Curse Mark

Deep within the Forest of Death, Zaku and Kin leaned against tree trunks, waking from unconsciousness one after the other.

Zaku rubbed the back of his head and cursed through gritted teeth. Kin silently examined the wound on her left arm without saying a word.

Yunju stood before them, his left eye sweeping over the two from beneath his bandages.

"Now that you're awake, move," he said.

"Where are we going?" Zaku asked, rubbing his neck as he got to his feet.

Yunju did not answer. He simply headed deeper into the forest.

He had seen Orochimaru's signal earlier.

About twenty minutes later, the three stopped at the edge of a clearing in the woods.

The situation in the clearing was somewhat delicate.

A blond boy with six whisker-like markings on his face—Naruto Uzumaki—lay unconscious on the ground. Yunju recognized him. He was the guy who had shouted, "I'll defeat every last one of you!" at the entrance to the exam hall during the first test. Yunju remembered him well.

The black-haired boy—Sasuke Uchiha—was clearly the Sasuke Orochimaru had been closely watching, judging by the mark on his neck. He sat against a tree trunk with his eyes shut and face pale. Three black tomoe-shaped markings on his neck emitted a faint, ominous aura. He seemed to be enduring some kind of pain, yet he had not awakened.

The pink-haired girl—Sakura Haruno—knelt between them, tending to both boys. Her left arm was wrapped in bandages, and her face was bruised, but her eyes remained clear.

She warily watched her surroundings, clutching a kunai in her hand. Her body trembled slightly, yet she remained in front of her two unconscious teammates.

Hearing movement in the woods, Sakura suddenly turned her head and saw Yunju's group.

Her pupils contracted sharply.

"Sound Ninja..."

Sakura gritted her teeth and instinctively raised her kunai higher. She did not retreat, though her legs were trembling.

She could not retreat.

Naruto and Sasuke were behind her. Both had lost consciousness. If she moved aside, they would be meat on the chopping block.

Seeing this, Yunju's heart stirred slightly.

This girl... was brave.

But he had no time for sentiment.

"Captain." Zaku licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Three from Konoha. Two are unconscious."

Kin said nothing, but silently removed a scroll from her back.

Yunju's gaze lingered on Sakura for a moment before moving away.

Orochimaru's signal had come from here. He had sent Yunju here to lead the team, likely for more than just a rendezvous. More likely—he wanted Yunju to "test" something.

Test the strength of these three genin? Or something else?

Yunju did not know.

But he knew one thing: he was now "Dosu," the captain of Orochimaru's Sound Ninja. He had to play this role well in front of Zaku and Kin, without revealing a single flaw.

If he did not fight, Orochimaru would grow suspicious.

If he fought too halfheartedly, Orochimaru would grow suspicious too.

So he had to fight.

But he could control how far it went.

"Attack," Yunju said flatly.

Zaku had been impatient for a long time. He strode toward Sakura with a cruel smile on his face.

"A little girl dragging around two deadweights." Zaku rolled his wrists. "Hand over the scroll if you know what's good for you, and I'll make it hurt less."

Sakura gripped her kunai tighter and did not yield.

"Never."

Zaku grinned and suddenly rushed forward—

"Air Cutter!"

An invisible shockwave blasted toward Sakura.

Sakura rolled aside, barely avoiding the direct impact, but the aftershock still sent her flying into the tree behind her.

"Urgh—" Sakura groaned, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Yet she gritted her teeth, stood up, and once again placed herself in front of Sasuke and Naruto.

Zaku frowned. "You can take a hit, huh?"

He raised both arms again, the air tubes humming.

Kin closed in from the side as well, chakra gathering in her mouth, ready to unleash a sonic attack at any moment.

As Sakura watched the two Sound Ninja approach, despair surged within her.

She could not even defeat one of them, let alone two.

But she could not fall.

At the very least... she had to hold on until someone came to help.

"Air Cutter!"

Zaku attacked again.

Sakura leaped with all her strength and avoided the attack, but Kin's sonic assault followed immediately after—a piercing sound stabbed into her eardrums. Sakura clutched her ears in agony, lost her balance in midair, and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Little girl." Zaku walked up to her and looked down from above. "I'll ask you one last time. Where's the scroll?"

Sakura raised her head. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth, but her eyes showed no surrender.

"I... I told you... never."

Zaku's expression turned cold.

"Then don't blame me."

He raised his foot—

"Stop right there!"

A voice exploded from the forest.

Zaku froze slightly and instinctively turned around.

