blade, spending a long time training to improve its speed and the number of blades she could launch.

But one day, Orochimaru tossed her a few scrolls and disappeared. She hadn't seen him once in the past few months.

Instead, she'd met the Sound Four: Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon, and Jirobo.

"Well, well. So this is the new person Lord Orochimaru brought back. Pretty weak!" Tayuya's brash voice rang out, brimming with undisguised contempt.

Watching Hui Youling in the training grounds, she couldn't understand why Lord Orochimaru thought someone like her was worth his attention. He'd even given her more training resources than the Sound Four.

Tayuya hadn't expected that someone who had earned Orochimaru's attention—even to the point of having Kimimaro teach her—could be this weak. She probably couldn't even beat Tayuya, let alone Kimimaro.

Hui barely dodged another flurry of Kimimaro's bone swords and clung to the tree trunk, staring down at the densely packed blades on the ground. The sight made her scalp prickle.

She didn't even bother paying attention to Tayuya's taunts. But just as Hui was waiting for her chance, Kimimaro stopped.

"That's enough for today," he said flatly. The bone swords on the ground gradually vanished. His tone was matter-of-fact and devoid of emotion. Hui had never been able to accept that about him. She didn't want Kimimaro to be like an ice sculpture.

For some reason, the thought stirred a little resentment in her. That was right—she was too weak to catch Kimimaro's attention. Why would he ever talk to her?

Hui turned toward the speaker and narrowed her eyes. She hadn't expected it to be Tayuya.

"Why don't you spar with me?" Hui called loudly enough for everyone present to hear.

Tayuya had already shut her mouth when Kimimaro stopped. At Hui's challenge, her temper flared right back up. "Oh, you've got guts, you little trash!"

"Tayuya, girls shouldn't use foul language." Jirobo's voice came from nearby as he slowly stepped out. The look in Hui's eyes shifted, and a thought began to take root in her mind.

If she could beat the Sound Four, maybe people would acknowledge her strength. But she wasn't in any hurry. She couldn't afford to underestimate the Sound Four. She just wanted to give it a try.

Kimimaro looked at Hui, but didn't interfere with her foolish decision. Tayuya would beat her up, and his own mission was complete. It didn't matter to him.

He leaped lightly over to Jirobo's side. Jirobo bowed his head respectfully. "Lord Kimimaro, Lord Orochimaru is looking for you."

Tayuya nervously pressed her lips together and stepped aside. Kimimaro gave a quiet hum and left without looking back.

Hui pressed a hand to her forehead, troubled. She hadn't expected Orochimaru to return again, though she did have some questions she wanted to ask him.

Hui leaped lightly away from the training grounds and landed beside Tayuya.

"How about a fight?" Hui asked bluntly. The spark of anger in Tayuya, which had just died down, flared up again at the smile on Hui's lips. She shouted furiously, "You're asking for it!"

Hui only chuckled and looked toward the arena below the viewing platform. Tayuya gave a cold snort, and the two of them leaped into the training grounds with perfect understanding.

Jirobo frowned slightly as he watched them, but said nothing. He thought Hui was weak, but he knew Orochimaru wouldn't bring back someone useless.

Kimimaro might go easy on her, but Tayuya wouldn't. Truth be told, Jirobo wanted to see what she could do.

Tayuya seemed intent on teaching Hui Youling a lesson. She summoned her puppets without hesitation and began to play a Demonic Sound.

Seeing that Tayuya hadn't activated the Cursed Seal, Hui was a little surprised. It seemed Orochimaru's Cursed Seal experiments weren't complete yet. Even Kimimaro didn't have a Cursed Seal.

That gave Hui a chance to see how strong Tayuya was without one. She quickly formed Hand Seals and sent several Wind Release attacks at her.

Tayuya's pupils contracted. She cursed inwardly, Damn it!

Wind Release was the thing she hated most. It scattered the sound before she could play it.

"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"

Hui formed Hand Seals quickly without stopping her feet. She had already gotten used to making Hand Seals while fighting.

Tayuya's puppets pursued Hui relentlessly. Wind Blades skimmed past their bodies and shot toward Tayuya, forcing her to retreat again and again. She was growing angrier by the second.

Her face twisted, and a hint of murderous intent showed. She was like a lion whose territory had been invaded by a cat; she wanted to crush Hui Youling.

Wind Blades had carved marks all over the ground. Whenever Tayuya raised her Demonic Flute, Hui's powerful gusts of Wind Release would blow in, leaving her no chance to play.

Tayuya had never expected Hui Youling's Wind Release to come in such an unbroken stream. The attacks weren't very powerful, but the wind, mixed with bits of stone, stung when it hit her.

Hui was grateful that Orochimaru's techniques didn't require complicated Hand Seals. Kimimaro had also helped her refine them through practical training.

Tayuya dodged Hui's Wind Release again and again, while controlling her puppets to attack her.

The two were locked in a stalemate. Tayuya felt as if she hadn't been able to use any of her real strength, and she was furious.

Jirobo watched it all impassively. Even as the ground was blasted apart, he showed no surprise.

"Attack!" Tayuya ordered her puppets. Chakra flowed around her entire body.

A gleam flashed in Hui's eyes. She hadn't expected Wind Release to counter Tayuya so effectively!

"Die!" Tayuya roared.

The headless puppet appeared in front of Hui in an instant, its enormous foot coming down.

Hui was already used to Kimimaro's surprise attacks, so she quickly leaped backward. At that moment, another puppet swung its spiked club at her lower back.

The downside of rarely fighting multiple opponents became clear. Hui couldn't dodge in time, and the puppet struck her mid-leap, sending her flying across the arena.

Tayuya smirked contemptuously as she watched Hui fly past in a sorry state and crash to the ground. "It's over, trash," she drawled.

Hui spat out a mouthful of blood. The next moment, there was a poof, and she turned into a piece of wood.

"How is that possible?" Tayuya hurriedly looked around, but a Wind Blade came at her from behind. She quickly dodged to the side.

Before she could do anything else, she felt the cold edge of a Kunai against her neck.

She heard Hui say coolly, "You lose. Cough!"

Tayuya stared in disbelief. The person she'd injured should have been lying on the ground, unable to move. When had she gotten behind Tayuya?

As soon as she finished speaking, Hui crouched down and curled up, coughing violently. "Cough, cough, cough!"

Tayuya turned in confusion to look at Hui. Blood spread across her back, staining her clothes.

"How could you...?" Tayuya furrowed her brows. If the spiked club had hit a substitute, it couldn't have caused that kind of injury.

Jirobo decided that was enough. He leaped down from the viewing platform. "Tayuya, that's enough. I'll go get someone."

"Cough, cough. Haha, it's fine. I'll go find Qingsi myself..." Hui said slowly, forcing a smile.

She took a pill from her pouch and swallowed it. Her face twisted up as if it hurt even more than the injury.

After a while, Hui stood up and gave Tayuya a look that was almost a smile. In an instant, she was gone, leaving only a blur behind.

"Damn it!" Tayuya angrily swung a hand toward Hui Youling, but Hui had already left. Jirobo reached out to stop her. "She's still someone Lord Orochimaru chose."

Tayuya gritted her teeth and recalled her puppets. "Jirobo, did you see what happened?"

She still couldn't shake the question. She had no idea how Hui had gotten behind her.

"No. But I can tell you definitely hit her," Jirobo replied. "As for how she got behind you, I'm not sure either."

"Damn it!" Tayuya cursed in frustration. She made a mental note of Hui Youling and wasn't about to let her get away with this.