Chapitre 69: Trap
Kurenai's crimson eyes burned with resolve as she assessed the situation. "Are you alright, Kiba?"
"No problem, Kurenai sensei!" Kiba replied through gritted teeth.
Nodding slightly, Kurenai's voice carried a mix of authority and concern, spurring her student to push through the pain."Stay strong, Kiba. We'll get through this together."
Akamaru, Kiba's loyal companion, sensed his master's distress and sprang into action. With a fierce growl, the faithful ninja dog sank his teeth into the enemy ninja's hand, causing him to release his grip on Kiba's trapped arm. The Inuzuka prodigy seized the opportunity, summoning his remaining strength to deliver a devastating blow, his fist crashing into the other assailant's jaw.
The impact reverberated through the night, and the ninja crumpled to the ground. But Kiba's ordeal was far from over. His legs were still ensnared by the other enemy ninja, their grip vice-like and unyielding.
Undeterred, Kiba's determination flared, his hands reaching for a kunai with lightning speed.
As he brandished the blade, he sliced through the hands restraining his legs, causing them to recoil in pain. Kiba twisted his body, leveraging the newfound freedom to launch himself backward, barely avoiding collision with a third ninja who seemed trapped in Kurenai's genjutsu, frozen in place like a statue.
Sweat dripped down Kiba's brow as his eyes darted from one adversary to another. His adrenaline-fueled senses caught sight of the presented opportunity, and he struck with precision, slashing his kunai across the immobilized ninja's throat.
The clash of steel against flesh echoed in the night, punctuated by the enemy's lifeless thud to the ground.
However, a chill ran down Kiba's spine as his eyes locked onto the grotesque wound adorning the ninja's lifeless body, "No blood?"
Meanwhile, Kurenai found herself locked in a deadly dance with the masked assailant. Their kunai clashed with lightning speed, the metallic echoes ringing in their ears. Kurenai's battle-honed instincts warned her that her opponent's taijutsu skills were on par, if not superior, to her own.
Realizing that she needed a tactical advantage, Kurenai leaped backward, creating distance between herself and her foe. Kurenai's heart pounded in her chest as she calculated her next move.
She swiftly executed her signature genjutsu, seamlessly vanishing in place as she burrowed deep into the ground. The masked assailant appeared momentarily disoriented, his body standing stiffly in place as if trapped, his eyes dully scanning the area for any sign of his elusive opponent.
Kurenai materialized with alarming swiftness behind the masked assailant, her kunai poised to sever the vital connection between life and death, "This is the end-"
But a mysterious glimmer in the masked man's dull eyes hinted at a cunning plan yet to unfold.
It seems Kurenai still didn't learn to be wary even after her lesson with Itachi.
In that moment when her kunai met the enemy's flesh, a sharp pain tore through her abdomen, causing her to gasp in surprise. Kurenai looked down, horror etching across her face as she discovered the masked ninja's kunai embedded in her belly, his hand actually piercing backwards and passing through his own body!
Time seemed to slow as Kurenai's mind raced, trying to comprehend the treachery that had unfolded before her eyes. The realization dawned upon her with crushing weight - the assailant had merely feigned vulnerability, he had long escaped from her genjutsu or wasn't affected by her genjutsu at all!
Not only that, the opponent also had a strange assassination technique!
Gritting her teeth against the agony coursing through her, Kurenai mustered her remaining strength.
With a burst of chakra, she willed herself to burrow into the ground once more, narrowly evading a lethal follow-up strike. Dirt and debris flew into the air as she emerged beside Kiba, her breath labored, her body trembling.
A shiver danced down Kurenai's spine as her eyes swept across the battlefield, revealing a chilling truth that sent a surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins - the fallen ninjas, thought defeated, had cunningly rose once more, each risen corpse serving as a harrowing testament to their enemy's relentless stratagem.
Their death was a web of deceit spun to lure them into a false sense of security!
Even her initial illusion that ensnared the unsuspecting ninja seemed now to be nothing more than a meticulously crafted ruse, a web of deceit spun to lure her into the treacherous depths she now found herself entangled within!
The pieces of the intricate puzzle clicked into place: Everything was a scam – one solely aimed at her from the very beginning!
Kiba's eyes widened in shock as he witnessed Kurenai's deteriorating state. "Kurenai Sensei! You're hurt!" He moved to support her, concern etched deep within his voice.
"I was careless." Clutching her stomach, Kurenai's voice came out strained, laced with pain. "We... We need to retreat, Kiba. I've been injured... poisoned perhaps."
Eh, poison? A flicker of confusion danced across Kiba's face. How come he wasn't affected?
Kiba forcefully banished the bewildering thought from his mind, his resolute nod betraying an unyielding determination that blazed within his eyes. "Don't worry, Kurenai sensei. I'll get us out of here."
"Good, Kiba, make it- cough!"
A tumultuous wave of coughs plagued Kurenai's frail form, forcing her to succumb to one knee, her other hand desperately clasping her mouth, her eyes reflecting a mixture of pain, alarm, and an unsettling realization that her adversary's strike held far more sinister consequences than she had initially feared.
Fear clawed at Kiba's heart as he saw the toll the short battle had taken on his powerful mentor.
The ninjas lunged forward, sensing an opportunity to overwhelm the wounded duo. But Kiba, fueled by a potent mix of desperation and righteous anger, stood his ground. His muscles trembled, his senses heightened, as he prepared to face their attackers head-on.
"Come on, Akamaru," Kiba commanded, the bond between man and beast stronger than ever. "Let's open us a way out of here!"
