Chapitre 175: Chapter 171: The Haunting Melody
Chapter 171: The Haunting Melody
Deep within the Forest like cold Death, the morning mist clung to the trees, the moisture heavy in the air. Shikamaru and Sai found themselves caught in an unexpected assault. The eerie silence of the early dawn was shattered by the sound of cracking bones and the ground trembling beneath the weight of towering skeletal giants, not all of them resembling humans. Some had twisted forms, with multiple arms, horns, or grotesque body structures, their hollow eye sockets glowing faintly as they marched forward.
Above them, perched high in a tree, sat Tayuya, her legs crossed casually, controlling the undead army with a haunting whistle. Her lips pressed against her flute, producing an eerie melody that filled the forest, making the air seem heavier with each note. She looked down with a smirk, clearly enjoying herself. The redhead had an edge of frustration in her eyes, still angered by earlier events, but she found solace in the chaos she now unleashed.
Tayuya was a sight to behold, her slender build betraying the raw power she commanded. Her dark red hair, usually wild and untamed, was tied back now to keep it out of the way. She had styled it into a high ponytail, with long bangs neatly framing her sharp face, while the rest trailed down her back in a thick wave of crimson. Her brown eyes, sharp and cold, gleamed with amusement as she watched Shikamaru and Sai struggle below. Around her neck, she wore a necklace with a simple but elegant promise ring Malik had given her. It swung lightly as she moved, a rare piece of softness in her otherwise harsh demeanor.
As the skeletons pressed their attack, Shikamaru grimaced, dodging and weaving between their bony limbs. "Without Sai's help, I'd have been overrun by now," he muttered, half-joking.
Sai, keeping pace beside him, smiled slightly as he sent out more of his Super Beast Imitating Drawings—ink creatures coming to life to defend against the skeletal onslaught. "You'd probably be dead already," Sai remarked, his voice calm as usual.
Shikamaru shot him a glance, unsure if Sai was joking or stating a fact. The skeletons were weak individually, but their sheer numbers made them a challenge. Even with Shikamaru's quick thinking and Sai's ink creations, they were starting to feel the pressure.
Up above, Tayuya, her fingers dancing skillfully over her flute, smirked. She took a brief moment to secure her hair behind her ears, tucking stray strands into her ponytail. The melody shifted slightly, and she summoned her three demons, powerful creatures that dwarfed the skeletons in both size and strength.
One of the demons wore a dark green bodysuit, its hair a thick curtain that covered its entire head and face. It wielded a massive, spiked metal club that it swung with terrifying force.
The second demon was shirtless, wearing only dark pants. Its bald head was covered in scars, and a blindfold wrapped tightly around its eyes. It wielded long claw-like weapons attached to each arm, moving with an eerie precision despite its apparent blindness.
The third demon was the most grotesque, its entire upper body wrapped in bandages like a mummy. It stood backward, its head always tilted toward the sky, with several long needles protruding from its skull.
Tayuya controlled them effortlessly with her flute, her cursed seal beginning to flare to life on the back of her neck, swirling as it spread across her skin. Her power surged as she activated the first stage of her cursed seal, amplifying the strength of her summons.
Shikamaru's eyes widened as he quickly calculated their odds. "These demons are much stronger than those skeletons," he muttered, his sharp mind already working on a strategy. "Sai, we need to deal with them fast."
Sai nodded, his usually placid face showing a flicker of concern. "Understood."
Tayuya's eyes gleamed with malice as she watched them react to her summons. She couldn't help but taunt them, her voice dripping with mockery. "You think you can handle this, boys? My demons will tear you apart before you even know what hit you."
The demons descended on Shikamaru and Sai with brutal efficiency. The blindfolded demon moved first, its clawed arms swinging with incredible speed, cutting through the air toward Shikamaru. He barely managed to evade the first strike, using his Shadow Imitation Technique to trap its arm momentarily, but the demon's raw strength nearly broke his hold.
"These aren't your average enemies," Shikamaru grunted, focusing on keeping the demon's movements restricted.
Meanwhile, the bandaged demon charged Sai, its backwards stance making its movements unpredictable. Sai, quick on his feet, leapt into the air, summoning more ink beasts to shield himself. The beasts clashed with the demon's strikes, but the needles protruding from its head sent waves of chakra-disrupting energy through the air, weakening Sai's defenses.
