Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

"You've trained hard, but you're still far behind Zixu," Aburame Hatsuizumi commented on Sasuke, which clearly pissed him off.

"Tch..." Sasuke didn't say a word and charged at Hyuga Chinano again.

But this wasn't some one-on-one duel—it was a chaotic free-for-all. In that kind of brawl, teamwork and gang-ups were the name of the game. No one was gonna play fair with some dude brooding in the corner.

Multiple squads were already sneaking up around them. They had quietly taken out several ninja, but even the strongest warrior couldn't fight off a whole army alone.

Karin got the memo. After dealing with her own target, she immediately rushed to back up Chinano in pinning down Sasuke.

In a team fight, Hatsuizumi had the biggest edge. While she was tangling with Naruto, the wide spread and density of her insects forced surrounding ninja to get dragged into the fight.

Naruto was on the brink of collapse. Sure, his chakra reserves were massive, but they were getting drained fast. Hatsuizumi, on the other hand, didn't need as much chakra—her insects literally fed off her enemies' chakra and topped her up mid-battle. As her power climbed and Naruto's dropped, the tides turned hard in her favor.

Meanwhile, the fight between Hydrangea—who specialized in spiritual summoning—and Tenten was reaching its climax. Their fight wasn't really about skill; it was about who had the bigger wallet. Weapons were flying out of scrolls nonstop. Hydrangea had summoned a massive Archaeopteryx and a chameleon to boot. With those summons, she was about to secure her win.

The forces of Whirlpool Nation were slowly but steadily gaining control of the battlefield. One ninja after another was eliminated. They weren't flashy, but they were damn consistent.

Soon, the nearby small squads were wiped out. The sneaky bastards hoping to pick off leftovers were dealt with—no point letting others profit off their hard work.

After scanning the area one more time, Aburame Hatsuizumi recalled her scouting bugs and booted Naruto off the insect he was pinned to.

"As expected, without the Tailed Beast's chakra, you're a lot weaker," she muttered, but her voice still reached Naruto's ears.

"Damn it..." Naruto felt completely powerless and humiliated. Even his Sage Mode was getting suppressed by Hatsuizumi's version of it, and he had no way to turn the tables.

And worst of all, he knew she still had more tricks up her sleeve—Insect armor, world-eater insects...

Sasuke wasn't ready to give up. If he could just close the gap, he might flip this whole thing.

His crimson Sharingan eyes scanned the battlefield. He could copy ninjutsu—but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't figure out what kind of jutsu Hyuga Chinano was using. Was he just unlucky?

Refusing to accept that, he turned his eyes to Karin's azure flames, trying to mimic them. As expected, it failed.

"What the hell? Why can't I copy anything?" His teammates were dropping around him, and the pressure was crushing.

If ninjutsu wouldn't work, then maybe taijutsu would. Sasuke mimicked Chinano's stance perfectly, then slowly moved toward her.

Chinano hadn't had someone try copying her taijutsu in ages. Alright then—let's see who was better at their own moves.

She positioned her hands at her waist, pushed forward with her elbows, and crack!—five rapid strikes of Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Air Palm) shot toward Sasuke.

He mirrored her perfectly, copying even the tiniest muscle twitches and finger shifts. His five Hakke Kūshō met hers head-on.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang—" The five blows collided like crashing waves.

Sasuke had the edge. He shattered Chinano's attack and still had one air palm to spare. She dodged it, but it was clear his physical conditioning had paid off.

Chinano wasn't done. She returned to the same stance, while Karin fed her chakra to keep her going.

Sasuke copied again. But this time, his version failed to overpower hers.

"What's going on? I did the exact same movement. Something's off..." Sasuke frowned. He felt like he was missing something but couldn't put his finger on it.

Then he locked eyes with Chinano's red and white Byakugan.

"Those eyes... no, those red hues—wait, is this an illusion?" As expected from Uchiha Itachi's little brother—even if his genjutsu wasn't as strong, he had a sharp instinct for spotting illusions.

Just as he was about to dispel the genjutsu and stage a last-ditch comeback, Hatsuizumi's voice echoed from above.

"Stop wasting time. This fight's dragged on long enough. Let's finish it."

She dropped from the sky like some hellish spider, her wrists shooting out thin, sticky web strands.

"I heard your eyes can copy jutsu. Want to try copying mine?" she teased, wrapping him in silk.

Sasuke roared and burst his Lightning Armor, breaking free of the threads.

He looked around. Only a handful of Konoha ninja were still up and fighting. Most had been taken out. The field was dominated by the Uzumaki Nation's forces.

His fists dropped. His eyes reflected bitter frustration. This battle was over. There was no more chance to win.

But even then, he couldn't bring himself to surrender. He'd rather fall in battle than give in.

...

Karin lay flat on the ground, completely spent. She had used just as much chakra as the frontliners—maybe even more. Her support had made all the difference. Her quick heals pulled dying comrades back into the fight over and over again.

As the last threats vanished, the crowd exploded in cheers and applause. They'd been hoping for a longer match, but reality had other plans.

"Ah, I'm dead~" Hatsuizumi flopped down like a caterpillar, muttering in a robotic monotone.

Karin was truly done. She had nothing left in the tank, and even her stomach was protesting.

"I... I can't handle spicy food... I'm just too damn tired!" she groaned, locking eyes with Zixu, who just stared blankly as she dramatically adjusted her pose.

"Ah~... yeah, I... suffered internal injuries during the match..." Chinano said in a deadpan voice. She pulled out a tiny cheat sheet, glanced at it, then kept going.

"I... I can't hold on anymore. From now on, it's up to you guys..." she said, then collapsed on top of Tuanzi's warm, fluffy belly.

Audience: "..."

Other Kage: "..."

Zixu: "..."

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