Chapter 389: 389 – Yakumo cornered!!

Kitazawa quickly examined Sasuke, Shino, and the others.

After confirming there were no serious injuries, he returned to the top of the Wood Dragon.

Kosuke and Kurenai remained with him, while Kakashi and Hiruzen entered the Forest of Death alongside the next two teams.

As instructors for Yakumo’s squad and Neji’s squad, they were required to accompany them during the match.

Left side of the Forest of Death

The mountain once claimed by Sasuke’s team welcomed new occupants.

Yakumo, Ino, and Karin arrived—but instead of climbing it, they concealed themselves behind its rocky bulk.

“Neji has the Byakugan and the Yin Bow,” Yakumo said quietly.

“If nothing unexpected happens, he’ll use it to suppress us from long range.”

In the Forest of Death, the most dangerous opponents weren’t Shino or Shikamaru—but the Hyūga.

With the Byakugan’s range, Neji and Hinata could observe nearly the entire battlefield.

No movement went unnoticed.

“The Byakugan really is a pain,” Ino sighed.

“But we also have the advantage once they get close,” Yakumo replied calmly.

“We excel at control.” She gestured lightly.

“I have genjutsu. Karin has sealing techniques. Ino has genjutsu and Yin Release secret arts.”

Ino grinned.

“When that happens, they’ll be the ones with headaches.”

“The real issue is making them approach us voluntarily,” Karin added, nodding.

“Then we just make the Yin Bow ineffective,” Yakumo said, taking out a prepared scroll.

“We stay here and turn this mountain into a fortress.”

“While we still have time, let’s reinforce our defenses.”

“I’ll pull in a few large boulders,” Ino said, already moving.

“I’ll lay sealing arrays,” Karin replied, quickly surveying the terrain before kneeling to draw complex formulas.

Elsewhere in the Forest

Neji, Tenten, and Tayuya advanced through dense woodland.

The scorched earth left behind by Sasuke’s earlier battle had already been restored—Kitazawa’s Wood Release had replaced every fallen tree.

“What are they doing?” Tenten asked, pausing.

“They’re entrenched behind the mountain, reinforcing their position,” Neji answered after a brief glance.

“So Third Hokage-sama predicted this perfectly,” Tenten said with a smile.

“Yes,” Neji replied.

“We’ll proceed with the first plan. If it fails, we switch to the second.”

Hiruzen had prepared two strategies.

The first focused on long-range suppression.

The second combined ranged pressure with close-quarters assault.

Fifteen minutes passed in a blink.

At Kitazawa’s signal, Neji drew the YIn Bow.

As he pulled the string back, a Yin Release Arrow formed from nothingness.

Spiral Arrow!

Chakra wrapped the arrow, causing it to spin violently as it screamed through the air.

Boom!

After crossing nearly a kilometer, it slammed into the mountain—punching straight through.

“It’s coming!” Yakumo shouted.

She snapped open a scroll.

Illusion Technique: True Life!

A solid wall materialized before them.

The mountain had already bled off part of the Spiral Arrow’s power; with the wall absorbing the rest, the arrow finally stalled, embedded deep within the barrier.

“Change positions,” Neji said calmly.

The Spiral Arrow was his most penetrating bow technique—but terrain mattered.

Neji shifted his stance and drew again.

This time, the arrow curved diagonally, bypassing the mountain entirely and striking the massive boulder Ino had dragged into place.

Yakumo’s pupils shrank.

She opened another scroll instantly.

A second wall rose—but without the mountain to weaken it, the Spiral Arrow tore straight through.

The defense shattered in an instant.

At the critical moment, Karin raised her hand.

Four sealing tags shot outward, forming a ring around the incoming Spiral Arrow.

An invisible surge of chakra erupted, locking the arrow firmly in midair.

Seizing the opening, Ino flicked her wrist and sent a kunai flying, knocking the immobilized arrow aside.

“A sealing technique?” Neji’s eyes narrowed.

The situation was growing troublesome—but he didn’t hesitate.

Chakra surged violently.

A Yin Release Arrow vanished the instant it formed.

The next heartbeat, it reappeared directly in front of Yakumo’s group at blinding speed.

After a faint tremor, the arrow split into three, each locking onto each one of them.

Yakumo reacted instantly, unrolling a scroll.

A solid wall materialized.

The three arrows slammed into it.

Before she could relax, another Yin Release Arrow arrived—

Buzz.

It split again—this time into six.

Yakumo hurled out another scroll.

A second wall rose just in time.

The six arrows struck.

Crack.

The barrier fractured, spiderwebbing with fissures.

“Move!”

All three scattered to the sides as the wall collapsed.

The sound of slicing air rang out again—

another six arrows, born from a single split.