The third demon, wielding its massive club, swung at both of them, aiming to crush them in a single blow. Shikamaru dodged to the side, barely avoiding the impact as the ground beneath him shattered.
"Troublesome," he muttered, sweat beading on his forehead. "We're outnumbered here, Sai. We need to get her to stop playing that flute."
Sai nodded grimly. "I'll handle the demons. You focus on her."
With a shared look of understanding, they adjusted their strategy. Sai summoned more ink creatures—this time, massive ink lions that tackled the demons, buying Shikamaru some time. The demons roared in fury, but Sai's ink beasts held them back for the moment.
Shikamaru's sharp mind was already calculating the angles, mapping out the best way to reach Tayuya. He knew that taking her out would disrupt her control over the demons, but getting to her would be no easy task. She was perched high in the trees, surrounded by her summons and her cursed seal aura.
"Just need to find the right shadow," he thought, his eyes scanning the battlefield.
As the sun filtered through the trees, casting long shadows, Shikamaru saw his opportunity. Using his Shadow Imitation Technique, he extended his shadow across the ground, weaving it through the chaos toward the tree where Tayuya sat. The shadows stretched and connected with the tree's base, climbing up toward her.
Tayuya, still focused on her melody, didn't notice the creeping shadow until it was too late.
With a sudden jerk, Shikamaru's shadow latched onto hers, freezing her in place. Her fingers stopped playing, and the demons below faltered, their movements becoming sluggish and uncoordinated.
"Got you," Shikamaru muttered, a small smirk forming on his lips.
Tayuya, her body locked in place, gritted her teeth in frustration. "You think that's enough to stop me?" she spat, her cursed seal flaring with renewed energy. The markings on her neck spread further, and with a burst of strength, she began to fight against Shikamaru's shadow hold.
Shikamaru felt the strain immediately. "Damn, she's strong," he muttered through gritted teeth, trying to maintain the technique. But he could feel her breaking free.
Sai, seeing Shikamaru's struggle, acted quickly. With a flick of his brush, he sent a massive ink serpent slithering up the tree toward Tayuya, aiming to bind her before she could fully break Shikamaru's hold.
But Tayuya, with a final surge of power, shattered the shadow hold completely, leaping from the tree just as the ink serpent reached her. She landed gracefully on the ground, her eyes blazing with fury as she raised her flute to her lips once more.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily," she growled, her cursed seal now in full activation, dark markings twisting across her body.
Shikamaru and Sai prepared themselves for the next round, knowing that this fight was far from over.
Tayuya smirked wickedly, her flute at the ready. "Let's see how long you two can keep up."
And with that, the haunting melody resumed, and the battle raged on.
Tayuya danced between Shikamaru's shadow attacks with an unsettling grace, all while her flute never stopped its haunting melody. Her ability to both evade Shikamaru's techniques and control her demons simultaneously made it clear she was a formidable opponent. Shikamaru had always prided himself on his intelligence, but he found himself impressed by Tayuya's skill.
He noted, however, that she relied solely on her flute—her movements were precise, but without any weapons beyond her music, she was more vulnerable to close-range combat. Shikamaru knew that finding a way to close the gap between them would be the key to gaining an advantage.
Sai, meanwhile, kept her Doki—the three demons—occupied with his ink beasts, each clash sending vibrations through the air. Even while engaged in her fight with Shikamaru, Tayuya effortlessly controlled the Doki with subtle shifts in her fingers, guiding their every move like a conductor orchestrating a deadly performance.
It wasn't long before Tayuya's Cursed Seal activated, and her transformation into its second stage began. Her skin darkened to a deep brown, her eyes now gleamed with eerie yellow irises surrounded by black sclerae. Her once fiery red hair lengthened to her thighs and shifted to a soft pink, and horns sprouted from her head, giving her a more menacing appearance. In this form, her strength, stamina, and endurance soared, pushing her far beyond the limits of Shikamaru's usual strategies.
Malik's voice echoed in her mind, his playful admiration breaking through the intensity of battle. "I didn't know your hair turned pink. It's beautiful!" he sent to her telepathically, his tone full of warmth.
Tayuya smirked, but with a flick of her thoughts, she silenced Malik's mental compliment, her focus zeroing back in on the battle. She couldn't afford distractions, even from him.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth, quickly realizing that he needed a new strategy. He had no way of reading or understanding the music she played, which put him at a severe disadvantage. Her Doki moved in perfect sync with her notes, and his shadows were being deflected at every turn by the demons. Observing closely, Shikamaru focused on her hand movements, hoping to glean some insight into how her music controlled the demons.
It's a pattern, he thought, watching the way her fingers danced over the flute. The Doki react to specific notes. If I can time this right...
With his mind racing, Shikamaru fell back to regroup. His brain fired on all cylinders, fueled by adrenaline, as he analyzed every detail he had gathered about Tayuya's technique. He sprinted toward Sai, their movements synchronized by battle-tested instincts.
"Sai," Shikamaru muttered under his breath as they dodged another barrage of skeletal attacks, "we need to neutralize those demons. They're the key to her defense."
Sai nodded, his calm demeanor never wavering. "Understood."
Shikamaru formulated a plan swiftly. The two of them would need to work together to outsmart Tayuya and take control of the battlefield.
With Sai keeping the demons occupied for just a moment longer, Shikamaru activated his Shadow Imitation Technique and shot his shadow toward the demons. Tayuya's flute was still guiding them, but Shikamaru's sharp mind had deduced their movement patterns. With a burst of speed, he finally managed to catch the Doki in his shadow.
Tayuya's eyes widened for a split second as she felt her connection to the demons weaken.
"I always liked shōgi," Shikamaru said with a small smirk, his voice calm yet taunting. "It's fun when I can take over my opponent's pieces."
The demons, now under Shikamaru's control, lunged at Tayuya, their massive forms tearing through the battlefield. Her flute let out a sharp, discordant note as she scrambled to de-summon them, but before she could fully complete the action, Sai seized his moment.
Summoning the Red Fire Ink Bird that Malik had given him, Sai unleashed a blazing ink phoenix that swooped down from the sky. The ink phoenix set the demons alight just before they could disappear, the red flames consuming them in a blaze of color.
Tayuya, momentarily caught off guard, snarled as she watched the Doki burn away. She had underestimated Shikamaru, and that realization stung more than the fire engulfing her summons.
"Nice trick," Tayuya sneered as she de-summoned the now burning demons. "But it's not enough."
Just as she prepared to strike again, readying her flute, Tayuya felt a strange resistance. Her body stiffened, her arms suddenly frozen in place. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what had happened—she was caught in Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique.
"Took you long enough to notice," Shikamaru quipped, his shadow stretching from where he stood, binding Tayuya to the spot.
For a brief moment, Tayuya's eyes burned with fury, but she also silently acknowledged Shikamaru's intelligence. He had outsmarted her, and she hated that. Gritting her teeth, she pushed the second stage of her cursed seal even further, her body trembling with the effort. Slowly but surely, she began to break free from the shadow's hold.
Shikamaru felt the strain immediately. "She's stronger than I expected in this form," he thought, his grip on the shadow weakening despite using his Shadow–Neck Binding Technique to try and choke her into submission.
Tayuya's horns grew longer as her cursed seal continued to empower her, her strength increasing exponentially. With her newfound power, she lifted her arms, forcing Shikamaru's shadow to break apart.
"You think you can stop me with some shadow trick?" Tayuya spat, her voice dripping with venom. With a sharp trill of her flute, she cast a Genjutsu over Shikamaru, the sound warping his vision and making his body feel like it was encased in stone.
Shikamaru's body froze, the Genjutsu binding him just as tightly as his shadows had bound her. "Damn it..." he thought, trying to break free but unable to move his muscles.
Tayuya smirked triumphantly, but her victory was short-lived.
"Close combat is her weakness!" Shikamaru managed to shout, his voice strained through the Genjutsu.
Sai didn't hesitate. He leaped forward, his brush already in hand, ready to strike. Tayuya's flute may have been powerful from a distance, but in close combat, she was at a disadvantage.
Her eyes widened as Sai closed in on her, his ink brush glowing with the red fire of his latest creation.
"Let's end this," Sai muttered, striking with precision as the battle reached its climax.
Sai's relentless assault on Tayuya was a flurry of motion, his hands moving with incredible speed. When he wasn't slashing at her with his tip-less tantō, he was painting on his scroll with two brushes—one gripped between his teeth, the other moving fluidly across the paper. His black ink beasts swarmed toward her, while the fiery red ink constructs, imbued with Malik's power, added an extra layer of danger to the battle.
