Indeed, the remaining three on Sasuke's side were proving to be more cautious, the lone kunoichi opting to leap up into the canopy to wait to regroup with her companions. Too far for Sasuke to use anything but long-range fire jutsu, and he didn't want their opponents roasted: shinobi that were burned to death were generally extremely untalkative.
He took the moment to glance behind him instead, working out the source of all the noise. Earth jutsu was clearly effective against multiple attackers, but it was definitely not subtle when used this way -- and was that blood and guts actually raining down over the ground? It seemed like overkill, but he hadn't seen Sakura's fight in its entirety; maybe she'd assessed them as a kill-worthy threat.
In the end, he just nodded a short acknowledgement and turned back to his remaining three. They'd convened in the branches of one tree by now and appeared to be consulting very seriously. He hoped they were regretting the decision to attack, but he didn't plan on giving them much time to: Sharingan spinning, he blurred into forward motion. Projectiles flew down from the group, but this was the whole point of training with Kakashi -- he slipped through them, swung an arm back, and slammed his fist into the tree trunk.
Nothing happened for a second, and then the trunk cracked apart at the point of impact, the chakra he'd gathered in his fist releasing with precision. Raw wood appeared, and then lightning chakra speared up through its body, the solid structure of the wood holding the water that was its conduit making it much easier to target the three startled ninja lingering in its branches, paralyzing them even as the tree topppled onto its side.
And it would have been a moment to be pleased with the combination of his two teachers' techniques, except as soon as Sasuke stepped away from the falling tree, first a rain of twigs and then an entire, enormous nest collapsed down and directly into his startled arms.
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He took the moment to glance behind him instead, working out the source of all the noise. Earth jutsu was clearly effective against multiple attackers, but it was definitely not subtle when used this way -- and was that blood and guts actually raining down over the ground? It seemed like overkill, but he hadn't seen Sakura's fight in its entirety; maybe she'd assessed them as a kill-worthy threat.
In the end, he just nodded a short acknowledgement and turned back to his remaining three. They'd convened in the branches of one tree by now and appeared to be consulting very seriously. He hoped they were regretting the decision to attack, but he didn't plan on giving them much time to: Sharingan spinning, he blurred into forward motion. Projectiles flew down from the group, but this was the whole point of training with Kakashi -- he slipped through them, swung an arm back, and slammed his fist into the tree trunk.
Nothing happened for a second, and then the trunk cracked apart at the point of impact, the chakra he'd gathered in his fist releasing with precision. Raw wood appeared, and then lightning chakra speared up through its body, the solid structure of the wood holding the water that was its conduit making it much easier to target the three startled ninja lingering in its branches, paralyzing them even as the tree topppled onto its side.
And it would have been a moment to be pleased with the combination of his two teachers' techniques, except as soon as Sasuke stepped away from the falling tree, first a rain of twigs and then an entire, enormous nest collapsed down and directly into his startled arms.