“Karin—watch out!”

Yakumo threw up a wall to shield herself and Ino, then glanced sharply toward Karin.

Barrier!!!

A circular black sealing array bloomed beneath Karin’s feet.

The two incoming Yin Release Arrows froze in place, bound as if caught in invisible chains.

“Sealing techniques really are terrifying,” Yakumo said softly, impressed.

Ino nodded in agreement.

In ordinary battles, sealing jutsu were difficult to apply effectively.

But in open terrain—given time to prepare—they became lethal.

Neji frowned.

Among the top eighteen, Karin had never stood out.

Her ranking owed more to her vast chakra reserves and solid Konoha-style taijutsu.

Yet now, watching her work, Neji understood—sealing techniques truly deserved their reputation as one of the most difficult disciplines to master, rivaling even medical ninjutsu.

Their payoff was immense.

“Switch to the second plan?” Tenten asked quietly, noticing Neji’s expression.

“Let’s do it already,” Tayuya snapped, pulling out her flute.

The first plan gave her no room to shine.

Even if it worked, all the credit would go to Neji—and that didn’t sit well with her pride.

“Wait.”

Neji drew the bowstring once more.

“Let me try one last time.”

Explosive Arrow!

Multiple Arrows!

Chakra poured out as Neji fired twice in rapid succession.

The strain hit him immediately.

Though the Yin power originated from the Yin Bow—and the Zero-Tails sealed within it—bow techniques still required his chakra as a conduit.

They were efficient… but not free.

The Explosive Arrow detonated midair, releasing a chaotic, invisible shockwave.

Ino and Karin felt a sharp discomfort ripple through them.

Then the Multiple Arrows split into three and closed in.

Normally, the shockwave would have stunned them—setting them up for the follow-up strike.

But before Yakumo, the Explosive Arrow looked almost crude.

She lifted her hand.

A dense surge of Yin Release power poured forth, smothering the spiritual shockwave entirely.

At the same time, she snapped open a scroll.

A wall rose and intercepted the incoming arrows.

“That’s enough.” Neji spoke instantly.

“Second plan—now.”

In theory, he could have continued draining their chakra.

After all, the Yin Bow drew power directly from the Zero-Tails.

But Neji knew better.

Yakumo possessed overwhelming Yin Release reserves.

Karin was an Uzumaki.

Outlasting them was impossible.

Neji continued firing to maintain pressure as he, Tayuya, and Tenten advanced together.

Viewing platform atop the Wood Dragon

“I have to admit,” Kosuke chuckled, “Byakugan paired with a bow is downright unfair.”

“If their opponents weren’t Yakumo and Karin, they’d already be overwhelmed.”

Karin’s sealing techniques could be prepared in advance.

Yakumo’s Illusion Technique: True Life required no hand seals.

That combination alone was enough to neutralize Neji’s ranged suppression.

“In the end, this is all thanks to Kitazawa,” Kurenai said with a smile.

Both Hyūga bows—Neji’s and Hinata’s—came from him.

Tsunade hesitated.

She remembered the World-Ending Arrow Kitazawa had once demonstrated.

Neji and Hinata clearly didn’t know it—and even if they did, there was no way it could be used here.

That technique carried power on par with a Tailed Beast Bomb.

“The Spiral Arrow and Multiple Arrows still lack raw power,” Tsunade finally said.

“If they were stronger, Yakumo’s team would be in serious trouble.”

“Agreed,” Chen nodded.

“Yakumo can endure this—but Naruto’s team? With so many taijutsu fighters, they’d struggle badly.”

His gaze drifted toward the forest.

Naruto and Lee were practically his own students.

And with Hinata, another bow wielder, waiting in the next match—he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

“You’re the instructor for Naruto and the others—have you arranged any tactics for them?”

Kurenai glanced at Kitazawa as she asked.

“Of course.”

Kitazawa chuckled. “You’ll see soon enough—next match.”

“Then let’s focus on how Neji and his team deal with Yakumo first,” Tsunade said, noticing that Neji’s group had come to a halt.

From where they stood, the mountain sheltering Yakumo’s team was clearly visible—though the distance between them remained considerable.

“Tenten.”

Neji handed the Yin Bow to her. “This range is perfect. You’ll handle the distraction.”

Tenten nodded calmly.

Though she didn’t know bow-based secret techniques, her mastery of ninja tools was unquestionable. Even a standard Yin Release Arrow from the Bow carried enough power to keep the enemy occupied.

“Tayuya.”

Neji turned to her.

“Leave it to me,” Tayuya replied confidently.

Neji nodded, and the two moved forward together.

Tenten drew the bowstring.

A Yin Release Arrow streaked through the air.

Yakumo casually unfurled a scroll.

A wall rose from the ground, blocking the shot with ease.

Just then, the earth trembled faintly.

“It’s Tayuya’s Three Demons,” Ino said immediately, rising to her feet. “But I don’t see her.”

“Be careful of sound-based genjutsu,” Karin warned quickly.

“We’ll use hand signs to communicate.” Ino smiled and pulled out three pairs of earplugs.

Hand-sign communication was standard training at the Ninja Academy—part of code and intelligence classes.

Still, Ino couldn’t help feeling a little regret.

’If only I’d learned Mind Telepathy…’

“Even with earplugs, stay alert,” Yakumo said softly as she accepted a pair.

Truthfully, she didn’t need them—her Yin Release reserves made her extremely resistant to genjutsu.

“I don’t see Neji or Tenten either,” Ino added, scanning the surroundings.

“Neji should be firing from that direction,” Yakumo said, pointing toward where the Yin Release Arrow had come from.

“And Tenten… she’s probably lying in wait.”

“At least they’re finally forcing close combat,”

Ino clenched her fists. “As long as they show themselves, we can control them.”

Suddenly, the mountain ahead shuddered violently.

“Are the Three Demons trying to destroy the mountain?” Ino asked, startled.

With Neji’s Byakugan, the mountain’s presence shouldn’t have mattered at all.

“I’ll handle Tayuya,” Ino said decisively.

“Take these.” Yakumo handed her two scrolls.

“Don’t stray too far. Once you open one, I can activate True Life immediately.”

“Your Bloodline Limit is terrifying,” Ino sighed before fitting the earplugs in place.

She circled the mountain, moving opposite Neji’s position.

Soon, the Three Demons came into view.

The mountain—artificially piled by Kitazawa—was tall but not dense. Under continuous assault, it wouldn’t last long.

Ino removed one earplug.

A faint flute melody reached her ears.

’Tayuya…’

Following the sound, Ino finally spotted her.

She slipped the earplug back in and darted into the forest to the left.

She was confident.

The instant she saw Tayuya, flower petals exploded outward.

Tayuya froze—caught mid-note.

Before she could adjust the melody, the genjutsu had already taken hold.

Ino vanished—and reappeared above her, kunai descending in a killing arc.

At the last moment, Tayuya moved.

A sharp strike slammed into Ino’s arm.

Ino’s expression changed instantly.

Her chakra flow stopped cold.

’This isn’t—!’

It wasn’t Tayuya.

It was Hyūga Neji.

Ino tore open the scroll in her right hand.

Brilliant lightning erupted.

Neji frowned and leapt back, forced to retreat.

“It’s Neji!” Ino shouted.

“What?!”

Yakumo and Karin’s expressions shifted instantly.

They weren’t wearing earplugs—they heard her clearly.

There was only one Tayuya.

If Neji was here… then—

Demonic Flute: Illusory Sound Locking!

The flute’s melody drifted toward them.

Yakumo and Karin looked up.

Tayuya stood halfway up the mountain.

Karin’s vision blurred.

Ropes dropped from the sky, binding her limbs—genjutsu.

In the same instant, overwhelming Yin Release power surged from Yakumo.

In genjutsu battles, speed and Yin strength decided everything.

And Yakumo eclipsed Tayuya in both.

Horror Illusion!

Tayuya froze, trapped.

Yakumo grabbed Karin’s shoulder, dispelling the genjutsu instantly.

But she was already too late for Ino.

The moment Ino exposed him, Neji closed the distance.

Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams—Thirty-Two Palms!

Thirty-two precise strikes landed in a blur.

Ino collapsed, chakra sealed—defeated.

“Tenten!”

Neji shouted after collecting her identification token.

He turned—Tayuya was already fully restrained.

The Three Wrathful Demons stood motionless.

An expected outcome.

Once Yakumo closed in, Tayuya never stood a chance.

In truth, aside from Naruto, it would’ve ended the same for anyone.

But the battle wasn’t over yet.

Whoosh!

A shuriken flashed toward Yakumo and Karin.

Yakumo snapped open a scroll.

A wall rose—but the shuriken jerked midair, curving sharply upward.

“Sealing Barrier Formation!”

Karin threw out four tags, locking the weapon in place.

Then—

The shuriken split.

Two became four.

Four became dozens.

In a heartbeat, the sky was filled with steel.

After years of relentless training, Tenten had finally mastered the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.

Kitazawa had begun teaching her long before Tsunade became Hokage.

Faced with the storm of blades, Yakumo and Karin were pushed into a genuine crisis.

Yakumo instinctively tore open her final scroll.

A wall rose—and was pierced almost instantly.

——————

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