It didn't take long for Sasuke to realise that the plan was definitely not being followed. Reluctant as he was to take his eyes off the enemy nin in front of them, he still glanced behind him to figure out what was going on -- only to see Adela, sword in hand, apparently unable to move. There was no disturbance in chakra that Sasuke could sense, but he still activated the Sharingan, just in case.

No -- there was no jutsu at work that could be seen through chakra. His gaze snapped to the woman who moved, his own sword drawn in a flash to block the blow even as Adela managed to get out of the way. Just barely.

Was it fear? This was hardly her first mission out of the village, and these shinobi weren't even that skilled, given how the woman he blocked stumbled back easily when he pushed back on her weapon. The black tomoe of his Sharingan spun slowly as he narrowed his eyes at all of them, still seeing no jutsu that could explain what was happening with Adela, which meant that he was stuck with both a decoy and a real sword package that would rapidly make it obvious one of them was a fake.

"Adela," he hissed, edging back enough that he could grind the heel of his foot into her toes.

"You can give it up easy," the redheaded leader called out, almost casually. "Or you can resist us and we'll just kill you both."