Tayuya gritted her teeth, her cursed seal glowing ominously as her fingers danced along her flute. With each note, her summons moved to intercept Sai's attacks, blocking strikes and countering with fierce blows of their own. Yet, despite her power, Sai's agility and creativity made him a challenging opponent.
Sai hurled a kunai at her, its trajectory seemingly wide by a good margin. Tayuya scoffed, thinking he had finally made a mistake. She lunged forward, snatching the kunai from the air, her intention clear—she was going to slit his throat with it.
But before she could move, a sharp pain shot through her gut. Her eyes widened as she realized what had happened—Shikamaru had caught her in his shadow again. The punch had knocked the wind out of her, and now she was trapped.
Shikamaru, his breathing ragged and his brow furrowed with pain, stood a short distance away. Blood trickled from his broken finger, a clear sign of his desperation. "You thought I'd fall for the same trick twice?" he muttered, voice strained. "I broke my own finger to break out of your genjutsu."
Tayuya snarled, realizing too late that she had been outplayed. Shikamaru continued, "The kunai Sai 'missed' with... that was intentional. We needed you to get close enough for this." He tightened his hold, shadow tendrils snaking up her body.
Despite the situation, Tayuya's cursed seal was still empowering her, her muscles surging with strength. She strained against the shadow, her kunai shaking as she pushed it toward Shikamaru's throat. For a moment, they were locked in a deadlock—Tayuya's raw physical power clashing with Shikamaru's shadow control.
Sai, meanwhile, felt a sudden heaviness rush through his head. The red ink he had been using—the ink Malik had gifted him—was draining his energy far more quickly than expected. His chakra reserves were rapidly depleting, and his legs buckled beneath him. "The red ink... takes too much," he muttered to himself, struggling to stay upright. With no choice, he fell to one knee, forced to rest while Shikamaru fought Tayuya alone.
The stalemate between Shikamaru and Tayuya continued, both of them gritting their teeth in frustration. Tayuya's kunai inched closer to Shikamaru's throat, her eyes gleaming with the promise of victory. But Shikamaru's shadow slowly crept toward her neck, trying to tighten and choke the life out of her.
Sweat dripped down Shikamaru's face. He knew he was running out of chakra. Every ounce of energy he had left was being funneled into keeping her restrained, but it wasn't enough. He could feel his control slipping as exhaustion took over. His shadow faltered.
And then, Tayuya broke free.
With a triumphant cry, Tayuya wrenched herself from Shikamaru's shadow, her cursed seal blazing with power. She staggered back for a moment, catching her breath, then grinned wickedly at the exhausted Shikamaru.
"This is the end for you," she hissed, her voice dripping with malice as she raised the kunai, ready to deliver the final blow.
But before she could strike, a massive burst of air slammed into her, sending her flying back through the forest. She crashed into the branches of a large tree, the force of the impact knocking the wind out of her.
Groaning, Tayuya forced herself to her feet, her cursed seal keeping her body from collapsing under the strain. As she tried to assess what had just happened, a familiar voice rang out in her mind.
"I'm going to pull you out of there," Malik's voice echoed softly, his usual playfulness replaced with a hint of seriousness.
Tayuya scowled, her hands tightening around her flute. "Don't you dare, Malik," she snapped back mentally, her anger flaring. She hated the idea of being whisked away like some helpless damsel.
Malik's chuckle filled her thoughts. "You always want to do things the hard way. Fine. But just know that I'll be watching. And I love you."
Tayuya rolled her eyes, but a small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But shut up already. I've got this."
With Malik's voice fading from her mind, Tayuya refocused on the fight. She could feel his presence lingering, but she wasn't about to let him interfere. This was her battle, and she wasn't going to let anyone—not even Malik—dictate how it ended.
Her eyes locked on Shikamaru, who was now barely able to stand. She wasn't finished yet
At the request of the Fifth Hokage, Temari and her sisters arrived to aid the Konoha shinobi in their mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Temari had always exuded strength and confidence, her teal eyes and sandy blonde hair—gathered into four consecutive pigtails—standing out as she made her entrance.
Wielding her Giant Folding Fan, Temari landed gracefully on the tree where Shikamaru, barely standing, leaned against the trunk for support. She could see the strain in his eyes, but there was also a spark of stubbornness in his stance. He was standing on sheer willpower. Temari mentally respected his resilience, though she couldn't help but smirk. She glanced toward another nearby tree where Sai rested, his energy drained from the fierce battle.
"Leaf ninjas aren't half bad," Temari said with a smirk. "Though you might need to work on your endurance." Her tone was teasing, but there was admiration in her voice.
Shikamaru barely managed to smile in return. His body screamed for rest, but the arrival of Temari brought a sense of relief. "Glad to see you, Temari," he muttered.
Temari waved it off, her sharp eyes scanning the forest for their opponent. "Tell me about her," she said, getting straight to the point.
Shikamaru straightened slightly, gathering his thoughts. "Tayuya uses her flute to control her Doki summons. She's a mid-range fighter, and her real power lies in genjutsu. She'll try to trap you with her music, paralyzing you while her demons do the work. I had her in a stalemate until she pushed her cursed seal to its second level. Her strength and endurance skyrocket, but her reliance on that flute makes her vulnerable to close-range attacks."
As Shikamaru explained Tayuya's abilities and weaknesses, he glanced at Temari's fan, which was now resting against the tree trunk. "We should retreat. She's dangerous."
Temari raised an eyebrow, clearly uninterested in retreat. "Retreat? That's not happening." She waved him off, her gaze sharp as she continued to search the surrounding area for Tayuya. "We've got her now."
Shikamaru, slightly irritated by her dismissal, asked, "How did you know her name?"
Temari's smirk widened. "My sister Gaara told me."
Shikamaru's brows furrowed. "How did Gaara know?"
"Malik told her," Temari said nonchalantly, adjusting the grip on her fan.
Shikamaru, more confused than ever, asked, "And how did Malik know?"
At this point, Temari rolled her eyes, clearly losing patience with his questioning. "Figure it out yourself," she muttered, her tone dripping with sass.
Meanwhile, high in the trees, Tayuya watched them carefully, keeping a safe distance. She assessed Temari's arrival, trying to gather any information she could about this new opponent. Her cursed seal pulsed with energy, but she knew better than to underestimate anyone at this point.
Temari, growing tired of waiting, decided it was time to act. With a swift motion, she swung her Giant Folding Fan, preparing her ultimate move. "Time to end this."
Summoning her chakra, Temari called out, "Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance!" She smeared her blood on the fan and swung it, creating a powerful whirlwind that tore through the forest with the force of a hurricane. The winds were so powerful that they traveled for hundreds of meters, flattening everything in their path. As the wind roared, she summoned Kamatari, the sickle-wielding weasel, who rode the gusts, slicing through trees and leaving destruction in its wake.
Tayuya, still hiding in the trees, barely had time to react. The winds uprooted the massive trees around her, and a large one came crashing down toward her. She was about to leap out of the way when, in a flash of white light, she vanished.
Malik's magic had teleported her away, just in time.
Temari smirked, watching the devastation her summoning had caused. The forest was leveled, trees and debris strewn about like scattered matchsticks. Sai and Shikamaru, still standing, were both visibly impressed, though there was an undercurrent of intimidation in their expressions. The sheer power Temari wielded with her fan was overwhelming.
Shikamaru let out a low whistle. "Hey, Temari, why didn't you use your Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance on me during the Chūnin Exam finals?"
Temari turned to him, a grin playing on her lips. "Well, Shikamaru, there were a few reasons." Her voice was laced with sass. "First, using that technique would have exposed my position, and I didn't want to give you any advantage in knowing exactly where I was. Second, the Quick Beheading Dance covers a wide area and causes a lot of damage. In the confined space of the exam arena, it could've been impractical—and dangerous to the surroundings and spectators." She shrugged, her smirk growing wider. "Lastly, I assessed that using my fan and wind-based attacks would be more effective against you. I like to control the battlefield, keep my opponents at a distance."
Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head. "Fair enough."
What Temari didn't admit, though she thought privately, was that Shikamaru had outsmarted her before she even had a chance to consider using her summoning technique. He had ended their fight quickly, but she would never admit that out loud.
Temari's eyes scanned the battlefield one last time, confirming that Tayuya was nowhere to be found. With the forest flattened and their immediate threat dealt with, she turned back to Shikamaru and Sai.
"We need to regroup," she said, her tone all business again. "There's still more work to do."
Shikamaru nodded, though he couldn't help but feel grateful for her timely arrival. With Temari on their side, their chances of success had just increased significantly.
And so, the three of them turned toward the horizon, ready to continue the mission and retrieve Sasuke. But Shikamaru couldn't shake the feeling that this was far from over.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone