The shuriken came from four directions simultaneously, a coordinated killing strike that would have ended most shinobi teams before they could react.
Kakashi remained cautious as he deflected three projectiles with kunai, while Asuma's chakra blade scattered the fourth into harmless fragments.
The teams moved into defensive formation instantly, years of training overriding surprise.
"Shinobi," Shikamaru observed grimly, analyzing the precision and timing.
"Rogue shinobi," Kakashi corrected, his visible eye narrowing as figures emerged from the mist-shrouded trees.
"At least twelve, possibly more."
The attackers wore a mixture of village headbands, some defaced, others completely removed.
Their movements spoke of professional training, they seemed to be prepared for them.
"Well, well," called a voice from the treeline.
A tall man with snake-like yellow eyes stepped forward, his headband bearing a deliberate scratch across the symbol.
"The little investigators have been quite thorough in ruining our research sites."
"Research sites?" Asuma's hand gripped tightly to his chakra blades.
"You mean the villages you've been experimenting on?"
"Such a limited perspective," the lead rogue sneered.
"Those people contributed to something far greater than their small lives could have achieved alone."
Yuta felt his senses responding to the malevolent atmosphere, but forced himself to remain calm.
They weren't cursed spirits, they were shinobi who had chosen to willingly be part of the cursed spirits.
'That explains the amount of cursed energy they're emitting' Yuta thought.
"Divide and conquer," Kakashi said quietly.
"Standard Formation tactics."
The lead rogue laughed.
"How predictable. Did you really think we didn't prepare for Konoha's response? We know your capabilities, your team compositions, your individual weaknesses." The snake-like man said.
He raised his hand, and the other rogues scattered with supernatural speed, far faster than expected.
Kakashi didn't hesitate to open his other eye revealing his Sharingan
"Cursed energy integration," Yuta muttered, recognizing the spiritual corruption flowing through their chakra systems. "They've bound the spirits to themselves be careful," Yuta said out
Three rogues immediately broke off to engage Kakashi and Shikamaru, their attacks coordinated with inhuman precision.
Another group of four surrounded Asuma, Choji, and Sakura, forcing them into a tight defensive circle.
That left Yuta and Ino, who were closer to each other, facing two opponents: a kunoichi with Takigakure markings and a massive man whose chakra felt unlike the usual.
Yuta drew his katana first.
"Stay behind me."
"I can fight too," Ino protested, but her voice wavered as the corrupted chakra signatures pressed against her newly developed spiritual sensitivity.
The Taki kunoichi moved first, her hands weaving through seals at impossible speed.
"Water Style: Spiral Shark Missile!"
The attack came not as one projectile but seven water constructs, each moving independently with predatory intelligence.
Normal water jutsu didn't behave like that.
Yuta stepped forward, cursed energy flowing through his katana as he cut through three of the water sharks.
They dispersed on contact with his blade, but the remaining four converged on Ino's position.
"Mind Body Switch!" Ino called out desperately, attempting to possess the large man.
The technique connected, but immediately Ino screamed and clutched her head.
Yuta's speed surpassed what they expected as he immediately pulled away from the water attacks and moved away, dodging the countless water shark missiles.
The possessed shinobi laughed with two voices, his own and something far more sinister.
"You'll never be able to possess my mind."
Weird energy erupted from his body, and his physical form began to change.
It wasn't Cursed energy per se or Chakra, but if one was to describe it, it was more like the forceful amalgamation of both, and considering the nature of cursed energy, it was appropriate to call it corrupted chakra.
His muscles expanded unnaturally, his fingers extended into claws, and his eyes turned completely black.
"Cursed spirit possession," Yuta said, his expression hardening.
"They've allowed themselves to be taken over."
The transformed shinobi charged with inhuman speed, but Yuta was ready.
Cursed energy reinforcement flowed through his body as he met the attack head-on while still carrying on with one hand.
Their collision sent shockwaves through the forest, splintering nearby trees.
"Impossible," the Taki kunoichi hissed.
"What kind of chakra is that? It's like ours... Regardless..." She said weaving another jutsu
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Shikamaru were discovering their own problems.
The three rogues attacking them moved with perfect coordination, as if sharing a single mind.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru called out, his shadow extending toward the nearest attacker.
The technique connected, but the possessed shinobi simply smiled.
Dark energy pulsed through Shikamaru's shadow, and he gasped as foreign emotions flooded his mind: rage, despair, and an endless hunger for destruction.
Kakashi intervened immediately, his Chidori crackling to life. "Lightning Blade!"
Even while Shikamaru had received a backlash, the rogue Shinobi was still paralyzed.
It was an opening
The attack struck the rogue center-mass, but instead of falling, the man's wound began regenerating with unnatural speed.
"You're fighting the symptoms," the rogue said, his voice carrying an otherworldly echo.
"Not the cause."
Across the battlefield, Asuma was having similar difficulties. His chakra blade could damage the corrupted shinobi, but they kept getting back up. Fatal wounds were getting healed up like it was nothing.
"These aren't normal rogue shinobi," he called out to his teammates.
"Be careful"
Choji's expansion jutsu connected solidly with one attacker, sending him flying into a tree.
But the man simply stood up, bones realigning with sickening cracks as the cursed spirit within him repaired the damage.
"Partial Expansion jutsu doesn't work if they can just heal!" Choji said, frustration clear in his voice.
Sakura tried a different approach, using her medical knowledge to target pressure points that would disrupt chakra flow.
Her enhanced strength strikes were precise and devastating, but the cursed spirits seemed to compensate for damaged chakra networks by providing their own energy which didn't use chakra.
This was becoming a losing war of attrition simply because the rogues had inhuman endurance on their side.
As they also couldn't deal significant harm to the Kakashi or Asuma team
Then the lead rogue made his move.
"Enough playing," he said, pulling out a scroll marked with symbols that hurt to look at.
"Lord Orochimaru's research must be protected. If you won't leave voluntarily..."
He bit his thumb and slammed his palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Experimental Subject Alpha!"
The ground cracked and something erupted from beneath, not a snake, but a writhing mass of flesh and bone that radiated definitely cursed energy like a miniature sun. It had too many eyes, too many mouths, and its very presence made the air thick with malevolent intent.
"What the hell is that?" Ino whispered, her new spiritual sensitivity overwhelmed by the creature's corrupt aura.
She had long gained her traction and had been put down by Yuta while they each held their opponents.
Yuta flinched a little as he also sensed the massive energy signature that had just appeared.
"Everyone fall back!" he shouted, abandoning all pretense of holding back.
But retreat was no longer an option.
The creature's attention fixed on the shinobi teams, and its multiple mouths opened in unison, releasing a sound that was part roar, part human scream.