"Arf!" Akamaru, who had stood steadfastly by Kiba's side, transformed in a cloud of smoke, emerging from the dissipating mist as a perfect replica of Kiba himself.
With a synchronized battle cry, Kiba and Akamaru leaped forward, their bodies a blur of fangs, claws, and elemental fury. "Fang over Fang!"
The clash of strength, agility, and unyielding resolve echoed through the night, as the battlefield became a stage for their relentless breakthrough.
The duo's drills struck with unyielding force, sending the remaining three ninjas hurtling backward. Then, the duo deftly weaved through the chaos, engaging the dangerous masked assailant, keeping him at bay.
"Kiba, go!" Amidst the fray, Kurenai's command reached Kiba, a silent understanding passing between them.
Bringing the momentum of their hasty ninjutsu to an abrupt halt, Kiba and his canine companion drilled their feet into the ground, drawing a trail of claw marks on the warehouse ground, their synchronized movements positioning them protectively at Kurenai's side, their unwavering loyalty pulsating with an unspoken vow to shield her from any impending danger.
With a swift motion, both Kiba grabbed hold of the pale Kurenai, securing her in their arms, while Kurenai swiftly flung a barrage of kunai adorned with explosive tags.
"Boom!" The resounding explosions reverberated through the warehouse, filling the air with a cacophony of chaos and billowing smoke. It provided the perfect cover as the trio dashed through the now-obscured corridors, their desperate footsteps echoing against the walls.
"Boom!" Another thunderous explosion echoed through the air, a resounding testament to the activation of the intricate web of traps Kurenai had hastily laid to cover their retreat!
A fragile figure weakened by her injuries, yet beneath the surface, Kurenai's strategic mind worked with remarkable swiftness, laying a treacherous path of concealed destruction to punish their pursuers, a stark reminder that a true jonin's capabilities surpassed mere appearances and that underestimating her prowess would prove to be a grave mistake.
"Ha! They fell for it!" Kiba grinned, his eyes betraying his excitement over the success of their strategy.
But their respite was short-lived as Kiba's quickened pace abruptly came to a halt. His widened eyes reflected shock and disbelief. "No... It can't be."
Kurenai, pale and weakened from her wound, followed Kiba's gaze, her heart sinking. The corridor they had previously traversed now lay entangled in a labyrinth of intricate spiderwebs, sealing off their escape route. The gate of the warehouse was beyond reach, buried deep within the recesses of webs.
Akamaru's warning growls added a chilling accompaniment to their predicament.
"When?! It wasn't like this when we came in!" Kiba's voice trembled with a mixture of shock and frustration.
Kiba's determination flared as he brandished his kunai, intent on severing the suffocating amount of the web that barred their escape, only to be met with a disheartening revelation as his kunai couldn't even cut through a single layer! "Damn! These aren't normal webs! Why are these webs tough like that spider guy's webs?! Kurenai sensei, go back-"
When they turned around, a sense of dread washed over them as their hopes of retreat crumbled, the charred gap in the wall that once offered an escape route now blocked by an imposing formation of giant spiders, their predatory presence looming ominously as they crept along the walls.
And standing amidst the arachnid guardians, the stark sight of three lifeless, charred bodies served as a haunting reminder of the dangerous survivors of the perilous battle, while the masked assailant, seemingly undeterred by the chaos, stood resolute, exuding an aura of malevolence that intensified the air of impending doom.
"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Akamaru's wild barks warned the duo of the impending danger.
Following Akamaru's line of sight, together, they looked upward, their eyes widening in dread. The ceiling teemed with a grotesque multitude of giant spiders, their hairy legs scuttling with predatory anticipation.
The air became heavy with the foreboding presence of these arachnid guardians, ready to launch their assault!
An onslaught of glistening webs hurtled down from the shadows above, descending upon them like a torrential rain!
Swift as a darting shadow, Kiba, accompanied by Akamaru, skillfully evaded the ensnaring webs, evading their grasp with seamless grace; however, the same could not be said for Kurenai, her movements hampered by her deteriorating injury, as the insidious strands wrapped tightly around her vulnerable form, ensnaring her in a web of immobilizing confinement.
"Kurenai sensei!" However, Kiba's concern morphed into alarm as a relentless onslaught of webs surged from the shadows behind him, their purpose clear as they swiftly enveloped the space, effectively closing off any avenue for evasion!
Caught within the relentless barrage, not even Akamaru with his small form and agility, could elude the clutches of the entangling webs, rendering the duo immobilized! It's too late to even use their ninjutsu to drill out now!
The web of danger had ensnared them entirely. There was no escape!
Like ominous specters descending upon their ensnared prey, the colossal spiders, their monstrous forms etched against the dimly lit backdrop, closed in with calculated precision, their venomous fangs puncturing the skin with a sinister purpose, injecting a potent concoction that induced a creeping lethargy.
The realization dawned upon them, painting their situation with shades of hopelessness.
"Cough- Cough-"
As her senses were suffused senses with a soporific haze, a minuscule trickle of blood escaped Kurenai's pale lips, her voice quivering with a mix of disbelief and mounting apprehension, a haunting testament to the realization that the depths of the unfolding calamity far surpassed her initial comprehension.
"Strange human puppets, a powerful poison, spider summons... And such an elaborate layout, who is targeting us?"
Unfortunately, the spoken question hung heavily in the air, her inquiry shrouded in a veil of unnerving silence.
As the layers of intricately spun webs enveloped them, Kiba couldn't help but mutter under his breath, frustration lacing his words as the spider's lullaby orchestrated his descent into an unsettling slumber. "Bugs again, I hate bugs. Damn it, where is Shino when you need him?"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone