Battle with Kidomaru

The arrow passed through Uzumaki Hane's chest, but no blood appeared. Poof! Uzumaki Hane vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving a pool of lava behind.

Kidomaru said, "A clone?"

Uzumaki Hane appeared on a tree trunk with Neji in his arms. Neji braced himself against the trunk and said, "I can still move."

Uzumaki Hane nodded, looked at Kidomaru, and shouted, "Magma Spear!" A lava javelin appeared in his right hand, and he hurled it at Kidomaru. Like a streak of red lightning, it reached Kidomaru in the blink of an eye. Kidomaru had been ready, moving the moment Uzumaki Hane threw the javelin, and dodged the attack.

Uzumaki Hane knew he was no marksman, and that this move would have a hard time hitting Kidomaru, who was skilled with a bow and arrow. As he threw the javelin, a long staff appeared in his right hand, and he charged at Kidomaru. By the time Kidomaru dodged the lava javelin and regained his footing, Uzumaki Hane was already above him, bringing the staff down on his head.

Kidomaru raised the bow in his right hand to block. Bang! The blow knocked him off the tree trunk, but he kept shooting spider silk from his hands and attaching it to branches, moving swiftly through the trees.

The staff in Uzumaki Hane's hand turned into a javelin, which he hurled at Kidomaru. Kidomaru narrowly dodged the attack. Chewing continuously, he spat dozens of webs at Uzumaki Hane.

Uzumaki Hane turned directly into lava and charged through the webs at the retreating Kidomaru, melting every web he touched. Then he swept both hands forward, firing dozens of Lava Shuriken. Kidomaru frowned and moved even faster, dodging every one of them.

Seeing this, Uzumaki Hane shouted, "Lava Shuriken!" He fired dozens more.

"Damn it," Kidomaru said. He shot spider silk from his hands even faster and dodged most of the Lava Shuriken. Then one of them grazed the silk suspending him from a branch, severing it. This is bad, Kidomaru thought. He lost his balance and fell.

Uzumaki Hane naturally wouldn't let this chance slip by. "Magma Spear!" he shouted. A lava javelin appeared in each hand, and he hurled them at Kidomaru. "Damn it. You'll have to do better than that to hit me," Kidomaru said. Still in midair, he quickly formed an arrow of Spider Sticky Gold and fired it, striking one of the lava javelins. Bang! Both flew apart. The other lava javelin shot toward Kidomaru like red lightning. He fired spider silk from his hand at a tree trunk above, pulling himself out of the javelin's path.

Uzumaki Hane shouted again, "Lava Shuriken!" This time, Kidomaru couldn't dodge, and they all struck him. But he had covered himself in Spider Sticky Gold just in time, and the damaged Spider Sticky Gold began to fall away.

Just then, Neji rushed up to Kidomaru. "You forgot about me," he said, striking Kidomaru rapidly with both hands. Kidomaru slammed into the ground, and the Curse Mark Stage Two on his body began to fade. "Why can't I use Chakra?" he exclaimed in shock. Then he spat out a mouthful of blood and lost consciousness.

Neji landed on the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed. Uzumaki Hane flashed to his side and caught him in time. "Neji, how are you?"

Neji forced himself to speak. "I'm afraid I can't go any farther. Uzumaki Hane, hurry on ahead. You have to bring Sasuke back." Uzumaki Hane leaned Neji against a tree trunk and said, "All right, I'll go after them now." He vanished in a flash, quickly pursuing the others in the direction Shikamaru and the rest had gone.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Shikamaru and the others had caught up to Tayuya and Sakon and Ukon. Tayuya looked at Shikamaru and the other three and said, "What are those two idiots Jirobo and Kidomaru doing?"

Sakon and Ukon also looked at the group and said, "Let's take care of them first," before charging at them. Kiba and Shikamaru immediately rushed forward as well, and the three began to fight. Within a few moves, Kiba and Shikamaru were sent flying. Choji charged in too and threw a punch, but Sakon and Ukon caught his arm and threw him aside. Naruto quickly used Rasengan and attacked Sakon and Ukon, who swiftly grabbed Naruto's right hand again, making the Rasengan disappear. "How is that possible?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakon and Ukon said, "All I have to do is grab you before you use the move, and it's useless." Just then, Kiba used Fang Over Fang and burst through Naruto's clone. Sakon and Ukon dodged in an instant, but Kiba's target wasn't Sakon and Ukon, and he continued charging at Tayuya.

Tayuya saw Kiba charging at her and was about to attack, but discovered she couldn't move. Shikamaru had used Shadow Imitation Technique to bind her. "Tayuya, what are you standing around for?" Sakon and Ukon shouted, preparing to rush to her. Just then, Choji charged back in and stopped them.

Kiba seized the chance to grab the wooden barrel holding Sasuke and threw it to Naruto up ahead. The two quickly fled, and Choji immediately left as well. Sakon and Ukon naturally wouldn't let them get away, but unexpectedly, Tayuya suddenly stepped in front of them, and they collided and crashed into a tree trunk. Shikamaru and Choji also took the chance to escape.

Seeing that Sasuke had been taken, Tayuya and Sakon and Ukon both activated Cursed Seal Level One and quickly gave chase.

Kiba lagged a few steps behind to set a trap, and Sakon and Ukon caught up to him. As a result, the two were blasted into a canyon by the trap. Choji happened to be nearby and jumped down after them.

Naruto and Shikamaru, who were up ahead, noticed the commotion behind them and stopped, allowing Tayuya to catch up. Shikamaru said, "There's no choice. I'll deal with her. You take the barrel and go on ahead." While the three were facing off, Kimimaro suddenly appeared and snatched Sasuke's barrel.

Tayuya looked at Kimimaro in surprise. "Why are you here?" Just then, Uzumaki Hane caught up as well. His right arm quickly turned to lava and swelled to ten times its size, smashing toward Kimimaro.

Kimimaro flashed aside, easily dodging the attack, and landed beside Tayuya with the barrel.

Having missed Kimimaro, Uzumaki Hane came to Naruto's side. Naruto asked, "Hane, you're here. Did you run into Neji?" Uzumaki Hane nodded. "Neji was badly hurt and couldn't make it here, but don't worry, his life isn't in danger. What about Kiba and Choji?"

Shikamaru said, "They disappeared with the other Sound Ninja, but it's two against one. I'm sure they can catch up. We need to get Sasuke's barrel back now. I have a feeling that new Sound Ninja won't be easy to deal with."

Kimimaro stroked the barrel and said to Tayuya, "I'm taking Sasuke back." With a flash, he quickly left.

Seeing Kimimaro leave with the barrel, Shikamaru hurriedly said, "Naruto, Uzumaki Hane, go get Sasuke back now. Leave this Sound Ninja to me." "Right," Naruto and Uzumaki Hane said together, immediately giving chase.

"I won't let you get away with that," Tayuya said angrily. Then she took out a flute.