Chapter 98: A Lone Little Tanuki Spotted Ahead - The White Eyed Princess of Konoha

Chapter 98: A Lone Little Tanuki Spotted Ahead "Byakugan, activate!" Hinata tightened her fists, gathering chakra and channeling it into her blows while she began integrating natural energy. In mere seconds, Hinata directly confronted two squads of Sound Ninja. Eight people! "Forty Gentle Fist + Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" A devastating attack! 'Boom boom boom' After unleashing her jutsu, Hinata turned around and walked away. A true warrior never looks back at an explosion! Increasing her pace, Hinata caught up with Naruto and the others two minutes later. Shikamaru gave Hinata a curious glance; it was unbelievably fast! And the thunderous sound from that explosion... Even though he didn't witness Hinata's jutsu firsthand, it was evident it wasn't something a genin could perform. Akamaru huddled in Kiba's arms, visibly trembling in fear, but obediently so! Several miles ahead of Hinata’s group, Sasuke finally intercepted Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. "Don’t think you can escape!" Though Sasuke was somewhat exhausted, seeing the injured Gaara along with the seemingly powerless Kankuro and Temari, he couldn't help but smile smugly. Kankuro removed the Crow puppet from his back, locking eyes with Sasuke. "Temari, take Gaara and go ahead!" Temari gave Kankuro a complex look. "But you..." Kankuro’s voice was soft, yet unyieldingly resolute: "I’ll handle him!" "No! Your opponent is me!" Out of nowhere, Shino emerged, hands in pockets, exuding arrogance! Bugs began to crawl over Shino's face. "I’ll take care of him, go quickly!" Sasuke glanced at Shino. "You seem confident. Are you sure you can handle it?" "Relax," Shino replied indifferently. "In ten minutes, I'll be there to cover you." Hearing this, Sasuke chuckled. "By then, I’ll have finished my fight too!" "Woof woof!" Kiba translated, "Sasuke has stopped, and... Shino is there too!" Hinata looked at Kiba. "Akamaru, how close are we to Sasuke?" "Woof woof!" "We’re almost there!" With a focused gaze ahead, Hinata urged, "Keep accelerating!" On the other side, Kankuro glared at Shino, his tone laced with sarcasm. "You people really don't understand the true horrors of this world!" "And what is that?" Hinata shouted, landing with Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee behind Kankuro, encircling him alongside Shino. Kankuro spun around, alarmed, realizing the dire threat standing before him. With a swift, calculated move, Hinata launched a palm thrust at Kankuro and another at his puppet, unfazed by his maneuver. Cursing the invisible attacks, Kankuro leapt skyward while his chakra strings manipulated the Crow puppet to evade Hinata’s strike by descending from a tree. The advantage of a puppeteer is being able to control puppets from a distance, as long as the chakra strings remain intact. But before Kankuro could bask in triumph, hundreds of Narutos descended from the trees like rain, tackling Kankuro from the air back to the ground. 'Bang bang bang' Hinata had never experienced a group beatdown herself, but she imagined Kankuro must have found it quite exhilarating! Judging by his pained cries, that is! "Keep pursuing!" "Shino, you come along too!" Calling out to Shino, Hinata's team grew from five to six, charging energetically toward Gaara. Behind them, Naruto's shadow clones continued to explode one after another. When all shadow clones vanished, the only thing left was a badly battered Kankuro, able to only draw in breath but not release it. Not far ahead: "Temari… put me down!" Temari stopped, looking at Gaara with concern. "Gaara, you're awake?" "Ugh" Gaara clutched his forehead, screaming in agony. Unlike Naruto's complete Eight Trigrams Seal, Gaara's seal wasn’t as refined. Gaara was more of an experimental jinchuriki, with an imperfect seal that allowed him to transform into a tailed beast at any moment. During the latter stages of the Third Ninja War, the Sand Village suffered defeat first and their strength dwindled to its lowest point. To safeguard the Sand Village, the village’s leaders created Gaara as a jinchuriki weapon, enabling him to transform into a tailed beast through an incomplete seal. Back then, many considered Gaara a failed experiment. Yet his existence did afford the Sand Village a sense of security. Gaara suddenly turned to Temari, saying coldly, "Temari, get out of the way!" "What?" 'Thud!' Gaara swung his fist, sending Temari flying, breathing heavily as he faced the approaching Sasuke alone. In truth, Gaara cared about Temari and Kankuro deep down. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Temari flying to ensure she was out of harm’s way as he began his transformation. Sasuke coolly declared, "Though I don't exactly know what you Sand Village folks are planning, I intend to stop you!" "Moreover... I want to see your true form!" "Ugh" Violet markings unique to Shukaku spread across Gaara's face, his expression twisted, eyes filled with murderous intent, saliva dripping from his mouth... "Uwaaaahh" Gaara wailed in agony, his right side undergoing transformation, his right eye becoming Shukaku’s. The sheer malevolence of the aura sent chills down Sasuke's spine. Shino, I might not last until you come to assist... "Oh oh oh" Hinata spotted Sasuke and Gaara in the distance, her excitement bubbling over. Hush~ Don’t make a sound! Look at what I've discovered! A lone little tanuki! We could try capturing it. It might fetch a pretty penny if sold to the Sand Village. Seeing Gaara's true form, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, and Shino all broke out in a cold sweat. That creature is utterly terrifying. Only now did Shino realize what Kankuro meant by 'the true horror.' Shikamaru mumbled, displeased, "Hey, what are you getting so excited about?" Hinata’s eyes shone with a fiery glow as she whispered with excitement, "Hush! Keep your voices down, or you'll scare away our prey." "This Gaara is surely important to the Sand Village. If we capture him, we might sell him for billions!" If only Shukaku were edible, then... Heehee~ Hinata licked her lips with anticipation. The simultaneous glances from the five around her confirmed it— The real terror might just be right here with us.