Three figures leaped down from the canopy and landed at the edge of the clearing.

One was broad and stocky, with a lazy expression but sharp eyes—Akimichi Choji.

Another was a girl with long blond hair tied in a ponytail, kunai in hand—Ino Yamanaka.

And the last was a lean boy with the same spiky ponytail, dressed in a green vest—Shikamaru Nara. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked reluctant, but his position was precise, perfectly blocking Zaku and Kin's attack routes.

"Shikamaru... Choji... Ino..." Hope flashed in Sakura's eyes.

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed, his gaze passing over the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke before settling on Sakura's wounds. "Three Sound Ninja ganging up on one girl. Have you got no shame?"

Choji pulled out a bag of chips from his pocket and crunched one, but his eyes never left Zaku.

Ino hurried to Sakura's side and helped her up.

"Sakura! Are you okay?"

"I'm... I'm fine." Sakura panted, her voice trembling slightly. "Sasuke and Naruto..."

"I know." Ino glanced at the unconscious Sasuke, then at Naruto, frowning deeply. "Rest for now. Leave this to us."

Sakura shook her head and struggled to stand. "I can still—"

"What can you still do?" Ino was unusually forceful. "You can barely stand. Stop trying to act tough."

Sakura bit her lip and finally retreated behind Ino.

She had not collapsed, but her body was already shaking.

Yunju watched the three newly arrived Konoha genin and rapidly assessed them.

Three against one—no, three against two. Zaku and Kin had already made their move, and the opposing lineup did not look weak.

But he could not retreat.

At least, not yet.

"Zaku, Kin," Yunju said. "Continue."

Zaku gave a savage grin and turned toward Shikamaru.

"Three more idiots here to die."

The air tubes in his arms began to hum again—

"Air Cutter!"

The shockwave blasted toward Shikamaru.

Shikamaru did not take it head-on. He sidestepped and pulled a kunai from his pocket, throwing it at Zaku. The kunai flew in a crooked path, seeming completely harmless.

Zaku disdainfully raised a hand to block it—

"Shadow Imitation Technique!"

Shikamaru's shadow rapidly stretched across the ground and connected with Zaku's.

Zaku's body froze.

"What—" Zaku's eyes widened as he realized he could not move at all.

Shikamaru slowly raised his hand, and Zaku's hand rose involuntarily as well. Shikamaru tilted his head, and Zaku's head tilted with it.

"Can't move?" Panic crept into Zaku's voice.

Kin immediately turned toward Shikamaru and unleashed a sonic attack from her mouth.

Choji stepped in front of Shikamaru.

"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"

Choji's right arm instantly expanded into a massive pillar of flesh, blocking Kin's sonic attack like a wall. The sound waves struck his arm, making him frown, but they caused no real damage.

"That hurts..." Choji muttered, but he did not retreat.

Ino circled around from the side, her kunai aimed straight at Kin's back.

Kin barely blocked it with her arm guard, but Ino's force knocked her back two steps.

Yunju stood in the rear, narrowing his left eye slightly.

Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique had restrained Zaku, Choji's expansion technique had blocked Kin's sound waves, and Ino had used the opening to close in—the three worked together seamlessly. They had clearly trained together for a long time.

But Zaku and Kin were not their only opponents.

Yunju raised his right hand, Wind Release chakra gathering at his fingertips.

"Wind Release: Wind Blade."

Three sharp wind blades shot from his fingertips toward Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino respectively.

He was not trying to kill them—he had deliberately controlled the blades' angles and power. The first wind blade passed by Shikamaru's ear, cutting off several strands of hair; the second grazed Choji's arm, slicing open his sleeve; the third passed between Ino and Kin, carving a deep trench into the ground.

All three froze at once.

Not because they had been hit, but because of the wind blades' accuracy and power—a Sound Ninja genin launching three tricky wind blades from this distance was not normal.

"That bandaged guy..." Shikamaru's gaze finally settled on Yunju, his expression turning grave. "He's the captain."

Choji retracted his arm and fell back beside Shikamaru. Ino retreated as well, shielding Sakura.

Zaku realized he could move again—Shikamaru's attention had shifted to Yunju, releasing the Shadow Imitation Technique.

"Damn it..." Zaku rolled his wrist, the vicious gleam in his eyes growing stronger.

Just as he was about to attack again—

A massive, violent surge of chakra erupted from the center of the clearing.

Everyone looked in that direction at once.

Sasuke opened his eyes.